Re opening up the Character Transfer to Shae Vizla

[AFadedMemory]

13 hours ago, TziganeNZ said:

It sounds very much like there are some people (I cannot speak for all) who just want a low-ping experience, but want to have everything they currently have on the NA servers. From what I've read, it seems that some people may have thought that EVERYONE who started on SV would do so with a fully boosted character, such as the level 80 complaining about being matched with level 12s in a Black Talon FP.  Perhaps not so many boosted their characters, and are starting from scratch to enjoy the vanilla game (the best part of the game) again.

It's more like I don't want to spend +3000 cartel coins on a Boost Token. Now if it was free... I'd be PVPing. Na I wouldn't, though I would try my hand at operations.

13 hours ago, TziganeNZ said:

Yes, I would very much like to have my existing legacy perks available on SV. I don't care about credits as they are very easy to accumulate while just playing the game. The character transfer page does clearly say that the destination server has to be open for 90 days - so perhaps that's when they will be reviewing it?

It sure does.

Edited December 10, 2023 by AFadedMemory

[AFadedMemory]

11 hours ago, TrixxieTriss said:

Are you sure? Plus, some people take more than a week to do new content. Especially if they have multiple lvl 80s. 

I think we will see the APAC server start to fail by the end of February if Broadsword don’t do some marketing pre Xmas to the region & start offering promotions like free server transfers. 

Waiting till after that time will miss the critical mass of players the game could get over the usual Xmas period. Anything offered in February or March will be a cynical waste of time.

The promotion for the holidays is a great idea! I would suggest a Shae Vizla only lv 80 boost token. If I'm not mistaken you need to be subbed to even use a boost token, (thus justifiable marketing ha ha ha!) and its useful to both new and returning players.

Edited December 10, 2023 by AFadedMemory

[ElZaguero]

On 12/6/2023 at 11:08 AM, Drew_Braxton said:

They need to open transfers.  These are optional and you can partake or not partake. If you have dreamy aspirations of starting a new then that is your option, but not everyone wants that experience.  Let's not forget this is Star Wars - Scum, villainy, and lawlessness with an occasional happy ending that will change to an unhappy twist in the subsequent sequel.  As long as human players exist then ultimately all the things you do not like and do not want to see will happen on the server.  Does delaying that briefly change anything?  

NO NO NO!

No transfers, now or ever!

[TrixxieTriss]

11 hours ago, AFadedMemory said:

It's more like I don't want to spend +3000 cartel coins on a Boost Token. Now if it was free... I'd be PVPing. Na I wouldn't, though I would try my hand at operations

First, why should we have to spend money ($45 AUD) to boost a character. Second, that is not why and you know it. 

[TrixxieTriss]

10 hours ago, AFadedMemory said:

The promotion for the holidays is a great idea! I would suggest a Shae Vizla only lv 80 boost token. If I'm not mistaken you need to be subbed to even use a boost token, (thus justifiable marketing ha ha ha!) and its useful to both new and returning players.

That’s a terrible idea. People should not be learning to PvP at lvl 80 end game. This would just promote that behaviour.

Edited December 10, 2023 by TrixxieTriss

[TL_Roff]

Imma chime in.  For players in the pacific region..  give 'em ONE (and only one) FREE transfer now.. (and ONLY players confirmed to reside in the western and south western pacific rim.)  Everyone else can wait a couple months.  I live in California USA and am enjoying that new server smell from scratch experience.  I've bought one level 80 boost so I have a income earner.  I can go run a story mode flashpoint or two and a handfull of heroics and easily generate a couple hundred thousand creds on the level 80.  

What I strongly suggest you all do is petition broadsword to do a run the "Light V Dark" event...(requires a new made toon anyway so hey everyone wins!) If you complete it you get a full set of "universal" armor that can be worn by any toon and levels with them.  Just put it on , grab a set of decorative armor to paste in on the outfitter tab and run with it.  (hint:  If they do NEVER EVER pull the mods to put them in something else.)

In the mean time there are a lot of very good reasons to NOT allow transfers, all of which have to do with game balance and keeping things as fair as possible between veteran players and the newbies.  Personally I would have liked to have seen a much lower sell cap on the GTN.  Or even eliminating the GTN entirely..  (if it doesn't exist it can't cause problems!  Go earn yer stuff!)

I'm an older gamer in his 60's and I swear by now I have seen it all.  Gold farmers, botters, elitist jerks, you name it, I've seen it.  Just play the game.  Save your urge to over achieve for the real world where you NEED it..not for a computer game...  

TL_Roff sends

[AFadedMemory]

2 hours ago, TrixxieTriss said:

That’s a terrible idea. People should not be learning to PvP at lvl 80 end game. This would just promote that behaviour.

I wasn't saying people should pvp. I was supporting the Idea of give a specials promotion around the holiday season.

[DWho]

13 minutes ago, TrixxieTriss said:

It amazes me how many US & EU based players seem to know what’s best for actual APAC players 🤦‍♀️

You know attacking US and EU players doesn't help your cause. You need them to support you in your crusade because there are not enough APAC players (if you exclude the western US from APAC) to provide the population you want. Broadsword has likely already looked at it and come to that decision and that is why they are silent on transfers.

[TrixxieTriss]

12 minutes ago, AFadedMemory said:

I wasn't saying people should pvp. I was supporting the Idea of give a specials promotion around the holiday season.

Why not free transfers instead 🤷🏻‍♀️
Or some Free CC’s or CM packs as a promotion. Then they could give these to anyone. 

Edited December 10, 2023 by TrixxieTriss

[TrixxieTriss]

29 minutes ago, DWho said:

You know attacking US and EU players doesn't help your cause. You need them to support you in your crusade because there are not enough APAC players (if you exclude the western US from APAC) to provide the population you want. Broadsword has likely already looked at it and come to that decision and that is why they are silent on transfers.

I’m not attacking anyone.

I’m just constantly amazed at the amount of people from OS who think they know what’s best for actual APAC people & deride us when we ask for transfers because it doesn’t suit their narrative of what the server should be.

The server wasn’t opened to accommodate their needs. It was opened for the APAC community. If there aren’t enough APAC players using it at the moment, then maybe it’s because we want to transfer our legacy’s back from the USA. And let’s not forget that BS have done no marketing to the region. They only just sent out an email to old players a few days before 7.4 was released. About 2 weeks after the server was opened. 

APAC players, especially established long term Swtor subscribers, nearly all want transfers so they can move their legacies back to APAC after being forced to move to the US in the first place.

But we have this constant advice from non APAC people telling Broadsword not to open transfers or to make everything legacy bound if they do. All because they want a virgin server experience. The problem is, the server wasn’t opened for that reason. If you or they want this experience, then ask the devs to open a new server in your OS regions. And let the APAC players bring their characters & legacies back home to continue playing the game as usual, but with low ping.

Edited December 10, 2023 by TrixxieTriss

[AFadedMemory]

3 minutes ago, TrixxieTriss said:

Why not free transfers instead 🤷🏻‍♀️
Or some Free CC’s or CM packs as a promotion. Then they could give these to anyone. 

Because this:  "hey EA lets give players an item they have to subscribe to use" is more likely to be accepted than "Hey EA lets give everyone "$10" and increase our transfer workload." I'm not opposed to Cartel Packs, though a 200 cc item that we can get from GS is a kind of underwhelming.

[TrixxieTriss]

8 minutes ago, AFadedMemory said:

Because this:  "hey EA lets give players an item they have to subscribe to use" is more likely to be accepted than "Hey EA lets give everyone "$10" and increase our transfer workload." I'm not opposed to Cartel Packs, though a 200 cc item that we can get from GS is a kind of underwhelming.

Free transfers to subscribers 

Must be subscribed to receive the CC’s or CM packs 

[AFadedMemory]

16 minutes ago, TrixxieTriss said:

Free transfers to subscribers 

Must be subscribed to receive the CC’s or CM packs 

Those are defiantly suggestion that can increase the sub count increasing the justification to implement them.

However, it's worth mentioning that transfers aren't especial valuable to new players limiting the range of appeal. Cartel Packs are fun, but don't really increase what activities a players can participate in during the holiday season thus not really likely to increase Shae Vizla player count.

Edited December 10, 2023 by AFadedMemory

[TrixxieTriss]

14 minutes ago, AFadedMemory said:

Those are defiantly suggestion that can increase the sub count. thus increasing the justification to implement them.

However, it's worth mentioning that transfers aren't especial valuable to new players thus limiting the range of appeal. Cartel Packs are fun, but don't really increase what activities a players can participate in during the holiday season thus not really likely to increase Shae Vizla player count.

Double XP will be on during the holidays. That should be more than sufficient to allow new people to participate in festivities. 

If you ask me, Free transfers should be permanently part of the subscription model. 1 per month of paid subscription. If you buy 6 month subscription, you get 6 transfers. 

And a limited time, “free transfer promotion for APAC players” should also be added for the next 3 months. If you live in the Western or South Western APAC region, you should get 5 free transfers per month of subscription. 

CC’s are also a good promotional product because they can be used to open up legacy or character unlocks for new players. Things like rocket boots or cargo holds are definitely desirable to new players because of their QOL improvements. There are obviously many other unlocks I haven’t mentioned that are just as desirable to new players. 

Edited December 10, 2023 by TrixxieTriss

[Samcuu]

58 minutes ago, TrixxieTriss said:

The server wasn’t opened to accommodate their needs. It was opened for the APAC community

Yes and no. In the announcement it specifically states that they want the server to evolve on its own free of character transfers to develop its own identity and give a safe harbor for players who are new or vets who want to start fresh. Doesn't take a rocket scientist to see how allowing server transfers would muck up those plans. So yes its an apac server to accommodate the players in that region but they also specifically stated that other players who want that fresh out of the box swtor experience were also being considered no matter what region they are from. 

[AFadedMemory]

1 hour ago, TrixxieTriss said:

If you ask me, Free transfers should be permanently part of the subscription model. 1 per month of paid subscription. If you buy 6 month subscription, you get 6 transfers. 

And a limited time free transfer promotion for APAC players should also be added for the next 3 months. If you live in the Western or South Western APAC region, you should get 5 free transfers per month of subscription. 

I have stated in other threads that I support discounted or 1 free character transfers due to the displacement (stating the best idea would be having it free).  However we don't know if the numbers support keeping Shae Vizla open, and (base on a BS statement someone mentioned in this thread) that is the research BS is doing in order to green light or scrap transfers to Shae Vizla.

Now if BS's goal is to increase the numbers on Shae Vizla and reduce the risk of having to merger back characters that were transferred from another servers. Transfer promotions do not help that goal. It would be better for them to do something like this: "Hey SWTOR peeps, if Shae Vizla maintains X and X amount of players for X and X amount of time will give everyone free character transfers." Now there is a real possibility that BS is researching how new severs populate with out promotional interference ("if I have to keep giving them free stuff in order to motivate it's not worth my time or money.") 

Speaking of money, Micro Transaction are a big part of EAs business model. Some people have said, in other threads, that it is the cartel market not the subscriptions that have allowed swtor to exist as long as it has. I'm inclined to believe that. I don't buy cartel coins very often. (when I do its usually when it's bundled with a subscriptions or cartel item.) One of the few items I would actually use to justify the purchase of cartel coin is the character transfer. I also use saved up CC from subs or security key to purchase them.  Adding the Character Transfers to subscription, I feel, would be a bad business move.

1. It removes a Potential "Free Cartel Coin" sink. The 1000 cc I save that would normally be spent on Transfers will now go to other places, reducing the need/desire/urgency to get more coins fast

2. It reduces the time players need to be subbed or have security keys. Say a person wants to transfer two characters, buy a 1800 cc flash sale when it comes, and not buy coins from the market. they would need to get 3800 cc. If they offered 2 free transfers that reduces the CC needed by 2000. it takes 2 months of sub to get 1000, and 4 months of sub to get 2000. it takes 10 months of SK to get 1000, and 20 month of SK to get 2000.  Instead of the 5 months needed to be subbed and have a key to get reach that goal with out buying coins it would only take 3.

Making people spend more money to get what they want/need in as many situation as possible sounds bad, and in many situation (I won't mention any in cause doing so would be against ToS) it is. However If this game doesn't make money it will get shelved, if it can't make as much money as other projects it will get shelved. I don't want that to happen

Edited December 11, 2023 by AFadedMemory

[TrixxieTriss]

41 minutes ago, Samcuu said:

Yes and no. In the announcement it specifically states that they want the server to evolve on its own free of character transfers to develop its own identity and give a safe harbor for players who are new or vets who want to start fresh. Doesn't take a rocket scientist to see how allowing server transfers would muck up those plans. So yes its an apac server to accommodate the players in that region but they also specifically stated that other players who want that fresh out of the box swtor experience were also being considered no matter what region they are from. 

They also said for brand “new” players. But they have done nothing that I can see to attract or market to new players. So all they’ve really done is let current & some old APAC players know about the server (2 weeks after it opened by the way).

Then they launch 7.4 content & all those current APAC players have to go back to old servers to play it (this was easily predicted by everyone but Broadsword apparently?). Which goes partially against what they stated they were trying to achieve with developing the server community.

Anyone can see they didn’t think this launch schedule out very well. The server launch was literally rushed out 2 weeks before 7.4. We had 1 days notice & zero marketing to the region.

Now a lot of those players feel abandoned on Shae Vizla because group content has stopped popping or has slowed right down unless you’re willing to play before the sun rises or after most of APAC has gone to bed.

It’s all well and good to have aspersions of what they envisioned, but when the vision implementation doesn’t go as planned, they need to be able to pivot or the “community” they want to foster will die before it’s even had a chance to grow. 

There is absolutely zero reason to hold up transfers now. And delaying them longer only hurts the community. 

[TrixxieTriss]

3 minutes ago, AFadedMemory said:

I have stated in other threads that I support discounted or 1 free character transfers due to the displacement (stating the best idea would be having it free).  However we don't know if the numbers support keeping Shae Vizla open, and (base on a BS statement someone mentioned in this thread) that is the research BS is doing in order to green light or scrap transfers to Shae Vizla.

Now if BS's goal is to increase the numbers on Shae Vizla and reduce the risk of having to merger back characters that were transferred from another servers. Transfer promotions do not help that goal. It would be better for them to do something like this: "Hey SWTOR peeps, if Shae Vizla maintains X and X amount of players for X and X amount of time will give everyone free character transfers." Now there is a real possibility that BS is researching how new severs populate with out promotional interference ("if I have to keep giving them free stuff in order to motivate it's not worth my time or money.") 

Speaking of money, Micro Transaction are a big part of EAs business model. Some people have said, in other threads, that it is the cartel market not the subscriptions that have allowed swtor to exist as long as it has. I'm inclined to believe that. I don't buy cartel coins very often. (when I do its usually when it's bundled with a subscriptions or cartel item.) One of the few items I would actually use to justify the purchase of cartel coin is the character transfer. I also use saved up CC from subs or security key to purchase them.  Adding the Character Transfers to subscription, I feel, would be a bad business move.

1. It removes a Potential "Free Cartel Coin" sink. The 1000 cc I save that would normally be spent on Transfers will now go to other places, reducing the need/desire/urgency to get more coins fast

2. It reduces the time players need to be subbed or have security keys. Say a person wants to transfer two characters, buy a 1800 cc flash sale when it comes, and not buy coins from the market. they would need to get 3800 cc. If they offered 2 free transfers that reduces the CC needed by 2000. it takes 2 months of sub to get 1000, and 4 months of sub to get 2000. it takes 10 months of SK to get 1000, and 20 month of SK to get 2000.  Instead of the 5 months needed to be subbed and have a key to get reach that goal with out buying coins it would only take 3.

Making people spend more money to get what they want/need in as many situation as possible sounds bad, and in many situation (I won't mention any in cause doing so would be against ToS) it is. However If this game doesn't make money it will get shelved, if it can't make as much money as other projects it will get shelved. I don't want that to happen

So are you now setting the ground work for the server to be merged back into the US? Because that’s exactly how that post comes across. Don’t allow transfers because then they have a reason to close the server. Or only allow transfers if enough people play on it. 

You do realise how that sounds right? 

[AFadedMemory]

2 hours ago, TrixxieTriss said:

So are you now setting the ground work for the server to be merged back into the US? Because that’s exactly how that post comes across. Don’t allow transfers because then they have a reason to close the server. Or only allow transfers if enough people play on it. 

You do realise how that sounds right? 

I'm being understanding to BS, and realistic in my expectations. Time cost money, and doing something just to undo it is a waste of time.  If BS transfers 100 characters to the new server only to transfer them back they added an extra 100 hours of work (since the transfer page says it take about an hour to complete a transfer), and potentially created a PR disaster. (this is especially true if people payed for those transfers.) hurting SWTOR's project performance.

That is, in my opinion, why BS is researching numbers before allowing transfers, and why the 90 day server restriction was implemented in the first place.

Edited December 11, 2023 by AFadedMemory

[TrixxieTriss]

12 minutes ago, AFadedMemory said:

Time cost money, and doing something just to undo it is a waste of time.

Then why open the server to start with if they’re going to gimp it’s viability by not marketing to new players & not allowing existing APAC players to transfer back. If your argument is time costs money, then the whole thing was poorly thought out to start with because they’ve spent a lot of time setting it up to fail.

[septru]

3 minutes ago, TrixxieTriss said:

Then why open the server to start with if they’re going to gimp it’s viability by not marketing to new players & not allowing existing APAC players to transfer back.

To convince BroadSword white nights and delusional casuals that the game isn't dead with an illusion of content called a "fresh start" server. 

 

Why is this thread still going? 

Edited December 11, 2023 by septru

[TrixxieTriss]

1 minute ago, septru said:

 Why is this thread still going? 

Because they haven’t announced transfers 

[AFadedMemory]

I stated once before that APAC players need to choose what they value most right now. Is it a server in the region or Legacy Access. I'm under the impression that the later is what people are choosing. 

Now there are probable APAC players who are just waiting for transfers to open then they will move to the server. However if they don't spend any of their time on the server now there is a real possibility that the server might cease to exist before transfer are even/ever allowed. I suggest participating in at least one activity on the new server when logging in to play. This will reduce the risk of the server closing, and increase the likelihood of transfers being allowed.

Edited December 11, 2023 by AFadedMemory

[septru]

Just now, TrixxieTriss said:

Because they haven’t announced transfers 

You know it's right to offer transfers. I know it's right to offer transfers. Every semi-rational human being that plays this game knows it's right to offer transfers. 

 

And that is exactly why BioSword won't offer transfers. They never do anything right. 

 

If BioSword offered transfers now it would completely undercut their lie that they want to "monitor the economy" on SV, and the delusional casuals wouldn't be able to point to SV as "content." BioSword is never going to do that. 

[AFadedMemory]

45 minutes ago, TrixxieTriss said:

Then why open the server to start with if they’re going to gimp it’s viability by not marketing to new players & not allowing existing APAC players to transfer back. If your argument is time costs money, then the whole thing was poorly thought out to start with because they’ve spent a lot of time setting it up to fail.

I don't know. I can only guess. here is one possible reason. (unless it's revealed to the public it not)

Maybe EA gave them a specific goal that needed to be reach in order to maintain funding. They currently are not reaching this goal. After doing research into data available to them they see that the APAC region had a lot of gamers/starwars fans in the area. After talk about the data, and reviewing current funds, it was determined/believed that making a new server was the fastest/safest/probable way to reach the goal in the timeframe EA gave them. Due to time constraints they had to work faster then normal and they made some miscalculations.

Edited December 11, 2023 by AFadedMemory