Merge Servers

[Memnir]

Here's the thing though, there's an issue with lack of players to play with. Do you acknowledge that?

Oh, I absolutely agree that the population is sinking and that grouping in general is not as healthy as it could be. I've never had an issue finding people to group with however.



Personally, I think the solution in finding people to group with is more in Turbine giving folks incentives to group - rather then merging servers. For years now, they've been making soloing/short-manning the preferred way to run the game for a lot of players- the majority, in my opinion - and they've done so with a host of design choices that need to be reversed if grouping is to become viable again. Yes, I think that merging the servers is both more trouble then it would be worth as well as creating more lasting problems then it would solve short-term. And I also think that grouping will continue to suffer until Turbine makes a conscious and concerted effort to make it more palatable. I'd go into the litany of reasons why grouping has suffered, but this isn't the thread for it and it's been mentioned chapter and verse elsewhere a great many times.


But, until those problems are corrected - any server merge will just be an exercise in futility because the core problems will remain.

My apology

Accepted, even if I continue think that he's not really trolling - just making a counter-point you disagree with.

[Cathimon]

Oh, I absolutely agree that the population is sinking and that grouping in general is not as healthy as it could be. I've never had an issue finding people to group with however.



Personally, I think the solution in finding people to group with is more in Turbine giving folks incentives to group - rather then merging servers. For years now, they've been making soloing/short-manning the preferred way to run the game for a lot of players- the majority, in my opinion - and they've done so with a host of design choices that need to be reversed if grouping is to become viable again. Yes, I think that merging the servers is both more trouble then it would be worth as well as creating more lasting problems then it would solve short-term. And I also think that grouping will continue to suffer until Turbine makes a conscious and concerted effort to make it more palatable. I'd go into the litany of reasons why grouping has suffered, but this isn't the thread for it and it's been mentioned chapter and verse elsewhere a great many times.


But, until those problems are corrected - any server merge will just be an exercise in futility because the core problems will remain.

Accepted, even if I continue think that he's not really trolling - just making a counter-point you disagree with.

Then I retract my apology lol... I really don't think you can be honest and support his point or even think that he's not trolling when he says such things. And if you got legions of players joining your LFMs good for you, but many of us don't and we see how it just got worse with time... Doing nothing is not a solution, and you haven't commented on the transfer ideas have you?

[Memnir]

Doing nothing is not a solution

Doing the wrong thing isn't a solution, either.

And I'm not saying I support his opinion - just that I don't think that disagreement betokens trolling. We'll agree to disagree on that point, however.

[Missing_Minds]

Dev word plz.

Just a nit pick, you will never get a developer to speak up on this. That is not their job.

You go after PR or Producers, and getting answers out of them is even tougher as to say anything of a hint has market repercussions.

[redspecter23]

I have to agree that a server merge isn't a solution. It's a bandaid fix that will make it seem like things are fixed for a short time. It doesn't address the bigger issue of why the populations are dying in the first place. A merge could be a part of a larger plan and it could be effective. Without enacting other means to keep the population steady or grow it over time, a merge will only extend the inevitable.

In my opinion, epic 3bc is just the devs saying that they have no clue what the players want and just whimsically choosing content to epicify based on their own personal desires. I would LOVE to be proven wrong on this point and I'll be logging more hours than I typically do when this update hits to try to enjoy it. In the back of my mind I'll just constantly be thinking "we got this instead of epic Vale?"

[Cathimon]

So you're for status quo?

He brings nothing valuable to the discussion by saying ''Just make your own LFM''. We make our own LFM and people don't join and hence why we're here. There's a lack of players, fully observable on the who's list(minus the anonymous).

A person who provokes others (chiefly on the Internet) for their own personal amusement or to cause disruption. He fits that description very well!

[Memnir]

He fits that description very well!

The argument could be made that you've been trolling this thread as well.
/shrug


Even though there is more to say, this particular conversation has reached a cul-de-sac - and I'm tired of driving in circles with you.

[Cathimon]

The argument could be made that you've been trolling this thread as well.
/shrug


Even though there is more to say, this particular conversation has reached a cul-de-sac - and I'm tired of driving in circles with you.

Yea, I'm tired too. I keep asking you things and you ignore my questions completly. I doubt your good will.

[Hendrik]

Henrik said it, I wrongfully assumed you were with him on that point. My apology, he's the troll.

As for you, I didn't read your thousands of posts, just a few here and there and I take it you think server merges are more trouble than its worth. Here's the thing though, there's an issue with lack of players to play with. Do you acknowledge that? If you do, do you think something can be done about it, I don't know, transfers made more affordable or even free? If you don't think there's a problem, ok, maybe that doesn't make you a troll. But in my book, that makes you ignorant.

And truth be told, I really want a word from the devs on this. There's never consensus on these forums, there's peoples who think duping is cool because they can get their scales off the AH for pennies, empty servers are okay because it means less lag and etc.

Dev word plz.

I know it is a long shot, but maybe you should actually read what was posted and what the reply was to that post. And since I was NOT talking to you but someone else and what they are experiencing and not you, maybe you should go elsewhere and try and troll them instead of me.

With the attitude you have expressed on these forums in the past several posts you have made, I can see why you are having such issues finding groups or if you even do put a LFM up, people to join. Now, go back to your server, sit there and stare at the LFM waiting for someone to put something up and have fun with that.

Now, I have Quests to run and groups to fill with Guild and Friends.

And since you hardly ever play, none of this should matter to you anymore.

Now, go back to ignoring counter points and good-bye.

[Cathimon]

I know it is a long shot, but maybe you should actually read what was posted and what the reply was to that post. And since I was NOT talking to you but someone else and what they are experiencing and not you, maybe you should go elsewhere and try and troll them instead of me.

With the attitude you have expressed on these forums in the past several posts you have made, I can see why you are having such issues finding groups or if you even do put a LFM up, people to join. Now, go back to your server, sit there and stare at the LFM waiting for someone to put something up and have fun with that.

Now, I have Quests to run and groups to fill with Guild and Friends.

And since you hardly ever play, none of this should matter to you anymore.

Now, go back to ignoring counter points and good-bye.

''Sit there and stare at the LFM waiting for someone to put something up and have fun with that.''

Trolling at it's best. Assumptions based on nothing. How's your attitude, big man?

[Alvitawa]

I actually think they should make one big server with different instances, like otter MMO's, it's always easy to find groups in this kind of games.

This would be very big reform and cost probably a lot of money(maybe not even possible?), but it'l be worth it on the long run.

[The_Human_Cypher]

I actually think they should make one big server with different instances, like otter MMO's, it's always easy to find groups in this kind of games.

This would be very big reform and cost probably a lot of money(maybe not even possible?), but it'l be worth it on the long run.

Funcom's 'The Secret World' seems to have this kind of server set-up. When you create a character, you choose from among a half dozen or so servers but everyone can play in the same instance. The game is configured to effectively be "striped" across a number of servers but the servers themselves are not segregated in game play.

[Ivan_Milic]

That would be great, if this wasnt tubine.

[jalont]

If someone could explain what happens to the problem servers that created their own low pops, I'd be more open to a server merge. There are two servers that have chased their populations away by creating a jerky elitist culture. What should we do with those servers? Reward those people with more people to pollute? Add them to other more functional populations and hope that their cancer doesn't spread? People left those servers for a reason.

[Battlehawke]

Did you know that if you are on someones Squelch list that you wont see each others LFM's. I wonder.... .

They are just trolling... It's not unlike that dude on American radio who was saying that if you're poor and starving, just go make a sandwich and eat.

They think that the answer to the lack of players to play with is to make an LFM post. AS IF WE DID NOT DO THAT ALREADY! Trolls will be trolls.

Server merge, free character tranfers.

[Cathimon]

Did you know that if you are on someones Squelch list that you wont see each others LFM's. I wonder.... .

Yes I know that. It's not my problem, I squelched zero people in 4 years and have been squelched once or twice tops by people who have rather extensive squelch list to my knowledge. I see you're on Ghallanda, you might not realise how it is on Wayfinder/Orien.

[Tscheuss]

Yes I know that. It's not my problem, I squelched zero people in 4 years and have been squelched once or twice tops by people who have rather extensive squelch list to my knowledge. I see you're on Ghallanda, you might not realise how it is on Wayfinder/Orien.

Wayfinder is like a small town. Most of us that call it home like it the way it is. Sure, our population is less than the "big city" servers, but that is not the main reason for the lack of LFM's. Our first communication for grouping is guild or channel. Like a small town, most of us know each other (by character name, at least).

[Tscheuss]

FYI: Atm, Wayfinder has ~90 characters showing in the Who panel, and there are only four LFM's up. There is no telling how many are flagged anonymous.

[Varthalos]

So many of these server merger posts have come and gone over the years it's actual becoming quite comical. In my mind it's very simple, servers need to be merged they have needed this for years. Any counter arguments I've heard pail in comparison to the potential good for the game, yet still nothing is done about it.

oh and ps fix the lag.

[FranOhmsford]

Did you know that if you are on someones Squelch list that you wont see each others LFM's. I wonder.... .

Actually I've joined an LFM on more than one occasion only to find that I had the Leader Squelched only because I couldn't see His/Her Party Chat!

My Squelch List hit Maximum early 2011.
I got into the Habit of checking character names in MyDDO and unsquelching everyone who hadn't logged in in 6 months {then 3 months, then 1 month!}.
These days I only have a handful of people squelched {Chat Spammers mainly}.

The Squelch List has never worked the way it should!


Hendrik, Memnir, Trinity are wrong!
Merging Servers may very well not be the cure but we're well past the point where the Devs should be considering this.

Cannith's now the most Populated server but as has been shown by DDOracle G-Land has dropped off precipitously.

This means that DDO still has plenty of Newcomers but that the vast majority of such have quit within the week!

Change the Default Server - Say to Orien or to Argo or Sarlona and that server will become the most populous and Cannith will drop back in just the same way as G-Land did!


I have 28 Characters on Cannith and 14 on Sarlona + 6/7 on Khyber and one on Argo,Orien, Wayfinder and G-Land!
I may have a problem with Character Slots if Cannith was merged with Sarlona YET THIS WOULD BE MY PREFERRED MERGE!

However I still feel that the best option would be to merge high to low {Ignoring the recent changes due to default server change}:

G-Land merged with Wayfinder
Thelanis merged with Orien
Khyber with Cannith
Sarlona with Argo
And instantly make the Default Wayfinder-Ghallanda as this would now be the least populous of the four!

Based on Server Ambience I'd merge thusly:

Argo-Khyber - Dramarific!
Thelanis-Orien - The two servers I felt the least welcome on
Sarlona-Cannith - Cannith's daytime European population would complement Sarlona's weakness at these hours!
Wayfinder- Ghallanda - Hefty European Population.


The DDOracle also shows traffic for LotRO which has 20+ Servers - Most of which seem to be at Wayfinder's Population levels while only ONE beat out G-Land's previous to Cannith becoming the Default!


I'm not sure what the point is of having multiple servers if none of them are even close to full and most are at less than Half of projected Population total!


Say what you want about Lag - I remember back in 2011 when Cannith was Ultra-Laggy and I first looked at other Servers - At that time DDOracle and other sites were showing population numbers for one server that would cover the population of EVERY server now {Cannith and Orien when Wayfinder was first released had Active populations of 70k each! Khyber's was over 100k!}

These days we're looking at 1/8 - 1/12th of those populations depending on which server!

It's well past time for Server merges!