Maxis Adding More SimCity Servers Over Next Two Days

[Nantucket_v1legacy]

This was bound to happen wasn't it?
There was no way this game would have the server capacity for launch day... it's was so painstakingly obvious to everybody except EA and Maxis.

This game is out tomorrow in the UK - I'm not going to buy it until I've seen reviews stating the servers hold up well.

 

[jetriot]

People keep comparing this to error 37... it was my understanding that it wasn't like that. Error 37 prevented people from playing altogether. This is just putting people in a 30 minute queue. No?

Is "boot up game, make a sandwich, play game." an option or isn't it? Because if it is, then I really don't get all the hubbub. The game's just released, bet you a dollar that in two weeks queue times will be under 60 seconds.

They don't have a real queue system. The 30 minute timer that looked like a queue is just there to prevent you from spamming the login server. When the timer is up it simply attempts to log you in again. There is no priority system so you were better off spamming the login server for an open slot by switching servers or entering/exiting the game. People that didn't understand that never got in.

The other problems are the way the game saves(it is all cloud based) means that the constant server outages corrupted game files and deleted cities. Also when you can play cities couldn't talk to each other to commute/share services which is needed for this game to function because map sizes are so small. This includes cities that you create yourself and hop between that no other person is playing. So when you do play the server instability breaks the functionality of the game.

There are other problems but essentially it goes - When and if you can play the game is broken. Hopefully this is because of server instability and it isn't a problem with the game itself.

 

[teqrevisited]

All of these server problems, time and time again, caused by the same thing and still the industry's largest haven't learned. Underestimating demand to save money results in people flipping out.

 

[Ruley]

Diablo 3 anyone? I thought i smelled a rat when i couldn't pre-load. They already knew about the server issues before launch! It strikes me as odd if companies haven't looked at situations like that one and haven't learned from it and it strikes me as bonkers if they have looked at the situation and reassured themselves that it cant possibly happen to them because they're better/smarter/have more money/whatever. Ok, i get that its cheaper to remain conservative in your predictions of how many players will be part of the midnight rush but we're beyond the midnight rush now, its been out for a few days, all pre-orders will have been downloaded and all current players are (roughly) on the same timezone. So why couldn't anyone predict say, peak user numbers?

Also, the irony is that if they had just done this work before hand, yeah sure it would have been behind the scenes and they would have gotten no credit for "addressing the issue" but i think a smooth launch is better than bad press over players who cant play the game they bought.

As new as always online DRM is, I'm annoyed that the EU and other governing bodies haven't stepped in to stitch up some loop holes over customer service of purchased products and all that jazz. Because this HAS to void our rights as a consumer somehow? Or, knowing any business ever, there's probably a clause or two in the terms and conditions?

TLR: Nothing new here with always online games. Shame on EA / Maxis for not doing this work as a just in case precaution.

 

[mattaui]

Thanks EA, yet again, for reminding me why I only buy your games, if at all, at a deep discount. Though I wonder about even doing that now, with previously beloved single player games like SimCity requiring some nonsensical always-on internet connection.

I just wish more folks wouldn't rush out and throw down $60 for every big name title that comes out, since the companies aren't going to change until you start voting with your dollars. But hey, if customers keep lining up and paying, I guess we'll get the gaming companies we deserve.

 

[VanQ]

All of these server problems, time and time again, caused by the same thing and still the industry's largest haven't learned. Underestimating demand to save money results in people flipping out.

The only people here that aren't learning their lesson are the consumers that know that these kinds of games with always online requirement never work as intended for the first week or two but continue to buy the games anyway.

As far as the publishers can tell, we're happy to give them money for a service that almost never works as advertised assuming you're lucky enough to get it to work in the first place.

When did video games become a service anyway? I swear they were a product until just recently. Why do businesses that continuously and reliably offer bad service still exist and why do we keep giving them money? Even worse, why do we still defend them?

 

[teqrevisited]

All of these server problems, time and time again, caused by the same thing and still the industry's largest haven't learned. Underestimating demand to save money results in people flipping out.

The only people here that aren't learning their lesson are the consumers that know that these kinds of games with always online requirement never work as intended for the first week or two but continue to buy the games anyway.

I can't argue with that.

I wish it weren't the case though. While it continues we have no power as consumers to decide financially what flies and what doesn't.

 

[Canadamus Prime]

Um... question: Why didn't they have those servers going to begin with?

 

[Harker067]

Seems to the me take home message is never by a mandatory online game at release. Wait 3-6 months for a price drop and the servers to free up or be increased before you think about getting the game. Now back to tropico!

 

[Weaver]

and in an unexpected twist, the always-on requirement has resulted in some complications.

This is a joke, right? Didn't EVERYONE see this coming from a mile away? I even made a thread about it on the 4th.

 

[Necabo]

All of these server problems, time and time again, caused by the same thing and still the industry's largest haven't learned. Underestimating demand to save money results in people flipping out.

The only people here that aren't learning their lesson are the consumers that know that these kinds of games with always online requirement never work as intended for the first week or two but continue to buy the games anyway.

You kinda got that wrong, because from that statement you should wait to buy the game for a few weeks.
Apart from that being a totally ridiculous thing it also makes that the few people who actually will buy the DRM games at lauch (say if it goes that way ~20%)will not experience any server problems -->thus EA won't fix the issues ---> still problems after a month when everybody heard it was working great, which it doesn't because: don't fix what aint broke!

They really should have anticipated more that a few servers were necessary for this game. Don't blame it on the consumers just wanting to play the much hyped, super awesome game they made.

 

[VanQ]

All of these server problems, time and time again, caused by the same thing and still the industry's largest haven't learned. Underestimating demand to save money results in people flipping out.

The only people here that aren't learning their lesson are the consumers that know that these kinds of games with always online requirement never work as intended for the first week or two but continue to buy the games anyway.

You kinda got that wrong, because from that statement you should wait to buy the game for a few weeks.
Apart from that being a totally ridiculous thing it also makes that the few people who actually will buy the DRM games at lauch (say if it goes that way ~20%)will not experience any server problems -->thus EA won't fix the issues ---> still problems after a month when everybody heard it was working great, which it doesn't because: don't fix what aint broke!

They really should have anticipated more that a few servers were necessary for this game. Don't blame it on the consumers just wanting to play the much hyped, super awesome game they made.

I was mostly implying that we shouldn't be buying these games to begin with but I can see how you came to that conclusion from my post. Always on DRM is always an intrusive means to control a product and we shouldn't be defending it in its current state.

Not to mention that DRM also tends to drain resources from the system that could be used better elsewhere. Like, say, in the game we're trying to play. But oh well, people are content to allow this to continue, there's not much we can do about it.

 

[Vetta E-dom]

How long until Maxis get shut down and everyone is fired? A lollipop says two months, maybe three.

There are some "gamers" who cant tell the difference between a studio and a publisher though, and thus why some "gamers" cant comprehend it.

Please dear god, tell me your not inferring that I cant tell the difference between a publisher and a developer..... which has nothing to do with the line of thought posted.

 

[Yureina]

Yet another EA game that I am glad to have not gotten because of some BS that has occurred to screw up what otherwise might have been a pretty decent or fun game to play. >_>

Seriously... when will they finally die, after so many years of murdering good game devs?

 

[knight4light]

I've logged 15 hours in simcity. yes i'm annoyed at the roll backs.. the unable to connect to servers ...grr. but tbh. i kind of expected this much. its EA they greatly underestimated how much strain always online is. theyprobably should have asked people like blizzard or any other large mmo company about how much strain everything is on their servers. cuz that is what i think this essentially is. well. more like an inbetween. i have made my world private while i try figureing out how to make cities..


i failed.. so hard.. and the city i did build up to be great started... failing.. i couldnt pay for anything. i had to shut things down. tear down. i built different things. managed to save it a few times but still slipped. i cant imagine how much trouble it would be if it was bigger @.@

OT: i hope they fix them quickly so i can go back to trying to save my cities!

 

[Antari]

Maxis Adding More SimCity Servers Over Next Two Days

While you were waiting to play SimCity, other mayors have started over 18 million fires.

EA's long-awaited SimCity reboot launched for PCs earlier this week, and in an unexpected twist, the always-on requirement has resulted in some complications. Technical issues are causing players to encounter bugs, and many are unable to access the game at all. SimCity developer Maxis is well aware of the problems, and according to a forum post, will be adding more servers today and tomorrow that it hopes will fix some of the game's issues.

Additionally, the developer is "paying close attention to all the bug reports," with several game updates already live and more to come. "Our live ops team is working 24/7 to resolve issues and ensure that bug fixes roll into the game as quickly as possible."

Though many players haven't been able to build the cities of their dreams yet, people are playing the game: a Maxis community manager shared some stats about SimCity's first day after launch. "In a single 24 hour period, there were more than 38 million buildings plopped down, nearly 7 and a half million kilometers of roads laid down, 18+ million fires started, and (my favorite fact) over 40 million pipes filled up with poop." Of course, that probably won't comfort the paying customers who have been waiting since midnight on March 5 to fill their own pipes with poop, to no avail.

Maxis thanked fans for their support and understanding, requesting continued patience as the issues get worked out. Hopefully the new servers and bug fixes will result in a smoother SimCity experience so the legions of would-be mayors can get to work.

Source: EA forums [http://forum.ea.com/eaforum/posts/list/9340500.page]

Permalink

Sorry Sarah but this was not an unexpected twist. It was predicted by over half the gaming community. Not being prepared for overload on release is entirely inexcusable in this day and age. Its not like this is the first game with a multiplayer component to be released, hell nothing about it is ground breaking.

I know your trying to be diplomatic, but you have crossed the line into misinformation. I've lost alot of respect for you today. If you want to stand up for someone. Stand up for us, here on the escapist.

 

[Stavros Dimou]

Oh boo hoo it's too late,stores started removing the game from their products lists already because they couldn't keep up with the number of people asking for refunds.

http://www.destructoid.com/amazon-has-pulled-simcity-from-its-store-248072.phtml

 

[medv4380]

They don't have a real queue system. The 30 minute timer that looked like a queue is just there to prevent you from spamming the login server. When the timer is up it simply attempts to log you in again. There is no priority system so you were better off spamming the login server for an open slot by switching servers or entering/exiting the game. People that didn't understand that never got in.

As much as it is horrible that they didn't block that or make a queue you do realize it's people like you that make a bad thing even worse. You're as bad as my Wife repeatedly attempting to log into WoW every min after maintenance and are Shocked that the Authentication servers crashed. All your repeated attempts do is keep the server busy handling null requests and when too many people do that they end up DoSing the servers and taking them down.

Or do you not know what this means?

 

[Atmos Duality]

From a strictly-business angle, this makes a bit of sense.
Don't get me wrong, Always-Online DRM is indefensible (short of Free-2-Play games, since the risk is entirely on the interest of the consumer, and nothing more).

But consider the purpose and planning for SimCity.

*Always Online. EA knows it's not popular and would have to be utterly detached from reality to not know this (snark aside, there is no possible way they would not know this). However, it could be popular ENOUGH to warrant implementing it and hope that interest trickles up in the long-run; long enough to start another DLC drip feed market (TotalBiscuit's words admittedly, and it fits perfectly) that is secured by the DRM.

(I think the DLC looks grossly overpriced thus far. Before some twat yells "ENTITLEMENT!", I know it's EA's right to charge what they want for their content, and to decide what is "extra" or not, but that does not mean it's above criticism)

So, why do this? What are the benefits?
Answer: This is a remarkably conservative gambit.

Lets analyze the alternative, hypothetical scenario.
Suppose EA commits resources to providing adequate or near-adequate serverspace/bandwidth on launch.
One of many scenarios can occur:

1) Game is successful, and accepted in the long run.
Result: EA made the right call.

2) Game is initially successful, but then falls off sharply. (similar to what happened to Diablo 3)
Result: The extra server-space was not worth the initial investment and is now just a cost. EA already has an exit strategy here in the form of denying refunds via policy entrapment.

3) Game bombs, initial sales and preorders evaporate before entrapment (see #2) can occur.
Result: Worst result for EA in all instances, but made worse by an overcommitment to Service resources that aren't being used, yet still must be paid for.

In comparison to what actually happened:

-)Under-committed to servers to avoid scenario #2 and especially #3 at the expense of possibly #1.
Waited to gauge true consumer response to avoid being clipped by additional costs. Weighed against the risk of bad press.

Results: At this stage, probably #2, sans the extra server cost.

There is one thing I'm rolling around in my head..
Since Origin is required, how many sales did EA know about in advance vs those bought on launch day? This isn't quite like retail where there's a lag time for confirmed sales, Origin handles everything.

Of course, unless SimCity turns around and becomes a booming success, I know EA isn't going to disclose sales data to confirm/deny that.

 

[medv4380]

In comparison to what actually happened:

-)Under-committed to servers to avoid scenario #2 and especially #3 at the expense of possibly #1.
Waited to gauge true consumer response to avoid being clipped by additional costs. Weighed against the risk of bad press.

Results: At this stage, probably #2, sans the extra server cost.

You're forgetting an option. EA uses this to Increase the number of servers. They didn't exactly underestimate the pre-orders. No one in their right mind would have bought enough servers to handle day 1 load knowing that in 2 weeks that they'd only need half of them. The Phone Company is the same way. They only provision enough dial tone to server 20% of the customers because under normal circumstances only 20% are ever making and receiving calls at the same time. An Earth Quake is the exception where everyone picks up the phone to check on loved ones. That crashes the phone company mainframe.

What they're doing here is a slow ramp up for something more sinister.

What they need to do is slowly ramp up the number of servers to handle day 1 launches, but they can't do that with just one game. Over time Sim City attrition will free up the excess servers and they'll be able to be used on the next game. That game will have similar issues be not be as bad since it shared some cost with Sim City. Then the next game and so on.

In the end they're left with a DRM infrastructure like Amazon had to build to handle Christmas Sales. That was actually the basis for Amazon hosting services since they had no other use for the infrastructure after Christmas. After that their won't be any noticeable problems save for the existence of the DRM.

This is only the beginning of EVERY EA game having the same DRM setup.

I blame everyone who kept buying Ubisoft games back when this practice started. I've given up. I ended up missing out on the AC series because I stuck to my values. Now it's too late. I'll just enjoy things up until the Crash happens, and celebrate when the house of cards catches on fire.