The end of the month has come and gone, and that means a new Connect!On!
The speculation this month really hit on some interesting points. Also,
I’ve included Famitsu’s short interview at the Q and A session after
Vana’Fest. A lot of the interview was about FFXI, so I’ll post the FFXIV
section.

Translations by SteveManly

Secrets of the FFXIV System

Though we know a lot about the world and the back story of Final Fantasy
XIV, the majority of the system is still shrouded in mystery. We’ve
asked our readers to speculate about the systems, and our Mainai and
Talu discussed how possible their implementations would be.

Adventurer customization

We will be able to make detailed changes to our
clothing, like tucking our shirts into our pants. –Mikyan

Mainai(M): The majority of the comments about character customization
were about things like this.
Talu(T): A lot of people wanted to be able to make detailed changes to
their appearance that did not affect the adventurer’s status. Some
things like face paint and bandages can be added to the character during
character creation, but these seem like things that could be easily
removed even after the character is created.
M: On the other hand, things like scars and tattoos probably won’t be
removable!

It’d be fun if would could “switch” our stats freely
in the middle of the game. –KINO

T: A lot of readers like KINO thought there would be a way to change
around stats during the middle of the game.
M: It seems possible. Personally, I think it would be something along
the lines of being able to change your race or something after some
requirement is fulfilled.
T: Seems a bit unrealistic…
M: Well, if you start as a Hyur, you’ll probably start as a midlander.
If midlanders and highlanders had different stats and characteristics,
and a hyur could become one by going to Ala Mhigo…
T: Ah, you mean switching tribes!

Marketplace mechanics

M: Since the market system has already been revealed, we got a lot of
deep speculation about the market system.

There should be a search system for market stands.
–Aylish

T: The market stands are supposed to be an advanced form of the bazaars
from FFXI and have earned a lot of attention.
M: A search function would indeed be needed in order to find those items
you want out of all those stands.
T: Sellers would select the type of thing they would sell, and
adventurers could input an item to search for and the shop information
would come up according to that. I think it would be something along
those lines.
M: It’d be convenient if we could search for the item name and buy it
from the search menu.

It would be nice if we could leave our stands up
even when we log out. –Mashiro

M: People used to leave their characters logged in to keep their bazaars
open in FFXI. Do you think we’ll see this in FFXIV?
T: Unlikely. There probably won’t be a system that puts restraints on a
player’s time. We may even see a stand that an adventurer can set up and
then walk away from, leaving it open to run itself.

Action

T: A lot of the comments about controls had to do with the new movement
system. It was really overwhelming. Some of the main speculations were…

Players should be able to do things like use jump at
will. –Rinze

I’d love to ride around freely in magitech armor, like in FFVI! –engross

M: …these two. It seems like a lot of people would like to be able to
use actions like “jump” outside of combat.
T: Many wanted to use these not for attacks, but to interact with things
around them.
M: What kind of puzzles do you think we’d be able to solve with actions?
T: Pushing an item onto a switch may open a door to progress further, or
things like that.
M: If you had to push more than one thing, it would be a more
challenging puzzle.
T: Meanwhile, there were many people who wanted to control machines.
M: How amazing would it be to control magitech armor in an action-game
style? (He laughs)

Other speculations and hopes

I’d like to be able to set traps for animals. Maybe we’d be able to
harvest materials from the traps after several hours. –Butt Master

T: It’s been confirmed that hunting and selling the materials, like meat
and skins, is a good way to earn gil, but this sounds like a fun way to
gather materials, too.
M: It’d be nice to have a class like a “trapper.” It would be good not
just for gathering materials, but could also be useful in battle.

I’d like the chat log to show when abilities have
cooled down for reuse. –Exzel

M: I’d never thought about it before, but nothing like this exists in
FFXI.
T: I’ve been checking how much time is left with /recast. It’d be nice
not to have to use macros to check anymore.
M: Players should also be able to toggle this in the config. I hope we
get to see the new system soon!

Question
What kind of enemies will be in Eorzea?

Many people wanted giant bosses and monsters related specifically to
each capital.

• I want to see monsters as big as FF13’s adamantoise,
  and it would take hundreds of adventurers to defeat it! –wktk
  
• The
  lancers of Ala Mhigo, brought back to life by the power of Aetherite,
  start attacking adventurers! –hinaka
  
• There will be a blob
  monster that replicates when attacked if not defeated by its elemental
  weak point. You would be able to tell its weak point by its color, but
  the color would change over time. –Neji
  
• There should be a
  beast tribe with afros. They raise birds monsters in their afros and are
  actually friendly. –PEPSIMAN
  
• Dracula vampires! They should
  only come out at night and have powerful dark-elemental attacks.
  –Yoshikun
  

This month’s race survey
Miqo’te takes a commanding lead
2 out of every 5 players said they would start as a Miqo’te!

Elezen male: 7%
Elezen female: 4%
Lalafell male: 16%
Lalafell female: 5%
Hyur male: 14%
Hyur female: 7%
Roegadyn: 7%
Miqo’te: 40%

• I have to go with Miqo’te. I’ll never get tired of
  staring at that fluffy tail. –Tail Fur
  
• I played a Tarutaru
  in XI, so I play on playing a Lalafell male. –Takechiyo
  
• I
  got a thing for elf chicks, so I’ll be playing Elezen female (laugh).
  –Ragu
  
• It’s all about the macho Roegadyn. –9620
  
• I’ll
  be picking Hyur for their average stats. –arukoge
  

Source: Famitsu’s “Connect!On,” volume 40. 2010 April issue.

Famitsu’s Vana’fest interview!

Famitsu: You revealed that the alpha and beta invites are being sent
out, but can you give us a better idea about the related dates?
Tanaka: This will be announced when the beta tester site opens on March
11th. We’re still right in the middle of making adjustments, so it’ll be
around that time, depending on how things go.
Famitsu: How long will the alpha test run?
Tanaka: That will depend on the feedback we get from the alpha testers.
Famitsu: There were cheers from the audience when you announced the beta
test at Vana’fest. How did that make you feel?
Kawamoto: I was thrilled. I think my voice even started to shake a
little. (He laughs)



A farewell “YO!” from the SE crew!


Source: Famitsu Online article. Website. “Creator interview
after Vana’fest 2010”

GameWatch also speculates that the alpha test, which begins before the
beta test, could start around April or May since Square Enix is still
debugging and since the first of the Final Fantasy XI battle area
expansions is released in June. They also say that we could see it begin
in March if debugging goes according to plan.

Source: GameWatch article. Website. Here.



Credit : ffxivcore.com