Server infrastructure is expensive, and even mayhaps for as dated a game as EverQuest, even emulated infrastructure would most likely be too intensive. Though even if this were not the case, if too many servers were made with too many variations, there exists the possibility of the populations being far too spread thin for anyone's liking.
Though I see some very valid points. I don't know much about endgame, but considering the size of the community, the bottleneck Blue provides for endgame content access by way of server-to-population does most likely help gatekeep a healthy amount of raiders (even if the scenarios in which raiding is engaged might not be so healthy, from much I hear). One unfortunate consequence to Green is you will have a fairly sizeable amount of raid-ready players added to an already-dense pool of raiders, who've circumvented the bottleneck of endgame content, who will be fighting for the equivalent of scraps. Ultimately, I'm unsure how such an issue might be remedied viably that would make the majority of people happy, nor do I know if endgame raiders are even a sizeable majority for this consideration or not. Though I do know having spread out raid-only environments does not dilute the necessity for GM intervening rules lawyering - it only changes the nature of what is in need of moderating.
I also assume the amount of players who have such veteran status from Blue, having invested, maxed out slots on Blue, who also hold similarly on Green, is notably minimal (simply due to priority combined with time investment). Though for those who do, as mentioned by someone earlier, it does sadly force them to make very difficult decisions and basically force their hand to choose which does feel a bit unfair; it's virtually expressing that they have to sit one experience out in lieu of getting to enjoy both experiences fully. Considering an account can, in fact, hold more than eight characters (even if it doesn't display it) means an interface that supports selection of excess characters could potentially be developed (especially considering how dramatic some interface mods and addons I've seen others use can be). What stands in such a case is an argument of Quality of Life versus Preservation of Authenticity, and where the value of an individual rests. It's certainly a subject I think deserves more investigation, as ideally no one player should feel left out from getting to enjoy everything that's so painstakingly made with love here on Project 1999.
Regarding Red, I never particularly put much thought into its existence; I felt it was somewhat superfluous considering the lack of engagement and the cost it most likely holds to maintain a seemingly vestigial server, though having the option be available even for the most minimal amount of players and to act as a preservation - as expressed earlier - does make me appreciate it all the more. I think it expresses the intention of sentiment from the P99 administration very well, too. I think it would be interesting if Green players were allowed to choose if they wished to migrate to Red instead of strictly only onto Blue, and considering the lack of necessary bottleneck on Red due to its population size, would even ultimately help Blue, too. I think Red's ruleset might need some polishing to be more appealing to a broader audience, though once again that boils down to QoL vs Authenticity priority.
Ultimately, I speak from experience when I say that simply tacking on more servers would do much, much more harm than good. Dividing a community seldom works out, though with the nature of difference between Blue and Green, I feel it worked out for the most part quite well (and this is chief to the sheer difference between them on top of demand). A furtherly divided playerbase, however? Not so much. Contrary to how some may feel however, concurrent playercounts seem to be just as stable as they were on average when it was simply Blue and Red. It's very natural that the upswing of players on Green's release (and expansions within) would deflate back to normal. I may be misremembering, but I even do remember Red's playercount being lower prior to Green's release and it isn't farfetched to imagine the extra publicity and variety has garnered it good attention as an alternative.
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11-29-2021, 11:51 AM
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