Character Transfer, Server Populations, and You (Part II)

[Tiralyon]

Sorry, it's really hard to care about this. Use a slight variation of the name, put in a ' or something, and it's almost good as new.

Bioware is not --- nor should they --- delete people's characters just becasue someone else is upset over a name. Just not gonna happen.

 

Same advice for you that I had to deal with also when dealing with forced server changes and having to play on overcrowded servers; we both have only one option: Deal with it or don't play.

I'm choosing to stay and play anyways, even though i have to bypass a lot of missions becasue the overcrowding and kill stealing makes many missions (esp. bonus ones) unplayable.

 

No, I imagine you don't care because you likely didn't lose any names, or at least to a level one that is never ever logged in.

 

Try reading my post again. I never said anything about a character being deleted lol. Only that the name be freed up if the account it is on is not in use after several months. Many MMO's have a system where if an account is inactive after a set time, be it six months or a year, the names on that account can be made available to someone who is still playing, if that name is requested. If it is not ever requested, the name stays with that character.

 

You're attitude sorta reminds me of the current state of players from that other game... even they will free up character names on inactive accounts after six months. We can agree to disagree and leave it at that.

 

Again, what I asked is not at all unreasonable. Any MMO worth their salt has this policy, and an obligation to keep customers happy as much as possible. Some demand huge changes, others ask for simple things. Every hear the phrase " The Customer is always right"? If customers are unhappy, they will go some where else. I'm waiting to see what happens later. Time will tell if they can clear up/fix something as simple as I'm asking or not. If not,Well there are other MMO's who at least tell you what is going to happen later with an issue.

 

What we all want right now is an answer of what is to come. That's it, because BioWare right now is doing the worst thing they could, and that is not respond.

Edited July 23, 2012 by Tiralyon

[JetAten]

No one is going to lose their character so I don't think this is as big a deal as its being made out to be. At the worst you'll lose your name. It would be worse if they said Transfer by so and so date otherwise your chars will be deleted.

[Ipea]

I would love to know if i can just get all my toons on a server i want not a server im told to play in....I pay to play the game where i want not where im told

[Doomla]

A quick question on my part which i think allot of people are asking, is "will server transfer become more flexible?"? An example is my characters originated from Cho Mai a PvP server, but our destination server is "the fatman" from the server having a bad rep for trolling,flaming wars and camping by opposite factions by lvl 50s ganking lvl 17-30s will we see other options open up eventually for us for example instead of PvP server to PvP server but an option to choose a PvP server or a PvE server for destination? As allot can change when we started on the old PvP server and allot of us do not want to deal with having a server where are gameplay becomes disrupted at the expense of some persons amusement.

[Cirinia]

Right now I'm not interested in moving my characters to different server due to my work related time issues: I can play and stay logged for long time but I have to be ready to go afk anytime for undefined period of time, which naturally cripples group play.

I'm enjoying uncovering each class story and creating crafting alts network at the same time. I'm not sure how high population server will affect that (daily missions for example).

 

I'm not sure what will happen to Dune Bantha server but if You do want to shut it down at last move all my alts to the same place. I can survive name/legacy changes but not destruction of my crafting network:)

[Darth_Red]

Alright so i have a few questions on server transfering, mainly of having to do with my legacy. So right now the main server im in has barely anyone on and i'd like to transfer my one level 50 of 4 other toons out to a more popular one.

 

With me doing this would i mess up the legacy of my 4 other toons on tht server, like not getting my second buff anymore when on my other toons or not being able to use force choke anymore with toons who need the heroe mode thing to do it? If possible i'd like to transfer all of these toons to tht sever but im not sure if tht can be done on a sever thts currently Heavy(i think the one im assigned is heavy anyways).

[Blattan]

Well, for all the lack of clarity to this point the in-game message I just received is pretty clear:

 

"[server Admin]: Don't miss out on your Free Character Transfer Reward! You must transfer your characters by July 30 th to qualify for you[sic] Free Character Transfer Rewards. If you do not transfer your characters they will be automatically transferred for you and you will not receive your Free Character Transfer Rewards. Visit http://www.swtor.com/transfer for more information."

 

Screengrab

 

It does make me wonder just what the overall plan was, because I find it hard to believe that they did the whole song and dance just to force a server merge in the end.

 

EA/BioWare: Hey, you guys wanted transfers, and we got them! Sure, you can't decide where to transfer to... But it is all so that we can make sure server populations are well balanced!

Some players: We aren't moving.

EA/BioWare: No problem! This is strictly voluntary! Enjoy the game!

Some players: Cool. But we still aren't moving.

EA/BioWare: Sends out in-game messages informing people of the free transfers.

EA/BioWare: Hey guys, just to help motivate people to take the strictly voluntary transfers, we will give those on the destination servers these gifts! Displays shiny bribes.

Some players: That's great. Are we going to get any flexibility in where we transfer to? At least an alternate destination server? Something?

EA/BioWare: Just so you are aware, some time in the future we will automatically move any characters that haven't transferred to their destination servers.

Some players: Whoa! Hold on a second. What if there aren't enough character slots?

EA/BioWare: Don't worry! We won't be deleting any characters. More info coming soon!

Some players: Okay... But can we get some flexibility in where we transfer to? Seriously, alternate destination servers would be fine...

Some players: Um... Guys? Anything?

Some players: Really? A little crumb, something?

EA/BioWare: runs automatic transfer script.

Some players: More info my ***... :-(

 

I admit fully, the last two lines are fabricated by me.

Edited July 24, 2012 by Blattan

[BobaDtwo]

I just saw a message while playing that if I don't transfer my characters by the 30th they will be transferred for me... yes I planned on transferring SOME of my characters but I don't like the fact that I have to transfer all of them to servers that have queue times to just log in to. I agree that more populated servers are SOMETIMES more fun than the ghost towns some of the servers have become but why pack them to the point that people have to wait to log in? It makes no sense to me and am seriously considering cancelling my subscription. Not very well thought out guys... Edited July 24, 2012 by BobaDtwo

[MMFalcon]

i'd like to transfer my one level 50 of 4 other toons out to a more popular one.

 

With me doing this would i mess up the legacy of my 4 other toons on tht server, like not getting my second buff anymore when on my other toons

 

Your legacy, as it stands, will exist on both servers if you transfer some characters and leave some where they are.

 

I transferred my level 50 and a few other characters in my legacy to the destination server, but I had to leave a couple (levels 13 and 20) on the origin server once I filled the 8 slots on the destination server. Everything that was unlocked via my legacy at the time of transfer remains with the lowbies on the origin server. (They have the legacy name, Legacy Heroic ability, multiple class buffs, species unlocks, travel perks, ship repair droids, ship mailboxes, etc.)

 

The connection between my two groups of legacy characters was severed upon splitting them between the servers, and now I have two separate legacies, progressing independently of each other. Anything legacy-wide that is purchased or unlocked post-transfer applies only to one server's legacy and not the other. For example, as another of my transferred characters completed his story and enabled another class buff across the legacy, the lowbies on the origin server were cut off from this and did not benefit. Although the transferred characters on the new server have continued to gain loads of legacy xp and legacy levels, the lowbies back on the old server are at nearly the same legacy level they were when the 50 transferred.

 

TLDR: Your legacy, as it stands, will exist on both servers if you transfer some characters and leave some where they are.

[VictusRhul]

This is bogus. I'm trying to find definitive answers to the questions I’m posting and all I’m getting back from customer service is links to this blog and scripted responses that don’t aid in the issue I’m under.

1) Customer service should not live in a vacuum. The only avenue you offer for in-game support is your email and ticket system. We post issues on your forums only to be redirected to links of documents that say you ARE going to do this. No options.

2) Character Transfers should have an option to itself. You have it on Wow and Rift--why not here.

 

You guys are throwing the baby out with the bath water. Aion did this and upset the community so greatly, NCSoft had to go to free to play just to have some population.

Edited July 24, 2012 by VictusRhul

[sepulhead]

yeah bioware rub it in. I can't move until you make more slots

[jediwarrio]

"[server Admin]: Don't miss out on your Free Character Transfer Reward! You must transfer your characters by July 30 th to qualify for you[sic] Free Character Transfer Rewards. If you do not transfer your characters they will be automatically transferred for you and you will not receive your Free Character Transfer Rewards. Visit http://www.swtor.com/transfer for more information."

 

I just saw that message myself and wow BW is this really how you treat your customers. Forcing some of us into a server that we don't want to be in and absolutely no communication between us or trying to work out a compromise with us. I'm sure I'm not going to be the only one who cancels his sub over this. As a company they could have handled this situation a hell of a lot better than they have.

[BobaDtwo]

What I want to know is, why is bioware jamming the destination servers to the point we have to wait in a queue to even log in? Sure some people don't like the fact that it was hard to form a group on a sparsely populated server but I'm sure far more people don't like the fact they have to wait to log into a game they pay to play. Shame on you BW. You can only screw your customers so much before you no longer have any.

 

Also, what about those of us who like playing on servers that aren't so packed that it takes all day to complete a quest because there are 300 other people fighting to kill the same mobs as you. Forcing us to play on such high population servers is just plain wrong. I prefer to have the option to play on either a high pop server or, when that becomes too annoying, go back to a character on a lower population server where you can actually complete quests in a reasonable amount of time.

Edited July 24, 2012 by BobaDtwo

[Zylaro]

Well, for all the lack of clarity to this point the in-game message I just received is pretty clear:

 

"[server Admin]: Don't miss out on your Free Character Transfer Reward! You must transfer your characters by July 30 th to qualify for you[sic] Free Character Transfer Rewards. If you do not transfer your characters they will be automatically transferred for you and you will not receive your Free Character Transfer Rewards. Visit http://www.swtor.com/transfer for more information."

 

Screengrab

 

It does make me wonder just what the overall plan was, because I find it hard to believe that they did the whole song and dance just to force a server merge in the end.

 

EA/BioWare: Hey, you guys wanted transfers, and we got them! Sure, you can't decide where to transfer to... But it is all so that we can make sure server populations are well balanced!

Some players: We aren't moving.

EA/BioWare: No problem! This is strictly voluntary! Enjoy the game!

Some players: Cool. But we still aren't moving.

EA/BioWare: Sends out in-game messages informing people of the free transfers.

EA/BioWare: Hey guys, just to help motivate people to take the strictly voluntary transfers, we will give those on the destination servers these gifts! Displays shiny bribes.

Some players: That's great. Are we going to get any flexibility in where we transfer to? At least an alternate destination server? Something?

EA/BioWare: Just so you are aware, some time in the future we will automatically move any characters that haven't transferred to their destination servers.

Some players: Whoa! Hold on a second. What if there aren't enough character slots?

EA/BioWare: Don't worry! We won't be deleting any characters. More info coming soon!

Some players: Okay... But can we get some flexibility in where we transfer to? Seriously, alternate destination servers would be fine...

Some players: Um... Guys? Anything?

Some players: Really? A little crumb, something?

EA/BioWare: runs automatic transfer script.

Some players: More info my ***... :-(

 

I admit fully, the last two lines are fabricated by me.

 

Thats it exactly , the lack of true communication is unbelievable. I can't help thinking they would be better off to merge all remaining PVE, servers into one server for E.U and for U.S and ditto for PVP servers etc. That should hopefully create some medium load servers rather than over loading servers that are already at full capacity.

[BobaDtwo]

I would rather not transfer all my characters from my main server to the same destination server. I want to split them into two groups but again, I have no choice at all with this. Why do I not have an option to split them up? Bioware, the way these transfers is being handled is incredibly stupid. I don't know who came up with this plan but everyone involved should be fired.

[KrazieFox]

I am FUMING! :mad: :mad:

 

I Bought/Paid for Pre Order for their ADVERTISED ability to 'RESERVE' Character Names.

 

I PAID for that service! Before even having an opportunity to play I paid on the first day the Pre Order was made available, Months before Release because in a game based on Story & characters NAMES are so important ... MY CHARACTER NAMES are IMPORTANT TO ME! This is WHY I PAID for Pre Order Specifically for 'Reserve Character Names'.

 

Granted, if I had Chosen to Transfer I freely would have respected that I may have to change a character name ... but I have NOT, 7-Months after release I am being told that the fact I PAID for Character Name Reservation means nothing to BioWare, Screw me!

 

I AM FUMING!

 

Forced character Transfer & Rename 7 months after Release? Jeepers, even Cryptic didn't pull THAT trick when they started sinking!

 

I am now in the process of deciding whether or not to continue my subscription with SWTOR or simply leave ... Conan pulled a stunt like this & I never went back. I like SWTOR & would have been here for years, but now I don't feel I wish to stay with a company that lied & cheated to get my money then pulled the plug ... I guess I should have known this was going to happen as soon as I saw EA were involved ... those clowns are only concerned with their pockets, customers are a commodity ...

 

I AM FUMING!

:mad: :mad: :mad: :mad:

[BobaDtwo]

Amen! I myself did not pre-order but being forced to move to a specific server when it already has queue times for logging in... I know my measly 15 dollars a month doesn't mean much to them but to me it means I should be able to play when I want with the name I originally chose. Is that really too much for a person to ask for?

[sepulhead]

I am FUMING! :mad: :mad:

 

I Bought/Paid for Pre Order for their ADVERTISED ability to 'RESERVE' Character Names.

 

I PAID for that service! Before even having an opportunity to play I paid on the first day the Pre Order was made available, Months before Release because in a game based on Story & characters NAMES are so important ... MY CHARACTER NAMES are IMPORTANT TO ME! This is WHY I PAID for Pre Order Specifically for 'Reserve Character Names'.

 

Granted, if I had Chosen to Transfer I freely would have respected that I may have to change a character name ... but I have NOT, 7-Months after release I am being told that the fact I PAID for Character Name Reservation means nothing to BioWare, Screw me!

 

I AM FUMING!

 

Forced character Transfer & Rename 7 months after Release? Jeepers, even Cryptic didn't pull THAT trick when they started sinking!

 

I am now in the process of deciding whether or not to continue my subscription with SWTOR or simply leave ... Conan pulled a stunt like this & I never went back. I like SWTOR & would have been here for years, but now I don't feel I wish to stay with a company that lied & cheated to get my money then pulled the plug ... I guess I should have known this was going to happen as soon as I saw EA were involved ... those clowns are only concerned with their pockets, customers are a commodity ...

 

I AM FUMING!

:mad: :mad: :mad: :mad:

 

so you want to take away someone else name becouse you preorderd b4 him. and what happens when he also preorderd on day one

[KrazieFox]

so you want to take away someone else name becouse you preorderd b4 him. and what happens when he also preorderd on day one

 

WHY would I be taking someone elses name? I have chosen NOT to Transfer ...

Edited July 24, 2012 by KrazieFox
Colour of text (black) is hard to view

[DingoChutney]

Amen! I myself did not pre-order but being forced to move to a specific server when it already has queue times for logging in... I know my measly 15 dollars a month doesn't mean much to them but to me it means I should be able to play when I want with the name I originally chose. Is that really too much for a person to ask for?

 

This. Give me choice where I transfer to and I'll be ok with it, that way I can check around for a server where I can keep my names. Forcing me onto a server with a high pop where I lose my names? No thanks. Sub cancelled, another MMO bites the dust, Guild Wars 2 is out soon right?

 

"Everyone at BioWare is committed to ensuring that each and every one of our customers has the best possible experience while playing Star Wars™: The Old Republic™."

 

No, no you are not. Choice Bioware, give us a choice that is NOT "suck it up or quit" or you just find your dwindling game population dwindles a bit faster.

Edited July 24, 2012 by DingoChutney

[Katarine]

Well, I simply did not have the time for Funcom's new release, The Secret World ... I guess I will now have the time & the reassurance that I will NEVER lose my name there, nor in Guild Wars 2, released 28th August.

 

When my subs end I will probably not resubscribe. When a company cheats its customers it is time to move on. Forcing a name change & merging servers so soon after launch? Boy that's a first, I guess BioWare at least deserve credit for being the first in that category. I would hazard a guess that Free-to-Play will come before Christmas, as most of the angry customers leave for the new & their old games ...

 

I was under the impression, however, that Lucas Arts forbade Sony from letting Star Wars Galaxies from going Free-to-Play ... I hope they do the same here & force EA/BioWare to make a loss. It's what they deserve for CHEATING their customers, in my opinion.

[SidneyFault]

50 pages in part 2 of the thread and they still haven't seemed to get the picture that there is a large portion of the community that feels lied to, cheated, and has either cancelled their account or plans on cancelling. this is not a little issue that Bioware can brush aside. They have already lost 600,000 players since launch (at least the last time i looked that is) and the game is not even a year old. If they don't find a way to make both side of this issue happy there will be no game for any us to play.

[sepulhead]

50 pages in part 2 of the thread and they still haven't seemed to get the picture that there is a large portion of the community that feels lied to, cheated, and has either cancelled their account or plans on cancelling. this is not a little issue that Bioware can brush aside. They have already lost 600,000 players since launch (at least the last time i looked that is) and the game is not even a year old. If they don't find a way to make both side of this issue happy there will be no game for any us to play.

 

you can't get both side happy becouse the ones who loses there name will be unhapy and then they will quit

[BobaDtwo]

Losing a name sucks yes but being packed into a sardine can of a server with no choice I think is much worse. I know this is an MMO but they are taking the massively part of that to an extreme that is ruining the game. I purposely chose a lower population server when I started playing so when I didn't want to be in a group I could solo quest without people kill stealing or doing the same to others. Like I said before, Bioware/EA make some densely populated servers that some people like but give the rest of us some servers that are at least a little less populated please! Keep 5 or 10 more servers than what the plan is now so people don't have to wait to log in and there won't be as many name loss issues. Is it really that big of a deal to keep a handful more servers open or are the 10 or so remaining servers all you can afford to keep running?

 

It seems to me that it just doesn't matter to them that they've just pissed off (and pissed on) half of their remaining subscribers.

[Denzyl]

While name lose is a problem!

 

As a guild we did not transfer because as casual players the 'Light Server' allowed us to play more rather than queue to get in and then wait for other for players to stop killing mission NPCs.

 

But MORE IMPORTANTLY!

 

We have a Guidle who if this FORCE MERGER goes ahead will have 13 Characters in total on the new over-crowded server!

 

Plus as he has different Legacies on both servers. Will he now have to lose all the money he ploughed in to what now will be duplicated Legacies? Will the legacy points be added together?

 

The total lack of information on the hows any whys of this transfer is diabolical with most of FAQ filled with useless tat on the gifts and free play!

 

With just days to go WHAT IS GOING TO HAPPEN

 

So unless they create more character slots he will lose characters? Is he going to get all his legacy?

 

Plus as a guild we have better things to do than queue and wait to play a game we paid for!