Cinn
Banned Jerk
I don't play this game much anymore. I log on to kill a few mobs with friends every once in a while. Chat in vent. Hang out in IRC. Help random people with random questions. I'm done playing seriously, but I'm still a casual member of the community.
When I started on this server back in Winter's Roar the game was a lot different. Everything was different really. From the zones, to the mechanics to the content to the staff. The game felt new, and was new to me. You had a small group of people, who cared, passionately, about a little emulator project they were working on. As a player back then you could tell.
The community was smaller. There were lots of bugs, but there was also lots of fun. I enjoyed the time I've spent here. I particularly enjoy the time I spent just starting out. Things were different back then, but they were fun.
There's been lots of changes since there. Lots of class tweaks. Lots of content additions. Complete overhauls to the game. Most of these are wonderful. In-fact almost all of these are wonderful additions to the game. Sure, some of them might not have turned out how we initially intended. There were unforseen balance issues with the additions of tomes. The drastic spike in character strength. The way keyed zones operated and were enforced. Lots of little things had to be altered to accommodate for growth and change.
Nothing inherently wrong with that. Just what had to happen for the server to progress.
Like I said, I don't play much anymore, and I don't intend to ever fully come back, but I'm still an active member of the community. And for the most part it's a good community. The staff has done a decent job of preserving this. That atmosphere of a small group of friends that stretched the entire server across zones and guilds.
There's been a lot of talk about the current staff recently. About the way things are ran now. The way problems are handled. The way that issues and disputes are dealt with and the severity of punishments.
People go overboard with their hate and frustration, claiming blatant staff incompetence. A lack of understanding of "their" game. That the current staff is completely and totally out of tune with the needs of the server.
It's silly really. Sure, there are always issues that some players will be more familiar with than certain staff members, but people act as if some of these current changes are malicious or something. I assure you, having seen and been present for almost all of these changes, and having played and experienced content and revisions done by every dev to have worked on this server, it just isn't the case.
What I would ask is that if the dev team makes changes. At the very least publicly announce things. It's just common courtesy to the playerbase.
There has however also been a drastic change in the way GM's handle situations. As the server has grown and as more problems have arisen the GM staff over the years has felt the need to hard code a variety of rules into their books. Where once situations were dealt with on a case by case basis, with flexibility given to the GM and a fair amount of room for common sense and decency to be given to a situation or petition there is now an iron fist of nerdlaw.
These changes to policy are not unfounded. There is certainly benefits to having clear cut rules with no room for personal feeling, input, reasoning or intent. Petitions can now be handled with the all the swiftness and care of a robotic arm capping bottles. Accounts can be guest locked with iron bars. This certainly makes things easier. Leaves little room for blame or dispute. The rules are written on the wall, plainly visible to all. Stray from the lettering and be stricken down.
The problem with this is that it removes that feeling of care and compassion that players used to feel for the staff and the GM's who helped them enjoy this server. There used to be a feeling of well, everyone was in it together. If there was something that bugged in the client. If the server, that was and is constantly under repair and construction, misbehaved or glitched, items or progression would be restored. Handled on a case by case basis.
When someone loses an item, loses a mob, loses progress in a zone because of server malfunction or circumstances out of their control such as account theft or any number of reasons, the player feels slighted. Anyone would. When a GM can swoop in and save the day, and in turn make the server a more welcoming and inviting place, a more enjoyable place, why shoudln't they?
Well, because if they do chances are they are breaking one of the thousand rules written on the wall or in their handbook. Which in turn calls for more punishments dictated by more rules and more grief and misery for both players and staff.
What I'm trying to say here is things used to be different. Situations, all situations, were handled or tried to be handled on a case by case basis, with thought given to all circumstances and common decency was applied. Things were better then.
If we could take a step back I think the entire server could benefit from more leniency. Rules are great, they keep and maintain order and preserve the server that we've all contributed to building and maintaining over the years. When these rules start disregarding common sense or when situations could be resolved with smiling faces on both sides of the fence, why are we taking the easy way out and letting a million rules dictate rulings when simple common sense and politeness could be substituted. When players could come away with happy faces and the confidence that the staff truly cares about their enjoyment of the game, why let iron clad policy dictate staff decisions.
The staff aren't stupid. They care about the game. Give them the freedoms they once had to handle situations on a case by case basis. Give them some breathing room for their decisions, and trust. trust. that they will do the right thing. Because I'm sure that's their intentions.
I don't know. Just something to think about from a player who's been around a while.
When I started on this server back in Winter's Roar the game was a lot different. Everything was different really. From the zones, to the mechanics to the content to the staff. The game felt new, and was new to me. You had a small group of people, who cared, passionately, about a little emulator project they were working on. As a player back then you could tell.
The community was smaller. There were lots of bugs, but there was also lots of fun. I enjoyed the time I've spent here. I particularly enjoy the time I spent just starting out. Things were different back then, but they were fun.
There's been lots of changes since there. Lots of class tweaks. Lots of content additions. Complete overhauls to the game. Most of these are wonderful. In-fact almost all of these are wonderful additions to the game. Sure, some of them might not have turned out how we initially intended. There were unforseen balance issues with the additions of tomes. The drastic spike in character strength. The way keyed zones operated and were enforced. Lots of little things had to be altered to accommodate for growth and change.
Nothing inherently wrong with that. Just what had to happen for the server to progress.
Like I said, I don't play much anymore, and I don't intend to ever fully come back, but I'm still an active member of the community. And for the most part it's a good community. The staff has done a decent job of preserving this. That atmosphere of a small group of friends that stretched the entire server across zones and guilds.
There's been a lot of talk about the current staff recently. About the way things are ran now. The way problems are handled. The way that issues and disputes are dealt with and the severity of punishments.
People go overboard with their hate and frustration, claiming blatant staff incompetence. A lack of understanding of "their" game. That the current staff is completely and totally out of tune with the needs of the server.
It's silly really. Sure, there are always issues that some players will be more familiar with than certain staff members, but people act as if some of these current changes are malicious or something. I assure you, having seen and been present for almost all of these changes, and having played and experienced content and revisions done by every dev to have worked on this server, it just isn't the case.
What I would ask is that if the dev team makes changes. At the very least publicly announce things. It's just common courtesy to the playerbase.
There has however also been a drastic change in the way GM's handle situations. As the server has grown and as more problems have arisen the GM staff over the years has felt the need to hard code a variety of rules into their books. Where once situations were dealt with on a case by case basis, with flexibility given to the GM and a fair amount of room for common sense and decency to be given to a situation or petition there is now an iron fist of nerdlaw.
These changes to policy are not unfounded. There is certainly benefits to having clear cut rules with no room for personal feeling, input, reasoning or intent. Petitions can now be handled with the all the swiftness and care of a robotic arm capping bottles. Accounts can be guest locked with iron bars. This certainly makes things easier. Leaves little room for blame or dispute. The rules are written on the wall, plainly visible to all. Stray from the lettering and be stricken down.
The problem with this is that it removes that feeling of care and compassion that players used to feel for the staff and the GM's who helped them enjoy this server. There used to be a feeling of well, everyone was in it together. If there was something that bugged in the client. If the server, that was and is constantly under repair and construction, misbehaved or glitched, items or progression would be restored. Handled on a case by case basis.
When someone loses an item, loses a mob, loses progress in a zone because of server malfunction or circumstances out of their control such as account theft or any number of reasons, the player feels slighted. Anyone would. When a GM can swoop in and save the day, and in turn make the server a more welcoming and inviting place, a more enjoyable place, why shoudln't they?
Well, because if they do chances are they are breaking one of the thousand rules written on the wall or in their handbook. Which in turn calls for more punishments dictated by more rules and more grief and misery for both players and staff.
What I'm trying to say here is things used to be different. Situations, all situations, were handled or tried to be handled on a case by case basis, with thought given to all circumstances and common decency was applied. Things were better then.
If we could take a step back I think the entire server could benefit from more leniency. Rules are great, they keep and maintain order and preserve the server that we've all contributed to building and maintaining over the years. When these rules start disregarding common sense or when situations could be resolved with smiling faces on both sides of the fence, why are we taking the easy way out and letting a million rules dictate rulings when simple common sense and politeness could be substituted. When players could come away with happy faces and the confidence that the staff truly cares about their enjoyment of the game, why let iron clad policy dictate staff decisions.
The staff aren't stupid. They care about the game. Give them the freedoms they once had to handle situations on a case by case basis. Give them some breathing room for their decisions, and trust. trust. that they will do the right thing. Because I'm sure that's their intentions.
I don't know. Just something to think about from a player who's been around a while.
