Collection of FFXIV News from Media Sources

[Blasta]

That doesn't sound very "adventurer-like", unless your idea of an adventure is going a few miles down the road to get some tree sap to repair your home.

lol.

[Shuichi]

In regards to "the danger facing Eorzea", I would not be surprised if we saw something like the dynamic content in Rift, or perhaps something like Besieged. I would welcome both types of events.

[Alkar]

Well if he mentioned Bahamut among the things that will work in a different way then I hope it's going to be Summoner related somehow <.<
I'm tired of seeing cool summons added and then getting no use because "they're too powerful for the player" and "we don't want to gimp them".
Seems like he has a very good plan and I like every single thing he's said so far. Looks like the game may be reborn in Spring if all things proceed smoothly.

[Kaylia]

In regards to "the danger facing Eorzea", I would not be surprised if we saw something like the dynamic content in Rift, or perhaps something like Besieged. I would welcome both types of events.

Except it will involve 10 "evil" ladybugs spawning at a predetermined location every hour and half, with no scenary or weather change

[Ragnus]

Okay, now you're just thinking in PS2 limitation FFXI terms still.

[Gokulo]

Sounds like standard S-E limitations to me.

[Hyan]

Other MMO's have already imitated dynamic events, so it's time for SE to invent something else again (for others to imitate).

[Grey Jorildyn]

I have serious doubts SE will create something other MMOs would want to imitate. In general the genre has become pretty stale as far as implementation of original content and I don't feel SE is up to the task or reinventing online gaming. They had a chance to make a true next-gen MMO and they dropped the ball big time. People are clamoring for content to imitate other games or just make something that works (ie. Is familiar to them). I mean just look at Rift; nothing original about it, just the best of what's already been done.

Whatcha gonna do SE? We're all eager to know.

[Hyan]

That's what they've been doing since the beginning. I sure may be forgetting some game, but 'dynamic' events in it's earliest forms were implemented to XI through besieged and campaign.

Not saying their experimenting has always turned out for the best, but that's just what they do. Then others do it better. Not that I mind. I don't see why we should shun them for that either.. if anything, it gives other companies more to work with. If they care to look around and pick the diamonds from the coal that is.

Also, opinion and all, fuck the words 'next-gen MMO'. Facebook is the next-gen.

[Grey Jorildyn]

I highly doubt besieged and campaign inspired any other mmo dev team to create better dynamic content. That cannot be the first type of dynamic content ever created in mmo gaming.

And if facebook is next-gen I should go find a tall building to jump off.

[Corrderio]

Eorzeapedia has it's interview up: http://www.eorzeapedia.com/2011/03/0...ida/#more-6511

Spoiler: show

December brought change for Final Fantasy XIV that no one saw coming. Hiromichi Tanaka, the game’s Producer stepped down, taking full responsibility for the poor condition of the game. The development team was reshuffled and former Director Nobuaki Komoto shifted to Lead Game Designer. We were then introduced to Naoki Yoshida, someone who no one had really heard of before. Now known to players as “Yoshi-P”, he took on the role of Producer/Director for Final Fantasy XIV.

Since then, he’s written numerous letters on the Lodestone which outline the changes the team is working on as well as a few personal touches here and there. He’s already had several interviews with Japanese media outlets such as Famitsu and 4Gamer. He has just recently completed a visit to Square Enix’s headquarters in London to talk with a few European fan sites. Now, it’s our turn.
We were invited to Square Enix’s El Segundo offices to sit down and chat with the team behind Final Fantasy XIV including Naoki Yoshida, Sage Sundi, Yasu Kurosawa and Robert Peeler.
Please note that the questions, and more importantly the answers, are not direct quotes from Square Enix. There is a translation process and the answers are always somewhat disjointed for that reason. So with that disclaimer, on to the questions…

Q. Eorzea feels very, very safe right now. You have mentioned that you want to change this. You have also mentioned changes to mob distribution and safe travel routes. What else can you tell us about your plans to make Eorzea feel like a world filled with adventure and danger?

A. According to Yoshida-san, there are two primary things being implemented soon (patch 1.16 and 1.17) that will address this. The first is simply an increased number of mobs roaming Eorzea. This alone, says Yoshida-san, should make Eorzea feel, and actually be, more dangerous. The second aspect being implemented that will enhance feelings of adventure and danger are the side-quests. While these quests are not part of the main storyline, they will be foreshadowing the dangers and threats that will soon be present in Eorzea.

Q. You previously stated that: “significant changes to the battle system are necessary to create a style of combat that lends itself to the enjoyment of quests and miniquests.” What did you mean by that? What changes to the battle system are we in store for?

A. The current system, which contemplates fifteen-person parties, is very difficult to balance, especially with the current class system. The first fundamental change for Yoshida-san is to reduce this target party size to 8, although he also wants to allow parties as small as 4 to be fully functional.
Yoshida-san admits that currently the role of each class is very vague, and that one of the major initiatives is to make each class unique. According to Yoshida-san, each class should have an identity of its own – including a specific and defined role in the party. The changes related to this initiative will lead to tactics in a battle setting – which Yoshida-san made clear was one of his ultimate goals.
Related, but as an aside, Sundi added that the current trend in the MMO genre is for smaller parties, but also smaller linkshells/guilds. In other words, a move away from the 200+ person linkshells/guilds, and a move towards smaller, 10 person linkshells/guilds. FFXIV intends to follow, and support, this trend.

Q. Following up on the smaller 4-person parties, Letter From the Producer III mentioned the addition of a “buffing system.” What can you tell us about this idea?

A. Yoshida-san admitted that the details on this one are still being worked out, but the idea is that if you have a 4 -person party, you won’t need a buffer in the party to complete the quest or have a sucessful party. So whereas a “standard” 8-person party would have two tanks, two damage dealers, a healer and two buffer/optional slots, the 4-person party could get by without the buffer role, and supplement that role with a system of some sort.

Q. You have mentioned increasing the “uniqueness” of each class a lot, both here and in your letters – what else can you tell us about how you plan on achieving this goal? For example, Letter From the Producer III suggested changes to the armor system. What can you tell us about what is planned?

A. Yoshida-san expressed a very strong desire to make the classes unique. But more than uniqueness, the identity of classes and pride in ones chosen class, is very important. Class gear and minimum rank gear will assist with this feeling and will be added gradually alongside the current gear system. But Yoshida-san was clear that this class gear must be unique and must strongly reflect the identify of that class. He wants the gear to really represents the class.
Yoshida-san indicated that he will continue to show the community the sketches, and maybe even 3-D renderings, as they are developed. He also indicated that the class gear will be added to the game on a rolling basis. He does not want to delay adding finished gear simply because other gear is not complete.

Q. You have also mentioned the possible introduction of traditional names. How do you see these new names fitting into the existing class system? Do you plan on using the new names as a guide to develop class uniqueness?

A. Yoshida-san is between two possible plans at this time. The first idea is that the traditional names would be introduced as “higher” or “advanced” classes. The traditional classes would thus be something of a goal for players. The second idea is that the traditional names would be more of a subset or specialization within the existing classes.
Whatever change is put into effect needs to be right. He recognizes that he will not be able to change the system again after this, so whatever is put into place needs to work, and be able to be balanced, for years to come. Because of this his team is giving this issue a lot of thought prior to implementation.

Q. Letter From the Producer III mentioned the addition of “an auto-MP regeneration feature.” Who would benefit from this feature? Only the magic classes?

A. No. Any class that uses MP will receive this benefit – even classes that use MP only for weapon skills will benefit.

Q. The third Producer’s Letter also mentioned the addition of “public company quests.” What can you tell us about this feature?

A. Yoshida-san was not ready to reveal details on this system yet, except to say that public companies will be one of the most important aspects of the game and will play a critical role regarding the threats to Eorzea. He indicated that more information will be announced at the end of March.

Q. At the Ebisu event back in September we saw what looked like group crafting – where a group appeared to jointly craft a cake. What can you tell us about that?

A. Yoshida-san indicated that he wants to keep developing this system, but its priority is still to be decided. He went on to joke that he needs to address how the cake would be used before addressing how the cake was made.

Q. To that end, are there any plans on changing how food is consumed? Right now the effects are unknown and the community is confused as to how to use food.

A. Yoshida-san is aware of the problem and wants to address it, but admitted that the priority right now is the battle system. He indicated that he needs to proceed in this order because, for example, if they were to address food effects to make it so that food was being consumed for every battle right now, once the battle system changes, it might end up not being necessary or helpful. Yoshida-san feels the need to adjust the battle system first since it is the cornerstone of the game. He can then can address how food, for example, will play a part in the battle.

Q. There has been a lot of discussion about high level content, and some discussion of mid-level content as well (rank 25+). Will anything be added to lower levels to increase the playability at these levels?

A. Yoshida-san recognizes that low-level content is very important, but admitted that the current priority is high to mid-level content. He believes that not only is the high level content the most lacking, but its absence also means that there is nothing for low and mid-level players to look forward to. Immediately after addressing the high-level content, however, he will address low level content.
Yoshida-san went on to reveal his vision for low level content – which is mainly through quests. More specifically, for ranks 9-15 he envisions quests that will direct players to go to a specific dungeon (one per city-state). In these dungeons the players will congregate, form parties – and, most importantly, create memories. According to Yoshida-san, it is very important for players to have these memories of playing the early levels.

Q. You just indicated that the official forums will launch on March 8. How do you see Square Enix using the new official forums? Who can the community expect to see posting?

A. Yoshida-san expects he will participate on the forums, along with a wide variety of Square Enix representatives. There will be moderators, community representatives, and trackers to show official posts. The forum will have sections for each language, but will not otherwise be anything ground breaking, and will basically put into place what other MMOs elsewhere have done. Yoshida-san acknowledged that the development team will probably be posting in Japanese and will therefore need to be translated by other Square Enix representatives. He did confirm that unlike past Square Enix forums, posts by developers will not be locked to replies and that while anyone will be able to view the official forums, only players with active FFXIV accounts will be able to post.

Also, any chance we can drop "Japanese" from the thread title?

[Shuichi]

Good read. They mentioned something at the end of the Q&A that also caught my eye.

After interviewing Square Enix development teams for years between FFXIV and FFXI, we can honestly say that there was an atmosphere in the room that was noticeably more informal than the past. What quickly became clear was that Yoshida-san “gets it.” It’s hard to put a finger on a specific answer that Yoshida-san gave that led to this feeling – maybe it was all of them to some extent.

^This. Perhaps it's due to him playing many different MMOs himself, but I def feel that Yoshi P. gets it, has a clear direction where he wants to go, and is now executing.

[Kurokikaze]

. Yoshida-san is between two possible plans at this time. The first idea is that the traditional names would be introduced as “higher” or “advanced” classes. The traditional classes would thus be something of a goal for players. The second idea is that the traditional names would be more of a subset or specialization within the existing classes.

/golfclap Called it. That is really the only way to proceed in my opinion. Renaming the current classes altogether would be cumbersome cause of the lore. Now they just introduce quests that take us down certain paths. GLA -> DRK or PLD for example.

I agree with Shuichi... Yoshi-P definitely gets it.

[Hyan]

Few things that I don't agree with (specific roles per class really make me worried), but fuck yes at what he's aiming to do with the class names. The second direction is exactly how I speculated it to be. There's no need to replace the current classes completely.. Although I wonder if the advanced classes would be 'better' than the normal classes. Situationally I guess.

[Kurokikaze]

They would have to be because if people are going to be forced into an advanced class it should be better. Probably won't notice much right away but as you progress the theoretical class bonuses would put it further ahead than the base class.

Let's take CON for example. CON could go WHM or BLM (or in your case stay CON). By going WHM their heals become more potent and by going BLM their nukes become more powerful. But staying as CON would leave them somewhere short of the middle. If they are going to let you keep playing CON beyond a certain point they would have to design encounters that make the advanced classes look more appealing to encourage people into changing. In your example; CON would stay as a pseudo-RDM but be pretty bad at it. This is nothing new - think FF1, the advanced classes were clearly better.

Also, you shouldn't be worried about there being specific roles for classes... The fact that theres no predetermined roles at the moment is what is killing classes and make them all look bland.

[solracht]

I'm hoping for the first approach, the second one feels messy as new classes would expand off weapons.

Everyone likes to bring up conjurers or gladiators, but those are the perfect examples. What would the specializations be for bows, lances, or hand to hand weapons, while keeping it FF-themed and not choosing extremely obscure jobs?

There are a lot of possibilities for gladiators under the second approach if we're going by weapon: red mage, thief, blue mage, warrior, dark knight, paladin, etc. While little to none for other weapons. Expanding based on skill sets could also be weird: RDM from thaumaturge would make sense, if it wasn't for the scepters. Giving RDM a sword at that point would mean expanding from gladiator, wouldn't it?

Combining current skills/weapons to unlock the FF jobs would work better, I think. Yes, current classes would probably end up phased out under the first approach. This would be a bad thing... if the old classes were actually classes and not simply names given for using a specific type of weapon.

[Gulkeeva]

/golfclap Called it. That is really the only way to proceed in my opinion. Renaming the current classes altogether would be cumbersome cause of the lore. Now they just introduce quests that take us down certain paths. GLA -> DRK or PLD for example.

I agree with Shuichi... Yoshi-P definitely gets it.

I'm semi supportive and worried about this.

One thing I sort of wouldn't like is if, you had to choose a path your stuck with it, some people may like the idea of "always" being the DRK or always being the PLD, but what if you need a tank and your stuck on DRK? Sit and stare at a wall and wait for one to login?

Its what i like about ffxiv, you can be whatever "is needed" or want to be, being locked to a specific class can be limiting, granted wow does the same but... it has a larger pool of players, so you have a big mass of people to choose, ffxiv doesn't have that choice. (Hell we struggle to do some fights because only 1 healer on and got 15+ melee) >.>

If theirs a way to have both "advanced" classes would be nice.

Also wondering how will the advanced classes play out?

Restart as a lv1 but with all the Lv 50? Gladiator abilities (this sure would add alot replayability though)
Or just change at Lv 50? and gain abilities through... another "lvling" system (like physical level) or... GUILD MARKS!

anyway, think it mentions he will outlay his plans at the end of this month for it?

[Hiroishime]

If theirs a way to have both "advanced" classes would be nice.

i don't think they are going to lock us into one advanced job (like what others MMO does), you can simply play (using your example) both DRK and PLD if you have GLA rank requirement, and still be able to play say BLM and WHM if you have CONJ ranked.

but i guess we'll just have to hear what he is going to do with it, i personally like how this is going and Yoshi P seem like he knows what he is doing

[Kenshiin]

As long as they don't make it a choice between this "or" that and allow us to level all jobs if we want, I'm happy with the first option. It seems like a good amount of people don't want specific classes but it was one of my favorite things about ffxi and the identity it gave to you and your friends. I feel it also helps when forming parties because most of the time you knew what you were going to get when you invited a class in ffxi.

[Kurokikaze]

I'm semi supportive and worried about this.

One thing I sort of wouldn't like is if, you had to choose a path your stuck with it, some people may like the idea of "always" being the DRK or always being the PLD, but what if you need a tank and your stuck on DRK? Sit and stare at a wall and wait for one to login?

This coming from someone who plays WoW... I mean really? Respeccing? Just make it more common and not as annoying as it is in WoW (don't make it cost gil) to promote the FF mentality of play whatever class you want when you want.

As for when advanced classes would kick in... My guess is through natural progression. Once you hit a milestone level you're allowed to choose a path (level 30 sounds good).

And yeah Solracht those definitely are the easier examples. I obviously don't have a clue what Archer would be turned into aside from Ranger. We would need them to add more weapons and remove the Weapon = Class aspect and add another way to swap jobs. We could have the Archer start out with a Short Bow but then hit 30 and decide between a Long Bow or a Gun (Musketeer). Same thing with LNC; could stick with the Lances (DRG) or go the Spear route and become a pseudo-SAM idk? THM could go RDM or Time Mage (with a few extra spells). By the way, you seem a little hellbent on RDM being Sword specific... need I remind you that no RDM used a Sword in XI? lol

Lastly, let's not limit ourselves to the classes available in XI. Theres a bunch of classes in FFV GBA and FF3 NES/DS that haven't been touched on.