Yoshi Interview at PGS

[bass9020]

"Q: I'd like you to increase the number of character face options available!
Yoshida: There's currently no plan to increase the range of option categories available. This is partly because players expect a certain "FF quality" to characters in the game and giving too wide a range of options might compromise that by allowing players to create characters that don't fit into a Final Fantasy setting. This is something that is important to many people. Also, if you broaden the range of options there's a risk that it could impact gameplay as the data sent and received per character increases upon loading a new area.
However, since I think this is more of a request for more available customization options within the categories currently available, we'd like to add more options based on your feedback!"

Our feedback that we have been asking, suggesting, theorizing for how long now? Its the same response everytime, they ask for our feedback and we give it but then get generic or overly complicated responses to what is asked for. Same old song and dance!

[Cidel]

Okay, well then it sounded like a potential misunderstanding if the actual translation is more along the lines of "we can't add new sliders/ categories to customize, but we can expand on new faces/hair/etc." So maybe what they're referring to are any vague "more character customization!" requests. I can fully understand if they don't want to add new separate categories/sliders if they're concerned about players "inventing" their own new races and/or proportions with added customization options.

But yeah, people have been asking for more faces and the like for what seems like years. What feedback have they not been getting?... What feedback have they actually been getting instead?

[Chiramu]

I'm guessing the new wards will be released sometime after the servers have already been up. So that way everyone has a chance to be logged in and at the aetheryte.

I guess that is better than seeing people get houses because they can log in through the queue faster.

[xxvaynxx]

Balmung is going to need like 15 wards.

[Berethos]

Because Square uses their own Engine for this - Crystal Tools.

Not actually true.

They use a proprietary engine (some of the same group that worked on the Luminous Engine worked on it, but it's not Luminous either) after looking at the weaknesses of Crystal Tools (which was used for 1.0) in an MMO, as well as considered Luminous but decided that wouldn't work for an MMO either.

https://gamerescape.com/2011/10/19/g...-is-out-there/

[Alleo]

Even with the longer answer it still feels off. A lot of us wanted just more options for the existing ones. Like scars, more paint, more faces yet we got not a single new customization for 4.0. Also still using the FF feel as an example feels bad when you have people running around as pigs or having the Yokai stuff floating around. And FF means no ugly character allowed? I am fine with not being able to create a monster of a character (like hunchback and stuff like that) but that answer just makes me feel that we will never have options that will make a character look less perfect. I really hope that this does not mean that we will never get things like scars.

Also at least now I know why they created the app..another fee..another point to own that sweet money..:/

I am no IT expert but wouldnt the app itself also not just put more stress on the servers? Because people would be able to access some things ingame everywhere?

[reiichi]

I am no IT expert but wouldnt the app itself also not just put more stress on the servers? Because people would be able to access some things ingame everywhere?

Possibly. FFXIV has multiple servers handling different aspects of the game. It's not just a single box running one program with a single database.

If I had to make guesses at how this is handled, retainers and markets are probably running on their own database tables with their associated processes. That's why we can't just call up our retainer from anywhere and SE's talked about possible sync issues if they increase retainer storage [instead of additional retainer slots]. If it works similar to implementations I've seen, they basically unleash a flood of inventory network packets at your character to load the ENTIRE list any time you want to check. That can get bloated quickly. Especially if people are just casually doing it.

Other things, like Linkshells, FCs, etc are World-level processes. Everything you do in the client that has to make it back to the servers is handled by a proxy to sort the appropriate traffic where it should go. So it's more likely that typing in a zone is sent to your "world" server, which then sends it to your client. Or possibly the other way around. That's why some communication in instanced content doesn't work. Your character is no longer on the same server as the other ones and there isn't a path to direct that data.

But at the end, people on the apps will probably represent somewhere between the same to less strain on the servers than if they were logged into the game fully. But I'm not going to expect that the app is going to work perfectly from the get-go. And I'd plan to see some emergency maintenance if app users overload their servers.

[IgnisFatuus]

retainers are handled by the database like a regular character (a leftover from 1.0). so yes, if you access them often that will put more strain on the database. since they're overly cautious about such issues I'm pretty sure they already calculated for it (or underestimate demand).



on another note, this whole "server capacity" thing has been grinding my gears for a while now. the problem isn't really the server, but simply the underlying programming. I'm not a wow player, but I know that they had to massively re-engineer some parts of their database as well so the game could keep going forward. they've also redone the original areas with cataclysm which was 6 years after launch.
personally, I think the game right now is probably in its prime and if they don't get all that shit sorted out in the next two years it will probably never happen. I still have some hope left that this game could be so much more, but even if they would be willing to change the status quo (they're not right now) they can't because of all the legacy hindrances.

[Naunet]

WoW devs announced they're working on different body types for character creation in next expac. Hmmmm...

[Skivvy]

Balmung is going to need like 15 wards.

And a new rule that you only get one house per account.