Server population is dropping...

[Denadanier]

Why? Why would you want to know the pop numbers of a low pop server during off-peak hours????

 

 

It's only going to tell you that the pop is LOW!!!!

 

Read my post for an accurate reflection of the numbers of a standard server!!!

 

Because I pay to play the game and people may be interested to know how massive their "massively" multi-player experience is? I chose my server based on recommendations (from BW) on the day of release due to server queues I chose a high pop server not a full one. Now except for 4 hours a day between 6pm and 10pm the game is dead to the extent I can get a grander multi-player experience playing your average single player game online. During peak hours I have to wait 15-30 mins for a warzone to pop (but at least they pop!). I have been playing mmos for 13 years now and from my experience how quickly BW react to solve this problem will determine the path the game will take, forget bugs, forget content, when people start to perceive the game as dead or dying they aren't going to invest time in it. That with the fact I pay to receive a product as described and at the moment I am not receiving it, SWTOR is a good game but mismanagement could ruin it.

[UltimateKrucible]

Holden: My apologies - I thought you meant there was a button you could press to see server pop numbers (I'd refer you to my post a couple of pages ago, where I did this manually).

 

Scorpienne - That's a good survery, but again, please look at my post a couple of pages ago to see actual numbers of a standard server. It actually revises your estimate upwards by about 300+.

[Kthx]

it was 2 million sold partner. 1.7 million subs? that was as of December 31st 300 k people spit this game out in 11 days.

 

 

False. That was 1.7 million subs "currently" as of February 1, 2012, and "the majority of the 1.7 million are paying subscribers." Source: Transcript, Q3 2012 Electronic Arts Inc. Earnings Conference Call.

 

you want some more current info or some blind fanboism finger crossing? here is a dosage of truth for the masses http://www.videogamer.com/pc/star_wars_the_old_republic/news/ea_stock_drops_3_after_star_wars_the_old_republic_doubts.html

 

If you look over the period of the last year, EA has done no better or no worse than the S&P:

 

http://www.google.com/finance?chdnp=1&chdd=1&chds=1&chdv=1&chvs=maximized&chdeh=0&chfdeh=0&chdet=1331130665278&chddm=100487&chls=IntervalBasedLine&cmpto=NASDAQ:EA&cmptdms=0&q=TSE:OSPTX&

Edited March 7, 2012 by Kthx

[Holden_Dissent]

Holden: My apologies - I thought you meant there was a button you could press to see server pop numbers (I'd refer you to my post a couple of pages ago, where I did this manually).

 

Scorpienne - That's a good survery, but again, please look at my post a couple of pages ago to see actual numbers of a standard server. It actually revises your estimate upwards by about 300+.

 

I crunched the numbers a while back and they were low (by comparison to peak times) in the morning. But there is no magical button haha.

[UltimateKrucible]

What server are you on Denadanier? I'm assuming EU?

[Denadanier]

What server are you on Denadanier? I'm assuming EU?

 

Flames of the crucible - EU

 

currently 168 imps and 136 republic on 2.45pm.

 

Last night at midnight imps were at 65, at 1am 40 and at 2am 25. Yes I know this is getting late by 2am but if other MMOs can satisfy me at this time of night I don't see why SWTOR can't.

 

EDIT: just for a further breakdown of current numbers above:

 

Imps

 

1-49 = 123

50 = 45

 

Repub

 

1-49 = 101

50 = 35

 

Edit 2: to avoid confusion these figures are for the entire server, not just for the fleet!

Edited March 7, 2012 by Denadanier

[UltimateKrucible]

Have to say, compared to my server - Starstorm One (lowest estimate of 813 both sides @8.30pm GNT last night) - those are low numbers.

 

I take it your server reads as light most of the time?

 

Not sure what you do in that case - there's always going to be winners and losers when servers pops even out.

 

It's a case of re-roll on a decent pop server, wait for transfers, or hope things pick up I'm afraid.

 

At least I've shown that standard pop servers - of which there are a majority - are viable options with 800+ on them.

 

 

And Tomb of Feedom Nad (or whatever it's called) Is usually on heavy these days.

[Denadanier]

Yeah its light most of the time now, never used to be. I know for some, maybe even most of the people, that the issues aren't as big. I just am just trying to highlight that there is an issue for a minority and that it may be more beneficial to combine a couple of the servers that are low. We know BW are aware of the actual server numbers across the various play times, I just hope they can accept there are some issues and fix them so everyone can have an enjoyable experience and enjoy the new content. Edited March 7, 2012 by Denadanier

[Kthx]

Let's do some actual numbers.

 

So check this out.

 

I built a survey.

 

Just because it is a survey, doesn't mean the data is good or represents "actual numbers."

 

Your survey suffers from two critical flaws, the first of which I have pointed out before:

 

1. Selection bias: In order to represent actual numbers, you need to do a random survey. You cannot rely on volunteers, especially when it comes to surveys on controversial topics.

 

2. Unless I am missing something, at level 50 you are capping your input at 100. If there are 100 Level 50 players on, the number will show as 100. If there are 200 players on, it will show as 100. If there are 500 players on, it will show as 100. This is a serious issue, since about half of your data points report 100 players for Level 50!

 

I appreciate your attempt at collecting data, but garbage in = garbage out.

Edited March 7, 2012 by Kthx

[Icebaron]

Here are some stats for you, taken from a very small percentage of the population (around 10k) since December.

 

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v356/Teala_TeJir/swtorgraph2.jpg

 

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v356/Teala_TeJir/xfire2.jpg

 

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v356/Teala_TeJir/xfire3.jpg

 

These are xfires numbers. Anyone that doesn't know xfire, it is a small program that gamers use to communicate with each other and track where their friends are, like and advanced instant messenger for gamers.

 

Website these were taken from http://www.xfire.com

 

current people playing and all that at http://beta.xfire.com/games/swtor

 

edit - I am not trying to depress you guys, I am just wanting to get past this silly argument so we can move on to what can be done to actually fix the game. Because it is pretty obvious that not alot of people actually like the game as it is (comparative to the total mmo market available that is).

Edited March 7, 2012 by Icebaron

[BlackZoback]

Here are some stats for you, taken from a very small percentage of the population (around 10k) since December.

 

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v356/Teala_TeJir/swtorgraph2.jpg

 

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v356/Teala_TeJir/xfire2.jpg

 

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v356/Teala_TeJir/xfire3.jpg

 

These are xfires numbers. Anyone that doesn't know xfire, it is a small program that gamers use to communicate with each other and track where their friends are, like and advanced instant messenger for gamers.

 

Website these were taken from http://www.xfire.com

 

current people playing and all that at http://beta.xfire.com/games/swtor

 

 

 

Who uses x-fire? I know millions of people do, I have it, it's just been like almost a year since I fired it up.

 

When I'm in a pug raid, and when the leader says, "Ok, everybody get in vent"

 

75% of them do

20% of them say "downloading, one sec"

5% of them say "I use Mumble."

 

edit - I am not trying to depress you guys, I am just wanting to get past this silly argument so we can move on to what can be done to actually fix the game. Because it is pretty obvious that not alot of people actually like the game as it is (comparative to the total mmo market available that is).

 

You see thats the whole thing, a lot of people do like this game.

Edited March 7, 2012 by BlackZoback

[Kourage]

Just got home from work. Logged in to play.

 

6 people on Imperial fleet.

 

18 - level 50s total online.

 

14 - 40-49

19 - 30-39

28 - 20-29

17 - 10-19

12 - 1-9

 

108 total

3:20pm EST. East Coast Server

 

Edited March 7, 2012 by Kourage

[Icebaron]

You see thats the whole thing, a lot of people do like this game.

 

Ok, let's try and analyze the mind of a fan that is happy.

 

First you have to determine if you would continue to be happy with this game long term with really bad subsription numbers. That would depend entirely on if it would affect future content and whether you would like the future content.

If you want future content and are concerned, then you have to determine if the game is actually doing well or not, and be honest with yourself at this point, because fooling yourself does nobody any good. Not you. Not Bioware and not swtor.

If you then come to the conclusion that the game is actually losing subs, you have to determine what needs to be done to boost subs and if you can live with some of the things being done. You also have to determine whether or not they are possible due to the Hero engine and it's 'newness'.

Then you have to post your views so Bioware see's them. Arguing with haters does nothing for the game.

 

So, not supporting any changes mean you either;

Like the game and don't care about subscription rates, because if they change too much you might not like it anymore.

Honestly believe that the game is growing and think anyone saying otherwise is wrong.

Work for a competing MMO and want to see the game crash and burn while laughing at it's demise.

[Tsaritsin]

Flames of the crucible - EU

 

currently 168 imps and 136 republic on 2.45pm.

 

Last night at midnight imps were at 65, at 1am 40 and at 2am 25. Yes I know this is getting late by 2am but if other MMOs can satisfy me at this time of night I don't see why SWTOR can't.

 

EDIT: just for a further breakdown of current numbers above:

 

Imps

 

1-49 = 123

50 = 45

 

Repub

 

1-49 = 101

50 = 35

 

You think that's bad, try Dxun Battle Circle, EU, English

 

I have never seen more than 80 people on the fleet, republic side, even during peak times, on planets the most I have seen is 50-60.

 

So, I thought ok, lets go Imperial side, started a Mara, and things are even worse on imp side, auction house is a joke, hardly anything for sale.

 

Just logged in a few mins ago on both sides as a check, bearing in mind its peak playing time now -

 

Republic Fleet - 59

Imperial Fleet - 50

 

I started a thread yesterday concerning the state of the EU servers, it was locked instantly and I was directed to this thread, so here I am, the EU servers are Ghost Towns, we need mergers badly, full stop.

 

Players simply cannot be expected to invest Money in low pop servers, and that's exactly what paying a monthly sub is, it's an investment, in both Money and Time, as the population on your server gets lower and lower it becomes a pointless waste of time.

 

Are we really expected to just sit around on these low pop servers, untill we get fed up and are forced into re-rolling on a new server, that in itself could die anyway,

 

Or is the big Bioware plan, simply to charge us a fee to transfer ?, yeah Blizz make a nice tidy sum of money out of doing that, so is that the plan Bioware, you want a chunk of the server transfer fee PIE ?.

 

Sub cancelled, the best you could do was lock a thread, that was simply attempting to talk about an important issue regarding the state of the EU servers.

 

Regards,

Edited March 7, 2012 by Tsaritsin

[Limedust]

Just because it is a survey, doesn't mean the data is good or represents "actual numbers."

 

Your survey suffers from two critical flaws, the first of which I have pointed out before:

 

1. Selection bias: In order to represent actual numbers, you need to do a random survey. You cannot rely on volunteers, especially when it comes to surveys on controversial topics.

 

2. Unless I am missing something, at level 50 you are capping your input at 100. If there are 100 Level 50 players on, the number will show as 100. If there are 200 players on, it will show as 100. If there are 500 players on, it will show as 100. This is a serious issue, since about half of your data points report 100 players for Level 50!

 

I appreciate your attempt at collecting data, but garbage in = garbage out.

 

Thanks for the lesson. Sanctimonious ******e.

[BlackZoback]

Ok, let's try and analyze the mind of a fan that is happy.

 

First you have to determine if you would continue to be happy with this game long term with really bad subsription numbers. That would depend entirely on if it would affect future content and whether you would like the future content.

If you want future content and are concerned, then you have to determine if the game is actually doing well or not, and be honest with yourself at this point, because fooling yourself does nobody any good. Not you. Not Bioware and not swtor.

If you then come to the conclusion that the game is actually losing subs, you have to determine what needs to be done to boost subs and if you can live with some of the things being done. You also have to determine whether or not they are possible due to the Hero engine and it's 'newness'.

Then you have to post your views so Bioware see's them. Arguing with haters does nothing for the game.

 

So, not supporting any changes mean you either;

Like the game and don't care about subscription rates, because if they change too much you might not like it anymore.

Honestly believe that the game is growing and think anyone saying otherwise is wrong.

Work for a competing MMO and want to see the game crash and burn while laughing at it's demise.

 

Basing your argument on the false assumption that this game is loosing subs is the root of your problem. Seeing as numbers, facts and even the Devs themselves confirming the growing sub rate (2million+ now from the guild summit) nothing will ever sway you.

 

<---- is all I got for you

 

Also never did anyone say they should stop improving the game, it's just you naysayer saying "they should do it now or else!" is the issue.

Edited March 7, 2012 by BlackZoback

[Ghaiana]

This is such a useless conversation by now. I'm sure that when they officially announce that there are over 2 mil subs, people will insist that the numbers are dropping. I'm only curious why people, who are subscribed to this game, only want to talk doom.

[IasonEvan]

For most of us that only PvE(which is most people in the game) and are in active guilds, why does server population even matter? Join an active guild. They are easy to find. Then you will have the game world all to yourself and your friends. Does anyone really enjoy people mob/loot/quest node/material node stealing from them or their party? IDK why server populations are a big deal at all. nothing is less immersive than having XxLegolasxX run by you in Star Wars. Edited March 7, 2012 by IasonEvan

[Denadanier]

You think that's bad, try Dxun Battle Circle, EU, English

 

I have never seen more than 80 people on the fleet, republic side, even during peak times, on planets the most I have seen is 50-60.

 

So, I thought ok, lets go Imperial side, started a Mara, and things are even worse on imp side, auction house is a joke, hardly anything for sale.

 

Just logged in a few mins ago on both sides as a check, bearing in mind its peak playing time now -

 

Republic Fleet - 59

Imperial Fleet - 50

 

 

My figures aren't from the fleet unfortunately they're from the entire server!

[Shivetya]

This is such a useless conversation by now. I'm sure that when they officially announce that there are over 2 mil subs, people will insist that the numbers are dropping. I'm only curious why people, who are subscribed to this game, only want to talk doom.

 

they can only do that as they open new markets, what is really important is retention of those who bought it. Churn is the important value, not total subs

[ReaperBow]

First of all people play at different times. On my server (Death wind corridor) it usually peaks at around 7:00 and up Atlantic time. At other times it might seem "dead" because people have school/jobs. A obvious trend is that it seems to peak when people would be getting home from work/finishing dinner.

 

Another reason why I think the population would seem to be decreasing is that many people simply are not spending as much time playing the game as when it launch. I find that what I normally do when a game/expansion comes out is I will play it constantly for a little bit and than I find myself getting bored after a certain time, so I play less often. Also, many people simply didn't like the game as much as the one they had already been playing, so after launch they just went back to their other game.

 

Lastly, fleet isn't a good indication of the server size. As people have already said, most 50s do dailies, so they don't feel inclined to chill in the fleet.

 

So maybe the server size dropped a tiny bit, but not as much as people are making it out to be. I know many people have probably said these points already. (I didn't read many posts)

These are just some of the things that made the most sense to me.

[BlackZoback]

they can only do that as they open new markets, what is really important is retention of those who bought it. Churn is the important value, not total subs

 

ToR has a retention rate unheard of in the MMO market, which is usually around 40-50%.

 

Especially for their first month which was around 85%.

[Tsaritsin]

My figures aren't from the fleet unfortunately they're from the entire server!

 

The entire server !!!, OMG

 

I think I now understand why they dont want us talking about the EU servers, lol

Edited March 7, 2012 by Tsaritsin

[RAma]

I know its only 5PM EST and not really peak time but I just logged in and am questing on Quesh. I am the only person on this planet. Freaking depressing and no where near M M O. I like the game..and i'm sure i'll stay subscribed for a good while (i guess I should not admit that) but this blows.

 

Sorry ...had to vent.

Edited March 7, 2012 by RAma

[Icebaron]

ToR has a retention rate unheard of in the MMO market, which is usually around 40-50%.

 

Especially for their first month which was around 85%.

 

Their first month was free and you were required to actually subscribe before you could play the game. Does nobody remember having to slap down their credit card and starting their sub before they ever got in the game?

 

And beside that fact, the game is a leveling mans game. Nobody is going to play this game for six months, not even you hardcore fans.

 

Wait and see, the end is near.