Today you brought the servers down on a Saturday, affecting not only Europeans (who are kinda getting used to not mattering in your considerations) but also Americans who settle down for their first decent length play session of the week on Friday nights.

Posted: Today , 12:10 AM

 

Upcoming Patch + Scheduled Maintenance: January 31st, 2012

1: You post a warning less than two hours before the servers are brought down. Ok, if this is an emergency, tell us it's an emergency. Don't call it 'maintenance' when you decide to pull down all the servers on a Friday night with less than 2 hours notice.

2: The post is highly ambiguous. If you're pulling the servers down on a Friday, put Friday in the title. If you're pulling the servers down today, in 2 hours, put that in the title to get the word out. The title gives the overwealing impression that the Patch + Maintenance are on Jan 31st.

3: People expect patches Tuesday 2am CST onwards. There are sometimes patches to fix those patches on wed/thus am following. If you break from that pattern then clearly inform your playerbase

1.1.0c Patch Notes - 1/28/2012

 

 

General

•Improved service to reduce the number of player disconnections to the character selection screen.

Nothing to download on the patch server, all the work was done serverside. This was the reason for the server to be down for everyone? This was an issue than couldn't wait until the scheduled mainenance in 3 days? Instead of a few people having the minor inconvenience of getting dropped to the character select screen and having to log back in (I think it's happened to me twice, I wasted 30s logging back in each time) you take down the servers for everyone.

This was not a problem that couldn't wait 72h in my opinion, and I don't think many would disagree. The problems in Ilum continued for days while every forum had people screaming at you to put a stop to the insanity before you finally turned the taxis off. I haven't seen mention of this problem so can't understand why it was such an emergency

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Quote box purposefully blank. This represents your utter lack of communication with your customers. Potentially tens or even hundreds of thousands of us expecting the servers to be online and finding them unexpectedly taken down. No reason given, no communication at all other than to turn off all the comments on the forums in your customary 'lalalala-we-can't-hear-you' downtime policy. No updates given until a few minutes before the servers were due up, and then just a 'they're still down, they're not coming up yet, and there's no eta'.

If servers have to come down, then fine, they have to come down. That's no excuse for mishandling the situation and making things WORSE. For a multinational company running a worldwide premium MMO, you simply can't treat your customers like mushrooms all the time. You must have a Customer Services or Community Relations team, and they are failing in their responsibilities. It only takes a few minutes to update your subscribers on situations and it goes a long way to quelling resentment. Please improve your service in this area.

This was not a problem that couldn't wait 72h in my opinion, and I don't think many would disagree.

Hello,

I disagree.

Hello,

 

I disagree.

Made me lol:)

I agree with the OP. The lack of communication is astonishing. A lot of anger can be avoided by simply talking to the people.

But you never seem to share information with your customers or if you do, it's after the damage was already done.

Way more than a 2h warning on the forums, but most people can't be bothered to read when they are busy posting their negativity constantly.

Also: I disagree. Like anyone else with a life, I can surely find something else to entertain myself if the servers are brought down, even unexpectedly. It's a game, not your livelihood.

Way more than a 2h warning on the forums, but most people can't be bothered to read when they are busy posting their negativity constantly.

Where did you see all this advance notice?

I see a post that was posted at 12:10am CST today announcing the patch at 2am CST today. If you have seen it elsewhere, then feel free to point it out

Also: I disagree. Like anyone else with a life, I can surely find something else to entertain myself if the servers are brought down, even unexpectedly. It's a game, not your livelihood.

And yet here you are, posting on the forums... And the servers aren't even down any more, so posting on the forums must be more important to you than not only the game, but also all those other things in your life you could be doing right now...

Way more than a 2h warning on the forums, but most people can't be bothered to read when they are busy posting their negativity constantly.

Not a lot of use for anyone who wasnt even awake at the time the notice was given... 8 hours warning wouldnt have been enough to let most europeans know about it, and they are the ones most affected by it!

EDIT - and im quite sure this will be locked in 5 minutes just like all the other threads...

Hello,

 

I disagree.

I second this.

Hello,

 

I disagree.

I agree with this disagreement. This was a necessary fix.

I agree with this disagreement. This was a necessary fix.

How long has it been a 'necessary fix' and why couldnt it wait till tuesday like everything else?

Way more than a 2h warning on the forums, but most people can't be bothered to read when they are busy posting their negativity constantly.

 

Also: I disagree. Like anyone else with a life, I can surely find something else to entertain myself if the servers are brought down, even unexpectedly. It's a game, not your livelihood.

I'm actually amused by people stating, that "since they have a life they can take crappy service". Either you don't have a life and are in desperate need of lying to everyone around you, that you do have one, or just got a life after years of not having one and are typical neophites. Just like poeple who just quit smoking and who feel the urge to tell everyone about it. You have a life? Good for you. It doesn't mean Bioware can fail. I have a life too. A good job, a girlfriend, a pack of good friends. Do I need to keep on telling it to strangers on some game forums? No, I don't. Grow up and perhaps get a real life, since you seem to be in need of convincing yourselves you do have one.

Lack of communication from Bioware is unacceptable. So are 5hr downtimes on saturdays.

Regards,

Kalantris

I have a life too. A good job, a girlfriend, a pack of good friends. Do I need to keep on telling it to strangers on some game forums?

Hello,

At least once, apparently.

The warning was posted at 6:10PM EST last night. So we had way more than 2 hours notice. Also, people getting disconnected is extremely important and needs to be dealt with immediately.

Third, the servers were up by 9:30AM EST, so the downtime barely impacted the NA customers. The European customers have a good reason to gripe, but not North American customers.

Finally, emergency maintenance happens. Deal with it.

How long has it been a 'necessary fix' and why couldnt it wait till tuesday like everything else?

So a fix for players getting disconnected should wait until Tuesday just because they waited this long already?

They announced this way before the server was brought down. I saw the post last night at 9PM and the server was not brought down till 3 AM EST. That's at least 6 hours ahead.

Great - really useful for the people who it actualy affects - EG the european players.

6 hours before 8am is 2am.

So wonderful - 99% of people in europe went to bed last night with no warning and woke up with no game.

I agree with this disagreement. This was a necessary fix.

Noone's debating the necessity of the fix, merely that it could've waited until the announced downtime 3 days later.

A few people spending an extra 3 days very occasionally having the minor inconvenience of having to return from character select. A process taking 30 seconds or so.

vs.

Tens or hundreds of thousands or people being unable to access the servers whatsoever,when they fully expected to

It's kinda like suspending the entire train network because one of the escalators at one of the stations is broken...

A good job, a girlfriend, a pack of good friends. Do I need to keep on telling it to strangers on some game forums? No, I don't.

And yet, here you are, posting exactly that! Pot and kettle anyone?

So a fix for players getting disconnected should wait until Tuesday just because they waited this long already?

Not at all - I asked a question.

Ive seen HUNDREDS of threads on ability delay and various other 'gamebreaking' bugs, but not seen one about game constantly sending people back to the character screen.

So if a bug was so gamebreaking for so many people that it had to be released on a saturday morning, then I would have thought that I would have seen hundreds of threads about it.

Downtime happens. It sucks, but it's the nature of an MMO. If you can't deal with it, I'd suggest playing single-player games, or an MMO that has been out for a few years when emergency downtime is less frequent.

No point in pitching a fit at Bioware, though. This is part of playing an MMO, particularly a new one.

Downtime happens. It sucks, but it's the nature of an MMO. If you can't deal with it, I'd suggest playing single-player games, or an MMO that has been out for a few years when emergency downtime is less frequent.

 

No point in pitching a fit at Bioware, though. This is part of playing an MMO, particularly a new one.

Downtime is a fact when playing MMOs.

Lack of communication is not however. From my POV this team is one of the most uncommunicative, least customer focused I have ever seen in an MMO. The game itself is fine. There are bugs but for the most part I enjoy it. What I struggle with is the effort put forth on support items like CS, like building community, like the way the forums are designed and managed, how maintenance is handled, etc. They seemed to have spent so much time and effort on the game itself they forgot about planning for how they were going to support it.

Not at all - I asked a question.

 

Ive seen HUNDREDS of threads on ability delay and various other 'gamebreaking' bugs, but not seen one about game constantly sending people back to the character screen.

 

So if a bug was so gamebreaking for so many people that it had to be released on a saturday morning, then I would have thought that I would have seen hundreds of threads about it.

Uhh, there have been. You're just not using the search engine correctly.

And yet, here you are, posting exactly that! Pot and kettle anyone?

Reading comprehension. There's a difference between saying and keeping on saying. I said it once and don't feel the urge to do it again. If you feel the urge to read it again, copy-paste it a couple of times to notepad. Then go to any online dictionary and find the definition of "keeping on doing something". I'm gonna give you a hint. It's about doing something multiple times.

I just love people, who really need to show off their sarcasm skills everytime they think there's a possibility to do it. Sarcasm != intelligence. It doesn't make you look smart.

Regards,

Kalantris