Producer's Letter: August 2015 Updates

Discussion in 'News and Announcements' started by Windstalker, Aug 3, 2015.

  1. Windstalker Executive Producer

    Greetings Norrathians!

    Here’s a quick update on what’s coming up for EQ2.

    [IMG]

    Server Consolidation

    EverQuest 2 is best with friends, and in August we’re working on bringing players from different servers together!

    Our engineers have continued with database work that will allow not only cross-server dungeons and true cross-server battlegrounds, but also server consolidation. It's a very complicated process, but we are targeting the end of August for US Servers to start testing at the very least.

    EU, Japan, and Russian servers will come a bit later as we identify how to best handle language/client integration. This code touches the fundamentals of how we handle characters so we have to be diligent on this one.

    Note that I wrote, "server consolidation." That's not evasive language, but our approach. We think our best path is to consolidate some lower population servers into a new server and build a brand new server community from those players.

    Those players moving will get a title naming their original server that can be worn with pride! And we will run a vote for the servers being consolidated to choose a new name for the new server based on the recent submissions we've had. We don't know which servers yet, but that's our next task.

    EDITED: [I added the following post on 8/4 after some confusion] On the server consolidation, don't worry. We haven't written the process and we are investigating server populations. Part of this work will include determining if duplicate names of guilds and characters are going to exist and how many. We will continue our plans based on all the information we can gather that will make it as smooth and as simple as possible to move your characters and ALL YOUR STUFF. Don't worry...we aren't going to ham-hand this...(I've always wanted to use that word...).

    Campaign Update

    We haven't stopped working on it! When we get into the fall timeframe, we'll start talking about the details. And we can't wait! Prelude events for the campaign will start as early as September!

    Vote on Bug Prioritization at dgcissuetracker.com!

    We really encourage you to join and submit bugs to dgcissuetracker.com and we will prioritize our work by your votes. If you want to help moderate and verify bugs, you can apply on the site.

    As busy as we are, I can tell you the entire team always spends a portion of their week working on Live issues or bug fixes. That's how we rumble and that's the reason for our weekly updates! Help us focus on what matters to you!

    Community Round Table

    The Community Round Table (CRT) is a group of players that dev talks to directly to get feedback and help us make informed decisions about what players want from EverQuest 2!

    In the next week or so, Kyle "Kander" Vallee will be ramping up the CRT with a lot of new applicants! We are very excited about getting some discussions going about the future of Norrath in EQ2.

    Guide Support

    The Guide program has been growing lately as we expand their role. They will be on hand to support issues on live servers and will be reporting back to us so we can help. They are making a real difference on EQ servers and we are thrilled to get the same support for EQ2 starting with the new TLEs to help along some new and returning players.

    Some surprises along the way

    We've got a few things up our sleeve from now until the end of the year. We love this game and our community, truly, and we are committed to a bright future.

    Speaking of love, we were giddy over the surprised and emotional reactions from players on TLEs when they logged in to discover the Far Journey ship and Isle of Refuge zones. We really wanted you -- our players -- to discover that on your own and share the joy with each other.

    In that spirit of gaming (i.e. fun), we are going to experiment with a few ideas as we move along and see what you think. We know you'll share your thoughts with us!


    As always, we’re grateful for your continued support!


    Holly "Windstalker" Longdale
    Executive Producer, EQ & EQ2
    Belenos, Jaden, Siren and 16 others like this.
  2. Schmetterling Well-Known Member

    thank you very, very much I don't want to voice my opinion or ideas at this point
    I have done so on other pages.
    I think you did good and its still good old ever crack
    I am sort of a new player and I really love it to be able to at least kind of experience the game how it must have been at lounge. :)
    Seefar likes this.
  3. Determind Active Member

    As a player on a lower population level server this is welcome news, however, I have the inevitable concerns regarding name availability. Will there be a name clearing prior to the merges? It is my belief that a currently player should have the advantage on any naming dispute over a non-active player (meaning someone who has not logging in their account for a "to be determined" time period).
    Hartsmith, Belenos and Edelphia like this.
  4. Sentrasia Well-Known Member

    Right... not to be snide or snarky, but I hope what you mean is every server that isn't AB or the time locked servers (Which I hazard once the fad has worn off will be as dead as the rest of them).

    Goodness knows I can go for hours without seeing a single call in chat (General/LFG/High Level) for a PUG on my server, even some afternoons/evenings are this way, and I doubt we're the lowest pop server.

    Is this partly because the instances are lack luster this expansion? Possibly. Who knows how others feel about it. However, compared to ToV expansion where I almost always saw PUG messages in chat it's rather depressing.

    In my opinion I don't feel cross server dungeons are going to fix anything. The current grouping algorithm for Random Dungeons is atrocious and if this new cross server dungeon finder works the same way I do not have high expectations for its success.

    We need people not gimmicks.
    Edelphia likes this.
  5. Bhayar Well-Known Member

    First, thanks for the update. Secondly, under the Report Bugs, I think someone edited out "work" from this comment "..and we will prioritize our by your votes."
    I would be less than forthright if I didn't say that I wasn't really sure the TLE server was a good idea when it was first announced. Having said that, I was able to get into this server a few days after launch and been having a ball. TONS of players on and I can't tell you what an impact that has been on this game. Players who haven't played for years are coming back and we also get to enjoy the game right from the beginning, which I did not have a chance to do. We have a full server of people enjoying the game again.
    I think server consolidation is a great idea as I (and others) have indicated it's badly needed. What I am curious about is the unquestioned success of the TLE server and ability of other players to try and get in. How will you handle the possibility of the "great Oklahoma (TLE) land rush?" Is the option of another TLE even a possibility?
    Any rate, grats on a well-executed decision...so far, TLE seems to be a success from what I can see. I'd possible submit more questions, but frankly I have a character I need to log on and continue leveling. It's been a slice....
  6. LoybalfImiavSordufjo New Member

    Good stuff, looking forward to the consolidations, thanks!
    Alenna likes this.
  7. Edelphia Well-Known Member

    I have been literally holding my breath while waiting for the server consolidations. I am hoping Oasis is one of those, as groups are few and far between anymore, especially with everyone moving to the TLE server. People that were once active I might see on once a week for raid, if they remember.

    I am glad to see the guide program is thriving, though I have noticed that our guides no longer announce in general chat when they are around for a quest. I love to do the quests and do a little rollplay with our guides!
    suka likes this.
  8. zariarn New Member


    Graphics overhall to bring the game further in the future? Yaawwn! Huh? What? Was I dreaming? LOL!
    suka likes this.
  9. Rainmare Well-Known Member

    my biggest complaint is the naming system.

    for example, I have a friend on Oasis, a conjy, who's been playing every day almost since EQ2 started. she's got her 11 year vet rewards. now I looked her up on EQ2U, and found there's a wizard sharing her name on Guk. who has 12 hours played, and is like level 11. prolly someone that tried a wiz, found they didn't like it and left it alone...but it was made 1 month before my friends conjy.

    if this isn't so much one server merging into another, as it is everyone moving to a new one, who gets the name if Guk and Oasis are chosen? if you're moving us all to a brand new server, will we be able to not be judged soley on creation date, but on played time?
  10. Errrorr An Actual EQ2 Player

    Any estimation on the EU servers 'Consolidation'? Are we looking at 3 months, 6 months, 3 years?
    Uwkete-of-Crushbone and duckster like this.
  11. Thimdirran Active Member

    I would like to request that previous merges be included in the server titles. I originally made my army of characters on Highkeep which was merged into Butcherblock. Later other servers were merged into Butcherblock and they were given previous server titles never offered to Highkeep characters. I've even given my characters the last name OfHighkeep to keep the spirit but that prevents them from having true last names and just isn't the same.

    Thank you,
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  12. suka Well-Known Member

    first, on the progressive server, do you plan to make the starter housing villages available? second on server consolidation, how will you handle people with the same names? third, how will you handle the bugs already in housing for people who move to different servers? won't that affect server consolidation? 4th please tell me butcherblock isn't moving. we are very happy where we are although it would be nice to have more people in the lower level zones. also please note, most people are higher level and geared toward endgame. they push hard and literally skip through the boring lower levels. can't something be done to entice everyone to slow down and smell the roses on the regular servers? and can't anything be done to maybe revamp those lower zones to make them less boring?

    one of the main gripes i hear are from lower level people and new people who literally can't find groups. server consolidation and campaigns will not help those people. they can't find groups because they are not at end game. somehow in all of the expansions and revamps and other things you do to make eq2 more interesting, they have been totally overlooked. not all are willing to go to a progressive server. they want what eq2 has to offer right now, but they want to have fun with it and be able to find other people who are making new toons or even mentoring down to go back and enjoy some new fun things at those lower levels. by concentrating on the end game only, you are really missing what they are complaining about. and on a good opportunity to breathe new life into the game.

    endgame is nice, i have a few there both here and in eq1. but the journey is where the fun is. many people joining eq2 today are not realizing it. instead they look at the grind and all of the old quests that really don't even give good armor or address the needs of the player (like a wizard getting armor with agi on it) and think "maybe i should either buy a level 90 and skip all of this or maybe i will go to another game with upward mentoring, and a lot of new quests and fun stuff (think rift) and forget this grind."

    eq2 is my favorite game. but after going through the grind on over 6 toons, i can tell you i don't bother with the lower zones anymore. so i am really not there much to help lower toons who want to group
    Naramsin, Seefar and Moonpanther like this.
  13. Moonpanther Well-Known Member


    And that is the age old question in mmorpg's these days. The vast majority of folks start a game, not to see the game and enjoy the journey, but to race to endgame and the "win". I feel like maybe this is more a sign of the times than anything. Heck, look at the spelling of most folks these days with the texting craze. It's the age of instant rewards for minimum work, effort or time. I'm not sure there is an answer out there that could solve that.

    Even on the TLE servers we have folks that rushed to cap. I've never been one to do that an neither has my husband so we are always the ones left in the areas with no groups unless you want someone to "run you through' which I absolutely hate! It's not fun following someone around and watching them one shot whole rooms of mobs. And it doesn't teach anyone about how to use their toon in a group.

    Which leads me to my next point. On the normal servers folks power lvl to cap and then complain they can't find groups. The serious raiding groups only take those who are perfectly geared and know their toons inside and out. That leaves folks out and thus they can't get groups even though they rushed to cap.

    I don't raid anymore because it was too much like a job before and I burned out on it and keeping everything up to date and perfect. It got to where I didn't even want to log in anymore. No one just wants to enjoy the game anymore. Sad really and I have no answers on what might fix that. It's rare to find a fun relaxed guild that really does the lower content at level and is not so much into absolute perfection for end game raiding. Many start out like that but then that raid bug bites and all of a sudden that casual guild disappears and things get too serious. Leaves a great many folks out.

    So in conclusion, I don't see that any amount of merging servers will fix this. But then that is just me, and I'll certainly be interested in the outcome. I do sincerely hope it fixes things, but I'm not sure it is the real solution.
  14. Roshen Well-Known Member

    This won't be an issue, because low population servers are being merged into a NEW server.

    No names will be taken on the new server, and player names will be available on a first come basis. It should be pretty easy to grab a name on the new server before a 'non-active player.'

    From Holly's post:

  15. LoybalfImiavSordufjo New Member

    What are you even saying? No one will have names until we login and claim them? I can speed login and take all the names I want?
  16. Katz Well-Known Member


    I think you misunderstood his question. We are concerned with people from other servers having the same names on existing characters resulting in xxxx being added to the end of your name. I don't think he/she was talking about names for newly made characters.

    If you didn't misunderstand then I'm greatly confused over what "consolidation" means.

    Edits:

    Actually I reread what you said again and am even more confused. Please explain.

    Other than that, can we be given a list of tasks to do to get ready for consolidation? Like for example, empty your mail, etc.
  17. Schmetterling Well-Known Member

    that all said still think we need to consolidate question what about all those nice guilds with their guildhalls
    and all the furniture ? do we have to pack it all up and move it in our backpacks
    would be nice if you allow guild leaders at least to pack everything up in a moving crate
    if not bring the whole guild .
    I play another game where we have the same problem not enough people playing anymore
    so they desired any player that had not been on for a year is deleted any guild that the guild leader is not moving the guild hall
    is lost
    for getting high level players into helping low level players. I suggests a reward program for high level players helping a low level players through a quest or dungeon. you could earn special tokens you could trade in for rewards.
    Edelphia, Jaden and Naramsin like this.
  18. Rhodris EQ2Wire Ninja

    I had thought that when the servers merged onto a new one, if a character that hasn't been played for a long time had the same name as one that has, then the one that has gets the name first.

    I would hope that we don't have to scramble to rename all our characters though. That would be a real PITA.
  19. Ynnek Well-Known Member

    Can you perhaps clarify? It sounds like you are saying the following:

    We are consolidating x servers into one new server. Names are purely first come first serve. So if there are active players named Bob on each of the 5 servers, he who logs on first gets it. No "who has played the most", no "creation date", no priority mechanics. Just he who logs on first, even if it's a level 1 created today just for that reason.

    Sounds like one heck of a recipe for rampant name griefing to me...
    Mermut, Edelphia, Lunazen and 8 others like this.
  20. Schmetterling Well-Known Member

    o just great I got something like 40 toons on 3 servers and I will have to rename those all ARGH:eek::confused::oops:o_O