4Gamer Interview with Yoshi-P!

[Kosmos992k]

Take for example LoV; nobody really asked, nor wanted that. While it's true that some wanted a minigame for minions, they could have executed it better. Instead of asking us what kind of future minigame for Gold Saucer we want they just seem to add whatever. Not sure how LoV is doing gin Japanese servers, but it's a big failure in the West

Actually people were pretty positive when it was announced, and I remember several topics in which people asked for a minion based battle/strategy game - which is exactly what we got. I think that the control scheme for controller users is a bit jarring at first and that turned off a lot of people. I haven't payed it enough yet, but I have at least got past that initial shock over the control scheme. It looks like a pretty good, fun, top down strategy game that blends RTS concepts with Tower defense and throws mini Morbols at it. I actually think that if people actually gave the game a little practice and time, they would come to like it.

You seem to on the one hand accept that they listen to players and fans, and yet you say they are increasingly disconnected from the fans and want even more listening to fans. OK, but think about this;

Hunts - explicitly requested by players asking for open world bosses and Notorious Monster type content - Reception by players - mass zerg hunting to farm the living shit out of it, followed by near constant whining on the forums about the zerg rush, the impact of so many players in one place on the game client, the speed with which people could gear up using Hunts, etc...
Two difficulty tiers in raids - explicitly requested by fans on this and many other forums, as well as in game I am sure. Reception of that by players - near pure hatred and negative feedback with an emphasis on Negative.
Open world content that we can farm for gear and other items - again requested by players numerous times in many different ways. Reception of Diadem by players - Exploit the living shit out of it then complain because a few non raiders suddenly had some ilvl 210 pieces (albeit with crappy stat allocation).

There are so many examples where listening to fan feedback has produced new content, but thanks to some people exploiting it, or not using it as expected, the content is received negatively, and people do *not* hold back on their negativity. It's an all or nothing thing, there's very little listing out the good bits and suggesting changes or additions to change or fix the bad bits. No, instead it's a vehement tirade of entirely negative ravings with a few more level headed people proposing changes - and even then the changes often benefit one group of players at the expense of the majority.

I'm actually of the opinion that the team should be working towards it's vision of the game and game content. Sure they can listen to feedback and change a few things based on feedback, but I don't believe that it's good for the game for them to develop new content in reaction to player complaints. There is no way for them to please everyone, if you pick one audience over another, you please one and annoy the other. So they should just build the best damn game that they can according to the vision they hold for the game.

[Kaurie]

A

Hunts - explicitly requested by players asking for open world bosses and Notorious Monster type content - Reception by players - mass zerg hunting to farm the living shit out of it, followed by near constant whining on the forums about the zerg rush, the impact of so many players in one place on the game client, the speed with which people could gear up using Hunts, etc...

Two difficulty tiers in raids - explicitly requested by fans on this and many other forums, as well as in game I am sure. Reception of that by players - near pure hatred and negative feedback with an emphasis on Negative.

Open world content that we can farm for gear and other items - again requested by players numerous times in many different ways. Reception of Diadem by players - Exploit the living shit out of it then complain because a few non raiders suddenly had some ilvl 210 pieces (albeit with crappy stat allocation).

All you are proving with this is that the dev team is horrible at interpreting consumer feedback and/or at implementing requested content.

On a totally separate note, you've been like a 53 Paladin since July or something. Is that an alt character, or what do you do in-game that doesn't help you level at all?

[Kosmos992k]

On a totally separate note, you've been like a 53 Paladin since July or something. Is that an alt character, or what do you do in-game that doesn't help you level at all?

Kosmos is my main character, she's stuck at level 53 PLD because I put the main story on hold and stopped leveling PLD when my wife had to stop playing due to a medical problem. When she is able to return to playing again, she won't have been left behind in the story because I waited. My character will still match her level, so we can go through the game together. I've primarily worked on other jobs and gathering/crafting. Depending on how long it takes for her to return, I may get all my crafters and gatherers to 50-60, and my other jobs are rising as well. It's proven to be a great opportunity to level all my other jobs/classes.

It's also why I have to observe so much content from the sidelines. A lot of people make assumptions about my ability to play based on lvl 53 PLD. Their assumptions are generally quite wrong, but having missed almost 6 months of play time and spending another 6 months avoiding MSQ progress, it's difficult to prove people wrong. It's not like you can look at my lodestone page and see any of that though. So I try not to take it too personally, I don't always succeed at that, it becomes difficult to ignore after a while.

All you are proving with this is that the dev team is horrible at interpreting consumer feedback and/or at implementing requested content.

I agree to some extent with that, but I also think that some of the problem is the vitriolic nature of much of the feedback. But, yes, they could do better with their interpretation, perhaps the cultural differences and differing expectations between JPN, EU and NA gamers are part of the problem too?

[BubblyBoar]

Actually, that is how science works to test theories. It's nearly impossible to prove something is true, but it only takes 1 example to prove something is false.

Then I guess since current science is pretty much worth jack all on a subatomic level, all or science is just wrong and cant be used for anything right? But what's that? The class of physics an an exception and we still use the what we had before? Man, one of us must be SUPER wrong. And that's without mentioning the difference before a scientific law and a rule.

SWG after CU (NGE) had about the same Jobs as FFXIV and talents/traits/armor customization and the ability to also freely change jobs with respec system and semi-action combat, each class was unique and played completely different as well. Although I liked PreCU/CU a lot better since it had a multiclass system its the same argument. Lazy.

There are many (exceptions), they are just old games.

I don't know what SWG or CU are, but you kind of missed half my point in what FFXIV was designed for and what the development team wants to do. Yoshi P explicitly said he rather make a new job than a specialization. Yes, they could do it, but they rather to something different. It has nothing to do with laziness since a new job requires the same, if not more effort than a specialization.

[Nektulos-Tuor]

Then I guess since current science is pretty much worth jack all on a subatomic level, all or science is just wrong and cant be used for anything right? But what's that? The class of physics an an exception and we still use the what we had before? Man, one of us must be SUPER wrong. And that's without mentioning the difference before a scientific law and a rule.



I don't know what SWG or CU are, but you kind of missed half my point in what FFXIV was designed for and what the development team wants to do. Yoshi P explicitly said he rather make a new job than a specialization. Yes, they could do it, but they rather to something different. It has nothing to do with laziness since a new job requires the same, if not more effort than a specialization.

Yet there are so few jobs and classes with little variety between them. Its pure laziness by the money this game is making compared to ones that made it work.

The quests in this game have barely any lore, they focused way too much on a story then the lore of the races and classes. We barely know much of anything about them.

You have to admit, FFXI was a lot better at some things.

Dark Knight and Paladin for example are "different" jobs, but they might as well just be specializations because they play VERY VERY similarly....

[BubblyBoar]

Yet there are so few jobs and classes with little variety between them. Its pure laziness by the money this game is making compared to ones that made it work.

The quests in this game have barely any lore, they focused way too much on a story then the lore of the races and classes. We barely know much of anything about them.

You have to admit, FFXI was a lot better at some things.

Dark Knight and Paladin for example are "different" jobs, but they might as well just be specializations because they play VERY VERY similarly....

I don't think you even understand what laziness is or understand how much work goes into implementing a job, much less three at the same time. It's not like we are only getting 1 job an expansion, we got 3! We even got a job between release and the first expansion. Maybe you should go back and do some reading about how small the FFXIV team is and how Yoshi P is desperately in need of staff. There have been job openings for the team that have been up for months and a year + that still haven't been filled. They need more people and they aren't getting them.

But all that aside, again, the reason for refusing skill trees isn't because they are too lazy to make them, but the effort going into make them would rather be placed in making new jobs.

There's plenty of world building and lore in quests. Maybe you should read over things you've missed.

Your PLD/DRK example is EXACTLY why we get new class and not skill trees. That is how they want to do them and personally, I prefer it.

[Nektulos-Tuor]

I don't think you even understand what laziness is or understand how much work goes into implementing a job, much less three at the same time. It's not like we are only getting 1 job an expansion, we got 3! We even got a job between release and the first expansion. Maybe you should go back and do some reading about how small the FFXIV team is and how Yoshi P is desperately in need of staff. There have been job openings for the team that have been up for months and a year + that still haven't been filled. They need more people and they aren't getting them.

But all that aside, again, the reason for refusing skill trees isn't because they are too lazy to make them, but the effort going into make them would rather be placed in making new jobs.

Your PLD/DRK example is EXACTLY why we get new class and not skill trees. That is how they want to do them and personally, I prefer it.

I did not say they were lazy for making them. I said the laziness altogether is on the sky.

You say there is 3 more jobs? I see a Paladin with a Greatsword and a few different moves, not exactly a new job. Just how you look at it really.

Meanwhile in EQ2, which also has a very small team make a specialization that changes the class and gives it new and different abilities, pretty much one out of 26 classes with the same amount of differences. Sure there are balance concerns for them but at least they are giving out a lot of variety.

Dark Knight could of been a new class, with a different playstyle but they decided to play it safe and make it play similar to the other classes. That is why I said lazy.

EQ2 had like 9-10 people I think working on classes and now only 2-3.

SE should be hiring more people, the game got popular! It is just silly in my opinion.

You say: Oh! Well it is harder to balance those classes and some classes are better then others and specializations are better too!

Oh... well then look at Paladin/Dark Knight/Warrior. Warrior is so much better of a Job, why are the other jobs even played?

So, even the balance isn't an excuse. You can say we have the ability to switch Jobs, but leveling in the game is such a chore and honestly why even have jobs if one job is just going to be better then the others?

Specializations at least give each class and job a powerful "spec" or move that makes them viable and not put on the shelf over other classes.

[Kaurie]

Then I guess since current science is pretty much worth jack all on a subatomic level, all or science is just wrong and cant be used for anything right? But what's that? The class of physics an an exception and we still use the what we had before? Man, one of us must be SUPER wrong. And that's without mentioning the difference before a scientific law and a rule.

I.. don't know what you are on about?

That is an assumption. I have played a wide variety of MMO's including GW1 and 2. The ones I put a long time dedication into was FFXI, WoW, and this game.

Oh I'm sorry, you mentioned that you played WoW and FFXI, so yes I made that assumption. How did you find the GW1 build customization?

Personally, I dabbled in WoW but have a lot more experience in GW1, GW2 and FFXIV.

Also, why would developers take time to develop a skill tree system for people not even going to take it seriously? It is a waste of time in that regard.

I am not sure why people won't take it seriously, I believe I've made the argument that I would take it very seriously. Further, there is a lot of stuff in the game that people do not take seriously, are they all wastes of time?

Yoshi-P said in this very interview that it is more work than needed on the developers to make specs within a job.

Indeed, that is what Yoshi has said, and that is why I am aggravated. I think it's a horrible response. "We understand that you'd enjoy this, but that's like a lot of work, so we're not going to do it." That's not a very good response to feedback. Could you imagine this response given to feedback in almost any other industry?

[BubblyBoar]

I.. don't know what you are on about?

An INCREDIBLY brief starting point for your research. Serves the purpose of explaining what I mean and nothing more.

http://science.howstuffworks.com/sci...-weirdness.htm

Stuff.

By asking for specializations, you are asking for the exact same thing. I really don't see the point you are making. You say DRK is just PLD with some slight differences. But that's exactly what a skill tree would be. So.....wat? Not to mention that DRK's gameplay is different from PLD's. So much so that I enjoy playing DRK and do not enjoy playing PLD. But if they were exactly the same playstyle, why would there even be a difference? It should feel exactly the same right? Or maybe, just maybe, you are trying to generalize to make a point. That's like saying DRG, MNK, and NIN are all the same because they are melee DPS and they have a buff to maintain. DRK's style is different and is a new job. Try seeing it for what it actually is. WAR is very different, yes, but not so powerful that it's better to run 2 WARs. Especially considering that DRK's DPS is nothing to laugh at (obvious not WAR level, but it is up there).

They are trying to hire people. It's really a combination of people not applying for the positions they have open and SE not giving the FFXIV team what they need. I agree with you, they need more people, but that's out of their hands.

And honestly, leveling is nothing. I'm a casual player and I have 3 jobs at 60 and a 4th at 59. It's not a bother if you take your time, and if you want to rush, expect it to burn you out. What it sounds like is that you want more options, but don't want to level another job to have tho options. Aren't you the same person that didn't want to rank up in PvP for the new gear?

[Nektulos-Tuor]

An INCREDIBLY brief starting point for your research. Serves the purpose of explaining what I mean and nothing more.

http://science.howstuffworks.com/sci...-weirdness.htm



By asking for specializations, you are asking for the exact same thing. I really don't see the point you are making. You say DRK is just PLD with some slight differences. But that's exactly what a skill tree would be. So.....wat? Not to mention that DRK's gameplay is different from PLD's. So much so that I enjoy playing DRK and do not enjoy playing PLD. But if they were exactly the same playstyle, why would there even be a difference? It should feel exactly the same right? Or maybe, just maybe, you are trying to generalize to make a point. That's like saying DRG, MNK, and NIN are all the same because they are melee DPS and they have a buff to maintain. DRK's style is different and is a new job. Try seeing it for what it actually is. WAR is very different, yes, but not so powerful that it's better to run 2 WARs. Especially considering that DRK's DPS is nothing to laugh at (obvious not WAR level, but it is up there).

They are trying to hire people. It's really a combination of people not applying for the positions they have open and SE not giving the FFXIV team what they need. I agree with you, they need more people, but that's out of their hands.

And honestly, leveling is nothing. I'm a casual player and I have 3 jobs at 60 and a 4th at 59. It's not a bother if you take your time, and if you want to rush, expect it to burn you out. What it sounds like is that you want more options, but don't want to level another job to have tho options. Aren't you the same person that didn't want to rank up in PvP for the new gear?

I have 3 level 60s but they are all different characters (which means I had to go through the boring tedious story 3 times.). I do not like having a character which doesn't fit the job look like it. So I have multiple characters.

I just dislike the entire Job switching system, it just seems a bit silly that a Lalafell can use a giant axe as good as the other classes and immersion breaking honestly.