Warning: offtopic Nostalgia

[Aldwin]

*Long post, read at your own risk *

I was sitting up late tonight, bored and curious how the progression of this game is going. I haven't logged in for about 3 months, and to my horror I have lost my install discs and I own a new pc that does not have the game installed. I'd like to know how the game is coming along, and here of any experiences some of you players are having in the game if you care to share them, but I'll get to that in a minute.

I've been looking around the last few months, for a new game to get in to. I've been playing mmos pretty avidly since early 1997, and the last year or 2 I haven't been able to find one that can keep my interest for very long.

I was digging through my old game music, bored at work, and started going through my FFXI soundtracks, and that's when the "nostalgia" kicked in.

To anyone reading this post who also played xi, and is now playing xiv, the rest of this post is towards you.

Has the experience games provide gone downhill or traded in their "feeling" and "sense of adventure" for better graphics yet shallow gameplay?

FFxi is still to date my the best experience I have ever had in a game. For you ffxi veterans, do you remember the sense of adventure the game bestowed upon you. I played xi since NA release for about 7 years. Every new game I've tried I compare to it, and sure some games graphics completely destroy xis'. Some game design elements in newer games have better character customization, better controls (all these things are biased opinions i know) but nothing I"ve seen or tried has lived up to the experience. I wish I could find something that did.

Going through my game music, I played one track "Tu'Lia", the music for sky. I remember my group doing Zilhart missions, we were all so excited to get sky access. My first time zoning up with my friends, the expiernece of walking out into the zone, the music fitting it perfectly, was almost magical. I was so excited, and lost inside this game I didn't want to log out. I remember having to get ready for work, taking my laptop and speeding to work just so I could log on and explore around sky some more.

The next song that came up on my playlist was from the CoP soundtrack, a new horizon. After my group doing promys finallyed cleared the 2-3 and gained access to Lufuais Meddows this song played when you zone in. Again the feeling of accomplishment, adventure and pure wonder was almost overwhelming for me. I wanted to explore the whole zone, every inch. Later, after completing all of the CoP missions (chains of promithia was IMO the best exspansion), running through lufais meddows and watching the final cutscene was absolutely engrossing. I loved the entire storyline, and finishing it was very fullfilling.

The last song on my playlist, the music that plays during mission 8-4 of CoP, the final battle, was the most epic feeling of any boss fight i've done in any mmo to date (the lich king battle from warcraft was close). The music, the battle zone (above sea looking down) made the feeling truly epic.

I made some great friends during my time in vana'diel, some of whom I still talk to, some I wish I still had contact with. I wish I could find another game that can come even close to offering some of the same experience I had from XI.

For anyone still following this post, and who can relate, my question to you is this.

Are you enjoying your time spent playing XIV? Is there anything in this game that is memorable? Have you found anything that sparks that sense of adventure, teamwork and the feeling of accomplishment to rival your favorite past experiences from other games? (notable XI). If so, I would like to hear from you.

[BruceyBruceyBangBang]

One thing is always true in gaming nostalgia, you were younger. :P You know how people always say things were better "back then"? Well, of course they were. You were younger, things were new and fresh, and you were probably having a lot more fun in general.

I'm sure when someone new to the final fantasy series or the MMO experience or both will say the same thing about XIV after it is given it's revamp and it's 7+ years of growth.

The point is, we cannot sit too long in one place and look back to the games of yesteryear wishing today's games would infuse with our little bubble of nostalgia. I agree that FFXI was a great game. I think that FFXIV in time will be a great game as well! Maybe... an even better game to some young gamer out there who will carry on his fond memories over to the next installment and make a thread in their official forums that reads just like this one.

[Seif]

I feel the same way and when I'm running around in XI I wonder why XIV doesn't have that grip that you're speaking of.

I think you said something that feels true to me:

For you ffxi veterans, do you remember the sense of adventure the game bestowed upon you.

The adventure is still in XIV but it's in the few and far between cutscenes and you personally don't get to experience similar emotions in the gameworld.

XI is more interactive experience whereas XIV let's you mostly go in the passive mode while the game guides you through it. Because there is no personal investment in the events or the world XIV hasn't yet been able to get under my skin like XI did.

XI also has an incredible amount of depth in every aspect of the gameplay and it never assumes you can possibly master them all. This makes everything have a sense of mystery like the crafting for example. There are various websites dedicated just for cooking or fishing with not one but several strategies how you can progress through them. In comparison all XIV crafts seem simple and easy to get into but because there's nothing to learn they don't feel quite as involved.

In the end these are 2 very different products for very different kind of audiences.

I often compare XI to III because they feel to me very alike. XI can b played like any FF title with a lot of hidden content and a story with a clear beginning and an end.

XIV is more for the crowd that likes XIII and the way it streamlines away those aspects in favor of more controlled experience that's easy to get into. The story is lees like most FF titles and more to be continued soap-opera type storytelling.

Anyway this is just my 2 cents of the current scenario. I honestly can't tell to what direction between these 2 extremes they're taking this game with the recent patches. Only time will tell.

Btw when I'm talking about XI I'm not talking out of nostalgia because I'm still a relatively new active player of it. I don't want to "burn out" on XIV before it's more ready-ish because in the long run I want to dedicate a lot of time to this game when/if it gets better.

[Aldwin]

I would like to log in and check out some of the changes made in recent patchs. Too bad I misplaced my install discs and can't find a client download link anywhere for it. I have an active account, just don't want to buy a new copy just to be able to install the game.

[Zion_Cross]

I would like to log in and check out some of the changes made in recent patchs. Too bad I misplaced my install discs and can't find a client download link anywhere for it. I have an active account, just don't want to buy a new copy just to be able to install the game.

Filestube.com download the iso.

[Seif]

Filestube.com download the iso.

XIV is F2P not free to DL game.

[Zion_Cross]

XIV is F2P not free to DL game.

I know, you can still find the ISO online. I ain't posting a link to it for obvious reasons. But if he's looking to play the game without paying for a new disc, downloading the ISO is the way to go. ( It is available ) I just want to be able to get the OP back in the game.

PS: I don't want to derail the post at all btw! I agree wholeheartedly. The elements of ffxi were amazing. I had a blast helping people do their genkais and many other key events in the progress. FFXIV will surely land on the right page with given time. I'm already having a blast with the current LS I'm in. After this patch things have gotten interesting so we'll see.

[Gennosuke]

Nice post to read.
I share your thoughts and experiences coming from FFXI as well. To me as well, XI was simply the most amazing experience i have had in an mmo. Although i'm not big on mmo's, i am a huge FF Fan, hence me getting into FFXI and FFXIV now.
To answer your question, unfortunately No.. I also came back after several months being off the game to check progress of the patch and until now sadly, i'm not enjoying the game much at all in it's current state, I'm finding it a real drag to log in and play, there's not much incentive in terms of adventure or fun. The design of the world, content and lack of a job system makes it a rather dull experience for me.

The sense of adventure, teamwork and feeling of accomplishment is practically non-existant compared to XI, and that's something they really need to work on, 'cause afterall that's what defines an MMORPG.
I would say XI far excelled in everything, except graphics obviously with FFXIV being a next gen mmorpg, however more disappointing is that even graphics aren't utilized properly to create what i would have expected to be breath-taking landscapes and areas and environments.
Caves for examples are extremely dull and just don't compare to caves and even tunnels in FFXI, like Ordelle's cave, kuftal tunnel, etc. Another irritating thing is that most of them have this maze like structure rather than being open.
Forests like gridania are far from the likes of forests like Sanctuary of Zitah and Jugner forest and what not. They were poorly designed and i can only hope they will fix up this whole mess.

If i am to be positive, i'd say it's in beta stage and has alot of work to be done before it can reach FFXI standard.
Having said that, The upcoming patches will have major changes, job system, content, etc.
Also there has been talk and posts of Dev team planning to redo Eorzea as well as bringing in Job System. So i think the game still holds some hope, although i'm a bit doubtful regarding the limitations/design of the game engine. I would say stick around the forums and provide constructive criticism 'cause Yoshi P did ask for it as they are using our feedback to shape the future of this game. So here is hoping this game moves in the right direction and succeeds as it's predecessor.

There's also been a thread by forum members including my post to rework FFXIV, i suggest you like and comment on it:

http://forum.square-enix.com/ffxiv/t...l=1#post269234

Also this for redesign of Eorzea:

http://forum.square-enix.com/ffxiv/t...e-Zone-Long-OP

[Aldwin]

XIV is F2P not free to DL game.

Just to be clear here, I was not asking for a free game. I have purchased this game, just have misplaced my install discs. I believe to have an active account you had to have purchased the game, and activated it with the codes that came with those discs. As I said, I have an active account, just didn't want to buy the game just to be able to install the data, then be left with another set of unused codes.

[Ruri]

The only thing really memorable is the epic last cutscene for the story quest. I have a feeling its still going to be awhile until we get more awesome cutscenes like that though. Also first walking into the dungeons was nice.