FFXIVstuff, aka monster hunter XIV Options

[Alisha]

http://www.joystiq.com/2009/08/04/final-fa...new-job-system/

The latest edition of Famitsu Wave recently hit newsstands in Japan, bringing with it a DVD which contains an 8-minute exposé on Square Enix's second stab at the MMO genre, Final Fantasy XIV. The whole video is posted after the break. Fret not -- it sports convenient English subtitles.

Here's some of the more titillating excerpts: The game features a reinvented character progression system which does not include experience points or leveling up. The job system from XI will make an appearance, but in a heavily altered form -- an interview with the game's director, Nobuaki Komoto, revealed that the game will place a focus on the weapons players use, explaining that your armaments will determine "the way you play" and "the way you grow." Sounds reminiscent of Final Fantasy IX. (That's a very good thing.)

In addition, FFXIV producer Hiromichi Tanaka explained that the game takes place in a new region with a more "modern" feel to it -- the mysterious Eorzea which was mentioned in the trailer. The new world features familiar races (albeit with new names), and plays host to a "deep story," which is told through cut-scenes and quests. For more FFXIV info than you can possibly handle, check the video after the jump.


sounds similar to monster hunter no?

Race Scans

Someone translated the text on BG Forums regarding the characters:

"When you make your character, aside from choosing the race, you will also be able to customize their appearance. Head, skin color, hair type etc, there will be multiple factors. Just how exact we will be able to customize their appearance is still unknown, but we mean it in a good way when we say that it seems like it will become a worry to many players."

[Crushinator]

Making a game DX10 compatible does not preclude it from working on DX9 systems. Because Crysis, Bioshock, Mirror's Edge, Resident Evil 5, and dozens other games support DX10 that means DX9 computers also can't play them? I'm not saying they need to make FF14 vista/7 exclusive or DX10 compatible only, I'm just saying that its stupid to not embrace current technology if they are aiming for a high end game experience.

and be honest console owners out number the pc owners by quite a large number.

You can't be serious. PC ownership dwarfs consoles. Check it:

http://thenextweb.com/2009/01/02/computer-...ip-per-country/

United States: 76.2%

Now that info is from 2006, so the PC ownership has only swelled since then. I'm also aware that its referring to PC's per-capita, not just per household so it could include government/corporate systems. But the sheer amount of PC's in homes still stands head and shoulders above consoles.

http://www.theesa.com/newsroom/release_det...sp?releaseID=65

Forty-two percent of American homes have a video game console;

Of course keep in mind this figure includes ALL game consoles, not just current gen systems.

http://www.shacknews.com/onearticle.x/54128

PCs are used for gaming more than any console

This is a great breakdown of gaming ownership, but for the sake of this conversation this is what's relevant:

Only 26.5% of people have a current gen console, compared to ~75% PC ownership.
Of the total US population, only 16.68% have a PS3 or 360.

Now I'm not sure what the breakdown of PC owners with a system capable of running FF14 is (to compare it to the total of PS360 owners), but thats besides the point. The thing is, PC's are a large step ahead consoles are far as gaming market penetration goes.

[HC82]

All these stats hurt my brain (well not really), and are more or less moot without knowing how many people's PCs can play a graphic intense game at a good performance level. I PC game and grind out on my Mac too, but I can tell you that my comp can't really grind the graphics I'd like on certain games, so I console game more often, as oppose to updating my PC on a bi-annual basis. For me it's more practical and I fall into the category of people who game, have a PC at home, but don't have a PC Gaming rig, and as a result, choose not to PC game very much, if it all.

If something can substantiate DX10 and allow for DX9, why not? Does it matter, overall? Maybe just for a select few who have solid PC Gaming rigs, but I seriously doubt many people with a PC at home have a dedicated gaming rig.

Also, while statistically, PC's may have far greater overall penetration then consoles worldwide, this is completely irrelevant and separate from those PCs which actually contain a library of video games equal to current generation console gamers, or even a generation past. If we're going to attempt to make a comparative study, then the variables used in the study (ie, gamers), need to be just that, comparative. From a marketing perspective, you can't market something to one crowd and expect the same results with another. Playing Bejewled or some bullshit DL doesn't equate anymore to the topic of our type of gaming, as someone playing tetris on a cellphone. We're talking about actual "gamers" here, so the correlation between PC's are a step ahead of consoles as far as the gaming market penetration goes, should be more accurately stated as that PC's have greater potential for overall penetration, due to they're superior user base; although, when reviewing subsets with the gaming market (ie. types of end-user), there are less costlier barriers to entry for console level gaming, but with the potential for overall greater constant performance then on a PC vs a console gaming. The barriers to entry have to be addressed when reviewing true market penetration for PC gaming versus console gaming.

Anyway, Square probably isn't even looking to cater to certain gaming demographics, because the game will be released on consoles anyway. They should offer the very best, but I doubt that's they're concern for the time being. You never know, it might change at the last minute.