Rapture in this years E3?

[BRP]

Only a few more days until we find out what SE has been planning MMO-wise for the past couple years. SE is either gonna delivery or fail simple as that.

Amazing, you are saying nothing in oh so many words.


It is in my prayers, that this game won't have any Haste+ like equipment.

[Kerberoz]

It doesn't really matter how good or bad the game's content is.

It'll still be run by SE.

[thestalkmore]

I'm interested.

[Zumi]

MS hates it when games on 360 have online interactions with competitors systems or PC. MS let SE have FFXI but they must of wanted the 360 version of Rapture to have its own servers just for 360 but SE didn't want to do it i am guessing.

[Vilyon]

I could have sworn they said it was originally being developed for pc and 360, then later on announced it for ps3. now its not on 360 at all…. um wtf. I’d rather play it on my 360 with all my compadres instead of on my pretty paperweight .

[oldoldman]

I know I'm late but correction you leave my Cheese sandwich out of this!

[Hyan]

No potential MMO's in SE's E3 lineup I think... is there a possibility that they're keeping it a secret?

[Vail]

god damn it Correction/Summermute, I miss you too fucking much

[Mayareira]

They'll certainly be more experienced this time in terms of community relations, account security and handling and avoiding future limitations of systems.

Let's face it, FFXI came a long way from 2005~(fuckton of RMT's DDOS attacks, poor security, etc.) Nowadays it has got one of the most stable servers among MMORPGS, they are handling RMT problem quite well and the security token is a solid step towards account security.

[Kaelan?]

I'm surprised, I wasn't expecting to see anything from SE till TGS - they usually skip E3. Can't wait to see what Rapture looks like (hopefully we'll actually get to see it, rather than some intro cutscene or something of the sort).

[Chinch]

woo

[Rulke]

I'll bite, I've heard a lot of rumors too about SE unveling their next MMO at E3. Thing is even if they do, it still a year or two out. So nothing to get too excited over sadly.

[Rhealana]

Let's just say it's going to be a good 3-4 years out.

[Xavier]

You just want to perpetuate SE's incompetence based on their first MMO; which I will say again, I do not think is valid.

Words to live by! Indeed, we all ought to ignore history so that we might be so lucky as to repeat it. Bravo good sir, bravo!

You make some good points but honestly I doubt these would be as much of a concern if you all didn't have BG to form your collective opinion and plant this deep rooted hatred for SE after years of bitter king camping/neglect. All I'm saying is XI was a great game if you stepped back from BG and didn't listen to all the bitching sometimes. I'm not saying SE was perfect but the amount of SE Hate vs the amount of time most of the people here have put into the game does not compute.

Are you somehow suggesting that years of bitter neglect towards a part of their community (endgame gameplay) should not somehow instill a deep dissatisfaction with a company? Considering that the type of player who posts here has probably devoted more time than any other player to FFXI, are you suggesting that those who have the most hours logged in the game are the least qualified to comment on its merits? Moreover, are you saying that the area at which those complaints were directed, IE, lack of satisfactory endgame, were not, and are still not, justified?

Contrary to what you say, BG (as a community) wasn't formed as a modless, anything goes bitch fest. It began as an endgame site, based on a linkshell that was highly competitive endgame. If there was a large degree of bitching, it was indicative of the fact that FFXI endgame was, and remains, a significantly imbalanced time versus reward commitment.

As others have mentioned, it is not that BG is ignored by Square, but rather that our content goes far beyond what they are allowed to promote, as we don't actively trample on the first amendment, and allow NSFW threads, etc.

You paint a rosy picture, but like most, its a distortion of the truth. It may be accurate to say that Square cares about its fan base, but you have to be specific: it cares about its casual fan base. As someone who has been around since NA launch, who was part of BG at the very beginning, I believe I speak with some authority when I say that Square has shown nothing but absolute contempt for its hardcore fan base.

As for your list:

Slower pace of battles allowed for more strategy. I found this to be the most interesting aspect of XI- whereas WoW players refined their strategys over a month or so; we did it over the course of years, and the game changed through many player innovations.

Aye, having to wait 21-72 hours definitely allows you to develop detailed strategies. Aye, being forced to kill the same monsters forever certainly allows for you to refine that strategy quite well.

XI didn't obsolete content. I found it silly that a lot of the instances in WoW went largely ignored for new content, becoming wastes of space once the lvl cap was raised. Sideways progression. This isn't something you find in any MMO besides XI lately. Some games may have a bit of sideways progression, but XI was built on it.

What you consider to be a triumph, I consider to be the games largest detriment. This is why the gear I got over 4 years ago is still largely the best gear in the game, and why anything done between then and now, from the perspective of an endgame player, was largely pointless.

Story.

Agree with you. Story is one area where FFXI has excelled over other MMO games.

Job system. I have never replayed and releveled a character as much as I have XI and it was always fun. Character developement. XI was a hardcore game and the amount of character developement reflects that. Most games, you get lvl cap, grind pvp/raid gear, lvl an alt. Done.

Agree with you. The Job system was very well designed.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

As for Rapture, it would be foolish to completely write it off without knowing a lot more about it. But unlike with FFXI, which I began playing based on nothing but high expectations because of the company developing it, I won't be giving the game a free pass either.

My experience with FFXI, moreover, leads me to believe that unless they significantly deviate from the formula they have been using, that the game will absolutely suck if you like rewarding endgame. FFXI was a great game in a lot of respects (and I will always have very fond memories of very good times), but it also suffered (suffers) from some very serious design flaws, which have still, after all these years, not been adequately addressed.

Despite all that, you are also right in another regard; I want to be proven wrong by Square. I am open to being swept off my feet, because I still love the company outside of FFXI.

[BRP]

This is why the gear I got over 4 years ago is still largely the best gear in the game, and why anything done between then and now, from the perspective of a brainless slave, was largely pointless.

Fixed that for you. Side 'gression is the ultimate goal of a MMO. EDIT: Scratch that, any game with character development.

Though you are right to bring up the fat in FFXI, the wait timers and whatever else, you are completely incorrect here.

[Mayareira]

FFXI and its job system is different from WoW, I can't imagine myself or anyone grinding through new gear for 6-8~ jobs every update. It'd just cause a huge frustration.

[Kisamoo]

Words to live by! Indeed, we all ought to ignore history so that we might be so lucky as to repeat it. Bravo good sir, bravo!

Your sarcasm would be better suited if we weren't talking about a game, but by the rest of your post this is clearly beyond a game to you. I can respect that on some levels but thinking it entitles you to VIP status is silly. By VIP I mean 'hardcore'. Because let's face it, 'Hardcore' players always look down on 'casual' players. You're all just players, guys.

To be honest I was gonna argue more, but I just posted to stop this thread from turning into a bitch fest about XI, when we've all heard it before, this is BG after all.

[Xavier]

Fixed that for you. Side 'gression is the ultimate goal of a MMO. EDIT: Scratch that, any game with character development.

Though you are right to bring up the fat in FFXI, the wait timers and whatever else, you are completely incorrect here.

I can't tell if you're serious or trolling, but that is hilarious. More power to you if you think the ultimate goal of a game is to only accomplish as much today as you did yesterday. Progression is the driving force of everything.

Your sarcasm would be better suited if we weren't talking about a game, but by the rest of your post this is clearly beyond a game to you. I can respect that on some levels but thinking it entitles you to VIP status is silly. By VIP I mean 'hardcore'. Because let's face it, 'Hardcore' players always look down on 'casual' players. You're all just players, guys.

Sarcasm, when it has a point, is perfectly applicable regardless of the subject matter. You seem to be under the impression that a previous endeavor has no bearing on what follows; do we not form expectations for sequels based on what came before? You seem content to dismiss the point merely because it was presented sarcastically, regardless of its actual merits.

Final Fantasy XI is a MMO, "Rapture" is apparently a MMO. As both are developed by the same company, it stands to reason that one might form certain expectations on their new project based on their experiences with the prior. You, who have clearly enjoyed FFXI, have formed from your experience the expectation that Rapture will be good; I, who enjoyed FFXI but saw some very serious flaws, am hesitant that Square will improve on their formula. Who will ultimately be right isn't something that can be said for certain, but blind optimism has never helped anyone.

As for "VIP status", you seem confused about the problem. I certainly never claimed I wanted such. While I did point out my history with the game, it was merely to show that my view of FFXI has been formed, not by the collective opinion of the masses, but by years of play. The distinction between "hardcore" and "casual" players exists because their expectations for a game are wildly different, but you seem to believe that I have somehow advocated for the superior treatment of the "hardcore" base. That is not true.

The point of contention is that I would have liked both to of been treated equally, while instead I believe that Square has shown contempt for endgame while continuing to cater to casual players. I don't hate FFXI, I simply have problems with parts of the game. I am doubtful, given the ease at which those problems could have been addressed but haven't over all of these years, that a new MMO from Square will likewise ultimately address these issues. I believe that to be a legitimate concern, whether or not you do.

[Hyan]

The point of contention is that I would have liked both to of been treated equally, while instead I believe that Square has shown contempt for endgame while continuing to cater to casual players. I don't hate FFXI, I simply have problems with parts of the game. I am doubtful, given the ease at which those problems could have been addressed but haven't over all of these years, that a new MMO from Square will likewise ultimately address these issues. I believe that to be a legitimate concern, whether or not you do.

Care to elaborate? Which issues do you think SE won't address?

[Maguspk]

FFXI and its job system is different from WoW, I can't imagine myself or anyone grinding through new gear for 6-8~ jobs every update. It'd just cause a huge frustration.

You obviously don't understand the system then. The reason multiple jobs share gear in FF is because it'd be pain upon pain to gear out each job with an item. In most other games with a single class, gear is something called itemized for that class. That is to say, it flatters the playstyle perfectly for that particular class. Whereas in FF, you are bound to a set of gear that is the best for many jobs and you work your playstyle to exploit the gear, see Ridill and most of the abjuration gear. Think of it like AF gear starting at low levels and being available at 75 in the form of end game drops, no Dynamis is not equivalent because using a full set of Dynamis gear is not the most optimal.