[Suggestion] Merge "Hook" and "Gig" into the same command

[BillyKaplan]

Snip

Both examples you brought operate within the same programmatic context. Mounts on/off are the same context. Sects on/off are the same context. Gig and Hook are different gameplay contexts because fishing and spearfishing are two different gathering systems.
That is not to say they couldn't do it, nor that they necessarily shouldn't, but from a programmatic point of view (with some assumptions applied) it makes zero sense for them to merge it. I just can't imagine the amount of work required to be cost-effective. Otherwise, they likely would've done it by now, as one of the major design guidelines of this expansion thus far has been to remove redundant buttons from your hotbar by adding traits that replace skills (sometimes for the better like with the Stones, sometimes for the worse, with the Aeroes - but that actually serves as a good example. Why didn't the Thunder spells get fully merged, or the Aeroes? Because one is single target and the other is an aoe. They serve two different purposes, so they remain. Same with Hook and Gig even if to the player, the difference there is less obvious)

[RichardButte]

Why didn't the Thunder spells get fully merged, or the Aeroes? Because one is single target and the other is an aoe. They serve two different purposes, so they remain. Same with Hook and Gig even if to the player, the difference there is less obvious)

I realize that, yes, they programmatically serve different purposes, but that's never been a reason to refrain from making a change. I instinctively go to press the same button whether I'm trying to reel in a fish or trying to stab one.

Beyond that, they might just not have considered it because sometimes things like this just don't get considered by development teams (for games and business apps alike). Sometimes the most "obvious" changes aren't obvious at all, mainly because of being too close to the development process to be able to take a step back and see them.

I've done this myself in both website and iOS app development: I've been hammering out a feature and had someone who had seen my work suggest a simpler approach I could take, one that I myself hadn't considered because I had become too focused on the initial method of accomplishing something I had already decided upon.

Either way, it's a good idea and I feel they should do it. They've gone through great lengths to merge all versions of certain abilities into one button that changes depending upon your level. I feel like "Hook" and "Gig" changing depending upon whether you're above or below water would be perfectly reasonable.

[Vandril]

I just can't imagine the amount of work required to be cost-effective.

About this... Actually, the amount of work required to make this happen is mind-bogglingly tiny. The game can already tell when you're fishing normally or spearfishing, which is how it knows which set of fishing skills to activate. All they'd need to do is use some basic condition logic (in whatever form: if, switch, etc.) that checks which type of fishing you're doing based on that variable they already have somewhere and activate the appropriate fish-catching function. Then, they could tie this to a single button for catching both hooked fish and speared fish.

All in all, this would probably be a minute or two of work for any developer on the FFXIV team.