Letter from the Producer, XVI (08/15/2011)

[Jojimbo]

http://forum.square-enix.com/ffxiv/t...495#post292495


Hello again, all fans of FINAL FANTASY XIV!

With energy conservation measures in place, the team is getting a full taste of the summer heat here in the office. Things are buuurning up in Eorzea as well, with Firefall Faire in full swing!

Before I dive in here, I’d like to apologize for being later than I intended with another letter. I was planning to send it out early last week, but ended up being out of commission for three days with a high fever. Ah, the woes of aging…

Now, I realize that this hardly makes up for my tardiness, but there’s something I’d like to share with you all: a screenshot of the long-awaited “My Little Chocobo” system!

http://static.finalfantasyxiv.com/to.../4d/1092_0.jpg


As you might have guessed, this system is still under development…and the name is obviously still up in the air. The team’s pushing hard for release in patch 1.19, so I ask you be patient just a little while longer. In the meantime, though, feel free to let your imaginations run wild.

Moving on, it’s time again for me to update the list of changes. I’ve reformatted the list and given it a new name to better reflect the content: “Patch 1.19 Update Schedule.” So as to keep this letter a reasonable length, items scheduled for after 1.19 will reappear in my next letter, where they’ll have a list all to themselves. Now, without further ado, feast your eyes on the list! Further commentary below!


[Long Table of planned/current tasks]


You may’ve noticed that some all-new things are included. In an earlier letter, I believe I used the word “heavyweight” to describe patch 1.18. Well, patch 1.19 will be a veritable monster. To give you a rough idea of its size, we’re expecting the patch notes to be 3–5 times longer than 1.18’s. This is in no small part due to the slew of long-awaited items that’ll finally make their way into the game.

Just so you’re given due warning, the team is running on a tightrope to stay on schedule, so please don’t be surprised if a handful of things end up getting put off until 1.19a or later.

It might seem that battle-related content dominate the list, but rest assured, folks, we haven’t forgotten about other aspects of the game. For starters, significant improvements are in store for both Disciples of the Hand and Land, such as an overhaul of synthesis recipes, the introduction of the materia crafting system, and a brand new ability to avoid enemy aggro in the field. The growth curve for Disciples of the Hand, in particular, is in need of attention, and we’ll be taking a scalpel to that also.

Items with far-reaching impact have also been added to the list, such as Battle Regimens. It’s become clear that in order to improve Battle Regimens we’ll need to first rebuild the framework for the battle system, which can take place only after the new enemy claiming and linking systems are introduced.

Unfortunately, we’ll have to temporarily do away with Battle Regimens in order to release patch 1.19. This is due to extremely sensitive issues with the server-side system that simultaneously reads commands input from multiple players. I’m very sorry for any inconvenience caused by the absence of Battle Regimens, especially to those dungeon-crawling types who’ve developed a taste for Dzemael Darkhold’s time-based objectives. If it’s any consolation, the large-scale changes to battle algorithms planned for 1.19 will cause certain strategies to go out of fashion, and players will need to tap into their resourcefulness to discover new ways to overcome enemies. During this time, we intend to test the overhauled battle system extensively, so that we’ll be able to provide players with the challenges they seek. Please bear with us in the meantime.

Physical levels will be nixed in patch 1.19, as per popular demand. In light of this change, skill points will be replaced by experience points, and rank renamed level.

System-wise, MMORPGs are generally more complex than their offline RPG counterparts, and this is evident in the jargon they employ. In implementing the above changes in terminology, we wanted to make it so that at least the core aspects of the game can be easily grasped by anyone. We realize that more established players may find this change unsettling, and would like to apologize and ask for your understanding in advance.

Alongside the overhaul to the algorithms, work is also proceeding on redefining and redistributing abilities for Disciples of War and Magic. This is a hefty amount of work, and not all classes will be ready by patch 1.19. But rather than a partial release, we’ve decided to save the implementation of all classes for 1.20. We’ll make the details of the planned changes available when 1.19 goes live, and monitor player feedback as a way to help define our direction. In the meantime, we’ll keep on performing balance tweaks to the current class system in coming sub-patches based on ongoing feedback from the community.


When I put together the list of changes for patch 1.19, it struck me as rather small (the vertical scrollbar in the spreadsheet was looong). But this is because it’s made up of major items outlined only in brief. The team’s working hell-for-leather to deliver this monster patch (did I mention that it’s a giant next to 1.18?) to you by the end of September. We’d love to be able to release the patch sooner, but all things considered, I’m afraid this is the earliest we can reasonably achieve. We promise you, though, that we’re sparing no effort to ensure that 1.19 will be worth the wait—a patch that’s ripe to burst with new content as well as refinements. And we’ll do our utmost to see that it arrives before the last of the summer heat fades into memory.

And here I think I’ll end the letter before I bore you all to tears.

As always, I’ll see to it that the juicy details of all the changes we have in store are made available via the Lodestone and the official forums. So what’re you waiting for? Make tracks for the forums now and get discussing!

See you next time and/or on the forums!


EDIT:: gdi messed up title =/ pasted link and title into wrong places

[Gokulo]

That's a pretty horrible title fail.

Loving the city banners on chocobos :D

[vadre]

Might wanna change the title, but otherwise 1.19 looks like it's going to be epic!

3-5 times the size of 1.18? Crazy!

There's so much good stuff in that list, like being able to craft customised gear for each class etc.

[Gokulo]

Chocobos and and Airships - hell yeah!

Adventurers may come face to face with a certain feline monster that starts with C and ends with OUERL.

Hehe

The worst part: expect the patch no earlier than end of September.

[sruon]

3 raids, exp chains, accumulation of levequest tickets, airships, chocobo, rental chocobo and moreee..

[Hyan]

I don't think stronghold raids are exactly similar as the ones we got last time. I guess they could be.

Finally they're catching up for January-May.

[Toth]

I hope he meant to say end of August instead of September because....just wow if all this great stuff is still a month and a half away.

[Alkar]

Interesting. Ifrit will have 2 battles then just like in XI.
Would be nice to know who's next for 1.20 lol.

[Reapz]

So much good stuff in there, can't wait for 1.19! Shame it's still a while away though, was hoping for a quicker release but i'm sure it'll be worth the wait like Yoshi-P said. 3-5 times bigger than 1.18 sounds wonderful.

Interesting. Ifrit will have 2 battles then just like in XI.
Would be nice to know who's next for 1.20 lol.

Titan! Atleast i'd guess so seeing as he's the only other Primal we've seen so far (albeit only in trailers and opening intro)

[vadre]

Titan! Atleast i'd guess so seeing as he's the only other Primal we've seen so far (albeit only in trailers and opening intro)

Yeah Titan seems most likely, if only because his model's finished. Hopefully they'll add in the missions that involve titan in 1.20 to give some context though.

Also, i really hope they reduce the levels of the missions we have so we meet Ifrit pre or at level 30, so people don't kill him pre-meeting him in terms of the storyline (and maybe finishing that mission's a prerequisite).

[Alkar]

We've also seen Leviathan. I guess those three will be first and then Garuda (because she's mentioned already).
I wonder what's the difference between level 30 and 50 battles.

[Tearshang]

Now that I think about I wonder if there will be any female primals and how risqué will their appearance be if so? D:

[Kirbyprime]

public dungeons...? Hummm seems like something out of Warhammer online. Looking forward to it, though remaining pessimistic for now.

[Patriarch]

Let's hope everyone has learned from last year.

I would rather them take as long as they need, and make an epic, well-put together patch, than release a half-made failure.

also, this patch looks awesome. Is it just me or would anyone else like to see some more zones?

[Lucavi]

Sounds like things are heating up, indeed. Looking forward to seeing the huge list of patch/update notes. They always make for a good read in any game.

[Alkar]

Now that I think about I wonder if there will be any female primals and how risqué will their appearance be if so? D:

Shiva and Garuda are bound to appear and both are females. Shiva better be hot as usual.

[Shuichi]

Looking good! Looking forward to it!

[Cephius]

Fixed title. A lot of this stuff sounds promising... just please let me map camera panning to the arrow keys

[Corrderio]

Loving the info although I wish they'd add a server transfer, I want to get off of Trabia ASAP.

[Gulkeeva]

Shiva and Garuda are bound to appear and both are females. Shiva better be hot as usual.

wtb naked garuda... ah the memories of FFXI....