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[JoshuaJSlone]

So hey guys, a little something I just made that someone else might find use for too. I like the character profile pages at the Lodestone, but wanted to make it easier to view on Kindle--should be friendlier for other mobile devices, too. Anyway, made a script that rips out the important part and outputs it without header/sidebars/etc.

http://lodestone.finalfantasyxiv.com/rc/character/status?cicuid=8479150
http://joshuajamesslone.name/kindle/ffxiv.php?cicuid=8479150

Just take the ID from the original profile and apply it to the second URL.

 

[MomoPufflet]

Isn't that how it is with all MMOGs? Half of the hairstyles always suck.

The difference being that other MMOs have more than 4 hairstyles.

 

[Teknoman]

At the following time, we will be performing maintenance on FINAL FANTASY XIV corresponding to the upcoming release of patch 1.15a. During this period, FINAL FANTASY XIV will be unavailable.

We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause and thank you for your understanding.

* Clients will update automatically upon launch after release of the patch.

* Patch download rates may vary depending on server congestion.

* Comprehensive patch notes will be posted on the Lodestone the day of the patch's release.

[Date & Time]
Feb. 2, 2011 from 1:00 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. (PST)

* The completion time may be subject to change.

[Affected Service]
- FINAL FANTASY XIV

Shortest maintenance time for an S-E update ever?

 

[Rentahamster]

Sweet

 

[Dega]

Doesn't sound like the patch to me. They probably just getting things prepared and for the stupid valentines event.

 

[Rentahamster]

Not so sweet.

 

[Unknown Soldier]

The difference being that other MMOs have more than 4 hairstyles.

Yeah, some of them have up to 8! But all 8 are ugly!

I'm looking at you, Rift!

 

[Allard]

Doesn't sound like the patch to me. They probably just getting things prepared and for the stupid valentines event.

Its definitely a patch. They always word version updates like this, the 'upcoming' part is supposed to be future tense from the present; in other words now (since they already announced the update itself). The patch will release sometime during maintenance, and sometime during that we will get comprehensive patch notes like always.

 

[Teknoman]

There should be a log notice ingame too.

 

[Dreamwriter]

Thought I would log on today, picked up a few leves and headed for Nanawa, started first leve before I could take one step I crashed and still you lose the leve.. seriously SE ?!

Those Imps are way overpowered still, I though they fixed them.

Anyways after dying 3 times I logged off, Stories of Erozea indeed.

Imps are better than they used to be...but yes, their AOE attack still does too much damage. We have to one-star any Imp leves.

As for crashing with leves, as long as you're in a party you don't lose the leve. You can rejoin it, and even link with it. If you're soloing...best you can do is re-do it after the next leve reset.

 

[Teknoman]

Awesome news:

http://lodestone.finalfantasyxiv.com/pl/topics/detail?id=369fbb768945a47fa91aa860835db16e69fe1af4

Patch 1.15a, which is set to go live Wednesday, February 2, will contain a number of changes in line with the wealth of player feedback we have continued to receive, such as the way in which skill and experience points are awarded based on party composition or enemy rank, and the addition of a number of new text commands.

Several balancing changes will be made that will bring greater benefits than ever before to multi-player battle. Party bonuses will be adjusted to award larger amounts of skill and experience points based on party size. Further changes will also ensure that greater differences between player and enemy rank will yield greater rewards as well. The amount of skill and experience points available from enemies ranked lower than a player will be reduced, but defeating enemies ranked higher than oneself will now yield greater amounts.

For players engaging in solo battle, the amount of skill and experience points currently awarded after rank 20 falls off sharply. To address this, we will be implementing changes that will better balance the amount available between ranks 20 and 23.

3-D Battle Text

The placement of 3-D battle text, such as damage and healing values, will be adjusted to prevent the overlapping of separate numbers. In addition, battle text will be color-coded in the following manner.

And a new letter from Yoshi:

http://lodestone.finalfantasyxiv.com/pl/topics/detail?id=a2387769397519f9817e3aff3415f82184c907bc

By the way, all the dash marks next to objectives in the letter (under future tasks section) are what will be implemented in patch 1.15a I wonder if enemy size actually means increase in model size? That dodo does look a little bigger than normal...either way, a decent amount of favorable changes. This guy really seems to know whats up.

 

[Dega]

See you guys on the 2nd then eh?

 

[JoshuaJSlone]

goodbye what little economy that was left. undercutters assemble!

Except this isn't true at all. Pricing stability is the ONE benefit that the wards system in its current form offers. They should be clinging to that for dear life until they finish the the AH when all of that goes out the window, just like it does in FFXI.

Wait, I don't understand. How does giving us more information hurt pricing stability? With the current system, I feel like I either have to jump through a lot of hoops or have no idea what an appropriate price to sell an item is. With more information I'm more likely to be selling things at near-standard prices.

 

[notworksafe]

Wait, I don't understand. How does giving us more information hurt pricing stability? With the current system, I feel like I either have to jump through a lot of hoops or have no idea what an appropriate price to sell an item is. With more information I'm more likely to be selling things at near-standard prices.

It doesn't hurt anything. People think that undercutting at all will lead down a road where everything is sold for 100gil or less when that is not really going to be the case. Showing the price at which an item is being sold will lead to more price stability, even if the stable price is a bit lower than what it would be if everyone is in the dark.

 

[Babalu.]

My next post will be dealing specifically with the battle system, and I am planning to conduct another players’ poll on the subject. I would very like much to hear all of your opinions again.

yay another poll. I wonder what questions will be asked and how drastically everyone will say to change it up. And whether or not they turn this into an action game after.


Although all I really want to change for battle would be:

Better looking spells, more shiny!
Better and different skill animations/sounds for every skill.
Less lag between any kinds of moves/skills. Make it more fluid.

That would be nice.

 

[Unknown Soldier]

The actual problem is the opposite of what you guys are thinking. Right now there are huge amounts of gil which just sit in people's inventories which never go anywhere. If that massive amount of money ever becomes mobilized the result is hyperinflation, as I said before. Everything will cost 10 million gil, not 100 gil.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyperinflation

The main cause of hyperinflation is a massive and rapid increase in the amount of money that is not supported by a corresponding growth in the output of goods and services. This results in an imbalance between the supply and demand for the money (including currency and bank deposits), accompanied by a complete loss of confidence in the money, similar to a bank run.

This is exactly what is happening in Eorzea, but right now the amount of money is shielded by the fact that the current economic system discourages spending. But the game doesn't have any gil sinks, so money just piles up in people's inventories. If people actually start spending that money, we will have a classic Zimbabwe situation in Eorzea.

 

[Zalasta]

Honestly, the biggest problem with the economy (or selling in general) is how accessible crafting is. Right now there are way more crafters than there are buyers. To exacerbate that problem further is the fact that gears are fairly universal across classes and ranks. Sure you may benefit more from armors that are favorable to your job and level, but for the lazy and/or stingy one set is probably enough (two if you switch between war and magic). Who still wear hempen or cotton unless you are actually playing a brand new character? I imagine there is very little market for them. Gone are the days we have to keep around different sets of gears for the appropriate occasion. While this is great for players, it's bad for the economy.

Worst for weavers because now every synthesis makes 3 bolts of cloth (instead of one). So there are plenty of surpluses out there. Cloth gears are literally a dime a dozen compared to leather, chain and plate.

That's my take anyway.

 

[Forbiden]

Gone are the days we have to keep around different sets of gears for the appropriate occasion.

Active/passive mode is to blame for this as well. In fact, one of the battle changes should be the fact that you can actually change gear during active mode. If I could do that, then for sure I would have some more gear for my classes than what I do now. Being able to change from Accuracy rings to Strength rings or something of that sort would be nice, just like head pieces. I honestly have no idea why they made it so that the game doesn't allow you to change gear while in Active mode, it's so annoying.

 

[Nakazato]

going to add new avy so i cant play on your guys server

 

[sam27368]

Just got the CE, what server are most gaffers at?

 

[Teknoman]

Lindblum. They need to hopefully companies get set up in patch b, so we can get "true" Stars of Destiny back on track. After playing XI under the name so long, it feels strange not using it lol.

yay another poll. I wonder what questions will be asked and how drastically everyone will say to change it up. And whether or not they turn this into an action game after.


Although all I really want to change for battle would be:

Better looking spells, more shiny!
Better and different skill animations/sounds for every skill.
Less lag between any kinds of moves/skills. Make it more fluid.

That would be nice.

Same here. Well that and bringing back auto-targeting whatever monster hit you after you killed the previous.

See you guys on the 2nd then eh?

You know it

Anyway here are changes that should hit during this "a" patch according to the letter along with the battle post:

Changes to behavior of windows when moused over
 Removal of auto-log activation, addition of ablitity to target behind log.

Automated show/hide feature
 Log hidden after certain period of inactivity.

Adjustments to window size and scrolling position
 Consolidation of levequest details on one screen.

Use of distinct colors for player and enemy damage
Adjustments to prevent overlapping of combat text
 FINAL FANTASY-esque changes to number pop-up animations.

Command-based display of time remaining until guildleve renewals
Additional information when exchanging guildleves.

Changes to the frame rates of action animations to speed up gathering.

Ability to toggle head gear to allow display of character faces.

Revisions to party-based skill point acquisition in parties
Improvements to skill point acquisition for parties.

Introduction of enemy group variability, as well as enemy group highlighting to enhance combat visibility.

Optimization of enemy size for ease of play (I wonder if this means all small/mid sized monsters)

And a bunch of lodestone stuff.

Active/passive mode is to blame for this as well. In fact, one of the battle changes should be the fact that you can actually change gear during active mode. If I could do that, then for sure I would have some more gear for my classes than what I do now. Being able to change from Accuracy rings to Strength rings or something of that sort would be nice, just like head pieces. I honestly have no idea why they made it so that the game doesn't allow you to change gear while in Active mode, it's so annoying.

As long as we dont have to "macro equip dance" i'm fine.

Oh and of course, please visit:

http://stars-of-destiny.enjin.com/

Main site for our LS/Company for both GAF and non-GAF.

 

[LittleTokyo]

I am planning on getting this game next week when my new computer ships. That said, I'd like to play with some of the people on here and hopefully get a little direction on how to proceed into the game. I was in and out of SoD during the FFXI years so perhaps I'd recognize some of you. Regardless, I am mainly concerned with getting on the correct server as I'm not sure how all of that works in XIV.

Anyways, looking forward to playing and hopefully meeting up with some of you guys.

 

[Rentahamster]

Lindblum. They need to hopefully companies get set up in patch b, so we can get "true" Stars of Destiny back on track. After playing XI under the name so long, it feels strange not using it lol.

Which, on the other hand, is also strange for the rest of us who do play the game, since there is basically no "SoD" presence on the server. All the SoD people from FF11 either quit FF14, or are still playing FF11, lol.

 

[Dega]

Which, on the other hand, is also strange for the rest of us who do play the game, since there is basically no "SoD" presence on the server. All the SoD people from FF11 either quit FF14, or are still playing FF11, lol.

Yeah, I have no attachment to the name.

 

[Rawk Hawk]

Which, on the other hand, is also strange for the rest of us who do play the game, since there is basically no "SoD" presence on the server. All the SoD people from FF11 either quit FF14, or are still playing FF11, lol.

FFXI? What is this 2002? I'm likely going to pick this up when LittleTokyo does, so at least one avid FFXI SoD member will be coming to FFXIV.

 

[Shouta]

Which, on the other hand, is also strange for the rest of us who do play the game, since there is basically no "SoD" presence on the server. All the SoD people from FF11 either quit FF14, or are still playing FF11, lol.

Yep. FFXIV is the best thing to ever happen to FFXI, heh.

 

[hgplayer1]

I havent played XIV in a while and probably wont except to maybe check out new things in the patch coming up.

I had planned on playing some XI while I was waiting on my interest in XIV to rekindle but that game is so hard to play casually I just couldnt keep going back to it.

Ive actually started playing Phantasy Star Universe again since Ive been paying for the account since I can remember. lol

I really do think the GAF group that currently plays XIV on a regular basis should make their own little LS and drop all the extra baggage that is us part timers. lol

Even when I used to log in on a somewhat regular basis I felt like an outsider in the LS. I honestly cant say I ever did anything significant with the LS other than maybe two leve parties.

 

[Teknoman]

What about after things are "running smoothly"? Also I guess we dont have to keep the name.

 

[DrDogg]

For players engaging in solo battle, the amount of skill and experience points currently awarded after rank 20 falls off sharply. To address this, we will be implementing changes that will better balance the amount available between ranks 20 and 23.

I really hope that's a typo... fixing 20-23 won't change much. -_-

I will party tomorrow though.

 

[Teknoman]

I really hope that's a typo... fixing 20-23 won't change much. -_-

I will party tomorrow though.

Possibly. They've gone back and fixed translation typos before. Havent seen what the other region letters translated that to. I really want to know what the increased sized monsters look like though. I'm guessing the bugs, mice, dodo, and the XIV version of bogy...maybe imps as well. I always thought the ladybugs and beetles were strangely small compared to every other monster bug in an FF game (aside from chigoes).

On the name of the LS/company, if/when things really start picking up...should we still keep the name? Or create a new LS/company identity? I like the name, but i'm not against change if someone thinks of a better name.

 

[Unknown Soldier]

The name "Stars of Destiny" is a reference to Suikoden. I'm not a fan of Suikoden so I could not care less if that name goes away. We need to come up with something cool though to replace it. It would be cool if whatever the name was has the acronym GAF, like Get A Fuckingclue or something. (An example, not a serious suggestion!)

In unrelated news:
http://www.ffxivcore.com/topic/29589-agile-the-economy/

That thread discusses the problem I'm talking about in pretty good detail. If all the gil piling up in people's inventories ever mobilizes (becomes liquid if you are an economist), the economy of the game will face a Zimbabwe Scenario hyperinflation apocalypse. Let's say Squenix adds some ridiculous endgame item which gives constant 5% run speed increase. Of course everyone on the server will want to buy it. All the super-crafters with 50 million gill will happily spend 40 million of their gil on such an amazing item, especially considering the continuing lack of chocobos and airships. Because of the amount of gil many people playing since launch now have, what happens is the super-rich will all be running around 5% faster and everybody else who doesn't happen to have 40 million gil laying around, which is everybody who is not a super-crafter, gets fucked. This also makes it impossible to start playing the game right now, since everyone playing since launch has millions of gil sitting around to buy newly-added ubershit and the person who just bought it has nothing but their starter gear.

Squenix wanted to create a situation where RMT was discouraged simply by making gil pointless to sell. The problem is that they have now created a situation where RMT is not required to cause the economy to collapse overnight.

 

[Cmagus]

Im thinking I will make another character and play between two of them and ill join you guys on gaf what server again is everyone on?

 

[Outdoor Miner]

The name "Stars of Destiny" is a reference to Suikoden. I'm not a fan of Suikoden so I could not care less if that name goes away. We need to come up with something cool though to replace it. It would be cool if whatever the name was has the acronym GAF, like Get A Fuckingclue or something. (An example, not a serious suggestion!)

In unrelated news:
http://www.ffxivcore.com/topic/29589-agile-the-economy/

That thread discusses the problem I'm talking about in pretty good detail. If all the gil piling up in people's inventories ever mobilizes (becomes liquid if you are an economist), the economy of the game will face a Zimbabwe Scenario hyperinflation apocalypse. Let's say Squenix adds some ridiculous endgame item which gives constant 5% run speed increase. Of course everyone on the server will want to buy it. All the super-crafters with 50 million gill will happily spend 40 million of their gil on such an amazing item, especially considering the continuing lack of chocobos and airships. Because of the amount of gil many people playing since launch now have, what happens is the super-rich will all be running around 5% faster and everybody else who doesn't happen to have 40 million gil laying around, which is everybody who is not a super-crafter, gets fucked. This also makes it impossible to start playing the game right now, since everyone playing since launch has millions of gil sitting around to buy newly-added ubershit and the person who just bought it has nothing but their starter gear.

Squenix wanted to create a situation where RMT was discouraged simply by making gil pointless to sell. The problem is that they have now created a situation where RMT is not required to cause the economy to collapse overnight.

Gil'n'Ass Farmers

 

[Cmagus]

K I made a second character on Lidblum my name is Eight Corova.Classes cancelled today so I will do a quick grind up to 10 or so.Also is there any particular crafting skill that is needed that the LS might be short on?

 

[Jinko]

The patch notes sound promising, Yoshida does seem much better than Tanaka, probably has to prove himself though .. which is good.

I really wana come back to this game but unless something drastic happens with party mechanics and SP I would sooner play Monster Hunter or something.

 

[Pai Pai Master]

It's a shame they can't just reroll the servers without people going apeshit. The gil situation, along with the fact that plenty of people are at the level cap with no real content in the game will be a real problem once they get things moving.

 

[Dega]

K I made a second character on Lidblum my name is Eight Corova.Classes cancelled today so I will do a quick grind up to 10 or so.Also is there any particular crafting skill that is needed that the LS might be short on?

Hmm armorer probably. Our r47 armorer (Ryoshin Tarugane) was in an accident a few weeks back due to a blizzard and is healing up I think. Other then that I think we have all the other crafts with r40+ (mostly 45+) and some even r50.

Just send me (Dega Emenis) a tell when you on and I can let you in.

 

[Teknoman]

The patch notes sound promising, Yoshida does seem much better than Tanaka, probably has to prove himself though .. which is good.

I really wana come back to this game but unless something drastic happens with party mechanics and SP I would sooner play Monster Hunter or something.

Well see (as far as current SP goes) tonight. Also graphic improvements since FF monsters need to be pretty big compared to what a normal version of that animal/bug would be.

EDIT: Shouta was kinda right about XIV being the best thing for XI...check this out:

http://na.square-enix.com/ffxi/newsletter/46/index.html

Even more openness for XI? Better late than never I guess.

 

[SonOfABeep]

Worth looking into now?

Heard it was shit and I haven't ever liked an MMO before but I like the asthetic and the idea of a FF MMO.

Is it still no monthly fees for the game?

 

[Teknoman]

Worth looking into now?

Heard it was shit and I haven't ever liked an MMO before but I like the asthetic and the idea of a FF MMO.

Is it still no monthly fees for the game?

Still no monthly fees, supposed to have adjustment and content patches roll out at least twice a month until everything is "up to standards". If you really want to try it, go for it, but you could hang around and check out the update notes/ our reports from after patch implementations.

 

[sam27368]

I'm running dual SLi 570s, 3.2ghz processor and 6gb of ram and getting 10fps?

Something ain't right!
Playing at 1080x1920 with high quality settings but it should be fine shouldn't it?

What usually kills the frame rate in this game?

 

[Teknoman]

Turn off ambient occlusion. For some reason, that really kills the framerate, or at least it was the cause of it early on.

 

[sam27368]

Turn off ambient occlusion. For some reason, that really kills the framerate, or at least it was the cause of it early on.

That worked a treat, thanks.
Are there any other settings that hit the frame rate hard? The gameplay is really smooth but the cutscenes seem to drop.

 

[Rentahamster]

There's an option to turn off cutscene effects too.

 

[Nakazato]

updated yet ??

 

[Cmagus]

Hmm armorer probably. Our r47 armorer (Ryoshin Tarugane) was in an accident a few weeks back due to a blizzard and is healing up I think. Other then that I think we have all the other crafts with r40+ (mostly 45+) and some even r50.

Just send me (Dega Emenis) a tell when you on and I can let you in.

Cool I'll drop you a line tonight just finishing up a paper then im good to go.I did a little grinding this morning to get cure and all that jazz out of the way.It's funny I have started over so many times now the initial grind blows by so fast I know exactly what needs to happen and how to do it fast its kind of nice.

 

[Teknoman]

updated yet ??

Wont be till later:

At the following time, we will be performing maintenance on FINAL FANTASY XIV corresponding to the upcoming release of patch 1.15a. During this period, FINAL FANTASY XIV will be unavailable.

We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause and thank you for your understanding.

* Clients will update automatically upon launch after release of the patch.

* Patch download rates may vary depending on server congestion.

* Comprehensive patch notes will be posted on the Lodestone the day of the patch's release.

[Date & Time]
Feb. 2, 2011 from 1:00 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. (PST)

* The completion time may be subject to change.

so if you're CST the patch notes will probably be posted like an hour from now.

Also yeah, leveling a lower class up to 10 or so is really fast. That early SP gain fix+lowered requirements really helped.

There's an option to turn off cutscene effects too.

Cutscene effects just means depth of field and ambient occlusion in cutscenes right?

 

[Rentahamster]

Patch notes

http://lodestone.finalfantasyxiv.com/pl/topics/detail?id=bc65fe2c10004f51f9db9ac890e7747509498cca

 

[Teknoman]

Yup mostly adjustments and fixes. I guess we can now exp of drakes

I see that everything with a dash next to it in the letter was mentioned in the notes, aside from the enemy model size increase and group indicator. Maybe they were mentioned in other region notes or just put aside till later? Could be a stealth addition I guess.

 

[Rentahamster]

I'm curious to see how the market changes will effect the economy. I don't think it will bring about the economic apocalypse, but we'll see.

I don't see how making the wards easier to use is gonna be a net negative.