Posted this here:
Got a generic copy/paste response.
Responded about what’s actually needed instead of those types of responses.
Was redirected to an Amazon KB explaining how to submit feedback. (Hint: It’s literally just coming to the feedback section of the forums…)
So I’m posting this here now.
This is a widespread issue that is persistently and systemically plaguing most players in an entire region.
The issue lasted several hours and was very persistent/aggressive/frequent in instances.
This is not a clientside issue.
This is a serverside/infrastructure issue.
We need on-hand support staff that can react to events like this, communicate to players that it’s known/understood/being worked on, during the timeframe it’s relevant, and also fix it.
We do not need super generic copy-paste troubleshooting ad hoc per user that assumes there’s something clientside to be resolved when that’s clearly not the case.
When we have something like what we had yesterday, where for several hours tons of players on NAE were experiencing almost nonstop disconnections, EAC errors, etc, we NEED a much better response and internal process/workflow from AGS.
You need a situation manager/incident manager.
You need staff available 24/7 who are monitoring infrastructure / forums / player reports.
You need a workflow for “We found out about something big that’s happening, so here’s what we’re going to do about it now”
You need to be providing updates, with regular cadence, to players regarding ongoing issues.
Example: https://twitter.com/MSFT365Status / https://status.office365.com/
Everything that goes into a typical ITSM ticketing system for an incident should be rolled up into a suitably customer facing update.
When did this start, what’s broken, who is it affecting, what’s happening right now to fix it, when will more updates happen, what’s the expected timeline for resolution, etc.
The fact that such a huge issue can go on yesterday, and not a peep, not a single word from AGS through any official channels, is totally mindblowing to me.
Referencing yesterday, and these types of issues in general, I’d pose the following questions to AGS:
- Does AGS think that widespread disconnections that are above and beyond our current/normal levels that we’re already suffering through are noteworthy/significant/represent an issue that needs immediate attention?
- Does AGS think that players should be informed about these issues when they become known and internally tracked with remediation efforts ongoing?
If yes - Why are you not setting yourselves up for success here? This is not new territory. Countless competitors and peers in the industry are already doing these types of things as a relatively seamless process, as a baseline offering to their customers, with no special prompting or prodding necessary.
If no - Why? Explain the rationale behind why you don’t feel this is necessary or prudent or due to your customers.