[dev1008] About Jumping

[Focant]

i may be confused.... and correct me if im wrong.. but are you saying that the way the game is designed now.. they wouldnt be able to add "jumping" with out totally redesigning everything?

No I'm saying that in order to make jumping meaningful, a lot more work would have to go into it than creating an animation and allowing character to move vertically. It's one thing to add the feature, it's another to give it purpose.

I have to agree that jumping is by no means a priority. And if they implemented it now, it could be seen as kind of superfluous; just a practical means of getting over some rocks and whatnot. But even now, the zones can accommodate it. The zones which we have presently, while not giving much meaning to it, don't discourage it.

For future reference, they could develop zones with the jump feature in mind. But again, I don't think it's a priority. However, just because it is not a priority compared to the game's other failings, does not mean it should be dismissed as totally incompatible with the design philosophy, and that's mainly because the design philosophy has not taken jumping into account. The game has no opinion on jumping at the moment. The zones are indifferent to it. It could be added, or it couldn't and it wouldnt make much difference to the mechanics in place.

I will say this, I think it should be implemented if only so that it could inform more interesting content in the future.

So in conclusion, development time is the only factor influencing my opinion on jumping. I do think it's an integral part of any MMO, but I don't think it's a priority. My main qualm is with those who dismiss its implementation for reasons which are something along the lines of: "I don't want bunny hopping, platforming elements, or any thing I deem to be at odds with Final Fantasy tradition."

I can't say that jumping is inherently "bad," that it somehow hinders the game or wouldn't have some place given proper supporting content. I must say though that by choosing to not include jumping, the game instantly took a stance on it. If you can't jump you build the areas with characters being firmly planted on the ground in mind. You create content focusing on other aspects of gameplay aside from area navigation. The game could certainly be reworked to accommodate jumping. It could be built up to provide an in-depth experience with that feature. At what point though are you moving away from what makes sense given what's already there and instead attempting to build an environment solely for a personally desired feature? At what point are you making a new game instead of improving an old one? Perhaps that last point is a bit exaggerated but I do wonder if jumping would truly make the game so much better.

I'm fine with jump if it's added somewhere down the line, as long as there's proper motivation to use it. Personally though I feel too much would need to be changed to accommodate it and what would be gained would hardly justify the effort. We can continue to go around the tree or tear it up and build a road. Either is fine, ultimately, it's just a matter of if saving time not going around the tree is worth the effort of destroying it. =/

Also, one thing to add. I know people saying jumping doesn't seem "FF" enough might get on your nerves. This is XIV and not XI, yeah. Thing is it's built by some of the same people and they set out to give us an experience different from that of the mainstream mmo. It may not be what you or any other person wants, but discrediting someone's argument because they feel that jumping doesn't feel completely in tune with the heart of the game is like saying people can't like other genres of games.