I just want a FF11 modern game.

[Jeeqbit]

It isn't that simple. FFXI is still developed on the original PS2 devkit... You can't just port a 25 year old legacy codebase into the mangled ARR spaghetti monstrosity and expect it to work.

My experience disagrees with that. The devkit is ultimately irrelevant, especially since it has no need to continue operating on PS2. All they really have to do is create an intermediary on the client to convert FF11 data to FF14 data so that players experience it in a more modern client. Data may be cut in the process if FF14 doesn't support it, or the FF14 client would need adapting to support it. Either way, I don't care, because anything is better than how old FF11 is and how difficult it is to withstand playing something so outdated.

The main reason they might want to change the server too is so that the development tools are consistent, and also because as they've discussed themselves, it's very hard for them to find anyone that even knows how to use FF11's outdated development tools.

The combat systems are incomparably different. There is no GCD in FFXI.

The reason that doesn't matter much is because all that is handled on the server and the server doesn't necessarily need to change. As long as it can be made to look good enough on the client end (such as everything being off-GCD), the server can refuse things as needed.

Physical and elemental damage types don't exist in FFXIV.

They actually do (and many mechanics involve physical or elemental damage ups), but ultimately changing the display of that will be just adjusting the stat list/display in the character window. Rest is handled on the server and they don't have to change the server.

Point is though, if someone is ambitious enough, there would be challenges here and there sure, but it could be done. There just doesn't seem enough motivation or ambition for them to do it.

[BigCheez]

My experience disagrees with that. The devkit is ultimately irrelevant, especially since it has no need to continue operating on PS2. All they really have to do is create an intermediary on the client to convert FF11 data to FF14 data so that players experience it in a more modern client. Data may be cut in the process if FF14 doesn't support it, or the FF14 client would need adapting to support it. Either way, I don't care, because anything is better than how old FF11 is and how difficult it is to withstand playing something so outdated.

Then your experience must be incredibly limited.

The devs have spoken on multiple occasions about how they bought out the remaining stock of PS2 Devkits are aren't really sure what they will do when the last ones breaks. It absolutely is not as simple as "just port it to a different engine lol".

They actually do (and many mechanics involve physical or elemental damage ups), but ultimately changing the display of that will be just adjusting the stat list/display in the character window. Rest is handled on the server and they don't have to change the server.

No, they don't. We used to have blunt, piercing and slashing damage like FFXI but that has been removed. The elemental wheel never existed in FFXIV though. Magic damage is just magic damage. Similarly, monster types have never existed in FFXIV. Weapon types are limited to 1 job in FFXIV.

It would be a huge amount of work to port FFXI into FFXIV's engine while retaining all of the nuances. The game has infinitely more depth. I don't think they would be able to update it without it either being more effort than it's worth or ruining the game for the people who still enjoy it. FFXI is fine as it is. Plenty of people are still playing and the game is still pulling in a few million per year.

[Jeeqbit]

The devs have spoken on multiple occasions about how they bought out the remaining stock of PS2 Devkits are aren't really sure what they will do when the last ones breaks. It absolutely is not as simple as "just port it to a different engine lol".

I didn't mean it was simple. I meant the method in which they go about it determines how much work it is and how complicated it is. The way I was referring to would leave the server code and methods as is, given that is the where the real decisions are made and will be incredibly complex by this point. The only thing that really needs to change is how it looks and is presented to players. They already adapt the FF14 client for other purposes without issue.

Another example is they need to hide references to PlayOnline while logging in as much as possible, since most of that could all be done behind the scenes. I've no doubt their server still expects it all to occur, we just don't need to see it as much.

No, they don't. We used to have blunt, piercing and slashing damage like FFXI but that has been removed.

Physical Damage is indicated with a sword icon (moreover, I think parries still only work against physical damage which you can test on Gunbreaker).

Elemental damage up will go on you if you enter a lot of high end duties. This happens in Sophia Extreme for example. The idea of this is it makes you significantly more vulnerable to its elemental damage, which is why a tankswap is required.

We once had elemental defenses listed in our character window, and had elemental materia and pots for defense. These were all removed, but it doesn't mean the stats are not in the game - just our ability to see and interact with them is significantly more limited than it was in Heavensward. A lot of enemy attacks were always elemental, despite that nobody bothered stacking elemental defenses.

FFXI is fine as it is.

I spent a few hours trying to navigate out of the starting city. No matter what I did, the User Interface was so bad it made me appreciate FFXIV's in ways I never imagined I would. I'm sure it's fine for people who are used to it, but it's not for people who would rather get into a modern version of it.

[Altina_Orion]

I spent a few hours trying to navigate out of the starting city. No matter what I did, the User Interface was so bad it made me appreciate FFXIV's in ways I never imagined I would. I'm sure it's fine for people who are used to it, but it's not for people who would rather get into a modern version of it.

Anyone who isn't an old ffxi gamer would feel the same way. Starting XI as a new player is a god awful experience that turns you away quickly. The game may be a good nostaliga trip, but it aged like milk. Modern gamers would not enjoy it (not that we enjoy xiv either)

[Volgia]

I remember XI players would tell me the game created a community for how unfriendly and how hostile it was to learn to play. You needed people and each other to help you through even navigate a simple city, or to even kill a single monster. It would not be very popular or profitable today.

[TaleraRistain]

I remember XI players would tell me the game created a community for how unfriendly and how hostile it was to learn to play. You needed people and each other to help you through even navigate a simple city, or to even kill a single monster. It would not be very popular or profitable today.

EverQuest was the same way. There were one or two classes who could solo things by kiting things around - druids/rangers (with snare which slowed the mobs), necromancers (on specific undead mobs) and enchanters (who could charm) - but otherwise you were dependent on a group to do anything. There were no instances until Lost Dungeons of Norrath, so the game was camp and grind in a zone at specific spots until the day your guild had to battle against other guilds for who got to hit the raid target this week. There were only a certain number of safe pull spots in each zone and sometimes there were lines waiting for a spot in a group like at Highhold Keep. When Eureka Anemos came out and everyone was doing chain groups in specific areas before the fate train developed, it brought back a lot of those memories.

Travel was so bad that you would travel to an area and then log so you could actually camp and grind things there the next night. EverQuest had experience loss on death, so we had to get a safety bubble into a new level or risk dying and deleveling the next time we did the camp and grind treadmill.

It's not to say I didn't enjoy playing the game for 10 years. Obviously I got something out of it. But part of it was that it was just the MMO style at the time. EQ came out a few years before XI and then XI followed the same ideas and the smaller MMOs at that time did as well so we didn't really question it. When EQII and WoW (which came out like a week away from each other in 2004) came out, we saw that things didn't have to be that way. So many of us jumped ship.

I just don't see that genie being put back in the bottle now because MMO players know it doesn't have to be that way. There will be fans of the old style, but it's doubtful there will be an audience to make the game profitable and earn back the cost to produce it.

[fulminating]

I spent a few hours trying to navigate out of the starting city. No matter what I did, the User Interface was so bad it made me appreciate FFXIV's in ways I never imagined I would. I'm sure it's fine for people who are used to it, but it's not for people who would rather get into a modern version of it.

You literally turn around and it’s the big door behind you.

[Jeeqbit]

You literally turn around and it’s the big door behind you.

It was a lot further than that. But that was the problem anyway. Turning and moving was that hard because it was designed for a controller. I was moving in circles trying to move, for absolutely hours, so even if the exit was behind me I'd have still been stuck.

Bringing up the map was hard, and when I finally did, it didn't fade out like in FFXIV, meaning I had to memorize the map. This forced me to keep bringing it up repeatedly, which could only be done via the menu - I couldn't just press M like in FFXIV.

I could barely tell the difference between players and NPCs either, and if there is an MSQ, I'd have no clue about it because there are no quest icons. This instantly makes you think there's nothing to do in the game.

After several hours, when I'd exited the city, the terrain was so simple (a bowl) that it made me sick looking at it.

I expected a rough time due to it being an old game, and was prepared to go through the difficulty, but I did not think that difficulty would be simply moving 1 meter and bringing up the map. I thought it would be more things like the lack of quest icons and battles.

Oh, and get this: they had run out of copies of the trial version of the game. There were none left. I had to actually buy the full game instead, which was a waste of money.

It was just a completely awful experience compared to FFXIV, with not a shred of quality of life to make the new player experience even slightly tolerable in 2025.

[MicahZerrshia]

It was a lot further than that. But that was the problem anyway. Turning and moving was that hard because it was designed for a controller. I was moving in circles trying to move, for absolutely hours, so even if the exit was behind me I'd have still been stuck.

Bringing up the map was hard, and when I finally did, it didn't fade out like in FFXIV, meaning I had to memorize the map. This forced me to keep bringing it up repeatedly, which could only be done via the menu - I couldn't just press M like in FFXIV.

I could barely tell the difference between players and NPCs either, and if there is an MSQ, I'd have no clue about it because there are no quest icons. This instantly makes you think there's nothing to do in the game.

After several hours, when I'd exited the city, the terrain was so simple (a bowl) that it made me sick looking at it..

This....just....I mean....it really sounds like you came in with preconceived notions on how it is or how you thought it was and intentionally made your life hard because the controls are incredibly basic for anyone with even the slightest game knowledge.

Movement is simple, literally just wasd or 4862 on the numpad like nearly every other game out there. map is just alt-M or /map if you don't want to open the main menu and simply click on map. Sure it's not intuitive but I assume you didn't bother to look at keybinds like most ppl do starting a fresh in any game, which imo is purely player error. There is also a mini map addon. npc's use the same models as players, as do other mmos including ffxiv, but their names are green instead of white or have no name at all, also like ffxiv. The lack of quest icons is the only thing here I will concede on, but that also means you were talking to 0 npcs and didn't bother to do a simple google search because there are multiple websites that lay things out in detail. And sure you may grumble about having to look ta third party sites for information, but that is something ppl do in ffxiv too. Battle guides, ui guides, rotation guides, story guides, etc etc etc. The rest just feels like you were intentionally trying to find problems with it.

As for the bowl, I can only think you mean gustaberg, which is still much more lively than other game zones, including some in XIV. I mean when we got a raid that was just white boxes.

[Jeeqbit]

the controls are incredibly basic for anyone with even the slightest game knowledge.

No, they are not, otherwise I would not have struggled to move. As I said, they were designed for a controller. There was an option to make it work better for keyboard but it was still very difficult to use.

Movement is simple, literally just wasd

I think WASD might have been the problem. I think I might have ended up trying up/down/etc? I forget what I did to actually navigate but all I remember is it was extremely difficult.

map is just alt-M

Oh well I would have had no idea it required me to press Alt now would I? M is intuitive.

I assume you didn't bother to look at keybinds

I did but the menu was incredibly hard to use because, again, it was designed for controllers. Pressing ESC didn't do it the same way as in most games like FFXIV, because it was designed to work like the old single player FF games which were designed with a Playstation controller in mind.

The rest just feels like you were intentionally trying to find problems with it.

That's a common perspective of veteran players in MMOs that completely ignores and doesn't care about the experience of new players - that's exactly how MMOs dwindle in population. When the new player experience is dismissed and ignored by its veteran players and developers. This is why I am not rude to new players for not knowing things in FFXIV.