Thread: [4.0->4.1]Would you be okay with a longer delay?

I don't think a lot of people realise just how intense the work load is in Japan compared to over in America and Europe. It would be very, very bad for the game's future if Yoshi-P or another key developer decided to step down because of how tight and hectic the schedule is. So, yes, I'd be fine with a delay assuming the content that came afterwards and before it was meaty enough to last and be engaging.

Originally Posted by Theodric

I don't think a lot of people realise just how intense the work load is in Japan compared to over in America and Europe. It would be very, very bad for the game's future if Yoshi-P or another key developer decided to step down because of how tight and hectic the schedule is. So, yes, I'd be fine with a delay assuming the content that came afterwards and before it was meaty enough to last and be engaging.

This little caveat I think is the thing the majority of us can agree on. Just giving them the month or three may sound nice, but if the game suffers for it, we might consider a "vacation" in playing it.

Originally Posted by Moonlite

No. It is a companies job to work vacation time into production.

This is a great ideal, but we're talking about Japan, and in an industry where even western companies regularly expect employees to work well beyond the standard 40 hour work week. Japan's workplace has social pressures like nothing seen in the West when it comes to work, and that can translate to a work schedule that would be considered nothing short of oppressive for folks outside the country.

When I heard that there would be an extended delay between 3.0 and 3.1, my first thought was that they must have worked quite literally to the brink of death to warrant such a thing in Japan. I'm talking actual serious health issues that they needed the time off to address. Perhaps it wasn't QUITE that bad, but I sure wasn't shocked to learn that Stormblood had decided to trim things down to just two jobs and no additional player race this time around (along with who knows how many other cuts).

When a Japanese game company tells you that they're giving their workforce an extra couple months of time off when doing so clearly risks the health of the game (as was the case in 3.0-3.1), you can bet that they NEEDED that extra time off. It wasn't a luxury, it was a necessity. It seems that this time around, they're confident that their team won't have one foot in the grave, and they can stick to a regular schedule. If they reevaluate that decision later and decide that yeah, they need the time off again, they have my support.

Well technically it would be 3 months instead of 5 if on schedule. But honestly I would give them a break and launch 4.1 in 4 months to where they have some sort of break.

After what happened between 3.0 and 3.1, no I would not like a longer delay. The dev team needs better scheduling if this is their solution to burnout.

Also, this topic is irrelevant because Yoshi P already confirmed that 4.0-4.1 will be a regular patch cycle length.

I would not mind at all.What I really want the most is for Yoshi and the dev team to take a nice long break.They are not robots,they are humans afterall.I wish Yoshi had not mentioned a expansion release date in the first place.He just gave himself and the team too much to do.I can just imagine how tired they must be.

If Yoshi and his crew are reading this.A massive appreciation and love to you all.

Hugs x 100000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000.

Sorry I feel so mushy inside xDD

Originally Posted by MysticDreamer

I would not mind at all.What I really want the most is for Yoshi and the dev team to take a nice long break.They are not robots,they are humans afterall.I wish Yoshi had not mentioned a expansion release date in the first place.He just gave himself and the team too much to do.I can just imagine how tired they must be.

If Yoshi and his crew are reading this.A massive appreciation and love to you all.

Hugs x 100000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000.

Sorry I feel so mushy inside xDD

Not that I disagree with the sentiment but even if he didn't mention the release date, that's still the date they would have had to keep to. o:

Originally Posted by ShinMetsu

Why do people always say "Oh, these poor little hard-hardwoking devs deserve a break" ?
It's their job!

Whether or not they're doing overtime, which they're probably getting paid for, which some of them probably are happy about.
Which is probably not enforced, although from what people say pressure to meet workplace's expectations is high in japan from what people say.
And finally, if they want to ease the workload, they should just expand their budget.

It's about time companies start putting customers first again. Reputation is worth more than most people think.


Edit: OH AND! Imagine if they did and content got delayed and cut out, imagine the shitstorm!

I saw this and just had to share my two cents.

They may very well not be receiving paid overtime. I sure hope they are, but they may not. It is required in Japan (as it is required in many countries, but, surprise! companies are still able to get away with not compensating overtime work), but a quick search yielded "Despite the fact overtime pay is required by law, Japanese companies have been known to take employees to court over employees' requests for overtime or other legitimate compensation".

I've worked in video games, and am currently working in an animation studio where, guess what! many of us are currently working 10+ hour days constantly, and working long weekends, without overtime pay, nor was the company actually documenting much of the overtime hours people were putting in until recently. And! Even if the hours are documented, they company gets to decide whether or not that overtime work was for excess work, which would be compensated with "in lieu of days" (which when the company is so busy to get the product out, it's impossible to actually claim those hours), or for you to simply "do your job" and get your insane quota done for the week. Crunch time happens, but it should never be all the time. (yes, different countries, can't compare 1:1, which only scares me more since Japan has the known reputation for employees working all the time vs most others)
Their job is to produce content within a reasonable, realistic, work schedule, not work themselves to death from constant 60+ hour weeks (or whatever they may work. I hope it's less).
And even if they are getting paid overtime, or some other compensation (I can only hope they are), that's not always enough. It's really not. To go from one project to the next that demands such long hours constantly is draining and will seriously impact work and their health.

I really, REALLY hope Square Enix is better than this, not every company denies overtime compensation, and better than the stories I've heard of animation studios over there overworking employees to actually become sick. But it is the darker side of industries like this that not everyone playing/watching may be aware of, as the companies have to keep up with the consumers wanting "more more more!" and "now now now!" while it takes more time to create the quality of work needed by today's expectations. Increasing their budget is not nearly as simple as "they should just expand their budget". I hope FFXIV's budget only increases, but they've shown what they can produce, and bring in with subs, on quite a small one, which leads higher ups to think "great! they can keep producing that work on the budget they have!".

And "It's about time companies start putting customers first again. Reputation is worth more than most people think." ... I'm just gonna headdesk over here a bit.

Just had to rant a little, and share some....of the more questionable/shadier things I've seen when working in fields like this. Just think about all those names in the credits next time you play a game or watch a movie.

On topic: I would not mind one bit if there was more of a delay between 4.0 and 4.1. It would give me time to level through the main story on my main, then allow for time to try the new jobs once their hype has died down a bit. And also not feel like I have to rush to get all the stuff that would be available at 4.0's end game as fast as possible to actually get some use out of it. I'd be able to sit back and relax.
But, as we saw with 3.0 to 3.1, not everyone feels that way.