Would you like Anet to add the option to limit download speed in the launcher?

Many people such as myself have a slow internet connection. When a large patch is released, it can be difficult finding a time window to download it in, especially when sharing bandwidth with others on the network. This is where an option to limit download speed can be useful, since you can limit the bandwidth usage to an amount that has minimal effects on your other network activities. This can eliminate the need to arrange an appropriate time window to start downloading, which is especially useful in the case of this game's launcher, since there is no accurate indication as to how large downloads will be. While this makes the download take much longer, it leaves a reasonable amount of bandwidth available for other uses, which is especially useful for people sharing bandwidth with others.Other game launchers such as Blizzard, and Steam have this feature implemented, and I have found it incredibly useful. The purpose of this poll is to get an idea of the percentage of players who would like to see this option in the game's launcher, so that Anet may consider adding it if the the demand high enough.

Hm, my first reaction upon seeing the topic title was "who would want to limit download speed?". Goes to show how spoiled I am with my connection, the situation you describe didn't even occur to me!

It wouldn't be useful for me, but I always support options!

I do not quite understand the problem. I know a slow connection is like having a small pipe that can not deliver the amount of water you would want, e.g. two people taking a shower at once. But you want to limit shower 1 in favour of shower 2, or, you want to control bandwidth in favour for other programs. The question is, still, why would you want to have two people taking a shower at the same time? Or in simple words: Why do you have the launcher/patcher open when you do other bandwidht-hogging things?

I just can speak of a 50 MBit/s (6 MByte/s) downstream connection, but the actual slowdown is when it's being stored into the GW2.dat.The more files, the higher the "natural" slowdown due to writing speed of small files.

@Zedek.8932 said:I do not quite understand the problem. I know a slow connection is like having a small pipe that can not deliver the amount of water you would want, e.g. two people taking a shower at once. But you want to limit shower 1 in favour of shower 2, or, you want to control bandwidth in favour for other programs. The question is, still, why would you want to have two people taking a shower at the same time? Or in simple words: Why do you have the launcher/patcher open when you do other bandwidht-hogging things?

I just can speak of a 50 MBit/s (6 MByte/s) downstream connection, but the actual slowdown is when it's being stored into the GW2.dat.The more files, the higher the "natural" slowdown due to writing speed of small files.

The other network activities performed while the launcher is opened are not necessarily "bandwidth hogging". The purpose of limiting your download speed would be to do other things on the internet that aren't as bandwidth intensive such as web surfing, and playing other games while the download is going. The main situation in which this is useful is when other people are using your slow network as well, and need only a small amount of bandwidth to be able to do what they want on the internet.The situation in question is not so much 2 people showering at the same time as much as it is 1 person showering, and leaving enough hot water for the other to shave.

If you don't have, or know how to use QoS on your router, the easiest option is something like NetLimiter.

@TinkTinkPOOF.9201 said:If you don't have, or know how to use QoS on your router, the easiest option is something like NetLimiter.

I'm aware of these options, but unfortunately, my router does not have QoS, and NetLimiter is only a temporary solution, as it is only free for a trial period.

Perhaps, the 'On Demand' option would work for you.

https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Options#Streaming

Good luck.

I don't need it but it would be a friendly gesture of service from ANet to their fans with slower internet! So I voted yes.I'm glad they have it on Steam, but that's because those new games can take a long time to d/l and I need my daily GW2 fix :)

@Zedek.8932 said:I do not quite understand the problem. I know a slow connection is like having a small pipe that can not deliver the amount of water you would want, e.g. two people taking a shower at once. But you want to limit shower 1 in favour of shower 2, or, you want to control bandwidth in favour for other programs. The question is, still, why would you want to have two people taking a shower at the same time? Or in simple words: Why do you have the launcher/patcher open when you do other bandwidht-hogging things?

I just can speak of a 50 MBit/s (6 MByte/s) downstream connection, but the actual slowdown is when it's being stored into the GW2.dat.The more files, the higher the "natural" slowdown due to writing speed of small files.

Because maybe the OP doesn't live alone and he's not the only person who wants to use the internet.

Because maybe he wants to play GW2 after watching videos from the channels he follows on YouTube so he decides to patch while watching videos.

Because he knows it's going to take a long time to download the patch and he doesn't want to sit and do nothing while it downloads.

While I'm not affected, I wouldn't say no to options being added either.

Just a suggestion to you if you have a slow downloader, leave the downloader on and do something else in the meantime.. chill on the sofa and watch some tv, prepare for dinner, help your kiddos with their homework, walk with your dog outside, do laundry and dishes... well, you get it, ;)

Throttling it makes no sense. I don't know if it's possible, but I would rather they have a feature that saves the download program's progress just in case you disconnect. Heck, even a pause button is more practical.

@Zeivu.3615 said:I don't know if it's possible, but I would rather they have a feature that saves the download program's progress just in case you disconnect. Heck, even a pause button is more practical.I would rather they have an actual measurement of progress to begin with. The current progress bar only measures the percentage of files remaining, which gives you absolutely no indication as to how much data has been downloaded, or how much is remaining. File size varies widely; some are 80KB, some are 80MB, so I don't really understand why they even bother measuring based on file quantity. They need to replace that by showing megabytes remaining instead of files remaining, because as it stands, the current download progress bar tells you nothing relevant about your current download progress.

Lol, whats that please for a one side poll

If you take option 1, you literally say out, that you want a throttling..If you take option 2, you say literally, that you'd have no problems with it, if there woudl exist a throttling..

How about an option 3?

NO, I don't want any form of download speed throttling, Keep it as it is !!!

If you want faster downloads, then get yourself a better ISP. Problem solvedIf your ISPs in your home area can't provide DSL by improving your lines from copper garbage (ADSL) to fibre glas (VDSL) or better FTTH, then get your neighbours together and do somethign together thefore, that in your town/village gets your internet improved by a local ISP.

ISPs do something for improvement of your internet quality only, if they see, that its worth it in a region to invest money into it..A single person who wants better bandwidth won't bring a ISP company to do something. But alot of people, which want together that it gets improved for their region, is something else - together that might eventually bring an ISP to the point, that they will do something for your region to improve the bandwidth that you receive, thus making your downloads faster

Lol, whats that please for a one side poll

If you take option 1, you literally say out, that you want a throttling..If you take option 2, you say literally, that you'd have no problems with it, if there woudl exist a throttling..

How about an option 3?

NO, I don't want any form of download speed throttling, Keep it as it is !!!

If you want faster downloads, then get yourself a better ISP. Problem solvedIf your ISPs in your home area can't provide DSL by improving your lines from copper garbage (ADSL) to fibre glas (VDSL) or better FTTH, then get your neighbours together and do somethign together thefore, that in your town/village gets your internet improved by a local ISP.

ISPs do something for improvement of your internet quality only, if they see, that its worth it in a region to invest money into it..A single person who wants better bandwidth won't bring a ISP company to do something. But alot of people, which want together that it gets improved for their region, is something else - together that might eventually bring an ISP to the point, that they will do something for your region to improve the bandwidth that you receive, thus making your downloads faster

@Orpheal.8263 said:Lol, whats that please for a one side poll

If you take option 1, you literally say out, that you want a throttling..If you take option 2, you say literally, that you'd have no problems with it, if there woudl exist a throttling..

How about an option 3?

NO, I don't want any form of download speed throttling, Keep it as it is !!!

If you want faster downloads, then get yourself a better ISP. Problem solvedIf your ISPs in your home area can't provide DSL by improving your lines from copper garbage (ADSL) to fibre glas (VDSL) or better FTTH, then get your neighbours together and do somethign together thefore, that in your town/village gets your internet improved by a local ISP.

ISPs do something for improvement of your internet quality only, if they see, that its worth it in a region to invest money into it..A single person who wants better bandwidth won't bring a ISP company to do something. But alot of people, which want together that it gets improved for their region, is something else - together that might eventually bring an ISP to the point, that they will do something for your region to improve the bandwidth that you receive, thus making your downloads faster

Faster Internet isn't always realistic:

1. Not everyone can afford it
2. Fast internet isn't available in all locations of the world

People want options to throttle their download speed for GW2 for a variety of valid reasons. See previous posts by me and others.

@Orpheal.8263 said:If you want faster downloads, then get yourself a better ISP. Problem solvedIf your ISPs in your home area can't provide DSL by improving your lines from copper garbage (ADSL) to fibre glas (VDSL) or better FTTH, then get your neighbours together and do somethign together thefore, that in your town/village gets your internet improved by a local ISP.

ISPs do something for improvement of your internet quality only, if they see, that its worth it in a region to invest money into it..A single person who wants better bandwidth won't bring a ISP company to do something. But alot of people, which want together that it gets improved for their region, is something else - together that might eventually bring an ISP to the point, that they will do something for your region to improve the bandwidth that you receive, thus making your downloads faster

You propose a pretty massive community project for the purpose of achieving a commodity that is often deemed insignificant by those who choose to live in secluded areas. Yes, an obvious demand for improved lines would make ISP companies consider making the investment, but your scenario seems pretty idealistic. It relies on first, someone having the time, and the will to go through such a huge effort as organizing their whole community to petition their ISP provider, and second, a sufficient portion of the community agreeing to support such an effort.

You have to account for the fact that many people who live in areas in which bandwidth is scarce do so with no need for faster bandwidth, and therefore have no desire to pay the extra fees that come with a faster line, much less go through the effort of petitioning for it. Additionally, most of these areas don't even have a sufficiently dense population for ISP companies to profit from upgrading their lines. All in all, while many people who need a fast internet connection do find themselves living in secluded, bandwidth limited areas, the majority of such areas' population is unlikely to make a sufficient effort to petition for an upgrade.

Additionally, you assume that people with a better internet package available to them can afford to pay for it. Most people only have a slow internet connection because they can't afford a better one. Adding a small feature such as bandwidth throttling (which is becoming standard in major game launchers) is a simple, free solution.

@Orpheal.8263 said:Lol, whats that please for a one side poll

If you take option 1, you literally say out, that you want a throttling..If you take option 2, you say literally, that you'd have no problems with it, if there woudl exist a throttling..

How about an option 3?

NO, I don't want any form of download speed throttling, Keep it as it is !!!

As for why I don't have the poll choice to object to a throttling option, I ask you this: why would you object to adding this option? By definition, an option is a feature that's use is optional to you. No one is forcing you to use it. The addition of this option has absolutely no impact on you if it's not a benefit. The reason there is no third option, is because there is no logical reason for choosing it. A third option would only be appropriate if the poll was for a piece of game content that can actually have negative effects on you. Why would you deny people a small beneficial feature that doesn't hurt you?The questions only compare the number of players that need this feature to the number of those that are unaffected by it. These are the only questions because since the feature in question has no negative impacts, they are the only ones with reasonable answers. The purpose of the poll is not to take opposing view points. The poll was made simply to determine the percentage of players that need this option added as opposed to those that don't so that Anet could decide whether a high enough percentage of players need this to be worth implementing. I don't see how that could be considered one sided.

I have a slow connection and I just make sure to get the patch when no one else is on and I leave it alone so I'm not playing on the internet and slowing it down. You get it over with faster. Like ripping off a bandaid.

@Drecien.4508 said:I have a slow connection and I just make sure to get the patch when no one else is on and I leave it alone so I'm not playing on the internet and slowing it down. You get it over with faster. Like ripping off a bandaid.

Yes, that is the most common course of action, and it is the most effective in most cases. But consider the situations in which a throttler would be better.Let's say you wait for everyone to go to bed, and you start the download then. Yes, this is usually the best way to go about it, but what if the patch is too large to complete in a single night? If you're not the first to wake up and stop it, the others on your network are going to have problems. Also, what if the patch is rather small, or medium sized, and you don't want to wait until everyone is off to be able to download it?In many instances of a shared bandwidth, it can be difficult, sometimes impossible to find a window in which to download a patch.

@Zeivu.3615 said:Throttling it makes no sense. I don't know if it's possible, but I would rather they have a feature that saves the download program's progress just in case you disconnect. Heck, even a pause button is more practical.

You can stop the download at any time, for any reason, and it will pick back up where it left off. Don't be fooled by the percent marker resetting to zero. That just shows how many files have downloaded in that session. The number of files remaining will show you that you didn't lose any progress by stopping/disconnection/etc.

Good luck.

@Dhuum.3427 said:

@TinkTinkPOOF.9201 said:If you don't have, or know how to use QoS on your router, the easiest option is something like

NetLimiter.

An honest effort at googling would turn up several cost-free software options.

@Inculpatus cedo.9234 said:

@Zeivu.3615 said:Throttling it makes no sense. I don't know if it's possible, but I would rather they have a feature that saves the download program's progress just in case you disconnect. Heck, even a pause button is more practical.

Um, yeah, that's not how it works in all areas. I visited family in Seattle when PoF went live. Their ISP was terrible and would reset all the files from the beginning every time it dropped. The client would get pissy and refuse to continue downloading after it went back on. It wasn't an issue anywhere else, but then again, where I live normally it isn't an issue with constant ISP.

Um, yeah, that's how it works. If you had some strange occurrence somewhere, that was an anomaly.

@Inculpatus cedo.9234 said:Um, yeah, that's how it works. If you had some strange occurrence somewhere, that was an anomaly.

Apparently, that isn't how it works everywhere and is still an issue for people out there..

If your router supports QOS (most do) you can prioritise differant types of traffic for differant applications, so you could limit how much download bandwidh GW2 can use.Have a read https://www.howtogeek.com/75660/the-beginners-guide-to-qos-on-your-router/

@Dhuum.3427 said:

@TinkTinkPOOF.9201 said:If you don't have, or know how to use QoS on your router, the easiest option is something like

NetLimiter.

Buy the paid version.