Idea for SE and CBU3 on FFXIV....

[Zanarkand-Ronso]

There have been threads that have talked about alot of things wrong with the game, and have offered some ideas to "Improve" the game, or make some things better or more Relevant.
Some of these ideas are...'Very' interesting, and Comical. But honestly I have a Proposal to the Devs of FFXIV and SE......

Do it.

Make it a Timed event, just take a week or a Whole month to do something wacky with the game, and just implement these many ideas into the game.
Use it as a means to get Data, see what ideas work, see what people like, track retention, and take on additional feedback to learn how you could do it better, or see if said idea turned out to be a bad idea.

IDK, make some weird PTR with a build and a few servers of the game. Invite live-streamers / Content creators of FFXIV, take on alot of people: especially here from the Forums who have issues with the game, and lets all see if these ideas would actually work for the game. Lets see if some of these ideas would be improvements, or just bad ideas that worked in their heads.

We all...well, maybe most of us, love tis game and have ideas to improve it.
We should work together, and even Field test these ideas.

Probably never going to happen. But just speaking up as a player who has been here for a long time, still loves this game, but agrees it can stand to see some changes, and improvements.
Ones that would improve the game, as a whole for Current and Future player.
Possibly even win back Past Players.

[Enkidoh]

Trouble is, these sorts of 'test server' type ideas never work how they should because players don't use it to 'test balance' of Jobs and bilities, they either use it as a way to find ways to exploit upcoming content to their advantage, or assail the developers with a billion different complaints about petty or minor things that are not really relevant to the game's functions.

SE tried a public test server with FFXI years ago, and that's exactly what happened with it, with the end result is SE abandoned it and eventually shut it down. Much of FFXIV ARR's development has been specifically to avoid FFXI's pitfalls so this is yet another thing I don't see them ever bother with.

[Rolder50]

Trouble is, these sorts of 'test server' type ideas never work how they should because players don't use it to 'test balance' of Jobs and bilities, they either use it as a way to find ways to exploit upcoming content to their advantage, or assail the developers with a billion different complaints about petty or minor things that are not really relevant to the game's functions.

SE tried a public test server with FFXI years ago, and that's exactly what happened with it, with the end result is SE abandoned it and eventually shut it down. Much of FFXIV ARR's development has been specifically to avoid FFXI's pitfalls so this is yet another thing I don't see them ever bother with.

Pretty weird how test realms seem to work for most other MMOs and similar games, then.

[NekoMataMata]

Problem is you're talking about short term tests that would have possible long term effects on the game. Something can be successful for a month, but can it be successful for multiple years in a row?

[Renalt]

We had one "burning of the game" and it actually worked pretty well. So how about a second "burning of the game"?

[Fyrebrand]

Anything they put in the work to implement in a test server is already going to be something they plan to put in the real game. They aren't going to put time and money to implement wacky forum ideas for new game mechanics or systems just to see if people like it, and then maybe throw it out if it doesn't fly.

Also, the kinds of players who would participate in a FFXIV PTR are, um... well, I'll be diplomatic and say they are "not representative of the overall population." Square Enix should not base their decisions on the course of the game based on feedback from a tiny minority.

[RitsukoSonoda]

We had one "burning of the game" and it actually worked pretty well. So how about a second "burning of the game"?

Huh? what? I get to start another Calamity?

[Sindele]

Ideas are cheap, easy, and can be conjured up regardless of reality. Implementation is expensive, difficult, and must reckon with the world as it exists, not as it is imagined.

Not only is the value proposition for this basically zero, undertaking it would actually seriously take time away from developing new content, unlike half the time that complaint gets trotted out by people who don't know any better.

[Zanarkand-Ronso]

these sorts of 'test server' type ideas never work how they should because players don't use it to 'test balance' of Jobs and bilities, they either use it as a way to find ways to exploit upcoming content to their advantage

Which is how I felt a PTR would be for FFXIV when it was proposed before (I forget how long ago) for Raids and Trials.
But also to reply to this, there wouldnt be an advantage gained, other then the idea that the Devs are willing to just let us try these "improvements"
I do however see the possibility that the Devs would just be hit with a Billion Minor or just Petty Complaints.

Still is/was just an idea.

[Zanarkand-Ronso]

Problem is you're talking about short term tests that would have possible long term effects on the game. Something can be successful for a month, but can it be successful for multiple years in a row?

That is why we are putting it to the test, to see if it really is worth the salt people value it as.
I of course cant say what will or could be successful and work long-term, but people believe they are solutions. We should test it and see.