Hello everyone!
It has been a long time since the last DEV DIARY, and it is now time to tell you some news from behind the curtain, about the state of the server. Here we go!
POPULATION
First, you'll have all noticed that our population in Return of Reckoning continues to grow, which is for us - the whole RoR team - the best reward you could give to us. Thank you! Your ever-increasing presence is a huge motivator for us (but also a cause of great pressure with your expectations!) This population increase in the past months wasn't anticipated, and the direct consequence is the massive lag at peak population. A year ago we were excited to have 50 players in game, and now we are pushing the server to its limits with over 750!
LAG
This growing population has resulted - as you are more often the witnesses - to generate a phenomenal lag as we get closer to the current server cap. We are very aware of this, share your concerns, and resolving this issue has moved to the top of the priority list.
The original core of RoR was not designed to host so much concentrated action, and many pieces must be recoded. This will take some time. Several new mechanics have been introduced during the past year, and we need to put all of this on the table to make it more enjoyable. We have taken steps to trace where we are losing performance and make corrections as needed. Unfortunately, some of the best times for development to track down these issues, is right at peak times when everything is struggling. We appreciate your patience with this.
THE T3
Many of have been eagerly awaiting the release of Tier 3 and I cannot avoid this subject. Know that the teams have provided a mammoth task to bring you Tier 3 as quickly as possible. The RvR lakes, quests, a raised level cap with class skills, is prepared and ready to be deployed (missing only minor details). However, because of the lag issues, it does not seem wise to deploy it right away. We hope you will be patient and understand that this choice does not come easy for us.
We want your first impressions in T3 to be under our best possible conditions. Your battles should be more focused on each other instead of with the server overloaded and lag bringing things to a grind.
OTHER
Some bad news, and this is a daily concern for the staff, RoR has become a victim of its successes. We have seen some concerning behavior in our network infrastructure, which does not help the stability expected in-game. Our provider has done its best to handle some of the excess traffic we've been attracting, but their options are limited. For now, we seem to be dealing with these issues as best we can, and hopefully in the future they will subside as we develop a better experience for all of us.
CONCLUSION
I'm really happy to share this amazing adventure with all of you, as a staff member and as a player above all, and I would like thank you - yet again - in the name of all the RoR Staff, for making this project a wonderful experience.
Yali.
.. Don't see the difference if we lag in T2 or T3 but all good.. Not like we can do anything about it .. 
