Time to merge some servers???

Redmanfx · 11-10-2009 05:59 PM

With the loss of players, my once "easy to find a team" server has become "lucky if you can find a team" server. I'm on Infinity and it's super nova days seem numbered as players have either taken a break, like I did, or simply left. What do you all think about now entertaining thoughts of finally merging some servers? Maybe two, doesn't have to be a drastic merger, but man, it's really hard to find a decent team. Kinda like having to settle for anything instead of finding a good team.

I'm all for merging a server or two so we can get some good teams rolling and bring our sg's back to life.. What say you?

Player on Infinity server
Overlord of "The Fiend Army"
39 Level 50 Toons

Dispari · 11-10-2009 06:05 PM

*facepalm*

Quote:

Originally Posted by PRAF68_EU

Dispari has more than enough credability, and certainly doesn't need to borrow any from you.

*@* Contact Info *@*

Lemur Lad · 11-10-2009 06:05 PM

I play on a lower population server, have no issues getting teams when I want them because I use the tools available, and am violently opposed to being forced to merge with a more populated server just because you don't want to put in a little thought and effort.

"Null is as much an argument "for removing the cottage rule" as the moon being round is for buying tennis shoes." -Memphis Bill

Captain_Photon · 11-10-2009 06:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dispari

*facepalm*

James May says:

"Oh, c*ck."

The_Larker · 11-10-2009 06:10 PM

Move to another server.
Transfer toons to another server.
Find an active sg/vg.
Global Channels.
Make friends.
The forum has a section on sg/vg recruiting find a group to coa or join.

ALOT of people like low pop servers,right now pops are low because of school/economy/etc.

Starting to think these "merge server threads" are like a plague every month.

I have toons on 4 different servers,with friends on all of them,I have np finding teams because,of items listed above.

Redmanfx · 11-10-2009 06:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lemur Lad

I play on a lower population server, have no issues getting teams when I want them because I use the tools available, and am violently opposed to being forced to merge with a more populated server just because you don't want to put in a little thought and effort.

It's got nothing to do with putting in a little thought and effort. I've been playing for nearly 3 years now and the server is dying. You don't have to be a rocket scientist to see it. I'm only putting forth an idea and asking your opinion. All aspect of Infinity are down, players, teams, ae, tf's, pvp, everything. Personally I have no problem continuing as is, but wanted to see the thoughts of others. : D I'd rather two low load servers merge rather then a low and high one, but I doubt any merger will come anytime in the near future as it is.

Player on Infinity server
Overlord of "The Fiend Army"
39 Level 50 Toons

GATE-keeper · 11-10-2009 06:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Redmanfx

With the loss of players, my once "easy to find a team" server has become "lucky if you can find a team" server. I'm on Infinity and it's super nova days seem numbered as players have either taken a break, like I did, or simply left. What do you all think about now entertaining thoughts of finally merging some servers? Maybe two, doesn't have to be a drastic merger, but man, it's really hard to find a decent team. Kinda like having to settle for anything instead of finding a good team.

I'm all for merging a server or two so we can get some good teams rolling and bring our sg's back to life.. What say you?

Don't rely on Broadcast to form teams. Join some of Infinity's channels such as Infinity TFs, Infinity Monsters, Infinity Badges, Inf Badge Seeker, Infinity Extreme, Infinity Hamidon. Use these channels to try and form teams or just monitor them to see if anyone else may be doing something you're interested in.

(Game is down while I am posting this, so I'm not positive on the spellings of some of those channels....)

"Everybody wants to change the world, but nobody wants to change themselves." -Tolstoy

Bronze Knight · 11-10-2009 06:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Redmanfx

With the loss of players, my once "easy to find a team" server has become "lucky if you can find a team" server. I'm on Infinity and it's super nova days seem numbered as players have either taken a break, like I did, or simply left. What do you all think about now entertaining thoughts of finally merging some servers? Maybe two, doesn't have to be a drastic merger, but man, it's really hard to find a decent team. Kinda like having to settle for anything instead of finding a good team.

I'm all for merging a server or two so we can get some good teams rolling and bring our sg's back to life.. What say you?

lolfininty

Infinity was the server that alot of people made there first Villains on. However alot the new COV players decided they didn't like the game and left. Then most of the people that were still there (mostly COH vets) left for Freedom or Justice when server moves became possible, its a ghost town now.

I know what you mean tho, I remember lagging out of Breakout back when we were all noobs them were the days.

That said I would love for this game to be single shard like EVE Online.

Captain Den'Rath 53* Merk/Traps MM, Rivona 50Energy Blast/Time Cor,Victoria Von Heilwig 53* Dual Pistols/Traps Cor, Crab Spider Webguard 53* SOA, Accela 53* Bot/FF MM,Valkyrie's Executor 53* Broadsword/Shield Def Scrap. On FREEDOM! @Knight Of Bronze

"Hypocrisy, the human inherent." "Let not this work be wasted, apply yourself always."

Dispari · 11-10-2009 06:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Redmanfx

It's got nothing to do with putting in a little thought and effort. I've been playing for nearly 3 years now and the server is dying. You don't have to be a rocket scientist to see it. I'm only putting forth an idea and asking your opinion. All aspect of Infinity are down, players, teams, ae, tf's, pvp, everything. Personally I have no problem continuing as is, but wanted to see the thoughts of others. : D I'd rather two low load servers merge rather then a low and high one, but I doubt any merger will come anytime in the near future as it is.

We need copypasta in here. But I'll sum it up for you.

1) Someone posts this thread/idea/concept once a week.

2) Some people like small servers. Getting rid of small servers by merging them is bad.

3) If you don't like your server, move. If you aren't willing to move, then it's not someone else's job to fix the problem.

Quote:

Originally Posted by PRAF68_EU

Dispari has more than enough credability, and certainly doesn't need to borrow any from you.

*@* Contact Info *@*

Lemur Lad · 11-10-2009 06:18 PM

Like I said, make use of the tools available to you. My global channels of choice are busier than they have been in months, and my global friendlist is popping nearly ever evening.

Are things less obviously busy? Yes.
Is it impossible to find people when you use the tools that let you do it easily? No.

"Null is as much an argument "for removing the cottage rule" as the moon being round is for buying tennis shoes." -Memphis Bill

Willowpaw · 11-10-2009 06:19 PM

Big question. If your preferred server were to get merged with another server, would you have any problem whatsoever with having to possibly change all your characters' names due to someone else possibly having those names on the other server?

Bronze Knight · 11-10-2009 06:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Willowpaw

Big question. If your preferred server were to get merged with another server, would you have any problem whatsoever with having to possibly change all your characters' names due to someone else possibly having those names on the other server?

Provided it was done on a first come first serve bases.

No.

Captain Den'Rath 53* Merk/Traps MM, Rivona 50Energy Blast/Time Cor,Victoria Von Heilwig 53* Dual Pistols/Traps Cor, Crab Spider Webguard 53* SOA, Accela 53* Bot/FF MM,Valkyrie's Executor 53* Broadsword/Shield Def Scrap. On FREEDOM! @Knight Of Bronze

"Hypocrisy, the human inherent." "Let not this work be wasted, apply yourself always."

Mighty_Pain · 11-10-2009 06:22 PM

Oh, is it Tuesday again already?

MA arcs: #1669, "A New Breed Rising"

je_saist · 11-10-2009 06:22 PM

The server merge idea comes up quite often... and since I haven't seen anybody post this in...

From Memphis Bill

Quote:

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.

Blood Spectre · 11-10-2009 06:25 PM

There are some truths being overlooked here.

1) Infinity is a shrinking server. It was once, and for many years remaining a serious contender for the title of third largest server. It no longer is remotely close.

2) We always had a large PvP community, many of whom didn't care for new PvP and left. Plenty were willing to stick by it, but as their friends left, the decline started and, and more still left. This has lead to the over all decline of the server.

3) Infinity wasn't always small. When I bought 27 slots on it, it wasn't small. Moving 27 slots at 10 dollars a pop isnt going to happen.

4) Those things said, there are good work around you can use to get in touch with the core of Infinity's excellent player community.

5) Check out Rogue Isles Legends, my weekly villain team. We take all comers, so if you want in, shout when I am online (Global @Blood Spectre). We're running a treespec whenever the servers come up.

Paragon Unleashed, Unleash Yourself!

GeneralKnowledge · 11-10-2009 06:25 PM

Oh sure, we should all merge our servers, potentially lose our character names, and give up on servers that are working just fine for us just because someone is having an inconvienience. I am on a very low population server, and I never have problems finding a team, partly through getting to know the server and partly through using tools that have been set up by the players. I don't care how long you've been playing, it's not fair to us to have to change/lose our servers because a few people are having trouble on their server.

Redmanfx · 11-10-2009 06:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dispari

We need copypasta in here. But I'll sum it up for you.

1) Someone posts this thread/idea/concept once a week.

2) Some people like small servers. Getting rid of small servers by merging them is bad.

3) If you don't like your server, move. If you aren't willing to move, then it's not someone else's job to fix the problem.

I don't have a problem. I like my server, it's nice with mostly vets. This was a post for discussion and I haven't seen many merger post so if your tired of seeing them then don't post in them and jump all over me for just passing time since the game is down.