Temporarily shutting the servers down until 2.0 is NOT a good idea!

[Ayaseth]

To put it short, no one can be playing the game while this is underway, or the data can easily become corrupted.

Do you want your character data to be corrupted?

This process won't be taking place until around next year this time. Playing during the time up to that won't harm data.

Rest assured when the day/week whatever comes and they start actually moving the data over, we won't be playing lol..they'll take the servers down at that time.

[VydarrTyr]

Do you want your character data to be corrupted?

Of course not. But then again, if you're suggesting that SE cannot transfer the player data to the new servers without corrupting it, I'm going to have to disagree.

Do you think SE is incapable of handling data transfer?

**EDIT** Incidentally, they're going to have to transfer our data over to 2.0 whether they shut the servers down or not. So shutting the servers down won't change anything in this regard.

If you do think that all our player data is going to be accidentally lost upon transfer to 2.0, then yes, that would be a valid reason to shut down the servers until 2.0. I just think there's virtually zero chance that that's going to happen.

And there's another problem with shutting the servers down. If they shut the servers down, the current players are probably not going to sit around, twiddling their thumbs for a year. They're going to go out and play different games, spending a year investing their time and effort developing characters in those games. That's going to make it more difficult to get those players back.

There's an adage in business: "The best way to get a customer is to keep a customer." In other words, it's easier to keep the customers you have than to get new ones. If they shut the servers down, it's going to be more difficult to build the player base from zero, than it will be to build the player base from whatever remains through the reconstruction.

[Rhianu]

It's far more work to keep servers running and push out patches that are compatible with the current client and server structure than it is to just work on in-house builds that can be revised as often as necessary. Even if some members are devoted to either 2.0 or the current stuff, most of the senior staff must be involved in both. Every time Matsui has to oversee something altered in the battle system for the game it takes time away from his involvement with 2.0. Every time Yoshida communicates with us about whatever we're currently whining about or has to go organize information to present to us it takes time away from his involvement with 2.0.

Uh... you act like working on 2.0 and and communicating with players are two different tasks. They're not. Communicating with players is part of developing FFXIV 2.0. If Matsui has to oversee something altered in the battle system, it's not taking away from his time spent on 2.0, it's working towards the eventual implementation of 2.0. The new 2.0 version isn't something that's totally different from the patches that SE is working on right now. Everything SE is currently doing, and I mean everything, is all paving the way for version 2.0 in one way or another.

SE isn't going to be totally changing the direction of FFXIV in the 2.0 version update. They already changed the direction of the game back when the original dev team was replaced a year ago. FFXIV 2.0 is simply going to be a culmination of all the patches we've seen over the past year, and will continue to see in the months to come.

When the 2.0 update finally arrives, FFXIV is likely going to be a very different game than it is now, but that difference will not be the result of one single patch. Rather, it will be a culmination of every patch up until that point. Thus every single patch from now until then is part of FFXIV 2.0.

Guys, this is a good idea and the reason is a no-brainer.

They are moving to completely new server hardware and operating engines.

Yeah, and that transfer process will take maybe a day to complete, if that. Or at least that's about how long I estimate the servers will have to be down for when they change over. Maybe two days if there are unforeseen technical difficulties.

[Lavani]

Best idea would be to have us alpha/beta test the "new" game with our characters until it's tweaked and ready for launch and not have another fiasco like when FFXIV launched last year. I feel it's kind of pointless(in my opinion) to be playing this when they are totally redoing everything into literally a brand new game. I'd gladly pay a monthly fee for that just for the first month to see how it is.

you will be alpha/beta testing, and you will have to pay to do so.

[Hanemakikaze]

you will be alpha/beta testing, and you will have to pay to do so.

How do you quote me & completely miss what I'm saying? We are not testing a thing right now, nor when we start paying. I'm saying we should be testing 2.0 starting the payment cycle, you know the actual "new" game, not the current one that's being scrapped within a few months which has no real effect at all how the new version will turn out.

[Lavani]

The thing is, it's not a "brand new game" it's the same game with things fixed, haven't you seen the timeline of changes?

http://wdl.square-enix.com/ffxiv/dow...Roadmap_EN.pdf

The whole world change and class "changed playstyles" thing has been done (read WoW Cataclysm). So yes, it will be the same game with patches and feedback from players pre-2.0.

[Catapult]

Oh boy, reality check time, buddy.

Of course not. But then again, if you're suggesting that SE cannot transfer the player data to the new servers without corrupting it, I'm going to have to disagree.

Do you think SE is incapable of handling data transfer?

**EDIT** Incidentally, they're going to have to transfer our data over to 2.0 whether they shut the servers down or not. So shutting the servers down won't change anything in this regard.

If you do think that all our player data is going to be accidentally lost upon transfer to 2.0, then yes, that would be a valid reason to shut down the servers until 2.0. I just think there's virtually zero chance that that's going to happen.

When you copy and paste data on your own computer, altering that data while it is being copy/pasted corrupts the data. This is why computers have a fail-safe prohibition against altering data in transit. Saving files 101.
If people were still updating their character data as SE were trying to move it, all sorts of problems would arise, most notably the existence of partial roll-backs. Utter chaos I tell you.

Hence why I believe them competent, as they are shutting the servers down to do this.

And there's another problem with shutting the servers down. If they shut the servers down, the current players are probably not going to sit around, twiddling their thumbs for a year. They're going to go out and play different games, spending a year investing their time and effort developing characters in those games. That's going to make it more difficult to get those players back...

What on earth makes you think the servers are going down entirely for the next year? O_o

They have made it quite clear that the current system will continue to be updated and reviewed as it is the working model off which all version 2.0 content is based. Monitoring and amendments to the version 1 system will allow better development on the version 2 system.

Then when everything gets replaced by version 2.0 servers and engines, things will go down for a few days, maybe a week tops, to do the final copy/paste of current character and progression data into the new servers that have been prepared for this over the prior 18 months.

You're not being booted off the game right now. Heck, they're going to be charging us as of next month - they're not about to take the game away from us as well.

[Hanemakikaze]

Uh yeah, it is a brand new game. If you think a complete reconstruction of an entire game is just "fixing" well, I guess that is a personal problem but unfortunately that is not the case. They have basically scrapped everything from the old, it is without a doubt a new game.

[Hachiko]

Which they are doing.

Reinstatement of the free trial period along with the new client and server system and beta-test of the PS3 version. Then followed by the re-launch in stores.

Charging people for beta / alpha access seems, dubious, at best. Which is what they ARE doing.

[Lavani]

Uh yeah, it is a brand new game. If you think a complete reconstruction of an entire game is just "fixing" well, I guess that is a personal problem but unfortunately that is not the case. They have basically scrapped everything from the old, it is without a doubt a new game.

By that definition the recent scrap they did not long ago would qualify it as a new game, which it's not.