Dengeki Games - Mini Q&A

Waiting anxiously for the Final Fantasy XIV alpha to begin?  Dengeki Games hit bookstores today with a little extra information to tide everyone over.

Let's take a look!

Discuss this in the ZAM Forums!

Battle Q&A

Q: Above the chat log, there are two tabs: General and Battle.  What's the difference?

A: General displays the entire Chat Log, while Battle acts as a filter and shows only what is relevant to the battle.  For the final release version, we are thinking of putting in even more tabs to let you control what you want to see in the log and even allow you to have 2 separate log windows.

 

Q: How much can you move around the different parts of the on-screen user interface?

A: Anything that needs to be displayed on the screen, the HP/MP gauges, mini-map or chat log, can all be moved around freely.

 

Q: What is that red mark next to the target's name? (ペイスト, on the lower right, above red bar)

A: It's the strength of the enemy's party.  It's like in FFXI, when you would check an enemy and have its strength displayed in the chat log.  However, in FFXIV there are many cases where you fight parties of monsters, so that mark is used to indicate the relative strength of the enemy party.

 

Class Q&A

[These were essentially the same questions as the previous Dengeki interview]

Q: Out of the weapons and classes presented so far, there are still some weapons from FFXI (great sword, scythe) which we haven not seen yet.  Will they appear in FFXIV?  If so, what classes might they be added to (e.g. great sword on Gladiator?)  Will all weapons be on separate classes?

A:  I cannot tell you when, but those weapons will definitely appear in FFXIV.  As for which classes they will be associated with, I'll have to ask you to wait and see.

 

Q: Before heading out on an adventure, you can change your class at whim, but are there any limitations to this?  For example, only being able to carry 3 weapons, and thus change between 3 classes, at once.

A:  At this stage, there are no limitations in place.  However, there is the possibility we may adjust this as we go forward.

 

Q: Can you change classes in battle?  If it's only possible when not in "battle mode," could one just sheathe their weapon and then change classes?

A:  In FFXIV, there is a Passive Mode, wherein you recover HP as you move, and Active Mode, which is when your weapon is in-hand and you are poised to fight.  Players can only switch classes while they are in Passive Mode.

 

Q: Can you switch between these two modes at will?

A: Yes, you can change modes anywhere you like.

 

Beta Test Q&A

Q: Do you plan to let players transfer their character name, etc, from the beta test into the final release version of the game? [For people unhappy with the notion of beta testers getting a head start, they seem to only be referring to name/appearance, though it is not fully specified.]

A: We do plan to allow that, but when official service starts we will have to add new worlds and players may have to transfer.  We need to put some rule in place in the event a new player chooses the same first and last name as a beta player before the beta player is transferred over.

 

Q: Will beta testers on both the PS3 version and Windows version be playing on the same worlds?

A: We don't have any specific plan to separate the different platforms, but it may turn out that one world leans towards having more of one platform.  However, like with FFXI, we intend to let people login from any platform they choose with a single account.

 

Q: For the beta test, are you planning to separate worlds by language?  Also, will there be some kind of Auto-Translate Function available in the beta?

A: Whether or not we implement language-specific worlds or an Auto-Translate Function is something that hasn't been fully decided yet.  For the alpha, testing times will be separated by region (Japan, America and Europe.)

Comments

Post Comment
Auto-Translate.
# Mar 20 2010 at 6:45 AM Rating: Decent
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168 posts
I really hope that the opt to use the Auto-Translate and don't separate the worlds. That was one of the things that I loved about FFXI, the diversity. The fact that there was always someone on to play with, no matter what time you were playing. Ok, I'll admit that it had its problems...and some people were jackasses, but you get that everywhere. Please, please please....don't separate the servers!

I love the idea of being able to have a first and last name though :)

Edited, Mar 20th 2010 8:46am by Tranquility
Keep beta transfer
# Mar 19 2010 at 9:07 AM Rating: Default
KatoArabel, I think that's a hell of an idea. Why be on beta, spend countless hours on it to inform what's wrong, for you to use it correctly, just to have to do it all over again on a retail version. Next time get picked for beta, KEEP THIS IDEA I LOVE IT!!!!
Keep beta transfer
# Mar 20 2010 at 8:56 PM Rating: Decent
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312 posts
Your reward for testing the game and reporting bugs (and I'm doubtful that most beta testers will be doing anything productive) is the chance to experience the game prior to its release. This can even mean playing a portion of the game that will be changed later, being an exclusive few that get to experience it as no other retail player could. If you're looking to beta test just for getting a head start (whether with a character or with previous knowledge), you're not going to be a contributing factor to the process.

(Edited to remove the quote from the above poster I needlessly added in)

Edited, Mar 20th 2010 11:00pm by PLDXavier
Beta/names
# Mar 19 2010 at 5:03 AM Rating: Decent
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863 posts
It is only names they are talking about, like Rikuss said. Although I don't think even that should be considered tbh, I think everyone should be on the same terms when it all starts, the beta players already have enough advantage when it comes to gameplay since they know how things work, giving them more doesn't make sense to me at all, even if it is just the name.

All in all I guess it doesn't matter that much, but still.
Holy jumping to conclusions without reading properly Batman!
# Mar 19 2010 at 1:03 AM Rating: Good
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67 posts
Um did you even read it?

He's talking about names.
#REDACTED, Posted: Mar 19 2010 at 12:19 AM, Rating: Sub-Default, (Expand Post) Ok. So they are planning on allowing you to transfer your beta character to retail.
Absolutely not.
# Mar 19 2010 at 12:06 PM Rating: Decent
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153 posts
Flip out over nothing much?
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