You have said this a few times in the patcher "server downtime for hotfix" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hotfix A hotfix means there's NO DOWNTIME. if you take the server down, it's a fix. if you fix it and the server stays up, it's a hotfix. it's an oxymoron to say "server down for hotfix."
Funny thing is, my kid pointed this out to me... if a 14-year old can notice your mis-using a term, then you should be able to.
I don't want to spoil the fun but you are talking nonsense (and your kid is a smart***). Just read the first paragraph of the wiki article and you have your definition of a "hotfix". Downtime or not depends on the system.
Maybe you should stop looking at wikipedia to find out a words definition, instead you should look at how it is used. http://support.microsoft.com/kb/913384 "You must restart the computer after you apply this hotfix."
I, for one, got a kick out of this. Good catch by your son! Sort of how many F2P games are calling themselves beta long after they are. It's a misuse of the term that should be corrected. To another player above in reference to the smart aleck. I'd rather be the parent of a smart *** child than a dumb *** condescending adult. Children should be given a pedantic license in this case as it helps foster critical thinking. If 78 is your actual birth year, you should have a bit more sympathy and maturity in these situations.
I'd rather wish their dumb post-GU-hotfixes would actually FIX STUFF THAT MATTERS for ******* ONCE. **** them being cashcow fixes that most of the time only apply to new released weapons instead of any of the thousands new and old bugs that get introduced with each GU.
Who cares what they call as long as they fix it? Which they haven't ... yet. 1st fix hasn't fixed it. Needs more fixes. If history is anything to go by, it'll take 2 or 3 more still the games settles down again. Oh joy!
It's kind of strange that this thread isn't locked, considering this really isn't a technical issue. A hotfix can require downtime if the changes need to be applied to the client, and not just the server, and this was the case. Just because some companies can hotfix their servers without downtime doesn't necessarily mean that everyone can. Different server structures, different application types, and so on.
I think the following example is on the wikipedia page for it. If you can remove and install drives with the system still powered up, it's hot swappable. If you have to power down the system, it's not. If sony has to bring down the servers for a patch, it's not a hot fix, it's a patch. Neverwinter nights has hot fixes pushed out frequently where the systems for both client and host can remain up and still in the game. That's a hot fix. Some may not see the difference between the two, just as many won't see the difference between a mac/pc, intel/amd, whiskey/scotch, lager/ale, etc. There are differences and one's intimacy within that given industry brings those differences out of the shadows.
I didn't need the wiki article to "point it out" My son pointed it out, he was right, so I mentioned it.
In years of SOE gaming, I've always just assumed that meant they were patching in untested code. It beats ninja patching, which has a similar degree of reliability but doesn't come with a warning.
Generally speaking, most coders[programmers] call untested code "alpha" or "pre-release." Then beta is usually what it's called after they've personally[or internally] tested it and are releasing it for others to test.
You are just wrong. Alpha\beta terms in software development have nothing to do with "internally tested". Just so you know - project is being tested even or the very early stages, before all that terminology even becomes applicable. The difference between alpha and beta is that beta version already has all the functional stuff coded in, while the alpha is yet to suffer many functional changes before it can become "beta". Also, the guys above are right - "hotfix" have nothing to do with donwtime. Your 14 y\o kid is not familiar with software development as it seems, which is no surprise.
Hotfix has been around for a while in online gaming, most of the time servers go down for a short time, much shorter than a maintenance and major patch. Certain games can patch while you're still online playing, GW2 being one of them which is very cool because when you exit and login it starts to patch, I don't think PS2 can safely patch client without restarting servers but I could be wrong, has it been done?
Err... as far as I know Alpha test means it is done in house, and beta test is when you let "outsiders" test it before release. If something is released as a "beta", it is just their way of saying that it is not the final game and more is to come before they are satisfied to officially release the product. Technically PS2 should still be called a beta, because they know that they want to put in more continents and tie them together, and by that change how the game is played (strategically). Since they have announced that change a long time ago, and that that change will alter the current content a lot, I wouldn't call that an expansion either... Edit: From the source of all worthwhile knowledge (44s in):
