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*** Login Queue FAQ ***
squigish
Member Posts: 0 Arc User
Since the "official login queue" thread is now over 200 pages long, I'd like to make another one that's [highlight]only for posting helpful information[/highlight].
Brandon, please don't merge this into the other thread, as that would completely defeat the purpose of it. A sticky would be great!
Players, please don't fill this thread with complaints about how long you've been waiting, etc. Helpful information only, please. I'll come back and edit this and other posts on the first page when I can, to add new information.
Q: Why is there a queue?
A: Because more people want to play the game than the game can handle. The queue is designed to prevent your collective enthusiasm from crashing the server. The queue shows up relatively regularly when there are major events in the game, like the 3 year anniversary event a few months ago. As far as I know, it's never been this bad before, but this is one of, if not the single, largest upgrade they've ever done to the game.
Q: How long should I expect to wait?
A: It depends how many other people also want to get on. Around mid-afternoon PDT/early evening EDT, there were more than 25,000 players in the queue, and some were reporting wait times of 1-4 hours. Some were reporting even longer than that. Hopefully by the evening it should quiet down a bit.
Q: What about gold (paid) or LTS (Lifetime-subscription) members?
A: Gold/LTS members get to jump to (near) the head of the line. Most gold/LTS members report wait times well under one minute.
Q: Why do I have to wait at all if I'm a gold/LTS member?
A: You get to jump in line ahead of all the free players, but you still have to wait behind other gold/LTS players trying to get in. If the queue is up, that means that the server is full. If there are more gold/LTS players
trying to get in than there are players logging out, then gold/LTS players will have to wait.
Q: What if I was once a gold player, but my subscription expired and I didn't renew it?
A: Then you will be treated as a silver (free) player, and you will have to wait in the queue.
Q: How do I know if I'm a gold or silver player?
A: Click the "My account" link at the top of this page, and log in if you haven't already. In the lower-right corner is a description of your subscription status.
Q: How can I buy a gold account?
A: Follow the same "My account" link described above.
Q: If I switch characters using the "switch characters" button in-game, do I have to wait in the queue again?
A: Yes.
Q: If I get disconnected or my game client crashes, do I have to wait in the queue again?
A: It depends on what you were doing when the disconnect/crash happened. If you were logged in and actually playing the game, then the answer is probably no. You'll get bumped to the head of the line as if you were a gold/LTS player. If you were still waiting in the queue, or received the "cannot connect to server" message on your very first load screen, you will probably have to wait again. Note that if you get disconnected and log back on using a different character, you will have to wait in the queue.
Q: Why doesn't cryptic get more (servers, bandwidth, whatever) so that they can support more people online at once?
A: I don't really have a good answer to this, since I'm not a cryptic/PWE employee. I imagine that it basically comes down to a financial decision. Are the obvious benefits of adding more capacity worth the substantial costs? This is not a decision that you or I or any other player can make; we don't pay the costs, at least not directly. There are probably also technical reasons. The server infrastructure is complicated, and it takes a lot more than just going to the store and buying more computers to expand the capacity.
Q: Why isn't cryptic renting servers from Amazon S3, or some other cloud computing firm?
A: I can't really answer this one either. It's possible (although it seems unlikely) that they are in fact renting computer time. More likely is the fact that it would be difficult to integrate cloud servers with the physical servers Cryptic runs themselves. Such an integration would almost certainly involve significant downtime while they get the problems worked out.
Q: Can we please have a comment from BranFlakes or some other Cryptic employee about what they're doing to help us get into the game faster?
A: Brandon please edit here.
Q: What's the difference between Queue, Q, Que and Cue?
A: A Queue is what you're waiting in to play the game. It is spelled Q-U-E-U-E. Q is a letter of the alphabet, and a (race of) omnipotent beings in the star trek universe. Que is nothing, it's not a word. A Cue is a signal that it's time to do some particular action. These things are completely different. Please stop using them interchangeably.
Q: Why did I make this post?
A: Because nobody else did. I'm trying to provide useful information to players. The fact that I'm unofficial actually lets me say more than Brandon is probably willing/allowed to say, for fear that if it turns out not to be true, it would be held against him.
Q: Whine whine whine, I want to play the game now!
A: That wasn't a question. Either pay for a subscription, go find something else to do, or wait your turn in line.
Or go whine about it in the [thread=528191]official login queue thread[/thread].
Brandon, please don't merge this into the other thread, as that would completely defeat the purpose of it. A sticky would be great!
Players, please don't fill this thread with complaints about how long you've been waiting, etc. Helpful information only, please. I'll come back and edit this and other posts on the first page when I can, to add new information.
Q: Why is there a queue?
A: Because more people want to play the game than the game can handle. The queue is designed to prevent your collective enthusiasm from crashing the server. The queue shows up relatively regularly when there are major events in the game, like the 3 year anniversary event a few months ago. As far as I know, it's never been this bad before, but this is one of, if not the single, largest upgrade they've ever done to the game.
Q: How long should I expect to wait?
A: It depends how many other people also want to get on. Around mid-afternoon PDT/early evening EDT, there were more than 25,000 players in the queue, and some were reporting wait times of 1-4 hours. Some were reporting even longer than that. Hopefully by the evening it should quiet down a bit.
Q: What about gold (paid) or LTS (Lifetime-subscription) members?
A: Gold/LTS members get to jump to (near) the head of the line. Most gold/LTS members report wait times well under one minute.
Q: Why do I have to wait at all if I'm a gold/LTS member?
A: You get to jump in line ahead of all the free players, but you still have to wait behind other gold/LTS players trying to get in. If the queue is up, that means that the server is full. If there are more gold/LTS players
trying to get in than there are players logging out, then gold/LTS players will have to wait.
Q: What if I was once a gold player, but my subscription expired and I didn't renew it?
A: Then you will be treated as a silver (free) player, and you will have to wait in the queue.
Q: How do I know if I'm a gold or silver player?
A: Click the "My account" link at the top of this page, and log in if you haven't already. In the lower-right corner is a description of your subscription status.
Q: How can I buy a gold account?
A: Follow the same "My account" link described above.
Q: If I switch characters using the "switch characters" button in-game, do I have to wait in the queue again?
A: Yes.
Q: If I get disconnected or my game client crashes, do I have to wait in the queue again?
A: It depends on what you were doing when the disconnect/crash happened. If you were logged in and actually playing the game, then the answer is probably no. You'll get bumped to the head of the line as if you were a gold/LTS player. If you were still waiting in the queue, or received the "cannot connect to server" message on your very first load screen, you will probably have to wait again. Note that if you get disconnected and log back on using a different character, you will have to wait in the queue.
Q: Why doesn't cryptic get more (servers, bandwidth, whatever) so that they can support more people online at once?
A: I don't really have a good answer to this, since I'm not a cryptic/PWE employee. I imagine that it basically comes down to a financial decision. Are the obvious benefits of adding more capacity worth the substantial costs? This is not a decision that you or I or any other player can make; we don't pay the costs, at least not directly. There are probably also technical reasons. The server infrastructure is complicated, and it takes a lot more than just going to the store and buying more computers to expand the capacity.
Q: Why isn't cryptic renting servers from Amazon S3, or some other cloud computing firm?
A: I can't really answer this one either. It's possible (although it seems unlikely) that they are in fact renting computer time. More likely is the fact that it would be difficult to integrate cloud servers with the physical servers Cryptic runs themselves. Such an integration would almost certainly involve significant downtime while they get the problems worked out.
Q: Can we please have a comment from BranFlakes or some other Cryptic employee about what they're doing to help us get into the game faster?
A: Brandon please edit here.
Q: What's the difference between Queue, Q, Que and Cue?
A: A Queue is what you're waiting in to play the game. It is spelled Q-U-E-U-E. Q is a letter of the alphabet, and a (race of) omnipotent beings in the star trek universe. Que is nothing, it's not a word. A Cue is a signal that it's time to do some particular action. These things are completely different. Please stop using them interchangeably.
Q: Why did I make this post?
A: Because nobody else did. I'm trying to provide useful information to players. The fact that I'm unofficial actually lets me say more than Brandon is probably willing/allowed to say, for fear that if it turns out not to be true, it would be held against him.
Q: Whine whine whine, I want to play the game now!
A: That wasn't a question. Either pay for a subscription, go find something else to do, or wait your turn in line.
Or go whine about it in the [thread=528191]official login queue thread[/thread].
Post edited by squigish on
0
Comments
Here are a few that I've compiled:
Regarding what cryptic is or is not doing to help us get into the game (click the little red dot to read the full post:
Read about the new 100-attachment limit on mail [thread=697471]here[/thread] or [thread=695071]here[/thread] (I don't think this is getting nearly as much attention as it deserves)
Suggestions for Cryptic:
Make whatever flag activates the queue-jumping power that lets disconnected players log back in trigger when you reach the front of the queue, so that if your initial login is unsuccessful, you can still get in quickly.
Even better, add a database field for queue position so that if you're disconnected while waiting, you can resume (more or less) your old place in line.
You might wish to rephrase that, lest you imply that the speakers of numerous non-English languages look stupid.
A: Because he is a pretentious ******* that wants attention.
A fair point. I changed it.
Also there is no reason for queue to be capitalized, unless it starts a sentence.
P.S. I saw someone use "Qeue" as well...
P.P.S. Oh here's "Quere" now too.
A: Congrats on being officially pronounced gullible.
In a week or so there won't be any posts about queues.
incorrect if i had stayed in the que it would of been 5-6hours but i decided to be smart and play another game
people who are doing that are really dumb (imo) why pay a company for mistakes??? Never understood that concept
Incorrect the game crashed on me and welcome visitor 6,000!
he will respond that he has no information/is not privileged as all his responses are basically the same no information followed by... "thank you for your patience"
again i think people that pay a company for there mistakes are dumb. The only way companies learn is by people NOT giving in and spending money they dont need to.
Sorry i dont see how this thread helps, its speculation and incorrect information and im noow out of it. Feel free to reply but i personally will not be reading your response seeing as you have just made stuff up and dont have any supporting evidence.