A "Pause" Feature?

[_____________Xed LRK]

it would be a real help if there was some way we could "pause" AO - i.e. temporarily suspend the game and disconnect from the internet, without the game booting us out.
You see, hear is my predicament: my ISP is BT, and they cut off my connection once every two hours, as you can imagine, this makes playing online games very awkward (with constant logging out, reconnecting, and logging back in again).
The added problem is that AO seems to use up RAM like theres no tommorow, so I have to restart the computer once every two log-outs.

I cannot (practically) get a IDSL cable - or some other private link, due to its expense (at the moment).

So it would be handy if a feature was implemented that allowed us to "pause" (without being able to move, etc.) then disconnect, reconnect (to the internet) and "unpause" - with the game then updating other char positions etc.

This would be a real God-send for those with ISP's such as my own (and I realise plenty of ISPs operate like mine does) so please consider this, give it a bump if you agree, even if its just for my sake

(note: this making sense to everyone? )

[____________RedSonja]

Not really
Surely when you exit the game you are in effect "pausing".
Eventually your pause turns into a vanish from the game world, only for you to re-appear some time later.

I use virgin.net in the UK and I'm on exactly the same restrictions as you, Cable & ADSL are not options for me, I refuse to pay for ISDN as it's a step backwards.
So, every two hours without fail I have to re-log.
The only annoying thing is the loss of a map in a mission.
If I've been forced to flee a mission after say 30 minutes of play, then I'll use this opportunity to re-log, I've already lost my map so it wont hurt.

As for the "eating of memory" I've really never experienced that.
Sure I have to close-down my AO every two hours, but I never have to re-boot my PC, just wait for all memory to be released (average 10 seconds) and then launch the game again.

Adding the ability to "pause" sounds a bit like a "twinks" paradise, unless you are saying that your character still interacts with the surrounding world, in which case pause isn't worth having

[_____________Xed LRK]

The Pause I mean wouldn't still enable you to move around, change weapons etc. it would be a complete "Pause" i.e. everything stops moving, including yourself.

[_______________Intra]

i'm confused... how do you pause an mmorpg? you cant pause everyone in the dimension

what do you mean exactly
(i'm on BT too... sucks doesnt it? I recently signed up for alphanet, which works on a connection time point system thing.. still trying to work out if its worth it or not)

[_____________Xed LRK]

The whole dimension is not paused - only your connection - think of it as stopping the game from checking that your connection is there, and while you are logging off and on again, would be like one long chunk of lag...
To everyone else around you - it would appear you are simply standing still. The game then re-establishes its connection when you un-pause, as if the lag is over.

I've been thinking perhaps (if this were to ever be implemented) that several parameters must be met, such as: cannot be in a fight, cannot be in a place where there COULD be a fight (only in 75% and above).

[__________Mr.Nothing]

it would be cheaper for funcom to buy everyone a t3 line lol.