Courtesy Link: Final Fantasy XIV

FFXIV went into open beta two days ago, and the collector's edition is out on the 22nd (30th for the normal edition). Anyone been paying attention to the game or in the open beta?

I just got the beta working today, and my current thoughts:

• The downloaded is awful. It took me two days to get the game fully installed with a good connection. P 2 P systems are a bad idea for patching, especially during open beta tests. Also, it ate up CPU like nobody's business and was unstable and just plain uncooperative.
• That said, once you get on, things are better. I haven't really played that far in, but the graphics are fantasic, and the animation work is beautiful. It's rare to see that kind of work in non-mmorpg games where there's fewer limitations, and it's almost unheard of in MMORPGs.
• The music and soundwork is similarly well done.
• The cutscenes are nice, well-integrated, and a great way to introduce the player to the game. It's definitely looking like a very story-oriented MMORPG.
• The combat system is different than FFXI, and a huge improvement. It's a lot less sitting around doing nothing. Still haven't figured everything out about it, since there's no manual with the open beta. From the looks of it, though, combat is real time with a gauge (labeled stamina) for your attacks which decreases each time you use them then fills up again. After using an attack too much in quick succession, it appears you hit a part of the gauge that fills up slower. There is no auto-attack.
• It appears it's possible to focus entirely on crafting/gathering and still level up. You can actually start off as one of the crafting/gathering classes.

edited 3rd Sep '10 11:43:40 AM by Miijhal

Hey, I once heard speculation that there might be something like Magitek Armor available to players for one of the classes.

That's not in the game, is it.

Doesn't seem to be, sadly.

I wonder if Lay of the Land (Miner ability) still causes you to spontaneously fall through the ground after using it... That was an annoying bug.

The downloaded is awful. It took me two days to get the game fully installed with a good connection. P 2 P systems are a bad idea for patching, especially during open beta tests. Also, it ate up CPU like nobody's business and was unstable and just plain uncooperative.

For the sake of the sanity of anyone who wants to play the beta, d/l a copy of your favorite Bit Torrent client (I used uTorrent) and then follow the links/instructions here, it'll be so much faster and easier it's not even effing funny. (sorry it's too late to help you, Miijhal :( )

Beyond that, I haven't had a chance to play with the open beta a whole lot yet, there seems to be a lot of Love It or Hate It going around though. As it is, if even half the complaints are well founded, I'll most likely wait and see how it is around the PS3 release.

EDIT: Oh yeah, as for the manual, FFXIVCore posted a copy of that here, since the NA Beta site is so godawful slow when it responds at all.

edited 3rd Sep '10 12:56:10 PM by Reflextion

I just now managed to get my beta code, haven't been able to start downloading the client yet.

I didn't realize the game was coming out this month. I had assumed December, but I really wasn't paying attention at all.

And looking at the system requirements, i'll need to get a new CPU in order to play the game (though, I probably need to anyway. Using the same CPU for 9 years is probably pushing it).

Okay, let's start downloading H2010.08.30.2000

4.7 GB

ಠnಠ

Alright, that made me chuckle.

I definitely don't have a computer that could handle it, so I'll be waiting for the PS 3 release. ...the hard part will be deciding if I want to be a crossplayer with a nice bishy ass to stare at or a catgirl with a nice curvy ass to stare at.

Sadly, Bittorent wasn't much faster for me. Not enough seeders.

Also, if anyone who gets on, post what servers you're playing on. :3

Right now I'm playing a Miqo'te Pugilist on Palmecia. I couldn't resist playing as an adorable pink-haired, ass kicking kitty girl.

edited 3rd Sep '10 2:27:54 PM by Miijhal

Well, I'm not going to get to play for five days a week, according to uTorrent. Fantastic.

I'll remember to play on Palmecia, I guess I've got PLENTY OF TIME to figure out my race/class combination.

edited 3rd Sep '10 3:04:13 PM by Shlapintogan

I highly doubt my laptop could handle FFXIV, so I'll just be listening to other people's comments on it.

Someone broke the patches into seven files that you can download and piece together.

One huge problem: Megaupload.

Then again, it probably beats p2p.

edited 3rd Sep '10 3:14:58 PM by Shlapintogan

Minimum requirements.

Right now, I have ten times as many peers as I do seeds. I might as well go find something else to do for the next three days.

All patches downloaded. Now to install them.

0.1... 0.2... 0.3...

edited 4th Sep '10 4:06:26 PM by Shlapintogan

Urk. It seems I can only play once and then the launcher stops working. I'll be on RIGHT NOW and then probably not on until the next patch.

Edit: Huh. Looks like it was my graphics card drivers. That's weird.

edited 5th Sep '10 12:28:57 PM by Miijhal

Well, I have my character up. Mi'qote Pugilist named Sara Auttenberg on Palmecia.

edited 23rd Sep '10 4:54:39 PM by Miijhal

Don't know if this is relevant, but Spoony sez:

Golly, turns out FF 14 was a lazily-produced, outsourced pile of crap. You know I love to say "I told you so." Because I did. Many times.

Can't say much about the accuracy of his statement, but way to look like you're opinion is the one that's right, Noah! *Thumbs up*

After bit of playing the live game, my thoughts:

The good:

• Combat: The combat mechanics are interesting. It's real time, and it has a nice pace. It's a vast improvement from FFXI's system, where you spent more time waiting than attacking.
• The death penalty: From what I can tell, not only is there no longer Leveling Down, but there isn't even EXP loss. Instead, you get a short-lived status effect which reduces your max HP and stamina regen, and have to teleport away.
• Job system: Your equipment determines your job, so you can switch at any time.
• Stats: The game uses a similar stat system as F 2 P Korean MMORPGs, where you choose where your stats go with each level. This would be awful, if not for one thing: you can reset them at any time, at no cost.
• Graphics: Oh hell yes. The game is beautiful, from both a technical and a stylistic standpoint.
• Animations: The animation work is wonderful. It's fluid, comes off as surprisingly natural, and even minor things like strands of hair are paid attention to.
• Voice acted cutscenes: Need I say more? It's a very nice touch, and a great way to introduce the player to the world. The fact that they integrate the players character into them just makes it all the better.
• The NPCs: I love the characterizations, and the humor. From the woman who immediately assumes that you're a psychopomp to the inn keeper who talks about measuring men's privates, there's some really... unique... dialogue in the game. It's definitely worth paying attention to.
• Solo play: It is, from the looks of it, possible. Quests give you the option of changing the difficulty based on the amount of players, which could be a major help in solo play. Levelling seems fairly quick, as well. I made it to physical level four in about an hour.
• The payment system: It works on a per-character basis, with a flat $10 fee plus $3 per character. If you're not an altaholic, you'll actually wind up paying less than you would for most MMORPGs.

The bad:

• The updater: It uses a peer to peer system that makes updating a real bitch and a half. It probably wouldn't be so bad, though, if it wasn't for the fact that...
• The game hates you: It will do everything to keep you from playing, and everything to make your playtime as short as possible. The updater is full of bugs, and will refuse to close, fail to update, give cryptic errors in Japanese that don't go away until you restart the game, and takes absurd amounts of time to do simple things. Once you get into the game, you'll find a tendency for it to lag a lot while it loads the all the NPCs, mobs, and player characters around you. It helps to keep the graphics down, which is kind of disappointing. Finally, just to spite you, the game may refuse to close when you exit it.
• The payment system: If you ARE an altaholic, things can get expensive fast. After two characters you're paying far more than you would for the average P 2 P MMORPG. You probably won't need that many, but if you're like me and prefer to have two or three characters at once, and give your characters personalities that make certain classes unsuited for them, it's problematic.
• Lack of information: There isn't enough information on what to do or where to go. A more thorough tutorial would be lovely.

All in all, it's a major improvement over Square's last attempt at MMORPGs. On the outside, it seems pretty similar, with many of the same terms, similar appearances for the races, and so on, but the core mechanics have been changed to be a hell of a lot more friendly on the player. It has a lot of potential to become a great MMORPG.

Unfortunately, that's when/if the technical issues are be solved. While the mechanics are great, the client is hell, and needs to be worked on before it can really be considered fully playable.

I'd recommend getting it, but wait a month or two for everything to be fixed.

edited 24th Sep '10 1:43:39 PM by Miijhal

I never listen to Spoony when it comes to Final Fantasy. I usually like watching him talk about other subjects, but I can't stand his Fan Dumb towards anything after FF 7. I'll play the game or listen to someone who hasn't decided FF is Ruined Forever.

Even as someone that thinks modern Final Fantasy games are abysmal, this is a half decent game; it may even be good if they work a few things out, such as the limited travel options and utterly laughable scarcity of enemies.

From the looks of it, the lack of enemies is because of the leve quests which spawn large groups of enemies.

And is anyone else playing on Palmecia?

edited 27th Sep '10 7:40:26 PM by Miijhal

wait theres no monthly fee? i might have misread your post though

edit: yep I misread

edited 27th Sep '10 7:45:42 PM by stevebat

Since we already have a thread, does anyone play on Figaro? I'm liking the game but I'm getting really discouraged by the Hate Dom going around.