SERVER LAG - Player complaints compilation (Demanding a specific answer)

Hello Square Enix,

I made this post over two weeks ago (now classified as an Accepted bug). I wanted to make it as helpful and informative as possible, but I guess it is time to dramatise the issue:

• [GAMEBREAKING] Ability/moving objects delay and unresponsiveness (affects everybody) (over 350 likes, 20k views, and 7 pages of replies)

I put effort into this, I used other player's effort, and I received support from them. I expected from all of this, for you to at least have the decency to have a DIRECT comment on this specific issue, we didn't even get the copy&paste one.

This is the most active thread, it's kept up the General discussion for weeks and been ignored for weeks as well:

• Sorry SE, but endgame won't work if you don't fix something. (275 likes, 51 pages, over 50k views)

Many other players have reported the same issue over and over (here's a quick list from the latest posts in the English forum, some more popular, some less):

• Horrible Server Lag Needs To Be Fixed ASAP (50 likes, 7 pages)
• Will the horrible server delay/character responsiveness s be addressed as stated back in Beta? (question for TGS)
• Is SE Going to Fix Server Lag? (7 pages)
• Delay or can avoid AOE on time.
• Either make dodging AoEs possible, or make them not instant-kills (30 likes, 12 pages)
• SE, please watch this: delay
• Standing out of the red, and still getting hit (8 pages)
• Help me understand AOE markers
• AOE hurts me still
• Increased natural lag on EU due to no local servers.
• ...

Now, some threads may look different, but they all relate to the same issue, and it is NOT an European-only thing. And YES it affects EVERYBODY.

I understand you may have other priorities, I understand that the game is quite "playable" at the moment for most of the people's current concerns (leveling, etc); but this is a MAJOR issue.

WE ARE BEING IGNORED right now.

Threads are being put under the rug, players getting tired, duplicate threads dirtying the forum, people coming up with different conclusions and beliefs that add up to the confusion or spawn other non-existant issues because everything comes down to the very same issue: server lag.

People is INVESTING time in HELPING, in trying to make the game better, in HELPING YOU DOING YOUR JOB. We put time to make videos, to report issues, to explain things so that you and others can understand, to try and figure out what's wrong, to try and FIX it ourselves thinking it may be on our end.

I for one am tired of making new stuff, so I'll keep this thread saved, and copy it to the forum every time it disappears into locked subsections AS LONG AS THERE IS NO OFFICIAL REPLY. I am sorry, I really am, I don't like to threat or demand, but this is insulting.

Again, we understand you may be working on it, that your hands are full, but at least let us know this has reached you and that it is in your TODO list, so that people can stop creating new threads, submitting stuff, and getting confused. Most of us already think this will vanish into ether and never get fixed.

Thanks for your support

_______
ANNEX:

Source: http://forum.square-enix.com/ffxiv/t...=1#post1286035

This is from a thread from 2012 (and the main reason we think this will be ignored now as well):

• Server lag: can it be addressed?

From the BETA forums:

Quote:

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Area Attacks and Latency Issues

Producer and director Yoshi-P here.
Thank you for all of your feedback on latency issues and the evasion of enemy attacks. As we continue working to address these issues in time for phase 4 and release, I'd like to inform you all of the current situation.This post will focus on area attacks that are difficult to evade, or still connect even if you appear to have avoided it.

Damage taken when Ifrit uses Eruption.

When Ifrit used eruption in phase 3, the animation had a momentary build-up before the explosion. Because of this momentary buildup, there was a slight delay between the server's check and the explosion. This has already been corrected for phase 4 and release.

Damage taken for what looked like a near miss.

1. Registering Player Damage

In phase 3, when judging whether a character was standing in an attack's area of impact, your position was checked using a circle around your character to represent the space your character stands in.

Furthermore, to keep the different races balanced, the radius of this circle was the same for all characters. Because of this, even if you appeared to have barely escaped the area of effect, a portion of the circle was still within range. This created the illusion that you barely evaded attack, with varying results depending on your race.
For phase 4 and release, this circle has been reduced to a single point at the center of where your character is standing to more accurately determine your position.

2. Enemy Progress Bars and Area of Impact

Being an online game, there will always be a minimal delay when input is received from the player and sent back after being processed by the server.
In FFXIV: ARR, your position is checked by the server once every 0.3 seconds. This timing is synced and processed according to the servers to prevent lag between your input and what you see.

During phase 3, however, this syncing did not take place due to stringent server checks that took place, causing lag between what you saw on the enemy progress bar and your character's positioning. As a result, even if you appeared to be outside the area of impact when the progress bar was filled, damage was still taken.

Adjustments are being made to reduce lag as much as possible, and syncing should improve the timing between enemy cast bars, area of effect markers, and the actual attacks.

Rest assured that we're doing what we can to make sure players can safely evade attacks by watching enemy cast bars and markers for area attacks.

Players overseas were also affected by having to access the Japan data center in Version 1.0, as this further delayed the relay of data from the server. With the establishment of a regional data center and the above measures being taken to improve syncing with the servers, we will continue working to ensure an enjoyable gaming experience for all of our players.
(Even with a great connection, I think there's still maybe a 0.1 second margin of error with the cast bar, so make sure to get out of the way when playing with your party. )

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Regarding the game's battle stystem, also form beta, by Yoshida himself:

Quote:

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With the advent of stronger internet connections, recent MMORPGs have come to be able to have defensive and evasive skills similar to offline stand alone games. Despite this, I feel that this does not fit with our customers who play FINAL FANTASY online, and I would like to have everyone play this game steadily for as long of a time as possible, which is why we’ve eliminated action elements to the best of our ability.
[...]
Visually noticeable AoE attacks that you can avoid by moving
[...]

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yeah, you keep on keeping on

I tried this and it works!

"There is a simple way to make sure this doesn't happen. You need to cast a spell once you've left the AOE's area and the sever will register your new position. The moment you leave the area start casting and you will never be hit."

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Mishayangg

I tried this and it works!

"There is a simple way to make sure this doesn't happen. You need to cast a spell once you've left the AOE's area and the sever will register your new position. The moment you leave the area start casting and you will never be hit."

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Regardless if this works or not, this is NOT convenient, and this would only put aside one of the long list of issues server lag has. If the server forcefully refreshes the client's location on client actions, well, that's great, but there's a bunch of other stuff not working and that can't be workarounded by a sh*t "fix" like this

Please add this quote from Yoshi's post about the battle system during beta:

Quote:

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With the advent of stronger internet connections, recent MMORPGs have come to be able to have defensive and evasive skills similar to offline stand alone games. Despite this, I feel that this does not fit with our customers who play FINAL FANTASY online, and I would like to have everyone play this game steadily for as long of a time as possible, which is why we’ve eliminated action elements to the best of our ability.

With these goals in mind we have built the content and the battle system.
Visually noticeable AoE attacks that you can avoid by moving
A system where you can boost damage by attacking from certain positions
Freedom to put things together by executing skills that follow a specific route
Being able to fixate on dealing the most damage while giving consideration to TP/MP costs in the end-game.
Jump not being essential for clearing content

While it might be thought of as simplistic, the end-game after reaching the level cap is where a good deal of player skill differences will start to appear, especially when adding equipment into the mix. We started designing this game by making the first goal of FINAL FANTASY XIV: A Realm Reborn having everyone enjoy this aspect.

This is the reason why there are no action elements in FFXIV content and battle.

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The full text is here: http://forum.square-enix.com/ffxiv/t...=1#post1291216

The beta forums are gone, but doing a google search for:
FFXIV:ARR "Battle System" Yoshi
pulls up copies. For example here: http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?p=65514566

This issue was supposedly one of the reasons for remaking the game. Please honor your word Yoshi, that this issue will be resolved. I am glad the animation lock was fixed, but this issue still lingers. Thank you.

I've got it too and it's EXTREMELY frustrating.

Yes, this Issue has to be resolved.

The game is GREAT but...

I will play the game as long as it is free to play but as soon as i must pay for it i will quit.
And i hope most people will do the same so SE realise that there is a mayor Problem that
must be fixed.

Just a Word from SE will be great so we know that they are looking into it...

I just post it here as well, it's 100% there servers in most cases.
The lag spikes mainly during peak times it SE their servers, nothing else.
I've bothered to call my ISP and asked them to check stuff because SE asked for it.

But yeah had a good laugh with them but no it's them, the 2-3 lag spikes can't be fixed by me or the ISP.
I run with a 160Mb/s connection 80 ping , 110/160 latency and ping in their network 7.

If this isn't enough or if SE is not able to fix their servers than it pretty much ends here for me.


Not even going to start about the build in delay and horrible data centre location.

Regarding the game's battle stystem, also form beta, by Yoshida himself:
With the advent of stronger internet connections, recent MMORPGs have come to be able to have defensive and evasive skills similar to offline stand alone games. Despite this, I feel that this does not fit with our customers who play FINAL FANTASY online, and I would like to have everyone play this game steadily for as long of a time as possible, which is why we’ve eliminated action elements to the best of our ability.
[...]
Visually noticeable AoE attacks that you can avoid by moving
[...]

Instead of helping players it became a deadly support.

This is the biggest issue in the game right now for me. If this isn't fixed there's no point in my continuing to play as it will make high end instances/raiding a waste of time.

I agree with you.

Terrible support, terrible issues, NOT FIX, NOT SOLUTIONS, after MORE THAN 9 month nothing has been fixed (this issue exist on phase 1), NEVER COMUNICATION to the clients, DUTY fails (2h queue time), no servers for all players, not quality, not stability, and 1 month later of launch, still same issues and nothing has been fixed,i put 2 tickets and 1 post has ignored (http://forum.square-enix.com/ffxiv/t...08#post1250808), never will i pay for this game if still same.

I love when the IGNORANTS said "I dont have lag", "Stop whining", etc....

I think they have all developers design a STUPID new content before fixing the all issues.

Vektrat Thanks for you post and for push to they, if we don't whining they don't fix nothing and scam us money :).

i want to remember to all THIS IS A PAYING GAME AND PAYING SUBSCRIPTION, terrible for this quality, stability and support.

SE please take your take head out of the sand and give us a response.

Fix this! The game is great but with this issue I'm not gonna sub and I'm sure that I'm not the only one here who is thinking the same way.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by theflo84

Yes, this Issue has to be resolved.

The game is GREAT but...

I will play the game as long as it is free to play but as soon as i must pay for it i will quit.
And i hope most people will do the same so SE realise that there is a mayor Problem that
must be fixed.

Just a Word from SE will be great so we know that they are looking into it...

---

Then quit, and good riddance. Yoshida already said that if it should ever come to the point where they have to make it free, they would just shut down the game so if you're just here hoping for a free game, just quit now.

And no, things are not as simple as "realizing the issue" and then magically fixing it on demand. They're not stupid or getting a kick out of players having technical issues; believe me, they want players to play the games w/o any issues more than the players wanting to play w/o issues cuz it'll make them more money. I can assure you they have people working on problems around the clock.

I'm not saying they shouldn't be getting heat for technical issues and other problems, but its just ridiculous how some morons are demanding a quick fix like its the simplest thing in the world. Its also ridiculous how people make a mountain out of a molehill.

There's no issue here. You just have to either play better, or fix your connection.
L2P.

I support this thread 100%.

@SE, if you want my money I DEMAND that you provide a stable and consistent game experience in return.

I've had to abandon a level 42 character just to get away from x.x.x.33 Cerberus server. My new character is on Cerberus but connects to a different IP which seemingly makes a massive difference.

@Neomarl, Lern2trollbetterunoob.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Neomarl

There's no issue here. You just have to either play better, or fix your connection.
L2P.

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Depends on what time you play.
During peak hours the lag can be quite noticable.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Neomarl

There's no issue here. You just have to either play better, or fix your connection.
L2P.

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If you haven't noticed then you need to L2P, first online game?

At least the devs are not as slow as you, this is already classified as an Accepted bug :)

I'm just asking for feedback.

For the other poster:
1) This is not a technical issue, it's a major game flaw affecting everybody
2) I already mentioned I don't mind if they're busy with other stuff, but communication, players are working hard reporting this

I'll stop answering to incompetent people who is here to troll or who thinks players are retarded for not avoiding areas just because they're progressing in endgame, it's already been mentioned in many ways that many people who are avoiding areas and are progressing also have this issue and multiple others, even if they can continue playing without dying and avoiding areas, this issue is still ingame, and critically affecting the playerbase; so either you don't want to understand it, or you're a troll (I refuse there's people stupid enough not to get this after reading it from multiple people, videos, screenshots, and proof, it's just not possible and I think I'm being nice with the "stupid" adjective).

This forum is for reporting bugs, not demanding answers or general discussion. You're not going to get an answer here.

There is already a server performance/latency issue thread in the Accepted Bugs forum, so just keep your pants on and wait for the resolution.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Alhanelem

This forum is for reporting bugs, not demanding answers or general discussion. You're not going to get an answer here.

There is already a server performance/latency issue thread in the Accepted Bugs forum, so just keep your pants on and wait for the resolution.

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I'm most aware of this, but you have to understand that players can't log in the forums and read thru all the accepted bugs every morning, that they're worried and I keep seeing people posting and working on proof.

That this is MAJOR and they seem to be ignoring it; there's plenty of other bugs and concerns, I understand they can't give an update for each, but this is almost up to the level of the issues where people had issues to login, there were disconnects, etc. The community was kept up to date with those.

I love the game and i wont leave it (atm), but i hope SE fix this issue in the next weeks because i really have an AoE problem evading them because the lag probs.

I have the same issue.Atm needing titan hm to finish relic quest,but its mathematically impossible for eight people to avoid every aoe :( They talk about extreme hard modes,makes me laugh.I m not subscribing if they dont fix the lag.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Vektrat

I'll stop answering to incompetent people who is here to troll or who thinks players are retarded for not avoiding areas just because they're progressing in endgame, it's already been mentioned in many ways that many people who are avoiding areas and are progressing also have this issue and multiple others, even if they can continue playing without dying and avoiding areas, this issue is still ingame, and critically affecting the playerbase; so either you don't want to understand it, or you're a troll (I refuse there's people stupid enough not to get this after reading it from multiple people, videos, screenshots, and proof, it's just not possible and I think I'm being nice with the "stupid" adjective).

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I'm kinda shocked actually that those people who telling us to play better seems to me the most stupid from the pack. They don't read, check evidences and better some saying that Yoshi's comment on the issue is a fake ahah. I don't know how can those people can pretend to do end game content. Did you notice that they are not waiting the red aoe on the ground? No they are checking the bar being cast. I wonder why? OH maybe because they know there is a problem. Maybe because they are convincing themselves that there is no problem about it. Or maybe they aren't doing anything in the arena, but running like dummies this way they don't get hit.
We are not demanding to make the fight easier. We are calling for the marking to not be out of sync and to refresh our position. This doesn't need any NERF, just a FIXING into the CODING. Which mean not ADDING TIME, NEITHER MAKE IT EASIER.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Moonwood

I'm kinda shocked actually that those people who telling us to play better seems to me the most stupid from the pack. They don't read, check evidences and better some saying that Yoshi's comment on the issue is a fake ahah. I don't know how can those people can pretend to do end game content. Did you notice that they are not waiting the red aoe on the ground? No they are checking the bar being cast. I wonder why? OH maybe because they know there is a problem. Maybe because they are convincing themselves that there is no problem about it. Or maybe they aren't doing anything in the arena, but running like dummies this way they don't get hit.
We are not demanding to make the fight easier. We are calling for the marking to not be out of sync and to refresh our position. This doesn't need any NERF, just a FIXING into the CODING. Which mean not ADDING TIME, NEITHER MAKE IT EASIER.

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Those are the same People telling you to get a better Computer/Internet Connection if you got trouble watching a Stream/Youtube. Just ignorant People. It's the Internet, i bet those guys would never troll you in real life.

I have the same Problems as stated and im not going to do Endgame Raiding. Not making a fool of myself.

Totally second OP's opinion on this matter.
This issue really needs to be addressed for endgame to actually work at a level where it's not just blind luck and the stars align for the server to be pleased that you're moved out of aoe's.
Which you clearly can avoid, if it weren't for the darn delay.

This is just a total crock of S, I am running the PS3 version, and I have no issues with any other games. Yet there are so many issues and problems, yet SE is not doing a damn thing to compensate for it? I am utterly shocked by this. For all there claims for listening to users only do basically leave this issue with no real apology is just utter garbage. Get your crap together SE, or else you are going to lose us.

The fact that the original post was even moved to Accepted Bugs worries me quite alot. As this is not acceptable for this type of game where it requires everyone to move out of stuff.
I have lost count on how many times I've taken a hit from AOE's that I was clearly out of on my screen. And there's several documented videos about exactly this problem (in other words, the users have PROOF).

we just want them to say we r working on it thats all i cant find that any where wich makes paying for it that harder i dont want this 2 be free to play but anything passed lvl 40 is unplayable for me at this point i got so much hate on the last boss on longstop from my party

I died in The Stone Vigil thanks to this, and have it happen constantly. Might have something to do with being a NA player on a JP world, but it still sucks. While it happened in P3, it did NOT happen for me in P4 or Early Access until after one of the server fixes.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Mimiru_Azuresky

The fact that the original post was even moved to Accepted Bugs worries me quite alot. As this is not acceptable for this type of game where it requires everyone to move out of stuff.

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It's also not in the "Confirmed/Planning to Address", section here: http://forum.square-enix.com/ffxiv/f...ing-to-Address I think that also speaks volumes. :(

Have the same problem.

I support this.

For PC players, one way to help get out of things a bit easier is to use a controller or change your camera settings to legacy. A friend of mine kept getting hit by things and then changed this to legacy. He said that you don't walk, but start off at a run with this setting. Granted this is NOT a fix, but it could possible help out. And with a problem like this, every 0.1seconds count right?

not answer from SE, not fixed, not official NOTICE from KNOWN ISSUES, no nothing, nice job SE nice ;), is the time to change the game

I am also lagging a lot, mostly in instances like AK and Titan (stop, wait, fast forward, death) but also while crafting for example. This is really frustrating and I hope it will be fixed before I run out of patience and just delete the damn game.

Tried to fight Titan and i cant even dodge his Landslides because of lag. Being damaged and killed way out of the "danger area" is not fun. Do SE really think people will sub every month if they cant compete properly in endgame content?

If we could just get a response out of them saying they are working on it I would be happy, just some hope that we can play the game properly some day. Until that day I wont be paying for any more subs. Sorry SE, love the game but I cant justify subscribing if I cant progress with the rest of my FC.

I support this. I hope that it gets fixed & it will justify the time I have & will spend on dying time after time and farming while I could be raiding, but can't due to lag.

Still haven't subbed - I want to, but not sure if I can justify for the awesome game with so much lag :(

I can confirm this issue. I hope that we hear some sort of official response, as it makes the game much more frustrating to play.

Hello everyone,

Thank you all for your feedback regarding this matter! We greatly appreciate the information you've gathered to help us address this concern and can definitely understand how frustrating it is to deal with the delays you've mentioned.

I can assure you that if your report was moved to Accepted Bugs, we have received it and the matter will be looked into with importance. At this time, we must ask for your patience while your report is being investigated further.

We also kindly ask that you post any feedback, suggestions, or complaints that you may have in the General Discussions area, as the In-Game Bugs section is strictly used only for reporting possible issues with the game.

Please make sure to keep an eye for any possible updates here on the forum and the Lodestone website once there is further information!

Thank you again for your patience and understanding.

-SQUARE ENIX MODERATOR