I am not having problems logging in to the game. The problem is after I choose which wizard I am going to run. It seems that the In Game Load Time has gotten so much slower, that a few minutes pass before my character and any others that are in the area become visible. If I port to a friend, especially if that friend is moving, they are out of site long before my wizard can see them or anything else. The same thing is true when changing realms or moving from one area to the next.
The load time of Blades, Shield, and traps has also returned to loading only one at a time when using Spirit Blades and Shields as well as using Elementals. Before Celestia was introduced to the game, KI had this issue fixed to where these all loaded at the same time.
Even movement in some areas has become very jerky. It is move a little and stop, move a little and stop. This is very annoying. The game is no longer flowing smoothly. Movement near a battle is even worse.
Reagent farming is another issue where I have found this lag in the game. At times when one of my wizards is farming for reagents, the reagents are not visible. The only way you know they are there is when the box appears to pick them up. This usually happens in Mooshu.
These problems are happening with all of my wizards, not just one.
Even scheduling my play for 0200 to 0600 is not as enjoyable as it used to be. There are just too many people and things moving at once to effectively support this game on servers ... as it is.
Sooner or later, some of the "moving" animations are going to have to leave the server and go down to the client. Especially at the rate you are growing.
If you want a long term solution to this type of problem, replace all your designer/developer/tester workstations with Windows 3.1 and a 19.2kbs dial-up connection to the ISP.
IF the game does not lag THERE, it won't lag ANYWHERE ... ;)
And you would be amazed at what a frustrated programming staff can come up with once they OWN the problem on a never-ending, daily basis ... ;) They'll find a way to write the tightest code on the planet ... and your products will shine for it.
