Temporary Suspension of the Services Due to an Earthquake

Now I wish SE would have billed everyone for April and then turned the money over to disaster relief. As in, mandatory. I wonder how many people would have been angry about that?

I'm starting a fundraiser at my college to help the relief effort, bakesales ftmfw D:! My prayers go out to all the victims and families effected by this tragedy.

Sorry if i said anything in my post that made it look like i was trying to defend people getting mad they cant play a game for awhile and id like to give my best wishes to all those in Japan that need the help many are trying to give.

All the best of wishes go to Japan right now. My thoughts and hopes go all out to all effected by this horrible event. SE, take as much time as you need to save power and get the important matters handled.

With that said, to the players: Realistically, how long do you predict SE will keep the game down for? Personally I'd ballpark it anywhere from 3 weeks to 3 months. Honestly I'm ok with that though since I highly doubt that SE would bill us for a service we can't use. I mean they already gave us the April billing cycle. I think that's proof enough. Besides, it's just a game. Sure I'm bummed that I just got my RDM to 30 only to have to wait before getting some of the advanced jobs but this all nothing in the shadow of death and carnage that has been ripping through Japan. Personally I'm donating every penny I'd normally use for this game to relief efforts for as many months as this game is down.

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Originally Posted by Razorback

wow. how self centered. You would rather see the electricity diverted to a video game rather thank...oh i don't know...HOSPITALS? I would like to say I'm shocked by this posters response but I'm not.

I hope all the Japanese FFXI players are keeping safe and well.

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Not shocked in the least -- see this behavior online (in- and out of game) all the freaking time.

And people wonder why I can be such a pain...

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Originally Posted by Umbrion

This will upset a lot of people and i am one of them, hope your feed back center is ready to work double over time.. and i hope when a quake hits North America you shut down the game again just to see the response from are friends over the ocean

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... Disgusting... Just disgusting...


As someone from New Zealand, we know what you're going through, we got struck twice in 5 months by earthquakes that decimated one of our main citys, but even that doesn't compare to the ammount of devistation that's occured in Japan. Our thoughts are with all those who have lost thier loved ones, both in New Zealand and Japan, and I'm sure we'll be sending anything we can spare from recovery in Christchurch to help you out as you did us in our time of need.

Regards,
Gakaroth.

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Originally Posted by myrla-elphaba

Now I wish SE would have billed everyone for April and then turned the money over to disaster relief. As in, mandatory. I wonder how many people would have been angry about that?

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I wish to state this very carefully...

After the announcement that Square-Enix would not be billing for April, I can see some people getting a little upset.

I certainly would have no issue with voluntary donations (which is one of the reasons I like some sort of gil-based donation process too, if it can be made workable -- there are a number of prominent players who, though they are prominent in the community, have made it no secret that they are struggling in the present economy), but, after they already said (to their strong credit -- they didn't have to, in that they could've declared a simple force majeure with every justification) that they would not bill for April, it'd be a bit of a reversal to go mandatory.

I've played this game since 2004 and i love it, but if closing the severs means that the lights and heating stay on in even 1 familys home in Japan then you have my full support. watching the horrific scenes on tv was hart breaking, god bless you all

Some of the posts on this form have made me feel sick and I do hope SE reads all of the post's and finds out who they are and ban's them what stupid people they are.

from my understanding SE are not going to bill us for April due to the servers being down i think it might be an idea for SE to give us the chance to pay the fee and then they use it to help those that need it. I will be sending what I can to the relief.

I think we will be very lucky should the game be back up and running in a week given everything that has happened and is happening I think we may be looking at a longer time out I just hope the most of the people understand why and don't go on having a moan about it.

My thoughts are with ther families at this very sad time.

I want to say this carefully, because I don't want my normal "subtle as a sledgehammer" motif to mark this thread up any worse than it already is, but I do feel I need to say something about the players disgusted by the (I am forced to censor myself, but please insert any inflammatory term you wish for them) who are either:

1) Actually more concerned about their own presence in-game than the events in Japan
and/or
2) Screwing around to get this type of reaction

Is it any real wonder why I don't respect the player-base when a bunch of you (similar censorship) act like this?

my heartfelt prayers go out to all the people and family that have been affected by this tragedy, hope that this loss of service can help those most in need and bring hope to those suffering. SE is doing the responsible thing and we should support SE with all we have :)

It's great to see everyuone banding together, in support of this calamity. Let's pray Japan can get back up on it's feet with the fewest possible casualties.

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Originally Posted by dumblyz

Some of the posts on this form have made me feel sick and I do hope SE reads all of the post's and finds out who they are and ban's them what stupid people they are.

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Oh they know who they are. They entered their ID's when they logged in, lol!

Somehow I doubt that trollers will be banned for just what they say here. If that were the case I think most of them would be gone already. One can only hope though, right?

One can only hope, yes, but not likely they will be banned for expressing their feelings or opinions. Just makes it hard for the moderators to sort out the trash with the posts that matter to SE.

been trying to raise awareness of whats going on inside Secondlife in some of the FFXI Groups that exist there. and w/ the April billing statement they are likely stating that as we can bet that XI wont be back up anytime this month.

So glad that one thread was locked. Thank you Senior Game Master Jhanaka.

I send my sympathies to all in Japan! wish I could be their to help and very happy to see my country United States of America lending a helpful hand in the relief efforts it goes to show us all we care for one and all even with are differences.. I've got my TV on 24/7 watching and praying the nuclear reactors are not the next issue!! and not to make a bun but if you guys have to leave the area your servers are welcomed here at my residence. I won't let FFXI go down "for good" if I can do anything about it. Awesome game keep up the good work :)

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Originally Posted by Fiarlia

So glad that one thread was locked. Thank you Senior Game Master Jhanaka.

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Yes. Agreed.

Some of these jackalopes need to come into reality. And now, to help do that, I'm going to say something which is going to be considered inflammatory to some:

People had better get their minds wrapped around the possibility that XI and XIV may never come back.

Anyone who's seen some of the pictures and videos out of Japan (and has been reading the news, especially on the nuclear power situation) has to put that possibility into play.

You've got these malcontents who are, at the least, stirring up the pot by acting like complete inhuman savages, for just a one-week outage.

What if that's a month? Six weeks?? Permanent???

My thoughts are with all those suffering in Japan right now. I hope you will soon be able to leave this tragedy behind you and i wish for a brighter future for you all. <3

What the hell makes you think the FFXI servers won't come back? All they have to do is flip a switch and they'll come back on. They were just up less than 24 hours ago... They're allowing for the energy that would be diverted to their company to be diverted elsewhere until this crisis is somewhat resolved. When they feel it's appropriate, they will turn them back on. Quit with the doomsday theories as they make absolutely no sense.

And you guys better get used to this. It now appears that rolling blackouts in parts of Tokyo may last at least a month, according to information from Reuters that I've been reading in other sources.

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Originally Posted by Starcade

And you guys better get used to this. It now appears that rolling blackouts in parts of Tokyo may last at least a month, according to information from Reuters that I've been reading in other sources.

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thats probbly a good indication why we're getting credited for April. as they are expecting it to last that long.

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Originally Posted by Helel

What the hell makes you think the FFXI servers won't come back? All they have to do is flip a switch and they'll come back on. They were just up less than 24 hours ago... They're allowing for the energy that would be diverted to their company to be diverted elsewhere until this crisis is somewhat resolved. When they feel it's appropriate, they will turn them back on. Quit with the doomsday theories as they make absolutely no sense.

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Oh, I don't know, maybe the fact that a significant part of the Japanese coast NE of Tokyo is... GONE????

Maybe the fact that the entire infrastructure over there may be permanently screwed up??

Get a clue, watch some freaking news...

I do hope Japan, and the rest of the world for that matter, doesn't get the wrong idea of Americans because of a vocal minority. We will collectively do what we can in support of Japan.

SE has already stated we won't be charged for April. So please consider making a donation instead. U.S. players like myself can donate $10 by texting REDCROSS to 90999. More info and other ways to donate at RedCross.org.

My prayers go out to everyone affected or know someone who was affected by this disaster. Even outsiders like myself know how strong Japan is as a nation, and we wish you all a fast recovery.

Well now, time to pray for those of us who believe in God... after disasters always come hard times so I hope our Japanese friends will find courage and strengh to overcome this.
I'm all with them, I don't care about FFXI in this case, it's just a game after all... it was the best thing to do, they need power to supply hospitals first.

And for those who are looking for something to do... go play outside, take a walk, go to the movies! You know... the things we used to do before video games and MMORPG were invented? ^^

... and I'm from Canada, so North America as well... we're not all selfish please don't think we're all heartless :(

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Originally Posted by CaelThunderwing

thats probbly a good indication why we're getting credited for April. as they are expecting it to last that long.

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My friend (who played FFXI very very very long ago, was working outside Sendai, and left earlier this week when the 7.+ went off - his company gave everyone the rest of the week paid off and told them to go down to Tokyo) has communicated to me that they have been told that rolling blackouts will be fairly normal measure from now for a "long while" (translated from French). that is - Indefinitely.

For those who might not understand this - it's not always a scheduled thing, or able to keep to the schedule - so even if servers were turned back on, there would be chances of the power being cut almost all the time. It's beneficial to EVERYONE to keep the servers down - no corruptions or loss of data, etc. I hope that makes sense.

as for the previous comment, I think I was misconstrued a bit, so I'm going to clear up:
I haven't had a job since Dec. 09. I've logged in maybe 2x a month in the last 3-4 months. I've been playing since 04. I fund my FFXI entirely on selling on half.com and other venues. I understand financial hardship on that realm.

And no, I'm not saying SE should go back on their word - I'm saying I'm wondering what the responses would have been had they decided to do a mass donation instead of taking the profit for a month.

I'm hoping many people (at least, in the US) will just do the easy thing, and donate $10 via their cell phone or whatnot - it's still less than you would have paid next month, go grab a soda with a friend this week with the rest.

PS: Muito obrigado, SGM Jhanaka for closing the other thread- it's nice to see you again as well, you have always been nice and fair.

@myrla-elphaba if it come sto that SE may stil relocate the servers to a stable part of Japan as granted we wanna think they care and they do but they also have to think on a buissness end of matters, if they just poof like that decided to keep the servers and End XI and XIV they will take a gigantic hit.if things are down for 3 months likely, they will as a small joke <Jumping to new area> <server> <camp>

Not that I'm telling anyone what to do, but consider making the best use of your time and appreciate what you have. You never know how sudden it could end.

Smart thinking, thank you for being considerate!

I can't think of a single person heartless enough to be enraged that the game is being shut down to conserve energy for survival purposes.

Take all the time you need! Only bring the servers up when you know for sure everything will be okay. :) Good luck Square Enix, thank you for giving us a courtesy warning and a free month! Be safe.

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Originally Posted by Naturebeckles

Well, not all of them are taking time off. They're keeping the forums going and their website at least and the GMs I'm sure are still moderating this.

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WHat is still running and what is not should tell you something about which servers are either 1) hosted or backed up at SE-EU or SE-NA, or 2) are hosted by a non-SE server farm.


Anyways, my thoughts and prayers go to those in Japan picking up the pieces.

SE, do what you need to. The sooner FFXI goes back up the better - because FFXI going back up means at least the troubles related to electricity have been alleviated.

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Originally Posted by Silentlucidity

I do hope Japan, and the rest of the world for that matter, doesn't get the wrong idea of Americans because of a vocal minority. We will collectively do what we can in support of Japan.

SE has already stated we won't be charged for April. So please consider making a donation instead. U.S. players like myself can donate $10 by texting REDCROSS to 90999. More info and other ways to donate at RedCross.org.

My prayers go out to everyone affected or know someone who was affected by this disaster. Even outsiders like myself know how strong Japan is as a nation, and we wish you all a fast recovery.

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Thank you very much fro posting this, i sent my april fee to the redcross.

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Originally Posted by Umbrion

This will upset a lot of people and i am one of them, hope your feed back center is ready to work double over time.. and i hope when a quake hits North America you shut down the game again just to see the response from are friends over the ocean

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You shame North America with your selfish ignorance. RL > FF. There is no discussion. Japan is facing a rough road to recovery. Shutting down a game is the least of their nations concerns. They are trying to prevent nuclear meltdown for the safety of the entire world. An entire nation is mourning the loss of their country men & women. I don't care if they shutdown for a year. Their recovery is essential to world stability & prosperity. May god lift their heavy hearts & help them rise like the phoenix.

After reading some of the posts in this thread, it's surprising that some people even care about the game and when the servers will be up again. A whole country has been devastated. They lost everything that was inside of their home, and to the even more unfortunate, family members and friends have been lost. This is definitely not the time to worry about when you'll be able to leech your next job to 90 or when you will be getting the next piece of equipment. Who cares when you're knee deep in water and debris in your living room? Who cares when the people you care most in the world are missing or dead? Who cares when the country you live in and love has no electrical power for lonely, cold nights, no shelter for those who lost their safe haven called home, no food for the weary survivors, no heat for the cold and abandoned, no love for the ones who's lost everything? This is not the time to complain about a game, but a time to complain about what is not being done to help.

However, there are many posts in here that have touched me and made me want to post something here myself. It's nice to see some humanity left in this world. I would also like to send my condolences to everyone in Japan. I hope that everyone can be reunited with loved ones. I hope that your lives can be rebuilt and everything will one day go back to normal, where you would wake up and worry about the work you left at the office the night before, or how your children did in their last sporting event, and not the thoughts of what I will do for money now that the office is destroyed, or where your children are. I wish for your well-being and hope that you can find your children, or parents, or siblings, or anyone you hold dear to your heart. God Bless you all.

For those who are still ignorant to the whole situation, should look at these videos to get a sense of what has happened.

http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/wor....aftermath.cnn
http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/wor...e.reaction.cnn

they probly cant get diesel fuel to deal with the rolling blackouts.....
lets face it a server farm doesnt consume that much power
doubt they are doing it for humanitarian reasons

I totally understand why they shut down FFXI/FFXIV. I am willing to wait for it to come back. My heart goes to Japan and all of the people, I really wish I could go over there and help.

When disaster like this strikes, recovering is always long and difficult, affecting the lives of so many innocent people. I'm honestly surprised that you guys kept the servers up as long as you did after the disaster, that takes devotion. I wish you all the best in your efforts to recover from this horrible ordeal. My family and friends are praying for your swift recovery, and for those who were hurt and lost their lives.

For those who would like to donate money to help in the recovery you can text REDCROSS to 90999 to make a $10 donation, of visit www.redcross.org

I Am Aware of the Non Billing Issue , However What About a Memrial Plaque and some Goddies , As a Donation Content ID
Get some In Game Show of Support items , and be able to Donate to releif Efforts.

Tornados are more common than Devistating earthquakes but the Midwest gets them 100-250 years or so , To the Jappanese Enginners , I give them Credit , as if an 7.8 Like at New Madrid ( Late 1800's) hit our region , the Devistation could be far worse. hear in the midwest everything would be utterly flattened.

However the Devistation is Still great and with power and other Sytems being Knocked out , thier are far more important fish to fry , than Linkshell Dynamis runs or Abysia runs.
Some of the Bilingual Players in my Friends List From Jappan I havent seen on of late Either. , a few in My Linkshell have Family In Jappan. , I have Service Members I have Served in the Army with Stationed oversees thier.

Many of Us have Firnds thier , or people in game we see , and we all should be concerned and empathetic.

At any Case our hope is with you , Godspeed.

PS Umbrion : I work In IT security , I too , would be forced to shut down a Data Center given shuch conditions , APC and runing on NICD Batteries and emrgancy power can only go on for so many hours.

Siren.Taminye

My thoughts are with all our Japanese friends in this time of great chaos. Having an interuption in our gameplay is a small matter, compared with what you are going through. I understand that electricity is a concern and it must be used to provide for basic human services, before it can be used for entertainment. I am sure that Japan will pull together (As it ALWAYS does!) to recover from this terrible misfortune. Take care, my friends!

I would like to start out by saying THANK YOU SE for your considerate actions to help preserve power in Japan in this time of emergency and THANK YOU for preserving all we have worked so hard for. Like many I will miss playing the game for a week or three, but is this is the very least I can do to help others in this time of need I will gladly bear this onus.

Now for all you crying little babies here is 1 more point that I have yet to see mentioned.
From a computer technical viewpoint (and yes I went to college for Computer Engineering).
What you are also not seeing is that Vana Diel is not just a "World" it IS a network of computer servers tied together to facilitate the playing of a single game across the planet. If SE had not taken the servers offline when they did look at the other ramifications involved.
SE not only inconvenienced you for a week or two of your life they also preserved your prescious "World". Rolling black outs and power surges due to the loss of Japan's nuclear reactors could have (and most likely would have) destroyed the servers (seen it many times repairing other systems after elecrical storms). So now when you get done crying over your selfish loss, turn around and say thank you to SE for preserving YEARS of your advancments and achievements. All of which could have been lost forever.
Which would you rather lose? 1 week, maybe a month of game play OR everything you have worked for over the years, andeveryone starting back at lvl 1 with nothing?

Just my 2-cents worth maybe it will help throw another perspective on this situation.
May all our japanese friends be safe and remember that some of us are there for them.