Teleport System

[darkstarpoet1]

You took Mega's arguement about a short airship ride and started spouting about how you can do a leve in that same amount of time. You're not refuting his position, you're making comparisons that just don't matter. Not classic straw man, but close enough.



Some MMORPGs DO cater to casual players. Play LotRO, WoW, or Rift. Not every game needs to, however. Last time I checked, FFXI (moderated) and EvE(hardcore) were doing just fine.

The problem is that even if a single gameplay mechanic doesn't really affect people who play more than casually, they add up and eventually end up watering down the experience for everyone.

actually the statement she made directly refuted the argument he made. his response was that casual players or people that only play a little time during the week would not be affected by the removal completely of teleporting because they do not have much time to play. he stated that an 8 minute airship ride would not break into their time. renta pointed out that short 8 minute air ride, while it would not impact us, would impact the casual players by taking away 10% of their playing time and take away that percentage of the playing time. that is in no way a straw man argument.

second, i do not see how if a single game mechanic does not affect your game it waters down the game experience. the ones that play alot take advantage of the teleport system in place now and would continue to do so on certain circumstances. i know for one, i would not wait for 30-45 minutes for someone to run to the airship then fly over to the location we are waiting to start fighting a nm in. those are on a timer and either you engage em before the timer runs out or you lose the chance to fight it.

[Rentahamster]

You took Mega's arguement about a short airship ride and started spouting about how you can do a leve in that same amount of time. You're not refuting his position, you're making comparisons that just don't matter. Not classic straw man, but close enough.

It's not a straw man, nor is it even "close enough".

Mega made a statement:

If you can only play for an hour, whats wrong with an 8 minute airship ride?

He specifically asked, "what's wrong with an 8 minute airship ride". As in, "Please, I would like some feedback as to any possible negative consequences to an 8 minute airship ride".

What I did was simple. It's called, "I answered his question".

I gave specific examples why 8 minutes is not a trivial amount of time to a certain segment of players with specific goals in mind.

This is what people do in a reasonable debate.

Some MMORPGs DO cater to casual players. Play LotRO, WoW, or Rift. Not every game needs to, however. Last time I checked, FFXI (moderated) and EvE(hardcore) were doing just fine.

Last time I checked FF14 (the game we are talking about) is doing horribly. Telling players to play another game is not the path to a successful game. The goal is to tell players to play OUR game.

The problem is that even if a single gameplay mechanic doesn't really affect people who play more than casually, they add up and eventually end up watering down the experience for everyone.

That wasn't the point I was trying to make. Let me quote myself again.

If a gameplay mechanic can be implemented that helps out casuals, yet does nothing to impede the progress or enjoyment of the more hardcore players, there is no reason why it should not be implemented.

In other words, If I can implement a gameplay mechanic that increases the enjoyment and playability for casuals that does not in any way affect the difficulty or enjoyment of this game for hardcore players, why shouldn't I do it? If there is no risk of "watering down" the experience, that means it's a good idea. I am of the opinion that there are many solutions available to us that can keep the basic elements of the game friendly to casuals while still giving more hardcore players a tough challenge should they choose to follow that path.

Making this game overly solo friendly is KILLING the adventure aspect, the teamplay aspect and most of all, the level of difficulty / time put into content. These NM's we have are a damned joke. MMO's aren't FOR casual players. You want casual buy a 360 and play FFXIII.

I sympathize with your sentiment (I am a hardcore player myself), but if we want SquareEnix to have a successful product, we can't just restrict the game to just a narrow population of gamers.

Like I said earlier, the ideal solution would be to implement a solution that gives net benefits to both the casual and hardcore niches. This is not a zero-sum situation (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zero-sum) where anything that benefits casual players is going to always negatively effect hardcore players equally.

[Xatsh]

I see no reason to change anima, I usually hover between 6-12 anima anyways. If you play the game alot you will find that the 100 anima you start with is no where near enough, especially if you are a crafter.

So I have a feeling chocos and airships will be used highly even with the current system. In 1 leve day I can blow around 6-10 anima depending on where my and my group goes. And that does not even include crafting and gathering stuff which are done in different zones. 12-15 anima a day for a full time player is what is about average, that is not enough to use reliably past 2 weeks of game time.

Anima is for the casual ppl playing 8-10hrs a week, a gamer would need almost double the anima before airships and chocos become worthless.

[Mega]

I want to see anima replaced, not just removed. If there is nothing to take its place then it should be left alone. Traveling is a means to an end and is no real hindrance toward end game progression. What I don't like is this game acting like it has a game genie attatched to it starting at character creation.

Lets look at the original Zelda (RPG) for Nintendo made 25 years before this game. You start out with nothing. However, by end game you have reached many dungeons and collected lots of useful tools which open the game to the player. You receive a raft that lets you cross rivers to reach new areas. You get a whistle that teleports you around the world. Not just anywhere. It teleports you to dungeons you've successfully completed.

Games are a time investment. MMORPGs are supposed to be the biggest, longest and require the most endurance and patience. FFXIV has failed in this respect and a game made 25 years ago gets it better than you and SE.

[TheGreatTozini]

I'm all for anima and teleportation. Think about situations where you just log on, and your linkshell is gathering on the other side of the world. It's pretty convenient to be able to teleport to them immediately, rather than have them wait 15 minutes or more for you to get over there.
When other methods of transportation are added, people will definitely use them. Teleports will probably be reserved for times you need to meet up with a group instantly, or if you only have a short time to play.

[darkstarpoet1]

I'm all for anima and teleportation. Think about situations where you just log on, and your linkshell is gathering on the other side of the world. It's pretty convenient to be able to teleport to them immediately, rather than have them wait 15 minutes or more for you to get over there.
When other methods of transportation are added, people will definitely use them. Teleports will probably be reserved for times you need to meet up with a group instantly, or if you only have a short time to play.

this is exactly what i use mine for at this point. if i am afk and an crafting in ud and find out the party is getting ready for nm's in coerthas i can grab my gear, port there, and join in the fun. when removing this it takes almost 30 minutes to run from uldah to camp clory for the uraeus. by the time someone made it the battle would be done and over with. now finish that battle and decide hey we're going to go to bald knoll after to fight the buffalo so let's run there. it will stop the flow of the game in that aspect.

i usually only use my anima to get to a party forming within my ls or to take members of my party to another place.

[Rentahamster]

it takes almost 30 minutes to run from uldah to camp clory for the uraeus.

It takes longer than that. 10 minutes from Uldah to Drybone. 10 Minutes from Drybone to Tranquil. 20 minutes from Tranquil to Emerald Moss, and about another 10 from Emerald Moss to Glory.

[Micah]

I like to jump all over the place to change environmets, to keep the outlook different as to not get too bored. I run out of anima but i play alot atm. I would be open to any changes in the future, this is a working progress and i have faith SE will continue to improve.

[BigDawg]

I'm not a fan of the current system, but until airships and choco's are introduced we don't have much of a choice. For airships to be viable the current teleport system would have to be edited and the cities removed from the lists. As long as they are still on the anima list people would rarely use the airships.

Also, I would like the current system to be changed to port you to an outpost that is not right directly at the camp. Finally, give us chocobo already! Chocobo are a staple of a FF game and it does not feel right without them as a means of transportation.

[Cairdeas]

One thing they can do is add areas that can only be gotten to by Chocobo that have no teleport system in place.