Arche Age

[rk47]

Guys, the afk timers dont work when ur in the char select screen and that still counts as online rate regen according to several people who played.  

[Ginaz]

Guys, the afk timers dont work when ur in the char select screen and that still counts as online rate regen according to several people who played.  

It does.  Lots of people in my guild have been doing just that.

[Ginaz]

Started in que at 1730 hrs.  Still in que at 2314.  Eat my ass, Scott Hartsman.

[satael]

Thread: Fix the fucking queues

to quote before they moderate the thread on the official forums: 

[Bzalthek]

Man, eloquent ain't he?  We've come a long way since "You have 14 days".

[Nebu]

MMO's always bring out the best in humanity.

[HaemishM]

Tried to login at lunch. Every server still has 2000+ queues during business hours in the US. Going to be a while before I'm able to even dip my toes again. That's some seriously stupid design.

[angry.bob]

I might reinstall it just so I can try to log in and tie up the queue.

It'll be interesting to see how they fix this without a fundamental redesign of the game mechanics. Well, other than enough people getting pissed off and leaving.

[Threash]

Radically change how most of your game works or don't do anything and the problem solves itself, gee i wonder which one will happen.

[Senses]

I patroned and got in pretty quickly yesterday.  Today the queue was about 5 minutes with 50 people in line.  I don't know if that's unusual or not but I think they might just have fixed things.

[ezrast]

Radically change how most of your game works or don't do anything and the problem solves itself, gee i wonder which one will happen.

Every major MMO anymore seems to provision a whole bunch of new servers at launch only to not need any of them three weeks later. I sort of wonder if it isn't better to just suffer through a shitty launch week and maybe avoid having everywhere be a ghost town for the rest of the game's life.

Obviously neither option is as good as just doing dynamic sharding considering it's 2014 and all, but since that ship's pretty much sailed...

[March]

I'm a patron, and my queue is 2300 > 1 hr. on Aranzeb.

Ordinarily I'd just create a new character on a new server and bop around for a bit... but they've locked down the character creation to a grand total of two (2).  So, I can't.  Since the queue for my other server is actually larger (3278 > 1hr.) I'm stuck.  It will take me a few hours to log in to a server to DELETE a character so I can start over on a new server (and desperately hope it doesn't get a queue).  And I'm a Patron.  Somewhere along the way, I gave them money with the understanding that I might play their game.

I'm hoping this is just opening game nonsense, but somehow, this one feels like an entirely new kind of fuck-up; but I can't be sure just yet.

On the other hand, Labor points have been a non-issue...

[Falconeer]

This is the thing: the early access servers are PACKED with Patrons because, duh, when they have been launched there were only Patrons around. So on those servers being a Patron doesn't help you one bit because you are all the same as everyone who is not a Patron and joined 4 days later certainly didn't roll on one of the old, overflooded servers.

ON THE OTHER HAND, the post-launch servers' population is 99% non-Patrons. This, once again, is obvious: those servers launched on a Tuesday when everyone who was a Patron was already in the game and in one of the old servers. The new (non Patron) players jumped on the freshly started servers because they had no queue and because they offered a chance for the new land rush. As a result, the post-launch servers (two in NA and two in EU) have non-Patrons waiting in line for up to 4 hours, and Patrons entering instantly with no queue at all.

This has been tested on more than one server, and I can add my own experience. Today I logged in two computers at the same time (on one of the post-launch servers). The Patron account got in instantly, while the non-Patron got 4000th in the queue and finally got in about three and a half hours later.

So yes, if you haven't left your early-access server already it is absolutely time to do so. Not only you will probably skip the queue entirely, but due to the low ratio of Patrons lots of awesome land will still be available.


EDIT:
There you go, two new NA servers just opened. If you don't reroll on those ones right now, you are a masochist.

[Threash]

Radically change how most of your game works or don't do anything and the problem solves itself, gee i wonder which one will happen.

Every major MMO anymore seems to provision a whole bunch of new servers at launch only to not need any of them three weeks later. I sort of wonder if it isn't better to just suffer through a shitty launch week and maybe avoid having everywhere be a ghost town for the rest of the game's life.

Obviously neither option is as good as just doing dynamic sharding considering it's 2014 and all, but since that ship's pretty much sailed...

But the problem isn't "new game rush" it's gameplay specifically designed to punish logging out even when you are not doing anything.

[ezrast]

Yeah, I'm not sure what I thought I was replying to there.

[March]

EDIT:
There you go, two new NA servers just opened. If you don't reroll on those ones right now, you are a masochist.

Heh, I've been playing D3 since my post 4 hrs ago... I'm now 2220 in the queue (which the game truthfully, but in a tragically optimistic estimate suggests is still > 1 hr).  And, as I noted above, I can't create a character on the new server until I can log-in to delete my other character.  I am in all ways barred from playing.

Plus, the new servers now show a queue.  But yes, there's hopefully a much better chance that my Patron status will do something on those servers.  Will pre-emptively try to log in early tomorrow to delete a character and start a new one in hopes of playing a little bit in the evening.

[Kageru]

Moving to a new server full of non-patrons will make land much easier to get, but it would seem that's also likely to leave you on a barren server when the population reaches a "stable" level. In a world-PvP game I'd assume that could easily leave a relatively low population and make the PvP sparse.

I'll watch with interest how the community evolves, but got enough out of this thread to know it's not for me.

[tmp]

ON THE OTHER HAND, the post-launch servers' population is 99% non-Patrons. This, once again, is obvious: those servers launched on a Tuesday when everyone who was a Patron was already in the game and in one of the old servers. The new (non Patron) players jumped on the freshly started servers because they had no queue and because they offered a chance for the new land rush. As a result, the post-launch servers (two in NA and two in EU) have non-Patrons waiting in line for up to 4 hours, and Patrons entering instantly with no queue at all.

Yeah, I made chars on the server that was added after the pre-launch (Inoch) and while my queue as non-patron is few k people as expected, the Patron queues are allegedly very short to non-existent.

[WayAbvPar]

I have been very patient so far, but this is completely out of hand. I have been in queue for about 3 hours now and just got under 1000. As a patron. They had better be extending my patron status to make up for all the game time I am missing.

[Falconeer]

And, as I noted above, I can't create a character on the new server until I can log-in to delete my other character.  I am in all ways barred from playing.

The character deletion timer is a commonly used cash grab in Asia, but Trion is guilty of not realizing right away that it needed to be deactivated for launch to avoid situations like the one you ended up having. Of all things this is the one they could have fixed right away, so it's really shameful that they didn't.

They are now, but that's waaay late.

Q: I deleted my character but it isn't freeing up its character slot, what do I do?

A: In order to reclaim character slot from a deleted character, you have to log into a server you have a character, then log back out to character select. This will make the server realize you have more available character slots. Once it realizes you have more slots available, you can create a character on a new server. We're also relaxing the restriction on character deletion in the tonight/tomorrow's maintenances by removing the deletion cooldown altogether.

We apologize for this workaround being a little convoluted. The good news is that one, you can delete your character, and two, the characters lingering issue is fixed in our next client update.

[March]

Moving to a new server full of non-patrons will make land much easier to get, but it would seem that's also likely to leave you on a barren server when the population reaches a "stable" level. In a world-PvP game I'd assume that could easily leave a relatively low population and make the PvP sparse.

I'll watch with interest how the community evolves, but got enough out of this thread to know it's not for me.

That's an interesting point... I'm not exactly in-it-to-win-it, so probably won't matter to me.  I kept on character on a patron server, Aranzeb, which is swarming with goons - so that should give me more than enough drama if I need it.

I noticed that my patron expiration date changed from 10/12 (headstart launch + 1-month) to 10/17 (regular launch + 1-month + 1-day); so that's something, I guess.

I'm still not sure if I will like this game since I haven't been able to spend enough time to get past the PvE... That said, I don't have a problem with PvE... I like PvE - I just want a world with a little excitement, and something of an economy that doesn't rely on currency only available to raid content.  I played DAOC that way for years... PvE, build a house, Darkness Falls, craft some stuff, treasure hunt for scrolls, and heal for a top RvR guild once or twice a week.  If I can get an experience anywhere near that, I'll be ok.  Possibly the PvP will be a bit over the top for my tastes... hopefully I can discern that before my 30-days are up.

I wish the PvE was a little less ADD... I like modern quests, but I wish they would build more on settled spawn points.  I like layered level-appropriate PvE zones with lots of stuff to do and a few high-reward, high-risk baddies that you have to avoid solo, but can take down with a small group.  I play the games to fight, not play dress-up or fedex... I like having to carve a path to some objective, and like working in proximity to others - and even temp grouping if beneficial - Bring a friend mechanics can be fun... WoW sorta kinda almost does this in a few areas with layered quests... I'd be happy if devs explored this concept a bit more instead of constantly rushing me hither and yon.  I'm dangerously close to saying that I like a bit of grinding... let's call it grinding 2.0 with QoL enhancements.

[Rendakor]

After having ignored this through the beta I've decided to give it a shot now, assuming that the new servers opened yesterday don't have awful queues. Signed up for Patron so hopefully that will help; what hoops do I have to jump through to claim a house area?

[palmer_eldritch]

After having ignored this through the beta I've decided to give it a shot now, assuming that the new servers opened yesterday don't have awful queues. Signed up for Patron so hopefully that will help; what hoops do I have to jump through to claim a house area?

See my post here: http://forums.f13.net/index.php?topic=19609.msg1317982#msg1317982
Basically, get gilda stars from quests, go to Mirage Isle (through the blue portals) once you have 15 gilda stars and get a house plan. Place the house plan wherever you can find room.

[Falconeer]

I have started to dabble with economy and crafting in the past two days and while I have no way to tell if it is a system that is good on paper but knowhn to be broken in the long run (ie: South Korean and Russian servers), I have to say that I love how deep it is and how everything is craftable and based on serious interdependency between all different crafters. In this system, the labor points simulate how many work hours any crafter can do, having to outsource the work he/she cannot manage in a day, especially the work that is out of his craft. To put it simple, as a carpenter and a woodcrafter I can build a fishing boat by myself, and I might work my way into raising the animals needed to get the ingredients to craft the sails. But it's not worth it, it would take much much longer for me than just ask someone else to make the sails for me. It is frustrating at first because we have been fed lots of "solo grouping" in the last decade of MMORPGs, but it has room for amazing teamwork and a very dynamic economy. Once again, STAY AWAY FROM THIS GAME if you don't like to talk to people.

Since I'm here, you all get a new "sad sandbox" story:

There was a guy today advertising his services on the trade channel. He's one of the first few with a boat and he was offering to escort players on his boat across the ocean, in enemy territory, for one well known crafting quest necessary to expand your farming land and capabilities. In short, there's a lot of people who need to do this quest and they have very low chances to make it by themselves on a rowboat. Not to mention that if you fail you lose the package that you have to deliver which is worth lots of money and that took you about a day of real time to craft. So, everyone is always looking for other people going for the quest, and trying to bum a spot on a ship to get across the sea safely. But obviously, those who own a boat have a chance to make some money by offering to ferry passengers. So, this guy is advertising 3 gold for a ride. 1.5 to get going and the other half if the mission is succesful. Sounds like a very good deal.

Except, you guessed it? The client gets on the boat and the captain sets sails for the other continet. AS SOON as they get into "international waters, all continental laws cease to exist includiing the one that prevents you from killing players of your own faction, so the captain simply executes his client and takes his package. Which, as I said, is worth a good bunch of money. Obviously the client runs to the General Chat yelling not to trust that captain and explaining what just happened only to have the other guy pretty much roleplay innocence (not to mention that he didn't even got murder counts since it all happened in the only truly free-for-all area). Hilarity and lots of victim blaming ensued.

So, again, nothing that hasn't happened before in Ultima Online (1998) or EVE (2004), but looks like it was all so long ago that the younger generations are totally unprepared for this. Clearly, I love it. I love that it's back. Now we just need more.  



FAKE EDIT: Rendakor, you have to just run the main quest (green one) until you have 15 gilda stars, which depending on your pace can take from an hour to three hours, top. Once you have 15 gilda stars, go to Mirage Island (the teleport is at every major hub) and find the small house you want to buy which costs exactly 15 gilda stars. There's a Western and Eastern style so pick wisely. Once you have your house blueprint all you have to do is find a suitable spot (which means you have to roam the "buildable" areas that are in each region and to find then the "filters" on your M map are your best friends) and simply place it down in a spot big enough. When you do that, you will realize you need 20 Tax certificates to place it, and you get those with real money OR by "crafting" them yourself. You can craft them at any scarecrow garden you see around, doesn't have to be yours. Get close to the scarecrow and "use" it. You will get a crafting window where the only thing you can craft is a bound tax certificate. 200 labor points net yuo 5 tax certificate. The 15 gilda starts requires 20 tax certificates so you should spend 800 labor points to have enough to plant your house down. Make sure to have the 20 tax certificates before you try to place your house. Final tip about finding space: Some areas are super overcrowded because they are the best ones, or simply because people can't use the map to find the other ones, or because they falsely assume those spots are the best. Do not get discouraged. Especially on a new server there will be LOTS of free land, so take your time, use the map, go to remote locations and you will find a nice spot. I would not suggest a house in a PvP area for starters for reasons too long to explain, but that's a cool thing to do and those areas are beautiful so as long as you build it close to the crafting stations, you could do that too.

[angry.bob]

Radically change how most of your game works or don't do anything and the problem solves itself, gee i wonder which one will happen.

Oh, I agree. But the problem for them is the problem fixing itself is the same as money running out their front door.

[Rendakor]

Thanks for that Falc; what am I looking for to make a location "good" other than "surrounded by pretty scenery"?

[Falconeer]

I have less experience than Palmer so he might have better advice. My understanding is, in order of priority:

1) As close as possible to a Specialty Workbench.
2) As close as possible to the sea.
3) As close as possible to crafting stations and services like Bank (Warehouse) and Mailbox.
4) Not in a PvP area.
5) Awesome scenery.

6) If you want to use it as a platform for farming animals or crop of any kind, you might also want to consider the general climate of the area as I think some stuff animals breed better and some plants grow faster in the right place. But this could be too advanced for the both of us. I certainly didn't take it into account or even researched about it.

[Rendakor]

Found a decent spot, that is nowhere near the sea. Where do I get the building materials I need to actually finish it?

[Ginaz]

Found a decent spot, that is nowhere near the sea. Where do I get the building materials I need to actually finish it?

You either gather them yourself, have someone give them to you or use the AH.  You need packs of resources to build, which are stacks of 100 mats (iron, lumber etc) that you have to carry on your back.  No warp gates or fast travel.  Having a donkey will speed things up as they go faster than regular mounts when carrying a pack. 

[Falconeer]

As Ginaz said. To be more specific, the 15 gildas house needs 2 stone packs (which is 100 stone ingots, which is 300 stone ore) and 1 wood pack (which is 100 lumber, which is 300 logs). So in short, you need 600 stone units and 300 log units to finish your house. Stone is "easy" as you can just go to one of the mines in the low level zones and mine as much as you want (or labor permits). Wood on the other hand requires you to grow your own trees. Either on a protected area (your small scarecrow farm, which you get from a very easy crafting quest at level 10) or on a public farm, but with an item limit and protection for just 24 hours. Ultimately, you can plant stuff wherever you want in the world, but it goes without saying that anyone can take it at any time by committing a "crime" (which can be reported if witnessed). Theoretically, you can also find harvestable grown trees in the world, the same way you find iron and stone nodes, but in my experience they are much less common. Growing it yourself is the way to go.

tl:dr - You need 600 stone and 300 wood. Stone you can mine at nodes, wood you need to grow trees and chop them for logs, rinse repeat.

[angry.bob]

100 stone ingots
300 stone ore

 

Really? Those are the names they went with? This may be picky on my part but that's terrible. Do you have to smelt the stone out of the stone ore and pour it into molds to make the ingots? Because that's the only way I can see wasting two thirds of a rock making it into a different shaped rock. Getting a "finished stone" or "stone block" if you like flirting with danger, out of something called "rough stone" or "a rock" is a lot less stupid. Why use names that are exclusive to metallurgy?

Everything about this game seems horrible down to the resource names and crafting ratios. I'm scowling at all of you with the frowniest face possible.

[Rendakor]

They're not actually called that. It's Raw Stone and Stone Bricks.

[Ginaz]

As Ginaz said. To be more specific, the 15 gildas house needs 2 stone packs (which is 100 stone ingots, which is 300 stone ore) and 1 wood pack (which is 100 lumber, which is 300 logs). So in short, you need 600 stone units and 300 log units to finish your house. Stone is "easy" as you can just go to one of the mines in the low level zones and mine as much as you want (or labor permits). Wood on the other hand requires you to grow your own trees. Either on a protected area (your small scarecrow farm, which you get from a very easy crafting quest at level 10) or on a public farm, but with an item limit and protection for just 24 hours. Ultimately, you can plant stuff wherever you want in the world, but it goes without saying that anyone can take it at any time by committing a "crime" (which can be reported if witnessed). Theoretically, you can also find harvestable grown trees in the world, the same way you find iron and stone nodes, but in my experience they are much less common. Growing it yourself is the way to go.

tl:dr - You need 600 stone and 300 wood. Stone you can mine at nodes, wood you need to grow trees and chop them for logs, rinse repeat.

Or find someone's secret tree farm and take them.  Uproot is love.  Uproot is all.  Uproot is forever. All hail glorious Uproot.

[Falconeer]

Someone on my server got sentenced to 80 minutes of jail time for stealing a ridiculous amount of wood and grapes. Probably still worth it, but an hour and a half of forced break can be quite annoying.

[palmer_eldritch]

Although handing down the sentence can be fun.