Reassessing the Merger of FFXIV Worlds (02/13/2012)

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Originally Posted by Camate

Also, as we look to expand FFXIV, some of our visions for the future, such as releasing content based in Worlds from previous FF titles, will require us to use names previously reserved for Worlds as names of cities and other locations instead.

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What the kupo is this...

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Originally Posted by Noir

No. It means active players.

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I know the old way it specifically said active players. I'm just wondering if it was forgotten about or with the redoing of the world mergers they are even redoing name changes. These little details are important. ;)

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Originally Posted by Dreadnought

but wouldnt the branches of each servers community who actually cared about being with eachother still choose to follow eachother to their server of choice regardless of either option? Do most linkshells in each server commune with eachother enough to know eachothers existence?
Im just wondering how established these "communities" are to where they need to be treated like holy porcelain dolls.

if you wanted to play with your friends and they wanted to play with you.... then wouldnt you guys follow eachother through either option? if your friends left you and you decided to go to that server.... doesnt that mean you guys arent that great of friends? idk, it just seems to me that the only people who need this type of guidence and structure are children.

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You're thinking too small. There are people with more than 1 shell that enjoying playing with their shells. Although I'm not a person with multiple shells, I know a lot friends people that do and it will be a tough decision which shell they follow. Also people around that may not be any of the shells you have like JP players you have fun playing with and helping each other out.

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Originally Posted by Josh

Wait, what the...!

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He probably means stuff like Gilgamesh, Different Weapon enemies (Ultima, Omega, Emerald, Atma (?) ), enemies and whatnot.

EDIT: Wait a minute...now that I look again, it might be much bigger than that...

It feels like either a misunderstanding or a potentially much bigger announcement was smuggled into that news. Let's hope we get more info on that soon.

In any case, I'm glad the dev team is willing to go back and correct decisions that the community is strongly against--I seriously doubt SE would have done this a few years ago. The new system makes a lot more sense in many ways than the old system, so I want to give them props for fixing it. There will be, of course, be someone who will say they should have "gotten it right" in the first place, but I think the final result is what matters more than we arrived at it.

I will go to whichever server the bulk of the Oceanic players go to

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Originally Posted by Silversnow

I know the old way it specifically said active players. I'm just wondering if it was forgotten about or with the redoing of the world mergers they are even redoing name changes. These little details are important. ;)

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Agreed. This is more of an informal notification rather than an official one, so I am hoping he left out the active character part in the haste to get a post out. It does need clarification, but I suppose we will see an official announcement in a few days and that may be clearer on this point.

I think as we get closer to E3 we are going to hear about some very cool stuff:
Player Estates,
Golden Saucer,
Crystal Tower,
new races,
Combat Chocobos,
Map Re-design,
Floating Coliseum,
Add-Ons,
PvP Frontlines, and more!


Info from roadmap to 2.0:
・April 2012 – Version 2.0 client system complete
- Commence porting of current game content to version 2.0 client ・June 2012 – Worldwide launch of new promotion trailer at E3
・Early to Mid July 2012 – Patch 1.23
・September to October 2012 – Begin distribution of version 2.0 software for PC
- Begin distribution of PlayStation®3 system beta version
・October to November 2012 – Reinstate limited free trial period for PC version
- Commence PlayStation®3 system closed beta test
・Post-January 2013 – Version 2.0 client (PC and PlayStation®3 system) goes on sale
- Free trial period ends

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Originally Posted by Darkhaund

Did I miss read, or are they going to introduce things and stuff into 14 from previous final fantasies?

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As long as we dont see anything transform into or from a race car and or motorcycle, I am semi-ok with that I guess. I always thought they would get a little farther than the 14th title before they had to do this though.

On the plus side: GIVE US THE CARD GAME FROM FF8 PLEASE!!!!!

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Originally Posted by Biggs

As long as we dont see anything transform into or from a race car and or motorcycle, I am semi-ok with that I guess. I always thought they would get a little farther than the 14th title before they had to do this though.

On the plus side: GIVE US THE CARD GAME FROM FF8 PLEASE!!!!!

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technicaly....this isnt the 14th title, more like the 30th or so

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Originally Posted by Biggs

On the plus side: GIVE US THE CARD GAME FROM FF8 PLEASE!!!!!

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Give us a card game period... maybe a newly designed, unique FFXIV one? ( and an entire Gold Saucer casino - I wanna take your gilz =D )

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Originally Posted by TheVedis

technicaly....this isnt the 14th title, more like the 30th or so

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I dont really care if they rehash stuff for the lesser titles, but the fact they are doing it for "numbered" title just seems a little sad to me. Its not a big deal though, they gave us materia already and, with the exception of them making that stuff better than drop gear, I am ok with it. I just hope they dont go overboard.

They shouldnt, it'll probably just be certain areas named similar to other places. Nothing like a complete 1:1 recreation of a past FF location.

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Originally Posted by Biggs

I dont really care if they rehash stuff for the lesser titles, but the fact they are doing it for "numbered" title just seems a little sad to me. Its not a big deal though, they gave us materia already and, with the exception of them making that stuff better than drop gear, I am ok with it. I just hope they dont go overboard.

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I think it'll be more like a card game and a casino really. It's a reintroduction of old content in a new or kind of a face-left. It happens in all FFs really and it is what people keep asking for (card game, casino, chocobo race)

I think it would be nice if we were given an option to change our names even if there is no conflict. I don't see why not anyway.

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With that said, we would like to select the names of Worlds from the “Legacy Item List” which represents the history of the FINAL FANTASY series.

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I hope I end up on Excalipoor.

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Originally Posted by Kannadi_Albedo

I hope I end up on Excalipoor.

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Only if I end up on Elfabulosa

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Originally Posted by Raza

I think it would be nice if we were given an option to change our names even if there is no conflict. I don't see why not anyway.

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this. Might as well give us this option instead of forcing ppl to deactivate/reactivate with mule to change name.

You guys are seriously getting bent out of shape over not being allowed to have a free name change?

If you didnt like the name why did you choose it to begin with

There's nothing wrong with a free name change. It doesn't really cost them anything and besides, we may be on a new server with new people anyway.

The option for change is always nice.

No ones getting bent lol just saying it would be nice to offer instead of having to do it the hard way.

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Originally Posted by Naoki_Yoshida

Also, we would like to reserve the name Gold Saucer for the casino, not a world.

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Fantastic news! :)

I can't wait to see Final Fantasy XIV's version of Gold Saucer! :)

Hopefully with Chocobo Races where you can race your own (Raised) Chocobo. ;)

Colliseum & casino would be the ultimate outlets for the casual player.

...but I hope they provide worthwhile challenges, ranks,goals for the harcore player, too.

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Originally Posted by Rowyne

^ This. Now they just need to officially designate/suggest/recommend it so players will know where to find us. :)

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Or know how to avoid you >.>

<3 dont take that the wrong way.

The option that gives the most choice with the least confusion (for players who don't pay attention) is the best one. People like choice and the freedom to decide for themselves. Or at the very least the illusion that they have a choice.

A + B = New World (with the option to migrate elsewhere if desired) is likely the best one. Preserve as much as possible in regards to linkshells and comunities that have already established.

A merger is definitely needed. There is a critical mass needed for this game to keep the play environment healthy and the market wards humming with activity. It is a mistake to retract a decision like this completely. Once a method and choice has been made it should be followed through, even if there are those who decide to hold a tantrum over it where everyone can see. There is a balance between being decisive and seemingly tyrannical. I know you are trying to make the best choice, but making one then retracting it can make things more chaotic and difficult for morale.

You cannot make everyone happy. There will always be someone who will dissagree and usually an upset minority are usually the loudest and most underfoot when it comes to changes, even minor ones. It is better to be decisive and follow though consitantly while keeping an ear open for real problems and not the unconstructive gripes of a few. The majority of the players that truely love this game will generally wait quietly for the changes and be glad for anything that improves the experience.

It still comes down to this. People like choice. Or at least the illusion of having one. They react better in a consistant environment. Change is inevitable and getting someone to like that change is a daunting task at times and being decisive and leading them through that process by offering them strong leadership and respect for their individual need to choose for themselves is the best course.

I've been away for some time after deciding to set the game aside till the game becomes playable for me again. I've returned to find a much improved game. It is worthy of my time and dime. There are a lot of "hibernating" players among the inactives waiting for 2.0 I like the direction it is going and I look forward to the future improvements. Thank you team FFXIV, for your hard work and dedication to the players and fans.

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Originally Posted by Alhanelem

Or know how to avoid you >.>

<3 dont take that the wrong way.

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1. True. Everyone has a right to their preference.
2. :P
3. <3

I'm impressed with how fast they reacted to customer concerns through the forums and changed their plans. Shows a lot of customer priority in a company.

look like the eu have the lowest population and get their own server

underdog ftw ?

very nice content from other ff's I wonder what they have in store and I can't wait to check out the gold saucer.

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Also, as we look to expand FFXIV, some of our visions for the future, such as releasing content based in Worlds from previous FF titles, will require us to use names previously reserved for Worlds as names of cities and other locations instead. (For example, we feel like Midgar has too powerful of an image associated with it to be used as a name for a World)

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Great news and potentials indeed.

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Also, we would like to reserve the name Gold Saucer for the casino, not a world.

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http://www.otherworldonline.net/stuff/kermit.gif

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Since World 10 will be a new World, some players may worry that this world will be severely underpopulated if few players desire a transfer to this world. With that in mind, we decided that as a special measure, we will look into either allowing players to transfer another time or merging underpopulated servers, in the case that there is a significant disparity in the numbers of players on each server. Therefore players should have no worries when considering World 10 as a potential destination.

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<.< .... Thanks ...
when? 6 month after? 6 week after? 1 day after?

"no worries" he says ......

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Originally Posted by Evangelus

<.< .... Thanks ...
when? 6 month after? 6 week after? 1 day after?

"no worries" he says ......

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The translation of this:

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Originally Posted by Evangelus

WAHHHHHHHHH!

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I still have read nothing in all Yoshi's waffle which says WHY a merger and destruction of the current servers is needed.

YES, I KNOW some folks feel 'their' server is empty, so LET THEM TRANSFER themselves somewhere else. Nothing in all he's said explains his desire to completely destroy the existing communities and re-build for the [minority?] who are unhappy with the population on the world they're currently playing on.

I have a lot of respect for Yoshi and how he's undertaken his role since he took over, but on this subject, given that the current game only has about around 9 months to live I think he's dead wrong.

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Originally Posted by Darkhaund

Did I miss read, or are they going to introduce things and stuff into 14 from previous final fantasies?

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I believe you misunderstood. He was talking about concepts from previous game, primarily FFXI it seems, for the naming of the new worlds.

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Originally Posted by Kraggy

I still have read nothing in all Yoshi's waffle which says WHY a merger and destruction of the current servers is needed.

YES, I KNOW some folks feel 'their' server is empty, so LET THEM TRANSFER themselves somewhere else. Nothing in all he's said explains his desire to completely destroy the existing communities and re-build for the [minority?] who are unhappy with the population on the world they're currently playing on.

I have a lot of respect for Yoshi and how he's undertaken his role since he took over, but on this subject, given that the current game only has about around 9 months to live I think he's dead wrong.

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Because there are people that are not able to enjoy the game as it is intended. Nothing is getting destroyed. They're getting integrated.

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Originally Posted by Evangelus

<.< .... Thanks ...
when? 6 month after? 6 week after? 1 day after?

"no worries" he says ......

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I would say 60 days in order for them to get a true feel for the situation.

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The character that was created earliest (based on creation timestamp) will retain the name. All other characters with the same name will have to choose a new name.

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Clarification needed. Old plan also listed the requirement for the character to be active at the time of the merge. I'm not in danger of losing my name but losing your name to an inactive char kinda sucks.

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Originally Posted by Kraggy

I still have read nothing in all Yoshi's waffle which says WHY a merger and destruction of the current servers is needed.

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Look at it like this: maybe there will be more than 10 people online in a shell, and maybe they will even be active and not just idling like it is now. Just look a CoM, you log in, see about 12 people online and no one responds.

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Originally Posted by Camate

Apologies for the delay! Here is the second (and lengthier!) post from Yoshi-p :)

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Originally Posted by Kraggy

I still have read nothing in all Yoshi's waffle which says WHY a merger and destruction of the current servers is needed.

YES, I KNOW some folks feel 'their' server is empty, so LET THEM TRANSFER themselves somewhere else. Nothing in all he's said explains his desire to completely destroy the existing communities and re-build for the [minority?] who are unhappy with the population on the world they're currently playing on.

I have a lot of respect for Yoshi and how he's undertaken his role since he took over, but on this subject, given that the current game only has about around 9 months to live I think he's dead wrong.

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■World Merge Concept ■

The main purpose of the World Merge is largely based on the idea of providing a suitable community size to all active and currently playing players for every bit of content. In other words, the goal is to make each World’s population adequate so that parties can be formed sufficiently in each time zone.

The important factor here is not the total number of active players (= number of characters), it is the amount of people from each time zone that can gather together.
Even if the number of active players is large, FFXIV is operated on global servers, so we need an environment that will allow players from each of the three time zones (Japan, North America, and Europe) to gather together.
(Though the total number of active characters for a world may seem the same, looking at it for each time zone, the number of peak players changes.) The facilitation of making each population the proper size is the main objective of this World Merge.

Sounds like an explanation to me.

With a first and last name for all Characters.
The only ppl that have to worry about there name, are the ones that use common names.

That means you,Dexter Morgan, Baby Cakes, Baby Doll and crappy Justin Beeber


Edit: Why is Steven Jon on every server, he sure is HOT http://www.facebook.com/pages/Steven...45883465458653

well if a+b =x world then that makes 9 worlds. so the 10th world will be a completely empty server unless all the euro players go there which i already know not all will. Seems like a bad idea. Out of the 9 servers im sure 1 will still be high pop and one will be the low pop. Id suggest the euro and RP player go to the low pop to help bring them up some