Official Statement: Regarding Mod Usage and Culture

[All_Nonsense]

I'm not gonna summarize, he wants us to read it so let's read it properly

https://na.finalfantasyxiv.com/lodes...5eb456d2183251


I normally come here and annoy the people on the forums with circular logic and placing various degrees of intricate bait, but I'll say something fr this time: This is a completely logical, sensible statement that makes a lot of sense, and I completely understand where Yoshi P is coming from. There are other issues that people can discuss like customization options being lacking and other stuff, but the fact of the matter is that Yoshi P had his back to the wall. The last thing I want is Visa or Mastercard sticking their dirty hands in this game and forcing us all to install some stupid kernel-level anticheat.

ik how this thread ends but let's see how civil we can keep it for now

[All_Nonsense]

Oh yeah, one last thing at the end for those who read (if you don't read the statement then your opinion(s) on the matter of mods will carry very little weight btw. Listen to his counterargument fairly): Thoughts on that? Looks like the wait might not be as long as we think? Time will tell

[Dastan]

This guy has a seemingly unlimited amount of patience with this community...

This also confirms what I already knew. They do not have a problem with you using mods, so long as you don't use them to affect other people's game and play. As long as everything is only on your end, and you are not using it to abuse others, you're good. You can even share (appropriate) screenshots with others online. Just don't use the official trademarks. Every other "Visual mod" that might be nsfw, keep it private amongst yourselves and don't harass people with them or shout about it in public chats.

[Alice_Rivers]

You can even share (appropriate) screenshots with others online. Just don't use the official trademarks.

Given the bit about how certain mods overwrite game files, I wonder if it would be worth it for CBU3 to run a file integrity check on launch and where visual files have been modified use an alternative watermark that indicates the image is a modded version of the game?

[Tulvi]

This guy has a seemingly unlimited amount of patience with this community...

This also confirms what I already knew. They do not have a problem with you using mods, so long as you don't use them to affect other people's game and play. As long as everything is only on your end, and you are not using it to abuse others, you're good. You can even share (appropriate) screenshots with others online. Just don't use the official trademarks. Every other "Visual mod" that might be nsfw, keep it private amongst yourselves and don't harass people with them or shout about it in public chats.

And this is actually a big step forward, that Yoshi said this clearly and addressed even NSFW mods. Reading comprehension is not very strong with this community, which is why we already see so many misinterpretations of this, in a way, breakthrough statement.

Up until now, the “don’t ask, don’t tell” mentality was deduced by the community from somewhat vague statements about mods in which Yoshi always only repeated that all mods are against the ToS, but then never acted against them actively (up until Mare ofc.). Now we have his personal opinion on the matter, clearly stating that he personally doesn’t mind / understands mods for purely personal use. I kinda have a feeling he went much further in his today’s statement than his colleagues from SE’s legal team would like him to. In a sense, he actually is giving a blessing to usage of visual mods for personal use (in a roundabout way, not directly ofc.). He does this by explaining the cases in which SE and himself are forced to act - when it’s a legal issue or affects someone else’s gameplay / alters or affects someone else’s visuals of the game or experience.

The modding community now has a clear confirmation of what they could until now only deduce:
1. All mods are against the TOS, but:
- A: SE will only act against mods that are based around syncing and sharing
- B: As long as you don’t post screenshots of your modded character on social media (especially NSFW ones), SE won’t take action.

A much clearer confirmation of this is actually a huge thing for everyone, not just the modding community, because now we know in exactly which cases SE will take action.

[All_Nonsense]

The modding community now has a clear confirmation of what they could until now only deduce:
1. All mods are against the TOS, but:
- A: SE will only act against mods that are based around syncing and sharing
- B: As long as you don’t post screenshots of your modded character on social media (especially NSFW ones), SE won’t take action.

A much clearer confirmation of this is actually a huge thing for everyone, not just the modding community, because now we know in exactly which cases SE will take action.

[srs] I think it's integral to point out that this statement is in regards to them "going after other mods like (uhh idk man someone help me out here)" and not "using mods in general." If they confirm you are using any mod whatsoever, even a mod that gives chocobos a tophat or something innocuous, you will absolutely face a temporary ban at the very least, as per usual. I worry that some might take this as Yoshi P okaying mods outright, but he is basically reaffirming the "if we don't see it, we don't know, and we're not looking for it, so don't put us in a position where we have to" a la "dad who tries to be chill but mom is neurotic"

He's a gamer and a community guy, but he has immense fiduciary responsibilities that he's legally required to observe. He will protect the game and the business as he is required to, but he is trying to give a singular inch in this case, and I respect it, but also think that people should consider the deeper meaning very carefully before they proceed with anything, as they should in all aspects of life.

[Tulvi]

[srs] I think it's integral to point out that this statement is in regards to them "going after other mods like (uhh idk man someone help me out here)" and not "using mods in general." If they confirm you are using any mod whatsoever, even a mod that gives chocobos a tophat or something innocuous, you will absolutely face a temporary ban at the very least, as per usual. I worry that some might take this as Yoshi P okaying mods outright, but he is basically reaffirming the "if we don't see it, we don't know, and we're not looking for it, so don't put us in a position where we have to" a la "dad who tries to be chill but mom is neurotic"

He's a gamer and a community guy, but he has immense fiduciary responsibilities that he's legally required to observe. He will protect the game and the business as he is required to, but he is trying to give a singular inch in this case, and I respect it, but also think that people should consider the deeper meaning very carefully before they proceed with anything, as they should in all aspects of life.

Oh yes, absolutely, if a player gets reported for mod usage or it’s otherwise proven, they’ll definitely ban them. That’s the distinction between going on a witch hunt and acting only when forced to. The whole post is him confirming there’s no witch hunt against individuals using mods on their screen only, but once proven or reported, he / his team is forced to act.

[Shialan]

B: As long as you don’t post screenshots of your modded character on social media (especially NSFW ones), SE won’t take action

People can still do that if they remove the watermark and STOP USING FF XIV AND SE RELATED HASHTAGS.

Most of the time, one can't even tell where a picture with a modded character was taken. Sure, everyone knows that this is a FF XIV character, but without hard confirmation through the hashtags, there is still enough plausible deniability.

[BlisteringFrost]

Hahahahaha its exactly what i said, Money speaks like always, it clearly was because of the possibility to mod Ingamestore Shit and SHOW it to others which had to spend Money, it is exactly how i said it, i love it and with the increased server cost prices etc even if he said they dont wanna increase Sub Prices, wait for it, it still will happen sooner or later

Why are you even here if this is the conclusion you come to? Like.... lemmie break it down.

You're gloating, you are. You know it. Everybody else can see it. That's fine. You're gloating how your assumption seems to be correct, and this assumption shows a clear enough disdain to not play the game. But not be willing to meaningfully criticize it either. Maybe you still are paying that sub, but you're still complaining it will probably see a price increase in the future. It's a possibility. But that begs the question are you paying because you're severely addicted? Or are you not subbed and just want to be no better than a simian flinging its own feces at people staring at it through a glass panel at the zoo?

Like I just don't get how you come to the logical conclusion here that anybody would feasibly care to see what you have to say -- if this is what you have to say -- on a forum where people would reasonably still be consuming the product they're discussing.

This guy has a seemingly unlimited amount of patience with this community...

This also confirms what I already knew. They do not have a problem with you using mods, so long as you don't use them to affect other people's game and play. As long as everything is only on your end, and you are not using it to abuse others, you're good. You can even share (appropriate) screenshots with others online. Just don't use the official trademarks. Every other "Visual mod" that might be nsfw, keep it private amongst yourselves and don't harass people with them or shout about it in public chats.

It always comes back to the First Rule of Fight Club. I'm more curious to see when people will try to twist this into thinking Yoshi admitted SE sent a C&D when nothing of the sort occurred in the entirety of the post.