To do a review Before a great major uptade content this is really stupid.
( its mean total bashing of a bad starting game, / wich they try to get more interesting and you guys gave hope down to every1 , btw i never played that game and i will wait before playing it until they think the game is worth and made the player pay for it )
kind of a pointless review, anyone with half a brain knew of this games failure (and it sucks right now) so much so that the lead devs got replaced and the games free and basicly back in beta. A review this late in, right before some of the major changes is pretty pointless.
If you have any intrest in the game you already have the pc version (its stupid cheap already) or your wating on the actual release, which is the PS3 version.
Lurker here (that almost never posts anything), but this one is gonna get me out from behind the bushes.
This review is far FAR too lenient on Final Fantasy XIV. FFXIV is absolutely, beyond a shadow of a doubt, the worst, most inept, hellish trainwreck of an MMO to EVER be released for public consumption. Especially considering the expectations and pedigree. When I bought it, the conclusion I inevitably came to is that the developers of this game had clearly (a) never played an MMO in their lives, and (b) were shockingly incompetent. If everyone associated with developing this game in any way, shape, or form as not been fired by now (and blacklisted in the industry); it's a crime.
Avoid this game like the plague. Worst--MMO--ever. Period.
You obviously have only been playing MMOs for like three years.. Prior to the massive wave of F2P MMOs storming the internet there were almost no MMO ever released in a playable state.
Between "needing fine tuning" and "not playable" is NOT a fine line, not at all.
Yeah.. I'm a hater, right? )
Every time someone doesn't share the bliss of some failure, he's a hater. I guess the whole freaking world of mmo gaming is made of haters, because only a hand-full of you actually believe the crap you preach.
lol, I don't hate on any game, I keep to the facts.. and Prior to the wave of F2P most MMO releases came hand in hand with server crashes every 5 mins and a massively broken UI. Just cause I called you out in a FFXIV thread doesn't mean I'm blindly supporting the game it's a broken POS. Personnally i do hope it gets good if not only so I dont have to look at those crap graphics and hideous cartoon style characters in every other MMO.
I think the review score is fair at this point, but my issue with this review is that it reads like it was written at least two months ago. It's important that information is up to date, because what you might not view as favorable, might interest another person.
On the same token, even if the score would not have changed, writing a review 4 days before a major patch just seems illogical at best. As others have stated, your information will then be very outdated. It honestly does not sound like the reviewer really knew anything about the patch, other than updates were coming.
Even better, in the next couple of months, the game is scheduled to receive most to all of those changes the developers have been working on for the last 10 months, at which point, this review will be completely obsolete.
I do hope you plan to release a more accurate and updated review then.
Well I haven't played since the week of release. Even before 1.18 it is definily better than it was but it hasn't changed alot. More mobs and at various levels is about the biggest thing so far that I noticed up to rank 10. Ranking up also seems to go faster in general. There are a few more side quests and the quest givers now have thought bubbles over their heads. UI lag is definitly way down. As for anything beyond rank 10 I couldn't say.
I understand wanting to change core mechanics before content so I will forgive the continued lack of content. It is definitly an issue but they seem to be headed in the right direction. I would like to see them dump the timers in general and specifically the timer limiting the number of levequests you can do. Leves are, as far as I can tell, the major way of bringing gil into the economy. Much like missions are for Eve. Putting these basic cash generating mission on a strict limit continues to be FFXIV most fundamental design flaw. Are they scared people will stop doing crafting or gathering? Well then that should indicate a problem with those activities. There is no reason to limit a fun activity just so that people will be forced to do some of the not fun activities. Besides, the crafting isn't that bad, nor is the general mob grinding. The point is, people should have the choice. If too much gil is the problem then have the leves give rewards with diminishing returns. Half the gil after 8 leves seems reasonable. Leves don't give you much anyway.
Over all, it is getting better but still has a ways to go. What it needs is more things to do. FFXIV is a sandbox game. Sandbox games need to provide lots of different activies to do at any one given time. FFXIV is has a few thing you can do but not enough variety. And what you can do is often strictly limited in real time.
While the review completely reflects my own experience with the title, it couldn't have come at a worse time. Next week will see the release of the 1.18 patch, with massive changes to several core systems of the game. I don't really expect the game to be "good" after that, but at least "significantly better than now".
It's a bit of a waste of the reviewers time to write a review that's only valid for a week.
This is exactly what I was going to say. The reviewer acknowledged having waited for some time before writing the review; why on earth not wait until after this big patch with its proposed fundamental changes to core aspects of the game?
I find this review rather pointless. Yes the game sucks right now, The game has sucked for almost a year but they're working on it and they have a huge amount of game changing patches planned this summer so I really don't get why you'd need to release this review now and give it another kick in the crotch. If you waited this long with writing a review you could have waited a few weeks more.
I'm currently playing FFXIV on the recommendation of a friend since I was feeling bored with Rift. I did find the UI extremely frustrating for the first couple of days, but then I adapted as I realised that it was similar to a console UI, but easily playable with a pc keyboard.
Lori states:
"Truth be told, I really can’t say enough about how unpolished and unrefined the gameplay in Final Fantasy XIV is. The interface is horribly clunky, and needlessly complex; why do I have to click to open a menu list just to access my inventory, or equip a new weapon? You can create macros, but the key layout is terrible. Having to click an enemy—then click a spell or effect—and then click the enemy again to attack is ridiculous. I have no idea what the game designers were thinking. Rumor has it that auto attack, and a serious overhaul of the combat system, is coming in the upcoming patch. I truly hope this proves accurate, because no matter how pretty the Final Fantasy XIV world is, the controls and cumbersome combat makes it a nightmare to play."
Actually, you can press home (instead of the customary esc) to open the menu, then use arrow keys to scroll up and down the options there and finally hitting enter will select the option. No mouse click involved (I, too, hate unnecessary mouse clicking).
For attacking monsters, tab will select the nearest enemy in front of you and shift-tab the nearest enemy behind you. Pressing 1 will attack the monster with your basic attack by default (you can change which ability is on which hotkey in spells and abilities) and also simultaneously locks you onto the target and brings up your action bar. Just like any other mmo, you can then hit 1-0 for your abilities. No mouse clicks here! At the end of the battle, F will sheath your weapon and leave you in rest state where you replenish health and mana more quickly.
I was a bit thrown by the "area of effect" button which appears when you do aoe spells, but, again, it turns out to be simple. Hit the key for the spell, then when the AoE message appears, hit enter and away you go, the spell attack is initiated. Actually if you think of AoE's in most MMO's they require a mouse click to position the AoE.
Currently I'm enjoying FFXIV, mainly because it feels different to most mmo's in the sense that it holds my attention more than most. I don't know how long that will last and I'm hoping for good things from the upcoming patch and future changes. I also hope that SE decide to go with a fremium model for payment rather than a montly sub, and I definitely would not be keen on paying extra per character. The game itself cost me only £5 from Amazon.co.uk and, since there is currently no subscription fee, that seems like a good deal to me.
NO! The graphics are just a 7! Because.... because... the UI has "too many unnecessary steps for doing basic things"!
Seriously, it's a rollercoaster of laughs to see people defend a "writer" that doesn't even know that UI functionality pertains to gameplay and not to aesthetics.
I'm confused by your comment. Did you mean that I was trying to defend the writer of the review? If so, I'm not sure how you got that impression.
Does your comment that the graphics are just a 7 have any bearing on my stated opinion that the graphics are sumptuous? The new paragraph and the use of the word "Oh" were meant to denote that this was an entirely different topic to my previous topic which was, indeed UI functionality. I'm not sure if you are suggesting that I am confused about which category graphics should come under? Or the writer of the review is confused about said categorisation? Or .... well, who knows?
I'm confused by your comment. Did you mean that I was trying to defend the writer of the review? If so, I'm not sure how you got that impression.
Does your comment that the graphics are just a 7 have any bearing on my stated opinion that the graphics are sumptuous? The new paragraph and the use of the word "Oh" were meant to denote that this was an entirely different topic to my previous topic which was, indeed UI functionality. I'm not sure if you are suggesting that I am confused about which category graphics should come under? Or the writer of the review is confused about said categorisation? Or .... well, who knows?
{mod edit}
Ah ok. I'm always a bit of a failure when it comes to sarcasm, I tend to read things "straight" (probably due to my Asperger's Syncrome). No wonder I spend a lot of time feeling confused ^^
So two consensus have been reached from two like minded groups
Group One : The game has hardly changed over the past year, this is what they shipped so this is what got reviewed. Also I am only posting because I am mad that I bought the game on raw impulse at release day and want to throw mud at it.
Group Two : The game is literally one week from being this to being that. This review is wasted server space and proof of ineptitude. Also I am absolutely sure that the patch is the cure all panacea for FFXIV!
The various arguments strewn here and about regarding the lack of "new content" are also, considering the massive game rewrite only just about to begin rolling into action, somewhat flawed. If the game was well recieved by the general public on release, we would have seen the various endgame and plotline advancements that users are accustomed to in their P2P MMORPG's. Another thing users would have expected in their P2P experience is paying, which not a soul has had to do since they brought the box home.
The heads of the development team were replaced.
there are well advertised plans to overhaul the very structure of the overworld.
The manner in which people combat the beast hordes is ever so near its highly touted overhaul
And the tedium of equipment upkeep and construction is being ever simplified as to maintain the complex and, I'm told, rewarding crafting environment while inducing a fairer balance for those of whom prefer to strike enemies than steel. (such as myself)
I am optimistic for the future of XIV because the intentions of its developers to right the wrongs has been made evident.
Let's keep it civil and constructive. Attacks and baiting each other will not be tolerated.
We understand many of you are passioante one way or another about this game, but if you can't refrain from using disrespectul or abusive language towards each other action will be taken against your account.
If you have criticisms about the review itself, that is fine, as long as it is constructive. Insullting the staff or our writers is unacceptable.
You obviously have only been playing MMOs for like three years.. Prior to the massive wave of F2P MMOs storming the internet there were almost no MMO ever released in a playable state.
Between "needing fine tuning" and "not enjoyable" is NOT a fine line, not at all.
Yeah.. I'm a hater, right? )
Every time someone doesn't share the bliss of some failure, he's a hater. I guess the whole freaking world of mmo gaming is made of haters, because only a hand-full of you actually believe the crap you preach.
I can't even comprehend how the game launched as it did. Incomplete is an understatement. The release version of FFXIV was barely worthy of an Alpha build two years from release.
Square Enix could have fixed the game, if they really wanted to and were willing to spend the needed money and devote the needed manpower. However, looking at how little progress they've made since launch, it's clear they opted to pretend to fix it while devoting a shoe sting budget and a tiny staff.
I had some small hope when they suspended monthly fees and promised to make the game worthy. The very barest skeleton of a good game are their, but it lacks all the flesh, blood, muscles, tendons, skin and grey matter needed to be considered complete and viable.
FFXIV and Tabula Rasa seem to be two of a kind. Big budget MMOs helmed by reknowned game designers that were more than utter disappointments, they were extremely incomplete disappointments that seem to have forgotten that MMOs need actual content. Both titles and the people that worked on them boggle my mind in a way no other games ever have in the genre. There have been many bad MMOs, but never has badness been so pointless. In both cases, it's almost akin to paying a reknowned aircraft manufacturer millions for an ultimate private jet and getting a paper air plane in return. Then being told that the paper airplane does everything you would expect of a world class jet, even though it's clearly just a piece of paper folded a few times pretending to be something it's not.
Not really, they have actually retained a full development staff (after restructuring), and have multiple teams working on both the revisions and content. However because they are doing major revisions to just about the entire game the foundations of that have to be built from the ground up. Now that we are getting 1.18, 1.19, and 1.2 they will have much of that foundation and have stated that future updates bringing more content will be more frequent.
The game is not on lifesupport no matter how many of you want to try and pretend it is. The difference between this game and many other MMO's with a bad launch is that this Square Enix is still commited to putting in the resources and talent to salvage and re-release the game.
By the time the game reaches it's intended released state, other AAA mmo's will have released, and that's when it will become (and probably remain) a shadow of what it could have been.
By the time the game reaches it's intended released state, other AAA mmo's will have released, and that's when it will become (and probably remain) a shadow of what it could have been.
Other AAA MMORPG are always present on the market. The fact that some will launch in the future has absolutely no bearing on the quality of FFXIV, present or future. Besides, no MMO to be launched in the foreseeable future has a graphical quality comparable to FFXIV, so the fact that they are "newer" helps them very little when their engines are made to run on a laptop from world war 2.
Oh but wait, FFXIV's graphics are just a 7! because the UI has too many clicks!
Originally posted by BizkitNL By the time the game reaches it's intended released state, other AAA mmo's will have released, and that's when it will become (and probably remain) a shadow of what it could have been.
Other AAA MMORPG are always present on the market. The fact that some will launch in the future has absolutely no bearing on the quality of FFXIV, present or future. Besides, no MMO to be launched in the foreseeable future has a graphical quality comparable to FFXIV, so the fact that they are "newer" helps them very little when their engines are made to run on a laptop from world war 2. Oh but wait, FFXIV's graphics are just a 7! because the UI has too many clicks!
So according to you no other MMO will have a bearing on FFXIV because of its graphics? its about the art style and not just graphics and game like Tera, GW2 and TSW are a great competitor in terms of looks. But then again graphics mean nothing if game play is horrible and that is the main problem of FFXIV.
Gameplay > Graphics and when UI is as tedious as FFXIV there is hardly any interest left in how well the game looks.
Heso o kamedomo oyobanu -- Don't cut off your nose to spite your face.
So according to you no other MMO will have a bearing on FFXIV because of its graphics? its about the art style and not just graphics and game like Tera, GW2 and TSW are a great competitor in terms of looks. But then again graphics mean nothing if game play is horrible and that is the main problem of FFXIV.
Gameplay > Graphics and when UI is as tedious as FFXIV there is hardly any interest left in how well the game looks.
Graphics are what keeps a game futureproof. FFXIV has been launched with graphics to keep it current for a long while. On the other hand, if you think Tera or GW2 look so great, you may want to look at them from an actual in-game point of view, instead of just some cinematic trailer with a camera flying around. Because the character view exposes their weak engines quite clearly as what they are. Old.
Gameplay is exactly what is improving on FFXIV. By when Tera or GW2 will launch, there's a fairly solid possibility that gameplay will have massively improved, and graphics will still be superior.
So according to you no other MMO will have a bearing on FFXIV because of its graphics? its about the art style and not just graphics and game like Tera, GW2 and TSW are a great competitor in terms of looks. But then again graphics mean nothing if game play is horrible and that is the main problem of FFXIV. Gameplay > Graphics and when UI is as tedious as FFXIV there is hardly any interest left in how well the game looks.
Graphics are what keeps a game futureproof. FFXIV has been launched with graphics to keep it current for a long while. On the other hand, if you think Tera or GW2 look so great, you may want to look at them from an actual in-game point of view, instead of just some cinematic trailer with a camera flying around. Because the character view exposes their weak engines quite clearly as what they are. Old. Gameplay is exactly what is improving on FFXIV. By when Tera or GW2 will launch, there's a fairly solid possibility that gameplay will have massively improved, and graphics will still be superior.
So that is your opinion not a fact and i disagree with it completely. GW2, TSW and Tera all have future proof graphics and yes it played Korean version of game and it looks gorgeous even better than FFXIV copy paste world which is completely devoid of character and life.
As far as game play will improve we will see about that in future. But i have little hope. Since we are already getting much superior gameplay + amazing graphics with games like GW2 and Tera so hardly any reasons left to wait for this supposedly solid improvements to FFXIV.
Sorry too little and too late.
Heso o kamedomo oyobanu -- Don't cut off your nose to spite your face.
By the time the game reaches it's intended released state, other AAA mmo's will have released, and that's when it will become (and probably remain) a shadow of what it could have been.
Other AAA MMORPG are always present on the market. The fact that some will launch in the future has absolutely no bearing on the quality of FFXIV, present or future. Besides, no MMO to be launched in the foreseeable future has a graphical quality comparable to FFXIV, so the fact that they are "newer" helps them very little when their engines are made to run on a laptop from world war 2.
Oh but wait, FFXIV's graphics are just a 7! because the UI has too many clicks!
Now look who is creating "straw men". Blitz was not talking about graphic quality at all.
Also the graphics being too good to run on "World War 2" laptops is a good thing, because this means more sales for the game because more people can play it. Excluding the large majority of PC MMORPG players from playing the game because their hardware is not up to snuff is not a good marketing strategy at all.
But like it has been said in the post above me, graphics mean nothing (unless you only play Call of Duty) and should not be used as a plus point when the core gameplay mechanics are not favourable to most of the people who have tried the game.
So according to you no other MMO will have a bearing on FFXIV because of its graphics? its about the art style and not just graphics and game like Tera, GW2 and TSW are a great competitor in terms of looks. But then again graphics mean nothing if game play is horrible and that is the main problem of FFXIV.
Gameplay > Graphics and when UI is as tedious as FFXIV there is hardly any interest left in how well the game looks.
Graphics are what keeps a game futureproof. FFXIV has been launched with graphics to keep it current for a long while. On the other hand, if you think Tera or GW2 look so great, you may want to look at them from an actual in-game point of view, instead of just some cinematic trailer with a camera flying around. Because the character view exposes their weak engines quite clearly as what they are. Old.
Gameplay is exactly what is improving on FFXIV. By when Tera or GW2 will launch, there's a fairly solid possibility that gameplay will have massively improved, and graphics will still be superior.
So that is your opinion not a fact and i disagree with it completely. GW2, TSW and Tera all have future proof graphics and yes it played Korean version of game and it looks gorgeous even better than FFXIV copy paste world which is completely devoid of character and life.
As far as game play will improve we will see about that in future. But i have little hope.
What does the "copy paste world which is completely devoid of character and life" have to do with it's graphics?
They have already addressed the issues with the maps and some zones, complete zone redesigns in the works, this was mentioned a few pages back.
Originally posted by Mustardtiger Originally posted by Hachiro
Originally posted by Abriael
Originally posted by Hachiro
So according to you no other MMO will have a bearing on FFXIV because of its graphics? its about the art style and not just graphics and game like Tera, GW2 and TSW are a great competitor in terms of looks. But then again graphics mean nothing if game play is horrible and that is the main problem of FFXIV. Gameplay > Graphics and when UI is as tedious as FFXIV there is hardly any interest left in how well the game looks.
Graphics are what keeps a game futureproof. FFXIV has been launched with graphics to keep it current for a long while. On the other hand, if you think Tera or GW2 look so great, you may want to look at them from an actual in-game point of view, instead of just some cinematic trailer with a camera flying around. Because the character view exposes their weak engines quite clearly as what they are. Old. Gameplay is exactly what is improving on FFXIV. By when Tera or GW2 will launch, there's a fairly solid possibility that gameplay will have massively improved, and graphics will still be superior.
So that is your opinion not a fact and i disagree with it completely. GW2, TSW and Tera all have future proof graphics and yes it played Korean version of game and it looks gorgeous even better than FFXIV copy paste world which is completely devoid of character and life. As far as game play will improve we will see about that in future. But i have little hope. What does the "copy paste world which is completely devoid of character and life" have to do with it's graphics? They have already addressed the issues on the copy and paste world, complete zone redesigns in the works, this was mentioned a few pages back.
Because amazing graphics is not just about polygon count but it is also about how interesting and appealing you make it. You can create most beautiful locations but if they are empty and devoid of life people will still get bored. And running through FFXIV zones is like running on a treadmill in front of a screen.
And no it is still a issue because we are talking about present and not future/
Heso o kamedomo oyobanu -- Don't cut off your nose to spite your face.
Comments
Just one thing !
To do a review Before a great major uptade content this is really stupid.
( its mean total bashing of a bad starting game, / wich they try to get more interesting and you guys gave hope down to every1 , btw i never played that game and i will wait before playing it until they think the game is worth and made the player pay for it )
kind of a pointless review, anyone with half a brain knew of this games failure (and it sucks right now) so much so that the lead devs got replaced and the games free and basicly back in beta. A review this late in, right before some of the major changes is pretty pointless.
If you have any intrest in the game you already have the pc version (its stupid cheap already) or your wating on the actual release, which is the PS3 version.
Just review it again a little after that.
LOL It took MMORPG.com almost a year after the game's launch to review it, and fanboys whine that they should have waited for another patch? Cry more.
Lurker here (that almost never posts anything), but this one is gonna get me out from behind the bushes.
This review is far FAR too lenient on Final Fantasy XIV. FFXIV is absolutely, beyond a shadow of a doubt, the worst, most inept, hellish trainwreck of an MMO to EVER be released for public consumption. Especially considering the expectations and pedigree. When I bought it, the conclusion I inevitably came to is that the developers of this game had clearly (a) never played an MMO in their lives, and (b) were shockingly incompetent. If everyone associated with developing this game in any way, shape, or form as not been fired by now (and blacklisted in the industry); it's a crime.
Avoid this game like the plague. Worst--MMO--ever. Period.
Between "needing fine tuning" and "not playable" is NOT a fine line, not at all.
Yeah.. I'm a hater, right?
)
Every time someone doesn't share the bliss of some failure, he's a hater. I guess the whole freaking world of mmo gaming is made of haters, because only a hand-full of you actually believe the crap you preach.
lol, I don't hate on any game, I keep to the facts.. and Prior to the wave of F2P most MMO releases came hand in hand with server crashes every 5 mins and a massively broken UI. Just cause I called you out in a FFXIV thread doesn't mean I'm blindly supporting the game it's a broken POS. Personnally i do hope it gets good if not only so I dont have to look at those crap graphics and hideous cartoon style characters in every other MMO.
I think the review score is fair at this point, but my issue with this review is that it reads like it was written at least two months ago. It's important that information is up to date, because what you might not view as favorable, might interest another person.
On the same token, even if the score would not have changed, writing a review 4 days before a major patch just seems illogical at best. As others have stated, your information will then be very outdated. It honestly does not sound like the reviewer really knew anything about the patch, other than updates were coming.
Even better, in the next couple of months, the game is scheduled to receive most to all of those changes the developers have been working on for the last 10 months, at which point, this review will be completely obsolete.
I do hope you plan to release a more accurate and updated review then.
Well I haven't played since the week of release. Even before 1.18 it is definily better than it was but it hasn't changed alot. More mobs and at various levels is about the biggest thing so far that I noticed up to rank 10. Ranking up also seems to go faster in general. There are a few more side quests and the quest givers now have thought bubbles over their heads. UI lag is definitly way down. As for anything beyond rank 10 I couldn't say.
I understand wanting to change core mechanics before content so I will forgive the continued lack of content. It is definitly an issue but they seem to be headed in the right direction. I would like to see them dump the timers in general and specifically the timer limiting the number of levequests you can do. Leves are, as far as I can tell, the major way of bringing gil into the economy. Much like missions are for Eve. Putting these basic cash generating mission on a strict limit continues to be FFXIV most fundamental design flaw. Are they scared people will stop doing crafting or gathering? Well then that should indicate a problem with those activities. There is no reason to limit a fun activity just so that people will be forced to do some of the not fun activities. Besides, the crafting isn't that bad, nor is the general mob grinding. The point is, people should have the choice. If too much gil is the problem then have the leves give rewards with diminishing returns. Half the gil after 8 leves seems reasonable. Leves don't give you much anyway.
Over all, it is getting better but still has a ways to go. What it needs is more things to do. FFXIV is a sandbox game. Sandbox games need to provide lots of different activies to do at any one given time. FFXIV is has a few thing you can do but not enough variety. And what you can do is often strictly limited in real time.
All die, so die well.
This is exactly what I was going to say. The reviewer acknowledged having waited for some time before writing the review; why on earth not wait until after this big patch with its proposed fundamental changes to core aspects of the game?
Exactly!
I'm currently playing FFXIV on the recommendation of a friend since I was feeling bored with Rift. I did find the UI extremely frustrating for the first couple of days, but then I adapted as I realised that it was similar to a console UI, but easily playable with a pc keyboard.
Lori states:
"Truth be told, I really can’t say enough about how unpolished and unrefined the gameplay in Final Fantasy XIV is. The interface is horribly clunky, and needlessly complex; why do I have to click to open a menu list just to access my inventory, or equip a new weapon? You can create macros, but the key layout is terrible. Having to click an enemy—then click a spell or effect—and then click the enemy again to attack is ridiculous. I have no idea what the game designers were thinking. Rumor has it that auto attack, and a serious overhaul of the combat system, is coming in the upcoming patch. I truly hope this proves accurate, because no matter how pretty the Final Fantasy XIV world is, the controls and cumbersome combat makes it a nightmare to play."
Actually, you can press home (instead of the customary esc) to open the menu, then use arrow keys to scroll up and down the options there and finally hitting enter will select the option. No mouse click involved (I, too, hate unnecessary mouse clicking).
For attacking monsters, tab will select the nearest enemy in front of you and shift-tab the nearest enemy behind you. Pressing 1 will attack the monster with your basic attack by default (you can change which ability is on which hotkey in spells and abilities) and also simultaneously locks you onto the target and brings up your action bar. Just like any other mmo, you can then hit 1-0 for your abilities. No mouse clicks here! At the end of the battle, F will sheath your weapon and leave you in rest state where you replenish health and mana more quickly.
I was a bit thrown by the "area of effect" button which appears when you do aoe spells, but, again, it turns out to be simple. Hit the key for the spell, then when the AoE message appears, hit enter and away you go, the spell attack is initiated. Actually if you think of AoE's in most MMO's they require a mouse click to position the AoE.
Currently I'm enjoying FFXIV, mainly because it feels different to most mmo's in the sense that it holds my attention more than most. I don't know how long that will last and I'm hoping for good things from the upcoming patch and future changes. I also hope that SE decide to go with a fremium model for payment rather than a montly sub, and I definitely would not be keen on paying extra per character. The game itself cost me only £5 from Amazon.co.uk and, since there is currently no subscription fee, that seems like a good deal to me.
Oh, and the graphics are sumptuous ^^
I'm confused by your comment. Did you mean that I was trying to defend the writer of the review? If so, I'm not sure how you got that impression.
Does your comment that the graphics are just a 7 have any bearing on my stated opinion that the graphics are sumptuous? The new paragraph and the use of the word "Oh" were meant to denote that this was an entirely different topic to my previous topic which was, indeed UI functionality. I'm not sure if you are suggesting that I am confused about which category graphics should come under? Or the writer of the review is confused about said categorisation? Or .... well, who knows?
Ah ok. I'm always a bit of a failure when it comes to sarcasm, I tend to read things "straight" (probably due to my Asperger's Syncrome). No wonder I spend a lot of time feeling confused ^^
So two consensus have been reached from two like minded groups
Group One : The game has hardly changed over the past year, this is what they shipped so this is what got reviewed. Also I am only posting because I am mad that I bought the game on raw impulse at release day and want to throw mud at it.
Group Two : The game is literally one week from being this to being that. This review is wasted server space and proof of ineptitude. Also I am absolutely sure that the patch is the cure all panacea for FFXIV!
The various arguments strewn here and about regarding the lack of "new content" are also, considering the massive game rewrite only just about to begin rolling into action, somewhat flawed. If the game was well recieved by the general public on release, we would have seen the various endgame and plotline advancements that users are accustomed to in their P2P MMORPG's. Another thing users would have expected in their P2P experience is paying, which not a soul has had to do since they brought the box home.
The heads of the development team were replaced.
there are well advertised plans to overhaul the very structure of the overworld.
The manner in which people combat the beast hordes is ever so near its highly touted overhaul
And the tedium of equipment upkeep and construction is being ever simplified as to maintain the complex and, I'm told, rewarding crafting environment while inducing a fairer balance for those of whom prefer to strike enemies than steel. (such as myself)
I am optimistic for the future of XIV because the intentions of its developers to right the wrongs has been made evident.
How about you?
Well deserved score that is all i am gonna say.
Heso o kamedomo oyobanu -- Don't cut off your nose to spite your face.
Hey guys,
Let's keep it civil and constructive. Attacks and baiting each other will not be tolerated.
We understand many of you are passioante one way or another about this game, but if you can't refrain from using disrespectul or abusive language towards each other action will be taken against your account.
If you have criticisms about the review itself, that is fine, as long as it is constructive. Insullting the staff or our writers is unacceptable.
Fixed that for ya heh. :P
By the time the game reaches it's intended released state, other AAA mmo's will have released, and that's when it will become (and probably remain) a shadow of what it could have been.
That, and you're still better off playing FFXI.
The only one pretending here, is you.
Other AAA MMORPG are always present on the market. The fact that some will launch in the future has absolutely no bearing on the quality of FFXIV, present or future. Besides, no MMO to be launched in the foreseeable future has a graphical quality comparable to FFXIV, so the fact that they are "newer" helps them very little when their engines are made to run on a laptop from world war 2.
Oh but wait, FFXIV's graphics are just a 7! because the UI has too many clicks!
So according to you no other MMO will have a bearing on FFXIV because of its graphics? its about the art style and not just graphics and game like Tera, GW2 and TSW are a great competitor in terms of looks. But then again graphics mean nothing if game play is horrible and that is the main problem of FFXIV.
Gameplay > Graphics and when UI is as tedious as FFXIV there is hardly any interest left in how well the game looks.
Heso o kamedomo oyobanu -- Don't cut off your nose to spite your face.
Graphics are what keeps a game futureproof. FFXIV has been launched with graphics to keep it current for a long while. On the other hand, if you think Tera or GW2 look so great, you may want to look at them from an actual in-game point of view, instead of just some cinematic trailer with a camera flying around. Because the character view exposes their weak engines quite clearly as what they are. Old.
Gameplay is exactly what is improving on FFXIV. By when Tera or GW2 will launch, there's a fairly solid possibility that gameplay will have massively improved, and graphics will still be superior.
So that is your opinion not a fact and i disagree with it completely. GW2, TSW and Tera all have future proof graphics and yes it played Korean version of game and it looks gorgeous even better than FFXIV copy paste world which is completely devoid of character and life.
As far as game play will improve we will see about that in future. But i have little hope. Since we are already getting much superior gameplay + amazing graphics with games like GW2 and Tera so hardly any reasons left to wait for this supposedly solid improvements to FFXIV.
Sorry too little and too late.
Heso o kamedomo oyobanu -- Don't cut off your nose to spite your face.
Now look who is creating "straw men". Blitz was not talking about graphic quality at all.
Also the graphics being too good to run on "World War 2" laptops is a good thing, because this means more sales for the game because more people can play it. Excluding the large majority of PC MMORPG players from playing the game because their hardware is not up to snuff is not a good marketing strategy at all.
But like it has been said in the post above me, graphics mean nothing (unless you only play Call of Duty) and should not be used as a plus point when the core gameplay mechanics are not favourable to most of the people who have tried the game.
What does the "copy paste world which is completely devoid of character and life" have to do with it's graphics?
They have already addressed the issues with the maps and some zones, complete zone redesigns in the works, this was mentioned a few pages back.
Graphics are what keeps a game futureproof. FFXIV has been launched with graphics to keep it current for a long while. On the other hand, if you think Tera or GW2 look so great, you may want to look at them from an actual in-game point of view, instead of just some cinematic trailer with a camera flying around. Because the character view exposes their weak engines quite clearly as what they are. Old.
Gameplay is exactly what is improving on FFXIV. By when Tera or GW2 will launch, there's a fairly solid possibility that gameplay will have massively improved, and graphics will still be superior.
So that is your opinion not a fact and i disagree with it completely. GW2, TSW and Tera all have future proof graphics and yes it played Korean version of game and it looks gorgeous even better than FFXIV copy paste world which is completely devoid of character and life.
As far as game play will improve we will see about that in future. But i have little hope.
What does the "copy paste world which is completely devoid of character and life" have to do with it's graphics?
They have already addressed the issues on the copy and paste world, complete zone redesigns in the works, this was mentioned a few pages back.
Because amazing graphics is not just about polygon count but it is also about how interesting and appealing you make it. You can create most beautiful locations but if they are empty and devoid of life people will still get bored. And running through FFXIV zones is like running on a treadmill in front of a screen.
And no it is still a issue because we are talking about present and not future/
Heso o kamedomo oyobanu -- Don't cut off your nose to spite your face.