Producer's Letter: Jan 30 2006. World Size and Server Moves. - Page 21

HolyAvengerOne · 02-01-2006, 02:30 AM

While there's a lot of joking around in this thread on Toxxulia, I think there's a good idea there.I think the feeling of belonging to a certain server is somehow tied, like any such feeling, to the name of the server. I think it would be much more interesting for everyone involved (especially those "losing" their server) to get brand new name for the new united server.I firmly believe this would be a good first step in the direction of building the new server communities.

Esbat_Unseelie · 02-01-2006, 02:32 AM

I've seen a post or two a few pages back that suggested using account status (ie: active or cancelled) as a factor in determining who gets to keep a name. Total days/hours/whatever played might be a better solution. I, for one, happen to cancel my account every time I buy it- but I've renewed my account every time it has expired. I just don't like recurring billing. Call me a control freak, but I like to determine when the money is drawn from my account.

It has been stated that the hardware cannibalized from the old servers will be used to beef up the merge servers. I can only hope that zones will instance faster and *all* zones will instance. Still, instancing is a less than optimal solution. I recall the days where you could see 5 or 6 versions of newbie zones like the Peat Bog up, and a trick I knew some people to employ was to enter a high numbered instance and remained logged in, so they could have the instance all to themselves, as the instance does not collapse if there are active people within it.

Crib92 · 02-01-2006, 02:39 AM

HolyAvengerOne wrote:While there's a lot of joking around in this thread on Toxxulia, I think there's a good idea there.I think the feeling of belonging to a certain server is somehow tied, like any such feeling, to the name of the server. I think it would be much more interesting for everyone involved (especially those "losing" their server) to get brand new name for the new united server.I firmly believe this would be a good first step in the direction of building the new server communities.

Wow, I like that idea. Prolly too late to implement but I would support that.

Elquinjena · 02-01-2006, 02:39 AM

ScottI feel real sorry for you and all the people who work to bring us EQ2The plate you have in front of all of you is not just full but over flowing...across the table...dripping onto the floor.char transfers, ( people missing things like claimed items) server merge's, ( data base nightmares), renaming problems for people and guilds...( a bucket of worms)adding in new hardware to current servers, setting up new servers for PvP..and add on top of that up date 19, then Kingdom of Sky and all the bugs and tweaks that always follow......** shudder**I am sorry scott but I lost faith in Everquest long ago to do such things smoothy...The next couple months I fear the dust of such changes and moves will be so thickno one will be able to play...( ie servers down or crashing for long periods of time)People upset about losing thier names, or guild names or being forced to move to a place they do not wish to, many caught unawares....not every player visits this board.People upset over losing friends over these moves as well....lost items in the moves... ... in other words the board filled with many unhappy people. Almost as many as what Everquest 1 has seen when they did a forced 2 day roll back.It would be nice Scott if the EQ2 team could prove all the things I have stated as wrong......I do wish you luck

mykei · 02-01-2006, 02:39 AM

SOE, i have been having fun again with EQ and now am concerned about this

server move situation. with a major patch like #19, expansion, and moves i fear

for this game. if you botch it people may jump back to WoW and their next

expansion for another year.

lost items, names, and guild standings are going to happen. with a move a day

and the random moves we are going to have lots of problems. i would suggest

at least one move a week for a few weeks and if all goes well shotgun the last

few. i can't begin to second guess why this is all needed but i am sure it is

in SOE's best interest.

P.s. i CANCELED my pre-order to Sky due to the unclear future of EQ2

Message Edited by mykei on 01-31-200601:46 PM

HolyAvengerOne · 02-01-2006, 02:41 AM

Crib92 wrote:
HolyAvengerOne wrote:While there's a lot of joking around in this thread on Toxxulia, I think there's a good idea there.I think the feeling of belonging to a certain server is somehow tied, like any such feeling, to the name of the server. I think it would be much more interesting for everyone involved (especially those "losing" their server) to get brand new name for the new united server.I firmly believe this would be a good first step in the direction of building the new server communities.
Wow, I like that idea. Prolly too late to implement but I would support that.

I don't think its too late. AFAIK, the actual server name doesn't have an impact to anything inside the game, set aside for the chat channels, which is handled by separate servers anyways.I'd like to get a Dev's take on this.

Tenkaze Kodainoch · 02-01-2006, 02:42 AM

hmm ok so someone took my name on Blackburrow. The name Tenkaze and is level 3. I did a search and a number of people from my guild is on BB. WHats going to happen we got to rename? Hell no. Something better be done. Many players will be in grief if they got to change because some lvl 3-20 took his or her name.WE had the account since day 1 of release we are lvl 60 and I got to change my name... Hmm doesnt sound right to me... I dont care how much he lvls it up. My characer has been active since day 1 I WILL NOT ALLOW MY NAME TO BE CHANGED. I also want the GRIEFERS to FRY. Something has to be done. Do it now...Ten~

Message Edited by Tenkaze Kodainochie on 01-31-200603:38 PM

JoarAddam · 02-01-2006, 02:43 AM

Gallenite wrote:
interstellarmatter wrote:
Can you transfer a character off of Antonia Bayle onto one of the other servers?
Good question. Yes - People who are on Antonia Bayle can move one-time to another destination if they like.
Just make sure to pack up your shared bank. The character transfer service moves individual characters, not shared banks or guilds/guild banks.

But we don't need to worry about that if we choose the automatic move?

CoLD MeTaL · 02-01-2006, 02:44 AM

NM

Message Edited by CoLD MeTaL on 01-31-200603:45 PM

HolyAvengerOne · 02-01-2006, 02:44 AM

Tenkaze Kodainochie wrote:
hmm ok so someone took my name on Blackburrow. The name Tenkaze and is level 3. I did a search and a number of people from my guild is on BB. WHats going to happen we got to rename? Hell no. Something better be done. Many players will be in grief if they got to change because some lvl 3-20 took his or her name and has had the account since day 1 of release and is lvl 60. I dont care how much he lvls it up. My characer has been actice since day 1 I WILL NOT ALLOW MY NAME TO BE CHANGED. I also want the GRIEFERS to FRY. Something has to be done. Do it now...Ten~
Message Edited by Tenkaze Kodainochie on 01-31-200601:43 PM

Its already been done. Read Gallenite's post. That's pretty crystal clear to me.

g0thiC_iCe_cReaM · 02-01-2006, 02:48 AM

in all seriousness i don't think this will be the end of the world....

it's gonna be ok...promise SMILEY

Trinitymonger · 02-01-2006, 02:55 AM

A solution needs to be presented here. A post was started in the Crushbone forums to see if anyone would be nice enough about possibly changing their name if they had a small lvl character, etc etc... with the exception of one or two people, its obvious that some crushbone residents aren't happy about it and have made the post into a spam/picture frenzy instead of treating it as the nice request it is. Its obvious that the posters don't care and are treating us as invaders of their server instead of trying to make the best of things.

Mabelode · 02-01-2006, 03:00 AM

Trinitymonger wrote:
A solution needs to be presented here. A post was started in the Crushbone forums to see if anyone would be nice enough about possibly changing their name if they had a small lvl character, etc etc... with the exception of one or two people, its obvious that some crushbone residents aren't happy about it and have made the post into a spam/picture frenzy instead of treating it as the nice request it is. Its obvious that the posters don't care and are treating us as invaders of their server instead of trying to make the best of things.

Thanks for pointing this out. This is why I suggested earlier that both servers should be merged into one new server, not one server moving into another. Are you reading this Devs?MabelodeCustomer since EQ1 launch.Station Access since EQ2 launch.

ne1wor · 02-01-2006, 03:00 AM

I love EQ2. As proof of that, I bought a new computer, spent two months getting EQ2 to run reliably including replacing the PSU, buying an external modem and upgrading my video card. For me, the game would not run for more than 20 mins or so with an internal modem. Still I could not play grouped with more than a couple players because of lag. Dungeon play was also out. Last week I had a satellite installed (no it was not cheap) so I could do those things. Now I find out my server is going to be merged, which most likely will double the lag problem. Actually that I can live with because I can play during off hours. What I find hardest to live with is the thought of losing my character's names. I spent a lot of time coming up with the names and unlike some people, they are not just "toons". I am not a hardcore RP'er but I kinda have to believe these are characters and not just displays of pixels. If I get to thinking that, the game becomes a visually pleasing data entry program, nothing else. I agree it is the fairest way to have the character with the earliest creation date keep the name, I'm hoping I get to keep all mine. I just really hate this is happening. SMILEY

Valicor Strongbla · 02-01-2006, 03:11 AM

Gallenite (Scott),

I previously posted my concerns regarding the motivation and decision-making process behind the upcoming moves. I would now like to address the timing of what is to occur in the very near future:

Live Update 19 - this will be a major endeavor in itself, and as previous experience with major updates have shown - there will be issues. It should be expected by both SOE and the players.

Freebase Character moves - another event that will undoubtedly create larger support issues than normal. This will not be as bad as the next event.

Server migrations - from what I have read or gleaned from the boards, I see the following as being characteristics and/or potential issues with this event:

- hardware changes to most servers- character move issues names banking housing/items- guild move issues names banking- population issues server stability zone performance player enjoyment

Kingdom of Sky Expansion - as with any major expansion or software code change, there will be problems. Again, this should be no surprise to SOE or the playerbase.

The reason for my post and the aformentioned items is the timing. SOE will be doing all of this in less than a month. Most of these are major events that any Information Technology or Support department would try to have at least 2 - 3 weeks, let alone a month, of time between before doing the next. This type of schedule would send most reasonable IT Support running for the doors or jumping out the windows.

My question is - why is there such a rush to perform the server moves? There have been several posts on this being a "last minute" notification. There may be people that feel that a week or so is ample notification, but I think most would disagree with that in relation to the magnitude of change. Wouldn't it make more sense to roll LU19 out, stabilize, then launch Kingdom of Sky, stabilize, and THEN schedule server migrations? This unusually aggressive schedule leads me to believe that something else is driving it - whether it be SOE Executive Management or financial reasons. I do feel sorry for those involved in doing the implementation, as well as those who will have to provide support for this schedule.

While others may disagree, I personally feel that it is not too late for SOE to re-evaluate the schedule and put more time between each implementation. It may very well save players from leaving and prevent any loss of revenue.

Respectfully Submitted,

Valicor

Level 59 Paladin

League of Renowned Explorers

Grobb Server

KdB · 02-01-2006, 03:12 AM

Silverfrost wrote:
snarkteeth wrote:are the server lottery pools getting merged?
Yes.

Are you quite sure that the bug, where transferring an unguilded character can cause all personal status to be lost, is totally fixed? I lost 150k status in a server transfer 2 weeks ago. I couldn't be bothered to file a ticket, I can make back the status pretty quick, but you presumably do NOT want 15,000 tickets filed on this in February.

Necroibe · 02-01-2006, 03:12 AM

my biggest problem with this is that i might lose my mains name a lvl 56 Guardian / lvl 60 Armorer my name means alot as i am a maxed crafter who does alot of tier 6 armor work and the toon i might lose my main's name to is a lvl 22 Shadowknight / lvl 3 Artisan who might not even be played any longer.also what will happen to item's crafted by players such as armor with the "made by " ?as i would hate to think that i wouls be wondering around in cobalt armor if i have to change my mains name made by a toon who's craft lvl is 3i have 2 alt's who might lose their names not a big deal their as i realy don't craft with them but my main is more well know for his crafting

Tesar/Oogar · 02-01-2006, 03:17 AM

Mabelode wrote:
Thanks for pointing this out. This is why I suggested earlier that both servers should be merged into one new server, not one server moving into another. Are you reading this Devs?MabelodeCustomer since EQ1 launch.Station Access since EQ2 launch.

That would have been a great idea... if they had implemented the idea before announcing the merge. But no, as another shining example of their forethought, they tell us which is the server being moved, which server populations have become nomads to be absorbed by the new server, and at the same time they tell us we're out of luck if our name is taken on the server we're being moved to. While simultanouesly, they fail to lock down the names between the servers being merged, so name griefing cannot take place.Once again SOE, well done. Was this given any forethought whatsoever, or did the devs read about it in the letter like we did.It would take the average person about half a second of forethought to realize that their plan of tough-luck-half-of-Norrath would cause an uproar. A half a second later, the average person could come up with a much better system of merging, and two seconds after that, the anverage person with a single enemy would realize the griefing that was about to occur.But, instead of thinking about these problems before releasing the plan to the unwashed masses, we get this.SOE Think Tank Member No. 1: "How do you think we should merge the servers?"SOE Think Tank Member No. 2: "Well... I think the best plan is to ... ***shakes Magic 8 Ball*** ... alienate half the population.SOE Think Tank Member No. 1: "You mean ... tell half the servers they have to move to an established server, tell them their server is being destroyed, and tell them that if their name is taken, oh well, we'll rename you or you can choose another name? BRILLIANT!SOE Think Tank Member No. 2: "Let us now retire to the antechamber, rub our hands together in glee, laugh manically and sip congac.SOE Think Tank Member No. 1: BRILLIANT!But I digress.

Morganna · 02-01-2006, 03:36 AM

HolyAvengerOne wrote:While there's a lot of joking around in this thread on Toxxulia, I think there's a good idea there.I think the feeling of belonging to a certain server is somehow tied, like any such feeling, to the name of the server. I think it would be much more interesting for everyone involved (especially those "losing" their server) to get brand new name for the new united server.I firmly believe this would be a good first step in the direction of building the new server communities.

Making a new server name for the merged servers would make it feel less like a hostile invasion. As some of the others have posted there are a lot of negative threads going on all over the server boards. People are not happy about losing their server names and on the other hand people are not happy about doubling the population of the servers.

I understand this is going to happen, the easier and more appealing SOE can make it for the users the better. Change the name of the servers, give them a new name all together.

With regards to people having to change their personal and/or Guild names, the only fair way to do it would be playtime or active account time. People will get $crewed either way, it's best to minimize that as much as possible.

Message Edited by Morganna on 01-31-200602:39 PM

Actfive · 02-01-2006, 04:03 AM

KdBoy wrote:
Are you quite sure that the bug, where transferring an unguilded character can cause all personal status to be lost, is totally fixed? I lost 150k status in a server transfer 2 weeks ago. I couldn't be bothered to file a ticket, I can make back the status pretty quick, but you presumably do NOT want 15,000 tickets filed on this in February.

Very very good point. I was in a guild and did the $50.00 transfer from Guk to Najena along with two friends, and we all lost our personal status points. A /petition and a visit from a GM got it back, but SoE is going to be in a world of pain if this little bug is not fixed before the majority move, let alone the individual transfers which will be starting very shortly.

If that bug is not fixed, SoE is going to have to hire a army of GM's.

Scyros · 02-01-2006, 04:10 AM

I don't do much posting on SoE forums. But this I have to comment on. First off I am one of the lucky ones that at this point do not have any name conflicts with my fellow mergees. And while there may have been a better way to bring this plan to the customer base, it's out there now and SoE will take what ever action they feel is best for the long term life of EQ2. But what I do find upsetting is the lack of respect SoE has for it's customers. Do you really expect us to beleive that, because EQ2 is "growing" it is nessisary to merge servers? Think about that statement for one minute. The game is growing, and you would like to crowd more people on lightly populated servers. If the game is growing so fast that is how is this a pro-active move? Wouldn't the brisk growth rate simply fill in those servers that are light on people? I'm not suggesting I know whats going on but clearing SoE is not telling us the whole story here. Give me one example Scott, of a MMO that, when faced with growth they merged servers. Because the only ones I can think of were/are games that were/are in decline. EQ1 mergers after EQ2 came out, DAoC merged servers a while back as well. No Sir the logic just does not add up here. And I think you owe it to your paying customers to be honest about what is really going on. If the game is going thru a rough patch(and most of us know it is) then just say so. It's nothing to be ashamed of and I think it would show you have a great deal more respect for the poeple who pay your rent every month. If you want more people logging on across all servers, then make a better game. It's that simple.

This whole merger deal has left a bad impression on me. I have even opted not to pre-order KoS as a result. And am seriously looking at canceling. You can't keep jerking your customers around like this and expect us to stick it out with you.

HolyAvengerOne · 02-01-2006, 04:16 AM

Morganna wrote:
HolyAvengerOne wrote:While there's a lot of joking around in this thread on Toxxulia, I think there's a good idea there.I think the feeling of belonging to a certain server is somehow tied, like any such feeling, to the name of the server. I think it would be much more interesting for everyone involved (especially those "losing" their server) to get brand new name for the new united server.I firmly believe this would be a good first step in the direction of building the new server communities.
Making a new server name for the merged servers would make it feel less like a hostile invasion. As some of the others have posted there are a lot of negative threads going on all over the server boards. People are not happy about losing their server names and on the other hand people are not happy about doubling the population of the servers.
I understand this is going to happen, the easier and more appealing SOE can make it for the users the better. Change the name of the servers, give them a new name all together.
With regards to people having to change their personal and/or Guild names, the only fair way to do it would be playtime or active account time. People will get $crewed either way, it's best to minimize that as much as possible.
Message Edited by Morganna on 01-31-200602:39 PM

Well said ! I just hope someone is still reading this and wasn't discouraged by the 620+ replies, lol SMILEY

Seriously though, I'm pretty sure they were expecting such a strong reaction.

BK613 · 02-01-2006, 04:32 AM

__________________________________________________ _______________________ Those new "blocking" characters will be the ones who end up renamed.

____ Scott Hartsman Senior Producer, EverQuest II________________________________________________ ________________________

Two questions:What is your preferred method of bringing these attempts to name-jump to your attention? What kind of dispute resolution will you have in place to evaluate who has more claim to a name (example:mid-to-high level adventurer/artisan that's been played consistently for a year coming into a server where a legitimate alt exists but never sees any playtime)?

Message Edited by BK613 on 01-31-200605:37 PM

Nomimono · 02-01-2006, 04:36 AM

What will happen to the current characters that are on the Isle now?Will they get the new gear and weapons and keep their current gear that they have on? Will we keep the titles we have now as well?Will we get the free bag that you get on the test server and lastly, will the quests we have completed remain that they have been completed?

LightHor · 02-01-2006, 05:18 AM

How are we to distinquish a "name-jumper"? If you are permitted to transfer to any server starting this week it seems pretty clear first come first serve is the rule ...... starting in about 48 hours. Are you assuming that all characters from one particular server are moving to a specific server? If you got a name saved on one server because you are saving it for a character with the same name moving from a different "forced move" server that not name jumping .................. that is name saving.

You think level should be a critera? I don't. I am more apt to support hours played. However, I grow more cyncial with age.

I think the priority should be as such (not that my pontification is any more gospel than the rest of this thread):

1. If you character is from a Station Access account you character has priority over a non-Station Access account. Lets face it, SOE is a business and if they are going to "take care" of the community they might start with the members paying the most for access to all there games not just EQ2.

2. If both accounts that have the common name in conflict are Station Access accounts then you reward the name to the Station Access holder with the longest account longevity. Again this rewards the long-term paying players. (Those of you that joined the exodus from SWG to EQ2 still have your toons [ Ahazi Rules!] just in case your ready to try the level 80 jedi knight during one of your 9 respects. True? )

3. If based on (1) and (2) above the results are still tied..... then the account with the highest playing time with that particular character wins. Played time is the best measure. Will you argue the 30th level provisioner is more worthy than the 29th level bruiser when the provisioner grinded his level a mere two weeks while the brusier took a month of game time? Were you to ignore the crafting levels altogether in your arguments? No I think level has no relevance in a forced consolidation as it eliminates asepcts of the game that many find attractive (quests completed, status points, etc.)

4. In the unlikely event two community members are both Station Access members that joined during the same month and have played the same numbers of days hours and minutes with their characters.... there can be only one solution.............. PvP duel for the pink slip to the name. This would be extremely unbalanced when the 6 level scout/30 level provisioner takes on the 29th level bruiser / 3 level artisan but ............... such are the fortunes of Norrath. :smileywink:

Message Edited by LightHorse on 01-31-200607:18 PM

bsb · 02-01-2006, 05:27 AM

Kenlyn wrote:
Has anyone aswered the question yet if exchange server toons are goning to be able to transfer to non ES servers......
Message Edited by Kenlyn on 01-31-200610:19 AM

Again, will someone from SOE answer this question please... tons of people have asked stop beating around the bush and just answer it.

not looking for an answer from someone that thinks they know what SOE is going to do here. We all know what policy is before this event but because the original post specifically says "to all users, no matter which server you are coming from" means thats all users, the only exception they mentioned is Antonia Bayle.

SOE ANSWER THE QUESTION...

Jeeshman · 02-01-2006, 05:39 AM

Gallenite wrote:
For those characters who do not choose to move early via the Character Transfer Service and are moved automatically on their moving day, some may be automatically renamed (with one or more 'x's appended to their name) in the case that their name is already taken by an older character. If that occurs, the renamed character will be able to use the /rename command once to choose a new name for themselves.

Mr. Hartsman, I appreciate the fact that you have a difficult enough job as it is. However, I respectfully ask that you reword the above sentence. The word "older" has no meaning based on your follow-up post, where you indicated all characters being moved that have name conflicts will have their names changed. Please change this sentence to read, "...some may be automatically renamed (with one or more 'x's appended to their name) in the case that their name is already taken by a character."I believe people who are unfamiliar with server changes would reasonably interpret "older" to mean "the character with the earlier origination date." This is because they'd assume that "older" has to actually mean something within the context of the sentence. I also suspect that few people will be willing to click through 9 pages of posts before they discover that they're wrong. They'll be less upset if they can understand the system being implemented from the start.Note, however, that when I lose the name I've had since November of 2004 to somebody who created a character this week with the same name, I'm still going to be upset. Really, really upset.

g0thiC_iCe_cReaM · 02-01-2006, 05:46 AM

Jeeshman wrote:
Note, however, that when I lose the name I've had since November of 2004 to somebody who created a character this week with the same name, I'm still going to be upset. Really, really upset.

http://eqiiforums.station.sony.com/eq2/board/message?board.id=testdev&message.id=7801#M7801

Jeeshman · 02-01-2006, 05:57 AM

g0thiCiCecReaM wrote:
Jeeshman wrote:
Note, however, that when I lose the name I've had since November of 2004 to somebody who created a character this week with the same name, I'm still going to be upset. Really, really upset.
http://eqiiforums.station.sony.com/eq2/board/message?board.id=testdev&message.id=7801#M7801

Thanks for the link, I somehow missed that on page 17. But what if somebody created a character a month ago with the same name? I'd still be really ticked off. A friend of mine with a level 58 Bruiser/level 60 Armorer may have to rename because there's a level 29 Illusionist already on the server we're moving to with his character's name. The Illusionist hasn't logged in for a long time so my friend is crossing his fingers that the Illusionist gets dropped by the "purge." I know there's no way to make everyone happy, but this server merge seems to have not been very well thought-out. I hope it goes well .EDIT: I should have said he's crossing his fingers that the Illusionist character is part of an inactive account. There's no way a level 29 would get purged. Sorry.

Message Edited by Jeeshman on 01-31-200605:02 PM

Kernan · 02-01-2006, 06:08 AM

Mr. Hartsman,I would like to line out a scenario for this merger and hope you can take a moment to reply because this question and your answer will affect quite a few on my server.If a guild would like to move, not to the designated server for the merger but to a server of their choice, and convince their members to move with them, what happens to the guild's level and status?In other words, guild members and leadership use CTS to move to server B instead of waiting for the auto-move to server A:-what is the net effect for the membership? Does the guild maintain its guild level since the guild leadership, who presumably 'hold the keys', moved to server B?-Or will their guild have to reform on the new server, thereby 'resetting' their level to 1 again?Thank you for your attention.

02-01-2006, 02:30 AM	#601
HolyAvengerOne Loremaster Join Date: Nov 2004 Posts: 118	While there's a lot of joking around in this thread on Toxxulia, I think there's a good idea there.I think the feeling of belonging to a certain server is somehow tied, like any such feeling, to the name of the server. I think it would be much more interesting for everyone involved (especially those "losing" their server) to get brand new name for the new united server.I firmly believe this would be a good first step in the direction of building the new server communities. __________________

02-01-2006, 02:39 AM	#604
Elquinjena Huntress Join Date: Nov 2004 Posts: 266	ScottI feel real sorry for you and all the people who work to bring us EQ2The plate you have in front of all of you is not just full but over flowing...across the table...dripping onto the floor.char transfers, ( people missing things like claimed items) server merge's, ( data base nightmares), renaming problems for people and guilds...( a bucket of worms)adding in new hardware to current servers, setting up new servers for PvP..and add on top of that up date 19, then Kingdom of Sky and all the bugs and tweaks that always follow...... shudderI am sorry scott but I lost faith in Everquest long ago to do such things smoothy...The next couple months I fear the dust of such changes and moves will be so thickno one will be able to play...( ie servers down or crashing for long periods of time)People upset about losing thier names, or guild names or being forced to move to a place they do not wish to, many caught unawares....not every player visits this board.People upset over losing friends over these moves as well....lost items in the moves... ... in other words the board filled with many unhappy people. Almost as many as what Everquest 1 has seen when they did a forced 2 day roll back.It would be nice Scott if the EQ2 team could prove all the things I have stated as wrong......I do wish you luck __________________ Antonia Bayle Server - EQII Legion of Kithicor

02-01-2006, 02:41 AM	#606
HolyAvengerOne Loremaster Join Date: Nov 2004 Posts: 118	Crib92 wrote: HolyAvengerOne wrote:While there's a lot of joking around in this thread on Toxxulia, I think there's a good idea there.I think the feeling of belonging to a certain server is somehow tied, like any such feeling, to the name of the server. I think it would be much more interesting for everyone involved (especially those "losing" their server) to get brand new name for the new united server.I firmly believe this would be a good first step in the direction of building the new server communities. Wow, I like that idea. Prolly too late to implement but I would support that. I don't think its too late. AFAIK, the actual server name doesn't have an impact to anything inside the game, set aside for the chat channels, which is handled by separate servers anyways.I'd like to get a Dev's take on this. __________________

02-01-2006, 02:42 AM	#607
Tenkaze Kodainoch Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Miami Posts: 2	hmm ok so someone took my name on Blackburrow. The name Tenkaze and is level 3. I did a search and a number of people from my guild is on BB. WHats going to happen we got to rename? Hell no. Something better be done. Many players will be in grief if they got to change because some lvl 3-20 took his or her name.WE had the account since day 1 of release we are lvl 60 and I got to change my name... Hmm doesnt sound right to me... I dont care how much he lvls it up. My characer has been active since day 1 I WILL NOT ALLOW MY NAME TO BE CHANGED. I also want the GRIEFERS to FRY. Something has to be done. Do it now...Ten~ Message Edited by Tenkaze Kodainochie on 01-31-200603:38 PM __________________ Click me to view My Website!!

02-01-2006, 02:43 AM	#608
JoarAddam Loremaster Join Date: Dec 2004 Posts: 1,239	Gallenite wrote: interstellarmatter wrote: Can you transfer a character off of Antonia Bayle onto one of the other servers? Good question. Yes - People who are on Antonia Bayle can move one-time to another destination if they like. Just make sure to pack up your shared bank. The character transfer service moves individual characters, not shared banks or guilds/guild banks. But we don't need to worry about that if we choose the automatic move? __________________ Then Than You're Your They're There Their

02-01-2006, 02:32 AM	#602
Esbat_Unseelie Loremaster Join Date: Nov 2004 Posts: 20	I've seen a post or two a few pages back that suggested using account status (ie: active or cancelled) as a factor in determining who gets to keep a name. Total days/hours/whatever played might be a better solution. I, for one, happen to cancel my account every time I buy it- but I've renewed my account every time it has expired. I just don't like recurring billing. Call me a control freak, but I like to determine when the money is drawn from my account. It has been stated that the hardware cannibalized from the old servers will be used to beef up the merge servers. I can only hope that zones will instance faster and all zones will instance. Still, instancing is a less than optimal solution. I recall the days where you could see 5 or 6 versions of newbie zones like the Peat Bog up, and a trick I knew some people to employ was to enter a high numbered instance and remained logged in, so they could have the instance all to themselves, as the instance does not collapse if there are active people within it.

02-01-2006, 02:39 AM	#603
Crib92 Loremaster Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Here nor there Posts: 320	HolyAvengerOne wrote:While there's a lot of joking around in this thread on Toxxulia, I think there's a good idea there.I think the feeling of belonging to a certain server is somehow tied, like any such feeling, to the name of the server. I think it would be much more interesting for everyone involved (especially those "losing" their server) to get brand new name for the new united server.I firmly believe this would be a good first step in the direction of building the new server communities. Wow, I like that idea. Prolly too late to implement but I would support that.

02-01-2006, 02:39 AM	#605
mykei Loremaster Join Date: Oct 2005 Posts: 147	SOE, i have been having fun again with EQ and now am concerned about this server move situation. with a major patch like #19, expansion, and moves i fear for this game. if you botch it people may jump back to WoW and their next expansion for another year. lost items, names, and guild standings are going to happen. with a move a day and the random moves we are going to have lots of problems. i would suggest at least one move a week for a few weeks and if all goes well shotgun the last few. i can't begin to second guess why this is all needed but i am sure it is in SOE's best interest. P.s. i CANCELED my pre-order to Sky due to the unclear future of EQ2 Message Edited by mykei on 01-31-200601:46 PM

02-01-2006, 02:44 AM	#609
CoLD MeTaL Loremaster Join Date: Apr 2005 Posts: 3,217	NM Message Edited by CoLD MeTaL on 01-31-200603:45 PM __________________

02-01-2006, 02:44 AM	#610
HolyAvengerOne Loremaster Join Date: Nov 2004 Posts: 118	Tenkaze Kodainochie wrote: hmm ok so someone took my name on Blackburrow. The name Tenkaze and is level 3. I did a search and a number of people from my guild is on BB. WHats going to happen we got to rename? Hell no. Something better be done. Many players will be in grief if they got to change because some lvl 3-20 took his or her name and has had the account since day 1 of release and is lvl 60. I dont care how much he lvls it up. My characer has been actice since day 1 I WILL NOT ALLOW MY NAME TO BE CHANGED. I also want the GRIEFERS to FRY. Something has to be done. Do it now...Ten~ Message Edited by Tenkaze Kodainochie on 01-31-200601:43 PM Its already been done. Read Gallenite's post. That's pretty crystal clear to me. __________________

02-01-2006, 02:48 AM	#611
g0thiC_iCe_cReaM Loremaster Join Date: Dec 2004 Posts: 637	in all seriousness i don't think this will be the end of the world.... it's gonna be ok...promise

02-01-2006, 02:55 AM	#612
Trinitymonger Lord Join Date: Jan 2006 Posts: 22	A solution needs to be presented here. A post was started in the Crushbone forums to see if anyone would be nice enough about possibly changing their name if they had a small lvl character, etc etc... with the exception of one or two people, its obvious that some crushbone residents aren't happy about it and have made the post into a spam/picture frenzy instead of treating it as the nice request it is. Its obvious that the posters don't care and are treating us as invaders of their server instead of trying to make the best of things. __________________ Evengale 56 Necromancer/Provisioner - Dark Elf - Swash 30 Swashbuckler - Wood Elf - Fayael 37 Fury - Iskar - Crushbone

02-01-2006, 03:00 AM	#613
Mabelode Loremaster Join Date: Dec 2005 Posts: 33	Trinitymonger wrote: A solution needs to be presented here. A post was started in the Crushbone forums to see if anyone would be nice enough about possibly changing their name if they had a small lvl character, etc etc... with the exception of one or two people, its obvious that some crushbone residents aren't happy about it and have made the post into a spam/picture frenzy instead of treating it as the nice request it is. Its obvious that the posters don't care and are treating us as invaders of their server instead of trying to make the best of things. Thanks for pointing this out. This is why I suggested earlier that both servers should be merged into one new server, not one server moving into another. Are you reading this Devs?MabelodeCustomer since EQ1 launch.Station Access since EQ2 launch.

02-01-2006, 03:00 AM	#614
ne1wor Join Date: Jun 2005 Posts: 2	I love EQ2. As proof of that, I bought a new computer, spent two months getting EQ2 to run reliably including replacing the PSU, buying an external modem and upgrading my video card. For me, the game would not run for more than 20 mins or so with an internal modem. Still I could not play grouped with more than a couple players because of lag. Dungeon play was also out. Last week I had a satellite installed (no it was not cheap) so I could do those things. Now I find out my server is going to be merged, which most likely will double the lag problem. Actually that I can live with because I can play during off hours. What I find hardest to live with is the thought of losing my character's names. I spent a lot of time coming up with the names and unlike some people, they are not just "toons". I am not a hardcore RP'er but I kinda have to believe these are characters and not just displays of pixels. If I get to thinking that, the game becomes a visually pleasing data entry program, nothing else. I agree it is the fairest way to have the character with the earliest creation date keep the name, I'm hoping I get to keep all mine. I just really hate this is happening.

02-01-2006, 03:11 AM	#615
Valicor Strongbla Join Date: Nov 2004 Posts: 4	Gallenite (Scott), I previously posted my concerns regarding the motivation and decision-making process behind the upcoming moves. I would now like to address the timing of what is to occur in the very near future: Live Update 19 - this will be a major endeavor in itself, and as previous experience with major updates have shown - there will be issues. It should be expected by both SOE and the players. Freebase Character moves - another event that will undoubtedly create larger support issues than normal. This will not be as bad as the next event. Server migrations - from what I have read or gleaned from the boards, I see the following as being characteristics and/or potential issues with this event: - hardware changes to most servers- character move issues names banking housing/items- guild move issues names banking- population issues server stability zone performance player enjoyment Kingdom of Sky Expansion - as with any major expansion or software code change, there will be problems. Again, this should be no surprise to SOE or the playerbase. The reason for my post and the aformentioned items is the timing. SOE will be doing all of this in less than a month. Most of these are major events that any Information Technology or Support department would try to have at least 2 - 3 weeks, let alone a month, of time between before doing the next. This type of schedule would send most reasonable IT Support running for the doors or jumping out the windows. My question is - why is there such a rush to perform the server moves? There have been several posts on this being a "last minute" notification. There may be people that feel that a week or so is ample notification, but I think most would disagree with that in relation to the magnitude of change. Wouldn't it make more sense to roll LU19 out, stabilize, then launch Kingdom of Sky, stabilize, and THEN schedule server migrations? This unusually aggressive schedule leads me to believe that something else is driving it - whether it be SOE Executive Management or financial reasons. I do feel sorry for those involved in doing the implementation, as well as those who will have to provide support for this schedule. While others may disagree, I personally feel that it is not too late for SOE to re-evaluate the schedule and put more time between each implementation. It may very well save players from leaving and prevent any loss of revenue. Respectfully Submitted, Valicor Level 59 Paladin League of Renowned Explorers Grobb Server

02-01-2006, 03:12 AM	#616
KdB Join Date: Nov 2004 Posts: 33	Silverfrost wrote: snarkteeth wrote:are the server lottery pools getting merged? Yes. Are you quite sure that the bug, where transferring an unguilded character can cause all personal status to be lost, is totally fixed? I lost 150k status in a server transfer 2 weeks ago. I couldn't be bothered to file a ticket, I can make back the status pretty quick, but you presumably do NOT want 15,000 tickets filed on this in February.

02-01-2006, 03:12 AM	#617
Necroibe Loremaster Join Date: Mar 2005 Posts: 12	my biggest problem with this is that i might lose my mains name a lvl 56 Guardian / lvl 60 Armorer my name means alot as i am a maxed crafter who does alot of tier 6 armor work and the toon i might lose my main's name to is a lvl 22 Shadowknight / lvl 3 Artisan who might not even be played any longer.also what will happen to item's crafted by players such as armor with the "made by " ?as i would hate to think that i wouls be wondering around in cobalt armor if i have to change my mains name made by a toon who's craft lvl is 3i have 2 alt's who might lose their names not a big deal their as i realy don't craft with them but my main is more well know for his crafting __________________

02-01-2006, 03:17 AM	#618
Tesar/Oogar Loremaster Join Date: Jul 2005 Posts: 52	Mabelode wrote: Thanks for pointing this out. This is why I suggested earlier that both servers should be merged into one new server, not one server moving into another. Are you reading this Devs?MabelodeCustomer since EQ1 launch.Station Access since EQ2 launch. That would have been a great idea... if they had implemented the idea before announcing the merge. But no, as another shining example of their forethought, they tell us which is the server being moved, which server populations have become nomads to be absorbed by the new server, and at the same time they tell us we're out of luck if our name is taken on the server we're being moved to. While simultanouesly, they fail to lock down the names between the servers being merged, so name griefing cannot take place.Once again SOE, well done. Was this given any forethought whatsoever, or did the devs read about it in the letter like we did.It would take the average person about half a second of forethought to realize that their plan of tough-luck-half-of-Norrath would cause an uproar. A half a second later, the average person could come up with a much better system of merging, and two seconds after that, the anverage person with a single enemy would realize the griefing that was about to occur.But, instead of thinking about these problems before releasing the plan to the unwashed masses, we get this.SOE Think Tank Member No. 1: "How do you think we should merge the servers?"SOE Think Tank Member No. 2: "Well... I think the best plan is to ... *shakes Magic 8 Ball* ... alienate half the population.SOE Think Tank Member No. 1: "You mean ... tell half the servers they have to move to an established server, tell them their server is being destroyed, and tell them that if their name is taken, oh well, we'll rename you or you can choose another name? BRILLIANT!SOE Think Tank Member No. 2: "Let us now retire to the antechamber, rub our hands together in glee, laugh manically and sip congac.SOE Think Tank Member No. 1: BRILLIANT!But I digress.

02-01-2006, 03:36 AM	#619
Morganna Loremaster Join Date: Nov 2004 Posts: 72	HolyAvengerOne wrote:While there's a lot of joking around in this thread on Toxxulia, I think there's a good idea there.I think the feeling of belonging to a certain server is somehow tied, like any such feeling, to the name of the server. I think it would be much more interesting for everyone involved (especially those "losing" their server) to get brand new name for the new united server.I firmly believe this would be a good first step in the direction of building the new server communities. Making a new server name for the merged servers would make it feel less like a hostile invasion. As some of the others have posted there are a lot of negative threads going on all over the server boards. People are not happy about losing their server names and on the other hand people are not happy about doubling the population of the servers. I understand this is going to happen, the easier and more appealing SOE can make it for the users the better. Change the name of the servers, give them a new name all together. With regards to people having to change their personal and/or Guild names, the only fair way to do it would be playtime or active account time. People will get $crewed either way, it's best to minimize that as much as possible. Message Edited by Morganna on 01-31-200602:39 PM __________________

02-01-2006, 04:03 AM	#620
Actfive Loremaster Join Date: Nov 2004 Posts: 48	KdBoy wrote: Are you quite sure that the bug, where transferring an unguilded character can cause all personal status to be lost, is totally fixed? I lost 150k status in a server transfer 2 weeks ago. I couldn't be bothered to file a ticket, I can make back the status pretty quick, but you presumably do NOT want 15,000 tickets filed on this in February. Very very good point. I was in a guild and did the $50.00 transfer from Guk to Najena along with two friends, and we all lost our personal status points. A /petition and a visit from a GM got it back, but SoE is going to be in a world of pain if this little bug is not fixed before the majority move, let alone the individual transfers which will be starting very shortly. If that bug is not fixed, SoE is going to have to hire a army of GM's. __________________ Quiting EQ2 is like quitting smoking...Easy to do, hard to maintain....

02-01-2006, 04:10 AM	#621
Scyros Loremaster Join Date: Nov 2004 Posts: 61	I don't do much posting on SoE forums. But this I have to comment on. First off I am one of the lucky ones that at this point do not have any name conflicts with my fellow mergees. And while there may have been a better way to bring this plan to the customer base, it's out there now and SoE will take what ever action they feel is best for the long term life of EQ2. But what I do find upsetting is the lack of respect SoE has for it's customers. Do you really expect us to beleive that, because EQ2 is "growing" it is nessisary to merge servers? Think about that statement for one minute. The game is growing, and you would like to crowd more people on lightly populated servers. If the game is growing so fast that is how is this a pro-active move? Wouldn't the brisk growth rate simply fill in those servers that are light on people? I'm not suggesting I know whats going on but clearing SoE is not telling us the whole story here. Give me one example Scott, of a MMO that, when faced with growth they merged servers. Because the only ones I can think of were/are games that were/are in decline. EQ1 mergers after EQ2 came out, DAoC merged servers a while back as well. No Sir the logic just does not add up here. And I think you owe it to your paying customers to be honest about what is really going on. If the game is going thru a rough patch(and most of us know it is) then just say so. It's nothing to be ashamed of and I think it would show you have a great deal more respect for the poeple who pay your rent every month. If you want more people logging on across all servers, then make a better game. It's that simple. This whole merger deal has left a bad impression on me. I have even opted not to pre-order KoS as a result. And am seriously looking at canceling. You can't keep jerking your customers around like this and expect us to stick it out with you. __________________

02-01-2006, 04:16 AM	#622
HolyAvengerOne Loremaster Join Date: Nov 2004 Posts: 118	Morganna wrote: HolyAvengerOne wrote:While there's a lot of joking around in this thread on Toxxulia, I think there's a good idea there.I think the feeling of belonging to a certain server is somehow tied, like any such feeling, to the name of the server. I think it would be much more interesting for everyone involved (especially those "losing" their server) to get brand new name for the new united server.I firmly believe this would be a good first step in the direction of building the new server communities. Making a new server name for the merged servers would make it feel less like a hostile invasion. As some of the others have posted there are a lot of negative threads going on all over the server boards. People are not happy about losing their server names and on the other hand people are not happy about doubling the population of the servers. I understand this is going to happen, the easier and more appealing SOE can make it for the users the better. Change the name of the servers, give them a new name all together. With regards to people having to change their personal and/or Guild names, the only fair way to do it would be playtime or active account time. People will get $crewed either way, it's best to minimize that as much as possible. Message Edited by Morganna on 01-31-200602:39 PM Well said ! I just hope someone is still reading this and wasn't discouraged by the 620+ replies, lol Seriously though, I'm pretty sure they were expecting such a strong reaction. __________________

02-01-2006, 04:32 AM	#623
BK613 Loremaster Join Date: Jan 2005 Posts: 77	__________________________________________________ _______________________ Those new "blocking" characters will be the ones who end up renamed. ____ Scott Hartsman Senior Producer, EverQuest II________________________________________________ ________________________ Two questions:What is your preferred method of bringing these attempts to name-jump to your attention? What kind of dispute resolution will you have in place to evaluate who has more claim to a name (example:mid-to-high level adventurer/artisan that's been played consistently for a year coming into a server where a legitimate alt exists but never sees any playtime)? Message Edited by BK613 on 01-31-200605:37 PM

02-01-2006, 04:36 AM	#624
Nomimono Loremaster Join Date: Dec 2004 Posts: 3	What will happen to the current characters that are on the Isle now?Will they get the new gear and weapons and keep their current gear that they have on? Will we keep the titles we have now as well?Will we get the free bag that you get on the test server and lastly, will the quests we have completed remain that they have been completed? __________________

02-01-2006, 05:18 AM	#625
LightHor Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: The Bazaar Posts: 8	How are we to distinquish a "name-jumper"? If you are permitted to transfer to any server starting this week it seems pretty clear first come first serve is the rule ...... starting in about 48 hours. Are you assuming that all characters from one particular server are moving to a specific server? If you got a name saved on one server because you are saving it for a character with the same name moving from a different "forced move" server that not name jumping .................. that is name saving. You think level should be a critera? I don't. I am more apt to support hours played. However, I grow more cyncial with age. I think the priority should be as such (not that my pontification is any more gospel than the rest of this thread): 1. If you character is from a Station Access account you character has priority over a non-Station Access account. Lets face it, SOE is a business and if they are going to "take care" of the community they might start with the members paying the most for access to all there games not just EQ2. 2. If both accounts that have the common name in conflict are Station Access accounts then you reward the name to the Station Access holder with the longest account longevity. Again this rewards the long-term paying players. (Those of you that joined the exodus from SWG to EQ2 still have your toons [ Ahazi Rules!] just in case your ready to try the level 80 jedi knight during one of your 9 respects. True? ) 3. If based on (1) and (2) above the results are still tied..... then the account with the highest playing time with that particular character wins. Played time is the best measure. Will you argue the 30th level provisioner is more worthy than the 29th level bruiser when the provisioner grinded his level a mere two weeks while the brusier took a month of game time? Were you to ignore the crafting levels altogether in your arguments? No I think level has no relevance in a forced consolidation as it eliminates asepcts of the game that many find attractive (quests completed, status points, etc.) 4. In the unlikely event two community members are both Station Access members that joined during the same month and have played the same numbers of days hours and minutes with their characters.... there can be only one solution.............. PvP duel for the pink slip to the name. This would be extremely unbalanced when the 6 level scout/30 level provisioner takes on the 29th level bruiser / 3 level artisan but ............... such are the fortunes of Norrath. :smileywink: Message Edited by LightHorse on 01-31-200607:18 PM

02-01-2006, 05:27 AM	#626
bsb General Join Date: May 2005 Posts: 7	Kenlyn wrote: Has anyone aswered the question yet if exchange server toons are goning to be able to transfer to non ES servers...... Message Edited by Kenlyn on 01-31-200610:19 AM Again, will someone from SOE answer this question please... tons of people have asked stop beating around the bush and just answer it. not looking for an answer from someone that thinks they know what SOE is going to do here. We all know what policy is before this event but because the original post specifically says "to all users, no matter which server you are coming from" means thats all users, the only exception they mentioned is Antonia Bayle. SOE ANSWER THE QUESTION...

02-01-2006, 05:39 AM	#627
Jeeshman Loremaster Join Date: Nov 2004 Posts: 133	Gallenite wrote: For those characters who do not choose to move early via the Character Transfer Service and are moved automatically on their moving day, some may be automatically renamed (with one or more 'x's appended to their name) in the case that their name is already taken by an older character. If that occurs, the renamed character will be able to use the /rename command once to choose a new name for themselves. Mr. Hartsman, I appreciate the fact that you have a difficult enough job as it is. However, I respectfully ask that you reword the above sentence. The word "older" has no meaning based on your follow-up post, where you indicated all characters being moved that have name conflicts will have their names changed. Please change this sentence to read, "...some may be automatically renamed (with one or more 'x's appended to their name) in the case that their name is already taken by a character."I believe people who are unfamiliar with server changes would reasonably interpret "older" to mean "the character with the earlier origination date." This is because they'd assume that "older" has to actually mean something within the context of the sentence. I also suspect that few people will be willing to click through 9 pages of posts before they discover that they're wrong. They'll be less upset if they can understand the system being implemented from the start.Note, however, that when I lose the name I've had since November of 2004 to somebody who created a character this week with the same name, I'm still going to be upset. Really, really upset. __________________ Shaydu - 90 Wizard 90 Provisioner Giseppe - 80 Troubador Shaydumar - 90 Templar Everfrost Raid Alliance

02-01-2006, 05:46 AM	#628
g0thiC_iCe_cReaM Loremaster Join Date: Dec 2004 Posts: 637	Jeeshman wrote: Note, however, that when I lose the name I've had since November of 2004 to somebody who created a character this week with the same name, I'm still going to be upset. Really, really upset. http://eqiiforums.station.sony.com/eq2/board/message?board.id=testdev&message.id=7801#M7801

02-01-2006, 05:57 AM	#629
Jeeshman Loremaster Join Date: Nov 2004 Posts: 133	g0thiCiCecReaM wrote: Jeeshman wrote: Note, however, that when I lose the name I've had since November of 2004 to somebody who created a character this week with the same name, I'm still going to be upset. Really, really upset. http://eqiiforums.station.sony.com/eq2/board/message?board.id=testdev&message.id=7801#M7801 Thanks for the link, I somehow missed that on page 17. But what if somebody created a character a month ago with the same name? I'd still be really ticked off. A friend of mine with a level 58 Bruiser/level 60 Armorer may have to rename because there's a level 29 Illusionist already on the server we're moving to with his character's name. The Illusionist hasn't logged in for a long time so my friend is crossing his fingers that the Illusionist gets dropped by the "purge." I know there's no way to make everyone happy, but this server merge seems to have not been very well thought-out. I hope it goes well .EDIT: I should have said he's crossing his fingers that the Illusionist character is part of an inactive account. There's no way a level 29 would get purged. Sorry. Message Edited by Jeeshman on 01-31-200605:02 PM __________________ Shaydu - 90 Wizard 90 Provisioner Giseppe - 80 Troubador Shaydumar - 90 Templar Everfrost Raid Alliance

02-01-2006, 06:08 AM	#630
Kernan Loremaster Join Date: Dec 2004 Posts: 4	Mr. Hartsman,I would like to line out a scenario for this merger and hope you can take a moment to reply because this question and your answer will affect quite a few on my server.If a guild would like to move, not to the designated server for the merger but to a server of their choice, and convince their members to move with them, what happens to the guild's level and status?In other words, guild members and leadership use CTS to move to server B instead of waiting for the auto-move to server A:-what is the net effect for the membership? Does the guild maintain its guild level since the guild leadership, who presumably 'hold the keys', moved to server B?-Or will their guild have to reform on the new server, thereby 'resetting' their level to 1 again?Thank you for your attention.