Compared to other launches - how bad does it look?

rodarin

Depends on how many overflow servers they create and whether those all connect to the log in server the way theyre supposed to.

 

Worst case is it runs like the betas have and then it will be top 5 worst all time. If the overflow servers work and they can handle the loads and the layering and phasing pans out then it will be an average launch. Probably along the lines of Warhammer which wasnt bad but wasnt great either.

 

Rift had best launch of any modern MMO and maybe the best launch ever.  Lotro maybe number two. GW2 for me wasnt horrible but it wasnt smooth either but that is to be expected with so many people.

 

Vanguard was worst one ever that I saw personally. Fallen Earth probably second worst. WoW probably third. But it still wasnt as bad as a lot of people make it out to be.

 

AOC i dont remember being horrible. I just remember getting to level 38 or so and not finding any quests and had to grind mobs or do wanted posters/signs. Performance wise it wasnt horrendous. Warhammer mid of the road some crashes and glitches but again a lot of people doing those battle zones and co-op fights. GW 1 from what I remember wasnt bad. but technically it wasnt an MMO so it doesnt fit.

 

I didnt do SWOTOR, AION, STO, Secret World, Final fantasy, or City of Heroes so cant comment. I figured the ones I did play at release were more than enough to see the trend MMos were taking.

Deivos

It's gonna be a bit of a cluster-foible. Pre-launch will be flooded with last minute digital purchases alongside everyone already playing, and then launch day will see yet another influx of those that waited for launch or are just buying in post launch throughout the week.

 

You know, the usual of most major online game launches.

 

If they're smart, they have an estimated volume of backup servers in place to double their capacity when launch hits, and new players just get chucked immediately onto new servers/shards as they are meant to. Sooner or later they will simply hit capacity though, as no one wants to buy a crap-ton of servers to support when they expect the count to fluctuate and stabilize lower than initial total purchase.

 

So the queue will pop up!

 

That will go back and forth. The might have to take the game down a couple times for quick patching and fixes to accommodate bugs that didn't really show up until there servers were truly under the weight of the full gaming population (address skipped calls to the server and what-not). They might be able to dodge taking the entirety of the servers down for crashes however, by dropping people from a failing server and forcing just that section into a different server/shard when they log back in.

 

How it will actually play out in the long run?

 

Players will be both happy, ecstatic, sad, and frustrated in any combination. There will be lots of money cashed in by the developers. And I'll probably lose a few days of any form of non-gaming productivity before going back to my usual griping about why I kinda think it's a bad game and playing it intermittently between a few other titles and my daily life.

smokeybha

It's going to be rock solid, mark my words... There will be bugs, but all games have bugs. Launch is about getting the servers up and staying up and keeping people connected. 

SalmonMan

Originally posted by smokeybha
and keeping people connected. 

Yeah, the 'phasing' mechanic does that brillian-   oh.

Lord.Bachus

Originally posted by gervaise1

Yes we can all dream about a secret build and it will all be wonderful come launch. And yes some people will buy the game even if there are bugs - and others won't. That said if the last beta is representative of what TESO will be like at launch: how will it compare to other launches?

My own opinion is that launches in recent years have been getting better as people have become less tolerant. Sadly I think TESO could be a step backwards.

 

Anyway - assuming it launches like the last beta - and to kick things off I have listed several comparisons. WARNING: sweeping generalizations incoming! That said I think TESO will be:

• Worse than GW2
• Could it be on a par with FFXIV They released a game totally unfit for playing
• Worse than TSW
• Worse than SWTOR
• Worse than Rift
• Possibly on a par with WAR
• Worse than AoC This game only came with 20 levels, the rest of the content got added over time
• Better than Vanguard .... hopefully.
• Worse than DDO, what little there was of it  You over dramatizing
• Worse than LotR
• Worse than GW1
• Worse than WoW: certainly for people who started on the new servers from day 5 Nope, there is just a bunch of bugged quests, and some server spawn issues, not whole servers being unreachable for weeks
• Tough to compare - to EQ2: if you could run EQ2 it was OK - so many couldn't run the game properly EQ2 was rock stable, if you invested in the required hardware 
• Worse than CoH
• Worse than Lineage 2 (based on my pre-lauch experience as I opted to play CoH, they launched together) 
• Worse than DAoC
• Worse than EQ1 - although EQ1 had server issues at lauch (chat rooms) so this is a tough call
• Tough to compare UO: see EQ2. If your computer couldn't run the (various) UOs it was the end of the line. If they could - fine. 

Sweeping generalisations as I said and no I am not saying all the above were perfect I have also stuck to "western" launches since "eastern" launches have usually been sorted before they release here. And I have stuck to mainstream titles pretty much. So no e.g. Rubies of Eventide - which was unplayable - in the list.

 

 

 

Anyway, there was one major issue last beta test, and that was server load not being handled well, ik bugged the respawns and killed many questzones...

 

If they can repair this by release, they might have a normal rocky launch, if they can not repair it, they will have a rollercoaster release, with some of the tracks missing.

Karteli

Originally posted by smokeybha
It's going to be rock solid, mark my words... There will be bugs, but all games have bugs. Launch is about getting the servers up and staying up and keeping people connected. 

Wow, rock solid!

 

Here all along I thought launch was about customer satisfaction, but now bugs are OK, because "all games have bugs".

 

Thank you for clarifying and bringing this up!  Other games like Warhammer Online did have bugs, with all servers up at launch.  And it did just fine, as will TESO, with it's many bugs.

 

Both games are comparable, as direct WoW competitors with PVE / 3-way PVP. (IMO).

 

Distopia

Originally posted by Karteli

Originally posted by smokeybha
It's going to be rock solid, mark my words... There will be bugs, but all games have bugs. Launch is about getting the servers up and staying up and keeping people connected. 

Wow, rock solid!

 

Here all along I thought launch was about customer satisfaction, but now bugs are OK, because "all games have bugs".

 

Thank you for clarifying and bringing this up!  Other games like Warhammer Online did have bugs, with all servers up at launch.  And it did just fine, as will TESO, with it's many bugs.

 

Both games are comparable, as direct WoW competitors with PVE / 3-way PVP. (IMO).

 

They're only comparable if they fail to get their systems working properly in due time without having to scrap major features. Otherwise yes they basically will be no better off than WAR or SWTOR.

smokeybha

Originally posted by Karteli

Originally posted by smokeybha
It's going to be rock solid, mark my words... There will be bugs, but all games have bugs. Launch is about getting the servers up and staying up and keeping people connected. 

Wow, rock solid!

 

Here all along I thought launch was about customer satisfaction, but now bugs are OK, because "all games have bugs".

 

Thank you for clarifying and bringing this up!  Other games like Warhammer Online did have bugs, with all servers up at launch.  And it did just fine, as will TESO, with it's many bugs.

 

Both games are comparable, as direct WoW competitors with PVE / 3-way PVP. (IMO).

 

I didn't say bugs were ok. They are however part of gaming, thats a given. There is a difference between launching an MMO, the initial shock to the login/servers etc. causing the process to collapse and some quest bugs. The topic was about launch, which, imo, means getting the servers up and people in game and staying that way. 

I can't remember Warhammers launch, or how smooth it went. You seem to be confusing launch with game design/choices. They are two different things. Did I say ESO was a perfect mmo and all design decisions were great? I said the launch of the game will be rock solid, meaning, again... Incase you missed it, getting people ingame and playing. After that it's a different ballgame with "customer satisfaction". 

VikingGamer

My prediction is that there will be more wailing and freaking out than is actually warranted. I present these forums as Exhibit A.

Jabas

Im sure last beta experience as nothing to do with release experience, and im in the mode "wait, see and then buy".

So, using last beta as a exemple of how the game is going to release isnt acurate neither fair imo.

Lets wait, see how it goes and then discuss.

evilized

If they can sort out the script breaking issue (what's causing the quests to not work as well as the invisible wall problem in cyrodiil) it should be pretty smooth. If not then prepare for a few weeks of misery while the majority of the player base can't progress properly through the game.

Mothanos

it will be a smooth launch, i think so many people dint buy ESO that servers are going to have an easy time.
I just hope they fixed the quests so people can actualy level up their characters without relogging 50 times.

I will wait it out untill the price drops or might buy wildstar to pass some time.
But ESO aint worth that price for me, way to generic mmo with bad animations and flawed interface / UI.

VeryDusty

The OP missed one - WoW from Day 1.

 

I think it will be the same as recent ones, GW2, TSW, SWTOR, Rift, and TERA. all had issues but worked them out.

 

Just hope for the sake of the peeps who bought the game they fix the bugs they put into the game this last beta.

cylon8

its in better shap than a lot of games at launch window the real test will be what happens with the sub base after 30 days I sense a tor like exodus

 

bcbully

A lot of people including myself would have been happy if it launched 2 weeks ago.

SpottyGekko

I expect that Zenimax will make some sort of announcement soon regarding the total amount of pre-orders. Human beings cannot resist following the herd, and this will quite possibly be the biggest launch-day herd in MMO history !

 

It's all that many people will need to push them off the fence: "1 million pre-orders can't be wrong !" or something along those lines...

 

Ah well, I can always play War Thunder on my other PC while I wait for the ESO login queue to tick down...

VicDynamo

Ha, nice way to word the question OP. It's as good as "Do you still beat your wife?' 

It hasn't launched yet, so there is no way to answer this question.

robatzen

Cant say anything about the majority of examples that have been given here. But I definetly have differing memories for some of the game launches listed by the op ...

Originally posted by gervaise1

• Possibly on a par with WAR - I remember the WAR launch as one of the most broken game releases I ever experienced. NPC and monster just hoovering and floating around. First you saw a monster 50m away, after attacking it, it disapeared from the world - only to plop up right in front of you some moments later. It was simply impossible to play a ranged char during the first one or two weeks after release. Although they tried to fix it, the hoovering mob issues where never fixed completly. I recall some horribly broken public quests as well. IMHO even last weekend stress test of ESO was not as bad as WAR on release day.
• Worse than AoC - I doubt it will be worse than AoC. Not sure if I recall it correctly but from my memory playing during AoC release was rather frustrating. Lots a login issues, bugged mobs with completly broken pathfinding and plenty of broken quests. Well the female character models were amazing, thats one of my very few positive memories of AoC release.
• Worse than CoH - Do your refer to CoH Online? Or just normal CoH? Independent of that, both games had serious bugs which were fixed very very late, respectively were never fixed at all. Furthermore, to my mind you cant really compare a RTS game with multiplayer option, where a maximum of eight players are involved in one battle, to a large scale MMO.
• Worse than DAoC - Is it just me recalling that DAOC had a pretty rough start? Login servers were constantly overloaded the first few days, making it almost impossible to log into the game at normal times. I recall that it was impossible to minimize DAOC during early versions. Every time I forgot to close ICQ and received a message DAOC was crashing. Most of the time it was simply impossible to log back in after such a crash. I also remember that you could not time out due to inactivity, thats why a lot of folks tried to log in as early as possible during the day to keep themself logged into the game. This was always connected with prayers that nothing from the taskbar will pop up and crash the client. Furthermore, I remember a lot of issues with disapearing toons during the first days. Sometimes when you tried to enter the main cities the zoning could not be completed. This left you starring at the zoning screen until you terminated the client manually. As a result of this zoning issue, I can recall at least two times where by characters dissapeared forever after I was able to log in again. The toons just vanished from characeter selection and I never saw them again.

 

 

Mpfive

WoW had the worst launch I remember, and look how that turned out:)

SirBalin

Originally posted by gervaise1

Yes we can all dream about a secret build and it will all be wonderful come launch. And yes some people will buy the game even if there are bugs - and others won't. That said if the last beta is representative of what TESO will be like at launch: how will it compare to other launches?

My own opinion is that launches in recent years have been getting better as people have become less tolerant. Sadly I think TESO could be a step backwards.

 

Anyway - assuming it launches like the last beta - and to kick things off I have listed several comparisons. WARNING: sweeping generalizations incoming! That said I think TESO will be:

• Worse than GW2
• Could it be on a par with FFXIV
• Worse than TSW
• Worse than SWTOR
• Worse than Rift
• Possibly on a par with WAR
• Worse than AoC
• Better than Vanguard .... hopefully.
• Worse than DDO, what little there was of it
• Worse than LotR
• Worse than GW1
• Worse than WoW: certainly for people who started on the new servers from day 5
• Tough to compare - to EQ2: if you could run EQ2 it was OK - so many couldn't run the game properly
• Worse than CoH
• Worse than Lineage 2 (based on my pre-lauch experience as I opted to play CoH, they launched together) 
• Worse than DAoC
• Worse than EQ1 - although EQ1 had server issues at lauch (chat rooms) so this is a tough call
• Tough to compare UO: see EQ2. If your computer couldn't run the (various) UOs it was the end of the line. If they could - fine. 

Sweeping generalisations as I said and no I am not saying all the above were perfect I have also stuck to "western" launches since "eastern" launches have usually been sorted before they release here. And I have stuck to mainstream titles pretty much. So no e.g. Rubies of Eventide - which was unplayable - in the list.

 

 

Vanguard...lol, you must really expect it to be a bad launch.  Actually FF had the worst launch since you'd buy the game and couldnt' even get in for like 2 weeks.  I don't think it'll be a bad launch tbh...few buggy quests...but it'll be fine.

Renoaku

I think the game launch will be fine unless they run into server issues or something Beta plays well.

My specific problem with ESO is the lack of innovation, and game just feels just like GW2, no freedom to swap classes, restrictions on race selection unless you buy collectors edition or digital imperial pre-order it.

Game just doesn't feel like a good game it could have been improved 100 times more than what they made it things like the ability to freely swap classes on a single character, housing, freedom to choose any race/alliance with any edition and so on.

I am still undecided about buying, but I am still looking very much towards skipping ESO myself and waiting for a new game because they did not take the feed-back seriously enough.

Mpfive

Originally posted by reeereee

Originally posted by CazNeerg
Are there some quest bugs?  Sure.  But as far as actual stability goes, ESO will probably have one of the better launches.  And you completely nuke your credibility when you say WoW was better than ESO's last beta, WoW's launch was a hot mess.

Funny, I had zero issues at all for WoW's launch.

Well you must be lying then, sorry;)

Semibrucelee

Based on my experience in the last beta it will be okay since I ran into 1 quest bug, and that was it. The esc sometimes stopped working, other little stuff like that, but 0 lag.

I think it will be a very smooth release. Really, I'm not seeing where all the worriness is coming from?

Doogiehowser

Originally posted by Rigamortis

I think this is a MOOT point currently since the game has yet to launch.   Not gonna buy into the "Chicken Little" theory.

-Rig

Talking about chicken little theory how about 'PC dead in 5 years'? 

WikileaksEU

I think it's on par with RIFT. Rift had an okay start but a lot got fixed pretty quick. I think the same goes for ESO. There will be problems at launch but after a few weeks it will stabilize. The 5 days headstart will most likely serve as 5 days of test, so they can stabilize servers and fix the worst problems.