Expanding Inventory Space

[Okipuit]

We know quite a few of you have been requesting more item storage options. Producer Matsui has made an announcement about the current state of expanding inventory space:

New Satchel
Seeing as how we'll be adding two new jobs, I believe it would be nice to have a new satchel. The problem is that when users increase the amount of items they have, their character file size increases as well. As a result, when users change areas or when character file saves are processing, it becomes a tradeoff between the server getting slow versus having more items. If the server becomes slow after implementing a way to store more items, we would have to stop everything and I'm sure you can imagine what kind of problem that would be! Therefore, we are forced to act very cautiously as we move forward on this.

Currently, we're looking into implementing a satchel that will not be added for all characters, but rather characters that have progressed to a certain portion of the game.

Storage Slip
Storage slips currently store items in single byte sizes so if we wanted to make them compatible with a variety of other things, we will lose some of the simplicity of the system and the cost of storage will go up substantially. Therefore, it will be difficult to implement the suggested functions unless we were to invest costs in an entirely redesigned storage slip.

Also, if we simply continue to increase the number of storage slips, then we'll start losing sight of our goal of saving space. However, what I feel needs to be done is to start using the storage slip system within mog houses. Since Mog House Moogles are specially made NPCs, there are a few technological hurdles that need to be addressed, but I would like to start making progress on this feature starting now.

[SpankWustler]

Currently, we're looking into implementing a satchel that will not be added for all characters, but rather characters that have progressed to a certain portion of the game.

I'm more than cool with this. Characters made just to store stuff generally don't need more satchel space because they're always near a moogle, and characters made just to be a mediocre White Mage/Summoner/Thief/etc. generally don't have that much equipment in the first place. If there has to be a compromise, this sounds like the best possible option.

However, what I feel needs to be done is to start using the storage slip system within mog houses.

[FrankReynolds]

Currently, we're looking into implementing a satchel that will not be added for all characters, but rather characters that have progressed to a certain portion of the game.

This sounds great. I Feel like this could help a lot. Please don't make the "certain portion of the game" be some obnoxious part that requires a group and has no desirable drops or other rewards though. Pretty please with sugar on top.

what I feel needs to be done is to start using the storage slip system within mog houses.

This. Make this happen ASAP. This is the best idea I have heard from an SE employee in... I don't know how long. This would make those slips a million times more tolerable. Thank you.

[Mifaco]

Good grief. They're putting in the Mog Backpack now?

[Bahamut]

Hello Producer Akihiko_Matsui, I'm very glad you decided to take on the challenge of inventory space. As a person who has 16 level 99 characters and 4 level 75s, I want to say that this is a very real and personal situation to me. I have three characters dedicated to storing my armor, weapons, and rare item drops for armor and weapon upgrades. I have gotten almost every space full on each of them and my main character is constnatly bogged down by transfering this gear to and from these characters for every job type (mage or melee).

I will list here my situation, a few concerns and ideas that might be useful during the development of storage slip system.

First my situation:

This is what the four chracters look like, that store my weapons, armor, and rare armor upgrade items.

1. Main Character, has aprox. 480 slots, with about 20 weapons, 200 armor and rest of it as rare/ex non transferable items and furinature.

2. Armor Character, has aprox. 220 slots, with about 200 armor items on it.

3. Weapon Character, has aprox. 150 slots, with about 80 weapon items on it.

4. Rare armor upgrade item Character, has aprox. 160 slots with about 127 items on it.

So basicly, I have around 500 armor and weapons I will need to store for all my 16 level 99 jobs currently, and the amount I need to store will probably increase to atleast 750 max slots.

I ask that when you do the storage slip system you keep a few things in mind when developing them. I have listed them below.

Concerns I have with storage slips:

1. The amount of time it will take to convert Weapons and Armor into storage slips and back to Weaons and Armor for each job change.

2. The space required for the storage slips. With 500-750 items needing storage, that would be too many slips for the current bags to hold if each slip takes up one space per every item.

3. The distance from point of job change to where you have to store or transfer storage slips or items for each job change. Also concerned about how many times currently we have to log out and in to transfer items from other characters to our main character for every job change. Each log out is 30 seconds each with the ability to only transfer 8 items at a time in the current delivery system.

Ideas I have:

1. The majority of my Weapons and Armor are marked (Rare) or (Rare/Ex), so something to store these would be great.

2. Most of my gear is used by level, such as for BCNM's, for level 75 cap limit content, and for level 99 content.

3. Would it be Possible to increase the amount of items we can transfer over to another character with storage slips or as actual weapons and armor.

4. Maybe a second deilvery system or a second moogle in our mog house for storage slip managment or transfering?

[Arcon]

Why is the item list transferred from the server every time a character zones? That never made sense to me. Just make the items stay client-side and have them only load once on login.

Items are checked server-side anyway before you can do anything with them, such as trading, equipping, crafting, etc., so client-side it's nothing but a display of items. Since you can't lose or gain any items upon zoning (except for temporary items, and I'm sure that could easily be handled client-side as well, just wipe them all upon zoning), there's no reason to reload the item list every time. This should cut down on zoning lag significantly (it takes a few seconds for all items to load).

Aside from that, I'm happy with these announcements. It would make me consider actually using a Porter Moogle. Although active inventory is still my main concern, it would be amazing if that could be addressed somehow. I wouldn't even mind decreasing satchel and sack size, if inventory could be increased by the same amount.

[Catmato]

However, what I feel needs to be done is to start using the storage slip system within mog houses

Thank you very much.

[Wystan]

Why not give us better mog house storage space? I keep on taking a break from this game because spending 2 hours sending 8 items at a time to a mule is the most mind numbingly boring frustrating BS ever.

Give me more room to store my junk or a better way to send stuff why when i send does it have to sit in the out box until i log in my mule collect the 8 items log out log in send 8 more log out log in take items out of d box log out log back in send 8 more items log out log back in take 8 itmes log out log back in send 8 items log out log back in........................WHY?

Why not try fixing it so as soon as i send my items to mule they go out of my out box right away?
Why not make it so I can store all that stuff in my mog house?
Why not have a Bank type of establishment where we pay to store our stuff?

Wow slips can be used in mog house........thanks so much................So what about all those crafting mats i have can i use a slip for those no? Being able to use storage slips inside mog house wow helps so much now i wont have to go to tav to stand at the explorer moogle and porter moogle at the same time /sigh this solution sucks balls.

The storage slips were great if you had the sets of armor to store, but what about those of us that have a lot of ah bought gear for our lower leveled jobs?

Why can i only sell 7 items on the ah at a time?

OR stop making gear only useful for one thing make gear that gives the jobs it is for more than just one use it's annoying to feel i should be carrying 5 pairs of pants 20 bodies and 15 pairs of shoes just for weapon skills and job abilities....


My only wish is for Mog house storage of over 500.

[Ziyyigo-Tipyigo]

We wouldn't be clamoring for more inventory quite so much if every /jobability didn't require its own unique full set of gear.

[Bahamut]

After sleeping, what you said about "it would start costing money to start doing new major upgrades", A thought hit me. I thought, there is starting to be alot of major things you can't upgrade in FFXI without it costing alot of money now. Why not use the FFXIV game engine and copy/paste our entire world onto the FFXIV game engine, and then transfer all of our characters over to it. On top of having a FFXIV rebirth, lets have a FFXI rebirth also.

After all, the last producer said that FFXIV was suppose to be for FFXI players, if thats true, then we should do this, and it would be the greatest gift ever given to FFXI players. Why not give all the FFXI players a gift of a new and better updated game engine capable of all these major updates and upgrades needed so badly and solidify FFXI's 20 year anniversry. We put so many hours into our FFXI jobs to start over, but this is something I beleive everyone whos got too much to lose in this game, would definatly pay for this to happen. I would pay atleast 60 to 100 dollars for a copy/pasted FFXI world that has a great new game engine behind it. I already pay 35 dollars a month for my two accounts. Its ultimately up to you, you are the producer and this would be a major decision, but heres my vote into that direction and feel alot of other players would agree if you just ask them.

New online games are coming out with stunning graphics and game mechanics in them, its going to be harder for FFXI to compete with these newer games without some sort of new game engine, this is something to think about when you think about overhauling major changes like in game storage. I know Elder Scrolls is going to produce an online game in the next few years and judging by the sales figures of just skyrim, I think alot of old schoool players who started playing FFXI at its birth are going to gravitate to the stunning exploration and graphics thier new game engine offers them. I would love to see FFXI be one of those games in the future with those kind of graphics and developer friendly mechanics that are so needed now in a ten year old game.