NA/EU Server Congestion: The Problem & A Solution for Devs (PLEASE READ)

[Eewec]

Now this I like. I even hit the like button. Nice one. Even tried posting something similar earlier but couldn't for the life of me work out where to stick it (and hit a problem with caps on thread starts which put me off stride). Had it all written up in word hoping I could post it tomorrow but you've worded it much better and more concisely.

[Mr_Garrison]

Rolled a toon on a JAP server earlier, no problems so far and no noticeable difference between this and the EU server (playing from Scotland).

[Arae]

Theres a 50-60ms difference between them for players in the US, which while not super huge is still significant. Not to mention we don't really want to have to play on a server where the majority don't understand us. They need to just open more US servers. And work towards setting up a hub of servers to be used for instances/dutys so that all of the strain isn't going onto 1.

[Kahlane]

Theres a 50-60ms difference between them for players in the US, which while not super huge is still significant. Not to mention we don't really want to have to play on a server where the majority don't understand us. They need to just open more US servers. And work towards setting up a hub of servers to be used for instances/dutys so that all of the strain isn't going onto 1.

I disagree. The best experience I had in FFXI was the diversity in culture.

[KingDogger]

I disagree. The best experience I had in FFXI was the diversity in culture.

I don't know why people had such great experiences playing with Japanese people while playing FFXI, I thought it was terrible.

I mean, no offense to them but they had some strange traditions.
Such as, disbanding the party as soon as any single person left... even if you were searching for a group for 2 or more hours.

Also, no matter how good I was at using the in-game translation system, most Japanese speaking people would ask me if I spoke Japanese; If i replied with "No I don't sorry" (using the in-game translator) I wouldn't get in an invite to the party.
Likewise, If I lied and said yes, I'd get an invite and most likely not have to actually say a thing anyway.

Also no Japanese speaking people ever really joined my party if we needed to fill a position.

It was literally the worst thing about FFXI.

[Eewec]

Opening transfers is a good idea. However, managing those transfers is also a good idea. Get groups together to apply 'as a group' for a transfer. I dunno, by guild or linkshell or something so people don't get left behind and it can be managed properly. That way people actually get to play with their friends and really, at the end of the day, would it really matter what the servers called, so long as those groups can stay together? True, there might be a bit of fun if someone wants to transfer the group between pvp, pve or rp servers and others in the group don't, but well, give people notice of how it'll work and people will adjust accordingly if given fair warning. Heh, do we even still have those designations any more for FF XIV:ARR servers? The bracketed info doesn't seem to be listed in the server list any more.

'Course, if they separated characters from servers so you could pick which server to play on today with your toon then it'll remove most if not all of the issues.

[EmiliM]

Thanks for the inputs everyone. I have a character on Tonberry and everything works smoothly there even during grouped instances despite the hard data telling me the ping time is higher. I'm sure that may change when the servers become congested but beyond that there's no real technical reason why people wouldn't want to play on these servers other than the psychological barrier SE put on people by designating them as "Japanese worlds".

Whatever benefits of splitting these servers up, business or marketing wise, cannot possibly make up for the operating nightmare this has been for them. I'm very worried about official launch since most gaming publications will be reviewing the game soon and they will slaughter this game if this is the experience they will be getting.

[IveraIvalice]

Thanks for the inputs everyone. I have a character on Tonberry and everything works smoothly there even during grouped instances despite the hard data telling me the ping time is higher. I'm sure that may change when the servers become congested but beyond that there's no real technical reason why people wouldn't want to play on these servers other than the psychological barrier SE put on people by designating them as "Japanese worlds".

Whatever benefits of splitting these servers up, business or marketing wise, cannot possibly make up for the operating nightmare this has been for them. I'm very worried about official launch since most gaming publications will be reviewing the game soon and they will slaughter this game if this is the experience they will be getting.

the technical reason is the Na/EU physical locations for lower latency. thats why we would want to pick those to have the best connection possible, thats why they made them. they just didnt make enough of them

and some of us cant just hop on a JP server because we have 1.0 characters that we want to keep.
i mean we technically can but im not gonna make another throw away character or just restart on a JP server (located in japan) and lose all that i did on 1.0
they need to add more NA and EU servers

[Zalt]

In the end, we are all speculating. And, many are very upset - as is to be expected. It's like ordering that new gizmo you always wanted from some online store only to have to wait 2-3 days before it's delivered. During the wait, the anticipation is immense. Then, when you get it, you discover they sent the wrong thing. You feel let down, betrayed, and extremely angered. That's what many are feeling here. And, I am truly sorry that you all have to go through this. I'm not defending SE at all here, but I know in the end, things will get better. I did not play in beta, so I find some solace in being able to log in to a Japanese server to explore some of the world and get a feel for the game.

No real point in this post really. Just wanted to chime in.