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The Daily Grind: Should MMO companies reveal server loads?

Brianna Royce — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 08:00:00 EST

Filed under: Game mechanics, MMO industry, Opinion, The Daily Grind, Miscellaneous

As long as I've been playing MMOs, game companies have been obfuscating server loads. Oh, sure, you can make a pretty good guess as to how many players are playing on your server. You can look at one of the MMO charting sites, use a tool to parse how many people are in various zones at set times, or wave a calculator at the fine print in quarterly earnings reports, but those methods are admittedly imperfect. We're usually left with vague categories like low-, medium-, and high-population, terms that aren't comparable from game to game. High-pop for EVE Online doesn't mean the same as high-pop for Warhammer Online, after all.

I can understand why studios want to hide the numbers. Players are bitterly cruel when it comes to data like these, and a small reduction in population one night could lead to a snowball effect of self-fulfilling doom-and-gloom prophecies. Still, players like to know how many other people they can expect to encounter on their server since that helps them plan which server (and which MMO) might be right for them. What do you think -- should MMO companies reveal the precise numbers behind their server loads?

Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of their readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's Daily Grind!

The Daily Grind: Should MMO companies reveal server loads? originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 28 Jan 2012 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Daily Grind: What do you do when you're in a queue?

Eliot Lefebvre — Sun, 27 Nov 2011 08:00:00 EST

Filed under: Culture, Opinion, The Daily Grind, Miscellaneous

It's not hard to find an MMO player who's gotten to experience the singular joy of the server queue. Maybe you were trying to log in to DC Universe Online right after it switched business models; maybe you've been taking part in this weekend's beta testing for Star Wars: The Old Republic; or maybe you were around for the launch of World of Warcraft. There's no debate to be had over whether or not server queues are good -- not even the developers consider them something good, just occasionally something necessary.

No, today's question is about how you handle it. Do you wait it out and watch the time tick down? Read a book while you wait? Whip out a handheld game system? Play some Solitaire? Fix a snack? When the worst-case scenario happens and you're stuck in a server queue, what do you do to help pass the time between the start of the queue and the time when you get in?

Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of their readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's Daily Grind!

The Daily Grind: What do you do when you're in a queue? originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 27 Nov 2011 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Wasteland Diaries: Launch 2.0

Edward Marshall — Fri, 14 Oct 2011 19:30:00 EST

Filed under: Sci-fi, Fallen Earth, Economy, Patches, Free-to-play, MMOFPS, Wasteland Diaries, Post-Apocalyptic, Crafting

Fallen Earth is officially free-to-play with patch 2.0. There are very few restrictions on the free accounts, so if you haven't at least tried it out, you really have no excuse. If it's been a while since you've played, you might want to pop in and check it out. A lot has changed, and there's no need to sub up to take a look. The world is pretty well populated now. Even Los Alamos was crowded again, like it used to be over a year ago. The starter towns were packed with new players all running around with their axes and air rifles. The population is certainly healthy at the moment; hopefully it will last.

It's been over two years since Fallen Earth went live, and it's also probably been over two years since the wasteland has had so many people in it. LifeNet gear is back in style again. Players are trotting around on "Old Nags," and the Help channel is a fusillade of questions that many of the more helpful and knowledgeable players try to keep up with. I spent a few hours traveling around and watching the crowds. Seeing the swarms of players and the dead mobs littering the desert sand in Sector 1 reminded me of launch day back in September of '09. But the difference is this: There are more players everywhere, which means many of the old players have returned as well. I've noticed some big changes already, and I'll share those with you right after the cut.

Continue reading Wasteland Diaries: Launch 2.0

Wasteland Diaries: Launch 2.0 originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 14 Oct 2011 19:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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PAX East 2011: Massively interviews RIFT's Scott Hartsman

Karen Bryan — Tue, 15 Mar 2011 18:00:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, Events, real-world, Interviews, Launches, MMO industry, Massively Interviews, Massively Event Coverage, RIFT

With the launch of RIFT still fresh, members of the Trion team packed their bags and flew to Boston to attend PAX East. Even though they didn't have a booth, their "We're not in Azeroth anymore" banner made their presence known. In addition, Community Manager Cindy "Abigale" Bowens hosted a party in Boston to celebrate the launch with players and fans. Massively had a chance to sit down and talk with Trion CCO and RIFT Executive Producer Scott Hartsman about launch day, security, plans for the future, and a whole lot more. Read on for the full interview!

Continue reading PAX East 2011: Massively interviews RIFT's Scott Hartsman

PAX East 2011: Massively interviews RIFT's Scott Hartsman originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 15 Mar 2011 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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World of Tanks sets Guinness World Record

Justin Olivetti — Thu, 24 Feb 2011 11:00:00 EST

Filed under: Events, real-world, Events, in-game, MMO industry, War, World of Tanks, Miscellaneous

Move over EVE Online -- there's a new sheriff in Single Server Population Town, and his name is World of Tanks.

This surprisingly popular MMO, which is still hip-deep in beta, already has one record for the books -- literally. Wargaming.net announced that World of Tanks set the Guinness World Record for Most Players Online Simultaneously on One MMO Server. The event happened on January 23rd, as 91,311 players crowded onto its Russian server.

CEO Victor Kislyi thinks the game can do better: "However, with the population of the game growing steadily another week or two, [it] would let us report a more impressive record as the current PCCU number surpasses 120,000 players."

If you'd like to get in on this record-setting title, the North American beta and the European beta are both accepting tank drivers every day.

World of Tanks sets Guinness World Record originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 24 Feb 2011 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Lost Pages of Taborea: What's in a server?

Jeremy Stratton — Mon, 20 Sep 2010 18:00:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, Culture, Free-to-play, Runes of Magic, Lost Pages of Taborea

Welcome back to another week of Lost Pages of Taborea. I'm switching gears and answering some reader mail. I'll answer the question to the best of my abilities, and then I want to expand the topic to cover server density and personality. Roger Ringo has returned to Reni from a hiatus which prompted the following question.

Roger Ringo asks: I was wondering if you could give me a rundown on the population and community of the servers you have played on. I would really appreciate it.

This is a great question about server populations. How populated are the Runes of Magic servers? For that matter, how do we go about finding the number of people on any MMO's server? It never seems to be a cut-and-dried answer with one almighty server-status site to feed us the numbers. A lot of our own perceptions can sway answers to these questions too. What days and times a person logs in, his playstyle, and what he pays more attention to in-game can all affect an opinion of whether a server is a ghost town or a small but happy community. Do my conclusions match with yours? Find out after the break!

Continue reading Lost Pages of Taborea: What's in a server?

Lost Pages of Taborea: What's in a server? originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 20 Sep 2010 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Daily Grind: Do server merges worry you?

Jef Reahard — Wed, 04 Aug 2010 08:00:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, Aion, EverQuest II, MMO industry, Opinion, Vanguard, The Daily Grind

NCsoft's Aion probably weighs in as the highest profile server merge over the last little while. That said, it hasn't been the only one, as SOE's Vanguard also slimmed down, and scuttlebutt says that EverQuest II's recent free-to-play announcement will eventually lead to a consolidation of the game's subscription shards.

While the pros of merging servers are obvious (keeping the game afloat, swelling the population, and helping group content), there are also some decidedly negative effects. In a PvP-centric game like Aion, it becomes more difficult to quest, particularly in the Abyss where there are now a lot more daevas rubbing shoulders in what is ultimately a rather small zone. In Vanguard, players may have gained questing partners, but they also lost prime housing spots and, in some cases, communities forged over years of gameplay.

Do you think server merges are worth the cost? More importantly, do merges (or even merge announcements) signal the impending decline of a game and cause you to begin looking elsewhere?

The Daily Grind: Do server merges worry you? originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 04 Aug 2010 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Vanguard US server merge complete [Update]

Eliot Lefebvre — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 09:30:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, Events, real-world, News items, Vanguard

It's been a rough ride for players of Vanguard: Saga of Heroes over the past few months, with the dreaded "maintenance letter" back in December that left players uncertain about the game's future. That uncertainty wasn't helped when rumors began circling that the game would be merging servers, followed by a confirmation of same. As of now, the server merge is complete, with the game's population all concentrated on a single server dubbed Telon.

The good news for players is that the merge, on a whole, went fairly smoothly. There was a slight extension of the expected operation time, which is really normal when dealing with a large-scale operation. It should also help the game's players enjoy the game with a larger population to draw from. The bad news is... well, a server merge is never exactly a comforting fact for any game, and we can only hope that the long-term benefits for Vanguard outweigh the negatives.

[Update: This does not affect the EU server which is set to merge at a later date. Thank you to everyone who tipped us on this!]

Vanguard US server merge complete [Update] originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 09 Jul 2010 09:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Runes of Magic nabs 700,000 players at launch

Krystalle Voecks — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 11:00:00 EST

Filed under: Launches, New titles, News items, Free-to-play

In the free-to-play market, the competition is fierce. It seems like we hear about a new game being ported and launching just about every week, and have for the last while. That said, Runes of Magic, the recent entry into the market by Runewaker Entertainment in partnership with Frogster Interactive has definitely caught our attention in playing through the game recently. That's why we were glad to hear that they've announced 700,000 players are checking out this interesting new world. According to their press release, response has been so good that they've been required to add another European server to their line-up for a total of nine launch servers altogether. They've also had to lock down character creation on the Laoch and Aotacht servers due to population, and state that if any other servers reach max, they've got the infrastructure in place to open more servers should the demand become greater.

With mechanics cribbed from everything from World of Warcraft to EverQuest II and even a bit of Warhammer Online and Final Fantasy XI for good measure, this is definitely one of the strongest new titles to hit the F2P market in the last while. Just how large the game will continue to grow, considering it reintroduces some less popular mechanics like death penalties and a fairly involved tradeskill system remains to be seen. Still, it's a good sign for Runes of Magic, and we wish them all the best luck on the future of their game!

Gallery: First Impressions: Runes of Magic

Runes of Magic nabs 700,000 players at launch originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 23 Mar 2009 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Another round of Warhammer Online free character transfers begins

James Egan — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 17:00:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, Game mechanics, PvP, Warhammer Online, News items, Races

Maintaining a balanced server population is always a tricky issue in Warhammer Online, hence the periodic need to have characters transfer to different servers. Mythic Entertainment has announced that another round of free character transfers begins today, February 19th.

The source and destination servers are: (Red Eye Mountain, Ungrim --> Monolith, Iron Rock, Ironfist), (Sylvania --> Volkmar, Gorfang, Vortex), and (Azazel --> Volkmar, Gorfang, Magnus). As an incentive to get players to make the jump to these servers, they'll reap a 20% experience and renown bonus for a limited time. Have a look at the Warhammer Herald announcement for more details, as well as their FAQ on free character transfers.

Mythic has announced the first expansion to Warhammer Online! Check out the announcement itself, the two brand-new classes coming to the game, and the enormous new dungeon/zone slated for a few months away! Plus, don't miss any of our ongoing coverage as Massively goes to WAR!

Another round of Warhammer Online free character transfers begins originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 19 Feb 2009 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Final Fantasy XI devs threaten players with forced server moves

James Egan — Fri, 19 Dec 2008 11:00:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, Final Fantasy XI, Guilds, MMO industry, Opinion

Server populations in massively multiplayer online games can be a delicate balancing act. Popular servers are very much the hubs of these games, where players can easily forge bonds with one another in a lively social environment. But log into a desolate server and you'll wonder what the point of playing an MMO is when there's no one else around. Many developers try to balance server populations by offering free server transfers, and sometimes bonuses of one type or another as a reward for making the jump. This has been an issue for developer Square Enix with Final Fantasy XI and the overcrowded Odin server. However, their efforts to disperse the crowds have been unsuccessful, leading them to take a more drastic measure: forced emigration.

FFXI-centric website Petfoodalpha suggests that Square Enix's deportation solution (or alternately, world splitting) creates more problems than it solves. Fusionx writes, "Surely there has to be a better way to deal with this than randomly distributing people from the server to others. Friendships would be broken, linkshells would be destroyed. More importantly though for Square Enix: They would lose subscribers."

When a developer identifies a high server population as being a problem, and when players don't take advantage of free server transfers or other incentives, do the devs really have any other choice but to take away choice?

Final Fantasy XI devs threaten players with forced server moves originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 19 Dec 2008 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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WAR's cross-server scenario queues akin to socialism

James Egan — Sat, 04 Oct 2008 16:00:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, Classes, Game mechanics, Guilds, MMO industry, PvP, Warhammer Online, Opinion, Races

Warhammer Online, despite a very smooth launch, has a few nagging problems that have cropped up in its first weeks of life. Chief among its growing pains is the problem of scenario queuing issues, both on barren servers and the ones that are practically choking on players. Snafzg over at The Greenskin asks if creating a better situation for all Warhammer Online players must entail some degree of sacrifice made by all through cross-server scenario queues, likening the solution to socialism. A situation where the 'good servers' sacrifice for the benefit of 'problem servers'.

Snafzg writes, "I'm not saying socialism is bad... but I wonder if there are alternative solutions that don't punish (too strong a word?) people on good servers for the benefit of those on bad servers. I don't envy Mythic here... Make one crowd happy only to piss off another?" He also points out that the core issues of server population imbalance impact the game on many levels, and suggests some potential solutions for both overpopulation and underpopulation issues. If you're not happy with the scenario frequency in Warhammer Online, give Snafzg's "Cross-Server Scenario Socialism..." post a read, and let him know if you agree with his views on the issue.

Did you enjoy this? Make sure to check out our Warhammer guides: Massively's Character Creation Guide and our WoW Player's Guide to Warhammer. Plus, don't miss any of our ongoing coverage as Massively goes to WAR!

WAR's cross-server scenario queues akin to socialism originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 04 Oct 2008 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Cascading population drops the true MMO killer

Chris Chester — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 17:00:00 EST

Filed under: EverQuest II, MMO industry, Opinion, Tabula Rasa

One of the most depressing situations in any MMO is coming to terms with the fact that you feel isolated and alone, even in the midst of your massively multiplayer world. According to Eric Heimburg of Elder Game, this phenomena happens not because of any specific reason like a bad patch or lack of new instanced content, but because a server population has dipped below the critical mass it takes to keep a game functioning as intended, and players start fleeing in droves. Everquest II, he suggests, is in need of some server mergers if they hope to keep their population numbers above that important number.

One wonders what is supposed to be done with a game like Tabula Rasa when servers drift into dangerously low territory. With only four servers to its name, it might actually be more harmful to the size of the player base to simply concede that a merger is necessary. Players have never been terribly resistant to bad news, at least if forums are any indication, so might a server merger act as another negative point in a cascading failure? At what point do you leave an MMO?

Cascading population drops the true MMO killer originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 23 Jun 2008 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Are Tabula Rasa's server populations up?

Chris Chester — Sat, 01 Mar 2008 15:00:00 EST

Filed under: Sci-fi, Game mechanics, MMO industry, Patches, Tabula Rasa

Ever since Tabula Rasa's now-infamous patch 1.5 went live, I've noticed a trend most curious. In the months since the game launched, the server populations did something of a quick spiraling crash. They started out at consistently high, and over the course of the month gradually fell to mostly medium, then only occasionally medium, and since probably December, the only one of the game's servers to rise out of the doldrums of a low server population has been Centaurus, a fact easily ascribed to its position as the sole European server. But after patch 1.5, I've consistently seen the three U.S. servers operating at medium server population. Are we really to believe that the population went up after the release of the game's most disastrous client patch to date?

It's certainly not impossible that the game has seen an infusion of new blood. Several people at Massively HQ couldn't resist the allure of getting the collector's edition when it appeared online for cheap. I think it's more likely however that the Destination Games team, prodded by recent reports of the game's failure, simply changed the criteria for what qualifies as a "medium" or "low" server population. This would have the effect of making players believe that the game has actually much better off than it already was by manipulating data that's available only to them. And as a morale booster for the player population, I have to say it works. Even though I'm wise to the fact that the amount of players probably hasn't changed significantly, it's nice to log into the game and see that my server isn't entirely barren. Is it ethical? That's debatable. Does it work? Most certainly.

Are Tabula Rasa's server populations up? originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 01 Mar 2008 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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How to choose a server

Mike Schramm — Tue, 08 Jan 2008 10:20:00 EST

Filed under: Culture, MMO industry, Tips and tricks, Server downtime, Opinion

Wilhelm of AGN is one of the many players setting sail in the PotBS pre-order preboarding, and he's dealing with one of the hardest decisions MMO players ever make: choosing a server. OK, maybe it's not really that hard (choosing a class probably is), but there is an art to it.

The first thing that determines where you want to play in a multi-realm MMO has to be your previous in-game friends-- if there's anyone already in the game that you need to play with, then you want to make sure to be on the same server they are (as Wilhelm says, "go play with your friends" trumps his rules entirely). After that, everyone's got their criteria. Me, I like a server with a little higher-than-normal population-- it can't be so high that it's overcrowded, but I don't want to play on a low-population server. These are massively multiplayer games, after all. Wilhelm says not to pick the first or last server on the list-- clearly, he's a man who avoids extremes, and probably the highest populations as well.

After that, it's as arbitrary as you want it to be. Wilhelm goes for the most complicated name, but usually by the time I've punched in my criteria, the game only gives me one recommendation, and then I take it. Any other factors that go into choosing a server when you first fire up an MMO?

How to choose a server originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 08 Jan 2008 10:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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