Digital CE vs Standard?

[Slapped_Silly]

If you get the Digital Collectors Edition, will you still get early access ?

Not any earlier than anyone else who pre orders.
How does that work for anyone that didnt.. They would be on the old client? And when they bought it on release day their stuff would migrate over?

[Keydah]

Not any earlier than anyone else who pre orders.
How does that work for anyone that didnt.. They would be on the old client? And when they bought it on release day their stuff would migrate over?

The necessary data will be patched in (new armor, race, mounts, etc that you need to have whether or not you have the expansion because of players who do) but otherwise they'll be on the basegame client doing the old stuff, is my guess.

[Enkidoh]

The necessary data will be patched in (new armor, race, mounts, etc that you need to have whether or not you have the expansion because of players who do) but otherwise they'll be on the basegame client doing the old stuff, is my guess.

This is how FFXI handled expansion releases for those who didn't have the new expansion, in that expansion packs were completely physically separate to the base game and installed in separate folders within the FFXI folder for the PC version - confusing matters was that the mini-add-on packs (Crystalline Prophecy, Moogle Kupo-de-tat, Shantotto Ascension, and the three Abyssea packs) were all included and automatically downloaded in updates regardless of whether a player purchased them or not (purchasing them simply 'unlocked' said content), no doubt an experiment in new forms of delivering expansion data.'

It seemed to have not been successful as the most recent full expansion released for FFXI (Seekers of Adoulin) used the old system of separate physical purchase and installation. I presume Heavensward will be the same for FFXIV.

[Niwashi]

How does that work for anyone that didnt.. They would be on the old client? And when they bought it on release day their stuff would migrate over?

I haven't played FFXI, so I'm not sure how SE handles it, but the only other MMOs I've played when they got expansions (LOTRO and DDO, both produced by Turbine), everyone got the new updated client software, so basically there was no valid "old client" anymore once the newer version existed. Those who purchased the expansion had its content unlocked, and for those who didn't purchase it, the expansion content was locked to them and unavailable, but both groups would have the same software running on their machine.

I'm not sure SE does it the same way, but it makes sense that it would be easier for them to maintain a single client program with some of its content lockable, than maintain multiple different versions of the client program that did or didn't include that content (but which would all have to get updated any time non-expansion related patches came out). So if SE follows that same approach, then everyone would be getting a big update to download as soon as Early Access is available, and then whenever you purchase the expansion, it's content becomes unlocked, regardless of whether that's before, on, or sometime after release day.