[DEV] Question about "Characters created during phase 4"

From the beta test document:

Phase 4:
"Characters created during this phase will be carried over to the official release"

Needs some clarification, is it just the character appearance and name? Or is it also the progress you make?

There is some confusion in the wording.

It also says "Benefits such as early access may be offered between the open beta and official release."

So I am leaning towards a situation where only character appearance is saved, otherwise a benefit like early access would serve no purpose? Since phase 4 would be considered "early access" if all character progress is saved.

Clarification on if our character data from phase 4 is trying to be saved, or just the appearance and name.

Thanks,

I second this motion.

It is difficult to discern if the document is trying to indicate full progress saving, or something simpler such as name reservation.

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Originally Posted by DoctorMog

From the beta test document:

Clarification on if our character data from phase 4 is trying to be saved, or just the appearance and name.

Thanks,

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I believe it's going to be character data. I say so because in the beta timeline under phase 4 it says
"- Characters created during this phase will be carried over to the official release.
* Circumstance may necessitate the deletion of character data"

Another reason I draw to this conclusion is because we will be able to import our 1.0 characters however they did say that their appearance will not be able to be changed until the actual launch of the game. I cant remember where the quote for that was but I do believe it was in the latest producer letter video

I hope that kinda helps =]

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Originally Posted by Rockababy

I believe it's going to be character data. I say so because in the beta timeline under phase 4 it says
"- Characters created during this phase will be carried over to the official release.
* Circumstance may necessitate the deletion of character data"

Another reason I draw to this conclusion is because we will be able to import our 1.0 characters however they did say that their appearance will not be able to be changed until the actual launch of the game. I cant remember where the quote for that was but I do believe it was in the latest producer letter video

I hope that kinda helps =]

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But it says only:

"Characters created during this phase will be carried over to the official release."

Not "character data will be carried over to official release"

And by "* Circumstance may necessitate the deletion of character data""

They could just mean delete the characters themselves.

I got from the roadmap that it was just character design/name being retained, not progress. Now you've got me wondering if we'll all get a few weeks' early access...

Based off the 'wording' and how 1.0 beta worked, I'm leaning more towards just character appearance data informational saved.

In 1.0's Beta It was simply the character appearance data that players had the choice to save to your service account so that upon release they could choose quickly their exact character look- not actually character progress data rolled over (from beta to release). Then, those who had bought the collectors edition had a weekish of 'early access' (September 22nd) where character data progress was saved; whereas the actual release date was advertised and listed when the standard edition of the game released (September 30th).



Because of this I'm leaning to just character appearance saved to our service accounts like they have done in the past.

But again, lets wait and see from a dev ;3!

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Phase 4:
"Characters created during this phase will be carried over to the official release"

Needs some clarification, is it just the character appearance and name? Or is it also the progress you make?

There is some confusion in the wording.

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What's confusing about this? If it was just your name/apperance, it would specifically say that. Of course your progress will be part of what's carried over.

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So I am leaning towards a situation where only character appearance is saved, otherwise a benefit like early access would serve no purpose? Since phase 4 would be considered "early access" if all character progress is saved.

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you're leaning incorrectly, and i'm not sure what you're basing it on. "early access" means "Play the launch version of the game a little before everyone else." That's all it means, it doesn't mean anything more or less.

There's nothing ambiguous about the statements.

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Originally Posted by DoctorMog

It also says "Benefits such as early access may be offered between the open beta and official release."

So I am leaning towards a situation where only character appearance is saved, otherwise a benefit like early access would serve no purpose? Since phase 4 would be considered "early access" if all character progress is saved.

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False. Early access would be very meaningful even to players in Phase 4.

Phase 4 character data is not guaranteed to be saved depending on any significant discrepancies between the Phase 4 and Launch versions. Therefore, Phase 4 is not, for all intents and purposes, early access, as players should be conscious that any progress they make could be deleted. Even if it is not deleted, having early access would still benefit anyone with a collector's edition, being given a week or so for a head start over players without it.

In short:
Early Access = head start
Phase 4 = maybe head start
Early Access + Phase 4 = maybe super head start

I looked at it this way:

The progress and stuff accomplished in P4 will be saved and carried over. All being there are no need for rollbacks/resets.
(There is no mention of Data wipe in the timeline/roadmap like with other phases)
After BETA they will probably bring the servers down for maybe 2-ish weeks to finalise things.
Early access maybe means instead of 2-ish weeks, us addicts only need to go without our fix for 1 or 1.5weeks, maybe?!

Thats all guess work of course but thats how I personally thought/hope it might work

i would guess we have to wait till phase 4 to find out.

im not even gonna bother till i can save my progress.

I think they would need to be explicitly clear if they meant just appearance. Since it's open beta, i think they would make a lot of enemies wiping progression. Lots of potential on-the-fence customers will quit if they have to start over.

I've been asking since road maps published :X

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Originally Posted by Cer

I think they would need to be explicitly clear if they meant just appearance. Since it's open beta, i think they would make a lot of enemies wiping progression. Lots of potential on-the-fence customers will quit if they have to start over.

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They just need to be clear about it. There are several games that wipe your progress in open beta before retail. IIRC, the only thing that was saved from 1.0 beta to retail was your character template.

In my experience, "closed beta" = definite wipe, "open beta" = almost always wipe, "early access" = never wipe. So ARR's "open beta = hopefully no wipe" (as I interpret it) was a very pleasant surprise.

If they did only mean appearance, it's a very unfortunate translation, as in, I wouldn't consider it a point worth making a big deal about.

The 1.0 CE gave "1 week early access" as a perq. However, with every v1 purchaser and the rest of the planet in open beta, and probably carrying forward their character progress, it kind of serves no purpose to restrict logins to some of those for a week or so.

Anyway, I'll be glad if SE wants to clarify it soon. Might be better to get it out of the way before the headache of Server Transfer v2.0 descends upon us all. :eek:

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Originally Posted by Rockababy

I believe it's going to be character data. I say so because in the beta timeline under phase 4 it says
"- Characters created during this phase will be carried over to the official release.
* Circumstance may necessitate the deletion of character data"

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I've always understood it to mean that come phase 4, our progress and characters will be saved. Afterall, they won't delete a 1.0 character, so 'Circumstance may necessitate the deletion of character data' would only refer to progress in this case, not the actual character/appearence. Basically, worst case would be they have to roll-back a server if they think there was a major issue/exploit etc.

Also, according to the roadmap, for phases 1, 2, and 3 it was explicitly stated that characters would be deleted at the start of the next phase. And usually it was stated in the phase before it
IE: -"Phase 3 characters will be deleted at the start of phase 4." is listed under the Phase 3 portion of the roadmap, not phase 4. Using this logic, if they planned on not carrying over character progress, they would have added that into phase 4's roadmap.

In addition to this, the little information that has been provided by SE on ARR servers and how we get on them also implies, that our characters might be 'locked' to Phase 4 servers. It's vague, but considering they are planning on letting anyone with an Account have Beta 3 access so we can communicate with eachother, it is plausible that they plan on having us select our servers pre release. (Especially since anyone with a character created pre ARR release, will not be able to roll that character on a New Character server. Basically, this would force anyone who got 'early access' via Phase 4 to keep their 'early' progress on an established server. Only new characters,could start on a new server at official release.)

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Originally Posted by Okipuit

Current Plans for World Transfers

We wanted to briefly discuss the current plans for selecting new worlds and world transfers for A Realm Reborn. Once the global data centers are set up for A Realm Reborn, we are planning the following for world transfers.

In the event that you don't complete the transfer procedure, you will be transferred to a pre-determined world.
In the event you complete the transfer procedure, you can select from a list of worlds you can move to and will be transferred to the world of your choice.


In order to eliminate any concerns about being transferred to a world you didn’t want to move to or being separated from your friends, we will be keeping the transfer procedure open for a long period of time as well as making various announcements to ensure that everyone is aware and can go where they like.

For Beta Test phase 3, fundamentally we are planning to allow anyone who possesses a Square Enix FINAL FANTASY XIV service account to participate in testing, so it will be possible to make contact with your friends from within the game.

We will be preparing thorough details regarding this whole process so that there is no confusion, and will be announcing them at a later date.

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Yes, I know this too is very vague and will need a lot of clarification, but I take all this information to mean come phase 4, character progress is saved in part, because we're on the servers we'll be on at release to save it.


Basically, for now, I'd plan on having data saved, and playing as such...but not getting my panties in a bind if they had to reroll my character for any reason. Most important to me is to 1. Get on a server with my friends. 2. Help my hubby and friends who are new to the game, get started.

Beta Phase 4 starts:
You import your 1.0 data, and start playing and doing stuff. You can't change your name or appearance.
You play and level and get loots all the way to end of phase 4, when Official launch starts.
As long as no game breaking exploits are found that would allow stuff like leveling to 50 in an hour, duping items, or generating massive amounts of gil, character data from Phase 4 will carry over into official release intact.

So for instance, 2 weeks into phase 4, they notice that there's an NPC that buys an item for more than another NPC sells it for, and the economy tanks as that infinte gil floods the market. At that time, they would likely bring the server down, fix the issue, wipe character data, and bring it back up. You could then create a new character or re-import your 1.0 character and keep going.

Once official release happens, you would log in with your Phase 4 or 1.0 character, and go talk to an NPC that would handle changing your name and appearance.

At least that is how I interpreted everything the devs have said over the last few months of updates.

I would love to see some official feedback on the OP. As vague as the details are, I believe any character progress during Phase 4 will carry into the release. Unless I hear otherwise, I plan on treating Phase 4 as such. I think the early access will be separate from the open beta, entirely.

This is my guess, but official clarification would be nice:

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You might be able to keep the character it's self you create in phase 4, progress and whatnot are unlikely to carry over. They do state there may be early access offered between the end of Beta 4 and release, but typically no beta progress carries over to the live version.

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Where my reasoning comes from:

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Q: When characters are carried over to ARR from Version 1.0, will we only be able to change our character's appearance one time at launch? Can we use our one time change during phase 4 of the Beta as well? Or will it be possible to do it twice, during phase 4 and at launch?

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A: Please keep in mind the Beta is a testing period meant to check data. All character data has been examined thoroughly, and there are no bugs. However, I would like our players to understand that they will not be able to change their character's appearance until ARR is officially released. The problem with allowing this before then is that if something goes wrong when changing a character's appearance, it'll be difficult to determine if whether it was the result of a bug, an error with the data transfer, or some other process that occurred between beta and release.

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they give little hints about not changing the character data until release, just in case there is a problem. Now ganted they are just talking about apperance here, but if apperance is that big of an issue to change and save, then progress may be a bigger issue.

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Originally Posted by Spectre

This is my guess, but official clarification would be nice:

Where my reasoning comes from:
they give little hints about not changing the character data until release, just in case there is a problem. Now ganted they are just talking about apperance here, but if apperance is that big of an issue to change and save, then progress may be a bigger issue.

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They aren't truely worried about changing character appearance in BETA somehow affecting launch. They are more concerned that if someone had an issue changing their character during beta (lost their inventory for example), they wouldn't know what caused the issue (in the Beta), and therefore would have a hard time fixing the issue. They are being extremely careful with our initial character data because they don't want anyone to lose their character/inventory/or progress from 1.0. This however, does not affect progress, as a matter of fact, saving our progress in Phase 4, actually helps them protect our character data as they would at least have 2 save points to reference and use if issues arose.

Basically, importing characters and allowing us to progress on them could be considered a 'test' in and of itself. Adjusting imported characters, looks, names etc. is a whole separate issue and stress (test). Therefore, doing both at the same time, could make problem solving hard if a bug was found.

I think i might be one of the very few who don't want their Beta Progress saved on their main (1.0) character. The reason why i probably won't touch my 1.0 in the Beta is that Beta content is still under development and is subject to change. I want to play with my Main character when the content has been finalized and ready for launch.

In the meantime i would just play with a fresh character and try out certain stuff, like exploring the world, or try out the new systems in place (like this FATE system).

And if my Beta Character is transferred to the Release version, then i'd probably delete it and create a fresh one again. (^_^ )

Again, i support this for an answer by the Community Rep :)

I have anywhere from 50~150 (and increasing) players in my Free Company - I to ask that this be explained a little more in detail so that my comrades know more of what to expect, and so we can formulate plans around this - some will only be satisfied until a Dev can give us the official word.

we need information on this! D:

/em lights the Molbol/Cactaur/Snurble beacon.

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Originally Posted by Rockababy

I believe it's going to be character data. I say so because in the beta timeline under phase 4 it says
"- Characters created during this phase will be carried over to the official release.
* Circumstance may necessitate the deletion of character data"

Another reason I draw to this conclusion is because we will be able to import our 1.0 characters however they did say that their appearance will not be able to be changed until the actual launch of the game. I cant remember where the quote for that was but I do believe it was in the latest producer letter video

I hope that kinda helps =]

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I know for a fact they're going to delete any PvP points earned during phase 4 so I think most data depending on what it is will get carried over. Most of anything someone can gain over another person is lvling a class like crafting or something.

Me too, i would like to have information on this cos in the road map i see

In phase3 : Phase 3 characters will be deleted at the start of phase 4.
And i heard that you can bring your character 1.0 but will be deleted at end of phase3.

In Phase4 :Characters created during this phase will be carried over to the official release.
* Circumstance may necessitate the deletion of character data.

And i was wondering if you get in beta Phase 3 and you get your character 1.0 your can test phase3 for fun without worry of money lost since will get deleted. But in phase 4 i would go as crafting , gathering till arcanist at release since i didn't see anything that all will be deleted. But now with this Thread i worry.
But i wonder if they are saying that for people who create character in phase4 and have 1.0character but not legacy and there limits of character is 1/server for the cheap so the one who is extra get deleted.

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Originally Posted by YeaniNah

Me too, i would like to have information on this cos in the road map i see

In phase3 : Phase 3 characters will be deleted at the start of phase 4.
And i heard that you can bring your character 1.0 but will be deleted at end of phase3.

In Phase4 :Characters created during this phase will be carried over to the official release.
* Circumstance may necessitate the deletion of character data.

And i was wondering if you get in beta Phase 3 and you get your character 1.0 your can test phase3 for fun without worry of money lost since will get deleted. But in phase 4 i would go as crafting , gathering till arcanist at release since i didn't see anything that all will be deleted. But now with this Thread i worry.
But i wonder if they are saying that for people who create character in phase4 and have 1.0character but not legacy and there limits of character is 1/server for the cheap so the one who is extra get deleted.

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You people need to stop worrying about things. Seriously. Stop saying "I worry." What's the worst thing that could happen? The stuff you do during the beta not counting. That's it. Usually you don't get to keep stuff from a beta, so you should be thankful its happening in the first place.

There is no clarification needed on this subject. There will be a wipe at the end of phase 3, but you'll be able to import your character again in phase 4. They're not deleting it permanently...

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In Phase4 :Characters created during this phase will be carried over to the official release.

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There is nothing fuzzy or ambiguous about this. things done in phase 4 will carry over to launch, unless "circumstances which may necessitate the deletion of data" occur, in which case the stuff you did in the beta won't be carried over, but you'll still be able to import your character again.

One NikoNiko reference mentioned PvP

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The PvP Coliseum will be added during phase 4 of the beta, but all PvP points earned will be reset at release to be fair to those not participating to the beta test.

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Seems clear to me that this is an exception to a larger rule: character progress in phase 4 will carry over.

Bumping this until we get an answer.

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Originally Posted by Duuude007

One NikoNiko reference mentioned PvP.

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The PvP Coliseum will be added during phase 4 of the beta, but all PvP points earned will be reset at release to be fair to those not participating to the beta test.

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Seems clear to me that this is an exception to a larger rule: character progress in phase 4 will carry over.

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I guess what makes the meaning seem obvious to me is that I've never been in a beta test where they delete only character progress but leave your character name and cosmetic choices in the database. Plus it's much safer and simpler to delete and create a new database (plus a restore for converted v1 characters?), which wipes all changes made during a testing period. This is also a procedure they've tested and performed repeatedly during the beta process.

Writing and testing a program to go through nearly a million characters' data to selectively delete pieces (and/or convert to a new data schema) is a lot more effort, bug-prone, and time-intensive. It's the choice of days or weeks instead of about an hour or so. (I seem to remember Yoshi-P said the process of converting v1 characters to v2 would take over a month.)

Oh, and per Yoshi-P at Nico Nico, we also know that there will be an "early access" for all preorders that Legacy will also qualify for. So it's now confirmed Phase 4 -> Early Access -> Release.

Hello everyone,

Sorry it took so long for a response on this, we've all been terribly busy--but enough with the excuses, onto the meat:
Characters created during Beta Phase 4 are planned to be transferred, as they are, including their progression, into launch. However, because this is still a testing phase, there is always the possibility we will not be able to carry out this plan.

Thank you so much Hvinire!

I still have a side question about this: will the created characters be stuck on the server they were created on or will we be able to pick a server again at release?

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Originally Posted by Hvinire

Hello everyone,

Sorry it took so long for a response on this, we've all been terribly busy--but enough with the excuses, onto the meat:
Characters created during Beta Phase 4 are planned to be transferred, as they are, including their progression, into launch. However, because this is still a testing phase, there is always the possibility we will not be able to carry out this plan.

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Thank you Hvinire.

Sorry to be impatient. A lot of people are planning on vacations from work and so fourth.

Much appreciated.

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Originally Posted by KumaAkuma

I still have a side question about this: will the created characters be stuck on the server they were created on or will we be able to pick a server again at release?

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SE hasn't yet announced server transfer policies or plans. So far they've only answered questions of v1 players whose characters truly are "stuck" on old-version worlds. (Here and here are two of the most detailed so far, for v1 characters.)

As for new characters, SE should have their regional servers up and running before we are able to create any characters that will carry over to launch. Hopefully we can talk with friends and make informed region & world choices before choosing a "wrong" world.