Letter from the Producer LIVE Part X: Will the netcode issue be honestly addressed?

[Alcyon_Densetsu]

They should really put this 1st priority after 2.1.
Every time when I just manage to get out of the red zone, I need to hope that I'm not going to get hit, and I don't like that feeling.

Agreed. Two things in this post.

1. Business-wise
News recently confirmed the remarkable boost of SE's financial result for the first six months of 2013, as "profits far surpass what it was expecting for the period. Where Square Enix had originally estimated losses of up to 1.3 billion yen ($13.2 million) for the six months ended September 30, 2013, the company says that it has instead turned a profit, roughly in the region of 2.6 billion yen ($26.5 million)." Furthermore, "looking to the rest of the fiscal year, the company says that it will continue to focus on shifting to the production of online-based titles".

I have been very vocal over the whole FF XIV's netcode issue because it's evidently a dire problem. It would be sound management, bearing in mind this early success, and future online plans, that any revenue SE might have made from this release should first and foremost be used to improve the netcode of this game, in my humble opinion (and, apparently, that of a majority of people, judging by the fact that, again, there is no issue being more discussed; and posts or questions pertaining to it are the most "liked" on this forum). Building a strong network development team for Final Fantasy XIV is a good investment, not only for this IP, but beyond for all online plans. As Thomas Edison said: "There's a way to do it better — find it."

Let me emphasise that: dear SE, please don't give a single cent to your shareholders until this is resolved. Making content, as in any MMORPG, is of the utmost importance as well, but there's little to no point in making too much content when a key system of the game is flawed to a game-breaking degree —we're talking about nothing less than the network component of your flagship online game…

2. Game design
As far as the art of making games is concerned, when a huge chunk of your players say: "I don't like that feeling", "It's frustrating", "It's infuriating" —you know there's a problem.

No amount of great features or formidable designs can make up for flawed underlying systems. There's a bare minimum that gamers expect from a game, and general responsiveness of players' inputs and UI display in a 2013's game should not be subpar to titles a decade older. Especially not in a multiplayer setting. Especially not when pretty much all your competitors do better, or fixed their issues quite swiftly.