Comments from the Devs

[Tomino]

I hope step 1 wil involve "fixes", and I hope it will deliver.
When combat feels smooth, amusing and gives you proper control over your character, you start enjoying the game. Autoattack, no stamina, fixed action bar, re-worked stats and fixed skills for each classes (plus nostalgia jobs) look very good on paper.

Everything else involving variety, difficulty and strategic aspects of NM / endgame combat, even uniqueness when compared to other titles, can come later.

[Lordender]

If i'm being realistic, I don't expect much. I think any content we get will be extremely cookiecutter at best. At this point all you can really hope for is improving on their systems and continuing to make the game less grindy. If you're expecting this big time mindblowing content anytime soon you're gonna be extremely disappointed. I don't even think the engine can even support anything mindblowing yet.

I expect dungeons to be in places that already exist in the game that are closed for now, I think we'll get some really cookiecutter objectives and possibly even a cutscene or two with a bunch of mobs and a few bosses. I don't think its going to be anywhere near the level of dynamis, nyzul, salvage type deals.

Thats the mind set I have, and the mindset I go into this with. I think a lot of people are going to rage over 1.18 because of insane expectations.

[Hyan]

More interesting is what'll happen once the current team is free to work on other things than the larger overhauls. I figure this kind of ordeal requires quite a large part of their team to be pulled off. And I honestly can't see something like AH or Jumping to require as much effort.

It can be a major hurdle for them though, as I'd guess working on an overhaul as a team is quite different to working on various features in smaller teams all at once. If their collaboration is insufficient they can't make proper use of their resources. Perhaps this monthly patch trial was created for testing the waters. Who knows.

[Lucavi]

The game launched without a mailbox system. Come on. I think everything is a major hurdle for them at this point. We've been given absolutely no evidence to even allude at the latter.

[CrstyCptSteveWitherspoon]

Did they touch on the mailbox thing recently at all? I mean like saying we'll get one this summer or even by the end of the year? I stocked 135 iron squares to get armorer from 30>50 and trading 4 at a time from my mule to my main is getting old fast. The only nice thing about this 'dead game' is I can run to a place in town that no one is at and put up all my squares for 1g in the bazaar. Faster than trading, but still slow as shit due to the lag.

[Hyan]

Is everything they didn't launch with a major hurdle for them? I see...

Delivery box, regardless of how important the community sees it, is irrelevant feature for the time being. Like an AH. Sure, it better be ready by the time of PS3 release, but not before unless there's nothing more important to take care of.

Combat>class system>server/engine>content>progression content>crafting/gathering>mounts>everything else(AH, db, jumping etc.)

Feel free to disagree, but to me the priorities are quite clear.

[CrstyCptSteveWitherspoon]

I know the combat system is the top priority and it should be, but from what I've read they have multiple teams working on different parts the game so that they're not stuck working on just one aspect of the game. So as the 'combat team' works on fixing the lolbattle system the 'oh shit this stuff should have been in since launch team' should be working their asses off to implement stupid crap like this. Insert 'blah blah bitch bitch wtf SE' but I guess it'll just come when it comes, or chalk it up to them trying to rewrite most the game's code.

[Corrderio]

Did they touch on the mailbox thing recently at all? I mean like saying we'll get one this summer or even by the end of the year? I stocked 135 iron squares to get armorer from 30>50 and trading 4 at a time from my mule to my main is getting old fast. The only nice thing about this 'dead game' is I can run to a place in town that no one is at and put up all my squares for 1g in the bazaar. Faster than trading, but still slow as shit due to the lag.

They said they want to, but with how shitty the server is they want to fix that first.

[Hyan]

I know the combat system is the top priority and it should be, but from what I've read they have multiple teams working on different parts the game so that they're not stuck working on just one aspect of the game. So as the 'combat team' works on fixing the lolbattle system the 'oh shit this stuff should have been in since launch team' should be working their asses off to implement stupid crap like this. Insert 'blah blah bitch bitch wtf SE' but I guess it'll just come when it comes, or chalk it up to them trying to rewrite most the game's code.

Well, it's not like everyone is working on combat, but the hierarchy above still applies imo. Those not working on combat are working on the class system. Those not working on either are dealing with the server/engine issues. After that comes content, both goals to aim towards and the progression content. Crafting and gathering also receive attention, but not in the level the aforementioned issues do. They haven't ignored mounts but it's not exactly a priority either. I don't know where UI is at, but I'm sure it's on the left somewhere.

Even if they could divide the team even further... I hope they don't. The left side is too important to mess up and takes so long to develop as-is.

[Kurokikaze]

I hope UI is somewhere near the top of that priorities list... That itself still needs somewhat of an overhaul.

[Hyan]

I agree, it's hard to pinpoint though. Minagawa seems to be a pretty important figure nonetheless, closely working with Takai and Matsui.

Actually, it's all a big mess. Everything is related to everything. Combat, classes, graphics, UI, engine, servers... content.

Each team is probably working on making the combat better.

[Corrderio]

I hope UI is somewhere near the top of that priorities list... That itself still needs somewhat of an overhaul.

Yoshida did say it was one of his top priorities, so hopefully after combat is mostly done we'll be hearing more about UI

[Lordender]

UI, crafting revamping, server issues, mailbox/auction house system, lol its going to be never ending.

[Lucavi]

Is everything they didn't launch with a major hurdle for them? I see...

Delivery box, regardless of how important the community sees it, is irrelevant feature for the time being. Like an AH. Sure, it better be ready by the time of PS3 release, but not before unless there's nothing more important to take care of.

Combat>class system>server/engine>content>progression content>crafting/gathering>mounts>everything else(AH, db, jumping etc.)

Feel free to disagree, but to me the priorities are quite clear.

For the time being, perhaps, but it was not irrelevant when the game launched. They failed at launch, and look at the result. I don't think anyone's asking for it right now; the problem is that nobody trusts them to do anything that they promise because they failed time and again to honor any semblance of a promise before. Of course the battle system is top priority, and it'll be interesting to see it, but seriously, cut the slack bullshit. Look at reality.

[Hyan]

The reality is that the past is irrelevant. What matters is the present and the future, and in that scenario- the only scenario they can still affect- DB won't be relevant for a long time.

If that's the problem, there is no such thing. They made no promises, especially regarding something like DB and especially pre-launch. If their "you get what you see" approach hurt people so much, tough shit. All SE can do is move on and do what's best right now.

[Lucavi]

The reality is that the past is irrelevant. What matters is the present and the future, and in that scenario- the only scenario they can still affect- DB won't be relevant for a long time.

If that's the problem, there is no such thing. They made no promises, especially regarding something like DB and especially pre-launch. If their "you get what you see" approach hurt people so much, tough shit. All SE can do is move on and do what's best right now.

Orly? The past is irrelevant? Tell that to AoC and the other smoldering heaps in the distance. You must be new to MMOs, or perhaps you feel that SE, in all of its Japanese Eastern Glory, is immune because it isn't "Western".

Troll a bit less, especially in an "official" thread.

[Dooom]

If the past was irrelevant, the devs would not currently be playing catch-up on what is being added to the game, and essentially overhauling the entire thing.

[Meko]

I patched again today (out of boredom) and played a little bit. I forgot how great the game looks but I also forgot the clunkyness of it all. Toggling in/out of combat and the action bar and the targeting (imo) is still all just clunky crap. I know they haven't "fixed" it or whatever but overall, the game is really bad (imo). Maybe the next month or next major patch will turn things around but just based off of the little time I played today, I don't know that they can correct everything without a complete overhaul.

[Kurokikaze]

I patched again today (out of boredom) and played a little bit. I forgot how great the game looks but I also forgot the clunkyness of it all. Toggling in/out of combat and the action bar and the targeting (imo) is still all just clunky crap. I know they haven't "fixed" it or whatever but overall, the game is really bad (imo). Maybe the next month or next major patch will turn things around but just based off of the little time I played today, I don't know that they can correct everything without a complete overhaul.

Is that not what they're doing?

Beating a dead horse there bro. Log in after the next patch and decide then. Nothing major has changed since December.

[Meko]

Is that not what they're doing?

Beating a dead horse there bro. Log in after the next patch and decide then. Nothing major has changed since December.

Yea, I know. I was just in /rage mode when I posted.

EDIT: I will say this though, I do enjoy the combat pace of the game still. I'm not sure why but I do.