Can Ashes break the cycle... of release day crashes?!?!?

ArchivedUser

So I've been playing MMO's since before UO and one thing that has been consistent across every single one... I repeat, every single one is the launch day crash/server load problems.

No matter how much a company seems to prepare, it always seems they can never get around this problem.  I should add a reason I think this happens is companies are betting that the load will tail off after a week or two, so they go with what they think will be the average server load for the year and don't want to over-invest.  Personally I think this is a mistake... 

Anyone think Ashes of Creation can overcome this?  I really hope they do (just for the sake of saying they did it   )

ArchivedUser

Not very likely.

The reason why many MMO's crash on release day is the inital surge of traffic that slams the servers all at once. A company can remedy this by renting additional servers, but that can get very costly if you are renting based on a spike that will subside in a couple days.

So most companies actually plan for less servers either with a queue system, or something similar, because they know that after that first week,  server traffic will go down to normal levels. This option is much cheaper for a company.

ArchivedUser

It all comes down to them testing server loads beforehand. And since we know that they have sold enough testing packages for 5 full servers, they should have a handle on it by live launch. The two day headstart servers should help work out any last minute kinks. One thing they can't fix is the que and server load when literally 10k people try to log on at the same moment. I personally have a good chuckle everytime I see one of the "I am scheduling my vacation off from work around launch so I can play constantly." comments. You know the person is sitting there on launch day screaming at the screen "What to you mean!?! A 6 hour queue? Rabble! Rabble! Rabble! My first world privilege demands I get my stuff NEOW!!"

ArchivedUser

SaintJoanna said:

....

I don't think that was the questions that was asked if I have to be honest. I believe the OP was refering to servers crashing, not Ashes being able to kill other games.

As for my answer, I think it's hard to predict. I definetly think that the headstart servers will help the influx of players being toned down a bit, and maybe cause the servers to be more stable, but you never know

ArchivedUser

Most likely there will be server issue's day 1 but they will defs do their best to prevent that. 

ArchivedUser

UnknownSystemError said:

It all comes down to them testing server loads beforehand. And since we know that they have sold enough testing packages for 5 full servers, they should have a handle on it by live launch. The two day headstart servers should help work out any last minute kinks. One thing they can't fix is the que and server load when literally 10k people try to log on at the same moment. I personally have a good chuckle everytime I see one of the "I am scheduling my vacation off from work around launch so I can play constantly." comments. You know the person is sitting there on launch day screaming at the screen "What to you mean!?! A 6 hour queue? Rabble! Rabble! Rabble! My first world privilege demands I get my stuff NEOW!!"

It's a novel idea for sure it it may in fact work.  I hear you regarding the people scheduling their vacation but to me that's not a bad thing and we shouldn't accept that a service we are going to consume isn't going to work.  People are excited for a new games release and they should be able to handle it.  The other crucial thing it affects are first impressions (which are a doozy to shake), ideally you want that first impression to be a good one.

Overall I do generally prefer the queue method as opposed to the servers outright crashing

ArchivedUser

nah that is impossible

ArchivedUser

Zinnie said:

Not very likely.

The reason why many MMO's crash on release day is the inital surge of traffic that slams the servers all at once. A company can remedy this by renting additional servers, but that can get very costly if you are renting based on a spike that will subside in a couple days.

So most companies actually plan for less servers either with a queue system, or something similar, because they know that after that first week,  server traffic will go down to normal levels. This option is much cheaper for a company.

But is it cheaper?  Sure cost wise it is, but what's the factor of players lost during that initial boom, or first impressions being bad?

ArchivedUser

dracdoc said:

Zinnie said:

Not very likely.

The reason why many MMO's crash on release day is the inital surge of traffic that slams the servers all at once. A company can remedy this by renting additional servers, but that can get very costly if you are renting based on a spike that will subside in a couple days.

So most companies actually plan for less servers either with a queue system, or something similar, because they know that after that first week,  server traffic will go down to normal levels. This option is much cheaper for a company.

But is it cheaper?  Sure cost wise it is, but what's the factor of players lost during that initial boom, or first impressions being bad?

Its a difficult metric to quantify, since its almost impossible to know if the people that quit decided to quit because of server issues, or other possible factors such as the new player experience.

I can agree that the first impression part is very important, but most people that have a a monetary incentive to try the game will endure a day or two of bad servers. Its the main difference between Ashes and a F2P game, where people don't have the incentive to try the game.

For a small company running on a tight budget, the queue feature is the most beneficial option considering both cost and player retention. Most players will accept a queue at launch as opposed to crashes and rollbacks.

ArchivedUser

Its as the OP said, why over-invest in something that will be solved by itself in a couple days¿ I ´d prefer if they invest in other things. 

I expect an usual chaotic release as others MMO`s I have played, but that`s not a problem at all, we should be fine with it.

ArchivedUser

I would be shocked if there were no issues on launch day.  But hopefully with how open they are being about the game a lot of things can be worked out during all the testing.  But i will expect issues on launch day like everyone else.

ArchivedUser

They can provision 'standby' servers that are primarily costed only if you 'spin them up'.
Scalability is a thing in the modern era
Spikes are an accepted norm these days.

ArchivedUser

anyone that goes into release day or release week and not expecting issues like crashes, log in wait times, lag ..etc...is only fooling themselves and is also
only making their own life miserable expecting anything else but. 


go into release day and release week with full expectations there will be issues and stability problems and expect issues for the 1st month until the game and population and server loads start to become more predictable. 

ArchivedUser

Queues.

ArchivedUser

I'll let you all experience the server issues so that day 3 or 4 I can better read up on what you all post about the game itself cause it's extremely likely it takes me that long to choose, definitively, my race/class combination and I need your feedback before I commit 

ArchivedUser

Don't hold your breath.

ArchivedUser

Lets see if I can remember:

SWG day 1 - Servers crashed so bad, I couldn't get in day 1.

DCUO day 1 - In a long lineup QUE to enter the game, number 3000

SWTOR day 1 - Long QUE line to enter the game 5000

STO day 1 - Servers Crashed so ad, I couldn't get in day 1.

Other games I didn't do a day one signup, so I don't know how those went.

ArchivedUser

I'd be genuinely surprised 

ArchivedUser

Sintu said:

I would be shocked if there were no issues on launch day.  But hopefully with how open they are being about the game a lot of things can be worked out during all the testing.  But i will expect issues on launch day like everyone else.

I'm with @Sintu in that it's almost the norm for problems to surface on Launch Day and a few days after.  Have some good shows lined up to watch while your wait with some of your favorite munchies and be cool.

ArchivedUser

crashes? yes if they stress test it right?

Log in waits at launch?  Don't know but probably not if the game stays as popular as it is.