A very important and extremely popular mod for roleplayers in MMORPG Final Fantasy XIV, Mare Synchronos, is shutting down with less than 48 hours notice. The news has caught many off guard, and the FFXIV community isn’t happy that such a vital mod for many will no longer be usable in the MMO.
Mare Synchronos is a free third-party plugin for FFXIV that, along with some other tools and software, allows players to synchronize their cosmetic mods and custom animations. While thousands of players used the plugin, it was primarily popular with roleplayers and others who enjoy the more social aspects of FFXIV. With Mare, as it is often referred to online, friends could see each other’s characters as they appear on their own PC, complete with all their mods and extra animations that normally are’t seen by other players due to mod restrictions. For many who find FFXIV’s customization features to be lacking and who rely on mods to tweak their looks to create their perfect character, Mare was vital in letting other players see how they “really” look. It was also popular in in-game nightclubs and other areas to allow players to sync up custom dance animations and other…activities. And now all the fun is ending.
On August 21, one of the lead devs behind Mare Synchronos reportedly posted on the mod’s Discord server that they had received a “legal inquiry” about the mod, likely from publisher Square Enix, and were shutting down Mare completely.
“With a heavy heart, I have to announce the end of Mare Synchronos as you know it,” said Her Royal Floofness on Discord, in a message shared on Reddit. “I’ve received a legal inquiry concerning the project. After reviewing my options with counsel, I’m winding it down.”
Royal Floofness confirmed that Mare will continue to work until August 22 at 6:00 AM. After that point, the server will shut down and the plugin will be removed. “Enjoy your last doomsday party,” said the modder. “Thank you for the past 3 years of Mare, I hope you enjoyed the ride.” Kotaku has contacted Square Enix about the mod being shut down.
Many players online were shocked by the news and speculated that Mare being killed might lead to fewer people playing the game.
“Holy fuck getting rid of this is MASSIVE,” posted one user on Reddit. “This game has a huge RP player base. Does [Square Enix] think people keep subbed to this game to raid log?”
“If you entire reason for playing was the modded glam game then you probably have less of a reason to play now,” said another Reddit user.
“Genuinely worried about what this means for the RP community (and I mean the actual RP community, not nightclub/Balmung QS.) I’ve been actively RPing in the Mateus Quicksands for the past two years or so, and whenever Mare has even had as much of a hiccup the Quicksands clears out. There’s definitely been an over-reliance on Mare, but now it’s been taken away, I worry a lot of my fellow RPers will just struggle to adapt and bail,” said a roleplayer on Reddit in response to the news.
Others are hopeful that someone else will fork the mod and that a similar tool will be created in the future. For now, the nightclubs of Final Fantasy XIV will be a bit less raucous in the coming days.