Realistic Solution to Inventory Space (Programming idea that would lower server data)

[Sokar]

Realistic Solution to Inventory Space (Programming idea that would lower server data)

First and foremost, I want people to read the full idea before jumping to any conclusions. This is an idea meant to solve current glamour issues in game while at the same time reducing the amount of data that is stored on the server for every character out there. To explain this I want everyone to understand a few things about how Square Enix is looking at things and how they make their decisions:

1) Money spent on the game must be kept within current budget
2) The company is charged for their data usage
3) The higher the data usage is the higher the bill and the more money spent on maintenance versus money spent on design and game-play
4) To redesign a whole system of glamour would cost an incredible amount of time and resources taking away from new dungeons and content

That being said, there let's look at WHAT data is used in the inventory system currently and why simply adding more inventory slots creates problems (the metadata attached to every item):

1) Dye Color
2) Durability
3) Spiritbond
4) Materia
5) Who Crafted the item

Simply speaking there are at least 4 tags with literally hundreds of variables per tag, and one tag with THOUSANDS of variables (although not used on all items). Now multiply that by the hundreds and hundreds of bag slots and you start to see why adding more bag space takes up more data. You simply have more and more metadata that has to be collected for every item. It's not as simple as a stack of crafting mats which only have the tag of “quantity owned.”

Now that we know the problem with just making more bag spaces, and the fact that it costs a LOT of programming resources to make a whole new system to solve this, lets look to what IS programmed in the game already:

The Armoir.

So the Armoir is different from most items in the game in that it doesn't actually collect metadata. Basically anything put into the armoir is put on a list of “owned” or “not owned.” Any information such as dyes, durability, spiritbond, materia, or who crafted it is NOT collected. The item is actually DELETED from your inventory and put on the list of “owned” in the armoir. When you remove it, it simply duplicates the item for you from a non-modified state. In essence it's a cloning device, which uses the game's default settings for an item as it's reference. All data for all items is standardized and no person gets something different or unique. Adding things to the armoir is as easy on their end as adding the item to the list of things can and cannot be included. The programming exists already. So lets look at the Pros and Cons of the Armoir:

Pros:
1) The system is in place.
2) No new programming is needed, only a modification to something already existing.
3) The system saves an INCREDIBLE amount of server data as no Metadata is collected for items stored.
4) Amount of items that can be stored per person can be as large as the item pool currently in game, without adding more data per character.
5) Items can be stored and removed AS NEEDED when people want to use the item for glamour
6) The system already exists (yes I said it again, because this is REALLY important)
7) Huge savings on a programming perspective since minimal modifications are needed to make the system work.
8) Huge savings on Server Costs, as less information is needed per character.

Cons:
1) Items stored lose all customization such as dyes and materia.

So basically there are a lot of Pros to this system but with one MAJOR con. So lets discuss that con, and a solution to solve it. Dying items in this game is EXTREMELY important, and is as the core of customization in Final Fantasy. The above solution to inventory would basically remove any personalized touches you've put on your hard earned gear. So how do we solve it without creating a mess for programmers? The key to making this whole system work is making it EASIER for gamers to re-apply their dyes after having put them in storage. Right now as the system stands, gamers would be punished for storing items with rare dyes because they would simply be ERASED. So lets look at why we need to make it easier for gamers to apply dye:

1) The whole point of allowing glamour to go into the armoir is because it eliminates metadata tags, thereby saving data usage and programming time.
2) You want to encourage AS MANY PEOPLE AS POSSIBLE to use this system because the more that do, the lower the monthly server fees are, thereby saving money and allowing more time and resources to be spent on content creation.
3) The easier the new dye system is, the more motivated people will be to use it.
4) Recreating the dye system from scratch would cost time and resources, so using the current system in some way would be optimal.

Understanding that using current systems in a different way is key to fixing the Dye system. Now I have several proposed solutions, and all would be viable:

1) Use the current dye system, except move rare dyes to be purchased through a vendor via tokens, a resource, or gil. (in game sinks are always good for the economy as a whole)
2) Use the current dye system, except make ALL (including rare) dyes obtainable via crafting, and not just some. (would encourage more crafters)
3) Finally my favorite: Remove all dyes as a reagent to actually dye an item. Basically KEEP the dye palette as is, but when you go to actually dye an item, it uses Shards, Crystals, and Clusters as the reagent for your dye. This would solve several problems in game, as it would give a use for those lower level shards which people now have thousands of, and you could make “rarer” dyes cost Crystals or Clusters. It would also encourage more people to gather, which is also positive.

I encourage people to come up with other ideas as a solution to dying the gear which is removed from the armoir, as the easier it is to do, the more motivated people will be to use the armoir in the first place.


As a final note, please understand that I am not trying to tell the devs how to do their job. I am simply trying my best to come up with a CONSTRUCTIVE solution to a problem that exists, and do so with enough thought to their situation as well as ours. Sure we want LOTS of things, but we also need to be conscientious of what they can logistically do within a reasonable time and budget. Sometimes we don't need to reinvent the wheel when they've already created a great system that would function GREAT with just a little modification to it's purpose! I love this game dearly, as I know everyone else posting on this forum does, and I encourage people to consider this idea and let the devs know what your thoughts on it are!

Thank you all!

-Seraphim Sokar
-Exodus