Hyperaggressive map closing

[Pheex.8932]

What's up with the 'this map is empty, click this button to transfer to a new ip' message?

 

It seems to pop up at complete random, even in the middle of a HP train where the map is literally FULL it will just pop up.

Then sometimes you transfer to a new map using it, then immediately get the same message again, and 5 minutes later *again*

 

Earlier I was doing the malchors leap jp and met some random people doing it too and we were chatting a bit, just outside was a group of about 25 players waiting for the meta and map chat was busy, then the 'server empty' message pops up and half the group doing the jp just transfered out and the whole social little interaction we all had was ruined and the map had at absolute least, bottom level, more than 40 active players.

 

So.... TL;DR why does it appear SO often and so seemingly aggressively?

[AliamRationem.5172]

The game opens new map instances in response to players flowing into the map and then closes them as players flow out of the map.  Repeatedly seeing this dialogue usually occurs in response to large swings in map population such as you expect to see following a mapwide event that occurs on a set timer.

A specific example of this is Auric Basin.  The octovine event occurs every 2 hours, causing a population ebb and flow.  If you remain on the map following the event, you'll typically see the repeated map closing dialogue as the new map instances that opened as players showed up for the octovine close.

Edited September 16, 2021 by AliamRationem.5172

[Healix.5819]

1 hour ago, Pheex.8932 said:

It seems to pop up at complete random, even in the middle of a HP train where the map is literally FULL it will just pop up.

That's because volunteering doesn't actually mean your map is empty, it means the map(s) that overflowed to create the one you're in has enough room for everyone in your map.

[Dante.1508]

Its usually event groups hordes of people cram into servers to get on the event trains then leave which tells the game its empty and closes.. its really really annoying. especially in HoT..

[Nezekan.2671]

Path of fire maps are really empty. The LS4 ones are fine, but its very rare to not get map closing in PoF every 15 minutes. There is just no reason to be in them unless you are new to the game or have some niche stuff to do in them.

In opposed to HoT maps. I don't remember the last time I got a map closing in Auric Basin.

Edited September 16, 2021 by Nezekan.2671

[SexyMofo.8923]

Poor algorithm. Sometimes the message pops up as soon as I load into the map. I question why it even puts me there in the first place. 

[Gehenna.3625]

What I also hate is that I log into a map with one character and I get the message but I ignore it because I'm just farming a rich node there. So I log out again with that character and go there with a new character that is parked at that node and I get it again. If you want people to volunteer to switch maps...don't let them load into the map you want to empty out.

 

But yeah it happens way too often. My wife goes crazy over this. She's like leave me the f alone because it'll pop up at the most inopportune moments.

[Rod.6581]

I think it also appears even if you are on a full map instance to move you to a map instance with less people in it just to help fill it up. 

[Tyncale.1629]

I sometimes agree to change maps when I think there are a bit too few people around to my taste, and then I come into an even *emptier* map.  I pretty much never opt for the map change anymore.. 

[Witch of Doom.5739]

I'm so sick of this notification.  I seem to get it on every map, every character, every 10 minutes.  ANet, please make it stop.

[kharmin.7683]

It would be more helpful, I think, if people mentioned on which maps they are repeatedly prompted.  I spend a lot of time in core Tyria maps and almost never have this prompt.  If we knew which maps were more consistent with the prompt, maybe that would help Anet design ways to drive more traffic to them?

[Fuchslein.8639]

Yeah this need to have a rework. I once had this after an Potat-Map, we waited and where curios but at the exact minute the canons blew up the Wall, we all got moved to another map ... very fun ... not.

Not to mention the times where i got it 3 oder 4 timesin a row, this kittening dialogue after every map transfer ...

[Zoidberg.9237]

I bet some maps have terrible code and closing them every ~4 hours was their solution to the game ending up in a bad state. Most notably PoF maps.

[ArchonWing.9480]

The worst is when it insists in closing your Guild Hall.

[Dante.1763]

54 minutes ago, ArchonWing.9480 said:

The worst is when it insists in closing your Guild Hall.

I think thats a legacy design decision. The first map can only hold 5, the second 10, then 25, and so on, the maximum amount of players a guild hall map gets bigger each time it closes a map, not sure why it does that tho.

[Xanadrine.4352]

17 hours ago, Pheex.8932 said:

So.... TL;DR why does it appear SO often and so seemingly aggressively?

I have noticed this too, I think its a way to get people to hop to less populated server maps. Not that the one you are in is low pop, but trying to get you to go to low pop. So its like opposite day.

[Dsrtwolf.6503]

So, hanging out in Desert Highlands, doing 'things' and 'stuff', you know, typical day.  Then I get the message to move to the new map, you know, because the map I'm on is currently empty.  So, you go to the 'new map' to find that it is ACTUALLY a NEW MAP.  IE: we just closed a map that had people on it, to open a new map that DID NOT EXIST 5 minutes ago.  'How do I know this' you ask?  The Bounty Boards are empty.  So, now we wait for 15 more minutes to get the Bounty Boards going.  Why would this happen?  Why would you not use the map that actually had people as the 'new map'?  Transferring others to an existing map makes more sense, but it is NOT what happens.

 

This is a broken system that should be looked at.

[Rogue.8235]

I actually like it when it does this.  I farm all the nodes in the vicinity, change maps, and get all new nodes.  Farm those, change map and so on until it doesn't prompt.  You can get a lot of materials without really moving much.

This doesn't affect rich nodes / permanent nodes.  Only the randomly spawning ones.

[DaFishBob.6518]

I remember consistently getting these notifications around meta time in Bjora Marches. I got them while on a map that was going to be successful and the time I switched, I was moved on to a map that was going to fail. That convinced me that this notification was actually Jormag's persuasion.

[Dante.1508]

21 hours ago, SexyMofo.8923 said:

Poor algorithm. Sometimes the message pops up as soon as I load into the map. I question why it even puts me there in the first place. 

I think without it the servers get so laggy i remember before it was like playing in glue.

[Astralporing.1957]

7 hours ago, DaFishBob.6518 said:

I remember consistently getting these notifications around meta time in Bjora Marches. I got them while on a map that was going to be successful and the time I switched, I was moved on to a map that was going to fail. That convinced me that this notification was actually Jormag's persuasion.

It's actually an unintended sideeffect of the map design. There are two meta events there, but there's actually quite a gap between them in which nothing happens (well, a lot of events happen, but those do not interest people that have already obtained achieves for them, because the rewards for them are not that good). So, people finish one meta, and start to leave the map, which ultimately triggers the "map closing" notification - ironically, usually shortly before the second meta starts. And once that popup appears, it usually stays on regardless what happens next, so it will keep reminding you even though the map is populated again and people are doing something.

(originally, once the popup appeared there was nothing to stop the countdown. Nowadays it seems that something got changed, and it can be cancelled, but it requires a really massive population influx, probably well beyond softcap limit)

[DaFishBob.6518]

6 hours ago, Astralporing.1957 said:

It's actually an unintended sideeffect of the map design. There are two meta events there, but there's actually quite a gap between them in which nothing happens (well, a lot of events happen, but those do not interest people that have already obtained achieves for them, because the rewards for them are not that good). So, people finish one meta, and start to leave the map, which ultimately triggers the "map closing" notification - ironically, usually shortly before the second meta starts. And once that popup appears, it usually stays on regardless what happens next, so it will keep reminding you even though the map is populated again and people are doing something.

(originally, once the popup appeared there was nothing to stop the countdown. Nowadays it seems that something got changed, and it can be cancelled, but it requires a really massive population influx, probably well beyond softcap limit)

Oh but this happened to me when we only had the first half of the map, therefore one meta. It felt like those Awakened ambushes that occur in the earlier LS4 episodes. Actually if I recall correctly, I even stayed on the map instance for well over an hour and indeed the popup had been cancelled so it totally felt like a false popup. Coincidence, perhaps, but it's more fun to think it was lore inspired and reminded me to not hit that button so blindly.

[Dean Calaway.9718]

[This message is unwelcomed and was removed.]

Edited September 30, 2021 by Dean Calaway.9718

[kharmin.7683]

11 minutes ago, Dean Calaway.9718 said:

The following is my current experience with the system and the conclusions drawn from such without being intimately familiar with the inner workings of.

Starting with personal examples, too many to list I've picked 4 that should help me draw the picture.

Example 1; Over a ~10 minute period was asked to change shard 4 times.
Example 2; While in a party with one other person, both moved to a different part of the map, each ended on a different shard. Within seconds we were both asked to change shard. After both changing we were still placed in different shards. Joined the other party member manually, minutes after both asked to change shard again.
Example 3; In the same map for 3~4 hours was being asked to change shard every 10~20 minutes. Always accepted, kept being asked.
Example 4; The system asks to change shard, with the announcement the one I'm currently in will close in 60 minutes. When ignored and left on screen the message will go away on its own.

Note: none of the previous examples occurred in or around world events that might cause particular extreme conditions of rapid population changes.

 

 

It might be helpful to detail on which map(s) this happened.  Maybe it is more prone on certain maps than others.  That data might help the devs to troubleshoot?

[Dean Calaway.9718]

[This message is unwelcomed and was removed.]

Edited September 30, 2021 by Dean Calaway.9718