So I had this idea...

[Celvantes]

I've had to use a treadmill/elliptical a lot more than normal since deploying to the desert because, well, it's hot outside.

After spending a lot of time running in one place, I had this crazy idea, and wanted to see what you all thought.

What if Squeenix marketed an FFXI elliptical? Think of it: ellipticals can already detect distance run, pace count, etc. Why not make it into some type of controller? Granted, you wouldn't use it for regular play, but I was thinking about something more along the lines of just being able to run through the various maps of FFXI without aggro.

They could even make a kind of mini-event attached to it. For instance, after covering a certain distance, you'd get a rare/ex item that would, say, increase movement rate. Nothing over 10%, since that would cheapen Wlegs/Strider's Boots/etc, but maybe like 3, 6, and 9% for completing 50, 100 and 150 miles respectively. You could also take your chocobo on a run as an added option to chocobo raising.

Basically, for ever step run on the machine, the controller would run your character one step, adjusting pace with you. You'd turn by pressing buttons on the handgrips. Since an elliptical actually requires force from you to move it, you couldn't cheat (with regards to getting items) and just let it run like you could a treadmill. You'd have to start in a city, and as soon as the program detected that you had the machine engaged, you'd then be un-aggroable. While running, all you'd be allowed to do is run (no interaction outside chatting), and no entering dungeons. When finished, the game would return you to your starting position.

You could do all kinds of stuff with this, like set up races, and have all time leaderboards for total distance, distance/day, average speed, what have you. Maybe even do a marathon from Windy to Xarcabard. I'm sure MMORPG makers take flak regularly for encouraging a sedentary lifestyle... this could be a way for them to provide a healthy means of exercise and bank more profit at the same time.

Personally, I'd just like to take a virtual run through Bhaflau Thickets without aggro with maybe a moogle popping up every so often to read off my total distance, average speed, etc.

 

[Phraust]

I've had to use a treadmill/elliptical a lot more than normal since deploying to the desert because, well, it's hot outside.

After spending a lot of time running in one place, I had this crazy idea, and wanted to see what you all thought.

What if Squeenix marketed an FFXI elliptical? Think of it: ellipticals can already detect distance run, pace count, etc. Why not make it into some type of controller? Granted, you wouldn't use it for regular play, but I was thinking about something more along the lines of just being able to run through the various maps of FFXI without aggro.

They could even make a kind of mini-event attached to it. For instance, after covering a certain distance, you'd get a rare/ex item that would, say, increase movement rate. Nothing over 10%, since that would cheapen Wlegs/Strider's Boots/etc, but maybe like 3, 6, and 9% for completing 50, 100 and 150 miles respectively. You could also take your chocobo on a run as an added option to chocobo raising.

Basically, for ever step run on the machine, the controller would run your character one step, adjusting pace with you. You'd turn by pressing buttons on the handgrips. Since an elliptical actually requires force from you to move it, you couldn't cheat (with regards to getting items) and just let it run like you could a treadmill. You'd have to start in a city, and as soon as the program detected that you had the machine engaged, you'd then be un-aggroable. While running, all you'd be allowed to do is run (no interaction outside chatting), and no entering dungeons. When finished, the game would return you to your starting position.

You could do all kinds of stuff with this, like set up races, and have all time leaderboards for total distance, distance/day, average speed, what have you. Maybe even do a marathon from Windy to Xarcabard. I'm sure MMORPG makers take flak regularly for encouraging a sedentary lifestyle... this could be a way for them to provide a healthy means of exercise and bank more profit at the same time.

Personally, I'd just like to take a virtual run through Bhaflau Thickets without aggro with maybe a moogle popping up every so often to read off my total distance, average speed, etc.

Put

The

Bong

Down.

 

[Bigboy]

Hey man between you and me I think that would be pretty damn cool. Getting exercise and making the game that much more real could prove to be even more fun....

However...

Most of the people that respond to this (and just about any other thread) will respond in a way similar to the guy above me.

In a sarcastic asshole "I'm better than you" type way.

If by "I'm better than you" you mean "I am not trippin balls like the guy above who's talking about a controller type that would cost in the neighborhood of $300+ for something only marginally interresting to a very select few who would maybe buy it, and then start bitching about the lack of support, lack of games, and general lack of sense they had at the time of purchase." then I say yeah, you're right on the money there buddy.

People come up with some of the stupidest, least thought out ideas, EVER, while running. And much like getting high, if you do it too much, like serial marathon runner, you develop, a kinda perma fried view on the world and thought in general.

I'm not saying the OP's idea wasn't interresting. It's ideas like that that lead to good inventions down the road, but don't get me wrong, meth heads invent all sorts of crazy crap too.

Before making the retarded assumption that someone is pulling a mightier than thou attitude, use your fucking brain and think it through. Maybe it's actually you getting all uppity instead.

However, in this particular instance, I have taken it upon myself to enter the scene playing the role of the "I'm better than you" guy, because you've just shown me I am.

P.S.: Before someone gets their twat in a knot over my comments on runners, it's true. I worked at a running store for 2.5 years. It's so obvious it's painful. And people get into denial about it because they are "doing something healthy" so it couldn't possibly have negative effects on them. Well going ~26 miles with a prolonged lack of oxygen to the brain can fuck your shit up. Think of any land animal that has to move at their running speed for over 2 hours strait and think of how smart they are. The best I can think of are horses, and I have to admit, the level of deep thought people perform after a marathon is about equal to those beasts of burden.

 

[Khajit]

He's stuck in a dessert with nothing to do for 14 hours a day besides run. I somehow doubt he would care about the pricetag attached if he could just do something beseides run in place.

Celv. an Easier idea would be to just hook it up to a wii and strap it to your wrist as you walk on a treadmill.

 

[Uzor]

Who the fuck is "Interesting" anyway? I think his name is very hypocritical =/

He's like a wanabee-cool, only the exact oposite of cool. Seriously, we already have people that do a much better job then you at arguing and proving people that they're wrong, and you are not one of them. You fail horribly at it. You have no point to prove. Hell, you're even more aggressive then myself.

Chill out dude, take a deep breath, and relaxe. You won't even last a day in here with that attitude of yours. Especially with your pathetic attempts at insults. Can we just ban this moron? He necroed the entire flame board. He's nothing but a useless waste of space.

re-rail: I like the idea Celvantes. Sadly, I don't think a lot of people would be interested in buying a machine. Let's admit it, most people don't play FFXI to work out, they play it to relax xD

 

[Zaltana]

who cares who he is. he'll get shot with the bancannon soon enough. have you seen the flameboard?

an aggroless race thought zones is a good idead for evernts though. but make some place sinister like ifrits cauldren.

 

[Alyada]

But fat kids would be screwed. D:

 

[Zaltana]

But fat kids would lose weight. D:

fixed

 

[CmdrFly]

For the extremely low number of people who would actually buy this thing, it would be a wasted financial investment of R&D.

I'm not paying upwards of $300 for a controller that I can only use some of the time in a game I can play perfectly fine with a keyboard and mouse.

Don't get me wrong - it's a neat idea and it would be sweet if health equipment manufacturers would include some sort of interface to computers, and market an SDK for the nerds to hack at. This could easily be tackled by the open source community if the interface existed between ellipticals and desktop OS's.

 

[shmedly]

It's a good idea Celv, just not too many would buy it because of the price tag. Also, why not go one step further and just be able to use that or your regular controls for everything. You could run through zones and have a spot for your controller on the machine. That way if you got aggro you could do the beatdown on the mob. Have it so you could maybe talk to an NPC in a town to switch it to non aggro mode for those relaxing runs, or have it set for regular for when you are a lower level and want to fight stuff.

Oh, and btw for those that didn't figure it out, Interesting is another sock puppet of Neonewb's

Peace,
Shmed

 

[Shady]

It'd be a cool idea, doesn't necessarily have to pertain to FF. Make a treadmill program where it's actually like you're running thru the wilderness or some shit. I like it ^^ If you could control the viewpoints, like being able to swivel your head left, right, up and down to be able to take all of it in that'd be even better. Oh and of course the pace you move on screen should match up with how fast you're moving irl.

 

[Romper]

An FFXI eliptical hmm.. nah never would work. I love those things though. Low impact, and they work you like no tomorrow. Yes I use one of these for when I do aerobic work.

 

[shmedly]

An FFXI eliptical hmm.. nah never would work. I love those things though. Low impact, and they work you like no tomorrow. Yes I use one of these for when I do aerobic work.

Is that before or after your "Sweatin' to the Oldies" with Richard Simmons?

Shmed

 

[Romper]

Is that before or after your "Sweatin' to the Oldies" with Richard Simmons?

Shmed

Shmed I told you not to tell people!

Seriously though I don't nor will I ever own a Richard Simmons tape. It's all about Chuck Norris and Bowflex. Lol

 

[Kurgon]

Chuck Norris Total Gym.

 

[Celvantes]

Good points, all. Perhaps it would be a lot easier to market if SE just made an adapter that connected existing ellipticals to your computer and established some sort of control interface for FFXI. Ellipticals exists that output their data already (LifeSmart I believe is the name - they're hooked up to gym performance tracking systems). It would just be a matter of translating the output to an FFXI input.

 

[Skiewalker]

Or think of it this way. An adapter that hooks into the Playstation, computer, or X-box via USB2.0. This way you can control the games or interact with them through the treadmill.
Come to think of it, Nintendo would be all over this. The era of fat gamer kids is over! XD

p.s. Celvantes- Be careful out there. I didn't get a chance to reply to your last post. ^_^

 

[Celvantes]

Thanks, Skie.

Like my FFXI incarnation, I'm hard to kill... unless the terrorists start sending Genbu at me. Then I'm screwed.

Damn turtle has killed me more than Kirin. Tortoise Stomp has *got* to have "Added Effect: +1000 damage when used on Celvantes"

 

[Veresko]

I agree that from a marketing point of view, it would be quite a financial risk to put something like that on the market. However, I'd get one myself, even for 300$. I already use one since my knees are pretty fucked up from previous sports/drunkness.

I think the key wouldn't be so much as a gamepad support but more a keyboard attachment. Being able to do your morning aerobics throught FFXI zones, aggro free, while chatting with friends is neat. Hell it'd be something fun to do while LFP. Put a claim (JP BUTTON!!) thingy on there and you could exercise while camping HNM rather then eat chips and do nothing.

Finally, I do montain biking myself but sometimes weather just doesn't allow it, don't always feel like getting all soaked up. Having this alternative would be fun for rainy days.

 

[Romper]

I agree that from a marketing point of view, it would be quite a financial risk to put something like that on the market. However, I'd get one myself, even for 300$. I already use one since my knees are pretty fucked up from previous sports/drunkness.

I think the key wouldn't be so much as a gamepad support but more a keyboard attachment. Being able to do your morning aerobics throught FFXI zones, aggro free, while chatting with friends is neat. Hell it'd be something fun to do while LFP. Put a claim (JP BUTTON!!) thingy on there and you could exercise while camping HNM rather then eat chips and do nothing.

Finally, I do montain biking myself but sometimes weather just doesn't allow it, don't always feel like getting all soaked up. Having this alternative would be fun for rainy days.

Veresko I think you and Celv should go into business together. I would probably drop money for that shit.