The Community Teams interview Yoshida in Japan!

[Cayos]

http://forum.square-enix.com/ffxiv/t...shida-in-Japan!

Hey everyone! As some of you may have seen from the French and German forums, a few members of the community team were sent to do some planning and discussion on upcoming things related to FFXIV. While we were there, we were also able to sit down and speak with Yoshida, in the middle of one his busiest days this year apparently, about a few questions gathered from the forums and some of the topics we've seen pop up here and there.

Going to start off with the English interview, and add the French and German questions and answers tomorrow.

http://forum.square-enix.com/ffxiv/a...505930&thumb=1
Youmukon, Yoshida, and Rukkirii strike a pose!

Without further ado...

What role do you enjoy playing the most in a party, tanking, healing, melee damage dealer, or ranged damage dealer and why?

Yoshida: I prefer damage dealers and tanks. The former gives me a sense of watching over the battle and 'wearing down' the enemies, which I enjoy. A damage dealer on the verge of death appeals to me when playing PvP, too. Tanks on the other hand are aware of hate levels and their surroundings which allows them to be strategic and adapt their play style. I tend to play as all the classes though! (laughs)

If you were taking a stroll through the deserts of Thanalan and a trio of NM Goblins flying on Bomb Balloons attacked you from above, what would you do?

Yoshida: I'd probably burst the balloons and bring it down to the ground! (laughs) I'd like to gradually make these things on my mind possible in the future.

What is your favorite Final Fantasy monster and why do you like it the most?

Yoshida: The term 'monster' can cover quite a wide range of things, but if I had to choose I'd say the great Malboro. They just create so much impact when you see them. My second choice would probably be chocobos!

What is your favorite zone in FFXIV?

Yoshida: Central Mor Dhona, where the remains of the fallen airship can be seen. The place oozes with a sense of adventure. I'm hoping to create more places like this when we revise the map - and make sure there's plenty of content to compliment them!

If you could be any of the races in FFXIV, what race would you choose and why?

Yoshida: If I could be any race but stay as myself in the real world, it would have to be Hyur. I just like the idea of doing my best as an ordinary citizen, although as a player using a character...I would pick Lalafell. (laughs) They're hard to target in PvP and have tons of charm, too. (laughs)

Upcoming content that you're working on that you're most excited for players to see/play?

Yoshida: At the moment? Instanced Raids. After 1.19 comes out, I'd have to say Materia crafting and the Ifrit battle!

What's the hottest debate going on amongst the development team right now? (that you can tell us about!)

Yoshida: That would be our new 'conductor' plan. The point of our discussions is to consider fundamental revisions such as how characters access each part of the game content and how they develop after they're created, the level they need to reach to obtain mounts, etc. We're also planning the mount system based on this idea so I suppose this 'conductor' approach is our current hottest topic.

Jump. We've pretty much confirmed it is coming. What further details can we wrestle out of you about it?

Yoshida: All I can say is that we are not emphasising jumping with the jump key as a means to cover vast distances on the map or an element that must be used during battle strategies... I suppose the jump you'd find in general MMOs has a simpler design.

Can you run us through the typical creation of a new piece of armor/weapon, etc.? Where does it start, then who does it go to, and where does it end up. Basically from start to finish.

Yoshida: The process of commissioning new equipment/weapons is largely split in two. The first is 'what's required from a game design point of view', e.g. it goes without saying an ultimate weapon players can only get when reaching the maximum level for a certain job should look unique. The other side entails 'equipment in the form of a reward' for 'content' that players must aim to clear. For both cases, a full time Item Team was established and they are accepting offers from the whole project. As there are so many unique designs that are essential to game planning, the production costs really add up. We then proceed with commissioning reward-based equipment after we decide whether it should be made with existing adjustments + parameters built-in or by redesigning the look. The character design team are the ones who get the actual request. Akihiko Yoshida's team creates the artwork used for character modelling and then modelling work starts based on this. Work proceeds to sculpting and when it's ready, it takes about 6 months to create one full set of equipment that maintains FFXIV's high standards of graphics. We can't get a good supply of these items ready if we don't establish a long-term plan for creating them. This is the most important part. Finally, the staff responsible for each content adds the items to the in-game item database and we're done!

How about the same as the above, but for quests/missions?

Yoshida: Just like creating items, there are also two processes for quests and scenarios. The flow is different for quests that form the basis of the game. The series of scenarios and quests that we call main quests are designed to be directly related to the plot. The person in charge of the scenario scripts the plot, and after I check and make further adjustment requests, this step repeats itself. The content staff then commission what quests are needed for the patch update and the World Settings Team also provide their ideas. Everything is mapped out and work on the script begins once I decide what order to prioritize the work. In the meantime, the Scenario/World Settings Teams get the text ready for what will become the actual script and the Quest Team continues to implement it. Once the text is done, the Localization teams handle the translation in tandem with the work flow and the content is released after tests and debugging on actual equipment. The workload progresses mainly as 'per-diem management'. Incidentally, we're currently getting planning and plot details organized for patch 1.19!

Have we decided on "Materia" being the final name for the upcoming system?

Yoshida: While not 100% definite, we're probably going to go with Materia crafting.

What in-game related feature/item do you wish you could use in the real world?

Yoshida: Definitely teleportation. Commuting to work is such a waste of time...

http://forum.square-enix.com/ffxiv/a...508523&thumb=1
Rukkirii chats it up with Yoshida!

What's the latest longest stretch you've been in the office while finishing a deadline, or before a major milestone?

Yoshida: If we're talking about FFXIV, then 22 hours straight. I can get by on 2 hours sleep, but if I don't sleep in a bed I'm exhausted the next day. By the way, I sleep 2-3.5 hours on average - it's been like that since taking this job. (laughs) If we're talking about since I started working in the games industry, then I once had a 96 hour marathon. At that time, I didn't sleep a wink for 96 hours. (loud laugh)

That's it for now, check back tomorrow for the French and German questions!

[Hyan]

Lol rukkirii does not quite look like what I thought she'd look like.

I need more details about the development process, shit's fascinating.

The map revamp probably uses their first expansion budget from the sounds of it!

[Kurokikaze]

Holy shit shes hot. O_O

[Aro]

Wow 96 hours.. what a trooper.

[mightyg]

3 hours of sleep a night? So that's why he's squinting...

[miokomioko]

it takes about 6 months to create one full set of equipment that maintains FFXIV's high standards of graphics.

I hope some people can learn some realities of large scale game developing here.

[Cutriss]

I hope some people can learn some realities of large scale game developing here.

If it takes that long and the reason they cite is the art direction, then the artists should be given some limited guidance of "things we may need soon" and otherwise just start working on conceptual designs independently of the scenario team. That way whenever the scenario team comes to them with some requirements, they already have some ideas of things to work with.

I mean, it's a fantasy setting, and they already have one MMO in the books to use as reference for "Things our bosses might want". Start churning it out asynchronously and don't let the development process be the bottleneck.

[Hyan]

I don't see why does it even matter. They plan it so long in advance that the new model(s) will be ready in time.

Cost is the bottleneck if anything.

[Kaisha]

I hope some people can learn some realities of large scale game developing here.

Throw more artists at it? If they're taking that long to do a set of armor for 5 races................

[Lucavi]

I hope some people can learn some realities of large scale game developing here.

I won't say whether this is the standard or not, and I'm not going to start fishing for old interviews from other companies as to how long it takes them to make a set of armor, but it really doesn't matter one way or another. I'm hoping SE is learning some of the "realities" of creating/maintaining a large scale modern MMO here.

[Hyan]

Yeah, I'd really like to know what the standard timeframe is according to some of you.

You're not honestly saying they can only create one set of armor per 6 months are you?

[Croy]

Yeah, I'd really like to know what the standard timeframe is according to some of you.

You're not honestly saying they can only create one set of armor per 6 months are you?

That's not exactly what he said. He said that gear 'sets' take 6 months from concept to implementation to make because the process requires going through a lot of different groups at different stages. In order to make lots of gear sets constantly, they need to make long term plans so that the different development groups don't get swamped all at once. Lets say they want 5 new armor sets in preparation for new dungeon content, that means they need to plan for that armor 6-7 months before that content is expected to release, the thing is that 6 months doesn't mean they can only work on one at a time, the logistics just take longer then we can see on the surface. FFXI has a constant year in advance strategy so these logistic problems don't happen. The game suffered an upheaval in long term management focus and everything that was planned before it got scrapped or sidelined while working on a strategy to fix the game. Once we finally see the end of the 'fixing' part of the strategy we will likely see a much more streamlined pacing of new content including gear.

[Hyan]

Exactly.

[miokomioko]

The game suffered an upheaval in long term management focus and everything that was planned before it got scrapped or sidelined while working on a strategy to fix the game.

Exactly this is what you gotta' keep in mind when the want for new "stuff" overwhelms you. It just takes an idea half a year to get through the pipes and land on your plate. Yoshi hasn't quite been at the controls long enough for the pipes to start pumping out his additions.

I can't imagine many people who would be competent enough to step into this position and be capable of turning shit around. Yoshi may be a god if he somehow turns this game around into a "success."

[Gulkeeva]

Holy shit shes hot. O_O

http://www.neko-sentai.com/images9ruf/up123351.jpg

(I didn't make the edit, found on JP bbs)

[Croy]

Exactly.

Lol whoops you were agreeing with me XD.

Yeah I don't think many people realize just how much goes on in a large scale project (this isn't aimed at you), even in single player games. For set making they have an art team that makes the concept drawings and then sets it up ready for the modelers to use as a concept for their own project. The art director oversees each 'pass' on the development process to OK it for the next step... but the people that did concept are now freed to work on something new that might come another 7-8 months down the line. This line goes from concept to modeling, from modeling to texturing, from textuing to model implementation including animation (They need to fit it not only for each race but also every other piece of gear that is likely to be put with it.) They likely have a 'team' that works on each individual pass and the 6 month wait is merely the teams waiting for the ones under them to finish, thus why they need a long term plan so these 'struggles' don't show up as lack of content. Its not like its taking concept 6 months to do its work or modeling to take 6 months.

[Cichy]

I hope some people can learn some realities of large scale game developing here.

Cry me a river with 6 months, they should've thought about that before releasing the game even more than. Should've had bunch of gear already prepared for future that could be just assigned stats. SE should've learned "hope for the best, prepare for worst" long time ago.

[Charismatic]

http://forum.neko-sentai.com/attachm...1&d=1310519129

(I didn't make the edit, found on JP bbs)

lol, hotlinking message linking from your own site

[Hyan]

Cry me a river with 6 months, they should've thought about that before releasing the game even more than. Should've had bunch of gear already prepared for future that could be just assigned stats. SE should've learned "hope for the best, prepare for worst" long time ago.

Thought about what?

Shit's progressing as planned, 7 new gear sets are otw and remodelling/coloring does the job for the time being. If it was for Tanaka we'd probably have gotten something by March instead of just December, but Yoshida is preparing gear for the jobs instead.

[Cichy]

Thought about what?

Shit's progressing as planned, 7 new gear sets are otw and remodelling/coloring does the job for the time being. If it was for Tanaka we'd probably have gotten something by March instead of just December, but Yoshida is preparing gear for the jobs instead.

Jobs are coming somewhere post 1.20 so that's what like 6 months from now?