Datacenters: A Plea For Community Building, Not Fracturing

[Valkyrie_Lenneth]

What is the flaw in using the visitation feature to automatically load balance a bottleneck in the MSQ?

Because the instance servers are split by datacenter, as is lobby servers. This is effectively adding 50% more instances to the NA world's.

[Dzian]

Because the instance servers are split by datacenter, as is lobby servers. This is effectively adding 50% more instances to the NA world's.

OK maybe it's too early for me but how do you work that out. having 3 datacentres instead of 2 isn't magicallly going to mean 50% more people playing or running instances.

all it means is the people running them will be much the same only split across 3 ares not 2...

so instead of say 2 data centers with 15,000 players each. you'll have 3 data centers with 10,000 players. in both cases there's still only 30,000 players so the number of instances won't really change.

[Reinha]

OK maybe it's too early for me but how do you work that out. having 3 datacentres instead of 2 isn't magicallly going to mean 50% more people playing or running instances.

all it means is the people running them will be much the same only split across 3 ares not 2...

so instead of say 2 data centers with 15,000 players each. you'll have 3 data centers with 10,000 players. in both cases there's still only 30,000 players so the number of instances won't really change.

The number of players is still the same but the maximum number of instances that they can occupy is 50% larger. Normally we can enter an instance as soon as all roles have been fulfilled, but during expansion launches we may have to wait in queue until there is room for new instances. Having fewer players per instance server will help prevent problems like quest battle NPCs becoming unresponsive or housing being inaccessible. I think having another lobby server will have a similar effect on login queues (not sure about that).

[Daeriion_Aeradiir]

What is the flaw in using the visitation feature to automatically load balance a bottleneck in the MSQ?

The instance servers are set by datacenter; not by world. So lets say there's a 1000 instances available to 5 servers in the datacenter. Adding another 5 servers will intensify the workload and make the bottleneck worse, not better, as more servers are now competing for those instances.

The 3rd data center split was done to alleviate the congestion; by distributing worlds across more datacenters, competition for the instance server naturally decreases. It's their "solution" to Raubahn EX/Sigmascape entrance EX issues that have been occurring throughout the expansion. I'd rather personally take a few days of congestion over fracturing communities, but from a business point of view I can see why they made this decision. it looked super bad on Stormblood release when 99.9% of the MSQ players were being blocked; I doubt they want it to happen again.

[SomeRandomHuman]

As I have said in another thread regarding the third NA DC:

This wouldn't have happened if the balmung population wasn't so stubborn about staying on their server despite all of SE's attempts to balance out the population.

Also the fact that players on balmung of all places are the ones complaining is hilarious. It and Mateus will be in Crystal together anyway.

[Bourne_Endeavor]

As I have said in another thread regarding the third NA DC:

This wouldn't have happened if the balmung population wasn't so stubborn about staying on their server despite all of SE's attempts to balance out the population.

Also the fact that players on balmung of all places are the ones complaining is hilarious. It and Mateus will be in Crystal together anyway.

And Balmung wouldn't have become so congested if Square Enix didn't happily pocket $18 per transfer for the better part of four years. It also wouldn't have happened if they designated official Roleplayer servers (not the plural) like WoW did. When SE finally did wise up and realize their mistake, people had long formed connections that weren't willing to lose, especially when it meant giving up a house they likely wouldn't get again or losing their FC. Putting fault on Balmung conveniently ignores SE did literally nothing to prevent it until the situation reached critical mass.

[xbahax92]

And Balmung wouldn't have become so congested if Square Enix didn't happily pocket $18 per transfer for the better part of four years.

No offense but, didnt they close transfers and the creation of new characters on Balmung for a good amount of time during the release of Stormblood?
And was it not like that playeres here started qq'ing, whining, offending, flaming, stopping their subs (showing it off here), and even started a petition to reopen the "gates"? Or was that all just a illusion?
I mean, ok they might be open right now, but that is cause the population dropped during the last patches. But what to do after people see the next news about upcoming expac and rejoin the game again?

[Sheriyana]

No offense but, didnt they close transfers and the creation of new characters on Balmung for a good amount of time during the release of Stormblood?
And was it not like that playeres here started qq'ing, whining, offending, flaming, stopping their subs (showing it off here), and even started a petition to reopen the "gates"? Or was that all just a illusion?
I mean, ok they might be open right now, but that is cause the population dropped during the last patches. But what to do after people see the next news about upcoming expac and rejoin the game again?

Balmung was open for transfers until that point, letting the server get as bloated as it got was absolutely SE's fault. And of course players complained about closing it, Balmung was established as the RP server at that point with no alternatives, until the community turned Mateus into one. Balmung has been closed for a little while again too.

[Bourne_Endeavor]

No offense but, didnt they close transfers and the creation of new characters on Balmung for a good amount of time during the release of Stormblood?
And was it not like that playeres here started qq'ing, whining, offending, flaming, stopping their subs (showing it off here), and even started a petition to reopen the "gates"? Or was that all just a illusion?
I mean, ok they might be open right now, but that is cause the population dropped during the last patches. But what to do after people see the next news about upcoming expac and rejoin the game again?

Why would I take offense?

Regardless, yes, they closed Balmung prior to Stormblood's launch. That occurred precisely because they allowed Balmung to balloon in the first place. In essence, SE proved reactionary once again—waiting until the problem slapped them in the face before actually doing anything to prevent it. Did people complain? Some did, but nowhere near as much as people are complaining now.

As for what they'll do when people return? Unlike other servers, Balmung doesn't see nearly the same drop off during droughts. Therefore, little will change from now and June 2019. In fact, it will likely be smaller than Stormblood's launch because there's a second RP server, thus splitting up Balmung's population. For reference sake, Mateus—at the time of Stormblood's launch—had a paltry 5,300 active characters according to Lucky Bancho. It currently boasts roughly three times that number. Funny how when they finally locked Balmung, the problem stopped. Whether you agree with their decision regarding Crystal is another matter entirely. Blaming the playerbase for congestion issues that could have been mitigated ages ago simply comes across disingenuous. This was a SE created problem, not a Balmung one.

[SomeRandomHuman]

And Balmung wouldn't have become so congested if Square Enix didn't happily pocket $18 per transfer for the better part of four years. It also wouldn't have happened if they designated official Roleplayer servers (not the plural) like WoW did. When SE finally did wise up and realize their mistake, people had long formed connections that weren't willing to lose, especially when it meant giving up a house they likely wouldn't get again or losing their FC. Putting fault on Balmung conveniently ignores SE did literally nothing to prevent it until the situation reached critical mass.

Again, there's fault on both sides. SE waited so long partly due to the sense of community. And then when they finally did, it took mere seconds for people to start having a fit. SE gave them what they wanted, and the whole DC suffers from it. So yes, please excuse the hate from the rest of the DC when Balmung costs up Sub time because of their congestion.

As for housing yes its a total mess and SE doesn't seem to want to fix it. I'm lucky to have both mine and my FC's house. If I lose them I can just find another place that's quiet and easy to access to afk and enjoy some quiet ambiance.

People are quick to blame the product, but the people are equally guilty here sadly. Just because you can go to the server doesn't mean you should. SE enabled yes, but ultimately the people that went for it are what are causing the problem.

The reason for the overpopulation isn't the issue, the server crashing an entire DC and taking all the other servers with it is the issue.