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Fanboi is very worried
Erhun
Member Posts: 170
I'll admit I'm a huge fan of FF and wouldn't believe all the bad things said about this game, that I really believed this game was the second coming of christ (or third if you are mormon), but now after everything I have seen on this site and a few others and things that I will say majority are saying I'm very worried. At first I wanted to get this game and start playing immediately, now I don't even know if I want to try it. I'm sure I will get flamed a lot because I haven't played beta (I currently do not have internet and am typing this while I wait for my next class to start at my universities campus.), but these are the reasons I will at least be waiting a while before even giving this game a shot. I'm hoping people can put my mind at ease with this, I really only want people that have played FFXI and beta for FFXIV to reply, preferably people that played FFXI on pc when it was first released in the US.
1. No AH - Now I know tis is skeptical, it may be there at release and it may not. I don't know enough, but if it isn't that is definetly a killer. I can get over the surplus thing because I do play a lot of classes at one time, but this I believe to be worse than the surplus.
2. The Surplus system - I like to sit and spend 18 hours a day sometimes on a single class, it's rare, but I still do it maybe once a month. The fact that I can't sit and play the same class for a long time irks me, It's most definetly not a game killer for myself, but I know it's going to kill the community and that is what I always liked about FFXI.
3. The bugs - From what I've been reading there are some very simply fixed ones that have just not been fixed. I'm hoping that gets done at release, but if not I still know it will be fixed in the first few months at latest.
4. UI - I see the horror's from what a lot of people are saying, but the menu and macro driven UI of FFXI is one of my favorites so if anyone can clarify how similiar / different it is from FFXI I would really appreciate it.
5. Controls - I played with keyboard only on FFXI, I tried a controller on the 360 version and that lasted all of 5 hours before I quit and just bought another PC copy. I'm seeing far to much that SE didn't even keep this even though they said they were. How is it atm in OB? (and no I will not get a controller and play this game with one.)
These are my questions / concerns. If someone that has played FFXI on PC and has played OB and hopefully CB can they give me some real examples of how it is. I do kind of want both the good and bad sides of this.
Comments
Try the beta instead of reading some ridiculous post, for every game forum on MMORPG.com, it's usually filled with the "The game sux, don't play it". That said, there are a few good post, which includes some announcements by SE regarding launch which will come with a patch that fixes many problem players have been facing...what else is there to say?
Try the BETA while you can, it's free.
Just play the beta. you have 6 days before they close it down.
I don't care that there's no UI, I like the bazaar and market ward system. Very very few bugs, the internal testing is working out. The controls are fine if you use a controller and will be fine once they implement the hardware mouse and full keybinding abilities, which they have just mentioned they will.
If you're going into FFXIV thinking it's FFXI++, you're mistaking. It's more like FFXI when It was released. IF you had faith in FFXI and enjoyed FFXI, you can either hit the ground running and play the game at release, or if you are truely worried about everythign you mentioned, buy it during PS3 release (six months later).
Go into it with an open mind and be open enough to say "I don't like it." I read the CB boards about how horrible the ui was and decided to do open beta regardless. I came out of it joining an LS with 100+ members starting on Figaro and primarily int he same city. I enjoyed the game immensily, especially the fishing and combat. I love the graphics, and I love the old school feel, the music, the story, the dialogue.
You may have an opposite experience, but you will never until you try. And you should try fast because otherwise, in six days, youll have to pay to try it rather for free now.
I'm a huge fan of FF also. FF7 being one of my favorite games of all time. I played that thing till my fingers bled and my ears were about to freeze off. (I played on an enclosed porch in winter on a 19" tv).
[mod edit] Another wildly annoying thing about this game is the fact that you can't walk across a map without seeing the same exact plot of land with landmarks and all 6-7 times. During the game you have the illusion that you can go places you want but the wonky controls and the no-jump thing makes it a linear experience basically forcing you through these copy-pasted areas. I have no idea how people can play a game like this and say they don't notice, it's kind of like saying you drive to work everyday and don't see oncomming traffic.
"I'm not cheap I'm incredibly subconsciously financially optimized"
"The worst part of censorship is ------------------"
First off, I recommend you read the latest on the game, it addresses some of these concerns. Now, to address these points individually...
One of the things addressed in that link above, it seems they're hesistant to do this because they're trying to enhance immersion by having players have to meet retainers and eachother face-to-face, however it seems they're aware of complaints of how difficult that is are are looking into solutions.
There was some initial rumor-mongering that made it sound a lot worse than it was. The surplus system turned out to be largely a non-issue in release. There's a nice instructional video on it here.
The game is really not all that buggy in Open Beta, certainly not compared to some open betas I've played (e.g. Vanguard, Anarchy Online) but does suffer from periodic (I'd say every 3 hours on average but your milage may vary) crashes and a laggy GUI that can, for example, be problematic when scrolling down your inventory to get crafting materials in your crafting interface. These issues have been improved somewhat throughout the open beta and no doubt will continue to be worked on in release. In the above link about reading the latest, they mention the GUI lag specifically.
For the most part, it's been my experience that the UI horrors are all greatly exaggerated by haters. The UI is more or less in the same vein as FFXI, perhaps a little deeper here and there. If you can get used to FFXI's, you can get used to FFXIV's.
The game plays fine on keyboard and/or gamepad. It plays poorly if you try to play it exclusively with a mouse. There is talk that a hardware mouse will be implemented at or near release, so that should help.
If you are a huge FF fan, then at the very least you are going to enjoy the story arc. If you are truely fanatical about it, you'll probably reget not at least playing it for that.
No MMO is a contract for life, forcing you to play beyond what you enjoy.
The kewl thing is you still don't need to use your mouse...they did change some of the movement keys around. That was the hardest part for me to get used to. Once you get past that it's an ok game.
Try it...you may like it...and like he said, it's free. Why not have a go at it ^^
If you're an ffxi fan you'll find the game play to be sorta the same....grinding...lol...but that's what I liked about ffxi. Camping and killing mobs for hours on end with friends and grouping with people I didn't know know making new friends. FFXI was way social and I'm sure FFXIV will be the same. Which is the best part of playing an mmo ^^
This time we may need some macros to eliminate using the menus, but that'll get worked out. I mean, we worked out alotta things with macros in ffxi too.
They wouldn't leave us without an AH...they just wouldn't
If a man speaks in the woods and there's no woman there to hear him...is he still lying?
You had to bring jumping into this? CAuse FFVII had jumping, or VIII, or XI? The areas are huge, I have not noticed how they "look alike." In fact, the three starting zones look completely different both spacially, style, density, feel, etc etc.
As a FF fanboi, there are problems with the game, JUST LIKE EVERY MMO. But there's so much more good about it.
The truth is, you're never going to know where you fall unless you try the game out.
For most mmo's I would agree with you. But for this time what people been saying is trure. There has not been one mmo that I got lost at. Some where hard to get in to, but this one.. the last one is tons more fun and I hated that one. Some of the fighting lol.. click target.. click again.. click #2.. click target.. click again. Other classes you can just spam like every other mmo. I really wanted this game. But .. going to just wait after a few patches ..
The lack of an AH is a pain in the ass. The retainer system as is, has huge flaws. When the game goes live you are going to have to search the forums to find crafters selling equipment. Or join a linkshell.
The surplus system is going to affect you if you choose to play just one class for long periods of time. I only played for a five days in beta and saw the effects. Only the first two days I played for long hours because there wasn't much to do in beta besides grind.
The UI is definitely a bit rough on the edges. You are going to have to use the macro system to keep your sanity. Fortunately the macro system is fairly easy to use.
The best way i can tell the OP about FFXIV,is that it is a MUCH weaker effort than FFXI.Nothing seems planned,they are just going to wing the whole system and see how it goes.
The bugs that most are seeing,SHOULD have been long gone back in Alpha and yes the UI is only average at best.
The initial login is kind of nice,player customization is VERY ho hum,sort of like FFXi was to most games.However the game does give you a couple really nice opening cutscenes/sequences,it builds you up for an amazing game,then right after those it is dead ,right back to same old same old,but full of holes.
The stats system,is a total botch job,but they will fix it somehow.The Leve system again a botched job,but they will put a timer or limit your replay of the Leve so you can't exploit the setup.Basically these two alone ,show they didn't put much thought into any of the desgin,like i said they are going to wing it and try to patch the holes as they go.
No AH,imo a totally retareded idea to remove a PROVEN great idea.I thought Square would advance the TP system but instead they lamed it down and your TP dissipates after the fight.Just one dumb idea after another,i just cannot support stupidity and that is the way i feel about Tanaka's productions skills as of late,i almost feel like he really is in charge of nothing,he just sits and drinks coffees between board meetings.
Never forget 3 mile Island and never trust a government official or company spokesman.
Just remember that not all players have been experiencing the various issues that has been raised by the community. I had no issue with mouse lag, I'm running the game at max setting without any lag (except for the first time I log in during the day, got to load up the area obviously, but then I can go wherever I go without lag). Haven't had any issues playing with a keyboard only, it's felt very familiar to me. Only real issue I've had was lag when buying/selling with an NPC or crafting, that's it.
Not everyone has the same experience, and again, the issues I've mentionned will be addressed at launch according to SE (see one of the multiple posts about it)....so.....I see no issue with players trying the beta and seeing for themselves. After all, even the small patches SE has been releasing on an (almost) daily basis has made a big difference for many players performance-wise.
Fanboi, I will tell you this. Read the forums, they are fixing everything you are complaining about, pretty much. You will be fine, the surplus system is not bothersome at all because It's stupid to just level one class at a time because you miss out on abilities if you do. The whole point of leveling classes is to retrieve their abilities... the bugs are getting worked on, UI is getting fixed... you'll be fine. The games is awesome, the combat is great, and the worlds well...
Yeah the game still has issues though. Luckily the majority of what YOU are complaining about is getting fixed. Read the threads on general discussion about what they are adding. Also I recommend if you haven't tried the game in OB to do so, it will greatly benefit you.
No they are not. There is no mention of a AH or changes to the surplus system. For the UI they are implementing a hardware mouse (a good thing), but there is no indication of what other UI changes are being made. We can't comment on them (good, bad or indifferent), because we don't know what they will be.
Bugs will still exist. They'll never get rid of them, just like any other game. We have not seen a bug report, as to which ones will be fixed by release. So again we can't truely comment. The only statement that can be made is there shouldn't be any game breaking ones in at launch. At least one would hope not.
Obviously you didn't play FFXI even close to launch. This is a much stronger launch effort.