Expanding Number of Toons Per Server?
By
Forbin_Project,
Posted on: 2009-06-19 24:48 in CoH and CoV General Discussions
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Actually the cap is 36 (12 listings x 3 Columns). And to be quite honest, that's pleanty.
But then again I have 66 Characters scattered across 7 Servers that I try and play on a regular basis...
Thank you for the time...
@Travlr (Main) / @Tymers Realm (Test) 
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If people are willing to pay for more than 30 slots on one server, are resources so tapped that this can't be accommodated? After all, I'd still only be able to play one toon at a time, unlike some friends who got around this and other barriers by creating a whole new account and occasionally run with two of their own toons at the same time!
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So what's stopping you from getting a second account for more character slots and only playing one at a time, since you've admitted you're willing to pay more money?
...I forgot what experience means.
Indeed, I wish I had the money to keep up my alternate accounts. If 36 isn't enough, get a second account. It's more helpful since you can mule things to yourself with it if you've got a suitable rig, though it'll be lacking on the vetran reward status.
Please read my FEAR/Portal/HalfLife Fan Fiction!
Repurposed
Convince online friends to make characters on a new server?
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Is this a topic of interest for either the players or the developers?
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Offhand, I would think the answer is no. Thirty-six slots is far beyond anything needed by the vast majority of players. If you need more, get a second account. I got a second account for the additional slots back when we could only have 12 per server. I currently have 20 or 21 characters on my 'home server'. Having a second account lets you do lots of other stuff, though, so it's useful.
Paragon City Search And Rescue
The Mentor Project
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If people are willing to pay for more than 30 slots on one server, are resources so tapped that this can't be accommodated? After all, I'd still only be able to play one toon at a time, unlike some friends who got around this and other barriers by creating a whole new account and occasionally run with two of their own toons at the same time!
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So what's stopping you from getting a second account for more character slots and only playing one at a time, since you've admitted you're willing to pay more money?
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/this.
Two accounts here, too... set up before we had the 36 max slots. 
Honestly, I almost *prefer* having multiple accounts. There are times it's handy.
Excuse the bad math... under the weather and a little fuzzy. But not so fuzzy that I'd be interested in spending another $14 per month to start up a brand new account when I've been playing for 60 months on the one I have.
Who says 36 is plenty? NCSoft is looking to hang onto players-- why not offer more slots? Why not reduce the number of servers and increase capacity on the ones that remain? Why not go serverless all together? I dunno, I'm giddy on daytime meds!
#141757 We Are Legion, #99205 We Too Are Legion, #5514 Bug Hunt
VIRTUE HEROES: Ebon Witch, Essense, Ossum Possum, Eversoul, Jacob Ravenshire
VIRTUE VILLAINS: Gentleman Caller, Little Green Vistor, Black Apple, Emily & Timothy Ravenshire
Let me start off by saying I'm not advocating that we get additional slots per server nor do I think it's a necessary change.
But, it is something I'd like. I've got 36 alts on Virtue and 60 other alts spread across five other servers. I'd love for all of my guys to be on the same server, since Virtue is my home.
I'd even pay for the extra slots, though I'm not willing to open extra accounts. It's the recurring monthly charge that would be too much.
It'd be nice, it's not necessary, though.
What Zekiran, Ironblade, and Memphis Bill said.
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Why not go serverless all together? I dunno, I'm giddy on daytime meds!
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'Cause playing computer games without computers is hard. Duh.
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Why not reduce the number of servers and increase capacity on the ones that remain?
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*dives from the thread before being exposed to angry rhetoric and crazy*
They ALL float down here. When you're down here with us, you'll float too!
@Starflier
Someone rang?
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Why server consolidation is not a good idea.
Welcome to the forum. You have posted one of the oft repeated suggestions, "Consolidate the servers."
Disclaimer
Yes. This is a cut and paste reply that I keep handy, as well as a quick bit of instruction on how to search. Neither are meant to cause fights or to be insulting. The search instructions are in, not just because forum rules say flat out to search, but to help you and anyone else reading this use the search tool effectively.
The body of the cut and paste reply is the way it is because we've seen these arguments numerous times before. They're a summary of the salient points that come up each time. They are not here to insult you, make you feel stupid or otherwise "bring you down a peg." Instead, they are meant as instruction and information. Please read through the points and the explanation behind them to see the issues that are commonly brought up in response. They may not always match your suggestion 100% - in fact, you may have explained around one or two of them - but they're there for consideration and refinement of your idea.
Yes, I do look forward to the time, with some of these suggestions, that someone not only addresses all the points, but does so exceptionally well. It'll probably be added to the end of the cut/paste reply, with credit. For now, though, read and consider the points. They really are just there to help you, and move discussion along to help ideas evolve.
If you're going to see this and say an "evil forum vet is just shooting down your idea," or "You think you're the last word because of your post count," you're wrong. Heck, if you say the second, you've just worried more about my post count than I have in the last four plus years. Tongue-in-cheek comments in here are meant as hummor, not put downs.
TL,DR section.
First, my stock answer, one which I stand by and repeat with all due fervor. HELL NO.
Searching effectively
1. Click on "Search" up at the top of the forum.
2. On the left, under "Forum(s) to search," select "Suggestions and ideas."
3. On the right, Keyword Search Terms. This is probably where your problem was if you did search. Try the following, exactly as typed:
+server -pvp -"re: "
This will search for anything with "Server" in the title, including Servers, Combine Servers, Consolidate Servers, and The Server At Mcdonalds Is Rude. it will eliminate "PVP," so you won't see PVP server requests, and the -re: portion of it removes replies, so you'll see the root of every thread that comes up, letting you see just how many threads there are on this. (The last helps for other subjects, as well.)
4. Click the "In subject" radio button. This is a search, not a cute blonde in a bikini. Here, you want to ignore the body.
5. Leave Username Search blank.
6. Date range, Newer Than, change the 1 to a 3, and the time to Months.
7. Result format doesn't matter. Click on "Submit."
As I try this now, (12/3/08,) we have:
Consolidate Server
Server Stats RSS Feed
$server modifier ofr chat
Fix the forum server
Earlyissue server
Merging low population server
Combine slow server
Server status
Global chat on the Character and Server Screens
Rated M server
Add Ponies, Nerf Vills, merge Servers, PistolMelee
Server Visiting
Display Central Time on Server Status Page
Ignoring the smartalec reply, that's three full discussions about this topic.
You should have read one of them if (inevitably) something similar comes up in your search.
Now, on to the topic at hand....
Why server consolidation is not a good idea.
1. Just because YOU like living in New York City doesn't mean I can't like Kansas.
Yay, you love having huge lag spikes as you get near the black market/wentworths and a busy broadcast. Congrats. Enjoy Freedom. Some of us - many of which you will get replies from with this subject - like *low population* servers. If we *wanted* to be on Freedom, we'd *be* on Freedom.
I have characters on Freedom. I rarely play them (and actually moved a character OFF of Freedom to finish leveling it to 50) because *I DON'T LIKE FREEDOM.* I dislike the banality of broadcast, the high percentage of *horrid* teams I've come across there, the lag around any gathering point- and I've got a decent connection and system. For much the same reason, I typically startin Galaxy City instead of Atlas Park - I don't *want* to log in to a costume contest with several 50s spamming powers and nonsense arguments in broadcast.
Some of us *like* nice, quiet servers.
2, Kansas, part 2.
In addition, servers have their own personalities. No, I don't mean that literally, there's no AI to worry about if you start hearing "Daisy, Daisy" over your speakers or headset. Freedom's a crowded mess. Virtue is the RP server. Pinnacle is the "Drunk" server. Others have specific communities, such as those from Australia/NZ, Europe, etc.
3. "I only saw one other person. World of Conancraft has eleventy billion!"
So what?
We don't run around camping spawn points in this game. People are in missions. People are spread across many zones. Search on a map or do a /whoall and you'll miss those in missions, as well as those who are, for whatever reason, on /hide. Your "search" there didn't give you a full picture, not in the least.
I understand the "feel" of things being "not very populated," but take a good look around when you're in game. Typically, you don't really have a lot of visibility. Standing in steel canyon, there could be multiple, full 8 person groups surrounding you, and it's likely you'd never see them. We have buildings, walls, architecture, trees and more limiting our visibility. Yes, it can make you feel more alone... but that's rarely the case. Add to that that the population is spread between many, MANY zones, most quite large, and among two sides... well...
4. "I put up my LFT flag and nothing happened!"
Learn to search. Don't just wait. Form a team yourself.
5. "I AM SPARTACUS!" No, not any more.
Remember logging in and seeing all those slots? Everyone has those - some buy more than the base 12, you get an extra one each year, you could have a total of 36 on any server. Everyone does. Every one has a character with a unique name. Maybe not a *good* name, but a unique one. Every one has a character with a unique name. Maybe not a *good* name, but a unique one.
Now merge servers. Suddenly, CoolBlasterDude from server 1 is getting merged with CoolBlasterDude from Server 2. Who gets to keep their name? Nobody has been able to answer this with any degree of satisfaction. Add a number? But I am NOT CoolBlasterGuy1. And what if the name's too long? Does the older character keep it? What if they're not as active?
People are *VERY* attached to their names. They are, quite obviously, part of their character.
6. "This Is SPARTA!" Sorry, Sparta exists already. You are GenericSG 8734 287 9798.
What else has a name? Supergroups. And I can *guarandamntee* that the same name is in use on multiple servers. Sometimes it's 'branches' of the same SG, sometimes it's coincidence. But with *everything* involved in an SG - from its identity and reputation on the server, to everything stored in the database about what it owns, what its base is like and such, this would be a disaster in the making. And no, auto merging them when the servers merge, even if they have room to, is not an option.
This, of course, assumes that they *CAN* move supergroups as a unit. More than likely, it'd just be a mass character move, with bases, prestige, anything stored in bases and all SG affiliations just gone forever.
7. "I am... where'd Spartacus go?"
Remember all those slots? Well, you start with 1/3 of the available ones. You can buy up to 36 total (24 on top of the ones you get initially.) Now, what do you suppose would happen if you merged two servers, and someone has, say, 20 characters on each? Not unusual. In fact, before those extra slots, I had *filled up* several servers. Do those characters just disappear? Do they move? Free move to another server sounds great, right... well, except you now kick them from their supergroup, remove them from their friends lists and more. This makes for angry and unhappy customers. Or rather, ex customers.
8. I will play where I damn well want to. And you can too.
And that should be blunt enough. If I want a crowded server, I'll go to Freedom. If I want an RP server, I'll go to Virtue. I do NOT want to be shoved onto another server I *don't* like. If I wanted to go there, *I'd be there.*
If the server you're on isn't "busy" enough for you, you have two options that won't bother anyone else.
(A) If it's low enough, reroll. You have a ton of character slots for a reason.
(B) If you don't want to reroll, server transfers are available, and relatively cheap. They also finish fast - you should be up and running and being spammed to join someone's SG on the new server in a few minutes, in most instances. So YOU can go to the server of YOUR choice without screwing ME over.
9. "It'll free up server hardware for Freedom!" No, no it won't.
Freedom, because of the load it tends to have, already has more resources dedicated to it than other servers. And ALL of the servers have been upgraded multiple times. The servers are not allocated exactly the same. The servers that handle less of a load have less dedicated to them. So this argument doesn't fly.
10. DOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!
Last but not least (at least until better points come along to be added,) server consolidation is widely viewed in the industry as an MMO going on life support. No, we don't have WoWs numbers (and you should actually pay attention to when and how they got those.) They're an abberation in the MMO industry. COH has had and does have a very successful, sustainable population even at its lowest points, so there's no economic need to combine anything. The flip side of that, of course, has been suggested above - you crowd people together, break up their SGs and friends lists, cause characters to go missing and poeple definitely *will* quit, both out of annoyance and a sense of "The game is almost dead!"
In conclusion....
As stated before, when it comes to server consolidation... HELL NO.
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Someone rang?
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I love you man.
But. . .you know. In a manly sort of way.
I'm gonna go now. o_o
I sit in my zen of not being able to do anything right while simultaniously not being able to do anything wrong. Om. -CuppaJo
It is by caffeine alone that I set my mind in motion. It is by the beans of Java that thoughts acquire speed, the hands acquire shaking, the shaking becomes a warning. It is by caffeine alone that I set my mind in motion.
Eh, perhaps 12 more slots per server for buying Going Rogue.
Speeding Through New DA Repeatables || Spreadsheet o' Enhancements || Zombie Skins: better skins for these forums || Guide to Guides
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Eh, perhaps 12 more slots per server for buying Going Rogue.
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That I'd agree with in a heartbeat. I've got toons on Virtue that I want to transfer to Freedom to be in my main VG there, but I'm running out of room on Freedom.
I sit in my zen of not being able to do anything right while simultaniously not being able to do anything wrong. Om. -CuppaJo
It is by caffeine alone that I set my mind in motion. It is by the beans of Java that thoughts acquire speed, the hands acquire shaking, the shaking becomes a warning. It is by caffeine alone that I set my mind in motion.
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Who says 36 is plenty? NCSoft is looking to hang onto players-- why not offer more slots?
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I would guess because there is not sufficient demand. Only the devs know how many people have filled all slots, how many have filled over half, etc. If 99% have used less than 30 slots (picking a number out of thin air), don't expect any increase.
Paragon City Search And Rescue
The Mentor Project
Not expecting anything, really. Enjoying the exercise, though
I know the topic has been raised in the past, but like any idea, it's worth revisiting from time to time. People have been playing this game for more than 5 years. It's reasonable to expect that some players would like to have some room for growth on their preferred servers. I currently have a free slot available to me that I can't make use of, and I would buy even more if I could add them to the server of my choice-- which would require expanding beyond 36 slots.
Even if I had 50 toons on one server, I can only play one of them at a time, so no fear of population explosion. I agree that if there is significant cost to enable slot expansion on demand and there are relatively few players interested, this idea simply won't float. But I wouldn't know that for certain, and since this would be a fee-based option, costs would be offset in any case.
#141757 We Are Legion, #99205 We Too Are Legion, #5514 Bug Hunt
VIRTUE HEROES: Ebon Witch, Essense, Ossum Possum, Eversoul, Jacob Ravenshire
VIRTUE VILLAINS: Gentleman Caller, Little Green Vistor, Black Apple, Emily & Timothy Ravenshire
My greatest love in this game is of breathing life into a hero or villain concept. I have too many toons to count, but have a particular dilemma on Virture where I long ago reached my maximum of 36 characters. What's killing me is that I can't create new toons on my favourite server where all of my online friends game, and I'm either forced to banish a B-class toons to another server (thus risking losing their names) to create a spot, or I just go without, which detracts from my experience.
Has any discussion been had on how to get around this limitation? If people are willing to pay for more than 30 slots on one server, are resources so tapped that this can't be accommodated? After all, I'd still only be able to play one toon at a time, unlike some friends who got around this and other barriers by creating a whole new account and occasionally run with two of their own toons at the same time!
This issue is very, very high on my personal wish list for this game. I'm all for new content, but it's crossed my mind that I won't be able to enjoy much new content (i.e. new AT, powersets) if I can't expand my gallery of heroes and villains on Virtue. My friends don't breed toons as rapidly as I do, so for me to start branching out to another server means that I won't be playing with my online buddies, who have a well-established network of companions on Virtue.
Is this a topic of interest for either the players or the developers?
(correction: 36 slots, not 30)
#141757 We Are Legion, #99205 We Too Are Legion, #5514 Bug Hunt
VIRTUE HEROES: Ebon Witch, Essense, Ossum Possum, Eversoul, Jacob Ravenshire
VIRTUE VILLAINS: Gentleman Caller, Little Green Vistor, Black Apple, Emily & Timothy Ravenshire