[Birkan]

1. What is ProjectXI?
ProjectXI (pXI) is an attempt to emulate a Final Fantasy XI server. pXI is in no way affiliated with Square Enix, Sony, or any other party. Please also note the difference between a server and a client. pXI is not attempting to modify copyrighted code, but instead create private servers that are compatible with the Final Fantasy XI client, while maintaining strict adherence within the letter of the law.
(I'm not so sure about that)

Basically its an illegal copy of FFXI.Which is free and highly illegal

My intention isn't to start a commotion among those discussing it.And that this is no attempt to go against the FFXI community.


I would like to know you're thoughts on FFXI Private Servers?

Please be free to discuss you're views on this matter.


My thoughts on this matter is that.Those doing the illegal actions should be prosecuted.Sure,some people that are playing retail FFXI may feel the same way that I do but this is why this thread has been created.I don't find it fair that we has players on SE servers would be paying money to play and here they make a copy of the game for free!?!


Again this is no attempt to start an uproar,just an intelligent discussion .

[Izod]

Basically its an illegal copy of FFXI.Which is free and highly illegal

Your assumptions are completely and just plain WRONG. A VALID POL ID is required to log onto a pXI server (which would mean BOTH a valid purchase of the game/cd-key as well as an active monthly recurring fee). Secondly the server code is pretty far away from anything that live is.

Maybe you should research something before just throwing out mindless drivel? All the information below is available in the pXI FAQ.

The two common misconceptions are:

1) ITZ FREE LAWL!

To which the pXI devs say:
"3. Will pXI be free?
This is a potentially misleading question. Yes, pXI, the private server software, will be free of charge. However, currently you are required to have an active POL account and active, registered FFXI Content ID in order to use the FFXI client with pXI servers. This means that you must be able to connect and login normally before being able to use pXI. This serves as a protective measure for the Development Team to ensure that the project stays legitimate, and that SE has no reason to attempt to harm it or those working on it.

In addition, it should be noted that the use of private servers is determined by those who operate them. The pXI team will not be running a private server for the general public. However, there are already a few members of these forums who plan to host private servers. Server operators will decide if they are going to charge a fee for their services. Server control will be further discussed later."

and
2) I CAN TEST MY THEORIEZ 4 GEARZ YESSSSSSSSSSS!!!!!

To which the pXI devs say:
"13. Can I use pXI to test my theories on X?
While we make every attempt to emulate FFXI servers as closely as possible, it is impossible for us to (legally) have all the knowledge necessary to emulate it exactly. And, although there are many tables of game data that have been accurately recorded, there are still many aspects of the game that cannot be easily reconstructed. This includes things like crafting, enmity, exact damages, hidden effects, and undocumented spawning conditions (in addition to others).

So, since pXI will have to create its own algorithms for these things, you will not be able to use it to test scenarios that haven't already been well researched, as the results may or may not accurately reflect those of the official servers."


IF there are ways to get around having a POL ID it's not recognized by the pXI crew, and they take the use and or mention of anything that circumvents POL VERY VERY seriously.

For someone wanting to start an intelligent discussion maybe you should educate yourself before posting. Also, the space bar is your friend.

[Kinrasha]

From what i know of it there are two versions.

One where you can only play a sever by yourself, and do stuff by yourself ( Like single handily do Dyna and stuff. ) Which I don't really see a problem with, and stuff if you want to see how gear works and stuff.

The other is a private server and stuff. Which I know has many problems. Like I know that both don't have spells, ws, and somet stuff like that.

Over all I find it very hard for it to sustain itself or work for long so. Until I see it becoming big like RO private servers I see no issues.

[Izod]

Google it before posting... I mean really.

There is only ONE pXI out there. If you want to know about the project, google it. The assumptions made in this thread are essentially wrong on almost all accounts.

YES you can 'play by yourself' but it's really more like a glorified AltanaViewer/POLutils/etc. at this point - you can walk around, engage mobs, equip gear - that's about it. You won't be REALLY doing Dynamis by yourself. You'll be hitting mobs that have 300 hp for 1-100 damage randomly in the zone - also with no drops because those aren't implemented yet. You can also have people log on to the "server" - but it's all the same pXI, nothing different. It's only about 15% functional to live.

And again, YOU CANNOT TEST A GOD DAMNED THING on a pXI server. In order to do so it would require the actual live server data, which will never become available, and would go back to a very very illegal state.

The project has been running since 2006. So it's here to stay. It's really a non-issue though, there's so much development left to be done that it's not even in 'competition' with live at this point.

[motoh]

Moved to underground.

~M

[Birkan]

I mean regardless of the POL ID being paid for.Isn't the use of SEs code and data illegal enough for them to send DMCA to hosted servers?

[Agena]

Well get a team of skilled programmers, and start working on it, I'm sure you might make something playable(although not enjoyable) in 5 years or something. SE codes like an autistic savant who is also drunk.

[[Crack]]

I mean regardless of the POL ID being paid for.Isn't the use of SEs code and data illegal enough for them to send DMCA to hosted servers?

It would be pointless for SE to care. SE still gets payed either way. It would be like you trying to sell like a car, someone buys the car then desides to drive their old one. You still got the money. Acctually no its not even like this. You are using less of SEs bandwith by playing on pXI.

They are using data they have gained by legal means. They really arent using SEs server code. You cant really do anything in pXI. The reason to this, is they would need to use SEs server code for it to run like FFXI, which isnt really possible.

So long as they arent hacking SEs servers, I doubt they will care. In the end, SE gets payed and thats all they care about.

[xurion]

SE codes like an autistic savant who is also drunk.

I like this analogy.

[Birkan]

Well get a team of skilled programmers, and start working on it, I'm sure you might make something playable(although not enjoyable) in 5 years or something. SE codes like an autistic savant who is also drunk.

I get you're point.Then again look at WoW and it's private servers right now.Sure they were buggy at first because they weren't as complete as they first wished it to be.But after they started sharing raw information on the emulating over to Emu websites such as Ragezone.Everyone who could program gave useful information worked on it and released tons of patches and fixes.now look at WoW servers they are almost an exact copy of retail.

As said above,I'm sure SE won't care seeing as they make millions of dollars off their customers and their FFXI franchise.If they did it would be logical for them to care but at the same time it would look kind of selfish.

They are using data they have gained by legal means. They really arent using SEs server code. You cant really do anything in pXI. The reason to this, is they would need to use SEs server code for it to run like FFXI, which isnt really possible.

So basically it can be a LAN sandbox & multiplayer sandbox.And I'm sure when and if they are 100% done that players will use PXI to test ideas and to just do fun things in their free time.

[[Crack]]

I doubt it. They will never be 100% done with pXI. Ever. It will never be 100% the same...ever. The testing thing idea wont work, and the "have fun" could be done in you know...The retail server.

Much like private WoW servers, pXI will never be big. Unlike private WoW servers, it will never be complete. They have been working on it for like what? Over 3 years or something now, and they could HARDLY say they are 15% done with it. You can not do anything. All it is is a model veiwer.

[Dagget]

Ive been hearing about this since WoW started.

Guild members were saying that they were going to play WoW only untill the FFxi private servers were up and running.... That was like 3-4 years ago and they are now still playing wow, and wishing they still had their FFxi account.

[Izod]

You're still missing the biggest point. SE still gets paid.

WoW servers are different because Blizzard does NOT get paid for those.

Also the WoW community is MUCH larger, and the data in WoW is MUCH easier gained. Hell something as simple as a monster HP database would take months off of pXI development - HECK a single website with as good data as something like wowhead.com would take months off of the development. There's so many programming differences in WoW its a very apples to oranges comparision. In WoW you know EXACTLY what 10 INT does, unlike in FFXI where we can only really give decently educated guesses. WoW is much easier to reverse engineer server code for. And I say reverse engineer because that's essentially what was done. NPCs have their quests automatically attached to them in WoW (basically...), not the case in FFXI - in FFXI you have to script the proper cutscene to play with each NPC under various conditions in order to make a 'quest' - that's a huge undertaking alone - that's because things like that are handled server side. With pXI it's a much different scenario, it's all built from scratch, using FFXI's famous guesstology, that everyone seems to think is 'fact' or 'well-known'. Using the guesses to create algorithims, etc. SE's server code will never be available, and FFXI is actually a hell of a lot more server side than most people care to realize (in fact I just read the other day someone trying to argue the opposite). Probably the only thing that is heavily client-side is character movement speed - but that's just due to poor programming and not taking into account things like CPU/GPU overclocking and SE's "PS2 limitationz, lawlz" mindset (FPS cap FTL).

Crack is correct, that it at the moment is essentially a glorified model viewer - but the point in development that it is at shows much more conceptually then we ever thought possible. Hell if 20 really devoted and talented people stepped up, there could be a very very playable version out by the end of the year - which would be closer to live than you'd think Crack - it'd still be very very off, but a lot of the ways in which it'd be off, most regular players wouldn't realize (although things like Campaign, MMM, etc. may never be implemented, and if they are, it would likely be shockingly different - because coding crap like that would just be a nightmare, and essentially useless for a private server). The biggest problem with the project is that the community has never really stepped up to the plate to help it. The community seems to be content about crying with all the wrongs SE does them without doing something about it to correct them.

The project has been running for 2 years now, and it's still far from "PRIVATE SERVER LAWL!!!" status - very very far - but the progress they've made is actually very very amazing, and for a lot of the work left to be done the hardest parts have been taken care of (the framework is laid essentially).

And for the last time, if you were to ever use pXI to test ideas on anything more than a completely conceptual level (even then it's really rather useless), done or not, you'd be a complete and utter retard - like Foam Helmet+1, drooling on yourself, defecating in your pants, "I've got mail!" retard. It'd be worse than half the "math" that FFXI players like to throw around. ((oh look at me I parsed a whole 100 mobs without accounting for things like mob level, buffs, other party members, kill swings, etc! this parse makes it FACT!)).

[Izod]

That was like 3-4 years ago and they are now still playing wow, and wishing they still had their FFxi account.

For some reason... I really doubt that. If they wanted to play FFXI they would. They chose not to because they disagreed with game design (obviously which is why they were waiting for a pserver). After 3-4 years of WoW, if you initially disagreed with FFXI's game design, you're REALLY gonna disagree with it now.

[Ezekial]

Well if it did become 100% operational it would be cool to try things out without the fear of lost items or exp + time.

[[Crack]]

Izod, alot of things used to be client side or had to do with something client side. Granted now, mostly everythig is server side, wayyy back in the day you could tell this game was programmed for a PS2. How ever you are correct that pretty much everything is server side now.

pXI would be very boring with out SEs code though. Nothing would work like the live servers. Most content would be taken out. People think it would be just as easy to make a FFXI server as it is to make like a RO server. In the end, they might be able to do a few cool things on it, but the loss of everything in the live servers would make it pretty much useless.

[Kinrasha]

Google it before posting... I mean really.

There is only ONE pXI out there. If you want to know about the project, google it. The assumptions made in this thread are essentially wrong on almost all accounts.

YES you can 'play by yourself' but it's really more like a glorified AltanaViewer/POLutils/etc. at this point - you can walk around, engage mobs, equip gear - that's about it. You won't be REALLY doing Dynamis by yourself. You'll be hitting mobs that have 300 hp for 1-100 damage randomly in the zone - also with no drops because those aren't implemented yet. You can also have people log on to the "server" - but it's all the same pXI, nothing different. It's only about 15% functional to live.

And again, YOU CANNOT TEST A GOD DAMNED THING on a pXI server. In order to do so it would require the actual live server data, which will never become available, and would go back to a very very illegal state.

The project has been running since 2006. So it's here to stay. It's really a non-issue though, there's so much development left to be done that it's not even in 'competition' with live at this point.

Okay... I mean honestly.. I said from what I know of it. I don't really care enough to actually read the stuff, but also I tried google didn't work so if you want to link me and not be a royal prick go a head but whatever.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0qeorycaMzA ( Thats the Dynamis solo for you, mmmmmkaythanxbai )

Which I kinda figured was just weak mobs and shiet. I was just saying, it's more or less a joke right now.

[Izod]

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=p...mp;aq=f&oq=

Not entirely sure how you missed THAT on a google search. If you don't care enough to read then why post on the topic? Specifically why post information as to which you are essentially unsure of, and further myths? Because misinformation helps, amirite?

I'm well aware of what pXI is currently capable of - I've done what can be done. That is not dynamis solo, it's specific animations strung together in a specific zone with a fancy model viewer. Mobs with 300 hp, and players hitting for 1-100 hp, with no set of skills, and mobs with no TP abilities. Mobs hit for 0, they're all spawned regardless of spawn conditions, there are no drops, etc. If you look at the video you'll see his attack power and defense are 0. I don't exactly call "soloing dynamis." I again call it a fancy model viewer. pXI is completely 'proof of concept' at this point, with some solid framework established for future development.

Crack is pretty much hit the nail on the head. It's actually been interesting to watch FFXI develop as a program, for a very long time it had a metric ton of valunerabilities due to various client side calculations / conditions. From what I can tell though, now it is probably one of the most server-side MMOs out there.

Crack's right, it wouldn't be much like live in the end really, ever - for an abundance of reasons (mostly the lack of SE's code), but also because the way the game has been developed there's just not a lot known about what goes on behind the scenes. Studio Gobli has done some very decent research and we've come a long away, but all of that is just parts of a big ass puzzle. A puzzle that most games don't make you 'solve' for (seriously, do you know EXACTLY what adding 10 DEX does for a melee player? - ultimatlely NO you don't. especially in comparision to a mobs AGI, evasion, accuarcy caps, crit rate / possible floors and cielings, etc). In most games you have a much better idea of what adding 10 of X stat does, if not full comprehension from the character screen. But if the project ever were 100% (85%+?) it could be a rather fun alternative - especially for small groups of friends. The project has come leaps and bounds - from a coding and framework aspect, and with a bit more support and time it could be a somewhat viable "outlet" in the future.

[Vekien]

At the moment their is a decent server called Mana, if this keeps up and PXI keeps up then as people progress to further dislike the official servers whilst pxi team are figuring out manipulations they can make (custom shops, redesign ah etc), then people might considering a private server, also making it so u dont need to waste a lot of time. The Admin of a server has so much control, and all user info can be published online for something like wowarmory.

It'll never be identical because well, the people that will end up running the popular servers won't want it the same, that is the point of pserver, and as for the code side, well yeh SE update to often and it's being hard for pxi to keep up i imagine.

Also SE cannot sue, you still have to pay SE, they're not changing any of SE's graphics/layout (anything you see) and as for the code, well the pxi team rewrote the code entirely from scratch so its not SE's to begin with =D hence "emulate", not "copy.".

[Rhadamantis]

What I like about ProjectXI is that it has potential to work wonderfully while still not infringing SE's ToS.

I remember talking to some of my friends a long time ago on how pXI was going to be a huge thing and that in 2008~2009 it'd be complete. I guess my foresight sucked, because it seems there's still a shitload of work ahead of them.
But when it gets really playable, as in close to the original, a lot of people will give it a try, that's for sure.