A new patch is deployed on PC and PS5 to Helldiverse 2. Among the new features, an anti-AFK device: players who are no longer active in the game will be returned to the title screen after fifteen minutes.
Helldiverse 2 is certainly a success that took everyone by surprise, including Arrowhead, its development studio. Proof of this is: the futuristic war game, which takes up the codes of the film Starship Troopers, has experienced exceptional enthusiasm since February. So much so, in fact, that the servers can’t keep up.
For several days, those who try to connect in the evening have been faced with the same demotivating message: “ full servers. Please try again later “. It is then possible to let the login page try again automatically later, but this offers no guarantee that the next attempt will be successful.
To overcome this problem, short-term measures have been put in place. In mid-February, the studio announced increasing the number of connections each minute to 20,000 (instead of 10,000). As for the total capacity of simultaneous players, it has continued to be increased. However, these efforts were not enough.
Absentees are returned to the title screen
While awaiting longer-term arrangements (and, perhaps, a relative weariness of part of the community), Arrowhead has just implemented a new policy: the automatic ejection ofHelldiverse 2 of any person absent for more than fifteen minutes. The rule comes with patch 1.000.11 for PC and PlayStation 5.
Inactive players will be returned to the title screen. Arrowhead does not provide details on its device. We generally consider that a person is inactive if their character is perfectly still, and if the system does not detect any action through the mouse, keyboard, controller or even headphones.
This measure is common in the video game industry. It is taken to free up server resources, by evacuating people who do not seem to be playing. This is critical, particularly if the infrastructure has difficulty holding the load due to too much traffic. Sometimes, an option may also be offered to directly report an “AFK”.
For Helldiverse 2, this measure can make a difference. When servers are full, there is no choice but to wait for someone to log out to add someone to the queue. This was explained by studio boss Johan Pilestedt in February. It is also a way of ensuring that everyone is fully committed for the good of controlled democracy.
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