Server Proposal: 000 Worldmap (Redux)

For discussion and formation of server proposals and teams.
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boombrakh
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Server Proposal: 000 Worldmap (Redux)

Post by boombrakh »

Faerun
The sub-continent of Faerûn is set on the planet Toril, or, more formally, "Abeir-Toril." Faerûn is the western part of an unnamed supercontinent that is quite similar to real-world Afro-Eurasia. This continent also includes Kara-Tur, Zakhara, Maztica, and the subterranean regions underneath Faerûn are called the Underdark.

Faerûn includes terrain that is as varied as that of Europe, western Asia, and much of Africa is on our planet Earth. Role-playing campaigns in Faerûn can be set in a wide variety of locations, each with its own hazards and potential rewards for the participants. Likewise, the region that the players explore can determine what types of monsters they will face, which famous individuals they will encounter, and what types of missions they assume.

Northern regions
Spoiler:
To the northwest, Faerûn is a region of wilderness, difficult winter weather, hordes of orcs, and barbarous human tribes. This region is generally referred to as "The North". It is a mostly-untamed region that lies between the large Anauroch desert in the east and the expansive Sea of Swords to the west. This area contains huge wooded regions such as the High Forest and the Lurkwood, the frozen Icewind Dale to the north, and an untamed region called the Savage Frontier, which includes the Silver Marches (Luruar).

The coastal region is called the Sword Coast. Here lies the city-state of Neverwinter and the large port city of Waterdeep. Deep inland is the ancient dwarven citadel of Mithral Hall.

North of the Sea of Fallen Stars is a region that stretches from the wide Anauroch desert in the west to the eastern edge of the inland Moonsea, in the northern region of the continent. It is a region of contrasts, with the forested Dalelands, the desert wastes of Anauroch, the coastline of the Moonsea with the infamous Zhentil Keep, and the bitterly cold steppes of The Ride. Along the east coast of the Dragon Reach is a temperate region called The Vast, consisting of farmlands, forests and the Earthsea mountains. This area includes the city of Ravens Bluff.
Middle lands
Spoiler:
The western part of Faerûn includes the nations south of Waterdeep and north of the Shining Sea, that border along the Sea of Swords. The west includes the city of Baldur's Gate, the nations of Amn, Tethyr, Calimshan, the region of Western Heartlands and the elven stronghold of Evereska. To the west in the vast ocean called the Trackless Sea is a multitude of islands, collectively named the Nelanther Isles. Among these are the island kingdoms of Nimbral, the Moonshae Isles, and the gnomish Lantan.

With the exception of the Shining Plains, the interior lands of Faerûn lie along the irregular coastline of the western Sea of Fallen Stars. In the north the Dragonmere arm of the sea extends far to the west, ending close to the Western Heartlands. To the south, the Vilhon Reach forms a second arm leading to the southwest. The notable areas within this region include Chondath, Cormyr, the Dragon Coast, Hlondeth, the Pirate Isles, Sembia, Sespech, Turmish, and the Shining Plains.

Along the eastern expanses of the Sea of Fallen Stars, the water forms a long arm that travels to the east before turning south to become the Alamber Sea. The northern nations of this mysterious area are termed the "Unapproachable East" and the southern nations the "Old Empires". This region includes the nations of Aglarond, Altumbel, Mulhorand, Murghôm, Thay and Unther. Chondalwood is a long, forested region to the south of Chondath and Chessenta.
Southern nations
Spoiler:
To the southwest lies along the great Chultan peninsula that juts out toward the west. The waters to the north are named the Shining Sea, a body bounded by Calimsham to the north and joined to the Lake of Steam through the Straits of Storm. To the south of the land is the Great Sea. Located in this area are Chult, Lapaliiya, Samarach, Tashalar, and Thindol.

South of the Sea of Fallen Stars is a region somewhat isolated by the Lake of Steam in the west, and the vast length of the Shaar. It is bordered along the south by the Great Sea; to the west by the Chultan peninsula region, and in the east by Luiren. The south includes the Border Kingdoms, Dambrath, the Great Rift, Halruaa, the Lake of Steam, and The Shaar.

South and east of the grassy plains is an area known as the Shaar, along the shores of the Great Sea opposite the land of Zakhara. The region includes the lands of Durpar, Estagund and Var the Golden (collectively called the Shining Lands), Luiren, the land of Halflings, Ulgarth, the Eastermost extent of Faerûn, and Veldorn, the land of monsters.
Underdark
Spoiler:
The immense complex of caverns and passages that lie beneath many parts of the continent of Faerûn is known as the Underdark. It contains cities of the elf-related drow including the infamous Menzoberranzan and the ruins of Ched Nasad, as well as Maerdrimydra, Llurth Dreir and Sshamath; cities of duergar such as Gracklstugh and Dunnspeirrin; and almost unpronounceable cities of creatures called the kuo-toa, illithids, and beholders.
The proposal
So, this is a really old proposal I made some six or seven years ago during ALFA1 which at time wasn't ready for it yet. Today though, we have NWN2 and we already see use of the general idea on The Silver Marshes somewhat successfully. What I propose is that if we are going to do it, we should do it all out.

What I am talking about is of course a bigger version of what we have on TSM. A server dedicated to travel and introduction of new element/locations that doesn't really fit within the "borders" of any existing server. Locations like Darkhold, Zhentil Keep, the Harbor of Waterdeep, or anything else we can imagine could be easily added or removed and placed back in storage until needed again.

The idea with this is to give a sense of the magnitude that is Faerun and allow everyone who is a DM access to create grand adventures by simply creating the iconic areas that they would like their players to travel to. The idea of real global plots would be a lot more possible and it would give higher level characters the possibility to go out on epic adventures.

The Map
The map would consist of large areas with seamless AT's where the natural terrain decides where it is possible to move and not. Class features such as Woodland Stride would give some characters a bigger freedom of movement than others. The possibilities are many and I am excited for nearly all of them. We could add sea travel, by changing the PC into a boat, which would increase the immersion we all strive for.

Static Content
There has been talks about creating dungeon crawls for people of all levels and this is a really good venue for doing that. In keeping with canon on the actual servers where people play on, there might be problems in introducing content that seems to only serve as a way for some players to have something to do. I am really just shooting out ideas here, I have no reason to be either for or against static quests seeing as this shouldn't be a server where people actually spend time playing on other than when they travel or during a DM event that started elsewhere.

The Team
You, me, everyone. We are all the team that will make this server work as intended. Castano has shown me the basics of the toolset and I am comfortable enough that I could pull the large bulk of the work myself creating the actual map. I do however, just as with Waterdeep, welcome any and all to help contribute to making this great idea into a reality.

Infrastructure
I am going to host this on a dedicated 100/100mbit internet connection. It will be here in Sweden and it will be hosted on a computer specifically built to host a server like Waterdeep would have been but now the Worldmap can.


Questions will be answered here or on the chat. I hope you all see the possibilities with this rather than try to see limitations. This will not be a server which will potentially dilute the player base, it will bring them closer together and that is our goal here, right? :)



boom out.
pragmatic (adj.)
The opposite of idealistic is pragmatic, a word that describes a philosophy of "doing what works best."
From Greek pragma "deed," the word has historically described philosophers and politicians who were
concerned more with real-world application of ideas than with abstract notions. A pragmatic person
is sensible, grounded, and practical.
Dorn
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Re: Server Proposal: 000 Worldmap (Redux)

Post by Dorn »

I like it
:D

Will help if i can, somehow.

http://www.alandfaraway.org/forums/view ... 49#p513349

SUCH a good idea for giving us an 'edge' and also more dungeon opportunities, variable spawns, wandering monsters and all sorts of stuff that would allow people not seeing DMs to see smoe more stuff.
playing Nathaniel Ward - Paladin of the Morninglord and devout of Torm (cookie cutter and proud of it)
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boombrakh
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Re: Server Proposal: 000 Worldmap (Redux)

Post by boombrakh »

Dorn wrote:I like it
:D

Will help if i can, somehow.

http://www.alandfaraway.org/forums/view ... 49#p513349

SUCH a good idea for giving us an 'edge' and also more dungeon opportunities, variable spawns, wandering monsters and all sorts of stuff that would allow people not seeing DMs to see smoe more stuff.
I like your like! Do you want to officially join my unofficial team and thus increasing team size by 50%? We will make greatness! :)
pragmatic (adj.)
The opposite of idealistic is pragmatic, a word that describes a philosophy of "doing what works best."
From Greek pragma "deed," the word has historically described philosophers and politicians who were
concerned more with real-world application of ideas than with abstract notions. A pragmatic person
is sensible, grounded, and practical.
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Brokenbone
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Re: Server Proposal: 000 Worldmap (Redux)

Post by Brokenbone »

It's a nice idea. It could also be a good home for scrapped odds and ends lopped off existing servers, or for half-built things from betas that never made it all the way, if ALFA has copies or original authors consent. Same goes for anyone who wants to build dungeons I suppose, if they have a favourite one that doesn't fit into any current region.

Not volunteering... toolset is pretty annoying so far. But, "rah rah!"
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Heero
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Re: Server Proposal: 000 Worldmap (Redux)

Post by Heero »

I am constantly building dumb stuff that no one will ever use, so I would submit my creations to this place.
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t-ice
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Re: Server Proposal: 000 Worldmap (Redux)

Post by t-ice »

Perhaps for running campaign events, and possibly random encounters fired by scripts on map, too, the server would benefit from a small library of "Random/Generic X" areas. For times when the DM didn't actually want to build an entire area for a event. (Which, btw, takes several times longer than actually playing an event in the area, even if the build is far more half-assed than omfg-pretty). Or for times when the PCs went chasing wild geese instead, for one reason or another.

You know, like several generic caves/dungeons that can be fleshed out in a few minutes by a few placeables from the DM client. Roads going across several types of terrain. A forest, a shoreline, perhaps a generic village in Bumf**k, Faerun, and so on.
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CloudDancing
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Re: Server Proposal: 000 Worldmap (Redux)

Post by CloudDancing »

Brokenbone wrote:It's a nice idea. It could also be a good home for scrapped odds and ends lopped off existing servers, or for half-built things from betas that never made it all the way, if ALFA has copies or original authors consent. Same goes for anyone who wants to build dungeons I suppose, if they have a favourite one that doesn't fit into any current region.

Not volunteering... toolset is pretty annoying so far. But, "rah rah!"
Oh yes..we have lots of those! :lol:
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boombrakh
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Re: Server Proposal: 000 Worldmap (Redux)

Post by boombrakh »

Initial positive response. Let's just hope that "the powers" feel the same way. :)
pragmatic (adj.)
The opposite of idealistic is pragmatic, a word that describes a philosophy of "doing what works best."
From Greek pragma "deed," the word has historically described philosophers and politicians who were
concerned more with real-world application of ideas than with abstract notions. A pragmatic person
is sensible, grounded, and practical.
t-ice
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Re: Server Proposal: 000 Worldmap (Redux)

Post by t-ice »

I suppose one of the things that needs consideration is what happens when one IC place get doubly represented: Once on the Worldmap as well as a "detailed" server. Especially as the former ebb and grow. Or how to avoid such double-representation.
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Heero
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Re: Server Proposal: 000 Worldmap (Redux)

Post by Heero »

Im going to be honest here...

While this concept does indeed seem nice, I think Waterdeep, with its wealth of history/source materials/detailed canon, would have been more a boon to ALFA.

Still, if this is what the higher ups want, then all the more places to adventure. :D
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Blindhamsterman
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Re: Server Proposal: 000 Worldmap (Redux)

Post by Blindhamsterman »

disagree heero, this would allow for DMs to run adventures all over much easier, we really dont need anymore BIG servers that act as player hubs, this is a nice alternative! :)
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boombrakh
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Re: Server Proposal: 000 Worldmap (Redux)

Post by boombrakh »

t-ice wrote:I suppose one of the things that needs consideration is what happens when one IC place get doubly represented: Once on the Worldmap as well as a "detailed" server. Especially as the former ebb and grow. Or how to avoid such double-representation.
Easy: "Detailed" servers always get priority. :)
pragmatic (adj.)
The opposite of idealistic is pragmatic, a word that describes a philosophy of "doing what works best."
From Greek pragma "deed," the word has historically described philosophers and politicians who were
concerned more with real-world application of ideas than with abstract notions. A pragmatic person
is sensible, grounded, and practical.
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Re: Server Proposal: 000 Worldmap (Redux)

Post by Ronan »

Make it so, boom.

One thing we could do pretty easily is allow any 000 DM to place a persistent server portal to their own servers. So if someone wanted a single town, dungeon, or what have you, they could tool it up and host. Hmm, though maybe I'd be the only one using this, due to the setup required to host in NWN2 ALFA. Instantiating areas from the database sounds like a better option, if its feasible.
t-ice
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Re: Server Proposal: 000 Worldmap (Redux)

Post by t-ice »

... And of course this seems to test the "Don't DM where you play" -thing. Pretty much every PC needs access to Worldmap, and so does any DM on any server who would consider doing anything on the Worldmap.

I think the concept is brilliant, for what it's worth. But can it be proven wrong that ALFAs dinosaur bureacracy doesn't just exist to stifle change for the better when it's transformational as opposed to incremental. Can it also stir and mold itself to embrace change?

So could please someone with a hand and head deep inside the entrails of said bureaucrasaurus tell how is the way forward? Obviously first would be to measure whether the majority of the community supports the transformational idea- i.e. whether it really is "for the better". But how to do that "properly", so that the dinosaur awakes and takes notice?

(You know, the big deal why bureaucracy is so frustrating: Only those who work inside the machinery know what's supposed to be done to do things "properly", and then they feel free to push aside motions that are not filed in proper form. So I'd say at least as important to an Admin's task is to advice, even advocate, people how to go about "filing" things, as it is to "process" the "filing". This apparently being core to the previous falling in dead ears, and flat landing. And thus loss of drive and enthusiasm by members to contribute to the community.)

I suppose the bottom line for boom and any team in this, is that the concept is more transformational that it might seem at first glance. So unless people are prepared for an extended fight against the inertia of the status quo to change some of the rules underpinning ALFA, then this will be another exercise in futility. I for one think it's a great idea, and it would have my vote. But great ideas only go so far unless you, or someone, has the staying power to push through, boom, and yes, it can be a drag and drain.
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Re: Server Proposal: 000 Worldmap (Redux)

Post by Zelknolf »

If you have access to the BG builder forum, Boom, I would suggest the dynamic/ persistent content proposal there as recommended reading. It is much of what Ronan refers to (I believe) in his comment about instanced areas from the database, and its end state would at least significantly alter the shape of a server like this (but it would also offer significant support and resources to a server like this).
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