While Yoshida obviously can’t speak for what the original team intended to create, he noted that when he joined the project he realized that the previous team had created something that wasn’t Final Fantasy XI, wasn’t EverQuest, wasn’t Ultima Online, nor was it World of Warcraft. In doing so, they created a game that wasn’t really anything and didn’t take into account many of the established MMO standards.
This is part of the problem in my opinion. Why is it considered "Nothing" when someone does something that is not like an existing game. I would call that innovation. I dont want a copy/clone of an existing game... I want someone to do something new. Hoping FFXIV turns around and I look forward to checking it out.
It's not innovation if it doesn't innovate. I'm beating a dead horse here but they didn't improve on of the good features of XI. Instead, they kept all the annoying ones and banked on ooh's and aah's from the graphics engine.
It's been proven recently that you can have great combat and a great looking game. It still remains to be seen if SE understands what good combat means though. That's what I'm worried about more than anything.
The game has always looked good and seems to be improving in that regard with 2.0, but if it's still not fun to play and still has outdated mechanics, then what's the point?
I'm hopefull that Yoshida does understand this but i don't know if he's had enough time to get this stuff fixed while also trying to innovate.
I wholeheartedly believe that Tanaka needed more time, money and effort as well as a better team under him AND maybe more power to make decisions, because I think SE head honchos, like so many other companies, were saying "no no no put this in, WoW has it" and so we had some weird ass features in the game.
I couldn't disagree more. The man symbolized why Japan is 5 years behind the rest of the world where PC gaming is involved. The first leaked info on XIV was in 2006 so he had at least 4+ years to work on a successor to XI and failed miserably. His team failed because he had no clue how the genre had evolved since XI launched. It was clear then and to some extent still clear that the people working on the game didn't actually play MMO's.
hehe I guess we both should be saying IMO.
But in my opinion, the idea that MMO's have moved forward in some progressively positive manner, is a bunch of, as Sheldon would say; "hokum".
Games have moved forwards in terms of visuals and technology. But in terms of game mechanics; the games have begun to stagnate and degenerate.
But everyone is entitled to their own opinion. Im glad to hear you are enjoying the new MMOs of this era.
I love snails. I love every kinda snail. I just want to hug them all, but I cant. Cant hug every snail.
While Yoshida obviously can’t speak for what the original team intended to create, he noted that when he joined the project he realized that the previous team had created something that wasn’t Final Fantasy XI, wasn’t EverQuest, wasn’t Ultima Online, nor was it World of Warcraft. In doing so, they created a game that wasn’t really anything and didn’t take into account many of the established MMO standards.
This is part of the problem in my opinion. Why is it considered "Nothing" when someone does something that is not like an existing game. I would call that innovation. I dont want a copy/clone of an existing game... I want someone to do something new. Hoping FFXIV turns around and I look forward to checking it out.
It's not innovation if it doesn't innovate. I'm beating a dead horse here but they didn't improve on of the good features of XI. Instead, they kept all the annoying ones and banked on ooh's and aah's from the graphics engine.
It's been proven recently that you can have great combat and a great looking game. It still remains to be seen if SE understands what good combat means though. That's what I'm worried about more than anything.
The game has always looked good and seems to be improving in that regard with 2.0, but if it's still not fun to play and still has outdated mechanics, then what's the point?
I'm hopefull that Yoshida does understand this but i don't know if he's had enough time to get this stuff fixed while also trying to innovate.
I wholeheartedly believe that Tanaka needed more time, money and effort as well as a better team under him AND maybe more power to make decisions, because I think SE head honchos, like so many other companies, were saying "no no no put this in, WoW has it" and so we had some weird ass features in the game.
I couldn't disagree more. The man symbolized why Japan is 5 years behind the rest of the world where PC gaming is involved. The first leaked info on XIV was in 2006 so he had at least 4+ years to work on a successor to XI and failed miserably. His team failed because he had no clue how the genre had evolved since XI launched. It was clear then and to some extent still clear that the people working on the game didn't actually play MMO's.
hehe I guess we both should be saying IMO.
But in my opinion, the idea that MMO's have moved forward in some progressively positive manner, is a bunch of, as Sheldon would say; "hokum".
Games have moved forwards in terms of visuals and technology. But in terms of game mechanics; the games have begun to stagnate and degenerate.
But everyone is entitled to their own opinion. Im glad to hear you are enjoying the new MMOs of this era.
I did play FF11 for several years and also 14 for the full year. As an FF11 player, I felt Tanaka wasn't as receptive to the player base and their opinions that helps to drive the direction of the game and provide input. I actually am in the minority I feel saying that players don't know everything but Tanaka and his team felt more dismisive than other devs overall.
That being said Yoshida, when he was brought in for FF14, I felt made one thing clear that I think some people who posted don't seem to understand; that in an era where mmo's are more evolved than ever you can't also deviate so far to what your audience knows or has experienced. There are only so many games as far as MMO's can be considered that are really novel and also equally successful. I think FF14's relaunch will go smoother and be more enjoyable give what Yoshida has done.
You may have tried 14 and hated it and I won't argue with that. But other mmo's have been able to regroup and re-focus their emphasis at times to be successful. EvE is probably one of those titles that have shown what involving and taking into consideration the player base's opinions can result in. I think the relaunch does have tons working against it as far as its image and fears from just 14; they are valid afterall. But I won't dismiss Yoshida's ability to create something where what's familiar are game mechanics and control but what's different is the feel and immersion of the game. He's shown past success in doing so and given how active he has been in addressing the player base, I think it can only lead to good things really.
I couldn't disagree more. The man symbolized why Japan is 5 years behind the rest of the world where PC gaming is involved. The first leaked info on XIV was in 2006 so he had at least 4+ years to work on a successor to XI and failed miserably. His team failed because he had no clue how the genre had evolved since XI launched. It was clear then and to some extent still clear that the people working on the game didn't actually play MMO's.
The game used Crystal Tools, the engine that caused SE huge problems this gen. Merely blaming it all on Tanaka when he had been given such shitty cards in the first place is ignorant.
Using LOL is like saying "my argument sucks but I still want to disagree".
haha, how many of you once said you will not play this game ever ever again!!??
Pretty natural reaction for anyone burned that bad by the original game at the time. Also, I don't think restructuring an entire team and re-allocating resources to practically re-doing the MMO in question is a fairly common reaction to a botched MMO launch in this industry. No one could have really seen this effort coming. Most times, in cases like these, the MMO just rides out its mediocrity until the publisher pulls the plug and the fans are unfortunately left heartbroken. I'm not invested in this game's future in any way, but I'm honestly refreshed to see a developer attempt to really turn things around.
Some people will understandably not care and some will, despite being burned, be hopeful for the game's future.
The real question is: what substance are you actually going to contribute to this discussion?
Got any of your own thoughts on what Square Enix is planning either way?
so when they say overhaul does that mean everyone who has achieved alot in game will have to start from scratch? to me it sounds like they releasing a whole new game. just want to make sure cause i'm buying the game within this week since its cheap
so when they say overhaul does that mean everyone who has achieved alot in game will have to start from scratch? to me it sounds like they releasing a whole new game. just want to make sure cause i'm buying the game within this week since its cheap
You will be able to keep most of what your pre 2.0 character is and has done, they are rebuilding the engine, servers and open world from scratch while keeping some of the elements of the old FFXIV and more of what they have been adding since Yoshida took over. I would buy it now and play the free month, but cannot recommend paying till 2.0, unless you happen to like the game in its current state, which is better than at launch but still bad technically, and mediocre for the first 20 lvls.
...I really don't get Tanaka defenders, how does someone who treated the players with such disrespect, and who was personally responsible for many of the failures of XIV, such as the UI and engine, as well as the overall lack of awareness of basic features all MMOs have, get people to defend him, what did he do right?
I read through that epic Lodestone forum thread from last year discussing Yoshida taking over from Tanaka and all his defenders could say was that he had "vision" but that isn’t good enough if there is no technical skill and knowledge of the industry your working in to build on. FFXIV was hell to play, that is the overwhelming consensus, those few that could put up with it can’t just pretend it wasn’t a problem given how much it cost Squanix.
Over a year after launch and Yoshida still can’t implement all the features the game needs as the engine and servers need to be scrapped, something Tanaka would never have admitted given how involved he was in their development. He didn’t just make one of the worst MMOs of all time, it would have had no chance of a real recovery with him still in charge. And don't tell me he couldn't have changed things or asked for a delay, Yoshida took one look at the game when he took over and got a new development team pulled from other departments to work on a brand new engine strait away, and given 2 yrs for the reboot and PS3 launch, the new guy has more pull than Tanaka himself?
Even if I granted the fates where against him, and it’s not all his fault etc, his arrogance, the deceptive way the game was promoted, and the wilful ignorance shown, as well as the anti-player features put in as conveniences for the developers showed their culture was rotten to the core. Every mistake that could have been made, from questing timers that penalising players, to the worst payment model I have ever seen, they made due to philosophy, not lack of time.
He was in charge, he dropped the ball, he gets the blame, I have yet to hear a decent, coherent defence of him here, just more talk of his “vision” and giving him far more benefit of the doubt than seems reasonable. He didn’t just allow the game to be released in an appalling state, every design decision from the beginning was bad, no amount of time or polish can change a game build on the wrong engine, un-salvageable server code and a bland, homogenous world, a product of technical limitations made early on that stifled artistic creativity, compare that to the designs for the new zones.
Having said that, though it will be understandable if Yoshida screws up 2.0, giving his lack of experience and how Squanix appears to have run out of competent people, I will be very disappointed, given how long we’ve been waiting for this. FFXI wasn’t the mmo I wanted, FFXIV was even worse, this is the last chance they get.
Also, did anyone notice the announcement that FFXI made more money than any other FF title, even though as a sub based game it shoudn't honestly be compared to the others? One final face-saving piece of spin by Tanaka or his defenders as he leaves the company? Good riddance in my opinion.
I think it's an understatement to say its the same game, it looks amazing and I for one will be trying this again when 2.0 is launched. Got the love the fact they have taken a clearly flawed game and completely re-developed it, not many companies would do this.
Been thinking about this lately. Not in regard to FF, but it brings up the point. SE may be the last game company truly interested in restoring/keeping integrity and quality in their IP. As you say, companies don't usually do this.
I personally haven't played FF since the nintendo days. Never tried either MMO. But it's still good to see a company trying to keep their good name/IP.
I couldn't disagree more. The man symbolized why Japan is 5 years behind the rest of the world where PC gaming is involved. The first leaked info on XIV was in 2006 so he had at least 4+ years to work on a successor to XI and failed miserably. His team failed because he had no clue how the genre had evolved since XI launched. It was clear then and to some extent still clear that the people working on the game didn't actually play MMO's.
The game used Crystal Tools, the engine that caused SE huge problems this gen. Merely blaming it all on Tanaka when he had been given such shitty cards in the first place is ignorant.
So all the horrible mechanics and decisions were implemented because of Crystal Tools?
- you can't have an auction house in CT?
- you ca't get rid of animation locks in CT?
- did CT force them to go with boring and uninspired classes instead of tried and true FF classes?
XI had 3 fantastic mechanics going for it. The class/subclass system, the auction house, and level sync. To this day i don't think any other MMO has done classes better than XI, including the ability to level everything on one character.
All Tanaka had to do was build on those 3 aspects while updating glaring issues that XI had like combat responsiveness, poor grouping tools, and the UI.
I'm not giving the man a pass. He created a game that most XI vets didn't want to play and that non Final Fantasy fans had no interest in.
Yoshi is the only one who could have taken the game this far, simple as that, and if 2.0 goes right (which I think it will) hes finally going to get back for everything that he has put into this game.
I'm not certain you understand what 'Interview' means. When you say you're going to publish an interview with someone, you publish an interview with them, you don't just publish an article with information the writer got from an interview. That's just an article.
haha, how many of you once said you will not play this game ever ever again!!??
Pretty natural reaction for anyone burned that bad by the original game at the time. Also, I don't think restructuring an entire team and re-allocating resources to practically re-doing the MMO in question is a fairly common reaction to a botched MMO launch in this industry. No one could have really seen this effort coming. Most times, in cases like these, the MMO just rides out its mediocrity until the publisher pulls the plug and the fans are unfortunately left heartbroken. I'm not invested in this game's future in any way, but I'm honestly refreshed to see a developer attempt to really turn things around.
Some people will understandably not care and some will, despite being burned, be hopeful for the game's future.
The real question is: what substance are you actually going to contribute to this discussion?
Got any of your own thoughts on what Square Enix is planning either way?
I watched the video for the new Luminous engine they were working on. All I can say is...wow! If they can pull it off and make a FF with a coherent story and those level of graphics, then they might find their way on top again.
My problem with FFXIV is that it runs so heavy on my system. I ran the benchmark a few times and it still looks laggy even with a quad core and some better ram. I need to step up to Windows 7 and maximize my ram to handle it and a better Gfx card. But is FFXIV worth that level of investment?
I couldn't disagree more. The man symbolized why Japan is 5 years behind the rest of the world where PC gaming is involved. The first leaked info on XIV was in 2006 so he had at least 4+ years to work on a successor to XI and failed miserably. His team failed because he had no clue how the genre had evolved since XI launched. It was clear then and to some extent still clear that the people working on the game didn't actually play MMO's.
The game used Crystal Tools, the engine that caused SE huge problems this gen. Merely blaming it all on Tanaka when he had been given such shitty cards in the first place is ignorant.
So all the horrible mechanics and decisions were implemented because of Crystal Tools?
- you can't have an auction house in CT?
- you ca't get rid of animation locks in CT?
- did CT force them to go with boring and uninspired classes instead of tried and true FF classes?
XI had 3 fantastic mechanics going for it. The class/subclass system, the auction house, and level sync. To this day i don't think any other MMO has done classes better than XI, including the ability to level everything on one character.
All Tanaka had to do was build on those 3 aspects while updating glaring issues that XI had like combat responsiveness, poor grouping tools, and the UI.
I'm not giving the man a pass. He created a game that most XI vets didn't want to play and that non Final Fantasy fans had no interest in.
I agree on the class system. Ninja, Dancer, Red Mage, and Scholar were the most beautiful classes in the game. They stood fine on their own and were really powerful subs.
It also allowed wild fun. I had so much fun in campaign as Paladin/Scholar hitting Accession >> Cure IV then Invincible'ing and Sentinel'ing after that ware off. I'd kite all the mobs lol. Eventually I died but I got truckloads of exp.
I miss pld/dnc something fierce too. Say what you want about Wotg, but scholar (probably the best white magic + black magic user I've seen in any game) and dancer (melee healer, using combat resources not mana) are some of the best classes in the game.
XI's combat responsiveness was mostly based on servers being in Japan. I'd sorely miss the japanese players, and the joy from auto-translate compliments, but it'd be worth it to have a reasonable R rate.
Poor grouping tools? I don't get it. FFXI's grouping tools were basic but they were powerful. It was nice to be able to say /sea all pld 33-37 inv (Find all paladins between 33 and 37 seeking a party) or /seal all 70-74 inv (Find everyone between 70 and 74 seeking an invite). Somehow XIV's grouping tools really are trash though. Like not being able to use auto translate in search comments.
I liked the controls, but the UI left things to be desired (like seeing other players' TP). The funniest part about the hax-addon TParty is that it was only possible because the client was communicating TP to everyone in the raid anyway. The only reason we needed TParty is because XI's team was too lazy to put TP display in their raid frames.
Spec'ing properly is a gateway drug. 12 Million People have been meter spammed in heroics.
Honestly, nothing against the author, i know he was just relaying information, but i just got the impression that alot of what the devs were saying was just "this is what players want to hear", It would be cool for them to actually deliver on that, but i just have other things on the horizon that i can't see myself investing into this game.
"The surest way to corrupt a youth is to instruct him to hold in higher esteem those who think alike than those who think differently."
Honestly, nothing against the author, i know he was just relaying information, but i just got the impression that alot of what the devs were saying was just "this is what players want to hear", It would be cool for them to actually deliver on that, but i just have other things on the horizon that i can't see myself investing into this game.
Yoshi-P has delivered everything he has promised us players so far. The promisses that could not be met due to the terrible engine and server structure has been promised with 2.0. His number one goal is to regain the trust of the players they have wronged and he has already won me over in the past 2 years.
So what kind of system requirements will this FF XIV v2.0 have? I couldn't get it because of not even reaching their lowest benchmark! If improving the graphics means newer, better, higher priced PC to run it... I guess I'll have to end my love of FF with FF XI (although I left because of the great Chocobo debacle)... sob
Gladari: Ranger of Surefall Glade Red Mage of Vana'diel Acrotecher of Moatoob Mate of Union
haha, how many of you once said you will not play this game ever ever again!!??
Pretty natural reaction for anyone burned that bad by the original game at the time. Also, I don't think restructuring an entire team and re-allocating resources to practically re-doing the MMO in question is a fairly common reaction to a botched MMO launch in this industry. No one could have really seen this effort coming. Most times, in cases like these, the MMO just rides out its mediocrity until the publisher pulls the plug and the fans are unfortunately left heartbroken. I'm not invested in this game's future in any way, but I'm honestly refreshed to see a developer attempt to really turn things around.
Some people will understandably not care and some will, despite being burned, be hopeful for the game's future.
The real question is: what substance are you actually going to contribute to this discussion?
Got any of your own thoughts on what Square Enix is planning either way?
It is a Final Fantasy title, SquareEnix' flagship and legacy, a Japanese company => of course they wouldn't give up without a fight. Every Final Fantasy should have known that before the mess even started.
I would give my left nut for a complete FFXI overhaul.
Updated high res textures, enhanced effects, Voiced npc's, custom UI's. zone and quest overhaul, Combat tweaks, physics, Particle effects. Complete monster revamp.
How cool would it be in Quifm if it was redone with fog effects, and creepy sounds, and lifelike animated monsters, and realistic corpses that persist.
Hell I could have done infinately better directing the new MMO than what that garbage team gave us for FFXIV...
Where do you see an FFXI clone in XIV? Not trolling, really want to know because all I saw was differences, for the worse.
I mean, it has the same races, with different names, but that's about where it stops. The game is more about questing (not just missions) than XI ever was, the class system is inferior. Leveling takes a matter of days.
I could go on and on but I'm curious how you see an XI clone in XIV.
Vanilla game:
Action based combat which required user input and relied on a stamina system.
Fully customizable classes with almost every skill usable by any class.
Gear usable by ANY class at ANY level (only very select high-end gear was restricted). Items had a favored class and optimal level; if you did not meet either you got little to no bonus. As you leveled up the bonus increased until you received the full bonuses provided by the item. This system alone was very unique to me and I really enjoyed it.
Manual attribute points which you can put into whichever stat you wanted to buff up depending on your playstyle.
Ability to really mix and match what skills you wanted on what classes, with the ability to solo pretty much everything if you had the proper setup and skill level (along with being in Japan, since playing with that distance latency is impossible for avoiding avoidable skills).
Overly complicated (overburdening as well) crafting system which provided a real sense of crafting an actual item instead of 'get mats, set to craft'. I both liked and hated the system, mostly because some equipment needed parts crafted with absurd materials and a far higher level of the skill than required for the resulting item. It was pointless to self craft some things. That said, when you finally crafted the end piece of equipment you felt accomplished, but also exhausted.
Physical and job level system. One let you improve your attributes and gave you slightly more base power than you'd otherwise have, the other let you improve your skills and more directly controlled stats (moreso max HP/MP) you had (mainly affected the hard cap benefits on your attribute levels).
Other things I've probably forgotten by now.
Yoshida's redesign:
Auto attack based combat which relied on a cooldown system for all skills/spells.
Severely restrictive selection of skills when playing other classes.
Gear with level AND class requirements.
Attribute points automatically allocated based on your class.
Solo ability severely limited with the massive nerfs to heals and general combat system changes.
Simplified crafting system.
Job levels only.
Other things I've probably forgotten by now.
Vanilla FFXIV was not like FFXI in any way.
Yoshida's FFXIV is like FFXI in most aspects.
That is why I quit. I did not want to play FFXI-2.
The removal of an engaging combat system (the major change that impacted me the most), the removal of massive customization, the removal of soloability, the dumbing down of things.. it all turned me off more and more after every major patch release to the point where I couldn't enjoy the game anymore. I'd login, try to do things and remember how much more I enjoyed the game before all the sweeping changes.
As I've said over and over, all the game needed was polish and refinement. That never happened and instead we received sweeping changes into something SE has done before: FFXI.
As for the Chocobo problem, i have a solution. Just do all three things! There could be chocobo breeding, with players buying and growing and mating different chocobos in an effort to have the fastest ones grown so that they may sell them. Then, have players be able to buy those chocobos and race them in whatever racing style that they develop. After that, allow other players to bet on the racers, etc. Imo, this would be perfect
I really like the visual quality and character customization of the new engine. I love Anime and this looks very much like my kind of game. I never play FF MMO mainly due to its subcription fee. Make this F2P and you will have a brand new member in the FF MMO. If you gonna make the UI more like the rest of the accepted MMOs out there then please consider the F2P option as part of pulling gamers like myself to play the FF MMO gern.
Comments
hehe I guess we both should be saying IMO.
But in my opinion, the idea that MMO's have moved forward in some progressively positive manner, is a bunch of, as Sheldon would say; "hokum".
Games have moved forwards in terms of visuals and technology. But in terms of game mechanics; the games have begun to stagnate and degenerate.
But everyone is entitled to their own opinion. Im glad to hear you are enjoying the new MMOs of this era.
I love snails.
I love every kinda snail.
I just want to hug them all, but I cant.
Cant hug every snail.
I did play FF11 for several years and also 14 for the full year. As an FF11 player, I felt Tanaka wasn't as receptive to the player base and their opinions that helps to drive the direction of the game and provide input. I actually am in the minority I feel saying that players don't know everything but Tanaka and his team felt more dismisive than other devs overall.
That being said Yoshida, when he was brought in for FF14, I felt made one thing clear that I think some people who posted don't seem to understand; that in an era where mmo's are more evolved than ever you can't also deviate so far to what your audience knows or has experienced. There are only so many games as far as MMO's can be considered that are really novel and also equally successful. I think FF14's relaunch will go smoother and be more enjoyable give what Yoshida has done.
You may have tried 14 and hated it and I won't argue with that. But other mmo's have been able to regroup and re-focus their emphasis at times to be successful. EvE is probably one of those titles that have shown what involving and taking into consideration the player base's opinions can result in. I think the relaunch does have tons working against it as far as its image and fears from just 14; they are valid afterall. But I won't dismiss Yoshida's ability to create something where what's familiar are game mechanics and control but what's different is the feel and immersion of the game. He's shown past success in doing so and given how active he has been in addressing the player base, I think it can only lead to good things really.
The game used Crystal Tools, the engine that caused SE huge problems this gen. Merely blaming it all on Tanaka when he had been given such shitty cards in the first place is ignorant.
Pretty natural reaction for anyone burned that bad by the original game at the time. Also, I don't think restructuring an entire team and re-allocating resources to practically re-doing the MMO in question is a fairly common reaction to a botched MMO launch in this industry. No one could have really seen this effort coming. Most times, in cases like these, the MMO just rides out its mediocrity until the publisher pulls the plug and the fans are unfortunately left heartbroken. I'm not invested in this game's future in any way, but I'm honestly refreshed to see a developer attempt to really turn things around.
Some people will understandably not care and some will, despite being burned, be hopeful for the game's future.
The real question is: what substance are you actually going to contribute to this discussion?
Got any of your own thoughts on what Square Enix is planning either way?
so when they say overhaul does that mean everyone who has achieved alot in game will have to start from scratch? to me it sounds like they releasing a whole new game. just want to make sure cause i'm buying the game within this week since its cheap
Been thinking about this lately. Not in regard to FF, but it brings up the point. SE may be the last game company truly interested in restoring/keeping integrity and quality in their IP. As you say, companies don't usually do this.
I personally haven't played FF since the nintendo days. Never tried either MMO. But it's still good to see a company trying to keep their good name/IP.
So all the horrible mechanics and decisions were implemented because of Crystal Tools?
- you can't have an auction house in CT?
- you ca't get rid of animation locks in CT?
- did CT force them to go with boring and uninspired classes instead of tried and true FF classes?
XI had 3 fantastic mechanics going for it. The class/subclass system, the auction house, and level sync. To this day i don't think any other MMO has done classes better than XI, including the ability to level everything on one character.
All Tanaka had to do was build on those 3 aspects while updating glaring issues that XI had like combat responsiveness, poor grouping tools, and the UI.
I'm not giving the man a pass. He created a game that most XI vets didn't want to play and that non Final Fantasy fans had no interest in.
Yoshi is the only one who could have taken the game this far, simple as that, and if 2.0 goes right (which I think it will) hes finally going to get back for everything that he has put into this game.
Played-Everything
Playing-LoL
FFXI the most profitable Final Fantasy ever, and yet they made FFXIV instead of just making FFXI-2 like their community wanted.
I'm not certain you understand what 'Interview' means. When you say you're going to publish an interview with someone, you publish an interview with them, you don't just publish an article with information the writer got from an interview. That's just an article.
I watched the video for the new Luminous engine they were working on. All I can say is...wow! If they can pull it off and make a FF with a coherent story and those level of graphics, then they might find their way on top again.
My problem with FFXIV is that it runs so heavy on my system. I ran the benchmark a few times and it still looks laggy even with a quad core and some better ram. I need to step up to Windows 7 and maximize my ram to handle it and a better Gfx card. But is FFXIV worth that level of investment?
I agree on the class system. Ninja, Dancer, Red Mage, and Scholar were the most beautiful classes in the game. They stood fine on their own and were really powerful subs.
It also allowed wild fun. I had so much fun in campaign as Paladin/Scholar hitting Accession >> Cure IV then Invincible'ing and Sentinel'ing after that ware off. I'd kite all the mobs lol. Eventually I died but I got truckloads of exp.
I miss pld/dnc something fierce too. Say what you want about Wotg, but scholar (probably the best white magic + black magic user I've seen in any game) and dancer (melee healer, using combat resources not mana) are some of the best classes in the game.
XI's combat responsiveness was mostly based on servers being in Japan. I'd sorely miss the japanese players, and the joy from auto-translate compliments, but it'd be worth it to have a reasonable R rate.
Poor grouping tools? I don't get it. FFXI's grouping tools were basic but they were powerful. It was nice to be able to say /sea all pld 33-37 inv (Find all paladins between 33 and 37 seeking a party) or /seal all 70-74 inv (Find everyone between 70 and 74 seeking an invite). Somehow XIV's grouping tools really are trash though. Like not being able to use auto translate in search comments.
I liked the controls, but the UI left things to be desired (like seeing other players' TP). The funniest part about the hax-addon TParty is that it was only possible because the client was communicating TP to everyone in the raid anyway. The only reason we needed TParty is because XI's team was too lazy to put TP display in their raid frames.
Spec'ing properly is a gateway drug.
12 Million People have been meter spammed in heroics.
Honestly, nothing against the author, i know he was just relaying information, but i just got the impression that alot of what the devs were saying was just "this is what players want to hear", It would be cool for them to actually deliver on that, but i just have other things on the horizon that i can't see myself investing into this game.
"The surest way to corrupt a youth is to instruct him to hold in higher esteem those who think alike than those who think differently."
- Friedrich Nietzsche
Yoshi-P has delivered everything he has promised us players so far. The promisses that could not be met due to the terrible engine and server structure has been promised with 2.0. His number one goal is to regain the trust of the players they have wronged and he has already won me over in the past 2 years.
So what kind of system requirements will this FF XIV v2.0 have? I couldn't get it because of not even reaching their lowest benchmark! If improving the graphics means newer, better, higher priced PC to run it... I guess I'll have to end my love of FF with FF XI (although I left because of the great Chocobo debacle)... sob
Gladari:
Ranger of Surefall Glade
Red Mage of Vana'diel
Acrotecher of Moatoob
Mate of Union
It is a Final Fantasy title, SquareEnix' flagship and legacy, a Japanese company => of course they wouldn't give up without a fight. Every Final Fantasy should have known that before the mess even started.
I was burned on the first go, I'll wait until I see the game running and get my hands on it via a buddy key or free trial or something.
As much as I want to love the game it needs to prove itself before I think myself, and others will return.
I would give my left nut for a complete FFXI overhaul.
Updated high res textures, enhanced effects, Voiced npc's, custom UI's. zone and quest overhaul, Combat tweaks, physics, Particle effects. Complete monster revamp.
How cool would it be in Quifm if it was redone with fog effects, and creepy sounds, and lifelike animated monsters, and realistic corpses that persist.
Hell I could have done infinately better directing the new MMO than what that garbage team gave us for FFXIV...
Vanilla game:
Action based combat which required user input and relied on a stamina system.
Fully customizable classes with almost every skill usable by any class.
Gear usable by ANY class at ANY level (only very select high-end gear was restricted). Items had a favored class and optimal level; if you did not meet either you got little to no bonus. As you leveled up the bonus increased until you received the full bonuses provided by the item. This system alone was very unique to me and I really enjoyed it.
Manual attribute points which you can put into whichever stat you wanted to buff up depending on your playstyle.
Ability to really mix and match what skills you wanted on what classes, with the ability to solo pretty much everything if you had the proper setup and skill level (along with being in Japan, since playing with that distance latency is impossible for avoiding avoidable skills).
Overly complicated (overburdening as well) crafting system which provided a real sense of crafting an actual item instead of 'get mats, set to craft'. I both liked and hated the system, mostly because some equipment needed parts crafted with absurd materials and a far higher level of the skill than required for the resulting item. It was pointless to self craft some things. That said, when you finally crafted the end piece of equipment you felt accomplished, but also exhausted.
Physical and job level system. One let you improve your attributes and gave you slightly more base power than you'd otherwise have, the other let you improve your skills and more directly controlled stats (moreso max HP/MP) you had (mainly affected the hard cap benefits on your attribute levels).
Other things I've probably forgotten by now.
Yoshida's redesign:
Auto attack based combat which relied on a cooldown system for all skills/spells.
Severely restrictive selection of skills when playing other classes.
Gear with level AND class requirements.
Attribute points automatically allocated based on your class.
Solo ability severely limited with the massive nerfs to heals and general combat system changes.
Simplified crafting system.
Job levels only.
Other things I've probably forgotten by now.
Vanilla FFXIV was not like FFXI in any way.
Yoshida's FFXIV is like FFXI in most aspects.
That is why I quit. I did not want to play FFXI-2.
The removal of an engaging combat system (the major change that impacted me the most), the removal of massive customization, the removal of soloability, the dumbing down of things.. it all turned me off more and more after every major patch release to the point where I couldn't enjoy the game anymore. I'd login, try to do things and remember how much more I enjoyed the game before all the sweeping changes.
As I've said over and over, all the game needed was polish and refinement. That never happened and instead we received sweeping changes into something SE has done before: FFXI.
I am still upset to this day.