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Final Fantasy 14 (FFXIV)

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  • Registered Users Posts: 876 ✭✭✭Aurongroove


    Square Enix is introducing a “fatigue” system to upcoming MMORPG Final Fantasy XIV which will apparently see players hit with crippling penalties if they play more than an hour a day, with those daring to play more than 4 hours having their XP reduced to 0, making this the most retarded move an mmo could make.

    Jeysus, where the hell do you guys get your information from!?

    the surplus XP system is based on the optimal amount of XP you can earn in 8 hours of Leveling up.

    In other words, once you've reached the supposed amount of XP you can possibly earn within 8 hours of non stop fighting, (however long it takes you, it might take you 16 hours) you BEGIN to get fatigue which take a certain percentage of XP and turns it into Surplus.

    starting at 8 hours (worth of XP, notof game play), you lose 10% percent each additional hour(worth of XP), until hour 7 when all of your XP becomes surplus. it sounds horrid but this is extremely difficult to achieve.


    You would have to play the game, doing nothing but fighting for 8 hours at optimal XP gain for you to even see surplus XP, and then another 7 hours of constant fighting for your entire XP to be taken as surplus.

    when you're not fighting, and I literally mean not fighting, like when your running to a fight from a chrystal, or hanging round in between fights this recovers slowly, and resets once a week as well.
    And It also only applies to the class you're training, so if you're training a lancer and you're starting to see Surplus XP (first of all congratulation, you've must've been playing either for two or three days straight, or doing nothing but grinding for 8 hours) you can change class to some other attacking class and earn XP there.


    there is absolutely no way you can earn enough XP to lose even some of it to fatigue in 4 hours. my guess is, even if you're adamant on only training one class, you'll still have to play either 16 hours straight, or maybe 6 days of 4 hour sessions (it'd recover in between) to start earning no XP, and that's for fatiguing ONE class.


    secondly the surplus is saved, SE havn;t announced what they've decided players can spend it on, but it dosn't just vanish.
    and thirdly the reason they put a limit on how fast you can earn XP weekly is because there is a system of giving you bonus XP quickly called Guardian aspect. Guardian aspect is refreshed in real world time, and you spend it on a similarly named "XP plus" buff during levequests (the games missions/monster hunts etc)

    guardian aspect and Fatigue are two sides of a coin, Guardian aspect give you XP boosts so you can quickly get stronger, and Fatigue rebalanced the XP earned in a week, instead of needing piles more XP to level up.

    here this is from the beta testers forum
    after understanding this system am totaly with it>

    here is a nice explination of it...

    ...An XP curve is really nothing more than a time sink. Developers decide how long they want certain segments of the game to take--how long they want certain level ranges to last, and ultimately how long it should take players to reach endgame. They then balance the amount of XP it is possible to gain in a given timeframe with the amount required to move beyond a certain a certain point, or level up.

    XP gain may give the illusion of progression but that's all it is--an illusion. Gaining XP is not progressing a character. It does not impart any new strengths or abilities by itself. Levels are the real progression. Levels provide increased statistics and new abilities.

    In reality, a game is designed and played from level to level, not from one experience point to the next. Being level 57 with 8000 XP towards level 58 doesn't let you do level 58 content any more than being level 57 woth 0 XP towards level 58 does. Being level 58 lets you do level 58 content. The XP required to get from level 57 to level 58 is merely a time sink. You spend enough time grinding it out, and you get to be level 58.

    Experience point income is balanced against the total XP required for a level up in such a way as to have players spending a certain amount of time between level ups. This is true in any MMO, and Final Fantasy XIV is no different.

    However, FFXIV puts a spin on the system. The developers for FFXIV are looking at it from the perspective that levels are the progression, not XP. XP is certainly not useless, but it is merely a means to an end. They also, like all developers, have in mind a rate at which they want players to reach certain level milestones.

    For most MMOs, with a purely XP-based system, if the developers decide that levels should be gained at the rate of 1 per week, players have to grind away all week, making no real character progress, until they get that 1 level at the end of the week. THAT is the progress--regardless of whatever number is in the XP box, it is the 1 level that ultimately matters. And if you can't grind away all week, you don't get it. If it takes you three times as long to rack up the necessary game time, you get no progress on your character at all for three weeks.

    The fatigue system is also a time sink, but functions a bit differently. It still works off of the concept that players should only attain a certain amount of progression per week, but it doles out that progression more quickly up front. This has two important effects. First, it means that even those who cannot play 6-8 hours a day every day can make some progress. Not as much overall, but some. Second, it means that after the week's progression on one class has been reached, players are free to mess around with others--a level of freedom and diversification that most games don't have.

    Make no mistake; if SE decides that you should only gain 3 levels in a class per week, then that is all you will gain. Without fatigue--with a basic XP system--all your play time in that week would be devoted to a single class as XP requirements increase to compensate, and wanting to level something else would mean sacrificing progression in that one class.

    With the fatigue system, instead of sacrificing XP time to do things that don't involve leveling your main class, you get to have all the XP you'd normally get for the week anyway, and then focus on other aspects of the game. Want to level another class? Go do it. Want to quest? Sure. How about crafting? Also an option. Or maybe you just want to explore. In other MMOs, all of these activities come at the cost of XP. That is not the case here. And if you really want to grind away at one class well, you can hop on it at the beginning of the week, and still have time to hit it again later in the week after surplus has cleared from not leveling it. Bonus!

    Final Fantasy XIV was designed with a certain philosophy. The fatigue system is part of enacting that philosophy. It is no more limiting than a standard XP system, as progression is balanced around it. It offers more freedom than conventional systems, simply by allowing for different allocations of play time with no penalty. Can it stand some tweaking and balancing? Probably. But doing away with it entirely will cause a progression rebalance what will completely undermine any kind of horizontal character development, as well as force unnecessary choices between whether to XP a main class, or do anything else. And the ultimate gain on main class progression will be no different.Quote


  • Registered Users Posts: 876 ✭✭✭Aurongroove


    It;s hard to get your head around it, people just hear SE ARE CANCELLING XP AFTER ONE HOUR PLAY PER DAY!!!!!! THATS NOT WHAT WE PAID FOR ORDERS CANCELLED.

    but it works like the offside rule works: it;s difficult to explain but when you see it in action you'll understand, if instead of Fatigue they took away the guardian aspect XP bonus and also tripled the amount of XP needed to level up, you'd end up with hardcore games spending 24 hours to get the same level they could have with 8, and casual games needing thrice the time they other wise would have needed to get to the level they could With the fatigue and lower XP threshold.

    So hardcore gamers/grinding addicts/no lifers basically get what would've taken them 24 hours in 8 hours, but then can't do any more that week, so they're "forced" to either develop a different class enjoy some other aspects of the game, i.e. being social/exploring or indeed, enjoying real life or playing other MMOGs which are designed to be user murdering time whores.

    Casual gamers can spend their time playing as they normally would, safely in the laps of Guardian aspect and not needing to worry about Fatigue because of all that lovely time they spend living a real life, and treating FFXIV like what it is: a game to be enjoyed.

    Fair play to SE I say.


  • Registered Users Posts: 289 ✭✭swirlser


    It;s hard to get your head around it, people just hear SE ARE CANCELLING XP AFTER ONE HOUR PLAY PER DAY!!!!!! THATS NOT WHAT WE PAID FOR ORDERS CANCELLED.

    Yeah, the whole explosion on fansites about SE making your interweb die after an hour is getting old now :/

    Tbh, once I understood the system better Im actually starting to like it. Ppl who played FF11 know about needing a subjob etc, who should be happy to learn that instead of making the xp req to ding stupidly long, they introduced this system which allows u do both in the same amount of time. (Its a good thing ^^)

    Anyway, nom nom at the new clip



  • Registered Users Posts: 876 ✭✭✭Aurongroove


    The leveQuests (those glass tablet looking things) are awesome fun, and with guardian aspect you get shed loads of XP.

    I can see lots of people quickly leaving the start game and going straight for the levequests. <cough> like I did when I should've been testing other aspects of the game...


  • Registered Users Posts: 289 ✭✭swirlser


    Gotta throw this out there, a very simple video (which SE really should have come out with themselves) which spoon feeds the workings on the surplus system.



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  • Registered Users Posts: 109 ✭✭Kurbinator


    Nice :D.Been playing wow since SE booted me from xi accused of botting / rmt activity.I want to play this one though.Hope there's EU servers on 11 i was playing with lots of jp's and yanks


  • Registered Users Posts: 12,472 ✭✭✭✭Varik


    You finally really did it. You maniacs! You screwed it up! Damn you. God damn you all to hell!


    The bizarre decision to rename “Chocobos” to “horsebirds” for the Japanese version of Final Fantasy XIV has given rise to a storm of criticism and a grovelling and unconvincing apology from the designers.

    Meanwhile, players have begun to speculate that the game was largely made in China, with Chinese audiences in mind…
    The situation began with Square Enix revealing it has a full Chinese version of Final Fantasy XIV planned. Square Enix for its part has commented that “the Chinese version is a completely different service” and that it will solve the problem of gold farmers with IP bans.

    Japanese players of Final Fantasy XIV soon noticed that their own version of the game dispensed completely with the “English” names in favour of names using Chinese characters exclusively. Most noticeably, “Chocobo” (チョコボ – chokobo) was renamed to “馬鳥,” a meaningless word combining the character for “horse” with that for “bird.” Chocobos thus became “horsebirds,” a phrase as ridiculous to Japanese ears as to western ones.


    Soon suspicious users began to connect these changes with another major design change – the highly controversial “fatigue system,” which imposes severe penalties for players who play too long, as Square Enix sees it.
    In fact, Chinese law requires all MMORPGs to have just such a “fatigue” system, in order to “protect” players from the addictive properties of these games.
    For many, the coincidence of this exact feature appearing in the game alongside an announcement of a full Chinese release cannot be dismissed as coincidence. Soon Square Enix was being accused of making most of the game in China, for the Chinese.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 24 Kurosaki_


    swirlser wrote: »
    Im sure they will get the codes in time to order it, just tell whichever place you would rather order it with that your interested and ask them when they will have the codes.

    I tried to preorder with Game last month and they didnt have the codes either. I did book my copy last week with them tho.

    Turns out Game is the only store in Cork city that is getting it in, have it pre-ordered for tomorrow and I really hope they don't turn around and say "sorry we didn't get it in" when I go in there tomorrow to get my copy...


  • Registered Users Posts: 34 #014917


    Hey, anyone here registered a Visa debit card from Ulster Bank or Permanent TSB (if they are doing them as of now) to their SE account? Want to make sure it works before I open an account (or even move from AIB).

    Looking forward to playing! I ordered it from game.co.uk just to be sure I'd get it, should be here tomorrow hopefully! Already have the disk downloaded and installing now :p


  • Registered Users Posts: 109 ✭✭Kurbinator


    grrrr!!! I wish i thought of that I can't afford it anyway till pay day at the end of the month.Works out nicely for me that way.Does anyone know what the story is with game cards?I know PoL isn't doing FF14.I'd love to see some this time round cause I've been hacked before on FF11


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  • Registered Users Posts: 34 #014917


    As of yet there's no news on game cards although it does easily possible with this new crysta payment system.

    Basicly at the moment you have to buy points (£1 or €1 per 100 points), so a game card wouldn't be too out of the question.


  • Registered Users Posts: 109 ✭✭Kurbinator


    Just googled it.Looks possible as you say.Also this horse bird thing does seem to have people upset odd.O well I'll just call em chocos as I'm sure other fans will come to do the same


  • Registered Users Posts: 34 #014917


    Here's a good article explaining the horsebird stuff: http://ffxiv.zam.com/story.html?story=23333

    Pretty sure it's still chocobo in the English version. The reasoning behind it apparently was to give it a different feel mainly to FFXI but also sticking with the lore of the world the inhabitants of Hydaelyn or maybe more specifically Eorzea are similar to our civilisation during the dark ages.

    Here a post with some books you can read from in the Thaumaturgy guild in Ul'dah as well as discussion on their contents:
    http://www.ffxivcore.com/topic/17925-understanding-the-cosmos/


  • Registered Users Posts: 109 ✭✭Kurbinator


    I take it all of the hardcore players that got the collectors edition are enjoying it atm.Is there any particular server that's standing out atm or is it an even spread accross all of them?


  • Registered Users Posts: 34 #014917


    It was a bit skewed at first but fairly even now afaik

    http://www.ff14news.com/2010/09/23/ffxiv-population-information/

    ffxiv-population-information.jpg


  • Registered Users Posts: 109 ✭✭Kurbinator


    dear god :D looks like I'll have lots of ppl to talk to when I log on at 1am after work :D love the server set up and the fact that it's not just EU US and Asia servers


  • Registered Users Posts: 12,472 ✭✭✭✭Varik


    Yet another problem mars the release of Final Fantasy XIV,a few players have discovered a flaw which grants near infinite XP, allowing them to reach the level cap whilst ignoring the much vaunted fatigue system entirely.

    The technique reportedly involves the combined use of buffing and an amulet in a large party, creating a cascade of extra XP.

    Whether this is actually a bug or a balance issue is open to interpretation, players engaging in the practice naturally maintain it is fair play, although it is hard to see Square Enix allowing this to continue and will either fix the glitch or further balance it.


  • Registered Users Posts: 109 ✭✭Kurbinator


    They'll fix it lol you can be sure of that


  • Registered Users Posts: 34 #014917


    Varik wrote: »
    Yet another problem mars the release of Final Fantasy XIV,a few players have discovered a flaw which grants near infinite XP, allowing them to reach the level cap whilst ignoring the much vaunted fatigue system entirely.

    The technique reportedly involves the combined use of buffing and an amulet in a large party, creating a cascade of extra XP.

    Whether this is actually a bug or a balance issue is open to interpretation, players engaging in the practice naturally maintain it is fair play, although it is hard to see Square Enix allowing this to continue and will either fix the glitch or further balance it.

    Might want to link your source :p

    http://www.sankakucomplex.com/2010/09/26/final-fantasy-xiv-infinite-xp-glitch-discovered/

    Wouldn't be surprised if SE banned them, even if they wait and do it in a year or so like last time


  • Registered Users Posts: 877 ✭✭✭Mario007


    Just wondering, seeing that this is a Final Fantasy...how much story is actually involved? Is it like other MMO's where the general lore of the world is kinda explained and all you do is random quests to level up or is there actual progression of the story and involvement of the character you control in the story?


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  • Registered Users Posts: 109 ✭✭Kurbinator


    hmmm.Hard to explain.But in 11 also an MMO.You advance through the story after doing the quests.What follows are IMO some great cutscenes as seen from your characters perspective.A pain in the arse to do in 11 due to the fact that you needed a party of 6 or more to do any quest worth while.


  • Registered Users Posts: 34 #014917


    Can't say yet but it does seems story focused. For an MMO FFXI was very story driven with most of the end games areas tied to the end of a storyline. It also had a good lore around it. By what they've said in interviews FFXIV should be similar.


  • Registered Users Posts: 109 ✭✭Kurbinator


    I'm using GT220 Graphics card anyone know if it will run the game.
    SPECS:
    Windows 7 64Bit
    Intel core 2 Quad processor Q8300
    NVIDIA GeForce GT220 1024MB
    1 TB HDD
    6GB DDR2.
    So far all I can see is a problem with the card but I'm not sure.If someone could help me out with some info b4 I go and get the game or a new card


  • Registered Users Posts: 5,112 ✭✭✭Blowfish


    Kurbinator wrote: »
    I'm using GT220 Graphics card anyone know if it will run the game.
    SPECS:
    Windows 7 64Bit
    Intel core 2 Quad processor Q8300
    NVIDIA GeForce GT220 1024MB
    1 TB HDD
    6GB DDR2.
    So far all I can see is a problem with the card but I'm not sure.If someone could help me out with some info b4 I go and get the game or a new card
    It should be ok. I was running a 8800GTS 512 on the beta no problem. Reduce the detail and you'll be fine.


  • Registered Users Posts: 109 ✭✭Kurbinator


    thanks man


  • Registered Users Posts: 289 ✭✭swirlser


    Lol, Varik :eek: Someone doesnt like SE :p From the game killing fatigue system - Ive been playing over 2 weeks now and only for reading about its existence online, I wouldnt even know its there - I havent seen it all (!!) and Ive been playing *alot*! To the Chocobo scandal! Which was only in connection with the Chinese version, its still a chocobo and called as much XD And now drama about exploits - SE spotted it, stopped it and dealt with its abusers...

    /hitsselfforfeedingtrolls

    Anyway, meant to post last week to give impressions, but got carried away :o

    Registration was more complicated than it needed to be, the game itself still has a list of bugs (some were just dealt with in a patch this morning) and the game lacks a lot of functionality :/ BUT, still loving it! It has so much potential and as I mentioned above, the fatigue system isnt an issue at all :pac:

    @Kurbinator, I wouldnt fancy playing it with a GT220 tbh >.< I mean you can bring the settings down stupidly low, but I wouldnt want to play it at anything like those sort of settings....

    1024*768 Low quality


    2560*1600 High quality

    (And because I took the above snaps while there was a dust storm, I took another just to show u can actually see down ;p but wanted to compare a like-with-like with those 2)

    1920*1200 windowed HQ

    Anyway, may have been was released too early, but its mostly good stuff :pac::pac:


  • Registered Users Posts: 289 ✭✭swirlser


    I slack too much, meant to go back and amend last post - kept it brief...

    I can keep this kinda brief too tho, since I came across THIS REVIEW which does a fair job at reviewing the game in its current state.

    I really think SE, for whatever reason, released the game too soon. As someone who wants it to succeed and my love for their last MMO, Im happy to push through many of the bugs that would otherwise turn the average Joe off.

    I was surprised with some news from SE today tho. Basically, they are extending the free trial period for another month (Im feeling I got a nice deal actually, 180-day package works out at under €7 a month. And now its 2 months free to start with, not bad XD). I think the move was a wise and badly needed one tho, since the game is in a sort of beta state right now. They also outlined some changes due in the next version update, which thankfully address some of the more worrying problems the game has.

    SE seems to be relying a little too much on players having previous FF MMO experience and dont do enough for those who either have none or worse yet, no MMO experience at all. The game is more casual/noobie friendly in the sense that you can go ahead and solo much of the content, but the question right now is - why would you want to? In a time where so much is handed to you in MMOs, SEs style of dropping you in it and letting you find your way yourself isnt going down well, not helped by a layer of bugs lashed on top. I like having a certain amount of unknown and the fact that theres a lot of discovery ahead but some simple things like pointing you in the right direction is missing from this game. Dunno if it was in that review above or somewhere else, but someone mentioned they didnt see much storyline - it is there and only that I randomly clicked on the right npc to carry the storyline on, I wouldnt have known about it either!

    To other posters here;

    Yes FFXIV is story driven (and Im liking it so far, doing the Gridania storyline myself).

    No PvP nor any planned that Im aware of, if PvP is your thing, this game is not for you ^^!

    I wouldnt avoid starting in FFXIV for fears of the game failing, it will either become a niche MMO much like XI (who managed to hold half a million subs for much of their 8 years to date) or if SE can deliver on their Nov & Dec plans it'll be in much better form for it. Its not the behemoth WoW is, nor will it ever be, but Id be willing to bet its going to be around for many years to come =)


    Despite some disappointments, I still am enjoying myself. Seeing some improvements already and those plans for the forth coming patch is genuinely welcomed (not to mention sorely needed!). Obviously Id have preferred what is due in the months ahead to be how the game was for launch. With that in mind, I can see the PS3 launch in Mar 2011 going down with *much* more positivity. If your thinking of getting on board now, have some patience XD Otherwise, maybe hold off til December (but we all know whats going on in the world of MMOs in December >_<)


  • Registered Users Posts: 1,306 ✭✭✭ArthurG


    Well I hope things do pick up for the game. I held a copy in my hands up in Game last week for about 5 mins, and ended up putting it back on the shelf. That was pretty much driven by the poor reviews and commentry you see everywhere, which won over my desire to get re-immersed in the FF universe. FFXIII prolly didn't help sway me either I have to say.....

    I think SE have shown themselves to be rather arrogant, and assumed people would play the game irrespective of quality, just because it bears the FF name. Sales would indicate otherwise, and I think this is what spurned them into action rather than anything else:

    http://www.vgchartz.com/game.php?id=35106

    FFXI was my first really serious MMO (4 years of it, CoP was the best gaming experience ever, and I'm still in touch with my static even though we all quit the game 2 years ago), and I wanted FFXIV to be the next, but I'm gonna wait.

    Plus having jumped on the WOW bandwagon, gotta say I enjoy it (4.0 patch changes and all), and Cata coming out in December will pull a lot of people in I reckon - I was playing LOTRO when WotLK came out and the place was emptied virtually overnight....


  • Registered Users Posts: 109 ✭✭Kurbinator


    tbh if I saw that video from GT b4 I knew of FF14 I would not of touched it seriously.I was expecting FFXI quality +1 from this it seems the only thing they improved on in 14 is the graphics and screwed everything else up .Anyone who played 11 knows that crafting with 0.1 increases was a pain.Wth? crafting Smithy and armouror atm both ~10 mining 12 gladiator 12 and tbh that's down to leves more than anything eles and it's all grinding >< I'm seriously going to think of going to FFXI after 3 weeks ><.
    I only play for an hour or so each day though but still So far that GT review is dead on


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  • Moderators, Category Moderators, Arts Moderators, Business & Finance Moderators, Entertainment Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 18,246 CMod ✭✭✭✭Nody


    swirlser wrote: »
    I wouldnt avoid starting in FFXIV for fears of the game failing, it will either become a niche MMO much like XI (who managed to hold half a million subs for much of their 8 years to date) or if SE can deliver on their Nov & Dec plans it'll be in much better form for it. Its not the behemoth WoW is, nor will it ever be, but Id be willing to bet its going to be around for many years to come =)
    No MMO that I can think of has ever managed to turn around from a bad launch (and pretty much every MMO but WoW has had a rushed launch and even WoW was partly rushed). They might limp in to an "ok" state for a year or so but never turn it around (well excluding Eve but Eve is not a normal MMO).

    Add in that Catalyst is coming and SE's best chance would be around summer time to really have a highly polished game with controls that make sense by the time the WoW people get bored. Problem is that there are always more games coming by then so chances are that SE has utterly missed the boat on this one and it will become the smaller version of two FF games (exactly as EQ1 vs. EQ2 and AC1 vs. AC2).


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