FFXIV "When is it coming?" Thread

[Eaglestrike]

11 didn't really have a first two weeks. It was basically the only MMO to exist in Japan at the time of release, so there was no alternative, and it's a FF game, huge fanbase. We in the US didn't get the game until the level cap had been raised 25 levels and there was already extensive end-game (3 kings + sky) released, with Dynamis hitting before anyone hit 75 too. There was a WHOLE LOT of content in FFXI at US release that we probably won't be getting at FFXIV release in comparison.

[Hyan]

So should SE just hold the game for 2 years and add 10 version updates worth of content + expansion pack before releasing the game? I don't think so..

As long as the majority of players won't catch up with the content it's fine. Those who rush to endgame will shoot themselves in the leg, but it'll be only a fraction of players. You just have to play the game "right" to get most out of it.

[justamemory]

perhaps this means beta by May!?

[Eaglestrike]

So should SE just hold the game for 2 years and add 10 version updates worth of content + expansion pack before releasing the game? I don't think so..

As long as the majority of players won't catch up with the content it's fine. Those who rush to endgame will shoot themselves in the leg, but it'll be only a fraction of players. You just have to play the game "right" to get most out of it.

You don't really know that. There are games that don't release the content fast enough. For instance Champions Online has been out for a good bit now, only costs like $20 to pickup and you get a free month for it. It still has no end-game at all.

And SE hasn't exactly been shown to release content at any blazing speed in the past, though I would bet that FFXIV will be better.

[Jinko]

perhaps this means beta by May!?

Beta 1 possibly end of may, although with no Alpha schedule so far this week its looking pretty grim.

And SE hasn't exactly been shown to release content at any blazing speed in the past, though I would bet that FFXIV will be better.

You are forgetting that this game has been in planning stages since 2005, I'm sure they have plenty of content not just at launch but lined up for the first expansion aswell.

[Hyan]

You don't really know that. There are games that don't release the content fast enough. For instance Champions Online has been out for a good bit now, only costs like $20 to pickup and you get a free month for it. It still has no end-game at all.

And SE hasn't exactly been shown to release content at any blazing speed in the past, though I would bet that FFXIV will be better.

I'm not sure if I know what you mean. The content updates came every 2-2½ months after NA release, which was 1+ year after the real release of the game. Back then, JP's got updates maybe once a month if not faster.

As the game gets older I'm sure SE will slow down the update speed once again, but as long as they keep pumping out content once a month/2 for few years, that's already going to bring in a stable playerbase ready to complain about whatever the huge imbalance is at the time for years to come (and not quit.. just complain).

SE won't probably let us level to cap in a matter of weeks as some other MMO's do. There it's all about getting to the cap fast because "that's where the fun begins". How about if the fun began once you started the game, and it would in turn also take longer to get to the cap? Unpossible!

Beta 1 possibly end of may, although with no Alpha schedule so far this week its looking pretty grim.

I'd say June earliest. I doubt they'll be able to fix all the server problems. I don't think they even let every alpha tester to log in simultaneously yet.

[justamemory]

Beta 1 possibly end of may, although with no Alpha schedule so far this week its looking pretty grim.

[Eyedea-Seraph]

I'd rather see that the company wants to release the best product they can and delays release to allow them to accomplish this task than stick to an early promise and force things out there.

There's a reason Blizzard never releases dates, just so they don't have to make the decision of releasing content early or deal with people QQing about a pushed back release. It's a smart decision.

And community perception of a game in the first couple weeks will make or break an MMO. No one gives a shit about Vanguard, AoC, Warhammer, etc. these days all because launch was terrible, no matter how many improvements have come to the game since, everyone still thinks they're bad.

Ummm i am pretty sure i waited 10years for SC2 beta .... just sayin

and for the record i think se and blizzard are on the same level ...just that Blizzard is > @ RTS and imo SE is > @ MMOrpg/rpg

[Eaglestrike]

Ummm i am pretty sure i waited 10years for SC2 beta .... just sayin

and for the record i think se and blizzard are on the same level ...just that Blizzard is > @ RTS and imo SE is > @ MMOrpg/rpg

I disagree. Blizzard hasn't released a bad game, ever. SE has made bad games (Fantasy Earth is still bad even after "massive improvements"). FFXI is a cluster of very interesting and awesome concepts, but a terrible GAME, though I can forgive most of that because of EQ-basis and how long ago the game was originally made, most of its issues were standard.

And I wouldn't put it past them releasing something halfway done just because of their track record. Initial 2h weapon buff? Yeah, that clearly wasn't tested. Level cap raised to 99? Sounds like an "oshit, we're out of ideas, what do we do!?" change.

I hope to be able to judge FFXIV fairly by the time I get to it, but yeah, based on track records SE isn't up at Blizzard quality, and I'm not a big RTS fan at all either. At best SE is to RPG's what Blizzard is to RTS, that might be fair. But MMORPG's and RPG's are completely different animals, despite the letters they share.

[Hyan]

I disagree. Blizzard hasn't released a bad game, ever. SE has made bad games (Fantasy Earth is still bad even after "massive improvements"). FFXI is a cluster of very interesting and awesome concepts, but a terrible GAME, though I can forgive most of that because of EQ-basis and how long ago the game was originally made, most of its issues were standard.

And I wouldn't put it past them releasing something halfway done just because of their track record. Initial 2h weapon buff? Yeah, that clearly wasn't tested. Level cap raised to 99? Sounds like an "oshit, we're out of ideas, what do we do!?" change.

I hope to be able to judge FFXIV fairly by the time I get to it, but yeah, based on track records SE isn't up at Blizzard quality, and I'm not a big RTS fan at all either. At best SE is to RPG's what Blizzard is to RTS, that might be fair. But MMORPG's and RPG's are completely different animals, despite the letters they share.

Their games are developed quite differently, which is why I think it's hard to compare them.

Blizzard releases stuff that pleases people, even if it means the sequel is just a graphical improvement over a real sequel. I could almost say that they don't make the games, the fans make them. And Blizzard does everything to please the fans. That's why I don't really respect Blizzard, although what they do they do excellently.

SE tries out new concepts, as you said. Sometimes they work well, sometimes they are just horrible. But that's the price you have to pay for making up new stuff. Sometimes even if it sounded awesome on paper it just doesn't work as well as it could. This is why I respect them as a developers, even if they haven't ever had a clean track record. Not many companies do that kinda thing anymore.

Going off-topic... but! To me the level cap change has more to do with "oh shit all our resources are going for XIV and XI needs more content that doesn't take much resources... hey, let's change this code right here.. ta-da, level cap at 99! Tons of content for everyone for little effort."

[Eaglestrike]

Their games are developed quite differently, which is why I think it's hard to compare them.

Blizzard releases stuff that pleases people, even if it means the sequel is just a graphical improvement over a real sequel. I could almost say that they don't make the games, the fans make them. And Blizzard does everything to please the fans. That's why I don't really respect Blizzard, although what they do they do excellently.

SE tries out new concepts, as you said. Sometimes they work well, sometimes they are just horrible. But that's the price you have to pay for making up new stuff. Sometimes even if it sounded awesome on paper it just doesn't work as well as it could. This is why I respect them as a developers, even if they haven't ever had a clean track record. Not many companies do that kinda thing anymore.

Going off-topic... but! To me the level cap change has more to do with "oh shit all our resources are going for XIV and XI needs more content that doesn't take much resources... hey, let's change this code right here.. ta-da, level cap at 99! Tons of content for everyone for little effort."

I agree with most of what you said. Just not in not respecting Blizzard. A company like Blizzard is essential to the game evolutionary process because they make use of all the right ideas the developers like SE created and make them commonplace and seen to all. You see people all the time calling things a "WoW clone" but WoW is just a copy of a few different games. There's very little that's new in WoW, it's just all the best aspects of other games put together in one. And that is Blizzard's brilliance and success, getting the perfect game out there for people to play.

[Hyan]

Of course the respect part was purely subjective. I can see why people respect Blizzard and dislike SE, for the same reasons pretty much. The MMO genre wouldn't be as successful and different as it is today without Blizzard.

[Eaglestrike]

And Blizzard made an auto-group tool that actually works, and it's fucking amazing. Technically this is a copy of FFXI and such, but it was absolutely nothing in FFXI while it has completely revolutionized WoW, lol. It's going to suck going back to a game completely based on invites after LFD, lol.

[Issac]

Cool, Dec 2010 is reasonable, though a delay wouldn't bother nor surprise me in the least.

[levish]

Do not worry Eaglestrike, SE knows polish. There will be bugs just as with any game (and developer), but you'll never release something if you try and fix anything and everything.

[Hyan]

Well, I doubt the hotbar will be the only thing SE takes from WoW. Hopefully their servers can manage such thing in the future, it really sounds great if you want to make grouping more casual.

[Lucavi]

You honestly expect them to rush a release if its not ready? they have PLENTY of time to release it. 90% of the alpha problems are connection issues. that says a lot... so when that gets stabilized most of the other stuff is just fine tuning, balancing, ect...

This. There aren't any big-name MMOs that are coming out in 2010 anyway, presumably, outside of WoW's Cata launch. For all we know, Bioware could push that star wars MMO back to summer of next year, giving plenty of space for SE to clean up.

A release date won't make or break SE - they never market their products, rarely get the consumer interacting with the product, do very little to market hype for a product (if they want to learn from another Japanese company, look at how Capcom operates, especially with Street Fighter, with hosting tournies, holding contests, and throwing up adds on every web browser in existance), and do very little to support the product once its launched.

I expect similar marketing as FFXIII, minus throwing up a big-ass banner on the side of a building, which was actually pretty kickass.

SE's success will depend on how they get the word out to the player and what they do to keep the player, not on when the game launches. Its actually a pretty quiet time for MMOs across the board.

[Jinko]

And Blizzard made an auto-group tool that actually works, and it's fucking amazing. Technically this is a copy of FFXI and such, but it was absolutely nothing in FFXI while it has completely revolutionized WoW, lol. It's going to suck going back to a game completely based on invites after LFD, lol.

I do agree with this, although with any luck SE have taken note of that and have something similar.

I pray they do anyway, cause I don't want to be stuck for hours shouting for mission 2-3 (or whatever) again.

There aren't any big-name MMOs that are coming out in 2010 anyway,

Um you forgot Tera Online and Guild Wars 2 development cycle is aimed at late 2010 aswell so I think they have plenty of competition.

[Hyan]

A good example about it is that FFXI kept growing at a stable rate even without SE's marketing effort for many years, starting at 20 000 if I recall right, and capping at 700k or so.. And this was in the pre-WoW era, so you'd expect the growth to be even faster with more people in the market today. I don't think it'll be an issue. How they're planning to keep the players playing, that I would be more concerned about.

[Lucavi]

Um you forgot Tera Online and Guild Wars 2 development cycle is aimed at late 2010 aswell so I think they have plenty of competition.

Tera Online is about as "big name" as Mortal Online, which will be lucky to retain more than 300k subs.

A big MMO is a MMO that has the opportunity to capture and hold (key word - looking at you, Warhammer!) 500k+ subs. FFXI was big, and still technically is big, because they still hold half a mil in subs.

Guild wars is essentially Free to Play, so I don't count it. Many people play one paid MMO alongside with Guild wars anyway, so it really doesn't eat into subscriptions from paid MMOs.