What should we do.

I'm at my wits end as far as my internet stability issues. I've tried literally everything possible, I've been given a discount from TWC twice now because nothing they can find works either. This is beyond frustrating not just from a hosting standpoint but from a living standpoint too. I want to solve this, but so far, I see no end in sight. The worst part is that anyone else that provides internet service to my house is likely to be much worse. It may be more stable, but it will also be much slower when it IS working. I am pleased with how quick everything seems to go when it does actually work.

To add to that, the server population seems to be down. I frequently check in when I leave for work and when I get home from work to see almost no one online, not even soaking XP. This could be related to the stability and disconnects, or it could be a general lack of interest. Something needs to happen to fix both problems.

So, I am going to suggest 3 options to help with the network. Then I am going to suggest a few options to liven things up around the server. Then I am going to listen to all of your suggestions and wishes as you comment. Please keep your comments civil, do not flame, do not rant about things we can't change, etc etc. I would love to hear from as many people as possible here in public, especially Moth since the mod itself is his baby. If there are any old players simply checking in to the forums and any of these things sound like they would reignite your interest in playing Anphillia again, PLEASE make your voice heard.

First up, Network.

Option 1: Tough it out and hope it gets better. This option means I will continue to be host and admin. I will not be able to play or DM as it stresses the network too much. This was not the case previously when I hosted, but it is now. This will allow Raven to continue to be an RPDM.

Option 2: Raven hosts again. I have not mentioned this to Raven yet, so, sorry if I'm volunteering you there bud. As I understand, Raven couldn't access the DM client when he was the host. As long as that is true, that means that if Raven hosts, the connection should be more stable, but we lose our RPDM. I am not opposed to finding someone else to fill that role however.

Option 3: Paying for a server. This has been mentioned several times with a few people offering to contribute. The problem with this is that someone needs to take point on it and make it happen. I am not opposed to this myself, but I am not game for contributing. If we agree to go this rote, someone else will need to take charge and get the remote host setup, get the money set up, etc etc. Doing this we could hopefully have a more stable host and keep Raven as RPDM.

Now on to livening up the place.

Option 1: Do nothing aside from fixing the network. I don't think this is the way to go personally, but some might feel we are fine like we are as long as we can get the network fixed.

Option 2: We explore the idea of going to one faction until we get some players then having an RP event to split into 2. This will mean no PvP unless there are duels or skirmishes at least until we get split up. Which is unfortunate since that is one of the big draws of the mod. But at least we'll all be together to level up and get some new players a good start. This would pretty much require a wipe of some sort. I still don't think a FULL wipe is a good thing. Some sort of storage system to bank your XP and gold value of your items and ATS points and transplant them into a new character would allow everyone to start new characters but keep the work they have put in to the old ones.

Option 3: We look deeper into bringing back the old character vault and combining it with the new vault. I don't think that going all the way back to the old vault is an option due to the number of newer players. This basically serves as an effort to bring back some older players who may not have the time to level up a new toon but might still want to take part in the RP and PvP and bigger dungeons on the server. The main problem with this is the ATS points. I am fairly sure that the database files containing ATS skills can't be combined so either the new crop of toons or the old crop of toons will be without ATS. In the event of option 3, I vote that the old toons just be left without their ATS skills.

Option 4: Basically option 2, but we say fudge it and put all the existing characters in Ranz with little to no RP reason. Or even bring back the old vault and do the same thing. Or we could try to apply some sort of RP story like Ranzington negotiated a truce or something. It would probably be thin at best.

That's about all the ideas I have now, please make your thoughts known as quickly as you can so we can make a decision on these things and take steps to make them happen.

Numbers do seem down but there was 6 characters on today and some RP which was fun. I need more time to think about the options.

^ Indeed it is alot to think about. So I myself will take a day before I come up with my opinion on which option I would go with.  I would however like to throw in that I know there have been problems in the past with one side being larger then the other/etc, though Axfell is pretty much at rock bottom.  

Another quick thing to mention before fully getting into it.  Sniqow came up with a great server wide idea, which would indeed work as our RP reason to get everyone in Ranzington. And I've already began something similar to it with Cleaven so one side is already in motion.

((Still undecided on which option to go with though either way))

I didn't mean for you to rush a response and your thought process, just meant that sooner is better than later.

I am an old (literally too) player and I recently picked up nwn again. Yesterday I timed out during an interlude in roleplay with Xana, but I suppose I would have felt bad for a while, if such had happened during combat. That just about sums my thoughts on network: playing is fun and if something bad happens, I just wasted my time in vain. Network, no ambitions.

I do not have the time to even consider picking up any ATS points. That is why I am happy with just showing up and being part of the props, be that movie props or proper props. I will be around what ever gets decided. Thanks for everything, so far.

MEH, I was in the middle of typing up a response when something happend that caused me to go back a page and lose everything I wrote! :(So because my 9 month old is getting abit wound up at the moment I will rush this slightly and fill in what I miss in another post.

Something definitely needs to be done about the connection. It's stable as far as not lagging goes, don't get me wrong, but players and even myself on DM Client are unable to AFK for really any period of time, because it seems like every time I idle and come back to the screen I'm at the NWN menu, I believe this problem in itself has killed what population we had left. We did have 8 players on a day or two ago, which are a few new players combined with some old old players from years ago. I say we squash this problem were having with the connection issue first before doing anything else. We need to maintain the players we have and not let the Timed Out problem aggravate them into quitting like it has a handful of others.

  So what I can offer as far as me trying to host and still be able to be an RPDM is to try and get rid of the NWNX I currently have and download another one. If Rann is able to host the MOD with NWNX then there should be no reason that I cannot do it as well. If i'm still unable to get onto DM Client after that then we could explore the options of either bringing on someone else for the RPDM spot, or the option of a paid for host.

My post with what to do AFTER we get the stability fixed will follow a few minutes after this one! hehe <.<

So, the population is definitely down, it seems what population we have left is made up of new players, and players from years back, prior to even Felix hosting, mixed in with a few that have stuck it out this whole time, our "die hard" players!

I'm liking the idea of everyone coming together as one in Ranzington, especially with the fact that Axfell is basically non-existant. Hell, I could quarantine off Axfell now due to exactly what Cleaven is going through, progress Cleavens story to the Insane Mage gaining control of their fort as well. The lands of both Cleaven/Axfell could be ruled by the Mage/minions, with Frozen elementals covering their lands. ALL areas of the server will remain open except for each Fort directly, and Suaman Valley((For Cleaven)) Rustin Road((For Axfell)) ((This could remain until we have enough players to cause an eventual dispute/break off back to Cleaven/Axfell and they could go to war with the Insane Mage/Elementals that run their lands.)) We could remove the Asabi's or whatever the creature is called which consumes Seris Island, this would make it easy for recruits who would need access to the cave nearby for the kobolds, perhaps it would need the adding of an additional area within Seris Island for levels 1-10 or so to access while the sides are combined, which I could create myself.

If we didn't want to go the above route, but still wanted to combine factions in Ranzington then we would either have to come up with another RP reason((To avoid a wipe)) or we could wipe, and just take away the portals to Axfell/Cleaven and add one for Ranzington in A Dream((Still adding an area on Seris Island and keeping the areas of Axfell/Cleaven closed that I mentioned above))Though if we do it with a wipe we will have to come up with a way to get everyones ATS back to them, even the players whom are currently not even playing and would be unknown as to what their ATS skills are even at right now as well as the amount of EXP they have/which items/etc they would have to exchange out for gold value, so that all could become very time consuming in itself.((Not to mention multiple characters in vaults with items/levels/etc))



So IF we decided to go with a character wipe, I would suggest giving players either a percentage of their character levels on ONE character or giving them all of their EXP on ONE character. As well as a set amount of gold((which would of course be higher then what you would normally start out at.)) I think getting into the giving back of the ATS skills will get messy.

I'm positive I left things out and probably went off topic/etc, I will try and edit it as I look it over! <.<

If it would not be too much trouble, could you bring back the drow quest? We always had a lot of fun with it. Challenging enough so you need a group and good xp for high lvls.

I think where a wipe is involved it's always best to start completely fresh. No 'ancestral heritages' passed down from generations.

As a 'die hard' player for the last 2 years..

Is losing/regaining ATS a real setback?:

As for the new players, if any of them are against losing their gps/xps perhaps they should at least try to consider placing a priority towards the chance the server regains population instead of being 'petty'.
My stance hasn't really changed much, I've always been interested with Rann's idea of 1 faction set-up... I've never been a fan of wiping with 0 changes to the module... staying 2 factions right after a wipe which happened 2-3 months prior... (Like I've opposed before.)

Too difficult to return as an axfell player?:

-Also just thought of something... suppose if we follow through with the 1 faction plan.. and when the split happens...
Will it be a more so 'ooc-ish' server resets with usual 2-faction module.. with our new characters and we get our good/evil alignment settings and step through our chosen portals?
What if a character doesn't pick a side.. rp wise.. what if they've no real reason/motivation to 'go to war'?
Will it mostly come down to ic social aspects of.. 'Okay I'll kill those guys just because I've formed a friendship with these guys...'/'Okay I'll kill those guys because that guy with them uses undead... and I disagree with that life style' or an in depth/believable quest of betrayal providing a reason worthy of a life time commitment to war?

(In the first scenario.. what would be put in place to stop the result being as the server is now... 1 faction empty or a significant imbalance).

As far as a wipe goes I don't care. The only thing that's important to me if having people to play with and against. I agree with ThreeVals that if we did wipe we should switch some things up to make it a little different. I know that NWNX has some really sweet features that would be fun to play with. One I remember is you can raise the cap on attributes. There is also the server connection potential where we could have more PvP areas on another server. I picture a battle field of npcs of both factions spawning and meeting in the center for combat of which players could turn the tide.

Besides Ranns connection not being stable from a drop perspective it has yet to be tested with many players connected and playing at the same time. My vote would be to  use Raven or a paid host if we have someone who knows what they are doing.

Personally I think the only way this community can move forward is with a major overhaul. There are plenty of motivated and enthusiastic members that come through but are ignored. I've offered multiple times to create a new forum to make joining and promoting the server much easier and having less old information that is a turn off to new players. I have also volunteered my NFOservers game server for hosting. I tried to promote ideas and change and be respectful to others and value opinions but no one seems to care. I believe in this community and if there are enough people serious about it and willing to put in some effort and time things can change.

As for the ideas presented. There are not enough players to support two factions so combining factions is a must. Fresh start is what we need.

on a wipe
I don't see any reason for another wipe.

Some of the most successful servers and only remaining populated servers have had little to no wipes in the past. Especially RP.

One of the big things holding us back is culture, and the chance to be a legend and to walk among them, and to top them. Part of the draw for me coming here is the cultivation of in game relationships. I was reunited with 3 or 4 players when I came here from the old anph days I never thought I would see again. I haven't seen them since the wipe.

Drizzt isn't a household name because of one short novel. Lord of the rings series of books or game of thrones aren't successful because their authors killed everyone and started all new novels based in an identical setting.

The writings on the wall, for every wipe the population suffers,  do you get with wipes? Another race to 40 with a buch of boring cut and wash power builds and recycled personas, it just ends up feeling to me like the same characters all got hit on the head and got amnesia, forgot their names and sometimes what classes they played, but still to me the same. We're not all stellar role players or golden globe nominated actors, and IMO it takes a fictional character years to mature,  I'm personally not a method roleplayer, I can only really roleplay the dumb short tempered warrior or insane power hungry spellcaster. If there was a wipe I would just remake my character with a different name.

Even the mention of a wipe to me is insanity, yet people keep going there, it boggles the mind.

on bringing back the old vault

This for me personally would be a big draw, and a strong reason to be more active for me, and players like myself, not much more I can say to that.

on unification of the factions
It's a quick fix to amuse those still playing, but will not help in the long run, does not address the real issues.

Livening up the place/gaining and retaining players
The formula of one admin and one dm who between the two of them do not have the time and resources to admin/dm is not working if it was we wouldn't have the numbers we do now. There is more work involved in catching up to ravenloft population wise and getting our roleplayers/pvpers back who have left for other servers and games, it's a daunting task and the two of you can't do it alone IMO.

Right now we have what can be the core of a good team of people, I think threevals would be a great rpdm (roll your eyes all you want, one of the most entertaining roleplayers I've seen here), omega has volunteered to get new forums and a server, ive volunteered to help fund a server if need be, I'd even come back as an RPDM and could solidly comitt 5-10 hours a week on work weeks, and we have people left and right wanting to contribute who are discouraged from being ignored many of which have moved on. Some pretty brilliant minds who have stuck with us and are still trying to be heard. Start seeing the rest of us as a resource, before you run out of resources.


When you ask what should we do are you really asking what should I try to do on my own or I'll decide if it works for me, cause it sounds sometimes like you're trying to do to many things at once? People have been clammoring to help out and countless brilliant suggestions have been made yet until this thread not alot of open discussion has been had or any hint made that people are being listened to.

I get that there would be no players left if some people were switched to staff, that's where patience comes in, anph as an RP/PVP server was designed around an almost constant DM presence. Felix trusted me as a DM and I did a good job, numbers were up and people were more involved in their characters because of the DM interaction, I would sit for hours and just watch people. Character investment and roleplay quality ALWAYS increase in the presence of a DM, and the idea in someones head that a DM might be watching for their character to create an opportunity for an encounter via roleplaying or even being active will increase activity on an individual level.

In short, WE NEED MORE STAFF, we have great candidates, people need to start stepping up and say i can do this and be trusted with a share of the load, I wonder if anyone is even sending PM's and volunteering, is there any response even?

Really, the dictatorship thing isn't working, when Moth did it, it seemed like every waking hour was spent on the forums, on new scripts, on areas, on class tweaks.

Times have changed, we area less young and have less time, share the load.

sniqow wrote:on a wipe


Livening up the place/gaining and retaining players
The formula of one admin and one dm who between the two of them do not have the time and resources to admin/dm is not working if it was we wouldn't have the numbers we do now. There is more work involved in catching up to ravenloft population wise and getting our roleplayers/pvpers back who have left for other servers and games, it's a daunting task and the two of you can't do it alone IMO.

Sniqow you do have some good points..  But I just wanted to respond to this quick as I noticed you keep bringing it up..... I'm as active as I can/need to be with the amount of players there are on the server.  In my opinion a DM keeps the players there, it's up to other departments to fill the role on getting them there to begin with. The need to WANT to play at this server, and be active, you already mentioned Ravenloft at the bottom of your post so I will throw it in, it's a completely different server then Anphillia. Anphillia was around way before Ravenloft popped up, so sadly the population that left and went to Ravenloft are pretty much there for good, since they left Anphillia to go and play there. Anphillia is a great server but some people don't feel like starting over at this point in life(Real life) because they have to much going on /etc..

Look how long ago this game came out, hell you cannot even purchase it in stores anymore, you have to go to sites like gog.com and whichever others are out there to get it, and even then it's tough because they screw around with you on getting the CD keys to play online. So with that being said, all that is really left to do is bring back the OLD players that were playing here a year two, three, four, five ,six years back and get them into it all again. When the players come around that is when an RPDM steps up, and makes it so enjoyable that they don't want to leave.


If the players want to play they will play, the Dungeon Master is an enhancement to it all. I could remember many times which the server had 20+ players and not a single active DM, so please do not go blaming myself/Rann for the low player base unless you have actual facts on it.

And last but not least, I'd love to have another RPDM to help me out with stuff, but that is NOT what we need at this point in time. It doesn't make since to have 2+ RPDM's and 1 player on the server, so why even bring it up? YES, we need STAFF as in BUILDERS/SCRIPTERS/etc, but right now another RPDM is completely out of the question with the amount of active players/players we have in general. Once the player base increases to i'd say atleast 8-10 STEADY players, I can see adding another RPDM.

If the players want to play they will play, the Dungeon Master is an enhancement to it all. I could remember many times which the server had 20+ players and not a single active DM, so please do not go blaming myself/Rann for the low player base unless you have actual facts on it.

And last but not least, I'd love to have another RPDM to help me out with stuff, but that is NOT what we need at this point in time. It doesn't make since to have 2+ RPDM's and 1 player on the server, so why even bring it up? YES, we need STAFF as in BUILDERS/SCRIPTERS/etc, but right now another RPDM is completely out of the question with the amount of active players/players we have in general. Once the player base increases to i'd say atleast 8-10 STEADY players, I can see adding another RPDM.

You've got me wrong here, I wasn't just talking about DM's. Also, not blaming you, just saying two guys on staff is not enough, whatever the player load, no matter who it is. My point in this context is pretty grounded, as it comes from years of experience DM'ing Anphillia and playing since the mods beginnings.

sniqow wrote:same characters all got hit on the head and got amnesia, forgot their names and sometimes what classes they played, but still to me the same.

Guess it does get tiredly repetitive... But this server is primarily power builds.. for pve or pvp... otherwise there is no real point in getting them to lvl 40.

sniqow wrote:
Right now we have what can be the core of a good team of people, I think threevals would be a great rpdm (roll your eyes all you want, one of the most entertaining roleplayers I've seen here), omega has volunteered to get new forums and a server, ive volunteered to help fund a server if need be, I'd even come back as an RPDM and could solidly comitt 5-10 hours a week on work weeks, and we have people left and right wanting to contribute who are discouraged from being ignored many of which have moved on. Some pretty brilliant minds who have stuck with us and are still trying to be heard. Start seeing the rest of us as a resource, before you run out of resources.

Thanks Sniqow... You and I both know the reasons why I wouldn't be caught dead devoting myself to the degree that a RP DM should devote themselves... there is no need for anyone else to be told the reasons for them to ignore or deny.

I still recall rp moments as Myra.. (early years of this server) -didn't need any dm commands to try and rp with the few players we had.. even the Unties rp'd a little...
-And Vice... the funeral service he held... and party in the tavern... the weird/awkward rp of him having a 'wife' (female ally who he gave a 'ring' loot... yet rarely spoke with) and a 'girlfriend' (female ally who he danced/kissed/bickered with)

While it helps to have a person with dm commands to hand out xp or gp.. or enhance game play... it's possible for an average player to in certain ways enrich the game of others.

TheeVals wrote:

While it helps to have a person with dm commands to hand out xp or gp.. or enhance game play... it's possible for an average player to in certain ways enrich the game of others.

^ That is 110% true.  



Also folks, I re-downloaded this version of the MOD from my email I sent to Rann and I'm crashing when logging into the server via DM Client, even withOUT running NWNX, so i'm puzzled, as it works with the Anphillia Genesis MOD which is available at nwvault. I don't see how it could be the MOD itself because Rann is hosting the same thing, and able to log into DM while doing so.

However, if I go back to hosting, as it stands right now I will not be able to maintain my duties as a RPDM due to crashing on login. Sniqow has mentioned he would be able to come on as one though, that is always an option which i'm 100% open to.

I agree with Sniqow completely when he said "and we have people left and right wanting to contribute who are discouraged from being ignored many of which have moved on. Some pretty brilliant minds who have stuck with us and are still trying to be heard. Start seeing the rest of us as a resource, before you run out of resources"  

We need to start opening up those whom do have great ideas, or offering help with building/etc since we ARE trying to do things to make this server better and attract more players. If we have nobody at all to get us to where we wanna be((as in the needed Staff, which we do not have at all other then myself/Rann))then we need to start opening up to those around who are offering and atleast seeing if their ideas could work.

I can go ahead and say as far as scripting and building goes, no one will get access unless Moth agrees. He may not be super active, but this is still his creative vision for the most part. I understand he is in the process of removing the snow, which is super tedious especially for someone as detail oriented as he is. Also the 40+ benefits.

I think we can figure out what is wrong with Raven and the DM client. Are you using any sort of mods to the game? Such as NWNCX? Have you tried removing them to see what happens? I can log in to the DM or player client from the same computer where the server is hosted. I use NWNCX as a player, but when logging in as the DM I don't run it through NWNCX. In fact, as a player I run nwmain.exe and skip the overall nwn.exe file completely, but when I log in with the DM client I go through nwn.exe. Is that the same process you use Raven? I will also admit that sometimes the player or DM client does crash on the first or second try, but usually by the 3rd it works.

I believe we are about 99% decided that we will go back to Raven hosting. This will change the IP of the server again, so those of you who have been promoting us will need to update the sites where you've been promoting. At the same time, it seems to be the general consensus to add the old character vault in with the new one. The poll currently sits at 5-1. The possible benefits FAR outweigh the negatives in this. And with the 40+ benefits currently being worked on, having more characters that would be eligible for some of those benefits would be great. This move will free me up to be on as an administrative DM and return as a player.

With the possibility of losing Raven, we will add a new RPDM. I know sniqow is interested. I'm curious to know if there is anyone else also interested in helping and possibly adding more than one in the event we can't get Raven up and running. Please send me a PM if you are willing to help. If we don't ask you for help, please don't be offended. Having too many hands in everything gets complicated and can cause issues. I told Raven when he started he would be restricted to only DMing and not playing. I am also thinking of removing this restriction at least temporarily in the interest of having more in the pool of players. How does everyone feel about this?

Raven playing sounds good to me.
sniqow you shouldn't think of Rann hosting as a dictatorship. I for one know the consequences of letting eager players help out with the mod. All you can do is offer to help every so often and try not to take it to heart if your offers are not accepted.

TheeVals wrote:

While it helps to have a person with dm commands to hand out xp or gp.. or enhance game play... it's possible for an average player to in certain ways enrich the game of others.

Agreed! Personally I get overwhelmed in the DM client with the amount of possibilities. I find "dming" from my characters much easier.