How to fix low server pop

[Castigate]

Obviously unroot the dragons.
You'd have to be blind not to realize that the spectacle of pulling ToV dragons would attract people with the quality and ease of streaming now. It was a unique experience in gaming in general.

They could probably further that growth if raiding was treated more like a sport where penalties and most violations were handled exclusively in real time. Minor penalties like a guild quickly being ejected from the zone and dumped X zones away but still allowed to play rather than the raid petition legal system with weeks of punishments as a standard that has been in place would encourage "fun" and evolving gamesmanship. I don't know how practical that is though from a server staff standpoint.

"Non-classic" obvious QoL stuff may help as well. 4 action bars, buff timers, and as much as I don't like them, even targeting rings all make the game more approachable without actually changing the "core EQ experience". These are min/max population gain solutions though and probably won't happen based on the p99 ethos.

Merging all of the servers would provide a temporary boost, but it wouldn't address the underlying decay that anything this old and stagnant will have.

[zelld52]

Originally Posted by Castigate [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

Merging all of the servers would provide a temporary boost, but it wouldn't address the underlying decay that anything this old and stagnant will have.

Real-time punishments would be epic. But GMs dont play all day like the rest of the sweatlords of p99.

But yeah, this last sentence. It's not just p99, it's all games. Games have gone from a way to pass the time, to a sweaty competition of no-lifers, to see who can gain the most pixels in a short period of time.

[cd288]

Originally Posted by Castigate [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

Obviously unroot the dragons.
You'd have to be blind not to realize that the spectacle of pulling ToV dragons would attract people with the quality and ease of streaming now. It was a unique experience in gaming in general.

They could probably further that growth if raiding was treated more like a sport where penalties and most violations were handled exclusively in real time. Minor penalties like a guild quickly being ejected from the zone and dumped X zones away but still allowed to play rather than the raid petition legal system with weeks of punishments as a standard that has been in place would encourage "fun" and evolving gamesmanship. I don't know how practical that is though from a server staff standpoint.

"Non-classic" obvious QoL stuff may help as well. 4 action bars, buff timers, and as much as I don't like them, even targeting rings all make the game more approachable without actually changing the "core EQ experience". These are min/max population gain solutions though and probably won't happen based on the p99 ethos.

Merging all of the servers would provide a temporary boost, but it wouldn't address the underlying decay that anything this old and stagnant will have.

Lmao found the way too immersed raider who enjoys griefing the other guilds

[Castigate]

Originally Posted by cd288 [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

Lmao found the way too immersed raider who enjoys griefing the other guilds

I don't know you, but most of your posts in this thread are non-constructive griefing of peoples ideas. You've offered no solutions yourself. I haven't played in several years, but this was never about griefing, it's about what provides people an exciting experience that would make server number go up. I never once raided to grief, it was always for the fun of the raid experience here.

[cd288]

Originally Posted by Castigate [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

I don't know you, but most of your posts in this thread are non-constructive griefing of peoples ideas. You've offered no solutions yourself. I haven't played in several years, but this was never about griefing, it's about what provides people an exciting experience that would make server number go up. I never once raided to grief, it was always for the fun of the raid experience here.

The server pop is down because it's an old mudflated server and there are new alternatives that people have been enjoying.

The only thing needed to "fix" the server pop is to launch a new Green (or otherwise just merge the servers regardless).

[zelld52]

Originally Posted by cd288 [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

The server pop is down because it's an old mudflated server and there are new alternatives that people have been enjoying.

The only thing needed to "fix" the server pop is to launch a new Green (or otherwise just merge the servers regardless).

What do you think the actual lifespan of these servers is? 2.5 years? 3 years tops? I've played on Green since late Kunark - and it was thriving until maybe a few months after Chardok 2.0... So October 2019 ~ October 2022 before it all came crashing down. Been living in the wreckage since.

Hear that, dev team? 3 year cycles. Allows players a year with Velious before pulling the plug and fresh-wiping the servers.

[cd288]

Originally Posted by zelld52 [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

What do you think the actual lifespan of these servers is? 2.5 years? 3 years tops? I've played on Green since late Kunark - and it was thriving until maybe a few months after Chardok 2.0... So October 2019 ~ October 2022 before it all came crashing down. Been living in the wreckage since.

Hear that, dev team? 3 year cycles. Allows players a year with Velious before pulling the plug and fresh-wiping the servers.

IMO ~6 months after final timeline patch is probably a good target. Maybe a year depending on population etc. But that's at most.

[JayDee]

I just looked and blue is about to drop under 100 for the first time I have seen since October 2009