UI Home Screen / Multi Server Alternative

[Taranis]

So, first let me clarify that I am no technogeek - I do not pretend to understand all of the complexities of the issue.  That said, I recently played a few rounds of a Free to Play, first person shooter game, named "Ghost in the Shell".  Putting the merits of that other game aside, my observation is that in that instance, a players' "assets" (characters, guns, upgrades, etc...) are all tied to the player's account, not the server.  Once a player logs into their account, they then select the server they want to joint.  In other words, the sequence is the reverse of Naval Action's (where players select Server First).

If this were attempted in Naval Action - this type of solution would imply that:

1. a player would be in the same nation across all servers;
2. a player's friend list, outposts, buildings, officers, assets and asset locations would be the same on all servers.

Pros:

1. few character accounts, and thus fewer assets = smaller databases (and possibly fewer databases depending on backup configuration);
2. allows players to freely change servers without loosing everything (porting their experience/play to where the active time zones/servers are if they chose).

Cons:

1. restriction on the ability for some players to experience different nations in different environments;
2. some player outposts may be locked on one server but not on others.

Complications:

1. Commodity & resource quantities and resource prices would have to be synchronized across servers to avoid arbitrage between servers.  Note, this might actually help develop player trade from the greater critical mass of players interacting with a same stockpile.

Possible Un-intended pvp avoidance behavior:

1. Players that want to move/trade goods may be tempted to log on/off to the less active servers to move their goods (avoiding possible pvp encounters on the more active servers).

Solution to possible un-intended pvp avoidance:

1. Restrict the ability for a merchant to buy/sell goods on a server during levels of higher than average activity (ie: "business hours").
2. Add a tariff to players buying goods on one server and then selling them back on another server.
3. Add a timer restriction to keep players from quickly hoping onto one server after having just logged off from another server.

I am sure I am missing a number of additional aspects to this - but it might be an alternative solution that is worth considering.

Discuss.

Edited January 26, 2017 by TaranisPrime