This goon flags himself as a game developer. This is my answer.

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So it doesn’t matter if servers are forced or not, there will always be a rush of people logging on at 5:00pm in that time zone. You’re not going to stop that rush no matter what. This is so obvious, I don’t know how you overlooked this.

In fact you overlooked this. Let’s say that a server is capped at 3k of users at any given time (arbitrary number), ok? This is the limit of the server without lag.

Now, let’s say that this retarded policy goes live. Well, you’ll have 100% of those 3k of players being NA. And yes, they rush during peak hours.

Now we change the policy and see what happens if even other countries can import the box and play on NA servers. What will happen? That WoW will sell better right on NA release, of course. But now you say the the lag increases as well but this isn’t true. Why? Because the cap on the server won’t magically rise above 3k of players if there are foreigners. Instead, at any given time, there will be a mix of NA and European players, probably 90% of NA and 10% of foreigners. BUT THEY ARE STILL 3k!!!

The *raw* number of boxes they sell doesn’t affect lag. What will happen if the game will sell 100k in NA? And what will happen if, then, they sell another 50k the month after? They are going to say: “No, sorry, you cannot play or you’ll lag our server”

An european player counts ONE as an American player counts ONE. Becuase I’m european doesn’t mean that I lag your server. Instead you are blind on the other front. While 150k of NA players and west coaster (for example) FOR SURE will log at the same time. INSTEAD a blend of players from both coasts PLUS foreigner players will smooth down the off peaks and high peaks. The effect of this is that a single server will “hold” more unique accounts before capping out.

This is a simple math formula:
IF Blizzard sells 100k NA boxes with local servers they’ll need (for example) 10 servers active to offer a playable experience.

IF Blizzard sells 100k of mixed boxes without local servers, they’ll need to mantain LESS servers. Because the servers will have relaxed peak times.

Yes, if the second option will happen they’ll sell more boxes but this has NOTHING to do with the lag. It only matters on the number of servers that Blizzard needs IN PROPORTION with the sales. And now, if you are assuming that the more boxes Blizzard sells, the less is the profit, well, you are obviously WRONG.

But if there aren’t forced servers, the server traffic will include the regular congestion of the peak time -plus- the additional players from all over the world. This will increase lag, so you guys are wrong on that point.

What damn are you saying? Are you going to offer only 50k of boxes because one more will lag the servers? Where is exactly this foul criterion that NA players don’t lag the servers, while foreigners will? We carry with us some sort of plague?

If you want to talk about deserted servers you should be talking about the servers that the Europeans and Asians will leave behind. What do you think will happen to those during “off-peak” hours. The situation will be much worse. You will be dealing with off-peak situations no matter what. Using that in your argument really leads to a dead end.

What are you smoking? No really.
If everyone plays on the same servers, where “x” server is a mix of NA players+foreigners, tell me why the off-peak will be worst. Because it’s exactly the opposite.

If you don’t believe my words go read the report and analysis of Final Fantasy servers and the golbal behaviour of log ins along the different timezones and across a server. Or read what wrote a producer of DAoC:

“WoW’s population peaks and valleys will be worse than most other MMO’s out there. / Having a worldwide server – like EQ – means that population lows in Europe, East Coast, West Coast and Asia don’t coincide – the servers remain relatively populated as players log in and log off throughout their peak playing hours. / WoW won’t have that – when they are at off-peak, they will *really* be off peak, and their server populations will be very low.”

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As for people talking about their pings. Mine always hovers between 40-80ms. Feels more like 600-800ms in populated areas to me. Either the meter is lying or I don’t think it really reflects the in-game lag. It doesn’t really seem to mean much of anything.

The ping has a precise meaning, which you probably don’t know, that isn’t subject to opinions. It measures your connection to the server. Not the lag on the server. Foreigners players, like me, play mmorpgs, even this one, from various years. If Blizzard now has real problems with lag it will mean, at best, that their programmers need to be fired ASAP.

But this isn’t true. In fact their excuses were just ways to fool the more gullible players in the community. And they were right, it seems.

There aren’t many choices:
Or they are idiots
Or it’s about money
Or a mix of both

You pick. They range from being idiots to being liars.

I thought I delved on every bad point possible (because there aren’t good ones, sincerely) on Blizzard’s decision to localize and enforce the servers but I’m reading Cosmik’s blog and he pointed out one more quirk, a funny one:

If this decision from Blizzard goes ahead, you can forget about making money on eBay selling your account. The real money is going to be made by people that allow foreigners access to their billing address details, or by those that buy the game for foreigners.

It’s also sweet to see him still a bit ingenuous :)

So, in closing, I have a suggestion. I don’t feel it’s a radical solution. I’m probably not the first person to consider this solution. But it’s a solution that will work nevertheless, and will keep Blizzards coffers full of phat loot. I mean, that’s what counts, right?

Solution – Allow players from anywhere in the world, in any country, to play on any server they choose, regardless of its location. Place a disclaimer, both on the website and in the game launcher, stating that although players may join any server, it is recommended that they play on the server closest to their location, due to possible language barriers and connection issues. If someone is having problems with one server, invite them to join another.

This solution will keep players with their friends, allowing them to game away in happy bliss, and will cover Blizzard’s arse if anyone feels the urge to complain. Crazy solution, I know. But it just might work.

…if only the reasons posted by Blizzard were true.

I have a few requests about an undependent .torrent file of the full beta installer (0.11.0). It uses the standard Blizzard network.

here it is

Commenting on WoW beta forum the reaction of the community.

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They just assume that a vague “solution” months after release is enough to calm everyone’s problems with this.

Everyone aside those that say “who cares?”

Players complain about what happens to them directly. They don’t see far away (like the problems with off-peak times and other gameplay-related issues).

Blizzard told them that they can choose freely which coast they can pick up, and that was enough to stop the rants from the biggest side of the community. Instead I would have liked to see what could have happened if even the american were included in this retared policy and were forced into west or east coast servers based on the billing address.

From there Blizzard did the best they could do about fooling the players and reduce the bad mouthing. The start of the European beta is a cookie to shut up most of the complaints, players will be happy if they are in beta and playing, even if the release is pushed away.

No, the number of players answering on this thread doesn’t mean anything. This is a policy that will surely have a negative impact but it’s still relatively small. Yes, if you look on every server discussing mmorpg and this game, you’ll see that nearly noone accept this policy as “good” but most of them simply don’t care.

What Blizzard (and the players) doesn’t see is the impact that this decision has on the long-term. Local servers will kill the possibility to build an healthy community that keeps its grip along the years. But this is worth zero again. WoW will be successful no matter what, sadly. Even if it will be badly flawed as a mmorpg and as a community, it will still be valid as a simple game.

The enormous mistakes they are making, unfortunately, won’t have a strong impact. Everyone in this thread is just wasting time on an issue that won’t change.

Personally I removed the client and cancelled my preorder. I won’t buy this game now, nor when it’s released in Europe because it failed on what I feel important (and search) in these kinds of games.

The fact that Blizzard won’t receive my money won’t change the world, but I learnt that this is simply what I can do. Go on with what I like and avoid to get involved in other situations.

What I hate is all these seven months I’ve wasted around here writing articles, bugs and suggestions.

Stop wasting time on polls or petitions. Their weight is zero and you can use that time in a better way.

Lighthammer:
an mmporg is a social game and they are not letting us play with our friends…….
good job to who ever thought that up.(he can obviously drink more than me)

Jabone:
long-time communities plan on migrating to this game come release and now you’re forcing those multinational groups to be split up? this has to be the most crack-smokingest thing i have ever heard.

Vanessa:
Isn’t World of Warcraft supposed to be social heaven? Our guild is splitting just because of this :(

Sony:
Sony Online Entertainment (SOE) would like to reiterate that (as announced in the European Beta press release dated 9/7/04), players in Europe will be able to play on any of SOE’s EverQuest II servers, including those servers based North America (and vice versa). There will be no server lock-outs based on location. European and North American players will be able to play with their friends on the server of their choice.

Send:
Wise troll says: “This is bad juju.”

Jeepers:
Blizzard… How can being forced to split up from your friends possibly make my gaming experience better?

Dmitri:
I am very sad about this. To Turaglun of Denmark, Sonic the Bard of France, Semien of the Czech Repub, to all of Vane (the best competition on E’Ci to my guild) from Japan. To the many Israeli’s and Arabs I played with. TO the Russians who asked whether my name (Dmitry) meant I was Russian too. To the hundreds of people I chatted with and played with in DAoC and EQ that were from other parts of the world.

I am really gonna miss yah.

I want you to know that I am not for a SECOND fooled by this horse poopy about lag.

Mouyrningstar:
I am new to mmorpg’s (having only played one other) but one of my favorite things was meeting new people from around the world. I work nights so on my days off my peak playing hours are from about 10pm to 5am pacific time. My groups would usually consist of people from Australia, Europe and a few other night people from North America.

This is really going to leave my on some lonely servers. A majority of players in my region are going to be asleep when I play most. The social gaming experience of WoW is a huge aspect of my overall enjoyment of the game.

Sarinna:
Like many others, I have friends and guildmates in other countries. I’ve known some of them for years. Do you seriously believe that I’m going to abandon them? I mostly play MMORPGs for the social aspect, so this policy will play a major role in my future gaming decisions.

Krups:
i don’t really understanding the reasons behind limiting by geographical region. I’d much rather they just capped server populations. why? generally, i play off hours and it’s nice to have europeans that are prime time when i’m on.

Foozle:
I have never been in a MMORPG guild that didn’t have at least a few non-Americans in it. One of the coolest things about these games is the way they can bring together different people from all around the world in order to pursue a common goal. This is clearly a rookie mistake from Blizzard.

Squaresoft:
FINAL FANTASY XI provides players with a rousing, non-stop 24-hour gameplay environment. As I’m sure you’ve noticed, you are apt to find the Worlds of FINAL FANTASY XI bustling and active with players, no matter what time you enter the game. This is the result of the FINAL FANTASY XI Global World concept, which has not only melded the PlayStation 2 and Windows PC into a multi-platform environment, but has also successfully bridged continents together while breaking down language barriers between players. Previously, MMORPGs have always had “on” and “off” peak times, which could make finding a fellow adventurer to party or trade with quite difficult. The Global World concept has provided a solution to this issue, and was devised as a means to avoid the depopulation of minor Worlds (servers), which can occur when smaller Worlds are created in different regions around the world.

Lum:
And now we come back to MMOs, where their particular form of pattern involves other people being involved. If you ask any dozen MMO enthusiasts which MMO they prefer the most (or, depending on how jaded, despise the least) and you will get a dozen different answers. Because the dirty little secret that designers don’t want to admit is that the actual game is completely irrelevant! No one cares, really, how well the pattern is crafted. Because what brings people back to MMOs isn’t the game, but the people within. No computer can come up with AI unpredictable enough to emulate your average bazaar shopper. Which is why, if you ask those dozen people which MMO they prefer, you get a dozen different answers. Because it’s where they are from.

So what does all this have to do with anything? Well, reading the links I started with, I read a great deal about the minutae of design theory. Gamers want their games to be hard! No, they want them to be easier! More casual friendly! More aimed at the core!

No, gamers are going to be bored. Because these things run on computers, and no matter how many pixels you cram into the pixel people, they’re still just pixels. Now, the community behind the games – they’re not quite as pixilated. And maybe perhaps that’s where we should be focusing.