FFXI players don't have an issue with controls it seems, a lot of other ganers do and there is nothing wrong with them having this issue. Just by the title of your article, I know this isn't a real question but an attempt to thrust your opinion as the only real option by trying to make it a question. Your opinion is well known, and so is everyone else's. Your opinion does not invalidate other opinions, nor theirs yours. By the way, I played EQ 1 too, and it was not my first MMO either and the controls for FFXIV are crap.
parrotpholk-Because we all know the miracle patch fairy shows up the night before release and sprinkles magic dust on the server to make it allllll better.
Nobady is discussing that the controls are great, personally i think it could be done a lot better , but is not as bad as people put it out to be honestly.
Puting FFXI on your statment like a bad thin , well idk man that game was one of the best mmos up to this days for many people so is not a very valid argument , even with the stupid controls it had.
So yea we have a stupid windows that makes you press yes times, we have a 5sec lag , makes it 15 sec to execute 1 action.Now lets diminish that lag into a 1/3 of a second when the lag is gone typical time it took in FFXI, to put the same example. Thats 1 sec to execute 1 action, standar for all mmos.I fail to see the big deal past that lag makes it literally unplayable.You would forget soon that theres even times to confirm becouse it goes so fast, just like it does in ffxi.Terrible design none the less tought.
Again, the problem is lag.the rest is easy to bypass- get used to it.Name me 1 beta that didnt had lag, just 1 . none.So yea , that.Main problem is not the design of the ui, is that ATM they are on server side, for whatever reason.
I can see 2 kind of fixs for this, eighter bring them to client side (wich i doubt) or they put a lot more money on the servers by release , or soon after with release money.
I hope they do leave them on server side tbh, could fix a lot of problems with security that most MMOs have atm.
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It's not just lag. The lack of hotkeys to open certain windows or menus is a huge lack of foresight, or just blatant disregard on SEs part. Even without lag, having to deal with that menu heavy system is pretty damn tedious. The UI is a problem IMO. It just completely interrupts the flow of the game when you have to open this up for that, then have to press the cancel button the same amount of times to exit from it. There are so many ways SE could've made it smoother, simpler and more engaging.
Example, why the need for separate buy and sell menus and windows? Couldn't they have merged them into just one vendor window? It's things like that SE completely dropped the ball on, and they're going to pay for it dearly.
Like I said before, do you guys really think SE higher ups, their investors and even their own team, will be happy to not score a subscription base surpassing XI? Hell no.
I don't think anyone who really wants to play the game will be bothered by the controls long term. Sure, it takes longer to get used to the controls than it does for most games, but if you're going to spend hundreds of hours playing a game, does it really matter if you spent an hour or fire minutes getting used to playing it? Sure, you might spend a tenth of a second instead of a hundredth of a second executing a command, but there's no pvp, and the game is slow paced anyway, so what is the rush?
I agree that the controls could, and should be better. They do seem antiquated and unnecessarily cumbersome. I really don't think it matters, though. I'm guessing that the people who are put off by the controls to the point where they refuse to play the game would be put off by something else anyway, like the slow pacing, lack of jumping, surplus xp, lack of hovering exclamation points etc... Those that like the game otherwise will get used to the controls. They may never like them, but it's hardly a game-breaker on its own.
- after getting used to the controls, how does FFXIV actually play on them? What are the most stringent issues with them?
For me, they're just fine. I've played with Gamepad, Mouse/Keyboard and Keyboard alone. I'm thinking I'm going to be going with keyboard alone for launch simply because by now I've become completely comfortable with it. I can run and navigate my character through town, while rifling through my main menu.... or pop open the menu while running along outside, etc.. I can stop on a dime and turn around, bringing the camera around behind me without becoming disoriented or confused.
I think you hit on a good point in how people are quick to complain when faced with something new to learn. But the funny thing is... they only do this with MMOs. You can buy 10 different console games, each similar in genre, but each with different control schemes, and players will simply pick the games up,learn the controls and be on their way.
Give them a different control scheme than they're used to for MMOs, though, and they lose their minds. I don't get it... especially because XIV's controls, and interface, are not nearly as bad as they're made out to be. There's a lot of overstatement going on in some of these threads, in my opinion.
- how do the FFXIV controls compare to the FFXI ones?
Keyboard-wise, once you're used to them... very similar, only with a few extra keys thrown in. Mouse/Keyboard has been setup more like the familiar WASD/Mouse configuration in most MMOs where you press the right mouse button and move the mouse to steer. It's not like XI where your character turns at a different speed based on where the cursor is on the screen (which I found annoying as well in XI). And of course, there's gamepad which, to me, is second option after keyboard only..
"If you just step away for a sec you will clearly see all the pot holes in the road, and the cash shop selling asphalt..." - Mimzel on F2P/Cash Shops
I know many people that will certainly struggle with changes. It isn't easy, and there are a lot of complaints. However, the flip side of the coin is that not all change is equal.
The problem with FF XIV controls is that the change isn't for the better...it's actually dumbed down to match a future release of the PS3 console port. The fact that many people have an easier time playing the game using a controller pad goes a very long ways towards proving how dumbed down the interface is.
I played FF XIV during alpha, and did indeed learn how to use the controls without getting a gamepad. I spent many hours trying to like a game that I thought I might really enjoy. I have played many games from many genres for nearly 3 decades now, so I am used to having to learn new interfaces and control schemes. I ended up coming to two main conclusions regarding FF XIV:
1) The game simply isn't that good....which was a let down.
2) The controls and general interface are simply inferior to most existing MMOs considering the default functionality of a mouse and keyboard on a standard PC.
Comments
FFXI players don't have an issue with controls it seems, a lot of other ganers do and there is nothing wrong with them having this issue. Just by the title of your article, I know this isn't a real question but an attempt to thrust your opinion as the only real option by trying to make it a question. Your opinion is well known, and so is everyone else's. Your opinion does not invalidate other opinions, nor theirs yours. By the way, I played EQ 1 too, and it was not my first MMO either and the controls for FFXIV are crap.
parrotpholk-Because we all know the miracle patch fairy shows up the night before release and sprinkles magic dust on the server to make it allllll better.
...
It's not just lag. The lack of hotkeys to open certain windows or menus is a huge lack of foresight, or just blatant disregard on SEs part. Even without lag, having to deal with that menu heavy system is pretty damn tedious. The UI is a problem IMO. It just completely interrupts the flow of the game when you have to open this up for that, then have to press the cancel button the same amount of times to exit from it. There are so many ways SE could've made it smoother, simpler and more engaging.
Example, why the need for separate buy and sell menus and windows? Couldn't they have merged them into just one vendor window? It's things like that SE completely dropped the ball on, and they're going to pay for it dearly.
Like I said before, do you guys really think SE higher ups, their investors and even their own team, will be happy to not score a subscription base surpassing XI? Hell no.
Running around requires 2 hands. I think every mmo Ive ever played I could run around using just left+right mouse buttons.
I don't think anyone who really wants to play the game will be bothered by the controls long term. Sure, it takes longer to get used to the controls than it does for most games, but if you're going to spend hundreds of hours playing a game, does it really matter if you spent an hour or fire minutes getting used to playing it? Sure, you might spend a tenth of a second instead of a hundredth of a second executing a command, but there's no pvp, and the game is slow paced anyway, so what is the rush?
I agree that the controls could, and should be better. They do seem antiquated and unnecessarily cumbersome. I really don't think it matters, though. I'm guessing that the people who are put off by the controls to the point where they refuse to play the game would be put off by something else anyway, like the slow pacing, lack of jumping, surplus xp, lack of hovering exclamation points etc... Those that like the game otherwise will get used to the controls. They may never like them, but it's hardly a game-breaker on its own.
and the cash shop selling asphalt..." - Mimzel on F2P/Cash Shops
I know many people that will certainly struggle with changes. It isn't easy, and there are a lot of complaints. However, the flip side of the coin is that not all change is equal.
The problem with FF XIV controls is that the change isn't for the better...it's actually dumbed down to match a future release of the PS3 console port. The fact that many people have an easier time playing the game using a controller pad goes a very long ways towards proving how dumbed down the interface is.
I played FF XIV during alpha, and did indeed learn how to use the controls without getting a gamepad. I spent many hours trying to like a game that I thought I might really enjoy. I have played many games from many genres for nearly 3 decades now, so I am used to having to learn new interfaces and control schemes. I ended up coming to two main conclusions regarding FF XIV:
1) The game simply isn't that good....which was a let down.
2) The controls and general interface are simply inferior to most existing MMOs considering the default functionality of a mouse and keyboard on a standard PC.