TEST SERVER: Shae Vizla server feedback thread

[sirlou]

OK got into server finally (d'oh, see above) and played for a good while.

Ran 1 Warzone, 1 Arena Match, 1 Flashpoint and 1 GSF Match. I also ran around the fleet, went to a couple difference planets, and ran a full group of Daily Heroics on Ciruscant. 

Here are my impressions:

• Compared to an existing server, how is the performance? 

My ping ran between 160ms to about 250ms, and the average was between 170ms-180ms. I felt like this affected the performance. At times, things felt laggy and slow, as if there was a short delay between button pressing and response. Had a big lag spike in Hammer Station FP on 1st boss where I could not move for about 1 minute. But I was not watching ping rate at that time, sorry. Generally, it was not as smooth as I would have liked.

• Any specific areas or planets where you feel the performance has lessened? 

Again, because of the high ping it was hard to tell. It was "okay", but over time it would feel like a drag I think.

• What region/country do you reside in?

Los Angles, CA, USA

• Provide a comparison of ping from existing servers to Shae Vizla. 

My ping rate was 80 on Satele Shan

My ping rate was 80 on Star Forge

• Is grouped content working properly? 

Yes, I was able to queue, join and complete a FP, WZ, Arean match, and GSF match.

• How quickly can you get into a match or Flashpoint you’ve accepted? 

Once accepted it went fairly quickly, not much more than on my current servers,

• Is travel to any location (planet, Stronghold, Fleet, etc…) hindered?

I did not experience any travel problems between Fleet and planets or group activities. About the same as on my live servers.
However, those load screen times are IMHO still too long and I wish something could be done to reduce them.

• Are there any issues with the UI such as missing assets or loss of functionality?

I did not experience any UI problems.

• Are there any issues with visuals or sounds with the cinematics? 

When I had what I think was a massive lag spike in Hammer Station my character froze a little then did some half swings of her weapon (glitchy graphics) and everyone else seemed to stand still for a bit. Sounds was a little glitchy then as well.

[KyraMalakai]

    Compared to an existing server, how is the performance?
    Much worse, almost unplayable. Even on a simple fight with some thugs I could almost drink a coffee between abilities activating.
    Any specific areas or planets where you feel the performance has lessened?
    Ping was worse than on NA/EU servers so performance also tanked.
    What region/country do you reside in?
    Europe, Portugal
    Provide a comparison of ping from existing servers to Shae Vizla.
    I have 300-450 ms on APAC Test Server, 110 SS/SF and 50 ms on DM.
    Is grouped content working properly?
    With this ping wouldn't dare to try.
    How quickly can you get into a match or Flashpoint you’ve accepted?
    Is travel to any location (planet, Stronghold, Fleet, etc…) hindered?
    Loading times were similar.
    Are there any issues with the UI such as missing assets or loss of functionality?
    Not that I have seen.
    Are there any issues with visuals or sounds with the cinematics?
    None so far.

[tobarstep]

I clipped the rest because honestly I didn't notice any issues other than MUCH higher ping. Which I fully expected despite the official reasoning that connectivity would be better.

• Compared to an existing server, how is the performance? It seemed about the same, to be honest.
• Any specific areas or planets where you feel the performance has lessened? I didn't try enough different ones to say.
• What region/country do you reside in? US, East Coast
• Provide a comparison of ping from existing servers to Shae Vizla. I normally play on Star Forge where I get 38-40ms. Shae Vizla was >200ms at all times sometimes going up to >300.

[Poje]

5 hours ago, JackieKo said:

• Compared to an existing server, how is the performance?
• Any specific areas or planets where you feel the performance has lessened?
• What region/country do you reside in?
• Provide a comparison of ping from existing servers to Shae Vizla.
• Is grouped content working properly?
• How quickly can you get into a match or Flashpoint you’ve accepted?
• Is travel to any location (planet, Stronghold, Fleet, etc…) hindered?
• Are there any issues with the UI such as missing assets or loss of functionality?
• Are there any issues with visuals or sounds with the cinematics?

- The performance was very good, loading time were as fast or faster.

- Not that i have seen.

- Montreal, Canada.

- 30 to 50 Ping on Star Forge, 220 to 250 on this one.

- Yes, i did a GSF, an Arena and a Flashpoint.

- Relatively fast with the number of players active.

- Not that i have seen.

- No UI problems.

- No issues with graphix or sound.

[xordevoreaux]

Compared to an existing server, how is the performance?

I've just under 300ms latency, but the responsiveness is incredible. Very smooth, quick transitions.  Will update this post later.

 

[MomentumUnknown]

As an APAC player, I loved the test server. My ping has been reduced by 300+ms. If your metrics show this is even potentially sustainable I'd love to see a live APAC server again.

 

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Compared to an existing server, how is the performance?

Improved, with substantially less desync issues in group content.

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Any specific areas or planets where you feel the performance has lessened?

Nope.

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What region/country do you reside in?

APAC

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Provide a comparison of ping from existing servers to Shae Vizla.

I'm seeing pings of 300-400 on Shae Vizla, and it's not steady. On Shae Vizla I was seeing a consistent 30-33.

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Is grouped content working properly?

Yep, no problems.

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How quickly can you get into a match or Flashpoint you’ve accepted?

Slightly quicker than on Satele Shan.

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Is travel to any location (planet, Stronghold, Fleet, etc…) hindered?

I noticed to problems with travel.

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Are there any issues with the UI such as missing assets or loss of functionality?

Nothing that I haven't been able to replicate on the live servers.

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Are there any issues with visuals or sounds with the cinematics?

None.

[rylixav]

7 hours ago, JackieKo said:

If you create a new character on this server, this will take up one slot in your character list

What does that mean? Is there a maximum combined character limit across all servers or something?

[Pandoras_Jar]

Some initial feedback! 💜 

Compared to an existing server, how is the performance?

Pretty good.

Any specific areas or planets where you feel the performance has lessened?

Same as existing servers or improved. 

What region/country do you reside in?

Australia (north of Sydney).

Provide a comparison of ping from existing servers to Shae Vizla.

I get around 250-300ms on SS and SF. On SV I'm getting 17-25ms with the occasional spike to 30-50ms (I'm on wi-fi so not surprised).

On one of the original APAC servers Dalborra (11 years ago), I was getting around 30-35ms (rarely lower).

Is grouped content working properly?

Seems to be.

How quickly can you get into a match or Flashpoint you’ve accepted?

Very quick.

Is travel to any location (planet, Stronghold, Fleet, etc…) hindered?

Doesn't appear to be.

Are there any issues with the UI such as missing assets or loss of functionality?

None so far. 

Are there any issues with visuals or sounds with the cinematics?

Haven't done anything with cutscenes.

 

I should be able to hop back on during the Easter long weekend! Have fun testing everyone! 

Edited April 4, 2023 by Pandoras_Jar
Added a comment.

[TrixxieTriss]

Initial first test.

Transferred character takes me to Ruhnuk. I’m able to compare ping.

1. Compared ping performance 

Star Forge ping = 218-240ms

Shae Vizla ping = 4-9ms is FANTASTIC 😍🥰😘

My location is Sydney Australia. 
 

2. Character load time is much longer on Shae Vizla. Takes 30-40secs to load the character once I click it. On Star Forge the character loads in less than 10 secs.

3. Used emergency fleet pass to go to fleet. Floor is missing on the fleet, I can see the stars and fleet ships. I tried running & I fall through the floor & die.

* I was respawned in the Star fighter launch deck. Floor tiles say missing material & the screen is flickering every 2 secs. 

* I QT to normal fleet area & I go no where. But now screen flickering like a strobe. Nearly made me throw up my breakfast. I can run but I don’t go anywhere.

* I QT to white nova fleet ship. Flickering stops, floor is solid, but really dark & I can hardly see it. I adjust my shadow map to 1280. Can see floor properly, but still dark.

* I QT back to the Vaiken space dock & end up in Star fighter launch deck again. QT back to white nova to try again. 

* I QT to the cartel bazaar. No flickering. But main floor is missing again & I can see stars & fleet through the main floor area. As soon as I step off the QT zone in area, I fall through the floor & die.

* Respawn takes me to Star Fighter launch deck again. No flickering this time. But can’t move or QT out of there. Says Missing material on floor tiles. 

**** I Literally can’t get to my ship, so I can’t get off the fleet to test anything. I can’t get to the stronghold area to buy one. Not sure if an do much testing when I can’t go anywhere 🤔
 

The ping is so awesome❤️. I just can’t test because of these bugs 😞

Can anyone remember how to trigger a manual repair of the game files? I checked the load screen & the repair is grayed out because the game hasn’t detected any errors. 

 

Edited April 5, 2023 by TrixxieTriss

[LordDarkestFears]

Everything was smooth for me no complains.  I completed FP Hammer Station  GSF and Arena. through GF all groups was fast and nice experience London UK

[Cayerala]

7 minutes ago, TrixxieTriss said:

Initial first test.

Transferred character takes me to Ruhnuk. I’m able to compare ping.

1. Compared ping performance 

Star Forge ping = 218-240ms

Shae Vizla ping = 4-9ms is FANTASTIC 😍🥰😘

My location is Sydney Australia. 
 

2. Character load time is much longer on Shae Vizla. Takes 30-40secs to load the character once I click it. On Star Forge the character loads in less than 10 secs.

3. Used emergency fleet pass to go to fleet. Floor is missing on the fleet, I can see the stars and fleet ships. I tried running & I fall through the floor & die.

* I was respawned in the Star fighter launch deck. Floor tiles say missing material & the screen is flickering every 2 secs. 

* I QT to normal fleet area & I go no where. But now screen flickering like a strobe. Nearly made me throw up my breakfast. I can run but I don’t go anywhere.

* I QT to white nova fleet ship. Flickering stops, floor is solid, but really dark & I can hardly see it. I adjust my shadow map to 1280. Can see floor properly, but still dark.

* I QT back to the Vaiken space dock & end up in Star fighter launch deck again. QT back to white nova to try again. 

* I QT to the cartel bazaar. No flickering. But main floor is missing again & I can see stars & fleet through the main floor area. As soon as I step off the QT zone in area, I fall through the floor & die.

* Respawn takes me to Star Fighter launch deck again. No flickering this time. But can’t move or QT out of there. Says Missing material on floor tiles. 

**** I Literally can’t get to my ship, so I can’t get off the fleet to test anything. I can’t get to the stronghold area to buy one. Not sure if an do much testing with when I can’t go anywhere 🤔
 

The ping is so awesome❤️. I just can’t test because of these bugs 😞

Can anyone remember how to trigger a manual repair of the game files? I checked the load screen & the repair is grayed out because the game hasn’t detected any errors. 

 

I haven't seen any of these issues yet. I have done tests on my other computer. This is interesting. Because the loading time performance and everything is significantly better on AWS. Maybe its something to do with the 64 bit client not fully working/files need to be repaired? 

 

Nice to see Australians enjoying this amazing ms!

[TrixxieTriss]

Test run 2

Created new Sith warrior story with Sorc build character. So far so good. 

Ping is amazing. Performance is amazing. 4-9ms Ping on Korriban.

As mentioned before. Playing Sydney Australia. Normal ping to US servers is 220-240ms

[Nommaz]

First quick login as I have to go out today, 58 ping to Country West Australia  feels alot smoother, will report back after i get a chance to play a bit, but first impressions is good.
 

[DWho]

Initial evaluation

• Compared to an existing server, how is the performance?
  • Basically the same as the European servers, slightly choppier than the US servers for me
• Any specific areas or planets where you feel the performance has lessened?
  • Only tested Tython so far, but no issues
• What region/country do you reside in?
  • US-Midwest
• Provide a comparison of ping from existing servers to Shae Vizla.
  • Shae Vizla: 250, Star Forge/Satele Shan: 25, Tulak Hord/Darth Malgus/Leviathan: 110
• Is grouped content working properly?
  • Not tested yet, but choppiness increases with more players in the zone
• How quickly can you get into a match or Flashpoint you’ve accepted?
  • Not tested yet
• Is travel to any location (planet, Stronghold, Fleet, etc…) hindered?
  • traveled to Tython, Fleet, Nar Shadaa Stronghold without issue
• Are there any issues with the UI such as missing assets or loss of functionality?
  • Didn't notice any
• Are there any issues with visuals or sounds with the cinematics?
  • No issues noted

Performance was about as expected with the higher ping, some stuttering in busy areas and during combats with a lot of ability activations (likely just a transmission time issue). At 250 ping, group content would be marginal, no issues with RPG content

[Darev]

So...I logged in and saw the test server in the server list.

I really like that it's there.

I made a new toon and played through Ord Mantell.  Got up to level 10 by the time I left...skipped a lot of side quests, wound up with about 11k in credits (not really any point with that, but I was keeping track).

It played just like the live servers for me.  Didn't really notice any difference.

I'm not a big PVP person, and there weren't many people on anyway when I was just now.

All in all, I'd say it worked well from my limited play through.

[Narrisablue]

Compared to an existing server, how is the performance?  Very similar to Star Forge, but my ms went from my usual 60ish to 250-300.

Any specific areas or planets where you feel the performance has lessened?  I played a bit on Tython and had zero complaints.

What region/country do you reside in?  US East Coast, about 1 hour inland from the Atlantic Ocean, North Carolina.

Provide a comparison of ping from existing servers to Shae Vizla.  I play on Star Forge and my ms is usually around 60.  On Apac it was running around 250-300.

Is grouped content working properly?  Yes.  I ran a FP, a WZ and a GSF match.  The only one that took a while was GSF.

How quickly can you get into a match or Flashpoint you’ve accepted?  FP was quick.  WZ took about 5 minutes, about 12 for GSF.

Is travel to any location (planet, Stronghold, Fleet, etc…) hindered?  I had no issues traveling anywhere.

Are there any issues with the UI such as missing assets or loss of functionality?  No, everything seemed normal.

Are there any issues with visuals or sounds with the cinematics?  Again, everything seemed to be fine.

My only issue was a bit of lag, and I believe that was entirely due to my ms being so much higher than it normally is.  It was not, however, a real issue in anything I was doing.  I didn't run an ops and it's very possible it might have been a bit of a problem in an ops, but not unduly so.

[Cayerala]

After further tests. The game performance in Flashpoints/cutscenes etc is all normal and very smooth. I would like to note for APAC there is a bit of spikes in terms of the connection. I can be on 20ms and then it just jumps to 80/120? Maybe some more configuration is needed. Otherwise the difference is night and day. Loading times are so nice and fast, no lag when opening Cartel Market or GTN. 

[JosephKher]

I'm offering some insight having finished a good amount of playthrough throughout the day. I created a new character, Imp side, Sith. Korriban went smooth as smooth can be. Quick travel worked fin, loading times are good, transport works, bringing outfits from collections and setting up the outfit designer worked great. Then I made a copy of another 3 characters I have on the Star Forge server. I did some playthroughs and combats on the latest planets: Mek-Sha, Onderon and Ruhnuk. These planets have been somewhat laggy on my end, but I've always attributed that to my graphic settings, however, they seem to run smoother on the Vizla Server, which was a pleasant surprise. Usually, when I do combat on these 3 planets and I have a big scenic landscape behind me, the combat animations become choppy, so I usually have to turn the camera to an area that doesn´t have as much foliage or scenery. Didn't need to do that here. I finally went on to do the main tasks at hand: flashpoint, pvp and GSF. All good in my experience. Now, on to the specific questions:

 

• Compared to an existing server, how is the performance? The overall performance is very similar to the live servers. Somewhat smoother, as I mentioned above. I'll keep testing these next few days to see if more people log into the server to see if we can test it with a higher population index.
• Any specific areas or planets where you feel the performance has lessened? None at all, quite the contrary. As stated before, I found that planets that had lesser performance for me in the live servers are performing better.
• What region/country do you reside in? Mexico, I play exclusive on the Star Forge Server
• Provide a comparison of ping from existing servers to Shae Vizla. Star Forge: 102-178. Shae Vizla: 202-318 are the lowest-highest range I could observe throughout the day.
• Is grouped content working properly? It did, quite nicely.
• How quickly can you get into a match or Flashpoint you’ve accepted? Pretty much as quickly as I have experienced it on the live servers, perhaps slightly faster.
• Is travel to any location (planet, Stronghold, Fleet, etc…) hindered? Not at all. Tried direct travel from planet to planet, starship travel from one point to another, getting off the ship, getting back into the ship, quick travel, transport travel. Everything worked nicely.
• Are there any issues with the UI such as missing assets or loss of functionality? One of my copied characters kept showing a pop-up that read "Unable to save interface Ourobor? 2" whenever I did anything, such as opening or closing the map, the inventory etc. I changed the interface preset to another character's and the problem stopped. I'm wondering if this was due to the "?" that replaced the special character in the toon's name, or if it was a one time incident as it did not happen with the other 2 toons that I copied over.
• Are there any issues with visuals or sounds with the cinematics? None at all. Played through some of the cinematics in the Black Talon, skipped through some others. Everything worked exactly as it does on the live servers.

I hope this helps the team! Cheers, and keep up the good work!

[TrixxieTriss]

I obviously have some corrupted fleet files because I was able to lvl a new character on Korriban all the way to the fleet. I get to the fleet & once again I run into the problem of having no floor. My wife is sitting next to me & she can run around the fleet fine. 

So I switched servers to Star Forge & the same thing happens on the fleet. I have no floor & I fall to my death. Obviously a game file issue & not a PTS issue. 

Anyone know how to fix this without re-downloading again? 

Edited April 5, 2023 by TrixxieTriss

[Enomars]

• Compared to an existing server, how is the performance?  Arena lag was a problem. 
• Any specific areas or planets where you feel the performance has lessened? Arena lag was a problem. 
• What region/country do you reside in? United States Central 
• Provide a comparison of ping from existing servers to Shae Vizla. Shae Vizla 185-230 ping.  Star Forge ping 35-40 ping.  
• Is grouped content working properly?  I was queued with another healer in arena the other team had no healer.  I was queued with another healer in Flashpoint I was a healer. 
• How quickly can you get into a match or Flashpoint you’ve accepted? There were only 12 people on the fleet. 15 mins to pop.  Over an hour for GSF to pop. 
• Is travel to any location (planet, Stronghold, Fleet, etc…) hindered? N/A 
• Are there any issues with the UI such as missing assets or loss of functionality? NA
• Are there any issues with visuals or sounds with the cinematics? I played with sound off sorry incomplete test on this one.  No visual issues. Team mate fell through the floor on False Emperor FP . I am not sure where I didn't see it.  

[TrixxieTriss]

On 4/4/2023 at 11:02 AM, Cayerala said:

I haven't seen any of these issues yet. I have done tests on my other computer. This is interesting. Because the loading time performance and everything is significantly better on AWS. Maybe its something to do with the 64 bit client not fully working/files need to be repaired? 

 

Nice to see Australians enjoying this amazing ms!

It’s definitely a corruption of my fleet files. I tried it on other characters on starforge & I got the same problem. I started a new Alt on Shae Vizla and had no problems playing and lvling until I got to the fleet. Then there is no floor again. So I’ve ruled out it being a character issue. 
It would be great if Bioware or someone could suggest how to force a file repair without needing to reinstall. It’s grayed out on the client screen. 

The ping is amazing at 5ms. All the Aussies playing on Korriban are hoping Bioware sets up a dedicated APAC server again. 

Edited April 5, 2023 by TrixxieTriss

[Cayerala]

11 minutes ago, TrixxieTriss said:

It’s definitely a corruption of my fleet files. I tried it other characters on starforge & I got the same problem. I started a new Alt on Shae Vizla and had no problems playing and lvling until I got to the fleet. Then there is no floor again. So I’ve ruled out it being a character issue. 
It would be great if Bioware or someone could suggest how to force a file repair without needing to reinstall. It’s grayed out on the client screen. 

The ping is amazing at 5ms. All the Aussies playing on Korriban are hoping Bioware sets up a dedicated APAC server again. 

You might not have any other option other than to reinstall. However, you not having a floor sounds like a graphical issue. Are you still able to walk on fleet? Maybe reduce graphics setting to low? 

Yes! I can see that all of them are. I am hoping they do too. If they want to fully extend SWTOR access to the globe, this is a great way to do it. Make one big NA server, one big EU server and an APAC. Or simply put Satele Shan back to west coast server and Star Forge to east coast, so at least APAC players can go on a server with 150 ms not 250? But seeing as Bioware is moving to AWS (which will significantly reduce the spending on the current servers, and how simple and easy it is to implement instances) there shouldn't be any reason why APAC cannot have a dedicated server. 

[TrixxieTriss]

Just now, Cayerala said:

You might not have any other option other than to reinstall. However, you not having a floor sounds like a graphical issue. Are you still able to walk on fleet? Maybe reduce graphics setting to low? 

Yes! I can see that all of them are. I am hoping they do too. If they want to fully extend SWTOR access to the globe, this is a great way to do it. Make one big NA server, one big EU server and an APAC. Or simply put Satele Shan back to west coast server and Star Forge to east coast, so at least APAC players can go on a server with 150 ms not 250? But seeing as Bioware is moving to AWS (which will significantly reduce the spending on the current servers, and how simple and easy it is to implement instances) there shouldn't be any reason why APAC cannot have a dedicated server. 

Nope, I fall through the floor to my death. My earlier post explains in more detail what happens. It’s not graphics either cause I’ve created another character. Played this new character on Korriban with zero issues, arriving on the fleet at lvl 12 and I can’t even step off the shuttle ramp without falling to my death. FYI, I can see there’s no floor, just stars & fleet ships. Logged in with characters on Star Forge and I can play anywhere it seems, besides the fleet 😞

 

[Medjay]

• Compared to an existing server, how is the performance? Phenomenal! Highly responsive, character movement is smooth. Mailbox etc open up instantly. I spent 10 min on the new server then moved back to Star Forge and am not pleased (to say the least) at the lag there.... moving my toon feels like I'm dragging some extra weight around...that's out of combat on fleet btw. In pvp, abilities need to be pressed ~4 times to go off and NA players appear to run at 150% speed.
• Any specific areas or planets where you feel the performance has lessened? Nope, all improved massively
• What region/country do you reside in? Australia, Victoria
• Provide a comparison of ping from existing servers to Shae Vizla. 26ms on Shae Viszla vs 217ms-270ms on Star Forge
• Is grouped content working properly?            N/A yet; Waiting for more players
• How quickly can you get into a match or Flashpoint you’ve accepted? Waited 5min then logged on US server; will try again later when more players are aware of this APAC server.
• Is travel to any location (planet, Stronghold, Fleet, etc…) hindered? No issues yet.
• Are there any issues with the UI such as missing assets or loss of functionality? Checked everything, seems normal.
• Are there any issues with visuals or sounds with the cinematics? Switched area from Odessen to Imperial Fleet and had a purple loading screen.

 

Pleeeeeaase give us APAC players this new server!

Edited April 4, 2023 by Medjay
forgot some detail

[Falsk]

12 hours ago, JackieKo said:

What region/country do you reside in?

I live in Denmark, got 360-400ms on the test server, Compared to Eu server's 30-40ms and around 200ms on the US servers.

12 hours ago, JackieKo said:

Are there any issues with the UI such as missing assets or loss of functionality?

only thing noticed a few things, Loading my excisting UI, Skills i can place in the quickbar on the other servers is no problem, but for the test server i have to adjust the quickbar abit in odre to place skills there.

Map Filter. close's each time I mark a option.

 

Edited April 4, 2023 by Falsk