Please Add BOSS Attack Names to Auto Translator

[EinherjarLucian]

I see 2 problems with the autotranslate:

1. Very limited number of words.

2. Very limited matching ability.

If you could only improve on these two aspects of the system, you make the auto-translate ten times more useful if not more.

They could "improve" the system at the cost of consuming more memory, which is an issue on PS3 systems with highly limited resources. You have to understand that there are some incredible trade-offs that have to be made in order to land a game as complex as FF14 on a platform like the PS3.

What you're proposing is implementing a full-text search on the list of phrases. Full-text searches are horribly inefficient without taking measures that would consume more memory than they'd be able to spare on it. That's also why they implement a StartsWith search instead of a Contains search. It's way more efficient, especially since they can map whole sections of the list by alphabet. If they know in advance the starting index of all "D" phrases and all "E" phrases, they can now limit the search through the table to just those entries. You just can't get that kind of search optimization with a full-text search.

[Elusana_Celah]

Lack of space seems to be the most common reason used by SE for their inability to add specific kinds of content but I fail to understand how a bunch of string data in your code can add a significant amount of space to the game when your typical minor content updates are like 50-300 megs each? I've done my fair share of hundreds to thousands of string entries in my own code and it wasn't nearly that bloated.

Of course I have no idea how this game was programmed so I am sure the limitations they keep talking about are validated to some degree but I question the inflexible program design direction and the apparent lack of server space(?) in the MMORPG game genre of a pay to play game where the expectations are to be constantly expanding the usability and content of the game.

Not trying to sound rude or anything but this is just the concerns and opinions from someone who doesn't have much information about how the game is programmed and setup.

[BLaCKnBLu3B3RRY]

Lack of space seems to be the most common reason used by SE for their inability to add specific kinds of content but I fail to understand how a bunch of string data in your codecan add a significant amount of space to the game when your typical minor content updates are like 50-300 megs each? I've done my fair share of hundreds to thousands of string entries in my own code and it wasn't nearly that bloated.

Of course I have no idea how this game was programmed so I am sure the limitations they keep talking about are validated to some degree but I question the inflexible program design direction and the apparent lack of server space(?) in the MMORPG game genre of a pay to play game where the expectations are to be constantly expanding the usability and content of the game.

Not trying to sound rude or anything but this is just the concerns and opinions from someone who doesn't have much information about how the game is programmed and setup.

This^ i am personally not buying the CE this time around. and will give this game only one more year. after that... i don't know... shall see. ><

Yes PS4 has its limitations, but it's hard to believe that the same system would hit PS4's limitations first before it hits PS3 limitations. PS3 is clearly the least capable of all the platforms currently officially supported by FF14:ARR. Some people may be playing on 10 year old PCs, but if one is using a PC for gaming, then one should realize that 5 year old PCs are already too old. PCs spec hurdles are raised much faster than consoles.

So when talking about hardware limitations, it doesn't make sense to not talk about the least capable platform, i.e. the PS3. Even PC's have limitations, but when PS3 is sitting there at 1-star level, there's no point talking about a 3-star level limitation.

actually... it has already been stated somewhere from a community rep that the PS4 is already being pushed to the limits of the available resources dedicated for gaming. so... as far as hardware limitations go, the PS4 is sitting in the same exact boat as the PS3.

not everyone use a machine builded during 2015.

RAM is super cheap these days. i don't know why Sony decided to screw us over in the RAM department on the PS4. but other then that... a quad-core CPU is pretty cheap these days too.

[Zfz]

I know. I'm just pointing out the problems. In other words, I'm saying, the compromises are limiting its uses severely.

And yes, I'm hinting at the idea of dropping PS3 support. It's a feat to make FF14 run on PS3, indeed. But when you consider that this "feat" is achieved by chopping off fingers and toes so it fits into the extremely limited capabilities that PS3 provide, then it taints that feat.

I know PS3 support is entirely a commercial decision. If ARR came out in 2014 instead, then not supporting PS3 could have been a very real option. Hopefully by 4.0 PS3 support can be dropped completely and we can finally have a proper UI that isn't limited anymore by 2006 hardware performance.

[Lemuria]

And yes, I'm hinting at the idea of dropping PS3 support. It's a feat to make FF14 run on PS3, indeed. But when you consider that this "feat" is achieved by chopping off fingers and toes so it fits into the extremely limited capabilities that PS3 provide, then it taints that feat.

I know PS3 support is entirely a commercial decision. If ARR came out in 2014 instead, then not supporting PS3 could have been a very real option. Hopefully by 4.0 PS3 support can be dropped completely and we can finally have a proper UI that isn't limited anymore by 2006 hardware performance.

It's false to assume this is a PS3 only issue. PS4 has hardware limitations too, and there's only so much they can do to keep everything running at a good pace on every system. Often that means keeping things optimal. I doubt it's even all that easy to put on the PC. If they've set a limited number of spaces for translate features, then my guess is it would require a redo of the entire translator to add in more 'space' or at least, reworking the searches to an extensive degree.

That being said, I knew sooner or later someone would mention console limitations and ask for support to be dropped.

[Zfz]

Yes PS4 has its limitations, but it's hard to believe that the same system would hit PS4's limitations first before it hits PS3 limitations. PS3 is clearly the least capable of all the platforms currently officially supported by FF14:ARR. Some people may be playing on 10 year old PCs, but if one is using a PC for gaming, then one should realize that 5 year old PCs are already too old. PCs spec hurdles are raised much faster than consoles.

So when talking about hardware limitations, it doesn't make sense to not talk about the least capable platform, i.e. the PS3. Even PC's have limitations, but when PS3 is sitting there at 1-star level, there's no point talking about a 3-star level limitation.

[Lemuria]

So, render a still fairly young MMO inert for players who've faithfully been enjoying it up til now? PS3 limitations or not, that's a bit unfair to say the least.

[Nyalia]

Using XIVDB, I've counted 2,800 "development abilities" (monster skills). Subtracting the few that are untranslated from Japanese for some reason (maybe they're never displayed?) and the duplicates and the mount abilities and so on, it's more like ~2,600. That's a lot of new terms to add. I suspect that's what the dev team is hesitant to include.

That said, only a small number actually matter. But, how do they determine what "matters?" I feel like there are at least a couple hundred that really matter for the fights they are a part of, and while you can argue that those fights aren't important, they likely are important to someone. For instance, the final boss of Toto-rak - do you include the move where she spawns an explosive pod on top of someone (I can't recall the name - silkscreen or sticky web)? What about the second bosses of Haukke Normal, who have two interruptable skills that are nice to be able to talk about if you're explaining them (Ice Spikes and ... soul drain, I think?), and the final boss has that dodgeable targeted attack Void Thunder III, and it's not obvious you can dodge it by running behind her. And what about non-bosses? "Self-Destruct" is important to know to avoid in early dungeons where it's an instakill. "Final Sting" is relevant to anyone explaining Qarn.

So, in other words, it's really a value judgment regarding what to include or leave out, even if you're just putting in abilities that are useful to be able to mention. If you're only adding stuff from current content, that's one idea, but that's 1) still a lot of slots, and 2) another value judgment about how current is "current," and when to remove them. Also, when 3.0 comes out, there will be hundreds or more abilities from "current" content. Do all of those get added too?

[Sadana]

Also, when 3.0 comes out, there will be hundreds or more abilities from "current" content. Do all of those get added too?

You bring up a good point... if they are out of space NOW, how on earth are they going to keep up with future expansions?

[Airget]

You bring up a good point... if they are out of space NOW, how on earth are they going to keep up with future expansions?

It's not being out of space now but this.

Say you have:
30GB of space
Currently using 2GB of space
Using it for everything would be 8GB of space

Not you continue to follow using it for everything and 6 months down the road you end up with
Efficiently using it=3.5GB
For everything=14GB

6 more months:
4.5GB
18GB

6 more months:
6GB
25GB

6 more months:
7GB
34GB(over limit)

That's what they are trying to avoid, just because they have the space doesn't mean they should use it, if they pace it out, try to be as efficient as possible with it then they won't hit the limit fast and by taking their time they can work on finding means to store more or optimize the memory used to hold the data.