FFXIV Random Speculation/Question thread II: Let's Speculate the Speculations

[Jinko]

I was wondering if elementals and weather have been seen yet or are going to be in this game? I haven't seen any in the videos yet. I always kinda liked the weather stuff.

There is this video from back at gamescon, the rain looks suprisingly realistic.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fIR0_EbVhp0

Elementals looks like fairies now, like in the picture below.

http://img5.mmo.mmo4arab.com/news/20...pon%284%29.jpg

[weeman]

There is this video from back at gamescon, the rain looks suprisingly realistic.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fIR0_EbVhp0

Elementals looks like fairies now, like in the picture below.

http://img5.mmo.mmo4arab.com/news/20...pon%284%29.jpg

Thanks for the video link. The weather looks awesome. Not so sure about the fairy elementals, but I guess I will get used to it.

[Cadsuane]

You also had the ice staff advantage, which back in the day was the only elemental staff you could reasonably expect a BLM to have.

[Kaslo]

There is this video from back at gamescon, the rain looks suprisingly realistic.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fIR0_EbVhp0

Elementals looks like fairies now, like in the picture below.

http://img5.mmo.mmo4arab.com/news/20...pon%284%29.jpg

Part of me kinda wants the lightning to actually strike on the field and possibly hit things...

[brand]

You also had the ice staff advantage, which back in the day was the only elemental staff you could reasonably expect a BLM to have.

Back in the day it was rare to see anyone with any staff. It was the best news everywhere that the ore could be grown or chocobo'ed (I can't remember with full certainty, but the only other way to get it was bcnms).

[Kurokikaze]

Ahh those were the days...

"Casting Burst"
5 seconds later "DO SC NOW NOW NOW NOW" <call4>
BOOOM!
BLM was defeated by the Robber Crab.
PLD: Omg so sorry. ;_;

[vrumpt]

so how did the EU test go compared to the previous tests? (i know its a few minutes early but figured id ask it now)

[Toralyn]

I didn't see them mentioned, and they deserve a shout out.

Doom Toads near the Cloister of Tides. omg, such a great camp in the mid 60s back in the day.

[edit] The fairy elementals look kind of silly

[Calemero]

EU test was smooth, didn't have any Errors or d/c's. I'd say 50% of the people on today were testing out the BR system. I saw multiple duo's raoming around testing them. I was paired with a MAR and tried:

Shot > Hack
Shot > Trunk
Puncture > Trunk
Trunk > Widevolly
Hack > Shot
Hack > Puncture

...all failed >_>

Battle system seemed less laggy also.

[Adajer]

i like the new elements. can at least tell where its facing now.

[Dredoc]

what difference does that make? they only ever took notice of you if you cast something. it's face never made much difference.

[Calemero]

Just read this month's GameInformer and scanned over the XIV article written by Phillip Kollar. Pulled this from it...

Though I saw the PC version of Final Fantasy XIV - there will not be a beta for PS3

Since when? He also went on to state that he received his info directly from SE... /sniff i smell bull

[Vacht]

Just read this month's GameInformer and scanned over the XIV article written by Phillip Kollar. Pulled this from it...



Since when? He also went on to state that he received his info directly from SE... /sniff i smell bull

Absolute bull, considering they've already said PS3 will be added in Beta 2.

[Zeno]

I read that article and I was like "GameNotInformer" cuz it seems like nobody knows WTF they are talkin' about when it comes down to FFXIV information.

[Vitglance]

I have an alpha tester question.

Square Enix had mentioned in earlier interviews they wanted more cerebral combat. It's easy to imagine the wait while your gauge fills up as time for which to think through your next attack, which would go a long way to making battles feel less slow than they appear from an outsider's perspective (videos). Do you actually fill that space of time with thoughts, or is the strategy so shallow you end up tapping your foot waiting?

On a similar note. Square Enix had mentioned they wanted positioning to be an important part of combat. Do you feel as though position matters? Or is it essentially just the same stationary grind, aside from a mob taking off every now and again?

[Lucavi]

I've got that copy of GameInformer right next to me. The guy bitched pretty hardcore about how FFXIV's game speed is as slow as FFXI's, and is nowhere near what a next-gen MMO should be like.

He had pretty high hopes that the game speed would speed up between the alpha and launch, and I share his sentiments. A little more speed wouldn't hurt, but it's the alpha of a brand new game, not some alpha of an expansion pack that has everything already set in stone.

Edit: Funny that he makes mention about SE wanting to mimic WoW's experience (and not simply its massive profits). While fights in WoW can be cerebral, much of it is simply in terms of movement and reactions than outright skillful planning of abilities. Rotations exist for the maximization of DPS and keeping healing and tanking tight, not so much so people can think about what abilities the mob is popping and what they'll have to use to counter it.

I have a feeling that FFXIV's end-game (fight-wise, so long as utsusemi is either done away with or severely nerfed) will be as "cerebral" as SE is imagining, but I'm wondering about the early and mid-game. First impressions are where you make money in MMOs - the hardcore crowd is making you money, sure, but those initial box sales are what push you into working on more than one expansion pack over the lifetime of a game.

They're going to have to make sure that the beginning of the game is spicy, not just the end.

[Draconix]

He had pretty high hopes that the game speed would speed up between the alpha and launch, and I share his sentiments. A little more speed wouldn't hurt, but it's the alpha of a brand new game, not some alpha of an expansion pack that has everything already set in stone.

As always, we would like to thank you for taking part in the FINAL FANTASY XIV Alpha Test.

Over the course of making adjustments to the game, we have encountered several unforeseen issues, and we would like to apologize for the delays these have caused, as well as the length of time we have allowed to pass between posts. Despite our efforts over the weekend to improve load balancing and server stability, players have not been able to test the game to its full extent.

During the test period conducted a few days ago, it was discovered that the game server was crashing under certain conditions, and I am glad to say that we have made some headway with this problem. However, a bottleneck of sorts is arising as improvements in server stability are impeding our ability to recreate and address previously reported bugs. We ask for your patience while we continue to examine the issue.

There has been a good deal of feedback from testers expressing concern over the slow pace of combat. I would like to assure you that this is due largely to the current server load balancing issues. Unfortunately, such difficulties have so far prevented players from playing the game at the level of quality we envisioned.

We would like nothing more than to have testers continue playing the game, and must therefore ask for your understanding as we further investigate this problem and examine several possible solutions. (Also, one may be able to notice an improvement in latency by engaging in combat only in the open areas or dungeons located far from Camp Bearded Rock.)

In addition, we are also planning to reassess and introduce changes to the user interface, battle system, and in-game motion. These will most likely be implemented in the Beta Test scheduled in the coming months. We are extremely grateful for the enormous amount of helpful posts we have received despite the relatively short testing times. Rest assured that we will be attempting to incorporate as much of this feedback as possible into any changes we make to the game. In the meantime, I hope that all of you will continue in your roles as testers for the alpha test phase, and I look forward to receiving more of your invaluable feedback.

FINAL FANTASY XIV Director
Nobuaki Komoto

Read the bolded.

[Calemero]

The thing is, the battle system really isn't that much slower than FFXI's. Yeah of course it isn't button spamming, face rolling ability pushing you have in WoW or other similar MMO's but it's not like a snail.

The main reason (at the moment) for slow actions is Alpha lag. Notice in ghost.Midgard's videos when he is close to server shutdown the lag is significantly reduced and the abilities look smoother.

In regards to the GI article, I find it amusing that the editor is just so stubborn as to say that "SE gave me the info so if it's wrong then SE must be wrong.."

More lawls @ http://gameinformer.com/members/GIPhil/default.aspx

[Hyan]

I've got that copy of GameInformer right next to me. The guy bitched pretty hardcore about how FFXIV's game speed is as slow as FFXI's, and is nowhere near what a next-gen MMO should be like.

Kinda annoying that MMO combat in the minds of public *must* be fast or it's not next-gen at all.

I'm fairly confident that once mobs get stronger (and more numerous), and fights become longer the combat will start really shaping up. Hopefully sooner than endgame though.

[Chakra]

I have an alpha tester question.

Square Enix had mentioned in earlier interviews they wanted more cerebral combat. It's easy to imagine the wait while your gauge fills up as time for which to think through your next attack, which would go a long way to making battles feel less slow than they appear from an outsider's perspective (videos). Do you actually fill that space of time with thoughts, or is the strategy so shallow you end up tapping your foot waiting?

On a similar note. Square Enix had mentioned they wanted positioning to be an important part of combat. Do you feel as though position matters? Or is it essentially just the same stationary grind, aside from a mob taking off every now and again?

Watching Ghostsix's latest videos that had significantly less latency issues, the combat actually looks faster than XI's. Also, no offense to Ghostsix, but it looks like he's playing with a controller? It looks like he's pressing the left and right arrows to select attacks which makes it look slow minded. I don't believe he is slow minded, it just seems more practical to use a keyboard for your skill quickbar. On top of that you have to factor in charging attacks. The battle system can be quite quick if you allow it.