Game has died, Nowhere to go

[MaximumOwnage]

This is the date from that post "12.15.2014 , 08:24 PM | " here's the link http://www.swtor.com/community/showthread.php?p=7879116

 

This is the most recent thing they said about server merges on live stream already posted just a couple responses above. 'No server merges right now with all the players flooding back into the game. No plans for server merges this year, will see how it is next year to either server merge or character transfers.

 

Edit: It looks like someone revived that thread in the middle of October, and people just kept posting on it. Understandable to be miscommunicated.

 

I got fooled. Oh well. I di8d not know that was old post.

 

However I did check the servers at peak time last night. The "flooding back" is an outright lie. I have all server numbers still written down from past months going back a long time. And here is how it was last night.

 

It was Harbinger with a normal population. It has absolutely no signs of players "flooding" back in the game. It is about what it has been in 2016. Considerably lower than it has been prior to 2016. It still has about 1/2 of the population it had prior to 2016 but roughly the same as it has for the past 10 months.

 

All other US servers are considerably down from when I left the game. 5 of them had less than 10 people on fleet during peak time last night. They are absolute ghost towns. And others had less people on them than any other record I have from them in the past. So this flood of players coming into the game is not demonstrable on my end. If they re subbed, they are not playing.

 

The only server I see according to my evaluation last night is Harbinger. Even the 2nd most populated server to Harbinger has about 70% less players. And that by my standards of game play is a problem. A serious problem.

 

Well the $15 is not going to kill me. I got roped into this by someone obviously trolling me and making me think that EA was going to address the dead servers and bring life back into this game by FIXING the server issues. For EA to keep its fingers crossed on a new expansion to bring back "floods of players" is just stupid and irresponsible on their part. And from what I am reading on these forums about the expansion coming in a few weeks, it possibly may drive away a large amount of the player base. Maybe, maybe not. But the negative posts about the up and coming expansion are not what I want to see.

 

Well since I reinstalled the game and have 30 days left I am going to jot down some more numbers and do an exact evaluation of the population condition of this game. Last nights numbers were horrible except for Harbinger. I will keep an eye on it for the next few weeks. Maybe they are right. Maybe this game has received a "flood of new players" and ironically they all decided not to log in last night during peak time. We will see. I already un subbed so minus EA announcing a plan to fix these dead servers I will only be here for 29 more days.

 

I got dupped ( . Oh well.

Edited November 15, 2016 by MaximumOwnage

[MaximumOwnage]

Really he resubbed for KotET story and is trying to justify it as some sort of messianic return to the game on his behalf.

 

That or he really did sub for a post created long before he made this thread and well if so ... embarrassing much?

 

I do not PVE at all. I only PVP 24/7 so NO I did not return for KOTET. I hate PVE so much that I have spaced bared my way thru every toon that I have on my account. I only PVE when I have to or to help a friend out if I have too. That's it. And unless I have to for some reason play KOTET, I will not be doing it at all. So that is 100% definatly not a reason I returned. I got lied to is why I returned. So laugh it up and enjoy trolling me.

[IanArgent]

This thread belongs in a museum.

[ElZaguero]

I resubbed 4 days ago, after a 60-day hiatus for massive DvL burnout.

 

First time I went to Fleet, my first thought was "Where the hell is everybody?"

[Toraak]

I got fooled. Oh well. I di8d not know that was old post.

 

However I did check the servers at peak time last night. The "flooding back" is an outright lie. I have all server numbers still written down from past months going back a long time. And here is how it was last night.

 

It was Harbinger with a normal population. It has absolutely no signs of players "flooding" back in the game. It is about what it has been in 2016. Considerably lower than it has been prior to 2016. It still has about 1/2 of the population it had prior to 2016 but roughly the same as it has for the past 10 months.

 

All other US servers are considerably down from when I left the game. 5 of them had less than 10 people on fleet during peak time last night. They are absolute ghost towns. And others had less people on them than any other record I have from them in the past. So this flood of players coming into the game is not demonstrable on my end. If they re subbed, they are not playing.

 

The only server I see according to my evaluation last night is Harbinger. Even the 2nd most populated server to Harbinger has about 70% less players. And that by my standards of game play is a problem. A serious problem.

 

Well the $15 is not going to kill me. I got roped into this by someone obviously trolling me and making me think that EA was going to address the dead servers and bring life back into this game by FIXING the server issues. For EA to keep its fingers crossed on a new expansion to bring back "floods of players" is just stupid and irresponsible on their part. And from what I am reading on these forums about the expansion coming in a few weeks, it possibly may drive away a large amount of the player base. Maybe, maybe not. But the negative posts about the up and coming expansion are not what I want to see.

 

Well since I reinstalled the game and have 30 days left I am going to jot down some more numbers and do an exact evaluation of the population condition of this game. Last nights numbers were horrible except for Harbinger. I will keep an eye on it for the next few weeks. Maybe they are right. Maybe this game has received a "flood of new players" and ironically they all decided not to log in last night during peak time. We will see. I already un subbed so minus EA announcing a plan to fix these dead servers I will only be here for 29 more days.

 

I got dupped ( . Oh well.

 

Not to mention the number of people standing on Fleet is a meaningless number. I've Spent the last year only going to fleet to pick up dailies/weeklies, and porting to my Strongholds. How many others have been doing the same? While numbers may be down, and I do not deny it, only BW knows by how much.

[MaximumOwnage]

I resubbed 4 days ago, after a 60-day hiatus for massive DvL burnout.

 

First time I went to Fleet, my first thought was "Where the hell is everybody?"

 

According to Bioware, they must all have been busy running to their website to resub so they can "flood" the servers with new players. Because I checked every single server and they are in the worse shape as I have ever seen them for the acception of Harbinger. And I have been diligently monitoring these servers for going on 2 years now.

 

The "flooding of new players" bioware is claiming in comparison to actual physical observation just don't match up. So I will have to call total BS on this claim. I have no choice but to reject that claim by my demonstrable observations to rebuke exactly what they are trying to get people to believe. According to my observations it is simply not true.

[AllisonLightning]

I resubbed 4 days ago, after a 60-day hiatus for massive DvL burnout.

 

First time I went to Fleet, my first thought was "Where the hell is everybody?"

 

So basically flipping options at the moment but can I just say this was one of the biggest drawbacks of DvL- it left you feeling completely burned out on anything to do with the game... you literally need to go do something you like and remember you like playing SWTOR and that's not how an event should feel. And I'm a year and so many months player who has only finished three class stories.

[TUXs]

Not to mention the number of people standing on Fleet is a meaningless number. I've Spent the last year only going to fleet to pick up dailies/weeklies, and porting to my Strongholds. How many others have been doing the same? While numbers may be down, and I do not deny it, only BW knows by how much.

Fleet is the absolute best indicator we have of server health. I've witnessed 2 forced mergers and one voluntary one...every time, Fleet was the leading indicator of where things were headed.

 

And how long have strongholds been in-game? To use that as an excuse is for low Fleet pops is silly lol.

[MaximumOwnage]

Fleet is the absolute best indicator we have of server health. I've witnessed 2 forced mergers and one voluntary one...every time, Fleet was the leading indicator of where things were headed.

 

And how long have strongholds been in-game? To use that as an excuse is for low Fleet pops is silly lol.

 

/agreed

[PlasmaJohn]

The "flooding of new players" bioware is claiming in comparison to actual physical observation just don't match up. So I will have to call total BS on this claim. I have no choice but to reject that claim by my demonstrable observations to rebuke exactly what they are trying to get people to believe. According to my observations it is simply not true.

Read up on their plan for 5.0 preferably with strong drink at hand. Basically the next drop pulls the rug out from anybody with the temerity to make preparations to get back to where they were gear-wise so that they can continue to redo the content they've been doing. TFP's and SM Ops look to be mostly immune to the insanity but frankly PvP looks like it'll be an absolute disaster.

 

Consequently people are taking a break. Some will be back for 5.0 and others have moved on to greener pastures.

 

Will there be a population bump? Sure, there's a lot of folks interested in the story. Most bets are that KotET runs in the same vein as the KotFE mildly interactive story so chances are that it's a one-and-done thing. It'll be enough to move the needle in December. January will see another adjustment just not the way BINO is gambling their hopes and dreams on.

 

Western audiences have very little patience for grind yet somebody at BINO thought SW:TOR really needed to move towards being a Korean grinder. IMO if there's any flooding it'll be from tears in their Accounts Receivables department.

Edited November 15, 2016 by PlasmaJohn

[Vember]

All I know is, there are so many people on Harb for both sides that I have to wait in line to complete quests, and I'm not talking about starter worlds.

[PlasmaJohn]

Fleet is the absolute best indicator we have of server health. I've witnessed 2 forced mergers and one voluntary one...every time, Fleet was the leading indicator of where things were headed.

 

And how long have strongholds been in-game? To use that as an excuse is for low Fleet pops is silly lol.

Stronghold populations are lumped in with whoever's playing on their associated planets. Odessan can barely make double-digits most nights. Ship populations are equally desolate.

 

Fleet population is still the best spot indicator of overall server population.

[IanArgent]

Fleet is the absolute best indicator we have of server health. I've witnessed 2 forced mergers and one voluntary one...every time, Fleet was the leading indicator of where things were headed.

 

And how long have strongholds been in-game? To use that as an excuse is for low Fleet pops is silly lol.

 

At least add Odessen's numbers. The only thing that Fleet's got that Odessen doesn't is the PvP vendors and people spamming LFG into chat.

 

Also, while you may be right that's it's the only thing we've got to measure server health, that doesn't mean it's a good measure of server health. At most it's a mediocre measure of how many people are LFGing for raids. Which may or may not matter, depending on the percentage of subscribers who actively raid (vs do T/HM FPs, or whatever other content their little hearts desire.) Which is something we do not know, and unless BW:A changes their practices, will never know. Everybody's got an assumption. I try and make sure I show mine in public (Except I really have no idea how important raiding is to the game; since I don't do it but once in a blue moon, am not in a "raiding" guild on any character, etc. My assumptions about raiding are all second-hand based on Bioware's actions. They don't appear to believe it's more important than rebuilding the base game over the past year and a half to two and a half years was.)

[MASOLIZ]

I do not PVE at all. I only PVP 24/7 so NO I did not return for KOTET. I hate PVE so much that I have spaced bared my way thru every toon that I have on my account. I only PVE when I have to or to help a friend out if I have too. That's it. And unless I have to for some reason play KOTET, I will not be doing it at all. So that is 100% definatly not a reason I returned. I got lied to is why I returned. So laugh it up and enjoy trolling me.

 

24/7 don't you sleep? I'm an insomniac but even I need to sleep sometimes otherwise I would die or just not be able to function. And I always love the "I never PvE! Except...":p

[MaximumOwnage]

All I know is, there are so many people on Harb for both sides that I have to wait in line to complete quests, and I'm not talking about starter worlds.

 

Harbinger is keeping this game alive. It had double the population it has now a year ago. You waited in line for everything 24/7 back then. Harbinger has absorbed the remaining player base for the most part. They need to close down all the ghost town servers because Harbinger is the life support for SWTOR at this point.

[PlasmaJohn]

At least add Odessen's numbers. The only thing that Fleet's got that Odessen doesn't is the PvP vendors and people spamming LFG into chat.

 

Also, while you may be right that's it's the only thing we've got to measure server health, that doesn't mean it's a good measure of server health. At most it's a mediocre measure of how many people are LFGing for raids.

Last night Harb's Odessan had maybe 20 people on it where fleet had 170+

 

I vastly prefer Fleet over Odessan. First and foremost I don't need to do the first 9 chapters of KotFE just to get access to it or pay a pile of credits. Odessan does have the Alliance specialists but again, that req. Ch.9 and there's no bypass for it. It does have the companion gift vendor but 5.0 kinda blows that up anyway.

 

The only accessible gear vendors on Od. are the Radiant ones. Sure you can get access to the glowing vendors but you need to grind up your alliances before those start showing up. No need to mess with that on Fleet. Fleet has the Green Crystal vendors and that super handy Heroic mission terminal.

[RTCBrad]

I play on Red Eclipse and that doesn't seem dead at all tacticals pop every couple minutes, warzones the same, HM FPs are instant provided you have a tank .

 

Although I only play at prime times because of work.

[IanArgent]

Last night Harb's Odessan had maybe 20 people on it where fleet had 170+

 

I vastly prefer Fleet over Odessan. First and foremost I don't need to do the first 9 chapters of KotFE just to get access to it or pay a pile of credits. Odessan does have the Alliance specialists but again, that req. Ch.9 and there's no bypass for it. It does have the companion gift vendor but 5.0 kinda blows that up anyway.

 

The only accessible gear vendors on Od. are the Radiant ones. Sure you can get access to the glowing vendors but you need to grind up your alliances before those start showing up. No need to mess with that on Fleet. Fleet has the Green Crystal vendors and that super handy Heroic mission terminal.

 

Heroic mission terminal can be found in the Pods Of Mission Terminals on Odessen - outside the cantina entrances. Along with most (all?) other Priority Mission Terminals that can be found on Fleet; much more conveniently placed. I'm not so thrilled about the limited access for characters who haven't completed KotFE Ch.9 myself, but it's not totally inaccessible. (200K isn't exactly a huge amount of credits any more, even for me who is perpetually broke).

[PlasmaJohn]

Heroic mission terminal can be found in the Pods Of Mission Terminals on Odessen - outside the cantina entrances.

I forgot that that's there. But after 64 levels of using Fleet the only time I switch off to Odessen is when I need access to the gift vendor or Alliance Spcs. That's three (soon to be four) out of 32 alts across four servers.

 

I'm not so thrilled about the limited access for characters who haven't completed KotFE Ch.9 myself, but it's not totally inaccessible. (200K isn't exactly a huge amount of credits any more, even for me who is perpetually broke).

Via legacy I have a zero cooldown fleet pass on three out of four servers. 200k might not be huge for one or two characters but why bother when I can get all I need on Fleet for free? Like I pointed out above, prior to level 60 there's almost no point for anybody to even be on Odessan. People are not going to switch just because. The spot population numbers correlate with this.

[JasonThDi]

People saying the game is dead... if that were true, then no one would be playing it. The game would have shut down, which is not the case in this instance.

[CaptRogue]

Harbinger is keeping this game alive. It had double the population it has now a year ago. You waited in line for everything 24/7 back then. Harbinger has absorbed the remaining player base for the most part. They need to close down all the ghost town servers because Harbinger is the life support for SWTOR at this point.

 

LOL It ain't even that anymore.

Yes it's still the busiest, but it's dropping considerably. Take this as someone who plays on it consistently. Queue pops are up. No more insta-pops. Even PvP you have to wait now.

The most action you see comes from the horrendous Imperial fleet chat now. (It's bad enough it'd make a sailor blush, as the saying goes. They take vulgar to the extremes there.)

[Vember]

LOL It ain't even that anymore.

Yes it's still the busiest, but it's dropping considerably. Take this as someone who plays on it consistently. Queue pops are up. No more insta-pops. Even PvP you have to wait now.

 

I get virtually instant WZ pops, but I play during prime time in the central time zone. Even GSF pops are generally below 5 minutes.

[kodrac]

The most action you see comes from the horrendous Imperial fleet chat now. (It's bad enough it'd make a sailor blush, as the saying goes. They take vulgar to the extremes there.)

 

Has anyone ever stopped to think the toxicity could be a reason servers are "dieing"? Maybe people are staying away from fleet. Not participating in group activities to get away from the trolls and morons? Maybe even transferring to somewhere else? No, can't be. Society is never the problem, it's always someone else's fault.

[CaptRogue]

Has anyone ever stopped to think the toxicity could be a reason servers are "dieing"? Maybe people are staying away from fleet. Not participating in group activities to get away from the trolls and morons? Maybe even transferring to somewhere else? No, can't be. Society is never the problem, it's always someone else's fault.

 

You know I'd agree with you except that people are transferring to this server so it can't be that. The ones disgusted with it, say something, like the one did the other day here on the forums, and got attacked himself. So they just quit game finally after they've had enough.

I report them but doesn't seem to do any good either. The same ones are spewing their vile toxicity in chat each night. Be nice to squelch a few of them. lol

Sadly though, that's not what is killing these servers/game. BW is doing that.

[Krazhez]

Just going to leave this here. http://www.torstatus.net/the-harbinger/history/7d#!/the-harbinger/history/7d