Liquor Posted October 25, 2017 Share Posted October 25, 2017 Hi all, ... During our evaluation of the new servers, we determined we could also combine our North American datacenters. That also occurred today and we have officially moved out of our West Coast location. Our testing showed no impact on the gameplay experience, but we expect some of you playing on formerly West Coast servers may see higher ping times. We’ll use the next two weeks to smooth out any kinks and resolve any performance issues encountered. You’ll see the same Servers today that you saw yesterday. They’re just running on new hardware and, some, in different locations. As announced previously the move to the five (5) new Servers will be on Wednesday, November 8, 2017. At that time all Game Servers and the SWTOR website will be down for up to 12 hours. We’ll let you know the actual start time a few days before. ... Cheers! -Keith-- Let me first say, i started moving characters off Shadowlands to test other servers. Just a few at first for pings and populations. all said and done I had moved quite a few before the announcement of the server merges....I was a bit disappointed as i just moved toons around costing only 90CC each. which i can take. BUT this most recent news on the server consolidation just pushed me over the edge. here is the reason why. I just finished moving all my toons off shadowlands to west coast servers in anticipation of the merges to come. I wanted them all on a west coast server for the move. I just took a job that put me in SoCal, so west coast servers are great. 72-144 pings on EAST COAST servers went down to 4ms-16ms pings on the WEST COAST servers. GREAT NEWS!!!! BUT . . . when it was decided to consolidate the "North American" servers to EAST COAST servers, the pings are what i had on TeH and TSL. why not just make 1 massive North American server then. why even have a west and east coast server when they are all on the east coast. Let me put this into a cost to the community, just my costs for the character transfers onto a different coast's servers. Date: # of characters moved 20170930 - 9 20171001 - 9 20171005 - 11 20171010 - 3 20171015 - 2 20171020 - 5 20171024 - 39 ____________ 78 character transfers @ 90 CC each = 7,020 CC - which is about $50 That was spent to place these characters onto servers with under 20ms pings. and now i have to deal with EAST COAST ping times? I want a refund for all characters transferred as this is a complete disregard for the community and players like myself that made those moves for better pings. We were excited for the merge and to actually have better ping times for a game we pay to play, be it with a monthly sub or Cartel Market/Coin purchases. If i had known this was planned, the move would not have been done. I feel mislead and intentionally misinformed with the planning of the server merges in hopes of collecting useless character transfers. This has a huge impact on my gamplay experience and EA/BW funding for future SWTOR content. Just look at all the replies to this thread and other posts by an outraged west coast and pacific community base. what does the west coast server consolidation mean to you?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quraswren Posted October 25, 2017 Share Posted October 25, 2017 SNIP... what does the west coast server consolidation mean to you?? To me it means the deal is getting worse all the time and I pray it's not altered any more but I know thats just a dream. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TUXs Posted October 25, 2017 Share Posted October 25, 2017 It means losing players that had no desire to quit. It means shrinking an already anemic base smaller. It means running off customers who were very happy playing the game. It means less players for GF, Ops, PuGs, WZs, GSF...it means this game isn't even trying any longer. It's sad. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deewe Posted October 25, 2017 Share Posted October 25, 2017 Joke aside, means too many angry threads to me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eshvara Posted October 25, 2017 Share Posted October 25, 2017 78 toons, holy hell. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
orangenee Posted October 25, 2017 Share Posted October 25, 2017 78 toons, holy hell. IKR? I can barely be bothered with managing 13. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eshvara Posted October 25, 2017 Share Posted October 25, 2017 IKR? I can barely be bothered with managing 13. Yeah exactly. I have about 4 level 70's and 2 in their 60's. one level 34, and the rest is beneath 10, that I never log in on. Who are these wizards that have so many relevant toons to transfer!! Teach me your sorcery and infinite patience!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Foambreaker Posted October 25, 2017 Share Posted October 25, 2017 This is sauce for the goose, when my wife loses her names both accounts will be closed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eshvara Posted October 25, 2017 Share Posted October 25, 2017 (edited) This is sauce for the goose, when my wife loses her names both accounts will be closed There's nothing more menacing than an angry wife. I mean I haven't experienced it, but I've heard tales. I wish you the best and all of you, who have wives who might lose their names. Edited October 25, 2017 by Eshvara Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PiiTarr Posted October 25, 2017 Share Posted October 25, 2017 It means I paid for a six month subscription thinking the service I was getting included a server physically located on the West Coast with the same ping I've experienced since I started playing, and suddenly that is no longer the case. Constant spikes of 400ms or more do not make for an enjoyable gaming experience for me. I'll give it the two weeks Keith requested to see if things are smoothed out, but if they are not, I'll likely seek a refund. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
americanaussie Posted October 25, 2017 Share Posted October 25, 2017 It means the game is currently unplayable for me. my ping hovers around 360-456 with consistent spikes up to 960. What I see the 2 weeks achieving is reducing the spikes, but unfortunately 360ms is not good enough to fully enjoy game play as group content is now not possible. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YungDemon Posted October 25, 2017 Share Posted October 25, 2017 To me it means the deal is getting worse all the time and I pray it's not altered any more but I know thats just a dream. This. Just another nail in the coffin. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jdast Posted October 25, 2017 Share Posted October 25, 2017 (edited) Means nothing to me. I have been out West for a good chunk of time and have NO performance issues with playing on Ebon Hawk. If people want to claim that the +50 ping is the reason they lose PvP -- have at it. If you are from the APAC region, you have a legit beef. But to my fellow West Coast USA players -- the +50 ping isn't the reason you are losing the PvP match, particularly since the vast majority of people are experiencing the exact same ping increase. Yes, it benefits East Coast players who play on Harb -- but if that is enough to make you stop playing. Well... /shrug Dasty Edit: Before I get PMs cursing my ancestors -- I side with the APAC crowd. They deserve an answer. Edited October 25, 2017 by Jdast Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oreget Posted October 25, 2017 Share Posted October 25, 2017 I play on Red Eclipse.Nice social server.Today I logged in only to discover the damn RPers on Korriban walking around talking to themselfs like mental institution patients. I cant stomack it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ansultares Posted October 25, 2017 Share Posted October 25, 2017 Yes, it benefits East Coast players who play on Harb -- but if that is enough to make you stop playing. Well...Harb west coasters were more than happy to talk **** at others who may have been playing with worser pings. As an east coast player who stuck it out on harb, It's hilarious seeing their complaints on here. That said, I have sympathy for APAC players, and those who spent CC to needlessly transfer, as I did (only 540 CC). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xeNNNNN Posted October 25, 2017 Share Posted October 25, 2017 Means nothing to me. I have been out West for a good chunk of time and have NO performance issues with playing on Ebon Hawk. If people want to claim that the +50 ping is the reason they lose PvP -- have at it. If you are from the APAC region, you have a legit beef. But to my fellow West Coast USA players -- the +50 ping isn't the reason you are losing the PvP match, particularly since the vast majority of people are experiencing the exact same ping increase. Yes, it benefits East Coast players who play on Harb -- but if that is enough to make you stop playing. Well... /shrug Dasty Edit: Before I get PMs cursing my ancestors -- I side with the APAC crowd. They deserve an answer. Unless they are spiking too over 120 ping or sitting at 120+ ping the only people that are too blame for losing is themselves. I had 70-100 ping on most multiplayer games for years until recently. I was able too play and win in different games just fine. Sure there is a noticeable delay in some situations but not many. It very rarely effected me in PvP of Swtor either. So yeah the complaining is just them looking for an excuse for losing. The usual norm when someone loses a match of anything lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keioel Posted October 25, 2017 Share Posted October 25, 2017 When the game first game out I made some toons on a East Coast Server and the difference was noticeable. If the changes aren't that drastic I'll probably bite the bullet and keep subbing. If they are noticeable I'll simply unsub. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Char_Ell Posted October 25, 2017 Share Posted October 25, 2017 It means I paid for a six month subscription thinking the service I was getting included a server physically located on the West Coast with the same ping I've experienced since I started playing, and suddenly that is no longer the case. Constant spikes of 400ms or more do not make for an enjoyable gaming experience for me. I'll give it the two weeks Keith requested to see if things are smoothed out, but if they are not, I'll likely seek a refund. Ouch. I doubt you'll get your refund and if you decide to charge back be prepared to lose access to any other games, if any, on your EA account as well. I was never willing to pay six months in advance to play SWTOR. IIRC I paid 3 months in advance for most of 2012-2014. After playing Shadow of Revan I've only paid 1 month in advance ever since. In my estimation one needs to have a lot of faith in an online game's future entertainment value to pay that far in advance. I lost that faith after SoR and it has yet to be restored. As far as the question this thread poses, the elimination of western North America servers leaves a bitter taste, especially after nearly 6 years of having this benefit. I played a bit last night after the relocation of NA West servers to the NA East data center. I'm one of those players where Keith Kanneg's statement that this change would have "no impact on the gameplay experience" is probably true. Yes, my ping times are higher but from the little I played it wasn't really noticeable to me. Once I have some time to run some ops and flashpoints I'll get a better feel if that statement still holds true for me. That being said, I'm in a guild that has a fair number of Asia-Pacific players and they have reported mixed results. SWTOR will definitely lose subscribers as a result of this decision. BioWare knew this would not be well received by those players whose server lag times would be negatively impacted by this change but for whatever reason they decided it was best to wait until the last minute to reveal the bad news. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lorsic Posted October 26, 2017 Share Posted October 26, 2017 It means losing players that had no desire to quit. It means shrinking an already anemic base smaller. It means running off customers who were very happy playing the game. It means less players for GF, Ops, PuGs, WZs, GSF...it means this game isn't even trying any longer. It's sad. My feelings exactly. BioWare killed our guild with this move. Triple and quadruple led my base ping with spikes now that are nothing compared to our Aussie and Asia guildies. They are all quiting. We lost a bunch of players we have been playing with for years. All players that want to stay but don’t want to pay for a game that doesn’t provide a decent ping. Nobody at BioWare seems to care. Not enough money for us playing on the West Coast, well if this doesn’t change back they will probably be losing a lot more money. I’m sure this doesn’t matter because of how much they are saving by combining. They didn’t even give us a reason why, but the reason doesn’t matter. I want my friends back. They may loose me too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ekwalizer Posted October 26, 2017 Share Posted October 26, 2017 It means losing players that had no desire to quit. It means shrinking an already anemic base smaller. It means running off customers who were very happy playing the game. It means less players for GF, Ops, PuGs, WZs, GSF...it means this game isn't even trying any longer. It's sad. I just came back after a 1 year quitting. I do live and play on East coast servers primarily. So, the datacenter merger doesn't necessarily affect me personally. But it does make me wonder how many west coasters resubbed because of server consolidation. Only to now find themselves being propositioned by Bioware for an event involving sex and travel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zhedzaban Posted October 26, 2017 Share Posted October 26, 2017 It means I just cancelled my sub. Still got 60 days so I'm here till the end of the year finishing off some story content on the last of my alts then I'm gone. Truly a sad time, I've loved and defended this game for so long. It's like being in a long term relationship and then discovering your partner just doesn't want you anymore. Guess I'll go back to wow, try and get into GW2 and try Bless when it comes out next year. Oh, and my bet is they won't address this at all. Keith will appear again after the heat has gone and the few players remaining have adequate ping so they won't care. With the merged servers there will be the illusion of more players despite all the apac and a large portion of the west coast players leaving. Basically, we are too expansive to cater to so we are being cut loose. Even with us all gone their profit margin may actually increase. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jagaimee Posted October 26, 2017 Share Posted October 26, 2017 (edited) It doesn't mean anything to me. I'm on the west coast, but have frequently played on east coast servers even before this update. I'm not noticing any lag. (And my computer/connection has never been the fastest - I'm quite used to the game hesitating or slowing a tad.) No, I don't PVP or do operations. The few times I did flashpoints, I was fine. So... I'm okay with everything. Edited October 26, 2017 by Jagaimee Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DanNV Posted October 26, 2017 Share Posted October 26, 2017 Honestly, I raid on SL and live on the west coast, so it doesn't matter to my gaming at all. What matters to me is my raid gorup and how long it holds together. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Costello Posted October 26, 2017 Share Posted October 26, 2017 The actual move means absolutely nothing to my game play experience, I'm in Europe pretty close to the data center if it is in Ireland which it appears to be. However the handling of it and perhaps the handling of the last year makes me suspect what it means to me on a larger scale is being here at the end of the game before they pull the plug and hand the Servers over to the Anthem team. Rather than tell people what was meant by server upgrades suggested as both software and hardware upgrades but providing no details it was waited until the extended server maintenance had finished to say what these upgrades meant for the players, and no surprise these upgrades didn't appear to be any good. So the treatment of those customers was pretty bad. But its not that this should be taken in isolation, 5.1 to 5.5 have been bad, despite promises of more communication there has if anything been less. The direction the game seems to be going in is minimal content and by the looks of things this is group content which at this stage just doesn't appeal. Though in a very sad way it kind of mirrors when story players got a year of story and people said you can't complain your getting story though much of it was filler or felt lacking in any meaningful narrative. Looking back at least there was more of it even if it was the same overplayed betrayal storylines. Now its incredibly little really overplayed betrayal storyline. So in short what this latest move has shown, that there is no desire or ability to save this game. You don't make the decisions that have been made and act in this way if you are serious about saving a game. Even going into 2018 the roadmap is sparse and hardly seems like there is anything that is being worked on to do anything to improve the game. Its sad that the game will end like this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasStarWars Posted October 26, 2017 Share Posted October 26, 2017 I can't complain, my ping has almost been cut by half of what it used to be. Kinda happy tbh Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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