We Need Another Server Merger - Especially with the coming PvP Matchmaking Changes

[Syal]

add IA in matchmaking to complet missing player... merge server problem solved...

[Ahwassa]

I don´t want a merge of the EU servers.

Tulak Hord is not perfect but its fine as it is now.

 

My experience with one EU server is from ESO. Yes there are more pops but the success rate is lower (i´m looking at you french people) and the frustration level higher.

So please no EU merge. (And if - just the english speaking people please.)

[xordevoreaux]

Then we’d be stuffed and the game would die off for a big part of the player base. It’s pretty easy to see this is the way the game will eventually go if they don’t add a big injection of funds into the game.

 

While ever they continue to strip funding and resources, the game will continue a steady decline. Some other studios, MMOs and games have seen this and have brought games back from the brink by rebooting them, injecting new funds and in some cases, being aquaired by other companies.

 

The best hope for this game as I see it, is for swtor to be sold off to another company who wants to reboot it and make it into the game it should have always been. .

 

What gaming company in its right mind would take a game that doesn't even link back to any current Star Wars movies? Were I looking to establish a Star Wars MMO, I'd want to co-brand and tie into promotions as closely as I could for any new movies coming out, not lock myself out of that because the content of the game I purchased is 3000 years prior to anything I'm trying to relate to with current movie releases.

 

1. Said company would need a separate, independent IP licen$e from Disney than what EA has. Good luck footing the bill on that.

 

2. EA would $ell the game's IP that it owns for having developed it (code, voice acting, content) to said company.

 

3. EA (rightfully) would still consider all of the people who ever played SWTOR to be its customers (think of all the Origin account information tied into the SWTOR login info) and therefore would not hand over its customer base's payment history, a history which ties very closely with whatever anyone has ever bought on the cartel market, used cartel coins for legacy unlocks, etc. Without that payment history to connect content to player purchases, said company would have no idea who bought what.

 

4. It would be a logistical nightmare for both players and the new company to claim accounts with a new company. Said company, based on issue #3, would have to establish its own relationship with the player base. Starting out, that player base would be 0. Player transfer to said company would require EA to email all SWTOR players a code which then players would need, after establishing a new subscription / player profile with the new company, to enter into their player profile to connect their new player profile with the new company with the player's SWTOR account. EA would only give the new company that code hooked up to a unique account ID for the purposes of players claiming their accounts once those players establish a presence with a new company.

 

4a. Meaning players had better damn well have their email information current at the time of the company transfer or someone else (or nobody) would receive the code and subsequently unlock the account.

 

4b. Because the new company would not have access to EA's customer history, and not know who anyone is other than by an EA-issued one-time code pointing to a UID in the player database, there would be no way to resolve customer issues regarding claiming of codes. Why? They're not the new company's customers yet. The new company wouldn't know any player from Adam. People would be completely dependent on using those codes correctly, the first time.

 

4c. Heaven help any player who ever shared login information with any other player, even a relative, or has someone in a position to read their email, like a parent or spouse. Like 4a., the new company would have no means to resolve ownership issues. There would be zero the new company's customer service system could do about it, for not having access to EA's customer information about them. That's EA's customer information, not the new company's.

 

 

Far easier to scrap SWTOR altogether for new said company to pursue content more germane to current Star Wars content and not hassle with extracting EA's customers from it.

Edited June 13, 2018 by xordevoreaux

[Khaleg]

In short: No

 

More precise and detailed: No

[JediQuaker]

I didn't understand why it wasn't just brought down to one server for each region to allow each aspect of game to have as healthy a population as possible regardless the time of day.

 

1. There are practical hardware limits to the number of players that can be handled properly by one "server"**. This is the main reason why there were separate servers in the first place. As CPUs, memory, storage, etc, improve, servers can handle more players and thus, the recent mergers can happen.

 

2. Even if the current servers could be merged, any future increase in the number of users could result in the need to split servers - which would be a whole other bag of snakes.

 

** A "server" actually consists of many inter-connected computers handling different aspects of the game.

 

DISCLAIMER - This is all based upon past knowledge of computers and game servers. I don't, of course, know the details of the current state of SWTOR servers. However, I can say that it's a bit naive to say "just merge the servers".

[TrixxieTriss]

What gaming company in its right mind would take a game that doesn't even link back to any current Star Wars movies? Were I looking to establish a Star Wars MMO, I'd want to co-brand and tie into promotions as closely as I could for any new movies coming out, not lock myself out of that because the content of the game I purchased is 3000 years prior to anything I'm trying to relate to with current movie releases.

 

1. Said company would need a separate, independent IP licen$e from Disney than what EA has. Good luck footing the bill on that.

 

2. EA would $ell the game's IP that it owns for having developed it (code, voice acting, content) to said company.

 

3. EA (rightfully) would still consider all of the people who ever played SWTOR to be its customers (think of all the Origin account information tied into the SWTOR login info) and therefore would not hand over its customer base's payment history, a history which ties very closely with whatever anyone has ever bought on the cartel market, used cartel coins for legacy unlocks, etc. Without that payment history to connect content to player purchases, said company would have no idea who bought what.

 

4. It would be a logistical nightmare for both players and the new company to claim accounts with a new company. Said company, based on issue #3, would have to establish its own relationship with the player base. Starting out, that player base would be 0. Player transfer to said company would require EA to email all SWTOR players a code which then players would need, after establishing a new subscription / player profile with the new company, to enter into their player profile to connect their new player profile with the new company with the player's SWTOR account. EA would only give the new company that code hooked up to a unique account ID for the purposes of players claiming their accounts once those players establish a presence with a new company.

 

4a. Meaning players had better damn well have their email information current at the time of the company transfer or someone else (or nobody) would receive the code and subsequently unlock the account.

 

4b. Because the new company would not have access to EA's customer history, and not know who anyone is other than by an EA-issued one-time code pointing to a UID in the player database, there would be no way to resolve customer issues regarding claiming of codes. Why? They're not the new company's customers yet. The new company wouldn't know any player from Adam. People would be completely dependent on using those codes correctly, the first time.

 

4c. Heaven help any player who ever shared login information with any other player, even a relative, or has someone in a position to read their email, like a parent or spouse. Like 4a., the new company would have no means to resolve ownership issues. There would be zero the new company's customer service system could do about it, for not having access to EA's customer information about them. That's EA's customer information, not the new company's.

 

 

Far easier to scrap SWTOR altogether for new said company to pursue content more germane to current Star Wars content and not hassle with extracting EA's customers from it.

 

Never said it would be easy or practical. Just that the only hope for a reboot would be if another company took it on.

There is precedence of companies selling off studios. Not that I think that will happen.

My statement was along the lines of a throw away comment and you wrote an essay to explain why it wasn’t practical.

I will say your reasoning and logic in the essay is pretty good. But I think you may have put too much effort into it.

Edited June 13, 2018 by TrixxieTriss

[Andryah]

1. There are practical hardware limits to the number of players that can be handled properly by one "server"**. This is the main reason why there were separate servers in the first place. As CPUs, memory, storage, etc, improve, servers can handle more players and thus, the recent mergers can happen.

 

2. Even if the current servers could be merged, any future increase in the number of users could result in the need to split servers - which would be a whole other bag of snakes.

 

** A "server" actually consists of many inter-connected computers handling different aspects of the game.

 

DISCLAIMER - This is all based upon past knowledge of computers and game servers. I don't, of course, know the details of the current state of SWTOR servers. However, I can say that it's a bit naive to say "just merge the servers".

 

^^ Sage comments... and while your disclaimer is basically true, your comments are actually very well informed.

 

Basically.... a decision to make a single mega server vs a distributed set of different servers is something that is made early in the design lifecycle of an MMO (really, any internet property really) .. and as such it is not something that a studio can really go back and redo in a different direction. There are simply too many inherent dependencies in the coding of the final game that both count on and take advantage of the particular server approach chosen. So there is no way to simply change from distributed server approach vs single megaserver approach after the fact. To do so would largely require a complete reboot of the MMO..and who is going to do that with an MMO that is well north of 5 years old?

 

This is actually more of a challenge now days in the modern era where some studios actually fully outsource their server infrastructure, and as such.. are dependent on the configuration and use model of the outsource provider..... which is actually a bit like "sword in a box" where they outsource for the box and put the sword (MMO) inside it. Said sword must meet all the requirements and limitations of the box.

 

Note: the above is in no way a credible part of the debate of megaserver VS distributed servers. Both can and do work fine within their own context... but players can and will fixate on one in preference of the other.... regardless of facts or practicality. I endorse the debate.. because rational debate of all kinds is to be encouraged.... but said debate is out of context with a now 6 year old MMO that was never designed with a megaserver in mind. As the life cycle continues and like all MMOs.. this one slowly dwindles down in active player counts... this studio will do what every other studio has done to address server populations..... merge servers.

Edited June 13, 2018 by Andryah

[TrixxieTriss]

2. Even if the current servers could be merged, any future increase in the number of users could result in the need to split servers - which would be a whole other bag of snakes.

 

Are you expecting a miracle to happen? Is EA going to reboot the game?

 

I’ve more chance of winning the lotto than this game increasing its active player base to the same lvls of 18 months ago.

I’ve got more chance of getting eaten by a shark than this game being as active as it was after the last merge 6 months ago.

 

Unless you know something about a massive injection of funds or the second coming of our lord, then we don’t ever have to worry about swtor getting a future increase in numbers that would result in them ever needing to split a server again.

[kodrac]

Oh gawd, not this again...

[Andryah]

Are you expecting a miracle to happen? Is EA going to reboot the game?

 

I’ve more chance of winning the lotto than this game increasing its active player base to the same lvls of 18 months ago.

I’ve got more chance of getting eaten by a shark than this game being as active as it was after the last merge 6 months ago.

 

Unless you know something about a massive injection of funds or the second coming of our lord, then we don’t ever have to worry about swtor getting a future increase in numbers that would result in them ever needing to split a server again.

 

People said the same thing back before 4.0 released. Low and behold.. 4.0 (like or hate it) drew a huge number of players BACK to the game for 4-5 months ... so much that they had to go in and actually increase the capacity of at least 3 servers just to handle the load.

 

My point being.. any given Expac could very well draw players back.. even if only for a few months.. and I personally do not want to face login queues on a 6+ year old MMO just because some players thought it would be a great idea to merge all servers in a region during a low point in population and interest in the game. For an older MMO like SWTOR... returning players IS always something that must be planned for.. lest players see long login queues and simply leave out of frustration. Login queues = an unforced error for a studio on an older MMO.

Edited June 13, 2018 by Andryah

[casirabit]

Do you feel the previous merger was a step in the right direction?

 

If yes, how would a second one be a bad step?

 

Honest no. I had no problems getting groups when I needed them. In a way the merger hurt some especially roleplayers. At the beginning when Ebon Hawk was merged in Star Forge we were harrassed when we even attempted to roleplay and told to shut up, that our style of play wasn't acceptable anymore. Even though when I roleplay I did with my guild privately or my friends I didn't think anyone should say a style wasn't acceptable and that they should shut up and leave. Then saying all roleplayers do is stand around and do nothing when the roleplayers I know do operations, flashpoints and even some pvp.

 

So no I don't see another merger as a good step after seeing what the last one did.

[TrixxieTriss]

People said the same thing back before 4.0 released. Low and behold.. 4.0 (like or hate it) drew a huge number of players BACK to the game for 4-5 months ... so much that they had to go in and actually increase the capacity of at least 3 servers just to handle the load.

 

My point being.. any given Expac could very well draw players back.. even if only for a few months.. and I personally do not want to face login queues on a 6+ year old MMO just because some players thought it would be a great idea to merge all servers in a region during a low point in population and interest in the game. For an older MMO like SWTOR... returning players IS always something that must be planned for.. lest players see long login queues and simply leave out of frustration. Login queues = an unforced error for a studio on an older MMO.

 

That is a good point. I guess it all comes down to numbers and capacity, which I was too lazy to write. These servers copped quiet well after the last merge. I was surprised how well they did.

 

What I was too lazy to write about had to do with how many people have left since then and the game continues to lose more everyday. None of us know how many, but the difference is really noticeable when you compare it to December-February.

 

With natural attrition and the time till the next expansion, I’d expect we’ll lose a lot more before then. For everyone person that comes back or joins the game, many more leave it. This is why the population is always shrinking and even when they bring an influx of people into the game, it’s never the same lvl as it was 6-12 months previously.

 

It’s for those reasons that I can’t ever see them needing to expand server capacity again, even after a merge.

 

If they did merge in the future, you’d have to expect they would put a buffer in place for these speed bumps of population that come and go.

[Andryah]

If they did merge in the future, you’d have to expect they would put a buffer in place for these speed bumps of population that come and go.

 

^ I agree.

 

I do think they will be cautious about further merges in the lead up to an Expac and we know there is one in the works. I think even the studio was surprised by the large surge of returning players when 4.0 released and they had to scramble to address it. That said.. they were able to quickly increase the size of several servers... and that is when we learned that all servers were not configured exactly alike in terms of size.. which leads me to believe they are using server technology now that is scalable to some degree.... and that is a good thing for any future surges.

[Stellarcrusade]

Instead of server merge, all queues should be cross server (for servers in same region). Maybe excluding ranked. Uprisings, Ops, Flashpoints, GSF, Warzones - all should be cross server.

 

People have wanted cross server for years, and even though we knew it was totally possible, we were led to believe it was impossible. Then the leading MMO added it. So now we cannot be lazy and just say because it is not possible.

 

Cross server queues you get a much larger match-making sample of queued players and much faster pops without negative issues of a merge like server load.

[IoNonSoEVero]

What he said and I'll add that there are people who play SWTOR that don't give a womp rat's arse about PvP, GSF or Operations.

 

This. It's already been brought up that two NA servers is perhaps safer from a hardware/maintenance perspective. EU servers shouldn't be merged because of the language differences. IIRC they need to maintain different servers for those playing in the European Union to comply with their standards, so those could not merge with NA.

 

I feel like if people are invested in the group content and their current server isn't doing it for them, they do have options to either do character transfers or seek out a guild (there are certainly enough always advertising). No need to drag the rest of us along.

 

Maybe the existing population just isn't interested in that stuff overall.

 

For me, another server merger would just mean a) potentially losing character names and b) having to deal with even more ninjas for clickable goals and mobs in the open areas of the game. There's no upside to it at all.

[TUXs]

Personally I Think, They Should Go With Cross Server PvP, Matches Rather Than Another Merge.

Cross server isn't worth the time and money needed to make it work - merging is far better and more effective in the end.

[AscendingSky]

Jeez, the PvP and PUG pops are just never fast enough, are they? There's always someone yelling that we need more mergers to make them faster. I'm pretty sure the yelling for another round of mergers started about a day after the last ones.

 

The last server mergers gutted what was left of the Ebon Hawk RP community, since engaging in public RP now subjects you to endless amounts of harassment that EA has done nothing to deal with. All the chronic harassers and griefers don't even get slaps on the wrist from what I've seen. What's left of RP is found in guild or player strongholds in small groups. Some former EH RPers who can deal with EU times for events have moved to Darth Malgus, but most have just left the game rather than put up with it. Some RPers also left because they lost character names, ones many had had since launch. The more RPers leave, the faster other people leave, as it's rather boring to RP by yourself.

 

So no, I'm not a fan of the idea of more mergers, especially not just to appease people wanting more Group Finder fodder. I play this game less and less as the community I enjoy dwindles. I'm probably going to switch to Preferred here soon because I just don't go on TOR enough to warrant playing for a sub anymore when I can just buy a few unlocks instead and have everything I need.

Edited June 13, 2018 by AscendingSky

[TUXs]

I'm pretty sure the yelling for another round of mergers started about a day after the last ones.

Well it would actually make sense as both servers are located in the same room. The different servers serve no purpose other than to split the playerbase up.

[Storm-Cutter]

With the trickle of content release down to a drip-drip its no wonder.

 

Releasing 1 op boss every few months and a new chapter every 5-6 months is not gonna keep populations healthy.

 

A lot of my friends are gone. All my guilds are gone. - I've referred about 10 people and there was a big merge last year.....so....

 

- Any problems with populations and the knock on effect of slow/poor matchmaking and keeping WZ popping and GF active is on BioWare.

 

They (BW) went to monthly chapters and galactic command, new conquest and such and took ages trying to get them right while their players told them it was a bad idea before giving up and hemorrhaging away.

[IoNonSoEVero]

With the trickle of content release down to a drip-drip its no wonder.

 

Releasing 1 op boss every few months and a new chapter every 5-6 months is not gonna keep populations healthy.

 

A lot of my friends are gone. All my guilds are gone. - I've referred about 10 people and there was a big merge last year.....so....

 

- Any problems with populations and the knock on effect of slow/poor matchmaking and keeping WZ popping and GF active is on BioWare.

 

This. Right here. When you give every aspect of the game a few tiny scraps a year, this is what happens.

 

When people don't have content they are interested in playing, they go away. It's that simple. All the server merges in the world will accomplish nothing if there's no new content for people to play, and things that keep them coming back.

[Nightblazer]

This. Right here. When you give every aspect of the game a few tiny scraps a year, this is what happens.

 

When people don't have content they are interested in playing, they go away. It's that simple. All the server merges in the world will accomplish nothing if there's no new content for people to play, and things that keep them coming back.

 

This is the biggest issue. Not that we didn't merge into one server, the content release. No amount of server merging, removing level sync, or whatever other suggestions will fix the queue pops. If there is nothing for people to want to do, then they simply won't play.

 

We could merge down to just one entire server for NA and we'll still get posts complaining of queue pops and omg there are only 75 people on the fleet.

 

You need content and it needs to pump out at good intervals. That's the main issue, it's not.

[Slowpokeking]

Again it's not about player numbers, it's the whole LFG tool and content setting that is bad.

[Nightblazer]

Again it's not about player numbers, it's the whole LFG tool and content setting that is bad.

 

LFG tool isn't going to make or break the game. I'm sure it could use some improvement maybe but it's not the dire reason why there are issues.

 

It's the content and the fact content doesn't come out fast enough or in a way to keep players engaged with the game.

 

They could revamp the LFG to exactly how you want it and that will not save the gane, inrease queue pops, add more players, etc. That's what content does and the lack there of is the issue.

[JediTahiri]

I do not want another server merge. Mainly for the reason that I transferred off of that toxic cess pool of a server Satele Shan for a reason. I don't want those people on Star Forge

[Slowpokeking]

LFG tool isn't going to make or break the game. I'm sure it could use some improvement maybe but it's not the dire reason why there are issues.

 

It's the content and the fact content doesn't come out fast enough or in a way to keep players engaged with the game.

 

They could revamp the LFG to exactly how you want it and that will not save the gane, inrease queue pops, add more players, etc. That's what content does and the lack there of is the issue.

 

It's going to improve the condition a lot, since nobody wants to sit on fleet for so long to get a group instead of just put message in the GF and do whatever they want.

 

To save this game, we need more new content and revamp the old ones to fit the player base better.