NA/EU Server Congestion: The Problem & A Solution for Devs (PLEASE READ)

[IveraIvalice]

Thanks for the inputs everyone. I have a character on Tonberry and everything works smoothly there even during grouped instances despite the hard data telling me the ping time is higher. I'm sure that may change when the servers become congested but beyond that there's no real technical reason why people wouldn't want to play on these servers other than the psychological barrier SE put on people by designating them as "Japanese worlds".

Whatever benefits of splitting these servers up, business or marketing wise, cannot possibly make up for the operating nightmare this has been for them. I'm very worried about official launch since most gaming publications will be reviewing the game soon and they will slaughter this game if this is the experience they will be getting.

the technical reason is the Na/EU physical locations for lower latency. thats why we would want to pick those to have the best connection possible, thats why they made them. they just didnt make enough of them

and some of us cant just hop on a JP server because we have 1.0 characters that we want to keep.
i mean we technically can but im not gonna make another throw away character or just restart on a JP server (located in japan) and lose all that i did on 1.0
they need to add more NA and EU servers

[Zalt]

In the end, we are all speculating. And, many are very upset - as is to be expected. It's like ordering that new gizmo you always wanted from some online store only to have to wait 2-3 days before it's delivered. During the wait, the anticipation is immense. Then, when you get it, you discover they sent the wrong thing. You feel let down, betrayed, and extremely angered. That's what many are feeling here. And, I am truly sorry that you all have to go through this. I'm not defending SE at all here, but I know in the end, things will get better. I did not play in beta, so I find some solace in being able to log in to a Japanese server to explore some of the world and get a feel for the game.

No real point in this post really. Just wanted to chime in.

[EmiliM]

the technical reason is the Na/EU physical locations for lower latency. thats why we would want to pick those to have the best connection possible, thats why they made them. they just didnt make enough of them

and some of us cant just hop on a JP server because we have 1.0 characters that we want to keep.
i mean we technically can but im not gonna make another throw away character or just restart on a JP server (located in japan) and lose all that i did on 1.0
they need to add more NA and EU servers

That makes perfect sense in theory, and is probably why SE went with separating the servers in the first place along with whatever business benefits that came with it. In reality however, you end up with lopsided server population distribution and you are stuck with thousands unable to connect even though there are perfectly functional servers that would serve their purposes just fine, if only they weren't designated as "Japanese" simply because they are physically located in Japan.

And what I am proposing is not to create a new character on a JP server, but to abolish the JP/NA/EU designations altogether. Instead of saying "I'm going to play on a JP server because the NA/EU ones are full", you'd simply go to, say, Atomos, not because it's Japanese or whatever, but because it's available and not already packed to the brim with people. If everyone did this, then you'd end up with a even distribution of players speaking all languages across all servers. Sure, some of these servers will have somewhat higher latency, but IMO that's a small price to pay to avoid all of this.

For relieving congestion, free transfers should be available only to new servers. Assuming enough people do this, it should relieve the stress on existing servers so you wouldn't have to move your 1.0 character.