I know that this topic has been hammered to death here but I feel the need to make my own post regarding the server down times we have been seeing of late. I will try to make this as quick and painless as possible.

 

1. I and many other patient fans of SWTOR understand that this is a new game and as such teething problems occur.

2. I and many other patient fans have been putting up with things the way they are for several weeks now, hoping that the frequency and length of server downtimes would improve. Some improvements have been seen in general length of the shutdowns.

3. I, for one, understand that staggering downtimes across the servers may create more problems than it solves as far as subscribers inundating the 'UP' servers when theirs goes down.

 

BUT and this is a big 'but':

 

1. There has to be a more efficient way to do things. I am not going to second guess Bioware's methods but I work in I.T. and I'm telling you now, if my company had anywhere near this much down time we would lose all of our clients not to mention, our jobs.

2. Bioware need to review their scheduling for server downtimes. I am sure that many Australian players, like myself, are getting more than frustrated with the servers going down for 4 hours, twice a week during our prime time. Please consider this like you did the last European holiday and show us that you are thinking of your WHOLE player base. Is the Australia player base going to be compensated with 20% discount on subscriptions for the loss of the same percentage of prime time play? Doubtful, but at least give us a show of good faith here.

3. Please take steps to ensure that patch releases aren't just bug releases. I am sure that the Bioware staff are working as hard as they can and cudos go out for the great stuff you have done so far, but taking that extra day to test could make the difference between another shutdown and a happy player base.

 

Please just listen Bioware. We love the game you have come out with and I for one am sticking by it. I hope that the guys and girls on staff can help that to not just be a short term answer. Good Luck and please justify the faith of your (so far) steadfast fans.

This is "unscheduled" maintenance there is nothing that can be done about it just have patience my good friend

Any new information in this thread? No.

Unlike a fair chunk of the unscheduled maintenences, this one's likely one to fix the matrix cube issue. Pretty much, if you busted your butt to make a matrix cube for any level set, and had it equipped when the servers went down tuesday, found when servers came back up the cubes were gone. Though I agree 4 hours is far too long. should only take 15 minutes from shutdown to startup.

Please note...I'm not just talking about the current scheduled maintenance. I can recall at least 3 weeks in the last couple of months where Australia has had 2 shutdowns per week during our prime time and so far ALL shutdowns occur during this period. With current timezone differences this is at 5pm AEST. I'm also not asking for miracles here....I know one post won't change anything, but if enough people voice a rational opinion, the right people start to listen.

Any new information in this thread? No.

 

Dude you read it...if the powers that be read it too then mission successful.

Unlike a fair chunk of the unscheduled maintenences, this one's likely one to fix the matrix cube issue. Pretty much, if you busted your butt to make a matrix cube for any level set, and had it equipped when the servers went down tuesday, found when servers came back up the cubes were gone. Though I agree 4 hours is far too long. should only take 15 minutes from shutdown to startup.

 

Yeah, I certainly hope they rush server restarts and don't check them or anything

Bioware should get there act together. Sure there are issues like any mmo, but I have been playing for over a month now and this is getting to be ridiculous! The issues(ex: the disconnect issue) is game related; not wifi, not ethernet, not Win XP or Vista or 7.... it is a game related problem! We must not forget that this is a paying game and we must get the service for what we paid for. It's the beginning of a new game, fine...compensate who's been here since the start and had has paticence to go through so many bugs and server downtime.

what a joke 2 time`s down time a week now since 1,2, no wonder ppl are fleeing for this game.

All people do is complain that their Matrix Cubes disappear, they fix it as soon as they can instead of making you wait since everyone is going mental about it then you ***** that there's server down time.

 

What the hell do you people want?

 

And don't bring WoW server maintenance comparisons in. That game hasn't released anything new in a long time and is something like 8 years old, they should have worked out what they're doing by now.

 

If you're the world's best coder, and have written for MMO's and such, feel free to create something better and THEN insult the devs.

 

*edit: Seems the person I was replying to removed their post or had it removed. Good. Keep it constructive. I am aware of the hypocritical nature of my comment.

<snip>

2. Bioware need to review their scheduling for server downtimes. I am sure that many Australian players, like myself, are getting more than frustrated with the servers going down for 4 hours, twice a week during our prime time. Please consider this like you did the last European holiday and show us that you are thinking of your WHOLE player base. Is the Australia player base going to be compensated with 20% discount on subscriptions for the loss of the same percentage of prime time play? Doubtful, but at least give us a show of good faith here.

3. Please take steps to ensure that patch releases aren't just bug releases. I am sure that the Bioware staff are working as hard as they can and cudos go out for the great stuff you have done so far, but taking that extra day to test could make the difference between another shutdown and a happy player base.

<snip>

 

same old, same old. i have seen hundreds of complains exactly the same as this one in point 2 and 3 since the game launch.

 

you wont be compensated, besides this downtime is just a few hours and you knew what you were paying for, find something else to do in your spare time. the least you and the rest can do is give yourself some good faith and just take it on the chin and get on with it, its not going to change as i have seen nothing from bioware stating as such.

 

they are taking steps to ensure the release of each patch, every tuesday since they launched the game, that is when they said they would upgrade the game (they do have a test servers which tests these updates a week before hand), every week on tuesday all 168 hours, so thats 164 hours give or take a further 4 hours on unscheduled maint. that 160hours almost 7 days of game time, its insignificant to the time you get to play. although i agree the hours a are bit long, but its better then the 8hours and 6hours it used to take!...

Edited May 10, 2012 by Celise

If they offset the server restarts by taking them down when they are coming up I think a LOT of peple would be more comfortable with them. at least most of my 100 members in my guild would be.

Freedom of speech is not allowed here.

I wasnt complaining about matrix cubes missing... I couldnt care less about it. It will come back, and should have come back during SCHEDULED patches. Get a lower level item to hold you over until it is fixed. It wont kill you. But i do pay for gametime and when that is taken away more then necessary without any form of compensation such as free gametime or discounts on future gametime, then yeah i am going to complain... And loudly.

Too many of us agree with you.

 

Those who don't must have a massive amount of time to waste sitting and waiting for 4-6 hours several times a WEEK - I don't. I am guessing you don't.

 

Bioware removed my very honest and very provable post - but hey we pay for this kindergarten mentality where we have to take a nap - forcefully - at least once a week. It's getting old and I am not 5.

 

 

 

 

I wasnt complaining about matrix cubes missing... I couldnt care less about it. It will come back, and should have come back during SCHEDULED patches. Get a lower level item to hold you over until it is fixed. It wont kill you. But i do pay for gametime and when that is taken away more then necessary without any form of compensation such as free gametime or discounts on future gametime, then yeah i am going to complain... And loudly.

Too many of us agree with you.

 

Those who don't must have a massive amount of time to waste sitting and waiting for 4-6 hours several times a WEEK - I don't. I am guessing you don't.

 

Bioware removed my very honest and very provable post - but hey we pay for this kindergarten mentality where we have to take a nap - forcefully - at least once a week. It's getting old and I am not 5.

 

Out of interest, was it you I was replying to that had nothing but insults for the developers, such as 'Idiot programmers and their stupid managers who have never seen a line of code in their life'? If that was you, you really can't complain.

When you have seen, first hand, what a poor manager goes through with the people who can't understand the code that they are supposed to be working on, then please, tell me I am wrong, but I've seen it TIME AND TIME AGAIN, in Government AND in Private Corporations.

 

If the REAL problem isn't addressed NO GAME can go forward as well as it SHOULD HAVE or COULD HAVE.

 

I was keeping it positive... I want the game to have THE BEST and darn it they can afford better; better programmers, better/faster servers. servers that are NOT DISK based, RAID based and are ALL on solid state drives that are massively redundant and can be switched from one set to the other(s) in less than 20 minutes for a cold restart on a HUGE array.

 

Now, how is that against the rules ? I DO have better ideas - just because I am looking forward and they (and just about every other gaming company) IS NOT why flag the person who COULD do better at least with the "visible" things that are "wrong" or perceived to be wrong...

 

WHY don't they have a background dowloader BETTER than the one WOW currently struggles with? There are protocols out there that are wicked fast, but I am guessing their bandwidth isn't what we may want to believe it is at all times... even major trunks can go out - it has happened and it will happen again. I used to get calls from people and then I find out two days later that a REGION of internet was out for days or more (duration for one was over a month).

 

Point is, if I can think of ways to do better and me just a 20 year computer IT certified, even before books techie/Lan Admin, I think with their collective genius they can do even better.. but I'd like input on MY ideas instead of them thinking that I was "JUST" proving how little freedom of speech exists online and with companies who are being paid by hard working and game loving people.

 

I am a VERY positive person, but anyone can have their ire provoked when a company takes money and then doesn't keep the people in the loop about just how many "outages" "patch" or "maintenance" HOURS and WHEN those hours will be carried out on a STRICTER and more ORDERLY schedule so people can work around them...

 

Sorry but one outage a week was about all I could take - with several during the week (I am not talking dropping) and all servers offline for several hours at a time with little to no notice is unacceptable - again we pay for this.

We deserve the best gaming experience that an MMO can provide.

 

Show me ONE person, if the game was Star Wars and the technology was two to three times better than this, do you REALLY think that people would stick around long?

 

THAT is what we are all trying to avoid.... another SWG and another heartbreak ending to a game we become invested in and they seem to not understand is, MOSTLY, a scheduled and very valuable time for most!

 

I have a real life too, but I play the game to keep my fingers and my mind sharp while sitting in the dark waiting for the stores to open at dawn... I sleep every other day... There are many people who depend not on the game but on it's ability to interest, test, stretch, and motivate to BETTER one's performance - even small gains for someone like me with rheumatoid arthritis is a daily victory.

 

Thanks for the browbeating Bioware and others. Cheers.

 

 

 

Out of interest, was it you I was replying to that had nothing but insults for the developers, such as 'Idiot programmers and their stupid managers who have never seen a line of code in their life'? If that was you, you really can't complain.

Servers are up. The downtime was only 2 hours. Let's all take a deep breath

They do that a lot... which is another sticking point but yeah... wow.. back to the questing and the silly 10s who go into WZs without any knowledge of their own toons.

 

And I love Wookies.. I want to be one!

 

 

 

Servers are up. The downtime was only 2 hours. Let's all take a deep breath

I think the issue as such is not patching, I think the issue is when they shedule the patch, sure I would not complain about four hour maintenance a week either if I hardly noticed it happening because it would be from 2 am until 6 am for me, but for the people in europe and NZ this is prime day time. from 8/9 am until 12/1 for europe and 5 to 9 pm for Aussie and NZ, those are usually the times that people actually have time to play. I wonder what those people would say, who now ask not to complain about quality assurance measures, if that happened during their prime times. Maybe Bioware could rotate its shedules from week to week so the maintenance happens in the 2-6 AM slot per region once every three weeks. that at least cuts down on the annoyance.

 

Just my 2cts worth

 

Blessed Be