Fix Server Time to be actual server time

[Culfinrandir]

**PLEASE READ WHAT THE ORIGINAL POSTER HAS SAID BEFORE COMMENTING!**

The Server Time changes depending on your OWN computer's time, therefore different people on the SAME server have different Server Times. I can't put it any clearer! 0.o

[Sicno]

I can't put it any clearer! 0.o

I'll try:

It seems the server time DISPLAYED by the game is not synced with the actual server and it's not displaying the same time for everybody. Instead it seems it's calculated by the game client on your own computer/console based on what it thinks to be the difference in time zones between your local time and the server time. If the game happens to guess your local time zone wrong (usually by having the wrong dates for when changes in daylight saving times occur) then that calculation is wrong too.

So what op is saying is that instead of using such calculations the game client should constantly listen to what the actual server says is the server time. And I agree. The sync doesn't need to happen every second, but I guess every minute could be good (after all the game clock doesn't display seconds).

[Aldora]

Hmmm… That’s interesting.

I can understand why they do it though. It’s less information they have to pass along through with “each” request, while keeping the clock running at “real time”. I mean, why would you “bother” requesting the Server Time (ST) from the server every x seconds, when your system can handle that on it’s own once you know the difference in time zones?

I also don’t really see the need to recalculate the ST when you change your Regional Settings as well as the Time within your OS, while the game is still running. Unless requests being sent to the server contain a Timestamp, which is being recorded 1-on-1 within the database (rather than using the system date/time from the server itself). Otherwise you’d be using up “resources”, which could be used elsewhere within the client.

Granted, retrieving the current server time isn’t a resource hogger to begin with. But, like racing cars, wouldn’t you like it to be as lightweight as possible in order to guarantee the best possible performance? Just retrieve the systems “CultureInfo” once when you initialize the clock and just let the system's internal clock handle the rest?

Although i agree that scheduling events will be rather hard if not every player displays the same ST. But, if everyone has the correct time as well as the correct Timezone set within their Operating system, would the problem even “exist” in the first place?

Since the chat log in the OP mentions a time difference of 1 hour, i’m guessing that the clock from this player’s system clock has yet to adjust to the Daylight Saving Time. That, or his/her system clock hasn’t synced with the “International Atomic Time (TAI)” yet.

[Deifact]

There's no need for it to sync with the server so often. Any device connected to the internet is likely to be synced already and as such just grabbing the system time at start up and using that as a base is fine. I think syncing with the server would be a bit overkill as well. But yeah if the calculation isn't working properly then that is a problem. Maybe a sync every hour just for the rare cases it is wrong or screwed up is enough?

[Galactimus]

For the past three years the server time has -always- been messed up by one hour due to day light savings (in the EST timezone for me.) FFXIV simply does not calculate this for me. Half a year later when daylight savings stops the server time is correct again. I've just accepted to live with it; but a change would be a great quality of life addition.

[DragonFlyy]

As someone mentioned above, they need to grab the system CultureInfo, however, I'm guessing since they are Japanese and have no idea about Daylight savings (seriously ... this crap needs removed anyway), they aren't taking it into account. Fortunately, it's a very small annoyance. Any time my FC sets a time for an event they just state their time and timezone and we all work out the math ourselves.

[Chasely]

This thread is... semi-accurate. While the ST will artificially change if you alter your PC's current time while logged in, it resets to the actual server time when you log out. People in various time zones do not have different server times. Also, the artificial change does not affect your dailies, weeklies, or time played.

Also, the English maintenance announcements take DST into consideration when applicable.

[Sida]

This is a problem that is acute in our FC. First of, don't confuse GMT with BST. The servers inner workings are in GMT. That doesn't change when the summertime occurs. That's also why the maintenance times they list seem to be a bit off. Even in England, if the maintenance time is scheduled to 8 am GMT, on summer time England is actually in BST, which is British Summer Time. And yes, even some brits I've met don't know this difference and assume their time is GMT always. Essentially, even England (and the rest of that timezone if they follow summer time) is on +1 to GMT during summertime. Same for all other timezones that follow summer time. Finland for example is +2 to GMT, and during summertime, Finland is actually +3 to GMT while they still are just two hours ahead of the rest England since everyone follows summertime. Since the server is in GMT throughout the year, on winter my daily reset is at 5pm (3pm ST that is presented to me, 3pm GMT), but during summer it jumps to 6pm my time (4pm ST that is presented to me, 3pm GMT), all other timed events following the cue. As you might notice, the time in GMT is still the same. That is sensible since any servers inner clocks shouldn't be following any summertime nonsense.

Why is this a problem? Because the ST we are presented is not the server time, which should universally be GMT. Instead it calculates our timezone amount difference to the GMT, which in my case is +2, and applies it throu out the year, without regard that half of the year my current time actually has three hour difference to actual GMT. (Even if I still have only two hour difference to England since they too follow the summertime.) However not all countries across the world follow the summertime, which contains a good amount of my FC mates. Since their local time doesn't change, the difference shows in the presented ST. My ST is always shown to be -2 hours to my local time. Which half of the year is not actual GMT. While theirs ST is -10 hours to the their local throughout the year which also is actual GMT the whole year . There is half a year discrepancy there when those who follow summertime are presented different ST by the game, as those who don't follow it. It's hard to plan anything when we have the situation "your ST is better than my ST" since the actual ingame presented ST is different, even if everyone has set their timezones correctly. That is because the game uses a flawed method. It measures a difference in the time zone amount (essentially location) and applies it to a local time, which due the summer time changes, while location does not.

The solution would be, as someone suggested, the game client asking on logon from the server what the ST is, counting the difference to the local time, and using that difference throughout the session. Assuring that ST is the same for everyone, regardless what their local time might be.

Edit: or even simpler, just have the ST always show GMT for everyone, regardless what their local times show. That way everyone would see exactly same time which is about the only usefull purpose for ST.

Sorry for long post.

Edit: @Wade, I wouldn't pay too much attention to maintenance finish times. It mght very well be they just have had exactly one extra hour planned for stuff that goes wrong, and when everything goes smoothly they can skip that. I can say it started exactly at the time, by GMT as it was marked. The end times are always fluid.

[ruskie]

just have the ST always show GMT for everyone, regardless what their local times show

I'd say it should be set to UTC but that's about it. And yes it should be same globaly. That way there is a common time for all. As it is I tend to be very sceptical of things in ST.

[Sida]

I'd say it should be set to UTC but that's about it. And yes it should be same globaly. That way there is a common time for all. As it is I tend to be very sceptical of things in ST.

Good point. I considered editing that in to my post but looking through it, it seems to me that tossing in UTC along the other terms used would make it even more confusing than it already is. Since GMT and UTC for most purposes refer to the same time, even with the differences in their semantics, I'll leave it as it is. I agree with you though. UTC it should be.