What causes the limitations?

[Felis]

[LIST][*]Raids like CT/ST not being disconnected by loading screens.

Yes, it would be nice if we can climp the stairs in ST instead of getting zoned to the other end of the stairs.
For CT1, you can just run back to the entrance instead of using the teleport field if you want.

[Derio]

RAM issues for one on PS3 and server issues.

[Alahra]

Thats not even true. Everything was rebuilt from the ground up...None of the 1.0 coding exists in ff14 now, its all on a new engine, everything was rebuilt and remade.

You might be surprised. The most visible crossovers are in items (a lot of the 1-50 gear was ported over from 1.0). The character models are scaled down versions of the 1.0 ones in terms of polygons (and you can actually see hints on some of the older gear that they're still "framed" on the older models). Even a few of the dungeons are from 1.0 (Toto-Rak, Dzemael Darkhold, and Aurum Vale, I believe) and they actually mentioned that in a Live Letter when someone asked if they would ever receive Hard Mode versions (the answer being no). For these assets to work as unchanged as they are, there are likely parts of the game's foundation that are tied to 1.0 the same way they are. There are most likely other things that crossed over "under the hood," so to speak, the most notable of which I've heard is the netcode (though I'm not 100% certain on that).

They did create a new engine and rebuild various parts of the game, but other parts carried forward. If they hadn't done this, there's essentially no way they could have gotten the game relaunched in just two years, especially not with the relatively small team this game has compared to other MMOs.

[Airget]

So I keep hearing the main issue with why we can't have nice things (tackle box, new hairstyles, Au Ra horns separate from faces, etc) is because of a limit on character data.

But why are they so limited to begin with? Is it because of the engine the game was built on? Limitations within the server itself and the time needed to process transfers (I think Yoshi said every 15 seconds the info gets saved)?

My concern is there seems to be a point coming where the database or whatever it is will be at its breaking point and absolutely NOTHING else can be added.

Surely they've thought ahead about this game's long-term development. Is it just that it's built on an outdated foundation or what?

Data, in XIV we have access to about 750 inventory slots among player, armoury chest, and two retainers. Compared to other MMOs they barely reach that amount of inv space that XIV pretty much starts out with.

Character customization is the same way. The more you add, the more variables you have. 2x2=4, 2x2x2=8, 4x4=16, 4x4x2=32. Every addition added multiplies the variable. What looks like 1 to you is actually an exponential increase because it has to fit into every other variable upon adding that one piece. AKA horns, 4 horns, done, more now you say, oh 4 faces can choose 4 horns. 4 face 1 horn each, 4x1=4, 4x4=16 that's a HUGE difference in data and it increases everything else by 16x because of that one slight change. You might not think it's a lot but it is the different between 100,000 and 1,600,000 variables because of what other players see as a "simple addition" it's not. it amplifies the data needed and variables by that much to "just add" that.