FFXIV gets a 4.0 from Gamespot and other reviews & hilarious discoveries about FFXIV

[Yellow Mage]

Re: FFXIV gets a 4.0 from Gamespot

I'd like you to name an FF game not called "FFXII" that isn't linear as a piece of string.

/em looks at the name of this website.

So, yeah . . .

Until they begin to move away from alliance-focused endgames and make it more inviting to smaller groups, I could care less.

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=om7O0MFkmpw]YouTube - David Mitchell Writes - Dear America...[/ame]

[Omgwtfbbqkitten]

Re: FFXIV gets a 4.0 from Gamespot

That's the beauty of Guild Leve though. It's all done at our own pace and rules, barring the 36 hour wait between new sets.

And if SE sticks with that core concept even for high level content, lots of good might come of it, but if it goes the way of "large group required" then its going to end the same way as every other MMORPG.

The weak point of the MMO genre is now endgame. Every MMO ever is soloable now. That's not the future anymore.

FFXI "on your own terms" back then was at its best with BCNMs, Assault/Nyzul and Campaign Ops. We still have yet to see the final shape FFXI will take post-Abyssea and I hope for all involved the progressive design that began late in CoP and within ToA continues, but whatever FFXIV ends up doing, it needs to change the fundamental approach to endgame.

If this game is going to be about "the journey" as they once said, endgame needs to be on the terms of small groups of players and not big ones.

Any online game in the history of online gaming becomes more fun when you play with a small, familiar, tight-knit group of friends. This is proven time and time again, game by game. Not to mention its easier to forge a small, faithful group than a large one.

[Malacite]

Re: FFXIV gets a 4.0 from Gamespot

Yeah, but we've not seen the initial endgame content and won't for months. Doesn't matter if its WoW, FFXI or whatever - more often than not the player community will find a way to turn endgame content into a job. Its not SE making your Dynamis and Limbus schedules outside of a wait limit. God help us if there wasn't a wait limit, FFXI would have turned into "Camp the entry point." For all my complaints about the lack of instancing for that content, SE at least thought up some checks and balances.

That's the beauty of Guild Leve though. It's all done at our own pace and rules, barring the 36 hour wait between new sets.

[Ufgt]

Re: FFXIV gets a 4.0 from Gamespot

WoW launch was balls. Magic carpeting is fun.

XIV is also a terrible game right now. Leve design is so bad.

Best launch for me is Aion.

[Firewind]

Re: FFXIV gets a 4.0 from Gamespot

My parties in FFXI were never that exciting.

It was a GM Dave reference so get your mind out of the gutter

[Grizzlebeard]

Re: FFXIV gets a 4.0 from Gamespot

WoW had a pretty terrible launch, unless you look back fondly on 45 minute (or even longer) waiting queues that went on for a few months. The game was plenty broken at the start, too.

It was nowhere near as horrible as you're making it out. There were issues and frequently long wait times but Blizzard maintained a dialogue with the playerbase and let them know it was being worked on. The players listened to these assurances and when they saw them being acted upon it gave them the confidence to stay with the brand.

Compare that to S-E who don't have the first fucking clue how to communicate with the playerbase. The die hard FFXI converts who should be the most supportive of S-E with 14 are ironically the ones most concerned because they've learned from years of experience with the former game just how frustrating and atrocious S-E are at acknowledging and fixing basic errors. Simple and glaring flaws like spells being cast on you and freezing you in place are still present in the game after how many years...

[DakAttack]

Re: FFXIV gets a 4.0 from Gamespot

Lots of people seem to care. With all the story and lore within the game, its a really bad idea to change the world's mythos from the way it was originally introduced to players. Not that WoW hasn't already fucked with the Warcraft mythos as it is, but this is just making it worse.

They didn't care up until now, for some reason. Blizzard has ALWAYS altered the game world to create the illusion of passage of time. It wasn't until WotLK that they created layered environments to allow each player this illusion on their own time on a smaller scale, but none of this is anything new. FFXI did it through dialogue and scenes, while leaving the rest of the world untouched, and Blizz did it in a slightly more heavy-handed way.

[Omgwtfbbqkitten]

Re: FFXIV gets a 4.0 from Gamespot

Might i say that WoW had a pretty good launch if i remember correctly!

WoW had a pretty terrible launch, unless you look back fondly on 45 minute (or even longer) waiting queues that went on for a few months. The game was plenty broken at the start, too.

It was just OMG TEH SOLOZ that made it so popular.

Cataclysm is suppose to make the new player experience even better than the original stuff. Who cares if they cant see the world the way it was! It isnt that great lol. And not a whole lot is actually changing. The biggest change is quest and zone progression.

Lots of people seem to care. With all the story and lore within the game, its a really bad idea to change the world's mythos from the way it was originally introduced to players. Not that WoW hasn't already fucked with the Warcraft mythos as it is, but this is just making it worse.

This is actually one area that SE got right with XIV, at least so far.

Yeah, but we've not seen the initial endgame content and won't for months. Doesn't matter if its WoW, FFXI or whatever - more often than not the player community will find a way to turn endgame content into a job. Its not SE making your Dynamis and Limbus schedules outside of a wait limit. God help us if there wasn't a wait limit, FFXI would have turned into "Camp the entry point." For all my complaints about the lack of instancing for that content, SE at least thought up some checks and balances.

[Malacite]

Re: FFXIV gets a 4.0 from Gamespot

Sorry, but I had to laugh at "Fuck you SE! I'm only going to give you $13/mo instead of $20 now!" or whatever the fees work out to. Just saying.

I'm aware of the irony, but that money goes to the game they did right (well, mostly). Besides, the money that comes in from XI also goes towards XI.

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I particularly like the freedom from having to commit to some big group to get things done and not having to deal with the drama. I just jump online and play. No waiting, no bullshit, no drama.

This is actually one area that SE got right with XIV, at least so far. Ugh, the stupid assholes, even if they do salvage the game I don't see them overcoming all the negative PR. What the hell does it take for them to learn that you can't just shut out the voices of your customer base?! They're acting like GM >_>

XIV might have had a shot at taking a bite out of WoW's ass, but not anymore. I wonder who's decision it was to release it ahead of schedule just to try and beat Cata (which will now dominate uncontested until star wars is out and even then) when Tanaka said he wanted no less than a 6-month beta?

[Raydeus]

Re: FFXIV gets a 4.0 from Gamespot

Except XI is actually much better right now. Sound and Graphics (in that order) are the only things XIV has going for it right now.

And even though XIV is definitely salvageable SE and their mentallity is not. Which is why you don't see anyone expecting any kind of substantial change for the next couple of years, and taking everything in the game (save for some bug fixes) as if it was set in stone.

Because knowing SE it is.




PS > I feel bad for Uematsu-san, his music is way too awesome to be wasted on something like XIV.

[emeraldpearl]

Re: FFXIV gets a 4.0 from Gamespot

Heard IGN and Gamespot marked the game according to wha they truly though about XI. They didnt likethat game, XIV in most respects is just the same game.

[Ruxlin]

Re: FFXIV gets a 4.0 from Gamespot

oh QQ ;p

all MMORPGs start out like this, if you thought it would be different with FFXIV, you where kidding yourself. The game will start to stabilize in about a month or so. Most MMOs do, f it does not then that's when it will start to flop.

Reviews like this on any MMORPG are just a funny read, because all they are, is noob QQ wine fests. The game is not perfect, hell no MMORPG is at launch.

HAH! QQ you say? Might i say that WoW had a pretty good launch if i remember correctly! Hell even Warhammer launched fairly well. Anywho I get tired of the QQ thing being thrown around.. Oh and even worse "Fanboy"

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I think Blizzard is making a huge mistake with Cataclysm - you never fuck with the mythology. Cataclysm content could have been done similar to how FFXI did WotG and that would have been fine.

Reshaping the entire world with no ability for newcomers to see the world as it once was? Bad idea.

Not that it matters, I've reached the conclusion that no matter what the MMO, I'm just going to end up dealing with the same kind of bullshit at endgame as any other. Until they begin to move away from alliance-focused endgames and make it more inviting to smaller groups, I could care less.

Sorry, but playing a game should not be like going to work. If I want to endure middle-management sorts of bullshit - that's what a real job is for.

I'm starting to favor stuff like Phantasy Star, Monster Hunter and Diablo again. The P2P RPGs have started to come full circle and have overcome a lot of their past problems, particularly areas where MMOs once held an advantage. I particularly like the freedom from having to commit to some big group to get things done and not having to deal with the drama. I just jump online and play. No waiting, no bullshit, no drama.

Cataclysm is suppose to make the new player experience even better than the original stuff. Who cares if they cant see the world the way it was! It isnt that great lol. And not a whole lot is actually changing. The biggest change is quest and zone progression.

Pfft geesh! Doesnt matter anyway i know who the last boss in WoW will be when were all level 100... Sargeras - WoWWiki - Your guide to the World of Warcraft

[Grizzlebeard]

Re: FFXIV gets a 4.0 from Gamespot

waiting for several hours in Whitegate shouting for a prick up group.

My parties in FFXI were never that exciting.

[Aeni]

Re: FFXIV gets a 4.0 from Gamespot

I think Blizzard is making a huge mistake with Cataclysm

I'm not happy about it either. I'm not going to play in Cataclysm although I've already got a taste of it in beta. I'm already burned out on WoW and looking for something new. FFXIV will be my baby for a bit longer and I'll only play it casually. I'm mostly waiting on Diablo III. I hope it doesn't disappoint

[Firewind]

Re: FFXIV gets a 4.0 from Gamespot

called it, pay to play beta testing wooohooo.

I'm not defending pay to play beta testing but isn't that what most MMOs are like at launch anyway? The only MMO in recent memory that wasn't a buggy mess on release was Aion but good luck trying to find any actual change in that game by the dev team. They're worse than Squeenix in that regard

To be honest as much as I love XI I don't think I will get back into it due to how much of a timesink stuff is on that game. I sort of like being able to get stuff done without waiting for several hours in Whitegate shouting for a prick up group/ seeking for a party/waiting for Linkshell members to get online which is never before 3am in my timezone.