- Final Fantasy 14The director, Naoki Yoshida, shared a statement concerning mods that can “break” the pleasure of other players and the basic game
- Yoshida says he has no problem with the mods but wants the players to be aware of the rules
- He also declared that sharing the use of online NSFW mods could lead to the fact that the game was subject to legal measures by regulators in certain countries
Final Fantasy 14The director, Naoki Yoshida, has issued a warning of the continuous use of mods which can “break” other players and also lead to legal problems.
Last week, one of the Final Fantasy 14The most popular mods were closed due to a “legal survey”. The MOD, named Mare Synchronos, was a plug-in that allowed users to synchronize and visualize the mods of other players at stake, such as additional character personalization modules.
The news of the disassembly of the MOD was not well received by users, which later led to the bombed revision on Steam.
Now in a new Final Fantasy 14 Blog article, Yoshida answered the overall question of mods, declaring that although it “tolerates” their personal use and understands that the culture of modding is “rooted in good intentions”, it wants players to be aware of the importance of the user agreement of the game.
“Over the past twenty years, I have seen many positive examples of games with fans mods that are developing on the existing gameplay,” said Yoshida. “However, these mods are generally created with a vital premise in mind: they are for personal use only, and the individual player is responsible for the mods they use.
“In addition, mods must not have an impact on the basic game, its services or the design of the game provided for in a negative way. I personally think that these rules must be followed by all the creators of MOD and users.”
The director adds that if the players continue to respect these rules to improve their personal pleasure of the game, he does not personally see any reason to find them or investigate players for their use of mods.
He also underlined the importance of two rules in particular: that the mods do not “undermine others” and that they “do not have a negative impact on the basic game, its services or the design of games provided, as mentioned above”.
Yoshida continued by offering a long list of examples where mods can harm others and have an impact on the design of planned games, including a scenario where a player can use mods to get around certain conditions to obtain items in the game, such as an Ultimate Raid loot.
The director explained that it would not be a problem if it was for personal fun; However, the presentation of the loot which was not won thanks to the participation in other players in the game would be contrary to the rules and would result in the abolition of the mod.
“In response, our only options would be to ask that players cease to use the MOD, or to ask that the creator of MOD deletes the functionality causing the problem,” said Yoshida. “Of course, we could also implement preventive measures in the game, but that would divert programming resources from other areas, potentially damaging the enjoyment of other long -term players.”
Likewise, Yoshida said it would also apply to the FFXIV online store items that have not been purchased but modified, which suggests that it would be unfair to players who spent real money.
“Some may say that Square Enix is to blame for trying to make money by demanding that players spend more on optional objects,” he said. “We exploit our servers and data centers twenty-four hours a day, three hundred years-five days a year in the hope that our players will be able to enjoy a reliable gaming experience. Currently, global inflation is ravaged at a quick pace, increasing the server electricity costs, the cost of the land and even the price of the servers themselves.
“We do not want to increase the subscription fees to players, if possible – but maintaining our game in motion requires sufficient income. If we start to create a deficit, FFXIV may no longer be able to operate. This is an example of damage inflicted on the services we provide.”
Finally, Yoshida addressed the question of NSFW mods, reiterating that if a player decides to model his character to appear naked, he could belong to the category of personal uses and responsibilities, but if the user shares online screenshots, “FFXIV himself can be subjected to legal measures by regulators of certain countries.”
“The laws that regulate the content of video games are becoming strictest by the year,” he said. “These laws are there to protect minors and for various other reasons, but the fact remains that they become tangibly more strict. We have a duty to provide our services to the laws of all countries where FFXIV is available, and if we are unable to do so, the distribution of our game can be prohibited. This is another example of damage to our services.”
The director added that he does not intend that his examples be censorship on users or mod creators, but asks the players to respect the game by taking advantage of it within the limits of the basic rules.
