Now Square-Enix wants customers to be happy. how will FFXI make us happy now?

[Feba]

Re: Now Square-Enix wants customers to be happy. how will FFXI make us happy now?

honestly, changing race wouldn't be that big of a deal. How? A wizard did it. End of story!

the bigger problem is losing character identity. I know what my friends look like. I know that some of them wish they had chosen a different race, but it would make characters lose what character they have.

maybe it would be better to force people to create a second content ID, and have their 'powers' (inventory, skills, levels, quests/missions) transferred to the new character. Given FFXI doesn't allow character transfers or multiple sessions on an account, you could even have them copied 1:1-- stop the pain of starting up a new character, without giving any real advantages. Inventory would of course force you to select one character or another, so it's not duping things. Related, there should be a service to transfer rare/ex items between characters on the same account.

[Omgwtfbbqkitten]

Re: Now Square-Enix wants customers to be happy. how will FFXI make us happy now?

See, this is where FFXI gets a little too weird for me - roleplay isn't welcomed, yet people associate their character so deeply with themselves they want to change its appearance.

I mean, I'm sure it could be done. I think SE's talk of "PS2 limitations" on a matter such as this is complete BS. I think my characters look pretty distinguished as they are, though. I'm not much for radical style changes myself, though, so perhaps that's why.

[Elwynn]

Re: Now Square-Enix wants customers to be happy. how will FFXI make us happy now?

This, god this. And Ballista. When I get huge messages like that upon zoning every time, it lags me. I can't move until the message is done loading on my screen. It is manageable with the kupopowers thing, but has always been a problem with Ballista spam - which, by the way, is something I do not give a blue bloody fuck about.

You've got it backwards. You never could move until the moment when those messages show up on your screen. They don't show up until you are able to move. And at least Ballista spam is only in three zones.

But geez. On PS2 the old message was 5 lines. Now it's 6-9 lines, depending on the kupowers. (7 this week in Fairy)

[Murphie]

Re: Now Square-Enix wants customers to be happy. how will FFXI make us happy now?

See, this is where FFXI gets a little too weird for me - roleplay isn't welcomed, yet people associate their character so deeply with themselves they want to change its appearance.

I mean, I'm sure it could be done. I think SE's talk of "PS2 limitations" on a matter such as this is complete BS. I think my characters look pretty distinguished as they are, though. I'm not much for radical style changes myself, though, so perhaps that's why.

Radical style changes certainly aren't necessary for me, but sometimes I wish I'd chosen a different hairstyle for Murphie.

[Malacite]

Re: Now Square-Enix wants customers to be happy. how will FFXI make us happy now?

Didn't the dev team say they were taking the hair style issue into consideration at last fan fest? But we all know how reliable [B]they[B] are.

Totally agree on the Kupo thing too. I didn't mind it at first but now it's starting to annoy me ever so slightly. I mean there's still far, far more annoying things and in terms of priorities this would be on the bottom rung but it's a fairly easy thing to fix I would think.

A few other suggestions I forgot as well;

1) Make Dynamis instanced PLEASE and make it a 30-60 minute event and adjust mobs & drops accordingly. If you read Elmer the Pointy's JP survey, like 90-~95% of the people said they largely dislike Dynamis because it's just too long.

2) Would it be too much to ask to give Nyzul Isle it's own set of tags? It's not the end of the world but it sure would be nice if I could do Salvage and Nyzul together instead of one or the other.

3) Either do away with the ridiculous NM respawns (24 hours or longer) or make their drops at least 50%. Eastern Shadow, King Arthro, and especially 3 kings etc... it's nonsense. Hell, just getting the claim on most of these is challenging enough.

[Taskmage]

Re: Now Square-Enix wants customers to be happy. how will FFXI make us happy now?

3) Either do away with the ridiculous NM respawns (24 hours or longer) or make their drops at least 50%. Eastern Shadow, King Arthro, and especially 3 kings etc... it's nonsense. Hell, just getting the claim on most of these is challenging enough.

I foresee flaming or at least heated criticism of this.

The length of dynamis is a turnoff for me too but I don't expect that will ever change. It's just the nature of the event. Totally agree about Nyzul though.

If they added changing hairstyle I might tool around with it a bit just to go twinsies with some people but Lago's hair is Lago's hair.

[Omgwtfbbqkitten]

Re: Now Square-Enix wants customers to be happy. how will FFXI make us happy now?

I foresee flaming or at least heated criticism of this.

Nah, its dated, archaic and decrepit in design. There are already plenty of design examples to draw from within the game that would still keep HNM encounters rare and the drops rare as well. The problem with Malacite's idea is that he wants a more simplified spawn time, which would only lead to two problems:

(1) Diminished rarity
(2) Increased competition

The fact that there's a 21-24 wait is a means of discouraging everyone from getting in on it, but the waiting not a very fun element. There are plenty of ways to make it a timesink without making you just stand around playing your PSP, DS, etc for 29 minutes and paying attention for one.

The only people that thrive off the competition and the "rush" of getting a claim are the morally depraved anyway. No need to enable them further by offering more opportunities to claim.

I think an ENM-style structure would be the best option. This way you always get a claimed mob and can even schedule multiple runs a week based on people's scheduling needs. Make the key item for getting to do the fight the ordeal rather than have the camping and drama be the ordeal. This way, you're at least doing something without dealing with the urge to find these freakshows and stab them.

The length of dynamis is a turnoff for me too but I don't expect that will ever change. It's just the nature of the event. Totally agree about Nyzul though.

I don't think it could be practically shortened to the length Mal wants, but I do think that cutting it in half would be reasonable. Of course, no one says you have to stay an entire run. I know some linkshells say you have to complete the run for your points and I think that's pretty stupid. Shit comes up, don't punish people for having life priorities. My advice here would just be to find a better Dynamis LS with more humane leadership... if that's at all possible.

100% disagree about Nyzul. I prefer it stay one or the other because separate tags for each type of Assault event just encourages players and linkshells to cram more into their week. There's enough endgame content, its practically suffocating players as it is.

People like to do other things in game, they also like to take time away from FFXI.

The structure of entry to things like Dynamis and Limbus, along with how tags are distributed between Assault and Nyzul maintain a certain level of cool-down time. If you don't do Assault, you can't do Salvage. If you do Nyzul, you can't do Assault. All the events have potent rewards and the current balance lets people choose which event to do in moderation.

[Feba]

Re: Now Square-Enix wants customers to be happy. how will FFXI make us happy now?

The only people that thrive off the competition and the "rush" of getting a claim are the morally depraved anyway.

I lol'd.

Anyway, I still say the game should have a system that rewards people somewhat randomly, but based on their past and total efforts. People that devote themselves to an item have a better chance of getting it every time they go back, while not giving away the item to everyone that passes by or making it easy to determine when you'll get an item (I'll have X points at Y date, which is enough to buy Z item).

[Caspian]

Re: Now Square-Enix wants customers to be happy. how will FFXI make us happy now?

I lol'd.

Anyway, I still say the game should have a system that rewards people somewhat randomly, but based on their past and total efforts. People that devote themselves to an item have a better chance of getting it every time they go back, while not giving away the item to everyone that passes by or making it easy to determine when you'll get an item (I'll have X points at Y date, which is enough to buy Z item).

Increased chance of drop based on frequency and/or number of kills. Would still keep a level of chance that SE seems to have love.

[Feba]

Re: Now Square-Enix wants customers to be happy. how will FFXI make us happy now?

Increased chance of drop based on frequency and/or number of kills.

Yes, exactly. Also, such drops should go directly into the player's inventory.

For example, let's say the Ridill starts off with a %1 drop rate. One out of every hundred people will be lucky enough to have a Ridill show up in their inventory the first time they're in an alliance that kills Fafnir. The next time you go back, you've got an %11 chance, then %20, %28, %35, %41, %46, %50, %53, and topping out at %55; you're more likely to get it than not get it. If they want to keep an item rarer, they could lower the percentages and gains; more common they can raise them. If they really want to prevent frustration, they could have it add some percentage at every kill up to %100, to make sure that you can't be screwed over by chronically bad luck.

[Omgwtfbbqkitten]

Re: Now Square-Enix wants customers to be happy. how will FFXI make us happy now?

I lol'd.

Anyway, I still say the game should have a system that rewards people somewhat randomly, but based on their past and total efforts. People that devote themselves to an item have a better chance of getting it every time they go back, while not giving away the item to everyone that passes by or making it easy to determine when you'll get an item (I'll have X points at Y date, which is enough to buy Z item).

So, basically, you want to gimp what many people view as the only thing THF has to offer in an endgame event? Additionally, there is a system that rewards you each time you go back to do an event - LS point system, Allied Notes, Assault points. All these things assure you will eventually get what you want.

Problem with LS point system is a potential for human error/corruption. Even if there was in internal DKP system to eliminate the mishandling of the math, there's still the leaders that kick people from LSes. So it couldn't be done within an LS with 100% success any way you imagine it. And if it was external to the LS and specific to each member - people are still going to want to have a say if your "luck" makes something drop, particularly given that they had to help you kill it to make it happen.

While I like the way rewards are handled in Assault and Campaign, i don't think its very "adventurous" to have all rewards doled out by a similar system, which is really the only perfect way to do it... unless you're kicked from a fight or get disconnected.

[Aksannyi]

Re: Now Square-Enix wants customers to be happy. how will FFXI make us happy now?

I guess I'm really lucky I've never been in a corrupt linkshell where leaders kick people who have more points than them or something. I don't doubt there are some shady fuckers out there, but if people can be kept honest, the system we work with is amazing for determining drops, and easily the fairest I've seen.

[Omgwtfbbqkitten]

Re: Now Square-Enix wants customers to be happy. how will FFXI make us happy now?

If it isn't a corrupt one, I get the one filled with morally depraved personalities I can't mesh with. Or both. Though to be fair, last time I had a bad experience was when someone who was a friend turned batshit insane the moment she joined the LS. I invariably get associated with this person, so the only option to preserve my reputation is to disassociate with people that behave that way.

I remember back on Titan there was this one dude called Asdrabael (he posts who threw a tremendous temper tantrum when a Dynamis run finally timed out and we lost a small smattering of singles. Totally lost it. Yeah, it was bad some people AFKed toward the end and didn't pass, but I've seen runs where a 100 piece dropped right as we timed out. Losing five singles? Not so painful.

He'd come and babysit his wife's account (well, he claimed to have one, I didn't see how such a personality could obtain a mate) just to tell us how awesome his times in Karasu were (yeah, that Titan shell that got destroyed by the bannings under Merona). Of course, this was why I questioned that he had a wife, because if he did, wouldn't it make a bit more sense to be in Karasu with him? Really, an LS that keeps couples apart doesn't sound that cool.

I'm still gonna keep away from endgame for a bit longer til I get the new particulars of employment squared away. Odin seems to have a more cordial endgame environment, just a overcrowded one.

[Feba]

Re: Now Square-Enix wants customers to be happy. how will FFXI make us happy now?

So, basically, you want to gimp what many people view as the only thing THF has to offer in an endgame event?

1- Basically, yes. If the only useful thing a job can do is stand around and improve drop rates, the job needs to be fixed.
2- Even then, I didn't say those were the only possible factors. Having TH in your group could increase everyone's chances of getting an item by some amount, instead of increasing the simple rate of an item appearing in the treasure pool. Not a radical change at all.

Additionally, there is a system that rewards you each time you go back to do an event - LS point system, Allied Notes, Assault points. All these things assure you will eventually get what you want.

Notes and points, sure. LS point system? Are you high? Aren't you the one that's usually complaining about how crooked most LS leaders are, and how they manipulate things to prevent other people from getting points where they want them? Let alone the ability to get kicked from LS through no fault of your own, shadow lotting, and other such petty drama that makes all of the effort pointless for many good people and players. The old systems do nothing to protect players and ensure they eventually get their items. The system I'm proposing has no downsides except for those that do manipulate point systems to ensure that they get what they want before anyone else. Keep in mind that the system I'm proposing would cause the item to go directly into your inventory, not into a treasure pool. LS leaders would have no recourse against your 'luck', and no rational reason to kick you because you got an item before they did. I think you're confusing my idea (individualized rewards based on previous effort) with simply building an LS point system into the game (which wouldn't be much more useful than building in a notepad application)

You bring up a good point about being kicked or getting disconnected-- which this system could also handle very well. When the monster is killed, everyone that fought it gets points (this would reset along with HP after CFHs and wipes and so on), regardless of whether they're in the party/alliance, in the same area, or even online. This keeps people from kicking out one person to let another person in for items/points. Such a system could dissuade people from abusing it to get everyone in their LS items easily by reducing the points earned in a similar manner to EXP. If a mob has 300 points for killing it, a lone person would get 300, a party of 6 could get 75 each (bonuses for groups of 3-6 people), an alliance would get 15 points each (small detractions for using an alliance), two alliances would get 5 points each (larger detractions for groups above 18 members). This would also be a great way to prevent mobs like AV, PW, and Kirin back in the days where people needed multiple alliances from biasing towards the players in the killing party. Everyone that helped kill a mob would get an even share of the credit (based on getting hate on the mob and being in a party with claim; not based on dealing damage. hate to be fair to mages, being in a party with claim to prevent people from casting on people with hate in order to get free points), even if the leaders kicked them, even if they were D2'd, even if they disconnected. This would have the side benefit of dissuading LS from trying to steal HNMs or force a wipe; an LS wiping would either get points for however far they got the mob down, or the other LS would have to wait and allow the monster to get back to %100.

[Akashimo]

Re: Now Square-Enix wants customers to be happy. how will FFXI make us happy now?

1- Basically, yes. If the only useful thing a job can do is stand around and improve drop rates, the job needs to be fixed.

Only sucky thfs stand around. Real ones partake in the said kill. And god if i see a thf wear relic legs in any thing that doesn't have gil to drop again, I'll kill a puppy. I swear, they get the knife and armlets and think its all easy button.

To the idea of no pool, will dynamis, nyzul, salvage, limbus and anything that's trigger pop keep their normal treasure pools? Either i skimmed over it or it wasn't mentioned, just seems like it'll ruin a few things that actually need the pool to function.