It just seems that servers are mucho more enjoyable when you have people you know on your server, then you can throw caution to the winds, forget about rules, and just get to what makes the game fun. everyone has opinions about how the MP part of this game
should be, and that's why we have our choices of which server to spend time on. There's probably at least a 100 servers on the list every day. a shame that many seem to go unnoticed.
Freeport 9 is cool if you don't mind being neutral to all faction, which leaves you to pick your own faction by whatever means necessary. I've also been to servers that start you out as a liberty rogue. it really ups the challenge and fun level when you're running from the authorities, while having some powerful pirate factions as allies. The xeno server was a monster challenge since just about everyone hates you. One server plopped players right in freeport 9, and locked the jumpgates out of the edgeworlds, forcing a very confined game that was focused on the feud between the corsairs and outcasts, and that was a nice change from the typical freelancer MP game.
I myself host my own server (freelancer heaven) and change things around daily. some players were fortunate to have the juni defender or the anubis fighter. others started out with a stripped down rhino, while some entered as a pirate. I cycle the starting ships and factions daily to keep the gameplay varied and interesting, and throwing a few contests on the side to reward players who dedicate themselves to my server. but for all the things I try to do, the one truth I realized is that my server is just another out of hundreds. some people like it, some visited it a few times, and others don't care for the randomness I've put into my server, but that's just my own style.
This game is about having fun, and there's hundreds of servers to choose from. I've bought friendships hiring escorts, and have mercilessly destroyed other friends as part of the faction I represented at the time, but it was fun for everyone involved.
The most complaints I've read here, and the ones I see popping up in servers I been to are from people who just picked up the game and dived into MP. To those people I say this: play the game through once, then try out MP so you're not so disadvantaged. To people who complain about getting killed "unfairly", find other like minded people in the server and team up with them till you can fend for yourself. To the hosts of these servers, your job is to make sure everyone is having a fun time so they keep comming back tomorrow and the next day. If some players are ruining what you intended for your server, ie. cheating, flaming and being a general griefer for their own amusement, you're obligated to take steps. To the veterans who sympathize with newbs to MP and try to guide them to greater things, I applaud you. To players who delight in causing misery in others for their own twisted amusement, I only have this: DON'T GO TO MY SERVER!
remember, you share this virtual game world with others. fun is what's most important, not how well you can kill someone who's grossly outclassed, not how much creds you can aquire in under 2 hours, not your piloting skills, or lack of. respect others and still have fun. If you're not having fun, just go to another server, and why are we soooo off topic here? :p anyway, I'm done now.
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There is no knowledge that is not power.