Enhancements to log to support Damage Per Second (DPS) Measuring Tool

[GerrardCapashen]

Square Enix, could you please provide an official statement that you approve the use of third party programs which merely and only read the log files generated by FFXIV?

Could you also please enhance the log in-game to log every time a damage-over-time effect deals damage (roughly every 3 seconds)? Something like this:
> Gerrard Capashen's Miasma II on Titan ticks for 250 points of damage.
Of course, plus an option to disable this new kind of message on a per log tab basis.

This information is already available to the client (mostly) in the form of floating text over the monster or player. Adding this to the log file should not affect network traffic requirements in an amount that matters.

There are good players who are serious about self improvement. It would be very valuable to have a tool which displays how much damage individual members of the party have done over definable intervals. I am a professional programmer. It would be trivial for me to create such a tool which reads only the log files already generated by FFXIV (based on information obtained online).

Yes such a tool might increase the rate of harassment of players, but I think that the risk is overblown. Unfortunately, the reality is that these people will continue to use unauthoritized third party programs, and so I do not think that introducing an allowed option will reduce harassment. Rather, the current Square Enix policy of "no such tool allowed" harms only users who operate in good faith and avoid using such programs.

Please.

[GerrardCapashen]

Including additional important information IMHO:

Currently, a tool which is based only on the log files will be far less accurate than a tool which reads memory directly or which snoops on network traffic. Damage measuring tools based on reading memory or snooping network traffic are easily customizable to allow the creation of other tools which offer unfair in-game benefit, such as additional real-time alerts which are otherwise not available. These additional benefits, such as additional real-time alerts, provide a real and tangible unfair benefits to certain players. The lack of an accurate tool based solely on reading the log files is causing more people to pick up tools which come with additions which offer unfair advantages. If Square Enix provided full support via the log enhancements proposed above, then fewer players would be enticed to use tools which provide an unfair in-game advantage.

[AlexionSkylark]

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
NO
NO
A THOUSAND TIMES NO

The risk is NOT overblown. It is a real, palpable scenario. This will make the community even more ruthless to non-veterans/hardcore players as it already is. The only defense people have is that use of those tools need to be done under the cover, and people don't talk freely about it in-game.

Making it official will introduce the concepts of "minimum DPS" and "acceptable DPS" INTO THE GAME, and while this won't affect statics much, since most of them already uses such tools and discuss them internally, the legalization of this will bleed that elitist culture to PF and DF groups (which comprise the vast majority of FFXIV players), and it will affect the ENTIRE social structure of the game

Thank you but no, we don't need this in our Eorzea.

NO

[Sessurea]

People are gonna get parsed ANYWAY, and if they suck, they might get kicked with no reason even given due to parsing being illegal. IF people HAD access to this tool, then they might be able to check their contribution to a fight.

We all know when tanks or healers aren't up to scratch, why not dps? But adversely, a tank really knows when he messes up, and can seek advice and help. A dps could be throwing out terribad damage, and actually think he's doing great. THIS is unfair. I don't care about carebears happy dream fantasy land, I want people to be able to analyse themselves. Tanks and healers can do it ( obviously ) why exclude dps?

And before ppl start raining tears " oh but ill get kicked because I have crap damage and cant be bothered to do anything about it"........well, tanks and healers get kicked everyday for not doing their job to some sort of acceptable level.

[AlexionSkylark]

You can analize yourself using the tool already. Yoshida himself already said openly that he know about the tool just advised us to "keep it for ourselves about it".

Making parsers taboo within the game is what kept that WoW-like hostile atmosphere between and towards DPS classes at bay. We don't need that kind of attitude here. The taboo is pretty well placed, thank you.

[Bixby]

There is no downside to a complete & accurate combat log.

[AlexionSkylark]

There is no downside to a complete & accurate combat log.

Yes there is. The social implications of having numbers with which to judge people, and the extreme potential of the tool being misused to promote elitist behaviour.

[Sessurea]

And to add, when I was i90 "my friend" "checked" me with his "abacus" and look what happened? we discovered I was doing under 200 dps on a striking dummy. A week later I was doing 270. ( if people are interested, I had terrible buff uptime, animation cancelled bloodletters too soon and let dots fall off ) It was the best thing that ever happened in terms of my dps.

[AlexionSkylark]

Like I said...

As the situation currently stands, the "abacus" can be self-used, or among friends, in static groups and FCs, and discussed off-game.
And it CANNOT be brought up in PF and DF groups because of the taboo.

This is in fact the best of both worlds. People can use it for self-improvement, people can discuss it in closed environments, all is well in the world.

Now, to take down the taboo and introduce the numbers to be freely talked about in shout, linkshells, PF and DF groups? THAT'S what would be a downside. That's asking SPECIFICALLY for the negative side of the tool, and no, we don't need that in our community.

Keep as it is, it's quite good the way it is right now.

[Bixby]

Yes there is. The social implications of having numbers with which to judge people, and the extreme potential of the tool being misused to promote elitist behaviour.

The combat log is already there. Making it accurate & complete would do nothing to the current situation re:third-party tools other than making third-party tools accurate. They would still be third-party, still Fight Club. SE doesn't need to change a single thing about their stance or make any public statements on the subject in order to simply make their combat logs complete & accurate.

Inaccurate/incomplete combat logs only increase the odds for stigmas, since the jobs that are heaviest in incomplete data (DoTs/pets, for example) appear to be performing worse than they are.