Why is the patch/update system -still- broken?

[Jinko]

Remember that when the PS3 comes out, they won't have anything else to look at while they're patching.

Well the PS3 won't be using the same patcher, at least from a coding stand point.

They need to allow users to continue uploading after they have finished installing the patch, whilst playing the game even if its only a few KB/s it would soon add up.

[Nipa]

They need to allow users to continue uploading after they have finished installing the patch, whilst playing the game even if its only a few KB/s it would soon add up.

They definitely don't need that. Bandwidth is utterly cheap and the game is small. You certainly don't want SE to try to assemble a patchwork of bad P2P code over the already horrible enough game network code.

The only time where a lot of bandwidth is needed, is when patchs are released and everyone is downloading it at the same time. And at that time, the torrenting system of the patcher will kick in, so on the paper, there is no need for in-game P2P.

Unrelated, but while you are at it, SE, please make the game entirely downloadable from the patcher, and the patcher downloadable from the website. Please embrace 2010. Having to use a external torrent or a physical disc is ridiculous.

[Jinko]

They definitely don't need that. Bandwidth is utterly cheap and the game is small. You certainly don't want SE to try to assemble a patchwork of bad P2P code over the already horrible enough game network code.

The only time where a lot of bandwidth is needed, is when patchs are released and everyone is downloading it at the same time. And at that time, the torrenting system of the patcher will kick in, so on the paper, there is no need for in-game P2P.

Unrelated, but while you are at it, SE, please make the game entirely downloadable from the patcher, and the patcher downloadable from the website. Please embrace 2010. Having to use a external torrent or a physical disc is ridiculous.

I didn't mean an actual part of the game engine, I meant a process that works in the background, like a minimized torrent system, which continues to upload in the background. (obviously it would have to be minimal to user bandwidth otherwise it would effect in game performance)

WoW allows players to pre-download/upload patches whilst playing the game, it also allows you to play the game whilst downloading and installing the current patch.

[Meridian]

You mean the UPnP support that the downloader already has enabled by default? Yeah, guess they should do that...

It's clearly not enabled, or not working.

[Nipa]

WoW allows players to pre-download/upload patches whilst playing the game, it also allows you to play the game whilst downloading and installing the current patch.

Sorry, didn't realize you meant that. It'd be nice to have, but I'd rather they focus on making simple things works, which is not currently the case. A plain patcher, with no useless features (DirectX, music, etc.), using bittorrent and a failback direct download sytem, allowing to download the game from scratch. That's quite easy to build and that's the minimum you expect from a 2010 game, so let's focus on that first.

In a few years, if the game has not been forgotten already and we have a decent player base, paying for a decent quantity of content running on a decent engine and giving SE enough money to invest in less mandatory features, yeah, we can imagine something like this. Or even more, a game downloading itself in streaming like DDO, EQ 2 or GW do. But let's not dream too much.

First, a working simple patcher/game installer is needed.

[Dragonheart]

http://img638.imageshack.us/img638/6339/riftgame.jpg

Normal game with normal downloader.. Oh i can already see rift here, rift there etc.. A BIG SH like SE should learn from a very little one

[Jinko]

First, a working simple patcher/game installer is needed.

Yup totally agree with that, whilst they are at it I would also like to see them move the login as part of the start screen instead of the silly little internet based system they have at the moment.

Example 1
Example 2