Re: Dear developers, Epona needs help
Posted: Thu Feb 06, 2020 4:00 pm
Are people really only moving to Epona because of its loot distribution? If there are other servers that are now 'free' like Epona, why aren't these servers seeing a massive influx of transfers too?
I think it's far more accurate to say that Epona is growing increasingly popular because it already is popular. Epona is the only server that is truly thriving. Maybe at the start, when it was the only 'free' server, the loot distribution was attracting the majority of new players. Now, people who are still invested in the game and are sick of their own dead servers, might be looking to play in a world where people actually log on to kill raids. Or, maybe they just want to mess around in the castle with 20 other like-minded castle campers. Don't underestimate how many people simply do not care about server politics or loot distribution - some of us just want to log on, kill things and have people to talk to.
Regardless, I wouldn't be opposed to doing away with the wide-spread loot monopoly that plagues most servers. Anyone who logs on and has the ability to contribute towards killing a boss, should be rewarded appropriately. I am a firm believer that all content should be be open for everyone. We play a game to enjoy it's content and should not be limited in what we get to enjoy by any other player.
Unfortunately, I don't think there will ever be a solution to the performance problems Epona faces, beyond simple hardware upgrades. Offering more game content or changing distribution systems may bring some players back from the dead, but the numbers will never reach those of Epona and thus the exodus continues. One possible solution is to merge servers but with the lack of content and loot drops, they will face another of Epona's problems - there's not enough to go around. Combining a server merge with a reasonably sized content update seems to be the most viable option to keep other servers alive and prevent their player bases from leaving.
In theory these solutions sound great. In reality, development on Celtic Heroes has most likely ceased for good.
I think it's far more accurate to say that Epona is growing increasingly popular because it already is popular. Epona is the only server that is truly thriving. Maybe at the start, when it was the only 'free' server, the loot distribution was attracting the majority of new players. Now, people who are still invested in the game and are sick of their own dead servers, might be looking to play in a world where people actually log on to kill raids. Or, maybe they just want to mess around in the castle with 20 other like-minded castle campers. Don't underestimate how many people simply do not care about server politics or loot distribution - some of us just want to log on, kill things and have people to talk to.
Regardless, I wouldn't be opposed to doing away with the wide-spread loot monopoly that plagues most servers. Anyone who logs on and has the ability to contribute towards killing a boss, should be rewarded appropriately. I am a firm believer that all content should be be open for everyone. We play a game to enjoy it's content and should not be limited in what we get to enjoy by any other player.
Unfortunately, I don't think there will ever be a solution to the performance problems Epona faces, beyond simple hardware upgrades. Offering more game content or changing distribution systems may bring some players back from the dead, but the numbers will never reach those of Epona and thus the exodus continues. One possible solution is to merge servers but with the lack of content and loot drops, they will face another of Epona's problems - there's not enough to go around. Combining a server merge with a reasonably sized content update seems to be the most viable option to keep other servers alive and prevent their player bases from leaving.
In theory these solutions sound great. In reality, development on Celtic Heroes has most likely ceased for good.