ff posts

The Mog Log: Those grapes were probably sour anyway

by Eliot Lefebvre Mar 13th 2010 at 12:00PM

Filed under: Betas, Fantasy, Final Fantasy XI, Game mechanics, Grouping, Opinion, Consoles, Final Fantasy XIV, The Mog Log

So, guess what beta I didn't get an invitation for. You can go consult with the instant replay if you want, I can wait.

I know that everyone is stunned. I certainly was. Of course, I assuaged my sadness by telling myself that I didn't really want to be in their stupid beta anyway, because I bet it smells bad and it sets my computer on fire. That line of reasoning worked real well. I don't honestly think my column got me kicked from the running for a Final Fantasy XIV beta slot, but it's a bit more reassuring than the idea that I just didn't get picked for some other reason. (I'm putting money on Square-Enix not knowing I exist, for the record.)

All things considered, I can live without the beta, even though I'm chomping at the bit to play the game. But I'm not the only person, place, or thing not currently darting about the world of Eorzea. And as long as I'm on a streak of making long-winded predictions, why break with formula? There are three other things that I suspect aren't in the beta either, and I intend to make a guessing game out of seeing how close I am to the truth.

Tags: beta, dps, featured, ff, ff11, ffxi, ffxiv, final-fantasy, final-fantasy-11, final-fantasy-14, final-fantasy-xi, final-fantasy-xiv, game-mechanics, grouping, groups, healers, parties, party-structure, partying, square-enix, statistics, tanks, testing, xbox-360

The Mog Log: The worrying future of Final Fantasy XI

by Eliot Lefebvre Jan 30th 2010 at 12:00PM

Filed under: Fantasy, Final Fantasy XI, Opinion, Final Fantasy XIV, The Mog Log

There's a growing unease in the Final Fantasy XI community. It's one of those subtle things that no one is willing to outright talk about, but it's still there, just beneath the surface of a surprising number of discussions. And it's a bit unusual for an MMO, because it's not fear or anxiousness about something being broken from the last update or an upcoming update.

No, it's more about the question of whether the upcoming updates will be the last, or if there will even be any changes that could break something. There is an elephant in the room with a big number fourteen on its side, and while few fans of the game are upset that Final Fantasy XIV is coming... well, it raises no shortage of questions about the future of the game we're already playing.

And it's not new. People were saying as far back as the leadup to the July update that something was rotten in the state of Jeuno. But when coupled with the promise that Final Fantasy XI isn't over... well, there's an excellent article that almost every fan needs to read on Allakhazam, summarizing what no small number of fans have been thinking. Where are we actually going to be when the dust clears?

Tags: advanced-jobs, climb, content, dragoon, endgame-content, expansion, expansions, ff, ffxi, ffxiv, final-fantasy, final-fantasy-xi, final-fantasy-xiv, grind, merit-points, rank-missions, solo-content, square, square-enix, subjobs, treasures-of-aht-urghan, vanafest, vanafest-2010

Dengeki translation of Final Fantasy XIV

by Eliot Lefebvre Jan 29th 2010 at 6:00PM

Filed under: Fantasy, Game mechanics, Lore, 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.

Tags: adventurers, beast-tribes, beastmen, dengeki, ff, ffxi, ffxiv, final-fantasy, final-fantasy-xi, final-fantasy-xiv, garlean-empire, square, square-enix

The Mog Log: Community guide to Final Fantasy XI and XIV

by Eliot Lefebvre Jan 24th 2010 at 12:00PM

Filed under: Fantasy, Final Fantasy XI, Opinion, Final Fantasy XIV, The Mog Log

The great thing about being a fan of Final Fantasy XI is that you're not lacking in any sort of resources online. After such a long lifespan, pages have been created to suit almost any need the community might have. And for a game whose mechanics can be obtuse at times, that's a good thing.

But we're getting ahead of ourselves, aren't we? The Mog Log is Massively's new weekly column focusing on all things both Final Fantasy and online, meaning both Final Fantasy XI and Final Fantasy XIV. For our first installment, we're taking a look at the multitude of fan pages, guides, and other resources for players. Needless to say there are a few more options for the former game than the latter (due to only one of them actually being released yet), but there's already a community building in anticipation of Eorzea's adventures.

Tags: blogs, calendar, camping, camps, campsites, database, fansites, featured, ff, ffxi, ffxiv, final-fantasy, final-fantasy-xi, final-fantasy-xiv, podcasts, roleplaying, schedules, skillchains, square, square-enix, tools, wiki

Become a Square-Enix member, win an autographed Final Fantasy XI Ultimate Collection

by Eliot Lefebvre Jan 20th 2010 at 10:00AM

Filed under: Fantasy, Final Fantasy XI, Contests, News items, Consoles

The game might be no spring chicken, but Final Fantasy XI is still an overall success, and has more than a few accomplishments under its belt. It's a successful MMORPG on a console, has its own fan convention, has eight years of history, and clearly has made enough an impact to have two subsequent Final Fantasy games with clear ties to it.

All that being said, though, it's possible that you may still not have played it, despite a variety of excellent deals available. If you fall under that header and want an excuse at checking it out in anticipation of Final Fantasy XIV, or if you're a longtime fan hoping for a unique piece of memorabilia, Square-Enix is giving away an excellent little incentive.

Register as a Square-Enix member by February 22nd, and you have a chance to win one of four copies of the Final Fantasy XI Ultimate Collection -- signed by the game's producer, Hiromichi Tanaka. Fans eagerly anticipating Final Fantasy XIV will likely recall that registering for the game's beta also required a member account, so this only further sweetens the deal. If the chance sounds appealing, it's well worth the few minutes it takes to register.

Tags: ff, ffxi, ffxiv, final-fantasy, final-fantasy-xi, final-fantasy-xi-ultimate-collection, final-fantasy-xiv, hiromichi-tanaka, square, Square-Enix, square-enix-member

Square-Enix announces VanaFest 2010

by Eliot Lefebvre Jan 16th 2010 at 6:00PM

Filed under: Fantasy, Final Fantasy XI, Events, real-world, News items, Final Fantasy XIV

With Final Fantasy XI entering its eighth year of operation and Final Fantasy XIV just around the corner, fans of Square-Enix have plenty to be excited about. But there's even more good news -- the company has just announced VanaFest 2010, the official fan gathering for the game, on February 28th in Tokyo.

The official announcement, mirrored on Pet Food Alpha, makes a strong point that there will be a great deal of information about upcoming job changes and game updates coming for Final Fantasy XI. It seems that even with its big brother on the horizon, Square is still committed to its older game, a welcome sight for many fans. There's also an undisclosed "special announcement" rumored to be coming at the convention.

Pet Food Alpha also has a few additional pieces of information. The tickets for the event will be free of charge, but will only be available to players with an active Japanese POL ID since December 2008. Attendees will be lucky enough to receive the pictured chocobo cap, while those unable to attend will have to be content with the new information coming out of the convention. With any luck, a similar event will be held for American and European players, but even just knowing that new facts are incoming for the game should be enough to get fans worked up.

Tags: america, europe, fan-convention, fan-gatherings, ff, ffxi, ffxiv, final-fantasy, final-fantasy-xi, final-fantasy-xiv, japan, pet-food-alpha, playonline, square, square-enix, vanafest, vanafest-2010

More Final Fantasy XIV translations with developer commentary

by Eliot Lefebvre Jan 5th 2010 at 9:00AM

Filed under: Fantasy, New titles, Previews, Final Fantasy XIV

In some games, adventurers are just regular people, albeit very well-trained and highly-armed people who are a bit dangerous to have hanging around too long. In others, however, there's something special setting them apart, even beyond the fact that they spend all of their waking lives running through muck-infested ruins. Add Final Fantasy XIV to the latter list, as fansite FFXIVCore has translated the most recent issue of Dengeki Playstation, which includes some information straight to the magazine from the developers. They make note of the fact that adventurers have a specific power to change the world, albeit one distinct from the time-travel mechanics used in Final Fantasy XI.

The translation covers a lot of ground, and reveals such tidbits as the lack of any hybrid magic-and-melee classes in Final Fantasy XIV -- such abilities will come from a character's growth in multiple areas rather than a specific class such as the Red Mage or Paladin. More details on character creation are included, with the creators talking about both a more flexible creator than Final Fantasy XI and the possibility of changing elements of a character's starting armor. There are also some tidbits on the political state of the land and the three-way conflict between the adventurers of Eorzea, the Garleann Empire, and the beast tribes. Unfortunately, there's no answer to the question many of us want answered -- namely, when we can start the beta.

Tags: character-creation, character-customization, dengeki, dengeki-playstation, ff, ffxi, ffxiv, final-fantasy, final-fantasy-xi, final-fantasy-xiv, hybrid, paladin, previews, red-mage, square, square-enix, translations

Final Fantasy XI launches event for the new year

by Eliot Lefebvre Jan 2nd 2010 at 3:00PM

Filed under: Fantasy, Final Fantasy XI, Events, in-game, Player Housing

The new year isn't one of the major holidays celebrated by MMOs -- the favorites are the recent winter holiday season and Halloween events, with the possible Valentine's Day or middle-of-summer event. But there's still a time and place for ringing in the new year, and if there's one thing that Final Fantasy XI loves, it's holiday events. (Or killing players in Dynamis. It's a fine line.) This year's event focuses on the spirit of the tiger, with two celebration NPCs roaming the world surrounded by the auspicious spirits of tigers.

While the official posting only tells the story explaining the event, FFXIclopedia has a preliminary guide explaining the event. Chasing the NPCs and trading enough items to them allows you to receive furnishings for you house, or a vanity weapon that can then be used to pick up a unique painting. The event seems to be taking place at random spots all across Vana'diel, with a list of confirmed spots on the guide to help players obtain their new toys. While the game's spiritual sequel is due out this year, it's still a good time for Final Fantasy XI players to celebrate another year in their game of choice.

Tags: ff, ffxi, ffxiclopedia, final-fantasy, final-fantasy-xi, guides, holiday-events, holiday-rewards, new-year-2010, square, square-enix, tigers

Preview of character creation in Final Fantasy XIV

by Eliot Lefebvre Dec 23rd 2009 at 12:00PM

Filed under: Fantasy, Screenshots, Previews, Rumors, Final Fantasy XIV

The start of the beta signups for Final Fantasy XIV was certainly good news for the many people anticipating the game next year, but it didn't exactly pierce the fog surrounding the game. Square-Enix, of course, has always played their cards close to their chest when handing out previews, but there's still so much more to learn about the game and a number of curious people. FFXIVCore, a fansite with an active base of users translating as much new information on the game as possible, has posted a set of new scans and translations detailing that most important of processes in an MMO: character creation.

While there isn't as much hard information as fans would like (and isn't that always the case), the characters on display boast a wide variety of slight differences, as noted by the article. There's also some information regarding a third force in the game's main conflict, the Garlean Empire, although details on it are scant. Still, the promise of a detailed character creator is certainly alluring, as are most of the pictures we get regarding said character creator. Final Fantasy XIV often winds up releasing news and previews in chunks, so it's best to keep an eye open for the next few days for further possible information.

Tags: character-creation, character-customization, fansites, ff, ffxiv, final-fantasy, final-fantasy-xiv, previews, square, square-enix, translations

Final Fantasy XIV support page located

by Eliot Lefebvre Nov 18th 2009 at 6:00PM

Filed under: Fantasy, Events, real-world, New titles, Consoles, Rumors, Final Fantasy XIV

Sometimes new information comes from the strangest sources. Apparently, when Square-Enix made their last update to the Final Fantasy XIV with two new jobs revealed, they added a little something unexpected. Not what would have been expected, either -- it was the support site for the game. Since the game is yet to be released or even have a finalized date published, said site contains only a handful of questions, which largely contain no new information... but there are at least two interesting pieces to be gleaned from the site, one minor and one slightly larger.

The smaller piece of information is the list of supported platforms for the game: Windows PC and Playstation 3. That isn't exactly new information, but it's confirmed. The slightly larger tidbit is the confirmation that Japanese releases of Final Fantasy XIII will contain a code to obtain an exclusive in-game item for Final Fantasy XIV. The answer specifies that plans to include said code in the North American or European releases have yet to be decided... which could mean anything. Will the item be exclusive to Japanese players to compensate for the game having a global launch instead of one in Japan first a la Final Fantasy XI? Will the item be cosmetic or have some game impact? Will there be different items based on region? No answers are yet forthcoming, but it should be an interesting tidbit for fans looking forward hungrily to the game's release some time in 2010.

Tags: ff, ffxi, ffxiv, final-fantasy, final-fantasy-xi, final-fantasy-xiii, final-fantasy-xiv, new-titles, rumors, square, square-enix, support-site

Under The Hood: Pseudo-MMOs, part two

by James Murff Nov 30th 2007 at 12:00PM

Filed under: Game mechanics, Under the Hood

I realized in my last article I promised to explore the viability of pseudo-MMOs as an expanding market, but it appears I will have to renege on that pledge. I've been getting a veritable glut of the names of games that incorporate MMO-style play in a distinctly non-MMO structure or environment. So instead, here is a brief exploration of the Massive Single-player Offline, or MSO, market, as well as a few online games which share MMO elements.

The one which absolutely fits every single criteria for an MMO except for online play (and a rare few others) is Final Fantasy XII. This game, like no other, incorporates MMO-style play into an expansive and engaging single-player environment. Friendly NPCs, hunting quests, main story quests, instanced environments (monsters respawn after leaving and reentering a zone), real-time combat, non-random encounters (you see it, you fight it), and a distinct waypoint system. It's best described as the solo player's MMO.

Tags: bethesda, ff, final-fantasy, massive-singeplayer-offline, mso, oblivion, tabula-rasa, tr, under-the-hood

Square Enix's next MMO may not be Final Fantasy related

by William Dobson Nov 28th 2007 at 11:00AM

Filed under: Final Fantasy XI, New titles, News items, Virtual World

In a recent discussion with Gamasutra at the Final Fantasy XI Fanfest, the developers behind FFXI confirmed that they are still working on a new MMO, but revealed that it might not be a part of the Final Fantasy series -- and then again, it might be. Producer of FFXI and Square Enix vice president Hiromichi Tanaka said that the new game could either be part of the FF series, a sequel to an existing FF game, or something entirely new.

The Gamasutra interview also includes comments from the dev team about World of Warcraft and how they feel it has impacted their game. Their answer? Not much. They note that FFXI was at its peak in subscribers close to WoW's launch, and there was no notable drop in numbers after the soon-to-be industry giant was released.

Tags: fan-fest, fanfest, FF, ffxi, final-fantasy, hiromichi-tanaka, square-enix, wow