r/ffxivdiscussion: What can Square Enix do to help fix the terrible netcode of FFXIV?

[Iyrnthota]

FFXIV just simply doesn’t seem to have the lasting cultural impact that World of Warcraft had. Even 20 years later, WoW is a titan in the industry. Many look back on their formative years spent entirely in Azeroth rather fondly. Imagine skipping all the traditional rites of passage, like going to parties, getting laid, etc. for a video game—and not regretting it. It takes a very good-quality product to have that effect on people.

Would people say the same for FFXIV? Probably not. The gameplay doesn’t have the same addictive staying power. Content is burned through quickly. Combat is the opposite of addictive—it’s slow, turgid, and clunky. The perfect word to describe raiding in FFXIV is janky. It’s awkward and uncomfortable. It lingers like the aftertaste of aftermarket diet soda when compared to the real thing.

Suffice to say, people make their memories in FFXIV doing anything but what the developers sanction—including modding, ERP, and drama culture. Anything to avoid the actual gameplay. Doesn’t quite have the same ring to it as this game’s predecessors, does it?

Where’s our South Park episode?

It sounds like you view any MMO without the lasting cultural impact of WoW to be a failure, which I would consider particularly ignorant.
WoW was the perfect game at the perfect time. There will never be another MMO like WoW.

[Semirhage]

For the people saying that it's all ping and there's not much Squeenix can do about latency, that's only true in the most technical, trivial sense. Yeah, we're limited by distance, the speed of electrons in a wire, and bottlenecks as packets jump between nodes. That aside, many modern games with an online component have developed tricks for masking that latency which XIV could use, but frequently doesn't.

The way the client handles the reply to a request to use an oGCD and the {redacted non-TOS respecting things} that have been developed just to make FFXIV behave like an MMO aware that its clients aren't on Japan's giant LAN does. The cause behind and the fix for that specific issue is well-documented. Square hasn't implemented it.

[Valkyrie_Lenneth]

For the people saying that it's all ping and there's not much Squeenix can do about latency, that's only true in the most technical, trivial sense. Yeah, we're limited by distance, the speed of electrons in a wire, and bottlenecks as packets jump between nodes. That aside, many modern games with an online component have developed tricks for masking that latency which XIV could use, but frequently doesn't.

The way the client handles the reply to a request to use an oGCD and the {redacted non-TOS respecting things} that have been developed just to make FFXIV behave like an MMO aware that its clients aren't on Japan's giant LAN does. The cause behind and the fix for that specific issue is well-documented. Square hasn't implemented it.

Part of it is XIV (mostly) doesn't trust the client. The way the implented it is weird though, because it doesn't immediately disconnect anyone not in a standard area of play (bots).

[Picker]

They can’t change it now, slidecasting is how casters get around and greed mechanics

[caffe_macchiato]

It sounds like you view any MMO without the lasting cultural impact of WoW to be a failure, which I would consider particularly ignorant.
WoW was the perfect game at the perfect time. There will never be another MMO like WoW.

Sure, but it’s just sad how the timeline has basically ended for this genre. Many people such as yourself agree that FFXIV is just kinda “good enough”, it’s not totally remarkable, but we’re okay with that. That’s normal, right? I’m fact, I’m sure everyone here has more fun playing other games because they’re simply more fun to play.

But we HAVE to defend FFXIV for some reason. It’s like an identity for so many people. Sure it’s a good game, it’s great, just do the usual of course. Just slidecast and get snapshotted while doing your usual limit cut and stack in/out mechanic—you know, the same old design you all know and love. It’s all a “dance”. Just memorize the fight, there’s nothing unique to do. Then go play other games once you clear. FFXIV is basically like doing chores but with some great patriotic fervor, because after all, you LOVE this game, don’t you?

Like I said, you’ll only realize the truth when you look back on the time you’ve spent doing this. Once the love affair is over and people are free to think for themselves without fear of being judged.

[GaiusDrakon]

Sure, but it’s just sad how the timeline has basically ended for this genre. Many people such as yourself agree that FFXIV is just kinda “good enough”, it’s not totally remarkable, but we’re okay with that. That’s normal, right? I’m fact, I’m sure everyone here has more fun playing other games because they’re simply more fun to play.

But we HAVE to defend FFXIV for some reason. It’s like an identity for so many people. Sure it’s a good game, it’s great, just do the usual of course. Just slidecast and get snapshotted while doing your usual limit cut and stack in/out mechanic—you know, the same old design you all know and love. It’s all a “dance”. Just memorize the fight, there’s nothing unique to do. Then go play other games once you clear. FFXIV is basically like doing chores but with some great patriotic fervor, because after all, you LOVE this game, don’t you?

Like I said, you’ll only realize the truth when you look back on the time you’ve spent doing this. Once the love affair is over and people are free to think for themselves without fear of being judged.

The fact that half of the counter-criticisms boils down to "it has always been bad so don't complain" says it all really.

[Semirhage]

Part of it is XIV (mostly) doesn't trust the client. The way the implented it is weird though, because it doesn't immediately disconnect anyone not in a standard area of play (bots).

XIV doesn't even need to trust the client for that specific issue. It's why those TOS-breakers work; it's all a client-side fix. When your client asks the server for permission to use an ability, XIV's client (stupidly) behaves the same way for both an affirmative and a negative response. This creates latency where it doesn't need to exist. Many modern online games have clients that take action only on a negative response. The only change that needs to be made to fix it is updating the client's behavior to ignore a positive response instead of rolling back your animation lock in both cases.

[seolhyun]

problem is this game is still held together by bandaids and strings from the horrible 1.0 days and prob shouldn't have lasted 10 years. idk if they will ever fix all the problems without just remaking a whole new engine and game.

[Jeeqbit]

Imagine skipping all the traditional rites of passage, like going to parties, getting laid, etc. for a video game—and not regretting it. It takes a very good-quality product to have that effect on people. Would people say the same for FFXIV?

I've met enough people in the game it has that effect on.

The gameplay doesn’t have the same addictive staying power.

By design. Despite that it has this effect on people still, Yoshi-P is trying to make it not have that effect on people to the degree that many MMORPGs from the past have, by allowing them to be played casually and making it so you don't lose out too much by being away for months.

A good quality product is not something that forces you to destroy your real life to progress in it. A good quality product is something that might make you do that voluntarily when you don't really need to.

And if we have learned anything about World of Warcraft it's that you needed to or you lost out and fell behind.

For example, I don't need to do roulettes every day. But I can because it's fun. I don't need to spam Crystalline Conflict, but I can because it's fun. I don't need to go through Eureka to get all the weapons, but I can because it's fun. I don't need to level all of the jobs, but I can because the variety is fun.

It's not like I can't just log back in after months, click the market board and be fully ready for savage in moments, which is the problem I have heard about in WoW for much of its existence.

[caffe_macchiato]

By design.

You did it! You said the thing!!