First thing I did was check the forums for an announcement of the server's going down today and noted there was nothing there. So considering that this was the case I logged in. Within just a couple of minutes up pops the notice in game of servers coming down. Back to the forums I come and check again. No announcement of such a happening BUT, when I go to the Game Update Notes section I see there are updated notes for May 25th. Are we to no longer be able to make plans according to the "news and announcements" section?? Sloppy DB, simply sloppy. Also, on my first checking there was no large RED status across the top of the forums page. This first forum check for any notice or announcement took place at approximately 8:45 CST. Again, sloppy DB, simply sloppy.
First, the fact the game update notes were posted should suffice as sufficient warning the servers are going to be coming down, as usual, on a Tuesday. Secondly, I suspect that since no CM has been named since Dream left is probably where the problem lies. That said, it does speak volumes about the inability of DPG to actually coordinate, or think through, the ramifications of the CM leaving and making sure things are running smoothly. Which suggests that past the separate business functions within DPG, no one has the reins on the team of horses pulling the wagon. Honestly, this is fundamental business planning and execution. Oh wait....
Welcome to the club. Those of us in Europe haven't been able to plan from the announcements board for years since the posts are rarely made before we go to bed the night before. And that big red notice really needs fixing to appear in the header of every forum page since many of us rarely load into the forums using that front page and therefore never see the message even when it is there.
I doubt many go to the "update notes" FIRST. Had I known after 20 years of EQ that I should always go THERE instead of ANNOUNCEMENTS to know wtf was going on I would have. It appears that there is NOBODY pulling the reins on the team of horses that is pulling this wagon.
When I'm logging in, I look at the News and Announcements, since I've learned over the years that doing so prevents me from logging in and finding out the server's going down, whether it's a normal Tuesday or for a special patch fixing other problems. Personally, I don't care what section it shows up in, as long as it shows up. What would annoy me is logging in with no announcement for a "planned" event. Even then, there's been crashes, servers are down and no announcement posted in the forums until later, if then. However, when an announcement has been posted that I can readily see when I'm logging in that the servers are going to be coming down, I'd find it hard to make a case for complaining about it. And that's especially true when it's Tuesday--when they're either being patched or it's a server reset.
There is a news section on the forums. Most of the time, these downtimes are listed there, and if they know, how long they will last. Since I have been back for 6 months, they always bring the server down on Tuesday mornings for patches and maintenance. The time is typically 1-2 hours. On some occasions it can be more if something goes wrong, but usually 1-2 hours is the extent. Every now and then if things go well, it has even been less than an hour. But I know to expect this each week for roughly that time frame. The news post will almost always tell you the timeframe, as well as a link to the patch notes for the changes.
That is exactly where I looked at 8:45am CST. News and Announcements and there was NOTHING there. After all these years I was not aware that I needed to check UPDATES FIRST. Now I know to check every other section just in case they posted something regarding server maintenance in maybe . TIPS, TRICKS, FAQs, abd NEW PLAYER DISCUSSION or other area (sarcasm alert). I checked where we are supposed to check FIRST. And I do not count crashes or emergency situations as being a necessary need to give advance notice on. That is NOT possible in many cases. It is NOT unreasonable to expect that since they do NOT always take the servers down EVERY Tuesday, that they should not be able to give a notice before hand. Lately they have been taking it down on other days of the week WITH a notice. It is sloppy management and lack of giving a darn about their players who are, btw, paying their salary whether by the monthly sub and/or buying from their marketplace.
I can say that, depending on where you're reading it, it will take 1-2 hours. We've seen cases where the announcement says 2 hours and in game MOTD/announcement says 1 hour. You can plan on two hours, but I've seen the servers activate in an hour. A lot depends on what they're doing. The more that's in the patch notes, the higher probability it will hit the 2 hour mark, especially if it's actually patching of the game and not "spelling" updates. And ofc, there's the occasions we've seen of 2 hours extending into 4-6 hours later. The TL;DR version: they're up when they're up.
It hasn't been 1 hr. for a long time. Also, they have been bringing it down on Thursdays as well. It is not always taken down on Tuesday btw.
LOL...just breathe for a second. It's not the end of the world here. Have some patience. Again, you don't have to go to the forums at all, much less read all the categories. Suggestion: when you are at the log in screen for the game, before typing username and password, look to the right. Inevitably, any news regarding the game is posted there. Just click on the heading and you're golden. If there's real post-patch issues, I'll check the forums separately for details.
Actually, it was an hour last week for the minimal patch. AOE, you've been a long time player and a contributor to these forums, but you're blowing your gasket over nothing. Relax, brother. This isn't the scope of the problem that should be creating the hostility and frustration you are feeling right now. It just isn't. Take a breath and relax. Since I've been exactly where you're at not that long ago, get off the forums for a few hours and stop feeding the beast. Something else is gnawing at you, but this isn't it. Take care of yourself.
I am thankful that the update notes are posted. It will take a while to see what happens with Dreamweaver's responsibilities and who will assume them.
doesnt look like there was a patch, no files changed on clientside maybe all was done serverside? @mepps can you confirm?
So I wonder who will replace Dreamweaver .. as though anyone could take that helpful little frogloks place! Hasn't it been kinda a long time since he left now and still no replacement named? I hope that we are going to have SOMEBODY as a personal liason between us player here at Daybreak Games Forum and the Devs to iron things out, to bring complaints and ideas to, to give and explain notices and changes to us. We need this. Please pick a good replacement DB Ambassador for Dreamweaver!
May I ask... How often do the servers not go down on Tuesday and at the normal time of 7am PST? Just curious as to why this seems like such a surprise the servers went down even without an announcement?
This ^^^ Tuesday's are update or server refresh day. At this point only absolutely new players should be surprised by this.
A couple times a year due to holidays on either Monday or Tuesday, in which case the downtime is moved to Wednesday or Thursday.
