FFXIV Random Speculation/Question thread VI: Phase 3, FFXIV is still on the rag!

[Kurp]

So, two or three weeks until we move into free trial mode.

[Null]

Don't get excited about it. The servers will crash on the first day when everything gets over crowded. Then Square will keep them down for three weeks until launch date.

[Ghostsix.Midgard]

Movement speed feel slower to anyone after this latest patch?
Also skewer on LNC seems to be conal now instead of line of sight?
Or am I on drugs?

[qpoiuwer]

ok, this looks awesome

Spoiler: show

http://game.watch.impress.co.jp/img/...7/516/ff19.jpg

[Meko]

I really hope somebody can figure out what "surplus" is. From what I've read, it sounds horrible. It's worse than de-leveling. Also, any changes with the control schemes or mouse implementation?

[Rasengan]

ok, this looks awesome

Spoiler: show

http://game.watch.impress.co.jp/img/...7/516/ff19.jpg

You mean her wedgie, right?












...What?! There's a treant in the picture?

[Dohorehn]

ok, this looks awesome

Spoiler: show

http://game.watch.impress.co.jp/img/...7/516/ff19.jpg

was focused on the bottom left of the pic for quite some time lol

[Loaar]

I really hope somebody can figure out what "surplus" is. From what I've read, it sounds horrible. It's worse than de-leveling. Also, any changes with the control schemes or mouse implementation?

Surplus randomly stopped affecting some people today, for no apparent reason.

In my ls, a level 22 THM, and a level 18 miner both reported no more surplus at all, and it hasn't come back at all either.

No one is going to "figure it out", it clearly isn't working as intended.

[Lyle]

ok, this looks awesome

Spoiler: show

http://game.watch.impress.co.jp/img/...7/516/ff19.jpg

That tree looks like it is crusin for a brusin. Thankfully, I fear no tree.

[Lyle]

This just occured to me, I haven't seen any posts regarding testing of the "improved" auto-translate chatting feature.

Better get on it or else history will repeat itself! I for one was tired of making as much success crossing the language barrier as speaking Spanish to a woodchuck.

[Lucavi]

Alright, that's 4 professional groups that have played the open beta version and wrote previews on it, and all of them have talked about the clunky UI. Will SE get the message?

It's pretty obvious that non-XI purists don't want to navigate through menus like its 1994 again, so I have no idea why SE chose to design their UI straight out of FFVI, but yeah, they're going to be hearing a lot more than simply beta testers complaining if they let this go to retail, and I don't think something like a complete UI overhaul is something that can be simply dumped into one patch.

Of course, if they catch enough heat, they may simply say that they'll implement changes during the first expansion pack, which gives them a little wiggle room, but I dunno how many strikes FFXIV will get from the general public, especially after people have already equated "Final Fantasy Online" to "that second job game where you grind and run slow all day".

Fix it, SE! Fix it before launch, for your own good.

[Meko]

I found this on another forum I read. Nobody has anything good to say about the UI:

"I only played FFXI once briefly in beta so I don't have much perspective on the similarities and differences. But the UI/Combat in XIV is pretty much unplayable for me, combat is slow but that's not the problem. The problem is most abilities don't go off as soon as you activate them, there's anywhere from a 2-5 second delay. So the flow of combat seems very off and doesn't make for a good group experience. The targeting is a joke, tab targeting isn't very useful since it will target yourself every other time you hit it & target mobs that are far away that you're not currently engaged with . Actually trying to click on the mob is even worse as the hitbox is extremely small and only in the middle of the mob.

My friend and I tried to duo and he had even worse problems trying to heal me. You only gain class experience by doing damage, not healing or buffs. So he would have to cast a few offensive spells just to get a fraction of what I was getting most of the time. Switching targets from the mobs to him and I for healing was a nightmare as it will not auto-target yourself when you cast heals (you can't click on your group members names to target them either).

I'm sure you have all read the other issues with the UI, most of them are annoyances but when it comes to combat it is gamebreaking. I would advise you not play this game at launch."

[Kurokikaze]

Well, looks like we're heading into wipe #3?

[Hyan]

Will SE get the message?

Most likely.

[Loaar]

I found this on another forum I read. Nobody has anything good to say about the UI:

"I only played FFXI once briefly in beta so I don't have much perspective on the similarities and differences. But the UI/Combat in XIV is pretty much unplayable for me, combat is slow but that's not the problem. The problem is most abilities don't go off as soon as you activate them, there's anywhere from a 2-5 second delay. So the flow of combat seems very off and doesn't make for a good group experience. The targeting is a joke, tab targeting isn't very useful since it will target yourself every other time you hit it & target mobs that are far away that you're not currently engaged with . Actually trying to click on the mob is even worse as the hitbox is extremely small and only in the middle of the mob.

My friend and I tried to duo and he had even worse problems trying to heal me. You only gain class experience by doing damage, not healing or buffs. So he would have to cast a few offensive spells just to get a fraction of what I was getting most of the time. Switching targets from the mobs to him and I for healing was a nightmare as it will not auto-target yourself when you cast heals (you can't click on your group members names to target them either).

I'm sure you have all read the other issues with the UI, most of them are annoyances but when it comes to combat it is gamebreaking. I would advise you not play this game at launch."

Dont believe everything you read.

I was duoing Fat Dodos at Cedarwood earlier, the THM was higher level, and I was trying to play catch up skill wise, so he wasn't attacking at all, just healing me.

I got 200-300 skill per fight, he got 500-800 skill per fight.

[xavia75]

removed

[Cjskater]

You only gain class experience by doing damage, not healing or buffs. So he would have to cast a few offensive spells just to get a fraction of what I was getting most of the time.

So there's no confusion:
You actually do gain experience points from healing. However you do not get them for healing yourself. The other person has to have taken damage and you have to be fighting something. It's still retarded but you do get points for it. It might work better if hate wouldn't magnet to the mages.

Edit: Beaten I guess.

[Meko]

Yea, my post was more related to the clunkyness of the UI.

[Murureru]

is trade still not working?

[Kurp]

Alright, that's 4 professional groups that have played the open beta version and wrote previews on it, and all of them have talked about the clunky UI. Will SE get the message?

It's pretty obvious that non-XI purists don't want to navigate through menus like its 1994 again, so I have no idea why SE chose to design their UI straight out of FFVI, but yeah, they're going to be hearing a lot more than simply beta testers complaining if they let this go to retail, and I don't think something like a complete UI overhaul is something that can be simply dumped into one patch.

Of course, if they catch enough heat, they may simply say that they'll implement changes during the first expansion pack, which gives them a little wiggle room, but I dunno how many strikes FFXIV will get from the general public, especially after people have already equated "Final Fantasy Online" to "that second job game where you grind and run slow all day".

Fix it, SE! Fix it before launch, for your own good.

This is really worrisome. It doesn't seem like there will be a substantial UI overhaul. At least one tester of that build complained about the terrible targeting, which makes another thing that doesn't seem like it will be remedied.

I doubt the controls in general were made any better. The mouse will probably still be awful. I guess I was one of the players hoping for a big UI/control overhaul, but I don't think we'll be seeing one.

I don't know how much 'wiggle room' they'd gain by saying wait until the next expansion. From recent history, most MMO players don't stick around long enough for that if the game doesn't launch well. Warhammer, Conan, Aion or whatever all said similar things and it didn't stop the population from hemorrhaging.