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

[RichardButte]

I enjoy XIV, especially because it's the only themepark MMO I've ever seen that feels like they truly put some love and care into the storyline, characters, and setting.

But there's a worrisome trend when it comes to developer comments: technical issues tend to be the #1 reason for rejecting requests from the playerbase (even QoL suggestions that have been requested for years), citing the inadequate database as the reason these suggestions either cannot work or would be difficult to implement.

The most recent glamour log changes are sadly a good example of this. They're an improvement, but we can only store up to 200 items in the dresser, meaning this is only ever going to be a bandaid fix, especially as the game continues to expand and more and more items are added. There will still come a day when players will need to empty that dresser out to make room for new items, something they are NOT going to want to do.

This change only delays the inevitable.

Compare this to WoW's version of a glamour log, which immediately grants you access to the appearance of any item that was ever bound to your character (which encompasses hundreds and hundreds of items) and the log is shared across all characters.

There are also netcode issues in XIV that make combat less reliable with even slightly higher pings (even east coast vs. west coast players in the US notice a difference).

Take this thread for example: http://forum.square-enix.com/ffxiv/t...led-by-latency

Notice how not one of the replies at the time of my posting this even contested the fact that latency does indeed play a role in the game's combat mechanics? XIV is the only modern AAA MMO to have issues like these.

~6 years ago, we had two players in Brazil playing on our NA server that I raided with in WoW and they had no issues, despite one of them even being a healer.

Seeing as how XIV is the #2 sub MMO in the world right now, there's no reason WoW and even lesser known MMOs should have superior database servers and netcode.

If they wanted to take an expansion to rebuild all of this and get everything up to speed, making the game "future proof" for later expansions and all of their database needs, as well as refactoring the netcode to be more responsive and workable, I wouldn't begrudge them one bit for doing so.

Now, before the "SE Defense Force" chimes in with "YOU CAN WORK AROUND THESE ISSUES!!", please stop missing the point entirely.

There's no reason WoW should have better database servers than XIV, and when you say "You can work around it", you're acknowledging that there is indeed a problem to work around in the first place, one that modern AAA MMOs don't have and one that XIV certainly shouldn't have either.

So I'd say take the time to fix the issues you need to fix, devs, even if it means rebuilding most of the game. The game is more than prosperous enough to do so at this point and, after all, any "fixes" implemented without doing a full revamp are just going to be bandaids in the long run.

XIV is a wonderful game and absolutely worth putting this kind of love and care into.

PS. This is not going to be an OPTIONAL change for the game, FYI. If they're struggling this hard to make due with their current database servers, they're eventually going to find themselves up against a wall where they either cannot add new expansions or need to start deleting expansions from the game to make room for new ones.

PPS. They've also made a change like this once already, back before the game was profitable, where they were building 2.0 while keeping 1.0 running AND were adding content to it.

You can learn all about it in this awesome documentary:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xs0yQKI7Yw4