Server population is dropping...

[Dayfax]

So, unless BW annouces some new record every week then the game is dying?

 

To paraphrase Steve Jobs, generally speaking if you're selling a lot of something, you want to tell people about it.

 

This is even more important in an MMO, where the appearance of growth will increase box sales and bring in new players.

[Touchbass]

So, as was just mentioned.....in order for this game to not die, they need to break new milestones and announce them weekly? And if they fail to make these weekly/monthly groundbreaking milestone announcements, that tacitly implies the game is dying? Knowing, of course, that you've completely missed the point of the statement you just quoted.

 

Yes, server populations are dropping as you come off a major holiday, and hit a dull spot in between content patches. As a veteran of numerous other MMO's....you should clearly have seen this pattern before in other, similarly designed games, correct?

 

Subs dropping on lower active servers are the best measurement for Bioware to fix those servers and thus make the game grow and challenge WoW for premium sub retention in the NA/EU market. This is a win/win scenario for SWTOR's fans. The hypothesis is the game is amazing for a launch game if you are in a active server but terrible for a MMORPG if you got stuck in a ghost town cause Bioware released too many servers. Am I being too unreasonable?

[Touchbass]

No, what he was saying was that BioWare announced a 85% retention rate at the beginning of February from the two million copies sold at that point - do they need to update this statistic every single week for it to be confirmed that the game is doing fine?

 

I get what you are saying, may I ask you a question in return? Not trying to evade but do you think of this game, say hit 2.5 million subs Bioware would keep it quiet?

[fungihoujo]

I just love players who tell others they have 200 ppl at fleet at all time, but cant provide the name of their server

 

Lord Adraas- I regularly get put into the second Fleet instance because it's full up. If an event is going on- Nar Shaddaa, Tython, Coruscant, Dromund Kaas or (wherever the event is) will always have a second instance running.

[Touchbass]

So yeah, every NA server is standard with a ton of lights versus 2 that are Very Heavy. None full .... this isn't good

[Goretzu]

No, what he was saying was that BioWare announced a 85% retention rate at the beginning of February from the two million copies sold at that point - do they need to update this statistic every single week for it to be confirmed that the game is doing fine?

 

If it ends up at a 50% or even 30% retention rate long term then the game is a "success", however if they don't merege servers efficently (as Rift did) that 30-50% could nose dive.

[KiaThas]

People are speculating on their own server. EU alone consists of 30+ servers, while selecting a different server from time to time I note that its a long list of light servers with the one or two medium/heavy.

 

Its uncommon to see a very heavy/full server. But still the majority of the servers are light, in comparison to a month or two ago it was probably only half.

 

I beleive bioware are holding server merges because its somewhat depicts the games failure when in fact this will probably give it the kick it needs before more content is released.

[Leafslayer]

I posted this, on the general forum, it got removed:

 

 

*MERGE SERVERS ALREADY*

 

If -- and that is a big if -- I can get three warzones in one day I am lucky. I can't remember the last time I fought in a grand melee on Ilum.

I have been valour level 58 for three weeks now because I can't do pvp for valour . There is no one on ilum and no one is queuing for warzones -- there are very few active players on this server now. What’s more, there are very few people between 40 and 49 coming up.

For example, Saturday night at 0700 gmt on my server there were literally two people on the republic fleet! Last weekend not a single Sith came to Ilum the entire day. When your key demographic is male nerds between 16 and 35 (no offence to anyone this includes me) the server should be full during the weekends. And some are. this is the frustrating thing, other servers are packed and I am unable to move my character. I like my lil guy, I have spent a lot of hours leveling him and now I am forced between not playing or rolling an alt on a standard populated server and starting all over again (which is hobson's choice for me as I don't want to level up a character all over again).

If they are not planning to merge until April they should give us an option to move our characters. Less and less players are logging in everyday on our server, people in my guild are constantly complaining as the majority of end game content in this game requires other people. For the majority of 50s on my server now end game content consists of solely collecting boxes on ilum.

Just to give you another example of how ridiculous things have become on my server, we have stopped ganking Sith when they come to iIum. Last couple of days we have orchestrated 1 vs 1 and 2 vs 2. Once you collect your boxes there is not enough players for a wz so we all just sit around together, literally sit around, watching duels. the Sith even come on our team-speak now.

Totally ridiculous, i feel like we are being arbitrarily punished for selecting the wrong server, which btw the game recommended me to join.

[Talmasci]

I actually got so annoyed with lack of players on my server that i moved too tomb of freedon nadda which is from what i've seen the most populated server there is and i've started leveling again just because i know i'll be 50 before bioware even think about merges, i dont want to level again but i want too see raid contwnt more than once a week which my last server couldn't provide.

[Shadit]

People are speculating on their own server. EU alone consists of 30+ servers, while selecting a different server from time to time I note that its a long list of light servers with the one or two medium/heavy.

 

Its uncommon to see a very heavy/full server. But still the majority of the servers are light, in comparison to a month or two ago it was probably only half.

 

I beleive bioware are holding server merges because its somewhat depicts the games failure when in fact this will probably give it the kick it needs before more content is released.

 

You didn't check the server status page when you posted right? I understand your concerns and maybe your frustration with the money you spent, but lying doesn't get you anywhere.

[bahdasz]

You could tell the day all the initial 1-month subs ran out, it's been going down ever since.

[OnlyOneWing]

You can argue about whether server pops are "too low" or not... But the fact of the matter is that I don't spend all day in fleet. When every planet I go besides Coruscant and Tython have less than 8 people it starts to feel less like a "Great MMO" and more like a "Mediocre solo game".

 

I did reroll in a high pop server, and it's great pop wise!... However I invested 300 hours of my life lvling my original character and Legacy.

After re-rolling I have to repeat the same missions and progress through the same story line... On top of it, I don't even earn Legacy points for it!

 

I lost interest and haven't played in a few weeks, so today I decided to unsubscribe from an otherwise great game that I waited years for.

 

If I was able to pay 20$ and transfer my character from my original character then I would do it. But the option isn't even given.

[Superpescado]

I tried to make a post in an effort to help grow population on my server by advertising for people who are new or rerolling to do so on kathol rift. I posted it on general because it has the highest number of users and in advertising getting the most people to see your ad is key.

 

My post was promptly moved to the community forum where it is guaranteed to die a slow death with a minimal number of views.

 

If BW doesn't want to do anything about low pop servers that's their business but actively discouraging the users from trying to do something about it is insulting. Especially considering the number of flame bait posts that can be encountered on general. Why not move those and leave my genuine post?

[Tenceriker]

I tried to make a post in an effort to help grow population on my server by advertising for people who are new or rerolling to do so on kathol rift. I posted it on general because it has the highest number of users and in advertising getting the most people to see your ad is key.

 

My post was promptly moved to the community forum where it is guaranteed to die a slow death with a minimal number of views.

 

If BW doesn't want to do anything about low pop servers that's their business but actively discouraging the users from trying to do something about it is insulting. Especially considering the number of flame bait posts that can be encountered on general. Why not move those and leave my genuine post?

 

They are just doing everything they can to discourage people from knowing how empty the servers are. Sad to hear about your server dying but so are a multitude of others. Bioware doesn't want people to panic and that exactly what 30 - 45 threads like yours would do.

[OnlyOneWing]

Also, for people who are talking about "successful retention percentages"... Think about this.

1 person per month pays $14.99

10,000 people per month pay $149,900

 

1 person with monthly sub yearly pays $179.88

10,000 people with monthly subs yearly pay $1,798,800

 

85% of 1,000,000+ subscribers also equals a 15% loss which accounts for at least 150,000 people who are no longer a source of income. 150,000 x 14.99 = $2,248,500 lost in one month alone!

 

If problems like character transfers aren't addressed then more people will grow bored of the game. Once some one grows bored of the game the odds that they will resubscribe are pretty minimal. Since it entails starting over from square one.

 

I assume the reason why they don't allow character transfers is because they know that low-pop servers will die a quick death when the vast majority transfer out. Then there will be server shut-downs and that will give an appearance of failure which may reduce the influx of new customers.

 

Companies think in the form of crunching numbers, not critical acclaim.

[Dekkau]

I just did a small runaround... 37 Fleet and I saw three players, 13 in Ord Mantell, 19 in Nar Shaddaa, 17 Taris and 24 in Tatooine. Now in Rift there are 14 in the starter... At cap for 50s in Sanctum that means more than 29 cus thats how many the list generates. I could see loads and loads of players in Sanctum at the carnival. 29 at cap for 10-20, 29 at cap 20-30, 29 at cap 30-40 and 29 at cap 40-49. And Rift said medium. And I see players everywhere I go... and Rift is supposed to be failing. So strange. Fleet here feels like a ghost town and I don't see anyone when I'm playing. It feels really miserable... so I stopped playing SWToR. People who play MMOs want to feel they are wih a crowd. Sadly I rarely see more than three players together... and there is nothing in chat.

 

I guess those that believe there is not a problem can keep sticking their head in the sand. There are way way too many servers for the population and the lack of players puts others off. Trion realised that and acted quickly. Its not hard to do. But I guess just after three months of launch its going to look very bad.

[OnlyOneWing]

Also, for people who are talking about "successful retention percentages"... Think about this.

1 person per month pays $14.99

10,000 people per month pay $149,900

 

1 person with monthly sub yearly pays $179.88

10,000 people with monthly subs yearly pay $1,798,800

 

85% of 1,000,000+ subscribers also equals a 15% loss which accounts for at least 150,000 people who are no longer a source of income. 150,000 x 14.99 = $2,248,500 lost in one month alone!

 

If problems like character transfers aren't addressed then more people will grow bored of the game. Once some one grows bored of the game the odds that they will resubscribe are pretty minimal. Since it entails starting over from square one.

 

I assume the reason why they don't allow character transfers is because they know that low-pop servers will die a quick death when the vast majority transfer out. Then there will be server shut-downs and that will give an appearance of failure which may reduce the influx of new customers.

 

Companies think in the form of crunching numbers, not critical acclaim.

 

Everyone talks about how many people are in "fleet"... but other than FPs what good are players in fleet? In my original server I often would be the only person on the planet...

It's a pretty lonely feeling to be the only man in a world.

Edited March 4, 2012 by OnlyOneWing

[Goretzu]

Also, for people who are talking about "successful retention percentages"... Think about this.

1 person per month pays $14.99

10,000 people per month pay $149,900

 

1 person with monthly sub yearly pays $179.88

10,000 people with monthly subs yearly pay $1,798,800

 

85% of 1,000,000+ subscribers also equals a 15% loss which accounts for at least 150,000 people who are no longer a source of income. 150,000 x 14.99 = $2,248,500 lost in one month alone!

 

If problems like character transfers aren't addressed then more people will grow bored of the game. Once some one grows bored of the game the odds that they will resubscribe are pretty minimal. Since it entails starting over from square one.

 

I assume the reason why they don't allow character transfers is because they know that low-pop servers will die a quick death when the vast majority transfer out. Then there will be server shut-downs and that will give an appearance of failure which may reduce the influx of new customers.

 

Companies think in the form of crunching numbers, not critical acclaim.

 

 

 

Ghost servers make more people quit.

 

This happened in WAR, people that might have played had servers been merged and a decent server population maintained, just quit instead.

 

A decent server merge system like Rift's is by far the best option for players and EA's bottom line.

[OnlyOneWing]

Ghost servers make more people quit.

 

This happened in WAR, people that might have played had servers been merged and a decent server population maintained, just quit instead.

 

A decent server merge system like Rift's is by far the best option for players and EA's bottom line.

 

Agreed. I would be happy even if I could pay a fee to have my characters/legacy transferred/merged... But this problem has absolutely NO solution in the works and Bioware hasn't even addressed it.

[Pangscar]

So yeah, every NA server is standard with a ton of lights versus 2 that are Very Heavy. None full .... this isn't good

 

What day and what time of day was it? You do realize the server status page updates in real time right? or at least it refreshes frequently.

 

Yesterday, Saturday March 3, 2012, during the hours of about 5pm cst to about 10pm cst at its peak theres was 14 servers listed as heavy or above with two listed at full and one very heavy.

 

So yeah if people are going to judge the population by the server status page, you need to look at ALL times, not just off peak times. If you do that you'll actually see the population might be coming back up after a small dip after the first month.

[OnlyOneWing]

Something that drives me crazy....

 

Who decides what amount of people is "Standard", "Heavy" or "Light"?

Is it a general measurement of population or is it a relative measurement since "Standard" indicates that it is only a relative measurement.

 

Even when the server I was on would say "Standard" it was relatively empty.

If there are 1million+ subscribers then where are they? Because I doubt my original server has ever exceeded 1000 players on at any given moment.

[Jxspyder]

Subs dropping on lower active servers are the best measurement for Bioware to fix those servers and thus make the game grow and challenge WoW for premium sub retention in the NA/EU market. This is a win/win scenario for SWTOR's fans. The hypothesis is the game is amazing for a launch game if you are in a active server but terrible for a MMORPG if you got stuck in a ghost town cause Bioware released too many servers. Am I being too unreasonable?

 

Except we don't have a factual sub drop to make that measurement. All we factually know is that people are playing less in between content patches. We also factually know they are working on server transfers.

 

Oddly, you can find the same posts on WoW's forums.

 

 

So yeah, every NA server is standard with a ton of lights versus 2 that are Very Heavy. None full .... this isn't good

 

As of 1:30 in the morning PST. And that surprises you how?

 

Advance forward 8 hours, and you'll find most of the servers on standard, with only 11 Light. At 10 PST. If you click over to EU, you will find 4 Light servers and the rest standard to heavy...with quite a few being heavy.

 

In what world do you expect a solid population at 1:30 in the morning?

 

 

 

If I was able to pay 20$ and transfer my character from my original character then I would do it. But the option isn't even given.

 

That's because the option is being worked on. It's a little harder and more intensive than copy/paste.

Edited March 4, 2012 by Jxspyder

[Touchbass]

What day and what time of day was it? You do realize the server status page updates in real time right? or at least it refreshes frequently.

 

Yesterday, Saturday March 3, 2012, during the hours of about 5pm cst to about 10pm cst at its peak theres was 14 servers listed as heavy or above with two listed at full and one very heavy.

 

So yeah if people are going to judge the population by the server status page, you need to look at ALL times, not just off peak times. If you do that you'll actually see the population might be coming back up after a small dip after the first month.

 

This was done at 2am EST, it's funny, outside of a couple hour window, the servers really appear to be empty. There were only 5~ heavy servers at 6pm EST on Saturday night, yeah they fill towards 10pm but they are basically empty outside of these windows. Not a good sign. Merge the freaking servers and you'll stop having people complain.

Edited March 4, 2012 by Touchbass

[douglaslives]

rated warzones fixes it all

[Touchbass]

Except we don't have a factual sub drop to make that measurement. All we factually know is that people are playing less in between content patches. We also factually know they are working on server transfers.

 

Oddly, you can find the same posts on WoW's forums.

 

It's a truism that some servers are hitting really hard right now with no relief in site. Now we can have quixotic beliefs that we can't make correct inferences since we are missing the 'hard data', but that is far from the case. We have emperical evidence from many servers screenshots showing very little to non existant populations. The photo's are time stamped and anyone can go on those said servers to see if people are 'doctoring' them.

Edited March 4, 2012 by Touchbass