Transfer Restrictions and Roleplayers

[Marluxia]

I'm very glad that this topic was addressed in the Live Letter.

I still feel that the ideal solution is a brand new server. RPers don't want to infringe on non-RPers. RPers also aren't looking to chase any non-RPers away.

Still, I hope Square Enix comes up with a good solution. It's comforting enough to know that they are aware of the issue.

[jomoru]

How much gil do you have? Do the new gil limits fit? If not, would you just prefer seeing a removal on gil limits all together? Is there anything else that would act as an incentive to move? There may not be guaranteed housing, would reimbursement be sufficient?

Isn't the new cap litterally the most gil you can have in game?

[Kaedan]

Officially designating a server will not solve the problem. If they did that, you would have the exact same overcrowding issues on whatever server they designated.

Why?

Because a) RPers all want to be together, so even if you have multiple RP servers, no one will want to split and B) (this is the bigger one) non-RPers FLOCK to RP servers.

Yes, you read that right. For all the complaining that non-RPers do about having to deal with RPers on "their server", they LIKE it. At least as a whole. RP servers have always had reputations of being "nice" servers and "high quality" servers. And thus non-RPers will always crowd them.

[MomomiMomi]

Isn't the new cap litterally the most gil you can have in game?

Post date. At the time the gil limit change for overpopulated worlds wasn't mentioned.

[ExKage]

Isn't the new cap litterally the most gil you can have in game?

If you could read, the post was made a week before the cap was announced to be 999,999,999 gil. It was still about 10 mil + (5mil per retainer) at the time of the post.

[Marluxia]

In the wake of the server congestion, I will bang on this drum once more.

A new server with an official RP designation, and free server transfers to this new server.

RPers in relation to normal players are easy to move because you can offer them a unique incentive; RPers want to be around other RPers. In terms of total population, very few RPers on Balmung are going to move off of Balmung, because Balmung is the central hub and because they have friends, free companies, and assets that they want to keep. While new RPers can find good groups on Mateus, the problem is of existing RPers, not new ones.

[Qaaliaa]

So wait...why not move the NON-RPers to one of the existing servers and just name Balmung the RP one since everyone is already there? Why re-create the wheel?

Just naming something an 'RP Server" isn't enough to get people to go, because if not enough folks do, you're stranded on a server with less of what you wanted. Seems easier and more effective to move the non-RPers who get the same stuff no matter WHERE they go, guaranteed.

[Mazora_Espeon]

Final Fantasy XIV has a thriving roleplaying community, and Balmung is its (unofficial) hub. A hub that just got neutered due to these transfer and creation restrictions coming out of nowhere with no warning.

With the new transfer restrictions in place, any new players who wanted to roleplay on the largest server now don't have any options, and part of the problem is that there's no officially designated RP server.

With these restrictions in place and the RP community now too large and too sedentary to coordinate the growth of another server, it'll be very difficult for roleplayers to find a community. And honestly, I don't think roleplayers want to flood an unsuspecting server's PvErs with another "unofficial" RP server.

Some background: The RP community consolidated on Besaid in 1.0, and remained there when Besaid and Fabul got merged to create Balmung. Besaid was more or less picked out arbitrarily by community vote as the unofficial RP server.

Balmung is saturated, both with RPers and non-RPers, hence the population problem.

The solution to this is very simple though: create and designate an official RP server, and offer free transfers to that server with no loss of assets.

It's important to designate an official RP server because one of the core causes of Balmung's overpopulation is the lack of segregation between RPers and non-RPers. RPers really only want to be on a server with other RPers, and I'm inclined to think that non-RPers don't want to be on a server with a bunch of RPers, generally speaking.

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TL;DR

1). One of the main reasons why Balmung is overpopulated is because it has two servers' worth of players in two broad demographics. Balmung has been host to both RPers and non-RPers ever since Besaid and Fabul were merged.

2). Providing incentive for the RP community to move is the easiest way to lower Balmung's population. Non-RPers generally don't have many reasons to transfer, whereas RPers will transfer to be with other RPers, especially if that transfer is free.

3). A new server that is designated with an "RP" tag is the ideal solution. A new server means that players and Free Companies who transfer can keep the exact plot that they own and all of their assets such as airships. It also means that an unsuspecting server's PVErs don't have to be flooded with RPers.

4). The restriction should last until sufficient people (in this case, mostly RPers) have transferred off. I know this is controversial, but after further thought, I don't think the New Server Solution would work without this. Keeping the restriction is key in removing Balmung's reputation as the "RP hub". Otherwise, RPers will keep transferring to Balmung and keep making characters on Balmung indefinitely and we end up with a pretty bad cycle.

While this is a great explanation about the Balmung server and it's community, as well as, touching on the topic about roleplay and the general idea of roleplaying. You're still missing one vital point. And that is...

Roleplaying isn't part of the standard gameplay. It's a player based activity that has been created and established by certain gamers of the FFXIV community. What you're asking will never happen unless you can build an argument that makes roleplay a feature that is part of a main content in an MMO game and also the reason(s) for having one. While roleplay does come with any game, not just MMOs, it isn't something that is built-in to the game. When game developers create a game, they're expecting players to play the content that they have created and presented to the players for them to PLAY.

Also... Not to mention that in order to cater to such a demand as roleplaying based on the number of "roleplayers" that are out there, what you're asking will require a lot of server space and lots and lots of money for maintenance. And you would also be stipulating that the designated roleplay server in question be ALWAYS opened to allow character creation or server transfers. And as you can see... Balmung and Gilgamesh has both remain opened since the beginning of FFXIV: ARR. It has never been closed. So even with the idea of creating an official roleplay server, you are still left with the problems of sustaining such a server. And more than likely, the RMT bot spams will probably return as well.

I actually wouldn't be oppose to splitting the Balmung server up again, but I will also say this... That splitting up the servers will actually be a detriment to the current status of the server. Not to mention that more or less it may become even less friendly than it is today and probably even less sociable. You may not know this, but there are actually people out there trying to create a hospitable atmosphere and understanding environment for the players/people on the Balmung server. My free company being one of them along with two Lalafell themed linkshells. And more importantly, the linkshell and Discord that I have created for FC leaders of both RP and non-RP where one of the main purposes was to bridge any social gap between these two distinct communities.

The Balmung server is actually the most diverse and unique community of all the servers out there in that in includes everything from the gaming spectrum: Roleplay, Raid and PVX. Despite popular belief, I would argue that there are more people who are nice, polite, respectful, compassionate and understand on the Balmung server than anywhere else. It is also the place where the Lalafell community is also the strongest. So to break up such a community as great as Balmung will only be a detriment not a solution.

[Roda]

So wait...why not move the NON-RPers to one of the existing servers and just name Balmung the RP one since everyone is already there? Why re-create the wheel?

Just naming something an 'RP Server" isn't enough to get people to go, because if not enough folks do, you're stranded on a server with less of what you wanted. Seems easier and more effective to move the non-RPers who get the same stuff no matter WHERE they go, guaranteed.

^ This is my whole mindset over people trying to create some massive rper exodus.
Such a lower risk for non-rpers to transfer and find their communities than for an rper to do so.

[Marluxia]

So wait...why not move the NON-RPers to one of the existing servers and just name Balmung the RP one since everyone is already there? Why re-create the wheel?

Just naming something an 'RP Server" isn't enough to get people to go, because if not enough folks do, you're stranded on a server with less of what you wanted. Seems easier and more effective to move the non-RPers who get the same stuff no matter WHERE they go, guaranteed.

That is a really good point and one of the main points of people who want Balmung to be RP-designated. I think that that's why non-RPers are harder to make move, though; they get the same stuff no matter where they go, so the only thing they're really getting from transferring is a smaller economy and smaller queues, and for a lot of people that's not enough.

Both sides of the coin--RPers and non-RPers--are pretty obstinate for various valid reasons, but in the interest of forward-thinking of a solution, I still think it is marginally easier to incentivise RPers to move.

Realistically, designating Balmung as the RP server would probably just make both sides turn against each other in an effort to chase the "other side" out, moreso than what already happens. I have trouble seeing its viability as a long-term solution.