BioWare please remove instanced worlds.

[Ramrion]

Could you please go have a word with the people who keep making threads along the lines of 'TOR is so small'?

 

How would they implement an instance transfer or instance merge the way you describe? You get a message box saying 'this instance is too small, please prepare for a loading screen in 5..4..3..2..1..' no matter what you're doing?

 

How about the players that so deeply care about this actually press M, go to the instance box and change to the busy instance, if it is really that vital to their continued existence?

 

I would love to see instance populations rise, or instancing go, if at all possible, but we have to be realistic about these things.

 

Those people need to enable the map option in pref. Seriously when I discovered that I was like WOAH the planets are HUGE!

 

I'm not suggesting something intrusive. its a complicated situation I know, Maybe there can be a question box that says "Would you like to switch to a higher population Instance?" after the instance hits a certain lower limit and has 3 options "Yes" "No" and "Wait". and if you put it on wait it can go to pending if you're too busy doing something. maybe thats a feasible solution ?

 

Also we're just bouncing off ideas here, I'm not saying "Fix this or the game will die!" but todays insta-gratification generation whines and a lot of prospective players avoid the game over stupid issues.

 

I mean, few gamers with their desires cannot be smarter than a team of developers knowing the hardware and software limitations. People may want a train to mars, but still.....

 

True but BW seem to playing the situation very safe. To me, and to a lot of my friends the game feels a bit empty. I personally think it would be better for the game for them to at least increase the instance cap on players. I'm not level 50 fyi, around the 30s, enjoying the quests and everything else the game has to offer as well.

 

Just throwing out some ideas which I believe would be better for the game.

Edited January 2, 2012 by Ramrion

[sw_dragon]

Level 35 here, haven't seen an opposing faction player on any planet ive quested on. Hopefully ill encounter at least one by the time i hit cap

[Tallian]

Could you please go have a word with the people who keep making threads along the lines of 'TOR is so small'?

 

How would they implement an instance transfer or instance merge the way you describe? You get a message box saying 'this instance is too small, please prepare for a loading screen in 5..4..3..2..1..' no matter what you're doing?

 

How about the players that so deeply care about this actually press M, go to the instance box and change to the busy instance, if it is really that vital to their continued existence?

 

I would love to see instance populations rise, or instancing go, if at all possible, but we have to be realistic about these things.

 

As fas as the fix they just need to have you zone at instance boundaries... How often do you go through those green instance doorways? When you come back out, there is no reason you shouldn't be transferred to the busy instance(even if there is a load screen, but there actually doesn't need to be). Push button elevators work well too for places to force a instance change(and we wouldn't even notice with those)

 

More than that, posting our concerns like this is valid. If there is an issue affecting our enjoyment, Bioware should know our feelings and our reasoning so they can take it under advisement. If you disagree, feel free, but the 'why are you posting, this is the way it is' responses are not constructive feedback for the developers to use to make the game better. And the joy of an MMO vs a single player game is that they will continue to develop it til the day they turn off the servers, so its never too late til you quit the game, or they turn it off.

 

I mean, few gamers with their desires cannot be smarter than a team of developers knowing the hardware and software limitations. People may want a train to mars, but still.....

 

You know some gamers are also software developers? Are you aware that sometimes it takes another point of view to see a way around an issue?

 

Sometimes the best thing to do when you hit an obstacle is ask someone who knows nothing about the process, because they also have no preconceived notions about whats possible, or how it 'should' be done. Easiest way to get that thinking outside the box done is just to go ask someone who has never been inside the box in the first place.

Edited January 2, 2012 by Tallian

[Cranberries]

The instanced worlds exist because SWTOR can't handle too many people in the same area. Have you seen what happens when 15 people fight 10-15 people in Ilum? The game almost crashes, not because of performance but because the game is poorly optimised. I'm glad there's instancing, because you'd struggle to log onto the game otherwise.

[Ramrion]

More than that, posting our concerns like this is valid. If there is an issue affecting our enjoyment, Bioware should know our feelings and our reasoning so they can take it under advisement. If you disagree, feel free, but the 'why are you posting, this is the way it is' responses are not constructive feedback for the developers to use to make the game better. And the joy of an MMO vs a single player game is that they will continue to develop it til the day they turn off the servers, so its never too late til you quit the game, or they turn it off.

 

 

You know some gamers are also software developers? Are you aware that sometimes it takes another point of view to see a way around an issue?

 

Sometimes the best thing to do when you hit an obstacle is ask someone who knows nothing about the process, because they also have no preconceived notions about whats possible, or how it 'should' be done. Easiest way to get that thinking outside the box done is just to go ask someone who has never been inside the box in the first place.

 

Thank you. I personally believe that sometimes everyone needs to listen to a different point of view to get a better perspective on things. I believe if more of us contributed in a more mature way, developers WOULD listen, and we'll have the game we want, the way we want it =)

 

The instanced worlds exist because SWTOR can't handle too many people in the same area. Have you seen what happens when 15 people fight 10-15 people in Ilum? The game almost crashes, not because of performance but because the game is poorly optimised. I'm glad there's instancing, because you'd struggle to log onto the game otherwise.

 

Can any one else verify this?

[Cranberries]

Can any one else verify this?

 

http://www.swtor.com/community/showthread.php?t=117627

 

Credible source (Condemned are a leading guild in the SWTOR scene).

[liquidpension]

True but BW seem to playing the situation very safe. To me, and to a lot of my friends the game feels a bit empty. I personally think it would be better for the game for them to at least increase the instance cap on players. I'm not level 50 fyi, around the 30s, enjoying the quests and everything else the game has to offer as well.

 

Just throwing out some ideas which I believe would be better for the game.

 

Yeah, they are playing it safe. All the mmo's that had failstart actually failed some time later.

 

There will be people who will not stay after the first month expires (because they simply do not like the game as it is), but I am sure they will be some small percentage of the total amount of subscribers.

 

BUT, if the game failed at start (crashing servers and big downtimes, huge lagspikes, technical problems, all the things that actually do not allow you to play for some reason) if that happened, well it would affect a bigger portion of the player base, people who will probably never return, which will ofc lead the game to it's failiure as it happened with AoC for example.

 

So if you were BW, which option would you choose?

[Ramrion]

Yeah, they are playing it safe. All the mmo's that had failstart actually failed some time later.

 

There will be people who will not stay after the first month expires (because they simply do not like the game as it is), but I am sure they will be some small percentage of the total amount of subscribers.

 

BUT, if the game failed at start (crashing servers and big downtimes, huge lagspikes, technical problems, all the things that actually do not allow you to play for some reason) if that happened, well it would affect a bigger portion of the player base, people who will probably never return, which will ofc lead the game to it's failiure as it happened with AoC for example.

 

So if you were BW, which option would you choose?

 

Thats why im being patient here. Im waiting =) I'm not raging, Im hoping =)!

Its been smooth as heck, the launch for this game.

I hope after BW has some concrete data on how many people are playing, they act on customer feedback and improve the game for the better =)

 

Also the lag in Ilum is worrying, but we all know how glitched the graphics are right now, maybe its because of that...

[Rikalonius]

Oh no I mean the zone sharding as some one else pointed out.

 

To the person who talked about lag and such:

 

Thats why i said after the starter planets, which are bigger, therefore can easily accomodate more players. Other mmo's do not lag as much either, I don't see any reason as to why SWTOR would lag.

 

 

I honestly believe that after the first few planets, zone sharding should be removed to give a more real mmo experience.

 

Yes, I would like to see an end to the sharding soon. I'll be a little more lenient than most. I group with my friends and we all seem to end up on the same shard, so it must put my guild on the same shard because I've never started a FP group with my friends and been switched or heard them complain of being switched. I can see how it can affect others, and you want as many people on the same shard as possible, I do understand that.

[Cranberries]

Do not remove zone sharding, the game cannot handle it in it's current state. It will be the ruination of the game.

[deserttfoxx]

Sharding needs to be removed on pvp servers especially on pvp planets, tatooine, narshadaa and up all need to be one zone.

[liquidpension]

Thats why im being patient here. Im waiting =) I'm not raging, Im hoping =)!

Its been smooth as heck, the launch for this game.

I hope after BW has some concrete data on how many people are playing, they act on customer feedback and improve the game for the better =)

 

Also the lag in Ilum is worrying, but we all know how glitched the graphics are right now, maybe its because of that...

 

Noone's raging here, this is actually one good conversation going on in this topic, only if all were like this one...

 

I believe (hope) all the general issues will be addressed in a very quick manner. This game is a very serious project, everything about it should be taken care of very seriously if they want to have it for the long run.

Edited January 2, 2012 by liquidpension

[Ramrion]

Do not remove zone sharding, the game cannot handle it in it's current state. It will be the ruination of the game.

 

That's not quite constructive.

 

From what I gather, people with GTX580s and people with GTX560s or similar mid-high end cards get the same FPS on the fleet, that is around the 20s. Which leads me to believe its more of a graphical glitch rather than a server issue. They can fix the graphics issue and should be fine.

 

they can have separate player caps for different planets. Ilum's can be lower because its pure pvp and other planets can be higher because not a 100% of the population on every planet will be out for pvp.

[TheHauntingBard]

People in the same area roaming around is different than a mass battle at one location

The second one stresses the server a lot more.

 

Other hand what's the point of making a PVP planet if the engine/servers can't handle it.

If it is not possible why not go for an AV like approach like in WOW or Winter Grasp (forgot if that was it's name).

 

Edit:

 

WOW has never been able to handle large pvp battles in the open world.

We did it one time with a 50 vs 50 battle and it ended up with Kalimdor crashing.

Edited January 2, 2012 by TheHauntingBard

[Ramrion]

Other hand what's the point of making a PVP planet if the engine/servers can't handle it.

If it is not possible why not go for an AV like approach like in WOW or Winter Grasp (forgot if that was it's name).

 

I suppose Ilum was fine in the beta tests otherwise there would be a thousand threads all over the internet. something went wrong in the final build. I hope they fix it soon =P

[Tallian]

Noone's raging here, this is actually one good conversation going on in this topic, only if all were like this one...

 

I believe (hope) all the general issues will be addressed in a very quick manner. This game is a very serious project, everything about it should be taken care of very seriously if they want to have it for the long run.

 

I see no real rage. I think everyone understands why they sharded the servers to start with, and are willing to wait to end it, we just want to make sure that it is going to end asap(which does NOT mean immediately, necessarily).

 

I see a few people trying to troll up some rage tho

[Ghaiana]

I'm fine with the sharding as it is now. Mostly around 50-170 people in the shard where I play (depending on the time of the day). I run into enough people to have the feeling I'm not playing alone and don't have to wait in a queue to get that one questitem or kill that one mob. I can change shards to play with friends, so I'm pretty ok with how it is now.

[TheHauntingBard]

I suppose Ilum was fine in the beta tests otherwise there would be a thousand threads all over the internet. something went wrong in the final build. I hope they fix it soon =P

 

They never beta tested it with large numbers I think.

The weekend invites would not have made.

 

They probably did some testing though.

[Darth-Mailman]

The shards(instances of the same map) only open up as needed.. So if one is full a nother will open.. Most of the time there is only one shard and it has low population. Mostly because everyone is in high lvl areas.. Not too many people make alts in this game.. Thats the real problem...

 

That's why Tython is still filled right ??

[Ramrion]

I'm fine with the sharding as it is now. Mostly around 50-170 people in the shard where I play (depending on the time of the day). I run into enough people to have the feeling I'm not playing alone and don't have to wait in a queue to get that one questitem or kill that one mob. I can change shards to play with friends, so I'm pretty ok with how it is now.

 

What's fine for you may not apply to everyone. A lot of us are used to WoW's state since B.C where the whole leveling experience you can see maybe 1 or 2 people running around. But frankly I want the feeling that you get in every expansion where the zones are more crowded.

 

And no Im not saying WoW is better or any thing. I just believe that FOR ME, having more players running around would be an improvement in the whole MMO feel.

[Tallian]

That's not quite constructive.

 

From what I gather, people with GTX580s and people with GTX560s or similar mid-high end cards get the same FPS on the fleet, that is around the 20s. Which leads me to believe its more of a graphical glitch rather than a server issue. They can fix the graphics issue and should be fine.

 

they can have separate player caps for different planets. Ilum's can be lower because its pure pvp and other planets can be higher because not a 100% of the population on every planet will be out for pvp.

 

Sure it is. The fact that the game in its current state is having issues with alot of people at once is a very valid reason to keep it for now.

 

Bioware knows about these issues, and is working on them now(hopefully fixes will deploy in the next patch or 2, and the very next patch, once the issues are confirmed to be resolved, will turn off sharding).

 

Please don't dismiss opinions that differ as nonconstructive. If he had said 'it won't happen cause the game sucks too bad' that would be nonconstructive.

[Merex]

Yea. I mean theres not too much of a point for the instanced worlds. If someone is on the same quest as you, just group with them to kill the mobs.

The average current MMO player does't want to play with other people. It's sad, really.

Edited January 2, 2012 by Merex

[Ramrion]

Please don't dismiss opinions that differ as nonconstructive. If he had said 'it won't happen cause the game sucks too bad' that would be nonconstructive.

 

apologies.

[Tallian]

They never beta tested it with large numbers I think.

The weekend invites would not have made.

 

They probably did some testing though.

 

In the last 2 weekend betas Ilum was turned off on normal servers, and they never managed to make the high level server work, so as I understand there was no large scale testing of Ilum.

 

Admittedly, I was Squad 11-11-11, so I may have missed some prior mass testing of Ilum that no one ever mentioned on the forums.

[Sanquind]

This game has CRAP optimization. Really, the worst I've seen in any MMO launch. Even worse than AoC, and that one already had it kinda bad. So removing sharding right now would be a terrible idea. Lots of people wouldn't be able to play the game any more. PvP's 8v8 works because there are no npc's and the world is smaller. But in PvE while questing it would be too heavy on most pc's.

 

Now, still this is a legitimate complaint. The game has terrible optimization, but that is Bioware's/EA's fault. Not ours. The optimization is the only thing that I'm truly bothered by with this game. To release it like this was a very bad idea of them imo. But...the game's playable enough, and there's lot's of people playing. Let's just hope that they optimize the game a lot more before more and more people start to be really bothered by this.