While Eve is different in that the nature of that game simply works for a one server solution, I think instancing up things will work. It just helps everyone. BW probably can't merge servers because EA doesn't want bad PR, and many people like me who actually LIKE the game have unsubbed (on my free month at the moment) because our servers are dead. By doing this, they can avoid the bad PR by spinning it as something different, and people will always have a place to play where there are tons of players, so long as this game doesn't drop below 5,000 subscribers :-P

Didn't you read my original post? By INSTANCING! The same system that already exists but wasn't used beyond the first couple weeks for individual servers. Note that this would not mean that everyone would be on one actual server blade, there would still be many, but people freely moving between them. So if everyone goes to tatooine, there would be dozens of instances of it on the list with say 50-100 people per instance. If you are on one and a friend on another, click his, go through the load screen, and you are now in his. Or maybe it could be automatic when you are invited into his party. I don't know.

Ya but the point of this idea is to have instances, so ti wouldnt be a fleet where you couldn't move- it would be a fleet just like what a moderate level fleet population would be, but then many instances of such populations. So if you are on instance 7 and your friend invites you, maybe you'd go to instance 13 which also has 75-100 players on it. The only issue I could conceive of is with the chat, it would simply move too fast if it were unified. But if every instance had its own chat, you could then move to other instances if no one was biting on the one you were on for what you happened to be looking for.

Essentially, even fleet would use this. If you got invited to a friends party, you would join their instance of fleet. I could see how general chat would be too much, but this could be worked around too with good enough tools. Come on BW, we don't want to see this game die because EA is scared of bad PR!

Think about it, it would solve the population issue and avoid the bad PR of server mergers. They aren't merging servers, they are "utilizing an exciting new technology". The tech is already there. Remember long ago back in December when you could switch the instance of a particular zone to join your friends on another? Given that my server is now close to dead, I haven't needed to use that tool since probably January, but wouldn't it work? If not one, then maybe 4-5 mega servers.

http://www.mmofringe.com/forum/17-Star-Wars-The-Old-Republic/26734-SWTOR-Not-one-of-EAs-Top-Priorities?limit=10&start=20 Like I said above, EA is in cut their losses mode. They are not a patient company, and may even be the reason BW refuses to merge servers. In their eagerness to avoid a day of bad PR that would come from mergers, they will have a game with more servers than players.

Well ya, but what isn't speculation is that BW did say they wouldn't be doing the typical layoffs. EA's bottom line said otherwise.

But you should care, because if Bioware doesn't address at least the relevant concerns instead of shutting down their threads, this game will be a free to play by winter. Which may be fine for you, but, just don't expect too much new content when that happens. Even for you, what happens when you are done with the quests and stories? You will leave. MMOs need endgame.

That is true in most cases, but in this case it was not "supposed" to happen, according to BW themselves earlier on. Check this out: http://www.gamebreaker.tv/mmorpg/swtor-layoffs/

Why are they so efficient at shutting down threads within friggin MINUTES, but server merges/transfers? Eh later this summer. Who cares if my previously populous server is down to 10-15 people at prime time, less than a match of Call of Duty in the central player hub of an MMO. And for the guy who said "EA has a plan", when have you ever known EA to stick with products? They shut down servers on old games quicker than anyone in the business, and they don't apparently consider SWTOR, their $300 million dollar game, as "in their top five priorities". EA is not in save SWTOR mode, they are in "cut our losses" mode, as illustrated by today's layoffs.

Just had a topic I posted about the game closed within a couple minutes of posting it. IN the middle of the night. They can't get an LFD tool out or merge servers, but they can pay people to police the forums around the clock. Anyway, here is what I said: I came back to these forums for the first time in weeks, only to discover they have descended into complete negativity. Half the topics on the front page are people demanding server merges or transfers or LFD. All reasonable, and all that should have been done not just soon, but yesterday. And another thing I noticed troubled me, that some posters spoke about "Why" SWTOR has failed, as opposed to "if" it will fail. The game to them is not dying, but already dead. I want to argue, but a look at my server population makes the launch day queues seem like they happened, well, a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away. I made many friends while leveling. I loved leveling. The story was amazing on my warrior, and the instances were great fun. But I logged in, the last time a few weeks ago, only to see that of more than 30 people on my friends list, none were online. I played for a few hours that day on an alt, and non logged in. Coincidence? Maybe. What is not is that I asked a Guildie what has become of our guild, which a month after launch typically had 30-40 players online at any one time. Now? If at any given time you see 2-3 people on, it must be prime time. It is simply depressing. I don't like walking around an empty fleet. I do not enjoy seeing a game I anticipated fall apart in slow motion. Bioware must do something, ANYTHING, to save this ship before it sinks. It is time for BW to drop the conventional wisdom BS and start doing the hard fixes. Yes, investors get all panicky when they hear about server merges. But wanna know what kills your game faster than spooked investors? Having more servers than players. This also goes to having a LFG tool for instances. I'm sorry, but "DPS LFG for any HM" spamming for half an hour is not fun and it certainly does not build community. This game has many other flaws. But if people logged in to a populated server and knew they could find groups easily, they'd be willing to wait while the rest of the game was brought up to par. At least, I know I would. As it stands, I have some time left on my account. I will not be renewing until merges or a robust LFG tool is implemented. And even then, I have done what I didn't think I'd do and begun playing WoW again. If Pandas revitalize that game for me, who knows if I will want to ignite a lightsaber again. Tick tock Bioware.

I came back to these forums for the first time in weeks, only to discover they have descended into complete negativity. Half the topics on the front page are people demanding server merges or transfers or LFD. All reasonable, and all that should have been done not just soon, but yesterday. And another thing I noticed troubled me, that some posters spoke about "Why" SWTOR has failed, as opposed to "if" it will fail. The game to them is not dying, but already dead. I want to argue, but a look at my server population makes the launch day queues seem like they happened, well, a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away. I made many friends while leveling. I loved leveling. The story was amazing on my warrior, and the instances were great fun. But I logged in, the last time a few weeks ago, only to see that of more than 30 people on my friends list, none were online. I played for a few hours that day on an alt, and non logged in. Coincidence? Maybe. What is not is that I asked a Guildie what has become of our guild, which a month after launch typically had 30-40 players online at any one time. Now? If at any given time you see 2-3 people on, it must be prime time. It is simply depressing. I don't like walking around an empty fleet. I do not enjoy seeing a game I anticipated fall apart in slow motion. Bioware must do something, ANYTHING, to save this ship before it sinks. It is time for BW to drop the conventional wisdom BS and start doing the hard fixes. Yes, investors get all panicky when they hear about server merges. But wanna know what kills your game faster than spooked investors? Having more servers than players. This also goes to having a LFG tool for instances. I'm sorry, but "DPS LFG for any HM" spamming for half an hour is not fun and it certainly does not build community. This game has many other flaws. But if people logged in to a populated server and knew they could find groups easily, they'd be willing to wait while the rest of the game was brought up to par. At least, I know I would. As it stands, I have some time left on my account. I will not be renewing until merges or a robust LFG tool is implemented. And even then, I have done what I didn't think I'd do and begun playing WoW again. If Pandas revitalize that game for me, who knows if I will want to ignite a lightsaber again. Tick tock Bioware.

Queues are annoying, but when you do load in after 20 minutes or whatever, you enter a packed server. That is a good feeling. What isn't is spamming to find a group of four for half an hour. I was about to ask the NPCs to join.

That works too. As long as we end up with less servers than now.

Right?! LoL. What I don't get is the people saying "chill out it is coming, God be patient!" THOSE people are the ones who aren't helping. Those of us pushing for quicker merges or at least transfers are the ones with the games best interest in mind. Nothing makes people want to leave like an empty server. Even an end-game which is average (just my opinion, not trying to flame, and I love other aspects of this game) can be weathered if you see lots of people around to do stuff with. But this game on a low-pop server is just an RPG. Which is fine, but, won't keep people for more than a couple months. Maybe they buy an expansion too, play the story, and leave again. But ya, Bioware better hurry up. I won't pretend to know how difficult or easy it is to make server merges happen, but it doesn't matter. GW2 is out soon. A wow xpac is out soon. Tick tock bioware.

Been hearing a lot about free transfers. While that is better than nothing, I feel like it is not the most optimal solution. What will almost certainly happen is everyone on the low pop servers will just go to the 5-10 most packed servers, making the empty ones even more empty. Why not just merge light servers? Like every 3 or 4 or so have their player bases combined. Or whatever ratio makes them ideal medium/heavy population sizes. Server merges will be the correct way to correct for idiotically opening too many servers at launch. (NOTE TO MMO DEVS: When a new game launches, there is always people that will cry and moan about a queue time to log in. DON'T listen to them. Better to let them whine about a one hour queue for a week than have a large handful of low population servers that manage to discourage even people who like the game.) On another note, LFG is a needed tool nowadays. Guess what "DPS LFG any heroic" for 30 minutes or more in general chat is not "Community". And there you have another reason for merges. Many people want LFG, but only on same-server to keep some form of community. Fair enough argument. But it will only work with fewer, more populous servers. Otherwise, the big servers get their community and the small servers get shafted with huge wait times, if they ever get into a group. That is all.

THanks you guys! I started an agent because of what I have heard about the story, maybe I will also roll a BH. Later on when I try Republic I'll start with the smuggler.

Just wrapped up my Juggernaut DPS, had a good time leveling and the warrior story was excellent. Done some HMs and Warzones, but mostly getting ready for a new alt. This is because as a DPS, getting into groups is a pain, so I think I will set aside that toon until we have a Flashpoint Finder or dual spec so I can tank with him without having to respec each time. Anyway, I am going to avoid DPS this time around so wanted to ask which has the best story and gameplay, Inquisitor, Agent, or Bounty Hunter? I'm not sure if I am going to tank or heal but leaning healer since I tanked a lot in WoW and will probably tank on my warrior later on. And if anyone knows about the Republic, lemme know I'd love to hear it. Doubt I will roll pub yet, but I might. I just haven't heard good things about their stories and populations seem low on their side. tl;dr- Which class has the best story.gameplay on Imperial side other than Warrior? And for the Republic?

Integrated graphics blow, it is actually a credit to intel's improving chips that your i3 can even run this game. But ya, any GPU that is currently in the $100-$150 range should run this game fine. Radeon 5770 (now rebadged as 6770 I think) Nvidia GTX 550ti Radeon 6790 etc.

No. I spent 45 minutes the other day spamming "Need Healer for Red Reaper and GTG" That is not a friggin community builder. It is spam, and it is not fun to do.

The game has awful optimization, but it has def improved since launch. My AMD rig used to get like 5-15 fps in fleet and somehow LESS in warzones. Now I am at 20 fps fleet and well above 30 in Warzones, with 45-60 in everything else.

Actually now that I read more about your chip, it isn't all that comparable to mine. Mine is a Phenom II X6 1055t, a hexacore, while your model is actually an unlocked 960t. Not a true hexacore.

Well, at least for Radeon cards Catalyst Control Center gives you temperatures. Honestly, if it is running anywhere near 100 degrees Fahrenheit running SWTOR, then your GPU fan must be broken. No reason it should be that hot.

At least for the 1055t, the stock cooler it came with kept mine around 40 celsius when IDLE and howled like a banshee, very loud little bastard. So I recently switched to the Hyper 212 Plus cooler, which is pretty cheap. My chip now idles around 28 celsius and even under load when playing battlefield 3 or crysis 2 never tops 40 degrees, which is what the stock cooler previously made the chip idle at lol. It also runs waaaay quieter. Can barely hear it. As opposed to stock, which I could hear through my damn headphones.

I'm running a build that is quite similar to yours, and thus must comment that nothing seems out of place here. AMD Phenom II X6 1055t Radeon 5770 x 2 8gb RAM 700w PSU 7200RPM HDD Note that though these phenoms are both hexacore parts, this game does not scale to six cores. Also, I have two 5770s. The 5770 is quite comparable to the 550ti, both are low-midrange GPUs. Though I have two in Crossfire, this game doesn't seem to support crossfire. (I actually get slightly higher fps when I disable crossfire, weirdly enough) And ya, in most respects intel is just better. I only bought this AMD chip in late 2010 when I put this rig together because $200 for six cores is an awesome deal. Not unhappy with it by any means, but ya it won't match an i7-2700k and probably not even an i5-2500k except in games that can take advantage of all six cores. (Battlefield 3 runs beautifully) Anyway, with all those specs I typically get around 45-60fps in planets, slightly better in flashpoints, and around 20fps in fleet. You are about where you should be.