I have read up on the mega server technology, I know it will phase areas and put you with ppl you know ect.

But I cant help feel like having hundreds of thousands of people on one giant server will diminish people and guilds. in DAOC it was 1500 people, roughly, on 1 server spread across 3 realms. It created a tight knit group, and tons of rivalries.

Do you think the mega server will diminish guilds and people where the community is just too large to for guilds and players to be known?
 

Originally posted by WellzyC

 

 

I have read up on the mega server technology, I know it will phase areas and put you with ppl you know ect.

But I cant help feel like having hundreds of thousands of people on one giant server will diminish people and guilds. in DAOC it was 1500 people, roughly, on 1 server spread across 3 realms. It created a tight knit group, and tons of rivalries.

Do you think the mega server will diminish guilds and people where the community is just too large to for guilds and players to be known?
 

 

 

For pvp you get locked to a campaign of 2k people across 3 factions so it shouldnt be an issue.

Pve will lose some of that, but they did say they want their system to be intelegent and put you with people you have played with before, so if the system works it will be fine

Every instance of the world will be fully populated, but as a result, communities will suffer.

You'll almost never see the same faces (outside of PVP campaigns), so the effect will just be one giant cross-realm LFG/LFD scenario, with people nice at first, but becoming increasingly rude as time goes on.  There are no consequences to anyones actions, and no personal reputation to maintain.

You can switch around PVP campaigns too if you play enough (switching costs some sort of PVP currency).  So be a toxic jerk for awhile, then switch.

My take on it anyways.  Some stuff could change here and there, but that's pretty much the game architecture going into beta, which can't be changed.  GW2 is widely known as anti-social, and GW2 die-hard fans will eat this game up.

Guild Wars 1 implemented a mega-server similar to what is described by the OP.  Guilds thrived on PvP because that was the game's long-term draw.  I think it proves the viability of implementing the system.

In an empty room, nobody will hear you scream.  In a crowded room, nobody will know who screamed.  It takes the right balance to ensure it doesn't feel so crowded that your voice isn't heard, and not so empty that you're talking to the walls.  That will be the true challenge for them to figure out, but likely easy to adjust.

I think the big plus is that it scales well, up or down.

I'm curious how the shard / channel matching will work.  If I sign in and 2 friends are on different shards, who which will I get assigned to.

Originally posted by WellzyC
But I cant help feel like having hundreds of thousands of people on one giant server will diminish people and guilds. in DAOC it was 1500 people, roughly, on 1 server spread across 3 realms. It created a tight knit group, and tons of rivalries.

Do you think the mega server will diminish guilds and people where the community is just too large to for guilds and players to be known?

 

AAA game budget + small game community = massive commercial failure.

If having too many players is a problem, then it's one that most game companies would like to have.

Originally posted by Karteli

Every instance of the world will be fully populated, but as a result, communities will suffer.

 

You'll almost never see the same faces (outside of PVP campaigns), so the effect will just be one giant cross-realm LFG/LFD scenario, with people nice at first, but becoming increasingly rude as time goes on.  There are no consequences to anyones actions, and no personal reputation to maintain.

 

You can switch around PVP campaigns too if you play enough (switching costs some sort of PVP currency).  So be a toxic jerk for awhile, then switch.

 

My take on it anyways.  Some stuff could change here and there, but that's pretty much the game architecture going into beta, which can't be changed.  GW2 is widely known as anti-social, and GW2 die-hard fans will eat this game up.

Well some may look at it like that but there is zero evidence to support your theory. 

My theory is more valid because everyone is helpful and mindful of their surroundings because the game first and formost supports cooperation in PvE, Looting and resource nodes.  GW2 is a good indication that my theory is more sound.  But again I wouldnt expect someone whos first MMO was WoW to think otherwise.

Thought u had to Answer a Questionare which decides what mini server/phased one you will end up on. which in that case you are more likely to end up seeing the same faces of like minded people. in which case wouldn't that help promote community?

Not 100% sure information is True or up to date.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SLp0ykvotEI

7:45 is where I got my information from

Originally posted by WellzyC

 

 

I have read up on the mega server technology, I know it will phase areas and put you with ppl you know ect.

But I cant help feel like having hundreds of thousands of people on one giant server will diminish people and guilds. in DAOC it was 1500 people, roughly, on 1 server spread across 3 realms. It created a tight knit group, and tons of rivalries.

Do you think the mega server will diminish guilds and people where the community is just too large to for guilds and players to be known?
 

 

 

Honestly no.

For years people have been complaining about games that launch with too many servers.

"My server is a ghost town!!! Merge the servers!!!"

Back in DAoC, EQ1, UO, Nexus, etc... there were few servers and they were moderately populated. Why? Because the scene was still mostly unknown by the masses.

Skip forward a decade and mmo's have become mainstream in the gaming scene.  Now games launch with a million + and scale from there.  Putting out 100+ servers sometimes to handle the load to prevent overpopulation and overcrowding.  Which leads to isolation when it settles and the community that is going to stay sets in.

A "mega" server is a great idea.  It eliminates the need for 100+ servers and should stop the ghost town effect once the game settles in.  At least on paper.

"Tight knit groups" as you put it are still in existance but are not in the spotlight as they once were because of overexposure.

You will always have those groups in your games/servers if you choose to find/create them.  Guilds large or small will still have opportunities to find fame in mmo's.  It only takes these guilds to actually strive for it.

Thinking that a single server type is a bad thing is a terrible idea.  We should be embracing the idea and or ability to make this happen.  Goodbye shards/servers is what we should be saying.  Goodbye ghost towns, goodbye bad server merger press.

Something of this calibur, if executed properly, should be celebrated.  I am not educated in what this game actually has gameplay wise but just for the server tech they are promoting, we should be excited.

You want your guild/friends to stand out?  Fight for it.  You want fame?  Work your asses of and the taste of this victory will be sweeter than anything you have every accomplished in mmo's before.

The spirit of your desires doesn't rest inside of isolated servers, it's inside of your motivation to set yourselves apart from the crowd.

Originally posted by WellzyC

 

 

I have read up on the mega server technology, I know it will phase areas and put you with ppl you know ect.

But I cant help feel like having hundreds of thousands of people on one giant server will diminish people and guilds. in DAOC it was 1500 people, roughly, on 1 server spread across 3 realms. It created a tight knit group, and tons of rivalries.

Do you think the mega server will diminish guilds and people where the community is just too large to for guilds and players to be known?
 

 

 

Server caps for daoc was 3000, cant remember very well cause it ended with a 2 or a 3... it was either 3002/3003 something like that across 3 realms. In its prime, daoc's servers were all above 2500 during peak, and several you actually couldnt get in - specially when the 3 "classic" came up, they were all 3002/3 all the time.

It was never 1500...

my only question is : If the pvp is capped at 2k how does that split evenly between three factions?

I played daoc for a long time maybe 5 years the pvp always seemed prety even there were times when one side would role the other two for a couple of hours or days depending on the time of the month. I know when there was a holiday here in the Americas that my guild would do some damage, but mostly it was even.

1 mega server = best thing ever. The population problem will be if they lock faction maps away from players from other factions. If i cannot interact with the other factions out in the PvE world that is as bad as moving them to another server entirely, and only meeting them in a server vs server fight in cyrodil. 

I really hope they consider letting every faction meet up in PvE even as friendly (and keeping pvp to cyrodil)

Originally posted by azzamasin

Originally posted by Karteli

Every instance of the world will be fully populated, but as a result, communities will suffer.

 

You'll almost never see the same faces (outside of PVP campaigns), so the effect will just be one giant cross-realm LFG/LFD scenario, with people nice at first, but becoming increasingly rude as time goes on.  There are no consequences to anyones actions, and no personal reputation to maintain.

 

You can switch around PVP campaigns too if you play enough (switching costs some sort of PVP currency).  So be a toxic jerk for awhile, then switch.

 

My take on it anyways.  Some stuff could change here and there, but that's pretty much the game architecture going into beta, which can't be changed.  GW2 is widely known as anti-social, and GW2 die-hard fans will eat this game up.

Well some may look at it like that but there is zero evidence to support your theory. 

 

My theory is more valid because everyone is helpful and mindful of their surroundings because the game first and formost supports cooperation in PvE, Looting and resource nodes.  GW2 is a good indication that my theory is more sound.  But again I wouldnt expect someone whos first MMO was WoW to think otherwise.

Except in GW2 people were anti-social, would run past you if you needed a rezz, would never respond to questions or pleas for help in /map chat, and wouldn't say a world in DE's. They'd just AoE for max credit and move along, nothing said, and everyone dead at the end be damned. Not to mention all the bots just auto casting and attacking at well known DE respawn points. I think you chose a very poor example of a game to emmulate a good cohesive communicative community.