The Pre-Paid Hands-Off Server

Started by Insomnia2000, Feb 12, 2018, 05:30 AM

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Terpsichore

I can concur that there doesn't seem to be a way to win when it comes to customizations or lack of them. If you go with default, things are generally horrid and people complain, if you start changing something, they complain too, regardless of the changes having a positive impact or not.
Even then, what's "official" seems to differ vastly from person to person, all offficial servers are fairly different from each other, and many mechanics people are used to, are actually ancient emulator bugs or just wrong implementations.

From the side of owners, it seems like the term official is tossed around every time they won't want to commit, don't want to work/have no developer or simply don't understand the game well enough. From the side of players it's usually used to excuse something that benefits them, or to complain about something that doesn't.

So basically the owners usually look for ways to maximize profits and maintain status quo, content with mediocrity, and players desire things that would benefit them personally, without much regard for the game at a whole. It's sort of a vicious cycle that I haven't seen in any other MMORPG.

Meepy

Interesting this topic is being brought up at this moment. Looks like there is a player base for my idea as well. I'm currently working on a pServer that is exactly this.

I still really love the core Ragnarok game and have issues playing on the official servers because of all the problems stated but also have issues playing on a pServer because of longevity concerns and customization concerns.

I decided that I would build a pServer that will be as close to the game as possible. One exception is that the hand off approach I was thinking of was actually playing on the server and only manage when it's needed (Botting, Spammers, etc). Any customizations will have to firstly be community driven and secondly and most importantly stay as true as possible to the core game for example...

- Custom items are most likely a no
- Changing item effects are most likely a no
- Skill and class balancing a no unless there are obvious problems
- Bugs and fixes likely a yes
- Minor quality of life improvements to game play can be considered

Not going to be advertising this, it'll be up if it's up, because it will be mainly for my own enjoyment of the game.

Erissa

Quote from: Insomnia2000 on Feb 14, 2018, 11:27 AM
Usually things that don't belong in RO, something that takes away from the original RO, or something that is grossly overpowered comparatively.
Warpers, job changers and healers are the most "out of tune" feature that "take away from the original RO" you could add to base RO, but people adapted to those additions pretty well with open arms in most cases.

Also if you're going to go for the Renewal route, then you're going to have to heavily modify the way refining goes and comes considering the current game balance is based around +15's considering the +1 to +9 refining is still the same as always and "fixed" with cash shop items.

Blinzer

#18
Quote from: Erissa on Feb 14, 2018, 09:41 PM
Warpers, job changers and healers are the most "out of tune" feature that "take away from the original RO" you could add to base RO, but people adapted to those additions pretty well with open arms in most cases.

i disagree, all 3 of those things open up for insane competition and improvement in the technical aspect of the game, something that actually does not and cannot exist without them. you're talking further from technical skill, with the goal to appreciate other artistic qualities of the game, and that's fine. the ultimate goal is to be able to have both, wouldn't you agree?




Insomnia2000

Quote from: Erissa on Feb 14, 2018, 09:41 PM
Warpers, job changers and healers are the most "out of tune" feature that "take away from the original RO" you could add to base RO, but people adapted to those additions pretty well with open arms in most cases.

Although these features remove aspects of the game like Inns, Kafras, and Job Quests, I think I would label them as something that takes away form the original game for sake of convenience rather than completely "out of tune with RO." More and more aspects of the game tend to be removed with higher rated servers because some people see them as bothersome to the main point of the game for them: WoE/BG.

By "out of tune with RO," I mean things that have no business in RO because it clashes with the original game. I'll give some examples:

  • Poorly drawn sprites and colors that aren't in RO's regular color palette. Makes custom sprites look horribly out of place. Making good looking sprites is pretty difficult.
  • Those massive wings that were popular on MR/HR servers. Up until very recently, wings were non-existent on officials and looked horribly out of place. Even the more recent official wings are pretty minimal.
  • Adding custom sprites/monsters from other games like Pokemon, Star Wars, etc. that have no business in RO. (usually combines with the first point above).
  • Adding in some kRO headgear which would otherwise look fine in RO, but giving it some stats like +20 DEX when there's nothing comparable to that in the base game. Completely out of place with the rest of the game.
There's a lot more than can be defined as examples, but when adding customs to the server it has to be done very tastefully and that's something that's very lacking in most server's implementations of customs. I think that's why a lot of people tend to groan when they hear about a server with a lot of customs because in the past it's usually done poorly.

In terms of "out of tune" with RO, I usually ask myself if it seems like something Gravity could have implemented or if it seems very professionally done. I do agree though that it's subjective with the term "official-like."

Anyway, just like past experience with custom features tends to make people dislike customs in general, I think the same applies to constant closure. So many servers close after a month or two so people tend to dislike joining a new server altogether. That was the original basis of the thread. Provide a legitimate guarantee of server longevity through purchasing host time a year in advance and maybe you'll attract people who would have otherwise not cared at all.

Blinzer

Quote from: Insomnia2000 on Feb 15, 2018, 10:05 AM
So many servers close after a month or two so people tend to dislike joining a new server altogether. That was the original basis of the thread. Provide a legitimate guarantee of server longevity through purchasing host time a year in advance and maybe you'll attract people who would have otherwise not cared at all.

nah, there's a lot more you need than that. from my understanding, to make a big server you need:

- pretty, flashy website
- many people showing interest
- features nobody else has, but ones that the casual population can easily assimilate
- trust in the staff(historical reputation helps a lot among the casual population)
- momentum

unfortunately, pretty flowers don't make for a good server, but that's not going to stop people as they are now from appreciating the flower more than its root.



Insomnia2000

Quote from: Blinzer on Feb 16, 2018, 06:11 AM
nah, there's a lot more you need than that. from my understanding, to make a big server you need:

- pretty, flashy website
- many people showing interest
- features nobody else has, but ones that the casual population can easily assimilate
- trust in the staff(historical reputation helps a lot among the casual population)
- momentum

unfortunately, pretty flowers don't make for a good server, but that's not going to stop people as they are now from appreciating the flower more than its root.

Yep, there's quite a few different factors that go into being successful aside from features, like you mentioned. I just wondered if, assuming all the usual factors are met, would pre-paying for a year of host time have any effect on the server's outcome? Or would it end up in the same fate despite this additional step?

I'm starting to lean towards pre-paying not having much influence on the server's health since they tend to die for a lot of other reasons.

Blinzer

Quote from: Insomnia2000 on Feb 17, 2018, 06:31 PM
Yep, there's quite a few different factors that go into being successful aside from features, like you mentioned. I just wondered if, assuming all the usual factors are met, would pre-paying for a year of host time have any effect on the server's outcome? Or would it end up in the same fate despite this additional step?

I'm starting to lean towards pre-paying not having much influence on the server's health since they tend to die for a lot of other reasons.

it doesn't change s*** man, someone who's even half dedicated to their work wouldn't just drop out and disappear. you're used to plebeians running the servers you play on.



emancipate01

Pre-paying will not be an option unless a dedicated team put an effort to it and its main goal is to just play ragnarok. There are some self-sufficient servers that can pay their asses out using advertisement.