Final Fantasy XIV Undergoes Rebirth

[Furrama]

I'm not sure what FFXIV you guys have been playing lately, but the updates Yoshi-P (Naoki) has been implementing have been fantastic. The best announcement was that Hiromichi Tanaka stepped down as producer/director of FFXI *and* FFXIV. Best. Fucking. Day. Ever. Shame he's unwell now though. :/

Anyway, FFXI is also really holding up strong too! Seekers of Adoulin, RELEASE SOONER, DAMN YOU.

And everyone ranting about the F2P model? Uh... How is this a thing? Big games have a cost to servers. It's a persistent world. You're only being entitled elitists. There are still plenty of games with subscription accounts. The Old Republic is doing just fine, as is the new FunCom MMO, The Secret World. Don't want to pay for an MMO subscription? Fine, go play the shitty free ones. As I've been told many times in the past, "Good, Free, MMO. You can only pick two."

Thing is, the second you get a competent game that isn't subscription based, that 15 dollars a month thing is going the way of the dinosaurs. We're getting real close to that, if not GW2 it will be someone else very soon. Subscription based games are things people are getting tired of, like it or not, and server costs are cheaper than they used to be. 8 or 10 years ago you needed that subscription to keep the lights on, but with modern technology and techniques? That's not the case. All you have to do is sell a few hats or the box and issue the occasional upgrade content you're set.

 

[Prosis]

My guess is that it will be one long, streamed CGI cutscene. Like 200+ hours. The entire world will exist on a narrow road with no deviations.

All joking aside, it's going to have to be REALLY good to get me to look at it. Not sure why they're trying to repair a game rather than releasing a new one, and riding the wave of enthusiasm/advertisement that comes with it.

I mean, GW2 has no monthly fee, and comes out in August. Wow: Pandaria comes out in September, and costs the same per month as this does. TERA came out earlier this year, and TOR came out late last year. That is a TON of MMORPG to battle against for subscription fees, even if you do snag the PS3 crowd.

Captcha: Face the music.
Indeed.

 

[Clearing the Eye]

I'm sensing a potential money sink here. A really big one >_>

 

[Pedro The Hutt]

The game's been out since September 2010... isn't this pretty much a textbook case of "too little, too late"? Most likely the game will have been out for over two years by the time this launches, GW2 will be out by then, and there'll still be all those other MMOs people still like to play, and perhaps a few more will also have gone F2P by then. Considering FFXI still enjoys a reasonable fanbase it'd have probably been more profitable to simply axe FFXIV, give the remaining XIV players three months free XI subscription time to get started and focus on improving and expanding XI.

Only the most feverish (idiotic) of Square-Enix fanboys and girls will leap into XIV on its relaunch, and even then it's a question if those that stick around will be enough to make up for the no doubt massive costs that went into basically remaking the game.

 

[Shinsei-J]

If it's good on release then People will play it whether it's P2P or F2P.
So stop getting your panties in a twist people. Geez.

 

[Dresos]

Looks like this would be an excellent time to dust off my old onion helm and give it a try once more.

 

[Mistilteinn]

"FF14 2.0 is coming! Get excited! Oh well, we don't know a single thing about the new version, what with Squeenix not saying anything about what's changing, but still, GET EXCITED! I mean, they're promising a great game, it's not like they've ever promised something great and failed to deliver, right?"

Have you even remotely read any interview by Yoshida? He's been telling us every new thing he intends to change: things he likes about this old version and wants to alter, things he absolutely hates and wants to try and get rid of, and new ideas and concepts that the both the development team and players want to have. The fact that the development team and current player-base are working hand-in-hand to redo the game and make it great seems pretty unprecedented for SE, and it gives me hope. Failure or not, at least they're trying to make things up to the fans they disappointed when FFXIV first released.

I'm sorry if it seems like I went off a bit, but at least do some research before you spout off things like that.

 

[Goregasm]

I might be interested if it didn't have a subscription fee attached, but no, I'm not trading my hard-earned dollars for disappointment at Square's hands again.

 

[IndomitableSam]

Am keeping my fingers crossed - but not holding my breath. If they open up the world (I haven't played XIV but I think it was really corridor-ish like 13) I will be happy. I have a lot of cash just sitting around, so I may be buying a new computer and paying my monthly fee... and possibly cancelling my cable as I won't need TV. ... Here's hoping.

 

[Spookimitsu]

GW2 is all instanced. Dynamic, yes, but not the seemless MMO world you are thinking about. Traversing the countryside will be as lonely as it was in GW1.

Don't get me wrong, I loved GW1 and I'm looking forward to GW2, but its not a persistent seamless world like either FF online is today. You will not run into random people in GW outside of town hubs, in other words, you won't be exploring the wilderness or some ruins and run into a random group of people fishing at a local watering hole, or getting chased around by some other random mob. That may sound like it's insignificant, but it really helps build the world around you, and without it, it gets rather lonely.

With that pic and what they're saying, sounds more like they're ripping off Cataclysm just a bit.

Might be too little too late for a bunch of us.

Extinction level events have been around in fiction before Cataclysm, if that's what you are referring to. And they will be around long after this game and others like it.

And in that picture is Ifrit, who has been a FF staple for what seems like ages now. How do you figure that is "ripping off" Cataclysm? If that is the case then maybe you have it backwards, seeing as how most Final Fantasy iterations involve some world threatening event with big monsters, maybe it was Cataclysm that has been doing the ripping off, food for thought.

I don't know what FFXIV was like at beta/launch (didnt have a competent PC at the time) but as of now it has been fun, and well worth the $9 a month that I have been paying (joined in May, wish I had started earlier than that). If it makes any of you anti-subscription people feel better, you can look at it like paying for a premium cable TV channel, or going to see a movie every month. It's not that much. Sure I'd prefer to NOT pay the subscription, but as another poster said, you more or less get what you pay for. I don't choose to watch premium cable, nor do I pay for Xbox Live or anything, so I guess it's an easier decision for me. F2P MMOs usually leave a sour but familiar taste in my mouth with each one.

You can get plenty of quality games without a subscription attached. But nine times out of ten they aren't going to be MMOs. I'm definitely not going to get in a discussion of whether or not GW is an MMO, but that's not what I am referring to.

But more to the point, I've heard that at the drop of 2.0 on PC and PS3, they are going to re-open a trial period, so while you would still have to buy the box of the game (which I got for about $9 online anyways) you won't have to subscribe to try it out. Hope to see you on the other side!

 

[devotedsniper]

XIV wasn't that bad when it came out (i beta'd it), it just really lacked/lacks content (like the majority of mmo's when they come out). Other than the lack of content I couldn't fault it too much I just got bored because of the content. It's definitely the best looking mmo, but when you look at XI and how good that still looks 10 years on it's hardly surprising.

In all honesty I'd be happy to play XIV when there's more content provided they don't do what they did with XI and introduce ways to make stupid amounts of xp essentially killing everything else in game (as well as getting rid of level caps for some missions), XI is a totally different game now and I don't like it (came back to try after 4 years and I'm already bored 3-4 days in).

 

[Spookimitsu]

"FF14 2.0 is coming! Get excited! Oh well, we don't know a single thing about the new version, what with Squeenix not saying anything about what's changing, but still, GET EXCITED! I mean, they're promising a great game, it's not like they've ever promised something great and failed to deliver, right?"

Have you even remotely read any interview by Yoshida? He's been telling us every new thing he intends to change: things he likes about this old version and wants to alter, things he absolutely hates and wants to try and get rid of, and new ideas and concepts that the both the development team and players want to have. The fact that the development team and current player-base are working hand-in-hand to redo the game and make it great seems pretty unprecedented for SE, and it gives me hope. Failure or not, at least they're trying to make things up to the fans they disappointed when FFXIV first released.

I'm sorry if it seems like I went off a bit, but at least do some research before you spout off things like that.

This, you can find a lot of info and threads at the Lodestone. A little research goes a long way from making ones self look like an asshat.
Naoki Yoshida keeps an open transmission to the player base, and has done so for quite some time.
http://forum.square-enix.com/ffxiv/forums/137-Letters-from-the-Producer

 

[FlameAx]

GW2 is all instanced. Dynamic, yes, but not the seemless MMO world you are thinking about. Traversing the countryside will be as lonely as it was in GW1.

Don't get me wrong, I loved GW1 and I'm looking forward to GW2, but its not a persistent seamless world like either FF online is today. You will not run into random people in GW outside of town hubs, in other words, you won't be exploring the wilderness or some ruins and run into a random group of people fishing at a local watering hole, or getting chased around by some other random mob. That may sound like it's insignificant, but it really helps build the world around you, and without it, it gets rather lonely.

With that pic and what they're saying, sounds more like they're ripping off Cataclysm just a bit.

Might be too little too late for a bunch of us.

Extinction level events have been around in fiction before Cataclysm, if that's what you are referring to. And they will be around long after this game and others like it.

And in that picture is Ifrit, who has been a FF staple for what seems like ages now. How do you figure that is "ripping off" Cataclysm? If that is the case then maybe you have it backwards, seeing as how most Final Fantasy iterations involve some world threatening event with big monsters, maybe it was Cataclysm that has been doing the ripping off, food for thought.

I don't know what FFXIV was like at beta/launch (didnt have a competent PC at the time) but as of now it has been fun, and well worth the $9 a month that I have been paying (joined in May, wish I had started earlier than that). If it makes any of you anti-subscription people feel better, you can look at it like paying for a premium cable TV channel, or going to see a movie every month. It's not that much. Sure I'd prefer to NOT pay the subscription, but as another poster said, you more or less get what you pay for. I don't choose to watch premium cable, nor do I pay for Xbox Live or anything, so I guess it's an easier decision for me. F2P MMOs usually leave a sour but familiar taste in my mouth with each one.

You can get plenty of quality games without a subscription attached. But nine times out of ten they aren't going to be MMOs. I'm definitely not going to get in a discussion of whether or not GW is an MMO, but that's not what I am referring to.

But more to the point, I've heard that at the drop of 2.0 on PC and PS3, they are going to re-open a trial period, so while you would still have to buy the box of the game (which I got for about $9 online anyways) you won't have to subscribe to try it out. Hope to see you on the other side!

I have no idea where you heard GW2 is instanced but its not u do run into a ton of people in the zones its not like GW1 , i've played all beta events and no zone is instanced except a small place in your home city that is specific to you,( think like your house in FFXI)

 

[Hyrist]

I was about to say, if you want information about 2.0, they've been talking about it fairly regularly since they first announced it. Now, granted, they haven't spoiled any of the good stuff, but what they've been doing is creating mechanics they applied in the current game, that will transfer over.

In the end the fans want game-play footage, and the time for seeing some is coming close, real close. August/September are pretty much the last months the original version will be out, and it's gone out with a bang. The final story-line fight so far was a callback to the olden days of Final Fantasy and the trailer has pretty much pieced together what happens at the end of it all.

I'm anxious. Very very anxious.

 

[MattAn24]

I'm not sure what FFXIV you guys have been playing lately, but the updates Yoshi-P (Naoki) has been implementing have been fantastic. The best announcement was that Hiromichi Tanaka stepped down as producer/director of FFXI *and* FFXIV. Best. Fucking. Day. Ever. Shame he's unwell now though. :/

Anyway, FFXI is also really holding up strong too! Seekers of Adoulin, RELEASE SOONER, DAMN YOU.

And everyone ranting about the F2P model? Uh... How is this a thing? Big games have a cost to servers. It's a persistent world. You're only being entitled elitists. There are still plenty of games with subscription accounts. The Old Republic is doing just fine, as is the new FunCom MMO, The Secret World. Don't want to pay for an MMO subscription? Fine, go play the shitty free ones. As I've been told many times in the past, "Good, Free, MMO. You can only pick two."

Thing is, the second you get a competent game that isn't subscription based, that 15 dollars a month thing is going the way of the dinosaurs. We're getting real close to that, if not GW2 it will be someone else very soon. Subscription based games are things people are getting tired of, like it or not, and server costs are cheaper than they used to be. 8 or 10 years ago you needed that subscription to keep the lights on, but with modern technology and techniques? That's not the case. All you have to do is sell a few hats or the box and issue the occasional upgrade content you're set.

I can.. Kind of see your point. But only kind of. I absolutely respect that point of view, I personally don't like microtransactions in my games. I don't want to pay individual prices for digital content "just to have the better gear", or whatever. I would *rather* pay for server costs and my character than for actual items.

 

[MattAn24]

GW2 is all instanced. Dynamic, yes, but not the seemless MMO world you are thinking about. Traversing the countryside will be as lonely as it was in GW1.

Don't get me wrong, I loved GW1 and I'm looking forward to GW2, but its not a persistent seamless world like either FF online is today. You will not run into random people in GW outside of town hubs, in other words, you won't be exploring the wilderness or some ruins and run into a random group of people fishing at a local watering hole, or getting chased around by some other random mob. That may sound like it's insignificant, but it really helps build the world around you, and without it, it gets rather lonely.

With that pic and what they're saying, sounds more like they're ripping off Cataclysm just a bit.

Might be too little too late for a bunch of us.

Extinction level events have been around in fiction before Cataclysm, if that's what you are referring to. And they will be around long after this game and others like it.

And in that picture is Ifrit, who has been a FF staple for what seems like ages now. How do you figure that is "ripping off" Cataclysm? If that is the case then maybe you have it backwards, seeing as how most Final Fantasy iterations involve some world threatening event with big monsters, maybe it was Cataclysm that has been doing the ripping off, food for thought.

I don't know what FFXIV was like at beta/launch (didnt have a competent PC at the time) but as of now it has been fun, and well worth the $9 a month that I have been paying (joined in May, wish I had started earlier than that). If it makes any of you anti-subscription people feel better, you can look at it like paying for a premium cable TV channel, or going to see a movie every month. It's not that much. Sure I'd prefer to NOT pay the subscription, but as another poster said, you more or less get what you pay for. I don't choose to watch premium cable, nor do I pay for Xbox Live or anything, so I guess it's an easier decision for me. F2P MMOs usually leave a sour but familiar taste in my mouth with each one.

You can get plenty of quality games without a subscription attached. But nine times out of ten they aren't going to be MMOs. I'm definitely not going to get in a discussion of whether or not GW is an MMO, but that's not what I am referring to.

But more to the point, I've heard that at the drop of 2.0 on PC and PS3, they are going to re-open a trial period, so while you would still have to buy the box of the game (which I got for about $9 online anyways) you won't have to subscribe to try it out. Hope to see you on the other side!

I love you so hard right now. XD

Just reading the Cataclysm rip-off part. Here's a news-flash, folks. Final Fantasy XI was released BEFORE World of WarCraft. I'll just let that one sink in. Whatever WoW was doing? It was influenced *heavily* by what FFXI was doing and wanted to match/exceed it. FFXI has aesthetic, it has charm, it has heart. The world of Vana'diel is immensely detailed. WoW.. Is more of a cartoony, kinda childishly-written... Thing. FFXI has so much more of a mature feel to it. And it gets dark in parts. Chains of Promathia's storyline is one of the best I've witnessed in any video game.

 

[Hyrist]

I can.. Kind of see your point. But only kind of. I absolutely respect that point of view, I personally don't like microtransactions in my games. I don't want to pay individual prices for digital content "just to have the better gear", or whatever. I would *rather* pay for server costs and my character than for actual items.

This argument, however, forgets that in situations like that, you're firing or re-assigning your crew to other projects and are running off of a much smaller development team than the one that originally created the game.

Yoshida is aware of this, and took a different route. By keeping the subscription base he is keeping the ENTIRE development team active on the game, which means quicker and deeper development.

Buy to Play or Pay to Win keeps the server up and the players involved, yes, and occasionally you'll get new content. But Subscriptions keep the developers involved and toil out content and patches regularly.

 

[CharrHearted]

Go FTP! Buy the game, free to play, cosmetic items like GW 2, maybe it'll do well!

 

[REDace0]

I was about to say, if you want information about 2.0, they've been talking about it fairly regularly since they first announced it. Now, granted, they haven't spoiled any of the good stuff, but what they've been doing is creating mechanics they applied in the current game, that will transfer over.

In the end the fans want game-play footage, and the time for seeing some is coming close, real close. August/September are pretty much the last months the original version will be out, and it's gone out with a bang. The final story-line fight so far was a callback to the olden days of Final Fantasy and the trailer has pretty much pieced together what happens at the end of it all.

The fight. Was. Awesome. Even if I did get the somewhat idle role of sniping mini-meteors. The way it fit in to the story was just perfect. And it's positively dripping with allusions to previous FF games. I'm actually afraid they'll go overboard with the allusions to other FF games and ruin the accessibility, but so far so good.

Regarding 2.0 info, if anyone wants ALL the details, the thread below on the official forums is a community effort led by one player to collect all the confirmed information scattered through official posts, interviews, and released documents.

http://forum.square-enix.com/ffxiv/threads/38201-Coming-in-Version-2.0%21