The New Servers Are Coming!
All of you Age III fans might want to sit down, because we’ve got some big news: We’re upgrading to new servers for Age of Empires III! This is happening very soon, and you can jump in to help beta test the new servers! The beta test for the new servers will begin on Friday, February 5 at 12:00 PM PST.
Want more info? Allow me to break it down!
Why the upgrade?
Way back in September, we promised to bring our servers up to modern standards. The hardware that’s been hosting Age III has been near the end of its life cycle for a while, and this has caused problems for our dedicated player base. We knew it was time to move on to server hardware that worked with more modern systems; it was just a matter of finding the right tools for the job!
What will this fix?
Primarily, this will fix the stability issues that have been caused by our aging hardware, so the ESO service should be much more reliable. That’s not all, though! There are a host of other issues that this upgrade will address, including making it much less difficult to recover lost passwords.
How will it affect me?
For the most part, it won’t. It will take a few weeks to fully implement the transition, but you’ll still be able to play online during that time; we will continue to run the old servers during the upgrade, and schedule specific uptimes to beta test the new servers as we get rolling.
However—and this is important—all statistics from matches played during the transition will be wiped at the end of the transition! This means that whatever your ELO/PR is at noon on February 5, that’s what it will be once we complete the upgrade (no matter how many times you win or lose in the interim). This is true for BOTH the old and the new servers! Whether you opt in to beta test the new servers or remain on the old servers during the transition, we’ll be turning back the clock on the player data once we’re done.
How can I help? (a.k.a. “SWITCH ME NOW”)
We will need players to test the servers and make sure they’re really up to snuff. We will begin the beta at 12:00 PST on Friday, February 5. The beta test will last a few weeks; we’ll announce a more solid end date once we see how things are going with the beta.
SIGN UP NOW!
To join the beta test, simply enter your name and email below (link below). You will receive a confirmation email containing instructions for joining the new server once our test period begins. We will also shoot you a brief reminder each time a new test session begins, and a final email at the end of the beta.
Thanks to everyone for their help! We can’t wait to make our game and our community even more awesome!
Here’s a handy little infographic depicting the plan:
Written by Joe Homes (Microsoft team) February 3, 2016 -->(https://www.ageofempires.com/news/2016/0 ... beta-test/)