Patch release dates, Fanfest, Housing Auto Demolish? Covid-19?

[linayar]

Are you curious about FFXIV's initial 2 month delay, and now 3 month delay, while Blizzard and WoW is only seeing a 1 month delay?

Different people working on different things may decide differently on how much of a delay they need. Maybe WoW would benefit from a longer delay.

Patch release dates:
5.3 was originally slated for June 2nd 2020.

https://www.reddit.com/r/ffxiv/comme...v_patch_dates/

It was officially released October 10th 2020

https://na.finalfantasyxiv.com/lodes...5c2da260eae21a

Per the FFXIV team they stated "patch 5.3 will be delayed by more than a month at the very least"

https://forum.square-enix.com/ffxiv/threads/420143

So we're seeing a 2 month delay for 5.3.

It was also stated:



Yet 5.4 was originally slated for September 22nd 2020, and is currently with no release date, with an estimation of "December."

This puts 5.4 at a now 3 month delay from its original release, which would mean, if you consider the original 2 month delay for 5.3, then the slow down from 2 months to now 3 months for 5.4, the XIV team is running closer to around 66%-75% production.

5.0 - Late June (Early Access)
5.1 - Late October
5.2 - Late February

5.3 - Early August (I don't know where you get October, that's 5.35)
5.4 - Expected to be early December

So, a two-month delay for 5.3, but no delay for 5.4 if they release in December.

Also, where do you get September 22 date for 5.4?

[Seraphor]

Also, where do you get September 22 date for 5.4?

When 5.4 would have been scheduled for if there was no delay at all.

[linayar]

When 5.4 would have been scheduled for if there was no delay at all.

If we go by the 5.0-5.2 releases, they're all about 4 months apart. So if 5.3 was supposed to be released on June 16 (about 4 months after 5.2's February 18 release date), then 5.4 would've been released on October 6 or 13 more likely.

[Seraphor]

If we go by the 5.0-5.2 releases, they're all about 4 months apart. So if 5.3 was supposed to be released on June 16 (about 4 months after 5.2's February 18 release date), then 5.4 would've been released on October 6 or 13 more likely.

It's typically a 16 week cycle, which is slightly less than 4 months, so the date will drift back (relative to 4 months) a little over the course of the expansion.
3.4 was Sept 27th, and 4.4 was Sept 18th.

[linayar]

It's typically a 16 week cycle, which is slightly less than 4 months, so the date will drift back (relative to 4 months) a little over the course of the expansion.
3.4 was Sept 27th, and 4.4 was Sept 18th.

A 16-week cycle would put 5.4 in October in the original plan. Your rule of thumb doesn't account for longer breaks before the expansion release, especially the one before 5.0.

And just for "fun" since I'm still awake...

Dates (formatted month/day/year) are based on patch note releases, which are usually a day before patch or early access releases, thus the 2.0 date used.

2.0 (day before early access) - 8/23/13

113 days

2.1 - 12/14/13

102 days

2.2 - 3/26/14

103 days

2.3 - 7/7/14

112 days

2.4 - 10/27/14

84 days

2.5 - 1/19/15

151 days

3.0 - 6/19/15

143 days

3.1 - 11/9/15

105 days

3.2 - 2/22/16

105 days

3.3 - 6/6/16

112 days

3.4 - 9/26/16

112 days

3.5 - 1/16/17

150 days

4.0 - 6/15/17

116 days

4.1 - 10/9/17

112 days

4.2 - 1/29/18

112 days

4.3 - 5/21/18

119 days

4.4 - 9/17/18

112 days

4.5 - 1/7/19

171 days

5.0 - 6/27/19

123 days

5.1 - 10/28/19

112 days

5.2 - 2/17/20

119 days (planned)

5.3 (planned) - 6/15/20

175 days (actual)

5.3 (actual) - 8/10/20

112 days after 8/10/20 - 11/30/20 (meaning a December 1 release)
119 days after 8/10/20 - 12/7/20 (meaning a December 8 release)

[Daniolaut]

they said we're getting a virtual FanFest in FeburarySo the 3 months behind seems to hold to me.

It's true.They mentioned this during the Letter from the Producer LIVE Part LX

I heard about the "special announcement" I did not catch that FanFest information was all being released at once specifically in February. See this is why a discussion is a good thing.

Thanks for the input

If I were to go into hospital suddenly, a virtual house would be one of the last things on my mind...

If the CDC is correct in that a vaccine will be less effective then a mask, then I don't see pandemic ever really going away, so they might as well turn the housing demolishing back on since this is the "new normal".

Exactly, I think it would be fair at this point to reconsider turning auto-Demolish turned back on. Or at least be ready to implement a better feature.

Also, finally something we can agree upon!

Different people working on different things may decide differently on how much of a delay they need. Maybe WoW would benefit from a longer delay.

5.0 - Late June (Early Access)
5.1 - Late October
5.2 - Late February

5.3 - Early August (I don't know where you get October, that's 5.35)
5.4 - Expected to be early December

So, a two-month delay for 5.3, but no delay for 5.4 if they release in December.

Also, where do you get September 22 date for 5.4?

I see that you read the typo of October when I meant August.

I dont see where you get your other information that leads you to a 2 month delay still.

I linked and sourced everything that I said, so if you followed along then there shouldnt be any confusion.

The confusion here with what you're saying is you said 2 months for 5.4 but when exactly

5.3 Original release dates:
5.3 Jun 2, 2020 (per normal patch cycles no delays.)
(This information comes from the fact that FFXIV is extremely predictable down to the release dates of patches. These release dates have been almost exactly accurate all the way since back in 2.0. The only times they are off, is when something is added or pushed to another patch, and there is a delay or fluctuation, which is extremely rare.)
https://www.reddit.com/r/ffxiv/comme...v_patch_dates/

Per Square-Enix Originally planned 5.3 release date:

Originally slated for a June 16 release, patch 5.3 will be delayed by more than a month at the very least,

https://forum.square-enix.com/ffxiv/threads/420143

5.3 Release date

08/10/2020 5:00 AM (patch notes)
https://na.finalfantasyxiv.com/lodes...218.1601586719

08/10/2020 11:05 PM (Update information)
https://na.finalfantasyxiv.com/lodes...68eabfd04370a3




Now for 5.4.

If 5.4 under a normal patch cycle would release 16 weeks later.

Based on above:

-Original:

September 22nd 2020

https://www.reddit.com/r/ffxiv/comme...v_patch_dates/

-Per Square-Enix Original date:

October 6th 2020
https://forum.square-enix.com/ffxiv/threads/420143

-New:

(based on the actual release date of 5.3 which was August 11th 2020 at 2am EST.)

December 1st 2020

(16 weeks after August 11th 2020.)
https://na.finalfantasyxiv.com/lodes...5c2da260eae21a

So if 5.4 is released even 1 week after December 1st we're looking at more than a 2 month delay from 5.3 to 5.4.

1 or 2 weeks into December is not December 1st, which is the first Tuesday of December. Which at that point 2 weeks later, would be 2.5 month delay. Round up, and you're looking at closer to 3 months than 2 months.

If its delayed beyond "Early December" which yes December 1st is "early December" but since we dont have a date, and typically "Early December" in Square-Enix language normally means probably closer to the 15th, which the 15th is a Tuesday, so very likely the 15th if its not delayed even further.

Now, I'm about to say things that are not significant in the matter, what matters to me, is it would be nice if we could get a little more transparency as to why things are being delayed, or if its "just covid" at least say "we apologize for the additional delay in content, we're working as efficiently as we can."

But I will point out people might say "well I want them to polish the content." Let's be real, FFXIV has stopped polishing content since the release of 2.0. The story cutscenes are going to have NPC's moving at the exact same time, (which makes them appear to look like robots and completely unnatural to me) the camera is going to be posted on a tri-pod (so to speak) 90% of the time, not all the cutscenes are even voice acted. They really cut corners and have been since they released version 2.0.

So again, all I'm asking here is at least be a little more forward since we are paying and havent stopped paying since Covid started and in fact they have gotten more players and havent fixed housing, all the things I've listed, they have been pretty quiet about, and our money to them hasnt stopped flowing. Again, I repeat, I am only asking for more information regarding the delay. Maybe an actual release date if they cant give solid release dates at this point due to covid, maybe they can explain why its so grievously affecting them vs other companies. Just a little more communication would be nice.

Also this was a discussion first a foremost and people caught things I didnt catch, and FanFest information is being released as if they are bundling it all into one big go. If that isnt the case and its going to be 2 or 3 events, then yes, they are foreseeing more than a 3 month delay in regards to content coming after 5.3, 5.4 and onwards.

Thats the whole point I'm getting at, is all content moving forward until they can get back into the building are we going to continue to see a 1 or 2 week additional wait on all forthcoming patches.

[TheRealQuah]

...

5.3 had no "slated release of June 2nd" just some guess work by fans. Patches have been 16 or 17 weeks recently, so you could go with either figure. Plus your date of June 2nd would have been 15 weeks after 5.2. No Patch has ever been 15 weeks after the previous one. Get your figures right.

5.3 was delayed by 8 weeks. Under 2 months. Going on from the date of August 11th, 16 or 17 weeks would be the 1st or 8th December, which would certainly be "early December" so there is no extra delay to 5.4. I also wonder how things with no release dates given can be delayed at all to be honest.

You come across as extremely entitled. You speak of transparency but they spoke in length on 2 separate LL's about the delays and why they are taking the time they are. How things are different in the East to the West, and how this would cause delays to be slightly longer over there. (You mentioned Blizzard delaying by less before. More staff, bigger budget, and, in the last few years, an inferior product. Easy to understand the shorter delay.) Carry on being ignorant to the information they have put out there to forward your agenda.

My workplace closed down for 4 months, and you're here complaining about a video game being delayed for 8 weeks, whilst the worst health crisis the world has seen in over a century is going on outside.

No one is forcing you to keep paying your sub whilst there's a content drought.

The fact that you said "Let's be real, FFXIV has stopped polishing content since the release of 2.0" just tops it off for me. If you can't see how things have improved from 2.0 to 5.3 in every department then you obliviously have a huge negative bias. Delusional.

[linayar]

I dont see where you get your other information that leads you to a 2 month delay still.

I linked and sourced everything that I said, so if you followed along then there shouldnt be any confusion.

The confusion here with what you're saying is you said 2 months for 5.4 but when exactly

I did not say there is a two-month delay for 5.4. I said there is no delay for 5.4.

5.3 Original release dates:
5.3 Jun 2, 2020 (per normal patch cycles no delays.)
(This information comes from the fact that FFXIV is extremely predictable down to the release dates of patches. These release dates have been almost exactly accurate all the way since back in 2.0. The only times they are off, is when something is added or pushed to another patch, and there is a delay or fluctuation, which is extremely rare.)
https://www.reddit.com/r/ffxiv/comme...v_patch_dates/

Per Square-Enix Originally planned 5.3 release date:

https://forum.square-enix.com/ffxiv/threads/420143

5.3 Release date

08/10/2020 5:00 AM (patch notes)
https://na.finalfantasyxiv.com/lodes...218.1601586719

08/10/2020 11:05 PM (Update information)
https://na.finalfantasyxiv.com/lodes...68eabfd04370a3

Ok, so the 9/22/2020 date is based on an old reddit post that's been proven wrong on the exact dates since the gap is not always 112 days. Since it's already wrong on 5.1 and 5.2 dates and confirmed wrong on the planned 5.3 date, don't use it for 5.4 dating. The time frame may be the same, but the exact dates are not because the gap is not always the same length. Based on the 5.2 release date and the planned 5.3 release date, we can see it's 119 days in between, not 112.

Now for 5.4.

If 5.4 under a normal patch cycle would release 16 weeks later.

Based on above:

-Original:

September 22nd 2020

https://www.reddit.com/r/ffxiv/comme...v_patch_dates/

-Per Square-Enix Original date:

October 6th 2020
https://forum.square-enix.com/ffxiv/threads/420143

-New:

(based on the actual release date of 5.3 which was August 11th 2020 at 2am EST.)

December 1st 2020

(16 weeks after August 11th 2020.)
https://na.finalfantasyxiv.com/lodes...5c2da260eae21a

So if 5.4 is released even 1 week after December 1st we're looking at more than a 2 month delay from 5.3 to 5.4.

1 or 2 weeks into December is not December 1st, which is the first Tuesday of December. Which at that point 2 weeks later, would be 2.5 month delay. Round up, and you're looking at closer to 3 months than 2 months.

If its delayed beyond "Early December" which yes December 1st is "early December" but since we dont have a date, and typically "Early December" in Square-Enix language normally means probably closer to the 15th, which the 15th is a Tuesday, so very likely the 15th if its not delayed even further.

Again, I posted the lengths of gap for previous patches and it's not always 112 days. The gap can be 119 days too, so there is no delay for 5.4 unless they don't meet their stated release period of "early December."