FINAL FANTASY XI 2012 Roadmap (04/25/2012)

[machiko]

This whole FFXI vs FFXIV is why doing two MMO's at the same time from the same company is such a bad idea. You have people who've invested literally 10 years in one game that is gonna stay regardless and flame the "new kid on the block(FFXIV) regardless of how good XIV turns out.

This is why you will never see wow II, they know better (Titan is gonna be something completely different). When you do what Square did you make enemies of your own subscribers for the new game.

[Slycer]

The whole meteor wipe-out/world reborn thing is a silly idea and it's bound to cause tons of problems with the game's lore. That being said, if they made the destruction of the world an actual in-game event, I'd totally pay to be a part of that, lulz.

[TheDangerousDave]

"3 macro palletes" Does this mean CTR+, ALT+ and another? That could be really good IMO... would have to be shift key for third I guess.

[Slycer]

"3 macro palletes" Does this mean CTR+, ALT+ and another? That could be really good IMO... would have to be shift key for third I guess.

Nope:

New Windows Version User Interface

Greetings, adventurers.

As announced in the FFXI 2012 Roadmap, an extensive user interface overhaul is currently in development for the Windows version of FINAL FANTASY XI. Today, I would like to take this time to outline some of changes we have in the works for the UI of the Windows version of FFXI.

Multi-window Mode
Users will be able to open and manipulate multiple windows.

Layout Customization
Users will be able to drag UI elements with the mouse to new locations, which will be saved for future gaming sessions.

Multiple Log Windows
Users will be able to open multiple log windows and apply different filters for each one.

Font Vectorization
TrueType fonts will replace the current bitmap fonts.

Continual Display of Macro Palette
In addition to the existing Crtl/Alt macro palette, there will be an option to use a three-rowed palette that is constantly displayed and utilizes the 1 – 0 keys as well as mouse clicks to activate macros.

Macro Recast Time Display
The macro palette will display the time remaining until each macro may be used again.

Individual Magic/Ability Icons and High-Resolution Status Effect Icons
A new set of detailed high-resolution icons will be introduced, with new icons added for specific magic, abilities, and status effects.

Macro Palette Icon Display
Users will have the option to display icons for magic and abilities contained in macros.

User Customization Features
The window scheme and GUI scripts for FFXI will be released so users can design their own interface features.

Drag-and-drop Equipment Interface


Other, more technical modifications are also under development that will eventually culminate in an overhaul of the entire user interface.

As previously announced, we are planning to make it possible for area maps to be brought up at all times, which would be implemented in advance of the more comprehensive UI overhaul described above. More information on this will be forthcoming, so please check the forums periodically.

[TheDangerousDave]

erm, wouldn't that be horrible? Right click + 1? Would prefer Shift personally

[Charismatic]

erm, wouldn't that be horrible? Right click + 1? Would prefer Shift personally

I am pretty sure it is saying you can either click them or just hit 1-10

[TheDangerousDave]

Oh yeah, SE always uses crazy wording. I thought it meant that at first then thought it could mean otherwise. Could cause lots of macro errors if you accidentally hit the number before CTR or ALT though?

[Spira]

This is a really stupid attitude, the age of the game makes no difference.

incorrect. the age makes all the difference. an mmorpg, like any other game, is a product and goes through what you will call a product cycle. make no mistake about it, FFXI is an old game. it's within the stages of maturity/decline, and only managed to bounce back and forth these stages due to recent developments in level cap and new content.
the main focus is retention of existing customers, getting old players to return and to a much lesser extent, attracting new players.. respectively.

me taking what i can get from a 10 year old game is me saying i don't expect very much. it isn't what im saying i hope to see. its merely whats required to keep me from quitting. and the main reason why it doesn't take much to retain me is because of my sunken cost / time spent within the game already. call it product loyalty if you will.

The playerbase should be as valued as they ever were, if they can put a massive amount of effort into a game that is a complete flop they can put 1/4 of that effort into this one. Other games do it, why is this company any different. The moment you take your playerbase for granted is the moment you stop having one.

once again, product cycle. effort spent into the game is never uniform. you need a lot of effort to get the game past its introductory stage. thereafter, its retention and maintenance.
the crux of the issue is really less about how the company values the playerbase than it is the playerbase that values the company's product. people don't give a shit about FFXIV because it sucked from the get-go and they had no attachment to it.

one might think that recognizing the playerbase would have a positive effect on the games uptake but seriously, even if they listened to their playerbase 100% and implemented everything, if the game sucked (as XIV still did when they first started listening) then players will still not remain. it isn't necessarily a causative relationship.

by the by, no matter how you look at it, holding a 10 year anniversary celebration with even a fraction of the playerbase is anything but taking them for granted.

[Chamaan]

I hate FFXIVs UI. A lot. Only way this would be good is if the third palette thing is a static palette tied to whatever macro book you've got selected, independent of the CTRL/ALT+Num scheme we have now. Then you could stick all your main job JA's like Voke and Berserk (shit that job has regardless of sub) on there and put things like spells/JA/gear swaps for subs on different macro lines. Now that'd be something I could get behind.

[Guitarman]

Eh i'll hold cautious optimism. Some of the changes, such as "Beastmaster familiar adjustments" and "chocobo digging adjustments" are either really exciting or scary as hell, depending on if adjustments=nerfing to hell. I really don't want to go back to the couriercarrie days of BST.

[Alkar]

The whole meteor wipe-out/world reborn thing is a silly idea and it's bound to cause tons of problems with the game's lore. That being said, if they made the destruction of the world an actual in-game event, I'd totally pay to be a part of that, lulz.

I fail to see how the meteor is bound to cause problems with the lore considering there was little to none to begin with. And they are planning to make it a live event for the game, we just don't know the details yet.

[ronin sparthos]

"A realm reborn" is gonna be for FFXIV, a meteor is gonna hit and wipe everything out. Revamped/condensed zones, new music aka 2.0.

This whole FFXI vs FFXIV is why doing two MMO's at the same time from the same company is such a bad idea. You have people who've invested literally 10 years in one game that is gonna stay regardless and flame the "new kid on the block(FFXIV) regardless of how good XIV turns out.

I do think its kind of sad that SE really hasn't given XI enough love, but I understand that XIV is their baby.

So Cataclysm basically.

[Toth]

Hmm thinking this over, I am not as grim as I felt earlier. I remember how much fun limbus and salvage were back in the day and these are expansions, not revisions.

The only issue I see is that recently, the days of the large scale LSes seemed to have passed. MY LS, which did everything for example, has moved on to other games. SE needs to be careful not to create content that alienates people. That's Legion and Provedence's major hurdles at the moment: They are not friendly to anyone not in an efficient ls and shouts for it are very infrequent. VW, for all its issues, at least can all be done by a smartly designed PUG so downtime is minimal.
At least the new Ultima/ Omega are being designed for 6 people so that's a positive start.

The only main issue is...what kind of carrots can they dangle us with at this point? 99 gear is all very powerful. I can see maybe af1+3 as a possible incentive to encourage people to start limbus back up, with new upgrade pieces dropping in the new zones. Perhaps new items for ABCs? For salvage.....salvage gear +1? A new set of uber salvage gear?
SE is going to really need to come up with some dazzling items to create interest in this event.

[Niiro]

I hate FFXIVs UI. A lot. Only way this would be good is if the third palette thing is a static palette tied to whatever macro book you've got selected, independent of the CTRL/ALT+Num scheme we have now.

You just described FFXIV's UI.

[Chamaan]

I meant the general look of everything.

[Nevex]

So Cataclysm basically.

Yep and I have a feeling 2.0 will fail because of this premise.
Trying to copy WoW instead of coming up with new ideas is the reason many MMORPGs have failed.

[Charismatic]

I don't believe they are trying to copy WoW so much as trying to get rid of a lot of what's in the game now and having a storyline excuse to do it.

[drwaffles]

Hmm thinking this over, I am not as grim as I felt earlier. I remember how much fun limbus and salvage were back in the day and these are expansions, not revisions.

The only issue I see is that recently, the days of the large scale LSes seemed to have passed. MY LS, which did everything for example, has moved on to other games. SE needs to be careful not to create content that alienates people. That's Legion and Provedence's major hurdles at the moment: They are not friendly to anyone not in an efficient ls and shouts for it are very infrequent. VW, for all its issues, at least can all be done by a smartly designed PUG so downtime is minimal.
At least the new Ultima/ Omega are being designed for 6 people so that's a positive start.

The only main issue is...what kind of carrots can they dangle us with at this point? 99 gear is all very powerful. I can see maybe af1+3 as a possible incentive to encourage people to start limbus back up, with new upgrade pieces dropping in the new zones. Perhaps new items for ABCs? For salvage.....salvage gear +1? A new set of uber salvage gear?
SE is going to really need to come up with some dazzling items to create interest in this event.

As I've always said, I think they screwed themselves developmentally by making Abyssea-era gear so much more powerful than existing gear in a game that has been focused on horizontal gear development since its inception. There have really only ever been two 'carrots' in FFXI: the allure of new storylines/areas and the allure of 'big ticket' items. It used to be exciting to get a Novio, a Ridill or a Chapeau because they would actually have a discernible impact on your performance. Now everyone's so powerful that getting new gear isn't particularly exciting, it's just a "thank fuck for that" feeling you get after going 1/100+ in VW. It goes without saying that story-based incentives are a thing of the past, too.

I'm not saying the old system was perfect, far from it. But it did have the advantage of making you actually care about the gear you strove for.

[Weeks]

Why are they waiting until June to adjust two lines of code and reduce the wait time between synths and guild purchases?

[drwaffles]

Why are they waiting until June to adjust two lines of code and reduce the wait time between synths and guild purchases?

To make the road map look less pitifully barren at a glance, I imagine.