I'm concerned for ffxiv's future

[rachcouture]

"I'm concerned for ffxiv's future"

Translation: "I am disappointed that the new races are gender locked."

Or it could be the numerous poor decisions and design choices made throughout Stormblood, of which gender locks are but a drop in the ocean.

This reductive reasoning of yours doesn't get anyone anywhere.

[Alucard135]

Or it could be the numerous poor decisions and design choices made throughout Stormblood, of which gender locks are but a drop in the ocean.

This reductive reasoning of yours doesn't get anyone anywhere.

Since you consider having one gender for each of the new races a drop in the ocean, I'm curious to know about that ocean now.

[Noodle_Trinidad]

It needs to be treated like the cash cow it is and be given a larger standard team. I remember part of the XV team came over to help during...4.0 release? It'd be great if Yoshi-P could rely on a larger team and better budgets and timeframes than help from other teams with their own timetables. (Not saying said help isn't greatly appreciated, just that it shouldn't be needed)

When compared to other games this one is no cash cow. The Gacha games they make produce exponentially more profit than XIV ever will with almost no upkeep cost relative to their initial investment. FFXIV on the other hand probably costs significantly more on upkeep costs alone relative to it's investment. SE have probably already decided that the current budget and outlook the game recieves will be enough for the foreseeable future. To see any kind of investment like ARR did they would need to relive the 1.0 scare.

[Gemina]

Thank you, SerLuke. That really does mean a lot, and I appreciate your time.

[Jojokomoko]

How many more years do you guys think FF14 still got down the road before SE stop its development just like FF11?

[SerLuke]

How many more years do you guys think FF14 still got down the road before SE stop its development just like FF11?

They haven’t stopped FF11’s development, they aren’t doing anymore expansions but they regularly come out with content updates for it.

[AnimaAnimus]

They haven’t stopped FF11’s development, they aren’t doing anymore expansions but they regularly come out with content updates for it.

Since they figured out the way around the ps2 dev kit and with the way they are tweaking everything coupled with their sudden resurgence on social media, I wouldn't put another expac past them at this point. Or another game set in vana'diel. We have gotten monthly updates for awhile, but they are suddenly being suspiciously active in places they haven't in 6-7 years

[MPK]

I'm so happy SE decided not to add a permanent development time sink.

No one's going to play those anyways so why bother.

[DrWho2010]

literally yoshi-p said in the letter he wrote - no amount of just throwing people and money at problems is going to solve problems. things are the way they are. does it mean we can't complain about it? no, but unless the game was in total disarray i don't think we should be harshing on them as much as people do imo.

[polyphonica]

literally yoshi-p said in the letter he wrote - no amount of just throwing people and money at problems is going to solve problems. things are the way they are. does it mean we can't complain about it? no, but unless the game was in total disarray i don't think we should be harshing on them as much as people do imo.

I think this a point a lot of people don't understand (or they think he's just being glib when he says that). The problem the development team faces isn't primarily money or team size at this point (although they're always looking for talented staff), it's time.

They have a dev cycle that keeps patches coming out consistently every 3.5 months, and the stability of that process depends on many hundreds of people's work coming together at just the right time on a consistent basis and coalescing into a single product launched simultaneously across multiple platforms in multiple languages. The logistical complexity of doing that for a once-and-done game is bad enough (consider how many of SE's other projects have seen massive delays), but to keep on doing it on this kind of rapid schedule like clockwork means they are like a machine.

As he points out, adding new races doesn't only have a one-time development cost (although there's definitely that), it also has an on-going upkeep cost, and this added upkeep can't interrupt the existing development cycle and flow. So even if the CEO came to Yoshida today and gave him a proverbial "blank cheque" to "get it done, no matter the cost" the big issue is how to re-arrange all the logistical pieces to keep things working on an on-going basis. Some of that may involve new tooling that allows them to work more efficiently. Some of that might involve a new spread/distribution of content across the patch schedules to balance workload. Some of that may involve a new approach to managing the team that better utilizes outsourcing or other techniques. But it's not just a matter of money and people alone.

As you said, it's important that people keep giving them feedback and pushing for the improvements they want, as that definitely helps the prioritize and keep considering ways of accomplishing the goal. But the idea that they're woefully underfunded and a sudden infusion of cash from SE would suddenly mean all the things they currently say they can't do would suddenly become possible is just a fantasy. Yoshida's number one job as producer is maintaining the steady march (the entire assembly line) that keeps the content flowing at a stable speed, and there are only so many disruptions the project can weather without disrupting the pace. (Of course, his job as director is to create a product that makes customers happy, so everything has to be balanced. That's why the feedback does matter, and why they took the time to write the letter.)