Final Fantasy XIV

[Evans]

Feedback ;) .

[Ground_zero]

Eimai alpha tester guys
Osoi exete kanei appliation koitaxte ta e-mail sas.

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The primal gathering:

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Post tou Producer sto forum

Originally Posted by Naoki_Yoshida
Oh, to everyone who commented on the conference,

Regardless of what line of work you're in, when you give it your all and work hard, you'll get tired, and that's tough. However, this time around, I'm really able to see the fruits of the hard work when I see you all playing and I'll continue work as hard as I can for all of you. I really want to thank you all for that.

However, there are times in both work and school when no matter how hard you try you might not see results. Despite this, the experience of giving it your all will remain with you, and I believe that those around you will take notice.

As long as I have the enormous responsibility of working on FINAL FANTASY, I will continue to put in all of my effort and aim for the best results. I believe that nothing is more important than putting in every ounce of effort, so I'd really appreciate it if you can keep this in mind too.

[Ground_zero]

Alpha version gameplay (exei merikes wraies topothesies mesa, deite to).

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Endiaferousa synentefksh apo to Kotaku:

http://kotaku.com/5963155/new-final-fantasy-xiv-director-talks-about-what-went-wrong-with-the-original

Kai mia asteia eikona:

[Ground_zero]

Kainouries synentefkseis gia to periegxomeno tou ARR.
Einai quote epeidh prokeitai gia metafrash Iapwnikhs synentefkshs, diavaste opwsdhpote thn trith synentefksh:

This one had some common points with the Dengeki one, so I left them out. They fooled my with their "it's only 2 pages"-format... It was much longer than Dengeki's 5 page interview lol.

• Story
  • Main story will introduce a character related to Louisiox
  • Why Bahamut was sealed is related to the Crystal Tower
  • There will be no need to know the 1.0 story, as everything will be explained in ARR
  • Concept art of items obtainable in the Great Labyrinth of Bahamut [click]
  
  
• Name changes
  • Changing char name is possible technically
  • This will mean your friend list [and probably LS membership] will be lost, though
  • They are worried about people mistyping their char name, since it's a one-time opportunity and there is no confirmation dialogue on char creation, so they are asking to be careful about it
  • HE NEVER SAID "YES" DIRECTLY! WAIT FOR AN OFFICIAL CONFIRMATION!
  
  
• Character customization
  • Bust sizes vary by races, for example Roegardyn will have bigger sizes than sunseeker, moonkeeper coming after it. [Hyur/Elezen not mentioned]
  • Bust physics will be kept as modest as possible
  • Other char model movements involve Miqo'te ears & tail, as well as Elezen/Lalafell ears.
  • For miqo'te tails, there will be 5 tail types, ranging from more lion-like movement to more cat-like movement [Yay~]
  • Barber NPC will make you do a quest that will allow you to change your hairstyle, it's color as well as facepaint. Not face/body proportions though.
  
  
• FATE
  • Definition of NM as "mosters that suddenly make the otherwise safe environment dangerous"
  • Rewards are decided based not on party, but individual performance
  • All players treated as "one large party" [so basically you just get flagged as "near enough to be evaluated for a reward, which also level-synchs you to the event level]
  • Level sync only works one-way: if you're above content level, you will be de-levelled, if you're below content level, nothing happens.
  • Other FATE types:
    • village/city invasion (example: bandits/thieves)
    • chocobo escort
    
    
  • No limit on how many people can participate in a FATE
  • They are thinking about a system that automatically creates an instance and moves the half of the people to a new one should the number of people reach a certain number
  • While this system is technologically possible, the cost is high, so they are planning to monitor the events in alpha&beta to decide if it's really needed.
  
  
• Housing
  • To be able to afford an M-Sized house, three players would have to level to 50 by clearing all quests and combine the gil theay earned from that. Apparently, that would take about 50 hours.
  • The housing system is comparable to Dragon Quest X
  • Land and House prices are separate
  • Land starts expensive, but if it's not bought, the price will start to drop
  • There are only 3 L-sized patches of land per instance
  • Apparently, once we will see the amount of gil needed to buy an L-sized patch of land, we will recoil in horror.
  • Since the price will be falling with time, he wants us to worry about when the right timing to buy it will be
  • Retainers will be placed in our homes
  • You can buy from them there, or alternatively from the board [probably our current marketplace system]
  
  
• Free Company
  • Free company ranking and "earning reputation from a GC" is just a setting they thought of for the roleplaying community. Non-RPing players won't really have to pay attention to that.
  • Example of perks for taking the top position in a GC ranking: That GC NPC will greet members of that FC with more respect, saluting once you approach them.
  
  
• Marriage System
  • For bonuses for getting married, they are only thinking of simple things like using the wedding ring to teleport to your partner. No bonuses in battle, else it will just lead to fake marriages
  • To be able to marry, you will have to clear a quest with your partner
  
  
• Mounts
  • Only chocobo will be fighting by your side, others are for riding only
  • When you level up, your chocobo levels up with you
  • There are plans to make the magitech armor customizable [think mecha parts]
  • Magitech armor will somehow be connected to the story, he said they prepared an episode that will make us sit there grinning
  • Using in in PvE/PvP is possible, but they currently have no plans for it
  
  
• PvE/PvP Balancing
  • They're carefully balancing damage and status effects between those two [seems like the rulesets are NOT separated after all.]
  • Some kind of "item level" will be introduced which describes the usefullness of your equip. Not only the DPS but also the status effects is taken in account, so that we can go away from "if you're not keeping up your DPS, you're useless"-mindset
  
  
• Items/Equip
  • Inventory limited, but banks will have larger capacity
  • Vanity items still class restricted (no heavy armor mages)
  • In PvP, vanity will be disabled, so you won't be able to trick people with it
  • FATE rewards will contain vanity items among others
  
  
• New Races
  • Reason why he is torn between Viera and something more brute-ish like a reptile is because Viera are too close to humans and he wanted to introduce something more beast-like. Also, Viera has only appeared as female so far... and he doesn't want to have a gender-locked race... [read: do you seriously want to see bunnyGUYS?!]
  • He is also worried about crossing a certain line after which it will become hard to distinguish between PCs and NPCs/Monsters
  
  
• Alpha
  • currently, zone servers can handle up to 700 players with about 300 battles taking place in one zone and all the AI running
  • servers start to lag extremely @800 players in one zone, with about 380 battles taking place
  • they plan to increase that to 1000 players per zone
  
  
• Beta
  • PvP will be available for testing
  • They are thinking of people with alpha invites to be brought to phase1 beta too, but it's not set in stone yet.
  • The dev team is practicing PvP matches already, meaning we get to fight them
  
  
• Game content
  • normal quests soloable
  • dungeons and raids require a party
  • normal mode clearable when forming one via content finder
  • hard mode is only clearable if you have people with experience working together [implying you CAN try to clear it by auto-matching, but you'll need a lot of luck]
  • content may be hard at first, but if for example a patch introduces some new content that gives you a nice item, it will raise your "item level", making clearing previous content easier.
  
  

• Alpha
  • Aiming for 5000 players per server, 1000 players in one zone lagless
  • Two approaches to zone congestion
    • Display a message "too many players in zone, entry denied"
    • Spawn instances of a zone to allow for more players
    
    
  • still testing which one to take, as 1000 players in a zone is rarely happening naturally
  • alpha is planned to continue till the second week of December
  • they actually already have enough data from the stress tests and also enough feedback to be used for beta
  • letting us into the alpha is only to test how far the performance will degrade because of the distance to the servers as well as to perform stability tests over extended periods of time (servers running 24/7)
  • login counts are not falling, the devs have been telling Yoshida-san that "it's because YOU log in all the time!"
  • he's very happy to be able to talk to players directly and already had numerous discussions [I hope we don't scare him away if he attempts to do the same with us... seeing how our "discussions" usually go]
  
  
• Mounts
  • Apparently, the sprint ability introduced in alpha makes mounts seem slower
  • All mounts have the same speed
  
  
• Misc
  • Starting city is fixed depending on your first job, but once you reach the quest to go to another 2 cities, you can freely chose which city's quests you want to do first.
  • Legacy characters will start at a different place, the one where the hero party drops from the void. [I'm reading it as legacy = created before end of the era, not legacy = created on a legacy account, but I'm not sure]
  • Legacy characters will still be able to take all the quests just like non-legacy players, he says to think of it as a "stronger new game" [i think he means kinda like you can start a new game but keep all the items in some RPGs]
  • Arcanist will be available at release, Summoner could make it too, but there seem to be delays on the battle side of things, so it might not make it.
  • Wedding quest involves exchanging the rings at some point.
  • After you get your ring, you can get married.
  • Beta content not yet finalized, but he plans to include all the core story
  • Arcanist's "hitting with a book"-animation is being worked on, he plans to show it the next LIVE letter, if possible
  • No plans to novelize FFXIV's story, nor release some goods for now. Not until after release, when the community has grown and the game is successful enough for such investments to be worth it.
  • There might be an offline event where players will be able to fight against the dev team, he's thinking about doing it about half a year after ARR release if the game is successful. [I hope they will still do online events too, else people outside Japan are left out again...]
  
  

• Story
  • Nael is dead. [Sounded pretty final, so no "coming back as omega weapon" etc]
  • Gaius was just observing which party is going to fall, so he and his troops are unharmed. He is going to be our opponent for the time being.
  • Garlean Empire's motivation is "Primals are killing the planet, so we have to stop them. Unite under our banner to bring on an era of peace! If you go against us, this means you are aiding the beast tribes to destroy the planet. This means, you are our enemy."
  • Crystal tower is related to the mystery behind the Allagan Empire, and is it's legacy.
  • All of the 3 storylines are interwined somehow.
  • Dalamud was a machine created by the Allagan Empire [so, it was not the same as the sealing ceremony Louisiox tried to perform!]
  • The emperor Xandes (sp?) of the Allagan Empire is not dead. He is actually in a cold sleep chamber. Yoshida-san wants us to speculate whether Nael was trying to bring Dalamud down to awaken the Emperor and whether the appearance of the Crystal Tower signifies the Emperor's awakening or not.
  • Main story will end at lvl50 with a tentative ending, what will follow are numbered patches, just like with the 7th Umbral Era storyline of 1.x. He emphasizes that he's not talking about expansions here. Those 3 storylines will come to a conclusion before the first expansion is released.
  • "The Grand Labyrith of Bahamut" is not meant figuratively, but literally. It's going to be huge.
  • It appears that Bahamut was not allowed to roam around freely, which is why there is a labyrinth and why the world has recovered. The whiteout at the end of the End of Era trailer takes place right before something happens. [Odin after all?]
  
  
• FATE
  • Rewards won't be useless (like, "here, have a potion"), but won't be anything rare/powerful either
  • Rewards will have something to do with the type of FATE cleared. For example, completing a chocobo escort will yield a reward related to chocobos.
  • The claiming system is disabled while in a FATE
  • Once a FATE starts, everyone on the zone will get that huge FATE message and the location will be marked on the map
  • When you get close to the FATE location, your normal objective list will be replaced with the FATE one. Once cleared, the normal objective list will become visible again.
  • Planning to have 5-10 different FATEs per zone
  
  
• Housing
  • After you build a house, you can't trade that patch of land. [He did not elaborate.]
  • Once you build a house, there won't be any upkeep cost.
  • Housing is planned to be implemented in the first big update after release. However, since debugging still needs to be done, we will get to test it somewhere at the end of Beta.
  
  
• Alpha
  • A lot of positive feedback on alpha ("Amazing" "Didn't expect so much from an alpha" "could have released this as beta"). He was very happy to hear that because he expected a lot more negative comments. [Do I sense a fellow perfectionist soul there?!]
  • Alpha was branched 2 months ago [I wonder how much they improved it in those 2 months]
  • Regional datacenters won't be ready for Alpha
  • First 2 days of global alpha will be limited time-wise, if everything runs well, it will be running 24/7 starting from the 3 day.
  • Alpha will end before the end of the year. [Yes. About 1-2 months of waiting time till beta]
  
  
• Beta
  • Goals of the beta include (among others) stress test, pc search and market system testing. These are sceduled for beta phase 1. They will put dummy items into the marketplace and will ask us to search for something all at once.
  • Basically, just as in Alpha, it comes down to squishing bugs and tweaking code to be more performant. Apparently, removing one loop from the battle code improved the performance allowing for 200 more battles in a zone - laglessly.
  • "Why was the Beta delayed?" "Because I told them to *wry smile*". Basically, he wants to polish it more because of the feedback he received. He's been telling the dev team that saying "it's just alpha" is not allowed and that thinking like that was what has lead 1.0 to be all over the place. [Hear hear! <3]
  • Beta length will depend on what kind of feedback they will receive. He wants the testers to say "it's enough already, just release it" before he does.
  • Still not clear if there is going to be an OBT and/or early access, this will depend on beta feedback, too.
  
  
• Animations
  • 3 animations for taking damage, different animation depending on damage taken
  • Final motion blending animations are not implemented in the alpha. [this should calm down a lot of people, including myself]
  • Beta will introduce some, but not all animation blending.
  
  
• Misc
  • They expected the servers to crash a lot on the last day
  • Reason why they went along with it anyway is, they wanted as many people as possible to watch the trailer at the same time
  • We definitely won't be able to experience the 7th Umbral Storyline/Content again, but not saying "no" to time-travel in general
  • Apparently, 1.0 servers were running on LUA scripts, and the biggest problems were instability and memory consumption.
  • Back when he decided to destroy the world [oooh, evil ] instead of just shutting down the servers, he was looking for a way to do that. That's when he asked what the dot near the moon was. Apparently, Dalamud was supposed to be used in a future scenario of the original story. Well, what he did was to ask "is it okay to make it fall?"
  • That's when he started to prepare the plot and thought "just dropping it is boring... what is typical for FF? Summons... speaking of summons... Bahamut! "
  • He admits his choice was inspired by WoW's Cataclysm to some degree. He felt this way there would be a surprise, while still staying FF-like
  • We didn't get the full roadmap, but a simplified one. For example, in the full roadmap, there was also a roadmap for DoL/DoH, so he did not neglect them as claimed by some players.
  • YoshiP "sucks at drawing" [his words, not mine xD], so he wrote the script describing the events in the End of an Era trailer instead.
  • ARR opening may feature a narration by Louisiox. [Don't jump to conclusions yet]
  • The opening will include the summary of the end of the 6th astral era (3 minutes) and will be around 8 minutes long in total.
  • He's thinking about including a "no cut" [end of era + opening] version of the movie on the ARR CE
  • Our character data is handled with utmost care and there are backups in place should something go wrong
  • He will be thinking about implementing other client languages depending on how many players speaking that language there will be. He knows there is a large demand for a Spanish version and he was also thinking about a Russian one. This is for something after ARR release though.
  • They plan to show off systems like FATE in future videos
  • NPC speech will only be visible in speech bubbles, not in chat log, apparently.
  
  

[Ground_zero]

Bahamut Artwork:

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Arxisane ta nerdarismata...

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Wraia skhnothetimeno videaki, o typos prepei na xalase poly xrono gia na petyxei tis kinhseis, krima pou den tou vghke akrivws lol

[Ground_zero]

Ena gramma tou Producer gia tous Fans:

To our loyal fans,

I wanted to take the time to personally thank all of you once again for your support over the past two years. It has been a long, hard journey, and there is still much more road left to travel, but we could have never made it this far without each and every one of you providing the strength for us to carry on.

Since the release of the End of an Era trailer, we have been flooded with positive feedback from around the world. It was always our goal to create something that would equal the epic cinematics players have come to expect from the FINAL FANTASY series─not just graphically, but in terms of story and emotion, as well─and we are excited to see that so many were moved by the plight of Louisoix and the Eorzean Alliance.

This five-minute tribute to the heroes of Eorzea may mark the end of one era, but at the same time, it represents the dawn of another. To ensure that era is a truly breathtaking experience, we are paying close attention to even the smallest of details. As such, we must ask that you bear with us while we continue the creation process─though I believe most of you will find that it will have definitely been worth the wait.

I am looking forward to seeing all of you again soon.

FINAL FANTASY XIV Producer & Director, Naoki Yoshida

[Ground_zero]

Mia sygentrotikh lista me ta adds tou ARR.
Oxi kati groundbreaking, mono pragmata pou leipane apo to original FFXIV:

Major changes:
- New maps for close to the entire XIV world (Eorzea), with the exception of main cities. (At launch)

- An entirely new graphics engine, optimized to run on a range of differently spec’d PCs. Includes new animations, countless virtual assets, etc. (At launch)

- Entirely new server infrastructure designed to support massive open-world content (similar to Guild Wars 2). Zones will now be indepedent, meaning there will be zoning points between areas (improved latency). This is similar to FFXI, GW2, and lots of other MMOs. (At launch)

- Regional data centres tied to specific servers (in order to reduce latency, although a player is able to play on whatever server he or she wishes). (At launch)

- A new game client. (At launch)

- PS3 release— PC and PS3 players will be able to play together on the same servers. (At launch)

- Two new extremely well designed UIs, one for a mouse/keyboard setup and the other for controller users. (At launch)

- An entirely overhauled system of character creation, which includes much greater options and both sexes for all races. (At launch)

- New race(s). (TBD— if the player poll is used as a basis for developing the next race, expect a viera type race first)

- New classes/jobs (so far Arcanist/Summoner is the only one confirmed for launch, but there is a strong indication that we will see one more at that time)

- The Free Company system. Think of these as Linkshells (FF equivalent of guilds) taken to the next level. The details are scarce at this point, but things such as company bases, company summons, and other large, cool stuff of that nature has been hinted at. (At launch)

- Mailing system (welcome back, mognet!) (At launch)

- Chocobo raising/companion system (your Chocobo can be called to fight in battle with you!). (At launch of shortly thereafter)

- New mounts (including awesome things such as drakes, magitek armour). (TBD)

- Instanced housing (with the ability to furnish, decorate, renovate, garden, and do a whole host of other domestically related activities, lol). (At launch or shortly thereafter)

- New summons (including Titan and Odin!). (At launch)

- New quests/quest based level progression. (At launch)

- Rebalanced/new class abilities and traits. (At launch)

- Redesigned combat (including an awesome ass looking Limit Break system). (At launch)

- New notorious monsters (rare enemies; small and large varieties) and new enemies/monsters. (At launch)

- CROSS-SERVER dungeon/content finder (Automatically matches you up with those that are seeking the same content). (At launch)

- PVP (this will be contained to two main areas; one for small-medium scale encounters and other for much larger, objective based encounters). (At launch)

- New dungeons and raids, including the Crystal Tower mega-dungeon (Nyzul Isle 2.0, anyone?) (At launch)

- New story. (At launch)

- Even further improved crafting/gathering system(s) (I’ve played a lot of MMOs; XIV has my all-time favourite crafting system even as it stands) (At launch)

- DX11 support. (shortly after launch)

- All of the changes being carried over from the final version of 1.0 (including changes the market wards, removal of surplus experience points, the job system, the materia system, overall game balance to name but a FEW). Like, a year's worth of solid updates. (At launch)

- Not so much a “change”, but… everyone who bought XIV 1.0 will be able to download ARR free of charge, and enjoy a free trial period as well (length of the trial is TDB)

- Last but certainly not least, INCREDIBLE NEW MUSIC. I heard some of it leaked footage from the Alpha test… and wow. (At launch)

[Ground_zero]

Official Lore explanation, diavaste:

Eorzea. A Land embraced by Gods and forged by Heroes.
Seeking control over this realm and its abundant crystal resources, the Garlean Empire (a scientifically advanced nation hailing from the north) begins gathering an army of epic proportions. To ready themselves for the coming conflict, the city-states of Eorzea reinstate the Grand Companies─comprehensive centers of command which combine the commonwealths' military and economic assets. However, the commander of the invading forces, VIIth Imperial Legion Legatus Nael van Darnus (a.k.a. “White Raven”), has plans of his own. Driven by madness, he silently plots to usher in a more permanent form of devastation: Meteor.

The Meteor project is comprised of a complex scheme employing arcane magicks and lost technology to summon the lesser moon down to Eorzea in an attempt to annihilate the realm's inhabitants in one fell stroke. Dalamud, as the celestial object is commonly known, is revealed to be a colossal machine launched thousands of years ago into the planet's orbit by an ancient civilization.

Realizing the futility of standing alone against such a threat, the Grand Companies put aside deep-rooted differences and consolidate their forces under the banner of the Eorzean Alliance.

At the behest of this new confederation, adventurers from across the realm take up arms and march on the floating islands of Rivenroad. Here, the brave heroes confront Nael van Darnus, and after a heated battle, put him to the sword. But by this time, the White Raven's plan is too far along, and Dalamud continues its descent.

In an eleventh-hour bid to save mankind, the Grand Companies turn to Louisoix, an enigmatic scholar hailing from the forgotten city-state of Sharlayan. The 'Archon,' as he is called, devises a plan to summon the power of the Twelve, Eorzea’s pantheon of guardian deities, and use that power to banish Dalamud back to the heavens. But for this to succeed, the rite needs to be performed directly beneath the point of Dalamud's impact. After several sleepless nights of deliberation by the realm's foremost arcanists and astronomers, that point is determined to be a vast swathe of barren lowlands in central Eorzea known as the Carteneau Flats. With this information in hand, the Grand Companies order the immediate mobilization of their forces.

Unbeknownst to the Alliance, the soldiers of the VIIth Imperial Legion, oblivious to their leader's dark intentions, have also begun gathering in central Eorzea. Ordered to defend the area with their lives, they prepare for a fight, unaware that victory will bring about their own demise.

And so, with two great hosts amassed, the Battle of Carteneau begins.

Both sides fight with a desperation-fueled frenzy, neither yielding the other ground, until from the skies, a great roar issues. Dalamud has begun its final metamorphosis. In a matter of moments, the stone and metal of the moon's crust crumble away to reveal none other than the elder primal, Bahamut, now free from his ancient prison.

And thus do the people of Eorzea learn what it is that truly faces them. Never was it the White Raven's intention to blight the realm with Dalamud, but what slumbered within it.

Enraged after aeons of duress, Bahamut unleashes his wrath upon the realm, spewing forth endless fire and destruction. Louisoix quickly conjures a barrier to protect what remains of the Eorzean Alliance, and then begins the arcane rite that will channel the power of the Twelve and focus it into rebinding Bahamut. The sheer force of the primal, however, is too strong for even the Archon, and his efforts fail.

Realizing the end is nigh, Louisoix summons the last of his strength to call upon Althyk, the Keeper, god of space and time, to send those surviving heroes into an aetherial rift, where they are to remain untouched by the passing of the seasons until it is once again safe to emerge...and continue their struggle to forge Eorzea's future.
We await the return of FINAL FANTASY XIV: A Realm Reborn, and will look for you fellow adventurers in the dawn of a new Eorzea!

Robert "Hvinire" Peeler
Community Manager, the dusted silhouette on Dalamud's ashes
@SQEX_MEMBERS_NA

Epishs ena wraio tribute video, to kalytero pou exw dei ws twra:

Telos deite thn arxh toulaxiston apo to live letter of the producer pou egine mia wra meta to telos tou paixnidiou, exei poly gelio, mhn ksexasete na energopoihsete tous ypotitlous:

[Ground_zero]

Λουισουά ypothetw? Den kserw Gallika

Deus Dope thn kalyterh douleia tha kaneis, ta lew wraia
Den se parekshgw giati to GW2 kai dwrean einai kai kalo einai, alla to FFXIV paramenei me subcription gia thn wra.
To eixa anaferei kai poio palia, oi Legacy members tha plhrwnoun isovia meiwmenh timh sta 10 evrw ton mhna, gia tous mh Legacy yparxoun 2 epiloges:
- 11 Evrw ton mhna gia enan xarakthra ana server kai 8 xarakthres se diaforous servers
- 13 Evrw ton mhna gia 8 xarakthres ana server kai 40 xarakthres se diaforous server.

O Producer eipe pws yparxoun polla diaforetika kainouria subscription models pou den exoun xrhsimopoihthei akomh apo MMOs kai skeftontai na akolouthisoun alla gia thn wra ta pragmata einai opws exw pei.