Life is Feudal Official Forum

[HahlgrimtheThane]

DO LIFYO Servers have a Lifespan or are they actually persistant?


By this I am wondering if the database for LIFYO servers actually have an expected lifespan before they fail.


Cheers,

[TheHelleri]

Servers do get wiped eventually. Even so called Never wipe servers. About every 3-6 months there is an update that necessitates a server wiping in order to receive and implement a major update (most updates and hot fixes don't do this. They will let you know in the patch notes if it's necessary). Often servers may wipe before this because of severe lag factors built up over time or because player politics has created a toxic atmosphere or play has gotten stale and people need a fresh start.

Sometimes servers also start up and just kind of fall flat after short run, disappearing, never to be seen again. Maybe the Admin is a first timer who was never even as much as a GM on a previous server and has bitten off more than they can chew with running a server of their own. Maybe the server Admin/owner runs into financial issues and there are not enough people contributing.

Ultimately it is a dice roll on how long a server will last or if it will come back after a wipe. Some don;t but many are on their 3rd, 4th, 5th, or even 6th incarnation.

It's best to ask older players on a server and especially GM's and Admins a lot of questions before deciding to really get into a server. And it's a good personal policy not to get too attached to your builds or characters. Because none of it is permanent. But each time you begin again you will find that you've gotten faster and better at starting up.

It usually only takes me (after just under 1500 hours of play) about 3-4 days to have a character and a claim that would take a brand new player weeks if not months to establish. At this point I actually look forward to wipes because it means I get to try and best myself and take new approaches.

One helpful thing for knowing how long a server is into it's cycle is to look for a date in the title, often accompanied by the word fresh or the phrase last wiped. You can generally expect at least 3 months continuous run time. But it often depends on how close we are to a major update.

[Brother]

The post above is so comprehensive and well written I almost didn't bother to respond. I help run RPCLiF (on its 10th iteration since June, 2015) and can confirm everything TheHelleri mentioned. Our longest iteration lasted a little over four months and our shortest wiped around the one month mark.

[Elgar]

Well, our server was almost one year old when our admin had to restart it from scratch, not because there was an issue with the server itself, but because the private PC on which the server was hosted died brutally.

The new server is now currently almost five months old and no wipe is planned at all, so I guess it will last a long time again.

So, I guess that what TheHelleri said is true for the majority of servers, but it's not a rule for every server.

About every 3-6 months there is an update that necessitates a server wiping in order to receive and implement a major update (most updates and hot fixes don't do this. They will let you know in the patch notes if it's necessary).

Any example of this please ? I'm curious, because I searched into the patch notes archives and I didn't find anything. Even with the last major update (new 64-bit engine) no wipe was necessary.

[HahlgrimtheThane]

HI All,

Thanks TheHelleri for that comprehensive reply to my question.

That was fairly similar to my own experiences. I have been hosting a LIF:YO server since July 2015 and I think it is on the 6-7th iteration now. The last one only lasted a month, but mostly seem to last around 3-4 months before an update or database issue requires a complete refresh.

I'm looking forward to building up a new character and perhaps trying a different location on the map, haha.

Cheers

[Elgar]

before an update or database issue requires a complete refresh.

Again, any specific example of an update which required a wipe ? And which kind of database issue ?

It's a genuine question. Don't get me wrong, I believe you guys, I'm just really curious because we didn't get these two scenarios (update which requires a wipe, or database issue which requires a wipe). So I'm a bit worried now ha ha.

[Brother]

The only patch that actually required a wipe was the dx11 patch in late 2015 iirc. A few other patches have "converted" skill trees and altered game files to the extent that a wipe - although not required - was the practical solution for a lot of admins.

Keep in mind the game is also a lot more stable now since the 64-bit update. We used to be forced to wipe our server after being full for 2-3 months because of almost constant clientside memory crashes. The server population is definitely a factor in longevity.

[TheHelleri]

@Elgar
I must be mistaken. I've never been a GM or Admin. Most of what I know comes from play experience and being told. I seem to recall having been told that one update or another required a wipe. But it seems likely I misread what I was told. It may be the case that bigger updates just coincided with a planned wipe or that taking into account an update with other issues made a wipe make the most sensible thing to do.


Now there is something else regarding servers, a players use of them, and updates that should be mentioned here as a helpful note which may help to save on some confusion for newer players.

Occasionally what may happen is you will receive an update for the client, go to play the game, and won't be able to see your server in the list. You may even see friends online who you know play on that server and are shown as in-game. but not yourself be able to see that server.

I've been told (correct me if I'm wrong). that this is due to your version of the game and the version the server is running being out of alignment. As in you got the update. But the server has yet to receive it.

The other players who seem to be on the server that is invisible to you are there because they've not restarted their client (in order to receive the update as well) since the update became available.

So sometimes you won't be able to see the server you play on for a while. But no need to panic. It will be visible again (though I've had to wait as much as 8 or 9 hours in the past when this has happened to me before). It's just a matter of whomever doing whatever they need to do, getting on that eventually.

[Elgar]

@Elgar
I must be mistaken. I've never been a GM or Admin. Most of what I know comes from play experience and being told. I seem to recall having been told that one update or another required a wipe. But it seems likely I misread what I was told. It may be the case that bigger updates just coincided with a planned wipe or that taking into account an update with other issues made a wipe make the most sensible thing to do.

Yes, in my experience, wipes are almost always decided by the admin and the players in order to take a fresh start again, not because a wipe is actually required. As Brother said above, since November 2015 (end of Early Access and official release) no patch required a wipe.

Now there is something else regarding servers, a players use of them, and updates that should be mentioned here as a helpful note which may help to save on some confusion for newer players.

Occasionally what may happen is you will receive an update for the client, go to play the game, and won't be able to see your server in the list. You may even see friends online who you know play on that server and are shown as in-game. but not yourself be able to see that server.

I've been told (correct me if I'm wrong). that this is due to your version of the game and the version the server is running being out of alignment. As in you got the update. But the server has yet to receive it.

The other players who seem to be on the server that is invisible to you are there because they've not restarted their client (in order to receive the update as well) since the update became available.

So sometimes you won't be able to see the server you play on for a while. But no need to panic. It will be visible again (though I've had to wait as much as 8 or 9 hours in the past when this has happened to me before). It's just a matter of whomever doing whatever they need to do, getting on that eventually.

You're absolutely right. Good reminder, because it often confuses new players.