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The state of the Gilgamesh server - Printable Version

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The state of the Gilgamesh server - CrimsonMars - 05-12-2014

A few days ago, me and my rp buddies briefly discuss the state of our main server, Gilgamesh and how it was (from our perspective at least) slowly deteriorating and how people are slowly losing interest in the community. For the past mouth or so now, people have either jump servers, got bored if the game, had real-life issues or ultimately become inactive. Whatever the case may be, while our beloved server may not exactly be dying, it is having a little bit of a depressing...

My free company, Driftwood Coast is one of the leading rp companies in Gilgamesh. Just recently, three of one of our most well known members of the coast has lost interest in the game and has sadly moved on, and will be missed dearly. We have lost a few other members before, but seem, if not most have made some sort of impact on some of our characters in some way, mine included. Some of with are the sole reason we still play today. 

When the game was coming out, I was debating on which server I would be focusing on. I choose Gilgamesh because I've never played 1.0 and building up a community from the ground up was an interesting idea. Starting out, everyone seemed more than willing to get involved, even if it was our first time rping in a game. As the months went by, we've lost some of our people, but still maintain a friendly and interactive environment, hosting almost as much event as Bulmung itself. But now, more and more people seemed to be losing interest, even if they haven't admitted it yet.

I may have came out as paranoid about this, but I wanted to know what everyone thinks on the matter... Undecided

RE: The state of the Gilgamesh server - Lightningtear - 05-12-2014

Personally, I made my current character on Gilgamesh along with my friend. This was about... 20 days ago. Almost immediately, when we open world RP'd she was whispered with surprise that she was in an open world RP. I got more OOC attention from people trying to give me stuff so I'd join their FC and while we did meet a few faces quickly, the lack of interest in Gilgamesh caused us to switch our characters to Balmung because it just seemed like the livelier community.

 While I wasn't in Gilgamesh long enough to give a real opinion, I will say it didn't take long for me to become disappointed and move on myself. It's probably reactions, or opinions like this that are causing the very issues your talking about. While it's unfortunate, I do still believe there is a good chance there is good RP there and that it can grow again. The issue that I noticed in any server is that few people are willing to just open world RP, and all of it takes place in the same taverns with the same dry conversations. 

I have seen a few forums up here for people still strong with RPing in Gilgamesh and believe that with more interest and a chance it could come back strong again. Or I could just be optimistic.

RE: The state of the Gilgamesh server - Zahnweh - 05-12-2014

I'm rather depressed to learn that Gilgamesh is waning in interest, especially since I jumped ship off of Leviathan in order to join a new community.  Even so, it's never too late to change the course, strong intent to maintain the focus of Gilgamesh and trying to get the interest peeked that Gilgamesh is a worthy non-Legacy alternative for an RP server might help.

RE: The state of the Gilgamesh server - Jana - 05-12-2014

Every MMO is going to experience player turnover as time goes on. The smaller communities are going to feel it the hardest.

RE: The state of the Gilgamesh server - No Longer Exists - 05-12-2014

Howdy, Folks! Black Hat here!

I've said it before and I'll say it again, Gilgamesh struggles for many reasons but RP is not dead, nor dying!

One of the biggest factors on Gilgamesh is that it's a shared server. Balmung is (almost) exclusively roleplaying. Gilgamesh is RP/PvE. Check out the FC registry on Lodestone, over 2/3s the FCs on Gilgamesh are not RP or are light RP. That makes Open World hard to work with. It's like being a stranger in a foreign land, people may be friendly but they're just not what you were expecting.

Still, there's a lot of RP going on and people like myself are trying very hard to bring it to you. We all have lives outside the game and sometimes getting the fire burning brightly enough to be noticed takes extra time. Don't be discouraged.

As to Driftwood Coast, I wish those who left the best. It's hard not to be saddened when people you know quit but it's what they want to do and I hope whatever they do next makes them happy. Cause playing a game is all about the enjoyment.

Hope that helps!

Cheers!

-Black Hat

RE: The state of the Gilgamesh server - ArmachiA - 05-12-2014

Correction: Balmung is not exclusively roleplaying, like at all. It's just as PvE oriented as any other server.

RE: The state of the Gilgamesh server - No Longer Exists - 05-12-2014

(05-12-2014, 07:27 AM)ArmachiA Wrote: Correction: Balmung is not exclusively roleplaying, like at all. It's just as PvE oriented as any other server.
I said Almost! Big Grin And I acknowledge you may not see it that way, but the population ratio is dramatically different. I played there and unless things changed drastically over there in the last couple months, Balmung's PvE to RP ratio is not 2/3s PvE.

RE: The state of the Gilgamesh server - Mippa - 05-12-2014

The RP community on Gilgamesh is not reliant on any one, three, or ten players to keep the community strong. I disagree with the assessment that the RP community is waning, and I've seen several events take place over the past month to really cement that feeling.

MMOs by nature are a revolving door, and especially with someone that requires a monthly subscription, I can see why people would be taking regular accounts of whether or not they want to budget the game into their daily lifestyle. 

The RP is there, for sure, in varying degrees...and it's not getting smaller, by any means. I think saying that the community is dwindling because three people left is 1) undue pressure on those three people and 2) a disservice to the people that continue to remain and 3) premature conclusion.

I'm the heir-apparent to Driftwood Coast, and I think I'm made myself pretty clear on how present I am here and how I plan to invest in the Gilgamesh community. Drift is a big company with a lot of different people. I don't think it's prudent to determine some sort of forecast of their future, as diversity has proven to be a very unpredictable force of nature.

RE: The state of the Gilgamesh server - Evaleigh - 05-12-2014

The idea that Gilgamesh is lacking in roleplay is silly.

I have not been playing FFXIV for very long so perhaps I don't see the reason to lose hope or have my morale crushed just yet.  I joined 3 months ago when a small group of my friends who have already left for greener pastures--no worries, my friends are fickle like that and they bounce from game to game swiftly but not me!  FFXIV's community has been what finally made me cancel for good my previous MMO.  I am happier here than I ever have been elsewhere.


My one complaint about Gilgamesh is that unlike Balmung, there is a lack of open world roleplay.  That said, there is an AMAZING rich and diverse amount of FC roleplay among the many RP FC's and more story-driven and "serious" roleplay.  I play on both. Balmung and Gilgamesh.  What I've come to experience is that Balmung is great for tavern rp, for open world rp, for small plots on the street corner that are mostly fluff with the occasional event.

What I've seen from Gilgamesh is amazing.  I've been roleplaying for a very long time and I remember the days of my college youth and high school years when roleplay could be compelling enough to keep me up all night.  I had not had that until recently.  The great care people take in their characters and the effort put forth to create events is amazing.

What is more amazing is some of the "big picture" ideas that are coming out of Gilgamesh.  So what if a few people are leaving?  I challenge that anyone who wants roleplay can find roleplay still.  I have never reached out searching for it and been left wanting (well except for maybe at 5am but... I should have been asleep).

This talk that Gilgamesh is in a sad state of affairs is stupid and saying these things only hurts morale.  Just the other day Berserk had their auction event and there was a HUGE turnout so much so that it took hours to auction everyone off and hours more of roleplay afterwards.  There are still plenty of people left on Gilgamesh that want to roleplay so...

If you're not happy with the state of things, help us to change it.

RE: The state of the Gilgamesh server - Devereau - 05-12-2014

I originally started on Goblin, and soon found myself yearning for change. After some lengthy research and asking friend on their opinion of the matter, I finally chose to move to Gilgamesh. I certainly didn't regret the choice. 

Upon arriving there, I met many people who ended up changing my life, both in game and out of game, in a very significant way. I found a great deal of RP there, as well, but most of it required a bit of looking. Regardless, I have many good memories and wonderful friends that I can, without a doubt, say I would be much different without. 

I have recently chosen to leave Gilgamesh for personal reasons, but I didn't leave empty handed. Even with the change of servers and people waning in interest, I have friends I talk to out of game, one I hang out with in person on a regular basis, and most hopefully the love of my life. I don't think you would get such things from a dead, baseless server. 

The reality is that things change, and even now, I find myself missing Gilgamesh at times. Though it may not be the optimal community for some, it still holds a close, intimate scene and many friendships and roleplay to be had for those who don't mind putting in a little work and sacrificing blatant open world RP at times. Jumping ship or not, each place is going to have some pros and cons. 

For there to even be any worry and concern in the first place shows me that there is still many people there who do care. Seek them out and make a change.

RE: The state of the Gilgamesh server - Solano Thorne - 05-12-2014

Unfortunately, after playing on Gilgamesh for about a week, I have to agree that the volume of roleplay(dare I say even quality) leaves something to be desired.

My main was originally on Balmung, but I had an urge to play my first character who was on a non-RP server. Due to the current server restrictions, I was unable to transfer him there, so I opted for Gilgamesh to get established and start my FC.  I'll admit it has been extremely difficult to locate roleplayers, let alone those who haven't already been snatched up by the FCs that seem to aggressively recruit anyone and everyone they can.  It is somewhat frustrating as a leader, because I feel painted into a corner.

I have had some fun interaction with the last event Chiyo hosted.  But I would be lying if I said I didn't regret waiting for server capacities to increase, and I have to agree the RP population on our server seems rather spread thin.

On Balmung, every tavern would have someone roleplaying at all hours of the day.   People have lore-specific names for their tribes/clans and seem to have a stronger grasp of roleplay overall(Why am I talking to cat-girls and elezen with Japanophile names? Are they Domans who came over with Lady Yugiri?). Gilgamesh?  I'm lucky if I find even one person sitting at a bar.


You'll have to forgive my honesty, since Gilgamesh does have an active, friendly, and enthusiastic rp community -- but I'm left with the impression that it is much less visible to newcomers on our server. This is just a relative comparison to Balmung, and it is a valid comparison to make given that roleplayers are a minority. Curtailing the topic would be a form of avoidance or denial.

I believe it isn't too late to turn things around, if we all work together and find ways to invigorate the community.

RE: The state of the Gilgamesh server - Saefinn - 05-12-2014

Yes, I think open world doesn't really happen, but the server ain't lacking IMO. I would say there's the perception that Gilgamesh is the secondary server...which is true, but I don't think it's necessarily inferior. There have people who have left, people who have jumped ship, but I think that's just a case of "the grass is always greener", I've had people find they didn't like to Balmung and I'm sure there's Balmungians who didn't like moving to Gilgamesh.

But bear in mind too, server populations also naturally drop as people abandon ship, as is to be expected with any MMO, so we'll see numbers drop in the RP community.

I would say they are 2 different communities who approach things in a different light. I don't do Open World RP, I love story arcs, I love drama and I enjoy stories, so my FC's efforts have been mainly pointed in that direction and in the early days were quite private and now we have a house in an RP community I think it has only helped us diversify how our RP works. We get some people walking in to join in and our FC's OOC linkshell has grown, but we've also managed to keep our membership from when people have dropped and moved on.

Despite being a smaller FC (we prefer 'cosey') we've not struggled too badly to keep our RP alive, because we find it so fun. However, there's no real centralised 'world' RP and it has never once been an issue.

I think what people will need to do is shout for joining RP networks, make use of this site (with regards to events) and use the resources already out there to join in with people's RP.


I was almost tempted to restart the Gilgamesh Event Organisers and came very close, but I heard opinions from different people and I have found out that a number of people have made attempts to *revive* some RP relationships on the server, but I have actually found that actively the best way to get RP is funnily enough...by RPing. It's how we've kept our membership, it's how we've kept our relations with people in other RP groups and we find we have a lot of fun.

Hence, I'm not concerned, it's interesting how long the perception that Gilgamesh RP is somehow dead/nearly dead for. However, I am all up for promoting and getting involved with RP...speaking of which, I will end that here (because I am missing out on some juicy RP right now Tongue)

RE: The state of the Gilgamesh server - Mippa - 05-12-2014

(05-12-2014, 09:34 AM)Solano Thorne Wrote: You'll have to forgive my honesty, since Gilgamesh does have an active, friendly, and enthusiastic rp community -- but I'm left with the impression that it is much less visible to newcomers on our server.  This is just a relative comparison to Balmung, and it is a valid comparison to make given that roleplayers are a minority. Curtailing the topic would be a form of avoidance or denial.

I believe it isn't too late to turn things around, if we all work together and find ways to invigorate the community.

I think I saw you at the Berserk thing, and I'm so sorry we didn't get a chance to interact! I personally was dealing with some unfortunate OOC business but I assure you, there are opportunities abound, even if we're a bit slower-moving, the payoff is grand!

I also want to thank you for giving honest feedback about what you've seen. It's really hard to convince people that change needs to happen when we're caught up in our own contentment. It's very 'let them have cake' IMO and we need more vocal input like this. (As long as it's not fatalistic.)

(05-12-2014, 03:50 PM)Saefinn Wrote: I was almost tempted to restart the Gilgamesh Event Organisers and came very close, but I heard opinions from different people and I have found out that a number of people have made attempts to *revive* some RP relationships on the server, but I have actually found that actively the best way to get RP is funnily enough...by RPing. It's how we've kept our membership, it's how we've kept our relations with people in other RP groups and we find we have a lot of fun.

Please please please if you do this, I want in!!

RE: The state of the Gilgamesh server - Aysun - 05-12-2014

(05-12-2014, 07:44 AM)Black Hat Wrote:
(05-12-2014, 07:27 AM)ArmachiA Wrote: Correction: Balmung is not exclusively roleplaying, like at all. It's just as PvE oriented as any other server.
I said Almost! Big Grin And I acknowledge you may not see it that way, but the population ratio is dramatically different. I played there and unless things changed drastically over there in the last couple months, Balmung's PvE to RP ratio is not 2/3s PvE.

OT: Being one that plays solely on Balmung, I have to disagree with you again here. Balmung is one of the most populated servers and RPers are, I'd estimate, easily out numbered by PvE 10 to 1, considering server population is around 25,000 characters (and that's only the ones in FCs). Granted Gilgamesh is not that far behind in numbers overall, but we there are no where near as many RPers as you think there are on Balmung. XD

I have actually spoken with a few Gilgamesh to Balmung transplants recently so I wasn't all that surprised to see this thread pop up. Wish those who remain the best of luck. Believe it or not everyone on Balmung/Besaid from 1.0 knows the feeling, because it was a constant struggle to keep our community strong back then as well!

RE: The state of the Gilgamesh server - Desmond Aryll - 05-12-2014

I haven't posted here in some time but I felt this warranted a comment.

Having never RP'd in an MMO, I wasn't sure what to expect. I was always aware that Gilgamesh had an uphill battle to make something happen as well as always being compared to Balmung (even subconsciously) by the RP population at large. Inevitably, the server would be perceived as lacking.

After having been around for some time, since early access last summer I have come to figure something out. Overall population of any server isn't as meaningful as the relationships you forge. Will there be more opportunity to find these people you click with in a more active or numerous server? Absolutely, without a doubt. But those connections happen with only a select few people/characters.

In short, it doesn't matter whether you live in a little town or a megacity. What matters are the deep, personal connections you make with others and its the same for your characters. Gilgamesh is what those of us who play there make it, separate from any comparisons to Balmung.