Classic server, what's the argument against it now?

[nekroturkey]

Would they really have to do much other than make a new server, not allow transfers to it, and disable limit breaks above lvl 75? Personally I think that would be pretty cool and I'd make a character on it.

No, they would have to shut down the current servers and force everyone to play like it was 2006 all over again. Or at least, that's how everyone here is reacting. In reality though, yeah that's all they'd have to do.

[vienne]

I dont see it happening, but yeah if they would do it I'd probably make a character on there ...would have to have some QoL adjustments though (cant see myself playing anymore without all those cool warps) and lvl sync.

[Shirai]

I dont see it happening, but yeah if they would do it I'd probably make a character on there ...would have to have some QoL adjustments though (cant see myself playing anymore without all those cool warps) and lvl sync.

And this is why it isn't likely to happen, a lot of people mostly want the old gameplay back but with the conveniences of today's ffxi.
It all adds up to the following:

The main argument against a Classic/Legacy server is cold hard cash.

[Alhanelem]

No, they would have to shut down the current servers and force everyone to play like it was 2006 all over again. Or at least, that's how everyone here is reacting. In reality though, yeah that's all they'd have to do.

Incorrect. It would require development work It's not simply a matter of loading up a server with old software. They'd have to update playonline, they'd have to update the SE management system, they'd have to somehow backport your characters since it's highly improbable they have backups of player data that far back. The game itself would still require some adjustments because even the people who want the classic server probably want to have certain improvements made (see 2posts above) outside the realm of content- it would require development time that would take the team away from performing whatever sot of updates they might do after the "fall of Dalamud." There is work involved. It's not like they can just press a button and give us a server from any moment in FFXI's past.

Work costs money, therefore, see the beautiful graphic above that illustrates the problem.

[Roja323]

People who think that it requires no time/money to make a progression server are the trolls...

1) A progression server is 1000000x different than a 'old school' server, which is what people want.

2) All the examples of classic/progression servers from other game all keep modern amenities (in our case, level sync, RoE, Home Points) and you would have to go through RoZ and once a guild beats a sky god CoP would unlock, and once a guild beats AV, ToAU would unlock etc. Which is great in theory, except stuff like AV wasn't really beatable, and neither was PW in their original state without cheating. So do you go for the new versions of those bosses that people fight today, or the unbeatable versions from 'classic' times and just accept that no one will ever pass CoP (no toau, no wotg, etc)

3) Games like EQ have stated that it was a huge challenge to have classic servers. its not like you have a save state of what the code looked like back in 1999. Once they developed it the first time, going forward they made sure all future expansions could be coded into a progression style system, and i am willing to bet its the same with FFXI, there is no 'state 0' and it would require tons of time/effort (all of which they said isn't going to happen) just to get the game back to a state that is that old. Its not impossible as it can be done, but its not the 'effortless' easy money maker you make it out to be.


I would be willing to play on a progression server that kept modern amenities (home points, survival guides, RoE) but not on a classic server stuck in Pre ToAU (or Pre WoTG) state forever for the sole sake of 'how fun' it was to be 1 of 3 jobs that could get a merit party or the 1 lucky link shell leader who tricked 20+ people into building him a relic weapon. The grind to level may have been somewhat enjoyable, but the endgame content was awful.

[Alhanelem]

This would be an amazing idea OP.

I'm surprised after how much trolling Alhanelem does in every single thread posted that he isn't banned.

I'm more surprised that even after posted several times different success stories of many games where progression servers have worked or people enjoying earlier eras have equated to being more than the current era of the game, that people like him will argue that the validity is opposite and that there would be no way it would work here.

After the recent announcement of the games demise, it would be unfathomable for them not to take the opportunity to do this. It is an undisputable fact from experience with this through other games that this would be a success for SE. If they choose to do so.

It's so enjoyable to see though all the supporting evidence towards one. Apparently people like zachery and Zlhanelem think their word is fact though. Keep up the good fight!

I'm not trolling anyone, I'm not breaking any rules, so of course I'm not banned. I'm more suprised you haven't been because you keep randomly appearing on this board just to slander me.

Last I checked, discussing an issue in a thread is not a crime. Just because I don't agree with someone and try to support my arguments does not make me a troll. You are being very rude and inflammatory naming names and pointing fingers while adding nothing to the discussion about the topic.

People who think that it requires no time/money to make a progression server are the trolls...

Actually, there are times where I'm not really clear which one is really what the OP wants. The problem with a "classic server" as ive been seeing it described is it stays frozen in one point in time. The problem here is that can only last so long before the people on it get bored from a lack of updates. That is definitely less of an issue for FFXI now than it would have been before recent announcements. But despite talking about a "classic server" the OP in this thread was using examples of "progression servers" in other games to support his argument.

I'm glad somebody here realizes that SE can't just wave a magic wand and make a classic server appear.

I would be willing to play on a progression server that kept modern amenities (home points, survival guides, RoE) but not on a classic server stuck in Pre ToAU (or Pre WoTG) state forever for the sole sake of 'how fun' it was to be 1 of 3 jobs that could get a merit party or the 1 lucky link shell leader who tricked 20+ people into building him a relic weapon. The grind to level may have been somewhat enjoyable, but the endgame content was awful.

What you describe would have been far more preferable to what the OP described. I fear it's probably still too late for such a thing, but had I been new or wanting to start over and such a thing existed, it might have been interesting to ditch the turbo mode and having to complete the content in order.

[Alhanelem]

Slander..... lol

You consistently troll these forums and anyone that stays around long enough knows it.

Don't also state this as "random". You know I'm one of the players that has a sub to this game that vouches for this in every thread that always gets created, since you troll in every single thread that is created with this idea. Well, I guess you might get lost with who you are trolling since you do it so much.

I don't troll ANYONE. Just because my opinions are different from yours, doesn't mean I'm trolling. I don't post differing opinions on purpose; What I post is genuinely how I feel, and I'm sorry that you're unable to see that. You clearly don't know what the word troll means. And because of that, I'm going to do what any sensible person being attacked would do and should have done a long time ago.

At least you came out and admitted you blindly vouch for every thread you see just for the sake of doing so, and you also admitted you don't simply randomly appear to bash me, you categorically seek it out, which is harassment. The point of a discussion is to let your thoughts and opinions be heard. That's what I'm doing, no more, no less. You aren't doing that at all. Thus, I'm not going to engage you any further and I'm taking the appropriate steps to ensure that I don't have to in the future.

Although the OP and I have very strong differences of opinion, neither of us has been particularly rude, called anyone names, and while I don't agree with him, I do respect him for being as passionate about his opinions as I. I apologize to all the other participants of this thread for this brief digression from anything relating to the topic. Apparently being targeted for stuff like this is the price I have to pay for being passionate about a topic.

[kaerin]

A 75 cap server would be so easy to implement. Like I said earlier, just make a new server, don't allow transfers to it, then remove limit break quests above level 75. Just leave everything else in the game and let the new stuff be added like normal. It would take very little development time, and there's lots of people who want a 75 cap server. SE would probably get a bunch of new money with this kind of server, the demand is obviously there.

[Alhanelem]

I'm inclined to agree. I respect other people's opinions, but that's all he's given me. When I asked for sources and data to back up his claims, he never provided any.

I did provide sources, but because what I'm sharing is opinion and theory, it's not dependent on sources. I never once claimed that I was stating facts except where i provided sources of information (which you've apparently glossed over).

This is a discussion and I'm giving opinions, not facts. You have given both facts and opinions, although in some cases your interpretation of the facts you've provided is flawed. You've drawn conclusions from the facts you've provided that can not be asserted by those facts. E.g. you used the simple fact that there was more players and now there's less (Something any FFXI player could have told you without even referring to a source), which is absolutely true. However, you made assumptions based on those facts.

So I ask a question: Are you demanding that I prove that people leave the game for other reasons than "the game used to be more fun?" I'd be happy to conduct a survey if you'd like, but simple observation and talking to people will reveal that there are many reasons. I'm not refusing to provide sources, but you'll need to tell me what exactly you need a source for, because I'm not really trying to prove anything, I'm just giving my opinions. If you want a source for the fact that not everyone wants a classic server, i submit this thread as a source, because I'm not the only person in this thread that's skeptical of the idea.

As I said, I have respect for you because you've been a civil participant. But you've also been rather dismissive of viewpoints other than your own, just because you have "facts" that don't prove your hypothesis. I'm repeating myself here, but my problem is not your facts. My problem is your interpretation of them. You can't just say anything you want because you have XYZ fact. Let me copy what you've done to prove a point: It's a fact that it is 76 degrees F in my room right now. Therefore, the Yankees will win the next world series. While this is very "out there", the point is, you're making assertions that can't be made with the facts you've provided. You're asserting that because a couple other games implemented a classic server with good results, that FFXI is assured of achieving the same were it to do so. Your facts do not guarantee the suggested outcome.

A 75 cap server would be so easy to implement. Like I said earlier, just make a new server, don't allow transfers to it, then remove limit break quests above level 75. Just leave everything else in the game and let the new stuff be added like normal. It would take very little development time, and there's lots of people who want a 75 cap server. SE would probably get a bunch of new money with this kind of server, the demand is obviously there.

Beyond making a lot of content impossible, and disabling new spells and abilities, how does this make the game more fun? I'm not comprehending what it is about levels 76-99 that makes the game less fun by itself. This is just my opinion, not an asserted fact, but to me, the real strength of the 75-and-prior era, beyond what I've mentioned in the past, is the strength of the community. Everyone needed each other and it was the chatting and interacting with others and facing challenges together that made made the game fun. Leveling up by itself was rather boring. Doing it with others and cooperating to achieve a better result was what made it fun- In three words: The Social Aspect. The biggest problem I see now is just the social aspect is much weaker. This doesn't really have a lot to do with the level cap itself.

Since I'm being demanded to cite sources, I'd like to ask you to provide a source that indicates "the demand is obviously there." It takes more than the number of people posting in this forum (on this and past threads on the topic) to demonstrate the demand. That's far too small a sample size.

I'm enjoying the conversation as a whole, but people need to keep in mind we already know SE's plans for the future of the game, and the closest thing we are getting to a "classic server" is going to be the mobile game. It won't have all content at launch, so that's really about as close as you're going to get.

[kaerin]

If demand wasn't there then these threads wouldn't exist. And neither would p****** s****** that have a cap of 75 and more people playing on them than some actual servers.


Edit; personally I can't wait for the smart phone version. Its going to be fun playing through the game again as it was released or however they do it.