Four changes I'd like to see to the Gold Saucer in 2020

[Esmoire]

Since I basically live in this place during my time in-game, I feel somewhat qualified to make some observations, and have some suggestions for what I would like to see. Feel free to comment on them or add your own.


1) Chocobo Square Update
This place is actually pretty good, though the service and the race visuals could use a little love. Compared to my peers who have thousands of races under their saddle I am a junior jockey so I won't talk about balance, though there are some things I'd like to see.

Faster chocobo training. Keep the UI open until the bird can't be trained anymore or the player exits. I don't like how the screen has to fade to black, then I have to talk to the NPC again, then I have to select the menu option again.

Proper GATE announcements within the Chocobo Square with a GATE Attendant by the counter to take you there. Right now the announcement is just a generic notification without telling you what it is.

Search functionality when choosing a chocobo name.

Some kind of highlighting of course hazards for those with vision impairments, as the current accessibility options don't help you see dark green creatures in a dark green area while riding during a rainy night.

2) Mix Up The Staff
Surely a man of the prestige of Godbert Manderville can continue to procure unusual additions for Roland to put to work, and even the elusive Raen or scattered Hrothgar are not beyond his reach. I'd also like to see some outfit mix-ups! Give us some women in suits, men in bunny outfits! None of this is really about equal opportunity or anything like that so much as it would just add more fun and variety. Give me a grumpy lizard man in a bunny getup. I'd also like at least one viera at the venue constantly reminded of the absurdity of being surrounded by people wearing ears that make a mockery of her.

Worthy of note is there is a Raen NPC running the fashion boutique as well as at least one woman in a suit running the Triple Triad Battle Hall. We are off to a good start!

[Esmoire]

3) Update The Gold Saucer UI
If you forgot, there is actually an entire UI dedicated to the Gold Saucer. It would be great to see this get some love. Specifically if it could display the time until the next GATE, and tell you which one it is. I think one reason why they don't do this now might be because they want people to come there themselves and inquire, though I'd argue for people who might not like some of the GATEs as much as I do, teleporting in to see what GATE is up and it being one they are not into is the worse of two evils.

4) More Prizes!
Of course, I get the developers behind FFXIV are always having to make stuff all the time and people blow through new content and get bored of it quickly. Minions, outfits, mounts, furniture... creating new assets for Gold Saucer could have been a treasure map reward. It could have been a craft. It could have been a rare retainer procurement. To that end, I think it is good to think about the kind of stuff that makes sense to be a Gold Saucer prize, while being a cost-effective use of development time. To narrow it down, the Gold Saucer rewards should continue to be cosmetic in nature and yield nothing to really make you a more powerful adventurer. The prizes we have thus far are fun, comedic, or themed around the venue itself.

• Bunny-outfitted vendors for your home of all genders and all races, including viera because yes.
• A golden Statue of Godbert Manderville as seen in the venue. I'd drop 1mil MGP on this in a heartbeat.
• Glittering golden chocobo mount as seen in the mainline Final Fantasy games.
• Portraits of the Mandervilles.
• Comical DoH/DoL primary tool glams. Especially ones for GSM and CUL to model ourselves after the splendour of Godbert and Julyan Manderville.
  
• Air Force One arcade cabinet (no MGP reward). It could be repurposed Allagan technology.
  
• A VIP Pass to party version of Leap of Faith. This one-time-use item would basically prompt you and your party members to join this minigame, with a UI tracking everyone's score. Perfect for parties!

Just going to close this off by thanking the devs for all the awesome additions and improvements coming to the Gold Saucer all the time and making sure I get my subscription's worth. I look forward to the new Leap of Faith courses!

[Iscah]

Give us some women in suits, men in bunny outfits!

While it's not in the main area, there's definitely at least one male Miqo'te in a bunny suit at the end of the Air Force One course.

[Esmoire]

While it's not in the main area, there's definitely at least one male Miqo'te in a bunny suit at the end of the Air Force One course.

A month late, though she speaks true!



In general whoever had the privilege of placing the NPCs that show up must have had a lot of fun.

[Enkidoh]

Worthy of note is there is a Raen NPC running the fashion boutique as well as at least one woman in a suit running the Triple Triad Battle Hall. We are off to a good start!

Some of the Gold Saucer's Security staff are also women dressed in suits (presumedly emulating the Turks from FFVII, fittingly). There's a besuited hyur woman with short grey hair hassling a hapless duskwight elezen LNC in the main lobby for instance. And her partner in crime is a lalafell woman with dark red hair identically dressed. So there are npcs like that already.

[Esmoire]

It's more one of those situations where the original post hit its limits and I had to cut down, ha ha. There are indeed wandering NPCs of all sorts, and they expand as you progress. Leofard can appear at the couch by the Cactpot Board, for example. Though they are NPCs in the technical sense, I mean more people at the desks and stuff you interact with regularly, that people will see regularly and associate with their experience.

[Iscah]

Leofard can appear at the couch by the Cactpot Board, for example.

Are you sure that wasn't just for the Make It Rain event? All sorts of NPCs turn up at the Saucer during that event, but I don't think I've seen any outside of it.

[Esmoire]

Are you sure that wasn't just for the Make It Rain event? All sorts of NPCs turn up at the Saucer during that event, but I don't think I've seen any outside of it.

I think as long as you meet the requirements they can show up at any time.



This screenshot I took is dated the fourth of January. I got the impression I was the only one who could see them, from those I spoke to, so it's a rare chance per client.