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Regarding Client Performance Optimization
Hello, my name is “Chase”; I am the TOS Dev team programmer in charge of client optimization. As we all know, client optimization has been one of the most requested features from the ToS community. There has been some improvements through other fixes, but there is still work to do. We are currently investigating solutions to this problem and we’d like to update you on the process. Current Status To optimize effectively, measurements are very important. A regular play pattern should be recorded and measured so that it can be compared with future results. In this process, replay function and performance visualization tools are used. So far, the optimization process has been focused on scenarios of either a situation involving one player or multiple monsters. The work has been done with the data from such scenarios. Through this, we have successfully achieved a few positive results in PvE environments. What we are focused on at the moment is the situation where a player is placed in a crowded place i.e. at big cities. City Environment Analysis We have captured a crowded city from our Japanese server and measured it via the replay tool. From our observations, we determined that a considerable bottleneck effect was occurring during animation updates, and after a more detailed analysis we concluded that the major source of the problem was in the morphing function. Morphing is the process that gradually changes one image into another. We use this process in ToS to create our unique style of animation you see in character hair movement, for example. The function itself is quite simple, but the intensive CPU processing it requires does tend to create some bottleneck issues. To solve this, we applied multi-threading, allowing each of the different objects to be simultaneously processed by its respective CPU core. Results The results we obtained after applying the multi-threading function exceeded our expectations. In our internal tests, we observed performance improvements of up to 1.5 to 2 times in a 4-core CPU, and 1.5 to 3 times in an 8-core CPU. FPS was steadily increased and occasional framerate spikes were significantly reduced. For reference, the specifications of the PC used for testing are as follows: CPU - i5 3570; graphics - GTX650; OS - Windows 10. One thing to consider, however, is that this multi-threading process might cause hidden bugs that are unseen at the time of testing. That is why testing sessions to see if newly worked-in codes do not cause any errors are needed. After this process goes through the testing and is included in a patch, we expect a great performance increase especially in areas crowded with player characters. Future Plans First, we intend to continue exploring multi-threading. Starting with morphing, we want to extend the process to gradually start separating other tasks that occur before and after it, such as effects where there is room for further improvement. Another aspect we’re tackling is related to resource loading. The slight performance drops that can happen whenever a character meets a new NPC or monster in-game are a problem we are seriously taking in consideration. We expect resource management measures will help a great deal in solving this. I am constantly keeping an eye on the feedback our players leave on the forums concerning FPS drops in their particular gaming environments. Rest assured that we will continue to work hard to solve the main issues that affect a considerable part of our player population. As you can see, there is still room for further optimization besides the measures explained in this blog post. Also, after the optimization patch is applied, there might be some discrepancies between the observed results from our development environment and the actual result on the environments of our users. Your feedback after the patch on how much it improved and what your computer specs are will help our development immensely. We strive to solve the client performance issue until the day it no longer is a top issue. Well, that’s it for now, I’ll keep working hard to bring you guys even more good news. Thank you for reading this rather long and technical stuff; cheers.
[CLOSED] Sidekick Booster (Sep '17)
Greetings, Saviors! It's time to bring out your loving Companions one more time for the Sidekick Booster event! Travel and battle with your trusty sidekick for up to 10 rewards a day, plus a sweet EXP boost! Event Period FROM the scheduled maintenance on September 19, 2017 TO the scheduled maintenance on October 10, 2017 Who Can Participate - All characters with by a companion of level 50 or higher How to Participate STEP 1. Associate a Companion to one of your characters and activate it. Every time your Companion consumes some of its Stamina, you have a chance of obtaining one of 6 different gifts! - The gifts drop randomly, and you can win up to 10 per day, per team. STEP 2. Any character battling with a Companion will also receive an extra +20% of EXP gains during the event period! Rewards Receive one item every time your Companion consumes its Stamina! - Keista Protective Potion - Keistas Bravery Potion - Fortune Cookie - Advanced Gem Abrasive (14 Days) - Instanced Dungeon One Entry Voucher (14 Days) - Instanced Dungeon Multiply Token (14 Days) Important - The effects of this event will only apply to non-Hawk Companions of level 50 or higher. - Event reward items are untradeable. - Companions with 0 Stamina will not drop reward items.
Known Issues: July 5th
Greetings, Saviors. The following is the list of bugs that we are aware and currently working on them. GENERAL Face Disappearing When Using Fireball: "Dullahan Problem" Losing the character's face when equipped with Love-Wave Perm and usingf the 'Fire Ball' skill Going Over the Iron Gate: "Hang On A Second" Being able to pass through the iron gate in Catacombs Underground Dungeon by using the Falconer's "Hanging Shot" Elongaged Cooldown: "Travel-Weariness" Skill cooldown increasing when changing channels Stuck When Using Quest Teleport: "You Shall Not Pass!" Getting stuck after using the quest completion warp. Slowed FPS After a Cutscene: "If I Could Save Time In A Bottle" FPS getting slowed after a cutscene. QUEST The Legendary Trick(2)': "Transformation Malfunction" The transformed appearance being improperly printed if changing equipment while being transformed during the 'The Legendary Trick(2)' quest. Memorial Ceremony(3): "Multi-Tasking" Being able to use skills while collecting Butterfly Fragrance during the 'Memorial Ceremony(3)' quest. SKILL Cryomancer- Snow Rolling: "Impaler Escaper" Being unable to cast Cataphract's "Impaler" skill on a Cryomancer even after the Cryomancer's Snow Rolling has been completed in a friendly duel. Hunter- Hounding: "What a Drag" The companion draging a character with it when it is hit with the Hunter's "Hounding" skill and attacks the character. Swordman- Bash: "Bash Not! Even! Once!" The knockback effect not applying to the target. Rodelero/Thaumarturge - Shield Bash/Transpose : "Man of Health and Taste" Being able to increase health stat to an absurd amount by using Shield Bash or Transpose Dievdirby - Statue of Goddess Laima: "Idle Idol" Certain skills not receiving the cooldown buff from the skill. Linker- Physical Link: "A Problem Shared Is A Problem Doubled" Damage is not reduced when using the skill. Corsair- Jolly Roger: "Folly Roger, More Like" Damage buff not working. Please let us know via Support Ticket if you are experiencing other problems. When reporting issues, please be as detailed as possible. Screenshots, character/Team/server/class details, and timestamps would be greatly appreciated. That way we can have more information to work with on a more specified problem allowing it to be resolved faster.
NEW! Rank Reset Relay Pt. 1
Greetings, Saviors! The arrival of Character Rank 10 comes full of new possibilities! We don’t want you to miss out on any of them, so we’re sending out our trusty Kupole helper to get you fresh reset items every day! Event Period FROM the scheduled maintenance on September 4, 2018 TO the scheduled maintenance on September 18, 2018 Who Can Participate - Characters of all levels How to Participate STEP 1. Login to TOS and collect [R10] Star Fragments according to your daily play time! After the first 20 minutes your character automatically receives 6 Fragments, then 2 additional Fragments every 5 minutes (maximum 80 minutes = 30 Fragments). STEP 2. If your character is level 50 or above, defeat monsters for a chance to rake in extra [R10] Star Fragments! The Fragments will drop from monsters in all regular fields and Hunting Grounds. STEP 3. Visit the Kupole helper near the Wings of Vaivora in the city of Klaipeda and exchange [R10] Star Fragment x30 for Rank Reset Voucher (1 Day) x1 AND Stat Reset Potion (1 Day) x1! You can exchange up to 2 sets of reset items per day, per team (resets at 00:00, server time). Important - Items with time limits (“1 Day”) are untradeable and not transferable via Team Storage. - [R10] Star Fragments are untradeable, but they can be transferred via Team Storage. - [R10] Star Fragments will not drop from monsters with a difference of more than 30 levels from your character. They will also not drop from monsters in instanced dungeons or missions. - Login time is counted on a per-team basis, as a total of all your characters. E.g.) Character A (15 mins) + Character B (5 mins) = Team Total (20 mins) - Login time will not count at the server selection screen, Lodge or Team Battle League. - Play time-based [R10] Star Fragment reward cycles reset every day at 00:00, server time. If you log in after 23:40, you will not be able to receive the time-based [R10] Star Fragments for that day. - Daily attendance rewards can be received one time per day, per team. - [R10] Star Fragments will be deleted at the end of the event period, so make sure to exchange them before September 18, 2018.
Founder's Server Now Accessible!
Greetings, Saviors! The time to save the world and find the goddesses has finally come! Those that have purchased at least one of the _Founder's Server : Exclusive Access_ products will now be able to access [Tree of Savior](http://store.steampowered.com/app/372000/) on Steam. Please check below for important details that you may wish to keep track of. [Noteworthy dates and times] -Scheduled maintenance : Every Tuesday 1:00 - 5:00 a.m. (EDT) -Announcements regarding new servers : Will be made 30 minutes - 1 hour prior to opening -Transition to F2P : April 28th, 2016 [Contacting us] Feel free to contact us on the forums via PM or posts under the Help category with any problems you may have about the game. Please make sure to contact us via Support or E-mail only when you are having major technical problems to ensure prompt responses. -PM on the [Official Forums](https://forum.treeofsavior.com/) : Log-in issues, technical problems, bug reports, or other issues. -[Support Tickets](https://treeofsavior.com/inquiry/) : Major technical issues, abusing/hacking reports -E-mail (tossupport@imc.co.kr) : Major technical issues Thank you for all of your support and enthusiasm for Tree of Savior. We hope that we will be able to work together to raise the sapling that it is now into a tree worthy of legend. Sincerely, IMC Staff
About the Bot Report Function
Many of you are showing your concern on bots. Bots are a big problem to the developers as well because they interrupt game play and negatively affect the game's economy. The bot report function we added to the game can effectively ban bots if used properly, but we also have to consider the possibility of its abuse. Throughout time, we've been doing research on how we can minimize this abuse. We're going to explain our report feature in close detail and tell you what to keep in mind when reporting bots. First, not all reports hold the same validity. Each account has a value called "Report Influence Index." This value cannot be seen by players, but it increases whenever said account correctly reports a bot. If a user is reported repeatedly by others, that user is very likely to be a bot. In addition, if the reporter is an influential individual, their report is most likely valid so we can set a priority on which account to ban first. This is where the Report Influence Index (RII) comes in. In terms of numbers, a player with 10 RII has the same impact as 10 different players with 1 RII each when reporting suspicious users. Accounts with high report counts will then move to the next step of verification. Some have suggested using CAPTCHA, but that too, will be breached eventually. It puts needless restrictions on the players, so we are not considering its use. Instead, what we chose to use is a server-side classifier based on Machine Learning (ML) technique. The classifier uses the comprehensive activity log of a reported account to determine if it's a bot in percentages. We will not be revealing the classifier's exact mechanism, as it can be manipulated by violators to bypass the system. We train our classifier by constantly inputting new data. The fact that we can maintain its accuracy is its advantage, because we're going to manually determine which factors should be considered to identify bots. The classifier's accuracy depends on how we determine the behavior criteria, and we examine over 20 basic criteria. The machine showed 99% accuracy on our Korean server when we set the machine to output fewer false positives. If we set strictness value low, the classifier will detect more bot with lower accuracy and vice versa. An account that is deemed to be a bot becomes subject to restriction after a GM's additional confirmation. If that account gets banned, then all the users who reported that account gain one RII point. However, should the reported account be declared clean, the reporter's RII value will be negatively affected. The RII is not a simple difference between the numbers of accurate and inaccurate report counts, and the algorithm we use to determine the final RII value can be changed in the future. Therefore, you should not report bots if you're unsure of their offense. The system can backfire on you if you're not careful. For example, a player going afk while leaving a heavy object on the attack key has to be handled differently from regular bots. The classifier can deem the afk player innocent from looking at the honest play records, so afk players should not be reported using the report function as that will work against your RII. Lastly, if we're not absolutely sure the reported account is a bot, then it will not be banned and the reporter's RII will remain unchanged. We're going to keep examining and upgrading the system and do our best so bots will not ruin your play experience. Thank you for reading and have fun playing Tree of Savior.
Announcement regarding our policy on add-ons
Greetings Saviors, There have been some recent incidents regarding add-on usage and we would like to use this chance to address something that may players have been asking for a long time. We have decided to cover those incidents in a separate announcement so make sure to check it for more details. [IMPORTANT] 1. We do not endorse the usage of add-ons due to the possibility of user harm and other various dangers. Any damage or inconvenience that occurs from using add-ons is the responsibility of the user. 2. While the fact that a player used an add-on by itself may not be enough to be penalized, there will be certain add-ons that will not be in-line with our service policies. Any usage of such add-ons will be penalized, so please keep a close eye on any related announcements on our official channels. 2-1) Add-ons that fall under the following categories are strictly prohibited and will be penalized to a far greater degree. i. Tampering the client files to allow abnormal activities ii. Automating certain actions within the game that violate normal gameplay mechanics iii. Deceiving or creating confusion amongst the players 3) Restrictions incurred by add-on usage When penalizing users of certain add-ons deemed inappropriate by our standards, we will announce the list of add-ons or functions. Any users using those add-ons or functions after the mentioned time-period on such announcements will be penalized. Please make sure to read the details mentioned above and keep a close eye on the official website for any announcements to which add-ons are deemed as inappropriate to make sure that you do not experience any inconveniences.
New Event: New Year’s Fortune
Greetings, Saviors! The New Year is almost here and we’re starting 2017 off on the right foot with a little help from some lucky Fortune Cookies. See the details below to find out how to participate in the event. 1. Event Period - From: scheduled maintenance on December 27, 2016 - To: scheduled maintenance on January 17, 2017 2. How to Participate - Defeat the final boss in any mission or instanced dungeon to receive a Fortune Cookie. - Use the Fortune Cookie item from your inventory to receive its buff effects. - Each Fortune Cookie will give you 30 minutes of +30% EXP gains and +1 movement speed. - Receive different prizes according to the total number of Fortune Cookies used. 3. Fortune Cookie Prizes - 10 Cookies used: Token: 7 Days x1 - 20 Cookies used: Settlement Support Potion x10 - 30 Cookies used: Old Enhancement Card x1 - 40 Cookies used: Superior Gem Abrasive (14 Days) x1 - 50 Cookies used: Silver Anvil (14 Days) x1 - 60 Cookies used: Penguin Hair Accessory x1 4. Important - This event is open to characters of all levels. - Fortune Cookie items are untradable. - You can stack the effects of up to 5 Fortune Cookies. - Each prize can be received a maximum of once per account. - The number of Fortune Cookies used is calculated on a per-account basis. - You will see the total number of Fortune Cookies used by your team appear every time one of your characters uses one. - Prizes will be delivered directly to the inventory of the character that achieves the required Fortune Cookie use count (i.e. since used Cookies are counted on a per-team basis, whatever character in your team is the 10th to use a Fortune Cookie will receive the prize corresponding to 10 Cookies used, and so on). Keep this in mind when consuming the Fortune Cookies. - Prizes with time limits will begin counting down as soon as they are received by your character.
New Event: Level Up Chest Challenge
Greetings, Saviors! Our new event gives you the chance to level up your characters for big prizes! Reach the levels shown on each Level Up Chest to unlock the rewards! Can you complete all ten level up challenges? See below to find out how to participate. 1. Event Period - From: scheduled maintenance on March 14, 2017 - To: scheduled maintenance on April 4, 2017 2. How to Participate - Receive 10 'Level Up Chests' from the Event Notice Board with a character of level 50 or above. - Each chest will display a different target level you will need to reach in order to open it and receive the rewards. - Use the Level Up Chest to display its target level. If your character has already reached the target level, the chest will open and you will receive the rewards. - The target level of each chest is determined by the character's current level. - You can open a maximum of 10 Level Up Chests per character, each containing different rewards (see the Rewards section). - If your character reaches level 330 (maximum level) before completing all 10 Chests, they will no longer be able to open any other Chests nor receive their rewards. - Instead, characters of level 330 can interact with the Event Notice Board to receive a reward of 120 TP. - The maximum level TP reward can only be received once per team. 3. Rewards Chest 1 = Lv2 Settlement Support Potion x10, Zemyna Necklace (14 Days) x1 Chest 2 = Fortune Cookie x2, Instanced One Entry Voucher x2 Chest 3 = Fortune Cookie x3, Instanced One Entry Voucher x2 Chest 4 = Fortune Cookie x4, Instanced One Entry Voucher x2 Chest 5 = Fortune Cookie x5, Goddess Sculpture x1 Chest 6 = Instanced Dungeon Multiply Token x3, Goddess Sculpture x1 Chest 7 = Fortune Cookie x3, Instanced Dungeon Reset Voucher x2 Chest 8 = Fortune Cookie x5, Instanced Dungeon Reset Voucher x2 Chest 9 = Skill Reset Potion x1, Superior Gem Abrasive x5 Chest 10 = Stat Reset Potion x1, Silver Anvil x1 4. Important - All chests and reward items and untradable and/or must be used within a limited period of time. - Items with time limits start counting down as soon as they are received in your inventory. - Level Up Chests will be deleted after the event period is over on April 4, 2017.