Letter from the Producer, XVI (08/15/2011)

Hello again, all fans of FINAL FANTASY XIV!

With energy conservation measures in place, the team is getting a full taste of the summer heat here in the office. Things are buuurning up in Eorzea as well, with Firefall Faire in full swing!

Before I dive in here, I’d like to apologize for being later than I intended with another letter. I was planning to send it out early last week, but ended up being out of commission for three days with a high fever. Ah, the woes of aging…

Now, I realize that this hardly makes up for my tardiness, but there’s something I’d like to share with you all: a screenshot of the long-awaited “My Little Chocobo” system!

As you might have guessed, this system is still under development…and the name is obviously still up in the air. The team’s pushing hard for release in patch 1.19, so I ask you be patient just a little while longer. In the meantime, though, feel free to let your imaginations run wild.

Moving on, it’s time again for me to update the list of changes. I’ve reformatted the list and given it a new name to better reflect the content: “Patch 1.19 Update Schedule.” So as to keep this letter a reasonable length, items scheduled for after 1.19 will reappear in my next letter, where they’ll have a list all to themselves. Now, without further ado, feast your eyes on the list! Further commentary below!

For content of 1.19 patch follow this link: Cant copy and paste tables here

http://forum.square-enix.com/ffxiv/threads/20998-Letter-from-the-Producer-XVI-%2808-15-2011%29

You may’ve noticed that some all-new things are included. In an earlier letter, I believe I used the word “heavyweight” to describe patch 1.18. Well, patch 1.19 will be a veritable monster. To give you a rough idea of its size, we’re expecting the patch notes to be 3–5 times longer than 1.18’s. This is in no small part due to the slew of long-awaited items that’ll finally make their way into the game.

Just so you’re given due warning, the team is running on a tightrope to stay on schedule, so please don’t be surprised if a handful of things end up getting put off until 1.19a or later.

It might seem that battle-related content dominate the list, but rest assured, folks, we haven’t forgotten about other aspects of the game. For starters, significant improvements are in store for both Disciples of the Hand and Land, such as an overhaul of synthesis recipes, the introduction of the materia crafting system, and a brand new ability to avoid enemy aggro in the field. The growth curve for Disciples of the Hand, in particular, is in need of attention, and we’ll be taking a scalpel to that also.

Items with far-reaching impact have also been added to the list, such as Battle Regimens. It’s become clear that in order to improve Battle Regimens we’ll need to first rebuild the framework for the battle system, which can take place only after the new enemy claiming and linking systems are introduced.

Unfortunately, we’ll have to temporarily do away with Battle Regimens in order to release patch 1.19. This is due to extremely sensitive issues with the server-side system that simultaneously reads commands input from multiple players. I’m very sorry for any inconvenience caused by the absence of Battle Regimens, especially to those dungeon-crawling types who’ve developed a taste for Dzemael Darkhold’s time-based objectives. If it’s any consolation, the large-scale changes to battle algorithms planned for 1.19 will cause certain strategies to go out of fashion, and players will need to tap into their resourcefulness to discover new ways to overcome enemies. During this time, we intend to test the overhauled battle system extensively, so that we’ll be able to provide players with the challenges they seek. Please bear with us in the meantime.

Physical levels will be nixed in patch 1.19, as per popular demand. In light of this change, skill points will be replaced by experience points, and rank renamed level.

System-wise, MMORPGs are generally more complex than their offline RPG counterparts, and this is evident in the jargon they employ. In implementing the above changes in terminology, we wanted to make it so that at least the core aspects of the game can be easily grasped by anyone. We realize that more established players may find this change unsettling, and would like to apologize and ask for your understanding in advance.

Alongside the overhaul to the algorithms, work is also proceeding on redefining and redistributing abilities for Disciples of War and Magic. This is a hefty amount of work, and not all classes will be ready by patch 1.19. But rather than a partial release, we’ve decided to save the implementation of all classes for 1.20. We’ll make the details of the planned changes available when 1.19 goes live, and monitor player feedback as a way to help define our direction. In the meantime, we’ll keep on performing balance tweaks to the current class system in coming sub-patches based on ongoing feedback from the community.

When I put together the list of changes for patch 1.19, it struck me as rather small (the vertical scrollbar in the spreadsheet was looong). But this is because it’s made up of major items outlined only in brief. The team’s working hell-for-leather to deliver this monster patch (did I mention that it’s a giant next to 1.18?) to you by the end of September. We’d love to be able to release the patch sooner, but all things considered, I’m afraid this is the earliest we can reasonably achieve. We promise you, though, that we’re sparing no effort to ensure that 1.19 will be worth the wait—a patch that’s ripe to burst with new content as well as refinements. And we’ll do our utmost to see that it arrives before the last of the summer heat fades into memory.

And here I think I’ll end the letter before I bore you all to tears.

As always, I’ll see to it that the juicy details of all the changes we have in store are made available via the Lodestone and the official forums. So what’re you waiting for? Make tracks for the forums now and get discussing!

See you next time and/or on the forums!

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