Server Bias

Ideas and suggestions for game mechanics and rules.
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ElCadaver
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Server Bias

Post by ElCadaver »

Hi all,
as I write this BG has 25 players/DMs and the other two servers have 1 player each. Has there been any brainstorming as to why this has happened and what can be done about it.

An AFLA pillar is that we are are recreating (large regions of) Faerun. I think this implies a consistency across servers in all aspects. Something has obviously gone wrong here.

Do differences in overall server design/layout make BG more attractive than the other servers?

Does BG have more active DM? (yes I think). What makes DM's choose to DM on BG rather than other servers?

Have the server travel rule changes discouraged people from making use of other servers due to IC enforcement of RL time?

Does BG have better or more services than other servers?

Is BG better looking than the other servers and does this have any effect?

What can be done to even up this bias?

Research in the way of a detailed questionaire focusing in on this issue is needed, IMO.

Discuss
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kid
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Re: Server Bias

Post by kid »

Without DMs:

More XP, More gold, More statics. (Some are awefuly wrong imm but... thats me)

On the DM front:

More active and willing DMs, there is not a day on BG without a DM running something.
And rewards in the loot/magic items department are much easier to come by.
If you want an NPC to enchnat you something, all you need do is ask.
PrCs are handled quickly and easily, we demand much less of our players.

On the tech front:

Active willing and able techies (DMs and players) who make cool changes quickly and
merrily.

That attracts players and players attract more players.

Without spearding our resourses among all servers (DMing, static contant, tech, and unity in regards to rewards) Things will not change soon imm.
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Basilica
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Re: Server Bias

Post by Basilica »

Just speaking for myself, IC considerations.
- Basilica
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Riotnrrd
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Re: Server Bias

Post by Riotnrrd »

DM presence.
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ElCadaver
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Re: Server Bias

Post by ElCadaver »

I'm not sure who's jurisdiction it would fall under in the admin to look at such things. My intention is not to cause controversy or tension, just to find out why. For those who know me, you know how much time and effort I have invested in ALFA since I joined.

I'm not having a dig at BG by the way. I think the team has done a fantastic job, and I love playing there. I just want to help raise the performance of the other servers to that level. On reading forum posts to new players... I get the vague feeling of competition between the servers for new players. A feeling we are not presenting the ALFA experience as one which trancends which server you are on. This is definately a different feel from (NWN1) ALFA of old.

I spoke to a friend at work who is involved in running a planet on the Entropia universe (9 servers).

He suggested a review of rewards/quests on each server.
Demographics for the player base/DMs for each server to see if that is involved.
He also suggested latency issues sometimes cause players to change servers.
Just spitballing...

Why are DM's limited to only one server? (I understand the basic arguements) Is the rule about not DMing on thes server you play on hindering DM coverage across ALFA as a whole?
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kid
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Re: Server Bias

Post by kid »

ElCadaver wrote:He suggested a review of rewards/quests on each server.
Demographics for the player base/DMs for each server to see if that is involved.
Good.
ElCadaver wrote: Why are DM's limited to only one server? (I understand the basic arguements) Is the rule about not DMing on thes server you play on hindering DM coverage across ALFA as a whole?
Bad.
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CloudDancing
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Re: Server Bias

Post by CloudDancing »

BG just likes my character too much. Why would she want to leave it?

Think of all the perks and fun things going on. There are lots and lots of little statics to get RP moving. There are fun things like walkable furniture and changeable clothes and weapons to make social RP fun.

Plus there is never-ending Kaleidoscope of interesting characters. There are even factions.

And there is the reliability of dm appointments too.

Why would anyone want to leave that unless of course if other servers had that to offer too?
Zelknolf
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Re: Server Bias

Post by Zelknolf »

Also of note that an entire TSM group is on BG due to a Ronan-run event, which inflates the transient population quite a bit for this week, and kid lies-- I do very little to help BG specifically. Paazin and Ronan take care of their own.
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Re: Server Bias

Post by Ronan »

About 5 months ago, TSM had the most DM presence in ALFA - especially if player-DMed hours were used as a metric.

I tried to bring the TSM players to ALFA hoping to give them something to do while TSM recharged (at the time it looked like OGR would not be able to continue on TSM, and OGR was the only active main plot DM).

Note that static content begets DM presence - DMs like servers where PCs have stuff to do outside of their events. It makes them receive much less spam.

Ironically I would maybe prefer to DM on TSM, while playing and building/scripting for BG. TSM's Underdark contains the best adventure areas I've seen in ALFA.

Edit: I would rather see ALFA's population more wide-spread. Keeping up with everything going on on a 20+ player/night server is difficult, to say the least. Then there's the matter of DM spam and lag on those servers, and the fact that half the players might CvC the other half at any given time.
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Ithildur
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Re: Server Bias

Post by Ithildur »

I've tried my hardest to stick to TSM for IC reasons and out of a sense of loyalty I suppose, and some fondness for a curmudgeony guy. I'm currently on BG due to IC reasons, and once Ronan's thing is over, if Aglaril survives, will probably return to TSM due to, again, that being a more likely IC direction. TSM's situation should improve with OGR threatening to be around somewhat regularly as well as possibly Viigas... but I do occasionally wonder why I am being so stubborn, because TSM for the past few months has been painful to play on for a number of reasons.

As well, if a new player were to sign up for ALFA, I would probably recommend they try BG (not familiar enough with MS), not TSM. I've seen several players I've introduced to ALFA, good RPers, lose interest completely after starting on TSM.

I'm not sure what happened to the rest of TSM's DMs; they seem to have disappeared long before our group left for BG. It's interesting that TSM just can't seem to hold on to regular DM presence over the long haul while on BG they multiply like fruitflies.

TSM apparently was built heavily around the idea of 'DMs will make things fun' - other than a few notable exceptions like the Lady's College statics and newer areas put in recently much of the server's content feels relatively dated and clunky. Plus much of the server is inaccessible to most PCs due to the current Horde plot (including many areas that are tied to static quests), which has been stuck for some time. So when there are long stretches without DMs, things tend to grind to a halt.

The Horde plot went from a big, powerful locomotive with a lot of potential to a big, heavy locomotive out of gas and sitting there taking up a lot of space and getting in the way. It needs to get going again.
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Re: Server Bias

Post by t-ice »

Availability of and gracious rewards from static content certainly has an effect. But I'd say that's only the seed to the actual issue. What we have at play here would, in fancy-ish terms of complex systems study, be called a linear instability. Assuming an even player density among the servers, if one server for whatever reason came to have more players, then this server would immediately be more attractive for new players and transiting players, and the difference in player densities grows. And so the fact that what players and DMs most want to do is to play with other players and DMs leads to everyone playing on just one server. The system is naturally unstable by construction.

At the high population limit, lag would be an obvious stabilizer: Lag drives people to play where there is less people. We're not there quite yet, though apparently BG does come under heavy load occasionally. Also our game isn't horribly lag sensitive. I certainly hope this won't ever come to be our solution.

Perhaps the biggest stabilizing factor we do have is the "don't DM where you play" rule. Everyone can't play at one server, because there are people who would like to both DM and play. And DMs attract some players with them to another server. But that really only works to stabilize populations between two servers, because everybody can play and DM between just two.

We certainly should look at static content and DM team standards so that it isn't a no-brainer that PCs are being doled out candy on one server while others are stingily holding to even their lemons. Which is why a global guideline/system on static content rewards per IG hour, not that unlike the global RPXP script we already have, would in my opinion be very good thing.

At the end of the day, though, there's only so much we can do, since we don't want to force people to not play where the other people are. Probably the DM team in its entirety can talk between themselves to even out DM coverage much as possible, but forcing DMs to DM where there aren't players ready for them is far from optimal, too. One more thing is that if we manage to make real differences in the game and feel of each server setting, these differences in the landscape will motivate people to play at different servers. If every server and setting is just more the same, with no more than maybe some hasty window dressing slapped on for different looks, then players and DMs might as well go to where most players and DMs already are.
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Cast_No_Shadow
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Re: Server Bias

Post by Cast_No_Shadow »

T makes some good points there.

However in my view everything flows from DM activity. Good DM coverage leads to player critical mass which in turn leads to a healthy and active server.

BG's static content helps, it gives something to do all the time, no matter who you are or where on the server you are. It's just not boring.

That is the death of a server, when something is boring.
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Re: Server Bias

Post by t-ice »

Cast_No_Shadow wrote: However in my view everything flows from DM activity. Good DM coverage leads to player critical mass which in turn leads to a healthy and active server.
Yes, but the DMs don't drop into servers by some divine hand. There are reasons why DMs choose to DM the server they DM, and not some other server. It's to an extent chicken and egg between DM and players populations. Even if it's certainly much more likely to attract players as a DM than vice versa. And the "different game and feel between servers and settings" I mentioned likely applies more to DMs, who are (hopefully) more thinking where to setup the table for the kind of game they want to play, than to players, who are mostly looking for fitting tables.
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kid
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Re: Server Bias

Post by kid »

There is constant talk of DMs. Even at the hight of the DM time on TSM.
(session everyday by very good DMs) BG had more players, so DM covarage in not the main issue i'd think.
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Darkmystic
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Re: Server Bias

Post by Darkmystic »

I dm on BG cause Paazin is my favorite head dm. Hes nice, he lets me use my ideas and he keeps working in a great way for the server. I also dm on MS now with the plan to make plots that cross the servers cause I personally noticed that I kept to 1 server, not travelling at all.

But why is TSM empty? Not strange, it just had one of the strangest events going on that killed players rapidly, there was strange tech resses and people fled the server for Dm events that was actually about adventure, fun and real risk. Ms is a -great- server but its so empty that it echoes, the dms arent active, the plots they had were not made for the players that existed on the server. I played plenty of low lvls there and never did we get an event where I was useful exept once, thank god for CD.

So what needs to happen? Simple:
TSMs DMs need to make plots for the players that play there, reward loyalty. Thats what I do and since im getting alot of happy posts so I guess that works. Jmecha has started DMing on TSM and done some great events. If you can jump server to get into his event, do it. Its worth it.

MS needs the same thing as MS. Reward the loyal players that stick around and it needs to hand its DMs coffe so they wake up cause right now its echoing, sad but true.

This is not flaming, im not angry and im not hating. This is just my honest opinion.
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