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SWTOR's Launch Has Been "Staggering"
MMOtoGO
Member Posts: 630
TL:DR below
I did not pre-order it, but a whole bunch of folks did. Thousands of gamers have been frothing at the mouth to get into the Star Wars Universe in Star Wars: The Old Republic. Those gamers have already spent their money with the promise of getting into the game world before the December 20th launch. Imagine the joy that filled the hearts of those that were sent that first email saying, "You're in!". You could hear the immortal words of Oz's Scarecrow, "Joy! Rapture!" But...then the rumblings began. Forums began to see sprinklings of posts saying, "Where's my email?" Then the official word via Twitter clarified what was about to happen. Those that pre-ordered would be allowed only one wave at a time. This means that thousands of people are forced to sit on the sidelines and watch their friends blast through the first zones of the game.
That New Server Smell
Back when World of Warcraft was still growing explosively, new server launches occurred on a regular basis. Each time a server was launched, thousands of players would re-roll there in order to be a part of the initial wave of leveling. There's nothing like it. Everybody is basically the same level, World PvP is amazing since there aren't several higher level players to one-shot you. It's a rush, to say the least. This experience will never happen in SWTOR. Leveling is super-fast and there are several pre-order gamers that still haven't received their invite. By the time they get in, those unfortunate souls will be behind by 10-20 levels at least and won't be able to do any of the lower level content with those in the initial wave or experience that once-in-a-server-lifetime world PvP.
Gamers Should Always Come First
I want to credit EA/BioWare for doing such a fantastic job of marketing their game. The hype is beyond what I've seen in a long, long time. I hope that they will honor that hype by giving gamers a world-class experience in and out of game. That being said, the staggered invites were the wrong choice and I certainly hope they learn from this. The gamer's experience should never fall secondary to an unwillingness to tackle a technology problem. It was more important that gamers play together than it was for their hardware to stay shiny. Separating groups of gamers causes much more frustration than an occasional server crash or 10-15 minute wait to log in.
What's the Alternative
Yes, as it has been stated, if EA/BioWare had chosen to let everybody in at once, they would have faced server stability problems and long queues. I say, "so what?" This is normal in MMORPG's and is expected and this is what gamers are prepared to endure in order to claim the rewards of being in the first wave during launch. By letting players in 'in waves' they've ruined that golden moment where a community is built, legends are born and where, arguably, the moments that spawn stories that are told year after year when recounting the server's history. But then again, I guess the most important story to BioWare is theirs, not yours.
TL:DR The staggered launch is the wrong approach that is segmenting server communities and severely hurting world PvP. It's a lazy solution to a larger problem. It's better to have an occasional server crash and smaller queues than to have yoru friends 20-30 levels higher than you and never experience initial content together for the first time.
Agree? Disagree? Do you think it's better to separate gamers or to have occasional server crashes and queues?
Comments
If they had let everyone in at once, people would have complained of 8 hour queues and constant server crashes.
Damned if you do, damned if you dont.
The most significant wave of new players will be at the 20th. Maybe everyone making use of the staged launch and complaining it's not massive enough, the queue's are not long enough, the quest objectives are not camped enough and the starter zones not flooded enough, shouldn't have made use of it in the first place.
It's in the name really "head start" -> ahead of the mass.
So really, using "non-massive launch" + a lack of associated issues as arguments against the way they decide to stage the pre-launch is kind of misplaced imo.
My brand new bloggity blog.
i voted that staggered launch is the way to go, simply because i still believe that if i had preordered earlier than i did (22-9) i would have gotten to play the game without interuptions like crashes, queues.
but i can easily see the problem you are talking about, since nothing beats the new launch feel of everybody being equal.
one way i hope they fix this is by keeping adding the needed servers so people who wants that feeling can pick a clean fresh server, and thus be in from the beginning. i know not everybody will have than option, but its still better than to be allowed to play but waiting in 8+ hours quests (i.e. iaon launch) every time the game crashes, and thus you still get left behind and miss the new launch feeling.
so in short, as long as they keep adding servers as needed so you might be able to get than new launch feeling i'm all for the staggered launch
Its nightmare waiting to play
For the staggered system = 500 darkside points for making us wait :P
http://www.speedtest.net/result/1651869499.png
I voted that they did the right thing. People who have known for months that this is how they were going to do it whine anyway. My only two issues with it are the communication in terms of not giving players some advanced notice when their wave would be, which would have done much to alleviated some of the complaining, and the exploit with the warzone queues as a result of lower server pops due to the stagger.
Other than that, and I believe one server that had issues yesterday, from all reports everything ran smooth as butter and stability issues were not a problem.
Staggered launch was the best choice (or lesser of two evils).
No matter which way it went, people would complain, so at least this way, everyone who's in is able to play.
"True friends stab you in the front." | Oscar Wilde
"I need to finish" - Christian Wolff: The Accountant
Just trying to live long enough to play a new, released MMORPG, playing New Worlds atm
Fools find no pleasure in understanding but delight in airing their own opinions. Pvbs 18:2, NIV
Don't just play games, inhabit virtual worlds™
"This is the most intelligent, well qualified and articulate response to a post I have ever seen on these forums. It's a shame most people here won't have the attention span to read past the second line." - Anon
Staggering was a good idea, but they're going about it all wrong. First of all, they should have made a clear plan of invites ahead of time, and sent out the emails early, so everyone would know when they're getting in. All this speculation is pointless, and no one knows when they'll get it. That's way more frustrating than it needs to be.
Second, the pace at which they're doing it is odd. I assumed they were just trying to avoid crowding of the login server and starter areas, but going about it as slowly as they are implies that they're goal is bigger than that. They're hoping to reduce total server load, maybe avoid queues, and that sort of thing. Problem is, in a few days, when everyone is in, they'll still be having those issues, because the first wave will still be playing too. They can't possibly stretch it out far enough that the intial waves die down before the later waves even get started.
So, after all this, it looks like they're still trying to launch with insufficient servers, like MMOs almost always do, and will have the same problems, on top of irritating a huge number of people with this staggering bit.
tl;dr: need a 3rd poll option
When I want a single-player story, I'll play a single-player game. When I play an MMO, I want a massively multiplayer world.
I know their customer support is staggeringly bad. If you dont have any issues then it is farly smooth however god help u if u have an account issue.
Greatness is difficult to appreciate from close up. The great mountain on the horizon is only the ground when you are standing on it.
I'm not a server expert or anything, but the way Trion explained it for RIFT is that server instability is increased significantly when players are all in the same place. So by allowing the initial waves to level up, it decreases the server stress as new players are added. Of course, this all flies out the window when initial wave folks reroll to play with their friends when they get in.
I suppose if you are going to stagger the invites, the communication should be much better than what we're seeing here. I've heard folks say that this was communicated early, but it couldn't have been effective since so many folks have been surprised by what's happening.
Staggered was/is the way to go.
I'm not in yet, also. Maybe today.
The "tradition" of being in first is overrated. Especially since it comes with all the queues and server crashes and such. Either way players would be denied playtime. I'd much rather know that the servers are working as intended and "there" as opposed to wondering how badly a server crashed and how long it will be before they get it back up.
Some "traditions" are worth dropping/getting over/let die. I'd much rather start a new tradition of MMO companies launching MMOs that work and that are actually up. I undertand the "Me, me, me" and "I want it right now" generations are dying inside because they can't have it "yesterday!!!!11!!!1!". Fortunately for me I was born before them and was taught patience.
"Many nights, my friend... Many nights I've put a blade to your throat while you were sleeping. Glad I never killed you, Steve. You're alright..."
Chavez y Chavez
I completely agree with this statement.
In my View the staggering was, and is wrong,
There is nothing like being on a server for the 1st time with EVERYONE andf having that race to set the casual and hardcore apart, Thank you for this post it was insightful and meaningful, and you say everything I wanted to
there would be JUST as much rage happening if they let everyone in and had issues that you have stated. Like someone else said, damned if you do, damned if you dont.
I will say that I defnitely think they are being a bit TOO over-cautious in how many people they invite. Their servers can handle much more than they are letting through the door.
I think its more like,
damned if you do, damned if you don't - if you go and screw it up, either way.
When I want a single-player story, I'll play a single-player game. When I play an MMO, I want a massively multiplayer world.
Hmmm... lessee... do I do the "Hurry up and Wait"? Log on at headstart launch and enjoy an hour+ queue where I don't quite dare leave the house and do anything, and yet, it's too long to sit and wait at the PC?
Or do I wait for a "you're in!" email, at which point I'll be able to(thanks to their pre-load) log right in and get going on a low lag server, thereby wasting absolutely none of my, or anyone elses time?
I know which one I choose. Those folks that feel different are free to take your masochism over to Secret World, where Funcom's reputation all but guarantees the nightmare you seek.
I know for myself, if I get in before my friends do I will just start a character that will become my alt after they get on. So getting in ahead of them is a non-issue.
With the amount of hate going around for the staggered start i can already feel the pain when the servers go full out on the 20th and the ques and wait times are huge.
Still i like the idea of the way they have tried even though it doesnt seem to have been very sucessful.
Its like having a relaxing bath with the bird you relax a bit much and a little fart pops out which you might get away with but no matter what you do the soap dislodging ripper will emerge from the depths and ruin all that planning.
I vote staggered, as a guy who has been playing mmos since Everquest I know that even though alot of us old timers are used to server issues and long ques during launch alot of the younger players who have never experienced such a thing are not. If they launched the game w/o the staggering and experienced any issues the haters, crybabies and spoiled brats would have had a parade on these forums for the next six months to a year. No thank you, I would rather deal with whiners and spoiled brats complaining that they are not playing than dealing with the haters spewing on next year about how there were server issues at launch (*cough cough Teala).
The way I look at it now is that we are all pretty much guaranteed to make it in by the fifteenth now more than likely. And that was more than anyone could hope for because it still gives you a whole seven days to play before anyone else. That my friends is a pretty good deal and something that I cannot say has ever happened on such a big scale on any other mmorpg.
And please lets not use the excuse of "oh it doesn't have that new game feel". If you honestly cared about having that and everyone being equal you would wait until the 20th and play with the launch folks on whatever new servers they start.
Not to mention did anyone see the length of the respawn delays in the starting areas for the quests during beta? i certainly do not wish to deal with 100 people being in the same area trying to do the same quest, literally waiting in line, that would take the themepark analogy to an entirely new level, no thank you.
I say start organizing the best servers to play on or gather on right now since they are up, get in that last bit of time in Skyrim or whatever game you are playing (omg please go download Bastion off of steam if you are an old school 2d gaming Legend of Zelda fan, that game is such a nice little treat and very cheap!!)
Any mmo worth its salt should be like a good prostitute when it comes to its game world- One hell of a faker, and a damn good shaker!
I don't see the logic by only do 5 waves yesterday, then see the servers during prime time are all low populated and still wait 18 hours til the next set of waves.
And then plan to do the exact same thing againt today!
Now the first wave has been out since an hour ago. Over half the EU servers (it's 4PM CET here now) are still low populated.
I don't understand what Bioware is so afraid off? They can easily double the amount of invites and get at least everyone in by the end of today.
This whole afraid of server queues and cramming starter zones won't hold any merit, as come 20th Dec. it will happen anyway!
So why delaying the inevitable.
You think the staggered launch is going to save the game from the haters about ques on the 20th?
Good question!
When you don't know exactly what is going on behind the scenes it's easy to imagine they are all a bunch of idiots, but things are very complex for the people that acutally do them. So any way they approached this, there would be complains. I think they choosed a good way to launch.
An honest review of SW:TOR 6/10 (Danny Wojcicki)
Well that's the thing really and unless you lock creation on a server... how does the stagger approach really work? If too many people want to play on a certain server. Regardless of if you stagger them over a week or not that server has a certain capacity. Its just on day 5, 7 or even latter that I wake up and cannot log on the server I have been playing.
So that's the part I wonder about.
Or is it just supposed to be that when the lines form and the next waves comes in they pick the no wait to play server? yet maybe their guild was assigned to that busy server... So its not a guarantee.
I decided to play on a RP server and no not a rp-pvp. I absolutely hate faction based pvp. I like to create my own factions.. but anyway.
So I picked a paticular server and honestly... after I left DK most planets I have been the only Imperial on (I wanted to play a bounty hunter). In fact this morning from when I logged on about 2 hours ago... that's been the case on my current planet (I'm on Tatooine atm). I have had to go afk because a family member is pretty sick. I've been crafting... heck I evne logged out and went jogging yesterday. So I didn't think I was leveling that fast.
Beyond that... yesterday morning there was an entire 17 people on DK... the guy who showed on on Balmorra that I was talking to said it was 20 when he left. Last night before I logged there was 64 players there.
I'm on The Ebon Hawk for reference... I think they could have maybe invited a bit more than they did (the population on the server status list is likely pretty accurate judging by what I've personally seen). There was certainly no shortage of people in general beta just because it was a week day...
Oh I'm not complaining if it comes across that way. I'm somewhat anti social so light populaion doesn't bother me.. I'm just saying exactly that... the population was very light.
The thingh who rly piss me off with this stagger bullcrap is ,if the servers are light why for frak sake they dont allow more waves to go in.