• Raistlin

    by Published on 01-07-2013 06:01 PM
    1. Categories:
    2. Final Fantasy XIV
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    Square-Enix has announced that it is now recruiting beta phase testers for Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn.

    Legacy status account holders need not apply for the first phase of the beta through the application site, though according to the website they will have to apply for the Playstation 3 beta phase. Although if you applied to be a PS3 beta tester for FFXIV 1.0, you won’t have to apply again as your application will be automatically reconsidered, but you would need to apply to be a tester for the PC version.

    Lastly, those who have a Members Code from buying Final Fantasy XIII way back when can enter it to receive priority consideration to be a beta tester.

    Anyone who is interested should go apply now. The beta itself will not start until later next month. In the meantime, good luck to all the applicants! ...
    by Published on 01-07-2013 05:56 PM
    1. Categories:
    2. Square-Enix,
    3. Final Fantasy XIV
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    Square-Enix has just released what the Lodestone is calling the opening movie for Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn. Check out the official prologue for ARR!


    This video actually starts with the awesome finale cutscene of FFXIV 1.0, with Eorzea under attack and the secret of Dalamud revealed. After that scene (around the 5:45 mark), the movie cuts to the reborn realm where our heroes were transported, with their chocobo mounts conveniently waiting for them.

    The movie doesn’t add much to previous trailers, but it sure makes me excited to start exploring the new Eorzea right along with them. ...
    by Published on 01-07-2013 04:44 AM
    1. Categories:
    2. Final Fantasy Series,
    3. Community,
    4. Features
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    The accuracy of the common mantra “sex sells” is apparent in all forms of media: from movies and TV shows to magazines to video games. Sexy, scantily clad female characters in video games are widely celebrated, from Lara Croft to, well, the entire Dead or Alive cast. If you were to ask gamers who the most well-known Final Fantasy woman was, the buxom Tifa Lockhart would undoubtedly be a popular response. But these characters have also received criticism for their appearance.


    Commonly, a female character’s outfit or pose is not out of any practical reason such as protection, comfort, or ease of movement, but to arouse the viewer. If video games were to be believed, skin-tight and revealing clothing is the most comfortable and practical clothing available for all circumstances, and that bending over sexily is the most natural position for a woman to be in. But if the male characters tried to similarly show themselves off, the results would be patently silly. Why is this any more tolerable coming from women?


    If the men posed like the women in comics. "HULK GROPE!"

    A common response to these points is that the game developers ...
    by Published on 01-02-2013 03:15 AM
    1. Categories:
    2. Final Fantasy XIV,
    3. News
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    It is now 2013, and so, as we previously announced, the Final Fantasy XIV 1.0 servers have been shut for good. Now we can only wait for the beta and the promise of the relaunch.

    Naoki Yoshida, producer for Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn, posted a Happy New Year’s message today on The Lodestone. In short, he promises that no effort will be spared to make ARR a great game. He also urged everyone to mark Janaury 7th on our calendars, but would not say for what. Beta tester applications? The anticipated benchmark? A new trailer? All of the above??? We’ll have to wait and see.

    Yoshi-P also threw in the following artwork:


    You might be wondering what that little purple thing is on the end. Well according to a new post on the developer’s blog, it looks like ARR will include baby behemoths – that are way less scary more cute than their grown counterparts. Here’s some more artwork from the developer’s blog:


    Aw, how cute! I’m sure it’ll be at least a year before this little thing could viciously slaughter
    ...
    by Published on 12-28-2012 04:52 AM
    1. Categories:
    2. Final Fantasy XIV,
    3. News
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    A new video of alpha footage was released for Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn. This time we get to take a look at instanced dungeons. Check it out below!


    The players here are taking on the Tam-Tara Deepcroft. The video shows the group exploring the dungeon, taking on a variety of foes with the new fast-paced and dynamic battle system, and conquering the dungeon's challenges to keep going deeper. The atmosphere in particular looks great, with the lighting and shadows making it really look like the party is in an underground dungeon.

    According to the FFXIV Community Rep who posted the video, this is the last video in the Alpha First Look series. The videos haven’t shown much in the way of content, as the alpha test does not have most of the content available. But they did a great job of showing just how committed the development team has been to remaking the entire game for the better: from the interface to crafting to the battle system. Final Fantasy XIV has truly been remade from the ground up, and so far looks ...
    by Published on 12-27-2012 11:48 PM
    1. Categories:
    2. Final Fantasy XIV,
    3. News
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    Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn producer Naoki Yoshida issued his 40th Letter from the Producer today as 2012 and ARR’s alpha test draw to a close.

    Yesterday, the FFXIV development team released the beta roadmap for ARR, and, as I pointed out then, the roadmap is a ways behind schedule. Responding to that lateness, Yoshi-P said that it is because the development team is holding itself to high standards, and not allowing itself to sacrifice quality for expediency – which is what caused the original FFXIV’s disastrous launch. He asked that the players continue to bear with him.

    Yoshi-P also noted that the development team is already making changes to ARR based on player feedback from the alpha test. I look forward to seeing some of those changes in action in the beta.

    2012 closed the door on the troubled history of Final Fantasy XIV 1.0. As we move into 2013, there is, for perhaps the first time in this game’s history, a future filled with promise. We will have to see if A Realm Reborn ...
    by Published on 12-26-2012 09:36 PM
    1. Categories:
    2. Final Fantasy XIV,
    3. News
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    It is almost time for the Beta test for Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn, and Square-Enix has just released its new development roadmap. The Alpha test mostly involved stress testing the servers, but the Beta test will involve finalizing the game: rebalancing level progression, the battle system, and crafting, as well as eventually importing FFXIV 1.0 characters and data. There will also be beta schedules for both the PC and Playstation 3 systems.

    People eligible to participate in the beta test include: Legacy status holders, service account holders, and those selected through the upcoming beta test application site (due out in early January, 2013), which will screen applicants similar to the alpha application site. Players can apply to participate in both the PC and PS3 beta tests, and those with a Square-Enix Members code that came bundled with Final Fantasy XIII will be given priority for the PS3 beta.

    The beta will include four phases to begin in mid-February, 2013, with a 1-2 week debugging transitional period between phases. The first ...
    by Published on 12-21-2012 12:08 AM
    1. Categories:
    2. Final Fantasy XIV,
    3. News

    We’ve already seen a preview of combat and quests in the alpha version of Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn, but today Square-Enix released a new alpha preview featuring guild levequests and party combat (for those who haven’t played FFXIV before, levequests are simply quests given by NPC guildleve masters).


    The video begins with levequests, showing off the streamlined new UI for selecting and accepting quests. The quest then shows up on the Duty List on the right side of the screen, where you can easily access the quest instructions and a relevant map. We then get to see the player massacre a bunch of innocent-looking lemurs.

    The second half of the video shows two group battles against massive enemies. The fighting is fast-paced and exciting, really showing off how much the battle system has changed, which has been discussed before.

    The last alpha phase began on December 3rd, so even though we have yet to receive an updated development roadmap, the alpha phase should be ending soon. The alpha gameplay ...
    by Published on 12-20-2012 12:38 AM
    1. Categories:
    2. Final Fantasy XIV,
    3. News
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    Last month after the finale of Final Fantasy XIV 1.x and sever shutdown, the worlds were brought back up so that people could still play on the 1.x servers while waiting for the highly anticipated relaunch of Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn (albeit with everything done after that point not brought over to ARR). There was one condition: that 30% of the active subscribers log in every month. If not enough people played the game, the servers would be brought back down again.

    The Lodestone is now reporting that all Final Fantasy XIV 1.x worlds will be shut down on December 31, 2012 at 6:59 AM PST (2:59 PM GMT), this time apparently for good. No reason was stated, but a link was posted for more details to the previous update that discussed the aforementioned conditions for the servers to stay up. It looks like not enough people logged on over the last month, and so the servers are being shut down again.

    So be sure to log in and have fun while you can, and say goodbye for FFXIV 1.0, ...
    by Published on 12-19-2012 02:37 AM
    1. Categories:
    2. Final Fantasy XIV,
    3. News
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    The developer’s blog for Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn has received a few updates recently, but today’s update is the coolest so far. Fernehalwes, the pseudonymous updater of the developer’s blog, first reminded us of previously leaked concept art of an armor set for chocobos:


    If you recall from previous updates, players will be able to equip chocobos in ARR with armor sets. Well the design for this particular armor set is well underway, and we have been treated with a picture of the design-in-progress, which looks even scarier than the concept art.


    Holy crap, that isn’t an armored chocobo; it’s a freaking terrifying robot dinosaur.

    The blog entry also implied that this armor set was designed after Behemoth. No surprise there! Behemoths were confirmed to appear in A Realm Reborn in a trailer released over the summer.

    So how terrified would you be to see that running down on you in game? ...
    by Published on 12-17-2012 11:27 PM
    1. Categories:
    2. Square-Enix,
    3. Final Fantasy XI,
    4. Final Fantasy XIV,
    5. News
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    Amid rumors that layoffs had occurred at Square-Enix’s Los Angeles office and how they might impact current MMO games, SE’s Senior Director of Public Relations, Riley Brennan, confirmed yesterday that layoffs did occur, but that customers will not see any negative impact. Brennan emphasized that the decision to lay off some unknown number of employees “will not have any impact on the operations of MMO titles,” and that the upcoming launch of Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn will not be affected. It’s currently unknown what specific departments lost employees, but Brennan’s assurances seemed to apply only to the MMO departments.

    The layoffs seem to corroborate last week’s report about the disastrous original launch of Final Fantasy XIV and its continued financial impact on Square-Enix. Hopefully the upcoming relaunch of Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn will allow the company to bounce back so that this trend does not continue.

    Source: Massively. ...
    by Published on 12-14-2012 01:40 AM
    1. Categories:
    2. Final Fantasy XIV,
    3. News

    Today, Square-Enix released a new video preview of the gameplay in Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn’s alpha phase. This one focuses on showing off the new gathering and crafting interfaces.


    The video starts with gathering. The character is presented with a list of the items that can be gathered, as well as the chances of success for each. You simply select one at a time until the resource is used up.

    Then the video cuts to a crafter. The crafter’s log lists all of the available recipes. You simply click on the recipe you want, and then are then given the option of using certain skills to complete the item. Each skill impacts the item’s development differently, and the item must be completed before its durability runs out.

    Gathering looks a bit tedious, but what else is new? It would be nice to have a feature where you could select one item for the gathering process to repeat automatically (without having to click again and again on the same thing you want to ...
    by Published on 12-12-2012 12:35 AM
    1. Categories:
    2. Final Fantasy XIV,
    3. News
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    Recently, Final Fantasy XIV Producer Naoki Yoshida admitted that another failure like FFXIV’s original launch could doom the company. This was not just hyperbole. A recent financial report from Square-Enix only confirms Yoshi-P's prediction, and this one is straight from SE’s Chief Financial Officer, Yosuke Matsuda. Despite being released over two years ago, the financial impact of FFXIV’s horrific failure are still being felt throughout the entire company.

    Final Fantasy XIV was meant to build off of the huge success of Final Fantasy XI (the most financially successful Final Fantasy ever), and be a constant and safe source of income. In short: it wasn’t. Instead, FFXIV’s original failure meant that MMO as a category of games for SE is still yielding no money and operating at a loss -- which has resulted in a “negative chain of events” that impacted the entire company. Matsuda pointed to the delay in development of new HD games as just one example of this impact, and elsewhere in the report it’s noted that Square-Enix’s ...
    by Published on 12-10-2012 03:13 AM
    1. Categories:
    2. Final Fantasy XIV,
    3. News
    Article Preview

    Square-Enix just released some new concept art for Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn, featuring Bahamut. Check out this badass:


    Not someone you want to mess with.

    There’s also concept art for Bahamut-related gear: a wicked looking helmet, a weapon, and some head pieces.









    Now I want them all. ...
    by Published on 12-07-2012 04:20 AM
    1. Categories:
    2. Final Fantasy XIV

    Today, Square-Enix released a new gameplay video for Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn, this one featuring quests and combat. Check it out below!


    Throughout the video, you see a character accepting quests and returning with them completed, which gives us a good look into the new quest system and UI. Everything looks more smooth and streamlined than the old version, including the dialogue. There’s the Duty List on the much-less-cluttered side of the screen where you can simply click and be shown a separate map with your quest targets. The screen looks cleaner, and navigating the options is quicker and easier.

    The video also shows instances of characters in combat against multiple foes. Unlike the original combat, the player is not simply sitting there the majority of the time. Instead, the player is constantly clicking and targeting, waiting only for abilities/spells to recharge, which takes much less time. New changes include weaponskills being usable to initiate a battle, and ...
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