Announcing the FFXI Development Team Reddit AMA (07/18/2016)

[NynJa]

Why shouldn't mules be considered though? A sub is a sub, wether it's a separate physical person or the same one paying for 5 accounts, it's still 5 separate accounts paying its own separate monthly fee, no?

Mules as in accounts under the same POL ID, not "pocket whms"

[Seha]

There's no reliable figures for number of subs as far as I know. You won't be seeing server merges until JPs start asking for them, and they don't want them right now.

Was anyone asking for it the last time they did it? Maybe I didn't notice, but I remember no one wanting them lol.

[arus2001]

Why'd people compare FFXI with 2003 car? FFXI is FFXI, it's not an older nor inferior version of newer MMOs. It's just a service that exists longer than current gen MMO. If you get enough enjoyment out of this game then $13 a month is worth it and vice versa. If you don't get enough enjoyment out of the game to justify the price then just don't pay?

Because XI not having things like cross-server functionality, in-game quest markers/help, improved macro system, better/optimized code (to avoid shit like ability limits or long inventory load times), better music/graphics, and so on makes it very much like a car without power windows, GPS, parking assist, fluid/tire tracking, and whatever other creature comfort you'd consider standard nowadays. The "it's still a game" facet is its own equivalent of basic transportation, otherwise.

And that's really before entertaining actual gameplay facets like needing consumable ammo to shoot stuff as a ranged class or EXP loss being a thing.

[Spira]

leave the music out of this lol

xiv has nothing on xi in this regard. at all.

[arus2001]

Perhaps I should've specified on the potential fidelity, like the difference between wav and mp3. Contents of the music itself is another matter.

[Spicyryan]

Because XI not having things like cross-server functionality, in-game quest markers/help, improved macro system, better/optimized code (to avoid shit like ability limits or long inventory load times), better music/graphics, and so on makes it very much like a car without power windows, GPS, parking assist, fluid/tire tracking, and whatever other creature comfort you'd consider standard nowadays. The "it's still a game" facet is its own equivalent of basic transportation, otherwise.

And that's really before entertaining actual gameplay facets like needing consumable ammo to shoot stuff as a ranged class or EXP loss being a thing.

Half/Most of the things you just said are why XIV is as unattractive to me as Rosie O'Donnell with an advanced case of leprosy. No one can argue with load times or lack of optimized code though.

[Kachiko]

Half/Most of the things you just said are why XIV is as unattractive to me as Rosie O'Donnell with an advanced case of leprosy. No one can argue with load times or lack of optimized code though.

That really depends on how their back end started and how it's been maintained. I worked for a company that was successful during the same time-frame as FFXI, and their backend always was, and remained a mess, for the ~15 years I worked for them. They almost never moved to new tech because of the vast over-haul and cost it would take to update, in addition to the risk of it no longer working if the changes were made. I have no doubts that SE is in the same situation with FFXI; it was created at the infant stage of our current technology and modernizing the back end will likely never be financially viable.

[Spicyryan]

That really depends on how their back end started and how it's been maintained. I worked for a company that was successful during the same time-frame as FFXI, and their backend always was, and remained a mess, for the ~15 years I worked for them. They almost never moved to new tech because of the vast over-haul and cost it would take to update, in addition to the risk of it no longer working if the changes were made. I have no doubts that SE is in the same situation with FFXI; it was created at the infant stage of our current technology and modernizing the back end will likely never be financially viable.

Yeah, but Byrth has said how if they just increase the packet size it wouldn't be an issue for a minimal increase in their bandwidth.
SE doesn't like that idea though.

Personally, I would be fine if the game didn't work on 56k anymore.

[Kaisha]

Yeah, but Byrth has said how if they just increase the packet size it wouldn't be an issue for a minimal increase in their bandwidth.
SE doesn't like that idea though.

Personally, I would be fine if the game didn't work on 56k anymore.

The devs love their pointless config switches. Throw in one that enables new packet IDs that can shove more inventory/etc at once vs. the existing, and default it to off for the 10 people still playing it on dial-up. It'd be another flag the server has to keep track of per active character but whoop-de-doo.

Spoiler: show

Gross simplification that's easier said than done given their server's spaghetti coding.

[NynJa]

Well lets remember that for the longest time the server was sending the client updates on everyones TP despite the fact it wasnt supposed to be visible.

I'm pretty sure the server is tracking hundreds of pointless flags.

[Spicyryan]

Gross simplification that's easier said than done given their server's spaghetti coding.

I am sure half of an update is fixing the "we added stuff to ambuscade and avatars don't work anymore" for anything they do anyway.

[dasva]

And... people still following moonphase crafting

[steellord]

Why'd people compare FFXI with 2003 car? FFXI is FFXI, it's not an older nor inferior version of newer MMOs. It's just a service that exists longer than current gen MMO. If you get enough enjoyment out of this game then $13 a month is worth it and vice versa. If you don't get enough enjoyment out of the game to justify the price then just don't pay?

ok then name an older MMO that has ever done this long-term monthly fee without new content? Cause all those old services still around are either FtP or still provides something for the fee you pay

If you get enough enjoyment out of this game then $13 a month is worth it and vice versa. If you don't get enough enjoyment out of the game to justify the price then just don't pay?

obviously but that doesn't make SE immune from criticism

[NynJa]

If youre so upset that theres "no new content", unsub. Youre coming here saying "this sucks, SE sucks, theyre not doing fuck all and still taking my money"

No
Youre GIVING them your money. Stop giving them your fucking money if youre unsatisfied with the product.

[Draylo]

People like him have existed since the games start. You can't reason with them so its better to just block them lol. They'll complain about anything non-stop to people who can't even do anything about it.

[Sechs]

steellord might be displaying an excessive criticism, but his last posts do make a lot of sense if you ask me.
I'm not saying we should go on a strike and stop giving SE money because that's unrealistic and would bring us nowhere, but I can relate to a lot of what he's saying. It has no precedent and I can't think of another company (and another audience) that would allow that in 2016.

Sometimes I believe some of us FFXI players developed sort of a stockholme syndrome to FFXI and SE, I swear

[NynJa]

It has no precedent and I can't think of another company (and another audience) that would allow that in 2016.

How many people complain about comcast yet still give them money?

[Anoat]

I do because they are my only ISP option where I live

[arus2001]

I'd cut SE some more slack if they had an exit survey and maybe a free forum section, but as it is, unless you're subbing, you're pretty much closed off to giving them direct feedback. What little good that does NA, anyway. Simply quitting doesn't tell them why you are doing so.

[Sechs]

Too lazy to google and see what comcast is! xD