One Server - One active community!
By
Blue Rabbit,
Posted on: 2008-12-19 09:55 in CoH and CoV General Discussions
I don't consider myself a "forum good boy" or anything along the line, neither do I think I have a huge post count, but please - this subject has been done to death and back again.
Jade_Warrior - you said:
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No one new ever comes in here saying "lets keep the servers" it the same people who want to keep them that keep chanting "there is no server population problem". And its these same people who will end up being the death of the game.
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In real life I work in Customer Relations. The role of my department is to listen to, deal with and feedback compliments, comments, feedback and suggestions to the right departments.
99% of my day-to-day work is dealing with complaints, in fact if I was to just listen to the contacts I have with customers I would wonder how my company stays afloat or ever has customers returning.
But here's the kicker, today my department took about 350 calls, we have 80,000 customers a day, so we've got to be doing something right. Indeed when we send out surveys the amount of positive feedback we get is great and we are regularly given awards.
The point is that people aren't likely to write in to a company to say "Thank you for giving me what I expected from you" people write in either to say "you're not giving me what I expect" or they say "you exceeded all my expectations and wildest dreams."
I think that the fact that most of the people who play the game don't say that there needs to be a server merge speaks volumes, but what speaks even louder is the fact that the people who run the game and who can see the actual numbers have said that there is no need at the moment.
So yes Jade - it really is the case that:
"There is no server population problem,
there will not be a server merge"
Edited to add "at the moment"
xxx Ethan xxx
Yes, I'm one of those sad folk on twitter!
"Do not underestimate the power of Shiny�" - Mothers_Love
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"There is no server population problem,
there will not be a server merge"
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You see there? That's a opnion not a fact.
No offense intended, you're a good guy Efan, but you do need to understand that some people do think there is a population problem.
Btw, there is no CURRENT plans to merge servers, it is not set in stone. So it may happen, just not atm.
Thanks for that reply The_Phantoms, and sorry for missing the "at the moment" off my last post - it's fixed now!
The quote that you took from my post however wasn't mine, it was the "chant" that Jade_Warrior took up huuuge chunks of the thread with. But the fact behind it is that NC* Whatever they are now (I always mix up acronyms) have stated that there isn't a problem with the current numbers, they are happy enough with the current numbers and the current numbers are financially viable. So much so that they have employed more staff in recent months to work on the game.
The_Phantoms, as I said here I realise that this is something you and a few other people feel very strongly about, and yes - maybe the servers aren't as busy as you would like them - but they are busy enough and that isn't an opinion, it's a fact borne out by NC's continued commitment to the game. 
As I said in my last post, just because a vocal minority say that there's a problem doesn't mean there is one, just that they perceive one. In the same vein, just because people say there isn't a problem it doesn't mean they're right either. The numbers tell the true story and the only people who know them are NC (as the only people with all the facts).
xxx Ethan xxx
Yes, I'm one of those sad folk on twitter!
"Do not underestimate the power of Shiny�" - Mothers_Love
There is also a vocal minority who are against merging. But thanks efan for supplying your ideas about this subject. You are of course absolutely right that what you read here is not the entire truth.
Of course as we don't know the whole truth there is no idea to KNOW what the developers are considering for the future even if they don't have current plans for drastic moves like the server merge. They have done it on other games where a lot of people said that such a thing would never happen and from friends playing that game things have improved by that bold decision.
Most of us mergelovers are in favor of this because of what we encounter in the game. We make comparisons to what we have seen before. In my case a few years of having fun with this game. I don't see as many people zipping around as I used to. When I am trying to get a PuG it is much much harder to get one then it used to be. Especially when I play on the Red side or on Defiant where I have give up on PuGs completely. I notice that during events there is no longer a need for two instances of the same map. (skislope anybody?)
Would I like to see a great many extra players? You bet, I love the feeling of a crowded server. So yes I am in favor for any ploy to get that accomplished. A server merger could help here but it would only be a stopgap solution of course. I like the option to merge server lists better (also stopgap I realize). That way everybody can keep their beloved servers and names but with the option to check out the more crowded servers as well. However wishes don't always come true, so I will try to enjoy the game as best as possible within the limits it is now.
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No offense intended, you're a good guy Efan, but you do need to understand that some people do think there is a population problem.
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I think he does, to be honest.
I, too, can see that some folks are pro-merge and generally it seems to be someone of that persuasion who kicks off these posts; we anti-merge protestors are simply responding so that we make it clear that there are just as many folks who say no to a merge.
Rather than leave the original statement unanswered we're just presenting the counter-argument (for balance's sake).
Anyway, you have a nice day, Mr Phantoms, sir 
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more RP going on
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What liar told you that? Union always had the better roleplaying environment.
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I think he meant more variety of RP going on, rather than just dozens of middle-aged men cybering each other with their teenage lesbian catgirls.
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You really have no clue about what RP goes on, do you, GG?
The wisdom of Shadowe: Ghostraptor: The Shadowe is wise ...; FFM: Shadowe is no longer wise.
; Techbot_Alpha: Also, what Shadowe said. It seems he is still somewhat wise 
; Bull Throttle: Shadowe was unwise in this instance...; Rock_Powerfist: in this instance Shadowe is wise.; Techbot_Alpha: Shadowe is very wise *nods*; Zortel: *Quotable line about Shadowe being wise goes here.*
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more RP going on
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What liar told you that? Union always had the better roleplaying environment.
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I think he meant more variety of RP going on, rather than just dozens of middle-aged men cybering each other with their teenage lesbian catgirls.
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You really have no clue, do you GG?
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Fixed that for you.
@Dante EU - Union Roleplayer and Altisis Victim
The Militia: Union RP Supergroup - www.themilitia.org.uk
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As I said in my last post, just because a vocal minority say that there's a problem doesn't mean there is one, just that they perceive one. In the same vein, just because people say there isn't a problem it doesn't mean they're right either. The numbers tell the true story and the only people who know them are NC (as the only people with all the facts).
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Of course, once we do see them, it isn't a case of "They aren't low" it's rather a case of "In my opnion, that's a low number." or "In my opnion, that's a high number."
That just leads us right back where we started. Some people think x number is big, some don't.
There is no flaw to this argument, the number of servers is directly a result of the ability of equipment and infrastructure to cope with the anticipated load, by no stretch of the imagination is that load as severe as it was at launch nor are the technological restrictions as tight.
There are legitimate concerns as to the actual impact of a merge on so 'established' a population....if a merge did go ahead some long term players may well leave and the nature of the game enjoyed by people at that last moment might well change for the worse...so its by no means an exact science.
At some stage the need for a merge will become an essential process to ensure new players find...anyone... human nature will see the older community members resist this as long as possible, we can only hope that in making demands for or against a server merge - at any time - the powers that be at NCsoft are wiser and more courageous than both.
QR
I thought it would be time to bring the charts in.
http://www.mmogchart.com/Chart2.html
As you can see in the chart, CoX's peak population was fall 2005. After that, it went down - and it still is.
And we are left with just under 150,000 subs. The peak was almost 200,000.
So that means we have actually lost over 50,000 subs with the years going by.
That's 25% of the population of the peak time, fall 2005.
A quarter is a big drop for any MMO, although NC are pleased with subs, they need to look very very closely at these numbers. Because they have actually been going down and the NC buying hasn't stopped it.
Yes there was a bump after the NC buying but only a little and then it went down again.
And closing down servers helps to bring new people in how exactly?
@True Metal
Co-leader of Callous Crew SG. Based on Union server.
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And closing down servers helps to bring new people in how exactly?
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It wont, it would probably do the opposite, what it would do though is consolidate the players that are in the EU, and produce 1 well populated server.
But any new player would only replace the many who will leave because of the merge, me being one of them.
With no guarantee the new players will stay its a risk IMO.
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It wont, it would probably do the opposite, what it would do though is consolidate the players that are in the EU, and produce 1 well populated server.
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At the cost of an expensive transfer job, a large brouhaha amongst the players, the apperance of a game in decline and making it a lot harder to expand the European playerbase beyond what will comfortably fit on a single server anytime in the future.
The costs exceeds the benefits.
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It wont, it would probably do the opposite, what it would do though is consolidate the players that are in the EU, and produce 1 well populated server.
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At the cost of an expensive transfer job, a large brouhaha amongst the players, the apperance of a game in decline and making it a lot harder to expand the European playerbase beyond what will comfortably fit on a single server anytime in the future.
The costs exceeds the benefits.
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I think the days of huge EU population explosions are over to be honest. Maybe hanging on to whats here wouldnt be a bad idea.
As for the huge supposed exodus over names, well, thats all been been said before for various reason, ED for example.
What people say and what they do when push comes to shove are 2 different things.
Also the name issue could be sorted out amicably with a bit of thought.
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It wont, it would probably do the opposite, what it would do though is consolidate the players that are in the EU, and produce 1 well populated server.
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At the cost of an expensive transfer job, a large brouhaha amongst the players, the apperance of a game in decline and making it a lot harder to expand the European playerbase beyond what will comfortably fit on a single server anytime in the future.
The costs exceeds the benefits.
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Making it only one EU server will not look like the game is in decline its already doing that on its own having to many under populated servers.
Besides imo all of this is just hot air as imo what will make the game die and already is lack of content and silly mistakes made by the devs.
To many MMos are about to hit the market and they will make cox look like its standing still, people will vote with there feet and are already doing so.
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I think the days of huge EU population explosions are over to be honest.
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*shrugs* Possibly, but from the work NCSoft has done on the game in the last nine months or so, it would seem they're not ready to throw in the towel just yet. (It doesn't make sense to, among other things, do so much work on quality of life and UI changes if they're not trying to get new people in.) Assuming NCSoft will be trying to increase subscriptions -- or at the very least want to keep that strategy open as a possibility -- it doesn't make any sense for them, at all, to consolidate any servers at this time.
And, honestly, what would the potential gain be? The main reason why the game appear emptier and why it might be harder to find PUGs is not because of the fairly undramatic decrease in subscribers, but because of changes to the game itself: the players that are online are spread across many more zones, modes of play and established groups of players than there were when the game was new.
The reason why it's gotten harder to find teams is not so much that there's now only 300 players online when there used to be 400[1]. It's because that out of of those 300, 50 are playing villains, another 25 are heroes but in PvP zones, 30 are farming loot with their level 50s, 20 are doing Orobourous, another 20 are busy working the market and making inventions, some are off doing Mothership Raids, some are doing story archs and taskforces for the merits, and quite a few are doing half-[censored] soloing while they're chattering with their friends on a channel or supergroup broadcast. That doesn't leave a lot of characters to hunt Trolls in the Hollows.
[1] Or whichever numbers one might find representative.
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I think the days of huge EU population explosions are over to be honest.
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*shrugs* Possibly, but from the work NCSoft has done on the game in the last nine months or so, it would seem they're not ready to throw in the towel just yet. (It doesn't make sense to, among other things, do so much work on quality of life and UI changes if they're not trying to get new people in.) Assuming NCSoft will be trying to increase subscriptions -- or at the very least want to keep that strategy open as a possibility -- it doesn't make any sense for them, at all, to consolidate any servers at this time.
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Excellent, i hope all that works out for them, i really do.
My opinion that 1 EU server is better than what we have now is still the same though.
long term players will b!itch and moan from time to time but have already endured a lot and not gone, there's actually very little that the game will now do that will really cause them to depart at anything other than their natural ageing rate.
New players however are a different kettle of fish, as they log in they see a degree of activity and become involved into the community and team and generally level faster.... a larger population gives them more options and increases the likelihood of them sticking with it.
Hopefully in future the technology will be set to serve the populace rather than the other way around - servers wont split populations instead multiple servers can be used to hold zones that can be dynamically micro managed....that way the community is unified from the beginning, petty intrusions of server racism and self importance are avoided and the infrastructure behind the scenes can be expanded or contracted according to need seamlessly.
You're welcome
@Golden Girl
City of Heroes comics and artwork