[TheGrandMom]

Dengeki Alpha Report, Developer Q&A

A lot of news came out at Gamescom last week, and several Japanese media sites had everything covered. This week, magazines are playing catch up, so there is not a lot of new information to be had. However, this week's Dengeki had a couple interesting tidbits tucked inside its pages.

Final Fantasy XIV was given a single page in the back of the magazine to review some information presented at Gamescom. Also, one of the editors wrote up a full report of their hands-on experience with the demo that may reveal new clues about the game system.

First, let's read how they enjoyed the demo. Osho, from the Dengeki Travel Squad reports.



Characters began at near the Aetheryte where they could select their desired Guildleve. Once Guildleve began, HP and MP were healed to full and a timer counting down from 30 minutes was displayed. Osho decided upon the quest where the player must defeat a certain number of Dodos and Puks. This is the same quest we saw Hiromichi Tanaka demonstrate on video.

During his search, he checked out the map and found it to be much more detailed than Final Fantasy XI, allowing him to clearly see geographical features. From the map, he got the impression that field areas are also much more expansive. As we also know, during Guildleve this map will also display the locations of enemies the player must defeat. However, Tanaka has stated the alpha does not support this yet, so there is no mention in this play report.

One thing that was included in the alpha, though, was the ability to customize your user interface. This feature is a long time coming, and fans should be thrilled to see how flexible the Final Fantasy XIV UI is. Players can drag-and-drop every status bar and window. As Tanaka demostrated, the chat box is also expandable, allowing users to freely select size, shape and amount of lines.





Upon finding their desired prey, Osho was a little confused to find auto-attack was not working as normal. Instead of simply targeting and attacking, the player now has to unsheathe their weapon and chose attack and defense actions from the Action Menu along the bottom of the screen. However, Osho notes that you can also set abilities to different number keys to make the process quicker.

Certain abilities (such as Red Lotus Blade for the sword) use up stored TP, however it does not drop your TP gauge completely to 0. A full Action Gauge is required to activate some abilities, but if you keep a full Action Gauge without using it, the Power Gauage will begin to build. Patient players who store up a full Action Gauge and full Power Gauge will be able to unleash a technique at maximum power.

The new battle system really revitalizes the play-style of front line classes, requiring the player to keep active and constantly consider their options in battle.




(kaku-tou-shi) - Pugilist , (kyuu-jutsu-shi) - Archer , (sai-hou-shi) - Weaver , (ono-jutsu-shi) - Marauder


Dengeki magazine also managed to get in some of their own questions. As Tanaka has stated before, Guildleve will be central to the game play of Final Fantasy XIV. They plan to include an immense amount of variety for the quests available to players. Also, rewards will vary greatly, with quests granting the player with gil, items or even skill points.

When asked if crafting-based jobs like Weaver will have Guildleve quests designed for them, Tanaka answers that they will, and in fact, you can increase your skill without entering a single battle. Sundi reinforces this by saying players can easily choose to adventure through Eorzea as a Tailor or Blacksmith and simply focus on raising their crafting skills. One of the concepts behind Final Fantasy XIV, is that players do not have to slaughter monsters to reach a "high level," and can lead a quiet life as a crafter.

However, the developers do admit that sewing feathers into caps will not have you venturing into the deepest, darkest recesses of a dungeon. There are times when you will need strong front line classes to back you up. Still, Tanaka states there will be just as many times when those burly bruisers need to make use of your crafting skills. Final Fantasy XIV will add weapon durability to the battle system - if you use a single weapon too much, it will need to be repaired.

It seems like Final Fantasy XIV is set to make crafting classes actual jobs on par with choosing to be a Warrior or Sorcerer. Both active, battle-ready classes and skilled, crafting classes will find themselves needing each other in order to survive. An interesting concept that could alleviate some of the concerns players have with the often maligned weapon durability system.

[TheGrandMom]

YouTube - Final Fantasy XIV Tokyo Game Show 2009 Trailer English

YouTube - Final Fantasy XIV Tokyo Game Show 2009 Trailer English

[TheGrandMom]

Interview with Tanaka and Komoto from TGS 2009


The Trailer
Once again, they say that the setting is not science fiction, but high fantasy. They are making the game with fantasy in mind, but presenting it in a much prettier way than has been done before. The attention to detail is evident with the high quality images you can see in the trailer.



Near the beginning of the trailer, there is a scene with adventurers coming into port. This was done to visually show the idea behind how the game will start. Komoto says you can think of it as the prologue for Limsa Lominsa. Being a port town, new players will start their adventure coming into town by sea. Other towns will be different but further information isn’t available because they are still working on the prologue scenes for the other two starting city-states.
People on the forums have been wondering how much of the new trailer is pre-rendered and how much is done in real time. The answer Komoto gives is a little confusing. If you talk about the length, then the stuff done in real time is longer. However, if you talk more about the elements used to make up the trailer, the pre-rendered material wins out by just a smudge. There are scenes that switch between the two in the trailer and they are very proud of how it came out. It’s hard for even them to tell which is which. It’s also best not to pay too much attention to the order of the scenes. Komoto says the ones towards the end with the fight in the sky between Magitek are scenes that aren’t actually related to each other. The interviewer also asked if there would be psychic powers as a skill in the game due to the addition of Magitek. Komoto says even if there was such a skill, it would be called something else and it’s hard to make a distinction between psychic powers and magic.

The music playing in the trailer was made by Nobuo Uematsu. The scenes and the music used in the trailer have nothing to do with each other when it comes to how the tracks will be used in the actual game. The track from the first part of the trailer will be used in cutscenes while the second track is for battles.


The Game
The demo shown off at gamescom represented a game that isn’t even 50% complete yet. They worked on it to the last minute. It wasn’t so much about wanting to show off something at gamescom specifically but that the timing was right for them. As for nothing be available at TGS, the company’s decision was to focus on FFXIII. Rather than being unhappy about this, Tanaka says he was more relieved than anything. They really didn’t know how the gamescom demo would go since they didn’t have experience with showing off a game at this stage in development. They didn’t know how users in Germany would accept it. It sounds like they also had technical problems getting the demo to play on machines there.
Director Komoto says to expect changes between that demo and how things turn out in the end. Even Final Fantasy XI had changes to the final product when compared with its beta. While the user interface doesn’t look much like what people are familiar with in FFXI, it was inspired by the game. For example, the abilities that you set at the bottom were inspired by the macros you would create and set in FFXI. They haven’t decided the maximum number of abilities you can register yet. Tanaka laughs when recalling that some people think that the 200 possible slots in FFXI aren’t enough. Also not included in the demo was the ability to do skillchains, which will also be a part of FFXIV. However, due to a different battle system, the way skillchains are done is also expected to change drastically. There may be a way to do solo skillchains in the future, but for now they are focusing on chains you have to build with other people.



They then get into party dynamics and battle strategies. It will be very important to think about your position and the timing of attacks during battle. The enemies can also be in parties so you have to take that under consideration as well. This was something they wanted to show with the guildleves made available at gamescom. In FFXI, players primarily pulled back enemies one at a time and thought about how to do that without nearby enemies linking. For FFXIV, however, you have to think more about how to deal with an entire party of enemies. If you pull one, then many times the rest of them will come to fight as well. You have to learn how to deal with “many-versus-many” type fights. Sometimes you’ll find yourself in situations where you can just pull one enemy though.

There is still no official decision on the maximum number of players or enemies that can be in one party. However, they don’t want to make set patterns with the number of people in a party like with what happened in FFXI. Rather than saying that a party can have a maximum of six people, they want the system to be flexible enough that if you have two people, that’s ok, and if you have three, that’s ok too. That said, there won’t be any bonuses for having a certain number of players in your party as well. For example, sometimes you could get an exp bonus in FFXI depending on the number of people in your party and other factors. FFXIV is more about the difference in the level between you and what you are fighting rather than the difference in levels amongst players.

The interviewer also brought up the fact that you can brandish your weapon and walk into town during the middle of battle. According to Komoto, there are some people who don’t like the idea. However, there are also some who argue for it. For example, your movement speed changes when you brandish your weapon. They can also make differences in how you recover depending on whether your weapon is out or not. The combination of being able to pull out your weapon anywhere with a largely seamless world also allows them to do other things not possible in FFXI. For example, you could bring your fight into town. It may not happen frequently, but Komoto says it’s a definite possibility.


The Classes
The first thing the interviewer asks about the classes in FFXIV is how they came up with the idea. It was partially inspired by Komoto’s own experience with FFXI wishing he could be an adventurer based just on the crafting and gathering elements. Then they started to divide out the different types of classes based on what you’d want during battle, like a magic user or a swordsman. Breaking them into different groups led to the creation of the Armoury System. You’ll be able to change your class just by changing your weapon. However, if you change to a weapon you aren’t skilled with, you will become weaker than if you had changed to a weapon you are skilled with.



The number of classes we’ll see at the start of service isn’t set yet. However, they do think they will add classes with version updates rather than with major expansions like they did with FFXI.

In prior interviews, they talked about how it will be important to set and decide roles during battle. They hint on that again with more information on how classes work. Some classes will be more suited to certain roles than others. For example, some classes might be better at tanking. However, they don’t want players to pigeon hole certain jobs. The goal is to design classes that are flexible. If a player wants to be an attacker, they can set more abilities suited to that. However, if their party needs a tank, they could set abilities for tanking instead and switch roles without switching classes. Some familiar abilities will also be making a comeback in FFXIV but people will need to be open minded about them. Komoto says Flee will most likely be included but that doesn’t mean the person using it is a Thief.

When it comes to crafting, the sky is basically the limit but they do have to start somewhere. They think armor will come first but they also have to think about other elements as well. For instance, furnishings or even larger items. If they don’t plan for those, there are people who will lose interest since they can’t do what they would like to do. Komoto says they’d like to support people who still want to advance in the game but mainly be crafters. He thinks there will be people in the game who specialize like that as well. There will surely be a need for people to repair items due to FFXIV’s weapon degradation. However, it’s not just weapons. Komoto says that, in a very overarching way, anything can degrade. Weapons, armor, and tools are given as examples. Even rare weapons can degrade over time and it will take somebody with a lot of skill to repair them.


The Specs
Right now, the game is being developed with DirectX 9 in mind. They looked into DirectX 10 and the machines currently available on the market as well. In the end, they decided that DirectX 9 was the best choice. Tanaka says they will also work on how to incorporate new technology in the future. Expect that you will need a computer on the high end of the current market to play FFXIV. They were told the specs for FFXI were too high when that game was released 7 years ago but look at the situation now. They have to design a game that will age gracefully. They also have to guess at what things will be like when the game is released in 2010. People will be switching from Windows Vista to Windows 7. There are people who will go from a 32bit system to a 64bit one. Tanaka also says device drivers can lead to different problems they have to try to foresee as well. They are also planning to support a wide variety of possibilities. For example, this time expect support for 64bit and multicore systems. Information on what that means exactly, for example, how much FFXIV will take advantage of such systems, is not available at this time. However, things will be different from FFXI. FFXI was made for consoles and ported to Windows. For FFXIV, it’s made with Windows in mind and then they’ll make adjustments as needed for any console systems.

Graphics will also be different. They are preparing separate graphics for the PS3 and Windows versions. For example, textures will be different. When the interviewer asked about HDTV video modes, Tanaka says the PS3 version will probably be 720p instead of 1080p. It will vary for Windows users depending on their system.

There is no deep reasoning for Art Director Akihiko Yoshida being on the team. At the time they were putting together the team for FFXIV, Yoshida had just finished working on FFXII so the timing worked out well that way. Tanaka mentions that Yoshida checks all of the PR material they send out for the game as well.


The Beta
Can you believe it? GAME Watch got actual information about beta testing! The first round of beta testing will be done with a relatively small group and be conducted worldwide. It won’t be a continuously running beta test but broken down into small 3 or 4 hour tests held at different times. They plan on doing very detailed testing on FFXIV so users will see how the game develops over time. At the beginning, tests will only be conducted with the Windows version. From the initial 3 or 4 hour tests they will expand to daily or weekly beta tests that run for 24 hours a day. After that comes stress tests which will require a lot of people. Tanaka says it could start with 10 thousand people and go up from there to 20, 40, and 80 thousand people. Finally, there will be a free open beta. Originally he thought it would take half a year to go from a development build to the open beta, but he now thinks it will be shorter than that. The interviewer guesses at a summer release based on that and Tanaka says it all depends on the feedback they get from players during the beta testing. It doesn’t sound like the development build he is referring to is the same demo shown at gamescom. He says whether or not a development build is made by year’s end will depend on the developers.

The interview ends with Tanaka saying things will be different from how FFXI started because they will take action against RMT from the very beginning this time around. People will also be able to use the security tokens and one time passwords. Komoto says visitors to gamescom were able to try out the game first but for people in Japan to please be patient because it will be awhile longer before they will have a chance to play it. Tanaka laughs and says he’ll be lighting a fire under the bums of all the developers.

[TheGrandMom]

[TheGrandMom]

[TheGrandMom]

[TheGrandMom]

Lancer and Archer


click thumbnails below if picture doesn't pop in



More Mobs!


click thumbnails below if picture doesn't pop in

[TheGrandMom]

Taken from Eorezapedia:

WEEKLY FAMITSU



FFXIV is down in the Weekly Famitsu ratings, from 12 to 21. It seems to follow a pattern though. The week or two after new info it rises, but after a lull it falls back down. That’s to be expected at this stage in the game.

In this issue, there are seven pages dedicated to the new information released by SE as well as some short Q&As as well. Let’s start with the Q&As first. For the most part, I will only cover things that haven’t already been discussed in other articles.


World Overview
There will be a tavern-like places in the game similar to what we saw in the Tokyo Game Show trailer. These places will be an important part of the game. Also in previous trailers as well as the TGS trailer, there have been scenes of a group of adventurers taking on a large number of enemies. SE says that this kind of giant battle will not be the norm but this will happen on occasion and is one of the new game play features for FFXIV. The GAME Watch interview also confirmed this but the music in the second half of the trailer is one of the many battle themes as well.


Weapons and Tools
Each weapon will vary in what the best attacking range for it will be. Some may be closer than others, or farther than others. One example is the polearm mentioned in the official text for Lancer. Confirmed in the Q&A as well, polearms allow you to attack outside of the melee attacking range of your opponent. They also confirm that Lancers will be able to use both the two-handed polearms and the throwing javelins. The javelins will be treated as throwing weapons rather than as the main weapon you walk around with. This was how throwing weapons worked in FFXI as well. They would like to add other throwing weapons to other classes as well.

The Q&A talks about the weapon degradation as well. As your weapon wears down, its functional ability will decrease, requiring you to get it repaired. Tools will also need to be repaired from time to time too.

There are some interesting responses to the Q&A about crafting. The interviewer asks if the ability to use a particular tool or use particular materials could be limited to a set race. The nameless respondent from SE replies this could happen. However, they will strive for balance so that no race is dominant over the others. They also ask what will be needed to craft things. You will need the proper tool or tools. Preparing good tools and proper armor will be key. You will also need the proper materials and a crystal. Many times you will need to choose the right equipment as well. We can see one example of that in the Lifestyle report on the Culinarian talking about how she could use the equipment at the Culinarian’s Guild. To craft some things, you might also need to meet certain additional requirements as well. They mention the possibility of needing assistance or having to wait for a particular type of weather or other natural phenomena.

Finally, eating food will have an effect on player’s stats. They don’t want your party to be affected too much by what you eat. Instead, they want to make it so that people are free to eat what they want and have the ability to eat lots of different things. It sounds like they are still in the planning stages for how food will work in game.

After you have crafted a lot of things, it’s only natural to sell them. In previous interviews, they said they were working on a new system different from the Auction House used in FFXI. SE has now given us a name for this new system, the Market. However, I’ll talk more about what we know about the Market later.


Famitsu Ideas
As part of the Japanese media kit, sites were given a story to go with the pictures that describe the crafting process from the point of view of a Culinarian. You can see examples on GAME Watch or Gpara. Weekly Famitsu decided to write their own speculation based on the story instead of running the original text. Here’s what they came away with:

* The tool you use will have a large effect on your results. For example, the same ingredients prepared with the skillet or with the kitchen knife could result in different dishes. The amount could change as well.
* Guilds will have equipment available to assist your crafting efforts. Sometimes it will be necessary to use them.
* You need a crystal to craft.
* After making a recipe once, it will appear in a personal recipe book.
* There is a chance that the amount will increase. (This is similar to HQ’ing in FFXI for some recipes.)
* There will be a way for crafters to set prices for something they want to sell.




DENGEKI PLAYSTATION



This week FFXIV comes in at 5th in Dengeki PlayStation’s Anticipated Titles poll. Last issue it made it all the way up to 3rd.

Dengeki PlayStation also ran the newly released information and pictures, however, they kept it to a short 4 pages. 1/3 of one of those pages was dedicated to their own speculations:

* There will be multiple markets. Each market will have a different name.
* They feel the stands will be player-run as well as named by players.
* Food will spoil over time. Because of this, you will be able to check on the status of an item when you look at it. Another option would be to have a skill or ability that lets you check the status of items/armor/food/etc.
* It will be fairly costly to use equipment at the various guilds.
* The various aetheryte points will be named Camp ________. This is actually the second time we’ve seen “Camp _______” used at the aetheryte points.
* The Miqo’te Kabobs will increase attack power.
* Gil is the currency of Eorzea.


DIFFERENCES
The speculations we make are completely based on what we can read. In general, the Japanese versions are very straight-forward. The English versions are much more colorful. It makes for great reading in English but harder to tell what is important.

For starters, the picture of the kabobs. In the English version of the site, they are only referred to as “crispy kabobs”. However, they have an actual name in the Japanese version. Literally translates as “Miqo’te style Mountain Foods Grilled on Sticks”. This is nearly identical to what is used in FFXI for Meat Mithkabobs, swapping Mithra for Miqo’te.



How about the names of places? In the English version, the market is named Glutton’s Alley and the stand is called The Scratching Post. In Japanese, they have <Japanese Text> which can easily turn into Glutton’s Alley. However, the name of the stand is completely different. The Japanese “Totoya” doesn’t turn into anything specifically outside of “Fish Store”. In fact, there are some seafood restaurants named Totoya. However, the people at Dengeki PlayStation took it to mean that maybe the stand was run by a person named Toto (with the ya part meaning store). Thus, from their point of view, the stands could be named after the player or perhaps even freely named. In the English version, with “The Scratching Post”, it is clearly not a player’s name. However, it fits the player, a Miqo’te, that was selling their goods. The speculations we can make are very dependent on the version we are reading. The words “Market” and “Stand” are also highlighted in the Japanese version to make it clear these are important keywords to be remembered. The English version is much more casual about how they are used and requires people to read into things a bit more.

Finally, there are a few pictures not used on the NA site. These food items don’t have names yet but their shapes are very familiar to foods used in FFXI. Perhaps we will be seeing a lot of old favorites? Only time will tell.

[TheGrandMom]

Came across some screens that I haven't seen before or haven't seen at this resolution, so I thought I'd share. They are large files so thats why they are in spoiler code.

Hyuran

Miqo'te

Miqo'te 2

Roegadyn

Elezen

[TheGrandMom]

Guildleve?

Guildleve!

Smithing In Game Screenshot

In Game Scenery

Marlboro