test server population crash

Discussion in 'The Veterans' Lounge' started by tofu stir fry, Jan 9, 2015.

  1. Bahdah Augur

    so many freeloading years, /waves goodbye.

    but thank you for thread.
  2. Battleaxe Augur

    Did they close the test server? No? Then I'm thinking you can play your Test Main on the Test Server. Should there come a time when maintaining a Test Server is no longer useful for SOE I'd expect all of the Test Alts, Test Mains, and their Test stuff to disappear with it.

    Transfer? Merge?

    RU SRS?? Characters played on Special Rules servers should never be allowed on normal rules servers. Special Rules characters have benefited from their special rules - every last one of them. (Progression servers being the only reasonable exception).

    Now if SOE were to close the Test Server and reward those who actually sent it test feedback while they were on it with a free Heroic Character upgrade I'd have no objection. So long as that upgrade could only be used by a Gold account paying subscriber who pays for their expansions.

    The first step in creating a normal server character is creating a normal server player character and playing that character on normal servers and no where else.

    Test is a "canary in the coal mine" in the same way PvP servers and FV are. Those canaries don't prosper because the vast majority of players reject those rulesets.
  3. Agrippa Augur

    Hate to derail the thread, but Firiona Vie prospers fine and has a much closer ruleset to the original game than the rot servers do.
  4. Naugrin Augur

    You know they already allowed transfers off for a period of time right? If they strip copied gear, the characters having benefited from having a special ruleset won't amount to much. Some extra xp? I can't see that breaking anything. I think that ship sailed a long time ago with it's cargo hold full of marketplace xp potions lol.
    Lisandra likes this.
  5. Battleaxe Augur

    For a period of time. That ship sailed and it not being permanent was a clear signal that this was not an open ended offer - get on the train or be left at the station. Think twice before going to special ruleset servers when one-time deals bail out people who want the advantage but not the restrictions.

    If they strip all gear (the original characters still existing) that was copied or benefitted from special test server hothouse conditions even that doesn't put things on an equal footing.

    Extra xp? I see that as breaking a lot especiually since money not spent on expansions could be spent on experience potions. Reduce Test Toons to the exp they would have without that benefit. Level 80 and 2000AA? I'd guess deletion and a free Heroic upgrade on a production server would be a heck of a bargain for people who were testers and not players of the regular game by the regular rules.

    I'd just as soon see the Test Server, Test Toons, and Test items disappear as not. But if SOE wants to unnecessarily reward people who probably didn't do all that much testing and played a non-standard version of the game by giving a properly created and improved to on a legal server a Heroic Upgrade, I'm not opposed to SOE being unnecessarily nice - so long as the integrity of the game comes first, last, and always.
  6. Naugrin Augur

    Lol you just said integrity of the game.
    Lisandra likes this.
  7. Lisandra Augur

    Test only went F2P in 2012 & Tofu had to pay for all the years prior to that & has paid every month since then on his main account & possibly on his boxes & has bought TDS on his main account but thanks for trying to make false accusations with absolutely no info to back them up. Jumping to conclusions & assuming the worst are never a good way to make a point or win a debate. Maybe the forum mods can come take a look & clean out the unnecessary non constructive comments that people feel the need to waste time & energy on.
  8. SaderakhBertox Augur


    Pot meet kettle. (if you've never had a post removed, then my apologies :p )

    Anyway....

    I'd give everyone the opportunity to transfer one character per IP / mac address / HDD serial #.

    Anyone on Live that wanted to, had max level / AA within days of the level increase.

    The only issue I might have with Test and xferring was that a single person could have multiple accounts / multiple characters at max level / AA much more rapidly and at no cost other than expansion(s).

    For the situation where family members playing together is concerned, I would make the process tedious and time consuming, to the point they need to call CS, prove their case, and have a wait time between each character of up to a month (set time + CS time to green light inventory), as anyone determined to do so, can level a heroic character to max in that time.

    I'd also limit the characters to what they can equip, and all empty bags (+ marketplace items) in inventory and bank. Within the petition system, confirm that the character can be transferred, then instruct player to basically delete everything except what's allowed, then player responds to petition that that's been completed, then wait however long for it to actually happen.

    Anyone that doesn't delete their blacklisted items (includes "copy"), has to start the process over again. This process should be designed in such a way that the boxers are too annoyed to bother, and just start over on Live if that's really what they want to do.

    As you can see, the process suggested is rather labor intensive compared to typical CS issues, and takes away from the handling of every other petition / CS issue going on at the time. Either charge more for the transfer, to cover some cost of combing through bags / bank, or the easiest thing to do is just say:

    "Nope, yer stuck, start over on Live, have a nice day."

    I don't really have a strong opinion either way, as I can't really think of a way that I'd be negatively impacted in a measurable way. My accomplishments are my own and the people that helped me get where I am, and are in no way diminished by "stuff".

    And if a couple good shaman mains show up on Bertox, even better!!!
  9. Battleaxe Augur

    Maybe given players having known the terms and conditions for playing on Test mods can clean up non-constructive threads. (Example - I choose to put a character on the Test Server but now wish I'd focused my efforts on a Production Server without a special ruleset)

    Assuming a Test Server is wanted by SOE:
    1. A deal is a deal. It's a Test Server for testing and not a Production Server.
    2. There'd be no upside to make transferring test characters off the Test Server palatable. OP says the population on test is crashing - how does allowing transfers OFF test under attractive terms increase the Test Server population?
  10. Lisandra Augur

    I don't want to go anywhere myself as I'm happy on Test but to act like you know the inner workings of SOE, the EQ team & what their future plans are & to assume that everyone on Test is a free loader & doesn't contribute to EQ in any way is both asinine & unreasonable.

    No offense but it sounds like you don't know anything about Test other than that it exists & that they had a character wipe once in 2001 that they promised to never do again. Get to know some players on Test, get to know how the community co-exists & get to know how the server functions & then form an opinion one way or the other.
    Garshok likes this.
  11. Battleaxe Augur

    No offense but I know the difference between a Test Server and a Production Server or an educational release of a develoment kit (commercial use prohibited) and the professional release.

    If OP had written that a loss of population on test was having a major negative impact on its mandate to test I'd read with interest any ideas to correct that situation.

    But OP wrote, having chosen to participate on the Test Server under its special rules, he believes population loss should allow him to move his Test Character to a production server. No offense but tell me how alleged population decline is rectified by allowing Test Characters to migrate to Production Servers. It isn't. No offense. It's creative - I'll give it that.
  12. Lisandra Augur


    Ask the EQ team since they allowed it before. I think you should /testcopy & see what Test is all about before making these assumptions that you can't validate without experience.
  13. Battleaxe Augur

    Tell me how an alleged population decline on the Test Server is rectified by allowing Test Characters to migrate to Production Servers.

    I've beta tested and understood that any items I received while testing would not appear on my main on a production server. I've black box, white box, unit, incremental, regression, acceptance, stress, load, ... tested everything from embedded single chip software, to entertainment, to IT, scientific, ....

    I have no desire to be a tester (I've been one) on a Test Server. I desire to be a user on normal production servers.

    I seem to recall SOE notified people it was not going to be open ended.

    Iirc the name of the server appears as you log in. Is that your experience? It's not a normal Production Server with "testing prefered".

    Now in the event SOE shuts down the Test Server I'm perfectly OK with a grant of a Heroic Character upgrade per account with a character on test. It sure beats a tricorn hat or gingerbread man illusion.

    Not going to bother any longer. Everyone knows a test character is not a production character and allowing test characters to migrate to production servers does nothing to keep the test server performing its testing function.
    Xanumbik and SaderakhBertox like this.
  14. Killstrike Journeyman

    this is for battleaxe... You are so bent on not letting anything off test for some reason. In this day in time, do you really think its going to hurt the game at all? I could care less either way personally. I haven't logged into the game in 2 months and don't wish to ever again. I've been following this post just to see all the comments. The way you talk about EQ is like the game is brand new and anything done out of the ordinary will just kill the game completely. If you haven't noticed, EQ isn't the game it used to be, nor does it have the population it used to have. I'd be really surprised if it lasts another two years and you guys are complaining about a little extra XP and worried about some plat being transferred off test. Really? Some of the comments from folks just make me laugh.......
    Lisandra likes this.
  15. Benzarden Augur

    As someone who played on Test from 2000-2006, I agree with what most of Battleaxe is saying. It's a special rules server, and we all knew the rules going into it. It was fine back in the early 2000's when Test had a healthy population. However, Test's population has been laughable since SoF. Maybe even before then, depending on your laugh threshold.

    If you want to play Everquest like it's truly meant to be played. Start over on a Live server. That is exactly what I did. It's not difficult to level. With Heroic Characters and AA grants, it's easier than ever. Also, there are former Testers scattered throughout the production servers who will help get you on your feet. Come play on Povar, and I'd be happy to run you through Gribble HAs or whatever to help you out.

    The one time they allowed transfers off of Test was an exceptional allowance. It was right before they started allowing /testcopy. They knew the server would never be the same, and they let the long time Testers the opportunity to leave. The devs actually had a discussion with the Test playerbase in PoK /ooc. Even though I missed the boat, it was an incredibly generous gesture for them to allow players off. To expect it to happen again, after the server has been flooded with copied gear and plat, is crazy.

    Further, I agree with Battleaxe that removing the higher end players from Test would just further harm the Test population and the ability for it to be a functional Test server. If you want to Test things and receive the benefits that Test has, play on Test. If you just want to enjoy the game with a healthy population of likeminded players, play on one of the production servers.

    @Killstrike - The age of the game is irrelevant. Server rules are in place for a reason. It would be nice to transfer over to FV and buy a full set of raid gear and transfer back to a production server. I'd be stockpiling dkp for an entire year! However, the server rule sets keep things in order for those of us that actually still do play and care about the game.
  16. Naugrin Augur

    The month window allowing transfers off test was long after /testcopy, it was just before they made plat copy. Copied items didnt transfer with the exception of epics and maybe ts trophies iirc.
  17. Lisandra Augur

    Once someone at SOE in management or accounting figures out people are willing to pay to transfer off FV & Test the EQ team will be over ridden & they will start charging to let people do so. Claiming it is against the integrity of the game or that it upsets you will have no bearing on their decision & won't make any difference to anyone outside of those who feel that way. Once they added heroic characters they opened the floodgates to this type of thing & to think otherwise is just either not thinking clearly or refusing to accept the reality of the MMO market in 2015.
  18. jeskola pheerie

    no you wouldn't. you'd just trash it with some other random uninformed opinion.
    Lisandra likes this.
  19. jeskola pheerie

    The amount of uninformed people posting here with a "HAHA thats what you get for not paying when I have been paying!" is sad. The former raiders of Test Server dedicated our time to the server under the current ruleset. It was changed drastically without any advance warning.

    How would you like if it tomorrow they added TDS raid gear to the Marketplace without letting you know first? Or maybe added level 105 heroic characters with all raid gear without letting you know first?
    Lisandra likes this.
  20. Serriah_Test Augur

    You mean like allowing for a live server version of "raid copies"?

    I imagine people would do like I did on test and just plain camp and quit. Why play a group game when no one has a need or desire to group and do missions anymore? And, when they do, their gear so outclasses the group content, it's boring to group with them.