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FFXI Vanafest 2012

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06.24.2012 6:15pm

Aquila
Usually lurking
Administrator

Rinoa said:

Apparently Hiromichi Tanaka resign due to health issues, hope da dude is ok...

He did not only resigned as a producer but quit Square Enix as well. It's quite sad and I wish him the best.

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06.25.2012 5:40pm

Shadow
Comes and goes like the wind...

New UI for PC probably has me the most excited, either way I'm really looking forward to this expansion next year, and still have the next 6 months or so to prepare for it.

Really happy to see Square Enix still supporting this game despite its age.

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06.26.2012 1:13am

Thread Creator

Zubis
Registered Member

https://ffxi.allakhazam.com/story.html?story=29967

Great article by Elmer.

ZAM: In 2004, there was a history book called "Life in Vana'diel," which contained detailed timelines for the three nations that hinted at events in future expansions. So, it was obvious things had been planned far in advance. With Adoulin, you said you wanted to start fresh, with a brand new continent, so I was wondering how far in advance have you planned for the setting of this new expansion?

A: There are portions of Adoulin that have been planned well in advance, and there are things from the timelines that they have incorporated into the expansion. The timelines between in year one, but in Adoulin, they will explore events that happened even before that. When they decided this expansion would take place in the West, they decided to flesh out that early history even more.

Curse: Can you reiterate the exploration system you will implement and how it will work?

A: As a brief review, you have areas--like an uncharted frontier--and for each area there is a cultivation percentage. The more things you do there, the more area you explore and the more quests you do, you can increase that percentage. As you bring that up and explore more, through not just fighting, but other playstyles as well, it will have effects on the game world itself and you will get benefits from that. Players will see the effort they put into exploration reflected in the world.

JPgames.de: I would like to know about the style of the continent. Treasures of Aht Urghan had an Arabian feel, for example.

A: The city of Adoulin itself has a Spanish or Mediterranean image. In the presentation this morning, there was a castle town, which exhibits that style. They are trying to give Adoulin the feel of a city with a long history and something that's different from the other cities, though they do have trade relations with San d'Oria, so there's a bit of San d'Orian influence.

FinalFantasy.de: Can you give us some additional information about Geomancer?

A: Basically, Geomancy stacks with and works in conjunction with White Magic, so it has buffs and debuffs. The job is going to be technically oriented, using positioning to set up fields and manuver party members and enemies into them to grant buffs to the party and debuffs to the enemy. There are also bonuses based on your position relative to the enemy, so it will be an active job with a lot of moving around, but if you use that positioning effectively, you can bring a lot of support.

Geomancers will have an area of effect around them and a second one they can place at a difference. It will be a highly technical job, but one you can utilize to great effectiveness. It's buffs will stack with White Magic, so they complement each other well.

mmorpg.com: Where did the inspiration for the new expansion come from? Was it about creating new experiences for players that have been playing a long time?

A: It might seem like they decided to announce this to coincide with the 10th anniversary, but the timing just worked out well. After Wings of the Goddess, you had the add-ons and then Abyssea, so after that they decided it was time for another full expansion and the timing was perfect.

JeuxOnLine: I understand you wanted to create something fresh, but many players wanted to see Tenzen again. Why did you choose not to explore Tenzen's background in the Far East?

A: They understand a lot of players have fond feelings towards characters like Tenzen, but they really wanted to do something that longterm players and new players could both enjoy on the same level. In the East and the South, there would be certain limitations in terms of the story, where it would have to tie into events in the past. The best option was to set the expansion in the Far West in a land that has not been explored. You will get to expereince one part of that new land this time, and there is still much more of that huge continent to explore in the future.

As for Tenzen... as long as the world of Vana'diel lives on, that story is there to be told, so they won't say there is zero possibility of seeing him again.

ZAM: There are a number of buffers and enfeeblers already in the game, so Geomancer needs to set itself apart. It has directional and strategical gameplay, but will it have any buffs or debuffs that are rare or even unique to the job, such as Regain, which was mentioned. And they said Geomancer will also equip a bell in the throwing slot... how does that affect its gameplay?

A: As far as any new buffs or debuffs that might be introduced, since the job is still under development, they want to do a lot of balance testing before they make any final decisions. As for the bell, you can think of it like musical instruments for a Bard. You'll have the Geomancy skill and the Bell skill. The combination of those skills will determine the effectiveness of their magic. You can use Geomancy without the bell, but like a Bard with no instruments, and it will reduce the effects of your abilities.

Curse: Traditionally, Geomancer relied on primal, elemental magics, but the Geomancer you have introduced deviates from that original concept. AoE buffs that placed and static in certain areas is a mechanic I've never seen before, so I was wondering where the inspiration for that came from.

A: Basically, you have the Chinese concept of feng shui, like placing certain objects in certain areas in the room to generate good fortune. You see that XI with furniture, but they wanted to incorporate that into the job. You're reading the patterns in the earth and channeling that power to generate magic and grant benefits or inflict enfeebling effects.

JPgames.de: You mentioned the city of Adoulin has trade connections with San d'Oria. What are the relationships with Bastok, Windurst and San d'Oria, and why has this continent just suddenly appeared in the story? Why couldn't we travel there before?

A: They can't talk about it now, but the explanation for why adventurers are only now able to travel to Adoulin will definitely be covered in the story of the expansion itself. While it's true that Adoulin hasn't played a large part in the game itself, in game-related documents, such as Life in Vana'diel, which was mentioned earlier, there has been mention of a nation in the west with trade relations with San d'Oria. There have also been some items, like the totem pole or Bison Jacket, which are said to originate in the west. So, in the official lore material, there has always been some mention of the Far West, and they drew upon some of these when creating the expansion.

FinalFantasy.de: There is no version of Final Fantasy XI for the PS3. Are there any plans to develop one? In Europe, there are no HDDs available for the PS2.

A: At the moment, there are no plans to develop a PS3 version. They already have the PS2 game, and they plan to continue supporting the PS2. They don't feel it would be the best use of resources to work on the PS3. Unfortunately, Square Enix is not a hardware manufacturer. They would love to release a HDD, but there is nothing they can do.

mmorpg.com: Will there be a new race for player characters?

A: The short answer is no--there will be no new playable races. In terms of the story and the world of Vana'diel, there are five races, so to suddenly add a new one would throw all that lore out the window. However, in terms of something like Goblins or other non-playable characters, you may see something in the future.

JeuxOnLine: Why did you make an expansion pack aimed at new players when there are not many new players coming to the game? Or are you planning on ways to attract new players? For example, Tanaka mentioned the possiblity of a PS Vita version.

A: When the PS Vita was announced, Tanaka said they could explore the possibility of a PS Vita version, but it turned out it wasn't really feasible. As for the expansion, they said befoe they wanted content that could be enjoyed by new and old players alike. By that, they also meant players that been away for a few years and are just now coming back. They're not so much looking to attract brand new users, as the expansion is more geared towards high level players. Players starting from scratch can enjoy existing expansions, level themselves to a certain point, and know there is this whole new place in the Far West they still have to explore.

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06.26.2012 2:04am

Enkidoh
Time Travelling White Mage

Very interesting. I like how they basically came out and shot down the hinted Vita version of the game though. It would never have worked IMO.

I have to disagree with one of the attendee's statements though about 'not many new players coming to the game.' What rock have they been hiding under for the past year or two? What are all the new people who have ridden into the game on the coattails of Abyssea? Last time I was in game (earlier this month), I saw tons of new players/lowbies around, including some with the free trial icon next to their names, so yeah, this stupid insinuation that no one is interested in starting the game any more is utter bunk.

But that's something which has always drawn my ire so I guess this is no different. :p

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06.26.2012 4:03am

Shadow
Comes and goes like the wind...

Yeah the game is so reliant on a keyboard, the only way a Vita version ever would have worked in my opinion is if they found a way to take advantage of voice support in a nice way (ie: automatically connects to chat with anyone in your main party).

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06.27.2012 9:43pm

amaron
No answer, must be that deaf bitch.

Drama is back in the world of FFXI!!

http://forum.square-enix.com/ffxi/threads/24596-FINAL-FANTASY-XI%C2%AE-Seekers-of-Adoulin?p=330245#post330245

I�??d like to take a moment to clarify which platform Seekers of Adoulin will be available on for those that have been asking. We will continue to support North American FINAL FANTASY XI players on the PlayStation 2, Xbox 360 and PC (Windows) platforms. However, FINAL FANTASY XI: Seekers of Adoulin will only be available on the Xbox 360 and Windows platforms in North America when it is released in 2013.

So no more expansions in the US for PS2.

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06.27.2012 11:22pm

Thread Creator

Zubis
Registered Member

Why would a NA player keep playing on PS2? Why? WHY? ._.

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06.28.2012 12:40am

amaron
No answer, must be that deaf bitch.

Zubis said:

Why would a NA player keep playing on PS2? Why? WHY? ._.

Point taken, but S/E should have developed a PS3 version and transitioned people to it.

People are calling it favortism, though the largest PS2 playerbase is in Japan.

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06.28.2012 12:54am

Thread Creator

Zubis
Registered Member

To be fair to SE, the reason they're not supporting it and not making a PS3 version is because they actually asked.

About 8 months ago when you logged onto PlayOnline/FFXI you were asked a number of questions including what platform to you play on primarily, and what platform you would like to see the game on (PS3 and Vita were choices).

In less than a year SE has gone from saying "We're looking into a PS3/Vita release" to a fairly definitive "Nope, not doing it".

Obviously the percentage of PS2/PS3/Vita players is so low that it's not worth it.

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06.28.2012 12:57am

amaron
No answer, must be that deaf bitch.

Zubis said:

To be fair to SE, the reason they're not supporting it and not making a PS3 version is because they actually asked.

About 8 months ago when you logged onto PlayOnline/FFXI you were asked a number of questions including what platform to you play on primarily, and what platform you would like to see the game on (PS3 and Vita were choices).

In less than a year SE has gone from saying "We're looking into a PS3/Vita release" to a fairly definitive "Nope, not doing it".

Obviously the percentage of PS2/PS3/Vita players is so low that it's not worth it.

Oh, wasn't aware of that. Makes perfect sense then.

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06.30.2012 3:56pm

Thread Creator

Zubis
Registered Member

Tanaka's goodbye message.

Originally Posted by Hiromichi_TanakaThank you all so much for the warm words. It was due to all of you that we were able to successfully put on VanaFest 2012 and I deeply appreciate all of you adventurers who have been supportive.

Despite my resignation announcement, the following day was the regular run of the mill busy day filled with preparations for the next version update and organizing data for succession and it all hasn�??t really sunk in yet. I am sure that up until the last day of next month I will be working just as usual.

As for my illness which everyone has been so kindly concerned about, it is not something that is curable with modern medicine, but neither is it something that will worsen, so it�??s an illness that I will have no choice but to deal with.

Finally, I would like to once again introduce my successor Akihiko Matsui and the rest of the development and operations staff who will be working hard together to develop the new expansion as well as the next version update.

Thank you all very much!

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07.22.2012 8:39am

Arckanghel
Pirate.

I wish I would have had an island or home with all this independent space in 2006

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