It won’t be long now until long-time Final Fantasy XIV players and eager test applicants can experience the beta of the game’s new version. Producer Naoki Yoshida has understandably been busy with the ramp-up, but he’s taken the time to pen a new letter for the game’s players that starts off by displaying all of the racial creation screens for the revamped creator. That includes showing off genders that had previously been unavailable, including female Highlanders and Roegadyns.

Beyond that, the letter talks about some of the restrictions in place from the beta that are still being developed, acknowledging that some character creation options will be held back until later in testing (the team is working to vastly improve hair color and style selections, for example). Yoshida goes on to talk about the production staff’s New Year festivities and a visit from some of the Mythic staff members involved with Ultima Online. There are only a few more weeks until the beta stats, but Yoshida and the rest of the staff seems to believe that it’s the first step to a better new year.

comments

PaizuriJones

In all seriousness, I’m not as hardcore into MMO’s as most, but what’s wrong with B2P and F2P as long as it’s not P2W? I can’t think of anything downsides aside from maybe a influx of less mature players.

With a lot of games going the free route, it seems like it would be the only think SE could do to certify players. I can’t think of any extremely commercial MMO’s outside of WoW that are still monthly.

omedon666

Really psyched about this game.  As much as I play up “B2P+content a la carte” as the future, I have to admit that if a game is quality enough and popular enough to maintain a subscription, they aren’t in the wrong to do so.  Not all barriers of entry are bad ideas.

I’m not about to throw my hat in with smilesmadness and their hate for everyone that might want to not pay simply for access to characters and to play with a meter running, because, well, I hate both of those things, but if SOE can transition from their current subscription tolerant base to a new subscription tolerant base, and make  a profit level they are pleased with, I can’t exactly fault them.  For me my dislike of subscription has never been about money (I’ve spent about a full year’s subscription funds on GW2 already) but about exactly what one is paying for, and with a sub, that’s access, in a time when there are so many options for my time.  I don’t like paying for something I’m not using to its fullest potential, and the subscription generates a “need” to play within that mindset.

All of that said, I won’t complain if the reality of the market makes them reconsider a sub and instead go with a TSW/GW2 style approach.  If they do that, THEN I can sell the idea to (or just buy it for) my friends with a clear conscience.

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