Incremental Steps Towards Something New: What Should Be Gradually Prototyped?

[Shurrikhan]

For those a bit concerned by the stagnancy of the content model or the trends in its recent iteration, let's work under the premise that sudden and large changes (especially where those changes would typically take a large amount of explanation to preface as developers or even to usefully react to as players) are mostly untenable.

This may be a faulty premise, but if another thread wants to go that route, I'll link it here for contrast once it's come to my attention. For this one, though, let's work from that incremental approach.

To that end, let's start with two options:

1. Make a small (set of) incremental change(s) to an existing content type. What could those changes likely enable for/among further future changes? If this would require meeting a coding hurdle, how do you excuse it and what would meeting that hurdle future-proof? How do you imagine they'd be received?
   
   
2. Suggest a new, "experimental" content type (just as Diadem, Aquapolis, Deep Dungeon, The Feast, etc., were once new and experimental) that seems at least decently feasible to come from XIV's dev team but pushes boundaries in certain ways that could be useful down the line. Again, what does this enable, and how do you think it'd be received?

Reminder: Our interest here is to start something that, while seemingly isolated/individual, makes a natural inclination for further useful changes. The first low-hanging fruit reveals the next, and so forth. And that series should have some real direction that you imagine would be better for the game (and could pretty easily convince others of such). Please include where your suggested changes or additions would lead.

[Shurrikhan]

<Reserved for shortlist.>

[Jeeqbit]

Literally any QoL. There are so, so many things that are definitely not these huge coding, hardware or infrastructure hurdles they portray them as. I've (casually) coded in many languages since I was a child and sometimes it is baffling how things get portrayed as taking years or being impossible. If anyone here hasn't coded, believe me, there are certain things that you just know, no matter what the code structure or "spaghetti", are still not rocket science to do within the confines of those things, or there is even evidence within the game of similar "simple" things being done without issue. (That said, there are some things that people here portray as being easy to implement but would genuinely take years of planning and navigating hardware infrastructure challenges such as cross-DC PF or cross-region DF.)

QoL could be not clicking on other players/objects when clicking the hotbar, better targeting that has a competent priority system (such as closest engaged enemy>engaged enemies>unengaged enemies), rewards for doing content MINE such as Faux Hollows, better ilvl syncs for old content, better default UI arrangement that would make sprouts better at playing overnight, less annoying clipping in ARR areas before you unlock flying, landing more places, bulk split if they are going to have spawn conditions like Salt and Light, just 1 day of time spent on extra accessability options such as applying color blind settings to specific HUD elements and battle elements and adjusting non-player battle effects, abilities being such a problem to weave and register with high ping.

A lot of it is stuff a person could do in just 1 day or close to it. QoL is important because the more "little" annoyances there are, the more they build up to make someone feel a game is riddled with issues, at which point they quit. To be quite honest, what has made this game successful is addressing the major ones, but the smaller ones build up and as I said, many of them could be solved in a day by 1 developer if we're being honest.

Suggest a new, "experimental" content type

My idea for a new piece of content is a better version of guildhests that tries to re-create the traditional final fantasy experience. To give an example of the sort of content I imagine, watch these trailers:

• 1.0 trailer - Just this morbol fight, exactly as it is. We have the morbol fight but it's boring because it just autos the tank instead of pouncing on random players like that.
• 5.0 trailer - My idea is each player would be forcefully switched through their available job's highest ilvl gearset, and swiftly defeated each time, until their last job is a Dark Knight and then their damage is extremely buffed.

Just fun gimmick fights, basically.

In order to recreate the final fantasy experience:

1. Have no tank so that the boss jumps around and does whatever it does in its respective trailer.
2. Make the GCD very long - such as 10-20 seconds. This will force a healer to decide very carefully if their next GCD will be a heal, or an attack, and make their decisions a lot more important. Because if they choose wrong, the party may die. This is largely what made old FF games feel a certain way - if you chose not to heal, all you could do was watch for ages as the party got killed while the bar recharged. It added similar stakes to cleric stance in a way, whereas now the GCD restores fast and we have lots of OGCDs.
3. Disable abilities except certain ones, such as gap closers, rescue, role actions generally, etc.
4. In exchange for the long GCD, make the mechanics extremely intense so you have to move around like crazy and the focus is just to get your 1 attack in.

[Shurrikhan]

better targeting that has a competent priority system

Back in early HW, I did a lengthy writeup on something similar to your suggested control QoL updates, but I've long since lost it, so I'll just drop some highlights for now (see the expandable block below):

Core Additions -- for massive (if often unnecessary) QoL increase in terms of targeting:

Targeting Schema

A new system, Schema, has been introduced by which to far greater control whom an action should target. This works as a series of trickle-down priorities.

For instance, one could have an action most prefer their Current Target, if in range and applicable, but trickle down to their HUD Target (mouseover for a UI element), Field Target (mouseover for an on-field unit, rather than just UI), or Nearest Unit.

In total, options include Current Target, Focus Target, Previous Target, Target of Current Target, Target of Focus Target, Target of Previous Target, Camera Target (the target nearest to the center of your camera angle and in range), and Facing Target (target nearest player facing angle and in range).

One can set the Targeting Schema separately for each skill, for each instance of the skill once bound to a hotbar, and for general types of actions (such as ally-targeting or enemy-targeting skills or more specifically mitigation, etc.).

Dynamic Targeting

Players now have the option to use Dynamic Targeting.

While Dynamic Targeting is active, a target can be selected after selecting the action, allowing skills to highlight available and recommended targets -- thereby levying a variety of small QoL features.

To give time for this selection without delay, while Dynamic Targeting is active skills may be queued for activation at any time (rather than only in the last 0.5 seconds of the time before the given skill type may again be used), with conflicting orders preferring the most recent until the last 0.5 seconds. (These rules may be customized further for personal ease of use.)

For instance, upon pressing Icarus or Aetherial Manipulation, targeting reticules will appear around all applicable targets (party members in range), with unsafe targets (see the under-the-hood mechanic of Positional Snapping above) and those further from max range made more subtle. Similarly, Interject may highlight via targeting reticules only what enemies are currently casting an interruptible action.

When using a joystick, the target can be selected by nudging your targeting angle (via the direction in which the joystick is angled) and depth (via extent of joystick angle away from a neutral position) while the action is held. Additional options are available for cancelling any such action, including by swapping off of the chosen palette (using a different bumper, trigger, or combination thereof) or not pressing a second time, and to relative size of non-preferred targets, and what an ability considers a preferred target.

Listed as a sub-option for Dynamic Targeting, one may add a "Joystick Aim Starting Location" for a given skill as part of Schema, skill-specific or as a default, allowing the joystick movement to be done relative to a set target instead of the player themself.

Less Important Additions -- likely to be saved for normally hidden "Advanced Options":

Second Focus Target

One may now set a second Focus Target. This has the further option of Ward and Ware Targets, using the second Focus Target only if of a different type (friendly or hostile), allowing the two to share the same original Set Focus Target keybind. Keybinds added for Target Second Focus Target and Set Second Focus Target.

Moreover, the Focus Target and Current Target UIs can be stacked in customizable order alongside each other and, via a separate option, may be hidden or merged into the Current Target display when the two are the same, with or without a signifier that your Current Target is also your Focus or Second Focus Target.

Raise In Progress

Beginning a Raise action on an ally will immediately apply a buff on that ally displaying that they are in the process of being raised. Additionally, their health bar within the Party Frames or Alliance Raid Frames will be replaced with the remaining cast time on that raise.

Role Targets

In addition to targeting Player 1 to Player 8 within one's party, one may now target those of a specific role, Tank 1, Tank 2, Tank 3 (for ARs), Healer 1, Healer 2... Healer 6, and Damage 1, Damage 2... Damage 15.

These role orders can be set to ignore self, to set others in position 1, to set self in position 1, and to set whichever tank the original/primary boss is attacking as Tank 1 (if not self or including self). They can also be set conditionally to skip alive, dead, or dead-but-being-Raised members of the role.

:: Yes, these additional targeting options can also interact with Schema.

The general idea across these is that they allow players who might otherwise struggle to maintain full uptime or react with sufficient speed in scenarios that would oblige frequent target changes to much more nearly match the speed of more capable players (even after their having been likewise accelerated) while also giving general QoL to all, such as by allowing players to target in whatever way most makes sense to them. (While "Raise in Progress" might not appear to fit in with the other changes here, it interacts well with these added Role options, helping to pre-resolve who should Raise whom.)

A separate little addition I'd love to see:

Positional Snapping

A new under-the-hood feature has been added, with two main features:

First, certain enemies, especially in encounters where the given enemy may create attacks or mechanics and predetermined areas, will now tend to snap to certain positions and angles, such as to the mechanical center of an encounter or to the room's cardinal angles (or certain other multiples of a given angle, based on room layout).

When an enemy "snaps" to a certain position, due to the feature above or in "jumping" to a particular location, the range from which it can be attacked and (for a briefer time) the range from which the enemy itself can attack are extended and the angles from which it can be struck in the Flank or Rear linger briefly, duplicating attempted positional attacks against the mob to be checked against both positions and taking the better of the two. This allows players to smoothly continue engaging and manipulating the mob despite this added QoL.

Second, when using a target-less gap-closing or gap-creating ability, the game will check for pathable terrain across the last 6 yalms distance and 3 yalms beyond your would-be destination. If any part of the ending distance is non-pathable (e.g., would go off a cliff) or endangered (e.g., within an AoE), the player's position will be snapped up to 5 meters back, but if there is safe and pathable terrain within fewer yalms further than one would otherwise be restrained, the max travel distance can instead be extended. Neither this extension or reduction can exceed 40% of the total normal distance to be travelled.

Implication/Future Use: This would help to reconcile tank enemy-positioning agency with precise mechanical layouts, reducing the need to strip that agency from tanks. It also helps to resolve one of the largest problems existing bosses' instances of automatic repositioning cause for those with positional attacks, reducing the need to reduce or bypass positional elements in job kits.

__________________________

For the second option, I'd like to start with just a few changes to future dungeons:

Background Changes:

• Not all casts require the mob to stop in place.
• The maximum average item level for dungeons will be only 10 higher than what that dungeon drops.

Additions:

Take any among these dozenish random mechanics to scatter across the "trash" of a dungeon...

• Mobs cleave with only a .2s indicator, following a named wind-up (~1s to ~2s long) usable while moving.
• Mobs may attack random players with linear, conal, or radial (circular, target-centered) AoEs.
• Mobs may enrage after a short telegraphing animation, jumping to and thereafter fixating on a random target (as displayed by a tether).
• Mobs may perform a repeated tethered chain of attacks, each applying vulnerability debuffs. If the tank takes all without an immunity, they'll quickly be wrecked.
• Mobs may have "Wild Charge"-like mechanics, on a vulnerable tank or on a random other player.
• Mobs have many more (interruptible) casts.
• Mobs have knockbacks.
• Mobs have draw-ins (that may purposely sync with self-centered AoEs and may therefore require separating the AoEing mob and the one drawing players in or a stun/silence for either if possible).
• Mobs' attacks may buff the mob for a couple seconds each time and to an indefinite number of maximum stacks, allowing them to continually increase in power until kited, stunned, or killed.
• Mobs may apply physical or magical vulnerabilities to the enemy.
• Mobs may gain additional strength or powers when another mob is killed.
• Mobs may heal selves or others, though in a manner limited by (stackable) self-buffs, a (hidden but) limited amount of MP, and/or by interruptible cast times.
• Mobs may summon additional mobs on cast or condition (including death).
• Mobs may slowly pursue their killers after death as difficult- or impossible-to-kill wraiths.

Implications/Future Use: Though individually small and isolated additions, their combination would give far more reason to utilize the more unique and "utility"-focused parts of our kits in dungeons, shake up the experience of healer and tank responsibilities, and extend damage-dealers' responsibilities.

[Alice_Rivers]

Using other game systems for story telling purposes, per this thread, more than anything.

Also I'd like to see the player character have some meaningful agency, even if it is only minor and illusory, allow us different dialogue options and paths that may end up in the same place but get there by different routes. Maybe there's a peaceful route, an aggressive route, a more cautious route and a nope route. It's not like they can't adjust solo duties and such so as to account for your choices, it's only cutscenes and DF duties that require a set scenario.

I know it overlaps with my first offering but more role specific stuff throughout the game. Give tanks more opportunities to protect someone/something, healers more chances to treat injuries and dps to do... Normal MSQ things.

[Balmung_Griffin]

Oh, you made the thread I wanted to do!

I think first of all, they need to think of how they collect feedback from players.
I mean they say: "We're monitoring feedback", oh really? From where? From here? Reddit? In game? Whatever JP uses as main social media? At this rate they must have more people filtering feedback than developing the game.

Every week I receive an email from SQEX with "News from cash shop", did they ever thought of simply send a form with specific questions?

"Hello, Balmung Griffin!

We recently implemented PvP Series Malmstones into the game.
Did you accessed it? Yes/no

Follow up with relevant questions."

"Oh, congratulations on finishing DT MSQ, did you like it? What do you want to see improved?"

Give 20 teleport tickets as thank you and you're done.

Back to topic: this game sorely lacks "beta features", instead of throwing everything into a wall and see what it sticks.

Remember, Lords of Verminion?

If a single try out battle was available (without need of doing fancy graphics or anything) before they go all in, this thing would've been panned out of this world and maybe it could've been saved.

Then enter the form: what changes would you like to see and probably change battles to something like Pokemon or Turn based FF would be evident.

Island Sanctuary? Mammets? Workshop? Excel Sheet? No, thanks.

Go play Stardew Valley and make an abridged version of that, no need for fake rewards, content itself is the reward if it's engaging enough.

Make our NPC friends show up to hang out, no need to make quest, just hang out, help us out with gathering, play TT, any friendly competition, afternoon tea and boom.

Rotate friend once a month and we would never run out of friends lmao

[BakoolJaJa]

Back to topic: this game sorely lacks "beta features", instead of throwing everything into a wall and see what it sticks.

Crazy, I swear you just opened my eyes. Somehow, until now, I genuinely never realized that this game has no beta testing of anything whatsoever, when every other MMO I know does.

And it's not only huge MMOs like WoW that do it. LOTRO is a small, ancient, niche MMO and even they have a test server where they roll out new features/instances/class changes/etc before they actually go live with them. It makes a HUGE difference. It cannot be overstated just how important this kind of stuff is. It can save the devs so much time and a lot of headache that they go through when they release yet another content flop. Like you say, many of the critical issues become so obvious if you actually let the players try it for even a short amount of time.

They'd never change anything like that at this point though. This feedback will also never get "monitored" along with 99% of all other feedback.

[Jeeqbit]

Crazy, I swear you just opened my eyes. Somehow, until now, I genuinely never realized that this game has no beta testing of anything whatsoever, when every other MMO I know does.

SE has over 100 people across their Quality Assurance staff and they spend months finding bugs before the actual release of a major patch.

So from SE's perspective, test servers aren't needed.

However, finding bugs and finding "philosophical disagreements players have with the patch" are different things and I think public test servers allow the latter to be found.

LOTRO is a small, ancient, niche MMO and even they have a test server where they roll out new features/instances/class changes/etc before they actually go live with them.

Small MMOs probably do it so they don't have to pay for a large QA team like SE does.

[Talamh]

I want more Chocobo race Tracks.
It's been 3 tracks since forever.

Where's Round'the'Darvinia, or Up the down Sea of Clouds, or Thavnarian de Boko Marathon track.
And so on, and so on. And no Metallic Coloring for Bokos, are you mad? What about the renowned GOLD Chocobo?

Remember, Lords of Verminion?

Island Sanctuary? Mammets? Workshop? Excel Sheet? No, thanks.

Make our NPC friends show up to hang out, no need to make quest, just hang out, help us out with gathering, play TT, any friendly competition, afternoon tea and boom.
Rotate friend once a month and we would never run out of friends lmao

I do, I do it every week for 5 rounds.

The Island Sanctuary... is such a disappointment. I kept pushing it off, but then I learned that you basically turn the whole thing into an industrial nightmare... uhm.. WHY.
It's a SANCTUARY, not the Warrior of Light's colonization program. Still barely touched it. All I wanted was a flat piece of land with a hammock.
Maybe gathering opportunities, but I sure as hell didn't want to build all the stuff it wants me to build..

That sounds interesting, like Duty with NPC except you always have one with you.
Though that sounds a bit like SWTOR..

Small MMOs probably do it so they don't have to pay for a large QA team like SE does.

Star Trek Online has it.
I presume WoW still does it ( I stopped playing over 10 years ago ).

[DiaDeem]

VIERA.HATS.