Australian Players Are Paying More Than They Are Getting

MonkHood · June 2014

1. most of us due to time difference only get to play about 5 time a week, server downtime's impede our ability to enjoy the game, yet American players get to benefit from longer game time utilizing the full cost of the subscription.

2. Notifications on how long the game will be unavailable is not available,

3. I am sure many North American players will argue this point, however they are not on the receiving end and would not understand how frustrating this can be.

4. There are many bugs in the game and yet we pay $15 AU dollars to play and end up frustrated and unsatisfied.

5. Over all we are paying more for a game that is buggy, less time to enjoy it, conflicting maintenance times with playing times, and no communication at all with customers.

MonkHood · June 2014

LOL

SystemiK · June 2014

When you say stuff like "no communication at all with customers" do you really expect people to take you seriously? If they have ever said a single thing to a single customer then you've already been proven wrong.

Blanket statements are bad ok? That is all.

cmakcristyneb14_ESO · June 2014

Set up a Petition by Aussie players to get your own server or cancel your subscriptions. They really like petitions.....

Falmer · June 2014

Well.. You do have Kangaroos. Just think about that!

btw.. Do you honestly believe less time exists in Australia than in the rest of world? Would love to see the physics on how that works exactly.

Animus0724 · June 2014

Hi there, I live on Guam on the GMT +10 Timezone, I have no problems with this...seriously your just whining for the sake of whining at this point...just stop

Azarul · June 2014

Play on the EU server then.

MonkHood · June 2014

Good to see that no one even care's just put down others because you have the advantage.

Jelliez · June 2014

Falmer wrote: »

Well.. You do have Kangaroos. Just think about that!

btw.. Do you honestly believe less time exists in Australia than in the rest of world? Would love to see the physics on how that works exactly.

Falmer, I signed in just to comment on this... Do you understand the world has different timezones? Therefore, Australians and American's work on different times. We are about 14-16 hours apart in time. So next time, before TRYING to make yourself sound smart with the word "Physics", learn more life and factual lessons before posting.

Edit: I get maybe a few hours a night to play after my daily business, settling my child for bed, etc, and get even less time due to maintenance.

Animus0724 wrote: »

Hi there, I live on Guam on the GMT +10 Timezone, I have no problems with this...seriously your just whining for the sake of whining at this point...just stop

You may have a completely different daily schedule to the OP, which means you do get more play time to not be as affected much, but within our timezone, we do get hit pretty hard due to downtime in general. Maybe you find it to be whinging, and maybe it is, but the fact of the matter is, the OP still has a valid argument.

[Moderator Note: Edited per our rules on Rude and Insulting Comments

MonkHood · June 2014

@‌Animus0724
so making a point is whining, I can't make a point without rebuke or being accused of whining, it's just a one way point of view then.

just so you understand I am not the only one have trouble with this game in Australia.

phairdon · June 2014

Falmer wrote: »

Well.. You do have Kangaroos. Just think about that!

btw.. Do you honestly believe less time exists in Australia than in the rest of world? Would love to see the physics on how that works exactly.

Problem is, server maintenance times run into Australian prime time, depending on which part of Australia you're in.

No way around this. Change maintenance time & another group of players from other time zones are going to be effected. Same complaints will be voiced.

Aeradon · June 2014

I play from South East Asia region. I'm not complaining about having less time to play.

But I do agree that patch duration should be fixed, however, it has been a norm for MMO to overshoot proposed durations.

MonkHood · June 2014

@Aeradon‌
I understand where you are coming from, but there are people who do more than play, some of us may work or have family, its a disadvantage when the little time you have to play is hindered.

richiestyles · June 2014

In my opinion we should all pay $15/720hrs of game time.(720=30daysx24hrs).

Im on the fortunate side of thing... No kids, time of work and this is my hobby so $15/month is sweet nothin cause I can put in an ass load of time so its worth it (cheap entertainment) but for you people and ones with rug rats, I feel bad.

If it helps I pay just to play single player. Now That Sucks

SienneYviete · June 2014

MonkHood wrote: »

Good to see that no one even care's just put down others because you have the advantage.

Honestly mate this issue has been raised quite a few times now and it's not going to change, it is what it is. I generally use this downtime to hit up the pts, test some builds check out the forums etc etc the fact that we pay 15 AUD is irrelevant as everybody crossing multiple time zones is in the same position.

We also have the option of using the "eu" server for which maintenance times are not during our prime time.

The failures in communication is a separate issue entirely and while I agree with you on that asking for notifications about expected eta's and such is just not going to happen nor is it feasible as maintenance to fix things should not have a time limit attached, I can just imagine the s**t storm in these forums if Zen said the servers will be out for an hour and it took 6.

We as Australian TESO customers either acknowledge the maintenance times as a requirement to play or we unsubscribe simple as that.

Aeradon · June 2014

MonkHood wrote: »

@Aeradon‌
I understand where you are coming from, but there are people who do more than play, some of us may work or have family, its a disadvantage when the little time you have to play is hindered.

I get it. I work as well, and sometimes had to sacrifice my sleep in order to play on patch days.

It's common and I actually know a bunch who wakes up early and plays the game on patch days instead of going to gym. It's all about time management.

Well, at least your wife won't complain on 2 weeknights where you gladly take them out for a movie. Cheers mate!

pong · June 2014

please make a mega server for asia region

fromtesonlineb16_ESO · June 2014

Eldhaaril wrote: »

MonkHood wrote: »

Good to see that no one even care's just put down others because you have the advantage.

Honestly mate this issue has been raised quite a few times now and it's not going to change, it is what it is. I generally use this downtime to hit up the pts, test some builds check out the forums etc etc the fact that we pay 15 AUD is irrelevant as everybody crossing multiple time zones is in the same position.

We also have the option of using the "eu" server for which maintenance times are not during our prime time.

The failures in communication is a separate issue entirely and while I agree with you on that asking for notifications about expected eta's and such is just not going to happen nor is it feasible as maintenance to fix things should not have a time limit attached, I can just imagine the s**t storm in these forums if Zen said the servers will be out for an hour and it took 6.

We as Australian TESO customers either acknowledge the maintenance times as a requirement to play or we unsubscribe simple as that.

It's refreshing to see an Australian poster who accepts the reality, unsatisfactory as the reality is.

Look, I can sympathise with Aussie players, there were several in an FFXIV 'guild' who were great fun who all ended up leaving the game due to timezone problems and it was sad to see them go.

I also don't dispute that maintenance times screw you over a lot more than most other player groups around.

That said, the endless posting of threads on here like the OP's got old weeks ago, and as you say nothing's going to change.

nerevarine1138 · June 2014

MonkHood wrote: »

@Aeradon‌
I understand where you are coming from, but there are people who do more than play, some of us may work or have family, its a disadvantage when the little time you have to play is hindered.

But ZO can't accommodate that and still make subscription prices fair. Everyone has different schedules. I work evenings and nights, so I'd have a lot more playtime available if they did maintenance then. However, I know that I don't represent the majority of players, and that's what ZO has to base their maintenance times on.

Sadly, Australia is not as large a nation as the US. That's not a statement of value: it's a fact. So when it comes time to decide when to run maintenance on the servers, ZO has to consider America first. The only thing that could change that is enough Oceanic players existing to justify creating a dedicated server, and/or Australia's ISPs acting less like extortionists.

Cybrdroyd · June 2014

I'm America, and I am a perky morning person, I rarely play at night. I know how you feel, but no matter what time they decide to perform maintenance, its always going to be somebody's prime time. Thats the way I look at it. I know I'm not the typical american gamer.

phairdon · June 2014

pong wrote: »

please make a mega server for asia region

Highly unlikely we will ever see a mega server in Asia or Asia/Oceania. Why? not sure outside of insufficient player numbers or massive cost.
Gw2 is exactly the same. NA & EU server, both based in the US. Maybe this is unique to mmo games? As all fps games have servers in different countries (all the ones I have played at least).

The_Sadist · June 2014

Falmer wrote: »

btw.. Do you honestly believe less time exists in Australia than in the rest of world? Would love to see the physics on how that works exactly.

I have literally never facepalmed so hard in my entire existence while using the internet.

That is all.

MonkHood · June 2014

I just wish to voice an opinion and thank you to every one who understands my point of view and was polite with their responses.

nerevarine1138 · June 2014

phairdon wrote: »

pong wrote: »

please make a mega server for asia region

Highly unlikely we will ever see a mega server in Asia or Asia/Oceania. Why? not sure outside of insufficient player numbers or massive cost.
Gw2 is exactly the same. NA & EU server, both based in the US. Maybe this is unique to mmo games? As all fps games have servers in different countries (all the ones I have played at least).

FPS servers aren't generally established by the developers; they're hosted by specific groups in your area. And they aren't on the same scale as MMO servers. Due to the low population in Australia and the insane difficulty of getting China to let any foreign companies sell their games there, Oceanic servers tend to not be a thing in MMOs.

phairdon · June 2014

nerevarine1138 wrote: »

phairdon wrote: »

pong wrote: »

please make a mega server for asia region

Highly unlikely we will ever see a mega server in Asia or Asia/Oceania. Why? not sure outside of insufficient player numbers or massive cost.
Gw2 is exactly the same. NA & EU server, both based in the US. Maybe this is unique to mmo games? As all fps games have servers in different countries (all the ones I have played at least).

FPS servers aren't generally established by the developers; they're hosted by specific groups in your area. And they aren't on the same scale as MMO servers. Due to the low population in Australia and the insane difficulty of getting China to let any foreign companies sell their games there, Oceanic servers tend to not be a thing in MMOs.

Nice answer.

Lodestar · June 2014

MonkHood wrote: »

Good to see that no one even care's just put down others because you have the advantage.

Of course not. It is not their problem so it does not exist. You are just being self entitled.

And you should take it from where it comes from.

Who is more qualified to state who is self entitled, than people who trawl forums for things, to put their mark on, that have nothing to do with them, and tell them since it is not their problem it should not be mentioned? Let's face it they would know.

Silly spelling mistake edit.

VampiricOmen · June 2014

I respectfully disagree with some of your statements. Personally, I feel as though the $15 AUD subscription fee per month is a reasonable cost for something I find enjoyable. My other hobbies have an expenditure of far more than that, just to get started. Nevertheless, just because I find the game to be at a satisfactory standard, it doesn't mean that others won't think differently.

Being 14-18 hours ahead of PST and a minority as far as player base goes, those within the GMT 8-12+ time zones will more often than not, get the short straw when it comes to maintenance times. I don't like it, but I understand why downtime occurs during low traffic hours for NA players. I don't play on the EU server, but I imagine they'd perform maintenance on the EU server during low traffic hours over in Europe.

I would very much appreciate an ETA on maintenance times, as would most other players. That I can agree with you on. Chances are I'd be asleep by the time the game came back online, but a rough time estimate wouldn't go astray for those that stay up.

Correct me if I am wrong, but isn't the subscription fee $15USD per month as well? Last I checked, the Aussie dollar was worth less than the US dollar - so they're paying more as far as dollar value goes. I may have misunderstood here, were you referring to cost per month being different, or time to be able to play being in favour of those in NA; therefore more "costly" to those outside of the server's time zone?

Aett_Thorn · June 2014

Cybrdroyd wrote: »

I'm America, and I am a perky morning person,

Pre-coffee me hates you.

But to the OP: yes, I have heard this complaint in every MMO that I have played from Australian and NZ players. It really does suck, but there is only so much that can be done about it. Having a separate server farm for you guys would be great, but is expensive to set up and maintain. If this game does well enough, you may get your wish. However, as much as I like this game, I would say that it's probably not doing well enough to do that yet. Hopefully once these significant growing pains are over, it will start doing better and you can have a server that goes down at better times for you.

Like others here have said, the Devs need to schedule maintenance at a time where: a) it affects the least amount of people possible, and b) is at a time they can reasonably ask employees to be at the office without them revolting. That time usually means prime-time for people in your time zone. Unfortunate, but unless you can get more Americans to play when they first get to work, or teens to wake up earlier and play right after breakfast, it's probably going to stay this way.

Animus0724 · June 2014

Jelliez wrote: »

.

Animus0724 wrote: »

Hi there, I live on Guam on the GMT +10 Timezone, I have no problems with this...seriously your just whining for the sake of whining at this point...just stop

You may have a completely different daily schedule to the OP, which means you do get more play time to not be as affected much, but within our timezone, we do get hit pretty hard due to downtime in general. Maybe you find it to be whinging, and maybe it is, but the fact of the matter is, the OP still has a valid argument.

Actually no, I work 10 hours a day 8:30am to 7:30pm one hour lunch so it does affect me as hard as others in this time zone but to be fair, in our timezone its around 10pm when most of us are going to sleep anyway...sooooooooo

patch as I sleep hell yea

oh and to clear things up UTC+10 not GMT my bad

phairdon · June 2014

Aett_Thorn wrote: »

Cybrdroyd wrote: »

I'm America, and I am a perky morning person,

Pre-coffee me hates you.

But to the OP: yes, I have heard this complaint in every MMO that I have played from Australian and NZ players. It really does suck, but there is only so much that can be done about it. Having a separate server farm for you guys would be great, but is expensive to set up and maintain. If this game does well enough, you may get your wish. However, as much as I like this game, I would say that it's probably not doing well enough to do that yet. Hopefully once these significant growing pains are over, it will start doing better and you can have a server that goes down at better times for you.

Like others here have said, the Devs need to schedule maintenance at a time where: a) it affects the least amount of people possible, and b) is at a time they can reasonably ask employees to be at the office without them revolting. That time usually means prime-time for people in your time zone. Unfortunate, but unless you can get more Americans to play when they first get to work, or teens to wake up earlier and play right after breakfast, it's probably going to stay this way.

Not so bad in New Zealand as the maintenance kicks off at midnight.

Think back maybe 5-7 years; there would be no way people down this end of the world could play on NA servers.
Still laugh at my first online gaming experience back in 2001 with medal of honor. Playing on NA servers with a ping of 900 (before Oceanic servers were introduced).

Dusty5 · June 2014

NEWS FLASH. none of us are getting what we paid for.