AMIA ARCHIVE • View topic

This is getting beyond a joke. While there certainly are people that frequently go to B (some even seem to spend most of their time there), most players seem to treat it as nothing more than a second class overflow server for when A is at capacity.

B has been up for so long now that I can't even remember when it started, other than that it was after 1.69 which was 11 months ago, and yet this problem persists.

Disco has added a tonne of new areas, catering to almost all level ranges, and yet people stay on A going to the same areas they have been going to for years.

The majority of Epic areas are now on B, and yet people would rather endlessly do Yuan-ti, 'Flayers and even Beholders than go to B. I used to hate doing Giants... now I almost miss them. Nobody ever wants to try Barbarians anymore and the novelty of the Sahaguin seems to have largely worn off.

At low levels players still insist on doing the same old Kobold>Orc>Trog>Troll pattern on A, and any suggestion to go to B is usually ignored.

Forstakkr? Forstakkr has never been seen as a good place to go when Lizardfolk are so much easier for the same (arguably better) rewards.

Khem apparently only consists of Ne'sek, very few people ever dare venture further... that's when they bother to go there at all.

Getting a party on B, as discussed elsewhere, is next to impossible. The only sure-fire way to get in a party, at any level, is to get one on A and then move to B... but the party you get on A usually refuses to leave. The alternative is to wait on B until the unlikely event that a party from A ports over.

When parties do go to B, for anything other than the tried-and-true Epic areas, it usually results in a frustrated party fighting mobs far too weak or far too strong for them. This is a direct result of players not knowing where to go on the server because they rarely leave A in the first place. The "RP only happens in town" crowd must bare some responsibility for this one because they are the ones that hate hunting and want to get their levels over with by hunting Trogs, for example, rather than spending time exploring B for an appropriate equivalent ("I hate hunting and only have an hour to do the necessary evil so I will spend that hour in a place that I know rather than waste my time on B").

I've also recently been made aware that there is a feeling that people "can't RP" on B. This was explicitly stated in party chat the other night, in direct contradiction to what can be seen in Wiltun at almost any time of day. Someone in /party suggested that B really needs a "RP hub" because it's otherwise pointless to go there. Given that I see people RPing in Wiltun fairly constantly I can only interpret this as "I can't RP huggles and happy families on B like I can in Cordor."

There was even a person recently that was eager to go grinding in Yuan-ti because they "really, really" wanted to get their next level (25 IIRC), but decided they would prefer to stay on A, rather than go to B, when we found a party already in Yuan-ti, because they wanted to RP and couldn't do that on B. In other words, they were eager to OOC grind on Yuan-ti for an hour or two, but they weren't prepared to do the same on B. Umm... What? You consider hunting an OOC activity and you're prepared to engage in such for a couple of hours on A, but you refuse to go to B to do the same thing on the grounds you can't RP there? I can't believe this one. You want to do an OOC activity on A, but refuse to do the same OOC activity on B because there's no RP there? Yes, I've repeated myself. It just doesn't make sense. What it does demonstrate, however, is that some people think of the B server as a B-Grade Action Server, and not an extension of Amia.

This has to change. These kinds of attitudes have to stop.

The B server is not a B-Grade Action Server. It is every bit as much a part of Amia as Kohlingen, Winya, the Skull Crags or the Forest of Despair. Our dev's didn't spend their time making those areas on B, and putting those critters in them, for one or two people to go there every day while dozens continue to go to the same old areas killing the same old mobs on A.

I was going to suggest one solution a few weeks ago until Disco actually suggested the exact same thing in another thread... but that went ignored. So I will suggest it again, and go further.

What we need is an epic plot (epic in scope, not in level) that blocks off the usual areas on A, while leaving open the less-frequented areas (blocking Koblods and Sewers while leaving open Cape Slaakh for example). A single plot where the main island of Amia is under siege (concentrated on the East to leave the Western areas, currently the least utilised, open, with the docks still active to facilitate travel between those areas currently linked by sea) and the elements of the solution can only be found on B. When I say "blocked", I don't mean dumping in a huge army of Epic critters in the Kobold caves, but a physical block to the areas thus forcing people to use equivalent CR areas on B. The resolution to the problem is a magic item, or series of items, broken up and scattered throughout B in a separate lootbin with a tiny chance of dropping so that a DM is not required to be on hand and we don't have swarms of Epics looking to make a name for themselves in Caraigh.

I do have an idea for such a plot, but I'd rather not come across as self-serving since it involves a group I am very interested in that has very little presence on Amia, and I'd also like to see what the DMs could come up with if given such free-reign.

> Amia is isolated. Travel outside of the cities is severely limited. Access to such well-trodden areas as the Skull Crags, is entirely prevented.

> While some hunting grounds are still accessible on A, if you want to level a character you will have to do most of it in the "new" areas on B.

> A long-term, large-scale, server-wide event that characters of every level, Race and Class will be effected by, and can participate in, creating a major piece of server lore.

> Multiple event-related items in a new lootbin (perhaps connected to the unique critters?) means that players are not simply hunting for levels, but their characters are participating in a quest with no need for DM supervision.

> Players that "just want to RP" are unaffected aside from having more to gossip about while they stand in the rain in Cordor.

> Disruptive? Absolutely. That's the point.

B is pretty much self contained, and I'm on it quite often ... it's a great area.

Although to be fair the reason for the Barbarians may be that their risk / reward holds too much risk and not enough reward.

As for the rest of the post ... it was an interesting read, and I'd support it to an extent (provided it's not permanent) except for the blocking off of lowbie areas on A.

move cordor there.. the thing that should of happened in the first place.

Silly question, if both servers are basically Amia, why do we care which gets more use?

Last edited by Cori on Wed, Jul 22 2009, 23:09 PM, edited 1 time in total.

Not bad ideas. I wonder if even simply changing the names, A to B, B to A, might make a difference as well. The very name does insinuate "secondary server", after all, which implies that it is just an overflow server, for what didn't fit on A. (edit: To which I mean, new players are more likely to assume they ought to start on A. The label "B" does not infer "start here!")

It is rather annoying spending my time designing areas for B when few people actually use them, or if they do, it's a once-over to see it, then never return because it's on B.

Zante wrote:

Silly question, if both servers are basically Amia, why do we care which gets more use?

So theres free flowing of traffic between servers, so that RP that requires being on one server and then Questing that needs to be done to other doesn't get stopped by 65/65 people.

Thats just the obvious answer.

It's nice moving effortlessly between A and B ... I do t all the time.
And then those occasions when I play in someone's peak time I find myself stuck in one server or the other.

Gah, this post almost made me cry!

It's really beautiful and my concerns are the same!

Earlier today I spent some one hour and a half RPing on Wiltun with a friend and..

..bloody hells!

There is ~nothing~ wrong with Amia B! People should really open their mind when going to B. All my self-rebuild characters I have been leveling there, even if solo'ing! I only go to A for a change of scenery and if I am the only one on B.

You hardly have competitors for hunting grounds too!

Frozenfar (and Chylwick and Forrstakrr) is cold, but has houses in which you can RP in a cozy and warm place. The only downside is that you will not cross paths with random people - but then you can do that in Wiltun, or even some of the hunting grounds!

A few weeks ago, I said lack of DMs as to blame for lack of RP there but I was wrong. I can have as much fun RPing there without a DM overseeing!

I agree with Sokar's ideas but I fear that as soon as people notice the blockades, they will start whinning and complaining before even trying something new!

People, listen to Tormak! Listen to Sokar! Listen to me!

Amia B is good and just as fun!

The only difference I see between the A and B major hubs is, unfortunately, just like Sokar said, the lack of giggle-poke-huggle RP.

Please, please!

Drag your arse to Amia B sometimes!

It does need to be said that the problem is not really related to A being full - the problem persists even during the afternoon, Australian time, when there's less than 40 people on A.

In fact, while I was typing the OP there were about 10 people on B and ~55-60 on A. Apparently A is currently down and there are 38 people on B... where are the rest? Pre-reset there were enough perople to fill one server to capacity, and now that there is only one server running it is not even at 2/3.

1) Time. Keep playing as you want to see, and time will continue to show changes to the attitudes. We've had a thread already demonstate a time when "B" was more heavily populated.

2) Disco's made comment in altering the server names in another thread. That would be excellent to find something that isn't "1" and "2" or "A" and "B". I think Disco's idea was East-West.

3) Learning. Oh wait, this goes back to Time. Anyways, people are still learning B-side areas. Some, yes, carried over, but a lot of the new areas are slowly bringing in attention. But we won't see a nice balance until people are learned near equally. It's why A's remaind so much more popular - a lot of people know it, from 2 to 30, and it's getting that experience and comfort on B's zones to go 2 to 30.

Torzeng wrote:

1) Time. Keep playing as you want to see, and time will continue to show changes to the attitudes. We've had a thread already demonstate a time when "B" was more heavily populated.

Wasn't that thread made when A was down?

Quote:

A-mia - 0/65 (0 DM)

Last reset: Server down
Module version: AmiaA_2.12
Server IP: 64.25.87.18:5121

B-mia - 61/65 (1 DM)

Last reset: 1 hrs 39 mins ago

It seems like people are able to play, and enjoy it, on "B-mia" as well. Just not when "A-mia" is up.

I actually spent most of my time on "B-mia" earlier. The reason I moved over now, is primarily due to the Banite temple (faction area) being on A.

If the temple would move, I would spend most of my time on "B-mia" instead.

But I agree with most of your post, Sokar.

There's a lot that can be done for "B-mia", and your suggestions are good.

Though I agree with the sentiment I think you over generalized the reasons people stay on A. It's not just about the hunting places, though for sure it's part of it.

Faction areas play a large role.

You have the hins, which gather in Bendir Dale.

Tarkuul, for all the necromancers and un-affiliated evul characters.

Crags, for HoA.

Amia Forest (Grove / Hidden Glade) for druids and rangers.

Kohlingen for the Triadic Knights and Defenders.

Temple of Bane for the Church of Bane.

Underdark for the evil drow.

Shine of Elistraeen for the goody drow.

Cordor for the ATMF, Cordorian Guard and... others *cough*

Shadowflame Mansion for the shadowflames.

Quagmire for the War Knights.

All of those "faction areas" are on Amia A.

That's the vast majority of Amia's factions.

The only ones I can think of with faction areas on B, are the dwarves, the shadowdancing academy and the EO.

Mr Mago wrote:

The only ones I can think of with faction areas on B, are the dwarves, the shadowdancing academy and the EO.

Yup, and have a look at how much activity there is in Barak Runedar except when there's a meeting.

Dont forget the monolith.

It is true! Amia B is just as good as Amia A! This is because it is /Amia!/

There are great hunting grounds for lower levels that no one knows about because it seems like everyone has the preconceived notion that "A" is the only place for lower levels.

I'm not going to lie. I spend a lot of my time playing Avadon on "A" because I enjoy having fun playing with the crazies that frequent Cordor and the like. Not to mention Yoss' awesome plots! *Cough*

I don't know. The point is, I really think the problem is people just do not comprehend the Role Playing opportunities on "B."

Give Wiltun some love! :twisted:

B's getting lots of 'love' right now with A being dead.

Dwagin wrote:

B's getting lots of 'love' right now with A being dead.

It's a shame, though, that this is the ~only~ way for people to go to Amia B.

Hopefully people are exploring, rather than just standing by Wiltun? :P

I don't get on B because I don't know where anything is and no one is ever there to help me find out where anything is... All I know are minotaurs....

I would LOVE to see more action where my Hoar buddy can get religiously involved, but that area is always empty, except for those minotaur hunters

blackvswhite wrote:

I don't get on B because I don't know where anything is and no one is ever there to help me find out where anything is... All I know are minotaurs....

...explore?

Quote:

A-mia - 22/65 (0 DM)

Last reset: 14 mins ago

B-mia - 38/65 (0 DM)

Last reset: 17 mins ago

I'm just watching that now and wondering how long it will take people to move back to A.

Edit:

Quote:

A-mia - 33/65 (0 DM)

Last reset: 19 mins ago

B-mia - 31/65 (0 DM)

Last reset: 22 mins ago

Turns out to be the time it took me to empty the rubbish.

Yurell wrote:

Quote:

A-mia - 22/65 (0 DM)

Last reset: 14 mins ago

B-mia - 38/65 (0 DM)

Last reset: 17 mins ago

I'm just watching that now and wondering how long it will take people to move back to A.

Edit:

Quote:

A-mia - 33/65 (0 DM)

Last reset: 19 mins ago

B-mia - 31/65 (0 DM)

Last reset: 22 mins ago

Turns out to be the time it took me to empty the rubbish.

Yep, it's really sad. I just am there because Auron is quarantined at the Salandrans and there is no other place he can be. ^^;

I'm some random DM and I approve this post. However I'm not entirely sure that *forcibly* pressuring people to B via plot is the ideal solution. But I can be sold on most anything.

I partially agree with the OP. Some things I would find different:

- Getting a party on B is only harder because there are less people on B.

- Never noticed anyone not wanting to go to B because there is no RP there. With very few exceptions, hunt RP is nothing to write home about anyways.

- Forcibly trying to push people onto B is stupid. A is one big isle, B is many small places. A has the most faction areas. There will always be a full A and a half-full B. Why? Law of gravity. Bigger masses attract more additional mass. The approach Mainland <-> Small Isles makes the most sense, but on the flipside this population gap is the result.

Still, I like the idea of promoting the new areas.

divinesaint wrote:

It is true! Amia B is just as good as Amia A! This is because it is /Amia!/

we would all like to think that but lets face it, its not.

I was going to make a long post about why Boss-mia is not good for RP but after talking and typing out my logic in PMs with a diffrent player in game I dont feel like typing it here but the fact stays the same.

A-mia is better then Boss-mia and dont use the "its all Amia" because its not, B is made up of all random islands and part of what I think is mainland, A-mia is THE ISLAND OF AMIA.

so I think from now on "A-mia" should be "Amia" because it is amia.

I don't run Black Caravan on Amia A anymore, heh. Same reasons as is posted right at the top, really.

corypx wrote:

divinesaint wrote:

It is true! Amia B is just as good as Amia A! This is because it is /Amia!/

we would all like to think that but lets face it, its not.

I was going to make a long post about why Boss-mia is not good for RP but after talking and typing out my logic in PMs with a diffrent player in game I dont feel like typing it here but the fact stays the same.

A-mia is better then Boss-mia and dont use the "its all Amia" because its not, B is made up of all random islands and part of what I think is mainland, A-mia is THE ISLAND OF AMIA.

so I think from now on "A-mia" should be "Amia" because it is amia.

I hate your post PURELY because you called it "Boss-mia" and I thinkyou're doing it to spite me.

Hey, Cory, are you back from afk yet?

TormakSaber wrote:

I hate your post PURELY because you called it "Boss-mia" and I thinkyou're doing it to spite me.

it was not aimed for you, it was for everyone.

Yossarin wrote:

Hey, Cory, are you back from afk yet?

no but its ok I'm on B so I can AFK till...50+ people join the server *crosses fingres Amia does not go down*

but funny thing I was in the middle of RP on A when I got booted so they could fix my name, got locked out so I humped the portal in nes'ek till I could get back onto Amia to have been allready out of the loop of the topic so I went to kill Yuan-ti real slow, shame training weapons dont make me zero damage to monster, that would be fun.

Quote:

no but its ok I'm on B so I can AFK till...50+ people join the server *crosses fingres Amia does not go down*

... You'd best watch yourself, Cory.

A is, for all intents and purposes, the default server. The default RP hub is there, the default starting locations are there, the default hunting grounds everyone's used to are there. If people are given something that works, they won't look for something else.

Seriously, I think it would be best if someone had a look at the server when it's full, take the most populated areas, and move half of them over to the B module. It would do wonders for server load, and I doubt players would be stopped from getting to their favorite areas by a mere server hop.

No, I am 100% against splitting the module on arbitrary lines.

It creates silly divides that shouldn't exist and becomes extremely problematic for DMs when we're busy in, for example, Cordor South and we can't see Cordor East because it's "a server away". Or shouts that should be heard in areas that won't be heard because they're arbitrarily in the other server. I won't get into how much of a hassle this becomes for buffers as they suddenly realize they need to hop servers twice on the way to their destination.

Splitting by population is a terrible idea.

I'm inclined to agree with Tormak ... geographically is a fine divide, but arbitrarily choosing which parts of the server should be shunted over doesn't sound too good to me.

You could move whole areas only, but I see your points. Then again I don't know what else could be done.

Not that the situation is a dire one or anything, but still.

I personally would be for splitting the areas more, putting them more away. Seriously.

I was in a group that did Yuanti, al lfine and dandy but the stoneskin really felt as if it prevent most of the damage, not to forget the spells etc. Which is fine and dandy, I think Lizards are 18+ meat, but that is just me.

I left the party, joined another, we switched to B and hunted minotaurs.. Lo and behold, it was easier, gave the very same xp, and was more fun! (I also love the maze! That is like the best of it all.)

People should explore B more, when I walked around the beginning I found two quests which gave me 1k xp without much problems. Oh yes, I could've grinded that xp too. But the quests were more fun and entertaining, and not to forget easier and not so mind numbing... And i saw new places!

Next time I get my group together I'll just suggest to go and explore B and hunt whatever we find, so we got a lot of more fun and things to do, and really enjoy Amia long before we were veterans and didn't know every place appropiate for our level.

after eating a multi flavored popsicle my mood went up abit so time for a better post.

non-hunting areas on B-mia so towns.

Forstakkr
Howness being the largest town on the island of Forstakkr upon arriving they are not very hospitable hosts, they have a dislike of outsiders to their island and are not a fan of non-human races.

Thordstein, small town of people broken off from Howness minimal services but towns folk view people the same.

Thykvybaer monastery, small monastery with some minimal temple services .

Frozenfar
Endir's Point, small town all it has to offer is 3 houses to rent, a inn stocked with afew drinks a small temple with normal services to offer in the way of healing kits,potions and scrolls, the "shops" are all job trainers

Chillwyck, two rental houses and a Inn with two job trainers, and its 4sec away from Endir's Point.

Zanshibon the Abyss town, a town full of demons for the most part but does offer much more services in the range of temple,Inn and a Bazaar with a ranage of items

Mystra's Monolith, the location of magical research and learning and has services for people in the arcane arts.

Wiltun Keep, militaristic fort under the rule of Lord Wiltun with now increased services then befor.

Barak Runedar-Brogendensteins town of Dwarven residents full town services.

Shadowscape full sized town full services but aimed for people training in the arts of stealth

Khem
Nes'ek the town has two temples with the third on the way with minimal services as of right now

Djedet is small town but offers more then Nes'ek in terms of services.

I will try and work on the info abit more but my main thing is look at the types of towns, Forstakkr they hate you right off the bat.
Frozenfar, the amia forest has had camp sites set up bigger then the two towns there.
Zanshibon,Mystra's Monolith,Barak Runedar and Shadowscape are more class or race based to a degree
Khem is geting more peoplee going out there so we might see some stuff to build that up.
and Wiltun Keep is just a fort that offers you services because you load in there and its easy for new people to the server to have shops you can use and a quest there.

HellScourge wrote:

Next time I get my group together I'll just suggest to go and explore B and hunt whatever we find, so we got a lot of more fun and things to do, and really enjoy Amia long before we were veterans and didn't know every place appropriate for our level.

This is really all it takes. A few people who decide that they are not going to just follow where the conventional RP is. I find myself defaulting to the "A" server quite often. But I made it a point personally to try and create a bit of RP whenever I am on "B" as lots of people do. The "B" side is not just for boss hunting. And labeling it as such is counter productive to encouraging others to go out and explore all the wonderful areas that the staff and team have created for us to enjoy.

I guess what I am trying to say is that the negative feedback that people give by segregating the two sides of ONE Amia is not beneficial to the overall populace of this great server that we all love and enjoy.

Here's a huuuuge problem though, and I don't see a fix. This is something I frequently encounter:

Amia A frequently becomes a cage. I would -love- to portal to B more, but I know when I'm done there, during peak times, I'm going to have a hell of a time getting back to A.

If I want to go to B to do something, but know A will be full when I leave, I'll sometimes try and find the solution on A. Granted, I could just do my RPing on B, but a lot of the people I RP with are on A much of the time.

I also wonder how much B has put a dampener on factions in B, such as the Mystran Monolith, which sees infrequent traffic, people coming to get their spell components and leaving.

I remember long ago when it was on A (And before the split), the tower usually had one or two people around it that weren't part of the official council/guard/structure of the tower. I wonder if for the same reasons I mentioned above, if people are afraid to come to the Monolith to RP. Can't get back to A, and not many people, especially not many new people, visit the monolith, so can't blame them for not trying to visit much.

RP breads RP, and if no one's around to RP with, are you going to stick around waiting? That's tedious and boring.... quite unfortunate, but all too often it's true.

As for moving other places from A to B, the one biggest area I can see making sense is the Underdark. After all, the Underdark is in itself almost independent, and moving to B would not change much, except to take some pressure during peak times off A and place it on B.

This wouldn't create an issue with most DM events, and it wouldn't create an issue with Shouts not being heard because the Underdark is not typically going to be aware of things happening on the surface.

Has this already been explored and turned down for some reason?

I believe they are still working on the UD for B.

Woo, maybe I should pay attention to my brain a bit more which reminds me I keep on hearing about UDB Test areas.. heh.

Looking forward to that, then ^.^

Yep, the UD is moving to 1-Mia.

TormakSaber wrote:

Yep, the UD is moving to 1-Mia.

So numbering is opposite of lettering? Or we still having fun at removing connotations?

TormakSaber wrote:

Yep, the UD is moving to 1-Mia.

as much as i was opposed to this early on, it seems like a better idea each and every day.

hopefully, the split between drow and surface population will be large enough to not fill up A still, so the underdark peeps who need to do something on the surface for a while dont get blocked out

TormakSaber wrote:

Yep, the UD is moving to 1-Mia.

we doing numbers now, ok

underdark is going from 65/65-mia to 15/65-mia

so are beholders and mindflayers moving with the underdark as well?

To B or not to B?

LethanKayne wrote:

Amia A frequently becomes a cage. I would -love- to portal to B more, but I know when I'm done there, during peak times, I'm going to have a hell of a time getting back to A.

I can understand that. A good approach could be to leave A for B when A is at 65/65 one hour before reset. Enjoy an hour on B and then try to join A on reset again which you would have to do anyway, even if you stayed on A for that hour.

By the way, something like 60 on A vs 20 on B isn't that far off from the area ratio of the two servers, so B isn't exactly underpopulated. (The 65/65 is just such an annoyance in itself, that I would also love to see 40 vs 40, even if that means that B's areas are suddenly more crowded than A's areas.)

Also, when people "hump the portal" in Nesek to get in to A, it makes me really sad, because that is such an ugly OOC activity that makes B not just the flowover server but more like the doormat to A. Please don't do or say that while I'm on my interweb ...

Regards, Ts

I agree with one of the posts above. I would log off Bmia, jump onto Amia, and start broadcasting in tells to people in my level range, and arrange to meet in Wilthun.

Most of the time, people are happy to jump over. I have only had problems once, when a person literally refused to go anywhere else besides the FoD. On a separate occasion, with different players, someone said he couldn't go onto B because Wilthun made his computer crash.

fireprooftroll wrote:

I agree with one of the posts above. I would log off Bmia, jump onto Amia, and start broadcasting in tells to people in my level range, and arrange to meet in Wilthun.

Most of the time, people are happy to jump over. I have only had problems once, when a person literally refused to go anywhere else besides the FoD. On a separate occasion, with different players, someone said he couldn't go onto B because Wilthun made his computer crash.

I must say I've never had problems getting people to come to B with me, although I'm rarely on when the server is full so that could be contributory.

The B Server has feelings Too!

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