Tanaka's out, and more free play time!

I got this email from Square-Enix. This is insane news.

Source

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Thank you for your continued interest in and support of FINAL FANTASY XIV.

While more than two months have passed since the official launch of FINAL FANTASY XIV service, we deeply regret that the game has yet to achieve the level of enjoyability that FINAL FANTASY fans have come to expect from the franchise, and for this we offer our sincerest of apologies.

After thorough deliberation on how to meet those expectations, it was decided that the most viable step was to approach improvements under new leadership and with a restructured team.

To realize this vision, and in doing so, provide our customers with a better game experience, we have assembled our company’s top talent and resources. Taking over the role of producer and director is Naoki Yoshida, a passionate individual for whom customer satisfaction has always taken top priority. Not only is he one of our Group’s most accomplished and experienced members, Naoki Yoshida is also a charismatic leader possessing the skill to bring together and effectively helm a team which encompasses a wide range of responsibilities. We also welcome several new leaders handpicked from other projects to work with the existing talent on FINAL FANTASY XIV.

We realize time is of the essence and are fully determined to provide our customers with quality service. It is because of this that we ask our customers to be patient until we are able to confidently present them with a concrete plan outlining FINAL FANTASY XIV’s new direction. The free trial period will be extended until that time.

Regarding the PlayStation 3, it is not our wish to release a simple conversion of the Windows version in its current state, but rather an update that includes all the improvements we have planned. For that reason, we have made the difficult decision to delay the release of the PlayStation 3 version beyond the originally announced date of March 2011.

The FINAL FANTASY XIV team is working hard to bring our customers an unparalleled adventure, and we ask for your continued understanding and support as we march ever diligently towards that goal.

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This is just... God damn, things must be pretty dire for them to rip the very experienced producer and throw in a different development team.

But wait, there's more!

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The development and management teams would like to make an announcement regarding personnel changes.

[Organizational Changes to the Development Team]
To improve the service of FINAL FANTASY XIV, Square Enix has made the following changes to the development team:

Managerial Changes

Producer/Director
Naoki Yoshida

Section Leader Changes

Assistant Director
Shintaro Tamai (FINAL FANTASY X, Front Mission 5: Scars of the War)

Lead Game Designer
Nobuaki Komoto (FINAL FANTASY IX, FINAL FANTASY XI)

Lead Combat System Designer
Akihiko Matsui (FINAL FANTASY XI)

Technical Advisor
Yoshihisa Hashimoto (Next Generation Game Engine Development)

Lead Programmer
Hideyuki Kasuga (FINAL FANTASY XI, DIRGE OF CERBERUS -FINAL FANTASY VII-)

Senior Concept Artist
Akihiko Yoshida (FINAL FANTASY XII, Vagrant Story)

Lead Artist
Hiroshi Takai (FINAL FANTASY XI, THE LAST REMNANT)

Lead UI Designer/Lead Web Designer
Hiroshi Minagawa (FINAL FANTASY XII, Vagrant Story)

These members will make up the development team’s new core—a core dedicated to ensuring we achieve a level of enjoyability that will more than satisfy our customers. Under a schedule of more frequent version updates, the new leaders and their respective sections will strive for continued improvements to FINAL FANTASY XIV service operation and development.

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Lots of staff from FFXII and FFIX. Which is excellent, imo.

Here's the rest of the email.

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[Extension of the Free Trial Period]
As stated above, the newly restructured team’s top priority is to bring about improvements to the game’s enjoyability, and therefore we have decided to extend the free trial period until we can provide a plan that outlines a level of enjoyment that will satisfy both us and our customers. When we are confident that we have reached that goal, we will notify our customers immediately.

[Future Version Updates]
At present, the development team is putting the finishing touches on the previously announced version update, which is still slated for release in mid-December. In addition, there is one more version update scheduled for release before year’s end. Details on the content and dates of these updates will be released in the near future.

[Delay of the PlayStation 3 Version Release]
Although the release date for the PlayStation 3 version of the game was previously announced as late March of 2011, we regret to inform that this date has been changed.

The PlayStation 3 release will be delayed until we are confident that the game has reached the level of enjoyability and service befitting the FINAL FANTASY name for users on all supported platforms. We offer our sincerest apologies to any fans anticipating the PlayStation 3 release, and humbly ask for your continued patience and understanding as both the development team and Square Enix as a whole strive towards making FINAL FANTASY XIV a truly enjoyable and unforgettable adventure.

[New Development Team Policy]
I would like to take this opportunity to greet all of you—those currently playing FINAL FANTASY XIV, those who have taken a respite from playing, and those awaiting the PlayStation 3 release—and offer a brief word by way of an introduction.

No doubt there are very few, if any, among you who have ever heard the name Naoki Yoshida. To be sure, I have never been in the fore on any of the titles I have worked on in the past. I am, however, honored and privileged to work alongside many talented and inspiring colleagues, and with their support have enjoyed making games for a number of years. I am aware that a great many people will think the responsibility of leading FINAL FANTASY XIV is far too large a task for someone so unknown. After all, even my very best may seem no more than a drop in the bucket when considering the sheer scope of FINAL FANTASY XIV. But working together with me are the very talented and very capable development and management teams, whose dedication and motivation are unwavering. I would like to ask you to please put to rest uncertainties that you may have.

Now, more than ever, myself, the development team, and Square Enix as a whole, are committed to furthering our efforts to provide a quality service.

Everything we do will be for our players and customers.

FINAL FANTASY XIV Producer/Director, Naoki Yoshida

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And finally, the standard apology from Tanaka himself.

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First of all, I would like to apologize for our inability to fully satisfy our users with the initial release of FINAL FANTASY XIV. I take full responsibility for the game’s current situation, and have therefore made the decision to step down from my role as producer. A number of concerns that have been voiced by users, such as the design of the user interface, availability of tutorials and game content, and battle system functionality, represent key issues that must be addressed. While improvements are already well underway in many areas, we were unfortunately not able to incorporate player feedback as quickly as we would have liked. We are aware, however, that in many cases, addressing these issues will call for a reworking of game elements. As these changes are our first priority, they will be commanding our full attention and efforts. It is to that end that we have put a new organizational structure into place for the development team. Under this new system, FINAL FANTASY XIV will see changes and additions in line with the desires and expectations of players. Though no longer producer, I will be continuing to support the development team in other capacities, and personally hope that you will continue your adventures in the realm of Eorzea.

-Hiromichi Tanaka

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Sorry just fixed up some formatting errors. So yeah... New development team, it's staying free until they fix it all, and they are delaying the PS3 launch. Fun times. But hopefully this will see a much better product in the end.

Hmm...very interesting letter. I heard bad reviews, but I didn't relalise that it was so bad that they needed to change whole the development team. I hope they are able to improve the faults before I get the game.

Was this sent out to everyone that has the game or do you work for SE, Rostum?

about time they replaced those incompetents

I have no idea what to make of this. I'm hoping for someone who is more open to listening to ideas of players, although I always felt that the user's issues were being dealt with (with the exception of content) and that the only major issues that still keep me from playing are firstly lack of content, and secondly lack of friends from EoFF actively playing. I think there is only Bleys playing now, although he wasn't on for the few times I played this week.

I suppose the proof will inevitably be in the pudding.

For me, the first thing they need to do is unveil Ishgard. >=( It's just THERE, waiting for us! But we can't get in!

Whoa.

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Originally Posted by Del Murder

Whoa.

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That's what I said when I saw the email.

Edit:The new lead combat designer, Matsui, is the guy who has been directing FFXI through the most recent editions including the increase in level cap. He oversaw a number of changes to FFXI which were long over due. Since he took the helm, Final Fantasy XI started putting out updates that actually made the fans pretty happy for the most part, and while one might argue that a number of the changes to FFXI have also destroyed what the game was, it's also become a lot more user-friendly as a result.

Long story short, this is fantastic news.

Whoa did they just like, fire everybody?

I am surprised that the amount of discord regarding this title has resulted in so many drastic changes. I wonder what will come of this?

I wonder if Final Fantasy XIV was released too early in its development? Previously, it was acceptable to release a base product and continue to develop it as time goes on, but it sounds like the general membership feels that the game is unfinished and lacks a foundation rather than the product being slow to build up.

Damn... Tanaka is like one of the few remaining members of the original FF team from the 8-bit era. The guy who also pretty much made Secret of Mana (he's responsible for most of the significant parts of the game) so to have him knocked out for a relative unknown just says something is happening with XIV.

The guy replacing him doesn't have much info on him but oddly enough his most significant titles are ones that I don't remember SE having any part of so I wonder if this guy is freelancing on the side. He worked on Cross Edge and the Agarest War series for those who don't know, titles that are closer to Nippon Ichi than Squenix. It will be interesting to see what happens from here but god I can't help thinking about that interview with Kifune from Capcom in regards to Tanaka. If the game succeeds, the company is praised, if the game fails, it's this individuals failure. Still, with an overhaul of the entire team, XIV might have some major changes but lord, is this game really that bad?

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Originally Posted by Wolf Kanno

Damn... Tanaka is like one of the few remaining members of the original FF team from the 8-bit era. The guy who also pretty much made Secret of Mana (he's responsible for most of the significant parts of the game) so to have him knocked out for a relative unknown just says something is happening with XIV.

The guy replacing him doesn't have much info on him but oddly enough his most significant titles are ones that I don't remember SE having any part of so I wonder if this guy is freelancing on the side. He worked on Cross Edge and the Agarest War series for those who don't know, titles that are closer to Nippon Ichi than Squenix. It will be interesting to see what happens from here but god I can't help thinking about that interview with Kifune from Capcom in regards to Tanaka. If the game succeeds, the company is praised, if the game fails, it's this individuals failure. Still, with an overhaul of the entire team, XIV might have some major changes but lord, is this game really that bad?

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Stolen from GAF:

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For those interested in knowing what the new core members of the team have done in more specific terms...


Producer/Director: Naoki Yoshida [Never heard of this guy. Jonnyram says he's a director in S-E's R&D division.]

Section Leader Changes

Assistant Director: Shintaro Tamai [Graphics director for various FF games (7, 8, 10, 13) mostly specializing in battle graphics and special effects. He was also the director of Front Mission 5.]

Lead Game Designer: Nobuaki Komoto [Originally director of FFXIV, it seems they're reducing his responsibilities so he can focus on designing the stuff he originally specialized in on FFXI - the scenario and quest design.]

Lead Combat System Designer: Akihiko Matsui [Originally the lead battle data planner for FFXI, he took over entirely as battle director for Aht Urhgan and Wings of the Goddess after Katsuhisa Higuchi left S-E.]

Technical Advisor: Yoshihisa Hashimoto [Ex-Sonic Team programmer, director of Sonic Unleashed and technical director of the Hedgehog Engine. Left Sonic Team and joined S-E in 2009 to work on their next-generation engine platform.]

Lead Programmer: Hideyuki Kasuga [Network programmer for the FFXI client and Dirge of Cerberus online mode. Lead programmer for Gyromancer.]

Senior Concept Artist: Akihiko Yoshida [FFXIV Art director, character designer for all of Matsuno's games, character designer for FF3 DS and FF 4 Warriors of Light. God's gift to S-E's art teams.]

Lead Artist: Hiroshi Takai [Mostly a battle graphic/effects director for most of the SaGa games, more recently overall director of The Last Remnant.]

Lead UI Designer/Lead Web Designer: Hiroshi Minagawa [Director of FFXII and Tactics Ogre PSP. Art director for all of Matsuno's games. God's other gift to S-E's art teams.]

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Originally Posted by Wolf Kanno

It will be interesting to see what happens from here but god I can't help thinking about that interview with Kifune from Capcom in regards to Tanaka. If the game succeeds, the company is praised, if the game fails, it's this individuals failure.

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Too true, but I have to kind of admire Yoshida for walking into a :bou::bou::bou::bou: storm like that. Really at this point, if they really are suffering from terrible player numbers and a bad reputation for the game then even if they turn things around it might be too late (and if it is guess who's going to get the flak for not turning it around. Of course if he does pull it off he''l be a damn hero to Squenix). These things are costly to make and maintain and if the player count doesn't increase to a respectable level (whatever that may be) within even a few months I'd say they may just be digging themselves into a deeper hole. Still though, I have to give Squenix credit: lesser companies would have dropped the game altogether by now and cut their losses. In fact, many companies have had to do that before, so at least Square is trying to fix it for those who want it.

It even got featured in Slashdot today:

Top Final Fantasy XIV Devs Replaced, PS3 Version Delayed - Slashdot

I wouldn't be so quick to jump to Tanaka's defense. The probably certainly wasn't exclusively his fault, and while it's unfair that it seems to have fallen largely on him, he has shown through his tenure in FFXI and now with FFXIV that he is not the type of developer suited to leading a project which inherently requires communication of some degree with the player base. FFXI suffered from a dev. team whose attitudes toward the player base was, "It's great that you really want us to make this change, but we don't think the game needs it, so tough cookies."

This was a little more acceptable when FFXI came out only because the MMORPG genre was relatively young, but that type of attitude has become completely unacceptable. Certainly developers have to show restraint to maintain game balance and they can't give us absolutely everything that we want because of it, but both FFXI and now FFXIV under Tanaka has shown a development team that is out of touch with the fanbase. In an MMORPG, that's entirely unacceptable.

If only the PC version had seen the same delay. Oh well, at least we get free FF14 for a while longer.

I heard about this from my brother. I don't check this section so I didn't know about it! Shouldn't it be on the frontsite? I would have known that way :(

Now this just means I have more time to get a better comp before playing the game.

Aren't the graphic expectations really high for this game? I don't think my PC can handle it anyway. Hell, it can't run EQ2 to full capacity in graphics without lagging bad. Have a whole lot of MMO's that came After 2004'S FFXI,EQ2, WoW been successful? It's interesting how the dated 1999 original Everquest still serves SOE as a cash cow, but many of their newer MMO's with fantastic graphics become failures.

Given that it's a numbered FF, I'm of the opinion that SE are investing in a game to last a decade or more, so they need to consider that in a decade's time, the graphics will still need to be at least vaguely up to scratch.

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Originally Posted by Elskidor

Aren't the graphic expectations really high for this game? I don't think my PC can handle it anyway. Hell, it can't run EQ2 to full capacity in graphics without lagging bad. Have a whole lot of MMO's that came After 2004'S FFXI,EQ2, WoW been successful? It's interesting how the dated 1999 original Everquest still serves SOE as a cash cow, but many of their newer MMO's with fantastic graphics become failures.

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The graphics are good, but they don't run super efficiently.

Wowza, that's a damn big shakeup they've got going on. :o

I guess this is a good thing?

One would hope. Both December updates appear to be leavings of the previous development team. I was holding out for something more with the late-December update, but it turns out it's just the first stage of a search system for the wards. It only functions to search for items if they're in the properly associated ward. Hopefully the new development team realizes that this exclusive bazaar system is a time-sink and institute a proper auction house. They promised an update in early 2011, so hopefully we'll see something by the new line-up then.

The more I look into the current state of Final Fantasy XI, however, the more I begin to fear that this line-up change will solve some problems only to bring new ones. From what I can see, while the new leadership in Final Fantasy XI certainly brought a lot of things to the table that fans wanted, it also absolutely wrecked game balance to achieve it. Paladin, for example, is fundamentally useless in Final Fantasy XI because of the game's very mechanics. It's not just that PLD has a difficult time keeping hate, it's that with the current dominance of DDs, it is physically impossible for a tank to keep hate. Because of CE/VE caps, a DD will cap hate faster than a PLD, and because they both have the same enmity cap, you'll never see the PLD pull it away long enough to properly tank. I worry that SE might become so desperate to please fans that they'll turn easy mode on in FFXIV the way they have in FFXI and destroy game balance in the process.

We'll just have to wait and see.

I think the first patch in 2011 will still be stuff from the old development group. It's been stated previously that the first patch will include things such as companies, company buildings and company ships etc.

Still, I have to say that as far as I'm concerned, the game doesn't really start until Ishgard is accessable.

I think they only opened up FFXI and put it on easy street because FFXI is in its final days and they want people to move over to FFXIV. I personally like it and would have been really disappointed had they not gone crazy like this near the end. It's what I would have done if I ran a MMORPG.

But I agree that this can't be done for FFXIV, at least not yet. At the same time I hope it's not the super difficult grindfest that FFXI was for the first 4-5 years. Can't they come up with something in the middle?

I'm not so concerned about easy mode. Quite frankly, I realize that I kind of like a bit of easy mode sometimes. I don't have the time to be masochistic in an MMORPG anymore. I'm more concerned about the way that they turned on easy mode in FFXI which has completely disregarded any concept of game balance. The new super boss, Shinryu, can be defeated solo easily and there's no concept of usefulness for a number of jobs (DNC is inferior in most ways to NIN; PLD is fundamentally borked; RNG, DRK, SAM (never thought I'd say that), and DRG are useless next to WAR and MNK) has fallen to nothing.

Not big on easy mode. Make a server for easy mode, and one for challenge and one for medium play or something. I quit my last MMO after 2 year because they continued to make it easier and easier and easier with every update/expansion. Personally I'd rather MMOs to return to the 1999-2004 Everquest days. Pure challenge and none of this modern day yawn easy fest. The harder the game, and the better it will be. Make solo possible, but much harder to get a whole heck of a lot accomplished. Not sure what's up with the world obsessing over PVP nowadays either, but please separate PVP into it's own servers! It seems like a lot of the newer games and even new updates on older games continue to easy mode there game to steal WoW costumers and that annoys me to no end. So what if millions of subscribers like to play watered down and a laughably easy crapfest game called WoW. Do we really have to destroy MMO's that have some challenge left in them in hopes of stealing some immature amateur gamers that, from my experience, often annoy the hell out of server populations?

I'm not bothered by making things easier if the game's idea of difficulty is just being extremely tedious :p

What do you guys mean by challenge, out of curiosity? I mean, if you level high enough and have enough people alongside you at a decent level, I imagine most enemies are inevitably going to be pretty easy. Unless you mean that it should be a challenge to level up in the first place.

By 'challenging' I mean FFXI in the first 2-3 years of it's existence. Where getting the level 50 cap break items took a full alliance killing for hours and getting maybe 4-5 drops (for 18 people who need it). I meant the CoP missions prior to the first nerf that required a full party of specific jobs and even then victory wasn't guaranteed. I meant leveling to 75 prior to the lowering of needed experience and even prior to ToAU or Level Sync.

Like you said, BoB, any high level party of competent people should be able to do most tasks without too much fuss. It shouldn't be easy street but it shouldn't take you 20 tries either.

The unfortunate problem is that Square Enix's idea of difficulty is exactly what Jessweeee♪ has pointed out. Final Fantasy XI has never been a particularly difficult game. The game has always been an artificial time sink. A bloated experience curve isn't difficulty, it's tedium. Obnoxiously low drop rates don't make the enemies any more difficult to beat. Requiring people to repeat the same task repeatedly over long periods of time does not make the game a challenge. Final Fantasy XI certainly does have some instances of genuine challenge (finding strategies to defeat Odin in Einherjar, for example), but a majority of the content was always artificially difficult.

I don't mind a challenge. When a boss is genuinely difficult to beat but can be overcome by a specific strategy, it's exciting. When a boss is difficult and the only way to defeat him is to abuse a glitch in the game (I'm looking at you, Absolute Virtue), it's ridiculous.

Also, a lot of the difficulty in FFXI was also due to a largely ignorant player base and Square Enix's refusal to release information about the game mechanics. It took people a long time to figure out exactly how powerful haste is. Once we figured out the mechanics, the game began to descend into easy mode because, quite frankly, it was there all along.

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Originally Posted by Ouch!

I'm not so concerned about easy mode. Quite frankly, I realize that I kind of like a bit of easy mode sometimes. I don't have the time to be masochistic in an MMORPG anymore.

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The whole idea of a "time sink equals challenge" is long dead. Just because you don't need to play 40 hours a week to get anywhere, doesn't make it easy mode. Reports of incredibly challenging dungeons are arising in the World of Warcraft community, and after a friend explained them to me they certainly do require a lot of skill, co-ordination and member management. Moreso that any "hard-mode" MMO I've played, including FFXI.

The whole idea of a "hard-mode" MMO is so flawed now. FFXI is probably the best example of why; Why should I spend 6 months doing a set of dungeons that are just an easy-long grind, only to have the chance of getting an item that I then need to collect two more pieces and spend 6,000,000 gil on? That my friend, is incredibly flawed and in no one makes the game challenging.

Just because a game rewards you for doing a task, whether challenging or not, does not make it "easy-mode" or undesirable.

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Originally Posted by Ouch!

I'm more concerned about the way that they turned on easy mode in FFXI which has completely disregarded any concept of game balance. The new super boss, Shinryu, can be defeated solo easily and there's no concept of usefulness for a number of jobs (DNC is inferior in most ways to NIN; PLD is fundamentally borked; RNG, DRK, SAM (never thought I'd say that), and DRG are useless next to WAR and MNK) has fallen to nothing.

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You're forgetting something. FFXI =\= FFXIV. You have to get past the whole idea that which you think every other MMO plays the same as FFXI's core concepts and stop comparing what FFXI is doing to what other MMO's are doing because they just don't work the same at all. FFXI is a special case in its current core mechanics overhaul, and therefor is going to need time and feedback in order to get it to where they want it, since it is a dramatic shift in what the game was for the last decade.

This does in no way reflect what the team might possibly do to a fresh new game that pretty much has no gameplay established in the first place.

At the moment this new team needs to break the game. Make it completely unbalanced and every class overpowered, then water it down. Because right now it's not working.

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Originally Posted by Elskidor

Not big on easy mode. Make a server for easy mode, and one for challenge and one for medium play or something. I quit my last MMO after 2 year because they continued to make it easier and easier and easier with every update/expansion. Personally I'd rather MMOs to return to the 1999-2004 Everquest days. Pure challenge and none of this modern day yawn easy fest. The harder the game, and the better it will be. Make solo possible, but much harder to get a whole heck of a lot accomplished. Not sure what's up with the world obsessing over PVP nowadays either, but please separate PVP into it's own servers! It seems like a lot of the newer games and even new updates on older games continue to easy mode there game to steal WoW costumers and that annoys me to no end. So what if millions of subscribers like to play watered down and a laughably easy crapfest game called WoW. Do we really have to destroy MMO's that have some challenge left in them in hopes of stealing some immature amateur gamers that, from my experience, often annoy the hell out of server populations?

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Are you drunk or something? Because this is the worst load of dribble I've ever read in this section of the forums.

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Originally Posted by Rostum

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Originally Posted by Ouch!

I'm more concerned about the way that they turned on easy mode in FFXI which has completely disregarded any concept of game balance. The new super boss, Shinryu, can be defeated solo easily and there's no concept of usefulness for a number of jobs (DNC is inferior in most ways to NIN; PLD is fundamentally borked; RNG, DRK, SAM (never thought I'd say that), and DRG are useless next to WAR and MNK) has fallen to nothing.

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You're forgetting something. FFXI =\= FFXIV. You have to get past the whole idea that which you think every other MMO plays the same as FFXI's core concepts and stop comparing what FFXI is doing to what other MMO's are doing because they just don't work the same at all. FFXI is a special case in its current core mechanics overhaul, and therefor is going to need time and feedback in order to get it to where they want it, since it is a dramatic shift in what the game was for the last decade.

This does in no way reflect what the team might possibly do to a fresh new game that pretty much has no gameplay established in the first place.

At the moment this new team needs to break the game. Make it completely unbalanced and every class overpowered, then water it down. Because right now it's not working.

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I understand that the two have fundamentally different game cores. My point isn't that FFXIV is like FFXI, it's that with the new shift in development teams, which has brought a recent number of people over from the team recently working on FFXI, I am concerned that the new team has no sense of balance. You mention that FFXIV needs to be broken before it can be fixed. I am worried because while the recent development team for Final Fantasy XI has shown that they are exceedingly adapt in breaking existing content and mechanics (the uselessness of any endgame event aside from Abyssea, the job imbalance, the overpowered gear, the underwhelmingly easy enemies), they have yet to demonstrate an ability to do anything else.

It worries me because a broken game is not fun to play; you say they need to break FFXIV before it can be fixed. I am confident in this development team's ability to break the game. Anyone can overpower everything. I'm just worried that they're going to be able to then take a step back and reel it all in and make a solid experience.

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Originally Posted by Rostum

Are you drunk or something? Because this is the worst load of dribble I've ever read in this section of the forums.

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Not sure, but I could have been but I read and understand it just fine today, and if you can't then that's your own problem. Try reading it a little slower next time.

I think the part that doesn't make sense is the part where you suggest that companies who make video games for a profit should care more about the quality of subscribers they have rather than the number of them.

If you like the outdated model of the MMORPG which is by design difficult primarily by virtue of being a time sink (note: see most all MMORPGs which precede World of Warcraft), that's fine. Don't expect that such a model will hold up in today's market, though.

Its been a while since i browsed EoFF since the Final Fantasy franchise really dipped off for me after FFXI.

But I must say that FFXI wasn't really that hard per say. Half the time as White Mage all i really needed to do was manage my MP, and stare at a wall at the life bars. If i was to do this in WoW i would probably die and would be blamed for being so tunnel-visioned.

Never have I been forced to actively move around avoiding hazards(sometimes from the monster(s) but other times from the dungeon itself), pay attention to what monster's do and interrupt them doing some dangerous move, while doing what i had to do in FFXI when healing. I really have to pay attention, and on tough parts actually get on Ventrillo to talk to my raid group. You can't survive without voice chat in WoW's hardest dungeons, whereas in FFXI i always felt it was tacked on and not necessary if people used it.

I can fall asleep or in the process of doing so in Dynamis as a healer but not so in WoW...ever.

I guess what I wanted to say is, if you take away all the artificial time sinks that FFXI has...the game is remarkably more simpler to play than WoW for most instances. While i agree that Lich King expansion was roflstomp easy, Cataclysm has been quite hard with a PUG groups in Heroics and Raids. I just want to echo what Rostum said in this:

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The whole idea of a "time sink equals challenge" is long dead. Just because you don't need to play 40 hours a week to get anywhere, doesn't make it easy mode. Reports of incredibly challenging dungeons are arising in the World of Warcraft community, and after a friend explained them to me they certainly do require a lot of skill, co-ordination and member management. Moreso that any "hard-mode" MMO I've played, including FFXI.

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Because its quite true...there are parts in WoW where its easier (ie: Less frustrating to do a simple task), but where it needs to be challenging they bring it onto the table. I don't think Square really knows the first part very well.

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It worries me because a broken game is not fun to play; you say they need to break FFXIV before it can be fixed. I am confident in this development team's ability to break the game. Anyone can overpower everything. I'm just worried that they're going to be able to then take a step back and reel it all in and make a solid experience.

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I know it sounds like i am backing blizzard up alot, but the way they did it with Death Knights upon release was to make it super overpowered, then slowly nerf and adjust things over time to even it out with the rest of the classes. So i think it is totally doable if given what you said about the changes in FFXI is correct. From what i am hearing it does sound like a good change overall.

I have two feelings about this game.

First of all, I kinda want to try it.

Second, I want it to suck horribly, be critically panned, and basically go down like the Titanic so Square Enix can stop releasing Final Fantasy MMOs.

Well that strategy may backfire, Yars. If it tanks really really bad they may go back to the drawing board to create a whole new MMO. Successful MMO = license to print money. :D