The Case For and Against Third Party Tools

[HyperiusUltima]

Alright, I’m going to come out and say it: Mods are a result of a game being played out for so long, in so many ways, it becomes boring/a chore. This dates all the way back when Steam first announced Steam Workshop. You could play a game, but if it has no REPLAY VALUE for the player after the fact(which XIV does in *some* content) for whatever content the player is seeking, they do one of the three:

A) Quit the game and play something else. - The most common answer.

B) Self-impose challenges on the gameplay itself(i.e. No Healer Clears).

C) Add Mods for flavor or for extra content that is generated by player creativity - or in some cases, for cheating.

While we do adhere to FFXIV’s EULA, Third Party Tools have been around for a long, long time - even all the way back in 2.0 with Parsers for raiding. The FFXIV Development Team in my opinion took down Mare because of the potential of it causing a security breach similar to what happened with the previous one since it looks at character data.

The other argument I’ve read in the other thread is that it’s because of MogStation Item Sales being down, though if the Developers decided this was the route to take action…they do not realize the irreparable harm they have caused to both XIV’s team(on top of what already has been seen as problematic in other topics/criticisms of the game) as well as the communities that see that for what it is: It’s all about the $$$$.

So, regardless of what optics are taken, it is a lose-lose for both sides short-term. Long Term we don’t know - but there are ramifications for the actions taken that I will quote Gabe for, as he said it best:

"Piracy is almost always a service problem and not a pricing problem."

Look at FFXIV’s problems since post-patch Endwalker, and you’ll see the writing on the wall considering the development team themselves have looked to the Third Party Tools themselves for help with their Combat UI - but isn’t that a bit convenient the community is doing this because they want accessible options in the game? Yeah - and it’s a good problem to have because they have ideas that are getting flat-out ignored on XIV’s Dev Team until the community screeches in a cacophony about the elephant in the room that has not been addressed.

It’s not only hypocritical on their stance in regards to Mods, but also shows how they are lacking in their development. It has been said time and time again that content made in this game is not made to last with their development time - and the fact that Occult Crescent came out like slop does not help that problem either alongside what happened with Cosmic Exploration. The development cycle has also been discussed by various YouTubers(Rinon has a good video on this) and is a point of criticism.

So, what fills the void? Player Generated Content. Whether it be storytelling, or other activities like clubbing, when one has done all they wanted, this is where they turn to - and eventually, the modding scene if exposed enough. This is where I will stare at Mog Station and think “is this worth my money to buy for an aesthetic?” Considering we can preview it at an Inn Bed, it helps a lot before buying.

The problem with this however is monetization practices that have been getting more and more aggressive since the inception of the store. When Endwalker came around, there was a thread that had plenty of problems with Mog Station, but the main argument was the Quality of Unique Items compared to what we got in Dungeons which becomes reused assets that are undyeable. This was especially so when we got the Woodland Warden set, which was high quality compared to a bunch of sets in-game that were given from dungeons - and while this may be okay, it’s an issue when it is consistent.

What the XIV Development Team needs to take in mind is that if they don’t improve their service and listen in regards to glamour and content, then people may resort to piracy or third party tools to make content for themselves or just to look pretty. It’s a major issue that they need to figure out before 8.0 so they can implement it on launch instead of afterward(since there is still time in 7.3). As things stand, they are going to have to take a hardline stance on Third Party Tools eventually instead of the grey area they’re standing in right now along with their very white and black Terms of Service.

That said, I’d like to discuss this and look for a solution that doesn’t include mods or leads to them yet again if possible.

[LotteYanson]

"Piracy is almost always a service problem and not a pricing problem."

Ive just had a talk with a friend some weeks ago.
He said if he could have skipped the story he might still would have played ff14.
When i told him that theres a skipping option, he first didnt believe me until i told him you would have to take some extra steps and find the hidden online store, that is not available through the game ui.
Something unthinkable by today standard appearently.

For a bigger company like SQEX this should have been crystal clear since a long time allready.
Yet they refuse to even implement stuff that would increase their profits.

[Jeeqbit]

I agree that the issue is player-generated content. Many past MMOs were successful because they had systems that allowed players to create the content, to the point the devs didn't need to release content.

Everything is so safe, defined, and shallow to keep it simple for casual players, that the most long-term replayable content is PvP, S rank spawning, roleplaying, housing and glam. Maybe crafting/gatherering? I find that boring myself in this game. By long-term replayable content, I mean content people would still do 10 years later even if the devs didn't make any new content.

[Johners]

The case against third-party tools is that FFXIV is a cross-platform title available on a number of platforms without the same toolkit that you have on Windows for the Steam and standalone versions of the game. The only moderation policy that Square Enix can actually take is not allowing any third-party tools. Even more so when the idea of mods on console was a complete taboo when ARR first released on PS3 back in 2013. We've now got Xbox Series and potentially even Switch 2 as supported console platforms.

The biggest mistake that Square Enix made was the hands off "don't see, don't tell" stance. For better or worse, the game needs a course correction from this at the cost of actively moderating the PC (and macOS, to a lesser extent) game client. Mare, for example, had around 25k concurrent users when the closure announcement went out. That's unlikely to be more than 5% of the game's entire concurrent player count across all platforms given it happened during EU/NA prime time. There's also the elephant in the room of the Japanese player base with different norms around the usage of third-party tools.

While the modding community is vocal, any blip in player counts would be corrected once the next major patch and cash store items release. Not to mention that the next Fan Festivals and expansion announcement are both around the corner. They could absolutely pull this off, get away with it even.

[HyperiusUltima]

The case against third-party tools is that FFXIV is a cross-platform title available on a number of platforms without the same toolkit that you have on Windows for the Steam and standalone versions of the game. The only moderation policy that Square Enix can actually take is not allowing any third-party tools. Even more so when the idea of mods on console was a complete taboo when ARR first released on PS3 back in 2013. We've now got Xbox Series and potentially even Switch 2 as supported console platforms.

The biggest mistake that Square Enix made was the hands off "don't see, don't tell" stance. For better or worse, the game needs a course correction from this at the cost of actively moderating the PC (and macOS, to a lesser extent) game client.

When it comes to cross-platform, it's clear cut. XBOX has its own moderation tools(staring at you language censor), and Switch 2 already has its online features with Nintendo Accounts.

As for actively moderating the Game Client, this has been said in the past: They can't monitor the game client-side because they'd be breaking the law to do so - and implementing Anti-Cheat software will just bog down the game(as anti-cheat software can already be bypassed) and eat up your computer's resources. What's more, even at the kernel level, they can still bypass it.

This is where Client Side vs. Server Side is currently, and it's why modding continues as it does.

[DiaDeem]

God forbid I use the Shtola hair that I paid for and took them years to make available for Viera.
God forbid I try out unique fun hair styles that they'll never bring or make possible in the game.
God forbid I make Seraph look like Titania, because that would be too cool!
God forbid I name my minions after pets I've lost to remember them.
God forbid I wear hats as Viera for years before they decide they're finally gonna support it nativley.
God forbid I wear Titania's outfit, which doesn't even exist in Mog Station. (I bought the one the have there too, that's besides the point)
God forbid I commit the crime of restoring the 1.0 Teleport sound because I can't stand the new one.
God forbid my friends can see all of these things automatically in game.
God forbid I take Krile's hoodie off because it's fun to see her with her ponytail.

These are all such evil demonic actions that destroy the integrity of such a perfect immaculate game!! OH THE HUMANITY, MAY ZODIARK KILL US ALL

Of course, I'd never do any of those things up there, because it's not allowed and I'm a law abiding fairy!

[Sunhwapark]

Hmm, weren't the chat bubbles that we recently got originally from a third party? lol.

[HyperiusUltima]

Hmm, weren't the chat bubbles that we recently got originally from a third party? lol.

Ayup. And they were actually a lot better before being yoinked by SE.

[justausername]

Hmm, weren't the chat bubbles that we recently got originally from a third party? lol.

yeep. and they picked chat bubbles over actual useful things.

[Striker44]

Alright, I’m going to come out and say it: Mods are a result of a game being played out for so long, in so many ways, it becomes boring/a chore.

I would hard disagree with this. Take other games that allowed mods over the years...WoW had oodles of mods running even during WotLK, when the game had around 12 MILLION active players and was at the peak of its popularity. I don't see mods being the result of anything necessarily being "boring" or a "chore", just any way players feel something could either be improved further or added. Heck, look at modding communities that build up around various games - they often add characters, campaigns, units, etc., not because people are bored, but because they're having a blast and want to include even more stuff through fan-made content.