Hiromichi Tanaka retires and other Vanafest 2012 tidbits

[isiolia]

Wasn't sure if it'd be better to post in this forum or in the retro game news forum.

Anyway, those who don't play FFXI may not have realized that this past weekend in Japan Square-Enix hosted the 2012 version of their FFXI fan festival, Vanafest. A new expansion was announced for next year, new continent, new jobs (Geomancer, Runic Fencer), and so on. If you actively play the game, you probably know this already

There were a few other things to come out of it that I figured might be of interest.

As mentioned in the title, Hiromichi Tanaka is retiring for health reasons. While he has been largely disliked in the role of producer for FFXI, and was at the helm for the horrendous launch of FFXIV, folks may remember him more fondly for his work on FFII, FFIII, Secret of Mana, Xenogears, Chrono Cross, and more.

On a more positive note, SE hosted multiple concerts at the event, which were live-streamed and now archived on Youtube.

Naoshi Mazuta (the primary composer for FFXI) and his new band Nanaa Mihgo's performed a few tracks from FFXI here.

Nobuo Uematsu and his band the Earthbound Papa's performed tracks from FFVI, VII, VIII, X, and XI here.

[KoLAddict]

Was glad to see they are still supporting the game with new content. I've played casually on/off over the years (haven't gotten a single job above 31 yet) so was happy to see that. Also heard that SE announced FFXI has been their most profitable game ever, which also made me happy as that's a nice way to say the game is safe of going down anytime soon (as if the expansion hadn't already cemented that idea, lol).

Sad to see Hiromichi Tanaka departing for health reasons, but glad he is taking it a little slower, as he's been with Square for a very long time.

[BoneSnapDeez]

Makes me wonder if XIV will ever have a single expansion pack. I'm thinking no.

[isiolia]

Makes me wonder if XIV will ever have a single expansion pack. I'm thinking no.

It'll be good. Eventually. Whether or not anyone will care by the time it does, hard to say.

SE also seems hell bent on throwing money at it, and can probably afford to do due to their FFXI players


Some of the people SE put on the project after the launch flopped were credited with revitalizing XI. It also prompted SE to be better as an MMO maker. Official forums. A test server. Community representatives. The rapid change that XI saw around 2010 with the cap rise and Abyssea has largely died off, but it did show that someone in the company knows better than what they'd been doing. It...just wasn't Tanaka.

Yoshi-P has been a very forthcoming producer/director for XIV, and Matsui (battle director, unless he's not doing that anymore now that he's filling Tanaka's shoes for XI producer) was credited with a lot of the positive change in XI as the battle director and then director for a few months in 2010.

[Nemoide]

I've been playing the Final Fantasy series in order over the past several years. I finished IX earlier this year and I'm hoping a new printing of FF XI for 360 gets made by the time I finish FF X. I'd like to give the game a solid try, but would much rather play on Xbox than PC.

[pierrot]

I started playing FFXI back in 2004 on the PS2, and could reactivate my 85 thf anytime, but even with the changes to make the game a bit more solo friendly I find it incredibly difficult to get anything meaningful done in a reasonable amount of time without knowing people in game. I guess that's part of the draw of MMORPGs and the community side of playing with other people, but I'm far too sporadic a game player to play it on a regular basis.

I still think about jumping back into the game as I have a number of times in the past, but it feels like it feeds on my life force.

Kinda cool that they're actually adding new classes, although the classes they chose to add seem a bit underwhelming given the style of the game and the classes that are already implemented. Though I suppose it could be possible for the Geomancer to be horribly broken in certain fights. I don't understand why they would call the Magic Knight a "Runic Fencer," though. Maybe I should read the press release to find out.

[isiolia]

I've been playing the Final Fantasy series in order over the past several years. I finished IX earlier this year and I'm hoping a new printing of FF XI for 360 gets made by the time I finish FF X. I'd like to give the game a solid try, but would much rather play on Xbox than PC.

360 version is really not preferable. Basically, the game is a PS2 port either way, but the PC platform has the oomph (and mods) to work around it to a better degree. I bought the 360 edition soon after I got a 360 and was quite disappointed in it. It doesn't use the system's potential in the slightest.

I started playing FFXI back in 2004 on the PS2, and could reactivate my 85 thf anytime, but even with the changes to make the game a bit more solo friendly I find it incredibly difficult to get anything meaningful done in a reasonable amount of time without knowing people in game.

Depends on what you have in front of you to do. It certainly isn't a solo game, but what you can do on your own, or with minimal assistance, is far greater than before. Doesn't mean that's what you actually want/need to get done, but it's there.

I don't understand why they would call the Magic Knight a "Runic Fencer," though. Maybe I should read the press release to find out.

Probably because it's using light armor (pics in Alla's writeup). The job is envisioned as tank that specializes in resisting magic (ignoring how well a PLD with Aegis already does that I guess). Both of the new jobs seem based some on putting runes/circles on the ground.
Both seem like they step on RDM's toes a fair bit, which considering how redundant the job has already become...definitely questionable.

[pierrot]

Both seem like they step on RDM's toes a fair bit, which considering how redundant the job has already become...definitely questionable.

That's what I immediately though when I read "Runic Fencer."

That's also another thing I got a little tired of is Square attempting to balance jobs but intentionally or unintentionally picking favorites, and the resulting debates of what classes dominate damage parses. I never really had enough interest in any job other than THF, and as versatile as the job is in and of itself, it wasn't nearly versatile enough to keep up with what the game and community demanded in endgame, last I played.

[isiolia]

There always seems to be one job or another in need of tweaking, which is why I'm cynical about new jobs in the first place. New ideas can get worked into older jobs.

I think the "playing favorites" thing crops up with nearly any MMO. I think there are other fundamental issues with XI that serve to perpetuate it, but it's far from a unique issue. The versatility in the job system undermines versatile jobs, for instance. Not that I dislike the system per se, just that there's a lot less need to make what you have work if you can just swap to something optimal.

Compared to some, THF doesn't seem like it's all that demanding. Hit the mob while wearing TH gear! At least they have a reason to stay engaged now, to build up TH effect.
A while ago, knowing Dynamis pulling n' such might also be needed, but that was all changed too.
Does depend on what you want to do though, since if TH isn't applicable, it'd probably be hard to get an invite on the job.

[KoLAddict]

Can FFXI even be played on PS2 still? I thought the game finally exceeded the HDD's storage capacity. Or is it possible to increase the HDD space?

I'm sure part of the thinking with the new jobs is getting people to grind even more. One thing I really like about the job system is that, one, you can do everything with one character, and secondly, that it keeps some of the lower level areas more populated, since they need to be re-visited to level up lower jobs.

The one thing I wish they would add is easier quests to grind experience from, or to increase the level gap before mobs stop giving experience, so it'd be a little easier to grind stuff out solo. When I do play I am on Cerberus server, but I don't know anyone on there that plays anymore. Was wanting to re-activate my account for this year's anniversary to get the ring since the exp boost is sick, but I missed it by about a month:(