Final Fantasy Online

The week started out slowly; it began with a new version update. Come Monday, gamers in and out of FFXIV alike were presented with a decent number of negative reviews on various web sites. Will the information released by Square Enix this week change that? Do recent increases in community involvement have a greater impact than actual game mechanics? Does it matter? Perhaps… This is (/deepvoice on) >> F-I-V-E ON F-R-I-D-A-Y

Included this week:
1. Free Trial Period Extension.
2. FFXIV Version Update Information.
3. Twilie’s Hide and Seek Event.
4. Web site Suggestions: Lodestone +1.
5. This Week’s Guildleve Timers.

Free Trial Period Extension.
Square Enix, on Lodestone, says: "The month-long free play period is drawing to a close. Considering the nature of much of the feedback we received, however, and the current state of the game, we have decided to extend the free trial period for all users." Please read this post for further details including eligibility.

FFXIV Version Update Information.
There was a "Message from the Director" (Nobuaki Komoto) on Lodestone today. The post includes information about some changes that they would like to take place prior to December. It also states that they plan to release a version update at a rate of once every three months, of which the large-scale version update currently planned for December will be the first. You can head on over to Lodestone and read all about it.

Twilie’s Hide and Seek Event.
Twilie is holding a Member Run Event* which some of you may or may not have heard of. It is being held today: Friday, October 15th. Twilie’s Hide and Seek Event is exactly what it sounds like. Everyone hides except a "seeker". The seeker turns player names off and hunts down the "hiders" to try to find them within the allotted time. Anyone whom would like to participate, or requires more information, should make use of this thread. Hope to see you there!

Web site Suggestions: Lodestone +1.
In addition to the fan sites Lodestone mentioned in a previous post, SE has decided to list some more this week. You can find the fan sites Square Enix listed this week below. Additionally, some members from Order of the White Rose have been making use of Fantaji (a FFXIV social networking site). I personally have enjoyed Fantaji for the two days I have been on the site. I think it is "neat" /shrug, you may want to take a look.
———————————————————
Square Enix listed the following sites:
-FFXIV Archives features a comprehensive guide for Disciples of the Hand.
-FFXIV Origin includes a detailed manual on how to better utilize retainers.
-FFXIV Yellow Gremlin and FFXIV Pro contain information, items, recipes, bazaars, and more.

This Week’s Guildleve Timers.
Again, I am tossing in this week’s guildleve timers. Given that information from previous weeks hasn’t changed guildleves should reset regularly on the current 36 hour timer regardless of maintenance or game updates. In future I would like to have this on the site elsewhere. For now, the Guildleve resets are as follows:
-Friday at 8pm Eastern
-Sunday at 8am Eastern
-Monday at 8pm Eastern
-Wednesday at 8am Eastern
-Thursday at 8pm Eastern

—————————————————————————-

Aaaand that’s it for this week’s "Five on Friday". If you have any suggestions for next time feel free to let me know. I hope you all have a great week

Source: Order of the White Rose

FF14 Five on Friday

If there were an award for the most controversial game, that award would probably have to go to Final Fantasy XIV. It’s a game with a very different approach to many of the elements that are considered de rigueur for MMOs, which has produced a great deal of affection from some players, a great deal of enmity from others, and a flamewar that burgeons in nearly any thread about even the most innocuous news.

An opportunity was made available to sit down at New York Comic Con with Sage Sundi, FFXIV’s global online producer, and Yasu Kurosawa, FFXIV’s North American online producer. It was certainly an interesting experience to chat with two of the people responsible in no small part for this game; both gentlemen were very polite to discuss the game, its worldwide community, and what lessons had been learned already from launch.

The first thing that both Sundi and Kurosawa made clear was that there were a number of things they could not discuss. When asked about unlocking Ishgard or Chocobos, Sundi laughed and simply said that it was a secret. Still, it’s hard to fault them for keeping some parts of the game under wraps, especially considering Square-Enix’s longstanding habit of playing very close to its chest. Sundi would say, however, that improvements were coming and that there would be new features, even though most of them could not be discussed publicly.

The Lodestone site, however, has been a big change from the traditional silence that Square has put forth regarding its games, and both Sundi and Kurosawa reinforced the notion that the site would continue to be a source for data about the game. They do not, however, want to use it as a major community flashpoint, preferring instead to support the fansites and give them the tools for organizing and getting in touch with the community. Rather than trying to moderate an official forum, they prefer to let the community form its own activities, something that they have been very pleased with thus far.

That doesn’t, however, mean that they don’t hear what the community has been saying. Improvements for both the user interface and control schemes are incoming, as those are currently the most frequently discussed community topics. The development team apparently has a daily meeting with the community managers worldwide; managers from North America, Japan, and the European communities all discuss the most pressing issues facing the game community.

Sundi and Kurosawa both mentioned that while they want to improve the interface on the PC, they also need to make sure that the interface works for both PCs and the PS3, which means that there are limited options for how many changes they can make. Balancing the needs of both systems leads to certain compromises.

For all the complaints about the game’s systems, there have been relatively few complaints about the actual mechanics of launch, and Sundi was especially pleased both with how smoothly it went and with the implications for the worldwide reception. Everyone was playing together from the start of the game, and that meant that the community was able to start forming much earlier. There was a comparison made to Final Fantasy XI, which launched years later in North America and as a result had a much larger rift between the player communities, so keeping FFXIV’s launch moving smoothly as a worldwide experience was of high importance.

And the complaints about the game are not falling upon deaf ears. The number one complaint that the team has heard is about the user interface, and that is the current top priority for the team. Performance-smoothing is next on the list, followed by content and new features. Each team is working on the game to improve it, and every piece of feedback is being compiled worldwide and taken into account for development.

When asked if he could shed any further light upon the company system, Sundi immediately replied, “Nope,” and then laughed. Other popular requests, such as longstanding player classes like summoners or blue mages, were also not up for discussion; all that could be said was that the teams were aware of the requests and wanted to ensure that the game is as true to the Final Fantasy franchise as possible, and that iconic classes have been among the feedback since the alpha.

About the roleplaying community and the current unofficial RP server: They were happy to hear that one had been picked out, and Sundi explained that while they want to support the RP community, they wish to do so in a larger way than simply labeling one server as set for roleplaying. (He drew the comparison to World of Warcraft, where the RP servers frequently do not feature any sort of community enforcement.) Kurosawa made it clear that if an RP linkshell wishes to run a major event, the best option is to get in touch with the GMs and community teams to try to arrange whatever support possible for the event. He also implored roleplaying communities to give their contact information and site details to the community team, so that the staff members could be aware of events and help support the players.

When asked about what they were happy about with the launch, Sundi immediately responded that he was happy at seeing the global community assemble. Kurosawa was thrilled that so many players were happy with the crafting and that players use crafting as an alternate leveling method (rather than leveling just by killing things with weapons). It helped show just how much the armoury system really contributed to the game’s appeal.

As a last thought, Kurosawa stressed again that Square-Enix is really doing its best to listen to player voices and communicate everything to the development team. Sundi also stated that the game is still being worked on and improved, but with an eye toward preserving the unique elements that mark it as part of the Final Fantasy series. The game isn’t designed to be like World of Warcraft, and the development team is working hard to make it an excellent game on its own merits while allowing it to stand distinct from the crowd.

Final Fantasy XIV NYCC 2010 Interview; Original Source here.

News & Information

From price reductions as a result of new items being crafted to today’s update about party experience; It is plainly obvious that our journey has only just begun. This is (/deepvoice on) >> F-I-V-E ON F-R-I-D-A-Y

Included this week:
1. Friday’s game update and a bit about Market Wards.
2. Battle Regimens and Incapacitation of Body Parts.
3. Player suggested websites.
4. About Character Creation.
5. Guildleve reset timers for the week.

Friday’s game update and a bit about Market Wards.
Fridays Version update includes some modifications to chat and party experience as well as some other details. No Market Wards changes as of yet; It shouldn’t be too long now. You can check it out on Lodestone here. The proposed Market Ward changes which we should expect to see in a week or so were mentioned along with today’s update details. The original post for that (again on Lodestone) can be found here.

Battle Regimens and Incapacitation of Body Parts.
Earlier in the week, Square Enix went into some detail about Battle Regimens and the incapacitation of body parts. By coordinating and executing battle commands in a precise order, players may cause certain additional beneficial effects to occur. You can head over to Lodestone and read all about it.

Player suggested websites.
Members from “Order of the White Rose” (a Figaro Linkshell) this week have made some site suggestions that may or may not be helpful to you. Links this week include a player created guide and an auction house website. There are more links buried in the forums from other weeks as well. Some suggested sites this week by members are:
-FFXIVpro.com as suggested by The Dubont, previously by Konuvo Taiech.
-Gladiator Guide by Konuvo Taiech (also makes mention of Devan Glasio’s Conjurer Guide).

About Character Creation.
This week on Lodestone there was a bit of FAQ about character creation. This includes information about scenario quests, some tid-bits about starting arms and tools, as well as facts regarding namedays and guardians. You can read the original post here.

Guildleve reset timers for the week.
Lastly, since we all like to know when the Leve timers reset, for this weeks final Five on Friday fact: Guildleve reset timers go off at the following times this upcoming week.
-Saturday at 8pm Eastern
-Monday at 8am Eastern
-Tuesday at 8pm Eastern
-Thursday at 8am Eastern
-Friday at 8pm Eastern

—————————————————————————-

That about covers it for Five on Friday. Hope you all have a great week

FF14 Five on Friday

On Lodestone today Square Enix has stated that market wards will be organized according to specific item types, making it easier to consolidate similar items in the same area. Further, if an item sold within a ward corresponds to that wards’ item type, the tax incurred will be reduced. Items not of that ward’s category may still be sold, but the tax imposed will remain the same.

The ward names are subject to change:

Battlecraft Ward: Pugilist’s Arms / Gladiator’s Arms / Marauder’s Arms / Lancer’s Arms / Archer’s Arms / Shields / Arrows / Throwing Stones / Throwing Spears / Throwing Circles / Throwing Axes

Fieldcraft Ward: Thaumaturge’s Arms / Two-Handed Thaumaturge’s Arms / Conjurer’s Arms / Two-Handed Conjurer’s Arms

Fieldcraft Ward II: Fisher’s Primary Tools / Fisher’s Secondary Tools / Miner’s Primary Tools / Miner’s Secondary Tools / Botanist’s Primary Tools / Botanist’s Secondary Tools / Bait / Lures

Tradescraft Ward: Goldsmith’s Primary Tools / Goldsmith’s Secondary Tools / Culinarian’s Primary Tools / Culinarian’s Secondary Tools / Carpenter’s Primary Tools / Carpenter’s Secondary Tools / Blacksmith’s Primary Tools / Blacksmith’s Secondary Tools / Armorer’s Primary Tools / Armorer’s Secondary Tools / Leatherworker’s Primary Tools / Leatherworker’s Secondary Tools / Alchemist’s Primary Tools / Alchemist’s Secondary Tools / Weaver’s Primary Tools / Weaver’s Secondary Tools / Crystals

Drinks: Meat Dishes / Egg Dishes / Grain Dishes / Vegetable Dishes / Sweets / Drinks / Seafood Dishes

Grocers Ward: Eggs / Dairy Products / Vegetables / Vegetables / Vegetables / Grains / Spices / Fruits / Mushrooms / Seasonings / Foodstuffs / Freshwater Fare / Saltwater Fare / Meats

Hunters Ward: Corals & Shells / Teeth & Claws / Wings / Bones / Beastcoins / Feathers

Chirurgeons Ward: Potions / Remedies / Ethers / Toxins / Panaceas / Curatives / Reagents / Dyes / Paints / Oils

Ironmongers Ward: Unrefined Metals / Metal Sheets / Metal Wires / Metals / Clasps / Chainmail Meshes / Armor Metals

Woodcutters Ward: Raw Wood / Lumber / Planks

Tanners Ward: Hides / Leathers / Furs / Armor Hides / Armor Leathers / Footwear Parts

Masons Ward: Ores / Stones / Gemstones

Tailors Ward: Fibers / Cloth / Hooded Attire Cloth / Cloth Bodies / Smallclothes Cloth / Cloth Sleeves / Front Cloth / Back Cloth / Armor Cloth

Tinkerers Ward: Weapon Heads / Weapon Parts / Weapon Butts / Weapon Grips / Fletchings / Shafts / Arrowheads / Hooks / Armor Parts / Sundries

Clothiers Ward: Undershirts / Full Plate / War Garb / Attire / Hooded Attire

Jewellers Ward: Necklaces / Earrings / Bracelets / Rings / Belts / Sashes

Hatters Ward: Helms / Hats / Covers / Crowns / Masks / Eyewear

Glovers Ward: Gauntlets / Gloves / Armbands

Legfitters Ward: Undergarments / Pants

Cobblers Ward: Greaves / Shoes / Sandals

News & Information

Square Enix have announced some changes to the market ward system that will be implemented in the near future. These are to help improve the user experience. The current system of trade between players has often been criticized for making it difficult to find items.

Some questions and answers were posted on the Lodestone website today detailing the upcoming changes as well as other things. The text is as follows:

Market Wards

Q. I have read that there are changes planned to improve the market system, but is there any more specific information available regarding these changes and the direction the market system will take?
A. We have continued to receive copious amounts of feedback regarding changes that players would like to see made to the market system. As a result, we are planning a number of revisions and additions to the system, the first of which are scheduled to be implemented in the next one to two weeks.

Specifically, market wards will be organized according to specific item types, making it easier to consolidate similar items in the same area. Further, if an item sold within a ward corresponds to that wards’ item type, the tax incurred will be reduced. Items not of that ward’s category may still be sold, but the tax imposed will remain the same as it has up until now.

We will be closely monitoring the trends and developments of the market system following the implementation of these revisions and new features, and will continue to make further adjustments and alterations to improve player usability and convenience. For example, we are currently looking into options that will provide players with precise information as to which items are located in which market areas, or the ability to seek out specific items without the need for speaking to retainers, and more.

Also, we are now taking steps to increase the number of retainers that a character is able to simultaneously employ.

Anima

Q. What is the deal with the anima regeneration rate?
A. During the Open Beta, anima was recovered at the rate of one point every six hours (Earth time). Since service began last week for owners of the collector’s edition, however, that rate has been adjusted to one point every four hours.

Food

Q. What kind of effects does eating have on my character?
A. Eating food serves to temporarily increase certain stats, such as physical and magic attack power, or attributes, such as strength and dexterity. Also, there are foods and dishes suited more to the palates of certain races than others, resulting in more powerful effects.

News & Information

Update September 29th: The WindowerXIV site is down due to a cease & desist threat letter issued by Square Enix. The site will remain down until further notice.

I. Features
- It enables you to play FFXIV in pseudo full screen mode (no window borders).
- You can use alt-tab in the full screen mode without FFXIV crashing.
- No more crashes due to UAC, ctrl+alt+del or other losses of the DirectX device.
- FFXIV runs a bit faster (about 5%) than in the build in window mode.
- Enables hardware mouse without patching any game files.
- Easy to use and configure through build in launcher and settings application.

II. Roadmap (features to come)
- Plugin interface
- Support for multiple screens
- More DirectX options to tweak the game
- Integrate a help function
- A lot of bugfixes

III. Requirements
- An up to date version of FFXIV
- Windows Vista or Windows 7 – it will not work on other systems

IV. How to use
- In FFXIV settings activate window mode and set the size (desktop res for full-screen).
- Start launcher, set the path to your ffxivboot.exe location and press “Play FFXIV”.
- You can also let the launcher create desktop links for you if you so choose.

Website: http://www.windowerxiv.com/

News & Information Windower

FFXIV Videos

Macros are:
in game text command chains which are readily available using your CTL or ALT keys. Macros save you time, in many cases make you faster, and at the very least make your FFXIV life easier.

Below is some information about changing your equipment and setting up actions using plain text commands or macros.

To Begin Using Macros:
Go into your configuration menu and select macros. Choose an empty place and click it or press enter to begin. Type a short name, select an icon, and you can then create a macro.

A job change, including equipment and actions, is a good place to get started.

You can easily equip a weapon in your main hand. This is a good first step for an equipment change macro and will also change your job.

Format:
/equip [gear slot] “[item name]”
Example:
/equip main “Weathered Cane”

You can continue this macro by changing any of your equipment as you deem necessary as long as you do not surpass the ten line macro limitation.

Equipment Slot Names:
Format: /equip [gear slot] “[item name]“

Main Hand (main), Off Hand (sub), Throwing weapon (throwing), Pack (pack), Pouch (pouch), Head (head), Body (body), Body (clothing) (shirt), Legs (legs), Legs (clothing) (garment), Hands (hands), Feet (feet), Waist (waist), Neck (neck), Right Ear (R.ear), Left Ear (L.ear), Right Wrist (R.wrist), Left Wrist (L.wrist), Right Index Finger (R.index), Left Index Finger (L.index), Right Ring Finger (R.ring), Left Ring Finger (L.ring)

Readying Actions on the Toolbar:
Format: /eaction [slot number] “[action name]“ [main/sub]

You can also add your actions into their chosen positions by using “/eaction”. This example equips a Weathered Cane to your main hand, and puts a selected action into slot 2.

Example:
/equip main “Weathered Cane”
/eaction 2 “ACTION NAME” main

You can add actions to any toolbar slot by using the number for your chosen position.

Conclusion:
By combining equipment changes, and action readyness, you can properly create yourself a custom job change macro. Good luck with your macro, and have fun out there

News & Information Macros

We would like to thank everyone who has participated in the FINAL FANTASY XIV Open Beta Test. The open beta test currently being conducted is scheduled to end at 5:00 p.m. on September 19, 2010 (PDT). Following the end of the open beta test, the beta test site will close at 12:00 a.m. on September 20, 2010 (PDT).

*Client downloads will cease simultaneously with the end of the open beta test.
*The bug report form will be closed simultaneously with the beta test site.

There isn’t much time left in the open beta test, but we would like to thank everyone for their cooperation and support.

— Quoted from the official beta tester (NA) site at: https://dev-na.ffxiv.com/

News & Information Beta Version

FINAL FANTASY XIV Prerelease Trailer (North American version)
From the official Final Fantasy XIV Youtube channel:

 

Official Videos Trailers