SE's most difinitive statement yet on parsers

[Seibah]

probably because yoshida himself has said "don't tell anyone about it if you do", instead of "do not do it period". it makes the no parser rule look not very serious when you have that kind of message from the most iconic person in the xiv world.

[Amberyl]

probably because yoshida himself has said "don't tell anyone about it if you do", instead of "do not do it period". it makes the no parser rule look not very serious when you have that kind of message from the most iconic person in the xiv world.

If you'd have read the thread, you'd know how out of date and superseded that comment is. It's not relevant anymore.

I'd like some rules in place, such as what Blizzard did with their LUA coding/etc. But regardless, I'd like modding to exist in this game (Which we all know it will; to what extend, nobody knows, yet).

I wouldn't say there's any real guarantee of it, tbh. We know they'd like to introduce it to the client, but with the massive disparity between player behaviour on the Japanese servers, and that on the western ones, they're gonna have to be very careful about thinking through the potential abuses it may bring. Look at kick-voting alone, or not having kick-voting. You didn't see Japanese players afk'ing in instances for a cheap ride before it went in, and you don't see Japanese players booting someone for under performing after, either.

You give the west modding, you open the door to everyone and their mother cheating their way around core game aspects. It'll be a fine line, and stuff like this hunt radar only goes to cast more doubt.

[Krr]

You give the west modding, you open the door to everyone and their mother cheating their way around core game aspects. It'll be a fine line, and stuff like this hunt radar only goes to cast more doubt.

This is not how modding APIs work. If what a mod does is considered cheating, the API does not accommodate it through limitations on what functions and data can be accessed. If something is considered cheating down the road after the API is released, an update to the API will break the mods exploiting it in question. This isn't like Skyrim where you can make a mod that lets you press a button to create 99 potions.

Right now, all forms of modification are illegal because there is no modding API functionality to dictate what is and isn't appropriate or safe use and all mods are third-party software.

Discussions like the ethicality of parsing are why we need such an API. Whether or not it is within the TOS is clear-cut. Whether or not players can do it, or would be able to do it with an S-E provided modding API, casts question on whether the use of these third-party programs is due to a blanket ban for safety, or a moral condemnation on the activity.

[Assirra]

Wow, some people are super paranoid here.
"Everyone will get abused if they don't x of dps"
Do you really believe that? I know mmo standards are low but come on. look at other games and see there is not even close to the abuse some of you are talking about.
Information is good and i really don't see how you can say otherwise.

[Velox]

You guys are really over-complicating this whole issue. In the end it boils down to one, simple thing.

Welcome to my amazing guide on software in FFXIV.

Was the program developed by Square-enix?
               |              |
               |              |
              Yes            No
               |              |
               |              |
   safe! -------              ------- ban!

And now you all know and knowing is half the battle!

[Ryel]

This post neither supports nor discourages the use of parsers, but hopefully brings some clarity to the situation.

Officially, This:

You guys are really over-complicating this whole issue. In the end it boils down to one, simple thing.

Welcome to my amazing guide on software in FFXIV.

Was the program developed by Square-enix?
               |              |
               |              |
              Yes            No
               |              |
               |              |
   safe! -------              ------- ban!

And now you all know and knowing is half the battle!

It really is that simple.

However in regards to Yoshida's comments on parsers,

You have to remember there are two sides to Yoshida; The First is the director/producer and head developer for FFXIV:ARR and a representative of Square-Enix and it's policies, The second is longtime player of various MMOs.

Depending on the interview he often has the opportunity to answer questions from both of these perspectives.

As far as regarding SE policy, then yes the usage of all forms of parsers / 3rd party applications that are not approved by SE leave you vulnerable for account suspension / termination should you be reported.

On the other hand, the benefits of parsers in regards to things like personal performance measurement, community gear discussion / BiS guides, optimal ability rotations, higher endgame play, mechanics breakdowns and various other topics are recognized and are not discouraged evidenced by the existence of the majority of the threads posted and still allowed in the job forums.


The major issues with parsers stem from two points.


Software and features:

As it is third party and untested (in house) software, SE cannot speak for any issues that players may encounter when downloading or dealing with any programs that they haven't published and distributed themselves (malware, interference with the game etc) and also that any 3rd party program has the potential to add features that could offer unintended player advantages (possible hacks, data manipulation / exploitation, radar, etc etc.) or cause an imbalance of systems Ps3/Ps4 vs PC.

Player Harassment:

The other issue is the obvious potential for player harassment, and while this is very much a YMMV issue the possibility is always going to exist. Which is most likely why an official in-game parser has not been developed by SE as they have already been hesitant to add other systems that provide the potential for player harassment like allowing /tells in dungeons for example.

TL;DR: As long as parsers are against the ToS if you choose to use them you are doing so at your own risk regardless of what other MMOs are doing or if they offer tangible benefits.

[Alistaire]

You guys are really over-complicating this whole issue. In the end it boils down to one, simple thing.

Welcome to my amazing guide on software in FFXIV.

Was the program developed by Square-enix?
               |              |
               |              |
              Yes            No
               |              |
               |              |
   safe! -------              ------- ban!

And now you all know and knowing is half the battle!

Damnit, brb uninstalling windows.

[Nomad-phx]

theres tons of mods out there these days including guaranteed hatin at any % of quality, auto gathering, auto monster farming, free repairs regardless of crafters lvl, accessing areas in duties/open world that no one is supposed to be able to reach (watched a sch solo t5 doing this lol) down to seeing enemies hp as percent.the only mod i would be supporting would be the hp % one but now that everyone can do that i no longer do. all you need to have these mod programs is $9 a month and the sky is pretty much the limit on what you can do. also this radar thing isnt as useless as ppl say it is, theres multiple ones out there and they range from just the distance of the mini map to the whole zone and can alert you to a specific monster that spawns.

[HeroSamson]

The person that said the parser is to help better each other made me laugh, so when someone doesn't meet your standards in the party kicking is helping them hahaha.

[Reynhart]

The person that said the parser is to help better each other made me laugh, so when someone doesn't meet your standards in the party kicking is helping them hahaha.

Maybe if you harass them enough, they'll be disgusted of the game, quit and find a lot more interesting things to do with their life.
So...it's helping...from a certain point of view