I'd like to start a server merge poll for agree or disagree, and ways to do it.

[Targal]

Note:
This thread is started becaue of this post-
https://www.ddo.com/forums/showthread.php/508194-Nobody-to-Run-With-Merge-Servers-Please


Explanation:
Log-in is required for the poll.

If you want a server merge or not, You should choose X or O at the poll.
Boundary option means nothing. It's just for division between XO and merge options.


If you choose X, You should NOT choose anything except for X. because It represents you don't want anything happens.
If you choose O, You should DO choose at least one of A-F. If there is no option you want, You should choose F at least.


(the poll doesn't take if It's too long. so I put what I meant for D and E)
D: Server Guest system. the avatar of your character will go to the server you want to go, then back when you're finished of your business. You stay your server until you click something to guest a server.
E: Merged LFM and Auto-guest system by the LFM pannel. When you click LFM, You'll be automatically transferred to the server of the LFM you clicked. Or transferred when you enter a dungeon. when you out of the dungeon or the party, your auto-transfer will be ended.

[Epicstorms]

I vote NO for some silly poll :-)

[Targal]

I vote NO for some silly poll :-)

then, polling X from the poll will be appreciated.

[Captain_Wizbang]

https://www.ddo.com/forums/showthread.php/508245 (https://www.ddo.com/forums/showthread.php/508245-We-*need*-a-new-sub-forum-quot-server-merge-quot)

Like I said, we need a new sub-forum header.

[Aelonwy]

I want to vote yes, so should be something A to G. But I would like to know what is most technically feasible for the devs.

On the one hand, consolidating 2-3 servers to one server could be a good idea... but the destination server would probably be the happiest because they wouldn't have to deal with guild shenanigans, cosmetic pets, Astral Shards. Their only issue would be people that play characters on more than one server and possible naming issues, or character slot issues. But the transferring servers would have all the same issues as everyone going to a new server.

would a brand new destination server have less hardware issues? Would it have less memory issues from legacy guilds, legacy characters from abandoned and forgotten accounts?

I've noticed when we give a /loc that it numbers more servers than we have named as the last one I took said I was on server 24. Does this have something to do with the whole virtual servers discussion? If we are all on virtual servers already why the hefty transfer price tag? I could understand a guild transfer having such a price tag but a single character?

I know absolutely nothing about cross server grouping or its feasibility.

I really lack the information to make an informed decision, even though this is just an opinion poll.

[erethizon]

I went with E. I very much like the idea of a server merge, but apparently they have huge problems with it (like the inability to transfer stuff in the shared bank). Most things I can live with. I'll gladly give up my name and rebuild my reputation (it shouldn't take too long since I post all my groups and people will get to know me again). Giving up a guild you have made is unfortunate, but as long as there are level 200 guilds on the new server with space to take more people it will all work out. But if you lose your stuff, or some of your stuff loses its bonuses or augments, or some of your character improvements are lost in the process (I forget what all goes wrong when people transfer) that is a real problem. For that reason I went with option E so that we can just move to another server for the purpose of an LFM and then back to our server when it is over. Assuming this can be done without loss of information about your character, it sounds like a good grouping solution.

At some point a huge merge will probably be necessary. There are things they can do to make this work. First, a massive increase in personal storage. Make it so that people can put all their shared bank into their personal storage so that problem will be eliminated. Second, if anything else gets lost (like mythic bonus on items or augments put in gear) make that thing much easier to acquire. Make Mythic and Reaper bonuses 10 to 20 times easier to get on all items that already exist at the time of the merge (items from new content after the merge can have the old drop rate for those bonuses). Perhaps there will even be an item trader or crafting process to add Mythic and Reaper bonuses on to old items. Make augments very easy to get (i.e. put all augments on NPC traders and make them reasonably affordable so we can replace what we have lost). This means even seasonal augments would need to be available year round. Make all things guild related far cheaper (and possibly 100% available for platinum) so people can replace their lost guild (or simply refund guild owners the shard equivalent of what their guild is worth). All of these changes make things that were once a grind easier to get which is a normal process in MMO's as time goes on. New stuff can be a grind. Old stuff should be easy to acquire.

I very much like the idea of fewer servers with way more people, but if there are things that are going to be lost in the process then this is the perfect time to make the game more user friendly (i.e. way more personal storage for every character and a way easier system for acquiring items and bonuses) at the same time.

[LucidLTS]

Note:
This thread is started becaue of this post-
https://www.ddo.com/forums/showthread.php/508194-Nobody-to-Run-With-Merge-Servers-Please


Explanation:
Log-in is required for the poll.

If you want a server merge or not, You should choose X or O at the poll.
Boundary option means nothing. It's just for division between XO and merge options.


I strongly oppose a server merge in the traditional sense, so I picked X and only X. Games with a lot bigger support staff than SSG has decided cross server grouping was a better approach than a merge, and having personally merged databases much simpler than DDO's I completely agree with them.

But I acknowledge that some of my fellow players have trouble finding groups in their play time, so in the spirit of cooperation I would heartily support cross server grouping and/or free transfers forever. They don't have the problems a full on merge would have, so they would help those who need it without hurting those who don't.

I'd also like to point out that this poll will underrepresent people opposed to a merge. Since SSG has officially come out against a merge, many of us who feel that's the right decision gloss over threads with "merge" in the topic. I heartily encourage you to advocate for what you believe is best, but be aware of the inherent limitations.

[droid327]

First off, biased poll, your title presupposes that a merge will happen

Second off, I chose X and E, because E is not a server merge - its a mechanic that will accomplish what a server merge is supposed to do, but not have all the drawbacks of a server merge

[Renvar]

I chose E as well. And I agree with previous poster that E is NOT a server merge. So choosing O and E is not really compatible. Honestly the top part should be X - Do Nothing, O - Do some form of Server Merge, G - Do some form of advanced grouping that allows players on different servers to join the same private instance.

Anyways,

On the topic of E (which is cross server grouping and LFM's), I'd be curious to hear what the argument against implementing this would be. I can't recall someone ever saying "I am opposed to the idea of cross server grouping. I prefer to be able to only group with people on my server".

Most of the counters to it seem to be in the vein of:

"I don't think it is technologically feasible"
or
"I think it would take too much dev time and resources"
or
"I don't think SSG can do it".

All of which are "Can it be done" counters. Assuming it CAN be done, why would doing cross server grouping/LFM's be a bad thing? I can't think of any negatives for the players.

[ChadB123]

I vote NO for some silly poll :-)

Indeed. I second your vote.

[Thunder-Monkey]

Yes, A thru F, something, ANYTHING!

As Aelonwy said, whatever is technically feasible for the devs. We don't know what this might be because we don't know how the servers are set up at the data center.

Personally I'd like full mergers, but the devs have said no repeatedly. So option 2 for me is the idea of global chat and global LFM with instanced cross-server grouping. Is this feasible? Who knows... no dev has commented on this idea AFAIK.

Can a dev please comment to say they are aware of the concerns of the remaining player base regarding low server populations and are (or are not) looking at ways to address these concerns?

The forums are full of concern over the low population of servers, and have been for a looong time. So it's hard to understand the reasoning behind depleting them further by introducing another (albeit temporary) server. My best guess is they are doing market research to see if there is demand for some kind of classic mode server. My next best guess is that they've run out of ways to milk the whales, the people who spend real money on the game to stay at the top *nods at Mr. Otto*. They already have completionist-everything so they don't need to buy anything. Just my 2 penneth.... AND NOT A PENNY MORE!

TM

[Potatofasf]

Yes!
Server merge isn't the best solution, but is the most reasonable. Cross-LFM can be a band-aid, but don't solve entirely the issue.
Low population across all servers.





Can a dev please comment to say they are aware of the concerns of the remaining player base regarding low server populations and are (or are not) looking at ways to address these concerns?

The forums are full of concern over the low population of servers, and have been for a looong time.

It would be much appreciated. Confirmation or deny, just communicate concerns are being noticed.

[SirValentine]

I don't insist on a traditional server "merge", and I recognize there are logistical issue with names, guilds, character slots, shared bank, blah, blah, blah. I just want a way for the entire DDO player population to be able to play together. Cross-server LFMs might be a way to approach it.

Server "merge" opponents tend to get too hung up on minutia, and miss the big picture: the simple fact that the playing population is spread out over all these different servers and can't play together.

[Targal]

First off, biased poll, your title presupposes that a merge will happen

Second off, I chose X and E, because E is not a server merge - its a mechanic that will accomplish what a server merge is supposed to do, but not have all the drawbacks of a server merge

It seems I built the poll something wrong. Well, Thank you for your poll and informing that.

[JOTMON]

Server merge is plagued with issues and does nothing to clear old historical data..




I would rather see them create a couple new server and offer free transfers from the old servers with the intent to merge the remaining old servers..

a coterminous event that causes these new server worlds to be within range to travel to for free...(for a limited time of course)
Players need to be able to transfer their active accounts to the new server of their choice for free and bring all their stuff with them..
.
Options to migrate guildships is necessary.. perhaps a trade token vendor.. that convers your ship into an inventory token that can be redeemed on the other side...
converts guildship renown into a guildship rendeemable tokens (by member contribution).. to cover those guild splits... applies
Something similar for TR caches, bank stored items... A trade vendor that will compress all your banking items into travel storage bags...

would be nice if servers could be oriented to player types..
a hardcore and general server option..
....
Old accounts and inactive accounts remaining on the original servers eventually get force merged together.
rework one of the old servers into a permanent testing server for players. basically a Lamannia live all the time.. not just a few days out of the year.

[Anuulified]

I saw a few cross server grouping comments. I would love it, but not sure this is possible without a huge game engine update or some other craziness.

[Wizard1406]

I voted E, best option IMHO (except for somewhat empty auction houses)


Cross-server LFM and auto-transfer might be too difficult to code (or not enough man-power / too expensive to make). Maybe then the community can come up with a make-shift cross server solution IF transfers are always free.


Condense different levels / tiers of LFMs to servers:

For example - if using all 8 servers instead of condensing more, going alphabetical (level numbers just a rough guess , the goal would be similar populations):

- Argonessen : lvl 1-7 quest LFMs
- Cannith : lvl lvl 8-14 quest LFMs
- Ghallandra: lvl 15-19 quest LFMs
- Khyber : lvl 20-25 quest LFMs
- Orien: lvl 26-30(+) quest LFM and also "lower-end" lvl 30 stuff
- Sarlona: 30++ endgame
- Thelanis: maybe raids? (probably better included in the level bands) or item / favor farming ?
- Wayfinder: free. A low traffic server, for people who prefer this


The level bands for servers was someone else's idea on the forum. I don't remember who. IMHO it would work well with permanent free transfers. and bring life to LFMs.


That way when you reincarnate you can go to Argo (or higher if iconic/ ER) and transfer to the next higher server as soon as you are done with lvl 7 quests and so on.



I have never transfered , so I don't know if this is feasible? Are character transfers fully automatic and fast and stable/bug free enough?

And a few problems would have to be eliminated as well, ex. make shards and server unlocks account-wide. Shared bank would also be an issue.

[Clemeit]

Bump

[Memnir]

https://i.imgur.com/ioeS6Qw.gif

[Clemeit]

https://i.imgur.com/ioeS6Qw.gif

GIFs are fun, but would you like to propose a logical argument for or against a server merge? Like perhaps, "there are too many LFMs I can't possible choose only 1" or maybe "there are so many people in this public area I feel claustrophobic."

HCL seems to be a big hit, and one of the greatest praises I hear people giving it goes something along the lines of,
"There are so many people running around and so many LFMs that it doesn't actually feel like a single player game."
-An actual (paraphrased) quote from someone I played with on live today.

[The_Human_Cypher]

I suggested unlimited free character transfers for a six-month or twelve-month period before permanently shutting down half or more of the servers. SSG makes money on character transfers between servers, but this approach would be a relatively costless method of merging the server populations.

[Captain_Wizbang]

Bump


Bumping one of 225 server merger threads is.... well I don't actually have a good comeback for it. It doesn't deserve one. So you get a giphy bump to replace yours.



https://media.giphy.com/media/lrW6IjBJzWwH8ScPJs/giphy.gif

[Anuulified]

Why? So you can quit a week or month later when you realize you are bored with the game and a merger didn't fix it? Meanwhile everyone else lives with the downtime, loss of and/or modification of their name and mixed feelings about the ordeal? Stop asking for things you have no idea the repercussion of just to satisfy your personnal needs.

[Bacab]

I picked D and E because I thought they were great ideas.

If we did that, maybe we would not need a server merger of sorts?

Final Fantasy XIV has something similar to that called the "Duty Finder" system (I think...been like 5 years since I played it)

[The_Human_Cypher]

Another part of the server merger puzzle could be an allowance for Guild leaders to receive the same paid (astral shard) Guild airship before the old servers are taken offline. The Guild leader could receive a ticket for a new Daedalean Kraken, for example, and then turn that ticket in at the airship showroom on one of the designated surviving servers to get a Kraken. Instead of attempting to move what is on the old servers to the remaining servers, it would perhaps be easier to just re-create those amenities on the remaining servers.

[Chacka_DDO]

My opinion is clearly that it would be very healthy for the DDO community if we had only one single server for DDO.
I just fear that if we have one server, lag could spoil the game experience way more than the lack of other players to play with.
But when I see the hardcore league server these technically problems appear to be solvable.
One of my first thoughts when I saw the hardcore league server idea was that SSG just uses this way to make players play on one big server to test if one big server works at all.
If this was a test for a new server, this test appears to me as quite successful.
The hardcore league is not absolutely lag-free but it is also not more lag than I see on Ghallanda and I can imagine that it can get even better if SSG's developers work on code optimization e.g. for pathing and monster AI.
Of course, bigger is not always better but in this case, I think it doesn't need to be a genius to see that it would be healthy for DDO if we have one big server IF lag is not an issue.
Players who want to play in groups will have an easier time to find other players and players who play solo would at least not be affected in a negative way (if there is no additional lag) and maybe even benefit if they want to sell or buy things in the auction.
And I can also imagine that one big server means also less work and costs for SSG at the end.
It appears to me everyone would win at the very end IF it is possible to make it real without a server lag catastrophy.
And yes, of course, it needs to invest to make this real but my estimation is that it is worthwhile and a smart step for the future of DDO.

[Sam-u-r-eye]

My opinion is clearly that it would be very healthy for the DDO community if we had only one single server for DDO.
I just fear that if we have one server, lag could spoil the game experience way more than the lack of other players to play with.
But when I see the hardcore league server these technically problems appear to be solvable.
One of my first thoughts when I saw the hardcore league server idea was that SSG just uses this way to make players play on one big server to test if one big server works at all.
If this was a test for a new server, this test appears to me as quite successful.
The hardcore league is not absolutely lag-free but it is also not more lag than I see on Ghallanda and I can imagine that it can get even better if SSG's developers work on code optimization e.g. for pathing and monster AI.
Of course, bigger is not always better but in this case, I think it doesn't need to be a genius to see that it would be healthy for DDO if we have one big server IF lag is not an issue.
Players who want to play in groups will have an easier time to find other players and players who play solo would at least not be affected in a negative way (if there is no additional lag) and maybe even benefit if they want to sell or buy things in the auction.
And I can also imagine that one big server means also less work and costs for SSG at the end.
It appears to me everyone would win at the very end IF it is possible to make it real without a server lag catastrophy.
And yes, of course, it needs to invest to make this real but my estimation is that it is worthwhile and a smart step for the future of DDO.

I agree with all these conclusions

[Zhijie]

Another part of the server merger puzzle could be an allowance for Guild leaders to receive the same paid (astral shard) Guild airship before the old servers are taken offline. The Guild leader could receive a ticket for a new Daedalean Kraken, for example, and then turn that ticket in at the airship showroom on one of the designated surviving servers to get a Kraken. Instead of attempting to move what is on the old servers to the remaining servers, it would perhaps be easier to just re-create those amenities on the remaining servers.

Players should not guide ssg how to solve technical problems. They are already very clear about how to provide qualified services. The problem is lack of money, lets discuss the vip plus service