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The Mog Log: The natives are restless
Allow me a little bit of woolgathering. When I started working for Massively, it was October of last year, and Final Fantasy XIV had just been announced as the official title for the game code-named "Rapture" and unofficially codenamed "the sequel to Final Fantasy XI" by everyone else who had seen a single screenshot. About four days after you read this, the game is going to be officially live for players around the world willing to shell out an extra bit of cash for various doodads and a headstart. This is kind of baffling. Objectively, you know that the game is getting close to release, but it's not made real until the release is right at your doorstep. So before I go too far off the deep end and start thinking about things like the franchise having started when I was four, let's move on to the discussions coming out of the impending launch. And really, do come back next week when Final Fantasy XIV comes out, as I'm sure we'll have plenty of things on launch day. (Very sure, in fact.)
The Mog Log: Final Fantasy XIV did not ruin your birthday party
If you were one of the many, many people trying desperately to get Square-Enix's account management page to work on Wednesday evening, you're probably not one of the people this week's article is aimed at. It's pretty clear that even amidst all of the recent controversy surrounding Final Fantasy XIV, there is no shortage of players who couldn't wait to get into the game at the first opportunity. So if you were also up until way too darn late hitting "Refresh" and getting sick of hearing that the connection was reset, you don't need to worry. But there are a lot of things that have prompted players to call the premature death of Final Fantasy XIV. The fatigue system in particular did a wonderful job of making roughly nobody happy, spawning rage-filled comments that are still showing up in my inbox. Guildleve cooldowns are another big complaint, the one that originally prompted me to start planning this article. (Yes, well before Komoto tried to calm people down and accidentally did precisely the opposite.) But the sky isn't actually falling, and these systems do have their positive points... and there are very good reasons that we shouldn't be worried.
The Daily Grind: No grind?? No pre-order!!
This week's internet furor over Final Fantasy XIV's fatigue mechanic has been fascinating to watch. First off, as I'm a relative outsider to the franchise, it's given me an excuse to read up on the title as well as its predecessor, Final Fantasy XI (one of the few MMORPGs that couldn't hold my attention for the full free month). More importantly though, the walls of flame incoming from fans all over the internet about what amounts to a grind-limiting mechanic has been, shall we say, perplexing. Regardless of whether the actual mechanics and their effects have been lost in the language translation (which I'm still unclear on, to be perfectly honest), the fact remains that many, many players clearly want to grind when they play MMORPGs. A quick perusal of the comments on Eliot's article confirms that for many folks, nothing in these games aside from the ability to continually advance your character matters. The question of the day, Massively readers, is this: do you have to grind to enjoy your MMORPGs? Is there nothing aside from character advancement that compels you to play an MMO?
Devil in the details for Final Fantasy XIV's fatigue
When the news broke yesterday regarding the fatigue system in Final Fantasy XIV, it made virtually no one happy. Even the system's defenders generally had an attitude of "it's not all that bad," and most players were up in arms over the very idea. But a day can make a lot of difference, and as it turns out, we didn't quite have the clear picture of the fatigue system that we thought we did. The official translation from Square-Enix covers most of the same ground, but adds several important facts. The two most salient points are the fact that the limiting factors are not time-based but value-based, and the fact that the "cooldown" on fatigue sets in as soon as a player starts doing something that won't grant skill or experience points. There's no word on whether or not this will be the case during time spent logged off, but it means that the much-loathed figures about how much time would be productive are not altogether correct. Take a look at the official translation, which should provide a much-needed balm for several angry Final Fantasy XIV fans. [Thanks to John for the tip!]
Breakfast Topic: Different states of rest
While I was reading Adam's piece on the patches of yesteryear, I discovered something I didn't know. You need to understand that I missed the beta phase and didn't even know WoW existed, so I never really looked into how the game has changed for the better. So, I was fascinated to learn that during the beta it wasn't just normal or rested XP but fatigued and exhausted as well. While no longer in the game, I think it's a really interesting idea. Indeed it's something which would make WoW a lot more interesting and also make sure people didn't play for 12 hours straight. Perhaps when you first log on, you'd be rested and fresh from your nap in an inn. After a couple of scuffles you'd be normal (as in the game now) but as you did battle with critters and mobs this would change. Perhaps if you did too many battles you'd become fatigued as your armor degraded and then, if you died too much, exhausted and forced to nip to town for a stiff drink and repairs.While normal and rested XP have always been the boon and bane of the leveling toon, do you think a system like this would work? Would it make WoW a little more challenging, even for folks at the level cap (sans experience gain of course)? Did you play WoW when Patch 0.6 was released, what did you think of the differing levels of XP? Do you think something like this should be returned to the game?
Statistics point to China's growing significance in MMO industry
We've been mentioning a bit about some of the regulatory issues in China affecting massively multiplayer online games, particularly as they concern some Western game companies. However, a number of gamers in the West have wondered something along the lines of, "What does this have to do with me?" Well, in terms of Western markets directly, not much. But China is significant for the MMO industry seen as a whole.China will be the world's largest MMO market moving forward and as broadband speeds and penetration increase, the numbers of online gamers will keep rising. The current regulatory changes put forth by China's General Administration of Press and Publication (GAPP) stands to have a major impact on how online games are operated in this market, ranging from implementation of a "fatigue system" (where play time is limited each day) to censorship of game content. The country has over 55.5 million online gamers, with a total market for virtual transactions between USD 1.4 billion and 1.9 billion (RMB 10-13 billion), according to 2008 statistics released by the China Internet Network Information Center (as reported in English by JLM Pacific Epoch).
