Letter from the Producer LIVE Part XXIII Q&A Update Thread

[Kage]

...no one got excited over VANUDANCE BEING IN 3.1?

 

RPC YOU HAVE FAILED ME.

 

I don't remember seeing it to be honest >.>;

 

Any chance you remember?

 

I've heard it compared to Maori dance.

[Arelian Solin]

It's very much the Maori dance! You can watch a group of them do it in Ok'zundu in the Sea of Clouds. It's fantastic.

[Unnamed Mercenary]

...no one got excited over VANUDANCE BEING IN 3.1?

 

RPC YOU HAVE FAILED ME.

 

I don't remember seeing it to be honest >.>;

 

Any chance you remember?

 

I've heard it compared to Maori dance.

 

It's in Sea of Clouds when you find the Vanu settlement.

 

[Kellach Woods]

Honestly it's one of the many types of dance in the world that we were missing. It's as close to a haka as we're gonna get, and quite frankly, ever since they showed it to me I was like "I need this on Kell."

[Blue]

I know the event you are talking about and it was just a very limiting glamor type buff that let you run around just that section of the city as a child. You couldn't leave the city with it still active at all. I'm sure something like that is possible, but I don't know if they have animations for running and walking and emoting created for children in FFXIV yet.

 

That was extended a long time ago. Now you can access to it whenever by consuming a certain food, even out of the city. I don't remember what emotes it has but I have heard others saying they could do it (and I'm sure in XIV they could, I mean, it's nothing different than what we got when we could glamour as the GC leaders).

 

I'm just saying, it may not be out there yet, but I wouldn't say we'd "never" get it.

[Aaron]

...no one got excited over VANUDANCE BEING IN 3.1?

 

RPC YOU HAVE FAILED ME.

I DID!

 

WE BOTH CAN WEAR FRUIT BASKET HATS AND COEURL TIGHTS AND DANCE UNDER THE SUN ALL POLYGON LIKE.

[TheLastCandle]

This question annoys me: Q47. For someone that loves FINAL FANTASY Tactics, I just can’t get enough of the Valerian equipment. Will you be adding more designs from other FFT classes?

 

A47. If there are enough requests we’d like to do this by fitting them in with the lore.

 

Someone must not like FFT quite as much as they think, because he/she doesn't remember it very well. The Valerian gear is from Tactics Ogre, which is way better than FFT an entirely different setting.

 

Best part of the live letter:

 

 

Gimme dem trunks.

[Kellach Woods]

Someone must not like FFT quite as much as they think, because he/she doesn't remember it very well. The Valerian gear is from Tactics Ogre, which is way better than FFT an entirely different setting.

 

To be perfectly honest, I'm not a fan of the Tactics portion of that series, but damn if I can't get me some more Ogre Battle.

[Marisa]

This might be me grasping at straws, but I'd like to point something out about the miqo'te/lalafell answer. 

 

 

Look at the two examples used. The first one, Elezen-Hyur, is already in-game in the form of Hilda. The second example just happens to be Miqo'te-Lalafell. Which may also already be in-game, as that weird cat girl. 

 

Personally, I'd be excited for that other option, adding more clans. I've always fancied the idea of a wolf or fox Miqo'te as an alternative to cats.

[Dravus]

I'd be a lot more interested in Miqo'te if I could play one similar to Cray from Breath of Fire IV:

 

 

Ideally, though, I wouldn't want it done through the route of interracial breeding. It's already been established that it's meant to be rare and frowned upon. Plus I feel like it'd be more interesting overall to have new fully fleshed out clans for various races complete with distinct body types.

[Zyrusticae]

Personally, I'd be excited for that other option, adding more clans. I've always fancied the idea of a wolf or fox Miqo'te as an alternative to cats.

[...]Plus I feel like it'd be more interesting overall to have new fully fleshed out clans for various races complete with distinct body types.

 

I'd be for that only if they add a Lalafell type that isn't popoto-bodied.

 

I still cannot get over that aspect of their design. Bleehhhh!

[Flashhelix]

I think the game is just fine without voluptuous or shapely lalafell, but that's me.

[Zyrusticae]

Who said anything about voluptuousness or shapeliness?

 

That's just weird, man. That's where your mind goes to when I say 'not popoto-bodied'?

 

I just mean some semblance of anatomy, instead of looking like plain and featureless dolls. Somewhere between Lalafell and the other races, even (and few of them could be described as 'voluptuous' or 'shapely').

 

Selfishly, I only want this because it's probably my only hope of being able to play a female character that doesn't have boobs and isn't a potato. I'll grasp at any straws I can to make that happen.

[Flashhelix]

That's where my mind goes when somebody discusses the anatomy of the comedy dwarf race at length, but if your problem with them is that they don't look "feminine" enough to play a convincing woman then I don't know what else it could be.

[Zyrusticae]

Hah... Well, this is awkward. You seem to be confused.

 

My criteria basically consists of a few simple things:

1. Boobless (or at least flatter than the current minimum size on the taller races)

2. Doesn't look like a popoto

3. Is cute (or has the option of being such)

 

It's not complicated. The fact that I want to play a female character is completely incidental here. I don't need her to be visibly feminine or anything like that.

 

I'm actually finding the fact that you focused on the "feminine" attribute when the only thing I said was that my character would be female to be somewhat disconcerting. Not every female character is defined by their femininity, and I certainly don't need her to be a "convincing woman(???)". If anything, I would want her to be more androgynous than her current (Miqo'te) incarnation, hence why I would want to play as a version of Lalafell (the most androgynous race in the game), except... less popoto-like.

 

Man, I just have to sit here and stew in the fact that you went in that direction, as though no other directions were possible. I guess still too many folks are stuck in that gender-binary mindset. Oh, well, whatever. Hopefully I've illuminated some things for you.

[Unnamed Mercenary]

[[steps in as a mod]]

 

Let's behave now, people.

 

If it's not about the live letter, it's not to be posted in this thread.

 

Off-topic posts will be removed if they continue.

 

Posts that are targetting other users or that can be seen in a negative manner will be removed. This is not a discussion on gender/sex politics or how they relate to the game.

 

[[steps out as a mod]]

[Marisa]

I'd be a lot more interested in Miqo'te if I could play one similar to Cray from Breath of Fire IV:

 

 

Ideally, though, I wouldn't want it done through the route of interracial breeding. It's already been established that it's meant to be rare and frowned upon. Plus I feel like it'd be more interesting overall to have new fully fleshed out clans for various races complete with distinct body types.

 

Katt is the best tiger person from Breath of Fire!  

 

But of course, we all know who absolute best girl is. 

 

 

[Dravus]

Katt's not too dissimilar to the current design of the Miqo'te if I recall correctly! I just really want to play a big buff cat-man - since that'd be perfect towards catering to the sort of roles I tend to embrace in-game (mostly some form of soldier/knight/mercenary).

 

It's a shame that so far only Hyur have clans that are completely different physically. The rest of the races differ only through more subtle options and colouring of various parts of their anatomy.

 

If the developers decide to add more character customisation options in the future then I imagine it'll likely happen if and when support for the PS3 is dropped since that is, apparently, the biggest factor in limiting such things.

 

Heck, I'd be happy with a muscle definition slider for Miqo'te and Elezen. The lack of one for the latter is especially jarring given that they're often portrayed in very physically active roles.

[Kage]

Onice again, please keep discussion about race preference or characteristics out of this thread. If you would like to continue it I ask that you take it out of my thread that is purely for discussion of the actual questions and answers at the Letter from the Producer.

[Dravus]

Onice again, please keep discussion about race preference or characteristics out of this thread. If you would like to continue it I ask that you take it out of my thread that is purely for discussion of the actual questions and answers at the Letter from the Producer.

 

I feel as though it isn't entirely off-topic to discuss possible additions to the character customisation system when one of the answers to a question implies that such a thing may very well happen.

 

Though if you don't want people to discuss such things at all, fair enough - though threads generally evolve naturally over time and should not be micro-managed to such a rigid extent in my humble opinion.

 

(Though if your comment was directed at someone else then ignore this!)

[Kage]

Yesterday was the update of the Digest for the Letter from the Producer LIVE Part XXIII

 

http://forum.square-enix.com/ffxiv/threads/256771-Letter-from-the-Producer-LIVE-Part-XXIII-Digest-%2808-18-2015%29

 

 

Reminder that at the time this is/was the thread with updates of what was being said.

http://forum.square-enix.com/ffxiv/threads/246971-Letter-from-the-Producer-LIVE-Part-XXIII-Q-A-Update-Thread

 

Some things that might have been glossed over or more detailed now that I wanted to take note of.

 

 

0:44:53

Q: The 3.0 main scenario quest series was really good. Can you please tell us which scenes and lines of dialogue you were especially particular with?

A: I believe each staff member in charge of the main scenario has their own particular points. But as for the part I made adjustments to, or parts where I wrote the dialogue myself, I discussed with Maehiro how we wanted to give an overall feeling of players setting out on an adventure. The main scenario for A Realm Reborn was a continuation from FFXIV version 1.0, so it needed to have character introductions and parts which weren’t part of the original plan. We were especially particular with the parts where Ysayle made her appearance in Patch 2.4 and figuring out how to get the dragoon Estinien in the main scenario. We created it in a way that you can understand what they were thinking, and we also made it so they form a strong bond with and fight alongside the Warrior of Light.

 

If you were rushing to clear the story, you just needed to focus on the main scenario quests. However, there were also opportunities to flesh out the story around the main scenario. For example, there are times when the quest icon would be over Alphinaud's head, with Ysayle and Estinien standing next to him. By talking to Ysayle and Estinien, you can hear some more of the story related to the current situation in the main scenario, and also, if you return back to Ishgard at these times, the NPC dialogue changes, so you’ll be able to see more of their story. You may have missed the chance to read these stories, but we have made it so that players who have read these can delve more into the main scenario.

 

I have answered this several times during interviews, but I personally wanted the main scenario to focus on Alphinaud's growth. Alphinaud started off acting like he was above everyone else, but then he loses everything and now has to find his way. There's a scene where Alphinaud enthusiastically offers to deal with a primal threat, and Estinien steps in and points out that it’s the Warrior of Light who will need to put themselves in danger to handle it. We were especially particular about this part of the main scenario, and I was closely involved in its writing.

 

Also, this is a more detailed point, but we made an unreasonable request to Soken by asking him to create night time field music. And not just some specific track for a short event, but a proper score to give players the feeling they're truly out on an adventure. Because we wanted to be particular with this, we pushed Soken to create it in three days. You’ll also see NPCs at Camp Dragonhead with different dialogue at the turning point of the main scenario, as well as after the ending. While many may not take notice, we put a lot of work into these aspects of the story.

 

 

0:49:46

Q: In regards to the Doma adventurers quest, I really enjoyed the uniqueness of the characters. Do you have plans to continue these?

A: Yes, we created these with a continuation in mind. There's also that mysterious Miqo'te after completing the quest, so we have plans for a story related to them.

This mysterious miqo'te is actually labeled as a miqo'te child. She's the one that appears in Mor Dhona after the above quests are finished. She's playing hide and seek or so.

 

1:12:07

Q: What are you planning for the new 24-man raid?

A: We're planning on releasing some information related to Patch 3.1 during the 14-hour live stream that will be held in August. There is also a hint hiding in something I said earlier.

REMINDER THAT THE STREAM IS THE END OF THIS WEEK!!!!!

 

2:01:58

Q: Since 3.0, my inventory and Armoury Chest have been super full. Do you plan on adding more inventory space?

A: For each character, item data is the greatest source of data, both in terms of frequency of writes to the database and total data transferred. Particularly with the number of players connecting to dungeons following the reset each Tuesday, we need to take care that we don't exceed server bandwidth and bring the server down, and so it's taking us a long time to make large improvements on this front. With no visible changes, it must look like we're not making progress. But with each patch we have been making gradual optimizations, and I'd like to one day see an increase in space. But if, for example, increasing space introduced the risk of a server crash, or required us to put limitations on zoning into instances, these sort of things would ultimately lower the quality of life that you've experienced up until now, and therefore there wouldn't be any point to do it. So, although it's in small steps, we continue to make improvements, and we ask you for your patience.

 

However, we’re fully aware that item management is very difficult at the moment, so until then, we’re considering ways to greatly increase the retainer’s abilities. For example, a feature that stores and retrieves whole gear sets to and from retainers, a feature where you’ll be able to glamour from items stored inside your retainer’s inventory, or a feature where you can store all the gear you don’t use to your retainer. Once these types of adjustments become available, we’ll move onto optimization to increase the inventory and Armoury Chest. Minagawa is currently working hard on writing up the specifications for this, so please give us some more time.

 

2:12:11

Q: What is with the small Miqo’te that can be seen in that one area? Is this something we will be able to choose as a new race in the future?

A: Please look forward to future development. As for making it a playable character, I personally don’t have any issue with this. However, there are many restrictions on game development.If the game doesn't pass ratings and other reviews, it can't be sold. In the worst case, it can even lead to the game being recalled and the servers being closed. This is especially true for MMORPGs as you can use emotes on each other’s characters.

 

By the way, Lalafell heads are too big to treat them as children─they're Lalafells, and they're treated as a non-human type of race.

What. Wat wat.

[LiadansWhisper]

 

What. Wat wat.

 

It sounds as though he was saying that they can't really have child-versions of races because things that might happen online could cause the game to be closed.  But Lalafell are okay because they are clearly non-human.

[Flickering Ember]

He was saying child-miqo'te aren't going to happen as a playable race because accusations of pedophilia could lead to FFXIV being shut down. It is admittedly weird that folks apparently have been asking to be able to play as children to begin with...?

 

Though the developer positive response made me also consider that we could get an adult version of this child-miqo'te as a lalafell-esque new race. Perhaps they are looking to add Viera but add them as tiny lalafell like creatures instead of miqo'te clones but with rabbit ears.

[V'aleera]

I imagine it's a similar situation to Elder Scrolls not letting you kill children and WoW not letting you use the little boy squire as a battle pet.

[Kage]

Oh no, I remember that being what they were talking about when I was watching a live translation of the stream.

 

I just found it amusing how different it read in the digest cause someone without context could think it meant that lalafell are not of man race in the context of the game and not real life.