Merge Some Servers Please, population is sad.

[demolition tank]

<div></div><div></div><p>Merge Some Servers Please, population is sad.</p><p>I am totally in love with Everquest 2. I love the crafting, harvesting, questing, teaming, even the grinding is fun in this game. My problem is I can’t find teams, and I rarely see people teaming or at all for that matter. I quit EQ2 a while ago and started back at the beginning of the month, during that time I managed to level a Berserker to level 28 on one of the higher population servers, fun, managed to get some stuff done, the population on my current server is “ok” during the day time, I can generally find teams during week days in a 2-3 hour window during peak time, and it’s great on weekends, but this server is how a “light” population server was at launch, if that many. The servers that were “light” to “medium” during launch, man, the population is like a ghost town.</p><p>Games like “world war 2 online” and “anarchy online” with tiny subscriber bases, 30,000 or less v.s. EQ2’s 350,000 or more, have better populations per server. I can sign on just about anytime of the day and find a team with in an hour or less. In EQ2.. Finding a team doesn’t come quickly, some times not at all. I personally have been spoiled by allot of the great features of EverQuest 2, and really can’t see my self playing another mmo, so when my account runs out at the end of the moth I will probably just be with out a MMO. <span> </span>I’m seeing threads about this pop up every where and I hope SOE sees it’s a problem.</p><p>SOE! Please merge some servers!!</p><p></p><p>P.S.</p><p>I know people are going to have allot of “omg population is greatzor loerz n00b!!!11oneonenoe” post, but it’s honestly not. If you played at launch, just think back to when you would see 5+ instances of some zones, and now try to remember if you’ve seen 5 instances of any zones in the last month…or when you've seen a server say "heavy" when makeing an alt. </p><p></p><div></div><p>Message Edited by demolition tank on <span class=date_text>08-17-2005</span> <span class=time_text>03:06 AM</span>

[Batez]

<DIV>" <P>I know people are going to have allot of “omg population is greatzor loerz n00b!!!11oneonenoe” post, but it’s honestly not. If you played at launch, just think back to when you would see 5+ instances of some zones, and now try to remember if you’ve seen 5 instances of any zones in the last month…or when you've seen a server say "heavy" when makeing an alt. </P> <P>"</P> <P> </P> <P>You had 5 instances because you had 250000 people on 24 servers all in antonica / commons. and most of those 250000 people leveled at sort of the same rate so that led to TS / Nek  and still more to EL and Zek  now most of the people are 50  and they raid in instances that dont get numbered and they appear to be gone.  Untill the game is reset (not like that will happen) i doubt that we will see 5 instances again unless the 3.5 million WOW children decide to be EQ2 players in blocks of 250000 people and i would hate to have to deal with them.</P></DIV>

[Solaran_X]

<BR> <BLOCKQUOTE> <HR> demolition tank wrote:<BR> <P>Merge Some Servers Please, population is sad.</P> <P> </P> <P>I am totally in love with Everquest 2. I love the crafting, harvesting, questing, teaming, even the grinding is fun in this game. My problem is I can’t find teams, and I rarely see people teaming or at all for that matter. I quit EQ2 a while ago and started back at the beginning of the month, during that time I managed to level a Berserker to level 28 on one of the higher population servers, fun, managed to get some stuff done, the population on my current server is “ok” during the day time, I can generally find teams during week days in a 2-3 hour window during peak time, and it’s great on weekends, but this server is how a “light” population server was at launch, if that many. The servers that were “light” to “medium” during launch, man, the population is like a ghost town.</P> <P> </P> <P>Games like “world war 2 online” and “anarchy online” with tiny subscriber bases, 30,000 or less v.s. EQ2’s 350,000 or more, have better populations per server. I can sign on just about anytime of the day and find a team with in an hour or less. In EQ2.. Finding a team doesn’t come quickly, some times not at all. I personally have been spoiled by allot of the great features of EverQuest 2, and really can’t see my self playing another mmo, so when my account runs out at the end of the moth I will probably just be with out a MMO. <SPAN> </SPAN>I’m seeing threads about this pop up every where and I hope SOE sees it’s a problem.</P> <P> </P> <P>SOE! Please merge some servers!!<BR><BR></P> <P></P> <P>P.S.</P> <P>I know people are going to have allot of “omg population is greatzor loerz n00b!!!11oneonenoe” post, but it’s honestly not. If you played at launch, just think back to when you would see 5+ instances of some zones, and now try to remember if you’ve seen 5 instances of any zones in the last month…or when you've seen a server say "heavy" when makeing an alt. </P> <P></P> <P>Message Edited by demolition tank on <SPAN class=date_text>08-17-2005</SPAN> <SPAN class=time_text>03:06 AM</SPAN><BR> <HR> </BLOCKQUOTE> <P><BR>Instead of five instances of the newbie zones and CL/Antonica...I now see two or three instances of CL and Antonica, two instances of TS and Nek, and occassionally two instances of EL or Zek. Last time I was in Feerrott, we had close to 100 people and were probably about to get a Feerrott 2. Haven't done alot in Lavastorm or Everfrost yet.</P> <P>If this is a "Light" population - I'm happy.</P>

[Amise]

<div></div>They do<i> feel</i> emptier I agree, I only have to compare the ease of getting a group six months ago to getting one now with an alt.  It's more difficult now for sure.  But that's not solely due to decreasing populations (although that is a factor), it is also because there are more people in other level ranges (just from doing basic counts on my server it seems that most people are 35+, which is several levels higher  than my alt).    My server is a very small one anyway, it was one of the last created and I've never seen more than three instances of any zone available (and three was extremely rare, only ever saw it happen a few times).  Still get two instances of TS/Ant most of the time, but of course it's rare that it ever happens in Nek or CL. I would say stick it out for another month and see what the revamp and expansion brings.   Maybe it'll bring servers back to "medium/heavy" status, who knows. <div></div><p>Message Edited by Amise on <span class=date_text>08-17-2005</span> <span class=time_text>05:11 AM</span>

[Kyin]

Must be nice, I am from Nekulos, and 2 instances of anything but TS, CL, and Ant was something to be amazed at back when their were alot of people.  Sadly today we hardly ever see a 2 of anything.  With a LFG for all level ranges at any given time during the week you will get from 3-15 people of which maybe 2 migh be in the right level ranges.  For my last 3 levels 47-50 if i wanted a group I would have to do a search who all 45-49 and just ask everyone regardless of if they were lfg.  It is sad, I really would love some server merges.  The problem is SoE had the right amount of servers at first, but because the game hit and a ton of people played it they had to make more servers.  Now the people that wanted to free month or short time period are gone leaving you with your base players spread out over too many servers.  This gives the feel of emptyness which is something you do not want for a MMO game.  Combineing the servers would be wonderful.  I know its got its pros and cons but the pros i think are more important.  The biggest con I know of is the few big guilds on the mergered server would suddely have alittle more competition.  (to me a good thing)

[Tar~Palantir]

My server once had 2+ instances across the board of EL, Zek, Ant, Cl, Ts, nek, now...even antonica is dead and pfft, my server stopped having double instances of zek/el by march.

[OperationsX]

<P>Hmm, where's <SPAN class=title_big><SPAN><FONT size=2><STRONG>Caswydian   :smileysurprised:</STRONG></FONT></SPAN></SPAN></P> <P><SPAN class=title_big><SPAN><STRONG><FONT size=2></FONT></STRONG></SPAN></SPAN> </P><p>Message Edited by OperationsX on <span class=date_text>08-17-2005</span> <span class=time_text>12:49 PM</span>

[demolition tank]

<div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><span><blockquote><hr>Batez wrote:<div>"<p>I know people are going to have allot of “omg population is greatzor loerz n00b!!!11oneonenoe” post, but it’s honestly not. If you played at launch, just think back to when you would see 5+ instances of some zones, and now try to remember if you’ve seen 5 instances of any zones in the last month…or when you've seen a server say "heavy" when makeing an alt.</p><p>"</p><p>You had 5 instances because you had 250000 people on 24 servers all in antonica / commons. and most of those 250000 people leveled at sort of the same rate so that led to TS / Nek  and still more to EL and Zek  now most of the people are 50  and they raid in instances that dont get numbered and they appear to be gone.  Untill the game is reset (not like that will happen) i doubt that we will see 5 instances again unless the 3.5 million WOW children decide to be EQ2 players in blocks of 250000 people and i would hate to have to deal with them.</p></div><hr></blockquote></span><p>I played to level 40 in the two months or so, I saw 5 instances of TS and Nek, and 3 instances of EnchantedLands and Zeck, and this is back when you had to do an access quest. Also, while your "you don't see them because their all in instances!" argument might shine some light on not seeing people very often in the main areas, however, you totally ignore that the fact there has not been a "heavy" in months. This in it's self kind of tells me how poorly populated the game has become. However, if you meant "numbered" as in counted by the population counter, I’m afraid your wrong, do a population of your server and you will find they are counted in the "other" category.</p><p>Look at games, small games, like “World War 2 Online”, “Anarchy Online”, “Endless Ages”, ect.. the list goes on, there are allot of little games out there with maybe 20-50k subscribers, yet their servers are always bustling and alive 24/7, there are “peak hours”, but you don’t “have to” play peak hours to find a team with in a reasonable amount of time. These games have been around allot longer then EQ2, meaning more time for people to level to max level ect.. yet that doesn’t effect their populations at all, never even mind severely effecting it as many of the people here suggest it’s effecting the EQ2 populations. I’m sure I’ll get “WELL WHY DON”T YOU GO PLAY ONE OF THOES GAMES n00B!!!111oneoeno lolzer”, I already stated earlier I am spoiled by EQ2 and can’t play other mmo’s, it’s like having your lap top taken away and told you will now have to chisel all lecture notes into stone tablets.</p><p>The servers as-is, are setup for probably 1.5 - 2 million players. While I wish there were 2million + mature adults who wanted to play EQ2, there just aren’t. As it stands the only answer to the population problem, is to merge some servers. I say they should be merged based on how they used to be populated. I.E. all the servers that were heavy should be merged into one “heavy” server, all the mediums, until you get several medium servers, and the lights until you get some light serves that are more in-line with what decently populated light server should <span>resemble,<span></span></span> solaran_x I’m sure will agree, Antonia Bayle is a good example of a well populated light server. This would allow people who picked their server based on the population (back before they were all light) to once again enjoy said population.  <span></span></p><p><span>They should atleast make some new population counts, like "ultra light", and "sparsely populated".</span></p><p>Message Edited by demolition tank on <span class=date_text>08-17-2005</span> <span class=time_text>01:19 PM</span>

[Tar~Palantir]

<BR> <BLOCKQUOTE> <HR> demolition tank wrote:<BR> <SPAN><BR> <BLOCKQUOTE> <HR> Batez wrote:<BR> <DIV>" <P>I know people are going to have allot of “omg population is greatzor loerz n00b!!!11oneonenoe” post, but it’s honestly not. If you played at launch, just think back to when you would see 5+ instances of some zones, and now try to remember if you’ve seen 5 instances of any zones in the last month…or when you've seen a server say "heavy" when makeing an alt.</P> <P>"</P> <P> </P> <P>You had 5 instances because you had 250000 people on 24 servers all in antonica / commons. and most of those 250000 people leveled at sort of the same rate so that led to TS / Nek  and still more to EL and Zek  now most of the people are 50  and they raid in instances that dont get numbered and they appear to be gone.  Untill the game is reset (not like that will happen) i doubt that we will see 5 instances again unless the 3.5 million WOW children decide to be EQ2 players in blocks of 250000 people and i would hate to have to deal with them.</P></DIV><BR> <HR> </BLOCKQUOTE><BR></SPAN> <P>I played to level 40 in the two months or so, I saw 5 instances of TS and Nek, and 3 instances of EnchantedLands and Zeck, and this is back when you had to do an access quest. Also, while your "you don't see them because their all in instances!" argument might shine some light on not seeing people very often in the main areas, however, you totally ignore that the fact there has not been a "heavy" in months. This in it's self kind of tells me how poorly populated the game has become. However, if you meant "numbered" as in counted by the population counter, I’m afraid your wrong, do a population of your server and you will find they are counted in the "other" category.</P> <P>Look at games, small games, like “World War 2 Online”, “Anarchy Online”, “Endless Ages”, ect.. the list goes on, there are allot of little games out there with maybe 20-50k subscribers, yet their servers are always bustling and alive 24/7, there are “peak hours”, but you don’t “have to” play peak hours to find a team with in a reasonable amount of time. These games have been around allot longer then EQ2, meaning more time for people to level to max level ect.. yet that doesn’t effect their populations at all, never even mind severely effecting it as many of the people here suggest it’s effecting the EQ2 populations. I’m sure I’ll get “WELL WHY DON”T YOU GO PLAY ONE OF THOES GAMES n00B!!!111oneoeno lolzer”, I already stated earlier I am spoiled by EQ2 and can’t play other mmo’s, it’s like having your lap top taken away and told you will now have to chisel all lecture notes into stone tablets.</P> <P>The servers as-is, are setup for probably 1.5 - 2 million players. While I wish there were 2million + mature adults who wanted to play EQ2, there just aren’t. As it stands the only answer to the population problem, is to merge some servers. I say they should be merged based on how they used to be populated. I.E. all the servers that were heavy should be merged into one “heavy” server, all the mediums, until you get several medium servers, and the lights until you get some light serves that are more in-line with what decently populated light server should <SPAN>resemble,<SPAN></SPAN></SPAN> solaran_x I’m sure will agree, Antonia Bayle is a good example of a well populated light server. This would allow people who picked their server based on the population (back before they were all light) to once again enjoy said population.  <SPAN><BR></SPAN></P> <P><SPAN><FONT color=#ffff00>They should atleast make some new population counts, like "ultra light", and "sparsely populated".<BR></FONT></SPAN></P> <P>Message Edited by demolition tank on <SPAN class=date_text>08-17-2005</SPAN> <SPAN class=time_text>01:19 PM</SPAN><BR> <HR> </BLOCKQUOTE> <P>How about "please for the love of god, LIFE SUPPORT!"</P> <P>I agree that we should not have to plat at "peak hours"  to find other humans to play.  In horizons, sure at 3 am finding a group may take awhile, but pretty much from 9am till midnight EST time you could find a group.</P> <P>This game is dying much quicker than it should be.</P> <P>Enter Casywdian to fervently deny everything. <BR></P>

[Dasein]

<P>1. EQ2, by design, keeps people tucked away in their own instances, so the game feels empty. Splitpaw has only exacerbated this effect. However, this doesn't mean people are not playing, just that the game is focused around instanced zones for the individual, group or raid. </P> <P>2. Server load can mean any number of things, and as we do not know the current capacity of a server, relative terms like light or heavy are useless. If a server at launch could only handle 5000 people online at once, and there are 4000 people online, the server is running at 80% capacity, which would likely be heavy. Now, if the server capacity is 20,000 people and 5000 are online, there are more people actually on, but the server could easily show as only having a light load. </P> <P>The fact is, we do not have any firm indicators of what the population is, either in terms of typical online figures or total subscriber counts. </P>

[Uba]

<DIV>It's more than instanced zones that makes the servers look empty... </DIV> <DIV><BR>Consider that many people "jump on the bandwagon" to try this new game out, and leave as it's not their style or they become bored. If you can recall when creating new characters at the beginning of last winter, many servers had heavy loads on them. Now creating a new character details every server as being light population. The servers have "settled in" now. </DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Over time this will even out as less people are jumping in / jumping out as when this game was newly introduced and most that are in now are staying. </DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Once expansion comes out, expect loads to increase considerably. </DIV>

[OperationsX]

<BR> <BLOCKQUOTE> <HR> OperationsX wrote:<BR> <P>Hmm, where's <SPAN class=title_big><SPAN><FONT size=2><STRONG>Caswydian   :smileysurprised:</STRONG></FONT></SPAN></SPAN></P> <P><SPAN class=title_big><SPAN><STRONG><FONT size=2></FONT></STRONG></SPAN></SPAN> </P> <HR> </BLOCKQUOTE><BR><BR> <BLOCKQUOTE> <HR> Caswydian wrote:<BR> <P>1. EQ2, by design, keeps people tucked away in their own instances, so the game feels empty. Splitpaw has only exacerbated this effect. However, this doesn't mean people are not playing, just that the game is focused around instanced zones for the individual, group or raid. </P> <P>2. Server load can mean any number of things, and as we do not know the current capacity of a server, relative terms like light or heavy are useless. If a server at launch could only handle 5000 people online at once, and there are 4000 people online, the server is running at 80% capacity, which would likely be heavy. Now, if the server capacity is 20,000 people and 5000 are online, there are more people actually on, but the server could easily show as only having a light load. </P> <P>The fact is, we do not have any firm indicators of what the population is, either in terms of typical online figures or total subscriber counts. </P> <BR> <HR> </BLOCKQUOTE><BR>I knew you wouldn't let me down! :smileyvery-happy: :smileyvery-happy: :smileywink: <p>Message Edited by OperationsX on <span class=date_text>08-18-2005</span> <span class=time_text>03:31 PM</span>

[demolition tank]

<div></div><div></div><div></div><span><blockquote><hr>Caswydian wrote:<p>1. EQ2, by design, keeps people tucked away in their own instances, so the game feels empty. Splitpaw has only exacerbated this effect. However, this doesn't mean people are not playing, just that the game is focused around instanced zones for the individual, group or raid.</p><p>2. Server load can mean any number of things, and as we do not know the current capacity of a server, relative terms like light or heavy are useless. If a server at launch could only handle 5000 people online at once, and there are 4000 people online, the server is running at 80% capacity, which would likely be heavy. Now, if the server capacity is 20,000 people and 5000 are online, there are more people actually on, but the server could easily show as only having a light load.</p><p>The fact is, we do not have any firm indicators of what the population is, either in terms of typical online figures or total subscriber counts.</p><hr></blockquote></span><p></p><p>The key word here is “if”, you, as far as I know, have absolutely no evidence to support they have increased the server capacity by 4x it’s original size. This is random conjecture on your part in a desprate attempt to take away from the hard facts that there are no heavy servers any more and the population is non-existant. The nature of EQ2 is not instance based, the only thing instance based are raids and split paw, both of which have long lock out times, not to mention the XP is much better when teaming and questing in dungeons and world zones. <span> </span><span> </span></p><p></p><p> Please come up with something factual rather then some fantastical conjecture you pulled out of thin air. <span> </span></p><div></div><p>Message Edited by demolition tank on <span class=date_text>08-18-2005</span> <span class=time_text>05:19 PM</span>

[luciu]

<P>Not to say anything against the opinion of the OP, who has his own reasons for wanting server mergers, can I just say that I do not want my server merged (Toxx).</P> <P>I have no problems finding groups when I want them, and it is nice to get out of the situation in the first few months where every named had a stack of people wainting in line to kill them.</P>

[Tar~Palantir]

<BR> <BLOCKQUOTE> <HR> demolition tank wrote:<BR> <SPAN><BR> <BLOCKQUOTE> <HR> Caswydian wrote:<BR> <P>1. EQ2, by design, keeps people tucked away in their own instances, so the game feels empty. Splitpaw has only exacerbated this effect. However, this doesn't mean people are not playing, just that the game is focused around instanced zones for the individual, group or raid.</P> <P>2. Server load can mean any number of things, and as we do not know the current capacity of a server, relative terms like light or heavy are useless. If a server at launch could only handle 5000 people online at once, and there are 4000 people online, the server is running at 80% capacity, which would likely be heavy. Now, if the server capacity is 20,000 people and 5000 are online, there are more people actually on, but the server could easily show as only having a light load.</P> <P>The fact is, we do not have any firm indicators of what the population is, either in terms of typical online figures or total subscriber counts.</P><BR> <HR> </BLOCKQUOTE></SPAN> <P></P> <P>The key word here is “if”, you, as far as I know, have absolutely no evidence to support they have increased the server capacity by 4x it’s original size. This is random conjecture on your part in a desprate attempt to take away from the hard facts that there are no heavy servers any more and the population is non-existant. The nature of EQ2 is not instance based, the only thing instance based are raids and split paw, both of which have long lock out times, not to mention the XP is much better when teaming and questing in dungeons and world zones. <SPAN> </SPAN><SPAN> </SPAN></P> <P></P> <P> <FONT color=#ffff00>Please come up with something factual rather then some fantastical conjecture you pulled out of thin air.</FONT> <SPAN> </SPAN></P> <P>Message Edited by demolition tank on <SPAN class=date_text>08-18-2005</SPAN> <SPAN class=time_text>05:19 PM</SPAN><BR> <HR> </BLOCKQUOTE><BR> <DIV>I would prefer to name these arguementive points analy extracted.</DIV>

[demolition tank]

There are lots of people who attack the core elements of EQ2. I personally like all elements of EQ2, I've not found anything I don't like about this game. The problem is I can't play this game because I can't find teams consistently, I've got a level 40, 33 and 28 all on differnt servers. I keep switching servers hopeing to find one with a good population, no such luck, with the population as-is, the game is not playable unless you find a static team in your time zone that has the same playing habbits. I've got several friends in my time zone, but I alwayse end up out leveling them, when I out level them there are no teams, something needs to be done. I am a "returning" player who is about to leave again. I think SOE did a great job on the game, they just have to many servers! <div></div>

[Dasein]

<P></P> <HR> The key word here is “if”, you, as far as I know, have absolutely no evidence to support they have increased the server capacity by 4x it’s original size. This is random conjecture on your part in a desprate attempt to take away from the hard facts that there are no heavy servers any more and the population is non-existant. <HR> <P>There is also no evidence to support your claim that server load directly refers to the server population, nor is there any dispute that terms like light and heavy are relative, not absolute terms, meaning that unless we know what the actual and current loads are, light and heavy are meaningless terms.</P> <P></P> <HR> The nature of EQ2 is not instance based, the only thing instance based are raids and split paw, both of which have long lock out times, not to mention the XP is much better when teaming and questing in dungeons and world zones. <SPAN> </SPAN><SPAN>  <HR> </SPAN> <DIV>Crafting is practically all instanced, as is housing. There are instanced dungeons like Nek Castle and a number of small, instanced sub-zones like Chamber of Immortality or Bastion of Flames. There are also many zones with multiple versions, like Maiden's Gulch or Permafrost/Icy Dig.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>demolition tank, how many chat channels are you a member of? Are you ina  guild? Is your guild in any alliances with other guilds? It sounds to me like your problem is finding groups, and you are assuming the trouble is due to server population. Are you playing during a popular time, or do you play during off-hours?</DIV>

[noogabooga]

<P>I dont have figures but I do `feel` that the server populations have been declining and have reached a stage where it is affecting group play. I play on Crushbone and am proactive in forming groups (not just go lfg and wait for a tell) but I have noticed that it is getting harder to get a group going. And this is my experience with two characters between level 40 and 50, supposedly the range where many characters have attained.</P> <P>Weekends are fine, but on the other days there are just insufficient numbers of players lfg to do much worthwhile. The Splitpaw saga has also had the effect of draining the number of lfgs and making the situation even worse. People logon during these times and cant find a group within 15 mins so they head for Splitpaw, or the lure of it is just so great that they rather spend hours soloing that place.</P> <P>Sure, at high levels, players are more likely to group with guildmates and friends but I can remember a time when there were many  more lfgs btn 40 and 50. I have guildies who logon and expect to get a group going for one quest or another and usually we find a couple of lfgs to make up the numbers. But lately, we are not able to easily find lfgs and as a result my guildmates have spent more time playing their low-level alts instead (easier to complete quests and advance their char).</P> <P>As for the timing of server merges, I dont expect SoE to consider it before the DoF expansion. But it is something they should monitor a few months after its released and review.</P><p>Message Edited by noogabooga on <span class=date_text>08-19-2005</span> <span class=time_text>05:37 PM</span>

[Zolg]

I think most of the down turn is due to the fact that it is summertime. I think once the weather starts turning bad that they populations will start to climb back up. RIght now most people don't want to be indoors.

[Dasein]

<DIV>Unguilded players in the 40-50 range will be heavily recruited by many guilds looking for more high level players to fill out their numbers for raiding. </DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Further, people seem to think that people need to be LFG to actually be looking for a group - the only time I use LFG is when we're setting up raid groups. Beyond that, I have not set the LFG flag since I was on IoR. I find groups through my friends list, through my guild and through a number of regular chat channels on my server. I think that the biggest problem people have finding groups is not population, but socialization. Servers are establishing their own communities, and if you are not part of those communities, then it will be difficult to find a group. Now, at least on my server, these communities are pretty open - it's not like we're forming cliques to exlude people, but just that over time new methods of communicating have developed and if you don't know about them, things will seem a lot less active. </DIV>

[Wryth]

<DIV> <DIV>The topic says it all really. It's about 10 months after release and EQ2 seems to finally be hitting it's stride. The only issue I see is the fact that even at peek times the server loads are only "Light". I think a server consolidation about 2-3weeks before the expansion comes out would be a great way to rectify the emptiness that now seems to plague the servers. The new expansion will bring back some old players as well as some new ones, but I doubt it will be enough to fill the servers up again.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Just a thought..thanks for your time. <IMG height=16 src="http://eqiiforums.station.sony.com/i/smilies/16x16_smiley-wink.gif" width=16 border=0></DIV></DIV>

[demolition tank]

The fact remains we have not had a heavy server for a very long time, never mind a medium. This needs to be fixed or they will start looseing subcribers again. Hopefully SOE will be smart, as they have in the past, and try to correct this problem. <div></div>

[Dasein]

<HR> The fact remains we have not had a heavy server for a very long time, never mind a medium. This needs to be fixed or they will start looseing subcribers again. Hopefully SOE will be smart, as they have in the past, and try to correct this problem. <HR> <BR> <DIV>I'm sure if they ripped out some RAM and maybe downgraded their processors, the servers would run at heavy load again.</DIV>

[Tar~Palantir]

<BR> <BLOCKQUOTE> <HR> Caswydian wrote:<BR> <HR> The fact remains we have not had a heavy server for a very long time, never mind a medium. This needs to be fixed or they will start looseing subcribers again. Hopefully SOE will be smart, as they have in the past, and try to correct this problem. <HR> <BR> <DIV>I'm sure if they ripped out some RAM and maybe downgraded their processors, the servers would run at heavy load again.</DIV><BR> <HR> </BLOCKQUOTE> <P><BR>And you elude to the statement that Sony upgraded the EQ2 servers.  Please prove it.</P> <P> </P> <P>For now, the "Population is going down" thoery works best rather than a major server capacity upgrade.</P> <P>Also someone mentioned this game has gotten its stride. Wel guess what, that is a downhill stride. <img src="/smilies/8a80c6485cd926be453217d59a84a888.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" /></P>

[Iseabeil]

<DIV>Keep in mind that offline selling did not exist back when server load was higher.</DIV> <DIV>I know that i had atleast one account active 23/7 to be able to sell and many other did too, that makes a huge difference in load.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV> </DIV>

[OperationsX]

<BR> <BLOCKQUOTE> <HR> Iseabeil wrote:<BR> <DIV>Keep in mind that offline selling did not exist back when server load was higher.</DIV> <DIV>I know that i had atleast one account active 23/7 to be able to sell and many other did too, that makes a huge difference in load.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV> </DIV><BR> <HR> </BLOCKQUOTE><BR>If any of you were actual artisans and actually made stuff for the community on broker instead of your guildies or actually stepped out of your 'group of friends' to go find groups you would <EM>feel </EM>the population has decreased. I don't give a rats [expletive ninja'd by Faarbot] about subscription numbers, I care about active playing base, which unless you got your  head so far up your [expletive ninja'd by Faarbot] you can see and feel it has actually declined.

[Tar~Palantir]

<DIV>The people who deny the server populations are declining are the ones who raid or have a group of old faithful friends who are on at the exact same time.</DIV>

[Dasein]

So the ones who are most concerned about this alleged population decrease are the ones who have not managed to really involve themselves in their server community? Again, it seems more and more like people are blaming some external factor for their own failings.

[Tar~Palantir]

<DIV><BR> <BLOCKQUOTE> <HR> Caswydian wrote:<BR>So the ones who are most concerned about this alleged population decrease are the ones who have not managed to really involve themselves in their server community? Again, it seems more and more like people are blaming some external factor for their own failings. <BR> <HR> </BLOCKQUOTE><BR>I have my guild in alliance with 4 others, I am in the heritage chat channel(toxx's worldwide chat channel), and i am a friend of a raiding guild leader(one of the top 3 raiding guilds), and members in the most affluent raiding guild.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>I believe that is more community than your static group or the 11-23 other people you raid with.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>I was talking with a member Vindicate(top raiding guild on server) and we got into server populations and he said that if you raid, the population doesn't matter too much.  I told him that when you are with a set group of people, that is so. If you raid at 50, or are XP'ing from lvl 3-49, you're playing 2 different games.....</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>I can't wait for the day Caswydian where you get the swift kick in the [expletive ninja'd by Faarbot] and finally realize something is wrong.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV>

[Dasein]

<P>Again, the issue seems not to be actual populations, but rather people's perception of that population and access to it at different levels. The only argument I hear people making is that because they have trouble finding a group on their server, therefore, game-wide, populations are dropping. I've not seen anyone present any hard evidence of game-wide population.</P> <P>If you want to discuss the social dynamics of EQ2 with regards to finding groups, fine, but that is a different issue than server population or subscriber numbers.</P>

[demolition tank]

<div></div><div></div><span><blockquote><hr>Caswydian wrote:<div></div> <p>Again, the issue seems not to be actual populations, but rather people's perception of that population and access to it at different levels. The only argument I hear people making is that because they have trouble finding a group on their server, therefore, game-wide, populations are dropping. I've not seen anyone present any hard evidence of game-wide population.</p> <p>If you want to discuss the social dynamics of EQ2 with regards to finding groups, fine, but that is a different issue than server population or subscriber numbers.</p> <div></div><hr></blockquote>Are you blinde? Or just thick? I've said over, and over, and over again, we used to have 5 servers that ALWAYSE 24/7 were "heavy" population, we used to see 3 to 4 instances of Zek and EL back when it requred access quest! Now, you NEVER see a second instance of EL or Zek unless you are on that on RP server. These are two, extremly hard evidence cases for a dwendeling population. Another "hard" fact I'de like to share is their marketing campang, they are not aimed at getting "new" players, they are aimed at getting old players back, and I quote "TONS of new content added since launch". They are aware they used to have TONS more subcribers. They even sent me a big "please comd back" item package in the mail, it came with a 10 day reactivation of my account, a poster, and several handy in-game items i could /claim. This isn't something i've had any game company do, and I've played to high levels in just about every major mmo and have been playing mmo's for at least 5-6 years. Subcriber numbers are down, and it sucks being stuck  on a ghost town server, we need some servers merged. </span><div></div><p>Message Edited by demolition tank on <span class=date_text>08-21-2005</span> <span class=time_text>02:02 PM</span>

[Tar~Palantir]

<BR> <BLOCKQUOTE> <HR> demolition tank wrote:<BR> <SPAN><BR> <BLOCKQUOTE> <HR> Caswydian wrote:<BR> <P>Again, the issue seems not to be actual populations, but rather people's perception of that population and access to it at different levels. The only argument I hear people making is that because they have trouble finding a group on their server, therefore, game-wide, populations are dropping. I've not seen anyone present any hard evidence of game-wide population.</P> <P>If you want to discuss the social dynamics of EQ2 with regards to finding groups, fine, but that is a different issue than server population or subscriber numbers.</P> <BR> <HR> </BLOCKQUOTE>Are you blinde? Or just thick? I've said over, and over, and over again, we used to have 5 servers that ALWAYSE 24/7 were "heavy" population, we used to see 3 to 4 instances of Zek and EL back when it requred access quest! Now, you NEVER see a second instance of EL or Zek unless you are on that on RP server. These are two, extremly hard evidence cases for a dwendeling population. Another "hard" fact I'de like to share is their marketing campang, they are not aimed at getting "new" players, they are aimed at getting old players back, and I quote "TONS of new content added since launch". They are aware they used to have TONS more subcribers. They even sent me a big "please comd back" item package in the mail, it came with a 10 day reactivation of my account, a poster, and several handy in-game items i could /claim. This isn't something i've had any game company do, and I've played to high levels in just about every major mmo and have been playing mmo's for at least 5-6 years. Subcriber numbers are down, and it sucks being stuck  on a ghost town server, we need some servers merged. <BR></SPAN> <P>Message Edited by demolition tank on <SPAN class=date_text>08-21-2005</SPAN> <SPAN class=time_text>02:02 PM</SPAN><BR> <HR> </BLOCKQUOTE> <P><BR>An old MMO of mine horizons periodically sends please come back e-mails....</P> <P>When i quit, the game was going on 3 years old and guess what, I wasn't promised a plethora of /claim item and told how there was tons of stuff done.  </P> <P>I cant wait till they entice quiters with free magic carpets <img src="/smilies/8a80c6485cd926be453217d59a84a888.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" /></P> <P> </P>

[Drift3r]

I have to agree something needs to be done. In some cases it should be a merging of servers and also adding a new way to make LFG'ing for non-guilded folks easier and more informative. Oh and if someone says that the reason people are not grouping is because this game is to easy then they are flatout wrong IMHO. I played WoW and finding a group in that game which was freaking easy as hell was not a issue. I also played EQ2 a luanch and I can tell you it had a lot more people in it then are now playing currently. Finding groups to even do Serpent Sewers, WC and the Fallen Gate is not easy. I do regular LFG searches in the Commonlands and finding someone of 2-4 below or higher then my level is a joke. P.S. Oh and I am in a guild so don't pull that bull on me. <div></div>

[demolition tank]

<div></div><div></div><span><blockquote><hr>Tar~Palantir wrote:<blockquote><hr>demolition tank wrote:<span><blockquote><hr>Caswydian wrote:<p>Again, the issue seems not to be actual populations, but rather people's perception of that population and access to it at different levels. The only argument I hear people making is that because they have trouble finding a group on their server, therefore, game-wide, populations are dropping. I've not seen anyone present any hard evidence of game-wide population.</p><p>If you want to discuss the social dynamics of EQ2 with regards to finding groups, fine, but that is a different issue than server population or subscriber numbers.</p><hr></blockquote>Are you blinde? Or just thick? I've said over, and over, and over again, we used to have 5 servers that ALWAYSE 24/7 were "heavy" population, we used to see 3 to 4 instances of Zek and EL back when it requred access quest! Now, you NEVER see a second instance of EL or Zek unless you are on that on RP server. These are two, extremly hard evidence cases for a dwendeling population. Another "hard" fact I'de like to share is their marketing campang, they are not aimed at getting "new" players, they are aimed at getting old players back, and I quote "TONS of new content added since launch". They are aware they used to have TONS more subcribers. They even sent me a big "please comd back" item package in the mail, it came with a 10 day reactivation of my account, a poster, and several handy in-game items i could /claim. This isn't something i've had any game company do, and I've played to high levels in just about every major mmo and have been playing mmo's for at least 5-6 years. Subcriber numbers are down, and it sucks being stuck  on a ghost town server, we need some servers merged.</span><p>Message Edited by demolition tank on <span class="date_text">08-21-2005</span><span class="time_text">02:02 PM</span></p><hr></blockquote><p>An old MMO of mine horizons periodically sends please come back e-mails....</p><p>When i quit, the game was going on 3 years old and guess what, I wasn't promised a plethora of /claim item and told how there was tons of stuff done. </p><p>I cant wait till they entice quiters with free magic carpets <img src="/smilies/8a80c6485cd926be453217d59a84a888.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" /></p><hr></blockquote></span><p>Keep in mind this wasn't an E-MAIL this was large snail-mail envelope that had a VERY well done letter that was written in a very RP style "Hail Demolition Tank" ect.. ect.. and goes on to talk about everything they did. It also has a large map of all the areas in EQ2 with all the grouping areas and the levels they are well suited for. I was really happy SOE actually cared that I quit, so I've been back for a month, but playing with my self is just that, and it really isn't something that is going to sustain me for any length of time, even with Harclave I still need some human interaction.</p><p>SOE may not care for any other reason then the bottom line, but they do care and thats all that matters. I'm sure they will merge servers if they see there is a large enough demand and look at the population numbers. </p> <p>It would be nice to see if a dev would come by to see what sony thinks of this.</p> <div></div><p>Message Edited by demolition tank on <span class=date_text>08-21-2005</span> <span class=time_text>06:17 PM</span>

[Tar~Palantir]

<BR> <BLOCKQUOTE> <HR> demolition tank wrote:<BR> <SPAN><BR> <BLOCKQUOTE> <HR> Tar~Palantir wrote:<BR><BR> <BLOCKQUOTE> <HR> demolition tank wrote:<BR><SPAN><BR> <BLOCKQUOTE> <HR> Caswydian wrote:<BR> <P>Again, the issue seems not to be actual populations, but rather people's perception of that population and access to it at different levels. The only argument I hear people making is that because they have trouble finding a group on their server, therefore, game-wide, populations are dropping. I've not seen anyone present any hard evidence of game-wide population.</P> <P>If you want to discuss the social dynamics of EQ2 with regards to finding groups, fine, but that is a different issue than server population or subscriber numbers.</P><BR> <HR> </BLOCKQUOTE>Are you blinde? Or just thick? I've said over, and over, and over again, we used to have 5 servers that ALWAYSE 24/7 were "heavy" population, we used to see 3 to 4 instances of Zek and EL back when it requred access quest! Now, you NEVER see a second instance of EL or Zek unless you are on that on RP server. These are two, extremly hard evidence cases for a dwendeling population. Another "hard" fact I'de like to share is their marketing campang, they are not aimed at getting "new" players, they are aimed at getting old players back, and I quote "TONS of new content added since launch". They are aware they used to have TONS more subcribers. They even sent me a big "please comd back" item package in the mail, it came with a 10 day reactivation of my account, a poster, and several handy in-game items i could /claim. This isn't something i've had any game company do, and I've played to high levels in just about every major mmo and have been playing mmo's for at least 5-6 years. Subcriber numbers are down, and it sucks being stuck  on a ghost town server, we need some servers merged.<BR></SPAN> <P>Message Edited by demolition tank on <SPAN class=date_text>08-21-2005</SPAN><SPAN class=time_text>02:02 PM</SPAN><BR></P> <HR> </BLOCKQUOTE> <P><BR>An old MMO of mine horizons periodically sends please come back e-mails....</P> <P>When i quit, the game was going on 3 years old and guess what, I wasn't promised a plethora of /claim item and told how there was tons of stuff done. </P> <P>I cant wait till they entice quiters with free magic carpets <img src="/smilies/8a80c6485cd926be453217d59a84a888.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" /></P> <P> </P><BR> <HR> </BLOCKQUOTE></SPAN> <P>Keep in mind this wasn't an E-MAIL this was large snail-mail envelope that had a VERY well done letter that was written in a very RP style "Hail Demolition Tank" ect.. ect.. and goes on to talk about everything they did. It also has a large map of all the areas in EQ2 with all the grouping areas and the levels they are well suited for. I was really happy SOE actually cared that I quit, so I've been back for a month, but playing with my self is just that, and it really isn't something that is going to sustain me for any length of time, even with Harclave I still need some human interaction.<BR></P> <P>SOE may not care for any other reason then the bottom line, but they do care and thats all that matters. I'm sure they will merge servers if they see there is a large enough demand and look at the population numbers.<BR></P> <P>It would be nice to see if a dev would come by to see what sony thinks of this.<BR></P> <P>Message Edited by demolition tank on <SPAN class=date_text>08-21-2005</SPAN> <SPAN class=time_text>06:17 PM</SPAN><BR> <HR> </BLOCKQUOTE>If they went to all that trouble to entice you, than what you have said galvonizes the claims on the pro-merge crowd.<BR>

[Viper28]

<P>Yeah, population has decreased a bit. I am on the Antonia Bayle server adn i even notice it. </P> <P> </P> <P>They should merge the two RP servers for more RP encounters.</P> <P>And merge the other servers too just for more fun and more sociallizing</P>

[Dasein]

<P></P> <HR> Are you blinde? Or just thick? I've said over, and over, and over again, we used to have 5 servers that ALWAYSE 24/7 were "heavy" population, <HR> <P>What evidence do you have that server LOAD is directly equivalent to population?</P> <P></P> <HR> we used to see 3 to 4 instances of Zek and EL back when it requred access quest! Now, you NEVER see a second instance of EL or Zek unless you are on that on RP server. <HR> <P>So? As people advance in levels, they more on to different zones. When the bulk of the server population is in the 30-40 level rang,e then of course Zek and EL will be crowded, but as people level past that, then they no longer have any reaosn to go to those zones. I fail to see how this is evidence of anything, save that people have out leveled those two zones.</P> <P></P> <HR> These are two, extremly hard evidence cases for a dwendeling population. <HR> <P>Hardly. The first is conjecture on what server load represents and the second is simply normal shifts in the zones people visit as the level. </P> <P></P> <HR> Another "hard" fact I'de like to share is their marketing campang, they are not aimed at getting "new" players, they are aimed at getting old players back, and I quote "TONS of new content added since launch". They are aware they used to have TONS more subcribers. They even sent me a big "please comd back" item package in the mail, it came with a 10 day reactivation of my account, a poster, and several handy in-game items i could /claim. This isn't something i've had any game company do, and I've played to high levels in just about every major mmo and have been playing mmo's for at least 5-6 years. <HR> <P>All this proves is that SOE has deep pockets.</P> <P><BR></P> <HR> Subcriber numbers are down, and it sucks being stuck  on a ghost town server, we need some servers merged. <HR> <P>People have more zones to visit, more quests to complete and have established their own communities within the game, giving the perception of a lower population to those on the outside looking in.<BR></P>

[Sarc]

Caswydian, its been stated again and again a light load server is what it is. Ive only seen  medium to heavy loads till March, from like May onward server population is light facts are facts. You have a point though that the population is spread out with the higer levels, is why u wont be seein multiple instances of ts and nek. Also another fact of declining pop. is you no longer see multiple instances of the lowbie zones like oakmyst forest ,the caves etc, which is an obvious fact that your not getting many new players to the game. I like this game, i been playin since launch but admit im gettin burned out on it to the point where i may only keep my wizard. Also Im not a die hard fanboi living in denial either.  Also off topic but if they get rid of locked encounters that will probably be the last straw for me and many others. I heard thats what there doin on the test server now. A good part of the reason why i got this game was cause of locked encounters. If u check ohter threads its like a love/hate thing where half the player base wants locked encounters and the other half doesnt. All im sayin is if this goes live in the future expect a huge dip in population. <P>Message Edited by Sarcev on <SPAN class=date_text>08-22-2005</SPAN> <SPAN class=time_text>08:29 AM</SPAN></P><p>Message Edited by Sarcev on <span class=date_text>08-22-2005</span> <span class=time_text>08:40 AM</span>

[Dasein]

<HR> Caswydian, its been stated again and again a light load server is what it is. Ive only seen  medium to heavy loads till March, from like May onward server population is light facts are facts. <HR> <DIV>It's certainly been stated, but not at all proven that server load directly represents population. Unless you can show me a statement from the developers saying that server load is a direct representation of population, and that the population capacity of each server has remained static, there is still substantial doubt as to what server load really means.</DIV>

[Sarc]

<DIV> <DIV>Caswydian wrote:</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>It's certainly been stated, but not at all proven that server load directly represents population. Unless you can show me a statement from the developers saying that server load is a direct representation of population, and that the population capacity of each server has remained static, there is still substantial doubt as to what server load really means.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>I dont think any of us need a statement from the devs server loads dont lie. I mean if they could make server loads lie then they would all be saying "heavy" rite now lol. Anyways thanks for the quick reply and all. Ok lets say you go to a rock concert that sells 20k tickets hence, 20 thousand folks are there. If you say the next day 80 k were there that would be a lie and living in denial, ok dumb analogy lol. I  dont wanna argue with u Cas, you seem to be a kind fellow.</DIV></DIV>

[Dasein]

<DIV>Server load uses relative terms. Using your rock concert example, if you have an arena that hold 10,000 people and sell 9,000 tickets, then the arena  is almost full. Now, the next stop on the tour is an arena that holds 25,000 people, and they sell 11,000 tickets. At the second stop, they've sold more tickets, but the arena isn't even half full. Thus, in the first case, you could say the arena's load is heavy, while in the second, it is light, despite there being more poeple at the second concert. </DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Of course, server load might not refer to population directly, but rather the resources being used on the server by the game as a whole (players, zones, mobs, etc.). Thus, if they rewrite code to make more efficient usage of resources, then the load will drop. </DIV>

[Sarc]

<DIV>Caswydian wrote:</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Server load uses relative terms. Using your rock concert example, if you have an arena that hold 10,000 people and sell 9,000 tickets, then the arena  is almost full. Now, the next stop on the tour is an arena that holds 25,000 people, and they sell 11,000 tickets. At the second stop, they've sold more tickets, but the arena isn't even half full. Thus, in the first case, you could say the arena's load is heavy, while in the second, it is light, despite there being more poeple at the second concert. </DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Of course, server load might not refer to population directly, but rather the resources being used on the server by the game as a whole (players, zones, <STRONG>mobs</STRONG>, etc.). Thus, if they rewrite code to make more efficient usage of resources, then the load will drop. </DIV> <DIV><U></U> </DIV> <DIV><U></U> </DIV> <DIV><U></U> </DIV> <DIV>Good point on server pop. thats why I highlighted mobs, server loads may not be population directly like you said. I seeing things in a whole new way now lol, seriously. You did a much better job than me on comparing low to heavy servers using the rock concert example that I used, grats to you on that, yours made alot more sense.</DIV><p>Message Edited by Sarcev on <span class=date_text>08-22-2005</span> <span class=time_text>10:41 AM</span>

[SmEaGoLLuM]

<DIV>I was on at around 8:30pm EST on a Saturday night in the US. </DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>TS: 69 palyers</DIV> <DIV>Nek Forest: 22 players</DIV> <DIV>EL: 26 players</DIV> <DIV>Zek: 29 players</DIV> <DIV>EF/LS: even less</DIV>

[Tar~Palantir]

<BR> <BLOCKQUOTE> <HR> SmEaGoLLuM86 wrote:<BR> <DIV>I was on at around 8:30pm EST on a Saturday night in the US. </DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>TS: 69 palyers</DIV> <DIV>Nek Forest: 22 players</DIV> <DIV>EL: 26 players</DIV> <DIV>Zek: 29 players</DIV> <DIV>EF/LS: even less</DIV><BR> <HR> </BLOCKQUOTE> <P><BR>On my server, the numbers run 50 in TS, about 25 in nek, EL has 35, zek 17, EF 25-40, LS 20-35.</P> <P>Caswydian, how is this healthy?</P> <P> </P>

[Tar~Palantir]

<BR> <BLOCKQUOTE> <HR> Caswydian wrote:<BR> <DIV>Server load uses relative terms. Using your rock concert example, if you have an arena that hold 10,000 people and sell 9,000 tickets, then the arena  is almost full. Now, the next stop on the tour is an arena that holds 25,000 people, and they sell 11,000 tickets. At the second stop, they've sold more tickets, but the arena isn't even half full. Thus, in the first case, you could say the arena's load is heavy, while in the second, it is light, despite there being more poeple at the second concert.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Of course, server load might not refer to population directly, but rather the resources being used on the server by the game as a whole (players, zones, mobs, etc.). Thus, if they rewrite code to make more efficient usage of resources, then the load will drop.</DIV><BR> <HR> </BLOCKQUOTE><BR> <DIV>Except your quaint little analogy uses several arenas.  Toxxulia server is toxxulia server, it does not trade hardware with antonia bayle or with highkeep.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV> </DIV>

[R32G]

<DIV>This is a good idea.  Anyone who wants to participate, track numbers in the major zones (Antonica, TS, Zek, CL etc) on the hour between 2000-0200 EST on Sat, Aug 27th.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>We can post them here.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Then at least will have some method of comparison (even though the statistical analysis will be limited for such a small sample).</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>I've got Blackburrow.</DIV>

[SageGaspar]

<span><blockquote><hr>demolition tank wrote:The fact remains we have not had a heavy server for a very long time, never mind a medium. This needs to be fixed or they will start looseing subcribers again. Hopefully SOE will be smart, as they have in the past, and try to correct this problem. <div></div><hr></blockquote>Antonia Bayle was heavy within... oh, the last couple days or so, at peak hours. The rest of the servers were all light. I'm thinking there's a couple problems at work: 1. It's summer. Been said many times before, but it's true... people have things to do in the summer. I know of at least three or four of my immediate friends in-game who are away on vacation at the moment, and I will be gone for a week myself in a couple days. 2. EQ2 has a lot more mature/casual/older players. I think their focus paid off, and one of the things this means is that they have more real world commitments. This means less time at the computer, so you get the "many subscribers, few players" paradox. 3. EQ2 is suffering a bit of a population downer. 4. A *ton* of people migrated from all servers to Antonia Bayle and others on the top, but most especially AB. This only exacerbates the problem. Hopefully, DoF and the end of summer will fix a bunch of these things. Honestly, I think maybe a movelog from the top population servers to any other servers might be in order as well. </span><div></div>

[Roukl]

<P>I support this thread , there are never 2 instances of any zones on Befallen. I did a run around all the tier 5 zones Highest population was 8 players. Splitpaw centre had the most at 15. I'm sure the Sony team don't want to admit the server populations have declined that much , but in the long run you will only lose more people if merges don't happen.</P> <P>Even offering a 1 shot guild server move could be an answer . Those not wishing to move with the guild can leave and remain on their server of choice.</P> <P> </P> <P>Valk</P>

[OperationsX]

<BR> <BLOCKQUOTE> <HR> Viper2844 wrote:<BR> <P>Yeah, population has decreased a bit. I am on the Antonia Bayle server adn i even notice it. </P> <P> </P> <P>They should merge the two RP servers for more RP encounters.</P> <P>And merge the other servers too just for more fun and more sociallizing</P><BR> <HR> </BLOCKQUOTE><BR>You kidding me? the RP servers have the largest population in the game still compared to all the other servers. I'd wager 2 low populated servers would = Antonia's populations. Went on yesterday to create a new character, every server was light besides Antonia, that was medium.

[Tar~Palantir]

<DIV>I would wager 2.5 servers equals the RP servers at times.</DIV>

[demolition tank]

<div></div><span><blockquote><hr>OperationsX wrote:<blockquote><hr>Viper2844 wrote:<p>Yeah, population has decreased a bit. I am on the Antonia Bayle server adn i even notice it.</p><p>They should merge the two RP servers for more RP encounters.</p><p>And merge the other servers too just for more fun and more sociallizing</p><hr></blockquote>You kidding me? the RP servers have the largest population in the game still compared to all the other servers. I'd wager 2 low populated servers would = Antonia's populations. Went on yesterday to create a new character, every server was light besides Antonia, that was medium.<hr></blockquote></span><p>It's a bit more then that. I have a mid level toon on Antonia Byale and a mid level toons on some of the other servers, and I would say it's four to five times more populated then some servers. Some servers it's literally no longer feasible to find a team, so people always duo or have three man teams, "peak hours" just don’t exist on allot of the severs do to the extremely sparse population. I actually see Byale go "medium" at night on weekends "some times". Haven't seen any other servers go medium regardless of hours, Byale is an “ideally” populated Light server. Most of the time light, but occasionally medium at peak days of the week. We have no normal medium servers and we sure as hell don’t have any ideal heavy servers.</p><div></div>

[Tar~Palantir]

<BR> <BLOCKQUOTE> <HR> demolition tank wrote:<BR> <SPAN><BR> <BLOCKQUOTE> <HR> OperationsX wrote:<BR><BR> <BLOCKQUOTE> <HR> Viper2844 wrote:<BR> <P>Yeah, population has decreased a bit. I am on the Antonia Bayle server adn i even notice it.</P> <P> </P> <P>They should merge the two RP servers for more RP encounters.</P> <P>And merge the other servers too just for more fun and more sociallizing</P><BR> <HR> </BLOCKQUOTE><BR>You kidding me? the RP servers have the largest population in the game still compared to all the other servers. I'd wager 2 low populated servers would = Antonia's populations. Went on yesterday to create a new character, every server was light besides Antonia, that was medium.<BR> <HR> </BLOCKQUOTE></SPAN> <P>It's a bit more then that. I have a mid level toon on Antonia Byale and a mid level toons on some of the other servers, and I would say it's four to five times more populated then some servers. Some servers it's literally no longer feasible to find a team, so people always duo or have three man teams, "peak hours" just don’t exist on allot of the severs do to the extremely sparse population. I actually see Byale go "medium" at night on weekends "some times". Haven't seen any other servers go medium regardless of hours, Byale is an “ideally” populated Light server. Most of the time light, but occasionally medium at peak days of the week. We have no normal medium servers and we sure as hell don’t have any ideal heavy servers.</P> <P> </P> <BR> <HR> </BLOCKQUOTE><BR>SInce I have no reason to doubt the validity of your claim of having multiple characters spread over multiple servers, your take on population is definitely more....comprehensive.  My server of toxx is a disaster, if you didn't make friends spread over a wide range of elvels like i did, you effectively burned your bridges since pick-up groups are scarce.

[OperationsX]

<BR> <BLOCKQUOTE> <HR> demolition tank wrote:<BR> <SPAN><BR> <BLOCKQUOTE> <HR> OperationsX wrote:<BR><BR> <BLOCKQUOTE> <HR> Viper2844 wrote:<BR> <P>Yeah, population has decreased a bit. I am on the Antonia Bayle server adn i even notice it.</P> <P> </P> <P>They should merge the two RP servers for more RP encounters.</P> <P>And merge the other servers too just for more fun and more sociallizing</P><BR> <HR> </BLOCKQUOTE><BR>You kidding me? the RP servers have the largest population in the game still compared to all the other servers. I'd wager 2 low populated servers would = Antonia's populations. Went on yesterday to create a new character, every server was light besides Antonia, that was medium.<BR> <HR> </BLOCKQUOTE></SPAN> <P>It's a bit more then that. I have a mid level toon on Antonia Byale and a mid level toons on some of the other servers, and I would say it's four to five times more populated then some servers. Some servers it's literally no longer feasible to find a team, so people always duo or have three man teams, "peak hours" just don’t exist on allot of the severs do to the extremely sparse population. I actually see Byale go "medium" at night on weekends "some times". Haven't seen any other servers go medium regardless of hours, Byale is an “ideally” populated Light server. Most of the time light, but occasionally medium at peak days of the week. We have no normal medium servers and we sure as hell don’t have any ideal heavy servers.</P> <P> </P> <BR> <HR> </BLOCKQUOTE> <P><BR>Aye,  I thought it was alot more than that as well since a friend told me there was 47 Tier 5 conjurors on vs my servers 8, but I didn't want to throw some false x # out there and get flamed by someone who was actually on Antonia Bayle server you see :smileywink:, but I just knew it had to be double so I put double. Thanks for verifying that :smileyhappy: </P> <P> Although just like every other server bayle's population has decreased, but there is still complaints at prime time about how many ppl are on causing lag, especially like you pointed out on weekends.  Wow I remember the days my server complained about that... *9 months ago* /sigh</P> <P>I guess I shouldn't complain so much, fortunately my server was formally a heavy populated server back when the populations were nice and growing, it was one of the first servers. I can just imagine how horrid it is on the servers that were medium - light back then, they should add a purple -Scarce tag to those poor servers lol :smileysad:</P><p>Message Edited by OperationsX on <span class=date_text>08-25-2005</span> <span class=time_text>05:22 PM</span>

[Sugasug]

<DIV>The EQ2 populations is dwindling. I can't imagine anyone arguing otherwise. The only ones who don't seem to see it, are the SOE appologists who claim "everything is fine, go back to your cubicles, all is working as intended." I haven't seen any "we hate EQ2" posts here, so being definsive is out of place. We can all see the population is dwindling. Besides the addition of SP, there is no other explanation for the fact that the zones are empty. Yes,  people used to see 2 or 4 Zeks/ELs, never happens anymore. At least not on my server, Mistmoore, wich used to be one of the most populated servers in the game. If we were now seeing 2 and 3 instances of the T 5 zones, I would just assume the majority of the players had levled up and moved on to different places, but that isn't the case.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>No matter if the players have grown out of these zones we used to see multiple instances of or not, there lies the problem. If CL/Anton, or TS/Nek, or Zek/EL, are empty now when they used to be full, that means no more new players are comming in. If all we have are the T 5 players and beyond, what does that mean for the health of EQ2? People play MMORPGs to feel a part of a big world, and that is not the case now. I think server merging makes great sense at this point in the game.</DIV>

[Bobbylve]

<BR> <BLOCKQUOTE> <HR> Sugasug wrote:<BR> <DIV>The EQ2 populations is dwindling. I can't imagine anyone arguing otherwise. The only ones who don't seem to see it, are the SOE appologists who claim "everything is fine, go back to your cubicles, all is working as intended." I haven't seen any "we hate EQ2" posts here, so being definsive is out of place. We can all see the population is dwindling. Besides the addition of SP, there is no other explanation for the fact that the zones are empty. Yes,  people used to see 2 or 4 Zeks/ELs, never happens anymore. At least not on my server, Mistmoore, wich used to be one of the most populated servers in the game. If we were now seeing 2 and 3 instances of the T 5 zones, I would just assume the majority of the players had levled up and moved on to different places, but that isn't the case.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>No matter if the players have grown out of these zones we used to see multiple instances of or not, there lies the problem. If CL/Anton, or TS/Nek, or Zek/EL, are empty now when they used to be full, that means no more new players are comming in. If all we have are the T 5 players and beyond, what does that mean for the health of EQ2? People play MMORPGs to feel a part of a big world, and that is not the case now. I think server merging makes great sense at this point in the game.</DIV><BR> <HR> </BLOCKQUOTE> <P>not for nothing they can lie all they want because they see people members still ont he server but no activity so they say everything is fine. But guess what!!</P> <P> </P> <P>When the money stops coming in and the big bosses start preasuring as to [expletive ninja'd by Faarbot] there is no money comming in then AND ONLY then YOU WILL SEE SOME APPROPRIATE ACTIONS!!!! </P> <P>Here is some proof check this out</P> <P><A href="http://eqiiforums.station.sony.com/eq2/board/message?board.id=news_announcements&message.id=152" target=_blank>http://eqiiforums.station.sony.com/eq2/board/message?board.id=news_announcements&message.id=152</A></P> <P>As you can see they trying to get the old payers back I think they have to do more than that to get those players back. </P> <P>Like for instance the customer service skills that they have and all this email back and forth cut and pasting has to go. People dont want to feel as if they are not important when they want ot speak to a customer service rep and instead get brushed through emails. For that my friend you loose a lot of people. ALso SOE is forgetting the NUMBER ONE RULE IN BUSINESS!!! </P> <P> </P> <P>Can all THE ADULTS TELL THEM WHAT IT IS the number one rule in customer service? <FONT size=7>CUSTOMERS IS ALWAYS RIGHT!!!!!!!!!!</FONT></P> <P><FONT size=7></FONT> </P> <P><FONT size=4>LEARN THAT AND LEARN IT WELL.....  </FONT></P> <P><FONT size=4>here is an example of poor customer service <A href="http://eqiiforums.station.sony.com/eq2/board/message?board.id=zonepop&message.id=22888" target=_blank>http://eqiiforums.station.sony.com/eq2/board/message?board.id=zonepop&message.id=22888</A></FONT></P> <P><FONT size=4>The moment when customers start feeling they are neglected and not being answered to in a fast cordious professional manor they will do two things. one fight for what they want, or 2 they will just leave and not put up with it. </FONT></P> <P><FONT size=4>all i can say is i do love this game with the many epople that stayed that beleive there is potential here and its sad that its population on the servers are hardly on and no one looking for group, because of bad customer service skills and lack of humans to speak to. No one likes the cut and past emails and remarks that they tellyou to go to a seide for answers meanwhile if the person took the time to read the email they can fix the rpoblem without shoving the person to another section.  </FONT></P> <P><FONT size=4>i did a search last night for lfg and i found only 4 people with no restrictions and only like 34 players online in total. that is sad!!!!</FONT></P> <P><FONT size=4>oh in case soe thought to make the mobs harder so there will be groups let me save you the trouble you should claim bankruptcy becuase you will loose the little people you have left.  that wouldnt be a solution if you think lets make group encounters more than solo encounters becuase the probelm is that you dont have people on servers and the little people that are on are so much different in levels some dont even want to mentor at all... and the exps arent that great when soloing, the game is not as fun when it feels like a grind. Why you think peopel left in the first place because of that and many other issues that I wont bring up. Why you think they go to other mmos. so they dont have to deal with certain issues and stress from eq2. i feel bad for those players i personally new over 88 players and they all left eq2. most of the players when you do LFG you get like 4-10 people and the levels are so far apart that they dont want ot mentor becuase they tryign to find peole to finish heritage quest or do a raid or whatever the reason. look here is a player looking for help on a heritage quest god knows how long he has been waiting to finish it because of lack of people </FONT></P> <P><A href="http://eqiiforums.station.sony.com/eq2/board/message?board.id=208&message.id=3696" target=_blank>http://eqiiforums.station.sony.com/eq2/board/message?board.id=208&message.id=3696</A></P> <P>In closing I wish there was a away to make everyone happy and something that can be done to convince the players that left things will be different. But since SOE will not change there method of customer support and that includes the famouse /bug and /petition in game and cant even speak to a gm over the phone they just a leave or be like pitbulls on your asssses. </P> <P>See in other identies (no need to mention what mmorpg games) you call for tech support say there is a hack in game or an issue theyw ill speak to you live onver the phone, in most cases no emails are necessart you SPEAK TO A LIVE PERSON!!! SOE you want to be ahead of the game you should remember RULE number one and listen to your customers. BOTTEM LINE without customers you guys wont be here....  </P> <P> </P> <P>Message Edited by Bobbylve on <SPAN class=date_text>08-26-2005</SPAN> <SPAN class=time_text>11:20 AM</SPAN></P><p>Message Edited by Bobbylve on <span class=date_text>08-26-2005</span> <span class=time_text>11:52 AM</span>

[LSUTigerFan]

<DIV> <DIV>"Server load uses relative terms. Using your rock concert example, if you have an arena that hold 10,000 people and sell 9,000 tickets, then the arena  is almost full. Now, the next stop on the tour is an arena that holds 25,000 people, and they sell 11,000 tickets. At the second stop, they've sold more tickets, but the arena isn't even half full. Thus, in the first case, you could say the arena's load is heavy, while in the second, it is light, despite there being more poeple at the second concert.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Of course, server load might not refer to population directly, but rather the resources being used on the server by the game as a whole (players, zones, mobs, etc.). Thus, if they rewrite code to make more efficient usage of resources, then the load will drop. "</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV><A href="http://eqiiforums.station.sony.com/eq2/view_profile?user.id=68391" target=top><SPAN>Caswydian</SPAN></A></DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Not to be arguementative, but using your own analogy, if the servers are indeed using light/medium/heavy loads for resources used, wouldn't a decline in population be proven by less resources used?  Yes, the servers can become more efficient, but even with greater efficentcy there should be more medium loads at the very least, unless SOE made such significant strides in computer technology that they would be selling it to everyone as it would garner a huge profit.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>I will not say that I have 100% proof that the population is down, but I can tell you that even with use of several server-wide chat channels, and even one game-wide chat channel, the populations have gone down.  Now, I will say that it could be factors of time, vacations, school, people taking a break, people switching to other games, but in all the population is down from what it was just from the first of the year.  Churn itself would prove that statement.  Caswydian you can deny it all you would like and try to spin it with circular arguements, but even without exact numbers we can all tell of a trend of less players.  How many less is the question.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>And of course I will go ahead and beat you to the "prove it" that is comming....</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>There is absolutely no proof that the US put a man on the moon, but we have evidence to support it and statements by our Government.  While I tend to trust that they are telling the truth and the evidence is real, I can also make a circular arguement that we never landed on the moon.  Circular arguements are easy to make.  I challange you to "prove" that you are correct and the numbers of players isn't going down without using "I have tons of friends on my friends list and my chat channels are full" those just mean those players may be in your time zone or play time, and it could mean the rest of the time the server is dead.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Vanell</DIV> <DIV>47 Dirge, Crushbone</DIV></DIV>

[Tar~Palantir]

<P>This game might get some people from WoW that are bored, but why aren't our server populations increasing then?</P> <P> </P> <P>The groups i used to join were tripping over tanks.  In fact, a group I was in had 6 paladins.  Today, it seems you can't find anyone. :smileysad:</P>

[Dasein]

<P>LSUTigerFan, I have merely presented alternate explanations for observed phenomena, not presented any particular argument as to the actual server populations. Rather I profess my ignorance of the actual server population, and recognize that we have no metric that cannot be interpreted in some other manner. </P> <P>Think of it this way: you are trying to prove that server populations are declining, and all I am doing is providing reasonable doubt.</P>

[SkinnyFats_EQ2]

<BR> <BLOCKQUOTE> <HR> Caswydian wrote:<BR> <P>LSUTigerFan, I have merely presented alternate explanations for observed phenomena, not presented any particular argument as to the actual server populations. Rather I profess my ignorance of the actual server population, and recognize that we have no metric that cannot be interpreted in some other manner. </P> <P>Think of it this way: you are trying to prove that server populations are declining, and all I am doing is providing reasonable doubt.</P> <BR> <HR> </BLOCKQUOTE> <P>Well, I log on every day and see fewer and fewer people in game.  I don't need stats, I have eyeballs.</P> <P>So, like the country song says, who am I supposed to believe - you, or my lying eyes?</P> <P><BR> </P>

[Bobbylve]

<DIV>I been a way for quite sometime due to the low population on the server and how difficult it got to find groups. There was no enjoyment in waiting and trying to get hold of people to group up with. So I went to another MMO game which was fun. Anyway I came back a few days ago to see if SOE got there act together and I saw some changes which was cool like the holloween pumkins (which past by the way we in november). The armor mitigation is still horrible. U cant run from everfrost or ferret to a location without gettign slimly killed. Also the grouping is worse than ever now its close to nothing people on the server to group up with. </DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>I think Soe needs to rethink and drive up a stragedy plan that will bring in new people to everquest 2 and hwo they can make it more fun for players to stay. everytime they keep revamping and screwing up stats and spells more and more people keep leaving. Get your act together before you have to pull everquest 2 off the shelves. </DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Its not to hard either Raise up armor mitigation back to it was, increase speed casting for healers. Add more agro to tank classes, increase dps or balance the dps to be close to the same with warlocks, wizards, and leave them to be higher than scout classes. make the scout class chain 2nd place for dps. </DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>SOE I know you can do this, Due to the fact SOE kept thinking thinking of how to make sure people keep playing this game longer so they can keep paying you a monthly fee. There thoughts were hey make the game real hard so its a huge grind and takes forever to reach to the end content. <BR><BR>WRONG!!!</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>How about make the game enjoyable fun and not like a feel of work and a grind. People have lives outside of this and the last thing one needs to feel like they have to keep grinding into something. LAST TIME I CHECKED Lineage 2 was really fallign apart due to the grind and how they lost over 99 percent of there people to world of warcraft. If SOE plans to try to go head to head with World of Warcraft and not just them there are two other MMORPGS comming out that may whipe you out. Thiknk about it you got Lord of the rings and dungeons and dragons. Dugeons and dragons is the mother of MMORPG so if you plan to obtain and have new people to join here to bring up sales you need to do some major changes. </DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Improvements with your customer service skills will be a Plus and this is meant in general not all of you since i know some of you do care and most of you do not. </DIV>

[OneBadAli]

<P>Server populations HAVE dwindled down considerably since release(i have high level characters on 3 servers, so can only speak for them). Its a known fact(go to several of what used to be high population zones and do a /who all at any time of the day or night you will see that the populations are very very small compared to what they use to be). There may be some servers with high populations but Grobb, Nektulos, etc have horrible populations now as compared to release. Another tell-tell sign is the lack 2nd instances to zones, they are nonexistent on all 3 servers  i play on. There use to be 2 instances and 3 instances of these zones. Again they must all be hiding in Maidens Gulch and in the instance in Sol Eye, etc. lolz</P> <P>By the way guys dont listen to Caswydian, he literally trolls every legitimate post with his dalusional idea of what is right, everyone else WILL be wrong  in his opinion. He's nothing more then another SOE fanboi who refuses to admit there is ANY problem with this game. His excuse this time is that the way server populations are interpreted, or the fact that people are hiding out in Maidens gulch and places like that lolz. When we can easily see there is an absolute lack of people on the servers we play on(doesnt matter what the server load status says) Gimme a break caswydian, seriously.. Your ignorant, egotistical, and stubborn. Its people like you that will make this game into the piece of trash its becoming. Keep thinking your right and everyone else is wrong. Someday you can be on these servers with 3 or 4 people and then you CAN have it your way. Until then just keep making excuses for everything that is wrong with this game.</P> <P>He's a [expletive haxx0red by Raijinn], just move on and ignore him.</P> <P> </P> <P><SPAN></SPAN> </P> <p>Message Edited by OneBadAlien on <span class=date_text>11-09-2005</span> <span class=time_text>11:15 AM</span>

[Bobbylve]

<DIV><BR> <BLOCKQUOTE> <HR> OneBadAlien wrote:<BR> <P>Server populations HAVE dwindled down considerably since release(i have high level characters on 3 servers, so can only speak for them). Its a known fact, another tell-tell sign is the lack 2nd instances to zones, they are nonexistent on all 3 servers  i play on. There use to be 2 instances in many of the zones.</P> <P>By the way guys dont listen to Caswydian, he literally trolls every legitimate post with his dalusional idea of what is right, everyone else WILL be wrong  in his opinion. He's nothing more then another SOE fanboi who refuses to admit there is ANY problem with this game.</P> <P>He's a [expletive haxx0red by Raijinn], just move on and ignore him.</P> <P> </P> <P><SPAN></SPAN> </P> <BR> <HR> </BLOCKQUOTE><BR>U know what I have an idea. </DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>How about we get a thread going not to see how hard it is to get a group becuase we know there is hardly anyone on the SERVERS anymore. But how about if all of us list what server you one and how many characters you have and if its to much of a split of so many different servers how about we start a character one server together so we can always group and roleplay and just hang. </DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>In life I learned waiting for someone to fix something or awknowleding its broken would be waiting for hell to freeze over. Not to mention that SOE wont condense the servers due to the fact it will give off saying hey they are loosing people and they dont want to awknowledge that. So we can do it for them by all of us who want to be in groups (you have to it sa must in many instances) lets start are own group of actrive players and join the same server and we can do things together. That way its no more stress in constantly going to a a zone and like no one is on or its a ghost town.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>What do you think? </DIV><p>Message Edited by Bobbylve on <span class=date_text>11-09-2005</span> <span class=time_text>12:18 PM</span>

[OneBadAli]

<BR> <BLOCKQUOTE> <HR> Bobbylve wrote:<BR> <DIV><BR> <BLOCKQUOTE> <HR> OneBadAlien wrote:<BR> <P>Server populations HAVE dwindled down considerably since release(i have high level characters on 3 servers, so can only speak for them). Its a known fact, another tell-tell sign is the lack 2nd instances to zones, they are nonexistent on all 3 servers  i play on. There use to be 2 instances in many of the zones.</P> <P>By the way guys dont listen to Caswydian, he literally trolls every legitimate post with his dalusional idea of what is right, everyone else WILL be wrong  in his opinion. He's nothing more then another SOE fanboi who refuses to admit there is ANY problem with this game.</P> <P>He's a [expletive haxx0red by Raijinn], just move on and ignore him.</P> <P> </P> <P><SPAN></SPAN> </P> <BR> <HR> </BLOCKQUOTE><BR>U know what I have an idea. </DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>How about we get a thread going not to see how hard it is to get a group becuase we know there is hardly anyone on the SERVERS anymore. But how about if all of us list what server you one and how many characters you have and if its to much of a split of so many different servers how about we start a character one server together so we can always group and roleplay and just hang. </DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>In life I learned waiting for someone to fix something or awknowleding its broken would be waiting for hell to freeze over. So lets start are own group of actrive players and we can create characters on the same server and do things together. </DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>What do you think? </DIV><BR> <HR> </BLOCKQUOTE> <P><BR>Sounds good, but unfortunately i wouldnt be willing to level any more alts. My time here is done pretty much. I'm just gonna rant all i can till my subscription runs out. I have finally gotten 100% burnt out on this game (mainly due to power leveling to 60 and having to deal with the bugs, uncompleted content and crap loot). I would come back someday if the servers merged and there was a larger population and end game content was actually completed. Unfortunately people like Caswydian will prevent that from happening because in his eyes this game is fine. Server populations are fine, end game content is fine, etc etc etc. </P> <P>When you have fanboi's that refuse to admit there is any problems the devs usually listen to them, then everyone else is considered a whiner because they attempt to point out problems with the game. The end result, things either dont get changed or wont get changed for a really long time. This is what is crippling this game as we speak, and the reason i refuse to give them another dime of my money. In the past couple months i have seen literally 30 of my close friends leave this game (yes all of them were hardcore), now im left with no friends, broken content, and crap rewards/loot. This game was a huge investment of my time, i honestly believe it was a waste of time. SOE listens to fanbois and ignores a good percentage of the population when it comes to concerns with this game. Let this be their downfall. All i can say is until Vanguard comes out i will have to entertain myself with some FPS's.</P>

[Bobbylve]

<BR> <BLOCKQUOTE> <HR> OneBadAlien wrote:<BR><BR> <BLOCKQUOTE> <HR> Bobbylve wrote:<BR> <DIV><BR> <BLOCKQUOTE> <HR> OneBadAlien wrote:<BR> <P>Server populations HAVE dwindled down considerably since release(i have high level characters on 3 servers, so can only speak for them). Its a known fact, another tell-tell sign is the lack 2nd instances to zones, they are nonexistent on all 3 servers  i play on. There use to be 2 instances in many of the zones.</P> <P>By the way guys dont listen to Caswydian, he literally trolls every legitimate post with his dalusional idea of what is right, everyone else WILL be wrong  in his opinion. He's nothing more then another SOE fanboi who refuses to admit there is ANY problem with this game.</P> <P>He's a [expletive haxx0red by Raijinn], just move on and ignore him.</P> <P> </P> <P><SPAN></SPAN> </P> <BR> <HR> </BLOCKQUOTE><BR>U know what I have an idea. </DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>How about we get a thread going not to see how hard it is to get a group becuase we know there is hardly anyone on the SERVERS anymore. But how about if all of us list what server you one and how many characters you have and if its to much of a split of so many different servers how about we start a character one server together so we can always group and roleplay and just hang. </DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>In life I learned waiting for someone to fix something or awknowleding its broken would be waiting for hell to freeze over. So lets start are own group of actrive players and we can create characters on the same server and do things together. </DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>What do you think? </DIV><BR> <HR> </BLOCKQUOTE> <P><BR>Sounds good, but unfortunately i wouldnt be willing to level any more alts. My time here is done pretty much. I'm just gonna rant all i can till my subscription runs out. I have finally gotten 100% burnt out on this game (mainly due to power leveling to 60 and having to deal with the bugs, uncompleted content and crap loot). I would come back someday if the servers merged and there was a larger population and end game content was actually completed. Unfortunately people like Caswydian will prevent that from happening because in his eyes this game is fine. Server populations are fine, end game content is fine, etc etc etc. </P> <P>When you have fanboi's that refuse to admit there is any problems the devs usually listen to them, then everyone else is considered a whiner because they attempt to point out problems with the game. The end result, things either dont get changed or wont get changed for a really long time. This is what is crippling this game as we speak, and the reason i refuse to give them another dime of my money. In the past couple months i have seen literally 30 of my close friends leave this game (yes all of them were hardcore), now im left with no friends, broken content, and crap rewards/loot. This game was a huge investment of my time, i honestly believe it was a waste of time. SOE listens to fanbois and ignores a good percentage of the population when it comes to concerns with this game. Let this be their downfall. All i can say is until Vanguard comes out i will have to entertain myself with some FPS's.</P> <BR> <HR> </BLOCKQUOTE> <P><BR>My heart cries out to you since I know how you feel. I invested a long time myself. I was one of the fans for this game till I ended up getting stress becuase the game kept gettign harder and much harder to find groups becuase people leaving.  Then a freind of mind told me to join them in Wow and I did. The places are so flowing with peole everywhere you go and as far as finding peole to group to easy always and i mean always you can have a good time. Not to mention in any group as you know you always ask the same questionswhat other mmorpg games you play and where you from etc. Well 99 percent of the time they say they from eq2. So many people left eq2 its just hard to play the game with the current population that is online now. </P> <P>I just came back to eq2 from a 2 month period and I cant beleive how much more of a ghost town it is now. Its sad Its why i thought maybe the active players that are feeling the same way and that want to keep playing this game to actually join in on the same server and we can make this happen. I mean why we paying for this fee monthly if we cant even enjoy it. </P>

[Daish]

<P>you guys are in some desperate need of some numbers....</P> <P>Basically...  </P> <P>a medium/heavy server runs at about and average of 1600 players online</P> <P>a light load server runs generally under 1000 players online.</P> <P> </P> <P>The worlds feel 'empty' because they are....  there is an online article and the SOE mailer they sent out that state that the servers are optimized for 2500 players online...  they mention that one server was at 5000 players, and they had to do a server split because the server couldnt handle the load.</P> <P>So, 24 some servers...  average of about 1000 per server...  makes roughly 24,000 players online.</P> <P> </P> <P>But, if you break that average of about 1000-1500 players down....  to your level range, solo v. group, artisan v. adventurer, online v. afk....   you'll notice, that in general there are only 10-30 players online that would normally be able to play with you.   Unless you are 40+.... since over 50% of the game is now 40+, the majority of those players are 'available' to group with you....  but then you have to work out guild v. not-guild, raid v. not-raid, solo v. group... etc. etc.    </P> <P>Bottom line... there is hardly even an community on the lower pop servers.... and the three servers with a 'high' population still suffer from the majority 40+ percentage of players, making it greatly 'unfriendly' to new players.  EQ2 population is very low, compared to any of the other industry leaders...   even EQ1 has more subrcriber/players</P>

[Mat]

<DIV>First, I would think SOE has opened too many servers on the 1st day of launch.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Secondly, EQII servers aren't fully used at all due to European and English server dividing which made most servers hit peak at certain timezone and become ghost town during the other time zones. This is IMO, very ineffective way of doing business. Plus, from what I have heard, around 200 Asian players have retreated from EQII and went to WoW because of their maintenance time, which made the situation turned worse.  Note that you should not under estimate the 200 players as thats 3,000 bucks monthly income lost (Alt accounts not included). </DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>If SOE wants to merge, I would suggest to merge European and English Servers first, to balance things out. That would save alot of extra cost to pay a bonus to the current new graphic designers (thanks for listening to us players' opinions!). maybe its time for them to change their marketing planners too?</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Just my 2 cents.  </DIV>

[Bobbylve]

<DIV><BR> <BLOCKQUOTE> <HR> Matek wrote:<BR> <DIV>First, I would think SOE has opened too many servers on the 1st day of launch.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Secondly, EQII servers aren't fully used at all due to European and English server dividing which made most servers hit peak at certain timezone and become ghost town during the other time zones. This is IMO, very ineffective way of doing business. Plus, from what I have heard, around 200 Asian players have retreated from EQII and went to WoW because of their maintenance time, which made the situation turned worse.  Note that you should not under estimate the 200 players as thats 3,000 bucks monthly income lost (Alt accounts not included). </DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>If SOE wants to merge, I would suggest to merge European and English Servers first, to balance things out. That would save alot of extra cost to pay a bonus to the current new graphic designers (thanks for listening to us players' opinions!). maybe its time for them to change their marketing planners too?</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Just my 2 cents.  </DIV><BR> <HR> </BLOCKQUOTE><BR>I can agree and disagree with that because look at ab server, that server is on high loads.  Now WOW had to launch 4 more servers into production because there servers are getting over populated with to much people. </DIV>

[Tar~Palantir]

<DIV>As someone here since nov 14 2004, I can personally attest to what I have seen.  On the toxxulia server, I went from tripping over people, to riding through the whole breadth of the world and not seeing anyone.  DoF has hurt this game more than I could ever have predicted.  The ones who did predict disaster were called crackpots, yet here we are.</DIV>

[NikoNi]

The 'feel' for the population of a server can be a little tricky if your still a lower level character.  See'n how most everyone at start up probably is lvl 55+ by now.  So if your running around in the low to mid level zones and you dont see anyone that could be why.  Also the lack of PVP im sure has turned people off to EQ2 but with the new patch comming im sure it will draw people like myself to the game.  Oh and I havn't seen Any new advertisements for EQ2, and maybe the NEW customer base is nil.  I personally just bought the game for me and my roomie and we love it.  We are prior WOW customers but that whole cartoon feel got to us.  I love this game and cant wait to drag my other WoW friends over to the game.  But yea I wouldn't be against a server merge.  There are a load of servers on the list but I dont see a game selling for $15.99 (probably due to the lack of new subscribers) appealing to a random new person.  Sure its cheap but when i shop for new games the 'old' ones with low price tags says to me...hey this game sucks, either that or its old and not intersting to the majority.   People will just have to take a gamble and buy the game or sony is going to have to do another Marketing sceme to appeal to the pvp hounds out there.  That is what I think would boost the population.  But I'm just a newb and I never post so your probably lost by now on what I was trying to say in this messege...cause I know I am; <div></div>

[Bobbylve]

<BR> <BLOCKQUOTE> <HR> NikoNiko wrote:<BR>The 'feel' for the population of a server can be a little tricky if your still a lower level character.  See'n how most everyone at start up probably is lvl 55+ by now.  So if your running around in the low to mid level zones and you dont see anyone that could be why.  Also the lack of PVP im sure has turned people off to EQ2 but with the new patch comming im sure it will draw people like myself to the game.  Oh and I havn't seen Any new advertisements for EQ2, and maybe the NEW customer base is nil.  I personally just bought the game for me and my roomie and we love it.  We are prior WOW customers but that whole cartoon feel got to us.  I love this game and cant wait to drag my other WoW friends over to the game.  But yea I wouldn't be against a server merge.  There are a load of servers on the list but I dont see a game selling for $15.99 (probably due to the lack of new subscribers) appealing to a random new person.  Sure its cheap but when i shop for new games the 'old' ones with low price tags says to me...hey this game sucks, either that or its old and not intersting to the majority.   People will just have to take a gamble and buy the game or sony is going to have to do another Marketing sceme to appeal to the pvp hounds out there.  That is what I think would boost the population.  But I'm just a newb and I never post so your probably lost by now on what I was trying to say in this messege...cause I know I am;<BR> <BR> <HR> </BLOCKQUOTE> <P><BR>See I as much as we would want soe to merge servers they wont do it e to the fact that it would be giving off a image that people left and th4ere game is not that great. So if one day soe wants to keep there current paid subscriber they may say somethign in the following:</P> <P> </P> <P>Dear customers due to high maitnenace and extensive repair some servers need to be taken off line and re created but before that happens we would like the people from the following servers to type a /petition and select what server you would want to move to. Only one time move available (god forbid they let you move 2-3 times). </P>

[SmashingYoungM]

<DIV>As it stands, the server populations are a bigger gamebreaker than any bug or gameplay mechanic. Someone mentioned Anarchy Online earlier, and that is a great example. I played that game for about three years off and on. While it is, without a doubt, one of the smallest MMORPGs in terms of subscription numbers, the world is alive and vibrant with other players because Funcom runs only two servers. Even if grouping isn't your thing, seeing a lot of people running around is what gives MMORPGs so much of their feel. New players who login to find what appears to be an empty world will almost inevitably move on to another MMORPG that actually lives up to the "massively multiplayer" moniker.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>SOE, merge servers now. That will help maintain the current playerbase, give EQ2 more positive word-of-mouth in the MMORPG community at large, and keep newcomers from leaving in disgust.</DIV>

[Antai]

<span><blockquote><hr>Matek wrote:<div></div> <div>First, I would think SOE has opened too many servers on the 1st day of launch.</div> <div> </div> <div>Secondly, EQII servers aren't fully used at all due to European and English server dividing which made most servers hit peak at certain timezone and become ghost town during the other time zones. This is IMO, very ineffective way of doing business. Plus, from what I have heard, around 200 Asian players have retreated from EQII and went to WoW because of their maintenance time, which made the situation turned worse.  Note that you should not under estimate the 200 players as thats 3,000 bucks monthly income lost (Alt accounts not included). </div> <div> </div> <div>If SOE wants to merge, I would suggest to merge European and English Servers first, to balance things out. That would save alot of extra cost to pay a bonus to the current new graphic designers (thanks for listening to us players' opinions!). maybe its time for them to change their marketing planners too?</div> <div> </div> <div>Just my 2 cents.  </div><hr></blockquote>Not sure whether I understand your proposition: Some of the European servers are in other languages, so they cannot be merged with English servers. There are good reason why these people don't play on the European English servers and SOE would loose them as customers. The European English servers (like Splitpaw) are on heavy load and I, playing on one of them,  cannot complain about meeting enough people. So the best idea is probably to merge some of the US servers. </span><div></div>

[Sokolov]

<span>Mistmoore seems fine, for the record.  </span><span>I have now taken 3 characters near level 50, my Jeweler is constantly badgered for work (even when I am on alts).  I have gone thru TS/Nek 4 times on 4 different characters.  There is certainly less "crowding" of city and low level zones, but that's to be expected.  I also used to know all the crafters on the server, now it's like "You are a 60 Sage?  Who the heck are you?!</span>  Where did you come from?!"<span></span> <span> Or should I say, "OMGZ Mistmoores rockzors for p33ps!!one!one" </span><div></div>

[Sokolov]

<span><blockquote><hr>demolition tank wrote:<div></div><div></div><div></div><span><blockquote><hr>Caswydian wrote:<p>1. EQ2, by design, keeps people tucked away in their own instances, so the game feels empty. Splitpaw has only exacerbated this effect. However, this doesn't mean people are not playing, just that the game is focused around instanced zones for the individual, group or raid.</p><p>2. Server load can mean any number of things, and as we do not know the current capacity of a server, relative terms like light or heavy are useless. If a server at launch could only handle 5000 people online at once, and there are 4000 people online, the server is running at 80% capacity, which would likely be heavy. Now, if the server capacity is 20,000 people and 5000 are online, there are more people actually on, but the server could easily show as only having a light load.</p><p>The fact is, we do not have any firm indicators of what the population is, either in terms of typical online figures or total subscriber counts.</p><hr></blockquote></span><p></p><p>The key word here is “if”, you, as far as I know, have absolutely no evidence to support they have increased the server capacity by 4x it’s original size. This is random conjecture on your part in a desprate attempt to take away from the hard facts that there are no heavy servers any more and the population is non-existant. The nature of EQ2 is not instance based, the only thing instance based are raids and split paw, both of which have long lock out times, not to mention the XP is much better when teaming and questing in dungeons and world zones. <span> </span><span> </span></p><p></p><p> Please come up with something factual rather then some fantastical conjecture you pulled out of thin air. <span> </span></p><div></div><p>Message Edited by demolition tank on <span class="date_text">08-18-2005</span> <span class="time_text">05:19 PM</span></p><hr></blockquote>Cas is saying that their indications of server load doesn't tell us about true server populations. Additionally, your definition of "sad" population doesn't tell us about true server populations either.  Your definition of "non-existant" also needs to be "fact" checked, I think.</span><div></div>

[Kasar]

The only empirical stat I know of that we can see is the relative load on character creation. Several times recently (yes, lots of alts lately), AB is heavy and two or three are medium.  Other times, they've all been light. Since we don't have any scale to relate those levels to, they're pretty meaningless except to indicate that AB is the most populated.  All we can see is that a server has 100 or more on it using the /who command. I do suspect that there're more servers than necessary, but as long as paying accounts remain on them, it's SOE's dime to keep them running.  If population's so sparse that it's impossible to get a group together, then more accounts'll close and that server's population will dwindle more, then they can make the call.  Some people may prefer a less populous server.  Harvesting's gotta be better on them.

[onimarox]

<P>While it may be true that the overall population of Eq2 is declining i dont feel there is a need to merge servers. there are a few out there that are unhappy with how things have turned out ( they cant find groups, Their friends left for reason X, ect... ) but this does not call for a masive server merge. if you are unhappy with the population of your server do some research on a higher populated server and do a request for a server transfer. </P> <P>Most that are on the "empty servers" are there because they enjoy the quietness, the lax of competiveness for contested, being able to know their community, and building a good rep. it is easy on a largely populated server to loose yourself among the various people even more so if u are an [expletive haxx0red by Raijinn]. but on a smaller server it isnt so easy. SoE gives those who are unhappy with their situation a chance to start over and meet new people with these server transfers so maybe that is something you should check out. </P>

[Bobbylve]

<BR> <BLOCKQUOTE> <HR> onimarox wrote:<BR> <P>While it may be true that the overall population of Eq2 is declining i dont feel there is a need to merge servers. there are a few out there that are unhappy with how things have turned out ( they cant find groups, Their friends left for reason X, ect... ) but this does not call for a masive server merge. if you are unhappy with the population of your server do some research on a higher populated server and do a request for a server transfer.</P> <P>Most that are on the "empty servers" are there because they enjoy the quietness, the lax of competiveness for contested, being able to know their community, and building a good rep. it is easy on a largely populated server to loose yourself among the various people even more so if u are an [expletive haxx0red by Raijinn]. but on a smaller server it isnt so easy. SoE gives those who are unhappy with their situation a chance to start over and meet new people with these server transfers so maybe that is something you should check out. </P> <BR> <HR> </BLOCKQUOTE><BR> <DIV>I have 6 words for ya:</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>GET THE HELL OUT OF HERE!!!!</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Quite u love quite jee who would bother if the server had thousands o people logged on to it. U can still go through your merry hermit way and not be bothered. As for the 99 percent of people here ya 99 percent we want to have a lkot of people to mingle talk to socialize play with and do many epic quests KEY WORD EPIC which cant be doe solo.</DIV>

[Conequis]

<div></div>I know this isn't the entire problem, however, for those that have a hard time finding groups it seems most people are DPS.  When I play my healer I have absoultely NO problem finding groups just LFG.  I think the issue is that noone wants to be a utility class and everyone wants to be DPS.  Well when you have (with what seems) 3/4 of the server with characters that are DPS, it's going to make finding groups difficult as a DPS player.. For instance as a healer making a group, I have to look for a tank.  That's it.  Once that is done, I can fill the group in no-time with DPS.  It usually takes about 6-9 tells (Mostly for tanks) and I've got a group formed as a healer.  So merging servers IMO, is not going to help as it is just going to flood two servers with too many DPS people in it and its going to make finding a group even worse. <div></div><p>Message Edited by Conequis on <span class=date_text>11-15-2005</span> <span class=time_text>06:49 AM</span>

[JoePa]

Maybe not the correct place to post, but it is related. Is there a way of coding an add-on that sends repeated /who statements, which can be totaled to get a complete server population at any given time? If that is possible, would you be able to upload that data to a external database? If both of these are possible, maybe the community could begin to accumulate real server statistics independent of SOE indicators. WOW had a add-on called "Census +" which collected the data, which would then would enable you to upload those stats to a site called www.warcraftrealms.com. If you get a chance check out what is available on this site as far as info; it gives you server activity by hour, guild info, class/race breakdowns, etc.  It is only as good as the frequency of polls, but they reflect that also, so you know how accurate the data is. This tool is wonderful in assisting individuals in choosing servers.

[Grantr]

**REMOVED INAPPROPRIATE COMMENTS**<p>Message Edited by Raijinn Thunderguard on <span class=date_text>11-22-2005</span> <span class=time_text>11:01 AM</span>

[Broomhilda]

<P>All I know is I reactivated my WOW account last month and joined one of the new servers so I could hang out with other "newbie" low-levels.  Within two weeks the server was full to capacity and I had a 10 minute wait to get into the game.  WOW is ok, no big deal to me, and has alot of kids but the population is totally there and it makes it exciting.  The sad part is I beleive EQ2 is a better game with way more potential, and its sad to see that so many have left.  I too like others here on this thread have lost 90% of my friends in EQ2 due to their departures for other games.   </P> <P>Vangaurd looms ahead with a possible June 06 release (yes I applied to Beta and am awaiting a response) and when it does come out, unless SOE has made some serious adjustments, it will kill even more of the ever-declining population here.  Ah well.</P> <P> </P> <p>Message Edited by Broomhilda on <span class=date_text>11-15-2005</span> <span class=time_text>12:35 PM</span>

[Bobbylve]

<BR> <BLOCKQUOTE> <HR> Broomhilda wrote:<BR> <P>All I know is I reactivated my WOW account last month and joined one of the new servers so I could hang out with other "newbie" low-levels.  Within two weeks the server was full to capacity and I had a 10 minute wait to get into the game.  WOW is ok, no big deal to me, and has alot of kids but the population is totally there and it makes it exciting.  The sad part is I beleive EQ2 is a better game with way more potential, and its sad to see that so many have left.  I too like others here on this thread have lost 90% of my friends in EQ2 due to their departures for other games.   </P> <P>Vangaurd looms ahead with a possible June 06 release (yes I applied to Beta and am awaiting a response) and when it does come out, unless SOE has made some serious adjustments, it will kill even more of the ever-declining population here.  Ah well.</P> <P> </P> <P>Message Edited by Broomhilda on <SPAN class=date_text>11-15-2005</SPAN> <SPAN class=time_text>12:35 PM</SPAN><BR> <HR> </BLOCKQUOTE><BR>Ya wow is a great game not for the content but the people are so much there that to find a group doesnt take more than 10 seconds. not like in eq2 it can ta ke a huge absorbment amount of time.

[GrayStorm]

<BR> <BLOCKQUOTE> <HR> Bobbylve wrote:<BR> <BR> <BLOCKQUOTE> <HR> onimarox wrote:<BR> <P>While it may be true that the overall population of Eq2 is declining i dont feel there is a need to merge servers. there are a few out there that are unhappy with how things have turned out ( they cant find groups, Their friends left for reason X, ect... ) but this does not call for a masive server merge. if you are unhappy with the population of your server do some research on a higher populated server and do a request for a server transfer.</P> <P>Most that are on the "empty servers" are there because they enjoy the quietness, the lax of competiveness for contested, being able to know their community, and building a good rep. it is easy on a largely populated server to loose yourself among the various people even more so if u are an [expletive haxx0red by Raijinn]. but on a smaller server it isnt so easy. SoE gives those who are unhappy with their situation a chance to start over and meet new people with these server transfers so maybe that is something you should check out. </P> <BR> <HR> </BLOCKQUOTE><BR> <DIV>I have 6 words for ya:</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>GET THE HELL OUT OF HERE!!!!</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Quite u love quite jee who would bother if the server had thousands o people logged on to it. U can still go through your merry hermit way and not be bothered. As for the 99 percent of people here ya 99 percent we want to have a lkot of people to mingle talk to socialize play with and do many epic quests KEY WORD EPIC which cant be doe solo.</DIV><BR> <HR> </BLOCKQUOTE><BR>Wow bobby, with your charming personality it's a wonder that you have problems finding people to group with.  If you want to kill epic's then you need to join a guild.  If 99% of the people want lag, overcrowded crashing zones, and overcamped mobless contested zones, then they can all transfer to a highly populated server.  I guess I'm in the other 1% because I love the balance we have on Neriak.  Right now we all have choices.  There's heavily populated servers and some not-so.  <DIV>In fact, it would probably be safe to assume that there are more people like me out there than you think.  Many of us would move on to another game if we were forcibly merged, resulting in all the problems I listed above.  </DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>EDIT: original response a bit too harsh maybe</DIV><p>Message Edited by GrayStorm on <span class=date_text>11-15-2005</span> <span class=time_text>11:17 AM</span>

[Karlen]

>>>I guess I'm in the other 1% because I love the balance we have on Neriak.<<< I'm also part of the 1%.  I think the population is fine on Faydark.   Not too crowded and not too empty, at least below level 45 (can't really speak for 50+). <div></div>

[KBern]

<P>/shudder</P> <P>No thank you.  Transfer if you do not like your server but many servers are doing fine the population is just right.</P> <P>Guk is one of them.</P>

[Twink]

<P>Going back to Everlag-2 isn't my idea of fun. The servers have filtered out the trash and what's left is a happy medium. I'm very happy with the way Faydark has leveled off. </P> <P>Sometimes, I mean only sometimes I wish there was a bit more traffic. Those times are out weighed by the times when I'm in search of a mob and don't have to fight with 20 other people all in search of the same mob. As is, with the 50+ crowd nodes in T6 are very contested. It's nice to see the node gankers are mostly gone. </P> <P>Sorry started to ramble.. leave them alone. You don't like the population level on your server. Transfer or move on to another game. Just don't mess with my server. </P> <P> </P>

[Daish]

<DIV>With some servers running LESS than 1000 players on-line at any given time....</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>How can anyone argue that a merge is not needed?  We all know for a fact, that until SOE stops trying to rebuild the game, there is no way that new population is going to swell our ranks, the game simply isnt that popular.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Most other MMo's can boast the same or better numbers, some by FAR have greater populations.  WoW, Lineage II, DAoC, EQ1, CoH, etc. etc.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Bottom line, on the list MMO's  with the LOWEST average on-line players per server...   is EQ2, every MMo with a decent share of the market can easily boast better numbers.  Merging servers wont 'fix' the problems with the game, but at least we'd see a few other players and not feel like we were the only ones playing.</DIV><p>Message Edited by Daishar on <span class=date_text>11-15-2005</span> <span class=time_text>03:29 PM</span>

[Conequis]

All those that are saying Vanguard is going to kill EQ2, I serisouly doubt it.  If anything I think Vanguard will syphon WoW players mostly.  I would wager to say most that remain in EQ2 are those that are dedicated to the game and making the game better.  If there is 1000 or less per server, than so be it.  I would rather have the small deidcated people than whiny ones that just spout over and over EQ2 is dying while still paying their money to SOE lol <div></div>

[Sarc]

<DIV><BR> <BLOCKQUOTE> <HR> Conequis wrote:<BR>All those that are saying Vanguard is going to kill EQ2, I serisouly doubt it.  If anything I think Vanguard will syphon WoW players mostly.  I would wager to say most that remain in EQ2 are those that are dedicated to the game and making the game better.  If there is 1000 or less per server, than so be it.  I would rather have the small deidcated people than whiny ones that just spout over and over EQ2 is dying while still paying their money to SOE lol<BR> <BR> <HR> </BLOCKQUOTE><BR>lol i doubt Vanguard will siphon alot of WOW players. WOW is super easy. EQ2 is at least a little challenging. Plus I would hate it if Vanguard did bring alot of players from WOW with their immaturity and all. Yea some adults played but not many. When you see folks running around with names like Monkeyballz and Dumbarse(actual names in the game, no joke) you know wow has alot of rude, immature, [Removed for Content]. Oh and im not an EQ2 fanboi either so dont go there lol. In my opinion I think Vanguard will bring in more folks from DAOC, EQ1 and 2, SWG probably, AC1 and a few others etc. Like someone else mentioned in this thread, I got a beta app. from Vanguard too. It would be nice to get in, They are currently gonna be starting Beta 1 or it may have already started now.</DIV><p>Message Edited by Sarcev on <span class=date_text>11-15-2005</span> <span class=time_text>08:28 PM</span>

[onimarox]

<BR> <BLOCKQUOTE> <HR> Bobbylve wrote:<BR> <BR> <BLOCKQUOTE> <HR> onimarox wrote:<BR> <P>While it may be true that the overall population of Eq2 is declining i dont feel there is a need to merge servers. there are a few out there that are unhappy with how things have turned out ( they cant find groups, Their friends left for reason X, ect... ) but this does not call for a masive server merge. if you are unhappy with the population of your server do some research on a higher populated server and do a request for a server transfer.</P> <P>Most that are on the "empty servers" are there because they enjoy the quietness, the lax of competiveness for contested, being able to know their community, and building a good rep. it is easy on a largely populated server to loose yourself among the various people even more so if u are an [expletive haxx0red by Raijinn]. but on a smaller server it isnt so easy. SoE gives those who are unhappy with their situation a chance to start over and meet new people with these server transfers so maybe that is something you should check out. </P> <BR> <HR> </BLOCKQUOTE><BR> <DIV>I have 6 words for ya:</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>GET THE HELL OUT OF HERE!!!!</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Quite u love quite jee who would bother if the server had thousands o people logged on to it. U can still go through your merry hermit way and not be bothered. As for the 99 percent of people here ya 99 percent we want to have a lkot of people to mingle talk to socialize play with and do many epic quests KEY WORD EPIC which cant be doe solo.</DIV><BR> <HR> </BLOCKQUOTE> <P><BR>I am by far not a hermit, I know and socialize with many on my server. I once started on a HEAVY populated server when i first started almost a year ago and noticed right off the bat it was not for me. These epic mobs you speak of are the same contested i also speak of. It is nice being able to actully catch a mob up kill it and snag some upgrades for fellow players in a timely manor, where as on some various other servers ( i have heard horror stories of 7 high end guilds on one server ) all going after the same mobs does not excite me in the least. If it were true that 99% of the subscriptions wanted a HIGHLY populated server then Sony would of done so by now. It seems that SoE has been giving the group majority what they want with easier hertages, more vitality, ect.... this would of been one of the various other freebies people would of recieved. </P> <P>I state again, if you do not like the emptyness of the server you are on do some research and move to a higher populated server then you might find what you are looking for, <STRONG><U>BUT PLEASE</U></STRONG> do not speak for the people that enjoy the servers they are on now. You may see a lot of people saying that servers are dead ect.... but only a small fraction of the player base even posts on these boards. </P>

[Karlen]

>>>Merging servers wont 'fix' the problems with the game, but at least we'd see a few other players and not feel like we were the only ones playing.<<< Maybe you are on the wrong server, then.  I don't ever feel like I am the only one playing.  Rarely do I find myself hunting in a zone by myself (unless it's an instanced solo zone <img src="/smilies/3b63d1616c5dfcf29f8a7a031aaa7cad.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" /> If you don't like your server, move to another one or (if you don't want to pay the fee) start a new character on a more populated server.  But don't try to speak for everyone as, contrary to popular belief, not everyone agrees with you. If some servers are empty, perhaps SOE could offer free transfers off of those servers.  But my server is fine and doesn't need to be merged with anyone.  >>>Most other MMo's can boast the same or better numbers, some by FAR have greater populations.  WoW, Lineage II, DAoC, EQ1, CoH, etc. etc.<<< Most of these are PvP games -- low population is a bigger problem for PvP as you need other players in order for there to be battles.    The only reason that you need population in PvE games is to ensure that there are people to group with -- finding people to group with has never been a problem on my server except at extreme off hours.  Sometimes it can be hard to get groups at the sub-20 levels, but this isn't a population issue so much as the fact that people don't spend much time sub-20 these days -- most people starting new characters power their way to 20 pretty quickly, having done it a number of times already. If you can't find people to group with, perhaps you need to join a guild.  Many people these days tend to group with guildmates, which means that those not in guilds might find themselves lonely. <div></div>

[KBern]

<P>With a good guild the rest of the server can be close to empty and you wont even notice.</P> <P>Competition is healthy, but overcrowding to the point of fighting like rats over a hunk of cheese is not fun for anyone.</P> <P>In prime time, Guk is still getting duplicate instance zones of areas such as TS, SS, etc.</P> <P> </P>

[Bobbylve]

<P>Say i wonder if Sony is going bankrupt? I heard in gamestop today when I was trying to get some info on the ps3 system that if they don't make money after all the investments they did in blue cell that they may have to call it quits... anyone heard the same thing im still trying to dig up some dirt on this.</P>

[Ladicav]

<BR> <BLOCKQUOTE> <HR> Broomhilda wrote:<BR> <P>All I know is I reactivated my WOW account last month and joined one of the new servers so I could hang out with other "newbie" low-levels.  Within two weeks the server was full to capacity and I had a 10 minute wait to get into the game.  WOW is ok, no big deal to me, and has alot of kids but the population is totally there and it makes it exciting.  The sad part is I beleive EQ2 is a better game with way more potential, and its sad to see that so many have left.  I too like others here on this thread have lost 90% of my friends in EQ2 due to their departures for other games.   </P> <P>Vangaurd looms ahead with a possible June 06 release (yes I applied to Beta and am awaiting a response) and when it does come out, unless SOE has made some serious adjustments, it will kill even more of the ever-declining population here.  Ah well.</P> <P> </P> <P>Message Edited by Broomhilda on <SPAN class=date_text>11-15-2005</SPAN> <SPAN class=time_text>12:35 PM</SPAN><BR> <HR> </BLOCKQUOTE> <P>I have to agree here. There are a lot of people who knock WoW, I personally do not play WoW, but WoW has it all over EQ2. WoW may be an inferior game in many peoples opinions, but it does not really matter, since its average server population counts for more than what EQ2 provides as an alternative. </P> <P>I invited 2 of my RL friends to drop WoW for a while and play with me on EQ2, which they did. They lasted about maybe 3 weeks. They left and went back to WoW, even though they liked what they saw of EQ2 for the time they were here. Why? Because EQ2 server populations are almost dead almost all the time, except on weekends. Now dead is a relative term. If you happen to play an evil char that did not defect to Qeynos, the Freeport zones for the most part are even deader and that includes the weekends for the most part. My friends came from an environment where they could get a group within a reasonable amount of time, all the time. An environment where there were always enough people to guild recruit, an environment where there were always an abundance of people with which to raid.</P> <P>But why do people like to have other people around, why is server load important? Other than the fact that people need other people to help get things done, people like to have other people around, regardless if it's guildies, RL friends and/or complete strangers even with all the cross zone arguements etc. People like to show off their gear, or their skills, people want to put themselves on display and show others what they can do, that is human nature, there is an element of competition and showmanship between all of us. If no one else is around, then it starts becoming sort of meaningless doesn't it? You get just as much fullfillment playing a single player game as playing an MMORPG when you are the only person in a zone.</P> <P>So seriously, enough with the fanbois, and enough with the theories of instances and offlines selling, merge the servers already, those who are attuned know that server populations are borked, the rest are just hiding their heads in the sand.</P> <P>Merge some servers, just do it.</P>

[Bobbylve]

<BR> <BLOCKQUOTE> <HR> Ladicav wrote:<BR><BR> <BLOCKQUOTE> <HR> Broomhilda wrote:<BR> <P>All I know is I reactivated my WOW account last month and joined one of the new servers so I could hang out with other "newbie" low-levels.  Within two weeks the server was full to capacity and I had a 10 minute wait to get into the game.  WOW is ok, no big deal to me, and has alot of kids but the population is totally there and it makes it exciting.  The sad part is I beleive EQ2 is a better game with way more potential, and its sad to see that so many have left.  I too like others here on this thread have lost 90% of my friends in EQ2 due to their departures for other games.   </P> <P>Vangaurd looms ahead with a possible June 06 release (yes I applied to Beta and am awaiting a response) and when it does come out, unless SOE has made some serious adjustments, it will kill even more of the ever-declining population here.  Ah well.</P> <P> </P> <P>Message Edited by Broomhilda on <SPAN class=date_text>11-15-2005</SPAN> <SPAN class=time_text>12:35 PM</SPAN><BR> <HR> </BLOCKQUOTE> <P>I have to agree here. There are a lot of people who knock WoW, I personally do not play WoW, but WoW has it all over EQ2. WoW may be an inferior game in many peoples opinions, but it does not really matter, since its average server population counts for more than what EQ2 provides as an alternative. </P> <P>I invited 2 of my RL friends to drop WoW for a while and play with me on EQ2, which they did. They lasted about maybe 3 weeks. They left and went back to WoW, even though they liked what they saw of EQ2 for the time they were here. Why? Because EQ2 server populations are almost dead almost all the time, except on weekends. Now dead is a relative term. If you happen to play an evil char that did not defect to Qeynos, the Freeport zones for the most part are even deader and that includes the weekends for the most part. My friends came from an environment where they could get a group within a reasonable amount of time, all the time. An environment where there were always enough people to guild recruit, an environment where there were always an abundance of people with which to raid.</P> <P>But why do people like to have other people around, why is server load important? Other than the fact that people need other people to help get things done, people like to have other people around, regardless if it's guildies, RL friends and/or complete strangers even with all the cross zone arguements etc. People like to show off their gear, or their skills, people want to put themselves on display and show others what they can do, that is human nature, there is an element of competition and showmanship between all of us. If no one else is around, then it starts becoming sort of meaningless doesn't it? You get just as much fullfillment playing a single player game as playing an MMORPG when you are the only person in a zone.</P> <P>So seriously, enough with the fanbois, and enough with the theories of instances and offlines selling, merge the servers already, those who are attuned know that server populations are borked, the rest are just hiding their heads in the sand.</P> <P>Merge some servers, just do it.</P><BR> <HR> </BLOCKQUOTE> <P><BR>WHAT CAN I SAY!!!!</P> <P>TERABYTE STARS FOR YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1</P> <P> </P> <P>HIP HIP HURRAY</P> <P><FONT size=5>HIP HIP HURRAY</FONT></P> <P><FONT size=6>HIP HIP HURRAY</FONT></P>

[Speak]

<DIV>I think the server population is really higher then we think.  You don't see as many people due to all the instance zones in the game.  While instance zones  makes it easier for players to do content, the negative effect is in the common zone areas the player population is lower.  SOE need to find a better balance with common zones, of course this means they would also need to design more content.</DIV>

[Sokolov]

The quality of people has always been far more important to me. I played FFXI, I loved FFXI.  It is innovative in a saturated genre in many ways.  But I quit.  Why?  I never found a group of people with whom I connected as I have on EQ1 and EQ2.  The community ultimately makes and breaks the game. <div></div>

[Jerhico]

<DIV>I am on Antonia Bayle - Largely regarded as the most populous server in EQ2.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>The population here feels "just right" to me.  There are folks all over the place, but I almost never feel like a sardine in a can, unless a new world event forces all of the players into the same zone.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>There are plenty of harvest nodes to go around, though you will find some encroachment during peak hours.  There are plenty of crafters in every profession at all tiers, and the market is lively and active.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>I don't look  for groups often...I have a ready-made one when I'm not raiding or soloing.  Whenever my group of three goes on a quest, however, we more often than not end up merging with another small group to get the update.  It always seems to work out fine.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>I had a bit of a transition...I went from the horribly overcrowded (at the time) Veeshan server in EQ1 to Stormhammer (Legends.)  Talk about deserted!  But once you found a good guild, the very underpopulation that so many find eerie in EQ2 proved to be more benefit than curse, and I began to treasure walking into Bastion of Thunder and being able to pick which tower to raid rather than rush the whole guild in to do a breathless seat-of-the-pants assault in hopes we wouldn't get spawn-jumped by a competing guild.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>WoW is a good game, there's no denying it, but it lacks so much of the complexity and challenge EQ/EQ2 bring to MMO's.  I also have been flummoxed for some time over the EQ2 community:  I read the complaints of the players, and some of them seem to have merit...But otherwise, there's a lot of baseless whining and hand-wringing in these forums that's really demoralizing.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>I'm in a fairly high-end guild, post-Darathar, guild level 36ish...We raid, but not incessantly.  We quest, but not to the exclusion of all else.  We tradeskill, but mostly when there's no guild function going on.  We roleplay, albeit lightly.  For us, the key seems to have been to balance our approach to the game, forge adventuring alliances with other guilds, and to reward incessant complainers/whiners with a very short probationary period followed by an invitation to join a competing guild or to just take a flying leap.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>For me, this is the perfect MMO for somebody who works 40 hours a week, has children, and plays when time permits.  I can see why folks who want to make it their hobby or obsession are left wanting, as nothing I've seen in the game to date makes me feel like it was designed with them in mind.  <img src="/smilies/3b63d1616c5dfcf29f8a7a031aaa7cad.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" /></DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>This thread has remained remarkably civil.  Some of the other threads I've read on these forums today have left me eagerly anticipating the departure of even more of the population.  It would be a nice change of pace if these boards were once again dominated by folks who provided constructive criticism, waited patiently for a period of time for change to occur, and then eventually left the game if they found it no longer entertaining.  </DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV> </DIV>

[Daish]

<DIV> <HR> </DIV> <DIV> <DIV>I think the server population is really higher then we think.  You don't see as many people due to all the instance zones in the game.  While instance zones  makes it easier for players to do content, the negative effect is in the common zone areas the player population is lower.  SOE need to find a better balance with common zones, of course this means they would also need to design more content.</DIV> <DIV> <HR> </DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>You can easily check your server pop... just do the /who all game ....  and you will soon find out....   that most server usually run UNDER 1000 players on-line at any given time.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>The 'high population' servers run under 2000 players on-line at any given time....   and SOE listed the servers were optimized for 2500 players.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Bottom line, even if SOE could pull in the players, which it cannot, the more zones they put in, the more expansion packs, the more adv packs....  the less and less chance we will have of really ever feeling like there is a decent server population.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Check this link out as an example of SOE's game building prowess...</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV> <DIV><A href="http://www.gamespot.com/pc/rpg/starwarsgalaxiesstarterkit/review.html?page=2" target=_blank>http://www.gamespot.com/pc/rpg/starwarsgalaxiesstarterkit/review.html?page=2</A></DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV> </DIV></DIV></DIV>

[StoneySilen]

<BR> <BLOCKQUOTE> <HR> Bobbylve wrote:<BR> <P>Say i wonder if Sony is going bankrupt? I heard in gamestop today when I was trying to get some info on the ps3 system that if they don't make money after all the investments they did in blue cell that they may have to call it quits... anyone heard the same thing im still trying to dig up some dirt on this.</P><BR> <HR> </BLOCKQUOTE> <DIV>:smileyvery-happy:</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>LOL.  That's funny.  SONY is a huge multi-billion dollar company with the best selling home console (PS1/PS2), now the best selling handheld console (PSP), maker of tons of sound/video equipment, a record company, a cd manufacturing company, and who knows what else.  SONY will not be going out of business anytime soon.  They are too big of a company.  They "could" go Chapter 11 and reorganize (or sell out) but I seriously doubt they would go completly under.  Besides they just bought out MGM not too long ago.</DIV>

[Snublefot]

Whats the answer you get when you complain about the oposite problem in WoW? You know, when the server you started playing on 6 months suddenly start looking cool for the queued population of the previous server of the month. Oh, the wonderfull queue with the equally nice answer of "reroll or suck it up". Merging servers wont fill the newbie zones. Merging servers wont magically create 3 instances of Antonica every night. All it will acomplish is overcrowding of the high level zones. The newbie zones will be just as empty.Yesterday there was 427 lvl 60 on Najena. 748 people between lvl 51 and 59 gained a level last week. 502 between lvl 41 and 49. 561 between 31 and 39, again gained one or more levels. 603 between 21 and 29. There is 1876 people between lvl 41 and 49 listed on Eq2player. And that list contain players from back to day 1.Since I started parsing 5th october, 10073 players gained at least 1 level above lvl 10. How many that are alts can just be guessed. How many that dont gain levels can only be guessed. The number of characters that gain levels is increasing every week.So, constructive suggestions? Well, give every account 2 more character slots locked to a specific set of lightload servers. Just handing out two more slots will just give more people on AB. Maybe shared newbie island between all the servers? Maybe create a level 10-20 island and share it between the servers? The world structure as now dont support such a concept as all zones except the starting island is shared *and used* between lvl 6 and 60. Maybe the arenas should be shared between all servers?Oh, and if you read a little on the wow forums, its not hard to find posts just as this one about deserted servers. And how there never is battlegrounds on those servers. Maybe we just need queues in Eq2 whenever more then 800 people is online at the same time :p<div></div>

[DrAtla]

Yes, some servers could use merging. You are asking when the last time we have seen 5 instances of zones. Funny you ask, because on Steamfont, I can't remember the last time I have seen more than one. I took a long break from the game, but I have been back for 3 weeks or so. I put quite a few hours into the game, and I can honestly tell you that since I have been back I have not seen more than one instance of a single zone on our server. The place does seem a bit dead to me, it's almost depressing. <div></div>

[Snublefot]

Yeah, but you dont get more then one instance of the lowbie zones on Najena either. And thats the second most populated server. There is however more then enough high levels on Najena. The fact that people are spread across all the zones is the #1 reason it feels more empty. Guess how empty the "old world" wow zones will be once Burning Crusade is released. Its how mmorgs work. And since the zones cant possibly support more content, the only solution is to add more zones to add more content. And without more content a mmorg dies - fast.A better guild recruitment tool would be handy. In game "looking for guild", and "guild looking for more". Maybe a "lfm" feature. I see increased use of the new level channels. Not a lot, but increased. Even with a few off topic arguments going. So devs do seem to add ways for the low levels to find eachother.<div></div>

[KBern]

<BR> <BLOCKQUOTE> <HR> Snublefot wrote:<BR>Whats the answer you get when you complain about the oposite problem in WoW? You know, when the server you started playing on 6 months suddenly start looking cool for the queued population of the previous server of the month. Oh, the wonderfull queue with the equally nice answer of "reroll or suck it up". <BR><BR>Merging servers wont fill the newbie zones. Merging servers wont magically create 3 instances of Antonica every night. All it will acomplish is overcrowding of the high level zones. The newbie zones will be just as empty.<BR><BR>Yesterday there was 427 lvl 60 on Najena. 748 people between lvl 51 and 59 gained a level last week. 502 between lvl 41 and 49. 561 between 31 and 39, again gained one or more levels. 603 between 21 and 29. There is 1876 people between lvl 41 and 49 listed on Eq2player. And that list contain players from back to day 1.<BR><BR>Since I started parsing 5th october, 10073 players gained at least 1 level above lvl 10. How many that are alts can just be guessed. How many that dont gain levels can only be guessed. The number of characters that gain levels is increasing every week.<BR><BR>So, constructive suggestions? Well, give every account 2 more character slots locked to a specific set of lightload servers. Just handing out two more slots will just give more people on AB. Maybe shared newbie island between all the servers? Maybe create a level 10-20 island and share it between the servers? The world structure as now dont support such a concept as all zones except the starting island is shared *and used* between lvl 6 and 60. Maybe the arenas should be shared between all servers?<BR><BR>Oh, and if you read a little on the wow forums, its not hard to find posts just as this one about deserted servers. And how there never is battlegrounds on those servers. Maybe we just need queues in Eq2 whenever more then 800 people is online at the same time :p<BR> <BR> <HR> </BLOCKQUOTE> <P>EdZachary!</P> <P>All it would do on older servers is crowd the already crowded higher lvl areas.  It will not create more newbies to play with, or more mid levels, etc.</P> <P>The only thing to do that is to bring in new people to the game, and those people will hit your server or not whether a merge is done.</P> <P>As many have posted over and over and over every time a few people bring up this idea is that MANY servers are fine.</P> <P>If you are upset at YOUR server, then request a server transfer.  But stop trying to affect everyone elses server by asking for them to merge.  </P> <P>It is not needed.<BR></P>

[SuperSecretRangerm]

<DIV>I know I'm going to catch a beating for asking this but I have yet to play the game since my computer is currently being built, so all I do is read about it as much as possible. So anyways my question is what the heck are instances?!?!?! lol I'm sure its going to be something simple but I haven't found a defintion for it yet.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>thanks</DIV>

[Karlen]

>>>So anyways my question is what the heck are instances?!?!?!<<< Instances are multiple versions of the same zone.   There are basically two types: ones that are created when there are too many people in a zone and ones that are created so that your group/raid will have the zone to yourselves. For example, when "Antonica" reaches a certain population level, "Antonica 2" is created.  Anyone who tries to enter Antonica will be given the choice of entering Antonica or Antonica 2.   If you enter Antonica 2, you will only see the other people who also chose Antonica 2.  Both Antonicas will have the same spawn points, terrain and npcs.  You can switch between zone instances by entering a neighbouring zone/dungeon and then zoning back into another other instance. Also, in some dungeons, you get an "instance" of the dungeon that is only for your group.  In these cases, you won't see anyone else in "your" dungeon.  The next group to come along will get their own instance as well. Some dungeons are instanced (usually the smaller ones) and some are not (everyone shares the same dungeon) Hope this helps. <div></div>

[SuperSecretRangerm]

<DIV>Wow now thats pretty cool, must make popular zones alot less laggy! It used to get pretty bad in some zones in eq1. Thanks for the info that explained alot.</DIV>

[StoneySilen]

<P>Due to instancing does it really matter if the higher level zones are crowded or not?  It would just allow more higher level players to find groups as well.</P> <P>In fact I would think it would be awesome if there was only 2 servers.  1 normal and 1 RP.  All people played on these two servers and there would be tons of instances.  I don't see why this isn't possible either and why they didn't do this in the first place.  When you instance then you are not restricted to just having one zone and that zone being WAY overcrowded like in EQ1.</P>

[Snublefot]

Listen, there is twice the number of high levels on Najena compared to Tuxx (or whatever its spelled). Combine two tuxes into one will give the same number of high levels --- but, Low Levels on Najena aint a rose garden either. So now you've created a nastier environment for the high levels (and more join that crowd every day) and not really solved any low level issue at all. In reality you could combine the active low level population on all servers and most likely get about the same number of low levels as on one server at launch. Its not going to happen. Its not realistically possible. The next time you'll see anything even close to launch-day servers is when they release the PVP-realms. What you see is what happens as a game age. Seriously, if you cant deal with a low number of low levels (or rather perceived low number of low levels), transfer - or just reroll.<div></div>

[StoneySilen]

<DIV>Again, with instancing why does it matter that there are 1k lv 60's or 100?  Instancing should kick in and spread the crowd out.  And for this game to be this "aged" as you put it where there is no newbies is sad.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>I started EQ1 originally right after Kunark.  I had no problems finding groups then and there were a dozen starter cities in that game compared to EQ2's 2.  I then deleted that character and quit EQ1.  Played other games for a bit and came back around the release of PoP.  Started over and again had no problems getting groups or anything.  I then rerolled again shortly after GoD.  Again no problems finding newbie groups leveling up to 50 or anything.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>EQ2?  1 year after release, started over after release of DOF.  2 groups in 37 levels.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>EQ2 went from newborn to retirement center almost immediatly.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>In fact I just created a new character in EQ1 again and STILL don't have problems finding groups to play.</DIV>

[Daish]

<DIV>well, from some of the info I've found....   the EQ1 server clusters, supposedly, can hold 5-10k players...  the EQ2 server clusters... can only hold about 2500....</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>So, from the get go, EQ2 is already gimped in a way that EQ1 isnt.  Also, the cities in EQ1 served as hubs, where as in EQ2 they just serve as ghost town zones you hardly ever need to go to.  EQ2 never really seemed to have a chance to even begin to build any type of player community...  at least none like was built in EQ1...  which, btw, still has more players than EQ2 does....</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Oh, and to this guy</DIV> <DIV> <HR> LOL.  That's funny.  SONY is a huge multi-billion dollar company ......</DIV> <DIV> <HR> </DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Yes, Sony is a multi-billion dollar, multi-national corporation....   who's profits, company wide, largely come from the gaming division...  and thats not the gaming HARDWARE division...  thats the gaming SOFTWARE division.  No one makes any substantial money on hardware, in fact, in most situations, the companies LOSE money on hardware sales. Vivendi, the parent company for Blizzard posted an 88% increase in profits this last quarter.  This increase in profits was due to a 151% increase in revenue from its gaming division, almost entirely... from WoW.  Overall, the revenue from these games is a small part of the actual total revenue for the company, but it has the highest profit margins, by far.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>No, I am not saying that Sony will go out of business, but when you actually run the numbers, you realize that the bulk of pure profit made by Sony comes from things like EQ1, EQ2, SWG, playstation games....   if those things do not do well, it means that Sony will most likely post a loss, or at least not meet investor/analyst expectations for the year...  Meaning a drop in stock price, and a generally poor view of the executive managment.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>When you look at it like that, it becomes pretty clear why SOE seems to be swinging from one extreme to the other, firing tons of people, and hiring people from wherever...  all trying radical things to get EQ2 and SWG back to being popular and continuing to support/expand EQ1...   because the well being of the company actually does ride on it....  and everyone, both inside the company and outside are watching...  closely.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Vivendi is laughing all the way to the bank....  and SOE is trying to prove that if they try hard they MIGHT be able to make a meaningful profit.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV><SPAN class=time_text></SPAN> </DIV><p>Message Edited by Daishar on <span class=date_text>11-23-2005</span> <span class=time_text>10:08 AM</span>

[Jai1]

<DIV>WoW has appealed to those that have never played a MMORPG.  It appeals to younger people. Its a very basic game. Most are not EQ players or there would be more powerhouse guilds and more tactics used. I personally like the shaman who tanks and never heals himself and then gets irrate when a priest like me lets him die over the scout who can not heal and takes more damage. I have tons of experiences like that(maybe another reason the game made me ill) and I can honestly say that EQ2 is a better fit for me and appeals to the older player(with a souped up PC). I am an experienced gamer and was in a top guild in WoW. Think EQ2 has a casual player base. WoW sets the standard on that definition. Most of the people would level a toon to 60 in a month then reroll... rinse... repeat. They weren't using any other tactic but zerg before I joined. Why didnt they know warriors should MT is beyond me.  I can only hope Sony isnt trying to mold their model to compete with that game. To me there is no competition.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>I'm not sure if merging all the servers is a good idea. Im on Najena and its top heavy.  Harvesting is very competitive. I did roll my first alt last week and there arent a whole lot of grouping opportunities but Ive been in a few groups and havent played that much. I think the level range channels are good for finding groups so thats a start. If your server doesnt have a good high level population I would say merge the ones with the issues but if the reason is so low levels can group together, I'd say that will be always an issue with older servers. </DIV>

[Kilaelya]

<P>I stopped playing around May then came back in late October. Believe me, it's very noticable how much the population has dwindled, and it hurts game play a lot. I used to grind during the mornings, and now I'd be lucky to get any of my alts and XP group during the night on a weekday. From levels 50 to 60 I really only got XP groups if guildies were putting them together.</P> <P>I hope you like to solo in this game, heh.</P>

[Golelo]

<BR> <BLOCKQUOTE> <HR> Kilaelya wrote:<BR> <P>I stopped playing around May then came back in late October. Believe me, it's very noticable how much the population has dwindled, and it hurts game play a lot. I used to grind during the mornings, and now I'd be lucky to get any of my alts and XP group during the night on a weekday. From levels 50 to 60 I really only got XP groups if guildies were putting them together.</P> <P>I hope you like to solo in this game, heh.</P> <BR> <HR> </BLOCKQUOTE><BR>Yep. I left in August and just came back. Wow. No one is here. There is never 2 instances of any zone. The ooc chat is non-existant, unlike before when you couldn't shut the newbies up in Ant. and TS. Finding a group is more challenging than what you'd be hunting. Starting as a newbie you'd think you were the only one playing the game. They really need to get the population up. Great game, not sure why its having this problem.

[danceswnymphs]

give me some feedback on this idea....you know how on servers ( mine is lavastorm for example) when a zone gets too packed you start a second one you can zone into....well following this idea what about servers being like that...and using a level limiting tool so you don't have an excessive amount of certain levels so as not to cluster too much?  know this is a broad concept and not fine tuned so adjust accordingly with your criticisms....it also sounds in this theory the butt end server would be sucking but i guess at that point a certain server would have to take the odds into it going over its "limit"

[danceswnymphs]

oh yes and to expand on my previous post there should be a warning as you load in to eq2 telling you server populations by zone and level so you have a choice of what you want...low pop....high pop...and by zone....

[danceswnymphs]

LOL i can't wait for feedback on this....sounds good to me

[plantb]

<DIV>Not sure about merging servers with hi pop ones, but I agree with merging the low population ones with other low pops.</DIV> <DIV>I can tell you that the numbers on Butcherblock have dropped A LOT.  I cannot remeber the last time I saw 2 instances of any zone, oh wait a sec SS when DoF was launched).  Now at most i see 50players per zone during US peak Time.</DIV> <DIV>As I'm a Euro player its even worse cus of time difference, so come Jan 2006, I'll propably be transfering to Runneye along with most of my guild.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Plant</DIV>

[reaper]

<DIV>I agree.. I think SoE should merge some of these servers to Boost Moral, the community, and the overall ecomony of the market.</DIV>

[Bobbylve]

<BR> <BLOCKQUOTE> <HR> Jai1 wrote:<BR> <DIV>WoW has appealed to those that have never played a MMORPG.  It appeals to younger people. Its a very basic game. Most are not EQ players or there would be more powerhouse guilds and more tactics used. I personally like the shaman who tanks and never heals himself and then gets irrate when a priest like me lets him die over the scout who can not heal and takes more damage. I have tons of experiences like that(maybe another reason the game made me ill) and I can honestly say that EQ2 is a better fit for me and appeals to the older player(with a souped up PC). I am an experienced gamer and was in a top guild in WoW. Think EQ2 has a casual player base. WoW sets the standard on that definition. Most of the people would level a toon to 60 in a month then reroll... rinse... repeat. They weren't using any other tactic but zerg before I joined. Why didnt they know warriors should MT is beyond me.  I can only hope Sony isnt trying to mold their model to compete with that game. To me there is no competition.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>I'm not sure if merging all the servers is a good idea. Im on Najena and its top heavy.  Harvesting is very competitive. I did roll my first alt last week and there arent a whole lot of grouping opportunities but Ive been in a few groups and havent played that much. I think the level range channels are good for finding groups so thats a start. If your server doesnt have a good high level population I would say merge the ones with the issues but if the reason is so low levels can group together, I'd say that will be always an issue with older servers. </DIV><BR> <HR> </BLOCKQUOTE> <P><BR>Im sorry but I have to disagree. When I started to play wow like in any mmorpg game you tend to ask players what other mmorpg games you played or left. I would say a good 90 percent of the population in wow has told me they left eq2 for WoW. I can list a ton of servers in wow that the population was from everquest 2.</P> <P>Im not going to knock on eq2 becuase I love eq2 and I love WoW. But what would make eq2 awesome is to really merge the servers and take off like 3 servers. No need to have so many servers with so little people in it to group up with.</P> <P> </P> <P>Currently what I see is the monsters and quest one needs to do that are like heroics (im not talking about raiding just regular quest) requires group which one cant find becuase people are hardly on or the amount of adv levels are so far apart people wont group up with. I would think merging is in benifet here or another solution is take away these monsters at 2 up arrows so youc an solo them. That way if you cant find a group you can still finish off the quest if you on a yellow quest and the monsters are 2 or 3 up arrows you can solo them. That way soe wont loose anymore people to World of Warcraft.</P> <P> </P> <P>My two Coppers</P> <P>/shake fist</P>

[Kilaelya]

<BR> <BLOCKQUOTE> <HR> danceswnymphs wrote:<BR>give me some feedback on this idea....you know how on servers ( mine is lavastorm for example) when a zone gets too packed you start a second one you can zone into....well following this idea what about servers being like that...and using a level limiting tool so you don't have an excessive amount of certain levels so as not to cluster too much?  know this is a broad concept and not fine tuned so adjust accordingly with your criticisms....it also sounds in this theory the butt end server would be sucking but i guess at that point a certain server would have to take the odds into it going over its "limit" <BR> <HR> </BLOCKQUOTE><BR>I really *love* how Guild Wars have their servers set up. Basically, everyone plays together, depending on your region. Then, every zone gets instanced. So you'll have like 20+ instances of the same zone, but you will always have people to play with. <p>Message Edited by Kilaelya on <span class=date_text>11-28-2005</span> <span class=time_text>11:24 AM</span>

[reaper]

<BLOCKQUOTE> <HR> Kilaelya wrote:<BR>I really *love* how Guild Wars have their servers set up. Basically, everyone plays together, depending on your region. Then, every zone gets instanced. So you'll have like 20+ instances of the same zone, but you will always have people to play with. <P>Message Edited by Kilaelya on <SPAN class=date_text>11-28-2005</SPAN> <SPAN class=time_text>11:24 AM</SPAN><BR> <HR> </BLOCKQUOTE> <P>VG has the same setup going also.. It's nice since everyone can<BR>play with each other.. and you can meet up with anyone you've met<BR>on the boards, online, family, friends, Etc. </P> <P>I really like that setup.</P>

[StoneySilen]

<BR> <BLOCKQUOTE> <HR> reaper98 wrote:<BR> <BLOCKQUOTE> <HR> Kilaelya wrote:<BR>I really *love* how Guild Wars have their servers set up. Basically, everyone plays together, depending on your region. Then, every zone gets instanced. So you'll have like 20+ instances of the same zone, but you will always have people to play with. <P>Message Edited by Kilaelya on <SPAN class=date_text>11-28-2005</SPAN><SPAN class=time_text>11:24 AM</SPAN><BR></P> <HR> </BLOCKQUOTE> <P>VG has the same setup going also.. It's nice since everyone can<BR>play with each other.. and you can meet up with anyone you've met<BR>on the boards, online, family, friends, Etc.</P> <P>I really like that setup.</P><BR> <HR> </BLOCKQUOTE><BR> <DIV>I agree, I think because of instancing it has eliminated the need for seperate servers completely.  I think most future MMO's are gonna go this route with 1 huge servers basically with tons of instances.</DIV>

[VizP]

Well is something seriously changing? Last night at 4 am GMT (11pm EST, 8pm PST) there were FIVE servers on HIGH and every single other on MEDIUM. I know this because a friend asked me to create a new ratonga to lvl with her and so I proceeded to do this - Lucan D'Lere now joins Antonia Bayle on the High list along with the others... in fact AB has now a number of times been listed as 'Full' and people have been unable to log on. Does this seem like a population issue to you? <div></div>

[Talz]

I find the faith in server load amusing when the whole reason they don't list numbers is because they don't want people knowing the populations.  This started when Camelot was ready to launch, correct? <p>Message Edited by Talzar on <span class=date_text>11-28-2005</span> <span class=time_text>05:53 PM</span>

[God_of_Avalon]

<P>I warned SoE that if they catered to ultra casual kids that this game would bomb hard.  Did they listen to me?  No.</P> <P> </P> <P>I bet you guys anything I have a higher IQ than any Dev who ever worked on this game.  The funny thing is, rather than listening to my advise they just keep digging this game into its grave more and more.</P>

[Xerxess]

<BR> <BLOCKQUOTE> <HR> God_of_Avalon wrote:<BR> <P>I warned SoE that if they catered to ultra casual kids that this game would bomb hard.  Did they listen to me?  No.</P> <P> </P> <P>I bet you guys anything I have a higher IQ than any Dev who ever worked on this game.  The funny thing is, rather than listening to my advise they just keep digging this game into its grave more and more.</P><BR> <HR> </BLOCKQUOTE> <P><BR>Really? Have you taken the IQ test and compared notes with a Dev?...</P>

[StoneySilen]

<BR> <BLOCKQUOTE> <HR> VizP wrote:<BR>Well is something seriously changing? Last night at 4 am GMT (11pm EST, 8pm PST) there were FIVE servers on HIGH and every single other on MEDIUM.<BR><BR>I know this because a friend asked me to create a new ratonga to lvl with her and so I proceeded to do this - Lucan D'Lere now joins Antonia Bayle on the High list along with the others... in fact AB has now a number of times been listed as 'Full' and people have been unable to log on.<BR><BR>Does this seem like a population issue to you?<BR> <BR> <HR> </BLOCKQUOTE><BR>Or they realized they made a mistake and lowered the definitions of what makes a high/medium/low server.

[reaper]

<BLOCKQUOTE> <HR> StoneySilence wrote:<BR>Or they realized they made a mistake and lowered the definitions of what makes a high/medium/low server. <BR> <HR> </BLOCKQUOTE> <DIV>I would aggree with this comment.. There is no way those servers are marked with "High" like the </DIV> <DIV>same red flag we used to get back in Nov 2004.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>I've seen the same thing when I rolled an alt to help a friend on the IoR.. but there's just no way..</DIV>

[Kilaelya]

<BR> <BLOCKQUOTE> <HR> VizP wrote:<BR>Well is something seriously changing? Last night at 4 am GMT (11pm EST, 8pm PST) there were FIVE servers on HIGH and every single other on MEDIUM.<BR><BR>I know this because a friend asked me to create a new ratonga to lvl with her and so I proceeded to do this - Lucan D'Lere now joins Antonia Bayle on the High list along with the others... in fact AB has now a number of times been listed as 'Full' and people have been unable to log on.<BR><BR>Does this seem like a population issue to you?<BR> <BR> <HR> </BLOCKQUOTE> <P><BR>You have to wonder just how many people make a server considered as having a "high" popultion.</P> <P> </P> <P>By doing a /who all <class> or race or something smaller than /who all you can figure out how many people are usually online a server at a time. One night in Nektulos I figured there were about 400-500 people actually online. During a weekday. And no, it wasn't at like 3am or some ungoldy hour.... in fact, tonight I'll do it at prime time, like 7 or 8 pm.</P> <DIV>Edit: I am on Eastern time.</DIV><p>Message Edited by Kilaelya on <span class=date_text>11-29-2005</span> <span class=time_text>07:58 AM</span>

[Espyderman]

<DIV><BR></DIV> <BLOCKQUOTE> <HR> God_of_Avalon wrote:<BR> <P>I warned SoE that if they catered to ultra casual kids that this game would bomb hard.  Did they listen to me?  No.</P> <P> </P> <P>I bet you guys anything I have a higher IQ than any Dev who ever worked on this game.  The funny thing is, rather than listening to my advise they just keep digging this game into its grave more and more.</P><BR> <HR> </BLOCKQUOTE> <DIV><BR>Your IQ should have mentioned to you no one likes an egomaniac. if your so smart where is your MMO? Why is it we are stuck playing EQ2 when you can do better?</DIV> <DIV>What i would like to see is the talking to stop, and the action to start cause talking only means one thing, your full of [expletive haxx0red by Raijinn].</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Having the name "God" in your login, is another egomaniacle thing to do, but your IQ should of told you that too shouldnt it?</DIV> <DIV>Fact is your talking out your butthole, and no one is listening. Thats why SOE ignored you initially.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>The servers are under populated and SOE needs to start consolidating cause im tired of spelling the word for them.</DIV><p>Message Edited by Espyderman on <span class=date_text>11-29-2005</span> <span class=time_text>08:06 AM</span>

[Kilaelya]

<DIV>As of this post currently on Nektulos:</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Players between levels 1 and 20: 27</DIV> <DIV>Players between levels 20 and 30: 28</DIV> <DIV>Players between levels 30 and 40: 27</DIV> <DIV>Players between levels 40 and 50: 36</DIV> <DIV>Players between levels 50 and 60: 71</DIV> <DIV>Total players online at 12ishpm EST: 189</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Plus, that's more than there actually is. When I typed in my /who alls I counted a few people twice. For example, people who are excatly 50 got counted when I first did my 40 to 50 check, then once again when I did my 50 to 60 check.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>And as I promised I will post my results again tonight...</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Am I making this clear, yet?</DIV>

[reaper]

<BLOCKQUOTE> <HR> Kilaelya wrote:<BR> <DIV>As of this post currently on Nektulos:</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Players between levels 1 and 20: 27</DIV> <DIV>Players between levels 20 and 30: 28</DIV> <DIV>Players between levels 30 and 40: 27</DIV> <DIV>Players between levels 40 and 50: 36</DIV> <DIV>Players between levels 50 and 60: 71</DIV> <DIV>Total players online at 12ishpm EST: 189</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Plus, that's more than there actually is. When I typed in my /who alls I counted a few people twice. For example, people who are excatly 50 got counted when I first did my 40 to 50 check, then once again when I did my 50 to 60 check.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>And as I promised I will post my results again tonight...</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Am I making this clear, yet?</DIV><BR> <HR> </BLOCKQUOTE> <P>Yeah.. but you should try to make a char during this time also.. just to see the</P> <P>server load.. if it comes back as Med. with 189 people.. man.. EQ 2 has major issues.</P>

[Shailen]

<P>Not sure what the minimum is to be rated high, but the population on AB is getting out of hand.  So many people have transferred at this point that is bombing the hell out of the server.  3 downtimes over the holiday weekend, and every day the lag/zoning/general population issues are worse and worse.  If nothing else they need to close transfers to AB and encourage the people who want to flee their servers to head to some other medium/high pop servers.</P> <P> </P> <P>I'm starting to change my view lately not that the server pops overall suck, but rather that there are very big inbalance issues.  There are nearly vacant servers, and there is a server thats buckling under its load.</P>

[iciss19]

I agree that this game is in serious need of a server-merge.  Lol at the "they upgr4de server to teh gibs0n now it says populatshun is low" theory.

[Takeo1]

<BR> <BLOCKQUOTE> <HR> God_of_Avalon wrote:<BR> <P>I warned SoE that if they catered to ultra casual kids that this game would bomb hard.  Did they listen to me?  No.</P> <P> </P> <P>I bet you guys anything I have a higher IQ than any Dev who ever worked on this game.  The funny thing is, rather than listening to my advise they just keep digging this game into its grave more and more.</P><BR> <HR> </BLOCKQUOTE> <P><BR>I thought <EM>to advise</EM> was to give <EM>advice</EM>, and that <EM>advice</EM> was good instruction...must be me low IQ again. </P> <P> </P> <P>Spot on boyo - spot on....</P> <P> </P> <P>Lates.</P> <P> </P> <P> </P>

[God_of_Avalon]

<BR> <BLOCKQUOTE> <HR> Espyderman wrote:<BR> <DIV><BR></DIV> <BLOCKQUOTE> <HR> God_of_Avalon wrote:<BR> <P>I warned SoE that if they catered to ultra casual kids that this game would bomb hard.  Did they listen to me?  No.</P> <P> </P> <P>I bet you guys anything I have a higher IQ than any Dev who ever worked on this game.  The funny thing is, rather than listening to my advise they just keep digging this game into its grave more and more.</P><BR> <HR> </BLOCKQUOTE> <DIV><BR>Your IQ should have mentioned to you no one likes an egomaniac. if your so smart where is your MMO? Why is it we are stuck playing EQ2 when you can do better?</DIV> <DIV>What i would like to see is the talking to stop, and the action to start cause talking only means one thing, your full of [expletive haxx0red by Raijinn].</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Having the name "God" in your login, is another egomaniacle thing to do, but your IQ should of told you that too shouldnt it?</DIV> <DIV>Fact is your talking out your butthole, and no one is listening. Thats why SOE ignored you initially.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>The servers are under populated and SOE needs to start consolidating cause im tired of spelling the word for them.</DIV> <P>Message Edited by Espyderman on <SPAN class=date_text>11-29-2005</SPAN><SPAN class=time_text>08:06 AM</SPAN><BR></P> <HR> </BLOCKQUOTE><BR> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>I am glad we are not talking about politics.  With your level of intelligence your end of the conversation would go exactly like what is written below: </DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV><EM>What?  You don't think Bush is a great president?  Where is your country?  I don't see YOU running a country.  Why don't you make your own country if you think you can do better!?  Huh..!"</EM></DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Think before you post</DIV><p>Message Edited by God_of_Avalon on <span class=date_text>11-29-2005</span> <span class=time_text>10:23 PM</span>

[onimarox]

<P>I will say it once again, If you do not like the low population of your server or just plain dont like your server at all SoE has a transfer policy that you can check into. Most like the server that they are on ( with the expection of a few ) and do not want to merge servers. Yes there are always going to be those who think their high populated servers should be split and low populated servers should be merged. If SoE thought the people on the low populated servers were unhappy or it was just not a reasonable justification of resources they would of merged these servers already. </P> <P>Merging servers this early in the games history will only create more problems down the line. At the end of next year what will you be asking for? SoE pls split servers the current ones are to populated? It is a given that a lot of sub 45 zones are underpopulated because people have hit 60, are on alts on diffrent levels, in instance zones, or that part of the expantion is just played out. However i do notice that every zone i seem to enter noober or higher end tend to have 25+ people in them aside from the off the isle zones ( levels 1 - 10 ) unless it is right before a patch or right after a patch and this is on a low populated server. </P> <P>So once again, there is no need to merge servers.</P>

[StoneySilen]

<BR> <BLOCKQUOTE> <P></P> <HR> <P>onimarox wrote:</P> <P> If SoE thought the people on the low populated servers were unhappy or it was just not a reasonable justification of resources they would of merged these servers already.</P> <P>Merging servers this early in the games history will only create more problems down the line.</P> <HR> </BLOCKQUOTE><BR> <DIV>I do think you partially answered your statement on why SOE hasn't.  Let me alter it a bit:</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Merging servers this early in the games history will only <EM><U>show weakness and that they lost against a rookie team/developer.</U></EM></DIV>

[Bobbylve]

<BR> <BLOCKQUOTE> <HR> onimarox wrote:<BR> <P>I will say it once again, If you do not like the low population of your server or just plain dont like your server at all SoE has a transfer policy that you can check into. Most like the server that they are on ( with the expection of a few ) and do not want to merge servers. Yes there are always going to be those who think their high populated servers should be split and low populated servers should be merged. If SoE thought the people on the low populated servers were unhappy or it was just not a reasonable justification of resources they would of merged these servers already.</P> <P>Merging servers this early in the games history will only create more problems down the line. At the end of next year what will you be asking for? SoE pls split servers the current ones are to populated? It is a given that a lot of sub 45 zones are underpopulated because people have hit 60, are on alts on diffrent levels, in instance zones, or that part of the expantion is just played out. However i do notice that every zone i seem to enter noober or higher end tend to have 25+ people in them aside from the off the isle zones ( levels 1 - 10 ) unless it is right before a patch or right after a patch and this is on a low populated server.</P> <P>So once again, there is no need to merge servers.</P><BR> <HR> </BLOCKQUOTE> <P><BR>There is no need to pay more money to do a transfer they shodl just do it automaticly. Regardless whats in detail since a lot of pl;ayers have left towards wow and guild wars. People should stop living a fantasy and just admit this game is dieing and to repair it merge servers so you can save the rest of people.</P> <P>I am aware there are servers that are over populated luke ab and nag so what about the rest. Kill 3 servers and merge everyone else togethter. or give everyone a choice that three servers are going offline and those players need to select there new server on the next time they log into eq2. same way as you did in the beta that you can copy ones main character to the test server comand.</P>

[Magicmunkey]

<DIV><STRONG>Merging servers this early in the games history will only <EM><U>show weakness and that they lost against a rookie team/developer.</U></EM></STRONG></DIV> <DIV><STRONG><EM><U></U></EM></STRONG> </DIV> <DIV>Well, while that will be losing face- they <STRONG>have</STRONG> lost to a rookie developer. Blizzard has far more sales, dedicated players and more consistently growing subscriber bases than EverQuest 2. Why? Well because of EverQuest's system requirements, name (when some people think EQ, they think sweaty nerds, elves and hundreds of hours grinding), look and generally lower reviews. </DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>I think myself that it is financially intelligent to hold off for at least one more expansion- but only if that expansion is <STRONG>AMAZING</STRONG>. For all levels. Otherwise, they really do need to merge servers- I rolled a alt on a low population server at a buddies house. Man is it sad :smileysad: . . .  Perma and Antonia are still doing great though :smileyhappy:</DIV>

[Bobbylve]

<BR> <BLOCKQUOTE> <HR> Magicmunkey wrote:<BR> <DIV><STRONG>Merging servers this early in the games history will only <EM><U>show weakness and that they lost against a rookie team/developer.</U></EM></STRONG></DIV> <DIV><STRONG><EM><U></U></EM></STRONG> </DIV> <DIV>Well, while that will be losing face- they <STRONG>have</STRONG> lost to a rookie developer. Blizzard has far more sales, dedicated players and more consistently growing subscriber bases than EverQuest 2. Why? Well because of EverQuest's system requirements, name (when some people think EQ, they think sweaty nerds, elves and hundreds of hours grinding), look and generally lower reviews. </DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>I think myself that it is financially intelligent to hold off for at least one more expansion- but only if that expansion is <STRONG>AMAZING</STRONG>. For all levels. Otherwise, they really do need to merge servers- I rolled a alt on a low population server at a buddies house. Man is it sad :smileysad: . . .  Perma and Antonia are still doing great though :smileyhappy:</DIV><BR> <HR> </BLOCKQUOTE> <P><BR>First off Blizzard is not NOT a ROOKIE developer. They have been making great RPG games, Diablo, diablo 2 and expansion of diablo 2, warcraft, battle etc. </P> <P>That company does come out with some high quality games. </P> <P>As for what you said </P> <DIV><STRONG><FONT color=#3333ff>Merging servers this early in the games history will only <EM><U>show weakness and that they lost against a rookie team/developer.</U></EM></FONT></STRONG></DIV> <DIV><STRONG><EM><U><FONT color=#3333ff></FONT></U></EM></STRONG> </DIV> <DIV><FONT color=#3333ff><FONT color=#ffffff>Well think about it. SO WHAT are we going to keep loosing players or can we strengthen the ones we have and keep them from leaving. I left for 4 months and when i got back its deader now than it was when i was here, So Im not goign to be kidding myself and live in a dream world something needs to be done here and for SOE to stand there and not do nothing about it is really worse. Until the pres start asking how come more and more people dropped and they not seeing the money that they so projected. Bottem line is get a whoel new team of developers because currently the ones they have are not doing the job. </FONT></FONT></DIV>

[Magicmunkey]

<DIV>I used the wrong words- what I should have said was Blizzard is a rookie <STRONG>MMO</STRONG> developer. SOE has been making MMOs since EverQuest. They have not only EQ1 (though they shamefully lost the developers- which now seek to one up new SOE), but EQ2, PlanetSide, Star Wars Galaxies, EverQuest Online Adventures and now own the Matrix Online Property. Not to mention all of the expansion packs for these titles, which would make SOE the owners just about of the term MMO. </DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Blizzard came out of the gate with a game that I feel has great quality, wonderful visual flare, has the right mood to make amazing sales and can and has kept higher end people reasonably happy with raiding content and PvP. What Blizzard did was come out of the gate, outsale the strongest MMO company, make arguably a better game (though you can see which one I'm playing =P) which basically pulled SOE's pants down and spanked them. Seeing as how they have a subscriber base that is larger than all the SOE properties combined. </DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>It really is a triumph in marketing, and game design. Which is why I think Blizz are not rookie developers, but for a new <STRONG><EM>MMO</EM></STRONG> license to do that is stunning.</DIV>

[Bobbylve]

<BR> <BLOCKQUOTE> <HR> Magicmunkey wrote:<BR> <DIV>I used the wrong words- what I should have said was Blizzard is a rookie <STRONG>MMO</STRONG> developer. SOE has been making MMOs since EverQuest. They have not only EQ1 (though they shamefully lost the developers- which now seek to one up new SOE), but EQ2, PlanetSide, Star Wars Galaxies, EverQuest Online Adventures and now own the Matrix Online Property. Not to mention all of the expansion packs for these titles, which would make SOE the owners just about of the term MMO. </DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Blizzard came out of the gate with a game that I feel has great quality, wonderful visual flare, has the right mood to make amazing sales and can and has kept higher end people reasonably happy with raiding content and PvP. What Blizzard did was come out of the gate, outsale the strongest MMO company, make arguably a better game (though you can see which one I'm playing =P) which basically pulled SOE's pants down and spanked them. Seeing as how they have a subscriber base that is larger than all the SOE properties combined. </DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>It really is a triumph in marketing, and game design. Which is why I think Blizz are not rookie developers, but for a new <STRONG><EM>MMO</EM></STRONG> license to do that is stunning.</DIV><BR> <HR> </BLOCKQUOTE><BR>I CANT stop from laughing Im still cracking up with SOE pants down....... I hear ya. I play all three games WOW is my number one choice i have no problems grouping since of the over crowdedness in the game, there is a lot of adults in that game so I dont really get kids in my group or maybe I do but they very mature. Everyone likes to help out in that game and its very funny and fun. KEYWORD FUN.....   If SOE learns form ther emistakes and look how blizzard beat them maybe they can save the gaming comunity of this game of not leaving.

[iciss19]

<P>"...has kept higher end people reasonably happy with raiding content and PvP..."</P> <P>Maybe it was just me but I thought the high-end WoW game sucked.  When I left it was basically Onyxia/MC until you couldnt stand it anymore.  (assuming you'd already done scholo/strat/etc to death)</P> <P>I had gotten very bored with it, as had a lot of the folks that I played with.  Then the BG's and rewards system turned PvP from being immersive, fun, and something that you had to deal with non-stop pretty much no matter where you were, into a lame zergathon between TM and SS. (this was on a pvp server, I'm sure it was cool for blue servers when BG went live)</P> <P>Not to say I didnt have fun for a couple of months, but I really wouldnt consider raid content or pvp as WoW strong points.</P> <P>I dont really know how it compares to EQ2 since I'm not raiding level here, so this isnt a comparison between the two games, just my 2cents on WoW.</P> <P> </P> <P>EQ2: Raste 28 defiler / Rangrang 29 assassin, 29 alchemist / Vanth 29 jeweller, Antonia Bayle</P> <P>WoW: Alin 60 rogue, Sargeras</P>

[Magicmunkey]

<DIV>The lack of content with high end raiding is why I am playing EQ2. However, people are not constantly jumping ship to EQ2 from WoW, many of the high level guilds stay around for a long time. Examples would be Colossus and Dragon Knight. Filled with past EQ1 players they share guild time between PvP and high end raiding. It is indeed short on end content- but  it is enough, especially with news of the expansion, to keep the majority of the high level playerbase around. They also have been doing a somewhat decent job of adding new instances- though they are much slower than the excellent EQ2 live team.</DIV>

[Magicmunkey]

Bump?

[Shailen]

<BR> <BLOCKQUOTE> <HR> Magicmunkey wrote:<BR>Bump? <BR> <HR> </BLOCKQUOTE><BR>Stop that, you'll get the thread locked, and it does nobody any good like that.  Add a new thought or something else constructive.

[steelbadger]

<P>well i know that every european evening Runnyeye gets 2 Antonicas.</P> <P> </P> <P>Freeport is desolate though...</P>

[Razl]

personally, I love the lower population.  Just coming back to eq2.  I played at release for about 2 months, but I had some issues then with the game.  Right now, eq2 suits me.  And the more solo content the better.  I have a life now, I am working on a degree which I am serious about.  I no longer have the 5-8hrs a day to play online games like I did in EQ1. Eq2 looks just up my alley.  <div></div>

[Shailen]

<span><blockquote><hr>Razlok wrote:personally, I love the lower population.  Just coming back to eq2.  I played at release for about 2 months, but I had some issues then with the game.  Right now, eq2 suits me.  And the more solo content the better.  I have a life now, I am working on a degree which I am serious about.  I no longer have the 5-8hrs a day to play online games like I did in EQ1. Eq2 looks just up my alley.  <div></div><hr></blockquote></span>Playing solo is fine, but they have to balance the server.  On one end we have servers buckling under the strain, and on the other we have vacant servers.....  Both types affect the playability in positive and negative ways. <div></div>

[Jai1]

<DIV>I think it really depends on the server. I rolled a new toon on Najena and am always able to find duo's or even full groups for Fallen Gate. I build my own groups and often ask people not /LFG and usually they are interested. Just have to work at it.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>I never had done much content in SH or BB so I am going to go there next weekend and most likely will find groups. There's a lot more toons on the good side.  However, I have been seeing stuff in chat about how many people are on the servers and they say like 500.  Seems like the server is pretty active and the economy is pretty good. Not all low level stuff is priced out of range.</DIV>

[Magicmunkey]

<DIV>If they merged say, 6-8 or so of the light servers to make 3-4 medium population servers it'd be great. </DIV><p>Message Edited by Magicmunkey on <span class=date_text>12-06-2005</span> <span class=time_text>03:07 PM</span>

[JoramEQ]

<P>They won't merge servers for a long time because it would be admitting that their population base is not as high as they'd like.   </P> <P>Myself, I'm disappointed with the population.  I almost never see any duplicate instances except in Antonica/Commonlands and even less occasionally in TS.  That by itself is probably no fair measurement but that combined with the fact that it can sometimes take hours to find a group is frustrating.  What's even more disturbing is I've seen so many bots and alts, it makes it look like there are more people than there really are.   <img src="/smilies/9d71f0541cff0a302a0309c5079e8dee.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" />  Obviously considering how long this thread has been going, it's not just a summer issue.</P> <P> </P>

[Frobus]

I agree that populations are down.  I don't need hard numbers to prove it, you can just tell.  When it comes to the, "Well, everybody leveled up so all lowbie zones are empty" is a valid point, but also proves this game isn't getting a healthy income of new players, and in sort of a catch-22 fashion, that will hurt this game from ever getting new players.  How much would really want to come join the game after trying out the trial of the isle with a total of 4 people on the island? Just to try out and get a guess of the numbers on my server (Unrest) I did a /who all *insert class* for all classes.  Sadly, not a single class came out over 70 players.  Total, the server was sitting at 917 players (over level 20) at midnight (EST) on a weekday.  Pathetic...absolutely sad.  I remember when they used to list EQ1 totals at the server screen, and generally the servers all were over 2000. It makes me sad to see my favorite game struggle like this, but for the health of the game SoE, swallow your pride, and merge these servers.  In the long run, this could actually help bring more players into the game, because the newbies could enjoy grouping even at low levels and this game SHINES in group play. <div></div>

[Orenji]

Rather than merge the servers in order to increase population, maybe Sony should try to figure out when and why the population decreased and fix whatever caused so many people to leave.  <div></div>

[Araxes]

<span><blockquote><hr>Orenjisu wrote:Rather than merge the servers in order to increase population, maybe Sony should try to figure out when and why the population decreased and fix whatever caused so many people to leave.  <div></div><hr></blockquote> I do believe that is what they have been working to do. <img src="/smilies/3b63d1616c5dfcf29f8a7a031aaa7cad.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" /> </span><div></div>

[Orenji]

<div></div><span></span><hr><span></span><span><blockquote><hr>Rather than merge the servers in order to increase population, maybe Sony should try to figure out when and why the population decreased and fix whatever caused so many people to leave. <hr></blockquote></span><blockquote><span>I do believe that is what they have been working to do. <img src="../../i/smilies/16x16_smiley-happy.gif" border="0" height="16" width="16"></span></blockquote><blockquote><span></span></blockquote><span></span><hr>Then why are people calling for merging the servers?  Do they lack confidence in Sony's ability or willingness to fix the game?  I have no opinion on what Sony is capable of doing.  The record is pretty bad overall, but there have been some good changes, too.  But if Sony is working to fix the game so that people will stop leaving and more people will start joining, then there's no need to merge the servers.  Hopefully there will soon be a need to add servers. <div></div>

[StoneySilen]

<BR> <BLOCKQUOTE> <HR> Orenjisu wrote:<BR> <SPAN></SPAN> <HR> <SPAN></SPAN><SPAN> <BLOCKQUOTE> <HR> Rather than merge the servers in order to increase population, maybe Sony should try to figure out when and why the population decreased and fix whatever caused so many people to leave. <BR><BR> <HR> </BLOCKQUOTE></SPAN> <BLOCKQUOTE><SPAN>I do believe that is what they have been working to do. <IMG height=16 src="http://eqiiforums.station.sony.com/i/smilies/16x16_smiley-happy.gif" width=16 border=0></SPAN><BR></BLOCKQUOTE> <BLOCKQUOTE><SPAN></SPAN></BLOCKQUOTE><SPAN></SPAN><BR> <HR> <BR>Then why are people calling for merging the servers?  Do they lack confidence in Sony's ability or willingness to fix the game?  I have no opinion on what Sony is capable of doing.  The record is pretty bad overall, but there have been some good changes, too.  But if Sony is working to fix the game so that people will stop leaving and more people will start joining, then there's no need to merge the servers.  Hopefully there will soon be a need to add servers. <BR><BR><BR> <HR> </BLOCKQUOTE><BR> <DIV>One of the reasons people are leaving is because they can't find anybody to play with.  To fix this, they must merge servers.  If they need to they can restart the servers at a later time.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>And it takes a long time for a already released game to build it's subscribers.  It's already missed it's prime opportunity which was initial release.</DIV>

[soulrais]

<P>hopefully with the upcoming expansion ....... its better then DoF and fixes alot of issue in current game .. thus bringing back some ppl and apealing to new ppl </P> <P> </P> <P> </P> <P>ha... i can daydream right :smileywink:</P>

[Araxes]

I wasn't arguing one side ... merely giving my opinion. For awhile, I was very vocal about the issue of server mergers.  But the more I thought about it - the less sense it makes.  It would be extremely diruptive for a number of reasons and I've posted it those reasons a number of times in the past so I won't do it again here. I really do think that the changes that have been made have been for the better - at least in terms of getting new players into the game and getting returning players to stay in it.  They done a lot to make it much more open and friendly and less restrictive. Am I please with everything?  No of course not.  I miss some of the challenge that was present in the game at launch. However - if it's a coin between having more people in the world vs. added difficulty ... well ... difficulty isn't worth much if you have no one to group with. So I think they are doing right to work towards changing some of the mroe restrictive elements (i.e. shard recovery - group experience bonuses - and the upcoming removal of subclass tiers) to encourage more players to get into the game quicker.  All of these things previously served as barred entries for many players who had tried the game. When I read forum comments now - I see a lot more positive remarks in the newbie forum and the Trial forum - and I'm seeing more positive remarks in game as well.  My general feeling is that things are better now - population wise - than they were 6 months ago. <div></div>

[Orenji]

I get exactly the opposite impression.  I think the servers were crowded 6 months ago.  Now they seem empty.  What Stoney says makes sense but I don't know if it would work.  I'm not sure it matters what we think anyway.  <div></div>

[Cratoh]

<p>Interesting, a post from 2005 asking for server merges. Finally we get them, I can't wait ;p</p>

[Finora]

<p>Wow, what a necro post!</p><p>And we've had server mergers before.</p>

[Maroger]

<p><cite>Finora@Everfrost wrote:</cite></p><blockquote><p>Wow, what a necro post!</p><p>And we've had server mergers before.</p></blockquote><p>Personally I am against all server merges - I hate crowded servers.</p>

[Shareana]

<p>Closing this down since it was began almost 5 years ago and it quite old.</p>