Suggestion: Randomize update time.

by **Aglrinia** » Thu Apr 03, 2014 4:25 pm

I live in the Eastern Time Zone (UTC-05:00)

Where I live update times are at 12:00am, and 12:00pm. I think it's fairly safe for me to say the Eastern Time Zone is a highly populated time zone. So people in the time zone can participate in maybe one update; however, I doubt they're able to participate in both.

Therefore I would like to suggest that the update time be changed once a month. To open up the window to those who currently aren't able to participate in the window. If they don't like it one month then they can simply wait for the next month.

by **The United Remnants of America** » Thu Apr 03, 2014 4:30 pm

A nice idea.

But you do know that takes time to program, right? More than Max or any of his friends would think is necessary?

by **Zaldakki** » Thu Apr 03, 2014 4:35 pm

Maybe not random, but like the number of the month, in UTC time:

by **Consular** » Thu Apr 03, 2014 5:06 pm

Urgh no. It's easier if the update time is constant. My memory is dodgy enough as it is without having to keep track of a changing time.

by **Parhe** » Thu Apr 03, 2014 5:08 pm

Aglrinia wrote:I live in the Eastern Time Zone (UTC-05:00)

Where I live update times are at 12:00am, and 12:00pm. I think it's fairly safe for me to say the Eastern Time Zone is a highly populated time zone. So people in the time zone can participate in maybe one update; however, I doubt they're able to participate in both.

Therefore I would like to suggest that the update time be changed once a month. To open up the window to those who currently aren't able to participate in the window. If they don't like it one month then they can simply wait for the next month.

I like it being based around Central. >.> Well at least for part of the year it occurs around 12 local time. Not sure if the whole year.

by **Cyyro** » Thu Apr 03, 2014 5:10 pm

Parhe wrote:
Aglrinia wrote:I live in the Eastern Time Zone (UTC-05:00)

Where I live update times are at 12:00am, and 12:00pm. I think it's fairly safe for me to say the Eastern Time Zone is a highly populated time zone. So people in the time zone can participate in maybe one update; however, I doubt they're able to participate in both.

Therefore I would like to suggest that the update time be changed once a month. To open up the window to those who currently aren't able to participate in the window. If they don't like it one month then they can simply wait for the next month.

I like it being based around Central. >.> Well at least for part of the year it occurs around 12 local time. Not sure if the whole year.

I like it being based on whatever time I am using.

by **Merconitonitopia** » Thu Apr 03, 2014 10:47 pm

Consular wrote:Urgh no. It's easier if the update time is constant. My memory is dodgy enough as it is without having to keep track of a changing time.

This.

by **Enfaru** » Fri Apr 04, 2014 3:42 am

The United Remnants of America wrote:A nice idea.

But you do know that takes time to program, right? More than Max or any of his friends would think is necessary?

It's...simpler than you might think. I'll assume for the moment that the update time is hard-coded. If there's more than 10 lines of code being added, someone isn't using the inbuilt rand() function. Only one number has to be randomized, preferably the hour...which would work hand in hand with the date function. (Assuming either PHP or Microsofts aspx...geh)

Edit: @consular

It'd make the military game more fun if update is random, because then you know that you really have to work at it for a long amount of time (perhaps up to 24 hours). The feeling of success comes from hardwork :twisted:

. Not just, oh I gamed the system and there was no real effort involved just a quirk of time.

by **Nephmir** » Fri Apr 04, 2014 4:07 am

No, randomizing the update time would cause a shift away from military Gameplay. Quite the contrary to the efforts of the admin to encourage its growth.

by **Sichuan Pepper** » Fri Apr 04, 2014 3:46 pm

A similar idea was suggested during the R / D / N summit.
I imagine it was discarded due to either player objections or not worth coding....but if you are interested it will be buried somewhere in that section of the forum.

by **Aglrinia** » Fri Apr 04, 2014 4:20 pm

Sichuan Pepper wrote:A similar idea was suggested during the R / D / N summit.
I imagine it was discarded due to either player objections or not worth coding....but if you are interested it will be buried somewhere in that section of the forum.

Let's look at the time zones.

UTC+12 - Update Time = 5am/pm
UTC+11 - Update Time = 4am/pm
UTC+10 - Update Time = 3am/pm
UTC+9 - Update Time = 2am/pm
UTC+8 - Update Time = 1am/pm
UTC+7 - Update Time = 12am/pm
UTC+6 - Update Time = 11am/pm
UTC+5 - Update Time = 10am/pm
UTC+4 - Update Time = 9am/pm
UTC+3 - Update Time = 8am/pm
UTC+2 - Update Time = 7am/pm
UTC+1 - Update Time = 6am/pm
UTC 0 - Update Time = 5am/pm
UTC-1 - Update Time = 4am/pm
UTC-2 - Update Time = 3am/pm
UTC-3 - Update Time = 2am/pm
UTC-4 - Update Time = 1am/pm
UTC-5 - Update Time = 12am/pm
UTC-6 - Update Time = 11am/pm
UTC-7 - Update Time = 10am/pm
UTC-8 - Update Time = 9am/pm
UTC-9 - Update Time = 8am/pm
UTC-10 - Update Time = 7am/pm
UTC-11 Update Time = 6am/pm
UTC-12 Update Time = 5am/pm

Nations in time zones UTC-1 UTC-2, UTC-3, UTC-4,UTC-5, UTC-6 and UTC+11, UTC+10, UTC+9, UTC+8, UTC+7, UTC+6 all have to choose between either one update or sacrifice their sleep schedule if they wish to be able to make both updates.

by **Land filled with People** » Fri Apr 04, 2014 5:08 pm

As I've mentioned previously, I like the idea of a rolling update scheme. It would enable other people to get involved and give everybody a chance to participate in update missions.

As it is; update already shifts by one or two hours (depending on if you have DST) twice a year for everybody not in America, I see this idea as just an expansion of that.

by **Nephmir** » Fri Apr 04, 2014 5:43 pm

Land filled with People wrote:As I've mentioned previously, I like the idea of a rolling update scheme. It would enable other people to get involved and give everybody a chance to participate in update missions.

As it is; update already shifts by one or two hours (depending on if you have DST) twice a year for everybody not in America, I see this idea as just an expansion of that.

Ah, I never thought about what happened in other time zones when day light savings took effect. That's quite interesting, having a shift in update time at a few points in the year.

by **Wind in the Willows** » Fri Apr 04, 2014 7:48 pm

This is actually a very good idea.

by **Consular** » Sat Apr 05, 2014 8:24 pm

Land filled with People wrote:As I've mentioned previously, I like the idea of a rolling update scheme. It would enable other people to get involved and give everybody a chance to participate in update missions.

As it is; update already shifts by one or two hours (depending on if you have DST) twice a year for everybody not in America, I see this idea as just an expansion of that.

Yes, and that daylight savings change is already annoying enough without expanding it further.

by **Anur-Sanur** » Sat Apr 05, 2014 11:29 pm

This isn't happening.

Many GPers are on EST, if you can't make it, you just don't care enough.

A rolling update would be destructive to GP, and anyone who has ever tried to organize anything GP related would understand that.

Either stay up or work the minor, or find another way to be useful, but the update needs to happen at a reliable time or else planning update operations and getting new people interested will become too great a difficulty for any meaningful GP to occur with regularity.

by **Feuer Ritter** » Sun Apr 06, 2014 7:44 am

Anur-Sanur wrote:This isn't happening.

Many GPers are on EST, if you can't make it, you just don't care enough.

A rolling update would be destructive to GP, and anyone who has ever tried to organize anything GP related would understand that.

Either stay up or work the minor, or find another way to be useful, but the update needs to happen at a reliable time or else planning update operations and getting new people interested will become too great a difficulty for any meaningful GP to occur with regularity.

I agree, planning large update operations it's not easy, this will create chaosand affect GP badly.

by **Lucipurr** » Sun Apr 06, 2014 9:48 am

This would certainly annoy the raiders and the defenders.

by **Parhe** » Sun Apr 06, 2014 9:49 am

Lucipurr wrote:This would certainly annoy the raiders and the defenders.

Suddenly I feel I would enjoy it.

by **Lucipurr** » Sun Apr 06, 2014 9:53 am

Parhe wrote:
Lucipurr wrote:This would certainly annoy the raiders and the defenders.

Suddenly I feel I would enjoy it.

I would enjoy annoying them as well.

by **Improving Wordiness** » Sun Apr 06, 2014 11:57 am

Too bad it would not annoy me at all

The idea was shot down at the R / D / N summit but if you all want to pursue it I am fine with rolling updates.

by **Todd McCloud** » Sun Apr 06, 2014 5:20 pm

The United Remnants of America wrote:A nice idea.

But you do know that takes time to program, right? More than Max or any of his friends would think is necessary?

I seem to remember this was kind of how it used to be with update times. We'd have a rough estimate, but it could be give or take 10 minutes. Then they streamlined it, then they straight-up announced it.

by **Land filled with People** » Mon Apr 07, 2014 12:38 am

Anur-Sanur wrote:Many GPers are on EST, if you can't make it, you just don't care enough.

Yes and many do not live in EST. In fact, many do not even live in the US. Does one not care enough solely because you have work/school at 3pm and need to sleep at 3am?

Anur-Sanur wrote:A rolling update would be destructive to GP, and anyone who has ever tried to organize anything GP related would understand that.

Either stay up or work the minor, or find another way to be useful, but the update needs to happen at a reliable time or else planning update operations and getting new people interested will become too great a difficulty for any meaningful GP to occur with regularity.

This is @Feuer as well.
How would this be destructive? It's not like a rolling update would be random. It would, you know, roll around. So if you're planning an op for February, and update is happening at 12am/pm in January, then you know update would happen at 1am/pm in February.

Why should some people be confined to "find[ing] another way to be useful" solely because they happen to have a schedule, or live in a timezone, that doesn't provide them with a 'nice' update time? A rolling update would enable everybody to be an updater.

by **Shizensky** » Mon Apr 07, 2014 2:07 pm

It would also give some of us a break every once in a while