Hi, I have a couple of simple questions, which you beta-testers might be able to answer for me:
1. While playing with a gamepad, do you use the keyboard in addition for typing? Pad sounds like something I want to try, but I do type/chat a lot. Would that make it cumbersome for me to use?
2. Is there an autorun function? I really dislike having to continuously press a button while travelling. How does this work on keyboard/pad?
I'm sure I'll have more questions too. I'll ask them as they spring to mind
Hi, I have a couple of simple questions, which you beta-testers might be able to answer for me:
1. While playing with a gamepad, do you use the keyboard in addition for typing? Pad sounds like something I want to try, but I do type/chat a lot. Would that make it cumbersome for me to use?
Yes, you would have to use the keyboard for typing. You'd have to try it to see how well you can juggle it.
2. Is there an autorun function? I really dislike having to continuously press a button while travelling. How does this work on keyboard/pad?
Yes, there is an autorun on keyboard or gamepad. You have to be running already, then you tap the autorun and you will keep running until you tap it or a move button again.
I'm sure I'll have more questions too. I'll ask them as they spring to mind
I just wanted to update. I got another hour of play. Tweaked the gamepad a bit. Still not perfect and the gamepad UI could use some work, but I'm starting to get comfortable with it. (I'm hoping the XBox 360 controller will be better). As I predicted, now that I'm adjusting to the controls and the UI, I'm starting to enjoy the game a bit more. The pace so far is slow and story driven. In three hours of play, I've only killed six creatures total. I'm sure that will change as well, but interesting contrast to many games where you probably have killed over 100 creatures in the first hour...
My only beef with this game is I can't seem to find a set Rotation that works on all Mobs which... I can't say is a beef so much make it more of a challenge that it isent 222334222334 as a rotation over and over on everything I fight.
I figured out crafting (kinda) from my experience with FFXI, so basically I went to a vendo brought a ton of starter stuff and started combining them
As for needing a starter to crafting? I do agree they could add it, but ingame you get Leves for these but so far I have found maybe 2 for level 1 crafting and the rest are level 5.. so wasting a leve there I think
i have also been out exploring, was great seeing people run past chests cos they couldnt figure out how to open them, I got some mediocre loot from them (Gil mainly)
Only thing I am disappointed about? I am level 14 Physical and level 10 Conjuror and 6 miner, you physical goes up a little too fast for my liking, I am still running around in starter gear.....
I also ran around and explored the little island, HUGE I must say, once you dont the first run around you get your 'teleport' points and I quickly learned I was easy prey for monsters in those areas!!
Alos like how you map will show locations as you explore, could not get into Aleport though
5 days off at beginning of September I will be spending a lot of time playing this then
How about Ingame VoIP. Any signs of that? if so, is it working properly?
There are no signs of an in-game VOIP system... I can see that being a problem for console version players in the future. However for us PC players it's not needed because of services like Vent and TS. What console users may need to do is use the computer at the same time to run Vent, shouldn't be too hard.
Thank you for the infos OP, my computer is similar so i'm glad to know it's running well on the beta server.
I may yet lower the settings because in the city things are taking longer to load now that I bumped up the settings. It's not horribly bad, however I'll take performance over extra eye candy any-day; the graphics even on low are amazing, just saying.
I amended my settings and it stuttered so bad i put it back to normal, I know I can see the draw distance but thats the limitation of my Computer not the game.
but the scenary is lush, I was running around in the dark and saw a little from far off, tried to get close to it then found it was a ship at sea
One thing I would like to know is does ffxiv map system is something similar to ffxi one?
I mean you need to buy the map to be able to see whole map else you get only visibility of a certain radius around you.
In the Beta you start with a map and from the looks of it the map is a world map that you can fully explore free without limit. I never played the first so can't compare the maps from both games.
In ffxi you have to buy maps for each zone else you won't know were your going if you open map (specially in the small island were you unlock samurai cause it's a maze without a map lol)
This promoted adventure/exploring cause you can't trade maps so you either go there and buy the map while exploring or just don't visit it.
How about Ingame VoIP. Any signs of that? if so, is it working properly?
There are no signs of an in-game VOIP system... I can see that being a problem for console version players in the future. However for us PC players it's not needed because of services like Vent and TS. What console users may need to do is use the computer at the same time to run Vent, shouldn't be too hard.
They've announced no in-game VOIP due to the international nature of the game.
They've included an auto-translate feature in chat that allows people speaking different languages to communicate and that's currently an expensive if not nearly impossible feature to create for voice.
In ffxi you have to buy maps for each zone else you won't know were your going if you open map (specially in the small island were you unlock samurai cause it's a maze without a map lol)
This promoted adventure/exploring cause you can't trade maps so you either go there and buy the map while exploring or just don't visit it.
Not certain I really agree that buying maps 'promoted adventure/exploring.' I personally think discovering maps is a greater encouragement for exploration as you have to explore an area yourself to reveal the map. In FFXI exploring an area didn't even give you a rudimentary map so unless you made one yourself the only way you could find something again if you went blindly exploring was remember the route or writing it down.
I agree almost completely with OP. I had a very similar experience. I am really excited to see what adventures SE has in store for us and how deep the world content is. I don't mind the limited content in beta because I want it to all be new when I go live and choose a different city.
The main thing I hope they work on is designing small things in a way that makes players want to group. They have catered to casuals and allowed some soloing, but I would like to see a lot more benefits to grouping, and the small things tweaked in a way that ensures there are always groups forming. The things I am talking about are pretty small and mostly number tweaks like bonuses to party XP, and not having your leves complete when others in the group complete the same leve unless you want.
The chaining bonuses for chaining more difficult mobs alone promotes partying as the optimal method for advancement, but some more tweaks to leves will ensure this. Right now I feel like I can jump in for 20 minutes before dinner and accomplish something, or solo for hours and have a blast if I am feeling antisocial. I feel like I can party for hours and have a blast, but I would like a bit more incentives when partying.
It is really shaping up to be pretty great and with my limited playtime I know I won't outplay the content before they start their never ending stream of content updates. As long as the release version is stable enough they can focus on constantly putting out content like they did for the entire life of XI.
I really like how SE doesn't deliver 100% of a story/patch/expansion at once then no more for months on end while waiting for the next large patch/expansion. It comes out steadily making it feel like the game and story are constantly progressing. I really look forward to it.
Also I know there is no PVP, but the PVP mini games they create could be really cool. I hope they put a lot of time into them and make them really robust. I would love to see an in game card game or something of that nature as well.
Originally posted by ProfRed Right now I feel like I can jump in for 20 minutes before dinner and accomplish something, or solo for hours and have a blast.
I'm new to the beta admittedly, and purposely never read anything about the game until I could play it, so I'm a noob. But it seems to me after you've done your 8 levequests....there really isn't much to do. I guess crafting/gathering or grinding mobs, but grinding mobs doesn't seem like a good way to level.
Anyone know if there will be or if there are dungeons in the beginning? It's sorta odd, I want to play the beta....but if I do log on I don't feel like I'd have much to do.
Originally posted by ProfRed Right now I feel like I can jump in for 20 minutes before dinner and accomplish something, or solo for hours and have a blast.
I'm new to the beta admittedly, and purposely never read anything about the game until I could play it, so I'm a noob. But it seems to me after you've done your 8 levequests....there really isn't much to do. I guess crafting/gathering or grinding mobs, but grinding mobs doesn't seem like a good way to level.
Anyone know if there will be or if there are dungeons in the beginning? It's sorta odd, I want to play the beta....but if I do log on I don't feel like I'd have much to do.
Is becouse is not a comercial beta, i feel the same. The beta is just a small proportion of the game to fix and tweak the thins that needs work, unlike the comercial betas.
It just feel pointless to get into character to have it deleted soon , so what i do when im on i just try everythin i can , and submit feedback,to put my 2 cents on whats coming on release.
How about Ingame VoIP. Any signs of that? if so, is it working properly?
There are no signs of an in-game VOIP system... I can see that being a problem for console version players in the future. However for us PC players it's not needed because of services like Vent and TS. What console users may need to do is use the computer at the same time to run Vent, shouldn't be too hard.
They've announced no in-game VOIP due to the international nature of the game.
They've included an auto-translate feature in chat that allows people speaking different languages to communicate and that's currently an expensive if not nearly impossible feature to create for voice.
Alright, thanks for clearing that up guys. I can't say I enjoy that news, since I'm one to really enjoy the verbal communication while grouping. Striking up conversation with random LFG members can be very rewarding, from a social point of view. Oh well. Auto-translate like in FFXI? Or something along google translate, with support for multiple languages? Not sure I enjoy the thought of that either, come to think of it. Everyone I meet simply using their own language resulting in freaky-deaky party chat? No thank you. Parles english bitte!
Ventrilo is all well and good, but is mainly a tool for guilds/groups of people with an already established relationship. For the most part. Not to mention it takes a bit of planning.
I would just bear in mind that at launch the actual game will be huge, there will be more than enough to keep you busy. It will be an emotional time for many players as XIV will just blow our minds with its immersive atmosphere.
I hope so. I really do hope they make grouping more important...doesn't seem to be a point currently.
The intro quest sort of blew my mind, thought it was really fun. Going to the lighthouse was my favorite, really lets you take in the environment. But questleves are still going to be limited come release? Would be nice to be able to do more...
Originally posted by ProfRed Right now I feel like I can jump in for 20 minutes before dinner and accomplish something, or solo for hours and have a blast.
I'm new to the beta admittedly, and purposely never read anything about the game until I could play it, so I'm a noob. But it seems to me after you've done your 8 levequests....there really isn't much to do. I guess crafting/gathering or grinding mobs, but grinding mobs doesn't seem like a good way to level.
Anyone know if there will be or if there are dungeons in the beginning? It's sorta odd, I want to play the beta....but if I do log on I don't feel like I'd have much to do.
I gotta say I feel the exact same way. Graphics are good. I like the amount of detail on characters, clothing and body.
Music, never really been a big in game music listener.
Had some horrible mouse lag and somewhat bad grphic lag the first day I tried it, but that has gone away.
I don't really see to many people talking in game, mostly just standing around the leve crystals. Or crafting.
Seems to be no explanation of how to do anything, and even simple things like dragging skills to the bar is WAY overcomplicated. Not like Eve Online complicated, where being complicated produces better results. You have to click a skill box, press enter, then click the skill then chose main hand or off hand to equip a skill. There are so many ways this could be easier .
After the initial questline you are pretty much left to figure out everything. I did some leves and then there were no more for my area and no idea where to go afterwords. I'm basically stuck killing wharf rats at level 8 with no idea where to go.
Also the menu system is horrible. Or at least slow. There doesn't seemt o be any shortcut,like I for inventory or B for bag or C for character screen. It's all done through the mouse by clicking the sytem menu button down int he lower right hand corner.
I know in original EQ you were just sorta dumped into the world and expected to go find a group and grind your way to the top, and I accept that. Wow and other games give you quest hubs and help you move on to other quest hubs, or if so inclined you can grind.
I guess this is back to the old Eq way of doing things.
Edit:I've been excited about this game since I am totally burned out on all the current mmos. But It's not rekindling the flame.
The Stranger: It's what people know about themselves inside that makes 'em afraid.
I would just bear in mind that at launch the actual game will be huge, there will be more than enough to keep you busy. It will be an emotional time for many players as XIV will just blow our minds with its immersive atmosphere.
I hear what your saying and hopefully that is true, but most of the times you can judge an MMO by its beta and "just blow our minds with its immersive atmosphere" is not there.
The Stranger: It's what people know about themselves inside that makes 'em afraid.
I'm sort of reminded of Age of Coan. Open beta and good 'ol "Tortage" was a giant success, everyone loved the starting area. Well that enthsiasm went away since the middle and late game was sorta undeveloped. Looks can be decieving I suppose, FF is more of a taste that developes over time me thinks.
It's probably a good assumption that FF enthusiasts will always be around in this game, allowing SE to keep producing content, and others will be interested in the new content and probably start playing as well since the game has a steady population. Plus the track record with FFXI. Probably why I'll play even if not everything is as optimized as it should be.
Comments
Hi, I have a couple of simple questions, which you beta-testers might be able to answer for me:
1. While playing with a gamepad, do you use the keyboard in addition for typing? Pad sounds like something I want to try, but I do type/chat a lot. Would that make it cumbersome for me to use?
2. Is there an autorun function? I really dislike having to continuously press a button while travelling. How does this work on keyboard/pad?
I'm sure I'll have more questions too. I'll ask them as they spring to mind
Want to know more about GW2 and why there is so much buzz? Start here: Guild Wars 2 Mass Info for the Uninitiated
I just wanted to update. I got another hour of play. Tweaked the gamepad a bit. Still not perfect and the gamepad UI could use some work, but I'm starting to get comfortable with it. (I'm hoping the XBox 360 controller will be better). As I predicted, now that I'm adjusting to the controls and the UI, I'm starting to enjoy the game a bit more. The pace so far is slow and story driven. In three hours of play, I've only killed six creatures total. I'm sure that will change as well, but interesting contrast to many games where you probably have killed over 100 creatures in the first hour...
Want to know more about GW2 and why there is so much buzz? Start here: Guild Wars 2 Mass Info for the Uninitiated
My only beef with this game is I can't seem to find a set Rotation that works on all Mobs which... I can't say is a beef so much make it more of a challenge that it isent 222334222334 as a rotation over and over on everything I fight.
Thanks flontar.
How about Ingame VoIP. Any signs of that? if so, is it working properly?
Thank you for the infos OP, my computer is similar so i'm glad to know it's running well on the beta server.
Been having a blast on this I must say.
I figured out crafting (kinda) from my experience with FFXI, so basically I went to a vendo brought a ton of starter stuff and started combining them
As for needing a starter to crafting? I do agree they could add it, but ingame you get Leves for these but so far I have found maybe 2 for level 1 crafting and the rest are level 5.. so wasting a leve there I think
i have also been out exploring, was great seeing people run past chests cos they couldnt figure out how to open them, I got some mediocre loot from them (Gil mainly)
Only thing I am disappointed about? I am level 14 Physical and level 10 Conjuror and 6 miner, you physical goes up a little too fast for my liking, I am still running around in starter gear.....
I also ran around and explored the little island, HUGE I must say, once you dont the first run around you get your 'teleport' points and I quickly learned I was easy prey for monsters in those areas!!
Alos like how you map will show locations as you explore, could not get into Aleport though
5 days off at beginning of September I will be spending a lot of time playing this then
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/a/ab/Norsefire-logo.png
There are no signs of an in-game VOIP system... I can see that being a problem for console version players in the future. However for us PC players it's not needed because of services like Vent and TS. What console users may need to do is use the computer at the same time to run Vent, shouldn't be too hard.
Full Sail University - Game Design
I may yet lower the settings because in the city things are taking longer to load now that I bumped up the settings. It's not horribly bad, however I'll take performance over extra eye candy any-day; the graphics even on low are amazing, just saying.
Full Sail University - Game Design
One thing I would like to know is does ffxiv map system is something similar to ffxi one?
I mean you need to buy the map to be able to see whole map else you get only visibility of a certain radius around you.
wholly agree
I amended my settings and it stuttered so bad i put it back to normal, I know I can see the draw distance but thats the limitation of my Computer not the game.
but the scenary is lush, I was running around in the dark and saw a little from far off, tried to get close to it then found it was a ship at sea
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/a/ab/Norsefire-logo.png
In the Beta you start with a map and from the looks of it the map is a world map that you can fully explore free without limit. I never played the first so can't compare the maps from both games.
Full Sail University - Game Design
There are three maps that I saw
1) local minimap, shows enemies and fellow players around you
2) press M for an area map that showed the region you are in
3) World Map, this all the areas, think there is like 5-6 of them? but we only have access to one area for beta testing (which is how it should be
)
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/a/ab/Norsefire-logo.png
In ffxi you have to buy maps for each zone else you won't know were your going if you open map (specially in the small island were you unlock samurai cause it's a maze without a map lol)
This promoted adventure/exploring cause you can't trade maps so you either go there and buy the map while exploring or just don't visit it.
They've announced no in-game VOIP due to the international nature of the game.
They've included an auto-translate feature in chat that allows people speaking different languages to communicate and that's currently an expensive if not nearly impossible feature to create for voice.
Not certain I really agree that buying maps 'promoted adventure/exploring.' I personally think discovering maps is a greater encouragement for exploration as you have to explore an area yourself to reveal the map. In FFXI exploring an area didn't even give you a rudimentary map so unless you made one yourself the only way you could find something again if you went blindly exploring was remember the route or writing it down.
I agree almost completely with OP. I had a very similar experience. I am really excited to see what adventures SE has in store for us and how deep the world content is. I don't mind the limited content in beta because I want it to all be new when I go live and choose a different city.
The main thing I hope they work on is designing small things in a way that makes players want to group. They have catered to casuals and allowed some soloing, but I would like to see a lot more benefits to grouping, and the small things tweaked in a way that ensures there are always groups forming. The things I am talking about are pretty small and mostly number tweaks like bonuses to party XP, and not having your leves complete when others in the group complete the same leve unless you want.
The chaining bonuses for chaining more difficult mobs alone promotes partying as the optimal method for advancement, but some more tweaks to leves will ensure this. Right now I feel like I can jump in for 20 minutes before dinner and accomplish something, or solo for hours and have a blast if I am feeling antisocial. I feel like I can party for hours and have a blast, but I would like a bit more incentives when partying.
It is really shaping up to be pretty great and with my limited playtime I know I won't outplay the content before they start their never ending stream of content updates. As long as the release version is stable enough they can focus on constantly putting out content like they did for the entire life of XI.
I really like how SE doesn't deliver 100% of a story/patch/expansion at once then no more for months on end while waiting for the next large patch/expansion. It comes out steadily making it feel like the game and story are constantly progressing. I really look forward to it.
Also I know there is no PVP, but the PVP mini games they create could be really cool. I hope they put a lot of time into them and make them really robust. I would love to see an in game card game or something of that nature as well.
I'm new to the beta admittedly, and purposely never read anything about the game until I could play it, so I'm a noob. But it seems to me after you've done your 8 levequests....there really isn't much to do. I guess crafting/gathering or grinding mobs, but grinding mobs doesn't seem like a good way to level.
Anyone know if there will be or if there are dungeons in the beginning? It's sorta odd, I want to play the beta....but if I do log on I don't feel like I'd have much to do.
Is becouse is not a comercial beta, i feel the same. The beta is just a small proportion of the game to fix and tweak the thins that needs work, unlike the comercial betas.
It just feel pointless to get into character to have it deleted soon , so what i do when im on i just try everythin i can , and submit feedback,to put my 2 cents on whats coming on release.
Alright, thanks for clearing that up guys. I can't say I enjoy that news, since I'm one to really enjoy the verbal communication while grouping. Striking up conversation with random LFG members can be very rewarding, from a social point of view. Oh well. Auto-translate like in FFXI? Or something along google translate, with support for multiple languages? Not sure I enjoy the thought of that either, come to think of it. Everyone I meet simply using their own language resulting in freaky-deaky party chat? No thank you. Parles english bitte!
Ventrilo is all well and good, but is mainly a tool for guilds/groups of people with an already established relationship. For the most part. Not to mention it takes a bit of planning.
I hope so. I really do hope they make grouping more important...doesn't seem to be a point currently.
The intro quest sort of blew my mind, thought it was really fun. Going to the lighthouse was my favorite, really lets you take in the environment. But questleves are still going to be limited come release? Would be nice to be able to do more...
I gotta say I feel the exact same way. Graphics are good. I like the amount of detail on characters, clothing and body.
Music, never really been a big in game music listener.
Had some horrible mouse lag and somewhat bad grphic lag the first day I tried it, but that has gone away.
I don't really see to many people talking in game, mostly just standing around the leve crystals. Or crafting.
Seems to be no explanation of how to do anything, and even simple things like dragging skills to the bar is WAY overcomplicated. Not like Eve Online complicated, where being complicated produces better results. You have to click a skill box, press enter, then click the skill then chose main hand or off hand to equip a skill. There are so many ways this could be easier .
After the initial questline you are pretty much left to figure out everything. I did some leves and then there were no more for my area and no idea where to go afterwords. I'm basically stuck killing wharf rats at level 8 with no idea where to go.
Also the menu system is horrible. Or at least slow. There doesn't seemt o be any shortcut,like I for inventory or B for bag or C for character screen. It's all done through the mouse by clicking the sytem menu button down int he lower right hand corner.
I know in original EQ you were just sorta dumped into the world and expected to go find a group and grind your way to the top, and I accept that. Wow and other games give you quest hubs and help you move on to other quest hubs, or if so inclined you can grind.
I guess this is back to the old Eq way of doing things.
Edit:I've been excited about this game since I am totally burned out on all the current mmos. But It's not rekindling the flame.
The Stranger: It's what people know about themselves inside that makes 'em afraid.
I hear what your saying and hopefully that is true, but most of the times you can judge an MMO by its beta and "just blow our minds with its immersive atmosphere" is not there.
The Stranger: It's what people know about themselves inside that makes 'em afraid.
I'm sort of reminded of Age of Coan. Open beta and good 'ol "Tortage" was a giant success, everyone loved the starting area. Well that enthsiasm went away since the middle and late game was sorta undeveloped. Looks can be decieving I suppose, FF is more of a taste that developes over time me thinks.
It's probably a good assumption that FF enthusiasts will always be around in this game, allowing SE to keep producing content, and others will be interested in the new content and probably start playing as well since the game has a steady population. Plus the track record with FFXI. Probably why I'll play even if not everything is as optimized as it should be.