Big Big Important Stuff (SE Email - Must Read)

Incase you haven't read it yet, SE put out an email today that literally sent lightning through our hearts. And pants.

So! Here's the link: http://lodestone.finalfantasyxiv.com/pl/topics/detail?id=c499e4c5df4f3f0fde1fb47a28574cb9c3991c9f

What are your thoughts? Discuss!

and if you're too lazy to go to their site, here it is in full:

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Thank you for your continued interest in and support of FINAL FANTASY XIV.

While more than two months have passed since the official launch of FINAL FANTASY XIV service, we deeply regret that the game has yet to achieve the level of enjoyability that FINAL FANTASY fans have come to expect from the franchise, and for this we offer our sincerest of apologies.

After thorough deliberation on how to meet those expectations, it was decided that the most viable step was to approach improvements under new leadership and with a restructured team.

To realize this vision, and in doing so, provide our customers with a better game experience, we have assembled our company's top talent and resources. Taking over the role of producer and director is Naoki Yoshida, a passionate individual for whom customer satisfaction has always taken top priority. Not only is he one of our Group's most accomplished and experienced members, Naoki Yoshida is also a charismatic leader possessing the skill to bring together and effectively helm a team which encompasses a wide range of responsibilities. We also welcome several new leaders handpicked from other projects to work with the existing talent on FINAL FANTASY XIV.

We realize time is of the essence and are fully determined to provide our customers with quality service. It is because of this that we ask our customers to be patient until we are able to confidently present them with a concrete plan outlining FINAL FANTASY XIV's new direction. The free trial period will be extended until that time.

Regarding the PlayStation 3, it is not our wish to release a simple conversion of the Windows version in its current state, but rather an update that includes all the improvements we have planned. For that reason, we have made the difficult decision to delay the release of the PlayStation 3 version beyond the originally announced date of March 2011.

The FINAL FANTASY XIV team is working hard to bring our customers an unparalleled adventure, and we ask for your continued understanding and support as we march ever diligently towards that goal.

President and CEO, Yoichi Wada

The development and management teams would like to make an announcement regarding personnel changes.

[Organizational Changes to the Development Team]
To improve the service of FINAL FANTASY XIV, Square Enix has made the following changes to the development team:

Managerial Changes

Producer/Director
Naoki Yoshida

Section Leader Changes

Assistant Director
Shintaro Tamai (FINAL FANTASY X, Front Mission 5: Scars of the War)

Lead Game Designer
Nobuaki Komoto (FINAL FANTASY IX, FINAL FANTASY XI)

Lead Combat System Designer
Akihiko Matsui (FINAL FANTASY XI)

Technical Advisor
Yoshihisa Hashimoto (Next Generation Game Engine Development)

Lead Programmer
Hideyuki Kasuga (FINAL FANTASY XI, DIRGE OF CERBERUS -FINAL FANTASY VII-)

Senior Concept Artist
Akihiko Yoshida (FINAL FANTASY XII, Vagrant Story)

Lead Artist
Hiroshi Takai (FINAL FANTASY XI, THE LAST REMNANT)

Lead UI Designer/Lead Web Designer
Hiroshi Minagawa (FINAL FANTASY XII, Vagrant Story)

These members will make up the development team's new core-a core dedicated to ensuring we achieve a level of enjoyability that will more than satisfy our customers. Under a schedule of more frequent version updates, the new leaders and their respective sections will strive for continued improvements to FINAL FANTASY XIV service operation and development.

[Extension of the Free Trial Period]
As stated above, the newly restructured team's top priority is to bring about improvements to the game's enjoyability, and therefore we have decided to extend the free trial period until we can provide a plan that outlines a level of enjoyment that will satisfy both us and our customers. When we are confident that we have reached that goal, we will notify our customers immediately.

[Future Version Updates]
At present, the development team is putting the finishing touches on the previously announced version update, which is still slated for release in mid-December. In addition, there is one more version update scheduled for release before year's end. Details on the content and dates of these updates will be released in the near future.

[Delay of the PlayStation 3 Version Release]
Although the release date for the PlayStation 3 version of the game was previously announced as late March of 2011, we regret to inform that this date has been changed.

The PlayStation 3 release will be delayed until we are confident that the game has reached the level of enjoyability and service befitting the FINAL FANTASY name for users on all supported platforms. We offer our sincerest apologies to any fans anticipating the PlayStation 3 release, and humbly ask for your continued patience and understanding as both the development team and Square Enix as a whole strive towards making FINAL FANTASY XIV a truly enjoyable and unforgettable adventure.

[New Development Team Policy]
I would like to take this opportunity to greet all of you—those currently playing FINAL FANTASY XIV, those who have taken a respite from playing, and those awaiting the PlayStation 3 release—and offer a brief word by way of an introduction.

No doubt there are very few, if any, among you who have ever heard the name Naoki Yoshida. To be sure, I have never been in the fore on any of the titles I have worked on in the past. I am, however, honored and privileged to work alongside many talented and inspiring colleagues, and with their support have enjoyed making games for a number of years. I am aware that a great many people will think the responsibility of leading FINAL FANTASY XIV is far too large a task for someone so unknown. After all, even my very best may seem no more than a drop in the bucket when considering the sheer scope of FINAL FANTASY XIV. But working together with me are the very talented and very capable development and management teams, whose dedication and motivation are unwavering. I would like to ask you to please put to rest uncertainties that you may have.

Now, more than ever, myself, the development team, and Square Enix as a whole, are committed to furthering our efforts to provide a quality service.

Everything we do will be for our players and customers.

FINAL FANTASY XIV Producer/Director, Naoki Yoshida

First of all, I would like to apologize for our inability to fully satisfy our users with the initial release of FINAL FANTASY XIV. I take full responsibility for the game's current situation, and have therefore made the decision to step down from my role as producer. A number of concerns that have been voiced by users, such as the design of the user interface, availability of tutorials and game content, and battle system functionality, represent key issues that must be addressed. While improvements are already well underway in many areas, we were unfortunately not able to incorporate player feedback as quickly as we would have liked. We are aware, however, that in many cases, addressing these issues will call for a reworking of game elements. As these changes are our first priority, they will be commanding our full attention and efforts. It is to that end that we have put a new organizational structure into place for the development team. Under this new system, FINAL FANTASY XIV will see changes and additions in line with the desires and expectations of players. Though no longer producer, I will be continuing to support the development team in other capacities, and personally hope that you will continue your adventures in the realm of Eorzea.

Hiromichi Tanaka

Two things:

1 - IT'S ABOUT DAMN TIME SOME ACTION WAS TAKEN AND THE HIGHER UPS STARTED PAYING ATTENTION TO THEIR GAME

2 - I think it's kind of nuts to replace the entire team. I think the guys upstairs needed some heads to put up on the chopping block to take the attention off of SE as a whole. However, I do feel like this is going to be a good thing in the long run. Cross your fingers folks, this sounds like a last ditch effort to me.

I agree they probably did need people to put the blame on, especially Tanaka, but a new team was definitely needed. This is the team that couldn't pull through for us, and it's high time a new one came to HOPEFULLY save this game.

I want to comment on this sooo much!

Most of you don't know me and probably could care less for my opinion, but I have been sitting on the sidelines watching the developments since beta. I am not a traditional FF player and I know many of you are so forgive me if I trample on some fan-boy feelings. Frankly, I wanted this MMO to take off sooo much, I love the graphics, I love the in depth crafting, and most of the story line was well entrenched into the game which provided the immersion that was kept players interested (up to a point).

The game is truly under-baked. The story line/plot drops off a cliff nearing level 20, the interface is a bit clunky, the selling/auction was a little too involved and bugged which made selling starting to feel like a job (the wrong type of immersion), the leaves started to get repetitive and close to grinding. My biggest issue was that SE really did not appear to directly interface with the North American audience. I really felt ignored. The only real help ever provided was from the user community (remember those beta download issues and the work arounds provided by the user community - even here in these forums).

I am still watching and hoping that the game will have a few more features that will draw me in... and keep me. There are so many other games out there to hack and slash that don't require a subscription so SE really missed the mark on the immersion that draws you in, keeps you there, and then moves on to provide something new and different. SE is close, perhaps the "fresh blood" will get the game to the next level... the one that I am looking for. I hope this is the case... I consider an MMO as a major piece of my entertainment dollar and they need to attract and keep me for me to give them my money.

Sorry for the negativity.... I truly hope that SE can turn this around.

lol no worries mantis, i think we all feel the same way about it. just a bunch of disappointment so far :/

I agree with you on a lot of stuff Mantis - and don't worry, we'll all take your opinion into account happily :) At least you and Nova posted unlike anyone else did.


As far as how the game NEEDS to change for me -
1) I think they need to stray from the idea of Leves. Not to say get rid of them, they are fun, but they aren't quests. They're more like battle orders. You don't get any sort of story or lore from them like quests in other games provide you (i.e. WoW, Aion, etc.)

2) I honestly didn't get any sense of storyline from anything after the first cutscene/tutorial. I don't have any sort of "feel" for the world around me when I'm playing other than the fact that the NPCs are annoyingly like pirates or Irishmen (i.e. "What ye be needin' boy? Repairs? Well ye come 'te the right place.").

I mean honestly the Races used to have certain personalities in them. In XI the Elvaan were more cold to people and thought things through logically as if everything was a battle in itself, the Tarutaru were bigheaded (in size and brain capacity) little people who knew everything about magic and lived in nature. The Humes were more industrial, thinking things out like a business. Here - every race is slipped around so neutrally that you don't get any sense of diversity out of it. When you have 5 different races and not a damn one of them is cultured, it takes away from the immersion.

3) Auction House. Auction House. Auction House. The Market Wards simply fail because no one uses them as they're supposed to be used. If I go into the Clothier Wards, and find over 10 Retainers for Crystals, there's a problem. If I wanted to find Crystals, I want to go to a place to find Crystals. I want to be able to feel like if I need something, I know EXACTLY where to go get it instead of spending 45 minutes trying to find 1 item instead of using that time wisely and leveling up.

4) Also, however much I like the idea of not having an auto-attack, NOT having it kills the sociability of the game. In FFXI, when fighting and just waiting for everything to refresh, you had ample time to talk to your friends and stuff while you were partying. Now, you're so busy pushing buttons you don't have a chance to say anything unless you want to start losing the current battle you're fighting. Only way to fix this currently is to talk on Ventrilo or TeamSpeak, which no one wants to do unless it's for endgame.

I just hope that the new devs are able to see this and make up for it in the future through updates/expansions. However, if they even thought of releasing an expansion right now that people would have to pay for, they'd be eaten alive.

I honestly don't blame the Dev team, I blame Tanaka (The Director/Producer who stepped down). He plagued XI for years and the game has only gotten better ever since he left. Now he's gone from XIV as well and the director/producer from the current XI is now in charge. They also brought over the battle director from XI as well. All very exciting because that means they know what kind of feel we want from this game. It's different and we want it that way.

DEFINITELY agree with you on the leves Kai. I like the concept of leves, but would some in-depth area quests be so much to ask for? I think that if they made a long list of area quest lines, that would make it A LOT more fun. Repeating anything too much in an mmo is a major downer... you play an mmo to experience all sorts of stuff, and when that stuff runs dry too quickly, OR YOU LIMIT IT(cough - leve timers - cough)...... it really takes away from overall enjoyment.

<.< >.> <.<
So, they're bringing in the XI team with a new quarterback who's got piss all for a pedigree to turn a losing game around that's looking for a sustainable share of a cornered market.
I don't like where this is headed.

OTOH, my Troll Druid just reached level 45 and I've been able to get there by running content I've previously never explored thanks to the new Dungeon Group Interface that lets me reach cross realm to fill party roles. I've been able to hit Dire Maul, Scholomance, and Blackfathom Depths along with a newly revamped Deadmines, and I've gained easily 15 levels in so doing. When I finally reach level cap again, I get to explore zones that are entirely underwater and new raid instances.

FFXIV may well have lost me, I'm sad to say. Into my collection it goes, to suffer the same fate of FFXI before it.

They may have the crew from FFXI but I think they know it's a different game and will probably treat it as such.

It may be the crew from XI, but they have learned through XI what the players have come to like, and what they have come to completely loath. Plus with it being a new slate to play with, who knows what they'll throw our way.