Not entirely their own fault. The game simply makes it too easy to solo. Not only that, it offers a finely crafted and engaging single-player experience and bolts it onto a tired, formulaic themepark MMO framework. You can't really blame players for sticking to themselves when the game's design positively encourages it. And when that rather passive, linear experience reaches its conclusion, you can't just offer up some turgid gear-grind of an endgame and hope they'll hang around because it's Star Wars.

How does the game design encourages sticking to yourself? Did you miss all the opportunities for Heroics, Flashpoints and Raids when you were leveling?

Also, what about end-game? I know you call it a "turgid gear-grind" but you just don't understand what end-game is about. Is PvPing or Raiding a gear-grind? If your sole objective is the gear, then yes, it is a grind. But if you actually enjoy PvPing or Raiding, just like people who play any other multiplayer game whether it be Starcraft or Counterstrike or Halo or LoL or FIFA or Madden enjoy playing the "same game" again and again, then no, it is not a grind at all.

How does the game design encourages sticking to yourself? Did you miss all the opportunities for Heroics, Flashpoints and Raids when you were leveling?

Heroic, Flashpoints and raids don't tie into the class story that progresses you around the galaxy, and they don't tie into the individual planet quest lines. They're something that sets to the side, and with the exception of Esseles you're never really driven towards them.

Well that is until Ilum, where The Battle of Ilum and False Emperor are pushed through the story line. But I haven't seen any connection to the other Flashpoints. Of course, that is a deliberate design choice. It means that people don't get stuck in progressing the story because there's no grouping option.

Heroic, Flashpoints and raids don't tie into the class story that progresses you around the galaxy, and they don't tie into the individual planet quest lines. They're something that sets to the side, and with the exception of Esseles you're never really driven towards them.

Which is saying something completely different from the original statement of "You can't really blame players for sticking to themselves when the game's design positively encourages it."

The game giving you a choice, or not really pushing you towards grouping, does not mean that the game encourages you to stick to yourself.

Just merge all the servers, there is fundamentally, no difference between PVE and PVP servers anyway because of the way the world is laid out.

There are so many barriers to world pvp, the distinction is preety much irrelevant.

Just merge all the servers, there is fundamentally, no difference between PVE and PVP servers anyway because of the way the world is laid out.

 

There are so many barriers to world pvp, the distinction is preety much irrelevant.

merge + open transfers is the best solution, will satisfy everybody

we need to keep this thread in the first page if we want a solution

This is the right way to do that:

Yeah! I have a totally unique idea that no one in over 200 pages has mentioned, we merge the servers!

Unproductive posts aren't against the terms of service while bumping is

No wait I've got this

I'll just post a mildly contraversial opinion and everyone can have fun lambasting me for it

So here we go

Gee PvP must have been dead last night thanks to the major Rep guilds running Ops... I mean we had two groups running Tier 2, possibly more groups running, pretty sure there was a 16man HM happening as well... oh and an RP event happening on Imp side

Yep, completely unplayable

No wait I've got this

 

I'll just post a mildly contraversial opinion and everyone can have fun lambasting me for it

 

So here we go

 

 

Gee PvP must have been dead last night thanks to the major Rep guilds running Ops... I mean we had two groups running Tier 2, possibly more groups running, pretty sure there was a 16man HM happening as well... oh and an RP event happening on Imp side

 

Yep, completely unplayable

To me , it looks like you are unaware of what the term MMO means. You are talking about "ohh we had 2 groups running tier 2" and "pretty sure there was a 16m HM happenning". We are talking about "I need to kill Nim TFB(when it comes, Nim EC is too old) before the 50 other guilds on the server or "I cant wait to see which team we come up against next in PVP coz there are 50 teams in the queue at once"

Do you see the difference in your view and ours. A "Massively Multiplayer" game needs to have a "Massive" population. The population on any one of the APAC servers is hardly "Massive". Hell even a merger will not bring us near The Bastion or Harbinger.

The reason we want a merger it once we have a decent population with a good ping, a lot of old players will come back. This will in turn increase the total population of the APAC super server which is going to be great.

I understand that going from your small pond to a bigger Pond is frighting for you. You are afraid of all the things RPers are afraid of, and hence you have your own servers. The path forward needs to address those issues. But saying you dont want a merger so the 50 real RPers on Gav can continue living in their dreamworld is not a solution.

Server Merge is a solution, and we might need to work a bit more on how to incorporate your 50 people into this solutions. So I will ask you, how do you think we can solve your problem. But trying to not see the bigger picture will get you known as a selfish, self centred person.

BTW, Please dont ramble on about endgame. Doing EC HM is not endgame anymore.

No wait I've got this

 

I'll just post a mildly contraversial opinion and everyone can have fun lambasting me for it

 

So here we go

 

 

Gee PvP must have been dead last night thanks to the major Rep guilds running Ops... I mean we had two groups running Tier 2, possibly more groups running, pretty sure there was a 16man HM happening as well... oh and an RP event happening on Imp side

 

Yep, completely unplayable

For the love of all things, please please please get this through your head. The world is not black and white. We are not talking about "unplayable" vs. "playable." We know there are enough people to do the "content." We are talking about the QUALITY of the playability.

Playing the SAME 20 people in WZs several times a day everyday for weeks on end is soul crushing. Maybe "raids" are a bit different, but I don't think so. Diversity in the player base introduces you to new playstyles, different ideas, more competition, an incentive to improve your game, plus you can make more friends and have more chances of meaningful interaction. It also makes you less dependent on other people's schedules and real life commitments.

Congrats... totally missed the point of my post but hey, I still achieved my objective

No need to be passive-aggressive. Being vague and avoiding confrontation by side-stepping the points that people thoughtfully make in response to your claims really does nothing for you except alienating those who are trying to have a serious discussion on the topic. Could you be any more smug? Whatever makes you feel better about yourself I guess. Just my 2 cents on how not to be socially awkward.

To get this thread back on track. I know a lot of people use hyperbole and say that our servers are unplayable. That is an exaggeration. However, to reiterate what so many people have been saying, low population means that it is harder to play the content (e.g., nobody to group with for planetary heroics, harder to find groups for Ops), and my main point that the quality of the experience suffers by not having a wider player base to choose from and to learn from. But I think most of us are in agreement on that.

So yes, server mergers and/or transfers are necessary. I would like to see both options on the table. I know a lot of you don't want to allow transfers as presumably a lot of players would leave the APAC servers. But I don't think any of us should have the right to hold hostage players who desire to leave. I believe the Devs said paid-transfers are coming, so at the least we should all prepare for that once it does happen.

And the really crappy thing is, some of us have been saying these things since July 2012. But people like you Allie said, "it's fine. Wait until F2P, it'll come soon, it's fine." Guess what Allie? F2P came and went. And so did the vast majority of our friends in the game. It is only just a game, but people that we've spent hours getting to know in game, on vent/skype/mumble/TS, all gone on to other things because what we have been asking for since July, has not been addressed in any meaningful way. I'm not so much angry, as disappointed and a bit sad to see those players go. They were some of the people who defined the game for us. Taught us how to play, craft, showed us where to find the Datacrons. They were our guildmasters, our raid leaders, PvP team leaders. Now those of us who are left have to try to figure out how to fill those roles for the rest of the server, except, there is no rest of the server. It's just us. I know many others feel the same way.

It is enough that we have Developers who ignore us and not give us any timetable of any solution. We don't need you, Allie, to tell us everything is fine and that we should just deal with it.

Oh and in addition and contrary to popular belief, no I'm not delusional and am actually quite a nice person.

Thing is, I'm happy with how things are on Gav, I don't feel a need to mass merge the servers and I'm entitled to express that opinion.

Mass merging the servers would likely impact on my enjoyment of the game, again I'm entitled to express that and fight for my right to enjoy the game

I am also aware that there are a number of people who would simply prefer more people to play with, and good luck to you but I don't want that to impact on my enjoyment of the game by shifting me to a server I don't want to be on

I am also aware that a number of players on this server are not happy, and am acutely aware that for some of these people the reason they have trouble is because people actively avoid playing with them and simply suggest that perhaps if they made a bit more effort to be likeable they wouldn't encounter as many issues

So that's a summary of my position on these forums. You can all think whatever you want I really don't care, but frankly the more whinging and abuse people post here just drives more and more people away from the server.

No need to be passive-aggressive. Being vague and avoiding confrontation by side-stepping the points that people thoughtfully make in response to your claims really does nothing for you except alienating those who are trying to have a serious discussion on the topic..

Mate, I posted that because Wyrn made the comment that they needed to keep this topic on the front page but shameless bumping was against the terms of service, so needed to post meangingless dribble to keep it up the top of the pile.

But like I said, my post achieved it's objective, it kept people posting, despite the fact that everybody completely missed the point of why I did it.

As for everything else, see above post.

Oh and in addition and contrary to popular belief, no I'm not delusional and am actually quite a nice person.

 

Thing is, I'm happy with how things are on Gav, I don't feel a need to mass merge the servers and I'm entitled to express that opinion.

 

Mass merging the servers would likely impact on my enjoyment of the game, again I'm entitled to express that and fight for my right to enjoy the game

 

I am also aware that there are a number of people who would simply prefer more people to play with, and good luck to you but I don't want that to impact on my enjoyment of the game by shifting me to a server I don't want to be on

 

I am also aware that a number of players on this server are not happy, and am acutely aware that for some of these people the reason they have trouble is because people actively avoid playing with them and simply suggest that perhaps if they made a bit more effort to be likeable they wouldn't encounter as many issues

 

So that's a summary of my position on these forums. You can all think whatever you want I really don't care, but frankly the more whinging and abuse people post here just drives more and more people away from the server.

You are not a nice person, get over yourself. You ARE delusional.

Read the thread title. "Consolidated Post: APAC/Oceanic Server Concerns" This is a thread created and maintained by our friends to get the attention of the developers, taking a lot of time and effort. And you just stroll in here trying to create an argument. You think the server is fine? Then make your own thread, don't crap all over the work of people who are trying to make a change.

And whether you did this intentionally or not, with every word you try to minimaliz/marginalize our concerns. Case in point:

"a number of people who would simply prefer more people to play with"

No. A MAJORITY of the players want a LOT MORE people to play with.

"a number of players on this server are not happy"

No. THE VAST MAJORITY of the players are not happy. MOST OF THEM HAVE ALREADY QUIT OR REROLLED. The few that are left, MOST OF THEM ARE NOT HAPPY.

"they made a bit more effort to be likeable"

Your solution to the above problems is that "we should just be more likeable?" LOL you are delusional.

Mate, I posted that because Wyrn made the comment that they needed to keep this topic on the front page but shameless bumping was against the terms of service, so needed to post meangingless dribble to keep it up the top of the pile.

 

But like I said, my post achieved it's objective, it kept people posting, despite the fact that everybody completely missed the point of why I did it.

 

As for everything else, see above post.

Get off your high horse. Don't even try to pretent that your objective is solely to keep people posting. Nothing you wrote indicates such an altruistic intent. Clearly it was a mix of expressing your dissatisfaction with our views/trolling/keeping this thread on top, with an emphasis on the former.

I know nobody died and made me net-monitor, but could we please stop the abuse in this thread?

We all want an optimum gaming experience on the APAC server/s. We disagree on how to achieve that. We are not all going to get our way, and we don't know who is going to get what they want, much less what the effects of any change will be.

Calling people delusional on the one hand, and acting the martyr on the other, is not productive. It's in BW/EAs court now. They have our opinions, and they have their own set of parameters and requirements, and what happens is not going to be influenced by mud-slinging and behaviour that would lead to time-outs all around at a kindergarten.

Oh and in addition and contrary to popular belief, no I'm not delusional and am actually quite a nice person.

 

Thing is, I'm happy with how things are on Gav, I don't feel a need to mass merge the servers and I'm entitled to express that opinion.

 

Mass merging the servers would likely impact on my enjoyment of the game, again I'm entitled to express that and fight for my right to enjoy the game

 

I am also aware that there are a number of people who would simply prefer more people to play with, and good luck to you but I don't want that to impact on my enjoyment of the game by shifting me to a server I don't want to be on

 

I am also aware that a number of players on this server are not happy, and am acutely aware that for some of these people the reason they have trouble is because people actively avoid playing with them and simply suggest that perhaps if they made a bit more effort to be likeable they wouldn't encounter as many issues

 

So that's a summary of my position on these forums. You can all think whatever you want I really don't care, but frankly the more whinging and abuse people post here just drives more and more people away from the server.

Could you be any more patronising Ailie?

"am acutely aware that for some of these people the reason they have trouble is because people actively avoid playing with them and simply suggest that perhaps if they made a bit more effort to be likeable they wouldn't encounter as many issues".

Not everybody is so gosh darn prissy about who they play with Ailie. I'm sorry you have such a high screening process on who you deem acceptable to play with. I can play with anyone and generally never have a problem, I do so on the US servers. Not everyone needs your 4000 point questionnaire form and background checks approach to a simple game.

You are daft Ailie, no other word for it. You seem to think we don't have our own guilds? We do, and we acknowledge a problem. I know you are new to MMO's but when you have to pre-plan to do the basic features of a game, things aren't going well for the game.

I can't wait until they close the server down and you have to join a US or EU server because that's where my gut feeling says this is going. You won't cope but when you are transferred, perhaps if you make a bit more effort to be likeable you wouldn't encounter as many issues...

Honestly, you guys defending Allie need to step back and look at the BIG picture.

This thread originated by the very hard work and efforts of Chippy and a few others on this server after a long discussion on the Master Dar'nala server forums. If you have been following this thread (I highly doubht that you have been), you would see that a lot of time has been spent on researching the issue, coming up with statistics, contacting Bioware through every channel available many times for months on end.

To have somebody waltz in here without taking the time to even really read our concerns or address any of the numerous facts and statistics we have spent hours researching, and to flippantly state her own OPINIONS that everything is fine without addressing any of our concerns other than a "be nice, game is fine", and try to pass them off as FACT is disingenuous, thoughtless, and quite frankly insulting to the efforts of everyone who has contributed to trying to find a solution for a common problem, the genesis of which all started on Master Dar'nala.

You're all entitled to an opinion. But if you're going to respond to us and expect us to respect your opinion, then respond as peers, who have taken the same time and consideration in formulating your opinions as we have.

Mate, I posted that because Wyrn made the comment that they needed to keep this topic on the front page but shameless bumping was against the terms of service, so needed to post meangingless dribble to keep it up the top of the pile.

 

But like I said, my post achieved it's objective, it kept people posting, despite the fact that everybody completely missed the point of why I did it.

 

As for everything else, see above post.

i have interacted with ailie in game she gets along with others well till they piss her off which doesn't take long, not surprised her forum posts are off the same manner.