Why is Glamour Dresser Capped

This is so frustrating, why is the Glamour Dresser Capped at 400? can't they just leave it to be unlimited? holy shit this is annoying.

It's inventory data that needs to be stored, so they can only give people a certain amount each.

We might get the cap increased in future but they're unlikely to remove it altogether.

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Originally Posted by Iscah

It's inventory data that needs to be stored, so they can only give people a certain amount each.

We might get the cap increased in future but they're unlikely to remove it altogether.

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I'm still dreaming of a day where they just rip off WoW's system, it's so much better in ever way. One of the things I prefer in WoW.

Because they did a terrible implementation.

All it needed was essentially a check list or log of visuals you'd unlocked. Then the data requirement would have been minimal.

Doing that would have essentially made each glamour a binary 0 locked or 1 unlocked when chacked against a master list. Which would then allow 4 glamour appearances per byte of hexadecimal data. So a single block of ffff could be 16 glamours. Where as with the current system its not even 1.

Glamour A would be 1
glamour B would be 2
Glamour C would be 4
Glamour D would be 8

then if you had unlocked A and D but not B and C, that byte of data would be 9. if you unlocked C and D but not A and B that byte would be C (12 in hex)

quite a few games do it like this as its super efficient you could effectively store upto 4000 glamours in a single kilobyte of player data. which would then mean you could store the glamor data for over 1000 player characters on a single age old 3.5 floppy disk.

They really just need to axe the dye and glamour system and do it like Guildwars 2. Didn’t play WoW but I assume it’s similar.

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Originally Posted by Dzian

Because they did a terrible implementation.

All it needed was essentially a check list or log of visuals you'd unlocked. Then the data requirement would have been minimal.

Doing that would have essentially made each glamour a binary 0 locked or 1 unlocked when chacked against a master list. Which would then allow 4 glamour appearances per byte of hexadecimal data. So a single block of ffff could be 16 glamours. Where as with the current system its not even 1.

Glamour A would be 1
glamour B would be 2
Glamour C would be 4
Glamour D would be 8

then if you had unlocked A and D but not B and C, that byte of data would be 9. if you unlocked C and D but not A and B that byte would be C (12 in hex)

quite a few games do it like this as its super efficient you could effectively store upto 4000 glamours in a single kilobyte of player data. which would then mean you could store the glamor data for over 1000 player characters on a single age old 3.5 floppy disk.

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Yeah, this is exactly what I've been telling people too. I assume this is how WoW does it behind the scenes as well.

They could even keep the glamour prism and glamour dresser system, just use a piece of gear plus a prism to save its appearance to your log. No need to store the item, and no need to remove the concept of glamour prisms from the game. You just consume a prism with the item at hand, and boom, you have the appearance unlocked now. The glam game would be seriously improved if they simply allowed everyone access to all appearances, provided they're inclined to farm for them.

Heavily reduce or remove the restrictions on glamour plates too. I want more of them. Also, if they for some reason want to keep the thing where you can't apply plates outside of cities, at the very least remove that restriction for linked plates. It's so dumb that if I switch between two jobs using the same gear outside of cities, I don't get to have my preferred glam for that gear set. Instead it just keeps whatever glam is on the gear from the previous job that used it and refuses to show it because the job I just switched to can't have the appearance of another jobs gear.

I just want to have control over my appearance, Squeenix. Pls.

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Originally Posted by Iscah

It's inventory data that needs to be stored, so they can only give people a certain amount each.

We might get the cap increased in future but they're unlikely to remove it altogether.

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Yet other games manage to give us an unlimited system...

Yes, FFXIV isn't them, but it's not like better systems are some pipe dream technology can't achieve. More like FFXIV is the hundred year old home with tons of plumbing and electrical issues that are difficult and expensive to fix. But it's hard to not eye the more modern homes without those issues.

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Originally Posted by Risvertasashi

Yet other games manage to give us an unlimited system...

Yes, FFXIV isn't them, but it's not like better systems are some pipe dream technology can't achieve. More like FFXIV is the hundred year old home with tons of plumbing and electrical issues that are difficult and expensive to fix. But it's hard to not eye the more modern homes without those issues.

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Using your metaphor, it's more like FFXIV is the 100 year old home that's been refurbished to high heck but you can't get rid of the popcorn ceilings, or rip down any walls, without paying hundreds of thousands of dollars because surprise, they've got asbestos! While the plumbing and electrical issues *can* be fixed, you can't do so without first fixing the asbestos issue because that's what's stopping everything else.

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Originally Posted by MilkieTea

Using your metaphor, it's more like FFXIV is the 100 year old home that's been refurbished to high heck but you can't get rid of the popcorn ceilings, or rip down any walls, without paying hundreds of thousands of dollars because surprise, they've got asbestos! While the plumbing and electrical issues *can* be fixed, you can't do so without first fixing the asbestos issue because that's what's stopping everything else.

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I mean, yeah, the metaphor can only be taken so far.

It also breaks down because in reality, some of those more modern "houses" are actually older than FFXIV, too, but still manage to have better systems.

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Originally Posted by Sorzai

This is so frustrating, why is the Glamour Dresser Capped at 400? can't they just leave it to be unlimited? holy shit this is annoying.

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They would if they could. It's capped at 400 because right now it's the best they can offer. I think the system would need an overhaul to be unlimited. As it is now actual items with stats are being stored in the dresser, not just skins, so that is more information than just a skin. And perhaps they can't even offer one that only provides skins due to another technical limitation.

I remember people telling me it took a long time for wow to get its current system.

When xiv re-released, wows system hadn't come out yet. When glamour released, I still don't think it had.

If something isn't planned for originally, it takes much much longer to make it work in the constraints of a games systems.

They probably whipped up the dresser as an interim because it was the easier of the 2 to tackle, and would provide some relief.

As a programmer, you aren't giving every character a tick sheet of every glam possible in the game. It's way too massive. From the server-end you want to build a list of what they have, not what is possible. In-fact this is done in a lot of games today. 6+ year old players have longer lists, but 1 month players don't and that's how it's funded.

Inventory in an MMO is hard, this isn't an offline game where they can just store everything you have in a save file on your PC and load it up like lighting a Christmas tree. The limitation of your inventory you can carry with everywhere is basically capacity driven, you only have so much bandwidth to allocate to every person but you want to do it wisely so you aren't cutting game quality. Those 100 slots have to follow you everywhere you go in the game, including the instance servers. That's a hit on the servers as much as you casting a spell. If you gave millions of people 100 more inventory slots overnight, you can bet the servers won't be too happy without major changes, so what do you do?

So this is obviously this is why the chocobo saddlebag was created, now we have inventory that doesn't have to follow you into instance servers because we have more world server capacity and it won't cut down on instance server quality which track the player more often than you out and about in The Lochs. Then we have the glamour closet, where it's technically inventory, but it's only available in the towns that obviously more server resources dedicated to. Plus you are going to a consolidated instance when going to the hotel, so it cuts you out of side-by-side player interaction and into your own space to allow this expansion without hindering game performance.

You notice why you can't open equipment coffers outside of towns? This is related to this as well. The instance servers don't hold the loot inside that chest you won in E12S or that job jump chest of gear you bought from the mogstation.

It's likely way easier to add more glamour chest capacity than anything else in this game, it depends on those hotel instance cutouts which they have improved quite a bit over time like allowing you to still queue for stuff.

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Originally Posted by MarsAstro

I'm still dreaming of a day where they just rip off WoW's system, it's so much better in ever way. One of the things I prefer in WoW.

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Right 1000xs better than what we have.

Two possible options.

1. Small indie studio that can't handle more slots technologically.
2. They want that sweet sweet money from additional retainers (which leads us to the point one, small indie studio that needs more money because they barely make it from 1st to 1st).

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Originally Posted by Dzian

All it needed was essentially a check list or log of visuals you'd unlocked. Then the data requirement would have been minimal.

Doing that would have essentially made each glamour a binary 0 locked or 1 unlocked when chacked against a master list.

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Problem: that binary model can't save dye information.
Or even if I'm using an HQ or an NQ piece.

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Originally Posted by technole

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Yoooo this is an excellent and informative write up.
Thanks for the post.

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Originally Posted by Sorzai

Why is the Glamour Dresser Capped at 400?

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Because SE fears the true endgame.

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Originally Posted by Sorzai

This is so frustrating, why is the Glamour Dresser Capped at 400? can't they just leave it to be unlimited? holy shit this is annoying.

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I'm more surprised anyone can even reach 400 :P

I've only used 11 slots so far haha

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Originally Posted by ItMe

Problem: that binary model can't save dye information.
Or even if I'm using an HQ or an NQ piece.

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The dresser itself can be binary, and save dye information in the glamour plates. The dresser (and the other thingy for event items) is saving a lot of useless information just because "in case the player wants to take it out again".

HQ and NQ info is also useless because there's no difference in the model anyways.

Just use a catalogue system and don't remove the item. Let players decide what to do with the item after it has been registered into the dresser (which would BIND the item).

A bigger problem I have though is with wanting to have my shared role-based items appear differently for different jobs. :(

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Originally Posted by SecretIsland

I'm more surprised anyone can even reach 400 :P

I've only used 11 slots so far haha

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Last night I had to remove around 30 (not so interesting) items from dresser to make a room for the new ones. Painful but had to be done since my inventory is screaming for help

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Originally Posted by Zfz

The dresser itself can be binary, and save dye information in the glamour plates. The dresser (and the other thingy for event items) is saving a lot of useless information just because "in case the player wants to take it out again".

HQ and NQ info is also useless because there's no difference in the model anyways.

Just use a catalogue system and don't remove the item. Let players decide what to do with the item after it has been registered into the dresser (which would BIND the item).

A bigger problem I have though is with wanting to have my shared role-based items appear differently for different jobs. :(

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A lot of people, myself included, pre-dye their gear before putting it into the dresser to save on dyes. Because the dresser keeps the dye you have on your gear so you don't have to buy a mountain of dyes everytime you glamour something or change a piece. If the Dresser wouldn't allow for dyed gear to be stored then the 'old' glamour system would be better considering it will apply the dyed gear as it normally would. So that would, imo, defeat the point of the glamour dresses and I'd cosider it mood. If you want something that does that, let's point at the Armoire then because that's exactly what it does. Just the model, no dyes.

And the glamour plate dyes wouldn't work either, as again, if you wanted to swap out pieces they'd be undyed. Therefor you gotta apply dyes again and certain dyes will always be expensive. So I strongly believe that a dye-removal on the Glamour Dresser would make it incredibly bad. Might as well put everything in the Armoire then, right?

On another note, can you hear the outrage of the people who did pre-dye their gear when it's announced all the dyes will be removed from their gear in the Dresser? Can't see that going well either.

All in all, just keep it as-is and let's just hope for small increases every once in a while. I'm sure the dev team knows we want it and I would like to think that they are looking into improving/expanding the Dresser.

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Originally Posted by Zfz

The dresser itself can be binary, and save dye information in the glamour plates. The dresser (and the other thingy for event items) is saving a lot of useless information just because "in case the player wants to take it out again".

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It can be binary but it isn't.
If they change it to be binary we need dedicated dye storage, or better yet, have players unlock dye transmog style so I'm not hemorrhaging scripts rebuying pearl white and gunmetal black dye.

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Originally Posted by Zfz

HQ and NQ info is also useless because there's no difference in the model anyways.

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It is useful to me.

I have some pieces with similar thumbnails and use the HQ sparkle to tell them apart without having to hover over them.

I have HQ gear I glam with that I also remove and use as I'm levelling other jobs.

It's not a major point but it's not useless.

400 slots is pretty low for 8 years worth of glamours. It's two retainers. The reason they aren't giving more glam space is so they can sell you more retainers. As we all know, handing them a couple of euros magically solves all these difficult data storage and coding issues.

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Originally Posted by Reinha

400 slots is pretty low for 8 years worth of glamours. It's two retainers. The reason they aren't giving more glam space is so they can sell you more retainers. As we all know, handing them a couple of euros magically solves all these difficult data storage and coding issues.

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No doubt, it's part of the reason too, but that's why they gave a glamour closet free and not full storage. Likely as an experiment as well since the curve of glam has gotten higher so they need to increase the share of free storage for it.

Square-Enix is a public company, just like any others on Wall Street ordeal.

It wouldn't surprise me if YoshiP wanted to request 200 more slots, it may have to be taken up the chain to Square-Enix finance office on how much money could be lost by dropped retainer subs. There are things we can't always do on programming because the cost/benefit too.

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Originally Posted by Valkyrie_Lenneth

I remember people telling me it took a long time for wow to get its current system.

When xiv re-released, wows system hadn't come out yet. When glamour released, I still don't think it had.

If something isn't planned for originally, it takes much much longer to make it work in the constraints of a games systems.

They probably whipped up the dresser as an interim because it was the easier of the 2 to tackle, and would provide some relief.

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WoW had transmog in 2011. It's been refined along the way but it already had the system before XIV was re-released. Now that is 7 years after WoW came out, so it wasn't something that was there from the get-go.

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Originally Posted by TaleraRistain

WoW had transmog in 2011. It's been refined along the way but it already had the system before XIV was re-released. Now that is 7 years after WoW came out, so it wasn't something that was there from the get-go.

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No not transmog. The wardrobe

Their slimy way of getting people to buy extra retainers that normally wouldn't.

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Originally Posted by Valkyrie_Lenneth

No not transmog. The wardrobe

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Yeah the wardrobe was like pre-Legion I believe. Void Storage was limited like the Glamour dresser.

Though another thing to point out in this is that WoW came out in 2004 and they've been able to modify what has to be over a decade of spaghetti code to implement these changes. Which really drives home further the idea that SE is doing it on purpose. Also like someone else said, toss them some extra money and those data storage issues disappear.

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Originally Posted by Macleod

Their slimy way of getting people to buy extra retainers that normally wouldn't.

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You better believe it, sure they fight RMT. But they also ensure you are putting more RMT into SE's coffers.

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Originally Posted by TaleraRistain

Yeah the wardrobe was like pre-Legion I believe. Void Storage was limited like the Glamour dresser.

Though another thing to point out in this is that WoW came out in 2004 and they've been able to modify what has to be over a decade of spaghetti code to implement these changes. Which really drives home further the idea that SE is doing it on purpose. Also like someone else said, toss them some extra money and those data storage issues disappear.

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Well, not necessarily. Certain data storage issues disappear.

You'll note that you can't pay for larger character inventory nor can you pay for a bigger glamour dresser.


Its more "when rebuilding the game and making it compatible with 1.0 character data, things were cobbled together and rushed, making it a bit of a mess"

So yes spaghetti code. They tend to not want to mess too much with the core of some of these systems because of how intrinsically tied together it all is.

Which is unfortunate. I'd love for them to hire a team to specifically work on clearing out the mess than is the remnants of the rush to release 2.0

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Originally Posted by ItMe

I have some pieces with similar thumbnails and use the HQ sparkle to tell them apart without having to hover over them.

I have HQ gear I glam with that I also remove and use as I'm levelling other jobs.

It's not a major point but it's not useless.

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I understand how useful it is (I use it myself) but this is not a glam problem, it's a general storage problem since you're equiping stuff for the stats.

It opens another can of worms about how space is managed in inventory, saddlebags and retainers (and SE makes money with retainers) and how the dresser is being used to store useful when the point is glam / plates.

How to solve this? I dunno, but I'd rather manage things I might use later and dyes while keeping everything binary on a dresser / glam book. Heck, even NQ/HQ would be easier to store this way.

Why does everything has to be unlimited? People want unlimited space in the glamour dresser. People want unlimited inventory space. Aren't people being able anymore to make decisions on what they want to keep and what not? When players had to chose 5 out of 10 role skills for use at the same time, they complained that they wanted 6 or 7 or all 10 role skills to use and not had to decide between them. It seems players don't want to (or can't?) make the decision on which items to keep and which not. Is that really so hard?

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Originally Posted by ACE135

Why does everything has to be unlimited? People want unlimited space in the glamour dresser.
[...]
It seems players don't want to (or can't?) make the decision on which items to keep and which not. Is that really so hard?

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I've only been playing for about 3 years, and I have 300ish pieces I use in my tank glams alone. Not in all of my tank glams, just the ones I use regularly.
When the dresser cap is 400 and I enjoy other roles too... it is rather restrictive.
Unlimited space is a pipe dream.
But more space is sorely needed.

Play as a Highlander Male. Problem solved *laugh*
I still have 200 Places left in my dresser because 80% of all gear looks awful on me.

My Glamour Dresser is Capped, too. And shoed. And ringed. And pantsed.

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Originally Posted by Dzian

All it needed was essentially a check list or log of visuals you'd unlocked. Then the data requirement would have been minimal.

Doing that would have essentially made each glamour a binary 0 locked or 1 unlocked when chacked against a master list. Which would then allow 4 glamour appearances per byte of hexadecimal data. So a single block of ffff could be 16 glamours. Where as with the current system its not even 1.

Glamour A would be 1
glamour B would be 2
Glamour C would be 4
Glamour D would be 8

then if you had unlocked A and D but not B and C, that byte of data would be 9. if you unlocked C and D but not A and B that byte would be C (12 in hex)

quite a few games do it like this as its super efficient you could effectively store upto 4000 glamours in a single kilobyte of player data. which would then mean you could store the glamor data for over 1000 player characters on a single age old 3.5 floppy disk.

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Mother-f*#$$$# THIS. This is what I've been saying for ages now and people look at me like I've sprouted an extra head that's just recited the Iliad in flawless Swahili (ok that ONE time.. but honestly). I hear about how much space it would take up, but how much space does the current thing take up? This has to be less than that.

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Originally Posted by technole

As a programmer, you aren't giving every character a tick sheet of every glam possible in the game. It's way too massive. From the server-end you want to build a list of what they have, not what is possible. In-fact this is done in a lot of games today. 6+ year old players have longer lists, but 1 month players don't and that's how it's funded.

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Why the F not? That's exactly what should be done. How do I know that's exactly what should be done and isn't at all impossible? Because that's exactly what WoW did. How did they do that? Are they magic? I'm a programmer too and if all you're storing is a big list of binary data you can do that in a tiny amount of space per player data. I promise you WoW's system is also account-wide because it actually uses LESS data to do that than it would to store it character-by-character.

Now... there'd be a notable limitation to this system: you couldn't save anything else. So dyes, HQ bit, and aethereal stats would have to go byebye. We could shift the dyes to the glamour plates themselves. You'd just lose the dye field on the individual entries in the list. Actually currently it's stored in both places, so we just nix one of them. Dyes should be stored in the dresser anyway so let's kill two birds with one stone there. The HQ bit is pretty meaningless for glamours so that's safely discarded. Aethereal stats are a bit of a wrinkle but honestly they also don't really matter in the grand scheme if we're just talking about a big list-o-glamours. I don't believe any aethereal pieces currently have unique models, so we just unlock the base model and leave the aethereal stats alone.

The current system is a dumpster fire that's rolling around town Katamari Damacy style. And it isn't helped by pretending there's nothing that can be done about it. There is. They just have to stop making excuses and do it.

Today I learned that Final Fantasy XIV is a home with lead paint, asbestos ceilings, plumbing and electrical problems, and mold growth.

We are truly a great PR team!