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[Koozek]

FINAL FANTASY XIV Documentary Part #2 - "Rewriting History"

In the second video in our three-part series, we talk to the team at Square Enix about the incredible decision to spend over a year patching the 1.0 version of the game, only to destroy it. Forever.
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoOI5R-6u8k

 

[Grim Patron]

YES!

 

[HappenstanceUK]

Its been interesting seeing what 1.0 and later was like. I only ever jumped in after A Realm Reborn launched.

 

[AuthenticM]

Will watch later. Thanks.

 

[Isotropy]

Fantastic series!

That second part was very tough to follow though - dense with subtitles, which is fine, but the translations really require you to pay close attention.

 

[Carlius]

good stuff in here...i love this game and i am very happy to see it succeed. been there since 1.0

 

[Human Trashcan]

Fantastic series!

That second part was very tough to follow though - dense with subtitles, which is fine, but the translations really require you to pay close attention.

The first one had terrible subs and translations too. Very disappointing.

 

[Brat-Sampson]

I hope they improved the subtitled Japanese sections this time, or that they give them another pass in the future. It's clearly a top-quality production so to have to understand it via grammatical errors and confusing sentences is disappointing.

 

[HappenstanceUK]

Learning so much here! Really interesting way to end the 1.0 world and bring on A Realm Reborn.

 

[Jubern]

Japan's productivity is about the worst amongst OCED countries so it's kind of interesting to see how Yoshida reworked their workflow to what looks like a more modern one.

 

[Isotropy]

The first one had terrible subs and translations too. Very disappointing.

I didn't find the first too bad - with this second ep, it was mostly because there are very long sections of uninterrupted Japanese, and connecting meaning from one subtitle to the next was a bit challenging.

 

[Hasemo]

Whoa, already? I was expecting it like a month from now!

 

[Ploid 3.0]

I almost forgot to watch part one. I remember having high hopes for FFXIV, I wanted it to be FFXI part 2. FFXIV ARR was a disappointment for me.

 

[Twookie]

oh second part is out today? fuck yes - will watch

 

[Z3M0G]

Woah... I gotta watch this... I feel like part of history by getting the LE of 1.0 and then jumping into ARR.

 

[Sodding_Gamer]

Japan's productivity is about the worst amongst OCED countries so it's kind of interesting to see how Yoshida reworked their workflow to what looks like a more modern one.

I did not know this. How come Japan's productivity is so bad?!

 

[SprachBrooks]

Is it me or are the subtitles really poor? They're full of spelling and grammar mistakes and at times don't even make sense.

 

[LordOfLore]

Is it me or are the subtitles really poor? They're full of spelling and grammar mistakes and at times don't even make sense.

Think a bunch of different people did them for free. They're crowdsourced so to say.

 

[AuthenticM]

I did not know this. How come Japan's productivity is so bad?!

I think it has to do with an outdated corporate culture and too much bureaucracy.

 

[tuxfool]

Yo, that project management system isn't SCRAM, it's SCRUM

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scrum_(software_development)

 

[Liamc723]

Yeah I'm struggling to stay interested in this episode. It's endless subtitles.

 

[Aeana]

Yeah I'm struggling to stay interested in this episode. It's endless subtitles.

They're talking to the devs who are Japanese. Would you prefer they dubbed over them instead?

 

[Jubern]

I did not know this. How come Japan's productivity is so bad?!

I think it has to do with an outdated corporate culture and too much bureaucracy.

Basically this. See how Yoshida talks about a task taking 2 hours, then he has to check, then...
Corporate culture here pretty much mandates very stiff processes done so there will (hopefully) never ever be the slightest error in anything (god forbid you'd solve it quick and learn something...) and in a way that no single individual can be held accountable for a miss (a success is the company's, a miss is yours).

The good thing is that when dealing with known variables and/or a strong leader it can give strong results.
Bad thing is the terrible productivity and a lack of flexibility leading us to still have faxes a predominant communication tool...

 

[TheMrPliskin]

Yeah I'm struggling to stay interested in this episode. It's endless subtitles.

What exactly did you expect?

 

[Liamc723]

They're talking to the devs who are Japanese. Would you prefer they dubbed over them instead?

What exactly did you expect?

...This? That doesn't take away from my point that they aren't interesting though.

They could have been broken up much better with talking from Danny.

 

[Marcel]

The subtitles for Japanese are a bit better this time but not by much. "SCRAM" method? Come on guys.

 

[Aeana]

Basically this. See how Yoshida talks about a task taking 2 hours, then he has to check, then...
Corporate culture here pretty much mandates very stiff processes done so there will (hopefully) never ever be the slightest error in anything (god forbid you'd solve it quick and learn something...) and in a way that no single individual can be held accountable for a miss (a success is the company's, a miss is yours).

The good thing is that when dealing with known variables and/or a strong leader it can give strong results.
Bad thing is the terrible productivity and a lack of flexibility leading us to still have faxes a predominant communication tool...

Well, what he described is a methodology called SCRUM which is extremely common in the west these days, but not at all in Japan. Breaking things into small tasks, forcing developers to estimate how long that task will take, and having daily/weekly standup meetings.

 

[Renekton]

Subtitle whining <_< English is not my first language yet I read them just fine.

 

[ryushe]

Bummer to hear the subs are still wonky. Still, it's worth dealing with given the level of production.

 

[I speel my dreenk]

"This is an MMO, you've got to be able to ride a chocobo." Truer words, Yoshida-san.

(Actually, the whole 're-write the game such that v1.0 being destroyed and re-made is also mirrored in the game's actual story events' is incredibly clever, and regardless of how well it came across as an enjoyable story, it's still amazing that they pulled it off) It's not a revolutionary story, but it's great to hear it told from the horse's mouth. Between this and the huge Polygon FFVII spread from earlier this year, I hope that Japanese developers being more open becomes more commonplace.

 

[Hasemo]

While I enjoyed the first episode more, this one was pretty great too.

 

[TheJollyCorner]

"HD Towns Reading is hard!!"

Wonderful work by Noclip. Following XIV I knew a lot of these details, but having Yoshida go into the details is fascinating. I wish I could have been part of that epic ending to 1.X.

 

[Jubern]

Well, what he described is a methodology called SCRUM which is extremely common in the west these days, but not at all in Japan. Breaking things into small tasks, forcing developers to estimate how long that task will take, and having daily/weekly standup meetings.

Oh sorry I didn't mean Yoshida was inefficient, the opposite really. I was pointing out how Yoshida's use of SCRUM is interesting considering it doesn't blend with Japan's usual CC.

 

[Mendrox]

Yoshida seems like a really good leader. How he restructured everything and still kept 1.0 going is a miracle. I loved ARR when it launched. His team and him deserve all the praise for that short amount of time they worked on this beast of a game.

 

[Seventy70]

What exactly did you expect?

It's not the subtitles themselves that are the problem, it's that they are just run on sentences. You barely get to pause to look up and it's easy to lose the train of thought when one sentence is on the screen for 5-6 seconds at a time. It would greatly benefit from splitting the sentences up or even by pacing out the interview a little more.

Besides that it was a great video. I hope NoClip does more Japanese documentaries in the future.

 

[BlackBuzzard]

If only SE would have more people like Yoshida maybe KH3 would have been out by now.

 

[Qvoth]

Just finished, wasn't as interesting as part 1 imo
The great gobbue wall is some funny shit though haha

 

[Parsnip]

So reading this thread before watching, I take it that the subs are as bad as the first episode?

Shame.

 

[MetatronM]

I almost forgot to watch part one. I remember having high hopes for FFXIV, I wanted it to be FFXI part 2. FFXIV ARR was a disappointment for me.

1.0 basically WAS FFXI Part 2. That's part of why it needed to be destroyed.

 

[DNAbro]

This series has been incredibly interesting. Kind of upsets me that I really can't get into the game. I just get bored way too quickly.

 

[gillty]

I liked this one better from a production standpoint, much better ratio of localization to Japanese developer interviews.

The subtitles can be pretty awful at points, luckily Yoshida is a great communicator so he has a natural pace that serves the documentary well.

However, I could see how it would difficult for the majority of audience (without Japanese language ability) when some of the developers speak at a fast clip, perhaps I would have suggested more interludes in the interviews.

 

[Loona]

1.0 basically WAS FFXI Part 2. That's part of why it needed to be destroyed.

Not really - have you played XI?...

I was saddened by the reaffirmation of how 1.x is gone forever, especially after Koji mentioned how free they felt about adding outrageous stuff to it (the quest with the love letter to opo-opos will have live forever in my heart for lack of SE preserving that in playable form) - I really do wish they'd tweak that into a single-player prequel for ARR just so those stories could be experienced first-hand by everyone willing...

 

[Twookie]

I liked this episode a lot actually.

but yeah, the subtitles were preeeeeetty bad. I had to stop the video a few times and reread the subtitles to figure out what the translations were supposed to mean

This series has been incredibly interesting. Kind of upsets me that I really can't get into the game. I just get bored way too quickly.

yeah same here, man. I really like MMO's and I really like FF, and FFXIV looks great - but I still cannot get into it I really really want to like it and get into it, but I just cannot get myself to play it for a week or two before deciding I am going to cancel my subscription :/

 

[EvilKatarn]

The subtitles are pretty bad indeed...

 

[Marcel]

So reading this thread before watching, I take it that the subs are as bad as the first episode?

Shame.

They're a tad more coherent this time but are still mostly bad. Spelling errors all over the place too.

Maybe the noclip patrons can ask for a proofreader?

 

[SonicX_Zero]

I had no idea this was a thing so I decided to check out ep.1 first and as I've only seen that A Realm Reborn trailer years ago and never really bothered with 14 since it was an MMO, but were the changes to ARR from 1.0 really that drastic? Seeing Yoshida mention having to change the interface and the change from playing with a game controller to mouse was really baffling. SE during the PS3/360 era man....... ugh.

 

[J_ToSaveTheDay]

Is there some way to make the subs come across more visibly? If I watch via my PC at my monitor, the subtitles display in white and blend almost perfectly into the background. It's only readable/watchable when I move to my iPad, where the black bar on the bottom and top make the subtitles perfectly legible..

EDIT: nevermind found out how to change text color.

 

[Oreiller]

Fascinating series but the subtitles are downright amateurish.

 

[Jampsuliini]

I had no idea this was a thing so I decided to check out ep.1 first and as I've only seen that A Realm Reborn trailer years ago and never really bothered with 14 since it was an MMO, but were the changes to ARR from 1.0 really that drastic? Seeing Yoshida mention having to change the interface and the change from playing with a game controller to mouse was really baffling. SE during the PS3/360 era man....... ugh.

Like they say in the video, it's pretty much a completely new game build from the ground up. Some assets were used of course.

 

[DNAbro]

I liked this episode a lot actually.

but yeah, the subtitles were preeeeeetty bad. I had to stop the video a few times and reread the subtitles to figure out what the translations were supposed to mean



yeah same here, man. I really like MMO's and I really like FF, and FFXIV looks great - but I still cannot get into it I really really want to like it and get into it, but I just cannot get myself to play it for a week or two before deciding I am going to cancel my subscription :/

Well I just really hate how MMO's play. WoW does nothing for me. I like the idea of MMO's way more than the act of playing them. Which is kind of why I like Destiny a ton.