Eorzeapedia wasn’t the only website attending this year’s E3 with an eye on the upcoming Final Fantasy XIV.

Several other media sites were there, and they also got some hands on time with the latest build of the game as well as a chance to sit down with FFXIV Producer Hiromichi Tanaka. Now that everyone has posted their information we’ve thrown it all together in an easy to read list. Below we have videos, interview summaries and links to hands on experiences.

If you haven’t already, make sure to also check out our exclusive interview.

Additionally, you can also see all of our E3 2010 posts here.

Source 1, Source 2
Source
Aware of slow battle system before the alpha stage so they were working on the beta system at the same time Jumping is not something they feel is necessary. “Even if you jump around nothing is going to happen” Looking to allow users to have add-ons for the User Interface
Source
After you learn or acquire an ability, you can change weapons (classes) and still have access to them to create a unique character.
Source
Alpha period over within the next week or so Beta to begin in about one month if all goes well Ambient Occlusion (new shading method) will be optional for users as it requires more processor power Beta will have options for players to customize graphic settings PS3 UI customization somewhat limited compared to PC. FFXI-like settings to allow for customization Not looking into voice chat
Source, Translation
Plans to include a macro palette to combine messages with actions weapon and armor degradation will be in the beta Retainer NPCs to bazaar your goods while offline in beta Cross-regional 24 hour servers around the start of beta Currently running 10 alpha servers
Source, Translation
Square Enix is considering a discount for those who wish to play FFXI and FFXIV at the same time
Source
Planning to introduce other uses for Chocobos at a later time A max of 30 abilities can be attached to the action bar Cut Scenes will be “more involved” than in Final Fantasy XI Hands on experience (see link below)
Source (Interview), Hands On
Auto Translate system will be in Final Fantasy XIV Still investigating possibilities of 3D Aiming PC requirements at more powerful machines for long term enjoyment
Source
High end, class specific armor Higher level Linkshell system called a “Company” No real currency for in game currency exchanges
Source
Updates will be released about every 3 months Companies can “level up” Companies will have real-estate to call their own No porting work being done for Xbox 360. They are “still investigating” the possibility of bringing FFXIV to the Xbox 360
Source
Female Highlanders were originally going to be playable Chat filters will be in beta Battle Regiments can affect multiple enemies
Source, Translation
FFXIV will be making the most of PSN functionality including trophies Interested in possible PlayStation Move use for FFXIV, however no current plans
Source
Chating is hard while in combat, macros will be used for communication Beta takes less processing power than the alpha build
Source, Translation
Final Fantasy XIV will support multiple displays on PC PS3 version locked at 720p. PC can run up to 1080p
Interview, Hands On
20% of world in beta (like 5 kilometers) 30 day subscription model, pricing unknown
Source
Hands on experience (see link below)
Hands On
Hands on impressions (see link below)
Hands On
3D impressions (see link below)
Hands On

E3 is now behind us.  FFXIV Producer Tanaka Hiromichi is back in Japan, working on the latest version update for FFXI and the FFXIV beta.  However, that doesn’t mean we are through looking at all the exciting information to come out of the event!

Expect a number of articles to pop up on Eorzeapedia this week and next as we go through the Japanese media interviews and some of the interesting reporting they’ve been doing after the event.

For starters, we have a very lengthy interview from Dengeki.  I have to wonder how many times Tanaka answered variants of the “where are the male Miqo’tes?” question.  Who knows.  Maybe it’s not too late for them to go back and add them for us?  We can hope right?  Most of the interview covers things we’ve already seen in other interviews so it makes a nice review for people who haven’t been following every little piece of news to hit the site.  However, there are a couple things that might be interesting for even the most up-to-date fans out there.

As always, you can read our translated version below or check out the original interview with pictures on Dengeki’s website.

At E3 2010, Square Enix showed the world for the first time a new build of their highly anticipated MMORPG Final Fantasy XIV.  The build is almost identical to the beta build that will be released later to testers.  We were able to play the game for ourselves and follow it up with an interview with FFXIV Producer Hiromichi Tanaka.  We asked for more details regarding the beta and also future development.

–First, would it be alright to consider the demonstration build at this year’s E3 as the beta version?

Tanaka: I think it would be more accurate to call it a build that is very close to the beta.

–Please tell us what the biggest changes are between the alpha and beta builds.

Tanaka: The biggest changes are in the way graphics are displayed and the battle system, which was completely changed.  For the graphics, the biggest difference is in the shadows.  We’ve also changed the character creation system to something that is very close to how it will be in the final release.

–Do you plan on having the available races and clans nearly identical to what we are seeing now?

Tanaka: What will be in the beta is what we expect to include for the starting races when the game is released.

–Is there a particular reason for having only male Highlanders within the game setting?

Tanaka: In the beginning planning stages, female Highlanders were also on the table to be included but for a number of various reasons, we ended up not including them as a possible choice for character creation.  Male Miqo’tes will probably make an appearance as NPCs but sadly, they have also been excluded from the choices people will have at character creation.

–Is there any chance of additional races being added to the game in the future?

Tanaka: I can’t make any promises but it’d be nice if we could.

–Let’s talk about the new trailer.  There are a lot of NPCs that appear in the trailer.  What kind of creature is the white avatar-esque being?

Tanaka: That’s not an avatar.  It’s an elemental.  This time elements are a factor in a lot of things and are very important to the game.  Those elements are related to the elementals.  Unlike FFXI, the cycles of the moon and weather won’t have an effect on things.  Instead, the 6 elements will affect a number of things.

–Next, can you tell us more about the brand new battle system?

Tanaka: The tempo has changed the most.  With the prior system, your action gauge would fill up, and then after that, you would wait for your effect gauge to fill up in order to increase the strength or accuracy of your attack.  However, that time spent filling up would translate into just empty waiting time for the players.  So the first thing we decided to do was get rid of the effect gauge.  Then we made the action gauge longer and made it fill naturally over time.  Players could carry out any of the various actions available to them by using up a portion of that gauge.  If you fill the gauge completely before attacking, you can pull off around 3 or 4 actions in a row.  Even as you carry out those actions, your gauge will start filling again.  In the end, we have a battle system that makes for a much quicker battle tempo.

–So the 2 gauges that accumulate are the TP bar and the new action gauge?

Tanaka: In total you have 3 things that you use to carry out commands: the action gauge, the TP bar, and for some moves, MP.

–So we can expect that the reuse/recast time for a command will be different depending on the action you used?

Tanaka: Yes.  That is particularly true of moves that use up TP.  The recast timer on them is long enough that even if your bar has completely filled again, you still might not be able to use it.

–I imagine you had a lot of requests made regarding the user interface.  Have there been any major changes there?

Tanaka: The main menu has changed quite a bit.  We’ve also added in chat filters and made changes to the log.  We are also looking into making it possible for players to create multiple windows.  (Translation note: This is probably referring to multiple log windows so that you could separate your battle log and your general chat logs.)

–Will there be other communication systems put in place besides just chat?

Tanaka: We are planning on including a macro pallet system.  It could be used to trigger a command and a message at the same time to make it easier to communicate what you are doing to your party members.  Also, we are working on a system where when you are in a party, it is easy to tell which enemy your party leader is attacking.

–Will that be a visual cue?  For example, maybe the monster’s name would blink or there would be a number above the head of the monster.

Tanaka: You’ll have to look forward to how it works. (smiles)  Right now we are trying a number of different things.  The goal is for players to have some kind of communication tool so people don’t go off attacking different enemies.

–Let’s get back to the battle system.  Is there anything you plan on adding to it even after the beta version is released?

Tanaka: A basic version of it is included in the alpha version already but there is a system we are working on called “Battle Regiments”.  We are planning on making various situations in the game where you’ll have to use battle regiments when in a party along with the communication tools we already talked about.

–Will there often be “many versus many” battles in FFXIV?

Tanaka: Right now most of the monsters that are roaming around are just solo mobs.  However, we also plan on including monster groups, like maybe where there is one male and his harem of females.  In particular, the majority of the monsters you’ll fight while doing a guildleve will be in parties.

–Are there any systems that will be new to the beta version?

Tanaka: We’ve said before that items, weapons, etc, would degenerate.  That system will go live in the beta.  It doesn’t mean that your weapons will disappear.   However, they will get worn down to the point of being useless and require repair.  That should lead to an increase in the number of people who choose a class from Disciples of the Land or Disciples of the Hand.

We also plan on adding “Retainers” which are NPCs for hire.  In FFXI, you couldn’t run a bazaar if you were logged out.  However, for FFXIV, it will be possible to leave your items with a retainer and have them stay in the marketplace and sell your stuff for you.

I’m not sure what the timing will be but at some point linkshells will also be introduced to the game.  I think it will have a big effect on the community.

–Are the linkshells going to work the same as FFXI’s linkshells?

Tanaka: Yes.  However, there is going to be a broader level of community building as well and a lot of different things will be built into that system.

–Do you mean something like a power struggle between city-states? (Translation note: He is getting at the Conquest system in FFXI.)

Tanaka: Rather than having to do with the city-states, it’s like a company and the linkshells would fit in below it.

–So it’s more of a group that the players put together themselves versus something set  system-side.

Tanaka: Yes.  It is going to be reminiscent of guilds or clans.

–Will more areas be added to the game when the beta test starts?

Tanaka: We don’t know exactly how big the download will be for the beta version yet.  When you think about adding new areas… well, we’ll be looking into it but it might not be possible.

–So players can expect to be in the same areas around Limsa Lominsa that the alpha testers have been playing in?

Tanaka: It will probably be necessary to test other areas as well.  However, for the time being, we plan on limiting the beta to the area around Limsa Lominsa.

–How big will the final release be?

Tanaka: We are still making a lot of adjustments so it’s not set yet.

–Can you give us an idea of what kind of specs will be required for the PC version?

Tanaka: Once the beta test begins, we will release the required specs for the beta version.  Right now, graphic cards are probably a bigger bottleneck than CPUs so we want to work on optimizing that.

–Speaking of the Windows version, I was really surprised to see a 3D version on display here at E3.

Tanaka: Right now Nvidia is putting a lot of energy into their 3D Surround Technology that allows you to use 3 monitors so we agreed to cooperate with them to make the display.

–Any plans to include this technology in the final release?

Tanaka: We haven’t made any decisions about that yet.  Right now it’s just a demo of the technology.

–What can you tell us about the beta version for PS3?

Tanaka: We are still hard at work on it.  Director Komoto couldn’t come to E3 actually because this is crunch time for development on the beta and PS3 versions.  Right now back in Japan the entire staff is working hard.

–The PS3 can handle 3D images.  Any chance FFXIV might support 3D?

Tanaka: That is another thing we are considering, however, I think it would be very difficult to implement.

–Can you tell us when the beta test will start?

Tanaka: We want to start in July at the latest.  We’ll also announce the PS3 beta at some point in the future as well.

–We’ve also heard before that you are planning on moving to cross-regional service at some point during the beta.  Do you have any idea as to when that will take place?

Tanaka: Right now everyone is actually on the same servers.  They are just divided up into different login windows.  Once things are stable enough, we’d like to switch to something close to 24/7 testing so it might even be soon after beta testing begins.

–Do you plan on adding more testers?

Tanaka: Currently there are 10 servers for the alpha test and the number of testers is already in the 10s of thousands.  First, we’ll start with those testers for the beta.  After watching how things go and making sure everything is running smoothly, we plan on adding more testers.  I’d like to let the alpha testers know that we’ve listened to their feedback and made improvements for the beta version.  So please check out the beta and we’ll work on making it even better.  Of course we’ll continue to make adjustments even after the game is officially released.  Please keep sending in feedback!

Listen in on Episode 7 as Aniero, Corinth, Fusionx and Steak discuss the content that has come out since episode 6 including some information about things going on with Eorzeapedia.

We discuss Life in Eorzea #1 as well as talk about the clan and city-state information released via updates to the official FFXIV website. Corinth fills us in on whats been happening with with Dengeki and Famitsu over in Japan and provides some funny twitter stories.

We also mentioned on the show that we’re looking for another translator in Japan to fill Corinth’s spot when it comes to the magazine write ups. If you are interested in helping us out please let Corinth know via e-mail or forum PM.

Keep an eye out for another episode of Aetheryte Radio after E3!

We encourage you to leave feed back for the show if you haven’t already either via our forums, iTunes reviews, or Twitter. If you have any questions that you would like answered on a future show let us know at podcast@eorzeapedia.com.

Two articles have recently surfaced in the Japanese Press over the last few days. Unfortunately our trusty translator Corinth is in the process of moving into a new apartment due to some unexpected issues regarding water. I worked a bit with Elmer from ZAM to clean up the images from the Famitsu article and as such he has given me permission to use them here. However, since we can’t get the entire thing translated and posted at this time I’ll just summarize the articles and throw some links over to the terrific write-ups that Elmer has done. Hopefully Corinth will get things settled down soon and be back to bring us the latest info the Japanese media has to offer.

Famitsu:

The Famitsu interview gives us a look at some of the user interface from the alpha build of Final Fantasy XIV as well as experiences of the Famitsu staff of their play through of the alpha.

We can see from the image on the right (click to view a larger version) that there are areas to equip an undershirt and undergarment which is quite a step in a different direction from the equipment options in Final Fantasy XI. We can also see that Square Enix has heard the plea of its FFXI players and have made the “hidden stats” visible such as accuracy and evasion! The Famitsu article also mentions some more details about the battle system involving the action gauge and the effect gauge.

Check out all the details over at ZAM!

Dengeki:

This week’s Dengeki magazine features an interview with Producer Hiromichi Tanaka and Director Nobuaki Komoto! The questions range from why begin with alpha testing to the amount of guildleves that will be available in the alpha version of FFXIV. It’s also revealed that the maximum number of people that can be in a party is fifteen! Lots of interesting bits of info are contained in this interview so make sure to read it!

Check out the full interview over at ZAM!

Surprise!  While Weekly Famitsu and Dengeki PlayStation are the two biggest sources of information we have for FFXIV when it comes to magazines, there are a few other publications out there that cover FFXIV as well.  It is rare to see additional articles so close to some major announcements, but Dengeki Games decided to give everybody a little treat.

Dengeki Games is a relatively new monthly publication that started up last fall.  It runs gaming information for all platforms whether its handheld, console, arcade, or even your cell phone.  The 7th volume just came out with a 4-page summary of the information we’ve recently seen.  However, there are a few extra tidbits to enjoy that weren’t part of the other write-ups.  In this article, we’ll look at what Dengeki Games found out about the current user interface, different classes, and some interesting plans for transitioning from the beta to the official release.

What do all those little icons mean?

The latest screenshot of the alpha build is filled with different icons.  Let’s take a closer look at some of them.

In this closeup, we can see the selected command “Seismic Shock”, one of the Pugilist’s weapon skills.  Under that is the target information.  Destiny was attacking a rather large Peiste.  You can see the enemy’s HP gauge underneath the name.  Next to the name though is a small red icon.  What does it mean?

Question: What does that red mark next to the target name mean?

Answer: It tells you the strength of the enemy party.  In FFXI, you would “Check” an enemy to learn its relative strength and the results would appear in your log.  However, in FFXIV, party versus party battles are more frequent, so the icon tells you the relative strength of the entire party.

That’s a handy feature!  In FFXI, the results of a “Check” would vary from person to person depending on their armor, weapon, the food they had eaten, etc.  This time, we see once again how the game design is focused on party versus party battles looking at the strength of your party as a whole when you go out into battle.

The new battle log has received a bunch of attention since we first saw it at Gamescom.  We’ve heard it would be customizable and that you would be able to move it around.  While FFXI had tabs for different chat modes, the FFXIV version divides logs into different customizable types.  In the screenshot we see General and Battle, but there will be more options for players who want more control over what they see.

Question: What is the difference between the General and Battle tabs above the log box?

Answer: The General log shows everything.  The Battle log is just for things related to battle.  So the tabs are like a filtering system.  For the official release, you’ll be able to add additional tabs and filter the log to your liking.  We are also thinking about making it where you can have 2 different log windows on your screen at the same time.

Question: How much of the layout will you be able to change?

Answer: The things that are a necessary part of the UI, like the HP and MP gauges, the mini map, and the log, can be moved around freely.

While having multiple windows might cut down on how much of the action you could see, there are definitely people out there that would like to be able to keep chat and battle logs separate but still be able to follow both.

The bottom icon bar layout might be old news to some people but let’s take a look at it anyways.  There are a lot of icons that weren’t a part of FFXI so it will be interesting to see how they are used in real practice.

In the middle are your various commands and your TP gauge bar.  Notice the little 1 to the side?  It isn’t mentioned in the article but perhaps this will be used to change command sets much like macro book pages in FFXI.  What we do know is the following.  The first icon on the left, the little sword, is the mode selection icon.  You click this to switch between Active and Passive Mode.  Next to that is the battle regiment button.  It describes this mode as the one you use if you want to pull off a move that requires multiple people.  They compare it to skillchains in FFXI.  Skip over to the right-hand side.  The dark brown bag icon is used to pull up your item menu.  Next to that is the icon that pulls up a list of different motions your character can do like wave goodbye or cheer.  Finally, the last icon pulls up your main menu.

Class Q&A Recap

Most of the following questions and answers were already published in Dengeki PlayStation.

Question: So far in the classes and weapon information, we haven’t seen anything about dual wielding weapons like you see in FFXI.  Will we eventually see dual wielding in FFXIV too?  Also, if that is the case, what classes will they match up with?

Answer: I can’t answer your question as to when but I think it is safe to say we will see it at some point.  As for which classes will be able to dual wield, all I can say is, please look forward to future announcements.

Question: We know you will be able to change your class at any time but will there be any restrictions as to the classes you can change into?

Answer: There aren’t any restrictions right now but that isn’t to say there won’t be in the future.

Question: Can you change your class in the midst of battle?

Answer: In FFXIV, there are two modes: Passive and Active.  In Passive Mode, your HP restores while you move around.  Active Mode is when you have drawn your weapon and are ready for battle.  You can only change your class when you are in Passive Mode.

Question: Can you freely change between these modes?

Answer: Yes, you can change modes anywhere.

Beta Testers Can Keep Their Names?!

One of the most stunning pieces of information to come out of this article is about the beta test.  It is common practice that everyone starts from scratch with the official release of a game regardless of their progress during the beta.  However, it looks like the FFXIV team is thinking about doing things a little bit differently.

Question: Do you plan on letting beta testers carry over their character names or anything else into the final release?

Answer: Yes, that’s the plan.  However, since the number of servers (Worlds) will be different from the beta, there might be a chance that somebody creates a character with the same name as you on the World you want to play on before you do your character transfer.  We’ll need to come up with some rules on how to handle those situations.

Question: Will PS3 beta testers and PC beta testers play on the same Worlds during the beta?

Answer: We have no particular plans to separate by version.  However, as the testing periods will be different, some Worlds might have more people playing on one particular platform than another.  We do plan on making things like FFXI where you can log in with the same account from any platform.

Question: Will the beta servers be separated by language?  Also, will some sort of auto-translator feature be present in the beta?

Answer: We haven’t decided anything yet about when to add the auto-translator function or if there will be language-separated servers during the beta.  However, for alpha testing, the testing time windows are separated for Japan, North America, and Europe.

So that’s the information we have at this time.  How do you feel about the answers?  In particular, how do you feel about the possibility of beta testers being able to keep their names into the final release?  We might be talking about this in the next episode of Aetheryte Radio so please leave your comments in the forums or send a message to the hosts at podcast@eorzeapedia.com.

Did you enjoy all the new information this weekend?  We had an official NA and JP site update and people on the forums have been sifting through the information and finding all sorts of interesting things.  I know some people have been busy updating the wiki as well.  Starting it all off though was a lot of translated information from magazines like Weekly Famitsu and Dengeki PlayStation.

But wait!

We haven’t talked about the interesting stuff that was in Dengeki PlayStation yet.  This time we’ll be covering the long Q&A portion of their FFXIV coverage.  It covers general questions related to the upcoming alpha/beta test, character creation, and the various classes overall.  In another article, we’ll cover the shorter class-specific questions.

First, let’s talk beta.

[About the Beta Test]
Q: About how long do you expect the beta test to run?
A: It isn’t set in stone at this point.  We’ll have to see after we start making adjustments.

Q: How much of the game can people expect to be able to play around with in the beta?
A: It won’t even be half of what we think will go into the final release.  After all, the goal of the beta test is to refine  game balance and double check some of the very basic technical things.  For the alpha test, you could almost say there is next to nothing there.  However, we feel this makes it easier to take in people’s feedback and requests as we build up the game.

Q: Could you tell us the PC specs required for playing the alpha and beta test builds?
A: Well, we are in the process of optimization right now but it isn’t finished yet.  That means for the alpha build, you are most likely going to need a powerful CPU.  Your video card will need to be able to handle DirectX9 but if you’ve bought a card within the past few years you should be good to go.  Memory-wise you’ll want 512MB of VRAM or more.  We’ll be posting more specific details at some point on the official beta test site.

Q: Will the PC and PlayStation 3 beta tests begin at the same time?
A: The alpha test will be PC only.  No decisions have been made yet about the beta test, including the timing.

Q: You’ve said before that you want the FFXI community (in the form of friend lists and so on) to continue to be together in FFXIV as well.  Can you tell us specifically how you plan on making that happen?
A: The details haven’t be worked out yet but we’d like to make it where you can transfer to the same server as your friends so you can play together.

Q: Will the 9 classes you’ve released information for this time around also be playable in the beta?  Also, will players in the beta be able to pick a starting class from them?
A: They will be playable in the beta.  Perhaps not everything there is to each class will be included, but you will be able to play them.

Q: Will other classes be available in the beta test as well?
A: We’re not sure at this time.

Q: Say I’m a player that wants to play out a particular role.  Can you give us some advice on the role of each class?
A: In a very broad sense, this is the image I have for each class-
Gladiator– The hero who crushes the strong and defends the weak.  They are the guardian of the party.  An almighty fighter good for anyone.

Pugilist– You’re right on the front lines.  There is a thrill in the split second decision making you’ll have to do.  Do you change your stance or not?  This person is definitely a damage dealer.  I’d say it is also for people who don’t want to have to pay a lot of attention to detail.

Lancer– You’ll need the ability to make judgment calls and make the most of your weapon range.  The lancer is the party’s last defense.  Play lancer if you like tactical fighting.

Marauder– This is a macho and massively powerful attacker.  The trump card of the party.  The marauder is a good class for people who like getting in those last blows and stuff.

Archer– A cool sniper who scans the battlefield, looking for their chance to strike, rather than staring off into the distance.  If you were talking baseball, this is your team’s shortstop.  It is also a good class for people who want to play solo or are kind of a loner.

Conjurer– This is a support member who changes roles depending on how the battle is going.  They could attack, add to the party’s defense, or cure.  This is a good class for somebody who wants to put their hands in everything.

Thaumaturge– The Thaumaturge is your party’s strategist, using their enfeebling magic to control the battlefield.  Good for someone that has the capacity for forethought.

Miner– Metal is an indispensable part of making almost any piece of armor and the miner is the person that goes out, finds it, and brings it to the marketplace.  This is a class that knows how to make money fast.  It is also for people who are persistent.

Blacksmith– The blacksmith is a crafter who makes and repairs weapons, tools, and other things that have some metal component to them.  You’ll always have customers so this job is suited for people who like doing business with other people.

[Character Creation]
Q: Previously we were introduced to the idea of clans within different races, like the Seekers of the Sun and Keepers of the Moon for the Miqo’te.   Will people be able to choose their clan during character creation?
A: For the beta test, you’ll be able to choose from a subset of the races and clans.

Q: I get the feeling that rather than being able to choose freely, you’ll have to choose things that fit with a particular clan’s special characteristics.  Like, you could choose from different shades of brown if you were a Seeker of the Sun but because Keepers of the Moon are nocturnal, they have to be fair-skinned.  Am I right?
A: Kind of.  Except rather than just the lightness of your skin, there are different themes and you’ll be able to choose from a wide variety of skins that follow those themes.

Q: How much of the character creation system will be present in the beta?
A: There will be a small subset of faces and hairstyles to choose from.  After that, you can select the color of your hair, skin, and eyes.  You won’t be able to change your facial features or anything at this time.

Q: Are there any special bonuses for matching the right city-state with the right race?  And if so, will there be differences depending on clan as well?
A: Right now we aren’t planning on doing anything like that.  However, if we get a lot of feedback from people who want that sort of thing, we’ll take it under consideration.

[About the Classes]
Q: So far in the classes and weapon information, we haven’t seen anything about dual wielding weapons like you see in FFXI.  Will we eventually see dual wielding in FFXIV too?  Also, if that is the case, what classes will they match up with?  For example, is it something a Gladiator would be able to do with a dual wield-use sword?  Or would it be for an entirely different class?
A: I can’t answer your question as to when but I think it is safe to say we will see it at some point.  As for which classes will be able to dual wield, all I can say is, please look forward to future announcements.

Q: We know you will be able to change your class at any time but will there be any restrictions as to the classes you can change into?  For example, is there going to be a restriction where you can only carry 3 different weapon types as one time?
A: There aren’t any restrictions right now but that isn’t to say there won’t be in the future.

Q: Can you change your class in the midst of battle?  And if it is limited to only when you aren’t in a battle ready mode, would it be possible to change weapons if you put your other weapon away first?
A: In FFXIV, there are two modes: Passive and Active.  In Passive Mode, your HP restores while you move around.  Active Mode is when you have drawn your weapon and are ready for battle.  You can only change your class when you are in Passive Mode.

Q: In general, how many people do you think will be in a party?  Also, will we see alliances?
A:  We think that 6 to 8 people will be the norm for parties.  However, we want to make the system flexible.  Even if 6 to 8 is the norm, there will be times where you have more people or times when you have less.  You might just want to play solo or play with a small group of friends.  There will also be challenges adventurers will face that will require an alliance.

Another thing to consider is that when it comes to battle, we are thinking of “party versus party” dynamics.  You’ll be fighting for the best position and there will be a lot of planning and strategic thinking required to win beyond just who is doing the most straight damage.  First, you have to think of the best fighting range for your weapon.  You have to think about damage and accuracy, but also what position is best to get in some of those extra effects.  For example, there is a lancer move where you can keep the enemies from moving for a short period of time.  The magic users especially have to think about things because they have so many AoE spells.  The area is also different depending on the class.  You see donut-shaped spells for the Conjurer and fan/cone shaped ones for the Thaumaturge.  Also, sometimes you are the center of an ability or weapon skill, sometimes it is your target.  There are many different types.

Direction will also have an affect on things.  You might try to slip into an enemy’s blind spot or make them face in a different direction.  If you want to be a better fighter in FFXIV, you’ll need to master distance, area of effect, and direction and use these to the best of your advantage.

Q: In some of the abilities it says “get the enemy’s attention”.  Does this mean to increase enmity?
A: In FFXIV, we call it the Hostility Ratio.  That is what will increase.  [Translation note: We don't know if the terminology will change for the English version as well.]

Q: Are there differences between the Gladiator’s Rousing Provoke and the Pugilist’s Mocking Provoke?
A: They are the same type of ability but they are a bit different from each other as well.  The way you get that attention changes.  And even if it is the exact same ability, there might be other things that factor into how well you get the enemy’s attention.  Controlling the Hostility Ratio will be a very important part of the game.  You have to look at the situation and decide what is the best ability to use.  We hope people will have fun doing trial-and-error and finding out what works best for them.

Q: Is guarding a defensive command?  Or is it something that occurs at random?
A: Both.  There is a command you can use to guard with a shield.  However, the more proficient a character is with using a shield, they might just deflect an attack with their shield without you having to use any commands.

Q: How is the Pugilist’s range different from a very close fighting range?
A: The range is nearly identical.  However, the difference is enough to show off the different characteristics of those classes.  For example, let’s look at defense.  A very close ranged fighter has a shield or other protective gear for physical defense.  A pugilist is more focused on evading attacks.  The way they attack is different as well.

Q: Do enemies have TP as well?
A: They do.  Enemies can earn TP in a variety of ways.  There might even be some enemies that could put your life at risk if you don’t defeat them quickly.

Q: For the most part, do you have to be still in order to cast a spell?
A: We plan on including a number of spells that can be cast while moving as well.

Elmer over at ZAM has just translated an article from Dengeki Games. A few highlights (with interspersed comments) are below:

Ｑ：How much of the game will players be able to experience in the beta?
Ａ：We started at about 10% of the final product with the playable Alpha version and are ultimately trying to perfect the underlying game system. The bulk of the game won’t be made public until the retail version is out.

This is nice to hear. It’s a balance for SE for sure, but nice to know that for both those who are able to beta test, and those that are not, that there will be a lot left unseen.

Ｑ：What can you tell us about the transition from the Beta to the final version or about world transfers in general?
Ａ：Once service starts, we want to make it so you can move along with the friends you make during the Beta to the same world. As for world transfers, that may be a possibility in the future, with some limitations probably.

Square Enix really messed up server selection the first time around with XI. You simply have to be able to play (from the very start) with existing friends. Frankly, this is even more critical this time around where players will almost certainly be moving en masse from XI. I expect this to be addressed from the very beginning, and not to limited to only those who beta test, as this suggests.

Ｑ：Does the main story concern the Eorzeans and Garleans battling over the continent of Aldenard?
Ａ：At first, the story will open in Eorzea, that is, the continent of Aldenard and its surrounding islands. However, the Garlean Empire is based on another, larger continent.

SE has stated that the released area for XIV will be approximately the same as that of Vana’diel when XI was released. The “expansion by area” concept has worked well for SE and other developers, and I’d expect the same expansion style here. They’ve set up the lore already to easily allow for it, and I would be surprised if they don’t already know where the first few expansions will be directed.

Ｑ：Give us the highlights on character creation.
Ａ：We’ve focused on really allowing the player the freedom to make any kind of character they would like, and designed them to be a much more natural fit with the game world. Depending on your class, even your starting equipment will be different.

I like it when they say things as if they are new – i.e. “even your starting equipment will be different”. If was different in XI too – and was meaningful for all of 10 minutes. Anyway I think the “freedom” comment here is more important. One of the distinguishing features of XI was the ability to create one character and test everything – jobs, hobbies, nations, etc. I expect this to carry over to XIV – and here’s hoping that references to “freedom to make any kind of character” means more than hairstyle or color.

Ｑ：How is the magic system?
Ａ：Magic is classified by levels and by the school the spell is from. For example, spells that serve the same function (e.g. heal HP) might have a different level of potency, an area of effect, longer casting time or higher MP cost depending on the school of magic the spell is from.

**Translator’s note: The answer used very general terminology, but it appears to reference how a healing spell can be classified as Cure I, Cure II, Cure III under White Magic, or at the same time, Pollen under Blue Magic. So there are different levels and different schools that refer to the same function.

We have so little information about the Disciples of Magic, but I think Elmer is on to something here – and it’s been widely discussed. XI introduced blue magic, which allowed the player to select certain spells, and not only did those selections give you access to the selected spells, but it determined your other abilities as well. Also, recall that Scholar was out there, and depending on what strategem you selected, your spell costs, durations, timings, etc. varied. I think these are a good baseline of what we will see in XIV, where your class and spell selection will provide the variety in the mage classes.

Ｑ：Can classes other than Disciples of Magic use magic? Also, can Disciples of Magic use swords or other weapons?
Ａ：Classes are somewhat pre-defined, but that isn’t to say there won’t be the possibility as you continue to level and grow your character.

I hope they don’t go overboard with this. I didn’t really like it when in FF1 my Warrior can all of a sudden learn white magic. It needs to be worked into the class if they want a hybrid class. We haven’t seen a hybrid class defined as part of the Disciples of War, but perhaps we will get one out of the Disciples of Magic when that information is released. I’d certainly expect that the second part of the question is true – that a mage can use a weapon of some sort – be it dagger, staff, club, hammer, etc.

Ｑ：Will monsters behave similarly to FFXI, with Active and Passive types, different ways to sense players, linking, and all that?
Ａ：Of course, there will be many monsters romping around in field zones. The behavior elements from FFXI will be used again, but there will also be other unique elements the can determine a monster’s behavior, like herd mentality or environmental factors.

Again this was something that XI excelled at. Monsters could be passive or aggressive – and could be spooked by all sorts of variables (sound, sight, magic, skills, etc.). With the advances in monster AI, I expect only improvements in this area. SE has already hinted strongly at the herd mentality, and the relationship between the environment and the monsters could also be a nice addition (unless they are referring to elementals – and then it’s not news).

Ｑ：Are there monsters that will fight each other?
Ａ：In the beginning, we came up with something like a food chain system, and it may end up in the game in some form or another.

They had an ecosystem in XI also, but the implementation was lacking. I think it would add a lot to see monsters interact out in the wild – but admittedly it’s another thing to balance. You don’t want players heading out to a zone only to find that the xp mobs are all dead because another monster happened through. I think the interaction can be done in a very limited way, so that you can see the lion attack the sheep every once in a while, but not to the point of it becoming a regular occurrence.

* * *

Those are my thoughts. Chime in with your own!

Going between two languages, it is easy for things to get lost in translation.  Not only that, but for Final Fantasy XIV, the sites for each region are also presented in entirely different ways.  That means sometimes there can be pictures or text in one that doesn’t show up in the either.

At the moment, we have extensive text on the NA site about some of the monster families like Aldgoats and Antelopes.  However, the Japanese site does not contain any additional text, just the pictures that were released to the Japanese media.  For those in Japan, they have to get their information from the magazines released this weekend or one of the several gaming news websites like GAME Watch or 4Gamer.

Let’s check out what was in the magazines that isn’t on the NA site as well as what things may have been lost along the way.

WEEKLY FAMITSU
FFXIV is down in the Weekly Famitsu ratings, from 12 to 21.  It seems to follow a pattern though.  The week or two after new info it rises, but after a lull it falls back down.  That’s to be expected at this stage in the game.

In this issue, there are seven pages dedicated to the new information released by SE as well as some short Q&As as well.  Let’s start with the Q&As first.  For the most part, I will only cover things that haven’t already been discussed in other articles.

World Overview
There will be a tavern-like places in the game similar to what we saw in the Tokyo Game Show trailer.  These places will be an important part of the game.  Also in previous trailers as well as the TGS trailer, there have been scenes of a group of adventurers taking on a large number of enemies.  SE says that this kind of giant battle will not be the norm but this will happen on occasion and is one of the new game play features for FFXIV.  The GAME Watch interview also confirmed this but the music in the second half of the trailer is one of the many battle themes as well.

Weapons and Tools
Each weapon will vary in what the best attacking range for it will be.  Some may be closer than others, or farther than others.  One example is the polearm mentioned in the official text for Lancer.  Confirmed in the Q&A as well, polearms allow you to attack outside of the melee attacking range of your opponent.  They also confirm that Lancers will be able to use both the two-handed polearms and the throwing javelins.  The javelins will be treated as throwing weapons rather than as the main weapon you walk around with.  This was how throwing weapons worked in FFXI as well.  They would like to add other throwing weapons to other classes as well.

The Q&A talks about the weapon degradation as well.  As your weapon wears down, its functional ability will decrease, requiring you to get it repaired.  Tools will also need to be repaired from time to time too.

There are some interesting responses to the Q&A about crafting.  The interviewer asks if the ability to use a particular tool or use particular materials could be limited to a set race.  The nameless respondent from SE replies this could happen.  However, they will strive for balance so that no race is dominant over the others.  They also ask what will be needed to craft things.  You will need the proper tool or tools.  Preparing good tools and proper armor will be key.  You will also need the proper materials and a crystal.  Many times you will need to choose the right equipment as well.  We can see one example of that in the Lifestyle report on the Culinarian talking about how she could use the equipment at the Culinarian’s Guild.  To craft some things, you might also need to meet certain additional requirements as well.  They mention the possibility of needing assistance or having to wait for a particular type of weather or other natural phenomena.

Finally, eating food will have an effect on player’s stats.  They don’t want your party to be affected too much by what you eat.  Instead, they want to make it so that people are free to eat what they want and have the ability to eat lots of different things.  It sounds like they are still in the planning stages for how food will work in game.

After you have crafted a lot of things, it’s only natural to sell them.  In previous interviews, they said they were working on a new system different from the Auction House used in FFXI.  SE has now given us a name for this new system, the Market.  However, I’ll talk more about what we know about the Market later.

Famitsu Ideas
As part of the Japanese media kit, sites were given a story to go with the pictures that describe the crafting process from the point of view of a Culinarian.  You can see examples on GAME Watch or Gpara.  Weekly Famitsu decided to write their own speculation based on the story instead of running the original text.  Here’s what they came away with:

• The tool you use will have a large effect on your results.  For example, the same ingredients prepared with the skillet or with the kitchen knife could result in different dishes.  The amount could change as well.
• Guilds will have equipment available to assist your crafting efforts.  Sometimes it will be necessary to use them.
• You need a crystal to craft.
• After making a recipe once, it will appear in a personal recipe book.
• There is a chance that the amount will increase.  (This is similar to HQ’ing in FFXI for some recipes.)
• There will be a way for crafters to set prices for something they want to sell.

DENGEKI PLAYSTATION
This week FFXIV comes in at 5th in Dengeki PlayStation’s Anticipated Titles poll.  Last issue it made it all the way up to 3rd.

Dengeki PlayStation also ran the newly released information and pictures, however, they kept it to a short 4 pages.  1/3 of one of those pages was dedicated to their own speculations:

• There will be multiple markets.  Each market will have a different name.
• They feel the stands will be player-run as well as named by players.
• Food will spoil over time.  Because of this, you will be able to check on the status of an item when you look at it.  Another option would be to have a skill or ability that lets you check the status of items/armor/food/etc.
• It will be fairly costly to use equipment at the various guilds.
• The various aetheryte points will be named Camp ________.  This is actually the second time we’ve seen “Camp _______” used at the aetheryte points.
• The Miqo’te Kabobs will increase attack power.
• Gil is the currency of Eorzea.

DIFFERENCES
The speculations we make are completely based on what we can read.  In general, the Japanese versions are very straight-forward.  The English versions are much more colorful.  It makes for great reading in English but harder to tell what is important.

For starters, the picture of the kabobs.  In the English version of the site, they are only referred to as “crispy kabobs”.  However, they have an actual name in the Japanese version.  ミコッテ風山の幸串焼　Literally translates as “Miqo’te style Mountain Foods Grilled on Sticks”.  This is nearly identical to what is used in FFXI for Meat Mithkabobs, swapping Mithra for Miqo’te.

How about the names of places?  In the English version, the market is named Glutton’s Alley and the stand is called The Scratching Post.  In Japanese, they have がつがつ横丁 which can easily turn into Glutton’s Alley.  However, the name of the stand is completely different.  The Japanese “Totoya” doesn’t turn into anything specifically outside of “Fish Store”.  In fact, there are some seafood restaurants named Totoya.  However, the people at Dengeki PlayStation took it to mean that maybe the stand was run by a person named Toto (with the ya part meaning store).  Thus, from their point of view, the stands could be named after the player or perhaps even freely named.  In the English version, with “The Scratching Post”, it is clearly not a player’s name.  However, it fits the player, a Miqo’te, that was selling their goods.  The speculations we can make are very dependent on the version we are reading.  The words “Market” and “Stand” are also highlighted in the Japanese version to make it clear these are important keywords to be remembered.  The English version is much more casual about how they are used and requires people to read into things a bit more.

Finally, there are a few pictures not used on the NA site.  These food items don’t have names yet but their shapes are very familiar to foods used in FFXI.  Perhaps we will be seeing a lot of old favorites?  Only time will tell.

That’s it for this week.  See ya later!

We are now just one week away from Tokyo Game Show, the biggest video game expo of the year in Japan.  A trailer will be shown in the Open Mega Theatre but we won’t know until the event starts whether it’s just an old one or not.  Japanese fans are likely to feel slighted if there isn’t anything new though so I’m hoping for at least a little something different from what has been shown at E3 or gamescom. 

In the meantime, I finally got some breathing room in my schedule to read the most recent Dengeki PlayStation magazine.  Oerba from Final Fantasy XIII graces the cover this week and there is another fairly large article for the highly anticipated game inside.  The unexpected treat (prior to online leaks anyways) was a 2 page interview with Final Fantasy XIV Producer Hiromichi Tanaka and Director Nobuaki Komoto in a font so small it makes your eyes hurt.  No new game play pictures for the interview but the two looked happy in their picture, Komoto wearing shorts as usual. 

Let’s check out the rankings and info in this week’s Dengeki PlayStation magazine.  Many of you have probably already seen the information on other sites so let’s make this a little special with some other Japanese magazine extras.  Curious?  Read on!

Weekly Rankings
Pop Idol group AKB48 enters the Japanese CD singles chart at #2.  My friend described them as being more about quantity than quality but I think the idea is unique.  Pop idols you can see almost any night of the week in a small concert hall, versus the mega stadiums where you can barely make out the faces of the performers. For DVDs, 20th Century Boys Part 2 tops the charts.  The 3rd part of the trilogy is currently in theatres and ends one of the largest projects ever attempted by the Japanese movie industry.  Large blockbuster videos are normal for Hollywood but not so much for Japanese movie makers. 

Wondering why I’m talking about a Japanese pop band and movie?  It’s true they have nothing to do with Final Fantasy XIV but I’m hoping to see both during my trip to Tokyo next week.  The shared coverage currently being planned with Elmer from ZAM won’t just be about Tokyo Game Show but our mini adventure in general.  We’re hoping to entertain you guys a bit leading up to the event as well.  More information on how to follow the coverage later this week.

As for game rankings, Final Fantasy XIII got knocked off the top spot this week!  It slips down to second place, a few thousand votes less than received by a game being released today in Japan: the PS3 port of Tales of Vesperia.  Final Fantasy XIV fell down to 13th place, sandwiched between two PSP games: Ys Seven and Final Fantasy Agito XIII.

Looking at the rankings of games currently on sale is also pretty interesting.  The top 10 in the list are all PSP or PS2 titles.  The first PS3 title to rank in is a baseball game made by Konami.  Only 3 of the top 20 on-sale now games are for PS3.  Hopefully the release of Final Fantasy XIII gives the system a lift like some experts are predicting.

Intermission
There are hundreds if not thousands of weekly, bi-weekly, and monthly publications in Japan.  You can find some kind of publication for nearly every hobby you can imagine.  Like to obsess over Japanese voice actresses?  There are several magazines you can choose from.  1st year in elementary school?  There are specialty magazines for you too.  And don’t worry about getting older.  You can just jump up to the 2nd grade specialty magazines next year.  Love kimono?  Check out the magazines on the latest trends in design and fabric.  I think one of the oddest magazines I’ve seen was one for people who like pictures of girls in skimpy outfits holding guns.

With such a variety of magazines, it can be hard to choose the right magazine for you.  In addition to a wide variety of gaming magazines, I also buy computing magazines from time to time.  There are some pretty straight forward ones but lately I’ve grown attached to Weekly Ascii magazine.  They tend to have some female model on the cover but never particularly attractive ones.  That isn’t the point though.  This magazine is about computing but with a definitely geeky spin.  There are articles on pop culture and maps for Akihabara.  There are also articles on video games and consoles, like their coverage of the new slim PS3 a couple weeks ago.  And at only 390 yen an issue, it’s not a wallet breaker like some of the gaming magazines I buy.  (The magazine is done by the same publisher as Dengeki PlayStation which might explain a few things too.)

So!  A few little tidbits and trivia from this week’s Weekly Ascii:

• This is the first year since Square and Enix merged that a Dragon Quest series game and a Final Fantasy series game have been sold in the same year.
• People are attempting to write 140 character novels on twitter.  Search the hashtag #twnovel for examples.  Also interesting is twittermap.jp which ties profile information from twitter with maps.  Finally, while a lot of people are used to live blogs now, using both special tools or twitter, some Japanese users refer to the concept as “Tsudaru” (“Tsuda’ing”) in reference to Japanese journalist Tsuda Daisuke’s use of twitter to do event reporting.
• There are some odd USB memory sticks on the market in Japan.  Some of the ones they cover this week:  a thumb, cat ears, USB memory wristband, the smallest USB drive on the market which is barely bigger than the metal part you insert into your computer, and USB memory sticks shaped like pose-able people.  You can check out some of these odd creations at solidalliance.com.

The Interview
Ever wonder if Japanese interviewers waste questions on stupid things like the western press does from time to time?  They sure do!  This interview was probably conducted by the head of the Dengeki FFXI Lightning Brigade or one of their members.  In it, they ask if we will be able to ride Roegadyn using emotes.  Apparently the leader of the group would like that to be an option.  And before your mind goes too far in the gutter, the leader is a Tarutaru in FFXI and probably means riding on a Roegadyn’s shoulders.  Unfortunately, the two big men for FFXIV let him know he’ll have to keep dreaming because it’d be too difficult to implement.  Other things they mentioned:

• Miqo’te only have the ears on top of their head.  They don’t have extra ears hidden anywhere.
• Roegadyn were designed for the world of FFXIV so they have no tails even if they are similar to Galkas in FFXI.
• Not every character will have voice acting.  It would be impossible to keep up with regular updates and have things fully voiced.  However, any voice acting there is, like for important scenes, will be done in English.  Oddly enough, the reasoning for this is they want people to focus on the graphical aspect of the scenes rather than just a box with text.
• They haven’t decided exactly how chocobos will be used in FFXIV yet.
• Komoto says playing with a controller won’t feel much different than it does in FFXI.
• They haven’t had a chance to think about any events specifically for FFXIV, like the recent party thrown for FFXIII, but Komoto says he’d like to do something.
• You will need a Square Enix ID to play.  You will not be required to use the security token.
• The game will be windowed from the very beginning so you can take advantage of other things, like community sites, at the same time.
• The next system Komoto would like to show off is the Armoury System.

The majority of the interview was pretty straight forward stuff.  A lot of it we have heard before but they did clarify a few things from other interviews as well.  Unlike some summaries posted online, they did not bash the western media, so people who were concerned about that can relax. 

Comparing FFXI and FFXIV – Aetheryte versus Mog House
They’ve said before that one of their target markets is current or former FFXI players.  That said, there will be some people who are curious about what’s new and what’s different.  Also interesting is how the game is being made differently from FFXI.  One of the most obvious differences is in game play.  Guildleves will be a large part of FFXIV.  Where as FFXI had a lot of grinding in groups for long periods of time, it sounds like most guildleves will be on the short side, as short as 30 minutes, and have different goals that must be accomplished.  Some players are already comparing it to the Assault system from FFXI.  There is also a big difference in how you change jobs or roles.  In FFXI, you had to talk to your house moogle or a nomad moogle to change jobs.  In FFXIV, you can change classes freely without needing to return to any particular spot.  The Armoury System was a concept they originally had for FFXI but now are able to make it a reality in FFXIV.

This change in how and where you can change classes also changes another part of game design.  One of the nice features in FFXI was the Mog House, a semi-customizable homebase.  The entrance was shared by everyone so no worries about getting lost or forgetting where your home is.  In addition to item storage, it was the place to change your job as well.  This feature is no longer needed for FFXIV.  The Mog Houses were also in cities.  You could log out quickly in your Mog House and then walk into the city to look for other people to play with.  This was largely the case for big cities like Jeuno or Whitegate.  However, in FFXIV, they want people to gather at Aetheryte and log out or in around there without having to go back into town often.  In other words, you don’t really need a base camp in town either.  Komoto goes so far as to say the Aetheryte replaces the need for Mog Houses.  When asked if there will be regular homes, he says he expects that kind of thing will be gradually added. 

How do you feel?  Do you think it is necessary to have some kind of personal home in an MMO?

Comparing FFXI and FFXIV – Customization
The level of customization for playable characters is also different.  Tanaka says they took ideas from FFXI to make it easy for FFXI players to move into FFXIV but the level of customization you can do is so high that you can end up making something very different from what was available in FFXI.  The interviewer asks if characters will age due to the fact that weapon and armor degradation is included in FFXIV.  With a smile, Komoto says they won’t age but it will probably be able to change your hairstyle in game.  This is an option FFXI players have wanted so it’s nice to see that it might be included in FFXIV.  He says that they want to grant the requests of players as they develop the game.  One thing they don’t plan on letting people do is change their face.  If you can change even that, you lose something that allows you to recognize somebody. 

There will also be some level of armor and weapon customization this time around.  We had guessed this before but they now confirm that there will be different colors available for equipment that have the same stats. They already have a wide range of colors planned and the number of items that can be colorized will increase.  In the future, Komoto says it would be nice to even allow people to add emblems to items as well. 

Graphics and the Landscape
At this point in time, the game graphics are only 50% completed.  Tanaka says they will probably change quite a bit so people should look forward to even greater things.  We know parts of the UI are customizable.  The interviewer asked if we will be able to adjust the text size as well and Tanaka says he thinks it will be something they can add in in the future.  Character graphics are getting a lot of attention.  They are still looking into things but there is a chance that more equipment will be visible this time around.  For example, neck pieces or rings.  However, nothing is set in stone yet.  They are still talking about the best way to go about things and how much should be made visible.  They are also not sure about how to show weapon degradation status.  For example, they could change the way the weapon looks on screen or make a gauge.  Komoto says they will try out lots of different things and go from there.

One of the first things we learned about was the inclusion of weather effects.  People started to wonder what kind of effect they would have on the players.  For example, would certain clans be affected in different ways.  Komoto talked a little about the weather with the interviewer from Dengeki.  The weather effects will not be related to elements like they were in FFXI.  It doesn’t sound like weather effects will have a specific effect on players.  He explains the reasoning behind this by saying that while that might be interesting at first, eventually it would get to the point where people wouldn’t want to go to certain areas.  Instead, they will think about how to use the weather effects in other ways.  

At gamescom, the team showed off some of the emotes players will be able to use in game.  The detail is much higher than FFXI, in part because they decided to use motion capture this time around.  Komoto says it would be difficult to implement motions that involve multiple people but it would be nice to think about as they could be used as one form of communication.  For people curious what this means, think about having an emote where you could hug another player and they could hug you back at the same time.  Both character models would be involved with the emote.

As for the general landscape, they say the game will not be entirely seamless.  This was mistranslated (but they don’t say by who or where).  The area you can move through seamlessly will be about the size of a region in FFXI.  This doesn’t mean there won’t be area divisions though.  Monsters will not follow you for the entire length of a zone for example.  There will be towns and the areas around Aetheryte as well.  However, you can generally divide areas by if there are monsters there or no monsters there.  Either way, you will be able to draw your weapon anywhere you want thanks to the fact there is no auto-attack.

Move, Fight, Fix, Move, Fight
As mentioned several times before, they want people to gather at the Aetheryte.  From there, people will start guildleves or help with other people’s guildleves.  Its main purpose is to act as a gathering point for players.  For example, not only could you find other people to do guildleves with but perhaps craftsmen that can help fix damaged armor or weapons.  The second function is as a method of transportation.  Komoto says you can also use them to go from town to town, not just to a battlefield. 

Speaking of the craftsmen, they give a little bit more information about that too.  They may or may not add personalized shop signs in the future, i.e. a way to advertise your services.  Even if a craftsmen fails to fix something, the item will not break.  They are also considering adding regular shops that people can use to get things fixed in the event they can’t find another player to fix something for them.  If you need to find somebody, you might be able to search players’ personalized comment areas, developed out of the search comment feature in FFXI.  They also have other ideas in mind.

There are a few new details about fighting too.  For example, your position and the position of other people and enemies will be an important thing to keep track of.  We’ve already seen this in action at gamescom with people getting attacked from the right hand side by Dodos.  Differences in height will not be as important.

Some people have also wondered if the more craft-oriented classes will still be able to attack things in battle.  Komoto tries to reassure players by saying they will have at least the minimum stats they need in order to fight but they will naturally be weaker than classes more geared towards fighting. 

Guildleves
You start off by going to a player’s guild, which is almost like a tavern.  There you can accept guildleves, which are like plates more than cards, and go off to the Aetheryte.  You can think of the guildleve as a pass or permission slip.  It allows you to do a certain set activity or perhaps travel in a certain area.  The rest of the information has been covered in previous interviews like how it works well for casual players because it doesn’t eat up a lot of time to do a guildleve or how some of them will involve monsters like the NMs from FFXI.  After you finish your guildleve, you can go back to the Aetheryte and then start a new one or even logout there.

That’s it for now.  See ya later!

Have you seen the pictures that came out this week?  Thanks to information released through Weekly Famitsu and Famitsu Online, we now have pictures of three more monsters that will feel the business end of our swords in Final Fantasy XIV.  Players of FFXI are familiar with Puks and Opo-opos, despite major changes in appearance.  The Antelope is a new-comer to the FF Online series.

More about the three of them later as we dig through the collection of clipped out pages scattered on my floor from Japanese magazines over the past two weeks.

Ranking Report
As expected, the more people hear about FFXIV, the higher it climbs in the “Anticipated Titles” charts.  It is currently at 22 for Weekly Famitsu, rising from 24 last week and 30 the week before.  It’s dropped a bit in Dengeki PlayStation going from 5 to 11.  Titles beating it out include FFXIII, FF Versus XIII, Kingdom Hearts, and Bayonetta.

While not part of the weekly rankings, Weekly Famitsu also had a all-time top ten list for RPGs last week.  Square Enix rises above the rest with 7 of the top 10.  1st place went to Final Fantasy X, 2nd to Dragon Quest 3, 3rd to Final Fantasy VII.  They also asked what people want to see in an RPG.  60 people said they want to see some online option but most people want a good story, a fun battle system, and a character growth system that’s enjoyable.  So far FFXIV is looking to meet all three of those main desires.

Gamescom
Most of the coverage was kept short and about what we’ve already heard about from last month’s gamescom.  Square Enix released high quality pictures of four more classes: Weaver, Marauder, Pugilist, and Archer.  In order to switch into these jobs, you have to equip the appropriate weapon.  

Weavers require a needle, the Marauder uses an axe called Bhuj, the hand-to-hand specialist Pugilist uses Baghnakhs, and the Archer has a Short Bow.  It’s still unclear how the classes that are more crafting oriented, like Weaver or Blacksmith, will participate in a party out on the battlefield.

Dengeki PlayStation and Weekly Famitsu also went over the Guildleve system as seen at gamescom.  A lot of the same information can be found in Fusion’s report on Guildleves or the other interview summaries on the site.  To quickly sum things up, you start at the Aetheryte and confirm which leve you want to take part in.  Once you are out on the battlefield, you can use your map to guide to you where your target monsters are.  As you defeat your enemies, an on-screen counter will show your progress.  For some leves, there will be a puzzle element.  At gamescom, the leve involving puks required players to kill the dodos first before the puks would appear.  It is not possible for other players to attack or be attacked by monsters for your guildleve.  After you finish, a mini warp appears that will take you back to the Aetheryte.

High quality images of 5 monsters were released around gamescom.  The three new ones for this week are Puk, Opo-opo, and Antelope.  The Puk looks a lot smaller and bulkier compared to his FFXI counterpart.  The Opo-opo is very similar.  The only major change in appearance seems to be the tail, which has a thicker base and is shorter than the ones in FFXI.  Antelopes weren’t a part of FFXI.

Player Opinions
Connect! On magazine started doing monthly FFXIV surveys a short while ago.  In this month’s edition, they printed some of the responses.  By and large, the people who wrote in feel the same way we do on the things that have been released so far.  For example, one person said they were impressed by the graphics and other people said they are looking forward to the new battle system.  For a more complete look at what they said, check out Elmer’s write up on the magazine over at ZAM.

By and large, there wasn’t anything we haven’t heard or seen elsewhere besides the three new pictures.  This will probably continue until Tokyo Game Show or until even later.  While Tokyo Game Show will be the last major game show for awhile, there is still the possibility of information being shown at a future FFXI Fan Festival.  Dates haven’t been set yet but hope is high in both countries for some kind of event before year’s end.

Some people may have noticed that this week’s report is later than normal.  September is a very insanely busy month for me, even outside of Tokyo Game Show preparations, so updates from the Japanese magazines might be a little slow.  Real life responsibilities have to come before anything else.  Hopefully most of you can understand that.  If there are any super amazing articles that come out though, you can be sure that we’ll let you know.

See ya soon!