I've been playing FFXIV since 1.23 and over the years since I have talked several people into joining me in Eorzea. Every single time it has been a total mess trying to get friends set up with a new character on the same server.
Imagine being a new player, unsure if you even want to play the game, and someone tells you "yeah, it's kind of a mess to get on a chosen server. Try creating your character at 5am, that almost always works."
Then there's extra confusion about which version of the game to get. Honestly SE should remove most of the SKUs for the game and only sell the complete edition, and latest expansion. Steam & reg PC version need to be combined, and console edition shouldn't be another full entry price.
It was bad before, and now that we have this giant exodus of players coming in from WoW it's just gotten worse. It doesn't help that free trial accounts are eating into character limits on servers either.
I sure hope SE plans on adding like 5+ additional servers per data center soon, plus all the secondary servers for instances\housing that entails. Can't imagine that extra budget will come easily though.
-
07-12-2021, 11:23 PMDoki1st impressions for account creation are kind of embarassing SE
-
07-12-2021, 11:30 PMKurando
If the capacity requires it, could definitely see more worlds being added as it worked quite well for the EU datacentres, although their population was more evenly spread out to begin with. NA is known to be quite unbalanced with certain worlds just dwarfing others, not sure if this has changed much in the last couple of years or if it's still fairly unchanged, in which case expect more repopulation incentives than anything.
-
07-12-2021, 11:33 PMSotaris
You title thread account creation but it only about full worlds? Nice clickbait i guess.
-
07-12-2021, 11:41 PMDoki
It isn't just full worlds. Explaining how to purchase the correct version of the game (Steam vs Reg PC or console) and it being clear that you need to buy the game multiple times possibly, account creation on mog station is a mess as well. I have had multiple people say "It shouldn't be this hard to give them my money." I guess you just don't have friends in RL if you've never had to go through this BS.
-
07-13-2021, 01:08 AMPuremallaceI think when I just bought Endwalker it was pretty clear because they had dropdowns clearly labeled. NOW APPLYING THAT CODE was another story.Quote:
Originally Posted by Doki
-
07-13-2021, 01:10 AMSotarisBuying the game never been hard, applying and setting everything up on Mogstation is however a nightmare.Quote:
Originally Posted by Doki
The queue is there to take off to much load to the login servers. We didn't always have this problem but during certain patches (hello SB release) it crashed so many servers and instances. It's a bandaid and isn't that big of a deal imo.Quote:
Originally Posted by Larirawiel
Oh absolutely 100%. I remember trying to link my credit card in 2005 or whenever i started playing ff11 back in the day. It has it memories but it was a really bad system, you could tell it was made for ps2 foremost. Even their online variant now isn't that good but its better, anything is better than playonline lolQuote:
Originally Posted by Garet
-
07-13-2021, 01:37 AMLarirawiel
Hi,
seriously i don't get it. Every time i log in i get a queue. It can be also at 4am and i have still to wait. I guess this queue is a kind of placebo. And SE is not a poor company that has no money to upgrade their hardware or buy more cloud instances.
Cheers -
07-13-2021, 01:42 AMValkyrie_LennethThe queue is less than a minute and exists to keep servers from actually crashing in case of high loads.Quote:
Originally Posted by Larirawiel
It used to only be implemented around expansion launches but they modified it a bit and just left it in permanently, probably because the less they have to mess with the code the better.
Also, SE doesn't use cloud instances, they have physical servers that are dedicated to the game. -
07-13-2021, 02:00 AMGaretDefinitely. Although the mogstation is a big improvement to playonline, it is still very inferior to other account management systems of other companies. SE, being a massive company, should definitely invest in this especially now that they are getting a lot of good momentum. "Strike while the iron is hot" is a good thing for SE to remember.Quote:
Originally Posted by Sotaris
-
07-13-2021, 02:33 AMNanaWiloh
Very simple answer avoid steam version go Pc or ps4/ps5. Get Shadowbringer or endwalker version, Shadowbringer recommended as Endwalker will lockout you out of Heavensward,stormblood and Shadowbringers until nov
-
07-13-2021, 02:37 AMwereotter
I agree, getting onto specific servers in NA is terrible. Doesn't help too that our servers are already overpopulated compared to the JP servers (and EU has it even worse)
They absolutely need to invest in more servers to house more players and maybe give an incentive for people to move to them (like maybe people with houses can get their same plot if it's available for free if they transfer to that new server since that's one thing that tends to anchor people where they are)
Though also yes, the process of setting up an account in the first place really does feel like an antiquated relic left over from the FFXI days (never played the game so don't know if it actually is or not) and really could use an update to make it easier for people to set up an account. -
07-13-2021, 02:42 AMPuremallaceI never ran a test to see if logging out in some place with low pop vs logging out in Limsa affects that.Quote:
Originally Posted by Larirawiel
-
07-13-2021, 02:57 AMwereotterIt doesn't. I tend to avoid high population places like Limsa or Eulemore and still get a queue every time I log in no matter what.Quote:
Originally Posted by Puremallace
-
07-13-2021, 03:07 AMTeraRamis
Their technological limitations are - across the board - getting more and more difficult to excuse. Ul'dah is mobbed at all hours - way busier than anything I see in WoW these days - but Square can't reinvest some bucks in hardware? Suspect to say the least. I feel like I'm being farmed.
-
07-13-2021, 03:10 AMVahlnirThey may not have a choice now but to upgrade a few things to keep the cash flowing. This game is getting some very heavy traffic, and it is sold out digitally on the SE store. I've never seen that before.Quote:
Originally Posted by TeraRamis
-
07-13-2021, 03:28 AMFawkesOriginally in FFXI you were placed randomly on a server. The only way to get on a server with your friends was for them to buy a World Pass and give it to you before you made your character.Quote:
Originally Posted by wereotter
The mog station is kinda like a skin for the previous account system that FFXI and 1.0 used. But it's way easier to use and the language is a lot clearer for what buttons even do. In the old system there was a prominently displayed button labeled "cancel service" that would actually close your whole account instead of cancelling your subscription, so you'd hear about people trying to come back to the game only to find out they don't have an account anymore.Quote:
Originally Posted by wereotter
Before that FFXI used PlayOnline for subscriptions. I think they changed it because they were sued by someone who uninstalled the game and then couldn't cancel because you could only do it in PlayOnline. -
07-13-2021, 03:28 AMDzianThe population isnt big enough to justify new servers.. Every server they have added or data centre has been for reasons of latency more than population growth.Quote:
Originally Posted by Doki
All told there plenty of space for new players to come and play many existing servers are proverbial ghost towns. with plenty of room for populatin growth.. theres' only what 2 or 3 servers that are rammed because for some dumb reason everyone wants to be on balmung or whatever.
but they're unlikely to add more servers when 75% of the servers that already exist are virtually empty.
in an ideal world the data centre visit feature should come with free transferrs to empty worlds to entice people to migrate. those that have friends can still visit and play with them..
be quite a usefull feature for me. being british. i stay on sarg as thats where i was in 1.0 and where all my friends are. but the ability to visit the eu data centre on my days off could help reduce queue times in the na off hours -
07-13-2021, 06:02 AMTaleraRistain
I'm laughing a bit at this because Asmongold commented on that in his one first impressions video and he mentioned exactly this. It's not funny funny, but it's definitely something we could all commiserate on. SE really does make it confusing to just buy the game and get set up. It's like they don't want to be given money.
-
07-13-2021, 08:43 AMJojoyaAccount creation is pretty messy if you're buying a digital download from the SE store instead of a box from a retailer. I remember when I was first getting into the game just before HW's launch and trying to figure out what I was supposed to be doing.Quote:
Originally Posted by Sotaris
Evidently it's not any better 6 years later. I still have to walk friends through all the steps. Some had problems with EW pre-order and I had to explain how that works as well to a few. Can't wait until EW release and we have to remind everyone they need to revisit the SE store to get their actual expansion key (which is different from the key they used to activate their pre-order bonuses).
"Why is it so complicated to buy and register the game?" "Only SE knows." -
07-13-2021, 08:44 AMFeronar
Yes, there really should be an overhaul and redesign of how the game is purchased and activated. Here's what I would do:
For the Steam version:
On purchasing the base game, you are given a product key to enter. This key's sole purpose is to connect your FFXIV account to your Steam account. When you purchase any expansion or collector's edition on Steam, it will automatically be added to your FFXIV account the next time you log in. No need for more keys. Subscriptions would also be handled through Steam, and Crysta would also be purchasable through Steam, similar to how the Steam version of Elder Scrolls Online handles subscriptions and Crown purchases.
For the PS4/PS5 versions:
It could work similar to the Steam version. On purchasing the base game, you are given a product key to enter. This key's sole purpose is to connect your FFXIV account to your PlayStation account. When you purchase any expansion or collector's edition on the PlayStation store, it will automatically be added to your FFXIV account the next time you log in. No need for more keys. I personally don't have a PS4 or PS5 so I don't know if the PS Store supports it, but if it does, subscriptions and Crysta purchases would also be handled through the PS Store.
For the PC and Mac non-Steam versions:
Make it so the game and any expansions would be purchased through the FFXIV Online Store, the same place where you buy fantasias, mounts, and cosmetic items. Implement safety checks so you can not buy the wrong version, i.e. you can't buy the EU version if you have an NA account, you can't buy the complete edition if you already have the base game, it will redirect you to the Steam page if you have the Steam version, etc. On buying the game or any expansion, it will be immediately and automatically added to your account. No entering any keys into the Mog Station.
For all versions:
Phase out the Mog Station completely, and merge any account service and management functionality into the FFXIV Online Store, including subscriptions, name changes, home world transfers, retainers, additional platform licenses, etc. Why have separate sites? After all that is moved over, the Mog Station will stay open for 6 months to give players with unused product keys from before the changes time to enter them in. Notice will be given in a Live Letter, as well as announcements on the game launcher and the Lodestone front page. -
07-13-2021, 09:15 AMSniperCTAdding additional servers is not always the best option. Pray tell what 'hardware' upgrades would alleviate this that aren't new servers entirely?Quote:
Originally Posted by TeraRamis
Eventually the population spike lessens. Remember ShB launch was about this bad and over time the problem became less of a problem. Endwalker's release will be pretty inundated though.
Adding new servers to the data centers would eventually lead to dead and under populated servers as populations stabilize and drop as always happens. The only way to justify it is if they see player retention numbers being steady, in which case it would be worth adding additional servers. (or improving latency, such as adding the OCE data centers, that's another good reason)
As for the mog station, that is in desperate need of an overhaul and I think a better thing for them to focus on at the moment. -
07-13-2021, 09:36 AMDyvidSo congrats, y'all broke FFXIV. Not SE fault the entire community of WoW decided to jump ship at the same time.Quote:
Originally Posted by Doki