Do You Want Revisions or a New Game?

[KaldeaSahaline]

Contrary to what many think, the majority of players are satisfied with the current state of the game.

Source? Keep in mind you need to account for players who have tried the game and quit. They may not be current players, but they are players nonetheless. If they've had 10MM+ created accounts and only ~1MM of them are active, they are in fact NOT the majority.

This is Final Fantasy, a series that has always been known for reinventing itself with each new entry. I'm beginning to think that having an evergreen MMO isn't the best use of Square Enix's talents. I know the idea of winding down an MMO that isn't dying seems ridiculous, but is it perhaps worth considering? What if Square Enix were to embrace what makes Final Fantasy Final Fantasy and give us something new?

To be honest, I don't think this will happen for the same business reasons that prevent fundamental changes - don't rock the boat. But I wonder if, despite the impracticality, this is an idea that appeals to more than just myself. What do you think - do you want them to change and improve FFXIV indefinitely, or steer towards an "ending" of sorts and start on something new?

Speaking strictly personally - I just officially took a break from FF14 starting yesterday. My static and I were making decent progress on UWU (good bit through Ifrit after just 2 days), but I really can't commit to the 3 day a week schedule they wanted (I'm too casual LOL). I love FF14 and FF in general, but this game is not the game I wish it was.

I'd wish the combat was more dynamic and organic. I wish the world was less instanced, segmented and bland. I wish sub-systems made sense and interacted/synergized together. I wished itemization wasn't trivially boring and insanely vertical.

I'm at a point where I really want a game that marries the ideas of Dark Souls with an MMO. Like I imagine taking me and 3 buddies through Dorter Trade City (FFT reference - not an instance) where we're having to manage being pelted from above by Archers, not grouped up to get melted by Black Mages, and protecting squishies from Knights.

Stuff like enemies with AI that will try to CC me to get to the back line, enemies reacting to decisions I/we make as a party maybe with active defensive elements, etc. It wouldn't be just an AOE group fest. If you saw the BLM charging, and you were worried you couldn't interrupt/kill him in time, you'd spread out to minimize damage, utilize defensive cooldowns, etc. Real decisions in real time, within a FF universe with MMO elements? That's what I want to play.

Really I want to see the level design and danger aspect of Dark Souls married with the exploration, mechanics, and camaraderie that MMO's typically provide. Proper spacing and resource optimization, with lots of dynamic encounter design.

It's one reason I'm pretty excited to see how the Islands in WoW BfA turn out. Might be a really neat start to developing battle AI that isn't scripted in a binary fashion.

[LalaRu]

Source? Keep in mind you need to account for players who have tried the game and quit. They may not be current players, but they are players nonetheless. If they've had 10MM+ created accounts and only ~1MM of them are active, they are in fact NOT the majority.

The 'satisfaction level' needs be measured within the current players of a game. You are including all the MMO industry players and it will never be the majority when we talk of one particular game.


Who tried XIV and did not subscribed because it just wasn't their game, are not XIV players.

Then, polls about "are you ok with the game are you playing" are a bit silly, because if I am not satisfied with a game I just will not play the game.

As in my previous post have done, and as other people done too, I can say something about the things I like to see improved of a game I like.

For this reason when I see post like "this game is horrible I quit" I just ignore them: if a game is horrible I don't play the game and, more important, I don't waste my time writing on the forum of a game I don't play and don't like.

[Remedi]

Source? Keep in mind you need to account for players who have tried the game and quit. They may not be current players, but they are players nonetheless. If they've had 10MM+ created accounts and only ~1MM of them are active, they are in fact NOT the majority.

I think blizzard said that they have like 100 mil accounts created on wow, but they also said that said metric is useless since it's inflated by bots and whatnot

[Talraen]

Source? Keep in mind you need to account for players who have tried the game and quit. They may not be current players, but they are players nonetheless. If they've had 10MM+ created accounts and only ~1MM of them are active, they are in fact NOT the majority.

Whether a majority of players like FFXIV doesn't matter. What matters is the number of players that do. This is why FFXI nostalgia is dangerous: it's likely that a larger portion of FFXI players were happy with the game than FFXIV players are, but FFXIV has many more total subs than FFXI ever did. And the reason is simple: many fewer people are interested in FFXI's style and mechanics. If half of subscribers are happy, and you cater to the other half, you're going to lose the first half and gain little or nothing. People subscribed to this game because there's no game that gives them exactly what they want are still paying.

[KaldeaSahaline]

The 'satisfaction level' needs be measured within the current players of a game. You are including all the MMO industry players and it will never be the majority when we talk of one particular game.

That's my point. Based on objective data they are incorrect. In addition to that, they do not actually have a dataset that supports their claim. If they did, they'd have presented it rather than post their opinion as fact.

Now with the objective stuff out of the way I can move towards a more subjective topic. I personally believe that soliciting feedback from strictly loyal i.e. current subs only is actually a REALLY disastrous methodology to employ.

Who tried XIV and did not subscribed because it just wasn't their game, are not XIV players.

This is STRICTLY anecdotal, but my WoW raid group consists of roughly 22 people. In an effort to get some people to play FF14 with me, I brought it up and cataloged the results. Of the 22, 19 have bought and played FF14 at some point. Of the 19 that played FF14, only 3 were currently still active, including myself. You are discounting these players in error I believe. You say they don't matter because they aren't FF14 players, but I say they do because they WERE FF14 players.

Then, polls about "are you ok with the game are you playing" are a bit silly, because if I am not satisfied with a game I just will not play the game.

Yep - the silent majority as its called, which actually supports my point above.

As in my previous post have done, and as other people done too, I can say something about the things I like to see improved of a game I like.

For this reason when I see post like "this game is horrible I quit" I just ignore them: if a game is horrible I don't play the game and, more important, I don't waste my time writing on the forum of a game I don't play and don't like.

For sure. I don't think it's quite that simple though. For instance, I may like the overall game, but dislike numerous things about it. That may come off to you as why do I play if I hate it, but in reality, most people with critical feedback are passionate about the game, that's why they're sharing feedback.

Whether a majority of players like FFXIV doesn't matter. What matters is the number of players that do. This is why FFXI nostalgia is dangerous: it's likely that a larger portion of FFXI players were happy with the game than FFXIV players are, but FFXIV has many more total subs than FFXI ever did. And the reason is simple: many fewer people are interested in FFXI's style and mechanics. If half of subscribers are happy, and you cater to the other half, you're going to lose the first half and gain little or nothing. People subscribed to this game because there's no game that gives them exactly what they want are still paying.

I think I'm misunderstanding your post because I don't really see a response to anything I said in there.

[MOZZYSTAR]

I said before that if they ever did make a new FF MMO, that I would like it to be more like CC/CB (Crystal Bearers), FF12, and other titles, et cetera, because the races, culture, environments, etc. are really cool/beautiful. But after a recent discussion, I've learnt that maybe an MMO like CC wouldn't be feasible, because even clans of humans have different hair colours, styles, specific clothes, et cetera. People could go "I want that Lilty's hairstyle!" And SE would reluctantly have to say "sorry, ma'am, but your head isn't made out of onion leaves!" And thus demands to unify would ensue. Clavat and Selkie may especially prove to be an issue because they're both human.

Still, I think this ^ would be my ideal FF MMO (more so than this one).

I do hope that if they were ever to shut down FFXIV (I doubt they will) that they do it the same way they ended 1.0

[Odstarva]

I'd much rather see the game getting updated, or getting revisions as you put, rather than get a new one.

If I wanted to play another game, I'd be playing another game.

[MageBlack]

At this point, this is the game we have. There will be expanded systems and maybe the odd "new" content added in going forward but the core concepts and aspects will always remain. Honestly though, with now two MMO's under their belt, it would be kinda bad business to make another one unless it was a drastic departure from this game or else they would only be competing with themselves for subs. Probably why there was such a difference between FFXI and FFXIV. I really wish SE would have a sabbatical for a year or so and take an objective look at their company and the direction they wish to go. The MMO's biz is not really their scene and I wish they would get out of the mobile side of gaming unless its ports of their earlier 16-bit days.

I'll play this game for what it is and when I no longer feel any connection to the game or my character, I will simply leave. I left a little bit ago but resubbed for the patch only to find out a day later all the stuff I wanted to see was being held back. That really annoyed me and I dont know if I even want to come back to check out the content I was looking forward to or just wait and watch. This is almost becoming a game that I'll sub for maybe two months each expansion cycle. One month before the next expansion, to go through the current expansions whole story and gear up, then a month after the expansion releases to experience all the new stuff then let it lapse again until the next expansion. Its a shame because I had high hopes for this game several years ago. I used to be an insufferable white knight because I saw so much potential but that potential is not being realized.

Rather than wipe FFXIV a second time or make ANOTHER MMO, I think SE should go back to their offline games and the main series that used to be their bread and butter. If they could make an offline game with online aspects I think it would be a much better system. I mean, FFXIV is pretty much that already but its really lacking in any complexity or nuance.

[Remedi]

I have no sources so I'm using supposition, memory and what I heard around, but it seems the new CEO is not too keen on keeping old franchises alive and he's more interested in creating new IPs, which is kinda corroborated by their recent line ups, in a way they are more prone to risks since new IPs don't ride on the enstablished franchise Hype but as said I'm just speculating I might be wrong here