Why another complex minigame that will probably die in 2 weeks?

[kikix12]

I wouldnt pay a monthly fee for a party game. I'd buy it once, and probably cheaper that what I'd have to pay to keep my sub until SH once I've done every interesting content for me.

You don't pay at all to play Mahjong...so what's your argument here exactly?!

Not only do you pay the sub to play Final Fantasy XIV, with Mahjong just being on the side (would you pay a monthly subscription for the Gate's?! For Chocobo Racing?! For ANY mini-game for that matter?!). There's also a permanent free trial that allows you to play it without spending a dime (technically...so long as you do not actually have a customer account, that is). This argument is kind of nonsensical.

I wouldn't spend additionnal money for a Gwent DLC just to play Gwent, while waiting for The Witcher 4. Would you buy a DLC to play Spider Solitaire with a FF skin, when you can already play it on Windows for free ?

Huh?!...Did you have to pay to get Mahjong?! No...So what are you on about?! It's not a paid DLC. It's part of the core game that everyone that can play Final Fantasy XIV A Realm Reborn in any capacity can use. It is exactly the Gwent that was available in Witcher 3 from the get-go. It's the Triple Triad that was in Final Fantasy VIII from the get go, Blitzball from Final Fantasy X etc.

This game is a subscription based game. That's a fact that ain't gonna change in a foreseeable future. Mahjong is an addition to all that you can do, not a replacement. It's a value added.


Your arguments are in no way relevant to Mahjong as it is implemented whatsoever...

[Deceptus]

So don't play it?

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I mean, to be fair, Mahjong does have a decent popularity worldwide.

totally stealing this ascii (braille w/e it is )

[Atlas-04]

Mahjong will be dead very quickly. It has a very steep learning curve and most players will be trapped in a hour long game vs players who might know what they are doing. Sitting there for that long and getting no finished hands is pretty demoralizing. Not to mention there are 0 rewards for doing it. That kind of time investment should at least offer some kind of in game reward just for play time. Give me some MGP, I would be more willing to have my butt kicked if I was getting that as well.

The amount of time REQUIRED to learn different hands and actual strategy is beyond anything a casual player will do for this mini game. I'll probably stick to playing it with just 3 friends and ignore the ranked part. The player base in that will shrink fast.

[Dyvid]

Honestly it's Mahjong. It's difficult to understand because westerners grow-up playing card games like spades, gin, poker, blackjack, etc. If you flip the script I'm sure our Asian counterparts would be raking their brains trying to figure out how to play.

This is a game designed more for a group of friends to hang out and play something over getting rich at the Saucer.

[Reynhart]

It's part of the core game that everyone that can play Final Fantasy XIV A Realm Reborn in any capacity can use.

Gold Saucer is a content made to keep you in the game when you have no more battle content to do, exactly what the game should have in the dry period we'll reach soon. But, in, those mini games, you need to have some rewards, as an incentive. Most of them have MGP, but Triple Triad has cards that are only obtainable by playing Triple Triad.
Mahjong, doesn't seem to have any reward tied to it.

It's the Triple Triad that was in Final Fantasy VIII from the get go, Blitzball from Final Fantasy X etc.

Yes, except that in those games, you only spend a very short time playing it...compared to the lifespan of an MMO. That's what people don't take into account when asking for previous mini-games. Sure, you played Blizball for hours in X, but in your FFXIV experience, this playtime would only be a blip on your radar. That's why Mahjong could end up dead in two weeks.

[Darkplanet]

You’re forgetting that this game was programmed into ff14 purely in 1 or 2 developers spare time pretty much for fun. They did it off their work hours and was never really planned to be put in ff14. But over a long period of time they created a working mahjong game in the engine and the team was just like well ok why not put it in the game?

Basically you can complain about it all you want, but it doesn’t change anything else about the development of other “normal” gold saucer mini games, they are still coming and being developed, and mahjong 100% did not obstruct other development decisions related to gold saucer mini games, it is 100% EXTRA mini game given to the gold saucer. So it’s just kinda silly to complain about it you know? Like I tend to avoid the “just don’t play it” argument but really... just don’t play it, you’re still gonna get all that easy going fun shooting mini games you want.

[Vaer]

tbh, anything not a GATE usually dies anyway within months. It's just there for people who like it. I believe they wanted to add poker, but they wanted to get around gambling regulations or something.

I think adding things with depth is what they have always done. They like to reinvent the wheel a lot anyway when it's not required, must be a design philosophy.

[Steady]

Pretty sure they tied a song to it, so we're all stuck playing it if we want the song.

[LeoLupinos]

Mahjong was added as a bonus mini-game because they had the code for it.
Just because YOU don't like it does not mean that the mini-game will die.

"The game is too complex and No tutorial."
And I highly doubt that you even tried to play to barely see that it does have a complete tutorial and additionally has a suggestion to the next step, for every step. I literally won a game vs other players just following the hints, and doing some decisions based on how they teach me to think how to play.

"Innate unfairness"
There's literally a rank system and a difficulty level vs NPC for you to choose. What does you need more?

"Time"
Mahjong is about fun and chill, there's no rewards other than achievements. If it's not your cup or tea move along.

"Bad automated suggestions"
You can disable it if you think it's bad. I think that the suggestions are amazing for me to learn. You can either blindly follow them and learn nothing and post a new thread about Mahjong on the forum, or you can play and try to think a barely minimum to see what's the meaning of the suggestion and start to move the pieces by yourself.

"convoluted rules and Why can't we just have a minigame that anyone can pick up in seconds"
For every mini-game there's a COMPLETE progression system. You can either stay forever at the beginner level and STILL be rewarded just fine, or you can start to try to understand how it works if you like it and reach high levels.

At the end of your thread I can't think of anything else than that you just want to get things handed to you with minimum mental effort, because these mini-game are not THAT hard to get the basics and get rewarded just fine. You don't need to be the best one, if you have fun, then it's all that matters. If you're not having fun, and other are, move along.

And @Reynhart, you can enter Gold Saucer with the free trial account to play ANY mini-game. It's literally a completely free content. There's nothing anyone should or can complain about it. Just don't play if you don't like, Play if you like.

[kikix12]

But, in, those mini games, you need to have some rewards, as an incentive. Most of them have MGP, but Triple Triad has cards that are only obtainable by playing Triple Triad.

Most of that stuff needs rewards as an incentive because...they're not very fun. Again, Mahjong is played by millions of people worldwide for centuries with no other goal than having fun with someone. Why on Earth would it suddenly need incentive to have people play it just because it's packed in a neat little game?! Believe what you want, but Mahjong does have its own huge fanbase. It's not a niche game. And though, yes, it is also highly notable due to its gambling potential (like poker), even the gamblers play it with no stakes, to train if nothing else.

Yes, except that in those games, you only spend a very short time playing it...compared to the lifespan of an MMO. That's what people don't take into account when asking for previous mini-games. Sure, you played Blizball for hours in X, but in your FFXIV experience, this playtime would only be a blip on your radar. That's why Mahjong could end up dead in two weeks.

People don't take that into account because that's irrelevant. Mini-games will never replace the actual game, it's ridiculous to even think about that. They will never stop you from burning out. They are temporal time-killers that work to keep you in for a short time here or there, not to be the thing to log into the game.

Out of all that, Mahjong actually have the most potential. Because there are at least some regions where it will be sustainable due to its innate popularity. As I said, it's a whole nother game, not a mini-game per se. Why do you think poker is such a popular mini-game?! Not because it's fast or rewarding (in games it usually is far from that), but because there's already a large fan-base interested in it as a game that it is. Mahjong is the same, albeit in the Asian culture. There are several anime dedicated to Mahjong, one of which have several seasons.

You don't enjoy it?! That's on you. No one forces you to. If you won't play something without rewards, then don't play stuff without rewards. Mahjong may or may not get some MGP attached to it. Partially due to its gambling history making it more of a target for anti-gambling regulations, despite it being technically no different than Triple Triad or the other mini-games in gold saucer. But thinking that there is no interest in Mahjong due to no in-game rewards is just ignorant.