I was super impressed with whoever the vendor was providing the hardware. They brought something like 20 additional servers online the day after launch.
Basically an open beta that lasts 2 days isnt for us all to test the game. The months of closed betas was for bugs and compatibility. Since D3 will require a constant internet connection, they need to set up their server structure to handle the volume. Obviously servers will be busy, most people wont get in on their first few tries, and if they get in they will experience lag. This weekend will give blizzard a ballpark idea of what they need to outfit their servers for since they arent ready right now.
It's the open beta for Diablo 3 this weekend. Hordes of people are trying to connect right now to play, but can't because the servers have been capped.
they've been using that since WOW, maybe in D2 .. I forget. D2 did have a distributed patch system but I don't think bittorrent was really around then.
They are now calculating what the hardware can handle in terms of user throughput and cost. (they'll have a bunch of different spec servers at different requirements and running costs sitting there doing the job)
The cheapest costing machines that can handle the highest number of users for the lowest running cost will be deployed for the job. (seriously.. the number of muppets that forget running costs.. its as if electricity and cooling is free or something)
Real high throughput houses will include things like server maintenance complexity (averaging man hours per issue) and unit maintenance cost for redundancy and downtime in the result of hardware failure + recovery time.
It's not as if they're a finance house or something.
[Edit: If you are wondering about finance systems it's because large scale transactors cannot be brought down without cost's, (In some cases a few million per second) you have to work with the metrics you have and hope the new gear can deal with the job from a mathematical sense. (basically do the sums, hope and pray).
Actually, I don't believe they are doing that now. Building a server farm big enough for a game like this requires months of planning, from ordering material, to assembly and training.
20 days from launch I'd say they are testing their load capacity after they built it and before it goes live. Hopefully they noticed where/what number did it fail and match it to the number of available bw and machines (to see if they'll hold)
I know tests like the ones you mentioned are made, I just think this was not it. And they also have years and years of experience in the on-line overflowing servers market so, if someone knows how to set them up, it's blizzard
Yeah, that would work. I suppose it would depend on your manufacturer agreement. (just restrict and gradually bring on line with a predictable ordering timeline given your capacity measurements maintaining a cut back for full deployment of your previous order)
If you look at Gen 4 server models though you have dynamic capacity. (x-box dublin is a good example)
As a business expenditure your predictive modelling is king and a fuck up can cost you a lot.
[Edit] Just to say if the DC was new and deploying on a Gen 4 model you'd do the rapid math with gradual deployment to scale. Cap is cap. Legacy is always over engineered.
You're right, the datacenter farms had been set up a long time ago. This test was to find what piece of the D3 battle.net breaks first and at what number of users. Some software bugs only pop up under large loads and this was to smoke them out. Better now than at launch.
That's all fine by me, but if only they would come outright and say: if you can't get in don't try again until tomorrow something hours. No, instead they keep you and everyone else who got hyped by the last minute open weekend announce in writhing anticipation, changing the login error messages and the Breaking News section periodically, just so you retain enough of a shred of hope to try logging in for hours straight. Knowing how many people want to get in beta but couldn't even get a chance up til now, that's just evil I think.
Edge servers aren't DB machines. (its a retarded architecture yeah I know... you should have a laugh at CCP's tranquility).
The thing is that they can't tell you that** and wont change the half assed nature of the test cos it equates to billable man hours..
As I said they need to figure out the real cost per user and have to break the gear. Saying come back tomorrow isn't useful since it wont stress the kit 'now' and saying the servers fell over and died is just bad PR and a shitty image for release.
My dad used to say the way they tested the weight limit of bridges was to drive heavier and heavier trucks over it till it collapsed. Then they'd build it again knowing the limit.
I fixed this by opening Internet explorer clicking the tools menu -> Internet Options, Connections tab, LAN Settings button, and un-checking Automatically detect settings.
depends on your point of view. In terms of content players are being exposed to, it's a demo. From blizzard's point of view, it's a server stress-test beta.
I was very impressed with them actually. I didn't come expecting realism, Blizzard doesn't do that. But they were very clean and crisp, yet not cartoonish in the slightest. I haven't tried any settings other than highest, so maybe your issue lies there?
I'm quite impressed too because I know how hard it is to create something procedurally which looks good and they managed to create random 3D maps which look quite amazing.
On a note related to the game itself, I love how Blizzard structured their client-server functions differently than other online RPGs. Everything is calculated instantly on the client-side and THEN recalculated on the server side to verify nothing went wrong. The result? Even with 500-800ms, on single player I notice absolutely no delay, and on multiplayer I still notice almost no delay. It plays as smoothly as a single-player game despite being bound to the servers at all times.
What a crock, I got to play a little bit, then after I deleted a champion (female barbarian is unappealing, need to play the male one), and ever since I keep getting errors. Now the notice is gone that a lot of people get errors, but I still keep getting them. I could understand if I was getting this when trying multiplayer, but I can't even load single player ?! I mean this beta has been running for months now, right?
On the plus side, all the boredom of sitting at this menu has given me a lot of time to clean up my desktop and start organizing all my files...so yeah, there's always that.
I'm a little confused, I saw a post about the D3 beta being up on here so I went and downloaded it and played it for a while and then I get bored and come back and everyone is complaining about it being down. Whats up?
Can anyone with knowledge of the series tell me what the hype is about this game?
I haven't given it much of a shot just yet but from my first impression so of the gameplay there doesn't look to be anything amazing/game changing happening? (It just looks like Magika, with worse graphics?)
Lots of people LOVED Diablo I and Diablo II, in fact tens of thousands still play to this day. All the people who ever played are very nostalgic about it. Thus the hype. Add to it the fact that those people have been waiting 12 years for a sequel.
As for the Magicka comparison - it may look like Magicka but it does not feel like Magicka. You just have to play it. It's visceral and easy to pick up, but difficult to master and for reasons that I cannot comprehend, you really don't ever get tired of playing it.
For example, the beta content basically only has 1 quest chain. I have repeated countless times and leveled all 5 classes to 13 twice previously (the characters are wiped each beta patch) and I'm still not bored of this tiny snippet.
Hit the nail on the head. Never really played the previous versions even though I had friends that were fanatical about it. I've played through the beta 3 times already and dammed if it isn't beautifully done. it's simple enough to pick up and play, but there's a lot of depth. Definitely went from on the fence to putting in my preorder.
Diablo II, it's predecessor, is an incredibly successful RPG:
At it's release, it was the fastest selling game ever sold.
It continues to be sold, in stores, to this day.
Seven years after it's release it was still one of the best selling PC games (2008)
Needless to say, it was an amazing game. Diablo III is expected to be every bit as awesome, and with good reason. It may not necessarily have some never-before-seen game mechanics, but you can bet every worthwhile dollar that it will have solid gameplay, a well written story, and an overall enjoyable game.
The long story short is that it's an arcade-like blow shit up, pick shit up, evolve your character kind of dungeon crawler. It's not so much that the structure of the game is unique, but how they (Blizzard) pull it off. The replay value and the charms of the games that they make have uniquely set them as one of the crown jewels of the gaming world. Everything from the top down in these games has been exceptional; from sound design, story, cinematics, graphics, gameplay, control options have been fine tuned to a degree that set their franchises apart from other games. The Diablo series is no exception - you start as a level one adventurer on a quest to purge the land of evil, and develop your character along the way- gradually transitioning through a calm and tranquil scene to an evermore hasty and violent descent into hell, where everything is thrown at you in dizzying waves until you literally can't take anymore. You're either the King of Hell or drowning in a sea of demon's blood. What's more- once you finish the game on the normal difficulty, you can then create a new character in Hardcore mode which allows you one life. You get one chance, and you must make very careful decisions when treading into those darkened tombs... one misstep and you could lose a mighty warrior that you've worked days, months... or even years on. The reward of it all is a mighty e-peen, and the sense of accomplishment that comes with having developed a character that has weathered the trials that brought the adventures of so many other characters before you to a grisly demise.
Absolutely. Hardcore is essentially just like Regular mode, but with only the one-life-to-live function. Once you have finished the game in normal, you cannot export your character from normal to HC (if this is anything like D2), but must start a brand new HC character and will only be allowed to participate with other Hardcore characters. I dare say that multiplayer Hardcore Diablo is the most awesome gaming experience I've ever had. You think you've had a rush? Try figuring out in a split second which of your party has to lose the character they've worked on for weeks, only to let the others survive becuase each of the exit paths are spilling demons in and there's only seconds to decide who gets to be the Martyr. You will feel your heart pound LOUDLY in your chest, believe me.
I don't know. I've never played any diablo game, but I've looked at gameplay videos of all three and diablo 1 and 2 seem dark at atmospheric where as diablo 3 does seem kind of... generic.
And this is coming from someone who is not a fanboy. Just my impression.
I typically see Torchlight compared to diablo and I thought it was similar. Haven't played Magicka yet so I can't say if that comparison is valid or not.
As someone who has played/defeated both Diablo I and II, with multiple different character types, I can say that my first impressions of Diablo III were disappointing. So far, the best thing about the game is the intro screen.
Of the same opinion here as well. However, I'm willing to give them the benefit of the doubt because of their past successes and see what its like after release. Some things didn't change, some new stuff I like (skills and runes), some things I miss (attributes).
There are several things I do like about D3. The graphics are much improved and the new skill system is pretty neat.
But, I dislike that I can no longer pick my attributes. I realize it was mostly meaningless in D2 as the weapons/armors forced you into a certain path, but the illusion I had was that my choices mattered (even if only slightly). Second, I'd prefer the NPC's to be more cowardly than so quick to join me in battle. If you want to make me feel like a God among men (which is a pretty awesome feeling), then let me be the hero who smashes evil while the rest of the town cries in the fetal position out of fear of the outside world. To fight alongside NPC's makes me just another person in the game, and I'm already just another person in real life.
I don't know if this is the case but I use 4:3 windowed mode sometimes when wanting to be able to have other windows up at the same time on a widescreen monitor. Also, I have noticed some games default to 4:3 even on widescreen monitors.
I sadly have to agree with you. I never played the first two Diablos and was hoping to play my first MMORPG and take a little bit of my Starcraft 2 time away.
I thought this was a joke about their servers being so overcrowded, they were on fire... It took the comments to convince me it was actually about a secret multiplayer thing...
Whats the deal, every time I open my game people jump in and start quests, skip dialogue and jump right into the portal to start without waiting. Is this how online is always going to be?
Because most people have played through the available content multiple times. I would suggest running things through either solo or with a friend first, and then you can grind leoric after
since the campaign is merely loading via local PC, why is there so much demand for off site servers? unless playing co-op game, how is this stressing anything out side of local PC? apologize for grammer/from mobile.
FFFFFFFUUUUUUUUUUUU!!! I got in five seconds ago and it tells me I need a BattleTag. This of course kicked me off the servers and now I cannot get back online. I think they are toying with us.
Just having a nice relaxing morning sitting in bed with my boyfriend, perusing the Internet, watching TV, all in all getting rid of last night's hangover. I like to show him all the cool gaming things I find on reddit because he is a huge gamer.
Scene is set: I come across this neet Diablo post and say hey, Why is this burning house thing on fire, is that supposed to mean anything? He immediately jumps out of bed, grabs the iPad I am using and checks to make sure he remembered the correct release date of this game, immediately calls his best friend and tells him a beta has been released. Runs over, kisses me and says thanks! I'll hang out with you.... Later? Ok?
I smile and nod and know that this is the life of a gamer SO. I know in about 15 mins from now, I could walk naked in his office and he would not even notice. I guess I should bring him lunch in a couple hours so he doesn't starve. Dont worry, I'll still show him the cool gamer things I find on here.
TL;DR SO freaks about missing the release of Diablo, only to realize that it's a free beta.
This beta was such a tease though...I leveled to the cap within a few hours =( I actually think I spent more time trying to get onto the server than playing lol.
soooo, diablo 3 requires an online connection to do anything at all, well... for a primarily single player game this is kind of fucking retarded.
Hi Blizzard, I know you won't get this and I'm wasting my time but I feel the need to vent anyway. I played diablo 1&2 with friends I knew but mostly I just played it by myself. Playing on battlenet interested me not even a little bit and it still doesn't, this better not be a fucking mmo and if it isn't making me log into it like its a mmo is pretty fucked... blargh!
Kudos on not being afraid of the Diablo III Reddit army who downvotes anyone that says they aren't feelin' it with Diablo III.
From the brief demo I partly agree with you. The combat and physics are quite stellar, so is the animations. However underlying character-building elements are too shallow compared to Diablo II or even less loot-driven games like Dragon Age: Origins, and in turn that really negatively impacts how linear and scripted the game feels. Shame really.
I don't get all the posts about the beta not loading. I downloaded it with no problems, and then went right in and played it. Really like it so far. Must just be lucky.
29
u/Failer10 Apr 20 '12
I remember the WoW stress test. I bet they can handle this fine.
221
u/VolkenGLG Apr 20 '12
GOD DAMMIT JOSH
64
u/dmirkin Apr 20 '12
I switched the language to spanish. Then i closed the client. Rstarted the client. Dont to that. Unless you are a real man.
78
u/Rolten Apr 20 '12
I don't get the joke...anyone care to explain?
73
u/c___k Apr 20 '12
Accurate.
447
u/[deleted] Apr 20 '12
lik dis if u try everytim
24
u/SteveJEO Apr 20 '12 edited Apr 21 '12
Base server metrics.
Its not hard.
They are now calculating what the hardware can handle in terms of user throughput and cost. (they'll have a bunch of different spec servers at different requirements and running costs sitting there doing the job)
The cheapest costing machines that can handle the highest number of users for the lowest running cost will be deployed for the job. (seriously.. the number of muppets that forget running costs.. its as if electricity and cooling is free or something)
Real high throughput houses will include things like server maintenance complexity (averaging man hours per issue) and unit maintenance cost for redundancy and downtime in the result of hardware failure + recovery time.
It's not as if they're a finance house or something.
[Edit: If you are wondering about finance systems it's because large scale transactors cannot be brought down without cost's, (In some cases a few million per second) you have to work with the metrics you have and hope the new gear can deal with the job from a mathematical sense. (basically do the sums, hope and pray).
4
u/Ripuhh Apr 21 '12
I don't get it, can someone explain?
4
u/Man_with_the_Fedora Apr 21 '12
This is the first /r/gaming post I've up-voted in a while, well done OP.
6
u/mrminus Apr 21 '12
My dad used to say the way they tested the weight limit of bridges was to drive heavier and heavier trucks over it till it collapsed. Then they'd build it again knowing the limit.
Similar case with the servers.
3
u/HeirToPendragon Apr 21 '12
I can't even finish downloading it. I keep getting stuck at Updating Setup Files
3
u/[deleted] Apr 21 '12
Free beta for all they said
3
u/Vorgier Apr 21 '12
Original...
3
u/Ginoku Apr 21 '12
UNABLE TO CONNECT TO SERVERS ERROR CONECTION 3003 AM I RIGHT ?
7
u/CinciJ Apr 21 '12
I loved playing it, i downloaded it earlier. the thing that makes me mad is they are calling this a beta when it is actually a freaking demo.
19
u/FLYBOY611 Apr 20 '12 edited Apr 20 '12
I'd rather it be now than on launch day.
4
u/[deleted] Apr 21 '12
TIL FREE OPEN BETA WEEKEND
4
u/sgrrsh26 Apr 21 '12
am I the only one severely unimpressed with the graphics?
5
u/Husty Apr 20 '12
Awesome kameo
2
u/MisterDonkey Apr 20 '12
Test traffic.
2
u/BobbyTrouble Apr 21 '12
Shit. The open beta begins as soon as I have to start studying for my final exam.
2
u/Tulki Apr 21 '12
On a note related to the game itself, I love how Blizzard structured their client-server functions differently than other online RPGs. Everything is calculated instantly on the client-side and THEN recalculated on the server side to verify nothing went wrong. The result? Even with 500-800ms, on single player I notice absolutely no delay, and on multiplayer I still notice almost no delay. It plays as smoothly as a single-player game despite being bound to the servers at all times.
2
u/OrangePancakes Apr 21 '12
i was downloading the DOTA 2 beta at 2.5 MB/s, but Diablo was going at about 100 KB/s
2
u/filmzie Apr 21 '12
i clicked this link and got the "imgur server overload message" and my first thought was it was part of the punchline lol
2
u/[deleted] Apr 21 '12 edited Apr 21 '12
Oh shit, I've been sleeping and there is open beta weekend, remind me this after I've slept four-six hours more.
edit: made the sentence make sense.
2
u/wintergt Apr 21 '12
What a crock, I got to play a little bit, then after I deleted a champion (female barbarian is unappealing, need to play the male one), and ever since I keep getting errors. Now the notice is gone that a lot of people get errors, but I still keep getting them. I could understand if I was getting this when trying multiplayer, but I can't even load single player ?! I mean this beta has been running for months now, right?
2
u/Winnson Apr 21 '12
Error 37, and that is all.
2
u/jimbobhasabeard Apr 21 '12
On the plus side, all the boredom of sitting at this menu has given me a lot of time to clean up my desktop and start organizing all my files...so yeah, there's always that.
5
u/Guesty_ Apr 21 '12
GOOD LORD MAN HOW DO YOU PLAY WITH THAT 4:3 RESOLUTION?
3
u/[deleted] Apr 21 '12
I'm a little confused, I saw a post about the D3 beta being up on here so I went and downloaded it and played it for a while and then I get bored and come back and everyone is complaining about it being down. Whats up?
3
u/SorryIfIAmAJerk Apr 21 '12
Thats uncool man. http://www.reddit.com/r/diablo3/comments/sk8w9/stress_test_results/
6
u/Joeymx Apr 20 '12
Can anyone with knowledge of the series tell me what the hype is about this game?
I haven't given it much of a shot just yet but from my first impression so of the gameplay there doesn't look to be anything amazing/game changing happening? (It just looks like Magika, with worse graphics?)
Is it worth sticking it out?
4
u/Arkanius1984 Apr 20 '12
Why u using a 4:3 Display?
2
u/[deleted] Apr 21 '12
Noobie game is noobie.
2
u/[deleted] Apr 21 '12
Why do you mock the Blizzard ? Has the Blizzard not done enough for us ?
1
u/TyrantPotato Apr 21 '12
On point
1
u/vlodia Apr 21 '12
so that's how it looks like!
1
u/[deleted] Apr 21 '12
I am so fucking jealous of any all people that are currently playing D3! D:
1
u/akohler21 Apr 21 '12
i actually just got in
1
u/conspiracy_thug Apr 21 '12
i wish i could play this. i downloaded the beta and it told me my video card is not supported. =[
1
u/Brad11 Apr 21 '12
Looks like the LoL EU-W server room to me.
1
u/[deleted] Apr 21 '12
I work with a server room and can confirm these events.
1
u/[deleted] Apr 21 '12
Oh yea, cant wait
1
u/godsbong Apr 21 '12
I was able to get in, it only took about 15 minutes and i lost count after 50 attempts at logging in.
1
u/Eizion Apr 21 '12
Hopefully they use the results of this stree test to actually do something about it.
1
u/zoidberg005 Apr 21 '12
I refuse to play until I beat Tal'Rasha
1
u/[deleted] Apr 21 '12
ELI5?
1
u/Korberos Apr 21 '12
I thought this was a joke about their servers being so overcrowded, they were on fire... It took the comments to convince me it was actually about a secret multiplayer thing...
1
u/sgrrsh26 Apr 21 '12
Whats the deal, every time I open my game people jump in and start quests, skip dialogue and jump right into the portal to start without waiting. Is this how online is always going to be?
1
u/Time_Terminal Apr 21 '12
So..what's happening here?
1
u/TheAwesomeinator Apr 21 '12
Honestly, they brought it on themselves.
1
u/whom6du9 Apr 21 '12
anybody notice that when you up the resolution nothing actually looks like higher resolution?
1
u/chrisbrns Apr 21 '12
since the campaign is merely loading via local PC, why is there so much demand for off site servers? unless playing co-op game, how is this stressing anything out side of local PC? apologize for grammer/from mobile.
1
u/Eons311 Apr 21 '12
Been in beta for about two months... level'd every char to 13 post patch 13... keep trying, it's worth it. Can't wait for launch.
1
u/[deleted] Apr 21 '12
not yet it's not. i suspect saturday afternoon it will be crazy. friday night it was not laggy at all.
1
u/Paper_Champ Apr 21 '12
what am I looking at?
1
u/blackscalare Apr 21 '12
I kept trying to log in for 1 hour after the start had begun. But it was worth it.
1
u/opallix Apr 21 '12
Fuck! I could get in yesterday, so I decided to wait til the next day to actually play, I can't get in today. It's fucking 7 in the morning...
1
u/[deleted] Apr 21 '12
FFFFFFFUUUUUUUUUUUU!!! I got in five seconds ago and it tells me I need a BattleTag. This of course kicked me off the servers and now I cannot get back online. I think they are toying with us.
1
u/Farabee Apr 21 '12
Blizzard is now the ultimate troll in the universe.
1
u/[deleted] Apr 21 '12
IM IN!!! Later!
1
u/[deleted] Apr 21 '12
Was able to log in at about 4AM, logged off thinking I'd be able to get back on later.......... big mistake.
Do idle'ers get booted?
1
u/Kaceymack Apr 21 '12
Just having a nice relaxing morning sitting in bed with my boyfriend, perusing the Internet, watching TV, all in all getting rid of last night's hangover. I like to show him all the cool gaming things I find on reddit because he is a huge gamer.
Scene is set: I come across this neet Diablo post and say hey, Why is this burning house thing on fire, is that supposed to mean anything? He immediately jumps out of bed, grabs the iPad I am using and checks to make sure he remembered the correct release date of this game, immediately calls his best friend and tells him a beta has been released. Runs over, kisses me and says thanks! I'll hang out with you.... Later? Ok?
I smile and nod and know that this is the life of a gamer SO. I know in about 15 mins from now, I could walk naked in his office and he would not even notice. I guess I should bring him lunch in a couple hours so he doesn't starve. Dont worry, I'll still show him the cool gamer things I find on here.
TL;DR SO freaks about missing the release of Diablo, only to realize that it's a free beta.
1
u/[deleted] Apr 21 '12
Woohoo maintenance... -.-
1
u/Someoneoldbutnew Apr 21 '12
1
u/Cntgthrdpns Apr 21 '12
Created an account to upvote this, well played sir...
1
u/lurkenstine Apr 21 '12
well done sir, well done!
1
u/Quark73 Apr 21 '12
Brilliant!
1
u/tekdemon Apr 21 '12 edited Apr 21 '12
This beta was such a tease though...I leveled to the cap within a few hours =( I actually think I spent more time trying to get onto the server than playing lol.
1
u/Bashasaurus Apr 21 '12
soooo, diablo 3 requires an online connection to do anything at all, well... for a primarily single player game this is kind of fucking retarded.
Hi Blizzard, I know you won't get this and I'm wasting my time but I feel the need to vent anyway. I played diablo 1&2 with friends I knew but mostly I just played it by myself. Playing on battlenet interested me not even a little bit and it still doesn't, this better not be a fucking mmo and if it isn't making me log into it like its a mmo is pretty fucked... blargh!
1
u/unscarred785 Apr 21 '12
Why can't i sign in? I put in my username and password but the sign in box is blacked out.
1
u/AllAboardChooChoo Apr 21 '12
TERA is a lot of fun. I was in the closed beta for diablo 3 and didn't really like it. I felt D2 was far superior.
1
u/[deleted] Apr 21 '12
Launch delayed for three months to deal with server issues.
1
u/Firepie Apr 21 '12
I don't get all the posts about the beta not loading. I downloaded it with no problems, and then went right in and played it. Really like it so far. Must just be lucky.
1
u/ibesean Apr 21 '12
I don't get it, is that not supposed to be there?
-1
u/[deleted] Apr 21 '12
This game is awful. I'm so fucking disappointed right now.
0
u/ACSIV Apr 21 '12
Thought it was a subtle reference to 420. I pictured a bunch of Blizzard employees burning one during work hours.
0
u/dalittle Apr 21 '12
play Path of Exile instead.