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

Sig · **05-23-2017, 09:01 PM**

(05-23-2017, 12:47 PM)Oswin Wrote:
(05-23-2017, 11:00 AM)Flynn Rosenberg Wrote:
(05-23-2017, 09:54 AM)Sig Wrote: Unofficial server designations for an alternative RP server have not and will not work.Â Balmung is a testament to this.

You say that such actions before have been met with failure, I disagree! There has never been such an occasion in XIV's history that has required the RP community act so swiftly. To be relaxed in such a position is an invitation for destruction! By ignoring the fresh lifeblood of our community we ensure that we shall starve!

This is a GLORIOUS opportunity for communities to grow and prosper. They are perhaps niche right now, as you have said, but as new players go to these communities they will grow beyond their previous boundaries into a wonderful new existence!

Unofficial "alternative" server designations are flawed because they do little more than divide the RP community across artificial barriers [servers], cause RP stagnation/homogenization, and are not an effective long-term solution to population issues. No argument has refuted this.

The overwhelming super majority of RPers value having a large, healthy, and diverse central RP hub.Â The popularity and size of Balmung is a testament to this.Â We need to be taking action to ensure that there is a centralized RP hub, as opposed to scattering the RP population across multiple servers.Â I'm sorry if the importance of this goes overlooked because we take Balmung for granted, and it is difficult to evaluate remote contingencies.

I appreciate your recent efforts to identify servers where RP communities exist so newcomers will know where to go, but trying (for the upteenth time) to go down the failed path of an unofficial alternative serve designation is a waste of time for all parties.Â In fact, those who stand the most to lose are people who toss their eggs in the alternative server basket, as most RPers are likely to transfer back to Balmung when the restriction is lifted (likely 2-3 months), and the community on "alternative RP servers" will remain small, isolated, and homogeneous (and sadly stagnate over time). I don't want to see this happen to RPers.

This is why RPers should take action to pursue a very attainable goal: getting an official RP server designation (or revocation of the transfer ban).

ArmachiA · **05-23-2017, 09:06 PM**

(05-23-2017, 08:57 PM)Rosekitten Wrote: I'm still on the side where I don't care what server is being appointed (by SE or the community) I'm willing to pack up and move. I've had a good load of fun on Balmung but given the type of character that I play I think building a community foundation would be a better place for her. Also anyone I had ties to in game have long up and left so I'm one of the few I guess with no real ties holding me back to stay on Balmung.Â

Still standing by what I sad in other threads, so long as the secondary server/world is supported by the community and isn't shunned out like a lost puppy with mange.. things will work out just fine. With time and effort everything grows.

So more back on topic.. would I move? Heck yeah. The only bonus I can think of is if the transfer is free. <3

I'm actually on this side too, and apparently so is my FC. If we see transfers open up and we get some pretty good incentives (We want to be able to keep our formation date intact), we'de be willing to move off the server if there's a concerted effort of the rp community to do so.

I went to Mateus and it's pretty lively, rolled an alt there and people seem friendly - I just haven't had time to level that alt there yet haha. If they opened transfers off, I'd be willing to plant my FC there if I saw others were willing to do the same.

Hyrist · **05-23-2017, 10:04 PM**

Thinking a good scenario would be -Â

The creation of a new server. It would also have to coincide with a housing expansion, likely.

It would involve the server first being opened by people transferring off of Balmung, housing would switch 1 to 1 for those who transferred.Â

At that point, the one of two scenarios would be up to SE, regardless of which designate one or the other server as the RP Server.Â

They could hold the housing expansion off for those transferring from other servers to the designated RP server. Then either have houses transfer 1 to 1, or offer full refunds and have it be first-come-first served.

I'd honestly think this could be accomplished sooner if they held back further housing expansions until they could effectively double housing, then merge a couple low-population servers together to free up space for this idea. This is only if they can't afford the creation of new servers due to population disparity.

But in the end - I think overall the above methods may be the only real solution to the population disparity problem - Merge the low population servers, use the freed up space to offer splits for special interest servers such as RP.

ArmachiA · **05-23-2017, 10:14 PM**

^^ That's a good idea actually.

It would basically be a server split but you choose if you wanna go or not,.

Mercer · **05-24-2017, 09:19 AM**

(05-23-2017, 09:01 PM)Sig Wrote:
(05-23-2017, 12:47 PM)Oswin Wrote:
(05-23-2017, 11:00 AM)Flynn Rosenberg Wrote:
(05-23-2017, 09:54 AM)Sig Wrote: Unofficial server designations for an alternative RP server have not and will not work.Â Balmung is a testament to this.

You say that such actions before have been met with failure, I disagree! There has never been such an occasion in XIV's history that has required the RP community act so swiftly. To be relaxed in such a position is an invitation for destruction! By ignoring the fresh lifeblood of our community we ensure that we shall starve!

This is a GLORIOUS opportunity for communities to grow and prosper. They are perhaps niche right now, as you have said, but as new players go to these communities they will grow beyond their previous boundaries into a wonderful new existence!

This is why RPers should take action to pursue a very attainable goal: getting an official RP server designation (or revocation of the transfer ban).

Brother Sig, it seems we are fated to spin along this spiral of debate forevah! Your claim that such goals are attainable is OBSOLETE! There is past precedents that the Square Enix will not submit to the demands of the noble RP army and will instead put a blind ear to our cries.

Neither shall Balmung reopen and giving the command for other RPers to simply submit to this decision in hopes the Square Enix will reopen the capital is FOOLISH! The creation of characters has been locked for years, and even still Balmung has grown until the server bends under it's own population. To think that Balmung may survive such an undertaking during the biggest content release of the year is simply FOLLY!

Your arguement holds little weight in the raging river that is the current tide. It is like a whisper going against a typhoon, trying to be heard. But I assure you Brother Sig, that I will at least hear your voice. I will hear your voice and I will refute it, for ours is a debate that will cycle on and on until the very server walls come crashing down.

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ckingch · **05-24-2017, 10:58 AM**

To answer the topic question, I'd only move if I were able to transfer my house and the circle of friends I RP with. The house is integral to my RP as it is my character's store, and I do get plenty of traffic and RP in there. My group of people my character interacts with? Well, they all individually have thier own web of friends, FCs, LS', and friends they are intertwined with as well. So, I'm stuck on Balming whether I like it or not.

Athil · **05-24-2017, 12:19 PM**

I would possibly move if the house/FC could move with it. I'm casual enough about gil making that trying to grab another house would be difficult. An officially dedicated RP server will always attract RPers over time, even with Balmung as established as it is.

That said, a big part of that would be hoping that several of the connections that I've made go as well. The Balmung community is pretty great already.

Miah Gamduhla · **05-24-2017, 01:48 PM**

Like others here, I would only move off of Balmung if houses/furnishings moved as well.

Housing is such a huge investment that simply tossing it in the trash is out of the question. It takes so much gil and a huge amount of luck to get one. This extends to apartments as well.

Then theres also the problem with how big of a gamble that moving will be. I'm sure that many would move, but I'm also sure that many will not. If you move, will you be able to find a group you mesh well with? You better be sure that you do because there likely won't be any going back to Balmung if you don't like the new server.

Tsukiko Tanshi · **05-24-2017, 07:13 PM**

No, because I have been through several server launches when playing WoW, and I have seen enough of what happens to know that creating a server with an RP tag but nothing else to set it apart or give it advanced functionality for RP'ers beyond adding two letters onto the server name does nothing but congest server lists and fracture an already niche base. It sounds great and needed now, but long term it's a pretty bad deal and actually isn't even the bandage that Balmung (and Gilgamesh to an extent) really needs.

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Tsuki got wordy, so it's behind a cut/spoiler!WoW started up with five official and labeled role-play servers upon release. Over the next five years, they added in 12 more - including the niche PvP-RP servers. There were no more servers added past 2009 that were role-play specific, the utter last one being Wyrmrest Accord. Over time, those 17 servers effectively smushed back down to nine servers using cross-realm technology - three of these are standalone servers, with one of them at not quite 200k population (and thus too large to mash into the others without making them too large and thus defeating the point of cross-realm), and the other two at ~560k and ~640k.Â

As someone who started on one of the original five, I remember when each of the new role-play servers opened. I remember the exodus of role-players from the servers, spilling into the new one in hope of a new oasis, I remember the claims of making things better. I remember the 'foundations' that were thunked down onto each new server, and I remember the absolute elitism and 'popular people' battles that went down on each of them, scattering people as wars were waged over who had the prettier princess and who owned the Park tavern.

I also remember the servers filling up with PvE players and PvP players - which helped with actually getting things done on the servers, until new servers opened up again and people once again flooded, sometimes split between two, and the communities would shrink and the cycle would begin again, leaving behind crippled communities that once thrived as best they could in their smaller states. Over and over, time after time, until finally the tide broke against Moon Guard and Wyrmrest Accord and people gathered on those because there was nowhere else to go - and the servers that were left behind suffered, leeching people to larger servers until the cross-realms went into effect.

The server was temporarily closed to help make it easier for the server to survive the launch of Stormblood. It was never announced to be closing permanently, only until the active player population has stabilized. Will I take the temporary server closure over getting through a huge queue only to get dropped right back into it when the server collapses? Uhm, yes. Will I take the temporary closure over having to endure restarts when something bugs because the amount of people in an area somehow make the MSQ line break and no one can get through it, thus putting me right back into that damned queue? Yes.Â

An 'official' tag does nothing, means nothing. It doesn't ban people who don't RP from the server (which is a bad idea anyway), and at what point should a server close? Balmung's only true issue is the lack of housing for the masses, something that seems to be of higher value to players than the community itself (which is very much thriving), or the stability of the game they pay to play. If housing is so important, what happens when an 'official' server grows too big? When it gets locked down during launches? When people have to pay to get on? Does it lock down when there is no available housing any longer? What about people who can't get housing? Does another server open, dividing an already small playerbase niche even tinier?

Does it suck to have people have to wait for a bit to get onto a server? Yeah, sure. There's nothing stopping people from rolling on a small pop world and playing with the friend that wants to transfer in until they can, either - especially with next to nothing to do until launch. You don't need to be in-game to role-play, and you don't need to be on the same server to do dungeons together. If people have no ties to Balmung and want to move off? Then do so, but don't sit there waiting for a tag that will do nothing special. Anyone who wants to come to FFXIV to role-play is going to do a little bit of research and figure things out themselves.

This server closure is temporary so that we can actually play the game at launch. There is not going to be stagnation - a tide of people will come back, play, get burned out, leave. More people will come in, as once the flood abates, the doors will open again. Â Role-players are consistently the niche set in just about any MMO, and are often community driven. Getting ourselves a status tag was barely asking for anything. Asking for an official RP server sounds great now, until there's a bunch of official RP servers where the actual RP community is negligible enough that it's really just a PvE server with some people who like to play pretend.

Sig · **05-24-2017, 07:58 PM**

(05-24-2017, 09:19 AM)Oswin Wrote: Brother Sig, it seems we are fated to spin along this spiral of debate forevah! Your claim that such goals are attainable is OBSOLETE! There is past precedents that the Square Enix will not submit to the demands of the noble RP army and will instead put a blind ear to our cries.

Neither shall Balmung reopen and giving the command for other RPers to simply submit to this decision in hopes the Square Enix will reopen the capital is FOOLISH! The creation of characters has been locked for years, and even still Balmung has grown until the server bends under it's own population. To think that Balmung may survive such an undertaking during the biggest content release of the year is simply FOLLY!

Your arguement holds little weight in the raging river that is the current tide. It is like a whisper going against a typhoon, trying to be heard. But I assure you Brother Sig, that I will at least hear your voice. I will hear your voice and I will refute it, for ours is a debate that will cycle on and on until the very server walls come crashing down.

This is the last time I intend to respond to a post you make in this thread.

There are no applicable precedents or procedural facts that give any indication to whether SE would designate an official RP server.Â A precedent is only applicable if there are analogous facts (and is usually defined as a analogous rule of law or regulatory standard; as opposed to something that depends on facts).Â Here, there have been no serious efforts to persuade SE to designate an official RP server since 2.0, and we are facing one of the most difficult population issues to impact high-population servers since launch.Â The facts and circumstances are unique. If you can identify any recent post by SE (made since high population has become a major issue) where they specifically decline to designate an RP server, that would be precedent.Â You have no precedent.Â You have only speculation and conjecture.

Consumer demand drives change.Â If enough consumers demand something, companies are bound to respond.Â With that said, RPers have made lackluster efforts (save for a few vocal RPers who supported Nero's thread on the official forums) to convince SE to designate an official RP server.Â This is likely because most RPers believe that SE will simply reverse the transfer ban within 1-3 months after the launch of SB, rendering the need to designate alternative RP servers premature.

The only tide I'm lost in is the majority consensus that large, centralized RP hubs are desirable.Â The overwhelming majority of RPers play on Balmung (or will transfer there after the restriction is lifted) because they value robust, diverse, and active communities.Â Very few RPers desire to RP on stagnate ghost town servers that offer little more than a 50-100 person homogeneous cliques of like-minded individuals that dwindle in numbers over time.

Most RPers I know think that people who hold your view (i.e. - we should designate an unofficial RP server) /and/ my view (i.e. - we should convince to reverse the transfer ban and/or designate an official server) are acting prematurely.Â And they're probably right - things will likely revert to status quo in 2-3 months after SE lifts the transfer ban.

In the end, most RPers will gravitate towards a centralized RP hub that offers the greatest frequency and diversity of RP.Â That hub has been and will continue to be Balmung (and perhaps an official RP server if designated down the road).

Mercer · **05-25-2017, 07:02 AM**

(05-24-2017, 07:58 PM)Sig Wrote:
(05-24-2017, 09:19 AM)Oswin Wrote: Brother Sig, it seems we are fated to spin along this spiral of debate forevah! Your claim that such goals are attainable is OBSOLETE! There is past precedents that the Square Enix will not submit to the demands of the noble RP army and will instead put a blind ear to our cries.

Neither shall Balmung reopen and giving the command for other RPers to simply submit to this decision in hopes the Square Enix will reopen the capital is FOOLISH! The creation of characters has been locked for years, and even still Balmung has grown until the server bends under it's own population. To think that Balmung may survive such an undertaking during the biggest content release of the year is simply FOLLY!

Your arguement holds little weight in the raging river that is the current tide. It is like a whisper going against a typhoon, trying to be heard. But I assure you Brother Sig, that I will at least hear your voice. I will hear your voice and I will refute it, for ours is a debate that will cycle on and on until the very server walls come crashing down.

This is the last time I intend to respond to a post you make in this thread.

There are no applicable precedents or procedural facts that give any indication to whether SE would designate an official RP server.Â A precedent is only applicable if there are analogous facts (and is usually defined as a analogous rule of law or regulatory standard; as opposed to something that depends on facts).Â Here, there have been no serious efforts to persuade SE to designate an official RP server since 2.0, and we are facing one of the most difficult population issues to impact high-population servers since launch.Â The facts and circumstances are unique. Â If you can identify any recent post by SE (made since high population has become a major issue) where they specifically decline to designate an RP server, that would be precedent.Â You have no precedent.Â You have only speculation and conjecture.

Consumer demand drives change.Â If enough consumers demand something, companies are bound to respond.Â With that said, RPers have made lackluster efforts (save for a few vocal RPers who supported Nero's thread on the official forums) to convince SE to designate an official RP server.Â This is likely because most RPers believe that SE will simply reverse the transfer ban within 1-3 months after the launch of SB, rendering the need to designate alternative RP servers premature.

The only tide I'm lost in is the majority consensus that large, centralized RP hubs are desirable.Â The overwhelming majority of RPers play on Balmung (or will transfer there after the restriction is lifted) because they value robust, diverse, and active communities.Â Very few RPers desire to RP on stagnate ghost town servers that offer little more than a 50-100 person homogeneous cliques of like-minded individuals that dwindle in numbers over time.

Most RPers I know think that people who hold your view (i.e. - we should designate an unofficial RP server) /and/ my view (i.e. - we should convince to reverse the transfer ban and/or designate an official server) are acting prematurely.Â And they're probably right - things will likely revert to status quo in 2-3 months after SE lifts the transfer ban.

In the end, most RPers will gravitate towards a centralized RP hub that offers the greatest frequency and diversity of RP.Â That hub has been and will continue to be Balmung (and perhaps an official RP server if designated down the road).

My dear Brother Sig, it pains me to see you give up on our debate. However, since you have answered me it would be woefully impolite not to respond. Even if you do not wish to read my reply I will leave it here for others in the grand community to read.

Thank you for educating me on the finer points of past precedents and I will refine my earlier reply. The fact remains that there have been examples of previous attempts by the glorious RP community to petition the Square Enix to designate Balmung as the RP hub, or perhaps another server. Indeed, these were under different more elegant times. However, these were not distant times. The posts and feedback from the Developer team are just a few years old, very recent for our standards. Since there have been no changes since the original statements it is the best and only reference we have.

However, to say that RPers should hand their fate over to the Square Enix is folly! The RP-C and the glorious RP community as a whole have existed in parallel with the Square Enix for half a decade now and have decided to control the reigns of fate on their own terms. We do know that the Square Enix prefers it this way from previous comments during petitioning.

There have been no signs to change this stance. In fact, by giving characters themselves the ability to be tagged as "RP" they are giving more control to the individual rather than the server. It is true that campaigning for a RP tag or clarification of the stance on RP servers is beneficial to the server. Nero started these efforts admirably.

However, you seem to be ignoring the evidence of growing sever instability on Balmung. This is not simple conjecture or speculation. It is something that we have been experiencing over the past several months, varying from entire data center wide outages down to housing and personal rooms becoming inaccessible. Unnamed Mercenary and I have already put down numbers and references to exactly what has been happening to the server.

It boils down thusly: Balmung is vastly too large for the intended server structure and couple with the wide disparity between smaller servers leaves little reason for the Square Enix to reopen the server. There are further examples of them taking a similar stance in FFXI, which I again referenced previously.Â

Some action needs to be taken, and has been taken by the glorious RP community. Word spreads, plans are made and new players are given guidance. Even by your current stance you say that Balmung will not open for 2-3 months from now, the launch summer of Storm Blood. You have recommended that players wait for their chance to play on Balmung once again instead of rolling on an alternate server to enjoy the launch.Â

I can not agree, my Brother Sig. There are players that wish to join Balmung but cannot. To say they should wait until Stormblood is over, that they can not enjoy the biggest XIV moments of the year is... simply tragic. To say they must wait on their hands until the next school year or until the server opens, if it opens? I can not agree.Â

The simple truth is that the RP community will fracture due to the actions taken by the Square Enix. There is no denying that players need a new home right this very moment. I also can not see Balmung reopening in the future, due to the Square Enix's actions taken during XI and how they have handled Character Creation for Balmung in XIV for the last two years.

Thank you for these continued debates, my dear Brother Sig. Even if this shall be the last debate here I look forward to continuing them on and on. You, desiring for the stagnation of Balmung, and me, wishing to see the diversification of servers.

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Leggerless · **05-25-2017, 08:24 AM**

My bet's on Balmung just remaining closed even after 2-3 months. And then a revisit of server designation topics.

I mean. Is there an effective way of actually... I don't know. Forcing people to locate off the server? Worst comes to worst and people *really* hate it being overcrowded, we implement the WoW method of homogenization and ridicule.

You know. The one where we shun anyone who ERP. Or in this case, perhaps the one where we'll shun any who don't RP.

Or ask Square to just split the server.

Question is, What's the most effective, disregarding certain concerns, of cutting down server population?

(Mainly because I just don't see anyone really moving en masse just yet, or will, based on the attitudes presented in the thread...)

ExAtomos · **05-25-2017, 09:13 AM**

(05-25-2017, 08:24 AM)Leggerless Wrote: Question is, What's the most effective, disregarding certain concerns, of cutting down server population?

SE turning off the game. xD

Look... what do you think all these threads are FOR? xD We're discussing possible solutions to the problem of an over-stuffed Balmung. Some people promote a diaspora, others (like myself) hope to encourage SE to slap an 'RP Here' label on some empty server so we'll move together, some people feel the sky isn't falling and Balmung will reopen soon enough and we'll return to the status quo, some people fear a split, etc. We can't really agree on anything because we don't know what SE is thinking and each of us has our 'ideal' solution in mind that doesn't mesh with other ideas.

Sig · **05-25-2017, 09:28 AM**

(05-25-2017, 08:24 AM)Leggerless Wrote: My bet's on Balmung just remaining closed even after 2-3 months. And then a revisit of server designation topics.

I mean. Is there an effective way of actually... I don't know. Forcing people to locate off the server? Worst comes to worst and people *really* hate it being overcrowded, we implement the WoW method of homogenization and ridicule.

You know. The one where we shun anyone who ERP. Or in this case, perhaps the one where we'll shun any who don't RP.

Or ask Square to just split the server.

Question is, What's the most effective, disregarding certain concerns, of cutting down server population?

(Mainly because I just don't see anyone really moving en masse just yet, or will, based on the attitudes presented in the thread...)

The easiest way of cutting down the server population (which could be resolved through other control measures that do not require a restriction on transfers) would be to simply designate an official RP server and allow for a complete transfer of assets [i.e. - refunds for housing and housing items].Â That is the only scenario where a sizable portion of the Balmung population would leave the server.Â The vast majority of RPers have little to no interest transferring to small RP servers that lack diverse and sustainable RP communities.Â Most people realize that splitting the RP population across multiple servers in a disorganized fashion does little more than cause stagnation and homogenization of RP.

But, gauging by the interest and motivation of most RPers at the present time, we're 1-3 months away (assuming the transfer restriction stays in place that long) from RPers feeling motivated or pressured enough to encourage SE to designate an official server.

Rosekitten · **05-25-2017, 03:46 PM**

Wasn't it already stated they would be refunding or allowing housing moves or something similar? It was worded a bit oddly for my tastes but .. it doesn't really effect me either with not having a house an all... ^^;Â

Most that I have heard that were willing or already have moved from Balmung moved to be allowed the chance to finally have player housing. If SE is allowing some sort of house refund or a cert to pick up a new house on the other server.. makes me wonder what exactly will happen in the long run of things. What if someone jumps server (either a low pop or whatever server gets voted in as rp server hub whatever) and finds out they still can't get housing due to a large amount of player transfers with a housing voucher?Â

I don't see SE assigning a rp server any time soon if ever but till we get more information as to what exactly is going to happen at the launch or closer to the launch there isn't much to do but speculate.

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If SE was to designate an RP server, would you move?

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