Bad Days Ahead..........Immediate Responce Required

[Costello]

It would be nice to hear what the plan is. Personally I like the idea of a mega server as long as enough instances are available to accommodate the awful way swtor deals with objectives where you can lock people out of getting any credit simply by being the first to attack a target, they would be far better to have a system where anyone doing x% of damage gets credit and then people could just jump in without having to send out group invites.

 

Even if they say nothing is going to be done cause server pops are healthy it would be something. It feels like they doubled down on 5.0 bringing people back but didn't count on the god awful Keeping up with the Valkorians everyone betrays you plot mess of Kotfe had destroyed the credibility of the story telling. Which is a real shame as Kotet while still a mess of gibberish valkorian crap was, if you skipped through his dialogue, far better.

 

But with the damage done by 4.0 and the rng gearing of 5.0 it seems clearly less people are playing now than 6 months ago isn't it time something is done or at least they address the issue?

[Galahard]

2 brand new servers (1 east 1 west)

East and West of what?

Don't you forget something?

For example geography?

Or - reminder - there are three languages in this game, English, French, German.

How do you make 3 languages work on 2 servers?

 

Also guild ships: please allow some lowly guilds to exist and try to build out their guildships, not everyone started at guildship launch and not every guild has the population and resources to be in the top ten all the time.

Thank you.

Edited February 16, 2017 by Galahard

[Ratajack]

- They don't even have an acceptable transfer process to offer, not for single players and not for guilds. 5 years after release. That is ridiculous by itself. Nothing for guilds, ships, strongholds and placed deco and so on. It's fu... data at the end of the day and it should be no big problem to copy it 1:1,or better move it, because that is what transfer means. What they offer now is an incomplete, unacceptable, half baked and ridiculous copy, even for single players, absolutely nothing for guilds. Again, 5 years after release, I can't stress that enough since it says about this incompetent and ignorant company.

 

 

 

Server merges would not magically change this. All that server merges would do is to force everyone to suffer those nightmares and headaches.

 

Then again, some people apparently care nothing about others being inconvenienced, so long as their personal desires are met.

[HuaRya]

I too have toons on Harbinger as well as Shadowlands and JC.

 

My rhythm since returning 3 weeks ago:

I log into Shadowlands around 10pm EST and wait for a queue pop imp side for PVP/GSF/Uprising/Flashpoint I sit on fleet which is virtually silent now and think to myself 'this isn't where it's at'. I then log onto a lvl 65 and do the chapters but when I arrive on Voss it has only 5 people on it. Again, get the vibe that this is not it. Log off and go to Harbinger.

 

In a Galactic Command Leveling Race My Best DPS toons are:

Shadowlands: LvL 30's

Jedi Covenant: LvL 50's

Harbinger: LvL 90's

 

*This is solely based on group content pop frequency and people LFM on Operations/Heroics/FP's/Uprisings.

 

It sounds like people on this thread who find things hunky dory on their intimate server are in a tight knit group that does content together. I ask those people to look at their GTN and see if crafting products and commodities are becoming scarce. I also ask them if they visit leveling worlds where the population is less than 10 that used to have populations of 50+. If you are hung up on names or the possibility you might have to re-decorate your guildship then know that one day you may be the last person roaming it's halls.......

Edited February 17, 2017 by HuaRya
grammar

[Ratajack]

Yes I am at Harbinger and also Red Eclipse. I have 4 guilds with flagships on Harbinger ( 2 bought by me, 2 acquired from guildmaster quitting) and also 2 guilds with flagships on Red Eclipse which I purchased also. That's a total of 6 flagships I have guilmaster over. And not only that but between my 2 servers I have 20 on Red Eclipse and 31 on Harbinger. BTW not one of my toons is under 65 and most are 70.

 

Ok now that we have that out of the way let me set the record straight. I would have to say I have more to lose in the way of flagships and character names than probably 90% of the player base. Not only that, but I have been a subscriber of this game since pre order. I am not new to the game.

 

Having said all of that, I would be willing to rename all of my character (some of them have very unique names) and lose all 6 of my guildships in exchange for a mega server if need be. I would prefer not to lose all of that but I would to get the server status to this game optimized. So your assumption is absolutely incorrect at least when it pertains to me. And I am sure I am not alone.

 

You might be willing to do so, but O doubt that everyone would.

 

IMO the absolute very least minimum population requirement should be that of Harbinger. That should be used as worse case scenario. I would like to see a server with double or more of a population of modern day Harbinger. And I would be willing to lose everything (guild ships, toon names) to see that happen.

 

I would not even mind seeing a complete purging of all flagships and creating a completely new guildship system. Something new and exciting and with a lot more advantages to owning some sort of a guild stronghold or ship. That way everyone in the game can begin something new in the way of guilds and guild bases. Not to mention it would also be a nice way to get a well needed credit sink. Maybe make the ships cost 250 mill or more to purchase and get people playing together again towards something new.

 

Bottom line is this game needs to be balanced population wise. Rigth now there are way to many dead servers. They need to do a complete purge by creating 2 brand new servers (1 east 1 west) and eliminate the old guilships all together and introduce something new.

 

Almost all the guilds who conquest have maxed out guilships. Its become a dull issue. It would add some new life to the system IMO. I would be all for this.

 

And for anyone who thinks I am BSing about me owning 6 guilds, I will happily upload screenies and send them to you in a PM. That's how important I believe this issue is for this game.

 

That is your opinion, but it is definitely not shared by everyone, as is evident in every one of these spammed "merge servers" threads.

[Khaleg]

Server merges would not magically change this. All that server merges would do is to force everyone to suffer those nightmares and headaches.

 

Then again, some people apparently care nothing about others being inconvenienced, so long as their personal desires are met.

 

Yeah, of course I know that but isn't it ridiculous they are incapable to do this flawlessly or at all FIVE years after release? The better solution would be (or would have been since I start to think it's too late now and their winter sleep of ignorance lasted a few seasons too long) x server anyway but they also lack the competence to do this very move, the most intelligent one, an obvious move competent companies like Blizzard and I think almost any Mmorpg running company was and is able to.

[Moranine]

I've gone back and forth on this topic for awhile with myself. I am currently on Ebon Hawk with 3 70's and a total of 9 alts and I worked very hard to make unique names for my characters. While I would be initially sad to give up my names if it came down to it, I would, eventually, get over it and create new unique names.

 

Ebon Hawk has a pretty decent population. The peak is during the weekends during the evening times, but even during the week we get around 120-160 on fleet during evening hours and it's always busy chatter with people either asking for advice, randomly talking about lore or RPing.

 

Still, you can tell that it's not what it used to be. Splitting the NA servers into 2 (east and west) and making one of those rp oriented would be the best idea here. Idk about populations on the other countries, so I can't put any intake there. But the NA servers need a merge.

[Smuglebunny]

My sub expired yesterday. I just cant support them, I feel insulted by their behavior.

 

AOE targeting

Minimap Icons

the broken preview window

Their insulting silence about all 3

 

The galactic command system

RNG being placed in into the game for gear

lack of class balance

lack of any serious content FOR YEARS

 

general apathy of developers

The constant implementation of things that no one wants and no one has asked for while never doing the things that are constantly asked for, for years.

 

Reasons I have allowed my sub to lapse^^

 

And I AM on the harbinger. You aren't gonna enjoy the game anymore there, than where you are.

 

I want to play, bring me back, fix your bugs and your intentionally introduced bugs(AOE, minimap), make content, get rid of GC.

 

Or if you are comfortable not having my money, I am comfortable spending it elsewhere.

Edited February 16, 2017 by Smuglebunny

[fushnchips]

I'm all for server merges but the US servers won't be the issue it's the EU servers like German,French because still lots of people like to write in native language and can you imagine them merging all of EU into TRE it would be a complete wreck and cause more issues than it's worth.

 

I would like to see 1 US mega server with 3 instance types 1. PvE 2. PvP 3. RP this way the RP players can still enjoy what they do best.

 

And with non of us being on the other end of the engine yes it was a bad choice in the long run having used a Pre-Alpha build we don't know the limitations on what they can and can't do with cross server I did hear sometime ago they tested it but the issue was the characters were returning to a different destination not the source they came from but that could have been a load of nonsense.

 

Also what type of down time and hardware would be required for a super mega server do they have it ? can they use the current server to make 1 I don't think right now that is possible also what is the lease on the current server that's being used ? so many questions and yes those answers are not for us they are an internal thing that I'm sure are being looked at.

 

Also i'm a vet player I have a lot of characters on many servers do I worry about name loss not really because it's not going to impact me in playing my game I'll still do what I do and move on and choose a greater name than before.

 

But please give us the answer to this solution MEGA SERVER.

[Liathan]

Let's not forget that it appears that many of those demanding server merges are already on Harbinger and wish to see all other servers merged with Harbinger I'm going to guess that is so they can have higher population without having to risk losing guild assets or names, etc. or character names.

 

To be fair, they are probably on Harbinger because they want the higher population.

[Kurj]

I think they're stuck between a rock and a hard place. If they merge, solo players are going to freak over losing their names. If they don't, group players are going to continue leaving out of boredom/frustration. On top of that, KotET and GC went over like a lead balloon and they've got 'splaining to do to their corporate overlords. Add into that the fact that a seemingly increasing number of long-time players have had it, so that the devs are probably terrified at taking any action that will cause an increase in the rate of unsubs, and I am not surprised at the inaction. It's not logical, but it is understandable.

[Galahard]

To be fair, they are probably on Harbinger because they want the higher population.

So why on Earth do they concern themselves with what other people do on other servers, dead or not?

[Ratajack]

Yeah, of course I know that but isn't it ridiculous they are incapable to do this flawlessly or at all FIVE years after release? The better solution would be (or would have been since I start to think it's too late now and their winter sleep of ignorance lasted a few seasons too long) x server anyway but they also lack the competence to do this very move, the most intelligent one, an obvious move competent companies like Blizzard and I think almost any Mmorpg running company was and is able to.

 

First, as has been noted in practically every one of these spammed "merge servers NOW!!!" threads, BW has stated that the game engine will not handle the cross server grouping.

 

Second, cross server grouping is not the holy grail that some seem to think it is. I'm going to guess that the ratio of tanks to heals to DPS is relatively consistent across all the servers. I doubt that Server A has an overabundance of tanks and is constantly waiting on DPS to queue while server B is always waiting for tanks. I think it far more likely that even with cross server queues, the ratio will remain about the same.

 

Let's not forget the single biggest problem with cross server queuing--the loss of any personal accountability for actions or behavior. Right now, Johnny knows that if he is a D-bag, word is going to get around on the server. With cross server queuing, why should Johnny worry about behaving in a respectable, responsible manner when he will likely never see any of those players again, let alone be grouped with any of them?

[JattaGin]

I'm all for server merges but the US servers won't be the issue it's the EU servers like German,French because still lots of people like to write in native language and can you imagine them merging all of EU into TRE it would be a complete wreck and cause more issues than it's worth.

 

It would be havoc on Progenitor or TRE. Chat always gets out the pitchforks if someone dares to write something in another language, even if it's just a short question whether someone could whisper with translation help. So many Germans and French without any English skills out there. I would get so fat from all the popcorn.

[Liathan]

Server merges would not magically change this. All that server merges would do is to force everyone to suffer those nightmares and headaches.

 

Then again, some people apparently care nothing about others being inconvenienced, so long as their personal desires are met.

 

This goes both ways, those against mergers are just as guilty as those for mergers.

[Ratajack]

To be fair, they are probably on Harbinger because they want the higher population.

 

I don't argue that. The point is that it seems to me that many of those demanding server merges are on Harbinger already and demanding that servers me merged INTO Harbinger, which just happens to be where they are already established, giving them "priority" with regards to names, and also leaves their guilds and guild assets intact.

 

How many of those would either change their tune or cry "Foul!!!" if BW were to anounce that Harbinger would NOT be the "destination" server, but an "ORIGIN" server, and every one of them would have to suffer the nightmares and headaches that a server merge would cause, from guilds and guild assets to personal legacy storage and character names. Sure, some will CLAIM that they would gladly give everything up, but it's easy to make that claim when you don't have to back it up or live up to it.

[Ratajack]

This goes both ways, those against mergers are just as guilty as those for mergers.

 

Those against mergers are NOT trying to FORCE anyone to play the game "their" way or on a server with "their" preferred server population. They are NOT trying to take away anyone's choice of preferred server population.

 

I have yet to see one single person say that "Johnny cannot transfer off his 'dead' server to play on a higher populated server" or "Johnny is playing the game wrong if he wants to play on a higher populated server".

[Liathan]

So why on Earth do they concern themselves with what other people do on other servers, dead or not?

 

Because they probably want even more people on Harbinger/whatever the new server would be?

[Liathan]

I don't argue that. The point is that it seems to me that many of those demanding server merges are on Harbinger already and demanding that servers me merged INTO Harbinger, which just happens to be where they are already established, giving them "priority" with regards to names, and also leaves their guilds and guild assets intact.

 

How many of those would either change their tune or cry "Foul!!!" if BW were to anounce that Harbinger would NOT be the "destination" server, but an "ORIGIN" server, and every one of them would have to suffer the nightmares and headaches that a server merge would cause, from guilds and guild assets to personal legacy storage and character names. Sure, some will CLAIM that they would gladly give everything up, but it's easy to make that claim when you don't have to back it up or live up to it.

 

I haven't seen many specifically calling for the server to be merged into harbinger, just server merges in general. It's easy to claim anything when you don't have to or don't have the ability to back it up. If large numbers of people are transferring to Harbinger for the population then they are already going through the issues that merging and transferring characters creates.

[Ratajack]

I think they're stuck between a rock and a hard place. If they merge, solo players are going to freak over losing their names. If they don't, group players are going to continue leaving out of boredom/frustration. On top of that, KotET and GC went over like a lead balloon and they've got 'splaining to do to their corporate overlords. Add into that the fact that a seemingly increasing number of long-time players have had it, so that the devs are probably terrified at taking any action that will cause an increase in the rate of unsubs, and I am not surprised at the inaction. It's not logical, but it is understandable.

 

I may be wrong, but I think it has more to do with guilds and guild assets, as well as personal things such a legacy storage, than it does with "trying to save face".

 

The fact remains that anyone on a "dead" server DOES have the capability of solving their perceived problem, They DO have the option to either transfer to a higher populated server or create new characters on that higher populated server. A single character transfer will copy their legacy along with any unlocks.

 

BW even gives subs a minimum of 500 CC's per month, enough to move at least 5 characters.

 

That does not stop some people from demanding FREE transfers because they want to use their CC stipend for other things, though.

[Ratajack]

Because they probably want even more people on Harbinger/whatever the new server would be?

 

And they try to FORCE those who prefer to play on a lower populated server, (one that has a better quality of player behavior, as well) to play "their" way, by taking away their choice of what type of server population they prefer.

[Liathan]

Those against mergers are NOT trying to FORCE anyone to play the game "their" way or on a server with "their" preferred server population. They are NOT trying to take away anyone's choice of preferred server population.

 

I have yet to see one single person say that "Johnny cannot transfer off his 'dead' server to play on a higher populated server" or "Johnny is playing the game wrong if he wants to play on a higher populated server".

 

Ah, but they are. They are saying that if Johnny wants to play on a larger pop server then he either needs to start over at lvl 1 on that server, pay to loose everything in a transfer, or stay where he is and continue to play the game in a manor they don't like.

 

I'm not saying to have BW merge the servers before fixing the issues that currently exist, but both sides are telling the other side to go screw themselves.

[fushnchips]

And they try to FORCE those who prefer to play on a lower populated server, (one that has a better quality of player behavior, as well) to play "their" way, by taking away their choice of what type of server population they prefer.

 

But that player would also be the one complaining they can't do events because nobody is around to do anything and I have seen this many times posted on the forums about the lack of players to be able to complete the task at hand.

[Ratajack]

I haven't seen many specifically calling for the server to be merged into harbinger, just server merges in general. It's easy to claim anything when you don't have to or don't have the ability to back it up. If large numbers of people are transferring to Harbinger for the population then they are already going through the issues that merging and transferring characters creates.

 

But that is y CHOICE, right now. Some people do not want to transfer because thy are happy where they are.

 

FORCING Johnny to "transfer" by merging servers if NOT going to magically make Johnny use the LFG tool if he chooses to do his group content with friends and guildmates. The only thing it will do is to annoy Johnny.

 

Billy is still likely to have to wait the eternity that is 5 minutes for that queue to pop.

[Liathan]

And they try to FORCE those who prefer to play on a lower populated server, (one that has a better quality of player behavior, as well) to play "their" way, by taking away their choice of what type of server population they prefer.

 

And those who want low pop servers FORCE those who want higher pop servers to give up everything and pay to move their character. Both sides are forcing the other side to do something they don't want to do. And all you have to do is look at other games and you'll see that low pop servers are not what the majority of players or game companies want. If there wasn't the issue of loosing everything upon transferring and BW offered one time free transfers I'd wager you'd see those low pop servers getting even lower in population until it no longer made business sense to keep running them.