Discussion for the use of the “Sight API” - Companion App

[FellowAdventurer]

Hello,

The goal of this post is to open communication with Square-Enix regarding the use of the “Sight API” used by the "FFXIV Companion App". Since the release of the companion app, fansites have been able to discover how the app interacts with the market board via the use of this API.

Through this API we are able to provide market data to many fansites, Discord servers and tools. I want to emphasise that these are not bots or automation methods, but interactions via the thousands of users who wish to use the market data on their website or service (eg Discord, Twitch UIs).

However, for the past couple of weeks, account bans have been issued to those who use this API - players who use legitimate accounts and pay their subscriptions as would any other.

Therefore, we would like to ask the following question: What could be done to help resolve this issue? Can the Sight API usage be allowed in some capacity without overloading the servers?

Regards

[Sorriow]

Curious for SE's reply, as I kinda liked scouting the market boards at work or during my commute for my crafters.

[Clorifex]

This is a tremendous quality of life improvement! Really hoping we can find some acceptable common ground to keep this operable.

[Hezkezl]

This is the single biggest thing that SE could do to help the community out with many of the upcoming changes to the world visit stuff. I firmly believe that this would help decrease server load, as well as being far more convenient for players, because the alternative would be to have people physically teleport to the different worlds and check the market boards there. That would require a lot more loading and time to be invested than the use of this API.

[Dynratygus]

Good afternoon and thank you for posting in the Final Fantasy XIV Technical Support Forums.

The problem you are describing is not a technical issue. Unfortunately we are not able to assist with your concern in this forum. Due to this, I will be moving this thread to "Website/Companion App Feedback & Suggestions".

Thank you for stopping by the Final Fantasy XIV Technical Support Forums.

[Marean]

I agree With the Post, I mean SE you did good on getting Viera and Hrogar Helms. And MB access (like the sites are doing) is kind of pretty heavily needed given the changes with World Visit and the servers becoming more Cross-world friendly. I don't really see any reason why you can't just "try" to work with the Community on this. That is unless you have Cross worlds checking support for the markets in the near future. i mean all of the hard working dev's in the company are no doubt busy at work for making 5.0 The best expansion it can be. so maybe if not endorsement,or or such. maybe just give those who use this api a Blind eye approach as long as they play nice? just as a thought. heck, if money is a issue. Maybe sell Sight api access as a add on licence or service. there are many ways it could go, i do hope for the best for everyone involved.

[Minimoooo]

Looking forward to seeing what the web team have to say regarding this, and how we can move forward with the usage of the Sight API without worry of a ban.

[Eriane_Elis]

I think the reasoning is that it presents itself as an unfair advantage to those unaware of the apps and other third party services. I didn't know this app existed and would have been at a disadvantage. I don't plan to use the app either and it would only make sense that the team at SE bans accounts relating to this. The MB is already very competitive and even more-so after the servers being sewn together. It may be an unpopular opinion here but I agree with SE and their mindset of disallowing third party tools / parsers for an advantage that otherwise wouldn't be available in-game. It's unfair for the vast majority of players and is clearly stated in their ToS. A good compromise could be to be able to see market prices across different servers without having to teleport to them or merge all MB in servers in a datacenter together. I'm not saying this is what I'd like to see, just what seems to be viable options for those really wanting something like it.

[Minimoooo]

I think the reasoning is that it presents itself as an unfair advantage to those unaware of the apps and other third party services. I didn't know this app existed and would have been at a disadvantage. I don't plan to use the app either and it would only make sense that the team at SE bans accounts relating to this. The MB is already very competitive and even more-so after the servers being sewn together. It may be an unpopular opinion here but I agree with SE and their mindset of disallowing third party tools / parsers for an advantage that otherwise wouldn't be available in-game. It's unfair for the vast majority of players and is clearly stated in their ToS. A good compromise could be to be able to see market prices across different servers without having to teleport to them or merge all MB in servers in a datacenter together. I'm not saying this is what I'd like to see, just what seems to be viable options for those really wanting something like it.

So lets be clear:
1. There are many sites and services (eg Discord bots) that provide market information. Not 1 App.
2. There is an official app that provides the information, this app is made by SE. It is called "Companion App". Anyone can use this, they can even Buy/Sell using it.

I agree with SE and their mindset of disallowing third party tools / parsers for an advantage that otherwise wouldn't be available in-game.

Then why does an official app exist? The Companion App is not in-game. There is no difference between loading up companion app vs using a discord bot or looking at a website. Also does this mean looking at crafting guides gives you an unfair advantage? It isn't in-game after all. Also do you use Database websites? They provide information which isn't in-game (damage formulas) and Datamining is against the TOS so we should ban those too?

Your argument kind of falls apart because SE provide an official means to view market information outside the game, but right now they're banning accounts that do now view that information directly with the app. By your logic, because the Companion App is not in-game, and those with a phone can use it, we should ban people for using the companion app too...

Are you happy with 1% of people having an advantage vs 100% of people? The more SE ban these sites, the more it pushes the functionality to the people who have the technical knowledge and keep it private. Those people will have an extreme advantage vs everyone else.

Your "unawareness" is not an excuse, you may be unaware of a lot of things (good crafting methods, fast EXP methods, theories on when to sell items during patches), that is no reason to ban sites and services that provide you with knowledge.