Population balancing idea

[Solenoid]

Nothing else in here that wasn't said in April, and seems to be said every time this comes up that I can add. BUT:

While we're proposing hypotheticals to consider, it's worth positing that another hypothetical happening now is that people aren't joining because the balance is so lopsided. The test sample for this is one dude, me, so not exactly scientific, but in a discussion where "People might not join due to a cap because of hypothetical being unable to join the one they want because of it" I feel it's just as valid to say the same can be suggested of the status quo. It doesn't provide a solution sorry, but I've got nothing either way beyond an incredibly vague anecdotal observation that the recent DDOS attack switchover probably helps confirm the high population is a positive feedback loop of players wanting to play with players, not some kind of habit for picking 3.

Consider your sample size to be 3 now, and sample #3 concurs! I took a long break from RP because I was literally burnt out of playing with only 3-9 other players every single day, and 11-19 more at "highpop" hours for 4, which I was rarely around for. I don't enjoy the classic-like, grief-prone atmosphere that develops on 75-80+ player RP rounds, but I also dislike the super lowpop ghost-town vibes. Honestly, I think there are more people who would be willing to play if the servers weren't looking like 66 vs. 3 or 75 vs. 10 so consistently. I've seen this sentiment echoed on discord, too, and I think fixing the population imbalance could get more people wanting to play more often, and bring back old players who don't like the current imbalance who have taken a break.