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Well, I guess this was the obvious outcome, wasn’t it??

There’s been so much buzz around Heavensward that I decided to download Final Fantasy 14 and run the 2 week free trial on my PC. I’m not into MMOs, though, but so far I guess it’s not too bad! It’s gameplay feels more user friendly and enjoyable than my previous two forays into MMO’s (WoW and SWTOR). I sure as heck like the music, and Eorzea is an elegant and colorful world. I definitely prefer its aesthetic over WoW. I’ve also found playing solo fairly easy, which is a plus since I’m wildly antisocial in social games. I also like how all job classes are open to me after the level 10 quest in my primary job class. It reduces the feeling that I’m missing out on other content if I’m not sporting multiple characters, and even gives XP boosts to any job class that I’m leveling that’s lower than my highest level job. My big concern is that it’s a huge time sink, as are any MMOs, which is why I usually just avoid them. I’m also easily overwhelmed by the amount of learning required to play the game well. It feels like learning another language, minus any practicality. Every time I’ve tried to get into one, I find myself with feelings of guilt that I’m not expending all that time and brain power into learning to play an instrument, or a programming language, or just doing more art! Most likely I won’t even manage to hit level 20 before my free trial runs out, at which point I’ll have to see if I’m enamored with it enough to sign up for the minimum $10 monthly subscription. But simply the fact that FF14 has gotten me to like it as much as I have in this short amount of time is a testament to its quality!

Published on July 12, 2015 by Alex Kolesar

Kid Chaos

Do you ever get that sinking feeling?
- http://www.nn4b.com suburban_samurai
  
  Never.
http://www.zapcomic.com/ Pascalle Lepas

He really woke up on the wrong side of the flooded cargo ship.
- Astralfury
  
  There is a right side..?
  - Speedy Marsh
    
    The outside.
charles81

The Jap junk is sinking
Ricardo is snoring
bumped his head
on the deck from his bed
and realised a chap
had been boreing
- leavescat
  
  You do remember that this is very specifically not a Japanese boat? This is actually pretty important.
  - http://www.nn4b.com suburban_samurai
    
    I tried looking for boat reference for what a Japanese cargo ship would look like, and didn’t have much luck until after I’d drawn the page that it first appeared. So the boat IS supposed to be Japanese, but it really should be rowed by indentured servants, with a quarter master beating drums to make them row, and it probably shouldn’t have the western style sails. It’s a historically inaccurate mess of a boat! On top of that, those hand cranks that the priests used in the last page probably didn’t exist in the time period either. I’m just making stuff up left and right! Trying to be historically accurate is quite possible the most stressful part of this comic.
    - Xinef
      
      Don’t worry, at least the KADOOOSH! is historically accurate 😉
      - Rose
        
        Probably. I mean, just look at modern Japan. Day-to-day life there is basically a social form of KADOOSH!. Just with snide remarks and ambition instead of giant blades.
    - Dichu
      
      Historical accuracy is for chumps. Just throw in a few more hot dog vendors and time travelers and people will stop worrying about it.
    - leavescat
      
      I thought this was the Portuguese trading ship, and forgot that they moved the cargo.
      - http://www.nn4b.com suburban_samurai
        
        I just wish I’d made the ship more obviously Japanese! REGRET
    - Sunwu
      
      I’m still pushing for the theory that Matrix and Lex have disrupted the space time continuum just by being there. As a result historical inaccuracies will occur in this universe, its the same reason why famous historical Japanese figures from this time don’t exist in NN4B’s world.
      - Xinef
        
        Then… where did Matrix and Lex come from? Are they a historical inaccuracy caused by themselves? They don’t seem like historical figures to me 😛 (yet)
      - Sunwu
        
        Alternatively, perhaps they aren’t time travelers and this isn’t the “real” japan at all and matrix and Lex are playing a big high tech computer simulation game against each other.
      - Rose
        
        This theory is probably usable to justify a Japanese ship with Western sails. Once the chain of occurring events is altered, anything is possible, right?
      - Sunwu
        
        Yeah in the words of Dr. Who “Wibbly Wobbly timey whimey!”
  - charles81
    
    So in answer to your question. No, I do not remember that this is very specifically not a Japanese boat 😉 BUT I will acknowledge that it is likely of new build and design, heavily influenced by ideas of the visiting westerners at the port.
    
    It’s sinking shall likely set in Japanese boat builder’s heads that it is of inferior quality and they will never again make anything based remotely on Western boat building principles.
Rose

Man, I hate it when I wake up and my sale-ready death-splosives have been completely ruined by Portuguese-speaking foreigners. I mean, what’s their deal anyways? Some people just want you to have a bad day.
- http://www.nn4b.com suburban_samurai
  
  This is basically how Ricardo thinks.
  - Rose
    
    Well, sure. What’s a totally practical, breakfast-loving businessman to do?
- psYcHOticHiCKeN
  
  Globalization: “The rising tide that lifts all boats”
IDPounder

I wanted to let you gentlemen know that my NN4B books from the Kickstarter have arrived in good order, thank you very much! Alex, I really enjoy the sketch of Yumiko. Even in limited detail I thought you captured her pathos well.
- http://www.nn4b.com suburban_samurai
  
  I’m glad to hear it! Which Yumiko did you request? I had a lot of Yumiko requests, which I should’ve anticipated. There were surprisingly few Cho requests. Ina ended up being the most requested, which both surprised and pleased me, since I always fear that her general nagging makes her more annoying than likable.
  - IDPounder
    
    I requested a sketch of her playing a shamisen. I’d noticed one in her trophy room, so imagined that she might like to make music on occasion.
    - http://www.nn4b.com suburban_samurai
      
      I actually found that a really wonderfully unique request and it’s convinced me to put that scene in the comic in some capacity.
      - IDPounder
        
        How cool! If you’d like, I can scan the one you did and send/post the image for reference, just let me know.
      - http://www.nn4b.com suburban_samurai
        
        I actually took a photo of every sketch I did, I just haven’t posted any of them yet!
foducool

“damn, I wet the bed again?”
KungFuKlobber

I always suspected he was all wet.
Sunwu

@the first three panels: Ah yes the old “hand in the glass of water” trick taken to a new level. Genchu is Great when comes to slumber party pranks ! You should have seen him when he was over at the Wataro’s, Kimonos in the freezer, Chickens as hidden alarm clocks, and Yori’s dad woke up with the sickest Manicure.
- Charvale
  
  Well… at least it wasn’t warm water…
  - http://www.nn4b.com suburban_samurai
    
    Nope, just freezing cold river water. What a relief!
- Xinef
  
  Wars have happened to delete the photos from those parties…
- http://www.nn4b.com suburban_samurai
  
  You should’ve seen Genchu in college, at the top of his game.
Hfar

“What’s this? It’s not time for my bimonthly bath!”

…

Interesting. I remember that the initial release of FF14 was considered rather bad overall but over the past couple of years I’ve been seeing more people saying they enjoyed it. I guess they really improved it with that reboot.
- http://www.nn4b.com suburban_samurai
  
  FF14 went through a rocky start when t was initially released back in late 2010(?) and it was totes busted. It was glitchy and most of the gameplay systems weren’t in place or balanced, and the world was mostly barren. They replaced the game’s producer, and basically rebuilt the entire game with a new engine, then shut down the old version and launched Realm Reborn at the same time in late 2011, and it turned out to actually be good! Or at least that’s how I understand the story. Not a common scenario, usually a bad MMO just fades away.
  - HunterX57
    
    They added the Gold Saucer just before Heavensward as well so you don’t require the expansion to access it and it opens up around lvl 15 with airship travel. Plus when you solo into the higher levels you can bring a chocobo with you outside of dungeons as a dps/healer/tank depending on how you raise it. Lots of options for people to gain XP on or ways to play it other than “hardcore” end game content grinds nonstop. Plus allowing players to play all the classes and jobs allows you to slow the pace of the game back down and start a new class at lvl 1 a bunch of times if you wanted to. It’s come leaps and bounds since “1.0” or the beta version which flopped in 2010.
Adam Latosiński

These boxes float?! Either they were emptied out of guns and ammo beforehand, or they are waterrpoof and still contain enough air to make up for the weight of weapons.
- Sunwu
  
  Maybe Ricardo was trying to cheat them by selling Fake guns.
  - Da’Zlein
    
    Styrofoam guns, the ingenuity! He even kept one that was real so that he could demonstrate the not-fakeness!
    - Sunwu
      
      yes
- http://www.nn4b.com suburban_samurai
  
  Clearly the boxes are just stacked up and have been shifted around because of the water, why not!! Now let us never speak of this ‘physics’ again!
  - leavescat
    
    So you’re saying that Ricardo is unconsciously making the boxes float with his mind?
    
    Oh wait you said “PHYSics”.
    - http://www.nn4b.com suburban_samurai
      
      Right, psychics are totally ON THE TABLE.
      - Sunwu
        
        Really ’cause it looks like that idea is DEAD IN THE WATER
      - Kid Chaos
        
        Or the Tao.
      - Astralfury
        
        What about witchcraft? If he doesn’t drown he might be a witch after all.
  - Nomad94
    
    whatever floats your boat.
Minando

New swimming pool in the cellar, remember ?
- Sunwu
  
  Ricardo: But I don’t have a cellar!
  Genchu: You do now…
CaptainBetrayer

I dislike waking up from wet dreams as well.

As a current player of FFXIV, I HATE that it’s basically hitting both my nostalgia and “this is actually great” buttons.
- http://www.nn4b.com suburban_samurai
  
  So it’s a love/hate relationship, is what you’re saying.
Xinef

I wonder what’s going on in his mind… probably “How am I going to cook breakfast in these conditions!?!”
- http://www.nn4b.com suburban_samurai
  
  It ain’t gonna be fish, that’s fer sure!
Lady Courage

The new water feature really enhances the resale value of the ship.
- Xinef
  
  And the holes improve air conditioning, amongst other things ^_^
  - Lady Courage
    
    Genchu, Alva and Vasu: The stars of JMTV’s ship improvement show, Ship Design on a Dime.
    - Da’Zlein
      
      Yo dawg, we heard you liked to float, so we put water in your boat so you can float while you float
jwkovell

Poor Ricardo is just trying to keep his head above water and his business afloat.
- TheMaskedFerret
  
  However, he forgot to implement a sinking fund for his boat, so now the market is flooded and he doesn’t have any ballast to move around.
  - Brandenfascher
    
    That’s too bad; he was feeling very buoyant about his earlier sales prospect, but now his expression has sunk.
    - Da’Zlein
      
      And with the market this saturated, how is an honest businessman supposed to keep his nose dry?
      - Xinef
        
        I was considering diving right into this conversation, but I’m just starting to get my feet wet with all this fancy schmancy economy.
      - Kid Chaos
        
        The puns are getting too deep; I’ve got to come up for air.
      - http://crowlitch.tumblr.com Crowlitch
        
        Water
      - Kid Chaos
        
        No, we’ve got more than enough of that already.
- Sunwu
  
  Now it’s dead in the water
- Adam Latosiński
  
  His assets have been liquidated.
  - TheMaskedFerret
    
    Some one drilled down into his financial statements and leaked the results to the press. Shaking up a boring financial situation, the gun market in Japan was immersed in speculation after an insider revealed that Ricardo’s Gun, Inc. had been floating too many loans and could not get a bailout when his associates perforated the company’s deck of financial cards.
    - http://www.nn4b.com suburban_samurai
      
      I’m declaring you the winner, Ferret. You know, of the contest…?
      - TheMaskedFerret
        
        I am honored, sir.
        Also, I introduced my wife to No Need For Bushido because of this. She likes the art.
- reynard61
  
  “In feudal-era Japan, market floods you!”
Flaming Squirrel

Ricardo just went from a shooting game to a water level. I understand his confusion.
My stance on mmos is that I won’t pay a monthly fee. I’m already paying to take the game home, I’m not going to pay to play it too. I know it a necessary evil to keep the servers running, but there are already plenty of games I want to play that I only have to pay for once. That said, that’s why I’m interested in Guild Wars 2- gameplay that they say rivals WoW’s, but no monthly fee.
- http://www.nn4b.com suburban_samurai
  
  That monthly subscription is a big turn off for me, I hate feeling obligated to play a game because I’m continuing to pay for it, even though I have plenty of other games I’d like to play. It’s likely the main reason I won’t keep going with 14 after the free trial is over. If I’m gonna play an MMO it’s going to be in a very casual capacity, I don’t need that subscription reminding me that I’m TOO CASUAL!
  - squirejames
    
    I kind of wish they had some kind of time-based fees (like $1/hour) instead. I imagine there are good reasons not to do that, like all the casual players who WILL pay the full monthly fee to play 5 to 10 hours per month.
    - Xinef
      
      The only MMO so far where I liked their business model is Dungeons and Dragons Online… basically, they give you choice:
      Free account = about 1/3 of the game content is available for free… mostly low level stuff… enough to see if you enjoy the game or not.
      Premium account = spend any real money on the game, and your account gets permanently upgraded. The main benefits include being able to participate in 50 in-game auctions at the same time (free accounts are limited to 1) and 20 minutes of being idle before the game kicks you out, instead of 10. Useful if you need to take a short break.
      VIP account = monthly fee, unlocks all game content and gives a few more benefits. If you cancel subscription, your account turns into a premium one.
      
      Add to that micro-transactions at IMHO reasonable prices, that allow you to basically turn a premium or free account into almost a VIP account, permanently. Micro-transactions include adventure packs and new playable classes and races, cosmetic stuff (clothes, pets), consumables (free resurrections and such) and account upgrades (more character slots, shared item storage), also guilds and such… generally, as far as Pay-2-Win is concerned, some adventure packs are needed to make a character who won’t suck at endgame, but the first $10 will make the biggest difference, anything after that is just slight improvement and isn’t really necessary. Also, since the game is not centered around PvP, being slightly weaker than VIPs won’t be a big problem and can be easily overcome with skill.
      
      Add to that the fact the premium currency can be earned in game easily (if slowly).
      
      In the end, if you plan on playing for many months, it’s actually cheaper to not use a VIP account, and instead just purchase the content you want permanently. I think the majority of players who regularly play and reach endgame are actually premium players rather than VIPs. On the contrary, there’s one good reason to purchase a VIP account for exactly one month – to see which adventure packs you’ll want to actually buy.
      
      Also, the whole game is very solo-friendly. Other than raids and maybe two or three adventures, anything else can be soloed. And even some raids can be soloed, if you’re overlevel or just hardcore enough. I’ve had one character who played through about 90% game content without ever joining a party.
      
      If there’s one thing I didn’t like about the game… it’s the fact it was quite buggy. Crashes were common. Some bugs linger for years on the “known but not yet fixed” list… and they seem more eager to add new content, rather than fix the old one. Mind you, I played through wine, since I’m a Linux gamer, so it might have added to the instability 😉
      
      Also, the last time I played was I think… several months ago? I’m not a person who would play the same game for years non-stop. I’ll play for a few months at most, then maybe return after a year or two for another few weeks or months.
      - http://www.nn4b.com suburban_samurai
        
        I looked up D&D online. The payment models is great! An ideal MMO financial plan, for the user at least. I wonder what their profits are like? The game’s aesthetics, though, are not as engaging to me, it’s a little generic looking for me tastes. The thing I’m all about with FF14 is its crazy high budget visuals and polish, which is probably why it’s still subscription based. Although I’m sure D&D’s a fine looking MMO that plays well, 14 is pretty darn incredible, visually. Something about that hyper detailed, super elegant Final Fantasy look really appeals to me!
      - Xinef
        
        Sure… DDO is probably mostly aimed at people who like it more for the tabletop-like experience (with some adventures narrated by Gary Gygax himself [*]). I’ve played D&D 3/3.5 myself, so I know both the settings and mechanics… helps a bit.
        
        As far as FF goes, I’ve only played 1-6 and I think a little bit of 7… so other than playing Moogle mods in Morrowind I’m not that much into the series… oh, and Final Fantasy Tactics Advance was also cool.
        
        Fun fact: I’d consider myself an oldschool gamer, still playing some games from the 90’s… but professionally, I’m doing reaserch of computer graphics, namely real time ray tracing, which means I’m working on ways to make computer graphics more realistic…
      - http://www.nn4b.com suburban_samurai
        
        We wouldn’t get games like Bloodborne without combining old school game design with current gen tech! I’m all for it (despite admittedly sucking at anything on the original NES).
Da’Zlein

Darn it, must’ve forgotten to put on a diaper before going to sleep
Speedy Marsh

Those holey men work fast!

The priest worked too fast. I doubt Rrrrrrrrrrricardo was ready for a baptism.

I suspect the priest was racing to drill more holes than the guru. It’s easy to fall into the sin of acting “Holier than thou”
Mike

I wonder if his arm floaters are little inflatable guns? That’d look so precious!
Thomas Cranor

I’d agree that any MMO isxa time sink, but FFXIV has been a very positive experience for me… Despite the lack of a red mage class…

I’d just warn you to be aware that there are some hardcore players out there who expect people to research everything in advance and skip any and all story content.

They’re not at all common in my experience, but they do exist, and they firmly believe that, having gotten tired of or chased out of every other MMORPG they’ve ever played, it is their duty to force everyone else to conform to their play style.

You have been warned.

(Dungeons require a party, but you need to mention if you’re new to the dungeon so people can give helpful advice, which they will usually give gladly)
- http://www.nn4b.com suburban_samurai
  
  The community has been really pleasant. Lots of players even seem eager to help new players, which is great.
SlugFiller

Thinking about it, the thought of gunpowder meets water makes me wonder how arquebuses were used in the rain.

As for MMOs, you realize the greater majority of them nowadays is completely free, right?
The way I see it, an MMO is indeed such a time sink, that you shouldn’t need to pay for it at all unless it managed to keep you for at least half a year.

If it hasn’t managed to do that with free content alone, then all it did was waste your time. This isn’t like single player games where play-finish-forget is a reasonable way to enjoyably experience the game.
- Xinef
  
  I wouldn’t say single player games are necessarily play-finish-forget. Some single player games (most notably sandboxes and games with procedurally-generated content) are built with infinite replayability in mind… though I agree that multiplayer capability is one of the easiest ways to extend replayability.
  
  Also, MMOs tend to go with the “updates that add content” route, rather than “make sequels” route. But some single player games, especially open source ones, do go with adding more content. Or just mods. As long as people add mods, custom maps, and stuff like that, single player games can offer years of replay value.
  
  I’m just wondering if the single player games aren’t secretly creating an army of no-lifes to eventually take over the world in a zombie apocalypse.
- leavescat
  
  The answer to how to use arquebuses in the rain? You don’t.
- http://www.nn4b.com suburban_samurai
  
  Historically, rain pretty much killed gun usage on the battlefield, unless they put up tents over the gunners, but if they had to retreat or advance, they had to move their cover with them, so it wasn’t very effective.
  
  The thing with FF14 is that it’s in another class in regards to its polish, it’s probably the most beautiful MMO out there with its visuals, animations, and interface. It’s also easier for a non-mmo player than most other games in the genre, and it has the name recognition, so it does seem to have enough weight to carry its subscription model.
KencingFendoka

His mind must be inundated with questions and awash with expletives, but he’ll need to submerge all that to deal with the current situation.
Kid Chaos

Has anyone seen “Ant-Man”? I have! I thought it was pretty damn good [and no, I’m not going to nitpick it. :)]. A few things really impressed me, like the opening with Young!Kirk Douglas; a lot more impressive than Young!Jeff Bridges in “Tron: Legacy”. Also, Michael Peña as Luis; the guy was hysterical! The sub-atomic sequence was…trippy, to say the least. Great work, all around.
Neska

Not seen: the tiny fish who swam in through the holes and are now nibbling Ricardo’s toes . . .

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