No way to do so. (Not least because, well, what if not everyone wanted to move, etc, etc.)
Doesn't mean you can't try to get the same name and all, but you will be starting from scratch when you do.
Is this a question or a complaint? 
But I do agree, since I was in a similar situation recently.
Yes well more a complaint. A complaint as it has become apparent that Inifinity has dwindled in activity quite a bit. Complaint because the volume of traffic on said server makes it hard to have a thriving SG compared to the past.
All current-active members would be given the option of staying or moving with the SG.
This of course would be easier if a couple/few lower performing servers were merged. Call it Pheonix?
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Not this poor tired & most extremely dead horse again... |
Originally Posted by DarkInvado
This of course would be easier if a couple/few lower performing servers were merged. Call it Pheonix?
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At least the meat is kept nice and tender.
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Originally Posted by Panzerwaffen
Not this poor tired & most extremely dead horse again...
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"My inner mind has become a reality-cracking overgod. He torments me! Help!"
I sense I have stepped into a previously trod pile of poo. That being said it is a new pile of poo for me as I have, over time, reached a point of being fed up with lack of activity.
Yes, the poo being two fold...
1. The servers are usually not as "empty" as perceived.
2. Many of us don't WANT to be on busy servers. We're on the less-traveled ones on purpose.
Dec out.
Moving SGs not possible, I would have moved my SG I had on Protector to Infinity years ago. Before the 36 cap per server was around, Infinity was my hero and Protector was my villain server. Infinity has dwindled a bit, but not more then usual pre-issue release.
And because this topic gets mentioned over and over.
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(Credit to Memphis Bill) 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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RE: The Bolded Part -|
Originally Posted by DarkInvado
Yes well more a complaint. A complaint as it has become apparent that Inifinity has dwindled in activity quite a bit. Complaint because the volume of traffic on said server makes it hard to have a thriving SG compared to the past.
All current-active members would be given the option of staying or moving with the SG. This of course would be easier if a couple/few lower performing servers were merged. Call it Pheonix? |
Well, isn't that nice of you. You "give an option" for your SG members to spend money to follow your lead or give up whatever work they have put into the SG.
Altoholic - but a Blaster at Heart!
Originally Posted by SpyralPegacyon
"You gave us a world where we could fly. I can't thank you enough for that."
LOL Ad. Of course this isn't ever going to happen so the statement is merely wishful thinking. Your drawing down on it... Pointless.
It occurs to me that all this chatter about why not to or why to consolidate servers is done in a vacuum sans data. I, anecdotally, sense a change in activity level on my server: Prices of IOs and salvage surge to levels higher than I have seen before (at one point 10 million for some rares, a one time 250 million sale of an lvl 50 Obliteration rare) while the number of toons on at the same time as I am drops (as determined by looking at friends online and online populations of global chat channels), and because of these sensed changes I conclude the server population (and general population in the case of the market changes) is down. W/o having the actual server population and traffic numbers I don't really know the population is down.
So, yes I am guessing that server population is down to levels lower than any I have been a part of in my 4+ years playing the game and it has gotten to the point where I would like to move to a more populated server.
Is it hard to conceive that I would also like to bring all my hard work with me and resurrect a long standing SG?
Yeah I agree with you. I had the same thought a couple months back when free server transfers started. You got lucky when I saw your topic I thought... UH OH.... What did the lynch mob do to this guy? You had nice people reply to you. I have a million people come in and tell me the SG is not mine, and for me to think I had the right to move it is appauling.
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Just pointing out that the market is cross server (though not cross faction) and such pricing has nothing to do with the activity level on any single server.
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Originally Posted by DarkInvado
I, anecdotally, sense a change in activity level on my server: Prices of IOs and salvage surge to levels higher than I have seen before (at one point 10 million for some rares, a one time 250 million sale of an lvl 50 Obliteration rare) …
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I think part of the reason Infinity seems down is that the pvp changes have sent the pvp SGs to Freedom. This is definitely the case with dUmb, one of Infinity's more well known and respected SGs.
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Originally Posted by DarkInvado
It occurs to me that all this chatter about why not to or why to consolidate servers is done in a vacuum sans data. I, anecdotally, sense a change in activity level on my server: Prices of IOs and salvage surge to levels higher than I have seen before (at one point 10 million for some rares, a one time 250 million sale of an lvl 50 Obliteration rare)
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Originally Posted by StarGeek
Just pointing out that the market is cross server (though not cross faction) and such pricing has nothing to do with the activity level on any single server.
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If we are to die, let us die like men. -- Patrick Cleburne
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The rule is that they must be loved. --Jayne Fynes-Clinton, Death of an Abandoned Dog
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While dUmb is well known and a large group, they aren't the only group on Infinity. dUmb is well known on a large scale due to how social they are to everyone regardless of being in the group or not. However their move was felt in all pvp zones, much like when Streetbound quit. Don't see too many Killswitch around anymore either, did they make the move to Freedom pvp as well?|
Originally Posted by Murdok
I think part of the reason Infinity seems down is that the pvp changes have sent the pvp SGs to Freedom. This is definitely the case with dUmb, one of Infinity's more well known and respected SGs.
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Things will pick up w/ i17 and GR, most are just bored with the game.
My line noting that market changes are not related to specific servers was apparently a bit obtuse for some readers... "...the server population (and general population in the case of the market changes)..."
This doesn't instill confidence that some people can actually read, as for their observations? Meh...
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The market changes not even being directly related to total activity on all servers was also part of the objection. This has been rather thoroughly discussed before, but the short form is that fluctuations in population do not directly influence the markets' supply or pricing, and the effects they do have can be counter-intuitive.|
Originally Posted by DarkInvado
My line noting that market changes are not related to specific servers was apparently a bit obtuse for some readers... "...the server population (and general population in the case of the market changes)..."
This doesn't instill confidence that some people can actually read, as for their observations? Meh... |
Suggestion: Make new alts or transfer to the server of your choice and then make a new SG there. If the SG members are fairly active it won't be long at all until you have a very nice base again.
If for some strange reason you want to be really petty and childish like an SG leader (that shall remain nameless) was a year or so back you could kick everyone out of the SG and delete the base before you go. (Since such narcissistic behavior was the norm more than the exception for that person i was never a member of that SG, but i felt a bit sorry for some of the people who'd bought into his BS prior to it happening.)
Dr. Todt's theme.
i make stuff...
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And, since the markets are CROSS-SERVER, you've just demonstrated that, literally, you don't know what you're talking about. Quit while you're ahead? |
Originally Posted by DarkInvado
It occurs to me that all this chatter about why not to or why to consolidate servers is done in a vacuum sans data. I, anecdotally, sense a change in activity level on my server: Prices of IOs and salvage surge to levels higher than I have seen before
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Paragon City Search And Rescue
The Mentor Project
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Sorry. When I read the wrong part, I lost interest in reading the rest so I didn't finish up the huge run-on sentence that only became clear 3 lines later on. |
Originally Posted by DarkInvado
My line noting that market changes are not related to specific servers was apparently a bit obtuse for some readers... "...the server population (and general population in the case of the market changes)..."
This doesn't instill confidence that some people can actually read, as for their observations? Meh... |
Paragon City Search And Rescue
The Mentor Project
Iron you suck at reading, apologies and insults.
The point in the market observation is this: A rapid increase in prices indicates a reduction in total play time. A reduction in the amount total time played (all servers) leads to a reducion in the amount of supply, a reduction in the amount of supply would (my assumption w/o data other than indidvidual observations) lead to an increase in prices. Price increases would be driven by well off players willing to spend whatever needed to obtain particular IOs. If total hours played over all servers is dropping then it is a reasonable leap to assume that the same is happening at the local level.
Of course I really shouldn't have to spell this all out should I?
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You assume too much.|
Originally Posted by DarkInvado
The point in the market observation is this: A rapid increase in prices indicates a reduction in total play time. A reduction in the amount total time played (all servers) leads to a reducion in the amount of supply, a reduction in the amount of supply would (my assumption w/o data other than indidvidual observations) lead to an increase in prices. Price increases would be driven by well off players willing to spend whatever needed to obtain particular IOs. If total hours played over all servers is dropping then it is a reasonable leap to assume that the same is happening at the local level.
Of course I really shouldn't have to spell this all out should I? |
Reduced play time would result in reduced supply *AND* reduced income with which to buy things. Would the reduced supply or reduced influence have the greater impact? If you THINK you know the answer, explain why. I freely admit that I don't know. Like when people argue about the impact of farmers on the market - do they drive prices up (by buying things with the influence they earn) or drive prices down ( by selling drops).....
Paragon City Search And Rescue
The Mentor Project
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The reduced income part doesn't necessarily follow. Because items are bought by individuals, specific players may be drastically increasing their playing time and income while overall income and playing time is decreasing.|
Originally Posted by Ironblade
You assume too much.
Reduced play time would result in reduced supply *AND* reduced income with which to buy things. |
Also, players who play certain ways can have drastically larger incomes than players who run other content for the same amount of time. For example, players with lots of AoE attacks can farm purples very efficiently by running standard level 50 content at -1/x8. Their earning potential is thousands of times greater than someone spending the same amount of time running level 15 content.
When you have a few extremely wealthy individuals bidding for a smaller pool of rare items, the price goes way up.
But, as you say, we don't really know what's going on because we don't really have any first-hand knowledge of actual playing time. However, past experience indicates that when a new issue is in beta testing many players are either on Training Room, or taking a break from the game because the new release is coming soon and they want to be rarin' to go when it drops.
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You know what they say about assuming..
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Originally Posted by DarkInvado
it is a reasonable leap to assume
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Iron -
In this case it is a safe assumption. Further, actual income generated could drop a lot and there still could be a surge in prices as players use accumulated wealth to make purchases. Not to mention you can buy 1 billion for 15 bucks. You can bet those guys are not going to leave the game until people stop buying Inf from them.
Given the current state of CoH I think the only thing that would drive prices down would a change in the drop rates. There is just way too much money sloshing around the system.
I am the commander (supreme) of The Legionnaires on Infinity. I have spent my entire CoH "career" on Infinity including all of my 10+ 50s. The SG is a top 35ish SG (not sure if that is just on Infinity of overall) and has taken quite a lot of effort (not just mine) to build up.
Currently Infinity feels, well, dead. Not just slow but dead. I ventured over to another server and created a hero to tour another base and, POW, there were lots of people running all over. I have had to repeatedly rescue this SG and its is time to either do it again, knowing in certainty that a lot of effort won't lead to a sustained SG, or move to another server to find some life!
I want to take my SG with me! I am guessing not possible but it really should be.
To be honest I would gladly shed my current roster of heroes to have a chance to start over in a more lively environment.
Tell me I am cracked but shouldn't we be able to jump off a sinking ship and bring our luggage with us?