FFXIVstuff, aka monster hunter XIV Options

[Crushinator]

Blast! I was just here to post those! Yeah it looks cool to me, I like the closer to the character camera, almost over the the shoulder. Looks a lot like FF12's gameplay.

[Vitamin D]

It certainly seems that they're trying to rope back in the old (and current even) XI crowd as well as new players. It looks pretty damn good so far. I'll definitely give the beta a whirl if possible haha.

[Crushinator]

Video Games | Final Fantasy XIV Online | GC 09: Lalafell Gameplay (Cam)

XBox 360 | Playstation 3 | Nintendo Wii

Another vid with some hot taru action.

I really like the movement animations on the characters, although the people playing seem to have trouble grasping the camera controls...

[Crushinator]

[Alisha]

mega boss. i'm geussing thats the games opening cutscene.

[Crushinator]

From RPGsite:

PS3 fans who want to beta test the newest online Final Fantasy epic may want to think about upgrading their PCs as Final Fantasy XIV director Hiromichi Tanaka told Japanese publication GameWatch that FF14 XIV beta testing will initially only be carried out on the Windows platform.

In the same article information was revealed about how the beta testing will be conducted. To begin with, the beta will not be continuous, only lasting for a couple of hours at a time so the development team can directly monitor the goings on. They'll also be conducted with a relatively small group of people from all over the world.

As the game is tightened up and nears release a full 24-hour beta will begin on the PC, finally ending with a full, free open beta.

It was also revealed that this game is being designed for PCs and ported to consoles - the opposite of PS2-developed FF11. The game is being built with Direct X 9 in mind. You can get more from the Final Fantasy experts at UFFSite.

Ooooohhhh, so much for TR3Y 4 LY4E as far as FF14 goes. Starting development on PC will make it a lot easier to get on both PS3 and 360 eventually, though.

I have to question why they are using DirectX 9, especially when we're on the verge of the launch of DX11 with Windows 7, DirectX 10 has matured a lot by now and sticking with DX9 will really hold back FF14 in the graphics dept.

Technology Information
FF14 is being developed for PC first and then ported to consoles - the opposite of FF11, which was made for PS2.

Fans can expect support for systems with multiple cores and 64-bit machines, unlike FF11.

FF14 is designed with today's higher end machines in mind.

The team is working on seperate graphics for the PS3 and PC versions.

The PS3 version will likely run in 720p - the PC version will depend on the settings and hardware the user has.


Beta Information
Early beta testing will only be a small group worldwide and will only take place in 3-4 hour segments.

Currently the planned beta is only for the Windows version.

Length of testing will gradually increase as the game nears completion until the beta is online 24 hours a day.

Eventually there will be a free open beta for everyone to join.

Originally the development team anticipated it would take 6 months to go from closed beta to open beta - now they believe it could be shorter.

Ultimately how long the open beta takes to arrive will depend on the feedback offered by members of the closed beta.

[Scan_Man]

About the DirectX9 thing. From what I heard the majority of PC gamers were still running XP. Something about they think the jump in graphic quality is not worth it enough or noticeable enough to change their operating system. I would imagine this is even more so for Japan, where PC gaming is not very popular compared to the rest of the world. I'm sure they have researched this. I know for beta sign ups they always ask you for your PC specs. So I'm sure there is likely data to back up that decision.

[Knightsword]

And if I recall only ati has launch its dx11 cards now, and nvidia has yet to put one on the market. Also it is kinda hard to develope a game (that started what 2 years ago?) for Windows 7/dx11 when they haven't been officially released. and Scanman is right many people still use XP and just don't care.

[Crushinator]

But on that same token, the developers for FF14 have specifically stated they were developing the game with the "high end PC user in mind", so I don't get why they don't support DX10 at all.

[AC9breaker]

Not only that but, of course the people won't buy something if there's no product for it. If FFXI supported D10 it'll be all the more reason to get it. It's like saying Let's focus on making games for the ps2 rather then ps3 or 360 becuase it has a higher installed base. I'm with Crush on this one, I mean I don't blame them for not making it for D11 but at the very least could have been D10

[Wiryu]

Least of my concerns. If it only supported Dx3 my curiosity would still lead me to at least try out the game. The details to this point have intrigued me enough for that at least.

[Knightsword]

I would rather have it be dx9 and usable by all the windows user base and be successful, then chained to vista with dx10 and used by quarter of the user base Also of course they are gonna make it so it can be ported to consoles easily they would be damn stupid if they didn't and be honest console owners out number the pc owners by quite a large number.

p.s. even the 360 and ps3 cant do dx 10

[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.

[Crushinator]

Yeah I'll admit I kinda lost my way toward the end of that post. I think the main thing I wanted to get across was that PC's are far more pervasive than consoles.

I agree that its difficult, if not impossible from the information we have available, to get any kind of idea was to how many "serious gaming PCs" are out there, compared to current-gen consoles. Maybe Square-Enix is taking a WoW-approach, trying to make sure this game is playable by as many people as possible. From a marketing standpoint it does make the most sense to scale back an MMO to meet requirements on low-end hardware so they can expand the player base.

I just feel its a disservice to gamers to say you're going to create a product for a high end PC gamer, and disregard the latest graphics APIs.