The only way u will see a merge is if H1Z1 needs a server. I would love to see a mega server with active LFG in all level ranges.
I spent much of my time before retirement working with err older databases and software. All the guys I worked with are also gone, what we were doing can no longer be duplicated and I am sure they are glad it isnt needed. A merge just may not be practical any longer simply due to the loss of expertise. Can it be done, sure, will it? nah
The ONLY FACT is that neither side has anything but opinions on whether mergers would be good or not. Personally I am in favor of mergers but until daybreak lets me data mine their database I will have to settle with just an opinion.
I think a lot of the server down time, accessing accounts online etc have been due to them updating their database software though I could be wrong. But you may still be right in that they simply don't have any real support to handle that side of things even with updated software.
If there are less than 50 gold accounts on your server they should give every character a free transfer token.
Even if they weren't free I'd still pay to get a character I'm very attached to off of Brekt finally, even if FV was the only destination option. That would be glorious. Just give us an option to get off that dead server please. There is absolutely zero reason to keep Brekt up, let us move to FV and you can use those resources in a better place! No merger issues at all.
Wow several awesome suggestions here. I have never been a fan of server merges being from Veeshan originally where we thought everyone should just come to us. Simply ask anyone from Veeshan today and they still hold a grudge. Server transfers are good and it puts the responsibility on the player to find a new home and make their way in a new hierarchy. Not always easy but effective especially if you come from a dead server. Finding what is right for you can be tricky and take up a lot of time and energy, not all guilds are advertising. By the way, come to Luclin and look up Keepers of the Elements, we want good people it builds for a healthy guild environment and fun /gu. Now the most interesting prospect is the /pick zone. Developing something like this for raids would require some work yet but offers some interesting options. But if you are old school or new and just want a good guild and raid environment, create a bot on Luclin, send me a tell. Love to chat, if I am not on look for Clabiky or Makeum. Keepers of the Elements has been around since 1999 and I don't see it going anywhere until they turn off the lights.
as i recall the only thing that holds back server merge is the fact a few players have max toons on all servers. no way to currently handle that situation. my guess is that there is also an internal limit on active toons on any given server... old code and no financial reason to move toons to one mega server.
Other then the max toons on every server issue a lot of this has probably been dealt with on the last few progression servers that seem to sustain a much higher active population.
I believe that not merging servers is hurting the business of EQ. People log onto a dead server, and just decide not to play the game at all. Who wants to play on a server that has no people? For a new player, that is a huge deciding factor on whether to play one particular MMO at all. A new player to a server will not even get a chance to make friends, or join a guild if they have only played for a few days. By having multiple servers with the same russet just adds to the aggravation of a new player attempting to access a server with people. Thais because a returning player, such as myself, or a new player has no idea on which server to select that has a higher population. Without server population Everquest will loose a key demographic, new players. A game to survive should be able to attract a new player base, and retain a portion of that player base. This must be frustrating for everyone involved. Merge all the standard rules servers to one server, dump all the progression servers into another server when they reach the current expansion, and keep FV and Zek as they are. Why is this not done? I am unable to believe that the issue is technical. With the advent of virtual servers, and real time scaling this problem is easily solved at a low cost. You can spend more money with physical hardware, and we have progressed very far since 1999 in that area. They did write their own engine, which may be a sticking point. So why not fix the engine then? Perhaps they know something we don't, and wont tell us. Even if those issues existed, mark a server as preferred, or even just make it the default login option. Then people can start, or migrate to that server. Over time the population would increase, and you can decrease the usage on the other servers. Problem solved. To me, creating new servers and diluting an already small population base seems like a bad business strategy.
Well that doesn't change the fact that merging all servers into one would result in me personally having a character select screen with in excess of 50 characters and I'm not a particularly big altoholic. Also, most people who played through the two previous server merges absolutely despise the idea of ever dealing with it again and seeing friends and guildmates just drop out of the game due to the overcrowded conditions merges cause. You can play in an otherwise empty zone unless you're the sort of person that depends on leaching exp in pickup groups but you can't play in overcrowded zones Sure they can /pickzone but whats the point of merging if we are then forced to effectively create our own zones just to be able to play?
I had the two servers most of my characters were on merged together ages ago and didn't like it, and that was not max character/max slot situation. Increased character slots removes the issue for some, but that isn't the only reason a person doesn't play on a server they have max characters. My view is we need to see if Phinigel progression makes it to live with population (presently many guilds there still). This is the super server capacity server already and sub based. IF it gets to live with population there is likely a $ case for Daybreak to allow other live servers to transfer there for free (or at least a free window). This could be incentivized by giving Phinny true "preferred" rules such as higher XP (as FV and Zek past examples), faction, rares bonuses, etc. Then you take a hard look at other servers. Does Zek justify being up? Are there going to be more Quarm events dumping characters onto Brekt? Is there a live server so low in population that it should be giving free transfers off and eventually merged away to one of the more robust live servers. --Rather than a let's combine all the existing live servers right now into half as many servers.
eh, 50 characters. Most of mine would be deleted after i get their junk onto a shared account, or destroyed it. I don't see pic zones as an issue. There are plenty of hunting options for the solo player. Putting a bunch of people on one server increases the chances of people to meet other people, join guilds, get groups, etc. and the continued life of the game.
Yeah well it is a problem for me and it's a problem for a lot of people. I have played the game through 2 server merges and I've seen people leave the game in disgust at the overcrowding and over aggressive guild recruitment that results from it. IMHO the majority of people wanting merges are guild recruiters looking for people who don't know their guilds reputation and ninja afker's looking for easy experience.
I'm not in a guild. Ok, I may be in a guild, but I am not a reciter or anything. Most of the time my guild is probably wondering if i exist. What I am saying is that the servers are ghost towns. No one is on Povar. That wasn't the case 10 years ago. Where did everyone go? Really, who wants to play on an empty server? I don't get it.
There's an easy way to solve this. 1. Make server transfers free. Those that want 'busy' will gravitate to the busy servers. Those that want to play on their own, can play on the empty servers. 2. Introduce AOC's into at least one live server, or make a new 'mega server' with the AOC's implemented. This alongside with pickzone solves the problems of overcrowding, and will be a huge draw for the raid guilds. Basically no merge drama, and will serve to concentrate population painlessly over time.
i agree, Rift lets toons move free once a week as i recall. this was a major save back when people played the game due to load balancing and finding active servers. i doubt that DBG is getting rich with paid moves so it maybe there still due to other reasons. i have paid out over the years a few hundred $$$ moving around to follow guilds and friends on the servers. i wont do this anymore and i wont pay list sub price (even the 1 year sub) for a dead live server and a TLP that is full of krono scammers. a server merge or mega server setup would be a nice change for the 20th. i still have hopes things like this will happen for next year.
