Dismay from the Developers.

It's no news that for many many years Square Enix has been terrible with community relations. If you played FFXI more than a year and don't have the wool pulled over your eyes completely you will know this. It has been accepted among the masses and communities of FFXI for a long time and people simply got use to it, however in recent years Square Enix "did" seem to get better and better about community relations, addressing issues and giving players what they want, however even in these days and times they some times tend to fall short. Even so, they've made a lot of progress and over the years regained a lot of trust from the player base of FFXI and MMORPG's in general. Furthermore, through the development up to BETA for FFXIV they've been quite good with telling people what they want to hear and making promises left and right, but are those promises lies and are their words daft? Has the trust Square Enix has spent the last few years regaining being thrown all away? As of lately you would think so, below I will explain why.

It's no news that Square Enix as of late has been reverting to their old ways. Having bad community relations, receiving bad media, responding poorly to questions, addressing foreign media inadequately and even insulting it as such for their very own mistakes. This is definitely dire mistakes you cannot afford to make as a Game Developer who is already quite controversial and under a lot of critique for your decisions. It's not secret either. Even Thayos and Elmer over at Zam have written up their own articles about these issues, you can find them here, here, and here.

It worries me, because this is originally what held FFXI back from being what World of Warcraft is today. To be quite frank, although I've got nothing against WoW or Blizzard (I actually respect them) the Final Fantasy franchise was older, more well known and had a bigger more hardcore following than Blizzard did at the time of FFXI's release. Not only that but FFXI was released a good 6months~1year before World of Warcraft. It had all the potential. Beautiful Graphics, amazing stories, incredible playability, however there were many systems, many issues, many small things that held the game back. FFXI did have a prime but even in it's prime days it was incredibly flawed in many ways. Once people started learning just how critical these flaws were to their gaming experience they began to quit and FFXI began it's decline, a decline it honestly never deserved.

The things holding it back were key issues, systems in the game that needed changing. Players cried out for them for years to no avail. Square Enix would never even answer why or address these issues. The most we ever got was once a year at a fan festival, a short Question & Answer session that ultimately lead to a lot of very point blank "We have no plans to change this right now" answers without explanation. It's as if Square Enix didn't realize how important this was and how important coming down off your high horse and speaking with the community was. Years later though, they began seeing these issues, apologizing for them, making amends and promising for a better tomorrow, they even began giving us reasons to believe this. But lately, it's as if they're reverting to their old ways, their old mistakes, habits and sins. I do not want to see this happen and I do not want to see a game with such potential, such amazing development from the actual developers (the artists, the writers, the CG designers, the developers of the actual game) go to waste because of a few bad producers and directors.

This all began lately with the interview here that shows Square Enix addressing some of the very highly concerned issues from the player base after not responding to them -in a BETA test no less- for a very long time. They basically tell the players everything they don't want to hear and go on to speak about how it's all part of their "vision". If only they knew what this did to the morality of potential subscribers as well as the generated media around it.

Later came discovery of the fatigue system without any proper explanation from the developers. This came at a time where people were already very dissatisfied with the quality of the beta test, lack of responses from the developers, and their response concerning large issues that the majority of the player base were agreeing on. People began wondering how this fatigue system worked or if it was a glitch, so of course people began speculating. Weeks later after much speculation and many upset people we finally hear a response from Square Enix confirming that it is indeed a fatigue system and how it works. This is something people did not want to hear at all. Their response regarding the reason behind it is a complete falsely to anyone who knows the mechanics of MMORPG's and can understand that they are doing it simply to delay people from reaching the level cap too quickly before proper end game is implemented. Yes, in short, they limit how much Experience Points you can get before you stop getting it. Sadly it's limited to a mere one hour a day at that, something that will drive away even some of the most casual people around.

After this upsetting explanation, which at least calmed people a bit by letting them know what was up and how so, we see a tweet from Hiromichi Tanaka, the head honcho behind FFXIV's development bashing the foreign media and websites for their dismay, speculation and confusion regarding the fatigue system, even when they had nothing to tell them otherwise. This obvious bias is not something I want to see at all and is definitely a critical blow to them when they try to convey the message that their "foreign" customers actually mean as much to them as their local ones.

All in All Square Enix and the development crew behind FFXIV better get their act together and quickly, and learn just how important the community is, both local and over seas.

Meanwhile, in BETA.

Greetings & Salutations everyone, from FFXIV BETA. This will be my first post since the lift of the non-disclosure-agreement so I plan to fill everyone in on what's going on in ffxiv beta right now and what you should know and might can expect. This is going to be a long drawn out post so I hope you're ready for it.

As you may know, the FFXIV ALPHA tests began many many months ago, I'm not for certain but I believe it was about 6 months ago now. However, about a month and a half back began the actual beta testing. However, it's not been the yellow brick road everyone was expecting so far. It's true that in all beta tests there will be problems, people fully expect them, even though the general consensus right now is that this beta has been the most bugged and flawed beta that pretty much anyone has played. However, this is not the main concern, not by a long shot. The main concern right now? That would be Square Enix's attitude, and most importantly, their "vision".

Square Enix has added a lot of unusual systems, controls and things of much frustration and agony so far. Most people were hopeful that these things would change come official release, that was, until not long ago when some new interviews started surfacing with the FFXIV development team. And let me tell you, they're nothing short of downright frightening. But before we get into that, I would like to go over a little history with you back in the world of Vana Diel, back when it all began over 8 years ago.

About 8 years ago, Square Enix came out with the MMORPG "Final Fantasy XI online". When this game was released there were not many MMORPG's on the market. The only ones out were things like Everquest, Ultima Online and I believe Ragnarok Online. Point being, there weren't many at all and even those were a newer breed of video game that had just surfaced. No one really knew what a MMORPG was, how it was suppose to work or just what it entailed. Developer and Consumer included. When FFXI was built they followed a lot of the same guidelines used in Everquest, which is generally thought of now days as the most "hardcore" and time consuming MMORPG to ever exist.

Because of this, it was no surprise that FFXI was very hardcore itself for many years to come. Back then people did not know what to think, what to expect or fully how to react to situations. They just played. They felt, and they were told if something was wrong that it was their fault for not being a better player. However, years and years of this "hardcore" play style went on before people started quitting in the masses. They were tired of being excluded out of content because they didn't have 5+ hours a day to devote to a game. They were tired of not getting anything accomplished because they didn't have 5+ hours a day to devote to a game. They were tired of being "gimp" because they didn't have 5+ hours a day to devote to a game. And the ones who did have and did devote (myself included) 5+ hours to the game for a very long time began seeing how it was effecting their real lives. They began to wonder why a game should take so much time out of your day just to be able to enjoy the systems within it.

And with this my friends, the "casual" mentality was born. People did not want to devote 5+ hours, 10+ hours a day to a video game anymore. It was no longer "cool" or "hardcore" but instead the masses began making fun of it, frowning upon it, and it became a taboo thing reserved for the mentally deprived. People had asked Square Enix for a good long time by then to change many things within FFXI, to change how these systems worked and to give them a better chance at enjoying the game while still maintaining their real lives. But with each new interview Square Enix simply ignored these pleas, these cry outs, their very consumers, and stated things were worked as intended. The "hardcore" crowd only made fun of them, telling them not to play if they didn't like it. Well, that's exactly what happened eventually, people stopped playing and because of this many MMORPG's (not only FFXI) began to lose many of their subscribers. And what does this mean for the developers? A loss of revenue.

Square Enix addressed this by slowly implementing new systems to allow better play for people who could not or did not want to play a game for 5+, 10+ hours a day. However, with the new systems being added many more, many of the same systems already in existence still remained. I guess you could say it was too little too late. But as time went on, more and more of these "casual friendly" systems were added and helped to retain the remaining subscribers of FFXI, although every now and again Square Enix would add another "Hardcore Friendly" system and simply shoot themselves in the foot. As years went on, people began to regain a small amount of trust in the company who never listened to them, their pleas, or their cry outs. The developers began communicating with the community just a bit more and things started looking a bit brighter. But again, it was simply too little too late. FFXI was passed it's prime and began it's slow and gradual decline.

Meanwhile, games like World of Warcraft were flourishing. They appealed more to the casual community, even though they were often abused by the hardcore. Because of this, it and games like it only grew in popularity while games like FFXI, with it's amazing story, amazing graphics and beautiful world simply fell by the wayside. It was a sad thing to see for me, because I always loved and have loved FFXI so very much, through thick and thin. It really truly is a amazing game with the most captivating story I've ever experienced in my entire life.

Life went on, time went by and the sun continued to rise and set. The remaining FFXI population began to regain more trust and a better outlook in FFXI and to the developers themselves. But then it came, the one day that would change it all. People had known for awhile, well they had "speculated" that Square Enix was developing a new MMORPG, a "next gen" MMORPG. We speculated for a couple of years before it was ever officially announced and took most (but not some of us) by surprise. "Final Fantasy XIV online", it was announced at the E3 convention in 2009. Many of us in the "underground" were already expecting this, it is in fact when I started this very blog.

As time went on new information surfaced here and there and Square Enix began discussing and advertising their new up-and-coming MMORPG within the gaming community. We soon found out that Square Enix was planning on doing everything right from the start. They said their "vision" was to make FFXIV a casual friendly game, one that could be played and enjoyed for just a hour of commitment every day. They spoke of the new "guildleve" system, they spoke of all kinds of different designs to allow people to have fun and enjoyment while still retaining their real lives. They also stated that this time around they really wanted to listen to the community, what the community had to say and really give them what they wanted. But this would all change sadly...

Fast forward back to now. Saturday, August 21st 2010. We are currently in the 3rd phase of beta testing for FFXIV and already things are looking quite bleak. The entire FFXIV beta community is in a uproar and many have already quit in mass exodus, and the game isn't even out yet! But why you ask? Sadly, because Square Enix has reverted back to their old selves in many ways and they have also lied to the community. But how you may ask? Allow me to elaborate.

As I explained and as you more than likely know by now if you've been following the development of FFXIV, Square Enix has sworn time and time again several major points about FFXIV and the testing of such to make it a better game overall:

They would listen to the community and adhere to their desires.

They would communicate with the community.

They would make FFXIV a casual friendly game while still appealing to the more "hardcore" community as well. They said FFXIV would be a game that could be enjoyed thoroughly by anyone, no matter their play time.

They wanted to think of the FFXI community first and foremost and make FFXIV appealing to them before any other demographic.

However, these points became moot and untrue as time went on. The FFXIV forums were always a place where if you said anything bad about FFXIV you got flamed and chased away quickly, one of the most used arguments in doing so was "It's just beta". But things continued to go downhill and slowly the masses began to speak out. The "diehards" and "fanboys" were quickly silenced and drown out by the cries of the masses once again, and this time their cries were louder than ever.

You see, as of now Square Enix is not only going back on their word about many things, they are not staying true to it. Below I will describe the major issues which are plaguing FFXIV right now.

They have spoken with the community very very little thus far and only recently have given a few new interviews. This is one thing everyone hated for the longest time in FFXI that eventually changed down the road, but has changed and reverted back as of late with FFXIV and the development within.

They are not taking suggestions from the community. Now, before you roll your eyes I'm not talking about "PLEASE ADD FLYING CHOCOBOS!" or every little suggestion posted. I'm talking about MAJOR issues that the entire community bands together on and agrees with fully to the point that absolutely no one is against it. And with that, below, I will address some of these issues at hand.

The Guildleve system. It is part of Square Enix's "vision" to have Guildleve on a 48 hour cooldown, and the bad thing is that you can only accept a maximum of 8 guildleves for this 48 hour time period. This is very limiting to the player, however at first it wasn't such a big deal because guildleves were very worthwhile and gave very good experience points and rewards for doing them. However, this was nerfed and now at this point the guildleves give hardly anymore experience points than simple monster grinding. They took out the biggest incentives to participate within them. They then explained this was part of their "vision" and wanted this to encourage players to group up and share their guildleves. The thing is, when you do this you suffer a loss of experience points gained. More or less, it's more efficient to do a solo guildleve and then go about your business or go back to solo grinding than it is to group up with 2 or more players. At this though, the biggest complaint in the community regarding guildleve right now is the 48 hour cooldown. Square Enix simply responded in a interview with "This is our vision on how it will work, and while the community is asking for the cooldown to be lowered we have no plans to do so".

Then there was crafting. A Profession Square Enix swore the players could take up and enjoy within itself without having to depend on a melee/magic/front lines class to enjoy. That if some one simply wanted to craft, then craft they shall. However this was far from the truth. The skill ups even at the low levels were even much slower than that in FFXI and that being at higher levels. The materials needed to make simple crafts to level up your crafting profession were expensive and hard to come by, and lastly there were the crystals. Say goodbye to simply needing one crystal, because now even for the most simply low level synthesis you could need anywhere from 2 of one kind, 3 of another kind and 4 of a final kind to 9 of each kind of crystal, for a single synthesis. One which had about a 20% chance of giving you skill up points, a small amount at that. The crafting "guildleves" gave you free ingredients to craft with but only a few and after about a hour or so you ran out of them and then came to lovely 48 cooldown to obtain more. Things truly were looking bleak for crafters and those wishing to take up the profession.

The next thing the community absolutely hates is the controls. WASD for movement and IJKL for camera control? Square Enix said time and time again they wanted to make the FFXI community feel comfortable playing their game (FFXI primary controls were the num-pad for movement and arrow keys for camera control. It worked surprisingly well). But not only are they failing to do so, they are also alienating the WoW crowd and many other MMORPG players. I will admit using the mouse to control camera can be nice and I don't mind it a bit. Sadly, the mouse control system for FFXIV is done using what's called the "software mouse" system as opposed to the "hardware mouse" system. This means basically that it lags and there will always be a tiny amount of lag in it even if polished which right now, it is far from. The community was quite upset about this and was begging Square Enix to use the "hardware mouse" which is just as easy to be implemented into the system and design as it's inferior software counterpart. But for some reason Square Enix responded with "We currently have no plans to change the software mouse to a hardware mouse, the software mouse will receive some revisions and be kept".

The next big, major issue is the fact that there is no Auction House on FFXIV. There is what's called the "Market Wards". You "hire" a retainer, meaning you get your own NPC to stand in this large market area with a "bazaar" of your goods for sale within them. The bad thing is that there's no way of knowing who has what and there are honestly hundreds if not thousands of these NPC's and this is just in the BETA. This means trying to find some simple ingredients or a piece of armor can honestly take hours of searching. People begged Square Enix in the masses to please introduce a Auction House. If Square Enix was trying to prevent abuse of a Auction House all they had to do is revise the "price history" system there within to show if anyone was trying to abuse it, alter price history or under sale. Simply put, let people see who's selling what for how much and how often. But still, do this within a actual auction house system. This is what the player base has BEGGED for probably more than anything else. It's much more convenient to walk up to a Auction House and spend 5-10 minutes getting the things you need and browsing the wares within than spending upwards of an hour and perhaps not even finding what you were looking for. Square Enix simply responded with "The market wards are a unique and innovative system that we want to keep".

These comments were all found out in a interview that surfaced. One that should have boosted the morale of the current beta player base and given Square Enix better publicity. This interview surfaced in a time where the entire game was filled full of bugs, full of insanely high lag, issues that could be easily addressed that were simply ignored, even for beta. This interview came in a time where people were beginning to get very frustrated and put out with a game so unpolished that most said it was not even worthy of being called a "Alpha Build" due to the immense bug and hugely grotesque lack of content. This made the community begin turning against itself, people quitting left and right, disgruntled players everywhere and the few people defending Square Enix burned at the stakes. This was all within the OFFICIAL BETA FORUMS non the less...

But then came the final nail in the coffin for many. People thought it was some kind of glitch or some kind of odd system they didn't quite understand. After gaining experience points for awhile your rate of experience points began dropping and you began getting "surplus" experience points. Where did these surplus experience points go to and what were they used for? Sadly we found out. Absolutely nothing! That's right, it is a built in "fatigue" system that all classes share, from crafting, to gathering, to melee and magic. The bad thing is, you start experiencing this fatigue after a mere hour or two of leveling up. So Square Enix responded with this... "We do not want those who have more time to gain an advantage of the player base so we have added in this fatigue system. We recommend that if you want to play more past it you should switch classes". Wow, really? Truly? Before people were just upset about being excluded from end game events in FFXI due to the lack of 5+ hours of play time per day. But now, if you want to simply get experience points, on your own, giving you no real advantage other than quick leveling you get punished for it? I'm casual myself now but some times I will have 2-3, 3-4 hours a day to play and I want to enjoy it. Why would I care if some one else levels up slightly quicker than me? And why should they or I have to change classes and not enjoy the one we are trying to focus on if we want to enjoy the game more than a hour a day?

As of now the entire FFXIV beta community is in a uproar. It's like a FF-Apocalypse before the game has even been released. I've never seen a community in my life as disgruntled and surprisingly in complete agreement with each other. the FFXIV official beta forums are pretty much just a Square Enix bashing wonderland at the moment and the feedback forums and filled with nothing but anger and resentment for Square Enix and their attitude. You hear these "upbeat" and lighthearted interviews with the developers when they laugh, giggle, and say things like "We hope you enjoy your experience in Eorzea!" Are they clueless? Are they that fucking stupid? No, no one is nor can be. They are simply going off of their "vision" and what they feel is best, reverting to their old ways and going back on so many promises it's not even funny.

Things are looking bleak at the moment and threads like "I want to believe" "I want to enjoy the game" "Is there any hope" plague the FFXIV general discussion forums with nothing but negativity towards the developers who seem to not realize their player base is more important than their "vision". They don't seem to realize that if they release something that is nothing short of a joke and get a metric ton of bad media all because of a few visions they have and a largely ignored community their game will go absolutely no where very quickly, this includes in Japan to because the Japanese player base is sharing pretty much the exact attitude as the rest of the world towards this at the moment. Some one needs to tell Square Enix that their "vision" isn't going to mean jack if they have no subscribers to partake in it and make the company a profit.

Still I hold out hope, that maybe Square Enix will change their minds, maybe they will see how much of a uproar this is causing and change some things, because if they don't there won't be much hope for such an amazing and beautiful game with so much potential. Let's hope for the best everyone and pray that Square Enix does what's right and not what THEY think is "right" according to their "vision".

Is FFXIV "too original"... Or not original at all?

We've been hearing Square Enix brag about it left and right, up and down, from all corners of the globe.

"FFXIV is Original"

"FFXIV has new unique system"

"FFXIV never before this"

"FFXIV never before that"

"FFXIV this and that like no one else".

Well, from what we know and are learning so far things might not be as unique as they are cracked up to be. But that might just be what we need. Wait, what? Let me explain...

First of all, Square Enix kept bragging about their "Guild Leve" system. Guild leve this, Guild Leve that. About how innovative it is in the world of MMORPG's. Sadly, that's not the case. Guild Leve is more or less simple questing as most people know it in most MMORPGs. Sure, you can disguise it by letting a "special NPC" hand out the "guild leves" but all they really are is quests, at least so far. But from the way they are looking and the way we can see them progressing it's nothing other MMORPG's have not done before. It's a bit of text and fluff, telling you what to go do, why you're doing it and you receive a reward at the end for your hard work. Some time's it's EXP, some times Armor and Weapons, some times it's strait up currency. But this is nothing new to the spectrum of MMORPGs or even FFXI for that matter.

Now, is that bad? Not necessarily. In fact, if they make it good it might work out quite well. A big gripe in FFXI was that there was not enough of these sort of things. It's a system that works well and for good reason. They come in all shapes, sizes and rewards. My only complaint is that I don't see why they couldn't be added as simple quests with cut scenes (ohh how I love my cut scenes). But maybe I'm just spoiled from FFXI, where every damn thing has a cut scene and a story to it. I don't particularly enjoy simply reading a piece of paper explaining why I'm killing something and for who, I like to go deeper into it to make it more interesting. Could this be Square Enix's laziness once again? There's no doubt you know of their knack at being so if you've played FFXI for any considerable amount of time (the most recent expansions are good examples). However, only time will tell how good or bad this system is and how it works and how the player base likes it.

But that's not all folks!

There's more to discuss that is original indeed! However...



Sadly it's true and with some aspects it seems Square Enix is trying to be a little bit too unique. For example, the Camera and Movement controls. As of right now, no one likes them. WoW players, FFXI players, other MMORPG players, no one, everyone pretty much despises them and for proper reason. The controls not only do not allow you to make good use out of the keyboard, but also the mouse. They pretty much force you into using a game pad and even then it's clunky. Not only that, but the combat and targeting system is just god awful, it really is, and this is coming from a enormous fanboy who really wants this game to turn out great. Some things simply take the playability down and ruin the fun you could be having. Some times, it's best to just stick with some things if they work... Jeez, I wonder if that's why they stuck with the same races..? Or could it be... Anyways... From what we have heard, Square Enix is going to be making some adjustments to this. Let's just hope they are worthwhile and fix the monstrosity which is the control, combat, and camera system.

I have much hope and faith in Square Enix. Nothing is final until the game actually comes out and even then it will take time to work out all the kinks. Let your opinion and voice be heard so Square Enix can give us what we want and how we want it.

To Zone or Not To Zone.

Often times I find people talking about the "seamless world", one which zoning does not exist. Of course, this became something people often fantasized about over the years of FFXI where zoning was very prevalent. It's also something that other MMORPG players experience, while maybe not quite as often. But it seems people are always wanting a more seamless world with less zoning. Well, I'm going to say something that might sound completely crazy but... Zoning might actually be good! That's right, zoning might actually be a good idea, and here's why.

People have really underestimated the importance of zoning. To Square Enix, it was just a way to build the game easier, to us, it has just been a frustration, but quite honestly it's one of the best game designs I've ever seen. Why is that? Because when you zone you go from one area to another. You "traverse" across the lands. Think of it as a time skip. Imagine if while watching a movie, instead of there being parts of the movie where it skips from one scene in one place to another scene in another place, everything took place in one area and the camera never left one scene. Well, this is a bit extreme and exaggerated on my part, I know I know, but it's the same principle when all is said and done honestly.

Zoning actually helps "immerse" us in our online Journey. There are some MMORPG's of which I've played that didn't have zoning, one notable one being Aion. I'm not here to bash Aion today (as much as I would like to) but one of the biggest flaws is that you could pretty much go from a scorching hot barren desert, to a swampland, to a jungle, to a forest, to a mountain range, all in just jogging for about 20 minutes at a moderate pace. It felt extremely unrealistic and made you feel like you were in some kind of gigantic play box or fake world.

This is not the kind of feeling that gives you that "enormous" feel some where like Vana Diel does. In Vana Diel, when you go from the mountains to the desert, you happen upon what looks to be a mountain pass, you zone into it and the screen goes black, moments later you appear on the other end in the desert. Some times you can see far off details at the other end that look like they are a natural part of the environment. It really gives the game a feeling and a sense of immersion that when you go from one area to another you're actually traversing across a large area to get there and makes the world feel much bigger than it actually is as well. And you know us MMORPG gamers, we can never have a big enough world! (Just not enough transportation and quick enough)

So in closing, I hope while Square Enix keeps talking about a "seamless world" for once, in the millions of times they've inconvenienced players to retain the "feel" of something they do it in the right area (no pun intended) and give us at least some zoning to make the world feel vast, expansive, and realistic so we can truly be immersed in Eorzea!

Transcendence.

Well the time has finally come, it's getting quite close to the official release date and I figure now is the perfect time to do what I have been planning to do all along. That's right, I'm going to start my own FFXIV community. One which is much different than the others, or at least the others I've seen trying to recruit thus far. I'm sure I won't be the first nor the last with the ideas and mindset I currently have.

Transcendence is going to be a community of a very different caliber. You see, I'm not making this community to force a bunch of rules onto you, I'm not making it to make you jump through hoops just to join, I'm not making it over complicated, and most importantly I'm not going to try to make it some place where we all try to rush through the game as fast as possible, racing to the end to see who can get what end game armor the quickest and who can defeat which boss first.

I'm making a community for the rest of us. A community where you can have fun and adventure. One where you can build and develop friendships, one where you can find out new information, strategies, tips and so forth to become more proficient at your own pace. Some where that you can get help for the most menial tasks and your level doesn't matter. A place where exploration, adventure and character development will reign supreme.

But most importantly, I want to make a community that will last. It's part of why I'm calling it "Transcendence". I want a community full of mature and like minded individuals. One that escapes needless drama, pointless arguments and immature activity of any sort. I myself have been playing MMORPG's for many many years and I am indeed getting older now. I'm not one who will discriminate some one based on their age, but I really have gotten sick of the "high school drama" feeling that most MMORPG's (especially FFXI) force upon people.

I want a community where we can act like adults, and have fun together as adults. Where we can enjoy a amazing adventure together, grow together, build friendships together and surpass the immaturity, stupidity and drama that a lot of communities face. I read all these different communities trying to recruit early for FFXIV and they make me laugh. All these complicated rule systems when we don't even fully know how the game or it's systems will work, all these long applications, all these confusing websites, it makes me sick.

Then lately I see these new RP guilds popping up. I've never been against RP but in my opinion they just take it too far. They try to become their own little act within the game and they are already creating back stories to stories that have yet to even be released. Not that I'm against them mind you, usually RPers are quite peaceful people who I've never had a problem with.

But isn't there a community for the rest of us? One where we can join and just enjoy ourselves? One that is more than simply a social community however. We will indeed grow, we will learn new things, and we will strive to be as good as we can be, but all at our own pace and on our own time. There is no "requirements" other than your attitude.

I was originally going to create this community simply for FFXI veterans (and if you are one I urge you to apply!) however, I've learned over the years that personalities aren't limited to a single video game, no matter how much bias I may or may not have. I've found great people from every walk of life, and I would not want to deny them the opportunity to be in a good group of folks who think like they do.

So if you want a community of mature, like minded individuals who aren't going to bullshit around about one thing or another, but just grow together and enjoy the adventure, then please consider giving Transcendence a try. It's most definitely not for everyone and if you're just trying to get as much as you can, as far as you can, as quick as you can we aren't for you. But if you want to truly develop in the best way possible with a solid group of people, then give us a check out.

Transcendence FFXIV, A little community with a lot of common sense.

Be sure and read the "Rules and Guidelines" as well as "What is Transcendence".

If you would like to join the community, fill out the really short and super basic application. There's no need to apply to post on the forums which will follow the same mentality as the community. This is also where, from this point forward, I will post all the new media information, articles, and findings regarding FFXIV.

It's time to Transcend.

Well as you may have noticed by now, I have not added very much information to my blog lately. However... That doesn't mean I haven't been working hard on FFXIV related projects and information.

Awhile back I began wondering exactly what my blog was for. I've been very in tune to the development of FFXIV since before it was even officially announced. My love of FFXI drove this and my desire and passion for new adventure fueled it. I wanted to make sure I made a difference in the FFXIV community in whichever way I possibly could, so I decided to start my blog.

It was originally going to be articles and information however, I miss calculated just how much information there was out there. It became quite a good site for a compilation of FFXIV information from all around the internet, so people knew they weren't missing one bit from any site. However as the development kept going forward further and further it became harder and harder to add all of this information from every corner of the internet.

But the craziest thing? I still plan to do this. Just in a slightly different way. I want my blog to become what a blog truly is made for, personal opinions and articles by the author. However, I am not going to stop giving people all the latest information... In fact, I'm going to make it even better. How so you ask? With Transcendence.

The Active Time Battle System.

As of now, we know so much yet so little about the dynamics and gameplay of FFXIV. From the get go the developers have explained that they wanted a more active and user initiated battle system where the players become more involved in each individual action they preform instead of just engaging and auto-attacking. However, not everyone seems to be liking this system and there seems to be a bit of discontent by the alpha testers with it. Square Enix has said in a recent interview that they will be revising and perfecting much of the battle system itself when they transition from Alpha testing to Beta testing. However, one thing is clear, it will be a much more interactive and completely new system than most people are use to with other MMORPG's. Elmer over at Zam wrote up a full article about it so be sure to check it out.

Official FFXIV website updated.

As of may 19th The official FFXIV website has been updated once more with new information! This time we get an official look at the now well known map of Eorzea. We also get a huge load of information all about Limsa Lominsa and the guilds, landmarks, and details about the city itself and more. Luckily enough, we also finally get a bit of information on the other two cities, Ul'Dah and Gridania. So be sure to head strait over to the official FFXIV website to check out all the new information and pictures!

Alpha Vs. Beta (Screen Shots!)

Some new screen shots have come forth showing the DRASTIC difference in the Alpha version of the game and the Beta version. As anyone by now should know the Alpha version is a very basic version that is unpolished in every way from the beta version, which is itself a unpolished version from the final product that will be released and sold. From game mechanics, to latency issues, to glitches and bugs, and most importantly the graphics! Below, I will be posting some screen shots that have been released that show the drastic difference between the graphics in Alpha and Beta alone. It's amazing to think this is just the difference between Alpha and Beta and that the final product will be even slightly more tweaked than Beta!

I hope everyone is as excited as I am for this beautiful world we will soon explore!

Alpha


Beta


Alpha


Beta


More Beta Screenshots!

Map of Eorzea and Latest Info from Famitsu.

The latest issue of Famitsu has come out with all new information on FFXIV, including one very exciting map of Eorzea. The developers have spoken in recent times of how the land of Eorzea is simply the first stage we will see in the mighty production of Hydaelyn (Eorzea is simply a region in Hydaelyn, the world which FFXIV takes place in).

In the map we see the city of Limsa Lominsa (Where all the alpha tests have taken place) in the south west corner, it appears to be an island with a waterway disconnecting it from the main continent. In the southern lands in the middle of the map we see Ul'Dah and in the upper right hand corner to the north east, we see Gridania. To the west of Gridania seems to be the city of Ishgard, which is thought to be the "Hub" city (think Jeuno/Whitegate FFXIers) for FFXIV. And if you look to the far north east corner you see the Garlean Empire, quite ominous looking don't you think? I wonder what adventures will await us in that far off land. Also, if you look at the very bottom left corner of the picture you will see the flags for each kingdom. From left to right they are: Ul'Dah, Limsa Lominsa, Gridania, Ishgard.

Read the full article's on Zam and FFXIVcore!

Famitsu Interview with Tanaka & Komoto.

A new interview has appeared in Famitsu with Hiromichi Tanaka and Nobuaki Komoto discussing the Alpha and Beta stages of FFXIV. A lot of interesting new information regarding their plans as well as what's been going on so far in the tests. Be sure and read the full interview and writeup by Elmer on Zam.

A Closer Look at Limsa Lominsa

Recently Elmer over at Zam did a writeup taking a closer look at Limsa Lominsa. As he explains a lot of Japanese magazines and media sources have been able to sink their teeth deep into some of the great details of the FFXIV Alpha being conducted so far. While so very little is known yet, we are finally able to take some in depth looks and tours around Limsa Lominsa. We get to visit some of the shopping guilds as well where you can see different armor for purchase as well as some novelty gear such as masks, glasses and "Fluff" items. It's nice to see we will be getting some fun aesthetic gear to play around in.

Click here for the full article and more information!

Famitsu talks about "Skillchain" type system.

A new article from Famitsu has been released, showing more FFXIV screen shots and information, particularly about a new "Skillchain" like system. If you played FFXI back in the old days you know what skillchains are and how fun they could be. It looks like the devs are bringing back a similar system in FFXIV to be used in party and group dynamics. You can read the full article here via google translate. Note the translation isn't perfect but it's the best I can come up with for right now. Also, it appears "Batorurejimen" is the new Japanese word for this type of skillchain system in FFXIV.

Famitsu Beta Schedule Information.

I just came across a article on a blog with newly released information from Famitsu, it discusses the "semi-planned" Alpha and Beta schedule for FFXIV from the developers mouths themselves. They talk about what kind of schedule they're shooting for so far for the Alpha and Beta tests, what their current plans on for the phases, as well as information that PS3 owners will be happy to hear. Below I'll post the article itself, but check it out as well as the new screen shots here.

Coinciding with the start of the Final Fantasy XIV alpha test, Famitsu.com was given a chance to quiz the development staff on a variety of game issues. Here's a summary of the Q&A.

The staff first shared a rough schedule for the game's alpha and beta programs.

The alpha test will take place in just one world. The world is named "Shadowlord." They'll be conducting tests three days a week, with each session lasting about four hours. These tests will be conducted in Japan, North America and Europe, each region separate from one-another.

Once they've gotten the basic functionality of the game stable and conducted tests on server load and so-forth, the'll move into phase one of the beta test. Phase 1 of the beta will use the same version of the game as the alpha, but will have multiple worlds running in parallel. There will be some adjustments made in the switch from alpha to phase 1 beta that will require them to do a data wipe.

After they've adjusted the game to fix problems and reflect the opinion of test players, they'll move to beta phase 2. From here, the game will run 24 hours. The content of the game used in this beta will have changed considerably and will be closer to that of the final game. The PS3 version of the beta test will begin here.

Phase 2 will gradually expand with additional worlds as the staff runs load tests on having hundreds of thousands of simultaneous connections.

The final service-in for the game will come following a few weeks of open beta testing.

The current alpha test version of the game limits play to just the Limsa Lominsa city-state and its surroundings. This will be the case throughout the alpha and beta tests. You won't be able to access the rest of the world until the final version. Limsa Lominsa and its surroundings account for less than 1/5 of the final version's full world, according to the staff.

Other topics addressed in the Q&A:

Character Names

FFXIV lets you input both first and last names for your character. The reason for this is that each world will allows multiple players to have the same family name or same first name -- although two players can't have the same pairing of first and last names, of course. This will give players a chance to more easily play using the name of their choice. When using chat, there's a system in place that will make it so that you won't have to input the full name.
Different Starting Points

What kind of differences can you expect when starting in a different country?

Each country will have a different story. Additionally, each city will have different facilities and unique atmosphere.

Enemies

There will be combat-loving monsters who attack you. Additionally, there will be powerful enemies unrelated to the scenario for players to go after. None of this is in the alpha.

More Alpha Information from Famitsu.

Famitsu Magazine has released some more information regarding FFXIV and the Alpha test. Currently for this exact information I cannot find a translation so I'll simply link you to the google translation. Keep in mind that "Girudorivu" refers to Guildleve, " β " refers to Beta and " α " refers to Alpha. They more or less go over the different points about how you start your character out in the Alpha test. They explain about the opening movie and how right after it there's a tutorial type of fight to let you get accumulated to the battle system. They also mention that Limsa Lominsa and it's surrounding areas will be the only starting area during the Alpha and possibly Beta tests. They also explain how while you can recover HP for resting or being in passive mode, recovering MP is done a bit differently by clicking on certain crystals. Speculation is that this is Square Enix's way to keep people from "Camping" so much and to actually move around and explore more.

They continue to go on and explain about how there will be a certain type of "Merit" system from the get go, which will allow you to accumulate points to be spent on different attributes and abilities. This is part of how your character will grow and be customizable in FFXIV. They also explain how it might be possible through this system to allow certain abilities and spells from one discipline to be used on others. Personally, I would think these would be only minor spells, traits, and abilities, much like how FFXI's subjob system works.

That's all I can come up with for now in my sleep deprived state. Be sure and click on the google translation to get all the cool new screen shots as well as the official article.

Famitsu Hands On Alpha Test!

In the latest issue of Famitsu magazine they were lucky enough to actually get to test the newly released Alpha version of FFXIV, and Square Enix was kind enough to let them publish all of their findings! This is the most insight we have gotten to FFXIV so far and we find out a whole bunch of new information and details. There's way too much to list here, so check out the full artical Here On Zam and Here On FFXIVcore to find out all the exciting new screenshots, facts, and details about FFXIV!

FFXIV Devs talk about plans for Alpha & Beta.

Recently, Dengeki magazine got to sit down with the developers and discuss the Alpha and Beta test phases that FFXIV will be undergoing. They got a good look at what the developers have in mind so far and give some great insight as to what you might can expect. There's also more new information regarding the game dynamics itself and how FFXIV will be evolving through the Alpha and Beta stages. Read the full article Here On Zam.

Active Mode, Passive Mode, and Party Dynamics.

In a recent article in Famitsu Magazine, Square Enix developers discuss the passive and active battle modes and how they will effect you in FFXIV. By now you most likely already know that in FFXIV there will be a "Active" stance and a "Passive" stance. One with your weapon sheathed and one with it drawn. What you might not know is that it's more than just being engaged or disengaged with a enemy, like how for example you can be in active or passive mode anywhere at any time. Each will have advantages and disadvantages that are quite obvious, but there are more details to this system than you might think.

We also get some more insight as to how the developers are creating the grouping systems in FFXIV and learn they want us to be able to have quite a bit of freedom. Whether you may want to adventure with many or adventure solo, they assure us that no time will be wasted or without reward.

Take a look at the full article Here On Zam to discover more.

Nvsion Magazine! Now with more FFXIV!

A new spring issue of the popular gaming magazine released by Nvidia's "Nvision" magazine has just hit the shelves and as you can see by the cover, they're giving FFXIV some much deserved publicity. They have a entire section of the magazine all about up and coming MMORPG's for this year, with the first 6 pages being completely dedicated to FFXIV, not to mention the front cover itself and the very back cover. I just picked up my copy, be sure and pick up yours as well! You can get them just about anywhere.

I'll give you guys a run down of what the magazine itself says in these 6 exciting pages of FFXIV goodness.

Quote, Nvision Magazine:

"And what did you do at work today, honey?"

"Oh, I just created a new world, designed a new planet and some critters to roam the hills and valleys, and outlined the designs for the players that are gonna run around and shoot 'em all."

"That's nice, dear--What are you going to do on the seventh day?"

Building the next generation of massively multiplayer online worlds actually requires years of dedication to concept, design, and execution. Big franchises and bigger teams are crafting the spaces online gamers willl inhabit for the next decade. That requires a talent and commitment level of a flavor that is unique to the games industry, and we're taking you inside the process to reveal what it takes to bring virtual universes to life.
What's clear about the next wave of MMO is that graphics are no longer and afterthought--developers are finally tapping into the full power of the GPU to bring cutting-edge visuals to the genre.


Few gaming franchises combine the longevity, critical approval, and fan adoration that defines the Final Fantasy series. This 14th iteration (not counting all the various off-shoots, side projects, and even animated films) moves the franchise online for the second time (The first time was 2002's Final Fantasy XI). But a brand new world--Hydaelyn--and a new setting on that world called Eorzea require a vast amount of new art concepts, design, and creation--all occurring under the watchful eye of art director Akihiko Yoshido-san. Nvision tapped Yoshida-san for exclusive insights into the process his team goes through to remain within the traditions of the franchise while developing fresh new locations for online gamers to explore.

"The Variety of playing styles available will be considerably greater than that of Final Fantasy XI," Yoshida-san says of the scope of content being created. Hydaelyn blends sci-fi and fantasy elements, as seen in the early images released, leading to a large variety of disparate style needing to be blended into a cohesive world vision. "To deliver the graphics necessary to bring the variety of gameplay to life, we are striving to produce sharp images that are contextually appropriate to the time, place, and situation. An example of this would be the visually stimulating or evocative landscapes," says Yoshida-san, adding, "To help fulfill the expectations that players have cine ti have of afinal fantasy world. One of the first things we take into account is a certain sense of reality. For example, we have paid a great deal of attention to the effects that the passage of time or changes in the weather have on how light is displayed."

Still, veterans of Final Fantasy XI will see some similarities in the character styles and professions, even though the specific races and classes will be new to the series. "The character creation from Final Fantasy XIV will be much more in-depth than that of previous titles of the series," says Yoshida-san, "Players will be able to generate avatars similar to thos in Final Fantasy XI if they choose to do so, but there will also be some new [player character] types." Want more specifics on the new characters? The devs are keeping that information tightly under wraps. though five distinctive races have been revealed so far.


Incredibly, Square-Enix released the single-player Final Fantasy XIII while working on this MMO off-shoot. The games share certain technology details such as the core engine and the tools used to build the worlds, bu the process, challenges, and ultimate requirements are significantly different. More surprising yet is the fact that the world of Hydaelyn revealed in the first release of FFXIV may actually be smaller than the locations crammed on to the Blu-ray disc shipping for FFXIII on PS3. "Since we are still in development a thorough comparison isn't possible, but at releast FFXIB will be about the same scale, if not slightly smaller, than FFXIII," says Yoshida-san.

But that's not to suggest the game world will actually be small. Shortly after its release in Japan, it was revealed that enough content for an entire additional game ended up on the FFXIII cutting-room floor. These game worlds are always massive...and complicated. While Square-Enix is keeping many gameplay details under wraps, five races have been revealed (the Hyur, Lalafell, Miqo'te, Roegadyn, and Elezen) with character classes organized in four discipline types (Disciples of War, Magic, the Land, and the Hand). The races, classes, and disciplines require an intriguing blend of art assets to capture the vast scope of this world. "The world of FFXIV will have certain sci-fi elements such as out-of-place artifacts, perhaps best exemplified by airships," says Yoshida-san. "These elements will play a key role in distinguishing the cultures and civilizations of different nations, regions, and races, but they will not be extremely numerous," adds Yamamoto-san. "We are seeking to create a fantasy world with its core in classic sword-and-sorcery that players will never grow tired of visiting, no matter how much they play."

Veterans of FFXI may, come actual release, recognize certain elements of the class structure, but the developers are happy to point out that lessons learned from the development will be incorporated into a tighter, more focused online Final Fantasy experience. "It would be more accurate to say that we are attempting to achieve a development process that take full advantage of the know-how obtained from Final Gantasy XI while also improving on its shortcomings," says Yoshida-san. "Given the differences in the worlds, there will be no direct transplants from Final Fantasy XIII," he adds, "however, player can expect to see some of the classic monsters from the Final Fantasy series making an appearance, a number of which will be undergoing a makeover from FFXI."

Some of those enhancements will come courtesy of close working relationship between nvidia and the Square-Enix engineers and art department to optimize the vast environments and detailed characters for nvidia GPUs. And you heard it here first: Square Enix is also investigating options to incorporate 3D Vision support.

Like so many in-game details, further specifics on these relationships and what they may deliver to gamers in the year ahead and not being disclosed. Of course, given the evolving development process that MMOs undertake post-launch, many other high-end elements could find their way into the code and your game experience. "We are putting in place a system that will allow us to continually implement fresh, new designs while simultaneously taking precautions to ensure that there is no 'design inflation' early on," says Yoshida-san. "Allowances are also being made for future expansion of the game."

That, for fans of the Final Fantasy universe, is very, very good news. As if the single-player Final Fantasy XIII wasn't enough content, this super-stylized sci-fi epic with swords and sorcery elements will provide even cross-server gaming between locations to keep you entertained for years. And in that time, you'll get to wander some incredible locations, gaze in awe at mind-boggling structures, and craft details on your own character that place it undeniably in the Final Fantasy universe.

Life In Eorzea, Vol. 1

The first entry in Square Enix's FFXIV youtube channel showing us a close up video of Alpha game play has been released! In this video we get a tour of Limsa Lominsa, we get to see some crafting taking place, various emotes, even a chocobo! It's short but very sweet. Below I will post a translation to the video as well. (I did not do this translation myself and am unsure who to give credit to since I've seen it on various sites and blogs and I've not found a source for it)

Riekom: Hi, I’m Square Enix’s Riekom.
Julia: I’m Julia.
Aratam: I’m Aratam.
Riekom: Final Fantasy XIV’s alpha test is just around the corner!
Aratam: Oh, cool.
Riekom: Today we’re bringing you a quick look at Eorzea’s Limsa Lominsa.
Julia and Aratam are impressed.
Riekom: How about this view, huh?
Julia: It’s amazing. What a radiant sea!
Aratam: It definitely has a great, unique feel to it.
Julia: These must be shops.
Aratam: So many great-looking things are lined up. I’m having fun just window-shopping!
Riekom: I’m sure I’ll be spending a LOT of gil here.
Riekom: There’s even fish, and…

All three: Oh! CHOCOBO!

Riekom: There are many different kinds of people working in the city.

Aratam: Aw, she’s crying. I wonder if her boyfriend dumped her?
Riekom: Are you stupid or something? She’s slicing ONIONS.

Aratam: Such realistic movements!
Julia: We can even see the salt he’s putting in.

Riekom: I love cooking, so I feel right at home here.

All three: Oh! HAMBURGER STEAK!

Riekom: We’re also going to show you some character emotes.
Boys: Lalafell~

Creepy Mystery Voice: CUUUUUUTE…

Aratam: She’s dancing!
Riekom: The person controlling this Lalafell is a 30 year old guy.

Creepy Mystery Voice (Julia?): D’OH!

Riekom: This is just the first video, so we can’t show you very much. Sorry!
Riekom: From here on out, we’ll be showing you a lot of things from Eorzea through video, so look forward to it!

All three: See you next time!