VOTE: Get rid of ARC and get our downloads back

Mosz - Heavens Tear wrote: »

higher bandwidth costs compared to what? this makes zero sense, torrents reduce the amount of bandwidth pwi would use as those that are currently downloading the client are at the same time uploading it to others, torrents create an absolute minimal amount of bandwidth overhead, not to mention greatly reduce the number of corrupt/interrupted downloads that need to be restarted

Oh excuse me for confusing download/upload fundamentals when hosting something on a server compared with that of a torrent.

why hate arc? i know it's just another manager - everyone seems to be doing this recently - but it's at least light-weight and not required to play. it doesn't have to be running to play any games, it doesn't even have to be installed.

launch the game from elementclient.exe like everyone already does without arc and you're good to go

the auto-sign in thing is pretty neat, though

b:bye

prof wrote: »

why hate arc? i know it's just another manager - everyone seems to be doing this recently - but it's at least light-weight and not required to play. it doesn't have to be running to play any games, it doesn't even have to be installed.

It's not required to play the game, yet people who don't have an older client are forced to download it now, without any other options available to them if they go through official channels. That in itself makes it an undesirable piece of software for me.

For me, it's the principle of the thing: I'm having something forced on me that I don't want and technically don't need, while there are other ( easier ) methods available, but the company insists on forcing it on me. Why? I don't know. If they'd made Arc a choice along with the other download methods, I wouldn't mind it half as much.

Bubbles - Morai wrote: »

It's been said before in this thread, simply copy over the whole Perfect World International folder to a thumb drive (assuming it's 8 gb or bigger) or to an external HDD and transfer it to any computer to wish to put it on.
PWI, ARC-less, does not care where you place it at. It simply just works.

If that fails (or you don't have a way of transferring the client over), there are plenty of websites with older versions of PWI on them.

For example,this website has client files going back all the way to 2007 (pre-PWI). Looks like they have the SOW client from February.

That website is based in Australia so the speeds are going to be a bit slow, I'm sure you can find a faster site or torrents elsewhere if you look.

Thanks for posting this. I'm going to have to save it to a thumb drive for back up because I've had computers crash before.

I will say this though, I've already had friends who had to use Arc and have had nothing but problems. If I'm ever in that situation where I am forced to use it I WILL quit PWI if I don't anyway. I'm not too happy with some of the other choices they've already taken from us with the last update and the only thing that keeps alot of us here is the time and money that we've already put in.

SylenThunder - Sanctuary wrote: »

Ok, I really didn't want to have to do this, and I could have let you sit in your own little bubble, but this is just too much. I'll break it down in tidbits for those that aren't as tech-aware as you claim to be.

Ok, so you have the A+ certification. That's kinda like having a CDL (chauffeur's) license.
I'll relate it for the community.
Standard driving permit = Complete noob. You can turn on the computer and know how to use the browser.
Drivers license = Average computer user. You can install and remove most programs, use e-mail, Office, and perform other various tasks.
CDL license = CompTIA A+ certification. You're trained in the absolute basics of PC troubleshooting and are familiarized with basic hardware repair.
As far as driving goes, it's a small step up from a regular license, allows you to drive some box vans, and may allow you to drive a bus with an added certification.
Class A Truck License or higher = IT Professional This individual has multiple high-level certifications and a two-year associate degree in computer science at a minimum. Usually they will have a masters and 4-5 years of college.

So far you've shown that your self-training is mainly things that you don't fully understand how they actually work or operate. As for the CompTIA A+ certification, my 14-year-old can get that if she simply went down and took the test right now. Technical schools have a fairly limited scope of instruction.

For comparison, here's my experience...
I was programming BASIC on a TRS-80 before most people knew home computers existed. I built a motherboard for a 286 16MHz from the chips up when I was 14. (A full month before they were released to the public.) I've programmed in 6 different languages, and I've been troubleshooting computer hardware, software, and networks since I was a kid. I've written guides and books on Operating systems, and software associated with them. That's just my self-taught skills.
I additionally am CompTIA A+ and Network+ certified. Am CCNA certified, and have additionally wireless and network security. I am MCSE certified in Windows 98, XP, Vista, and Windows 7 for OS's, and I additionally have a certification in Office, Exhange server, and Access. I currently work for a large international company providing IT support to hundreds of different systems for thousands of users.
On top of that, I've been on the internet since before it was a graphical interface. It was all UNIX text and you could print a list of all the websites in the world on a few pieces of paper. I've been a GM/Dev for MMO games since Meridian59. I have my own server, and manage a private game server myself. I've been a hacker and cracker, and I've been "on the scene" for longer than a lot of the people reading this have been alive.


Ok, couple of things you've got way off track, and you obviously haven't paid attention since you formed your original opinion 10 years ago that was additionally incorrect.

1. Software is developed by humans. Humans make mistakes and there can be bugs in the code. Also, there are thousands of updates to existing software every day, on top of the fact that the is a large quantity of new software constantly being developed. Which is why you get compatibility updates. To fix issues with other software up updates that might arise.

2. There are always people like I used to be hacking and cracking code. Which is shy software security needs to be constantly updated. Especially something like torrent software that sits on the edge of a realm of hackers and pirates. This doesn't make torrenting bad, and it doesn't open you to risk if you are using torrents for the right reasons, and connecting to safe seeds.

3. OMG, pick a flavor of Windows, Linux, or even an Apple OS. You will see immediately why you want security and compatibility updates.

4. You aren't forced to be a distributor with torrents. You can absolutely configure your torrent lickt so that all you do is leech. Just keep in mind that a lot of us on the scene who do heavy seeding have out configuration set to block you from connecting to our servers.

5. This one's the real kicker, because you're trying to take a sniper shot at me while halfway trying to sound like you know what you're talking about. In the end, you only show how ignorant you are. The torrent file I linked was simply a link for your torrent software to connect to the seeds available in the cloud for downloading the official version 699 client installer. If you knew how torrents worked, you'd know how secure that is. We'll get to that later.

Once again, you show the entire community how entirely clueless you are.

1. Any server costs money, torrents such as the client would be initially seeded from the PWE servers, and then afterwards supported by the cloud. The object of this is precicely to take the load off of the PWE servers. Something that you obviously fail to understand.
The purpose of torrenting is to provide large software distribution without putting a heavy load on any one network or server. MANY legitimate businesses use torrents for distribution of extremely large files or packages. Which leads us to the next step...

2. One of the reasons that torrents are preferred for large file downloads is for data preservation. Each file is MD5 hash checked while it's downloading, and verified after it arrives. Once you have a seed set, you can't just change the files, or willy nilly add viruses to them. those files will then fail the hash check and will not be uploaded. (Most good clients will additionally replace them with the proper files.) This ensures that the software not only remains intact throughout it's distribution cycle in the cloud, but also that the integrity of the files remains the same as the original distribution.

3. Anyone can provide a torrent link to the source in just about any location. That doesn't change the source. If it changes anything, it might add more trackers, which will only improve download capability and increase the scope of the source files in the cloud.

Again, you continue to show your ignorance. Prior to ARC, the torrent method has been the preferred download method.
PWE originally had a large .rar compressed version on the installer. It was huge, and if your internet connection wasn't gold, you were likely to get a corrupted download. Then they added the torrent shortly afterwards. It ensured that you got the file intact, without corruption, and additionally took some of the load off of their servers. Later, PWE created the intaller that downloaded the client files. Basically it was a small program that you downloaded, that then downloaded the individual files from the installation package and ran the install. It had options to verify both during the download process, and during the install. (Personally this was the best method for most users.) The problem with hits option though, what that the bulk of the bandwidth for the downloads came off the PWE servers.
So PWE went to Pando. Pando is basically like a torrent. Except that it's a smaller cloud, PWE has to pay Pando for licensing, and for the cloud servers connections. It costs a bit more, but takes a lot of the load off of the PWE distribution servers.
Then came ARC. I haven't investigated the download methods for ARC, but t appears to be a combination of direct download and Peer-to-peer file sharing. (Kinda like Pando was.)

Finally, it's not that I'm against ARC. If they would fix the current bugs and reduce it's footprint some, I would even go as far as recommending it.
My issue is that I don't need another process running in the background to play this one game. I don't wish to have to download and install a program, just to get to my client. Whether it be Pando media Booster, or ARC.

They took this ability away, which in the great scheme of things, is a pretty stupid move for a F2P title. I could understand if the majority of their games were P2P, and PWI just got rolled into it because of that. Even then though, an alternative should be available through either an actual direct download, or the more common torrent method.
But this isn't the case. Of PWEs current lineup of 14 games, I am only aware of one that you must purchase.

Now I didn't make this huge wall of text just to show you what an idiot you are. It's mainly to educate the others that might have been misled by your idiocy. Please don't post again unless you actually know what you're talking about. I can honestly say that my 14-year-old daughter knows more about software and security than you have shown, and that's pretty sad.
Colors added so it's at least a more interesting looking wall.

Submarined b:dirty ARC sucks btw b:bye

ARC suck!!!! go away ARC burn in hell, give us option to chose normal download b:angry

I've been registered with, and played, PWI for nearly 5 years now (off and on). So I've been around almost as long as the NA localization has. I've NEVER had a client problem in the past, other than some bugs which were EASILY fixable within a matter of minutes. I recently got my laptop, and decided to install and play the game after about a 6 month break.

PWI's answer to my wanting to play their game:

No. You will not play. Denied any and all access.

Why? simple answer; Arc. The launcher is screwed up, manual patches don't work, lags the **** out of my otherwise normal laptop. I can run -removed- ALL AT THE SAME TIME. But can i run the Arc program and install a single game? Laptop: "Hahahaha, ******-slaps* DENIED!"

I tried downloading a previous version that still used Pando Media Booster, but ya'know? PWI decided to say "**** you."

Is it just me or... has PWI really turned into Microsoft and said "Listen to our player community? What's a player community? Wait! They give us MONEY!? WHY HAVEN'T WE HEARD OF THIS CONCEPT BEFORE!?"

Yeah.. that about sums it up.

Edit: Yes, the join date for this account says Dec. 2011, however for some reason when i got on my original account(s) they all kept telling me that i apparently made the account within the last 3 days and i could not post so *Shrugs*

Second edit: For some reason the chat filter blocked -removed-

I agree with what 90% of you guys said.. Summed up ARC should just go F.uk off in a corner and die. I tried to use ARC and it made game play so damn much worse. I literally has to reset my comp to an prior backup date just to fully remove ARC and get back to the game itself.b:angry

I had downloaded ARC just to test and see how it works, the day i installed the same day i just removed it also because i really don't like ARC, while uninstalling ARC it also removed PWI from my P.C, i had use the torrent links to download the game all again. b:shutup

I fully support SylenThunder, PWE should bring back torrent & direct download options to download in game forcing the player-base to use something which is ****.
PLEASE THINK ABOUT THE PLAYERS BEFORE FORCING ANY PROGRAM OS US.
Any official word from any PWE staff or Admin will be really nice why they're forcing ARC on us.

b:cry idk when i installed ARC at theweek i got some kind of troyans try get on my CP b:sad
b:cute then unistalled it b:cute and hopefully i got oldpwi genesis some where on other hard disk b:cute

Is there anyway to go around arc, unfortunately my pc crash, so i tried arc, to be honest i really don't like or want it, is there any other way to download pwi directly......I think arc should be optional >.>

for now i only know that my game is working without arc, but if they ever try to force me to download it, its bye bye pwi

http://yadi.sk/d/LuFN--2q5utf8

Version 676, Original Sirens of war release installer. for anyone who wants it