Hello again ol' friend: Simcity 5 introduced

[dubb93]

Originally Posted by RainMaker

After about 10 years of EA not having servers up to snuff at launch, I thought more people would realize this is standard operating procedure. They always buy less than what is needed because it's cheaper for them than buying too many and having waste. In a couple weeks they'll be up to snuff and would have saved a lot of money.

This isn't a mistake or an error on their part. Unless you believe they make the same mistake for every single title at launch.

I actually read an article to this point a few years ago. I'm not sure if was about EA or THQ, but one of them made this exact statement. That the user base drops off substantially after the first couple of weeks and that they save money by basing their servers off of what it will be like AFTER that dropoff.

[NorvTurnerOverdrive]

i'd love to see the cost/benefit analysis of that decision

[Groundhog]

EA are the best video game example of a company absolutely run by their shareholders. I know every company wants to make money, but with EA the 1st,2nd,3rd,.....,10000th priority is straight-out profit. Which would be fine if they'd stop gobbling up all the other gaming companies.

I'll probably cop flack for this, but I would absolutely play pirated EA titles if I could get my hands on them rather than pay. They are the one gaming company I would do that to.

[mckerney]

Originally Posted by dubb93

I actually read an article to this point a few years ago. I'm not sure if was about EA or THQ, but one of them made this exact statement. That the user base drops off substantially after the first couple of weeks and that they save money by basing their servers off of what it will be like AFTER that dropoff.

Yep, two weeks from now the peak player count will probably be less than half of what it is the first few days after launch.

[Marc Vaughan]

Originally Posted by dubb93

I actually read an article to this point a few years ago. I'm not sure if was about EA or THQ, but one of them made this exact statement. That the user base drops off substantially after the first couple of weeks and that they save money by basing their servers off of what it will be like AFTER that dropoff.

As a developer I'm afraid that makes absolutely no sense at all from a logistics or infrastructure perspective.

Any sensibly structured online product/game is based around having a flexible number of servers with more being brought online as and when required by demand; most service providers today actually allow a customer to have a flexible setup where these things will scale up and down automatically to ensure that demand is covered in a cost effective manner.

(just saying)

[Neon_Chaos]

CleBrownsFan, apparently, we need to be on the same server in order to be able to invite each other to games.

So, pick a server, and I'll eventually hop on there.

[Icy]

Originally Posted by mckerney

Yep, two weeks from now the peak player count will probably be less than half of what it is the first few days after launch.

And in part because they are frustrated at the server issues.

An analogy in real life would be:

I launch a new restaurant, to avoid hiring too much waiters, i don't put chairs on half of the tables, as the customers are so uncomfortable, after a week only half of them are back, so i saved money on waiters.

Whoever decided that was a good business move should have his ass kicked out just by mentioning it.

[NorvTurnerOverdrive]

yeah, if i'm a shareholder i want an explanation. is the cost of servers so prohibitive as to justify the metric ton of bad pr that's come of this debacle? i mean 'simcity launch disaster' is showing up in pop culture blogs


edit: stock's up almost a dollar this week. which is pretty damn good for a 17 dollar stock.

[jeff061]

Originally Posted by Marc Vaughan

As a developer I'm afraid that makes absolutely no sense at all from a logistics or infrastructure perspective.

Any sensibly structured online product/game is based around having a flexible number of servers with more being brought online as and when required by demand; most service providers today actually allow a customer to have a flexible setup where these things will scale up and down automatically to ensure that demand is covered in a cost effective manner.

(just saying)

This is kind of what I was thinking. I spend a decent amount of my time designing server computing in data centers. People don't buy servers and dedicate them to applications anymore, that's just not how it works. You can have multiple application share the same server or you can shift one workload off and a different one on. For hosting providers that means you can charged at the resource utilization level, not by physical servers. For internal that means once use goes down those servers don't go dark, you can use them just as easily for other games and/or other applications. This oversimplifies it a bit, but at the core it's how it works now.

But they could be stuck in the 90's and not be investing properly in their infrastructure.

[Alan T]

Originally Posted by Neon_Chaos

CleBrownsFan, apparently, we need to be on the same server in order to be able to invite each other to games.

So, pick a server, and I'll eventually hop on there.

He has a FOFC region on NA East 1

I've been building in it already.

[CleBrownsfan]

Originally Posted by Alan T

He has a FOFC region on NA East 1

I've been building in it already.

Damn Alan - hate to do it to you but we just started a region in the West. I'm never able to log on the East so I figured give the American West a shot. Neon and I are in there now.

[CleBrownsfan]

I have a meeting at 8:45 so I won't be active until noonish...

[DaddyTorgo]

Originally Posted by CleBrownsfan

Damn Alan - hate to do it to you but we just started a region in the West. I'm never able to log on the East so I figured give the American West a shot. Neon and I are in there now.

Yet another reason why this is fucked up BS.

[Neon_Chaos]

Aaaaaand i got booted out. Can't reconnect.

[CleBrownsfan]

I stayed log in - and same thing. This is where I'll get really pissed off if they knock you off the server without syncing the cities.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

This thread is quite entertaining as long as you don't own the game.

[dubb93]

Originally Posted by Marc Vaughan

As a developer I'm afraid that makes absolutely no sense at all from a logistics or infrastructure perspective.

Any sensibly structured online product/game is based around having a flexible number of servers with more being brought online as and when required by demand; most service providers today actually allow a customer to have a flexible setup where these things will scale up and down automatically to ensure that demand is covered in a cost effective manner.

(just saying)

Well I didn't make this up. I really did read an article that backed up what the other poster was saying. I wish I could find it again.

As far as the experience goes, I would venture to guess that a company like the one you work for hasn't really had much in the way of sever problems over the years?

EA and the former THQ both had monster server problems across all of their games. I would venture to guess that you guys are doing something different from them.

[jeff061]

They may be running on an antiquated architecture. Which is really unforgivable for running something on this scale.

[Abe Sargent]

Originally Posted by Mizzou B-ball fan

This thread is quite entertaining as long as you don't own the game.

Yeah!

[Alan T]

Originally Posted by CleBrownsfan

Damn Alan - hate to do it to you but we just started a region in the West. I'm never able to log on the East so I figured give the American West a shot. Neon and I are in there now.

Doh, I've been in the east server without any issue all morning. Which West server?

[Marc Vaughan]

Originally Posted by dubb93

Well I didn't make this up. I really did read an article that backed up what the other poster was saying. I wish I could find it again.

Wasn't saying you were - however I have fairly FREQUENTLY seen articles by senior managers in tech companies which are wholly inaccurate representations of situations ... which are then echoed around frequently as 'gospel' for years afterwards.

As far as the experience goes, I would venture to guess that a company like the one you work for hasn't really had much in the way of sever problems over the years?

We've had some on and off - but mainly they're totally different beasts to just 'not enough servers' - for instance frequently with massively multiplayer game in the early days they might reject logins (like you're seeing with Sim City) but this WASNT due to enough servers it was down to the way the code handled the login process originally causing a bottle neck and everything to access either one server or one database.

I'd say something like that is by far a more likely cause than them sitting back and refusing to open another server up.

It'll also explain why they're reluctant to talk about it - especially if its a fundamental flaw which isn't easily fixed and will 'go away' by itself as load decreases .... I'm sure they're working hard to ascertain whats going on and mitigate against it in the future, but such things are rarely an 'easy fix' imho.

[Alan T]

Na west 1 won't let me claim a city there in your region. Tried for about 30 minutes. So going back over to the east server fofc region I guess

[mckerney]

EA suspends SimCity marketing campaigns, asks affiliates to 'stop actively promoting'*game | Polygon

[Abe Sargent]

Originally Posted by mckerney

EA suspends SimCity marketing campaigns, asks affiliates to 'stop actively promoting'*game | Polygon

Is that an Onion article title?

[Abe Sargent]

Lol!

"I'll start by saying that I couldn't be more proud of SimCity and the Maxis team that made it and are supporting it," Maxis general manager Lucy Bradshaw wrote in an email sent to staffers at the studio.

[Abe Sargent]

Note that the post in the forms that said, you can get a refund said this:


"If you regrettably feel that we let you down, you can of course request a refund for your order"


Emphasis mine so people who think that EA changed their position can simply be reminded that the original post said you can request it. That;s all, not that it will happen. Lawyer-speak abounds.

[Blackadar]

Originally Posted by mckerney

EA suspends SimCity marketing campaigns, asks affiliates to 'stop actively promoting'*game | Polygon

Ho Lee Shit

[SackAttack]

Originally Posted by mckerney

EA suspends SimCity marketing campaigns, asks affiliates to 'stop actively promoting'*game | Polygon

Oh, man. My snark fails me.

[saldana]

blackadar, i would like to extend my sincerest thanks for saving me 60 bucks...i was totally ready to go buy this game until you started posting about the issues you were having and the quality of the game itself. I am really disappointed that it has turned out the way it has...i loved simcity since the original one on windows 3.0!

thanks for spreading the (albeit horrible) news.

[Draft Dodger]

so, if I was to get a hankering to play SimCity 4 again but had only played the vanilla game and wanted to get into mods but knew nothing about them...what sort of guidance could I be given?

[frnk55]

Originally Posted by saldana

blackadar, i would like to extend my sincerest thanks for saving me 60 bucks...i was totally ready to go buy this game until you started posting about the issues you were having and the quality of the game itself. I am really disappointed that it has turned out the way it has...i loved simcity since the original one on windows 3.0!

thanks for spreading the (albeit horrible) news.

+1

[RainMaker]

Originally Posted by dubb93

I actually read an article to this point a few years ago. I'm not sure if was about EA or THQ, but one of them made this exact statement. That the user base drops off substantially after the first couple of weeks and that they save money by basing their servers off of what it will be like AFTER that dropoff.

The best evidence of it is the fact that every single major lanch goes through this. Every single one. If this was truly a mistake, you'd think someone would pipe up in a meeting and say "the last 75 releases have had server issues on launch, maybe we should go way over our normal estimates".

[dzilla77]

Originally Posted by Draft Dodger

so, if I was to get a hankering to play SimCity 4 again but had only played the vanilla game and wanted to get into mods but knew nothing about them...what sort of guidance could I be given?

Somebody needs to start the thread:
Hello again ol' friend: Simcity 4 returns

So you were enticed by the sexy young blonde, with the long legs and curvy body. So you get her to go out with you a couple times, but realize she's not really bright. And then you find out, that she's stolen your identity and spent all your money.

Well, I'm back, your ol reliable ex-gf, ready to give you what you need.

[Abe Sargent]

Originally Posted by RainMaker

The best evidence of it is the fact that every single major lanch goes through this. Every single one. If this was truly a mistake, you'd think someone would pipe up in a meeting and say "the last 75 releases have had server issues on launch, maybe we should go way over our normal estimates".

Do you mean "every single EA launch does this?" Because I don;t remember these uissues with Guild Wars 2. Am I misremembering that?

[RainMaker]

I never played Guild Wars 2. I'm going off every Battlefield game they've released, Madden, FIFA, Spore, Army of Two, Dragon Age, and so on.

[Apathetic Lurker]

Hehehe......Maybe now y'all will stop complaining 'bout Maximun Football now that this travesty is released.. At least it had a beer tent !

[NorvTurnerOverdrive]

Originally Posted by NorvTurnerOverdrive

edit: stock's up almost a dollar this week. which is pretty damn good for a 17 dollar stock.

finished down .13 today. still up about .50 since launch. be interesting to see how it does next week. i'd wager it gives up all its gains by wed/thur

[cuervo72]

Originally Posted by Abe Sargent

Do you mean "every single EA launch does this?" Because I don;t remember these uissues with Guild Wars 2. Am I misremembering that?

Derp, misread that in the context of the thread. Actually I think GW2 did halt online sales for a bit, though I'm not sure if that was just in an attempt to encourage box sales or if it was to ease up on servers.

[mckerney]

Originally Posted by Abe Sargent

Do you mean "every single EA launch does this?" Because I don;t remember these uissues with Guild Wars 2. Am I misremembering that?

They certainly did a better job than a lot of online game launches, though they also have tried to slow and control the number of new players at different times by not selling on their site or not selling copies online all together.

[Vince, Pt. II]

Originally Posted by Draft Dodger

so, if I was to get a hankering to play SimCity 4 again but had only played the vanilla game and wanted to get into mods but knew nothing about them...what sort of guidance could I be given?

+1 except the last SimCity game I played was 2000. Watching this debacle has made me sad and crave a city builder.

[Neon_Chaos]

CleBrownsFan, my city just hit 110k pop, with around 5000 tourists per day. The plan of getting a gambling mecca is going fine. Two casinos, and two tourist spots up now.

I think I've got my traffic problems solved, but it's still pretty heavy.

Water is a concern, though.

[Neon_Chaos]

dola,

server issues aside, I find that the game is remarkable and fun, and you could really see how much work the creators put in. Such a shame it's online-only.

[Neon_Chaos]

EA admits they're stupid an is giving out a free EA game for all Simcity users as an apology.

Blog Article

Here’s a quick update on the problems we were experiencing with SimCity – and a little something extra for people who bought the game.

The server issues which began at launch have improved significantly as we added more capacity. But some people are still experiencing response and stability problems that we’re working fast to address.

So what went wrong? The short answer is: a lot more people logged on than we expected. More people played and played in ways we never saw in the beta.

OK, we agree, that was dumb, but we are committed to fixing it. In the last 48 hours we increased server capacity by 120 percent. It’s working – the number of people who have gotten in and built cities has improved dramatically. The number of disrupted experiences has dropped by roughly 80 percent.

So we’re close to fixed, but not quite there. I’m hoping to post another update this weekend to let everyone know that the launch issues are behind us.

Something Special for Your Trouble

The good news is that SimCity is a solid hit in all major markets. The consensus among critics and players is that this is fundamentally a great game. But this SimCity is made to be played online, and if you can’t get a stable connection, you’re NOT having a good experience. So we’re not going to rest until we’ve fixed the remaining server issues.

And to get us back in your good graces, we’re going to offer you a free PC download game from the EA portfolio. On March 18, SimCity players who have activated their game will receive an email telling them how to redeem their free game.

I know that’s a little contrived – kind of like buying a present for a friend after you did something crummy. But we feel bad about what happened. We’re hoping you won’t stay mad and that we’ll be friends again when SimCity is running at 100 percent.

SimCity is a GREAT game and the people who made it are incredibly proud. Hang in there – we’ll be providing more updates throughout the weekend.

[mckerney]

"Here everyone, take your pick between FIFA Manager 2011 and Katy Perry's Sweet Treats!"

FIFA Manager and Katy Perry's Sweet Treats are GREAT games and the people who made them are incredibly proud.

[SackAttack]

Originally Posted by Draft Dodger

so, if I was to get a hankering to play SimCity 4 again but had only played the vanilla game and wanted to get into mods but knew nothing about them...what sort of guidance could I be given?

Originally Posted by Vince, Pt. II

+1 except the last SimCity game I played was 2000. Watching this debacle has made me sad and crave a city builder.

Dunno 'bout 'mods' so much. I haven't touched the buildings and such yet. But I'm getting the hang of downloading maps from Simtropolis and getting them to render. It's pretty straightforward.

[RainMaker]

"A lot more people logged on than we were expecting"

It's not like you're a giant company that has been doing this for decades. A company that has data on previous launches. And odd how you seem to always run into this same exact problem at every major launch.

[Young Drachma]

Originally Posted by Draft Dodger

so, if I was to get a hankering to play SimCity 4 again but had only played the vanilla game and wanted to get into mods but knew nothing about them...what sort of guidance could I be given?

Some morsels from back in the day. But I'd suggest heading over to Simtropolis, check out the maps and the various mods. You'll need some to install others, but when you get it all setup, you'll be in a good place to enjoy the game.

Ping: SimCity 4 players. - Front Office Football Central

Sim City 4 - Front Office Football Central

[CleBrownsfan]

Originally Posted by Neon_Chaos

CleBrownsFan, my city just hit 110k pop, with around 5000 tourists per day. The plan of getting a gambling mecca is going fine. Two casinos, and two tourist spots up now.

I think I've got my traffic problems solved, but it's still pretty heavy.

Water is a concern, though.

Are you able to buy water off my city? Alan (or anyone else who want to join the region) is there a time this weekend you'll be on so I can give an invite? I'll for sure be on tonight (around 7:30 EST) for a couple hours.

[Blackadar]

Please tell me this isn't true: EA Hires Hundreds of Chinese Spammers to Post Positively About SimCity’s Always Online Requirement | Play4Real

tldr; version - There's evidence that EA is hiring Chinese spammers to post positive Simcity messages on large gaming websites.






Shkspr, THIS is hearsay...do you understand the difference now?

[Alan T]

Originally Posted by CleBrownsfan

Are you able to buy water off my city? Alan (or anyone else who want to join the region) is there a time this weekend you'll be on so I can give an invite? I'll for sure be on tonight (around 7:30 EST) for a couple hours.

I am traveling for work all next week, so most of my play time was yesterday and what I did on the east server unfortunately. I'll probably play here or there today when i get a chance around family stuff, but no dedicated time..