New Vanafest incoming.

[Guyverarmor]

I mean, it's SE...but man that was one out of left field for the donation for all the orphaned gobbues.

[lolwut]

I'd come back for a Vita port or a new expansion. Short of those, meh.

[Septimus]

That's cool about the folder-2 thing, I didn't know that. I was contemplating making a script to check for changes in the dialog tables, I thought would be awesome, but I guess I kinda lost interest in the game before I finished it.
Also, what about TOAU zones? That one has some mob lists in 4/1/xx >.>, or does that rule only apply to zones in ROM1?

Only applies to original game zones and Abyssea it seems. (I found the pattern when I was updating Abyssea stuff.) I have not played around enough with expansions to discern a pattern.

[Enedin]

Obviously they'll announce that you will be able to have 4 subs, like PLD99/NIN49/WAR24/COR12/MNK06.

[Apelila]

As much as I'd like to see them update the engine, I don't see it happening. They got asked in an interview last year why they never went from DX7 -> higher, and the response was that they'd have to redo every single model in game if they did.

I would love them for it if it happened, but I also understand that such an undertaking would be beyond colossal.

Having said that, if the major announcement was that they're dropping PS2 support and rereleasing the game as FFXI: HD with no new features I'd be hard pressed to complain.

[Eurell]

Although I would love if they dropped PS2 support, there is no way they would announce that at Vanafest.

"Thank you everyone for traveling all the way out here, now Id like to announce that a bunch of you won't be able to play the game anymore! Haha, fuck you get out!"

[drwaffles]

"Thank you everyone for traveling all the way out here, now Id like to announce that eight of you worldwide won't be able to play the game anymore! Haha, fuck you get a cheap PC!"

FTFY

[Outlaw]

Haven't looked at this thread sense the other day..

About the zone thing. I'm confused. How could there be a limit to the number of zones they can put into the game? I thought when you installed a new expansion you are adding onto the game. Why would they create a limit to the number of zones from the start? I guess I'm naive but I just don't get it.

[Yugl]

"Thank you everyone for traveling all the way out here, now Id like to announce that a bunch of you won't be able to play the game anymore! Haha, fuck you get out!"

Haha, that would be hilarious.

[Greatguardian]

Haven't looked at this thread sense the other day..

About the zone thing. I'm confused. How could there be a limit to the number of zones they can put into the game? I thought when you installed a new expansion you are adding onto the game. Why would they create a limit to the number of zones from the start? I guess I'm naive but I just don't get it.

It's just a matter of how the zones are indexed. All zones are numbered from 0-255. When you go over 255, you roll back over to 0, which doesn't work as then you'd have two zones assigned to the same index. It shouldn't be a terribly difficult thing to fix, though, by just assigning another bit to the index and performing the minor adjustment on the existing ones. I vaguely recall them doing something similar at some point in the past anyways.

[Lordender]

I don't think the zone "limit" is holding them back, they just don't have the manpower/willing to commit the resources to anything big right now. SE could infact still drop expansion or add-on type news, I would think at some point this year they will be shifting manpower back around due to XIV2.0 base development being finished with the relaunch of XIV around the corner.

[Septimus]

It's just a matter of how the zones are indexed. All zones are numbered from 0-255. When you go over 255, you roll back over to 0, which doesn't work as then you'd have two zones assigned to the same index. It shouldn't be a terribly difficult thing to fix, though, by just assigning another bit to the index and performing the minor adjustment on the existing ones. I vaguely recall them doing something similar at some point in the past anyways.

It shouldn't be terribly difficult to fix, but none of us really know the limitations in the spaghetti code associated with going past 256. It might be one of those things that it technically possible, but the person who would know how to do it has been shifted off to another project and no one wants to spend the day poking the giant mass of unstable code which may collapse into a singularity at any moment to figure out how to do it.

[Guyverarmor]

It shouldn't be terribly difficult to fix, but none of us really know the limitations in the spaghetti code associated with going past 256. It might be one of those things that it technically possible, but the person who would know how to do it has been shifted off to another project and no one wants to spend the day poking the giant mass of unstable code which may collapse into a singularity at any moment to figure out how to do it.

Shouldn't be too hard, Tanaka is there. . .

But yeah, it wouldn't be too too bad, but if the devs. working on FFXI are familiar with how the game code was built, then yeah...could
have Tarus popping up from the ground !

[Julian]

Pretty much. Just from the dats perspective, all of the IDs that I know that use a zone ID in them definitely have space for an extra bit. It's just a matter of terrible spaghetti code, and probably some ps2 limitations, maybe.

[arus2001]

Is there any actual reason for the client to even have a zone list beyond maybe auto-translate? Ever since people started talking about it way back when, it just made sense to just know other zones are "there" when you're not actually in them.

[Kaisha]

I would assume the list is for search purposes. Every other instance of the game needing to look up a zone that I can think of they can just do during the zone transition where I assume they wipe the memory clean, given it has to reload fucking everything upon reappearing.

[Greatguardian]

Is there any actual reason for the client to even have a zone list beyond maybe auto-translate? Ever since people started talking about it way back when, it just made sense to just know other zones are "there" when you're not actually in them.

Simple answer is yes. It's not like the client's memory is restricting the size of that index, though. They'd just need to go in and modify it - which, unfortunately, assumes that they have someone capable of wading through decade old code to do it as Septimus pointed out.

[Eldelphia]

Honestly can't see them announcing a new expansion. Can see them dropping ps2 and announcing their plan for ending XI and porting everyone they can to XIV.

Sort of a 'hi guys this has been awesome but we're not going to develop new content after the end of this year'.

I think they have to commit wholesale to xiv whether it sinks or swims.

[Toth]

Aww thought there was some new information ; ;

I guess they aren't ready to tease us yet.

[Spira]

Same here. I intend to fly to Japan for this.. So more details would have been awesome.

Id have to disagree with doomsday theorists tho. A reduction of service wouldn't require a vanafest to announce. Im more towards a new expansion and enhanced service features like vita/ps3 support or whatever. Part of this is wishful thinking, and also based on clues found in the dats.

I'd think we'd have more of a clue after the end of the VW saga is released