[Suggestion] an Auto log out feature

[Dzian]

if it had auto log out / auto dc then i'd want it to have a fairly generous time frame maybe 12 hours....

in 12 hours i'm almost certain to have any repair requests completed or any meld requests done. so yeah i wouldn't mind being booted from the game...

anything less and i'd start to have problems with it. there are time's where i'll sit afk in uldah playing my playstation simply glance across to my pc every 20-30 minutes seeing if there any interesting shouts if not carry on with playstation. so if i would be dcd after like 1 or 2 hours then i'd start to have problems with it.

i will tell you one thing i would use alot though... (pretty sure it'd be tricky to implement)
auto-return/logoff when repairs/meld requests are complete.

that i would find fantastic. finish my event or whatever i'm doing put my gear up for repairs and go to bed.
when some nice person repaired all my gear and/or did all my meld requests my character would aytomatically return to my inn room and log off.

i would bloody love that

[Daku_Naito]

Really the cost of your electric bill is (in regard to pc usage) is relative to the hardware that you use and the power it requires. It def varies from player to player based on specs. Even tho the game requires a decent gaming setup/hardware i dont think that much savings can be reflected with such an implentation of idea. On the whole, itd save a few dollars altogether each year if implemented and if anything would just be a hinderence to those who go afk and leave the game on. For the aforementioned reasons, i really dont feel its be worth it.

Op if you are concerned with power usage while afk.... just log out. I dont want an auto logout feature.

Wrong, yes hardware needs a certain amount of wattage to run effectively, but that isn't what they use normally. When the game is running, the GPU, CPU, etc, are working harder, thus an increase in bill. You will notice a considerable increase in wattage usage from the gaming being on and just being on idle. It would be quite more then a few dollars.

If you're worried about your electric bill, can't you just log out yourself then turn off your PC?

Why should SE be worrying about people's electricity bill?

Take some responsibility yourself. SE has other things to be doing.

Why did SE worry about people having their weapons out before entering a dungeon? IDK, but it was implemented in the latest patch. SE does small things, why not this?

[Gilraen]

Just to note, if you're 'hecking the bed' you are logged out as that's a reference to how certain races use the bed to, well, log out. And honestly, I can't help but think the electric bill excuse is just that, making this all a rather successful troll. Well played, well played.

[Arcell]

As an option with players being able to choose the amount of time before they're logged out I support this. Otherwise, no.

[Kafeen]

That's a sensitive matter in Japan you know. So yes they should worry about it and I think it's a great idea if it can be configured by the player.

Then you can save even more power, instead of just having the game log you out, you can use the power saving settings in Windows to automatically shut down your PC or put it into sleep mode.

Alternatively, you can take a second to type /shutdown if you're going to be away for an extended period.

Almost all of those players standing around AFK are doing so because they choose to do so, not because of some system forced upon them by the lack of an auto-logout feature. Those same people would simply turn it off given the choice so they can continue to stand around AFK.

[Fear]

Also on the power note, I've calculated FFXIV to cost me around 1.5pence an hour to run (in £) which is not much really.

My system runs a 650Watt PSU with around 500Watt usage during FFXIV.

So even the most hardcore systems would only eat about 4pence an hour, thats £28.80 a month if you stayed online 24/7 for 30 days.

[Antipika]

Then you can save even more power, instead of just having the game log you out, you can use the power saving settings in Windows to automatically shut down your PC or put it into sleep mode.

Alternatively, you can take a second to type /shutdown if you're going to be away for an extended period.

Almost all of those players standing around AFK are doing so because they choose to do so, not because of some system forced upon them by the lack of an auto-logout feature. Those same people would simply turn it off given the choice so they can continue to stand around AFK.

Off course I can also close the game client and shut down my PC. But that's not the point here. If I am running tasks in background on my computer, I don't want to turn it off (i.e. AFK'ing on IRC, download/sharing files, etc.) however I want it to consume less power, just enough to do whats it needs to do. That is called efficiency.

That is also why hardware manufacturers have been striving for in the past decade, making hardware greener than ever, since computer usage increase with time, we want to "have it all" (stay connected 24/7) while consuming less power.

Latest GPU became super effective. While before power saving profiles used to only be "2D" (i.e. no game started) and "3D" (game started), now GPUs can simply only use the power they need according to the task they are being given. Running an old game that doesn't require much power = won't use lot of GPU ressources, cards will receive less voltage. Running a game at a lower framerate will automatically consume less power etc.

Your solution is basically like saying "You want to save energy? Just turn all lights off" while mine is "You want to save energy? Use eco light bulbs instead". But then again if such a feature is implemented (could it be framerate limitation while game is running in background or auto-disconnect after X minutes) I don't really see why anyone would complain as long as users got the choice

All that matters. Having the choice. More features is always better than no feature.

Also on the power note, I've calculated FFXIV to cost me around 1.5pence an hour to run (in £) which is not much really.

Yeah that's a realistic value for average hardware. For high end hower, it would be a bit higher. With a 250 watts gap (between IDLE and charge), @10pence a kWh that's 2.5pence.

I know it's still not that much, especially since people could say "if you can afford high end hardware, you should be able to afford the money to pay your electricity bill", that's true! But if I can pay less, get the same results with no effort, then why not ^^

[Galliano]

I don't care about saving power but it might help with server congestion. Maybe a feature where it removes you from the server but keeps an image of where you are for people to buy things from you, fix your gear etc. Not even sure if something like that would be possible lol but would be cool. Maybe there could be an option to have an npc place holder to sit in your spot when you're logged off instead?

[Momita]

no.

after, i'll pay the bill.

Why you force me to log-oug if i don't want? i pay? i want to stay online 24/24 for shown my drop (yeah vanity mode on )

[Kafeen]

Your solution is basically like saying "You want to save energy? Just turn all lights off" while mine is "You want to save energy? Use eco light bulbs instead". But then again if such a feature is implemented (could it be framerate limitation while game is running in background or auto-disconnect after X minutes) I don't really see why anyone would complain as long as users got the choice

All that matters. Having the choice. More features is always better than no feature.

I'd rather see SE spending their time in implementing new features that are going to improve the quality of the game. Taking time away from a couple of people to add extra options to the menu, and implement the auto-logout functionality really seems like a waste of time.

It isn't always a good idea to add additional features and give the user the options. If you do this you end up bloating games with menus, making the more useful options more difficult to find and damaging the overall user experience.

Users already have the only choice they need. Do they want to log out or remain logged in. What does it add to say I'd like to stay logged in for the next 3 hours while I'm out but then to logout?

It might help with server congestion but then I think its really only going to have a noticeable effect if people aren't given the option of remaining online. Otherwise the same people who stay logged in for long periods now will just turn it off and continue doing the same.