Server down time

[schwackmaster]

I am so sick of refuged troops because I cannot get online. I think that server down-time needs to be like maint. time is supposed to be when it works right: At normal maint. everything just stops until it is over, then picks back up like those 15 minutes never existed. If you have an army 6 miles from home and marching when maint starts, 15 minutes later when maint is over, that army is 6 miles away and marching. Your resources are the same the minute it is over as the minute it began, because for all practical purposes, that time does not exist.

This obviously has to happen, or I would victimize everyone in town by landing scouts 10 sec before maint and launch attacks KNOWING that they cannot change the state of their gates.... (It is this fact that makes broken gates such a MAJOR UNFAIR ADVANTAGE to coiners (Or to Evony, rather, since you either get victimized or come up with a broken gates item to fix them))

The same needs to happen when the server is down, and for the same basic reason: We are unable to do anything about it.

The fact that the game is played in 'real time' is a very pertinent point here. Players develop plans and strategies that take time to implement and unfold, and there are always parts of a plan that cannot take place until other parts have finished (for example, you cannot send reinforcements to a npc until AFTER you cap it, regardless of the fact that more than enough armies as needed to conquer it are already enroute, so its capture is inevitable)

'Real time' is also a factor because whether Evony is online or not, real life goes on. When an announced 'two hours' of server downtime becomes four, eight, or 32, there is a lot more involved than just the exact number of hours. As players, we take these announcements into consideration Of course, we are also well aware of the standing track record of such things, so yes, when Evony says 2 hours, I figure 6 or 8 at least.

A lot of the plans we make involve real-life considerations. For example, a player who knows he is going away for 3 days next weekend will make an effort ahead of time to be sure that their account is prepared, either by holidaying it or just stacking up enough food (if they figure they will be able to check on it once in a while perhaps)

Regardless of the nature of the plans or anything else, there is a point when server down time is no longer just a simple inconvenience, but where it becomes an actual factor in the game. This, in my opinion should NEVER happen. This should especially NEVER happen with NO effort made to notify anyone of the current or future status.

I am not real big on the forum thing. You will find me here when the server is down, simply because this is where one would expect to find information pertaining to such a problem.

Someone said something about an announcement on facebook or something, but I know nothing about all that, because there is no information around here that says "Current server status may be found by visiting evonysux@facebook.com" or anything of that nature (and, no, I do not consider Daves signature anything more than a personal invitation to join him on facebook. I'll pass, thanx)

So. Along with reinforcing my suggestion that server down time be considered as time non-existent within the game, I would also like to suggest that

a) A minimal effort be made to impart information, somewhere. When the announcement says 'We expect two hours of downtime", I don't expect an announcement after 2:00:01, but once it becomes 2.5 or 4 hrs, it would be nice to know wtf is going on. A simple "We are having problems, it will be at least another 1.5 hrs" is fine, however, indeterminate lengths of time are unacceptable. If you broke it so bad it is gonna take 5 hours to fix, thats all fine and dandy, just say so. If you think you can fix it in 3, great, but if it takes more than 3.5 still, POST AGAIN...

and
b) I got here because I followed the link off the login page announcing the planned down time.. Announcements involving the status of THAT announcement belong in the same place. Posting status regarding THAT announcement somewhere that cannot be found by accessing THAT announcement cannot be regarded as a status update, no matter how comprehensive they may be. Or, if a standard repository for status upgrades exists, tell us where it is...

Come on, guys. How hard is it, really? I know all about the TOS and how you are not responsible for blah, blah, blah, but that is not the point. Do you REALLY have such disdain for the players that even after 2 hrs becomes 24 you can't say SOMETHING?

No, I am not gonna quit playing over this, don't expect a compensation pack (remember those? wow, those were the good old days) or anything else I figure it will be swept under the rug and forgotten, but I do feel the need to find out for myself whether the players mean anything besides money, or if the the true keepers of the game (the forum guys) are no better than the suits at corporate...

[missirish]

Its hilarious that you complain to Evony about things yet you make your own bot meant to circumvent the TOS. Bots are the main reason for everything you complain about.

[cushseth]

Its hilarious that you complain to Evony about things yet you make your own bot meant to circumvent the TOS. Bots are the main reason for everything you complain about.

You would at least think he'd have the common decency to use a different name.

[Gamble]

I am so sick of refuged troops

thats how far i made it through your book on how to whine