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It’s amazing how time flies, isn’t it? A year ago at this time, I was already counting down the days until the launch of Final Fantasy XIV, and slightly disappointed that the game wasn’t going to be released for the Playstation 3 by September. Now, here I am, and so much has changed! Instead of counting down the days for the game to go live, I’m now counting down the days for the game’s battle system to be implemented. Usually, that kind of minor detail is better to install before the game goes live, but meah. Why get caught up in small details, right? Nevermind the game still won’t be ready for the PS3 by September; I’m going to enjoy this update, darn it.

As the coming of the mythical Patch 1.18 draws closer – the anticipated patch date is July 21 – we’ve been getting more letters and interviews from the development team. So, I decided to ride that theme in this week’s Hot Read Thursday.

And now, the links:

Title: Letter From the Producer, XIII (07/08/2011)

Of all of Yoshi-P’s letters to players, this one may be the shortest – but also perhaps the most highly anticipated. A ton is riding on the success of the next three patches, which will be ushering in large, long-awaited changes that could forever change the landscape of Eorzea. The first of these patches was originally hoped to have been released in mid or late June, and this letter confirmed the patch arriving a month behind schedule. I don’t think players were as annoyed with the delay as much as they were relieved to learn when the patch was coming. Anyway, a positive reception for this patch will set a positive tone for the release of the next two updates.

Title: Letter From the Producer, XIV (07/09/2011)

Don’t be fooled by the title of this thread; this is not really Yoshi-P. This humorous spoof letter was written by someone in a private linkshell forum, and a linkshell member later decided to share the joke with the rest of the class. On one hand, I can’t deny this thread is kind of funny. Even the most durable FFXIV fans are somewhat cynical these days, and to laugh at this game’s misfortune is somewhat therapeutic. On the other hand, I hope the current development team doesn’t take threads like this too seriously. While I can’t say there are no ill feelings, I think most FFXIV players are thankful for the tireless work you’re putting into this game, even while we acknowledge there’s still plenty of room for improvement.

Title: The Community Teams interview Yoshida in Japan!

This interview of Yoshi-P by members of the community team contains a few gems, even if most of the questions and answers are fluff. Yoshi-P twice talks about PvP combat, a possible indication that PvP will eventually be a part of life in Eorzea. He talks about jumping, and hints the upcoming feature won’t be critical to any aspect of gameplay. He implies the “mount” system will be based on character growth, and that Materia crafting will probably come in Patch 1.19 or 1.20 (hard to say because of possible translation errors). Perhaps the most interesting tidbit of this interview is the revelation that Yoshi-P only sleeps for around 3 hours per night, and that we once put in 22 hours straight working on FFXIV. Although he doesn’t say this in his interview, I’m guessing he only stopped working until his SP fatigue wore off.