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Famitsu Interviews Hiromichi Tanaka

KhrymsonKhrymson Member UncommonPosts: 3,090

Very good interview that details many of the systems much better!  ~  Didn't see this posted anywhere yet!

 

As Hiromichi Tanaka, producer of Final Fantasy XIV, hacked his way through a demonstration of a "Puk Extermination" Guildleve quest, Famitsu flanked him with some questions about their presentation and what it says about the state of the upcoming MMO.

 

Read on to see the full story and discuss it in the ZAM forums.

 

In the gameplay videos, we saw some people fighting dodos and others fighting puks. It turns out that the full scope of the quest requires one to defeat dodos until puks appear. Tanaka states that this is just one of the many ways they will incorporate puzzle-solving elements into Guildleve quests. Also, while there may be an expansive area to explore, later builds of the game will display your targets on the map, so finding those puks that need exterminating will be much easier. As an alpha version, the demo at Gamescom did not include this feature yet.

 

When the interviewer remarked on how beautiful the graphics were, Tanaka took the opportunity to give some hints about how powerful they will become. It turns out the background scenery was heavily compressed for the demo, and will be greatly improved to the point where individual trees will be rendered far into the distance.

 

At this point, Tanaka begins attacking some dodos and moves on to discuss the battle system. In Final Fantasy XI, the player would select the attack command and enter an Auto-Attack mode. To spice up the flow of battle, Final Fantasy XIV will require players to select commands each time they attack, and the combination of commands they choose will determine the technique they use. This will put all new emphasis on strategy and keep players engaged in battle.

 

Action Commands, as Tanaka calls them, are lined up along the bottom of the screen as icons. Those who are grumbling about a passing resemblance to World of Warcraft will be happy to know the layout is tentative and certainly subject to change. The current setup has players selecting an ability from the from the bottom which then appears as a command in your gauge. There are two gauges - one for the left hand and one for the right hand. For example, the character that Tanaka was controlling had a shield in his left hand, so the left-handed gauge had shield commands registered to it.

 

To activate an ability, the player needs to store up their "Action Gauge." The strength and accuracy of a technique can be further increased by storing up the "Power Gauge." The "TP Gauge" also makes a return, which when full will alter the effects of your technique in a variety of ways. The gauges will increase when the player attacks or is attacked by an enemy. During this explanation, Tanaka unleashes Red Lotus Blade with a grin, much to the delight of the interviewer, who immediately recognizes the sword technique.

 

Magic will be used the same way - through Action Commands - but will only be available if you are equipped with a weapon that allows their use. Swords give sword-based abilities and staves will give magic-based abilities. Also, there are skills that cannot be used until you have acquired enough skill in a particular weapon. In total, you can line up 10 commands in the bar of icons along the bottom. However, in future versions Tanaka states they intend to include a macro system, so players can customize and combine their favorite abilities to their liking.

 

Another bit of customization, to which players are responding positively, is the ability to drag-and-drop the various info boxes around the screen. There are default positions for each piece of the UI, such as Action Commands, player status, chat box and party status. These will all be movable, and the chat log will be fully adjustable as well. The camera position will have options as well, although the main position will be an over-the-should third person perspective. Tanaka expects there to be three different camera angle to choose from in the final version.

 

When asked why they decided to go with this battle system, Tanaka explained that first and foremost they wanted to get players more active in battle, which the auto-attack system discouraged. Final Fantasy XI focused on each job having a clear role, with players designing parties around combining those roles. However, in Final Fantasy XIV, they wanted to develop a system where players could easily enjoy the game alone, with a friend, with three people or more. The system is built around the concept of meeting each player's own playstyle.

 

Tucked in next to the Action Commands, the interviewer noticed a smiley face, which Tanaka revealed was a set of emoticons. In Final Fantasy XI, players were limited to creating emotes through text, but Final Fantasy XIV will provide a set of graphical smileys for users to express themselves. In addition, there are the motions that we all saw displayed in the video at Gamescom. According to Tanaka, these were created through the use of motion-capture technology. However, capturing facial expressions proved too difficult, so the developers ended up designing those manually. Unfortunately, players cannot use full-body emotes during battle at this stage.

 

At this point, Tanaka finishes up his quest and warps back to the starting point of the Guildleve and moves towards the Aetheryte. Although prevalent in the demo, transportation via Aetheryte will not be so common in the actual game. The majority of their use will be involved with the Guildleve system, as players need to travel to the site of the quest and back again. However, like the user interface, a lot can change before the final game is complete. Tanaka says the game is likely only 40-50% complete at this stage, and the demo cut out basically any elements that were not essential to displaying the Guildleve system. The main focus of the presentation at Gamescom was to show players how Guildleve worked, and how it delivered quests that were enjoyable and light on time. However, this is not to say things will be all fun and games. While the quests shown to players took only 15 minutes of their time, there will many more quests with varying levels of difficulty and time requirements. In addition, there will be hordes of other monsters roaming the countryside that will be sure to make completing your intended task a little trickier.

 

Tanaka admits that showing off an incomplete game can draw criticism from disappointed players, but he hopes that others may show praise for how far Final Fantasy XIV has come. Currently, the most advanced portion of the game is the graphics, so there are many areas that many completely change before the release date. The idea is that Square Enix will showcase new portions of the game as they continue development, allowing players to experience individual content before a complete beta is put together. While in Germany this meant a playable demo at Gamescom, there may be a playable version that users sign up to try out in Japan, more like, as Tanaka put it, a giant focus group. Players will be added gradually, and once the game is polished enough, and there is a solid base of users, they will initiate an open beta.

 

Whatever the shape it will take, Tanaka uses his closing words to assure fans everywhere that everyone will get a chance to play a demo of the game, saying, "The fruits of our labor are finally coming to bear, and the development team is working hard to get the game ready. We're planning to let everyone get a shot at a playable version like we have done here in Germany, so please look forward to it."

 

Source: Famitsu

Comments

  • ZorakGhostalZorakGhostal Member Posts: 122

    Everyone gets to play open beta, fantastic!

  • zeroadielzeroadiel Member UncommonPosts: 22

    Wow, a chance for everyone to demo the game... *falls in love*

  • BellarionBellarion Member Posts: 244

    "Those who are grumbling about a passing resemblance to World of Warcraft will be happy to know the layout is tentative and certainly subject to change."

    There is nothing wrong with making comparisons between the games, and speculating about how the use of one games feature in another game might turn out.  IMO the command gauge seems a different way of controlling the characters actions.  I personally feel that the macro system in FF14 was a simple and attractive way of doing this. I hope that whatever SE chooses to do, it is enjoyable.

     

    WOOT
    www.eorzeapedia.com
    (Great FF14 source)

  • trepotrepo Member Posts: 119
    Originally posted by Khrymson


    Whatever the shape it will take, Tanaka uses his closing words to assure fans everywhere that everyone will get a chance to play a demo of the game, saying, "The fruits of our labor are finally coming to bear, and the development team is working hard to get the game ready. We're planning to let everyone get a shot at a playable version like we have done here in Germany, so please look forward to it."

     

    That was related to the TGS in one month. He was just saying that they would provide a playable version of the game at the event like it was at the GamesCom.

  • StuckovStuckov Member UncommonPosts: 101

    I am kinda confused about there being no Auto Attack? So if u engage an enemy u can not let your character just deal white dmg to it ? u have to actually press a button to hit the target?

  • toddzetoddze Member UncommonPosts: 2,150
    Originally posted by zeroadiel


    Wow, a chance for everyone to demo the game... *falls in love*

     

    I am one of the biggest SE fanboys out there, but lets wait and see if they really do give us a true demo. We have heard this song way to many times before.

    Waiting for:EQ-Next, ArcheAge (not so much anymore)
    Now Playing: N/A
    Worst MMO: FFXIV
    Favorite MMO: FFXI

  • zeroadielzeroadiel Member UncommonPosts: 22
    Originally posted by toddze

    Originally posted by zeroadiel


    Wow, a chance for everyone to demo the game... *falls in love*

     

    I am one of the biggest SE fanboys out there, but lets wait and see if they really do give us a true demo. We have heard this song way to many times before.



     

    This is true and I am a bit SE Fanboy as well. What I love is when he said it, he didn't use the word "might" or "maybe" but planning meaning that they already through it through and the reception at Gamescom was huge enough to know that they have a steady group waiting for the game already.

  • toddzetoddze Member UncommonPosts: 2,150
    Originally posted by zeroadiel

    Originally posted by toddze

    Originally posted by zeroadiel


    Wow, a chance for everyone to demo the game... *falls in love*

     

    I am one of the biggest SE fanboys out there, but lets wait and see if they really do give us a true demo. We have heard this song way to many times before.



     

    This is true and I am a bit SE Fanboy as well. What I love is when he said it, he didn't use the word "might" or "maybe" but planning meaning that they already through it through and the reception at Gamescom was huge enough to know that they have a steady group waiting for the game already.

     

    Yes I agree but what MMO doesnt have a following before launch? Anywho until I see them say with 100% certainty that there will be a demo that you can try before you buy anything I might believe it. There is a very good reason other companies back out of their "try before you buy" slogans pre-launch. If SE follows up on it, it means they are 100% proud that their product will be top notch, if they back down from it then we know we might be in for a rocky start. We shall see what happens

    I plan to pre-order on the day it comes available.

    Waiting for:EQ-Next, ArcheAge (not so much anymore)
    Now Playing: N/A
    Worst MMO: FFXIV
    Favorite MMO: FFXI

  • WSIMikeWSIMike Member Posts: 5,564
    Originally posted by Bellarion


    "Those who are grumbling about a passing resemblance to World of Warcraft will be happy to know the layout is tentative and certainly subject to change."
    There is nothing wrong with making comparisons between the games, and speculating about how the use of one games feature in another game might turn out.  IMO the command gauge seems a different way of controlling the characters actions.  I personally feel that the macro system in FF14 was a simple and attractive way of doing this. I hope that whatever SE chooses to do, it is enjoyable.
     



    Heheh... well, mentioning WoW directly, or describing anything that could even bare a passing resemblence to it is enough to start some off on an enduring "It's another WoW clone!" campaign. 



    I think - and only partially facetiously - for a time, some companies saw "It's a WoW clone" and thought "Yes! They're comparing our game to the most populated MMO out there! This is great!". 



    I think some have finally come to realize the words "WoW Clone" are *not* a good thing, but rather a potential death knell. Being compared to WoW in anything but having favorable sub #'s these days, is typically considered an insult. It's a euphemism for "another unoriginal, derivative knock-off trying to ride WoW's coat-tails".



    So, I think some (those who've picked up on the trend) are trying to make sure people understand the distinction that a given aspect of the game might be *similar*, but the game itself is not.

    It's really kinda sad when you think about it... but I wouldn't be at all surprised if that plays into it.

     

    "If you just step away for a sec you will clearly see all the pot holes in the road,
    and the cash shop selling asphalt..."
    - Mimzel on F2P/Cash Shops

    image

  • WSIMikeWSIMike Member Posts: 5,564
    Originally posted by toddze

    Originally posted by zeroadiel

    Originally posted by toddze

    Originally posted by zeroadiel


    Wow, a chance for everyone to demo the game... *falls in love*

     

    I am one of the biggest SE fanboys out there, but lets wait and see if they really do give us a true demo. We have heard this song way to many times before.



     

    This is true and I am a bit SE Fanboy as well. What I love is when he said it, he didn't use the word "might" or "maybe" but planning meaning that they already through it through and the reception at Gamescom was huge enough to know that they have a steady group waiting for the game already.

     

    Yes I agree but what MMO doesnt have a following before launch? Anywho until I see them say with 100% certainty that there will be a demo that you can try before you buy anything I might believe it. There is a very good reason other companies back out of their "try before you buy" slogans pre-launch. If SE follows up on it, it means they are 100% proud that their product will be top notch, if they back down from it then we know we might be in for a rocky start. We shall see what happens

    I plan to pre-order on the day it comes available.



    Hell, I'll be spooging just to see the first  "Eorzea Benchmark" when that comes along.

     

    "If you just step away for a sec you will clearly see all the pot holes in the road,
    and the cash shop selling asphalt..."
    - Mimzel on F2P/Cash Shops

    image

  • WSIMikeWSIMike Member Posts: 5,564
    Originally posted by Khrymson


    Very good interview that details many of the systems much better!  ~  Didn't see this posted anywhere yet!


     Source: Famitsu
    ...



    Nice. I'm really glad to hear that the teleporting/aetherite aspect won't necessarily be ubiquitous throughout the game... or at least - hopefully - not to where you can get almost everywhere from the start by teleporting (outside of Guildleve areas). That really makes any game world feel so much smaller to me.

    One thing that I'm looking forward to is exploring Eorzea. If it's setup like the Teleport Crystals or Outposts in XI where you have to get there on foot and "unlock" them first, then that would be at least one perfect excuse to go exploring. Of course, there's also "just because", which is just as good a reason.

    "If you just step away for a sec you will clearly see all the pot holes in the road,
    and the cash shop selling asphalt..."
    - Mimzel on F2P/Cash Shops

    image

  • SoulSurferSoulSurfer Member UncommonPosts: 1,024

    Hooray for TP!

    <3 TP

     

  • swalker23swalker23 Member Posts: 266

    I just jizzed a lil

    If it really is %40-%50 done what % percentage would the first beta be at?

    image

  • ChexxChexx Member Posts: 41
    Tanaka took the opportunity to give some hints about how powerful they will become. It turns out the background scenery was heavily compressed for the demo, and will be greatly improved to the point where individual trees will be rendered far into the distance.

     

    I really hope that dx11 is supported in XIV, since windows 7 and dx11 cards will be released by then.  If XIV isnt in DX11 they would really be hindering their graphics for no reason and with the dx11 capabilities the game would look stunning not that it alrdy isnt.

    Windows 7 (Oct 22)

    DX11 Cards (September 11) (Not Confirmed Yet)

    (DX11 Hardware Capabilities)

     

     

     

  • LeodiousLeodious Member UncommonPosts: 773

    These ideas really excite me. I think it could be a very good game. I only worry that the controls will be much like they are in XI. I loved that game, but simple things like accessing a menu were so tedious it drove me insane. The basic controls were just terrible, and there was no was for me to change them to something that made any kind of sense. If they would give a control system that made sense, I would be all over a FF MMO.

    "There are two great powers, and they've been fighting since time began. Every advance in human life, every scrap of knowledge and wisdom and decency we have has been torn by one side from the teeth of the other. Every little increase in human freedom has been fought over ferociously between those who want us to know more and be wiser and stronger, and those who want us to obey and be humble and submit."

    — John Parry, to his son Will; "The Subtle Knife," by Phillip Pullman

  • Originally posted by Khrymson



    At this point, Tanaka begins attacking some dodos and moves on to discuss the battle system. In Final Fantasy XI, the player would select the attack command and enter an Auto-Attack mode. To spice up the flow of battle, Final Fantasy XIV will require players to select commands each time they attack, and the combination of commands they choose will determine the technique they use. This will put all new emphasis on strategy and keep players engaged in battle.
     
    Action Commands, as Tanaka calls them, are lined up along the bottom of the screen as icons. Those who are grumbling about a passing resemblance to World of Warcraft will be happy to know the layout is tentative and certainly subject to change. The current setup has players selecting an ability from the from the bottom which then appears as a command in your gauge. There are two gauges - one for the left hand and one for the right hand. For example, the character that Tanaka was controlling had a shield in his left hand, so the left-handed gauge had shield commands registered to it.
     
    To activate an ability, the player needs to store up their "Action Gauge." The strength and accuracy of a technique can be further increased by storing up the "Power Gauge." The "TP Gauge" also makes a return, which when full will alter the effects of your technique in a variety of ways. The gauges will increase when the player attacks or is attacked by an enemy. During this explanation, Tanaka unleashes Red Lotus Blade with a grin, much to the delight of the interviewer, who immediately recognizes the sword technique.
     
    Magic will be used the same way - through Action Commands - but will only be available if you are equipped with a weapon that allows their use. Swords give sword-based abilities and staves will give magic-based abilities. Also, there are skills that cannot be used until you have acquired enough skill in a particular weapon. In total, you can line up 10 commands in the bar of icons along the bottom. However, in future versions Tanaka states they intend to include a macro system, so players can customize and combine their favorite abilities to their liking.
     

     

    I'm really confused about how combat works.  So do you select various combinations of "action commands" and then hit a button and watch as your character executes some attack?  The way he's describing it almost seems like your attacks aren't done as you hit the buttons.

  • BigBadWolfeBigBadWolfe Member Posts: 143
    Originally posted by Sixpax



    I'm really confused about how combat works.  So do you select various combinations of "action commands" and then hit a button and watch as your character executes some attack?  The way he's describing it almost seems like your attacks aren't done as you hit the buttons.

     

    well to me it sounds like instead of choosing actual abilites you choose the attributes that make up the ability.

    Like if you wanted to do a melee strike, instead of hitting melee strike you would input something like instant, enemytarget, damage combinations, and it would produce a close ranged attack

    or if you chose Charge, Area of Effect, debuff you might do some spinning blade attack that causes bleed debuffs to the mobs around you.  What this does is gives players more flexibility of how they want to fight limited only to the number of attribute slots open to them.  Also without set attacks devs won't have to balance around set class abilities, a dev can simply add and remove attribute combinations at will to create new abilities.

    Also from what I gathered from the interview, the new is associated directly to the weapon itself.  If you picked up a shield you will get all the tanking abilities, and if you picked up a sword you would get all the melee abilities.  So if you used a sword and a shield then you become a melee tank, but if you say used a wand and shield you become more like a Paladin tank.

    And yes there doesn't seem to be any auto-attacking in this game unlike FFXI, or most MMOs.

     

  • Originally posted by BigBadWolfe

    Originally posted by Sixpax



    I'm really confused about how combat works.  So do you select various combinations of "action commands" and then hit a button and watch as your character executes some attack?  The way he's describing it almost seems like your attacks aren't done as you hit the buttons.

     

    well to me it sounds like instead of choosing actual abilites you choose the attributes that make up the ability.

    Like if you wanted to do a melee strike, instead of hitting melee strike you would input something like instant, enemytarget, damage combinations, and it would produce a close ranged attack

    or if you chose Charge, Area of Effect, debuff you might do some spinning blade attack that causes bleed debuffs to the mobs around you.  What this does is gives players more flexibility of how they want to fight limited only to the number of attribute slots open to them.  Also without set attacks devs won't have to balance around set class abilities, a dev can simply add and remove attribute combinations at will to create new abilities.

    Also from what I gathered from the interview, the new is associated directly to the weapon itself.  If you picked up a shield you will get all the tanking abilities, and if you picked up a sword you would get all the melee abilities.  So if you used a sword and a shield then you become a melee tank, but if you say used a wand and shield you become more like a Paladin tank.

    And yes there doesn't seem to be any auto-attacking in this game unlike FFXI, or most MMOs.

     

     

    Well I'm going to keep an open mind and I'm really hoping I can macro those actions so that when I hit the macro, he does the attack.  Nothing worse (to me) than feeling disconnected from your "toon" because he doesn't react as you hit the buttons.

  • LexinLexin Member UncommonPosts: 701

    Couple concerns right now after reading that.

     

    1) He stated the game is only 40%-50% done. My concern with that is they will try to rush it and I know all Final Fantasy games are huge so I don't want a rushed game like previous games have done and tanked shortly after.

     

    2) I plan to play this on PS3 but it would seem he was talking about the UI for PC so what should I expect from the PS3 UI?

     

    I know SE puts out great games so I should not be too concerned but right now those 2 things are my only concerns about the game. But I know SE will wow me so I wont go on a rage saying I wont get this because chances of me getting this is 99%.

    image

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