Are the developers of XIV out of touch?

[GrumbleBeard]

So youre going to have to just kinda be aiite with what you have now.

You can post the list of priorities, but they are all suffering. It's not like character options are being cut so they can do more with other content because those are also dwindling. People have been aaite with what we have for years, but you can't wait forever.

[sarehptar]

Just coming back in to note that I find Yoshida being exasperated by the repetitive questions very ironic, considering he's been feeding us the same patch content structure on repeat for at least four years.

[Cidel]

Just coming back in to note that I find Yoshida being exasperated by the repetitive questions very ironic, considering he's been feeding us the same patch content structure on repeat for at least four years.

You... lol...


I like you.

[Ilyrian]

You know they only wheel out Yoshida as a PR stunt. I've nothing against the guy - and he clearly looks like he's into his work (and very good at it) but it's a basic advertising tactic to put a human face onto what is ostensibly a huge company working to make a game that pleases the majority.
I don't say this as a negative - it's great to have a sense of personal attachment and community but I do think people take it all a bit far thinking that Yoshida is FFXIV and he's alone worrying about how we individually feel about 'his decisions'.

[JunseiKei]

I think Yoshi's response on character creator options was optimistic, he basically said if they ever redid the graphics then that would be something to consider. It's at least better than a hard no, or some made up answer about it being too much for the servers.

This. It's probably too much to revamp at this point in time, but as long as XIV continues to thrive long enough to require an update (like the engine being too obsolete to continue on), then the option and opportunity is there.

It's never a question of being "out of touch." It's completely a question of labor costs and resources.

[Stormfur]

It's too bad, I really wanted to know the answers to all of yours (I just looked them up) - you'll just have to list them again for next time!

Though..just because they weren't asked in the PLL, doesn't mean they weren't passed on to the dev team for consideration. I always ask a ton of questions on the off chance they pass it on anyway. Keep at it and someday it might get answered (either as a question, or as them actually announcing that they're doing it)

Why thank you! Yes, I'll continue to ask these things in the hope that they may eventually get an answer.

[Stormfur]

You know they only wheel out Yoshida as a PR stunt. I've nothing against the guy - and he clearly looks like he's into his work (and very good at it) but it's a basic advertising tactic to put a human face onto what is ostensibly a huge company working to make a game that pleases the majority.
I don't say this as a negative - it's great to have a sense of personal attachment and community but I do think people take it all a bit far thinking that Yoshida is FFXIV and he's alone worrying about how we individually feel about 'his decisions'.

Well.. he's the producer and director, so a lot of decisions, if not all of them, get filtered through him. He has essentially made himself the "face" of FFXIV, both in-game and outside of the game. That could be both a blessing and a curse as the expectations on him must be nothing short of ENORMOUS.

And judging by his reactions today...he's tired of us asking for these things, we get it. But we ask for these things because we love the game and the potential for what it can become, and because these things weren't answered to our satisfaction in the past. By that, I don't mean "he didn't implement it yet so we're gonna keep asking till we get it"...but more-so like:

- We see it's difficult to add housing areas, which is why Ishgard hasn't been implemented. But how hard would it be to add apartments? It seems easier to add those than full-blown houses and would be a nice compromise in the meantime if/when we ever do get full-blown housing.

- Character data is next to bursting the servers it seems, which is why we can't have new face options. But hairstyles don't seem to be a problem. What is the difference?

- Skill overhaul despite the fact that 5.0 hasn't even been announced yet. If we can't have real choice...at least give us the illusion of choice!

[Penthea]

In MMOs, your character is the most important aspect. You spend most of your time getting gear for your character. Changing how they look to suit your tastes. Making your self insert or perfect waifu. Yet we've never received more character creator options since the games inception. It's only the second expansion and already it is too difficult for them to make a new race.

Question: Players feel that the character creator feels limited and they ask if there are any plans to update it in 5.0?

Yoshida's answer: We haven't even announced 5.0! We are not limiting the character creation but considering the level of graphics available, too many choices or branches in the creator could slow down the game. We have no plans to update as we speak. But of course, considering in the long run of 14, when we start to talk about if we want to bolster up the graphics, then it might be something to consider in the long term.

He never said that we can't or won't get new races. I think he took the question as "any plans to give more character creation options to the current races?" which was my understanding of the question as well.

I think the limitation he speaks of has to do with how many possible appearances there are for every race/gender combo avatar. Not how many races the game can have. They're not the same thing.

Yet we've never received more character creator options since the games inception.

I am impressed that you somehow managed to avoid ever seeing any of the new hairstyles.

Sarcasm aside I get that hairstyles may not be the content you want, but it's still false to say we haven't had any more options since the game's inception.

[MOZZYSTAR]

... an untenable housing design, subpar glamour and inventory options, recolored gear, below average queuing and cross-server interaction design...

To be fair, they have tried addressing these issues ^ multiple times. So, while it's not "satisfactory," they are trying and I think that counts for something.

However, how they plan to sustain FFXIV is a bit concerning. I get a sense that they're burning out/taking too much on. SE is not the greatest company to work for. After having researched them a bit ago, they're the type of company who hires few full-timers and a lot of contract workers/part-timers so they don't have to hire more full-timers. I could be wrong, that's just what I had read. If it is true, then they likely do take on too much. So, I think it's understandable, and yet... Well, we'll see how things go. I already struggle to see FFXIV thriving past the next expansion (maybe two).

Just coming back in to note that I find Yoshida being exasperated by the repetitive questions very ironic, considering he's been feeding us the same patch content structure on repeat for at least four years.

(This totally made me "lol" IRL. xDD)

[sarehptar]

To be fair, they have tried addressing these issues ^ multiple times. So, while it's not "satisfactory," they are trying and I think that counts for something.

(I'm not going off on you, promise, just going off in general here!)

I think the issue for me that their attempts to fix these problems are often half-hearted, make the issues worse, or are the most roundabout and least user-friendly options possible, which only make sense in the context of "We don't actually want or have the resources to make any of the many, many necessary infrastructure changes our game badly needs." Chocobo saddlebags? Glamour dresser? More housing wards? They keep slapping bandaids on bone-deep lacerations. Meanwhile, there are plenty of other MMOs (many of which don't even have subscription fees!) in which basic, central features such as glamour and inventory are handled in significantly more reasonable and manageable ways. But we're supposed to be grateful that they're "trying" to fix issues that games ten years older than FFXIV managed to completely avoid? Yikes!

"But their hands are tied because the game's still based on the old code!" Yes, I'm aware. Except now it's been five years--which is two years longer than the first iteration of this game even existed. How long are we supposed to keep buying the idea they have no means to improve their own game's back-end? Is ten more years enough time to expect the infrastructure improvements this game needs just to put some of its most basic features on par with MMOs that have already existed for years? When we just received confirmation that it will be at least three years before any major character customization changes are even considered, the threads about "should they improve this game or just make a new one" aren't even jokes at this point...

I see where you're coming from, and I agree that some attempts to plug up the bleeding wounds are better than no attempts at all, but at some point I feel like I really just have to ask myself: "How long am I okay with things that are 'not satisfactory'?"

As you, me, and others have said, the seeming inattention to the long-term feels very real. The complete lack of transparency on whether anything significant is being done to address the game's severe server and code problems is worrisome because it implies an across-the-board lack of room to innovate, expand, and surprise. Character customization, housing, and gear cannot be the only things suffering from these oh-so-often cited limitations--not now and definitely not two expansions from now.

Which just leaves a terrible taste in my mouth, because I really do love this game. I want to see it grow and thrive for years to come. I don't want to feel like a game I love is already stagnating, barely five years into its (already re-made) run.

All this to say, I guess, that yes, I do think the developers of this game are out of touch. Not because they resent having to answer repetitive "fluff" questions, but because they don't seem to recognize their consistent failure to sufficiently address these fluff concerns is, over time, revealing a systemic inability to address players' greater wants and expectations. Every time I see responses like "We don't have plans for that" or "That would be very difficult to implement, so it is not likely," I'm just left with the thought: "But you expect me to trust that you'll produce innovative, unique, and fun content in other areas instead?" We can't even get solid answers about some of the most basic player desires, but I'm supposed to believe that there are awesome, fresh, never-before-seen things in development for this game that will be revealed if I just wait long enough?



It's just not a good situation when ^ that's how community outreach from the team leaves me feeling.

Thanks for coming to my TED Talk.