Final Fantasy Xiv Letter from The Producer Live

Letter from the Producer LIVE 21:00 Start! [Music Playing] [Toshio "Foxclon" Murouchi] Hello everyone! [Naoki Yoshida] Hello! [Foxclon] At long last it's time for the FINAL FANTASY XIV Producer Letter Live. [Yoshida] Yes. [Foxclon] Really quickly, let's start with self introductions. [Yoshida] Sure. [Foxclon] Please go ahead. [Yoshida] Hello everyone! [Yoshida] And good morning to all the US players [Yoshida] Since it is 5AM over there. [Yoshida] I am FINAL FANTASY XIV Producer/Director Yoshida. [Yoshida] Thanks for joining us today [Yoshida] We just passed it by a couple days, but [Yoshida] with all of the players' support we are able to celebrate FINAL FANTASY XIV's one year anniversary. [Yoshida] Thank you all very much. [Yoshida] We started talking about having a face to face event with the players and the development team next year, but we still have a lot of things to do. [Yoshida] Because of this, this time we are holding a live event directly on Twitter with players all over the world, and celebrating the one year anniversary by directly communicating with everyone. [Yoshida] [Foxclon] Thank you all. [Foxclon] I am the MC today, many of you may know me as the "Morbol" on the forums, from the Community Team. Thank you all. [Foxclon] This Producer Letter will actually take place in 2 parts. [Yoshida] Oh, that's right. [Yoshida] Yes, today is the first part. [Yoshida] It's the eve of patch 1.19... [Yoshida] Tomorrow morning it will be released. [Yoshida] We managed to finalize it completely, so since today is the eve, we are going to do part one, and broadcast the next one around the end of October, early November. [Foxclon] So that means today will be about 1.19 and what's to come a little bit out in the future. [Yoshida] Yep, that's right. [Foxclon] Since this is the first time we have this opportunity to ask Producer Yoshida a variety of things, we are looking forward to your questions! [Foxclon] We will be introducing the questions on the screen behind us and then on Topics and other places later. Right now, it's in French. [Foxclon] Please send your questions using the Twitter hashtag "#XIVLive" [Yoshida] Thanks! [Foxclon] Looking forward to them! [Foxclon] Now then. [Yoshida] Now then. [Foxclon] It's time. [Yoshida] It's time... [Foxclon] To get to the question. [Foxclon] I have my laptop here. [Foxclon] I am sure a ton of questions are going to be incoming, but before that.. [Foxclon] I'm getting a dirty look... [Yoshida] A dirty look? [Foxclon] I'm getting a strange feeling. [Foxclon] Did you bring a guest or something today? [Yoshida] Well there is an empty chair here. [Yoshida] I in fact brought a special guest. [Foxclon] Oh he is here. [Yoshida] I will call him. [Foxclon] Can you go ahead and introduce him? [Yoshida] Sure. [Yoshida] I give you Yoichi Wada, [Yoshida] President and CEO of Square Enix [Yoshida] Um…please stop trying to be funny and come here [Yoichi Wada] Hello everyone [Wada] This is Wada, and I’ve been "summoned" here [Yoshida] You’re rather casual today [Wada] Ah, indeed I am [Foxclon] Casual? [Wada] I’m not wearing a suit jacket either [Yoshida] Did you have a few drinks beforehand? [Wada] Of course not [Yoshida] No? All right then [Wada] Thank you all so much for your patronage for this past year since the launch. [Yoshida] Yes, thank you [Wada] Now, the reason I’ve come here today [Wada] I know how hard the entire team has been working, [Wada] and with the encouragement of the players [Wada] But then I hear about rumors saying we’re only [Wada] now starting to make significant changes [Yoshida] Ah, that’s right [Foxclon] There certainly was a bit of talk [Yoshida] That made me a little mad [Wada] I have to say I was annoyed as well [Wada] The new development team was formed [Wada] eight, nine months ago [Wada] And since then all members have worked as one to take the game in the right direction [Yoshida] That’s right. [Wada] All that while, we’ve been fully committed [Wada] to providing quality service to our players [Yoshida] Yes [Wada] So I was surprised that some were making it [Wada]sound like nothing had been done yet [Wada] But that simply isn’t true [Wada] The team has been dedicated to both [Wada] the game’s operation and reformation… [Wada] …and won’t rest until the game becomes [Wada] the masterpiece that it was meant to be [Wada] We're sparing no effort, so please rest assured [Yoshida] Yes, please rest assured 0:00:09:22.8,00:09:24.2 [Wada] And so I was summoned here [Wada] Summoned monsters are our allies, right? [Yoshida] Um…right. I suppose they are [Yoshida] But we have a lot to get through today [Yoshida] So…you can go now [Foxclon] It’s about time we moved on [Wada] I’m done already? [Yoshida] Yes, we’ll take it from here [Foxclon] It’s time for you to go [Wada] Huh? [Yoshida] You can go now [Wada] Really? 00:09:40.7.00:09:41.7 [Yoshida] Yes, really [Wada] Well, I suppose I’ll be off then [Wada] Thank you for your continued support 00:09:44.0,00:09:45:0 [Yoshida] Thanks! [Foxclon] President Yoichi Wada. [Wada] Do I exit this way? [Foxclon] Er, from here. [Yoshida] Thanks. [Foxclon] Thanks. [Yoshida] Sorry, full points for making this look home-made… [Foxclon] Shall I change the set a bit? [Yoshida] Sure. [Yoshida] Then, let’s get rid of this chair. [Yoshida] We are really doing this live, it’s not a studio.. [Foxclon] Ah by the way, Yoshida. [Yoshida] Yes? [Foxclon] Where are we? [Yoshida] This is actually my developer’s booth. See there is a white board. [Yoshida] When we implement patches and new content we often have a final meeting here, [Yoshida] and actually for the parameter adjustments a ton of numbers started flying. [Foxclon] Yeah, there is quite a lot written on it. [Yoshida] If anyone is interested in this stuff, it’s fine to try and see for yourself. [Foxclon] Ah, also, it’s a bit off camera, but that’s Yoshida’s desk. [Yoshida] Yeah, it’s right there [Foxclon] There must be a lot of secrets [Yoshida] There are. [Foxclon] I’m sure there are. [Foxclon] If the right questions are asked, it’s possible something might slip out. [Yoshida] Yeah, today I’d like to answer questions as honestly as possible. [Foxclon] Alrighty then, let's begin the Q and A [Foxclon] First question! [Foxclon] Is it possible to save the set of action bars in individual classes? [Yoshida] As I have mentioned during the interview that took place the other day, we were aiming to implement this in patch 1.19. However, we could not complete debug testing so it didn't make it in. It's planned to be implemented in patch 1.19a, which is scheduled to take place around 2 weeks after patch 1.19. Please look forward to it. [Foxclon] Thank you. [Foxclon] Next question. Here we go... this is a question seen often. When do we get to see the revamped map and PS3 version of FFXIV? We have been waiting forever. [Yoshida] With map/UI/server revamp, we are working at full speed. With the map, we are making quite a drastic change to it. As I have mentioned on the forums before, I would like to introduce it along with more details after the patch 1.19 is released. I'm also considering about including various details to it. After they are introduced, I'm hoping that players will send much deeper questions during the second broadcast of the Letter from the Producer LIVE. If so, then I should be able to answer more in details. However! However! Since we are doing this live after all...I have a development document here I can show the camera. [Yoshida] Here you go. There is a lot written here, but as you can see, it's Gridania. [Foxclon] I'm pretty interested in that text... [Yoshida] This is pretty much how we will be doing our revamps. During the second broadcast I will be going into much further detail about these things. Look forward to it! [Foxclon] With that said, the main focus for today is 1.19 and slightly future-related things. Next question! Yoshi-P, what are your hobbies? [Yoshida] I'm basically a workaholic so spend a lot of time on work but other than that, I like Japanese pachinko. [Foxclon]: Pachinko? [Yoshida]: Yeah, I love pachiko. [Foxclon]: Thank you and the next question is... Please tell us about the planned timing and your current thoughts on the adjustment of food-related effects. [Yoshida] Adjustments to food effect is already in planning for patch 1.20 or 1.21. As of now, we are trying to determine when and how much of an adjustment should be made. Since patch 1.19 is now done, we are having a discussion on this. So we should be able to deliver the details some time soon. Regarding their effects, it is being quite difficult. Introducing a food item with a huge effect may force every player to eat the item to participate in content. To avoid that, we'll need to strike a delicate balance. So we're planning to add different, food-like effects from what we have currently. Once the details are fixed, I should be able to introduce it on the forum or through the Letter from the Producer. We are having a heated discussion on this right now so I should be able to introduce them very soon. [Foxclon] So we should all look forward to that? [Yoshida] Yes. [Foxclon]: Next question...is this pace okay? [Yoshida]: Yep! [Foxclon]: OK! [Foxclon] In the FF series, ancient spells are the ultimate spells but in FFXIV, they're not. Will this be adjusted later? [Yoshida] We are considering making major action and magic spell changes in patch 1.20 and I may be able to introduce more specific ideas in there. We have various ideas like splitting the spell categories to single target and area of effect or have the spell's damage vary depending on the level. I am thinking about making drastic changes to the actions based on these ideas. So for now, please wait until these details are introduced and please give us the feedback on the forum or even during the second broadcast of the Letter from the Producer LIVE. [Foxclon]: Continuing on... Are the clocks behind you showing the local time of various locations around the world? [Yoshida] Since FFXIV is operated globally, I put up clocks and calendars that show local date/time in my office so that I can decide when would be the perfect time to announce topics or release the patch. Even when I am writing emails, I need to know exactly when to send out mails and deadlines because of the time shifts. [Foxclon]: As you can see in the screen behind us, it's in four different languages. Okay, next question. Haha, another question about the room. I guess people are really interested. On the upper left hand corner of the white board, "Female Highlander", "Male Miqo'te", "Female Roegadyn" and "Must Have". Does this mean that new races could be added? [Yoshida] It's more like something we must have in the game and it's a meeting log from when we were talking about adding them as soon as possible. [Foxclon] I see. So that's a meeting log. [Yoshida] Yes and below them, it says "what about the cost?" So after we calculate the cost, we will first add the things that are "must have" After that, we would like to look into other races such as Demi Human and Dragons. So those are the vestiges of the meeting where we discussed about adding things that are "must have" and "should be there." [Foxclon]: Moving on, next question. When is the revamp of the Linkshell system going to take place? [Yoshida] Since we are receiving quite a number of demands on this, especially from the players who have returned to Eorzea and also the people who have got interested and started playing FFXIV after seeing the update details. I have been reading the blogs on the Lodestone everyday and am aware that both enhancement and adjustment of the Linkshell system must be done. Actually, I had a discussion with the Lodestone team today and consider that various functions, especially the LS search function, are necessary. Since 1.19 is in now, we are looking into all the tasks that are left for 1.20 and on, and trying to decide the order and priority of each. So, yes we will be doing this. There are a lot of problems with Linkshells, so we are trying our best to make the game so you can all enjoy it fully. [Foxclon]: Next question. Size adjustments have been made to some monsters... Um, size adjustments have been made to some monsters, but are there any set rules or standards on which receive this change? [Yoshida] Hmm... for RPGs, monsters are of course something for the adventurers to fight against and get past. They are in the way of your goal. The size of a monster is adjusted when the appearance needs to make more of an impact based on the environment and the strength of the enemy. So we simply make an adjustment to the monsters from that perspective. I'm being quite bold and straight about it. I simply say "hey, make this one bigger." or "make it around 1.2 times the current size" and such. [Foxclon]: So you basically choose the size based on the atmosphere? [Yoshida] Yes, we do have a correlation chart on the size of all monsters. [Foxclon]: Okay, next question. Do you have any plans of implementing an efficient and easy-to-use party formation feature? Currently, everyone is shouting in town and it takes quite some time to efficiently form a party... [Foxclon] We do get this question a lot as well. [Yoshida] A minor adjustment was made to the party formation system when the Dzemael Darkhold raid was implemented but we don't consider it completely fixed. I believe that the Market and the party formation system are the next big issues to address so we are planning to use FFXI's system as a reference and make adjustments as soon as possible. This is a very important topic for us and we are currently looking into creating a system where it is much easier to form parties. Schedule and details on this will be announced once they are ready so please hang on. I consider that both Market system and the search function to form parties are the next big thing we must tackle. [Foxclon]: Next question. It looks like the game is on the way of becoming another FFXI. Is this intentional? [Yoshida] We received a lot of similar feedback when we implemented the auto-attack system. No, we are not intentionally trying to make the game similar to FFXI. We had a bunch of concerns when we were readying and implementing the auto-attack system, if people would start to say that this is just FFXI-2, but... we wanted to improve the tempo of battles and we wanted the players to be able to play the game at an easier pace. We aren't really trying to create FFXI-2 or make it more similar to FFXI. We are trying to create our very own battle system for FFXIV where players around the globe are able to enjoy the game. So, it's not intentional at all. [Foxclon]: Next question, oh this is an important one. Yoshi-P, which race do you like the most? Miqo'te, Lalafell or Roegadyn? [Yoshida] Lalafell all the way. [Foxclon] Oh, why is that? [Yoshida] Even when I play other MMO titles, I always use the smallest race. I love PvP, so the smaller the character is the harder it is to target and they work great as a sneaky damage dealer. So among those three, Lalafell is my favorite. [Foxclon]: So that's why you like small characters. [Yoshida]: Haha yeah, sorry, but that's the kind of player I am. [Foxclon]: Next... another interesting question... [Foxclon] Why can't we adjust the bust size of our female characters during character creation? What's up with this? [Yoshida] Oh really? [Foxclon] They even say "this is absurd!" [Yoshida] Well the bust size of the character is kind of a sensitive topic since there also are female viewers so won't say anything radical but... Well there are a lot of races, Miqo'te, Lalafell, the ones we plan on adding, so for those of you who have propensity towards your character's bust size, please choose your favorite size based on the race. [Foxclon]: Moving on to the next question. The boarding fee of the airship is expensive. Could you make it cheaper by any chance...? [Yoshida] The boarding fee has been determined based on the amount of gil players own and gil that can be obtained through various gameplay contents. For airships, you can go to the Airship Landing and you can buy a ticket for a variety of routes, then you wait a bit and you can go right to another city quite quickly. Guildleves have also been changed a bit, so instead of being forced to do them every day, you can save them up for the weekend or such. So in response to the amount of gil gained by levequests and quests, the cost of the airship is really equal to about 1-2 leves. I consider it to be a decent price but we may make an adjustment based on the in-game economy. Of course, this isn't something that can be decided with a single adjustment. So for now, please try out the patch 1.19 and send in feedback on it. [Foxclon and Yoshida] We are waiting for your feedback. [Foxclon]: Next, this one is from someone who doesn't currently play anymore. What do you think is the largest change that took place in this past year? Also I would like to know what you consider to be the key point for the resurrection of FFXIV. [Yoshida] Hmm... This is really a tough question. To be honest, I consider that we're about half way to the point where we can confidently call it "FINAL FANTASY" There is still a lot to be done with party formation systems that match players for content, the economy, and item searching which are lacking. So there still are lots of things that need to be done. However we, as in myself and the dev. team who are rampaging outside of my office at the moment, are finally able to introduce chocobos in patch 1.19. We were strongly reminded by players that the chocobo is one of the very critical things that resembles the FINAL FANTASY series. Along with that, a set of new songs from patch 1.19 has been introduced by Soken from the Sound team. That was to show what I, and Soken, consider to be FINAL FANTASY. Also Ifrit will be introduced in the game for both level 30 and 50. It is also one of the icons in the FINAL FANTASY series. We will continue to implement more contents that represents the FINAL FANTASY series and players should be able to play this game as a true MMO in the FINAL FANTASY, series so please look forward to it. For the ones who have retired, it will encourage us a lot if you come back to the game. [Foxclon]: Speaking of Soken , though we can't hear it in the room right now but we are actually playing a mix of music from 1.19 that were selected by Soken himself for everyone at home watching on YouTube. [Yoshida]: Haha, yeah, I see them out there giving me a sign saying that they are playing the music. [Foxclon]: Yes, we hope the viewers would enjoy them as well. [Foxclon]: Ok, next question. Isn't it about time for you to introduce all the jobs that will be implemented in patch 1.21? [Yoshida]: All? [Foxclon]: Yes, all! [Yoshida] Well there is one last job that has not been introduced yet to the community. But it's not really something special that should be kept as a secret So far, I have introduced Paladin, White Mage, Black Mage, Dragoon, Monk and Bard. And the very last job is Warrior! [Yoshida] Shall I show you? [Foxclon]: Oh, do you have something? [Yoshida]: I need to look for it, so take over for a minute Morbol! [Foxclon]: Take over? But I'm not the producer, so if I say something strange it's going to be weird. [Yoshida] Let's see... We have been doing a final check on this so... [Foxclon] This feels really LIVE, but if we bring up stuff that isn't planned are they going to get mad? Do we need to check? Are we good? [Yoshida]: Of course we're good! [Yoshida] We have introduced this the other day but here is the concept art for warrior done by Akihiko Yoshida. No, it is not a dark knight. And this is a final fix. [Yoshida] Also, I have a bit more... [Foxclon] Oh, you got some more to show? [Yoshida] Yeah, a little more... [Yoshida] Here is bard... and yet even more. [Foxclon] You going for more? [Yoshida] Yes, gonna show the bow. [Foxclon] Oh, that one? [Yoshida] Uh, wait, no, this is Garuda. [Foxclon] Hey, hey, hey! [Yoshida] Oops. [Yoshida] Here...no...that's Moogle... [Foxclon] You are saying a lot of interesting words. [Yoshida] Ok, here it is. Shape shifting weapon. [Foxclon] I dunno, they are really making faces out there, you sure this is okay? [Yoshida] There are people who seems to be quite nervous. Giving me a wry grin, but it's fine. [Foxclon] Oh well. This is a live show and there are always unexpected spoilers, right? [Yoshida] I mean, you know, it was critical for the question we received so... [Yoshida] They are super mad...haha. It's all good! [Foxclon] Alrighty, since 1.19 is going to go live tomorrow morning, why don't we actually show off some content to our players. So let's switch over to the game. [Yoshida]: This is the hand-to-hand Ifrit weapon. [Foxclon]: Oh yeah, it is! [Yoshida] It's glowing. [Foxclon] Looking pretty good. [Yoshida] And actually this is one of the new dungeons that are being added. [Yoshida] Let's warp out of here. [Yoshida] Since this is the dev. version there will be a bit of debug code and it might be a bit slow. [Foxclon] So next is...? [Yoshida] Items! [Foxclon] What about items? [Yoshida] Something players have been asking about for a while, take a look at the top left of the item menu. We added 100 inventory slots making the inventory size 200. [Foxclon] Woah, this character is already maxed out! [Yoshida] Also, currently only 10 items are displayed at a time per page, but in 1.20 we are going to expand this to hold 50 items per page. [Yoshida] Though this is a temporary solution until the major UI revamps. [Yoshida] We will be announcing all the details for the major UI revamps as soon as we can. [Foxclon] Oh! Seems like we got to some interesting items here... [Yoshida] Yes, materia IV, right? [Yoshida] Magic critical hit +50. [Foxclon] +50?? [Yoshida] Yes, 50. This pretty much the strongest type of materia. [Yoshida] If you look at the menu, when you equip it, the green help text will display how your stats are enhanced, making it easy to understand. [Yoshida] There is also a tiny materia mark as well. It's something that should be obvious, but we would like to make adjustments to make things as easy to understand as possible while in-game. [Foxclon] What about those numbers? [Yoshida] Ah, those are the number of materia attached by the forbidden method. [Yoshida] 2 and then 3... [Yoshida] It's definitely only for the people who are willing to take risks and understand the ways of the forbidden method. [Foxclon] For just one materia, there really isn't anything to worry about, right? [Yoshida] Right. Adding just one will be 100% successful. [Yoshida] From 2 on, you are pushing into the forbidden aspect. Start with one, get used to it and then see what you can do. [Foxclon] And lastly, one more thing... [Yoshida] Blow the whistle...annnnnnd! [Yoshida] Chocobo! Runnin' around... [Foxclon] Summoned by blowing the whistle means... [Yoshida] It's a personal chocobo. [Yoshida] Pretty bad weather. [Yoshida] So as I said before in a previous response, we would like to keep adding more and more elements that are classic to FINAL FANTASY. [Yoshida] While this chocobo rides around, let's get back to some questions. [Foxclon] Ok, here we go. [Yoshida] Oh, video has stopped. [Foxclon] Will you be able to attach materia to equipment created via the old recipes? [Yoshida] Old ones, right? Hmmm...it's not possible. Due to the basic concept of recipe revamp starting from patch 1.19, the old equipment data and the new equipment data are developed separately. Thus materia craft cannot be used in conjunction with the old equipment. Apologies for this. [Foxclon] Next, also about materia. How will you earn spiritbond points to generate materia? Will it be based on the number of hits? Parties you're in? When does it reach 100%? [Yoshida] Spritbond will increase by fighting through the battle. It increases when you earn experience points. [Foxclon] Next question. We have seen Ifrit weapons. Are there any plans to implement Ifrit armor in the future? [Yoshida] The Ifrit weapons are heavily focused on Ifrit... horns. The giant horn of Ifrit is also being a key to battle Ifrit. I wanted to implement weapons with special effects so we will only implement weapons this time. However, we are currently in the process of creating new armor like job specific armor, class specific armor, etc. for the upcoming content. Stay tuned! [Foxclon] I see. So for the armors, players should wait for the new information to come. Next. Will you be adding chocobo animations while on chocoback? Like waving while riding? [Yoshida] Currently we don't have any plans for this in patch 1.19 or 1.19a, but if there are a lot of requests, we will look into it. There are some problems with memory tied to animations and what not, but if there are enough requests, we can look into it for the future. [Foxclon] Continuing on, another chocobo question. I'm interested in this myself. I understand that the chocobos implemented now are male. Will there be a female chocobo? [Yoshida] Actually this ties into the reason why we announced that all chocobos will be male prior to patch 1.19. Chocobos are heavily connected with Ishgard and come only from there at the moment. In order to maintain Ishgard's exclusivity, currently only male chocobos are being given out to the rest of the city-states. Also when you name chocobos, you might want to name them male-type names! There also is a future idea on implementing a breeding system for the chocobos. To avoid any confusion, we announced that all chocobos will be male. We also got a bunch of requests about walking around next to chocobos and swapping their armor. Once these things are decided we will be sure to inform you. [Foxclon] Next. As a gamepad user, I find it difficult to scroll through the list of actions. Are there any plans to update the interface? [Yoshida] We will be working on updating the user interface not only for the gamepad, but for the keyboard/mouse users as well. I mentioned we would be doing an entire revamp, but we will be adding updated elements as time goes on as well. Please be sure to provide us with your feedback about what kind of interface your prefer and we will do our best to address it. [Foxclon] Next question. This is a pretty popular question from our overseas players. We were talking about this earlier... PvP. PvP has often been touched on, but exactly what kind of elements are you thinking to add? Is it going to be full PvP? Also how are players going to participate? [Yoshida] Well, once I start talking about PvP, I can go on forever but... [Foxclon] You become unstoppable? [Yoshida] Yeah. For FINAL FANTASY XIV and the FINAL FANTASY series in general, there are a lot of players that do not like PvP, so we are designing it so that players that do not wish to take part in PvP are not forced to. We are designing the new battle framework with PvP elements in mind as well. We are planning 2 things for PvP. The first one is a battlefield such as a Coliseum, where you will know who your opponent and team will be, and you can fight fair knowing what you will be up against. The second is a free roaming PvP area where you can fight for control of various influences. For the casual players and those that would like to experience PvP a bit, I would recommend the Coliseum, and we are thinking of adding PvP ranks. When you are ready for the full thing, you can try out the PvP area. [Foxclon] The next question is a bit unrelated to the game. We would like to go over about yourself. [Yoshida] I kind of wonder if there is anyone who would enjoy for knowing more about me though... [Foxclon] What is the hardest part of this past year for you? And what is the happiest thing that happened in the past year? [Yoshida] Hmm, this is tough. I can't really think of one right away... I'm sure there were lots of hard parts throughout the year but as I have mentioned in the interview, I really enjoy my work so it wasn't all that hard. Though my very first month after the change was the hardest. I had to learn about the game client, determine what the major problems were, and speak with each member of the team individually. And I had to do all those simultaneously. So I'll say that that was the hardest part. However, the motivation of the team is high and also the company is fully backing us up so I was happy throughout it. And my happiest moment is when you, the players, cheer me on! Thank you so much! [Yoshida] What was the other question, by the way? [Foxclon] It's about your happiest moment but seems like you have already answered it. [Yoshida] Oh, that's right. Yes, my happiest moments are when you, the players, have cheered me on. [Foxclon] Next one. Well people sure do know a lot about you. [Foxclon] I heard you like spicy food. How spicy are we talking here? [Yoshida] Have I ever mentioned that I like spicy food? [Foxclon] Could be from someone in the dev. team. [Yoshida] Let's see... How far can I go... [Yoshida] There's a soup-style curry at a certain restaurant that is supposedly extremely spicy. I can eat it without even breaking a sweat. I don't even need any water. [Foxclon] Next question. What's the best part about online games in your opinion? [Yoshida] The best? Hm. It's often said that the best thing about online games is the ability to communicate with others, however, for me, there are a lot of things about recent MMOs that tire me out. Everyone is so busy with their real lives and when they get home, it's pretty rough having to talk a lot. But, you can still be in this world with other players, and sometimes you can play together with them and sometimes play alone. What you do is going to be a bit different. The situation from day to day will change. This is why I like online games, especially PvP, and it's the same reason why I like fighting games. I think the fact that the situations will always be different is what attracts me to online games. [Foxclon] Next question. When you rank up in Grand Companies, what kind of good things will happen? Also, please tell us some of the rank names. [Yoshida] First, you will be recognized on the Grand Company Lodestone page! Also many good things will happen such as an increase in the number of company seals you can obtain. One of them is the max amount of company seals you can have will increase. Also you may be able to obtain a dedicated company title. Additionally do you see all the phrases listed on the white board? There are variety of company ranks such as Private Third Class, Lieutenant, Commander and many more. And below them, it says "head," "arms," and "legs." It's right behind the microphone so it may be hard for viewers to see... So there are many good things that will happen by raising your rank in Grand Companies. [Foxclon] I see. Now next question is... Oh, this one is nice. Yoshi-P, I bet you want a smoke right about now! [Yoshida] Haha. Yes I do! I would like a cup of coffee as well... [Foxclon] Okay, let's move on to the next one. Regarding the two types of PvP Yoshi-P mentioned earlier, will the former type allow PK, where players get to attack others one-sidedly? Or is it more like a sports match? [Yoshida] I'm not planning to allow PK in the Coliseum. Please consider it as something like a sports match where the teams will hold a sports-like competition. However with the other one that takes place in the PvP area, players may be attacked by others any moment as long as they are in that area. So before the players enter the area to participate in PvP, a confirmation will be made. So as long as you don't enter that area, you will be safe. [Foxclon] Moving on to the next question. Can you make the pugilist become god-like? That's quite a simple question. [Yoshida] Actually we do have a pugilist lover somewhere around there. Hiroshi Takai, the assistant director of the FFXIV dev. team, is totally head over heels on the pugilist. He is standing there giving a "don't say it" look along with a nice grin in his face. Every time the patch version goes up, he is pressuring both Matsui and Gondai to make pugilist stronger. After patch 1.19, pugilist can dish out quite a bit of damage, right? Right? He is giving a sign of yes. Looks like the pugilist gets to have the time of their life, so please see for yourself in patch 1.19! [Foxclon] OK, moving on to the next question. Why do we lose everything including gear when failing the 'forbidden' material craft? It seems like too harsh of a penalty! [Yoshida] Yes, you can say that the penalty is big. Though as I mentioned earlier, the spirit of each player will be converted into a form of material and will increase the strength of weapons, armors and players themselves. When you get all seven equipment slots set with 1 materia each, you will be very strong. This becomes more predominant with Materia IV, the highest rank of them all. At first, please see for yourself how strong you can get by setting one materia to each slot. If you want to be stronger than that, there must be a risk associated with it. I do feel that this penalty is quite severe compared to the recent trend of MMO but you are forcefully shoving it in so there must be a certain amount of risk. Sure people's desire is infinite and once they have it, they wish to have more. But first, please see it for yourself. Feedback on this will be welcome, though. [Foxclon] Next question. I feel that equipment durability is unnecessary, but what do you think? [Yoshida] Well I would like the players to have a minimal amount of a tension and risk in the RPG game. With my policy on the game design, I cannot accept the system where players can assume a challenge without taking any risk. Though I don't think that the current generation of MMO players can accept the penalty they had in the first generation MMO titles. Thus, I consider the durability being the best form of penalty and that is why it is kept as part of the death penalty. In patch 1.19 we have made an adjustment where the durability decreases at a slower rate so please try and see it for yourself. [Foxclon] And the next question is quite a hasty one. Can you give some pointers for beating ifrit? [Yoshida] I bet the content team will be unhappy about me saying this... Well in Bowl of Embers... Oh, the content team is staring right at my face. Anyway, the normal mode is pretty easy to beat. I'm sure you can feel it by actually trying it. However, the hard mode is going to be very difficult. You'll feel the true power of a "god" in that fight! Whoa, the content team is giving me a scary look. Well there are several stages of Ifrit and the tactics required to defeat Ifrit differ in each stage. Oh, and the horns... Oops, I've said too much already! [Foxclon] Well, we cannot show this view to you but the members of the dev. team are crowded right outside of Yoshida's office. [Yoshida] My office wall is glass and I always keep the door open. So the dev. team is staring at us through the glass. [Foxclon] They are giving us quite a painful look, you know. [Yoshida] Yes, this sure is painful. [Foxclon] Let's move on to the next question. Is Yoshi-P almost capped on accessory points? You're got a bunch of accessories! [Yoshida] Yes, indeed. I think I can put about 6 more though. [Yoshida] I no longer wear earrings, so I've got some room there. [Foxclon] Okay, moving on. [Foxclon] You talked about the pugilist earlier but can the culinarian become god-like as well? [Yoshida] The taste of the food. I'm sure that all the love you have poured into cooking will pay off in the form of supreme taste. But if there happens to be a player who has a poor tasting dish, can't help it. [Foxclon] Alright, the next question is... After Ifrit, will we see Titan? They are starting to not beat around the bush here. [Yoshida] Hmm... [Foxclon] Once Yoshida starts to grunt, the dev. team starts to get rattled. [Yoshida] Is it alright for me to show this? [Foxclon] Well they are all smiling. [Yoshida] I believe the character in this image kind of shows what's coming next. [Yoshida] I believe the character in this image kind of shows what's coming next. [Foxclon] I think I just heard them moaning. [Yoshida] I'm sure I can talk more about it sometime soon. What's shown in the image will be the next thing after Ifrit. And it is planned to come with lots of new challenges. Oh, they are giving off an aura not to say anymore. [Foxclon] Okay, next up is... What kind of other mounts will there be aside from chocobos in the future? [Yoshida] Well for patch 1.19, both programmers and planners have worked their best to implement the basic structure of the mount system. Chocobo is not only a mount but it's an icon of FINAL FANTASY series to all of us. With mounts other than chocobo... When we did a survey on the forums, we received a lot of requests for "Magitek Armor" as an example. Things like that will be a good reference going forward! [Foxclon] And the next question is... Will we have the chance of meeting the leaders of the Grand Companies soon? We have another one. What about the NPCs that appear in the main scenario? [Yoshida] You'll get a chance to meet the NPCs that appear in the main scenario very soon. Also, there's an ongoing event that the Grand Company leaders are involved in. Within that event, the reason why Grand Companies are being resurrected at this moment will be told. They know many things that players don't know. And many more incidents will take place in Eorzea. Then you'll have the chance of meeting the leaders of each Grand Company as well, so stay tuned! [Foxclon] I see and here is the next question. Do the developers think the rate in which players completed Dzemael was fast? Slow? [Yoshida] The community team predicted the first clear would be after about 8 hours. I predicted 3 days and it turned out that on the 3rd day, we started to see players who cleared Dzemael. So, I think it's just right. Ifrit is even harder, so good luck! In the second broadcast of the Letter from the Producer LIVE, we hope that we can go over what kind of players have defeated Ifrit and how fast they were. [Foxclon] Good luck everyone! Oh, next question is about Yoshi-P. How did you get started in the gaming industry? That's something quite out of the blue. [Yoshida] Well I cannot get that deep in details since other game companies and studios are involved. Well, I wanted to write story scenarios to begin with. I worked my way up from a large MMO-title and became director after that. So my career as a director is pretty long. [Foxclon] Next up is... After the claiming system change in patch 1.19, I'm afraid everyone will be power leveling each other. What do you think of this? [Yoshida] It depends on what you consider power leveling. For example, if Morbol and I were playing completely different games. I am playing FFXIV and Morbol has yet to play it at all. I've already reached the level cap, I'm level 50, and then I invite Morbol. Of course I want to do end game content like Ifrit. But I invited him, and he wants to play too, and we are really good friends so I want to help him out. I can help Morbol out with my level 50 character when he's being attacked by a monster. Of course it's going to lower the XP a bit, but I'd like to make it a bit loose and not too strict. I just want to make sure friends are able to help each other if they want to challenge content together by filling the gap. [Foxclon] And the next question is... I hear rumors about moon phase or the direction you face giving special effects to crafting. What's the truth? [Yoshida] I know it's talked about in forum, too. [Yoshida] Hmm. Think I should really answer this question? Will people be happy? [Foxclon] That sure is a big question. [Yoshida] Maybe some things are better to be left unanswered. [Foxclon] Moving on here now... On the Lodestone, level 51-60 recipes were posted. What is the meaning of this? Will the level cap be lifted? [Yoshida] We posted these recipes to show off some new items as well as the necessity for equipment for high level and crafts that level 50 players can gain experience from. [Foxclon] So whether the cap going to be raised or not is a different story? [Yoshida] That's right, whether the cap going to be raised or not is a different story. [Foxclon] Next we have... Can you tell us about the new class system? [Yoshida] New class system? [Foxclon] Seems like they want to know anything that are about the new class system. [Yoshida] Is it about the job or the revamp of the class system? Answer differs depending on it. Guess I will answer both then. Hey battle team, is it fine with you guys? They are smiling, so I'll take it as a yes. For the class adjustments, we are planning to have every class possess their own identity. Along with actions that carry multiple elements and aspects. We're also giving some thought to introducing combo actions. I mean, like attacking the enemy with Red Lotus from behind, then inflicting bonus damage by immediately following up with a special action from the enemy's flank. I'm talking about introducing a feature which allows even solo players to pull off combos while switching positions, rather than simply landing one attack, etc. Magic could be another way to let players initiate a combo, too. Again, this sort of idea is part of taking a different approach to XI, like I said before, and we're aiming to make pulling off combos an exhilarating way to use techniques, so we're working on it. This is what I mean by class improvements. With regards to jobs, you will be able to take on job quests from level 30+, and completing those will allow you to use those jobs. The number of job quests is pretty much fixed, but it's likely there'll be more (or fewer) quests further down the line so I can't really comment on the exact number right now. Clearing these quests, as a Dragoon for example, will open up stories related to that job which we're been developing. So by completing these trials one at time, what we know as jobs, or "job stones" at the moment as I haven't fully decided on the name, once they start, then you'll be able to change jobs and fight as them. From then on you'll earn weapons specific to each job, or job-specific equipment and so on. There'll also be special actions characters can learn which only certain jobs can take advantage of. In other words, the point of a job is to keep developing unique abilities by clearing quests. That sums up what 1.20 and 1.21 have in store. [Foxclon] I never expected such a detailed answer! Thank you. It's probably something many players are curious about these days. What city do you recommend for joining a Grand Company? [Yoshida] Gridania! Gridania! [Foxclon] The equipment I get depends on which city I go to so, I'm having a tough time deciding... [Yoshida] As you say, the equipment available at each city is different at the moment. You can expect the number of items that can be purchased with company seals to gradually increase at Grand Companies with each patch. Finally, we're keeping balance in mind and players may find we're implementing certain new additions based on all your feedback. But that's not something worth thinking about now. With various end-level contents, for example, and say you try getting the weapon you need for fighting Ifrit or something again in Dzemael Darkhold. Or, you try obtaining the weapon at your Grand Company before attacking Dzemael Darkhold, so you can see we're trying to create links and associations between different locations. As we'll be trying to compensate later for whatever Grand Companies are lacking, don't decide which Grand Company to join on based on the rewards currently available, but rather please sign up to whichever one appeals to you. The Lodestone was updated yesterday so please take a look at the info and choose the GC that looks the best. It won't be like you can't party up with friends who have joined different Grand Companies. In fact, it makes it more interesting to play with others aligned with different Grand Companies, so you should consider that the reverse is true -- everyone sticking with the same Grand Company makes for dull gameplay. So basically, just go for it and join the one that feels right. [Foxclon] Moving on, we have a question on the delivery system. What happened to Mog Post? [Yoshida] We're going ahead with this as item delivery and letters are a vital part of creating a sense of harmony for everyone in the community. I'll talk more about when you can expect this in the next broadcast, but please be assured we're working on this -- it's definitely going in. [Foxclon] Ok next question and we're back to materia. Will it be possible to craft materia from equipment synthesized using old recipes? [Yoshida] No problems there. I think 1.19 confused many players but tomorrow 1.19 update will see new recipes added to the game. Although there'll be items with names similar to the old recipes, I guarantee plenty of new items with different abilities. Anyway, the older recipes will be removed from the game and there'll be lots of others you won't get from drops. And that's why items you become attached to in particular can be turned into Materia and then attached to weapons made with the new recipes which allows you to continue to hold on to older items. [Foxclon] Next question. This is a hot topic on the forums; when are you introducing cool and sexy gear? [Yoshida] Cool and sexy gear, huh... [Foxclon] I hadn't really thought about it, but seems this is getting a lot of attention. Hmm. [Yoshida] So it seems. The swimsuits had a lot of impact, oh wait that's not it, that was the heat-resistant gear. Actually, it so happens that we're been looking into this at the moment. For starters there'll be job specific equipment, and other equipment for classes, such as crafters or gatherers which is something we'd like to get right. This is on the white board and is clearly a must have feature so we'll be giving it priority. Going back to the sexy gear and what to expect, it should be released as part of 1.22 or 1.23. That may sound a long way off but we are focusing and duly working on it so please keep your expectations high. [Foxclon] Next up, do you have any plans to add Mandragora to Eorzea? [Yoshida] I'll ask the character team to add it to their list! [Foxclon] Thank you. We have a question about you, Yoshida, about the trademark glasses you wear. Do you have one pair for work and another you use outside the office? How about a scarf? [Yoshida] No, I wear the same glasses whatever I'm doing! Although I tend to wear shades even more. And besides, that's a stole, not a scarf! Better to move on and answer as many questions as we can. Next please. [Foxclon] It does look like our 1 hour 20mins is almost up, however. I hate to say it but this has to be the last question. Can you say anything more about the impending doom Eorzea is facing which will define the game quests? [Yoshida] Out of the four concepts I touted earlier this year under the four keywords, "fun," "live," "reboot," and "rebuild," it will be "live," that will have a profound impact on these events. You'll notice many changes throughout the world of Eorzea as more and more significant quests and episodes will be implemented with each patch, along with the introduction of jobs. I would like everyone to experience the results for themselves starting with the quests in patch 1.19 and share your thoughts about what's in store in forum discussions. [Foxclon] Well, starting at 9pm we're somehow already reached the 1 hour 20 minute mark which brings our FFXIV Producer Live interview to an end. It's a pity we have to end our first Letter from the Producer LIVE here. Would you like to do the honors Yoshida, and say a few words to everyone who tuned in? [Yoshida] As I said at the beginning of our chat, XIV may have had a rocky start but my team has continued to devote ourselves to developing the game further and the encouragement we're received from every single player, and even more so everyone's dedication to playing our game, has been an enormous source of incentive not just for the XIV team, but for Square Enix as a whole. And just to say that the answers to your questions and everything we're talked about will help form the basis of future plans, plus provide some surprises and more of what you expect from FFXIV. I certainly want everyone to look forward to what's in store, both in and outside the game and I'm sure I'm speaking for the dev. team too. Please keep playing! [Foxclon] OK, that pretty much wraps up our first Letter from the Producer LIVE! We'll do our best to get a transcript of the Q and A from today up on the forums as soon as we can. We're very much looking forward to picking this up and bringing you the second half at the end of October -- start of November. [Yoshida] Next time I expect we'll go into more detail so please make sure not to miss it! [Foxclon] And don't forget about patch 1.19 tomorrow -- it should be good. [Yoshida] Oh yeah, it's the night before it goes live. Please enjoy it. [Foxclon] OK, that's it, thank you everyone! [Yoshida] [Foxclon] Thank you! Bye!