Are you planning on playing?

[Ashi]

I definitely plan to play. Would be nice to play with other EoFFers even though I don't really know much about the game, yet.

[ChickenHeart]

I won't get it for the PC because i've never liked playing with the keybored that much, and i don't have enough memory. But i'll get it for PS3 when it comes out...good couple of months away :(

[ljkkjlcm9]

Guess I should say I'm definitely playing in this thread too.
Pre-ordered, Special Edition too (so one week "early"), looking forward to it. Hope to link up with some of you all!

THE JACKEL

[Nifleheim7]

Yes.
On PS3.

[Logie]

Yes, because of the persuasiveness of a friend.. she's quite violent.

[escobert]

Nope sorry Guild Wars 2 for me

[Miriel]

So I think that Del Murder and I are going to be waiting for the PS3 launch before diving into this game. The game refuses to work on my computer, despite the fact that benchmark runs great. And Square hasn't done anything for all the people who have experienced the same troubles. I honestly don't think they care at all. Can't run the game? Sucks to be you!

Also, totally not interested in paying for what will essentially be a paid Beta. Didn't Square say that the Auction House won't even be implemented until a month or two after the initial launch? I'll wait a few months for Square to sort things out, which I expect them to do in time for the PS3 launch.

Have fun guys, and post lots of stories & pictures!

[Loony BoB]

From what I've seen of the early FFXI logs, you can call it "paying for a beta" but it's no different to the Japanese getting the game early or any other MMO at release - there will always be a lot of problems early on. So many people are pulling this "we're paying for a beta!" card that it's tiring now. No, you're not. From what I understand, very few if any MMO's have ever had an AH at release.

The current rumour/theory is that SE will time the AH, player houses etc. for the PS3 release. Which means that you guys could say, for the initial month, that you're beta testing the AH & housing. But really, everyone knows you're paying for a game and it's pretty much as simple as that.

I don't mind people saying they'll wait until things are smoothed out, but it's not a paid beta as a beta is gone once everything smooths out, and you start again. This will be the real deal! I'd be more annoyed about a delay in release date than having to play without an AH, but that's just me - I know a number of people feel differently.

There are very few problems with the game for me. The biggest is the UI lag, but it's improving day-by-day (but crafting is still a bitch). Other issues include the lack of AH, but so long as everyone is in the same situation then I don't mind too much - I'd rather an AH at release but the game works without it so far. The only other real issue I have is the lack of sorting options for your 80-item inventory. To start off with 80 auto-stacking slots is naturally an improvement on FFXI but with that large number comes a desire to be able to manage the items effectively. Hopefully they fix that at some point.

The software mouse some complain about is a non-issue for me as there isn't enough lag to make it annoying at all for myself. Not sure what they're complaining about, but oh well. The only other issues I once had were all to do with chat, but they've been ironed out now so yay for progress in beta.

[Miriel]

So many people are pulling this "we're paying for a beta!" card that it's tiring now.

Why is it tiring? It's how a lot of people feel, and it's a legitimate way to think in my opinion.

I have no doubt that Square will keep polishing FFXIV and that it will get better and better. But it make sense for people to see a Beta version that needs a lot of work done, and think twice about paying $80 for the retail version only 2-3 week later. The incredibly short time frame between the two is reason enough for people to associate those first few months more with Beta than with a retail game. If there is a huge improvement between Beta and the retail version, then it's all a non-issue of course. And I'm sure a ton of people who are hesitating will be plopping down the cash and will jump right in. But as it stands right now, it makes every bit of sense for someone to think that the game in it's Beta form as it stands right now, Sept 9th, is in all likelihood going to be very similar to the game in it's retail form on Sept 22nd.

I feel like Square knows that this is a soft launch in anticipation for the "real" launch in March. The people who are willing to pay for these first few months know it too. And so do the people who aren't willing to pay. So what exactly is the problem with people referring to the September 22nd launch as a paid Beta? Is it the word "Beta" that's the problem? Would it be better if people remarked about how they don't want to pay for a Gamma version of the game? If it's the word Beta that's hanging you up, then I think it's silly to get caught up in semantics when the meaning behind what people are saying is perfectly clear. Wait until the game is more polished, it's as simple as that.

Paid, unpaid, whatever, I still think that playing at the launch will be tons of fun, and I'm a little jealous of the people who get to be a part of that. But it's not like I even have a choice in the matter! So I'll let you guys do all the heavy lifting and join in when the waters are a little less rough.

[Loony BoB]

It's tiring because no matter what MMO you come up with, it wasn't fully prepared at launch, it wasn't ready. Most likely it would not have had an Auction House, would have had server crashes, would have had lag, would have had balancing issues, etc. etc. etc. From what I've read about each of the "changelogs" I've read over for the first year of launch of various major MMO's, they always start out this way. Does that mean you're paying for Beta? No, it doesn't. Does that mean the game is broken? Well, it's not fixed, so maybe. But is it playable? Absolutely. Does it have enough to keep most people busy? Sure. But people have been complaining left right and center about all sorts of things - even some saying that they shouldn't have to grind in an MMO, which was rather perplexing.

MMO's simply don't go live without a lot of things missing and a lot of things broken. It's standard. If you want to play it at launch, then you can call it paying for beta or whatever, but this is what you get. It's not SE that came up with this strategy and to be honest I'm just glad that they are fixing things over the past week that make things noticeably better. The chat issues (that I had) are all resolved as of two days ago, and a lot of actual genuine "broken game" instances have gone, along with the constant server crashes. This, to me, is progress. I can play the game and enjoy myself.

In a poll I was looking at the other day, 75% of people were enjoying playing the open beta and would buy the game and were excited.

EDIT: And to answer your specific question, my problem is that people are flaming FFXIV everywhere for "allowing" the PC to be a "PS3 Beta" and saying they should have waited for a further six months for release instead, as if SE would endorse six months of open beta as a freebie. The various FFXIV forums are full of a few people going around every thread and slagging FFXIV off, mostly coming from late FFXI with what is essentially a "Why can't they have everything FFXI has right now at launch?" argument and the others coming from WOW slating everything they possibly can.

A large number of people then sit with what are felt to be trolls and the debate never ends. That's what I found tiring.

A beta is a pre-release. To say we are paying for a beta is inaccurate. We are paying for an initially flawed product, but not a beta. Of course, some could say that if you joined FFXI right now, you're paying for a flawed product there, too, because they don't have everything that FFXIV has...

[Dignified Pauper]

I will be getting this in March with the PS3 update. I don't have the cash, and never will, to spend on a new PC. AAAAND, I hear it's more designed to play like a it is on a consoles, because it is better with a controller, and I don't mind buying one of those little keyboard things for PS3.

[Del Murder]

A beta is a pre-release. To say we are paying for a beta is inaccurate. We are paying for an initially flawed product, but not a beta. Of course, some could say that if you joined FFXI right now, you're paying for a flawed product there, too, because they don't have everything that FFXIV has...

And FFXI is also flawed because it doesn't have everything FFVI has. And my ham sandwich is flawed because it doesn't have everything a filet mignon has. Stop using your invented logic, it's annoying!

Anyway, whatever you want to call it, pay for beta, flawed product, etc., the fact of the matter is FFXIV is an unfinished game. That's not to say no other MMO's are finished at their release, I'm sure most aren't. FFXI had mobs attacking you while on a Chocobo when it was first released! You could even say FFXI is still unfinished, since they still release updates for it. What I think people are complaining about is that FFXIV is a lot more unpolished and unfinished than they expected. They think SE knows this but is releasing it anyway, so that they can get the product out there ASAP and start collecting money from people. With a standard console game you have to make sure it's perfect before you release it. With a MMO there is the ability to 'fix it along the way'. Many people think SE is doing this, and in a way much worse than is done in most MMOs, even FFXI. They didn't expect it to be so flawed at this stage due to the fact that SE learned so much from FFXI.

It's really up to the individual to determine how complete they think the game is and if it's worth playing at launch. Obviously SE has content release and fixes planned for many years, like with FFXI. The bottom line is: many did not expect it to need as much fixing and updating as it does.

For me, I am reading the complaints and from what I can tell FFXIV is not in a state that it is worth paying monthly for at launch. It still needs a lot of work. So I'm fine with waiting for the PS3 launch where I'm sure there will be a ton of fixes and updates made. As it stands, I really have no choice anyway, since I'm not going to buy a new computer just to play this game!

[Miriel]

It's tiring because no matter what MMO you come up with, it wasn't fully prepared at launch, it wasn't ready. Most likely it would not have had an Auction House, would have had server crashes, would have had lag, would have had balancing issues, etc. etc. etc. From what I've read about each of the "changelogs" I've read over for the first year of launch of various major MMO's, they always start out this way. Does that mean you're paying for Beta? No, it doesn't. Does that mean the game is broken? Well, it's not fixed, so maybe. But is it playable? Absolutely. Does it have enough to keep most people busy? Sure. But people have been complaining left right and center about all sorts of things - even some saying that they shouldn't have to grind in an MMO, which was rather perplexing.

MMO's simply don't go live without a lot of things missing and a lot of things broken. It's standard. If you want to play it at launch, then you can call it paying for beta or whatever, but this is what you get. It's not SE that came up with this strategy and to be honest I'm just glad that they are fixing things over the past week that make things noticeably better. The chat issues (that I had) are all resolved as of two days ago, and a lot of actual genuine "broken game" instances have gone, along with the constant server crashes. This, to me, is progress. I can play the game and enjoy myself.

In a poll I was looking at the other day, 75% of people were enjoying playing the open beta and would buy the game and were excited.

EDIT: And to answer your specific question, my problem is that people are flaming FFXIV everywhere for "allowing" the PC to be a "PS3 Beta" and saying they should have waited for a further six months for release instead, as if SE would endorse six months of open beta as a freebie. The various FFXIV forums are full of a few people going around every thread and slagging FFXIV off, mostly coming from late FFXI with what is essentially a "Why can't they have everything FFXI has right now at launch?" argument and the others coming from WOW slating everything they possibly can.

A large number of people then sit with what are felt to be trolls and the debate never ends. That's what I found tiring.

A beta is a pre-release. To say we are paying for a beta is inaccurate. We are paying for an initially flawed product, but not a beta. Of course, some could say that if you joined FFXI right now, you're paying for a flawed product there, too, because they don't have everything that FFXIV has...

So basically, you ARE arguing over semantics. :o It's the word "beta" that's tripping you up, not the intentions or meanings behind why people are saying what they're saying.

No one is telling you not to enjoy the game btw. You should enjoy it. But I don't think it's really fair to come out in full defensive mode when others complain about it, especially when they're NOT trolling and it's not like this forum is riddled with complaints to begin with.

And I honestly believe that the more people speak up with their legitimate complaints, and the more people hold out on buying the game, the faster SE will implement the changes necessary to make the game a success. So I say, let people complain away! Let people vote with their wallets. And let SE respond accordingly. This isn't like a regular Final Fantasy where complaining gets you nowhere. Here, complaining and demanding changes actually facilitates progress. So enjoy the game and let others you don't enjoy it as much get their venting out. It doesn't hurt you.

And btw, as far as THIS forum and MY post are concerned, I don't think I was complaining at all. I have no problem waiting. It's not an inconvenience for me to wait. And I am excited for the PS3 launch. Take your frustrations about people trolling and take it to the forums where it's actually happening.

[Loony BoB]

I agree that complaining is valid where complaints are due. I'm just of the impression that some people are complaining about things just to complain. Some of them even complain about things that aren't even true, which seems to happen more often in recent times at other FFXIV-focused forums, and that's a shame because one starts to think that if the devs were to follow these forums, they'd be very confused and spend a lot of time weeding through false accusations and even more assumptions before they got to the actual things that are genuinely worth complaining about.

The other downside is people who might actually enjoy the game are put off entirely from all the complaints because the complainers always outvoice the people who are enjoying things (because those people are too busy enjoying the game or can't be arsed to argue). As I said, a large poll recently had something like 75% of people still pumped for the release. But yeah, people get put off and sometimes that's not fair... they should judge for themselves instead of going by other's opinions. Lionx thinks the mouse lag is horrendous and potentially dealbreaking - I think it's better daily and over the last four or so days I think that it's no longer an issue, although he still does. It's opinion, a lot of it.

I know I should let people attack the game but everyone should equally be allowed to defend it or else the only reviews you ever read about any game would be bad ones. And that would be silly.

[Del Murder]

Where was that poll issued that showed the 75%? If it was at a general gaming site then that's a pretty good number, but if it was at a FFXIV site I would say that's a not good sign.