Quote:
It seems to be the case as this is the second 4 hour window this week |
Originally Posted by Dark_Inferno
Lately there have been a few times where the server is down for maintenance for 4 hours. While this may not seem too bad if this is happening when you are not playing it is worth pointing out that for an Aussie this is 4 hours right in the peak time for our gaming. I hope this does not become a regular problem (as it already is right now.)
Thanks. |
Prof Radburn controller,Celtic Ice Maiden,blaster,Miss Knockout scrapper,Mistress Davina controller,Stone Hart,tank Split Personality PB.Queen Lostris controller,Fridgid Mary blaster,Shocking Fire blaster Future Elfling defender, Little Weed controller,Capo Angelo MM, Commander Buzzsaw MM, Justice Tank tank all 50,s
Quote:
Four hour downtimes are unusual for this game. Only happens for serious maintenance and patch updates.
|
Originally Posted by Prof_Radburn
It seems to be the case as this is the second 4 hour window this week
|
Orc&Pie No.53230 There is an orc, and somehow, he got a pie. And you are hungry.
www.repeat-offenders.net
Negaduck: I see you found the crumb. I knew you'd never notice the huge flag.
Four hour downtimes used to be infrequent for this game, as were patch updates.
We understand that it's a quiet time for US and EU, we know that it needs to be done but when downtime starts at 9pm and doesn't finish till after midnight twice a week, it gets to be a real drag
It HAS to be done, there is no way around that. And it is going to screw SOMEONE every time it is done, no way around that either.
They have attempted to time it to screw the fewest people possible, and I'm sure the devs are aware that they are indeed screwing some of their customers out of their playtime, but there's nothing they can really do about it.
I have to admit, it makes sense. If you have no choice but to screw a group of people, it makes more sense to screw 10,000 (generous estimate) than 60,000 (again, a generous estimate).
Quote:
|
Originally Posted by Dechs Kaison See, it's gems like these that make me check Claws' post history every once in a while to make sure I haven't missed anything good lately. |
I suppose I was assuming this was preparation for tomorrow's lagfest on Freedom...
Altoholic - but a Blaster at Heart!
Originally Posted by SpyralPegacyon
"You gave us a world where we could fly. I can't thank you enough for that."
Quote:
Back in the old days, we had maintenance every day. (Uphill in the snow, etc)|
Originally Posted by madsness
Four hour downtimes used to be infrequent for this game,
|
When they're not messing with stuff, they've gotten it down to about 2 hours per week.
Paragon City Search And Rescue
The Mentor Project
Quote:
Part of the issue is tied in with daylight saving changes. |
Originally Posted by ClawsandEffect
It HAS to be done, there is no way around that. And it is going to screw SOMEONE every time it is done, no way around that either.
They have attempted to time it to screw the fewest people possible, and I'm sure the devs are aware that they are indeed screwing some of their customers out of their playtime, but there's nothing they can really do about it. I have to admit, it makes sense. If you have no choice but to screw a group of people, it makes more sense to screw 10,000 (generous estimate) than 60,000 (again, a generous estimate). |
It seems common knowglede (via the dev version of chinese whispers) that the devs have carefully datamined the peak usage etc etc and its often used as a response without any actual thought going into it. Most likely it was a guess by players that thats how it was determined, and since been blindly echo'd as Truth.
This may of been the case when they first determined it. Though in my opinion its still naive to think that population at x time is the only factor, theres also that they need staff on the job to do it, schedules with other games/jobs for those staff etc.
The difference that daylight savings makes changes it from the old 10:30 pm (perfectly fine time imo) to 8:30 pm cuts into a different time of play completly.
It would be interesting to see data how what % of playtime it cuts for people. 'Screwing' %1 of playtime from 60,000 instead of 40% of 10,000 might mean for higher rentention of subscribers, a more important goal for paragon that minimlising the number of people effected by downtimes.
At this stage, thats not going to happen, as it would mean taking away time from thier prime demographic who would complain mightily about it.
The change to only two nights, and Tuesday being less frequently done was a fantastic thing by Paragon. I am really, truely am appreciate of that. I doubt I would be playing if it was like it was a year or two ago, every night at 8:30 the game going down. Things like the infamous 'no maintence needed this thursday' was also great.
I don't expect it to change further. It would be nice if they did datamine again looking at the time usages, esp. with the EU servers joining, but as I also feel its tied into people jobs routines etc.
However, I strongly feel that those effected by it, should be able to say 'hey, this sux for us'.
I don't suffer from altitis, I enjoy every minute of it.
Thank you Devs & Community people for a great game.
So sad to be ending ):
Quote:
Not true. They can, and should pro-rate days (or hours) of game time credit for those hours we're unable to play. |
Originally Posted by ClawsandEffect
It HAS to be done, there is no way around that. And it is going to screw SOMEONE every time it is done, no way around that either.
They have attempted to time it to screw the fewest people possible, and I'm sure the devs are aware that they are indeed screwing some of their customers out of their playtime, but there's nothing they can really do about it. I have to admit, it makes sense. If you have no choice but to screw a group of people, it makes more sense to screw 10,000 (generous estimate) than 60,000 (again, a generous estimate). |
It's ridiculous that we pay for game time and are just to accept these down times as necessary evils. They're not - at least not with the frequency we're having to presently tolerate.
"Most people that have no idea what they are doing have no idea that they don't know what they are doing." - John Cleese
@Ukase
Quote:
I initially agreed on the idea of time proration, but then did the math. Here's how it works out...|
Originally Posted by Ukaserex
Not true. They can, and should pro-rate days (or hours) of game time credit for those hours we're unable to play.
It's ridiculous that we pay for game time and are just to accept these down times as necessary evils. They're not - at least not with the frequency we're having to presently tolerate. |
In example for May, there are 31 days or 744 hours. If you take your monthly sub of $15 and divide that out, that's ~$0.02 per hour, USD. So, for todays particular downtime you are looking for an $0.08 proration to your sub. Across the entire month of May with all the varied large downtimes we've had, we might be looking at a $1 proration.
Honestly for me, the playtime is more important than that actual amount of money. I think May has also been an abnormal month in terms of downtimes.
Main Character: Ice/Storm/Ice Controller (Justice, 1340 badges)
I no longer work 3rd shift in the states, but my 'after work' hours used to be the same as the peak hours of the Oceanic crew. It was very irritating.
Triumphant Defenders Forever
Psylenz FF/Psi, ArticQuark Storm/Rad, Symon BarSisyphus Bots/psn, Max VanSydow Thugs/Dk, Cyclone Symon Bots/stm, Blue Loki Ice/Cd, Widow 46526
HelinCarnate:OMG it is so terrible. I have the option to take 3 more powers but no additional slots. Boo F'ing hoo.
Quote:
Also, think about it - if they did it for anyone they would have to for EVERYONE else. So very little gain for the players, but a pain and a noticeable loss (not just the refund but the accounting hours to decide the refund) for Paragon/NCSoft.|
Originally Posted by flipside
I initially agreed on the idea of time proration, but then did the math. Here's how it works out...
In example for May, there are 31 days or 744 hours. If you take your monthly sub of $15 and divide that out, that's ~$0.02 per hour, USD. So, for todays particular downtime you are looking for an $0.08 proration to your sub. Across the entire month of May with all the varied large downtimes we've had, we might be looking at a $1 proration. Honestly for me, the playtime is more important than that actual amount of money. I think May has also been an abnormal month in terms of downtimes. |
Especially since it would not just be for City of Heroes, but for every NCSoft game.
Orc&Pie No.53230 There is an orc, and somehow, he got a pie. And you are hungry.
www.repeat-offenders.net
Negaduck: I see you found the crumb. I knew you'd never notice the huge flag.
Quote:
Firstly, it's not ridiculous that you have downtime. It is normal and expected AND you agreed to it in the User Agreement.|
Originally Posted by Ukaserex
Not true. They can, and should pro-rate days (or hours) of game time credit for those hours we're unable to play.
It's ridiculous that we pay for game time and are just to accept these down times as necessary evils. They're not - at least not with the frequency we're having to presently tolerate. |
Secondly, who says it's not necessary? Are you seriously suggesting that they're having gratuitous downtimes just to mess you over? Grow up. They have downtimes exactly as much as is required to keep everything running.
Paragon City Search And Rescue
The Mentor Project
Quote:
Hey, I never said I wanted a cash refund - I just want the time. My free time, like everyone else's has a limit. When maintenance bites into that free time, I want to be able to use that time I paid for later, without paying for it again. If they close the servers for x hours, then our sub times should be extended for x hours. Maybe this way, they won't do a tiny update on Tuesday and then have maintenance on Thursday when they could easily do both during the same two hour window. |
Originally Posted by flipside
I initially agreed on the idea of time proration, but then did the math. Here's how it works out...
In example for May, there are 31 days or 744 hours. If you take your monthly sub of $15 and divide that out, that's ~$0.02 per hour, USD. So, for todays particular downtime you are looking for an $0.08 proration to your sub. Across the entire month of May with all the varied large downtimes we've had, we might be looking at a $1 proration. Honestly for me, the playtime is more important than that actual amount of money. I think May has also been an abnormal month in terms of downtimes. |
But, as a buddy tells me, I could have leveled a toon with all the time I spend here whining about fair play or lack thereof. :P
"Most people that have no idea what they are doing have no idea that they don't know what they are doing." - John Cleese
@Ukase
Quote:
That's really not functionally different from giving a monetary refund, except that i'm not altogether certain that subscriptions are tracked, and expire precisely, to the hour or minute. i'm pretty sure it's done by the day, so either they'd have to implement a new system to track those lost hours and award an additional day's sub whenever it reached 24, or they'd have to recode the billing/account system to track individual minutes and hours. Since the EULA you agree to every time you log specifically states they're not obligated to do so anyway i wouldn't hold my breath hoping they invest in such an absurd system.|
Originally Posted by Ukaserex
Hey, I never said I wanted a cash refund - I just want the time. My free time, like everyone else's has a limit. When maintenance bites into that free time, I want to be able to use that time I paid for later, without paying for it again. If they close the servers for x hours, then our sub times should be extended for x hours.
|
Quote:
| Maybe this way, they won't do a tiny update on Tuesday and then have maintenance on Thursday when they could easily do both during the same two hour window. |
Quote:
| But, as a buddy tells me, I could have leveled a toon with all the time I spend here whining about fair play or lack thereof. :P |
Dr. Todt's theme.
i make stuff...
Ahhh! nice to see sarcastic skills are still up and running....did you not know that sarcasm is the lowest form of wit?
I too sometimes find downtime can be a real pain (UK) here, we have had a lot of downtime this month which has encroached on to folk's playtime somewhat, hopefully when they get most of the last issues faults ironed out we will go back to a couple of hours on a Thursday. I think it's something to do with that the majority of players are sleeping at these times. What bugs me the most - apart of downtimes - is that all of the events are planned for peak playtimes (US) - which is when I'm usually sleeping, I hate missing all the exciting stuff and lag fests.
There is always a lot to be thankful for, if you take the time to look. For example, I'm sitting here thinking how nice it is that wrinkles don't hurt. ~Author Unknown
Quote:
i'd always heard that puns were.|
Originally Posted by Warbaby
Ahhh! nice to see sarcastic skills are still up and running....did you not know that sarcasm is the lowest form of wit?
|
Sarcasm is for the most part a slightly less subtle sister too such things as satire, irony, and facetiousness. i would tend to argue with anyone who claimed writers like Johnathan Swift, Douglas Adams, and Warren Ellis practice the lowest form of wit. Still, you're entitled to your opinions until i am installed as Emperor.
(You'll be entitled to your opinions afterwards as well, but it doesn't sound as foreboding if i tell you that. Wait... ah, dammit.)
Dr. Todt's theme.
i make stuff...
Quote:
Not so - maybe I should have lain the fame from whence it came - Oscar Wilde.
|
Originally Posted by Schismatrix
i'd always heard that puns were.
|
There is always a lot to be thankful for, if you take the time to look. For example, I'm sitting here thinking how nice it is that wrinkles don't hurt. ~Author Unknown
Quote:
Get a clue. If they COULD do both during the same time, they WOULD. Once again, they're not having extra downtime just to mess with you.
|
Originally Posted by Ukaserex
Maybe this way, they won't do a tiny update on Tuesday and then have maintenance on Thursday when they could easily do both during the same two hour window.
|
Paragon City Search And Rescue
The Mentor Project
Clicking on the linked image above will take you off the City of Heroes site. However, the guides will be linked back here.
Lately there have been a few times where the server is down for maintenance for 4 hours. While this may not seem too bad if this is happening when you are not playing it is worth pointing out that for an Aussie this is 4 hours right in the peak time for our gaming. I hope this does not become a regular problem (as it already is right now.)
Thanks.