Yes, I was actually thinking of an extended App-based system quite close to the one you describe here while typing my post.
I think I'd like that, managing my retainer using an app during commute/work breaks etc.
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Final Fantasy XIV |OT| ARR: Alpha Closed. Beta mid-Feb
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Yes, I was actually thinking of an extended App-based system quite close to the one you describe here while typing my post.
I think I'd like that, managing my retainer using an app during commute/work breaks etc.
That's a really great idea, especially for a lengthy MMO where you can spend hours and hours in the same areas.
I can't believe they'd throw out Uematsu's fantastic soundtrack for this.
I'm not a fan of Soken's work so far. Melodies are a bit generic, arrangements are weak, and the choice of instrument samples and MIDI manipulation is by far inferior to recent FF work by Uematsu, Hamauzu, Mizuta, etc.
I'm sorry for being so harsh... I do hope I'll be proven wrong with the final soundtrack.
1.x under Yoshida still recognized DoL as devoted classes just as much as crafters were, even though there was a shift towards battle classes for story content (for the better). That may not be the case in 2.0, of course, though I'm not sure why they would sideline DoL but not DoH. DoH and DoL both deserve equal amounts of attention, IMO, albeit different attention than DoW/M.
I'm not getting up in your face about this, but could you explain or give examples of a more complex track (perhaps something from XI or original XIV) to illustrate what a strong example of musical finesse is?
I'm only asking because I feel something might be off, but my lack of knowledge in the area means I can't articulate between the difference.
I'm alternating between Navigator's Glory and the new track right now but I'm having difficulty differentiating what is the better track excluding personal bias. I do feel that the original Limsa track is more spread out and has varied melodies? I think. But given the fact we've not heard more than ~40 seconds of the new track I can't help but think it's a little early to give technical criticism outside of personal preference.
As a Lv.50 FSH, I agree! I'm hoping for legendary fish or something...
And of course, an aquarium in my house to put it in.
I don't mind retainers gathering at all, but agree that some things should definitely be left for player interaction only.
Either that or have a limit on how much a retainer can gather. (and you have to log in daily or they won't gather any more)
All in all I wish they would just abandon the retainer idea, they aren't needed, only reason we have them is because of that shitty marketward.
Either that or have a limit on how much a retainer can gather. (and you have to log in daily or they won't gather any more)
All in all I wish they would just abandon the retainer idea, they aren't needed, only reason we have them is because of that shitty marketward.
DimmuBurgerKing
Member
Pretty much. Just give us a real auction house.
Like I said they are probably planning to use them for their phone app so any items/services attached to retainer you can fiddle with while not in game and thus you can sell/buy items off the market (as long as the retainer has the money for it) while not in game. There are plenty of reasons to keep the retainer system, its a matter of whether they are going to exploit it. Imagine being able to remotely update your retainers items for sale as long as the item is in the retainers inventory, using the retainer to track status on chocobo raising, taking every day privileges in housing etc. You are thinking too narrowly, it was obvious even in 1.0 that there was going to be elements to the retainer system added through the game but it got sidelined to fix the issues with the marketwards.
Don't think its thinking narrowly lol, more a case of I hate the marketwards. (I want them gone damn it)
Yea there is no denying that they have potential but then why even link retainers and marketwards, retainers could serve to be no more than Moogles were in 11, with some extra stuff tacked on.
You know take care of your daily chores like they were supposed to, I would have prefered if retainers were also our companions, but I have no idea what they have planned for that any more.
How do you know it won't be just like the old school moogles
Yoshida has said time and again the new marketwards are going be based on an AH archetype because he is aware of everyone's complaints with the wards system. Imagine using your personal retainer as your "AH" broker, put items on it to store and remotely sell from using the 20 bazaar slots it has (20 AH slots if you want to get the stink of marketwards off it!), and then if you add gil to the retainer you can even have it remotely buy items off the market so you can play the market game even when you aren't in a city (or even not playing the game through an APP~), like how Guild Wars 2 allows you to access the market out in the field. Furthermore by not abandoning the retainer system you can still also be able to setup a personal shop if you want, like maybe have a personal shop when housing launches, set prices only with a special discount for free company members etc. You can also have personal quests just like the old moogle for upgrading storage, giving it new abilities or traits like decreased taxes on specific item types it is selling. In end the new market wards are going to be consolidated, supposedly no longer has the with too many in a ward instance we had with 1.0, and a lot more tools to tell you when things are sold, finding items and researching the market. Maybe you can use the mail system to send stuff to your retainer for mobile storage!Honestly, end-of-1.x Market Wards weren't even that bad. The concept (of MW) was fine, the problem was the implementation and interface. For selling things it was basically like the Trade Broker system in TERA, which is a system that works just fine in that game because it has a good interface. And MW even had the perk of being able to post "WTB" listings and not just "WTS" listings.
Main MW problems in 1.x:
- Crowding, couldn't get your retainer in the wards
- Couldn't see more than the first 20 or so items being listed in search (HQ hard to find sometimes)
- Items with and without materia were not distinguished between by search
- "Rezone" lag when making purchases
- Managing selling slots (via retainer) being a huge pain in the butt
None of these were problems with the MW idea itself, just problems with its implementation.
I liked the sandbox design idea behind the original retainer system, but I think it was a little too draconian in its implementation. I like the slightly more personal touch that retainers gave the buy/sell economy in 1.x, and I don't want to see that go away completely. Ideally, in my mind, they deliver a system that still requires some thinking and market analysis to really make good gil while removing some of the menu tedium the 1.x MW system had (see above, particularly how long it took to list/relist/delist things for sale).
Main MW problems in 1.x:
- Crowding, couldn't get your retainer in the wards
- Couldn't see more than the first 20 or so items being listed in search (HQ hard to find sometimes)
- Items with and without materia were not distinguished between by search
- "Rezone" lag when making purchases
- Managing selling slots (via retainer) being a huge pain in the butt
None of these were problems with the MW idea itself, just problems with its implementation.
I liked the sandbox design idea behind the original retainer system, but I think it was a little too draconian in its implementation. I like the slightly more personal touch that retainers gave the buy/sell economy in 1.x, and I don't want to see that go away completely. Ideally, in my mind, they deliver a system that still requires some thinking and market analysis to really make good gil while removing some of the menu tedium the 1.x MW system had (see above, particularly how long it took to list/relist/delist things for sale).
Need to put it in he beta form.
Thanks. I saw people mention it should be in my e-mail, but I see no such email from when FFXIII hit. Anywhere else I can find it?
Xux
Member
I just put in the code that came in the game case.
Tarutaru females, and in turn Lalafell females, have always shared the exact same body model as the males. Thus never having visible breasts. So this is an addition. And they felt it worthy to note. I'm sure a few people will appreciate the option now.
Heheh. Indeed.
I just appreciate that they are basically going back and giving us all the character creation options we did not get to have in FFXI and FFXIV 1.0.
Oh, I understand it. It's just odd.
My biggest concern is with the overall production, not the actual songwriting.
A prime example would be the solo violin that comes in at 0:30. It sounds downright fake. It is, and most of the solo violins part in video games end up being fake ones because of budget restraints, and that's fine. But some composers, synth programmers, etc. develop skills to choose the right samples, the right reverb, and mix them adequately with the rest of the instruments to help everything glue together.
For example, I feel like Hitoshi Sakimoto has always succeeded in doing so since the PSX-era. He's not fooling anyone, it can easily be heard that FFT's or Vagrant Story's soundtracks are produced through MIDI-triggered samples, not live-recordings. But there's a... finesse and overall good taste in how it's mixed and all comes together.
In the end I'm mostly nit-picking, Soken's work here is pretty good, but noticeably below the level of production we've heard in XIII/XIII-2 (a LOT of live recordings, live vocalists, and even sample-based tracks had 1 or 2 live instruments thrown in together). With all the ressources being poured into the XIV remake, it makes me wonder why the musical work has so much less budget.
As for Uematsu's XIV score, it had very few live recordings, and its overall level of production was very similar to Soken's. I just feel like the mix and samples choices were done in a more tasteful way.
In the end though, part of it is personal opinion. I'm just trying to provide some insight as I'm beginning my career in video games audio production and have some knowledge. But of course, YMMV!
Thanks for the detailed reply. I understand a bit better now and I can see what you're getting at. I guess aside from personal style the biggest disparity between Soken and Uematsu is just the sheer amount of experience the latter has, and I guess that's what stands out to me.
Xux
Member
You can tell experience from something like this? That seems like something that'd be abstract beyond belief.
It is to a certain point, and ultimately it's not only the composer that has a hand in the final result. Whoever's mixing the tracks or doing the arrangements has a huge part on the final result.
But Uematsu and Soken have also both taken the roles of Audio Director, they're responsible for the final result of the music's sound and quality.
Experience does play a huge factor. This is Soken's first time taking the role of Audio Director, and although he seems really talented, his inexperience does show with some little misteps in the musical production so far, IMO.
I should also note, FFXIV is Soken's first Final Fantasy title.
I was reading through the 25th Anniversary Ultimania and there's a segment for comments by the developers. Soken mentioned his 10 years + at SE and this being his first Final Fantasy title he's involved in. It might have helped had I mentioned that before talking about experience.
I was reading through the 25th Anniversary Ultimania and there's a segment for comments by the developers. Soken mentioned his 10 years + at SE and this being his first Final Fantasy title he's involved in. It might have helped had I mentioned that before talking about experience.
Xux
Member
Sounds like knowing this is altering your opinion ahead of time.
IonicSnake
Banned
From the Lodstone.
That was Sekito, not Soken.
Soken's only composition work for games are Mario Hoops 3-on-3, a few tracks on Dawn of Mana, a few tracks on Mario Sports Mix, Elebest and Nanashi no Game. He worked as Sound Editor on a few other games such as Drakengard 2.
And then...Sound Director/Composer on FFXIV: A Realm Reborn.
Munba
Member
Mmh i'm not agree. Some Soken tracks are very nice (like Garuda or Darnus one) but the 'field' ones i heard so far are not superior of the 1.0 Uematsu ones, like Twilight over Thanalan, Gridania theme or the battles tracks (in which Uematsu remains far superior imo). Also if the soken tracks are generally ok or nice, they seems a a bit 'generic'.
Stabattack
Member
The music in the alpha was really great I thought. I was never a big fan of Uematsu's electric guitar battle tracks. I also like how the music fades in and out. I just hope they do something similar with the chocobo theme... It's getting tiresome after 25 years.
It will be sometime after the 15th.
Hmm, well... you'll see.
You have my attention!
Mid/late February is a really good time to put out interviews too. The Legacy Beta will have commenced by that point and I imagine all the extra interviews will generate a lot of interest for the later phases wherein other non-legacy people can try their hand on the game.
God, it would be nice to get the benchmark next week though.
I like the sound of that, I think.
IonicSnake
Banned
AlphaDragoon
Member
That controller UI is kinda goofy looking. Would prefer something more akin to Tera's if they're gonna go the special controller UI route.
Baby chocobos in-game is baller.
Baby chocobos in-game is baller.
New letter:
I guess beta release date announced next week and launches the week after. (18th-22nd)
Letter from the Producer, XLII (02/06/2013)
Hello again to all of you eagerly awaiting FINAL FANTASY XIV: A Realm Reborn. Yoshi-P here, bringing you the forty-second Letter from the Producer!
The team and I have been working tirelessly to meet our deadlines for the upcoming beta test. While I'm sure the wait has been unbearable, you'll be happy to know that I've just completed my last round of checks. We're now making final adjustments to the client, doing our best to stay on track.
Although phase one will be limited to areas around Gridania like the alpha test, there will be plenty of Full Active Time Events to try, and we've put everything we've got into creating an exciting game experience. It won't be long now before the testing begins, and in my next letter you can expect an announcement for the starting date.
After posting the forty-first letter, there was a lot of clamoring for more screenshots, especially of the Elezen female. I'm always looking for an excuse to toy with the character creator, so I took a few screenshots myself. They're not as dazzling as our usual promo shots, but I hope you enjoy them all the same.
The Elezen female striking a pose. Could she be Eorzea's Next Top Model?
As a finishing touch, I added some highlights to her hair.
Here she is relaxing in the Black Shroud, enjoying the game's natural lighting.
Here's the Lalafell male. If I were a Lalafell, I'd want to look like this guy.
He can look tough, but he's still cute enough to charm the ladies.
Of course, I had to add another benchmark screenshot (again, pay no mind to the scoring). We're running our final tests using various PC specs.
Starting February 10, I'll be away from the office on a media tour that will pave the way for the beta test. I'll be traveling around the world, stopping in Los Angeles, San Francisco, and London, getting the word out to various media outlets and giving them a taste of the new FINAL FANTASY XIV. All regions will be receiving information at the same time, so be sure to keep an eye out!
Oh, before I forget, Letter from the Producer LIVE Part V is planned for the day after I return from the tour. After aerial adventures, strenuous schedules, and jarring jetlag, what will become of the broadcast? You'll find out when details are posted on the Lodestone.
See you next time, on the forums, or in the Beta Test!
I guess beta release date announced next week and launches the week after. (18th-22nd)
Kind of disappointing really. I have serious doubts they're going to hit the target time to start the beta in the middle of the month.
Unless of course his next correspondence bounces out next Monday or Tuesday and announces the launch of the beta for the end of the week, which it won't. lol.
I also feel that this super marketing campaign they're launching him into should have started a couple of months ago.
Unless of course his next correspondence bounces out next Monday or Tuesday and announces the launch of the beta for the end of the week, which it won't. lol.
I also feel that this super marketing campaign they're launching him into should have started a couple of months ago.
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