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Staggered Early Access?
epoq
Member UncommonPosts: 394
I read about this a week ago. Originally it was my intention to wait until closer to the release of the game to place my pre order, I wanted to try the beta, as well as get a general feeling of what the game would be like right around launch time. I realize now this might be a mistake, as the early access is apparently going to be staggered. I was curious if there were any details or speculation about how this will work? I pre-ordered, like everyone else, for early access. I've never seen a game try this method before, and IMHO, it' seems pretty f-kin stupid to me. The servers are going to be on overload regardless, and it's part of the "fun" (chaos, madness, nerdrage) of launch. With the #'s of pre-orders I'm seeing, I personally feel there will be a much smaller "Launch day" than other games that I have seen in the past. I'm just curious because I will be kind of pissed if I pre ordered in Dec. and don't get in until the day before launch. When exactly did they make this common knowledge that it was a staggered launch? Had I known this back when pre-orders started, I probably would have rushed to do it then, rather than wait to see what people are saying about the game before I preorered it. BioWare, don't screw me overrrrrrr!
Comments
They made it known on the same day (in the same post) that pre-orders were announced.
The earlier you registered your pre-order code, the earlier you got into early access.
This is to keep the servers stable, avoid 3 hours queues, and it was also an incentive to get people to pre-order sooner, rather than later.
There is no official announcements, except for the phrase "pre-order now and get UPTO five days early access".
This may or may not mean that the game will launch in phases, we will have to see. The big open beta from a week told me that the servers were handling themselves very well, so I don't see a reason to not have a big launch the 15th for all the ppl that pre-ordered.
^^ this. They made it very clear.
Hopefully they will be able to accommodate the majority of players. I would be completely fine with a 1 or 2 day delay if it had to be that way, but if I had to miss out on 4 out of 5 pre-launch days, that would kind of suck.
To my knowledge they have multiple instancing of zones set up (especially in earlier areas) to combat the sheer number of players questing during launch. I can say from my beta experience, you can't do much when there are more than a few other people around. Hopefully they will tweak spawn times for launch as well, I truly hate when games do not do this and leave spawn timers intact as if it were meant for 1 or 2 players max to take advantage of.
Just chill this game is to be played for years to come, play it slowly.
"CUSTOMERS WHO PRE-ORDER STAR WARS™: THE OLD REPUBLIC™ WILL BE ABLE TO PLAY THE GAME BEFORE THE OFFICIAL LAUNCH. “EARLY GAME ACCESS” IS THE PERIOD OF TIME BEFORE THE OFFICIAL GAME LAUNCH WHEN PRE-ORDER CUSTOMERS MAY ACCESS THE GAME. EARLY GAME ACCESS MAY BE UP TO 5 DAYS. THE LENGTH OF YOUR EARLY GAME ACCESS DEPENDS ON THE DATE AND ORDER IN WHICH YOU REDEEMED YOUR PRE-ORDER CODE AT THE CODE REDEMPTION CENTER. SEE PRE-ORDER FAQ FOR MORE DETAILS."
This 1000 times over. If you ordered last week vs ordering in July then obviously the person in July is going to get in sooner.
How much sooner is left up to Bioware/EA.
Yeah. If I get 1 day out of 5 I'll be pretty pissed. Otherwise it should be Ok.
For CE pre-orders though, not only should you be guaranteed the full 5 days,{mod edit} because that shyt is outrageously overpriced.
Early access starts at the 15th
The game releases at the 20th
How many shifts there will be is not known
When the latest shift will be is not known.
Personally i dont think ther will be more then 3 shifts
15, 16 and 17 or 18.
Thats just my prediciton tough... and its very much online with what they promissed.
I just dont beleive they will split up the shifts in 5 equally big parts.
Best MMO experiences : EQ(PvE), DAoC(PvP), WoW(total package) LOTRO (worldfeel) GW2 (Artstyle and animations and worlddesign) SWTOR (Story immersion) TSW (story) ESO (character advancement)
The statue alone is worth the price.
http://www.bigbadtoystore.com/bbts/search.aspx?search=gentle+giant
On there website it says "Pre order now and you may play up to 5 days early" it would be stupid to give people who pre ordered earlyer advantage beside that, don't put on your main website that you get up to 5 days early if that was 6 months ago !
I have family in town from the 21st (I already told them Christmas is canceled but they didn't listen) so I'm hoping I can get in on the 15th and at least get some gameplay before i have to hang up my lightsaber for a couple of weeks.
I think its reasonable to assume that MOST players will get in for the full 5 days of access.
Staggering access is a smart idea... but not TOO smart seeing as how once the flood gates open, they have very limited choices on what to do apart from setting up queues, opening more servers, or crashing terribly in a fiery mess.
Staggering the preorders just doesn't seem like something they'd end up doing... and I think it would be more apt to be like : If you just preordered off origin and got your code, it might take a day to process.
I just don't see a major staggered early access make much sense after BioWare ran all servers full on beta weekends. Its not like this is a test.. its (pre) live.
More than likely everyone who's preordered will get in the full 5 days. I know I'll be pissed if I preordered the game for 3 people, a week or so apart, and I get in before them...
Apparently there is 900k of pre orders made, that was a few days ago but possibly now there is 1 million preorders.
If thats the case, and they are releasing 120 servers , Its roughly about 10,000 people on each server ??
http://www.speedtest.net/result/1651869499.png
are you seriously concerned if you cant play for 5 whole days. lol that is just world ending.
/sarcasm
its not so much that, but the hidden fee that you pay to "Pre-order" There was an extra 5.00 charge, and while the money isnt really an issue, why am I paying an extra $5.00 to them for it if I cant even get the early access
Yes, because they charged an extra $5 for the early access. If it was included in the pre-order price I would not gripe at all.
I better get at least 4 of those days, or I will rage. I will be off work from the 15th to the 20th, so really hope days are not wasted.
I pre-ordered right after the open beta started(day of), so hopefully I beat those that pre-ordered after beta enough so that I can get in within the first day or two. Also no where when I was purchasing the game through origin did it mention anything about a staggered launch, it only showed the 5 day pre-access for $5.
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-Currently playing FFXIV, and BDO.
hidden fees? I dunno where you preordered but i got mine on amazon and had no hidden fees
This, I'd have to say their marketing is misleading at best.
Apparently not, they predicted your price point accurately.
Self-pity imprisons us in the walls of our own self-absorption. The whole world shrinks down to the size of our problem, and the more we dwell on it, the smaller we are and the larger the problem seems to grow.
they didnt charge an extra 5 bucks for head start. I paid for mine and got a code to enter to register my preorder. All i paid for was a collectors edition of the game, thats it. I did all that the day preorders were announced and in my email it said I would be notified at a later date of when I would have access to the head start.
Are you sure that 5 dollars wasnt what you put down to preorder it wherever you went and that it goes towards the purchase of the game when you get it. That is common preorder practice in a lot of places and some people still to this day dont realize that.
That's weird. My screen, before checking out, clearly stated the 5 bucks pre-order costs. Hm.
I have a feeling, based on the massive beta weekend they had a couple of weekends back, that there won't be too many shifts for early access. I'd assume maybe two shifts, if I had to guess. Their servers will be able to handle the load.
Yes they did, the game would be $55 but the pre-order fee made it $60. This is copy/pasted from my confirmation e-mail from origin:
Product SKU: 71xxx
Product Name: Star Wars™: The Old Republic™ Digital Standard Edition Pre-Order Fee
Qty Ordered: 1
Amount: $5.00
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-Currently playing FFXIV, and BDO.