Make UI layout and PVP action sets saved separately for each Gear Set

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Originally Posted by Bayohne

Q1: When participating in Frontline and changing jobs, you have to constantly re-do your PvP actions and traits. Can you make it so these are saved for each job?

A1: I understand the request and we've started to look into making it so the actions set per job are saved. Please give us a bit of time to work on this.

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Make UI layout and PVP action sets saved separately for each Gear Set

UI, PVE actions, PVP actions and skill bar settings should be tied to Gear Sets and stored separately for each Gear Set.

Currently UI is shared among all jobs both in PVE and PVP. And skill bar content is saved based on main weapon type and job crystal. This setup should stay as default, but if player equips a Gear Set, settings for UI and skill bars from that Gear Set should take precedence over settings tied to main weapon and job crystal slots.

We can play PVP as 9 jobs and 8 Disciplines of War and Magic, so 17 in total.
These can be roughly split into healing tanking and damage paradigms, each requiring distinct UI setup and skill bar setup.
We can play PVE as the 17 Disciplines mentioned above, plus 8 Disciplines of Hand and 3 Disciplines of Land, requiring even more UI customization.
One UI set for all jobs and one skillbar set for each job is not enough.

UI and skill bar settings are stored locally on our gaming machines in a file. So there is no negative impact on your server (in both data storage and data transmission). All it takes is some coding and expanding things already in place (storage of settings + Gear Sets)

I would like the ability to save a couple different UI layouts, but would not want them tied to gear sets. I don't want to have to manage 30-some different layouts, and make any updates to each of them individually. Some people may find a different layout for PVP useful, or a separate layout for different roles. But there's no need for the UI layout to change just because you change your cosmetic outfit, nor in most cases when changing class/job. Just give us options like "/UILayout save <layout_name>" and "/UILayout load <layout_name>".

As for the skill bars, they're at least considering an option (and I'm hoping they decide to follow through with it) to enable different skill bars when you enter PvP (sort of like how you can now set certain bars for use when your weapon is drawn and others when it's sheathed). That sounds like a better solution than tying those to gear sets. (In any case, if the change of gear sets involves a change in class or job, the skill bars change already based on that. The only thing missing is the PvE/PvP distinction.)

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Originally Posted by Zirael_Foxfire

UI and skill bar settings are stored locally on our gaming machines in a file. So there is no negative impact on your server (in both data storage and data transmission).

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No negative impact on their servers, nor on a PC, where they can store whatever they want. Apparently they've got some significant issues though with keeping the save game files within the size limit that Sony allows on PS3 and PS4.


EDIT:
Found the source both about the PvP hotbar settings they're considering and about the PS3/4 size limitations. Check out this post:
http://forum.square-enix.com/ffxiv/t...=1#post2269436

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Originally Posted by Niwashi

[...] I don't want to have to manage 30-some different layouts, and make any updates to each of them individually.

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You could have a toggle to use 'custom UI' or default 'shared UI' in each Gear Set, just like now each Gear Set remembers if you want you head gear and weapon shown or not. That's not difficult to code.

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Originally Posted by Niwashi

Some people may find a different layout for PVP useful, or a separate layout for different roles. But there's no need for the UI layout to change just because you change your cosmetic outfit, nor in most cases when changing class/job. Just give us options like "/UILayout save <layout_name>" and "/UILayout load <layout_name>".

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Just add a menu command to the Gear Set menu (Equip set/Display set/Preview/etc) to copy UI settings from one Gear Set to another.

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Originally Posted by Niwashi

As for the skill bars, they're at least considering an option (and I'm hoping they decide to follow through with it) to enable different skill bars when you enter PvP (sort of like how you can now set certain bars for use when your weapon is drawn and others when it's sheathed). That sounds like a better solution than tying those to gear sets. (In any case, if the change of gear sets involves a change in class or job, the skill bars change already based on that. The only thing missing is the PvE/PvP distinction.)

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Separate skill bars for sheated/unsheated weapons are available only for gamepad. You shouldn't be using gamepad for anything besides fishing/gathering anyway. Also, how would it know which skillbar version you want to use on the Wolves Den Pier? Your idea is doable, but I would like to have more control over what skill bars I use with each Gear Set. I'm not entirely against your idea in this point, it looks fine.

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Originally Posted by Niwashi

No negative impact on their servers, nor on a PC, where they can store whatever they want. Apparently they've got some significant issues though with keeping the save game files within the size limit that Sony allows on PS3 and PS4.

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FFXIV is developed primarily on PC and then ported into consoles with some functions castrated out. I don't mind PS3 and PS4 missing some quality of life features as they are inferior systems already in many areas - you shouldn't use console for anything beyond crafting/gathering and simple solo play. So if developers can't figure out how to store character data on a console system, they should just omit the feature from that system. If you want full experience, you need PC already anyway.

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Originally Posted by Niwashi

EDIT:
Found the source both about the PvP hotbar settings they're considering and about the PS3/4 size limitations. Check out this post:
http://forum.square-enix.com/ffxiv/t...=1#post2269436

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Thanks for that, that's very disappointing underestimation from developer side.
Also, at launch developers promised us addon support six months after game release. And any features brought in through addons found to be popular/helpful would be hardcoded into the game itself for console users to take benefit. This has not been delivered yet, but if save data on consoles is so limited, I'm worried the developers will choose to hold back game feature development and ultimately do a great harm to the game. Just like FFXI has not yet reveived HD remake and is missing a great deal of features due to 'PS2 limitations'.

There are a number of problems with the UI as it currently is.

1 is that it's saved on the client side instead of server side - these items *should* be server side so you don't have to copy a folder every time you want to pick up your laptop and play.
2. The UI is not fully customizable. I am interested in customization on the level of Bartender so that I can use 1 bar and configure it in a numberpad structure instead of using 4 bars stacked on one another to do the same thing. That leads into 3
3. With better customization we can scroll through bars and thus have one for PvE, one for PvP, and those of us who like to separate them, AoE and ST rotations. Really, anything you want, then you just scroll to the appropriate bar for the content you are doing.

There is no need for an entirely different UI, just the ability to properly use the hotbars like every other game manages to give us.

As an aside - SE please just release an add-on toolkit. Stop trying to fight progress and modern gameplay. Take the best ideas and incorporate them into the game and the playstation platform, but stop punishing PC players because a handful of folks want to be on Playstation. We're a much bigger pool to pull from and right now you are competing with major titles with major followings and not one of them has ever even seriously considered putting their games on a console.

Please fix this.
When I first started PvP I made a new gearset and hotbars to go with it, then I found out my PvE hotbars were over written with PvP... @_@ grrrrrrr