Beta download, no torrents Cryptic please!

[Morgomir]

In the past some beta's I have participated in required you to download the beta client through torrents, like BitTorrent and other stuff like that. The problem with this is that it can take up to 3 days or more to download. Mythic did this during their beta and it caused alot of really unnecessary trouble the best way to do it is by hosting the download off the site or anywhere but a Torrent. Torrents are confusing and take forever and just they **** me and alot of other people off every time they are required to download a beta. So just hoping Cryptic heeds this warning, Torrents arent fun, the websites say they are easy to use but the last time I used one it was frustrating as hell.

[HittingSmoke]

In the past some beta's I have participated in required you to download the beta client through torrents, like BitTorrent and other stuff like that. The problem with this is that it can take up to 3 days or more to download. Mythic did this during their beta and it caused alot of really unnecessary trouble the best way to do it is by hosting the download off the site or anywhere but a Torrent. Torrents are confusing and take forever and just they **** me and alot of other people off every time they are required to download a beta. So just hoping Cryptic heeds this warning, Torrents arent fun, the websites say they are easy to use but the last time I used one it was frustrating as hell.

Well I hate to be "that guy" but if you can't figure out how to use a torrent client then testing probably isn't for you. Beta isn't about just having fun, it's about working out bugs.

Using torrent based download and updates would take a massive strain off of Cryptic's servers. A good example would be when CO open beta launched I heard there was a big mess with massive amounts of people trying to download at once. Getting torrents to properly work is a simple matter of setting up your firewall correctly.

However since they didn't do it with CO I don't see them doing it with STO. It is the best option though.

[Archangelwoghd]

I have no problem working with torrents personally, if that's what Cryptic decides to do, but I don't like them. I think the original poster represents a MAJOR fraction of internet gamers. Torrents quite frankly are a pain in the aft compartment, and I hope Cryptic shys away from them.

[TheGow]

I love torrent, it's not THAT hard to figure out. And I have downloaded gigs in a matter of hours with it.

[LordDave]

Your torrents are probably slow because you don't have the proper ports open.

[andrewprofit]

I disagree make the beta download a one file self executing, extracting read only ftp download even if its going to be a peer 2 peer download like wow. If they do go third party I hope they pick a good one. Steam and stardock seem to just work.

[Rota]

I have no problem working with torrents personally, if that's what Cryptic decides to do, but I don't like them. I think the original poster represents a MAJOR fraction of internet gamers. Torrents quite frankly are a pain in the aft compartment, and I hope Cryptic shys away from them.

I just plain don't trust torrents or torrent downloaders. I think they're a tool for pirates/hackers, not legitimate business.

Yes I know that's not 100% true. There are legit users of torrent and hackers that use other tools.
The "hacker" vibe of torrent is merely my impression. If I'm lucky enough to be chosen, I'll still participate in beta if I must go get a torrent downloader. I would just prefer not to.

[osena]

most likey it be fileplanet not too worryed

[jblancato]

We haven't used torrents to distribute our game clients in the past, and likely won't in the future. We are, however, always looking for ways to improve the way we get the game to our customers.

[eqfan592]

They should just offer it on fileplanet and on torrent, that way everybody is happy. :)

[eqfan592]

We haven't used torrents to distribute our game clients in the past, and likely won't in the future. We are, however, always looking for ways to improve the way we get the game to our customers.

Thanks for the input Rekhan. And may I say that you've REALLY been on the ball today! Super fast responses! Thanks for that. :)

[BaakCha]

We haven't used torrents to distribute our game clients in the past, and likely won't in the future. We are, however, always looking for ways to improve the way we get the game to our customers.

Try using those tubes the internets are supposed to be made up of that I keep hearing about.

[Morgomir]

Fileplanet is just fine, I think thats what Mythic did when all the negativity arose from the horrendously large torrent DL time for WAR. comparing DLing from fileplanet to a torrent, the difference level of confusion between the two is huge.

[Archangelwoghd]

Fileplanet will do nicely.
Thanks Rekhan, you're the best!

[Kriss]

Wow,....all these people shooting out these "things they heard or believe" about torrents yet they claim they have never used them or they don't understand them and can't figure them out.

Just so you ignorant people know, torrents are the BEST way to send out and DL HUGE files over very large numbers of people. At the beginning the rates will be slow because people need to DL and re-seed the torrent.
But as more seeder get in the loop you can literally DL gigs of info in an hour.

If you have problems with DLing like that you plainly don't know what you are doing and have never bothered to ask how to fix it. Don't judge something because you don't know how to use something or have never used it to begin with.

The term to describe actions like that would be called "ignorance'.

[HittingSmoke]

I just plain don't trust torrents or torrent downloaders. I think they're a tool for pirates/hackers, not legitimate business.

Yes I know that's not 100% true. There are legit users of torrent and hackers that use other tools.
The "hacker" vibe of torrent is merely my impression. If I'm lucky enough to be chosen, I'll still participate in beta if I must go get a torrent downloader. I would just prefer not to.

Attitudes like this slow down progress :(

P2P is just another internet protocol. By your logic the HTTP protocol and browsers are just a tool for people to access porn. That is the majority of content on the internet isn't it?

[Rota]

Attitudes like this slow down progress :(

P2P is just another internet protocol. By your logic the HTTP protocol and browsers are just a tool for people to access porn. That is the majority of content on the internet isn't it?

I fully admitted I wasn't right. The pirate/hacker thing is just a "vibe" I get.

I didn't trust paypal when I first heard of it many years ago. They earned a reputation as a good company and thus earned my trust, and torrent can too. It just hasn't yet. I have not discounted torrent totally forever. There's no need to get defensive

[thefrayl]

They should just offer it on fileplanet and on torrent, that way everybody is happy. :)

I support this post.

Fileplanet works extremely well for me... IMO, the download speeds can't be beat 99% of the time.

But it would be nice to distribute via torrent as well, for anyone who doesn't experience the same performance with Fileplanet that I do.

I say the more options, the better.

[Banar]

Using both methods would also lessen the demands on the download servers and most likely increase download speed across the board. I'd expect maybe a 1/4 or 1/3 minority would use the torrent method, which would still be plenty to gain some fast download speeds that way... while also bringing the strain on the normal method down below that certain threshold that always seems to completely ruin the process.

This is also a good thing for large patches... hint hint ;)

[The.Grand.Nagus]

Well I hate to be "that guy" but if you can't figure out how to use a torrent client then testing probably isn't for you.

First, LMAO! Second, I agree completely :D

[mach789]

If they go the same way they distributed the Champions Online beta, everything will be A-okay. Nice small client to download and install, then let the client do all the work. Nice and neat and always got max speed.

[Morgomir]

Well I hate to be "that guy" but if you can't figure out how to use a torrent client then testing probably isn't for you. Beta isn't about just having fun, it's about working out bugs.

Using torrent based download and updates would take a massive strain off of Cryptic's servers. A good example would be when CO open beta launched I heard there was a big mess with massive amounts of people trying to download at once. Getting torrents to properly work is a simple matter of setting up your firewall correctly.

However since they didn't do it with CO I don't see them doing it with STO. It is the best option though.

actually testing and playing in the beta really has nothing to do with how I feel about torrents, just because I find them frustrating and over complicated doesnt mean I cant properly test a game.

[GMQue]

We haven't used torrents to distribute our game clients in the past, and likely won't in the future. We are, however, always looking for ways to improve the way we get the game to our customers.

Torrent never has been an acceptable method of downloading.

[Mystyrys]

We haven't used torrents to distribute our game clients in the past, and likely won't in the future. We are, however, always looking for ways to improve the way we get the game to our customers.

It may be "old school" now, but when I did the Earth & Beyond beta, they mailed me a beta disc. :)

[Banar]

If they go the same way they distributed the Champions Online beta, everything will be A-okay. Nice small client to download and install, then let the client do all the work. Nice and neat and always got max speed.

I get the impression you weren't around for the first few days of the open beta ;) The normal download methods are limited when it comes to masses of people attempting to download at once. I believe World of Warcraft's patcher uses P2P, considering the sheer numbers involved it might be extremely difficult to cope with all those people attempting to patch at once using a direct download method.

[cjgriffith]

They should just offer it on fileplanet and on torrent, that way everybody is happy. :)

Heck no! Torrents can be very risky. FilePlanet? We shouldn't have to pay to download the game at reasonable speeds. There are plenty of free file hosting sites out there that offer good download speeds.

[madhatr]

Torrent is the best way to download large files. With the proper client and the right settings for your internet connection it's all good. I have a 15 megabit line so im getting around 1.6 to 1.8 megabytes/s download speeds on a nicely seeded torrent.

A downside to doing an MMO on a torrent I think would be that people need to know they have to share back to help everyone reach nice speeds, being that you are about to log into your nice new STO beta you won't want to hog your gaming bandwidth with torrent traffic.

I remember the WAR beta, downloading was horrible until someone was nice enough to upload it VIA torrent.

Either way I can't wait to test STO beta. :)

Edit: Oh and there is nothing risky about a torrent. Its all about the data in the file you download with the torrent protocal....

[Banar]

Heck no! Torrents can be very risky. FilePlanet? We shouldn't have to pay to download the game at reasonable speeds. There are plenty of free file hosting sites out there that offer good download speeds.

A torrent is very safe when the site you acquire it from has verified security. It's extremely difficult to plant viruses and the like in a torrent, much more so than standard direct downloads. If you came onto the STO main page and had a link directly to the torrent from there, it's very difficult to get more secure than that.

They are "risky" when you acquire them from disreputable sources, or when they are original intended to cause damege... exactly like a normal file transfer.

[Nikka33]

Have always prefered the game client to download just enough to get the game client system to load then the rest of the game to download using some sort of patching system built into the client.
Yes I have used a couple torrent setups in my time.
They are not hard to figure out, but a couple in the past have really burned me on using them.
A 15g program took forever and a day to download and a shorter program I downloaded on another program was plagued with interrupts forcing me to have to watch it to make sure the downloader was restarted each time it got stuck. Let me tell you, it got stuck a lot.
Oh, and no, both programs were not being downloaded at the same time.
Game client/patching systems to my knoweledge have not been as much of a headache as a standalone torrent program in terms of speed and maintaining a smooth and un-interrupted download.
Just my 2 cents.

[stat]

I believe World of Warcraft's patcher uses P2P, considering the sheer numbers involved it might be extremely difficult to cope with all those people attempting to patch at once using a direct download method.

Yup, Blizzard uses BitTorrent for their World of Warcraft patcher.

[Yaggaz]

In the past some beta's I have participated in required you to download the beta client through torrents, like BitTorrent and other stuff like that. The problem with this is that it can take up to 3 days or more to download. Mythic did this during their beta and it caused alot of really unnecessary trouble the best way to do it is by hosting the download off the site or anywhere but a Torrent. Torrents are confusing and take forever and just they **** me and alot of other people off every time they are required to download a beta. So just hoping Cryptic heeds this warning, Torrents arent fun, the websites say they are easy to use but the last time I used one it was frustrating as hell.

Torrents should be one more option to get the client, but I agree, not the sole method.

[deeboboy]

if cryptic does foresee a problem with using torrents and having to much server or site overload then ill let them use my internet speed and bandwith and keep the torrent running 24/7 till im told i dont need to be a host ill do it if im chossen or not

[coldheartzero]

Torrents are safe, efficient, and effective. People that have issues with them don't know how to use the clients properly.

I was one of the people that participated in the CO debacle of trying to get a working client downloaded/patched and running. It took several freakin' days and waiting on fileplanet was a frekin' joke.

Blizz uses a torrented system to download their patches and it's stupid fast and you need no extraneous clients to do so. It uses their own launcher.

Cryptic could release a small launcher that automatically starts a download via torrent style. It's not rocket surgery hell give me the info on servers and **** and I could code you a personalized torrent client in a single frekin day.

I could make it a combination of installer and downloader the way CoX is now, or was as of last time I installed it.

Torrents work, only idiots that really don't know what they are and don't understand them don't like them. It's really that simple.

[Xindianna]

It may be "old school" now, but when I did the Earth & Beyond beta, they mailed me a beta disc. :)

Hehe that made me smile :) ,I remember them days,thats how I got the beta come through for SWG. Think also for EQ2 when I beta'd that. Been so long I can't remember :o

[CappinCanuck]

I couldn't care less if it's a torrent or not. What I would worry about is the vast amount of users on ISP's that sniff and block torrents. No amount of tweaking will fix it. That could create real hell. The emotions will flare on the forums as soon as any problems come up and there will be the endless, "Well, you lost my money" posts. Now that I think about it, have either one, but make a separate beta forum for those who get in. They deserve to not deal with this kind of crud.

[onesoul1982]

It may be "old school" now, but when I did the Earth & Beyond beta, they mailed me a beta disc. :)

I remember that :D

[Suricata]

It may be "old school" now, but when I did the Earth & Beyond beta, they mailed me a beta disc. :)

Haha, I still have my beta disc for EnB, oh the memories... :-)

I'm fine with the beta been accessed of Torrents or whatever format Cryptic chooses, as long as the instalation and setup isn't overly bugged :-)

[cipher_nemo]

We haven't used torrents to distribute our game clients in the past, and likely won't in the future. We are, however, always looking for ways to improve the way we get the game to our customers.

Thank you, Rekhan. :)

I appreciate Cryptic keeping their closed beta client distribution secure by avoiding torrents. I don't mind if it takes a little longer, as I want to make sure I have downloaded a client directly from Cryptic.

Using torrent based download and updates would take a massive strain off of Cryptic's servers.Wow,....all these people shooting out these "things they heard or believe" about torrents yet they claim they have never used them or they don't understand them and can't figure them out.What I would worry about is the vast amount of users on ISP's that sniff and block torrents. No amount of tweaking will fix it. That could create real hell.

I don't use torrents, I will never install a torrent client, nor do I have any need for torrents now or in the future. Torrent clients and torrent traffic is tainted from abuse with pirating and spreading malware. By itself, it's a useful technology to allow people to speed-up downloads by getting different chunks from various nodes/PCs across the Internet. But since the evil Comcast (and other companies) uses network traffic monitoring and shaping, I try to avoid torrents. Comcast has and continues to de-prioritize torrent packets to the point of even intercepting traffic and sending spoofed disconnect packets to people using an excessive amount of bandwidth with torrents. They've already been sued for that practice, as I'm sure most of you remember.

But I don't use torrents for the same reason I don't use Facebook: it's my choice. If someone sends me a link to their Facebook profile and they make it "private" so only people with (free) Facebook accounts can view it, I say "no thank you, I'm not looking at your Facebook page if you want me to register an account". I'm also very much against "downloaders" from developers. I don't want to install someone else's software to merely do an ftp or http request to download a file. This is one reason why I'll never play an EA or SOE game (not to mention anti-piracy/exploit/cheat rootkits by companies like Sega and AOE).

So...

I am very happy that Cryptic chooses to distribute this on their servers. For those with no patience, go do something else while it downloads. :p

[deilin]

most likey it be fileplanet not too worryed

FilePlanet is much worse. you'll have to pay to download it.

[deilin]

Torrents are safe, efficient, and effective. People that have issues with them don't know how to use the clients properly.

I was one of the people that participated in the CO debacle of trying to get a working client downloaded/patched and running. It took several freakin' days and waiting on fileplanet was a frekin' joke.

Blizz uses a torrented system to download their patches and it's stupid fast and you need no extraneous clients to do so. It uses their own launcher.

Cryptic could release a small launcher that automatically starts a download via torrent style. It's not rocket surgery hell give me the info on servers and **** and I could code you a personalized torrent client in a single frekin day.

I could make it a combination of installer and downloader the way CoX is now, or was as of last time I installed it.

Torrents work, only idiots that really don't know what they are and don't understand them don't like them. It's really that simple.

My problem with torrent is I look at torrent sites and I see a lot of pirated items on them. Plus, programs likr that, you can get blocked from DLing on just because someone who has the file thinks you "might" have a slow connection, or for some reason doesn't want you to have it.

The problem with a lot of file sites is they require paid memberships now, Like fileplanet, to get most of the downloads. And for me, it's not worth the $$$ to buy a fileplanet membership for a month, cancle it, then remake it for any possible future updates.

[onesoul1982]

FilePlanet is much worse. you'll have to pay to download it.

I didnt have to pay for my Champions Download

[Commander_Nate]

We haven't used torrents to distribute our game clients in the past, and likely won't in the future. We are, however, always looking for ways to improve the way we get the game to our customers.

Fast-roping, parachute drop, carrier pigeon. Any of these helping?

[cipher_nemo]

I didnt have to pay for my Champions Download

No, but you paid for the Fileplanet subscription unless you already had one.

[coldheartzero]

My problem with torrent is I look at torrent sites and I see a lot of pirated items on them. Plus, programs likr that, you can get blocked from DLing on just because someone who has the file thinks you "might" have a slow connection, or for some reason doesn't want you to have it.

The problem with a lot of file sites is they require paid memberships now, Like fileplanet, to get most of the downloads. And for me, it's not worth the $$$ to buy a fileplanet membership for a month, cancle it, then remake it for any possible future updates.


While in essence you're right, you're also wrong about torrent clients. NOT USING THE STANDARD AZUREUS OR BITCOMET types of clients. I'll use blizz's again as an example.

All of blizz's **** downloads via torrent. The only control you have over it is if it runs in the background or do you want to throttle back a download. What this means is, you CAN NOT control if someone else has a slow connection so you block them. All you control is whether it downloads while you play the game, or uses up the full available bandwidth of your internet connection. Also, this client ONLY works with Blizz's data, so you can't use it for anything else, and once the info is installed it does it's own integrity check to make sure everything matches up to what it's supposed to be. Something that fileplanet can't do to insure your download isn't corrupted.

How big is the Blizz client now, 8+ gigz. When I reformatted a few months ago and downloaded the client again from blizz's own website. It took all of 2 and a half hours to download EVERYTHING because of their torrent system. At the time I was on a typical 49.99 cable connection. 5megs I believe.

Again, people that don't know or understand torents have no idea what they're talking about and really need to just be quiet. I hate sounding like an ass but that's the facts. A torrent issued download is the fastest you're going to get unless you pay fileplanet and even then you can't, CANNOT be guaranteed a good download, it's unlikely it will be corrupted, but unlike a well thought out torrent system it CAN be corrupted.

Disclaimer, even torrents can be corrupted, however if you put the proper checks in place like blizz has, it's above and beyond the best option compared to a direct download.


I didnt have to pay for my Champions Download
No, but you hate to wait in line for several hours, and had the slowest possible download available.

[cipher_nemo]

All of blizz's **** downloads via torrent. The only control you have over it is if it runs in the background or do you want to throttle back a download. What this means is, you CAN NOT control if someone else has a slow connection so you block them. All you control is whether it downloads while you play the game, or uses up the full available bandwidth of your internet connection. Also, this client ONLY works with Blizz's data, so you can't use it for anything else, and once the info is installed it does it's own integrity check to make sure everything matches up to what it's supposed to be. Something that fileplanet can't do to insure your download isn't corrupted.

Yup, theirs is much more secure. Even if it uses a torrent protocol (I have no idea what they use), I'd consider that more of a "downloader" that uses its own Peer 2 Peer file sharing to speed things up. Turbine uses something like this as well. I'm much less against downloaders as opposed to open torrents, but I still prefer to avoid them because I don't want extra software on my PC.

And I checked this recently when trying out Turbine's free DDO (which is sub-par at best). I downloaded mine with Turbine's downloader on my gaming rig (of which I uninstalled afterwards). I later downloaded it directly (to have a full copy for reinstall if needed). I didn't notice much difference, perhaps 10 minutes out of a few hours. But then again, P2P is affected by how many other people download it and make it available before you do, along with different loads on their servers at different times.

No, but you hate to wait in line for several hours, and had the slowest possible download available.

In short, I don't think it's necessary. You're blowing the comparison way out of proportion. If Cryptic's servers are fast, there might not be much difference. If they're bogged down, then yes, P2P/torrent can speed up the download. But if you're one of the first to download it anyways, you won't get much boost from P2P/torrent.

On that note, I have my own means to speed up my download using my own software, Firefox add-ons, etc., provided Cryptic's servers will be fast.

[Ballping]

We haven't used torrents to distribute our game clients in the past, and likely won't in the future. We are, however, always looking for ways to improve the way we get the game to our customers.

Ways to improve getting game beta client to customers = Dedicated FTP Server which is password restricted. Only those allowed into beta get the password. Simple, straight forward, no muss, no fuss.

[cipher_nemo]

Ways to improve getting game beta client to customers = Dedicated FTP Server which is password restricted. Only those allowed into beta get the password. Simple, straight forward, no muss, no fuss.

Sounds good to me. No extra downloads and network traffic hogging by those looking to reverse engineer things in the client.

As for the password, it would have to be your beta key. And Turbine can monitor download usage via the key and warn/ban accounts with keys that are used multiple times.

[onesoul1982]

No, but you paid for the Fileplanet subscription unless you already had one.

I have a free one =)

[Hornet331]

I just plain don't trust torrents or torrent downloaders. I think they're a tool for pirates/hackers, not legitimate business.

Yes I know that's not 100% true. There are legit users of torrent and hackers that use other tools.
The "hacker" vibe of torrent is merely my impression. If I'm lucky enough to be chosen, I'll still participate in beta if I must go get a torrent downloader. I would just prefer not to.

Lamo... by that definition, every possible way to download anything over the internet.

IRC, FTP, HTTP, P2P, Usenet everything is used for downloading stuff (leagal and "illigal")... even way before the broad public is using it.

Associating torrents with hackers... i mean wth... its like saying a pharmacy sells crack. :p

Guess someone watched to much "faux news". :D

[Lictalon]

Fast-roping, parachute drop, carrier pigeon. Any of these helping?

You forgot telepathy :D

Arguing which method is the best is almost moot as everyone's experience/equipment can and will vary.
The key is Options. If Cryptic can provide multiple means of getting the game on your PC, then when it comes right down to it, that should suffice. Let the individual choose the best method for them.

[cipher_nemo]

IRC, FTP, HTTP, P2P, Usenet everything is used for downloading stuff (leagal and "illigal")... even way before the broad public is using it.

IRC, USENET, FTP and Telnet have been around since the early days of the Internet, when universities and governments were the only ones with access. HTTP and P2P have not. HTTP and P2P were designed specifically for "broad public use".

Associating torrents with hackers... i mean wth... its like saying a pharmacy sells crack. :p

Yes, that user fails to understand the difference. And a "hack" isn't the same as a "crack" (ie: black hat hackers who break into or reverse engineer things will ill intent).

Granted, the term torrent is quite tainted from its associated usage with pirating and spreading malware. Your analogy is a little off, though. A better analogy would be: "it's like avoiding guns because criminals use them". True, guns were designed to kill and destroy, both for hunting and for warfare, but they don't have to be used for that purpose. The same is true of torrents and P2P file sharing. People developed them and used them mostly for pirating purposes, though there are plenty of worthwhile, legal purposes for them too.

[osena]

FilePlanet is much worse. you'll have to pay to download it.

no i use the public downloader's there free just got to wait in line

[Banar]

I'm not saying "must use torrents" or "must use direct download," I'm saying that both methods should be made available. It's good for everybody.

Also, every MMO uses a downloader. If not for downloading the client, (which most do) they use if for patching. It's almost impossible to avoid using this type of software.

[Ifandbut]

If they go the same way they distributed the Champions Online beta, everything will be A-okay. Nice small client to download and install, then let the client do all the work. Nice and neat and always got max speed.

TL;DR version: BitTorrent is used for alot more then pirating and should be the method of choice to get large amounts of data to large numbers of people.

When you reinstall WoW via the online route you download a small client which uses BitTorrent (or a BitTorrent like method) to download the whole game...all +8Gigs of it. When you patch WoW through their launcher you use BitTorrent.

When you download EvE you can chose the BitTorrent method. You download a small program which then downloads all the client files via BitTorrent.

When using Turbine Downloader for Lord of the Rings or DDO you use BitTorrent.

None of these things require any extra setup on the client side. No messing with ports. Hell...I even have Comcast and I dont have a proublem.

So, you see, the can still use BitTorrent and keep it invisible to the average user.

When you patch WoW you can also download it via FilePlanet. While FilePlanet may be faster it pegs your download capacity. When ever I download something via FilePlanet the internet slows to a crawl for me. Yet, I can run BitTorrent at max down/up speed and still play Call of Duty with a sub 200ms ping.

I hate that BitTorrent has such a reputation for being the Pirate's tool of choice. However, the reason BitTorrent works so well is why it became the pirate's tool of choice. You can upload terabytes of data from your little DSL/Cable connection and thousands of people can download from you constantly. Yes, the download speeds start off slow, but they quickly reach the max your connection can download.

You only get virus when you are not careful. And by careful I dont mean using a antivirus program you get with your Best Buy computer. It is going on a year from the last time I reinstalled Windows due to hardware upgrades and I have not ran a anti-virus program once. How do I know I am safe? Because my computer runs just as well today as it did when I first installed it. Because there is not a single process running that I have no idea why it is running. Because every questionable file I download is sent through online virus scanners (which scan it with several companies anti-virus programs). Because I take the time to know what my computer is doing and why.

Cryptic: I would be happy as long as you do not rely on your servers to handle the massive amount of trafic when you release the client. I know they might have been upgraded sence the CO open beta but still, every beta I have been in has suffered from slow download servers because the company thought their servers could handle it.

Please, at the very least, use FilePlanet. At best, use both FilePlanet and BitTorrent.

Here are some links to help spread the love.
uTorrent, Easy to setup and use BitTorent client program: http://www.utorrent.com/
Free online virus scanner: http://www.virustotal.com/

[mach789]

I get the impression you weren't around for the first few days of the open beta ;) The normal download methods are limited when it comes to masses of people attempting to download at once. I believe World of Warcraft's patcher uses P2P, considering the sheer numbers involved it might be extremely difficult to cope with all those people attempting to patch at once using a direct download method.

Absolutely right. I was around before that in closed beta. :)
But even when I had to re-install the game a few times due to installing a new OS, the way Champions Online was distributed...it was one of the best patchers I have ever used.

And Fileplanet is definitely NOT the way to go...

[Corvak]

My problem with torrents - is that you're depending on the community to 'seed' your torrent. Most people won't bother.

The answer is choice.

- create a torrent and seed it.
- put the file up on fileplanet, and anywhere else you can get some free file hosting.

WoW's patcher didnt have a very good time of it when the game came out in 2003. I used Fileplanet/Filefront to get the patches, simply because of speed.

Using torrents and P2P is MUCH better now than when WoW came out, largely because of routers and software that support Upnp (no need to tool around with ports and other router based idiocy.)

[Voorhees]

You know places like file planet and torrent just leaves me frustrated when download a beta. I feel if they want people to test their game just post a download link on the site thats decent without a bunch of sign ups or delays. I mean we are already signed up once why more times using file planet or other 3rd party sites.

[Banar]

Absolutely right. I was around before that in closed beta. :)
But even when I had to re-install the game a few times due to installing a new OS, the way Champions Online was distributed...it was one of the best patchers I have ever used.

And Fileplanet is definitely NOT the way to go...

Yea, closed beta went pretty smoothly as far as patching because there was much less traffic due to a much smaller tester base. When they ramped it up to open beta, the servers couldn't handle the mass of downloads and basically self destructed :p

After some people finally managed to download the game and patch and the traffic lessened, things fell into line and you're right, the patcher is probably the best I've seen for an MMO if you don't count the previously mentioned lag problems. I think for normal use it would be perfectly fine, but it is those times where there are just too many people (release of an important patch, etc) that really matter and hurt them a lot more if there are problems. I think it's a pretty reasonable request to include a secondary means of obtaining those things, especially considering it would benefit everyone involved... players and developers alike.

[HittingSmoke]

Ok, this argument is getting ridiculous and there's a lot of posts by people who aren't understanding how P2P patchers work.

No one is asking you to download a torrent client. No one is asking you to visit a torrent tracker site. No one is asking you to install any more software than you would with a game that used FTP to download patches via it's auto updater.

The bottom line is, all the games that use P2P downloading with their updates have proven it to work. These games also all have alternatives to the P2P method to download and install patches. The P2P method saves them money, which they can in turn put back into game development.

The simple fact is, even using a torrent client, you're much more likely to get a virus from visiting and infected web page using IE than you are from using torrents.

I have a strong enough technical knowledge that I'm comfortable with torrents and my ability to use them. This, however has nothing to do with P2P game patching because you don't need any special skills. Just run the game and let it do it's thing.

It's a more effective way of getting patches to the community, it prevents server stress on launch day and in the long run saves the developers money on bandwidth.

[Peteromir]

The BIG problem I have with torrents is many ISPs throttle the downlod speed if they detect you using one. The reason genrally given is that its sucking up bandwidth from others. Simiarly many in uni halls or similar are blocked from torrents.


Its perfectly possible to beta test with little or no computor knowledge, indeed its usefull to have a few such people both to see how easy to use the interface is, and that some bugs aren't found intentionally, but by blundering around no knowing what to do.

The three hardest things in a beta are genrally obrtaing and installing it so it works at all, getting the bug-report to actually work (I've known soo many to be broken, many still dont work after launch)

[HittingSmoke]

The BIG problem I have with torrents is many ISPs throttle the downlod speed if they detect you using one. The reason genrally given is that its sucking up bandwidth from others. Simiarly many in uni halls or similar are blocked from torrents.


Its perfectly possible to beta test with little or no computor knowledge, indeed its usefull to have a few such people both to see how easy to use the interface is, and that some bugs aren't found intentionally, but by blundering around no knowing what to do.

The three hardest things in a beta are genrally obrtaing and installing it so it works at all, getting the bug-report to actually work (I've known soo many to be broken, many still dont work after launch)

I've had Comcast since the AT&T takeover and have never had any problems with this. Using encrypted connections and randomized ports (which most clients use by default) seems to keep them from interfering.

[Nalah]

They should just offer it on fileplanet and on torrent, that way everybody is happy. :)

I would prefer if they didn't use Fileplanet; they way they had the download for CO was just fine.

[cyan29xx]

In the past some beta's I have participated in required you to download the beta client through torrents, like BitTorrent and other stuff like that. The problem with this is that it can take up to 3 days or more to download. Mythic did this during their beta and it caused alot of really unnecessary trouble the best way to do it is by hosting the download off the site or anywhere but a Torrent. Torrents are confusing and take forever and just they **** me and alot of other people off every time they are required to download a beta. So just hoping Cryptic heeds this warning, Torrents arent fun, the websites say they are easy to use but the last time I used one it was frustrating as hell.

Mythic did not have an open beta for warhammer, just a very limited preview of the game to trick people into buying it.

[Zepath]

BitTorrent is the ONLY way a client should be downloaded.

Saying you don't want Torrents because you can't make it work, is like asking them to lower their graphics quality because you don't have a good enough graphics card.

:(

Bring on the Torrents!!!!!!!

[Lt-Baba_Booey]

We haven't used torrents to distribute our game clients in the past, and likely won't in the future. We are, however, always looking for ways to improve the way we get the game to our customers.

Torrents are an excellent way to get the client out there, for the aion open beta there where 3 options:
1. Fileplanet, As far as im concerned an ok option if you pay their monthly fees for instant access and max download speeds, other than that you are waiting in line for at least an hour and your DL speeds are horribly crippled.

2. Gamershell: they dont require a monthly fee to access content hosted on their servers, (Some of you may have used gamershell.com to get wow patches) but their DL speeds are terrible at best

3. Torrent: Ahhh yes tried tested and true, no waiting in line, no gimped download speeds, and no monthly fee to download files. All speed and no BS, I DL'd the 9gb aion client in approx 2.5 hours and had no issues.

Im hoping for a torrented beta client as im sure the STO beta client will be pretty large as well.

[Chewsmoka]

Please no torrents, my ISP sent me a nasty letter for downloading another MMO via a torrent. Any fast HTTP/FTP would be greatly appreciated :)

[KL0k]

i dont think that torrents are that bad - aslong as they are shared good enough, i.e. setup a good upload rate, maybe with a few servers seeding to get it going, it works pretty well, otherwise it takes ages.
but basicly the same thing can happen with a direct download and limiting connection of the server or prolly caused by to many ppl trying to download in the same moment.

on the other hand, the second method doesnt stress a modem with to many connections which "can" result in a overflow and hangup, so i would stick with this and i hope they got enough mirrors.

[.Spartan]

most likey it be fileplanet not too worryed
That is what worries me. They should seed a torrent version and a FTP for those that believe the misinformation and disinformation promoted by various copyright groups.

[steps on soapbox]

Those groups are organizations which have only one goal and contrary to "popular" opinion, have no interest in protecting, preserving or supporting rights of society beyond those that guarantee they get near never ending revenue streams out of any and all media. Simply put, copyright is a special very time limited (in theory) privileged not an entitlement.

[Xenoshaft]

Well I hate to be "that guy" but if you can't figure out how to use a torrent client then testing probably isn't for you. Beta isn't about just having fun, it's about working out bugs.




Dude, yes testing is about working out bugs, but if your trying to fool anyone in to thinking you wont have ANY fun in the beta, your in for a shock when no body belives you!

I just plain don't trust torrents or torrent downloaders. I think they're a tool for pirates/hackers, not legitimate business.

Yes I know that's not 100% true. There are legit users of torrent and hackers that use other tools.
The "hacker" vibe of torrent is merely my impression. If I'm lucky enough to be chosen, I'll still participate in beta if I must go get a torrent downloader. I would just prefer not to.

I feel the same way. Some 60% of random files sampled had malware of some kind in them.

most likey it be fileplanet not too worryed

Slash AGREE

[Parxy]

I agree with the OP. I am a very computer savvy guy and yet after many painful hours I still cannot get BitTorrent software to work on my computer. I think there is some program I use that blocks the BitTorrent software. Cryptic please, if you decide to use BitTorrents, offer an alternative method of downloading the beta client.

[cipher_nemo]

Ok, this argument is getting ridiculous and there's a lot of posts by people who aren't understanding how P2P patchers work.

No one is asking you to download a torrent client. No one is asking you to visit a torrent tracker site. No one is asking you to install any more software than you would with a game that used FTP to download patches via it's auto updater.

The bottom line is, all the games that use P2P downloading with their updates have proven it to work. These games also all have alternatives to the P2P method to download and install patches. The P2P method saves them money, which they can in turn put back into game development.

Yup, P2P through the developer's own 'downloader' software is much more secure.

But the thread is titled with the word "torrents" and discussion was on torrents (ie: public ones). Torrent by itself, with the torrent client, is just a protocol. The word is also associated with public torrents, trackers, pirating sites, and even individual downloads (slang), etc. If we're talking about a 'downloader' applet from the developer, then we're talking about p2p. Because we don't know if they'll use the torrent protocol or something else proprietary.

Referring to a 'downloader' as a torrent is like calling your browser an http or the Internet a TCP/IP (4 or 6).

I have a strong enough technical knowledge that I'm comfortable with torrents and my ability to use them. This, however has nothing to do with P2P game patching because you don't need any special skills. Just run the game and let it do it's thing.

I know your background is very technical. ;)

My background is similar, so it's not a 'comfort' issue for me in terms of technical ability. It's more of a 'comfort' issue for me in it's not worth the hassle. But then again, I'm talking about torrent clients and public torrents, not downloaders with P2P file sharing.

[HittingSmoke]

Yup, P2P through the developer's own 'downloader' software is much more secure.

But the thread is titled with the word "torrents" and discussion was on torrents (ie: public ones). Torrent by itself, with the torrent client, is just a protocol. The word is also associated with public torrents, trackers, pirating sites, and even individual downloads (slang), etc. If we're talking about a 'downloader' applet from the developer, then we're talking about p2p. Because we don't know if they'll use the torrent protocol or something else proprietary.

Referring to a 'downloader' as a torrent is like calling your browser an http or the Internet a TCP/IP (4 or 6).



I know your background is very technical. ;)

My background is similar, so it's not a 'comfort' issue for me in terms of technical ability. It's more of a 'comfort' issue for me in it's not worth the hassle. But then again, I'm talking about torrent clients and public torrents, not downloaders with P2P file sharing.

Well the problem there is "torrent" is not the protocol, it's just a file type that is used in the background to point to the tracking servers even if the secure P2P method is chosen. I'm not trying to argue that it should be the only option, in fact I believe it should just be one of many options, but I don't see even the external torrent option as any less secure as long as there is an MD5 offered for a hash check.

It is the primary download source of most major Linux clients and I've never heard of any of those posing security risks ;)

[cipher_nemo]

"BitTorrent" is a protocol (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BitTorrent_%28protocol%29) and a company, and a client, lol. And people use "torrent" instead of "bittorrent", even though there are plenty of other torrent clients out there.

[LenaMarie]

Torrents are horrible, the only people who love torrents are those Pirate people. Legitimate businesses should do the right thing and make a deal for Fileplanet to the host the beta.

[wolfing]

How about this? Even if they don't release it via torrent, whoever gets the client, publish it via torrent and post here with the info. Torrents are just so much faster (after the first few hours of seeding)

[cipher_nemo]

It is the primary download source of most major Linux clients and I've never heard of any of those posing security risks ;)

BTW, not for Ubuntu. They use FTP and HTTP mirror sites (http://www.ubuntu.com/getubuntu/download).

Slackware is available both in regular HTTP/FTP and torrent downloads.

Debian is HTTP/FTP, torrent, and Jigdo.

Fedora is HTTP/FTP primary download links. Torrent and others also available though.

But yes, I'm sure copies of the ISO images are floating around in torrent form.

In short, torrent IS NOT the primary download source of most major Linux clients. You can get all of them from torrents, but it's not what most Linux clients link to first on their download page.

[TreffnonX]

Frankly I don't see the problem people here seem to have with torrents. Granted they are generally used to distribute illegal software and files, but to demonise them for how they are used is wrong.
They are practical for one reason, they can distribute data among many people without the need for a major server.

For those who seem to have problems using torrents:
http://www.scribd.com/doc/1590516/Torrent-Tutorial

A common source of having a slow download is because others can't connect to you to download in turn.
To avoid this you may need to open up ports in your router.
For detailed information on how to do that read your routers manual or look it up online.

PS: Not every Torrent-user is a software-pirate by definition. Most open source Linux-distributions can be aquired via torrents.

[cipher_nemo]

A common source of having a slow download is because others can't connect to you to download in turn.
To avoid this you may need to open up ports in your router.

While you're at it, open up some extra ports so I can hack my way to your kernel. j/k ;)

Opening up extra ports for a Fireware, router, etc. isn't the easiest thing to do for a lot regular Joes who want to download the STO client.

As HittingSmoke and others mentioned, the only real solution there is for Turbine to do their own downloader that uses some sort of P2P file sharing. But regardless, Turbine mentioned they're not going to use torrents. And I'm perfectly happy with that.

[Zomeguy]

I support this post.

Fileplanet works extremely well for me... IMO, the download speeds can't be beat 99% of the time.

But it would be nice to distribute via torrent as well, for anyone who doesn't experience the same performance with Fileplanet that I do.

I say the more options, the better.

Er maybe if you have a subscription if you don't and are getting good download speed would like to know how as the last time I used fileplanet for the CO beta I got only 15kb-20kb download on a 5mb line. I sometimes spiked at 100 but that was rare.

[KL0k]

try at different daytimes or another server of fileplanet. they "can" be good (up to 400-500 sometimes).

[HittingSmoke]

BTW, not for Ubuntu. They use FTP and HTTP mirror sites (http://www.ubuntu.com/getubuntu/download).

http://www.ubuntu.com/getubuntu/downloadmirrors#bt ;)

If you've ever tried their FTP and HTTP download mirrors you'll know how painfully slow and unreliable they are. I'd much rather download a torrent and max my download speed out then try half a dozen FTP mirrors until I find one that won't take hours.

While I do agree that opening ports can be tricky or even risky for the average user, all modern routers and all good torrent clients come equipped with uPnP, eliminating the need.

I just hate to see talk like this bashing torrents. It's these kind of mind-sets that impede progress. It's nothing more than a witch hunt targeting a highly efficient file sharing protocol.

Saying that torrents are for pirates and hackers is akin to saying that the internet is for nothing more than porn.

[beast0382]

Whatabout those of us that got a pre-launch sub to CO and do not have a paid account at file planet? Thier downloads are complete and utter crap without a paid account.

Personally I think Torrents are great. THe more people that has X program the more its 'seeded' and the more its seeded the more connections that are made. I have never had as fast downloads from any FTP program... I get maybe 150 out of my browser's download program but I have bounced up to 400 off of torrents that are seeded proporly.

On a side not I have seen people say something about viruses, hackers and pirates..... they happen anyway, you just have to be careful of the programs you get. Pirating is going to happen even through a browser-based downloader.

[ffmcobalt]

Well I hate to be "that guy" but if you can't figure out how to use a torrent client then testing probably isn't for you. Beta isn't about just having fun, it's about working out bugs.

Using torrent based download and updates would take a massive strain off of Cryptic's servers. A good example would be when CO open beta launched I heard there was a big mess with massive amounts of people trying to download at once. Getting torrents to properly work is a simple matter of setting up your firewall correctly.

However since they didn't do it with CO I don't see them doing it with STO. It is the best option though.

Very much this.

Aion both hosted a client download and offered a torrent. The client download would have taken me 2 weeks, putting the download to be finished a week after the beta closed (which the open beta closed this morning). The torrent took me 9 hours, leaving plenty of testing time.

Torrents are GREAT.

[fractaleye]

I don't use torrents atm, but that's mainly because I haven't set up my ports and security software to allow them, really. I have nothing against them personally; in fact, I really like the idea of torrents. I might actually set my machine up for them today, in fact lol. I'm sure even if Cryptic does offer it on a torrent, it won't be our only option.

[Banar]

Torrents are horrible, the only people who love torrents are those Pirate people. Legitimate businesses should do the right thing and make a deal for Fileplanet to the host the beta.

I'm sorry, but this is ridiculous. Do you blame the axe for the axe murder?

P2P is a tool, nothing more, nothing less... though it is a very efficient and effective one.

Fileplanet is a "middleman" company that leeches off of others without providing any unique product or service of their own.

[Sheeba]

We haven't used torrents to distribute our game clients in the past, and likely won't in the future. We are, however, always looking for ways to improve the way we get the game to our customers.

best bets just to use STEAM. everyone has steam :P Start your own little Steam group and walaa people will join, their friends, they tell their friends and walaa before you know it youve got millions of people pming you saying "can i have admins of seerver plox"

[ffmcobalt]

I'd just like to say that there is a LOT of misinformation here about both ISP bandwidth and torrent usage. It doesn't seem like a lot of people have a firm grip on reality when it comes to these. The bandwidth issue is garbage if you've ever read threads over at DSL Reports linking to, as an example, TimeWarner's take on the issue in how it's so costly to upgrade networks to support higher bandwidths and how it breaks the bank to do so, yet they're absolutely RAKING IN the cash, posting MASSIVE profits while other companies are boosting both speed and bandwidth with no significant impact to the same ridiculously massive profits.

As far as those who think torrents are used only by pirates, that's so enraging and ignorant I'm not even going to bother speaking to it. Thanks to those who have, but I'm willing to bet money that those who think torrents are used only to break the law aren't going to accept a rational explaination of reality when they read it. I hope they do, though.

As long as both options exist, what's the problem?

[Tarnplarius]

Yup, theirs is much more secure. Even if it uses a torrent protocol (I have no idea what they use), I'd consider that more of a "downloader" that uses its own Peer 2 Peer file sharing to speed things up.

It's not "more secure", it's just a regular torrent client. I often use my own torrent client to download blizzard patches because I don't like theirs. (the download is a blizzard modified bittorrent client with the actual .torrent file embeded in it, so you can extract that and load it into any other torrent client)


But then again, P2P is affected by how many other people download it and make it available before you do, along with different loads on their servers at different times.

You think other download sources are not affected by how many people are downloading? Bandwidth is a limited resource. That is why you have things like the torrent protocol to solve this issue. You have the publisher set up the initial seeds (whom can have as much bandwidth as an old fashioned web/ftp download) and then the rest of the people also share the load. This is always faster then web/ftp downloads since at the very least you'll get the bandwidth provided by the original hoster, same as with the web/ftp, but also the additional bandwidth provided by all the other people that have pieces that you might need.

And unlike web/ftp downloads torrents have build in hashing ensuring you get a complete and valid download and allowing you to restart on connection issues, unlike most regular downloads allow.

[Kayos]

There is nothing wrong with Torrents. It is the way to go for distribution if you ask me. Not some pathetic option like Fileplanet. I'm sure someone will put it up as a torrent anyway. I wouldn't worry about it.
Speaking of which, would Cryptic approve of us putting it up as a torrent?

[Beknatok]

It's not "more secure", it's just a regular torrent client. I often use my own torrent client to download blizzard patches because I don't like theirs.

Aaaaand you dug up a 4 month old thread... why?

[nathanpinard]

Cryptic has to offer torrents to reduce the load on the download servers they have. Torrents are the fastest way to get something when everyone is downloading it.

Your firewall probably isn't set up right.

[hellpup]

Some ISPs throttle any connection that they see using torrents. Often they throttle the user's entire connection instead of just that segment of traffic.

Torrents are not a reasonable because of this.

[Riamus]

Torrents are a legitimate and useful way to distribute any downloadable game (beta or otherwise). Even WoW's downloader uses torrents. However, it also has a dedicated http peer as well, so you're going to be getting bandwidth from the HTTP as possible and then adding to it with P2P. It's a good way to handle it and works well. It is infinitely better than a typical download that decides it won't resume for one reason or another if the connection is lost for whatever reason. I had one beta that was around 7 or 8 GB that I had to restart multiple times because it was only an HTTP download and was extremely slow due to everyone downloading from it and my connection at the time wasn't the best and it just refused to resume downloading where it left off.

Just because torrents are used for illegally sharing files, doesn't mean they aren't legitimate methods for companies to legally share files. Remember that before torrents, these illegally shared files were often shared via FTP (another commonly used transfer method for legal files) and HTTP (again, another commly used transfer method for legal files). It doesn't matter if it can be used for illegal files... if it's useful, make use of it. Ignoring a very useful method of transferring files is not very smart.

And for anyone who doesn't know how to set up a torrent, you need 2 things... 1) the port(s) that you need to forward in your router/firewall, which isn't needed in most firewalls and if you don't have a router, you don't have to do it at all. And 2) you need to know how to forward the ports. That's easy and a step by step method for most common routers is at portforward.com. You don't even have to pick the specific program as long as you have the port(s). Just pick any program along with your router and follow the steps, substituting the port(s) you need for what they show in the example. Nice and easy. A matter of less than 5 minutes even if you have never done it.

[Riamus]

Some ISPs throttle any connection that they see using torrents. Often they throttle the user's entire connection instead of just that segment of traffic.

Torrents are not a reasonable because of this.

This is true about certain ISPs, that is true. However, as long as there is also an HTTP method (It's rare if there isn't even if the main method is torrent), that's not an issue. Also, as more and more businesses start using torrents, ISPs that do throttle torrents will stop doing so. I avoid any ISP that throttles traffic. If I paid for the bandwidth, I should be able to use it the way I want as long as it's legal.

[hellpup]

This is true about certain ISPs, that is true. However, as long as there is also an HTTP method (It's rare if there isn't even if the main method is torrent), that's not an issue. Also, as more and more businesses start using torrents, ISPs that do throttle torrents will stop doing so. I avoid any ISP that throttles traffic. If I paid for the bandwidth, I should be able to use it the way I want as long as it's legal.

I agree that as long as other methods are made available it is always preferable to have more options. Some games (such as DDO) offered a torrent based client alone and did not offer an easily located alternative. (There was an alternative for DDO, but it required searching the forums to locate. The torrent based client used Pandora which (imo) may as well be spyware.)

[danubus]

Torrents are 10x a better way to distribute the client to folks rather than a single download or even fileplanet. Fileplanet is always screwy and your main download site is going to be hammered. A torrent will gain tons of seeds and people will get the client a lot faster than the traditional ways.

[Riamus]

I agree that as long as other methods are made available it is always preferable to have more options. Some games (such as DDO) offered a torrent based client alone and did not offer an easily located alternative. (There was an alternative for DDO, but it required searching the forums to locate. The torrent based client used Pandora which (imo) may as well be spyware.)

Never tried that one, so didn't know they made such a bad move. Also, a "smart" company will make their own torrent software built into the game (for patches if they expect to have large patches) and/or just their own torrent downloader for the game -- get the downloader for a few megs from HTTP and then download the game client with it. Not really a good idea for them to use a 3rd part torrent client. If they can't make their own, they should just throw a .torrent file online to download and let you use any client you want.

[Rusty0918]

I wouldn't mind using torrents. I've used 'em before.

[Abyssal_Nuclei]

I think that what people are forgetting is that only ONE person needs to download it, to create a torrent, then just put the link up on tpb or HF and we've got a torrent mirror.

Thats the beauty of torrents.

And yeah, torrents are absolutely the best way of getting identical large files to mass numbers of people.

[Zepath]

Some ISPs throttle any connection that they see using torrents. Often they throttle the user's entire connection instead of just that segment of traffic.

Torrents are not a reasonable because of this.

This is not the norm ... most ISP won't throttle you beyond your maximum bandwidth you get for your whatever subscription package you have ... and almost alway that far higher speed (coming down) than standard stream providers will give you.

Bit-Torrent shouldn't be the only option (because not everyone wants to, or is competent using it). But it most definitely should be an option ... it is quickly becoming the accepted standard over streaming, and holding back those of us that can, and want to use it, is just silly and wrong.

I've got a 3MB ATM DSL line, that I'd be more than willing to share bandwidth on if Cryptic would provide a P2P set up.

[Riamus]

I think that what people are forgetting is that only ONE person needs to download it, to create a torrent, then just put the link up on tpb or HF and we've got a torrent mirror.

Thats the beauty of torrents.

And yeah, torrents are absolutely the best way of getting identical large files to mass numbers of people.

That's a good point and if anyone does put one up, it should be stickied so people can find it without having dozens of different torrents spreading out downloaders.

[Javanoid]

I got to page 6 of this thread and couldn't handle the rampant ignorance of those who oppose torrents.

If you don't like them, or don't understand how they work, or have some (incorrect) perception that they're "tools of the spammers/malware providers", simply don't use them.

Queue up and download your file from Fileplanet or directly from Cryptic, if such an option were available.

I don't think anyone is arguing that those options shouldn't be available.

What people are saying, IMO, is that torrents should be available as an option. Either as a torrent file, or as a small torrent-based installer, like for WoW patches.

This is one thing I've never understood with debates like this ; how can anyone be against MORE options that make MORE people happy??

[Clifton819]

Is a Torrent link available for today's patch? I tried to search for one but couldn't locate it on the forums or see it on the download page...

[Riamus]

Not sure about you but i have gotten like 15mbs dowloads at best from torrents and well to be honest i dont think thats slow!?

That all depends on who the peers are. Most torrents that aren't also hosted on really fast servers (i.e. those that have only peers from normal users) aren't going to get much faster than 300-400kB/s usually. That's because you normally only download from a certain number of peers at the same time and most normal users have slow upload rates. It's when a real server gets into the mix that you get the really fast download rates. Keep that in mind if a USER puts up a torrent of the client and/or patch. Until enough people download and keep it active, it's going to be a REALLY slow download. Consider 1000 people trying to download immediately after a user with a 45kB/s upload puts it up. You just aren't going to get it very fast until you have a decent number of people with it. That's why you try to get official torrents released that have a peer with at least 5+mbit/sec upload rates to get it going.

[Skud]

most of the time my torrent speeds are better than other downloads.

I had major slow downloads speeds with the CO demo client download until i found the secret atari page with a http download link, i hope that doesnt happen with sto

[darkensign]

Torrents are only slow and painful when you don't configure it properly. Make sure you've set it up properly, configured your firewall and set up NAT properly and you will see amazing download speeds. I can max out my down bandwidth (2.5MB/sec [yes, that's megaBYTEs]) on a healthy torrent.

Considering that STO will be a VERY popular torrent I don't see why you can't get some nice download speeds using your usual (properly configured) bittorrent client.

[ajpearman]

Torrents are poissibly the best way out there to get a game file to huge amounts of people quickly. As long as you learn how to set the torrent up... I've saved myself hours of painful downloading time by using torrents to patch and/or download games (where it's legal).

It all comes down to what Cryptic decides to do. I believe offering a torrent would be a great idea. Even though I already have the STO launcher, I would be willing to contribute some of my bandwidth to the seeding just to help some people out.

Actually I'm amazed a torrent isn't already available. It would save Cryptic a ton of trouble.

[Spjutulf]

You know that World Of Warcraft downloader uses the P2P protocol to download the patches. Blizzard has just integrated it seamlessly into their launcher. Also EVE Online has distributed their client through torrent download since the start.

I for one would like the option to be to download it via torrent. But for those who are uncomfortable with this a regular http:// download should be offered either by Cryptic themselves or fileplanet/filefront. Just be aware that these services often limit the speed of the download for the free users and you might even have to wait in line to get the download.

[Qbe]

In the past some beta's I have participated in required you to download the beta client through torrents, like BitTorrent and other stuff like that. The problem with this is that it can take up to 3 days or more to download. Mythic did this during their beta and it caused alot of really unnecessary trouble the best way to do it is by hosting the download off the site or anywhere but a Torrent. Torrents are confusing and take forever and just they **** me and alot of other people off every time they are required to download a beta. So just hoping Cryptic heeds this warning, Torrents arent fun, the websites say they are easy to use but the last time I used one it was frustrating as hell.

If getting torrents working properly is that much trouble for you, then I really doubt you could be of any real use as a beta tester..

I wish they had a torrent available for the patch I'm downloading right now. With torrents I get up to 2.8MBps (that's Bytes, not Bits) opposed to the ~100KBps I'm getting with their launcher.

[Munku]

People are saying Torrent's are bad because many people use them for pirating software.

Well. What do you concider knives? Many people use them for cutting little children up into
bite sized pieces. Do you use knives when you eat? Same thing.

[Spjutulf]

People are saying Torrent's are bad because many people use them for pirating software.

Well. What do you concider knives? Many people use them for cutting little children up into
bite sized pieces. Do you use knives when you eat? Same thing.

Anything used wrong is bad. Anything used right is good.

[warbot7777]

They should just offer it on fileplanet and on torrent, that way everybody is happy. :)

Agree!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! More options = less problems

[gargamehl]

for me, a torrent would be the best....it was the best with wow, atlantica and some other f2p-games. My internet-provider makes a reconnect every 8 hours and after canceling the download at 1.5gigs plus the 5th time would be.....making me non-interrest of further trys...

so, at least please make the possibility of downloading via torrent

on the other side....how BIG is the file?

[LordDave]

Cryptic has probably not even setup the servers to handle that kind of load as they only counted with that the CB invited players would download it.

That is correct.

[stsinner]

Torrenting is the most efficient way to distribute such a large package of files to a large group of people. I have no problems with that method of distribution.

[netglen]

I personally dislike Torrent. I never have any issues with my 2.1 MB/s connection and downloading clients/patches from a subscription account from FilePlanet.

[stucool]

is the download gonna be available before 1/12 for open beta?

[Gfischer]

Aaaaand you dug up a 4 month old thread... why?
Much like the Mages Guild of Cyrodill, we, too, outlawed necromancy.