• Server load and code problems contributed to alpha test problems; have done their best to remedy them.
• Plan is to get one world server stabilized, add enough people to test the stability of that server, then increase the number of servers.  Goal is to have about 50,000 testers total.
• Heavy server load appears to have contributed to players’ inability to see aetherite and odd timing of character motion and attack.
• More players were added for alpha 2.   (Note from Xari:  Invitations went out yesterday, make sure you check your e-mail!).
• Beta testers will be able to play without time limits.
• A completely different battle system will be in place for beta, addressing tempo issues.  The current (alpha) system was never intended to be used, but needed to have something in place for alpha.
• Graphics will change drastically for beta.
• Guildleves are the best way to earn money, but server issues were making it difficult for testers to finish them.  Developers are thinking of solutions to the gil-earning problem such as adding a way to retry failed guildleves and rewarding party members for completion (and not just the person who initiated the guildleve).
• All races destined for inclusion in the final version will be playable in the beta.  (Note from Xari:  Yes, this includes Miqo’te!)
• The play area of the beta will not be extended, but changes will be implemented to encourage testers to play in other locations including dungeons.  Monsters may start to agro in beta.
• The chat and battle log shows all things within a player’s viewable range, with the focus on things happening related to your party.  Developers are planning on allowing players to have control over what information is shown to other players (such as whether others can see the monsters for your guildleve).  The chat filters will also be implemented.
• A mog house won’t be needed because players can carry a much larger number of items than in FFXI.  However, there are plans to make some sort of a large-scale house in the future.
• Developers wanted to have something different from a standardized auction system, so are trying to make a bazaar system that will work even when players are logged off.

The interview then continued with FFXIV Planner Kenichi Iwao:

• Players will be able to choose which guild they want to belong to from the beginning (as opposed to belonging to and having to work for a starting nation).
• Everything in Hydaelyn (the FFXIV world) is made of different balances of the six elemental aethers.  Crystals are pure manifestations of one element.
• The history of the world is split into alternating eras of stability (astral eras) and turmoil (name not yet localized).  The current era in the game is the Sixth Astral Era.
• Eorzean mythology includes “The Twelve,” 12 guardian deities of the city-states and players.  Each of The Twelve has their own personality; some are easily angered, some are more caring.  Each deity is related to an element.  It has not yet been revealed whether or not you’ll be able to meet the deities.  The Garlean Empire does not believe in The Twelve.
• You will select a guardian deity during character creation but will likely be able to change it during the game, with a penalty attached.
• FFXIV is currently set only in Eorzea but other lands and worlds may be made available later.
• The war with the Garlean Empire, seen in trailers and the opening movie, affects a lot of things in the story of the game.  PvP content may wind up being related to the story of this war.
• Eorzea resembles ancient Greece or medieval Italy in that many large, independent cities grew together and thrived.  Some of the cities in Eorzea had problems with each other in the past and still do, but generally the citizens get along with each other and some organizations manage to exist outside of city-state relations (the guilds).
• Some city-states have fallen since the map was made, and others have come into being.  The game map still shows the old city states.  The significance of the two flags on the bottom left of the map is a secret.
• When asked if city-state territories will change over the course of the game, the planner noted that they would like to do that, but it would present complications such as players new to the game not having the same starting experience as other players.  They do plan to implement some “social changes” at some point, however.
• Limsa Lominsa is the marine capital.  Ul’dah is a hub city like an oasis.  Gridania is surrounded by forests similar to a Mayan city.  There will not be drastic differences between the cities since they are all part of the same “cultural sphere.”
• Each guild has a city that houses its base of operations, but still maintains a presence, like a branch office, in each of the cities.
• They are planning on allowing players to play in the gambling and fighting arenas of Ul’dah.
• Chocobo, horse-drawn carriages, ships, and airships are all in the game.  It is still secret for how long they may be used and what experience level is needed to use them.
• There are NPCs in race/gender combinations that you can’t choose as a player (male Miqo’te and female highlanders).  He cannot declare that players will be forever unable to play as them.
• Monsters having something to do with FFXI will appear in the game, especially those from ToAU onward.  Qiqirn and Apkallu will appear in the game and can communicate with players.  They may appear in towns or in fields, too.
• The beast tribes have their own skills and there are things you can learn from them.  They also have their own opinions and sense of individuality.  Iwao thinks it would be fun if players can make and equip weapons which are influenced by their culture.  There will likley be more communication between humans and humanoids in FFXIV.
• The plan is to have outfits that deviate from the typical style of games.  Iwao cites sorcerers in heavy armor as one example.  The emphasis is on customization, including the ability to choose the color of your equipment.  The appearance of an item will match the components it is crafted from (e.g., if a hat looks leather-like, then leather is likely one of the synth ingredients).
• Players will likely be able to inscribe items they craft.
• Some NPCs are not named and instead show their direct impression, like “exhausted adventurer.”  These NPCs will be those that “don’t really do anything.”

This confirms a lot of what we previously mentioned as rumors.  I found the insight into the game lore provided by the Planner particularly interesting.  What piqued your interest?

Full text of the translated articles can be found on FFXIVCore here and here.

Beta-related:

• The system will be changed so it is easier to string together attacks
• The “tempo” of battle has been adjusted/increased
• The beta shadowing system has been updated, which accounts for the different appearance of screenshots taken in alpha vs. beta
• A “robust” chat log filter will be in place for the next round of beta
• More alpha testers will be added; participants have already been selected via drawing

Beyond beta:

• Limsa Lominsa will have two levels
• Gil will be easier to come by
• A “large scale” home is being worked on, similar to FFXI’s mog house
• You will be able to change the god you choose for your character
• Chocobo, horse-drawn carriage, boats, and airships will be used for transportation
• You will be able to choose different colors for your equipment

Additionally, the folks at Eorzeapedia did some additional digging and found a few other tidbits in the original leaked article (from Game Jouhou).  The  information was gleaned from Google Translate, so its truth may be a bit more uncertain.  These items are :

• Players may be able to bazaar goods while logged out
• Players can participate in Ul’dah’s fighting arena and gambling halls
• Items may be inscribed like in FFXI

Which bit of  information are you most excited about?  Discuss below!

Header image background courtesy flickr user hattie.stroud.

I was in a BlackBerry group as well as an MSN group all chatting with my friends about the Pookypoo livestream when that happened. Yep, I took out my 3G stick and burned my 1.5GB data out of 1GB that I had per month… streaming that live.

After a day, the hype still haven’t died and you could still see twitter as well as forum posts regarding the hottest video released yet.

And as the celebrity frenzy that marked the Alpha testing launch dies down, reality is replacing hype – by Pookypoo. Some Japanese even call him “God”.

The verdict so far? Oh it’s amazing. It’s Diablo II + WoW + FFXI, merging the good stuff together! Let the in-game cut-scene (updated) speak for itself.

We couldn’t come up with a number of how many Alpha testers were selected. It’s safe to say a fair amount, since we do recognize a few names in some of the footage.

“This video is full of win!” says one of the people in the channel while the footage is being broadcasted live. Another said “I was holding back onto FFXIV, not anymore after I saw this!”.

The peak viewing was up to 1600 users simultaneously. The channel was under “Slow Mode”, meaning each user could only type one message per minute on Pookypoo’s justin.tv channel.

Users in the channel were all contributing when Pookypoo was playing, exclaiming “You’ve learned a new skill!” or “Use those attribute points!”  It was amazing to be there, we all felt like we were playing it as well.

Generally, there was a huge amount of players, causing sluggish gameplay and tremendous lag. However, the existence of “instances” was definitely a nice add-on. There were even messages warning you “You are about to enter/exit an instance” – a good move for areas that could eventually contain a large amount of players.

On web forums, as the alpha testing begins, testers voice numerous complements about the game so far. They all seem very positive, ranging from “excellent graphics” to “you could spend a whole day creating your character.”

Unfortunately, like other alpha testing, the alpha testers are subject to a non-disclosure agreement, the violation of which unfortunately got Pookypoo removed from the game. There was rage on the forums directed at the person who even called Pookypoo out.  However, aren’t you all supposed to be testing the game? ^^

“I can’t wait to see him get banned,” “Ban his FFXI too,” and “Ban this website too,” were just some of the comments beside the stream. Even with all that harsh content, Pookypoo continued doing his job and reporting bugs as he saw them.

For those that missed the stream, well don’t worry. There are other “authorized” website such as famitsu, 4gamer as well as andriasang which contain the alpha-gameplay report. The game will be even better when it launches as the final product. The alpha had lots of restrictions that are expected to be removed before beta such as a limit of physical level to 20, no Miqo’te to play and a non-working chat filter.

After everything, Pookypoo got his account suspended. However, he had his reasons for doing what he did. He explained it clearly on his website (3 different letters). He had a great point: Your fans wanted it. They have waited too long for any worthy information about the game. From the bottom of my heart, I was one of them.  I’m sure that’s also true for many of the readers who weren’t selected as alpha testers as well.

Or play it as you read along ;D

It seems like the race will be further divided into two groups.

Hyuran as Highlanders and Midlanders

HYURAN
People of the Middle Lands
Midlander

Among the populous Hyuran, the majority is comprised of this great clan. They reside in various regions, and are enriched with a diverse livelihood. From a young age, Midlanders become accustomed to books. Because of this, they seem to have a deep, intellectual society.

People of the High Lands
Highlander

The highlanders dominate the remote, northern highlands. They are the strong, muscular, tribe of the Hyuran. After their city-state of Ala Mihgo fell to the Garlean Empire, with the exception of Male Mercenaries, it has become rare to see them in other cities.

Miqote: Seeker of the Sun, Keeper of the Moon

MI’QOTE
People of the Sun
Sun Seekers

One tribe of the Mi’qote call themselves “The people of the Sun”. The followers of the Sun God Azema are numerous, and they are very active in the daytime. They have cold, piercing,, colorful, cat-like eyes.

People of the Moon
Moon Keepers

The other tribe of the Mi’qote call themselves “The Wards of the Moon”. They are the many followers of the Moon God Menefina, and many follow a nocturnal lifestyle. Many of the Moon Keepers apply vivid war paint onto their face.

Lalafella as Dunesfolk and Plainsfolk

LALAFELL
People of the Plains
Plainsfolk

The Plainsfolk gather and built villages from the materials of the plains, and have come to be called “The people of the Plains”. Their earthly green, flaxen hair resembles vegetation. With their large ears, they can hear even the faintest footsteps　of a mole.

People of the Desert
Dunesfolk

Large, domesticated livestock are made to carry the homes that the dunesfolk migrate and live in. They live with the movement of the soil, and are called the “People of the Dunes” among the Lalafell.　One of their unique features is that their eyes are enveloped by a protective clear film, which makes their eyes resemble a Crystal Ball. On their forehead, a jewel which represents their star of fate is affixed.

Elezen: Foresters and Shaders

ELEZEN
Woodland People
Forester

For hundreds of years, this Elezen tribe have inhabited the deep green forests. They are proud of their hawk-like eyesight, and excel in archery. Nowadays, those who have adapted to city life or those who live a nomadic life in the plains often return to the woodlands.

Shadow People
Shader

For hundreds of years, the Shaders have inhabited dark caves. Developing bat-like ears, they can sense the enemy’s movement by the rustling of clothes. Because of this, many Shaders excel in hand-to-hand combat. Turning to thievery in order to sustain their cave-dwelling life, they are despised by the forester as turncoats.

Roegadyn: Seawolf and Lohengarde

ROEGADYN
People of the Northern Seas
Seawolf

Known as “Seawolves”, this Roegadyn tribe is feared as marauding pirates from the northern seas. Nowadays, the number of Seawolves who fare the high seas are becoming numerous.

People of the Crimson Flame
Lohengarde

Residing in the vicinity of volcanic craters, the Lohengarde are a tribe of Roegadyn who are faithful in the “Gates of Hell”. They are called the “Gatekeepers of the Flame” . Not only are their bodies hard and tempered, their “fire-walking” asceticism allows them to nurture the qualities of magickal ingenuity.

We’ll keep updating this post as we find more facts on it Thanks to the Zam post once again!

Added: A picture put together by Corinth its quite nice!

I’m still in love with Lalafella’s! Too adorable Though the new Hyuran looks awesome too… omg!

- There will be a skill set system but it will not be tree based.
For those unfamiliar with other MMORPGs, this means that a set of skills will be available to you as you gain levels or (in the case of FFXIV) become more proficient at your class/weapon. As you gain skills, can even set your character apart from others by taking different branches of particular skills that will allow you to specialize in that area such as becoming a BLM that is focused purely on Ice type of magic or a WHM that is focused on purely magic against the undead. FFXIV will not be taking this path, and it can be assumed that either the skills are already set in stone and thus alleviating the problem of casual players needing to figure out which branches they would need to specialize in to get the most out of their time and money.

- Points will not just be gained for each weapon but will also help in the development of your character’s attributes.
- Characters can wear almost any armor in the game! … Provided you meet the stat requirements necessary to equipment that piece of equipment.
- Monsters aren’t going to have levels, and we will still have the /check feature.

There are a few other juicy details posted on Derek Gorden’s article, so be sure to check it out at MMORPG.com!

Anyway, lets catch up with some readings about FFXIV.

Real Money Trade in FFX

It’s good to know they are in the game of cat-and-mouse. RMT has been a big problem, and it’s still a problem. They’ve tried very hard to eliminate RMT but I think the developer should think about building a game that is not too dependent on gil. Rare/Ex (Bind on Pickup) is definitely a good start, keep up with the 3-D system and just track down people who intends to sell Rare/Ex (BoP) item as RMT, and the game should be much more enjoyable.

Lets hope SE can stay ahead of the game this time around, and not playing catch up!

Source: CESA Developer Conference / Alla

Ishgard, Final Fantasy XV

The latest article/interview with Tanaka and Komoto showcased the penalty of dying. Without experience system, there’s got to be a way to punish a careless adventurer! With weapon being the upmost important thing, it would probably be where penalization be applied to.

Unlike other games, FFXIV will not make you lose your weapon when you are repairing them =P However, a crafter is needed to fix your equipment so it’s not like WoW where you just walk up to the NPC and pay the repair bill.

That’s being said, they also showcased more about the graphics engine. This time around, even the Weather will play a role. Rings and Necklace could be rendered in our character, not just the “super avatar customization” that will be offered in the beginning. I personally can’t wait to really see it!

Voice acting will be part of important cutscenes and NPC. So maybe we’ll have fun talking to NPC this time, rather than just spamming enter key through a lot of the Cutscenes.

You can read the rest on Zam by Elmer, or at FF14Core.

1Up – The Future of Online Gaming

I find this article quite interesting, discussing the future of online gaming. What I find more interesting, is the first comment (by Rhinau).

Japanese games have awesome offline content, but most of them are usually subpar in the online arena. It seems like most Japanese developers don’t know how to make a good online game. I don’t know why, but maybe it’s because of what vsonic128 said about everyone being crammed into a smaller space, which would certainly make a lot sense. I mean, if you want a multiplayer gaming experience, why bother to play over the internet when you could just invite your friends over and play with each other that way? Online gaming is great and all, but it doesn’t even come close to the incredible social experience of actually playing together with people who are there physically in the same room as you.

Japan has about 50% as many people as the United Stated, but only about 20% of the landmass. And even then, a good majority of that land is too mountainous to support a large population, which forces everyone to futher congregate into large cities. With everyone all crammed together in such a small space, I suppose it’s only natural that Japanese game developers wouldn’t bother to cultivate any serious online capabilities, as such functionality is generally only used for communicating over long distances.

Japan’s extreme population density has had an impact on other aspects of Japanese games as well. For example, in Metroid Prime Hunters on the Nintendo DS, there’s this little feature called the Rival Radar, which works like this: you activate the Rival Radar, then close your Nintentdo DS and just walk around town with it in your pocket. If you come near someone else who is also using the Rival Radar, you will automatically be added to each others Rivals Roster. I tried using this feature when I first got the game, and I kept my DS in my pocket with the Radar running for nearly a week as I went about my normal activites, but I never ran into a single other person using it. I guess in the USA, we’re generally spread out over an area that’s just too big for such a feature to be practical. If I had been using it in Japan, though, I imagine that I probably would have run into a ton of people.

Also on the Nintendo DS, we have PictoChat, a little Instant Messaging program that is completely useless in most places due to its horribly limited range. In Japan, however, its range is probably perfectly adiquate, since people are all crammed together anyway.

On a seperate issue, in the article above Kaname Fujioka said that non-Japanese gamers tend to treat online games like a quick sports match, while Japanese gamers want to play all day long. But then that raises the question: is it wise to spend all day playing a video game? Perhaps these extreme Japanese gamers are not making responsible decisions with their time management. Perhaps part of the responsibility lies with the gamers themselves.

I’ll leave the thoughts up to you.

The Future of this Blog?

One might seem that we are simply just an official news reporter, but it’s only because there’s just not much interesting article to report (plus, I don’t want to waste your time reading useless article). But we do have plans to swing this blog in a totally different direction once the game launches. But for now just bare with us =) and the boring times.

Variety is always good anyway!

This episode of their podcast focus on User Interface (UI) and actual gameplay. It’s very similar to the writeup from the Zam/Erozeapedia, but this time you just have to listen they really explain the UI in very good detail! So yea, sit back and just listen to the FFXIV Core podcaster telling you about FF the latest FFXIV development!

They also discussed how the Guildleve works, similar to what Calaera posts last week.

The host also brought in game experience from other game such as WoW and Warhammer, and would love to see them built into FFXIV. I really enjoyed thar part of the podcasts =)

Anyway, please enjoy an episode of FFXIV Crystal Core Podcasts!

We have heard a lot about the battle system, and Famitsu reviewed it as well. Above is a picture they provided of the layout with the labels translated. The player selects which action or ability they wish to use and it registers to their right-hand or left-hand gauge, depending on which hand holds the associated equipment. For example, a sword may use the right-hand gauge, but a shield held in the left-hand would use the left-hand gauge.

If the Action Gauge is full, the command will activate. If not, it will activate once the Action Gauge is stored to full. If the player has a full Action Gauge and does not activate an ability, they will begin to store up their Power Gauge. This gauge will increase the strength and accuracy of your techniques. There will also be a TP Gauge that will affect your techniques in unique ways. While the Action and Power gauges increase over time, the TP gauge increases when you land an attack or are struck by the enemy.

It will be interesting to see how or if they decide to implement the same system to how magic works. If so, would holding off on casting lead to stronger or AoE spells if the Power Gauge were to fill? Already the system set in place will really allow individual players to set not only their own playstyle but their own fighting style as well! To read more of the article and on the Progression of Guildleve, visit ZAM for more information!

Like the ones in FFXI? Well they are back in FFXIV. Although I think it’s a little overkill .

You can also see that FFXIV’s motion seems more like motion capture (hence, recording an actual human movement, animating a 3d character), than a hand-keying, where you set A to B, and computer predicts the motion between A to B. It’s definitely something important since emote is a key part of every character, something we will be using on a daily basis.

Here’s another one of the battle system. It seems like it’s auto-attack based, but again it’s a little early to conclude.

You can also see action-bars, which is definitely a great improvement from its ancestors! From time to time, you would also see the use of mouse to click dialogue box. Jumping still not seen, but lets hope they can swim this time =P

The last interesting movie from GameTrailers were actually what Lalafella looked like in-game. They run rather kiddish (probably a motion capture of a kid running). Their belly doesn’t seem as wide as I thought in-game. Here’s the direct video link!

In regards to battle system. There was really nothing to show other than a Red-Lotus blade weapon skill. There was no magic what so ever. BUT, some people on BG took a closer look and found this.

It sounds like from their discussion that hit gives 2 TP, Red Lotus Blade takes 500TP, AoE Circle Blade takes 1505TP, “Schutzschild Shield?” Takes 500TP. Defeating enemies also gives 2000TP points back. Pretty crazy analysis huh!

We did see the crystal popping out when all the monsters were dead =P

Well that’s it for the FFXIV portion of Gamescom for GameTrailers. If you want to see the other GT videos from Gamecom, feel free to visit them here.

Added (Thanks to James) – Weather Effects in FFXIV!

One Word: Awesome! Better start saving up for a new rig. This time it won’t just require “CPU” and “Texture and Lightning” Engine-enabled graphics card XD

FFXIV Core’s High Quality Pictures

Still want more?

Well the folks at FFXIV Core also went to Gamescom too. The worthwhile stuff are probably the screenshot where you’d actually see some in-game screens, descriptions and storyline. GO check out the article at FFXIVCore.

Seems like a lot of interesting finds, speculation as well as discovery to be made. Anyway, we’ll keep posting as we see more interesting facts we read over the internet.

If you can’t see the video here, check it out at YouTube.

Updated: The 2nd part of FFXIV Gameplay Footage