6 months since I've logged in...

[Lobster]

How is the population looking in the evenings these days?

I remember when it was up around 1500+ on a busy night, but when I stopped playing in December it was busy when 700-800 logged in.

[Gan]

I've been playing since 1998 and I've never seen a busy night at 1500 except for huge merchant events before pay merchants became the thing, and that was only around 800 to 1000.

I remember when a heavy saturday nights of 800 plus would bog the system down so bad all's you could do was sit at a table and talk.

When did you experience the 1500 you're talking about?

[hectomaner]

on aol

[Drew]

Yeah 1500 was not uncommon, I saw northwards of 2000 on regular nights sometimes.

[sally]

now ya lucky if 500 are on

[Drew]

>who
>

Active Players: 614

Staff on duty:
GameHost Centauri
GameMaster Jharra

Use WHO HELP for more options.

[Gan]

Imagine 2000 players all stuffed into Landing, IMT, and RR.

My god it must have been crowded. I'm guessing that the only thing that could have handled that volume at that point in time was the server capacity of AOL.

2000 people online at the same time now would nuke the GS servers into oblivion.

[Drew]

Originally posted by Ganalon
Imagine 2000 players all stuffed into Landing, IMT, and RR.

My god it must have been crowded.

Yes, incredibly so. I usually rested in the secret workshop ("hidden" area in the catacombs for the voln quest, non-noded) and I was rarely ever alone if that gives you any idea.

[petroglyph]

I can even remember the game hitting 3000, one night.

Then it crashed.

I certainly don't miss the crowding, but sometimes I wonder what it would be like if population had stayed steady while the world expanded.

[Drew]

I miss the population, made the game feel much more alive.

[Snapp]

It did feel more "alive," but it was crazy as all hell. I like it the way it is now, I couldn't handle the constant chaos.

[Hulkein]

Originally posted by Ganalon
I've been playing since 1998 and I've never seen a busy night at 1500 except for huge merchant events before pay merchants became the thing, and that was only around 800 to 1000.

I remember when a heavy saturday nights of 800 plus would bog the system down so bad all's you could do was sit at a table and talk.

When did you experience the 1500 you're talking about?

It used to hit 2000 once in a while...

I personally loved all the constant chaos/interaction.

When it declined my enjoyment slowly went with it, considering it wasn't the small tight-knit game, and it wasn't the HUGE game, it was just a shell.

Sort of like a 600 pound person dropping to 250. All stretched out so they still look bad and not as fun to laugh at.

[Edited on 6-28-2005 by Hulkein]

[Janarth]

I liked it when there was like 2k on. Sure, Wehnimers was real packed and busy, but thats how its -supposed- to be; its a huge trading outpost in the north lands! The game was like a real life fantasy, you went out into the wilds, the further you went the more alone you were and the better treasure you got, then you went back to civilization to trade, barter, sell and join civilization again. Cities should feel like they are bustling. Back in the day, if yer character was a ranger, you stayed in Sylvaerend <sp?> and didn't go to Illistim, or camped near the shrines outside the cities. I sorta liked it. But thats just me...

[4a6c1]

Thats sounds cool. We should do that again. Why arent we doing that?

*snap snap*

MAKE IT HAPPEN PEOPLE!

[StrayRogue]

Originally posted by Janarth
Back in the day, if yer character was a ranger, you stayed in Sylvaerend <sp?> and didn't go to Illistim, or camped near the shrines outside the cities. I sorta liked it. But thats just me...

What? The EN hadn't even been built in "those days".

[Parkbandit]

I loved people packing into the Park. More people.. more scroll.. more movement..

More coins, gems and wands.

[AnticorRifling]

Originally posted by StrayRogue

Originally posted by Janarth
Back in the day, if yer character was a ranger, you stayed in Sylvaerend <sp?> and didn't go to Illistim, or camped near the shrines outside the cities. I sorta liked it. But thats just me...

What? The EN hadn't even been built in "those days".

Kind of what I was thinking.


You still see 700-800 during peak times.

[Janarth]

Originally posted by StrayRogue

Originally posted by Janarth
Back in the day, if yer character was a ranger, you stayed in Sylvaerend <sp?> and didn't go to Illistim, or camped near the shrines outside the cities. I sorta liked it. But thats just me...

What? The EN hadn't even been built in "those days".

I'm 23, I started playing when I was...12. I admit I'm no Kraki/Celtar and some of the details are fuzzy, but I remember around...sophmore year of college, when I started playing again, when it was still GS3 but after AOL (just went web based, play.net). As that point, the EN was released, and the population was still fairly high (I seem to remember more than 1000 weekday nights). That was great times. As for when it was still on AOL and I was 14, that wasn't as fun because you're right, there was no EN, a lot less "outlying lands" to go seek adventure, before returning to the bustle. That and the game wide lagfreezes sucked. But yeah, right when GS3 went to the web, I was pleased.

[Parkbandit]

Most people consider "Back in the day" as pre-AOL.

[AnticorRifling]

I consider back in the day to be the time before PB had his AARP card. Yes there was such a time.

[StrayRogue]

The EN was definately not prior to coming to the web. It was either a 99 or 00 release. Maybe even later.

[AnticorRifling]

I started in Feb of 00 and it wasn't out yet. So it might have been mid to late 00.

[Skeeter]

Originally posted by Parkbandit
I loved people packing into the Park. More people.. more scroll.. more movement..

More coins, gems and wands.

There was no park back in the day either. Just TSSW :P

[Anebriated]

I remember the days when the Landing used to be a big scary place to me. Was afraid to go my first time. I got to 20 in Icemule before I ever left. That was back when Stay, Tayre, Dainslef, Chica and a whole bunch of others whose names have been lost in time lived in Icemule. Good times.

[AnticorRifling]

I started in the landing and loved it. My favorite thing was the boot and log though, nothing like running to RR to hunt Krolvin, filling my up my cloak, pack, and disk with claids and using them for deed fodder in Hearthstone. I liked being able to hunt there but "live" in the landing (Garden niche West of the Park was home for me)

[Anebriated]

I too miss the boot. Did some good cash hunting before the boat was a factor.

[Hulkein]

Landing was my only home.

I liked how rough it was and how it was always the most populated.

[4a6c1]

K. So how do we go about making Gem awesome again so people come back, hmm?

[Skeeter]

Stage a coup, and roll the server back to GS3

[Drew]

Originally posted by JihnasSpirit
K. So how do we go about making Gem awesome again so people come back, hmm?


I have an idea for it, I'll post it sometime.



Originally posted by Skeeter
There was no park back in the day either. Just TSSW



When I left there was no park and when I came back about a year ago the first place I went was TSSW and I stood there for about five minutes thinking, "Man Gemstone is basically dead now." Then I headed to Land's End after that and thought the exact same thing (Land's End used to be just as crowded as TSC). Luckily I stayed around long enough to figure that people had moved. Although it still is a lot more dead than it used to be.

[Edited on 6-28-2005 by Drew]

[Stunseed]

Originally posted by JihnasSpirit
K. So how do we go about making Gem awesome again so people come back, hmm?

I dunno, but when you think of something, let me know.

[Artha]

Maybe if they started enforcing rules, actively discouraged OOG stuff while encouraging RP, and added something to do besides grind or sit, I'd restart my account.

[Tsa`ah]

Originally posted by Ganalon
Imagine 2000 players all stuffed into Landing, IMT, and RR.

My god it must have been crowded. I'm guessing that the only thing that could have handled that volume at that point in time was the server capacity of AOL.

2000 people online at the same time now would nuke the GS servers into oblivion.

Heh ... Imagine it less one town listed.

[Artha]

2000 people online at the same time now would nuke the GS servers into oblivion.
I doubt that the servers have gotten worse. It'd probably lag, but it'd also probably stay up.

[Latrinsorm]

You could always pick up forging, Artha. :)

[Artha]

.............


No thanks.