SoA or any future boxed collections

[Rustic]

Whenever we release a new all-in-one collection we make sure to include as much of the recent updates as possible. As for installing all the expansions at once, unfortunately because of the way that the data is installed, it's not possible to do at this time.

There's places like Amazon, Gamespot, (heck, Steam duh!) that allow you to re-DL game files so you can get games back onto new computers/replacement systems as many times as you need to.

It'd be an excellent, and I mean -excellent- idea to ship them file updates as things go along. That way, new players get the latest updated files and old players have an option to DL from the point of purchase rather than overloading the S-E servers. Many games do this if there's bug fixes or the like for conventional non-MMO gaming, and it'd likely save the company pain and strain AND improve patch-day service as well.

[Mirage]

I don't know, I can just copy my entire FFXI folder somewhere, delete the game, copy the files back, and re-create the registry keys and it will work just fine. I don't see why you can't have just one installer that goes through all of the expansion's data in sequence without having to do anything in between each one. All you'd have to do is set up the installer script to install the base game, then install the data for one expansion, then the next, etc. Then the added bonus of this is the game only shows up once in add/remove programs.

Yeah that's just a strange statement by SE. Even without manually changing registry settings, many players are able to just copy/paste an old installation directory over a vanilla FF11 installation (no expansions at all), then run a file check in POL Viewer and have that work perfectly. It seems like a pretty simple thing to do. I haven't actually used my expansion discs to reinstall FF11 in... at least 5 years. I just copy over the old files from my previous installation each time.

[Mirage]

tell me why it is people think GiB is more accurate than GB? it isnt, the whole GiB thing is BS, its not even technical, it was added by someone who wanted to sound smarter, the correct technical terms are KB(KiloByte)/kb(kilobit) MB(MegaByte)/mb(megabit) GB(GigaByte)/gb(gigabit) TB(TeraByte)/tb(terabit) these new terms, they just add a letter, which is a waste of space, honestly adapting these new terms makes no sense at all
the technical term for GigaByte is NOT GiB it is GB

That is incorrect (but at the same time correct). You're most likely confused because Windows isn't being accurate with its units either. The correct term for 1000 MB is 1GB. However, the correct term for 1024 MB is 1 GiB. Of course, using GiB also implies that your 1024 MB are also MiB.

When a HDD manufacturer makes and sells a HDD, they report the size in GB. 200 GB is 200 000 000 000 bytes (they do this because they then can advertise their stuff using bigger numbers, and bigger numbers sell better). However, windows (and almost every other operating system) reports the size in GiB (even though Windows incorrectly calls this GB).

If you install this 200 GB HDD, windows will tell you it is 186(.2645) GB. However, Windows is lying to you. The HDD is not 186.2645 GB, because that would be ~186 564 500 000 bytes and the HDD is definitely 200 000 000 000 bytes. The HDD is however 186 GiB, because 186 GiB is 200 000 000 000 bytes.

Operating systems operate with 1024 bytes per kB, 1024 kB per MB, and so on. The SI prefix "kilo" does however not mean 1024, it means 1000. Therefore, because the term "kilo" already signifies a different value, you can't re-use it to signify a different value, hence the term "kibi" (kilo-binary) came into being. This unit is abbreviated as "ki". The same applies for mega-binary and giga-binary.

Kilo means 1000, Kibi means 1024. Kilo cannot both mean 1000 and 1024. This only opens for a lot more misunderstandings, as can be clearly seen in Windows, where they mean both, and you constantly need to use context to figure out how large a number is. With the "i" units, you always know how large values are without needing to spend time on determining the context.

-edit- Fixed typos.

That being said, I don't always follow this myself, for example if I talk to less computer literate people, who's got enough to think about anyway, or in oral communication where the context is obvious. Also, old habits die hard.

[Trumpy]

to print discs might be cheaper than paying for bits of download, but how much does it cost in shipping the discs all over the world that uses them? or whatever other things they have to pay for to get them into the hands of the consumers?

[oliveira]

Which brings up an interesting question: do you know if one can mix and match JP and NA discs on the same PS2/3 without having to muck about with hacks and/or other such third-party tools? Or are you just playing with straight JP hardware and software?

First, sorry for the late reply.

DNAS is there to prevent illegal copying and tampering. So no you can't do that with the PS2. You would need to hack the game a lot and it's boot/loader program is heavily encrypted using SONY voodoo stuff. Installing Adoulin from JP discs on a US PS2 or PS3 simply won't happen. You need to authenticate with the DNAS server every time you start FFXI.

[wildsprite]

what it costs to ship the PC version should be irrelevant since they will be shipping xb360 copies of both the collection and the expansion anyway,

I think at the very least bit they should make special ordering physical copies of the collection for Windows for those that want them

[Ziyyigo-Tipyigo]

what it costs to ship the PC version should be irrelevant since they will be shipping xb360 copies of both the collection and the expansion anyway

Not in all markets; Japan won't get a "Collection" disc for either the PlayStation 2 or the Xbox 360 (but apparently will get a "Collection" DVD for PC, for a higher price).

Different regions are getting different things differently, probably thanks to economic calculations that involve an Ouija board.

[wildsprite]

Not in all markets; Japan won't get a "Collection" disc for either the PlayStation 2 or the Xbox 360 (but apparently will get a "Collection" DVD for PC, for a higher price).

Different regions are getting different things differently, probably thanks to economic calculations that involve an Ouija board.

a Ouija board eh? I thought they were rolling 6 sided die for that :P

[Ziyyigo-Tipyigo]

a Ouija board eh? I thought they were rolling 6 sided die for that :P

No no, dice are only involved in "BALANCE!!1!!" decisions, with d6 for /ja and d20 for /ma. Anything involving real money goes to the Ouija board, supplemented by a Magic 8 Ball if credit cards are involved.

[wildsprite]

No no, dice are only involved in "BALANCE!!1!!" decisions, with d6 for /ja and d20 for /ma. Anything involving real money goes to the Ouija board, supplemented by a Magic 8 Ball if credit cards are involved.

oh so that's what it is ~snickers~ now I'm picturing a bunch of people in a room with what looks like D&D papers and die figuring out the balance of things