ST #98788945 Character wipe

[troubadour]

A character wipe is a very effective tool to ensure expected functionality by forcing folks to test or retest low level content. I do think though that there is point where the Nth character reset does more harm than garner testers.

I think you should seriously re-evaluate the necessity for character wipes in future rollups. While it may be easier for you, you need to remember you are dealing with human testers, not automation test scripts.

[Doctor Tiki]

A character wipe is a very effective tool to ensure expected functionality by forcing folks to test or retest low level content. I do think though that there is point where the Nth character reset does more harm than garner testers.

I think you should seriously re-evaluate the necessity for character wipes in future rollups. While it may be easier for you, you need to remember you are dealing with human testers, not automation test scripts.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WGoi1MSGu64#t=0m25s

[StarSeekerVDS]

LOL Nice response.

[mistergreen]

A character wipe is a very effective tool to ensure expected functionality by forcing folks to test or retest low level content. I do think though that there is point where the Nth character reset does more harm than garner testers.

I think you should seriously re-evaluate the necessity for character wipes in future rollups. While it may be easier for you, you need to remember you are dealing with human testers, not automation test scripts.

Do us all a favor, get your own servers, do your own coding and then tell everyone how it's going to be done. They have stated their reasons, but since you just joined less then 2 weeks ago and this is your first post I won't expect that you have read through all the posts that everyone else has.

Short summery, that are a lot of dead accounts clogging the database and it needs to be cleaned up. This is also an ALPHA setting. Not even beta. Expect things to break sometimes with a reason, other times as random as a bowl of petunias coming into existence next to a whale and then crashing on a planet.

[Rebirth]

Hello ground!

[Floss]

Short summery, that are a lot of dead accounts clogging the database and it needs to be cleaned up.

Ugh, please don't tell me that you honestly believe a wipe is necessary to clean out old accounts. It also should have nothing to do with new hardware.

Take it out of the game world, and into the business world.

1) Old accounts - look at last login date, delete all > 60 or 90 days, whatever they decide is old. If they don't know which accounts are old, which have residual dev rights that shouldn't, then they need better account management tools.

2) New hardware - restore the player database to the new hardware. You think a business has to delete its Active Directory when they move to a new box?

Saying that a full purge is necessary due to either one of these reasons is just wrong. Significant changes to the database structure or a new database altogether are more logical. Hell maybe they just want more people exploring noob content.

All of that aside, I could care less about a wipe, but let's not use bad rationale as to why.

[Mimir[IS]]

Ugh, please don't tell me that you honestly believe a wipe is necessary to clean out old accounts. It also should have nothing to do with new hardware.

Take it out of the game world, and into the business world.

1) Old accounts - look at last login date, delete all > 60 or 90 days, whatever they decide is old. If they don't know which accounts are old, which have residual dev rights that shouldn't, then they need better account management tools.

2) New hardware - restore the player database to the new hardware. You think a business has to delete its Active Directory when they move to a new box?

Saying that a full purge is necessary due to either one of these reasons is just wrong. Significant changes to the database structure or a new database altogether are more logical. Hell maybe they just want more people exploring noob content.

All of that aside, I could care less about a wipe, but let's not use bad rationale as to why.

I can see only one reason for it.

With 8000+ users in the Db doing a wipe and forcing the players to re-register will tell them what players are in and current. I agree it is drastic and your suggestion makes more sense. Setting up a periodic "house cleaning" on the accounts would be more practical. And as a bonus running a sql script every 6 months or so would keep the user db clean.

[mistergreen]

I'm not a coder, hell I don't even mess with excel. They say hindsight is always 20/20 and perhaps they didn't think of these safeguards until late and then will be put in after this upgrade.

on your 2nd point this isn't a full business with checks and balances. These are amateurs doing things in their free time.

[Vlammie]

on your 2nd point this isn't a full business with checks and balances. These are amateurs doing things in their free time.

Considering the work they have done so far, I wouldn't call them amateurs.

I'm not so sure what the fuss from the op is about though. This is a stresstest, not even a beta yet, if you have so much issues with the wipes, don't play till they announce it to be live.

The devs are doing a great job here in recreating the game and instead of complaining about the wipe, you should look at it as a new opportunity to test for bugs in the lower levels and try to enjoy the levelling.

[Kerlann]

Expect things to break sometimes with a reason, other times as random as a bowl of petunias coming into existence next to a whale and then crashing on a planet.

Just don't lose your towel.

[Floss]

on your 2nd point this isn't a full business with checks and balances. These are amateurs doing things in their free time.

Ouch, I would guess most of the dev staff are college + level IT professionals. Backups aren't rocket science, nor is duplicating a database, or managing a user list.

Amateurs would still be looking at a demo CD sitting on a table with no clue where to go.

[Trademart]

A character wipe is a very effective tool to ensure expected functionality by forcing folks to test or retest low level content. I do think though that there is point where the Nth character reset does more harm than garner testers.

I think you should seriously re-evaluate the necessity for character wipes in future rollups. While it may be easier for you, you need to remember you are dealing with human testers, not automation test scripts.

just for you..

[garblesoup]

just for you..

+1

I soooo hoped that was an available emote I could have attached earlier, thanks for finding that!

[Numiah2]

just for you..

WIN ! lol

[dimmak]

A character wipe is a very effective tool to ensure expected functionality by forcing folks to test or retest low level content. I do think though that there is point where the Nth character reset does more harm than garner testers.

I think you should seriously re-evaluate the necessity for character wipes in future rollups. While it may be easier for you, you need to remember you are dealing with human testers, not automation test scripts.

When I started playing this and there have been 2 wipes, this one is #3. We have been told that we should never get attached to our characters because this game is in Alpha stage, plus more so the development team,betas, and stress testers contribute. More to the point, the development team could have said no and let this awesome MMORPG be forgotten but they didn't and they don't get paid for this because of EAGames clauses and such. Be glad that this game is playable at all and get used to seeing wipes done or go play another game. I am happy to just be able to play this game once again with great people, so remember, have fun playing the game or go somewhere else to where you can be happy. Games are to be enjoyed and played, it isn't real life.

[Marco[IS]]

Ouch, I would guess most of the dev staff are college + level IT professionals. Backups aren't rocket science, nor is duplicating a database, or managing a user list.

Amateurs would still be looking at a demo CD sitting on a table with no clue where to go.

Most of us are amateurs in the sense that we don't work as programmers in a gaming company.

User account wipes allows us to clean out the database, and most importantly track down issues that are not standard across all characters. Since the database has been modified since the last account wipe (which has been never). This allows us to find the reason why people's accounts are not uniformly having the same errors. For example, newer accounts seem to have less issues then some of the older accounts. Then also some of the oldest accounts have no issues when compared to the newer accounts.

Upon creating a new user database, this can allow us to see if the code is not saving things properly with some of the newer feature. For example the faction matrix. Even though it was in there for a long time, when we created it to actually have an impact on your character (rather then as a place holder) players were "losing" their factions on their list.

New tables, and new columns are added, and we need to check to make sure it works correctly. Best way is to start everyone from scratch. This way we remove the "mish mosh" that the database is slowly becoming.

- Marco

[kameleon]

I for one fully support the dev's and the directions they take us. Most of all I like playing the game.

"You still got that bag I gave you?" ...Cleveland (R2-D2)