This site will tell you when Pokémon Go is about to crash
Pokemon Go's launch in Japan has been delayed due to server concerns
PHOTO: IsPokemonWorkingOrNot
Whether you’re into gaming or not, we’ve all heard of Pokémon Go and its record breaking success in the past couple of weeks. The mobile game has become a global phenomenon, quickly becoming the most downloaded application in US history.
With such huge success the game is also facing some problems. These include an unprecedented number of people gathering at public places like parks and accidents as a result of people not paying attention to their surroundings while playing the game. These problems however, are not what gamers are concerned with.
Why China is probably never getting Pokemon Go
The issue which players are more concerned with is the game's failing server as a result of unmanageable traffic. The game's developers have even delayed Pokémon Go’s release in other countries till they can manage the current traffic.
There is some good news for gamers though. A group of engineers from New York have developed a website that tracks Pokémon GO's server availability and login wait time to track when the game’s servers are working smoothly or buckling under the strain.
Pokémon GO servers down, hackers claim responsibility
The site called IsPokemonWorkingOrNot, uses a dummy account to login every 30 seconds and monitors the time it takes for the game servers to respond. Using this information, the site gives players a warning based on a time scale.
If a login time is more than 8 seconds, the game is at a warning level of struggle; more than 15 seconds and it’s at a critical level of capacity. If the game’s up-time drops below 95 per cent it reaches a warning level, and at below 90 per cent is also critical. Server latency of more than 0.8 seconds is also considered a warning level of wait time, with more than 3 seconds a critical risk.
A Guide to Playing Pokémon GO
Another tip for Pokémon Go fiends is that the site can also be used to get an idea as to the best time to use in game tools such as a “lure”, which works for 30 minutes and attracts Pokémons.
The websites creator, Vianney Tran, suggests that the warnings from the website don’t necessarily mean that the game's servers will crash as “Servers ideally are architected to have one take over if there is a failure, so it doesn’t always lead to that."
This article originally appeared on Forbes
With such huge success the game is also facing some problems. These include an unprecedented number of people gathering at public places like parks and accidents as a result of people not paying attention to their surroundings while playing the game. These problems however, are not what gamers are concerned with.
Why China is probably never getting Pokemon Go
The issue which players are more concerned with is the game's failing server as a result of unmanageable traffic. The game's developers have even delayed Pokémon Go’s release in other countries till they can manage the current traffic.
There is some good news for gamers though. A group of engineers from New York have developed a website that tracks Pokémon GO's server availability and login wait time to track when the game’s servers are working smoothly or buckling under the strain.
Pokémon GO servers down, hackers claim responsibility
The site called IsPokemonWorkingOrNot, uses a dummy account to login every 30 seconds and monitors the time it takes for the game servers to respond. Using this information, the site gives players a warning based on a time scale.
If a login time is more than 8 seconds, the game is at a warning level of struggle; more than 15 seconds and it’s at a critical level of capacity. If the game’s up-time drops below 95 per cent it reaches a warning level, and at below 90 per cent is also critical. Server latency of more than 0.8 seconds is also considered a warning level of wait time, with more than 3 seconds a critical risk.
A Guide to Playing Pokémon GO
Another tip for Pokémon Go fiends is that the site can also be used to get an idea as to the best time to use in game tools such as a “lure”, which works for 30 minutes and attracts Pokémons.
The websites creator, Vianney Tran, suggests that the warnings from the website don’t necessarily mean that the game's servers will crash as “Servers ideally are architected to have one take over if there is a failure, so it doesn’t always lead to that."
This article originally appeared on Forbes