Consolidated Post: APAC/Oceanic Server Concerns

[Saaz]

Relax guys - due to the difference in time zones, PvP will be against drunk and insomniac Americans.

 

Should be a cake walk - don't know what your complaining about.....

[LadyDrusilla]

One fifth or one sixth the ping is a 'bit better' to you? Whatever.

 

As has been said, merging the APAC servers and giving players the opportunity to transfer to server types of their choice if they wanted would have been better. This solution is just the worst.

[Elizeth]

Gav Daragon is not a RP server (not anymore). Putting a load of Aussie's who don't know how to RP onto an American server will just make us hated.

[johnnyby]

unsubbed not coming back

[laz_AU]

Subscription cancelled. Will come back if some miracle happens and they cancel this plan and merge the servers. Cyas

[odonoghuet]

For those who keep talking about server leases, these are usually 3/6/12/24 month deals, which doesn't match up with the current time frame (3&6 months excepted). Additionally, I think the only thing that would be leased would be the building that's housing the servers and the connection.

 

Everything else would likely be owned.

 

I have leased servers for businesses, and while it may be different for servers of this scale, in my experiance you lease the hardware from a business that then is contracted to make sure they are maintained, powered, and if there are problems a technician is supplied to the site in a timely fashion for hardware issues, while you control the server remotely. And the APAC servers opened in APRIL last year, that is 12 months ago (or near enough to with the move to be pre-2.0 to keep us playing for what we already paid for rather than permenant reactionary unsub).

 

Even more likely is that the APAC servers were leased from EA which has Australian based servers for other games.

 

I wouldn't be surprised if they had descided they were going to close these servers at the end of contract well before F2P, back when they cut all advertising for APAC for the game.

[DKSmash]

Hey everyone,

 

We went and looked at what current server populations looked like across all of APAC and to put it simply, even merging all of APAC together into one server would not solve the population problems. Even with that solution you would still see long queue times for things like Warzones and Group Finder. It was because of this that we decided that moving APAC into the NA servers was the best option.

 

-eric

 

One more point before I leave. Increasing product sales is why businesses ADVERTISE! Why is it that every (North) American gaming company does not understand that to make money in Australia you actually gotta advertise your product? Seriously, did anyone even discuss increasing the money spent in this area? I imagine not, because all we got at release was one lousy TV ad (that I could see) and NOTHING when the new servers opened (which was when you should have hit our market HARD!)

 

Star Wars is a strong, popular brand. Maybe if you had advertised aggressively in the Oceanic region we would have seen a stronger movement in sales & subs.

 

And Musco, I know you've got a tough job man, but people are starting get out the pitchforks around here. We're all seeing red. If I were you, I'd print out a couple of these larger threads and dump the masses of paper on your Boss's desk. It should give you a bit stronger position when you tell him/her about how angry we are right now AND how much we care.

 

I am DKSmash, and I still live in the Red Zone! Live well and Shoot straight Oceania!

[Snorlaxo]

Please allow for the option to merge with servers of differing type. I don't want to pvp on a US server, give me the option to move to a PVE server.

 

PS: I hate the option you've taken. The inaction has lead to people leaving, that's the reason we don't have the big numbers for a mega server. If you acted quicker, we would have a sustainable community.

[PseudoScience]

Dalborra isn't even that bad! PvP pops are fine and the ops are competitive. Just a cop out to dismiss the merger because the community is raging at your decision!

[Kirjalax]

Gav Daragon is not a RP server (not anymore). Putting a load of Aussie's who don't know how to RP onto an American server will just make us hated.

 

lol funny post.

 

I've been on Gav (RP server) for a few months now, and while there must be some RP'ing going on, I have never personally witnessed any, ever.... Unless you count imps griefing people on Illum, which if you were being generous, could be possibly interpreted that way.

 

This is why I am surprised at the apparent need to protect our preferred playing styles, as it just doesn't happen that way.

 

 

Do they actually RP publicly on the US RP server?

[coille]

If we're merging with a bigger US server then I guess I'm calling it a day. The Dalborra can get pretty crowded sometimes and any greater crowding would make play impossible.

[OGsam]

BioWare has literally given us the only single option that is less desirable than our current situation. How do you do it? I could never imagine being SO out of touch. What a sad day this is for Australian gaming.

[ZinBladez]

Don't insult us. It's one thing to string us along and lie you your PAYING customers, just so you can stretch things out until the lease on the APAC servers expires, it's another to think we're stupid enough not to see what you did and swallow this "we just want to make everyone happy" tripe.

 

If you were really listening to the community you would have fixed the server issue like this -

 

1. Combine all three APAC servers into one super server for the MAJORITY of players who want to keep their low ping.

 

2. Offer transfers to people for a period of time, so that the smaller group who would rather play on their preferred server type and put up with high ping are also happy.

 

See how that works? Everyone happy.

 

Please feel free to explain to us Eric, why this isn't the solution you're using.

 

It would be cold silence untill they say something about dumping us to NA

[Icykill_]

Hey everyone,

 

If we move APAC to NA some folks will see increased latency, but they will have healthy server populations and can remain on their chosen server types. If we merge everyone into one APAC server, latency will remain in place but the current population issues will exist and players will lose their preferred server type.

 

-eric

 

INCREASED LATENCY WILL RUIN PVP for anyone who plays

What you seem to fail to understand is that people who play high-end PVP will be at a distinct disadvantage when playing against any US players.

Basically you will RUIN the game for them... that's not just 1 full PVP sever... but also a large portion of the Dalbora server who PVP... I am not sure how many in PR community PVP

You say YOU WANT TO BE FAIR TO EVERYONE'S GAME STYLE, but really you are only PANDERING to those who play RP or PVE Flash points and questing.

YOU WILL LOSE MORE PLAYERS THAN YOU REALISE

You will find all the Big PVP Guilds will probably stop playing and find other games to PVP in... and Guilds that have a mix of PVP and PVE players will lose half their members and probably fail.

 

THERE is a solution and it is SO EASY I can't believe you aren't going to implement it.

- RP players play the game so they can talk to each other in the game and "live" the character... Why not just create a different chat channel for them so that they can continue to play this way... it might even allow them to try PVP if they so choose.

- PVP players play the game to play other players. This can still happen on a PVE server because IF you are a PVP player you CAN flag yourself for PVP. This would allow other PVPer's to see they want to play as a PVPer

You could ALSO open up some more map area's on the Planets that are dedicated to PVP, also having a Duelling area on the Fleet would be good. AND they could also have a separate chat channel.

- PVE players can play both PVE, PVP and RP if they so choose. Consolidating the 3 APAC servers into 1 PVE server STILL ALLOWS ALL 3 GAME STYLES with little or no change in the community game play. This by far more fair to everyone who plays the game. Sure there maybe some small changes, but they can be worked around.

 

BUT moving all servers to North America is ludicrous. You will lose the population of 1 and a half servers because high-end PVP will no-long be viable... WHY DO THIS.... ISN'T IT COUNTERPRODUCTIVE???

 

IF you concentrated on fixing the in game problems and listening to the community regarding this, you wouldn't have driven so many players away from the game and the issue of population would not exist.

 

PLEASE RECONSIDER YOUR DECISION

 

I for one will leave the game if PVP becomes unplayable... I am sure you will hear this a lot from anyone who mainly plays PVP

[Turiya]

This is, quite frankly, ********.

 

I can't imagine trying to do HM end game content with 250ms ping let alone PVP with a mix of sub 50ms ping players. I've been around since launch and the only reason why the US servers were manageable in the first place was that I never got to the difficult end game content. I'm about this ->||<- close to cancelling my sub and also my pre-order for RotHC.

[Palar]

Hey everyone,

 

To clarify a bit more about this decision. We did previously ask what folks on the forums would like to do as an APAC solution and some, but not all, offered up the solution of merging all APAC into one. The other option on the table was to merge APAC into the NA servers. When we discussed the options internally we looked to address everyone’s primary issues with APAC, low populations were creating a less than optimal game experience.

 

So... since this isn't going to improve anything (apart from Graveyard Shift Americans having more company), how about a subscription discount for APACers? To offset the "less than optimal game experience" of rubber-banding, lag spikes and Harbinger crashes. Whaddayasay?

 

"Awkward silence" - yeah, thought as much.

[AmikVarze]

BioWare has literally given us the only single option that is less desirable than our current situation. How do you do it? I could never imagine being SO out of touch. What a sad day this is for Australian gaming.

 

could not have said it better myself. they really missed the nail with their hammer on this, they even missed the wood the nail was in, in fact they've just taken a massive wiffle bat and swung at the air in hopes of hitting SOMETHING with this decision.

[Talimar]

Well done Bioware/EA.

 

You just killed my play experience. Dalborra's population was doing fine, our guild was doing great.

 

I have a 187ms ping to Harbinger right now, which is admittedly the best ping I've ever had to a west coast US server.

 

But this still means that reaction time is delayed by nearly half a second (round trip). We will not be able to respond fast enough at the highest level of play, pvp and progression raiding. Given I do all of these things, you just took my play away from me and tore my guild apart. We had a tight knit group who loved playing this game.

 

Sure, we can still play, but without progression raiding and pvp, there isn't much reason to keep playing.

 

Thanks, but I'm out.

[PPAlien]

You guys reply sooo quickly. I wrote a post a few pages back with the following petition for merging the APAC servers into 1 local APAC server.

 

Get on board if you please, the signatures are already starting to pile up. Pass the word around to your guildies and friends.

 

PETITION TO MERGE 3 APAC SERVERS INTO 1 LOCAL APAC SERVER

[DaftVaduhhh]

@Talimar A ping time is a round-trip time...

 

@PPAlien Eric Musco is not an executive.

Edited March 26, 2013 by DaftVaduhhh

[waylandir]

INCREASED LATENCY WILL RUIN PVP for anyone who plays

What you seem to fail to understand is that people who play high-end PVP will be at a distinct disadvantage when playing against any US players.

Basically you will RUIN the game for them... that's not just 1 full PVP sever... but also a large portion of the Dalbora server who PVP... I am not sure how many in PR community PVP

You say YOU WANT TO BE FAIR TO EVERYONE'S GAME STYLE, but really you are only PANDERING to those who play RP or PVE Flash points and questing.

YOU WILL LOSE MORE PLAYERS THAN YOU REALISE

You will find all the Big PVP Guilds will probably stop playing and find other games to PVP in... and Guilds that have a mix of PVP and PVE players will lose half their members and probably fail.

 

THERE is a solution and it is SO EASY I can't believe you aren't going to implement it.

- RP players play the game so they can talk to each other in the game and "live" the character... Why not just create a different chat channel for them so that they can continue to play this way... it might even allow them to try PVP if they so choose.

- PVP players play the game to play other players. This can still happen on a PVE server because IF you are a PVP player you CAN flag yourself for PVP. This would allow other PVPer's to see they want to play as a PVPer

You could ALSO open up some more map area's on the Planets that are dedicated to PVP, also having a Duelling area on the Fleet would be good. AND they could also have a separate chat channel.

- PVE players can play both PVE, PVP and RP if they so choose. Consolidating the 3 APAC servers into 1 PVE server STILL ALLOWS ALL 3 GAME STYLES with little or no change in the community game play. This by far more fair to everyone who plays the game. Sure there maybe some small changes, but they can be worked around.

 

BUT moving all servers to North America is ludicrous. You will lose the population of 1 and a half servers because high-end PVP will no-long be viable... WHY DO THIS.... ISN'T IT COUNTERPRODUCTIVE???

 

IF you concentrated on fixing the in game problems and listening to the community regarding this, you wouldn't have driven so many players away from the game and the issue of population would not exist.

 

PLEASE RECONSIDER YOUR DECISION

 

I for one will leave the game if PVP becomes unplayable... I am sure you will hear this a lot from anyone who mainly plays PVP

 

Actually, I agree with most of that. Originally i was dead against PvP server players moving to Dal a PvE server. But from how you explain it could be, I find it totally acceptable (except for more PvP areas, thats what warzones are for).

More importantly, I spent money and supported Swtor on an APAC server, if it would have never been on an APAC server I would never have bought the game. However, it was so I did, meaning if they close the apac servers then they are (as far as I'm concerned) commiting fraud (obtaining money under false pretenses) so if they kill APAC then i want a full refund on all the money I spent as no other alternative incorporating EU or NA server moves will be acceptable and forcing us to quit the game and thus loose our investments would be criminal to say the least.

[DaftVaduhhh]

I have leased servers for businesses, and while it may be different for servers of this scale, in my experiance you lease the hardware from a business that then is contracted to make sure they are maintained, powered, and if there are problems a technician is supplied to the site in a timely fashion for hardware issues, while you control the server remotely. And the APAC servers opened in APRIL last year, that is 12 months ago (or near enough to with the move to be pre-2.0 to keep us playing for what we already paid for rather than permenant reactionary unsub).

 

Even more likely is that the APAC servers were leased from EA which has Australian based servers for other games.

 

I wouldn't be surprised if they had descided they were going to close these servers at the end of contract well before F2P, back when they cut all advertising for APAC for the game.

We're talking about a server farm here, albeit a small one. You're probably right about it likely being part of EA's existing structure and architecture, which makes you wonder why the shutdown of the servers is so cost-effective as to encourage this.

 

And the launch of SWTOR in Australia was February 29th, at about 10 PM at night, and they would have been testing the servers out for at least a fortnight before launch.

Edited March 26, 2013 by DaftVaduhhh

[Claprica]

I'm getting a bad case of deja kung fu here.

 

I've been kicked to the ground by star wars games before.

SWG anyone

 

How could EAware get it so wrong with such an amazing source of proprietary material.

 

It baffles me that companies like EA have such a focus on profit above all else.

Surely a rudimentary SWOT analysis would show that this move will affect the bottom line more than solely the costs of running one APAC server ever would.

 

Is it any wonder the American financial system is in such a **** state of affairs when short term financial decisions like this are made on a day to day basis.

[jackdaley]

Oh wow. A petition? Because that's going to do anything lol. They wouldn't of posted that we're getting moved to the American servers unless they were certain of doing it.

A petition won't do anything but waste your time lol. They don't care what you all think about it and frankly I think it's childish the reaction you're all giving. Sure a merge would have been sweet but for such low populations in apac servers it wouldn't be worth the money keeping a server in Australia.

The ping increase won't be as bad as you're crying about and we get to play in servers that have people in it.

I'm glad they're sending my characters to servers where there won't be huge wait queues.

Good luck trying to make eaware care about a few list subs.

 

haha omg they can't be serious wake up idiots, EAWARE has made their decision. END OF DISCUSSION

 

all this whinging on the forums isnt going to change anything if you're not happy with the solution then by all means leave and stop posting garbage on the forums making the rest of the APAC community look bad.

 

But if you're like myself then just be happy that something is being done and we can now play with other people because less than 100 people on either fleet is a dead server, I know Dalborra looked ok but it was losing players and heaps of AU players have just re rolled on the US servers because unlike you they realise actually playing the game with a good pop is far more important than ping, playstyle and timezone isssue

 

Let me be the first to actually THANK EAWARE for doing something, because you all sound like a bunch of children who didnt get what they want for christmas (just be thankful you got anything at all)

[PPAlien]

@Talimar A ping time is a round-trip time...

 

@PPAlien Eric Musco is not an executive.

 

Noted, edited that word ;-)