What is the ongoing issue and when will the server be up?

tonne.backlinderb16_ESO · May 2020

Is it only I who get a dejavu feeling every time the servers are taken down? That something they didn't think about happens that creates issues. Makes me wonder if they even have a plan and a patch when they take down the servers. Or old workstations that now are servers or whaterver underdimensioned hardware ESO is running on.

iamdevil · May 2020

Just wait, man!

MornaBaine · May 2020

All I know is that the only thing I've been looking forward to on this game for literally the past 3 years is now delayed until who knows when. I miss the days when, if they screwed something up and there was downtime, they actually comped us sub time. Of course that stopped when the game went free to play. Nevermind that many of us STILL sub to help keep this beast afloat. We no longer rate compensation. I guess because that wouldn't be "fair" because they can't give sub time to everybody. Know what they COULD do? They could give everyone crowns.... I'd say 1k per hour the servers are down.

Pro Tip: Don't hold your breath on that one.

arena25 · May 2020

I'll answer your questions.

The ongoing issue, if previous forum posts are telling me correctly, is that everyone, including people who didn't buy Greymoor chapter, could access Western Skyrim and any associated content (including the Antiquity system). This was brought to Zeni's attention by another forum user, which is why Zeni was able to quickly lock down the servers.

As for an ETA, the last post in their thread announcing maintenance said they don't have an ETA but that the problem is more on the hours scale to fix, not a few minutes scale to fix. They said an hour or two potentially, but I would not hold their feet to the fire on that one (especially considering this is the first remote launch of a major content update in ESO history, and they may have discovered other issues since they learned of the original issue I described above).

red_emu · May 2020

It's already been confirmed. It was the same bug as when Elsweyr dropped. Players who haven't purchased the new chapter were able to travel to the new zone.

I'm not an expert but my guess is that they now have to manually remove all the players from the new zone one by one (as a roll back could probably mess things up with the new patch) then figure out a hotfix and apply it to all accounts.

I find it hilarious, that they've managed to implement the same bug a year later.

Have patience. Game will be up, when it's up.

iiRenity · May 2020

Issue: The Greymoor Patch had an issue where individuals could zone in regardless of expansion purchase

Server Status: Work is ongoing, and though we still don't have a solid ETA, please expect this to take some time (again, hours vs minutes). We'll let everyone know when we have a better idea of when the server will re-open. - Posted by ZOS_GinaBruno a few moments ago @ 9:16 AM CST

Ysbriel · May 2020

The rumor is that the new chapter was accessible for every ESO+ member and that is the issue discovered.

https://forums.elderscrollsonline.com/en/discussion/528694/i-can-go-to-skyrim#latest

HowlKimchi · May 2020

red_emu wrote: »

It's already been confirmed. It was the same bug as when Elsweyr dropped. Players who haven't purchased the new chapter were able to travel to the new zone.

I'm not an expert but my guess is that they now have to manually remove all the players from the new zone one by one (as a roll back could probably mess things up with the new patch) then figure out a hotfix and apply it to all accounts.

I find it hilarious, that they've managed to implement the same bug a year later.

Have patience. Game will be up, when it's up.

How long was the servers down that time?

red_emu · May 2020

Update: Work is ongoing, and though we still don't have a solid ETA, please expect this to take some time (again, hours vs minutes). We'll let everyone know when we have a better idea of when the server will re-open.

^ Lol

mavfin · May 2020

Server will be up when it's up.

Almost every launch of an expansion or big content patch used to be like this for WoW, too. They finally figured out after about 10 years, and only have occasional issues in the last five years.

ESO hasn't made it to 10 years yet.

MornaBaine · May 2020

I didn't care that much about Elsweyr so I waited a day or two before I started playing so missed that they screwed that up too. But now I'm even MORE annoyed to know they learned exactly NOTHING from that experience.

red_emu · May 2020

HaruKamui wrote: »

red_emu wrote: »

It's already been confirmed. It was the same bug as when Elsweyr dropped. Players who haven't purchased the new chapter were able to travel to the new zone.

I'm not an expert but my guess is that they now have to manually remove all the players from the new zone one by one (as a roll back could probably mess things up with the new patch) then figure out a hotfix and apply it to all accounts.

I find it hilarious, that they've managed to implement the same bug a year later.

Have patience. Game will be up, when it's up.

How long was the servers down that time?

A few hours. It wasn't as long last time and Gina just confirmed they are looking at a few more hours at least.

As far as I remeber, Summerset chapter wasn't playable until about 9pm UK time, so don't count on playing until the evening or tomorrow.

KappaKid83 · May 2020

It has to be somewhat embarrassing to put out all of these ads, schedule all of these streamers and hype up so much of this release only to have to shut it all down 25 minutes after the servers come back online. Small oversight becomes a huge problem effecting the entirety of the player base. Do we see any explanation from a Dev, and talk from Matt on this or just another "thanks for your continued patience" and swept under the rug hoping everyone forgets about it...

Nestor · May 2020

I came to realization a long time ago to plan on enjoying new content the day after release.

Mix · May 2020

If they have to manually remove all players from Western Skyrim that shouldn't be there, then the ones to blame for the current long maintenance to "fix" the issue are actually the ones who went to Western Skyrim when they shouldn't have?

Better to have all this sorted out now rather than later though.

tonne.backlinderb16_ESO · May 2020

Well they could let every + subscriber have access for a while then. And take down the servers when they knew what to do.

stefan.gustavsonb16_ESO · May 2020

mavfin wrote: »

...
ESO hasn't made it to 10 years yet.

I'm just hoping it will.

Lysette · May 2020

naga. wrote: »

Long story short, everyone got Greymoor (i.e. the chapter was added to everyone's account), meaning they have to revert that and prevent it from happening again. Honestly, it shouldn't be something you can't put an ETA on or at least something that requires extending the ETA as if you had no clue what you were doing. Fix whatever caused the initial issue and restore a pre-launch account database... unless someone really f***ed up and you can't find and restore the pre-launch account database via whatever they are using for version control. If that's the case well... ladies and gentlemen we have a new world record in gross incompetence.

hm, that's true - I remember to have seen the notification that the chapter was added to my collection - that is why it takes that long, they have to remove it from those collections which shouldn't have gotten it.

Alamakot · May 2020

red_emu wrote: »

Have patience. Game will be up, when it's up.

Full agreement

And after another hour or two will be down for another maintenance as another bug will be discovered

Kimba_Do · May 2020

Easy to see no one has had to deal with an incremental software release (I have) let alone a remote release (I haven't). The thing about software is no matter how thoroughly you test, the end users will always find something you missed. Combing through tens of thousands if not millions of lines of code is not easy, and something small, like say a comma when a period was required can be really hard to catch, especially if it is in the 325,992nd line of code you have scanned. Crossed eyes, anyone?
Database and GUI coding sucks. I loved it, but damn, it sucks. Sigh, good times, good times. The 16 hour days, the waking up at 3am with a 'EUREKA! That's what the problem was!' and jumping on the keyboard with sleep now impossible, uncountable cans of the almighty Dew - what's not to love?
Yeah, I understand the frustration, and I feel it myself, but we DO have an explanation, and a general time span; nailing the time accurately is impossible for a fix like this and we do need to accept that.
You can bet they are working on the fix, and working hard, but we don't get to see it. They are also working remotely which makes it more difficult to collaborate. While griping can make you feel a bit better, it accomplishes nothing, but it does raise the blood pressure. Good for the vampires, I suppose.
Try to remember they WANT us to play, and relax. Maybe play some Skyrim to get in the mood.

arena25 · May 2020

Kimba_Do wrote: »

Maybe play some Skyrim to get in the mood.

After reading this, i have a sudden urge to play Skyrim through Steam...should I be worried?

iCaliban · May 2020

MornaBaine wrote: »

All I know is that the only thing I've been looking forward to on this game for literally the past 3 years is now delayed until who knows when. I miss the days when, if they screwed something up and there was downtime, they actually comped us sub time. Of course that stopped when the game went free to play. Nevermind that many of us STILL sub to help keep this beast afloat. We no longer rate compensation. I guess because that wouldn't be "fair" because they can't give sub time to everybody. Know what they COULD do? They could give everyone crowns.... I'd say 1k per hour the servers are down.

Pro Tip: Don't hold your breath on that one.

ESO is not free to play. Period. There is a base purchase price everyone pays for. SMH.

CleymenZero · May 2020

They prolly do all the bug fixes on pts then copy-pasta the code to live hence everyone having access to new chapter this year and last year...

ProfesseurFreder · May 2020

*** happens, especially where software and computers are involved. I'm of the "it'll be ready when it's ready" school.

Really, my only complaint about the update process is that I can't do anything else on my computer while I am downloading and installing the update without slowing the update to a virtual standstill. Why izzat?

Lotus781 · May 2020

Kimba_Do wrote: »

Easy to see no one has had to deal with an incremental software release (I have) let alone a remote release (I haven't). The thing about software is no matter how thoroughly you test, the end users will always find something you missed. Combing through tens of thousands if not millions of lines of code is not easy, and something small, like say a comma when a period was required can be really hard to catch, especially if it is in the 325,992nd line of code you have scanned. Crossed eyes, anyone?
Database and GUI coding sucks. I loved it, but damn, it sucks. Sigh, good times, good times. The 16 hour days, the waking up at 3am with a 'EUREKA! That's what the problem was!' and jumping on the keyboard with sleep now impossible, uncountable cans of the almighty Dew - what's not to love?
Yeah, I understand the frustration, and I feel it myself, but we DO have an explanation, and a general time span; nailing the time accurately is impossible for a fix like this and we do need to accept that.
You can bet they are working on the fix, and working hard, but we don't get to see it. They are also working remotely which makes it more difficult to collaborate. While griping can make you feel a bit better, it accomplishes nothing, but it does raise the blood pressure. Good for the vampires, I suppose.
Try to remember they WANT us to play, and relax. Maybe play some Skyrim to get in the mood.

Yes but they have had my money as well as others for the last 6 months so i think i have a right to gripe a little ,not a lot just a little.

biovitalb16_ESO · May 2020

Did people actually think the game would launch on time and working? LUL

goldenarcher1 · May 2020

In the meantime....

https://youtu.be/W434iQM7Lzw

Elsonso · May 2020

red_emu wrote: »

It's already been confirmed. It was the same bug as when Elsweyr dropped. Players who haven't purchased the new chapter were able to travel to the new zone.

I'm not an expert but my guess is that they now have to manually remove all the players from the new zone one by one (as a roll back could probably mess things up with the new patch) then figure out a hotfix and apply it to all accounts.

I find it hilarious, that they've managed to implement the same bug a year later.

Have patience. Game will be up, when it's up.

I am not an expert either, but my guess is that they backed up the account database before they started. If so, my guess is that they have to restore that from backup, and re-run the migration to 6.0

Eifleber · May 2020

Cant they just do a rollback and let us play w/o Greymoor for a few more days and then release a working expansion?

ZaroktheImmortal · May 2020

Eh personally I'd rather have the game working when I play it then just get released and be a total mess I'm in no rush. Besides it's late here and I'll probably end up taking a nap soon. Took me all day just to get my internet back on cause of some problem in my area. I've downloaded the update now and can always play it when I wake up.

ForfiniteStories · May 2020

Kimba_Do wrote: »

The thing about software is no matter how thoroughly you test, the end users will always find something you missed. Combing through tens of thousands if not millions of lines of code is not easy, and something small, like say a comma when a period was required can be really hard to catch, especially if it is in the 325,992nd line of code you have scanned. Crossed eyes, anyone?

Or you can just play the game. Much easier than combing the desert and ain't finding [Snip]

[Edited for profanity bypass]