Is the chip shortage now a meme in the community?

[CazzT]

I'm not asking to get an answer. I'm asking to get people to apply some critical thinking and a dash of logic.

Critical thinking and a dash of logic would lead to conclusion that they have known for years, long before the "shortage" and covid, that they need to upgrade and expand the servers. So, I will turn the question back to you: Why haven't they?

It's simple. Either you choose to believe they're making the effort they can with the tools they have available, or you choose to believe they're just sitting on their asses.

Only one of those options makes any sense.

Except there's a third option that you're not considering. As I pointed out above.

[Corvus_V]

I'm not asking to get an answer. I'm asking to get people to apply some critical thinking and a dash of logic.

It's simple. Either you choose to believe they're making the effort they can with the tools they have available, or you choose to believe they're just sitting on their asses.

Only one of those options makes any sense.

No, one of the options that makes sense (that you didn't list)
is that they've collected their sub-money and pre-order money, and decided that the community's grief was a price they were willing to pay, as opposed to buying server equipment (a premium, which they've said they've "tried paying more" but never how much more) or renting server equipment where it already exists, since it most certainly already does as it is not manufactured by SE, therefore it is not unique. Server equipment later on in the expansion's release they would likely not need, as content-lulls obviously have that effect. They can come up with excuses as to why they didn't want to, like "security," but the bottom line is they simply did not try. They didn't make an attempt. They decided that doing nothing was the most financially viable and best option, because they didn't do anything. They didn't go the extra mile.

Shadowbringers predated the pandemic and supply chain problems. It predated, as far as I'm aware, cryptocurrency and every conceivable issue that would prevent them from paying a "normal" price for server hardware. If it was "just as bad every launch lol" then they could have considered it, and every expansion they've released, and other MMO expansion releases a learning experience and purchased the self-same equipment and maintained it before that; but they didn't want to. Because it costs money. Just like now. It's always money. FFXIV is the most if not one of the most profitable projects they have. Do you really think the amount of money they put back into the game is proportionate to how much they make on it? After all the corner cutting, recolored assets, and servers they don't have?

I think the hard part to get through to people is that as far as I'm aware, they are not obligated to be "transparent." They don't have to make you privy to their financial decisions. Why haven't you even considered this a PR strategy or something? I don't even think the creative team, the "faces" behind these posts, even Yoshi P. are necessarily even the ones who made those financial decisions. It was probably SE. They probably know people like you trust him. You guys treat him like a rock star. I'm not demonizing him, but how can you deny the possibility he's being used to make it look less bad?

Like, listen, I like this game a lot, but its management has very obvious flaws. Be honest. There are so many obvious facets to improve it's almost comical. Even saving your login credentials. Christ.
The above is why whenever I hear people complain, I just tell them to get a refund. Maybe if they lose the money they think they've gotten by cutting those corners, they'll feel less inclined to do that. Maybe they'll go rent servers so people can play; players will stop witch-hunting each other and whining about queues.

[PangTong]

I don't know how they can say with a straight face that getting kicked out of the queue with error 2002 is an issue with your connection and they can't do anything about it, when once you log into the game it's totally fine and disconnects are significantly more rare. So everyone just happens to have really spotty internet only while they are in the queue?

The actual game worlds clearly have some means of handling packet loss or temporary disconnections, so why is the possibility of introducing similar error handling to the lobby servers not even considered or mentioned as a potential solution? They say the only way for them to deal with 2002 is to add more servers, which actually doesn't solve getting kicked out mid-queue at all, it just makes it less likely because the queues for each world would be shorter. Are you telling me that the game simply quitting to desktop when the lobby server errors instead of just going back to the title screen is a problem with my connection and not the software?

Long queues were to be expected, and dealing with queues is easy enough, you just have to wait. But getting randomly kicked out of the queue because of what is clearly a flaw of the software design and then told that's on us and they can't do anything about it is insulting. And I'm someone who has actually not been all that affected by the congestion.

[Mordranar]

TMSC is the primary semiconductor manufacturer and their supply is not only impact by Covid 19 also further restricted by US government launched economy war on China.
These are facts.
Don't know what TMSC is?
Please google
Every modern technology requires these semiconductors; including from your phone, computer and car and everything else
Mob mentality?
Ignorance much?

So first of all it is the TSMC (Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company) so at least get your facts right prior to posting. Second, the semiconductor shortage is NOT new, it did NOT happen by surprise or overnight. I work as a system engineer in a mid sized software development company (~2k employees) in IT and have to deploy server machines and networking equipment on a regular basis. We have been warned by our suppliers very early this year about this shortage predicting that it will stay during 2021 and even increase in 2022. At present we wait for bigger machines ~6 months from the moment we order them, smaller machines ~6 weeks up to ~3 months. So the infrastructure department of SE was surely fully aware of the situation, I simply don´t believe that these guys are so unprofessional to not monitor the situation on the market.

[Hasrat]

Critical thinking and a dash of logic would lead to conclusion that they have known for years, long before the "shortage" and covid, that they need to upgrade and expand the servers. So, I will turn the question back to you: Why haven't they?

This is just plain willful ignorance, considering they in fact have been upgrading and expanding servers for years.

[NanaWiloh]

This is just plain willful ignorance, considering they in fact have been upgrading and expanding servers for years.

I will back this up with people need to read the media letters on the main page. They put one up prior to early access about measures they took. One being UPGRADING the current servers for better performance and capacity.

Next the current servers are not the same ones ARR launched on. When they transfered data centers better servers were brought in.

[Hasrat]

Next the current servers are not the same ones ARR launched on. When they transfered data centers better servers were brought in.

If you want a real good laugh, just imagine the reactions from these folks if this population were trying to get in during anything as recent as Stormblood.

[CazzT]

This is just plain willful ignorance, considering they in fact have been upgrading and expanding servers for years.

Ah yes, indirect gaslighting accompanied by projection.
Nowhere have I, in any way, said nor implied that they have not improved their servers over the years. You know this and yet you choose to gaslight with it anyway. Which just shows your accusation of "willful ignorance" is nothing more than projection.

But hey, why use critical thinking and logic when you can just gaslight and project, right? It's not like there's years of data that we can look at to see their improvements have been falling behind the need. Oh wait, there is... Well, I suppose only the "willfully ignorant" wouldn't know about such things, huh?

[Hasrat]

Nowhere have I, in any way, said nor implied that they have not improved their servers over the years.

Your claim:

"They have known for years... that they need to upgrade and expand their servers."

The reality:

They, in fact, have been doing exactly that.

[Exosapien]

Ah yes, indirect gaslighting accompanied by projection.
Nowhere have I, in any way, said nor implied that they have not improved their servers over the years. You know this and yet you choose to gaslight with it anyway. Which just shows your accusation of "willful ignorance" is nothing more than projection.

But hey, why use critical thinking and logic when you can just gaslight and project, right? It's not like there's years of data that we can look at to see their improvements have been falling behind the need. Oh wait, there is... Well, I suppose only the "willfully ignorant" wouldn't know about such things, huh?

I love it when someone learns a new word and just can't stop misusing it.