server clustering rules

[Lairiodd]

Dunno if this has been posted before ... can't search the old forum . Having said that it was posted to camelotherald.com while the forum was "in transition", so probably not .

SERVER CLUSTERING

Traveling to a Clustered Server

- In order to travel between servers, we have added new Channeler NPCs to each of the main cities. These NPCs are the "travel agents" for the realms, which will teleport players between servers in the cluster.

Camelot - Channeler Kho'unas
Jordheim - Channeler Jith
Tir na Nog - Channeler Galia

- (Catacombs Client) When a character zones into a new area on a clustered server, the server name is printed in the center of the screen.


Character and Guild Names

- Names currently in existence are not guaranteed to be unique for players or guilds. New characters or guilds created are subject to name duplication restrictions, but existing names are unchanged.

- Newly created guilds are subject to emblem duplication restrictions. Existing guilds with duplicated guild emblems will not be changed.

- If you have two characters with the same name on the cluster, you communicate with them by appending the server name if they are not from your home server. For example: If you have Bob of Pendragon and Bob of Hector and you're from Pendragon, /send Bob or /send Bob-p will go to Bob of Pendragon, and /tell Bob-h will go to Bob of Hector.

- In all chat messages, if a player is from the same server as you, the text you see will remain unchanged. If they are from another server, their name will be printed as "Name-ServerName:" (the same format you would use to /send to them).

- In any shared region kill spam messages, the kill spam will always contain the server name information of the two players (eg: Bob-Pendragon was just killed by PlayerX-Hector).

- Names over the heads of players will display as "Player of Server" to players on other servers in the cluster. Players from your home server will display normally as they always have. Realm Enemies will display normally as they always have (Race and Realm Rank Title).


Zone Sharing

- Based on player feedback, only New Frontiers, the Battlegrounds, Darkness Falls, Passage of Conflict, and Summoner's Hall will be shared in the server cluster. Trials of Atlantis and Catacombs zones will not be shared. Clustered servers will maintain separate versions of Trials of Atlantis and Catacombs zones - players from other servers on the cluster can use the "travel agent" NPCs to migrate to another server, and then travel to that server's Trials of Atlantis or Catacombs zones.


Bind Points

- Bind points will be server dependent. For example: If you bind at Tir na Nog on Hector, then go visit Pendragon and die, you will release to Tir na Nog on Hector.

- Releasing to your house bind will teleport you to the server the house is located on.


Restrictions

- Characters will only be able to purchase lots on their home server.

- Characters will only be able to join guilds from their own server.

- Guilds will not be able to join in cross-server alliances on their server cluster.

- When clustering occurs on live servers, there will be a timer in place to prevent cross-realming characters. After logging a character into one realm on the cluster, you will have to wait some amount of time before being allowed to log into another realm on that same cluster. Because Pendragon is an open test server, this feature will not be enabled at this time.

So basically, you can freely travel between all the servers in a cluster. The only restriction is that you can only join guilds in your own server and buy houses from your own realm.

TOA is repeated so you can join a ML raid that is running on another server on the cluster and gain credit.

Also, there is a relic reset when it is implemented

Here’s what you’ll find going on today:

- When the servers first go live this afternoon:

* all relics will have been returned to their home shrines]

[Ovi]

Worth noting the only mention of clustering from GoA said that it was unlikely it would be introduced here with current server populations.

It would probably only be possible to cluster Prydwen with Excal too, so I really don't think it would be a good step for the UK servers

[Lieva]

yea we havent got account splitting yet so a major rvr change that is based on servers .. nahhhhh

[pikeh]

and really, im not sure i want to share servers with 'excalians'. i just dont think the quality of rvr is good enough over there. with alb being overpopulated on excal and prydwen, if they teamed up they could take all relics np's imo.

[levelnix]

think i would like this
more player in rvr, new enemys and friends
sound s good for me

[Briannon]

I experimented with travel between servers yesterday and took my lowbie level valewalker from Gawaine to Palomides and back again. I filled up the quest journal with catacombs quests whilst on palomides and went back to gawaine to finish them - no problems - worked a treat.

It takes a bit of getting used to seeing Fred of Palomides and Ginger of Bors instead of Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers (fictional examples) but it's hardly a game-shattering experience.

There is absolutely no point in even thinking about clustering Prydwen and Excalibur because the populations are big enough to sustain RvR and ToA events, as we've seen just recently. Also, if they were to cluster the two english servers it would wipe out the ability to play alts on different realms because you'd either have to have all hibbies on both servers or if you had hibbies on pryd and albs/mids on excal you'd have to wait 8 hours before you could log into one of your other realm alts. This is called cross-teaming prevention and its designed to prevent you from, say, logging a hib on pryd, checking out the location of hib armies and then logging an alb on excal to direct a counter strike or relic raid when you have knowledge of the enemy troop movements. If the servers were clustered you'd be able to do exactly this without the 8 hour log-in restriction.

Clustering the English servers in Europe would kill the game stone dead and would be madness of the ultimate degree.

[centurion]

I think its an interesting thing, doing something with rvr at its current state - needed!

[Flippant Desires]

Although the RvR zones are shared, the 1.74 patch is also geared to helping underpopulated servers get back to a game of 'grouping'. E.g. on the clustered servers, LFG works across all servers.

Prydwen population isn't that far off peak-time for the clusters, each server was typically 700-800 peak-time. It seems that the critical mass is somewhere around 1200, below that grouping is too difficult to make the game enjoyable.

But can the english language servers in europe be clustered? Snowball's chance in Hell I think GOA would probably lose a lot of those players who like to play two realms. I know some argue it won't happen because pry/excal popn are ok... but that's a nonsense arguement, as their popn. will become critical at some point.

Personally I think it would be good for the game in Europe, it's the only reasonable change that will encourage new players to stick with the game - through all the hours of LFG and redundant zones.

On the point of Excal community being worse, that wasn't anything I found while I played on Albion. In fact I found them to be better, as a new player to that realm, I was given (by complete strangers) 100gp in the first week. Had to start refusing money and items as I didn't need anything above a few starting gold. Imo you've got something wedged up your arse. The community is what you make of it, if you put no time/effort in to it - then you should just keep quiet instead of saying "it's not as good as Pryd". Sounds like some English tourist in Spain - moaning about no 'steak and chips'.