Official RP Server

[Havoc Snow]

Well even if we did get an official RP server designation, I imagine there would still be micro communities on other servers outside of that one. Either people who weren't already RPers who got interested in it and formed LS/FC on their current server, people who were on other servers and didn't want to move to another server, or any number of other reasons.

 

Regardless of that however I know that currently there are at least four servers where RP happens in any noteworthy amount, however I feel that the RP community as a whole, not just us here at RPC, could greatly benefit from a unified community where all of the different groups from all the different servers were all in one place together.

 

Speaking from a personal point of view there are a lot of times when I'm sad to see people who are on Gilgamesh, not because I want everyone to join Balmung, but because there are so many great roleplayers in this community and I know a lot of them I'll never get to meet in game and experience RP with them, simply because of the rift in servers. Now if you imagine that it's not just Gilgamesh, but there could be other smaller communities out there as well filled with wonderful RPers we'll never even meet, even on the RPC, but that we could all be brought together if we had an official server. Or at least most of us would be brought together.

[AmericanHero]

As a curiosity however, and I hope this doesn't spark an argument but a peaceful debate, since Yoshida has shown he does pay attention to fansites in the community, what if he decided to declare Balmung the official RP server? Would the members from Gilgamesh come to Balmung, or would they still decide to stay on their own server?

 

Down with Balmung, booooo!

 

...

 

...yeah I personally wouldn't care.  As it goes with many of these things I'll hope to go with the flow, though I'd expect a free transfer.  I suspect, though, the RP population on Gilgamesh will be large enough where they'd probably just hang.

[sanguineFenrir]

Speaking from a personal point of view there are a lot of times when I'm sad to see people who are on Gilgamesh, not because I want everyone to join Balmung, but because there are so many great roleplayers in this community and I know a lot of them I'll never get to meet in game and experience RP with them, simply because of the rift in servers. Now if you imagine that it's not just Gilgamesh, but there could be other smaller communities out there as well filled with wonderful RPers we'll never even meet, even on the RPC, but that we could all be brought together if we had an official server. Or at least most of us would be brought together.

 

This accurately describes my own feelings on the subject. What was once a very simple decision for me when I signed up for this community is now something I often mull over, now that I've gotten to know some of the people who will be on Gilgamesh (as an example)... their concepts and their ideas. I'd like to become involved with the community, and I identify with their motivations for splitting, but I don't want to spread myself too thinly. 

 

Knowing that there might even be other servers where micro-communities are going to spring up makes me wish even more that we had an easy way to unify things in-game. Even if it was something at the social infrastructure level, such as cross-server channels, groups (with being able to see the other players), or similar. Forum roleplays and such are one way, but in my opinion, that's only part of the experience.

[Poe]

It does sadden me that SE hasn't tackled this issue, when I do feel they had time to do it prior to server transfers being closed.

 

I am going to attempt to play Poe on both servers but like many have discussed, I am fearful of spreading myself thin. I am willing to give it a shot though because characters and concepts on both servers really intrigue me and I am feeling bummed out that I might miss some awesome rp

 

:frustrated:

[Havoc Snow]

Forum roleplays and such are one way, but in my opinion, that's only part of the experience.

These only go so far however, and in some ways are actually kind of disheartening. Let's say you're on Balmung and I'm on Gilgamesh. You create an open RP thread for anyone to join, this lasts over the span of weeks, or months, the two of us become really good friends throughout that time, but in game we have a substantial amount of investment in our servers, or merely our characters on those servers, so merely hopping from one to the other is not really a viable option. Sure we can create alts, but over the past few months we've been roleplaying as the characters we have been currently playing, this means that any relationships or bonds that form in a forum RP never transcend the forum RP, we'll never meet in game, never play together, never be a part of the same circles.

 

Several months down the road Gilgamesh' status as the Non-Legacy Server will become irrelevant because Legacy and Non-Legacy players will be on equal footing, at that point it's just RPC Server 1 and RPC Server 2. This is why I feel that the community as a whole, not just RPC, could greatly benefit from a single dedicated server (and the opportunity to freely transfer to that server) once the whole Legacy debate is no longer relevant.

 

This is not to say that Gilgamesh will ever become irrelevant as a home for RP if we don't gain an official server from SE, just that right now their main selling point is "we're new." Once the majority of the RPers on that server reach level 50, and the LS and FC all become well established as parts of the community, they lose that claim and they're no different from Balmung, and that could happen in only a few months, let alone in six months.

 

Edit: Ultimately though, I still think we will get a dedicated server, I just think that SE is seeing the division in their community between Legacy and Non-Legacy, and in the long run this is only a temporary thing. If they created an entirely new server (as opposed to adding a designation to an existing server) they would need to determine whether Legacy characters could transfer to it, or to treat it like all the new 2.0 servers. In the event Legacy players could transfer to it, all non-Legacy players would view it as just another Legacy server and stay away from it, if they restricted it to new players only all the Legacy players would opt to stay on their own server rather than roll new.

 

The best solution for this would be to wait until there's less of a gap between new and old players, then either create a new server or designate an old server as RP, allow for server transfers temporarily, and then allow the players to decide whether they want to join the new server or stay where they are. However with that said, the smaller gap between the two sides of the fence would make it much easier for the two sides to integrate together.

[Naunet]

Since we already basically have a consensus-based Legacy and Non-Legacy RP server, I'm not sure what an official designation at this late stage would really do, aside from probably cause even more trouble.

 

The RPC may have a consensus, but that's definitely not the case for the broader RP community. The non-Balmung RP section is extremely divided across three or four servers, if the beta forums are anything to go by. It's incredibly frustrating.

 

I will continue hoping that SE designates an official RP server.

[sanguineFenrir]

Forum roleplays and such are one way, but in my opinion, that's only part of the experience.

These only go so far however, and in some ways are actually kind of disheartening.... cont'd...

 That's what I meant by the forums only being part of the experience. Yes, they're interesting, but one actually doesn't get the experience of being around the others in a live manner. It's kind of "doing things halfway."

 

Someone mentioned that the executive producer likes to read fansites, so maybe he'll notice the various points of view on this issue and bring it to the attention of the rest of the team, if we get lucky. Re-rolling in case a different server was officially designated would be inconvenient if we chose to do it, but I think it would go part of the way towards bridging the schisms you mentioned.

[sanguineFenrir]

((I don't have permission to delete this and I'm considering using a different mouse just for the forums at this rate.))

[Xerek Devereux]

Most of us rolling Gilg are doing so because we want a new start on a non-legacy server. Having Balmung tagged as the official RP server wouldn't change that and would only trigger a wider train wreck. SE should have dealt with this a *lot* sooner...

[Miss Marigold]

The non-Balmung RP section is extremely divided across three or four servers, if the beta forums are anything to go by. It's incredibly frustrating.

 

I wouldn't worry about it too much! If people don't have the sense or motivation to google around a bit, figure out that this is the main site for the RP community, and then figure out that Balmung and Gilgamesh are the primary options, it's probably no huge loss if they play on another server anyway! I know that sounds sort of harsh, but it was no issue for our guild to determine that Balmung is where we wanted to be for A Realm Reborn even though 90% of us never played 1.X, myself included.

[Miss Marigold]

I will continue hoping that SE designates an official RP server.

 

This really isn't too different than hoping a dictator steps in and solves the problem, is it?

 

If that's what we want—and that's certainly what I want—then we can do that for ourselves after server transfers open up and the legacy issue is no longer a concern. The leaders of this site will simply need to stick their necks out and say "Hey, everyone move to Balmung!" or "Hey, everyone move to Gilgamesh!". If people here are willing to lead, we'll be just fine even without SE's help. It's only if people are too worried about upsetting anyone or stepping on anyone's toes that the community will remain fragmented.

[Domri Blackblade]

While I'm most likely going to stick to my guns on Gilgamesh, the main problem I see with that server is a handful of communities have declared it their 'official' server. As it stands, it will most likely be the most populated non-legacy server for this reason. The hardcores, the casuals, the LGBT, and the RP community have already slapped it as the 'official'.

I personally don't mind sharing, but one of my biggest issues is going to definitely be population. with all these eyes on Gilgamesh, I foresee another issue like the 1.0. One server fills up really fast and is on lock down until there's a population limit increase.

 

It's for this reason I'm kind of wavering on my stance.

[Havoc Snow]

Most of us rolling Gilg are doing so because we want a new start on a non-legacy server.  Having Balmung tagged as the official RP server wouldn't change that and would only trigger a wider train wreck.  SE should have dealt with this a *lot* sooner...

I actually don't think it would change anything for those who are completely adamant about staying on Gilgamesh. If they were to add an official designation to an already pre-existing server Balmung makes the most sense, because it allows any player new or old to make a character on it, while also acknowledging an already existing (and large) community of roleplayers on it. I think it would actually be worse if they created an entirely new server for RP because now people from Balmung and Gilgamesh (and any other server) would need to move, instead of one one community needing to make the decision whether to integrate or stay where they are.

 

Sure they could make Gilgamesh the official server once all servers are available for world transfer regardless of character type, but I don't see that happening. I really hate to say this, but I'll be perfectly blunt for the sake of being clear. Gilgamesh doesn't have the stability, size, or community Balmung has, and probably never will. I'm not saying this to be mean or anything, it's just that Balmung had a headstart, they already had a base to start with from all the 1.0 players who are returning, and prior to Gilgamesh being named the RPC Server 2 many new players had already resolved to joining it. In addition, Rock and a number of other people have already stated that it's easier to just jump right into RP from day 1 on Balmung, which means that Gilgamesh is only going to see growth in terms of people who are really adamant about not playing on a Legacy server, while Balmung will continue to see growth from anyone who doesn't care about the schism.

 

I'm deviating from my point however. Right now Gilgamesh is brand new, fresh start, filled with trail blazers who get to be the server firsts or what have you. A few months from now they'll be Balmung Lite because all the server firsts will be taken up, all the tropes and cliches and what not will have happened, and they'll be existing in exactly the same state as Balmung. It'll just be a single community separated by a wall.

[Martiallais]

I really hate to say this, but I'll be perfectly blunt for the sake of being clear. Gilgamesh doesn't have the stability, size, or community Balmung has, and probably never will. I'm not saying this to be mean or anything, it's just that Balmung had a headstart, they already had a base to start with from all the 1.0 players who are returning, and prior to Gilgamesh being named the RPC Server 2 many new players had already resolved to joining it. In addition, Rock and a number of other people have already stated that it's easier to just jump right into RP from day 1 on Balmung, which means that Gilgamesh is only going to see growth in terms of people who are really adamant about not playing on a Legacy server, while Balmung will continue to see growth from anyone who doesn't care about the schism.

 

I think what you've said is just as possible as Gilgamesh doing well, too. Let's not go putting down a part of the community, eh? I'm playing on Balmung but I'd like to say the G-crew has just as much a chance as making it as any other server. It all boils down to people and experiences in the end.

 

EDIT: In before another server thread takes a downward spiral. 8-)

[Havoc Snow]

I think what you've said is just as possible as Gilgamesh doing well, too. Let's not go putting down a part of the community, eh? I'm playing on Balmung but I'd like to say the G-crew has just as much a chance as making it as any other server. It all boils down to people and experiences in the end.

 

EDIT: In before another server thread takes a downward spiral. 8-)

You're totally misunderstanding what I was saying. I'm not putting anyone down, nor am I stating that Gilgamesh won't flourish as an RP community, it has already proven that it can and will. I am discussing this purely in the sense of if they picked an already existing server as the official SE designated RP Server, which would be the most likely candidate, and pointing out that being designated as the "Non-Legacy Server" only matters at launch, post launch that goes away very quickly when players start reaching the same levels as legacy players. Remember that legacy players need to do all the main scenario content in order to unlock dungeons and end game just like the new people, and much of that content is level synced. Because of that we'll be seeing dedicated members of the non-legacy servers hitting level cap and end game very quickly, I mean I managed to hit level 20 within the first weekend of phase 3, so basically it only takes about 2 days to reach the halfway point for a single class.

[ArmachiA]

Generally any community that tends to stick to itself on any server can be just fine. I ran an RP guild for YEARS of the Quetzalcoatl in FFXI and did just fine. Anyone can do it. It's when you want to turn the server into something it becomes... mucky.

 

Everyone knows Balmung is known for 2 things: RP and Endgame. Both sides of that coin are now used to each other and Balmung being seen as the "Unofficial RP server" isn't even an issue to most non-RPers on Balmung. It just kind of is and they're used to it by now.

 

Gilgamesh has yet to go threw those growing pains so I honestly can'y say how it will do. I hope it does well, but there is also a chance it won't. Though, I've been on the ground floor of three RP communities (Two going to "Unofficial RP servers") and those growing pains weren't too hard to get through.

 

I worry about Gilgamesh because of the Reddit and 4chan thing, mostly because I worry they are taking Reddit and 4chan too lightly (I rolled with Something Awful in a few games, and, while they are lower population than the other two, they have the same trolling tendencies. And I know what SA did. They trolled smart. They trolled in a way they couldn't even get in trouble for. I got stories ) but at the end of the day I think Gilgamesh will be fine

 

It really is dependent on what you want to do. Want to go to an established city? Balmung. Want to try and build a city? Gilgamesh.

[Havoc Snow]

It really is dependent on what you want to do. Want to go to an established city? Balmung. Want to try and build a city? Gilgamesh.

At the end of the day however you'll have two nearly identical cities.

[ArmachiA]

Or the sadder possibility for Gilgamesh: No city at all.

 

Gilgamesh is a gamble to get where Balmung all ready is. Kind of the wild west of servers. That excites some people, and makes others feel tired

[Ildur]

I must say that, while I understand the reasoning some people decide to go to a Non-Legacy server over a Legacy server, I do not agree with it as the gap between Legacy and Non-Legacy will be meaningless after a few months.

Having two unnoficial RP servers means there will be a lot of unreachebale people on the other side, with perfectly fine and interesting characters, stories and plots who will never meet with the others in-game. It's kind of sad.

Still, I understand the decision behind it.

 

I hope Squeenix will decide on implementing a dedicated RP server. My only hope right now is that they are waiting for the Legacy/Non-legacy gap is shortened so that all roleplayers won't have really many reasons to stick with their original servers. However, there's two problems with this hope: First, it assumes Squeenix is paying attention to the current mechanics of the roleplaying community, which I'm unsure if they are.

Secondly, if they wait some months after launch to implement it, roleplayers will still linger on their original servers and refuse to leave to the designated one, for the simple reason that they might have done non-roleplaying friends who see no reason to transfer, which in turn will mean the roleplaying friends won't want to transfer either because their RP partners are staying because of their non-RPing friends...you get the idea.

 

So I'm holding some hope, but it's an highly illogical hope.

[Myxie Tryxle]

It's entirely possible they are waiting to see how we work this out for ourselves. Six months down the road, we may see Balmung and Gilgamesh designated RP servers. I see no reason they'd have to make a brand new server and designate it RP. It's likely they'd realize that this would frustrate the established RP community.

[Havoc Snow]

It's entirely possible they are waiting to see how we work this out for ourselves.  Six months down the road, we may see Balmung and Gilgamesh designated RP servers.  I see no reason they'd have to make a brand new server and designate it RP.  It's likely they'd realize that this would frustrate the established RP community.

I don't think we'll ever get more than a single server, so it's very unlikely they'll make both Balmung AND Gilgamesh official, and there's a chance they may not make either official and decide to go some entirely different route like naming something like Hyperion or Excalibur as the new RP Server.

 

Still, after learning about 4chan and Reddit making their home Gilgamesh I would never get involved with it sadly, I see too much risk of griefing and people making themselves into nuisances (not to say it won't happen on Balmung, just not as likely to happen). I could only imagine it would get even worse if SE dubbed it the official server.

[Aysun]

First of all, first post.  Woo!

 

Long time gamer, huge FF nut.  I'm an old school RP guy though I've spent most of the past 5 years on WoW world PvP servers.  Many good times, but I think I'm favoring more "grown up" environments now.

 

Anyway, does anyone know if Square will have designated RP servers or will the community just sort of christen one unofficially?  I think there was some post in the forums that a buddy linked me that implied Gilgamesh.  Sound about right?  Good choice if so.  Gil is a wacky bastard.

 

I imagine there are many groups that will go other ways with their collective broods, but as a guy with a few buds ready to get back into some RP stuff, I want to ensure that it will be the right environment.

 

Welcome!

 

Unfortunately, after many proddings of SE, we still don't have a designated official RP server.

 

The primary unofficial server is actually Balmung, not Gilgamesh. Gilgamesh's community was established due to a subset of players who wanted to start fresh rather than join the community on Balmung (because it is a "Legacy" server). However, many new RPers are joining us on Balmung, and many of our "Legacy" players are starting over, so don't let the fact that it's Legacy deter you.

 

Whatever server choice you make (or if you decide to go both, like some people), I hope you enjoy XIV RP.

[Naunet]

This really isn't too different than hoping a dictator steps in and solves the problem, is it?

 

Well, the devs declaring an official RP server certainly doesn't match up to the negative connotations that a dictator would imply. It's not like it's unusual for an MMO to have RP-tagged servers; hell, for many of us (myself included), it's expected, and when it doesn't happen, it reflects poorly on the company's awareness of their playerbase and market standards.

 

Humans are stupid, and you can't trust them to act as a group on their own when making a decision. It's better for all of us for Squee to take the lead in this kind of thing.

[ArmachiA]

I don't think we'll ever get more than a single server, so it's very unlikely they'll make both Balmung AND Gilgamesh official, and there's a chance they may not make either official and decide to go some entirely different route like naming something like Hyperion or Excalibur as the new RP Server.

 

Still, after learning about 4chan and Reddit making their home Gilgamesh I would never get involved with it sadly, I see too much risk of griefing and people making themselves into nuisances (not to say it won't happen on Balmung, just not as likely to happen). I could only imagine it would get even worse if SE dubbed it the official server.

 

Ypu'll always see greifing in the traditional sense, regardless of server.

 

Here was us on 1.0, on Besaid, minding our own business and roleplaying and the first day we were griefed by some guy who said RP was gay. That's gonna happen everywhere.

 

But SA was smart.

 

On Aion they stole the names of people on their server, and stole their guild names, holding them for ransom. Technically not against any rules. You just weren't fast enough.

 

On WoW SA created an "RP" guild called the Freelance Police, staying completely in character, as police officers, they went to high traffic RP events and... you can probably guess how they messed that up. They even had people on that server convinced they ERP'd, all the the laughs.

 

GoonSquad, another WoW guild and the biggest one at around 1000 members, did a lot of greifing, so much so WoW devs had to change some of the code itself to keep them from doing any further damage (For instance: they once held the Southshore Griffon master hostage for 48 hours. You cannot do this anymore because of them )

 

I don't want to get into what they did on EvE.

 

None of it against any kind of rules. And SA is considered small fried compared to Reddit and 4chan. Of course, there are people on SA who want to roleplay, I'm on there after all, but most of them want to cause havoc and have fun.

 

(Luckily for you, Goons are rolling on Excalibur )

[Desmond Aryll]

Sadly that is a reality of the interwebs. :dodgy:

 

Can't you block/blacklist other players in FFxiv? I know it won't disrupt them completely but it'll definitely help.