Stop asking for a playtime cap; you don't know what you're doing

[ForteNightshade]

A lot of what I've been reading - for the past week - does just feel like people lashing out towards players who are able to rearrange their schedules to log on and play during non-peak periods. A playtime cap would accomplish little.

What I find particularly ironic is these same people are also asking others to sympathize with their work schedule and difficulty playing yet every one of their solutions is to screw over the players whose life circumstances afford them the availability to play during non-peak hours. Or they're willing to rearrange their schedule to do so.

Not at all hypocritical.

[Yencat]

I haven't seen anyone ask for this so maybe I'm not completely understanding, but hypothetically if they put a cap on playtime and everyone decided to use that during peak hours so they can play with the most amount of people or their friends, or they're only able to play during peak hours like many are now.. Wouldn't it still be the same situation?

If the servers are full they're full, cap or no.

[IDontPetLalas]

A lot of what I've been reading - for the past week - does just feel like people lashing out towards players who are able to rearrange their schedules to log on and play during non-peak periods. A playtime cap would accomplish little.

What "lashing out" do you see exactly? When people are recognizing the simple fact that there is a significant percentage of the playerbase that is entirely blocked from logging in, and a certain percentage of the player base that is remaining logged in for what can be argued as extremely extended login times, exactly what solution would you propose?

A cap IS a solution. It is a solution that should mean that more people have a chance to login. That could mean that someone who has had NO chance could login, so that means that someone who has been paying for a service actually receives it.
If you have a better one, by all means, please propose one.

[ForteNightshade]

I haven't seen anyone ask for this so maybe I'm not completely understanding, but hypothetically if they put a cap on playtime and everyone decided to use that during peak hours so they can play with the most amount of people or their friends, or they're only able to play during peak hours like many are now.. Wouldn't it still be the same situation?

If the servers are full they're full, cap or no.

I'll refer you to my post on the first page, but in short, yes. A cap on playtime simply funnels everyone into the same "red zone" which is likely to cause more problems for a Lobby Server system already struggling to keep itself afloat.

[IDontPetLalas]

I haven't seen anyone ask for this so maybe I'm not completely understanding, but hypothetically if they put a cap on playtime and everyone decided to use that during peak hours so they can play with the most amount of people or their friends, or they're only able to play during peak hours like many are now.. Wouldn't it still be the same situation?

If the servers are full they're full, cap or no.

Sure, if everyone logs on during peak time. However, as some of the more strenuous objections "but mah non-peak hours" , clearly there are people who are either logging in early and just staying logged in - so they don't want to see a queue - OR they log in and play during non-peak hours, in which case server capacity really doesn't apply. However if we cap play time, sure it would, it should improve the situation in the sense that the more hours spent in non-peak time, the less hours someone could spend in peak hours.

[Shin96]

It doesn't seem that anyone has a viable solution to this problem, alas, a playtime cap is a temporary solution which gives everyone the chance to play.

I'm lucky enough I can play at non-peak hours, but I wouldn't mind if someone else were able to play after I reached my playtime cap. I've finished Endwalker's MSQ.

The problem is beyond our power. We need to accept a solution that benefits everyone and not a small group of people.

[PredatoryCatgirl]

We need to accept a solution that benefits everyone and not a small group of people.

Which is exactly why we don't need to set this precedent. It will change the entire MMO industry, and not for the better.

[crimsonwitch]

capping playtime is literally what communist china does.
they can only play for like 2 hours a week if they're under 18.
i don't think this would be healthy for any operating game right now.

because what reason would developers have to make more content if people can only play x amount of hours a week?

[Warlyx]

Square already done this -> FFVII remake episode 1 on EGS costs 70USD/80Euro.

was going to buy it , but now 0% chance

gonna wait for discount % ....SE already makes huge disccount in less than a year from release

about the cap

i guess the cap isnt how much time u can play any day more how many time u can play stragith before being forced to quit and relog.....in order to kick ppl that are logged 24/7

[Imora]

Games are mostly cheaper now. I know many people will intuitively reject this, but intuition is often wrong.

The Legend of Zelda cost $50 in 1986. Adjusting for inflation, that would be about $126 today. While other things have become more expensive, games are a rare bright spot in the economy as they have become relatively less expensive, largely because of digital distribution. And this is even while they have become more elaborate than ever before.

So about that FF7 remake being $70. It was originally released in 1997 when it cost $50. $70 in 2021 is only $40 in 1997.

My mom paid 75 for Nintendo carts and I remember Zelda in the gold cartridge being 75. Was my birthday present that next year.