Update on LFG System

Androconium

Thanks for providing an update on this issue.

Namacyst

Fixing the LFG tool that doe not work because of the severe load on your too small servers will not fix the other issues directly related to all of this... like...

...the High ping you get in peak hours.
...the laggy or unresponsive Guild Traders.
...the significantly longer loading times.

Just tweaking your Scripts and Software is not fixing the capacity of your servers to accomodate the high player count all your new additions to the game and staleness of other mmo's raked in.

Flipping a switch to further limit player accessability to your game is a BAD SOLUTION! So is changing the software to bandaid fix one thing when all you need to do is increase the server capacity to fix all the other problems i just mentioned above! Because that's the main problem... too many players for a too small server.

When it's not peak hours everything works fine, the LFG Tool, load times, Guild Traders etc. because then the server can handle all the requests because it has capacity to do so. So please stop LYING!

Don't lie to us again as you did back when you said you will not host another Event where the LFG Tool is mandatory (Anniversary Event)... where you implemented a login queue to limit player access... in a timed event...wow! And then you said you increased the servers but i believe you did nothing because the Event ended, daily player count dropped and the problems were not that severe anymore so everyone thought it was okay now. But as i said... you tend to lie about this stuff and i believe you lied about the server increase aswell because just a few weeks later the problems were there again in full strength... and now Elsweyr let it all blow up.

Don't just put cheap bandaid fixes in place that further limit the players for a short time until they shut up about the issue and ignore the core issue.

You need to increase the server capacity to fix this problem once and for all or the problem will fix itself in a way you don't want to see... meaning players will leave your game, will not spend any more money and spread bad reputation about your ignorant way of handling things. Then the servers will have capacity for the remaining players... until they leave, too and ESO dies.

That's how i see it! Stop bandaid fixing, pull out some money, increase the server capacity and be done with it!

Veles

ZOS_GinaBruno wrote: »

Yesterday afternoon, we ran a command on the backend for PC that reduced the amount of people that can queue for a dungeon or Battleground.

Life teaches you nothing. You will find in your queues another disastrous decision. Queues and ZOS are two incompatible things.

We sit in queues because most are registered as dd, a much smaller number as healers and a catastrophically small number of tanks, half of which are fakes. You are unlikely to solve this problem. And at the prime time of the server they are overloaded so much that not only the group tool, but half the game stops working normally.

You don't have to queue up.
But the solution with idle LFG tool in increasing server capacity.

everlastingodeb17_ESO

I keep saying this over the last 2 months... Bring back the login queues, it was the ONLY time the game was playable... It is far better to wait 20minutes on a queue and then be able to play using lfg, no delays, etc, than this joke we have at the moment.

Beardimus

Man this forum is hard work.

We ask for better comms, we get it, then we moan. What would you prefer silence? This thread shows why companies don't bother with transparent update comms they get flamed either way.

@ZOS_GinaBruno i appreciate the update and that your guys are doing what you can.

Kr3do

Beardimus wrote: »

Man this forum is hard work.

We ask for better comms, we get it, then we moan. What would you prefer silence? This thread shows why companies don't bother with transparent update comms they get flamed either way.

@ZOS_GinaBruno i appreciate the update and that your guys are doing what you can.

Yeah how dare we're not grateful about getting the same copy & pasted damage control message we get every year while there's still no fixes for the actual problem after almost 5 years.

everlastingodeb17_ESO

Beardimus wrote: »

Man this forum is hard work.

We ask for better comms, we get it, then we moan. What would you prefer silence? This thread shows why companies don't bother with transparent update comms they get flamed either way.

@ZOS_GinaBruno i appreciate the update and that your guys are doing what you can.

Do you call that better comms? Let me laugh for a minute........

balaceanca

Stop makeing DLC/Chapters and do a "'optimization DLC" or a '''bug fix chaptor'' 90% of your players including me will buy it ...just make it happend . Pls

Beardimus

everlastingodeb17_ESO wrote: »

Beardimus wrote: »

Man this forum is hard work.

We ask for better comms, we get it, then we moan. What would you prefer silence? This thread shows why companies don't bother with transparent update comms they get flamed either way.

@ZOS_GinaBruno i appreciate the update and that your guys are doing what you can.

Do you call that better comms? Let me laugh for a minute........

Transparent comms means telling you were they are at.

Fixing it, and the problems they have doing so is another matter. We don't know the complexities.

They are just saying where they at. Is that place ideal? No, they admit that.

Companies often go quiet when they can't fix stuff in a timely manner, or when they have incidents. I'd prefer a holding note than nothing.

Don't flame them for that, or you will get....nothing.

FierceSam

On a communication level, any communication is better than none. So thanks for updating us. Please make sure you keep us updated. Promising to keep us updated and saying nothing as on this thread https://forums.elderscrollsonline.com/en/discussion/467936/pc-eu-server-update-april-11#latest
Is not a good look

On a performance level ZOS will be judged on how you implement any developments. You’ve previously said that the group finder was broken, that you recognised this and were going to take action and have done nothing.

Let’s hope it’s different this time.

VaranisArano

Beardimus wrote: »

Man this forum is hard work.

We ask for better comms, we get it, then we moan. What would you prefer silence? This thread shows why companies don't bother with transparent update comms they get flamed either way.

ZOS_GinaBruno i appreciate the update and that your guys are doing what you can.

Communications like this that bear bad news often bring a flare of anger and animosity, because who likes bad news? But in the long term, it soothes a lot of frustration because while it may not be an answer we like, at least we know there's an answer.

If I had one suggestion between this and the PC/EU server capacity update, I would strongly suggest that ZOS give players a heads up before rolling out their temporary solutions AND give some indication that they've seen complaints and are looking into it earier in that troubleshooting process. That's also a good way to relieve frustrations. I know that I found the "stuck on combat" bug a lot easier to handle patiently once ZOs explained in the Class Rep notes that its a complicated bug to isolate and fix, and that we'll be waiting a while for a fix.

As cynical as many of us are, its also true that "Hope Springs Eternal." ZOS acknowledging problems and asking for patience with fixes ultimately soothes a lot of frustration compared to the unknowns when ZOS is silent.

Humancentipede2

Beardimus wrote: »

Man this forum is hard work.

We ask for better comms, we get it, then we moan. What would you prefer silence? This thread shows why companies don't bother with transparent update comms they get flamed either way.

@ZOS_GinaBruno i appreciate the update and that your guys are doing what you can.

Well they basically repeatet what they said in 2014,2015,2016,2017,2018. They know its broken and they will work on a fix, its much work and takes time, it will come later this year. Yes this is still better than none Communication but the first step should have been an excuse for the fact that they ignored it for so long. They only talka bout this when there are enough people compalining about the Groupfinder. Their fixes over the years obviously havent worked, so why they were always silent about it. Transparency would be to keep the Community updated, if they release a fix and its not improving the situation after 2 weeks, the first step is to give out an update on why its not working and how they try to fix it now. Instead they are going dark and silent for months and ignore all the complaints. Thats not how cumminication and transparency works.

FierceSam

VaranisArano wrote: »

Beardimus wrote: »

Man this forum is hard work.

We ask for better comms, we get it, then we moan. What would you prefer silence? This thread shows why companies don't bother with transparent update comms they get flamed either way.

ZOS_GinaBruno i appreciate the update and that your guys are doing what you can.

Communications like this that bear bad news often bring a flare of anger and animosity, because who likes bad news? But in the long term, it soothes a lot of frustration because while it may not be an answer we like, at least we know there's an answer.

If I had one suggestion between this and the PC/EU server capacity update, I would strongly suggest that ZOS give players a heads up before rolling out their temporary solutions AND give some indication that they've seen complaints and are looking into it earier in that troubleshooting process. That's also a good way to relieve frustrations. I know that I found the "stuck on combat" bug a lot easier to handle patiently once ZOs explained in the Class Rep notes that its a complicated bug to isolate and fix, and that we'll be waiting a while for a fix.

As cynical as many of us are, its also true that "Hope Springs Eternal." ZOS acknowledging problems and asking for patience with fixes ultimately soothes a lot of frustration compared to the unknowns when ZOS is silent.

Well said.

I’d like to add that it is really helpful to have some relatively accurate timescales (ie we want to get x sorted by Q3) and updates rather than a total silence. I am far more bothered/annoyed/frustrated by silence than I am by an update that says something is taking longer than expected. This issue and the EU server issue do suggest that while ZOS have an epic colouring in team, they have a very poor or inadequately resourced development team.

I don’t want to be sceptical or negative, but past experience suggests that we’ll get this communication, nothing will change, we’ll never be updated and we’ll get another post like this in 12 months saying exactly the same thing.

I would love to be proved wrong.

Cążki

FInaly I could say Im happy to read this. They finaly admitted to deffective LFG tool. Great job !

(my work was not in vain)

This how ZOS should inform our comunity that they repair issues and starting to do something about this great game !
More faith in yourself ZOS !

YEs this was a positive but at all, ZOS is so lazy about a game and this issue LFG tool accure more than some years and finaly they inform that they do something guys your'r so lazy lazy lazy lazy please ZOs drink some flaxseed oil OMEGA 3 in corporation put some on tables and one spoon every day for every one in ZOS.

ZOS must be on the gamers knife edge
And this will work as you can see !


ZOS should inform about seriusly date when the LFG tool will be updated
ZOS should inform about seriusly date when the LFG tool will be updated
ZOS should inform about seriusly date when the LFG tool will be updated


I play very rarely now due to LFG tool Activity finder issues and lazynes of ZOS. I also not buy Elsweyr until they fix LFG system Activiti finder tool at all. SO this is why Im asking for dates about this LFG tool when will be new tool ?

;]

Tasear

Just don't break it again.

I can count 4 or 5 revisions to tool that just made it not function for months.

Firstmep

Anyone thanking ZOS for "better communicatin", please go and search the forums on these issues, going back years on.

We get these "were working on it" posts every often so, and then ppl go all giddy, like anythings going to change.

Newsflash, 5 years going and things didnt change.

I will be thankful when i see actual progress.

Takes 5 minutes to write down a post saying theyre working on it, takes far more effort to actually do what you say you will.

And for the record im not trying to bash GIna or any of the Community managers/mods, theyre doing what theyre told.

FierceSam

Oh and when you are rejigging the group finder

Please can ESO+ subscribers have the option NOT to be stuffed into DLC dungeons in the random queue.

Having a system where unsubbing is the only working solution seems a bit uneconomical.

Zorgon_The_Revenged

"Simply put, the LFG tool is not currently up to our standards and not working as you’d expect."

Fixed!

karekiz

The magical fix is not having an automated LFG tool, but a board version <GW2/DND style>.

NirnChaos

Always apologize, never active approach.

Why not make a move towards the players, there is multiple problem on this game and some are really embarrassing for a studio of your size...
If you do not have the cash to apologize for your bad work, distribute a gift in game, cosmetic item or other, this can only help while waiting for the possible corrective.

*but the most important thing- clean up your staff, you clearly have a lack of competence in your teams, fired the lead team who did not anticipate for several years the design failure.

balaceanca

We need to make a move "'against"' them.....can someone share all this info about this game to all big MMORPG website???


Get rdy to get your post DELETED, guys

KoultouraS

So what you're basically saying is...

"We are working on it"
"We are aware of some issues and we are already on top of it"
"We are killing it".


Thank God , this really reassures me a lot.

On another note,
"Press F to join the most inconsistent game developers' group."

zaria

everlastingodeb17_ESO wrote: »

I keep saying this over the last 2 months... Bring back the login queues, it was the ONLY time the game was playable... It is far better to wait 20minutes on a queue and then be able to play using lfg, no delays, etc, than this joke we have at the moment.

Most stupid idea ever, I would simply use an macro to jump every 30 second, had no issues before outside one trial who was an lag feast and we had to regroup.

Main problem is more players and most are using random dungeons and BG to level necromancers.
Others use randoms to power level as its so many random requests.
In short the grouping tool has many times normal load.
Other content like quests, trials, cyrodil, vma are not affected.

Now my main question is why the finder for dungeons and BG are one process, separate them totally

Appo

Just give us a global console LFG and ill be happy!

scorpius2k1

@ZOS_RichLambert @ZOS_GinaBruno @ZOS_SarahHecker @ZOS_JessicaFolsom

PLEASE READ, this it isn't a rant but some suggestions & constructive criticism from personal experiences I have had working in this area. A megaserver was a good idea in theory at the beginning but a big mistake in the longrun, scaling just doesn't work like it should. In my humble opinion, this has proved to be very true in the case of ESO. The worst thing that can happen is the game not to work properly the moment a spike of players join the game/que, every time. Players expect things to break, and they shouldn't. Consider implementing something like "realms" for lack of a better name instead that you can join just like on other MMO's do so a player count limit is enforced to avoid running out of resources. Maybe take it a step further and allow some sort of "crosstalk" between them so you can still port to friends in other realms as long as they aren't full. Think how Cyrodill campaigns work in a nutshell, there is a limit to how many can join a campaign at one time, the "realms" aka Servers could then be more properly forecast before problems arise and keep issues to a minimum. Create a megaserver/realm hybrid of sorts. As you've said, the system needs completely redesigned so why not do it with something that has a much better chance at success.

Something has to be done quickly since the current solution is very obviously not working and patience is running out with many players. 5+ years have passed with awareness of problems when there are spikes of player traffic, and still the critical issue is present. Events spelled this out VERY clearly. There is no perfect solution but something like the aforementioned would minimize a critical feature of the game being completely broke at peak times and/or influx of players.

We're counting on you team ZoS, your community wont let you down and we truly believe you wont either.

Ramber

ZOS_GinaBruno wrote: »

Hi everyone,

We’ve been seeing your posts recently about issues with the LFG tool when queuing for dungeons and Battlegrounds, and we’d like to talk to you a bit about its current state and what our plans are moving forward.

Simply put, the LFG tool is not currently up to our standards and not working as you’d expect. We do want to note this isn’t a hardware issue, but is tied to server load; the more people that try to use it, the less stable it becomes, which is counterintuitive to how it should be functioning. This is causing the error messages you’ve been seeing that someone has declined the invite. While we know this has been an existing issue, it is certainly exacerbated by all the new and returning players we’ve seen with Elsweyr’s recent launch on PC.

Yesterday afternoon, we ran a command on the backend for PC that reduced the amount of people that can queue for a dungeon or Battleground. In doing this, you may have noticed an increase in the amount of times you see the message that you’re unable to queue. However, this allows players who are actually in the queue to get into their activity faster and more successfully. When you see the message that you’re unable to queue, please just keep trying until you enter the queue. We understand this situation is far from ideal, but it does at least cycle people through the queue faster and with more reliability.

We want to let you know are actively working on completely revamping the LFG tool to ensure it is more stable and easier to use. This requires a great deal of coding work and will take some time, but our goal is to publish it to everyone later this year. We’ll keep you updated on its progress.

Thank you for all your continued support, and we look forward to rolling out our new LFG system for dungeons and Battlegrounds.

Why is a queue even necessary for a 4 man team trying to get into a dungeon? Since the team is ready to go and not waiting on a random pug wouldn't the system just put them in the least busy server and off they go? In other words what are they waiting for from the system? In the last few days we have given up dngns for this reason so the "load" must be significantly lower if people are giving up all together and therefore there should be more successful Qing no?

Ramber

Hotdog_23 wrote: »

Thanks for the update but we have heard something similar before. Here is hoping you can come thru this time.

yes, if this looks familiar to you it should, IT HAPPENS ALL THE TIME! The system breaks all the time its as if the creators had no idea what they were programming. A new, less thought out system could have been rewritten by now but any programmer on their spare time. Sorry they are not devs, they are programmers.

Tasear

Ramber wrote: »

ZOS_GinaBruno wrote: »

Hi everyone,

We’ve been seeing your posts recently about issues with the LFG tool when queuing for dungeons and Battlegrounds, and we’d like to talk to you a bit about its current state and what our plans are moving forward.

Simply put, the LFG tool is not currently up to our standards and not working as you’d expect. We do want to note this isn’t a hardware issue, but is tied to server load; the more people that try to use it, the less stable it becomes, which is counterintuitive to how it should be functioning. This is causing the error messages you’ve been seeing that someone has declined the invite. While we know this has been an existing issue, it is certainly exacerbated by all the new and returning players we’ve seen with Elsweyr’s recent launch on PC.

Yesterday afternoon, we ran a command on the backend for PC that reduced the amount of people that can queue for a dungeon or Battleground. In doing this, you may have noticed an increase in the amount of times you see the message that you’re unable to queue. However, this allows players who are actually in the queue to get into their activity faster and more successfully. When you see the message that you’re unable to queue, please just keep trying until you enter the queue. We understand this situation is far from ideal, but it does at least cycle people through the queue faster and with more reliability.

We want to let you know are actively working on completely revamping the LFG tool to ensure it is more stable and easier to use. This requires a great deal of coding work and will take some time, but our goal is to publish it to everyone later this year. We’ll keep you updated on its progress.

Thank you for all your continued support, and we look forward to rolling out our new LFG system for dungeons and Battlegrounds.

Why is a queue even necessary for a 4 man team trying to get into a dungeon? Since the team is ready to go and not waiting on a random pug wouldn't the system just put them in the least busy server and off they go? In other words what are they waiting for from the system? In the last few days we have given up dngns for this reason so the "load" must be significantly lower if people are giving up all together and therefore there should be more successful Qing no?

If doing pledges it's actually not. Just port in to dungeon.

Ramber

yes we all know this ty Tasear but its not the issue.

ynimma

I'm so sad that the only ones trying to communicate have a gun held in point blank range to their heads. How on Earth would otherwise be possible to have prefabricated guerilla marketing-like statements in a post (like how many new players ESO happen to have and how great Elsweyr is) which was supposed to give some reliable information on a serious and permanent issue?
I really feel sorry for Gina and all the rest because it might not be easy for them to go look in the mirror or to bed at the end of a "good day's work".
Propaganda at its finest.

The irony is that we just have tasted Battlegrounds with a couple of my friends in the past 3 days.
Not much support from the game though, button mashing to get into the queue and also sometimes full of teleport-lagging but it would be such a great game mode it it worked properly.
No sub and no Elsweyr here and will not spend a penny on ESO until the very basics of an MMO is working properly.
Which makes me a proper digtal troll now: ZOS has no money from me while I'm there sometimes just to put some extra strain on the servers. Maybe the sooner it collapses completely, the sooner some action will be taken.