And yes, you can create two characters with the same name on different servers. I actually have two characters with the same name on different servers.

Is it possible to create two characters with the same name on different servers?

Anyway, the new server (Kahrun) still doesn’t have any queues. I seem to have overestimated the existing player-base’s willingness to start over on a new server. Kahrun is hitting high pop more frequently, but I’ve yet to see an actual queue.

Meanwhile the other servers have seen growing queues. Last night Perento, Telemachus and Spatalos were all ranking in at 3000 players in queue. I’m not sure what NCSoft can do at this point besides offer server transfers and adding another server. Just adding a new server clearly won’t work, because too few players are willing to start anew.

Kahrun is pretty cool though. I’m definitely making that my main server. My level 10 Elyos Chanter is doing good and I’m finally getting some play time in :)

Because of these, I felt it was pretty clear that their servers would be faced with a flash-flood of players at release.

Maybe it’s just me, but it seems they were caught completely unprepared and they’re unwilling to admit it. I don’t HAVE to play the game RIGHT NOW, although I very much would like to. But because they’re not doing it on purpose, I’m willing to give them a grace period before I send in the grenadiers to shred their capitalist buttocks.

I’m sure it’ll be better three months down the road. But what about now? They need to make a good impression on the first batch, those 400.000 pre-order players, and they’re not doing it.

I understand they don’t want to add too many server too quickly, especially if they don’t know how many players will leave by the end of the month. But if they don’t add more servers soon, then they’re actually going to drive people away with this situation.

It’s already clear that the one new server isn’t going to cut it. It’s fast approaching server queues of it’s own, while the queues of the other servers have barely lessened. So where’s the next new English server? Because one will be needed, sooner rather than later.

Balancing server loads is fine and all. But the five original servers are about as balanced as they’re going to get. And judging by the way the new server is being hammered, I think it likely that they can add another server or two and see zero low-population servers emerge in the end.

I’m not sure how many players will leave by the end of this month, or the next, but neither is NCSoft. They’ll have their predictions, but for all we know they’ll be as off-the-mark as Blizzard was with WoW. (e.g.: Aion might actually grow over these next three months, rather than shrink as WAR/AoC did)

But they do have high cards to counter the criticism: They SAY they’re fixing it and that they know what they’re doing. They’re one of the most experienced companies when it comes to MMOs. Their game is the most significant MMORPG this year, unless GW2 throws some unexpected fireworks and actually announces to release sometime in the near future.

So, my recommendation: Don’t blame NCsoft. Yet. Give them a couple of months for them to get their act together.

If they don’t, THEN blame them. Really hard. In the face.