maintenance, why so much

[UltimateLemon]

Lovely. Another downtime between 7pm to 1am; 2nd time since Monday. I understand there are bug fixes that needs to be made but unless these are P1 bugs, it really should be rounded up and deployed in one go if the deployment time is 6 hours.

 

Heck it must be absolutely nightmarish to whoever is deploying these fixes.

[Shoeless]

If my kid is retarded, sure I'll say what an excellent kid he/she is. but we all know better, My kid could do a 10 piece puzzle in 6 hours. So be it. it's my kid. but seriously, comparing a 2012 mmo with a 2004 mmo is seriously more developmentally challenged than my fictional child. Look, I'm not complaining, but can't we do better? My email never goes down. Facebook rarely goes down. But yet we have have 6 hour down times every time I want to play?

[Dahnnauven]

I'm going to have to agree that this game does have excessive downtime. I've been playing MMO's for 15 years and can't recall ever having multi-hour maintenances 2-3 times per week. I would rather they just save all these fixes and put them all in during 1 long downtime than make half my week unplayable. Makes my $15/month subscription not seem worth it.

 

Also, having regional downtimes makes much more sense than the blanket format they're doing now. At least we'd be able to play other servers while waiting.

 

I'm not trying to sound like a whiner here, I do love the game and don't plan on quitting anytime soon. I know in the end the fixes will make the game better. But the downtime IS a little excessive.

Edited April 19, 2012 by Dahnnauven

[Tigalo]

Oh jesus christ. **** already. WoW has been running for 7 years and their server downtime STILL does not cater to time zones.

 

Uhm... yes it does.

[JohnStoops]

I've seen just as many American's ranting about exactly the same thing

what are you talking about i am complaining with you i am pissed the sever maintenance takes place at this time it is when i play

[Dinusz]

If my kid is retarded, sure I'll say what an excellent kid he/she is. but we all know better, My kid could do a 10 piece puzzle in 6 hours. So be it. it's my kid. but seriously, comparing a 2012 mmo with a 2004 mmo is seriously more developmentally challenged than my fictional child. Look, I'm not complaining, but can't we do better? My email never goes down. Facebook rarely goes down. But yet we have have 6 hour down times every time I want to play?

 

^ This. Excellent.

[Barthallis]

Yes We are complaining. And We love the game or we would not be so mad because its off right now. just give me my game i payed for and stop making us sit around in the middle of play to get your latest patch right now. i can wait till whatever day you tell me to fix the boss wont spawn . Or the quest is stuck, Just let us know when and where we cant play thats all you really need to do.

 

 

totally agreed i want this game to be huge, i was on rift when it started i seen the huge surge of people they got at the beginning, and than i also seen accounts drop over the following 6 month period due to just stuff like this and now look where rift is almost giving their game away for 14 dollars a copy now. i would be really upset if thats where this game ended up

[Galavan]

REIMBURSE GAMETIME FOR OCEANIC PLAYERS!

 

If we can't play during peak periods, I demand to be compensated or do you expect the average player to stay up to the wee hours of hte morning or to stay home all day simply to be able to use the product.

 

I have a job. I can only play during peak periods as many other players can. Hence why they are peak periods. If the product is unavailble during these times I expect to be compensated.

[ElectricFlea]

They should schedule maintainance during US peak times so I can kick back and read all the sooking US players do.

While I wouldn't ever seriously suggest that, my god it would be entertaining. This forum would literally explode.

[SentinelThain]

They should just make downtimes region specific.Every other mmo i've played has done this.To lump everyone into the same maintenence time is just lazy.I don't understand why Bioware refuse to fix this.

And the amount of downtime the last week or so has been unacceptable.I dont know what todays downtime is for.Some info would be good

[CaptainAsa]

Do you think they are reading this post? Some of you have really well crafted arguments. Could they learn from you?

I think they could. Even the best was about customer demographics. Yes we are getting screwed out of game time. Back to pay and play. Refund every hour of down time for the time we lose and watch the down time diminish.

[blazercscz]

I know why not just go to a Pay as you play eg i play for 10 hours today so i lose 10hours of my monthly play time .... oh wait the would prolly still take it away during maintaince.

[Kurgen_NZ]

While yes there has been alot of downtime and yes the management of the times with regard to the local server times is unproffessional I find my self sitting back and being thankful that it is not being handled in the manner EA used to back in the hayday of Ultima Online. I recall sometime in 1998 i believe there was not only an unshedualed downtime but after being down for almost a day the server returned to life reset a full 7 days.

 

At least they have improved to some degree from the days of regular resets and the loss of any gains you had made.

[Buffeefluff]

They should schedule maintainance during US peak times so I can kick back and read all the sooking US players do.

 

Oh yes please! Yes Pleaaaaaassse! Woot, I'm with you on this all the way...payback for the continent that thinks it is the only important place on the planet

[Galavan]

While I wouldn't ever seriously suggest that, my god it would be entertaining. This forum would literally explode.

 

Yes it would, because rather than pisisng off hte majority of their subscribers, they shaft the players that get shafted in all MMOs. Oceanic players.

 

I came over to this game in the hope that it would be a solid alternative to WoW and one that I thought I could make the change permanent. I've played WoW more over the past 2 weeks than this because of the downtime.

 

Poor form. I want a usuable game that I can play during peak periods. I don't want to have to find alternatives to a product that I'm paying for.

[DarkoDon]

This is your idea of "changing things"? Wow. You're the perfect client. You have no expectations. New models and equipment. Wow, that must have taken forever. Better Framerates. OMG, that's content for sure... Wait, you just admitted it didn't really change much. A world event that mirrors #1 in the top ten list of MMO catastrophic failures (no, really. It's #1) Yes, let's rejoice in that wonderful gift. Better graphics! Wow, that's end-game content.

 

I mean, the UI editor is nice, but it's not content.

 

If you didn't just insult people and actually tried to discuss (like adults do), you'd have to consider that none of this actually addresses a lack of content. The best "content" for a 50 is to go make another 50. They decidedly need to create "end game" content. It's clear there's a gap. And if you think the answer is to yell at everyone who brings up the issue for not being as crazily enthusiastic about the game as you are and insulting them... well... Don't be surprised when we all think you're young. It's how you act.

 

Ok, lets be adults then.

 

Your point #1. New models and equipment - While it doesn't take forever, it does take time/money/manpower to accomplish. They did it faster than any mmo on the market. You welcome =)

 

Your point #2. "Better Framerates. OMG, that's content for sure... " - Uh, never said better framerates was content. Honestly have no idea how those two things are of any relevance to each other. But they accomplished both, again, faster than any mmo to date. Your welcome.

 

Your point #3. "A world event that mirrors #1 in the top ten list of MMO catastrophic failures (no, really. It's #1) Yes, let's rejoice in that wonderful gift." - Ok. So zombies or something of the like (plagues/diseases/evils) has been done before. Well guess what, they didn't copy ANYONE. It falls in line with THEIR story and we asked for world events so they gave one to us. It won't be the last for sure, so again, you are welcome.

 

Your point #4. "Better graphics! Wow, that's end-game content." Refer to reply on your point#2. Again, neither one of those things are related, but yes, they did make graphics better AND added more endgame content. So in the two things you/we asked for that you so obviously tried to collide and make one thing (don't ask me how). They again accomplished it, and again, faster than any other mmo on the market.

 

Your point #5. "I mean, the UI editor is nice, but it's not content." Again, two things that are completely different matters. But, just to humor you, the UI editor is nice, in fact, it's great. We asked for it, we got it. Who's to complain? As far as content which you keep bringing up, I'll stoop to your lvl and keep bringing it up too, only you'll have to revert to reply of point #4 to get the same answer you so blatantly don't get.

 

As for all this...."If you didn't just insult people and actually tried to discuss (like adults do), you'd have to consider that none of this actually addresses a lack of content. The best "content" for a 50 is to go make another 50. They decidedly need to create "end game" content. It's clear there's a gap. And if you think the answer is to yell at everyone who brings up the issue for not being as crazily enthusiastic about the game as you are and insulting them... well... Don't be surprised when we all think you're young. It's how you act.

 

Sorry if your insulted by people coming here on your "bioware/star wars sucks and can't get nothing right posts," As much as you want your opinion to be heard, I'll continue to voice mine as well. Only bringing facts instead of crys and insults. Your insulting the game you play, go play something else, that easy.

 

Love,

fanboi

[lenCORP]

Do you think they are reading this post? Some of you have really well crafted arguments. Could they learn from you?

I think they could. Even the best was about customer demographics. Yes we are getting screwed out of game time. Back to pay and play. Refund every hour of down time for the time we lose and watch the down time diminish.

 

personally I don't blame them for not reading threads in this forum, They created the suggestion box forum for a reason

 

http://www.swtor.com/community/showthread.php?p=4041723#post4041723

[maxilo]

While yes there has been alot of downtime and yes the management of the times with regard to the local server times is unproffessional I find my self sitting back and being thankful that it is not being handled in the manner EA used to back in the hayday of Ultima Online. I recall sometime in 1998 i believe there was not only an unshedualed downtime but after being down for almost a day the server returned to life reset a full 7 days.

 

At least they have improved to some degree from the days of regular resets and the loss of any gains you had made.

 

yes but 1998 is how long ago ?

 

A year in computer terms is an age.

 

Game companies should learn with every mistake other people have made ?

 

If not then they will fail. in 1998 people would put up with anything as there was nothing else to play. That is not the case today. There are lots of competition out there for the unhappy to wander off to ?

[JohnStoops]

REIMBURSE GAMETIME FOR OCEANIC PLAYERS!

 

If we can't play during peak periods, I demand to be compensated or do you expect the average player to stay up to the wee hours of hte morning or to stay home all day simply to be able to use the product.

 

I have a job. I can only play during peak periods as many other players can. Hence why they are peak periods. If the product is unavailble during these times I expect to be compensated.

ok so as much as you would want your money back do you really want 50 cents cause that is all it would be ....no you want a consistent schedule ....because that is what you paid for ......we were all playing when the severs when down and yet it still got turned off......my opinion.....WAIT TIL MONDAY when you told us it would happen we dont care about the small stuff ....for example all the peeps defending the down time....if they cared about down time they wouldnt defend it .......but i ask all of them? did what they are fixing make the game unplayable? the answer to that my friends is no....it didnt so why not wait til monday to fix it....i do understand if the game was unplayable do it now but it wasnt so wait til the agreed upon time.

[Tigalo]

I like this analogy....er, except for the fact that it's not a new car....oh and it's not just yours but theirs and ours,.....um and we mostly rent it, .....and it's meant to change with regularity and is relatively new, making regular down time part of the deal.

 

I would like to see things stabilize, and would welcome a change in timing for these,....but I hardly think bad analogies are gonna help us grok this into anything other than an inconvenience...one that I assume would change if it could.

 

Fix bugs = good

 

But, if you rent a car, do you not want to use it? Would you not be a little annoyed that every time you had planned a trip you get a call from the rental company "you have to bring in the car today for 4 hours, we are going to wash the windshield" then, the next day "you have to bring in the car for 4 hours today, we are going to wash the dashboard" then, the next day "you have to bring in the car for 4 hours today, we are going to change the cd-player".

[Nuzt]

Do you think they are reading this post? Some of you have really well crafted arguments. Could they learn from you?

I think they could. Even the best was about customer demographics. Yes we are getting screwed out of game time. Back to pay and play. Refund every hour of down time for the time we lose and watch the down time diminish.

 

yes they are reading it. I wont go into further detail

[Hermeticum]

This is mental... do you honestly expect people to stay put while the service you're supposed to deliver is always unavailable? C'mon, have more respect for the people who are paying to play. SWTOR could be HUGE, but so far things like this help conveying the idea that the only thing huge about the game is the disappointment people feel.

I am a big Bioware fan, but it seems you're putting an effort in pissing people off instead of pleasing them.

[Rezarect]

Oh jesus christ. **** already. WoW has been running for 7 years and their server downtime STILL does not cater to time zones.

 

Yeah It does. I was always making new toons on different servers because my main server was down.

[CaptainAsa]

How many of you think that some of these post are from Bio Ware employes? Are the ultimate defenders of loose time for play and pay really implants for our ear? Be careful here. All corporations have public relations experts to rebuff our augment that we are not being served.

[Paladn]

Not to mention the fact that I've been logged out of my account on the forums a total of 3 times already, WHILE BROWSING AND POSTING, and several of my posts have straight up disappeared after I posted them. I am becoming VERY displeased, VERY fast.

 

When developers start making decisions that cause customers to want to withdraw their funding for this game, there's something wrong. Look at how many people are complaining in this thread, which only started yesterday. I bet at least a dozen of those that have posted here have unsubscribed by now. And that isn't even the tip of the iceberg.

 

Let's say we estimate that a mere 50 people in all the world unsubscribed due to this week's downtime (which I think is a VERY conservative estimate). Let's also say they would have otherwise been paying customers for another year otherwise, because I need a random number to work with. Doing a bit of math, that comes to Bioware losing a total of $7,800 from those customers, assuming they were paying the lowest possible price for their subscription.

 

$7,800. From just 50 customers worldwide. I know that isn't much on the grand scale of it, but that still hurts. And if any of them had subscribed for longer? That's $7,800 (or more) a year that Bioware could have been earning, if they had JUST adopted a more professional and customer-friendly downtime model.