Moment of Truth: How do you really feel

[Coldfire]

1. definately still too slow but better than at the beginning
2. too many changes, not enough fixes
3. in the western region it looks really bad, in japan western mmos don't matter as much so ffxiv has a better chance there
4. it had the chance but failed with the horrible release
5. they are to attract the masses, even if I don't like them they are still the right choice
6. they should have focused on fixing the broken engine. SE is building their house on sand.

[Arlekiel]

1. How do you feel about the patch frequency?
Its amazingly slow.... other MMOS have better patch schedules.... Chocobo's stables were there since closed beta, and one year later we are getting them.... I dont wanna even think how much time we will have to wait for musketeer and archanist.

My concern is precisely that "almost" everyone is like "yey we are getting chocobos" but in reality this is FFXIV we are expected to have chocobos. Its not an "extra" content is something we shoulded have in the begining of the game. All we got were some stables..... with no chocobos and ONE year later we get a chocobo. My point is...that 1.19 was something we shoulded get at release not one year later..


2. How do you feel about the changes themselves?
I like them.. they are slow changes and I can undertand they have issues doing all this work. But yet the changes havent been "strong" enough to make up for the brand Final Fantasy. The changes have been small and mostly they are like half asses changes , some of them make the game look more "unpolished" .

3. How do you feel this game will fair against current upcoming titles?
This game has no chance.... I mean Tera and Blade and Soul are going to be titles that are mostly going to give this title a hard time...

4. Do you think this game will ever exceed niche popularity?
No, tbh I see this game being only played by ppl who was extremly fan of FFXI and SQ white knights....

I mean... this game has two options in terms of recruiting new ppl.
1) ppl who never played this MMOS in their life: They are going to find this game ridicsly hard to learn and play.
2) ppl who is already playing other mmos: They are mostly waiting for tera or blade and soul, or they are happy with their current mmo. Also the lack of content in ffxiv is no competition for other mmos.

Ergo... this game is going to have the same ppl from FFXI (less population actually) and some SQ white knights...


5. Do you think the changes are in the right or wrong direction?
They are in the right direction, but they are BABY STEPS this game needs speed.... They need to:
a) Hire more ppl
b) Let this game die

But so far it seems they are doing a "half" job. I mean they are correcting stuff but they always leave the job half complete.
Example:
1) Switching from passive to attack mode. It dosent have an animation. Idea is good but in the game looks like a undone job.
2) Grand companies: We dont have all the content yet. Its like "hey here is the idea--- its nto done yet".
3) Auto Attack: I like the idea of auto attack but the targeting system, the whole combat system looks like undone yet.
4) Game in general : We have areas that scream out loud "HEY Im supposed to be released already" like archanist and muskeeter. I mean the musketer was even in the trailer of the game...
5) Air ship traveling : We are getting again a half of a content. And undone job. We get to use them but in reality theres no real difference between getting into the air ship or using anima.

6. Do you think the they have focused on the most important things historically with patches or should the focus have been elsewhere?
I think the direction was fine in terms of correcting core stuff to the game. My concern is that they should focus also in other stuff like game content and the fact that this game is so REPETITIVE as hell...

Crafting is the most repetitive task ever, grinding is also repetitive. They should add ways in which we can get experience and add some other means of gameplay to the content.

For example:
Mabinogi: you can get experience from exploring and doing other stuff like joustling, fashion contest, even from assisting a dinner party. You dont get just dungeons, you get shadow missions, quests, theater missions and other type of ways to get experience.

Dont get me wrong also I know that mabinogi and other games have their downsides... and this game has its upsided.
I hate comparing games but in reality I think that was a good example of what this game needs.

Usually other MMOS have "other ways or means" for u to explore and do.
Here its "if you dont craft nor grind, you have NOTHING else to do".
Its either craft or kill..... if I dont want to do or feel like doing one of those.. then I have no bussines playing this game.

They should focus on giving us "something else". I would love to play this game withouth being concerned about my level or crafting. They should give us more content and like I said "something else to do".

[Anonymoose]

1. How do you feel about the patch frequency?

It feels slow compared to other games I've played (though, not FFXI at this stage). However, that's not to say I think XIV's team should be cranking them out faster. Most games are building on top of an established foundation; recoloring skins, resizing enemies, recycling map objects, etc. (Taking things they have, arranging them and building areas in ways that haven't been done yet.) XIV isn't doing this things - they're building NEW map objects, building NEW gear skins, building NEW areas, NEW stories, NEW back-end game mechanics. It takes time. I'll forgive this initial slowness if, in the future, they step it up when it comes to non-expansion patches.

2. How do you feel about the changes themselves?

I love most of the changes that have been made; though some are tough to adjust to, none have changed my experience of the game towards the negative. I always get nervous when they announce the theory, but in practice I enjoy them quite a bit.

3. How do you feel this game will fair against current upcoming titles?

I haven't seen an upcoming title that poses a threat, really. Even Star Wars doesn't look like it's going to be that good. What I'm saying is that they don't look like they'll draw XIV's crowd away per se; other titles don't speak to sandboxers the way SE does - more on that in the next question, though.

XIV is surely against the clock to fix itself up nicely before a next-gen-mmo steps up the standards, but it looks like SE's got some time left to work with. SE's titles have an addictive quality to them anyway - all the XI players and XIV players end up quitting from time to time, sure, but they have more farewells and comebacks than Cher, in the end.

4. Do you think this game will ever exceed niche popularity?

I think it'll reach XI's audience, draw in fans of the more recent FF's (though, XIII surely isn't bringing in the same fandom VII and X did. Perhaps XV will be a serious hit, in which case I imagine XIV will get a little boost). Final Fantasy Online doesn't really reach people who aren't Final Fantasy minded, the same way Rift and WoW's Dungeons and Dragons Online format doesn't really reach out to most of us.

5. Do you think the changes are in the right or wrong direction?

Right as rain, I think. I still don't like repairing my gear, and the Dark Matter, though greatly more efficient and useful, is a lot more costly than I was expecting. I understand the need for gil sinks, but I didn't exactly make out like a bandit when Gil was easy to get. That's the only change I haven't loved.

6. Do you think the they have focused on the most important things historically with patches or should the focus have been elsewhere?

Importance is subjective. They're focused on areas that don't matter all that much to me, maybe, but I agree that the order they're making the changes in is the right order - you need basics to build on. If they had gone in a different order, there'd have been a much bigger clean-up necessary later on. Lots of tying of loose ends are we avoiding with this order or priorities.

[AsterBarnivere]

1. How do you feel about the patch frequency?
(Not too bad, but they sure are getting rather hasty with these events than the actual content itself)
2. How do you feel about the changes themselves?
(To be honest they weren't needed, and some of them could have been expanded upon instead of deleted entirely *Armoury, battle system etc.)
3. How do you feel this game will fair against current upcoming titles?
(It'll hold up, but just enough from those dedicated to the game, I feel some sacrifices will have to be made to keep in afloat)
4. Do you think this game will ever exceed niche popularity?
(Nope, It's the fanbase that keeps this alive just barely to get through)
5. Do you think the changes are in the right or wrong direction?
(Wrong direction in terms of wiping them entirely instead of stopping to think that they could be improved upon)
6. Do you think the they have focused on the most important things historically with patches or should the focus have been elsewhere?
(I think all focus was lost the moment Yoshida took place and his plans were set in motion, there is no "focus" imo, the game's vision is lost)

[Len]

1. How do you feel about the patch frequency?
Too infrequent - extended time between updates effectively kills any momentum.

2. How do you feel about the changes themselves?
For the most part, I feel like we're steadily, albeit rather slowly, moving in the right direction.

3. How do you feel this game will fair against current upcoming titles?
Irrelevant to me.

4. Do you think this game will ever exceed niche popularity?
Certainly possible, but not probable.

5. Do you think the changes are in the right or wrong direction?
I think they have been mostly positive - I just hope they keep streamlining to a minimum.

6. Do you think the they have focused on the most important things historically with patches or should the focus have been elsewhere?
I think they've managed to keep the changes balanced considering how many things need overhauling or adjusting.

[leomike35]

[QUOTE=captainpicard;332331]1. How do you feel about the patch frequency?
2. How do you feel about the changes themselves?
3. How do you feel this game will fair against current upcoming titles?
4. Do you think this game will ever exceed niche popularity?
5. Do you think the changes are in the right or wrong direction?
6. Do you think the they have focused on the most important things historically with patches or should the focus have been elsewhere?[/QUOTE

1. I would prefer them a bit more frequent.
2. Most are pretty good and I am usually excited to try them out. (yay 1.19)
3. It remains to be seen. I think FF will always have its player base.
4. Not as long as people only read negative posts and dont actually play the game with an open mind.
5. Right direction however I think SE can never please everyone.
6. Initially I would have said no. But now I believe they are nailing the core gameplay down and the game is starting to gain identity and direction.

[VeranRamaden]

Hello Eorzean citizens! Captain Picard here today and I've got some news! We were able to sit down with Veran Ramadan, an esteemed gamer with an unbiased view with a very realistic approach to fanboy-ism. He has attempted to play all of the Final Fantasy's (yes, even Dissidia...) alongside other Square games. Feeling that he would have the most know about, we turned to him for the very important issues that the community has asked of:

Captain: How do you feel about the patch frequency?

Veran: Ha. Well, in Square Enix's past MMO, Final Fantasy XI, they were never that quick about patches either. But I feel that with XIV, they do not have this luxury. Why? Because there was so little content and so many fundamental problems in the beginning. Honestly, the best business strategy would be to introduce a bigger group to work on the fundamentals (engine optimization, UI, server-side issues, etc) that would not directly affect the groups working on the juicy contents!

Captain: How do you feel about the changes themselves?

Veran: I honestly am okay with the changes. Yes, there things that I question from time to time but - I do not know the grand scheme of Final Fantasy XIV so I feel that I am not entitled to pass judgement on incomplete systems. Seeing as I am not experienced in making games neither, I will just have to trust those who are!

Captain: How do you feel this game will fair against current upcoming titles?

Veran: That is a very good question Captain. Referring back to question one, I do not believe that there will be enough content to heavily compete with upcoming 'big' games such as Skyrim within a reasonable amount of time. There are constantly new MMO's and RPG's in general that will continue to test the loyalty of said XIV players.

Captain: Do you think this game will ever exceed niche popularity?

Veran: I believe there is a possibility that it could become a 'mainstream' MMORPG. Depending on how they introduce new content will effect whether or not people are drawn to Final Fantasy XIV. It does seem though that to become 'mainstream' you have to be casual friendly in a sense - I do not agree personally with this. I just hope that Yoshida finds a way to cater to both without losing either.

Captain: Do you think the changes are in the right or wrong direction?

Veran: I believe that is up for personal taste to me

Captain: Do you think the they have focused on the most important things historically with patches or should the focus have been elsewhere?

Veran: Do I think the they have focused on the most important things historically? No. But I do understand their reasoning for focusing more on content than system optimization. If you had to deal with a bothersome experience to obtain a prize, you'd be more likely to do it, correct? Well. If you still had to deal with the bothersome thing with no prize on the end... you get my point. Do I think they should be so content focused? No. Refer to previous questions about having a larger group to work on the actually mechanics without affecting the content groups.

Veran: That's all I have time for today, i'll do my best to keep everyone updated in the world of Eorzea!

[Tsukino]

1. How do you feel about the patch frequency?

It's truly awful compared to just about every other MMO I've ever played. It's what caused me to stop playing between March and July, because I was just so fed up with waiting a month for half-broken additions that left me still with nothing to do but grind ranks. Half a year later (almost a year after release) and that's still about all there is to do. However, I understand that they're trying to fix the core game before adding content and letting us all play for free, so it's hard to fault them for it now. If this amount of content additions continues once the game launches for PS3 and charges subscription fees, it's doomed.

2. How do you feel about the changes themselves?

Mixed. It seems like most everything that's planned sounds amazing, but then when the actual patches come we get a bunch of crappy band-aids no one asked for or wanted as well as the good stuff. Things like removing mob collision, the aggro symbols, weak quests (in both quantity and quality), etc. For every "chocobos and airships" or "area redesign" it feels like there's a "changed something that was working fine for no reason" or a "added a generic WoW-clone feature no one asked for."

3. How do you feel this game will fair against current upcoming titles?

It's impossible to tell with MMOs. Some of the best looking games pre-launch have failed miserably and shut down within months, while some hardly anyone cared about are still surviving on some hardcore followers. FFXIV may not be close to being "competitive" but it's hard to say anything about how good the others will be in comparison.

4. Do you think this game will ever exceed niche popularity?

That depends entirely on them fixing the game up and timing the PS3 release properly. If they rush because they're still not ready it will be a repeat of PC launch and it will never recover. If instead the PS3 version comes out and the game has finally been fixed to be easily playable, have enough content to keep people busy and interested for more than a month or two, and present players with lots of story and areas to explore, then new reviews and console-only players could easily propel the game back up to FFXI levels. It will never "beat WoW" but no one else can either so who cares really?

5. Do you think the changes are in the right or wrong direction?

I pick the hidden third option - no direction. They seem to just apply things randomly that someone thought would be positive for the game and was approved by Yoshida for implementation, rather than focusing on a specific goal or direction. It's probably the thing that makes most of us the most anxious about the game in general, because we have no idea what it's going to become, and it feels like the developers themselves don't either. There's no way to tell "right" or "wrong" when we can't even tell where they're going with any of it.

6. Do you think the they have focused on the most important things historically with patches or should the focus have been elsewhere?

I guess this ties into my answer to direction, although I'll also say that they seem to be focusing on very small issues for a game with such large problems. We get a lot of little tiny fixes for things like any successful MMO does like UI usability, small amounts of unimportant quests, and adjustments to enemy model size and placement. But FFXIV is not a successful MMO, and it has much bigger problems than these small things. The databases need to be restructured so we can see party members that are more than a few yards away, search for other players, tell what our linkshell members are doing and use functions from more than right next to them, etc. We need fundamental changes to things like area design and (still) battle mechanics, which have been announced but are still hazy and uncertain. I'm not saying they can't do both, but we don't have much to show for the big changes other than half-finished combat adjustments. It feels like they're doing a lot of small things to appease people who are currently playing, but we're all doing so for free and they need to focus on fixing the big problems for when the game re-launches; if that means breaking stuff for us for now then they should do it.

[Shneibel]

1. How do you feel about the patch frequency?
2. How do you feel about the changes themselves?
3. How do you feel this game will fair against current upcoming titles?
4. Do you think this game will ever exceed niche popularity?
5. Do you think the changes are in the right or wrong direction?
6. Do you think the they have focused on the most important things historically with patches or should the focus have been elsewhere?

1. The game is heading toward the good direction for the DoW and DoM...not DoH and DoL

2. The change is good, with the recent change with guild level, it is a good sign, if you look at it with a open mind, you ll notice that SE help ppl enjoy and play together regard where you from, US;EU; asian ? you all can play together with the 4 quest/12h

3. No idea about that, the game is heading the good direction but it is to early to decide, I want to see the armor at 1.19 and the class change before I can say anything

4.FFXIV is a pve game, and I hope it keep going this way and dont focus to much about pvp, the game can have a open area where ppl can duel each other and we can have some pvp event for fun as well. All that say if the game keep being a pve base and nice life style, it will last long than any pvp game

5. Mention above

6. This is my first time play a pve game neither I care about the game history, so I want the dev to focus on the content, and balanced, the currency system, balanced market, class, craft, gather more than history, imo the game live is because of those reason and not the history

[weeble]

1. How do you feel about the patch frequency?
to slow, not expected or respected like some on forums. everyone trying to mold the game to there own and a big basis on why would be... my time, my money, my way to play ...but yeah willing to waist your time waiting for there mistakes, cause they wanted to take your money. and now is ok cause people are getting to push there visions on them, so they can still take your money.

2. How do you feel about the changes themselves?
most bad, some good, all in all playable but not in the direction the game was when i bought it and wanted to play it, think we should hire one lawyer and sue when this is all over lol. stop mmo developers from thinking they can keep launching when games aren't ready. we need some kind of set laws on this now.

3. How do you feel this game will fair against current upcoming titles?
badly, every game comming out has more and something that ffxiv don't have, each has it's thing that might make u want to try it. it is all the things that everyone daydreaming about ffxiv prior to launch was picturing ffxiv to be, but instead all other games have it instead.

4. Do you think this game will ever exceed niche popularity?
maybe, but don't matter ...game will die out in a year or 2 tops even with a niche group playing it. leaders will leave, players who get things together and make things happen will leave, people who want certain types of game play will leave, then game will get even more dumb down, players will all be brainless chickens with heads cut off for awhile ...then that is all that will be left. ...or hell opposite, and it succeeds and it slowly gets little more challenging an entertaining but still think same thing will happen at this point.

5. Do you think the changes are in the right or wrong direction?
yes, needs more party play, needs an approach to full linkshell events, missions need to be many party play battles. need to get ride of pl'ing, botting, duel boxing ...not bring them back into the game cause they will still pay for the game when the game launches. solo play seems to be the way for most mmo's but ffxiv stands no chance with this.

6. Do you think the they have focused on the most important things historically with patches or should the focus have been elsewhere?

all wrong in my opinion, they should of been fixing the problems with the older systems, not removing them. they shouldn't of been dumbing down anything but fixing the things wrong with them. make them more easier to use not making the new system. they are focusing on one thing and one thing only, to make as many people happy, so u pay for there new launch without complaining for at least few months or a year. then they can worry bout whatever, u still payed for there work. at the end u will still be left with a shoty mmo. we will need to see an expansion in my opinion at ps3 launch for this game to turn around, but i can bet we don't see that. ...like warhammer most likely, u will see a steady slow slop of dumbing down the game for any idiot left in it paying.