64-Bit Servers and Clients Arriving Soon!

Install EQ on a normal HD and go zone. Now install it on an SSD and go zone. Now install it on an NVME and go zone You def notice faster zoning/loading times.

no. Once test goes to 64bit you will not be able to log in with the 32bit client and the same with live and beta.

And that is a problem because ... ? Live, Test and Beta already require different clients anyway, so what's the deal?

I don't have different hard-drives to test this, but ill take you word for it.

You can test beta with one installation and play live with another installation.

I don't think they will support 32bit live and 64bit live at the same time though.

They have already stated that once the 64 bit client launches the 32 bit one wont be supported.

Because those clients only access separated server sets not entirely different codebases using different instruction sets.

Well, it's going to cost a minimum of $200.00 to upgrade one of my traveling laptops. Not to mention the trouble it took to get it working in my Linux installation, and the possibility of the new version not working there. To subscribe or not to subscribe. That is the question...

So what is the install path for the 64-bit client? %systemroot%\Users\Public\Daybreak Game Company\Installed Games\Everquest is already in use...

Will it be put under the normal %systemroot%\Program Files?

I am guessing it will use the same install path and just add the needed files for the 64 bit client. Not sure why it would act as a fresh install.

We recommend making backups of any INI files (or other customizations) in your client directory and upgrading to at least the minimum 64-bit specs as shown below:

Because of that. If they are just replacing the game files with 64 bit files you would not need to backup your INI files as they would not be messed with...

That's referring to people who need to upgrade their computers / Windows install to 64 bit.

Cool. Was not looking forward to changing all the paths in these batch files that swap out my INI files for keymaps. That would be a PITA.

If it is being installed in a different directory why would you need to back it up? I would think they are suggesting backups because the patch to launch 64 bit may change them.

That bit was aimed at people who have to upgrade windows.

That is the relevant bit. It will upgrade your client just like installing any other update.

Your understanding is almost assuredly correct.

I first noticed the lagging when the game moved to the virtualized infrastructure, and it seems to have gotten slowly worse since that point, despite no server merges. It's certainly not due to more players, so this tells me it's due to resource consolidation. Or, perhaps, the introduction of new servers (2 a year), that introduce new load upon a shared resource.

It isn't just raid's. Bazaar searches are probably a half-order of magnitude slower on average than they were 3-4 years ago. Searches routinely take 1-2 full seconds, and it's not uncommon to see 5 or even rarely 10 seconds, despite the fact that there are far less traders and data than in the past. This never used to happen. This would indicate that *some* of the issue is related to database queries, however; I do not think that is the only issue.

My assumption is the solution to this problem is any combination of

- more powerful / expensive VM's (especially DB "boxes")
- fewer zone instances per VM (thus more total VM's)

Either of which costs money and affects profitability (and potentially viability) of the title. Will increasing infrastructure costs by 20% result in 20% more revenue? No.

At ~80K MAU (rumored), there's not a lot of wiggle room with literally hundreds of instances per server times the number of servers. In theory merging servers *could* help, but perhaps not as much as one would expect. In theory a server merge will bring some players back, consuming whatever savings. Also, higher density worlds could actually cost more cents per player per hour to run based on scalability factors. This stuff gets complex fast, and every game is different.

Hmm, a potential issue with their rollout plan is that if they upgrade the testserver to 64bit too soon. Then the expansion might not be thoroughly tested with the 32bit client, making a rough expansion launch a potential problem, that won't be solved until the 64bit upgrade...

64 bit, improved graphics, Daybreak wants to hire new artists, dare I say new character models maybe in the cards soon?

I got Samsung EVO 870 500gb SSD for 70 bucks. I would shop around on Amazon or your local computer store. I changed two laptops to this and it has been great.

Actually, the buggest potential is not overlapping the clients. The client doesn't care what "bit" the server is and the other way around. I'd let the 32 bit clients still connect to the servers for at least 90 days before cutting them off. Just dropping 32 bit when 64 is released is way to fast a transition IMO...

Well, I was going to begin the migration of the Everquest machines to Windows 11. But now I think I will wait until I can get the x64 version of the client.