How to Make a Failed RO PServer

[crysiscore3]

How to make a failed RO PServer

Have you thought about making your own RO server, but dreaded that it becomes too popular and you have to take care of it constantly?
Never fear! I have decided to write a guide that ensures you will have great success at failure!

Step One:
Don't plan for it.

This is something best done on the fly. Overthinking is the biggest problem. Don't worry about all of the things your server needs to distinguish itself from others, or how to drive traffic. Things will work out. You just need your dreams and dedication.

Step Two:
Don't tell anyone about it.

Just quietly tell a few of your old RO buddies you still have on Skype that you're making a server. Then post it without ceremony in the new server section of RMS.
If you're a dedicated and friendly enough GM, people will come, and they'll stay too.

Step Three:
Don't bother making a decent website. RO is about the game!

When you look at the most popular sites, all of them have nice site design. It's professional in appearance, and unique. But it's a lot of work.

You don't want that. Instead, you want to use a free template. Don't even look for a nice one. Just randomly dowload the newest one off of some free template site. Then slap some random anime pictures on it. They don't even need to be Ro related. RO = anime and vice versa. Don't worry if the images don't fit the template, just crop them off, or better resize them - and pay no mind to aspect ratio.

Step Four:
Who needs a .com?

Not you. That's who. Why pay $8 for a domain when you can get a .tk for free? Or even better, a subdomain from weebly!

Step Four:
Who needs customs?

Customs ruin the game. Like Renewal. And Rebirth. I HATE change! So let's not change anything, and just leave it as Gravity intended it... in 2003.

Step Five:
Buy harmony before launch.

Why pay $400 for something you don't really need yet(or arguably ever)? Man, lots of the best sites have it. That encourages people to play. I can't count the number of times I've played on a server because of Harmony... Well, I'm sure someone has.

Step Six
Use cheap VPS

Because of the Harmony expense, you can't really afford a very good dedicated host... so, maybe go with a discount VPN. People are sure to donate enough to get the system upgraded

Step Seven:
Make all of your old friends GMs, and give them all @item.

What could possibly go wrong? This allows them to make events whenever they feel like it!

Step Eight
Selecting the client type.

What the heck is lua? I think XRay is just fine. No updates means no new bugs!

Step Nine
Splitting hairs

You could put up both a full client AND a patch client, but why do that? That's just double the headache. This way if someone already has Ragray, you can force them to re-download it for no reason. I'm sure they wouldn't just say "screw it" and leave.
Or possibly, if they're new to RO, or just haven't played in a while, who wants them? Noobs.

This one is a personal choice. Though I lean towards the full client only path.

Step Ten
Bringing it all together.

First, you need to download eAthena. While you're waiting, you should be able to do steps 1-7. Just a few short hours after your dream of running your own RO server, it's finally about to become a reality!

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The Launch
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Well, now that you've made of all the preperations for the last few hours, and you're finally ready to unveil your vision to the world. Get ready, things are about to get epic.


Step Eleven:
Spam

For some reason, no one seems to be joining your server. It's probably because you wanted to go low key. Well no more! Time to hit up other site's facebook pages and forums and tell everyone how your server is more awesome than the one they're playing.

Step Tweleve
Make insanely overpowered donation items, and make them very cheap.

You don't seem to have many players, and none of them are donating. So, give two or three of your favorite people some free +50 all stats wings, and them sell them for $5 to everyone else. That'll get the donations rolling!

Step Thirteen
Ban the people who play

Well, maybe the reason your community isn't growing is because the few people who actually play on your server are a bunch of cheaters, or jerks! Ban them. Make up silly rules that you don't post anywhere. Ask your cousin who only knows Python to mess with the client and make an "anti-hack" system.

Step Fourteen
Escalate the drama
When one of your scorned players inevitably comes to RMS to complain, call them names, mock them and proudly declare that you're better off without them and you hope they become a cancer on some other server.
Then, when other server owners question your conduct, flame them with double intensity. Accuse them of conspiring against you.

Step Fifteen
Rage quit the internet

No failed server is perfectly failed until the owner(now with a heavy victim complex) declares that the RO community is so vile, that it has forever ruined the internet for him/her.

Step Sixteen
Remorse

Realizing that you've over reacted, you apologize to everyone you've wronged. You reopen the server and unban your former players.

Step Seventeen
Acceptance
After all your hard work and effort, it seems to be the end of the road. There are no players, even your friends who are all GMs never even log on. You yourself haven't logged in for weeks, and the server bill is just about due.
You decide to close the server.
Somehow, at the end of it all, you don't regret it. It was fun in it's own way. And even if no one else remembers it, it will always hold a special place in your heart.

[Erebus]

HAHA, I'm working for a server that seems to be in this exact situation. Was quite a refreshing read, thank you!

[nevelis]

HOW DARE YOU REVEAL THE TRADE SECRET OF 99% OF PRIVATE RO SERVERS!!!

Bahaha that made my day, enough for me to log in and tell you how awesome I think that post was. :3 grand!

[Strudel]

Pretty well written although close to a tl;dr.

[yC]

I like you are writing this as a warning to potential server owner.  It's not really a guide of worth trying so I'll just move this to server discussion.  Because if they didn't plan for it as said in step 1, they wouldn't look for a guide in the first place.

Hopefully those that try to make a server will see this and get a few not-to-do out of it. 

Except I want to say, who needs custom is fine for me.  iRo back in 2003 was one of the best time I had with RO.

[Strudel]

Actually, as much as it may be painful to say or hear, I hope that the 99% out there do follow this guide because that way there'll be tons of crap server off the net, less complaining players, and more filled servers, with which you can actually do something.

[Erebus]

People haven't learned Quality over Quantity yet and that's why a lot fail. You can wrap up a pile of crap and make it look nice, but it's still a pile of crap...

[Chemical Crush]

People haven't learned Quality over Quantity yet and that's why a lot fail. You can wrap up a pile of crap and make it look nice, but it's still a pile of crap...

Haha ily <3

[Usagimimi]

People haven't learned Quality over Quantity yet and that's why a lot fail. You can wrap up a pile of crap and make it look nice, but it's still a pile of crap...

Plus wrapping it won't do anything - the smell still gets through :x

FUNNY STORY!

My science teacher learnt the hard way about odours and skunks. He found a dead skunk beside his driveway and left it there.

It rained.

The skunk stunk so bad, he bagged it up and... put it in the garage.

The next day, his garage WREAKED of decomposing skunk carcass. He took it out at the demand of his wife and stuck it beside his van for two hours, preparing to go for a long drive the following day.

No, the drive didn't wear the stench off the side of his van :x it stayed there for a week lol

Moral: You can package up rotting carcass / crap, but after a day, its smell breaks loose and you can't deny that it's still a piece of crap.

[Signify]

It's funny 'cause it's true

[Majinken Souga]

The good thing about eAthena: Anyone can make a server.

The bad thing about eAthena: See above.

[Yukino]

Great guide! The ending was spectacular and ties everything greatly together <3.

But anyways LOL, in all seriousness, I love reading this. New server owners should read this (BUT HOPEFULLY NOT IN THE WRONG WAY LOLLL) and learn a thing or two before starting their own servers... if they dare D<!
Some people may not download from eAthena--just tell their hosters to give them free uploads and edit everything for them before release if possible =D.

[Ret-ro]

I object! Some people actually like the game how it was in 2003.

[Croissant]

Ah, unfortunately the server I played on the longest in my RO life went down this path. It's a sad thing, watching something fail like this.

[Aurora™]

This is probably the best topic I've ever had the pleasure of reading on RMS