Expectations Too High?Follow

So...With the upcoming release of Realm Reborn, I think I may have come to a realization that I may be expecting far more than Square Enix has to offer. At the time XIV was initially released, I was waiting for the PS3 version to come out as I was(still am) a Mac user. I wasn't too upset when I heard that XIV was a disaster, because I heard similar rants and raves against White Knight Chronicles and I loved that game for the longest time~ So patiently, I waited for more news and updates until I heard that XIV was getting a reboot and revamped. With nothing to go by but images and the few videos of game play as a tease, Final Fantasy XIV has become like that one game on the horizon. The holy grail of games, if you will~ Now after all these years, and roughly three months to go, I think I'm at the point where I'm expecting my mind to be blown and the angel's choir singing out to me at the log in screen. It's finally becoming a reality, and I'm afraid @_@

I think what sets an MMO apart is the human dynamic which single player games simply don't offer. If you are able to meet some interesting people, who are worth talking to and adventuring with you can always find a memorable and enjoyable experience. If you expect ARR to be the most ground breaking game of all time, you may come out disappointed. If you go in with the mindset that you want to explore an exciting new world, make some new friends, and immerse yourself in what the game has to offer, then I think you'll be quite satisfied with your experience!

Granted for this to be true, the game can't be fundamentally broken like 1.0 was. However, from the sounds of it Yoshi knows what he is doing and is going to deliver something we can all be happy with if we just give it a chance.

Edited, May 28th 2013 1:17am by Parathyroid

There have been posters here that I think are setting their expectations too high.

Things that I'm realistically expecting:

-Crystal Tower and Ishgard aren't going to be there at launch. They'll arrive in updates afterward. (S-E has confirmed this as such.)
-The main storyline will probably be added through patches. We'll have a decent chunk at launch, but I doubt we'll be able to finish it from the get-go.
-Arcanist/Summoner will make it I'm sure, but if the way they treat XI expansions are any indication, the AF quest for Summoner might be delayed a patch since they're not expecting anyone to reach level 50 for that class in a week or two.

Don't pass my concerns/notes off as pessimism, however. I think FFXIV: ARR will be a great game, but S-E is human, they're trying to re-launch/polish an entire MMO in under the half of the time a normal company would take to make one. There's bound to be some errors, no one is perfect.

Edited, May 27th 2013 10:27pm by UltKnightGrover

The location has been confirmed to be in the game, not that it will be raidable on launch, tho i would think wint would know more about it, and can freely speak on that.

As far as expectations, i would argue the contrary, 1.0 set the bar so low, that most fans will give it a pass even if it is not that great of a game (Not saying it will not be)

I'm a bit worried about the development team filling the game with thousands of trivial generic fetch/kill quests, mistakenly thinking that this qualifies as content. FFXI had lots of quests that felt like they had some substance to them, often full of quality backround lore or challenge. On the other hand I can't even remember a single quest from any other MMO I've played - they're just totally throwaway.

They had this, or a quest very much like it, as part of the storyline in 1.0. I remember doing it in Uldah.

I had a lot of fun doing missions and quests solo on my level 99 BST when I went back to FFXI for a short while to explore and learn about Vana'diel a bit more fully. Nothing too hard, but not so trivial that even a chimp could mash its way through.

I can't help but feel they looked at other MMOs completely meaningless quests and thought "we could have gotten away with a putting in a lot less effort" and jumped at the opportunity to half *** content creation... ._.

I'd agree that story and content played a huge role in making early 1.0 bearable.

As far as my expectations, they fall somewhere in the middle.

ARR can't possibly be worse than 1.0. But I'm also cautiously optimistic about how everything will come together.

I don't want to get too excited, but everything looks like it has improved...

I don't know what to feel, lol.

I think this is very important to this games ultimate success or failure. SE is at a point where they are trying to appease both hardcore and casual gamers... it will be up to them to find the appropriate mix which makes the game enjoyable for everyone.

On one hand, XI whether on purpose or not, appealed to hardcore "grinders" in almost every facet of the game. Leveling was long and difficult, quests were long and difficult, yet the game was still enjoyable to many... There just wasn't enough casual content to allow those who didn't have 20+ hours a week to sink into the game, to make any progress.

The challenge is up to those at SE to strike a balance between proper quests, filled with lore and adventure that both hardcore and casual gamers can enjoy. This is obviously easy to talk about, however time has proven again and again that it is indeed NOT easy to implement. If it were everyone would be making blockbuster MMOs, but instead it's one of the most difficult niches to break into... when successful though, the reward for the developer and the gamer is second to none!




Edited, May 28th 2013 11:44am by Parathyroid

I know back when we were all spit-balling about what we'd like to see in 2.0, I did mention, with the lowest expectations it would actually happen, that there should be 7 distinct stories to carry along the leveling experience for each of the 7 combat classes (so that leveling each new class isn't a reliving of the same tale, or something you just skip over). To me, this is true to Final Fantasy's traditional strength. So, I am absolutely stoked that they actually did develop ARR with that in mind.

Hmmm, I noticed for a moment anyway this post was rated down to "default." That means someone out there thinks this isn't a well thought out topic, or they just plain disagree with the opinion.

I personally think this post details one of the greatest threats facing XIV. I have absolutely no issue with the game moving towards a more casual friendly experience... however I think a lot of what Kachi said may hold water. Yoshi is going to need to guide this game in a direction that allows for some solo content, however group content is an absolute must... because he's absolutely right, if the only content (or the vast majority anyway) is solo-centric you run into the situation where the quest must be beatable by the best class AND the worst class, as Kachi said.

With that said I feel as though this is a simple issue which Yoshi is clearly considering. Everything he has done has earned my admiration and respect, and I expect this facet of the game's experience will be no different.

...and boom goes the dynamite

As far as combat is concerned, I agree that it will probably be rather generic, as so far I don't think that's where Yoshi and the staff have really been pushing the innovation. Kachi specifically mentioned gameplay though, which I think is pretty different from just combat, and there's where the disagreement lies. I suppose I'm being a bit too semantic with it, but I tend to do that... my bad.

As for your last paragraph, that is a very valid point. You'd think after getting burned with 1.0 I'd be more pessimistic in my views, but it's just not the type of person I am. I'd rather look at something with a positive spin, rather than just assume it's going to be okay or generic. I could be dead wrong, and I'm sure there's people on here who think I am, but that's the beauty of having an opinion... it differs for each individual based on their own experiences.

Edited, May 28th 2013 9:18pm by BartelX