Updated FFXI impressions. Post is a direct copy of a post I just made on Waterthread.org.
PostPosted:Sun Nov 02, 2003 11:45 pm
<div style='font: 9pt ; text-align: left; '>My impressions after the first weekend.
First, if you can get past the server select nonsense (and really, if any of you want to play on Valefor and aren't on there yet, let us know. We've got more than enough money to buy a worldpass now), and actually experiment with the interface past the initial (massive) disorientation, there's quite a game here.
The game simply isn't intuitive. That being said, when you figure out how something works, 95% of the time it's a case of "duh, why didn't I think of that?". It's not that Square is going way out on a limb here, they're just approaching things from a different angle than we're used to. The controls work fine if you're willing to relearn something different, and the fact that I don't need to use the mouse at all is a godsend.
The server population...I like it. People are very polite so far, and even if you're dealing with someone speaking Japanese, they'll be polite and helpful. Lots of random buffing, random healing, that sort of thing. Even if they can't directly thank you, you'll often see them /bow or something similar. If they're nearby when you level up, they'll cheer you on. If you're being chased by a mob, they'll try to distract it or heal you.
The fact we're on an established server (population of about 3100 people online total at 2 AM Sunday morning) is good, IMO. Yes, we're missing the true noob experience. Given how important it can be to have up to date equipment, this is perfectly fine by me. Noob quests are good money, and they're repeatable, but the first time you auction off a stack of fire crystals for 3 grand, you are going to be really fucking glad there are higher level crafters out there who want the things. Given the only MMOGs I've played from launch prior to this are DAOC and AO, I'm used to joining the party late, and this doesn't phase me at all.
Combat is fun. I've spent 95% of my time soloing (up to a level 14 Red Mage), and it's actually doable. It's a bit slow, but as I've had the money to buy good equipment and spells, I don't get taken down by surprise very often now. Setting up macros is key - with them, I can set up auto-attack, macro off spells and weaponskills as I need them, and actually feel involved with the process without having to select everything from a menu. There's quite a few macro-banks you can set up, so you can have different ones for different jobs or situations.
The story is very nice. Cutscenes are quite common if you're doing the story missions, which give you bonuses for doing them. I was doing the third San d'Orian mission by myself (just scouting it out), and I tried to force a door open. All of a sudden a cutscene cropped up, I was taken captive by some orcs, and put in an arena with three of them - it was a boss fight! It's the little things like that that really make FFXI something unique to the genre.
The areas...from what I've seen so far, they're reasonably detailed and very, very massive. The Plateau zone near San d'Oria is possibly the biggest MMOG zone I've personally seen, with various levels of terrain, roads, fences, and what appears to be some sort of gigantic structure that I've yet to explore. Weather effects are nice enough without being CPU killers, and so forth.
My only complaint beyond the intial disorientation is the relative ease of death, and the death penalty. Yes, you can de-level, and we're all getting used to it (we've taken to getting a "delevel buffer", where you get enough exp after levelling to accomodate one random death without making you drop back a step of equipment). Part of this is the typical joy of random monster spawns, but honestly, there seem to be a lot fewer aggro mobs than in other games. If you're more powerful than they are, even some of the more aggressive critters like orcs and goblins will steer clear. It's also a bit jarring having to try to run to the zone line to get away from creatures, but I never played EQ enough to get used to that particular feature. Then again, the fact that you don't lose money and don't drop your items is a definate bonus.
So overall, I'm quite impressed. It's definately different, but I think there's a lot going in its favor right now besides sheer novelty. Whether we'll be singing this tune at the end of the month is another issue entirely.
I should mention that I haven't run into any bugs. I have been getting some freezes, however. I'm not entirely sure I can blame this on FFXI itself, because I haven't read any reports of other people having similar problems, and I have an idea that it might be my computer running a little too hot. If I can't figure out the problem in a week or two then I'll become much more annoyed.</div>
First, if you can get past the server select nonsense (and really, if any of you want to play on Valefor and aren't on there yet, let us know. We've got more than enough money to buy a worldpass now), and actually experiment with the interface past the initial (massive) disorientation, there's quite a game here.
The game simply isn't intuitive. That being said, when you figure out how something works, 95% of the time it's a case of "duh, why didn't I think of that?". It's not that Square is going way out on a limb here, they're just approaching things from a different angle than we're used to. The controls work fine if you're willing to relearn something different, and the fact that I don't need to use the mouse at all is a godsend.
The server population...I like it. People are very polite so far, and even if you're dealing with someone speaking Japanese, they'll be polite and helpful. Lots of random buffing, random healing, that sort of thing. Even if they can't directly thank you, you'll often see them /bow or something similar. If they're nearby when you level up, they'll cheer you on. If you're being chased by a mob, they'll try to distract it or heal you.
The fact we're on an established server (population of about 3100 people online total at 2 AM Sunday morning) is good, IMO. Yes, we're missing the true noob experience. Given how important it can be to have up to date equipment, this is perfectly fine by me. Noob quests are good money, and they're repeatable, but the first time you auction off a stack of fire crystals for 3 grand, you are going to be really fucking glad there are higher level crafters out there who want the things. Given the only MMOGs I've played from launch prior to this are DAOC and AO, I'm used to joining the party late, and this doesn't phase me at all.
Combat is fun. I've spent 95% of my time soloing (up to a level 14 Red Mage), and it's actually doable. It's a bit slow, but as I've had the money to buy good equipment and spells, I don't get taken down by surprise very often now. Setting up macros is key - with them, I can set up auto-attack, macro off spells and weaponskills as I need them, and actually feel involved with the process without having to select everything from a menu. There's quite a few macro-banks you can set up, so you can have different ones for different jobs or situations.
The story is very nice. Cutscenes are quite common if you're doing the story missions, which give you bonuses for doing them. I was doing the third San d'Orian mission by myself (just scouting it out), and I tried to force a door open. All of a sudden a cutscene cropped up, I was taken captive by some orcs, and put in an arena with three of them - it was a boss fight! It's the little things like that that really make FFXI something unique to the genre.
The areas...from what I've seen so far, they're reasonably detailed and very, very massive. The Plateau zone near San d'Oria is possibly the biggest MMOG zone I've personally seen, with various levels of terrain, roads, fences, and what appears to be some sort of gigantic structure that I've yet to explore. Weather effects are nice enough without being CPU killers, and so forth.
My only complaint beyond the intial disorientation is the relative ease of death, and the death penalty. Yes, you can de-level, and we're all getting used to it (we've taken to getting a "delevel buffer", where you get enough exp after levelling to accomodate one random death without making you drop back a step of equipment). Part of this is the typical joy of random monster spawns, but honestly, there seem to be a lot fewer aggro mobs than in other games. If you're more powerful than they are, even some of the more aggressive critters like orcs and goblins will steer clear. It's also a bit jarring having to try to run to the zone line to get away from creatures, but I never played EQ enough to get used to that particular feature. Then again, the fact that you don't lose money and don't drop your items is a definate bonus.
So overall, I'm quite impressed. It's definately different, but I think there's a lot going in its favor right now besides sheer novelty. Whether we'll be singing this tune at the end of the month is another issue entirely.
I should mention that I haven't run into any bugs. I have been getting some freezes, however. I'm not entirely sure I can blame this on FFXI itself, because I haven't read any reports of other people having similar problems, and I have an idea that it might be my computer running a little too hot. If I can't figure out the problem in a week or two then I'll become much more annoyed.</div>