Linkshell Member online notifications.

[Dazusu]

I was wondering if it would be possible to add a feature to notify (in the chat log) when a Linkshell Member has equipped their Linkpearl (or just come online with the Linkpearl already equipped) Most other MMO's I've played have this basic function. Also an option to filter this information so you can't see it if you don't want to be notified.

#playerName# has entered #linkshellName#.

[Runespider]

Is this really needed? I've played Wow and I've seen how the guild system works there, what you're suggesting is annoying as crap honestly..in big guilds it's constantnly beeping as people log on or off and on small ones it's a non-issue. It's ok if your used to it on WoW but players here aren't and it's obnoxious, if people want to tell you they logged on they can say so if they don't why does it matter?

[Arcon]

I would absolutely love this. It's not just in other MMOGs, but in any other chatroom-like protocol that you can see people joining/leaving. This was another thing that bothered me so much at first (after being used to IRC, and well, everything else) but that I got used to over time to the point that I didn't even think of bringing it up. It would help a lot with seeing when other people d/c and you don't have to waste your time talking. Maybe can make it so that others don't see you join if you're invisible (on POL).

[Haldarn]

As long as the option's there to filter it out, if a decent amount of people want it and it's relatively simple to implement, sounds like a good idea.

I'd have the filter on ;)

[Zikon]

Yeah as long as options to filter would be good!

[Dazusu]

annoying as crap honestly..in big guilds it's constantnly beeping as people log on or off

Did you read my whole post? "Also an option to filter this information so you can't see it if you don't want to be notified."

In addition to that, as posted above, it wont notify people of logon/logoff if that person is set to invisible.

[Dragonlord]

Great idea. Anything to help ls leaders with organization is a good addition imo.

[svengalis]

This notification would be nice for parties and friend list to.

[llello]

Good suggestion. A full overhaul of LS system and interface would be nice too, but this would be a good start. Also taking the community site out of beta one of these years would be nice too and making it more streamlined. Put SNS linking/sharing in as well like the FFXIII-2 devs did for that game. Then perhaps players would be more apt to use an the official LS community site rather than linking to some 3rd party site filled with trolls and petty little people who will rate you down for being able to HQ food and other crafts more often than them.

[Elgorian]

What if I don't always want people to know I just logged on @_@ I may sometimes want some peace and quiet when I first get on and not alert every person in LS that I just got on >_>

I have a feeling I'm not the only one that feels this way,

Also, if you wanna know who's on theres a linkshell list.

Against it personally, with or without filter.

[Arcon]

What if I don't always want people to know I just logged on [..]

Set your status to invisible.


Also, if you wanna know who's on theres a linkshell list.

That's completely unrelated. The LS list is not only slow to update and can miss people when zoning, it also has to be activated manually. It would be a big improvement to simply see it in the log when someone comes online so you don't have to check every two minutes.

This is another one of those things that literally have no downside to anyone. If you don't wanna see others, filter it. If you don't want others to see you, set your status to invisible (which is what you'd do in that case anyway, I presume), or SE could possibly even add an additional settings property just for that. It's something many people would want and something that has no negative impact to anyone who doesn't (because they could change it so it behaves exactly the same as it does now).

[Dazusu]

What if I don't always want people to know I just logged on @_@

Set yourself to /invisible, then no one will be notified that you're online. Gives you the privacy, no?

edit: beaten by arcon

[Godofgods]

It is an overall good idea actually. I'm sure a lot of ppl would like this feature. And if they don't, a filter option would mean they don't have to deal with it.

The only real issue would be if you don't want others to see when you log on. While you can go 'Invisible' you cant do that before logging in.

[Dazusu]

While you can go 'Invisible' you cant do that before logging in.

Yes you can :)

[Elgorian]

By all means theres an invisible feature, but that would also effect my friends list not just the LS.

And personally, I like not having something every other MMO has, because.... FFXI isn't other MMO's it's better.
We've gone what, 10 years now without it? People seem to be doing fine.

Edit:

Also, with all the things that the Dev team really need to work on like getting the promised Storage access everywhere, and the X is too far away losing TP, as well as other things, I'd rather not see them waste there time on a system that already works and work on something that really needs attention.

[Arcon]

And personally, I like not having something every other MMO has, because.... FFXI isn't other MMO's it's better.
We've gone what, 10 years now without it? People seem to be doing fine.

Honestly, your argument made a lot more sense when you just said "I don't want it". FFXI is better because it doesn't show when people log on? Is that a defining quality? And in general, if another game does something better, should FFXI not get it because it's not FFXI? We've gone 10 years with the current game, why change anything at all? Why fix TP loss on too far away, when people have become accustomed to it? Why change blinking when it's part of the game? Why change chatlog loss on zoning? Do you really not want to change anything because it's been like that forever?

Yes, it's been like that for almost a decade, and it's a crying shame. FFXI has suffered from childhood diseases for ages that haven't been addressed in all that time. That doesn't make them good or a "part of FFXI", it just means it's about damn time to do something about it.


Also, with all the things that the Dev team really need to work on like getting the promised Storage access everywhere, and the X is too far away losing TP, as well as other things, I'd rather not see them waste there time on a system that already works and work on something that really needs attention.

I'm really tired of hearing this argument. People bring it up in every thread, and it's just as pointless every time I hear it. Did you know people brought the same argument in several "TP lost" threads? It's because of two reasons. Firstly, everyone has a different idea of what matters more. To someone this may be more important than the TP loss (me, for one, even though I started the first thread (http://forum.square-enix.com/ffxi/threads/6030-WS-distance-or-where-did-my-TP-go) on the TP loss matter).

Secondly people act like changing things takes ages and if they do one thing they can't do another. Yes, I'm aware that they're running XI on a skeleton crew these days, but I consider myself qualified to judge what takes a long time to implement and what doesn't. This, for one thing, wouldn't take much. They already have the LS-chat facilities, they would just have to emulate a LS chat line being sent on login, with an additional flag to signal a status-message. They could even expand this to accept several flags for other status messages (like send a seperate chat line when someone is losing their connection). Admitted, this isn't quite as quick and easy as changing a variable, but I'm still positive it could be done by one person in a few hours (a few minutes to code it and some time to test it, possibly with other people, and, if necessary, expand it).

[Godofgods]

While you can go 'Invisible' you cant do that before logging in.



Yes you can :)

how is that?

[Unleashhell]

I was wondering if it would be possible to add a feature to notify (in the chat log) when a Linkshell Member has equipped their Linkpearl (or just come online with the Linkpearl already equipped) Most other MMO's I've played have this basic function. Also an option to filter this information so you can't see it if you don't want to be notified.

#playerName# has entered #linkshellName#.


I made a post about this mid 2011. unfortunately did not get many replies back from other players or from SE. Some of the people that replied might even be replying to your post. Thumbs up imo.

http://forum.square-enix.com/ffxi/threads/9874-Chat-message-for-Friends-List-Linkshell-Members-entering.

[Dazusu]

how is that?

Like this:

http://www.dazusu.com/invisible.jpg

[macross]

just drop your shell before you log on every day

[Kaisha]

There are people who don't say "'ello LS" when they log on?

[Meyi]

I don't want this, but if other players feel it would be a huge benefit to playing then I won't argue against it.

[Camate]

Hey everyone :)

While this kind of thing would be possible, there are more than likely a good amount of people who do not want others to know when they equip a LS or come online, so we would need to give consideration to these players. Again, while this is technically possible this would be somewhat low on the priority scale at the moment, including how to give consideration to those players who would not like this sort of feature.

[Prothscar]

Why wouldn't they want people to know when they come online or equip their linkshell unless they're doing something shady...?

[Alhanelem]

Hey everyone :)

While this kind of thing would be possible, there are more than likely a good amount of people who do not want others to know when they equip a LS or come online, so we would need to give consideration to these players. Again, while this is technically possible this would be somewhat low on the priority scale at the moment, including how to give consideration to those players who would not like this sort of feature.

All that would need to be done is to show or not show notifications based on online status. e.g. if you're set to invisible, don't trigger or recieve notifications.

[Elexia]

Why wouldn't they want people to know when they come online or equip their linkshell unless they're doing something shady...?

The same reason messengers have an Away/Busy/Online/Appear Offline/Invisible (to some/all) status, some people just like their privacy and don't want to be bothered when they get on.

[Arcon]

The same reason messengers have an Away/Busy/Online/Appear Offline/Invisible (to some/all) status, some people just like their privacy and don't want to be bothered when they get on.

Then why do they log on to a linkshell? You may want to sign on to a messenger without being seen to talk to some select people, but you can do that in XI without being in a linkshell too. The only reason to be on a linkshell is to talk to the people, or are you secretely spying on people and hope they don't check the LS list to see you online? I really don't get it.

[Doombringer]

Why wouldn't they want people to know when they come online or equip their linkshell unless they're doing something shady...?

because i log in to check my plants and the ls message every single day, but i can only pretend to like "you" so often.

[Godofgods]

Hey everyone :)

While this kind of thing would be possible, there are more than likely a good amount of people who do not want others to know when they equip a LS or come online, so we would need to give consideration to these players. Again, while this is technically possible this would be somewhat low on the priority scale at the moment, including how to give consideration to those players who would not like this sort of feature.

They would receive the info about you being in the shell in the chat featue.... So about about a Chat filter for it or something?

[Zerich]

or how about people look at who's in their ls by checking the ls?
camate, please don't waste time on stuff that isn't broken or needed.

[Arcon]

or how about people look at who's in their ls by checking the ls?
camate, please don't waste time on stuff that isn't broken or needed.

We've already said why checking the LS doesn't help. But it's ok, reading comprehension is not required on these forums. Also, nothing suggested is ever needed, and very little is actually broken. Stuff is wanted, that's the sole reason why things are being suggested, and it's a perfectly valid motivation for suggestions. Also, Camate isn't wasting his time on anything, as he's not a dev. If you actually wanna appeal to anyone (without any sort of effect, obviously, as you don't get a say in the matter), learn japanese and tell the devs themselves.

[Elexia]

We've already said why checking the LS doesn't help.

How doesn't it? You check and they're either on or they aren't. lol. You don't need a notification so you can instantly hassle the person as they log on.

[Arcon]

How doesn't it? You check and they're either on or they aren't. lol. You don't need a notification so you can instantly hassle the person as they log on.

Yes, you do, when time is of the essence. And sometimes it is, for everyone.

And checking LS list is not only slow (delayed by up to 30s) and sometimes fails due to search issues, but it also won't tell you when someone loses their connection and you keep talking to them. But yeah, you're right, you can just wait 30 seconds and check LS list after every sentence, to make sure, right?

People need to get their heads out of their asses for once and realize there's still so much SE could do to improve overall gameplay and stop shooting down ideas because they assume that they don't need them. Status notifications are standard in every chat protocol ever designed in the history of mankind. I completely boggles my mind why SE went out of their way to design their chat system as crappy as they did. People should be notified in LS chat when someone logs on or off, when someone d/cs and when someone gets kicked (and who kicked them). This would have been expected from anyone who has ever been involved in any sort of group chat situation. These are basic features and should have been there when the game was released. If you had this feature from day one and SE would remove it for no reason you'd feel differently about it now.

So, next you're gonna say chat loss on zoning is ok, because you can just repeat what you said? I'll repeat myself again, nothing in here is needed. It's wanted. And that doesn't make it in any way less important.

[Elexia]

I was playing a few MMOs from 90s-when FFXI was released and I can safely say "chat notifications" for MMOs wasn't standard, at all, especially since the ones that did have them get lost in the flood of chat/battle spam because they were just a simple line of text usually in the system font color that's shared with engaging/disengaging/killing an enemy.

When someone disconnects you can see not only in search but next to their character (unless for whatever reason SE removed the tomato icon from search lists in recent years.) So tell me, what purpose does one need to be hassled the second they get online? What if some people honestly just want to kick back and relax and not be bombarded by tells as they get on?

That is what Camate most likely was referring to, it's a nice feature, but it's also an intrusive feature at the same time. Time is indeed of the essence, but not to the point the very second I log onto FFXI as a leader/officer/important person I get bombarded by 28+ tells and not even time to breathe.

[Krashport]

Let the person that comes into the Linkshell, acknowledge those that are online. (Hey guys sup!) With a system that will acknowledge them for each member could lead into many problems. Also adding that system to the /away /invisible /online on the friend list would suck. It would kinda do that same problem after exiting Mog house, once you job changed. (Would you like to save your home point...) Could maybe add another type of Linkshell 2.0 and have those "Point out" when members equip their linkshell. Would be nice to have more then one linkshell equip at once, could add chat channels if the system resources would allow.

edit; Many members now a days have more then one socials and not switching between them would be pretty cool. In closing please fix that problem when zoning and missing text, cause a lot of chat is lost upon changing areas within linkshells.

[Arcon]

I was playing a few MMOs from 90s-when FFXI was released and I can safely say "chat notifications" for MMOs wasn't standard, at all, especially since the ones that did have them get lost in the flood of chat/battle spam because they were just a simple line of text usually in the system font color that's shared with engaging/disengaging/killing an enemy.

So, because the games in the very beginning of gaming didn't have it, but absolutely every current game does SE shouldn't do it? Even if it wasn't standard in games (it still was everywhere else), it sure is now, and for a good reason. Because people wanna know these things.


When someone disconnects you can see not only in search but next to their character (unless for whatever reason SE removed the tomato icon from search lists in recent years.)

Our LS has a certain hangout spot in Port Jeuno when we get bored, so yeah, when we're all standing around there we can see people pokeballing. Most other times, however, we can't. I don't always stand next to every person I chat to, do you?


So tell me, what purpose does one need to be hassled the second they get online? What if some people honestly just want to kick back and relax and not be bombarded by tells as they get on?

Then you'd likely have your online status set to invisible anyway. You can't say it's so easy to see people online without this feature too and then in the same sentence say it would somehow spam you with /tells the second you log on. First of all, if people wanna talk to you, they will notice you getting online, unless you're invisible, in which case your notification wouldn't appear either according to our suggestion. And some dedicated people will find you even then, and if you're lucky they'll even ask you on /l, notifying everyone else that you just logged on.

Secondly, what you're describing is a social issue. Why do people want game features to take care of their social problems? Saying these things makes it sounds like you're just trying to justify the lack of this feature and are running out of other things to say.


That is what Camate most likely was referring to, it's a nice feature, but it's also an intrusive feature at the same time.

Come to think of it, you make it sound like you missed the part about Invisible. If you did, look it up, we said that we're totally cool with not seeing the notifications if people don't want them to. This could also be an extra setting, to not be tied to the invisibility system, whatever works.


Time is indeed of the essence, but not to the point the very second I log onto FFXI as a leader/officer/important person I get bombarded by 28+ tells and not even time to breathe.

I'm a leader/officer/important person of an active social linkshell, and every time I log on, I say hi on LS immediately and I rarely ever get bombarded with tells. If you want organisational advice I'll be happy to help you out, because saying that makes it sound like you don't use any other media at all (like a website or /lsmes or other sackholders or a regular schedule) and solely try to organise and support a linkshell of 50 needy noobs.

[Babekeke]

Why wouldn't they want people to know when they come online or equip their linkshell unless they're doing something shady...?

Because we're social creatures.

I will occasionally log on to do something that's been bugging me and I know if I don't do it now I'll forget and it will bug me again later. However, if I'm low on time, I don't want anyone seeing me come online, or they'll start talking to me and I'll get caught up in conversation, or offer to help them out, or they'll be doing a quest/mission that I really need and I'll end up online for hours when I didn't have the time to be.

There are other reasons I'm sure, but that's my main one

[Arcon]

There are other reasons I'm sure, but that's my main one

As I said before, you're relying on a game feature, or lack thereof, to help you with a social problem. Is it so hard to say "I'm sorry, I'm busy"? Instead of telling people that you can't help them or even talk right now, which they'd understand because they're "social creatures", as you said, you hide from your friends and go sneak behind their backs to do your own thing. Both options would lead to the same goal, namely you getting your shit done, only the first one would be open and honest, while the second one almost falls into the shady area Prothscar mentioned.

[cidbahamut]

/linkshell Hello Linkshell

Problem solved.

If people want the LS to know they've logged on for the night, it's trivially easy to convey that information. The fact that some people would prefer there to be an option suggests that the system is fine as it is.

The only reason I can think of for someone wanting this feature is to make it easier to harass members to come do X, like HNM shells would back in the day.

[Dazusu]

I was playing a few MMOs from 90s-when FFXI was released and I can safely say "chat notifications" for MMOs wasn't standard, at all

Yes, because nothing has changed in the past 15 years.


what purpose does one need to be hassled the second they get online?

If you're in a Linkshell full of noobs, or people that hassle you the second you get online - then perhaps that's your own problem and not one that would arise from the introduction of such a feature.


What if some people honestly just want to kick back and relax and not be bombarded by tells as they get on?

There was an addition to such a feature recommended by several people if you had bothered to read the thread. Such as, being set to invisible would stop any such notification being sent about your presence.


but it's also an intrusive feature at the same time.


See above.




The only reason I can think of for someone wanting this feature is to make it easier to harass members to come do X, like HNM shells would back in the day.

Convenience? Stimulating social interaction? It works well in every current gen MMO. If you're in a Linkshell where you feel harassed or pressured to attend things (that you didn't agree to do) then you've got bigger problems than worrying about the introduction of such a feature.

If you're not in a Linkshell like that, what's the problem?


A lot of people seem to be using the excuse "what if I want to hide" as a reason against such a feature. There's nothing to say an option can't be added into POL to disable it before logging into the game (something that only has to be set once). Hell, it could be disabled by default.

It's the same as the /tell filters that were added to the game for spam. You could have lost legitimate messages. But there was an option to disable/enable it.

[cidbahamut]

Convenience? Stimulating social interaction? It works well in every current gen MMO. If you're in a Linkshell where you feel harassed or pressured to attend things (that you didn't agree to do) then you've got bigger problems than worrying about the introduction of such a feature.

If you're not in a Linkshell like that, what's the problem?


A lot of people seem to be using the excuse "what if I want to hide" as a reason against such a feature. There's nothing to say an option can't be added into POL to disable it before logging into the game (something that only has to be set once). Hell, it could be disabled by default.

It's the same as the /tell filters that were added to the game for spam. You could have lost legitimate messages. But there was an option to disable/enable it.

Convenience would be more compelling if not for the fact that people are expressing concerns about the notification being unwanted and somewhat invasive. I agree it'd be convenient, but as our moogle-faced friend pointed out, you have to weigh that against the desire for some modicum of privacy.

I also agree that options are good. If there are sufficient options then there shouldn't be an issue.

[Elexia]

To people like Dazusu, only those who want something matters, not those who may oppose it. Since I mean, you can't talk to anyone or be social without these features apparently...

[Zerich]

We've already said why checking the LS doesn't help. But it's ok, reading comprehension is not required on these forums. Also, nothing suggested is ever needed, and very little is actually broken. Stuff is wanted, that's the sole reason why things are being suggested, and it's a perfectly valid motivation for suggestions. Also, Camate isn't wasting his time on anything, as he's not a dev. If you actually wanna appeal to anyone (without any sort of effect, obviously, as you don't get a say in the matter), learn japanese and tell the devs themselves.

Camate is part of the team that translates and delivers the information posted on the forums to the development team. So if I log on, you can't select "linkshell" >>> "see members" or watch the /l-chat if my name pops up with me saying something? The suggestion to have something like "Person1 has entered the linkshell" is completely superfluous as the inevitable "Hey ls" that usually proceeds.

Btw, thanks for calling me stupid. Real mature.

[Dazusu]

To people like Dazusu, only those who want something matters, not those who may oppose it. Since I mean, you can't talk to anyone or be social without these features apparently...

The point of my post was to counter those arguing it. The main argument is: "I want to hide", my reply is "Add an invisible option to the proposed feature"

If you want to oppose the suggestion - that's great. Acting surprised or playing the defensive when there's a simple counter to your objection is silly, though.

If you're going to try be sarcastic about it, at least put forth enough intelligence to show that you understand the difference between 'stimulate' and 'enable'.

[Kristal]

The point of my post was to counter those arguing it. The main argument is: "I want to hide", my reply is "Add an invisible option to the proposed feature"

Such an option would be turned off (no notification) by default and stay there for the majority of players.
I guess SE could add it for the socialites that can't live without twitter, facebook, and whatever else is the trending hype on social interaction, but I much prefer the more personal approach of someone doing his own greeting.

[Midorikaze]

Atlantica Online has something like this: whenever I log in, a line in the chat log that seems to be server-wide pops up that shows a "greeting" from my character. It is customizable and I see the most random stuff when people log in. Haha.

[Tsukino_Kaji]

Apperently looking at the link list to see who's on is too hard.

[Skirata]

Hello everyone!

Firstly, thank you all for posting your views on the merits of having or not having the implementation of a notification for when someone log on to a linkshell. Though please do ensure that your posts remain on topic for this thread and please do not post to attack others. Otherwise the thread will have to be closed down. Thank you again to everyone for posting here and have an excellent day.

[Tsukino_Kaji]

I say this will only accomplish 2 things.
1.) Annoy 75%+ of the player base.
2.) Slow the servers down excessively wth added data tracking.

[Arcon]

I say this will only accomplish 2 things.
1.) Annoy 75%+ of the player base.

Set it off by default and that number gets reduced to 0%.


2.) Slow the servers down excessively wth added data tracking.

False.

The only thing it will do is streamline gameplay/communication for everyone, even the people who don't see (or wanna see) the benefits now.

[Tsukino_Kaji]

False.

The only thing it will do is streamline gameplay/communication for everyone, even the people who don't see (or wanna see) the benefits now.It's will be an incredibly high amount of additional information across the entire server, constantly. Your "streamline" would slow the game down.

[Arcon]

It's will be an incredibly high amount of additional information across the entire server, constantly. Your "streamline" would slow the game down.

Stop posting your misinformed garbage all across the forums. You clearly have no idea about anything at all.

Here's the amount of information that it will send:
- Less than a byte when logging on.
- Less than a byte when logging off.

How is that "an incredibly high amount", and what do you mean "across the entire server"? If you mean it's getting sent to everyone who is connected that's bullshit. It will (logically) only be sent to your LS. It's the same "incredibly high amount of [..] information" as sending "/" to your LS chat (a lot less even, as I've heard FFXI chat is encoded using UTF-16, where even 1 bit would be enough for this, plus a header). So that's less than what would happen if people actually said "Hi" instead.

If you wanna argue, fine, go ahead and argue, but stop making shit up to bring your point across.

[Kristal]

It's will be an incredibly high amount of additional information across the entire server, constantly. Your "streamline" would slow the game down.
Stop posting your misinformed garbage all across the forums. You clearly have no idea about anything at all.

Here's the amount of information that it will send:
- Less than a byte when logging on.
- Less than a byte when logging off.

How is that "an incredibly high amount", and what do you mean "across the entire server"? If you mean it's getting sent to everyone who is connected that's bullshit. It will (logically) only be sent to your LS. It's the same "incredibly high amount of [..] information" as sending "/" to your LS chat (a lot less even, as I've heard FFXI chat is encoded using UTF-16, where even 1 bit would be enough for this, plus a header). So that's less than what would happen if people actually said "Hi" instead.

If you wanna argue, fine, go ahead and argue, but stop making shit up to bring your point across.

The only incorrect part was 'incredibly high'. This feature would indeed be causing a server load and sending data around non-stop, because people are logging in and out non-stop. Depending on the linkshell and friendlist size, you're looking at 64+100 messages per person (at max). Each of those 164 needs to looked up and checked for online status.

Those are not going to be 1-bit or byte messages, more like 100 bytes with headers and message content.

And no, that's not a lot, but with communications being limited by the PS2, every little byte adds up. For PC it's laughable, but with PS2 this needs carefull consideration.

When servers are brought down or up, or even just a provider deciding to block FFXI for w/e reason, this could cause a cascade of messages, crashing clients or even whole servers. Unlikely to see it actually happen, but it is something to consider with a feature like this running on ancient hardware like PS2. It's barely capable of keeping up with normal gameplay as it is...

[katz]

To what advantage is this a requirement? If I leave my char logged into the game 24/7 you still wont have the information you want?

[Arcon]

The only incorrect part was 'incredibly high'. This feature would indeed be causing a server load and sending data around non-stop, because people are logging in and out non-stop. Depending on the linkshell and friendlist size, you're looking at 64+100 messages per person (at max). Each of those 164 needs to looked up and checked for online status.

Even in that absurdly large case that's still nothing.


Those are not going to be 1-bit or byte messages, more like 100 bytes with headers and message content.

What message content? All that needs to be transmitted is the name of the person and an ID for the action, which is "logon" or "logoff" or "disconnect" or whatever else they can think of. The ID would be deciphered client side. That's how everything else works.


And no, that's not a lot, but with communications being limited by the PS2, every little byte adds up. For PC it's laughable, but with PS2 this needs carefull consideration.

Here I gave an example of a common VW battle and all associated data that is transmitted constantly:

To bring the point across I'll choose a common battle scenario, a VW battle with 18 participants. The following data is transmitted constantly, often several times within a few seconds, from the server:
The entire alliance's HP, MP and TP. That's 18x3 numerical values.
Every characters position within a ~50' radius around you. In crowded areas that can include over 100 characters. The x, y and z coordinates are transmitted, so 25x3 numerical values (assuming 18 people in the alliance, 1 VW mob and 6 random objects around, NQ mobs or clickable targets or whatever).
Every character's percentual HP, as a numerical value. 25x1 values.
Every character's movement speed, as a a floating point value. 25x1 values.
Every character's current target, as a numerical ID. 25x1 value.
Every status effect a character receives and loses, as a numerical ID. Depends on how many status effects change, which can be pretty variable. But considering VW, where buffs and debuffs happen all the time, including buffs that give or remove several status effects, we can reasonably assume it's always more than one, in the same time as the other events described here. Hence, 19x1 values (one for the mob).
Every action performed and attack landed. This is probably the largest portion of all of the information, but as with status effects this is also very variable and hard to approximate. So let's floor this as well to 19x1 values.

That's 242 values that have to be sent to the client. Not once, but periodically, in a hectic battle several times within only a few seconds. I don't even think once a second is an exaggeration, but it's hard to say accurately and it is also highly variable. And note that this is still quite a conservative estimate, I could easily see this number doubled.

You're saying PS2 can handle all of that, but it can't handle people saying "hello" when they log on? (Note that this would even be a lot less than saying hello, as no message will have to be sent, which is the major part of the transmission.) This is also data that is constantly transmitted to everyone in range, so 242 values sent to 18 people. Sending one single (empty) value to 30 people (which is a much more realistic number) is completely negligible compared to that.

Also, the PS2 is not limited by network traffic any more than the PC. It's only lacking in the memory and processing department.


To what advantage is this a requirement? If I leave my char logged into the game 24/7 you still wont have the information you want?

I will, because I will know that you're always online. And I will also see it if you happen to d/c, for whatever reason.

[Mokatu]

I would like this feature... it would help solve those pesky anonymous flyby rogue pearlsacks who kick innocent people.