Final Fantasy 14 boss says 'don't show so much restraint you stop having fun' following pleas to help ease server woes
"Show our new players how alive its world is".
Final Fantasy 14's producer and director Naoki Yoshida has told players they "don't need to show so much restraint [they] stop having fun" following his request they make a few concessions to accomodate newcomers while Square continues to addresses server issues caused by a sudden surge in the MMO's popularity.
A record number of players have flocked to the now-decade-old MMO in recent times (Steam saw an all-time peak of 67,019 concurrent players earlier this week), and while that's undoubtedly a boon for the long-term health of the game, the sheer number of people wanting to get involved has caused serious server congestion, resulting in lengthy queue times and players being unable to create new characters.
On Tuesday, Yoshida apologised to Final Fantasy 14 players for the ongoing technical woes, assuring them Square is doing everything it can to improve matters. A recently released patch has implemented an automatic logout for AFK players as an "emergency measure to combat congestion", for instance, and login caps have been raised on North American servers.
Additionally, as announced in a new post to the Final Fantasy 14 website, login caps will now be increased on European servers, boosting simultaneous logins by roughly 500 characters per World server (an increase of 6,000 across all EU data centres) from today, 22nd July. "Once the maintenance has finished," Yoshida writes in the post, "we plan to monitor the situation closely and will consider whether the cap can be increased further while preserving server stability."
Yoshida's previous post to players also "humbly" requested they avoid creating new characters during peak congestion times and log out while idle so newcomers are able to make characters when starting the game - and he's now expanded on that last point in his latest update. "One particular type of feedback caught my eye," writes Yoshida. "Players saying, 'I'll stop dancing in Limsa for a while' or 'I guess we shouldn't log in to watch our monitors while we eat...'".
"I myself have played many an MMO," he continues, "so I know how watching other players bustle past during mealtimes physically and mentally prepares you for challenging dungeons later, and how a spontaneous dance performance can brighten everyone's day. These are ways of roleplaying, and they are part of the fun of MMORPGs. Therefore, I want you to know that while I deeply appreciate you being considerate, activities such as the above are part of the game too, and you don't need to show so much restraint that you stop having fun!".
Yoshida reminds players that Final Fantasy 14's automatic logout feature, which boots anyone if they don't interact with the game for an extended period of time, is now enabled, "so allowing that system to do its job is enough". He also notes the team is aware of, and discussing how to address, the "difficulties" the auto-logout feature is causing fishers hunting the "elusive 'big fish'". "It is of course fine to remain logged in for this purpose", he says.
"Please continue to enjoy Final Fantasy 14 in your own way," Yoshida concludes, "and show our new players how alive its world is with adventurers of all sorts."