Transfer Restrictions and Roleplayers

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Originally Posted by artemos7

The restrictions remained unenforced until now, should we have expected them at some point? Yes. Should SE have enforced them a long time ago or given us some warning, or both? I think it is pretty fair to say yes to this also. The evening of servers of Balmung's size, could take years, and whether you are an RPer, or support it, for the most part all other types of activities don't need new members coming in to sustain, particularly with upcoming cross world capabilities and what we have now.

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Does this not also have nothing to do with this thread? This thread is about asking for a (new) server to be designated as an official RP server.

Anyway, welcome to the official forums. This is everyone's thread. Hope you enjoy your stay.

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Originally Posted by MomomiMomi

Does this not also have nothing to do with this thread? This thread is about asking for a (new) server to be designated as an official RP server.

Anyway, welcome to the official forums. This is everyone's thread. Hope you enjoy your stay.

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No, housing wasn't a point brought up as a reason for or against RP servers, and is a problem for all servers rather. You are from behemoth, and while I would value your genuine opinion on the thread's actual subject, cherry-picking and diversionary "What If"s to cloud the topic, isn't helping anything. You have been asked to stop by multiple people, and I would ask you to do the same. As I said, your opinion of an RP-Server, pros and cons, are perfectly welcome, and I respect your rights to staying on topic as far as OF posting. Thank you for the warm welcome.

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Originally Posted by savageink

Asks the guy who didn't read anything else in the thread. From a technological measure.

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Again, by what metric(s)?

You have made an unsupported, and unsupportable claim, and provided neither an explicit and detailed description of said issues, nor any links or other documentation to prove same.

Why are the large populations of Balmung and Gilgamesh problematic, from a technical perspective, from the point of view of current residents?

Anecdotes are not evidence.

Extraordinary claims require extraordinary proof.

If you joined in january, you wouldnt know lol.

The servers were originally only rated for 5k concurrent connections, and after the launch exploded, they upped it to 7500 to help deal with the unexpected load. If balmung has 26000 active characters, and there is going to be an expansion, expect massive login queues. That is the technical reason, and is stated on the lodestone in the same post regarding the locking and transfers.

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Originally Posted by artemos7

No, housing wasn't a point brought up as a reason for or against RP servers, and is a problem for all servers rather.

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...? I didn't mention housing. Neither did you in what I quoted. What you are saying in the thing I quoted has nothing to do with this thread.

So it's a bit hypocritical to say "that's not what this thread is for" and then talk about something that this thread isn't for.

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Originally Posted by Coratanni

This needs to be a thing. Or at least one house per server.

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This and it would have been much more convenient if they ever allowed one account to share one housing so alts can manage the house, stable and garden too.

But this whole housing system has been disaster since 2.1, and they are trying to explain that they are doing their best to accommodate their players.

Alts can't even use the mender in the main's house or access anything. I have to run an alt to a close by apartment to mend. Simply ridiculous. Can't even use the FC chest and they are all in the same FC.

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Originally Posted by LaylaTsarra

Alts can't even use the mender in the main's house or access anything. I have to run an alt to a close by apartment to mend. Simply ridiculous. Can't even use the FC chest and they are all in the same FC.

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It's 2017, Seventh Astral Era, 4.0 Expansion, and yet alts can't share main character's apartment/housing and use chest, mender or even food on the table. How is this still not fixed. ._.

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Originally Posted by CatStarPrime

:::Raises skeptical eyebrow:::

By what measure?

I began my sojourn in ARR, on Mateus, a couple of months after launch. Mateus was a ghost town. Tumbleweeds. Winds moaning through empty streets. Seeing the occasional other player, in Ul'dah, after midnight Central Time, was a shock and a pleasure.

I subsequently skipped to Gilgamesh for a few years; retired briefly; and rejoined - heading straight to Balmung, *because* of the high, and wonderfully chaotic, population.

I love being able to hit the streets of Ul'dah at any hour, and find crowds of people in the Quicksand, the Ruby Road Exchange, and the Aetheryte Plaza at Limsa. The "crowd" in the major population centers is what I expect from an MMO. PEOPLE. PEOPLE everywhere, at all hours! And they <gasp> TALK TO EACH OTHER instead of constantly running, running to their next destination.

I find nothing unhealthy about the robust and interaction-heavy population.

Wherefore do ye?

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By what measure? By the measure of character creation being all but locked for the longest time and by the devs recent locking of transfers. There's no other metric more relevant. I get that you like having a huge bustle of players all over. But the game code and server hardware have limitations. They are designed to only support so many players on a single server. Throwing more hardware at it only works for so long and only delays the inevitable.

When I say the population isn't healthy, I am not saying that a "robust and interaction-heavy" population is bad so much as I am saying the server's physical hardware and software can only cope with so much before performance degrades. People bypassed the creation locks with transfers which only exacerbated the issue. A healthy population is one in which yes there's lots of people on at all times, but not so many that character creation is all but unavailable or worse... even transfers are locked. The devs didn't lock those servers to encourage people to play on other servers. They did it because there are limits to what each server can accommodate and Balmung and Gilgamesh have, or are about to, reach those limits.

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Originally Posted by CatStarPrime

Again, by what metric(s)?

You have made an unsupported, and unsupportable claim, and provided neither an explicit and detailed description of said issues, nor any links or other documentation to prove same.

Why are the large populations of Balmung and Gilgamesh problematic, from a technical perspective, from the point of view of current residents?

Anecdotes are not evidence.

Extraordinary claims require extraordinary proof.

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While I can't give you exact specifics since I don't know the specific information regarding how SE handles the FFXIV servers, I do know enough about MMO design and server hosting to know that there are in fact hard limits to what a game server can accommodate. The devs don't arbitrarily lock character creation or server transfers, they do it for a reason. There's nothing extraordinary about it, just simple common sense and experience with hosting game servers. Balmung and Gilgamesh just have way too many people and the devs had to hard stop people from going to them because just disabling character creation wasn't enough. You may not like that or agree with it but the hardware doesn't care what we like or agree with. The hardware can only handle so much and that's that. And why are servers like Mateus "ghosttowns"? Because people like you keep transferring off of them to Balmung and Gilgamesh. If no one stays on the other servers then none of them can build up healthy populations.

A crowded nightclub is great and healthy... but they still have to abide by the occupancy code for fire safety. MMO servers are not so different.

The last time housing was added there was a mass rush to log on to Balmung. The que to get in was 10 minutes or more for some and some just get in and as I heard there were massive DCs and the like as people rushed the houses.

That was 10 minutes, with only the section (all be it a large section) of the population logging in all at once to get a house. But an hour later the dust settled, people logged off and it was business as usual.


SB is a whole other ballgame. We aren't talking the section of the current population interested in a house. We aren't talking an hour before it settles. We are talking the entire population + everyone who took a break and is back for launch day. For days.... weeks. It will be madness. I think this lockout period is a good thing honestly.

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Originally Posted by LaylaTsarra

Alts can't even use the mender in the main's house or access anything. I have to run an alt to a close by apartment to mend. Simply ridiculous. Can't even use the FC chest and they are all in the same FC.

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NO n o no no. They are getting mad that the alt itself has bought the house. And it is the alt's house.

The alt is on Mateus server.
The main is on Balmung server.

Now, even if you don't have a house on Balmung on your main it is APPARENTLY not nice to have a house for your alt on another server, where getting houses isn't an impossible dream. Good thing those people don't dictate the rules right? I mean that stuff should just be left gathering dust for people who REALLY DESERVE IT.


Also laughing at the angry ex-Balmung people creating characters on Mateus of people's Balmung mains. Hahaha whoever took my name? You SHOULD HAVE LOGGED IN. THIS is the crazy RPer stuff I was talking about earlier. Taking people's names just to belittle them in game, a small drop in the crazy bucket. It wasn't just me though, I saw a few other familiar faces on the lodestone. And some posts on tumblr. WHEW.

I'd like to ask people what makes Balmung and Gilgamesh special compared other servers such as Excalibur, Hyperion, Sargatanas, Leviathan, Behemoth, etc., especially with the availability of the Cross-Server party finder.

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Originally Posted by RokkuEkkusu

I'd like to ask people what makes Balmung and Gilgamesh special compared other servers such as Excalibur, Hyperion, Sargatanas, Leviathan, Behemoth, etc., especially with the availability of the Cross-Server party finder.

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Cross Server party finder has been a wonderful addition to the game. One of the real drawbacks of smaller servers was a weak party finder and that is no longer the case for the most part.

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Originally Posted by RokkuEkkusu

I'd like to ask people what makes Balmung and Gilgamesh special compared other servers such as Excalibur, Hyperion, Sargatanas, Leviathan, Behemoth, etc., especially with the availability of the Cross-Server party finder.

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RP on Balmung, 'Reddit home server' on Gilgamesh. Honestly that's the only difference.

I'm actually pretty interested in what makes the top three JP servers overpopulated. I think that RP isn't a thing over there.

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Originally Posted by Acilith

RP on Balmung, 'Reddit home server' on Gilgamesh. Honestly that's the only difference.

I'm actually pretty interested in what makes the top three JP servers overpopulated. I think that RP isn't a thing over there.

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I think they're it's that they're a little too large compared to some of the other servers so they want to even out the numbers

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Originally Posted by jameseoakes

I think they're it's that they're a little too large compared to some of the other servers so they want to even out the numbers

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Well yes but why? Is there some JP reddit? Maybe some FFXI people who all literally stuck together? Either way they're all very friendly, I do have an alt on Shinryu I wander around on sometimes.

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Originally Posted by Acilith

RP on Balmung, 'Reddit home server' on Gilgamesh. Honestly that's the only difference.

I'm actually pretty interested in what makes the top three JP servers overpopulated. I think that RP isn't a thing over there.

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Balmung, I'll give you that, though Gilgamesh does have some RP stuff in Idyllshire.

But as far as raiding and hardcore stuff, Excalibur and Leviathan also have a decent raid scene AFAIK.

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Originally Posted by CatStarPrime

Again, by what metric(s)?

You have made an unsupported, and unsupportable claim, and provided neither an explicit and detailed description of said issues, nor any links or other documentation to prove same.

Why are the large populations of Balmung and Gilgamesh problematic, from a technical perspective, from the point of view of current residents?

Anecdotes are not evidence.

Extraordinary claims require extraordinary proof.

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LOL! Learn to use google. Start with game design, server lag, and MMOs.

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Originally Posted by Sarevok_Thordin

Sadly there isn't much they can do about it except lock it up for now.

Balmung has been getting crippled as it is effectively the Moonguard of FFXIV (If you played WoW you should know what that means). It was due to get reigned in sooner or later and now it looks like they finally took the step of locking transfers to that server.

Sadly without more cross-world play, it's not going to get better for the meantime.

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This needs to stop. This is slander that's being spread by the neckbeards of reddit. Balmung is absolutely nothing like Moonguard. It's not even close.

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Originally Posted by Yuji-Ikaido

This needs to stop. This is slander that's being spread by the neckbeards of reddit. Balmung is absolutely nothing like Moonguard. It's not even close.

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You complain about your community being broadly stereotyped, but do exactly that to another community? In the same sentence even? Uhhh...
http://i.imgur.com/a7zXiit.gif

Y'all need to calm down. We can't do much of anything about the server locks. They suck, but Square Enix thought they were necessary, and honestly? They split overpopulated servers in FFXI, so I'm glad they're trying this first instead of jumping to that. If you don't want to move, don't. If you do want to move, cool. New rpers who want to join FFXIV need a place to be pointed to while Balmung is gone. Someone directed me towards Mateus, and I'm loving my time there so far, though I'm incredibly new to the game (I joined just in time for maintenance to end, only for Bal to be locked down. I have the best timing). Despite a rather rude person earlier in this thread, the people I've met so far have been very nice, and my friends list is filling quickly. Even if you plan to transfer to Bal when it opens back up, Matty is a good place to hang out until then. I've also heard about some rp communities in Fairie and Siren, though I've not checked those out yet.

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Originally Posted by SleepyChipmunk

New rpers who want to join FFXIV need a place to be pointed to while Balmung is gone. Someone directed me towards Mateus, and I'm loving my time there so far, though I'm incredibly new to the game (I joined just in time for maintenance to end, only for Bal to be locked down. I have the best timing).

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Good to hear you're enjoying your time so far.

Although I know Mateus is currently the leading pick, you guys should make sure you let the rest of the community know what you decide. I'll need to know where to direct players when they ask where to go for RP.

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Originally Posted by Acilith

RP on Balmung, 'Reddit home server' on Gilgamesh. Honestly that's the only difference.

I'm actually pretty interested in what makes the top three JP servers overpopulated. I think that RP isn't a thing over there.

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From what I've heard Chocobo became 'the' Japanese raiding server during Gordias (kinda like Gilgamesh). No idea about the others though

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Originally Posted by MomomiMomi

Although I know Mateus is currently the leading pick, you guys should make sure you let the rest of the community know what you decide. I'll need to know where to direct players when they ask where to go for RP.

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Does Mateus get a say in any of it? >_>
Nah. It'll probably be good to see some activity. But it's been kinda nice (personally) being the unofficial empty server.
(Okay, yeah, it's not great for business maybe, but it seemed nice to me to have a place for any players maybe put off by big crowds...)

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Originally Posted by Hasrat

Does Mateus get a say in any of it? >_>
Nah. It'll probably be good to see some activity. But it's been kinda nice (personally) being the unofficial empty server.
(Okay, yeah, it's not great for business maybe, but it seemed nice to me to have a place for any players maybe put off by big crowds...)

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Yeah, I get it. I had considered a tiny server myself. As said by the OP, the ideal solution would be for a newly created world to be designated an official RP server. Sadly, waiting for that isn't really a great idea as there are new players who want to RP and Balmung is no longer an option. They need a place to go.

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Originally Posted by MomomiMomi

Good to hear you're enjoying your time so far.

Although I know Mateus is currently the leading pick, you guys should make sure you let the rest of the community know what you decide. I'll need to know where to direct players when they ask where to go for RP.

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Originally Posted by Hasrat

Does Mateus get a say in any of it? >_>
Nah. It'll probably be good to see some activity. But it's been kinda nice (personally) being the unofficial empty server.
(Okay, yeah, it's not great for business maybe, but it seemed nice to me to have a place for any players maybe put off by big crowds...)

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There have been polls and talk about this going on the Hydaelyn Roleplayer Coalition forums and on tumblr.

OP of this thread's the current admin of RPC forums. RPC forum staff's policy is to provide a space for RP on ANY server though, so it's not really our place to make that decision. Hence, polls by members.

Once we know how transfer incentives are going to work, we'll probably see which server people have picked to go to. Unless SE makes some new designated server (highly unlikely), there will probbaly be some post-incentives poll to decide on where people will be directed. But those efforts will only really work if there are people active on the server creating RP content for people to partake in. It's kinda like building a new shopping center or a mall. Even if the building's there, you still need shops and employees before customers can buy anything.

People on Mateus have been leading the efforts to get more people on Mateus. By no means is anyone saying "let's move all our Balmung characters/money over." (Some people seem to think that's what some RPC forum threads have been about and it's just not the case.)

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Originally Posted by Velthice

You complain about your community being broadly stereotyped, but do exactly that to another community? In the same sentence even? Uhhh...

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Nowhere in my post did I say or even imply that everyone on reddit is a neckbeard. I said that it's the neckbeards who are spreading rumors. That's a pretty big difference.

I think the best option is the RP community decide for two or three servers to meet and give them as the suggested servers for any new player that wants RP, and to existing players who are planning to move somewhere else.

RP community needs acknowledge one server only is no more sufficient for everyone wants RP. That is a good thing. You are so much people.

We all are friends, but if a car is 4-seater and we are 6 people, to go somewhere we need a second car.

I'm just going to hang tight through this storm just like every other storm (minus housing of course). Me and balmung are an old married couple, we make eachother mad but we will never divorce. I love this crazy active server and all but a few of its crazy people.

This is just another case of people losing their shit and way over reacting. The blockade is only temporary make a toon on another server, level it up. If you meet people and rp and its fun and you wanna stay, then stay. If you want Balmung later, just level up and by the time you're done give or take a month the gates will open up and you can pop right in. They may even give free transfers.

I think Mateus is the best bet at this point, and on the polls and discussions I've been seeing, people generally seem largely in favor of this. We just need to get more people to rally the idea!

The solution is not another unofficial RP server that will collapse or devolve into little more than 10-50 person clique spread out over 2-3 FCs.

There are two solutions to this issue:

(1) RP is consolidated on one hub - Balmung; OR

(2) RP is consolidated on one hub - Official RP server.

It doesn't matter which alternative happens; what matters is that RP is consolidated on one server. SE should take the exceedingly simple, cheap, and effective step of designating a new RP server and make transferring to that server for RPers seamless. This benefits everyone. RPers are able to have the community they need and value. PVEers can avoid RPers if they desire.

The OP's proposal is what needs to happen.

Why does it need to be consolidated in a single server? Why not use two servers? Why not keep the community as it is in Balmung and start a second community? With the hundreds or thousands of transfers Balmung used to get, if those hundreds of people went to whatever new server is designated as second RP server and the community as a whole makes an effort to recommend this second new server to newcomer RPers I'm sure the new community would thrive.

The problem is that us new rpers need somewhere to go right now. It doesn't do good to say everyone should consolidate on Bal when we can't transfer into Bal, and likely won't be able to for some time.

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Originally Posted by Oaken

The solution is not another unofficial RP server that will collapse or devolve into little more than 10-50 person clique spread out over 2-3 FCs.

There are two solutions to this issue:

(1) RP is consolidated on one hub - Balmung; OR

(2) RP is consolidated on one hub - Official RP server.

It doesn't matter which alternative happens; what matters is that RP is consolidated on one server. SE should take the exceedingly simple, cheap, and effective step of designating a new RP server and make transferring to that server for RPers seamless. This benefits everyone. RPers are able to have the community they need and value. PVEers can avoid RPers if they desire.

The OP's proposal is what needs to happen.

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Yeah that's an issue I thought about but didn't want to bring up. You do this mass move and it will gel around a few leaders in a few FCs then the drama will happen. Not to mention you will be an island of RPers with no PVE,PVP, Raid or Crafter/Gatherer support. Only RPers, pissed off OG Mateus players, gold sellers, and nothing else. Balmung has its rep sure, but it has it all and you wanna start over? 4 years into the game? That's insane. Balmung is the #1 server because we have it all. Yes you can cross server.... but you can order crap off Amazon and have it shipped to BF Egypt, North Dakota. Its not the same as living in New York City though.


And that's what all this is. A bunch of people have lived in the City and want to move to the country because literally housing and population. They will get out there and be good for a week. Then the cults of personality will take root. Drama will happen, and the same thing that happens in real life will happen to the people moving to the "small town". They will hate it.

And a last note.... there are people in the RP community I don't like. There are people in the RP community that don't like me. Different outlooks on life will do that. But Balmung is big enough for us. I'm not the only one who dislikes and is disliked, but how do you handle that when there are 3-5 mega guilds?

If this closure was forever, then that would be different. No new blood would kill us. But the message is pretty clear from on high that once the dust settles in a few months it'll be ok, maybe even sooner. Maybe this is one of those times where the community could not whip itself into a frenzy that ends up hurting itself?

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Originally Posted by ErikMynhier

Yeah that's an issue I thought about but didn't want to bring up. You do this mass move and it will gel around a few leaders in a few FCs then the drama will happen. Not to mention you will be an island of RPers with no PVE,PVP, Raid or Crafter/Gatherer support. Only RPers, pissed off OG Mateus players, gold sellers, and nothing else.

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I hate to shatter your dreams, but: RPers are crafters, raiders, and PVEers, and usually play with as much (if not more) proficiency than other players. The amount of intelligence and creative energy it takes to roleplay practically guarantees performance in other areas of the game.

Most RPers would jump on the chance to play on an official RP server, and would transfer off Balmung in droves to play on that server if transfers were free [thus contributing to the alleviation of Balmung's population issue].

RPers need an official RP server. It doesn't matter where it is.

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Originally Posted by Oaken

I hate to shatter your dreams, but: RPers are crafters, raiders, and PVEers, and usually play with as much (if not more) proficiency than other players. The amount of intelligence and creative energy it takes to roleplay practically guarantees performance in other areas of the game.

Most RPers would jump on the chance to play on an official RP server, and would transfer off Balmung in droves to play on that server if transfers were free [thus contributing to the alleviation of Balmung's population issue].

RPers need an official RP server. It doesn't matter where it is.

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No dreams to shatter. I know RPers can be other things. But be honest man, go to the QS and start looking at gear and levels. We have a lot of RPers that are content because Balmung fosters both. But there are a lot who "just rp' and you and I as we are on Balmung know it. Just like there are content who "don't rp". If you are on balmung you know both types along with the ones who do both.

But like a big city this mix of the groups is what makes it all work. And before you get snippy I agree with you on making a server the official one. I'm just saying a exodus is not the answer.

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Originally Posted by ErikMynhier

If this closure was forever, then that would be different. No new blood would kill us. But the message is pretty clear from on high that once the dust settles in a few months it'll be ok, maybe even sooner.

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This closure will likely last until Balmung has a 'healthy' server population. I saw somewhere around here that the number intended was 7500. What is your active server pop again? Around 16k-26k depending on who's graph you're using. This closure is going to last until enough people take advantage of the server transfer bonuses. Until anywhere from 9k-19k people leave and go elsewhere. You're right, it eventually will open again, but it might not be until 5.0 if everyone just sits tight and thinks 'maybe next month'.

I feel for you guys, I really do, but if SE is offering potential free playtime to people as a server transfer incentive it's pretty clear that the situation is beyond bad.

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Originally Posted by Keridwyn

This closure will likely last until Balmung has a 'healthy' server population. I saw somewhere around here that the number intended was 7500. What is your active server pop again? Around 16k-26k depending on who's graph you're using. This closure is going to last until enough people take advantage of the server transfer bonuses. Until anywhere from 9k-19k people leave and go elsewhere. You're right, it eventually will open again, but it might not be until 5.0 if everyone just sits tight and thinks 'maybe next month'.

I feel for you guys, I really do, but if SE is offering potential free playtime to people as a server transfer incentive it's pretty clear that the situation is beyond bad.

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You could be absolutely right. But I've just seen far to many situations where people over reacted on these forums. But if you turn out correct then I stand corrected. A wait and see maybe in need.

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Originally Posted by Keridwyn

This closure will likely last until Balmung has a 'healthy' server population. I saw somewhere around here that the number intended was 7500. What is your active server pop again? Around 16k-26k depending on who's graph you're using. This closure is going to last until enough people take advantage of the server transfer bonuses. Until anywhere from 9k-19k people leave and go elsewhere. You're right, it eventually will open again, but it might not be until 5.0 if everyone just sits tight and thinks 'maybe next month'.

I feel for you guys, I really do, but if SE is offering potential free playtime to people as a server transfer incentive it's pretty clear that the situation is beyond bad.

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In case anyone read my post and thought I was pulling the numbers out of my ass.

http://na.finalfantasyxiv.com/lodest...ab27ba2fe51b35

Its old, and they may have changed that since, but this is the last known number direct from the devs, at least that I have seen.

I do think SE needs to have servers dedicated to RP. This will bring balance to all the other servers.