[Dyire]

As promised in the Topics post of December 10, we would today like to announce the date and content details of the forthcoming mid-December version update.

◆Date & Times
Wednesday, December 15, 2010 from 3:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.

◆Contents

• New enemies, including notorious monsters
• New guildleves
• Many new recipes
• Further improvements to the naming and organization of market wards
• An additional free retainer slot
• Improved response times on the retainer exchange interface
• Further improvements to the user interface
• Increased text limit for chat log input

For a complete list of changes, please see the comprehensive details posted on the day of the version update.

◆Second December Version Update
The development team is continuing to take player feedback to heart concerning the item search feature of the market wards. We are currently aiming to introduce the first of several changes by year's end, and assure you that additional improvements will be ongoing in order to make a more intuitive and functional system.

Details regarding the date and content of the second December version update will be announced in a future Topics post.

Until then, we hope that you continue to enjoy your adventures in Eorzea!

[CerGoltana]

Quote

◆Second December Version Update
The development team is continuing to take player feedback to heart concerning the item search feature of the market wards. We are currently aiming to introduce the first of several changes by year's end, and assure you that additional improvements will be ongoing in order to make a more intuitive and functional system.

Details regarding the date and content of the second December version update will be announced in a future Topics post.

Until then, we hope that you continue to enjoy your adventures in Eorzea!

In other words, the current market and item search feature sucks ass totally (mainly because there is no item search feature), and the market wards are crowded as fuck as is. To add insult to injury, adding additional retainers is going to only going to compound the issue. Sooner or later, SE is going to have to implement a way to remove all those idle retainer shops and convert them into an organized shop system (auction house comes to mind).

I will admit, however, that implementing player feedback is the only way to attack problems. Not all of the feedback is going to be useful or possible to use, but I think the majority of people will admit the user interface sucks and running around wards looking for items also sucks

[Corrderio]

CerGoltana, on 15 December 2010 - 01:11 PM, said:

In other words, the current market and item search feature sucks ass totally (mainly because there is no item search feature), and the market wards are crowded as fuck as is. To add insult to injury, adding additional retainers is going to only going to compound the issue. Sooner or later, SE is going to have to implement a way to remove all those idle retainer shops and convert them into an organized shop system (auction house comes to mind).

I will admit, however, that implementing player feedback is the only way to attack problems. Not all of the feedback is going to be useful or possible to use, but I think the majority of people will admit the user interface sucks and running around wards looking for items also sucks

I said it before and I'll say it again. The more SE adjusts the retainer system the more it feels like an AH with extra hurdles to jump over. So why not cut to the chase and remove the retainer system and add a modified XI AH system in it's place?

[Wildstriker]

Corrderio, on 15 December 2010 - 06:07 PM, said:

I said it before and I'll say it again. The more SE adjusts the retainer system the more it feels like an AH with extra hurdles to jump over. So why not cut to the chase and remove the retainer system and add a modified XI AH system in it's place?

This boggles my mind. I can't imagine anyone who would quit the game if they used an AH system or economy in FFXI, so why are they so hesitant to just abolish the retainer system and wards altogether?

[Corrderio]

Wildstriker, on 15 December 2010 - 08:47 PM, said:

This boggles my mind. I can't imagine anyone who would quit the game if they used an AH system or economy in FFXI, so why are they so hesitant to just abolish the retainer system and wards altogether?

Quote

Final Fantasy XI, the company's first MMO, which it first launched in Japan in 2002, pioneered the now-traditional auction house system.

Said Tanaka, that system "encouraged interaction between different players. One of the benefits of the system was that it was cross-region, and though it was cross-region we had a communication assist system so players could communicate with each other 24 hours a day. However, because the information on prices was open and everyone knew the prices, it wouldn't cause any mistreatment of players."

However, the company saw a downside -- since all players on all servers and in all regions knew the "right" prices for items, this increased deflation. This encouraged the developers to take a different tact with Final Fantasy XIV.

While Tanaka says that the company was aware that the system, which has players hire NPCs to sell their goods, would create an "inconvenience" for players, the team chose this direction to "avoid some of the disadvantages of Final Fantasy XI's system; players can make some profit out of this deal."

SOURCE: http://www.bluegartr...te-at-GDC-China

I don't know what Tanaka and the team were smoking when they came up with the reatiner system, but that has to be some good shit. And he'll be in a for a surprise when the search feature is added to retainers. I see undercutting happening left and right.