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Nova Crystallis Interview at E3Follow

#1 Jun 18 2013 at 7:54 AM Rating: Good
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I didn't see this posted on the forums at any point, but it's got some excellent, in-depth info. If it was posted and I just missed it, feel free to lock this Wint.

http://www.novacrystallis.com/2013/06/e3-2013-final-fantasy-xiv-developer-interview/


Quote:
Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn took E3 in a big way this year – now properly detailed and dated and two months out from launch, it’s clear Square Enix is placing high expectations on this rebooted MMO several years in the making. Despite promises of the next generation looming about the show, FFXIV took point – occupying a large portion of Square Enix’s own booth on both PC and PS3 for curious adventurer’s to try their hand at the mighty primal Ifrit.

That isn’t to say FFXIV will be missing out on those new consoles – in fact it’s heading to PlayStation 4 sometime next year, just in time to take advantage of what will (hopefully) by then be an established player base.

We had a chance once again to sit down with Producer/Director Naoki Yoshida in between signings and E3 audience hijinks to see how things were going and where the game was potentially headed post launch.

Nova Crystalis: From everything it looks like, Scholar branches off from Arcanist, like Summoner. When can we expect to see other Jobs branching off from other classes?

Yoshida:
We haven’t announced anything official, but we hope to have other jobs branching off of classes that already have jobs before an expansion. Right we now we have too many attackers, so we’re trying to figure out what to do next. Personally, I want to have scout classes – something tricky, to do traps and those types of maneuvers.

Nova Crystallis: You just mentioned an expansion pack, and you’ve also talked about a number of features that are coming in content updates. What kind of schedule can we expect for content updates, and even an expansion pack?

Yoshida: For our current update schedule, we’re aiming for large updates every two and a half to three months. We pretty much already have our schedule solidified up to 2.3, and then if everything goes well we hope to have an expansion at around a year and a half after the original launch. That’s what we’re looking at, but then again you know how things change. We’re going to have a big launch and a lot of content at launch, and a lot of people on the team are working on this as well. So, we’ll have to see how things go with the launch but that’s what we’re looking at.

Nova Crystallis: Now with Final Fantasy XI, they kind of had this thing where you would buy an expansion and it had all the areas of the game, but a bunch of them would be locked away. Then you would have to wait for a patch to open them up. Since the internet has obviously come a long way since then, and other MMOs traditionally release new areas in a patch, is that something we can expect to see?

Yoshida: At the release there will be areas that won’t be available – we’re going to continue adding dungeons and such. You’re not going to see everything at release. We’ll add more dungeons in future patches which won’t be in the game beforehand.

Nova Crystallis: The new trailer was amazing, and it highlighted a big focus on story. How many of the parts are going to be voice acted? Is it only going to be main quests?

Yoshida: It will only be for the main story, yes.

Nova Crystallis: So only the main scenario, and not the Grand Company quests?

Yoshida: In 1.0, the main scenario was, in a sense, kind of broken. When we came onto the project and started to rewrite the story and fix some things we decided to bring in the Grand Companies as one of the ways to repair it. So that’s why you had the Grand Company storyline feeling like the main scenario line, because that’s what it was. Whereas in 2.0, the Grand Company and the main storyline are going to be together from the beginning. So these types of Grand Company quests that you’re seeing – the people that are in those are going to be in the main quests as well. A lot of the stuff you see in the main scenario will be tied in with the Grand Companies.

Nova Crystallis: Will there be story content for gathering and crafting classes?

Yoshida: Yes. All classes – battle, crafting, gathering – will have separate quest lines. Crafters and gatherers will have their own quest lines up through Level 50. The battle classes will have quest lines up till Level 30, and then from there you’ll have the Job Lines.

Nova Crystallis: Will the story content differ for Legacy characters, either with acknowledgement from NPCs or extra cutscenes?

Yoshida: Yeah, there are some things that will be different for Legacy players. Some of the voice events as well – we’ve taken lines for both Legacy and newer players.

Nova Crystallis: Is the Content Finder and PVP Matchmaking system cross-region?

Yoshida: With the data centers that we have, there won’t be any cross-data center matching. It will only be between servers in a single data center.

Nova Crystallis: Do you worry that Legacy players will rush end-game content – complete it at launch? How do you plan to keep people that do this engaged long-term?

Yoshida: First of all, with the main scenario – just because you’re maybe a Level 50 Legacy player doesn’t mean you’re going to be able to rush through that endgame content – again all of the main scenario battles are going to be level-synced. So, you will have to play through them at the same level as everyone else – even someone who is starting from the beginning. It won’t be too easy to get through all of the main scenario.

Because so much as changed since version 1.x, yes maybe players have all of this gear they got from this version, but will that gear really help them get through what we have prepared for them in high level content in 2.0? Yes, there’ll be similar battles, but we don’t believe that a lot of players will be able to get easily through a lot of it. They’re going to have to adapt their fighting styles; they’re going to have to maybe get new gear to challenge these things. There are going to be new battles as well, such as with Titan and Bahamut.

Nova Crystallis: Final Fantasy XI had kind of a weird thing where because of the gear swapping in battle, all of the endgame stuff was basically lateral upgrades where you would do all the stuff to get one piece to use on this one spell. You guys are clearly not doing that in this game, so how are you going to keep old content relevant, rather than dungeons being emptied forever? How are you going to keep older players coming back to help newer players?

Yoshida: We think the best way is that there’s going to be that content, and we’re not worried too much about people moving away from old content and it getting abandoned in a sense. Who wants to just play old content? You want something new, and so yes at the beginning you’re going to have a lot of new players and you’re going to play that old content, but it’s an MMO and you’re going to get less and less new users as the game goes on. Yes, older things can kind of fade away, but to combat that we’ll keep adding new content. That’s how we have to deal with that, rather than focusing on keeping players coming back to old content. Then there will be a point where you can come back and look at this older stuff and say “Okay, maybe we’ll renew it.”

Nova Crystallis: I didn’t mean that as a test, but you passed.

Yoshida: (Laughs) That’s not to say we don’t have gameplay features in place to get people to go back to old dungeons. We have a token system where you gather different tokens and you can exchange those tokens for certain kinds of items. You’ll get more chances to get these tokens if you go to a lot of different dungeons, so going back to older dungeons will give you opportunities to get better items. That will be sort of a motivation for players to return to dungeons they’ve already completed.

Nova Crystallis: Similar to Hamlet Defense, will there be endgame content for gathering and crafting classes?

Yoshida: We don’t have plans to have any type of content like that for those classes. We tried Hamlet Defense in 1.x and we found that there was a lot of limitations in designing the battles, and from that learned that it wasn’t the best thing to do. We want to redefine the gathering and crafting classes compared to 1.x. Crafters are there to craft weapons and armor to be used by battle classes to then clear content. Gatherers need to gather high quality materials for crafters to make high quality gear for battle content.

Crafting and Gathering will be used in other areas for example; housing, for furniture, and PvP, for ballistas and similar things. We do have things planned but we want to bring it back to the traditional type of gathering and crafting.

Nova Crystallis: Are dungeons force Level Synced?

Yoshida: Most of our instanced dungeons require four people – all at the required level – but this doesn’t mean later on we won’t let high players go in to solo the dungeon. That is just natural progression, but for now it’s forced level sync for parties.

Nova Crystallis: Will there be a free trial for people to try before they buy?

Yoshida: At launch, the open beta period will facilitate this. After the game has launched, we won’t provide a trial straight away but in the future – perhaps six months after launch – we might offer a two week trial or something similar.

Nova Crystallis: If you have a positive experience with someone in the Duty Finder, will you be able to flag them so that you can play with them again?

Yoshida: At launch, we don’t have any plans for that feature, and the biggest reason behind that is, because dungeons are around 30 minutes, we don’t think players will get that close to one another within that time. You’ll come in, say hello, get through the dungeon, get your gear, say thanks and goodbye and it will be done. That is pretty much our reasoning behind the matchmaking system; no need to worry about finding people, you can go in, get the dungeon done, and leave. If you want to make friends, we would suggest the FATE system in order to meet new people that are on your server.

Nova Crystallis: How long after the game launch do you expect to allow Legacy characters to migrate to new servers?

Yoshida: We are thinking around six months. We will be checking the data on our side and we will see how the players are mixing, where they are going, and how the server balances are. We may push that date forward depending on these factors.

Nova Crystallis: Do you have any plans to combat RMT (Real Money Trading)? It was a large problem in 1.X as well as FFXI.

Yoshida: We believe that with the type of game we have now, it is discouraged, RMT is all about getting gil and selling it, but we have a game here where a lot of gil is not necessary to progress. Something in our game that FFXI didn’t have is gear binding, and so because of this, you cannot sell worn equipment. The only thing that requires gil is the housing system, so there are RMT that might try and get gil through housing, but most RMTs work by using their free account to create many characters, and then make lots of gil in that time, and then transfer that gil all to one spot before the trial ends. We have systems in place so that the amount of gil you get at lower levels is really insignificant, so during that free period, will they even get a decent amount of gil? We also have systems in place that prevent trading at lower levels, so we do have lots of small systems that discourage RMT, and hopefully RMTs will see that there aren’t good ways of making money. On top of that we’ve strengthened our special task force that has been active since FFXI, and we’ve made ways of scanning bots to make sure that even those RMT that try and make gil will be combated.

Nova Crystallis: Have there been any plans to reduce the amount of gil and RMT characters that existed on the 1.x servers?

Yoshida: It’s hard for us to find out who is legitimate and who is not – there are many players with lots of gil who legitimately obtained that gil, and if you accidentally delete a character that is not a RMT it will create trouble. The most difficult thing about RMT puppets is that the activities they do are not technically against the rules; anyone can create seven accounts and play nothing but guildleves all day to make gil. As long as they are doing things that other players are doing, and paying for an account, there is really nothing we can do. When they start botting and using automatic ways of cheating, it is then that we will deal with their characters. If they are just doing standard activities more frequently, it is hard to police them, but those that are active, we will be dealing with them.
____________________________
Bartel Hayward--- Ultros Server
The Kraken Club <ZAM>
50 WAR • 50 MNK • 50 MIN • 50 GSM • 50 ARM • 50 LTW • 50 CUL • 50 WVR
thekrakenclub.shivtr.com
#2 Jun 18 2013 at 8:02 AM Rating: Decent
I don't know if this was already official, but no trial at launch?

Considering that you pay for the retail copy of the game and then a subscription fee on top of that, it seems like a newbie would have to take a gamble on whether they'll like the game, if there's no demo or trial type of thing.

They might not want to take that risk based on 1.0.

If Square Enix and Yoshi's team are confident in their product, they should allow a trial.



Edited, Jun 18th 2013 10:02am by Killua125
#3 Jun 18 2013 at 8:03 AM Rating: Excellent
Killua125 wrote:
I don't know if this was already official, but no trial at launch?

Considering that you pay for the retail copy of the game and then a subscription fee on top of that, it seems like a newbie would have to take a gamble on whether they'll like the game, if there's no demo or trial type of thing.

They might not want to take that risk based on 1.0.

If Square Enix and Yoshi's team are confident in their product, they should allow a trial.



Edited, Jun 18th 2013 10:02am by Killua125


What the hell do you think Phase 4 is?
#4 Jun 18 2013 at 8:06 AM Rating: Decent
A testing period? I'm sure there will be new players at release and post release.

If a willing customer wants to join FFXIV after phase 4 is over, too bad for them, they don't get to try it first?
#5 Jun 18 2013 at 8:06 AM Rating: Good
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2,232 posts
Killua125 wrote:
A testing period? I'm sure there will be new players at release and post release.

If a willing customer wants to join FFXIV after phase 4 is over, too bad for them, they don't get to try it first?


Phase 4 IS trying it first...
#6 Jun 18 2013 at 8:06 AM Rating: Excellent
Killua125 wrote:
A testing period? I'm sure there will be new players at release and post release.

If a willing customer wants to join FFXIV after phase 4 is over, too bad for them, they don't get to try it first?


Pretty much. You already bought the game, why is the first month of fees a huge hurdle?
#7 Jun 18 2013 at 8:09 AM Rating: Decent
LebargeX wrote:
Killua125 wrote:
A testing period? I'm sure there will be new players at release and post release.

If a willing customer wants to join FFXIV after phase 4 is over, too bad for them, they don't get to try it first?


Phase 4 IS trying it first...


I... are you reading what I'm typing? I was talking about people who might join after testing is completed. In other words, people joining after phase 4 is over.

I'm not sure why you guys would argue that they should offer a trial period. Smiley: dubious For PC and on PSN.

I honestly get a little nervous when big companies don't offer demos for their AAA games. It makes me think they're unsure of their product.

Edited, Jun 18th 2013 10:11am by Killua125
#8 Jun 18 2013 at 8:10 AM Rating: Excellent
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655 posts
Killua125 wrote:
A testing period? I'm sure there will be new players at release and post release.

If a willing customer wants to join FFXIV after phase 4 is over, too bad for them, they don't get to try it first?



Most games dont start with trial periods that useally comes like a year so 2 after heck wow just starting giving 7 free days afew years ago. If SE dosent get the numbers they were hoping for than maybe they will put in a few day free trial but its not needed right now.
#9 Jun 18 2013 at 8:12 AM Rating: Excellent
Killua125 wrote:
LebargeX wrote:
Killua125 wrote:
A testing period? I'm sure there will be new players at release and post release.

If a willing customer wants to join FFXIV after phase 4 is over, too bad for them, they don't get to try it first?


Phase 4 IS trying it first...


I... are you reading what I'm typing? I was talking about people who might join after testing is completed. In other words, people joining after phase 4 is over.

I'm not sure why you guys would argue that they should offer a trial period. Smiley: dubious For PC and on PSN.


I'm not sure why you think they should? Why is it so common that people think they deserve something for free? Man up, put on your big girl panties and pay for a month to see if you like it or not. Cancel if you don't, it's pretty simple.
#10 Jun 18 2013 at 8:12 AM Rating: Default
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129 posts
I really don't know at what point the old P2P sub. payment model became the devil himself. Is everyone literally broke, and if so how can they afford the computers that run these games? Or maybe that's the problem... they spent all their money on the latest Nvidia 1,000,080 and now they can't afford $13 a month (or less if you buy a few months at a time).

So confusing...

Just to clarify I'm not ******** on the above poster in specific. Just seems there's a lot of hmm... "negative sentiment" towards sub models these days from all quarters.

Edited, Jun 18th 2013 10:13am by Furiousnixon
#11 Jun 18 2013 at 8:13 AM Rating: Decent
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2,232 posts
Killua125 wrote:
LebargeX wrote:
Killua125 wrote:
A testing period? I'm sure there will be new players at release and post release.

If a willing customer wants to join FFXIV after phase 4 is over, too bad for them, they don't get to try it first?


Phase 4 IS trying it first...


I... are you reading what I'm typing? I was talking about people who might join after testing is completed. In other words, people joining after phase 4 is over.

I'm not sure why you guys would argue that they should offer a trial period. Smiley: dubious For PC and on PSN.

I honestly get a little nervous when big companies don't offer demos for their AAA games. It makes me think they're unsure of their product.

Edited, Jun 18th 2013 10:11am by Killua125


No....you aren't comprehending what I'm typing... Phase 4 is the demo/trial period/whatever.
#12 Jun 18 2013 at 8:14 AM Rating: Decent
I just think it would be good for the game.

If you slap up a free trial on the PSN, and on PC. It says, "This is NOT the FFXIV you heard about years ago. This is a product we're PROUD of. Come see for yourself."

People like that.

Stuff like no trial, no Steam release, etc. etc. all seems like they want to chase away new customers IMO.
#13 Jun 18 2013 at 8:15 AM Rating: Good
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837 posts
silverhope wrote:
Killua125 wrote:
A testing period? I'm sure there will be new players at release and post release.

If a willing customer wants to join FFXIV after phase 4 is over, too bad for them, they don't get to try it first?



Most games dont start with trial periods that useally comes like a year so 2 after heck wow just starting giving 7 free days afew years ago. If SE dosent get the numbers they were hoping for than maybe they will put in a few day free trial but its not needed right now.



This most MMOs no wait in fact ALL MMOs i know of never offer trial with day 1 of their release. The trials start only after a set time of years in an effort to boost their subscribers.

If SE see as silverhope said that they do not have the numbers they wish they will add the trial.

And please don't start saying bla bla because 1.0 sucked they should bla bla ARR.

ARR is a new game so it will follow what most other MMOs do.
#14 Jun 18 2013 at 8:16 AM Rating: Decent
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129 posts
The "steam release" question is another bag of angry cats entirely. Although they did put FFXI on STEAM years later so, evidently, it's not completely unheard of.
#15 Jun 18 2013 at 8:18 AM Rating: Decent
LebargeX wrote:
No....you aren't comprehending what I'm typing... Phase 4 is the demo/trial period/whatever.


And I'm *repeating myself again* talking about people who join later and will have missed that chance.
#16 Jun 18 2013 at 8:20 AM Rating: Excellent
We're not going to do the Steam argument again.
#17 Jun 18 2013 at 8:21 AM Rating: Good
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655 posts
Killua125 wrote:
LebargeX wrote:
No....you aren't comprehending what I'm typing... Phase 4 is the demo/trial period/whatever.


And I'm *repeating myself again* talking about people who join later and will have missed that chance.


I understand what your saying if somone wants to play after phase4 but dosent want to slap down 30$ for the game than another 10$ for the sub to try it out they should offer a trail period.. But just re read what i said a few posts up. It wont happen the games to new. If it fails than maybe but right now SE thinks they ahve the numbers to support a regular release style. Nothing as of now supports SE scrounging for subs.
#18 Jun 18 2013 at 8:22 AM Rating: Decent
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2,232 posts
Killua125 wrote:
LebargeX wrote:
No....you aren't comprehending what I'm typing... Phase 4 is the demo/trial period/whatever.


And I'm *repeating myself again* talking about people who join later and will have missed that chance.


Tough Smiley: cookie Smiley: cookie?

If FF XIV isn't on your radar already, and you aren't already waiting for the open phase 4 to start then I seriously doubt a free trial after that phase ends will make a difference. They can do the exact same thing you're suggesting by putting ads all over PSN about Phase 4 being a free opportunity to test/try the new game. Hopefully, they do that.

#20 Jun 18 2013 at 8:23 AM Rating: Excellent
In my opinion opening up with free trials indicates uncertainty about a game. If you don't think it can stand on it's own without having to resort to gimmicks like FREE FOR THE FIRST MONTH!!!1!!ZOMG then something is wrong. I would think they should hold that gambit in reserve for later if subs start to fall off. As it is the response to phase 3 that I've seen on Twitter is overwhelmingly positive, I don't think they're going to have any trouble getting people to try the game.
#22 Jun 18 2013 at 8:28 AM Rating: Default
They've said Phase 4 beta is the trial period. Phase 1-3 is getting player's suggestions and feedback and fixing bugs and issues. That's partially why Phase 4 data can carry over to launch.

If Phase 4 data didn't carry over or there was some kind of major bug in Phase 4, I can see that Killua's argument would hold water, but he just sounds like a little kid that can't afford one month of payment.
#23 Jun 18 2013 at 8:31 AM Rating: Good
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352 posts
Good interview!
#24 Jun 18 2013 at 8:34 AM Rating: Decent
Wint wrote:
In my opinion opening up with free trials indicates uncertainty about a game. If you don't think it can stand on it's own without having to resort to gimmicks like FREE FOR THE FIRST MONTH!!!1!!ZOMG then something is wrong. I would think they should hold that gambit in reserve for later if subs start to fall off. As it is the response to phase 3 that I've seen on Twitter is overwhelmingly positive, I don't think they're going to have any trouble getting people to try the game.


1. How could letting people try the game before buying it indicate uncertainty? The only way I can interpret that decision is that if people try the game, they WILL want to buy it.

2. I don't understand how demos or trials are a gimmick, so you'll have to explain. You typing it out in all caps doesn't make the idea itself ridiculous, but one month is way too long. I think a limited chat trial up to a certain level would be good. It doesn't even have to be as long as World of Warcraft's trial.

3. No clue if they'll have trouble getting people to blindly throw down money on a game which was universally hated and now reformed. I'm talking people who didn't get to try the beta and are unsure.

I guess in that case, they're relying on reviews to encourage people... hope they're good! The average person who hasn't been following all of the game's changes over time is of course going to look at Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn and be skeptical.

UltKnightGrover wrote:
he just sounds like a little kid that can't afford one month of payment.


I'll be getting a free month of the game, and I can certainly afford to pay for subscriptions. I pay for many (not gaming related, besides PS+). I was just speaking as a customer who likes to try games before I purchase them.

Edited, Jun 18th 2013 10:36am by Killua125
#25 Jun 18 2013 at 8:39 AM Rating: Excellent
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1,079 posts
Killua125 wrote:
LebargeX wrote:
No....you aren't comprehending what I'm typing... Phase 4 is the demo/trial period/whatever.


And I'm *repeating myself again* talking about people who join later and will have missed that chance.


Bro, I agree with you. I just think your reputation is just killing you in the face right now. Which is stupid.

A trial would be a good idea. Why does SE have to do what every other MMOs do? Just because every other MMO does it doesn't mean SE should follow suite.

They stated they would do a 2 week trial... that's fair especially for a new game. It would be enough time to try out the game, but not enough to get anywhere really. It could help bring in subscribers. Those people who find out about the game after the release but aren't quite sure they want to invest is definitely a target SE wants to take in. Not everyone has friends to show them the game.
____________________________
FFXIV
Articus Vladmir
PLD WHM BRD DRG BLM
#26 Jun 18 2013 at 8:40 AM Rating: Decent
36 posts
I'm glad that this game will prosper. I had high hopes for it in 2009/2010 before release and was disappointed. I played open beta then just as I will now, this time with PS3 and PC and see how I like the game. Hopefully I get into beta before then.


To the statement of why P2P model has been looked at poorly over the recent years. As more and more F2P games are popping up its starting to be the norm. When I first started playing mmo's with Everquest as the first one. I had the same nagging thought of why should I pay a monthly subscription? I was also 16 at the time and really couldn't afford it on my own. I had to have someone else pay for it until I got a job. It didn't take long for me to understand why the subscription was in place. They are running a service and if you enjoy the service they provide then a little compensation is recommended.

Now with F2P is in high stride more people are expecting it. Which is probably a bigger money maker in terms of how fast they can push out cash shop only items that seem worth it to spend the money on. That and if you wanna play this class, open up this much inventory space and numerous others that should be in the game to begin with, you have to pay for it. Now for the person who doesn't care and just wants the game to be free and wont be using any of these because they are cheap. Its beneficial to them, but to everyone else who finds it necessary to have the game in full, they have to suffer the extra cost. Now the game to them is 100 a month or so depending on what all they get. (this is just wild examples but you get the idea)

In my mind that payment model isn't for the ones who will be loyal anyway. I don't think this game will have that problem which is the way to go in my mind.
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