The intentional animation delays needs to be abolished

[Tenku]

When doing anything in this game, there is some type of delay that is obviously intentional. For example, when using Quick Stride, by the time the player has control after using the buff, there's no longer a point to having used the buff. Even with the new video we see of the new battle system for 1.18, there are major delays. There should not be any hesitation at all and all battle actions should be seamless. We should be able to use skills instantly on the move without our characters stopping.

[yukikaze_yanagi]

to what end? Serious question

[Skeloton]

Umm how about no? and how about attacking as soon as the animation for the last attack to stop then allowing another attack?

if thats what you meant, then you post didnt come across that way

[Tenku]

Watch the video: http://forum.square-enix.com/ffxiv/threads/13462

Now count how long it takes for actions to occur AFTER the player has pressed the hotkeys on the bar. It takes at least a second or two for the actions to occur. Look at how long it takes the player to get into battle mode and engage the mob. In fact, there's such a delay that the player is GLIDING to the mob while engaging. It is not seamless and fluid. I understand you're a hardcore FF fan, but so am I. It doesn't mean everything about the game is perfect just because it's called Final Fantasy. I'm pretty sure that over 70% of the player base that they lost agrees with me. Keep defending it as much as you like, but a bad game is a bad game. I'm still here because I have hope for it and I hope that they make it better.

[Lerris]

Watch the video: http://forum.square-enix.com/ffxiv/threads/13462

Now count how long it takes for actions to occur AFTER the player has pressed the hotkeys on the bar. It takes at least a second or two for the actions to occur. Look at how long it takes the player to get into battle mode and engage the mob. In fact, there's such a delay that the player is GLIDING to the mob while engaging. It is not seamless and fluid. I understand you're a hardcore FF fan, but so am I. It doesn't mean everything about the game is perfect just because it's called Final Fantasy. I'm pretty sure that over 70% of the player base that they lost agrees with me. Keep defending it as much as you like, but a bad game is a bad game. I'm still here because I have hope for it and I hope that they make it better.

For one thing, the new animations will not be implemented in 1.18, but 1.19. So it will look goofy at first. And the video is a system cobbled onto the old animations rather than the complete system with all new animations.

For another, you make an assumption in your initial post that the delay is intentional. I believe it's not intentional and is a consequence of poor network responsiveness, as all commands have to bounce to the servers and back before they engage. It's been discussed elsewhere that the UI is server-side rather than client-side, which other games don't do because it causes severe performance issues.

[Tenku]

For one thing, the new animations will not be implemented in 1.18, but 1.19. So it will look goofy at first. And the video is a system cobbled onto the old animations rather than the complete system with all new animations.

For another, you make an assumption in your initial post that the delay is intentional. I believe it's not intentional and is a consequence of poor network responsiveness, as all commands have to bounce to the servers and back before they engage. It's been discussed elsewhere that the UI is server-side rather than client-side, which other games don't do because it causes severe performance issues.

You're correct about the UI being server-side rather than being client-side. Yes, that causes delay/lag to a degree. However, there is intentional delay. That video is directly from Square Enix meaning they are playing directly on the server so there shouldn't be any delay at all due to poor network response. It was the same in FFXI. They intentionally slow it down to make it feel more like their older FF games and to be unique from all the other MMOs out there. I do not mind the slower battle system as long as it's fun like in FFXI. (Chain kills, chain spells/skills, teamplay, CC, hate control, etc)

[Betelgeuzah]

This and the slow to build up-animations are killing the combat for me.

Fix the servers...fix...them....

[Tenku]

Here, I hate RIFT, but just compare the speed of the battle system, response, and animations: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gt85TqYk3qY

When you're dealing with that speed during battle, you have to deal with the environment, positioning, and even running away. I know we don't want FF14 to be like every other MMO, but I feel that SE can keep the feel of Final Fantasy but have an intuitive battle system like modern MMOs.

(BTW that's me in the best pvp gear only after 2 months of playing the game so it got boring real fast since there was no longer progression for me)

[Atma]

You're correct about the UI being server-side rather than being client-side. Yes, that causes delay/lag to a degree. However, there is intentional delay. That video is directly from Square Enix meaning they are playing directly on the server so there shouldn't be any delay at all due to poor network response. It was the same in FFXI. They intentionally slow it down to make it feel more like their older FF games and to be unique from all the other MMOs out there. I do not mind the slower battle system as long as it's fun like in FFXI. (Chain kills, chain spells/skills, teamplay, CC, hate control, etc)

Ok, first off, not a fanboy. Hate the entire concept of the server side UI, it's horrible, inefficient, and poorly designed.

Now, you're making several assumptions. First, that they're playing at console. This is not assured, and in fact is most likely incorrect. I would say that it is exceedingly rare for a company to have a data center of the size that it takes to house that amount, and bulk, of hardware on the same site as their main office space. We're talking special cooling systems required, and it's just generally safer from a physical security standpoint to not be able to look up the FFXIV Server Center in the NTT phone book. Odds are that in their office location, they experience the same latency that any player in Japan does.

You're also neglecting the fact that test servers aren't generally ran on production-level hardware. Some MMO's do have this, but those are the ones that have public test servers. We have no idea how many test situations are being run, or what level of hardware they're being run on.

They have also stated that to expect the animations to be choppy and non-seamless for a while. This is what happens when you add things like being able to change modes on-the-move without animations for that being in the game.

Now, I will agree with you that there IS a concept in games called animation lag, which FFXIV needs to ensure they do not introduce. *TRUE* animation lag, unlike what you describe, is the process where another action cannot be initiated until the currently running animation has completed. I do not really see evidence of this in place in the current video we've been provided, there seems to be ample delay between swings for that to not be an issue.

Yes, FFXIV has always suffered from UI lag, and hopefully it is something that is on their long-term plans to address. However, you cannot just go from a server side to a client side UI in a day. That would likely be a 4-6 month project in and of itself, and right now it is not "game breaking". FFXIV is not a "twitch game" like RIFT or WoW, and there's no glaring need for instantaneous respone. Want? Absolutely yes. Need? No.

[Tenku]

You're probably right, but I think that it's more than just latency issues if they are so close to the server yet we still see those delays. And yes, we WANT instantaneous response. Everything about gaming is WANT, not need.