Three Empires One Server

[BadAsh]

Now that Pandora�s Box will be opened with the U.S. Server Merging this Friday I think SOE should just let you play all 3 Empires on the new Uber-Markov and Uber-Emerald servers. Keep the one empire switch per 24 hour period restriction there to help curb spies, item trading, and people perpetually changing sides during a battle.

Why not allow people to play all three? The �down sides� to allowing people to play all 3 empires will be there anyway: Spying and Free Marketeering. All you have to do is have 2 people in your outfit willing to create secondary characters in the two enemy empires and you have spies and all the enemy gear you want.

Want Vanguards, Prowlers, or Magriders? No worries Trader Joe will bring them right over. Just wait at location X, he delivers vehicle and a full inventory/trunk of other empire specific items, we hack it taking the vehicle and items, and then we kill him for a little kill/xp bonus, he then respawns back at the enemy base to bring another vehicle and load of loot.

Want Intel? No worries Traitor Joe will go where we tell him and he will replay all relevant information such as CR5 commands, troop movements, back door defenses, etc.. Additionally, the more paranoid among us will always wonder about that �friendly fire accident" that happened "right at the most opportune time"... :(

My point to all of this you ask? The �harm� is done (will be done on Friday) so why not just let every player play all three empires if they choose? This will give people more variety of play and still be able to stay on the same server as their friends and that is a good thing. Also, you finally get to team up with the cool enemies you fought before� you know the ones that you had great battles with and had a mutual respect grow�

Also there are a number of players, like myself, that would log on each night and join the empire that NEEDED the help. This would help the server, help the battles be more even, provide more variety, and allow more friendships to grow� sounds all good to me. I don�t see a viable reason to only allow you to play 2 empires and not the 3rd one at this point.

BadAsh

[Veteran]

This is the tale of Traitor Joe! Couldn't pick a side like the other poor schmoe! Drops off some 'hammers and then comes back with mo'! Traitor Joe.... Traitor Joe!! Yee-haw!

But yes, looks like an akward, time consuming method of getting enemy gear will be available instead of just letting us hack enemy assets like we should.

[Liquidtide]

Are they going to have to do away with inter emprie tells? Sounds like they may.

I for one will not be having two characters on the same server. Too much of a paradigm shift each night switching back and forth. I will have a different empire character on each server though.

[Firefly]

I do not agree with the empire-switches. I think it's a huge mistake, and I see many others who feel this way. This will create a lot of wishy-washy fence sitters, not to mention people who engage in arms-trades (which takes away the fun of hacking a vehicle), and it also introduces characters who may or may not be alternates from another empire. I, for one, have no wish to have my combat planning known to the other empires- unlike the NC on Emerald, who like to announce major operations and let just about anyone into their Co-Op planning group... oops I mean "Tight security there!"

I do agree with the server mergers and I am curious to see how other server players will interact with the server that I play on. Now we find out if I have to add more CR5s to my ignore list...

... or better yet, un-ignore them to see the petty catfights.

[SilverLord]

This is a very good thing, and a very bad thing on the otehr hand. I can see many people logging on NC on Emerald, getting the battle plans from them, and then, logging on to TeamSpeak and telling his whole outfit what the NC are planning. This would just suck major...It's good for TR and VS but thats just wrong. This is a problem that will always have people whining. The devs have to make a choice and then stick to it on this one. This is also very good because we get bigger battles and hopefully this will make some big battles in the larger areas, the forests, the deserts, the grasslands. This might even make peoples systems go slower because of the many other people in one server, we will see though.

[BadAsh]

I agree with you guys 100%. However, the server merger is going to happen. Players being able to play more then one empire on the same server is going to happen. The decisions have been made. My post was more along the lines of getting feedback on the following:

Since all of the problems with allowing players to play two empires would exist if people were allowed to play all three why not just let everyone play on all three if that�s what they want to do? The harm is done. Why not expand on the beneficial side of things and give the players more choices and options?

BadAsh

[InfiniteStorm]

Lets face it though. Whether or not you do receive intellegence it won't matter that much. So you know where the NC are hitting. I couldn't tell by the three "massive enemy force" signs blinking on Oshur. Plus, if your engaged in a good fight and someone tells you, the NC are gonna attack Amerish, your not just gonna drop everything and head to Amerish, you'll continue fighting. And even if the enemy does get the drop on us, so we have to fight to get a base, big deal. Better than capping empty bases.

[Firefly]

I can see many people logging on NC on Emerald, getting the battle plans from them, and then, logging on to TeamSpeak and telling his whole outfit what the NC are planning. This would just suck major...
Don't worry about it- the NC broadcast all their battle plans over the official forums. "Hey we're gonna meet up and move out by 9pm EST on the 15th and attack the Vanu! Let's go!" That, and a few other glaring problems, contribute to the fact that the NC aren't really a threat anymore unless it's the NC zerg. On Emerald, it's the Vanu I am worried about.

I wouldn't go so far as to say that it's limited to intel gathering versus the NC, But I still do agree that it's a problem with empire-switching now available, and it needs to be eliminated.