Balmung, Solutions to fix your.. population balancing.

[Rufalus]

A bit late for this idea but maybe they should have no worlds, instead each zone is instanced like Limsa Upper Decks 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 and the entire datacenter of players can freely pick an instance when switching zone. Then all of Aether dc can role play with each other. This model also keeps all the field zones like Peaks alive, you just pick the instance with the most people on it to get Fate parties going, can easily fill at least one of the instances without World boundaries dividing the population. Combined datacenter would make housing have like more than 100 wards but the ones that were previously locked to underpopulated worlds could then be bought by people from overpopulated worlds that didn't have opportunity before.

[basketofseals]

What is exactly the problem with Balmung now? It's not like we're constantly crashing the datacenter.

[NanaWiloh]

What is exactly the problem with Balmung now? It's not like we're constantly crashing the datacenter.

Same problem it always has people looking for ways to keep it unlocked and so they cram even more people on to the server.

[Mhaeric]

Just chiming in to say that the incentivized server transfers absolutely gutted a large number of Balmung communities. In theory, the idea was that all your friends or entire FCs or communities would transfer together, but the reality was that never happpened. Balmung is full of FCs with broken spirits directly resulting from this program.

[Vidu]

Just chiming in to say that the incentivized server transfers absolutely gutted a large number of Balmung communities. In theory, the idea was that all your friends or entire FCs or communities would transfer together, but the reality was that never happpened. Balmung is full of FCs with broken spirits directly resulting from this program.

If I'm understanding you correctly it gutted those FCs because some people (but not everyone) left, leaving the FCs with smaller numbers (maybe even with key-people missing)?

In that case I'm sorry to say but... isnt that (another) problem you created yourself? You had the option to move together, but if you couldnt get everyone to agree on that plan, whats SE supposed to do about that? Dont get me wrong, I get the whole "friend-network"-idea that might make someone not wanting to leave ("My FC is leaving, but this person I like to play with, isnt because their FC isnt leaving..." and so on) - but thats not SEs fault.
You guys could have moved together. You got to make your pick. Would you rather had SE pick several FCs and force-transfer them off together?

And severs simply have those physical limitations - at somepoint they're full and nothing goes anymore. There clearly was some oversight - as in: Balmung should have been locked sooner for transfers - but a lot of this problem is player-made.
Not wanting to leave friends behind is understandable of course - but it comes with the price that if you have a lot of friends already, you cant stuff more on to that server at somepoint.

[Vhailor]

If I'm understanding you correctly it gutted those FCs because some people (but not everyone) left, leaving the FCs with smaller numbers (maybe even with key-people missing)?

I think Mhaeric's point was that the OP's advocacy for additional server transfer incentives wouldn't turn out to be the rosy picture that OP was painting. It might reduce numbers, but it wouldn't help the overall health of the server, in a sense.

[Rita1989]

Considering SE themselves chose to unlock the server recently makes me believe we are not even close to the physical limitations of the server.

Anyone who is actually on the server can tell that locking the server is all that needs to done to control the population as people will transfer or quit the game which keeps the population down.

Even at SB launch the issue's were more to do with people AFK 24/7 and once SE did the force kick the login queue was never longer then 1-2 minutes

[Zsolen]

To the people trying to get servers merged, SE is trying to increase numbers overall at the same time, not decrease capacity for those greater numbers.

[Derio]

Its an everlasting cycle.

Step 1. Lock Balmung. Stop all transfers and character creations on that server.

Step 2. Wait 6 to 8 months and in that time period offer bonuses and free transfers off Balmung to other servers

Step 3. Watch the forums complain about Balmung and how it needs to be open and people are willing to pay to come back.

Step 4. Open Balmung for 2 weeks and rack in the money from people who regret transfering. In this example 1500 people x20= 30k profit for SE

Step 5. Repeat for next expansion

[Divinemights]

Your only solution is really Odin's slash.
Slashed Balmung into two servers or forced migration.
S/E has done it in FF11.