Uh, hello. This is going nowhere.

[Anti-Static Foam Cleaner]

I don't feel like making a proper rant, besides, somebody already did that at rochan(Warning: Creative use of expletives). So I'm just going to try and use logic on you. Engage flux capacitors, server owners.
Why are the new servers all the same? It's almost as if there was a perl script generating one every week.

There are next to no new RO players whatseover. The playerbase is either constant, or actually decreasing. Do you really think that making another 10x dual/jubchange/warp server is a good idea? Sometimes I think that the only difference between them are custom headgears.

Warning, metaphor incoming.

Imagine all the RO servers as a fruit marketplace, RO players as people who like one or another type of fruit, and buying the fruit as playing on a server. Some of them like apples, some oranges. The current state of this marketplace is, eighty percent of stands sell oranges, fifteen percent apples, and five percent anise candy(That's MouRO ;)). Do you really think that making an orange stand will bring you profit(players)? I mean, it doesn't take an economist to know that you should do business where there isn't any, not where there is heavy competition.

And then they wonder why they have no players.

[~~T~~]

Epic Rant, thanks Doddler didn't deleted it, this should be delivered for all RO Servers starters.

[Rehael]

Lame rant, all i saw was a bunch of misplaced vulgar words.

[mark_sanbeda]

OMG!?!?  i laughed so hard with all his vulgar speech BTW!?! my eyes are opened now  <see?

[Helrouis]

I don't feel like making a proper rant, besides, somebody already did that at rochan(Warning: Creative use of expletives). So I'm just going to try and use logic on you. Engage flux capacitors, server owners.
Why are the new servers all the same? It's almost as if there was a perl script generating one every week.

There are next to no new RO players whatseover. The playerbase is either constant, or actually decreasing. Do you really think that making another 10x dual/jubchange/warp server is a good idea? Sometimes I think that the only difference between them are custom headgears.

Warning, metaphor incoming.

Imagine all the RO servers as a fruit marketplace, RO players as people who like one or another type of fruit, and buying the fruit as playing on a server. Some of them like apples, some oranges. The current state of this marketplace is, eighty percent of stands sell oranges, fifteen percent apples, and five percent anise candy(That's MouRO ). Do you really think that making an orange stand will bring you profit(players)? I mean, it doesn't take an economist to know that you should do business where there isn't any, not where there is heavy competition.

And then they wonder why they have no players.

Warning : Sarcasm incoming:
Speak for yourself

[Ansuz Isaz]

I'll be honest, based on his rant, that I disagree, just because I play RO private servers to find something truly different. =P All the same, I understand what you meant by the fruit metaphor, and I've got to agree with it. Too many new servers pop up, that are so exactly like two or three other servers in exactness, and then similar to about fifty other ones, it gets old. >>;

Honestly, most of these are simply RO with more perks. o.o; I, admittedly, have grown lazy and prefer semi-higher rates, but I still think everyone's still spoiled.

I understand where the curse-happy ranter was going with it to some lesser extent - too many NPCs that spoil people to death, and these "custom" items can be pretty pathetic.

I also agree with you, as almost all of the private servers have the same perks, same "custom" quests, and so on. Next to none of them are really unique anymore. D=

[ Stealing your metaphor... xD ]

I wanna see more anise candies. T__T There are barely enough in the market for me to buy one or two after having a particularly over-ripe and tart orange-filled meal.

[Pandora]

I think he would have gotten his point across much better without so much swearing, but just by exposing his argument in a calm manner.

I agree there are too many clones out there, and his comments on balance are valid.

Yet, not that many people like unique servers, just look at MouRO, it's awesome, everyone agrees on that fact but it doesn't have nearly as much player as it should considering how unique it is.

It's arguable, but I think I do an ok job at making my server unique and balanced, yet many people prefer to play a generic "we dont give a rat's donkey about you, just give us donation $$$ for our uber custom wings or LKH".

[bulbasteve]

The nature of the game being pirated is already a huge strike against the originality of servers, not just in terms of the ease in making it but in terms of what people are looking for. I am not even sure if half the people who play a pserver even know what is possible.

But that is still a bit too naive, I mean heck I used to play on byond (whaa!) and regardless of what the potential for games were or how many neat original online games were made it always came down to people making bad RPG Maker games with sprites from the latest big anime.

Course to use the analogy, you really can't eat candy everyday I guess...which I'm sure is part of the reason why the server was made casual...but then people seem to be in RO to waste away 10 hours at a time, not to eat a bit of candy then I don't know...go watch a movie.

[Brainstorm]

I don't feel like making a proper rant, besides, somebody already did that at rochan(Warning: Creative use of expletives). So I'm just going to try and use logic on you. Engage flux capacitors, server owners.
Why are the new servers all the same? It's almost as if there was a perl script generating one every week.

There are next to no new RO players whatseover. The playerbase is either constant, or actually decreasing. Do you really think that making another 10x dual/jubchange/warp server is a good idea? Sometimes I think that the only difference between them are custom headgears.

Warning, metaphor incoming.

Imagine all the RO servers as a fruit marketplace, RO players as people who like one or another type of fruit, and buying the fruit as playing on a server. Some of them like apples, some oranges. The current state of this marketplace is, eighty percent of stands sell oranges, fifteen percent apples, and five percent anise candy(That's MouRO ). Do you really think that making an orange stand will bring you profit(players)? I mean, it doesn't take an economist to know that you should do business where there isn't any, not where there is heavy competition.

And then they wonder why they have no players.

Its right on about everything, except on the fruit metaphor.
There are more servers like mouRO, and these are the ones with lowest player base, even being years old (how many players mouRO got right now?).
I have made uber-customized servers that balanced all the flaws in the game, added a ton of unique features, and in the end, 5 people played on it as serious. <= This is the scenario of the candy servers.

My server is pretty much unique, without touching much of original gameplay, no spoiling npcs, close to official rates. And still, it has about no population.

It's arguable, but I think I do an ok job at making my server unique and balanced, yet many people prefer to play a generic "we dont give a rat's donkey about you, just give us donation $$$ for our uber custom wings or LKH".

This is actually 100% correct, like it or not.
People rather play on the crappy and COMMON "one-click-server" hosted at home, than playing on a dedicated server with people that know how to get things done.

Holy s***, let's take Doddler, he's a Touhoufag which means he's the worst kind of already worthless social group of wapafags, in fact it probably makes him worse than furfags. But do you see animu on his site(s)? No, because it's a site about Ragnarok f*** Online, not Angelfire's Let Me Tell You About My Hobby.

Holy god, took me about 15 minutes to stop laughing.

[~~T~~]

I can't live only off cadies.  Also brainstorm, is there more customs servers like Mou?
Sure, I might go back there, but I want to try something new.
I remember a really old server that skills went to 15 or more, it was with a lot of customizations, but I was too dumb(DURR) to join forums or the iRC, so when it crashed, I quit it and never found it again.

Spoiler

so you think Inuyasha is f***** cool and you made a Ninja called Naruto. That's nice(Actually it's quite f*** horrid and I wish you will lose your legs and will have to suck a **** for a buck in a black alley off a STD'd hobos for the rest of your worthless life)

[close]

[bulbasteve]

Hmm, well if that is a bad analogy here is another one:

These servers are the generic pop music of the RO world. Most are content to just put up pretty pages with some anime characters for marketing, use a simple install and throw a ton of cash at advertising hoping to cast the widest net possible and hope a lot of idiots who don't know what they are doing (and have no taste naturally!) inflate their numbers.

Some generic servers try to set themselves apart by trying to hit up upon the newest trend and be on the bleeding edge, these are the servers that a couple of years ago had their annoucments be "we have fully working hums!" and well...today that is still what they have and noone cares anymore. These are the Macarena's of RO, they try to get ahead of some trend but the real deal (official RO) is better and they tend to burn out fast and become a footnote in history.

Of course there are the indy rockers like MouRO who struggle to make the best work possible but never quite get any success. Maybe because they take so much time to work on their music that they never think of telling people about it (make websites), or are so picky they don't quite know how to sell themselves (if not literally say "meh, it may not be for you" like skot always does). Of course everyone also steals their hard work without people ever giving em credit (eathena...hey screw open source!)

Then of course their is Brainstorm the total former indy sellout rocker who try to blend the revolutionary with the safe with varying degrees of artistic success :p (I hope you can tell I am kidding this time and don't tear me a new one like the last time!).

Or you can be the Beatles and Skot can be Mozart if you want a nice analogy, I kinda got lost after pop music :p

[~~T~~]

We also need more people active at ROChan, shame that it's a lame bbs without image posting or anonimity(as for samefags).
Well, what can I do? Doddler won't change it,

[Anti-Static Foam Cleaner]

rochan does have image boards...

[yC]

the point is, no one will listen.  your rant is not the first non the last that will end this problem.

i can estimate 1 in 10 ro players out there have that "ro server dream".  they have to open their server, fail miserably then learn it's not their business.  Or some have to open a few before they realize.  but maybe 1 in 50 will work hard, learn hard and become successful.  don't forget the now big servers were once small servers.

[Brainstorm]

the point is, no one will listen.  your rant is not the first non the last that will end this problem.

i can estimate 1 in 10 ro players out there have that "ro server dream".  they have to open their server, fail miserably then learn it's not their business.  Or some have to open a few before they realize.  but maybe 1 in 50 will work hard, learn hard and become successful.  don't forget the now big servers were once small servers.

Dont forget aswell that 90% of big servers are owned by completely inept admins.

Meaning: The owner skills/knowledge doesnt matter, what people want are numbers (amount of people connected).

[bulbasteve]

the point is, no one will listen.  your rant is not the first non the last that will end this problem.

i can estimate 1 in 10 ro players out there have that "ro server dream".  they have to open their server, fail miserably then learn it's not their business.  Or some have to open a few before they realize.  but maybe 1 in 50 will work hard, learn hard and become successful.  don't forget the now big servers were once small servers.

Is fail miserably really the term we want to use? This is one thing I never quite liked about the pserver community, this strange idea that you need 100 people playing in the first week to be successful. I would instead say that 1 in 10 have their sort of (to further use the music anology) "Garage Band Server". A server they play with their friends and around with customizing RO.

Cause the thing is when ~~T~~ asks if there are more servers like MouRO, well I think there is but it is just that none of us know about them. Just look at Mou itself, it didn't even have a forum until a year and a half after the server started. A year and a freakin half!

Most big servers still started wanting to be big, they will put the server on this site or advertise on some forums. This is far different than servers who started with a philosophy only of trying to make an interesting game and showing it to their friends and not a single thought going to actually telling people about the server. Those are more than likely the servers you will find interesting and new things tried out...of course they will probably "fail" to the extent that like all things people will get sick of RO or their friends will lose interest or they just can't come up with any particularly cool new ideas.

[Guest]

hmmmm actually i have to agree with Anti-Static Foam Cleaner 100% on this @_@ ..... even though that seems pretty sad.....

i just don't why ppl seem to return to the same thing over and over... its almost like they dont learn......... or don't want to learn... which ever it is

@_@ either way thats one extreamely offensive rant the dude prob woulda gotten more respect/attention if it wasn't so ... vulgar  XD

[Ansuz Isaz]

Would he have gotten as much attention if it wasn't vulgar? xD Alas, I don't think so. It's mostly entertaining because of how rediculously vulgar it is. Still, it probably would have gotten more respect, so... I partially agree. =D

I stuck around the same thing over and over my first year of private server hoping, after my first private server experience bit the dust - can't remember the name of it, though. xD It was that standard, that it wasn't really worth mentioning. All I remember about it is it was back when 3x rated servers were more common.

So... Yeah. xD I think some people return to the same thing, because that might actually be what they like to play. =P I think only the players who have really played the game for a fairly long while truly want something universally different. A lot of people play those same things over and over because that's how Ragnarok is for them, and that might be how they like to play it. -Shruggeth.-

[MrrgleCaek]

There's no "new" servers due to...well, lets face it, not too many players on RO servers, from whom I've met and seen are that bright....that and their complete lack of knowledge over the game (some people don't even know what Mdef is for gods sakes and yet they have "uber gear"). Players like to feel "smart", they don't enjoy the game and start to whine going "omg it's too hard to play here! omg I don't get this wtf, so hard, wtf this change is stupid" when there's heavy, well thought customization. So what do they do? Naturally file in as the next bleak average RO player out there and join some non-effort server full of their peers they can feel special in.
RO is an old dog, and the poor thing is being prodded with a stick over and over with all these players that seem to like repitition.
If you really want a "high population server" which apparently are the GOOD ones /sarcasm
just do the method of making appealing uber unbalanced items (shiny things seem to appeal to them, no clue why), mix in some Edrama and tragedies for some h-core roleplaying, etc.

Servers like MouRO to me pwn =v, why? They have unique staff/scripters that not only know the whole damn concept of RO, but also making a modification to RO so well they've revived the game all over again to be a fresh experience. Unfortunatly, there are so few RO players anymore and so fewer ways of being able to spread the word that these servers end up being nice little cottage servers. Which! I think is a good thing...quality over quantity I say!

Pff, why are people so ansy with the vulgarity? I've heard worse from other RO players, I love how true that post sounded...

[~~T~~]

rochan does have image boards...

Ugh, even less people go there.

[HuiJun]

i'm making my own server. it's totally new and different. we'll have resetters, warpers, jobchangers, and healers. what makes it really different though is that rates will be 11x, so it's not the 10x you're used to. donation purchases will be fair and balanced, such as slotted mid-headgear. our admins will be friendly and helpful. we'll even allow gay marriages.

[Ansuz Isaz]

OMG, NO CARD REMOVERZ!? O_O IZ DIFFERENT!

... xD -Coughs.- Anyhow...

I need to find and become one with these unique servers that are hidden from the world, coffered in the sea of data that is the internet. D=[ I will bring them to light! Their awesomeness must be shared.

... I want to get a cavity from eating lots and lots of candy. =D -Refers to the original metaphor.

[Anti-Static Foam Cleaner]

i'm making my own server. it's totally new and different. we'll have resetters, warpers, jobchangers, and healers. what makes it really different though is that rates will be 11x, so it's not the 10x you're used to. donation purchases will be fair and balanced, such as slotted mid-headgear. our admins will be friendly and helpful. we'll even allow gay marriages.

I can't say I lol'd, but I definitely chuckled.

[Loki]

Lol at rant. Sadly, most of them are true. People aren't open-minded enough to except changes but rather do the same thing where they're already good at.

Anise Candy! ...yum~

[Skotlex]

What RO needs is more exposure to non-RO players.
Yay for stating the obvious!

Some of the new players, back when I was active and playing with my friends, where friends of us that had never played RO before. And their first experience was MouRO. They had no complains, no "why is this so weird?", it just was a fun game to them.

Someone asked before where the population goes. It currently peaks at around 10 on weekdays, and can get up to 20 on weekends. It needs more advertising no doubt, but it's hard when I have no time to be active in any other boards (if only I could start being active again in DeviantArt, for example, that'd help as that place is full of kids that enjoy these kind of games )

[Cryptic]

haha...I would agree completely except that I've recently taught a huge group of MapleStory players how to play RO for the first time. xD; I've also recruited friends who've never played the game. Showing RO to a Japanese club and getting them addicted sparks tons of new players. =P I dont know whether I'm just the only one looking, but I have seen new RO players around. o_O? Of course there are the old players who decide to stop playing because of a server wipe or something and just switch over to WoW. (damn WoW >_>) Eventually, however, most tend to return, especially if your server is an old one that was loved restarting. It's also summer time, so most kids are out and bored, with plenty of time on their hands to play again. Same for those in college. As to the older RO population, more are just getting lives.
*shrugs* This is just from what I've seen on my server. =P

New servers are extremely hard to get going, especially when people would rather go to old ones restarting or others that have been open for a while. That's usually because the people know what to expect and know how old servers are, or just dont fear wipes too much from servers that have been open for a while. Though I do agree that new servers are not what people are usually looking for nowadays. Those who post seeking a new server recently opened will most likely go to one that's recently been wiped, but has been around for a while, than a brand new server with 10 people on it.
Another problem with new servers is that people more than likely go to servers that have other people and a larger population, thus increasing that one more while the low populated ones seem to dwindle. An example of this would probably be the recently wiped again LegacyRO, that's still got a playerbase of at least 600-900 people at any given time. (Assuming that 500 of the players online at this very moment are venders) Players come across servers like this and are attracted to the population, even if its known to have problems and wipe every once in a while.
Anyway, I'm not too sure if I made any sense but that's my thinking in the matter of new players and new servers not working so much.

[~~T~~]

Well, If I knew how to do a customization in RO, I would do it, no matter how much time it would take, I'm already tired of the same sh-t aways, WoE finally is showing something promising, but other than that, RO is dead to me, the only server I would join is heRO due to quests and stuff, or even aeria, but aeria is a bit slow since the drama.

Ha, "If I knew", I guess that's the most server owners excuse to not change their servers. I guess I will just take a guide to learn customization, or at least I try customizing my own RO.

[Ayu]

Sometimes people really do only want something that's exactly the same, except a change of the GM/Staff team. On previous server they had a fun time, but there is "corruption." So, they only want to go to another server with same experience, nearly identical to what they are familiar with, and start over with "no corruption" to look for the same atmosphere/feeling they had when they just joined that server.

Sometimes people know that a server is bad, keeps talking ill of their server and their GM team how it's horrible, but never does anything like go to another server anyway. All of this because they just don't want to start over and waste their work, so they just whine yet puts up with "abuses" from a bad GM team.

[Rehael]

Yep, exposure to new ro players. & since officials are failing miserably we'll have to do something.

[Helrouis]

Well, I hope eA get ready for Ragnarok Online 2. Because .......... When Non-RO Players hear about Ragnarok Online 1 and 2, of course you would try the 2! lol. Same as warcraft 1,2,3 . Of course you would try the 3!

[Ansuz Isaz]

xD Maybe it's just me, but I'm kind of the other way around. When I heard of Diablo 2, I got the set for ~30$ because it was simple, and supplied me with Diablo as well. I always want to at least taste the original game before I get into the other.

So... Meh. xD Depends mostly on the player. For the most part, though, you've got a point. Still, I really don't like RO2. o_o I don't know why, but... Meh. I don't know, I didn't much care for it. I'm still not completely sure why. xD

[Helrouis]

xD Maybe it's just me, but I'm kind of the other way around. When I heard of Diablo 2, I got the set for ~30$ because it was simple, and supplied me with Diablo as well. I always want to at least taste the original game before I get into the other.

So... Meh. xD Depends mostly on the player. For the most part, though, you've got a point. Still, I really don't like RO2. o_o I don't know why, but... Meh. I don't know, I didn't much care for it. I'm still not completely sure why. xD

Me neither, I don't like RO2, but the 90% youth probably wouldn't be curious of the RO 1.

[judo]

not All the servers are the same. There's just many for you to try them all out.

And no, not all of them are decreasing online players.

Regards,
judo~

[Ansuz Isaz]

Sure, not all of them are the same, but most of them are so close, that the only thing that varies are the drop rates an different "custom" or two. D= I've seen, thus far, only six servers that stand out, and not all of those six are all that awesome to me. Considering I've been server hopping for several years now, that's kind of sad.

As for decreasing in online players, that's only the individual servers. As a hole, there are increasingly less and less RO players available. sure, some people still have large server populations, but that's a different measurement than the entire RO population. xD

I'm still depressed that some of the servers that suck in my personal opinion have endlessly large populations. D=

[~~T~~]

Of course, every server has different GM and some have broke rate (152 Rates AMIRIGHT?), also, different easy-to-add features, or just old custom. About trying them all out, I've already did, other than the community, there isn't much thing changed, even Prontera is the Main town on a lot of servers, nothing really attracting to see...
As for decreasing players, RO is getting old(Not for some people, People still play tibia!), that Baphomet Server helped raising the population a little, but unless gravity plans a new whole revolution at RO, it will keep decreasing. You said not all server population is lowering, of course, some servers still with 1000+ People, but whenever a really new, virgin, never made server come in, it takes a hell of time to get to 400 Players, while Old servers get 800+ players even if wipe, those players won't change servers, they will keep on the most populated and old, because they know is more reliable.

[Helrouis]

Of course, every server has different GM and some have broke rate (152 Rates AMIRIGHT?), also, different easy-to-add features, or just old custom. About trying them all out, I've already did, other than the community, there isn't much thing changed, even Prontera is the Main town on a lot of servers, nothing really attracting to see...
As for decreasing players, RO is getting old(Not for some people, People still play tibia!), that Baphomet Server helped raising the population a little, but unless gravity plans a new whole revolution at RO, it will keep decreasing. You said not all server population is lowering, of course, some servers still with 1000+ People, but whenever a really new, virgin, never made server come in, it takes a hell of time to get to 400 Players, while Old servers get 800+ players even if wipe, those players won't change servers, they will keep on the most populated and old, because they know is more reliable.

Personally, I prefer playing a LOT of games rather than sticking up to the boring one.. So it's impossible to make an RO player stay too long, not unless you'll make it fun+hardness factor to the max at the same time.

[~~T~~]

I try to play other games, but most suck, I'm waiting for something actually good, but it seems that it never come out.

[judo]

Sure, not all of them are the same, but most of them are so close, that the only thing that varies are the drop rates an different "custom" or two. D= I've seen, thus far, only six servers that stand out, and not all of those six are all that awesome to me. Considering I've been server hopping for several years now, that's kind of sad.

As for decreasing in online players, that's only the individual servers. As a hole, there are increasingly less and less RO players available. sure, some people still have large server populations, but that's a different measurement than the entire RO population. xD

I'm still depressed that some of the servers that suck in my personal opinion have endlessly large populations. D=

I agree with you 200%
This is not the place to advertise my server though

Regards,
judo~

[Helrouis]

Another thing, for me, if only these admins just made a merge, they would've kept up to 100+ people. Though most doesn't like to affiliate with their own colleague admins simply because they're thinking that their script would be stolen, or the dontions would get divided.

[judo]

Another thing, for me, if only these admins just made a merge, they would've kept up to 100+ people. Though most doesn't like to affiliate with their own colleague admins simply because they're thinking that their script would be stolen, or the dontions would get divided.

The way I see it:

1- Any good Admin will be able to replicate any kind of script without having it. Sharing or not sharing scripts should not be an issue unless the admin has no skills.
Said that, yes it would be NOT cool to affiliate with some nooblet that just steals our work that took a lot of efforts to make. I belieave there is no Online game that handles their codes just like that. If another admin wants to do a similar script/ server configuration, he can perfectly do it on his own.

2- Donations are ment to help the server and not the admins. If you don't agree with this, you're greedy and your server will most likely be rubbish. Obviously, if there is profit, it means your time and efforts were rewarded, and you may as well "invest" that profit to make server even better.

3- How can you affiliate with someone when MOST servers are very aggressivve competitors? They just want to have all players they can get, have the monopolio of advertising/top RO sites, and then say "I'm cool, I own a server with 1500 junk, and I get lot's of money from dumb people, I'm respected now". No I wouldn't affiliate with this kind of people ever.

There are only 2 servers that I would Affiliate with the admins. They are Simple, Fast, Polite, Organized and Smart. Now, 3 vs 1337 aggressors is a lost fight.

I'm sorry for my harsh words if I offended someone.

Regards,
judo~