RandomNPC – Video Game RPG Reviews, Editorials, and Features

With over a year since its launch fiasco, Final Fantasy XIV has seen extensive overhaul efforts and is nearing a re-release of sorts. Over on the Lodestone, Square Enix’s Yoichi Wada and Naoki Yoshida have announced a slew of upcoming changes for the game, not the least of which is a plan to roll out the previously suspended subscription model. Further updates have been broken down into a bulleted list, which includes the following:

• Redesign of repetitive zones: using more unique themes and breaking up larger areas, along with an overhaul of object and enemy placement.
• Implementing a new graphics engine: flexible customization options for the PC and smoothing out gameplay on the PS3.
• Construction of a new, more efficient server system: “party/content matching” for players across World servers, higher-speed searches, and so on; basic functionality is expected by February, with content matching and other features to come over the following year.
• A “fully renewed user interface”: a system for automatic equipment changes, UI customization that can toggle between text and icon display, and specialized interfaces for both KBAM and gamepad users.
• Expansion of in-game community content: PvP content, player housing, market system and retainer revamps, etc.

These updates and others comprise the game’s shift to 2.0 on the PC. This will later be integrated with the PlayStation 3 version, expected to release sometime between October and December of 2012. Subscription services will begin around late November/early December of this year.

The full scope of the changes, including design documents, can be found on the Lodestone.