RPC has moved! These pages have been kept for historical purposes

TheLastCandle · **05-21-2017, 03:02 PM**

I'm just going to start by saying: I've enjoyed my time on the 'mung. I mean, obviously, right? I've been here since it was Besaid. I may even transfer my main back, eventually, along with my RL friends who just started playing if the transfer ban is ever lifted. (As I am currently not roleplaying him.) Even so, I think this is an awfully entitled position to hold. Players on other servers, especially those who have never even been on Balmung, are not obligated to provide "support" to Balmung's community on this website or elsewhere, nor should they be expected to cough up $18 on top of their subscription fees to transfer to the 'mung, even supposing SE gets around to actually cleaning house and lifts their travel ban.

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And honestly, after having explored a few different servers on my own and comparing them to Balmung, I feel that roleplayers who wish to enjoy other aspects of the game (read: want to own a house without paying ungodly sums of gil on the secondhand market) might be better served by going to Mateus, or Faerie, or whatever lower population server they find best suits their needs. And if they end up liking it there - stay, but be proactive and use this website for their benefit and that of their home server. Be a positive force, and don't fall into the trap of forming a rivalry with Balmung or whatever other servers might have RP communities. Fueling a growing community with bitter feelings only serves to attract embittered players, and take it from a certain vocal segment of Gilgamesh: you don't want that.

**Unnamed Mercenary** · **05-21-2017, 03:07 PM**

(05-21-2017, 02:32 PM)IvikBlack Wrote: 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.

You can actually transfer up to 8 characters with a single $18 transfer fee, as long as all characters you want to transfer start on the same server and then end on the same server. So assuming that say, a server is agreed upon to be the "Balmung waiting room" and you make 8 characters on it, you could theoretically transfer all 8 to Balmung (or any other server for that matter) for one $18 payment. It's part of what contributed to Balmung getting even fuller.

Personally, I don't expect Balmung to open a month or two after 4.0 drops. If anything, this is the point in the game where most populations should be at their lowest. There's no new content coming out. The existing content has been out for months. People are bored. I expect Balmung's active players/connections to spike up higher than now when 4.0 comes out, which will cause further stability issues for the server on whole.

Kage · **05-21-2017, 03:10 PM**

We would be better off with having a One RP Hub by consolidating on a server such as Mateus than further trying to consolidate on Balmung.

Sig · **05-21-2017, 03:13 PM**

(05-21-2017, 02:57 PM)IvikBlack Wrote: That's an excellent point! It's one I hadn't thought of, but from my experience it is definitely true.

I think there are some drawbacks to a fictionalized approach as well, and in the end what I'd advocate is this: the community should come together to try to start a second unofficial RP server. And, if at the time that Balmung Transfers become available again, people are happy there? Stay there. If they're not, consolidate back into Balmung.

There are two ideal alternatives:

(1) RP is consolidated on one hub - Balmung; OR

(2) RP is consolidated on one hub - Official RP server.

It doesn't matter which alternative happens; what matters is that RP is consolidated on one server (see OP for reasons).Â Additional unofficial servers will only lead to the issues described in the OP.

We all should be screaming at SE right now to either lift the transfer restriction and/or designate an official RP server.Â Very simple.

IvikBlack · **05-21-2017, 03:15 PM**

I would definitely prefer an official RP server, and there's nothing that could keep me from joining one!

Mercer · **05-21-2017, 03:34 PM**

I completely agree that the optimal solution would be marking a new server as an RP server. It would give players a very clear indication where to roll.

Cato · **05-21-2017, 03:39 PM**

I mean, it's pretty clear by the responses to the numerous threads already discussing this issue that opinions differ on the matter so I don't think anybody should be climbing atop a pedestal and stating with certainty that a particular approach is the 'correct' option.

Not everybody is comfortable with Balmung in its current state. There's plenty of valid reasons as to why someone may wish to move elsewhere. Yes, other communities of role-players will be smaller but that suits some people just fine. Others may move due to suffering major response issues thanks to the server move; especially if they live somewhere in Europe.

I intend to stay for as long as I have friends here. I have a handful of people I trust and care about. I also think it's deceptive to paint Balmung in a solely positive light because it does have its issues and some aspects of the community are pretty rotten. There's stalkers, there's people with no filter in regards to their ERP shenanigans and then there's the numerous flaky individuals who get people's hopes up in regards to promising them role-play only to never deliver and/or they end up just dropping them the moment they find someone newer and fresher to interact with. It happens fairly often when someone commits to a 'romance plot' and suddenly everything else ends up meaning very little by comparison.

Does this happen elsewhere? Of course, but Balmung being so large means there's more good and more bad. Some people are lucky and find some shining gems amongst the muck but others drift about - through no fault of their own - and endure terrible experiences over and over. If it wasn't for the shining gems I found I'd have left this server long ago and I know from what I've heard from other individuals that this is hardly an isolated stance.

Strigiforme · **05-21-2017, 03:51 PM**

Unlurking just to say I wish I could lovingly embroider Graeham's post and hang it over my fireplace, as it pretty much sums up my feelings perfectly.

I understand getting defensive of a place you love when people are saying they don't find it quite as nice, but if someone has reached this point of frustration in their experience, a page of advice or anecdotes about how other people succeeded is too little, too late. The opportunity to help has come and passed, especially for those who have been trying for years. There are loads of great people on Balmung, but for all the positives that come with a large community, the sad fact is that a lot of people are unable to really connect with them and the desire to transfer to a community where they have a shot at not being invisible is very, very relatable.

Sig · **05-21-2017, 04:01 PM**

(05-21-2017, 03:51 PM)Strigiforme Wrote: Unlurking just to say I wish I could lovingly embroider Graeham's post and hang it over my fireplace, as it pretty much sums up my feelings perfectly.

I understand getting defensive of a place you love when people are saying they don't find it quite as nice, but if someone has reached this point of frustration in their experience, a page of advice or anecdotes about how other people succeeded is too little, too late. The opportunity to help has come and passed, especially for those who have been trying for years. There are loads of great people on Balmung, but for all the positives that come with a large community, the sad fact is that a lot of people are unable to really connect with them and the desire to transfer to a community where they have a shot at not being invisible is very, very relatable.

Please refer to section of OP regarding leaving server for personal reasons.Â Solidarity in the RP community (so that RP remains common, available, and diverse) is more important than misconceptions particular individuals may have about a community that is so large, diverse, and vibrant that it would be disingenuous to impute negative attributes to it as a whole.Â

Perhaps I'm very lucky, but I've never had an issue with roving bands of stalkers, 'flaky individuals', or other negative stereotypes.Â RPers love to jest about the pervasive nature of such things, but in reality they remain largely mythical.Â But, as Gaeham said, these issues will exist on any server, and the problem with a smaller server is that you have no alternatives to escape them.Â Momo explained in a prior post the problems that happen if you encounter issues on a smaller server, and the OP explains those problems in great detail.

Again, we don't need to be wedded to Balmung in particular: what is far more important is that the RP community consolidate on one server [at the present time Balmung].Â With any luck, perhaps we'll get an official RP server one day, and then the community can move there.

Momo · **05-21-2017, 04:12 PM**

(05-21-2017, 03:39 PM)Graeham Wrote: I mean, it's pretty clear by the responses to the numerous threads already discussing this issue that opinions differ on the matter so I don't think anybody should be climbing atop a pedestal and stating with certainty that a particular approach is the 'correct' option.

Not everybody is comfortable with Balmung in its current state. There's plenty of valid reasons as to why someone may wish to move elsewhere. Yes, other communities of role-players will be smaller but that suits some people just fine. Others may move due to suffering major response issues thanks to the server move; especially if they live somewhere in Europe.

I intend to stay for as long as I have friends here. I have a handful of people I trust and care about. I also think it's deceptive to paint Balmung in a solely positive light because it does have its issues and some aspects of the community are pretty rotten. There's stalkers, there's people with no filter in regards to their ERP shenanigans and then there's the numerous flaky individuals who get people's hopes up in regards to promising them role-play only to never deliver and/or they end up just dropping them the moment they find someone newer and fresher to interact with. It happens fairly often when someone commits to a 'romance plot' and suddenly everything else ends up meaning very little by comparison.

Does this happen elsewhere? Of course, but Balmung being so large means there's more good and more bad. Some people are lucky and find some shining gems amongst the muck but others drift about - through no fault of their own - and endure terrible experiences over and over. If it wasn't for the shining gems I found I'd have left this server long ago and I know from what I've heard from other individuals that this is hardly an isolated stance.

That's what you come up with for negatives to Balmung? Stalkers, ERP, missed connections likely due to lack of time or interest?....Okay. Balmung has problems, but these issues aren't relevant or part of that as specific to this server, these are general problems or misperpetuated falsities which plague any group or none at all.

First, stalkers, going to just say, they aren't a group, they are individuals. There are more RPers and players in general, so there will naturally be more of each individual type of person. Stalkers can first be avoided by setting clear and concise limits for yourself and your RP partners, and leave at the first sign that these limits aren't being respected or are being broken. If they continue to approach you, be sure to document each contact and go through official channels, this is not a problem only for Balmung, but for Internet folk and RPers in general any place they go.

ERP "shenanigans" is a myth for the most part. You would on a very odd occasion, find acceidental /says or otherwise, and maybe...what "naked" characters which aren't really naked and doesn't bother anyone unless you're that much a prude. This is one of the more nonsense things I see perpetuated by nonrpers, basement dwellers, and other types so fully uncomfortable with their own sexuality and the existence of sexuality in general, that they have one or two instances in probably hundreds to thousands of hours of gameplay on a packed server, and suddenly there is an epidemic. Please if you find something you don't like, understand that first it isn't always going to be a problem to others, and secondly admit to yourself and others it is a rare occurrence and move on with life.

There are hundreds if not more RPers, if someone says they'll RP with you in the future, whether scheduled or not, that doesn't mean in an internet setting, that you will get together every time. Sometimes people get busy, sometimes they don't find your RP as valuable as other RP, sometimes they just plain forget from living real life, BUT again this is not some sort of epidemic specific to Balmung, just RP groups in general.

BALMUNG HAS ISSUES, but I would rather talk about real ones that affect the population as a whole and should be encouraged to change as a whole to open up further RP avenues than these trite issues that affect anyone anywhere on the internet.

ArmachiA · **05-21-2017, 04:12 PM**

I'm not going to tell people who want to play the game a certain way that they, in fact, can't play it that way until they get to a server that's locked - and could be locked for a long, long while. I'm never going to tell people how they should play the game. And saying "We all need to be on Balmung, don't make a second server" is in fact telling them that. They pay 15 a month, they deserve to be able to roleplay as well.

Balmung's rp community won't die for a while yet, We can afford to help build a community on Mataeus or wherever we're throwing our support. We should be worried if it gets into 4 or 5 months (A legit concern) but Balmung will not go down in flames come Stormblood's launch without new folk. WE'RE FINE for a little while. We can take those few months of "fine" and help newer rpers get what they want out of the game. We have our connections and our houses and our friends and our community, and the new players can't join that. Telling them they have no other option and shrugging our shoulders at them going "Whelp too bad, wait for Balmung" is something I, personally, refuse to do.

I know how frustrating it can be to not play where you want to play (I started on a PVP server with my friends in WoW, I hated every minute of it because I wanted to be on an RP server... I eventually moved anyway) and how you want to play.

Mercer · **05-21-2017, 04:14 PM**

(05-21-2017, 04:01 PM)Sig Wrote:
(05-21-2017, 03:51 PM)Strigiforme Wrote: Unlurking just to say I wish I could lovingly embroider Graeham's post and hang it over my fireplace, as it pretty much sums up my feelings perfectly.

I understand getting defensive of a place you love when people are saying they don't find it quite as nice, but if someone has reached this point of frustration in their experience, a page of advice or anecdotes about how other people succeeded is too little, too late. The opportunity to help has come and passed, especially for those who have been trying for years. There are loads of great people on Balmung, but for all the positives that come with a large community, the sad fact is that a lot of people are unable to really connect with them and the desire to transfer to a community where they have a shot at not being invisible is very, very relatable.

Please refer to section of OP regarding leaving server for personal reasons.Â Solidarity in the RP community (so that RP remains common, available, and diverse) is more important than misconceptions particular individuals may have about a community that is so large, diverse, and vibrant that it would be disingenuous to impute negative attributes to it as a whole.Â

Perhaps I'm very lucky, but I've never had an issue with roving bands of stalkers, 'flaky individuals', or other negative stereotypes.Â RPers love to jest about the pervasive nature of such things, but in reality they remain largely mythical.Â But, as Gaeham said, these issues will exist on any server, and the problem with a smaller server is that you have no alternatives to escape them.Â Momo explained in a prior post the problems that happen if you encounter issues on a smaller server, and the OP explains those problems in great detail.

Again, we don't need to be wedded to Balmung in particular: what is far more important is that the RP community consolidate on one server [at the present time Balmung].Â With any luck, perhaps we'll get an official RP server one day, and then the community can move there.

I take offense to this. To say that the player exclusion, stalkers and cliques are mythical is wholly uncalled for. There are many people that have experienced such behavior and to outright dismiss them is unacceptable. It could be in the minority of the experiences, but there are experiences that happen on a daily occurrence.

The fact people have been on that end of the equation is why some of these small communities exist.

Flynn Rosenberg · **05-21-2017, 04:20 PM**

More than one RP server won't hurt. One overpopulated locked server and multiple servers with small (and I mean LS sized) playerbases that don't get enough attention*will* hurt. No one wants to pay extra, telling them to just so they can be with the rest of the cool kids is unfair, especially when it might not be what they're after.

Val · **05-21-2017, 04:20 PM**

(05-21-2017, 04:14 PM)Oswin Wrote:
(05-21-2017, 04:01 PM)Sig Wrote:
(05-21-2017, 03:51 PM)Strigiforme Wrote: Unlurking just to say I wish I could lovingly embroider Graeham's post and hang it over my fireplace, as it pretty much sums up my feelings perfectly.

I understand getting defensive of a place you love when people are saying they don't find it quite as nice, but if someone has reached this point of frustration in their experience, a page of advice or anecdotes about how other people succeeded is too little, too late. The opportunity to help has come and passed, especially for those who have been trying for years. There are loads of great people on Balmung, but for all the positives that come with a large community, the sad fact is that a lot of people are unable to really connect with them and the desire to transfer to a community where they have a shot at not being invisible is very, very relatable.

Please refer to section of OP regarding leaving server for personal reasons.Â Solidarity in the RP community (so that RP remains common, available, and diverse) is more important than misconceptions particular individuals may have about a community that is so large, diverse, and vibrant that it would be disingenuous to impute negative attributes to it as a whole.Â

Perhaps I'm very lucky, but I've never had an issue with roving bands of stalkers, 'flaky individuals', or other negative stereotypes.Â RPers love to jest about the pervasive nature of such things, but in reality they remain largely mythical.Â But, as Gaeham said, these issues will exist on any server, and the problem with a smaller server is that you have no alternatives to escape them.Â Momo explained in a prior post the problems that happen if you encounter issues on a smaller server, and the OP explains those problems in great detail.

Again, we don't need to be wedded to Balmung in particular: what is far more important is that the RP community consolidate on one server [at the present time Balmung].Â With any luck, perhaps we'll get an official RP server one day, and then the community can move there.

I take offense to this. To say that the player exclusion, stalkers and cliques are mythical is wholly uncalled for. There are many people that have experienced such behavior and to outright dismiss them is unacceptable. It could be in the minority of the experiences, but there are experiences that happen on a daily occurrence.

The fact people have been on that end of the equation is why some of these small communities exist.

This. It takes a special kind of person to immediately dismiss anyone's claims of negative experience on the server based on your own experiences. Just because things are going good for you does notÂ mean that it's great for everyone. Just because things seemÂ okay to you does not mean that they're great for everyone. When discussing matters of this nature, people need to take into account the big picture other than "well everything's been great for me so I don't see a problem in _________"

Momo · **05-21-2017, 04:23 PM**

(05-21-2017, 03:51 PM)Strigiforme Wrote: Unlurking just to say I wish I could lovingly embroider Graeham's post and hang it over my fireplace, as it pretty much sums up my feelings perfectly.

I understand getting defensive of a place you love when people are saying they don't find it quite as nice, but if someone has reached this point of frustration in their experience, a page of advice or anecdotes about how other people succeeded is too little, too late. The opportunity to help has come and passed, especially for those who have been trying for years. There are loads of great people on Balmung, but for all the positives that come with a large community, the sad fact is that a lot of people are unable to really connect with them and the desire to transfer to a community where they have a shot at not being invisible is very, very relatable.

I find it interesting that those who don't put the effort to try and connect, or don't make themselves known to the point that others can't help them, are here to kick Balmung now that is "down". Alienating Balmung RPers with these one-off instances of anger and personal grievances, isn't doing anyone a favor. To pretend that this is the norm for Balmung is wholly untrue, and to pretend that the time for Balmung RP has somehow passed because some experiences turned people off to it, but in no way make up the way things actually are in reality, is just taking personal attacks and using them to amplify your voices, and it won't go over well.

Balmung is still a great RP server, and there is no reason that both RP servers can't exist peacefully together as a community, as they will always be connected, and when they aren't, it doesn't end well.

(05-21-2017, 04:14 PM)Oswin Wrote:
(05-21-2017, 04:01 PM)Sig Wrote:
(05-21-2017, 03:51 PM)Strigiforme Wrote: Unlurking just to say I wish I could lovingly embroider Graeham's post and hang it over my fireplace, as it pretty much sums up my feelings perfectly.

I understand getting defensive of a place you love when people are saying they don't find it quite as nice, but if someone has reached this point of frustration in their experience, a page of advice or anecdotes about how other people succeeded is too little, too late. The opportunity to help has come and passed, especially for those who have been trying for years. There are loads of great people on Balmung, but for all the positives that come with a large community, the sad fact is that a lot of people are unable to really connect with them and the desire to transfer to a community where they have a shot at not being invisible is very, very relatable.

Please refer to section of OP regarding leaving server for personal reasons.Â Solidarity in the RP community (so that RP remains common, available, and diverse) is more important than misconceptions particular individuals may have about a community that is so large, diverse, and vibrant that it would be disingenuous to impute negative attributes to it as a whole.Â

Perhaps I'm very lucky, but I've never had an issue with roving bands of stalkers, 'flaky individuals', or other negative stereotypes.Â RPers love to jest about the pervasive nature of such things, but in reality they remain largely mythical.Â But, as Gaeham said, these issues will exist on any server, and the problem with a smaller server is that you have no alternatives to escape them.Â Momo explained in a prior post the problems that happen if you encounter issues on a smaller server, and the OP explains those problems in great detail.

Again, we don't need to be wedded to Balmung in particular: what is far more important is that the RP community consolidate on one server [at the present time Balmung].Â With any luck, perhaps we'll get an official RP server one day, and then the community can move there.

I take offense to this. To say that the player exclusion, stalkers and cliques are mythical is wholly uncalled for. There are many people that have experienced such behavior and to outright dismiss them is unacceptable. It could be in the minority of the experiences, but there are experiences that happen on a daily occurrence.

The fact people have been on that end of the equation is why some of these small communities exist.

Balmung has problems, but if you are going to defend someone bashing the server, I would suggest choosing someone with opinions which are valid to the common experience, and not experiences like these which are loud in nature, but rare also and not significant of the normal interaction on Balmung.

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The Importance of Consolidating RP on Balmung and Having One RP Hub

RPC has moved! These pages have been kept for historical purposes