OP has his head about thirteen feet up his aft jeffries tube.
You want worst launch ever? World of Warcraft. Yes, the 800 lbs gorilla itself had a HORRENDOUS launch. Release day, players got MAYBE an hour of stable play. The following WEEK, those same players were lucky to get 3 hours of stability. WoW launch, honestly, blew.
Aion launch was... decent, but the game itself turned TRIBBLE, so moving on
Guild Wars: opening day = unable to zone between areas unless you hammered on the portal and hope your click was the one the servers registered.
Anarchy Online: launch was.... well, let's just not go there... about as bad as WoW's
I assume you speak of the US launch for WoW ?
The Launch in Europe went absolutely fine for me, with only some lag occasionally.
But don't forget that the major bulk of wow's problems came from the absolutely huge amount of people who wanted to play, much bigger than the entire MMO market of the time put together, at least in the West.
Anyway, despite all that, I don't think you should just Cryptic on the first few days. I know their people want nothing more than to launch well since their jobs may even hang in the balance, so I have faith in that they are working on these issues with heart and soul.
Anyone that says this is the worst launch has never played Anarchy Online, or UO or even WoW at launch for that matter , Dethecus was down for days at a time.
I agree with the OP. Worst Launch Ever. This will be in the history books for a long time. When you have to PREVENT people from logging on for a load-balancing solution, you've forgotten to light all engines to your rocket.
Anyone that says this is the worst launch has never played Anarchy Online, or UO or even WoW at launch for that matter , Dethecus was down for days at a time.
Those are first-time launches for them. This is not. Furthermore, it is with a "tested" engine.
Oh yeah, worst launch ever, especially with the logon queue debacle.
Wow - I REALLY like this game, but Cryptic, you knew in beta this was a problem. Sticking to this single server (yes, before some techie idiot jumps in Im aware that theres multiple machines to run the one server) philosphy is just incredibly short sighted.
Double or triple the number of computers involved - do it now - not in a month when you lose half the subscriptions. You have a potental major hit on your hands but youre goingto blow it if you dont get immediate improvement to the infrastructure. That means spending more money , a lot more.
Someone there is being hyper cautious with the supply side of computing power. The game is crashing due to server load. You know it, and more importantly WE know it.
We WANT to love this game. Its NOT ready, YOU'RE not ready.
If something isnt done sooner than later, well... take a look at Warhammer or AoC for the end result.
Please, dont blow it. If it means hiring more ppl, buying more machines or actually creating a new server and letting ppl transfer off the current one, then so be it.
Now - before folks jump in with the usual arguments, let me help you out
calm down/relax : Im calm, im not angry, im not ranting - im offering some (admittedly unsolicited) advice
Quit/cancel: Im not there - yet, that doesnt mean I cant express an opinion either.
We're still on the old smaller server cluster that was borrowed from CO. When retail hits, we'll all move to the new cluster. This explains the same server issues that have been plaguing the game since closed beta, and the need for a login queue.
The worst launch was WW2Online. Nothing else compares. The game had 50,000 preorders and the server could support about 300 players. It was so unplayable that they suspended subscription payments for 6 months. It was still awful after 6 months (flying tanks, etc.).
The second worst launch (a more traditional MMO) was Anarchy Online.
That said, this game is awful. Another Bill Roper classic.
Everybody keeps pointing to how bad WoW was... but Blizzard compensated players with game time. Several days in the first month alone and they worked tirelessly to get it resolved (i.e. didn't take the weekend off to party just before launch day). Also... the core features of the game they promised existed where as STO is missing several of the things we were promised.
Ooops... I forgot to give them time. They have like 22 hours left, I am sure they will release all the things they promised us by then.
Er. It is a game in development! That is right. I keep forgetting what all the fans keep telling me. If I remember the rules of my "fanboi in training handbook" I am supposed to pay for the FULL game now, I get half now, and half later. Like some sort of shady mob deal.
I also keep forgetting that X title released by X company had issues before so that excuses Cryptic now. Even though Cryptic has released pretty much more MMO's than any other company in the US. And they are running into the same problems they had with Champions Online. But that doesn't matter because that was then and this is now. This is in SPACE.
And it also doesn't matter that despite releasing the product in multiple languages and in several countries simultaneously it is a US based company so all events and downtime will take place on the US schedule and the rest of the World can suck it. So long as they keep paying.
At least they worked hard to get the Borg working, and they kept us fully up to date on that progress including a front page story and in game updates. Even though any word or news about the massive connectivity failures was swept under the carpet and the forum was closed for nearly the entire first day of the head start (not busy... closed). AGH! Sorry... I keep slipping into logic instead of fanboi blind faith mode.
WOW gave free time after 30 day period was over. I got two weeks free time because i couldn't log in for almost 3 weeks and whenever i did i was kicked out of server.
Are things that bad in STO? nope. I have got 20 hours of playtime since head start began. If things go as bad as WOW which i am pretty sure it won't. Cryptic would most probably offer free time? but we are not there yet and things are not that bad.
Oh Man I remember how I would get booted from WoW for 2 weeks until the AMD 64 bit fix was released. And the line to play was forever! In SWG starsider was slammed, man I miss that full server, those maps were huge. Eve Online had problems as well at launch where small things would crash the server.
If the ADD generation is paying for a service, they should get what they paid for.
In no other industry can you pay for a service, not receive it and then be told its YOUR FAULT as the CONSUMER.
In many industries it operates just like this - Cable TV, Telephone Service, Gym Memberships, website service, etc.
And in the US, you are required to read the fine print. What you *think* you are paying for means little, when you are actually told what you are paying for. No where in Cryptic's agreement have they stated that you are guanteed unfettered access 24/7. So just because you *think* you are entitled to it, does not mean that is what you are paying for.
The worst launch was WW2Online. Nothing else compares. The game had 50,000 preorders and the server could support about 300 players. It was so unplayable that they suspended subscription payments for 6 months. It was still awful after 6 months (flying tanks, etc.).
The second worst launch (a more traditional MMO) was Anarchy Online.
That said, this game is awful. Another Bill Roper classic.
You forgot the other Bill Roper Classics: EVE Online, City of Heroes and Age of Conan.
And how can people always forget about the horrible launch of Vanguard??
I assume you speak of the US launch for WoW ?
The Launch in Europe went absolutely fine for me, with only some lag occasionally.
But don't forget that the major bulk of wow's problems came from the absolutely huge amount of people who wanted to play, much bigger than the entire MMO market of the time put together, at least in the West.
Anyway, despite all that, I don't think you should just Cryptic on the first few days. I know their people want nothing more than to launch well since their jobs may even hang in the balance, so I have faith in that they are working on these issues with heart and soul.
The European launch was a little over two months after america. Enough time for them to figure out how to stabilize the servers.
Most mmos take one to two months after release before servers are stabilized.
This is purely opinion so if I state it as fact I apologize;
At least when I finally got logged into WoW I had fun... that isn't the case with STO.
I remember one time at the movie theater my friend was eating DOTS... you know what those are right? Jelly globs that taste like wax. I asked him, "Man... why do you get those things?" He told me, "There are more in the box." "Yeah, but they taste terrible." I replied. He looked at me with a straight face and said, "They taste like TRIBBLE but you get a lot of them." And we were both overcome by fits of laughter that got us fiercely whispered at to shut up.
The same can be said of STO... just because the server uptime has been mostly resolved doesn't mean the end result is pleasant.
Really, on the scale of MMORPG failures, a few several-hour long downtimes is notihng. I've been in MMORPGs that have been unplayable for weeks. Yet, STO did well enough that I've managed a level 6 and level 11 character over the past couple days. Might as well lock this thread as the baseless whining it is, IMHO.
You forgot the other Bill Roper Classics: EVE Online, City of Heroes and Age of Conan.
And how can people always forget about the horrible launch of Vanguard??
Sorry what did bill roper (fomerly of blizzard entertainment (diablo i & ii) and flagship studios (hellgate london) have to do with above said games exactly?
I must admit funny seeing the same HGL bugs over here in this game.. lol
This is purely opinion so if I state it as fact I apologize;
At least when I finally got logged into WoW I had fun... that isn't the case with STO.
I remember one time at the movie theater my friend was eating DOTS... you know what those are right? Jelly globs that taste like wax. I asked him, "Man... why do you get those things?" He told me, "There are more in the box." "Yeah, but they taste terrible." I replied. He looked at me with a straight face and said, "They taste like TRIBBLE but you get a lot of them." And we were both overcome by fits of laughter that got us fiercely whispered at to shut up.
The same can be said of STO... just because the server uptime has been mostly resolved doesn't mean the end result is pleasant.
There is always an option to quit. By the way we are discussing the launch issues, not whether you like this game or not.
Sorry what did bill roper (fomerly of blizzard entertainment (diablo i & ii) and flagship entertainment (hellgate london) have to do with above said games exactly?
Pretty much as much as with Star Trek Online. So I thought I might add them...
Those are first-time launches for them. This is not. Furthermore, it is with a "tested" engine.
Oh yeah, worst launch ever, especially with the logon queue debacle.
If you think the logins ques are bad here apparently you missed the AIon launch and Warhammers launch on a tested engine and it wasn't a first time around launch for them either.
As much as you guys freak out about little stuff like this , I would hate to see what real problems do to you.
There is always an option to quit. By the way we are discussing the launch issues, not whether you like this game or not.
Sorry for straying off topic, just replying to comments about WoW granting time for lost gametime. I did in fact "quit" in that I canceled my order but I wouldn't be here on the forum if I didn't want the game to succeed. I hold no grudge against fans of the game (at least not as much as they apparently hold against me for not liking it and being here fighting to make it better) and I hope it skyrockets and I am completely wrong about my predictions it will fail. i would like nothing more than to be considered an idiot (I am used to it) if it means that the game thrives.
I have participated in many launches and beta's and I am sorry if this just strikes me as one of the worst. I had trouble logging into other games, maybe more than with STO, but it comes back to content in that I was willing to put up with long queue's with other games because the reward was more fulfilling. The game experience was just better.
If you enjoy playing the game then I am sure this launch seems great. But part of the launch is the content so even if the hardware is flawless it is going to feel like a failure if you don't have any fun once you DO slog through the immobile queue and the lag.
The "launch" is all inclusive in terms of what is BEING launched... if you only want to talk about hardware then that is a completely different discussion.
I just had to reply about the worst launch ever thing... simply not the case.
I have played a lot of MMO's from UO days when there was only dial up and these are what i think the worst launches are.. STO doesn't make the list btw:
WOW - Everyone says it had a good launch but this was not the case. Blizzard didnt realise how many would actually buy the game and never had enough servers to let everyone on, the stability came later, much later.
DAoC - Game was pretty much launched as an aplha, no dungeon and even loot drops were not itemized, took a couple of months to fix this from release.
Anarchy Online - Game launched so badly that the servers were constantly crashing and was so unplayable it lost a lot of player base... on top of that the company almost went belly up 3 months into launch.
SWG - It had its own issue and when NGE launched the game was not compatible with its own update, on top of that its continuous bugs and crashes.
Despite all that they all have one thing in common and while the list is not exhaustive it covers a few of the "AAA" titles. They all have bad starts and bugs but in time they all get better.
Just need a little patience and it will improve, the above list proves it
Not even close to the worst for me, Vanguard was horrible and UO I still have nightmares over.
WoW was bad but they were very quick to hand out free time to those of us who sat through queues and patches all day long. :P Then again, they were a large successful studio already - who knows what Cryptic will do in response to launch this week?
Considering this is just the headstart, tomorrow is going to be interesting!
Comments
You want worst launch ever? World of Warcraft. Yes, the 800 lbs gorilla itself had a HORRENDOUS launch. Release day, players got MAYBE an hour of stable play. The following WEEK, those same players were lucky to get 3 hours of stability. WoW launch, honestly, blew.
Aion launch was... decent, but the game itself turned TRIBBLE, so moving on
Guild Wars: opening day = unable to zone between areas unless you hammered on the portal and hope your click was the one the servers registered.
Anarchy Online: launch was.... well, let's just not go there... about as bad as WoW's
The Launch in Europe went absolutely fine for me, with only some lag occasionally.
But don't forget that the major bulk of wow's problems came from the absolutely huge amount of people who wanted to play, much bigger than the entire MMO market of the time put together, at least in the West.
Anyway, despite all that, I don't think you should just Cryptic on the first few days. I know their people want nothing more than to launch well since their jobs may even hang in the balance, so I have faith in that they are working on these issues with heart and soul.
Yeah, I live in Canada so I have to use the US servers
It was bloody awful. All excited, "a new age for MMOs!" and all that and....
"You have 1 gb of patch data to download at the same time as 1 million other geeks" O_O
"You are #45765 of (infinity - 1) in queue, your expected wait time is 8 hours" O_________O
login! \o/
"World Server is down"
FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU
Those are first-time launches for them. This is not. Furthermore, it is with a "tested" engine.
Oh yeah, worst launch ever, especially with the logon queue debacle.
We're still on the old smaller server cluster that was borrowed from CO. When retail hits, we'll all move to the new cluster. This explains the same server issues that have been plaguing the game since closed beta, and the need for a login queue.
At least, that's my take on the issue.
The second worst launch (a more traditional MMO) was Anarchy Online.
That said, this game is awful. Another Bill Roper classic.
Ooops... I forgot to give them time. They have like 22 hours left, I am sure they will release all the things they promised us by then.
Er. It is a game in development! That is right. I keep forgetting what all the fans keep telling me. If I remember the rules of my "fanboi in training handbook" I am supposed to pay for the FULL game now, I get half now, and half later. Like some sort of shady mob deal.
I also keep forgetting that X title released by X company had issues before so that excuses Cryptic now. Even though Cryptic has released pretty much more MMO's than any other company in the US. And they are running into the same problems they had with Champions Online. But that doesn't matter because that was then and this is now. This is in SPACE.
And it also doesn't matter that despite releasing the product in multiple languages and in several countries simultaneously it is a US based company so all events and downtime will take place on the US schedule and the rest of the World can suck it. So long as they keep paying.
At least they worked hard to get the Borg working, and they kept us fully up to date on that progress including a front page story and in game updates. Even though any word or news about the massive connectivity failures was swept under the carpet and the forum was closed for nearly the entire first day of the head start (not busy... closed). AGH! Sorry... I keep slipping into logic instead of fanboi blind faith mode.
I will keep at it.
Are things that bad in STO? nope. I have got 20 hours of playtime since head start began. If things go as bad as WOW which i am pretty sure it won't. Cryptic would most probably offer free time? but we are not there yet and things are not that bad.
You did? I didn't pay a dime until now... You should find a better retailer...
And in the US, you are required to read the fine print. What you *think* you are paying for means little, when you are actually told what you are paying for. No where in Cryptic's agreement have they stated that you are guanteed unfettered access 24/7. So just because you *think* you are entitled to it, does not mean that is what you are paying for.
You forgot the other Bill Roper Classics: EVE Online, City of Heroes and Age of Conan.
And how can people always forget about the horrible launch of Vanguard??
The European launch was a little over two months after america. Enough time for them to figure out how to stabilize the servers.
Most mmos take one to two months after release before servers are stabilized.
It is funny how people claim to be MMORPG Vets, yet always forget other horrible launches, especially Vanguard.
To me, anyone that claims they are an MMO vet, but think this launch is worse than Vanguard, is simply not being honest, imo.
At least when I finally got logged into WoW I had fun... that isn't the case with STO.
I remember one time at the movie theater my friend was eating DOTS... you know what those are right? Jelly globs that taste like wax. I asked him, "Man... why do you get those things?" He told me, "There are more in the box." "Yeah, but they taste terrible." I replied. He looked at me with a straight face and said, "They taste like TRIBBLE but you get a lot of them." And we were both overcome by fits of laughter that got us fiercely whispered at to shut up.
The same can be said of STO... just because the server uptime has been mostly resolved doesn't mean the end result is pleasant.
Sorry what did bill roper (fomerly of blizzard entertainment (diablo i & ii) and flagship studios (hellgate london) have to do with above said games exactly?
I must admit funny seeing the same HGL bugs over here in this game.. lol
There is always an option to quit. By the way we are discussing the launch issues, not whether you like this game or not.
Pretty much as much as with Star Trek Online. So I thought I might add them...
Technology isn't perfect, and STO has some growing pains ahead, but that's completely normal for this genre.
If you think the logins ques are bad here apparently you missed the AIon launch and Warhammers launch on a tested engine and it wasn't a first time around launch for them either.
As much as you guys freak out about little stuff like this , I would hate to see what real problems do to you.
Bill Roper has nothing to do with EVE Online.
That's correct.
Exactly nor funcom nor Cryptic prior to Champions Online.. honestly facts people.. check em.. thanks for the post ;-)
Sorry for straying off topic, just replying to comments about WoW granting time for lost gametime. I did in fact "quit" in that I canceled my order but I wouldn't be here on the forum if I didn't want the game to succeed. I hold no grudge against fans of the game (at least not as much as they apparently hold against me for not liking it and being here fighting to make it better) and I hope it skyrockets and I am completely wrong about my predictions it will fail. i would like nothing more than to be considered an idiot (I am used to it) if it means that the game thrives.
I have participated in many launches and beta's and I am sorry if this just strikes me as one of the worst. I had trouble logging into other games, maybe more than with STO, but it comes back to content in that I was willing to put up with long queue's with other games because the reward was more fulfilling. The game experience was just better.
If you enjoy playing the game then I am sure this launch seems great. But part of the launch is the content so even if the hardware is flawless it is going to feel like a failure if you don't have any fun once you DO slog through the immobile queue and the lag.
The "launch" is all inclusive in terms of what is BEING launched... if you only want to talk about hardware then that is a completely different discussion.
I have played a lot of MMO's from UO days when there was only dial up and these are what i think the worst launches are.. STO doesn't make the list btw:
WOW - Everyone says it had a good launch but this was not the case. Blizzard didnt realise how many would actually buy the game and never had enough servers to let everyone on, the stability came later, much later.
DAoC - Game was pretty much launched as an aplha, no dungeon and even loot drops were not itemized, took a couple of months to fix this from release.
Anarchy Online - Game launched so badly that the servers were constantly crashing and was so unplayable it lost a lot of player base... on top of that the company almost went belly up 3 months into launch.
SWG - It had its own issue and when NGE launched the game was not compatible with its own update, on top of that its continuous bugs and crashes.
Despite all that they all have one thing in common and while the list is not exhaustive it covers a few of the "AAA" titles. They all have bad starts and bugs but in time they all get better.
Just need a little patience and it will improve, the above list proves it
WoW was bad but they were very quick to hand out free time to those of us who sat through queues and patches all day long. :P Then again, they were a large successful studio already - who knows what Cryptic will do in response to launch this week?
Considering this is just the headstart, tomorrow is going to be interesting!