[Kailea]

I know this is not an interview with a dev, but its an interview nonetheless

Opone Kikuchi, our reporter at August's Gamescom, answered a lot of questions from our readers.

Interview with Opone

Q: How did you feel about seeing FFXIV in motion for the first time? -Kaeru
A: Even before I touched the keyboard, my entire body was shaking with excitement!
Q: What did you feel was really impressive when you got to play? –Okka
A: Definitely the battle. There are a lot of aspects that can go into a player's battle strategy, like how to handle an enemy that tries to get a positional advantage during battle.
Q: What did you think about the scenery? –hocuto
A: It was incredibly detailed. Even so, the staff present at the time told me this wasn't even close to what the finished product will be!
Q: How was my beloved Miqo'te?! –Rhye
A: Their expressions were dangerously cute. I think the Lalafell and Miqo'te expressions were exaggerated a bit more than those of the Hyurans.
Q: Does the FFXIV layout seem easy to get used to? –suim
A: I think it will be really easy to get used to. Like other next-generation games, the screen is quite wide and there is plenty of room for everything.
Q: The action aspect of the game seems stronger than that of FFXI. What do you think about that? –Anonymous
A: The game doesn't have an attack or evade button like most action games, so it doesn't have the same feeling. Since the battle is done by selecting icons, so it's like a command battle format.
Q: Describe the FFXIV world poetically! –inoki
A: It's like a touching a chick that's just hatched. It feels so light and fluffy.
Q: What do you think the recommended specs for the PC version will be? –Talu
A: This is just my personal hypothesis, but I think to play it without needed to lower the details, you might need a quadcore or better multicore CPU. Recent PC progress is way too fast from year to year…
Q: How is FFXIV different from FFXI? –Rin
A: There are a lot of things that seem borrowed from FFXI, but I think it's still pretty different.
Q: Is it difficult to control the characters using macros? –Dotter
A: Battle commands have been simplified to just a few commands, so the battles are much simpler to control.
Q: Was there anything about the play screen that caught your eye? –Anonymous
A: The version that I played was similar to FFXI in that the chat and battle logs were in the same window. I wondered if these will be able to be separated at a later date.
Q: Was there a monster that really impressed you? –Hage
A: From the puk and its detailed wings to the nuteaters that ran in the middle of battle, I noticed that FFXIV's monsters really know how to move.
Q: How were the authentic German sausages? –Supposed to be a genius
A: Amazing, and so big! I ate them every day.
Q: Was the beer good? –Ranma
A: There is a famous local beer called Kölsch. It's a bit fruity and easy to drink, so I drank it every day!

Q: Please detail into the following to classes (Lancer, Bower)
A: It is important to note the distance between the Lancer and the enemy. How would you put it, it is pretty stood out.
- Lancer is fit for mid-long range battles. They are the master for hit and out lol.
- Lancer's ability isn't limited to simply poking with lance, they can use the whole body of the lance to sweep multiple enemies also.
- Bower will attack from the shadow in stealth. With out exposing his/her position and hit the enemy before they even realize it!
- You can also you use lance as throwing weapon to hit bird type monsters
- It must feel good to be able to hit flying type monster with bow and arrow.
- Use the lance to clear out multiple monsters fast by sweeping!

Q: What kind of items can be made from the above materials? (picture)
A: Velociraptor's Claw, most likely people will think it's something used to make weapons or armors. Some even said "it looks like it can be made into a cooking knife".
- Steak from Aldgoat's Shoulder Meat, just thinking about it is already tasty. Add in some Eorzea style's special sauce, don't you want to eat that also?
- The sharp knuckle of Velociraptor's Claw will be used to make a good hand to hand fighting weapon!
- Some instrument such as the horn will most likely require material such as Aldgoat's Horn.
- Velociraptor's Claw looks like it can be made into the arrowhead used on poison arrows.
- Stag's Horn -> Tableware accessory lol

[Takelli]

Originally Posted by Kailea

Q: Please detail into the following to classes (Lancer, Bower)
A: It is important to note the distance between the Lancer and the enemy. How would you put it, it is pretty stood out.
- Lancer is fit for mid-long range battles. They are the master for hit and out lol.
- Lancer's ability isn't limited to simply poking with lance, they can use the whole body of the lance to sweep multiple enemies also.
- Bower will attack from the shadow in stealth. With out exposing his/her position and hit the enemy before they even realize it!

I actually found this quite a bit helpful. So, this is some one that actually played the game right, and actually did this is the classes? If so... I wonder how the battle will actually be, and if you can actually hit more than one guy with a normal attack unlike FFXI where a normal attack from a two handed weapon would actually hit 2-3 monsters, but still some how always manages to hit just that one even if there are others right next to it.

[jenova_9]

ah ha, so I guess even normal attacks might be almost AOE based.

[Malacite]

Okay if any of this is reliable... that bit about swiping multiple mobs is bad ass. At least they are giving us a point in using reach weapons finally.

[jenova_9]

ya! Now there will be new mmorpg lingo.

Brooming and Sweeping! xD

[Grizzlebeard]

Originally Posted by Kailea

A: The version that I played was similar to FFXI in that the chat and battle logs were in the same window. I wondered if these will be able to be separated at a later date.

Let's hope they learned something from FFXI's awful chat window.

[jenova_9]

huh? FFXI's chat window was perfect. plenty of options to filter what you dont wanna read too.

And good readable font as well. Most people are used to chat and battle logs in the same window,

the screen is less hectic with information kept it in one box. Want to avoid the HUD looking like an airplane simulator.

[Takelli]

Originally Posted by jenova_9

huh? FFXI's chat window was perfect. plenty of options to filter what you dont wanna read too.

And good readable font as well. Most people are used to chat and battle logs in the same window,

the screen is less hectic with information kept it in one box. Want to avoid the HUD looking like an airplane simulator.

Welll... The issue was that the chat was in the same box as damage.

I would LOVE to have two seperate chat boxes to see who is hitting with that damage, and still beable to talk to my linkshell during a party.

If I see some one take a monster from 50% Hp to 0% with a weapon skill, I want to see the damage they did. But, if I don't have the filters on, I cant talk to my ls as the chat box moves too fast.

The damage box should be on the left of the screen, and the chat box should be on the right of the screen.

[jenova_9]

aaaah then our eyes would be like this <.>

we wouldn't even have time to enjoy the animations. :p I think if people want to see other people's damage out of the chat box, then they should just have it like FFXI where that filter option that lets the damage appear on the enemy (but I think that only shows the damage you inflict, not other party members. I always have it off because numbers appearing just doesn't look natural. I'm okay with the damage stuff appearing on the chat log. But I had it filtered so it only shows the damage I do, I really don't care how much damage the others are doing, if I wanted to know, I would ask and they would tell me the rate of damage they are doing so far. )

[Armando]

FFXI's chat window was perfect

So perfect that damage only shows up on the chat log when the attack's animation completes, not when it was actually dealt. And it omits some things completely when you skip the animation. E.g. Skillchains, Magic Bursts, Enspells, Spikes.

And honestly I don't see why you would bother or try to read two chat windows at the same time. It's not any worse than having it all in one window because you can't focus on the damage numbers that are popping up while you read a /tell from a friend. Having two windows reduces clutter and keeps you from having to constantly scroll back up to see the conversation sequentially.

[Takelli]

Originally Posted by jenova_9

then they should just have it like FFXI where that filter option that lets the damage appear on the enemy

The issue with that is that it doesn't say who did the damage, and it doesn't show all the damage that you delt either.

Originally Posted by Armando

And honestly I don't see why you would bother or try to read two chat windows at the same time. It's not any worse than having it all in one window because you can't focus on the damage numbers that are popping up while you read a /tell from a friend. Having two windows reduces clutter and keeps you from having to constantly scroll back up to see the conversation sequentially.

I completly agree, mainly because I already said it once lol. I played a game that used mutliple chat windows. One for damage, one for system messages, and one for chat. It made it a lot easier than having to try and scroll back up in the chat window to see a /tell, or a shout as it wasn't moving as fast as the damage window. ((The game had A LOT of Gm announcments, and they used the system chat for the announcments mainly events and such.))

[hexx]

Two words: Chat filters

That said, I've never really missed anything that goes on in my LS while I'm off meriting or exping, and having the proper chat filters makes it easy to track shadows when blink tanking.

[Armando]

Two words: Chat filters

If that's your solution then it's obvious 1 window isn't enough.

While you probably won't have to mess with autoattack spam in XIV, they've finally implemented a battle system that doesn't suck ass for fighting multiple targets, so if you're fighting 3 mobs at a time, that's 3 times the messages.

[Omgwtfbbqkitten]

I like how you guys take one small thing you don't like about something and blow it completely out of proportion and write a laundry list of its supposed flaws.

Reminds me of a guy I once knew who wrote a dissertation on why he thought FFVIII was the worst game ever. In writing, not on the internet.

[jenova_9]

oh ya definitely, the chat window thing is blown way out of proportion. Filter solves the clutter, and you really don't need to read other people's damage numbers to be effective.

People don't even need the damage logs to know when to skillchain/magicburst. Just the action notification, that's all.

". Having two windows reduces clutter." LOL! And it also means more room on your screen take up by windows like
you're riding some Gundam. It would look like a Spreadsheet Fantasy XIV. :p

considering the amount of HP, MP, Compass, Left hand gauge, right hang gauge, TP gauge, Chat window, status icons,
and other things going onscreen...I guess some don't mind taking things further with more HUD space.

but ya it's still a good thing for those that like it that way.