(05-21-2017, 01:56 PM)Oswin Wrote:(05-21-2017, 01:43 PM)Sig Wrote: (1) You raise an excellent question. I'm not certain. But it is likely that SE will follow its prior pattern of conduct and lift the restriction in 1-2 months. However, you're correct to postulate that SE may take months to lift the restriction. That is precisely why Balmung RPers should be screaming bloody murder at SE right now. If the server is still locked in 6 months, we should scream louder. If twelve months, then (maybe) we should consider other alternatives.
(2) There are RP communities on a variety of small servers (Maetus and Farie come to mind). New RPers should join those communities until Balmung opens up. They should select whichever community suits their tastes and preferences best. The new RPer should transfer to Balmung as soon as the restriction is lifted, ideally with his or her friends.
This raises some questions as well that I'd like to ask.
1) How do you feel about the fact that a very similar situation has come up before in FFXI? Previously, the Odin server was bloated with the highest population. When character creation became locked, server transfers became the trend. Eventually that was locked, and free transfers were offered. The population imbalance continued despite efforts to alleviate strain on Odin and the server was split into two. Even after the split, the servers remained lock.
This is a trend that mirrors Balmung's perdicament. Square Enix has reserved the right to split servers and has kept that as part of it's terms of service with the game itself, and with world transfers.
2) If these new RPers are happy with the server they choose and their communities what incentive should they have to pay $18 to transfer their characters away from the server and community? For some, that's a steep price on top of subscriptions. Even if transfers are allowed once again, it is unlikely that every player would be willing to pay that price and friends would be seperated. Do you believe this is a worthy price to pay for unity on Balmung?
(1) Neutral? I think it is a stretch to compare something that happened years ago on a different game, with different population loads and servers, and a different community to the present state of things? But you're right. No one knows what SE will do. Hence why we should be screaming bloody murder at them instead of designating alternative servers and rolling alts.
(2) They're missing out on the Balmung community, and the Balmung community is missing out on them. See OP re: small communities not being sustainable over time. $18 dollars is not an insurmountable barrier. It's less than the cost of going to the movies, a fifth of any decent booze, a meal out, and about two hours of work time at minimum wage. I'd hope they'd simply consider saving up $18 and spending it on something that will give them hours of entertainment (great return on investment).
