Unfortunately, our names don't evolve from a concept ... but from a love for the name itself and how it feels ... so if I just go to google and look for a name that means the same thing in another language... it wont help ... for instance, Bastion is my main character and comes from the character Sabastion in the book Never Ending Story ... whom I identified with as a child. Can't duplicate that feeling by finding another word that means the same thing.

Honestly ... I really liked how Bioware handled names in Star Trek Online .... where names were account based ... not server based ... it was Bastion@ArelimKnight .... and then ingame just showed as Bastion ... so then there could be another Bastion ... because there wasn't two Bastion@ArelimKnight.

So they already have figured out a good system that works for another game... but then they don't use it in a game that comes out later? For pete sake. What kind of thinking goes into that?

On topic, probably .... all low-pop realms are locked to me ... my wife has 2 stragglers she didn't move on Krayt Dragon which is still unlocked to her, though locked to me.

I am going to assume BioWare has locked all character creation on these realms to keep people from starting new characters there unless they already have characters there to begin with. Phase 2 of forced realm merging, perhaps. Everquest did this, too.

In the dev log I believe they said they every server had a destination server , and sooner or later if you didn't do it on your own , your charactars would be transfered to the destination servers by force.

If you want to protest , max out the number of charactars on the source and destination servers so there's no room to force any new charactars.

Hey , maybe they'll give you some free extra slots for that kind of shenanigans.

(Edit) : probably I should mention when i saw all the locked servers on the list , I went and started deleting all my low level crud charactars that I didn't want. I think I now Only have 3.

Unfortunately, our names don't evolve from a concept ... but from a love for the name itself and how it feels ... so if I just go to google and look for a name that means the same thing in another language... it wont help ... for instance, Bastion is my main character and comes from the character Sabastion in the book Never Ending Story ... whom I identified with as a child. Can't duplicate that feeling by finding another word that means the same thing.

 

Honestly ... I really liked how Bioware handled names in Star Trek Online .... where names were account based ... not server based ... it was Bastion@ArelimKnight .... and then ingame just showed as Bastion ... so then there could be another Bastion ... because there wasn't two Bastion@ArelimKnight.

 

So they already have figured out a good system that works for another game... but then they don't use it in a game that comes out later? For pete sake. What kind of thinking goes into that?

STO is not related to bioware or ea in any way. It is made by cryptic, and I think they took the game from another studio, but I can't remember their name. I don't really like the way they handled it, because it show my account name, the one I use to log into the game to everyone else.

I'm sorry about your name, and unfortunately, naming is the first casualty when servers merge in an MMO. Unfortunately, there is nothing you can do, either you stop playing all along, or you find another name.

I have no desire to either lose the names I've chosen nor play on the target server. An enforced transfer which incurred both the loss of my names and forced me onto a server I specifically avoided would probably see me cancel my subscription and write angry messages on both Twitter and Facebook.

They'll close down the ghost server eventually, bound too.

They'll close down the ghost server eventually, bound too.

Later this summer, any remaining characters on selected origin servers will be automatically moved to designated destination servers. We will provide additional details regarding the automatic character transfer process at that time.

Yes they are.

Yes they are.

They may as well have said this initially:

Later this summer, any remaining characters on selected origin servers will be automatically moved to designated destination servers. We will provide additional details regarding the automatic character transfer process at that time.

It was fairly obvious this was going to be the end result.

Unfortunately, our names don't evolve from a concept ... but from a love for the name itself and how it feels ... so if I just go to google and look for a name that means the same thing in another language... it wont help ... for instance, Bastion is my main character and comes from the character Sabastion in the book Never Ending Story ... whom I identified with as a child. Can't duplicate that feeling by finding another word that means the same thing.

 

Honestly ... I really liked how Bioware handled names in Star Trek Online .... where names were account based ... not server based ... it was Bastion@ArelimKnight .... and then ingame just showed as Bastion ... so then there could be another Bastion ... because there wasn't two Bastion@ArelimKnight.

 

So they already have figured out a good system that works for another game... but then they don't use it in a game that comes out later? For pete sake. What kind of thinking goes into that?

You can use alternate characters in the spelling. for instance my friend created a character named valera but spelled it valæra. You could try something like that

In the dev log I believe they said they every server had a destination server , and sooner or later if you didn't do it on your own , your charactars would be transfered to the destination servers by force.

 

If you want to protest , max out the number of charactars on the source and destination servers so there's no room to force any new charactars.

 

Hey , maybe they'll give you some free extra slots for that kind of shenanigans.

I don't need to make 'protest characters'...I have eight slots filled on the destination server already, and several other toons on origin servers who feed into the exact same destination server. If those toons not already on the destination server have no place to go...what happens to them? I don't think it's unreasonable to get an answer to that.

I seriously hope BioWare doesn't pull an SOE. But it's starting to look like they will.

Sticky's my friend..

http://www.swtor.com/blog/character-transfer-server-populations-and-you-part-ii

Community News

RSS Facebook17 Twitter 07.10.2012

Character Transfer, Server Populations, and You (Part II)

Hi everyone,

We want to thank all players that have participated in our Free Character Transfer Service. With strong destination server populations, we hope that you’re enjoying the improved gameplay experience and are excited about receiving the Gannifari mini-pet and the 25 Black Hole commendations that we announced as part of the Free Character Transfer Reward Program.

Later this summer, we’re taking steps to further strengthen destination server population. Ultimately, we are working to transition all players to designated destination servers in the Free Character Transfer Service.

To continue to enhance the overall gameplay experience for current and new players, we have eliminated the option to create new characters on selected origin servers. Visit http://www.swtor.com/transfer to see a list of all the selected origin servers that will be affected.

Later this summer, any remaining characters on selected origin servers will be automatically moved to designated destination servers. We will provide additional details regarding the automatic character transfer process at that time.

For more information, please visit this article.

Thanks again for your participation and support!

The Star Wars: The Old Republic Community Team

My guess?

 

If you don't transfer you will get to sit on a largely empty server while BioWare drops a press release stating that they had NO IDEA how POPULAR the COMMUNITY SUPPORTING TRANSFER SERVICE would be, and that since ALL EXPECTATIONS have been smashed, they will be relocating remaining accounts to the associated destination server and taking the unnecessary server hardware offline.

 

What you won't see is the word "merger" used anywhere. Because this isn't a merger... It is a spontaneous and unexpected player driven migration.

What about all our characters above 8 characters ? So I feel a merge is still on the cards , all the remaining origin servers might be merged together in their various categories. So yeah a smaller pool of names is a definite possibility.

Cheers,

BadOrb.

1 month and no official reply, even though another thread was locked down and directed here. Brilliant.

I have 16 characters on 2 servers, and both are being transferred to the same server.

I find it highly unlikely they'll double my available character slots, so are 8 of my characters just going to be deleted?

I will not voluntarily move until this is cleared up.

What about all our characters above 8 characters ? So I feel a merge is still on the cards , all the remaining origin servers might be merged together in their various categories. So yeah a smaller pool of names is a definite possibility.

If you have 16 characters that are to be transferred from 2 different origin servers to 1 destination server, and you've refused to move any of them, merging them onto a new server doesn't address the issue.

They've already confirmed that the remaining characters will be automatically moved from their designated origin server to their designated destination server. That means you go to bed the night before maintenance with your characters on your current server, and when you log in the next morning, presto! they're all on the destination server.

That being said, what is going to happen to the remaining characters above 8? Probably they'll either remain on the origin servers until the next phase of transfers is available, or BioWare will increase the number of character slots per server and they'll be automatically transferred to the appropriate destination server. If you haven't transferred any, I imagine the transfers will be from one origin server first, and then move on to the next one when all of the ones from the first server has been transferred (if there are any slots left). I doubt that they'll be lost, but I also doubt that they'll be opening up any new servers.

why wouldn't you transfer? :confused:

Loss of names for a lot of people.

And to be fair the new highly populated servers do have some issues with overcrowding and questing at times.

You will be transferred.

Sorry but just face it. It's going to happen. They aren't going to keep a server open for 2 or 3 people who want to keep their names.

Not trying to be an *** but you might as well face it and take matters into your own hands before they force something on you.

My guess?

 

If you don't transfer you will get to sit on a largely empty server while BioWare drops a press release stating that they had NO IDEA how POPULAR the COMMUNITY SUPPORTING TRANSFER SERVICE would be, and that since ALL EXPECTATIONS have been smashed, they will be relocating remaining accounts to the associated destination server and taking the unnecessary server hardware offline.

 

What you won't see is the word "merger" used anywhere. Because this isn't a merger... It is a spontaneous and unexpected player driven migration.

You win

1 month and no official reply, even though another thread was locked down and directed here. Brilliant.

 

I have 16 characters on 2 servers, and both are being transferred to the same server.

I find it highly unlikely they'll double my available character slots, so are 8 of my characters just going to be deleted?

I will not voluntarily move until this is cleared up.

I would at least transfer 8 characters to your destination server before July 31st, otherwise you might not have your pick when they transfer automatically. I doubt they'll let people know what the next step is until after the merge (which could come any time after July 30th).

Imagine if the next step was "any characters remaining on origin servers that can't be transferred to their designated destination server because slots are full will get a free transfer to a server of the player's choice," and they announced that? Everyone would create dummy characters on their designated destination server and get a free transfer to the server of their choice for their "real" characters. While that probably sits well with the crowd who have resisted transfers, it's not fair to the vast majority who already moved and want to transfer to another server, especially if the step after that is paid transfers.

You will be transferred.

 

Sorry but just face it. It's going to happen. They aren't going to keep a server open for 2 or 3 people who want to keep their names.

 

Not trying to be an *** but you might as well face it and take matters into your own hands before they force something on you.

They've already announced it, all none destination servers will be closed as some unspecified point in the future.

My guess?

 

If you don't transfer you will get to sit on a largely empty server while BioWare drops a press release stating that they had NO IDEA how POPULAR the COMMUNITY SUPPORTING TRANSFER SERVICE would be, and that since ALL EXPECTATIONS have been smashed, they will be relocating remaining accounts to the associated destination server and taking the unnecessary server hardware offline.

 

What you won't see is the word "merger" used anywhere. Because this isn't a merger... It is a spontaneous and unexpected player driven migration.

well they can't use the word merger. Look how everyone freaked out when they said level 1-15 would be F2P? People where acting like it was the end of the world. If they ever say the word merger it will be even worse.

They need to give us choices then, i have charactors on 5 servers they want to give me a tranfer for, but they only give me 1 choice. well geeewiz, First off they all wont fit , Second why the heck would i want to have 2 or 3 of the same type charactor on the same server? just give me a couple choices,is that so hard? YES! according to the response i got from support today:

"We understand that you wish to transfer your character to a destination server that has not been assigned to your origin server. We regret to say that this option is not a part of the initial Character Transfer Service. Characters on a specific group of origin servers will only be able to transfer to specific individual destination servers at the moment"

well they can't use the word merger. Look how everyone freaked out when they said level 1-15 would be F2P? People where acting like it was the end of the world. If they ever say the word merger it will be even worse.

It's bizarre though, this is and always has been server mergers........ not calling it that doesn't change a thing.

But you're completely right it's all about spin and perception, I was always puzzled about them refusing to refer to SWTORs RvR as "RvR" (when EA are the trademark holders), but in the end they can say they never actually promised RvR and it would be the technical truth.