5 lessons FFXI should learn?

[jenova_9]

Anti-Aliased: Top 5 things MMOs should learn in the new year - Massively

hmmm, well I dunno, there are some things that may be arguable, but I wonder how the FFXI devs feel about this?

EDIT: TGM- Posted for those at work:

"Well Happy New Year Massively readers! Hope everything is working out for you all on this second day of the year 2009! Did you get caught up on your favorite MMO yesterday during the holiday?

With the new year finally here, we have all sorts of new games in production and slated for a 2009 release. But that doesn't mean we should entirely forget about 2008. All sorts of things have happened in 2008 that the industry and players can learn from, but what should make the classic "end of year" top 5 list?

Well, as I am absolutely no more inventive than every other blog in existence, this edition of Anti-Aliased is dedicated to the top 5 things the industry and culture should learn and take into 2009, rather than forgetting. Some of it's funny, some of it's serious, but let's be honest -- it all goes towards perfecting how to have fun in virtual worlds.

#5 -- Stop using yellow exclamation marks!

No, really, stop doing it. This sounds like a pet peeve, and I know why developers do it (instant recognition of quest locations with no prior instruction), but look at this way: it makes you look lazy. If you get your team together and make a brand new game, you can do yourself a favor and just drop the yellow exclamation marks. Find a new symbol, preferably something connected to your game and just as well recognizable, and use that instead. Oh, and don't listen to Phil from the marketing department -- using yellow exclamation marks won't bring you any luck from a certain online fantasy game.

#4 -- Grinding is not content. Content is content.

I think the big game that made this boo boo is Age of Conan. When Gaute Godager let it slip that the average Conan player will reach level 80 in 250 hours, eyebrows were raised. That would have been 3 hours per level, sans level curve distribution. So what was the player going to do in those 3+ hour sessions?

Well the answer was a big fat nothing. It seems the player was basically being asked to grind themselves silly on monsters instead of being immersed in content. This use to be an acceptable practice -- let me stress the phrase "use to be."

In a world after World of Warcraft, you can't leave these gaps in content. The player needs to feel immersed and needs to feel that each time they log in, they're going to do something different. If they start realizing that all they're doing is killing monster after monster for absolutely no reason, they're going to get bored and they're going to want to go find another game. Which leads me into my next point...


#3 -- Leveling content is more important than endgame content.

And let no one tell you otherwise. If people aren't having fun straight out of the gate, then they're not going to stay the distance and get to your endgame. MMOs are all about player retention, and the first hurdle you have with a new customer is getting them to stay longer than 10 minutes in your brand new game.

Endgame is important for keeping the veteran players in the game, but veteran players are people already pulled in and enjoying your product. New blood means more money and a better virtual world for all of your players. MMOs are about having fun with other people, you know.

As a side note to this, endgame players can learn much from this approach. When you have a player just entering the endgame in your awesome-sauce-guild, make sure they're having fun above anything else. Teach them slowly, show them the ropes, and practice both forgiveness and patience. Expecting someone who's new to the endgame to learn everything at once is a complete and utter lie.

If you need help with this, think about how the beginning of the game works. Then take that "tutorial" philosophy and apply it to your guild's newbie training. I think you'll find that new recruits will learn quicker, become more immersed in what you have to say, and enjoy the content with you that much more. Maybe this will lead to fewer strained vocal cords on Ventrilo? I like to think so."

[TheGrandMom]

Re: 5 lessons FFXI should learn?

#2 -- Balance microtransactions with game content.

Real money trade (RMT) was big news this year. The rise of the microtransaction model was on everyone's lips. I'm not calling for a death-knell of subscription fees or anything (I like the predictability of the subscription system; I know how much I'm going to pay) but I am saying that microtransactions need to be carefully monitored.

This writer's suggestion: cosmetic pieces. The item doesn't have to do something to make people love it. Take some hints from Gaia Online, Mabinogi, and City of Heroes. Their models have proven that people will pay for things -- awesome abilities or not. Just remember the first rule of actually having an avatar in an online space -- people want to look cool above everything else.

Many people may not agree with John Smedley on everything he says, but he's dead on the money with ideas like character action figures, guild calendars and pictures, and posters with your character on it and the official branding. Those items are amazing concepts, easy to produce, and a great way for an alternate revenue stream to flow into your company.

#1 -- "Kill/Quest, Level" concept is a dead horse, get on with it already!

Yes! Get on with it! This is, without a doubt, in my mind, the biggest failure of the industry today. We're following along a solved formula, and it's shooting this industry in the foot. Player needs to level, player completes quests and kills monsters, player reaches next level, player gets new abilities, player uses abilities to go complete quests and kill monsters, et cetera.

We keep asking the question, "Why don't these new games seem like they're as good?" And then we begin this in-depth analysis and begin checking every aspect of the game to find out why this feels like we've done it all before. The answer is taking a step back, looking at the model and exclaiming aloud, "Holy heck in a handwoven handkerchief, we have done this before!"

The reason we keep playing single player games is because each one has it's own twist on the core formula. Couple that with the story and personal experience, and you get a great game. Our MMO industry needs to learn this fact this year -- not next year. The quest/kill, level, quest/kill model has been done and overdone. Gameplay needs to expand past this. Even reputation grinding is nothing more than the quest/kill to level system.

One game that has been taking off faster than a warp drive engine has been EVE Online, because it has broken from this methodology. Before you begin your complaints, yes, the grinding system is there. Doing missions to get money is the quest/kill system. What makes EVE different and attractive is that this system is not the core of the gameplay -- it is a tangent of that play. The gameplay centers around the tools offered to let users shape and mold the universe according to their wishes. Money is a requirement, but it does not only come from mining and missions; it can come from basically anything you can twist to make money. If you can dream it you can probably do it in EVE -- that's the magic. This is why EVE is simply one of the best MMOs you can wrap your hands around.

[Omgwtfbbqkitten]

Re: 5 lessons FFXI should learn?

I like how this guy talks about content, but makes no effort to define what he meant by content.

He made a good case for microtransactions and not making them sound like this ugly thing where you pay your way through a game, but that's really the only point he did any good with. The merchandise SE has been cooking up of late is in that vein. Hopefully, its also just cosmetic stuff in games like Shin Megami Tensei: Imagine.

But if its stuff like elite weapons and armor, stuff like buying your EXP - microtransactions should fail, fail hard and the game doesn't deserve to live beyond its first week of life. Horse Armor can bite my ass.

[Balfree]

Re: 5 lessons FFXI should learn?

All of these 5 points are pretty much what makes a crap mmo.

FFXI kinda doesnt suffer from any of those, atleast not so much, atleast not for me:

5. No such thing in FFXI, most of the time you have no idea where to go or what to do, no one tells you, either use a guide or spend hours searching every nook and corner of the world.

4. FFXI has tons of missions and special content, no one can complain.

3. Getting to cap level in all MMOs is pretty much what you need to do anyway, thats like saying youre tired of killing people in FPS games. But anyway, aren't there tons of endgame activities in FFXI?... wtf are you talking about...

2. Microtransactions? Wut? No such thing on FFXI...

1. Play FFXI sometime please. The game does have grind and is pretty much all about killing stuff to get stronger, but it is done the right way.

The writer has probably never played a quality game, only got stuck with WoW clones (free and pseudo-free MMOs...) and those crap asian games who are all pretty much the same with different graphics.

[Omgwtfbbqkitten]

Re: 5 lessons FFXI should learn?

2. Microtransactions? Wut? No such thing on FFXI...

Tidal Tailisman and that fancy mog house harp you get for buying an OST are proof otherwise. That's in-game content you have to pay to obtain at all. What justifies it is that you're also getting a real life item.

[Mhurron]

Re: 5 lessons FFXI should learn?

Tidal Tailisman and that fancy mog house harp you get for buying an OST are proof otherwise. That's in-game content you have to pay to obtain at all. What justifies it is that you're also getting a real life item.

That's not a microtransaction.

Micropayment - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Micropayments are paying a small amount to dye your gear, or real money to improve a piece of gear.

[Wise Donkey]

Re: 5 lessons FFXI should learn?

I really don't get #1. Wtf else are you supposed to do in an RPG? Level progression is one of the key elements, how else are you supposed to do it? Sure you could replace "kill monster" with "craft item" or "talk to NPC" or "play mini-game", but it all boils down to the same thing, something that has been present in all RPGs - repeating a task to gain experience and increase your level.

[Szkol]

Re: 5 lessons FFXI should learn?

I really don't get #1. Wtf else are you supposed to do in an RPG? Level progression is one of the key elements, how else are you supposed to do it? Sure you could replace "kill monster" with "craft item" or "talk to NPC" or "play mini-game", but it all boils down to the same thing, something that has been present in all RPGs - repeating a task to gain experience and increase your level.

I built an RPG system that used a concept similar to the combat/magic skill that FFXI does- the more you use a certain skill, the more proficient you become with it- but instead of leveling up and obtaining different stats based on your job, you would gain stat points, and you could custom build your character for any job you like- meaning you could completely blow off all other stats and stick them all in STR if you wanted to. You'd have crappy HP, MP, pretty much crappy everything, but you sure could pack a punch if/when you connected with a mob.

But to that end- you could have some very cool hybrid classes- imagine a RDM wielding a Great Sword or a Ranger -type build with extra MND stat for Holy Bolt damage. People like customization, and this really opens up the floor for innovative character types. There's a lot more to it than that of course, but you get the idea.


The only one that FFXI really violates IMO is #3 - SO MUCH of the content is geared towards endgame players- and while a good amount of endgame stuff is needed to retain your vets, I'll say from having done it that there's a LOT of legwork that goes into things as simple as getting access to expansion areas - like aquiring enough tenshodo and jeuno fame JUST to get to ToAU areas. You can put in some obstacles, but for a brand-new player who doesn't have gil to throw around, you're going to need to do a TON of questing for fame or farming to abuse As Good As it Gets and the Necklace/Zinc trade quests to get enough fame, to do the quests to get to ToAU.

Stuff like CoP mission areas, I think are fine- there's a really good valid storyline reason why you don't just have access, but all you need to do to get to AU is jump on a boat.

[Ziero]

Re: 5 lessons FFXI should learn?

Wait, since when do you need fame to get to ToAU? I know people's mules who've gotten ToAU access.

And there's a very good story reason why you can't access ToAU without a quest too, it's a closed fof isolated nation that won't let anyone in without proper documentation. And you get said documentation through the guy in the Tenshodo.

And there's plenty of lowbie content in FFXI as well, it's just that no one does it because they all focus on getting to 75 first and foremost. My LS did some Qufim Garrisons the other day, a 30 cap event right outside the tower. And there were people constantly going "WTF \(O.o)/" when they passed because they've never seen one before. Both lowbie lvl 20s and capped lvl 75s. Combined with all the different BCNMs, Quests, NMs and such, there's plenty of other stuff to do before 75.

[Elwynn]

Re: 5 lessons FFXI should learn?

Wait, since when do you need fame to get to ToAU? I know people's mules who've gotten ToAU access.

And that brings up something that most people don't realize. A good MMO will have unintentional challenges that are simply a result of the whole sum total of the world. Like getting a ? mule to Jeuno. I've gotten a ? mule from Sandy to the Buburimu outpost with zero aggro, using no oils or powders (I would have gotten the Mea crystal too, except a power transformer down the street blew right after I entered Tahrongi, then I forgot), though the second time I tried it I did get aggro a couple of times along the way. Yes, I'm aware that linkshells sometimes have "level 1 to Jeuno" races, but the ? icon means that everybody can see what you just did. That second time, I saw someone from my LS soloing, and conspicously paused and rested by them, then had a laugh about it when it came up a month later.

Hmmm... I wonder how far a ? could get into WotG areas?

[Balfree]

Re: 5 lessons FFXI should learn?

Tidal Tailisman and that fancy mog house harp you get for buying an OST are proof otherwise. That's in-game content you have to pay to obtain at all. What justifies it is that you're also getting a real life item.

I wouldnt really count that to be enough to come out and say "FFXI Does microtransactions now".

[TheGrandMom]

Re: 5 lessons FFXI should learn?

Microtransactions can die a long painful motherbeepin death. It's bad enough when asshats with no skill in game get uber pieces of gear now but add those in and you can triple that! {No, thanks!} And saying "oh as long as its not for stuff like that its ok.." doesn't work either because once they get their foot in the door letting you buy trinkets, they'll eventually see where they could make even more money and offer the rest.

[Malacite]

Re: 5 lessons FFXI should learn?

#5 -- Stop using yellow exclamation marks!

Everyone knows you use red exclamation marks!

EDIT: How about Effort vs Reward? Stop making everything so damn luck based or impossibly hard only give us something shitty by comparison at the end.

[Szkol]

Re: 5 lessons FFXI should learn?

Wait, since when do you need fame to get to ToAU? I know people's mules who've gotten ToAU access.

And there's a very good story reason why you can't access ToAU without a quest too, it's a closed fof isolated nation that won't let anyone in without proper documentation. And you get said documentation through the guy in the Tenshodo.

To get on the ferry to Whitegate here's what you need to do:

The Road to Aht Urhgan - FFXIclopedia - a Wikia Gaming wiki


One quest, easy enough, right? But wait, to do that, you must complete:

Tenshodo Membership - FFXIclopedia - a Wikia Gaming wiki


Ok, two quests, no big deal, except for the pre-requisite of Jeuno fame 2- which is derived from having a certain amount of fame from the 3 home nations. That means, you have to have done enough quests for the 3 home nations to even start the Tenshodo membership quest.

And it's not difficult at all to get a mule to WG- you just use:

Only the Best - FFXIclopedia - a Wikia Gaming wiki

until you get Jeuno fame 2- and then have your LS farm up the items for WG access. That's just not an option for lowbies b/c they don't have gobs of gil to just buy their way to WG.



And, like I said, I can get on board with doing a quest or even two, for access. But when those requests require other quests simply for the sake of having quests completed, I think it's a bit redundant.


And as for stuff like Garrison that the lowbies CAN do, you mentioned yourself that everyone was like WTF b/c they had never seen one before. I've never seen on before either, because noone does them. Makes it hard for lowbies to even know about this stuff if noone ever participates.

I was super excited when I learned about Brenner- it sounds like a blast to me. I asked my LS about it, and I had more than 1 member with multiple 75s be like WTF is Brenner?


Granted, the fact that noone wants to do lowbie stuff isn't all SE's fault- but it can be more visible, and it can be scaled a little better.


But compare the amount of lowbie stuff to the amount of EG stuff, Salvage, Dynamis, Relic armor and weapon, but wait, 1 ridiculusly difficult to get weapon wasn't enough, now we ad Mythis weapons also. There's also all of the BCNMs, KSNMs, HNMs that are very popular.


FoV was a big improvement, I think everyone agrees. More stuff like that that scales well (you can FoV all the way into Xarcabard) will be fun for everyone.

[Armando]

Re: 5 lessons FFXI should learn?

Tenshodo Membership

You can buy an invite from the AH and hand it in without any fame. You need the fame to do the quest the hard way (talk to NPCs, fetch the application form, hand it in.)

That's just not an option for lowbies b/c they don't have gobs of gil to just buy their way to WG.

Even if you needed Jeuno Level 2 Fame I doubt that takes "gobs of gil" to achieve. It's freaking Level 2 fame.