Good Idea to shut down servers?
By
Ad Astra,
Posted on: 2011-05-22 21:09 in CoH and CoV General Discussions
No.
And yes, it has been talked about before.
Let's see if I have a copy of my own copypasta.... trimming out the how to search, which changed some in this version of the forum software...
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And adding one other reason, relevant to recent events:|
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. It isn't meant to cause fights or to be insulting. 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. Now, why: 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. |
Yes, the low levels feel bare. Now go search and see how many people are clustered on 50s in PocketD/RWZ. Welcome to the Incarnate years.
Also, we just had a server LIST merge, allowing access (that has been asked for for some time from our fellow European players) to a bunch of new servers. So put yourself in their place - "Hey, I just got to make new characters/shuffle some of mine over! Wait, the server's being closed?" /quit.
Bill already gave you the best response you're going to get out of your OP, but I'll make a few comments. You basically did nothing post a list of "but people are playing the game wrong!"
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There are still plenty of costume contests. And you can always host your own if you wanted. It's not a lack of population that kills costume contests.|
Originally Posted by _Rial13_
Now, I've been playing for a long time, and I still love this genre and this game. I remember when people did costume contests under the Statue of Atlus.
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| I remember when you couldn't get away from people broadcasting for new members to join their SG. |
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| I remember when SG members used to run around in matching costumes. |
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| I remember when there were a couple of SGs that operated Taxi Services and Tours that would team teleport a group to all the exploration badges on a map AND give them background information about the landmarks in the game! |
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| I remember when I was teaming with a crew and we were on a mission that was too hard, so we would call in favors with online SG members and if that didn't work, we went to the Coalition. |
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| I remember when SG leaders would hold online parties in their base for newbies to meet everyone and for coalition members to come say hello. |
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| Shut down some of the lesser populated servers and consolidate players and characters. Let the good times roll! Remember, if the servers grow too populated again, you could always just open another server back up! |
And if it doesn't work out (presumably because you're still unhappy) they can alway just replace the server and all the characters on it and all their SGs. How generous of you.
"Mastermind Pets operate...differently, and aren't as easily fixed. Especially the Bruiser. I want to take him out behind the woodshed and pull an "old yeller" on him at times." - Castle
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Also - as much as I appreciated the Taxibots way back when, they just arent' as needed now. |
Originally Posted by Oldeb
So make a group like the Taxibots and do this. There is nothing stopping you or anyone else except a lack of interest. This is another idea that has nothing to do with a server merge, just a complaint about how people aren't playing like you want them to.
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Compare getting around NOW to getting around - say, when I started, issue 3.
- We have SG teleporters that drop you right into zone, usually with a shorter distance to most missions.
- Vet powers - Mission teleporter.
- No debt until level 10.
- Spawns have generally been moved around, so you're not going from a group of level 7 Outcasts into a group of level 15 Trolls.
- Jetpacks are available free at level 5 (ok, you're usually worked up to level 7 just through doing missions) via Safeguard/Mayhem, or from recipes, or day jobs, or buying flat out for 10k inf (which is trivial to get.)
- SSKing means one higher level can bump a whole GROUP up past the level where anything is a threat.
- Team Recall vet power is fairly widely available.
Basically, other than their (still fun) tours, the Taxibots purpose is widely obsolete. Complaining about their lack as proof of anything is like complaining about the lack of horse watering stations.
As far as a mission beign "too hard" or "too easy," no need generally to call in more than one other person - we've got difficulty sliders now, very finely grained, so you can run at -1/x0 to +4/x8.
My two cents: I played with 2 brand new players over this past weekend, each on a different server. In the last two weeks, I have played with a third player, whom I showed how to flip the generic recipes on auction for quick cash. Over a weekend, he garnered 5 million and an appreciation for market basics.
Triumphant Defenders Forever
Psylenz FF/Psi, ArticQuark Storm/Rad, Symon BarSisyphus Bots/psn, Max VanSydow Thugs/Dk, Cyclone Symon Bots/stm, Blue Loki Ice/Cd, Widow 46526
HelinCarnate:OMG it is so terrible. I have the option to take 3 more powers but no additional slots. Boo F'ing hoo.
Noooooooo!!! <em cry_of_anguish D; >
Unless they can transfer bases, I'd rather they don't. I have bases on a lot of servers.
Transfer your toon (or make a new one) to Freedom or Virtue. The costume contests, SG spam etc, it all still happens there
This game has a big population that likes low traffic servers for different reasons.
Personally, if you can make sure I get to keep all my bases/SGs, all my alts (at least 15+ per server per account), all my character slots and their names, I am all for a server merge
/signed with what everyone else said but I will make a few additional comments.
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| As it is now, I can talk up this game to some friends (Or people I don't know, as I work at GameStop) and convince them to get the game. They hear me talk about the vast character customization, expansive maps, impressive super power selection, and the changing of sides from Hero to Villain and back again with everything in the middle, and then they want to see it for themselves. |
And yet while you are spending all that time convincing people to try out the game it never crossed your mind once to tell them that if they want to play on a busy server they should make their characters on Virtue, Freedom, or Union. It also never crossed your mind to explain to them how to join global channels so they will have an easier time meeting people in the game.
Sounds like the problem is you and your failure to inform those people of their options.
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| when they do find someone to play with (by chance) that person runs through everything pretty much without any help because they've got Veteran upgrades out the wazoo. |
What Veteran Upgrades are you talking about?
Ghost Axe or Sands of Mu?
Base Teleporter?
Nemesis Staff or Black Wand?
Assemble the Team Teleport?
Buff Pet?
Reveal Map power?
These are the only Vet upgrades the game has and they don't help anyone run thru anything without help.
Or are you talking about IO Enhancements and the Incarnate stuff which is available to everyone from the very first day they activate their account. All they have to do is have the recipes/salvage to craft them and the Inf to pay for them or buy them on the market. Or have characters a high enough level to run thru the Incarnate stuff and start earning shards/etc.
Again that sounds like you are failing to explain how the game actually works to these people.
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| I've been playing for a long time |
Then you should know enough to explain to people how the server population is spread out, and how to use global channals to meet people.
And if the real problem here is that you personally don't like the server you are on anymore then pony up the cash and buy some server transfers, or start some new characters on Freedom, Virtue, or Union.
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Originally Posted by Moderator 08
This topic comes up from time to time, and is never conducive to productive discussion. I contemplating finding an old lock comment and re-posting it, but decided that would be counterproductive (and the humor would probably be a bit lost on everyone).
Instead let me say this, next time this topic comes up please avoid the discussion. Just don't post, it's not like if you avoid this subject somehow Doom will come to Sarnath... I mean Paragon City. On this subject we use a lot more internal research to inform our decision making because we can see exactly how many people logged on, how many people teamed, how long people stayed on, etc. We have the actual details, so we can make decisions from a far more informed PoV. We are aware of how players from both perspectives feel about this issue, hashing it out repeatedly in the forums doesn't help. |
Hugs Lisar and gives her an internet cookie.
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Mmm tastes like memes.
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Originally Posted by Forbin_Project
Hugs Lisar and gives her an internet cookie.
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To my knowledge, CoH has never advertised on TV. On Facebook, they're always posting about articles done by other MMO gaming sites like Massively and RockPaperShotgun, or talking about promotions. Same goes for Twitter. |
Originally Posted by _Rial13_
I don't frequent the forums, so I don't know if this has been talked about before, but I spoke with someone online today about how everyone who plays COH is a Veteran. There really aren't any new players and recruiting new players is difficult because COH doesn't advertise anymore. It's not on TV, it doesn't do much on Facebook, and I don't even know about Twitter.
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| One of the best aspects of this game besides the impressive character customization selection, is the team play aspect. The more players you have on a team, the better. This is an outstanding game, people just don't really know about it. That being said, I think it'd be a good idea if COH hyped up one of its best aspects, team play, by shutting down some of the lesser populated servers. Give people a grace period to move their toons to whichever servers will remain active, and consolidate all of their players onto fewer servers. With more people playing together, the few new players that come to the game, will STAY with the game. With a bunch of people staying with COH, word will get around about how great a game this is AND it'll have the content to back up said claims for people who are just observing. They'll see plenty of Super Heroes and Super Villains (and anywhere in between) playing together or against each other and decide, "Hey, I wanna do that too!" |
That's a recipe for making vets leave the game. You know, people who've been playing for years, in the hopes of attracting some new players. Also, in MMO's, server merges tend to make people think 'that game is going down the pan, I won't invest my time into it.'
So, your plan consists of alienating vets to try and attract people who might not even play because they think the game is going down the drain. That's lose/lose.
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| As it is now, I can talk up this game to some friends (Or people I don't know, as I work at GameStop) and convince them to get the game. They hear me talk about the vast character customization, expansive maps, impressive super power selection, and the changing of sides from Hero to Villain and back again with everything in the middle, and then they want to see it for themselves. What they get is a subscription to the game, a really long update time, and then when they finally do pick a server, create a character, and get in the fight, they find that they're accomplishing mission after mission solo style. It's a level 3, lost and alone in big, bad Paragon City with too many level 50s flying around to stop and help them out. They'll get bored because they can't find anyone their level to play with, and when they do find someone to play with (by chance) that person runs through everything pretty much without any help because they've got Veteran upgrades out the wazoo. The only thing the team play may have going for it now is the funny conversations you may have with people as they destroy stuff for you. |
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| Now, I've been playing for a long time, and I still love this genre and this game. |
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| I remember when people did costume contests under the Statue of Atlus. |
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| I remember when you couldn't get away from people broadcasting for new members to join their SG. |
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| I remember when SG members used to run around in matching costumes. |
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| I remember when there were a couple of SGs that operated Taxi Services and Tours that would team teleport a group to all the exploration badges on a map AND give them background information about the landmarks in the game! |
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| I remember when I was teaming with a crew and we were on a mission that was too hard, so we would call in favors with online SG members and if that didn't work, we went to the Coalition. |
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| I remember when SG leaders would hold online parties in their base for newbies to meet everyone and for coalition members to come say hello. |
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| I remember forming sewer teams to quickly get out of the lower levels. I remember hanging out at the Arachnos base looking for fellow lowbies to help me clear out some snakes. I remember all of these great moments in COH history in the past 7 years of Super and I want it back! |
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| Shut down some of the lesser populated servers and consolidate players and characters. Let the good times roll! Remember, if the servers grow too populated again, you could always just open another server back up! |
Oh no.
I'd be here on the forums pouring out righteous rage, while in another tabbed window I'd be unsubscribing and wondering what to do with my £8.99 a month that's now not going to a game that treats me like dross.
Get CoH to shoot up some junk, have a few whiskeys and go driving fast down a country road. It'd be less self-destructive than your suggestion.
This is probably the best reply I've heard:
"I feel ya. I fondly recall the days when Infinity would be full of life. It seemed you'd never pass Atlas without seeing at least 20 some odd players standing around. CC's all the time, broadcasts a plenty and blind invites like crazy.
Those days are gone sadly. Getting some of the forum regulars to ADMIT that though is nearly impossible. Mainly because they are so 'head in the sand' with their own tiny tight nit groups that they don't even notice. When their long time SG's start leaving is when they realize times have changed.
Years ago the easy answer about finding teams was forming them yourself. This just isn't as easy as it used to be. Though they wouldn't know because they only team with friends...
See the pattern? 
I miss those days. I'm a member of Paragon City Search and Rescue. We were formed alongside the Taxibots as a paramedic service for Heroes. We used to patrol Atlas and Hollows doing drive by heals and offering rez etc. Was so much fun. These services just aren't as needed in todays game though, so much of the old theme groups, the bots, PCSAR and the like are still around, we just aren't needed in those rolls nowdays.
The claim that this game is instanced so it just feels empty holds no water either. This game has always been instanced. Doesn't change the fact that the streets are empty now...
Anyways, just wanted to chime in and let you know you aren't alone in the feeling. Though I doubt a merge would do much to help. In fact, the grumpy ol vets are probably right about that one fact. Merging servers would be seen by players and industry at large as the death notice and I'd expect to see players jumping ship as a result.
Alas, now that the endgame is here (and not for me) this game is heading into it's twilight.
Hopefully this means they are hard at work on the follow up game though! I needs my Paragon after all. "
It is NEVER a good thing to cram people together who don't WANT to be crammed together.
I LIKE my low traffic server, and I do not WANT to be forced onto a crowded lagfest because YOU miss the old days. If I want to team with people, I have no problems whatsoever doing so through the global channels I'm a member of.
Stop trying to force the game to do something because "it's in the game's best interest" when not only is it NOT in the game's best interest, but it is simply nothing more than what YOU want.
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Originally Posted by Dechs Kaison See, it's gems like these that make me check Claws' post history every once in a while to make sure I haven't missed anything good lately. |
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No.| Shut down some of the lesser populated servers and consolidate players and characters |
And some of those "great moments" you pine for really weren't all that great.
I have to agree with all the others here that shutting down servers will "help" the OP's problems.
And I also wanted to make the observation that this past weekend, I was playing a different MMO, starting a new character, finished the weekend at level 11. During that time, I came across 4 other player characters (IIRC) in the lowbie zones. The only chat I saw was either Guild chat (my husband bought me the account, and then added me to his Guild at level 1) or RMT spam in one of the hubs.
Going by the OP's observations, that game also clearly needed to close down servers - there was no one there to team with in the lowbie zones.
Of course, I'm sure many of you have guessed the game by now (sorry, guys, did I mention that my husband bought me the subscription?). It's rather on the large side, population-wise (subs in the millions, I have been told).
I guess my point is that MMOs try to spread people out, but good MMOs provide teaming tools - CoH has those, just use them.
Plus, I like soloing from time to time. OP's sentiment that "the more players on a team, the better." just isn't the case for all players.
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."
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The best reply you heard was the only one that agreed with you....|
Originally Posted by _Rial13_
This is probably the best reply I've heard:
"I feel ya. I fondly recall the days when Infinity would be full of life. It seemed you'd never pass Atlas without seeing at least 20 some odd players standing around. CC's all the time, broadcasts a plenty and blind invites like crazy. Those days are gone sadly. Getting some of the forum regulars to ADMIT that though is nearly impossible. Mainly because they are so 'head in the sand' with their own tiny tight nit groups that they don't even notice. When their long time SG's start leaving is when they realize times have changed. Years ago the easy answer about finding teams was forming them yourself. This just isn't as easy as it used to be. Though they wouldn't know because they only team with friends... See the pattern? I miss those days. I'm a member of Paragon City Search and Rescue. We were formed alongside the Taxibots as a paramedic service for Heroes. We used to patrol Atlas and Hollows doing drive by heals and offering rez etc. Was so much fun. These services just aren't as needed in todays game though, so much of the old theme groups, the bots, PCSAR and the like are still around, we just aren't needed in those rolls nowdays. The claim that this game is instanced so it just feels empty holds no water either. This game has always been instanced. Doesn't change the fact that the streets are empty now... Anyways, just wanted to chime in and let you know you aren't alone in the feeling. Though I doubt a merge would do much to help. In fact, the grumpy ol vets are probably right about that one fact. Merging servers would be seen by players and industry at large as the death notice and I'd expect to see players jumping ship as a result. Alas, now that the endgame is here (and not for me) this game is heading into it's twilight. Hopefully this means they are hard at work on the follow up game though! I needs my Paragon after all. " |
Why'd you even bother to ask?
Loose --> not tight.
Lose --> Did not win, misplace, cannot find, subtract.
One extra 'o' makes a big difference.
Also: If I WANTED to play on Freedom, I WOULD play on Freedom. The fact that I DON'T play on Freedom is pretty telling.
Please don't try to make the ENTIRE GAME like Freedom, because I can't stand the atmosphere there.
I like my smaller server because: 1) I like the community there, 2) I don't have to put up with people sending me PL begging tells (not too often at least) 3) My computer cannot handle the amount of activity generated on jam packed servers.
3 is especially relevant. If every server were as populated as Freedom is now, I would be forced to quit playing because my computer just couldn't run the game at all. And no, "Just buy a new computer" is NOT an acceptable solution. If I could afford a new computer I'd already have one.
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Originally Posted by Dechs Kaison See, it's gems like these that make me check Claws' post history every once in a while to make sure I haven't missed anything good lately. |
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The odd thing about that is that no one made that post in either of the two threads the OP started on this topic.|
Originally Posted by White Hot Flash
The best reply you heard was the only one that agreed with you....
Why'd you even bother to ask? |
http://boards.cityofheroes.com/showthread.php?t=261321
Sounds like he's just agreeing with himself.
I think the only way to get what the OP pines for is to migrate from new release to new release, taking flight before the first 6 month anniversary.
What is described is more than just population density. It is also about a uniform and blanket enthusiasm that simply cannot be present amongst "career" members of a gaming community but rather arises out of the honeymoon phase when everyone in game is still learning the systems, maps, art assets and lore. There are reasons beyond population density why you rarely see Taxi Bot services much anymore, from QoL improvements to an aging in game population that alts a bit differently on their 30th, 40th, 50th and 60th characters.
Honeymoons are nice. There's no denying that. And it is fun to reminisce about when the game and its community felt full and fresh like that. But simply put: life is too damned long to be made up of nothing but honeymoons. Things change. Yes. The population has dropped off since launch. No denying that. It's as plain as the age on my face. So now what do you do with that? You either settle in or you move on. And if you settle in, you find ways to recapture the spark and also let your interests evolve as the game does. Always helps too to look outside the game for fulfillment. Let the game be what it is and do what it does. Even if early on the game becomes your everything momentarily, no game can remain so robust a diversion for any gamer in perpetuity.
Salad Days.
It's that line between finding other people to game with on a frequent basis; versus server stability and lag. I started playing this game on Victory server, unable to find teams for what I would a consistent basis, even after joining channels. So I took full advantage of the free server transfers a while back, and moved to Virtue and it's been the best decision I've made when it came to my gaming experience. Again, thank you Virtue server.
With the Praetorian event coming up this week I made a toon on Freedom server in preparation for the event. Immediately I experienced lag as soon as I hit Atlas. Whatever the devs have in mind for the event, I don't expect it to work honestly. So I hope whatever technology they plan to employ to make events work better for players will work. Since I don't expect it work and the possiblity of not being home that weekend, hopefully server performance will improve.
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Perhaps one of the voices in his head has learned to type.
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Originally Posted by Forbin_Project
The odd thing about that is that no one made that post in either of the two threads the OP started on this topic.
http://boards.cityofheroes.com/showthread.php?t=261321 Sounds like he's just agreeing with himself. |
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Hey! I'm still here, and we still do this! |
Originally Posted by _Rial13_
I remember when there were a couple of SGs that operated Taxi Services and Tours that would team teleport a group to all the exploration badges on a map AND give them background information about the landmarks in the game!
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In fact, for the past month or so, Johnny and I have been taking a league of heroes on a city-wide badge tour that we auctioned off at a PERC event, escorting them to every badge in the city while talking about the city's history, asking questions, and giving out little prizes to everyone. Really! Here's the post for the first part, which got us to Talos Island, and here's the post for the second part, which got us up through, um, I don't remember, but we still have to do some places like Founders' Falls, Peregrine Island, Eden, and other high-level zones to go, and I'm planning on taking everyone to Praetoria, too. I'll be posting a message in the Infinity forum about when we can do the third part, hopefully within a week or two at most. When I saw Zwillinger in Pocket D last Thursday, he said he would love to come on a tour sometime, maybe he can pop in on this one!Speaking of PERC, they have been very actively lately! They host a themed costume contest every week in Pocket D on Wednesdays, and on Thursdays, they host a trivia contest. I was a co-winner of the trivia contest one week, and I won a LOT of influence, wow! They also have other contests, like a story contest and a player auction (which I took part in, yay!).
You are right that we don't do some of the stuff we used to do. I remember fondly the days when I would post up in Eastgate and let everyone know that I was available to teleport heroes to the Atlas Park gate if they needed it. Now, though, there are permanent MediCom teleporters there, so the Taxibots aren't as needed in places like that any more. Still, we have done our best to find other ways to be helpful. For example, Taxis frequently take part in the sign-up task force we have every Saturday, and a lot of times, they are led either by Taxis or by heroes who used to be Taxis that retired from the garage. Polly has been working very hard lately in learning about all of this Incarnate stuff so that she can help heroes on those journeys, and she has become really good at leading teams to Praetoria!
As for me, one of my favorite things to do is to meet new heroes. You can often find me in Atlas Park hanging out with Ms. Liberty and other friends looking for new heroes to help. I try to chat to as many people as I can, and a lot of times, I'll come with them on missions while explaining how to use chat channels, how to find teams, and other little tips that I've learned are really handy. I try to keep a bunch of level 10 enhancements that I make myself on hand at all times that I can give to them to help out, and I must have given at least half the heroes in Paragon City a candy cane or two at some point.
I've even shown heroes a few times how to make their own if they want to. I get messages sometimes from heroes saying, "Hey! I remember you! You helped me when I was just starting out!" And now, they're all big and strong, and that's just the best feeling in the world!I absolutely LOVE my family and friends on Infinity. It's been my home for over six years, and it would just destroy me if I thought that it might go away. Please, please, please, don't take my family and friends away or scatter them out to other places! Maybe instead, you should see if you could help to make PCSAR more active. I still see Banefull, Pre-Op, Triage and Gabby around, maybe you could rejoin and try to run some events? Ooh, maybe the Taxis could help out, too, and we could involve PERC to have, I don't know, some kind of SUPER event, that sounds like a lot of fun!
If you want to help me with some new heroes or plan an event or anything, let me know. You can send me a message here, or you can contact me at @Taxibot Belle in Paragon City. Or if you have something a lot longer to say, you can even e-mail me, my address is Belle@CoHTaxis.com. I have to go now, lots of new heroes to meet!
Yay, Infinity Taxis!!!
Try my City without Taxis story (1679) if you get a chance and let me know what you think!
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And whenever I hear that, i have to wonder just what it is that you're doing wrong. No problem getting teams, yes I do play on Victory (my "second home" after Pinnacle, and where I have the most (50 - and I don't mean level 50) characters,) no I don't play prime time 99% of the time (I work second shift,) and no it's not "name recognition" or whatnot (while I have a character named "Memphis Bill" there, it's rarely taken out - yet I still manage to get teams regularly. And my friends tend to be logging off for the day within about an hour of when I get done with work.)
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Originally Posted by ChaosAngelGeno
It's that line between finding other people to game with on a frequent basis; versus server stability and lag. I started playing this game on Victory server, unable to find teams for what I would a consistent basis, even after joining channels.
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I have a lot more time to play now, with a job and an apartment of my own. When I started playing, I was still in college. Put it this way, I was still new to the game and in that time you didn't earn xp when you exemplar down. So back then there wasn't any point to team at lower lvls, unless it was for Strike Forces. I say Strike Forces because at that time I oddly only played redside, which no matter what server is populated less than blueside.|
Originally Posted by Memphis_Bill
And whenever I hear that, i have to wonder just what it is that you're doing wrong. No problem getting teams, yes I do play on Victory (my "second home" after Pinnacle, and where I have the most (50 - and I don't mean level 50) characters,) no I don't play prime time 99% of the time (I work second shift,) and no it's not "name recognition" or whatnot (while I have a character named "Memphis Bill" there, it's rarely taken out - yet I still manage to get teams regularly. And my friends tend to be logging off for the day within about an hour of when I get done with work.)
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So yes, I wasn't playing CoX the "right" way. But granted so do a lot of players do still. I've no problems finding teams now.
I don't frequent the forums, so I don't know if this has been talked about before, but I spoke with someone online today about how everyone who plays COH is a Veteran. There really aren't any new players and recruiting new players is difficult because COH doesn't advertise anymore. It's not on TV, it doesn't do much on Facebook, and I don't even know about Twitter.
One of the best aspects of this game besides the impressive character customization selection, is the team play aspect. The more players you have on a team, the better. This is an outstanding game, people just don't really know about it. That being said, I think it'd be a good idea if COH hyped up one of its best aspects, team play, by shutting down some of the lesser populated servers. Give people a grace period to move their toons to whichever servers will remain active, and consolidate all of their players onto fewer servers. With more people playing together, the few new players that come to the game, will STAY with the game. With a bunch of people staying with COH, word will get around about how great a game this is AND it'll have the content to back up said claims for people who are just observing. They'll see plenty of Super Heroes and Super Villains (and anywhere in between) playing together or against each other and decide, "Hey, I wanna do that too!"
As it is now, I can talk up this game to some friends (Or people I don't know, as I work at GameStop) and convince them to get the game. They hear me talk about the vast character customization, expansive maps, impressive super power selection, and the changing of sides from Hero to Villain and back again with everything in the middle, and then they want to see it for themselves. What they get is a subscription to the game, a really long update time, and then when they finally do pick a server, create a character, and get in the fight, they find that they're accomplishing mission after mission solo style. It's a level 3, lost and alone in big, bad Paragon City with too many level 50s flying around to stop and help them out. They'll get bored because they can't find anyone their level to play with, and when they do find someone to play with (by chance) that person runs through everything pretty much without any help because they've got Veteran upgrades out the wazoo. The only thing the team play may have going for it now is the funny conversations you may have with people as they destroy stuff for you.
Now, I've been playing for a long time, and I still love this genre and this game. I remember when people did costume contests under the Statue of Atlus. I remember when you couldn't get away from people broadcasting for new members to join their SG. I remember when SG members used to run around in matching costumes. I remember when there were a couple of SGs that operated Taxi Services and Tours that would team teleport a group to all the exploration badges on a map AND give them background information about the landmarks in the game! I remember when I was teaming with a crew and we were on a mission that was too hard, so we would call in favors with online SG members and if that didn't work, we went to the Coalition. I remember when SG leaders would hold online parties in their base for newbies to meet everyone and for coalition members to come say hello. I remember forming sewer teams to quickly get out of the lower levels. I remember hanging out at the Arachnos base looking for fellow lowbies to help me clear out some snakes. I remember all of these great moments in COH history in the past 7 years of Super and I want it back!
Shut down some of the lesser populated servers and consolidate players and characters. Let the good times roll! Remember, if the servers grow too populated again, you could always just open another server back up!