ffxi-2? Well, maybe... but WHICH ffxi?

[Rutelor]

This is neither an endorsement nor an attack on the idea of FFXIV taking the route paved by FFXI. That's another complex issue which deserves to be debated; there's a juicy thread, active right now, about that topic.

However I think it's important to clarify one point in the discussion. When most people wax nostalgic about the earlier game, they (we) are usually focusing their memories on the admittedly clunky, yet deep and rewarding game we all played before the word Abyssea was ever pronounced in it. We're referring to the rich game mechanics that supported a complex and varied Skill Chain system, which generated party play that could last for hours, with clockwork team interaction being always pushed off-kilter by links, differences in mob strength and sheer human fallibility. We probably are thinking of the slow-paced, half-mental, half adrenaline-rushed race to cap, the perpetual frustrations thrown your way by Matt & Co., the arcane and semi-buried stat interactions that stimulated theory-crafting and more fan sites that memory can recall now... Admittedly, it was a tough world, but it was one that made acquaintance flourish into friendship with surprising speed.

This wants to be a reminder to the community that posts in this forums to start qualifying their nostalgic calls with the PRE-ABYSSEA adjective... I rushed to post this, after I read part of that thread I referenced above, and therefore didn't do my homework: If I could mention the development team (other than Tanaka) responsible for most of that, I would do it. Acknowledgedly, there were epic fails in their work: The already mentioned hyper-clunky interface, most dismally exemplified by the chocobo-raising experience, but not only; the failure to unite and integrate (until Level Synch) high-level players with the newbies (the Mentor feature was one rather pallid and unsuccessful attempt; ) and finally and especially, the lack of some connective tissue to give better context and sense of purpose to what was, ostensibly, the most epic grindfest this side of Lineage I.

One common and wrongful assumption--to this day--is the belief that FFXI was a game that appealed exclusively to FF fans. I, and a large chunk of my in-game acquaintances over the years came to it from the MMO side of the gaming world and are proof of said assumption's falsehood. We never played a FF game before XI and many of us still haven't. We stayed, despite the evident lack of streamlining and user-friendliness, despite the grueling collection of frustration sadistically thrown into our plates, and despite the hermetic devs and their frequent wrongheadedness. We stayed, in sum, because someone, or something, had managed to invest the game with an amazing sense of locale, mystery, poetry, danger, and--last but not least--a deep and rich array of game mechanics that we loved to turn our heads against. These were the facts, good and bad, that made FFXI the best kept secret of the MMO industry for years.

The game was repeatedly ignored by the media, despite its ranking, for years, as the second most stable virtual-world population in the planet, and as the undisputed pioneer in many areas like cross-platform availability, class (job) design, and character flexibility (the abilities to level all classes and equip subjobs,) to say nothing of the invention of the Auction House system, and the presence of the most charming transport ever to grace an MMO: The chocobo.

Now, let's make clear THAT is the model we refer to when we dream of aspects of XI as models for future FFXIV develpment, not the watered-down version of itself that it became after the level-cap was taken beyond 75.

Just saying,

C

[Randis]

My expression

[SirEdeonX]

My expression

You're eating too much popcorn, Randis xD

[Randis]

love popcorn... salty, also bbq flavor... not in favor of sweet popcorn.

[Renshi]

My expression

[SirEdeonX]

love popcorn... salty, also bbq flavor... not in favor of sweet popcorn.

I too love pocorn, but I'm a sweet guy, so sweet popcorn for me

[Randis]

My expression

you will get dry lips if you do that.

[Corrderio]

My expression
Just ignore the scanner there and I think you get the point.

[quantumsaint]

I want FFXIV to be the (spirtual) sequel to Chains of Promathia. ToAU ruined the game for me as a BLM. I want an epic story with boss fights that require strategic tactics, memorable NPCs like Tenzen and Prishe, and a reward as awesome as being able to access zones like Al'taieu. Too bad S-E seems stuck on easy mode these days.

[Zaene]

I agree strongly that there is a distinction between the concepts that made up FFXI pre-Abys and post-Abys. I personally prefer pre-Abys FFXI.

Along that vein I'd like to see things like Mr. Quantum just mentioned. Prishe and Tenzen were some of my favorite characters. I was honestly sad when I finished CoP going back to Tavnazia Safehold remembering all the crazy cutscenes and the like.

It's important to understand the topic the OP brings up because it NULLIFIES the sheeple manta "Hurpdurp u like XI then go play XI durpyhurp"

The game we loved no longer exists.

We need something new.