Originally posted by SinReaper
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In relation to the topic I find it hard to understand how can someone not understand the simplistic approach in all converse the G.D. has had on the topic. The comment about "paying" and "being open with the community" is not neccessarily true and previous correspondance proved otherwise.

The persona the guy has chosen is justified fully imo to be skeptical and questioning their motives. No one will change my mind on that. At the end of the day seen it all before here for a long time. Delivering opinions from behind a charade is farcial at best and that goes both ways. The acerbic tone to start is more than enough to raise the question to their motives considering the initial representation.

Server Merge wise, I agree that something needs to be done. However, with perceived increase coming if things work out there may not be a need to do it so severley. Therefore it could be a case of wait and see for a short while..

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Originally posted by AmazingAvery

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Originally posted by Shillz

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Originally posted by AmazingAvery

 

 I agree in that warhammer needs them first. The whole game is designed around population. Where as with AoC the details haven'f fully been released yet as well as the game not reliant as heavy as WAR is on population - I'm not saying AoC isn't effected, just not as much imo. If I remember right AoC will be looking in releasing further details end of the year / Jan time.

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Are you serious? Have you been to a low population server in AoC?
All MMO's rely on population. It is the main thing that will make or break an MMO. Even a mediocre MMO can be very good with high population servers.

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I agree with Shillz, every MMO rely on population at least the ones in which grouping is needed.

Now about WAR and AOC, not only most AOC servers are empty but with the instanced world the feeling is even worse. At least in WAR, on low server population you can find many players... in scenarios ;)

I do think AOC needs urgently to merge their server or do a free character transfer like WAR. I know I would not come back with my friends to emptyness...

I won't bet but I'm afraid for AOC safety server merge would come after WAR, Why? Because it seems it was planned from start with WAR. And the way they annouce it doesn't look like they have too few subscribers but want to gather the players together, just smart.

Edit: still can't find a damn pair of pants in AOC!

Originally posted by SinReaper

 Let's get back to the original topic on this post if possible; as it's a good topic for discussion.

Good idea. And I am sorry if I came off harsh and thank you for your comments as always.

Here is a question for you. Do you think people would pay between say $5 / $10 / $20 to transfer their character in preference to an actual server merge? Should FC charge for a transfer or do it via server merge somehow, but free?

Say if your on Server A and Funcom merges with Server B, but really you wanted to go to Server C but their might be a cost involved.

P.S. I am running around Ymir's Pass at the moment ;)

I guess developers have no forsight , isnt it time they develop easy character transfers before releasing a game so when things like low pop server do arise its a simple  click & where done .. develop now for the future not release now & developt later ..

Originally posted by AmazingAvery

Originally posted by SinReaper

 Let's get back to the original topic on this post if possible; as it's a good topic for discussion.

 

Good idea. And I am sorry if I came off harsh and thank you for your comments as always.

Here is a question for you. Do you think people would pay between say $5 / $10 / $20 to transfer their character in preference to an actual server merge? Should FC charge for a transfer or do it via server merge somehow, but free?

Say if your on Server A and Funcom merges with Server B, but really you wanted to go to Server C but their might be a cost involved.

P.S. I am running around Ymir's Pass at the moment ;)

That's a good question.  As far as Age of Conan is concerned, there may be a portion of the customer base that feels that the perceived issues that may have resulted in their server being a low population server was not an issue of their making.

As such, they may feel a bit put off by the notion of then having to pay in order to rectify their situation.  I think in Funcom's case, the initial transfer from low population servers should be free, with subsequent requests and transfers provided at a fee.  Should cover the disenchanted, those that may come back to their characters if an opportunity to play on a more populated presented itself, as well as those who would just like the opportunity to move off their low pop server.

Originally posted by Tarka

Originally posted by GrayGhost79

Originally posted by Tarka

Sorry I was editing my post whilst you posted yours hehe.

He mentions:

Having done that, we can now move on to what we are going to do over the next couple of months, culminating with the release of patch 1.1 later this Fall.

And then immediately follow it with:

 Let’s start with what we know is some truly exciting news. I’m happy to announce that in December, the Black Guard and the Knight of the Blazing Sun will officially be part of WAR.

Which says to me that this new patch ain't coming in the next month or so for WAR.

So, in essence, AOC may actually beat WAR to server merges and transfers ;P

 

Not when AoC won't even confirm they are comming lol. To the community he said I can confirm that we are working on server merge's ect how to do them yada yada. Then in an Interview after he said they were merely discussing the idea of doing them lol. The stance on this was never clarrified. So considering they haven;t even decided to do them yet there going to be hard pressed to beat War to the punch. Not to mention WoTLK (WoW and War no thanks) and the one I am keeping my eye on DarkFall. So Funcom needs to get the lead out or it's going to be to late.

Agreed, they won't give a date. But the stance WAS clarified:

http://forums.ageofconan.com/showthread.php?t=169342&page=2

In reply to the following:

Funcom needs to make it very clear to us here on the forums what their REAL status is on these server merges.

If it's just another carrot on a stick tactic to get us to hold on for 3 to 6 more months while they figure out and decide if they are really going to do it or not, then I don't see that working for a lot of the people that are left waiting for something good to happen.

The Game Director responded with:

The real status is as described above, both in the interview and my letter. Its currently being looked at internally and figuring out some of the fine details that come with such a move (and deciding the best way of handling the various aspects of potential merges etc some of which you guys have already flagged up in this very thread, it's not a simple task).

So am I going to give a date when we still have some things to resolve and figure out at this end? No, I'm not, and I am sure that you would all have that honest appraisal rather than something I'd be saying for the sake of it.

We will be sure to let you all know more concrete details as soon as we have them
__________________
Craig 'Silirrion' Morrison
Game Director
 

Now, without him saying the actual words "We are going ahead with server merges", I think you'll agree that he's confirmed that they ARE going ahead with server merges.  Also, he wouldn't have used the words "We will be sure to let you all know more concrete details" if they had no serious intention of actually doing the merges.

If still you don't believe that the above is actual confirmation, then you'll just have to wait and find out.

As for WHICH game needs it more, that is a pretty silly argument really.  We're not talking about one company owning both games.  They are BOTH needing them and BOTH are getting them.

Thanks for that. Yes, that looks a bit better after the interview. I still wish they would come out and say that "Yes, Server merge's will happen. We are working on the details and looking at it internaly." . I hate when companies leave wiggle room.

"Its currently being looked at internally and figuring out some of the fine details that come with such a move (and deciding the best way of handling the various aspects of potential merges etc some of which you guys have already flagged up in this very thread, it's not a simple task)."

The above gives them wiggle room later to say that they never actually said merge's were comming only that they were looking at them internaly.  But I have more faith in Chris than Gaute so  i'll accept it at face value.  Thanks again for the quote.

Let me explain why I said  Warhammer needs higher populations than AOC.  I'm sorry if I didn't explain it before.

1.  If I'm in a Zone in AOC with 20 players.....   that is 20 other players I can kill.   Those 20 other players can all kill 20 other players.

2. If i'm in a zone in Warhammer with 20 players..   I'll only be able to kill 10 of them (assuming an equal split).

The fact that the game keeps you from killing half the players on your server means there needs to be more players overall to have a pvp experience.

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Originally posted by AmazingAvery

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Originally posted by SinReaper

 Let's get back to the original topic on this post if possible; as it's a good topic for discussion.

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Good idea. And I am sorry if I came off harsh and thank you for your comments as always.
Here is a question for you. Do you think people would pay between say $5 / $10 / $20 to transfer their character in preference to an actual server merge? Should FC charge for a transfer or do it via server merge somehow, but free?
Say if your on Server A and Funcom merges with Server B, but really you wanted to go to Server C but their might be a cost involved.
P.S. I am running around Ymir's Pass at the moment ;)

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Before anyone asks what FC has done in the past, I would use as one example the charging of $5 for a download fee during early access. This is the only time I have seen this type of behavior in my 12 years of MMO playing and have yet to see it from the couple of MMOs that have launched after AOC launched.

Originally posted by AmazingAvery

Good idea. And I am sorry if I came off harsh and thank you for your comments as always.

Here is a question for you. Do you think people would pay between say $5 / $10 / $20 to transfer their character in preference to an actual server merge? Should FC charge for a transfer or do it via server merge somehow, but free?

Say if your on Server A and Funcom merges with Server B, but really you wanted to go to Server C but their might be a cost involved.

P.S. I am running around Ymir's Pass at the moment ;)

Haha.. I really hope they would do something like this. That would give me a good laugh Too bad even FC is not that dumb.

First failing with AoC so that 90% players leave, and most of the servers are ghost towns. Then charging people for transfering their character from a dead server to not-quite-so-dead-server? Haha.. I wonder how many players they would have left if they did something that? 20-30?

Dumbest idea I have ever heard on these forums. And there are a lot of dumb ideas here.

There will never be server merges in AoC because Funcom wont be in business long enough for them to do it. This isnt a troll. Its just what I thinks gonna happen to Funcom because of all the debt they have to pay off and a shortage of paying customers.

But if funcom does pull off a miracle and do merge servers, I think thats the only thing that can keep AoC afloat for at least a while longer.

Mythic seems to be very proactive when it comes to issues like this. It shows that this was a possibility when they made so many servers. It amazes me how different Funcom and Mythic are when it comes to communication and honesty with its customers.

Originally posted by Hamrtime2

There will never be server merges in AoC because Funcom wont be in business long enough for them to do it. This isnt a troll. Its just what I thinks gonna happen to Funcom because of all the debt they have to pay off and a shortage of paying customers.

But if funcom does pull off a miracle and do merge servers, I think thats the only thing that can keep AoC afloat for at least a while longer.

Mythic seems to be very proactive when it comes to issues like this. It shows that this was a possibility when they made so many servers. It amazes me how different Funcom and Mythic are when it comes to communication and honesty with its customers.

Yes. Most people here on the forums are just gamers, who don't know that much about financial stuff. They somehow think AoC will be saved if they just fix bugs and add some content.

Wrong. FC needs money. Lots of it and fast. They have a huge debt which has to be paid. With declining subscription numbers and almost zero box sales, they are just not making enough money to deal with the debt.

Only way they can get people back is to give ex-players a free month and hope some of them will stay as a paying subscriptor. But this would probably mean they have to give free month to current subscriptors also. And that means zero income for a month.

Personally I think nothing will save FC and I invite you fanbois to come here on the forums to have a discussion the day FC goes banktrupt.

Mythic and FC are totally different companies. They are like different sides of the spectrum. Mythic is open, honest "good guy". FC is lieing, decieving "bad guy". 

Originally posted by Shillz

Originally posted by Hamrtime2

There will never be server merges in AoC because Funcom wont be in business long enough for them to do it. This isnt a troll. Its just what I thinks gonna happen to Funcom because of all the debt they have to pay off and a shortage of paying customers.

But if funcom does pull off a miracle and do merge servers, I think thats the only thing that can keep AoC afloat for at least a while longer.

Mythic seems to be very proactive when it comes to issues like this. It shows that this was a possibility when they made so many servers. It amazes me how different Funcom and Mythic are when it comes to communication and honesty with its customers.

 

Yes. Most people here on the forums are just gamers, who don't know that much about financial stuff. They somehow think AoC will be saved if they just fix bugs and add some content.

Wrong. FC needs money. Lots of it and fast. They have a huge debt which has to be paid. With declining subscription numbers and almost zero box sales, they are just not making enough money to deal with the debt.

Only way they can get people back is to give ex-players a free month and hope some of them will stay as a paying subscriptor. But this would probably mean they have to give free month to current subscriptors also. And that means zero income for a month.

Personally I think nothing will save FC and I invite you fanbois to come here on the forums to have a discussion the day FC goes banktrupt.

Mythic and FC are totally different companies. They are like different sides of the spectrum. Mythic is open, honest "good guy". FC is lieing, decieving "bad guy". 

ROFL.  ........ And here was I thinking that you had an objective opinion.  Until now I was prepared to listen to your arguments but this thread has just sealed it for me.   It seems that Avery was right, you cannot offer an objective opinion without spilling anti-FC bile.

Originally posted by Tarka

Thanks for the link, that letter tells more than the OP was saying. 

Having done that, we can now move on to what we are going to do over the next couple of months, culminating with the release of patch 1.1 later this Fall.

So basically put, transfers aren't ready yet and are coming this "fall".  Even though they mention December.  Now I'm not American but last I checked "Fall" was Autumn, not Winter.

This is much like FC's messages that THEIR server merges aren't ready yet. Though FC have yet to confirm or deny the possibility of character transfers.

 

December is still part of the Fall season.  Winter doesn't begin until the end of December (the 21st this year) and only 11 days of the month are considered to actually be Winter.  So most of December is still in the Fall season.

Edited to fix the date to the 21st.

I'll keep my copy of AoC and keep an eye on how Funcom deal with this. Just a shame, i quit playing a month ago due to how awful AoC was, but even now problems that existed then still havent been fixed... doesnt bode well for the future. It is a shame that Eidos forced thier hand a little on the release date. A real shame.... but who knows? they may fix it yet.
 

Originally posted by Battlekruse

I'll keep my copy of AoC and keep an eye on how Funcom deal with this. Just a shame, i quit playing a month ago due to how awful AoC was, but even now problems that existed then still havent been fixed... doesnt bode well for the future. It is a shame that Eidos forced thier hand a little on the release date. A real shame.... but who knows? they may fix it yet.
 

I'm just confused about what issues you are talking about. Can you explain? Also you quit about a month ago, that was just before patch 2.0 came out. Your problem sounds like it is bugrelated or performance related (well this is just me guessing), if so it is most likely taken care of with patch 2.0. Check it out, you'll be surprised.

yeah pretty much every single issue i had before i quit after a month when the game launched is gone now. i came back when the pvp system was put in... sorta lol. and everything is fine. i havent had any of the old problems that made me quit.  check yo shit before you speak boy!

It's kind of crazy that WAR has to merge servers already. OP do you have more information on the topic. I for one is not surprised that quite few players actually seem to abandon the ship. If players in general has same problems as me (I can't actually play the game just due to lag and crash) they should hedge themselves for a disaster over the next month. I launched a new WAR poll to get some more truth out about the game. Check it out here:

www.mmorpg.com/discussion2.cfm/thread/208107

Originally posted by CobraSolidus

It's kind of crazy that WAR has to merge servers already.

What's not crazy is they planned ahead  and  coded so they could, a smart move to keep their customers happy.

Too bad FunCom didn't have such foresight. Every MMO at some point has had to consolidate servers to keep populations together and their worlds full and active.

Maybe FunCom will learn from this mistake, I mean it is their first MMO ..... oops my bad It's not.

Obviously they had to have alot more servers open for the first month than they needed because no one is able to predict exactly how many people will play a game, hence no idea of how many servers are required.

Some people would have joined a server which would never get full because it was overlooked. Maybe its at the bottom of the server list because of the initial letter of it's name is a Z or something. I know when i picked a server i just went for the first open RVR english server i came across.

Maybe they should only open servers as required, and then there would never have to merge or do any transferring. But then what would happen if you wanted to play on a server which your friend had already joined a few days before but was now full!