ALFA and Exodus : Extending a Hand

[Veilan]

I wouldn't want to be head of testing if a merger came, eh holly?

So far I'm rather sceptical whether an actual content "merge" is even desired. After all, Exodus, as the very name suggests, is an ALFA-offshoot because some people didn't like the community. I'd be surprised if they suddenly wanted to have only one PC in "some bizarre little virtual reality mini-society" with "a complex system of rules, policies, and regulatory/beaurocratic procedures". Here's the core political problem: Exodus is run by (usually the same) people, ALFA is governed by rules. The former system works fairly well for small communities of individuals with a common idea, while the latter is almost a must for larger projects with not always convergent interests. ALFA, of course, has lost a lot of scale, but seems to enjoy its system - the last time we had dear leaders, there was a quake.

Anyway, the universal player status - if you jump the hoops for membership in one PW, you're entitled to play in both - is probably a better idea, with risks and opportunities.
For instance, now you can play 2 PCs! And it stands to hope that as ALFAns log over to try it out, the influx of curious Exodites offsets the loss of player concentration.

[I-KP]

That 'exodus' was a long, looong time ago and as always I lend myself over to correction but don't think the same personalities are involved anymore. Due to the natural churn of incumbents it is likely that there are no more bygones left to let be bygones. If there is a will on both sides of the fence then there will always be a way. I would be careful of pointing out obstacles that may not exist anymore, or at least aren't as insurmountable as they once may have been.

As a player with a character in both games I'd be torn to decide, if I were ever forced to, between my AFLAn Druid (whom I am enjoying playing enormously at the moment) and my [recently neglected] Exodian business mogul frippet (who has over two years of [sometimes fractious] game to look back over). This particular little bunny would more appreciate a gradual move toward adherence of the vitally important 'One Player One Character' tenet rather than being hit with a cold, hard ultimatum (which I for one would not appreciate).

Perhaps one way to resolve the multiple character issue might be to decree that whilst a player has a character in TSM/BG/Wherever and another in Amn the two may not travel between the server groups (honour system rather than awkward and convoluted coding gates). As soon as that player has only one character that single personality then becomes their sole interest and may then enjoy the freedom to travel between servers. If/Should/When a full merger ever happen (perhaps denoted by the ability of characters to free-travel to and from Amn) then the allowance for people to create second characters to play on the alternate server group would be rescinded. This way both server groups may still benefit from exploratory gamership during these early stages without having to sacrifice any investment, but should the moment come when free-travel between lands does open the process of whittling those concerned down to one character begins immediately, cleanly, fairly and most importantly, unavoidably.

NB. The above is purely speculative of a complete merger scenario; this may not ever happen, or even be desirable by all parties, but there is little harm in exploring the exciting possibility. (Well I think it's an exciting possibility anyway.)

[Brokenbone]

The shared membership pool thingy, larger community idea is very nice, GOOD STUFF!

I wouldn't bother worrying about all the technical / rulesy stuff for "mergers" that ain't on the table just yet. Let people get to know each other, have fun, get a sense for the differences between worlds, before worrying about imbalances / problems of a merger no one has expressed desire for.

[Rotku]

That 'exodus' was a long, looong time ago and as always I lend myself over to correction but don't think the same personalities are involved anymore.

True.

One of the first things java said when we started talking was that the people who had personal dislikes of ALFA had left.

The shared membership pool thingy, larger community idea is very nice, GOOD STUFF!

I wouldn't bother worrying about all the technical / rulesy stuff for "mergers" that ain't on the table just yet. Let people get to know each other, have fun, get a sense for the differences between worlds, before worrying about imbalances / problems of a merger no one has expressed desire for.

Even truer. Wisely stated, BB

[Lucifer]

I-KP wrote:
That 'exodus' was a long, looong time ago and as always I lend myself over to correction but don't think the same personalities are involved anymore.

True.

One of the first things java said when we started talking was that the people who had personal dislikes of ALFA had left.

Brokenbone wrote:
The shared membership pool thingy, larger community idea is very nice, GOOD STUFF!

I wouldn't bother worrying about all the technical / rulesy stuff for "mergers" that ain't on the table just yet. Let people get to know each other, have fun, get a sense for the differences between worlds, before worrying about imbalances / problems of a merger no one has expressed desire for.

Even truer. Wisely stated, BB
GODLIKE +'s to all of it..greatest boon to DnD is getting people together..playing with a group that uses a different ruleset..or even a little different setting..is still better than Playing with a bunch of Montyhaulers or worse yet EVE online

[randomrper]

Personally, I'm not so sure I'd be all that for a complete merger that put the three servers with only 1 character. I regularly shift back and forth from server to server when one is non-active to the other, as well as the total change of setting can be very nice. If I only had 1 char between TSM, BG, and Exo, then I think the player base might get spread a little thinner in all the servers as people select eventually which character they want to keep, which to me is a bit counter-productive of the whole situation.

This does not mean I'm against the partnership, by all means, I love it.

[HEEGZ]

Wow, this is good news. I've had vid card and sound card issues all year and haven't been gaming on my PC since Jan. Not sure I can get them fixed w/o replacing them both...

[Rotku]

Wow! It's a HEEGZ! Good to see you're still alive mate.

[wvincenti]

I'm glad to see the two communities working together. I enjoyed my brief time in Exodus a couple of years ago and have little that isn't good to say of my years of getting into mischief in game in ALFA. I'd love to see the community grow again.

Wasn't it grand when ALFA had 10 servers?

-Bill
Formerly, Glorfindel & Beleg amongst others.

[Adanu]

Personally, I'm all for server intergration and a two PC limit. I see no reason for those who want a bit of variety to have all this space to play but little time to not have that option, and for those who want to attach themselves to one character to have that option as well.

Administration is another matter.

[Rotku]

Heh, the day I remove it from the announcement list is the day it's posted in again. Thank you so very much

[Adanu]

I aim to please, and end up being a pain. Story of my life :p

[Rotku]

It's really no problem. Just found it amusing.

[CloudDancing]

This is a really good time to try Exodus as the vault is down!