Hi,
the Ezpc server started as an experiment in 2009 to separate the roleplayers and the non roleplayers. The idea was to keep the two groups separate and also use ezpc to test new features. The experiment has not been very successfull because the ezpc server has an average about 5-8 players these days (on a total of about 300 active players), and the vast majority of the players are using the rp server.
The GM team is focused on the main server, and so the service to new players on ezpc is not really up to the standards we would like to have. All events are run on the main server (including guildhouse auctions and meet the devs), so ezpc players cannot benefit from those at the moment. In addition many new players just try one of the two and if they end up on ezpc they find a very empty and not populated world, so they quit. Ezpc is bad advertizing for us in terms of having an empty server, and not enough players.
After about 3 years of experimenting this idea, I consider the experiment closed and I want to reconsolidate the players into the main server. If the player base will grow significantly, we may think to open a separate server again, but probably in that case will be for different languages or regions. The benefits will be to provide more GM time and more events to all players, and to ensure new players find a populated and lively community.
The transition will be done in steps:
1) remove the ezpc register link on the main page, all new players will go to zeroping. [DONE]
2) migrate all the active accounts and characters to the zeroping server. Active means all accounts and players logged in in the last 3 months and with more than 6 hours of gameplay. [DONE]
3) remove the ezpc server from the client
4) convert ezpc to a server where devs and contributors can test new features. The server will still be open to "curious" people if they want to connect anyway, but there will be no guarantee they chars will stay intact, as we may wipe the server at any time.
Data which is ported to the zeroping server:
Accounts (including passwords) which have been active in the last 90 days
Characters which are linked to the accounts above.
Skills
Stats
Items
Glyphs
Spells
Quests
Money
Faction Standings
Bank/Storage Items
Windows and shortcut settings (this is client side)
Data which is NOT ported to the zeroping server:
Buddy List
Marriage
Pets
Mounts
Guilds (will have to be reformed on the zeroping server, we can manually change the creation date if you want to keep it)
Guild membership
Guildhouses keys
Alliances
Items guarded but on the ground, or inside guildhouses
Special Cases
If the same account exists on both servers the account will not be copied over
If the number of characters on both servers exceeds 4 the ones exceeding will not be ported (ensure to delete the ones you don't needed and keep just 4 total BEFORE the migration)
If a character name is not acceptable (ex.: KingOfAllPies) the character will be renamed automatically by us.
If a character name is the same between ezpc and zeroping, the char on zeroping will be kept and no migration will happen for this char.
Roleplay
Players can follow the style of play they prefer, with the note that players not very keen on roleplay should always approach new/unknown players in a roleplay way, while they can keep their own style with existing friends/buddies they know they have their playing style. We are thinking to add a flag to distinguish players who are willing to roleplay (for example in the /who command) to facilitate the creation of groups and roleplay events.
FAQ
Q: Should chars migrated from EZPC roleplay on Zeroping?
A: See Roleplay chapter above.
Q: I cannot login with my migrated account, it says user/pass are invalid.
A: If the account was present on both servers, please note that the password to use is the one you had on zeroping server, not the EZPC one. If you still fail to connect, just go to the recover password page.
Q: I cannot login with my migrated account, it says account not verified.
A: If the account was present on both servers, please be sure you had validated the account on the new server. To validate it just to go to the reset password page, and select : "resend verification email". This will validate the account on the new server in case this has never been done before.
Q: My char or my account has not been migrated.
A: Read the rules above of what is considered an "active" character. Only accounts with active characters have been ported. Only active characters have been ported.
Q: Is there a way to request a migration of a char even if it was not "active" up to today?
A: Visit us on IRC and we will see what we can do. But please remember we have limited resources to do this.
Q: I lost my mount, how can I get it back?
A: Mounts have not been ported, please wait 14 December 2011 and then redo the quest related to mounts. We will remove the quests on 13 December from all migrated chars, so you can redo it.