Definition of Hotfix?

Skcarkden · November 2016

I always used to think there was normal maintenance and updates where servers had to be rebooted to be applied and hotfixes were changes that could be done instantly to the game/server without the need to shutdown the servers...

What is this fix evenfor anyway?

Wise_Will · November 2016

"As we were already in the process of prepping for the next PC incremental patch, we will also be publishing PC patch v2.6.9 during this downtime (due to this maintenance, we will not be having our regularly-scheduled PC maintenance on Monday, November 14)."

DrHarmful · November 2016

That is a good question.

Since when do you do maintenance on the weekends?

I work all week, now I can't even play??!?!?

What are the patch notes for this? They are not up yet.

Leony1981 · November 2016

I'm more concerned about the date and time of this so called "fix". In Europe it is now just past 10 in the morning and it happens to be my birthday... Woke up early on my special day so i can finally play some ESO since i rarely can these days and what do ya know?! Sever goes down and i have played literally for 5 mins

Every time i came online this past year there was maintenance or something else going on, why do i even bother anymore...

Wise_Will · November 2016

Leony1981 wrote: »

I'm more concerned about the date and time of this so called "fix". In Europe it is now just past 10 in the morning and it happens to be my birthday... Woke up early on my special day so i can finally play some ESO since i rarely can these days and what do ya know?! Sever goes down and i have played literally for 5 mins Every time i came online this past year there was maintenance or something else going on, why do i even bother anymore...

Happy Birthday!

Everytime i have some time off work, i turn on ESO and BAM, downtime

We don't all live in the US of Trump! change the times :P kappa

stumpy999 · November 2016

hotfix means that they are rushing out a fix to something that hasn't been captured as part of the normal development cycle.

Usually means limited testing.

My guess would be that they have been alerted to an issue checked it against their code builds and it exists in them all including the one the they are about to deploy that represents the weeks worth of planned and tested fixes bundled up and called patch 2.6.9.

To save some effort they will have done the code changes on 2.6.9 system only so need to deploy it for the hotfix to work. Either that or the fix relies on a change that they have done on 2.6.9 so its a pre-requisite for the fix.

annoying as it's the weekend and we get all that lovely extra play time back on a monday when I'm a work but in the grand scheme of things its no biggie.

P3ZZL3 · November 2016

Likewise. Woke up early for once, thought I'd get a few hours in this morning as I have a 3 day weekend.

Nope, Servers down for 6 hrs

I appreciate it's about the practicalities of doing the fix. Clearly they won;t have server techs sitting in the server room in the US at 4am doing this (or at least I assume not) hence it's prob. the EU/Asian teams doing it.

Is what it is I guess. Might go off to GW2 for a bit *shrugs*

Oh, and Happy Birthday @Leony1981

Skcarkden · November 2016

@Wise_Will
So, in future if anyone asks me what a 'hotfix' is i should literally quote that as the universal answer to what a hotfix is?

Question: What's a hotfix?
Answer (according to WISE Will):

Wise_Will wrote: »

"As we were already in the process of prepping for the next PC incremental patch, we will also be publishing PC patch v2.6.9 during this downtime (due to this maintenance, we will not be having our regularly-scheduled PC maintenance on Monday, November 14)."

But really, a controlled quote? what about the rest? "We have discovered an issue that requires us to publish a small hotfix....

We’re currently estimating console downtime to be approximately 4 hours

I get that your comment was intending to say it's more than a hotfix, but even ZOS say small hotfix, mention doing PC patch too, while it still takes consoles 4 hours? Unless secretly we're finally getting cross-platform compatibility i can't see why PC updates should affect console, or why ZOS should use the term 'hotfix', ever.

Tia413 · November 2016

I would say there was some sort of Exploit that needed a Hotfix ASAP.

2nd choice would be a major problem withing the game.

Patch Notes will be up SOON. Calm Down

Clarkieson · November 2016

They are patching the sharpened weapon drops when you farm for a set.

A player had a weapon drop they actually wanted and thats a glitch, so they are patching it.

Or something

Ch4mpTW · November 2016

Leony1981 wrote: »

I'm more concerned about the date and time of this so called "fix". In Europe it is now just past 10 in the morning and it happens to be my birthday... Woke up early on my special day so i can finally play some ESO since i rarely can these days and what do ya know?! Sever goes down and i have played literally for 5 mins Every time i came online this past year there was maintenance or something else going on, why do i even bother anymore...

@Leony1981 Happy birthday, and that sounds truly unfortunate. I apologize you have to go through that. Hopefully these types of things will become less and less, and you'll be able to enjoy the game more. And have a great day, and many blessed birthdays in your future.

Skcarkden · November 2016

Tia413 wrote: »

I would say there was some sort of Exploit that needed a Hotfix ASAP.

2nd choice would be a major problem withing the game.

Patch Notes will be up SOON. Calm Down

I'm calm, I don't really care that ESO is getting yet another hours long maintenance, i'm used to it enough i barely play. I've been spoiled by other MMOs that the longest they are down for is 30 mins to 2 hours so much that when i come on ESO and it's down... i leave forget about it for a week and come back.

But the fact they are doing maintenance on a weekend isn't why i made this topic.

The reason for this topic is literally in the title, as so far, it seems ZOS have a very different definition to the word 'hotfix' than eveyrone else.

Valiaron · November 2016

As always, ESO patching is done with complete and utter disregard to european players. To take servers down for maintenance at the exact time where most europeans have just woken up, had their breakfast and are coming online to enjoy a saturday on ESO, is frankly mindbogglingly insulting.
Do you not realise this WILL cost you players, customers and thereby money you could have used to improve the game and keep players interested, which now in a longer term will cost you even more players and more money?

Even accepting the fact that you clearly have no respect or consideration or even give a .... about us as players and people, why make such a decision that will hamper your ability to retain the game, and keep you in jobs?

I find it horrifying, completely ridiculous, and I am frankly at a loss for words to describe it, that would not cost me a ban from the forums.

PLEASE learn from your mistakes, and start taking your customers into account.

MickeyBN · November 2016

They wanted to do a hotfix, ok.
They wanted to sneak in a 6 hour patch at the same time...wait what!?

If it's 4am in the states, not a big deal right? Except once again the Yankees have forgotten other people in the world play this game.

It was 8pm on a Saturday night here in Australia when the servers went down. I know ZOS already has no love for all of us plebs down under, but this is a bit ridiculous.

Meanwhile ZOS be like

stumpy999 · November 2016

Behind the Wall of Sleep

Tia413 · November 2016

Clarkieson wrote: »

They are patching the sharpened weapon drops when you farm for a set.

A player had a weapon drop they actually wanted and thats a glitch, so they are patching it.

Or something

Actually the Hotfix is to fix this https://forums.elderscrollsonline.com/en/discussion/comment/3518121#Comment_3518121

https://forums.elderscrollsonline.com/en/discussion/comment/3517009#Comment_3517009

Taken from Dev Tracker.

Armitas · November 2016

I'm 99% sure it means they wear oven mits when they carefully drop the fix into the back of the machine.

Banana · November 2016

A hotfix or Quick Fix Engineering update (QFE update) is a single, cumulative package that includes information (often in the form of one or more files) that is used to address a problem in a software product (i.e., a software bug). Typically, hotfixes are made to address a specific customer situation.

GrimMauKin · November 2016

I'd read Hofix the same way as Hotplug (for harddrives etc.), in other words, something that can be done live without having to power anything down.

Previous experience of TESO hotfixes are that they can be applied to the servers whilst they're online and people are playing; client side game software gets update when the Launcher is next run.

So (as I understand it) if the hotfix was urgently needed today, it could be applied with minimal (or no) inconvenience to players. If this is the case then deciding to bring forward Monday's incremental patch to give 6 hours downtime at prime time (if you're on the EU server) is pretty mad!

(to be fair the ZOS post about today's hotfix does say "during this downtime", so perhaps I'm wrong but to me it would still make more sense to schedule the hotfix on Monday with the planned patch).

gazza732 · November 2016

Three words - PATH OF EXILE. That is my primary game and going to start playing ESO again as secondary so everyone waiting, check out Path of Exile. Great game.

Malyck · November 2016

NewBlacksmurf · November 2016

Prob not my best explanation as ZOS confuses use of words.

I think this is emergency maintenance to "fix" a hot mess problem.
Hello-I39m-Morgan-Freeman-And-I-Approve-This-Hotfix-meme-30112.jpg

Hello-I39m-Morgan-Freeman-And-I-Approve-This-Hotfix-meme-30112.jpg