Server Population is GROWING!

[Barracudastr]

Yeah. I don't get this either. I've been playing MMOs for a dozen years now, and I've never seen such obsession over the numbers. There's a vast echo chamber of negativity that's been built up around this game, much of it unwarrented. I mean daily, even hourly, we see the ludicrous extent to which people will find fault with the game with their silly posts.

 

Well you know what the problem is bioware thought it would be a good idea to stick the worlds population right in your face on the UI.

 

So now when people play they look at that number as they play.... and as time goes by see the number drop day to day week to week.

 

For people that play nightly for several hours it becomes very apparent that populations are falling as time goes on.

 

When i go to voss and theres 2 people there 3 counting me I say to myself wow.... thats it? Not even enough to form a group and do the content here. See where people are coming from?

 

Its not about finding fault with the game its seeing a game that threw way to many servers out at launch then seeing how many people aren't there and how that number is DECREASING not increasing day to day.

 

Now some servers this may not be true some are growing but thats mainly from people ditching their dead servers and moving. Not to say they are all new subs. Some probably are but some probably are rerolls.

[Andryah]

Sounds like a similar drop to what I've seen on Jekk'Jekk Tarr, another one of those unofficial Oceanic servers.

 

Guess I can move to the Fatman; it'll be like the new Dark Crag.

 

Jekk Jekk is one of my servers. It has seen about 15% drop in average players online since AP went live. Hardly catastrophic. I still see plenty of /general chat, people grouping, I even see new players in the 10-20 zones.

[Thornsbane]

I've noticed a dramatic increase in people over the past week or two.....its almost like word of mouth has gotten around that the game is cool and people are going out and buying it.

Its onlybeen out for a few month and has only just been released it Oceanic region. Its cool.

[Pardraig]

1.7 million activated accounts, which includes free month players at the time (given that the numbers are at best from mid-late January). This number is basically as good as box sales, because from their end 2M units sold (including 40% online sales via Origin), could just mean that 300k units remained on store shelves (sold to distributors is still sold on their end).

 

Also, I edited the earlier post; Protus-AoC is the troll you remind me of.

 

Just re-read that old article and it appears you are correct. According to DarthHater there are still 1 million concurrent players (well...a month ago) and this earnings report was from after the first month, meaning that there won't have been that many still on their trial period, so when they said active subscribers, they meant mostly paying players.

[Barracudastr]

Just re-read that old article and it appears you are correct. According to DarthHater there are still 1 million concurrent players (well...a month ago) and this earnings report was from after the first month, meaning that there won't have been that many still on their trial period, so when they said active subscribers, they meant mostly paying players.

 

The main issue we are facing is the vast amount of servers and the fact that there are so many planets and zones to spread players out even more.

 

It gives the feeling that your not playing a mmo but more like a SP co-op game. Its discouraging.

 

But there are legit complaints there are servers losing people and dieing a slow death.

[Cerion]

I have been around a few MMO's and I have seen a few fail.

 

I started to get that 'this MMO is failing' feeling a week or so ago. MMO populations are fickle and if you don't get them excited and keep them excited, they go back to World of Tanks, LOL, etc. and wait for the next MMO...like Mechwarrior Online, etc.

 

So I came to the forums today to see if it was 'just me', or if others were sensing the same thing.

 

I am sad to say, it appears it is not just me.

 

And are you self-aware enough to realize how that perception is biased toward the negativity? How that perception is influenced by the reality that the vast majority of posters here are a dissatisfied minority?

 

You do realize the inordinately loud voice a couple thousand 'mad bro' players have over perhaps a million satisfied customers who are content to play the game and rarely visit General, let alone the forums...

[Ansultares]

No. That was thru-sales...meaning in the hands of the consumer. The 300k difference was in fact a loss of subscribers, box sales from December that didn't convert to subs.

So it still leaves however many hundreds of thousands of free-monthers inflating this 1.7M active sub number.

 

Until their next quarterly report, when I doubt they'll release any subscription metrics, I can only go on anecdotal evidence.

 

And while some can provide anecdotes of their server growing, or cherry picked screen shots of weekly peak populations, I've been through all this before, watching the server I'm on start to die while the last server I was on is even more dead, and I'm left to transfer to one of the last bastions of activity.

 

Like I said, the Fatman could be my new Dark Crag, and from there I can find a good guild and voluntarily blind myself to the decay that's around me, until a lack of progress on certain issues finally drives me away. But, I've been there, and I'll probably leave once my subscription's up in April, even if I make the move to Fatman and get in with a good guild, possibly even the same guild I was with on Dark Crag...then it would really be like WAR 2.0.

[Pardraig]

The main issue we are facing is the vast amount of servers and the fact that there are so many planets and zones to spread players out even more.

 

It gives the feeling that your not playing a mmo but more like a SP co-op game. Its discouraging.

 

But there are legit complaints there are servers losing people and dieing a slow death.

 

After 1.2 we'll see a spike of player activity, then it will get quiet again, and then 1.3 will hit and we'll see the same process repeat. Hopefully TOR will keep selling and pulling in customers, but the quiet period between patches is one of the curses of the modern style of MMORPGs.

[Drewser]

So it still leaves however many hundreds of thousands of free-monthers inflating this 1.7M active sub number.

 

Until their next quarterly report, when I doubt they'll release any subscription metrics, I can only go on anecdotal evidence.

 

 

BS - no way do they try to hide sub numbers in the May earnings report/call. That would do more damage to the stock than announcing 'bad' numbers.

[Barracudastr]

After 1.2 we'll see a spike of player activity, then it will get quiet again, and then 1.3 will hit and we'll see the same process repeat. Hopefully TOR will keep selling and pulling in customers, but the quiet period between patches is one of the curses of the modern style of MMORPGs.

 

Well see thats okay though.

 

As long as the "big updates" are good and draw people back to the game it will actually grow.

 

These first few months are the most difficult for new mmos because people see every flaw and are very critical.

 

If that first major patch that comes out fixs some major issues while adding to the game then it becomes a easier fight as you go.

 

People will always complain no matter what but as devs keep adding big things like UI scaling, /roll, you know the small things that people just hate not to have I think the game will grow IF they can keep people engaged after 50. Thats a whole nother discussion though.

[Cerion]

Well you know what the problem is bioware thought it would be a good idea to stick the worlds population right in your face on the UI.

 

So now when people play they look at that number as they play.... and as time goes by see the number drop day to day week to week.

 

For people that play nightly for several hours it becomes very apparent that populations are falling as time goes on.

 

When i go to voss and theres 2 people there 3 counting me I say to myself wow.... thats it? Not even enough to form a group and do the content here. See where people are coming from?

 

Its not about finding fault with the game its seeing a game that threw way to many servers out at launch then seeing how many people aren't there and how that number is DECREASING not increasing day to day.

 

Now some servers this may not be true some are growing but thats mainly from people ditching their dead servers and moving. Not to say they are all new subs. Some probably are but some probably are rerolls.

 

I agree that it was a poor decision to advertise the number of people online in a zone. Let me repeat that: Number of people online. Because what has happened? The less sophisticated people among us equate that number with server population and subscriptions. If people start playing less, but are still subscribed, that number drops...and if that number drops then suddenly, OMG game dying, disappoint.

 

 

In short: people may be playing less obsessively, and this will be reflected in server load and UI numbers. Doesn't mean there's a drastic wave of sub cancellations.

[Bumofdunland]

Well you know what the problem is bioware thought it would be a good idea to stick the worlds population right in your face on the UI.

 

So now when people play they look at that number as they play.... and as time goes by see the number drop day to day week to week.

 

For people that play nightly for several hours it becomes very apparent that populations are falling as time goes on.

 

When i go to voss and theres 2 people there 3 counting me I say to myself wow.... thats it? Not even enough to form a group and do the content here. See where people are coming from?

 

Its not about finding fault with the game its seeing a game that threw way to many servers out at launch then seeing how many people aren't there and how that number is DECREASING not increasing day to day.

 

Now some servers this may not be true some are growing but thats mainly from people ditching their dead servers and moving. Not to say they are all new subs. Some probably are but some probably are rerolls.

I haven't been able to do any heroics on the last 4 quest planets because of lack of people. 4 people on Voss, 9 on Hoth, its ridiculous. Tarro Blood Republic is my server for any people who want proof.

[Cerion]

BS - no way do they try to hide sub numbers in the May earnings report/call. That would do more damage to the stock than announcing 'bad' numbers.

 

Exactly. I think investors are savvy enough to know that sub numbers are an important metric, and thus EA will include them. The other possibility, I suppose, is that EA will deliver simply total revenues for SWTOR, from which there will be much gnashing of teeth over the actual sub numbers extrapolated from those earnings.

[Paxmendacium]

Sigh.

 

I really wanted this game to succeed. I've been posting in anger on these forums since yesterday because of the amount of money I wasted on my CE. I cannot believe I dropped 150 bucks plus subscription on a game that I'll only play for two months total. I wanted so badly for this to be a multi-year adventure, but given the state of my guild, my server, and my own rapidly-waning interest in performing the same daily grind (get on, get 3 WZ wins, get 30 kills in Ilum, log), that simply will not come to pass.

 

OP, I don't believe your numbers are any more firm than if I were to say: 'well, all of the planets on my server were dead yesterday even during primetime, so the game must be failing!' A snapshot look at population will not convince me that the game isn't floundering, or is doing well, for that matter.

 

I can only speak from personal experience (as can any of us), but my guild, which was one of the largest on my server, is down to about 50% of the active membership we had 3 weeks ago. And it's not due to natural attrition either -- my GM is absolutely anal about following up on people who leave and why. Those who have left our guild aren't quitting for competing organizations; they're ceasing playing. One day they'll be an extremely active member who is on for five hours an evening, and the next, *poof,* they've utterly vanished.

 

That's not a sign of a healthy MMO. For the first five or so years in WoW, when somebody who was extremely active suddenly quit your guild, chances are that they had a better offer elsewhere, and felt like your organization was holding them back. It's called poaching, and while it's hardly a wholesome activity, it's a sign of a healthy game -- that people feel like they can freely move between organizations in order to achieve better personal progression. So in WoW, they didn't disappear; they just disappeared from your guild. In my experience, in TOR when someone vanishes, they're just gone. They haven't fled to some high-end guild (why would they need to? Even the NM mode stuff is facerollable); they've just vanished.

 

So, yeah, OP? I don't believe your numbers. I think your efforts are the work of somebody who is desperate to see this game succeed, even if it means lying to yourself and to others. My server, Jung Ma, is one of the busiest in North America, and while it remains a strong shower, I can clearly see a drop-off even there. The fleets are less populated; the leveling planets are virtually empty; Ilum isn't as busy. You can slip on those rose colored-glasses if you want, but just because you tell yourself repeatedly that 'everything is fine' doesn't make it true.

 

Sounds like QQ?

[Barracudastr]

I haven't been able to do any heroics on the last 4 quest planets because of lack of people. 4 people on Voss, 9 on Hoth, its ridiculous. Tarro Blood Republic is my server for any people who want proof.

 

Thats a perfect example of a dead server that should be scooped up and plugged into a heavier server.

 

4 people on a planet thats really not a mmo feeling. Maybe for one thats several years old and its a very secluded zone that not many go to in the first place but a main quest area for leveling is just wow when the game is only 2.5 months old you know.

 

Sorry m8.

 

I rerolled ajunta pall today from the swiftsure in hopes that it wont be dieing anytime soon.

[Brickabrack]

I agree that it was a poor decision to advertise the number of people online in a zone. Let me repeat that: Number of people online. Because what has happened? The less sophisticated people among us equate that number with server population and subscriptions. If people start playing less, but are still subscribed, that number drops...and if that number drops then suddenly, OMG game dying, disappoint.

 

 

In short: people may be playing less obsessively, and this will be reflected in server load and UI numbers. Doesn't mean there's a drastic wave of sub cancellations.

 

Exactly right, imho.

[Andryah]

I haven't been able to do any heroics on the last 4 quest planets because of lack of people. 4 people on Voss, 9 on Hoth, its ridiculous. Tarro Blood Republic is my server for any people who want proof.

 

Standard at 7:22 PM server time. Still a bit early to peak population.

 

I bet if you check in more detail you will find that the player base is working lower planets for the most part.

 

Now, that said, your particular server has 2:1 ratio of Imperial to Republic, so only one third of your server population is playing Republic. http://dulfy.net/2012/02/24/some-numerical-population-data-for-swtor-servers/

[Bumofdunland]

Standard at 7:22 PM server time. Still a bit early to peak population.

 

I bet if you check in more detail you will find that the player base is working lower planets for the most part.

 

Now, that said, your particular server has 2:1 ratio of Imperial to Republic, so only one third of your server population is playing Republic. http://dulfy.net/2012/02/24/some-numerical-population-data-for-swtor-servers/

I kinda figured it was Imp heavy but the problem still stands. All republic players on this server have no one to play with. There are very little if any active guilds here on republic side so its pretty lonely over here.

[Azzras]

I kinda figured it was Imp heavy but the problem still stands. All republic players on this server have no one to play with. There are very little if any active guilds here on republic side so its pretty lonely over here.

 

That is a faction issue.

 

For whatever reason, people like playing Imps.

 

I like shooting Imps, but that may be just me.

 

[Bumofdunland]

That is a faction issue.

 

For whatever reason, people like playing Imps.

 

I like shooting Imps, but that may be just me.

 

I realize that. I have yet to see a developer promote faction change. Free transfers would be a great place to start Bioware.

[Azzras]

I realize that. I have yet to see a developer promote faction change. Free transfers would be a great place to start Bioware.

 

I know xfers are coming (and they better be free BW ).

[Bumofdunland]

I know xfers are coming (and they better be free BW ).

They should always be free. Unlike certain other developers charging the outrageous price of $25 for change of anything whether it be faction, server, race etc.

[Azzras]

They should always be free. Unlike certain other developers charging the outrageous price of $25 for change of anything whether it be faction, server, race etc.

 

Exactly.

[Andryah]

I know xfers are coming (and they better be free BW ).

 

Absolutely!

 

Rift set the standard on this.

[Skoobie]

I agree they should be free, but limited to how many times a player can do it.

 

Or maybe free the first time, then charge for anytime after that.

Edited March 2, 2012 by Skoobie