My server is dead - we need transfers now, not in early summer

[DarthTHC]

All you armchair developers like to claim it's as easy as opening an XL sheet and copying the fields...but the evidence is against you. If it were that easy, BioWare would have done it by now, dontcha think?

 

No. You'd all rather live with the delusional belief that BioWare is intentionally screwing people who want transfers, intentionally delaying such a feature for some nefarious, devious plan.

 

Seriously. Come back to reality.

 

The technology to do character transfers including legacy is already there and proven. Just look at the APAC transfer success if you doubt that statement for a second.

 

What they are doing now is putting a business spin on it. Deciding how much to charge and creating all the code to implement those charges. Deciding the mappings they want people to take from server to server. All that stuff.

 

But the hard stuff - moving characters to different servers - is already in the can and proven.

 

I have a HUGE problem with BioWare delaying server transfers to make money off of it. This is a service they need to provide to the players who are languishing on dead servers and not getting the MMO experience they were promised and are paying for. I expect those players have a problem with it, too, and I expect there will be many cancellations while they're forced to wait for BioWare to figure out how to extract a few dimes for the service.

[ironix]

You cannot be serious. You still have to test it! ANY programming you do, even very small bug fixes NEED to be TESTED. For something on this scale, you need to test it as much as you possibly can before releasing it.

 

6 months of testing?

 

This isn't some GTN patch that they can get by testing it for a day and release it, because the end result only changes inconvenience to the user browsing the GTN. This is a serious feature that they need to test hard.

 

No, this is easier than in-game mechanics and interactions like the GTN. This is database administration 101.

 

What do you suggest them do, code the web interface and release it tomorrow because IT IS SO EASY TO MAKE DATABASE QUERIES? Does that make it ok to avoid testing just because once they build the queries there is no chance for bugs?

 

No, but if this launches in early summer, they will have had 6-months of time to design, implement and test a feature that is much simpler to implement than many of the smaller issues we read about in a maintenance patch.

 

Come on, everything has to be tested.

 

Again, you're somehow equating testing with something that will require months and months of work. For a feature like this it does not. If they're being exceptionally lazy and dragging their feet by using one tester who takes 4-hour lunch breaks, types with two fingers, and is easily distracted by a mote of dust dancing in a sunbeam, then maybe it'll take them a couple of weeks to test the system.

[mackerel]

only 6 player on my fleet 2day on friday afternoon what is there to do with 6 player ?.becoming a joke unless you reroll and kiss good bye to the time you played up to now

[Emdix]

Didn't you say you were gone?

 

Yes I did, I still have some free days You know , but my sub is already caceled .

[Senatsu]

I have a slightly different reason for not logging in. It's not that the server is dead, it's just that I'm so tired of running through the "baby"-period of another MMO. Add that to the lack of server transfers which means irl friends are spread over the entire server list and no one can be bothered to make a new char anymore.

 

Don't get me wrong, the game is amazing, it's all the other systems that got completely ignored that is ruining it.

[ironix]

All you armchair developers like to claim it's as easy as opening an XL sheet and copying the fields...but the evidence is against you. If it were that easy, BioWare would have done it by now, dontcha think?

 

No. You'd all rather live with the delusional belief that BioWare is intentionally screwing people who want transfers, intentionally delaying such a feature for some nefarious, devious plan.

 

Seriously. Come back to reality.

 

I am not an armchair developer. I am a developer. Also, as a developer, I'd find it hard to believe that the developers at Bioware are so inept that they'd need months upon months to implement this kind of feature. This leads me to conclude that it is management that is the issue here (as usual).

[Cerion]

The technology to do character transfers including legacy is already there and proven. Just look at the APAC transfer success if you doubt that statement for a second.

 

What they are doing now is putting a business spin on it. Deciding how much to charge and creating all the code to implement those charges. Deciding the mappings they want people to take from server to server. All that stuff.

 

But the hard stuff - moving characters to different servers - is already in the can and proven.

 

I have a HUGE problem with BioWare delaying server transfers to make money off of it. This is a service they need to provide to the players who are languishing on dead servers and not getting the MMO experience they were promised and are paying for. I expect those players have a problem with it, too, and I expect there will be many cancellations while they're forced to wait for BioWare to figure out how to extract a few dimes for the service.

 

Except that the APAC transfers had to be done manually..or a very large component of the process. Automating that process takes time.

 

Invoking the 'greedy corporate monster' conspiracy is just another delusion. If they were really intent on making greedy amounts of money, then it would likely have been implemented already as well.

 

They were able to do the APAC transfers because the volume involved could be handled manually. Not so with 1.5+ million potential accounts.

[DarthTHC]

6 months of testing?

 

No, this is easier than in-game mechanics and interactions like the GTN. This is database administration 101.

 

No, but if this launches in early summer, they will have had 6-months of time to design, implement and test a feature that is much simpler to implement than many of the smaller issues we read about in a maintenance patch.

 

Again, you're somehow equating testing with something that will require months and months of work. For a feature like this it does not. If they're being exceptionally lazy and dragging their feet by using one tester who takes 4-hour lunch breaks, types with two fingers, and is easily distracted by a mote of dust dancing in a sunbeam, then maybe it'll take them a couple of weeks to test the system.

 

You're minimizing the complexity. MMO characters are incredibly complex and large data constructs. Ensuring everything moves over correctly requires a lot of attention to detail and a lot of really tight testing.

 

This is further complicated by unique keys and values between server platforms. Having to deal with name collisions and such. That's new code that needs to be designed, coded, and validated.

 

It's not just "move these rows from this schema to this other one".

 

They absolutely needed the time they took to do the APAC transfers. Absolutely.

 

But now that those are done, all that coding and testing is behind us. The technology is proven. Any further delay is a monstrous disservice to paying customers, apparently for the sake of making a buck for something they should be doing for free anyway.

[oldshatterhand]

1.5 million? I bet there are hardly 200k players left, excluding the APAC who already got their transfers. Just wait till the free month is over and you will see how many subscribers are really left. Edited May 4, 2012 by oldshatterhand

[Mailek]

By the time server transfers are online in early summer they'll need to start thinking of server merges because 1000s more including myself will be gone by that time, and I won't come back.

[Mailek]

Except that the APAC transfers had to be done manually..or a very large component of the process. Automating that process takes time.

 

Invoking the 'greedy corporate monster' conspiracy is just another delusion. If they were really intent on making greedy amounts of money, then it would likely have been implemented already as well.

 

They were able to do the APAC transfers because the volume involved could be handled manually. Not so with 1.5+ million potential accounts.

 

So releasing a game just around Christmas with the intent on cashing in on the holidays with a game that probably needed another 6 months (to basically launch with 1.2 features), isn't greedy? Gimme a *********** break.

[BuzzBoyy]

same on veela , and my friend stop play because no one is on server ....

 

need help plz!!! need friend for play !!

 

MMO= MASSIVE MULTIPLAYER !

 

where is the mass ?

[ironix]

Except that the APAC transfers had to be done manually..or a very large component of the process. Automating that process takes time.

 

Bwahahaahahahahaahaha. *takes a deep breath and wonders which century this person is from*

 

You're labouring under the illusion that the APAC transfers were somehow the result of hundreds of tech grunts manually copying and pasting data from one database to another. "Manual" in some cases doesn't mean that every little step was done without the aid of automation of any kind.

 

What manual transfers mean in this case (and legitimately sow) was that the lists of people that needed to be transferred had to be compiled manually, verified manually and then possibly copied into a script manually. Additionally, the long of time for the transfers was more to allow eligible people adequate time to put their names forward for a transfer.

 

Beyond collation, the transfers would be automated insofar as some database engineer ran a script for a batch of accounts moving from point A to point B.

 

Invoking the 'greedy corporate monster' conspiracy is just another delusion. If they were really intent on making greedy amounts of money, then it would likely have been implemented already as well.

 

They were able to do the APAC transfers because the volume involved could be handled manually. Not so with 1.5+ million potential accounts.

 

Again, I don't think 'manually' means what you think it means in this case.

[Emdix]

1.5 million? I bet there are hardly 200k players left, excluding the APAC who already got their transfers.

 

Someone said they have to relase number of sub at 7th.So, lets see.But I seriously doubt it is more then 400K.

[Cerion]

I am not an armchair developer. I am a developer. Also, as a developer, I'd find it hard to believe that the developers at Bioware are so inept that they'd need months upon months to implement this kind of feature. This leads me to conclude that it is management that is the issue here (as usual).

 

Somehow I don't believe you're working on anything nearly as complex as an MMO.. I mean, Angry Birds really isn't on the same level. Regardless, you want to attribute the lack of Transfers to ineptness...another dude posting here wants to attribute it to greed...another poster wants to attribute it to BioWare being ashamed of implementing transfers...another poster wants to believe BioWare simply isn't listening....

 

Conspiracy theories all. The simplest reason, and most likely, is that this system is in fact difficult to program.

[ironix]

So releasing a game just around Christmas with the intent on cashing in on the holidays with a game that probably needed another 6 months (to basically launch with 1.2 features), isn't greedy? Gimme a *********** break.

 

I like you.

[Cerion]

Bwahahaahahahahaahaha. *takes a deep breath and wonders which century this person is from*

 

You're labouring under the illusion that the APAC transfers were somehow the result of hundreds of tech grunts manually copying and pasting data from one database to another. "Manual" in some cases doesn't mean that every little step was done without the aid of automation of any kind.

 

What manual transfers mean in this case (and legitimately sow) was that the lists of people that needed to be transferred had to be compiled manually, verified manually and then possibly copied into a script manually. Additionally, the long of time for the transfers was more to allow eligible people adequate time to put their names forward for a transfer.

 

Beyond collation, the transfers would be automated insofar as some database engineer ran a script for a batch of accounts moving from point A to point B.

 

 

 

Again, I don't think 'manually' means what you think it means in this case.

Actually that's exactly what I think it means.

[Aragorrius]

You really want them to rush on this? It is pretty important that they get this feature right. You do not want to make a transfer and find out your character is missing somewhere and cannot play it.

 

This is not a feature you want bugs in, so yes it should be delayed as much as possible so it is RIGHT.

 

 

Sorry but this is ********. They just had thousands of Aussies transfer to new servers in the Pacific... so they know damn well how to do it.

 

I've been playing SWTor for 6 months now.. and at the start I was very sceptical about all the complaints and whine I saw on forums.. I thought people were being overly negative about Bioware and how they listen to their crowd.

 

Unfortunately I've come to see the light.

 

I've been in game, filed tickets, spoken to agents on the phone.. and overly I am dissappointed. Their services are put together badly, their response time is too long, their solutions are hardly ever satisfactory. The agents are doing their best, but from my experience are either not trained right or don't have enough rights to solve your problems in a satisfactory way.

 

Bioware fails all the time to distinguish between "developer priorities" and "player priorities" and in those situations where they give the first priority over the latter they fail to smooth this over with good customer service.

 

I can only be greatful for the server I am on.. because we still have 30 to 40 people on fleet during the day.. and 100 or more during peak times... I can always raid with my guild.. or quest.. and most often PVP....

 

God help me if our server loses population... From what I hear and see from other players on other servers it's a miracle they are still going online to check.. I would have left ages ago...

 

Retaining customer loyalty should be TOP priority for a business model that is build on Subscriptions...

However they fail in every aspect. It seems as though the managers never read a single piece on customer loyalty.

 

.....what can I say... dissappointing and there is no excuse for it.

[Darkulous]

So releasing a game just around Christmas with the intent on cashing in on the holidays with a game that probably needed another 6 months (to basically launch with 1.2 features), isn't greedy? Gimme a *********** break.

 

Also, that's why they (BW) never gave a definitive answere to LFD, Macros, Addons, Transfers, Combat logs and other contraversial features before releasing the game. BW knew that if they said "yes" or "no" to any of the features before the release, it would cost them some box sells.

[Cerion]

So releasing a game just around Christmas with the intent on cashing in on the holidays with a game that probably needed another 6 months (to basically launch with 1.2 features), isn't greedy? Gimme a *********** break.

 

Move the goal posts much? I never said BioWare was or wasn't greedy. I said, in response to THAT particular post about THIS particular feature, that if one were to invoke the greedy conspiracy theory, then GREED would dictate that they get this out super fast. But since they haven't gotten it out in a super fast manner to rake in the cash, then it must be the fact that this system is difficult to implement.

 

I'm sure that will be over your head, logically speaking.

[ironix]

Somehow I don't believe you're working on anything nearly as complex as an MMO.. I mean, Angry Birds really isn't on the same level.

 

Oddly enough, Angry Birds is more successful than this game.

 

In any case, no, I don't deal with such high-level stuff. More low-level systems programming, network I/O protocols and such. However, regardless of that, you're now equating the entire sum of the game's complexity with that the relatively simple part of extricating a player's data from one database to another. Transfers have been done, the complex problem of this extrication has been solved.

 

To say that just because a developer isn't working with an MMO doesn't mean that the process in moving data from one place to another would somehow be opaque to him. There are many things that are relatively universal regardless of which specific arena of development that you belong.

[DjSnazzyduds]

15 pages of nagging jeeeezus. Simple solution. They announced transfers already. Not patient enough to wait? Quit. Save yourself $15. You love SWTOR but can't stand the loneliness. Quit and come back when the game is to your liking.

 

It astounds me to see how much frustration is displayed in this topic, the complaints of being alone with single digit numbers in one's server. Just quit. Why burden yourself, continue anymore frustration, it's as if you stay around to punish yourself. It's easy to leave, there is a plethora of other games out there. Weeks of yelling for transfers, mergers, LISTEN TO ME BIOWARE threads, and action is finally being taken and somehow the masses get angrier. At least they finally talked and have a plan. A plan is better than NO plan. I'm sure you'll disagree because it isn't how YOU want it but hey, that's why is a multiplayer game. They'll base changes on what the majority say than the minority. They'll cater to the masses and not what one sole player wants.

[ironix]

A plan is better than NO plan. I'm sure you'll disagree because it isn't how YOU want it but hey, that's why is a multiplayer game on some servers.

 

Fixed that for you.

[oldshatterhand]

@Djsnazzyduds

 

Let me guess you play on a high population server.

Edited May 4, 2012 by oldshatterhand

[DjSnazzyduds]

@Djsnazzyduds

 

Let me guess you play on a high population server.

 

Not at all, Belthegor's Beacon, usually 10 people on Republic Fleet at peak times, longest PvP Que I would have to say was about 4 hours maybe more maybe less.

 

Fixed that for you.

 

This is what I mean. You insult the game and constantly bash it, why are you still here. You quote people's responses and make a quirky remark to it as if their point isn't valid. You're a troll in every sense of the word. You stick around the forums of a game you seem to despise, crack some jokes here and there at anyone who disagrees with you. Maybe you love Star Wars, but if the game isn't to your taste you have nothing to tie you here.