Dengeki Games Interview

[Malacite]

Dengeki Games Interview :: Final Fantasy XIV (FFXIV) at ZAM

more thankies to Elmer for this

An interview was released this week in the most recent issue of Dengeki Games. It turned out to be a nice read, so I won't waste your time padding this intro. Check it out below!
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Ｑ：How much of the game will players be able to experience in the beta?
Ａ：We started at about 10% of the final product with the playable Alpha version and are ultimately trying to perfect the underlying game system. The bulk of the game won't be made public until the retail version is out.

Ｑ：Will the servers be named after summons like in FFXI?
Ａ：There's no doubt we'll use names familiar to any FF fan, but the scheme will be a little different than FFXI.

Ｑ：What can you tell us about the transition from the Beta to the final version or about world transfers in general?
Ａ：Once service starts, we want to make it so you can move along with the friends you make during the Beta to the same world. As for world transfers, that may be a possibility in the future, with some limitations probably.

Ｑ：Does the main story concern the Eorzeans and Garleans battling over the continent of Aldenard?
Ａ：At first, the story will open in Eorzea, that is, the continent of Aldenard and its surrounding islands. However, the Garlean Empire is based on another, larger continent.

Ｑ：What part does the mysterious power (Echo) or the crystals play in the story?
Ａ：They serve as the basis for the whole story. We want you to discover the truth behind this as the story unfolds during play.

Ｑ：Will Chocobos make an appearance?
Ａ：Of course! However, we are still exploring ways for us to use them in a unique way compared with FFXI.

Ｑ：We've only seen airships being as army warships so far, but will there be any that adventurers can ride?
Ａ：Of course there will be vehicles to transport adventurers around, but you'll have to wait a little longer for the details.

Ｑ：Give us the highlights on character creation.
Ａ：We've focused on really allowing the player the freedom to make any kind of character they would like, and designed them to be a much more natural fit with the game world. Depending on your class, even your starting equipment will be different.

Ｑ：Can you change the age of your character?
Ａ：There are no age settings, but to some extent you can alter their appearance to look more experienced.

Ｑ：So, your starting equipment changes based on the class you choose?
Ａ：Starting equipment does change based on your class? However, the equipment you wear from then on is completely the choice of the player.

Ｑ：How is the magic system?
Ａ：Magic is classified by levels and by the school the spell is from. For example, spells that serve the same function (e.g. heal HP) might have a different level of potency, an area of effect, longer casting time or higher MP cost depending on the school of magic the spell is from.
**Translator's note: The answer used very general terminology, but it appears to reference how a healing spell can be classified as Cure I, Cure II, Cure III under White Magic, or at the same time, Pollen under Blue Magic. So there are different levels and different schools that refer to the same function.

Ｑ：Will there be any familiar spells that didn't make their way into FFXI?
Ａ：While there will be familiar spells from the Final Fantasy series, a lot of the magic that didn't make it into FFXI simply can't be used in an MMO. If it's too difficult to work in an MMO environment, we can't say it'll appear.

Ｑ：Can classes other than Disciples of Magic use magic? Also, can Disciples of Magic use swords or other weapons?
Ａ：Classes are somewhat pre-defined, but that isn't to say there won't be the possibility as you continue to level and grow your character.

Ｑ：Does magic use up TP?
Ａ：At this time there are still many things yet to be fully examined.

Ｑ：Are there times when you have to light your way through a dungeon?
Ａ：There are places that will be very dark, but at this time we are considering the need for any torches or illumination magic.

Ｑ：Will there be seamless movement between dungeons and fields?
Ａ：Yes. Adventurers can travel seamlessly from bright, sun-bathed fields to the deepest and darkest of dungeons.

Ｑ：Will monsters behave similarly to FFXI, with Active and Passive types, different ways to sense players, linking, and all that?
Ａ：Of course, there will be many monsters romping around in field zones. The behavior elements from FFXI will be used again, but there will also be other unique elements the can determine a monster's behavior, like herd mentality or environmental factors.

Ｑ：Will Banzoku simply attack any and all humanoid characters without prejudice?
Ａ：They are human as well, so naturally there are some who wish for peace, or some who are traitors to their kind. There are some who may even be willing to do business with players.

Ｑ：Are there monsters that will fight each other?
Ａ：In the beginning, we came up with something like a food chain system, and it may end up in the game in some form or another.

Ｑ：When you think Final Fantasy, you think summons, so...
Ａ：They'll make an appearance. However, they take on a role closer to that of being gods. There will be more than a few hurdles to get over before you can secure their aid.

Ｑ：Do the Banzoku have classes as well?
Ａ：Just like humans, they have a unique culture and society, and they will have classes they excel at.

Ｑ：Will we see popular monsters such as the Mandragora?
Ａ：You can look forward to seeing more than a few of your favorites from FFXI in the game.

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WOOOOOOT @ the Summons comment!

[Omgwtfbbqkitten]

Re: Dengeki Games Interview

So basically, stuff we already knew for the most part. They're not even remotely curious about the implication of these different groupings within the races?

The multiple "hurdles" to get summons only reinforces my belief there won't be a summoner class at all.

[jenova_9]

Re: Dengeki Games Interview

Ｑ：Are there times when you have to light your way through a dungeon?
Ａ：There are places that will be very dark, but at this time we are considering the need for any torches or illumination magic.

Thats the only new question I've seen.


They should of asked if any more races will be added or added in future expansions.

I feel at least 1 more race (whether original or borrowed from a Final Fantasy game like FFXII.) would make the selection much more interesting than just modded versions of XI's races.

[cidbahamut]

Re: Dengeki Games Interview

So basically, stuff we already knew for the most part. They're not even remotely curious about the implication of these different groupings within the races?

The multiple "hurdles" to get summons only reinforces my belief there won't be a summoner class at all.

Between that and the way they keep referring to them as god-like, it sounds like they won't be a playable class. More likely you'll be able to get their aid in the storyline or something of that nature.

[jenova_9]

Re: Dengeki Games Interview

There still might be a Beastmaster class/pet class added later.

I still think SMN has a chance because maybe obtaining the skill to summon something requires a lot more advancement than
merely unlocking an advanced job.


It's probably something that has to do with the main story/lore. Kind of like access to Sky, but advancing the plot could
later open up the chance to obtain the ability to someone one or more of them.

[cidbahamut]

Re: Dengeki Games Interview

You mean like how summoners in FFXI have to unlock their summons now? What you're suggesting isn't different at all. In fact it's almost exactly the same.

[Omgwtfbbqkitten]

Re: Dengeki Games Interview

There still might be a Beastmaster class/pet class added later.

I still think SMN has a chance because maybe obtaining the skill to summon something requires a lot more advancement than
merely unlocking an advanced job.

Adding SMN to FFXI by the traditional perspective they applied did not work as well in the online context as it did in the offline context. What worked for Rydia and Yuna didn't work for FFXI's SMN.

To get a summon originally, you had to be level 60 in some other job and have SMN unlocked. Avatar battles were originally level 60 cap fights only. There were no Trial Size versions. That made the job not terribly accessible.

Then they came out with the Trial Size version and the players that like the traditional presentation of the avatars said they dumbed the process down. And to an extent, that was actually true. Queen Asura didn't play pattycake with Rydia for access to her power.

If they're going to make it hard on everyone, the most fair thing they can do is make summons accessible to all jobs.

[jenova_9]

Re: Dengeki Games Interview

that would make end game classes look less unique.

tanks, DDs, healers, supporters all using their summons in battle.
It would feel too much like Pokemon. It was okay for something like FF8 because SeeD use Guardian Forces for power,


but I dunno, Summons being mandatory and common for all classes is just too cheesy. Plus even if there are like 12 summons, that's still not much variety when everyone advanced that far will be using them.

but ya, FFXIV is more like FFII than FFI, so I guess this time people can be a jack of all trades.

But I would prefer if people have to change to a summoner type class before they can use Summons.
but with the advanced skills system possibly combining skills from Jobs, I think it might turn out like FFTactics
where you can be a Knight, but still Summon as your sub skills.

I guess that's okay for really advanced stuff, though I don't think summons should be overpowered to the point
where everyone uses them like Utsusemi Ni was abused because it's so convenient. It would be best for summons
to not stand out too much in gameplay.

[Khalus]

Re: Dengeki Games Interview

I think most of these questions were made quite a bit more clear than earlier translations of them. Especially about the aggro system being back w/ new methods to learn. I do like that some dungeons may require a light source to explore!

[Malacite]

Re: Dengeki Games Interview

Why can't SMN just be the one job that really is barred off until you've advanced appropriately enough?

No honestly, why not? So one job out of 20 (though only 12 originally and soon after 15) can not be taken up right off the bat. A lot of things in FFXI that are very powerful require considerable investment, so why couldn't SMN be that? IMO it's one of the most iconic jobs of the series because of how widely recognized and beloved the summons are. In every game since 3, the summons have been a staple of spectacular effects & even story elements. Speaking of, IIRC in a previous interview Tanaka said that the summons will play a vital role in XIV's plot so in all likeliness story progression is likely going to be a requirement.


Anyway, really digging the comments on them. More God-like this time eh? Methinks that either SMN will (finally) be restored to it's offline power-level (SQUEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE) or as BBQ says, they will be made accessible to everyone in some form, even if it's not in the traditional sense (such as equipping them like GFs in 8)

In XI it was simply too hard to have SMN as potent as it was in the offline games since XI primarily focuses on facing a single foe at time, encouraging crowd control abilities when facing more than 1 enemy. XIV on the other hand has shown we will be facing multiple enemies frequently, which likely means mobs won't be so obscenely powerful as they are in XI either (I mean really why should a regular mob 10 or more levels lower than me have twice my stats?)

That was the big issue. You primarily want to keep hate (and thus healing magic as well) on a single target, which meant some of SMN's more extravagant healing abilities either had to be toned down or were simply irrelevant for most situations.

Likewise, where the job has typically specialized in clearing waves of enemies in a single, massive strike (usually at a considerable cost to MP but still less than a BLM would spend nuking them down) it had to be tweaked to handle singe enemies, reserving the more spectacular/traditional abilities for Astral Flow so as not to make BLM useless. I'm really hoping they fix this in 14.

In a nutshell, BLM is for killing bosses, SMN is for wiping out hordes (and bosses with the really high tier summons like Bahamut, though their damage vs MP is always less efficient than a BLM) and area heals etc... basically the trump card or as I prefer, the "Oh SHIT!" button. Where a BLM & WHM will suffice for most situations, a SMN is called in for emergencies (due to the high MP use). If they can find a way to bring that online and make it fun, I'll be very happy.

[Omgwtfbbqkitten]

Re: Dengeki Games Interview

that would make end game classes look less unique.

News flash: Endgame isn't about being unique.

tanks, DDs, healers, supporters all using their summons in battle.
It would feel too much like Pokemon. It was okay for something like FF8 because SeeD use Guardian Forces for power,

And if there is a symbiotic relationship that benefits the player and the summon alike, all the better. In FFVIII, the more you relied on summons to deal the damage or heal you, the less effective your strategies were and the lengthier they became. Who says having a summon means you have to actively use it?

The reason that SMN can't work in FFXI like it worked in all the other games is because if we give a class that can just output this ungodly level of damage to everything, then the all the other offensive mage and melee classes are not going to have the utility they do. The reason SMNs will never be happy with what they get is because SE cannot give them what they truly want without destroying the balance of the game. So FFXI summoner has to be more of a supporting role with spike damage.

But if everyone can draw benefits from having a summon, there are much fewer balance issues. You seem to want to think that being aligned with a summon means you're going to call it out ritually. What if they go for something more like FFVI or FFVIII where you just call them out when its really needed and they're there to add other benefits?

In FFVI holding a certain magicite would allow the character to learn certain spells and gain extra stat boosts on level-up. FFVIII's summons learned a whole lot of passive abilities that made a tremendous difference in overall performance. What FFVIII did , in particular, would work extremely well in an MMO context.

Summoner has come and gone from the spotlight of the series, just because there's a job system doesn't mean there has to be a summoner class, though.

Why can't SMN just be the one job that really is barred off until you've advanced appropriately enough?

Because that would be taking the original extreme with summoner that SE used.

Remember Star Wars Galaxies? Only the most lucky of players could become Jedi originally. Only the savvy and hardest-working players could have a spaceship of their own. These choices were made in respect to the story of the original trilogy.

The Jump to Lightspeed comes out. Everyone and their grandma can be a Jedi and they had out starships as you create your character. This is going the other way in a completely nonsensical fashion. They just caved in to player demand no matter how little sense it made in respect to the story.

Now we have a Star Wars MMO where Jedi, Sith and even Mandalorians are a regular sight. The Old Republic does have the baggage of the original or prequel trilogies. Now the only thing you have to worry about is having that starship so you can go between worlds. This time, if you just naturall have one out the gate.

See how that's kinda like FFXI summoner. Too inaccessible when introduced, made more accessible at the expense of its lore, but also weakened substantially for the sake of all the other jobs having a role a well.

Best way to avoid all those problems? Don't have a summoner job.

[Malacite]

Re: Dengeki Games Interview

Best way to avoid all those problems? Don't have a summoner job.

That's taking it to another extreme though. There has to be some kind of happy middle ground they can take with this job. I mean technically you're right, simply not having the SMN class would do away with any problems of that nature, but it's also kind of cheesy for everyone to be able to use a Summon's powers in a class-based game. In games like 7 and 8 who cares because it's all materia/equipable GF and every character is virtually the same anyway save for minor differences. But in a game where you have defined roles it doesn't mesh so well.

[DakAttack]

Re: Dengeki Games Interview

So, between no summoners and summoners, the middle ground with be half-summoners? Sounds workable to me.

[cidbahamut]

Re: Dengeki Games Interview

I think most of these questions were made quite a bit more clear than earlier translations of them. Especially about the aggro system being back w/ new methods to learn. I do like that some dungeons may require a light source to explore!

Sounds like Crystal Chronicles all over again. Someone gets stuck with bucket bitch duty.

[Armando]

Re: Dengeki Games Interview

Sounds like Crystal Chronicles all over again. Someone gets stuck with bucket bitch duty.

Eh, you'll probably just need to have a light source in your inventory or use/receive a buff whose purpose is to make you glow.

Worked for Everquest.