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Yes, for the love of god, yes. Hypothetical: Would we really have our two starting servers be Icewind Dale and Thay? How would this effect the dynamics of our 2-server miniworld? How much of this logic changes with 3 servers, or 4? Proximity is the most essential component to travel and travel is the most essential component to global connectivity. Are we more than a chunk of servers? Not if you throw logic out the window and start thinking with just your heart. You can't have a fluid world with random locations...I'm sorry you just can't. I don't care if ALFA had a dream. Or all that other epic bullcrap about fulfilling our limitless imaginations.
Use your brains!
Proximity has to matter. Atleast to SOME extent, and I would argue to a great extent.
Server proximity
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I believe people have been saying on this thread they would prefer to leave travel distances abstract and undefined for the purposes of PC travel and server connectivity. In other words, more or less ignore the IC distance on Faerun's map if need be. Either that, or have each server dense enough that each is more effectively its own world, and less travel is needed to find games (compared to how things are now).Ethbaal wrote:Proximity is the most essential component to travel and travel is the most essential component to global connectivity.
Given our selection of servers apps (excluding Halruaa), I think its pretty moot though.
Close to my view Ronan. Both are needed. I would, however, make a 2 day jaunt from WD to TLR significantly easier than a 2 month journey to [Halruaa]. The idea is to make the latter attainable in terms of IC cost, risk and OOC time. I read Eth's point that insurmountable distances are bad - so we make them surmountable :) This means we time compress nearby servers and TIME COMPRESS outlaying ones (if we have any).
Eth - I cannot imagine we will have only two servers, nor that the two we pick would be at opposite ends of Faerun.
Eth - I cannot imagine we will have only two servers, nor that the two we pick would be at opposite ends of Faerun.
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fluffmonster
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also, keep in mind that a fundamental part of our approach is keeping servers few enough that we don't have servers being desolate and thus driving people to want to abandon it to find game. Each server should have game, that should not be a problem. If it is a problem, then we've screwed up quite a bit.
Built: TSM (nwn2) Shining Scroll and Map House (proof anyone can build!)
I actually had a radical solution for this entire matter a while ago, but the idea I thought would be far too radical for ALFA. Here goes:I believe people have been saying on this thread they would prefer to leave travel distances abstract and undefined for the purposes of PC travel and server connectivity.
1) People pick whatever servers they want.
2) Travel distances are kept to an absolute minimal.
3) ALFA redraws the actual in-game world map (that exists within our PCs minds) to compensate for missing servers. Leaving missing areas to look alot smaller and existing area to look alot larger, and the missing area between connecting servers very compressed.
We sort of have this now with the portal map. But the portal map isn't an in-game representation, even though that's how we think in game. If we bridge this small gap then we can have believability, easy travel, and diversity all together.
It's brilliant, I think.
I'm sure you would like to think of it as brilliant....Ethbaal wrote:I actually had a radical solution for this entire matter a while ago, but the idea I thought would be far too radical for ALFA. Here goes:I believe people have been saying on this thread they would prefer to leave travel distances abstract and undefined for the purposes of PC travel and server connectivity.
1) People pick whatever servers they want.
2) Travel distances are kept to an absolute minimal.
3) ALFA redraws the actual in-game world map (that exists within our PCs minds) to compensate for missing servers. Leaving missing areas to look alot smaller and existing area to look alot larger, and the missing area between connecting servers very compressed.
We sort of have this now with the portal map. But the portal map isn't an in-game representation, even though that's how we think in game. If we bridge this small gap then we can have believability, easy travel, and diversity all together.
It's brilliant, I think.
I prefer to call it fairly good
Although it may seem like a minor detail to some then in my mind the whole Thay to Sword Coast (or whatever) thing is large part of how the chrs. are going to interact. However with Ethbaal's idea we, at the very least, can pretend that we there wasn't the whole 6 months journey between servers.
But where in this is the tool of tracking server jumping? If we choose a long proximity between servers then at the very least we need to agree on how to play out server interaction.
(I'm sorry if I'm not quite clear on this, since I've been enjoying a couple of beers and I'm dead tired right now after a long days work;-))
Suck FIST, vile demon! Er, well you WILL be sucking fists as soon as i can get past all theese damn tentacles to something that does the sucking... Oh dear lord, THAT'S not a tentacle!
Eth, that was basically my first thought as well. It seems the most logical to, if you are building a PW, not to design your campaign setting with servers scattered over a large continent. But, people are never going to go to a different campaign setting or alter FR in any meaningful way, so we are left with what we've got. Granted, in Faerun travel distance are neither abstract nor undefined, so you could say anyone who leaves them as such is not being faithful to the setting.
But basically what I'm getting from this poll and thread is, not many people care about "global connectivity", as you put it. Builders want to build what they want to build, and players can find themselves free to ignore (or not) IC distances in between servers. I still find the concept of totally disregarding any variable which effects gameplay (ie, a "no" vote) to be negligent in the extreme, but it may be that IC distances just don't effect many people's gameplay at all. They don't effect a builder, who just wants to build what he wants to build. They don't effect a PC who stays on one server, and they don't effect any PC who simply chooses to ignore them. DMs are really only effected to the same degree travelling players choose to let the IC distances effect their decisions.
But basically what I'm getting from this poll and thread is, not many people care about "global connectivity", as you put it. Builders want to build what they want to build, and players can find themselves free to ignore (or not) IC distances in between servers. I still find the concept of totally disregarding any variable which effects gameplay (ie, a "no" vote) to be negligent in the extreme, but it may be that IC distances just don't effect many people's gameplay at all. They don't effect a builder, who just wants to build what he wants to build. They don't effect a PC who stays on one server, and they don't effect any PC who simply chooses to ignore them. DMs are really only effected to the same degree travelling players choose to let the IC distances effect their decisions.
Yes, that would be very strange logic indeed. While we're screwing around with Faerun, we might as well do it right and fix things that are broken (like the contradictions between the characters world and the world we actually CHOSE to make). Otherwise we're just being hypocritical.Ronan wrote:Eth, that was basically my first thought as well. It seems the most logical to, if you are building a PW, not to design your campaign setting with servers scattered over a large continent. But, people are never going to go to a different campaign setting or alter FR in any meaningful way, so we are left with what we've got. Granted, in Faerun travel distance are neither abstract nor undefined, so you could say anyone who leaves them as such is not being faithful to the setting.
Hell, it's why most of us are here, ain' t it. Besides that whole roleplay and that fun thing.
"You people have not given Private Pyle the proper motivation! So, from now on, when Private Pyle fucks up... I will not punish him. I will punish all of you! And the way I see it, ladies... you owe me for one jelly donut! Now, get on your faces!"