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

[Aylis]

If the database is THIS limiting to what they can and cannot do with the game, it's literally only a matter of time before they can go no further with it and need to do a full revamp anyway.

Better sooner than later.

They more then likely won't do another full revamp, they already did one at a large cost revamping from 1.0. In the future once things reach a point where they can go no further, if anything they'll just let the game go the way XI did, take what they learned from here (hopefully) and work on their next MMO from the ground up.

[Istaru]

They more then likely won't do another full revamp, they already did one at a large cost revamping from 1.0. In the future once things reach a point where they can go no further, if anything they'll just let the game go the way XI did, take what they learned from here (hopefully) and work on their next MMO from the ground up.

I agree. They rebuilt 1.0 because it was a main title Final Fantasy game. Simply put, they did not want that blemish in the brand.

Even with its limitations, this game is not a blemish on the Final Fantasy name.

Before you get mad, I agree there are problems from the things you listed, I don’t see them redoing it again. Even if we complain.

[Aylis]

I agree. They rebuilt 1.0 because it was a main title Final Fantasy game. Simply put, they did not want that blemish in the brand.

Even with its limitations, this game is not a blemish on the Final Fantasy name.

Before you get mad, I agree there are problems from the things you listed, I don’t see them redoing it again. Even if we complain.

Oh I'm not mad at all ^.^, but yeah exactly like you said, they didn't want to, or even could not let 1.0 blemish the name and had a very short time to save things. A full rebuild from scratch wouldn't have worked in that light. Despite my own personal feelings of FFXIV I can't lie, for what they had to work with, they did okay. Yeah, all the complaining and requesting in the world is never gonna change that the very soul of this games coding is still the 1.0 engine. No matter what Yoshida's vision may be. Tanaka's vision will always be at the games root. It will never be remade. They'll just spend that funding to launch another MMO. One director/producer, one vision. Not two visions clashing forever.

[Istaru]

Oh I'm not mad at all ^.^, but yeah exactly like you said, they didn't want to, or even could not let 1.0 blemish the name and had a very short time to save things. A full rebuild from scratch wouldn't have worked in that light. Despite my own personal feelings of FFXIV I can't lie, for what they had to work with, they did okay. Yeah, all the complaining and requesting in the world is never gonna change that the very soul of this games coding is still the 1.0 engine. No matter what Yoshida's vision may be. Tanaka's vision will always be at the games root. It will never be remade. They'll just spend that funding to launch another MMO. One director/producer, one vision. Not two visions clashing forever.

Oopsie!

My mad comment was really directed at the OP. I missed the call out before that line.

But, I’m glad your not mad just the same.

[RichardButte]

Before you get mad, I agree there are problems from the things you listed, I don’t see them redoing it again. Even if we complain.

The game is eventually going to succumb to its own database limitations, and long before its life as an MMO has run its course.

XIV could go on for well over another 10 years thematically, but it's not going to survive that long technically.

Not only is the database going to continue to present a problem, but more and more features (like glamour logs) that become standard and even expected in MMOs are going to feel notably missing from XIV.

For example, how long have they been promising some type of mobile device companion, now...? Even Destiny 2 has one of those, and it's more of a janky skinner box simulator than an MMO.

I didn't make this post with the intention of saying, "YOU BETTER FIX YOUR STUFF!". I made it to establish that I, as a player, fully understand that a revamp like this will be necessary and I wouldn't fault them for doing it and to see who else would feel the same way.

WoW's "glamour log" is, frankly, amazing (it actually makes collecting glamour in old content fun and enjoyable), and it makes the one they're rolling out now in XIV look awful by comparison. If it would mean no longer having to deal with half measures like the dresser that are also going to become outdated, I'd rather they just go ahead and do the revamp work they clearly need to.

FFXI is still adding new content and items with every patch (monthly). Also a lot of FFXI's "technical limitations" turned out to not really be limitations once the dev team stopped making excuses and started finding solutions.

Maybe the OP is being a little dramatic, but their point is 100% on target. The number of times Yoshi P has come out and said they can't do some basic expansion of a particular in-game system after only 2 expansions is, frankly, alarming. Do you remember back in 2.0 when SE said your entire character data including all your retainers is sent to the server every 15 seconds and that's why they couldn't expand retainer storage? The number of cut corners and band-aids revealed in that statement alone made alarm bells go off in my programmer brain. And that was in 2.0. What happens in 7.0?

The point is this needs to be addressed now while it's a manageable problem and not later when it's a behemoth of a problem.

Exactly.

It's like leaving a pile of dirty dishes in the sink: sure, SE may not have to deal with it right now, but letting it sit for too long means those dishes are going to attract bugs and mold.

The issues with the database that we're seeing now are the flies circling the pile of SE's unwashed dishes. The longer they wait, the more awful it's going to be when they finally DO decide to clean them.

[Fyce]

The game is eventually going to succumb to its own database limitations, and long before its life as an MMO has run its course.

From time to time, I check the forums to see if there's something new.
But it seems that everything is still the same. Mostly nonsense.

[TaranTatsuuchi]

You're asking for the equivalent of rebuilding a house by pulling out the foundation and replacing it and expecting people to be able to live in it at the same time.

The technical side is the problem. Would you rather they lie? If you think they're lying about the technical side do you think they're just lazy? How many people who work on this game do you think look at it and go.. "eh.. it's good enough. Milk it for money and let it die when people get sick of the lies".

If they're smart about it...

They should be able to work on a separate branch of the codebase and then fork it back in later.
Thus, working on new stuff while not affecting the live branch until they are ready to implement it...

[Valkyrie_Lenneth]

If they're smart about it...

They should be able to work on a separate branch of the codebase and then fork it back in later.
Thus, working on new stuff while not affecting the live branch until they are ready to implement it...

They already do this, but they would have to basically remake the game, and add content, while remaking the game, making it compatible for both versions at the same time.

[Callinon]

They already do this, but they would have to basically remake the game, and add content, while remaking the game, making it compatible for both versions at the same time.

Not really. The database structure can be redesigned without affecting the live game if they're smart about it.