Why are we queing for hours?

[HuxNeva]

Seriously,

I get why they are reluctant to open more servers, but when your queue's are going into the hours, just up the number of layers.

[lollerlaban]

Seriously,

I get why they are reluctant to open more servers, but when your queue's are going into the hours, just up the number of layers.

You can't just "up" the layers, there's still a strain on the server itself not to mention you're fucking up everything in the economy if you squeeze 20k people in at all times

[HuxNeva]

You can't just "up" the layers, there's still a strain on the server itself not to mention you're fucking up everything in the economy if you squeeze 20k people in at all times

The only parts still server bound in 2019 are the AH and the guilds. I'd say we just up the layers, the AH be screwed for now being the lesser evil.

[Fred Skinner]

Sorry, but you already subscribed.

No refunds.

[lummiuster]

Seriously,

I get why they are reluctant to open more servers, but when your queue's are going into the hours, just up the number of layers.

It's a business strategy to attract more people. They limit the access to few people so it is more desirable. I have seen it happen in southpark where Cartman was the owner of an attraction park and would only let 10 customers in per day.

[THEORACLE64]

Seriously,

I get why they are reluctant to open more servers, but when your queue's are going into the hours, just up the number of layers.

You’re assigned a layer when you enter the world, it has nothing to do with connecting and queuing to a realm. I think it’s where the misconception has crept it - a layer is basically a permanent shard. You’re assigned to it when you enter the world and you can only transfer layers if you join a group with somebody on another layer. The server is still the server and the server still has a capacity. Everybody on the server can interact with everyone else in general, with auctions etc. but you can’t see everybody because it’s split into layers. It’s to deal with overcrowding in-game, not to get into the game.

For example, if a server has a capacity of 50k active players, instead of seeing those 50k active players online at once in all the areas 10 layers are created to hold 5k active players each. Everybody can still interact in channels and auctions, but you just can’t see all of those 50k players.

[Jotaux]

I wish I better understood the technical aspects. I was under the impression they could use another server to share the load like they did in wod to fix the queue time issue. But I could be mistaken because like I said I don’t understand the technical aspects.

[Zyrinx]

From here it looks like creating scarcity of digital goods to increase perceived demand.

But what do I know.

<kermit meme>

[SinAscendant]

Seriously,

I get why they are reluctant to open more servers, but when your queue's are going into the hours, just up the number of layers.

That's... not how layers work lmao

Think of a server like a file cabinet, and layers are dividers. Adding more dividers separates the files into smaller groups but it doesn't somehow magically make the file cabinet bigger.

[Wries]

I'd wager thinking of a realm as any kind of physical machine with a practical limitation would the wrong assumption on how their back-end likely is structured in 2019. I think they can easily add more "layers" to popular realms if they so choose. I think they don't because they're afraid that too many people will actually stay on those popular realms meaning the experience will be lackluster (as mentioned before, resource nodes, spawn competition and AH) once the layers are removed. Remember their "promise" of removing layers for phase 2 gets harder and harder to maintain if they just let the mega-realms form now in the beginning.

The queue times are therefore a deterrant. You're supposed to give up and roll on a less populated realm. Just that we've all organized and picked our realms beforehand, and now it's just not that easy for many of us to just up and go because we can't get every friend and acquaintance to agree to it.

[HuxNeva]

That's... not how layers work lmao

Think of a server like a file cabinet, and layers are dividers. Adding more dividers separates the files into smaller groups but it doesn't somehow magically make the file cabinet bigger.

Reference? The way I understood a layer is basically a complete visualized world instance but within the same namespace.

[iDruid]

That's... not how layers work lmao

Think of a server like a file cabinet, and layers are dividers. Adding more dividers separates the files into smaller groups but it doesn't somehow magically make the file cabinet bigger.

Excellent example!

[oathy]

they opened up some new servers on the EU so moved again for the 4th time.
within an hour those servers were full but the wait time was only 20 mins,
the servers they added 2 days after reserve a name launched still have 9,000 +people waiting.
Massive shame those original servers when they reached max level werent locked meaning
both blizz and players had a better understanding how the launch would play out.

What seems to be making it worse people are rerolling on a new server hoping at some point
to transfer back to the original server, So some of these servers are going to just die quickly when that happens.

[iDruid]

Reference? The way I understood a layer is basically a complete visualized world instance but within the same namespace.

But all those virtualized worlds still run on physical hardware. You can't run infinite virtual instances because the physical hardware (CPU, Memory, etc) is finite.
You have fewer and fewer resources to dedicate to each virtual instance every-time you create another.

[Tojara]

Few problems honestly. I'm with them for erring on the side of caution with having few servers, but the choice of how many they started with was way too small. Not saying they should have launched with the servers they have now, but there should have been have been somewhere in the middle.

Ideally they could just open up more layers, but at this point it causes a few problems. On one hand it makes people less likely to disperse and go to another realm with another culprit being the inevitable removal of layering when phase two gets launched.

People screeched like autists over layering to begin with, can you imagine the amount of screeching if Blizzard said that instead of phase two being the cutoff for layering, that they would just remove layers slowly and not be pigeonholed into an arbitrary retarded cutoff date? In such a world they could reduce queue times on the servers right now drastically and slowly reduce layers organically until they could remove them fully. Right now that isn't an option because increasing layering is a short term solution in a world where they want to keep a commitment to removing the system by phase two.

Realistically there's three parties at blame. Blizzard for not having more innate servers, the community for not wanting to disperse, and another subset of the community that's so adamant that there are no changes that the only compromise that's allowed is a cutoff date for layering.

The above example of a filing cabinet is a perfect example of how the system works. It's pretty easy to add more dividers in a cabinet, but we have no idea what the upper limit is of that cabinet. Eventually you reach a point where you have to use a new section (server) completely, because there's physically no room left. What Blizzard hopes to accomplish is that they can slowly merge the information in each divider together instead of being separate, without it being a fucking mess. Adding too many dividers only to remove them when phase two happens would be an organizational disaster, and the information would be incredibly hard to sort through.

[MoanaLisa]

As I understand it the number of layers on a realm is dependent on the overall realm capacity. So if a realm cap is 20,000 and you have 2,000 player cap for a layer then max layers = 10. If they up the realm capacity to say 30,000 then you could possibly have 15 layers. But there is a
limit on layers determined by the realm cap.

[kail]

Another one who doesn't understand the purpose of layers...

Every server is an onion. Some of the onions are bigger than others due to user demand but the layers are there to split the population, not increase it. Increasing realm capacity is another process on it's own.

If the Shrek references is not enough to understand the realm layering, then I concede in trying to explain it.

[stevenho]

This is what happens when you decide to run a "streamer beta".
You have absolutely zero clue as to the real demand.
And then you have to go from 2 servers at launch to 20, looking a re&%^@.

[Shelly]

This is what happens when you decide to run a "streamer beta".
You have absolutely zero clue as to the real demand.
And then you have to go from 2 servers at launch to 20, looking a re&%^@.

It was in open beta for like two weeks to anyone with an active subscription.

I'll admit they could have let people know better, but it wasn't a streamer beta by any means.

[pappaslop]

It's a business strategy to attract more people. They limit the access to few people so it is more desirable. I have seen it happen in southpark where Cartman was the owner of an attraction park and would only let 10 customers in per day.

LOL right... Such a good one