Why is Maintenance so long?

[Xanikk999]

I don't get why it takes that long to update. I've seen major content patches for other games that only had 10 hours of Downtime.

I agree and feel the same way. As far as I can remember this is the only online game I have played that takes down the game for a whole day when they patch.

[Airget]

I agree and feel the same way. As far as I can remember this is the only online game I have played that takes down the game for a whole day when they patch.

In order to accompany Patch 3.1 as well as infrastructure maintenance, we will be performing maintenance on all Worlds at the time below. During this period, FINAL FANTASY XIV will be unavailable.

"infrastructure maintenance" is what causes this to occur and it might actually tie into patch content, the void ark is a new type of instance so they might be needing to rework the servers to account for that new system.

In a way it is a semi awkward system since I think they said 9 groups can enter so a max of 72 players can be in one instance, however each group has different timers which is another aspect that has not been seen in any other instance. So they need to be certain whena group enters it doesn't somehow give them the time of the group that went in first, aka Group A went in 30 mins ago, Group B goes in 30 mins later but they are given same amount of time as Group A, but see that logic makes sense with how all Duties have been since then since everyone in x instance has had the same universal timer left. With Exploration though each group has to have it's own unique time left which I imagine is something they have to make sure the server can handle/fix accordingly so that there aren't any emergency maint that cause the issue I stated above.

With that said, to an extent the patch is the cause of the long maintenance since the infrastructure most likely connects to unique way Exploration instances will be handled compared to any instance that has come out since release.

[shanian]

and how many of those had emergency maintenances afterward through the week to fix small glitches? =D. its better that they take 24h and make sure they dont "forget" anything and set everything right, than to have it done quickly and end up beeing force logged out through the week at random times, because theres something they need to fix.
also have to take into account the game complexity itself and the fact that they have a huge amount of diferent servers to work on.

[Gyson]

and how many of those had emergency maintenances afterward through the week to fix small glitches? =D. its better that they take 24h and make sure they dont "forget" anything and set everything right, than to have it done quickly and end up beeing force logged out through the week at random times, because theres something they need to fix.
also have to take into account the game complexity itself and the fact that they have a huge amount of diferent servers to work on.

That's all well and good, but we always have a string of emergency maintenance days following a patch anyway, regardless of how long the servers were taken down. In other words, the extended downtime sure doesn't seem to help much in terms of alleviating extra downtime.

[shanian]

That's all well and good, but we always have a string of emergency maintenance days following a patch anyway, regardless of how long the servers were taken down. In other words, the extended downtime sure doesn't seem to help much in terms of alleviating extra downtime.

actually it does help, because those emergency maintenances do not happen every single time, you may have one or two, but not always. if they rushed without caring to make sure everythign was working well, i'm sure we would have a lot more emergency mt's happening. personally i prefer that they take the time they need, As Gilraen said, nobody's life is on the balance, doesnt matter if it is 6, 12 or 24h, players can complain all they want, but that wont really change the time they take for it. we should just look forward for the features the team is adding and see their positive side instead.

[Xanikk999]

and how many of those had emergency maintenances afterward through the week to fix small glitches? =D. its better that they take 24h and make sure they dont "forget" anything and set everything right, than to have it done quickly and end up beeing force logged out through the week at random times, because theres something they need to fix.
also have to take into account the game complexity itself and the fact that they have a huge amount of diferent servers to work on.

I can count the number of "emergency maintenences" on One hand from 7 years of playing World of Warcraft. I still prefer 8 hours to 24.

[Adire]

and how many of those had emergency maintenances afterward through the week to fix small glitches? =D. its better that they take 24h and make sure they dont "forget" anything and set everything right, than to have it done quickly and end up beeing force logged out through the week at random times, because theres something they need to fix.
also have to take into account the game complexity itself and the fact that they have a huge amount of diferent servers to work on.

Not going to comment on maintenance length, but let's not pretend SE doesn't have to do plenty of emergency maintenances after patches. They often do. I remember times where they'd have multiple emergency maintenances in a week for weeks straight. If they're working on hardware and infrastructure, great, take your time. But SE isn't really much better and is sometimes even worse than many other companies have been with MMOs needing emergency maintenances after patches.

Many companies have testlive servers for this exact reason. It allows for short downtimes and better bug detection, and therefore less need for emergency maintenance. But alas, for whatever reason, SE does not. If they did, they could cut down on maintenance downtime and reduce the need for emergency maintenances like other games I've played have smartly done.

[AdamuKun322]

Yep! All major patches are usually 24 hr maintenance's. I think when HW released it was a 48-72 hr maintenance.

[Hyouretsuzan]

Ah yes. The obligatory "why is maint so long" before a major patch. I was actually waiting for this but we got two threads this time. Keep up the good work.

[AnaviAnael]

Ah yes. The obligatory "why is maint so long" before a major patch. I was actually waiting for this but we got two threads this time. Keep up the good work.

Now we just need the obligatory, "why is maint during my prime time?" thread and we're set!