As a follow up to the previous post, Trion released a major content patch, 1.3, for Rift yesterday. Guild Banks had issues, and were removed from the update. Less than a day later (June 23rd), a new hotfix comes out to fix the issue and restore Guild Bank functionality.
On the flipside, according to the most recent FFXIV Producer's Letter, Square Enix's FFXIV patch 1.18, already suffering from a vague "mid/late-June" release date, is being pushed back at least two weeks because the second of two dungeons is not complete.
It's only a side note that Guild Banks something FFXIV has yet to implement after ten months since launch. The real light is shed on another issue with SE patching: they delay entire updates for, according to their own reports, issues with individual aspects. Rather than release what is done in a timely fashion, they simply delay EVERYTHING.
The argument against is that, according to the forums, is that it's better to have everything released at once. My question is, why? Why not give an MMO starving for improvements and content something to play with now, and then give us even more in a few weeks? Do we really want the restaurant to hold our drinks and appetizers from us until the main course is done?
Doing it all at once only works if you're keeping up the pace in the first place. Remember, the last major XIV patch was released *April 14th*, making it almost three months in between major patches, potentially more (in a three month timeframe, Rift released three major patches, and and nine times as many minor patches, as my previous post points out).
Does this sound like a massive, extremely experienced, financially empowered company hell-bent on turning their floundering MMO around?
Thursday, June 23, 2011
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
Comparing Rift and FFXIV Patching Schedules over 3.5 Months
The controversial thread SE didn't want you to see, because they said it was "damag(ing) and disparag(ing)" and "criticizing" them and Final Fantasy XIV - with it's "Like" counter quickly increasing before it was deleted! (See Note 2 at the end.) The fact that they felt a simple list of information (factual, with links) was "disparaging" shows how little confidence they have that their work can stand up on it's own!
Let's compare and contrast the same block of updates for two fledging MMOs.
I've read each and every single update and hotfix in the timeframe of March 3rd till June 22nd (as well as the first couple months of XIV's lifespan) in full and verified that Rift hotfixes are roughly comparable to XIV's lettered patches (a, b, c), typically significantly larger, and the content patches (1.1, 1.2, 1.3, etcetera) are roughly comparable to the straight numbered ones (.16, .17, .18), typically with more content and changes.
March 3rd, the release of 1.16, to June 22nd, today. Updates denoted as content patches are marked with an asterisk for clarity. Links are provided so you may verify the content sizes yourself.
FFXIV:
http://lodestone.finalfantasyxiv.com/pl/news/category?catId=4
* 1.16 (March 3rd) *
1.16a (March 28th)
* 1.17 (April 14th) *
1.17a (April 25th)
1.17b (May 23rd)
1.17c (June 15th)
Totals
Major Patches: 2
Minor Patches: 4
Rift:
http://forums.riftgame.com/forumdisplay.php?69-Patch-Notes&order=desc
(To clear up confusion, Trion lists hotfixes by number, and therefore the number is used as the name of the patch. Therefore, Hotfix #3, for example, while named #3, is counted as the first Rift hotfix in this timeframe.)
Hotfix #3 (March 3rd)
Hotfix #4 (March 4th)
Hotfix #5 (March 5th)
* 1.01 (March 10th) * (See Note 1 at the end of post)
Hotfix #6 (March 11th)
Hotfix #7 (March 12th)
1.02 (March 17th)
Hotfix #8 (March 18th)
Hotfix #9 (March 23rd)
Hotfix #10 (March 25th)
Hotfix #11(March 29th)
* 1.1 (March 30th) *
Hotfix #12 (March 31st)
1.11 (April 1st)
Hotfix #13 (April 5th)
Hotfix #14 (April 8th)
Hotfix #15 (April 10th)
Hotfix #16 (April 13th)
Hofix #17 (April 15th)
Hotfix #18 (April 16th)
Hotfix #19 (April 20th)
Hotfix #20 (April 22nd)
Hotfix #21 (April 27th)
Hotfix #22 (April 29th)
1.12 (May 4th)
* 1.2 (May 10th) *
1.2 Hotfix #1 (May 11th)
1.2 Hotfix #2 (May 12th)
1.2 Hotfix #3 (May 14th)
1.2 Hotfix #4 (May 18th)
1.2 Hotfix #5 (May 18th)
1.2 Hotfix #6 (May 20th)
1.2 Hotfix #7 (May 25th)
1.2.1 (May 27th)
1.2.1 Hotfix #1 (May 28th)
1.2.1 Hotfix #2 (June 1st)
1.2.1 Hotfix #3 (June 6th)
1.2.1 Hotfix #4 (June 9th)
1.2.1 Hotfix #5 (June 15th)
* 1.3 (June 22nd) *
Totals
Major Patches: 4
Minor Patches: 36
Overall Totals
XIV Major/Minor: 2/3
Trion Major/Minor: 4/36
Conclusion
In roughly a three and a half month period, Trion, a much smaller company working with significantly lower finances, doubled Square Enix's major patches, and delivered 36 minor patches to Square Enix's 4 (it is also worth noting that most of Trion's minor patches were equivalent to larger than SE's minor patches, verifiable by following the links provided).
Now, does this really sound like a company hell-bent on turning FFXIV around when a small upstart can outright embarass ten-year MMO veterans like Square Enix? I likely won't be posting again in this topic, it's simply here to compare and contrast and let you decide what it means (if you're one of *them*, this only means that SE is working really really hard guys behind the scenes really and 1.18 is going to be equivalent to two major patches or more AND make up for the thirty two minor patch difference and MORE!).
A common response is the absurd, "They're doing a complete overhaul!" excuse. This fails on two fronts. First, it's been nearly ten months. Better games have been FINISHED in that timeframe, and we have little to show for it.
Second, it's unquantifiable. The excuse for months has been "Complete overhaul, so just wait! ...wait a bit longer. Oh, delayed, wait longer. And longer." We're trolls for calling SE out on slow improvements, and the defense is an imagined, unquantifiable intangible behind the scenes progress that nobody can see and know.
I'll just leave this here and let the battle begin.
Regarding Launch and Patching Speed
I will say that more consistent updates are expected of a game at launch. However, in the first two months of of XIV's life (giving them the extra few days to also factor in the November 25th patch and hotfix), it only had 11 updates (10 of a hotfix nature and 1 full patch) to Rift's 24 (which included 2 actual content patches).
Note 1: Some of Rift's content patches, like 1.02, while larger than a normal hotfix (and usually significantly larger than an SE "lettered" patch), where not as large as a full numbered XIV patch, and in the interest of fairness were therefore counted as a minor update rather than a content one. 1.01 (http://forums.riftgame.com/showthread.php?116999-Rift-1.01-NA-3-10-11-8-00am-PST-EU-10-3-11) is the only exception made, being exceptionally large.
Note 2: This topic was deleted shortly after it was posted because it was "in violation of the User Agreement policies listed below." The violations included "posting seeking to damage or disparage" and "posting content with the intention of criticizing" Square Enix and Final Fantasy XIV.
Let's compare and contrast the same block of updates for two fledging MMOs.
I've read each and every single update and hotfix in the timeframe of March 3rd till June 22nd (as well as the first couple months of XIV's lifespan) in full and verified that Rift hotfixes are roughly comparable to XIV's lettered patches (a, b, c), typically significantly larger, and the content patches (1.1, 1.2, 1.3, etcetera) are roughly comparable to the straight numbered ones (.16, .17, .18), typically with more content and changes.
March 3rd, the release of 1.16, to June 22nd, today. Updates denoted as content patches are marked with an asterisk for clarity. Links are provided so you may verify the content sizes yourself.
FFXIV:
http://lodestone.finalfantasyxiv.com/pl/news/category?catId=4
* 1.16 (March 3rd) *
1.16a (March 28th)
* 1.17 (April 14th) *
1.17a (April 25th)
1.17b (May 23rd)
1.17c (June 15th)
Totals
Major Patches: 2
Minor Patches: 4
Rift:
http://forums.riftgame.com/forumdisplay.php?69-Patch-Notes&order=desc
(To clear up confusion, Trion lists hotfixes by number, and therefore the number is used as the name of the patch. Therefore, Hotfix #3, for example, while named #3, is counted as the first Rift hotfix in this timeframe.)
Hotfix #3 (March 3rd)
Hotfix #4 (March 4th)
Hotfix #5 (March 5th)
* 1.01 (March 10th) * (See Note 1 at the end of post)
Hotfix #6 (March 11th)
Hotfix #7 (March 12th)
1.02 (March 17th)
Hotfix #8 (March 18th)
Hotfix #9 (March 23rd)
Hotfix #10 (March 25th)
Hotfix #11(March 29th)
* 1.1 (March 30th) *
Hotfix #12 (March 31st)
1.11 (April 1st)
Hotfix #13 (April 5th)
Hotfix #14 (April 8th)
Hotfix #15 (April 10th)
Hotfix #16 (April 13th)
Hofix #17 (April 15th)
Hotfix #18 (April 16th)
Hotfix #19 (April 20th)
Hotfix #20 (April 22nd)
Hotfix #21 (April 27th)
Hotfix #22 (April 29th)
1.12 (May 4th)
* 1.2 (May 10th) *
1.2 Hotfix #1 (May 11th)
1.2 Hotfix #2 (May 12th)
1.2 Hotfix #3 (May 14th)
1.2 Hotfix #4 (May 18th)
1.2 Hotfix #5 (May 18th)
1.2 Hotfix #6 (May 20th)
1.2 Hotfix #7 (May 25th)
1.2.1 (May 27th)
1.2.1 Hotfix #1 (May 28th)
1.2.1 Hotfix #2 (June 1st)
1.2.1 Hotfix #3 (June 6th)
1.2.1 Hotfix #4 (June 9th)
1.2.1 Hotfix #5 (June 15th)
* 1.3 (June 22nd) *
Totals
Major Patches: 4
Minor Patches: 36
Overall Totals
XIV Major/Minor: 2/3
Trion Major/Minor: 4/36
Conclusion
In roughly a three and a half month period, Trion, a much smaller company working with significantly lower finances, doubled Square Enix's major patches, and delivered 36 minor patches to Square Enix's 4 (it is also worth noting that most of Trion's minor patches were equivalent to larger than SE's minor patches, verifiable by following the links provided).
Now, does this really sound like a company hell-bent on turning FFXIV around when a small upstart can outright embarass ten-year MMO veterans like Square Enix? I likely won't be posting again in this topic, it's simply here to compare and contrast and let you decide what it means (if you're one of *them*, this only means that SE is working really really hard guys behind the scenes really and 1.18 is going to be equivalent to two major patches or more AND make up for the thirty two minor patch difference and MORE!).
A common response is the absurd, "They're doing a complete overhaul!" excuse. This fails on two fronts. First, it's been nearly ten months. Better games have been FINISHED in that timeframe, and we have little to show for it.
Second, it's unquantifiable. The excuse for months has been "Complete overhaul, so just wait! ...wait a bit longer. Oh, delayed, wait longer. And longer." We're trolls for calling SE out on slow improvements, and the defense is an imagined, unquantifiable intangible behind the scenes progress that nobody can see and know.
I'll just leave this here and let the battle begin.
Regarding Launch and Patching Speed
I will say that more consistent updates are expected of a game at launch. However, in the first two months of of XIV's life (giving them the extra few days to also factor in the November 25th patch and hotfix), it only had 11 updates (10 of a hotfix nature and 1 full patch) to Rift's 24 (which included 2 actual content patches).
Note 1: Some of Rift's content patches, like 1.02, while larger than a normal hotfix (and usually significantly larger than an SE "lettered" patch), where not as large as a full numbered XIV patch, and in the interest of fairness were therefore counted as a minor update rather than a content one. 1.01 (http://forums.riftgame.com/showthread.php?116999-Rift-1.01-NA-3-10-11-8-00am-PST-EU-10-3-11) is the only exception made, being exceptionally large.
Note 2: This topic was deleted shortly after it was posted because it was "in violation of the User Agreement policies listed below." The violations included "posting seeking to damage or disparage" and "posting content with the intention of criticizing" Square Enix and Final Fantasy XIV.
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