Official Statement: Regarding Mod Usage and Culture

[s32ialx]

forcing us all to install some stupid kernel-level anticheat.

Microsoft is limiting kernel-level access to improve system stability and security. This shift gained urgency after a faulty CrowdStrike update in 2024 caused global Windows crashes due to a kernel-level driver. Microsoft now encourages security tools to operate in user mode to reduce the risk of system-wide failures.
Game developers may avoid kernel-level anti-cheat for several reasons: it can destabilize systems, raise privacy concerns, and break compatibility with platforms like Linux and Steam Deck. With Microsoft tightening control over the kernel, relying on deep system access is becoming less viable and harder to support long term.

Notebook Check: Microsoft paves the way for Linux gaming success with plan that would kill kernel-level anti-cheat
Acer: How Microsoft’s Kernel Changes May Impact Anti-Cheat Software

[Johners]

Microsoft is limiting kernel-level access to improve system stability and security. This shift gained urgency after a faulty CrowdStrike update in 2024 caused global Windows crashes due to a kernel-level driver. Microsoft now encourages security tools to operate in user mode to reduce the risk of system-wide failures.
Game developers may avoid kernel-level anti-cheat for several reasons: it can destabilize systems, raise privacy concerns, and break compatibility with platforms like Linux and Steam Deck. With Microsoft tightening control over the kernel, relying on deep system access is becoming less viable and harder to support long term.

Microsoft are replacing those third-party security software "drivers" with a first-party API. The security software will still be able to make checks at a kernel-level but with a first party component that, in theory, won't have the same problems. Effectively they're doing what Apple has always done with macOS and the entire Mac line up.

If this were extended into the gaming space, you'd only accelerate the rate at which all anti-cheat enabled titles would become Windows 11 only with Secure Boot/TPM requirements. It would arguably be easier for Square Enix to add an anti-cheat if this were the reality, especially as they've already announced ending support for Windows 10 (the game may continue to run on W10 but they won't answer tickets regarding OS-related technical issues).

[KageTokage]

This whole situation feels silly to me because all these people had to do was keep a low profile but decided to self-report themselves by taking over a public zone...and I have zero doubts they'll probably do it again even if a replacement for Mare manages to show up.

I've also already randomly had 18+ modded XIV content show up in the general XIV feed for twitter multiple times which is precisely the kind of thing the devs do not want happening and probably will keep happening regardless.

[BlisteringFrost]

This whole situation feels silly to me because all these people had to do was keep a low profile but decided to self-report themselves by taking over a public zone...and I have zero doubts they'll probably do it again even if a replacement for Mare manages to show up.

I've also already randomly had 18+ modded XIV content show up in the general XIV feed for twitter multiple times which is precisely the kind of thing the devs do not want happening and probably will keep happening regardless.

3 whole entire zones in Bismarck were locked out preventing anybody from questing in those regions for multiple weeks because of a party that was kept going, because of Mare as a critical componant.

[Khutulun]

This whole situation feels silly to me because all these people had to do was keep a low profile but decided to self-report themselves by taking over a public zone...and I have zero doubts they'll probably do it again even if a replacement for Mare manages to show up.

I've also already randomly had 18+ modded XIV content show up in the general XIV feed for twitter multiple times which is precisely the kind of thing the devs do not want happening and probably will keep happening regardless.

The problem with "these people" in any conversation for any game, any hobby, any medium, anything ever: it only takes a small % of bad actors to rot and devalue the whole entity. It also only takes a few bad actors to get other individuals of varying moral/personal quality to do also bad/negative things. I keep seeing the number floated around that Mare had some 200k connected user accounts, we're talking thousands of bad actors even if we assume they number only some single digit percentage. Any future Mare is going to need to have a higher technical barrier to entry and greater limitations on what you can do community wise- +/- any future Mare will need to have internal alternatives to adventure plates / shout chat (idk if Mare had them, I assume the answer is no based on how things played out)... because yeah I got no clue why people thought that using public shout + their adv. plate was a good plan (I didn't get to see the former of these first hand, I did the new summer event at zero hour of it coming out, so a large Mare crowd hadn't rolled in and dominated the place yet).

[Oizen]

There are already 2 new versions of mare, probably more.

[DiaDeem]

Quick repost cause the other threat got locked away.

I genuinely appreciate the official response. I have my issues with the game, but I still highly respect Yoshida as a developer, and our producer.

Reading this, and from the video interview with the Mare dev that someone else posted, I think both Yoshi-P and the dev regret what Syncshells became.

I also love that Yoshi has to encourage the TOS because of his position, but is not an idiot about mods, which I would definitely never use because they're illegal

In short: Wanna use mods? Don't be a fucking dumbass about it.

[s32ialx]

mods, which I would definitely never use because they're illegal

Doesn't know the what the term illegal is. Keep white knighting.

[DiaDeem]

Doesn't know the what the term illegal is. Keep white knighting.

Yeah man, I'm a law abiding fairy! I'd never use those Viera hats, hair, makeup, glowy eyes, vespa bike, dresses, functional flying pixie wings and fae-inspired mods!


You're not terribly smart, are you?

[ChrysOCE]

Yeah man, I'm a law abiding fairy! I'd never use those Viera hats, hair, makeup, glowy eyes, vespa bike, dresses, functional flying pixie wings and fae-inspired mods!


You're not terribly smart, are you?

some people just can't read what they are seeing on the screen. and also looking for something or someone to be mad at lmao