Yes, "server-transfer-on-rails" is much better than a server merge because it's entirely optional. What would you do if you had 8 characters on 2 separate servers that ended up being merged together? You can't have 16 toons on 1 server. So... how would that work?

What would you do? Nothing. Bioware would just let you play all the characters and you'd have a few extras? If you deleted one you would lose the slot. I mean that is some rocket science solution.

Just to add my two cents of opinion on the Server transfers.

I was going to transfer my 50 sentinal and several of my characters, until I heard about this assinine gimmick making it where you can not transfer if you are on a low pop server.

I have been playing since 4 days before launch and I am mad enough to leave and go to Neverwinter when that comes out.

I want a high pop server, and feel everyone does, face it they need to concolidate a majority of there server and shut down the empties. If they wont let us move to where we want to go then I will just start a new toon on the High pop server not allowing me to server transfer wont stop me, it just pisses me off and makes it where I will shut down my account when I feel something better comes out.

I have been on both sides of arguments from Jeramie but, the real issue here is that if you think it out you can see that BioWare is making more reasoned decsions than the whines and desires of the players when it comes to doing right by the game and what will help the population as a whole.

Riiiiiiiiiiiiight.

They were clearly making a well reasoned decision when they decided to explode the number of servers early on instead of gradually adding more until queues got to a reasonable level. They were totally thinking of the well being of the population.

Except, no. They had a knee-jerk reaction and believed their own hype about the game being a Warcraft killer. When it turned it to not be such and people began leaving en masse, their decision to balloon the number of servers became the reason they're facing this current population issue.

So they decide to open up transfers, but they're using a tired system that was used by others (most notably Blizzard) and was just short of being a failure in past applications because it was too arbitrary and too far beyond the control of the players themselves. Meanwhile, they've yet to address significant bugs that have plagued the game since release, have failed to adequately address PVP, tacking on a poorly implemented LFG tool (go read all the complaints about how poorly it functions on PTR), and aren't admitting the reasons why people are leaving the game in droves (population issues is just one of many issues).

The reality is BioWare is still years behind the curve of every other major MMO on the market and they simply can't see or won't admit it. All they're doing these days is pushing mud around from one pile to another, hoping people are distracted enough to not notice.

Just to add my two cents of opinion on the Server transfers.

 

I was going to transfer my 50 sentinal and several of my characters, until I heard about this assinine gimmick making it where you can not transfer if you are on a low pop server.

 

I have been playing since 4 days before launch and I am mad enough to leave and go to Neverwinter when that comes out.

 

I want a high pop server, and feel everyone does, face it they need to concolidate a majority of there server and shut down the empties. If they wont let us move to where we want to go then I will just start a new toon on the High pop server not allowing me to server transfer wont stop me, it just pisses me off and makes it where I will shut down my account when I feel something better comes out.

I'm not sure you understand the plan. If you are currently on a low pop server you will be given the option to transfer to a new destination server. Multiple low pop servers will be transferred onto said destination server with the hope of it becoming high pop. More information should be available tomorrow.

Hey, Sounds like all of those geniuses that rerolled on another server are mad that their impatience is not being rewarded with server consolidation QQ.

Nooooo. I'm "mad" that my continued funding of the development of this game is being returned with "**** you, we are doing this OUR way." If this game were f2p i wouldn't have a word to say about it, but it's not. And I resent being taken for granted.

I understand the potential complications of publishing the origin and destination servers, but what problem would arise from publishing ONLY the origin servers. If BW did this, it would allow us a day or so to get the message out on our website and facebook page of the Guild's intention (staying or going). While we wouldn't have a destination as of yet, we would at least be able to meet and make an educated decision with the benefit of time. The last thing I want is to rush a decision and split up the guild. Hopefully my server will be a destination server (we are light to standard most times and usually have 60-110 people on the fleet in the evenings), but I'd rather know ahead of time if we have to move.

This is where my guild and its allies are at. We are sitting here on our hands waiting for info. We've taken precautions (cleared out the guild bank, etc) in case we do move, but it would be much nicer if we knew if we were going or staying. We have 50 some members in just our guild and our ally has about that as well. That's a lot of people to get informed of what is going on even if we were all in the same geographical location or online at the same times, and quite simply, we're not.

Riiiiiiiiiiiiight.

 

They were clearly making a well reasoned decision when they decided to explode the number of servers early on instead of gradually adding more until queues got to a reasonable level. They were totally thinking of the well being of the population.

Great example, they listened to the whines of what people wanted instead of what would be best for the game. Now people are complaining about what they want individually as opposed to what seems a concerted effort to balance the servers as is needed. They are making transfers wave by wave as is needed. The balance got broken and that's what they are fixing directly without letting individual wants that are a muich lower priority cloud the effort.

You'll find out tomorrow. You don't have to transfer tomorrow. You'll have plenty of time to decide what you're going to do. I don't understand why all the angst over something that hasn't even started yet, and, when it does start, isn't something that you have to decide on right away.

Umm, because on some servers, if even 1/4 of the population transfers out, it basically makes it so that the remaining players can't get a warzone or operation or flashpoint. That is why there is so much angst.

This is where my guild and its allies are at. We are sitting here on our hands waiting for info. We've taken precautions (cleared out the guild bank, etc) in case we do move, but it would be much nicer if we knew if we were going or staying. We have 50 some members in just our guild and our ally has about that as well. That's a lot of people to get informed of what is going on even if we were all in the same geographical location or online at the same times, and quite simply, we're not.

You keep the old guild name intact on OLD server and put a single low level toon as the guild officer place holder, You put up on Guild MoTD : Guild has moved to Server X under new guild name "YAdaYada" please contact any guild member or guild officer Joe Shmoe for invite to new guild once your transfer is complete.

Umm, because on some servers, if even 1/4 of the population transfers out, it basically makes it so that the remaining players can't get a warzone or operation or flashpoint. That is why there is so much angst.

Err...huh?

Why would you stay when there's a transfer available to a higher pop server for free, and is just about as simple as logging out and logging back in?

Umm, because on some servers, if even 1/4 of the population transfers out, it basically makes it so that the remaining players can't get a warzone or operation or flashpoint. That is why there is so much angst.

And makes it irrelevant when they release the actual information - either a week before or on the day of transfers. When the get the actual info does not change what will happen:

You will either be able to transfer or not

You will either be able to keep your character name or not

You will either have to wait for paid transfers or not

Whether they gave us the list last week or they give it to us tomorrow doesn't change any of those things.

Err...huh?

 

Why would you stay when there's a transfer available to a higher pop server for free, and is just about as simple as logging out and logging back in?

'Cause I want to keep my character names. If my destination server has a conflict, then I'd rather wait and pay for a transfer to a server that I know doesn't have any name conflicts.

BJ

This is where my guild and its allies are at. We are sitting here on our hands waiting for info. We've taken precautions (cleared out the guild bank, etc) in case we do move, but it would be much nicer if we knew if we were going or staying. We have 50 some members in just our guild and our ally has about that as well. That's a lot of people to get informed of what is going on even if we were all in the same geographical location or online at the same times, and quite simply, we're not.

Dude... you don't have to move tomorrow. It's not a race. Let's say your server does get an invite to move to a different server tomorrow. Cool.

• Maybe you create a new character on the destination server so you can see what chat is like and /who the population a few times to see what the pop is like or reserve your favorite name (or see if it's taken).
  
• Maybe you go do some google fu to see what the community on that new server is like. Find non-SWTOR forums, check out the websites of other guilds on that server, see what other guilds are moving. Snoop around in the server forums on SWTOR.
  
• Maybe you have some folks transfer one and only one of their least favorite characters with a butt load of guild bank stuff to sell on the GTN to test out the economy, PvP, what have you.
  
• Maybe you wait and see who else from your server takes the transfer, and what other servers are going to that destination server.
  

After doing three weeks worth of homework, you decide that the new server isn't for you, and you decide to stay put.

Maybe after doing three weeks worth of investigation you decide it's the best move for your guild. By then you have hopefully gotten in touch with everyone in your guild and gotten their input and disbursed the contents of your guild bank.

There's no rush on Bioware's end to get you over there tomorrow. If you're feeling pressured to move quickly, then ask yourself what's preventing you from getting the info tomorrow and taking a measured and reasonable approach to test the waters to see if the move is the best thing for you?

Paige

I'm not sure you understand the plan. If you are currently on a low pop server you will be given the option to transfer to a new destination server. Multiple low pop servers will be transferred onto said destination server with the hope of it becoming high pop. More information should be available tomorrow.

If that is the case then I will do the transfers on all the servers where I have toons in hopes of them finally getting a population again, but i am still left with the problem that all my friends that have just started the game researched which were the highest pop servers and are on them like (harbinger: west coast, pve). So my only solution is to start new toons and Lvl them again. Like I said before, this wont stop me from doing so, it just pisses me off.

I love this game, I have been waiting for it since KOTOR 2, I am just getting tired PR "We know how important it is to play with your friends." Then making where you cant get to them.

B4 i get flamed for, "Well you should have taken advantage of the prelaunch guild/friend finder. I did and they all quit b4 most of them even hit 50. Now i just want to be able to get to the friends that are playing, and a server with a farging population.

Sorry i have forum posted since launch and just a little frustrated. I am so happy for server transfers, just not liking all the big brothering.

Great example, they listened to the whines of what people wanted instead of what would be best for the game. Now people are complaining about what they want individually as opposed to what seems a concerted effort to balance the servers as is needed. They are making transfers wave by wave as is needed. The balance got broken and that's what they are fixing directly without letting individual wants that are a muich lower priority cloud the effort.

So i am supposed to be happy that they are fixing the problems they created? Or is it your belief that swtor was the first mmo ever made and nobody had any clue what works and what doesn't? It's not like they could have looked around and learned from the mistakes of those that came before them, right?

'Cause I want to keep my character names. If my destination server has a conflict, then I'd rather wait and pay for a transfer to a server that I know doesn't have any name conflicts.

 

BJ

And there are some who will stay because they have their circle of friends and like less populated servers. And there are those that will stay because <insert reason here>.

However, the poster I responded to specifically stated a concern of people moving off of his server, resulting in no longer being able to do WZ's and FP's. If that's his main concern, why stay?

You keep the old guild name intact on OLD server and put a single low level toon as the guild officer place holder, You put up on Guild MoTD : Guild has moved to Server X under new guild name "YAdaYada" please contact any guild member or guild officer Joe Shmoe for invite to new guild once your transfer is complete.

They very clearly said that you will have to disband your guild on the old server. They didn't say why.

http://www.swtor.com/community/devtracker.php

http://www.swtor.com/community/showthread.php?p=4569281#edit4569281

You will have to:

• Remove all items & credits from the Guild Bank.
  
• Disband the Guild.
  
• Transfer to the new server and reform the Guild.
  
• Contact Customer Service to re-establish the Guild Bank and Guild Bank tabs.

It is my opinion, speculation, and guess that may be because they won't give you your guild bank tabs on the new server until they know that the guild bank tabs no longer exist on the old server. /shrug I don't know for sure.

Paige

What would you do? Nothing. Bioware would just let you play all the characters and you'd have a few extras? If you deleted one you would lose the slot. I mean that is some rocket science solution.

The question was: Without adding extra character slots how could you merge 2 servers that had 8 characters each filled on both servers?

The answer: You can't

This is why merges can't work. Transfers give you the opportunity to split up and move characters to different servers. Impossible to do with server merges.

And there are some who will stay because they have their circle of friends and like less populated servers. And there are those that will stay because <insert reason here>.

 

However, the poster I responded to specifically stated a concern of people moving off of his server, resulting in no longer being able to do WZ's and FP's. If that's his main concern, why stay?

Yeah, I got it. I think I just assumed that must have been his reasoning, otherwise, exactly what you said - there should be no angst because you can just transfer off like everybody else. Again, when we get the info doesn't change the actual mechanics of the act, but it appears some people think it does.

The question was: Without adding extra character slots how could you merge 2 servers that had 8 characters each filled on both servers?

 

The answer: You can't

 

This is why merges can't work. Transfers give you the opportunity to split up and move characters to different servers. Impossible to do with server merges.

Why people cannot understand that concept is beyond me. Servers are limited to 8 slots - we don't magically get more slots because a merger brings more of our characters over to a server we already have filled. As you said, this is why the transfers are better - it gives us the choice of moving or not. When the Paids come out, we will then have the choice to move wherever we want.

BJ

Just to add my two cents of opinion on the Server transfers.

 

I was going to transfer my 50 sentinal and several of my characters, until I heard about this assinine gimmick making it where you can not transfer if you are on a low pop server.

 

I have been playing since 4 days before launch and I am mad enough to leave and go to Neverwinter when that comes out.

 

I want a high pop server, and feel everyone does, face it they need to concolidate a majority of there server and shut down the empties. If they wont let us move to where we want to go then I will just start a new toon on the High pop server not allowing me to server transfer wont stop me, it just pisses me off and makes it where I will shut down my account when I feel something better comes out.

Where do you get your information? None of that is true.

For some of the people who have come in late on the conversation and are asking questions, here's a post Joveth did on 06/06/2012 regarding the Server Transfer List and a few other things:

Many guild leaders have contacted us with their concerns about coordinating their guild members in preparation for the free character transfer service and I wanted to take some time to explain how this process will work.

 

In order to ensure an optimal playing experience for every server, we’ll be offering direct transfers from one origin server to a pre-selected destination server. This means that the destination server will already be selected for the origin server. As mentioned in our blog post, all server types and languages will be respected. You will not find your PvE characters transferred to a PvP server, or vice versa.

 

Therefore, all guild members on the origin server will be eligible to transfer to the same destination server, ensuring that the guild has the opportunity to stay together.

 

As we mentioned in our blog, the character transfer service will be made available gradually, starting with a small number of origin servers and adding more until all servers eligible for transfer are available in the service. We know everyone is excited for the opportunity to transfer their characters, but it is critical that we do this gradually to ensure both a smooth transfer as well as a great player experience on the destination servers.

 

Eligible servers will be listed as they become available for transfers at http://www.swtor.com/transfer, which will go live on Tuesday. This is to prevent potential server load issues.

 

Please note that we will not be dividing the population of an origin server onto multiple destination servers for this free character transfer process.

 

Additionally, players need not worry about rushing to transfer as free character transfers between selected servers will remain available for as long as it is needed to help balance server populations naturally. Rest assured that if we ever decide to stop this free character transfer service, players will be given plenty of advanced notice.

 

We hope that this clarifies any confusion.

Hope this helps clear up some confusion. More information will be posted by tomorrow.

Where do you get your information? None of that is true.

Reading the posted quotes from the developers.

Just to add my two cents of opinion on the Server transfers.

 

I was going to transfer my 50 sentinal and several of my characters, until I heard about this assinine gimmick making it where you can not transfer if you are on a low pop server.

 

I have been playing since 4 days before launch and I am mad enough to leave and go to Neverwinter when that comes out.

 

I want a high pop server, and feel everyone does, face it they need to concolidate a majority of there server and shut down the empties. If they wont let us move to where we want to go then I will just start a new toon on the High pop server not allowing me to server transfer wont stop me, it just pisses me off and makes it where I will shut down my account when I feel something better comes out.

Please go read what the Devs posted, and not listen to what people tell you. They are going offer "Free Targeted" Server Transfers, so that everyone has the option to transfer to a Higher Population server. This may be, low pop servers transferring to medium pop servers, or it could be several low pop servers to another low pop server. The end goal is that all servers have a higher population then they currently have, without forcing anyone to transfer if they don't want to. Why the heck someone would want to stay on a server with 20 people on fleet now, IDK, but I am sure that when there is only 1 or 2 people left on a server they will start to make it more of a **** situation so that they can close servers that aren't being used.

I am personally hoping that they set aside one or two servers to be the congregation area for people that don't have an active sub after they do the f2p till level 15 idea that they have starting in July. I know it would be a pain in the butt for someone that wants to try the game with a friend, but I don't want the gold spam to pick up again because they can play for free on any server. Buying a copy of the game, subscribing, and getting to level 16 should give you a free character transfer off that server, also paying subscribers should be able to play an alt on that server so that they can help friends out as well.

Considering that tomorrow is June 12th and is the "start of the Character transfers for the masses" I had kinda hoped that by the time I got home from school at least I would have been able to log in here and see some kind of an update, in regards to information and plans for tomorrow. I did chuckle at the post stating that it was the 12th already and we had no info, and also at the one that complained that they scheduled server maintenance for Tuesday (the typical day of the week for it) b/c that would be so inconvenient for 1% of the people that play this game and have nothing better to do other then try to log into the game on a date & time that we normally can't.