Yoshi-P Statement on Player Feedback

[raelgun]

I am actually embarrassingly curious about what is going on in JP for there to be an official statement like this.

Didn't think they were speaking about the English playerbase at first due to the fact we have such a lack of access to the devs. I would assume all feedback, even the most hostile, would not be translated word for word to the devs.

So many newbies to the game.

Let me highlight an aspect of the JP playerbase.

When 2.0 came into being and all of the end game was released, the JP players threw a lot of shade at SE because the mechanics were party dependent, i.e if someone made a mistake, it may wipe the party.

If you or others have heard of the expression 'jump rope', it was derived from the JP playerbase as a heavy handed critic at SE for making encounters that weren't individual based (despite the better clear rate one JP side for endgame content compared to rest of the world)

Considering FF14 is based off the WoW model and that is a fact as the devs admit over and over, this came as a surprise to the JP playerbase.

[KizuyaKatogami]

Or, and hear me out on this radical idea, people can actually be civil and not degrade into an unruly mob of shouting obscenities at others, and shooting down constructive criticism. The vast majority of "criticism" I've seen on these forums is people just insulting the devs for their decisions, or attacking people for having a differing view to their own - usually when the OP dislikes something, and someone likes it, I've seen both ways where the OP just instantly calls the responder an idiot(vast paraphrasing here), or the other way around where the OP is called the idiot(again, vast paraphrasing) for their views.

If people actually took their time to actually stop and think before typing, a lot of the criticism would actually promote discussion, and not just be person A telling person B to shut up, and then person B telling person A to shut up, and it going in a circle with absolutely nothing actually discussed about.

You’re damned if you do damned if you don’t though. People have given constructive criticism before or opinions on things and people bash them for it, call them a troll, say they’re wrong etc etc. It’s not an unknown thing that a large portion of the community can’t handle criticism. I will say i’m incredibly surprised it’s the jp side that has more criticism though although that may just be because they don’t really look to EN for much stuff. I don’t judge people too harshly for their venom on here considering the devs have basically abandoned these forums.

[Avatre]

You’re damned if you do damned if you don’t though. People have given constructive criticism before or opinions on things and people bash them for it, call them a troll, say they’re wrong etc etc. It’s not an unknown thing that a large portion of the community can’t handle criticism. I will say i’m incredibly surprised it’s the jp side that has more criticism though although that may just be because they don’t really look to EN for much stuff. I don’t judge people too harshly for their venom on here considering the devs have basically abandoned these forums.

While it does happen a lot where people are called trolls for their criticism, there are a large number of posts that have been just that. They typically just barely make valid points that don't actually go anywhere, and those people vanish after posting that topic. Only to start up another controversial topic where everything degrades into name calling. You can usually tell which ones they are because they have 1 battle class maxed, and all crafters/gatherers maxed, a lot of them are also from the same FC, or single person FCs.

I'm not saying it doesn't happen, just that it is usually more open to discussion if people are civil about it and don't use insults(yes, it is an insult) like calling people who enjoy what the game is - even if it's opposite the OPs opinion - White Knights.

I personally feel there can be improvements to the game, but can I pinpoint exactly how I would like it to improve? Not really, but it feels like there could be more. Maybe more depth to some of the tidbits we get through the MSQ(yes, some sidequests give that, but not always). Heck, maybe even just more of a skill curve to get people to actually try and get better rather than be carried through content.

[Eriane_Elis]

The staff did a great job with Endwalker, although the hype of Shadowbringers was much higher for me and a greater experience in that regard just because of the time and level of excitement I had. I enjoyed Endwalker from end-to-end and really thought they upped their level when it came to the camera work, character animation, dialogs and their creative writing was top-notch as always. The music is and always has been the best in the industry. I don't know what caused the delays, Japan has very low numbers of covid related illnesses and hardly any deaths. Maybe work from home is more difficult for them to adjust and being creative? I don't know, I'm pretty sure they give it their all but my curiosity on why it was delayed and some parts weren't released at launched happened. I am really happy to hear that Soken beat cancer and find it amazing and inspiring that even in the hospital he was composing music. The passion with the FF14 team is nuts, like holy kupo nuts! People in general are [ Redacted ] and even if you know this, you can't help but feel pain from the words people post about the very thing you put your heart and soul into. For years I've been telling people that FF14 is one of the few games I've ever played where you can feel the developer's souls put into the game. It's a business but the staff make it personal for sure and you understand once you start playing.

[Shironeko_Narunyan]

The main problem isn't even venting or hurt feelings. It's that developers are less inclined to listening to feedback from a fan base that behaves as if the team was the enemy, out to kill their fun.

There will always be problems with class balance, job mechanics, fight design, quests, story, because the game is made by people. Accepting that is the first step, phrasing criticism accordingly the second.

It's also good to remember that YP recommends taking breaks. If you force yourself to play the game without noticing it, you'll end up hating it at some point, which is something I've seen a lot in other games, and FFXIV is no exception.

[Avatre]

The main problem isn't even venting or hurt feelings. It's that developers are less inclined to listening to feedback from a fan base that behaves as if the team was the enemy, out to kill their fun.

Not only this, but it has been proven - through all the gear that has been made available for both genders - that the bigger the thread, the more attention it receives. If we have 500 of the same topic, it is less likely to get attention since they would have to dig through all of them to find a consensus. Whereas if it was all consolidated into one giant thread, they would be able to go through it much easier. But, that isn't likely to happen due to the nature of people wanting to have the attention, so they create a new thread to post the exact same thing as another thread, rather than bumping the old thread and increasing it's post count to a point where the devs have it brought to them and go "oh, that's something to look into". The tone definitely helps as well, especially when it finally does get to the devs attention.

[Eriane_Elis]

I just want to point out that out of all the MMOs I have tried, FF14 is the only one that actually listens to its playerbase BEFORE a great exodus occurs. Meaning, they are transparent with their beliefs and what they are working on and they will listen to feedback within reason. Name me another company that does this with their critically acclaimed MMORPG with an award winning free trial? xD

[Thatusernameistaken]

I like how there are people in this thread subtly arguing it's ok to be a toxic a-hole. I'm almost certain everyone in this thread knows negative feedback is fine. The heart of this discussion is about THE TONE in which feedback is presented. Having a negative opinion is fine. Expressing it like a toxic a-hole isn't. It's not hard to understand and the thread can end here.

[Theodric]

Tone policing is often a method exploited to shut down opposing viewpoints. More often than not, it pays little heed to differences in background, personality and culture. Or the simple fact that English is not everybody's first language.

So long as a post isn't in violation of the terms of service, I don't think it's really of much benefit for a subsection of customers to try and dictate how feedback is presented.

Furthermore, in my experience just because someone is a little brash or hot headed it does not mean that they are a terrible person. Such individuals are often prone to passion and sticking up for others even if they disagree with those self same individuals.

On the other hand, I've found that many of those eager to police thought, tone and opinions are amongst the first to drive a dagger into someone's back so long as they stand to gain something from doing so.

Exceptions exist in both cases, of course...so take it with a pinch of salt.

[Thatusernameistaken]

Tone policing is often a method exploited to shut down opposing viewpoints. More often than not, it pays little heed to differences in background, personality and culture. Or the simple fact that English is not everybody's first language.

So long as a post isn't in violation of the terms of service, I don't think it's really of much benefit for a subsection of customers to try and dictate how feedback is presented.

Furthermore, in my experience just because someone is a little brash or hot headed it does not mean that they are a terrible person. Such individuals are often prone to passion and sticking up for others even if they disagree with those self same individuals.

On the other hand, I've found that many of those eager to police thought, tone and opinions are amongst the first to drive a dagger into someone's back so long as they stand to gain something from doing so.

Exceptions exist in both cases, of course...so take it with a pinch of salt.

Like this guy. Calling a desire to want less vitriol and toxicity "tone policing". It's not a bad thing to want people to express their opinions in respectful ways, and as much as you're trying to use "tone policing" to paint it in a negative light, some forms of expressing opinions SHOULD be policed, such as those that demean and dehumanize the person at the other end.