Server population is dropping...

[MoonsLightV]

GW2 is the second coming!

 

you guys are setting your selfs up for some major disappointment, like so many did with this game.

 

At least I won't have to pay a monthly fee to be disappointed by GW2.

[nadokaoh]

At least I won't have to pay a monthly fee to be disappointed by GW2.

 

just micro transaction to the top

[Thodra]

just micro transaction to the top

 

You don't have to use the shops, cous the shops are only for fluff stuff

[sadokun]

Ah, the classic dance of the MMO.

 

MMO establishes itself.

 

People like or hate said MMO.

 

New MMO announced, turns into second coming. People hype it

 

Hyped MMO comes out. People like it, people are disappointed.

 

New MMO is no longer new and poplulation ebbs and flow. Game's more critical subscibers herald the game's upcoming "death".

 

New MMO is announced.

 

Repeat.

 

 

 

I wonder if BW, ArenaNet, NCSoft, Blizzard, Funcom, Turbine, and Trion aren't all in cahoots so they can make their cash to continue this treadmill MMO's have become. Or were they always like this?

[Valeena]

http://i44.tinypic.com/2mq5fn4.jpg

I took this screenshot last week. The heavy servers kept scrolling down and the other chunk was Standard.

 

http://i41.tinypic.com/t8nv3k.jpg

These were all of the Light servers.

 

A few points :

+ I don't think the planets are set up to be user friendly. Even if there are 50 players on the planet, most of them could be in quest instances, in another section of the zone and so forth. Not to mention the way players have to travel is a time sink (ship, zone, air lock, terminal, shuttle, land, flight path, etc). It makes it unappealing to travel to different planets unless we have to. I personally hate travelling to Illum because it's such a hassle.

 

+ Overall the worlds are very large and not "opened" enough (if that makes sense). For example : The map of Hoth or Nar Shadda. Even if there ARE people on the planets, the chances of you seeing them are decreased becaues of the way the zones are set up. I understand if there's only 20 people on the planet vs. 40, but when people level on a planet for only 4 or 5 levels, they don't tend to stick around for long. As a result, the players are spread out and constantly jumping planets.

 

+ The current LFG system is awful. It's difficult to find a group for anything because there's no real system to it. The current system is messy, difficult to find and as a result it's difficult to use.

 

I don't think the population is dropping to be honest. I think there are certain points that make this game feel "lonely" in comparison to other open world MMOs.

[Thodra]

http://i44.tinypic.com/2mq5fn4.jpg

I took this screenshot last week. The heavy servers kept scrolling down and the other chunk was Standard.

 

http://i41.tinypic.com/t8nv3k.jpg

These were all of the Light servers.

 

A few points :

+ I don't think the planets are set up to be user friendly. Even if there are 50 players on the planet, most of them could be in quest instances, in another section of the zone and so forth. Not to mention the way players have to travel is a time sink (ship, zone, air lock, terminal, shuttle, land, flight path, etc). It makes it unappealing to travel to different planets unless we have to. I personally hate travelling to Illum because it's such a hassle.

 

+ Overall the worlds are very large and not "opened" enough (if that makes sense). For example : The map of Hoth or Nar Shadda. Even if there ARE people on the planets, the chances of you seeing them are decreased becaues of the way the zones are set up. I understand if there's only 20 people on the planet vs. 40, but when people level on a planet for only 4 or 5 levels, they don't tend to stick around for long. As a result, the players are spread out and constantly jumping planets.

 

+ The current LFG system is awful. It's difficult to find a group for anything because there's no real system to it. The current system is messy, difficult to find and as a result it's difficult to use.

 

I don't think the population is dropping to be honest. I think there are certain points that make this game feel "lonely" in comparison to other open world MMOs.

 

This is the feeling i have. The pop might still be high, but the actual game is made so unfriendly for players.. I have no idea why they did this. I really can't call this game a MMO

[Enkenon]

This is the feeling i have. The pop might still be high, but the actual game is made so unfriendly for players.. I have no idea why they did this. I really can't call this game a MMO

 

It's called EA and it does that really.

[Xruptor]

http://i44.tinypic.com/2mq5fn4.jpg

I took this screenshot last week. The heavy servers kept scrolling down and the other chunk was Standard.

 

http://i41.tinypic.com/t8nv3k.jpg

These were all of the Light servers.

 

A few points :

+ I don't think the planets are set up to be user friendly. Even if there are 50 players on the planet, most of them could be in quest instances, in another section of the zone and so forth. Not to mention the way players have to travel is a time sink (ship, zone, air lock, terminal, shuttle, land, flight path, etc). It makes it unappealing to travel to different planets unless we have to. I personally hate travelling to Illum because it's such a hassle.

 

+ Overall the worlds are very large and not "opened" enough (if that makes sense). For example : The map of Hoth or Nar Shadda. Even if there ARE people on the planets, the chances of you seeing them are decreased becaues of the way the zones are set up. I understand if there's only 20 people on the planet vs. 40, but when people level on a planet for only 4 or 5 levels, they don't tend to stick around for long. As a result, the players are spread out and constantly jumping planets.

 

+ The current LFG system is awful. It's difficult to find a group for anything because there's no real system to it. The current system is messy, difficult to find and as a result it's difficult to use.

 

I don't think the population is dropping to be honest. I think there are certain points that make this game feel "lonely" in comparison to other open world MMOs.

 

The population may be set to Heavy, but boy does my server seem empty. The planet populations are abysmal at best. I rarely come across another and most people are on the fleet. Even on the fleet the most I've ever seen is 60 people at least for Republic side.

[Thodra]

It's called EA and it does that really.

 

If it is EA's mistake doing this, then why.. diden't they learn with WAR? :-)

[Thodra]

The population may be set to Heavy, but boy does my server seem empty. The planet populations are abysmal at best. I rarely come across another and most people are on the fleet. Even on the fleet the most I've ever seen is 60 people at least for Republic side.

 

I know it's sad. But it's not really the pop that worries me. It's how unfriendly for players, the planets are. There could be 400 on Tatooine, i'm sure you would still solo, go lone wolf

[Farho]

37 days ago EU-Dxun Battle circle was the only heavy populated server on europe, hence I rolled there. Now they are all standart and almost all planets except starters and coruscant are empty. Can it be that everyone has gone imperial? Don't think so cause I've visited a lot of imperial towns and they are even emptier. Last night I've visited Hoth, Balmorra, Tatooine and Alderaan. None had more players than 20 (which means you rarely bump into a player if any).

 

You may say 20 is a good number but it literally means noone will respond your heroic calls and the planet will look completely empty, thanks to the "corridor" structure of the planets.

[Suturi]

37 days ago EU-Dxun Battle circle was the only heavy populated server on europe, hence I rolled there. Now they are all standart and almost all planets except starters and coruscant are empty. Can it be that everyone has gone imperial? Don't think so cause I've visited a lot of imperial towns and they are even emptier. Last night I've visited Hoth, Balmorra, Tatooine and Alderaan. None had more players than 20 (which means you rarely bump into a player if any).

 

You may say 20 is a good number but it literally means noone will respond your heroic calls and the planet will look completely empty, thanks to the "corridor" structure of the planets.

 

Ahem, I joined on December 26th on that very same server (Imperial side) and can say that your statement is basically false. Dxun Battle Circle around those dates was one of the "standard" servers that were around; there were a lot of heavy/very heavy servers to choose from, as i noticed. Currently, it's still standard/ heavy most of the time. Havn't noticed any significant change in population either. Also, i have to say that I've never had a problem grouping, might be because i am a sociable guy and soon had some friends and a guild to pull from.

 

In spite of all this, I concur with you that the number of players present in each planet doesn't suffice to provide a solid MMORPG experience. I think they should allow free transfers ASAP and increase the server population capacity as well.

 

A final consideration: i'm not suspect of defending the game's current status with regards to social/RPG/sandbox tools and features. I think the game presently has serious issues related to its long term viability and money value due to a huge lack in the aforementioned aspects. But one thing must be said: the player base attitude is fundamental in order to have a satisfactory social experience. You can have all the social/sandbox tools in the world, but if the players around you are lazy, childish or straightly misanthropes, nothing can be done.

 

Oh, and the possible introduction of a X-Server LFG tool would be one of the worst ideas with regarsd to community, and another step for making this game more dumbed-down that it already is.

[PjPablo]

Ahem, I joined on December 26th on that very same server (Imperial side) and can say that your statement is basically false. Dxun Battle Circle around those dates was one of the "standard" servers that were around; there were a lot of heavy/very heavy servers to choose from, as i noticed. Currently, it's still standard/ heavy most of the time. Havn't noticed any significant change in population either. Also, i have to say that I've never had a problem grouping, might be because i am a sociable guy and soon had some friends and a guild to pull from.

 

Based on the actual data Dxun Battle Circle is almost never Heavy. An average of 1.56 on TOR Status means it averages less than Standard and if you look at the graphs it is rarely Heavy anymore.

Edited February 15, 2012 by PjPablo

[Suturi]

Based on the actual data Dxun Battle Circle is almost never Heavy. An average of 1.56 on TOR Status means it averages less than Standard and if you look at the graphs it is rarely Heavy anymore.

 

I should have been more specific: from monday to friday i connect when i come back from work and finish my RL duties (19:00pm more or less), and is always standard. At 21:00-22:00h it usually rises to heavy (for a little while i must add). On saturdays and sundays is mostly on heavy. Then, I usually check the pop status at work (mon-fri morning and midday) and, indeed, is always light.

 

Now, regarding in-game numbers in this particular server: as i've previously said, no change in terms of population since release, not in the overall population, not in my guild, not among my friends. IMO, the best hard data are my very own eyes.

[PjPablo]

I should have been more specific: from monday to friday i connect when i come back from work and finish my RL duties (19:00pm more or less), and is always standard. At 21:00-22:00h it usually rises to heavy (for a little while i must add). On saturdays and sundays is mostly on heavy. Then, I usually check the pop status at work (mon-fri morning and midday) and, indeed, is always light.

 

Now, regarding in-game numbers in this particular server: as i've previously said, no change in terms of population since release, not in the overall population, not in my guild, not among my friends. IMO, the best hard data are my very own eyes.

 

Observer bias much?

 

http://www.torstatus.net/dxun-battle-circle/history/7d#!/dxun-battle-circle/history/60d

Edited February 15, 2012 by PjPablo

[Suturi]

Observer bias much?

 

http://www.torstatus.net/dxun-battle-circle/history/7d#!/dxun-battle-circle/history/60d

 

Again, I consider hard data the things I can see and touch. Again, i'm not suspicious of being a fanboi (look my post history if you want). Again, i'm just posting what i see and feel in-game, in particular looking at the in-game server status, the fleet numbers variations and the search results in the "who" menu. Again, I tell you that this population in this particular server has not experienced any significant change. Again, i tell you that i consider current population in this particular server insufficient.

 

As a final thing, if you consider the information from that site as actual hard data, then i'd say that you:

 

- Are trolling a/o flaming the game on an agenda basis

- Don't have any grasp on statistics a/o sampling

- Don't discern the difference between information and data.

Edited February 15, 2012 by Suturi

[Xruptor]

I know it's sad. But it's not really the pop that worries me. It's how unfriendly for players, the planets are. There could be 400 on Tatooine, i'm sure you would still solo, go lone wolf

 

I would love if I come across some folks from time to time. Most planets I visit have like 10-13 people at best. The ones with the most people are usually the starter planets. Hell, I run into Empire more times then I do fellow Republic players. (That's pretty sad). Almost makes me wonder if everyone on my server rerolled Empire or at least switched to another server.

[PjPablo]

Again, I consider hard data the things I can see and touch. Again, i'm not suspicious of being a fanboi (look my post history if you want). Again, i'm just posting what i see and feel in-game, in particular looking at the in-game server status, the fleet numbers variations and the search results in the "who" menu. Again, I tell you that this population in this particular server has not experienced any significant change. Again, i tell you that i consider current population insufficient.

 

As final thing, if you consider the information from that site as actual hard data, then i'd say that you:

 

- Are trolling a/o flaming the game on an agenda basis

- Don't have any grasp on statistics a/o sampling

- Don't discern the difference between information and data.

 

All the data is a tracking of the server statuses published by BW. As long as those statuses are accurate so is this data.

 

And when did stating facts and data become trolling?

[Laloric]

All the data is a tracking of the server statuses published by BW. As long as those statuses are accurate so is this data.

 

And when did stating facts and data become trolling?

 

I have to concur, that page states clearly:

 

"The server statuses and graphs are updated every five minutes, using the official server status page for which I would like to thank the developers from the BioWare Corp. Good job!"

 

The stated source for this information is BW itself. So unless BW is falsifying their own data (unlikely), it is in fact a valid source.

[Cordarn]

Any one else noticed that the servers were all full during peak times the other week and now all the full ones are now only heavy or very heavy. Lots are just standard now and you log on to them to see what the populations are like and you'll get like 20 people in a zone compared to around 80 in the very heavy ones.

 

Bioware needs to start merging servers before they make the mistake every other developer has done with mmorpgs ever since WoW. If you're part of an unpopulated server you're more likely to quit because you cannot find the people to play with.

 

It's not a doomsday thread but Bioware need to get on top of the population decline before the servers get too underpopulated and people quit.

 

You must have not been their when they added ten servers. You liked it when you waited in 500 person queues? The game is fine. They have many players subscribing anyways.

[PjPablo]

You must have not been their when they added ten servers. You liked it when you waited in 500 person queues? The game is fine. They have many players subscribing anyways.

 

Do they? Game sold less than 9000 copies in the US last week.

[Suturi]

All the data is a tracking of the server statuses published by BW. As long as those statuses are accurate so is this data.

 

And when did stating facts and data become trolling?

 

Well, that website display population figures based on status concepts like "standard", "heavy"etc without taking into account even which exactly are the ranges for each of those status concepts. It's deceptive and misleading, and a complete farce from a serious statistics/sampling point of view.

 

But the story doesn't end here: i have noticed that the chart you've posted doesn't hit heavy not a single time, which is 100% false.

 

If I was a conspiranoic, I'd say the website you are basing your data on is nothing more than a part of the cyberwarfare some "interested parties" are carrying out against this product. Funny thing is that I might be right, considering how things currently are regarding "new online marketing methodologies" and "social media strategy".

Edited February 15, 2012 by Suturi

[Naivesteve]

The Crucible Pits (PvP) population has been steadily decreasing week after week since patch 1.1 released and the free month ended.

 

Both the Republic and Imperial sides have pretty pathetic population numbers during weekdays (even at prime time). Saturday and Sunday population is a little bit more acceptable, but the server still feels like its slowly dying.

 

Mind you, this is one of the more heavily populated realms at launch.

 

This game is not increasing sub number wise, it's decreasing - it's not hard to see this.

Edited February 15, 2012 by Naivesteve

[islander]

The Crucible Pits (PvP) population has been steadily decreasing week after week since patch 1.1 released and the free month ended.

 

Both the Republic and Imperial sides have pretty pathetic population numbers during weekdays (even at prime time). Saturday and Sunday population is a little bit more acceptable, but the server still feels like its slowly dying.

 

Mind you, this is one of the more heavily populated realms at launch.

 

This game is not increasing sub number wise, it's decreasing - it's not hard to see this.

 

No question it's slowly decreasing. Most servers are standard. It's the unfortunate reality of any MMORPG really. You can't just make people wait an hour to play the game the first two weeks.

 

It'll be interesting to see how EA handles the dropoff.

[GellonSW]

Well, that website display population figures based on status concepts like "standard", "heavy"etc without taking into account even which exactly are the ranges for each of those status concepts. It's deceptive and misleading, and a complete farce from a serious statistics/sampling point of view.

 

But the story doesn't end here: i have noticed that the chart you've posted doesn't hit heavy not a single time, which is 100% false.

 

If I was a conspiranoic, I'd say the website you are basing your data on is nothing more than a part of the cyberwarfare some "interested parties" are carrying out against this product. Funny thing is that I might be right, considering how things currently are regarding "new online marketing methodologies" and "social media strategy".

 

Except it's not that and there's no denying the fact populations are low enough in some servers that action needs to be taken or else you lose what little subscribers you have on them. Again this has nothing to do with attacking how popular SWTOR is. It's about addressing an issue.