---
key: mechanic/online-participation--t320
type: mechanic
id: online-participation--t320
lang: en
title: Persistent worlds and shared server progress
summary: >-
  A shared world preserves contributions between sessions. FFXIV’s Ishgardian
  Restoration links personal deliveries to server-wide construction stages.
updatedAt: '2026-10-22'
status: active
url: 'https://gamemechanics.pro/en/knowledge/mechanic/online-participation--t320/'
jsonUrl: >-
  https://gamemechanics.pro/api/v1/knowledge/en/mechanic/online-participation--t320.json
markdownUrl: >-
  https://gamemechanics.pro/content/knowledge/en/mechanic/online-participation--t320.md
aliases:
  - Persistent worlds and server progress
tags:
  - Online worlds and participation
  - Mechanics and variants
sourceIds:
  - source-d6403e86b24cf114
  - source-b53d4143633e26ea
sources:
  - id: source-d6403e86b24cf114
    title: 'Steamworks: Multiplayer'
    url: 'https://partner.steamgames.com/doc/features/multiplayer'
    verifiedAt: null
  - id: source-b53d4143633e26ea
    title: Final Fantasy XIV
    url: 'https://na.finalfantasyxiv.com/lodestone/ishgardian_restoration/'
    verifiedAt: null
relations: []
placements:
  - catalogId: online-participation
    id: t320
    title: Online worlds and participation
    url: 'https://gamemechanics.pro/en/mechanics/online-participation/#t320'
    categoryIds:
      - mechanics
supersededBy: []
attributes:
  preview:
    updatedAt: '2026-10-22'
    title: Persistent worlds and server progress
    description: >-
      A shared world preserves contributions between sessions. FFXIV’s
      Ishgardian Restoration links personal deliveries to server-wide
      construction stages.
    image:
      src: images/mechanics/rpg-ffxiv-restoration-49.webp
      width: 640
      height: 548
      game: Final Fantasy XIV
      sourceUrl: 'https://na.finalfantasyxiv.com/lodestone/ishgardian_restoration/'
      originalUrl: 'https://lds-img.finalfantasyxiv.com/h/_/qJb2_1q3qIT_9Pu81owr-M_FiA.jpg'
      credit: Square Enix; official guide screenshot
      rights: >-
        Game imagery © its respective rights holders. Official game guide or
        publisher-distributed screenshot; all rights reserved. Excluded from MIT
        and CC BY 4.0.
      caption: A shared stage of district restoration
      alt: A shared stage of district restoration
      markers:
        - x: 50
          'y': 13
          label: Shared construction advances towards the next Concerted Works
    tips:
      - >-
        Distinguish personal contribution, shared milestones and server-state
        update timing.
    examples:
      - title: Final Fantasy XIV
        url: 'https://na.finalfantasyxiv.com/lodestone/ishgardian_restoration/'
endsAt: null
provenance: >-
  Original bilingual editorial overviews authored for gamemechanics.pro on
  2026-10-20 and reviewed on 2026-10-21. Scenarios are hypothetical design
  examples; prototype checks describe work to perform, not completed playtests.
  Primary sources support the stated techniques and implementation context, not
  every proposed variant.
license: CC-BY-4.0
codeLicense: MIT
attribution: gamemechanics.pro contributors
catalogKey: catalog/online-participation
---
# Persistent worlds and shared server progress

id: online-participation--t320
type: mechanic
key: mechanic/online-participation--t320
lang: en
status: active
url: https://gamemechanics.pro/en/knowledge/mechanic/online-participation--t320/

A shared world preserves contributions between sessions. FFXIV’s Ishgardian Restoration links personal deliveries to server-wide construction stages.

## At a glance

![A shared stage of district restoration](https://gamemechanics.pro/images/mechanics/rpg-ffxiv-restoration-49.webp)

[Final Fantasy XIV](https://na.finalfantasyxiv.com/lodestone/ishgardian_restoration/) · Game imagery © its respective rights holders. Official game guide or publisher-distributed screenshot; all rights reserved. Excluded from MIT and CC BY 4.0.

1. Shared construction advances towards the next Concerted Works

- Distinguish personal contribution, shared milestones and server-state update timing.

- [Final Fantasy XIV](https://na.finalfantasyxiv.com/lodestone/ishgardian_restoration/)

## How it works

Persistent worlds preserve changes between sessions, making individual actions part of shared server state and history.

## Variants

### Mechanic variants

<a id="t320-variants"></a>

- Shared projects accumulate contributions across sessions. <a id="t320-v1"></a>
- World recovery limits irreversible depletion. <a id="t320-v2"></a>
- Permissions define who can alter an object. <a id="t320-v3"></a>
- Logs identify causes of important changes. <a id="t320-v4"></a>

## Design example

Players build a bridge in stages and a later participant sees the completed route.

Prototype check: Test event redelivery after disconnection so one action changes a shared resource only once.

## Context and limits

Online mechanics connect individual contributions to shared state, participation timing and explicit commitments between players. Each overview separates player actions, state changes and alternative rules. Examples are hypothetical design scenarios, not claims about a named game. A prototype check states an observable question for the next iteration. Existing detailed references remain separately linked from the direction map.

## Connected materials


## Sources and provenance

Original bilingual editorial overviews authored for gamemechanics.pro on 2026-10-20 and reviewed on 2026-10-21. Scenarios are hypothetical design examples; prototype checks describe work to perform, not completed playtests. Primary sources support the stated techniques and implementation context, not every proposed variant.

- [Steamworks: Multiplayer](https://partner.steamgames.com/doc/features/multiplayer) (id: source-d6403e86b24cf114)
- [Final Fantasy XIV](https://na.finalfantasyxiv.com/lodestone/ishgardian_restoration/) (id: source-b53d4143633e26ea)

CC-BY-4.0 · gamemechanics.pro contributors