With all of the limitations holding FFXIV back, why not make a new FF MMORPG?

[Physic]

This is not a "FFXIV is dying" thread, because I don't believe it is. For my part, I'll keep playing as long as they keep delivering stellar content.

However, at every turn, we're told we can't have XYZ because of memory limitations, server limitations, etc.

We can't have butt sliders, we can't have tattoos or scars, we can't have more facial features or different body types, we can't have linked retainer inventories (cough), we can't have a glamour codex we can open in the field, we can't have male viera or female hrothgar, and our viera and hrothgar can equip every kind of headgear but you won't be able to see most of it. So no Dragoon or Red Mage or Black Mage viera in that iconic look.

Which brings me all the way back to my question. When is enough, enough? Yoshi P and his team built ARR on top of a dead and broken game, and made it a triumphant success. But it's been clear for years that building on the shoddy framework of the original FFXIV has limited everything that could ever be possible from 2.0 onward.

They've done magnificently, and gone beyond the call of duty. But Shadowbringers looks like the thinnest expansion of the three they've done. Two incomplete races, because they didn't have time to finish them; no new healer because they didn't have time to balance a new one against the old ones. No butt slider because it's too much work to go back and redo the way all the leg gear appears, no iconic headgear on the new races because it's too much work to go in and altar meticulously altar the headgear for each new head, and so on and so forth.

When you get to the point that you're cutting this many corners and calling it an expansion, it makes me wonder if you should move on. I love this game and I plan to play it for the foreseeable future, but it's not WOW, and it shouldn't go on for another decade past its prime like WOW has. WOW is in a deplorable state, and should have died with dignity... Look, I don't want to turn this into a WOW analog.

Suffice it to say, Yoshi P and his developers did a heroic thing in saving Final Fantasy XIV. They deserve to move on to new and better projects. We deserve to play new and better games. If Final Fantasy XIV starts to lower the bar, it's time to make the choice that's better for all of us--gamers and developers--and start fresh.

If that happens, it's time for a new Final Fantasy MMORPG.

takes like 5-8 years to make an mmo.

[Physic]

the story can go on forever pretty easily.

[Vahlnir]

the story can go on forever pretty easily.

As long as they are willing and able and the game continues to be profitable yes. The only limit up until that point is their imaginations. I think they can be creative when they want to be.

[Zeromon]

MMOs are difficult to develop and with games taking more and more time to make as technology matures its natural we won't get one for a few years at least. FFXIV is also raking in the cash right now, and I think we'll see the release of 6.0 before we hear serious rumors of a new FF MMO. I wouldn't be that surprised if FF16 or FF17 is an MMO but nonetheless it will a few years at least.

[linay]

FFXI did come out in 2002, and FFXIV 2010.
The original XIV was a hot mess, but the fact is that it officially released then, even if ARR and onward is basically a new MMO from it.
That's eight years, and even if you only count up from ARR it's been six years.

Who knows what they got planned.
The story can't go on forever, and it definitely feels like it's starting to reach for a climax, even if not in ShB.

FFXIV is probably reaching the climax of the story started in 1.0/2.0, but it can create new storylines to explore. It also had a tech demo in 2005. So even if they're planning a new MMO, it won't be ready for a long time, and FFXIV will have a long time to tell more stories as long as it remains successful from a business standpoint.

[Orbus]

the story can go on forever pretty easily.

But player interest wont.

How many ways can they write "the WoL got even stronger and beat all the bad guys again" before it becomes a jumping the shark moment.

[Physic]

But player interest wont.

How many ways can they write "the WoL got even stronger and beat all the bad guys again" before it becomes a jumping the shark moment.

stories can last way longer than 3 plotlines, thats basically all we got, and honestly wol gets their ass kicked pretty often.

[kamikrazy]

Why does it have to be a FF MMO? Why not a StarOcean MMO?

StarOcean already is an mmo!

[storm]

That's not what they said though. I get the whole hyperbolic reactions regarding male Viera gets annoying but that's not what this thread is. I don't necessarily agree but I do recognize that they're constantly limited by the fact that they rebuilt FFXIV using the messy 1.0 engine, and it really does seem to put the devs in a tough spot from time to time. I don't think it's realistic for them to build a new MMO considering SE isn't even giving the existing team more resources.

They didn't build FFXIV 2.0 on 1.0's engine. They built a brand new engine to make 2.0. So any perceived limitations to the game based on it's framework is solely on Yoshi's dev team.

http://www.ffmages.com/new-graphics-...-realm-reborn/

[Shurrikhan]

Lol, make a whole new game because we can't get male Viera? This is getting pretty ridiculous. The reason of course is because this game is doing well, and it takes too much money.

Are you to strawmen what Batman is to bats? And is it Strawman or Strawmanman?

Be it customization, poll rates, particular mechanics, AI, or even simple QoL changes, there's almost always something that is "impossible from a technical standpoint" to add or improve upon due to the underlying engine of the game. Even the engine issues themselves are apparently not fixable due to other, baser parts of the engine. At that point, is it worth having flawed or unfinished addition after addition compared to ending in a couple expansions and starting fresh with a base game that isn't so problematic? That's all this is about.