Yoshida-san - GLOBAL Servers and Balancing Tweaks Instead of Regional Servers

[Kuzak]

Also it's not like there is anything in the game you need to claim faster on, considering 9/10ths of the game is going to be crammed into instances anyways.

And thank goodness for that.

[Kuzak]

didnt you all ask for Regional Servers anyway or is that you people have no idea what you want

There was on other gaming forums. Many of those that complained were from other MMOs that had regional servers. It's a reasonable request when you think about engaging end-game content.

[Alhanelem]

Then it becomes a question of whether the negligible ping different warrant forcing the split in community.

Except that the ping difference usually isn't negligible for people outside of Japan. a .1~.2 second difference might not seem like a lot to you, but try playing your favorite client-server action game with a 50ms ping, then try playing it with a 250ms ping and see how negligible the difference is then. Answer: it's not. A ping like that is a massive disadvantage, especially when PvP is concerned.

If I played Team Fortress 2, I wouldn't be caught dead on a server with a 200+ ping. Well actually, I would be, because I'd be likely to get killed by substantially inferior players.

Yes, FFXIV isn't the same kind of intense action game as that- but the point is, ping matters, whether you like to think it does or not.

[Aenarion]

Except that the ping difference usually isn't negligible for people outside of Japan. a .1~.2 second difference might not seem like a lot to you, but try playing your favorite client-server action game with a 50ms ping, then try playing it with a 250ms ping and see how negligible the difference is then. Answer: it's not. A ping like that is a massive disadvantage, especially when PvP is concerned.

If I played Team Fortress 2, I wouldn't be caught dead on a server with a 200+ ping. Well actually, I would be, because I'd be likely to get killed by substantially inferior players.

Yes, FFXIV isn't the same kind of intense action game as that- but the point is, ping matters, whether you like to think it does or not.

That is the crux of the argument right there, nobody ever said latency doesn't matter, but for a game like ffxiv, its impact is arguable at best.

Also, trying to use FPS to illustrate the importance of latency when the game in question is a MMO is ignorant at best, and disingenuous at worst, as the game style and mechanic has everything to do with how important latency is to the game. How about you using another MMO to show your point instead like I have?

As I said earlier, in Eve Online, the single most purest, most serious, and most extremely PVP oriented MMO of them all, geographical latency isn't even remotely a concern, despite a significant portion of the game population being located far from the server's location. By your logic, Eve players should be up in arms over the lack of local data centers.

[Alhanelem]

That is the crux of the argument right there, nobody ever said latency doesn't matter, but for a game like ffxiv, its impact is arguable at best.

Also, trying to use FPS to illustrate the importance of latency when the game in question is a MMO is ignorant at best, and disingenuous at worst,

It's not ignorant or disingenuous at all. Yes, the impact is arguably lower, but there is still an impact. Fight over the amount of impact all you want, but I consider any impact unacceptable.

Yoshida has mentioned quickening the battle tempo a lot. The faster the game plays, the more important ping will become. Its very likely to matter more in 2.0 than it matters now.

Eve players should be up in arms over the lack of local data centers.

A lack of complaint doesn't mean they wouldn't be happier if network latency was reduced. Also, the very nature of how EVE seems to work makes network performance less important. Beyond that, this is apples and oranges. What works for EVE doesn't necessarily work for other games.

[Risae]

That is the crux of the argument right there, nobody ever said latency doesn't matter, but for a game like ffxiv, its impact is arguable at best.

Also, trying to use FPS to illustrate the importance of latency when the game in question is a MMO is ignorant at best, and disingenuous at worst, as the game style and mechanic has everything to do with how important latency is to the game. How about you using another MMO to show your point instead like I have?

As I said earlier, in Eve Online, the single most purest, most serious, and most extremely PVP oriented MMO of them all, geographical latency isn't even remotely a concern, despite a significant portion of the game population being located far from the server's location. By your logic, Eve players should be up in arms over the lack of local data centers.

Doing raids in World of Fantasy with a constant ping of 250+ WILL BE SO MUCH FUUUUN!

[Zumi]

I just checked and my ping to Durandal is 240ms. That is down right awful for a game that wants to have quick reaction based pve. Which is why sometimes I see crap like getting hit by cracks or circles on ifrit when I am not even standing in them.

So yes regional servers are needed for better gameplay.

[Jynx]

Which is why sometimes I see crap like getting hit by cracks or circles on ifrit when I am not even standing in them.

So that's why the Japanese community has the same issues with Ifrit as well? .24 seconds is not whats causing you to be hit by cracks, useless server checks are.

[Zumi]

So that's why the Japanese community has the same issues with Ifrit as well? .24 seconds is not whats causing you to be hit by cracks, useless server checks are.

Well on the WoW servers I have 50ms ping, if I move out of fire or circles or crap the boss puts on the ground I don't get hit ever. That's almost a 200ms difference. When you have stuff that gives you like 1 sec or so to react you need low latency to be successful.

[Jynx]

Wow Servers also don't have useless server checks, so you could probably dodge those with even 200ms ping extra without breaking a sweat or even noticing.