Server Selection P2: "What if's?"

[Kylin]

*Shoots the squirrel, and then the bunny* :twisted:

 

Here are my proposals for the issues mentioned thus far (excluding #8).

 

1. How do we select a server if the names have not been released yet?

 

Select server number 7 on the list. Why 7? Based on the projected number of starting servers, this should fall somewhere in the middle of the list and thus, not be overly populated nor under populated. In the event that the server list shifts its order constantly on the selection menu (for instance, Cid server is listed first for one individual but is number 8 on the list for another as SE's method to keep servers evenly populated), we pick the first one that starts with the letter L. If no server starts with L, we continue down the alphabet (M,N,O,P, etc).

 

2. What if the server selection is random?

 

People will have to reroll characters. There is no getting around this. Collectorâs Edition players can quickly select their server in a quick 24 hour period and then start gathering on said server. Mass efforts by the community to gather plenty of world passes will be necessary.

 

3. What if Friend Passes for server selections are more expensive then a starting character can afford?

 

We will form a temporary RPC âbank.â Each player who purchases any world passes will be recorded on a public list along with the amount they paid. After about a week or two of having settled onto the server, the RPC will organize an in game farming run to raise the money back and redistribute it accordingly.

 

4. What if SE designates more than one RP server?

 

We will vote between them. In the event that there is not enough time to vote, we select the second RP server on the list. In the event that the server list shifts its order constantly, we select the server name where the first letter is closest to the letter L.

5. What if we end up with more RP'ers then the server can handle?

 

An overflow server will be voted on. We should have a good grasp on the number of Rpers weâll have by late August.

 

6. What if due to some conflict/misunderstanding/confusion/etc one or more guilds ends up on different servers?

 

We hash out the misunderstanding immediately on the forums and get everyone reorganized on the appropriate server. There is no reason to not reroll another character on another server if youâve only been playing less than a week.

 

7. What if our promotional efforts don't work and we fail to mobilize Roleplayers to our servers?

 

We stand by the RPCâs selected server and continue promoting it as the unofficial RP server. If it is ignored by the player base, so be it.

 

8. What if a significant amount of Roleplayers cannot convince their friends to join the same server we select as a group?

 

In the end, we must do whatâs best for the RP community as a whole. Individuals who have non-RP friends are encouraged to mobilize their friends on the unofficial RP server in any way feasible. However, it is ultimately not the RP communityâs responsibility to mobilize those not interested in RP.

[Satrina]

I'm all for an "unofficial" RP server but I don't really wish to join a vastly underpopulated server. PvE is a passion of mine and i'll be doing a whole lot of it, so I would rather not have a server like Moon Guard on WoW where 90% of the population were lvl 1-20 alts all tavern sitting. A medium or high population server would be great. I don't foresee a server ostracizing the RP community, as most people from FFXI took part in some sort of RP at times back in the day. Also not having any sort of PvP within the game will attract a lot less assholes to the game, which again will make the chances of people flipping over there being RP on a server very unlikely. As for random selection I would hope by now that will no longer be the case, and I don't think it will. When I went back to FFXI a few months ago on a trial I noticed you could select you server now from a list. I don't think SE will revert back to the random server after having fixed that issue (No one liked the random server crap).

[Keir]

I approve of all of these suggestions, Castiel. As to concerns of underpopulation, there were somewhere around 14 well-populated servers at North American release for XI (one year into the Japanese release). Taking these numbers into consideration, perhaps we choose number 4 on the list rather than 7. (or the closest to the letter L.)

[Aveline]

I'm all for an "unofficial" RP server but I don't really wish to join a vastly underpopulated server. PvE is a passion of mine and i'll be doing a whole lot of it, so I would rather not have a server like Moon Guard on WoW where 90% of the population were lvl 1-20 alts all tavern sitting. A medium or high population server would be great.

 

I agree with this completely. An underpopulated server sounds like not much fun.

[Tadir]

Does closest to the letter L go both ways? As in, would K win over X? Or does it go from L on, looping back to A at Z?

 

Just trying to clarify.

[Kylin]

Well, now that we have more info with the release dates and have had time to think over some of this...

 

I think it would be in our best interest to have a poll no matter what happens. Some people might be furious that they don't even get a chance to vote on the unofficial RP server. The collector's edition people will have access to the servers before the rest of us. Thus what could happen if we don't have server lists released before then is:

 

Someone who bought the collector's edition immediately puts up the poll with the entire server list (I would have various safeguards in place already to prevent abuse of the voting system). The poll would last for a mere 24 hours (no time to waste since people are already playing the game). For those not familiar with how voting here works, we usually leave formal polls up for 7 days. That wouldn't be a viable option in this scenario though. After the 24 hours ends, the winning server would become the unofficial RP server. Those who have to reroll shouldn't have an issue in doing so since it's only been 1 day since they started playing (and most of that day would probably be spent downloading the game and update patch :lol: ).

 

I personally think it would be best to just forget about choosing the server closest to a certain letter or a certain number on the list. A short 24 hour vote would be much better. Of course, people would be warned a week in advance before this via mass email if we don't have server lists made public by that point.

 

Objections? Did I even make any sense? >.>

[Aveline]

I don't know.. I think choosing '7th server on the list' makes it easier for everyone. The only case in which it wouldn't is if S-E starts randomizing the server selection list for each person. Not sure if that will happen, but if it did that would throw everyone off.

 

HOPEFULLY we have the names of the servers before the C-E comes out. I am guessing we will and here's why: The people in the beta get to take their names with them to the final release, and they've said they want to give players migrating over from XI the same option. It's unlikely they are going to reserve everyone's name for ALL servers, so when the time comes to reserve your character name, they will probably give people in beta a list of the servers and ask them to pick which one they want their name reserved on. It seems like at that (hypothetical) point is when the best time to pick a server will be. They may have some weird mojo way of doing it that makes no sense though, so this could be totally off.

[Kylin]

Does anyone know if they released FFXI server names before release? If they did, it's probably a safe guarantee they'll do so again. If not...well then it's anyone's guess as to whether they will or not. I realize the server selection process was random then but not sure if they still released the list or not.

 

Edit: I guess a better question would be if it's common for other MMO's to release server lists prior to release. I've actually never paid attention to that in my past MMO experiences.

[ArmachiA]

Aion did. They released their server names when the open Beta was out.

[Bear]

I think the biggest problem with RP servers right off the bat is that they are never regulated properly, you always see people with retarded names speaking like their vocabulary consists of 4 words, and they can't even spell them properly.

 

That said, I'd still like to start on an RP server , but I think I'll end up playing on whatever server the majority of this community chooses.