Server Merges?

Assist · 2013-02-05, 10:11 AM

It's beginning to be obvious to everyone that they need to do something. Most servers have a couple zones on one continent with platoons and maybe a platoon on each other continent. Wonder why they're letting it drag out rather than doing it sooner ? To me it would make sense to do merges before the transfers and also before the account-wide unlocks. Also the only reason I can see that they pushed the transfers back is that they plan to server merge, but we haven't seen or heard anything since..

Getting a bit bored of the same fights day after day due to 80% of the world with 'No Activity' or 'Enemies Detected'. This game was built for massive warfare, give us servers with the people to produce this massive warfare.

Thunderhawk · 2013-02-05, 10:14 AM

Being Devil's advocate, not all servers need a merge. I don't know what it's like on other servers as I dont play on them, but my server is normally pop locked on Indar, with heavy battles raging on another (normally Esamir) and a lot of fights on the third (Amerish) so I don't think I would be recommending a Merger into us or us with someone else. (not yet anyway)

Assist · 2013-02-05, 10:17 AM

Originally Posted by Thunderhawk

Being Devil's advocate, not all servers need a merge. I don't know what it's like on other servers as I dont play on them, but my server is normally pop locked on Indar, with heavy battles raging on another (normally Esamir) and a lot of fights on the third (Amerish) so I don't think I would be recommending a Merger into us or us with someone else. (not yet anyway)

Well, Miller is the largest server I'm fairly sure. Waterson is a fairly populated server and we get a continent locked on pop(for VS) maybe once a week. But that's only one continent, there's three continents.

Baneblade · 2013-02-05, 10:30 AM

I suspect any such thing is going to be coincided with the other continents releasing.

Thunderhawk · 2013-02-05, 10:54 AM

Originally Posted by Baneblade

I suspect any such thing is going to be coincided with the other continents releasing.

It would at least be justifiable that way, or a pill that is easier to swallow from a PR perspective.

"We are doubling the in game area so it makes sense to merge the servers to make sue of that increased space"

It won't look bad that way, and is the right way to go about it.

Stellarthief · 2013-02-05, 10:57 AM

According to PSU stats, Miller is by 4% or so the largest server.

I havn't noticed any population imbalances, except since patch when it seems more NC flooded in and VS don't wanna play with the stuttering. Yesterday I logged in to check if issue was solved and population was like 23% VS, 30% TR and 37% NC.

Assist · 2013-02-05, 01:44 PM

Originally Posted by Baneblade

I suspect any such thing is going to be coincided with the other continents releasing.

I sincerely hope not. Given the amount of bugs that have been introduced with this last patch, I can't imagine them adding a continent and server merging at the same time. We'd end up with half the characters gone missing and the other half being mutated dinosaurs.

Baneblade · 2013-02-05, 03:20 PM

Banebladesaurus Rex? I can work with that. As long as my camos remain.

Do you think dinosaurs can handle the new SMG?

Stellarthief · 2013-02-05, 12:21 PM

Because there is no point to map conquest. but battles all appear at the same areas in big concentrations. you don't have many spread out medium battles across all continents most of the time. that's what i meant.

QuantumMechanic · 2013-02-05, 07:55 PM

So aside from Miller, most all servers reach medium population during primetime, and are at low population at all other times. Some servers are at low population 24/7.

I was recently convinced that SOE has no plans to do any server merges yet, because somebody tweeted Smed about it and his reply was, "We have plans for low population servers". Sorry, I don't have a reference link to that tweet right now.

Due to my schedule, I can't play during primetime hours. I usually start gaming around 11:30 PM or so, just as it's winding down. So I pretty much stuck with a low population experience. Connery (most populated US West server) is so desolate post-midnight on weeknights that I just gave up playing, and I only log in on weekends now.

And what about SOE's "plans for low population servers"? I'm guessing they are going to try to incentivize new players to roll there, with XP or resource boosts. And I don't see that making any significant difference.

Assist · 2013-02-05, 08:05 PM

Originally Posted by QuantumMechanic

And what about SOE's "plans for low population servers"? I'm guessing they are going to try to incentivize new players to roll there, with XP or resource boosts. And I don't see that making any significant difference.

I'm worried this is their plan as well. Unfortunately I think they believe that all the new-player oriented updates coming in February will bring in more players which will fill the servers.
Which means server merges are even farther off :\

Neutral Calypso · 2013-02-05, 08:30 PM

Things have gotten interesting on Connery. VS and NC joined forces in an effort to oust TR from Indar. TR has made it a point of pride to own Indar in perpetuity for the past few months or so. And we have lately been fighting and fighting and FIGHTING to keep ownership of that Continent (sometimes by a thin little thread).

Sledgecrushr · 2013-02-05, 08:04 PM

With a universal character system we definitely would not want server mergers.

Hamma · 2013-02-06, 09:40 AM

If we do see a merge I don't think it will be until Server Transfer Tokens are released.

Shamrock · 2013-02-06, 11:16 AM

It is absolutely imperative that they keep the pops up and stable or initiate merge's, my last experience of this was Warhammer online, EA took an eternity to merge servers after the pops began to drop and I think they actually made more people quit altogether as a result.

As for plans for low pop servers the only viable plan is injecting more population, and this means more marketing muscle to bring in new players; which im all for if this is the case, its the primary reason why I don't mind the e-sports angle if it gets more FPS players aware of PS, SoE should be as aggressive with its marketing push as its budget allows.

The high pop servers are just a legacy of PS1, most of the vet outfits from Werner went to Miller, Emerald to Mattherson, Markov to Connery; so when new players logged in for the first time they saw these were already high pop and it just snow-balled from there (I suspect the reason to not keep the original names was an attempt to spread the pop more evenly, but I might be tin-foiling

)