Ranting from afar ...
So, as someone sent me an IM earlier "you're playing ffxi again!"
Its funny, I started that entry over a month ago. Never did get around to finishing it. I did log in to FFXI for a few hours that day. I roamed around the world, captured Ose on my little pokemon camera thingie, and headed back to Whitegate to mess around with my newly minted pokemon pet. Needless to say, I could do anything else in the world and still be able to take the 2 minutes every half hour to watch my little pet cat get killed.
I keep hoping that Square will get a clue and improve FFXI enough to make me want to come back full time. The game's core concepts are better than Lotro, WoW and EQ. The idea of having to be socially interactive in a game to play it is a very unique one in the modern world of MMO's. FFXI holds a place of its own in that right. Its just too bad that the rest of the "advancements" in the MMO world still baffle the people "updating" the game.
When the announcement of the Wings of Altana expac was released I was actually excited. I LOVE the history and story that SE has given us thus far. The two things that made Chains of Promathia the very height of FFXI and Treasure of Aht Urghan the very lowest point, seemed to have to be in this new expansion. We will see in 21 days if that story is actually there. Yet the one thing that would for sure bring me back for more than a lookieloo is not there. No amount of new jobs (can't wait to see how cringeworthy the male dancers will be, and we all know they will be horrible), no amount of "historic zones" can make me come back to a game that has continually proven it does not wish to go forward out of its own past. Until SE decides to raise the level cap to 85+ he game will continue to be stuck in its own history. Sure, the days of the Dalmatica and the Ridill being the best of the best of the best may be over, but their usefulness has not diminished enough for people to not be forced to sit and attempt to pull every day. They have added Salvage and Assault, and with it new gear. Yet, these are new challenges, that are minor at best.
The story and the game need to move forward.
Its funny, I started that entry over a month ago. Never did get around to finishing it. I did log in to FFXI for a few hours that day. I roamed around the world, captured Ose on my little pokemon camera thingie, and headed back to Whitegate to mess around with my newly minted pokemon pet. Needless to say, I could do anything else in the world and still be able to take the 2 minutes every half hour to watch my little pet cat get killed.
I keep hoping that Square will get a clue and improve FFXI enough to make me want to come back full time. The game's core concepts are better than Lotro, WoW and EQ. The idea of having to be socially interactive in a game to play it is a very unique one in the modern world of MMO's. FFXI holds a place of its own in that right. Its just too bad that the rest of the "advancements" in the MMO world still baffle the people "updating" the game.
When the announcement of the Wings of Altana expac was released I was actually excited. I LOVE the history and story that SE has given us thus far. The two things that made Chains of Promathia the very height of FFXI and Treasure of Aht Urghan the very lowest point, seemed to have to be in this new expansion. We will see in 21 days if that story is actually there. Yet the one thing that would for sure bring me back for more than a lookieloo is not there. No amount of new jobs (can't wait to see how cringeworthy the male dancers will be, and we all know they will be horrible), no amount of "historic zones" can make me come back to a game that has continually proven it does not wish to go forward out of its own past. Until SE decides to raise the level cap to 85+ he game will continue to be stuck in its own history. Sure, the days of the Dalmatica and the Ridill being the best of the best of the best may be over, but their usefulness has not diminished enough for people to not be forced to sit and attempt to pull every day. They have added Salvage and Assault, and with it new gear. Yet, these are new challenges, that are minor at best.
The story and the game need to move forward.