Final Fantasy XIV - Version 2.0!

[Rostum]

So they just released some awesome documents about their "Version 2.0" development for the game.

FINAL FANTASY XIV, The Lodestone

All these changes look incredible, but... the complete overhaul is going to take them until this time next year to complete. At which we'll be seeing the PS3 release shortly before Christmas according to the timeline.

Check out the PDF's at the bottom of the page, especially the art bible. Looks incredible. Where was this team when they were first developing the game? The interface looks heaps better, and it seems like it's going to be a drag-drop system which is most ideal.

EDIT: Just to make things clear, this is a remake of the entire game. New engine and everything. The downside is it's going to take a year...

[Lionx]

Excited but skeptical..D: Ima be safe for each game SE releases now just cuz...

[Mirage]

Looks cool, but man, how expensive this is gonna be for them.

[*Devore*]

The changes they are looking pretty impressive. A few of my favourites:
Redesign of UI
Lagacy FF items
Voices
Rearing Chocobos
Wandering Odin primal, who grows in strength and drops greater treasure with every defeat.

That last one sounds very cool

[Loony BoB]

Holy crap. That picture looks amazing. *gets impatient for his lunch break so he can view the forums, let alone Lodestone*

I had no idea they were doing anything like this. This is a big surprise. If it wasn't on Lodestone I'd think this was fake.

[Del Murder]

Looks pretty ambitious. :o

[nirojan]

Wow can't wait. The new team is really kicking it in gear, glad the old team got the boot. PS3 version here I come! No more fighting for time on the "good computer". VOICES?!?!?!? OMFG THANK GOD . Fully-voiced MMO's are becoming the norm (Star Wars TOR and Blizzard's Titan said hi). The writing for XIV was/is garbage. And it only get's compounded when you have to read the nonsensical crap.

Finally looks like things are getting back into shape, but don't be surprised if 2.0 brings subscriptions along for the ride!

[Loony BoB]

The writing for XIV was/is garbage.

Have to say I totally disagree with this. I personally like the immersion you get from characters who talk like real characters would - swear words, dirty talk, the lot. Writing is one thing I feel they did extremely well. Shame it wasn't voiced... but I'll be very interested in how well it ends up being voiced. I mean, voice acting - for me, at least - can make or break a game. Not having it is a safe choice, and having it means you have to get it right. A good example of not getting it right for me would be FFX, which included three leading characters which I could not stand listening to.

[nirojan]

well we obviously have a difference of opinions, but your starting town was Uldan right? Mine was Limsa and I had to suffer through all the "arr"s and "matey" and all that other pirate talk that was just down right pathetic.

Looks like I was wrong about Subscription fee's they're starting next month . Bad move SE, should have waited to recoup your losses AFTER 2.0. Instead your whoring out your fragment community on a still unfinished project. tsk tsk

[Mirage]

Next month? Idk man, I'm not made of money.

[*Devore*]

SUBSCRIPTION FEE's NEXT MONTH! Damn, I was hoping to compare this game to Star Wars TOR before I made a solid commitment to one.

[Rostum]

Well I have to admit, I won't be continuing the subscription if they are going to charge for it. I'll happily pay for 2.0 though. They should just shut the game down so they can work on it faster.

I understand their plight though, they can't spend another year developing something with no money and what little funding is probably being trickled out to them. It costs a titload to make these kinds of games at a AAA standard, not to mention doing it within a year with an already broken game.

Honestly, I can not wait a full year. Just looking at the art bible they posted, I want it now.

[Loony BoB]

We (Danielle and I) will probably pay for it - we really want to see the changes as they happen, since it's a one-off event. We were talking the other day and agreed that if the game was as it is now at the time of release, we'd have paid for it then instead of having a year of free gaming. So we're at the point that we feel it's worth our money and we know there are going to be solid changes such as jobs coming in soon and we want to experience that sooner rather than later. It is always annoying to go from F2P to P2P, but it was inevitable. People are finally saying they are happy with the game and when that happens it was always going to signal the reintroduction of charges to the game.

It would be nice if it was half price or at least discounted until 2.0 goes live, but I don't see that happening. Again, if the game was as it is now at the time of release, I'd have paid then, so I can't really complain too much. I'm here for the Final Fantasy aspect as much as I am for other reasons, and obviously other MMOs can't offer me that, so I'll take what I can get. We enjoy it, anyway. Despite spending a week or so crafting and gathering, we're still happy. xD

Another problem with the idea of shutting it down so they can work on it faster is that they need player feedback in order to know if it's going forward the way that the playerbase desire. I think it's a neccessity to keep the game open.

Going by a quick survey in the forums, SE stands to lose just under a third of the forum-visiting population. To keep over 70% of the current population would be quite the achievement. I just hope they improve the payment options as the existing ones were trout.

[Rostum]

I understand where you are coming from.

It's just that even Yoshi admited that the game is only at least 50% of what they had envisioned for the game, and it's still missing the majority of solid features other MMO's have (like managable guild options, auction houses, delivery system, bank system, etc.). Not only that, but we all wasted $80+ to buy the collector's edition only to just shove the game whilst not being able to get a refund. So if you weren't willing to keep playing a bad game that only really just started to get up to standard in the last month or so, then you miss out completely.

I'm not too fussed about playing through all the changes though, so I guess that's where we differ.

Wouldn't it be more beneficial to have 25,000 players advertising the improvements of the game, than to only keep maybe 30% of that and having to make up for it with a massive PR push? Either way I'll be keeping my eye out for this game when E3 rolls around.

[Loony BoB]

Just in case you misinterpreted - of the survey done in the FFXIV forums, around 70% said they would pay when subscriptions came in. 30% said they would quit. Not the other way around.