Originally Posted by
Sonomaa
Final Fantasy 11 was revolutionary at its time for being unique in its gameplay experience. However it was a clone of everquest, as I learned when I was describing the game to my brother and he pointed out the very glaring similarities after which I found out that Sony basically designed FFXI for SE and they used that bible of data to make their game.
The best part of FFXI was the job system, thats it, period. The leveling up was slow, too slow, if they had increased the speed people wouldnt use summoner burn parties to level up. The HNM system promoted not server wide healthy competition but dangerous games of one upmanship that led, very quickly, to using botting programs and linkshells produced specifically with the intention of botting. That is not a healthy environment to encourage, in fact if FFXIV had such an environment as its primary source of endgame content I guarantee you this forum would be much lower on the totem pole and we would probably be planning its closing at some point in the future due to inactivity.
Some people want FFXI-2, and thats fine, what they want is a new graphics engine with the same game, but thats not condusive as a business plan, its not safe because of the undue amount of stress it causes, and FFXI was held back for YEARS by the inability of its lead designer to get off his ass and push the game past level 75. Seriously. We played a game where max level was achievable and remained the same for SEVEN FUCKING YEARS. And when the game, in its most stagnant state, actually pushed forward past the 75 artificial barrier (seriously, it was put in at 75 and never raised because the producer/director thought that going higher would "break the game" because they adjust the stats properly when they were doing shit before) it had a serious burst of growth and renewal and actually JUMPED forward in subscriptions and players. Why? Because it introduced no new world HNMs but instead fast repops, leading to adventures that we hadnt had in a almost a decade. Yes it did kill the linkshell as an idea because it was easier to farm with 6 people than it was with 18 but the fact remains, it moved forward, finally.
FFXI isnt a good game by any stretch of the imagination, when you look back on its technical failures, its spaghetti code, its encouragement of illegal third party programs, and the fact that almost all of the community risked permanent banning JUST TO GET A PROPER WINDOWED MODE. It was a good test of what not to do when you make an MMO, seriously. I loved FFXI for a long time, I really did, many of us did, but weve moved on and realized that the relationship was abusive, it wasnt conducive to a positive gaming experience, it encouraged shady backstabbing on a global scale with its loot and claiming system. It practically built the RMT industry and actually had people risking themselves stealing accounts from others just because they wouldnt ever get caught.
Let the game die and try FFXIV, its a breath of fresh air, and while it did take a lot of ideas from world of warcraft, wow remains the biggest MMO in the world for a reason, it works, period.