Can someone from devopment explain why Eureka was delayed for so long?

[silverlunarfox]

Each time I'm reading something like the highlighted part, I wonder: Do you find this content only fun with your friends? Maybe even because of your friends? Because you're doing it with them, maybe even in VoiceChat, talking about some nonsense, while grinding mobs?
Its not meant as attack, everyone is entitled to like different things, but I cant help but wonder: Is this content good and fun enough that you'd enjoy it by yourself? Or is it more the company of your friends that you're enjoying here while Eureka without them would bore you to death aswell in 10 minutes?
Because if it would, its not the achievment of the game that you're having fun with that content - its the achievment of your friends/company. And to spend time with them you dont need Eureka...

I actually agree with your first sentiment. I totally abide by the game is fun with friends theory. This is shared not only in FFXIV but in other games as well. And while a game is fun when played with friends, it doesn't mean that game is good. So while the OP said fun is subjective, which is true, that doesn't make it good either. (good also being subjective I understand, however if a game is only good with friends you can't help but wonder...)

The problem is, at least for me, FFXIV's base gameplay is too slow for endless mob grinds. If it was action based, I wouldn't mind it in the slightest. I play dynasty warrior and like games for days. Endless mob killing? sign me up! However with how slow FFXIV gameplay is.....its not fun in the slightest....And I'm bothered it had to be delayed in order to implement it as it is now.

[ReplicaX]

Fun is subjective. I find it fun with my friends from FC/LS and cross server friends.

Which goes back to a feature that has been asked for since Crystal Tower was released. Give us the ability to create parties of 4 or 8 and alliance them together to do this type of content and 24man raids.... It gives more incentive for friends and FCs.

[Vstarstruck]

My guess is that the system-level changes they made (elemental affinity, dynamic affinity changing, chaining changes, new XP tables and splitting calculations, leveling system changes incl. level down, etc.) were a lot more complicated to get working in FFXIV's codebase than people would believe. I highly doubt it's like they had an entire team of dozens of developers working on nothing but this nonstop for years, but probably the amount of staff they have who can make those kinds of system level changes to the server code are very few, and it probably had all sorts of bugs and complications with many iterations just to get to this point.

(This is also why I'm guessing that making the types of changes people are requesting now (adding things on top to make it more interesting) will probably be much smaller in comparison, having built this foundation.)

Of course none of this changes the "that's it?" feeling you're alluding to at all, and that's still a pretty major misfire. But I suspect this will be one of those cases where the work involved will mean a lot more to the people inside the team (who know what was really involved) than to anyone on the outside (who, rightfully, only judge the final result).

Another thing to consider is that the housing wards and housing changes we got recently were not intended to be released at that point. Those were released in response to the enormous uproar over the Shirogane launch.

It's possible this contributed to Eureka being delayed.

HOW? there is NOTHING in Eureka that takes work! if they had problems with putting the extra level system in FFXIV from a programing level, then they could of simplified it to something like Palace of the dead. There is no excuse for this long wait for no content, none. All Eureka is.. is a breaddead grind for outdated gear.... I am not interested in glams that take this long.

I would rather have fixes to the glam system then this broken place called diadem 3.0

[Remedi]

Remember when you are doing something and friends around you criticise what you are doing? Ye that

[Derio]

I honestly believe most of the work went into the design of the map, weather and balancing of the leveling when comparing enemies to your lvl.

[Aerlana]

they probably didnt change the core of the code from v1, for a game with different objectivs than v1.
They have hard time so to developp anything.

For the lack of fun, 12, 17, 24 month wouldnt change anything, they dont have good game designers for fight content...
They have the High Level PvE team (that provide omega, primals, 24-raids etc)
the diadem/eureka team (yes... the same team did the 3 fails...)
The palace of the dead team (FUN FOUND!)

The first group wont specifically try to find the fun, but interesting fight mainly. (If the fight is good, interesting, the fun will be there)
The second and third have to make the content fun, but only one of the two team get some good game designers...

[ReplicaX]

the diadem/eureka team (yes... the same team did the 3 fails...)
The palace of the dead team (FUN FOUND!)

Eureka:

• Map design alone is a breath of fresh air (many ppl still don't care)
• Players are now optimizing NM spawning, initial first impression salt of just chaining non-NM pop mobs is now irrelevant unless you just want to solo everything.
• 20 NMs specifically designed for the content and many of them are above S Rank designed hunts and we haven't even gotten to the higher NMs.
• Initial Salt they copied XI, yet it is trace elements of XI and newer content but still with the base grind relic that has been staple FF tradition.

Palace of the Dead:
Content with even more elements of XI's Nyzul Isle only watered down for XIV players. Even the RNG shard trade in is a watered down Nyzul turn in.

Hate to bring some reality in (definitely not defending SE, as the 4yrs of base tome grind is old as hell), but between the initial outcries of Eureka with players just mindlessly grinding trash mobs and the "this is not XI" hate. Many aspects folks consider fun have more elements of XI in them than Eureka. I wouldn't be surprised if the new deep dungeon had elements of XI Salvage or other XI content that was highly successful modernized to fit the XIV formula.

[Claviusnex]

Why was it late? Poor project management.

[Araxes]

I think the Leveldesign took so long....

[TaranTatsuuchi]

My guess is that the system-level changes they made (elemental affinity, dynamic affinity changing, chaining changes, new XP tables and splitting calculations, leveling system changes incl. level down, etc.) were a lot more complicated to get working in FFXIV's codebase than people would believe. I highly doubt it's like they had an entire team of dozens of developers working on nothing but this nonstop for years, but probably the amount of staff they have who can make those kinds of system level changes to the server code are very few, and it probably had all sorts of bugs and complications with many iterations just to get to this point.

(This is also why I'm guessing that making the types of changes people are requesting now (adding things on top to make it more interesting) will probably be much smaller in comparison, having built this foundation.)

Of course none of this changes the "that's it?" feeling you're alluding to at all, and that's still a pretty major misfire. But I suspect this will be one of those cases where the work involved will mean a lot more to the people inside the team (who know what was really involved) than to anyone on the outside (who, rightfully, only judge the final result).

Possibly add in the work it took to do the ability to manage teams inside a duty instance...