Final Fantasy XIV

Yeah, the hatedom is kind of irksome, especially since most of the things that it's being hated for are unfounded (being like XI? Really?).

I play on Palmecia, unfortunately. I'll consider switching, though, since I'm still pretty low leveled.

edited 9th Oct '10 10:55:10 PM by Miijhal

I found a social linkshell to join on Figaro, called "Sinners", but despite the name so far they seem like nice enough guys, who played together back in FFXI.

It's also nice that you can have multiple linkshells. I wonder when "Companies" are going to be implemented though. I hear those are meant to be more like the guilds and/or clans in other MM Os, while Linkshells are less formal chat channel type things.

After seeing a few reviews for the game, I can say that these reviews did not bring up similarities to XI as a negative part of the game. Yes they noted that the races are expys from those in XI but that's about it.

The general consensus of the game is it probably won't be enjoyable to anyone who's not a hardcore FF fan and won't bring a whole lot of converts to the game unless issues are fixed soon. Why didn't they just push back the release date and tidy up the game rather than making people wait for patches?

I don't know, but I do know it's not WORST GAME EVAR as some folks seem to think. There are puzzling flaws (like the lack of item sorting and the bizarre bazaar system) but it's certainly far from a terrible game.

I dislike the game on principal. Here's Square Enix, a company responsible for some of the best video games on the market, releasing a buggy, outdated, cumbersome, content lacking MMORPG, from the same team that had amassed 8 years of experience with Final Fantasy XI. They put this game out on the market and they expect you pay a monthly fee for what is essentially an extended beta at this point, which was sort of okay back in 2002, but MMO's have evolved since than.

You vote with your money. If anyone here thinks subpar subscription fee based money grabbers like this are worth their 13+ USD a month, more power to you. I personally wish you wouldn't, since it sends the message to Square Enix that they can put whatever they want on the market and their fans will buy it regardless of its quality, but I can't stop any of you one way or another.

It's a 'subpar subscription fee based money grabber' whose gameplay, art etc. happen to appeal to a lot of people. Why shouldn't they pay for something they like?

The game still looks like it's in an unfinished state. It would be like purchasing a game but having to wait a month or more before all of the finishing touches have been made. It's also bogged down with some downright bizarre gameplay choices that MMO players don't really want to suffer through in a market where there are better games.

If it had no redeeming qualities, I wouldn't have bought. It has a lot of potential and even now I can still get enjoyment out of it despite its flaws. Yes, it's filled to the brink with bugs and needs a lot of refining. MMORPGs almost always start out like that. Even World Of Warcraft was like that at one point. It's because people actually buy them while they're still finding their bearings that they actually get beyond their issues.

MMORPGs aren't cheap to produce and run. They have a lot more technical hurdles than other games because of how they work.

Anyway, Errick, I'm going to make a character over on Figaro. She'll probably be named Sara Auttenberg.

edited 10th Oct '10 10:33:29 AM by Miijhal

There's a difference between an MMORPG finding its bearings and releasing a game that looks like it still has a lot of work that needs to be done. As stated earlier, online games have come a long way, so having to wait for the developers to catch up isn't going to work in a market where there are better games. When you have a game with complicated mechanics and don't even bother to explain them well, players get turned off. Square Enix really dropped the ball by releasing a subpar product and tricking people into buying the game on name alone.

edited 10th Oct '10 10:41:56 AM by AetherMaster

-facepalm-

Tricking people into buying it on name alone? That's...

Uhg.

I have another little rebuttal all typed up, but first I'll ask its defenders:

Have you played any other MMO's? What is it you like so much about this one?

I've played around 40 different ones, F 2 P and P 2 P, over the course of my life. Most were for fairly short periods of time, though I played City Of Heroes for over four years now.

As to what I like about it? The combat system (which is very well done) and the presence of an actual story with well written and enjoyable characters are the two biggest draws for me. The quick pace of leveling is another plus for me. The art direction certainly helps, too.

Edit: Also, the little details like this.

edited 10th Oct '10 11:11:48 AM by Miijhal

http://brokentoys.org/2010/09/24/final-fantasy-xiv-triumph-of-the-horsebirds/

Fine, my comment was a little cruel but that's what it has come to. If anyone's playing XIV over the multitude of better MMORP Gs on the market, it's because they're diehard Final Fantasy fans. Pay-to-play MMORP Gs are a commitment of time and money to make and very few are going to want to invest. People are letting a lot of crap slide for the game simply because it's a Final Fantasy game. And as someone who has been more forgiving to Square Enix in the past, it's getting a little ridiculous.

Defenders of the game have been saying things like "Just wait a few patches and the game will get better!" Well what if it doesn't? And how long is it going to take for the game to actually be great? That could take months or years.

You do realize I don't even like the Final Fantasy series, no? But thanks for telling me what my motivations for playing the game are.

edited 10th Oct '10 11:24:17 AM by Miijhal

As Hashil stated, it's your money so you're free to spend it anyway you like. It just lets Square Enix know that there's many more years of mediocrity to come.

One aspect I like is the complex crafting system in this one. It's a lot more than just "gather three materials, click on craft all and sit around for 15 minutes". The majority of gear in the game is player crafted, and nothing takes just a single craft to make, which, should they get a proper AH or sort out issues with the bazaar system, allow for a bit more of a dynamic economy than you find in a lot of these games.

At the very least it means most crafters will have to interact with other players and buy their stuff instead of running into the kind of dead-end crafts you find in some similar games, where you can make all sorts of items no one wants.

And I'll grant that, in my case, the FF name and previous experience with FFXI got me interested, but I think I would have gone for this one even if it didn't have the Final Fantasy name attached.

EDIT: Oh yeah, and my character is named Errick Fauxi.

edited 10th Oct '10 11:33:50 AM by Errick

The story is engaged in once every ten levels amidst a sea of grinding on same-y levequests that can only be done eights times over, every 24 hours. In other games, hell, even in XI, even if the story telling itself isn't the best (I don't think it's all that great in XIV, either, shiny cutscenes and pseudo-Shakespearean purple prose and all, but to each their own), at the very least each quest offer some variety and move you along and throughout the world at a reasonable pace. XIV doesn't do this because the world is barren and empty of anything but palette swapped monsters at wildly varying levels looking to eat you every which way and copy pasta'd environments with pretty back drops wallpapered on the horizon.

Not to mention, what happens at max level when the last cutscene plays itself out and you've got absolutely nothing left to do?

edited 10th Oct '10 11:37:52 AM by Hashil

Isn't it a bit early to say there's "nothing left to do" at max level, when no one's at max level yet and we have no idea what their plans for endgame are? Maybe there'll be something like Dynamis, or some HN Ms, or something like that to keep us entertained.

It's not too early for SE to start charging you monthly to pay the game, so I don't think it's unreasonable for them to at the very least announce plans for end-game content, which weren't among the number of promises they made for content that may or may not find its way into the game.

Perhaps, but I do think it's safe to say they have some sort of plan for endgame content. There's likely already something in place no one's reached yet, and even if there isn't, I'm sure they've at least got something in the wings, waiting to be activated when people get to the point that we can actually play it.

There's a lot of "wait and see" in MMO launches like this, anyway. You never know how your game's going to be received, what parts, once it hits your audience, end up being fun to them and which ones don't, so you gotta kind of ... I dunno, test the water? I dunno if that makes sense or not.

Test the water....

Like a beta test, right? Like the one they had for several months in which a number of player concerns were brought up and virtually none were addressed? I mean, I'm not a game designer, but if I got tens of thousands of complaints about my game's UI....

edited 10th Oct '10 11:58:59 AM by Hashil

^ While your complaints seem valid, I find it hard to take them at face value, when it seems highly doubtful you actually participated in any of the betas.

When I see the phrase "number of players" it brings to mind "the most vocal, but certainly not a majority." The good majority of the complaints seem to be about gameplay aspects of the game, not actual bugs. If this is the case, then I don't see the problem with SE not changing it, because the gameplay aspects are supposed to be there. As they are what make the game "unique."

Complaining about things you don't like is all fine and good, but to do so, and keep paying, is the highest form of stupidity. Rather than complain to those who play the game for entertainment, perhaps you should take your anger about the game on the beta-testers who complained about mechanics?

I was invited to the beta, actually. I was disappointed with what I saw and I reported said disappointments along with suggestions as to how to improve the game, and encouraged others to do the same. The number I posted above wasn't fabricated, either: the developers themselves offered it up and even admitted that the UI needed work.

But anyway, I'm getting kind of tired of talking about I game I don't like. This guy is far more entertaining and eloquent in relating the game's faults than I am. But if any of you really do enjoy the game despite the above, myself, or any of its detractors, even if I think the game is just a ploy for another steady source of income, I wish you and it the best and hope it really will eventually improve.

My opinions on Final Fantasy as a whole and those of Spoony don't really mesh, so I don't pay any heed to what he says concerning it.

Plus, there was that Tweet that I posted earlier, where he came off as smug and condescending (to me, at least), so I'd take what he says with a grain of salt...or I would, if I actually watched that video.

I can't really say if the criticisms of FF14 are accurate, but I'm curious what the bugs are. Are they of the game-breaking variety?

I can't say I've run into any out-and-out bugs of note, myself. The problems are more missing features than existing features not working correctly.

Though seemingly a number of corrupt items are able to bring down a server if someone tries to sell them. They temporarily fixed that by making those items unsellable. Heh.