Visgrail Posted December 15, 2011 Share Posted December 15, 2011 All right, first let me say that although I preordered only a few days ago, I don't feel like I should necessarily be playing alongside all the folks who preordered the first week it was mentioned. I think it shows their loyalty and faith and that they've been rewarded. I'm genuinely happy that the company decided to reward them for this. Actually, my only slight gripe is telling people "up to 5 days" early when you know absolutely that it isn't going to happen. I won't linger on the semantics of the "up to" part. If you know, based on the numbers, that people who preorder on Dec 10 will not be in in time to get 5 days, then simply change your marketing to "up to 4 days early", or whatever. But I digress... My question is this: What if on Dec 20, actual launch date, so many people go out and buy the game that they equal more than today's waves combined? Clearly these waves are set up to keep the servers from overflowing and whatnot... but what if the actual launch date has more people trying to get in than one day of waves? I'm guessing that they'll all just get in. They're not going to be told, "you can play on the 21st". On top of this, at this point, the servers will truly be overflowing. So what's the real difference with just letting the rest of the people in today? Again, I'm honestly not complaining. I'm just curious... Thoughts? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ganacas Posted December 15, 2011 Share Posted December 15, 2011 100% agree and yes i also wondered what happens on the 20th, when its released and say 1 million people try to log in what the **** they gona do then stagger people lmao, tbh i cant wait to see some more fail. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chritix Posted December 15, 2011 Share Posted December 15, 2011 I think that they set this staggared launch mechanic up so that everone with EGA could enjoy not having 1000 people in the start zones, since EGA is actually free play time no one "should" complain.. Since the 20th is when everyone has to start paying (or using your 30 day free) i don't think they'll be keeping anyone out that is paying. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Goretzu Posted December 15, 2011 Share Posted December 15, 2011 No difference at all. Assuming a lot of people play for the first time on Live day (which Bioware will be hoping for I assume). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Visgrail Posted December 15, 2011 Author Share Posted December 15, 2011 I've heard some folks say that they read a tweet by some Lead Game Designer or Dev or someone that says everyone will be in tomorrow. I don't want to perpetuate an unfounded rumor, of course, but if this is true then I would be pretty happy with still getting in on the earliest day advertised to me. I realize some people got all hyped up by the 13th release date, but I joined because I saw "up to 5 days early". I was sold with that deal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Goretzu Posted December 15, 2011 Share Posted December 15, 2011 I think that they set this staggared launch mechanic up so that everone with EGA could enjoy not having 1000 people in the start zones, since EGA is actually free play time no one "should" complain.. Since the 20th is when everyone has to start paying (or using your 30 day free) i don't think they'll be keeping anyone out that is paying. Well not everyone, "up to everyone", as a lot of that everyone isn't actually playing at all and isn't enjoying anything game-wise. Once the 20th comes though legally they can't stop you (legally the staggered pre-access if a big iffy in many countries), they can only shut down logins for everyone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mugendai Posted December 15, 2011 Share Posted December 15, 2011 All right, first let me say that although I preordered only a few days ago, I don't feel like I should necessarily be playing alongside all the folks who preordered the first week it was mentioned. I think it shows their loyalty and faith and that they've been rewarded. I'm genuinely happy that the company decided to reward them for this. Actually, my only slight gripe is telling people "up to 5 days" early when you know absolutely that it isn't going to happen. I won't linger on the semantics of the "up to" part. If you know, based on the numbers, that people who preorder on Dec 10 will not be in in time to get 5 days, then simply change your marketing to "up to 4 days early", or whatever. But I digress... My question is this: What if on Dec 20, actual launch date, so many people go out and buy the game that they equal more than today's waves combined? Clearly these waves are set up to keep the servers from overflowing and whatnot... but what if the actual launch date has more people trying to get in than one day of waves? I'm guessing that they'll all just get in. They're not going to be told, "you can play on the 21st". On top of this, at this point, the servers will truly be overflowing. So what's the real difference with just letting the rest of the people in today? Again, I'm honestly not complaining. I'm just curious... Thoughts? The waves were set up to try and help spread players across servers. NOT to stop queus. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChadDS Posted December 15, 2011 Share Posted December 15, 2011 There probably isn't much of a difference, to be honest. While to a certain degree, the staggered early access is to take it slow with the server load, I think it is more for just rewarding people for having faith in the product and pre-ordering early. The earlier you pre-ordered, the earlier you get in. The reason is, a good portion of the people they invite in these "waves" probably can't log on right away anyway - they're at work, school or have other obligations. In fact, the big hit to a server would most likely be in the evening, and not during the hours they send these waves of invites out. So yes, they could send them all in one big wave, and it probably wouldn't make much of a difference. Just like it probably wouldn't make much difference if the amount of people equal to one day's early access invites bought it on December 20th and all logged on at various times throughout the day. While I do think the actual launch day will be queue-filled and involve a lot of crying on the forums, that probably won't be any different than today or tomorrow as we get through the vast majority of all pre-order early access invites. So I do think a good portion of the reason they're staggering launch like this isn't necessarily for the technical side of things, but just to reward faith in their product. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aethusa Posted December 15, 2011 Share Posted December 15, 2011 I think that they set this staggared launch mechanic up so that everone with EGA could enjoy not having 1000 people in the start zones, since EGA is actually free play time no one "should" complain.. Since the 20th is when everyone has to start paying (or using your 30 day free) i don't think they'll be keeping anyone out that is paying. Start zones idea is cool. Personally it was real pain in my ... in beta. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LilithPaige Posted December 15, 2011 Share Posted December 15, 2011 They will have this same problem again on Christmas day. This will be under a LOT of Christmas trees I think. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miroed Posted December 15, 2011 Share Posted December 15, 2011 Here is my take on the whole wave thing, and how it might look at launch. With so many early access people if they would have let them all in at once you have starter zones so full that quest mobs would be overly camped and make it nearly impossible to get off the starter world. In doing it the way they have it makes for the starter worlds to be freed up for the next wave or at the very least lets the new wave not have to wait to get a mob. However at launch depending on how many buy the game will actually have its own staggering. What I am getting at is that not all those players will have the same connection speed so downloading patches should, in theory, stager them out enough to keep them from being overly full. That and the fact some will buy the game but not install it until later for what ever reason. The reason it would not have worked for early access is that many of the players already had the client downloaded and ready to go day one, so BW had to make a way to make the experience a bit more than a standing in line to kill mob X. Like I said this is my take on it, and it could be right it could be wrong, but at least it is a feasible idea. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Visgrail Posted December 15, 2011 Author Share Posted December 15, 2011 They will have this same problem again on Christmas day. This will be under a LOT of Christmas trees I think. Yeah, I was thinking something similar. To add to that stress a lot more people are off work and out of school around that time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chritix Posted December 15, 2011 Share Posted December 15, 2011 Well not everyone, "up to everyone", as a lot of that everyone isn't actually playing at all and isn't enjoying anything game-wise. Once the 20th comes though legally they can't stop you (legally the staggered pre-access if a big iffy in many countries), they can only shut down logins for everyone. they've already stated that everyone, who pre-ordered will get EGA. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Munx Posted December 15, 2011 Share Posted December 15, 2011 (edited) wether alot of people buy it on 20th or not, this will happen on the 20th, because the servers are going down 2 hours before 20th, which means servers will still get hammered by pretty much every EGA player, when they come back up. This is alot of the reason I consider staggered EGA foolish, afterall come 20th theyr still gonna have to deal with it. As far as im concerned staggered launch's objective was to avoid server merges in the future. Edited December 15, 2011 by Munx Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZudetGambeous Posted December 15, 2011 Share Posted December 15, 2011 Actually, my only slight gripe is telling people "up to 5 days" early when you know absolutely that it isn't going to happen. I won't linger on the semantics of the "up to" part. If you know, based on the numbers, that people who preorder on Dec 10 will not be in in time to get 5 days, then simply change your marketing to "up to 4 days early", or whatever. Thoughts? What do you mean that isn't going to happen? They plan on inviting everyone up until the beginning of December today... 5 days early... In fact it looks like almost everyone will in fact get 5 days early... troll harder next time. Only the people who JUST pre-ordered last week will get less, and they will still get 4 days by the looks of it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Visgrail Posted December 15, 2011 Author Share Posted December 15, 2011 Here is my take on the whole wave thing, and how it might look at launch. With so many early access people if they would have let them all in at once you have starter zones so full that quest mobs would be overly camped and make it nearly impossible to get off the starter world. In doing it the way they have it makes for the starter worlds to be freed up for the next wave or at the very least lets the new wave not have to wait to get a mob. However at launch depending on how many buy the game will actually have its own staggering. What I am getting at is that not all those players will have the same connection speed so downloading patches should, in theory, stager them out enough to keep them from being overly full. That and the fact some will buy the game but not install it until later for what ever reason. The reason it would not have worked for early access is that many of the players already had the client downloaded and ready to go day one, so BW had to make a way to make the experience a bit more than a standing in line to kill mob X. Like I said this is my take on it, and it could be right it could be wrong, but at least it is a feasible idea. Interesting take, and it could be absolutely right. I mean, I totally get staggering the starting zones. I remember going into the Burning Crusade expansion and being so lagged that I couldn't even log out out of frustration. So, I wonder if it would have just been too difficult, logistically speaking, to allow people to join earlier if they wanted, but restricting them to which servers they could join. This way everyone *could* have started at the same time, even if it meant that some people didn't get to immediately be on the same server as their friends/families/guilds. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
patjd Posted December 15, 2011 Share Posted December 15, 2011 World ends. So much concentrated activity on the interwebs, just makes the planet go KABOOM! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Metsuro Posted December 15, 2011 Share Posted December 15, 2011 I think that they set this staggared launch mechanic up so that everone with EGA could enjoy not having 1000 people in the start zones, since EGA is actually free play time no one "should" complain.. Since the 20th is when everyone has to start paying (or using your 30 day free) i don't think they'll be keeping anyone out that is paying. Except the fact some player are given more free time than others. So they are getting better treatment Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Visgrail Posted December 15, 2011 Author Share Posted December 15, 2011 (edited) What do you mean that isn't going to happen? They plan on inviting everyone up until the beginning of December today... 5 days early... In fact it looks like almost everyone will in fact get 5 days early... troll harder next time. Only the people who JUST pre-ordered last week will get less, and they will still get 4 days by the looks of it. Yeah, that was my point when I mentioned how I only preordered a few days ago. I'm not part of that "beginning of December" crowd. I signed up on the 12th. I signed up because I saw on the website "play up to 5 days early". Again, I'm not complaining about not getting to start with everyone else. Really. I'm only saying that it wouldn't have been that difficult to simply let us late-comers know that that didn't apply to us at that point. I mean, by the 12th I'm sure they knew that preorders at that point weren't going to get 5 full days early. Edited December 15, 2011 by Visgrail Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Demorgoth Posted December 15, 2011 Share Posted December 15, 2011 What do you mean that isn't going to happen? They plan on inviting everyone up until the beginning of December today... 5 days early... In fact it looks like almost everyone will in fact get 5 days early... troll harder next time. Only the people who JUST pre-ordered last week will get less, and they will still get 4 days by the looks of it. If you preordered last week under the advertising of 'up to 5 days early access', then there MUST be a chance, however slim, of getting the full 5 days. If 5 days is impossible due to chronological access based on code redemption, then it shouldn't be advertised Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chritix Posted December 15, 2011 Share Posted December 15, 2011 Except the fact some player are given more free time than others. So they are getting better treatment You'll have to go into some specifics on the better treatment. Preferably other that more Free Time, because to me if i were to do a staggard launch. I can't think of a less bias way to do it than to let it go in the order of when they preordered the game. By saying better treatment you are hinting at the idea that they get something more than what you are getting. If you were saying that they have the chance to get to level 50 and skew the market, my solution would be to play on a new server they are/will be opening up in the future that way you get that "new server smell". But one could argue the fact that its unfair that you get to wait until the Market is fully stocked on low level mats where as the people who had to start fresh had to go farm them themselves. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miroed Posted December 15, 2011 Share Posted December 15, 2011 Interesting take, and it could be absolutely right. I mean, I totally get staggering the starting zones. I remember going into the Burning Crusade expansion and being so lagged that I couldn't even log out out of frustration. So, I wonder if it would have just been too difficult, logistically speaking, to allow people to join earlier if they wanted, but restricting them to which servers they could join. This way everyone *could* have started at the same time, even if it meant that some people didn't get to immediately be on the same server as their friends/families/guilds. Well I can only speak from prior experiences but some games have done things different to handle the influx of new players into the start of a game. Lets take LOTRO, everyone who preordered got in first day of early access, but they had to increase the mob spawns between kills, this caused many problems and exploiting, but you were limited to level 20 in the 5 day early access. Meaning once you got to 20 you got no more exp until the game went live, and much like anything people did not listen and lost tons of exp as they hit 20 while still turning in quests. Personally if I can get off the starter world before the 20th then I will not mind waiting for early access, and I do not see this as a problem, IMO. A lot of players just want to play now, but do not think of what kind of problems there could be in letting in say 600k players all at once. Does this mean I like this idea? No I was mad as anyone else until I put some thought into it and realized things happen for many reason that a company will not openly say to a player base. So here I sit waiting seemingly waiting for an important test result, praying that it is negative lol. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Demorgoth Posted December 15, 2011 Share Posted December 15, 2011 But one could argue the fact that its unfair that you get to wait until the Market is fully stocked on low level mats where as the people who had to start fresh had to go farm them themselves. Something someone who already has earlier access is perfectly capable of choosing to do too Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aardevark Posted December 15, 2011 Share Posted December 15, 2011 The only people that is going to queue come the 20th are the EGA people.New players are not going to wait to play when some servers are light loaded most of the full servers will be with EGA players. That is how i look at it and they have all ready said there will be new servers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Goretzu Posted December 15, 2011 Share Posted December 15, 2011 they've already stated that everyone, who pre-ordered will get EGA. They have? Where? Because "up to 5 days" can mean 0 just as much as it can mean 5. But either way it's still "up to everyone" because everyone isn't currently in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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