E3 Not Good Enough?

Like many people who currently play FFXIV or are remotely interested in the game, I’ve been eagerly anticipating the arrival of E3 2012. E3 is usually something I look forward to since we get to see what new games or expansions to current MMOs are coming out for the next year. It is the BIGGEST event for a gamer and seemed even bigger for FFXIV’ers because they would finally reveal the 2.0 preview video. Then the Letter from the Producer XXVIII dropped. Yoshida mentions he is on his way to E3, they plan to kick off the promotion video, unveil the promotion site for 2.0 after E3 ends, and I can tell you that my excitement is building as I read these words because it is something I’ve been eagerly anticipating for a long time; not just as a player but also as a person trying to do something in the community by doing the Sequence Break XIV podcast and Zantetsuken site. However, in one fell swoop this excitement that has been cultivated for months? The giddyness that FFXIV was going to be the most awesome come back kid is now flushed down the toilet. Why? Because they wanted 2.0 to come out with a bang. Not a trickle of information. A huge flood of information that would just awe and amaze us outside of E3.

…. Right. The biggest event for any gamer, publisher, or news media person, and would most likely garner the MOST attention from the gaming community on what FFXIV has done to become a better game is not a good platform to showcase the finished 2.0 promotion video. Because who the hell wants just a trickle of information when you can have a flood? Who wants a video when you can have a website AFTER e3? Appealing to new players? And possibly PS3 players? What better way to do that than not to do this at (excuse my language) fucking E3.

I’m dumbfounded. I’m also very hurt and angry. As someone who has done what she can to promote FFXIV to her friends and listeners of SBXIV, I have really tried to amp up 2.0 and told many people to wait until E3 if they are interested in FFXIV. I’ve managed to bring my friend, brother, and possibly my sister into FFXIV. I have also talked to other players and tried to convince them to play FFXIV now and to see what exciting news would come out with the promotional video being released at E3. Now? I feel like a fool. The rug has been pulled from underneath me. I told many people that Yoshida is awesome, because he is awesome and the things he has done for FFXIV so far have been really great. The past year I’ve also renewed my faith in SE after the initial failure of FFXIV and (in my eyes) FFXIII. Then this happens and I’m left with shit in my mouth and questioning what the hell I’ve been doing for almost a year with SBXIV (formerly Go Team Derp!), Zantetsuken, and on twitter.

I know that sounds dramatic, but I’m trying to wrap my head around this and I can’t. I understand that they want to do what is best for 2.0, because I also wish for the same thing. But not showing a video at E3 is probably missing the biggest opportunity to reach to new and former players who just brushed FFXIV under the radar even with the Welcome Back Campaign. I’d understand if they said that the video wasn’t finished. I’d be cool with that. Knowing it is finished and not being revealed is what is really mind boggling to me. The interviews that are to come are going to be exciting, but nothing would have beat actually seeing visuals of 2.0 — even if it were just all CG. Garnering interest would have at least put more seeds in people’s minds for something to look forward to. It would be a seed that hopefully will grow to, “Hrm. Maybe I should check out this website!” when the site launches and to hopefully go to, “Oh, I remember that trailer at E3! Maybe I should check this game out!” At the very least, it would have solidified the reason for people to continue to sub after returning to the game. Legacy status is a big enough reason in and of itself, but it means nothing if there is no visuals to help tease the players into wanting to stay for what will come.

So what now? I’m hoping that the release of the promotional video in August will mean they will have a larger presence at PAX Prime where players can actually look and (hopefully, but I am no longer holding my breath) test the demo. It would get directly to the players themselves or at least 70-odd thousand of them. Its not as media heavy as E3, but it is at least a mini one. Orophen and I plan to be there, as well as FusionX from Gamerescape. I’m going to try to convince myself that someone from SE is reading my tweets (well, I know ONE of them sort of is) and is holding off this whole thing just for the sake of us. I know that is crazy and full of shit, but it is the only sense of comfort I can give myself right now after such a huge blow of disappointment.

Goodbye 2011, Hello 2012!

After pushing this back further and further, I now bring to you my Year-in-Review 2011 edition! More specifically, the video game/online edition since this is my gaming blog and all that ish. I’ve debated how I wanted to format this review, and I think the best way to go about it is to break it down one MMO/online game at a time.

Final Fantasy XI
I’m starting with this one because at the start of 2011, we (as in me and my LS) had made a comeback to the game after a few months of waning interest in FFXIV and feeling nostalgia over our lives in Vana’diel. We found that Rubicon was already on our server (Ragnarok) and Frei was cool with the idea of transferring if it meant he would get a chance to finish our favorite expansion storyline: CoP.

It was a rather tumultuous journey in here… I ended up gaming with Chakura more often during our stint in FFXI, losing a friend, playing with the person that brings nightmares to the server, greeting Kimiko onto Ragnarok, and getting having our group nicknamed Derp Squad/Team Derp because of stupid things said/done on Skype during event runs. Not that they usually ended in fail (on rare occasion, I believe), but it was the kinda actions that either brought upon a ton of laughs or a few facepalming actions on our resident Monk.

Things fell apart as they usually do for me when my cousin came over for the month of August. No matter what I try, things just get shaky and weird. It was around this time things went into decline for longer than intended and for different reasons that started off with that month. Which may have been a blessing in disguise since FFXI overall seemed to be going into a direction that was more of a chore rather than fun. Which seemed to make all the more sense when we saw that Tanaka was back on the helm for FFXI, and appeared to be steering it towards more of a senseless grind with no hope for a future expansion. Here is hoping I’m wrong and the new year brings about news of one…

Final Fantasy XIV
This MMO has been interesting to say the least. I’m honestly at a love/hate relationship with the game, and I don’t see it letting up anytime soon. Yoshi-P is certainly an interesting character to say the least, and I look forward to his letters from the producer and translated thoughts from him. If things were different, he is the guy I would have loved to see make a MMO from the scratch vs. cleaning up someone else’s mess. But this isn’t about Yoshi-P as it is more about the game itself. Final Fantasy XIV was spurned by some of us before, taken in with open arms, and then spurned again at times with a tug o’war type of fashion. There is no denying that we are eagerly awaiting 2.0. While I have some doubts of what 2.0 will change and fix, I am still in the belief that it will at least change many things some of us have been suffering through over the course of a year and a half and will continue to suffer through until the release of 2.0.

The Market Ward changes are welcome but still unpolished, the graphics are gorgeous but buggy with its terrain issues, and I’m hoping to the man above that Yoshi-P and the Dev team aren’t listening to the rubbish of including that stupid wyvern pet and other useless additions that don’t really need to be added onto the game. However, since that voice almost seems to be in the majority because of how vocal they are, I am actually starting to believe they might be dumb enough to include something stupid like that damn wyvern. Yes, I hate it and I hate every single moron that firmly believes it would be a good addition to the game. Just listen to the podcast if you wanna hear me spew hate and venom, because I can and still will spew hate and venom for that retarded vocal minority that wants to ruin the future of Dragoon with a silly pet.

Am I paying in a few days? Yes. Despite playing SWTOR and enjoying it a bit, I find myself drawn to FFXIV and wanting to at least be prepared to tackle on content pre and post 2.0. I’m still a little hesitant and I still have my gripes, but I honestly want to see this through and hope that things end up falling into place for FFXIV. There are many GOOD things Yoshi-P and his dev team have done for the game, and I’m in the belief that as long as they don’t give into the demands of the vocal retards (aka the people wanting wyverns) then they will be fine through the year of 2012. Lets just hope I don’t look back on this and regret everything I say…

World of Warcraft
I came back to this game during the tail end of 2011 (October – December), after feeling nostalgic from reading and responding to tweets from players currently playing WoW. My feelings are mixed on this venture. The game has many good points, and I would be a fool to disregard them. I am choosing not to return to Azeroth for a time because of a few reasons:

1.) Its not fun playing without Orophen. I am happiest when I get to play with him. Yes, I play other games without him but its harder for me to stay interested in them when he isn’t around to share that interest with me.

2.) Someone I am trying to avoid started to pick it up again. I think in the future I may try to talk to this person, but I’m not so sure… Things were left in a lurch and I was blamed for things that I felt I shouldn’t have been blamed for when constant invitations were sent and consistently declined. Its a situation that leaves an awful taste in my mouth, and almost makes me want to regurgitate my food just thinking about it. I could pay for my character to be transferred, but its not like I have the money to waste for something that could be used on bills, books, and tuition. Meh.

3.) I don’t have the time. I could do x, y, or z in WoW but I’m focusing on several things at once and I’m not sure raiding can fit into the picture of what I have without sacrificing something I am currently doing (XIV, the podcast, other games, school, work, etc– school and work being the #1 priority here). I honestly don’t like half assing things I am serious about; it leaves a really awful taste in my mouth and raiding would take up focus I could and should spend elsewhere.

So while I really like WoW, its going to probably take a back burner here for me until I can foresee myself being able to commit more time or go to another server without having to level characters from scratch again.

League of Legends
Playing this probably led to me breaking my mouse after so much clicking. I am looking forward to going back to play after I get a new mouse (been holding off on it because I am still on the fence as to which to get), but its a great way to kill a bit of time. Especially against bots. Bots. Bots forever. I still wanna go back in and do try Dominion out again. I’ve only done it a few times, but it wasn’t enough to whet my appetite for it. I’m still needing to perfect how I play with Akali; it would probably do be a butt load of good if I actually remembered what I would make my builds out when I found one that worked. orz

Star Wars: the Old Republic
I had actually a much longer entry for this, but it was gone after the iPad WordPress app ate it. I have my issues with the game I haven’t been vocal about as others thus far; the lack of data log on damage taken and dealt, the lack of brackets in PvP, certain class issues (so far I’m not seeing many abilities that utilize the Stealth ability as an Assassin and that bugs the SHIT out of me), etc etc etc. However, despite my gripes with the game, there are reasons why I play and may continue to do so for a time:

1.) My sister is playing. My sister is NOT an MMO player. She is very much a casual gamer in many ways, but I still love and cherish her. To have her play this game tickles my fancy and I stick around to help guide her into hopefully cultivating interest in other games. Though I have my reservations that will happen since SWTOR appeals to her for the fully voiced cut scenes and because it is easy enough for her to pick up and enjoy without worrying about number crunching and so on.

2.) Because I have a handful of friends who are playing at the moment. I have found that no matter how frustrated I can be with a game (XI, XIV, SWTOR), I can find myself enjoying the game when I am in the company of good friends. I didn’t have that same kind of backing in WoW. Not to say I couldn’t have made the attempt, and in retrospect I could and possibly should have. But then it would go back to the time issue and me feeling guilty that I wasn’t spending enough time in said game. I’m also a person who is rather loyal, and the guilt of abandoning friends who have dealt with my whims for over a year or more seems insane to me at best.

3.) The storyline. I’m sure certain things would have ended up the same despite my choices, but I’ve delighted in some of the choices that have ended up changing things altogether: the Black Talon flashpoint, the Marauder quest line, either sleeping with or killing targets as an Agent have all surprised and delighted me at the same time. There are also interesting ways that crew skills have been utilized in the game, and have I mentioned that I’m in love with my companion? Khem? He may not be the best, but he entertains me and doesn’t judge my being evil unlike Vette. Even though Khem things I am too big for my britches, I still love him like the big flesh eating thug he is.

The previous entry I had written went over in detail my gripes and things I’ve thought about games launching post WoW. I may or may not write this again, but in the end things boil down to this: enjoying the game you are playing and the people you are gaming with. The bigger determining factor for me is and always will be who I am gaming with. It may not be for other people, but no gamer is alike as is proof in the titles we have given ourselves and others: casual gamer, mid-core gamer, normal gamer, hardcore gamer, etc. 2012 will probably change my gaming habits to back to my college days when I was trying to transfer from a junior college to a University. Maybe more so since I am trying to get into a competitive market/field of study. This probably means less gaming overall vs. the surge I had in 2011, but something has to give since I’m going back to school out of my own pocket this time around. Or maybe I’ll win and won’t have to change anything. We’ll see!

So, there you have it. A four page document in Word pasted smack dab in my blog. Expect my next entry in four months or so, hah!

Nice to meet you again, Eorzea!

First of all, I apologize my updates are very sporadic. I haven’t updated in awhile and it hasn’t helped that most of the time I have been busy with other things. Hopefully things will level out by the start of September when things start to settle down a little bit for me. Sort of. Eep!

Playtime has been, unfortunately, been as sporadic as my updates because of my schedule and not being able to clearly focus on scheduling events properly. Despite that Team Derp has moved on and we have managed to pull through with podcast recordings and also playing a bit of XIV together this past week. Part of the reason is two fold: as it stands FFXI isn’t that interesting to me at the moment. The updates are lack luster and the sheer amount of time needed to put into things at this very moment is something I am lacking at the moment. The other reason is that updates and news for XIV HAVE picked up a lot of steam as noted in the recent podcast episodes for Go Team Derp! If you haven’t already heard/read about the upcoming changes to Final Fantasy XIV, I highly encourage you to check out the last Letter from the Producer or simply check out the updates posted on zantetsuken.net. Also listening to our podcast is a super bonus!

Playing FFXIV again has reminded me what it is good for: allowing you to get that same sort of feeling that you get in WoW by doing quests. What is that, pray tell? Doing something that allows you to get some sort of reward at the end even if its a short run. Of course, the rewards in WoW are usually greater and most of the time don’t require you to be on a 30 minute timer as is the case for leves. But! Hey! At least its SOMETHING. I’ve always been able to manage my time rather well on XIV vs. XI, and in crazy times like this such things is helpful and makes me more inclined to log on vs falling asleep exhausted.

There has also been many changes since XIV’s initial release, making it fun to learn what is new and what isn’t. Its fun having done a leve so many times in the past only to come back and that -for once- the location of the mobs isn’t where it used to be before or that the mob AI in leves is a little different than what was remembered almost a year ago. Even the inclusion of finding quests more easily is fun, although I am less inclined to actually read the quest log since its not as interesting when its mostly the same format as it is in WoW. I like my cut scenes, darnit! I’m hoping for more compelling quests as is found in XI’s Windurst areas, but I won’t hold my breath on it. I’m already satisfied with the fact sweeping changes are being made in the future and that we will actually see the vision Yoshi-P has vs. speculating on what it is or will be.

Most importantly I am looking forward to chocobos. Walking is a pain. No matter what game you are in! I’m hoping that chocobo raising and riding isn’t similar to XI, but its hard to imagine what it will be like and if its possible for it to be different than how it was executed in XI. Maybe I’m not imaginative enough, but I’m about 95% confident that it will be quite similar to what is in XI. Not that its bad, because at least I know what to be prepared for. I’ll be very surprised if it isn’t like it and its something completely different altogether, but no matter the outcome… I do want my own chocobo. A white or black one if possible.

Team Derp Returns to FFXIV

We’ve talked about it and we did it. We came back to XIV. To what capacity? I have no idea. At the moment we are currently on Mysidia which seems to be a server largely populated by the Japanese. Some are ranking up quite nicely while there are others like myself and Orophen who had waited to level up together and then managed to get levels pretty quickly thanks to the patches.

Right now its a good change of pace. There are still things wonky in XIV, but its also apparent things are different and are changing. There are a handful of changes that have been good and others that aren’t as much. Personally, I’m enjoying the auto-attack. My boyfriend has been very adamant against it and still doesn’t seem to like it very much. He even scorns those that now complain the battles are slow because of the introduction of auto-attack. I don’t personally see it, especially since I’ve had to deal with cool down timers a lot as a mage. What DOES suck is how much more easily I seem to get hate now than I did then (unless I am remembering things incorrectly). Curing, for example, can easily get me killed if I don’t let Orophen establish enough hate via weapon skills. It is almost as though I have dumped a bunch of Cure IVs on him and bam! I’m mowed down like a punk ass. Nuking in and of itself is also a crazy mess but it has also inadvertently saved the day many times thanks to the high amount umbral and astral damage it does; definitely more than I remember it having done when I was leveling THM aeons ago. However, I’m still eagerly waiting for BLM as it is far more potent and suits my tastes far more than the debuffer position that THM holds. Though I guess I should be more aware of how many more deaths I’m going to eat when I do make the switch over…

As for our XI exploits, they will sort of be haphazard during the month of August. My schedule will be chaotic due to a visiting relative, and I’ve left care of the team in the hands of Hiroshiko, Rubicon, and Orophen. Two of them I know I can count on. One of them is questionable at best, and has me worried if anything will happen at all during my absence. There has also been an issue within the linkshell itself, of which I go into detail here. Since then more bits of drama had been pasted onto it, and I’ve found that neither party is willing to make its move; which is fine by me. I’m OK with a stalemate because I personally see no reason to do any chasing and I’m sure the other person is feeling the same way. My only desire at this point is for my members/friends (for me and my ls the two are synonymous) to stop being stalked and checked up on for absurd reasons. Example of absurd reason: fear of being replaced despite having a.) left and b.) me asking members to overlap on jobs if they are both willing and able even when said person was still with us. We are a small LS that fills in holes for others when they aren’t there or needing to cover other areas; I would be doing us a disservice not asking them to cover jobs if they are willing and able to do so. There are also people that just want to level the job because they want to without me having to poke and prod them; who the fuck am I to tell them to stop? That is their prerogative and I won’t kick them just because they are doing something that the other person does out of sheer boredom.

/sigh Now I need aspirin…