For a pug group? I'm talking about queueing up for an ops group via group finder. Two things to make sure of: they are queued for the role they are specced in and if they have the the character perk field respec so choosing the second role viability shows up as an option.

I may understand why they wouldn't for all of group finder, that's alot of activity to manage, but maybe group finder for ops only, at least then that option would have an actual use, instead of finding a replacement and telling them to queue.

I don't see how timezones are an issue, and undergeared players are not much of a problem as players who don't know how to play their class... but that's the dice you roll in a pug group whether you're on the same server or not.

I suppose lockout poses a problem, but if someone is locked out and has progressed farther than a group queueing for a replacement and is unable to match up, you still have a better possibility of finding a replacement even if a group can't match up with a lockout.

Is there no way this can be done? A server dedicated for GF and PvP where it pulls players from their respective ones to play the match or pve instance, then you leave back to the server you came from. You may not be able to add friends to your friend list or contact anyone not from your server again, but that's part of being in a random group. But at least the ops GF might actually have a chance to pop, pvp ranked would match you against all ranked players, to test your mettle against everyone, not just your server, and I'd like to see gsf pop more, even harbinger doesn't have the queue times I'd like to see, even during peak hours.

http://badfeelingpodcast.com/audio/podcasts/episode_162_final.mp3

I think everything that can be said, has been said... so I agree

I second the motion.

Besides... we now know the studios view and direction on this, at least in broad brush strokes, and it is clear that they have a much more nuanced and thoughtful thinking about this issue. It will be interesting to see if they actually pull off the idea of letting people stay where they are if that is what the player wants to do, while doing other things that give incentive for people to move around and aggregate for some types of content or particular community traits.

At this point... we will get what we get, when they decide to move on this. Until then... EVERY single player can freely move to wherever they choose in the servers (including between NA and EU) for very low cost in CCs (which for most players are free anyway as part of their sub) as long as they understand that they lose anything and everything guild related in the process.

I think everything that can be said, has been said... so I agree

The problem is that until actions are taken by the devs, we will continue to see threads about server mergers pop up every now and then. And population declines will only exacerbate the issue.

Only once they initiate their plan will this thread actually be rendered moot.

And I suppose those that attack anyone who dare request a merger will also stay busy.

The problem is that until actions are taken by the devs, we will continue to see threads about server mergers pop up every now and then. And population declines will only exacerbate the issue.

Only once they initiate their plan will this thread actually be rendered moot.

And I suppose those that attack anyone who dare request a merger will also stay busy.

And if they already have initiated their plan? You know, the one where server merges won't take place, the one they've already shown on a recent podcast saying no-one would be forced to move. Ah, but it's not the plan you want, so you'll keep coming here saying they ARE planning to merge the servers, and will keep fighting the fight until you get your way. And anyone agreeing with this plan are probably burying their heads in the sand, eh?

And if they already have initiated their plan? You know, the one where server merges won't take place, the one they've already shown on a recent podcast saying no-one would be forced to move. Ah, but it's not the plan you want, so you'll keep coming here saying they ARE planning to merge the servers, and will keep fighting the fight until you get your way. And anyone agreeing with this plan are probably burying their heads in the sand, eh?

yes it possible to never happen and we get nada. No seamless migration or new servers, this community shuts down like was done to other rouge old games and EA gives us thier white web page forums.

The very strong pattern I see is swtor devs only do what the know how to do and nothing more, no net new tech, in fact they take away functions like 25 missions instead of 30 or Gearing preview is broke for 2 years and ignored, or take away companion gear, they only seem to know how to Nerf and boost one class at the expense of another class

And if they already have initiated their plan? You know, the one where server merges won't take place, the one they've already shown on a recent podcast saying no-one would be forced to move. Ah, but it's not the plan you want, so you'll keep coming here saying they ARE planning to merge the servers, and will keep fighting the fight until you get your way. And anyone agreeing with this plan are probably burying their heads in the sand, eh?

The plan I want is console expansion, it would enable servers to largely stay as they are. If you took the time to read my previous post before your verbal attack, you'd know that. I play on Shadowlands and BC so i know that the population on PVE servers is dire and i appreciate a place to RP and solo without fighting for resources but let's be real, this is an MMO so that is a privilege NOT a right.

This is why I said what I said about the forum vultures that prey on anyone who dare request change or in this case, mergers. This is also why this thread wont die, all the options are not given enough credence. The only resolution found here is that the anti mergers all agree that they have berated enough of the opposition to feel comfortable that things wont change. And would they be updating servers if the plan was to do nothing? Logic dictates that they are indeed trying to placate all sides and that they do have something new on the horizon.

PS Keith didnt say that no one would be forcefully displaced, he said that they dont want to force people to move. Ergo, if the higher ups or the finances dictate forced mergers, they will occur. It is not just the pro mergers that are reading too much into the interview or twisting his words to fit their argument. Pot meet kettle.

The plan I want is console expansion, it would enable servers to largely stay as they are. If you took the time to read my previous post before your verbal attack, you'd know that. I play on Shadowlands and BC so i know that the population on PVE servers is dire and i appreciate a place to RP and solo without fighting for resources but let's be real, this is an MMO so that is a privilege NOT a right.

I have no objection to opening the game up to consoles.

That said, I have absolutely no knowledge of what the cost would be or what would need to be done to make this game engine compatible with even a single console, let alone the numerous console platforms that currently exist. I would not even want to speculate on either of those two things.

I have characters on Shadowlands, as well.

I can only speak for myself, but I never have a problem doing any group content I want to do. Then I am not reliant upon the LFG tool for my group content. Not only do I actually have friends and guild mates with whom I can do group content, I also behave in respectful and responsible manner and have likely not found myself on too many ignore lists.

The player who prefers who desires a place to RP or not having to deal with trolls has every bit as much right to that as do those who want to see a million people on every corner. I'm not saying that either play style should take precedence over the other, which I why I favor leaving the choice of server or server population up to the individual player.

I cannot help but wonder, though, how many of those who advocate server merges or a megaserver are also among those that complain about things like the possessed hunter heroic on DK.

This is why I said what I said about the forum vultures that prey on anyone who dare request change or in this case, mergers. This is also why this thread wont die, all the options are not given enough credence. The only resolution found here is that the anti mergers all agree that they have berated enough of the opposition to feel comfortable that things wont change. And would they be updating servers if the plan was to do nothing? Logic dictates that they are indeed trying to placate all sides and that they do have something new on the horizon.

The concerns have been expressed by both sides of this issue, and BW is aware of those concerns. How they choose to address those concerns if up to BW.

I don't believe that anyone said that BW plans to "do nothing", but the "something" that BW chooses to do may not be the "something" that some want. This is not necessarily a case of "merge servers or do nothing".

PS Keith didnt say that no one would be forcefully displaced, he said that they dont want to force people to move. Ergo, if the higher ups or the finances dictate forced mergers, they will occur. It is not just the pro mergers that are reading too much into the interview or twisting his words to fit their argument. Pot meet kettle.

BW may ultimately decide that server merges are necessary, but it does appear from Keith's interview that server merges are not going to be BW first choice, nor should they be, IMO.

Thank you Eric!

 

I am all for mergers because I believe keeping dead servers active does more harm than good. Players who return to, or roll on, those dead servers, are faced with the illusion that SWTOR is a dead game...which it is not.

 

There are a few primary concerns:

• Guild assets

• RP servers

• Names

 

Guild assets should be handled in advance of any merger by Bioware, on a case by case basic. Guild ships and guild strongholds would need to be unlocked on a new server and special help in reforming guilds should happen. Any merger needs to be as smooth as possible and guilds are one of the most important assets of this game.

 

RP server either need to continue to exist, or they need to have special accommodations in a merged scenario.

 

Name purge prior to any transfers and moving high population servers to the lower pop ones is what I would expect. That doesn't negate naming issues, but it does help.

 

One additional thing I would like, with or without a merger, is an expansion of the /ignore list. The current limit is too low and I believe it needs to be higher.

I 100% agree with this.

TBH if people really wanted to troll RP'ers all they would have to do is make a character right now on a server like The Ebon Hawk. There's nothing in place stopping anyone from doing that and trolling others. Taking this into concern, I believe there is 3 options:

1.) Make 1 Megaserver in Central United States

2.) Make 2 Megaservers, one East Coast and one West Coast

3.) Introduce Cross-Server queuing, which costs more money/time than the other options

People aren't going to stick around to play if they have no one to play with and for this very reason the top priority is getting everyone together. Names and Guild assets mean nothing if there is no one around to play and for this reason this is a lower priority than a server merge. However, we have seen that Bioware has the means to move individuals with little to no problems. Moving Guilds would have to be done on a case by case basis just like you said TUX.

Maybe make a Guild Sign Up sheet on the SWTOR website where guild leaders have a certain time frame to sign up their guild before we are all merged. Set a Deadline to sign up to give people plenty of fair warning and time before a merge is done. Conflicting Guild Names can be assigned based off of initial creation date if you are able to access that metric. Whichever guild was created first gets to keep their name, and the other guild/guild(s) are given a free guild rename. If you are unable to access initial creation date metric, add up time played of all guild members and guild with most time played gets to keep their name.

Guild Ships could work by giving all guildleaders a mandatory guild ship rename upon their first login after transfers are complete. First come, first serve.

Character names can work the same way... whichever character was created first can keep their name and the others get a free rename token. If you are unable to access initial creation date metric, you could use time played metric. Character with most time played would then get to keep their name. If you don't want to do this you could make Legacy names unique, and just allow everyone to have whatever character name they want.

I personally would prefer 1 huge Central United States megaserver, although I can see how this would effect people in other countries.

TBH if people really wanted to troll RP'ers all they would have to do is make a character right now on a server like The Ebon Hawk. There's nothing in place stopping anyone from doing that and trolling others.

You're correct.

If Johnny really wants to troll those RP'ers, he certainly can create a character on their server and troll them. Doing so, however, means that his "main" will not be played and will not "progress" while he trolls those RP'ers.

Now,. imagine a "megaserver" with an "RP instance" for those RP'ers. Now, Johnny doesn't need to choose between "progressing his main" and trolling the RP'ers. Now, can simply pop into that RP instance on his main and troll those RP'ers while he waits for his next queue pop.

That is only one reason why an RP server is very important.

I don't expect the "pro server merge" or the "pro megaserver" crowds to acknowledge, or even understand, the difference, though.

You're correct.

 

If Johnny really wants to troll those RP'ers, he certainly can create a character on their server and troll them. Doing so, however, means that his "main" will not be played and will not "progress" while he trolls those RP'ers.

 

Now,. imagine a "megaserver" with an "RP instance" for those RP'ers. Now, Johnny doesn't need to choose between "progressing his main" and trolling the RP'ers. Now, can simply pop into that RP instance on his main and troll those RP'ers while he waits for his next queue pop.

 

That is only one reason why an RP server is very important.

 

I don't expect the "pro server merge" or the "pro megaserver" crowds to acknowledge, or even understand, the difference, though.

What's keeping Johnny from playing his "main" on a RP server, all the while still trolling RP'ers? Nothing.

Let players work things out ignoring the trolls, filling their ignore lists just like they would have to in real life. Why baby a certain group of people when everyone is at the mercy of a troll. If someone bothers you, put them on ignore. Its that simple. Let players enforce and govern their selves. No need for a "RP" instance when you can create your own chat channels with your own passwords and ignore the people who bother you, just like the rest of us have to do.

What's keeping Johnny from playing his "main" on a RP server, all the while still trolling RP'ers? Nothing.

 

Let players work things out ignoring the trolls, filling their ignore lists just like they would have to in real life. Why baby a certain group of people when everyone is at the mercy of a troll. If someone bothers you, put them on ignore. Its that simple. Let players enforce and govern their selves. No need for a "RP" instance when you can create your own chat channels with your own passwords and ignore the people who bother you, just like the rest of us have to do.

It doesn't sound like you've done much rping. It's not a matter of ignoring what they're saying to you, the ignore button works for that, but some trolls come in and start jumping on your table forcing dance parties with the social dance ball, or park a large speeder on top of you and your fellow rpers and it breaks immersion and is plain rude. There are all sorts of ways for trolls to act like a bag of d*cks to rpers and the ignore button only works for dialogue. You can't block out someone who insists of shoving themselves in your face.

What's keeping Johnny from playing his "main" on a RP server, all the while still trolling RP'ers? Nothing.

 

Let players work things out ignoring the trolls, filling their ignore lists just like they would have to in real life. Why baby a certain group of people when everyone is at the mercy of a troll. If someone bothers you, put them on ignore. Its that simple. Let players enforce and govern their selves. No need for a "RP" instance when you can create your own chat channels with your own passwords and ignore the people who bother you, just like the rest of us have to do.

It is not chat as someone has already said and this has been said before in this thread. It is the idiots that decided to emote jump on top of you etc that is the problem.

Regarding trolls on a RP server we have the ability to handle them there as most people will tell people like that they are on a rp server and while RP is not required on a RP server what is required is people to respect roleplayers on a RP server. Furthermore, Ebon Hawk, a roleplay server, is one of the servers that have a good population so why should we be forced to merged. Most of us on Ebon Hawk have guilds and friends we group up with and play with so how would that help those of you that use PUGS when we don't use PUGS for our group play.

What's keeping Johnny from playing his "main" on a RP server, all the while still trolling RP'ers? Nothing.

 

Let players work things out ignoring the trolls, filling their ignore lists just like they would have to in real life. Why baby a certain group of people when everyone is at the mercy of a troll. If someone bothers you, put them on ignore. Its that simple. Let players enforce and govern their selves. No need for a "RP" instance when you can create your own chat channels with your own passwords and ignore the people who bother you, just like the rest of us have to do.

If Johnny wants to play his "main" on an RP server, he can do so, but I'd bet the few friends he has will not be playing THEIR mains on that server.

Why punish RP'ers in order to "baby" those that are friendless and guildless and have to rely upon the LFG tool for their group content, but who's toxic attitudes and behavior have landed them on too many ignore lists for that LFG tool to be able to find anyone with which to group them?

Do I think that everyone who is pro server merge is friendless and guildless? No, but there does seem to be a distinct correlation between those referring to the majority of servers as "dead" seemingly relying upon the LFG tool for group content compared with those that have friends and guild mates with whom they do their group content finding most servers to be healthy, although not overcrowded.

Come on guys, please take Johnny out the back and put him out of his misery... that sort of language comes across as very condescending and doesn't help anyone...

I'm all for locking this thread because everything that can be said has been said.. I know others feel this way too.. Maybe we should essentially lock it ourselves and stop participating in an endless argument of the same stuff over and over.

I had no intention of posting here again... but the Johnny references are too much and all it does is ignite another flame war which had essentially died out.

If those of us who have said everything we can about this subject just stop arguing the new posters who have not bothered to read the whole thread, then we can put the thread to bed because I think we mostly know by now that Bioware have read it and are trying to formulate something to deal with all the issues.

If new posters are too lazy to go back and read the discussion or arguments then just post a link to a page and say this has been answered or discussed... go read from "xyz"... it's a damn long thread

I'm all for locking this thread because everything that can be said has been said.. I know others feel this way too.. Maybe we should essentially lock it ourselves and stop participating in an endless argument of the same stuff over and over.

... it's a damn long thread

They close threads after 12876 posts usually.

http://www.swtor.com/community/showthread.php?t=15656

Furthermore, Ebon Hawk, a roleplay server, is one of the servers that have a good population so why should we be forced to merged. Most of us on Ebon Hawk have guilds and friends we group up with and play with so how would that help those of you that use PUGS when we don't use PUGS for our group play.

Actually TEH has not been able to achieve Standard most nights in recent weeks. Possibly the people who moved from SL/JC thinking the larger server may bring more group activity only to find out there is little to none LFG happening on TEH.

Actually TEH has not been able to achieve Standard most nights in recent weeks. Possibly the people who moved from SL/JC thinking the larger server may bring more group activity only to find out there is little to none LFG happening on TEH.

Had some shocker pug raids on TEH but that being said I think the server needs to become the east coast hub it's got a good positive nature about the server.

This RP bashing has no place on this thread you 2 are not in anyway contributing to the discussion so take your troll act and move on and leave the decision making to the adults !!!

Well, because rp is the only thing that prohibits server merges lol, and we WANT IT, though i don't understand why they cant make two mega servers on both eu and usa regions - one is rp another - not.

Well, because rp is the only thing that prohibits server merges lol, and we WANT IT, though i don't understand why they cant make two mega servers on both eu and usa regions - one is rp another - not.

also the RP instance seperate from the PvP instance on the same MegaServer. That way all share in GTN and more buyers for RP crafters.

Well, because rp is the only thing that prohibits server merges lol, and we WANT IT, though i don't understand why they cant make two mega servers on both eu and usa regions - one is rp another - not.

Actually what is prohibiting server mergers is BW themselves. They have stated in the podcast that unless they can transfer guilds in tact with their resources and the personal resources they will not do it until they can figure that out and then Keith doesn't want to force people off a server they like so it really isn't because of RP. It is because of those reasons.

http://badfeelingpodcast.com/audio/podcasts/episode_162_final.mp3

Actually what is prohibiting server mergers is BW themselves. They have stated in the podcast that unless they can transfer guilds in tact with their resources and the personal resources they will not do it until they can figure that out and then Keith doesn't want to force people off a server they like so it really isn't because of RP. It is because of those reasons.

 

http://badfeelingpodcast.com/audio/podcasts/episode_162_final.mp3

just read this 5 pages of EA Battlefront & Battlefront II Lack of Servers thread.

The players want servers (like this game has) to be able to do what we do but they can't.

https://battlefront-forums.ea.com/discussion/71849/battlefront-ii-will-apparently-not-have-a-server-browser/

just read this 5 pages of EA Battlefront & Battlefront II Lack of Servers thread.

 

The players want servers (like this game has) to be able to do what we do but they can't.

 

https://battlefront-forums.ea.com/discussion/71849/battlefront-ii-will-apparently-not-have-a-server-browser/

We can't see what matches we're joining here so I'm not sure why you think we can do what they want.

Well, because rp is the only thing that prohibits server merges lol, and we WANT IT, though i don't understand why they cant make two mega servers on both eu and usa regions - one is rp another - not.

Why do we need to jump straight to putting all our eggs in one basket. I see no reason to jump that far into a merge. That's just asking for problems. It should be done in steps vs all at once.

If I had a choice I'd rather see smaller merges done first vs jumping straight to one server, realizing it's a worse problem and then BW deciding to unmerge or separate players back out to separate severs.

also the RP instance seperate from the PvP instance on the same MegaServer. That way all share in GTN and more buyers for RP crafters.

Why? Why do you need RPers on a server with non RPers? Will the population difference be that significant that it will affect gameplay?

I don't RP and I don't agree with this at all. No one who RPs that I've seen in this thread wants this at all. RPers should always remain on their own server.

Again will it be that game breaking if they aren't on the same server as non RPers? Multiple reasons have been given and the main one is trolling and no the reporting a player won't fix the issue. Just leave RPers in their own server.

There are some bigger servers and a number of low population ones. I suppose that people can choose what they prefer, so the question is if server merges are really an answer.

Bringing RP'ers into the same server can work but will it improve the queues? I doubt it.

The only thing that I think should happen is that the GTN should be tied together so there is a NA and EU market that all servers of that area are linked to.

I see that items can vary from 30 to 60 million depending on which server you're on and I think that's a shame. So if you're not going to merge servers, at least merge the GTNs.

There are some bigger servers and a number of low population ones. I suppose that people can choose what they prefer, so the question is if server merges are really an answer.

 

Bringing RP'ers into the same server can work but will it improve the queues? I doubt it.

 

The only thing that I think should happen is that the GTN should be tied together so there is a NA and EU market that all servers of that area are linked to.

 

I see that items can vary from 30 to 60 million depending on which server you're on and I think that's a shame. So if you're not going to merge servers, at least merge the GTNs.

Forcing RPers onto servers with non-RPers will not significantly decrease LFG queue times. I say this as a veteran player on Ebon Hawk. My reasoning for saying this is that while many (though definitely not all) RPers do like to participate in group content on a regular basis, 95% of the time they will group up with friends rather than using Group Finder or posting LFG messages on fleet. RPers are a very social group of players and are often involved with multiple guilds for both RP and non-RP purposes. They don't need to use Group Finder or post LFG on fleet to get groups to do content. They still have to queue for WZs and GSF, so those queues might improve a bit with a merger, but not queues for other content.