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  • Dengeki - Interview with Tanaka and Komoto

    Dengeki - Interview with Tanaka and Komoto :: Final Fantasy XIV (FF14) at ZAM

    Final Fantasy XIV Producer Hiromichi Tanaka and Director Nobuaki Komoto sit down for another interview with Dengeki magazine. They reiterate what a busy time Gamescom was, and Tanaka attributes the presence of the well-received alpha demo to the hard work of Komoto and his team.
    Now, it is time to go beyond the developer version shown and get some more details about how the game is shaping up. There are some interesting new things to learn in this interview, so let's take a look.
    Discuss this on the ZAM forums.
    Graphics and Customization

    Final Fantasy XIV is all about customization. In fact, the game is centered around the Guildleve and Armoury Systems, which allow players to tailor the game to their play style and available time. Tanaka states that Guildleve is probably the greatest difference between Final Fantasy XI and XIV. With Guildleve, you have a clear goal, you gather friends together and you play on your own terms. The Armoury System further allows the player the freedom to switch jobs anywhere, which is their way of expanding upon the popular Job Change system from FFXI.
    The graphics in FFXIV are also set to allow an unprecedented level of customization. Although the races look similar to the ones available in FFXI, which Tanaka says is to aid FFXI users in smoothly transitioning over, they plan to open up a new world of variation for designing avatars. Even graphical features that were not added to characters in FFXI, such as necklaces and belts, are being considered for FFXIV. Tanaka goes as far as to say, "We're even talking about showing the rings on their fingers," as he chuckles.

    The power of this generation's technology will allow for seamless areas, although Tanaka makes a correction saying the entire world being seamless was a mistranslation. Seamless travel refers to individual areas being much bigger, with perhaps a single "area" in FFXIV being equivalent to the size of a full region in FFXI. However, players can rest assured that monsters will not chase you endlessly over the vast terrain.
    Areas of the game will basically be separated into Fields and Towns. In towns, you will have access to the Aetheryte, and various areas to gather with friends and/or chat. While FFXI did not allow Auto-Attack to function in towns, FFXIV uses a different system, so players will be able to draw their weapons even while inside town.
    Weather will also be an element of the game, but the way in which it will be implemented will be different. The interviewer suggests that weather could affect one's performance, but Tanaka feels that while the realism would be neat at first, people would start avoiding certain areas just due to weather. Still, they want to make weather have certain effects, although the idea is not completely fleshed out yet.
    Positioning in battle is something else the team is considering to add to the depth of strategy. There is also the possibility of height difference having an effect as well. Tanaka is unable to give any details, but says this is an area that they are giving considerable thought at this time.

    Some Things Change, Others Stay the Same
    In FFXIV, the Crystal as a individual's Home Point is becoming the Crystal as social gathering site. The developers see Aetheryte as the starting point of adventure - literally, the spot where Guildleve begins. In a way, Aetheryte takes the place of the Mog House, the main function of which was to switch jobs and serve as a gathering point. It can also be used to travel between towns, or transport oneself out to battle some monsters. So, if Aetheryte handles so much of the legwork, will Chocobos have a place in FFXIV? While Komoto is still looking into what role Chocobos will play in Eorzea, he realizes they are an icon of the series, and their inclusion must satisfy all the fans waiting to meet the newest incarnation of the beloved birds.
    As for more personal changes, we know that FFXIV will facilitate the transfer of one's online avatar from Vana'diel to Eorzea by offering similar races, but how will the characters evolve from that point? Komoto states they are considering some cosmetic differences beyond equipment, such as being able to change one's hairstyle. However, they are not going to let you completely change your appearance, such as choice of face. The interviewer asks, in regards to weapon deterioration, whether characters will also physically age, but Komoto just laughs and says that is not something they are considering.
    Another big chance for FFXIV is the addition of voice acting. Previously, it was reported that all cut-scenes would be fully voiced in English. However, Komoto says this is an over-statement of the facts and not every NPC in every cut-scene will be voiced. Important cut-scenes central to the story will have voice acting included. The idea is that if they want the player to be focusing more on the scene before them instead of reading subtitles, you can expect a voice-over track. Unfortunately for some, the voices are still planned to be recorded in English only. The reason is that they want to keep up a regular schedule of version updates, and having to translate and re-record all the scripts in multiple languages would cause too much of a delay.
    Wear and Tear and Repair
    One of the fundamental things that will connect battle-oriented classes and crafting classes is the addition of weapon deterioration. Characters will need to regularly seek the aid of a crafter, such as a blacksmith, in order to keep their weapons in prime shape. Besides weapons, shields and armor will also have durabilities that deteriorate. The current states of a piece of equipment will also affect its market price. Whether or not these change will be reflected graphically or not is still something that is being considered.
    The idea is that there will be some gathering place, similar to Aetheryte for Guildleve, where players can go to meet up with a Blacksmith and get some repair work done. Search Comments, which were a popular way to advertise buying/selling will also be making their way in to FFXIV. Komoto also realizes that their may be times when a Blacksmith is not available, and he is thinking of how to address this. "It's not like you'll have to wander around with a broken weapon forever," Komoto jokes.
    However, do not expect a crafter to magically fix your equipment on the first try. A crafter's skill will play into whether they can successfully repair a piece of equipment. Luckily, Tanaka adds that even if a crafter fails at a repair attempt, they will not lose the weapon or armor being worked on.
    Crafters will have other unique abilities, such as being able to add their own colors or patterns to the equipment they make. It is also possible that shop signs will be made available to long-time players, although Komoto says they are still considering different options. As for battle, it appears that crafting classes may have some abilities that could be utilized for light battles, but have little strength when compared to a battle-oriented job.

    Guildleve
    Guildleve is basically the daily life of an adventurer in Eorzea. First, the player goes to an adventurer's guild where they can take on a number of Guildleves. Then they gather at the Aetheryte with other adventurers or go it solo. After completing their required quests (and maybe help their friends with some as well) they can return and repeat the process. The idea is that people will visit a guild, pick up several Guildleves, and they would have something to do for the next few days.
    As items, the physical Guildleves are "metal plates," as Tanaka puts it, and allow you to undertake a specific task. Anyone can participate in anyone else's Guildleve, which makes it easy to gather people and do quests together. The system itself will also be exceptionally large, including a wide variety of quests for all different classes. There will be Guildleves that help you skill up, and Guildleves wherein you hunt down Notorious Monsters. There will even be solo Guildleves, which Komoto states should take around 30 minutes to complete. "I thought it would be good if even someone with only an hour to play each day can complete about two of these," Komoto said.
    Players should be aware, however, that there is a limit to how many Guildleves a single player can personally initiate within a set period of time. If you hit this limit, you can still help others with their Guildleves.
    Misc. Q & A
    Although there is no time for one at this stage in the development process, Komoto expresses his interest in having official offline events.
    The Square Enix Security Token will be used in conjunction with FFXIV to boost account security, but it is not required to create an account.
    Komoto says the control layout for FFXIV will not change much from FFXI. You can also still use a PC game controller if you wish.
    In its current state, FFXIV does not allow one to change the window size or enlarge the text, but it is something they do plan to add.
    Windowed mode is set to be a basic feature of FFXIV from the start. There are going to be web-based community tools and want to make it so you can have access to these while playing.
    Miqo'te will have cat ears on the top of their head, just like Mithra. Komoto begins to wonder how they will be able to wear glasses, and starts laughing, joking with the interviewer to please go to the next question.
    Although FFXIV races are similar in appearance to FFXI races, the lack of tails on Roegadyn were one of the changes they decided upon to make Eorzean races unique.
    Characters in FFXIV will be much more expressive with a wider range of emotes and motions. Motion capture technology was used to create all of the body movements the avatars can express. Even the stoic Roegadyn will have a full ranges of emotes. Multiple characters being able to emote something together presents a number of obstacles for the developers, but they are considering it along with any ways to facilitate communication.
    Conversely, the interviewer brings up an interesting point, saying that the removing Auto-Attack and making players select every action could make it much harder to communicate during battle. Tanaka admits it will have an effect perhaps, but he encourages players to think of the new system as like having a lot more weaponskills at your disposal.
    The suggestion is made that macros could be set up that simulate Auto-Attack, but they feel this could make battle more complicated if not done properly.

    Final Thoughts
    Komoto reiterates how they plan to show pieces of FFXIV as the development cycle continues. They have focused extensively on Guildleve and information on the races is plentiful, so next up will be a deeper look into the Armoury System. At the last second, Tanaka interjects, revealing that the graphical side of FFXIV is only 50% complete and players can expect big changes as we get closer to the final version.

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    Epic-fucking-win, all of it.
    Last edited by Malacite; 09-11-2009, 12:28 AM.
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  • #2
    Re: Dengeki - Interview with Tanaka and Komoto

    That interview hasn't exactly filled me with confidence about the game. Needing to go back to town to repair if there aren't blacksmiths sitting around at the aetherite points to repair you. 30 minute restrictions on Guildleves and of course the usual faggotry with restrictions on how many you can attempt in a set time. Also, what real motivation is there to play a blacksmith when you'll be gimped on adventuring abilities, sitting around waiting to repair shit for people all day long isn't exactly engaging.

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    • #3
      Re: Dengeki - Interview with Tanaka and Komoto

      From that information blacksmithing will be a must have in players arsenal for long term gaming, why pay someone to repair your gear when you have a choice to do it yourselves, with jobs being so easily switchable at crystals you can repair and go out about quickly, its not like blacksmithing will be leveled through battle from what I've understood that's completely optional to do so but it is a faster route to leveling your skills but not the only way.

      Guildleve's are starting to sound shockingly like Daily Quests in World of Warcraft /shivers

      Fully Displayed Items for Everything you Equip, Nice Perk.

      Having said that last part being able to engrave crafted items with your emblem/insignia, change there patterns/styles and change there colors? Visual Customization Mega-Load!

      FFXI: Battle of the Clone Wars!
      FFXIV: Battle of Lesser Clones in War!

      The idea of sticking with zones is fantastic, it allows for a nice bandwidth cushion so people with lower bandwidths connections to play smoothly without constant out-of-distance data having to be stored constantly (it saves a lot of bandwidth). Also could anyone honestly tell me you could pull off FFXIV Graphics + Seemless World + SE Grand Design without Running into Resource Trouble Somewhere? Everything would take longer to do with a completely seemless world and its quite frankly not a terrible lose because they would have to shrink the world in essence to make it accommodate the players and not the design they had envisioned, honestly they'd rip the world apart to do it without a doubt, if FFXI was seemless I doubt any of us would look at Jeuno and say "Hey That's a Nice Long Bridge I'll Run Across it", where'd have cursed bloody murder at having to do that shit!

      Another factor is they'd have to re-craft the world to accommodate expansion/patch content, something I think many people could live without and plus they can keep with there grand design on areas, cities, dungeons, etc without having to compromise them for something. Its not a bad trade off not having a seemless world when the size of those zones are the size of entire regions in FFXI. Most of those regions are broken into 4-8 zones per region and you can guess theres a lot of space within those zones (which will be seemless), so its not a terrible lose at all.

      Visual Weapon Degradation is a Nice Little Touch.

      Weathers was a interesting topic, they are right that people would avoid the zones and areas within them that cause them the greatest hassle and aim towards everything thats easier, but that's going to happen naturally over the coarse of its life anyhow so they are smart to just scrap the idea of it effecting the player in that sense anyway cause its a waste of time.

      Tactical Positioning in Battle is Very Interesting, Hopefully They Succeed It'll Have Great Gameplay Consequences.

      Guess thats my Dribble...

      and That Auto-Attack Macro Will Be Made Before Retail Without a Doubt by a Beta Player.
      Last edited by Reavis; 09-11-2009, 03:29 AM.

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      • #4
        Re: Dengeki - Interview with Tanaka and Komoto

        Originally posted by Grizzlebeard View Post
        That interview hasn't exactly filled me with confidence about the game. Needing to go back to town to repair if there aren't blacksmiths sitting around at the aetherite points to repair you.
        Or you could level Blacksmithing as your craft which is totally free and in no way hinders your ability to be a full on damage dealer, healer, tank, caster or anything else.

        Originally posted by Grizzlebeard View Post
        30 minute restrictions on Guildleves
        He didn't say they was time restricted, just to say that they will take "about" 30 minutes.

        Originally posted by Grizzlebeard View Post
        and of course the usual faggotry with restrictions on how many you can attempt in a set time.
        This could be a problem, but an MMO who's entire "leveling" concept is based on Guildleve's you would except to have either a staggeringly huge number of them or a very short lifespan on the MMO.

        Originally posted by Grizzlebeard View Post
        Also, what real motivation is there to play a blacksmith when you'll be gimped on adventuring abilities
        The "job" system doesn't work that way.
        Originally posted by Grizzlebeard View Post
        This is a way for Blacksmiths to make money and they didn't explcitely exclude NPC repairs either.
        I think you are confused again about how the job system works as I can't image this would ever happen unless you logged onto a crafting mule or just for 10 mins to make a few Gil.
        Last edited by Dux; 09-11-2009, 06:24 AM. Reason: Clarification on last comment and spelling.
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        • #5
          Re: Dengeki - Interview with Tanaka and Komoto

          Is it me, or did they say absolutely nothing new?
          "I have a forebrain, my ability to abstract thoughts allow for all kinds of things" - Red Mage 8-Bit theater

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          • #6
            Re: Dengeki - Interview with Tanaka and Komoto

            Originally posted by Ziero View Post
            Is it me, or did they say absolutely nothing new?
            no they just wiped the bugs off the window
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            • #7
              Re: Dengeki - Interview with Tanaka and Komoto

              Originally posted by Grizzlebeard View Post
              That interview hasn't exactly filled me with confidence about the game. Needing to go back to town to repair if there aren't blacksmiths sitting around at the aetherite points to repair you. 30 minute restrictions on Guildleves and of course the usual faggotry with restrictions on how many you can attempt in a set time. Also, what real motivation is there to play a blacksmith when you'll be gimped on adventuring abilities, sitting around waiting to repair shit for people all day long isn't exactly engaging.
              You know, some functions of both FFXI and WoW are there to encourage you not to spam doing the same things over and over. If Dynamis and Limbus restrictions were not in-place, people would never leave. Even with the instanced systems in FFXI, restrictions are set in place so people will eventually do other things

              There's really nothing wrong with the idea of those systems. Even WoW has a system in place where if you log off and don't play for a while (reducing queue waits and server traffic for them), your EXP curve improves.

              I think the other underlying principle here is that people do their best work when they're rested.

              Also, getting to repair and customize your armor seems like one hell of an incentive to be a blacksmith, not to mention you might make some nice gil off other players for your services. I actually like the fact that these professions can play a role outside of the crafts themselves. True Fantasy Live Online (before it was canned) actually had planned for jobs such as Cooks to be able to adventure as well.

              But given FFXIV will allow you to change jobs in between battles, I don't see the problem with the crafting jobs being a little weaker since you can always change back after your other job's function has been performed.

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              • #8
                Re: Dengeki - Interview with Tanaka and Komoto

                Did everyone miss the part where it said you could put your own patterns into the things you craft?

                That is just absolutely epic and pwns the shit out XI's HQ crystals. "Hey look, you can see who made my weapon!" "Oh yeah, well my armor is custom made BITCH!"

                And some people seriously need to RTFM... moving on;


                I'm really hoping they stick with the weather affecting performance thing. Annoying as it would eventually get, it would be cool if your vision/movement/whatever was actually somewhat impaired during a blizzard for example. In XI all we get is a pretty little graphic effect that adds to the lag more than anything else (thank you 56k connection cap ), spawns some unique mobs (usually elementals) and then there's the 5~10% bonus to corresponding magic.

                I forget where but it actually says somewhere on the main site that the Lalafel do not do well in extreme cold for example. Likewise I imagine the Miqo'te o Roegadyn can't enjoy the heat too much >.>


                My primary concern with the game atm is the skill cap Tanaka is considering. Since crafts are actual classes this time, theoretically this limits you on how far you can progress in each class unlike in XI where you can 75 every job if you so choose to. Now it could (and like will) be that they will initially let everyone raise each class to a certain skill level, and then impose a cap on how many skills you can gain regardless of category beyond that number.

                Example; My archery blacksmithing and swordplay are all at 80 and the cap above 80 (like in XI's crafting) is 100 giving me 20 skill levels past 20. Do I take one of these skills to 100, or try to even it out? This is the sort of thing that's bothering me atm. I'm also curious about how merits will work this time around (I'm betting on it revolving around specialized guildleves)
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                • #9
                  Re: Dengeki - Interview with Tanaka and Komoto

                  I'm decided. Crafting first, sorcery second.

                  Dengeki - Interview with Tanaka and Komoto :: Final Fantasy XIV (FF14) at ZAM

                  As for battle, it appears that crafting classes may have some abilities that could be utilized for light battles, but have little strength when compared to a battle-oriented job.
                  And if this holds true at release, all the better.

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                  • #10
                    Re: Dengeki - Interview with Tanaka and Komoto

                    This interview had a lot of "Oh that was misunderstood." comments in it -.-

                    I like the idea of no zones. And The Aetherytes look like they're always in the town where there will be some sort of Blacksmith. If they don't add a Blacksmith vendor, that's gonna piss me off.
                    A mans strength isn't measured by the size of his muscle, but by the size of his heart.

                    it's better to be a smart ass than a dumb ass.

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                    • #11
                      Re: Dengeki - Interview with Tanaka and Komoto

                      Originally posted by Malacite View Post
                      Did everyone miss the part where it said you could put your own patterns into the things you craft?
                      Is it hard to feign incredible excitement over trivial shit? You're pretty good at it.


                      This interview was pointless. Why bother with it when they are going to ask all the questions that were already asked and find out all the same information we already know?

                      The only interesting tidbit is that "seamless" was a mistranslation, so FFXIV will still have zones. They'll just be bigger. Yay?


                      500 hours in MS paint

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                      • #12
                        Re: Dengeki - Interview with Tanaka and Komoto

                        Originally posted by Tickmeoff View Post
                        The only interesting tidbit is that "seamless" was a mistranslation, so FFXIV will still have zones. They'll just be bigger. Yay?
                        I'm slightly ticked about that. Unless them saying it was a mistranslation becomes another mistranslation.
                        A mans strength isn't measured by the size of his muscle, but by the size of his heart.

                        it's better to be a smart ass than a dumb ass.

                        R.I.P. Dura's Moms Hard Drive. 2002-2009 Gone, but not forgotten.

                        Your family must havehad a hen farm growin', up cause you sure know how to raise a cock

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                        • #13
                          Re: Dengeki - Interview with Tanaka and Komoto

                          Originally posted by Malacite View Post
                          Example; My archery blacksmithing and swordplay are all at 80 and the cap above 80 (like in XI's crafting) is 100 giving me 20 skill levels past 20. Do I take one of these skills to 100, or try to even it out? This is the sort of thing that's bothering me atm. I'm also curious about how merits will work this time around (I'm betting on it revolving around specialized guildleves)
                          Yea, this is bothering me as well. Especially since they are grouped into 4 groups as well. I just hope you can cap all the "classes" in each group. Just have to wait for more information.

                          quote=Grizzlebeard;856021]Crafters will have other unique abilities, such as being able to add their own colors or patterns to the equipment they make[/quote]

                          Cool. Fully customizable gear? Finally, you don't have to wear something that looks like crap if you want to be efecient in your job!

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                          • #14
                            Re: Dengeki - Interview with Tanaka and Komoto

                            I hope that means they are finally moving away from dial-up speeds. <_<;
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                            • #15
                              Re: Dengeki - Interview with Tanaka and Komoto

                              Originally posted by Takelli View Post

                              Cool. Fully customizable gear? Finally, you don't have to wear something that looks like crap if you want to be efecient in your job!
                              Nowhere did they say it will be fully customizable, whatever that means.

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