Final Fantasy XIV [PS3]

[Gradthrawn]

Just got a new laptop with a video card that's (just barely) able to run it (GT450M) so I've finally been able to give it a try (had the game since late last year). I was hoping to jump right into the console version earlier this year but that obviously didn't work out. Only played it for a few hours. So far I'm enjoying it. I really hope this is more solo friendly than 11 was.

 

[patsu]

Actually, is the game out in US on PS3 yet ?

I have been waiting to try it after they fix the gameplay.
I assumed the patches are for the Japan release.

 

[Gradthrawn]

Actually, is the game out in US on PS3 yet ?

I don't think it's out on the PS3 in any region, unfortunately. I was hoping it would be by now.

 

[patsu]

That breaks my heart. Hope they fix the PC game first, and then bring what's good to us PS3 gamers. No point bringing the badly reviewed stuff over.

 

[Gradthrawn]

That breaks my heart. Hope they fix the PC game first, and then bring what's good to us PS3 gamers. No point bringing the badly reviewed stuff over.

I haven't read any reviews so I don't know what's reported as being broken. But I haven't run into anything that made me think that "this needs to be fixed" (not yet at least, but its still quite early). Outside of a bunch of useless NPCs that don't have relevant information. If you want me to craft 3 brass spearheads then tell me where to find the recipe, damnit! For that matter, lets starts with the basics of blacksmithing so I don't waste money on things I don't need. I don't want to have to talk to real people to find this stuff out. And I really don't want to use any strategy guides, I'd prefer to discover the game on my own. But they make that difficult for no good reason. At least it appears that way based on my brief cursory experience trying to delve into some of the non-combat job roles.

 

[patsu]

The launch version received harsh review and user feedback. They had to swap the team leads out.

What you see now has been surgically enhanced by the new team.

 

[Gradthrawn]

Damn I lost my macro mojo. Have to get back into them and find some good guides for tank macros. I had them pretty down pat for 11, but that was years ago.

Anyone on B3D playing and looking for a small low level (10 - 18), leveling party?

Crafting is incredibly unbalanced based on my current experience, but I just saw the notes for the next patch and it looks its addressing a lot of that. Should make synthesizing armor much easier, and bring down the ridiculousness prices in the bazaar.

Also having a strange issue with my Gladiator and properly engaging targets. Seems incredibly inconsistent which will leave me with an enemy who is fight me, me in the ready stance, but not striking back.

 

[patsu]

Not quite related but I thought it may be interesting (They named something with crystal theme again)
http://www.siliconera.com/2011/08/26/introducing-square-enix-japans-new-engine-luminous-studio/

Game Watch has a detailed report on Luminous Studio, a new engine being developed inside Square Enix Japan. The name for the engine, CTO Yoshihisa Hashimoto explains, is inspired by Final Fantasy. The team got the idea for the name because crystals, a symbol of the Final Fantasy series, shine and they thought of the kanji for luminance.

Deus Ex: Human Revolution and Tomb Raider are made with Crystal Dynamics CDC Engine. Hitman: Absolution will use IO Interactive’s Glacier 2 engine. After the Eidos Integration, Square Enix visited other studios and exchanged technology to create Luminous Studio, which the company plans to use for games designed in Japan.

...

 

[patsu]

Final Fantasy XIV To Explore The Dark Side Of Materia:
http://www.siliconera.com/2011/08/29/final-fantasy-xiv-to-explore-the-dark-side-of-materia/

A future patch for Final Fantasy XIV will add a Materia crafting system to the game. Like in Final Fantasy VII, using materia to gear will give you various bonuses and added abilities. In the world of Final Fantasy XIV, however, materia has its own unique origin, which is detailed on the game’s hub.

...

As far as crafting is concerned, materia in Final Fantasy XIV come in four tiers, numbered from I to IV. Materia are created from weapons with which the player is fully aligned. Materia can then be attached onto another piece of gear to provide the respective bonuses and enhancements.

Interestingly, the page detailing the origins of materia also mention something about “the dark side.” The last paragraph on the page reads: “Much remains unknown about materia and its full potential. There are dark whispers, however, that tell of a forbidden branch of the craft that leads to power beyond imagining…but only at great cost.”

 

[patsu]

Patch 1.19 details:
http://forum.square-enix.com/ffxiv/threads/22774-Letter-from-the-Producer-XVII-(09-01-2011)

Lemme start things off with a screenshot of one of the new airships taking to the skies come 1.19.

...

Sorry for the long wait, but they’re finally coming to Eorzea in 1.19, together with chocobo mounts, to help make traveling around the realm more enjoyable. Ride a “horsebird” to get wherever you need to go by land, or book passage on an airship to fly the quickest routes between Ul’dah, Gridania, and Limsa. Airship voyages themselves will take only mere seconds, though there will be sweet little cutscenes accompanying departures and arrivals.

Aaand now on to the update list. Changes coming in 1.19 have been detailed on the Lodestone in some Topics and forum posts, so as I mentioned last letter, this is just a list of changes slated for 1.20 and beyond. There’s a couple healthy-sized ones among them, so I’m looking to update the list again with a more detailed breakdown of those sometime after 1.19 goes live. Without further ado...

 

[Gradthrawn]

Patch 1.19 details:
http://forum.square-enix.com/ffxiv/threads/22774-Letter-from-the-Producer-XVII-(09-01-2011)

I'm rather enjoying the game, and it does seem more solo friendly this time around (not sure just how far that will go, however). Looking forward to some of these updates, particularly the crafting one. Although I can't seem to find a target release date for the patch.

 

[patsu]

People seem to think the game is heading in the right direction starting from patch 1.18.

For 1.19, I see people blogging about the new stealth ability.

Stealth ability allows fuss-free farming in FFXIV Patch 1.19
http://www.epictoon.com/blog/2011/08/26/stealth-ability-fussfree-farming-ffxiv-patch-119/

Farming isn’t point-and-click easy in Final Fantasy XIV, what with aggressive monsters lurking around node points, promising quick death for unwary harvesters.

But enter the ultimate side step: A land stealth ability coming in Patch 1.19.

Square Enix announced that the Coeurl Step stealth ability, which lets Disciples of the Land gather mats in undetected peace, will finally arrive in the end-September patch.

Once activated, this Solid Snake-like stealth trick remains indefinitely activated unless cancelled by certain unspecified enemies that can still pierce through the stealth, or by entering no-stealth areas like city-states, dungeons and instanced raids. Class changes and initiating aggro also remove the invisibility cloak.

... and that's your unofficial ETA up there. ^_^

 

[Gradthrawn]

People seem to think the game is heading in the right direction starting from patch 1.18.

For 1.19, I see people blogging about the new stealth ability.

Stealth ability allows fuss-free farming in FFXIV Patch 1.19
http://www.epictoon.com/blog/2011/08/26/stealth-ability-fussfree-farming-ffxiv-patch-119/



... and that's your unofficial ETA up there. ^_^

Very nice. That will make exploring areas I shouldn't much easier. =)

 

[patsu]

In case people are wondering...

FFXI on PS Vita; FFXIV Still Coming to PS3:
http://deltagamer.com/9268/ffxi-on-ps-vita-ffiv-still-coming-to-ps3

In Famitsu’s latest issue, Square Enix is heavily covered in a giant feature, including interviews.

One of the interviews was with Final Fantasy XI producer Hiromichi Tanaka and that yielded a bit of interesting news: Final Fantasy XI might be ported to the PlayStation Vita, although that’s more of an idea than a plan at the moment.

In an interview on Square Enix’s official forums with Final Fantasy XIV producer Naoki Yoshida, some major changes were outlined that will be coming up in Final Fantasy XIV.

* An extensive revision of the game’s maps is confirmed. Yoshida would like to create many iconic places and compliment them with lots of content.

* The ability to jump will be implemented, and will be similar in implementation to what other MMORPGs have.

* Planning and plot details are being organized for patch 1.19.

* Private player housing will be implemented together with the map redesign.

* Airships and Chocobos will be implemented with patch 1.19. More details about them will be revealed in August.

* PvP is still planned.

When asked about whether or not Final Fantasy XIV was still coming to the PlayStation 3 (as the game had a famously rocky start on PC), Yoshida said:

It’s not canceled. Development is underway, don’t worry! The PS3 version will be released at all costs.

...

 

[patsu]

To GAF's credit:
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=31310741&postcount=1

http://www.sponichi.co.jp/society/ne...001709780.html

There was a press conference in Tokyo today, where it seems Wada spoke about FFXIV and DQX. The article does not make it clear what the main topic or reason for the press conference was, but it quotes Wada as commenting on two main issues. One is that FFXIV caused damage to the FF brand, and that they're continuing to attempt to restructure and expand the game to eventually meet the original expectations of the title. The other issue is that of Dragon Quest X being an online RPG. He says that this is not a permanent direction for the series, and that they will continue to explore offline directions for the series.

EDIT:
Square Enix CEO Talks Final Fantasy XIV and Dragon Quest Online:
http://andriasang.com/comyby/

As reported at Sponichi, Wada said of the problematic Final Fantasy XIV, "The Final Fantasy brand has been greatly damaged."

Square Enix has been implementing fixes for FFXIV since earlier this year. Said Wada about the fixes, "We'll continue with our reform work, which basically amounts to fully redoing the game, and hope to revive the FFXIV that should have been released."

Sponichi's report from the press conference did not say if the PS3 version was brought up during the questions.

Wada's comments on the Dragon Quest X, which was recently revealed to be an online title, concerned future developments for the series. "We're not making them all online," said Wada of future titles in the DQ series. "We'll continue with a variety of developments, offline included."

 

[patsu]

Final Fantasy XIV Ifrit Battle Clip:
http://andriasang.com/comyc0/

Ifrit will be will be included in the game's 1.19 patch, which will be released early morning on 10/5 (Japan time). For further details, see FFXIV official site.

...

 

[patsu]

Final Fantasy XIV Is “Only About 50% Done Regarding Content,” Says Producer:
http://www.siliconera.com/2011/10/0...bout-50-done-regarding-content-says-producer/

Final Fantasy XIV producer, Naoki Yoshida, recently answered a number of player questions via a live “Letter from the Producer” event on YouTube, which is now documented in text on the game’s Twitter feed. You can find the list of questions along with answers below:

...

[Gah... too many questions to summarize. Read it yourself !]

 

[patsu]

Final Fantasy XIV Patch 1.19 Goes Live:
http://www.siliconera.com/2011/10/0...1-19-goes-live-read-the-full-list-of-changes/

Patch 1.19 for Final Fantasy XIV is out, and the development team have put up an extensive set of patch notes on the game’s official forum.

It’s an incredibly long list of changes, additions and updates, so we can’t provide the entirety of it here, but you can read it at this link.

...

 

[patsu]

Patch 1.19a For Final Fantasy XIV To Add New Sidequest, Monsters, Vendor Items:
http://www.siliconera.com/2011/10/1...v-to-add-new-sidequest-monsters-vendor-items/

Now that patch 1.19 is out, the Final Fantasy XIV development team is focusing on patch 1.19a, which will bring another round of improvements and updates. These include the addition of new enemies and a new Grand Company-related sidequest, titled “Gone with the Wind”.

The prices of several items have been adjusted, too, and various NPC vendors in the games have had their inventory updated with new gear. These additions, along with numerous other changes, are currently being tested.

 

[patsu]

Yoichi Wada revealed his plans for FFXIV 2.0:
http://lodestone.finalfantasyxiv.com/pl/teaser/

GAF has a nice summary:
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=448493

-PS3 version release coming Q1 2013, with the closed beta beginning in Q4 2012.

-Subscriptions are back between late November to Early December.

-Worldwide launch of a new promotional trailer at E3 2012.

-They've been hard at work basically recreating the entire game since April 2011.

-Planning of that recreation took place from January 2011 - March 2011.

-The new revised version of the game includes a complete design of current repetitive maps, implementation of a new graphics engine, a new server system designed for increased speed and performance, a fully renewed user interface, and an expansion of in-game community content.

-The world reshaping will take place via an event only available to current players/those who are playing before the world is forever changed.
-Areas will implement more than one theme to give all areas more variety
-Areas will contain unique themes to each area.
-Complete overhaul of enemy and object placement.
-New server system is being built to support a worldless model. Essentially cross-realm play for party/content matching. Also will bring significant speed increases all around and to improve the overall performance and stability of the game's servers.

-A new graphics engine will be in place to help further the detail of the game on PC and will help the devlopers optimize the PS3 version beyond what they've been able to do with the old engine. They also plan to include a much larger breadth of graphical settings.

-Because of the new engine, different objects and other things will change, thus all current players will be offered re-customization of their current characters (including race, gender, and appearance).

-Fully re-designed user interface. Besides just the regular aesthetics of a new, more responsive, and easier to use interface, they also plan to open the door for the creation and use of user-made-addons (PC only for this last part). Also included are full support for KB/M users as well as gamepad users. (This will be much better than the non-standard gamepad mapping system they currently have)

-Implementation of PvP content. Concept art (Frontlines) looks like a green version of Helm's Deep.

- Additional in-game community options. (Free company establishment, growth, and competition)

-In-game delivery and mail systems.

-Player housing.

-Revamp of retainer system and markets (the pseudo auction-house/bank-storage type systems currently in place).

-Implementation of an Achievement System.

-Implementation of in-game cutscene replays.

While disappointed with the late PS3 release, I am also a little relieved. Hey Mr. Wada, I don't want a straight PC MMO in the living room. Make something special/different for the living room MMO, or an outdoor MMO for Vita.