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Is it just me?
Gravez
Member Posts: 249
Just wondering if anyone else was waiting for the SWG officer numbers this week. I'm not saying those numbers are padded by station pass, multiple accounts per user (since you can only have 2 toons per server, unless you were a pre-cu jedi), trial account, free month etc. I just must have missed it.
I'd also like to add that this is one of the only games that limits you to 2 toons per server, which entices people to have multiple accounts. I'd like to know a real number of current accounts who are only for SWG.
Comments
As of 7/18 the weekly number is
Since the free to play for most (not me -
) is good until the end of the month is number is about the same before the promotion. NOONE of any great importance is returning to this freak show of a MMO.
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I do not think officer rank will ever be a truly significant indicator of much.
For one--- actual numbers could be much lower. If you have say the rank of general, it would take several weeks to drop to non-officer rank.
On the other hand, lots of players do not use the GCW because it has degenerated into yet another time sink, so in that way, the actual numbers might be higher.
Finally with alts, it is really hard to gleam much...
One thing though --- I doubt most of the vets who got free trials would have attained officer rank--- unless they had pvped post GCW officer ranks. The reason is that it takes a week to update, and with diminishing returns, it would take at least 4 weeks to go from private to officer ( I THINK this is the case but might be wrong).
Of course--- a classic server would be a tremendous boon--- but apparently SOE either cannot or will not take advantage of the desire for such a server....
The officer salute could say 20,000 and you'd find some way to spin it so SWG only has 4K subs.
Since this is of some issue to many I thought I would point out that firstly it takes more then 30 days to get an officer rank (having done it myself and only just recently gotten onto that list it takes significantly longer about 2 months if not more depending on your ability to rack up the GCW).
Once the officer rank is obtained it decays to below lieutenant at the rate of 40% per week. That means vets who are using trials once every 6 months to a year (I have no how often they are offered..) would be starting probably at private unless they spend their trials for the sole purpose or ranking up to lieutenant. That being said they would have had to play more then 1 months to get that rank to begin with
I started playing a few months ago now before the GCW changes came in and was all they way down at private again.
So even though I think those numbers are pointless its highly unlikely any vet trial whatevers are on that list because they would have decayed. If they are then that is all they do with their vet trial then. However this is not very likely. I can with almost 100% certainty say that there are no trial accounts on that list of "officers" and anyone that has returned has to first likely level up a bit and then gain the rank to be noted which starts at lieutenant. After lieutenant it becomes actuallly hellishly hard to rank up as I am finding out as its taking me now 3 weeks to move from captain to major and I dont think i'm going to manage to do it next week even.
So unfortunately in this case your argument doesn't hold sorry.
My 2 accounts got yet another free vet trial, which I haven't logged in to bother using yet (and probably won't). It's picking up slowly again, 2 months ago it was at 9400 then a month ago it dropped to 8300 and now back up to 8800. AoC probably was partly responsable with the impact, but it's also the summer months.
Cant believe there are atleast 8000 ppl still playing.......
Back in 2005 I got through all the content of the ToOW before the NGE even hit apart from some bugged stuff which I managed to exploit the AI bugs the day after the NGE. Then I done all the legacy quests as they added them within a day or so becase it was soooo easy and since then theres only been a handful of publish updates with new content, I say new content but it's just the same old dungeon or cave used over and over lol. So I bet you could do all that within a day or so tooo.
All you have left is PVP and cause the combat system is soooo bad and it's all too fast the fights are over sooo quickly I became bored of it.
Actually havn't payed for a sub since the NGe was released lol, SOE keep giving out 1 month came back trials everyother day you never have to pay for any of their games anymore, they gave me all the expansions and 60 days on EQ2 LOL! I was bored after the first day playing it and it's like well thanx for the free player SOE.
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Talking about SWG much?
it is actually more.. lets even say 40 k....
as for your comment jestor, I resent it
i'm a sub secretary in the european comission... and i two at least 2 euro comissairs that play the game 
depends on what you consider important....
Got proof? Unless you have hard numbers, your guess is no better than anyone else's. So let's not say 40k, let's say 20k. Or 15k. It doesn't really matter. All that matters is there are far less than the number that played pre-CU.
There's a sucker born every minute. - P.T. Barnum
that is not 8xxxx? yeah . matter of just looking at the servers load, knowing they have a capacity of 1500 to 2000 players at a given time. there 2 to 3 servers with heavy load normally (bria. bloodin and 1 euro server). and 5 -6 with medium load. It is common knowledge that unless there is an event of great meaning (in game oficial event, some super patch thing.. whatever) every study about MMO's point that the players playing at prime time , are in never more than 50 % of a server total population.
this numbers are not mine. well i'm even working with the worst possible numbers to proof my point. it is normally 25 to 40% say the specialists.
what is a heavy load server---- something with more than 1000 players. but i'll use 1000 since it is enough. so we have 3 servers running around with 1000 players each... what , worst case scenario, this servers have a pop of 2000 each. thats 6000 just there.... then you have 5 (it is six but 5 works also) with medium load... and then there is like what? 12? 13? 14 other servers with light to very light...i actually play in one of those... we estimate a population of about 400 to 500 players.... lets say you have 12 servers with an average of 200 players...
now tell me , really.... do you believe there is only 10000 active subs?
I understand why Rodo uses 10000 or less. it has a meaning. I understand why the most hardcore defenders spit 150 000 or 100 000 subs (what is not). it also has a meaning.
Suroc (anti swg poster) made some calculations and points to about 40 k. I know he made some errors on assuming the servers max load was 1500 when it is 2000 but,,, doesnt matter, even wiht that is enough to reach 40 k , a ordinary number , nothing special about it except being low, 5 more times than what rodo suggest and about 3 to 4 less times what most SWG lovers pointed.
surprising number? not really, at our left there is this "released games" section, with plenty of games the majority of the people don't know, or bever tried, many with player bases of 5 to 10 k.
Once you hit the LT rank, you only decay back to 98% of the rank right before it with no further decay. This happened to my toon.
So, some1 with 100 gcw points would make LT again until the "officer" decay got them the week after.
I personally know of many who have alts in the GCW. Look at all the similiar names. Base busting and alt killing at static bases, on the lower servers can keep them up there. Been there, done both.
As of 7/25 - Down from last week - any predictions to what will happen to this number by the end of August ?
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Just a side comment about this part of your post.
SWG back before the NGE only allowed 1 toon / server, unless you unlocked a Jedi.
Back then, it wasn't as big an issue. It was due to the Skillpoint / Template system, since you could change your character build when YOU wanted to.
So you got tired of being a defense stacking Pistoleer / Fencer. You start dropping skillboxes to try a new build out, a Rifleman / Swordsman (yay FOTM). But another month later, you want something else. You decide to go Master Weaponsmith with Pistoleer.
It was all possible with the same toon. I had a single account for the entire time. But I did know a bunch that still took multiple accounts. But the character limit / server wasn't an issue for us, and complaints about it were practically unheard of. Plus, to change templates, you didn't need to pay a "Respec" fee or some gay shit like that. You just dropped skillboxes and earn XPs for the new skills you want.
"I have only two out of my company and 20 out of some other company. We need support, but it is almost suicide to try to get it here as we are swept by machine gun fire and a constant barrage is on us. I have no one on my left and only a few on my right. I will hold." (First Lieutenant Clifton B. Cates, US Marine Corps, Soissons, 19 July 1918)
the 1 slot per server limit had another valid explanation. it was due to 3 different aspects;
economics- to not allow a player, no matter what profession to dominate a segment of the market, insuring that credits circulated. can be seen was an incentive to fiduciary circulation. The armorsmith couldn't just log on his second char and go kill whatever for skins for example. or have all the lots of his several characters with extractors used over some resource spawn to monopolize it. Some did but they had 2 or 3 or more accounts.
"space" (control of it) as in physical space. again the lots issue, if you had 8 characters on a server you could either boost your own player city, or control certain parts of the land.
socialization - it forced players to establish relation with other players, reinforcing the "community aspect". You simply couldnt be a one man show and had to bound with other players.
As of 7/25 - Down from last week - any predictions to what will happen to this number by the end of August ?
lol you really are as twisted as old jack nicholson joker.
You do know that any value for july and/or august is more subjective than what it should. on both ways, you either have People on vacancies normally on the northern hemisphere at this time. while i'm pretty sure there are some teenagers playing like mad ( probably more on wow than swg,) I'm pretty sure there are also more like me that cant really be playing now when the wife/girlfriend wants to go to the beach, get some sun etc.... I notice the impact of that on my guild (were mostly are on the 27-36 year old segment). None of us will rank up or play much due to that.
As of 7/25 - Down from last week - any predictions to what will happen to this number by the end of August ?
lol you really are as twisted as old jack nicholson joker.
You do know that any value for july and/or august is more subjective than what it should. on both ways, you either have People on vacancies normally on the northern hemisphere at this time. while i'm pretty sure there are some teenagers playing like mad ( probably more on wow than swg,) I'm pretty sure there are also more like me that cant really be playing now when the wife/girlfriend wants to go to the beach, get some sun etc.... I notice the impact of that on my guild (were mostly are on the 27-36 year old segment). None of us will rank up or play much due to that.
Yes July is a summer month and to counteract that SOE has given away free time - See how its helping? Not at all .
Just wait until August when the folks who played for free have confirmed that the NGE is still worthless and decide not to pay the piper because the game blows. To answer my perdiction the first week of August - 7500 or less.
Unaware of the Jestor?
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i'm more waiting on the future , to see you without a mask=) (dont really think sony will post any shutdown date till the end of august)
Its my pleasure to be on your calender ! Be careful for what you wish for.
Unaware of the Jestor?
http://about.me/JestorRodo/
Friends enjoy his classic Vblog - https://www.facebook.com/GoodOldReliableNathan
Fate has pretty much, sealed the deal now for Star Wars Galaxies.
We now know, for certain, that Star Gate Worlds will be out soon, with a new Star Wars MMORPG on it's heals (next year), and Star Trek Online shortly to follow. Pretty quick for STO if they didn't take what Perpetual had completed with STO. They are releasing game play footage within a few weeks. Looks like they pretty much had to get the "game" from Perpetual also.
And with the posts made by others in this forum, that CoH doesn't have radical CHANGES, that's the 1 I'm personally waiting for.
STO was looked at as a "game breaker" for SWG when it was out before. With all 3? Yeah, SOE really screwed up a "sure thing".
Sadly if any design needed them it's that one. Sorry for the derail
For every minute you are angry , you lose 60 seconds of happiness."-Emerson
Sadly if any design needed them it's that one. Sorry for the derail
How so? Other than being overly instanced, and too linear (two things that could be helped, and have been helped, by ADDITIONS, not radical changes), what's wrong with the design?
Good combat engine, smooth almost bug-free gameplay, fun powers, a real z-axis, simply the best character generator -- my only criticism of it is I want MORE.
CoX is one of the best games out right now, and yeah is made by a great company that pays atention to their customer. They made one big mistake in their history -- the ED, which was NOTHING like the NGE -- but still took it's toll on the playerbase.
fishermage.blogspot.com
Sadly if any design needed them it's that one. Sorry for the derail
How so? Other than being overly instanced, and too linear (two things that could be helped, and have been helped, by ADDITIONS, not radical changes), what's wrong with the design?
Good combat engine, smooth almost bug-free gameplay, fun powers, a real z-axis, simply the best character generator -- my only criticism of it is I want MORE.
CoX is one of the best games out right now, and yeah is made by a great company that pays atention to their customer. They made one big mistake in their history -- the ED, which was NOTHING like the NGE -- but still took it's toll on the playerbase.
That's the problem everything from character building , To skill loadouts are superbly excecuted . Yet they give you such a mediocre game enviroment to play in . Redesign the world , ANd introduce some exciting PVE , Also balance PVP (I hear PVP is horribly unbalanced). If that were to happen I'd agree it's one of the better MMO's .
For every minute you are angry , you lose 60 seconds of happiness."-Emerson
As far as STO goes and SGW go I don't think they even factor into the equation long term, If anything SWG will be forced to weather a brief period while people try out those games before going back to their normal subscription patterns. The SWG user base has pretty much matured now.
the next generation of SW MMO could be a deal breaker for SWG, but I don't really know anything about the game so it could be a totally different target market than current MMO players.
Sadly if any design needed them it's that one. Sorry for the derail
How so? Other than being overly instanced, and too linear (two things that could be helped, and have been helped, by ADDITIONS, not radical changes), what's wrong with the design?
Good combat engine, smooth almost bug-free gameplay, fun powers, a real z-axis, simply the best character generator -- my only criticism of it is I want MORE.
CoX is one of the best games out right now, and yeah is made by a great company that pays atention to their customer. They made one big mistake in their history -- the ED, which was NOTHING like the NGE -- but still took it's toll on the playerbase.
That's the problem everything from character building , To skill loadouts are superbly excecuted . Yet they give you such a mediocre game enviroment to play in . Redesign the world , ANd introduce some exciting PVE , Also balance PVP (I hear PVP is horribly unbalanced). If that were to happen I'd agree it's one of the better MMO's .
Still not sure what you are talking about. Other than being overly instanced and not enough, I don't see anything wrong with the environment. the buildings and the setting is very cool and goes from dark urban sprawl to metropolis style futurism. What's wroing with the environment? maybe be more specific.
The PvE is certainly "exciting," although I'm not sure what YOU mean by it. Some of the quest lines can get repetitive, but again, that doesn't require changing things much. Some of the stories are downright hysterical in their fun homage to some great classic Comic stories and heroic lit we all know and love.
If you find things too easy you can always up the difficulty. It's always scaleable so one should never be bored with PvE.
As far as "imbalanced PvP," I disagree as well. PvP is as well balanced as in any games...pretty much rock/paper scizzors style. Squishies have to watch out and not get ganked -- just like in any other game; but if they get a few major attacks off, you're toast.
Again I haven't a clue as to what you are talking about.
the game is great. it just needs more of what it is, which isn't the major, sweeping changes that kills games.
maybe be more specific and I'll know what you are talking about. I don't see what your saying, and I play almost every day -- been playing for years actually.
fishermage.blogspot.com
Sadly if any design needed them it's that one. Sorry for the derail
How so? Other than being overly instanced, and too linear (two things that could be helped, and have been helped, by ADDITIONS, not radical changes), what's wrong with the design?
Good combat engine, smooth almost bug-free gameplay, fun powers, a real z-axis, simply the best character generator -- my only criticism of it is I want MORE.
CoX is one of the best games out right now, and yeah is made by a great company that pays atention to their customer. They made one big mistake in their history -- the ED, which was NOTHING like the NGE -- but still took it's toll on the playerbase.
That's the problem everything from character building , To skill loadouts are superbly excecuted . Yet they give you such a mediocre game enviroment to play in . Redesign the world , ANd introduce some exciting PVE , Also balance PVP (I hear PVP is horribly unbalanced). If that were to happen I'd agree it's one of the better MMO's .
Still not sure what you are talking about. Other than being overly instanced and not enough, I don't see anything wrong with the environment. the buildings and the setting is very cool and goes from dark urban sprawl to metropolis style futurism. What's wroing with the environment? maybe be more specific.
The PvE is certainly "exciting," although I'm not sure what YOU mean by it. Some of the quest lines can get repetitive, but again, that doesn't require changing things much. Some of the stories are downright hysterical in their fun homage to some great classic Comic stories and heroic lit we all know and love.
If you find things too easy you can always up the difficulty. It's always scaleable so one should never be bored with PvE.
As far as "imbalanced PvP," I disagree as well. PvP is as well balanced as in any games...pretty much rock/paper scizzors style. Squishies have to watch out and not get ganked -- just like in any other game; but if they get a few major attacks off, you're toast.
Again I haven't a clue as to what you are talking about.
the game is great. it just needs more of what it is, which isn't the major, sweeping changes that kills games.
maybe be more specific and I'll know what you are talking about. I don't see what your saying, and I play almost every day -- been playing for years actually.
I'm basically referring to the way they handle the rinse and repeat PVE aspects (the instances) , It reminds me far to much of MXO . The urban sprawl IMO also just wasn't enticing enough for some reason for me . The scenery itself is just fine , Yet If I were to have input in the world design , I would have added far more world interaction . And dynamics to the way they present their PVE enviroments . It just seemed as though every goal was the same , Kill these guys or switch this item on or off. Look at the way funcom presented Tortage in AOc and you will see what I am talking about.
For every minute you are angry , you lose 60 seconds of happiness."-Emerson
Sadly if any design needed them it's that one. Sorry for the derail
How so? Other than being overly instanced, and too linear (two things that could be helped, and have been helped, by ADDITIONS, not radical changes), what's wrong with the design?
Good combat engine, smooth almost bug-free gameplay, fun powers, a real z-axis, simply the best character generator -- my only criticism of it is I want MORE.
CoX is one of the best games out right now, and yeah is made by a great company that pays atention to their customer. They made one big mistake in their history -- the ED, which was NOTHING like the NGE -- but still took it's toll on the playerbase.
That's the problem everything from character building , To skill loadouts are superbly excecuted . Yet they give you such a mediocre game enviroment to play in . Redesign the world , ANd introduce some exciting PVE , Also balance PVP (I hear PVP is horribly unbalanced). If that were to happen I'd agree it's one of the better MMO's .
Still not sure what you are talking about. Other than being overly instanced and not enough, I don't see anything wrong with the environment. the buildings and the setting is very cool and goes from dark urban sprawl to metropolis style futurism. What's wroing with the environment? maybe be more specific.
The PvE is certainly "exciting," although I'm not sure what YOU mean by it. Some of the quest lines can get repetitive, but again, that doesn't require changing things much. Some of the stories are downright hysterical in their fun homage to some great classic Comic stories and heroic lit we all know and love.
If you find things too easy you can always up the difficulty. It's always scaleable so one should never be bored with PvE.
As far as "imbalanced PvP," I disagree as well. PvP is as well balanced as in any games...pretty much rock/paper scizzors style. Squishies have to watch out and not get ganked -- just like in any other game; but if they get a few major attacks off, you're toast.
Again I haven't a clue as to what you are talking about.
the game is great. it just needs more of what it is, which isn't the major, sweeping changes that kills games.
maybe be more specific and I'll know what you are talking about. I don't see what your saying, and I play almost every day -- been playing for years actually.
I'm basically referring to the way they handle the rinse and repeat PVE aspects (the instances) , It reminds me far to much of MXO . The urban sprawl IMO also just wasn't enticing enough for some reason for me . The scenery itself is just fine , Yet If I were to have input in the world design , I would have added far more world interaction . And dynamics to the way they present their PVE enviroments . It just seemed as though every goal was the same , Kill these guys or switch this item on or off. Look at the way funcom presented Tortage in AOc and you will see what I am talking about.
Well I see that aspect in all games; but what do you mean by world interaction? how would it require a complete redesign to get what you want? Remember YOU said redesign, in the context of complete change. I just want to know why you think CoH needs changes as vast as the NGE. Thus far, your critique implies nothing of the sort; your critique implies it needs MORE, not different.
As to AOC, I haven't tried it, and don't intend to until it has a free trial. What's so great about it that CoH would need s complete redesign to match it?
Please note I am only following YOUR lead here. Esquire said that NCSoft/Cryptic didn't make widespread/sweeping changes to CoX (of course referring to the NGE level of changes, and core game changes the context all such posts of his are made in). YOU then said that CoH is the only game that NEEDS such changes. I think that's just crazy talk, so I am asking you to fully elaborate here. Thus far you are leavin g me more confused.
What's different about AoC missions that makes them so great compared with CoX? Now I'm really curious. What is Tortage? Explain please.
fishermage.blogspot.com