Hands-on Review: First 10 Hours

Valandil

Valandil

Moblin Tankman
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So I played for about four hours last night and two three-hour sessions today and here are my first impressions:

Qualifier #1: I've never touched World of Warcraft. Ever. I've never even watch anyone play it, Leroy Jenkins video excluded of course.

Qualifier #2: I was a HUGE fan of FFXI (played '03-'07) when it released and I was a fan of having to "earn your keep," so to speak.


Graphics: Beautiful. 10/10

Music/Ambient Sound: Very Rich, although the voice-over audio in the cutscenes was absurdly low. 8/10

Learning Curve: Not quite as steep as EvE, but slightly more steep than FFXI (could be due to the lack of a manual). 8/10 (I prefer a challenge)

Character Customization: More than FFXI, less than other games on the market in the last six years. 7/10

NPC Interaction: Very clunky. The dialogue boxes seem to be inconsistent with how quickly text is auto-scrolled as well. Feels less responsive than FFXI. 5/10

Combat: Feels EXTREMELY slow. The whole Passive/Active mode is, in my opinion, a pervasive and artificial mechanice designed to slow game play down. 3/10

UI: My screen felt extremely cluttered, especially if you have the menu bar open and 1/3 of your horizontal screen is taken away. Now I cannot say for certain if there ways to customize your UI, but if there are not then that is a serious design flaw. I do not need my HP/MP bar almost centered in the screen; I would prefer to see that at the very bottom or on the far left. Also, the skill hot bar could stand to be moved further down as well. 1/10 (if UI custimization is, in fact, available then I would rate this slightly higher).

Controls: This is my biggest concern with the game. Now I had read posts/blogs/forums that talked about the mouse lag, but I never expected it to be THIS bad. I would hope that it's something SE addresses BEFORE retail release, but given that Sept. 22 is only 18 days away, I don't really see this happening. I realize that the control system was designed for the console market, but I do not understand why SE could not have developed a system whereby you can tell the client if you are playing with a controller or a full keyboard and have the client adjust accordingly. It really makes the game feel like something from 2002 and not 2010. Also, I am not opposed to a menu-based system, but I feel that FFXI's implementation of menus is vastly more intuitive and superior to FFXIV's. 1/10

Overall: 5/10

I will still give the open beta a couple more weeks to see if things are changed in any patches and to see if the game experience begins to pickup speed. I am completely aware that the first couple of weeks with an MMO is not necessarily a true indicator of the overall gameplay experience; I mean if you judged FFXI based on the first 8-10 levels in Gustaberg you would have thought it was a pretty boring game. That being said, I feel like for every step forward that SE took with FFXIV, they also took a step back in other areas. Also, I realize that the game is still technically in open beta; however, that does not mean that a lot will change between now and release. With retail release being less than three weeks away, I can guarantee you that first production runs for the retail discs have already been started, possibly even completed, in order to ship the retail boxes to distributors world-wide--the core mechanics will NOT be changing dramatically, if at all.
 
The reason why the controls are so bad is because everything is being handled server side. Every time you move the mouse or touch a key(including the menu's which is retarded) it send the command to the server before it actually makes the change on your screen, hence the delay. The only reasons I can see for it is because it's a beta and they want to have access to as much info as possible; or much more likely, it's supposed to be a counter-measure against 3rd party programs like bots or windower macros. It's a horrible system, one that will hopefully be changed in the release, but if it's really meant to stop cheating, then it's not going anywhere.
 
and here I thought all the button and mouse lag was because my PC barely meets the minimum requirements to play lol
 
5/10 feels right. I can't help but feel the Beta is representative of what the game will be like later. Combat is slow, but when I first got in, it was quite fast because there was no lag for some reason. Game does have potential to be good and I don't feel beta is reflecting it.
 
if they don't improve the mouse, they're gonna need to make a way to target nearest NPC like FFXI had XD
 
That's supposed to be either F11 or F12, but it just selects the closest thing to you, NPC or PC.
 
I found the game to be not worth my time until I switched to a game pad and made some changes so my SLI card functioned. I am enjoying my time a quite a bit more now that I made those changes but I am not completely at peace with the idea of playing a PC game on a game pad. Hopefully they continue to refine the PC controls. It is an oversite to not have keyboard shortcuts to character menus, lfg, social, crafting, inventory, etc. There is a lot of extra clicks and menu levels to dig through. That is only aggravated moreso by the slow response of said menus. Using macros goes a long way to minimizing menu navigation and lowers some frustrations.

In its current state I highly recommend utilizing macros, a gamepad, and seriously try out some of the harvesting and crafting. They've made some interesting changes.

I'm not super negative on the game. I am going to keep my preorder. If they just improve keyboard usage and responsiveness I'll be sticking around for a while. I trust SE to have some nice storylines and to populate the world with interesting creatures to kill. It will be up to the userbase to utilize the party system but betas rarely are great for partying. I really enjoyed the Gridania "The color of sin" quest line.

Edit: Oh yeah, the delay between passive and active mode needs to be a bit more responsive as well.
Edit2: Might as well throw this here as well. If you die you will not receive a prompt to respawn. You will sit there for eternity unless you open your menu and select Return. That took me a while to figure out...
 
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my husband is gonna let me use his PC to see how much better it runs XIV than mine lol
 
I bet XI was like that when they first started beta testing it over in Japan. I said it before, if they put a moogle in Selbina, their is still hope out there. Anyway, hopefully I'll get my key eventually so I can give my opinion on the subject eventually.
 
The really silly thing about creating macros to navigate menus is that if the user can create one-button keyboard shortcuts for menu navigation, why can't SE just include the EXACT SAME THING in the client build. So far, the entire time I've been playing this game, from a UI perspective, I have felt like I was playing an MMO from 2002 and not 2010.
 
Well my macros swap my equipment so I don't have to access the menus. They don't open the inventory screen. :)
 
Valandil said:
Combat: Feels EXTREMELY slow. The whole Passive/Active mode is, in my opinion, a pervasive and artificial mechanice designed to slow game play down. 3/10
Click to expand...

Huh, I guess I don't understand this one. Perhaps it's because FFXI is the only MMO I've played long-term, but the battle system is much more interactive in this game, and one needn't switch into Passive at all during a fight, unless one is trying to high-tail it away from the target. To me, Passive Mode is more like resting, but while staying ambulatory at the same time. A significant improvement to traditional resting, IMO. I definitely would love an auto-target option though; I hate having to select a new target with the rather clunky (especially when using a controller) target selection.

Valandil said:
UI: My screen felt extremely cluttered, especially if you have the menu bar open and 1/3 of your horizontal screen is taken away. Now I cannot say for certain if there ways to customize your UI, but if there are not then that is a serious design flaw. I do not need my HP/MP bar almost centered in the screen; I would prefer to see that at the very bottom or on the far left. Also, the skill hot bar could stand to be moved further down as well. 1/10 (if UI custimization is, in fact, available then I would rate this slightly higher).
Click to expand...

What resolution are you running? It feels pretty spacious to me, but I'm running 1900x1200. Also, many of the on-screen items can be moved, including the HP/MP/TP bar. The skill bar is currently stuck where it is, unfortunately. I hope they eventually allow all of the items to be rearranged. Custom UIs would be awesome too, but somehow I don't see Squeenix ever going for that one.

Valandil said:
Controls: This is my biggest concern with the game. Now I had read posts/blogs/forums that talked about the mouse lag, but I never expected it to be THIS bad. I would hope that it's something SE addresses BEFORE retail release, but given that Sept. 22 is only 18 days away, I don't really see this happening. I realize that the control system was designed for the console market, but I do not understand why SE could not have developed a system whereby you can tell the client if you are playing with a controller or a full keyboard and have the client adjust accordingly. It really makes the game feel like something from 2002 and not 2010. Also, I am not opposed to a menu-based system, but I feel that FFXI's implementation of menus is vastly more intuitive and superior to FFXIV's. 1/10
Click to expand...

This is my biggest concern too. I've heard that increasing the frame rate reduces the mouse lag; it may be worth a shot. I haven't tried it myself. I play with either a PS3 controller or the keyboard, and almost never with the mouse. A hardware mouse option would be greatly preferable to the situation now. I've also heard that much of the lag is induced by some sort of subroutine gathering beta information by Squeenix, but I have no idea how much truth there is in that. I'm surprised they haven't allowed an option for FFXI-style control settings, since I'm sure a great many players of XI are trying XIV. I've assigned the WASD keys to camera controls, so that I can emulate my normal FFXI hand positions. It's taking a little time to get used to it, but I can see it as playable once I've become accustomed to it.

My fiancee is trying this as her first MMO, and has been pretty frustrated at times by trying to get used to the controls. Ultimately, whether I stay with FFXIV or quit will largely depend on whether she does. They still have some serious work before they make a polished control scheme.

Valandil said:
Overall: 5/10

I will still give the open beta a couple more weeks to see if things are changed in any patches and to see if the game experience begins to pickup speed. I am completely aware that the first couple of weeks with an MMO is not necessarily a true indicator of the overall gameplay experience; I mean if you judged FFXI based on the first 8-10 levels in Gustaberg you would have thought it was a pretty boring game. That being said, I feel like for every step forward that SE took with FFXIV, they also took a step back in other areas. Also, I realize that the game is still technically in open beta; however, that does not mean that a lot will change between now and release. With retail release being less than three weeks away, I can guarantee you that first production runs for the retail discs have already been started, possibly even completed, in order to ship the retail boxes to distributors world-wide--the core mechanics will NOT be changing dramatically, if at all.
Click to expand...

I initially quit FFXI after getting to level 12 or 13. It wasn't until some friends of mine picked it up and started playing that I got into it again. The retail release and the first few months of improvements will really tell.
 
Eilistrae said:
my husband is gonna let me use his PC to see how much better it runs XIV than mine lol
Click to expand...

lol Dave made a lalafell tonight on my account XD he just got done DLing the beta, now we just need a key for him!
 
After this update, the battle play is very smooth for me. No lag what-so-ever when I fight or run around. The only issues I have is loading characters to the screen.
 
Nyosan~ said:
Huh, I guess I don't understand this one. Perhaps it's because FFXI is the only MMO I've played long-term, but the battle system is much more interactive in this game, and one needn't switch into Passive at all during a fight, unless one is trying to high-tail it away from the target. To me, Passive Mode is more like resting, but while staying ambulatory at the same time. A significant improvement to traditional resting, IMO. I definitely would love an auto-target option though; I hate having to select a new target with the rather clunky (especially when using a controller) target selection.



What resolution are you running? It feels pretty spacious to me, but I'm running 1900x1200. Also, many of the on-screen items can be moved, including the HP/MP/TP bar. The skill bar is currently stuck where it is, unfortunately. I hope they eventually allow all of the items to be rearranged. Custom UIs would be awesome too, but somehow I don't see Squeenix ever going for that one.



This is my biggest concern too. I've heard that increasing the frame rate reduces the mouse lag; it may be worth a shot. I haven't tried it myself. I play with either a PS3 controller or the keyboard, and almost never with the mouse. A hardware mouse option would be greatly preferable to the situation now. I've also heard that much of the lag is induced by some sort of subroutine gathering beta information by Squeenix, but I have no idea how much truth there is in that. I'm surprised they haven't allowed an option for FFXI-style control settings, since I'm sure a great many players of XI are trying XIV. I've assigned the WASD keys to camera controls, so that I can emulate my normal FFXI hand positions. It's taking a little time to get used to it, but I can see it as playable once I've become accustomed to it.

My fiancee is trying this as her first MMO, and has been pretty frustrated at times by trying to get used to the controls. Ultimately, whether I stay with FFXIV or quit will largely depend on whether she does. They still have some serious work before they make a polished control scheme.



I initially quit FFXI after getting to level 12 or 13. It wasn't until some friends of mine picked it up and started playing that I got into it again. The retail release and the first few months of improvements will really tell.
Click to expand...

I am running the client in 2560 x 2048. If you can move stuff around on the screen, that will definitely make the environment feel less cluttered. It is rather annoying to run the game in full screen mode with dual monitors because if you click an application on your off-monitor, it crashes the client just like FFXI when you would get the "full screen mode/DirectX" error messages. Also, I probably should have stated this in my original post, but for those wondering if some of the issues may be caused by system performance, I do not think that is the issue:

Windows 7 64-bit
12GB RAM
dual nVidia GTX 480 w/ SLI enabled
i7-960 quad core 3.2 Ghz
 
yeah you can move stuff, just drag and drop it where you want :) and the chat box can be resized too
 
Valandil said:
It is rather annoying to run the game in full screen mode with dual monitors because if you click an application on your off-monitor, it crashes the client just like FFXI when you would get the "full screen mode/DirectX" error messages.
Click to expand...

Try this out: http://www.ffxivcore.com/topic/10729-borderless-window-script/

It has worked very well for me. I used one of the pre-defined scripts since it matched my resolution, but there are instructions for custom screen resolutions as well.
 
I'm gonna install ps3 drivers on my PC so I can try out my controller :)

edit: wow, logged in for a bit using ps3 controller and there was a major difference in responsiveness to movement and camera :) I also set up the L and R keys for targeting, very easy. Will play around with it some more :) yay
 
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Eilistrae said:
I'm gonna install ps3 drivers on my PC so I can try out my controller :)

edit: wow, logged in for a bit using ps3 controller and there was a major difference in responsiveness to movement and camera :) I also set up the L and R keys for targeting, very easy. Will play around with it some more :) yay
Click to expand...

Yeah I just hooked up my old ps2 controller I used for XI back in the day, and wow. What a difference. Gameplay is much better. Controller ftw for sure.
 
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