[Dev 1024] Linkshell Administration Options

[Sav]

Is this something they've been working on already, or is it something that has yet to be prioritized?

[thepoet03]

Please fix this add Link shell management tools

[Naylia]

If systems are poorly designed for adding features then it can be very add to just add a "basic" feature. Poorly designed code requires that it be ripped up, redesigned and then re-implemented. Hopefully the new LS setup, from functions to data model, will be feature growth friendly.

[Sterling]

well ok their listening. but why almost a year? do it already, half my members miss events or stand around waiting to see what will happen because there is no LS message. quite frustrating. if anything this needs to be in 1.19 NOW/asap

[SydeBeheln]

[Removed by Moderator according to the FINAL FANTASY XIV FORUM Guidelines.]

If your upset with it, than go do something else. God forbid life exists elsewhere.
If your not one for waiting, then I highly suggest you quit, and maybe come back next year.

Calling SE employees dumb.. PSHh I say..

[Elkwood]

Guys all we asked for as an actual update which SE has now provided at this point there is nothing ANYONE can complain about. Yes it sucks waiting, Yes it sucks to have to reform, aside from giving us a timeline they have just admitted the new system will have everything we want.

Once SE can provide a timeline then all should be good. Now all they then have to figure out is why the LS was designed the way it was and fire said individuals so it never happens again.

[RathSkybreaker]

can't wait ty Ruk!!

[ydp002]

Well everyday it make me feel that I probably want to wait for all these changes to be implemented in order to have a better feel what the game is trying to give me. If i cont. playing how the whole thing is right now , I feel that i will miss all the new cool features that they will implement I don't want to learn a system or thing then have to go back and try it with another character

[Keftenk]

Although I somewhat feel like this is the same response we get time after time, it's a bit different. At least they've acknowledged it and have explicitly said what is going to happen with it. However, this is SE and we all know SE updates not only FINAL FANTASY XIV, but FINAL FANTASY XI at a snails speed. I wonder if they even realize that, if not, they should be told directly by the community reps that WE think they're terribly slow. Although what do we know about game design...we can only look at every other MMO company and see the speed they release patches/features and compare, but I think that's a pretty good basis to go on to call SE slow as hell. Anyways, I won't continue to go down that path and post some feedback as requested.





Linkshell Functionality

It's absurd to think that FFXIV took a leap backwards from FFXI's already terrible LS/guild system. Even in FFXI, those features we had were bare-bone minimums to even communicate with one another. I suppose it isn't surprising now, one year later that FFXIV actually took this path seeing as how the rest of the game panned out, but immediate fixes should have at least been implemented; such as some text command for kicking individuals and inviting individuals.

What would be great to see from a future LS system is the following:

* Every time I open the Linkshell menu, I have to select the actual linkshell to display the members for the CORRECT number of members out of the total number of members to update. This should be fixed so whenever I open the linkshell menu it correctly displays the amount of members online out of the total members without me taking that extra step.

* Linkshell messages, nothing complex, copy EXACTLY what Final Fantasy XI has. Simple.

* Linkshell notification when a member logs in, such as: "Player Name has logged into <Linkshell name> or Player Name has logged in!" (Should have a filter for this, whether you want it on or off)

* Linkshell notification when a member logs out, such as: "Player Name has logged out of <Linkshell name> or Player Name has logged out!" (Should have a filter for this, whether you want it on or off)

* Linkshell notification when a new member has joined the linkshell, such as: "Player Name has joined <Linkshell name>!"

* Linkshell notification when a member is promoted to a Leader status, such as: "Player Name is now a Leader of <Linkshell name>!"

* Linkshell notification when a member is demoted from a Leader status, such as: "Player Name is no longer a Leader of <Linkshell name>!"

* Linkshell notification when a member is removed from the linkshell, such as: "Player Name has been kicked/removed/ousted from <Linkshell name> by Leader Name/Master Name!"

* Linkshell notification when a member disbands from the linkshell, such as: "Player Name has left <Linkshell name>!"

* Display where current members are in the world, again, exactly like FINAL FANTASY XI's system. We want to know if they're in Ul'Dah, or Nanawa Mines, Coerthas, etc.

* Display the current job and the level of that job the player is on.

* Display when the last time the member has been logged in.

* Allow us to invite members to a linkshell from ANYWHERE in the world, just like we can invite anyone to a party from anywhere in the world.

* Allow us to remove/kick members from a linkshell from ANYWHERE in the world and at ANYTIME, this means if they decide to MIA on the linkshell or quit the linkshell without dropping their pearl, we'll be able to remove their dead weight.

* Allow us to promote and demote members in a linkshell from ANYWHERE in the world.

* Add a chime sound effect for when players of a linkshell which you have actively equipped log in and log out. (Should have a filter for this, whether you want it on or off)

* Allow us to talk between multiple linkshells at once with easy commands, such as: /l1 /l2 /3 etc.

* Give us easy commands to use for linkshell management, such as: /lcmd add player, /lcmd kick player, /lcmd disband, etc.

* Allow us to customize our own LS crests. AION has a unique and similar crest system like this, so we know it isn't completely a bogus request. Imagine creating your own crests that were unlike any others out there, it's pretty boring and bleak to see every JP LS running around with the Red Circle (most likely signifying Japan). It gets old to try and tell the difference between one LS or the other.

* Linkshell wide event-invite feature: Allow us to quickly setup a group by making a event broadcast to linkshell members, first 8 that accept, get into the party. Also allow us to make it a bit more specific, instead of typing out /pcmd add Player Name 7 times over to invite 7 people, allow us to broadcast a event invite to 7 specific people by just right-clicking on their name in the linkshell list. Oh sht....right-click, that's right. SE doesn't even utilize the right click functionality. You guys should probably look into using right-click after you're done fixing the 5 second delay lag and giving us basic LS features.

* When the achievement system is in place, have it broadcast those achievements into the Linkshell chat, such as: "Player Name was rewarded the <achievement name> achievement!" or something along those lines.

* Allow members to set their own-short comments so other members can view it in the linkshell menu.

* Make it so it's far, far easier to get into the linkshell menu. A hotkey is probably best, it feels like I have to explore a dark-deep cave just to get to a display members of a linkshell I'm in.

* Give us an update icon next to LS member names if they've idled to the point where they may be AFK or are active. This will not only help to see who is at their computer and ready for invites, but we'll also be able to see to is ignoring the call for an invite.

* Allow leaders and/or masters to globally mute individuals if they've become abusive with language.



I think that's is for now, I could care less about the friends-list feature/function, but a lot of the same could be applied from the linkshell functionality...

Reps, if you take anything, take it all. Including the rant messages, it's important that the Devs. and Yoshida know how absolutely pissed some of us are after one year and we still can't do crap with the linkshell system. There isn't even a temporary fix like there was when we didn't even have the /pcmd add/kick commands.

[Sorel]

I posted this on a crafting thread, but I believe it also applies here.

If anyone recalls, every time that the Development Team is asked about:

• Mailboxes & Delivery System
• Signing Crafted Equipment
• Increasing Storage
• Increasing Selling Slots
• Increasing Player Control of Linkshells

They invariably come back with "Yes, we want to do that, but we have to fix server issues first".

As a DBA myself, I am beginning to suspect the problem is not a physical storage issue, but a logical storage problem.

What if Hiromichi Tanaka implemented everything in FFXIV (including inventory and linkshells) on an object-oriented database system instead of a relational database system (e.g. SQL) for logical storage.

True, object-oriented database systems are easier to work with from a purely programmatic standpoint. But OODBs are notoriously bad at handling very large amounts of data that entail lots of transactions and/or need to be accessed by a large number of users at once.

If you have been playing the game, you've noticed that there is inexplicable lag when buying, selling, trading, putting things up for sale, in bazaar, or even into your crafting slots. The Development Team categorizes it as "server issues" ... but I think it is more accurate to say it is the code re-assigning objects from one containing object to another.

An item in inventory is not simply just a row of text that says "Sorel|Slot 6|Brass Ingot". It's the Brass Ingot object inside the Slot 6 object inside the Sorel object. Such a structure would take up considerably more physical space than a database table row of 50 unicode characters ... and certainly more overhead to move the item from one place to another.

So I suspect that when Naoki Yoshida and the Develpoment Team keep saying the phrase "fix server issues" they are not talking about adding hard drive space, or reconfiguring the RAID, or adding more processors. They are talking about converting the FFXIV inventory and linkshell system from an OODBMS to an RDBMS ... which is no easy task and not something that can be done in haste.

So if Linkshells are objects and Characters objects in the OODBMS, it's possible that one is acting as a container for the other. If that's the case a linkshell is not simply a table of character names that SE can have rows inserted or deleted from like a spreadsheet. It's more like a post office box. Once it's physically created, it can't really be destroyed ... just emptied out and never used again.