March 27! Update 27 "Through the Maelstrom" will be available on Thursday March 2.2th. Now that the information you've all been waiting for is out, let's move on to the rest of the content of this 55th letter.
Yoshida looks back on the last important dates for ARR (PS4 and Steam release) but also on the next ones to come: the GDC 2014, the next Live Letter and yet another show! In short, the producer is not ready to be bored in March. He then comes back to the server overload problems and asks us a little more patience: other fixes are coming for 2.2. Speaking of 2.2, Yoshi introduces us to the Mirage system which will allow you to give the appearance of one object to another. But that's not all, other things are planned: advanced recipes for artisans, gardening for free company dwellings, new hairstyles, servant tasks, fishing challenges, a goal book weekly, new mounts and a new quest where you will need your relic ...
Finally, the producer director shows us some souvenir photos: the team went to the SensjĂ®-ji temple to deposit an offering and recover an oracle.
Find the entire 55th Letter below!
The 55th Letter from the Producer
Hello everyone. I feel like it's been years since I wrote a letter, so I couldn't make you wait another day to deliver the 55th edition of my letter to you, with a / bow down to make me forgive for this waiting.
2014 is the year of FFXIV! In January, we got off to a flying start and spared no effort to make FINAL FANTASY XIV the game of its year. We're so busy it's almost like we're preparing to launch once again. I haven't had time to do the Bahamut Labyrinth for two weeks already, when I'm on the verge of finishing my Allagan outfit! orz
But enough about me, back to FFXIV. I'm sure many of you were happy that the game was available on Steam on February 18 and, with the PlayStation®4 release in Japan on February 22, we have also started the beta test of the PlayStation®4 version of the game. I am also preparing the Niconico Chôkaigi 3 festival, my intervention at the Game Developers Conference 2014 in San Francisco, the "FATE in Sapporo" event (ALÉA in Sapporo) where we will film the next LIVE Letter and above all, the imminent release of version 2.2: Through the Maelstrom.
Before we continue, I would like to take a moment to thank everyone who participated in the first phase of the beta testing of the PlayStation®4 version. We have received a tremendous amount of feedback, especially regarding significant UI size and resolution issues. The entire team is working hard to resolve these issues as per your feedback, and we hope that Phase 2, which begins on April 4, attracts even more people. Players wishing to use their existing characters on PS4 will have something to take care of.
Let's come back to an important subject: I know that since version 2.16, many of you have experienced server overload problems, and we had to perform a lot of maintenance to improve the stability of the game. The dedicated server team continues its efforts, in particular to ensure that the exit from individual dwellings goes well. We will be implementing these improvements at the same time as version 2.2. We therefore ask for your patience as we do everything in our power to resolve these issues.
Speaking of version 2.2, I'm almost done with my last checks. The team, meanwhile, is finishing the adjustment of the many new features planned and fixing the bugs. And besides, I would like to take this opportunity to show you one of these new features: mirages. Thanks to an object called "mirage prism", you will be able to project the appearance of one piece of equipment on another, which will allow you to change appearance without modifying your attributes.
Take this dark mage Lalafelle, for example, who wears an Allagan tunic of casting.
Although she likes her tunic very much, she prefers the look of the culvert jacket she got in the Ancient Daedalus.
Prepare the right mirage prism, select the culvert jacket, and ...
And hop ! Here is your new Allaganza Tunic of Casting, which retains its attributes, but now looks like the Culvert Jacket.
All he needs is a matching pair of pants.
Ta-daaam!
What if now she wants to be a little sexier ...
It's time to take the pelisse out of the Colosseum!
Hou there ...
Wow ! She has earned at least 50 Sex Appeal points !!!
Okay, I admit, that was a joke, for that last part ... Unfortunately, Mirage Prisms aren't powerful enough to make you look like another race, so no false joys! But you already have an idea of ​​how your outfits can change.
In short, here is how the mirage prisms are used:
- The object serving as a base must be of a level greater than or equal to the projected object.
- You must own the object whose image you want to project (you can get rid of it once the mirage is created).
- Any item that can be equipped by the current class / job can be used.
- Only objects occupying the same number of equipment spaces can be thrown on top of each other.
It sounds complicated like that, but it's very simple once you understand the system. It is even possible to copy the appearance of dyed equipment. With this update, players will finally be able to customize their look to their liking.
In addition to mirages, among the features planned for version 2.2, we find advanced recipes for craftsmen, gardening for the homes of free companies, new hairstyles, servant tasks, fishing challenges, a goal book weekly, new mounts, etc. Disciples of War and Magic may also want to want to bring out their Relics, as they are going to have a new opportunity to unleash their true potential. It will be the beginning of the "weapons of the zodiac", but I say no more.
We're also working on a trailer for version 2.2 which should be ready shortly, thanks to our assistant director Mr. Takai (“Hey, Hiroshi?” As some of you hail on the forum). There isn't everything, of course, but I'm sure you'll like what you see.
I know you can't wait to test all of this, but I'm going to ask you to be patient a little longer. I can tell you, however, that the update will be available on Thursday March 27, 2014. Only two weeks left and the wait will finally be over!
In the meantime, I have to travel to San Francisco on March 16 to present the game to the media before making a speech at GDC 2014 on March 19. Then, I move directly to Los Angeles to return to Japan. I arrive in Tokyo at Haneda Airport on the 21st at 5am, and just two hours after landing, I fly to Sapporo. Once there, I will be able to spend some time with all of you at the “FATE in Sapporo” event. That evening, we'll be broadcasting the 13th Letter from the Producer LIVE.
Even if update 2.2 is released on March 27, I won't have time to breathe! On the 29th, I will participate in the "Game Fan in Fukuoka" show. In April, I am continuing my media tour and I will be present at another event, Niconico ChĂ´kaigi 3. As you can see, I will be everywhere over the next two months, and I hope to meet a lot of between you during these events!
The end of this letter is approaching, but I would like to conclude by keeping my promise from the previous letter. The FFXIV team went to SensĂ´-ji temple, in the Asakusa district, although a little late for a first visit since we went there on January 31st. This year again, I made an offering of 10 yen from my pocket. It's a nice sum, but I find it not a very high price to keep the game successful.
As for this year's oracle ...
Unbelievable ... KĂ´moto beat me ... I received a "chance" and he a "great chance". Besides, in the photo, he looks like an old guy who got screwed up by a drunken thug ...
Here is what my oracle says:
My wishes will come true, my possible illnesses will heal, lost items will be found, and luck seems to dominate in everything I will undertake: work, moving, travel ...
If that is a simple "luck", I do not even dare to imagine what the year will bring to Mr. KĂ´moto (gloups)! By the way, I wanted to share with you the first line of my oracle, which I find particularly appropriate.
"As the plants (the PS4 ™ version) open their buds in the spring (April 14) and the green leaves (the adventurers) grow numerous (like the players), in time (FFXIV) will flourish."
With the PlayStation®4 version of the game releasing on April 14 in early spring, I see these trees and plants in full bloom as our gaming community that will hopefully be growing over the next year. year. I couldn't have dreamed of a better oracle!
Spring will be here soon, and we hope to heat up the atmosphere with version 2.2 and the imminent release of the PlayStation®4 version.
I have to go back to work, but I say see you very soon, at GDC 2014, during the event ”FATE in Sapporo”, and during the next Letter from the producer LIVE! See You Soon !! ?
