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Jarcen

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Everything posted by Jarcen

  1. MMOs in general are time demanding games. Unlike MoBAs, where you hop on a match that's over in 15 minutes or so, on MMOs you need to set aside time for it. That's the problem with MMOs like SWTOR. It's the nature of the game itself. The game is geared towards those who can put in time for it. At least an hour at the very least daily. MMOs reward those who spend more time on it. It's the very nature of the genre itself.
  2. My point exactly (check my post previous to this)
  3. What I notice here is that the issue seems to stem from being a character from the ground up, which is why there are people who want to have transfers so as to bring their character/s into the server wholesale--meaning their legacy, credits, equipment, etc. Given that there would be a cap at least as far as credits go (BS still hasn't said whether gear and equipment could be transferred as well or if there would be a cap to them), I propose to have something like 3x-5x exp/drop rates for the server. Now it would of course be up to the player how much time they would want to be ingame. Even without an increased exp/drop rate those players who are more active ingame would still have much advantage, for the simple reason they spend more time on it. From what I see, the whole issue regarding transfer and all stems actually from a time management issue on the part of the players. No amount of concessions made by BS can fix that as even if BS throws everything in the transfer, a number of those same players will still have that issue, and that's something BS can never help with short of letting their staff play for those players.
  4. Can't be a permanent thing. It might be for a long duration though, like say 3-4 months which would be more than enough time for most to recoup credit loss if there is a credit transfer cap.
  5. I seem to notice a slight increase of people in the server since the announcement here. I say slight, like I would think a 1%-5% increase. Hopefully that trend continues as more development comes out regarding this issue.
  6. I didn't address this since I don't even know what you mean by players are not being forced to transfer. Certainly I didn't even imply they're forced to transfer. Now my suggestion goes beyond transfers--it actually would apply for all players on the server, not just for transfers. Having a 2x, 3x or even 5x exp/drop rate would be a win for all on the server. Well mostly, since an increase in credit rate could result in inflation with the availability of more credits for all players. Other than that, an increased experience rate would largely take care of the leveling issue that some players might have, though with transfer now there I don't think that would be much of an issue now. Overall though a 3x or 5x exp/drop rate would be a big win for everyone on SV.
  7. I'm just going to repost what I said on another thread, since it is relevant. Keep in mind I posted this before the announcement for server transfer and all that stuff, but what I posted is still relevant in light of what we have so far. Given that there would be some sort of credit cap, IMO what I propose would be more relevant now: My take on this is that I'm actually all for this (note: credit cap). However, I also understand that there are people who want to have some form of credit transfer as well. Maybe not all of their credits but at least part of it. That being said, if there is no credit transfer then, as I've suggested earlier, people should at least still be compensated or given incentive of some form to make up for credit and items they haven't brought to SV. I would actually propose a month or so of 2x, 3x or even 5x exp/drop rate. By drop rate of course that would mean 5 item as well as credit drop by mobs and enemy NPCs. IMO something like one month of 5x exp/drop rate would be more than enough incentive and compensation--that would allow many people to level quickly as well as recover their credits as well. On the downside, inflation would become an issue as well if ever. There should be some form of balance as well then to mitigate inflation.
  8. See, this is what I'm saying: build your legacy and characters now and transfer isn't going to be an issue. I'm just amused and relaxed here, not affected by this issue since I already have six characters past chapter 3 and my Agent is now in chapter 3, so soon I'll have the Legendary title. I'm at Legacy 30 going to 31. I have around 4m credits across all characters in SV. I'm not worrying about transfer because I acted and did things from server launch. It's as simple as that.
  9. Big update there. Seems BS has taken notes on the discussions here....
  10. Maybe a number of people on this thread are geared and are at 80, but that doesn't necessarily mean it's true for the whole server. Server's just 2 months old, so I would think majority of the players haven't even reached 80 yet, or 60 for that matter. Not all people will have the time to be on the game as most also have lives outside of it. With that in mind, a sudden influx of geared transfers will shift the balance in favor of those people of course--to the detriment of the rest of the server. And time and again as I've seen happen in other games, once you have players who can afford to have such gear go up against most of the people in a server or game, it spells the quick demise of the game. Now I'm not sure how this would apply to SWTOR, but it shows what happens when you let high gear be available for a select few. When I was playing Scarlet Blade over at Aeria Games, gear there can be enhanced to +12 (later raised to +15), and it wasn't easy to enhance gear. It takes a few tries to enhance past +6, and more often enhancement can fail. Only very few have a complete +12 armor and weapon set, so more or less that leveled the playing field. UNTIL Aeria Games decided to sell already enhanced armor and weapon in the item mall. Many of us Game Sages (I was a Game Sage or GS there--GS are assistants to the Game Masters, basically a volunteer position) and even the Game Masters opposed the idea, as it would readily make these items available for only a select few--aka the game whales. But Aeria didn't relent, and that spelled the quick decline of the game. Many players quit as they were face rolled by the whales, who were naturally totally geared. Why do I bring this up? Well once transfer is allowed and with it gear and equipment are also allowed to transfer, it will create the same scenario as I described above--such high level gear would only be available to already established characters transferred from other servers, to the detriment of many who started from scratch on SV and are still building up their gear and equipment. It's not hard to see that the transfers will simply face roll all those players, and I've seen many rage quit because of it. That's what I DON'T want to happen on SV. Remember that SV, for better or worse, started out as a fresh start server (I know some would say it's a regional server and not a fresh start server, but because of BS' decision not to allow transfer at launch it effectively made SV into such) and as such many who have decided to come there since launch started with nothing, and are still building their characters. Now I don't know how many of those have characters from other servers or what level their characters are in those servers, or if they're even willing to transfer those to SV. For myself I'm not transferring characters from other servers, foremost because it cost to do so and even if I wanted to would only transfer one anyway. My point is that transfers with their full, high gear will have a very big advantage over those who have been in the server since the beginning and have already built their legacy over at SV. Maybe BS should poll current SV players on how many of them have characters in other servers, what level they are, and if they're going to transfer those to SV? I don't know--it's just a thought as that might also help BS/EA on how transfer would be handled (no credit? Limited credit? No gear and equipment? Limited gear and equipment transfer? Or a combination of such...I'm rambling here now as it's 3:40am and I haven't slept yet lol)
  11. Been saying that all along, but... Anyway, this is what we need. Initiative like this coming from the guilds and/or players. I've said it many times, we need people on the server to show EA/Broadsword that the server is worth keeping.
  12. Wow, you edited your previous post. It would've created more drama here. And I was just getting ready to get the popcorn out and watch the flames burn...
  13. Think of it this way--you want an APAC server, then you have to prove to the devs it's a server worth investing on. If there are no players on it, they're not going to waste money and time on it. It's as simple as that. SWTOR is a business. It's more than just a game. Devs sink hours and money into the servers and most often players don't realize that side of the industry. When people decide to leave a game or server, activity declines especially when a number of people do so. A company will not pour more time and effort on something that's not giving them back a return in investment. Again, it's simple business sense. A customer wants a product, then he should buy it and support it by buying it often. If you want an APAC server, then you should be there. Doesn't make sense that you want that server but isn't on it. Now if you want more people on the server, aside from playing on it you invite more people to go on it. But again you should be playing on it first in order to invite others, since it wouldn't make sense inviting people on something you never use yourself. Simple logic there. Bottomline is we want this server, then we should make it succeed and being there shows EA/Broadsword that SV is worth keeping.
  14. This is a bad decision. As I've posted earlier, Broadsword is keeping an eye on server activity closely, and likely their decision to have transfer will hinge on how active the server is. As I've said, an active server shows that it's worth keeping and investing on. An inactive server would naturally be seen as a waste of resources, time and money. Overall SWTOR is a business, not just a game. More people are on a server means a better ROI, and naturally less people on it would be a bad investment. A company wouldn't let a bad investment run its course since it is bleeding money--money that the company could channel to more active servers. In effect, as I've mentioned, people holding back from playing in SV are essentially shooting the server in the foot and is not helping its cause at all.
  15. No, not yet. That's basically what this thread's about--when would transfer be coming, and we're still waiting if and when it would come.
  16. Well I think you've already answered what SWTOR needs in order to bring people in--it needs marketing. Of course marketing is just one aspect. This is mainly aimed at new players, since what SV needs is new players. Existing players already know about SV. Though promotion is still needed for that segment, the thing with existing players is that they already have characters in other servers. To target that segment you need to have incentives for them; like I posted, existing players' concern goes down to this: what's in it for me to play in SV that I don't already experience in other servers? A different strategy is needed for that, and giving incentives to existing players is one way to make them go to SV. However as I've said, SV needs more new players. New players don't have experience from other servers, and as well don't have characters in them, so they can't make a comparison. This is actually to SV's advantage and if BS or EA or whoever is doing the marketing can do it right, they could actually get and hold new players in. New players don't have any bias that they might have for other servers. in essence that's why a fresh start server is essential for SV, in order to lure new players who don't have any bias for prior servers into the game. Now of course determining what issues need to be addressed to retain players is another topic altogether. If we'll go over them that might require a new thread, which isn't connected to the thread here. It would derail the thread into other issues that although are important, can't be fully covered in this thread.
  17. Many people don't understand much about Marketing, which unfortunately most companies don't as well. Usually when downsizing Marketing is the first to go, not realizing that much revenue comes because of Marketing (ad promotions, sales, PR are all forms of Marketing). So when Marketing is downsized, the result is that product placement and awareness also suffers, resulting to further decline. It's quite amusing when companies do this as it's practically shooting themselves on the foot, and would only realize it too late that they actually need a Marketing campaign to get their products going. We in Marketing could've told them so. But anyway...marketing must be constant. Just because a company did a marketing campaign so many years ago doesn't mean they shouldn't do another campaign. There is constant competition out in the market. Even for a known brand like Star Wars needs marketing. I would say probably more so now what with Disney doing a good job in knocking the IP down. SWTOR needs a big marketing campaign to show and differentiate itself from the Disney SW. Possibly one of the big factors why people aren't looking into SWTOR is because of the perceived Disney association, which is almost like a death sentence at this point. So there is a need for much promotion to make the public aware of the game and how it's not exactly tied to the Disney brand. Yes Marketing comes with a cost but as mentioned, the ROI is just as big. This is what is misunderstood even by most companies themselves. When you cut back in Marketing, you're hurting your product since awareness for it is diminished. Over the years you can see its effect on SWTOR--many people aren't aware it exists or it's still online. I post about the game in MMORPG Philippines--a Facebook group for MMOs--and many people don't even know about it. And that's among MMO players. The game's been out 12 years but the lack of promotion has hurt it so much that people don't even know it's out there. I always compare the amount of promotion SWTOR has to what Wargaming is doing. Now the games of Wargaming are a different genre, but that's not the point--the point is how much Marketing is done, and Wargaming does so much you practically see something about World or Warships or World of Tanks daily. In the time Shae Vizla launched until today, how many ads can you remember SWTOR had? Yeah that's right--zero. As in nothing. One would think with a new server, they would put much fanfare for it, but none. Guess what's happening through all that time. The game has much potential but that potential will remain just that if not tapped fully, and that would mean much Marketing. Promote the game. Promote the server. Put out ads, and see an ROI. The amount you put into Marketing would be the same amount, and more, that would return.
  18. Sometimes you really have to take risks to keep things moving, and it should pay off. Generally it should be a win for the company when it comes to marketing as it would promote its product, unless the company isn't interested in moving that product which would then be unfortunate for everyone.
  19. Disney has so far have a hands-off policy with SWTOR. If Disney wanted to get involved in it, they would've done so years ago. As of now Disney has its hands full with the movies and streaming. I don't think they're in any position right now to tackle SWTOR given the state of Disney SW. Regardless on the relationship between EA and Broadsword, there is still a need to promote this game extensively. I would even say desperately, since promotion for it is nearly zero, as in it exists mainly because there are still people logging into it, and that's just about it. They really need to step up on marketing here since each year there are new games coming out, and that means less focus on SWTOR by players in general and more on the newer games. SWTOR has still much potential in it, but it will remain just a potential unless it's effectively used.
  20. Broadsword should take up the initiative to promote the game. If EA isn't doing enough, then BS should. After all they also have a stake to this game, so if they want it to go on further then they should invest on marketing and promoting it. Passing the blame on this or that won't help things--as I always say, it is more productive to take action than to find excuses. Of course if a company isn't that interested in it then naturally they'll find an excuse. Hopefully BS has much interest to find time to market and promote the game. Well there is a possibility that providing incentives would take some players away from the other servers; then again the other servers are much established at this point than SV, so I don't think the impact would be that great. Servers like SF which has a large population won't be affected as much, and certainly this would help SV much as it is still a new server. But the two should work together: promotions and incentives. Incentives will appeal more to an already present playerbase; promotions would target more new players as well as returning players.
  21. Many aspiring voice actors out there who would love to have a chance to even work for free actually. It doesn't need to be very expensive, unless you're thinking of A-list VAs like Tara Strong (who did VA work for SWTOR, among others).
  22. My take on this is that I'm actually all for this. However, I also understand that there are people who want to have some form of credit transfer as well. Maybe not all of their credits but at least part of it. That being said, if there is no credit transfer then, as I've suggested earlier, people should at least still be compensated or given incentive of some form to make up for credit and items they haven't brought to SV. I would actually propose a month or so of 2x, 3x or even 5x exp/drop rate. By drop rate of course that would mean 5 item as well as credit drop by mobs and enemy NPCs. IMO something like one month of 5x exp/drop rate would be more than enough incentive and compensation--that would allow many people to level quickly as well as recover their credits as well. On the downside, inflation would become an issue as well if ever. There should be some form of balance as well then to mitigate inflation.
  23. Of course, I'm also going to reiterate the OTHER side of the equation, and that's what BS should be doing. In one simple word: promote. Promote the server. Promote the game in general. Make the game visible and known especially to a new set of audience. It's been 12 years and there are new kids out there. Promote the game. As well, give incentives to those who play on the server. Give people a reason to go there, to even stay there. There's hardly any incentive for us who are there. One thing people who have not gone there yet is likely asking is--what's in it for me? Why should I invest my time on a new server when I already have done much on my present one. That's the thing people are looking for--what's in it for them. So two things BS could do on their part: promote the game and give incentives to those who are going to SV. Dangle the carrot and show that when they go into SV, there's something there more than just the same base game they already played on other servers.
  24. Thanks. That's what I have said in my previous post. Whether you make SV your main server or you just happen to pass by it, at least take time to play on it. As I've said, and as you also mention, Broadsword will look on how SV performs and will likely base their decision on if and when transfer would be made based on the performance of the server. An active server would mean to them it's one worth further investing time and money on, and that would make them more likely allow transfer happen for it since it is a viable investment. But if people will hang back, would rather wait on whether transfer is happening or not, then SV would feel empty because the people who should be on it aren't, and BS would see that and would likely not add more time and money on it, and consequently might not even decide that there's no need to have transfer available since it's a server not worth investing on. So as I've said earlier, these people who won't go on it are shooting the server on the foot. Ironic since a number of them keep saying they want an APAC server, but wouldn't even want to set foot on it.
  25. Just thinking about it. Now it might be hard to do this, given that it might require a major rewrite of the whole game UNLESS the companions would be like Shae Vizla, who you could get from lvl 1 and would be for all classes, and wouldn't affect the stories in any way. With that being said, I wonder how it would be if there's SWTOR and Gundam or Space Battleship Yamato collab...
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