Will you pay for a server transfer?

[curtkram]

<lots of clipped stuff including an analogy to change I don't think applies> Don't call a company greedy unless you have evidence to back up the claim.

 

My perspective on this issue is that they're moving the goal post. We agreed to $15/mo. Now, if they break their game and say we have to pay an additional fee on top of that to transfer characters to make it playable or to consolidate our accounts onto a single server, I believe they're breaking our original agreement and possibly doing so out of greed.

 

The transfers starting tomorrow are free. Some other stuff is probably planned. That's not greedy. On the other hand, if one of the new full servers die and people have to pay to transfer off due to mismanagement by Bioware, that would count as additional to what we've agreed to. That's greedy. I could be proven wrong and maybe Bioware is doing the right thing.

[Mitissa]

*sigh* Knew this was going to come up. Many other games offer paid transfers as a fee (Final Fantasy 11, Warcraft, Warhammer, Aion, so on and so forth). If the company believes they are losing money on a server they will merge it with another one (free of charge to the end-user). Your monthly fee encompasses the rights to play on their server and 'rent' the software from them. All the extra things that have been added post-launch (/emotes, new warzones, raids, etc.) are not included in this fee and thus the company is giving them to you at no cost to YOU in hopes that you continue paying your monthly subscription to use their servers.

It's not a very difficult business model to understand... EA could just as easily roll up everything they've done the past 6 months and throw it into an expansion and charge you $40 for it, but they do not at their own discretion. If you are unhappy with your current server status you can either re-roll your characters on another, more populated server (which are not locked to anyone yet), or wait for the paid transfer service to come online. The ideals that you should be given something free of charge simply because you belong to a failing server and choose not to re-roll is just poor luck favoring EA over the end-user.

 

Human nature... the world hands you 100 beautiful fruits, and you question why one has a bruise. Transfers are not required, they are optional. Therefore you choose to pay or not.

[Valkirus]

I will post this again.....no way in hell will I pay to correct a flaw in the game. That is bit like asking the players to pay for bug fixes.

[JeramieCrowe]

I will post this again.....no way in hell will I pay to correct a flaw in the game. That is bit like asking the players to pay for bug fixes.

 

Oh yeah, I wouldn't either. But paid transfers, according to the blog, will only come AFTER every destination server has reached its targeted population goals. That's the only thing BioWare needs to fix. All else was player choice.

[Valkirus]

Oh yeah, I wouldn't either. But paid transfers, according to the blog, will only come AFTER every destination server has reached its targeted population goals. That's the only thing BioWare needs to fix. All else was player choice.

 

Ok...lets say for example ( and this speculating I know ) after the server transfers and it is seen the only way the LFG tool works well is on a small selection of high pop ones. Would you then pay to transfer to those few servers? I still would'nt. I can see if players want to pay to transfer to a high pop one because they themselves rather play around lots of other players for different social reasons. Some need that to feel like they are playing a MMO. I don'nt.

[-Pi-]

Sure man, I can pay 500$ if ya want, the problem is... why ? To face he same crap ? Then I better spend that money with something Fun

[JeramieCrowe]

Ok...lets say for example ( and this speculating I know ) after the server transfers and it is seen the only way the LFG tool works well is on a small selection of high pop ones. Would you then pay to transfer to those few servers? I still would'nt. I can see if players want to pay to transfer to a high pop one because they themselves rather play around lots of other players for different social reasons. Some need that to feel like they are playing a MMO. I don'nt.

 

Depends on if the LFG tool actually isn't "working well" on the other servers. If you have a stopwatch and demand to be doing content you've queued up for within a certain time limit, then yes, you should pay.

 

If, however, the LFG tool actually isn't working according to overall standards (overall playerbase opinion), then no need to transfer, as BW will go to the next logical step. Unless you're impatient, then you should pay.

[Valkirus]

Depends on if the LFG tool actually isn't "working well" on the other servers. If you have a stopwatch and demand to be doing content you've queued up for within a certain time limit, then yes, you should pay.

 

If, however, the LFG tool actually isn't working according to overall standards (overall playerbase opinion), then no need to transfer, as BW will go to the next logical step. Unless you're impatient, then you should pay.

 

As I have stated before, I donot demand anything from this game. I do expect some things tho. And with any good LFG tool I do "expect" it to work within a reasonable amount of time. And 2 hrs is not reasonable. You never actually answered my question...would you still pay to transfer?

[JeramieCrowe]

As I have stated before, I donot demand anything from this game. I do expect some things tho. And with any good LFG tool I do "expect" it to work within a reasonable amount of time. And 2 hrs is not reasonable. You never actually answered my question...would you still pay to transfer?

 

Yes, I did actually. Here, I'll repost:

 

I will post this again.....no way in hell will I pay to correct a flaw in the game. That is bit like asking the players to pay for bug fixes.

 

Oh yeah, I wouldn't either. But paid transfers, according to the blog, will only come AFTER every destination server has reached its targeted population goals. That's the only thing BioWare needs to fix. All else was player choice.

 

And I would think that 2 hrs in a queue would fall under the "overall playerbase opinion" category in my previous post. 15-30 minutes, tool's working well.

Edited June 11, 2012 by JeramieCrowe

[Mitissa]

I can see if players want to pay to transfer to a high pop one because they themselves rather play around lots of other players for different social reasons. Some need that to feel like they are playing a MMO. I don'nt.

 

Right... but then why question the transfer to begin with if you're planning basically soloing the game? If you're okay with having the occasional conversation and ultimately using yourself and your companion then that's terrific, you don't have to go anywhere. It's the people that need to find others to create a massive player-base experience that would like this opportunity. I'm included in this group because I want to be able to PvP and do large-scale events to maximize what little time I have to game in the evenings.

[Valkirus]

Yes, I did actually. Here, I'll repost:

 

 

 

And I would think that 2 hrs in a queue would fall under the "overall playerbase opinion" category in my previous post. 15-30 minutes, tool's working well.

 

Lol! ok. So let me say it for you. No! . And anyone who is happy with a 2 hr que for a random group run...has a aweful lot of free time on thier hands. May I suggest a ton of players may not? Esp those with jobs and family matters? But yeah..any time less than one hour I would find reasonable...some would not however. I can hope it will be 15 - 30 mins when it goes live.

[Valkirus]

Right... but then why question the transfer to begin with if you're planning basically soloing the game? If you're okay with having the occasional conversation and ultimately using yourself and your companion then that's terrific, you don't have to go anywhere. It's the people that need to find others to create a massive player-base experience that would like this opportunity. I'm included in this group because I want to be able to PvP and do large-scale events to maximize what little time I have to game in the evenings.

 

Because we cannot solo Operations and level 50 Flashpoints...which do contain some of the story and lore of the game. Now enable those to be soloed ( that is tune them down to accomodate the solo player with his companion , but have them scale back up according to the number in the group ) ( this concept will get me flamed, lol! ) then I would not be here even posting. Plus I never said I did not enjoy doing group runs. I only said I donot need to be around 100+ players on Fleet to be content.

[JeramieCrowe]

Lol! ok. So let me say it for you. No! . And anyone who is happy with a 2 hr que for a random group run...has a aweful lot of free time on thier hands. May I suggest a ton of players may not? Esp those with jobs and family matters? But yeah..any time less than one hour I would find reasonable...some would not however. I can hope it will be 15 - 30 mins when it goes live.

 

No, I wouldn't, but it seems like a strange question to ask because it has not, is not, nor will be, the situation we'll have to face.

 

And yeah, I said that a 2hr queue would fall under the scenario of the tool not working as intended.

Edited June 11, 2012 by JeramieCrowe

[T-Assassin]

no. i will quit before i pay for ANY services, other than the monthly fee.

 

if i felt better about the direction of the game, the communication from devs to players concerning decisions and direction, and more PvE zones and PvP game types...i might.

 

but, since "i have a bad feeling about this" and by 'this' i mean SWTOR, my answer is:

 

"NO!".

[curtkram]

No, I wouldn't, but it seems like a strange question to ask because it has not, is not, nor will be, the situation we'll have to face.

 

And yeah, I said that a 2hr queue would fall under the scenario of the tool not working as intended.

 

Why assume such a situation is not and will not be? You seem to operate under the assumption that somehow either the developers or community will be able to maintain this tool. My experience is that mistakes happen, and problems arise, and there is generally very little done or even communicated on Bioware's part to rectify those problems. Nobody should be expected to make the perfect tool or anticipate all possible scenarios. However, it seems to me that at Bioware they either have an incredibly inflexible design department that won't allow them to react to problems, or lots of bureaucracy that doesn't allow decisions to be made, they're all out playing golf instead of working, maybe their just not that bright, I don't know. Something in there though isn't working, and if there is a minor flaw in any particular tool, my assumption would be the internal clockwork of Bioware will make it worse before they make it better.

 

So having said that my expectations are that this tool could definitely fail, and it would be unlikely for Bioware to respond rapidly to alleviate it unless it's an easy fix. They did react fairly quick to the bug that took everyone's matrix cube away, so I'll give them credit for that.

[Missandei]

My question is: Will you pay for a server transfer?

(This thread is not about "When will there be a server merge/transfer?")

I'd like to know how people feel about actually paying money for transfers in this game.

 

A already have paid for the game. Why should i pay more just to be able to play?

(Resident of European Rp-PVP server that excluded from transfers)

Edited June 11, 2012 by Missandei

[MrGrizzly]

Interesting question...even more interesting responses.

 

My 2 credits:

Some of this will be speculation since we still don't know what the final transfer process will be, let alone much about this initial phase. That being said I'm comfortable making the following assumptions about what I would or would not pay for.

 

I would not expect to have to pay for a transfer to another server where they were moving people purely for population reasons. (i.e. The current model they outlined for the free transfers staring on the 12th). Makes sense that they would be moving people on too fewer servers so they can eventually shut down some servers that were put in place to support the launch but are no longer needed. I want this game to be profitable and those profits going to new content and expansions not on maintaining servers that aren't needed with the current number of subscriptions. If the player base jumps up later they can bring servers online as needed at that time when the cost of maintaining them is offset by the increased subscriber base.

 

Transfers I would expect to pay for are scenarios where:

• I want to move my character(s) say from a PVE server to a PVP server.
  
• I want to move my character(s) to another server where a particular guild is or some of my friends rolled their characters.
  
• I want to move my character(s) for any other reason that was outside the things that Bioware promised to provide in the licensing agreement I accepted when I started playing.
  

 

Notice how all those bullet points started with "I want". These are changes that have nothing to do with the service Bioware is providing. Even on my current lower pop server they are meeting all the things they promised to provide in the EULA at the price they agreed to charge me monthly. All considerations of that contract are being met and I'm not entitled to anything more from them, nor are they entitled to anything more from me.

 

That being said, it's in their best interest to consolidate servers to lower costs and it's in my interest to have more players on my server to keep the game social. So in this initial phase they are offering me a free transfer from my specific server (again based on the information we have today...tomorrow I may find out I'm on a destination server and thus no need or access to a transfer) to a specific destination server if I would like to accept it. I don't have to accept it, I can stay put, but I probably will accept the transfer.

 

Bottom line, I'm enjoying the game as it is now and both Bioware and I continue to meet the considerations outlined in our contract. Again I think the free transfers will help both population for me and eventually reduce cost for Bioware. Since the people I play with now are on my current server, where ever our server pop may transfer to is where we are all going in this free phase. Win-win.

Edited June 11, 2012 by MrGrizzly
reword

[JeramieCrowe]

Why assume such a situation is not and will not be? You seem to operate under the assumption that somehow either the developers or community will be able to maintain this tool. My experience is that mistakes happen, and problems arise, and there is generally very little done or even communicated on Bioware's part to rectify those problems. Nobody should be expected to make the perfect tool or anticipate all possible scenarios. However, it seems to me that at Bioware they either have an incredibly inflexible design department that won't allow them to react to problems, or lots of bureaucracy that doesn't allow decisions to be made, they're all out playing golf instead of working, maybe their just not that bright, I don't know. Something in there though isn't working, and if there is a minor flaw in any particular tool, my assumption would be the internal clockwork of Bioware will make it worse before they make it better.

 

So having said that my expectations are that this tool could definitely fail, and it would be unlikely for Bioware to respond rapidly to alleviate it unless it's an easy fix. They did react fairly quick to the bug that took everyone's matrix cube away, so I'll give them credit for that.

 

I suppose I tend to be more reactionary than preemptive on things like this. I mean, if you holler, complain, and rage against something that might happen (especially when there is no current indication that it will), eventually you'll be right, because like you said, mistakes happen, and I'm sure that tends to make you feel justified for all the other times that nothing happened.

 

However, I've found over the last four decades that it usually tends to result in ulcers when, 90% of the time, nothing bad actually happens.

 

 

***Disclaimer: The above mentioned 90% is not based upon empirical evidence, poll, or scientific method.

Edited June 11, 2012 by JeramieCrowe

[curtkram]

In your previous post you mentioned what 'will be' rather than what 'could be.' I'm just saying, Bioware has made me pessimistic towards their ability to manage their game. For what it's worth, all of my ranting on these forums has been focused on a single topic (more or less split into 2 topics now) so I guess I know what's going to cause my ulcer.

[JeramieCrowe]

In your previous post you mentioned what 'will be' rather than what 'could be.' I'm just saying, Bioware has made me pessimistic towards their ability to manage their game. For what it's worth, all of my ranting on these forums has been focused on a single topic (more or less split into 2 topics now) so I guess I know what's going to cause my ulcer.

 

Well, yeah, hehe. Little life lesson here: nothing is absolute. There is no such thing as a "sure thing". So when someone says "what will be", it's because the chances of it not happening are so low as to be not worth mentioning.

 

I, for one, am glad to see that BioWare is not caving to the very loud minority here regarding transfers like they did for opening them up for launch in the first place.

[thomasgallant]

if i dont like the server i am on and i decide to continue playing the game then ya i would pay for a transfer.. but that would be a very subjective, at the time decision.

[Matte_Black]

In general, I like transfers to be difficult or expensive because I believe alot of jumping around tends to be bad for communities. In the case of this game, clearly a fix is in order and that requires transfers. The need validates such transfers being free but, that does not mean every character should be free to move whereever the player likes in my opinion.

 

I started playing on two different server types because my friends and I could not coordiante on just one type. If I can consolidate now that many have left through the free transfers, I would. Once all the transfers get done and I see how the new situation is, I might pay to consolidate if the price is not too burdensome.

 

I personally think alot of folks are trying to find ways to exploit this server balance fix into more than it is meant to be.

[Skyzen]

Now that transfers are here, it looks like my original characters are on a destination server. There doesn't seem to be an option to unite them with my current characters on my re-roll server which is also a destination.

 

I still don't see myself paying for a transfer.

[laiboch]

No. Why should I be expected to pay for something that should have been offered for free right after the epic fail of 1.2?

[JeramieCrowe]

Now that transfers are here, it looks like my original characters are on a destination server. There doesn't seem to be an option to unite them with my current characters on my re-roll server which is also a destination.

 

I still don't see myself paying for a transfer.

 

I'm in the same situation. Begeren Colony and Ebon Hawk are both destination servers.

 

I do see myself paying for a transfer. It was my choice, after all. And I only created that other character on Begeren Colony because my 8 slots were full at the time.

Edited June 12, 2012 by JeramieCrowe