Originally posted by fiontar

Mythic has essentially managed server mergers with out the mess. They did it in the best manner ever implemented by an MMORPG developer AND they did it extremely early, rather than allowing the problem to fester and bring down the game.

Except for those people who weren't around with an active account *to* transfer I assume? Or are they able to ever since they got the offer?

My account hasn't been subbing for over a month (no hate, just wanted to hold off for a bit). I was able to login to their website and transfer without reactivating my subscription.

So at least when I come back I'll still be on the servers my friends are on.

Just FYI.

The OP seems maybe a little disappointed that this was handled so intelligently and with out the fanfare of "server merges". Sorry if they didn't play into the drama you seem to have desired.

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Well, if you think spreading out mergers over months, while people still had to play on horrid low/low servers (and thus quitting)- causing them to lose more people than necessary, making it voluntary meaning it's more messy, and in the end-

There's STILL more low/low servers than med/med, and it's arguable if the game is even playable on med/med.

^ This is intelligent?

High/high and full is extremely rare.

It didn't even work, it took months, and it caused more people to leave then necessary.

Instead of biting the bullet, they did everything they could to avoid people calling it a "merge" simply for PR reasons, not because it was good for the game.

Probably the single worst (and earliest) server merge in MMO history.

Worded the way the OP has done, serves to overexaggerate what's happening.

First off, let me start by saying that yes, WAR has lost a substantial amount of it's initial population to the recent surge of new / quality games that were just released, WotLK included. The game is already starting to see a return of some of these players, but back to the point.

- Almost no MMORPGs release with 50+ servers, so why did Mythic?

Because Mythic was so focused on preventing lag, that they created far too many servers to compensate. So, when the game started to lose players, it just amplified the problem that much more. When you spread out a population to compensate for something (in this case lag) it accelerates both inclines and declines in that population.

So, now that they no longer really 'need' to have all those servers opened to handle lag, they can close them down to the original 20 or so.

Most games do not do this, and just open w/ the 20 or so initial servers, only adding more if absolutely necessary (mass crashes and server freezes).

- In short, Mythic over compensated for a biproduct of all online games. Lag. It is not reversing that over compensation.

To the OP: If you want a fairly consistant Med/Med or High/High server, try skullthrone or Badlands. Badlands in particular has recieved a major influx of new players recently. It's also one of the best Destro servers to play on atm.

I think i'm more surprised that they actually lasted 3 months.

Originally posted by Clada

I think i'm more surprised that they actually lasted 3 months.

expect to be even more surprised in the coming months.  The game is doing quite well, in spite of all the lies, hate, and misinformation spread on forums like this by a small, jealous and petty group of people.  Heck, some of them may even be employees of a certain company...
 

Yes, closing 60% of your servers is a sign of things going well for Warhammer.

There is not a single piece of evidence that Warhammer is doing 'ok'.

1. Retail sales are non-existent ( check out any list)
2.  Xfire numbers are down 80% since Sept 30th
3.  60% of servers are now effectively shut down and there are still many others that are med/med ghostlands (which will soon join the list of 'closed' servers).

There isn't anything that points to Warhammer growing in subscribers except for a few fans posting on the forums that it is.

After yesterdays nerf patch they can shut all the servers down for all I care.

Originally posted by Azrile

Yes, closing 60% of your servers is a sign of things going well for Warhammer.

There is not a single piece of evidence that Warhammer is doing 'ok'.

1. Retail sales are non-existent ( check out any list)
2.  Xfire numbers are down 80% since Sept 30th
3.  60% of servers are now effectively shut down and there are still many others that are med/med ghostlands (which will soon join the list of 'closed' servers).

There isn't anything that points to Warhammer growing in subscribers except for a few fans posting on the forums that it is.

Feel free to leave and not bother with this game at all.

WotLK calls and all its rehashed BC content and skins. WoW is the mega-boss of the mmo world; this can be said without argument. But as my dad used to tell me "Don't think fat meat ain't greasy son".

 Its funneling players. Its not shutting a server down. Way to epic fail. 

Hmm, I think there's a lot of needless bickering going on here.

Mythic is clearly in the porcess of shutting down some of their original launch servers. It's hard to argue against that logically. Does that mean that the game is in serious trouble and in danger of being closed down? That doesn't  seem likley as they still have over 20 "active" servers.

That being said, the game is clearly performing at least somewhat below original expectations.

Here's my best educated guess on what happened:

Mythic opened a large number of servers for launch based on retail sales (units sold to retailers), whose orders were in turn influenced by beta sign-ups. They probably also opened a number at least a small amount larger than that to minimize the number of people who potentially wouldn't be able to play on launch day.

Numbers began to dwindle, as they always do, after launch. it is impossible to fully predict the retention rate of an MMO until it happens... or doesn't.

This left Mythic with a pile (albeit a large pile) of servers that were under-populated. hence,the server transfers (the next step of which is the old servers eventually being shut down and /or merged completely. for all intents and purposes, it's the same thing)

While server merges are often seen as the MMO kiss of death, I don't think it's quite time to pucker up just yet. WAR launched with a very large number of servers and is now moving down to a moderate number. We're not talking 30 servers being merged into one or two.

So, in the end,the truth probably lies somewhere in between "WAR is actually doing awesome and way better than anticipated" and "Server Merges? DOOOOOOMMMMMMMMM".

Well it's still the most popular on the front page of mmorpg.com and has the most unique hits this year.  People are still interested in this game, even WoW players who don't like it are posting in forum topics about it.  Many mmo players are watching the progress of this game without signing up.  At least I know I am, and so far I would still be willing to play if I ever get some money.  It looks like they are dedicated toward creating a good game and if the developers stick to their goals and listen to their player base, I have no worries about the decisions they make concerning server 'merges' and the future of the game.  After all, they did make the game, and kinda know how it works.  I guess I just don't think it's fun to stand on the sidelines trying to decide whether a game flops or not.  Heck, I go play Shadowbane every once in awhile just because the character creation and development was freakin' sweet, with other great ideas to boot. 

I think this bit of information is news because it is something that happened concerning the game, but not news in the sense of television news, eg. the world is ending every day and we have to be the first to cover it.  It's very far from being a sign of the game's impending doom.

Server consolidation was a good thing. Also moving my main via free transfer helped. Now, as a T1/T2 player, I see open RvR and fast scenario queue times! Woot!

 I would have thought a game having 20+ servers is still doing pretty good. ?

Originally posted by holdenhamlet

So, with the transfers apparently complete, Mythic has closed off 26 of the 56 servers to new players.  These servers are low/low and are obviously not going to grow or become active.

And yet, I have not seen one official word from Mythic saying these servers are now effectively shut down.

Furthermore, nobody on the gaming websites seems to be noting it.

I thought it was noteworthy if a game closes half its servers within 3 months. 

Someone should notify a gamespy "reporter" or something.

Nobody closed any servers.  No servers are closed to new players.  I have two questions :

1. Are you even playing Warhammer or do you just like to talk out of your %^& ?

2. Did you fall down when you were little or did someone hit you ?

By the time of your post and by the news that they released a new patch today is it possible that servers were down because of patch?Dont play WAR anymore so dont know the patch time exactly etc.

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Nobody closed any servers. No servers are closed to new players. I have two questions :

1. Are you even playing Warhammer or do you just like to talk out of your %^& ?

2. Did you fall down when you were little or did someone hit you ?

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Make a character on Eerie Downs.

Also, don't make fun of people that had early brain trauma because I believe you are yourself a victim, and although it's a cliche internet insult, it's not really that funny if you think about it.

To walk you through it, go to the server selection screen.  Click "More".  Scroll down to Eerie Downs and try to log onto it to create a character.

What's this?  The "Select" button is greyed out.  You can't create a character on that server.  Turns out, you can't create a new character on 25 other servers.

 As to question 1, no, I don't play.  I refuse to play until they fix the performance to eliminate minor hitching on high end systems for no good reason.  But I am still subbed because I had bought a 2-month card after the first free month.

No, he's quite right.

I just logged in to test this and, lo and behold, when you press the "more" button and reveal the other servers, and click on the low/low ones, the big "Select" button is greyed out.  The servers are online, but you can't create on them.  That's a very interesting stealth move by Mythic.

Originally posted by Novaseeker

No, he's quite right.

 

I just logged in to test this and, lo and behold, when you press the "more" button and reveal the other servers, and click on the low/low ones, the big "Select" button is greyed out.  The servers are online, but you can't create on them.  That's a very interesting stealth move by Mythic.

If you think directing new players to the more populated and thriving servers is an "interesting stealth move," then so be it.
 

The point is that it;s interesting that Mythic didn't simply say "new character creation on certain realms has been disabled".  I mean that would further encourage the players still on those servers to move, which is presumably what Mythic wants.  In any case, given all of the stuff they *have* said about the server transfers, it's quite odd that this went unmentioned.

the problem is they needed all these servers to start with . if they not have had them we would have said ... why did they have enough . now the game is obviously showing how many people it ll attract they need to close servers so those who do play it will get the full game experiance . as long as it has 8-10 good servers like lord of the rings theres no real problem . everyones accepted it wont be the next wow now . its still a good game and has plenty to offer . its not a faliure its a niche  mmo like ... well ...pretty much every other mmo other than wow .

Originally posted by Pheace

Originally posted by fiontar

Mythic has essentially managed server mergers with out the mess. They did it in the best manner ever implemented by an MMORPG developer AND they did it extremely early, rather than allowing the problem to fester and bring down the game.

 

Except for those people who weren't around with an active account *to* transfer I assume? Or are they able to ever since they got the offer?

Yeah and expect in the EU where the server situation is a totally and utter nightmare and is currently on going. People are quitting because they are playing a single player game on empty servers. 

But regards the OPs original post, i dont think it is signficant at all, because it was not as if all the servers were full and then people left, if that were the case then it would be significant.

If anything is significant, it is that Mythic assumed that there were be a whole lot more people playing this game at release then there was.

So this is where the WoW players are hanging out

Originally posted by Novaseeker

No, he's quite right.

 

I just logged in to test this and, lo and behold, when you press the "more" button and reveal the other servers, and click on the low/low ones, the big "Select" button is greyed out.  The servers are online, but you can't create on them.  That's a very interesting stealth move by Mythic.

Why would anyone want to make a character on a server that tells you it has a low population.

When the transfer service came live, I jumped to Badlands and haven't looked back. Why is it such a big deal to concentrate the population of these low/med servers.

I bought this game to have large fights in wide open areas. Mythic can give the open areas, but the large battles need actual players. They're doing what needs to be done here.

Don't you think it would be a logical step to keep people from selecting a low pop server if they are already offering transfers away from said server? It's counterproductive to give a person blood if they are bleeding to death. They won't die of blood loss, they'll die of infection. Low pop servers are an infection in MMOs.

You get jaded views from people who haven't had the chance to experience the best part of an mmo....the people. Keep it greyed out, close those servers and bump the people to more populated servers.

They don't have houses placed, or harvesters (for the swg vets), no resources they'll lose. It's just them and their opponents.

Originally posted by Raiz1

Originally posted by Novaseeker

No, he's quite right.

 

I just logged in to test this and, lo and behold, when you press the "more" button and reveal the other servers, and click on the low/low ones, the big "Select" button is greyed out.  The servers are online, but you can't create on them.  That's a very interesting stealth move by Mythic.

 

Why would anyone want to make a character on a server that tells you it has a low population.

Why didn't Mythic tell people if they don't transfer off that new people will not be allowed to create characters there in the future?