Is it maybe time for a full infrastructure rebuild? (Re: Database and netcode issues)

[Callinon]

I dont really know anything about data and coding, but I am pretty sure that a list that shows the stuff thats been made or worn has to be less intense on the system than having to actually carry the item, or have it stored on a retainer... I agree. It doesnt need to be overcomplicated at all

Not really. Items in FFXIV really have the following volatile (changable) values:
Spiritbond level
Condition
Dye

It gets a little trickier when we start talking about pink-quality items and relics that allow for dynamic stat assignments, but for the purposes of glamour none of that matters. In fact none of what I mentioned there matters either (maybe dye, but I'd handle that differently). You simply stipulate that an item must be at 100% condition or above before it can be relegated to glamour duty, and warn that spiritbond level will go to 0. Just like the armoire actually. All you're really storing is the item's numeric ID value OR a big boolean list tied to the item database. The actual space any of this takes up is pretty small.

This is basically how WoW's glamour system works too. It just unlocks the glamour state for any item you've collected. It doesn't matter what happens to the physical item after that, you've got it and so do all the other characters on your account.

The OP's post really hits the nail on the head. SE rushed the hell out of their database and netcoding design process when they were making 2.0. And if they don't spend some time getting their act together, the whole thing is just going to collapse in on itself someday.

[RichardButte]

The OP's post really hits the nail on the head. SE rushed the hell out of their database and netcoding design process when they were making 2.0. And if they don't spend some time getting their act together, the whole thing is just going to collapse in on itself someday.

This.

It's not going to be an option, and we're going to hit the point where they'll need to start deleting expansion items from the game to make room for new ones.

Remember that chest piece appearance you're so fond of? Better not get too attached to it...

They are better off creating a brand new FF MMO at that point.

Even if, logistics-wise, that's what they'd be doing, the story, setting, and content of this game are still very much loved by the community.

We're not talking about rebuilding the ENTIRE game from scratch, just about updating database and netcode.

Again, they built 2.0 WHILE maintaining and updating 1.0, and that required rebuilding nearly everything except some parts of major cities, since the old world was built from copy-pasta.

[Tridus]

This.

It's not going to be an option, and we're going to hit the point where they'll need to start deleting expansion items from the game to make room for new ones.

Remember that chest piece appearance you're so fond of? Better not get too attached to it...

No they won't. On the server end, the database requirements for that chest are a primary key and a few bits of data. Anyone who has it will have more data tied to their specific copy of it, but that applies to every item. If you can store 200 clothes, it doesn't matter in the slightest to the server which 200 clothes they are or which expansion they're from.

They'd only have to delete it if the client couldn't handle the data requirements to have all the models, and with the PS3 gone that doesn't seem like any kind of urgent issue.