When will there be a SERVER MERGE?

[Dozer]

Server merge is the true answer. X-server queues don't solve issues with the low population servers. PVP servers would like to one day be able to have world PVP. GTN on my server is god awful. There are so many reasons merges have to happen even before x-server starts. I can't even grind PVP gear because there is no more PVP on my server. Save Rwookrorro and all the other dead servers....

[SteliosK]

Greetings everyone

 

I have 4 chars in Niman that it used to be High in population in the first month and now it is always light.

I shall state the reasons that a merge is more favorable than any other action (such as cross realm pvp etc)

 

1) more ppl around for flashpoints including the low lvl flashpoints that lack characters of lower lvl

2) GTN will work in a more healthy way since there will be more buyers and sellers

3) operations (I havent been able to do any with my 50lvl jedi)

4) PvP (well you need ppl to do a PvP correct? )

5) With light population SWTOR looks like an average stand alone game and not MMO

6) I have many friends that quit playing SWTOR due to population issues. They couldnt enjoy the game if they couldnt find anyone to play with (either PvP or PvE)

[Gadzuki]

http://www.pcgamer.com/2012/04/23/bioware-doing-anything-and-everything-to-keep-players-logging-in-to-swtor/

 

Paragraph 3

 

"Erickson says, is the reason why players are noticing a lot of ‘light’ server populations – and also why mergers are on the cards, but not a priority"...

 

I quit.

[SinisterZz]

http://www.pcgamer.com/2012/04/23/bioware-doing-anything-and-everything-to-keep-players-logging-in-to-swtor/

 

Paragraph 3

 

"Erickson says, is the reason why players are noticing a lot of ‘light’ server populations – and also why mergers are on the cards, but not a priority"...

 

I quit.

 

Not a priority??!!

 

I will cancel my sub after the free month.

[Ascended]

OK I had another post on this but it was closed to continue the topic here so I'm going to repeat the original message.

 

Before I get started into my argument I would like to say that I really do like this game. I'm not bashing any single aspect of the game (with exception to server population) and I am not here to start off some horrible flame wars with the fans of this game.

 

I would also like to point out that I am a European player currently on the low population server Luka Sene. During peak time in the republic fleet we don't get much more than around 50 players and Imperial side sometimes hits the 100 mark, so you should know what I mean by light server population.

 

I have been playing the game since launch and have a Level 50 Commando, a Level 48 Sith Inquisitor and a Level 42 Jedi Sentinel and therefore the argument of "Go and roll on another server" is not valid as I am not willing to start all that again.

 

OK so on to the main point of this post.

 

There are currently only 2 English speaking servers in Europe that are showing a heavy population load. They are The Red Eclipse (PvE) and The Tomb of Freedon Nadd (PvP). The other 40 or so servers are mostly either standard or light and therein lies the problem.

I was placed in this server at the launch of the game and at the time I had no idea what the server population would be so I had no reason to search out for another server.

 

I will say though that I think Bioware's decision at launch to open more and more servers instead of just increasing the capacity of them was their biggest mistake as several months after the release of the game, we are now seeing the number of players staying with the game has stabilised and is holding at the 1.25 million mark (very well done by the way, that is a good figure), however we have enough servers to handle several times that number.

 

I honestly believe that the best thing for this game right now is to merge some of these other light pop servers together to create a better experience for the people who are currently playing on those servers. And my argument is this...

 

Who cares what the media says about this game if you merge servers?

 

Surely you want to keep the customers that are fans of the game happy than care if some media reporter with nothing better to do turns round and calls your game a failure because your are trying to keep your fans happy.

 

Also in who's eyes is the game a failure if you merge servers? I guarantee the customers wouldn't care as they are now all playing on high pop servers and enjoying themselves a lot more. Also that alone is going to get more people into the game from word of mouth, as when it takes mere seconds to get a group for anything you want on any planet you are on rather than the half an hour or longer it currently takes on my server. People who like the game but were disappointed by the lack of players are going to come back.

 

OK so that's the main point of my argument over, but there is also another option to re-balance servers and that is free or paid character transfers. Let's start with paid transfers.

Now I don't think this is as good of an idea and this is why. Every single player on the low pop servers are going to instantly transfer to the only 2 heavy pop servers in Europe. Why is this a bad thing? Well because now you have 2 servers that are way over capacity and have massive queue times, which is also going to put players off as having to wait an hour to even begin playing the game is not good. Also this is just gonna get the players currently playing on those heavy pop servers to move somewhere else and the cycle begins anew.

 

Now onto free character transfers. This is essentially the same as a server merger but only gives players a certain choice of which server they go to. Now if I am sitting on Luka Sene and have the option to move to another server and that server has the option to move to Luka Sene. How do I know what the server will be like? It could be worse as everyone on that server could have moved to Luka Sene and I could be sitting on another dead server with no way to move back again. That doesn't mean that free transfers are a bad thing, just that they need to be handled carefully for them to work.

 

I'm going to give you a quick example on how this could go wrong below.

I'm going to reference back to my WoW days. I started playing on a server called Shadowmoon and free transfers were enabled to move to another server called Magtheridon. We were only given a week to decide to move before the option to transfer was closed and on the final day my guild decided to transfer. Some members of the guild did not make it and were then stuck on Shadowmoon. The only advantage of this is that we were now on one of the best PvP servers in the European game but we did not know that was going to happen. Although as an Alliance guild, being stuck on a PvP server with the best Horde guild in the world (Nihilium) was a challenge at the best of times.

 

So anyway those are my reason for wanting server mergers, I hope you take the time to read the post as it was well thought out and has no intention of starting a flame war but in case you can't be bothered here's the

 

TL : DR What does it matter to your currently paying customers what the media thinks about server mergers if it makes your experience a lot more enjoyable?

 

Thank you very much.

 

After much discussion, I learned that although server mergers are unlikely at this time, they are not off the table and I am glad about that as it shows that BW are able to change their minds about certain issues where the community feels strongly about it. This is one of those issues and someone needs to come out and give us some more information as to the exact reasons that they do not want to merge servers.

Having James Ohlen saying that the servers are good when I am sitting on a server with next to 0 people on it is a joke. When I have to spam chat for half an hour on any given planet to get a group for a heroic quest, then give up and call in a high level guildie to boost me through it. When even with same faction PvP we still have to wait for upwards of 10 minutes to get a game during peak time and when there is virtually nothing on the GTN I'll tell you now that the servers are not good and mergers absolutely need to happen ASAP or people WILL leave this game.

Unfortunately I have stopped playing SWTOR now, even though I have an active sub for the next 3-4 months as I can't find the motivation to log on.

[AbsolutGrndZero]

Transfers allow the player to make the choice. Forced mergers take control away. But my guess is that you'd find a way to complain if your ice cream was to cold.

 

QFT

 

A server merge I would HATE. EQ did it, and I lost EVERY SINGLE ONE of my characters names. Whereas allowing transfers to be done to a server *I* wish, I can make sure the name(s) I care about are available there first.

 

And, before anyone says names don't matter, that's fine. They don't to you. They do to some of us.

 

Server transfers? Yes, please.

 

Server Merging? Hell, no!

[Holden_Dissent]

Pretty sure they are just saying that merges probably won't happen because they'll open transfers first. Which will just make deadish servers dead and other servers healthy.

 

I see nothing wrong with that.

[nixstep]

I favor the decision of the ability to transfer your character. Some people prefer the light servers. Some others prefer the Standard. I much rather be part of a larger community of players. Allow a one time transfer or enable some cool down to the transfer, but in the end allow people to re situate where they please. It is us after all who are paying per month.

 

For those who are complaining that their pooky toon name might be lost - give me a break. Its a name. If the name is already taken (how original) then allow people to change upon the xfer.

[Frostvein]

You cant do just server transfers.

 

For starters, you cant just say "Open high pop to low pop server transfers!" simply because there aren't enough high pop servers to begin with.

 

Secondly, if you give free or paid transfers, the people who refuse to leave/don't leave are going to be in an even worse situation then they are now, and you are just going to end up with another 3 or 4 Fatmans.

 

 

Mergers are the only answer. If not, enjoy your super cool and ultra important character name, have fun showing it off to the other 3 people on fleet and 10 people on your server.

[KaptainPlanet]

check out my server population woot

 

http://i45.tinypic.com/2zei592.jpg

[nixstep]

check out my server population woot

 

http://i45.tinypic.com/2zei592.jpg

 

lawl thats too funny

[Samvan]

check out my server population woot

 

http://i45.tinypic.com/2zei592.jpg

 

Grats! You are two people who aren't working or at school on a wednesday morning.

[AbsolutGrndZero]

You cant do just server transfers.

 

For starters, you cant just say "Open high pop to low pop server transfers!" simply because there aren't enough high pop servers to begin with.

 

Secondly, if you give free or paid transfers, the people who refuse to leave/don't leave are going to be in an even worse situation then they are now, and you are just going to end up with another 3 or 4 Fatmans.

 

 

Mergers are the only answer. If not, enjoy your super cool and ultra important character name, have fun showing it off to the other 3 people on fleet and 10 people on your server.

 

Yes, but if I can CHOOSE which of the 3 or 4 "fatmans" i go to, I have a much better chance of keeping my names. Merges deny players choice. Transfers give it to them. Some people like Light, some like Standard, some like Heavy... Mergers would force people to Heavy when they might prefer standard.

Edited April 25, 2012 by AbsolutGrndZero

[shaboobly]

I don't want some cross server raid finder like wow implemented.. that is just stupid. The lack of people on any one server is a huge issue that needs to be fixed. Whats the point of calling this game an MMORPG if the massively multiplayer part is nonexistent?

[ohpleasework]

Yes, but if I can CHOOSE which of the 3 or 4 "fatmans" i go to, I have a much better chance of keeping my names. Merges deny players choice. Transfers give it to them. Some people like Light, some like Standard, some like Heavy... Mergers would force people to Heavy when they might prefer standard.

 

1. Mergers and transfers don't have to be mutually exclusive

2. Players preferring a standard or light server could re-roll or transfer off of a heavily populated server should they find themselves on one following a merger

 

Losing your cherished characters name can be rough, I dealt with that twice in other MMOs. But the benefits gained from the mergers and/or transfers outweighed that loss.

[Stenrik]

1. Mergers and transfers don't have to be mutually exclusive

2. Players preferring a standard or light server could re-roll or transfer off of a heavily populated server should they find themselves on one following a merger

 

Losing your cherished characters name can be rough, I dealt with that twice in other MMOs. But the benefits gained from the mergers and/or transfers outweighed that loss.

 

QFT. As long as you have both mergers and transfers, there should be no problem wish merges first.

 

As I see it now, transfers would just make the problem WORSE for low-pop servers, unless Bioware makes leaving the server MANDATORY. In that case maybe it could work out all right. It would still be a bummer to break up the community we've built with our own servers though. I really like the current community, I just wish it was... bigger.

Edited April 25, 2012 by Stenrik

[AbsolutGrndZero]

QFT. As long as you have both mergers and transfers, there should be no problem wish merges first.

 

As I see it now, transfers would just make the problem WORSE for low-pop servers, unless Bioware makes leaving the server MANDATORY. In that case maybe it could work out all right. It would still be a bummer to break up the community we've built with our own servers though. I really like the current community, I just wish it was... bigger.

 

Ok, I'm not sure how you do mergers then? Say Rubat Crystal is merged with Ebon Hawk. Does not a merge mean that one of the servers, for argument sake let's say Rubat Crystal, is shut down? Everyone on Rubat Crystal is FORCED to move to Ebon Hawk, yes?

 

Now, I could decide I'd rather be on um Darth Malak, sure.. but intially... I would be forced to move to Ebon Hawk, and let's face it... they are adamant already that name changes are only done if your name is deemed inappropriate or offensive. Think that will suddenly change if there is a conflict and I choose to then move, they'll let me restore my old name?

[Magzi]

This is getting really anoying trying to play on a dead server! Atleast they could do Server switch PVP, Were players from any server play pvp against other players on other servers, Like WoW, atleast people will be a bit happyer intill they sort out the server transfer propperly

[Jigsaw-Complex]

Anyone asking for a merger is obviously not a veteran MMO player. When MMOs close and merge servers, it's VERY bad news. It looks terrible for the game's health and does bad to its image.

 

The answer to our problems is to have a free transfer system like Rift. Rift had the same problems until their system of free transfers were added. Once this system was in place, the problem servers took care of themselves. If people wanted high pop, they went there. If they wanted low pop, they went there. If it doesn't work out, you can transfer again in a week.

 

You people will ignore this all you want, but a server merger is about 2-3 steps away from a game closing shop, and that is nowhere near the case for SWTOR.

[DistortedDesigns]

For the love of god please give us a server merge or transfers. My server is so dead.

 

1. The station is nearly empty at all times.... Most of the time there is less than 10-20 people at fleet.

2. The GTN is completely dead there is nearly every category is empty. There is no market what so ever, you can't buy anything because you can't sell anything.

3. Can go 3 hours without a pvp game at prime time and if you do play it is the nearly the same people every time.

4. Can't get help ever, there usually is only 12-20 people on an entire planet at anyone time.

 

This is crap most people are ready to quit. DO SOMETHING SOON!!!!!!!! I DON'T CARE WHAT, BUT DO SOMETHING!!!

Put out a poll to the smallest servers to see what they want to do. Nearly every person wants a merger.

[Stenrik]

Ok, I'm not sure how you do mergers then? Say Rubat Crystal is merged with Ebon Hawk. Does not a merge mean that one of the servers, for argument sake let's say Rubat Crystal, is shut down? Everyone on Rubat Crystal is FORCED to move to Ebon Hawk, yes?

 

Now, I could decide I'd rather be on um Darth Malak, sure.. but intially... I would be forced to move to Ebon Hawk, and let's face it... they are adamant already that name changes are only done if your name is deemed inappropriate or offensive. Think that will suddenly change if there is a conflict and I choose to then move, they'll let me restore my old name?

 

I believe they mentioned that you can change your character name in a transfer, even if it doesn't violate the TOS. (This was for the APAC servers). Also, I presume that name changes will be standard with character transfers. In other games I know of, it was handled that way.

 

Also, what's been done before is, when two servers are merged, people start out with "name <original server>", then go to a NPC to "claim" their name, therefore removing the <server> behind it and prompting the ptjer person with their same name to change it. This "early bird gets the worm" approach may not be perfect, but it's a lot fairer than giving one server population a priority of naming over the other. And who knows, maybe they will do something like giving the account with the highest legacy naming priority too. Again, not a perfect system though, but still much preferable to being in a dead server...

[Overtone]

Pretty sure they are just saying that merges probably won't happen because they'll open transfers first. Which will just make deadish servers dead and other servers healthy.

 

I see nothing wrong with that.

With transfers, it's true people have a little more control but what happens if people just end up playing musical servers? The number of people that join a server is equal to the number of people that leave it. Also if deadish servers do end up dead well then they will be shut down anyway.

 

Just merge servers, endure the QQing that will happen but within time people will be happy that they acutally can play with other people.

[Infein]

Merging of low pop servers is needed. Transfer is ok too. The game is almost unplayable max 20 ppl in Rep Fleet and 1 max 2 WZ that is on in prime time. Planets are dead. I counted ppl zone by zone it is hardly 100 ppl in all zones on Rep Side.

Server: Trayus Academy.

[bobbagsy]

Merging of low pop servers is needed. Transfer is ok too. The game is almost unplayable max 20 ppl in Rep Fleet and 1 max 2 WZ that is on in prime time. Planets are dead. I counted ppl zone by zone it is hardly 100 ppl in all zones on Rep Side.

Server: Trayus Academy.

 

Im both with you & startled that there is another player on "tubleweed academy" (OK slight overkill). Selling gray items on teh GTN is becoming increasingly hard these days! (again slightly underegging by around 20 characters & colour of gray items) being the only character on most planets with my Nub is starting to give me a god complext too (this parts true).

 

Loving the pvp (Even being Target dummy), loving the game, not got enough credits to be a "gtn hermitt" so please give more than avarage 20 peer's to play with.

 

Rep

Nooblet <venom>

/w Jedd for free epix

/w imps for hugs & kisses

[SCHodge]

The Jekk'Jekk Tar has been home to many Oceanic players who are transferring; I understand Harbinger is the same, maybe even more. It would be very nice to merge those servers for those of us who remain, because server pops are depressingly low.

 

Thank you,

 

Shayne