Final Fantasy 11 Team Explores Adding New Areas as Player Count Explodes

Although Final Fantasy 11 turns 24 this year, the MMORPG enjoyed a large boost successful concurrent subordinate number acknowledgment to the palmy Final Fantasy 14 crossover event. In airy of this unexpected emergence successful popularity, FF11’s existent manager Yoji Fujito talked astir what’s adjacent for the online game, suggesting that a marque caller country and communicative could beryllium successful the pipeline.

In a caller Famitsu interview, Fujito hinted that the squad mightiness beryllium capable to adhd caller areas and storylines to FF11. However, helium explained that method issues and a shortage of unit means that they can’t conscionable simply adhd a caller country onto the 24 twelvemonth aged online crippled ASAP.

Although FF11 has been moving its aging carnal servers to virtual servers, this inaugural is to guarantee the crippled remains playable successful its existent state, and nary changes were made with a presumption to supporting a large-scale expansion. “Even if we determine to adhd a caller area, we cannot bash this utilizing accepted methods astatine contiguous due to the fact that we person tally retired of IDs for management. However, we cognize that we tin escaped up a fewer ID slots, truthful we are presently investigating however we tin marque usage of this,” Fujito explained, adding that these efforts whitethorn marque it imaginable to adhd a caller country to the game. “Depending connected the results, I consciousness that immoderate benignant of task mightiness get underway.”

Fujito emphasized that the squad is presently laying the groundwork for imaginable caller FF11 communicative content. FF11 hasn't had a caller episodic communicative since The Voracious Resurgence, and portion of the crushed for this is that storywriting unit are presently tied up with different projects astatine Square Enix. But, erstwhile they person finished, “we are readying to person them instrumentality to the FF11 squad to spot if they tin nutrient thing new,” Fujito said. At the aforesaid time, engineers are moving connected graphics assets absorption middleware. “Once we resoluteness this, it volition beryllium imaginable to marque caller cutscenes again,” Fujito added.

Last year, Final Fantasy 14 kicked disconnected the Echoes of Vana’diel crossover lawsuit with FF11, which brought renewed attraction to the FF series’ archetypal MMORPG outing. Old adventurers and caller players alike were drawn to FF11 acknowledgment to EoV, a invited backmost initiative, the revamped Limbus and the Mog Bonanza weapons giveaway, pushing up the subordinate count. Much to the developers’ surprise, alternatively than taking a impermanent abrogation to Vana’diel, players look to beryllium sticking with seasoned MMO.

This unforeseen emergence successful concurrent players forced Square Enix to adjacent immoderate servers to newcomers to forestall overpopulation. “We predicted that galore radical would effort retired FF11 and soon halt playing, truthful we expected the subordinate surge to spell backmost down, nevertheless galore players person chosen to enactment successful Vana’diel,” said Fujito. “Overall, the precocious subordinate number has been unchangeable with nary abrupt drop.”

Echoes of Vana’diel besides attracted streamers to FF11, with Fujito noting: “I consciousness that we reached an assemblage we hadn’t reached before.” The EoV crossover triggered a virtuous rhythm of FF14 players becoming funny successful FF11 and checking retired streams. “They past think, ‘I privation to springiness it a spell myself,’ and commencement playing (FF11) and sharing info astir it.”

Over the past year, the Final Fantasy 11 improvement squad has gradually revamped the game’s Limbus contented for precocious level players truthful the trouble and rewards amended lucifer today’s playerbase. Fujito noted that their extremity is to “prioritize easiness of play for solo players and tiny groups.” To this end, the squad has besides been enhancing the Faces system, which allows solo players to make a virtual enactment for squad quests, bringing virtual quality levels in-line with the player’s.

Fujito revealed that Limbus’s revamp is slated to wrapper up this June, erstwhile they volition adhd the last brag and 2 caller accompanying conflict themes by seasoned FF11 composer Naoshi Mizuta.

He besides acknowledged the crisp differences successful trouble level betwixt FF11’s worlds. “We recognize that this is an issue,” Fujito said, adding that the squad plans to look into adjusting Grace buffs aft the Limbus revamp is completed. “If we were to set it, we would marque azygous adjustments to Grace buff speeds crossed each worlds alternatively of dealing with each satellite individually.”

FF11 was initially released connected PC and PS2 mode backmost successful 2002. Nowadays, with automatic updates, online stores and achievements, connecting your PC oregon current-gen crippled console to the net is simply a no-brainer, truthful it’s casual to hide that FF11 comes from a procreation successful which hooking up your console to the net was inactive a novelty. It required attaching a chunky proprietary Sony HDD to the backmost of the archetypal abdominous exemplary PS2, plugging successful the ethernet cablegram and praying your net was unchangeable capable for you to bask the game.

Although PS2 connections to FF11 servers ended enactment successful 2016, FF11 is inactive live connected PC. What’s much it seems to beryllium thriving beyond Square Enix’s expectations, 24 years and 3 console generations on.

Verity Townsend is simply a Japan-based freelance writer who antecedently served arsenic editor, contributor and translator for the crippled quality tract Automaton West. She has besides written astir Japanese civilization and movies for assorted publications.