Open world changes?

[Jojoya]

There's a reason why MMOs developed instanced content and tend to emphasize it - servers struggle as more players enter into open world zones. The overworld is going to end up limited by what the supported game clients are capable of handling.

The more you add to the overworld, the more the servers need to communicate with the player clients. That increases latency for everyone. The more reason players have for being in the overworld, the more players will show up and that increases latency even farther.

Right now, most PS4 players struggle during moderately sized hunt trains and large hunt trains are nearly unplayable for them. Even PC users with good systems but slower internet connectio speeds can struggle. Increasing the content in the overworld and thus the number of players appearing to do that content is going to make the situation worse for their supported game client.

How much more might be possible if SE dropped PS4 support and upped system requirements for PCs? It's hard to say but I definitely do not see PS4 support getting dropped until at least the 7.0 expansion.

More open world content might be nice but it may not be practical from a technical standpoint.

[Raikai]

As said above, Guildwars 2 is pretty great as far as general over world feeling...but I firmly think it’s already too late for FF, unless they spent an entire expansions worth of effort to do a massive TLC update.

Ways to make the over world more relevant (but I feel is too late):

• Revamp physics engine to allow better world interaction (legit jumping puzzles)
• Revamp flying, or make mounts more interesting (again see GW2 where you can climb up walls etc and flying is more akin to gliding)
• Better server latency, to allow for actual racing or interaction with environment. As is if I am running slightly in front of my wife, on her PC it’s the exact opposite. Impossible to have a “photo finish”. Better latency = moving platform interaction, etc.
• Give multiple ways to interact with open world content. Eg. From GW2: Bandits set a farm on fire. You can a) extinguish flames, b) fight the bandits directly and/or c) try to rescue people/animals.
• Make the world dangerous, with open world places to explore with a “your probably gonna die in there” expectation. This is in direct conflict to what YoshiP wants for the game.

You raise a lot of interesting points, the one that I really look at is the overal environmental responsiveness, that is kind of slow. I got used by now, but I suppose it would improve vastly the feel of a dynamic world if we could do more...I suppose that is something caused by the infamous sphagetti code?

[Shougun]

You raise a lot of interesting points, the one that I really look at is the overal environmental responsiveness, that is kind of slow. I got used by now, but I suppose it would improve vastly the feel of a dynamic world if we could do more...I suppose that is something caused by the infamous sphagetti code?

I didn't play loads of GW2 but the movement, especially imo the mounts, was pretty nice. FFXIV feels a bit 'old' in that regard. Especially if you think of the collision. I also feel the different types of movement and the pretty accurate movement helps in terms of just plainly engaging with the game (gives it a more responsive and dynamic feel, more.. tactile). I don't want hyper old school era travel but I do think it's neat to be like "oh I could use X mount or ability to parkour up that mountain in 20 seconds" vs something more FFXIV like where it's like "hold w and spacebar for 15 seconds to get to the top, yeeeeet". Each person will have their own concept of what's too much or not enough but personally I think some more engagement with the environment would be a good thing (while still trying to keep maximum travel times to very reasonable durations, shouldn't take forever to get somewhere but "getting there" could be part of the fun rather than "hold w").


I'm not sure how FFXIV does it but it makes me wonder why it's not more like some other games that have it far more closely based on the models of stuff (like if you used the editor for a bethesda game, if you made a house it would have collision exactly like you'd expect- but if SE makes a house.. the house roof may not have it because.. reasons.. or the collision may be loose and so you can hang off the edge by a lot.. it's all sort of fuzzy).



Maybe super hard to fix in FFXIV without some major reworks but I really hope they can fine tune the experience next time around if not this time.

[SavishSalacious]

Overworld is pretty dead imo, here are some garbage ideas.

* Adjust EXP
- Make it so grinding overworld mobs could be a viable method of leveling. Doesn't have to go overboard to invalidate everything else, but would be nice.

You know theres this thing - don't know if you heard of it, it's called: MSQ. Research it.

[KatenKyokotsu]

Was waiting for a thread like this to come up. I'm an open world person. I love to do open world stuffs, not just the usual gathering or mining or fishing or fates. TBH I personally feel the open world in FFXIV too bland. Look at all the maps, empty. But at this point to implement something that large of a scale isn't going to happen. To revamp from AAR up to the current xpac like what someone mentioned gonna take an xpac worth of time. But it is my greatest wish that they would do something about this in the future xpacs to make world maps more interesting rather than just fating here and there.

Peace

[Dogempire]

You know theres this thing - don't know if you heard of it, it's called: MSQ. Research it.

You can only level 1 job with MSQ

[TaleraRistain]

I'd rather see some areas that are dangerous to travel alone at launch of an expansion that gradually become challenging -- but not easy -- over time to solo.

Hard disagree. I'd rather see more encouragement of exploration. Especially because they don't give tools that aid traversal in this game like previous games had, such as invisibility and levitation skills. I don't want my ability to get aether currents to depend on my ability to get random people together, but on my own ability to explore and puzzle out how to get to them. Or have my ability to go and see things limited to only what others find the easiest to go and see.

[kaynide]

You raise a lot of interesting points, the one that I really look at is the overal environmental responsiveness, that is kind of slow. I got used by now, but I suppose it would improve vastly the feel of a dynamic world if we could do more...I suppose that is something caused by the infamous sphagetti code?

Don't know in detail, but Guildwars 2's code is built in a way they have legit semi-pvp-but-actually-minigames, such as mario-kart style races, or dashing to collect coins like Sonic, or even things like platform/jumping/launching based dodgeball. It's not amazing, but it's at the very least interesting and something to do outside of the main game.

In addition, the jumping puzzles are just generally fun to do and feel more akin to playing a 3D mario game than an MMO.

FFXIV's biggest problem is they tacked on a jump system late into the game, so when you jump you have no control over movement while in the air. Rather than actually jumping, the player is more "teleporting" to their landing site. This means we can't have things like "jump over the laser beam", and can't really have fine control in a jumping puzzle environment. Moreover, the game has wonky hit boxes that make no sense.

Try the Kugane clock tower to see what I mean; what is an exercise in cheesing the system involves standing/landing on invisible platforms for hours of frustration on your first try would be like.. 10 min in guild wars 2.

More of a personal thing, but as a player who is (probably overly) confident in their jumping-game skills, FFXIV is incredibly frustrating. And this is coming from someone who has 100% the siteseeing log.

Anyway, long story short, better physics is just fun. It's just genuinely fun to blaze across the map on my roller beetle and rocket off walls or up ramps (it's like a sonic the hedgehog motorcycle?).

[KanuKano]

I'd like to see more unclickable NPCs wandering, gathering, interacting with each other, etc. before disappearing.

I remember I once found a wandering NPC at a far edge of the map in Coerthas Western Highlands. I think he was wearing retainer outfit and had a Chocobo walking alongside him before shortly disappearing. It was pretty surreal as that was the only time I've seen it happen. They weren't clickable and I would've easily missed them as I was flying by in a hurry. I'd like more of that as it adds a bit more of life to the open world even if it is artificial.

[DrWho2010]

if they made the open world too interesting, zones would be congested a lot because there would be too many people idling in there waiting for the stuff to happen. remember they can really only hold 300 people. and they don't really want to have instanced zones too much because then it becomes too easy for hunting.