Well, they are running new world servers on AWS cloud tech, so i don’t think server horsepower would be an issue. I would think they’d be better equipped to do it than many just from the sheer magnitude of AWS. But i could be wrong.
I mean, New World has a max of 2,500 players per server… Is that enough to even be considered an MMO when MMOs like WoW have 60,000 players per server?
I just consider NW an online RPG. It’s just not “massively multiplayer”
Comparing it to the biggest MMO that ever existed, sure. But to many other “Multiplayer online” games it absolutely fits the terminology. 
Yeah because MMO doesn’t just mean massive player numbers. It is more like a gameplaying mechanics instead of how many users they have in same world. Progression system defines it more than amount of players.
Server shards. Reality shards. Are we even playing Brimstone right now or an altered reality of the one we are living in. That is now changing as we develop insight into our reality, so it changes to compensate for this added insight. Only to cloud it once again. Amazon cloud it…
I mean, 2000 people is massively multiplayer by really any game/software developers standards. It definitely less than other games but I think it’s silly to say it’s just an online RPG.
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WoW is just one example. There hasn’t been an MMO with server sizes this small, ever. Even GW1 and DDO had larger server sizes.
The low capacity is no doubt related to using cloud technology for everything, as it’s in its infancy, still, and a very demanding technology.
It doesn’t feel massive, even on patch day. You’d see clumps of people here and there, but it feels very small-scale and “this is a test” compared to anything else.
I’ve solo developed several back-ends for online RPGs both large and small, and everything points towards excessive use of the cloud for why everything in NW feels so small scale.
like the 50 vs 50 wars.
I agree… in terms of availability I’m sure AWS can deliver high performance compute nodes, but does AGS has free access to such servers? at what cost?
I doubt AWS is giving AGS servers/bandwidth for free… which means AGS needs to keep costs at reasonable levels.
Scam Citizen is also running on AWS and that game has a limit of 50 players per server! Scam Citizen map is larger than NW though
I have a feeling amazon games gets very little friction in using AWS servers. It’s kind of the sales pitch for using lumberyard/O3DE is that AWS can spin up servers fairly instantly.
If there was anything they could do to increase the overall playerbase, reduce friction during patches and guarantee more store sales. I’m sure they would and will consider it.
I still haven’t seen AGS announce anything to address the at-launch issue of friends not being able to get into the same server.
So when Fresh Start Servers come live, can we expect the same situation? Friends not being able to get onto the same server, maybe not even able to make a toon on the FSS server to be with their other friends?
This is the very essence of a bad take.
“I didn’t have the same experience as you therefore nothing is wrong”.
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Of course they would make such considerations… but as any company, they also consider cost into their decisions.
I doubt they have access to all AWS capacity at no cost… that would make no sense from the AWS perspective (yes… even though both are subsidiaries of a bigger entity)
But I stand to be corrected…
I’m in pretty much the same boat, came back to find friends had moved servers and now I can’t join them. They don’t want to move, and who can blame them, they’re on a well populated server with a vibrant economy and lots going on - why would you risk that to move to a quiet server where it’s a gamble whether the population rises to the point that it also has a vibrant economy and lots of action.
For what it’s worth I decided to see whether I could really get into the game again and enjoy it for it’s own sake without my friends, and be patient to see if the situation changes in the future and I will be able to transfer at that point. I don’t know whether my patience will run out first and AGS will lose me as a customer again or whether it will work out. I also recognise this isn’t an approach that will work for everyone, that’s just how I am dealing with it.
Frustrating when we as a group still share discord, even on voice together, they’re the group I discuss builds with, talk about the game, share tips and tricks etc. but can’t actually play together.
I agree with a lot of what’s been said in this thread, there’s an underlying technology issue if the servers can’t handle bigger populations, the server cap is on the smaller end of the spectrum for an MMO and yet we still have huge performance issues when you get more than 30-40 people in the same place at the same time.
There are examples of other games that handle player load a LOT better, Black Desert Online is one great example that others have shared. Eve is another example, different structure and much bigger game world to support the population (every design choice has implications and consequences) but it proves that you can have more players in the same world and a LOT more players in the same place at the same time.
As others have also said, this issue won’t go away unless the underlying structure/technology is addressed, we’re going to have this issue in perpetuity every time there’s a significant population change either up or downwards.
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50v50 is… nothing compared to what MMOs provide.
DAOC was doing larger-scale battles and released in 2001.
SWG pre-CU was also large scale, galactic-sized (multi-planet) battles.
GW2 was doing 100v100v100 (WvWvW) battles in 2012.
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50v50 is so small, there are TF2 servers that big.
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It’s clear that MMO wasn’t the original intention and a last-minute curve. I have a lot of fun in New World, but it’s only an MMO in spirit.
ESO has something big too iirc like Cyrodiil area that a huge fight never ends.
NW is more likely MMORPG at progression and content(a lot more should be added tho), an online RPG at numbers.
we may call it a crippled MMO i guess. lol
lol. 2500 players not an mmo. haha
Having small server caps is a double edged sword. On one hand, it allows to develop a relatively close community. You see the same people around towns, in OPR, chat, etc. It helps form bonds with other players. On the other hand, you have to deal with queues when the game gets popular.
Unfortunately, I’m in the same boat as you. Me and a couple friends are coming back to the game, and are reconnecting with our old company members, some of whom are also returning or have been playing off and on. I tried logging in today for the first time in a long while, and I’m forced to pick a new server. I really don’t want to, and I also can’t expect the 10 or so people who are established on my server to move to the new one. They’ve all developed communities there, and don’t want to lose what they’ve built. I don’t blame them.
Honestly the game is almost designed for this situation to happen. Many aspects of the game are made to serve a small community rather than a large one, such as company wars and territory control. If you get too many people on the server, it’s going to be a lot of people left out of wars. I’m sure it already happens with the relatively small servers that exist.
Either way, I understand why they are doing this, but I’m disappointed that I won’t be able to play due to the situation. I’m sure a lot of other people are as well, and I don’t really know a viable solution in which everyone is happy. So I guess I’m just out for now.
Yeah, you’re absolutely right. It’s more akin to an action RPG with online servers.
For sure, the game definitely was designed around smaller server sizes for those exact reasons. If you have 50,000 people competing for the same amount of territories that 2000 people currently are, it’s a completely different game. In addition to that the amount of resources on the map right now, etc.
It’s definitely not ideal right now unfortunately. Ideally I think the next step could be to award additional transfer tokens to select people based on sprcific criteria. We just don’t want everyone to get one or we have an Orun situation again unfortunately (something they did in past that didn’t work).
I’m sure we will find out the solution, it’s just gonna be frustrating in the meantime. Hope you get to play with your friends soon!
As for MMO status, it just is? Although I can totally agree that it’s a smaller one in terms of server size. But I don’t think there is much benefit in arguing against a definition at this point. The game is definitely unique. I think it will definitely flourish as they do more cross-server connectivity and possibly shards.