Apologies for reposting this (sanitised), but I would like to ask you to respond.


When are you people going to learn to do these patch days properly!?

For the one millionth time: Estimate how long it is going to take, and then DOUBLE IT!!!
That way you avoid wasting people's time (yet again), and of course you can then only surprise on the upside.

Why do you insist on making yourself look completely incompetent... EVERY ... SINGLE ... TIME!??
What exactly is the logic underpinning the current approach?

Could I have an answer please? I really am very curious about this...

Who's the fool? The ones who make the faulty predictions every time or the ones who believe those predictions every time?

Double the predictions yourself? It's not that hard tbh...

Thanks for the bump

Thanks for taking this seriously.
You positively reek of professionalism....

Thanks for taking this seriously.
You positively reek of professionalism....

Thanks for taking this seriously.
You positively reek of professionalism....

I too am shocked that your whine about internet spaceships being unavailable for slightly longer than anticipated isn't being taken seriously.

You had to post your whine in a new thread because you were ignored in the official thread?

Thanks for taking this seriously.
You positively reek of professionalism....

No, I was just concerned it might get drowned out by laughable attempts at flaming from bored angst-filled pseudo-intellectual teenagers like you.
Case in point...

Whilst to some very small amount I agree they could up the estimates, I don't understand why you just cant do this yourself with your own time!?!

CCP say DT will be 1 hour. You plan for 2. Chances are the servers will be back up in two hours, if not, you won't be the only one complaining...

You have to cut the ops team some slack, trolling the player base with made up downtime estimates is the only fun they get around here.

I LOL'd at this at work - stop it!

OP, why not just add 30 minutes to the official estimate to create your very own personal patch time estimate?

Apologies for reposting this (sanitised), but I would like to ask you to respond.


When are you people going to learn to do these patch days properly!?

For the one millionth time: Estimate how long it is going to take, and then DOUBLE IT!!!
That way you avoid wasting people's time (yet again), and of course you can then only surprise on the upside.

Why do you insist on making yourself look completely incompetent... EVERY ... SINGLE ... TIME!??
What exactly is the logic underpinning the current approach?

Could I have an answer please? I really am very curious about this...

Thanks for taking this seriously.
You positively reek of professionalism....

In your face Gilbert!

In your face Gilbert!

1. Pre-create forum post ahead of time complaining of DT
2. Soon as DT goes past 1 extra second, press submit
3. profit and/or rage!!

... when DT arrives I am almost always in the middle of something (like a POS siege....)

Time your POS siege (or whatever else) better. Its not like they start the downtime at a random time - you know when its gonna hit.

No, I was just concerned it might get drowned out by laughable attempts at flaming from bored angst-filled pseudo-intellectual teenagers like you.
Case in point...

Thanks for taking this seriously.
You positively reek of professionalism....

Thanks for taking this seriously.
You positively reek of professionalism....

If you want a professional reply, file a petition. That's what petitions are for, not the forums.

You are right, but he just wants attention.

I'm not angst filled, and oh man it has been a looooong time since I was a teenager.

Try again!

You have to cut the ops team some slack, trolling the player base with made up downtime estimates is the only fun they get around here.

In my company we refer to people who think all tech support is "magical one clicky with mousey solvey solvey" as "short bus passengers".

7/10
Lots of bites, but you lose points for being rather unoriginal. Plus one for getting a trolly official response, of course. Nice work!

You have to cut the ops team some slack, trolling the player base with made up downtime estimates is the only fun they get around here.

Stuff

I would just like a better (perhaps even a slightly more conservative) estimate of it's duration.
In addition, I would really love to know exactly what the internal CCP plan is on patch day.
Do they just go "Oh well - we'll see how it goes", or do they actually consider inflating the time estimate?

Call it... 'curiocity' - something you fanbois seem to have an alergic reaction to.

You have to cut the ops team some slack, trolling the player base with made up downtime estimates is the only fun they get around here.

es-+ti-+mateGÇé GÇé[v. es-tuh-meyt; n. es-tuh-mit, -meyt] Show IPA verb, -mat-+ed, -mat-+ing, noun
verb (used with object)
1.
to form an approximate judgment or opinion regarding the worth, amount, size, weight, etc., of; calculate approximately: to estimate the cost of a college education.

Estimates are by nature not accurate. I don't see you bitching that daily downtime often only takes 10-20 minutes compared to the estimated 30.

Aaaand again, for the obviously mentally impaired:

I know you're trying to troll me, but I am going to bite.

I don't care how many extended down-times there are.

I don't even care how long they are.


I would just like a better (perhaps even a slightly more conservative) estimate of it's duration.
In addition, I would really love to know exactly what the internal CCP plan is on patch day.
Do they just go "Oh well - we'll see how it goes", or do they actually consider inflating the time estimate?

Call it... 'curiocity' - something you fanbois seem to have an alergic reaction to.

The issue is that CCP seem to always think that things are going to go exactly as planned, and then it seems to come as a complete surprise to them when they don't. They then have to extend the DT, and after a little while they have to extend it again, and so on and so forth - each time wasting another 20 minutes(times number of players looking to log on).
If they just assumed that things WON'T go to plan (as most people in life do - if they're sensible!), then we wouldn't have to collectively waste quite so much of our time.

And if you're wondering why I don't just go off for 3 hours, thus increasing the likelyhood that the server will be back up when I come back, it's simply because when DT arrives I am almost always in the middle of something (like a POS siege....)

All I am asking is that CCP try to behave in a slightly more sensible, service minded, customer orientated manner.

Aaaand again, for the obviously mentally impaired:

I know you're trying to troll me, but I am going to bite.

I don't care how many extended down-times there are.

I don't even care how long they are.


I would just like a better (perhaps even a slightly more conservative) estimate of it's duration.
In addition, I would really love to know exactly what the internal CCP plan is on patch day.
Do they just go "Oh well - we'll see how it goes", or do they actually consider inflating the time estimate?

Call it... 'curiocity' - something you fanbois seem to have an alergic reaction to.

The issue is that CCP seem to always think that things are going to go exactly as planned, and then it seems to come as a complete surprise to them when they don't. They then have to extend the DT, and after a little while they have to extend it again, and so on and so forth - each time wasting another 20 minutes(times number of players looking to log on).
If they just assumed that things WON'T go to plan (as most people in life do - if they're sensible!), then we wouldn't have to collectively waste quite so much of our time.

And if you're wondering why I don't just go off for 3 hours, thus increasing the likelyhood that the server will be back up when I come back, it's simply because when DT arrives I am almost always in the middle of something (like a POS siege....)

All I am asking is that CCP try to behave in a slightly more sensible, service minded, customer orientated manner.

You're a fool and a douchebag to boot.

Down time has been at the same time forever, plan around it, or just don't play, its that simple.


You have spent the entire thread proving that you are quite possible the most up tight lame dude ever to walk the face of the earth.

Its an estimate, if you can't live with that there are a plethora of other games for you to play in the world (all of which have a scheduled down time thats fairly constant) and I'm sure you could find people that don't think you're a dumb jerk there.

After all this, you still managed to completely miss the point of this thread. Holy crap, what a genetic dead end you are

1: Read the definition of Estimate again. Repeat until you understand it.
2: The exact details of their patch/update process is, frankly, none of your business.
3: If by "CCP seem to always think that things are going to go exactly as planned, and then it seems to come as a complete surprise to them when they don't" you actually mean "They give an estimate and then emphasis that you should ALWAYS allow extra time just in case", then yeah.
4: Plan your in game activities more intelligently when a patch is being released from now on, just as you have been advised to do since the game went gold.
5: Stop trolling, it's losing what little charm it may have originally had.

fact of the matter is its not really in ccps interest,

put it this was if you are conservative and say servers will be up at 3 but they are up at 1 your gonna have a massivly deflated population for 2 hours.

also why you so mad anyway

Is the game really so boring that SO many people would rather post badly thought out crap in some random thread.....

How bored were you?

This is becoming sublimely ridiculous, but here goes:

1. It was never about whether there is an estimate or not. You're missing the point, Sir.
2. Who are you to decide that? Do you work for CCP!?
3. Yes, everyone knows that. Now you're just writing stuff to write stuff.
4. Already made the point that certain things take a long time, and so "planning" won't make the slightest bit of difference.
5. I am not trolling, and I was never interested in whether bored fanbois like you think my thread has 'charm'.

I would just like a better (perhaps even a slightly more conservative) estimate of it's duration.

1: Actually, according to you, it IS the point.

An estimate, by definition, is a rough approximation. The actual time may be shorter or longer, both of which occur. In fact, down times are usually shorter than estimated. Either way, this is EXACTLY what an estimate is... and they are usually pretty close to spot on which is all one can reasonably expect from anyone.

2: No, I am a mature consumer with realistic expectations.

3: If you already know that you are advised to allow extra time, as down time duration is merely an estimate, you have successfully proven your point to be nonexistent.

4: We are well aware that "certain things take a long time". However the rest of the player base manages to plan accordingly. It is not anyone else's fault than your own if you consistently fail to do so.

5: When I check troll in the dictionary, it has a photo shopped picture of you somewhere in the vicinity of a point.

Now you're just being asinine.
But you probably know that

Holy crap man, why don't you go outside? I don't know, touch a boob?

These things take time, so you have to start at some point(obviously!), and it just might happen to stretch across DT.

I want a go now .....

You want a dev to explain to you why downtime times are not accurate. How's that for simple.

Your right to expect that is because you are a paying customer - but if he did furnish an answer that was correct but not to your liking, what would you do?

I want to ask - what is in this for you?

Pot. Kettle. Black.

No....... No, you don't make sense.
You think you do, but you dont

Well, I try ...

I think you know that you will not get an answer in the forums but you will have achieved an objective and your question might have been noted.
It has been fun reading the rants tho....

It sure has

Nobody is more sad than the Community Team when TQ is down longer than planned but the patch process is complicated and delicate and a lot of things have to work as intended for the schedule to hold.
Our method of choice, knowing that uncertainty is always a factor, is to announce the estimated downtime based on what we know at the time, and if problems arise, to update the community as soon as humanly possible and keep you guys updated until deployment is complete.

Intentionally announcing ample downtime in case something goes wrong also has its downsides which are actually pretty similar to what we see now when deployment is delayed. I've noticed that you guys are pretty smart, and therefore it's safe to assume that you would all quickly realize that announced downtime is intentionally ample. Those eager to get back online would be on alert to get in early in case nothing went wrong. The main difference would be that you wouldn't get updates on the progress if problems arise...because after all the scheduled downtime wouldn't be over.

Both methods of communication have their pros and cons...but of course it's just best that deployment downtimes are short, sweet and predictable. They've certainly gotten shorter and shorter, and we are always working towards making them more predictable.

It should be possible to write some script or other to email you when the servers come back online. Eve offline has this information so it is accessible. Then all you need to do is sit and monitor your inbox. If you have a phone that will receive email then at least you could go do something else until the server is up.

Yeah - that would be pretty cool actually.

EvEMon, likley the most popular 3rd party tool monitors the status of the server.