Letter From The Producer LIVE November 3

http://xivpads.com/ got more pics and where the notes came from.


Thank you all for such a epic time on Pads during Producer Letter Live! Enjoy the video and Screenies.
260 Members logged in during the live feed, 603 messages were made in the chat! View count be stated after midnight GMT.

Q: Will the level cap be removed before the release of 2.0?
A: This is not planned until patch 1.21. It wont be good to have a huge gap in players level until 2.0 goes live, so we would like to carefully weigh our options.
#35
Q: On the schedule player room and private area is TBD. What is that about?

A: As for the housing, I think it is important that an MMO player has his/her own private area. We are still planning this but something like having bonus when logging out from the private area would be nice. The resource work for them is done so implementation may not be too far away.
#34
Q: Will dragoons have a wyvern?

A: After 2.0, we are thinking about having them use their breath ability when you jump. However, as I answered in the interviews, I think you all really would like to fight alongside a wyvern pet. With a dragoon having a pet wyvern, battle balance will be necessary for both master and pet, and as a result the dragoon itself might become a bit weaker. We would like to hear your feedback on this before we make any final decisions.
#33
Q: Will new players after the launch of 2.0 be able to play the current scenario? Also, how about the Instance raid? How about the Primal battles? Also, you said something along the lines of fights with current adventures will be engraved. What does that mean?

A: As for the main scenario, yes it will be possible, as it will be different from Seventh Umbral Era. As for the Primal battles, it will be taking place in Seventh Umbral era, so it may be only possible to challenge now. Anyway, in order to play everything you have to play as it goes on now.
#32
Q: Yoshi-P! I want to ride magitech armor!

A: In the past we had a survey on the forums and magitech armor was the number one choice from players! Id like to add this after 2.0. (Showed off an early design sketch)
#31
Q: Will a free trial version be available at the time of the 2.0 launch?

A: It wont be in sync with the 2.0 launch, but we do have plans to make a free trial version available afterwards. Countermeasures against RMTers will also be worked on at an early stage as well.
#30
Q: All of the dungeons will become instanced, but does this mean all public dungeons disappear?

A: For the ones that require a certain amount of people, I think it would be better to be closed off, so please assume that this means they will basically disappear. However, there will still be beastman strongholds in the open fields.
#29
Q: What sort of player-made add-ons are you exactly thinking of? Also, how much game data will we be able to look at?

A: Im thinking of add-ons on the UI. For example, changing the way it looks, adding graphs to show enemy enmity, or adding more windows, things that players make that actually interact with the game. Fundamentally speaking, we are trying to allow for the maximum amount of data to be used. As for the PS3 version, the dev team will be updating it to keep up with the PC version.
#28
Q: Achievement-related weapons look so good. What will happen to the crafter HQs? Will the HQ from the crafters be not so good anymore?

A: HQ from crafters will be changed, too. If you compare achievement ones with HQ ones, may be achievement ones will be better. However, there is a possibility that HQ one will be stronger after materia are applied. So HQ items from crafters will continue to be important.
#27
Q: We are dying to know which class gets which job... White mage and black mage, which is conjurer and which is thaumaturge?

A: Conjurer is the white mage and thaumaturge is the black mage.
#26
Q: When is the smart phone app for FFXIV coming?

A: As we are developing the 2.0 sever, we wanted to make sure that external access will be possible (such as from an smart phone). For example, to allow players to organize items in their bags or retainers via their smart phone, check the markets, and play the chocobo farm as I mentioned earlier. But this will be half a year after 2.0 goes live.
#25
Q: Tell me more about Job system. Will it be like gladiator turns into a paladin and then they change the way they fight?

A: For example, as for the paladin job, it requires certain things such as having gladiator around level 30 and then youll need to clear a quest. You will then advance the job through quests, instead of leveling them independently.
#24
Q: Do you have any plans to implement artifact armor/tools for crafter/gatherer classes?

A: Currently for FFXIV, there really isnt such thing as artifact, but I guess it depends on the definition. There are class artifacts, so we are planning for class specific equipment including achievement-related items. We would like to make items so that they affect the items that gatherers obtain, and for crafters it will affect what they make.
#23
Q: Will you make it possible to display NPC names in English? Its difficult to communicate sometimes with English speaking players due to the localized names.

A: Yes, with 2.0, we are thinking about doing so.
#22
Q: In 2.0 will the head and face have separate slots so that we can simultaneously equip a hat and glasses? Also, I would like to be able to equip a cape as shoulder equipment and carry two weapons at once or be able to grip a weapon with either right of left hands.

A: It is difficult to allow for the simultaneous equipment of both hat and glasses from a technical perspective, but we are considering it so this does not mean that it will never come in the future. As for equipping a cape, this will all depend on how we can compromise on its animation quality. But it will be quite difficult if we were to make it match the graphical quality of FFXIV. As for gripping a weapon with either hands, we are considering to allow the handling of weapons to be switched between hands to increase the depth to battles.
#21
Q: Im having trouble obtaining company seals. Do you have plans to increase the amount obtainable or increase the ways you can obtain them?

A: In 1.20 we will be adding higher tier caravan defense and company leves. We will not be increasing the amount you can obtain at one time, but we plan on increasing the areas where you can obtain them, therefore making it easier to collect.
#20
Q: I have a ton of guild tokens that I cant use currently. Will there be any opportunities to trade these for equipment in the future?

A: As we are currently adjusting classes for 1.20, we will change to a system where you learn abilities as you level up. With this change, opportunities to use guild tokens will no longer exist, so we are currently looking into whether it would be better to make it possible to exchange them for gil or a system where you can trade them to the guild.
#19
Q: Will there equipment with special magic-type of effects on them? Or spells like Regen in the future?

A: Yes, these are definitely on the way and planned for 2.0.
#18
Q: Will you be able to swim in the future?

A: When looking at the current mount system plan, it may look hard. Internally, everyone on the team is still debating it. As for swimming while on a mount, it may end up as something like walking on water. Well see how it develops as we go.
#17
Q: Will you add in some just-for-fun minigames like the ones from the Gold Saucer in FFVII, or card games like the Triple Triad in FFVIII be added?

A: Although not included in the 2.0 document, there are plans for adding minigames like the ones from the Gold Saucer. We are thinking of adding them as the next phase for entertainment after housing is introduced! As for card games, it will be important to go for both the entertainment value and reward aspect of the games. They are being considered and if a good plan comes up, we would definitely like to go for it.
#16
Q: It wasnt listed on the documentation for 2.0, but whats the status of the jump feature?

A: Since we are revamping the maps for 2.0, we need to take time to check things once we implement jump, and we are currently testing this with aims to implement it for 2.0. In regards to swimming, we need to think about raids and other content, so it will be planned for some time after 2.0. (Yoshida also showed off some early test footage of characters jumping, saying its still early in development.)
#15
Q: Will there be any kind of special item given to players that start subscribing now and keep playing through 2.0?

A: In addition to the achievement that will be related to the Seventh Umbral Era, we are thinking about giving players a special mount (Showed some early test footage of characters riding enemies like Ahriman, Drakes, and Goobues!)
#14
Q: Are you planning on adjusting the Ifrit reward distribution? Ive killed him 45 times... Im starting to lose motivation now.

A: Yes, especially with regards to the Primal battles. Were considering a system along the lines of need or greed. In the mean time, Im thinking about other solutions to help people who tried many times, too. Please wait a bit and well give you some more details.
#13
Q: I have a question for you Yoshi-P. What are those photos on the wall below the world clocks? I dont recall seeing them in the previous LIVE broadcast.

A: These are actually pictures I took at each office when I visited the four regional Square Enix headquarters. You cant see it in this broadcast, but there are also pictures from my interviews on another wall!
#12
Q: Will any kind of things be implemented so we can change the equipment on our chocobos?

A: Actually, we have already decided on some armor from each of the three city-states. If you are curious how you can obtain it, think along the lines of how you obtained your personal chocobo
#11
Q: What was that crown looking graphic the character was wearing?

A: Its an achievement reward coming for 1.20. The gold looking one will be harder to get. Hope youre all looking forward to 1.20!
#10
Q:It seems like with FFXIV 2.0, you will be changing the game engine and changing other core aspects of the game, but will the movements and what not be as laggy as the current client? Depending on the conditions, we need to customize our PCs so I am curious.

A: The main purpose in changing out the graphics engine is to allow for a large amount of characters to be displayed in an MMORPG. Due to this, after switching, it will be possible to display a lot more characters than currently. Also, we are also making it possible to change the setting on your PC, so there should not be lag.
#9
Q: With the launch of 2.0 will we be able to change our characters gender? Can we change names?

A: Are you sure this is a good idea? Continue to give us feedback on the forums! As for the name currently it may be too long If we implement the ability to change names we may want to reduce the length. Were still thinking about it so please give us feedback.
#8
Q: With the map edits will there be area changes/loading screens within the map? Also when changing areas and it is loading do you have any countermeasures about the chat and log getting cut off/lost?

A: There will be loading as a result of area changes. However we will be preparing countermeasures for chat and log being cut-off so please do not worry.
#7
Q: Will the new version be graphics heavy?

A: Not at all. Currently only 40 characters can be displayed at once now. If you have the recommended PC for the current version it will display more characters at once. If you have lower spec PC you can turn off some extra settings and still be able to enjoy everything.
#6
Q: Once 2.0 goes live will gatherers and crafters be able to become primary classes that can actually fight and not just sub-classes?

A: The FINAL FANTASY that I envision is one in which the player is an adventurer who saves the world. Crafting and gathering are certainly important elements of the game too but looking at the larger picture battle is going to be necessary. There is no need to rush so I would like for players to try out various classes including battle classes and then decide on which class best fits them. Of course this can be a crafting class if they so choose.
#5
Q: When will the bazaar problem (being forced to stop walking when looking) be fixed?

A: This will be addressed with the new server setup. Also any other issues with server access is required will be fixed with new server too.
#4
Q: Will it be possible to play by using a keyboard only setup?

A: We will make it possible to fully customize your controls with keybinds so it will be possible to use the keyboard only as a means of playing if you wish.
#3
Q: In regards to starting to charge a subscription fee could you tell us about the reasoning behind starting now?

A: As I mentioned in the previous LIVE our stance about being 50% complete has not changed. Though we have been able to gradually implement FF-related content I still think that there is a lot that has not yet been completed such as a lack of player search and an auction house. With patch 1.20 we will be introducing the player search and auction house so I made the call as a producer to start billing at this time.
#2
Q: What type of data will be carried over into the 2.0 version?

A: Levels character data and achievements. There will be two exceptions though. The progress of some quests may be rolled back. Also some items will be moved from your item list to an NPC as bag size may go back to 100. Dont worry. Everything will be saved!
#1
Q: Will data only be carried over if youre a paying player?

A: The data of those who arent paying will also be carried over to 2.0. Dont worry!

looks good!

TYsoooVM! for taking the time to make this post <3!

OMG i gotta say ive never been this excited for update notes untill now >< *** yes MAGITECH ARMOR!

Yah Magitech armour sounds very fun. ^^

i always make fun of my friend, that plays WoW, for being so obsessed with mounts when compared to gear and such. I feel like I'm gonna turn into that guy now >.> FF themed mounts (aside from chocobos) will be amazing XD

Especially when mount based combat is implemented, Patrik.