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The Mog Log: Beauty of the beastmen
Well, it turned out to be a very good thing that I wasn't planning on talking about Final Fantasy XIV's patch 1.19 today, since it's not quite available just yet. That includes the absolutely enormous list of updates and changes to crafting, with several items apparently being yanked out of rotation altogether. Use up the ones you have and get ready to just vendor the rest, from the looks of it. Perhaps make some lumber ahead of time. At least your inventory woes should be somewhat diminished. But this week's plan wasn't to talk about the patch; it was to talk about beastmen once again. Regular readers will note that I've already spoken about beastmen once before, taking a look at the often fascinating societies of non-human creatures living outside of the major cities. (I'm using "human" as a blanket term here for hume, elvaan, tarutaru, etc.) Today, I want to look at this in a bit more depth. What exactly do both Final Fantasy XIV and Final Fantasy XI use the beastmen for in terms of storytelling? What makes them compelling and interesting?
The Mog Log: Fit for man and beast
Some weeks, I just don't have quite as much material as others. Oh, don't get me wrong -- the new May version update is out in Final Fantasy XI, which is awesome. But I already did a reaction piece on that, which kind of narrows down my options. Similarly, right now there isn't a lot happening in Final Fantasy XIV, just a lot of stuff around the corner that will eventually be released and probably be awesome. The fact that it's been Golden Week over in Japan has helped contribute to this overall sense of silence. Thus, today I'm pulling something that at least distantly resembles a rabbit out of my hat by pulling out an old topic that I had never really written about before -- beastmen. Sadly underused thus far in Final Fantasy XIV, the beastmen in Final Fantasy XI contributed a lot to the game's setting and general sense of place, even though some of the critters were pretty hopelessly ridiculous. So as long as I'm taking a step off the beaten path, I'm walking around with some beastmen.
Waging WAR: On the distant horizon
It's that time again! Yes, Greg's imagination has escaped its tiny 3x3 cell and is off spreading ruination and ruffling feathers across the countryside, armed with absurd notions and a not-so-surprising lack of reason and logic. This week's Waging WAR attempts to follow along in its wake as we take another look at the potential future of Warhammer Online: The Age of Reckoning. WAR released with an impressive lineup of playable armies and careers, setting the stage for the Age of Reckoning with a 3v3, two-sided RvR layout. In the summer following the official release of WAR, we got our first free content expansion featuring the Tomb Kings in the Land of the Dead. Just recently, we finally, at long last, got our Skaven wishes granted. In the spirit of the holiday season coming up, I've decided to look ahead at what may come in the future as we approach new horizons in WAR. Even if we discount Brettonia as another flavor of civilized human (akin in many ways to the Empire), the Daemons of Chaos as being already represented in some form or another as a part of Tzeentch's Warhost, and the Ogre Kingdoms (and other assorted Dogs of War) as being more-or-less an NPC army, we're still left with some excellent offerings from Warhammer lore as far as where WAR can go in the foreseeable future. Follow along after the break as I take another look at what's left on the table to play with for future packs and expansions for WAR.
Waging WAR: Gamescom and Mythic's anti-hype
In light of Gamescom coming next week (August 18th - 22nd), this week WagingWAR looks forward to what could be coming for Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning. But beware: Since Mythic has been so secretive about the future of WAR, we've been forced to compromise and offer mere conjecture. Unchained by reason or fact, we follow in the wake of that terrible beast known only as "Greg's Imagination." With less than a week left until Gamescom, I find myself more and more excited by the potential of what Mythic could be set to reveal, regardless of the fact that it's given me nothing to chew on. I am hyped by the anti-hype. What follows is the result of that hype. There are no facts, rumours, hints, or tips to back up what amounts to totally unbarred speculation. I have organized the aftermath of my brainstorm in terms of what would excite me, from most to least, followed by why I believe these additions could make sense, and how they might be implemented. Keep in mind that some of what follows could simply be passed off as madness; it might be totally unfeasible, even by the most adept and well-financed of development teams. I'm fully aware of that. The point here was to just "let it go." And I did. Crazy, or uncanny -- you decide. Follow along after the break.
Dengeki translation of Final Fantasy XIV
There's still far too little official news on Final Fantasy XIV and no word on the start of the beta, which either means we'll continue to get absolutely no news or we're days away from a giant explosion of information (and let's hope for the latter). In lieu of official news, however, we continue to see the slow trickle of information from translated Japanese magazines. FFXIVCore has translated the most recent issue of Dengeki, which includes an interview and a few interesting tidbits. It also includes further speculation on customizing the underwear of female characters, which is something else entirely. Moving on from the underwear portion, we find the confirmation that the beta will not include everything in the game -- only roughly ten percent, according to the producers. Enough to test the systems, not enough to see everything. There's also hinting that the "beast tribes" or the Garlean Empire might become allies with the adventuring nations, in a rather coy response to the question of whether or not the relationship will parallel that of beastmen and adventurers in Final Fantasy XI. It's not a giant infusion of new facts, but any break from the silence is welcome for those eagerly awaiting Final Fantasy XIV.
