POLL: Release Day Queue Positions

sillyphilly:

I think a lottery system adds an unnecessary level of complication to a system that (bandwidth issues aside) already works pretty well.  First come first serve sounds more fair than a random crapshoot lottery if you ask me.  Goozex just needs to consider a few tweaks to the status quo is all:

A. Fix the server issue.  This is the most obvious since the traffic slows the site down to a crawl at activation time as everyone has already mentioned.

B. Make a one click "add to active requests" button for new releases in the watch list that doesn't require multiple page loads to get a spot in queue.

C. Move the activation time to 2am Pacific - 5am Eastern.  This way EVERYONE has to say up late / get up early.

D. Probably the most contentious: Eliminate the On Hold request queue altogether.  Either you want the game at its current point value or you don't.  As it stands now everyone just adds & holds games they have no intention of activating in the near future.  I think Goozex tried limiting the Hold queue a while back but caved when everyone got up in arms about it.

My 2cents.

All good thoughts! The server is probably the biggest problem which could potentially be fixed with the use of unique release times for each game as opposed to all the games going live at once. Also, a one click button would be great. Something like on Amazon where you have the option to just click one button once and have an order be completed since you have all your info set already. This could really ease-up the congestion

HighWindXIX:

If my beloved Goozex really is going to shift to this lottery, I might have to use it only to get old games as opposed to new releases because the prospect of getting stuck so far back in the line because of bad luck will likely drive me to buying the game at Gamestop.

Unless you get a good lottery spot, of course. =)

Which is the point of the whole lottery - speaking for myself, if I don't get a good spot, I'll either wait for the queue to move, or I'll obtain the game via another method.  

I picked status quo because I'm tired of the debate.  Goozex is an easy to use site that charges very little money for a great service.  I think the people that want it changed should volunteer to change the code.

HighWindXIX:

If I'm willing to wait through server lag and make sure I'm at my computer at the right time, I should be able to get a better spot than have it be random.

Likewise, if a user is willing to pay their way to the top, they deserve a better spot, right?

It's a bias system as it stands, not to mention broken.

I think a mix of option 1 and 2 might work. 

So you would still have a lottery but you have to add it to the lottery queue (Goozex release date) 24 hours before the street date.  This would spread the server load out over a 24 hour period and still require people to actively participate/request the game to be entered into the lottery.

I have a full time job and a family.  I have to be up by 6 am and living on the east coast a 1am time slot is just not feasible for me, especially if you hear the stories of people staying up until 2AM Eastern because the servers are so loaded down.  If I was on the West coast I'd be all for first come first serve because it's only 11PM there so not really fair the way the system is now for me at least.

sterlingdax:

a cross section of who voted status quo that lives in Western part of the US would be telling, though. A happy medium may very well be more connection availability with an easier to deal with time. (I personally get up at 3:30AM, unless I train myself to take a leak Monday nights at 12:55, I'm out. That only works if the server is guaranteed (within reason) to take my request, so I can go back to sleep)

I do live on the West Coast and I did vote for Status Quo but ya know what? Personally I wish it was later than 10pm here because I'm not always back from work by then if closing takes longer than usual. It works all ways for everyone in every time zone. I'm still wide awake at 3 or 4am. So really, when it comes down to it, no time zone has it the best. Except maybe mountain time since very few will be asleep and very few will working or anything else.

I guess what it really comes down is the fact that I don't want to have to rely on luck in getting a good spot in line if I'm willing to make sure I'm at my computer when the game goes live. I'm a firm believer in first come, first served. I think the biggest issue in this debate is probably the fact that Goozex has terrible, terrible servers. If the sight ran great when the games went live,  I don't think anyone would be complaining. Or at least, less people would. So either Goozex needs to spend some capital and upgrade or they should implement individual release times for big games.

kwaz28:

HighWindXIX:

If my beloved Goozex really is going to shift to this lottery, I might have to use it only to get old games as opposed to new releases because the prospect of getting stuck so far back in the line because of bad luck will likely drive me to buying the game at Gamestop.

Unless you get a good lottery spot, of course. =)

Which is the point of the whole lottery - speaking for myself, if I don't get a good spot, I'll either wait for the queue to move, or I'll obtain the game via another method.  

Haha yeah, this is true. And of course, there will be someone that lazily logs in and figures, "eh, what the hell, I'll request BioShock 2 just to see where I end  up" that ends up 1st in line where as someone that desperately wants the game and yet doesn't have the $60 to go pick it up ends up dead last even though if it had been the old way, they would have at least maybe made the top 50. I personally don't see the randomization of this to be a solution. I still say the solution is to fix the servers, add a one click add button that doesn't pop-up a window, and have individual release times for big games.

Kenny007:

HighWindXIX:

If I'm willing to wait through server lag and make sure I'm at my computer at the right time, I should be able to get a better spot than have it be random.

Likewise, if a user is willing to pay their way to the top, they deserve a better spot, right?

It's a bias system as it stands, not to mention broken.

Well yes, good point. Obviously we have to draw a line somewhere. (though, if someone is willing to pay for a better spot in line, why wouldn't they just use the mountain of cash they have lying around and actually buy the game instead of slumming it here with us gamers that aren't exactly swimming in money hence why we sit around our computers and wait through terrible lag hoping to get a good spot in line?) Yes, the system is broken but I don't think randomization is the way to fix it. Think about it: chances are that more people will sign up for the lottery than will brave the dreaded 1am/12am/11pm/10pm rush for games, right? Wouldn't it then make sense that the lines will be even more inflated than ever? How much would it suck to be stuck at the end of that line just because you had the misfortune of having been drawn last in the lottery? Granted, the server lag almost makes it like a lottery but you can still rest assured that if you log on right when the game goes live, you'll get a better spot than someone that logs on 10 hours later, right?

Well, I'm a fan of a lottery with a little bit of effort involved, rather than just a bunch of people throwing the game on their wishlist 3 years before it releases, inflating the queue.  I'm a fan of a short, yet reasonable lottery window, 12ish hours, that caters to all time zones in the Northern Hemisphere.  Meaning you've still got to get off your duff to go get that title before the normal first come first serve enacts.

Personally, there were few titles I bothered with to stay up for.  Didn't stay up for MW2 at all, and it's in my mailbox today, so I could care less where I land in new queues for the most part.  Not only that, but with a ton of people involved, there will likely be plenty of holds and restricted user to brush out of the way, making any large numbers not as daunting as they seem.

Kenny007:

Well, I'm a fan of a lottery with a little bit of effort involved, rather than just a bunch of people throwing the game on their wishlist 3 years before it releases, inflating the queue.  I'm a fan of a short, yet reasonable lottery window, 12ish hours, that caters to all time zones in the Northern Hemisphere.  Meaning you've still got to get off your duff to go get that title before the normal first come first serve enacts.

Personally, there were few titles I bothered with to stay up for.  Didn't stay up for MW2 at all, and it's in my mailbox today, so I could care less where I land in new queues for the most part.  Not only that, but with a ton of people involved, there will likely be plenty of holds and restricted user to brush out of the way, making any large numbers not as daunting as they seem.

If a lottery absolutely had to be implemented, I still think that 12 hours is too much. I would really much rather have it that you can enter into the lottery within 3-5 hours before the game is supposed to officially go live. Say the live time stays the same at 12AM Central. Up to 3-5 hours before this time (I'd be leaning to 3), people can get into the lottery. This would solve the time issue for East Coasters because they don't have to stay up until 1AM to get in on the game and they still have to be there that night to actually request the game. East Coasters can get into the lottery at the earliest convenient time and West Coasters are happy. There will still probably be lag, but probably not as much.

ugh... leave for a few days and am met with this; if the lottery is implemented, it is only a matter of time before we see the flood of complaints from people getting crap spots in line

I-Weapon-X:

ugh... leave for a few days and am met with this; if the lottery is implemented, it is only a matter of time before we see the flood of complaints from people getting crap spots in line

Forget it all, let's go to Tahoe!

I-Weapon-X:

ugh... leave for a few days and am met with this; if the lottery is implemented, it is only a matter of time before we see the flood of complaints from people getting crap spots in line

 

Um we already have those.

 

What we have here is the vocal minority, (those getting good spots) saying they don't want to rely on "luck" meanwhile it's not luck, it's chance, and it's already a broken system.

 

The very few users who DO get good spots in line dont realize the vast majority of users do not, and never can because of release times and server crashes.  They dont realize it's ALREADY driving users crazy and making people consider leaving the service.

First come first serve is the same model used in early MMO design, that did nothing but cause griefing, and later the development of instances.

 

If there is a lottery, I agree with a somewhere between 12 and 3 hour before going live request area for it.  Any of those would be fine for me.

 

But of course, no matter what happens, there's gonna be threads up the next day saying "GOOZEX QUEUE PROBLEM HORRIBLE I'M LEAVING WRAR".  It gives me a good chuckle.

Hexpane:

I-Weapon-X:

ugh... leave for a few days and am met with this; if the lottery is implemented, it is only a matter of time before we see the flood of complaints from people getting crap spots in line

 

Um we already have those.

 

What we have here is the vocal minority, (those getting good spots) saying they don't want to rely on "luck" meanwhile it's not luck, it's chance, and it's already a broken system.

 

The very few users who DO get good spots in line dont realize the vast majority of users do not, and never can because of release times and server crashes.  They dont realize it's ALREADY driving users crazy and making people consider leaving the service.

First come first serve is the same model used in early MMO design, that did nothing but cause griefing, and later the development of instances.

 

I can see what you mean about it almost already being luck but there's no reason to then just make it complete luck, now is there? Why take what's wrong and make it worse by having it be entirely random? If there must be a lottery, make the window of time to sign up insanely small (less than 5 hours for sure) or fix the servers and minimize the amount of clicks it takes to get in line so that the first come, first serve idea actually works how its supposed to.