Hydaelyn Role-Players
Why only 2 Servers? - Printable Version

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Why only 2 Servers? - Bentii - 10-21-2013

Okay… So after long consideration, I have finally decided that I should post a response to a question that everyone has seemingly continued to ask… Is there ever going to be another RP server?

Here is what I have to say about this subject:

First off… Where does it say that Balmung and Gilgamesh is supposed to be the only RP servers for this game?  I mean seriously!  Square Enix doesn’t even support an actual Roleplay server!  Who got to decide which servers were going to be the “Unofficial” server!  What are you going to do if they ever decide to put in official servers (Not saying it will but this is just something for you to think about) and choose to have different servers to support RP?  There is no reason to limit 2 out of 23 servers to RP.

Second…  I think I should put it out there that both Balmung and Gilgamesh are almost completely full of players!  I am sure I am not the only one that realizes that this prevents people from actually logging into the game to RP on said servers!  I for one feel that another server would greatly help spread out our community so more Roleplayers can do what they love…. I guarantee you that waiting a half an hour to log in is not something anyone loves...

So I really think that it is time to put it to the vote whether we add another server to our list… I mean seriously… why don’t we ask what everyone else wants to do… instead of acting like the admins are the overlords of the damn RPC… I don’t see why random people get to decide on this… From  my first point I made, Square Enix is not deciding on this… we are, and when I say we… I mean everyone!  Not some random group of people that are only in charge because they made this site. 


If the only reason there isn’t another server on FFXIV is because the admins say so, then this really isn’t much on a community in my opinion.  But like I said it’s not just my opinion that counts its everyone’s, cause that is what a community is…

Now if I am wrong about this then I am sorry and I would love someone to tell me exactly why there are only 2 servers being used for RP... out of 23.

ALSO!!! Now that I am asking I would also like to know why in the hell Gilgamesh was chosen as a RP server!  You would think it would be shunned... being as it is also home to 4chan and Reddit... Seriously... you would think that server is like... troll headquarters or something... ./shrug

RE: Why only 2 Servers? - Olofantur - 10-21-2013

Hello Bentii,

I'll make a reply to the majority of your questions, but as a quick note, this topic is old and thoroughly vetted out, you can read the majority of the prior discussion (such as choosing Gilgamesh) at:

http://ffxiv-roleplayers.com/showthread.php?tid=3805

But i'll also make an effort to answer your questions here in a second post.

RE: Why only 2 Servers? - Faye - 10-21-2013

(10-21-2013, 12:30 AM)Bentii Wrote: Okay… So after long consideration, I have finally decided that I should post a response to a question that everyone has seemingly continued to ask… Is there ever going to be another RP server?

Here is what I have to say about this subject:

First off… Where does it say that Balmung and Gilgamesh is supposed to be the only RP servers for this game?  I mean seriously!  Square Enix doesn’t even support an actual Roleplay server!  Who got to decide which servers were going to be the “Unofficial” server!  What are you going to do if they ever decide to put in official servers (Not saying it will but this is just something for you to think about) and choose to have different servers to support RP?  There is no reason to limit 2 out of 23 servers to RP.

Second…  I think I should put it out there that both Balmung and Gilgamesh are almost completely full of players!  I am sure I am not the only one that realizes that this prevents people from actually logging into the game to RP on said servers!  I for one feel that another server would greatly help spread out our community so more Roleplayers can do what they love…. I guarantee you that waiting a half an hour to log in is not something anyone loves...

So I really think that it is time to put it to the vote whether we add another server to our list… I mean seriously… why don’t we ask what everyone else wants to do… instead of acting like the admins are the overlords of the damn RPC… I don’t see why random people get to decide on this… From  my first point I made, Square Enix is not deciding on this… we are, and when I say we… I mean everyone!  Not some random group of people that are only in charge because they made this site. 


If the only reason there isn’t another server on FFXIV is because the admins say so, then this really isn’t much on a community in my opinion.  But like I said it’s not just my opinion that counts its everyone’s, cause that is what a community is…

Now if I am wrong about this then I am sorry and I would love someone to tell me exactly why there are only 2 servers being used for RP... out of 23.

ALSO!!! Now that I am asking I would also like to know why in the hell Gilgamesh was chosen as a RP server!  You would think it would be shunned... being as it is also home to 4chan and Reddit... Seriously... you would think that server is like... troll headquarters or something... ./shrug

First, there are only two unofficial RP servers recognized here because the RP community is very, very small, and for that reason we're also generally very close knit. Splitting into two servers is already spreading us thin. Spreading us across more servers would be asinine and hurt the RP community. Each server would only have a small little clique of role-players who may be difficult to discover and join, not a healthy, thriving community.

Second, the people did decide what to do. We choose to RP on Balmung, and then some people who shied away from Legacy servers chose to RP on Gilgamesh. This was the majority's decision. A single person, or small group of people, did not decide on this and magically force everyone else to comply. It was a "unanimous" decision.

Third, there is role-play on the other servers. It's just so few and far between that there is not an actual, notable role-play community on those servers and the RPC doesn't and shouldn't see fit to encourage and perpetuate it.

Fourth... okay, I have no idea why Gilgamesh was chosen, I agree that it was a pretty questionable choice. I suppose you'd have to ask whoever first suggested and agreed on Gilgamesh.

RE: Why only 2 Servers? - Olofantur - 10-21-2013

Quote:Is there ever going to be another RP server?

Unlikely, and not advisable in the current climate, in an effort to consolidate members, events and the communities they interact with one was designated in 1.0, and another in 2.0 due to a whole host of factors you can read about in the thread I linked earlier.

Quote:What are you going to do if they ever decide to put in official servers (Not saying it will but this is just something for you to think about) and choose to have different servers to support RP? There is no reason to limit 2 out of 23 servers to RP.

Balmung was chosen as a result of the server merger of Besaid in 1.0 where many RPers were at the time. Gilgamesh is the new 2.0 server, again for a variety of reasons (if you want me to go into detail just ask).

A note on server limitation, the RPC does not say "NO ROLEPLAY ELSEWHERE" it says "we support these servers" they had (in the case of Balmung) the majority of people, and in the case of Gilgamesh in 2.0, the majority of the votes for designated secondary server.

Quote:Second… I think I should put it out there that both Balmung and Gilgamesh are almost completely full of players! I am sure I am not the only one that realizes that this prevents people from actually logging into the game to RP on said servers! I for one feel that another server would greatly help spread out our community so more Roleplayers can do what they love…. I guarantee you that waiting a half an hour to log in is not something anyone loves...

Ehe queue time is simply an element of the game regardless of the game and the role, its not purely a "roleplayer" issue, so its not something that should (in my opinion) be addressed as a problem, popular servers are just that, popular. People will be able to do what they love regardless of server, and there isn't a order in the world that will stop them, Again the RPC does not represent the entirety of Roleplayers in FFXIV, There's a large group of roleplayers on Sarganates who keep to themselves and have their own site.

Quote:So I really think that it is time to put it to the vote whether we add another server to our list… I mean seriously… why don’t we ask what everyone else wants to do… instead of acting like the admins are the overlords of the damn RPC… I don’t see why random people get to decide on this… From my first point I made, Square Enix is not deciding on this… we are, and when I say we… I mean everyone! Not some random group of people that are only in charge because they made this site.

Admins aren't "random people" they're a dedicated group who have been with this game since 1.0, in 2010, hells I wasn't even among them but I certainly saw them.

Quote:ALSO!!! Now that I am asking I would also like to know why in the hell Gilgamesh was chosen as a RP server! You would think it would be shunned... being as it is also home to 4chan and Reddit... Seriously... you would think that server is like... troll headquarters or something... ./shrug

(10-21-2013, 12:43 AM)Faye Wrote: Fourth... okay, I have no idea why Gilgamesh was chosen, I agree that it was a pretty questionable choice. I suppose you'd have to ask whoever first suggested and agreed on Gilgamesh.

It was a public vote, you can look it up in the forums, everyone who has an account here had the chance to vote and did. It was hotly discussed, and the fact that Reddit chose the server was brought up, but surprise, many people here are Redditors or interact with the community.

Small addendum, sorry if any of this sounds trite, I've just been over this conversation more times than I care to count, please let me know if anything needs clarification and i'll do my best to address the points you raise.

RE: Why only 2 Servers? - Keisuke Tachibana - 10-21-2013

I cant even take this serious.

RE: Why only 2 Servers? - Olofantur - 10-21-2013

Follow up,

here's one of the thread at the start of the new server shenanigans back in June.

http://ffxiv-roleplayers.com/showthread.php?tid=2227

this is and many other discussions/votes are what lead to Gilgamesh.

Also, thanks for throwing in some points Faye, i'm a bit hopped up on sleep deprivation at the moment so i'm rambling.

RE: Why only 2 Servers? - Shae'ra - 10-21-2013

Why are there only two?
Roleplay communities are small to begin with, spreading us apart will make it harder and harder for people to find roleplay anywhere. There have even been complaints on Balmung and Gilgamesh that people are having a hard time finding open roleplay: more servers would make it much harder. Most people want to be in an established community as they don't want to log in for RP and find nobody is ever there (which happens when you're starting up a new community on a new server) Most will flock to established over one that is building.

But the worlds are full!
I believe you can still get on them rather easily last time I checked. I made a new character a couple weeks ago even though the world was 'full'. Just wait til a time in which most people are not active and then you can bring a character into the world. I have done this several times to test it (making and deleting characters on Balmung) Best times seem to be 4-5am EST.

The world is only full if you are during prime time, then it wont allow you to make new ones on that server. You can still play during prime times or whenever you want after your character is made, just not creating a new one to put on that world.

Admins being Overlords
Most unofficial RP servers are chosen by the RP community via a voting system as a whole. The two here were chosen to have a primary and secondary as well as a legacy and non-legacy. When the worlds were full, I believe some people started up roleplay over on Faeire (or some F-world) The topic may be brought up by those who have volunteered to run RPC, but I highly doubt that they sat down and determined things then just told everyone how it was to be.

Everyone is free to do as they wish on the game, the admins of RPC do not run the game nor do they hold special powers within it. They are people who have volunteered their time and effort to help moderate the place and make it better, keep trolling away, tame the drama beasts that run through some threads now and then, and play clean up as well as helping those who are new on the forums.

RE: Why only 2 Servers? - Brave - 10-21-2013

I'm not a moderator nor have I been here since the sites creation.  I was lead to believe that the idea to limiting the site choices was to try and gather the RPers in one place not split them up.  At the time they didn't know servers would be capped (Not even the game's Dev team expected it to be reached.  As is obvious by the troubles at launch).  They chose one legacy server and one non legacy server that the RPC would support.  They didn't say you can't RP elsewhere or on a different server, just that they were only going to promote the two selected.  I think at one point an admin pointed out (when server loads were capped) that a group of RPers on the Square Enix boards picked Fairy as a congregating point.

There are tools available to you to find other places to RP, and if you want to find other people to move to a different server with you I don't think the moderators would delete the post.  Forcing them to pick another server though does add to their work load, and that doesn't seem right to me either.

The complaints for server issues happened back when game launched and in my opinion I haven't seen any new threads spring up complaining about it since they made realms capable of having more people.

I was on Gil before Balmung and the community there is not only strong but I never saw harassment from the 4chan or reddit communities (not that it didn't happen just that I didn't see it).  But even on official RP servers for other games you run into the occasional troll.  Anyway I'm just reiterating a lot of what I read back when this was first a problem.  If one of the moderators or other community members agree with you and they do decide to add another server that's cool too.  I'm indifferent on the matter.

RE: Why only 2 Servers? - Bentii - 10-21-2013

(10-21-2013, 12:43 AM)Faye Wrote: First, there are only two unofficial RP servers recognized here because the RP community is very, very small, and for that reason we're also generally very close knit. Splitting into two servers is already spreading us thin. Spreading us across more servers would be asinine and hurt the RP community. Each server would only have a small little clique of role-players who may be difficult to discover and join, not a healthy, thriving community.

Second, the people did decide what to do. We choose to RP on Balmung, and then some people who shied away from Legacy servers chose to RP on Gilgamesh. This was the majority's decision. A single person, or small group of people, did not decide on this and magically force everyone else to comply. It was a "unanimous" decision.

Third, there is role-play on the other servers. It's just so few and far between that there is not an actual, notable role-play community on those servers and the RPC doesn't and shouldn't see fit to encourage and perpetuate it.

Fourth... okay, I have no idea why Gilgamesh was chosen, I agree that it was a pretty questionable choice. I suppose you'd have to ask whoever first suggested and agreed on Gilgamesh.
Your first point is a really debatable.. I find that the community is acutually fairly spread.  One of the most common reasons people think there is no RP is because they have character that wouldn't normally go up to people.. they expect other RPers to just walk up to them and RP, which is a nice thought true, but very few follow through... no one ever take the initiative to actually search for it... I have experianced this on serveral MMO's.  People say "Oh this is a dead community, there is never RP.." But for some reason.. I alway seem to get RP when I actually try to find it...  I take the initative and search for it and 90% it takes me less than 5 minutes, even without a guild... not wait for some random person to come up to me...  You say your community is very, very small.. but honestly the amount of rolepayers are decently dispersed... It's the roleplayers themselves that make it seem small...

For your second point I would like to apologize for my misinformation, I didn't not realize that it was decided with multiple people, that is on me.

For your third point I just want to say that your statement is untrue...  when the game first came out to purchase the servers, Balmung and Gilgamesh, became immediately unavailable.  From my experience on the server Faerie, I found a good community of RPers on that server... in fact they were the one's that led me to this site...  And quite a few of them had to move because no one wanted to take the time to consider another server... after anyone mention it is completely shot down... and then someone has to post a video that came out in beta (It was posted on Aug 10, 2013)... not when the game actually was available to purchase (Aug 27, 2013)... that video is outdated from my understanding.. thus conversation is outdated... no one expected for the servers to be so crowded... not even SE... so I don't see why there cannot even be a discussion on this matter...

I am not trying to be rude but I seriously feel like this discussion is being put off when it could be gone over again...

I would also like to say that the RPC have defiantly grown... I mean most of the original member of this site are probably from beta... and that most likely doesn't even cover half the community that is in this game now.

RE: Why only 2 Servers? - K'dath - 10-21-2013

Why would you gather all of the people with a niche interest in one place?

Also, designated RP servers are awful. Player supported ones at least have the backings of a community whom you know have a similar interest, rather than a free for all of trolls, PVP elitists, and unorganized, uncollaborative jerks.

RE: Why only 2 Servers? - Faye - 10-21-2013

(10-21-2013, 01:12 AM)Bentii Wrote: Your first point is a really debatable.. I find that the community is acutually fairly spread.  One of the most common reasons people think there is no RP is because they have character that wouldn't normally go up to people.. they expect other RPers to just walk up to them and RP, which is a nice thought true, but very few follow through... no one ever take the initiative to actually search for it... I have experianced this on serveral MMO's.  People say "Oh this is a dead community, there is never RP.." But for some reason.. I alway seem to get RP when I actually try to find it...  I take the initative and search for it and 90% it takes me less than 5 minutes, even without a guild... not wait for some random person to come up to me...  You say your community is very, very small.. but honestly the amount of rolepayers are decently dispersed... It's the roleplayers themselves that make it seem small...

If a role-playing community is thriving and well, you shouldn't have to always seek RP to find it. I agree there are people who sit back and complain that communities are dead because they refuse to put in the effort or take the initiative to find or more their own RP and they expect RP to just fall into their lap, but that doesn't change the fact that the role-play still is small. We're a minority. Not everyone who plays the game is a role-player. Heck, I didn't realize how small the MMO RP community was until I came to Balmung and realized that I knew 1/3 of the people I've met from my previous MMO.

Quote:For your third point I just want to say that your statement is untrue...  when the game first came out to purchase the servers, Balmung and Gilgamesh, became immediately unavailable.  From my experience on the server Faerie, I found a good community of RPers on that server... in fact they were the one's that led me to this site...  And quite a few of them had to move because no one wanted to take the time to consider another server... after anyone mention it is completely shot down... and then someone has to post a video that came out in beta (It was posted on Aug 10, 2013)... not when the game actually was available to purchase (Aug 27, 2013)... that video is outdated from my understanding.. thus conversation is outdated... no one expected for the servers to be so crowded... not even SE... so I don't see why there cannot even be a discussion on this matter...

If the RP communities on the other servers are healthy and fulfilling, then why did they have to change servers or coerce other people to join their server?


Why split up the RPers when we could all be in one or two places? More role-players in the same place means more role-players and more characters to interact with, more diversity, more RP FC's and LS's to join, more influence on our server, more likelihood you can find a group to fit in with, etc. 

RE: Why only 2 Servers? - Tayang - 10-21-2013

(10-21-2013, 01:33 AM)Faye Wrote: Why split up the RPers when we could all be in one or two places? More role-players in the same place means more role-players and more characters to interact with, more diversity, more RP FC's and LS's to join, more influence on our server, more likelihood you can find a group to fit in with, etc

I'd just like to add to this if I may; Faye has a good point here. Why spread the RP community out even more than it already is? No one here is saying that people should or should not RP on this server or that server. What has been said, numerous times, is that Gilgamesh and Balmung are the two servers that the Hydaelyn Roleplayers Coalition, this website and community, supports and serves. No one is saying you can't go and form an RP group, guild, FC, LS or anything else on another server - there is even a section on the LS board here for Linkshells and Free Companies on servers other than Gilga and Balmung and there are a few advertisements in there. But they are all grouped together under 'other' because Gilgamesh and Balmung are the two servers that the vast majority of the RPers in this community are playing on and adding another server to those two will only split the RP community up further.

In my opinion splitting the community even further between even more servers will only cause more cliquishness, more isolation and more dilution of the RP community as a whole. That's not to say people can't or shouldn't set up shop on another server, but these are the servers the community here has chosen (and the discussion has been gone over so many times now) and these are the two servers that this site/community serves.

RE: Why only 2 Servers? - LandStander - 10-21-2013

Yes...that whole Gilgamesh debate was very....interesting.

I agree with Faye and everything she has said, and yes, the RP community is very small. The plus side is that it is easy to get name recognition as long as you don't clique up too often and RP outside of your normal circle. The down side is missing out on meeting new characters, getting involved in plots, participating in events and so on, because they don't happen on your server. 

I am fairly happy with the size, but I would definitely love for it to get bigger. I usually have no problem getting RP and the community on Balmung has been very open to random RP ^^. Once you start recognizing names from the RPC and guild tags it makes random RP that much more easier to find. Heck, about 80% of my RP comes from outside of my FC and about 60% out of my LS'. And it doesn't really seem to slow down as people continue to get added to my friends list. There is so much RP I have not really had time to do anything in game >.> . If you go looking for it, you definitely will find it ^^.

Debating this topic is like kicking a dead horse. I know the mods got some blow back in their decision to support two servers instead of the original one and I am pretty darn positive that they do not wish to re-enact that scenario. Mods have openly come out and declared that there will be no "official support" for a third server, but all servers are free to post. I have seen people ask for RP on Moogle, Leviathan, etc. There is even an "other" section for people who want to make a linkshell for whatever server. 

There is nothing wrong with posting or asking for RP on another server and it is not discouraged, but getting official support is an extremely long shot.

RE: Why only 2 Servers? - Cato - 10-21-2013

We don't need a third server, especially with the role-playing community already being split apart. It'd be much more efficient to just have one large unofficial role-playing server.

RE: Why only 2 Servers? - Xenedra - 10-21-2013

First off I'd like to say I love you all for keeping this topic civil so far. In the past its gotten downright nasty when people discuss servers and it makes us cry ; ;.

To reiterate, none of us are saying you HAVE to RP on Balming or Gilgamesh, those are just the servers we've chosen to give our main support to on the website. Even then, if you check sections like the linkshell hall, we've included a section for shells from other servers to post up their ads and anyone is welcome to use the calendar announcement system to post their events as well, regardless of server.

A third server will not be given forum space here on the RPC, but we do recognize any and all other servers that have RPers on them and have said as much in the past. That's what the point of the site is, after all, right Smile?