best idea: some other poor fools play the game's story to completion then you can watch the highlights on youtube. No grinding required!
Posts: 15421 | Registered: Aug 2005
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"The game is amazing, the people I have met are very nice and respectful, and I see a lot of potential for the game."
Yes, the game is really amazing I really enjoy the game every time I am playing, I have also the feeling that I am the character in the game. LOL
Posts: 1 | Registered: Oct 2010
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quote:Originally posted by michaelspar: "The game is amazing, the people I have met are very nice and respectful, and I see a lot of potential for the game."
Yes, the game is really amazing I really enjoy the game every time I am playing, I have also the feeling that I am the character in the game. LOL
Perhaps you could rephrase your sentence, because what you posted makes no sense. Were you using sarcasm?
Oh, and welcome to Hatrack Posts: 1937 | Registered: Nov 2006
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wow, that board is like looking back at the HGL boards a month after launch. Or a month before closing.
Posts: 15421 | Registered: Aug 2005
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Oh, the preview videos only scratch the surface. The only subject of concern they can show off are visual things, like how apparently Bioware Austin cannot hire capable character animators.
Under the surface, the insider scoop is grim.
Posts: 15421 | Registered: Aug 2005
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quote:Originally posted by Samprimary: Oh, the preview videos only scratch the surface. The only subject of concern they can show off are visual things, like how apparently Bioware Austin cannot hire capable character animators.
Under the surface, the insider scoop is grim.
Like what, in your opinion? I mean, I peruse the SWTOR official boards every once in a while and there is certainly some negativity. I can even understand some of the concerns from primarily MMO fans.
However, I think SWTOR is shaping up to be pretty fantastic looking. That is, an online single player RPG with multiplayer elements. Again, I can understand the concerns from people who were hoping (not without reason) for a better Galaxies, but I think it'll do well as something other than a typical MMO and match the tastes of fans KotOR fans (such as myself) who would have preferred to see a KotORIII or whatever than a typical MMO.
Posts: 450 | Registered: Nov 2004
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When half your forum is people talking about how bad the game is, and the other half is people saying "omg why r u crying about this if you don't like the game just stop playin" you are in hot water.
Posts: 805 | Registered: Jun 2009
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quote:When half your forum is people talking about how bad the game is, and the other half is people saying "omg why r u crying about this if you don't like the game just stop playin" you are in hot water.
Isn't that every game, everywhere?
Posts: 37449 | Registered: May 1999
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quote:When half your forum is people talking about how bad the game is, and the other half is people saying "omg why r u crying about this if you don't like the game just stop playin" you are in hot water.
Isn't that every game, everywhere?
I doubt chess forums have that dynamic.
Posts: 14316 | Registered: Jul 2005
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quote:When half your forum is people talking about how bad the game is, and the other half is people saying "omg why r u crying about this if you don't like the game just stop playin" you are in hot water.
Isn't that every game, everywhere?
Um, no. When you have forums that are actually pretty much like that, the game's legit bad.
Posts: 15421 | Registered: Aug 2005
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Guild Wars 2 is looking really good. It looks like they are going for a different take on the MMO with more random events and quests. And still no monthly fee.
I think that the non-WoW MMO market will not be sustainable unless gaming companies quit rehashing the same formulas of every other RPG. Speak to an NPC, kill X of a mob, gain experience, rinse and repeat. Gaming companies need to be innovative and original. FFXIV attempted this but it was poorly implemented. Guild Wars 2 looks promising, I just pray it can deliver.
Posts: 1937 | Registered: Nov 2006
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quote:Under the surface, the insider scoop is grim.
Like what, in your opinion?
I don't have a personal opinion. I haven't played the game, or been privy to the happenings of the studio where it is being developed. I have, however, a consistent opinion by those who have worked on the game and/or have had a chance to test it out in depth.
- at present you wouldn't even recognize it as a Bioware game. It has none of bioware's hallmarks of quality. - it's run by rampantly uncreative sorts and idea poachers, and is mismanaged to the point of implosion. - people are trying to leave the project in large numbers. - the game itself is horrific; the testers hate it, and the devs know it. - it is massively over-budget (they may even be verifiable openly). - as noted in the expanding EAlouse drama, it appears a lot of remaining EA mythic employees have been poached to try to salvage the game.
I'll continue to hope that this doesn't end up nearly as bad as it could end up. I want to be optimistic enough to say that the game is certainly salvageable at this juncture. I also can't lie; if they don't even manage to at least overhaul the character and combat animations, it wouldn't matter too much to me whether or not they fixed the combat mechanics and gameplay. If insider rumors and the various airings-of-dirty-laundry from EA employees past and present are to be believed, the game's in sorry shape right now, and development cycles coming back from that brink are exceptional.
Posts: 15421 | Registered: Aug 2005
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Goodness. What is wrong with new MMO's these days? I'm sure it's really hard to make one that's good... but don't they have a list of what they need to do by now? And don't these huge companies have the money and manpower to do those necessary things?
Posts: 1577 | Registered: Sep 2005
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MMO's and their longitudinal development offer scads of opportunities to express and display dysfunction on the part of designers. There also seems to be a distinct trend with the mentalities and the shortsightednesses of people who manage to pole-vault themselves onto the lead design and developmental direction roles of MMO's — they tend to be overexuberant dysfunction personified. This I have seen in person. So profoundly, in fact, that I was amazed.
Here's two comments by others that I believe sum it up nicely:
quote:I think entire industry deserves to be replaced by Packaged Goods people that can at least produce something, given tried-and-true formula. I don't even expect innovation at this point, just don't repeat the same mistakes year after year after year...
Here are seems to be typical failure modes:
1. Have no plan/vision until late into development, then panic and try to badly clone WoW 2. Have overly-ambitious plan, then end up cutting ENTIRE GAME to meet deadlines/budget constrains 3. Release early and extra-buggy 4. Try to clone WoW from the start, succeed at it to a large degree then fail because people could just play WoW that has more content and polish
quote:Let's not forget to add the simple fact that today's MMO public is vastly different from the pre-WoW MMO public. The masses are no longer uninformed and easily pleased.
quote:Under the surface, the insider scoop is grim.
Like what, in your opinion?
I don't have a personal opinion. I haven't played the game, or been privy to the happenings of the studio where it is being developed. I have, however, a consistent opinion by those who have worked on the game and/or have had a chance to test it out in depth.
- at present you wouldn't even recognize it as a Bioware game. It has none of bioware's hallmarks of quality. - it's run by rampantly uncreative sorts and idea poachers, and is mismanaged to the point of implosion. - people are trying to leave the project in large numbers. - the game itself is horrific; the testers hate it, and the devs know it. - it is massively over-budget (they may even be verifiable openly). - as noted in the expanding EAlouse drama, it appears a lot of remaining EA mythic employees have been poached to try to salvage the game.
I'll continue to hope that this doesn't end up nearly as bad as it could end up. I want to be optimistic enough to say that the game is certainly salvageable at this juncture. I also can't lie; if they don't even manage to at least overhaul the character and combat animations, it wouldn't matter too much to me whether or not they fixed the combat mechanics and gameplay. If insider rumors and the various airings-of-dirty-laundry from EA employees past and present are to be believed, the game's in sorry shape right now, and development cycles coming back from that brink are exceptional.
Well, I hadn't heard any of that. It'll be a real bummer if the game turns out awful... I was just starting to get really excited for it...
Posts: 450 | Registered: Nov 2004
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In light of the solidly abysmal reception by fans, critics, and players alike AND S-E giving all subscribers a free month to try to taper off dropouts and unsubs, I wanna put some over-unders on this.
Bet for/against:
FFXIV has CONTRACTED THEIR WORLD SERVERS by at least HALF by April 31st, 2011
FFXIV has GONE FREE TO PLAY by April 31st, 2011
FFXIV has GONE OFFLINE by April 31st, 2011
Place wagers on date:
Date for MAJOR FFXIV SERVER CONTRACTION
Date for FFXIV going FREE TO PLAY
Date for FFXIV going OFFLINE
Posts: 15421 | Registered: Aug 2005
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Those numbers seem alright for the moment. They look to be about on par with your average WoW server. It'll be interesting to see what happens when that free month ends.
Posts: 2907 | Registered: Nov 2005
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Today I learned that Square is actually in such bad shape that XIV is likely to lead to it being 'restructured.' So, thread necro.
quote:Compared with the previous year, sales at Square Enix were down 25%, operating profits were down 56%, ordinary profits were down 71%, and net income was down 36%. Sales of Final Fantasy XIV were actually the biggest positive contributer, with 630,000 copies sold (190,000 in Japan, 260,000 in North America, and 250,000 in Europe). However, FFXIV may now also prove to be the company's biggest problem.
Wada was reported to have been deluged with questions regarding the status of FFXIV and the maelstrom of negativity surrounding the game. On stage, Wada did admit that, "the customers are not satisfied with the state [of FFXIV]." Current plans include big updates in November and December, and of course, the PlayStation 3 release coming next March. While other details were not to be divulged at the time, Wada stated, "We must put our full effort into regaining the user's trust."
However, the CEO was not let off easily. Attendees continued to bring down tough questions and harsh criticisms. When asked about user numbers, Wada dodged by saying he could not predict how things will change once FFXIV ends the free trial period and institutes the monthly fee. Another attendee asked, "Do you test your games to make sure they're complete?" to which Wada admitted, "There may be some areas of testing that were lacking or too rigid," before quickly bringing it back to, "In the short term, we're working hard on restoring user trust."
I also want to do a SWTOR thread soon.
Posts: 15421 | Registered: Aug 2005
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To be honest Square games have felt stagnated for a very long time, and yet it seemed to take so long for players and reviewers to pick up on it.
Posts: 14316 | Registered: Jul 2005
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It's the miracle of branding. Get a rep as good as Square had it for years, and you can coast on it for a long, long time.
Square also has the 'advantage' of appealing to the Japanese market, which is a bit culturally imperious (The average japanese gamer will say something like 'japan game good! western game bad!' despite the fact that if you put them in front of a more sandboxed western game, they're literally boggled and amazed that they're playing what they expected was a cutscene) and whose studios are in rapid quality decline for reasons that mirrored the development of the "lost decade."
There, you can coast for a while just by being japanese, even if your games are mediocre.
Posts: 15421 | Registered: Aug 2005
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quote:Originally posted by Samprimary: also want to do a SWTOR thread soon.
I'd like to see that. I've been following the game closely and was put off by the info you posted in this thread. Hopefully something with that much money invested into can be pulled back from the brink.
Posts: 3564 | Registered: Sep 2001
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I liked 12 more than i liked 10. the problem with 10 and 12 is that you really just dont have the replay value that the 6-9 (and 4) group gave you. That and 12 was just Star-Wars in FF universe...
Posts: 467 | Registered: Nov 2005
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I haven't really enjoyed a JRPG since FF9. I purchased XII and XIII and I have just been extremely underwhelmed. I can distinctly remember very early in XIII's development there was an IGN interview where they asked the program lead if there was going to be an option to listen to the Japanese voice track instead of English. The lead's response was in essence, "Do people want that?" XIII shipped without the Japanese track as an option. They really need to get a clue.
I think Blue Dragon was the only JRPG of this generation of consoles that I completed, and only just because I adored the music, and Akira Toriyama's drawing. Also, I was trying to support a JRPG from a company with great artists who weren't working for Square and were attempting to court the US market.
Posts: 14316 | Registered: Jul 2005
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yea i dont think i've played a truely good JRPG. Like i said i did like 12, but it wasnt the greatest game ever.
I actually think that Square's move from a deep fantasy structure might be hurting them. I remember an article when 10 came out that they were looking to make more futuristic and adult oriented games. Cant say that 12 or 13 really succeeds in that. 7 is still the most "adult" one, though 4 does have less "kid" themes than most of them.
Posts: 467 | Registered: Nov 2005
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12 was fine, and the last really inspired entry in the series. Even if 'inspired' in this case means 'let's totally make this one star wars,' that's okay. It's not like star wars was original either. The end result was still a fun game with a story that was worth paying attention to, in a gameplay engine which did away with the tired mechanic of monster encounters popping you off of the game map what that you might listen to the same fight music again what you have heard already nine billion times.
Posts: 15421 | Registered: Aug 2005
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As far as I got in the story it seemed achingly cliched and simple, and the characters all felt much the same.
The new fight system changed the game from turn-based strategic combat using your whole party, to wildly running around after your enemy with one character while the rest go on pre-programmed auto-pilot. It didn't really feel like FF any more.
To be fair, I'd say I only got about 10-15 hours into the game, but it didn't grab me at all.
Posts: 3564 | Registered: Sep 2001
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I really enjoyed XII personally, though it was the first Final Fantasy that I dumped the requisite 60+ hours into, so I didn't have the reaction against the new system that a lot of people did. Since then I've played X, IX, parts of VIII, parts of VII (really want to play the whole thing) and one of the old old ones, though I can't remember which one (IV maybe?). And while I certainly enjoyed them all, especially the story in IX, XII remains my favorite (forgive me for the heresy).
Edit: I haven't played XIII or XIV after hearing from Ecthalion and others that they weren't worth it.
Posts: 2827 | Registered: Jul 2005
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Chrono Trigger for the most part ditched the random battles and it was a good idea then. Secret of Mana completely ditched random battles and that was a fantastic game as well. Why did they ever bring them back? I don't think anybody liked them.
FFXII had a good fighting system. I never got bored with it, so that's a plus. I liked the grids where you could go in any direction and unlock better and better things the deeper you got into a corner. The characters didn't really have fantastic personalities, and that was probably my biggest turn off. I just didn't like the main character at all. I like Ashe just fine, and even the chic in the playboy bunny outfit with actual heels for feet had an interesting voice, but Vaan just annoyed me whenever he was talking.
posted
I'm not completely sure why, but XII was the first modernish (PS or later) FF that I set down and didn't bother to go back to till weeks or months later to just power through to the end and see what happened. Haven't played XIII, since I don't have a platform for it. XIV, I beta'd briefly and thought it was awful. Would never pay to play that kind of grindfest.
Posts: 609 | Registered: Apr 2003
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quote:The new fight system changed the game from turn-based strategic combat using your whole party, to wildly running around after your enemy with one character while the rest go on pre-programmed auto-pilot. It didn't really feel like FF any more.
You can emulate the old FF system by setting the battle speed to slowest and then manually entering all commands for all the party members each turn and forsaking Gambits. But if you do this even for 20 minutes you realize how tired it is.
quote:I just didn't like the main character at all. I like Ashe just fine, and even the chic in the playboy bunny outfit with actual heels for feet had an interesting voice, but Vaan just annoyed me whenever he was talking.
Vaan's story is actually kind of refreshing for the FF series. He has to be taught through most of the game, mostly by balthier and fran, what he lacks in terms of perspective as well as class.
quote:The new fight system changed the game from turn-based strategic combat using your whole party, to wildly running around after your enemy with one character while the rest go on pre-programmed auto-pilot. It didn't really feel like FF any more.
You can emulate the old FF system by setting the battle speed to slowest and then manually entering all commands for all the party members each turn and forsaking Gambits. But if you do this even for 20 minutes you realize how tired it is.
quote:I just didn't like the main character at all. I like Ashe just fine, and even the chic in the playboy bunny outfit with actual heels for feet had an interesting voice, but Vaan just annoyed me whenever he was talking.
Vaan's story is actually kind of refreshing for the FF series. He has to be taught through most of the game, mostly by balthier and fran, what he lacks in terms of perspective as well as class.
I agree with Sam. Vaan was unique in that he wasn't really a hero. Though he could be considered the "main" character, there wasn't anything special about him. The main storyline didn't revolve around him, there wasn't any secret past to him, he was just along for the ride.
The only other FF that had this was FFVI. Each character in your party was just a person that joins up with others to stop an evil clown man.
Posts: 1937 | Registered: Nov 2006
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i think thats why i find 4, 7, 9 and 10 to be the most compelling. Each character has their own story that usually unfolds as the game goes along. With 7 you could have broke the game down into chapters by character. Some of the characters arent very interesting granted, like The twins in 4, Qiina (sp?) in 9 etc.
Those old jrpgs arent built to stand up to fast-paced gameplay or generalised archetypical plots. The characters really moved the games along and made them worth playing.
Posts: 467 | Registered: Nov 2005
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quote:The main storyline didn't revolve around him, there wasn't any secret past to him, he was just along for the ride.
Which, while different, is hardly an interesting feature in a main character.
It allows him to actually evolve into something. You're watching him learn how not to be a dolt, and you get to view the more interesting non-adolescent story of adults from his perspective until he figures it out and picks up a role in his own right. I'll take it over being an underwater football player who was invented by ghosts which were the dream of a dead civilization's dream and then sent through time to kill his dad who has become satan.
Posts: 15421 | Registered: Aug 2005
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I kind of got the impression that both Tidus and his father were real when sent through time, but because the energies of Sin were eventually destroyed that link could not hold him in the same reality as the others.
Overall i felt that the story for 10 was one of the better ones. What i didnt like was the ease of the combat mechanic. It got boring to simply associate a specific enemy to a specific character. 10 was also the first very linear game with no real world exploration which took away from the experience.
Posts: 467 | Registered: Nov 2005
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I liked 10, I just think 12 is better. Either way, I suspect that 12 will be the last good one they ever make unless the studio is drastically reformed.
Posts: 15421 | Registered: Aug 2005
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with Nier and infinite undescovery being pretty bad games id have to say 12 is going to be the last good game for quite a while....
Posts: 467 | Registered: Nov 2005
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Sigh. How depressing. What ever happened to the guys who made Chrono Trigger, anyway? Enix and Square are the same company now, after all... (I don't mean Akira Toriyama, I mean the other guys)
Posts: 1577 | Registered: Sep 2005
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