Suggestions Wanted - Cure for Loneliness

[Big Orc Man]

It's been brought up in a few threads that there is a trend of groups becoming so fragmented that times of low server numbers result in total isolation and, thus, boredom.
 
Some steps have been taken to try to act least stir groups up into cross-pollination a bit, but I'm wondering if anyone has any additional ideas.
 
Huge factional conflict is fantastic, and the fighting lately has made the setting a lot more interesting, but it'd be good to know if anyone knows how to handle that drawback.

[HalflingPower]

What is the drawback for curiosities sake?

I don't really understand the question.

[Big Orc Man]

When 15 people are on, they can interact.
 
When you're part of a 5-person offshoot faction, and you anger the other 10, you are stuck with your four friends.
 
When your four friends aren't on, it can become tedious and dull.
 
The obvious solution is to avoid all conflict.  But that would be terrible!
 
Hence, the thread.

[granny]

*raises her hand*

I'm a victim! And a culprit...

... and no, I have no idea of how fixing that stuff. But a particular high lvl quest that I could take each new reset by myself helped me lasting a bit longer without doing anything stupid.

... of course,  as time passed I did something stupid.

[The Band Played On]

One thing I'd like to say, and this isn't really a cure but I still think it's worth pointing out, is that the server center, and the PCs in the factions that represent these, necessarily are somewhat high maintenance. Watchers and people in high status positions will often ask for DM oversight due to their standing.

There currently is no equivalent in certain other areas, so those PCs who pushed conflict and thus are now exiled or whatever, become somewhat DM attention starved. I certainly don't think this is in any way intended, but it's the result none the less.

One thing that I feel would really help the morale of the players outside server center is small things like random NPC possessions to add flavor, the occasional bit of XPs for RP, plotting, etc., and the occasional event just for those PCs who can't go into Upper Sanctuary to enjoy the "everybody in" sorts of events that sometimes occur there.

Again, I understand that this is in large part a result of necessity, and perhaps a bit lower DM activity of late. But just knowing that DMs are with us and lending a hand would make people feel better and stick with the difficulties longer.

Beyond that, there's this thread that was started to give little scripted things to do. That would also help relieve new PCs as well as those who've died in quests and are struggling to gain their lost XPs back, as well as the lack of gold outsiders also sometimes suffer from.

[HalflingPower]

I thought the new focus on lower was to combat all of the aforementioned problems with being in exile.

Putting so much emphasis on making lower sanctuary an alternative to upper sanctuary is a great step towards solving the problem.

[MaimedGod]

I think people in both Upper/Lower/Nature/whatever have all suffered from the curse of loneliness. It's a natural result of the server population being divided as it stands right now - maybe have there be more obvious 'neutral ground' areas where the people could meet, or something, with some sort of enforced neutrality? No idea.

It's not just Lower PCs who go alone, for the record. There have been times when the entire server was in Lower and I was by myself in Upper.

[granny]

I like the decentralization.

Actually, it is better being an exiled person in EFU R than it was in EFU M.

Although, I must emphasize the same as TBPO: DM presence has helped a lot. Even more when I could not survive the ganks and the PvP by myself. Much of the story that we managed to develop even when swamped by all obstacles was much possible thanks to DM presence.

[Knight Of Pentacles]

Base all the factions around the same geographic location.  That way they HAVE to interact with one another.  I recall many times it being said that nature dwellers and Stewards especially "lived on a different server".  There could be some changes brought about in game to fix that I would hope.

[Blue41]

When 15 people are on, they can interact.
 
When you're part of a 5-person offshoot faction, and you anger the other 10, you are stuck with your four friends.
 
When your four friends aren't on, it can become tedious and dull.
 
The obvious solution is to avoid all conflict.  But that would be terrible!
 
Hence, the thread.

This pretty much nails it. Like Cap said, the suggestions made were in the mindset of trying to give people something meaningful to do if they are in the situation where they're all by themselves. If you don't have that, then that's when you see more alts, so that people can take their characters wherever the action tends to be.

DM presence is nice if you can get it, but I'd personally prefer it if it was a problem that you could fix yourself rather than counting on luck. After all, DMs are people just like everyone else, only so much time in the day and so on.

[Inquisitor]

When Nature was relatively dead I got into herbalism. I justified it ICly by saying my PC was also bored so he picked up a hobby (more or less). Maybe try taking advantage of some of the EFUSS to have fun experimenting, or maybe the DMs could make some skills more interesting. (Like, maybe allow consecration, etc. be able to perform actual scripted rituals that might result in 1/day riddle quests with a demon, etc.)

[The Band Played On]

Some ways to use the Archaeology skill with regards to all these ruins around Lower would be pretty cool, and fitting. The skill has no current use, and there's ruins everywhere where something could easily be done.

[Kinslayer988]

It was the same feeling that many outside of Mistlocke faced since that was where the focus was. Whereas if it was EFU:A and you got in trouble with one faction in the Dominion you could A) Ask docks to help B) Ask the order to help C) Ask the star village for help. There were set areas where people would gather and it allowed exiles from one place to know that there were still other people.

[Random_White_Guy]

When I get bored I log off and go play outside?

All in all though a lot of it has to do with the dangerzone effect of EFU.  When you're bored it can be a ton of fun to start an IC journal, update your personal character notes with some new plots, explore the furthest reaches of the Underdark with your four man crew, make up a new game (I once had a criminal who got bored and made up an entire dice game to con other PCs when bored.)

I mean even reccently I got bored and set up a cave with a cooking pot and a boulder for people to throw at each other.

What people are really looking for in EFU when they're bored is character interaction in a capacity of not getting their throat slit.  Underdark can be dangerous, you can't go to upper or you can't go to lower. Upper PCs can be just as bored as lower PCs in almost every way shape and form when nothing is going on, or people are beyond.

Bring back SHELKIN RAUS to his home sweet home of the Pissing Crone maybe?

[PanamaLane]

Lately I've been workning crazy hours 8pm-6am. When I log into efu, I'm typically one of three or four people on. So, this doesn't exactly address the point BOM is making, but I would say that being in the Auxiliary has proven to be a huge benefit even when no one is around. There are always repairs to be made, places to explore, etc that keeps me motivated to log in and run around a little.

I think if other factions could also provide the kind of quest/gold/exploration incentives, it would not be the end of the world if your faction mates are nowhere to be found. I imagine this is especially true with the "rebel faction". Give them things to do, gold to make, low xp or loot type quests that can keep people busy. I also agree with RWG, that mini games, gambling, etc are a good idea.