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SquareEnix replies to February's "Ask SquareEnix" questions.
Greetings FFXI fans!
I bring good news! I got a reply from SqaureEnix to our questions for February. I was expecting a long wait of 180 days, but instead we got it in two months! COOL!
The original questions can be found here: http://www.ffxionline.com/forums/sit...ubmission.html
-- AKosygin
FFXIOnline.com Moderation and Administration Team
And this was the attached message.
Thanks for answering our questions!
EDIT NOTE: This was for an April Fools day event. The answers are NOT REAL.
I bring good news! I got a reply from SqaureEnix to our questions for February. I was expecting a long wait of 180 days, but instead we got it in two months! COOL!
The original questions can be found here: http://www.ffxionline.com/forums/sit...ubmission.html
-- AKosygin
FFXIOnline.com Moderation and Administration Team
Question 1.
Can Skillchain + Magic Burst style become more appealing in an EXP party?
Some players may find it surprising, but Magic Bursting spells was never intended as a regular or expected practice in experience points parties. It was, instead, intended to be an occasional boost to the effectiveness of well timed spells.
Many of the developers feel that Magic Bursting gives Black Mages an unfair advantage over other damage dealers and we fully intend to review this matter in upcoming updates. Magic Burst damage will instead only proc occasionally, much like the additional effects of melee weapons. Even if all spells are perfectly timed, the Magic Burst will only activate on a random, percent controlled basis.
While this may affect current party dynamics, we feel that this change will help provide more game balance across all jobs.
Good question. Thanks for asking.
Question 2.
Are there plans to address claim issues related to the Charm and Leave ability of Beastmasters?
We have been paying great attention to the unrest in the Beastmaster community and fully intend to analyze the strengths and weaknesses of the job class in order to appeal to a wider player base.
The Beastmaster job was not intended to be solely used for soloing and we are focusing our efforts on changing the class so that they will fall into the standard party set up. Changes to the job class’s abilities will make soloing more difficult and encourage players to focus on party-based activities.
Also, the specific issue you have asked about pertaining to the problem of monsters going unclaimed while swapping pets is being addressed. By adding a recast timer between the use of the Leave pet command and Charm job ability, switching of pets during battle will change so that the monster should not go unclaimed. Instead, the player will be expected to melee the active enemy or use jug pets.
Believe me. We are very concerned about the Beastmaster player base and feel these changes will bring the class more in line with our expectations.
Question 3.
How will PlayStation 2 and PlayStation 3 support be addressed as PS2s are phased out with the PS3 becoming dominant?
Currently, there are no plans to address the compatibility issue between the PS2 version of FFXI and the new Playstation 3. We feel that the truly dedicated PS2 players will hold onto their consoles in order to continue playing FFXI.
As for future support, the discontinuation of support for the PS2 hard drive makes any future support cost ineffective. We will, instead, be focusing solely on our PC and Xbox360 players.
The game will remain fully playable on the PS2, but tech support and expansions versions will not be available.
Question 4.
What plans are being made, if any and how, to improve the search function to allow players to seek on multiple jobs or otherwise make it easier to find XP parties?
We have given a great deal of thought to utilizing a multiple job seeking party function and, at this time, we feel it is just not worth pursuing.
After speaking with several of our Gamemasters, we have decided that the added hassle of trying to organize parties while players take invites at several different levels would create too much confusion for the average player. In order to make the gaming experience as enjoyable as possible, we cannot support a function that could cause such stress.
We do, however, have plans of instituting a job search function through our Linkshell Community Beta so that players can use the Beta to organize potential party members before logging in. This will prove very valuable to the many players who use our Beta service.
Question 5.
Are there any plans to change Dynamis into an instanced battleground to avoid scheduling conflicts with large number of players?
The current, non-instanced styling for Dynamis was fully intended by developers when instituting the event. Much like Notorious Monsters, players were expected to claim Dynamis for their event linkshell adding a level of excitement and intrigue to starting the event.
The fact that some servers have organized Dynamis scheduling removes this added feature and we are currently working on a new set of entry requirements that would make scheduling specific events and times more difficult. This should help encourage the end game community to compete for specific Dynamis locations bringing a whole new level to the event.
Question 6.
Are there any plans to increase the ease with which prospective players may obtain a Buddy Pass or similar access to a free trial?
The buddy pass system has undergone a complete change with the inclusion of the new ability to choose a given server while creating a character.
Rather than focus on making buddy passes easier to obtain, each new player will be given the player information for a higher level player on their chosen server. Any player that has signed up as a mentor may be selected and expected to act as a liaison and ambassador.
Question 7.
Is it true that PlayOnline now has the ability to scan running processes on my computer?
We have not, at any time, employed applications that scan running programs on a player’s computer. Such an action would violate the Terms of Service.
We are, however, aware of a malicious variety of spyware that scans running processes looking for instances of PlayOnline and FFXI running. This program can possibly retrieve and send your player account information to third parties.
If you notice a program scanning your applications, please scan your system for spyware.
Question 8.
What did the development team first envisioned of Final Fantasy XI and during the course of development up to this point, what things changed or differed from their vision of the game at the beginning? What were surprisingly unexpected, turned out better, turned out for the worst?
Other than those mentioned above, the biggest difference between our expectations and player-based activity is the use of the Ninja job class in a tanking role.
This was never our intention and we are currently reviewing plans to adjust the use of Utsusemi to focus the class towards a damage dealer role.
Question 9.
If you knew what you know now, what would the development team have done different from the beginning? And what would the Community Team do different?
This question was quite surprising and I took it to several of the developers on our staff to see what their responses might be.
The biggest change many would have made was the use of a third person perspective. Many developers think the game would be much more enjoyable through an overhead perspective much like that used in many Real Time Strategy games.
Also, many felt that the “cute†look of the Tarutaru race causes players to underestimate them. Many would have given them a scarier, meaner appearance, like that of trolls or gnomes.
And maybe fangs.
Can Skillchain + Magic Burst style become more appealing in an EXP party?
Some players may find it surprising, but Magic Bursting spells was never intended as a regular or expected practice in experience points parties. It was, instead, intended to be an occasional boost to the effectiveness of well timed spells.
Many of the developers feel that Magic Bursting gives Black Mages an unfair advantage over other damage dealers and we fully intend to review this matter in upcoming updates. Magic Burst damage will instead only proc occasionally, much like the additional effects of melee weapons. Even if all spells are perfectly timed, the Magic Burst will only activate on a random, percent controlled basis.
While this may affect current party dynamics, we feel that this change will help provide more game balance across all jobs.
Good question. Thanks for asking.
Question 2.
Are there plans to address claim issues related to the Charm and Leave ability of Beastmasters?
We have been paying great attention to the unrest in the Beastmaster community and fully intend to analyze the strengths and weaknesses of the job class in order to appeal to a wider player base.
The Beastmaster job was not intended to be solely used for soloing and we are focusing our efforts on changing the class so that they will fall into the standard party set up. Changes to the job class’s abilities will make soloing more difficult and encourage players to focus on party-based activities.
Also, the specific issue you have asked about pertaining to the problem of monsters going unclaimed while swapping pets is being addressed. By adding a recast timer between the use of the Leave pet command and Charm job ability, switching of pets during battle will change so that the monster should not go unclaimed. Instead, the player will be expected to melee the active enemy or use jug pets.
Believe me. We are very concerned about the Beastmaster player base and feel these changes will bring the class more in line with our expectations.
Question 3.
How will PlayStation 2 and PlayStation 3 support be addressed as PS2s are phased out with the PS3 becoming dominant?
Currently, there are no plans to address the compatibility issue between the PS2 version of FFXI and the new Playstation 3. We feel that the truly dedicated PS2 players will hold onto their consoles in order to continue playing FFXI.
As for future support, the discontinuation of support for the PS2 hard drive makes any future support cost ineffective. We will, instead, be focusing solely on our PC and Xbox360 players.
The game will remain fully playable on the PS2, but tech support and expansions versions will not be available.
Question 4.
What plans are being made, if any and how, to improve the search function to allow players to seek on multiple jobs or otherwise make it easier to find XP parties?
We have given a great deal of thought to utilizing a multiple job seeking party function and, at this time, we feel it is just not worth pursuing.
After speaking with several of our Gamemasters, we have decided that the added hassle of trying to organize parties while players take invites at several different levels would create too much confusion for the average player. In order to make the gaming experience as enjoyable as possible, we cannot support a function that could cause such stress.
We do, however, have plans of instituting a job search function through our Linkshell Community Beta so that players can use the Beta to organize potential party members before logging in. This will prove very valuable to the many players who use our Beta service.
Question 5.
Are there any plans to change Dynamis into an instanced battleground to avoid scheduling conflicts with large number of players?
The current, non-instanced styling for Dynamis was fully intended by developers when instituting the event. Much like Notorious Monsters, players were expected to claim Dynamis for their event linkshell adding a level of excitement and intrigue to starting the event.
The fact that some servers have organized Dynamis scheduling removes this added feature and we are currently working on a new set of entry requirements that would make scheduling specific events and times more difficult. This should help encourage the end game community to compete for specific Dynamis locations bringing a whole new level to the event.
Question 6.
Are there any plans to increase the ease with which prospective players may obtain a Buddy Pass or similar access to a free trial?
The buddy pass system has undergone a complete change with the inclusion of the new ability to choose a given server while creating a character.
Rather than focus on making buddy passes easier to obtain, each new player will be given the player information for a higher level player on their chosen server. Any player that has signed up as a mentor may be selected and expected to act as a liaison and ambassador.
Question 7.
Is it true that PlayOnline now has the ability to scan running processes on my computer?
We have not, at any time, employed applications that scan running programs on a player’s computer. Such an action would violate the Terms of Service.
We are, however, aware of a malicious variety of spyware that scans running processes looking for instances of PlayOnline and FFXI running. This program can possibly retrieve and send your player account information to third parties.
If you notice a program scanning your applications, please scan your system for spyware.
Question 8.
What did the development team first envisioned of Final Fantasy XI and during the course of development up to this point, what things changed or differed from their vision of the game at the beginning? What were surprisingly unexpected, turned out better, turned out for the worst?
Other than those mentioned above, the biggest difference between our expectations and player-based activity is the use of the Ninja job class in a tanking role.
This was never our intention and we are currently reviewing plans to adjust the use of Utsusemi to focus the class towards a damage dealer role.
Question 9.
If you knew what you know now, what would the development team have done different from the beginning? And what would the Community Team do different?
This question was quite surprising and I took it to several of the developers on our staff to see what their responses might be.
The biggest change many would have made was the use of a third person perspective. Many developers think the game would be much more enjoyable through an overhead perspective much like that used in many Real Time Strategy games.
Also, many felt that the “cute†look of the Tarutaru race causes players to underestimate them. Many would have given them a scarier, meaner appearance, like that of trolls or gnomes.
And maybe fangs.
Greetings! AKosygin of FFXIOnline.com,
Matt, our Community Relations manager, has gone on vacation for the next two weeks, so I am going to be filling in for him for the next 14 days. I saw this was pended in his email for a long time, so I thought I will answer some of the questions for him. Think it would be faster this way.
I hope I have helped you all out.
[GM]Dave
Game Management
SQUARE ENIX
T: 310.555.1212 | F: 310.555.2908
145 S. El Segundo Blvd., 6th Floor
Sepulveda, CA 90387
Matt, our Community Relations manager, has gone on vacation for the next two weeks, so I am going to be filling in for him for the next 14 days. I saw this was pended in his email for a long time, so I thought I will answer some of the questions for him. Think it would be faster this way.
I hope I have helped you all out.
[GM]Dave
Game Management
SQUARE ENIX
T: 310.555.1212 | F: 310.555.2908
145 S. El Segundo Blvd., 6th Floor
Sepulveda, CA 90387
EDIT NOTE: This was for an April Fools day event. The answers are NOT REAL.
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