The single biggest issue holding back FFXIV needs to be specifically addressed.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Dargoth_Draconia

I have only seen that like in the first couple months of the game. I literally never see it anymore, so I naturally thought all of that got fixed. Now the other thing that still seems to happen to me for no reason is game crashes at the worst possible times and actually some areas are extremely laggy where they used to not be like around Nophica Wells Aetheryte point.

---

Make sure your multisampleing is set to X2MSAA this usually fixes the crashing problems

I just wanted to add that, sadly, I don't think they will spend the money to fix this issue with new server banks in counties other than Japan until they can be sure this game is going to survive. Not trying to defend them, just stating what is probably the case.

And they plan to add PvP to this game eventually. hahahaha! Good Luck!

The discussion about distance from the servers impacting network performance piqued my interest. Not being particularly fluent in network protocols or special software tools for measuring network latency I fell back on trusty ping, even if it isn't brilliant. Hopefully I got my ms to s conversions right.

A ping from UK to yahoo.co.uk took 50ms. (0.050s)
A ping from UK to yahoo.com took 48ms. (0.048s)
A ping from UK to yahoo.co.jp took 315ms. (0.315s)

The ping to the server in the US was the fastest despite it being at least an 8,000 mile round trip (asssuming the server would be hosted on the east coast). This distance is at least 10 times more than the UK maximum round trip and 0.002 of a second faster.
The ping to the server in the UK took more time than pinging the US one, not knowing the exact location of the server I am defining a maximum possible round trip from my PC as 800 miles, the UK isn't that big after all.
The ping to the server in JP was the slowest but was still a very respectable 0.3s for a round trip of 12,000 miles.

So if the average "network problem" is 5 seconds it is questionable that saving one quarter of a second (1/20th of the observed network problem) by moving the servers from Japan to some place else is going to have any noticable impact at all.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Dux

The discussion about distance from the servers impacting network performance piqued my interest. Not being particularly fluent in network protocols or special software tools for measuring network latency I fell back on trusty ping, even if it isn't brilliant. Hopefully I got my ms to s conversions right.

A ping from UK to yahoo.co.uk took 50ms. (0.050s)
A ping from UK to yahoo.com took 48ms. (0.048s)
A ping from UK to yahoo.co.jp took 315ms. (0.315s)

The ping to the server in the US was the fastest despite it being at least an 8,000 mile round trip (asssuming the server would be hosted on the east coast). This distance is at least 10 times more than the UK maximum round trip and 0.002 of a second faster.
The ping to the server in the UK took more time than pinging the US one, not knowing the exact location of the server I am defining a maximum possible round trip from my PC as 800 miles, the UK isn't that big after all.
The ping to the server in JP was the slowest but was still a very respectable 0.3s for a round trip of 12,000 miles.

So if the average "network problem" is 5 seconds it is questionable that saving one quarter of a second (1/20th of the observed network problem) by moving the servers from Japan to some place else is going to have any noticable impact at all.

---

I live right on the coast of California, right near where the undersea cables go to Japan, I get 156-166ms pinging yahoo.co.jp. Though MMOs in my experience are different. With WoW, I am within 300 miles and we would get sometimes 150-300ms. It just depends. MMO's are all about how the servers are setup and the amount of people on them. After server restarts in WoW, my latency is like 30-50ms, few hours later when everyone is on it would increase to 350ms and stay that way all week. They also have the most sophisticated network and servers with AT&T.

The best thing SE can do it is just improve the servers and software. SE probably already has it setup with the tier companies for their traffic to take the fastest routes to Europe.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Seo

Make sure your multisampleing is set to X2MSAA this usually fixes the crashing problems

---

I have it at X4MSAA.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by pwnguin

I think the real problem is the FFXIV servers are in Japan and the latency for EU/US players is quite bad. It would make sense to host servers outside of Japan but I guess that won't happen until the game becomes profitable (if at all).

---

No, this would make FFXI unplayable as it was designed with 56k in mind, and we all know that isn't true (those who actually play the game and not just type a google search and read a bad review by someone else who doesn't play it.)

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Jennestia

No, this would make FFXI unplayable as it was designed with 56k in mind, and we all know that isn't true (those who actually play the game and not just type a google search and read a bad review by someone else who doesn't play it.)

---

yeah i played FFXI for about 5 years and would dual box for the last 3 years of that.... never had an issue in FFXI, WoW or Rift come even close to the latency issues this game has.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Chrees

Have fun trying to enjoy those jobs with the current state of the servers. :cool:

---

I was agreeing with this, something needs changing to help the game run better. No need to be all in my face about it.

Think about it. Job/Battle System: Done! -> Optimisation -> Content -> PS3 release, and reclaiming losses.

Makes sense to me.

I wouldn't mind if it was Optimised -> Jobs -> Content -> PS3 either. I'm happy either way.

As long as it's done >_>;

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Forerunner

I was agreeing with this, something needs changing to help the game run better. No need to be all in my face about it.

Think about it. Job/Battle System: Done! -> Optimisation -> Content -> PS3 release, and reclaiming losses.

Makes sense to me.

I wouldn't mind if it was Optimised -> Jobs -> Content -> PS3 either. I'm happy either way.

As long as it's done >_>;

---

I was hoping the smug bastard with his sunglasses (designer, no doubt) at the end of my post would've conveyed a little more sarcasm; I was just giving you a hard time, haha. I agree though, as long as it's done, I'm happy.

However, the current class system is still working, regardless of how broken it is in some players' eyes. The server problems, on the other hand, affect every single aspect of the game...so ideally, I would like to see that taken care of first.

Oh please. is this newsworthy? it is the same in ffxi and has been like that for a decade now. what makes you think they will change this in FFXIV?

besides, pvp worked in ffxi despite this.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Celeras

Yoshida has done a remarkable job turning this game around. Each and every patch things get better, yet one issue consistently remains with no end in sight. We've all experienced it, knowingly or not, because it has an influence on every single aspect of the game.

-Have you ever been running throughout town, and seen a character(or enemy) in front of you jump into the ceiling or through walls?
-Have you ever attempted to heal somebody running next to you, only to be told they're out of range?
-Have you ever seen an enemy go Red with nobody in sight, only to see a party member run up 5 seconds later and attack with a melee strike?
-Have you ever done DH and seen one of the Eyes charge up their stationary AoE far away from you, then proceed to watch it 'glide' along the floor while charging until its right on top of you?
-Or, perhaps, experienced something like this?

[SIZE="5"]*[/SIZE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hIJCQs-R7X4 [SIZE="5"]*[/SIZE] (I thought they added youtube embedding? :/ )

An extremely simple video that I think adequately shows the very root of the problem. While the video itself may seem 'trivial', rest assured the cause behind it is the same as in all the above examples.

I am, of course, talking about the horrid Server/Client relationship in Eorzea. These things happen to a very small extent in any online game, but to nowhere near the extremity of in FFXIV. All frustrating occurrences to say the least, and I think I'm being pretty kind phrasing it that way.

I've given nearly a year of leeway waiting for this to be fixed. It's crippling to all facets of gameplay, and quite frankly it's pretty darn embarrassing. All the content in the world won't make the game enjoyable if this has to be tolerated, and I shudder to think of the amplified effects it will have when we're moving at Chocobo speeds.

Every patch we hear about the 'server upgrades/optimizations', when are you going to get to the one that truly matters?

---

I've read in a translated interview that they are remodeling server/client communication system roots.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Chrees

I was hoping the smug bastard with his sunglasses (designer, no doubt) at the end of my post would've conveyed a little more sarcasm; I was just giving you a hard time, haha. I agree though, as long as it's done, I'm happy.

However, the current class system is still working, regardless of how broken it is in some players' eyes. The server problems, on the other hand, affect every single aspect of the game...so ideally, I would like to see that taken care of first.

---

Sarcasm never goes down well in text, you need to make the text noticably different for it to appear sarcastic. (For me anyways, dunno about anyone else.)

tbh, if I can go: Job: Dark Knight - Weapon: Sword/Axe -OR- Job: Red/Blue Mage - Weapon: Sword I'll be well happy.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Forerunner

Quote Originally Posted by Neptune View Post
I for one enjoy the quests. I'd like nothing more than to run around for 1 hour on a quest, but I should get 30,000 SP for doing so.
Quote Originally Posted by Forerunner View Post
So we can have r50 Tanks who can't tank, and r50 healers who can't heal? Good job.
Quote Originally Posted by DoctorMog View Post
DEAR LORD STOP THE TRAIN. I think I just found some logic.
Quote Originally Posted by XooZQ View Post
^ 100% That.

---

csb

/10char

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Overkill9000

csb

/10char

---

You're welcome bro.

I just wanted to say that I am very glad you put this video up. It highlights the single most important thing wrong with XIV that needs to be fixed before this game is relaunched / goes pay to play again.

I posted about this issue in another thread using protect/shell/buffs/debuffs as a reference.

http://forum.square-enix.com/ffxiv/t...l=1#post292065

I'll repost it here for support of this post.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Tibian

Server verification literally takes 4-5 seconds on everything. If you don't believe me, get protect and cast it on yourself. It will occasionally tick 4 minutes 54 seconds and 4 minutes 56 seconds. This indicates that protect is actually a 5 minute spell, but you literally lose 4-6 seconds due to server verification.

When you have such a delay on spells, the same can be applied to your movements, enemy skills, heals ect. This is why we wanted a hardware mouse and its exactly why things need to be modified. There is no "twitch" play to this game, because everything takes a soupy 5 seconds full of lag and waiting.

How are we supposed to have meaningful and challenging fights when we're battling SERVER VERIFICATION ON EVERYTHING and not battle mechanics!?!?!?

---

I'm bumping this thread....

why?

Cause I want a dev response =(! /pout

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Darrkness

plus its simple logic that a signal being sent over seas vs being sent over land is going to take longer.. 1000 miles is much longer and takes more time than 500 miles it makes a HUGE difference

---

I am not sure if you understand what big distances are... a big distance is from here to Betelgeuse, not from here to Japan

Also some locations in NA are closer to Japan than to other parts of North America. There is no perfect place to host servers. Also they want to avoid having people segregated by region. Personally I like the fact that there are peaks at all different times in XI so I can play with people regardless of whether I am on at a weird time for NA players.

Now - all that said - something more needs to be done about this issue. Good luck devs.

Bumping. This needs to remain on front page.

I 100% agree this is important and needs to be evaluated by the devs.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Albela_Killingifritcom

Oh please. is this newsworthy? it is the same in ffxi and has been like that for a decade now. what makes you think they will change this in FFXIV?

besides, pvp worked in ffxi despite this.

---

There's a difference between working and working well. Ballista and Brenner sucked.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Charismatic

There's a difference between working and working well. Ballista and Brenner sucked.

---

Ignore the guy you quoted he logs in and tells everyone to abandon ship on his R1 character and trolls /shout. He has just moved to trolling the forums now too.

It is not trolling if it is true. fact of the matter is the game is a carbon copy of FFXI with all its core flaws that will never get fixed.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Albela_Killingifritcom

It is not trolling if it is true. fact of the matter is the game is a carbon copy of FFXI with all its core flaws that will never get fixed.

---

Oh while I will agree with you this game was and still is for the most part a steaming pile of crap it doesnt change what you do is trolling.

Agree fully with the OP, its a big issue with the game that really needs sorted, or at least improved.

This really is the thing that has me the most skeptical about XIV's future. The content theyre adding is great, the changes to systems in-game are going really well, but then I consider the possibility that they don't sort out the lag and I don't think they'd have a hope in hell of bringing new players in.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Starflare

Bumping. This needs to remain on front page.

---

^ this.
/10char

Well... that's terrible and I kinda felt some of that too sometimes, I used to play the beta and didn't liked most of the issues this game had, now I decided to try the game again with all the "new content" around but I still feel that's something is missing, I love the graphics, the game details, and the battle system is better now but some problems that where present in the beta are still there wich is kinda dissappointing. :(

Bumping too. Let's make a difference!

I'll give you that its annoying but "crippling" and game being un-enjoyable is just being melodramatic :-/

lets see a response from SE !!!!

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Kamaru

I'll give you that its annoying but "crippling" and game being un-enjoyable is just being melodramatic :-/

---

Not being able to heal somebody right in front of you, or not being able to see them because theyre in the ceiling isnt crippling to gameplay?

/bump !

I knew the latency issues in this game were outrageous; I play side-by-side with my fiancée and we never seem to be able to keep track of one another when running next to each other. It was accepted as lag as we both run wirelessly.

Really though.. after seeing the OP's video I'm more than a little miffed! There's no reason for that kind of delay with technology where it is in this day and age!

Square-Enix, you are supposed to be a world-class game developer, a leader in the industry!
Look at that video and tell me... what do you have to say for yourself?

/shame <SE>

No because 99% of the time this isn't the case. I understand it may suck at the time but when it happens on extreme rare occasions I fail to see how its the "biggest" issue that warrants attention. Actually looking at the front page of the forums I see other fake "dire situation" threads that deserve more attention.

Also I've heard a lot of different reasons of people quitting and have never heard this as a complaint so I don't see how it's "holding back" ffxiv potential.

Well this video does provide a great example of this problem, and think about this:

In WoW players have JUMP ... and you can actively see players jumping around you in circles in PvP... so server location wouldn't matter. If you can see players from Europe hop around you in real time dodging your attacks, then FFXIV should be able to show that players are moving on a path (even if its delayed by 2 seconds it should still show what happened).


Although Side-By-Side Video is not the best example because:
That's not data from one PC to the other - That's data from your PC to Japan, back to your other PC, and the information going to your second PC is the most recent data that Japan has at the moment (as your second PC is receiving the data, your first PC is already changing that data). You're giving a great example of bad polling rates though and potentially lost packets. What I've seen in some MMOs, that FFXIV does not seem to do, is Path Prediction - Where the servers guess where the players are attempting to go and tries to show that. This is demonstrated, and you can test this yourselves, by playing WoW side by side, and move forward on one character then stop. Often times, the player will keep moving on your 2nd PC, then pause, and move back. That's because it predicted where he was going slightly to provide a fluid path - based on the speed and direction he was moving.

MMOs are not Peer to Peer so of course there is going to be a difference in what two clients see, because there is the middle man involved (the server). There have been some P2P MMO examples before, a great example of this setup is First Person Shooters - some (but not all) broadcast data directly to all players in the area, rather than delegate that task to the server.

Also people who have been saying "server location matters" ... it really doesn't. It absolutely does not.

Do some Speed Tests and check your ping and latency. The data is travelling at light speed.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Seo

Again I'd like to see the test done in japan, its the only way to know. Most MMOs have dedicated European, American, and Asian servers for a reason after-all. It's not just for language.

---

I'm not going through all 16 pages to see if this has already been said, but I have seen people on nicovideo.jp post videos of exactly the same thing.
Japanese players have the exact same problems as us NA/ EU players.

Bumping for dev response.

You never realize just how bad this issue is until it's staring you in the face.

This kind of crap needs to be fixed.

bump until dev response