Getting sick of downtime

psyconius

Seriously every time I decide I want to play during the day the servers have to go down.



Don't get me wrong, I know that patches and maintenance have to occur to keep an MMO running (semi-)smoothly. Its just that LOTRO seems to have a lot more downtime than other MMO's I have played(in and out of beta). I mean there was a patch(that did nearly nothing) that went in 2 days ago. And now "scheduled maintenance" that I saw nothing of until going to login this morning.



I preordered and was very psyched to play after the open beta kiddies were kicked out. Since then my desire to drop the extra $40 on the 24th has slowly deteriorated. My friends always joke how fickle my MMO tastes are, but the sad fact is if I land a beta for one of the games I am really waiting for, I don't know if I will continue LOTRO. So I am weary about fully committing..



Sorry to rant, but I am sure there are others that feel the same way about some or all of what I have vented =P

Knightblast

It's beta.



I mean yes it seems odd having another extended DT two days after a patch, but really what they are doing is getting everything ready for launch, esp the servers.  I'm surprised we won't be seeing more DT before launch day ... it  isn't uncommon for there to be a few days of DT or more between the end of open beta and release, and Turbine isn't planning to do that.

Forgrimm

Originally posted by psyconius

Seriously every time I decide I want to play during the day the servers have to go down.



Don't get me wrong, I know that patches and maintenance have to occur to keep an MMO running (semi-)smoothly. Its just that LOTRO seems to have a lot more downtime than other MMO's I have played(in and out of beta). I mean there was a patch(that did nearly nothing) that went in 2 days ago. And now "scheduled maintenance" that I saw nothing of until going to login this morning.



I preordered and was very psyched to play after the open beta kiddies were kicked out. Since then my desire to drop the extra $40 on the 24th has slowly deteriorated. My friends always joke how fickle my MMO tastes are, but the sad fact is if I land a beta for one of the games I am really waiting for, I don't know if I will continue LOTRO. So I am weary about fully committing..



Sorry to rant, but I am sure there are others that feel the same way about some or all of what I have vented =P

It's beta for a reason chief, everyone is there to test things out. And it's a huge beta at that. The game has more people in the beta than many games have in the full retail release. The more people that they have running through their world, the more glitches and problems that will be discovered.  It's better that they iron all of that out now so when retail hits the shelves it will be ready.  

Daring

Hummm.... The game is to be released in a few days, they will want to get it perfected before release. Better now then when they go public. But I have to question your post? Your friends say that you are fickle and I have to agree, even though I don't know you. Because of what you wrote. You stated that you are really waiting just to get into a beta for another MMO you are really waiting for. So you are not really commited to LotRO anyway!

JonMichael

Most MMO's will have a patch day once a week, especially in the beginning. I've been in Beta since January and I've seen a handful of weeks where there was a patch day and a maintenance day. I'm sure as the game launches.. the patches and maint days will slow a bit. It was announced yesterday in the afternoon that there would be maintenance today. Their schedule seems to be a patch day on Tuesday or sometimes Wednesday and if there's maintenace, it's usually on Friday.
The patch a few days ago addressed issues with the economy which I think is working out pretty well as far as item repair.
Honestly.. I don't mind downtime. It's usually to better the game in some sort of way.. be it fixes, new content or helping the client run better... and we all like that.
And remember, the game it technically still in beta, so anything goes. Plus the fact that LOTRO is far more polished and ready for launch than any other game released in the past couple of years... so the patches and maintenance have really paid off.
 

EliteMarine

Yea it does get frusterating but they are improving the game

psyconius

You are all forgetting that I really do love this game, and have for quite some time.



I also think that people who really support this game can stop hiding behind the "it's beta" for a blanket excuse for any problem. Especially when most people who say that have said things like "It's more polished as a beta than many games at release." Once a week patching is fine by me. Or once a week "scheduled" DT and the less occasional patch is great too(like WoW). I just honestly don't see the trend put forth by LOTRO changing any after release. If anything, I see it getting worse when they aren't trying to impress anyone new after open beta stops. (BTW, any REAL numbers out there of how many people actually PLAYED (not just entered a key) during the World Tour? I am doubting it was near the million they projected(read: number they pulled out of their asses)))



I am very fickle with my gaming. I play about 10 single player games at any given time in small doses. I generally play MMO's from 1-3 months at a time and swap back to another MMO I had played in the past. It is devastatingly hard for any game to keep my attention. I still question why I even bother with MMO's any more, given my severe lack of attention span There is just something about them that makes them more fun (even if I don't do a whole lot in game with anyone other than my fiancee... I suppose the horrible lack of multiplayer fantasy games apart from MMO's is a start).



Anyway, I don't expect anyone to respect my opinion, as even very constructive criticism is frowned upon by fans of games on these forums. I wouldn't be able to whine if I were busy harvesting resources and dying to named mobs

JonMichael

Originally posted by psyconius

You are all forgetting that I really do love this game, and have for quite some time.



I also think that people who really support this game can stop hiding behind the "it's beta" for a blanket excuse for any problem. Especially when most people who say that have said things like "It's more polished as a beta than many games at release." Once a week patching is fine by me. Or once a week "scheduled" DT and the less occasional patch is great too(like WoW). I just honestly don't see the trend put forth by LOTRO changing any after release. If anything, I see it getting worse when they aren't trying to impress anyone new after open beta stops. (BTW, any REAL numbers out there of how many people actually PLAYED (not just entered a key) during the World Tour? I am doubting it was near the million they projected(read: number they pulled out of their asses)))



I am very fickle with my gaming. I play about 10 single player games at any given time in small doses. I generally play MMO's from 1-3 months at a time and swap back to another MMO I had played in the past. It is devastatingly hard for any game to keep my attention. I still question why I even bother with MMO's any more, given my severe lack of attention span There is just something about them that makes them more fun (even if I don't do a whole lot in game with anyone other than my fiancee... I suppose the horrible lack of multiplayer fantasy games apart from MMO's is a start).



Anyway, I don't expect anyone to respect my opinion, as even very constructive criticism is frowned upon by fans of games on these forums. I wouldn't be able to whine if I were busy harvesting resources and dying to named mobs

A game being in beta really does release it from any type of problems be it with how the game runs or downtime.  Once launch comes, that's a completely different story.

I didn't see anyone disrespecting your opinion... they just disagree with it.

 

Greyhawk4x4

I for one, welcome the down time in hope that some of the bugs and inconsistencies are getting worked out before launch.

Abronz

Originally posted by psyconius

You are all forgetting that I really do love this game, and have for quite some time.



I also think that people who really support this game can stop hiding behind the "it's beta" for a blanket excuse for any problem. Especially when most people who say that have said things like "It's more polished as a beta than many games at release." Once a week patching is fine by me. Or once a week "scheduled" DT and the less occasional patch is great too(like WoW). I just honestly don't see the trend put forth by LOTRO changing any after release. If anything, I see it getting worse when they aren't trying to impress anyone new after open beta stops. (BTW, any REAL numbers out there of how many people actually PLAYED (not just entered a key) during the World Tour? I am doubting it was near the million they projected(read: number they pulled out of their asses)))



I am very fickle with my gaming. I play about 10 single player games at any given time in small doses. I generally play MMO's from 1-3 months at a time and swap back to another MMO I had played in the past. It is devastatingly hard for any game to keep my attention. I still question why I even bother with MMO's any more, given my severe lack of attention span There is just something about them that makes them more fun (even if I don't do a whole lot in game with anyone other than my fiancee... I suppose the horrible lack of multiplayer fantasy games apart from MMO's is a start).



Anyway, I don't expect anyone to respect my opinion, as even very constructive criticism is frowned upon by fans of games on these forums. I wouldn't be able to whine if I were busy harvesting resources and dying to named mobs

I'm not going to hide behind the beta.  I just think you don't need to play mmo's in general.  You are the kind of guy that won't ever be happy no matter what mmo you are playing.

To be honest I am the same way.  I can't seem to stick with any mmo longer than 2 to 3 months.  I have played pretty much all the popular ones out there and none of them hold my attention for long.  I am about to give up all together because I know deep down I will never find one that I will stay with.

psyconius

Originally posted by JonMichael



A game being in beta really does release it from any type of problems be it with how the game runs or downtime.  Once launch comes, that's a completely different story.
I didn't see anyone disrespecting your opinion... they just disagree with it.
 

I give it some credit still technically being in beta, but again I just really don't see the downtime getting better on release. Only time will tell, and if I don't commit, then I suppose I won't know. I still don't see the need for downtime 48 hours after a very marginal patch. Especially when they called it "scheduled." Scheduled downtime would be like WoW's Monday morning maintenance runs. I didn't login to LOTRO last night, so they may have said something about it then, but this morning was the first news of today's DT.



I know no one was blatantly disrespecting my opinion, but most of the replies seemed fairly cookie-cutter borderline fanboi responses that I see when someone is outright bashing the game. That is why I have completely avoided any threads with blatant disrespect to LOTRO since February Neither side of the battle is particularly meaningful or worthwhile, especially after how long the game has been "polished."



I still admire Turbine's efforts, as I have yet to have any horrible server lag or glaring issues. They have also addressed a lot of issues that the playerbase has been complaining about(although most of them would have been worked out just as quickly without the frustration... ie the crafting and repair economy.. the tweaks that have been put in were made after analyzing the data that had to slowly come in from whatever arbitrary starting point they put in).



I am just being a spoiled brat because I had it set in my mind to play some LOTRO today, as the clock is ticking on my free time. I had envisioned 3 or so level 15's with pretty well fleshed out crafting. RL is a bitch.

Originally posted by Abronz

I'm not going to hide behind the beta.  I just think you don't need to play mmo's in general.  You are the kind of guy that won't ever be happy no matter what mmo you are playing.
To be honest I am the same way.  I can't seem to stick with any mmo longer than 2 to 3 months.  I have played pretty much all the popular ones out there and none of them hold my attention for long.  I am about to give up all together because I know deep down I will never find one that I will stay with.

I refuse to take the defeatist mentality. No game(MMO or not) will ever be exactly what I want until I can make one myself. And then it will be so frustrating and take time away from actually playing, that it won't be satisfying either.



That being said, I try to enjoy what is out there as much as possible. It is doubtful any MMO will be as enjoyable as DAOC was for me in the beginning(EQ was my first MMO.. DAOC was my first good MMO). LOTRO has come damn close, but the same reasons it is enjoyable at times, are the same that really hold it back from being groundbreaking.

Aderon2

Yeah, the notice was up last night.  But in all truth, WoW's maintenance took just as long.  Roughly 2-3 hours, once a week.



Like you said, it could be better.  But, for now, it seems to be average.

jlee001

The downtime notice has been posted since yesterday.  You also have to understand this is not "live" and it is still beta.  So expect the developers to have their time to do what they need to do in beta, so that when this game goes live, it will run much smoother.  Also, this open beta has been open for quite some time, and if you pre-ordered even longer , that should have been enough time to get as many lvl 15's as your little gamer heart wants.  :P !!

psyconius

Originally posted by jlee001

The downtime notice has been posted since yesterday.  You also have to understand this is not "live" and it is still beta.  So expect the developers to have their time to do what they need to do in beta, so that when this game goes live, it will run much smoother.  Also, this open beta has been open for quite some time, and if you pre-ordered even longer , that should have been enough time to get as many lvl 15's as your little gamer heart wants.  :P !!

Oh.. The server status has nothing to do with my lack of level 15's.. That is all scheduling conflicts on my side.. And short attention span... (And open beta bastards camping quest mobs.. then getting wiped when we can finally grab the pull in time =P)

Unknown

Well it is open beta. They are trying to get everything fixed for when it is released. If they take down the servers constantly when the game is released i'd see an issue, but I completely understand and am glad they are doing it now.

Jackdog

I want them to fix any bugs, adjust the economy and add more content all without any down time. Can't be done? Well hell, I guess I will just have to live with the downtime then. Sometimes I think they should rename this site to piss_and_moan.com

Fifthred

I never been in any open beta where there wasn't major patches  happening all the way up until release "seconds"

Kyleran

I don't think you'll have much to worry about, unless playing in the daytime is a regular pattern for you, since they schedule this patch work during that time slot. Me, I have a full time, 8-6 job, M-F job..so I never hit any downtime



(except when I want to "work" from home.... that always seems to bring the servers down) 

psyconius

Originally posted by Kyleran

I don't think you'll have much to worry about, unless playing in the daytime is a regular pattern for you, since they schedule this patch work during that time slot. Me, I have a full time, 8-6 job, M-F job..so I never hit any downtime



(except when I want to "work" from home.... that always seems to bring the servers down) 

Yeah if I led a semi-normal life it wouldn't be an issue. But I am a stay at home daddy right now, so I try to sneak in some LOTRO between diaper changing (and forum trolling).





And yes.. this site is piss&moan.com for sure. I make sure to do my part bitching

GoSonics

When I played wow it often had another dt a day or two after a patch (regardless of size of the patch). If I was turbine I'd want to make the game was as polished as they can get it before release tuesday, if that means another dt so be it.

psyconius

You've got to be freaking kidding me..........



--------------

Scheduled Downtime: Last Updated 4/20 11:10AM

Apr 20, 2007 11:10 EST

DOWNTIME EXTENDED: The LOTRO game servers will be down for maintenance on Friday, April 20th from 9:00AM - 4:00PM EDT. Thanks for your patience!

----------------



It's like Turbine is watching me trying to piss me off even more....



This is why I must daily say "God hates me.. if he existed, of course."

 

harrisond

your joking right....thats why its BETA! not release, im playing too and dont have prob with down time cause that meaning there fixing what ever there is left to fix so once the games out its even better to play.

Daring

lol   Dude, relax, play another MMO while they are working on it!

psyconius

Originally posted by Daring

lol   Dude, relax, play another MMO while they are working on it!

Believe me, I am relaxed.. The post with the new friendly message about downtime was far more R-rated before I took a breathe and censored myself.



Pay my bills and other fun real world things and I'd be happy to subscribe to multiple MMO's at a time. F2P MMO's are wretched. My friends would pay for my WoW account to be reactivated, but I don't want to spend a full day patching. Another full day setting up my interface again, then a magical patch comes out the next day that breaks half my interface. If I could ever focus on "enjoying" that overrated game, I might like it a bit more.



A nice thing about most MMO's I do enjoy is that there are generally things I can do while only devoting a portion of my attention to it(while tending to my kids generally). Not so with Korean grindfests



Anyway.. unless someone provokes me or god forbid, there are some meaningful posts in this thread, I take my leave. I will work on my time machine to skip past scheduled downtimes. Then ultimately travel back to the day I preordered and talk myself out of it

Shannia

If you honestly think that there will be a big difference late beta and release, you are sadly mistaken.  This is Turbine and we can look at DDO and know for a fact that what you see now is what you will get at release.  Don't expect any surprises.

Fifthred

Isn't today the hippie day in D.C. ? Do that in the mean time