Data Center Update

Dear Players,
Now that we have been in the new datacenter in New Jersey on the new hardware for several weeks now, we have learned a lot about how our service works with domestic and international ISPs. Early efforts at tuning have been showing progress, leading to measurable improvement in latency for both US and EU players. Based on this early information we believe that players will be best served by us focusing on improvements to the new datacenter, rather than moving the EU servers to Amsterdam.

Going forward we’ll continue to work on with the technology team at our datacenter as well as key regional ISPs to improve the performance of LOTRO for all players worldwide. The next step of this process will have us on a new routing system in the next few weeks. This is expected to improve performance for players in much of the EU, and certain parts of North America as well.

For those players experiencing issues in PvMP we are adding in client side optimizations with Update 18 that we hope will lessen the strain on client and server alike when in battles with large groups. We are also looking into the cause of client crashes when traveling and changing instances. We will continue to optimize the configurations of our servers to improve service stability. These efforts will not be over night, but should improve the situation over time so that your play experience will be even better than it was prior to the move.

Once again we thank you for your patience and understanding while we work through this construction.
Thank you,
Athena “Vyvyanne” Peters”

soooooo..... no Amsterdam and we shall tay in NJ. Or Amsterdam in the very far future which will mean no Amsterdam anyway?

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Originally Posted by Vyvyanne

For those players experiencing issues in PvMP we are adding in client side optimizations with Update 18 that we hope will lessen the strain on client and server alike when in battles with large groups.”

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Is that mean you are fixing the problem of lags(in PvE raids or PvMP) when the target have a lot of dots\renewable debuffs on it (causes everyone to use targer forwarding) ?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Vyvyanne

Dear Players,
Now that we have been in the new datacenter in New Jersey on the new hardware for several weeks now, we have learned a lot about how our service works with domestic and international ISPs. Early efforts at tuning have been showing progress, leading to measurable improvement in latency for both US and EU players. Based on this early information we believe that players will be best served by us focusing on improvements to the new datacenter, rather than moving the EU servers to Amsterdam.

Going forward we’ll continue to work on with the technology team at our datacenter as well as key regional ISPs to improve the performance of LOTRO for all players worldwide. The next step of this process will have us on a new routing system in the next few weeks. This is expected to improve performance for players in much of the EU, and certain parts of North America as well.

For those players experiencing issues in PvMP we are adding in client side optimizations with Update 18 that we hope will lessen the strain on client and server alike when in battles with large groups. We are also looking into the cause of client crashes when traveling and changing instances. We will continue to optimize the configurations of our servers to improve service stability. These efforts will not be over night, but should improve the situation over time so that your play experience will be even better than it was prior to the move.

Once again we thank you for your patience and understanding while we work through this construction.
Thank you,
Athena “Vyvyanne” Peters”

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So the EU move was just a carrot on a stick to get EU players to return, in short: a money grab.

Everyone cut your losses and stop supporting this unethical, corrupt company

#Shock, shock, horror, horror, shock, shock, horror

didnt see this one coming....

I can't say that I am surprised by this turn of events. It doesn't change the level of disappointment though. Just another failed promise in a very long list.

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Originally Posted by HairyKrishna

Everyone cut your losses and stop supporting this unethical, corrupt company

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You forgot 'incompetent'. There's that too...

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Vyvyanne

Dear Players,
Now that we have been in the new datacenter in New Jersey on the new hardware for several weeks now, we have learned a lot about how our service works with domestic and international ISPs. Early efforts at tuning have been showing progress, leading to measurable improvement in latency for both US and EU players. Based on this early information we believe that players will be best served by us focusing on improvements to the new datacenter, rather than moving the EU servers to Amsterdam.

Going forward we’ll continue to work on with the technology team at our datacenter as well as key regional ISPs to improve the performance of LOTRO for all players worldwide. The next step of this process will have us on a new routing system in the next few weeks. This is expected to improve performance for players in much of the EU, and certain parts of North America as well.

For those players experiencing issues in PvMP we are adding in client side optimizations with Update 18 that we hope will lessen the strain on client and server alike when in battles with large groups. We are also looking into the cause of client crashes when traveling and changing instances. We will continue to optimize the configurations of our servers to improve service stability. These efforts will not be over night, but should improve the situation over time so that your play experience will be even better than it was prior to the move.

Once again we thank you for your patience and understanding while we work through this construction.
Thank you,
Athena “Vyvyanne” Peters”

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Truly disappointing!

The only way to significantly improve the latency for EU players is to move the servers to the EU!

For me personally latency is still a bit higher than before the servermove and significantly higher than before the world transfer process! It has actually gone up by around 30 %! But I suppose we are not measuring like that!

I know a lot of people are going to be a disappointed, but really, 50 ms of extra latency isn't ever going to be noticeable. The performance issues due to the new datacenter, and just inefficiencies in the client/server design, are far more important to your gameplay experience. In short, if/when they get everything working smoothly for U.S. players, it's going to be fine for EU players as well, even without moving the servers to Amsterdam.

We were lead to believe up until this January that we were moving to Amsterdam. That's a year of promises you did not intend to keep. Or you're just telling us that everything in Amsterdam is built and ready to go but in light of the recent experiences you decided not to use it? My guess is there was never an Amsterdam.

Sorry, but after all this, I don't believe you'll do the things you're promising now.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Vyvyanne

... Based on this early information we believe that players will be best served by us focusing on improvements to the new datacenter, rather than moving the EU servers to Amsterdam....

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What a shock! NOT. We've been turbined once more.

What a joke but hardly surprising

Not surprised at all. The put on downs have been increasing for too long now. Also, it just bothers to the bone having to read US and EU all the time as if the world was only one country and one continent. As you know, there are a lot of players in Brazil, Australia, Asia.... show some respect at least!

It seems pretty clear to me that EU players are a pretty small portion of the overall population- just like raiders, and PvMPers, and crafters, and role-players, and housers, and festivalers.

Even though I personally don't care about the news, I really hope, for your (Turbine's) sake, that you understand that for many people the point has already been surpassed where "we thank you for your patience and understanding" still meant something. This datacenter move to EU was to be the biggest single change in LotRO since the Codemasters -> Turbine move, and you failed to deliver. No doubt, this will be one of the smudges that will stick to Turbine's shield, for years to come.

Ah quelle surprise...

"A half truth is the worst of all lies,because it can be defended in partiality." - Solon - (c.638 BC-558 BC) Athenian statesman, lawmaker

What I don't understand is how you could have bought/hired/whatever servers in Amsterdam, and have now decided not to use them - its surely self-evident that the latency will improve for EU players in Europe, so the argument that lag/connection issues will be better staying in New Jersey is kinda defunct - but where is the cost justification for getting those servers, or that space, or however it works, and then just getting rid of it?

Or am I being naïve? Was the move to Amsterdam ever likely to happen? Or was it simply an unobtainable carrot for the EU playerbase ###? (and for those that would be tempted to report this, ### refers to a donkey...)

As you've disappointed your EU players greatly with regards to moving the servers, can we finally start talking about Update 18? Please don't say that everyone is too busy working on improving latency/the servers/etc., as I'm sure members of staff such as those who write the stories, or manage the community, don't have a great deal to do with fixing the problems that we've been having recently.

Give us teasers about U18, talk about the upcoming raid and instance cluster, discuss the regions that we might visit, or how the epic might develop... because if you don't promise new and exciting things, then this news about Amsterdam is going to see you lose a large chunk of your EU playerbase, who've been holding out for something good, and have just been gravely disappointed.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Tirian-Hammerfist

What I don't understand is how you could have bought/hired/whatever servers in Amsterdam, and have now decided not to use them - its surely self-evident that the latency will improve for EU players in Europe, so the argument that lag/connection issues will be better staying in New Jersey is kinda defunct - but where is the cost justification for getting those servers, or that space, or however it works, and then just getting rid of it?

Or am I being naïve? Was the move to Amsterdam ever likely to happen? Or was it simply an unobtainable carrot for the EU playerbase ###? (and for those that would be tempted to report this, ### refers to a donkey...)

As you've disappointed your EU players greatly with regards to moving the servers, can we finally start talking about Update 18? Please don't say that everyone is too busy working on improving latency/the servers/etc., as I'm sure members of staff such as those who write the stories, or manage the community, don't have a great deal to do with fixing the problems that we've been having recently.

Give us teasers about U18, talk about the upcoming raid and instance cluster, discuss the regions that we might visit, or how the epic might develop... because if you don't promise new and exciting things, then this news about Amsterdam is going to see you lose a large chunk of your EU playerbase, who've been holding out for something good, and have just been gravely disappointed.

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Of course the Amsterdam move never progressed beyond a paper plan. At some point last Autumn the plan changed (we'll never know why) and those of us who were keen-eyed noticed that Turbine's comms started referring to a "data centre" and not "data centres". Now, if only they had the decency to be honest & upfront rather than spin their customers a yarn and hope they wouldn't notice. Now what does that remind me of... HOUSING.

What a big, big disappointment Vyvyanne. Not unexpected but still... a big disappointment :(

Will keep an eye out for U18 and until then I bid you all a very fond farewell.

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Originally Posted by bastiat1

It seems pretty clear to me that EU players are a pretty small portion of the overall population- just like raiders, and PvMPers, and crafters, and role-players, and housers, and festivalers.

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Soon to be followed by people spending money on this game...

If All the servers are permanently staying in New Jersey now, is there any chance of amalgamating the servers so us non-US players have a wider choice of EN servers available to transfer to?

Thank you Vyvyanne for the info.

Although I'm an european player and I would like a closer server, this is not making things go backwards. We've been playing with the servers in America for years.
Most of the recent lag/crashes/whatever didn't appear because the servers are in America - they have been there for a long time, some lag came with Rohan and has gotten worse with the new servers.
So the solution is to work on fixes for the problems that cause the lag, the move to Amsterdam wouldn't directly address these.

Although it's true we were promised a move to Amsterdam, in the end that didn't happen. Yes we may be annoyed and have reasons to complain, but after that we must move one. It's decided, it's done.

I just want to play the game and that the game continues. So I think right now it's better for everyone for Turbine to have its resources in the fix of the recent problems that would benefit us more than a move of servers.

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Originally Posted by JFDCamara

Yes we may be annoyed and have reasons to complain, but after that we must move one. It's decided, it's done.

I just want to play the game and that the game continues. So I think right now it's better for everyone for Turbine to have its resources in the fix of the recent problems that would benefit us more than a move of servers.

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I agree whats done is done and should fix the Issues that are going on, moving EU servers to Amsterdam still would not fix this. I do understand reason to complain, but what i want to know is why you said it was set up an ready to go? wish you hadn't said that cause seems it never was...

Good to know, and thank you for the information at last.
Makes it much easier for me to decide where to spend my money.

"Are you ready to give up the fight against the forces of Sauron?
If you cancel your subscription now, it will remain active for your use and will not be deactivated until the end of the current billing cycle. You will not be billed for future months."
And I chose yes

Quote:

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Originally Posted by HairyKrishna

So the EU move was just a carrot on a stick to get EU players to return, in short: a money grab.

Everyone cut your losses and stop supporting this unethical, corrupt company

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No, not corrupt. I worked for a brokerage house for almost three years. They were corrupt. Turbine is just incompetent liars.

And yet we keep coming back. We rant, rave, and swear we're going to stop supporting them, but here we are, playing their game (in more ways than one).

I, for one, will be very happy when this game goes into maintenance mode, assuming WB decides to fund it. Then the lies can stop and we will know exactly what we're getting. As sad as that may be.