E3 2009: FINAL FANTASY XIV Online Coming in 2010

[Kurb]

re: E3 2009: FINAL FANTASY XIV Online Coming in 2010

i like the way it's going to be suited slightly to people who don't have alot of time to play.The only thing i hated about ffxi other than the ppl on my bl is the party system.Pop in lfp then try to make a party.No luck so you solo. 1 hour later invite BANG party disbands.
I wish i could try this new lvl sync/ solo system /cry

[Omgwtfbbqkitten]

re: E3 2009: FINAL FANTASY XIV Online Coming in 2010

A lot of FFXI's tone was initially determined by the Japanese and people actually treated FFXI like it was Japanese home turf, conforming to their norms, their overconservative style of play and lack of willingness to roleplay.

This time, they don't get the advantage of setting the tone or the trends.

But we're still going to have the morons that thing simply being born asian gives you innately awesome gamers skills. And kids will be inevitable, though I don't personally see how a MMO themed after a popular movie trilogy would get out of it.

I totally love that there's no experience points. This means also no "levels" to grind through. Just raw character growth. That's going to disarm a lot of the so-called hardcore players who need something like levels to symbolize their success with the game.

It would be amusing if the ditched gil along the way, too. Make it about resources. The Star Trek MMO is going to do this because, well, there is no money in the Star Trek universe and they have to adhere to that. You're going to negotiate with alien races or battle Klingons for resouces. I wonder what will happen to RMT in that game when they try to horde a planet and they're surrounded by angry Klingon and Federation ships. I imagine temporary alliances would be forged and they'd be photon torpedoed to hell.

[Yellow Mage]

re: E3 2009: FINAL FANTASY XIV Online Coming in 2010

I don't want to be just one 'adventurer' out of 23904823423 they send out on reconnaissance and battle. Not a merc. Not a hired hand. I want to be able/want to incorporate it into my story, not avoid it because it seems too wide-hitting to really fit on a personal level. Develop a friendship and rapport with some of the characters without every other mission or two slinging that 'adventurer' word in there to shut down every emotional connection I'm trying to tether in. I try real damn hard to connect, but I kept feeling like XI was shutting me down.

TM. Aldo sig. STAT.

Or it could be that you learn spells and such from the weapons, as in Final Fantasy Tactics: A2 and/or FF9.

Heh. I can already hear Armando's cry:





Side note, and I really can't freaking believe I didn't think of this sooner, but for anybody really interested in FFXI in-character roleplay stuff, check out He Says, She Says - a Final Fantasy XI podcast

It is basically an e-mail show, wherein almost everything is done in-character (only notable exceptions being the two ".5" episodes, covering post-2008 FanFest in Episode 5.5 and the S-E Podcast Tour Episode in 11.5). If you're looking for a new avenue for role-playing your character, it is as simple as writing an e-mail to the show. Episode 12 should be coming up any day now, and it may feature an e-mail from <me>, but until then try listening to some of the earlier episodes to get a feel for the show. The level of interaction that is possible with the show is quite great. The hosts are admittedly loose with what they will or won't allow to be accepted in to the show's own set of lore (the only thing is that it obviously can not directly or indirectly contradict well-established canon of FFXI, so basically no "manthras" aside from that Lehko guy), however, I am certain that you will not be disappointed.

[WishMaster3K]

re: E3 2009: FINAL FANTASY XIV Online Coming in 2010

Or it could be that you learn spells and such from the weapons, as in Final Fantasy Tactics: A2 and/or FF9.

[jenova_9]

re: E3 2009: FINAL FANTASY XIV Online Coming in 2010

actually I like it when my "character" is silent in the cutscenes, it really makes it feel like I'm the one they are talking to, not some scripted doll that just so happens to say something I didn't choose to say. Also roleplaying can be done, but it's best with a reliable LS that are interested in that style. but in an mmorpg, one must tolerate the whole spectrum of players and the fact that even if the story missions treated the player as that "one and only one." there is still the fact that
other people have or will defeat that Shadowlord at some point, and they helped saved the world, even if you weren't there. It's a quasi-dimensional perspective that players just have to accept in mmorpgs. we are not the only hero,
and it's better that way. It's better than the game choosing some fool that might not even be worthy of being the hero of that server/world.
So allowing anyone to be the hero, and everyone fitting in as an adventurer at least, is a humble treaty between the players and the system that connects everything, even the 'story'.


and I still think the weapons themselves may be the jobs. like a black mage can't equip daggers supposedly. for example, if someone equips a rod, then they are a black mage. if they equip something else, then they are no longer a black mage.
Jobs and their roles sound very closely connected to weapons this time, or rather, the weapons represent the jobs, not the other way around. And skills from that "job" are learned (or usable) the more you use that type of weapon.

Like if you skill up staff to lv.5, you may be able to use more advanced White Mage spells, and equip more advanced White Mage gear.

[Telera]

re: E3 2009: FINAL FANTASY XIV Online Coming in 2010

No, I never did. Which is why I stuck my disclaimer in there twice. I had the feeling that CoP was getting that way, even as early as the Promies, but I just couldn't be assed with something that required a group every five feet.

In fact, I can't even be assed with it on LotRO. My boyfriend basically cajoled/dragged me kicking and screaming through it, and in the end I was glad I did it. But it was still a fucking pain in my ass to do, especially that dumb ass Ifrit/Odin Bastard Child in Book 6. In fact there were 3 or 4 fights in that game that I will never do again unless my life is threatened, and even then I may opt for the bullet to the brainpan. Course, you can skip things in LotRO and finish, in theory. Can't do that in XI. While it's a bit nonsensical on some levels to be able to skip, it does help for when you get stuck, and in a way I hope it gets put into XIV.

Though you feel involved without having to get past some half-way mark in LotRO. Intro mission 1: you're already feel it. Not 5 books later down the road. This is -granted- because LotRO's game story focuses more on the war to the north (Angmar) than the Fellowship, so it can do that without fucking with canon. And as it shifts more southward and now toward Dol Guldur, it's felt like a slow, natural shift.

Well except Book 15. That was just a fucking timesink.

[Grizzlebeard]

re: E3 2009: FINAL FANTASY XIV Online Coming in 2010

What server where you guys on?

Which server?
Where server?
Who server?
When server?

Heh. That was just a taste of what you ended up typing whenever you received quest text from an npc in Everquest.

I never played EQOA, I played the original EQ on the Drinal server. I still kind of miss not having a surname for characters in subsequent games. My dwarf paladin was called Grizzlebeard Thunderhand and I still remember when I hit level 20 and was able to give him that surname, I still remember how I earned that surname.

That said, FFXI was a culture shock for me coming from EQ but I don't regret it in the slightest. I love S-E's take on a fantasy universe but with their own refinements. There are so many classical fantasy MMOs out there currently that are so stale for me personally that I'm really pleased to be able to look forward once again to a new MMO release. I'd all but given up hope of anything decent releasing that would be fresh and not saturated with PvP.

[Malacite]

re: E3 2009: FINAL FANTASY XIV Online Coming in 2010

For me roleplay is a bit of doing your homework, and taking in the lore of the game as you go. Maybe it's because I only got so far as Rank 5. In fact, I'm positive what I'm about to say is wrong because that's as far as I got, but I'm going to say it anyway: I didn't feel as personally involved/connected with the 'lore' or main story of this game. It's epic, alright, and moving, but as far as Telera's personal involvement and appreciation, I wasn't feeling it as much. Maybe it had to do with people constantly just saying 'that adventurer' as if I was one out of many. One out of many seems to be the thing XI pushed for, but for me and my taste in roleplay, I like the story to be a bit more single character focused.

Definitely rank 5 syndrome...

somebody never beat CoP or ToAU it seems. Both of those got mighty personal (especially ToAU)

[Telera]

re: E3 2009: FINAL FANTASY XIV Online Coming in 2010

Wall of fucking text alert.

For me roleplay is a bit of doing your homework, and taking in the lore of the game as you go. Maybe it's because I only got so far as Rank 5. In fact, I'm positive what I'm about to say is wrong because that's as far as I got, but I'm going to say it anyway: I didn't feel as personally involved/connected with the 'lore' or main story of this game. It's epic, alright, and moving, but as far as Telera's personal involvement and appreciation, I wasn't feeling it as much. Maybe it had to do with people constantly just saying 'that adventurer' as if I was one out of many. One out of many seems to be the thing XI pushed for, but for me and my taste in roleplay, I like the story to be a bit more single character focused.

LotRO does it on a much more personal level. You actually get to speak with and interact with members of the Fellowship at points, and in Lothlorien, I was actually moved that Frodo's first line of dialogue to me was "I never expected to see you here, Leiane!" or something very close to that. Samwise also seemed rather happy to see my character, as if I was as welcome a source of comfort and advice to them as Strider or something, and that made me feel like I really was making a mark on Middle-Earth. In fact, all nine of them seem to have an affinity for my character. Even brooding ass Boromir tries to be polite.

I don't want to be just one 'adventurer' out of 23904823423 they send out on reconnaissance and battle. Not a merc. Not a hired hand. I want to be able/want to incorporate it into my story, not avoid it because it seems too wide-hitting to really fit on a personal level. Develop a friendship and rapport with some of the characters without every other mission or two slinging that 'adventurer' word in there to shut down every emotional connection I'm trying to tether in. I try real damn hard to connect, but I kept feeling like XI was shutting me down.

Again, remember, I only got to 5, so take all of the above with that in mind. The backstory of other NPCs drew me in, but so far as feeling Telera herself was pertinent to it, no, I didn't feel it. I think the only times I felt truly invested and 'part' of the story of anything was Dragoon's unlocking quest, and perhaps Summoner in some slighter way. Dragoon was by far better, though. Poor baby wyvern.

There's also the fact that I approach rp in a different manner than some do. Playing on a rp server, I've noticed this more and more. You've got people who are in a state of fluid rp, in character most of the time they are in, and just rolling with things as they come. Others only rp with friends, but are still a fluid rp. My approach is somewhere between fluid and static. Generally speaking I have a very loose idea of the story I'm trying to portray, and a rough 'goal' I'm working toward. Not an ending, since expansions change things, but a current 'goal'. I also only rp with friends, people I can trust not to massively derail or attempt to ruin what I'm currently doing, as nothing annoys me more than some idiot coming in and meta-gaming/godmodding and ruining my fucking session.

I'm not too sure any FF MMO is ever going to be set up for this sort of thing though. It isn't that the setting isn't there, but rather that it's so mainstream that you just don't get the people who enjoy it. RP types hate names like 'Legolas, Yuna, Darth Vader' running around where they don't fit (or where they do), and so avoid games where it happens. In fact, most of my Kinship on LotRO has cited that as one of the main reasons they've avoided XI. Too mainstream, a 'younger' crowd for the most part, no RP server. A RP server tends to attract mostly the more serious/older crowd and by extension makes it less noisy. At least my experience with Laurelin would lead me to believe, at least. It has a deep sense of community. Idiots and griefers quickly become server-wide black sheep. And there's just a lot less bullshit going in the chat channels than there is on the non-rp servers. And yes, I know from playing them. Not to mention less retarded names. Some slip through, but they end up reported eventually. The XI community on the whole seems to have little interest in RP, and heaven forbid you actually tried to RP in say. We had a RP LS going back when my gang actually played the game, and I miss it dearly since we left things hanging in the middle of a rather emotionally high-strung moment (story-wise), and to this day the unresolved thread leaves a bad taste in my mouth.

So far as research: I spent a good while before I started reading guides on any job I had a remote interest in, and other technical aspects. But I do that with any MMO I'm about to join, with the exception of LotRO, because I joined that at launch and that wasn't really an option. And I think if there's info available, it's always best to make use of it before you go in.

[Malacite]

re: E3 2009: FINAL FANTASY XIV Online Coming in 2010

I'm betting weapons will affect stat growth and things like casting speed.

I mean think about it; generally speaking 2 handed weapons are bulky and heavier than one handers so logically that should lead to higher STR scores while a dagger or other faster weapon will lead to DEX (I imagine a 1 Handed sword would be balanced between STR and DEX as both are required)

maybe carrying shields (or great axes etc) will raise AGI/VIT?

I'm curious mostly as to how this will affect mage classes. If I use daggers as a BLM (light and fast) will that lead to faster spell casting, or just more dexterity? I can't wait to get into the thick of it and discover how it all works. BG is going to have a field day with the new system lol.

[jenova_9]

re: E3 2009: FINAL FANTASY XIV Online Coming in 2010

I haven't played either EQ or WoW, but from what I read it seems like it falls somewhere in between the two with lore and player roleplay. I know I personally researched Tarutaru-speak and naming conventions before I even started, and thus, I wound up with a name that people actually accuse me of randomly generating from the start. =/ Then when I tell them that I did my homework, they're all like ". . . you sure this isn't a second character for you?"

Of course, for someone who has never even heard of a Vana'diel before and decides to start playing headfirst (generally bad idea nowadays, but earlier on it was basically the only option), it could end up being something that catches a prospective player unawares, mostly because they weren't exactly given a debriefing of Vana'diel Culture 101 upon first booting the game. Honestly, FFXI tries, and it has many rich stories for sure, but as for roleplay or any player involvement in the lore, it's like a class that most everybody sleeps through/goofs off in: you can throw all the lore you would like at them, but ultimately they are not going to care enough to change the way they that they are already acting/playing.

What about this is going to change for the lore of FFXIV, I honestly couldn't say. If they expect me to transfer my name or something like that over, they had better at least debrief me first on Eorzea's Tarutaru equivalent, and what they do and what they don't. And heck, the lore/culture of the world as a whole, too.

Well it took a long time to learn the lore and culture of the world and the races, because that information is learned through
the story missions, and other things. all the manual and previews can do is just present the surface of such things.
The rest if for people to figure out on their own through the text and npcs. But at least the beta might leak some signs
of what the new races are like name-wise and culture-wise, speech-wise, and everything else.

[Yellow Mage]

re: E3 2009: FINAL FANTASY XIV Online Coming in 2010

It feels to me like FFXI spent a lot of time trying to find it's identity.

I haven't played either EQ or WoW, but from what I read it seems like it falls somewhere in between the two with lore and player roleplay. I know I personally researched Tarutaru-speak and naming conventions before I even started, and thus, I wound up with a name that people actually accuse me of randomly generating from the start. =/ Then when I tell them that I did my homework, they're all like ". . . you sure this isn't a second character for you?"

Of course, for someone who has never even heard of a Vana'diel before and decides to start playing headfirst (generally bad idea nowadays, but earlier on it was basically the only option), it could end up being something that catches a prospective player unawares, mostly because they weren't exactly given a debriefing of Vana'diel Culture 101 upon first booting the game. Honestly, FFXI tries, and it has many rich stories for sure, but as for roleplay or any player involvement in the lore, it's like a class that most everybody sleeps through/goofs off in: you can throw all the lore you would like at them, but ultimately they are not going to care enough to change the way they that they are already acting/playing.

What about this is going to change for the lore of FFXIV, I honestly couldn't say. If they expect me to transfer my name or something like that over, they had better at least debrief me first on Eorzea's Tarutaru equivalent, and what they do and what they don't. And heck, the lore/culture of the world as a whole, too.

[WishMaster3K]

re: E3 2009: FINAL FANTASY XIV Online Coming in 2010

There where plenty of Legolasssss and Yunaaaa in EQOA. Or do you mean the PC EQ?

What server where you guys on? I hated my experience in EQOA, probably one of the worst games I've ever played with a terrible community barely capable of more dialogue than NPC's. For those of you not familiar with EQOA, in each town every NPC had the exact same one sentence of dialogue.

Of course I was jaded because I believed, or still believe, that SOE/SCEA intentionally delayed the release of the HDD so EQOA wouldn't have to compete with FFXI.

This got way off topic.

Maybe every MMO is subject to the idiots. I played EQOA for a limited time during the beta, and when I can back from Vacation, the damn thing was over.

But maybe my interpretation is based merely on a beta of a game that didn't have the "normal cast" of idiots, noobs spamming for help and abusive end-game players.

So maybe FFXIV will have a "golden age".

Did they let everyone from the PS2 beta keep their characters? Imagine that. Get to a certain point in beta, and be at a moderately high level with fellow beta players you built relationships with while the rest of the game suffers behind you.

I'm trying to, essentially, be "in before douchebags".

Also, it's hard to be at the mercy of HL crafters, and end-game LSs when, in essence, you're part of it :-D

[jenova_9]

re: E3 2009: FINAL FANTASY XIV Online Coming in 2010

They said weapons are important in XIV, but what does this mean for Armor/job-specific gear?

I guess if there is still a Job system of some kind, not everyone can equip any armor/gear, huh?

[Murasame]

re: E3 2009: FINAL FANTASY XIV Online Coming in 2010

It's all a "sense of perspective".

In a world like EQ, you have the generic archetypes of people who are used to AND EXPECT the lore. People who understand the need for factions, religions, races, etc.

It's even to the point in EQ that people have NAMES indicative of the lore/world/time their in, and they fully immerse themselves in the game. When I first joined (Keep in mind, this is when the PS2 JUST came out with the Network Adapter, and they gave everyone with them beta invites for EQOA, so I was still in HS), my name was Renmanx, and I felt SOOO out of place.

For all it's fantastic story-telling and character integration and cutscenes, the fact that FFXI is "mainstream" kind of bugs me. I doubt I'd see a "Legolassss" or "Yunaaaa" in EQ.

I get the feeling (hell, even reading some posts on this forum) that a lot of people who play aren't really "suited for online play", I should say.

The mentality of the people who play "nerd" games like EQ is so ingrained, that its a tough nut to crack if you're trying to play and sell people some bullshit, whereas in FFXI, we're more willing to accept it because we lowered our standards.

Of course, the flip side of this is WoW, which had a "Come one, come all" attitude catered to casual and hardcore gamers from the start.

It feels to me like FFXI spent a lot of time trying to find it's identity.

I blame subjobs. I wouldn't mind switching roles (Not so obscure, even 16Bit FF's had you doing that), but subjobs really pidgeon-hole a lot of positions to be one or the other.

Someone mentioned that Melee either sub /SAM or /NIN based on the situation.

PLD/NIN is really the only acceptable tank nowadays.

Everyone says "get moar haste".

There where plenty of Legolasssss and Yunaaaa in EQOA. Or do you mean the PC EQ?

What server where you guys on? I hated my experience in EQOA, probably one of the worst games I've ever played with a terrible community barely capable of more dialogue than NPC's. For those of you not familiar with EQOA, in each town every NPC had the exact same one sentence of dialogue.

Of course I was jaded because I believed, or still believe, that SOE/SCEA intentionally delayed the release of the HDD so EQOA wouldn't have to compete with FFXI.

This got way off topic.