Proposal: Optional pay-for-monthly server.

Discussion in 'PlanetSide 2 Gameplay Discussion' started by Earthman, Jan 17, 2014.

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  1. Earthman

    One extraordinary thing that I have noticed on many occasions, back when we had those old "GM(name) here to exterminate cheaters with extreme prejudice!" or other messages like that, and live GMs in-server that could be contacted directly, is that a lot of supernatural stuff and funny business went way, way down for at least a half-hour after the announcement. It even turned tides during the rare close alert.

    So, simply put, my proposal: if GMs are too expensive to keep on staff right now, and one primary reason we have so many O0OOO00oO00o0-type named characters mowing down groups of people from long range with LMGs is the endless capacity to make free accounts, why not a pay-for-server?

    It'd obviously be optional. It'd have no other special rules, except a lot more GM presence, due to the server being funded directly by paying subscribers.

    I can't see a downside to this: more money for SOE, and if there really are next to zero script kiddies in this game (as I've seen claimed on this forum), it'd obviously be just as inviting to everyone willing to commit to a paid account, right?
    • Up x 1
  2. Kanil

    It'd be more barren than the PTS.
    • Up x 8
  3. Commissar Penitus

    As an Auraxium-level subscriber who has loved this game during the preciously rare times I get to go through an entire gameplay session without people shooting through walls, peeking in and out of hillsides, and other increasingly-common crap, I would happily pay another $15 to start fresh on a server with actually-present cheat monitoring staff.
    • Up x 1
  4. Commissar Penitus

    Says you.

    Why would it be barren? It'd be an open invitation to the people already paying for this game (in one way or another) and their risk to give it a try.

    What makes a barren game is vast scummy field of cheaters and tons of denial about it.
  5. Earthman

    A friend just game me an idea after leaving a late-night "oh gee they're shooting through the base shield again" session, and no, it's not mine or I'd have mentioned it in the OP:

    Why not a possible one-time payment, tied to that account? Could be ten bucks, or maybe even less, like five bucks. Just enough to make it a hassle for script kiddies to do it again and again just to get their giggles.
  6. maxkeiser

    I've been in the game since beta. In all that time I've still actually only seen about a handful of cheaters (Woodman/Miller).

    This is just not a big problem, or indeed any problem at all in the grand scale of things.
    • Up x 5
  7. Earthman

    Uh huh, and it's such a not-big-problem that it wouldn't hurt to have such a server anyway, right?

    Denial isn't just a river in Egypt.
  8. Commissar Penitus

    Apparently you think your anecdotes carry more weight than other people's anecdotes. There's been plenty of call-outs for cheating in the game, some of it quite outlandish like teleporting or going under terrain.

    The sites that offer the scripts/cheats are a few keystrokes on Google away. Youtube's reeking with cheating videos, some of them quite proud of their "accomplishments".

    It is a problem and enough of one where quite a few of us might like to pay a little extra to be free of your "handful of cheaters".
  9. maxkeiser

    Having a pay server would just defeat the whole point of communities that have built up over the life of the game. It would divide the community.

    That is enough reason in itself not to have one.
    • Up x 2
  10. HMR85

    I have to agree with Max and this is coming from a person who played since tech test to now. In all my time playing on Connery I have seen maybe a handful of hackers over the last year. I do not think a separate server is needed.
    • Up x 1
  11. Kanil

    Think about it. Every server but Connery gets abysmally low population 12 hours a day, and that's when the game's completely free.

    Do you really feel enough people are going to spend $15 a month and abandon their existing characters to make this worthwhile? Do you really think there's that many people out there who are annoyed with hackers?
    • Up x 4
  12. maxkeiser

    And probably 90% of those are false call-outs.
    • Up x 5
  13. f0d

    as an auraxium subscriber for over a year and someone who has invested 10s of thousands of SC into the game im not interested in this at all

    i rarely see any "supernatural stuff and funny business" - i think it was around this time last year that i saw anything dodgy

    also what region would it be in? EU? USA WEST? USA EAST? AU? or all of them? because i dont think it will be very populated if its only one region as most people would prefer to play on a server thats close to them for a lower ping

    if you put one in all regions it will be a ghosttown as people would rather play where the players are - look at indar, the main reason people play on indar all the time is because everyone plays on indar and it has a huge population

    you would have to start a new character too as SOE hasnt implemented character transfers yet and hardly anyone will want to create a new character because they would have to start all over again and they might not even have enough character slots

    so no its a bad idea
    • Up x 2
  14. Earthman

    If that is so, I take it you were thrilled by the server merges of the past? After all, that's bringing community closer, isn't it?

    One additional server wouldn't be the end of the world. And unless you want to ignore the many, many threads on here (which you may probably dismiss with "mad cuz bad" statements) regarding people losing interest in the game, it's probably a risk worth taking to offer, sink or swim, one more server with a little price at the door. Monthly or one-time, whatever SOE thinks might work better. Either way, it would reduce the very real primary reason this or any other "free" game is usually plagued with cheaters: if banned, make new account, lose nothing and costs nothing.

    I suppose I assumed there wouldn't be knee-jerk rejections of the idea from some, but I suppose I learn something new every day.
  15. vsae

    Come to Woodman, there are no cheaters, ever.
  16. Earthman

    Well I guess "I saw nothing, so clearly you saw nothing" is justified logic. Subjectivity trumps subjectivity? :rolleyes:

    Or, it could be tried, and if it fails, oh well, just another server in mothballs, probably using the same equipment that was mothballed during server merges.

    I only see one selfish reason to not at least float the option out there, and it's the same reason that so many griefers didn't like when Trammel came out: "Oh no all the sheep have gone away!"

    Maybe it'd be a hit, and paying players would congregate and enjoy a smoother experience confident that it's a clean competition. And all the surely-nonexistent script kiddies can be more lonely on free servers. Because they don't exist, right?
  17. Kanil

    People lose interest in the game for many reasons, not just hackers. Some are tired of waiting for new content -- getting this server up and running will delay that new content. Others are tired of SOE's pointless nerfs that nobody asked for -- getting this server up and running will preoccupy them from their dart board o' nerfs.

    Lately, I've been falling into the latter, so this might just be a good idea... would still be completely empty, but "do nothing" is rapidly becoming preferable to "do something".
  18. Earthman

    I was tempted to make an alt on Ceres for a similar reason.

    I did make one "put a toe in the water" alt on Ceres and for a whole day the game seemed to play like it was supposed to, without all the suspicious crap.
  19. HMR85


    No, what would happen is that it would drive more players away from the game because they feel like their server is getting screwed because they didn't spend money to become a member to get that extra Dev support. For SOE, its bad business and sure fire way to lose customers. Its not ever going to happen and it doesn't need to happen. Cheating isn't that big of a problem to warrant such a thing. In over a year of play time I can count on one hand and this is playing on Connery the most active server in the game, the amount of hackers I have seen. Its a very rare occurrence. A lot of in game hack-uastions are from people who do not know what they are looking at and are quick to jump to assumptions that the player is hacking.
    • Up x 1
  20. shd

    Another server is just what we need to remove some pressure from the existing ones. I for one am sick of waiting in queues day after day. Also, since many people can't or wont pay for sub, i can't wait to abandon bunch of my friends plus all the stuff i have on my existing chars and start all over!
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