time to merge the servers

Originally Posted by Memphis_Bill Copypasta

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.

Originally Posted by Chaos Creator

I'd tell you where to go but we don't want your kind.

Originally Posted by SwellGuy

I believe the reason the same people post this same tired complaint so often is player notes and ignore lists.

However in fairness to the OP if you aren't on Freedom or Virtue, go there. If you are, then please suggest the devs merge Freedom and Virtue to make you happy. I believe Bill will be along shortly with all the reasons why merging is bad.

Originally Posted by joshx

sense where living in diff realitys

Originally Posted by Smurphy

I agree.

Originally Posted by Fleeting Whisper

Yeah, I had a full team, chatty /boardcast, and lag spikes at the market on Freedom just last Thursday. Now it's possible that Freedom's activity has been reduced by two orders of magnitude in the past 6 days, but unlikely.

Originally Posted by joshx

will you guys can all be denial,i love to have what your all smoking, sense where living in diff realitys



"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."


HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH, when was that post made 2004, about Freedom
HAHAHAHA i am on freedom, lag spikes near market, and busy broadcasts

O your funny, i have not seen One of these,

i have Seen none of this , its a ghost time during nite time

you guys are living in the past, , am glad how some of you have friends, but news players see ghost towns, and

ALL you people who wanted AE nerf, congrats,

you have Killed new players leveling,
and have the Balls, to say, Leave our game, their countless newbs left to riot in ghost towns with NO ONE ON to do missions with

read that again
new players can't find mission teams during anytime but prime time

wake up and smell the decay, i guest people just like being jerks and ********

also think very careful of my next words

if this game all about alts,
then why the hell would i want to make a alt, face ghost towns, and have to do the same old content, over and over by my self

AE made leveling Alts better, you cryed, whined and taken it away

i have no motive to make alts, its hard as hell just to get my main in groups, SENSE their no groups going on in the first place

god you people jus't don't get it

let players do whatever they want, if everyone wants to hang in AE, let them, all the jerks got their wish of AE death,

and now their no REAL player base of any great numbers to support people doing their missions, congrats, your stupid is killing the game

i cant fix stupid, you just have to learn the hard way, mark my words, if something is not done fast, the decay will only get faster and faster, to their none thing left but small hand full of you on each server

i guest i just keep on playin, looking for these groups "hiding all over the world", doing all the content, sense it seems, you think thats whats going on LMAO

AE pugs rocked, thanks for murdering it , and replacing it with...............
, a ghost town, you are all smart to think your helping this game by killing the pop and bashing people wanting Just to find a group

Originally Posted by Westley

Looks like City_Life created yet another account.

Originally Posted by joshx

as a new player to the game
i can't find a full group during anytime but peak time
as a nite time player, am lucky to find more then 2 people to group with to do more then 1 mission before everyone breaks up

if we do get one going, people leave faster then we get new ones loggin in lft


am sick of this, i play to blow stuff up, with others, Not sit their for hours looking for more, doing solo content

if i wanted to do solo content i would of Freaking buyed a RPG

its time, to Merge these servers, for the sake of making life easyer for us Pug people


i won't be staying here long as a new player, the servers are all ghost towns, and anyone staying up late, would know the Pop is dead, and Pug grouping is a shell of former self

AE has been murdered, and i can't find any leveling groups for the life of me

fix this devs, fix it now