ArcheAge is suffering from long queues since the head start. Now the problem is slowly becoming clear: Players simply stay logged in. There is no functioning system to kick AFK players from the server so that others can take their place.
The queue situation in ArcheAge is critical. On the busiest servers, the server is already full by late morning. Anyone planning to log in during prime time can expect several hours of queues. Even in the afternoon, paying players wait long in queues, not to mention free-to-play players.
In the English forum on reddit, it has long become a running gag to refer to ArcheAge only as ArcheQue – in reference to the fantasy epic “A Game of Thrones,” “A Game of Lanes” is also circulating as a nickname.
No functioning idle kick system in ArcheAge
The problem seems to have been identified: The “AFK Detect” system of ArcheAge apparently does not function adequately. As a result, players can bypass an auto-kick from the server that normally takes effect after a certain period. Especially tantalizing: Players who remain on the character selection screen apparently take a spot on the server and ensure that the queues remain excessively long, even though ArcheAge has significantly increased server capacity since the head start.
In this screen, there is no kicking at all, so players can stay logged in while they are in bed or at work and later continue playing without having to join the queue.
Trion Worlds is aware of the problem and wants to improve its “AFK” and “Idle Detect” systems as quickly as possible.
The AFK system in ArcheAge had already been criticized ahead of the release. Patron players regenerate coveted labor points twice as fast when they are online. Free-to-play players only regenerate these labor points while their characters are logged into the game.
As a result, power gamers have decided early on to stay logged in as much as possible, whether they are at the computer or not. Not to mention that this system is harmful to the environment, it is also currently detrimental to the queue situation.
In games of Asian origin, such mechanisms are sometimes found – in some online games, it is possible to set up a kind of stall with the logged-in characters to sell items while the player is not at the computer. Such systems are usually not common in the design of Western games.
More about the sandbox MMO can be found on our ArcheAge topic page.
