What I’m…
- Playing: WoW, Darkfall
- Reading: The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss
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By Chris on September 3rd, 2010
 With open beta registrations still wholly in the dark, I’ve been stalking FFXIV Core all day waiting for an update. Though Square has pretty much said “hold tight” and little else, I’ve found reading the boards to be especially interesting. Up until today, they were largely dominated by the very optimistic but very uninitiated Final Fantasy fan. People’s excitement was really at a fever pitch, and still is, but we’re seeing a bit more reality creep into posts. Responses are pretty much as you’d expect, either “it’s BETA dummy! What do you want from a BETA? Don’t you know what BETA means?!?!?!1″ to the simple “pre-order canceled.”
Aside: Both of those are extremes, but, I’m getting tired of hearing this beta excuse. Yeah, it’s in a testing phase, but let’s not delude ourselves into thinking we’re getting a different game at launch. If the game is lacking content now, it will probably still be lacking it later. Anyways…
The issues are, surprise surprise, grinding and a lack of content. Well, to be fair, that’s not all. Little annoyances are cropping up and bugging people, such as the mouse cursor being tied to your FPS. Some people are claiming that the UI is sluggish, too, but other people say it’s fine, so I’m taking it with a grain of salt. Keen supports some of these and adds his own thoughts to the mix, so take a look for thoughts within our community.
After reading today, my expectations and excitement for the game have dimmed a little bit, so I’m hoping I’m wrong.
This is a grinder. I know, I said repeatedly that SE would be stupid to make 14 grinding based. The problem is, your PvE seems to be limited to three things: story missions, guild leves, and grinding. According to this thread, both missions and leves are incredibly limited. Leves are limited to a total of 8 every 48-hours. Story chains are every 10 levels. By the sounds of it, everyone but the “jump in and do two quests” type player will probably hit a wall. During the downtime, players will have to grind. This is me eating crow, but as Pete from Dragonchasers recently tweeted, should we be surprised at FFXIV following the Japanese formula?
Now, I don’t necessarily mind grinding. I’m actually hoping that these mechanics will push people towards grouping up more (an aspect of MMOs that desperately needs revitalizing). I have to wonder, though: if progress is throttled by an XP amount instead of time, wouldn’t that just mean you run out of XP quicker? I suppose it will encourage players to try new classes, but I can see this being a big problem for lots of people. Modern MMO players don’t like to grind and FFXIV is likely to suffer the same fallout as Aion because of it. The difference between the two is, of course, the class system. Exploring the classes is a big part of the fun, so I’m expecting it to offset the grind and progress cap.
Lack of Endgame: I’m stretching on this one, but I’m not the only one that’s questioning SE because of this. What exactly is the end-game of FFXIV? They’ve said nothing about it – other than having large-group leves (raids). That’s great, except it’s totally untested and that makes me nervous. How do you have a quality raid without testing it? How do you have a quality quest-chain or leve without testing it for that matter? With progression being throttled, this may all be in the works and ready to go when the community gets there. I don’t think I’m alone in wanting a few details on what we’re actually working towards, however.
Now, I’m usually the kind of player that enjoys the journey as much, if not more than, the destination. The problem is, if I’m going to grind, I want to know the destination is worth it. In Aion, I was happy to grind to 25 to experience the Abyss. Except, once I got there it was a big, empty disappointment. I never ground out another level after seeing that my reward was an empty pinata. FFXIV is much more story driven than Aion, however, so progressing the narrative adds a lot of motivation. The problem is in how compelling they can make the story. They’ve done good in the past, so I’m reserving judgment. Still, I’m keeping my expectations here low. If I can play past level 20, I’ll consider my money well spent.
I’m still optimistic about the game; you won’t see me cancelling my pre-order. These are important considerations — especially the grind and group-centric nature of the game design — and have put the game into a more realistic light for me. As a rule, I take fansite articles with a grain of salt. This is one of the truest tests any MMO can face: pre-release buzz, does it help you or harm you? Right now, it’s still too early to say. Here’s hoping I get a key to see for myself.
PS: Does anyone else find it ironic that the “open beta” was open for less than 8 hours before they stopped letting people in? Server load, schmerver load. To most players, this simply looks like shoddy planning and a shoddier response. Square Enix absolutely cannot approach this game and its community the same way they approached FFXI. Times have changed and so have player’s expectations.
By Chris on September 2nd, 2010
 Click to visit the beta application page After a brief delay, the FFXIV open beta is back on. I’m usually steer clear of betas, but I’ve been following this game too long not to try it out. It’d be like having to look at a new toy for three weeks before playing with it. So, around ten o’clock last night, I started paying close attention to their beta site. I missed it before going to bed, but it looks like they opened overnight and promptly crashed due to server load.
The problems thus far haven’t been unexpected, but, like always, I have to wonder why Square-Enix didn’t plan for the attention. I mean, this type of thing always seems to happen and they know that tons of people will be hitting the servers. It seems like a lot of unnecessary frustration.
Anyways, I woke up this morning and started right off trying to get a key. After a few timeouts, the following message popped up:
Applications for the FINAL FANTASY XIV Open Beta Test have been temporarily suspended. Please wait until we are ready to accept new applications and then try again.
From what I’ve found on the various forums, it looks like they’re opening and closing the giveaway page pretty randomly. The best advice people can give is to keep trying. Darkfall’s release honed my refresh-fu but Squares is a little bit more of a pain since you have to re-login after every refresh.
All that being said, I’m going to keep trying. I know that there are a lot of things people are concerned about and, honestly, I share some of them. The fatigue system isn’t as bad as people are making it out to be, but it’s still an weekly limit nonetheless; I’m just hoping it won’t effect me. I’ve also heard that there’s a lack of quests when guildleves run out. I’m planning on having to grind, which I don’t really mind as long as the gameplay and story are good.
Am I the only one who’s skeptical of their “let’s only test 20% of the game” philosophy? I hope they crammed all the important stuff into that first 20%. It makes me wonder how they’re so sure of the other 80% of their guildleves and leveling content.
Anyways, all of that is won over by the things I’m excited about. I LOVE that I can be any class. I love that there are two sets of levels and dozens of things to work on. It also seems like Square-Enix stays a lot more true to the designers design philosophy than other companies. They seem to listen to player’s concerns without giving up on what they believe to be core fundamentals (ala fatigue). I like that. FFXIV won’t be for everybody, but, like FFXI, it should make for a great main game for its target audience.
I’ll keep you posted on if I make it in. I’ve already pre-ordered, so I’ll be in before the Sept. 30th street date either way.
By Chris on August 31st, 2010
Woah, two shows in one day?!?! Slow down, cowboy!
Since we had technology troubles on 23.5, we got together again to do episode 24 proper justice. On this episode, we cut out the news and extras and get right into an hour of round table. This week, we’re talking:
- Negativity in MMOs,
- Used game sales, who’s to blame?
- Half-MMOs
The show came out great and is wonderfully tangential. We use our topics as a launching point and expand, but, hey, we bring it back around, I think.
Oh, and links. Got to have links:
We’re trying a new topic format, so let us know what you think! Also, big kudos to Ferrel for editing. It’s a bigger job than you’d think and he’s doing great with it.
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By Chris on August 31st, 2010
Hey guys,
Long time no see! I know, it’s been too long, but we’re back. This episode actually demonstrates some of the technological issues we’ve been running into trying out new recorders. Unfortunately, Ferrel echoes throughout; however, the content itself was too good not to share — hence, 23.5 and not 24.
We talk about lots of stuff on this episode: the Neverwinter MMO, the LotRO cash shop, EQ Next, raiding, and more. Enjoy!
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By Chris on August 29th, 2010
 Hey Gang,
This weekend has been hectic, but, honestly, seeing all that negativity in the post below got to me. So, instead, I thought I’d let you all know about my weekly article over at Lagwar. In honor of its going into open beta, I decided to highlight the top then things I think you should know about Final Fantasy 14. Number one? There are chocobos. No, not that dinky little thing from that guy’s afro in FF13. I mean full-fledged, yellow-butted, chocobos. Still not convinced? Well, head over and let me know what you think in the comments!
… What’chu talkin’ ’bout chocobo?
- Chris
By Chris on August 26th, 2010
After all, the two are the exact same thing, right? I mean, where were YOU when the rest of us were delivering our support right to the developer’s cubicles? Way to be ungrateful. Let me just say it, Gamestop is just a games pimp with a shiny storefront. Amsterdam meets America, I say.
Hat-tip Syp.
You know, I try not to get too rankled. I really do. But, honestly, if you’re going to call people who buy used games thieves, fuck you. Let’s get something straight, it’s not MY job to price these games. It’s not MY job to market them so people want to buy them at launch. You want me to buy new, give me a reason to. Make it irresistible, get me excited so that I don’t wait the MONTHS it takes for a decent price drop at Gamestop. Give me something extra for buying from you. You know, be a salesman instead of a pusher (*cough* Kotick *cough*).
I buy lots of used games and I usually do it with a couple trade-ins of my own. In the last two years, I shudder to think of how much I’ve spent at Gamestop. So, believe me when I tell you, any game worth buying new will only be $5 cheaper to buy used for the first 90+ days. After that, maybe $7. Unless your game sucks, then it will be a lot cheaper – and who wants to buy it then, anyways. I’ll almost always pay the extra five dollars if that’s the scenario. Five bucks is nothing, and the peace of mind knowing the disc will be new is worth it.
Months later, when that game is still $59.99 in the store, and $39.99 at Gamestop, most people would choose to buy used. If you’re buying new at that point you either have a very specific reason, too much money, or failed your Home Economics class in high school.
I get that used games don’t benefit the developers. Except for market penetration, word of mouth, public perception, and future sales. It’s not like anyone felt skiddish about Game 1 and actually went out to buy Game 2. It’s not like any studio ever factored in used sales to determine how well their game was received. After all, who factors in their ENTIRE audience?
I empathize with people who want to show their appreciation for a product well done. That’s great, and, you know what, I like to do that too. Developer’s work hard and deserve to be well rewarded.
But that’s not the player’s job. It shouldn’t even be most player’s consideration, frankly. We can all sit in our recliners or computer chairs preaching all day long, but not one of us is directly sending money to a developer. We send it to the retailer, who sends it to the publisher, who sends it to the studio, who sends it home. Our job is to be responsible adults and make the best decisions for ourselves.
Developer’s not getting paid isn’t Gamestop’s fault. It is 100% the publisher. If you want people to stop going to Gamestop, quit being so bull-headed with your prices. The only thing used games stores prove is that a) games are priced too high to begin with; and, b) $60 price points don’t last. If people thought buying new was a good deal, they’d do it. But it’s not, so they don’t.
If given the choice, I would buy new. I’d buy new everything if I could. But, I respond to the choices I’m given. Case and point, I bought a washer and dryer this summer. It was expensive and I had a good deal on a used set downtown. I told the guy so. They tossed in a 5-year care plan and cut $130 off the tab. Even though it was still slightly more expensive, they made it worth my while. When it comes to games, I’ll buy new when I want it early.
Call us thieves if you want, but, you know what? We’re right. It’s really that simple. In America, consumers tell businesses how much their product is worth. You don’t charge $50 for a car wash. You don’t charge $5 for a four-wheeler. Gamestop doing well only shows that players aren’t satisfied with pig-headed moneygrubbing ala Bobby Kotick.
Responding to customer feedback is one of the earliest lessons new business owners learn. What’s the game industry’s excuse?
Oh, right. Over paid CEOs. Clueless investors. Unwarranted Inflation. Inability to adapt. Resistance to Change. Blanket greed.
It’s a good thing the game’s economy is a vacuum. I shudder to think how many used products would be available if the rest of the world was such a unique snowflake.
Get real. This is not the gamer’s problem.
You know what I’d like to hear? Why do you buy used? We all know that doing so “hurts game developers,” so what is it that gets you to sleep at night? Lord knows, thoughts of a grinning Bobby Kotick floating through my head just put me right out.
By Chris on August 24th, 2010
 Courtest of Lagwar.com This was too cool to pass up. One of my teammates over at Lagwar sent in a fan letter to the Fallen Earth team… on the back of a head. No, I’m being for real. He sent a full-RP letter, written on the back of a skull, and demanded swag. I’m not sure if he really expected a response when he sent it, but it was definitely a unique gesture. Their response was just as cool.
A few days later, poor Xerb came home to a package from Icarus Studios. Opening it up, he found a return letter… written on the back of a severed hand. Apparently, they wanted to “lend a hand” with his scavenging. This kind of player-company interaction can only be found in the games industry. I have to wonder, this thing looks like a custom job, but could it have been lying around the office? An employee a fan of Fangoria maybe?
Thanks to Xerb and Icarus for the laugh!
By Chris on August 23rd, 2010
Update: The recording is done and was a great success. We changed up the topic portion a bit in a move away from the “big topic” variety we’d previously shot for. Let us know what you think when it’s up!
Hey Gang,
Just a head’s up about what’s going on with our little MMO show. The rumors of our demise have been greatly exaggerated. No, the truth is we’re all well and fine, and still very much active in putting together a show for you. Actually, over the last few weeks we’ve recorded two separate shows that each got lost or damaged in the midst of computer troubles.
It’s true, though, that we’ve been a little sporadic in which weeks we choose to take off. The reason for this is that we’d rather have everyone together than piecemeal a podcast for you. So, if Ferrel is traveling or Riknas has dinner plans, we’ll usually reschedule or call the show for that week. Without pulling in a guest last minute, a two person show creates a fairly different dynamic. It also doesn’t help that when things come up, it’s usually the day of recording, so there’s not much of a backup plan in place. If you were around when we started, you know we began as a bi-weekly show. When we decided to go weekly, we decided that it was OK to let real life come first for those “in between” programs. Still, three weeks in between is more than what any of us want. Riknas, Ferrel, and I have all become good friends; missing out on recording time is honestly a bummer.
There are some format changes in the works, too. If you’ve followed us for a while, you know that we generally follow a “big topic” format. I’d like to expand that a bit, make the show more conversational, and alter our music layout. That won’t go live this week but I’m shooting for next. When everything is done, I’m hoping that it creates a more casual atmosphere that still offers everything you’ve come to like.
We’re re-recording episode 24 tonight, if you’d like to drop in. Feel free to join us in the chat at 7PM EST. You can also stream the show live over on the right sidebar. We hope to see you there!
- Chris
By Chris on August 23rd, 2010
 I’ve finally been able to get in on the raiding game in World of Warcraft. Signing up with Chaotic Damnation has been a great decision and I now find myself as one of the guild’s two main tanks for the foreseeable future. The transition into raiding hasn’t been that bad since I’ve raided with PuGs in the past. It’s been fun getting to know the different members, but our relative newness has shown up a few times.
We decided to start with Trial of the Crusader (10). The decision was a pretty apparent one based on our gear. It was the next step up from the badge armor most of us were wearing. We also had a couple ICC-geared members, so ToC looked like it would represent the decent, if not over the top, challenge, as well.
Since everyone goes by item levels now, Ulduar comes across as a step down for players with full triumph sets. Ulduar is pretty much useless for the beginning raider, a few particular drops notwithstanding.
So, we went into ToC-10. I was optimistic since the other tank and I had cleared it together the night before. Where that night’s raid had gone smoothly, this one seemed to trip up like never before. That a raid is a sum of its parts became readily apparent. When one person would get something, another would slip up and die. I was still learning myself, too. I don’t think anyone was exempt from making some mistake that night. In the end, we couldn’t get past the northrend beasts (encounter one).
That afternoon stuck with me, and I can’t help but think other people must be going through the same thing. Like I mentioned above, ToC is pretty much the first raid most new players will experience. The treadmill design of WoW’s raiding game has all but phased out everything before it, and ToC is still required to prepare for Icecrown Citadel (ICC).
That first fight was never meant to be a new raider’s first challenge. It’s atypical to the rest of WoW’s raiding game. Instead of going through trash and taking bosses one at a time, ToC removes trash entirely and pits you against four sequential bosses. Each one has its own gimmick, you have to know to succeed. If you fail on any of them, you have to start all over again. New raiders have to hope their group is willing to explain everything out before they begin, or be willing to research the encounters beforehand. Which, I should say, only gets you so far if you’ve never actually experienced the fight.
Now, in my guild, things are alright since everyone is pretty patient and understanding; but, to some players, this must just feel like being thrown into the meat grinder. Especially if you’re tanking or healing. That’s probably why I’ve only ever cleared it on guild runs. Usually, PuGs give up halfway through. For DPS, it’s not as hard – I’ve done it on my mage – but I can’t imagine many tanks trying to PuG this walking away feeling too good about themselves. I mean, once you get it and understand the gimmicks, it’s like everything *unlocks*, but unless everyone in that group knows the fights, it can be a tough go. Tougher, I’d say, than what Blizzard would prefer new raiders experience.
Which is why, to me, this kind of endgame design seems essentially flawed. Really, the new raider’s only fault is coming late to the party. And, in turn, they can’t find groups for challenge-appropriate instances and are forced to “aim high.” Lots of people do it, yes, but I don’t see how Blizzard can be content with it in this state. Not only does it render prior instances empty and unused (forgiving the stray weekly), but it also keeps raiding from being accessible to new players. And, in the days of gearscore and achievement linking, it gives players one more reason to be cliquey and shut new people out.
I don’t see this changing much in Cataclysm. WoW, and lots of other games, make a habit out of replacing their content over time. Still, this ramping up of difficulty the older the expansion gets seems counter-intuitive. Not for the people progressing, of course, then it should ramp up. But, speaking from experience, new raiders are apprehensive, feel like they’re being judged (and probably are), and will feel defeated when their “entry level” raid wipes the floor with them. They need positive first experiences if they’re expected to stick with it. Not easy, but positive, and that’s a matter of smart design.
Happy Monday, folks!
By Chris on August 22nd, 2010
 Throughout the transition period, I’ve done my best to support Turbine and Lord of the Rings Online. As a lifetime subscriber, the change to freemium meant very little for me – and, still do. So, while I empathized with players terrified of what the changeover meant for them, I couldn’t exactly share their fear.
That’s all still true today, but the recent unveil of the cash shop leaves me a bit worried for the future. There’s a lot of controversy about the things they’re selling. Permanent stat buffs, rep. mounts, super-powered potions, and Get Out of Grind Free passes abound.
You guys know me, I’m a blogger, so I’ve got to share my opinion about anything and everything. Honestly, much of what’s for sale is flying under my radar.
I don’t mind the rep. mounts, honestly, for the same reason I didn’t mind Blizzard re-using Naxx and Onyxia: developers and artists worked hard on this stuff and giving players another option to experience it is a good thing.
The accelerated deed and virtue items also don’t bother me because I’m not a grinder. I don’t mind killing mobs to help level, but killing hundreds and thousands of mobs for an extra 2% to some stat – that, as a leveler, doesn’t really matter to me anyways – isn’t my cup of tea. I would gladly pay a few bucks to save myself the hours of wasted time. Yes, monotonously killing low-level mobs is a waste of time. While I sit there, doing the most boring of MMO legwork, my mind drifts to the other things I could be doing and, before you know it, I’m logged out and doing them.
Selling the virtue stuff is like selling player retention. Why should they bother slamming their head against a wall when they could be playing something else? The deed grind should be completely reworked, in my opinion, but this is the next best thing. Kind of lame for the people who ground it out, though.
Finally, the stat boosters are what worry me. They’re small, but as Syp rightly notes in the article linked above, without them, you’re an unoptimized raider. And, as Keen points out, the sale of these items has a direct impact on the larger game world — even on players who never buy a thing. That means, by endgame, the guy who buys the stat pack has the advantage. It seems to me that any raid team serious about progression will consider this a requirement. Something about that just seems wrong.
 The MMO genre is moving closer and closer towards F2P dominance. Is this what we have to look forward to, being outmatched by our neighbors pocketbook? I know that beta players are saying the boosts are really minimal, and that’s cool, but it’s this kind of move that really makes free-to-play look like a sham. I realize that this is the price we pay for losing the subscription model, but at no other time is it more evident that free-to-play isn’t really free at all. With subscription games, you pay for equality. With a cash shop, you pay to be free from inequality.
No one wants to be a drag because they couldn’t do as good as the guy with the cash shop item. No one also wants to be told that they have to buy a stat pack if they want to raid on Friday. The closer we get to free-to-play, the more and more likely that seems.
I want to throw this one to Ferrel for a comment, but also to all of you, too. As a raid leader, would this be the kind of thing you would require you raiders to have?
Or am I getting too far ahead of myself? For the most part, I’m still really looking forward to the move, but these thoughts hung with me today. I’d like to think there’s something there.
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Email: Chris-at-gamebynight-dot-com
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With open beta registrations still wholly in the dark, I’ve been stalking FFXIV Core all day waiting for an update. Though Square has pretty much said “hold tight” and little else, I’ve found reading the boards to be especially interesting. Up until today, they were largely dominated by the very optimistic but very uninitiated Final Fantasy fan. People’s excitement was really at a fever pitch, and still is, but we’re seeing a bit more reality creep into posts. Responses are pretty much as you’d expect, either “it’s BETA dummy! What do you want from a BETA? Don’t you know what BETA means?!?!?!1″ to the simple “pre-order canceled.”
