iGame and Megarom are pushing Blizzard for a local World of Warcraft server
Local WoW server a possibility?
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iGame and Megarom are pushing Blizzard for a local World of Warcraft server
Local WoW server a possibility?
It would be amazing if Blizzard decided to throw us a life raft in the rough seas of high latencies.
The fact that we are red flagged as a piracy hotspot should not deter them, as the fiscious cycle will continue until Blizzard decide to provide local players with a reason not to pirate. Such high latencies really are very annoying, as well as the frequent disconnects we have to face. If Blizzard were to allow for a local server, or peering server, it will make many people very happy and they could see a drop in piracy levels and an increase in WoW uptake in the country.
We definitely have the players to support it, and one would assume that Blizzard would want its legitimate customers to have the best experience possible (which we simply are not getting). It's almost like our Xbox Live scenario - we're paying the same for the product as those overseas but said product is not of as high a quality as the product our counterparts make use of.
To iGame and Megarom - thanks for taking the initiative and good luck at the negotiating table!
P.S. Just out of interest, would you be able to find out whether or not only South Africans will be able to make use of the servers? If population issues are such a worry, why can't international players fill in the gap should there be one?
There is something that I don't understand from Blizzard's side. iGame will host everything with their own resources. So Blizzard doesn't have to pay anything in regards to hosting and upkeep. Why would Blizzard want such an high number of subscribers just to give permission, since they don't lose a lot, or anything for that matter. They also have a lot to gain, because it's likely that they will be able to increase the number of subscribers in SA. It looks more like Blizzard is using that number just as a reason to not give permission.
I play on private servers. With regards to illegalities, it's not really like that...Blizzard has shut a few of them down if they get too big, but they still reach ~1000 players at any given time. You also get Blizzlike realms where everything is just like Blizzard, except for a few bugs.
It is because of idiots like you that Blizzard has a problem giving permission for a local server.Quote:
Originally Posted by Shamrock
I think a local server would be great but it would be hard starting over after 3 years of building up my druid.
An SA server managed by iBurst? I moved away from them because they spoiled my WoW experience in the past. And to be honest, no matter how much of a latency improvement or whatever, it won't feel like an official server. Sounds more like getting permission to run a private server than have official, full-blown Blizzard backing.
Good job to those guys trying to get it done though.
yay sure, just like blizzard, except for few bugs... :rolleyes:Quote:
Originally Posted by Shamrock
/one up for helping us not getting local server.
I would definitely play WoW if there was a local server :)
Agreed, what about in game events? (holidays) surely someone from blizzard must set that up. Dont get me wrong i used to play on the official servers and would like a local official server. But i dont see this going through. And as well since they said "ready in 24 hours" that sounds like an already private server. "Blizzard doesnt have to pay anything" does that mean iBurst is going to charge us on top of WoW billing IF (big if) this does actually fall through?Quote:
Originally Posted by WiT8litZ
Nothing in SA is free.
With all that said kudos to Megarom and Iburst for at least attempting this, but rather try and get a deal for a StarCraft II server :p
me hopes we get one here and cost is realistic
kudos for megarom and iburst for the attempt
Guys
Being involved myself I'll attempt to answer some of the questions.
"Ready in 24 hours" - this in no way, shape or form denotes that we are /have ever been looking into a private server.
We have literally spent months on this, we have hardware ready, we have a full IP range already booked , we have all of the network architecture already in place.( This has all been paid for and pre booked by us , so that we don't have any issues on our side, thereby ensuring that Blizzard could not use delays or implementation timeframes as a further excuse NOT to provide SA with a a server )
This merely sums up , after months of planning and investing in this project , where we stand currently.
We are not asking for permission to host a private server, we are attempting to get Blizzard to see that only by providing local WoW players the same benefits that International players enjoy ( ie Local bandwidth, fast latency ) can they possibly hope to grow the subscriber base in our territory.
Charging - No charges for WoW ( Subscription / Time Cards etc ) will be charged by iBurst or iGame.
All charges and subscriptions will be the same as you pay now to play on an international service.
Witblits - I'm sorry to hear that you were dissatisfied with your experience on WoW using iBurst in the past, I can assure you however with the new dedicated gaming support ( Managed by iGame ) we have been quite successfull in pushing down latencies for most of our subscribers.
Bottom line guys is that we are really trying, spending both time and resources to attempt to get Blizzard to sit up and take notice.
Thanks for clearing Xerowing :)
Try get us a SC II server as well PLEASE!!!!!!! :D
So if u can manage this ill definatly come back to wow :)
But if u do manage to get this, you should try getting gamercards :), i wudnt mind buying from the official SA server hehehe
Thanks for the info Xerowing.
Looks like we had a few Pessimistic Percy's joining the forum in order to have their negative say regarding this topic :)
Would you be able to answer the question at the bottom of my first post, if possible?
Sry Lydon, didn't see it, next time BOLD !
As far as we have been informed , regarding how the system works, All players , from all territories are capable of joining realms, so the SA realm would not be locked down to SA Subscribers only.
In regards to having International players fill the gaps of the local population, Blizzard unfortunately don't think that way, they have set minimums on subscribers and apparently thats just the way it is for now :(
That said though we are trying to get them to start thinking inversely, instead of thinking "Lower than 40 000 = no", to rather look at it from the angle "Lower than 40 000 = How do we build up to that number"
And that would be the start
BTW, if we do manage to get a realm, I'll petition to have it called Xero's Realm of Bunnies and Marshmellows ;)
Thanks for the answer!Quote:
Originally Posted by Xerowing
So I take it the realm would just appear on the realm list like any other realm? I don't see what Blizzard are worried about then...
One more question - will the peering server basically be like a local gateway to Blizzard? In other words would we then stay on our current servers but experience the benefits of local bandwidth and possibly better latency?
We aren;t clear yet as to how realm subdivision will work with a perring realm or full realm in our territory, its one of the pieces of information that we are still waiting on.
From what I've ascertained regarding peering realms, they act basically liek portals, so yes, as far as I am aware at this stage, it does provide the option to connect locally but through the Blizzard network to a realm of your choice
Thanks mate! Now to sit back and hold thumbs!
You hold thumbs, I'll do some more crawling
( LOL's at no one noticing the name of the SA realm :) - Xerowingville here we come ! )
Thanks for answering the questions Xero :)
I just need to know a few things :)
Would character transfers be able to occur from any EU servers to this one? (seems possible just want clarification)
Would Armoury support the players in this new realm? (EU wowarmoury be able to update the players gear etc?)
Would patch day be the same day or is Igame handeling the updates?
Would we need to get copies of the game again? (since all our CD-keys are used already would we need new ones?)
Really would love to play with little or no latency and honestly wouldn't mind starting from scratch. But my biggest worry is buying everything from scratch again :(
Character Transfer woudl work the same way in which it currently works, ie transferring from an EU realm to a EU realm.
The armory support is universal throughout realms
Patches would be same day, as our hardware would be mirroring global servers and realms, we will also be uploading all patches as manual updates on our locally hosted FTP
As character migration or transfer would be possible, I do not see the necessity for new copies or keys
Sorry me again don't you mean transferring from EU realm to a EU realm? since EU can't transfer to US?
Sry yes that was my mistake, lol was busy typing about a US server and :/
Post edited
Well I'm sold... when is it happening! :P
:eek:
Question Xero What would be come of in game events such as xmas easter etc etc?
Edit: Oops never mind didnt read about mirroring servers hehe
I am totally open to this happening, and if it does I will defo give it a shot. My 'pessimistic Percy' opinions are only based on previous Blizzard/South Africa experiences, such as Recruit-a-friend queries, or why no Collector's Editions were shipped here, etc. If you manage to turn them around it would be great, cuz the 7000 official players moaning on official forums havent made a difference I know of so far :)
Brilliant.
Kudos to iGame and Megarom for making the effort. As far as I can tell, you guys have made it as easy for Blizzard as you can to just say "yes".
I honestly never thought I would see the day when we would have a local WoW server, but now I am so excited I can barely contain it :D
Just a few things that pops into mind:
Arena
How will this work if there is only a local server. I assume we will be fighting each other only, so that might cause a problem if there are not enough players, or high level players for that matter.
Battlegrounds
Since the introduction of X-realm battlegrounds in the EU, things have really improved PVP wise.
How would a local server work? We might run into a situation where there just isn't enough players to support all the BG's, causing a lack of honor and gear. Just a thought.
iGame Capacity
How many servers can iGame realistically support locally? If we can get about four servers up and running it would go a long way towards alleviating some of the issues I mentioned earlier.
If we could get some answers about these issues that would be much appreciated :D
We currently have the capcity to host to a maximum of 8 server boxes
( Hardware ), using unrestricted bandwidth allocation to those systems
We don't cap our gaming network
In regards to capacities and certain features and their mimimum successful palyercounts, this is something we will need to address on the lfy I'm afraid as we currently have no idea how many players would switch over to support a local realm or peering realm system.
having International players online on the servers might add to the playercount, although realistically, I don't see too many of those International players joining with high latencies
Awesome news.If I could play on an local official server ,it would make me real Happy :-D
So would all of us I think
But lets not get ahead of ourselves, early days guys , early days
I will try to keep everyone updated as we make progress though
Xerowing, I'm sure you have probably already mentioned this to Blizzard, but just in case you haven't ;)
The Seacom cable will result, we hope, in a broadband explosion for Africa. South Africa is the economical hub of Africa, and establishing a presence in Africa now would be a good move for Blizzard.
If you can punt the idea that not just South Africa, but perhaps countries like Nigeria or other broadband African nations will hop on board, it might just sway Blizzard into an "African" server idea.
I think you need to make it a bigger picture thing for Blizzard. I know for a fact that I would personally get at least five extra people to play official WoW if the server is hosted locally.
This could be huge.
Don't forget Starcraft 2 and Diablo 3. Even though piracy rates are high, having an official local Blizzard server for these three games would convince even the most hardcore of pirate scum to buy the game. Also it'll hopefully force most ISP's to improve their services and bundles to meet the gamer's need.Quote:
Originally Posted by Cloud
Need an African server that's based in South Africa.
i have a lvl 80 humie pally on Bronze Dragonflight EU,and i cant realy pvp with a ping of 600ish...in other words,id migrate 2 an official local server anyday :D
This would be a great sign of confidence in our country if Blizzard came on board, iGame must use the FIFA Worldcup as a marketing enforcement for this.
I would consider joining WoW again when they launch locally just to support the game.
Come on Blizzard, I will be one of your lost subscribers returning and I know a few others as well!
I'd move my mage :) Maybe try convincing my guild to move as well...Dentarg is a bit dead :P
Just to remind everyone, Diablo 3 will have no LAN. In other words: High ping...
Really need to get Blizzard to support South Africa a bit.
I have too many characters to move... I wouldn't wanna move.
If this happens, I'll buy WoW. Ping, the cost of international bandwidth and having to subscription based on pound or euro value have been stumbling blocks for me.
I hope that you are able to make Blizzard see sense.
Aw aren't we all popular and stuff. I find some of the comments and misinformations regarding SA laughable though. Sigh, gota love the foreign :p