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Final Fantasy XIV team restructured, PS3 release delayed | FFXI staff swap: Post #108

demigod

demigod

Member
Good god, who's played FFXI and didn't see this coming? I had it preordered but there was no way I was going to just jump in blindly after the debacle that is FFXI. Only reason why I jumped back into XI last year was because of lvl sync, no way would I want to be lfp for hours. Endgame in that game stinks as well, I'm not even going to get into the other stuff. I did finish all the missions in the game as well, not even going to bother with Wings of the Goddess.

SE is way too arrogant, only way they'll change is if they bleed money. Only way this game will survive is if it goes F2P.
 
G

gillty

Banned
demigod said:
Good god, who's played FFXI and didn't see this coming? I had it preordered but there was no way I was going to just jump in blindly after the debacle that is FFXI. Only reason why I jumped back into XI last year was because of lvl sync, no way would I want to be lfp for hours. Endgame in that game stinks as well, I'm not even going to get into the other stuff. I did finish all the missions in the game as well, not even going to bother with Wings of the Goddess.

SE is way too arrogant, only way they'll change is if they bleed money. Only way this game will survive is if it goes F2P.
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Sure I quit after two weeks but FFXIV was still way more fun than FFXIII, so atleast I got my moneys worth. :lol
 
A

Awntawn

Member
demigod said:
Only way this game will survive is if it goes F2P.
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God, I always laugh so hard whenever people say this about XIV. FFS, they need to charge first before they can go F2P :lol
 
P

-Pyromaniac-

Member
Good they are doing this but I also feel bad for Tanaka. You make your own bed but that doesn't change the fact that it's a shitty situation, I'm sure he genuinely tried.
 
B

BocoDragon

or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Realize This Assgrab is Delicious
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 been forced to have cancer directly injected into my eyeball. Though no longer producer, I will be continuing to support the development team as the office janitor. I personally hope that you will forget to cancel your account, allowing us to accidentally charge you for some terrible game you'll never dare play again.

Hiromichi Tanaka
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.
 
D

duckroll

Member
jiggle said:
oh i didn't know his legacy goes that far back :/
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Tanaka created the game design for FF1-3, after which he went on to produce/write/design Secret of Mana and direct Seiken Densetsu 3. He also produced Xenogears and Chrono Cross, and designed the battle systems in both games. After that he produced FFXI.
 
I

Ignis Fatuus

Banned
duckroll said:
Tanaka created the game design for FF1-3, after which he went on to produce/write/design Secret of Mana and direct Seiken Densetsu 3. He also produced Xenogears and Chrono Cross, and designed the battle systems in both games. After that he produced FFXI.
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So we need just to get him off MMOs.
 
R

RomanticHeroX

Member
It's nothing but wise to put some distance between the PS3 launch and the cloud of negativity that hangs around the game right now. The bigger implied story may be that they don't feel convinced that they can get the game to an appealing state by March.
 
Z

Zinga

Banned
The game should never have been released like this but still I am impressed by their response, they are doing all the right things to make amends. If the game comes good eventually I might give it a chance.

What they really need though is to make sure the PS3 release is perfect, and push like hell for a 360 release as well. A console launch will give this game a second chance, and if the game is significantly improved there is no reason why it couldn't succeed.
 
C

cosmicblizzard

Banned
duckroll said:
Tanaka created the game design for FF1-3, after which he went on to produce/write/design Secret of Mana and direct Seiken Densetsu 3. He also produced Xenogears and Chrono Cross, and designed the battle systems in both games. After that he produced FFXI.
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Damn, he has some serious talent making battle systems. Like Ignus said, get this guy off MMOs.
 
P

-Pyromaniac-

Member
duckroll said:
Tanaka created the game design for FF1-3, after which he went on to produce/write/design Secret of Mana and direct Seiken Densetsu 3. He also produced Xenogears and Chrono Cross, and designed the battle systems in both games. After that he produced FFXI.
Click to expand...
I didn't even know that. Seiken Densetsu 3 > Secret of Mana, real talk.
 
B

Big One

Banned
This is actually a pretty ballsy and honest course of action in SE's case.

Not many game developers would do something like this to try fixing their shitty games.
 
T

Teknoman

Member
Kintaro said:
This game is doomed. No one new is going to touch it with a ten foot pole with all of this mess going on and they have yet to make one month's worth of subscription fees. What will people do when they finally do start charging?

Hell, may as well make it completely free to play right now for PC only.

Also, Tanaka is a hack and we should have seen this (as in the way FFXIV turned out) coming. =(
Click to expand...

If its in good shape, hopefully have fun with it? People returned to XI after hearing about adjustments and add ons many times right? So its definitely good that they are at least putting forth an immense effort to set things up the way they should've been at launch.

The game will be just fine once its been properly shaped up. Really dont think they would make it free to play or anything drastic like that. The team restructuring was necessary though.

As far as interface lag, its pretty much lag free since last update, but still could use improvements. Two major updates this month, and more frequent updates should help in that aspect.
 
T

Teknoman

Member
animlboogy said:
Agreed. I'm normally very skeptical of PR moves like this, but I found myself impressed by the tone of the e-mail, especially as it included messages from the incoming and outgoing leads. And it isn't just excuses; the indefinite free months is stronger than words regarding their reaction to the lost subscribers and poor user feedback. I'm actually looking forward to see what's coming.

I don't even want to know what this thread will look like once Londa shits it up...
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As long as there isnt an overabundance of "lol game is going to fail" posts by sunrise, she wont detonate.
 
C

Cipherr

Member
Big One said:
This is actually a pretty ballsy and honest course of action in SE's case.

Not many game developers would do something like this to try fixing their shitty games.
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Its absolutely necessary though. Any other, and I mean any other course of action would be disastrous.
 
J

jump_button

Banned
You try somthing new but then MMO gamers just want the same shit over and over but they are some big thing that should never had been in a MMO
 
R

RocketDarkness

Member
This game is so terrible. They're going to have to do a lot more than simply adding content and fixing lag before I'll so much as glance at it.
 
C

Conceited

mechaniphiliac
Yeah I have to say I don't think it was really Tanaka's fault (at least not entirely).

I have a feeling this is a bad sign though. I think its time to go F2P and call it.
 
B

Balya

Member
Well shit, might as well log in and get the SoD pearls again. I dropped mine so I wouldn't be taking up space without a sub while waiting for the PS3 version. :lol
 
T

Teknoman

Member
RocketDarkness said:
This game is so terrible. They're going to have to do a lot more than simply adding content and fixing lag before I'll so much as glance at it.
Click to expand...

What exactly is wrong with the game aside from the interface lag issues, necessary improvements to the UI itself, and needing alot more content than what it launched with?

They've already standardized exp and sp, and i'm sure more adjustments are coming to that this month along with the two major content patches. The battle system is just fine (targeting needs tweaking, but that falls in with other UI and interface improvements).

Really content and UI problems were the only problems now that SP has been fixed for the most part. I guess the addition of an auction house would help...as well as a smaller gap between story quests, and better ability special effects.
 
onken

onken

Member
You could see this coming a mile off, though quite impressed they made the announcement this early. Was half expecting it mid-February.

Anyway, it will take a miracle to pull this game around, but I'm willing to give them the benefit of the doubt (for some reason, I have no idea why).

SolidSnakex said:
The PS3 version is being delayed until they can ship it with a demo of Versus to help it sell.
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Also this :lol
 
D

duckroll

Member
For those interested in knowing what the new core members of the team have done in more specific terms...


Producer/Director: Naoki Yoshida [Director of S-E's Dragon Quest Monster Battle Road series of arcade games.]

Section Leader Changes

Assistant Director: Shintaro Tamai [Graphics director for various FF games (7, 8, 10, 13) mostly specializing in battle graphics and special effects. He was also the director of Front Mission 5.]

Lead Game Designer: Nobuaki Komoto [Originally director of FFXIV, it seems they're reducing his responsibilities so he can focus on designing the stuff he originally specialized in on FFXI - the scenario and quest design.]

Lead Combat System Designer: Akihiko Matsui [Originally the lead battle data planner for FFXI, he took over entirely as battle director for Aht Urhgan and Wings of the Goddess after Katsuhisa Higuchi left S-E.]

Technical Advisor: Yoshihisa Hashimoto [Ex-Sonic Team programmer, director of Sonic Unleashed and technical director of the Hedgehog Engine. Left Sonic Team and joined S-E in 2009 to work on their next-generation engine platform.]

Lead Programmer: Hideyuki Kasuga [Network programmer for the FFXI client and Dirge of Cerberus online mode. Lead programmer for Gyromancer.]

Senior Concept Artist: Akihiko Yoshida [FFXIV Art director, character designer for all of Matsuno's games, character designer for FF3 DS and FF 4 Warriors of Light. God's gift to S-E's art teams.]

Lead Artist: Hiroshi Takai [Mostly a battle graphic/effects director for most of the SaGa games, more recently overall director of The Last Remnant.]

Lead UI Designer/Lead Web Designer: Hiroshi Minagawa [Director of FFXII and Tactics Ogre PSP. Art director for all of Matsuno's games. God's other gift to S-E's art teams.]
 
T

Teknoman

Member
duckroll said:
For those interested in knowing what the new core members of the team have done in more specific terms...


Producer/Director: Naoki Yoshida [Never heard of this guy. Jonnyram says he's a director in S-E's R&D division.]

Section Leader Changes

Assistant Director: Shintaro Tamai [Graphics director for various FF games (7, 8, 10, 13) mostly specializing in battle graphics and special effects. He was also the director of Front Mission 5.]

Lead Game Designer: Nobuaki Komoto [Originally director of FFXIV, it seems they're reducing his responsibilities so he can focus on designing the stuff he originally specialized in on FFXI - the scenario and quest design.]

Lead Combat System Designer: Akihiko Matsui [Originally the lead battle data planner for FFXI, he took over entirely as battle director for Aht Urhgan and Wings of the Goddess after Katsuhisa Higuchi left S-E.]

Technical Advisor: Yoshihisa Hashimoto [Ex-Sonic Team programmer, director of Sonic Unleashed and technical director of the Hedgehog Engine. Left Sonic Team and joined S-E in 2009 to work on their next-generation engine platform.]

Lead Programmer: Hideyuki Kasuga [Network programmer for the FFXI client and Dirge of Cerberus online mode. Lead programmer for Gyromancer.]

Senior Concept Artist: Akihiko Yoshida [FFXIV Art director, character designer for all of Matsuno's games, character designer for FF3 DS and FF 4 Warriors of Light. God's gift to S-E's art teams.]

Lead Artist: Hiroshi Takai [Mostly a battle graphic/effects director for most of the SaGa games, more recently overall director of The Last Remnant.]

Lead UI Designer/Lead Web Designer: Hiroshi Minagawa [Director of FFXII and Tactics Ogre PSP. Art director for all of Matsuno's games. God's other gift to S-E's art teams.]
Click to expand...

Hopefully this also brings forth better ability special effects. The current ones are too subdued. It happened before in XI for a few abilities, so i'm hoping the same happens here.
 
F

FINALFANTASYDOG

Member
duckroll said:
For those interested in knowing what the new core members of the team have done in more specific terms...


Producer/Director: Naoki Yoshida [Never heard of this guy. Jonnyram says he's a director in S-E's R&D division.
Click to expand...

Edit: Thank you 2Ch Aggregate blogs! False information!
How could you not have heard of Compile Heart's star director? Having directed/produced such gems as Record of Agarest War and Cross Edge. Nothing but high exceptions there. don't be looking down on idea factory like that Duck Man
 
Zomba13

Zomba13

Member
I hope this change actually makes it a good, enjoyable game like FFXI. I could put up with FFXIV's in the Beta because I thought things would get better when it was released. Then it got closer and closer to release and nothing much changed then I bought it and it was the same. I played for a bit and got quickly bored and went to WoW (didn't even want to go back to FFXI after XIV).
I also find it funny how it's still F2P. Kinda makes me wish I didn't cancel my account.
 
Y

Yoshiya

Member
FINALFANTASYDOG said:
How could you not have heard of Compile Heart's star director? Having directed/produced such gems as Record of Agarest War and Cross Edge. Nothing but high exceptions there. don't be looking down on idea factory like that Duck Man
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:lol :lol :lol

Perfect. That Square's next-gen platform is being headed up by and ex-member of Sonic Team is interesting though. I don't know if that's interesting in a good or bad way.
 
D

duckroll

Member
FINALFANTASYDOG said:
How could you not have heard of Compile Heart's star director? Having directed/produced such gems as Record of Agarest War and Cross Edge. Nothing but high exceptions there. don't be looking down on idea factory like that Duck Man
Click to expand...

Not the same guy.
 
M

Mael

Member
duckroll said:
Tanaka created the game design for FF1-3, after which he went on to produce/write/design Secret of Mana and direct Seiken Densetsu 3. He also produced Xenogears and Chrono Cross, and designed the battle systems in both games. After that he produced FFXI.
Click to expand...

Oh fuck! You mean he's the guy I should build an altar for?
You just listed 80% of my alltime favs games :lol
Heck next time you'll tell me Kawazu will stop making games.
BAd news upon bad news

I mean, if he's fired
 
D

duckroll

Member
FINALFANTASYDOG said:
Yep! you're right, I should bother to read comments before I post. Unlikely he worked at dragon quest swords, quit went to idea factory then came back
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I heard that he's the development director for their Dragon Quest Monster Battle Road series, but I don't want to report entirely on hearsay without credits to back it up. It seems likely though. He probably isn't lying when he says he's pretty much a background guy and no one has heard of him. :lol
 
D

duckroll

Member
Yoshiya said:
That's very good news, but it also means I have to stop laughing uncontrollably. Sigh. The world doesn't seem so bright anymore.
Click to expand...

Come on, I know people don't have much faith in S-E these days, but they're not that stupid... right? :/
 
Y

Yoshiya

Member
duckroll said:
Come on, I know people don't have much faith in S-E these days, but they're not that stupid... right? :/
Click to expand...
I hope not. Most of my favourite games do tend to come from them, so it would be incredibly demoralising to know Compile Heart got its fingerprints all over them. I still have some faith, but that faith will disappear the day Square announces a 3DS vs PSP2 moe RPG.
 
D

duckroll

Member
Okay, I found a solid source: http://www.famitsu.com/game/news/1235318_1124.html

Took a while of searching. Naoki Yoshida is indeed the director of the Dragon Quest Monster Battle Road series. Adding it to the data.

Edit: http://game.watch.impress.co.jp/docs/news/20100902_391009.html

Game Watch's coverage of the talk he gave at CESA 2010 also credits him as such.

Edit2: http://news.nicovideo.jp/watch/nw13674

Nico's news article on the staff changes says he joined S-E in 2004, and handled the direction and game design of the DQMBR series.
 
Shouta

Shouta

Member
Not surprising. It's amazing how long they had this game in development. Makes me wonder what they were doing for so long.

It's funny too, when he fully went over to XIV, FFXI improved like 10 fold. The current expansion (Abyssea) has a whole is amazing for for players.
 
Y

Yoshiya

Member
duckroll said:
Took a while of searching. Naoki Yoshida is indeed the director of the Dragon Quest Monster Battle Road series. Adding it to the data
Click to expand...
Coming from that, salvaging FFXIV is quite a trial by fire into major game development. If he can pull it off though I imagine he'll be directing more than minor DQ spinoffs next time around.
 
J

Jonnyram

Member
Shouta said:
It's funny too, when he fully went over to XIV, FFXI improved like 10 fold. The current expansion (Abyssea) has a whole is amazing for for players.
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That's more because they've stopped giving a shit about balancing and it's all fan service now. FFXI is nearing the end of its time. Hell the original PS2 version can't even update with the latest patch because the HDD is too small now! I guess they lengthened the level cap timeline when they saw how badly FFXIV was doing. Otherwise, FFXI would have been winding up in the next year, I think.
 
C

Cmagus

Member
Teknoman said:
What exactly is wrong with the game aside from the interface lag issues, necessary improvements to the UI itself, and needing alot more content than what it launched with?

They've already standardized exp and sp, and i'm sure more adjustments are coming to that this month along with the two major content patches. The battle system is just fine (targeting needs tweaking, but that falls in with other UI and interface improvements).

Really content and UI problems were the only problems now that SP has been fixed for the most part. I guess the addition of an auction house would help...as well as a smaller gap between story quests, and better ability special effects.
Click to expand...

Pretty much this the base is there now they just need to put stuff in it.The new monster thing they are adding sounds cool and really if they can get some more missions and things to do it would be a good game really its just alot of small things left.

Someone high up probably forced this thing out the door early now they need to clean it up and unfortunately guys like Tanaka are taking the blow I doubt this is all his fault.Kind of makes you think what were they thinking maybe it was just arrogance thinking SE fans would buy anything
 
Shouta

Shouta

Member
Jonnyram said:
That's more because they've stopped giving a shit about balancing and it's all fan service now. FFXI is nearing the end of it's time. Hell the original PS2 version can't even update with the latest patch because the HDD is too small now! I guess they lengthened the level cap timeline when they saw how badly FFXIV was doing. Otherwise, FFXI would have been winding up in the next year, I think.
Click to expand...

That doesn't really change the fact that the game itself plays a lot better now. So many changes that they should've implemented long ago were implemented this year and it makes the game play so much better.
 
J

Jonnyram

Member
Shouta said:
That doesn't really change the fact that the game itself plays a lot better now. So many changes that they should've implemented long ago were implemented this year and it makes the game play so much better.
Click to expand...
Yeah, I hear you. That's been the story of FFXI throughout its life though :lol
 
M

MadmanUK

Member
WTF happened here??? Wasn't there a big internal who-ha as the FFIV team wanted to show their game off a couple of years back as they were much further ahead of the FFXIII team.
 
H

Halfmunch

Member
Wow Huge changes, I hope for the best, SquareSoft games have provided me with so many great memories, that I'm willing to give them another chance!

Damn if only some of these changes happened sooner, we could all be playing in the Ivalice instead of Eorzea!:lol
 
D

duckroll

Member
Tanaka is the "fall guy" only because he is the producer on the project. As the producer his role extends beyond development but also involves business. Since FFXIV launched as a flop and has done serious damage to the brand, someone has to be held accountable. It's probably not entirely his fault at all, but I find it hard to believe he has no blame at all.

As for the actual director of FFXIV, he has not been removed from the core team, but simply demoted. This is probably better for him as well because it was clear that he was no prepared to handle the heavy responsibilities of overseeing the entire development of the game. As lead game designer he can continue to focus on pushing out actual story content and quest lines, instead of having to worry about all the other little problems all over the project.

Another point to note is that most of the new members in this core team are not replacing people from some older team, instead they are filling in new lead roles which did not exist previously. This might or might not have been the cause of the serious problems in FFXIV, but in general having a lead for each portion of the game's development process should make the production much more efficient now. Especially when the leads are all very experienced in their fields.
 
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