Gamewatch Interview (full translation linked in first post)

[Shuemue]

Wow, this is interesting stuff. Thanks for translating, Elmer! <333

So... if the NPCs grow stronger/weaker with loss/wins... does that explain why Bastok has a bunch of "healer" NPCs who are completely unable to cast anything bigger than a Cure 1? -.-

That immediately sprang to my mind too, and why they run past corpses and don't raise them.

[Elmer the Pointy]

Campaign Battle Weapons and Constructs

Tell about the various military weapons and contraptions that appear in Campaign Battle.
Ito: Right now, there aren’t so many that appear on the Allied-side of things. The Beastmen Confederate can send them out when they have the spare resources, because players and beastmen actually function along the same system.
Beastmen have a plotted course of action, and using serious military weapons hinders that plan, in that it takes a lot out of their funds. Their use changes from week to week, one week they may appear, and the next they may not.

I see, so it’s not simply random. The chance varies from week to week.
Ito: On weeks when the beastmen are inclined to use these weapons, it is to promote balance, rather than to continuously dominate the other side. We didn’t want them to appear frequently.

So they exist to maintain balance when necessary. What kind of situation causes them to appear?
Ito: There are certain NPCs that don’t fight, but mainly run up to the fort and perform actions. If you defeat them, these weapons most likely will not appear.

As for the different contraptions and constructs, I think we’d like to see more variations of those appearing.
Ito: There aren’t any yet… We want to tinker with the abilities of the current ones. As with anything in Final Fantasy XI, we start by aiming for a target. We then remodel our vision a little, considering what effect or damage it could have. We’ve already completed that part.
The ideal situation for Campaign would be that things happen without people having to be there. For example, a bomb get placed and then it explodes. When it explodes, there will be people that are affected, and people who aren’t affected. That’s the kind of battlefield experience we wish to create. So to that end, we are seeing if these machines should do this, or do that, and how we can improve their function.
This is just me talking, but there are giant tanks available to only the beastmen. What if players could wrest control of them? We’re thinking about lots of new situations to develop in the future.

Once you’ve achieved that game balance, I think people would like to play with those giant war machines. Something like players hitting a button to build one for themselves. I want some construction action on the players’ side. Then by attacking it with magic, you store up magical power, which it then releases upon the enemy. (laughs)
Ito: Sounds good to me. (laughs)

[Toth]

Excellent job, Elmer! I am amazed how much they are actually revealing to players. I now have alot more respect for Campaign and its system

[Parzival]

Thank you Elmer.

[Loziel]

Yes I am amazed how complex this whole system is with so many nuances and variations possible yet they have just sat there as per usual for 8 months and just said, 'you work it out' lol.

It like handing a man off the street the keys to an airplane and just saying 'Fly That' The guy is gonna have a very rough idea of what the controll stick does, but thats probably it

[Halon50]

My f5 finger is plum wore out. Time to go to work anyway

[Thistle]

Thank you for all your effort, Elmer!

[Elmer the Pointy]

Campaign Ops Based on Nation’s Strength

The demand for Campaign Ops can be seen via stars, and the rewards can change as well. How have these changes been received?
Ito: There is the element of how much the nation needs it and also the element of your standing. That forms the limits of what your reward can be. If the demand is filled, your country isn’t so pleased by it’s completion anymore. More and better rewards will go to players who complete Ops based on the country’s objectives. People with low ranks can get more rewards by doing Ops their country needs. We made adjustments like this during the last Version Update.
The guy in charge said, “Well, if they keep doing Ops that their nation does not need, then the rewards will be lower.”

I see what you mean.
Ito: Realistically, there are a lot of people thinking, “Hey! Even though I enjoy doing this particular Ops, it’s not going to be worth it!” However, we adjusted it thoroughly, and added no negative effects to doing an Ops. We wanted Campaign Ops to be an aspect of Campaign that could reward you at any time you wished to do it. It was planned as something from which both low-level and high-level players could reap the benefits.

Sometimes Campaign Ops aren’t on the list. Is that because the demand for them was satisfied? That can be rough, getting excited to do an Ops and finding it absent from the list.
Ito: That can happen when demand is satisfied, or the country’s current battle plan does not require the particular Ops. Also, Ops can disappear due to a nation’s parameters. A loss of money could mean a loss of goods required to perform certain jobs.

So orders for those Ops will not be issued?
Ito: That’s right. If the nation cannot afford it, the mission will not be available. Even if a nation is on the offensive, related Ops won’t appear if the funding isn’t there. It’s like the real world: even if you need an employee, you can’t hire if there’s no money.

That’s a strict amount of realism. For example, say there’s a battle on the streets of a city. The nation takes a lot of damage, and becomes weaker. Campaign Ops are the key to recovery, but funding has been decimated due to battle in the city and there are barely any Ops to do… Things just get worse and worse.
Ito: Like being backed into a corner. I hate to say it, but I feel like we really should have added those explanatory NPCs in this update.

There are Ops you can do with 3-6 people. Now, say you get your group together, only to find your desired mission isn’t on the list. It’s good to have some penalties, but it’s always good to still be able to have fun…
Ito: Really, the lowest ranked Ops are practically always available. Still, if the country doesn’t have the funding, even those can vanish. Perhaps we could do away with that… If we do so, game balance can change so easily, so we may have to be ready to fix imbalances. The original plan was to really emphasize the harrowing effects of war. Still, I think that is something we can take another look at.

I see. Everything is linked together, like the severe repercussions of a battle inside the city. The best you can do is try and take back an area somewhere.

[Elmer the Pointy]

I don't know about you, but I've heard enough of Campaign. Finally, the Job and Battle stuff is next.

[Lordwafik]

I don't know about you, but I've heard enough of Campaign. Finally, the Job and Battle stuff is next.

can't wait, but i'll read tomorrow >_> 2 freaking AM, thanks for translations so far!

[shukuffxi]

What I get from all this Campaign crap is "It's not so bad if everyone worked together, and had a bit of an idea how things worked." but the reality is that Campaign is just "to pass the time" and "Screw around and have fun and get some XP." This is why you see mages meleeing, and not raising/curing/hasting. It's ungodly rare in my experience to ever see anyone try to gather a group of players for a specific purpose such as assaulting a Beastmen stronghold, or to do specific ops and such.

[Avé]

That's some really complicated system. Why the hell didn't they say anything about any of this earlier? Here we (I) thought SE just copied Besieged code so that they could sit on their lazy asses for more than a year putting out fluff updates. This explanation of campaign really makes me want to experience that type of battle.

[Neosutra]

Ok seriously, skip to the part with Nyzul relics.

[spooky]

I don't know about you, but I've heard enough of Campaign. Finally, the Job and Battle stuff is next.

F5!!!!!! I had enough of Campaign about a page back lol. Still it has been interesting to find out some real information about it at last. Hopfully it will change how people think about Campaign a bit.
Really looking forward to the next section though. Recently hit 56 on PUP, really looking forward to relic armor.

[Natallon]

thanks so much elmer

[Elmer the Pointy]

Job and Battle Related Stuff, A New System to Aid Party-Building, Balrahn’s Secret Weapons. Aht Urghan AF2, finally?

What are your current impressions of the jobs and battle systems? You presented a lot of stuff at events last year.
Gondai: We sure did. Right now, more than job balance, we are looking to develop and expand each job as an individual role. We are continuing increase adjustments in that regard.
Right now, to help people assemble parties easier, we are working on the implementation of a new system.

This “Party-Building Aid” system is something completely new, right?
Gondai: If I tell you any more, Ogawa will get mad at me. (grin) It will help players to build parties and enjoy the game with friends. It’s something that won’t require a lot of preparation and allow for a more casual playing experience. We feel it’ll make playing a little easier.

How about the new Wings of the Goddess jobs, Dancer and Scholar?
Gondai: We feel they have taken shape according to our concept. As we adjust other jobs from here on, we will continue to take a look at them. First, we are going to expand upon their merit points.

Merit Point Abilities were expanded from a limit of 3 to 5, right?
Gondai: Not so much expanded, since we had planned for a maximum of 5 from the start. We just opened it up fully last update.

So you started it at 3 to monitor the situation at first?
Gondai: That too. We felt with a higher limit, many players would focus too much on getting strong before enjoying other aspects of the game.

”Magic that allows Red Mages to melee more,” “Ninja hate-lowering abilities,” and “more Avatars for Summoners.” What do you have to say about these frequent requests?
Gondai: Changes to increase variations in battle styles are being implemented with high priority, but there are still more things planned.

The Monk ability “Footwork” is one way to add variation to a battle.
Gondai: Besides that, there is the Bard’s “Pianissimo,” that let’s people divvy out songs. Until now, you were basically limited to two songs, but now there is reason to cast three or more.
As for a new Avatar… we can’t say anything yet. (smile)

The appearance of Ixion… was quite the shock.
Ito: Ixion… It’s a high level notorious monster that occasionally appeared as an avatar in past Final Fantasy games. We wanted to create a high level notorious monster that moved around more freely.

Hmm, I see. Is Ixion the new summon for which Summoners have long anticipated?
Gondai: We can’t say anything at this time, but plans are in motion.
I see… How about plans for other jobs?
Gondai: We’ve finally completed preparations for Aht Urghan jobs’ AF2. It will only be for Aht Urghan jobs at first, but if things go well, we will be revealing it to you before long.

Will they be acquired through some new method or content?
Ogawa: That, you’ll have to wait and see. (laughs)

[Eanae]

New AF2 for old jobs? Or am I reading into that wrong?

[Toth]

What are your current impressions of the jobs and battle systems? You presented a lot of stuff at events last year.
Gondai: We sure did. Right now, more than job balance, we are looking to develop and expand each job as an individual role. We are continuing increase adjustments in that regard.
Right now, to help people assemble parties easier, we are working on the implementation of a new system.

This “Party-Building Aid” system is something completely new, right?
Gondai: If I tell you any more, Ogawa will get mad at me. (grin) It will help players to build parties and enjoy the game with friends. It’s something that won’t require a lot of preparation and allow for a more casual playing experience. We feel it’ll make playing a little easier.

VERY intriguing. This may be one heck of a good addition.

[Mici]

Just posting to say Praise almighty Elmer!

Thanks alot for all the work you put into this.

[Jakson]

I remember at the last fanfest they mentioned be able to seek on multiple jobs at once, maybe thats the party building help they're talking about.

neat that they're finally putting in TAUAF2