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

[Virella]

A move away from Balmung, either slowly or quickly is fine, BUT what isn't fine, and something I experienced within literally the first few minutes of moving to Mateus is: "Balmung RPers and their community are horrible, and not really welcome here."

I've seen that happen as well. Yes.

 

What I don't get either? The few people who are helping these communities from Balmung are genuinely trying to be nice to them. They don't seem to have some grand saviour complex either. But alas. I guess we just can't play nice.

[Nodem]

A move away from Balmung, either slowly or quickly is fine, BUT what isn't fine, and something I experienced within literally the first few minutes of moving to Mateus is: "Balmung RPers and their community are horrible, and not really welcome here."

I've seen that happen as well. Yes.

 

What I don't get either? The few people who are helping these communities from Balmung are genuinely trying to be nice to them. They don't seem to have some grand saviour complex either. But alas. I guess we just can't play nice.

 

Funny thing. Some of those people who are throwing shade at people from Balmung, ARE FROM BALMUNG themselves. So take everything said with a grain of salt. I've not received shade on Mateus because I also have characters on Balmung. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[Greenley]

A move away from Balmung, either slowly or quickly is fine, BUT what isn't fine, and something I experienced within literally the first few minutes of moving to Mateus is: "Balmung RPers and their community are horrible, and not really welcome here."

 

As someone completely new to the game, as are two of my buddies, I can say we've unfortunately witnessed this numerous times already within the Discord chat and in game. Before anyone jumps on me with "Well we're not all like that!" I am well aware, but. Between comments like hoping Balmung "dries out" (note I suspect comments like these are from those who played on Balmung and got their feelings hurt for whatever reason) and some of the GM messages I've seen to the tune of "We're not Balmung. Deal with it." along with demanding respect for Mateus natives specifically, it's... not exactly making us as pumped to be here as we originally were. 

 

On the other hand, the people of Balmung have seemed to us like those in Portland. "Stop moving here! There's already too many people!" says a man already enjoying life in Portland. I understand the server strain is a big deal; I played FFXI for years and I was there for Remora and the aftermath. It was ugly. (Although for the record, FFXI had a different breed of players and I don't suspect SE thinks they could get away with that with this game.) 

 

At this point we feel like a portion of members from both groups are going through a toxic phase with welcoming people into their circle, although Mateus more so, albeit it might be because Balmung literally can't have anyone new. Regardless, half the pleasant people I've met on Mateus have actually been from Balmung, it turns out, either on alts or as transfers. A good portion of those are doing their best to genuinely assist in Mateus' community and yet I've seen snide remarks about it. 

 

To a point I can understand hostility from the old school Mateus natives. Some of them want(ed) a very small server and now it's growing and they're reacting negatively because it's a negative experience for them. As another poster mentioned, I'm sure half the shit-talking is from salty Balmung transfers as well, but the often resounding silence that follows these comments is just as concerning as the comments themselves. 

 

Although, any time a conversation about how things are going / being run is brought up people either turn away (what I've seen in game) or the mods just silence the chat (in the case of Discord), which is why I'm not even going to bother bringing them up there. In a way, this makes me a hypocrite, I know.

 

Sometimes a healthy debate / heated discussion (as long as it remains civil) is not only warranted, but necessary, to build a community. People should be allowed to argue a little. We're (mostly) all adults here.

 

For us three, we're enjoying the PvE content as we haven't done any of it before, and waiting to see if it all evens out. I still hope for the best for Mateus and will continue to support the event gatherings when RL permits. I naively bought 120 days playtime in advance + my 30 free days so I personally have nothing to lose by trying.

 

 

 

:::EDIT::: To the person who PMed me asking for an invite to the Discord channel, I'm in no way in charge of that and you have your PMs disabled. But what you're looking for is here: https://discord.gg/HPbYNFUBest Best of luck!

[Dravus]

I find that there's usually two sides to most stories. I've seen people bring up Balmung in a negative way but I've also seen people bring up Mateus in a negative manner too. Ultimately, though, it could just be venting taken out of context. Maybe the people involved were just having a bad day, maybe there's growing pains because they're frustrated that they moved from Balmung to get away from Balmung and now a lot of people from that server are now knocking on their door. A lot of people on Mateus may have genuine concerns that some people are only going to settle temporarily on the new server, set up connections and then jump ship if Balmung opens up again.

 

I remember there being a similar rivalry between Balmung and Gilgamesh...that got pretty heated and nasty at various points. Balmung certainly wasn't innocent in that battle, nor was Gilgamesh.

 

Server pride can be very dangerous, though. It can make even genuinely nice people act unreasonable much in the same way as even regular people can act deranged and/or overly defensive regarding their favour football teams.

 

In short, it's definitely not a black or white situation and it shouldn't be treated as such. Ultimately, though, Balmung has the luxury of being a behemoth - a few bad apples taking aim at it isn't going to destabilise it. Mateus, though, is smaller, so it stands to lose more if it ends up getting a poor reputation based on a few vocal, bitter players. With that in mind, Balmung players may need to just swallow their pride and shrug off the venting/sniping rather than bringing it up across multiple threads whenever Mateus (or another server seeking to sustain role-players) is brought up.

[Melkire]

I find that there's usually two sides to most stories. I've seen people bring up Balmung in a negative way but I've also seen people bring up Mateus in a negative manner too. Ultimately, though, it could just be venting taken out of context. Maybe the people involved were just having a bad day, maybe there's growing pains because they're frustrated that they moved from Balmung to get away from Balmung and now a lot of people from that server are now knocking on their door. A lot of people on Mateus may have genuine concerns that some people are only going to settle temporarily on the new server, set up connections and then jump ship if Balmung opens up again.

 

I remember there being a similar rivalry between Balmung and Gilgamesh...that got pretty heated and nasty at various points. Balmung certainly wasn't innocent in that battle, nor was Gilgamesh.

 

Server pride can be very dangerous, though. It can make even genuinely nice people act unreasonable much in the same way as even regular people can act deranged and/or overly defensive regarding their favour football teams.

 

In short, it's definitely not a black or white situation and it shouldn't be treated as such. Ultimately, though, Balmung has the luxury of being a behemoth - a few bad apples taking aim at it isn't going to destabilise it. Mateus, though, is smaller, so it stands to lose more if it ends up getting a poor reputation based on a few vocal, bitter players. With that in mind, Balmung players may need to just swallow their pride and shrug off the venting/sniping rather than bringing it up across multiple threads whenever Mateus (or another server seeking to sustain role-players) is brought up.

 

There's this age-old adage about those who don't learn from history. I forget how it goes.

[Koti Nexus]

I would like to say, just leaning in here that the Mateus HUB and the RPM are two different beasts on the Mateus server. The Mateus HUB tends to get most people because they have an open door but no real "moderators", thus people tend to speak more freely-- Though there was a heated debate over someone not using careful wording and then some words stated (which I believe was quoted here) that I wanted to slap the guy upside the head for. I also told him to have more tact, but they snarled back.

 

Thankfully things cooled down and calm heads prevailed by the end of the day, but yes, words were spoken. Things got heated-- and in truth, things were not handed well on the HUB... But it also could have been far, far worse as well.

 

Now I make no excuses for them, as I said, I wasn't happy with the way it was handled, but that is my place to overrule, nor is it the location I control. They did the best they knew how to do and the person who runs it, bless her heart, is also dealing with being a new mom and handling a new born child.

 

Where I do have authority at is on the RPM and I have been working to point of nearly giving myself an ulcer (along with several of the moderator team), to quickly act as humanly possible to track down those who do want to destroy the friendly nature we are trying to build and also want to disrupt the relations between the RP community. BUT, we are limited to do the RPM and sometimes, even then, things slip because we don't have enough people on hand to catch everything time someone decides to start something.

 

We are having growing pains. There are old guards who are not happy. There is also, however, excitement as well and motivation for what is being done. Its a mix community over on this server between two different mindsets.

 

But we are TRYING and we are doing our damnest. I love Balmung, I loved Besaid. They are my homes, perhaps Besaid more so than Balmung, but I am not someone to ignore a community and we ask, please, just take things with a grain of salt, help build the community to the best of everyone's ability and while we work together, as a team, we will eventually get things settled out.

 

Its going to be bumpy. Its going to be rough at times, but by the end of the day...

It will be all worth it.

[Sig]

A few observations:

 

(1) It is unfortunate (and very childish and stupid) to impute negative characteristics on an entire server of people.  Making derogatory comments about people on an entire server is analogous to insulting the people of the entire continent of North America.  It makes zero sense because the people are incredibly diverse and different.  The maturity of RPers who insult entire servers of people is sad, and they likely suffer from poor social skills.

 

(2) RP should be consolidated on one server, and it doesn't matter where that server is located. We must keep in mind that the efforts to designate a second unofficial RP server are ultimately colored by self-interest by those who deliberately chose not to RP with the greater community on Balmung for personal reasons. Instead of taking action that would help all (i.e. - working to persuade SE to designate an official RP server or lift the transfer restrictions), some would simply use the current state to increase the size of their alternative RP communities, despite that it ultimately fragments RP. Ultimately, these issues will likely be rendered moot when SE lifts the restrictions (and the super majority of RPers gravitate towards the central RP hub they value) or an official RP server is designated to mitigate Balmung's population problem (the only thing that could get a large chunk of the population to transfer).

 

(3) Servers are dumb artificial barriers that do little more than divide people.

[Kylin]

The following message is not directed at any one person, but rather the tiny vocal minority that is casting doom and gloom on other server efforts (whether here, the official forums, or elsewhere), or STILL rallying for Balmung or bust solutions that make no valid sense...

 

You don't have to like what's happening right now. In fact, most people don't actually like this splinter. However, it's happening. There's no stopping it. Let me repeat that. THERE. IS. NO. STOPPING. IT. The vast majority of the community (even beyond the RPC) has put their approval on the division of the RP community not necessarily because they want it, but because it's NEEDED. Nothing you say or do at this point will change that. I'd argue that even the official designation of a RP server by SE would be more detrimental than helpful at this point because people aren't going to keep moving over and over again.

 

There are nearly 50 RP FCs on Balmung advertised here alone. That doesn't take into account what's not advertised. I would estimate that there's actually approximately 125+ individual RP groups, large and small alike, on Balmung. That's MASSIVE. Even if the community got split in half (unlikely), it would still be a massive thriving community with plenty of styles and options. Balmung is not going anywhere anytime soon. So if someone is scared of it "dying," get realistic please and stop being melodramatic.

 

The RP community is still growing in FFXIV, even after all these years. Balmung cannot accommodate that growth anymore by itself. Efforts to undermine other server RP communities is directly stifling the expansion of the RP community at large.

 

Do we know if other server communities like Mateus will make it in the long run if Balmung gets unlocked earlier than expected? No idea. Do we know if it'll 'replace' Balmung as the new unofficial RP server eventually down the line if transfer restrictions never let up? No clue. What I do know is that there are RPers RIGHT NOW that are enjoying themselves outside Balmung and having opportunities to tell stories they otherwise didn't have a chance to tell. The community of Mateus has grown in leaps and bounds in just a matter of weeks. Other smaller groups like Faerie, Lich, and Jenova have managed put themselves on the map. Efforts to undermine that are (or should be) a direct insult to RPers everywhere. As cross-server content becomes more and more viable (with upcoming cross-server LSs and FCs on the horizon as well), we should be encouraging RP in as many places as possible so that the community continues to grow exponentially and offers even MORE opportunities than we already have.

 

You don't necessarily have to get on the train. But you need to at least get the hell out of its way. The momentum is already real and it's not slowing down. Efforts to do so will not only be in vain, but only contribute to the server vs server mentalities and fosters unnecessary hatred.

[ArmachiA]

We owe it to Mateus to let it try, even if it ends up another Gilgamesh. There's no harm in letting them TRY really. If it fails and if Balmung ever opens up again, they'll just pull a Gilgamesh and mass transfer to Balmung. No harm, no foul really.

[Kage]

I don't think many are actively saying that Mateus (or others) shouldn't try but I know some have voiced their concerns in attempts to help bolster the efforts -because- they want those places to succeed but do not have the ability/time/what have you to dedicate and become one of those who would need to put in the effort.

[Sylentmana]

I for one stand with Mateus. Balmung has become like a gated community. You can't just hop on with a new character whenever you want. You have to wait and pay a fee to get in. Designating a low pop server like Mateus as a new RP server allows for more variety of characters and PCs since it doesn't have a pay wall in front of it. An RP server needs to be easily and freely accessible to everyone. I'll make any new characters on Mateus from now on to help support that growing community.

[Renata Turner]

I haven't gotten through all 18 pages yet, but the fact that people are advocating for a "everyone on Balmung!" roleplay situation baffles me. 

 

A critical mass of population on the server could cause a split like in 1.0. I don't know how that was handled, if people were just moved or if they got to choose where they went. 

 

So if the devs decided that Balmung was to be split...that's a LOT of fractured circles and stories. What if they split Balmung and my char was parted from her husband? 

 

I don't see what's so bad about having other servers have rp communities. What SE should focus on before even thinking about designating a server as an rp server is housing.

 

You should only be able to have one house and apartment per account, per server. If you have a house, you shouldn't be allowed to have an apartment. Everyone can get an FC room on each character because duh. Grant housing controls for that property to each char on that account/server. But if you have a house, you shouldn't be able to own a house with any other char. Because you have greedy people who have 8 chars on Balmung, each with a house, an apartment, and FC chambers.

 

But that's a different debate. Point is, no, not every rper should congregate en masse on Balmung, or we'll get that server split none of us want.

[Gegenji]

I think the entire point has become moot by this point considering Balmung is on complete lock-down due to its population size. No new characters, no transfers in, nothing. So even if consolidating the RP on Balmung was the right thing (which I am of the opinion it is not, but that's irrelevant to this point), there is no way to do it at this point.

 

But as it stands, we have a handful of large RP communities for folks that want that (Balmung if you were lucky to be on it before the lock, Mateus, Omega for our EU pals) and a smattering of smaller RP communities over other servers for those who might want that smaller, tighter knit RP community. A healthy amount of choices that - I would hope - are all doing decently well.

[Renata Turner]

A few observations:

 

(1) It is unfortunate (and very childish and stupid) to impute negative characteristics on an entire server of people.  Making derogatory comments about people on an entire server is analogous to insulting the people of the entire continent of North America.  It makes zero sense because the people are incredibly diverse and different.  The maturity of RPers who insult entire servers of people is sad, and they likely suffer from poor social skills.

 

(2) RP should be consolidated on one server, and it doesn't matter where that server is located. We must keep in mind that the efforts to designate a second unofficial RP server are ultimately colored by self-interest by those who deliberately chose not to RP with the greater community on Balmung for personal reasons. Instead of taking action that would help all (i.e. - working to persuade SE to designate an official RP server or lift the transfer restrictions), some would simply use the current state to increase the size of their alternative RP communities, despite that it ultimately fragments RP. Ultimately, these issues will likely be rendered moot when SE lifts the restrictions (and the super majority of RPers gravitate towards the central RP hub they value) or an official RP server is designated to mitigate Balmung's population problem (the only thing that could get a large chunk of the population to transfer).

 

(3) Servers are dumb artificial barriers that do little more than divide people.

I see what you're saying, but given the sheer numbers of people who rp on Balmung, the population won't dwindle enough to give SE reason to life the restriction any time soon. Your approach to this is rather obtuse and stubborn, for you refuse to see from a back-end perspective why the server was locked and why it remains locked and likely will remain locked for months, if not years. 

 

There is nothing wrong with having two communities. A server split would be more cataclysmic than two rp communities, and even if say, Balmung was designated an rp server, you think the non-rpers on Balmung are just going to leave? You think if Mateus was designated an rp server that non-rpers won't roll on it? Your posts indicate you believe that to be the case, and sadly, you're mistaken.

[Erah'sae]

As a reminder, this was a three month old dead horse of a topic until 30 minutes ago.  

Almost everything that could be said on this has been said to the point of exhaustion.

 

I'd suggest we do more forward looking than debating what is now, effectively, history?

[Renata Turner]

As a reminder, this was a three month old dead horse of a topic until 30 minutes ago.  

Almost everything that could be said on this has been said to the point of exhaustion.

 

I'd suggest we do more forward looking than debating what is now, effectively, history?

My bad, I misread the date.