Categories of Questions for Letter from the Producer LIVE, Part V!

[Matsume]

PART IV. TECHNICALLY SPEAKING:

ARR Launch

I have a question about promoting ARR's official release. Is it possible to promote ARR at the upcoming London MCM from Friday May 24th to Sunday May 26th at the Excel Center? Gamespot UK always have a Q&A demo space set up there for the weekend and it would be a great way to get some promotions done for FFXIV.
I'm being very serious, a mixture of live beta gameplay and Q&A at this event would do great.

Will the game client be available through Steam digital distribution?

Will there be a special FATE that everyone gets to participate in at launch?

There is a caveat in the beta roadmap stating that some progress from open beta may not be able to be carried over to the retail version. Could you share with us what some of those things might be?

Will ARR have any presence at March's PAX East? SE could make it a very interesting weekend with ARR's beta being underway, as well as the new XI expansion launching a few days after.Better yet, will Yoshi-P himself make an appearance?

Will SE be planning to release ARR as a digital download for new players through websites like Amazon, Steam or Gamestop?

If there are any new bonus items for purchasing/preordering A.R.R.(lets say like for PS3), will we be able to register the bonus item to our existing 1.0 created character?

I haven't heard any mention of it lately so..... Will 1.0 players still make it in the credits as previously stated?

How will our existing character first log in to ARR at launch (or Beta 4/Open Beta, if that is the case) - will we have to select a server or, will we arrive on our existing server? If we will have to select a server, will the server names be announced in advance?

How many Gigabytes size do you expect for Final Release client

Can we get clear information about this NPC that will hold your extra items if you were over the the 150 inventory slot cap.

Will we be able to explore Coerthas at launch?

Beta

Will the appearance change and remodeling of our old characters be available during phase 4 or will it be enabled at release?

Will our existing 1.0 characters be kept on the same servers for Beta Phase 4/Launch?

This might be a main question but no one asked it yet so, When will the beta launch?

Beta Testing:
Can we create a character for Beta Phase 1, play for a few days, then delete the character and create a new one for Beta Phase 1? Or, once we finish character creation are we locked into that character for the duration of Phase 1?

will at any point in the beta test arcanist be available?

Are the Alpha and Beta Clients different? Will previous alpha players need to delete what they installed and re-download and install another client for the beta?

What is the current date the Beta will start?

When will we be able to explore the revamped maps of version 1.0 areas other than Gridania and the Black Shroud, or possibly some completely new areas?

Will we see any improvement with the download client, or will I still need to monitor my connection all day downloading the beta?

How many Gigabytes size do you expect for Beta client

On behalf of all non-Legacy members out there:
Can we get a chart showing the number of Legacy members compared to the amount of people allowed in Phase 1 of the beta? It would be nice to see if there's any room left.

Will the Beta period be compatible with Windows 8? Will FFXIV 2.0 be compatible with Windows 8?

Collectors Edition

Will there be a Collectors Edition available to purchase for FFXIV ARR?

And will there be any special way for old CE holders to get it (e.g. discount on the full physical copy/only the digital part of collection available for download)?

Will there be a collectors edition like FFXIV v1? I hope so cause i love collecting FF stuff and am more than willing to purchase it.

What are the current planned items to be included in the Collectors Edition of ARR?

Is there going to be a new collectors edition? and if so what will it contain? will it be better then the 1.0 one?

If you have the 1.0 CE and you make a new character in ARR will you recieve the bonus items on that character aswell?
Or will they be stuck on my old character?

Controls

Will the default FFXIV:ARR UI and controls allow PC players to use the keyboard without the mouse?

Will there be set default settings for special controller like the official ff14 controller in ARR like there was in 1.0?

If possible would you show footage of you controlling your character with mouse and keyboard using FFXIV ver1.0 control scheme. It was said that this option would be added for us M+K users instead of the 'global mmo' strafing style.

Economy/Market Wards

do you have any plans on how to correct the economic instability created by the carry over? and are any servers which will be 100% fresh starts with no carry over allowed for new players to feel confident starting on?

Will the market wards of the different cities ever be combined into one interlinked facility combined over all of the worlds? One economy over the entire game that will ensure constant supply and demand at all times of day and night on all worlds?

Will we have an Auction house or Market wards? How will the system work? Is it linked among the different cities? How will it allow for quick and easy buy/sell functionality?

The market wards and retainer system was one of the most frustrating experiences of 1.0 for me and many other people. Can you tell us more about how you will be changing this system for ARR?

With player housing being in seperate instances, the special add-ons to housing, and the massive congestion in the market wards, is there a possibility of being able to station a retainer at our homes to sell goods in a small stand out front? If this is at all feasible, it could reduce the market ward congestion significantly, as well as give players a real reason to wonder around the housing areas. Imagine visiting a famous free company's headquarters to buy the rarest loot, or stumbling onto a tiny house owned by an expert crafter that has all kinds of rare things for sale.

Graphics/Processing

What are the plans for system and graphical upgrades in the future? Will we be stuck with the current graphics and software/server structure 10 years from now or will these things be regularly assessed and upgraded as new technology/techniques become available?

Note that this question has nothing to do with PS3 limitations but a general concept of willingness to upgrade the game on all consoles/computers/gadgets/etc over the years.

What kind of options can we look forward for those with higher end machines? Like the graphical milestone update (DX10/11).
subliminal message: including grass. Flora and Fauna

Are there plans to have Final Fantasy ARR or future FF in 3D?

Is there any way we'll be able to see rag-doll style physics for corpses in ARR?

How are the development team planning for the future in terms of hardware changes, new standards in graphical quality among competitors and so on?

We heard last time that the next milestone is DirectX 11 compatibility - how is this going to be managed alongside the PS3 versions? I'm asking from a PC player viewpoint but I imagine that the PS3 players might be less than impressed if say, the PC version continued to get improved graphically whereas the PS3 is neglected, and vice-versa.

Will there be a x64 bit version for the ARR?

I have a low memory GPU would be great to use my system ram for processing.

1. Will physics be expanded on for something more than light swaying of hair and cloth?
2. Is there the potential for Oculus Rift support in the future? See also: Lockergnome

I'll have more questions later, but just tossing these out there for now.

To help the players that are getting Motion Sickness (乗り物酔い) from the Alpha Camera shown so far, will you give us the Option to Adjust the Camera Speed / Smoothness in the final game?

With the new graphical and server systems, will it be possible to introduce full flowing capes in 2.0? It was said that this wasn't feasible with the old systems, that it would be too hard to do capes that flowed and fluttered (like the already existing flags in Limsa), but the new systems seem to counter many of the problems of old.

At what stage of completion are shaders for the new engine?

I’m a Survivor and you know it

Will the survivor mark be avaible during the last phases of beta?

Are you going to put for sell the Survivor T-shirt you used in last live letter?

I think it's very cool that we'll get a survivor mark. However, I plan to make my lalafell a male miquo'te in ARR. Will my character still have a survivor mark? Or is that only going to be available to me if I keep my character the same exact way?

Legacy Members

When will Legacy members submit their names for the FFXIV 2.0 credits?

Will there be more chances to obtain legacy status if you missed out the first time?

Will the battle animations for charecters improve in Beta better than Alpha's battle animations? Alpha's battle animations seemed a bit lifeless. I can understand if they dont improve in the first phase, having the release of all races.

Linkshells

Can you tell us the exact number of the new size of Linkshells and how a community larger than 100 should go about setting up a Free Company?

Will it be possible in ARR to place linkshell logos on shields or other gear?

^ This
and even more specifically...

#1 We know that Linkshells are going to be treated as chat channels, as such is there a limit on how many people can be in a linkshell chat channel in ARR? Will the linkshell membership continue to be limited to only 128 people, or will it now be unlimited because it is merely a chat channel?

(personally I'm hoping it will be unlimited because we've have a large linkshell membership and would like to not have to make multiple shells just to include everyone.)

#2 Its understood that Free Companies are going to take over being more "event" and "endgame" type content groups and it was said that 100 was the limit on the amount of members (which is less than the amount allowed in a current ver 1.0 linkshell). Again taking into consideration that we have a fairly large current linkshell community, is there any plans to increase that number, or to allow formal alliances between Free Companies?

Will the Linkshell system have an option for removing players even if they are not logged in to the game?

I know this was an issue on several of the Linkshells I was on since some members got tiered of the game and quit with no word to others, all the wile there spot could have been given to a dedicated player and the only option was to break and remake the Linkshell

Music

Will the chocobo music be changed to something a little less boisterous? Will we have the option to choose between different "moods" of the theme, or have an option to turn it off and enjoy a zone's music while on chocobo-back?

I really just feel the chocobo music in 1.0 and the alpha was very over-the-top for 90% of the reasons I got on one.

Also, will the goobbue mount music remain in the game? In addition, will other mounts have their own music?

New Players

Is there going to be more of new player selected to join the beta? or most of player in beta will be only legacy player?

Can you tell me about if there's any plan to welcome the new player into ARR? Is there any thing like free to play trial?

Playstation

How do you respond to criticism from those that believe the PS3 hardware is holding back the developers from adding features such as additional hairstyles.
After 10 years FFXI has finally dropped support for PS2 and now is able to perform critical overhauls to systems such as the UI. Which were previously impossible due to 'PS2 limitations'
What assurance can you give that FFXIV will not suffer the same fate ?

Will ARR be playable on the PS4?
This will have a great impact on player-base if the PS4 is released in the next year, due to people trading in their PS3s to buy a new console.

Will there be anything for the PSVita such as cross-play or remote-play? Not a standalone Vita version, but something that works with the PS3 version.
For instance: playing the ps3 version using the psVita as a controller with a touch screen keyboard, inventory, map, etc... Or, remote play for playing on the go.

Will players that have a PS3 code attached to their account be able to get the PS4 version for a discounted amount when it comes out?

When (yes when, not if) the PS4 version is developed, will it simply be a port of the PS3 version or will the graphics be scaled up to take advantage of the new hardware?

Have your recieved the specs for the Ps4, and if so, would you all look to port of ARR if its built to be more user friendly for developers than the Ps3 was?

There was 2 codes that came with my FFXIII game case. Will both of these work for PS3's exclusive access too the ARR beta in phase 4? I could of used the wrong one if only one works.

Can I play on PS3 with EU SE account and US PSN account?

What will the requirements be for PS3 players?

When will pre-ordering the game (collector's edition and/or normal version) be available for the PS3 version? What bonus gear/items might be available with said pre-orders?

With the Ps3 version, will you still be able to earn Playstation Network trophies if you have been an existing player on PC and intend to spend time playing ARR on both PS3 and PC.

Will there be a Final Fantasy XIV style Playstation console released at retail?

Smart Phone Aps

Is there a plan to release a Final Fantasy XIV Realm Reborn application in the smart phones such as Iphones and Android systems? where we can view our quests logs information, chat with the linkshell members, view the auction house and further more, use it as a security token instead of the device!?

What are the plans for mobile gaming and apps in 2.0's future? On what sort of machines and which operating systems (Android or Apple or something else?) may such things be available, when will they be available, what will their functions/activities be, will they cost money, etc. Also, will using such devices and apps be required to meet the standards of the average player within the game or will it simply be something optional on the side?

Servers

Could you tell us more about the regional servers? And what kind of effect will it have on us?

Has the plans for server transfer for old characters been finialized and if so what are the details on this. Like will old characters get one free pass to move to an old server? I know that old characters can not move to new servers at the time of release.

It has been mentioned that Regional Servers will allow us the choice of playing with players of our own language/region or another region. However, with friends that were made in 1.0 in other region will I be able to communicate with them in 2.0 through cross-server chatting? Will I be able to build parties with friends on other servers through the content finder or is it strictly random selection only?
Is selecting a Regional Server a hard set choice that cannot be changed?

How will our existing character first log in to ARR at launch (or Beta 4/Open Beta, if that is the case) - will we have to select a server or, will we arrive on our existing server? If we will have to select a server, will the server names be announced in advance?

It is going to be possible to add players from other server to your friend list when you do cross-server content and be able to chat with them?
I would like to know because I could be in a different server and still be able to chat with them and do some content too.

User Created Content

GREAT HOPES: I have always been a fan of user created in-game content. Would you consider a developer toolset for ARR, where players could download and edit the 'skin' of ones own character (example: adding unique war paint to the face and body, or something stupid like an evil clown face)? There are not enough unique presets currently IMO.

For advanced users of Photoshop, some of us could also have fun experimenting with the look of character clothing and perhaps weapons !!!

The possibilities to engage the ARR community are endless! Later, perhaps 5 yrs from now the toolset would allow uploads of user-created dungeon raids, treasure chest animations, or new primal battles. OMG I'm rambling ....

UI Customization

Can we have more information on UI customizations? can we turn elements off not just action bars but maybe things like the mini map or inventory icons.

Will it be possible to choose a different type of inventory interface such as list or briefly titled item icons? If not naturally, will it be possible to do this with the add-ons people could make for the game?

Can we have more information about UI add-ons? What kinds of add-ons will people be able to make?
I'm thinking in terms of charts, rolling graphs, and other ways to visualize log data, similar to some utilities from that MMO that shall not be named.

When A Realm Reborn was announced, you showed the following "concept" screenshot:

When you compare them with the latest screenshots, a few things are different:

For instance, i don't see the Character Titles like "Dragonslayer" and "Materia Hunter" as well as the Linkshell / Free Company reference like "@FF14" around the nameplates anymore. Also the party roles "T1", "A2" "C5" have been replaced with the class/job icon. Can you tell us more about that?

Question#10
Will I be able to draw on my map and place markers?

Will the new interface require the use of a mouse at any time, or will it be possible to play with just a keyboard?

Whats is the Dev team most interested in testing in the upcoming Beta?

My apologies if this has been asked:
Can we get some sort of a notification process when someone from your friend list logs on or off?

Choices...what are the possibilites of having more choices in ARR, especially when it comes to the UI (menu based vs action bar/icons)?

If it proves impossible to create a menu style UI for XIV, will it be possible to use a gamepad for the mouse and keyboard UI as opposed to the PS3 UI.

I remember a long time ago, some talk that player-made addons will be usable in ARR. Will the FFXIV team be releasing a dev kit for the add on creators to use?

Voice Chat

Will be there some way to communicate between PS3 and PC in the future using a voice chat system supported by Square Enix?

Will you not build an in-game voice chat feature ever?
Third party programs are totally fine though.