Latest Info on New SquareEnix MMORPG

[irobot]

Ok figured some of you may be interested in this, this is all the factual information we have so far about SquareEnix's new MMO in development:

1. The game has been confirmed to be cross-platform and cross-region, meaning multiple nations on the same servers, once again.
2. The game will run off of SquareEnix's White Engine, same engine running the stunningly beautiful FFXIII.
3. Despite previous reports of a tentative PS3 release, it appears development is back on track for the PS3, as well as Xbox 360 and PC platforms.
4. Producer Hiromichi Tanaka has stated in one interview that they are not interested in drawing from the WoW audience for this title, and beating 8 million subscriptions appears to be the least of their worries. They just want us to enjoy the game.
5. There is one Tech Demo floating around the web from E3 2005 that I'm sure everyone here has seen already, this isn't considered in-game footage.
6. SquareEnix has stated this game will not be a Final Fantasy sequel, nor have they confirmed, or even hinted, that the title will take place in a different FF world (such as Ivalice).
7. Tanaka has mentioned that SE wants the new title to be able to co-exist with FFXI (in the real world), so expect contrast between the two titles. To what extent we do not know.
8. The EGM rumors from March 2007 have yet to be confirmed.
9. Tanaka has mentioned that SE is not waiting to see how FFXI's user base grows before putting info on this game out there, which could mean info will be coming very soon, ie: after the WoG release. (that's not a fact so don't quote me on that).

That's pretty much what we have so far, if I've missed anything you'll probably find it at SquareEnixMMO.com, it's basically a collection of every rumor,news tidbit, and article about the new MMO, so check it out. Thanks.

[Exoduso]

Hasn't the FFXI user base dropped in recent years? Unless a bunch of new guys have come in, I know that on my server personally many many people quit from the 3-4 leading shells.

[Dustybrown]

1. The game has been confirmed to be cross-platform and cross-region, meaning multiple nations on the same servers, once again.

Decided right there I won't be playing it. I'm all for internationality in theory but I hate the way SE released FFXI in Japan aeons before they released it in the US and EU and I've not got too much hope they won't do it again. Also, I don't like the blatant racism that can sometimes go on between English speaking players and Japanese speaking players - and this goes both ways.

{English} {Party?} {No thanks}

If the internationality aspect plays out like FFXI then I just don't wanna know -.-

But honestly... this puts me off too...

6. SquareEnix has stated this game will not be a Final Fantasy sequel, nor have they confirmed, or even hinted, that the title will take place in a different FF world (such as Ivalice).

Only reason I first bought FFXI was that it was a FF title.

[BRP]

If the release is within a year of each other and there is an auto-translate function at least as good as FFXI, multi-national servers are just dandy. People are always pessimistic, so they quickly forget how many cool JP people there are and how many great JP parties they've had, only the bad. Of course, they forget to mention that most of the assholes you'll deal with in your time on FFXI will be NA players.

And a lot of new people start playing. The whole "the game is dying" aspect comes from the fact people's visions are skewed. You only hang around level 75s and you can only quit at 75, not start there. A few subjob leveling trips, likely 25 to 50% of the people you party with will be new. It's a slow decline at most.


I don't think I'll be playing this game until FFXI dies. I intend to see where Vana'diel goes.

[Mysterio]

The multi-national approach isn't that bad.

What you should really be worried about is the cross platform play.

As long as they keep it on the PC platform, you're gonna have cheaters.

"they just want us to have fun playing it" isn't the whole truth. Of course they want to hit WoW numbers.

[irobot]

I probably should have mentioned, there is also a rumor that we'll see a simultaneous NA and JP release, no word on the EU release plans.

"they just want us to have fun playing it" isn't the whole truth. Of course they want to hit WoW numbers.

As for this statement, of course money is important, but it does seem that they are not interested in capitalizing on the quick dollar using the "WoW forumula" so prevalent in MMO's these days. Instead they are looking to open their own doors.

[Ryko]

People are always pessimistic, so they quickly forget how many cool JP people there are and how many great JP parties they've had, only the bad.

Then you realize those "Rockin" 5k/hr JP parties everyone was talking about was entirely just a byproduct of their having a year to become familiar with the game beforehand and not because they were "cool" or "great". Cut forward like 5 months and, surprise, NA's overtook them in both killspeed and efficiency. I don't want to play at a handicap, took me fucking long enough to blast ahead of them in this one.

[archibaldcrane]

As much as I've enjoyed the 4 years of FFXI, there's no way I'm going to play another SE MMORPG, or honestly any MMORPG. The toll on the rest of my life isn't worth it. I can avoid the new crack, but I just can't get rid of the old crack.

[Fhqwghads]

I think SE has learned *a lot* with regards to making MMOs with FFXI. It will be interesting to see what they do with this knowledge when the new MMO comes out. I'll have to give it a shot when it comes out.

[Correction]

Have they learned a lot, honestly? I'll only put up with a new SE MMORPG if they show they've learned the following lessons:

1) People don't like competing with other small groups for limited endgame resources with low rates of desired items on a 21 hour cycle

2) People don't like continuing to do 1) 4 years into a game's lifespan

and

3) People don't like severe penalties for character death. If you do like it, go play Diablo 2 hardcore.

[BRP]

People don't like severe penalties for character death.

1 to 5 minutes of exping is SEVERE.

[Correction]

People don't like severe penalties for character death.

1 to 5 minutes of exping is SEVERE.

Because exp spots are empty all the time, and because parties form in seconds, and because every party gets great exp, right?

[irobot]

Yeah... trying playing Lineage II... you'll be in tears when your character dies the death penalty is so harsh.

[Jerseyprophet]

Yea but it IS a mental thing, at least for me, in WoW vs. FFXI when I level up and know that forever it's mine. I cant de-level and lose it. There's something to that.

[Norelco]

People don't like severe penalties for character death.

1 to 5 minutes of exping is SEVERE.

Because exp spots are empty all the time, and because parties form in seconds, and because every party gets great exp, right?

I can't tell you how many times I've joined a party only to have it break up before we even reach camp, or we do get a group together and it falls apart because we can't find an open camp, or one of the billion other reasons why it honestly doesn't take 1 to 5 minutes to make up for the many time you die in Dynamis or Limbus etc.

Haven't touched FFXI in 8 months and this shit still hits a nerve with me.

[BRP]

Unless you die several times in a row, 5 minutes is still 5 minutes. Whenever you get that exp, you'll get it. Partys breaking up has more to do with bad luck or a poor party system or something. If you don't party with idiots who get lost, it's not terribly hard and I'm pretty sure for every bad incident there are 5 to 20 good ones.

[Kaylia]

Never understood why people were bothered by xp lost, weakness status annoy me more than anything.

Imo, the biggest issue with FFXI is downtime/gathering time/traveling. Having to job change all the time, wait for other and going to the location of the event is one huge time sink that slow down gameplay way more than it should.

[Priran]

Yeah... trying playing Lineage II... you'll be in tears when your character dies the death penalty is so harsh.

not really that bad unless you're in red karma, it's just that L2's levels take so much longer to grind.

[Correction]

Unless you die several times in a row, 5 minutes is still 5 minutes. Whenever you get that exp, you'll get it. Partys breaking up has more to do with bad luck or a poor party system or something. If you don't party with idiots who get lost, it's not terribly hard and I'm pretty sure for every bad incident there are 5 to 20 good ones.

You're still missing the essential point here: Severe penalties for character death are a thing of the past. I don't mind dying in video games; it's part of the learning process, but the new trend in all the best games is to minimize the amount of time you spend repeating things because of your latest death. Bioshock, Halo 3, everything in Orange Box, Zelda DS, almost every game I've bought in the last year gets this right. You aren't heavily penalized for dying and that's how I'm starting to like my games.

FFXI punishes you with the repetition of the LEAST FUN part of the game. It's not just the exp. It's having to hang onto old gear because of the threat you might delevel and have your weapon fall off your character. It's having to carry reraise scrolls to go mining because you can't cast reraise and don't want to home point. It's dealing with death sickness, an arbitrary penalty that simply forces you do play like a character half your level for a few minutes, then praying you're not near any undead who'll just kill you again when you regain 'full strength.' FFXI has the harshest death penalty I've seen since...again Diablo 2 hardcore.

MMOs need to learn this or they're going to shed customers over it. That's all.

[Venture]

Let's all go sit in Dragon's Roost for 3 hours, and prolly not get the pop, or the drop! Whoo! Fuck yeah, FFXVI Online! See you guys at 2 AM tommorow for next window? I don't want to lose lotting rights in this group.

Hell no, i'm not playing another SE-built MMO.