This is NOT the same as the other topics regarding Alternate Rulesets. This topic is based on the idea of creating short-term servers for contests etc. An example would be like the Iron-Man server that ran for 3 months in EQ. In that particular server if you died you re-rolled. At the end of the contest, the highest lvl won. The main thing to rememner here is that at the end of the server run, all characters and items are deleted. If a player achieves some sort of pre-determined goal for this specific server and is granted a reward, it goes instead to a character on a "live" server. All that being said, let's get on with the post...
I was thinking that if we ever do have a "contest" server, how exactly would the server rules be chosen? Do we trust Kilsin to pick the rules? Maybe Aradune? I mean, I am OK with that - both of them are professionals and have been here for a while - but is there any other means? Should the players be able to indicate in some way what rules they would like to see? What if we had a pre-formed survey posted on the forums that would allow each of us one vote for every contest. The survey would have a list of rules that we could click or mark in some way. Once all of your choices were made, you hit a submit button. At the end of the voting period votes could be tallied and the winner would result in the server rules for the next (or maybe even the contest two events from now) server contest? With that thought in mind, WHAT RULES WOULD YOU LIKE TO SEE ON THE SUBMIT FORM?
Things like:
Iron man - Reroll on death.
Near-death experience - when you die, a timer starts. If you do not get a rezz within that time, you reroll.
Normalized death - same death rules as live servers.
Timer life - There is no death. There is only a timer. You get a set amount of time to achieve whatever goal is listed by the Devs and try to get it done. You can reroll and try another character to get a better score, but if you do, all previous scores are lost.
That would be under the life section
Under the loot section:
You get nothing: Player corpses rot immediatly upon death. No loot from players is allowed.
No-drop rules: You can loot a player's corpse and take everything that is NOT no-drop
Yes!- drop rules: If a player dies, it's yours! This includes everything that is not lore. If that smart-alec wizzie drops his epic - it's yours. You might be an Enchanter that can't actually use it, but hey! What a trophy!
Under the "What do I do with this guy" section:
Free-for-all: Every other player on the entire server is targetable. Spawn camping them is allowed. Any player you see or detect in any way is yours for the killing. Even if its the same race/religion/faction etc.
Faction: Those on your faction you cannot kill. All other players can be killed
Race: All players NOT of your race are targetable.
These are just some suggestable ideas and are in no way required. The purpose of this exercise is to get us - the community - thinking about what rulesets we would want to see on a short-term contest server. Feel free to suggest a length of stay for the server as well. Does it last one week? One month? etc. I would suggest keeping it short term though. I would like to see short term contests so that my main characters do not get forgotten. I would also like to see these "special even servers" occur in the quiet time just a few months before an xpac release. But thats just my 2 cp.
I am 100% fine with Aradune, Joppa, Kilsin and VR implementing the alternate rulesets. And actually, I prefer it that way ;)
I very much like this idea for many reasons. Apart from it being fun for the players, it will be good for the *game*. Those that go onto these temporary servers will get to level-cap more slowly or, if they are already there. will have something to do to make them want to keep playing other that raids and more raids and yet more raids with constant complaining that there aren't enough raids.
While the contest idea given above is certainly a good one, temporary servers need not be used just for contests. Or even mostly for contests. Let me focus on two possibly valid uses for temporary servers that are not contest-based. With no contest - instead of "winners" getting some reward back on the "real" servers, everyone can get the reward. I hasten to add the reward should not be unbalancing. Quite likely it should not even be useful. Maybe a title. Maybe a cosmetic. An item of clothes or a house decoration (when we have houses) or a different looking mount (if we have mounts).
1. Alternative rulesets as Nephretiti mentions. But not just for a few months of fun. As serious tests of whether they work well and whether players like them in practice. Maybe one with no auction house or broker. Maybe one with all items being no-trade; or *all* items being no trade. Maybe a slower experience point progression or maybe a faster one. Maybe mounts that are faster - or if mounts on the live servers are fast maybe mounts that are slower. Maybe a FTE server if Panthon adopts MDD or MDD if Panthon adopts FTE (systems for who "owns" a mob - most damage done or first to engage).Maybe ...well look at these forums over the years we see many ideas for alternative rulesets. Take any item that has been hotly debated - maybe the side that *loses* in terms of the real game can get to test its ideas in a temporary server.
2. Similar idea but maybe even more useful. New content servers. Suppose an expansion or free new content addition will add zone X.
Traditionally developers have a test server where players can go to help test it out. Tradtionally most players ignore that and the test server players are there mostly to push their own biases (make things easier for my class) or to get advance knowledge that will let them be among the first to complete the new content.
Why not have a temporary server for zone X? The same benefits to the developers as a test server but a wider incentive for players to participate. The same type of rewards for participating as discussed above. Unlike a true test server this would be up for the three month period although *down" more often than a normal server to allow bug fixes and changes as the content is tested. If zone X is level Y and up then players would start the three months or other play period as level Y characters.