Howdy, Stranger!

It looks like you're new here. If you want to get involved, click one of these buttons!

Thoughts on launch issues (and negativity around them)

teakboisteakbois Member Posts: 2,154

Logged about 60 hours on my main, havent played a lot of alts.  I absolutely love the game, but I am not going to ignore the issues either.

 

First thing, is there are a few overly negative posters around here that are blowing things way out of proportion, which brings on the rabid defenders, and then the threads spiral out of control.  Which will probably happen with this thread too I'm sure, such is the nature of internet message boards.

 

Security issues-  This is the area where Arenanet gets the worst score for.  The compromised accounts are extremely unlikely to be their fault, and they have said exactly what they think is happening with these accounts.  But they should have known this would happen and prepared better.  The fact that hackers would go through old databases of theirs should surprise no one, but Arenanet waited til after some accounts got compromised before acting.  And its still kind of a mess as they get things where they should have been a week ago.  Still, this is affecting a very small amount of players % wise.  More than the average MMO launch, but far less than WoW pre-authenticator.  

 

Bugged events-  this is the only thing that has personally affected my gameplay.  Ive run into a couple bugged events here and there, like an invulnerable centaur that was still invulnerable after i had gone to class and dinner and logged back on.  Final waves of a few events not spawning.  Oddly, every bugged event I can remember is on my server, not the overflow.

 

And lets take a minute to discuss the overflow server:  this is a GREAT thing.  It stops the zones from being overcrowded and probably allows them to have larger servers so when the newness wears off they don't feel dead.  And Im sure the technology will come in handy in a few years when few people are in Field of Ruin and they can put all servers together so its still somewhat active.  

 

Back to the bugged events- there are hundreds if not thousands of events.  Bugged quests happen at every MMO's launchs, and with the heavy scripting involved in GW2 this was bound to happen.  Its usually just one or two out of 100 events in a zone, if that, so its not a huge deal.  

 

Bugged story quests- I havent experienced this, but I would imagine this is frustrating.  Fortunately, on a Sunday on a major holiday weekend they are getting it patched it and should be fixed tomorrow.  I don't know how much of these issues were on beta, and for the high level ones they likely didnt have enough data to be able to reproduce the bugs.

 

WvWvW queues-  I don't know the solution to this.  It sucks, but what can really be done about it?  This is something they will just have to look at a few weeks after launch and see if its still happening and hopefully figure a way around it if possible.  

 

Auction House-  First few days I didnt care.  Now Im ready to try and make some money and its still down far more often than up.  What needs to be kept in mind is that this is not an average auction house.  You can set up request lines, and if Im not mistaken it goes across all servers.  Theres 1000s of requests for copper ore alone.  What they are trying is beyond the normal AH and when you think ambitious like this, this can be the result.  Im frustrated checking and seeing that its still down, but if they can get it running right it will be worth the wait.

 

Most everything else (and most of what is listed) is likely load issues.  WoW got blind sided with their load issues, and had a ridiculously unplayable launch with the extreme loot lag and rubber banding issues.  Fortunately GW2 is largely free of that.  For all its issues, SWTOR had a fairly smooth launch, with its biggest problem being the ability lag issue, which was unrelated to the size of the launch.  GW2 is somewhere inbetween the two, but its more ambitious than either which has led to these issues.  Would you rather they play it safe and have a smooth launch or do what GW2 is doing.

 

For the average players, these are just mostly minor annoyances.  My guild has 497 people in my branch of the guild and some have lag, or run into a bugged event, or ae annoyed at the lack of auction house.  But thats not stopping them from enjoying the game.  Most games have positive attitudes amongst its in game players at launch, although after a week SWTOR's cacks were starting to show to people, GW2 isnt having that at all.  People are bringing up far more often the little things GW2 does right as opposed to any of its current issues.

 

From a launch standoint, its a slightly above average launch.  Rift was surely smoother.  EQ2 was another smooth launch (although its poor optimization caused an users issues, the actually launch state of the game was solid).  Its certainly above WoW, and far above VG and AoC and SWG and many others.  Even with it's issues, the game is highly playable for 99% of its customers.

 

Some people desperately want GW2 to fail and will jump on every minor thing to make themselves think it might actually fail.  GW2 probably wont do as well as some would like you to believe either.  the game isnt for everyone, and its especially not for the rush to max level crowd.  But its going to do well.  The bitter posters that take glee in every minor issue will be very disappointed in the long run.

 

 

Comments

  • AerowynAerowyn Member Posts: 7,928
    good post!:) there have been some random lag issues as well but most likely also due to overcrowding in many servers.. overall I agree launch is not perfect but every launch will have issues and more people hammering the servers more issues will arise..

    I angered the clerk in a clothing shop today. She asked me what size I was and I said actual, because I am not to scale. I like vending machines 'cause snacks are better when they fall. If I buy a candy bar at a store, oftentimes, I will drop it... so that it achieves its maximum flavor potential. --Mitch Hedberg

  • Loke666Loke666 Member EpicPosts: 21,441

    I agree about most stuff except the EQ2 launch. At least in Europe "smooth" is not a word I would use about it. 

    I can live with some bugs as long as I can log in and play, and fortunatly the 3 hours on the first day is the only time I couldnt do that.

  • teakboisteakbois Member Posts: 2,154
    Originally posted by Loke666

    I agree about most stuff except the EQ2 launch. At least in Europe "smooth" is not a word I would use about it. 

     

    I might be remembering differently because of the era it was in, when launches were always disasters and just being able to play was a major win.  I do know the servers were up and stayed up for me without crashes and only occasional minor downtime.

    There was one weekend 2 or 3 months in however when EQ2 was down for the count for a couple days, but thats the only time I remember being inconvenienced and it was seperate from launch week.

  • ace80kace80k Member UncommonPosts: 151
    Originally posted by teakbois

    Some people desperately want GW2 to fail and will jump on every minor thing to make themselves think it might actually fail.  GW2 probably wont do as well as some would like you to believe either.  the game isnt for everyone, and its especially not for the rush to max level crowd.  But its going to do well.  The bitter posters that take glee in every minor issue will be very disappointed in the long run.

     

     

    Nice job pointing out the negatives then, your post is 85% negative. Typical for this website.

  • kDeviLkDeviL Member UncommonPosts: 215
    HOW DARE YOU BE POSITIVE?! THIS IS MMORPG.COM! GTFO!

    If WoW was released today even in its' entirety it would be f2p in 3 months.
    Why is it still such a big deal?

  • VhalnVhaln Member Posts: 3,159
    Originally posted by Loke666

    I can live with some bugs as long as I can log in and play, and fortunatly the 3 hours on the first day is the only time I couldnt do that.

     

    They haven't had to take the servers down at all.  Anyone else notice that?  They do updates, and all we get is a message to restart the client.  Pretty damn impressive for a launch that's supposedly a failure.

     

    When I want a single-player story, I'll play a single-player game. When I play an MMO, I want a massively multiplayer world.

  • kDeviLkDeviL Member UncommonPosts: 215
    Originally posted by Vhaln
    Originally posted by Loke666

    I can live with some bugs as long as I can log in and play, and fortunatly the 3 hours on the first day is the only time I couldnt do that.

     

    They haven't had to take the servers down at all.  Anyone else notice that?  They do updates, and all we get is a message to restart the client.  Pretty damn impressive for a launch that's supposedly a failure.

     

    Dude that's a great point. This game's so different in such a good way that I forget it's not normal, like a feeling of this is how it should be.  I noticed that but never really put much thought into it.

    If WoW was released today even in its' entirety it would be f2p in 3 months.
    Why is it still such a big deal?

  • StoneRosesStoneRoses Member RarePosts: 1,771
    Originally posted by teakbois

     

    Security issues-  This is the area where Arenanet gets the worst score for.  The compromised accounts are extremely unlikely to be their fault, and they have said exactly what they think is happening with these accounts.  But they should have known this would happen and prepared better.  The fact that hackers would go through old databases of theirs should surprise no one, but Arenanet waited til after some accounts got compromised before acting.  And its still kind of a mess as they get things where they should have been a week ago.  Still, this is affecting a very small amount of players % wise.  More than the average MMO launch, but far less than WoW pre-authenticator.  

     

     

    This is utter BULL, serves the players right! If it wasn't for there own foolish mistake by making themselves vulnerable comprising their accounts. But it's always the right thing to do, point the finger at the Devs.

     

    Not there fault if the players can't protect themselves and take those procautions.

     

     

    MMORPGs aren't easy, You're just too PRO!
  • ScalplessScalpless Member UncommonPosts: 1,426

    Protecting players from their own stupidity is always hard. ANet has been average at it, but GW2 is a big title, so being average doesn't quite cut it. Still, I haven't seen any hard evidence of the hacks being ANet's fault, so I won't bash them yet.

    Bugged story quests have annoyed me the most. My main hasn't been able to complete his lvl 30 PS quest. Bugged dynamic events aren't as bad, because you can just skip them.

    Great post, teakbois.

  • XiaokiXiaoki Member EpicPosts: 3,821

    Ive run into about as many bugged events as Ive had successful in some zones.

    Also, on my server because of a bugged event The Cursed Shore(level 80 Orr zone) the zone has completely unplayable lag. We're talking about 2 to 3 seconds of lag for every one in the zone.


    Speaking of lag, the Overflow servers are great and all but they are usually quite laggy.


    There's 2 solutions to the WvW queue times: 1) increase player cap and 2) not as many people doing WvW. Which do you think is more likely to happen?


    ArenaNet should have had some kind of less featured Trading Post up by now. I would rather it be server only and less stat tracking than not have it all. They knew this was a problem in beta and now its been almost a week since retail launch, this is inexcusable.


    Also, Im still having problems with that crappy third party graphics culling system they threw in at the last minute. I dont mind the occasional wigging out in an indoors personal story quest but when Im in Orr and doing a Champion boss I had damn well not be disappearing.


    Lastly, I know its been said before and I will say it again here, if these problems has been in any other MMO made ever the reception would not be anywhere near as receptive and optimistic.


    This is a bad launch, there is simply no denying that.

  • KarteliKarteli Member CommonPosts: 2,646

    Buggy Story Quests - If these don't occur why even mention them?

     

    AH Barter - Well .. the interface compared to WoW feels awkward.  It simply is awkward.  Your not buying from someone else, at your discresion, you are buying from a mass dump of the same item, at the lowest cost.  Meh.  But it is working now.  It's still lightyears ahead of SWTOR, but I feel it's still behind WoW.  My Opinion. (Although it should be noted that everything in WoW is beneath GW2 .. except the AH).

    Want a nice understanding of life? Try Spirit Science: "The Human History"
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U8NNHmV3QPw&feature=plcp
    Recognize the voice? Yep sounds like Penny Arcade's Extra Credits.

  • KnightblastKnightblast Member UncommonPosts: 1,787

    The main "flaw", as I can see it, apart from the "normal" level of bugs and so on, ha to do with the seeming reality that several key game systems/designs don't really scale to work well at very high concurrencies.  

    Of course, every new launch MMO that actually has a lot of people playing it will have some aspects really stressed by the high concurrency period right after launch -- most commonly things like the authentication server will simply fail to work properly under the huge load demand at that time.  The thing with GW2, however, is that other key systems, because of the way they are currently designed, are also very, very concurrency sensitive.

    One big one is the trading post.  Because this is trying to link together all servers into one market, it already is trying to be "huge".  At a time when all of the servers have very high concurrency, which is the case now, it isn't working, because it is overwhelemed by the sheer number of players who could be using it (and who are doing so when it is briefly up).  The system as designed would probably work okay during lower concurrency periods, but the one-server-market system makes it quite vulnerable to not working during the high concurrency post-launch.  

    Another is WvW.  The approach that the overall server tech takes to high concurrency is the overflow model.  This model has advantages (lets players play most, not all, of the game instead of being in a login queue) and disadvantages (screws up grouping and playing with friends pretty well).  But it is a model, and one designed to address server access during high concurrency periods.  WvW, on the other hand, is "old school" in that you are stuck in a queue, precisely because the nature of the design itself does not lend itself to partitioning the WvW into more manageable chunks like the overflow system does.  You can't have a WvW overflow, because it is one battle taking place, and you are either in or out.  So with WvW we are back to the world of queues, albeit not login queues, but WvW queues -- the same principle is at work.  WvW is simply not designed to mesh with high concurrency well at all.

    I think that most of these issues will not be resolved effectively until we pass the high concurrency peak we are at now, unfortunately, because they appear to be related to the systems themselves which are not really designed to function well under high concurrency conditions.  GW2 is designed to avoid the login queue, but otherwise a few key aspects of the game are not designed to manage very well with high concurrency.

  • kadepsysonkadepsyson Member UncommonPosts: 1,919

    People in beta real close to release were still saying "It's a beta, it'll be fixed by release."

    WELL GUESS WHAT FOOL

  • Eir_SEir_S Member UncommonPosts: 4,440
    Originally posted by DMKano

    I really don't see that much of a big deal - the posts have not been overly negative, 

    He was talking about a select group of people... usually, but not always, the same ones repeating the same things.

Sign In or Register to comment.