WoW Event Crashed 27 Servers [Archive]

Phanto

01-11-2006, 05:20 PM

The Inquirer (http://www.theinquirer.net) is reporting (http://www.theinquirer.net/?article=28910) the WoW event that crashed 27 servers.

After I nominated Blizzard Europe for worst tech support in the INQUIRER Gongs of the Year 2005, I expected that my inbox gets flooded with angry Warcraft-fanboys, but comments went in the other direction.
The worst thing is that most of the article is true, believe or not. BTW I was once a WoW player.

Suicidal ShiZuru

01-11-2006, 07:47 PM

Not suprising at all...

Heptoid

01-11-2006, 07:53 PM

Haha that's good stuff. Had to see this coming.

Montgomery_Python

01-11-2006, 08:00 PM

I loved WoW and thought Bliz was very generous with free days played. No other MMO every gave them out like WoW has. However, their popularity has been its own curse, and I am sad to see people still suffer from the same problems I had in early beta.

Voodoo

01-11-2006, 08:25 PM

Personally, I don't believe that current computer hardware architecture can support the juggernaught which is World of Warcraft. I imagine, by now, a single "server" must be across at the very least 8 machines. I did hear that an offical server was a Blade server (HP brand) but who knows...

Blizzard is in entirely new territory as well. I do not think that any other MMO comes close to the # of transactions they are processing and accounts logged in at once. Its simple amazing and I am HAPPY I do not work at their IT department. Talk about life vs work ratio way outta wack... I bet those poor guys and gals are always on freakin' edge. LOL!

Nite_Moogle

01-11-2006, 08:41 PM

8 machines for a single server? That's a bit low. this (http://www.spectrum.ieee.org/jul05/1561/4) article places Sony's Everquest servers at over 1500 total machines, with 20-30 dual core machines running each world server. Mind you these were zoned off world servers that supported 500-1000 less people than each WoW server, and this was when EQ had about 400,000 subscribers. You're probably looking at somewhere around 50-70 cores to support each WoW realm (of which there are 90 in North America alone). It isn't any sort of a stretch of the imagination to estimate that Blizzard has over 20,000 servers worldwide powering World of Warcraft.

Montgomery_Python

01-11-2006, 08:45 PM

The good thing for EQ is that due to the relatively meagre number of consecutive online users per server (HELLO LOADING TIMES) that they never had to deal with the problems that WoW does. EQ never dealt with the per zone load of a WoW loading zone. It's a good horse, but hardly the biggest or youngest.

JazGalaxy

01-11-2006, 08:49 PM

jeffool

01-11-2006, 09:03 PM

Hey Jaz, quick question. I don't really enjoy MMORPG games at all, and don't play WoW, though I have tasted most of the popular ones. But I'm just curious as to what constitutes 'better' quests? (Though, I have to say that I disagree that any MMORPG I know of has better art direction that WoW.)

markster3000

01-11-2006, 09:16 PM

Being crushed under the weight of your own immense popularity is terribly ironic.

Valkyrist

01-11-2006, 09:20 PM

I loved WoW and thought Bliz was very generous with free days played. No other MMO every gave them out like WoW has.
Easy answer: All other MMORGPs (ok not all, but most of the big boys) got these kinds of issues out of the way in BETA when ppl didn't pay a monthly fee. How long's this game been out and they *still* don't have it together? Doing class balances, minor quest glitches, adding new stuff is all fine and dandy. Getting the servers to fuggin run well over a year after release is just irresponsible.

ESPECIALLY considering the success of WoW. Blizzard is rolling in money from this game, the least they could do is invest some of it back in to make the game actually work. Wich leads to the next point:

Personally, I don't believe that current computer hardware architecture can support the juggernaught which is World of Warcraft.
Sure, you're dead on. What makes me wonder is why are they pushing their current hardware/setup beyond what they KNOW it can handle. With all the money they're making, just limit the server populations a bit more, and creat a few more servers. I'm sure it's a bit more complicated than that, but that's the general jist of it. It's not rocket science: Your servers keep crashing because there's too many players per server. Solution: Limit the number of players per server. Duh.

what's the appeal of WoW?
It's still one of the best designed MMORPGs out there. It's overall very well done; the advantage of having other companies make all the mistakes ahead of time for them to learn from. It really is a fun game (when the servers are up and you're not lagging to death in IronForge).

And though it might be aging a bit, you also have to keep in mind the overall popularity of the game. If I want to play a MMORPG, and a bunch of my real life friends are playing WoW, chances are, so will I. It's initial popularity was so great, that it purports itself into the future based completely on the fact that it's popular. It's not that some new expansion suddenly breaths new life into it, or makes it competitive with newer games. It's just what everyone is doing, so no one wants to play by themselves on a different game.

Phanto

01-11-2006, 09:27 PM

Selar

01-11-2006, 09:41 PM

Regarding WoW CS, it is abyssmal. Most GM requests are met with a few responses:

1. It's a known issue and we're working on it.
2. We didn't know about this problem, thanks for letting us know.
3. It must be your addons. We know we let you play with them, but they're really only a scapegoat.

Very seldom does a GM respond and actually resolve your problem.

Simple example, this last patch broke the rather popular Order Must Be Restored quest on the Alliance side. Basically, you kill the quest NPC (Blightcaller, BC), and you don't get credit. Contact a GM, "It's a known issue." Mind you, forming a pickup BC raid can take a while and can take a few tries before you're successful. If it's a known issue, why isn't there any mention of it? In yellow text when I log in, or a known issue thread on the forums, or in that annoying pop-up window they have now when you start up WoW?

/rant

Kefkataran

01-11-2006, 09:51 PM

I haven't played but about 2 sessions of the Beta, so I can't fully talk, but from what I played, the quests in EQ 2 are far better, and the graphics in WoW are no longer the best around. If it's not cutting edge in those two deparments, I don't get what makes it the end all be all of MMORPGing...

From the little I've played of EQ2, the quests are actually much better in WoW. Of course there's a huge glut of collect quests and kill quests and that normal stuff, but there's also a lot of really cool stuff sprinkled throughout. But basically, it's like all Blizzard stuff -- they've taken the MMORPG genre and polished it to a perfect shine. It's fast, fun, and generally pretty consistently interesting, at least if you're playing with friends. It's certainly one of the most user-friendly MMOs ever.

Savok

01-11-2006, 11:02 PM

Solution: Limit the number of players per server. Duh.
They do, that's not the problem. The problem is when they all mass up at one location. Why no one does town raids anymore, they WILL crash the server and fuck it for everyone.

And I love the GMs, they sit there and lie to you. That most recent Druid nerf? "Working as intended" according to GMs, then the patch notes call it a bug. Feral druids be damned, druids are casters as their epic sets will attest to, Blizz give you the ability to shift only for the furry demographic, not anything to do with gameplay

As I've always said, Blizzard suck, they took their great rep and utterly fucked it.

EDIT: Oh yeah, this latest world event is the biggest insult of all, a giant farm quest, wow, way to COMPLETELY fuck the ingame economy for nothing.

Kefkataran

01-11-2006, 11:32 PM

It's probably not the GMs lying to you straight up so much as not having as much information as they actually should. Very stupid.

Logik

01-12-2006, 12:04 AM

As long as the subscription numbers continue to rise under the current support system, it will never change. People have to get pissed off enough to actually stop playing before anyone at the top will notice the problems.

Suicidal ShiZuru

01-12-2006, 12:08 AM

why isn't there any mention of it? In yellow text when I log in, or a known issue thread on the forums, or in that annoying pop-up window they have now when you start up WoW?
/rant

What "annoying pop-up window they have now when you start up WoW"???

~I figured it out. You must mean this:

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y108/Suicidal_ShiZuru/WoWnews.jpg

Well then dont use the "Launcher.exe" use "WoW.exe". Just browse to your WoW folder theyre both in the same level folder, just make a new shortcut to "WoW.exe". Unless you want it...

Royal Fool

01-12-2006, 12:31 AM

The launcher is rather pointless for me (and most people I'd reckon), its main function is to scan your computer for any malicious scripts or hacks that you might be planning on using in the game.

I've personally been having a very serious tech problem with the game ever since patch 1.9 that results in intense framerate lag for no reason and random points during gameplay and the game just seizes control of the whole operating system (I've run the game windowed since it was released), and I have nowhere to turn to about it. Thanks, Blizzard support.

Vandenh

01-12-2006, 12:45 AM

The 1.9 patch has been a total disaster for Blizzard in Europe (don't know about the US). Buggy, unstable, broken PvP and just plain crap (Epic event my ass... gathering materials? Very epic! NOT!). Combine that with the big warrior nerf and WoW is almost finished in my house. I had more fun with CoV yesterday!

A very good example of why WoW is going down the drain fast, they forgot it is all about casual players and having fun.

Zeal

01-12-2006, 12:49 AM

I have also been experiencing really bad framerate lag, so it's not just you. It's as if all other players are lagging, although they're not. 1.9 really fucked the game up.

oxter

01-12-2006, 03:06 AM

wow how much hatred, any how, i use to play EQ1 since it whent out, and they did have some problems with the SERVERS been full, but they were a bit more drastic, if the server were full (no more of 1500 players at time, tops) you will get a mensage saying : "server's are full cannot connect" and that was it!! and i remember server of Eq crashing or zones crashing becasue we were to many players there (karnov castle ranger epic any one??), WOW is new (or so for this tipe of games) it is true , his own fame it hurting them, but you have to reconice that WOW cominity is one of the WORTHS ever, and yes i have been playing WOW since last step of the beta, i have a lot of problems (when the game went out the very 1 day i choose a server to play and i took a weekend off work to play , after mine priest got to Lv 19 server crash for 3 days...havet o change server) and this 1.9 pach got mine powerfull new machine acting like a 4 year old one.....
but still , you have to admit that playing this game from Lv1 to Lv60 is one of the most sweet exp. in any online rpg.

so...in the end....i hope to see WOW to pull together and see what happend...thouse 5 years of EQ1 were good....let see for wow

PS: sorry for the bad bad spelling inglish is not mine language , but i love this page and i been reading since thouse "wendays night for EQ articles....jejeje old" peace out!!!!!! :D

Suicidal ShiZuru

01-12-2006, 03:47 AM

Ive had no performance issues with the patch...

steve

01-12-2006, 04:04 AM

EDIT: Oh yeah, this latest world event is the biggest insult of all, a giant farm quest, wow, way to COMPLETELY fuck the ingame economy for nothing.

Erm, gathering War Supplies is only part of the event. It also contains one of the best quest lines in the game now, though this will only be accessable to the select few of each server. See www.fohguild.org

Anyway, I actually enjoy the changed ingame economy. A nice change for a while. For a few weeks, you can make lots of gold if you're clever. Sell materials for high prices, or turn them in for rep and random stuff... all up to you. And anyone not interested in it can just go his usual business like before. If you're in a guild, you shouldn't be that dependent on AH prices.

Edit: Regarding the Inquirer article from the OP: Meh - " Blizzard persits in sporting the Sunglasses of Ignorance". LOL. Been playing WoW since US release (first US, now EU) and my downtime due to server problems comes down to maybe a couple hours per month at most. How horrible!

Derella

01-12-2006, 05:26 AM

what's the appeal of WoW?

I haven't played but about 2 sessions of the Beta, so I can't fully talk, but from what I played, the quests in EQ 2 are far better, and the graphics in WoW are no longer the best around. If it's not cutting edge in those two deparments, I don't get what makes it the end all be all of MMORPGing...
When WoW was released it's graphics weren't the best around, from a technical standpoint. EQ2 uses more advanced technology, but just doesn't have the art design that Blizzard has.

I actually quit EQ2 because the character models were deformed, and the quests were generic. Mind you, the quests in WoW involve the same sorts of things(kill this, deliver that), but at least some of them are worth reading.

The appeal of WoW is that it doesn't require a bleeding-edge machine, the world is beautifully designed, levelling is fairly painless, the interface is excellent, and it's easy to play.

Vandenh

01-12-2006, 05:29 AM

>though this will only be accessable to the select few of each server.

Well f*ck that....

I am not going to farm like crazy so a few uber-guild players can gloat they opened the gate or killed boss XXXX

AC did these epic live events much better. Blizzard could have done so much more to involve casual players. Mobs attacking towns from time to time and people getting "war points" for defending or killing these mobs, one of quests of all levels that can advance the war effort, guild specific quests that would contribute to the war,....

Valkyrist

01-12-2006, 05:37 AM

Combine that with the big warrior nerf and WoW is almost finished in my house.

I stopped playing WoW right befor the 1.9 patch. What was the big War nerf? Just curious cause that was my fav job.

BTW, I would like to state that I was very drunk last night when I ranted earlier on this thread, lol. So sorry ^.^

Savok

01-12-2006, 05:38 AM

Erm, gathering War Supplies is only part of the event. It also contains one of the best quest lines in the game now, though this will only be accessable to the select few of each server. See www.fohguild.org
Well exactly, no one sees it except those few. But I'm glad someone is doing a journal, thanks for the link.

Nite_Moogle

01-12-2006, 06:46 AM

>though this will only be accessable to the select few of each server.

Well f*ck that....

I am not going to farm like crazy so a few uber-guild players can gloat they opened the gate or killed boss XXXX

OK, then how about you do it because those 30-ticket turnins for supporting the war effort can get you items that sell for more than the materials you just turned in? Doing war effort turn-ins is a sick, sick cash farm. Not to mention the chance for bop blues and epics.

Steele Johnson

01-12-2006, 07:33 AM

As more and more people subscribe and money keeps flowing in like a river, then what could possibly be wrong?

Librum

01-12-2006, 07:38 AM

After considering the War Effort turn in quests, I thought they were a great way to make the gathering professions more useful (prices were pretty low beforehand, now they're what the market will bear), and as previous posters have mentioned, you can either sell the materials to other players or take your chances with the loot boxes you get for the turn in.

Admittedly, when I turned my Traveler's Backpack full of Runecloth stacks into bandages and turned them in, I didn't get a single item I could use, but I'll likely at least break even by selling or disenchanting them - and Runecloth drops like mad from endgame mobs, anyway.

Still, there are the issues with strange lag, queues and other quirky bugs that seem to have surfaced after this recent patch. But I've had very little actual downtime over the year I've been playing the game.

Nite_Moogle

01-12-2006, 07:55 AM

The jerkiness problem is resolved in a small patch this morning, which should solve a lot of other related problems like PVP being almost unplayable.

Phanto

01-12-2006, 08:10 AM

As long as they don't see a disaster in their own eyes they will not improved the server or buy new ones e.t.c. as long as more money keep going and the hardware or software keep functioning without the need of upgrading or something it will be better for them economically, if you know what i mean.

Savok

01-12-2006, 08:36 AM

Ah yes, 1.9.2, which fixed the fuckups of 1.9.1 which fixed the fuckups of 1.9.

Well having just tried to do ST AGAIN and having the team suffering lag and DC problems, along with everything being a mess generally, I'd say we're gonna see a 1.9.3

XenonCJ

01-12-2006, 11:14 AM

I stopped playing WoW right befor the 1.9 patch. What was the big War nerf? Just curious cause that was my fav job.

BTW, I would like to state that I was very drunk last night when I ranted earlier on this thread, lol. So sorry ^.^Yeah I play a 60 warrior and I havent noticed anything "nerfed", what am I missing?

total

01-12-2006, 11:23 AM

Yeah I play a 60 warrior and I havent noticed anything "nerfed", what am I missing?

Same here. I have a 60 war and didn't see anything about a nerf in the notes.

Nite_Moogle

01-12-2006, 11:23 AM

The cookie cutter mortal strike warriors are upset about Enrage getting reduced from a 40% damage bonus to a 25% damage bonus.

Roc Ingersol

01-12-2006, 11:57 AM

Easy answer: All other MMORGPs (ok not all, but most of the big boys) got these kinds of issues out of the way in BETA when ppl didn't pay a monthly fee.
No they don't.

The only western massmog that had a relatively stable launch was Dark Age, and that's if you discount the billing fiasco. Every other major release has had a near catastrophic launch. Massive lag, server-crashes, disconnects. And every single massmog save Dark Age has had patches that have (re)introduced massive lag, disconnects, and server downtime.

(DAoC did roll back a patch or two, but they were never really down. In about 15 months of playing the game, the server crashed exactly 1 time, when we got 400 people in the Mid relic keep, and the server was back up within a minute or two).

Lineage and FFXI had fairly good US launches, but that's because all the BS was worked out on the Asian market's dime. If you want a comparison for that, look at WoW's overseas launches.

WoW certainly hasn't had very good server uptime, but they have gone far, far beyond any other provider in terms of paying off the angry customer for downtime.

XenonCJ

01-12-2006, 01:34 PM

The cookie cutter mortal strike warriors are upset about Enrage getting reduced from a 40% damage bonus to a 25% damage bonus.Hmmm ok, I'm a Bloodthirst warrior, which actually got improved on this patch so fuk it...

Neosho

01-12-2006, 01:44 PM

I like the way people bitch about wow.

Let's think for a moment, how maybe people are on ONE server at any given time.

Split that in half for the only loading time in the game, the 2 continents.

So you've got about, what...80 zones that people can be in? I'd imagine that each zone has it's own seperate blade. so we're talking about 160 blades per server. that times 100 servers...16000 blades? How much freaking money is that costing them? not to mention the cooling, the storage space, so on and so forth.

And that's at one blade per zone. I love when people freak out over shit like this...Granted, bliz probably should have dumped some extra servers to the opening zones, which they probably did, but what do you expect when 80 out of 100 servers are FULL. Simply put, their infrastructure can't really be expected to handle that. If you want that, then you're going to have to take a huge hit in the size of the servers. I think that bliz believes it's better for the servers to have larger populations of players, at the expense of the occasional crash. Bliz is very good at refunding people for their lost days played, and while it's unfortunate that in some cases this conflicts with peoples play times, maybe it's time to find a new server, where you can make some alts or something.

I've got characters across 3 servers, that i've been playing since launch, and sometimes i can't get in to my prefered server...so i shrug and move to my secondary. Jesus, people seem to expect that for 15$$ a month they should have the world handed to them on a silver platter. FFXI has planned, once a week downtimes. I think the overall downtimes of the wow servers is less than one day a week. Sometimes their maintence will kick over a bit farther, but what the hell are you doing playing at noon? You should be like, at work or sleeping or something.

Savok

01-12-2006, 06:36 PM

Blah blah blah I don't give a shit.

Fact is I pay them for a service they seem to have a great deal of trouble providing, the amount I pay is how much they ask for, if they need more (hah!) then they can ask for more, talking about amounts of money is pointless.

And god almighty timezones, the world is not America, for some of us it's the afternoon right now, for some of us maintainence is our fucking primetime.