Letter from the Producer, XXXII (07/23/2012)

[Reapz]

Hello again, all you XIVers out there! Yoshi-P here, back with my 32nd missive.

First up, I just have to say, bloody hells it’s hot! The whole of Tokyo is like a blacksmith’s forge this time of year, and I couldn’t survive without AC. I’m about to fly over to Shanghai, which is even hotter than Tokyo. While there, though, I can sweat it out in style with some fiery Szechuan cuisine! In case you’re wondering, I’ll be going for official version 2.0 business.

As I mentioned via press releases a while back, Square Enix has entered into a strategic partnership with SNDA, a major Chinese video game developer. With their cooperation, we’ll be bringing FFXIV version 2.0 to China, which boasts the largest online gaming community in the world. This is one market that no global online operation can ignore, ours included.

Official service in China is scheduled to commence a while after version 2.0’s global launch, and so I thought it’d be good to check out ChinaJoy, the nation’s largest video game expo. We’re not necessarily timing it with the event, but the new promo site will be unveiled very soon. Between the site’s kickoff, gamescom 2012 in August, and the FINAL FANTASY 25th anniversary event, we’ll be releasing a flood of info.

In order to convey FFXIV’s allure from a fresh perspective, we plan to release the info in stages—from lore, scenario, and characters, to the game system itself. Some things are bound to stir criticism, and I’ll be watching fan reaction with great interest.

As for my keywords, I’d like to tentatively go with rebirth, challenge, reform, and—last but not least—FINAL FANTASY.

Many considerations went into deciding our publicity policy, and all materials were picked for a reason. In the letters to come, though, I hope to be able to reveal more things to you—things I normally keep my mouth sealed about.

Patch 1.23, which marks the final stage of the current version, is scheduled to go live on July 26. With the events of the Seventh Umbral Era coming to a head, the team spared no effort on delivering a battle that has “FINAL FANTASY” written all over it. The greatest trial of the age awaits all you adventurers out there!

But wait, there’s more! In addition to the above, we’ll also be bringing you Skirmish, which is designed to be fuss-free battle content you can jump right into. I hope you all look forward to that as well.

Oh, and there’s the much-awaited summer festival. As I’ve already mentioned in a forum post, yukata will be up for grabs this year!

http://static.finalfantasyxiv.com/to.../30/5308_1.jpg http://static.finalfantasyxiv.com/to.../30/5308_3.jpg
http://static.finalfantasyxiv.com/to.../30/5308_2.jpg http://static.finalfantasyxiv.com/to.../30/5308_0.jpg http://static.finalfantasyxiv.com/to.../30/5308_4.jpg

Um...right. As you can see, in keeping with Japanese fashion, the yukata are kinda...short. I must apologize in advance to those who prefer traditional full-length types. You see, some people on the team have certain...inclinations. /lol

To recap, the 1.23 series of patches is about to land, bringing with it the grand finale for the Seventh Umbral Era. On top of this, we’ll be releasing a slew of information as promotional activities commence for version 2.0. You won’t be able to keep your eyes off of FFXIV this summer!

Aaand that’s a wrap for today’s letter. See you next time and/or on the forums!

[Toth]

Nice. So it all begins this Weds. (usually his 26th is our 25th).

[Gokulo]

Indeed, these are quite short D;

Anyway, churn out the info!

[xopher]

Before anyone gets their dick bent about this being released in China, I am sure the Chinese servers will be separate from ours, otherwise the Chinese government wouldn't allow it to be published in their country.

[Demonic]

Now, is this just 1.23, or is it 1.23a? Haven't actually been around for a patch, so I wasn't sure if 1.23 essentially meant 1.23a. I'm trying to get a friend to 30 before the goobbue quest gets removed, so any info on this would be...helpful. ;<

[Aratharn]

It's 1.23.

[Lordender]

So he basically just admitted the dev team has some pervs on it. Lol...

[Kurokikaze]

Looking forward to this. Hopefully I can set some time aside to get a video up on youtube. Been super busy with work.

[Spira]

I wonder if this means theres actually gonna be a Chinese-based client or that Chinese players need to use another language..

a Chinese version would require massive translation work i'd think..
sound-words are gonna be so problematic lol..
but then again, if FFXIV can penetrate the CN market, it can probably be taken off life-support almost immediately...

i guess we'll find out in 2 days.

smart move. i welcome this. CN will probably have dedicated servers but players should be able to play on any server.

[Lucavi]

China is a big reason the anti-RMT measures (and anti-fun measures, for what its worth) were put into place, and the reason we got shit like "horsebirds". Fuck China, and fuck them prioritizing China initially.

[Egon]

Chinese will have their own client, just like WoW. China can't even have skeletons in video games. There are lot's of silly rules like that.

[Manako]

Are there skeletons in game? Yes: therefore China needs their own servers.

The characters have so much thigh definition that it really bothers me that the skirts are so short. Upskirt shots, sure I can deal.. but having to stare at my beefy thighs all day long Glad I'm not Hume because man they have bad knees too.

[Raldo]

Are there skeletons in game? Yes: therefore China needs their own servers.

Fixing that would be as simple as changing the model/animations/names displayed on the client. You wouldn't need a whole different server for it. It's the same thing as monster .dat swapping in XI (a.k.a. making your Moogle look like Lion).

They'll have their own server, but skeletons aren't the reason why.

[TacoTaru]

Maybe I'm reading it wrong, but Skrimish sounds like it will be more like Behest and Caravans rather than a scheduled group event like Primals/Dungeons.

[Sephiroth]

Bringing the game to China can only be a good thing. If we want expansions and continued development the game needs a stable playerbase much higher than it is now.

That said, if they're willing to create new servers for China why are they so against doing it for the XBox 360?

[Gokulo]

That said, if they're willing to create new servers for China why are they so against doing it for the XBox 360?

They're not against it, it's because of Microsoft policy, i.e. that you need to pay their subs for access to online options, which would mean double fees (and no, XI was an exception which they don't want to make again)

[Carraway]

Ugh, really wish they'd included exact maintenance/patch times.

[Draylo]

I'm guessing the final battle is hinting at the main storyline?

[Corrderio]

Sounds pretty neat. Hopefully the "final battle" makes up for how lackluster the main scenario was.

Hopefully he makes good on the info coming out in the next batch of letters. I'd really like to see more on his views on what the game should be like.

[Niiro]

Speaking of the main scenario, what ever happened to the Path of the Twelve, our partners, and the Echo?

Once the GC quests took over they all seem to have up and disappeared, starting to wonder if that's all getting left behind.