A couple requests regarding patch downloads

[Niwashi]

Issue 1) Please change your requirements for downloading patches.

Currently, the rule is that we have to log in, proving that we have an active subscription, before we can start downloading a patch. I think it should be based on having purchased the software rather than on having an active subscription. For one thing, it just makes more sense for downloading the software to be based on purchase of that software and access to the game servers for actually playing be what's based on having an active subscription. But the more important reason is because of updating services.

The Playstation Network has a feature for Playstation Plus members, that their PS3 or PS4 will periodically (once a day at a time of the user's choosing) check for update patches of any games registered through PSN. PC games typically use a similar service that runs in the background and checks in with the patch servers periodically to see if there are any new updates, and initiates a download whenever it finds one.

The PSN's updating service does not work with FFXIV, however. (I don't actually know about the PC version, though I'd suspect it lacks the same ability.) I think this is tied to the fact that we have to log in before the launcher will initiate a download. This means downloads cannot happen while we're sleeping or away at work. They have to happen when we're there to log in. That's not a good time to start a download. We're typically there to log in when we're available to start playing, and it would be better for downloads to use the time that we're not there.

There's also another (perhaps more minor) issue tied to logging in before we can download updates. It means that players whose subscription has lapsed but who plan to come back to the game eventually cannot keep their software up to date. So once they finally do renew their subscription they cannot start playing, but have to spend the first day or two of their subscription time on downloading all the updates that have occurred since they were last on. The longer their lapse is, the bigger of an issue this gets to be, and it can eventually create a disincentive to re-subscribing.


Issue 2) During patch-related maintenance windows, please update the patch servers first.

This issue doesn't really apply so much to the sort of minor patches we get with hotfixes, but whenever there's a large patch with a long maintenance window surrounding putting it in, please prioritize the maintenance window work so that the patch servers (and any networking equipment for reaching the patch servers) is completed first, before the game servers. Then allow access for players to begin patching their software while you continue any work that's needed on the game servers.

(With this last maintenance, I tried logging in late last night to see whether I could get the download running while I slept. It was 22 hours into a 25 hour maintenance window, and I still couldn't log in to download. Obviously, the game servers themselves would still all be down at that point, but it seems like after 22 hours, you could have at least gotten the patch servers back online.)


Of those two issues, I think #1 is the most important, but #2 could provide a nice QOL improvement. Please consider both.

[Moonleg]

Oh please make this happen!

I started downloading the patch around 7 am this morning, CET.

There's a FC meeting tonight at 9 pm CET. I will -barely- be able to download and install the patch in time thanks to a craptastic internet connection. Basically I was cut off from playing yesterday due to maintenance, and all of today thanks to patch download.

I mean, by the time you take the servers down to patch them, the client patch MUST be ready, right? RIGHT?! If you're putting the finishing touches on it during maintenance you ARE DOING IT WRONG. Please just ... leave it available to us to download and install ahead of time like pretty much all other MMOs do, rather than letting those with fiber connections get a headstart on everyone else for things such as buying a house plot JUST because they can download faster than others. While the money for such connections don't go to Square-Enix, it is kinda pay-to-win. ;-)

It was the same when I bought the game a few months ago. I had to pay and ACTIVATE my free starting month before I could start downloading. Then the download took four days of non-stop maxing out my connection, preventing me from doing anything ELSE fun on the internet in the meantime. I know, craptastic connection is my problem and not S-E's, but still - think of the players stuck with bad connections when making decisions, please.

[BobbinT]

I might agree on this one.

The 1.0 version always downloading patch first when we start it and only goes to login screen after it finishes. On a side note, patch download files can also be distributed in other means too in-case the built in patch download are too slow. Oh... as a bonus, 1.0 has BGM of either grid/noscea/uldah cycled every time you're in check files & patching window which is great.

XI on the other hand, allows downloading patch before or after login, with a catch. If you download the patch after you logged in and press Play, it will only check and download necessary update files needed. But if you try to download before login via the Check Files menu, it will scan all game data files you have and cross-checking every one of them, then it will proceed to download the updated files, which for some reason takes even slightly longer than the login version.

Other recent MMO games I tried like SWTOR or Elder Scroll Online downdoad patch fist before login, iirc.

[Drako]

Oh please make this happen!

I started downloading the patch around 7 am this morning, CET.

There's a FC meeting tonight at 9 pm CET. I will -barely- be able to download and install the patch in time thanks to a craptastic internet connection.

I'd love to see how Titan Ex feels about that connection O_O

[Moonleg]

The latency isn't that bad, really. It's a 384/384 ADSL connection thanks to being too far from the DSLAM to get it any higher. Of course, that means max download speed caps out a little over 40 KB/s, and this patch is 2 GB. It takes ... a while.

[raymon]

[b]

Issue 2) During patch-related maintenance windows, please update the patch servers first.

.

the patch servers were up last night before the maintenance was completed. Here are some people (as well as myself) who patched the game before the servers were up
http://forum.square-enix.com/ffxiv/t...our-client-now.

and mentioned briefly here.
http://forum.square-enix.com/ffxiv/t...y-in-patch-2.4

[CrystalRainbow]

The patch took all of 10 mins to download for both computer in my house hold..

Which gave me a good 1h+ before the server was live.

Time to change your ISP, If that isn't an option, Well it's SE's issue.

They aren't going to update the patch server till they know they can go live with it. If something goes south they wouldn't want you to have to re download 2 gb of data back something in the package was corrupt.

[BobbinT]

the patch servers were up last night before the maintenance was completed. Here are some people (as well as myself) who patched the game before the servers were up
http://forum.square-enix.com/ffxiv/t...our-client-now.

and mentioned briefly here.
http://forum.square-enix.com/ffxiv/t...y-in-patch-2.4

The latest patch download went live very late IMO, only like 2.5 hours before patch went live. Were it available like 12 hours ago, like on previous patches, alot of us would've be finished by then. And since I'm already at office by that time and have no choice but to use my mobile connection, can't get patch finish downloaded due to very slow & unstable mobile conns. Miss those housing because of that.