Specialty Server Types? (Question Inside)

*edit* corpses/death is great, but when support can't help you because you looted your corpse and it doesn't exist anymore was a horrible mechanic.

• Firmly curtailed travel; no flight paths (this is not WoW, don't make it like a WoW clone., no flying mounts (unless there are flying monsters as well--or limited to flying-required areas only), long refresh timer on 'gate' Make gate the same as EverQuest, low occurrence of portals. Make portals like in original EverQuest they are there but not in every zone and you would still have to travel to/from the spires/rings.
• Corpse recovery or other harsh death penalty. No permanent death or loss of items, just harsh in terms of time and difficulty. Make it like original EverQuest, it WORKED and people fighted to keep the group alive because a death or groupwipe mattered. Don't make it with corpse summoners and hand-holding.
• Increased over-all difficulty level so that soloing is discouraged by the strength of the content. Make it like EverQuest original where some classes COULD solo for good exp, but that they will have to sit down and med for longer periods of time. Some players like myself like that playstyle. Encourage grouping too but don't force it upon everyone.
• No 'summon group' type abilities/stones/Call of the Hero etc. Call of the Hero is acceptable since it is IN-ZONE travel. Don't make stupid areas where it "doesn't work" aka Plane of Fire (original) where it did't work past the birds.
• Allow players to transfers off, but not onto the server. (where would they transfer to if they can't transfer ON a server? Transfers both ways after 6 months of a new server launch.
• Mounts would have a hitpoint threshold and be vulnerable to attack. Agreed, they should die in AoE's etc. and should not be used in combat, use them for transport only.
• Items will have weight, and you'll have a limit! coins should have weight too AND be dropable. Make coin purses with weight reductions (make a coin purse slot too) Make belts with slots on them, and in those slots you can fit coin purse, gem purse, herb pouch and other fancy things)
• No rest exp. Don't force us to log out in a city or inn. Let us stay out in the world without being punished.
• No auctioneers or auction houses. Don't separate the community--embrace it. Let players set up new EC Tunnels or player ran bazaars.
• Make spells use components for some of the rare more powerful spells (not portal shards and such weird stuff) but portal spells into certain encounter areas could use a component and bane nukes (think the old giant/dragon bane nukes for wizards, but make many more bane spells please and not only for wizards) have shaman spells use herbs (again just the rare powerful spells
• Make spell researching MATTER where you actually have to research the spell and can research it at the level you can use the spell (aka a level 10 spell should not have a trivial at over 200) make it so you have to travel to many areas and explore the world to gather components for some of your spells.
• Stop stupid faction grinds just to gain spells and new gear... Make faction matter like Velious... Pick side and they will make armor for you and then let the spells be bought/dropped/researched but don't hide them behind faction where the faction is meaningless other then to get your spells.
• Make tradeskills LESS tedious then EQ, no 200+ combines to MAYBE get 1 skillup... If something is TRIVIAL it is NO FAIL. Make the tradeskill stuff actually matter, so if you take the time to gather all the materials to make a piece of armor, then it should be equivelant of what you can buy for your current level and with common drops. Some tradeskill stuff can be on par with rare drops but they should require RARE drops to make.
• Don't make "stupid" camps where you need to sit 13+ hours in a row to get tidbit X for your epic, make stuff more exciting, make it harder to get as in MOB hard, not in sit on your **** hard.
• Make EPICS !!! Weapons that is, make them progressable, so say at level 20 your can begin your first epic, then at lvl 40 you can build onto it and make it even better (or whatever levels would make sense)
• Please PLEASE don't try to make a WoW clone... Make the game with a GOOD difficulty where rewards matter but are not just piled upon you for poking an easy mob and make punishment harsh... loss of exp/lvl maybe limit rezzes up to 50% or make higher ones use an expensive component and then limit those up around 90% (thats 1% exp lost after rez if you lose 10% on a death which is fair)

I mean that RP servers should have a naming restriction. That is it.

I don't want a game that separates the gameplay at all. This is a SANDBOX game. Roleplay Servers have name restrictions, that does not separate the gameplay.

Each time you separate a server, you add a list of bugs you have to fix for "Each" server, and special content you have to make for "Each" server. You have a developer designed for "Each" server. If you have a PvP server for example, classes and such have to be nerfed or adjusted just because of "One" server.

This is a Sandbox game, Sandbox games should not have ruleset servers because it degrades the choices of consequences. You play your way you want to play and the choices you make pick what you want to do.

Oh please please please have a PvP-server.
Nothing brings the story of the game to life like the conflict between players and the dynamics that entails. It is always an artificial break when the conflicts of the fictional world end where players interact.

"Ogres eat Dwarfs for breakfast, but hey - let's hold hands and skip down the road to Lala-land."

Please bring back that awesome Tallon Zek-Server feeling where the high level Paladin Dwarf saved the Halfling Druid because a Dark Elf was hunting for lowbies in the newbie area! There was a reason why Trolls were KOS in Kelethin and I am all for bringing that structure back to EQN

Couldn't disagree more. Variety is the spice of life, etc. I don't want to (and won't) play on fluffy-bunny-xyz server with fluffy-bunny-xyz loving players. As the consumer it's not my concern if it's more work for SOE's Dev and QA teams.

I dare SOE to stand up a single server with one arbitrary set of rules.

Your choices in the game should make you PvP. Not the server's ruleset. This is a Sandbox game. Not a themepark. Its an entirely different ball-game.

I'd honestly prefer a single shard / world instance. I'm a developer, so I understand the scalability issues and problems with load balancing and dynamic space partitioning (in fact I've discussed them at length with friends and have even taken a crack at designing an architecture that would allow for such a thing). As I see it the hardest part isn't actually engineering a solution, it is the fact that the majority of even the simplest gameplay programming would have to come from engineers to make sure it is parallelizable and fits into the scalability architecture, instead of from designers scripting those elements because the designers most likely wouldn't have the technical skills to write code at that level.

With one server I think you end up with a more immersive and cohesive world - one where the players can actually take control and build a unique narrative that seems meaningful. Multiple shards usually means anything you do has no real lasting impact on the environment because the studio has to update the game based on all shards, and it is really unrealistic to think the studio is going to effectively branch the development of the game for each shard.

I don't expect EQN to go in this direction, but I would be pleasantly surprised if they made an attempt at it.

Personally I would love a blend of Role Play with Special Rule sets. If they were to make an RP server that was highly restrictive with an almost old EQ style of rule sets I would probably play there. Role play servers do tend to have a somewhat friendlier community but not gonna lie, I did get tired of that damn Troll Speak. Seriously, this time around can we please not have lore that makes trolls and ogres complete morons. No more of the, "ME AM GUD BARSHER O DEM SKULZ AND TAKE MANY HEATS TO D HEADZ BEFUR I FALLZ DOWNZ", just for the love god say you are a tank and come kick *** for us please.

They did, its called EvE/SWG. Both Sandbox Games.

Voted for PvP. PvP if done correctly (having a full PvP server or multiple) could make this a PvP'ers heaven, seriously, the potential is crazy for this to be less than what it could be.
Just thinking of the destruction of the maps, it completely changes the way players will look at a battle environment, being able to play as a Dwarf and tunneling through the side of a mountain to reach an enemy will be insanely cool, there's too many ways this'd be the best.

From my experience when PvP is melted down and cut away and there's a 'compromise' system in place like PvP only in certain places on the map, it really just makes the game feel a lot less alive.
I have to think stuff like "oh, I can only do /my favourite thing/ over there, okay then"...
In my mind, I don't know why a development team or anyone in general would want to not make the players happy, a PvP server would make PvP'ers and non-PvP'ers happy.

I guess its honestly hard to be fair about it because we do not know how much of a true challenge next will be. if its as challenging (minus the needless grind, NOT ALL GRIND, just needless grind) as EQ I would play on a pvp or normal server. If its as easy as WOW, GW or Star Wars.. I would want a hardcore server to allow for more challenge. The idea of hardcore truly attracts me BUT I would not play on one with perma death.

You don't know what your asking for. The second you make a "Hardcore" ruleset server, you deny challenge to non-Hardcore Servers. Instead you should make one ruleset for all servers and let the community and player choices decide what type of content and such you like and be rewarded for it specifically. Limiting content to one server just makes bugs for each one you add.

I know i'm deeply in the negative at my decisions and people will hate them. However you must understand that this isn't ten years ago, and this isn't a Sandbox game. If you want a challenging game it needs to be inside the base game. Not a "Side-Show".

Firiona Vie in Everquest is just what we need for special servers, I loved its ruleset. But I would settle for a server where there is no such thing as 'no trade' so wealthy non-raiders can still buy the best items

Or you can make the entire server that way as a base. No Trade/Hierloom have always been stupid in my opinion. Items should leave the game naturally via decay.

You make a reasonable argument, and I commend you for it. However, I have yet to play on a Megaserver in which lag and overpopulation did not become an issue, and a game killing one for older systems. Perhaps others have had a better experience with them, but I do not think I am alone in mine.

Also, and anyone feel free to correct me if I'm wrong, the dev team seems married to the idea of having many servers that become completely separate worlds. Megaservers would undercut that promise to a degree.

I agree with this whole-heartedly. The game should let you pick what you want to do and NOT restrict the game and content. Sandbox games are all about choices you make within the game. Choices you make should make you flagged for pvp. Choices you make should ectect. I agree there should be a Role-playing Server with name restrictions, however that is it.

I voted, rp server, I been playing rp games along time, and ive seen, whats happiend, to a lot of mmorpgs and when did rp become a contest, its suppose to be fun imo anyways. they made role playing games, for role play, I always thought.

pvp checkbox that takes a day to transfer from pve to pvp.
role play checkbox that only receive chat from other role players.
pvp weapons should only be used for pvp and not environmental.
raid weapons only useful in raids not environment. (raid zones attunes and only decorative in normal zones)
have role play factions that compete for titles based on completing quest/crafting/defeating AI

It sounds like a good idea. However it needs to be via consequences.

PvP when you do something that is a crime or villainous. (Consequences.)
Roleplay Servers with name restrictions.
No PvP-PvE separaration.