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

[Valkyrie_Lenneth]

I don't think this is feasible without going through 6 months + of no new content. They would basically have to halt content production and refocus everyone on porting to a new engine, new design, new everything. Game would die.

[RichardButte]

I don't think this is feasible without going through 6 months + of no new content. They would basically have to halt content production and refocus everyone on porting to a new engine, new design, new everything. Game would die.

I mean, no offense, buuuut....

If there's literally one game in the entire history of gaming that has proven it can survive a change like that...

And it's only going to get worse as they continue on the current infrastructure. A stitch in time saves nine, as they say.

It'll be less expensive in the long run to make these changes sooner rather than later, especially when every new system they add to the game between now and the inevitable change will need to be revamped to fit the new infrastructure as well.

[Maero]

Both the coding in the game and the game launcher/updater itself is rather outdated (the launcher is rather bad) but i agree with Valkyrie here. From a standpoint of SE it would probably not be feasible nor would they dedicate time+ resources.
It is unfortunate.

[Vstarstruck]

I don't think this is feasible without going through 6 months + of no new content. They would basically have to halt content production and refocus everyone on porting to a new engine, new design, new everything. Game would die.

no it wouldn't, and this is going to be needed at some point since the wall seems to be getting bigger and bigger because of these issues.
Semi related:
http://forum.square-enix.com/ffxiv/t...-bigger-budget
might be another reason why they havn't yet

[RichardButte]

From a standpoint of SE it would probably not be feasible nor would they dedicate time+ resources.
It is unfortunate.

It's not...optional, unless they start actually removing entire expansions worth of items from the game or something to that effect.

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.

[RukiaFae]

This is not going to happen. The game would have to be completely unplayable for them to basically start over from scratch. They didn't even do that after 1.0. They are going to continue to make improvements while the games operates, which will take time but is their best financial option. They would lose so much money if they shut down the game for that long to rebuild it. Financially that doesn't make any sense when the game is playable and they are making a profit. It always comes down to the bottom line.

[Balipu]

Well I'm no programmer but maybe the reason why wow can store glamour appearances and FFXIV can't is because wow has an ancient engine that retains some assets from the freakin WarCraft III engine. All that gear might not ammount to that many data,

[RichardButte]

They are going to continue to make improvements while the games operates, which will take time but is their best financial option. They would lose so much money if they shut down the game for that long to rebuild it. Financially that doesn't make any sense when the game is playable and they are making a profit. It always comes down to the bottom line.

You do realize that they kept 1.0 running for the entire time they were working on 2.0, up until they shut down 1.0 and switched over, right?

Well I'm no programmer but maybe the reason why wow can store glamour appearances and FFXIV can't is because wow has an ancient engine that retains some assets from the freakin WarCraft III engine. All that gear might not ammount to that many data,

The issue has nothing to do with graphics but the number of items the database will allow each character to "own".

[Tridus]

I don't think this is feasible without going through 6 months + of no new content. They would basically have to halt content production and refocus everyone on porting to a new engine, new design, new everything. Game would die.

While you'd see less content, you wouldn't see no content. People working on art, music, level design, and even encounter design are usually not the same ones who work on server netcode and backend infrastructure. Whatever issue causes them to have to limit the glamour closet to 200 items instead of a WoW style "every item that's ever existed" one, it isn't going to be fixed by the same person that is animating the next tier of raid weapon drops.

Don't get me wrong: there's a cost to doing this kind of overhaul and everything else will have resources taken away because of it. But this is a big enough operation that it's not just 3 people working on it. Some of this stuff absolutely needs dealing with at some point, because the amount of stuff in the game isn't going down. I mean, my crafter & gatherer logs manage to track every single item I've made just fine. Do that, except for worn equipment. No need to overcomplicate it.