'Heavy' Servers still = a small population

[Kirjava]

we don't even know what the real concurrent users aare, so how can we even know the average amount players per servers? The only numbers we've seen about concurrent users are unofficial numbers from a uk analyst expert that has no clue. For all we know his number could be wrong by a couple hundred k one way or the other.

 

Let's say we ignore the average I worked out.

 

If we go off how players are feeling about sharding and population count on servers that are heavy/full, the majority of them (so far) in this thread seem to be having a similar issue with it, that I'm having.

[Hingster]

i have to wonder if the game engine is so bad that alot of people in one area will be unplayable. dont think BW will ever get rid of sharding to mask the massive performance loss with to many people in one area

[wifeaggro]

There are 251 servers with around 300,000 concurrent players. This equals an average of 1200 online on each server. That's essentially 600 players per faction. Generally half of this population is either on the fleet or drommund Kaas on my server. Meaning there's about 300 people spread across the 7 other worlds, PvP, flashpoints.

 

Not only are server populations tiny at the moment, but the use of sharding on planets is bewildering. Most planets are bigger than zones you find in MMO's that don't use sharding.

 

We get these massive beautifully realised worlds, with absolutely no one populating them. They need to increase population and get rid of sharding.

 

I agree sharding should not have been used but for the first week. Many many people have turned away form this game simply because of the lonely player feel.

[Kirjava]

i have to wonder if the game engine is so bad that alot of people in one area will be unplayable. dont think BW will ever get rid of sharding to mask the massive performance loss with to many people in one area

 

Unfortunately, I think this is the case. Going to the fleet for example where you actually have a high population in one area, results in a pretty damaging effect on fps (at least for me).

[Ninyania]

i have to wonder if the game engine is so bad that alot of people in one area will be unplayable. dont think BW will ever get rid of sharding to mask the massive performance loss with to many people in one area

 

If the game can't handle "many people in one area", then its not a MASSIVELY MULTIPLAYER game.

 

F'n DAoC could handle 200vs200 skirmishes when it was released.

 

SWTOR can't handle 16 on-screen w/o grinding to a halt

[PellonSW]

That's actually one of the things I did like about Rift. Epic, massive battles between invading AI vs player armies. My computer was not top of line and I ran close to the highest settings and the FPS was not an issue with over a hundred players converging on raid boss on screen. Edited January 13, 2012 by PellonSW

[Drakos]

Yeah, I'm not suggesting their by any means representational of every server, but that's the average from what we know about concurrent users and the amount of servers.

 

No, it actually sounds pretty accurate, particularly for my server.

[ChicksDigHarleys]

I agree. The server caps are waaaaaay too small. I'd see (no joke) double the number of people in zones during beta, and I didn't have any issues with lag or framerates.

 

BioWare better hope that somehow, against all odds, that this game keeps growing, or it really WILL be like playing a single player game online. If they lose even 20% of the pop over the next couple months, these servers are really going to feel empty.

[Belunos]

On Gilda the hutt or whatever, imperial side, I've rarely felt alone. I don't really keep track of the numbers, but casually I never really go far without running into at least a few people

[Mr_Crueak]

Let's say we ignore the average I worked out.

 

If we go off how players are feeling about sharding and population count on servers that are heavy/full, the majority of them (so far) in this thread seem to be having a similar issue with it, that I'm having.

 

you may be correct, but the majority on the forums may not be the majority of the playerbase! Only a small portion of the playerbase ever visits the forums and of those that do mostly do so to complain whether it is a legit complaint or not is a different story. If a forums perception indicates how a game is than the other major horse in the industry would have failed long ago, along with many if not every other game out there.

 

Personally, i see people all the time. I run into someone everywhere i go. I have spontaneous talks with other players, even groups but then again i play on a server that is listed as "Very Heavy" or "Full" during US EST peak times, but it is not the only server that listed that either. I always see atleast 50 other us servers that are "heavy" or higher.

 

I actually have noticed a population increase not decrease, i may be in the minority but that is what i see and is my perception. The real numbers though will reveal itself in the coming month. SWTOR will not be dead but at the same time it will not kill any other mmo as some expect it to.

[Mandrax]

Let's say we ignore the average I worked out.

 

If we go off how players are feeling about sharding and population count on servers that are heavy/full, the majority of them (so far) in this thread seem to be having a similar issue with it, that I'm having.

 

My issue with sharding is that it was said that there would be 'several hundred' players per shard.

 

Here is a quote confirming the 'several hundred' statement:

 

Originally Posted by GeorgZoeller

I love how people get ahead of themselves and spell doom and gloom here.

 

As discussed, we instance planets when the number of players on them goes into the 'red zone' where players would experience severe degradation of their game experience (long wait times on spawns, etc.). By definition, the likelihood of this happening is extremely likely early on when all players are concentrated on the smaller origin planets.

 

The 'red zone' for each planet is defined individually based on how many people it can sustain before problems become intolerable. The exact number for each planet is determined through testing such as the testing weekends we run. In any case, several hundred is true, even for the smallest origin world.

 

Do we want to instance PvP planets? Not if we can help it, but if the load on the planet exceeds what we define as acceptable based on testing, we will instance them rather than make the experience miserable for everyone on the planet.

 

Now, I don't know about you, but I don't think 100 players (not even 200) is 'several hundred' I've even seen shards when there are 50 or 60 players on the planet. I've never seen 'several hundred' players on a single shard, I don't know if anybody else has either.

 

I supported BioWare when sharding was first mentioned because of this particular post of Georg's, but in reality, it has not turned out to be true.

Edited January 13, 2012 by Mandrax

[Hingster]

Unfortunately, I think this is the case. Going to the fleet for example where you actually have a high population in one area, results in a pretty damaging effect on fps (at least for me).

 

i only wish i had the money they did to make a game, it would not be built on anything that would cause the lonely player feeling. the engine would be the most important thing worked on. for me too i like to see people when i play even if i dont group.

[dargor-]

OP also forgot that servers are only Heavy during the evening for around 4 hours.

[DogmeatPryde]

Maybe they should consider some server mergers? Mandalore the indomitable on Voss there were about 40ish people which doesn't seem like a lot to me.

 

Also I haven't had a queue since early holidays. Think the low population caps at the start wasn't the best idea.

Edited January 13, 2012 by DogmeatPryde

[Kirjava]

you may be correct, but the majority on the forums may not be the majority of the playerbase! Only a small portion of the playerbase ever visits the forums and of those that do mostly do so to complain whether it is a legit complaint or not is a different story. If a forums perception indicates how a game is than the other major horse in the industry would have failed long ago, along with many if not every other game out there.

 

Personally, i see people all the time. I run into someone everywhere i go. I have spontaneous talks with other players, even groups but then again i play on a server that is listed as "Very Heavy" or "Full" during US EST peak times, but it is not the only server that listed that either. I always see atleast 50 other us servers that are "heavy" or higher.

 

I actually have noticed a population increase not decrease, i may be in the minority but that is what i see and is my perception. The real numbers though will reveal itself in the coming month. SWTOR will not be dead but at the same time it will not kill any other mmo as some expect it to.

 

The thing is, when your on planets which are much bigger 50 people isn't very many (at least in my experience). Also actually seeing players of the opposite faction is incredibly rare. I'm as far as Voss in-game and I've only seen 2 republic players, all the way up to level 45 (I'm Empire).

 

I suppose one could argue this particular problem is due to faction imbalance, but I don't see much of my fellow imperials either.

[Mr_Crueak]

The thing is, when your on planets which are much bigger 50 people isn't very many (at least in my experience). Also actually seeing players of the opposite faction is incredibly rare. I'm as far as Voss in-game and I've only seen 2 republic players, all the way up to level 45 (I'm Empire).

 

I suppose one could argue this particular problem is due to faction imbalance, but I don't see much of my fellow imperials either.

 

again a valid point, but hasn't the devs stated that the whole instance thing is only temporary? If true at somepoint i would think all but the beggining planets would be forced as a single instance.

[Kirjava]

Now, I don't know about you, but I don't think 100 players (not even 200) is 'several hundred' I've even seen shards when there are 50 or 60 players on the planet. I've never seen 'several hundred' players on a single shard, I don't know if anybody else has either.

 

I supported BioWare when sharding was first mentioned because of this particular post of Georg's, but in reality, it has not turned out to be true.

 

Yeah I remember that quote. Wondering whether it was just made to ease the community backlash back then.

 

Ideally a 500 population cap per shard (between both factions) would be easier to deal with. But currently, it seems it's set at around 150-200 overall players (both factions) per instance.

[Drakos]

Yeah I remember that quote. Wondering whether it was just made to ease the community backlash back then.

 

Ideally a 500 population cap per shard (between both factions) would be easier to deal with. But currently, it seems it's set at around 150-200 overall players (both factions) per instance.

 

I wonder if that number is variable, or if it's static despite zone size. I mean, I remember early-start Dromund Kaas having 3 instances and feeling packed. But since then everywhere has felt empty.

[Mandrax]

I wonder if that number is variable, or if it's static despite zone size. I mean, I remember early-start Dromund Kaas having 3 instances and feeling packed. But since then everywhere has felt empty.

 

I think it must be variable, though this part confuses me:

 

In any case, several hundred is true, even for the smallest origin world.

 

If several hundred was true even for the smallest origin world, then you would think it would be true for Dromund Kaas, a vastly bigger area. I guess it must have to do with specifics on the way they designed the planets.

 

I know he also states in his quote that the number could differ, but I still have never seen several hundred players in a single instance.

Edited January 13, 2012 by Mandrax

[dargor-]

Marketting

 

But after hearing that they don't like cross shard systems for both PvP and PvE, they'll have to merge in order to keep servers alive, which is stupid and will require as much if not more time and effort than implementing cross-shard PvP/Dungeon finders.

 

You'd think the MMO world would learn from the failure that was Aion.

Edited January 13, 2012 by dargor-

[Jadedfate]

On my server at the moment, I felt like I was playing a lobby game like Diablo or LoL. Literally 13 people on Voss. Even lower level planets like Nar Shaddaa only have around 30 people, and my servers supposedly one of the biggest RP servers.

 

A Big RP Server? lol...

[-Kelerak-]

yeah feeling the same, 'wall of light' server sometimes im in alderan with 20people lol, come on... hoth with 8people? in the beggining i believe they needed to make more servers, the game was new, but now we need some merges... yeah, i can roll in another server... but i have a nice guild here... 'and if i leave the server too will be even less people around, right?

[snowmon]

love how people pull numbers out of their ****

 

please provide evidence of these numbers or ****.

 

my server seems fine

[Tewnam]

My issue with sharding is that it was said that there would be 'several hundred' players per shard.

 

Here is a quote confirming the 'several hundred' statement:

 

 

 

Now, I don't know about you, but I don't think 100 players (not even 200) is 'several hundred' I've even seen shards when there are 50 or 60 players on the planet. I've never seen 'several hundred' players on a single shard, I don't know if anybody else has either.

 

I supported BioWare when sharding was first mentioned because of this particular post of Georg's, but in reality, it has not turned out to be true.

 

How do you know that the shards weren't created before you arrived at the planet when the population was higher? If people aren't leaving the planet, it isn't just going to merge them into other shards.

 

The server I play on is one of the heaviest population from pre-launch and one of the ones with the longest queue times and I rarely see multiple shards on any planet.

[VicSkimmr]

The thing is, when your on planets which are much bigger 50 people isn't very many (at least in my experience). Also actually seeing players of the opposite faction is incredibly rare. I'm as far as Voss in-game and I've only seen 2 republic players, all the way up to level 45 (I'm Empire).

 

I suppose one could argue this particular problem is due to faction imbalance, but I don't see much of my fellow imperials either.

 

This is a valid complaint. I'm on a PVP server and I have yet to see a Republic player out in the wild. I don't actively seek them out, but surely we should be crossing paths? They should be intentionally pushing us together while questing IMO.