The sky has not fallen (yet)

[Ingmar]

Yeah it seems to be 1 per type per region. US has 2 regions, EU has one? Something like that.

Looks like I'm not quite right about this, there are at least 2 destination servers for East PVP (Fatman and Prophecy of the Five) so there may be a couple other types like this.

[Tyrnan]

The "consolidation" is even more serious in Europe, seems like everything has been compacted into 6 servers. Down from about 50.

I'm still wondering what they're going to do with the remaining 6 English PvE launch servers (the seventh is the destination for everyone else). I'm on Hidden Beks and while it's not completely dead it's not exactly busy either. I thought they would have been announced in this mornings update but still waiting.

[Raknor]

The "consolidation" is even more serious in Europe, seems like everything has been compacted into 6 servers. Down from about 50.

I'm still wondering what they're going to do with the remaining 6 English PvE launch servers (the seventh is the destination for everyone else). I'm on Hidden Beks and while it's not completely dead it's not exactly busy either. I thought they would have been announced in this mornings update but still waiting.

Same with us on Space Slug PVE West. Its not dead, but I wouldn't call it healthy by any means.

According to some person's post on the forums

West PVE

Destination Servers: 2
Servers Transferred: 15
Remaining Servers: 7
Total Servers: 24

**Drooga’s Pleasure Barge: 7
**The Harbinger: 8


My guess is the remaining will get tossed on one server.  Crossing fingers to be the destination and skip this headache. 

[Tyrnan]

My guess is the remaining will get tossed on one server.  Crossing fingers to be the destination and skip this headache.  

Yeah that's what I'm hoping too. Although at this stage I don't really care where I end up, I just want to bloody know!

[koro]

Looks like my server (Giradda, US PvE East) is going to be left in the lurch until next week. There are 22 US PvE East servers left, and word is that Shadowlands and Krayt Dragon may be made into Destinations with the final 20 servers split between them. But of course Bioware isn't going to say anything, so there's only so many measures one can take to help mitigate the naming situation. 

[Sjofn]

I can do the Bat Country thing if no one else wants to, it's not very hard to be in charge of 5 people. 

[Sky]

Every server I had alts on is moving to Ebon Hawk. 

[Ingmar]

Were any of them over level 10? 

[koro]

Ha, guess I was wrong. One more round of server transfers today, and not only was my server on it, but I'm also being sent to the server I was hoping to be sent to!

[Sky]

Were any of them over level 10? 

[Kageru]

I wonder if biting the bullet, acknowledging the reduction and aggressively compacting the servers is also admitting that there's no large content addition in the near future that might have substantially boosted online activity. If the new content pipeline is empty, and one would imagine EA isn't going to inject massive funds at this point, I could see it going into something close to maintenance mode.

[Amaron]

Considering SWTOR had zone instancing from the get go there is probably no real hardware limitation to them increasing the maximum server size.    They use BigWorld (same thing as World of Tanks) on the backend so maybe someone with experience there can say.

[Simond]

http://www.gamestm.co.uk/discuss/star-wars-the-old-republic-we-are-looking-at-free-to-play-says-lead-designer/

The Old Republic lead designer discusses the competitive MMO marketplace and how The Old Republic might use a free-to-play model.

BioWare’s Star Wars: The Old Republic has faced some hard times since launching at the tail-end of 2011. Lead designer Emmanuel Lusinchi discusses the effects of losing over 400,000 subscribers earlier in the year and facing off increasingly stiff competition from free-to-play competitors.

I think it’s more than the free-to-play model – it’s more that there is a lot of competitive offers,” suggests Lusinchi. “If it was just free-to-play games and they weren’t very good it wouldn’t even be a question but there are definitely good games out there and good games coming out, so of course all of this competition impacts your plan with what you want to do.”

Still, the advantages of free-to-play haven’t gone unnoticed by the developer. Asked whether it would be feasible to adapt The Old Republic to a free-to-play model, Lusinchi coyly suggests that the wheels may be in motion for a drastic change.

“The MMO market is very dynamic and we need to be dynamic as well,” he says. “Unless people are happy with what they have, they are constantly demanding updates, new modes and situations. So we are looking at free-to-play but I can’t tell you in much detail. We have to be flexible and adapt to what is going on.”

[Fabricated]

Welp.

[luckton]

http://www.gamestm.co.uk/discuss/star-wars-the-old-republic-we-are-looking-at-free-to-play-says-lead-designer/

The Old Republic lead designer discusses the competitive MMO marketplace and how The Old Republic might use a free-to-play model.

BioWare’s Star Wars: The Old Republic has faced some hard times since launching at the tail-end of 2011. Lead designer Emmanuel Lusinchi discusses the effects of losing over 400,000 subscribers earlier in the year and facing off increasingly stiff competition from free-to-play competitors.

I think it’s more than the free-to-play model – it’s more that there is a lot of competitive offers,” suggests Lusinchi. “If it was just free-to-play games and they weren’t very good it wouldn’t even be a question but there are definitely good games out there and good games coming out, so of course all of this competition impacts your plan with what you want to do.”

Still, the advantages of free-to-play haven’t gone unnoticed by the developer. Asked whether it would be feasible to adapt The Old Republic to a free-to-play model, Lusinchi coyly suggests that the wheels may be in motion for a drastic change.

“The MMO market is very dynamic and we need to be dynamic as well,” he says. “Unless people are happy with what they have, they are constantly demanding updates, new modes and situations. So we are looking at free-to-play but I can’t tell you in much detail. We have to be flexible and adapt to what is going on.”

My reaction:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7edeOEuXdMU&feature=player_detailpage#t=7s

[Fabricated]

Welp sorry guys you're not WoW after 6 months, so we're firing half of you and going F2P. - A retarded executive

[Miasma]

I have to assume that guy was talking out of turn and bioware will quickly post something about how he was "misinterpreted", "taken out of context" or "drunk".

[Sky]

Chances it will be one of those ham-fisted implementations that will be reduced to a sucky game experience or just paying the $15/mo?

100%

[Merusk]

This is going to blow up if people resubscribe.   

You think this could potentially present a problem?  Really?

SOME people will resubscribe.   I think you misunderstood me though.   Fatman was already "full".   It was the server people went to in order to be on a full server.   Now they're allowing like 4 or 5 different servers to transfer to that server.

If even a miniscule portion of the people on those servers resub it will be a nightmare.   These are servers that were dead too so you can guarantee some people only cancelled due to low pops.    It's actually pretty clear the resubs are already happening too.   I've seen a lot of people from my original server online when before you could only see like 2 or 3.

Message them and ask how many reupped just to take the free move now so if they DID think about reupping in the future they didn't do so on a dead server.  I know I briefly considered it because a $15 fee to transfer ALL my characters for free now is better than $15 + $25x <whatever characters I move> later.

[Paelos]

I guess it turns out that the assholes who said it would be F2P within a year were right.

This is a dumb move on their part.

[Minvaren]

It's EA with their hands on a space MMO - when has that ever ended badly before?   

[luckton]

It's EA with their hands on a space MMO - when has that ever ended badly before?   

'scuse me while I pour this out for E&B and the dudes at Westwood   

[Simond]

I guess it turns out that the assholes who said it would be F2P within a year were right.

This is a dumb move on their part.

Bioware? Making dumb moves? Inconceivable!

Also the article has now mysteriously been pulled. Looks like someone leaked something early...like, say, before all the server moves were completed.

[Rokal]

F2P would be the best thing that could happen to SWTOR at this point. The gameplay model makes more sense for microtrasactions (pay for class X, pay for zone X for every class, etc.) since most of the content isn't end-game. Instead of having people blowing through all the content in 1-2 months and then unsubbing because they have nothing to do, you'll have two types of players:

1) Those that still blow through everything in 1-2 months, but spend $150+ to do so. They may stick around because it doesn't cost them $15 a month to do so.

2) Those that no longer feel pressured to blow through everything quickly to get the most out of their sub fee, and slowly level through classes. They most likely spend less than $15 a month (think the average thrown around was $8 for paying customers in F2P games? citation needed :p) and they permanently own the content they buy, so both the player and EA win in the long run.

I fall into camp 2 and I'll gladly return to SWTOR if/when it goes F2P.

[Crumbs]

I propose an overhaul.  A "new game experience," if you will.

[Threash]

Shrug, a "pay per story chapter" model would have worked wonderfully if implemented from the very beginning, it might be the only way to keep the content heavy story model going.

[Soln]

Next earnings report is 7/23 for EA and that Quarter ends in June.  So we won't have long to wait for a decision maybe.

[Ingmar]

So, regarding the transfertotallynotmerges: the new crowded server is a joy, IMO. PVP queues go off constantly, the GTN is packed, I log in at 11 pm server time and there are multiple fleet instances, every planet I've been to so far has 40+ people, crazy roleplaying people are doing their thing everywhere. It's awesome.

[koro]

I would be unsurprised but incredibly disappointed if TOR goes F2P. The last thing I'd want to see are "TOR STORE" icons plastered all over the UI and the majority of the live team's focus shifted to shitting out cash shop items on a monthly basis while the already-slow storyline content updates come even slower.

[Rokal]

I would be unsurprised but incredibly disappointed if TOR goes F2P. The last thing I'd want to see are "TOR STORE" icons plastered all over the UI and the majority of the live team's focus shifted to shitting out cash shop items on a monthly basis while the already-slow storyline content updates come even slower.

You're assuming the worst case hypothetical outcome and ignoring the good F2P conversions that have happened. You could have said the same thing about DDO, which was an MMO in a very similar situation as SWTOR. An under-performing MMO with a focus on hand-crafted leveling content that most people played solo? Sounds pretty familiar. DDO has silly cash shop items like pets and cosmetic gear, but the additional revenue coming in (with a model that made more sense for the content) lead to much more content being added to the game. The game is just now coming out with it's first expansion pack which wouldn't have happened if it remained a subscription game.

The worst thing that could happen to SWTOR isn't a F2P conversion, it's staying the current course. If Bioware doesn't make large changes and adapt to a business model that makes more sense for the game they have created, the game will just become another maintenance-mode MMO like WAR destined to eventually be shut down.

[koro]

Ha, DDO is high up on my list of shitty F2P conversions. It may've made Turbine a lot of money, but on my end it was awful to play with its crippled client and hideously overpriced store, which are both problems LOTRO's F2P has/had.

But apparently the original source article for the Bioware PR quote's been pulled, so it's a moot point anyway.

[Ingmar]

I'm not sure there's any reason to believe this was anything more than kicking the idea around as a just-in-case, which is probably something that all MMO studios do as a matter of course post-Turbine's-ridiculous-success, even Blizzard.

[Minvaren]

Didn't some survey earlier this year (posted to Google Docs, from memory) also hint at the game going F2P?  

[Trippy]

I propose an overhaul.  A "new game experience," if you will.

With more twitchy gameplay!

[Rokal]

There is also this quote from EA higher-up Frank Gibeau

We're going to be in the business from a long term standpoint so absolutely we're going to embrace free access, free trial, ultimately some day we can move in and embrace that model

and

The advent of free-to-play is certainly a change in the dynamic of the PC market. I don't think subscriptions ever go away, but when you have an IP as broad as Star Wars, we're definitely going to look at opportunities to grow that business and look at different ways of bringing customers in and serving them.

Source: http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2012-06-15-ea-confident-that-people-will-be-playing-star-wars-the-old-republic-a-decade-from-now

Ha, DDO is high up on my list of shitty F2P conversions. It may've made Turbine a lot of money, but on my end it was awful to play with its crippled client and hideously overpriced store, which are both problems LOTRO's F2P has/had.

I've been perfectly fine with the pricing in the DDO store. $5 for 4-6 hours of high-quality repeatable quest content or $7-9 for the same with a raid as well seems fair to me. I still end up paying less than $15/month and I can play that content on my own schedule. LOTRO has been a little different. $5-7 for a large quest zone I'm fine with, but the prices have gotten pretty inflated with the last 2 expansion packs of quest content. Still preferable to either game being a strictly-subscription model for me though.