(05-21-2017, 02:32 PM)IvikBlack Wrote: I think a lot of these points are predicated on the idea that Balmung is a great place to be for a new player, but I don't believe this is an easy argument to make.
For one, as far as I can tell, those who are most vociferously against the community fracturing away from a Balmung consolidation are people who already have made connections, friends, and own houses there. As such, I don't think they're qualified to judge how good Balmung is for new players.
Secondly, the $18 transfer fee is essentially an additional cost imposed beyond the basic buy in on those new players. That is quite clearly not in their favor, nor is it a one-time fee if a person wishes to play multiple characters.
Third, there are ways in which Balmung's size is actually bad for new players. Many established, quality FCs are closed to new recruits or require references from existing members. The Bystander Effect (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bystander_effect) combined with chatspam from overcrowding often leads to people being ignored during events.
Finally, I simply disagree that somehow Balmung is less cliquish than other servers. The claim itself is unverified and evidenceless, and it's been my experience generally after playing MMORPGs for nearly 20 years now that smaller communities appreciate each individual player more and are more inviting as a result.
Example: I rolled an alt on Mateus yesterday and have already been personally greeted by their roleplaying ambassador, but I've been on Balmung now for 2-3 years and no one welcomed me.
EDIT: One big point I forgot to mention: housing. You can't even get an Apartment on Balmung as a new player. That's a big problem.
I don't agree with this at all. Every time an old player creates a new character which is not part of their given group, that person can struggle like any new player, to find new space in groups and on the server itself. Being an established members can help you reintroduce characters into a given group, but if you are looking for new blood and new ideas, you have to strike out on your own like any other player.
I have 4 well played characters. Each of them belongs to a different circle, and some of them aren't known to be my characters from one circle to the next. Each time I created a new character, I had to establish myself again as I mentioned above, and that wasn't easy, but was more rewarding in the end. The difference between me saying it wasn't easy, and you saying it wasn't easy, is perhaps that I fully believe that if you want to make space for yourself and establish yourself for future RP, you have to prove to everyone that you are a skilled and thoughtful RPer, who can present new ideas, and offer something that others maybe can't. I don't think it should be that easy, if it were too easy, then the new players would never understand the level or RP, plot, and experience they can glean from hard work.
That isn't to say, that new players don't want that, but being a leader of your own path, and being a follower or an idle player waiting to be snatched up isn't going to be a way of existing that is going to get you far in an established group.Â
I probably shouldn't add this...but Mateus has literally 2-3 RPFCs at this point, and 2 main RPLS, with few leaders. Of course you will be greeted by the leaders or a main group, it doesn't have a variety of options for groups to pull from yet and for them to focus on until more numbers are had. If you want to make connections and be welcomed by someone, you can start reading through RPC, which doesn't have every RPer but you will quickly come to realize has connections to every group and FC in some way or another. Getting yourself in will never be about being grabbed up, it will be about proving yourself and finding your own way as a brave new RPer in a world with many many possibilities. If you put in the work, you will get there, if you wait for someone to do it for you, you're going to be disappointed.
Just to clarify as Kil did above, I support a secondary RP server while also pressuring SE to help us out with either dedicated RP server tag, or otherwise. BUT I will not stand by and have someone say that one community is better than another when both have their pros and cons, and fit different types of people in different ways, because that is narrow and disingenuous.