Letter from the Producer, XXXVI (10/05/2012)

[Kurokikaze]

Hello again to all you FFXIVers out there, and to all of you looking forward to FINAL FANTASY XIV: A Realm Reborn. Yoshi-P here, bringing you the thirty-sixth Letter from the Producer.

The development team is currently in the final stages of preparing the alpha test version of A Realm Reborn. As both producer and director, I’ve had my nose to the grindstone, though most of my duties have been director-related.

Now, to answer the question that’s on everyone’s lips: when the heck is the alpha test going to start!? Well, it looks like things can finally get moving around the end of October.

There will not only be stress tests for the new servers’ coding and hardware configurations, but also tests for what will be the backbone of the game’s new system, which is why we’re being very cautious with development. Bear with us for just a while longer.

Now then, let’s get to the meat of this letter: the results from our latest poll! Though it was only a single question, we received a great deal of feedback.

Q. Would you still want to continue playing the current version of FINAL FANTASY XIV after November 11, 2012, even if none of the character data accumulated beyond that date was carried over to your FINAL FANTASY XIV: A Realm Reborn account?



Overall, about 35% of you voted for keeping the servers open, regardless of the fact new data won’t be carried over.
While these numbers make for a tough decision, I was planning to keep the servers open so long as 30% of the players voted for it. And so, a few days after the servers go down on November 11th (00:00 PST), we’re planning to bring them back up.

However, we’re going to take a look at the login numbers at the end of each month. In the event that numbers drop below 30%, we’ll take the servers down again, and decide where to go from there. Expect more details on when the servers will be back online after everything’s been shut down. But for now, go and have as much fun as you can before November 11th.

In developing A Realm Reborn, we’ve redesigned the game from the ground up, and the development team has great expectations for the future.

Our first big step—the alpha test—is almost here.
I’m on pins and needles waiting to see how the stress tests turn out. I have a feeling I’ll be trapped in the office for about two weeks once they’re underway.

Well, it’s about time for me to head back to my post, but I’ll be back soon in the next letter, on the forums, and in the alpha test.

[Kurokikaze]

It's not a date but it's close!!

[Izzy]

I honestly expected more people to pick to keep the servers open. Seems there's more sane-minded people than I thought!

[Churchill]

30% number seems made up since only the JP's wanted to keep that shit open

[Manako]

30% number seems made up since only the JP's wanted to keep that shit open

was my thought, 50% of the JPs wanted it so there you have it. Not like it matters anyway...

[Sephiroth]

I can't imagine why anyone would want to play when the data isn't being saved, it's hard enough to play this shit when it is being saved. But if some people want to waste their time that's cool.

It will be fun to see how the economy goes when items and gil become meaningless in the no save period. I might even have some fun with it myself, see which markets I can take control of.

[miokomioko]

No kidding, the only reason I log in anymore is to progress a little bit on me last handful of classes, and that eventually bores the crap out of me because all that's left is a few DoL/DoH. I refuse to log in at all after the servers go down unless there's a dumb little Dalamud event or something... but I doubt that will happen.

[Aratharn]

I'm going to blow my gil going for a 5 meld. (I'm not. I'm not even going to login)

[Kurokikaze]

Yeah, after the servers go down on Nov 11th, I'm uninstalling this piece of shit client.

[Egon]

I think they should keep it open forever. Send all RMT there. Think they would notice?

[miokomioko]

It definitely would be an opportunity to observe the RMT so disconnected with what's going on that they continue to repeatedly grind Wanted: Godwin Goodgoat after the last character save is long gone... and fucking ban their payment sources.

[Aratharn]

I wonder if I can sell all my gil to RMT after Nov 1.

[Egon]

I wonder if I can sell all my gil to RMT after Nov 1.

This is a fantastic idea.

[millionsknives]

I kinda wish the servers would just shut off on the 11th. I want to know that version 1.0 is finally fully dead! I want to reinstall FFXIV just to try and log in on the 12th and see that no such game exists! I want to then convince myself that no such game ever existed, and that I just have an early release box for A Realm Reborn. Then just sit there with a smile on my face as I await ARR, which will be great.

[Spider-Dan]

was my thought, 50% of the JPs wanted it so there you have it.

This.

Rest is just window dressing.

[blythe]

I am cracking up at people on the OF believing that 30% was an actual cut-off

[xopher]

I'm going to keep it installed until they shut it down for good in case they do some kind of crazy event like the gigantoad event at the end of NA PS2 FFXI beta.

[Charismatic]

I'm going to keep it installed until they shut it down for good in case they do some kind of crazy event like the gigantoad event at the end of NA PS2 FFXI beta.

SERVER CRASHES EVERYWHERE! FUCK YEAH

[Blasta]

SE should broadcast a live video of killing the servers with the combination of gasoline & fire ft. explosions.

[xopher]

You mean a camera set up to watch the progress bar of the servers being reloaded with new software?