Chocobo Racing DiscussionFollow

Makes me nervous to be the first post.
>.>
<.<

It would be interesting to have an NPC that could handle Bets.
The bets could either be with the NPC like
"Would you like to place a bet on number4?"
2,000
5,000
10,000





Or if it's possible,to have an NPC hold bets.
Such as a party of people talk to an NPC.
Set an amount for the race, and the NPC holds the money, then releases it to the winner.

* Chocobos will not be controllable by players during Chocobo Racing.

This is the only part that really concerns me. I would like to see Chocobo Racing as a skill-based event instead of letting the Chocobos auto-pilot... it would be better if it is possible for someone to be a "good" Chocobo racer without necessarily having the "best" Chocobo. This is the only way I feel like I would participate in this aspect of the game, since if it is going to be a static event where racing the same two Chocobos will yield the same result almost all the time, then that will lose my interest very fast.

It is much like Ballista: You may have the best equipment available because you worked hard in the normal game, but if you do not know how to use that equipment effectively against other players then you will not succeed in Ballista. On the other hand, if your equipment is not the greatest, you can still be very good at Ballista if you exhibit skill and prowess in your role. If Chocobo Racing will allow this skill-based aspect, then it will be more exciting, and encourage people to continue to compete. However, if it ends up being whoever had the best chocobo raising technique is always the winner, then people will lose interest very quickly, especially if chocobo raising is as time consuming as I assume it will be.

So in conclusion, if I can race my Chocobo actively, then I might give this a fair shot. If not, then count me out, even from betting... I'm no fan of gambling anyway.

Thanks for accepting our input! I hope I helped.

- Shadida, Sylph Server

Edited, Aug 4th 2006 at 12:43am EDT by Shadida

I was hoping we were going to be able to control the chocobo, similar to the FFVII chocobo racing. Just to have a little more involvement in the outcome of the race. But i guess we'll have to see how this system plays out. And I do like the fact that it will be our raised chocobos racing.

As for the gambling part, it would be nice if race stats were kept somehow to give us a reason to bet on chocobo #4 over chocobo #6. Kinda reaching here, but maybe a type of odds system that had different payouts also.

Oh and tournaments would be cool too. Maybe if your chocobo does well, you could get some type of trophy furnishing to put in your mog house.

I think it is very important that raising the best chocobos for racing not be completely dependant on how much gil one is able to pump into them. Otherwise the event will be ruled by the weathest of players and they will dominate it as they do in other parts of the game.

imo while i would enjoy racing my own chocobo a bit more, an npc controlled one would ensure fairness. Look at it this way, if we controll the chocobo's who is going to stop it from being rigged?

you could just have a group of people place a bet on a pre-determined winner (all the riders but one agree to forfeit) and the riders who forfieted could be given a cut of the winnings..

on second thought.. yea.. PLAYER CONTROLLED FTW

My only other suggestion is make the chocobo races go by skill class like in ff7, and how ballista is lvl wise; just dont have them spaced out like ballista. Try to have them as often as besieged... *rolls eyes*

on that besieged subject..

why is my candy sense so hard to get back? ; ; After a server reset when like 30 people are on.. those dang undead just come and steal it.. and i dont get to see it for a week. ; ;

believe me if i could get it back solo i would.. but cmon

Supposing there is a gambling aspect to the races, one would expect that those who place bets (at the least) will be able to follow the progress of the race as a spectator. This raises some questions: Where will the races take place? Will there be a central arena location or several areas, perhaps one in each major city? Maybe checkpoints set up in existing zones? Both outdoor and indoor races?

I would like to see a variety of course types, with varying terrain affecting the performance of the racers. Perhaps each breed of chocobo handles the terrain types in its own way. Say there is a race in an area like Valkurm Dunes (not that I actually would endorse such a thing, but for the sake of example) and one breed can travel easily through the sand, one has no problem gaining ground while running on rocky surfaces, and another treads water with ease. Perhaps the "rare" colored birds have even more distinct advantages in this manner, similar to their cousins in FFVII.

It would also be interesting if chocobos themselves could earn titles or cosmetic changes such as wreaths, garlands and the like for consistently placing after completing a certain number of races.

I must also agree with the previous posts, in regards to rewards for the player, such as earning points which could be traded for items which are otherwise difficult to obtain (holiday items out of season, ala VARP?), as well as the ability to more directly affect the chocobo's performance during the race.

Thank you for taking the time to consider these suggestions.

~Quintalian (Fenrir)

Edited, Aug 4th 2006 at 1:27am EDT by Quintalian

Seconded. At the very least, like in FFVII, give riders the option to control their chocobo. If you can't control your choco, then it almost entirely depends on how you raised them, which gives the advantage unfairly in the hands of the endgame crowd.

At least by controlling your chocobo, there's a chance (albeit a slight one) that the underdog can win with better skill.

To safeguard it from the idiots who want to run backwards or whatever, once the meaningful positions are in (the money ones, top 3 usually), give the racers the option to collect their prize and leave the track instead of diddling around for the slow people.

The FFVII system was pretty good. Raising involved finding different foods (the best can be offered as questable or /ex drops from mobs so you can't trade them, but you can have more than one). You could also offer quests for items that may enhance the raising, like high-quality hay, or super water buckets, or whatever. You could also offer some items (perhaps not chocobo racing specific) as prizes, like elixrs, potions, Icarus wings, materials for crafts... Square Enix could go nuts with this and offer just about anything as a prize, and even some super-powerful items as an added incentive to race.

NOTE: The reason I didnt want to mention super-powerful items that are chocobo raising specific is because that would mean a)that the best people stay better, and b) less incentive to race. If the super-powerful weapon was for your job, you would race your butt off trying to get it, no? THAT keeps people coming back.

I see the race as an exclusive (similar to Assault) 10 person event with awards going to the top 3. Divide it by skill level- Have fresh chocobos in one division, and advance divisions by gaining experience. Have everyone gain experience from every race, but obviously the top people get the most and the bottom gets the least. That way, you may not win, but at least you can take something away from the races.
Once your chocobo has both the experience AND has reached a certain stats level of raising, you can advance to the next divison with more rare goodies. It is impossible this way to have a rookie stuck in a division where he is sorely outclassed, and if you give people the option to choose their divisions, a high-class rider can steal all the goodies from fresh new people.

This is all I've thought out so far. To Summarize:
-Allow user control. More skill-based rather than the same outcome over and over. Possible to have "Good" riders and "Poor" riders
-Allow the people who are finished the race to exit instead of waiting to prevent abuse of user control.
-Have several different raising items, from foods to key items, from questable items to /ex items for variety. Variety IS the spice of life, after all.
-Have nearly everything on the AH as a possible prize in some division, and make the expensive items (haub, scorp harness, etc.) the rarest of the rare prizes in the top division, to prevent abuse. This means you must have raced a long time, have an exceptional chocobo, AND have poured money and time into finding the best raising items before you can even have a crack at a haubergeon as a prize.
-Have unique items for raising and for fighting that you can't get elsewhere, and are ACTUALLY WORTH TRYING TO GET. If the best prize is a new Rare/ex house decoration, nobody cares. If the best possible prize is a Rare/ex item that is superior to 99% of the items out there, but the chances of it actually being a prize in the highest league are slim, that keeps people coming back.
-Have divisions. Do not let the incredibly powerful people in the same division as the new person.
-Each race is a separate event in its own separate world, so you can have multiple races at the same time.
-Give prizes to a few, but experience to everyone. Varying experience depending on how the rider did.
-Advance trough the divisions by experience AND reaching a "Raising abilities cap". Advancing increases the cap on how high you can raise your abilities, to reflect the chocobo's new rank.
-This means that races cannot be "fixed" insofaras an underdog and his friends cannot advance to the final division without putting effort into raising, AND so that a chocobo is adequately prepared to race in a tougher league.
-Each food or raising item increases abilities by a set value, and the cap similar to the merit system. Therefore, one can have a well-rounded chocobo, a speed-demon, a long-distance runner, BUT NOT ALL AT THE SAME TIME. EX: In division C, you can add 30 points. Feeding the choco the "Greens of incredible speed boosts" adds 5 to his top speed and 2 to accelleration. You have 23 more points to toy with.


Above all: MAKE IT WORTH OUR TIME. Whether it be super-powerful prizes, lots of gil, or Imperial Standing, or whatever... Give the players a reason to put time and effort into being the best. Extremely rare and valuable rewards are guaranteed to make people want to race into the late hours of the night for that last experience point... for the chance to win a big reward someday.

My 2 gil

Edited, Aug 4th 2006 at 1:39am EDT by Antonidasvalefor

Edited, Aug 4th 2006 at 1:40am EDT by Antonidasvalefor

I would really like to be able to follow the chocobo race, and be able to see whats going on. And if we're sitting in the stands *which I assume we are*, then I'd like maybe a third person view behind my chocobo//the one i bet on. Maybe kind of an omnicient view. I know this would probably FFXI's servers, but if they can put up w/ besiged, then they could probably do that. Another suggestion, maybe allow people to view current chocobo maches at Home Point crystals. Like, have an option to view what's going on for conquest points or IS or gil. Not make bets, only be able to bet if you're actually at the arena, but be able to see what's going on. Kind of like Lineage 2. I think maybe you should also be able to root for your chocobo // chocobo you bet on, and it have some affect on the jocky riding that chocobo. And maybe... once in a while.... allow us to race?? Maybe a diorama so that the players can race just for fun, but not be able to bet. We'd sure be obliged ^_^. Also, if your Chocobo is the winner, you should get some sort of reward that MAKES IT WORTH OUR TIME. I mean, i'd love the title Chocobo Raiser Extrodinair! and some gil, but maybe something a little more worth while, like mog item, some chocobo items, or some points that i could use to spend at the chocobo stables... or something. I think 2nd and 3rd place should get chocobo tickets :P

I think everyone would love the similarities to FFVII version of racing and gambling.

What I would love to see is:

A piece of armor or a harness for the chocobo, equipment and a title that you can win if you get first place in say regular tournaments that are held regularly like Ballista/Brenner. Being able to knock you opponent off his choco if we were to ride them. Chocobo has special racing abilities depending on how raised. WAR-CHOCOBOS. Being able to jump over obstacles >.>.

A Chocobo crown or something of the sort could show how accomplished the chocobo has been in racing.

A harness for the chocobo when in inventory, increases riding stats?

IF user control was allowed, equipment could have stats just for chocobo racing.

A title, but that SE already has planned I bet.

I was laughing when I thought if there could be Chocobo Jousting! lol. But that maybe seems far fetched.

Gambling wise, I dont gamble, maybe play poker, and tetra master isnt -inside- FFXI so o well on card games... unless.........

Chocobo ARMOR!!!! KWEHH!!! PLEASE! >.>

Be able to have moogles fly with you during race O.O ok now im thinking crazy im tired thats all kthxbai


PS this profile hasnt been updated so please dont /check my gear >.<



Edited, Aug 4th 2006 at 2:08am EDT by Kronoh

I think the ideal of having the races with chocos is a good ideal and a great way to blow more time in the game (not saying it's all bad)
I agree to the betting of gil, I mean why not it beats killing greedy gobs of their gil lol.
I agree to the collecting points if your choco wins for maybe for your choco. Like new harness, a helmet, socks even.
I hate to have to disagree on the beening able to ride your choco in races. It would be fun but to countless doing your racing and trying to learn cuts. Also the fact of peoples connections would hurt alot of people on judging if they should ease down or keep full throttle (sorry also a car guy).
Hmm having the winning chocobo gets a new bed for the chocobo lol
Well as they say theres my 2 gil

-Radel
World of Ifrit

Those people that seem to prefer being able to ride the chocobos themselves, take a good look the next time your party walks towards a camp. You will notice that people either run faster than you, then fall back, or fall back and catch up. Such behaviour would be detrimental to a race, so the actual movement should be done by the server.


My vision on chocobo racing:

Players will ride on their chocobos, but not be able to control their movement directly. It will be possible to tell your chocobo to speed up or slow down.
Speeding up will allow your chocobo to overtake another chocobo, but also drain it's stamina faster. Slowing down will reduce the stamina drain or even allow it to recover a bit, but also allows others to overtake you. Running out of stamina will cause a chocobo to either slow down a lot.

Depending on the behaviour of the chocobo, it will tend to act on it's own. Some chocobos tend to be more aggresive and competitive, trying to outrun everyone if unchecked (but running out of stamina before reaching the finish.) Others are more docile, content to just walk the track and not bothering to win without the rider's urging them to speed up.

Each race requires an entree fee, and chocobos can move up in challenge ranks after winning a number of races. Higher challenge ranks cost more to enter, but also give greater rewards. Each player will receive a reward after the race(an item and some gil), and can use Imperial Standing to buy special items, like equipment for chocobos, special chocobo feed, chocobo eggs and chocobo related equipment for the player itself (ie HQ2 and HQ3 chocobo riding & digging gear)

Players that do not ride can choose to bet on a single chocobo, or predict the first 3. The gil earned by all players in the race (riders and betters) will always be equal or less then the total entree and betting fees. (Betting fees will have a 10% tax, obviously. Riders will not pay a tax, as they are already entertaining the crowds)

Races will always have NPC riders, to ensure fairness and avoid exploits by RMT. These NPC riders might even offer additional quests if you beat them (perhaps beating certain NPC riders is a requirement to go up in racing rank.)

I wont attempt to try and write an essay on how one could implement Chocobo racing, because you could indeed write a lot on the subject, and be very expansive with it. I would simply like to make one small suggestion that would make it very interesting.

Create some sort of ladder type system in game, to chart wins and losses. Have perhaps several different types of races, or different tracks even, and have them all in a ladder system, similar to an auction house system, where players could view all of the racing data from different players, and compete for top 10 spot's. Of course, the ladder would need to have a normal reset period every so often. Perhaps implement a Rating system, where you can gain higher rating numbers for more wins.

If the developers can be careful to design chocobo racing to be very fair, competitive, and have something to work toward (a top 5 spot on a ladder for example) then players willtake to this chocobo racing thing like crazy, and SE would be having to expand to it even further in the future i believe. It has to be competitive though, and fair.

I would personally like to see SE go all out on the implementation of this new feature, make the chocobo racing arena vibrant and busy, like a real racing track. Racing music, leader boards, etc etc.

I have to say however that I am more looking forward to the "Arena" that has been said to be comming toward the end of the year, around December. I hope SE really goes all out on the arena as well, more so than the racing. How awesome would it be to sign up and fight big beasts with a crowd of people watching, or having the ability to "own" a beast and pit your beast against other's beast, while everyone sits in the stadium and watches the 2 mob's fight one another. I cant wait to see how it will work

I'd like to see Chocobo Jousting lol yea it's mostlikey not going to happen, but just think about it. I mean there will be different types of chocobos we can develop as I seen a jpg on the playonline site. So I got to thinking, why not!? aside from JUST racing, why couldn't we. I'm sure alot of players are tired of the way the fundamental root of this game is... exp PT, camp sit there for who knows how long just to get a few K of exp which frankly was cool back when EQ came out like a decade ago lol but that's beside the point. So I believe if SE wants us around they better keep this game fresh with cool new innovated aspects to entice long time players like many of us to keep playing because I don't want to go play WoW. I lost alot of LS members and good friends that now play WoW and will never come back to playing FFXI. PLEASE SE I BEG YOU, DON'T MAKE ME GO PLAY WOW, I want to stay in the world of Van'a Diel. I like my taru.

Lastly why don't you put a gaming/casino house in Aht Urgan? Something for us mercenarys to do after along day of Assaulting/Besieged or trying to get that darn warp Taru back from the clutches of the enemy forces. Something like in FFVII the GoldenSaucer. Maybe if you had Tetra Master intergrated into these so called houses and made it to where you didn't have to have another Content ID, people would actually play it. Unlike when I just checked it out and only saw... not even 6 people on. So aside from the round about 500,000 active Content IDs out there SE is trying to squeeze 6 more bucks a month, not even that I don't think... come on SE. So If you win a Chocobo Race, a prize could be some cool cards. But these are just my rants which probably SE won't care to acknowledge but I'm sure alot of FF fans would think that would be cool of them to do so because like many of you players out there, I'm sick of just standing in Lower Jeuno/Whitegate just standing there, doing nothing because there's nobody on, not enough people your lvl range to make a PT, your Auctions are full or whatever reason, you all know what I'm talking about.