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VanaFest 2012 Recap: The Facts

We recapped all of the exciting new announcements from VanaFest 2012, along with a developer interview!

The interview took place at the end of day one and was conducted by ZAM (myself), Curse, JPgames.de, FinalFantasy.de, mmorpg.com and jeuxonline. Developers in attendance included Director Mizuki Ito, Associate Director Yoji Fuito, Planner Yoshitsugu Saito, Planner Masaru Taniguchi. John Townsend acted as interpreter.

Questions and answers have been paraphrased for clarity.

ZAM: In 2004, there was a history book called "Life in Vana'diel," which contained detailed timelines for the three nations that hinted at events in future expansions. So, it was obvious things had been planned far in advance. With Adoulin, you said you wanted to start fresh, with a brand new continent, so I was wondering how far in advance have you planned for the setting of this new expansion?

A: There are portions of Adoulin that have been planned well in advance, and there are things from the timelines that they have incorporated into the expansion. The timelines between in year one, but in Adoulin, they will explore events that happened even before that. When they decided this expansion would take place in the West, they decided to flesh out that early history even more.

Curse: Can you reiterate the exploration system you will implement and how it will work?

A: As a brief review, you have areas--like an uncharted frontier--and for each area there  is a cultivation percentage. The more things you do there, the more area you explore and the more quests you do, you can increase that percentage. As you bring that up and explore more, through not just fighting, but other playstyles as well, it will have effects on the game world itself and you will get benefits from that. Players will see the effort they put into exploration reflected in the world.

JPgames.de: I would like to know about the style of the continent. Treasures of Aht Urghan had an Arabian feel, for example.

A: The city of Adoulin itself has a Spanish or Mediterranean image. In the presentation this morning, there was a castle town, which exhibits that style. They are trying to give Adoulin the feel of a city with a long history and something that's different from the other cities, though they do have trade relations with San d'Oria, so there's a bit of San d'Orian influence.

FinalFantasy.de: Can you give us some additional information about Geomancer?

A: Basically, Geomancy stacks with and works in conjunction with White Magic, so it has buffs and debuffs. The job is going to be technically oriented, using positioning to set up fields and manuver party members and enemies into them to grant buffs to the party and debuffs to the enemy. There are also bonuses based on your position relative to the enemy, so it will be an active job with a lot of moving around, but if you use that positioning effectively, you can bring a lot of support.

Geomancers will have an area of effect around them and a second one they can place at a difference. It will be a highly technical job, but one you can utilize to great effectiveness. It's buffs will stack with White Magic, so they complement each other well.

mmorpg.com: Where did the inspiration for the new expansion come from? Was it about creating new experiences for players that have been playing a long time?

A: It might seem like they decided to announce this to coincide with the 10th anniversary, but the timing just worked out well. After Wings of the Goddess, you had the add-ons and then Abyssea, so after that they decided it was time for another full expansion and the timing was perfect.

JeuxOnLine: I understand you wanted to create something fresh, but many players wanted to see Tenzen again. Why did you choose not to explore Tenzen's background in the Far East?

A: They understand a lot of players have fond feelings towards characters like Tenzen, but they really wanted to do something that longterm players and new players could both enjoy on the same level. In the East and the South, there would be certain limitations in terms of the story, where it would have to tie into events in the past. The best option was to set the expansion in the Far West in a land that has not been explored. You will get to expereince one part of that new land this time, and there is still much more of that huge continent to explore in the future.

As for Tenzen... as long as the world of Vana'diel lives on, that story is there to be told, so they won't say there is zero possibility of seeing him again.

ZAM: There are a number of buffers and enfeeblers already in the game, so Geomancer needs to set itself apart. It has directional and strategical gameplay, but will it have any buffs or debuffs that are rare or even unique to the job, such as Regain, which was mentioned. And they said Geomancer will also equip a bell in the throwing slot... how does that affect its gameplay?

A: As far as any new buffs or debuffs that might be introduced, since the job is still under development, they want to do a lot of balance testing before they make any final decisions. As for the bell, you can think of it like musical instruments for a Bard. You'll have the Geomancy skill and the Bell skill. The combination of those skills will determine the effectiveness of their magic. You can use Geomancy without the bell, but like a Bard with no instruments, and it will reduce the effects of your abilities.

Curse: Traditionally, Geomancer relied on primal, elemental magics, but the Geomancer you have introduced deviates from that original concept. AoE buffs that placed and static in certain areas is a mechanic I've never seen before, so I was wondering where the inspiration for that came from.

A: Basically, you have the Chinese concept of feng shui, like placing certain objects in certain areas in the room to generate good fortune. You see that XI with furniture, but they wanted to incorporate that into the job. You're reading the patterns in the earth and channeling that power to generate magic and grant benefits or inflict enfeebling effects.

JPgames.de: You mentioned the city of Adoulin has trade connections with San d'Oria. What are the relationships with Bastok, Windurst and San d'Oria, and why has this continent just suddenly appeared in the story? Why couldn't we travel there before?

A: They can't talk about it now, but the explanation for why adventurers are only now able to travel to Adoulin will definitely be covered in the story of the expansion itself. While it's true that Adoulin hasn't played a large part in the game itself, in game-related documents, such as Life in Vana'diel, which was mentioned earlier, there has been mention of a nation in the west with trade relations with San d'Oria. There have also been some items, like the totem pole or Bison Jacket, which are said to originate in the west. So, in the official lore material, there has always been some mention of the Far West, and they drew upon some of these when creating the expansion. 

FinalFantasy.de: There is no version of Final Fantasy XI for the PS3. Are there any plans to develop one? In Europe, there are no HDDs available for the PS2.

A: At the moment, there are no plans to develop a PS3 version. They already have the PS2 game, and they plan to continue supporting the PS2. They don't feel it would be the best use of resources to work on the PS3. Unfortunately, Square Enix is not a hardware manufacturer. They would love to release a HDD, but there is nothing they can do.

mmorpg.com: Will there be a new race for player characters?

A: The short answer is no--there will be no new playable races. In terms of the story and the world of Vana'diel, there are five races, so to suddenly add a new one would throw all that lore out the window. However, in terms of something like Goblins or other non-playable characters, you may see something in the future.

JeuxOnLine: Why did you make an expansion pack aimed at new players when there are not many new players coming to the game? Or are you planning on ways to attract new players? For example, Tanaka mentioned the possiblity of a PS Vita version. 

A: When the PS Vita was announced, Tanaka said they could explore the possibility of a PS Vita version, but it turned out it wasn't really feasible. As for the expansion, they said befoe they wanted content that could be enjoyed by new and old players alike. By that, they also meant players that been away for a few years and are just now coming back. They're not so much looking to attract brand new users, as the expansion is more geared towards high level players. Players starting from scratch can enjoy existing expansions, level themselves to a certain point, and know there is this whole new place in the Far West they still have to explore.

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Comments

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6 years between this and the last expansion?
# Jun 26 2012 at 9:05 PM Rating: Default
45 posts
I'm still not seeing a new graphics engine. No more money for SE until I do. "But the servers and the bandwidth!" Please.

Edited, Jun 26th 2012 11:09pm by Dragir
Exodus?
# Jun 26 2012 at 2:12 AM Rating: Excellent
*****
12,735 posts
That new GUI looks interesting...cept for the fact that I'm a blonde hume.

W-T-F Smiley: laugh
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