The Server Solution

EVILPIG · 2012-06-08, 07:37 PM

Without specific knowledge of how the servers will be set up, I have a suggestion as to how get more players into less servers. At this time, we believe that a continent will hold approximately 2000 players and we know that Planetside may launch with only 3 continents. Planetside 2 should draw so many players that many servers will need to be up to accommodate. Personally, I would want as many players on a server as possible. I'd have us all be in a single server if we could. Though I'm sure regional servers will be necessary, I would hate to see North American West Coast servers 1-20, so to speak. Without more continents, how can we fit more players into a server?

Since each continent is it's own instance (though permanent), why not have multiples of the continents as they fill up? For example, if all 3 continents become full, the server generates a new continental zone to fill. There would then effectively be 4 continents, though 2 of them may be Indars. As logins fluctuate throughout the day, continents can be added as needed, and when given an opportunity, folded back in.

I know it sounds kind of weird, but it would mean that the Planetside 2 community would be less divided. If 100,000 players are playing and only 6000 could fit on each server, there will be 17 servers up. There would be many, many outfits who would never see each other. So many other players you would never encounter. Such a mechanism would mean that all players would be exposed to each other.

There are logistical issues, and I am open to any suggestions that would put more players together. Even if you may have to choose between taking your outfit to Indar 1 or Indar 2.

If anyone is familiar with City of Heroes, the same was done with the city zones. It allowed for more players to be on the servers, given the hard limits each zone faced, and it worked really well.

Stardouser · 2012-06-08, 07:39 PM

Wouldn't this make it more divided, because after half of your outfit gets into a continent the rest of your outfit gets put in another instance? Or if someone gets on too late they can't join their outfit? Or even if that's solved, you'll never form a good sense of community because you will too rarely see the players that otherwise would have been your regular nemeses/nemesis outfits?

Razicator · 2012-06-08, 07:40 PM

What happens when half an outfit is logged into one of the lower level servers (like 1) and the rest log in when they're filled up, like up to server 17 for exampale? They can't wait to join the server because that means they have to wait for servers 2-17 to empty out, which is not happening anytime soon. The other option is to get everyone to log out and log back in to join server 17, but what if it fills up when they're logging out? Then you got again half the outfit in server 18.

It's a bit too hectic IMO if I'm understanding it right.

Goku · 2012-06-08, 07:42 PM

Originally Posted by Razicator

What happens when half an outfit is logged into one of the lower level servers (like 1) and the rest log in when they're filled up, like up to server 17 for exampale? They can't wait to join the server because that means they have to wait for servers 2-17 to empty out, which is not happening anytime soon. The other option is to get everyone to log out and log back in to join server 17, but what if it fills up when they're logging out? Then you got again half the outfit in server 18.

It's a bit too hectic IMO if I'm understanding it right.

As of right now I think a character is going to be a bound to a specific server like all other MMOs. Unless they have stated elsewhere. I don't see what you are talking about happening.

NCLynx · 2012-06-08, 07:44 PM

It would be pretty disappointing to take half of Indar only to see a message saying something like

"Population has decresed - This continent will close in 15 minutes."

EVILPIG · 2012-06-08, 07:45 PM

Originally Posted by Razicator

What happens when half an outfit is logged into one of the lower level servers (like 1) and the rest log in when they're filled up, like up to server 17 for exampale? They can't wait to join the server because that means they have to wait for servers 2-17 to empty out, which is not happening anytime soon. The other option is to get everyone to log out and log back in to join server 17, but what if it fills up when they're logging out? Then you got again half the outfit in server 18.

It's a bit too hectic IMO if I'm understanding it right.

Ya, you completely missed it.

You would not be logging in and out of servers, when you used a warpgate, you'd be given the option of where you are going.

As for outfits, yes, you may have to pull off of a continent and go to another to fit, but that is versus flat out not fitting on the server because it is full.

The Kush · 2012-06-08, 07:45 PM

This won't work.

wraithverge · 2012-06-08, 07:45 PM

First point I think server architecture is probably set in stone or close to it by now as they've already put up servers and this may require a large rewrite.

In addition if I won that base, log for 20 come back and can't get back into indar 1 I'd be really mad that I couldn't get back into that fight.

I think multiple servers is the way to go but your idea is not without significant merit.

Wow does this with the battlezones, maybe we could have specialty gametype islands at a later date that use this system? something where the actual tournaments/outfit wars can be played. IE Free air cav island where there's just a bunch of towers over open water and touching water kills you.

EVILPIG · 2012-06-08, 07:46 PM

Originally Posted by NCLynx

It would be pretty disappointing to take half of Indar only to see a message saying something like

"Population has decresed - This continent will close in 15 minutes."

The mechanism for closing a continent would need tweaking, but if you are on Indar 2, you know that it is the first to go if pop decreases. It still seems a better option than flat not being able to log in to your preferred server because it is full.

Blackwolf · 2012-06-08, 07:48 PM

Multiple instances never really work out so well. Especially when communication cross between instances.

Squad would form up and then everyone would have to get onto the same instance and hope that there are enemies to fight on that instance.

It's a messy system for games with NPCs and crap, it's probably far less effective for a game like PS2 which relies entirely on players to act as antagonists to each other.

What they might have to consider doing is keeping multiple set servers, and tying character names to accounts rather then servers. So someone on server 1's character names are unique for all servers, not just his favored one.

This means that you pick a character, THEN you pick a server. As more continents are added, servers can then be merged or simply removed without the hassle of asking/forcing everyone to transfer their characters.

The way the DEVs seem to be going right now is worrisome though. I don't want to see 17 servers eventually merging into 4 as part of the master plan.

Talek Krell · 2012-06-08, 07:51 PM

Other than the logistical oddities of how to close a near empty continent and how to make sure people can hook up with their friends, I would say that the biggest issue is whether this would really benefit the community.

Separate servers would mean that a lot of People would never meet, but throwing everyone into one pot might result in people only meeting once, and that's hardly better.

Dagron · 2012-06-08, 07:53 PM

Originally Posted by EVILPIG

Ya, you completely missed it.

You would not be logging in and out of servers, when you used a warpgate, you'd be given the option of where you are going.

No metter the method through which you enter the continent, it's still an instance. It's pretty much the same thing as another server but with only 1 continent.

Originally Posted by EVILPIG

As for outfits, yes, you may have to pull off of a continent and go to another to fit, but that is versus flat out not fitting on the server because it is full.

Yes, that would be the same problem on both situations. Though i have no idea how to solve it short of having characters freely move through servers (and even that has it's obvious problems).

That's a tough one.

Stardouser · 2012-06-08, 07:56 PM

Originally Posted by EVILPIG

Ya, you completely missed it.

You would not be logging in and out of servers, when you used a warpgate, you'd be given the option of where you are going.

As for outfits, yes, you may have to pull off of a continent and go to another to fit, but that is versus flat out not fitting on the server because it is full.

So persistence gets screwed up because you are going to be on a different instance every time, what you fought for last night you aren't fighting for tonight.

I think the best solution is, MMO standard(or what it appears to be from outside looking in), ie, they need to decide what their do not exceed continent and server sizes are, say, 2000/6000, and try to encourage an average population of 1500/4500. For example, using whatever algorithms they use, from launch day, when a server hits X population(X being the desired average population) they declare it full, forcing characters to be made on other servers.

The above is a massive oversimplification, because in reality, it's not that simple, because once the first week is over, people won't be in a mad rush to play, and in order to support a 1500/4500 average maximum load, it might take 45000 weekly active characters. And yes, 45000 is a random made up number, for demonstration purposes only. Surely they've got number crunchers for that, although if they cause it to be too spread out and have a merge or two after the smoke clears, I'm sure we can forgive it.

Now, as for anyone who would say "OMG 1500/4500 is small", what? It was like 500 for PS1....

Ailos · 2012-06-08, 07:59 PM

Originally Posted by NCLynx

It would be pretty disappointing to take half of Indar only to see a message saying something like

"Population has decresed - This continent will close in 15 minutes."

Originally Posted by EVILPIG

The mechanism for closing a continent would need tweaking, but if you are on Indar 2, you know that it is the first to go if pop decreases. It still seems a better option than flat not being able to log in to your preferred server because it is full.

This kind of instancing completely removes one of the biggest selling points of this game: PERSISTENT open-world war.

When Indar 2's population gets low and you're getting ready to close it, are you just going to remember the state of all the bases and capture points as it were? All the galaxy and sunderer deployments? What if the person who owned said galaxy is not online when the continent is brought back online?

Seems like more trouble than its worth.

I think for now, they'll need to go the old-school NA servers 1-17 route, and as they add more continents, they could merge that back down to NA servers 1-10, but each with 6 continents rather than just the 3 at launch.

Blackwolf · 2012-06-08, 08:02 PM

It seems like they are limiting their potential population sizes to the number of continents. When they introduce more continents then servers will be able to support more players.

I think they need to do more gauging as to how many players they are going to end up starting with, and start with a decent number of continents so that servers aren't so damn limited in size.

I guess we'll see what they do though.