Letter from the Producer Vi

[SirEdeonX]

I'm very excited for the companies. And that boat scene in the video, I really hope it's the pirates attack to the ferry boat XD

[Abriael]

My bad, it was on Eorzeapedia:

Q. At the Ebisu event back in September we saw what looked like group crafting – where a group appeared to jointly craft a cake. What can you tell us about that?

A. Yoshida-san indicated that he wants to keep developing this system, but its priority is still to be decided. He went on to joke that he needs to address how the cake would be used before addressing how the cake was made.

http://www.eorzeapedia.com/2011/03/0...naoki-yoshida/

The same interview also gives a bit of detail about grand/public companies.

Q. The third Producer’s Letter also mentioned the addition of “public company quests.” What can you tell us about this feature?

A. Yoshida-san was not ready to reveal details on this system yet, except to say that public companies will be one of the most important aspects of the game and will play a critical role regarding the threats to Eorzea. He indicated that more information will be announced at the end of March

Also from ZAM

ZAM: Players have been excited about the Company system as well. Can you give us any more details on Companies and how they will affect the current Linkshell system?

Yoshida: In some aspect, the Company system will have aspects that are similar to and can link with that Linkshell community. But it's also going to be something larger. It's going to be more of a global type of community on a larger scale. I can't really say much more than that. I can tell you that toward the end of March there will be revealing stuff coming up on the Lodestone.

Before I became producer/director, in the old 1.2 patch notes it mentioned that we will be releasing player Companies. The thing is, we realized that we could bring out player Companies, but then if there's nothing for the Companies to do there wouldn't be any reason to bring it out. We decided to reverse that and first make sure that there's going to be content and stuff for the Companies to do before releasing the Companies. The whole coming danger that's approaching Eorzea is going to play a big part in something for the Companies to do.

http://ffxiv.zam.com/story.html?story=25503

Those are the only facts we know for now about public companies. Everything else is wild speculation.

[TheVedis]

see the post above yours. It was in one of the latest interviews to yoshida, probably onm FFXIVcore. Lemme check...

and your post and that link to the interview question once again proves, that he does not give ANY info about companies whatsoever, and in fact that it disproves that the video had anything to do with them at that

[Turtle]

From what my buddies have told me, Companies are a group of people that are a bit more exclusive than linkshells. Exclusive in the sense that you have to devote yourself to a single company as appose to several like the current linkshell system. It will also be alot more involved rather than just a social deal. We anticipate a community home and possibly airship battles.

[Abriael]

and your post and that link to the interview question once again proves, that he does not give ANY info about companies whatsoever, and in fact that it disproves that the video had anything to do with them at that

Actually he does give a bit of info, while very vague.

From what my buddies have told me, Companies are a group of people that are a bit more exclusive than linkshells. Exclusive in the sense that you have to devote yourself to a single company as appose to several like the current linkshell system. It will also be alot more involved rather than just a social deal. We anticipate a community home and possibly airship battles.

Your buddies gave you outdated information from the times of Tanaka, that Yoshida clearly stated as no more valid. Player companies will come after, and will be something entirely different from the "grand companies" that we'll be seeing relatively soon.

Also, no mention has ever been made anywhere about airship battles. The only snipped of detail is that player companies (in Tanaka's version) would probably get to own a (normal, seafaring) ship, and that could be related to possible PvP activities.

[TheVedis]

From what my buddies have told me, Companies are a group of people that are a bit more exclusive than linkshells. Exclusive in the sense that you have to devote yourself to a single company as appose to several like the current linkshell system. It will also be alot more involved rather than just a social deal. We anticipate a community home and possibly airship battles.

your post right there says it all

its what people assume, and expect, and anticipate

but there are facts in it too, the fact they arent "linkshells" but something different, but along the lines of a linkshell(groups that strive towards something, we just dont know what that something is "yet")

i really cant wait for the official word on it so we can put all the rumors to reset and know whats coming, and im sure everyone can agree on that

[TheVedis]

Actually he does give a bit of info, while very vague.

info yes, but about the video is the main thing i was pointing at, the fact that the video wasnt about companies but something totaly different.

and saying they will be involved, they are coming, we will give info soon
really isnt info in itself, which is what those interviews basicaly said

[Xeno]

show me a offical posting or letter or interview from square staffers stating company's are this and this is what you can do with them. then we can get into the they scrapped this or added this.

the only things we knew was that group crafting was in some way shape or form connected to the totally undefined system and that company's might have been a collective of linkshells. now? no clue. not calling fowl on any one. Xeno i have no doubt that your friend is spot on with what there talking about. now the bigger question is if its still relevant

We have no clue what companies are and I never said we did. All I said was group crafting comes with companies. We'll have to wait and see whenever they post that page they are readying about companies to see any details.

[Abriael]

info yes, but about the video is the main thing i was pointing at, the fact that the video wasnt about companies but something totaly different.

Oh yeah, that video is 100% unrelated, and even during that part of the presentation at the ebisu event (from which that video is from) no mention whatsoever was made of companies.

It MIGHT have something to do with the now obsolete concept of player companies envisioned by Tanaka, since they were supposed to own ships, and that viseo shows the creation of a boat and a cannon, but there's no confirmation of that anywhere. Any link between the two things is just assumption.

and saying they will be involved, they are coming, we will give info soon
really isnt info in itself, which is what those interviews basicaly said

The main info is what they will NOT be. Which is what Tanaka previously envisioned and (vaguely) explained as player run companies.

[Shura]

We really don't know anything about companies, from the above reply by yoshi-p from the interview it implies companies themselves are not an event but a group you join.

"we realized that we could bring out player Companies, but then if there's nothing for the Companies to do there wouldn't be any reason to bring it out"

so even after u join a company u need an event to go along with it, the words they use can have double meaning though. he mentions companies would be a global community but that doesn't imply it would be a large scale event, it might be a small scale endgame event that has a global impact. first thing that comes to mind for me is conquest points from ffxi, which had a global impact but the way to earn CP for your nation all involved very small scale events.

The way i see it, players will join a company and under go events, both large scale to do with 15ppl and small scale to do with 4ppl and u get points which u then change into rewards. Thats just my guess, we really wont know anything till its posted.