FFXIV-- the fear of a WoW Clone is real...

[casker]

What SWTOR and GW2 have that Final Fantasy XIV didn't, was a nice, smooth UI, and movement that were all really responsive.

The rest of those two games were just meh~

Were you not around for the 1 second delay fiasco with TOR.

And gw2, despite supposedly being geared for lower end machines, still doesn't run very well.

[Velhart]

on the recent live letter, it was mentioned that the devs have been playing Starwars old republic and guild wars 2.

Do you guys fear that what made FFXI and FXIV unique will cease to exist and that we will sadlyl endup being a WoW clone?

I REALLY HOPE NOT

How many times must this dead horse of a topic be beaten?

Yoshida has explained several times why he approaching the game this way and he is absolutely right.

You know, if we go by the logic of the people in this forum, Chrono Trigger is clearly a clone of Final Fantasy IV. Final Fantasy is a clone of Dragon Quest. Ohh hell, any turn based JRPG is a clone of Dragon Quest.

[Preypacer]

I think part of the problem here is that people on both sides are jumping to the most extreme examples of their argument, neither of which need be the case.

On one side, you have people saying "I hope they're not taking ideas directly from WoW because it will just end up being WoW in a FF skin". On the other you have them saying, "They should be copying WoW. If you want FFXI, go back to FFXI".

This is why so many discussions turn into ugly arguments and go nowhere, because each side is throwing out these exaggerated remarks that represent the most extreme case on either side. Few people around here, it seems, ever acknowledges that vast middle-ground that exists between the extremes.

I'd say that, among this community, the whole "stop trying to make this game FFXI" thing is as abused and misused a rebuttal as the "wow clone" remarks are. There's an amazing amount of double-standards and selective criticism in that category.

Talk about borrowing ideas wholesale from WoW, TOR, GW2 or any other post-WoW MMO, and people are just fine and dandy with that. Suggest that even one single feature from FFXI be implemented, and people freak out, "stop trying to turn this into FFXI!". It's a ridiculously one-sided and exaggerated reaction. It's completely irrational. Folks, FFXI has done well for SE. That MMO has been going for 10+ years now - far longer than some of the other games people will readily suggest they copy ideas from - and is still going strong with a new expansion being released. That's nothing to scoff or snort at. Whatever your personal feelings are about the game, they have been doing something right to have accomplished that.

It's completely hypocritical to sit there saying "they should look to other MMOs for inspiration", openly suggest they look to WoW, or TOR, or GW2 or whatever, by adapting ideas from those games... but then freak out and say "GTFO!" when someone suggests something from FFXI - a successful MMO that's been out longer than any of them.

So can we knock it off with the "WoW clone" and "trying to turn the game into FFXI" remarks? Please? Neither side is scoring any kind of points by making those kinds of remarks.

For myself, I have no problem with them using aspects of WoW-type games that make for a smoother and more accessible gameplay experience. My concern is that they dip too much into WoW's (increasingly) shallow challenge curve and adapt the excessive hand-holding, and rewarding the player for every little thing they do. The former turns the game into an experience where you're forever on training wheels, right up 'til level cap. The latter experience feels extremely patronizing, like they're constantly bribing me to continue playing their game. Don't undermine the adventure of going through the game, experiencing the storylines and all the content by making leveling go by absurdly fast. And please, no freaking cash shops selling in-game items. If it's in the game, it should be obtainable in the game, by playing the game. Those are my key requests/concerns.

I feel like the difficulty in FFXIV was just about right. I wouldn't mind it a bit tougher than 1.0 was. Regular quests were challenging enough for the most part; some felt far too easy, and some others felt like you were given them at too low a level. But mostly, to me, they felt just about right. Boss fights were sufficiently difficult in that it wasn't a guaranteed win on the first or second try (unless you were with a perfectly seasoned group who could do them with their eyes closed, or got lucky). If it's supposed to be a tough fight against a major character/enemy in the game, I expect to die at least a few times to them, and that's okay.

I don't want FFXIV to be punishingly difficult. I just don't want it to be a stroll in the park, either.

[lepton]

I don't think WoW will be so much the competition as the upcoming Elder Scrolls MMO. Those are the two I think will be battling it out in 2013.

[Fated]

It's been real ever since SE promoted a person who had more experience with WoW than he did with Final Fantasy to the director position.

[MStowastiqVahlshdeh]

on the recent live letter, it was mentioned that the devs have been playing Starwars old republic and guild wars 2.

Do you guys fear that what made FFXI and FXIV unique will cease to exist and that we will sadlyl endup being a WoW clone?

I REALLY HOPE NOT

I think that if they went through the trouble to listen to the base enough to remake the whole entire game that we stand a great chance that they will fix the new one too if we dislike it that much.

[Preypacer]

It's been real ever since SE promoted a person who had more experience with WoW than he did with Final Fantasy to the director position.

He's familiar with WoW, yes. But his favorite MMO is/was Dark Age of Camelot - which is decidedly not World of Warcraft.

[Nakiamiie]

on the recent live letter, it was mentioned that the devs have been playing Starwars old republic and guild wars 2.

Do you guys fear that what made FFXI and FXIV unique will cease to exist and that we will sadlyl endup being a WoW clone?

I REALLY HOPE NOT

Don't they play that to broaden their thought process, what is good and what is not, then build something better for ARR. That's what I'd do.

Nope. I'm not worried.

[Lum]

Doesn't matter, i doubt they could make it any worse than it already is.

[Seirra_Lanzce]

GW2 doesn't play like WoW does, to compare it is like comparing apple and orange, same goes to FFXIV.