I would be happy to come work for pwe and do what your company has failed to do.
1. Setup Mirror Servers Worldwide(Cloud For Non-Techies)
2. Fire the patch writers / Network Admins
3. Trash the crappy launcher (big problem)
4. Trash the pando media booster (bigger problem)
5. Spend money made on infrastructure upgrades
6. Dont nerf or punish members instead reward them for dealing with previous company fails.
7. Dont release new content until other issues are fully fixed.
8. Move from file based databases that require lots of file locks and defrags to MYSQL.
9. Dont BS the memberbase.
Anyone else wish to add to the list?
Pretty much sums it up, especially 3...
pando can be uninstalled, so thats not a major concern, but if the primary launcher for the game is utter sh*t, then that is a huge roadblock...its very user un-friendly and very unstable/buggy. Hell mine dosnt even show the server status anymore and the engage button doesnt even light (and the game wont launch unless "rapid launch" is clicked.
PATHETIC.
Its funny, eve players were rewarded for a forced down time because of a denial of service attack recently that took the server down for half a day. How many hours since PRE LoR has the server been down because of emergency maintance and just plain server dumps? bout 48 hours total?
I think something is seriously wrong. They are prolly all pullin there hair out tryin to figure out why there server wont boot or something else major. Why else would not at least get an eta on when they will have a fix or why its down in the first place.
I tried telling them that Bioware does that here where I live.. but appearantly (Ive been told) that this is some sort of hard-to-get space age tech that only a super Dev like Bioware can afford or understand. I replied that Shoppers Drug Mart uses it too. Im still awaiting a reply on that.
Yeah, I love the ones who say "there's just no way" when I watch it in action. I hate to tell them he does it with a standard laptop and a cellphone. And I think it only took him writing one short script to do that (maybe 2, not sure if the email is a separate script or not. I'm not IT)...it's not all that complicated. I know IT work in general is tough, but just being aware of the problem is not at all and monitoring changes through real time email saves him a lot of work.
Do they want to spend most of their money creating rock-solid code and distributed hardware systems that can maintain near constant uptime or do they want to spend money developing as much new content as possible and getting it released as soon as it is reasonably stable?
STO is not the launch control program for the US's nuclear missiles. Most players would prefer a system that suffers a few hours of downtime a week and is constantly being updated and patched to one that is taken down only a few times a year but hardly ever receives any new content.
Or they could just not have massive gaps in their software or tech.
They take the system down REGULARLY for mait. The constant CRASHES is the issues; not the mait.
pando can be uninstalled, so thats not a major concern, but if the primary launcher for the game is utter sh*t, then that is a huge roadblock...its very user un-friendly and very unstable/buggy. Hell mine dosnt even show the server status anymore and the engage button doesnt even light (and the game wont launch unless "rapid launch" is clicked.
PATHETIC.
Its funny, eve players were rewarded for a forced down time because of a denial of service attack recently that took the server down for half a day. How many hours since PRE LoR has the server been down because of emergency maintance and just plain server dumps? bout 48 hours total?
TIME to throw your userbase some love.
50000 skill points really didnt do much for me though knocked my training down from 30 days to 29 1/2 lol
What? Really? What planet are you from? Server went down over an hour ago.
Sorry. I had been having troubles a few hours ago, then I reinstalled the game. After that the server status was still green for a bit. It went red and I came to the forum. No need to be an TRIBBLE about it.
Well i find it interesting that they say they are doing server stability fix and then the system is down half the night. They never fix they just keep messing things up. honestly I think the game needs to be revamped right. Somehow someone messed something up and just keeps doing it.
I mean Dan keeps saying how the servers are stable, I guess he has not played much, I get knocked off still once or twice a night, or have to completely shut game down and restart. I called cable company they came out everything is Ok on their end and my end so that leaves Cryptic.
Now i will not rant because others can do a better job than me, I just want the game back to where it was stable and playable, not this game that is way too unstable.............
It may be down half the night, granted but at this point and time, it's been down about two hours. (And yes, they had an network issue Cryptic wide affecting launcher download speeds this morning; but that probably wasn't related to anything specifically in the STO patch as NW and CO were also affected.)
Also, they didn't have a single server issue this past weekend; and they stopped with the daily maintenance that was going on for about 10 days straight.
But again, when an unexpected crash happens on the PR front, they can't win. Why?
- Today they did a patch. Nine or so hours later, we have this server crash. MOB mentality response: The patch MUST have screwed the servers up
Now, assume we didn't have a patch today; and they even made an announcement stating "We know we normally do maintenance/patching on Thursdays, but were skipping it this week..."
And we STILL have the server crash we had today. What would the MOB response have most likely been:
"You guys ALWAYS do maintenance on Thursdays! If you hadn't skipped it this week, this probably wouldn't have happened. I'll take two hours of announced downtime over a night of unexpected downtime, thanks!..."
In the end the situation is:
- You (and I) would like to play STO now.
- We can't because the server has a problem, and they're working on fixing said problem.
But in the end, no matter what they do, the IT guys can't win. In the end users eyes when a system they want crashes, they'll ALWAYS point to the last date something was done, be it routine maintenance, a patch, a hardware upgrade, etc; and claim "someone must have done something wrong to cause thi0s outage! I want to know who...etc."
Now, it may sound like I'm defending Cryptic; but again as someone who does IT (and server support), it doesn't matter the scope of the system; when it's down and someone needs it, in the end users eyes it's always "because the IT guys are incompetent..." whether they say it out loud or not, and EVEN if they were praising you (or the team 5 minutes earlier, promising raises, etc because of 'such a good job' on something they may have needed in a pinch that you got from them.
Downtimes happen. Sometimes it is someone's direct fault; sometimes it's an act of God (IE unexpected hardware failure) - but in my experience whenever it happens the IT support people get (often unfairly) thrown to the wolves.
Formerly known as Armsman from June 2008 to June 20, 2012 PWE ARC Drone says: "Your STO forum community as you have known it is ended...Display names are irrelevant...Any further sense of community is irrelevant...Resistance is futile...You will be assimilated..."
I think something is seriously wrong. They are prolly all pullin there hair out tryin to figure out why there server wont boot or something else major. Why else would not at least get an eta on when they will have a fix or why its down in the first place.
I hear Branflake's is on a mini vacation tour in Europe. . . Wouldn't hold my breath on an ETA from anyone else at PWE/Crytic.
These outages happen way too often to be a hardware problem.
They might be stuck with faulty hardware. I've seen some pretty poorly designed networking equipment. Usually these are the "cheapest option" kind of device (HINT: You get what you pay for). We had some routers that needed to be reset fairly frequently in order to function stably. Or maybe the hardware they have isn't rated for the number of concurrent users that they have been experiencing?
I know they have had hardware issues recently, and I don't know that they ever resolved them, fully. But you're right, it could be software. I've worked with both sides of the coin and without seeing what they're seeing internally, I wouldn't want to say it's one or the other. It actually doesn't even matter to us what the problem is so long as they develop a long term solution and can effectively implement it.
I think the game accidentally deleted some of its files.
And I was pointing out it deleted some of the character data from the game data and maybe game data files.
I hope not, I have 3 lvl 50s and 1 lvl 35
We are the Borg. Existence as you know it is over. Lower your shields and surrender your ships. We will add your biological and technological distinctiveness to our own. Your culture will adapt to service us. Resistance is futile.
Am I the only one who chuckles every time the connection times out and underneath it says to press the support button for assistance? As if it's going to take you anywhere that you're going to get help...
As a reward for all the TRIBBLE we put up with for this LoR launch and subsequent "patches" and "fixes" we should each get 1 free c-store ship per account.
All in favor?
Light Speed! - No, light speed is too slow. We need LUDICROUS SPEED!
Ajma420 - Lv 50 Tac - Pride of the Federation Catherine The Great - Lv 50 Tac - Pride of the Empire Vladimir - Lv 50 Tac - Pride of the Rihannsu Empire
Does this mean that the game has evolved so much over the years that it has become a sentient being that decided to take its vengeance upon the expansion by stealing our files?!
As a reward for all the TRIBBLE we put up with for this LoR launch and subsequent "patches" and "fixes" we should each get 1 free c-store ship per account.
All in favor?
Hear, hear.
Spock: If I were human, I believe my response would be... "Go to hell"... if I were human.
Data: Captain, I believe I speak for everyone here, sir, when I say, "To hell with our orders." :cool:
the pisser is how cryptic thinks it doesn't need to offer up any explanation. even the generic "We are currently experiencing... blahblahblah...." why should anyone get the discounted LTS or spend any money on a game that is never focused on content, playability, stability, or an STF where the enemies follow the same rules as the players. can't say im ever going to buy a LTS at any price, or even buy Zen tokens ever again.
As a reward for all the TRIBBLE we put up with for this LoR launch and subsequent "patches" and "fixes" we should each get 1 free c-store ship per account.
Would be nice if they actually put up s courtesy note.
Agreed. It'd be nice if we all got an email so we knew about game issues without having to log in and check and perhaps an email letting us know the server was back online.
Comments
Pretty much sums it up, especially 3...
pando can be uninstalled, so thats not a major concern, but if the primary launcher for the game is utter sh*t, then that is a huge roadblock...its very user un-friendly and very unstable/buggy. Hell mine dosnt even show the server status anymore and the engage button doesnt even light (and the game wont launch unless "rapid launch" is clicked.
PATHETIC.
Its funny, eve players were rewarded for a forced down time because of a denial of service attack recently that took the server down for half a day. How many hours since PRE LoR has the server been down because of emergency maintance and just plain server dumps? bout 48 hours total?
TIME to throw your userbase some love.
So, then you like these outages? This ****ty excuse for a launcher? The lack of response?
Looks like we found us a PW employee.
blurgh, it's almost as frustrating as when you lose your keys...
on a lighter note, its 3.42am and I need a coffee...who wants to get this lassy a coffee?!
Just a normal coffee, semi skimmed milk and 3 sugars...I am definitely NOT sweet enough.
Make it real women, Lord knows we need some lovin' at PWE.
If it can't be server make it a hot chick.
Yeah, I love the ones who say "there's just no way" when I watch it in action. I hate to tell them he does it with a standard laptop and a cellphone. And I think it only took him writing one short script to do that (maybe 2, not sure if the email is a separate script or not. I'm not IT)...it's not all that complicated. I know IT work in general is tough, but just being aware of the problem is not at all and monitoring changes through real time email saves him a lot of work.
Or they could just not have massive gaps in their software or tech.
They take the system down REGULARLY for mait. The constant CRASHES is the issues; not the mait.
And I was pointing out it deleted some of the character data from the game data and maybe game data files.
50000 skill points really didnt do much for me though knocked my training down from 30 days to 29 1/2 lol
http://sto.perfectworld.com/grid_status
No, don't bother trying it. You know it's not there.
It just seams, if they wanted to keep customers, they could to do the most basic, simple, obvious, DUH stuff. But NOOOOoooooo!
+1 for the giggle I got.
Sorry. I had been having troubles a few hours ago, then I reinstalled the game. After that the server status was still green for a bit. It went red and I came to the forum. No need to be an TRIBBLE about it.
It may be down half the night, granted but at this point and time, it's been down about two hours. (And yes, they had an network issue Cryptic wide affecting launcher download speeds this morning; but that probably wasn't related to anything specifically in the STO patch as NW and CO were also affected.)
Also, they didn't have a single server issue this past weekend; and they stopped with the daily maintenance that was going on for about 10 days straight.
But again, when an unexpected crash happens on the PR front, they can't win. Why?
- Today they did a patch. Nine or so hours later, we have this server crash. MOB mentality response: The patch MUST have screwed the servers up
Now, assume we didn't have a patch today; and they even made an announcement stating "We know we normally do maintenance/patching on Thursdays, but were skipping it this week..."
And we STILL have the server crash we had today. What would the MOB response have most likely been:
"You guys ALWAYS do maintenance on Thursdays! If you hadn't skipped it this week, this probably wouldn't have happened. I'll take two hours of announced downtime over a night of unexpected downtime, thanks!..."
In the end the situation is:
- You (and I) would like to play STO now.
- We can't because the server has a problem, and they're working on fixing said problem.
But in the end, no matter what they do, the IT guys can't win. In the end users eyes when a system they want crashes, they'll ALWAYS point to the last date something was done, be it routine maintenance, a patch, a hardware upgrade, etc; and claim "someone must have done something wrong to cause thi0s outage! I want to know who...etc."
Now, it may sound like I'm defending Cryptic; but again as someone who does IT (and server support), it doesn't matter the scope of the system; when it's down and someone needs it, in the end users eyes it's always "because the IT guys are incompetent..." whether they say it out loud or not, and EVEN if they were praising you (or the team 5 minutes earlier, promising raises, etc because of 'such a good job' on something they may have needed in a pinch that you got from them.
Downtimes happen. Sometimes it is someone's direct fault; sometimes it's an act of God (IE unexpected hardware failure) - but in my experience whenever it happens the IT support people get (often unfairly) thrown to the wolves.
PWE ARC Drone says: "Your STO forum community as you have known it is ended...Display names are irrelevant...Any further sense of community is irrelevant...Resistance is futile...You will be assimilated..."
I hear Branflake's is on a mini vacation tour in Europe. . . Wouldn't hold my breath on an ETA from anyone else at PWE/Crytic.
They might be stuck with faulty hardware. I've seen some pretty poorly designed networking equipment. Usually these are the "cheapest option" kind of device (HINT: You get what you pay for). We had some routers that needed to be reset fairly frequently in order to function stably. Or maybe the hardware they have isn't rated for the number of concurrent users that they have been experiencing?
I know they have had hardware issues recently, and I don't know that they ever resolved them, fully. But you're right, it could be software. I've worked with both sides of the coin and without seeing what they're seeing internally, I wouldn't want to say it's one or the other. It actually doesn't even matter to us what the problem is so long as they develop a long term solution and can effectively implement it.
I hope not, I have 3 lvl 50s and 1 lvl 35
All in favor?
Ajma420 - Lv 50 Tac - Pride of the Federation
Catherine The Great - Lv 50 Tac - Pride of the Empire
Vladimir - Lv 50 Tac - Pride of the Rihannsu Empire
Time to call the Bynars!
Hear, hear.
Data: Captain, I believe I speak for everyone here, sir, when I say, "To hell with our orders." :cool:
PS: Sollvax, no need to add your worthless wooden nickel comments.
[SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
Saying "Aye" to this one.
Agreed. It'd be nice if we all got an email so we knew about game issues without having to log in and check and perhaps an email letting us know the server was back online.