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Title: empty server Post by: Furiously on August 30, 2005, 12:39:48 PM Is it me - or is Steamfont a ghosttown? I know on AB I'm used to seeing people everywhere.
Title: Re: empty server Post by: Cheddar on August 30, 2005, 12:42:46 PM Is it me - or is Steamfont a ghosttown? I know on AB I'm used to seeing people everywhere. Are you playing the same Steamfont as we are? I see people everywhere. Most prime times there are 2 instances of Antonia and Thundering Steppes. /ooc is also chock full of helpful people. I dunno, what area you been playing in? Title: Re: empty server Post by: Miasma on August 30, 2005, 12:56:04 PM Is it me - or is Steamfont a ghosttown? I know on AB I'm used to seeing people everywhere. I think Antonia Bayle is one of only 2 roleplaying servers so it probably has some more people. I bet they talk more too, adding an illusion of higher population. I haven't played on a different server since resubbing so all I can compare it to is launch, and yes there are a lot fewer people, fewer servers too. And whenever I create a character all the servers show as "light" population. When it launched there were quite a few full servers.You can get some stats but they are mostly guild related, and of course they don't state subscription numbers. (http://eq2players.station.sony.com/en/servers_index.vm) Title: Re: empty server Post by: Murgos on August 30, 2005, 03:05:14 PM The fact that they haven't created any new regular servers since november of last year is rather telling. I am sure that they anticipated releasing with a minimal amount of money invested in hardware and then adding servers at a steady pace to match demand...
Franky, the population I've experienced on Steamfont seems just about right to me, not crowded, no competition for areas, enough people to have a reasonable economy and a good set of gear on the vendors. Title: Re: empty server Post by: Signe on August 30, 2005, 03:11:26 PM I've been on when it's been very, very empty. The times I've been on during prime time, it's certainly never over-populated... heck, I can even always find plenty of shiny ?s on the ground. When ever I see Antonica 2, I also always see Antonica as a choice. This makes me think that if it does get a bit crowded, it's a momentary thing and doesn't stay that way for long. ( or the bit that determines what is crowded is broken. :-))
Title: Re: empty server Post by: Murgos on August 30, 2005, 03:18:23 PM I've seen Steppes 2 without an option to go to Steppes 1. So I think it probably works as expected it's just that might be temporary spikes in populations and then it settles a bit.
Usually during the day is when you get a lot of Europeans on. I remember on my old EQ server if you wanted to group during the day you had to put up with a good bit of german in the chat channels. Maybe EQ 2 isn't so hot with the Europeans? Or maybe they stay on their language specific servers more? edit: A little defensive posting by Moorgard on a similar subject (http://eqiiforums.station.sony.com/eq2/board/message?board.id=testfeed&message.id=26798#M26798) I like the fact that EQ2 is a distant second to WoW (and Lineage and maybe even EQ 1?!) at the moment. I think they are trying harder to be more creative and are being less hesitant to change marginal things for percieved long term gains. Title: Re: empty server Post by: Toast on August 30, 2005, 08:35:50 PM Everquest 2 has gotten better since launch, and that bodes well for the long haul. This is still probably a niche game compared to WoW, but it is going to be around and competitive.
Title: Re: empty server Post by: Cheddar on August 30, 2005, 08:47:10 PM Went ahead and copied the quote that Murgos was talking about to here (It is of Moorgard). It is bodacious if you ask me. Radical, dude.
Full thread here: http://eqiiforums.station.sony.com/eq2/board/message?board.id=testfeed&message.id=26798#M26798 Quote -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Stylin wrote: The biggest problem i'm having atm with EQ2 is that I feel you guys have no idea where this game is going, or where you want it to go. You are trying to hard to please everyone, including the casual gamer, raiders, hardcore gamers etc. By doing this you ultimately are pleasing nobody. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The above statement seems based on the assumption that change takes place in MMOs with only one short-term goal in mind: get subscribers now. Further, some assume that because we don't have millions of subscribers we must be falling all over ourselves trying to change everything about the game. But the underlying assumption (and others like it in similar threads) is incorrect. We are making these changes neither randomly nor desperately. The producer's letters that Scott has written over the last few months sum up our goals quite well and have stated them consistently. What it all boils down to is this: making the game healthy and fun over the long term as well as allowing a smoother transition for new players. That's a rather esoteric way to put it, which is probably why a lot of people ignore us when we say it. The majority of players view change with a much more focused perspective. How does this affect my character? My spells? My gear? My playstyle? There's nothing wrong with that; after all, everything about an MMO is designed to inspire the player to fall in love with their character. We encourage this focused perspective, so we understand that asking someone to step back and look at the bigger picture is going to be met with limited success. Nevertheless, the changes to combat and spells aren't about one class or one group of players. Nor are we changing things just for the sake of changing them. There isn't some executive in a suit saying "You must gain millions of subscribers, so change priest healing NOW!" People in suits don't care about damage tables and class multipliers (my apologies to anyone wearing a suit who does, though). Our bosses have given us the freedom to make changes that we feel will make the game more fun in the long run, and that goal is shared by everyone on the team whether they wear suits or a t-shirt and flip-flops. (We have lots more of the latter than the former, I assure you.) The specific changes to combat and spells were made with the overall goals in mind. Making subclasses more distinct through the abilities they are given will ultimately make each of them more fun. Some players will react negatively to some changes, because certain abilities needed to change in order to fit within the goals for each subclass. But again, we make these changes based on a broad perspective and their overall impact on the game. EverQuest II is the sum of many parts, and looking at one aspect alone doesn't give you the full picture. We've also made many changes to loosen restrictions on where players can go and what they can do. The removal of level limits on overland zones and changes to encounter locking come from the same desire and goal. Again, these aren't being done randomly or without a lot of thought and discussion. I can understand why someone would compare the game at launch with how it will be after the coming changes and presume that we've lost focus. I would argue, however, that the exact opposite is true: I think we've gained focus, and all these changes are designed to fit into that cohesive plan. We're certainly not the first MMO to make significant changes after launch and we won't be the last. As developers, we can't afford to fear change if we feel it's honestly in the best interests of the game. But no matter your opinion on whether you like them or not, please realize that we aren't making changes just for the sake of shaking things up. All the things we change or add to the game are intended to help us work toward goals that we feel will make EverQuest II stronger in the long run. And Toast called it a niche game. Teehee silly man. Title: Re: empty server Post by: Rasix on August 30, 2005, 09:34:00 PM Key phrase would be "compared to WoW". Of course, that's if we're using the word niche to describe, "less successful than probably intended". I'd call EQ2 niche for other reasons.
Title: Re: empty server Post by: jpark on September 18, 2005, 08:06:16 AM Server populations have to be hugely low. When I played 8 months ago the server I was on was "full". Now, at all hours I have checked, EVERY single server is light...
Not a single server has moved from light to Medium. If the server I was on was one of the few 8 months ago that was "full" which is light today - I wonder what that says about the other servers. It may be affecting the grouping. At level 28 my armor quests are complete from groiuping 8 months ago. I noticed a lot of characters around my level had bought crafted gear - not much by way of drops - and nobody had completed their armor quest. Let me put it this way - the gear people seem to be wearing at my level is actuall marginally INFERIOR to what I have. That is the reverse of of most trends in server maturity in other games. The economy....not sure I see much by way of volume of goods and options on the market. Some stuff I have tried to sell over a few days has not moved at all - but I could be mis priced etc. Title: Re: empty server Post by: Miasma on September 18, 2005, 04:39:07 PM The economy....not sure I see much by way of volume of goods and options on the market. Some stuff I have tried to sell over a few days has not moved at all - but I could be mis priced etc. I think there was some sort of a bug with the selling. I went in today after not playing for a few days and didn't sell a single thing. I checked my store and it said everything was for sale, but it wasn't. I don't think I was actually selling anything since they put in the expansion. And a weird thing, I tried to find stuff to buy but there was nothing, literally nothing to buy as a 26 conjurer, not even jewelry. Maybe the lookup system is bugged.The servers were all light when I started backup several weeks ago, I think it has been like that for a long time. Probably since before they merged those servers. |