It's probably difficult or impossible for SOE to merge servers cleanly, due to the persistent housing and whatnot.
All this could have been prevented by making smart changes that people were actually asking for instead of foisting the NGE off on everyone, since the servers would all still be populated. Sounds crazy, I know.
Currently Playing: EVE Online Retired From: UO, FFXI, AO, SWG, Ryzom, GW, WoW, WAR
The population on a handfull of servers has the level of activity you would expect from healthy games. Starsider is currently overpopulated and there are portions of the playerbase that has requested to be transfered off due to the lag that the mass of players cause. Flurry is on 2nd place with approximately 60% of the population of Starsider, Chimaera, Farstar Ahazi, Bloodfin and Bria would be the ones to target for new players in my opinion since they have the population to support group dynamics, chosing one would be you need to consider the main timezones for these servers. The have half the population of Starsider but that doesn't mean they are underpopulated. They are well rounded in terms of lag and population. I may have forgotten one or two, but those are the main servers to shoot for. The remaining are unable to support group dynamics and end-game content due to lack of population.
You missed Chilastra off the list. Although it's having a bit of a PvP slump at the moment, it has been the most active PvP server for a year or two now
And if you are on a "dead" server why not transfer for free by Sept 30th, you get to keep all your items. That way when you log in for free every 3 to 6 months you will not have to search for players and actually play the game instead.
And Flurry has the 2nd most in population behind Starsider.
And if you are on a "dead" server why not transfer for free by Sept 30th, you get to keep all your items. That way when you log in for free every 3 to 6 months you will not have to search for players and actually play the game instead. And Flurry has the 2nd most in population behind Starsider.
Unless you are on one of the dead destination servers like Gorath, then that trasnfer will cost you $50 per toon. Not worth it as regular paying subscriber let alone a vet who only plays during free vet trial time.
And Flurry has the 2nd most in population behind Starsider.
Having the '2nd most in population behind Starsider' means 'least of the dead servers'. Thanks for confirming the Starsider is the only server with a population Gutboy.
I play on Flurry, it is not by any means a "dead" server, we received the 2nd most transfers and it shows.
And you know this how?
None of us can document anything about server population. SOE knows and theyre not talking.
There are players (or posters) that are claiming that their server is fine, or that all servers are fine or that some servers are fine.
There are posters that claim that SWG IS DEAD!!!! and you won't find players anywhere.
The fact remains that neither can document the exact subscription or player numbers and it doesn't really matter either. Either the numbers on the server that affects you will support your playstyle or it won't. You can get a rough indication of player numbers by going to http://swg.activeframe.de that takes base in the number of PVP'ers.
Then you can start to approximate.
Its based on the weekly officer salute that lists the players that participate in GCW ranking system.
Traditionally, about 15% of the MMO population are PVP'ers and even if only 50% of the PVP'ers are listed (because theyre still gaining rank), a server with 500 officers would have at least 3000 players or characters.
My own reccomendation is to stay away from servers with less than 500 players unless you intentionally transfer there to help build community or you like being on a lesser populated server. That leaves the option for the following servers:
Starsider: 1861
Flurry: 1111
Bloodfin: 954
Europe-FarStar: 872
Bria: 857
Europe-Chimaera: 811
Chilastra: 801
Ahazi: 592
Out of these, residents of Starsider has been complaining about lag due to the high population and a minor number of players on Flurry also have vented the same frustrations, so I cannot knowingly recommend Starsider as a server that players should settle down on, there is no room for more cities, all planets capped etc.
Having played on Chim since 2005 I have seen how it has grown since november 2005. There is currently enough players to cater to any playstyle, you can get into groups easily and there are at least 10-30 players getting buffed in Eisley constantly during primetime CET. Our guild sports ~240 members and has a 54% activity rate (130 logged in during the last 30 days). We boot any player that is inactive for 360 days to keep the activity in the guild up. New players are constantly coming and going as with any MMO.
Counting the top10 guilds there is at least 2000 guilded players but the activity level of those remains to be seen, I know that the two biggest guilds never boots members - even if they leave.
If I was to transfer using the knowledge I know now. I would still chose Chimaera as its in my timezone and has a good population, but I could transfer to Ahazi knowing full well that I could still get the same opportunities, a little less lag, a chance to create a new guild and recruit new members, a chance to reform a city and bring in more active players to that city.
Out of the servers on the list, I can reccomend the bottom 6. Any other server will either give you problems finding players or lag problems due to too many players. Number 3-8 can support pretty much any playstyle depending on timezone of course.
I play on Flurry, it is not by any means a "dead" server, we received the 2nd most transfers and it shows.
And you know this how?
None of us can document anything about server population. SOE knows and theyre not talking.
There are players (or posters) that are claiming that their server is fine, or that all servers are fine or that some servers are fine.
There are posters that claim that SWG IS DEAD!!!! and you won't find players anywhere.
The fact remains that neither can document the exact subscription or player numbers and it doesn't really matter either. Either the numbers on the server that affects you will support your playstyle or it won't. You can get a rough indication of player numbers by going to http://swg.activeframe.de that takes base in the number of PVP'ers.
Then you can start to approximate.
Its based on the weekly officer salute that lists the players that participate in GCW ranking system.
Traditionally, about 15% of the MMO population are PVP'ers and even if only 50% of the PVP'ers are listed (because theyre still gaining rank), a server with 500 officers would have at least 3000 players or characters.
My own reccomendation is to stay away from servers with less than 500 players unless you intentionally transfer there to help build community or you like being on a lesser populated server. That leaves the option for the following servers:
Starsider: 1861
Flurry: 1111
Bloodfin: 954
Europe-FarStar: 872
Bria: 857
Europe-Chimaera: 811
Chilastra: 801
Ahazi: 592
Out of these, residents of Starsider has been complaining about lag due to the high population and a minor number of players on Flurry also have vented the same frustrations, so I cannot knowingly recommend Starsider as a server that players should settle down on, there is no room for more cities, all planets capped etc.
Having played on Chim since 2005 I have seen how it has grown since november 2005. There is currently enough players to cater to any playstyle, you can get into groups easily and there are at least 10-30 players getting buffed in Eisley constantly during primetime CET. Our guild sports ~240 members and has a 54% activity rate (130 logged in during the last 30 days). We boot any player that is inactive for 360 days to keep the activity in the guild up. New players are constantly coming and going as with any MMO.
Counting the top10 guilds there is at least 2000 guilded players but the activity level of those remains to be seen, I know that the two biggest guilds never boots members - even if they leave.
If I was to transfer using the knowledge I know now. I would still chose Chimaera as its in my timezone and has a good population, but I could transfer to Ahazi knowing full well that I could still get the same opportunities, a little less lag, a chance to create a new guild and recruit new members, a chance to reform a city and bring in more active players to that city.
Out of the servers on the list, I can reccomend the bottom 6. Any other server will either give you problems finding players or lag problems due to too many players. Number 3-8 can support pretty much any playstyle depending on timezone of course.
GCW stats maybe an indicator, but it is not accurate. GCW points are being given away like candy in the battlefields (even traders take advantage), and although I am not sure, the vets who made officer before their trial accounts expired maybe still being counted as their rank decays. These numbers also count alternates (up to 8-9/account), then one must consider the number of players that have more than one account, which is a much bigger number than you may think. The number of unique accounts is much lower, and the dead and dying servers attest to that well.
The best way really is for a player to to go see for themselves. While the population may seem fine to those who have been playing and have become accustomed to low population numbers, almost all the servers seem barren to players who are coming from other games, like WoW. Starsider has the most viable population, but the population quickly drops off when it comes to the other servers. Servers like Flurry and Bloodfin may have a viable population at more specific times. Then you have destinatiuon servers like Gorath where what few players remain are screaming for FCTS.
it is sad to think that SWG had enough players to keep 25+ servers running pre-NGE. No matter what updates or content is added, SWG just cannot recover any significant number of vets/new players and has trouble even retaining the number of current players. TOR will probably kill off what little remains.
it is sad to think that SWG had enough players to keep 25+ servers running pre-NGE. No matter what updates or content is added, SWG just cannot recover any significant number of vets/new players and has trouble even retaining the number of current players. TOR will probably kill off what little remains.
SWG is what it is, a game with great potential that suffered one of the biggest mistakes in MMORPG history. The fact that the game is around and growing today is testimony to the strength of the IP and the incredible improvements made in the four years since that ill fated day in 2005.
Thousands of people still play SWG, and will continue to play it, because for them it is a very enjoyable and entertaining game. New games always come and go and none of them are able to offer these people exactly what SWG does.
We get new and returning vets bolstering the numbers of regular subscribers evey day who relish living the Star Wars saga of the original trilogies.
There will always be SWG, just like there will always be other MMORPGs with amazing longevity and unique gameplay like Ultima Online and Everquest.
Kaz, we essentially agree but it seems youre looking more at what the exact numbers are instead of what the players on the affected servers are experiencing.
Im looking at what the server is capable of handling vs what a healthy population can support. Using activeframe as a reference point is a good start. As I said it will give you a rogh indication. I never said it was accurate.
When players on Starsider are telling me 'there are too many on our server, we need to be able to transfer off' - then the server isn't geared for that population size - but that doesn't mean you can't get involved with the game, or groups, pvp etc.
It just means that the server resources are not supporting the population - whatever the number is (I don't really care how many are supposedly playing on Starsider). The important aspect here is that the population is complaining about lack of server resources.
Then you have Flurry, where the requests for a FCTS OFF the server is slowly starting to come out - again as lag for a reason to transfer off. Its not in the same size as the pool of requests from starsider though, but its slowly starting to increase.
Then we have servers like Gorath that is screaming for a FCTS at the other end of the scale that isn't capable of supporting all playing styles. I've been there. I've seen the lack of players. Reference point on activeframe is at the lower bottom. Servers below that point don't really have players screaming for anything. They have allready left.
That basically gives you some pretty good pointers as to what servers to avoid and which servers you can investigate.
We have 8 servers with population enough to support all playstyles. Of course that is lower than 25 Im not denying that. Im just asking that new playes shouldn't hop onto a dead server and then make up their mind about the game based on that.
The community spirit has always been a large part of SWG. Dead servers won't give you that experience so you'll miss out on alot the game has to offer. But yeah, make up your mind about the game on one of the populad servers I've listed above.
it is sad to think that SWG had enough players to keep 25+ servers running pre-NGE. No matter what updates or content is added, SWG just cannot recover any significant number of vets/new players and has trouble even retaining the number of current players. TOR will probably kill off what little remains.
SWG is what it is, a game with great potential that suffered one of the biggest mistakes in MMORPG history. The fact that the game is around and growing today is testimony to the strength of the IP and the incredible improvements made in the four years since that ill fated day in 2005.
Thousands of people still play SWG, and will continue to play it, because for them it is a very enjoyable and entertaining game. New games always come and go and none of them are able to offer these people exactly what SWG does.
We get new and returning vets bolstering the numbers of regular subscribers evey day who relish living the Star Wars saga of the original trilogies.
There will always be SWG, just like there will always be other MMORPGs with amazing longevity and unique gameplay like Ultima Online and Everquest.
The only time the game seems to be 'growing' is when the free vet trials are enabled. The ONLY reeason SWG is alive today is because it is Star Wars, and as soon as TOR goes live, it will take the majority of players from SWG. Players will leave primarity due to TOR, but many will leave as the remaining player population takes another nose dive. I think SWG will keep running for a while, but it will be a one server game (which it almost is now) that pads the Station Access Pass.
it is sad to think that SWG had enough players to keep 25+ servers running pre-NGE. No matter what updates or content is added, SWG just cannot recover any significant number of vets/new players and has trouble even retaining the number of current players. TOR will probably kill off what little remains.
SWG is what it is, a game with great potential that suffered one of the biggest mistakes in MMORPG history. The fact that the game is around and growing today is testimony to the strength of the IP and the incredible improvements made in the four years since that ill fated day in 2005.
Thousands of people still play SWG, and will continue to play it, because for them it is a very enjoyable and entertaining game. New games always come and go and none of them are able to offer these people exactly what SWG does.
We get new and returning vets bolstering the numbers of regular subscribers evey day who relish living the Star Wars saga of the original trilogies.
There will always be SWG, just like there will always be other MMORPGs with amazing longevity and unique gameplay like Ultima Online and Everquest.
The only time the game seems to be 'growing' is when the free vet trials are enabled. The ONLY reeason SWG is alive today is because it is Star Wars, and as soon as TOR goes live, it will take the majority of players from SWG. Players will leave primarity due to TOR, but many will leave as the remaining player population takes another nose dive. I think SWG will keep running for a while, but it will be a one server game (which it almost is now) that pads the Station Access Pass.
And once some guilds start migrating to TOR many of those guild members that didn't neccessarily intend to play TOR will likely follow their friends to the new game. Again, it's a cascading effect that we've seen before in SWG when WoW was released and many people left with their entire guilds.
To think it won't happen again is simply being naive in my opinion.
Kaz, we essentially agree but it seems youre looking more at what the exact numbers are instead of what the players on the affected servers are experiencing. Im looking at what the server is capable of handling vs what a healthy population can support. Using activeframe as a reference point is a good start. As I said it will give you a rogh indication. I never said it was accurate. When players on Starsider are telling me 'there are too many on our server, we need to be able to transfer off' - then the server isn't geared for that population size - but that doesn't mean you can't get involved with the game, or groups, pvp etc. It just means that the server resources are not supporting the population - whatever the number is (I don't really care how many are supposedly playing on Starsider). The important aspect here is that the population is complaining about lack of server resources. Then you have Flurry, where the requests for a FCTS OFF the server is slowly starting to come out - again as lag for a reason to transfer off. Its not in the same size as the pool of requests from starsider though, but its slowly starting to increase. Then we have servers like Gorath that is screaming for a FCTS at the other end of the scale that isn't capable of supporting all playing styles. I've been there. I've seen the lack of players. Reference point on activeframe is at the lower bottom. Servers below that point don't really have players screaming for anything. They have allready left. That basically gives you some pretty good pointers as to what servers to avoid and which servers you can investigate. We have 8 servers with population enough to support all playstyles. Of course that is lower than 25 Im not denying that. Im just asking that new playes shouldn't hop onto a dead server and then make up their mind about the game based on that. The community spirit has always been a large part of SWG. Dead servers won't give you that experience so you'll miss out on alot the game has to offer. But yeah, make up your mind about the game on one of the populad servers I've listed above.
I don't completely agree that eight servers are populated enough to make the game viable for all playstyles. Peak times on some of them may provide enough players for group activites, but low populations make it difficult for those that play at alternative times and makes a bad economy.
If $OE had any clue, the poorly populated destination servers (Gorath, Sunrunner, Radiant, etc.) need to be allowed the FCTS and those players should be carefully directed to four or five of the destination servers ASAP. No more transfers should be accepted on Starsider, even paid ones (rerolls are fine). Starsider is sucking up more and more players from even the once healthier destination servers. This should be done before the GCW update to allow for the best update impact.
The change on server populations are fun to watch evolve. Players want to play to a server with low ping and many players when they log on.
Before the FCTS, Bloodfin was the server with the highest population with Chim close behind. Starsider had about the same population as Ahazi which is why I can attest that ~500 officer ranked players can support any playstyle. They allready did at that point. I played there for quite a few months during 2008 while learning about space pvp tactics.
Chim had a few US citizens that played during off-peak hours. They allways complained that there was a lack of players when they where on. What happened was that the european population went to bed - at which point the US players logged on in the early morning hours. They since transfered to Starsider and has the same problem, no population because when they log on - others are logging off and are heading to bed.
I visited friends on Kettemoor and some other low pop servers before the FCTS hit. They where unable to sustain group play at that point without making a serious effort at organizing the players. At that point, Kettemoor had about half as many players as Starsider. Where Starsider was flourishing at twice the population of Kette, Kette was having trouble. Space was easy, but they where all really struggling to get their heroic jewelry.
But unless something is done for players that are logging on after peak hours you will always have that problem as a player. That doesn't change the situation where as long as you log on during peak yours, you'll be able to get any playstyle needs met on the servers listed - as long as you are there when the other players are there too.
After the FCTS the picture changed completely. Chim gained about 15%. But Starsider with the reputation of being able to cater to all playstyles, open RP environment, excellent space community and decent PVP community got the bulk of the lowpop servers almost trippling their playerbase.
Flurry doubled its size.
The only remaining players on the tranfer from servers remain because its their home. They have built up the server with their friends and they have alot of fond memories there. They don't want to leave.
I believe we can do more for new and returning players, but we can't do it now and we shouldn't force them. While we wait for the GCW Update I'll continue to push for FCTS for the servers that have communities that has that desire.
The only time the game seems to be 'growing' is when the free vet trials are enabled. The ONLY reeason SWG is alive today is because it is Star Wars, and as soon as TOR goes live, it will take the majority of players from SWG. Players will leave primarity due to TOR, but many will leave as the remaining player population takes another nose dive. I think SWG will keep running for a while, but it will be a one server game (which it almost is now) that pads the Station Access Pass.
SWG and TOR are completely different games. Think of TOR as a really dumbed down NGE2 that is designed to appeal to a much broader audience with easily accessible systems and without too much reading in the game, just like Nancy wanted.
It can't replace SWG because SWG offers something completely different.
I know you desperately want SWG to fail due to your negativity campaign against all things SOE, but it wont. You can doomsay all you like but SWG is here for the long haul.
The only time the game seems to be 'growing' is when the free vet trials are enabled. The ONLY reeason SWG is alive today is because it is Star Wars, and as soon as TOR goes live, it will take the majority of players from SWG. Players will leave primarity due to TOR, but many will leave as the remaining player population takes another nose dive. I think SWG will keep running for a while, but it will be a one server game (which it almost is now) that pads the Station Access Pass.
SWG and TOR are completely different games. Think of TOR as a really dumbed down NGE2 that is designed to appeal to a much broader audience with easily accessible systems and without too much reading in the game, just like Nancy wanted.
It can't replace SWG because SWG offers something completely different.
I know you desperately want SWG to fail due to your negativity campaign against all things SOE, but it wont. You can doomsay all you like but SWG is here for the long haul.
WoW didn't even have the same IP yet it had a significant impact on SWG.
The only time the game seems to be 'growing' is when the free vet trials are enabled. The ONLY reeason SWG is alive today is because it is Star Wars, and as soon as TOR goes live, it will take the majority of players from SWG. Players will leave primarity due to TOR, but many will leave as the remaining player population takes another nose dive. I think SWG will keep running for a while, but it will be a one server game (which it almost is now) that pads the Station Access Pass.
SWG and TOR are completely different games. Think of TOR as a really dumbed down NGE2 that is designed to appeal to a much broader audience with easily accessible systems and without too much reading in the game, just like Nancy wanted.
It can't replace SWG because SWG offers something completely different.
I know you desperately want SWG to fail due to your negativity campaign against all things SOE, but it wont. You can doomsay all you like but SWG is here for the long haul.
LOL! Negativity campaign? This coming from a fanboi who claims that "SWG has more players than ever." Just priceless. I have never wished for SWG to fail or shut down ($OE seems to be working on that without any help) because I do not wish the few players left to lose their game, but that does not mean that I am in a continual state of denial as your are. I do not have to resort to fabricating factoids to try and sell SWG to others. You making this personal just proves my point.
I am not a TOR fanboi by any means, but I have noticed certain fanbois like you are already nervous about TOR. You consider TOR as dumbed down NGE2 and beneath SWG in some fashion. Granted TOR will be a completely different game in a different time period, but it will be what SWG is not - a polished, well supported Star Wars game by a reputable company (Blizzard). It will have a subscribed playerbase that teh Smedz has only fantasized about for any of his $OE games. You can go on and naysay about TOR all you wish, but it will not lessen the massive impact TOR will have on the remaining SWG playerbase when it releases, possibly as soon as beta testing starts.
The only time the game seems to be 'growing' is when the free vet trials are enabled. The ONLY reeason SWG is alive today is because it is Star Wars, and as soon as TOR goes live, it will take the majority of players from SWG. Players will leave primarity due to TOR, but many will leave as the remaining player population takes another nose dive. I think SWG will keep running for a while, but it will be a one server game (which it almost is now) that pads the Station Access Pass.
SWG and TOR are completely different games. Think of TOR as a really dumbed down NGE2 that is designed to appeal to a much broader audience with easily accessible systems and without too much reading in the game, just like Nancy wanted.
It can't replace SWG because SWG offers something completely different.
I know you desperately want SWG to fail due to your negativity campaign against all things SOE, but it wont. You can doomsay all you like but SWG is here for the long haul.
You sound nervous about something BS. What is it?
When I read your post, it sounds like Nathan Thurm talking...
Take a look for yourself, i was on starsider some time ago. Took these screenshots on numerouse places. Wasnt that impressed. And starsider is the most populated server i hear (or top 2, whatever). It's not much atleast.
Starwars Galaxies, An Empier Diveded, That's what it says on my box anyway.
The only time the game seems to be 'growing' is when the free vet trials are enabled. The ONLY reeason SWG is alive today is because it is Star Wars, and as soon as TOR goes live, it will take the majority of players from SWG. Players will leave primarity due to TOR, but many will leave as the remaining player population takes another nose dive. I think SWG will keep running for a while, but it will be a one server game (which it almost is now) that pads the Station Access Pass.
SWG and TOR are completely different games. Think of TOR as a really dumbed down NGE2 that is designed to appeal to a much broader audience with easily accessible systems and without too much reading in the game, just like Nancy wanted.
It can't replace SWG because SWG offers something completely different.
I know you desperately want SWG to fail due to your negativity campaign against all things SOE, but it wont. You can doomsay all you like but SWG is here for the long haul.
LOL! Negativity campaign? This coming from a fanboi who claims that "SWG has more players than ever." Just priceless. I have never wished for SWG to fail or shut down ($OE seems to be working on that without any help) because I do not wish the few players left to lose their game, but that does not mean that I am in a continual state of denial as your are. I do not have to resort to fabricating factoids to try and sell SWG to others. You making this personal just proves my point.
I am not a TOR fanboi by any means, but I have noticed certain fanbois like you are already nervous about TOR. You consider TOR as dumbed down NGE2 and beneath SWG in some fashion. Granted TOR will be a completely different game in a different time period, but it will be what SWG is not - a polished, well supported Star Wars game by a reputable company (Blizzard). It will have a subscribed playerbase that teh Smedz has only fantasized about for any of his $OE games. You can go on and naysay about TOR all you wish, but it will not lessen the massive impact TOR will have on the remaining SWG playerbase when it releases, possibly as soon as beta testing starts.
Did he really say "SWG has more players than ever?"
Comments
Some info here that can help server choice: Badger's GCW Profession and Server stats - June
It's probably difficult or impossible for SOE to merge servers cleanly, due to the persistent housing and whatnot.
All this could have been prevented by making smart changes that people were actually asking for instead of foisting the NGE off on everyone, since the servers would all still be populated. Sounds crazy, I know.
Currently Playing: EVE Online
Retired From: UO, FFXI, AO, SWG, Ryzom, GW, WoW, WAR
You missed Chilastra off the list. Although it's having a bit of a PvP slump at the moment, it has been the most active PvP server for a year or two now
And if you are on a "dead" server why not transfer for free by Sept 30th, you get to keep all your items. That way when you log in for free every 3 to 6 months you will not have to search for players and actually play the game instead.
And Flurry has the 2nd most in population behind Starsider.
Unless you are on one of the dead destination servers like Gorath, then that trasnfer will cost you $50 per toon. Not worth it as regular paying subscriber let alone a vet who only plays during free vet trial time.
Having the '2nd most in population behind Starsider' means 'least of the dead servers'. Thanks for confirming the Starsider is the only server with a population Gutboy.
There were barely any players a couple years ago, so I doubt that there are many now.
I play on Flurry, it is not by any means a "dead" server, we received the 2nd most transfers and it shows.
Screenshots show.
No.
And you know this how?
And you know this how?
None of us can document anything about server population. SOE knows and theyre not talking.
There are players (or posters) that are claiming that their server is fine, or that all servers are fine or that some servers are fine.
There are posters that claim that SWG IS DEAD!!!! and you won't find players anywhere.
The fact remains that neither can document the exact subscription or player numbers and it doesn't really matter either. Either the numbers on the server that affects you will support your playstyle or it won't. You can get a rough indication of player numbers by going to http://swg.activeframe.de that takes base in the number of PVP'ers.
Then you can start to approximate.
Its based on the weekly officer salute that lists the players that participate in GCW ranking system.
Traditionally, about 15% of the MMO population are PVP'ers and even if only 50% of the PVP'ers are listed (because theyre still gaining rank), a server with 500 officers would have at least 3000 players or characters.
My own reccomendation is to stay away from servers with less than 500 players unless you intentionally transfer there to help build community or you like being on a lesser populated server. That leaves the option for the following servers:
Out of these, residents of Starsider has been complaining about lag due to the high population and a minor number of players on Flurry also have vented the same frustrations, so I cannot knowingly recommend Starsider as a server that players should settle down on, there is no room for more cities, all planets capped etc.
Having played on Chim since 2005 I have seen how it has grown since november 2005. There is currently enough players to cater to any playstyle, you can get into groups easily and there are at least 10-30 players getting buffed in Eisley constantly during primetime CET. Our guild sports ~240 members and has a 54% activity rate (130 logged in during the last 30 days). We boot any player that is inactive for 360 days to keep the activity in the guild up. New players are constantly coming and going as with any MMO.
Counting the top10 guilds there is at least 2000 guilded players but the activity level of those remains to be seen, I know that the two biggest guilds never boots members - even if they leave.
If I was to transfer using the knowledge I know now. I would still chose Chimaera as its in my timezone and has a good population, but I could transfer to Ahazi knowing full well that I could still get the same opportunities, a little less lag, a chance to create a new guild and recruit new members, a chance to reform a city and bring in more active players to that city.
Out of the servers on the list, I can reccomend the bottom 6. Any other server will either give you problems finding players or lag problems due to too many players. Number 3-8 can support pretty much any playstyle depending on timezone of course.
And you know this how?
None of us can document anything about server population. SOE knows and theyre not talking.
There are players (or posters) that are claiming that their server is fine, or that all servers are fine or that some servers are fine.
There are posters that claim that SWG IS DEAD!!!! and you won't find players anywhere.
The fact remains that neither can document the exact subscription or player numbers and it doesn't really matter either. Either the numbers on the server that affects you will support your playstyle or it won't. You can get a rough indication of player numbers by going to http://swg.activeframe.de that takes base in the number of PVP'ers.
Then you can start to approximate.
Its based on the weekly officer salute that lists the players that participate in GCW ranking system.
Traditionally, about 15% of the MMO population are PVP'ers and even if only 50% of the PVP'ers are listed (because theyre still gaining rank), a server with 500 officers would have at least 3000 players or characters.
My own reccomendation is to stay away from servers with less than 500 players unless you intentionally transfer there to help build community or you like being on a lesser populated server. That leaves the option for the following servers:
Out of these, residents of Starsider has been complaining about lag due to the high population and a minor number of players on Flurry also have vented the same frustrations, so I cannot knowingly recommend Starsider as a server that players should settle down on, there is no room for more cities, all planets capped etc.
Having played on Chim since 2005 I have seen how it has grown since november 2005. There is currently enough players to cater to any playstyle, you can get into groups easily and there are at least 10-30 players getting buffed in Eisley constantly during primetime CET. Our guild sports ~240 members and has a 54% activity rate (130 logged in during the last 30 days). We boot any player that is inactive for 360 days to keep the activity in the guild up. New players are constantly coming and going as with any MMO.
Counting the top10 guilds there is at least 2000 guilded players but the activity level of those remains to be seen, I know that the two biggest guilds never boots members - even if they leave.
If I was to transfer using the knowledge I know now. I would still chose Chimaera as its in my timezone and has a good population, but I could transfer to Ahazi knowing full well that I could still get the same opportunities, a little less lag, a chance to create a new guild and recruit new members, a chance to reform a city and bring in more active players to that city.
Out of the servers on the list, I can reccomend the bottom 6. Any other server will either give you problems finding players or lag problems due to too many players. Number 3-8 can support pretty much any playstyle depending on timezone of course.
GCW stats maybe an indicator, but it is not accurate. GCW points are being given away like candy in the battlefields (even traders take advantage), and although I am not sure, the vets who made officer before their trial accounts expired maybe still being counted as their rank decays. These numbers also count alternates (up to 8-9/account), then one must consider the number of players that have more than one account, which is a much bigger number than you may think. The number of unique accounts is much lower, and the dead and dying servers attest to that well.
The best way really is for a player to to go see for themselves. While the population may seem fine to those who have been playing and have become accustomed to low population numbers, almost all the servers seem barren to players who are coming from other games, like WoW. Starsider has the most viable population, but the population quickly drops off when it comes to the other servers. Servers like Flurry and Bloodfin may have a viable population at more specific times. Then you have destinatiuon servers like Gorath where what few players remain are screaming for FCTS.
it is sad to think that SWG had enough players to keep 25+ servers running pre-NGE. No matter what updates or content is added, SWG just cannot recover any significant number of vets/new players and has trouble even retaining the number of current players. TOR will probably kill off what little remains.
SWG is what it is, a game with great potential that suffered one of the biggest mistakes in MMORPG history. The fact that the game is around and growing today is testimony to the strength of the IP and the incredible improvements made in the four years since that ill fated day in 2005.
Thousands of people still play SWG, and will continue to play it, because for them it is a very enjoyable and entertaining game. New games always come and go and none of them are able to offer these people exactly what SWG does.
We get new and returning vets bolstering the numbers of regular subscribers evey day who relish living the Star Wars saga of the original trilogies.
There will always be SWG, just like there will always be other MMORPGs with amazing longevity and unique gameplay like Ultima Online and Everquest.
Kaz, we essentially agree but it seems youre looking more at what the exact numbers are instead of what the players on the affected servers are experiencing.
Im looking at what the server is capable of handling vs what a healthy population can support. Using activeframe as a reference point is a good start. As I said it will give you a rogh indication. I never said it was accurate.
When players on Starsider are telling me 'there are too many on our server, we need to be able to transfer off' - then the server isn't geared for that population size - but that doesn't mean you can't get involved with the game, or groups, pvp etc.
It just means that the server resources are not supporting the population - whatever the number is (I don't really care how many are supposedly playing on Starsider). The important aspect here is that the population is complaining about lack of server resources.
Then you have Flurry, where the requests for a FCTS OFF the server is slowly starting to come out - again as lag for a reason to transfer off. Its not in the same size as the pool of requests from starsider though, but its slowly starting to increase.
Then we have servers like Gorath that is screaming for a FCTS at the other end of the scale that isn't capable of supporting all playing styles. I've been there. I've seen the lack of players. Reference point on activeframe is at the lower bottom. Servers below that point don't really have players screaming for anything. They have allready left.
That basically gives you some pretty good pointers as to what servers to avoid and which servers you can investigate.
We have 8 servers with population enough to support all playstyles. Of course that is lower than 25 Im not denying that. Im just asking that new playes shouldn't hop onto a dead server and then make up their mind about the game based on that.
The community spirit has always been a large part of SWG. Dead servers won't give you that experience so you'll miss out on alot the game has to offer. But yeah, make up your mind about the game on one of the populad servers I've listed above.
SWG is what it is, a game with great potential that suffered one of the biggest mistakes in MMORPG history. The fact that the game is around and growing today is testimony to the strength of the IP and the incredible improvements made in the four years since that ill fated day in 2005.
Thousands of people still play SWG, and will continue to play it, because for them it is a very enjoyable and entertaining game. New games always come and go and none of them are able to offer these people exactly what SWG does.
We get new and returning vets bolstering the numbers of regular subscribers evey day who relish living the Star Wars saga of the original trilogies.
There will always be SWG, just like there will always be other MMORPGs with amazing longevity and unique gameplay like Ultima Online and Everquest.
The only time the game seems to be 'growing' is when the free vet trials are enabled. The ONLY reeason SWG is alive today is because it is Star Wars, and as soon as TOR goes live, it will take the majority of players from SWG. Players will leave primarity due to TOR, but many will leave as the remaining player population takes another nose dive. I think SWG will keep running for a while, but it will be a one server game (which it almost is now) that pads the Station Access Pass.
SWG is what it is, a game with great potential that suffered one of the biggest mistakes in MMORPG history. The fact that the game is around and growing today is testimony to the strength of the IP and the incredible improvements made in the four years since that ill fated day in 2005.
Thousands of people still play SWG, and will continue to play it, because for them it is a very enjoyable and entertaining game. New games always come and go and none of them are able to offer these people exactly what SWG does.
We get new and returning vets bolstering the numbers of regular subscribers evey day who relish living the Star Wars saga of the original trilogies.
There will always be SWG, just like there will always be other MMORPGs with amazing longevity and unique gameplay like Ultima Online and Everquest.
The only time the game seems to be 'growing' is when the free vet trials are enabled. The ONLY reeason SWG is alive today is because it is Star Wars, and as soon as TOR goes live, it will take the majority of players from SWG. Players will leave primarity due to TOR, but many will leave as the remaining player population takes another nose dive. I think SWG will keep running for a while, but it will be a one server game (which it almost is now) that pads the Station Access Pass.
And once some guilds start migrating to TOR many of those guild members that didn't neccessarily intend to play TOR will likely follow their friends to the new game. Again, it's a cascading effect that we've seen before in SWG when WoW was released and many people left with their entire guilds.
To think it won't happen again is simply being naive in my opinion.
I don't completely agree that eight servers are populated enough to make the game viable for all playstyles. Peak times on some of them may provide enough players for group activites, but low populations make it difficult for those that play at alternative times and makes a bad economy.
If $OE had any clue, the poorly populated destination servers (Gorath, Sunrunner, Radiant, etc.) need to be allowed the FCTS and those players should be carefully directed to four or five of the destination servers ASAP. No more transfers should be accepted on Starsider, even paid ones (rerolls are fine). Starsider is sucking up more and more players from even the once healthier destination servers. This should be done before the GCW update to allow for the best update impact.
The change on server populations are fun to watch evolve. Players want to play to a server with low ping and many players when they log on.
Before the FCTS, Bloodfin was the server with the highest population with Chim close behind. Starsider had about the same population as Ahazi which is why I can attest that ~500 officer ranked players can support any playstyle. They allready did at that point. I played there for quite a few months during 2008 while learning about space pvp tactics.
Chim had a few US citizens that played during off-peak hours. They allways complained that there was a lack of players when they where on. What happened was that the european population went to bed - at which point the US players logged on in the early morning hours. They since transfered to Starsider and has the same problem, no population because when they log on - others are logging off and are heading to bed.
I visited friends on Kettemoor and some other low pop servers before the FCTS hit. They where unable to sustain group play at that point without making a serious effort at organizing the players. At that point, Kettemoor had about half as many players as Starsider. Where Starsider was flourishing at twice the population of Kette, Kette was having trouble. Space was easy, but they where all really struggling to get their heroic jewelry.
But unless something is done for players that are logging on after peak hours you will always have that problem as a player. That doesn't change the situation where as long as you log on during peak yours, you'll be able to get any playstyle needs met on the servers listed - as long as you are there when the other players are there too.
After the FCTS the picture changed completely. Chim gained about 15%. But Starsider with the reputation of being able to cater to all playstyles, open RP environment, excellent space community and decent PVP community got the bulk of the lowpop servers almost trippling their playerbase.
Flurry doubled its size.
The only remaining players on the tranfer from servers remain because its their home. They have built up the server with their friends and they have alot of fond memories there. They don't want to leave.
I believe we can do more for new and returning players, but we can't do it now and we shouldn't force them. While we wait for the GCW Update I'll continue to push for FCTS for the servers that have communities that has that desire.
SWG and TOR are completely different games. Think of TOR as a really dumbed down NGE2 that is designed to appeal to a much broader audience with easily accessible systems and without too much reading in the game, just like Nancy wanted.
It can't replace SWG because SWG offers something completely different.
I know you desperately want SWG to fail due to your negativity campaign against all things SOE, but it wont. You can doomsay all you like but SWG is here for the long haul.
SWG and TOR are completely different games. Think of TOR as a really dumbed down NGE2 that is designed to appeal to a much broader audience with easily accessible systems and without too much reading in the game, just like Nancy wanted.
It can't replace SWG because SWG offers something completely different.
I know you desperately want SWG to fail due to your negativity campaign against all things SOE, but it wont. You can doomsay all you like but SWG is here for the long haul.
WoW didn't even have the same IP yet it had a significant impact on SWG.
SWG and TOR are completely different games. Think of TOR as a really dumbed down NGE2 that is designed to appeal to a much broader audience with easily accessible systems and without too much reading in the game, just like Nancy wanted.
It can't replace SWG because SWG offers something completely different.
I know you desperately want SWG to fail due to your negativity campaign against all things SOE, but it wont. You can doomsay all you like but SWG is here for the long haul.
LOL! Negativity campaign? This coming from a fanboi who claims that "SWG has more players than ever." Just priceless. I have never wished for SWG to fail or shut down ($OE seems to be working on that without any help) because I do not wish the few players left to lose their game, but that does not mean that I am in a continual state of denial as your are. I do not have to resort to fabricating factoids to try and sell SWG to others. You making this personal just proves my point.
I am not a TOR fanboi by any means, but I have noticed certain fanbois like you are already nervous about TOR. You consider TOR as dumbed down NGE2 and beneath SWG in some fashion. Granted TOR will be a completely different game in a different time period, but it will be what SWG is not - a polished, well supported Star Wars game by a reputable company (Blizzard). It will have a subscribed playerbase that teh Smedz has only fantasized about for any of his $OE games. You can go on and naysay about TOR all you wish, but it will not lessen the massive impact TOR will have on the remaining SWG playerbase when it releases, possibly as soon as beta testing starts.
SWG and TOR are completely different games. Think of TOR as a really dumbed down NGE2 that is designed to appeal to a much broader audience with easily accessible systems and without too much reading in the game, just like Nancy wanted.
It can't replace SWG because SWG offers something completely different.
I know you desperately want SWG to fail due to your negativity campaign against all things SOE, but it wont. You can doomsay all you like but SWG is here for the long haul.
You sound nervous about something BS. What is it?
When I read your post, it sounds like Nathan Thurm talking...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FOLBQxk72NY
http://www.rlmmo.com/viewtopic.php?t=6981
Take a look for yourself, i was on starsider some time ago. Took these screenshots on numerouse places. Wasnt that impressed. And starsider is the most populated server i hear (or top 2, whatever). It's not much atleast.
Starwars Galaxies, An Empier Diveded, That's what it says on my box anyway.
SWG and TOR are completely different games. Think of TOR as a really dumbed down NGE2 that is designed to appeal to a much broader audience with easily accessible systems and without too much reading in the game, just like Nancy wanted.
It can't replace SWG because SWG offers something completely different.
I know you desperately want SWG to fail due to your negativity campaign against all things SOE, but it wont. You can doomsay all you like but SWG is here for the long haul.
LOL! Negativity campaign? This coming from a fanboi who claims that "SWG has more players than ever." Just priceless. I have never wished for SWG to fail or shut down ($OE seems to be working on that without any help) because I do not wish the few players left to lose their game, but that does not mean that I am in a continual state of denial as your are. I do not have to resort to fabricating factoids to try and sell SWG to others. You making this personal just proves my point.
I am not a TOR fanboi by any means, but I have noticed certain fanbois like you are already nervous about TOR. You consider TOR as dumbed down NGE2 and beneath SWG in some fashion. Granted TOR will be a completely different game in a different time period, but it will be what SWG is not - a polished, well supported Star Wars game by a reputable company (Blizzard). It will have a subscribed playerbase that teh Smedz has only fantasized about for any of his $OE games. You can go on and naysay about TOR all you wish, but it will not lessen the massive impact TOR will have on the remaining SWG playerbase when it releases, possibly as soon as beta testing starts.
Did he really say "SWG has more players than ever?"