We regularly conduct maintenance on our game servers; this is to ensure they are running properly. When servers are undergoing maintenance, they may be unavailable for several hours. Here is an overview of the various possible cases.
We conduct weekly maintenance every Tuesday for DOFUS Touch.
Server maintenance generally occurs from 8:00 AM to 10:30 AM (Paris time), but it may run later if complications arise.
MAINTENANCE ALLOWS FOR THE FOLLOWING ACTIVITIES:
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Game server maintenance – Shutting down and then restarting the game servers allows us to avoid certain issues related to game latency that accumulate if the servers aren't regularly restarted.
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Complete backup of game server data – We have a system for backing up all game data when the servers are running (without disrupting the game), but we also perform backups when the servers are offline.
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Server operation updates – The server program and game data are sometimes updated, so these must be swapped out for the more recent version.
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Patches available in the changelog are added to the game.
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During maintenance, our testing team verifies that additions and patches are working properly.
WHY IS MAINTENANCE DONE ON TUESDAY MORNINGS?
As you can see, maintenance requires the involvement of several different teams. It is therefore preferable to do it during working hours so that as many people as possible are available to respond to any issues that may arise.
So, why Tuesday in particular?
Simply because, if a problem does arise after an update or maintenance operation, our teams can take action over the next few days. This also partly explains why, except in rare cases, we avoid performing server maintenance on Friday.
It's also worth noting that Tuesday morning is one of the times when the least amount of players are logged in.
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There is more traffic in the evening and on weekends than in the morning.
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As DOFUS Touch is an international game, there are players online at any time of day or night.
A FEW SPECIFIC CASES
Unscheduled maintenance
In some cases (updates, fixes for technical problems, etc.), we may need to perform unscheduled maintenance on the game servers.
These maintenance operations are announced in the forums (on the homepage) and on Twitter. The Server Status section allows you to track potential compensation or other information, such as a rollback.
Sometimes we're unable to announce these in advance, for example if a critical bug needs to be patched very quickly. Please forgive us in advance for any fights cancelled or playtime missed during these procedures, but this kind of maintenance is crucial in order for the game to run properly.
Automatic backup
Several times a day, connections to the game servers are blocked for about 10 minutes so that the server databases can be backed up.
These backups are made 4 times a day.
We're aware that this causes latency issues, and we'll work to fix the problem as quickly as possible.
UPDATES
The frequency of major updates for DOFUS Touch is an average of 3 to 4 months.
Outside of these periods, even when maintenance operations don't provide new in-game content or fixes visible to players, they allow us to ensure that our databases and servers are functioning correctly.
Certain minor changes may be made during weekly maintenance, as these don't present a major "threat". For more significant changes, we prefer to wait until a major update is deployed so that they'll be tested more thoroughly, particularly during beta testing.
Now you know more about how maintenance, updates, and backup procedures work. We hope that your various queries have been answered!