Guild Wars 2

I kindly request from ArenaNet to modify the software client of GuildWars2 game, to introduce more valid information for the user, about time until download will complete.

Problem:
The percentage of download is not related to total download space (from patches and fixes and new content) but from “Files remaining” of download. Now, files have different size in bytes, some are much larger, some are smaller. Calculating the percentage of download based on “Files remaining” is wrong. It provides no important information for the user, so the player can not estimate when download will complete.

Solution:
Modify that percentage based on: total space to download, and what was downloaded so far. If you wish to make things better, add some form of calculation based on current speed, just like Windows OS makes estimation of complete when you copy/paste a large file from one location to another. That way we can have an automatic estimate of “Time remaining”, and not “Files remaining”. For ArenaNet staff and designers “Files remaining” is much more important, but for the consumer that variable has no value, “Time remaining” being a more important info, meaning when this process gets finished and we can play the game with all fixes and features installed.

Why is this important:
During the download I can make a tea, or prepare some other non-alcoholic drink (because kids are not allowed alcohol). I can also notify friends on phone or Teamspeak about the time when download will complete and I can join their match. I can do whatever while waiting for download, because I know when, in time, game will be ready.

Thank you for understanding.

Not a bug. You might consider posting your suggestion in the Sticky, ‘QoL Suggestions’ found in GD, I believe.

Good luck.

Pasting from one drive to another in windows is a predictable operation and the timing still can’t be calculated with 100% accuracy. Downloading from the internet is, at best, a vague estimate. It depends on your connection, which has multiple steps, none of which ANet has any control over. It depends on your computer and what else it’s doing, including other downloads, none of which ANet has any control over. To a certain extent, the footprint of their files depends on the configuration of our hard drives, so they can’t even necessarily see the total space needed either.

All they can do is give us the download speed for their own files and tell us how many files there are.

FYI the issue of “how big is the download” is discussed on the wiki all the time. Some people think they shouldn’t post a “size” because it isn’t consistent for everyone. Some insist that it’s better to have a ballpark figure that suggests the best case scenario.

In short, they can’t really predict how long it’s going to take for you. You’re the best judge based on your past experience.

Illconceived Was Na.9781:

Pasting from one drive to another in windows is a predictable operation and the timing still can’t be calculated with 100% accuracy. Downloading from the internet is, at best, a vague estimate. It depends on your connection, which has multiple steps, none of which ANet has any control over. It depends on your computer and what else it’s doing, including other downloads, none of which ANet has any control over. To a certain extent, the footprint of their files depends on the configuration of our hard drives, so they can’t even necessarily see the total space needed either.

Wrong! The client can be set to calculate the time remaining based on total space to download (with a simple statistic transmitted when connection to server is initiated) and the average speed calculated so far. It would not even matter the speed, because client will adapt those values and modify them according to my speeds (internet speed, I/O speed, etc.).

Illconceived Was Na.9781:

All they can do is give us the download speed for their own files and tell us how many files there are.

Absolutely and totally irrelevant information. I do not wish to know all those thousand of files and space corresponding to each file. This information is theirs and is for their maintenance and security only.

Illconceived Was Na.9781:

FYI the issue of “how big is the download” is discussed on the wiki all the time. Some people think they shouldn’t post a “size” because it isn’t consistent for everyone. Some insist that it’s better to have a ballpark figure that suggests the best case scenario.

I am glad many others have the same questions as me. This means this issue of space and remaining download was not only my idea and it should really become a change in the client whenever possible.

Illconceived Was Na.9781:

In short, they can’t really predict how long it’s going to take for you. You’re the best judge based on your past experience.

Again wrong! They don’t have to predict anything, it’s done automatically by the client. Space of files for download is the same on client as it’s on server. Client makes calculations and modifies displayed information for users. The number of files is again irrelevant, as it can change, just like their space can change from one patch to the next. The space of client is not different between clients, because all those thousand of files are compressed in just a few files of client (feel free to check client before speaking of different hard drives configurations, assuming thousand of separate files).

No use arguing about it here.

Post it as a QoL suggestion, as the QA Team checks this sub-forum.