I think 6 month timeframe between expacs, whether unlocked or not is perfect , because the game expacs usually came out around 6 month cycles and therefore would ensure the server caught up with live , sometimes I worry that the server will stop at a certain expac where as I want to see it catch up with live. get rid of vote make it unlock next expac every 6 months period
By the time a 6 month expansion server catches up to live there will probably have been at least 3-5 new special ruleset servers released destroying the population. Times have changed and there wont be another 5 year period of no new progression servers that fippy had unless the game dies and shuts the servers down. Im pretty sure they dont care much about making progression servers viable after 2 years. The money is in making a new one after 1-2 years.
Let me try again. Expansion unlock every 6 months x 20 expansions released after velious = you catch up to live 10 years from now, if no new expansions are released. If they continue to release 1 new expansion every year, you catch up to live approximately 19 years from now. If at any point in the next 19 years, Everquest moves back to 6 month expansion releases, you catch up to live never. If at any point in the next 19 years, Everquest is cancelled, you catch up to live never. The likelihood of one of those two things happening FAR exceeds the likelihood of Everquest releasing 19 more once-a-year expansions, the server continuing on at 6 month releases for those 19 years, and ultimately catches up to live. But hey, if it does, everyone who played through those 19 years will have a kickass level 225 toon.
This is one of the reasons that 6 months unlocks were always a bad idea IMO. The likelihood of EQ making it another 10 years, let alone 19 years, and for me to be playing it at that point, is pretty much zero. Even at 3 months with no votes/unlock requirements, we're still looking at getting to one of the best latter expansions that I want to re-visit (DoDH) in about 2 years after the server launches. That's actually a really long time both IRL, and in terms of MMORPG companies. SoF takes another year. It's almost another 2 years until we're caught up and the journey is complete. We're already talking Star Trek 5 year journeys on Phinnie - the purpose of these TLP servers is ALSO that they're supposta eventually finish. I'm not sure if I'll still be playing, but that would never happen IMO on a 6 month server with voting. Even a 3 month server with voting, as Vulak proved, and as Fippy may yet prove, is no guarantee of completion. As such, I've always had more than a bit of humor at the people who incessantly argued for 6 months. Unfortunately, that's how RF/LJ launched and ended up - 6 month with unlocks/votes. If you wanted a different experience, they offered one.
well I don't really care what they put the cycle at I just don't like the voting because at some point the server will slow to a crawl and then be useless stuck in a certain expac where as if they just unlocked on a time frame it would ensure eventually the server would catch up .
I think the problem is the TLPs are not designed to "catch up" any longer... They are a cash grab for a year to two then refoll a new one. What I mean is that the server will slow to a crawl no matter if there is a vote or not... The past 4 have taught us that.
6 months up to pop and then skipping LDON and LOY and 3 month cycle after that would be better I think.
1-2 years? Try 6 months...like clockwork going forward. Oh, and +1 with OP. I completely agree. Votes are pointless. Just unlock on 6 months fixed.
Get all three servers in Velious, put them all on a fixed 12 week unlock just like Phinny and let it ride
