It's become a chore to even log on to the game

[Mihael_Longclaw]

I would love them to do this, which is more inclined with horizontal progression. But again, it will not work, these forums will explode.

The casual player base will whine to no end about it being too hard...they don't have as much time to play, why can't they get it as well in a shorter amount of time...etc.

The forums are already exploding as is, because there isn't content like that, and there would still be lots of content for all types of people to enjoy

[Mihael_Longclaw]

Another comment. I don't think they can just "open" the world. Each zone is not really connected and the far off places that are out of reach probably don't exist as well.

To open the world they would have to manually stitch everything together, which would take a lot of time and resources.

Read my examples list on Page 17, I think it can address this issue without having to tear things apart, most aren't that large to implement

[TheUltimate3]

Read my examples list on Page 17, I think it can address this issue without having to tear things apart, most aren't that large to implement

If you mean adding the secret cutaways and things like that to enable exploring, that's fine. That'll probably work.

The idea of adding cut scenes of your character running through ever zone however, while possible, is also unnecessary. It wouldn't be a problem if they did make that but at the same time, I can see why they wouldn't take the time to make it. Especially for every zone, especially if they are skipable.

Less teleportation would be fine with me. I ride around on my chocobo anyway, but then again I choose to do so. I would probably get very tired of riding from point A to B if I was forced to. One could argue that the idea is, if you want to travel you can, but I am not making such arguments. And I do like the idea of timed ferries and airships, but this is something I am used to with WoW, so I can wait 5 or so minutes for a ship to arrive.

[Mihael_Longclaw]

Snip

Yea, the secrets and explorable areas, as well as higher level areas and more general content for the open world.
For the cutscene idea, it was moreso to make the areas feel less disjointed, it was obviously flawed, but I had no idea how they could do it besides making an entirely open world which isn't feasible for this game.

I think teleportation is fine as is, maybe make it a bit more expensive, but also add scenic routes like the ferry and airship IMO, I'd love to see actual race tracks for your chocobo, and optional obstacle courses.

I alos think differntiating the mounts could help too, make it so you can fight things on your chocobo for example, while things like the Unicorn or Couerl are the fastest but if you get hit even once you get dismounted. Same with minions small static buffs.

- Tonberry Minion: While summoned, an in a party; the more player dead in your party, your damage increases (2% for each dead party memeber) not only could this add some more relevance to minions beyond vanity, but it could be fun to choose one that could very subtly help you. Especially if they're bringable in dungeons (but not targettable)

- Cait Sith: Randomly casts slots, 3 lucky clovers increases your drop rate by 5% for 30 minutes, 3 skull and cross bones hits you for 2% of your max HP, 3 staffs heal you for 5% of your HP and so on

Then there's so many minions that could be affected

[TheUltimate3]

I wouldn't be for specific mounts having specific bonuses. At least not something that has to be bought to obtain. Same goes for minions, but more to the point that it just leads to situations where someone will find the pet that is "the best" and then you only ever see that one. I like running around with my little Baby Behemoth and being blissfully aware that I am not handicapping myself in some way.

[Pinworms]

Let me guess, you never played FFXI ^^ (really not trying to patronize you)

I think a lot of players from FFXI are simply missing the mysteries that world held. It was a world the mechanics of which you were LEARNING as you went along the way. Just to give you some examples about this exploration thing, to make it a bit more clear what I'm referring to:

FFXI: When you saw a mob you didn't know if it's aggressive or not. You had to judge by its look, its name or simply try and approach it and see what it does.
FFXIV: Aggro mobs have a big red sign so that it's clear they are aggro

===============

FFXI: The mobs were aggroing based on:
- sight (passing in front of them)
- sound (being close to them)
- magic usage (using magic near them)
- HP (being hurt while close to them, for instance undead mobs had this)

FFXIV: All mobs aggro sight. Of course, super casual and easy to understand, but immersion breaking (see all the speed runs that avoid mobs while passing 10 cm behind their back)

================

FFXI: During the night some specific, night related mobs were appearing, like bats or undedead, making night a more dangerous time to be in the wild.
FFXIV: Day/Night cycle has no influence on mob spawning or behavior.

================

FFXI: Some mobs were appearing only in certain conditions. For instance, elementals (wind, fire etc.) were appearing only during windy weather, hot weather etc.
FFXIV: Weather has no influence on the mobs spawning or behavior.

================

FFXI: There were secrets in the world. For instance, a wall through which you could pass to get into a secret passage or areas not marked on the maps and which you discovered simply by exploring the map edges.
FFXIV: No secret areas whatsoever.

================

FFXI: The world was dangerous, with mobs being way more tough. There were a lot of areas in which exploration was only possible by using invisibility and sound deadening potions/tools, with limited effect in time. This was making exploration a dangerous thing, contributing greatly to the idea of ADVENTURER.
FFXIV: You can get on your chocobo and run circles around mobs 10 levels higher than you easily, meaning the exploration is completely devoid of any danger.

================

FFXI: There were a lot of complex quests and things to do in order to get great rewards. Just as an example, here's how a Notorious Monster called Goblin Archaeologist was spawned in FFXI:

http://wiki.ffxiclopedia.org/wiki/Goblin_Archaeologist

Forced Spawn by trading at least one item with merchant value to the spawning point marked by a ???
A player may initiate a trade of any number of items only once per game day. The higher the Resale Price of the item(s), the closer the NM will move to the surface of the ground to claim that item. The minimum value required to move NM by exactly one position is approximately 250 gil.

You can receive the following messages which indicate how close the NM is to the surface:
You hear a voice coming from somewhere extremely deep under the ground...
You hear a voice coming from somewhere very deep under the ground...
You hear a voice coming from somewhere deep under the ground...
You hear a voice from under the ground...
You hear a voice coming from somewhere close to the surface of the ground...
You hear a voice coming from somewhere very close to the surface of the ground...
You hear a voice coming from somewhere extremely close to the surface of the ground...
You hear a voice from right beneath the surface of the ground.
If it has been spawned recently, the spawning point can disappear completely for about 6 game hours.
The level of the NM can vary widely. The NM can range from level 30 to 75 and the level determined is completely random.

Isn't this cool? Imagine doing this for the first time and the anticipation growing as the thing came closer to the surface.
Compare this to FATE and you can understand why some people miss the mystery in FFXI ^^

FFXIV: Fates. 'nuff said!

And so on and so forth.
FFXI had a ton of bad things in it, but some things were great. We're simply sorry that the good went away with the bad ; ;

-Lak

All the things that made ffxi great!! I'd love to see this stuff in ffxiv!

[Mihael_Longclaw]

I wouldn't be for specific mounts having specific bonuses. At least not something that has to be bought to obtain. Same goes for minions, but more to the point that it just leads to situations where someone will find the pet that is "the best" and then you only ever see that one. I like running around with my little Baby Behemoth and being blissfully aware that I am not handicapping myself in some way.

Two things about this, people don't use minions at all now, besides a very few amount of players, I've collect over 40 or so I think and I still rarely use them.
Secondly, it's an absolutely miniscule difference for any meaningful ones, less than food currently but to add neat effects and small boosts that are completely negligible, only the hardest of the hardcore would min/max with, there's nothing stopping you from using Baby Behemoth.

Though for mounts, I mainly said it because everything feels the same, like different skins on the same wire mesh, even the Ahriman feels like it's walking on the ground and not actually floating/flying

[Mihael_Longclaw]

All the things that made ffxi great!! I'd love to see this stuff in ffxiv!

Love your sig!

Edit: Loving alot of those FFXI things, making the game feel more natural and dangerous

[TheUltimate3]

small boosts that are completely negligible

That's kind of the issue though. A boost, even small, is never negligible. I had over 100 pets and mounts in WoW (each) and I barely used any of them but my Argent Charger (all but retired Charger after Lich King), Nether Dragon for flying, and pug for pet. The idea behind mount/pet collecting has always been about having a bunch of pets and using them to your fancy.

If even 1 pet had some effect that led to even something small like 2% exp or damage, then that pet will see the most use in any real situation. No, I would prefer pets just stayed vanity without any gameplay bonus. And I see quite a few people using pets on my server, from those puppies, to the chocobo eggs things. A whole lot really.

[Xairos]

Recently i've been watching a certain MrHappy stream FFXI and it has solidified my disposition toward current generation mmos and the ones that we all grew up on.

I, too, miss the hidden mechanics of older games. The developers really strove to create real, virtual worlds. Worlds that drew us in (or pushed us away). 10 Min Boat ride to a new continent? Perfect for immersion.

However games of today, in all genres, have it tough. They have to compete with each other on several fronts:
1) they have to draw us in. Example: Pokemon X/Y (new gen! yay!)

2) They have to entertain. Example: This pokemon game is really fun.

3) They have to keep us coming back. Usually via some carrot on a stick. Example: In this new pokemon game, it's very easy to "train" your pokemon for the stats you want them to have. Thus, more people will try it out and maybe they will stick around.

However with more options we as consumers have, it becomes harder for games to achieve that third goal. It is now more easier than ever for us to pick up a game, and then drop it a month or two later. Example: I don't even touch pokemon and it came out when? 4 Months ago. Nintendo got my purchase, but didn't retain me.

And that is just a single player game.

TLDR: I kinda feel bad for game today. They have so much more competition than when I was growing up so they usually have to pander to a lower goal in order to retain gamers.