Just wanted to give a quick update on the progress of 17.5 and the server upgrade as we head into the weekend.
17.5 is now being prepared for Test-live and will hopefully appear over the next week or so. The new hardware installation and new database hardware will be tested on the test-live dimension first. So that might slip a little as we work to get the new production environment up and running fully.
The server move will be done with the 17.5 update as moving to new hardware involves making all our game systems interact with newer versions of our database software. This means the server move is getting closer and is likely to happen within the next four to five weeks or so. This will involve some longer downtimes as previously mentioned but we will let you know the details on those as we move forward.
In terms of the gameplay content and changes for 17.5 we will release the full preliminary notes when the update goes to Test-live (there are also a lot of small fixes in this update that are being tested as I write this) but in the meantime we have updated the 17.5 preview to include a few more little sneak peeks into what is coming your way with 17.5.
You can find the preview here