Final Fantasy XIV Information and News
Posted by Sephiroth on Sep 02, 2010 - 04:14.
The open beta has begun taking signups within the past hour, although servers are current congested and difficult to access. Square Enix originally posted a message on their website that those of us who were in the closed beta do not need to re-apply, but they later removed it and replaced it with a new message. Unfortunately you do need to reply. The new information is as follows."Acquisition of Registration Code for the Open Beta Test
We have an important announcement to the testers who have participated in FINAL FANTASY XIV Closed Beta Test.
Between 19:00 and 19:50 (PDT) on Sep. 1, 2010, an incorrect notice saying "Participants of closed beta test do not need to obtain new registration code for the open beta test." was being made on FINAL FANTASY XIV Open Beta Test Application Site.
Participants of closed beta test also need to obtain and register dedicated registration code for the open beta test. Please follow the directions listed in the mail "Guide to the FINAL FANTASY XIV Open Beta Test," which was sent to the participants of closed beta test on Aug. 31, 2010, and obtain the registration code from FINAL FANTASY XIV Open Beta Test Application Site.
We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused."
You must apply at http://entry.ffxiv.com/ to get your key. If you get a server error at any point, just try again later. It is possible Square Enix may stop giving out keys until further notice. If this happens you will have to try again later.
Server Names
The server names have changed since the closed beta phase, which were named after villians from the Final Fantasy series. The new servers are named after towns found throughout the series. The list is as follows:
Cornelia - Final Fantasy I
Kashuan - Final Fantasy II
Gysahl - Final Fantasy III
Mysidia - Final Fantasy IV
Istory - Final Fantasy V
Figaro - Final Fantasy VI
Wutai - Final Fantasy VII
Trabia - Final Fantasy VIII
Lindblum - Final Fantasy IX
Besaid - Final Fantasy X
Since character names can be reserved on these servers for the retail version we are sure that the server names will be the same at launch on the 22nd.
Version Update Details
As we expected, the game has been given an update with new features added and some changes. We won't go into detail, you may as well read it for yourself.
"[Event-related]
- The new city-states Gridania and Ul'dah and their surrounding areas have been added.
- New quests have been added.
- Guildleves have been added and changed in the following ways:
Users can now accept guildleves at the Adventurers' Guilds in Gridania and Ul'dah.
The NPCs issuing guildleves in each city-state are as follows:
Regional Guildleves: Piralnaut (Limsa Lominsa), Gontrant (Gridania), Totonawa (Ul'dah)
Local Guildleves: T'mokkri (Limsa Lominsa), Tierney (Gridania), Eustace (Ul'dah)
New regional guildleves have been added.
New local guildleves have been added.
Failed levequests may be reattempted immediately upon renewal of the guildleve list.
[Battle-related]
- New monster varieties have been added.
- Monster placement has undergone several adjustments.
- The overall battle balance has been adjusted.
- Formula for skill point and experience point allocation has been revamped.
[Item-related]
- New pieces of equipment have been added.
- Various new items have been added.
- The goods stocked by vendor NPCs have been adjusted.
- The prices for items sold by NPCs at each shop have been changed.
Due to this change, the amount of gil players acquire has been increased.
- The following additions have been made to the synthesis system:
New recipes have been added.
- The gathering and synthesis-related term "Ability" has been changed to "Godsend".
[System-related]
- Gridania and Ul'dah have been added to the selectable starting cities on the character creation screen.
- Players can now save data for characters they've created to their hard drive and apply the data later to the creation of a new character.
- Players will now need to wait at least ten minutes before being able to restore HP and MP again at an aetheryte crystal.
- Social Lists has been added to the main menu.
Players can add or delete characters to and from their friend list and blacklist.
- Support Desk has been added to the main menu.
In this section, players can look over frequently asked questions or speak with Game Masters regarding in-game trouble.
- Examine has been added to the Interactions menu.
Targeting another player character and selecting Examine will display that player character's equipment.
- Various ways of expressing emotions and desires have been added.
Enemy signs have been added.
While in a party, players can express their various desires regarding monsters in the field.
Ally signs have been added.
While in a party, players can express various desires to other members of the party.
The emote "lounge" has been added.
Also, the interaction "sit" has been added, which allows players to sit on nearby chairs, benches, etc.
- New text commands have been added.
- New categories and phrases have been added to the dictionary.
- A screenshot feature has been added.
Players can take pictures of the game screen by pushing Print Screen while holding down Scroll Lock on the keyboard.
- Keyboard Settings has been added under Configuration.
- Players can now change the display settings for each of their linkshells from Log Display Settings under Configuration.
* The Official FINAL FANTASY XIV Players' Site has been launched in conjunction with the start of the FINAL FANTASY XIV Open Beta Test."
Posted by Sephiroth on Sep 01, 2010 - 20:57.
Square Enix updated the Square Enix account management system yesterday to force people to select the region and country they live in upon first login. With this they added the Crysta currency. This is a virtual currency that can be bought at the rate of 100 per £1/$1/€1 and then exchanged for services and goods sold by Square Enix. This will be one of the payment methods for Final Fantasy XIV and presumably it will make it easier for some people to subscribe.
A currency like this opens up many possibilities, such as selling it in retail stores. This is similar to how the Microsoft Points system works for the XBox 360. Of course we're just speculating that Crysta may eventually be sold this way but we don't see why not. It would have the advantage of allowing people to play who do not own a credit or debit card, as well as make payments more secure for those who do not like entering their card details online.
Posted by Sephiroth on Aug 31, 2010 - 13:26.
Square Enix have posted the sixth part in the series "Eorzea: The Making of a Realm". This part focusses on the musical score. The format is basically an interview with composer Noubuo Uematsu, where he shows you his studio and talks about his creation of the score. There is also a bit about the main theme of FFXIV, Answers by Susan Calloway.You can view the video below:
Posted by Sephiroth on Aug 31, 2010 - 13:21.
Square Enix have sent out an e-mail detailing the open beta test for FFXIV. In case you have not received it, the contents of the e-mail are below. The time given in step 1 is GMT. For PDT it will be 17:00 on August 31st."In preparation for the official release of FINAL FANTASY XIV on September 30, 2010 and the early release on September 22, we will be starting an open beta test to help put the finishing touches on the game. We ask that all users who can participate in the open beta test apply from the following website.
1.Access the following URL.
http://entry.ffxiv.com/
* The page will become accessible starting at 2:00 on Sep. 1, 2010.
2.Log in with your Square Enix account and have a registration code issued.
* Depending on the access status, we may temporarily suspend the issuance of registration code. If you cannot have registration code issued, we ask that you please wait a little while before trying again.
3.Register the registration code you received by e-mail on the Square Enix Account Management System.
Click "Select Service" from "Services and Options" on the left menu. Select "FINAL FANTASY XIV" from the services available and then "Add a service account." Enter the registration code you've been issued and proceed to the end of registration.
The Square Enix Account Management System: https://secure.square-enix.com/account/
- Client Software Used in the Open Beta Test
The installer for the open beta test’s client software can be downloaded from the following website.
http://entry.ffxiv.com/
*If you have already downloaded the client software for the closed beta test, there is no need to download the installer.
- Transferring your Character Name from the Open Beta Test to the Commercial Release
As long as the World you choose in the commercial release is the same as the World you chose in the open beta test, you will be able to transfer your character name. If you choose a different World for the commercial release, your character name will not be transferrable. For details, please refer to the beta test site.
- To PlayStation 3 Version Applicants:
This test phase will deal only with the Windows version of the software. Details regarding the test schedule for the PlayStation 3 version will be released by e-mail at a later date. If possible, we still ask and encourage you to take part in the testing on a Windows PC.
- Note:
・The open beta test is being conducted on the Windows version of the game only.
・Latest news and notifications will be periodically posted on the forums of the tester site.
・The game to be tested is under development, and may differ from the commercial release.
・Please direct all inquiries regarding FINAL FANTASY XIV to the Square Enix Support Center ( http://support.eu.square-enix.com/ffxiv/ )."
Important Update
The open beta has been postponed until further notice due to the discovery of a critical bug. The information from Square Enix is as follows.
"FINAL FANTASY XIV Open Beta Test, which is scheduled to begin at 02:00 (GMT) on Sept. 1, 2010, will be postponed due to a confirmation of critical bugs. New schedule will be release? at a later date.
Along with the postponement of FINAL FANTASY XIV Open Beta Test, the issuing of registration code for FINAL FANTASY XIV Open Beta Test will be postponed as well. With the download of client software's installer, it will be suspended at 02:00 (GMT) on Sept. 1, 2010.
We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause."
Update 2:
The open beta will begin on September 2nd at 2am GMT, which is 7pm PDT on September 1st. The instructions given above will still apply.
Posted by Sephiroth on Aug 27, 2010 - 21:14.
We recently got our hands on a beta key for the closed beta, so I was finally able to play it! I have taken some beautiful screenshots from the La Noscea region, some of which are from parts you may not have seen much of. Some are from the guildleve system and there's even a map thrown in. Unfortunately I did not get to spend much time on the beta due to hardware issues, which remain unsolved. This has limited what I could tell you.I started the beta by creating a Hyur called Xenor Vernico on the Jecht server, you can see him in the screenshot of the left. I was disappointed that there was not many hairstyles to choose from but I was still able to create a character I was happy with. After going through the opening cutscene I was thrown into Limsa Lominsa for the first time. After finding my way out of the starting location I decided to explore the town and try get used to the controls.
The controls were a bit difficult to get the hang of because I am used to using the arrow keys for camera movement in FFXI and had to get used to using the IJKL keys instead in FFXIV. The camera also seemed to move the opposite way to what I expected, but that was easily sorted in the configuration settings. Camera movement keys can be set to arrows in the retail version so this will be good news if you don ot like change.
I decided to head over to the market wards and see what they are like because it seemed to be a topic debated often on fan sites. After hiring my Retainer I was able to enter the market ward areas. The system looks like it has potential, after all being able to sell items in a bazaar while you are not logged in can only be good. But I could see why some people do not like the system. It can be difficult to find specific items. A search feature would be a great addition and I can see Square Enix improving the system.
I then thought I would check out the guildleve system. The leves available to me at my level were quite basic, in the form of go out and kill X amount of monsters, but early quests in any game are never complex or difficult. They are designed to help the player ease into the game and get the hang of things. I found the guildleve system fun, and I can only imagine how much fun the more complex leves will be at higher levels.
I made it to level 4 Conjurer by completing guildleves and killing a few random monsters along the way. I noticed there are a lot more spells available at early levels than in FFXI, for example I had all of the first tier of elemental magic right from the start. I also had a non-elemental magic ability called Spirit Dart which does not use MP. This is very useful because at this level I did not have an ability to regain MP so I had to make it last for the duration of the guildleve. The ability is very good and I did not see it miss.
I spent the rest of my time in the beta exploring La Noscea because I knew the closed beta was due to end within days. It did not seem worth levelling my character any more. I thought the Bloodshore area would be an interesting place to visit after looking at the map and it was. This was possibly the best scenery I had seen in the game so far. A beach! I went down to it and explored before staying in a safe spot to see how it would look at night.
I then headed over to an area called Cassiopeia Hollow. This is a dungeon area that you can access from near the Bloodshore Aetheryte crystal and it is full of paths, water and new creatures. There is a lot of detail in the random plants that are scattered around the area, which adds to the depth of the world. Unfortunately I ran into something nasty and ended up dead in one hit. I should not have been there at my level but it is fun to explore.
You can see all of the screenshots I took below. Click them for a larger version.
We also have six screenshots provided to us by our member MetroPeanut who played as a Pugilist. There's a screenshot of the loot window and an airship, among others.
If you would like your screenshots featured on our home page please post them in the forums and we will post the best ones. In the open beta we will only be looking for screenshots from the Gridania and Ul'dah regions because we feel we have tonnes from the Limsa Lominsa and La Noscea regions already.
Posted by Sephiroth on Aug 27, 2010 - 18:04.
Today comes a few announcements from Square Enix. There's a new Final Fantasy XIV trailer, information on the open beta and information on transferring your character name from the open beta to the retail version of the game.New FFXIV Trailer
The trailer shows many scenes from the opening movies of Limsa Lominsa, Gridania and Ul'dah as well as scenes from elsewhere. There is even some battle footage towards the end. The game's theme song that we mentioned last night called "Answers" can be heard in the first part of the trailer.
The Open Beta
The open beta is scheduled to being on September 1st at 2am GMT, which is August 31st at 7pm. We were expecting it in early September but not quite this early! There is still no information about how players will gain access to the open beta but we know everyone who participated in the closed beta will be sent a code to access it.
The beta website states that during the initial stages of the test there will be a limit on the number of players allowed to be logged in at any one time. This will be gradually increased. If you attempt to login when the limit has been reached you will be placed in a waiting list.
We will let you know how to gain access to the open beta as soon as we know. It's worth keeping an eye on the official Twitter page to find out instantly.
Transferring Character Names to Retail Version
There will be the ability to transfer your character name from the open beta to the retail version of the game. This is useful if your name is something popular like "Sephiroth Cloud" and you fear someone else may take it before you. You will be able to reserve the name on the same server that your open beta character is on. For example, if you play the open beta on Sephiroth server your name will only be transferable to the Sephiroth server in the retail version.
There is nothing to stop you creating a character with your beta name on a different server, it just won't be reserved for you and if someone else has reserved it on that server then you will not be able to use it.
Posted by Sephiroth on Aug 27, 2010 - 02:50.
Famitsu have posted an article with some information and 35 new screenshots from the other two starter cities; Gridania and Ul'dah.
Ul'dah
Ul'dah is situated in the southern part of Eorzea and its economy is based around the mining and textile industries. The opening movie for the city begins with a dance parade involving a captured Goobbue creature. However, the Goobbue breaks loose and a battle begins. The Goobbue is defeated and you are left to roam the streets of Ul'dah.
The city is made up of modern buildings and is designed in a way that is easy to get around. The Miner and Gladiator guilds can be found in this city, with the latter being in the Coliseum.
Mole creatures can bury themselves in the ground to hide from players using an ability called Breakout and then suddenly reappear to attack you.
The article also mentions that if you head north out of Ul'dah you will end up in a rocky desert with hills, valleys and rugged terrain.
Gridania
Gridania is located in a dense forest and surrounded by greenery and water. The opening movie begins with an adventurer walking alone in the forest, where he/she meets more people. They are soon ambushed by some wolves and try to escape, but a battle is inevitable.
The city itself is vast and complex, with the Archer and magic guilds located here. Funguars and Marlboros are confirmed to appear in the region around Gridania, which is fitting with the setting. The area outside can be difficult to navigate and it is easy to get lost, almost like a maze.
Other
A new type of guildleve will be introduced in which players fight beastmen-like creatures and gain a treasure chest upon completion.
The main vocal theme for the game will be called Answers, and will be sung by Susan Calloway. This can be heard in the opening movies.
Screenshots
Some of these are similar to the Game Watch screenshots released at GamesCom last week, but it's worth posting them all. As always, simply click on them for a larger version.
Source: Famitsu
Posted by Sephiroth on Aug 26, 2010 - 18:37.
Square Enix have posted the fifth part in the series "Eorzea: The Making of a Realm". This part focusses on the cutscenes. It talks about how scenes are first designed in storyboard format and then finalised before motion capture technology is used to recreate the scene in a digital format. The scene is then edited on a computer to add lighting and weather effects to make it look more real and put together with other elements of the cutscene.You can view the video below:
Source: Official FFXIV Youtube Channel.
«« Older News »»
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Open Beta Signups Begin + Version Update Details |
| Posted: Sep 02, 2010 - 04:14 0 comments | 240 views |
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FFXIV Pre-release Trailer, Plus Open Beta Info |
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| Posted: Jun 19, 2010 - 20:43 0 comments | 520 views |
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| Posted: Jun 19, 2010 - 13:33 0 comments | 385 views |
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Final Fantasy XIV in 3D? |
| Posted: Jun 18, 2010 - 22:28 0 comments | 438 views |
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Official FFXIV Website Update: Screenshots and City Info |
| Posted: May 22, 2010 - 15:23 0 comments | 736 views |
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Famitsu Takes a Look at Limsa Lominsa |
| Posted: Apr 27, 2010 - 11:05 0 comments | 530 views |
September 22nd 2010
Japan: 17 days, 16 hours, 50 mins, 47 secs.UK: +8 hours, US: +13/14/15/16 hours.
Standard version: +8 days.
Participate in a community of Final Fantasy XIV fans. Make new friends, talk about the game and plan events within the game.
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Membership is totally free and only takes a few minutes. If you already have an account simply login at the top.
Also, become a fan of our Facebook page and follow us on Twitter @FF_XIV_INFO to help spread the word!
Create Account
Inside you can update your personal profile with character information and join the discussion in our forums on just about anything!
Membership is totally free and only takes a few minutes. If you already have an account simply login at the top.
Also, become a fan of our Facebook page and follow us on Twitter @FF_XIV_INFO to help spread the word!