Something radical, Something wackey!

[Archipelego 2188]

A system such as this is for a new server entirely, not an entire reconstruction of one such as LoTC. While I see it as being enjoyable, I simply don't think you could implement it anywhere near flawlessly, and you would also remove the distinct feel LoTC has always had, for as long as I have been here.

[Danny 2232]

Oh good god, I feel sick. 

 

If the server was to adopt this approach then you can wave goodbye to LotC. Anyone who's been around for more than four years has seen first hand the completely destructive impact that implementing restrictive measures and moving towards hard-roleplay has had on the server and it's exactly what we need to not do. Let's just remember what LotC actually is: that it's not a hard-roleplay server. Never has, and never will, LotC aim to be a DnD replica in Minecraft. Rather, LotC's original aim and continued aim is to provide a 'Minecraft-Roleplay' experience whereby its players are able to enjoy the features of Minecraft whilst also enjoying the ability to roleplay. The server's mechanics must be designed accordingly to fit that experience, thereby creating a dynamic, immersive world where players have the freedom to experience both of these things. That's what LotC is. Attempting to turn it into an aesthetically beautiful but no-touch world where players have little to no impact is something that is simply ludicrous. If that's what you want from your roleplay server, then frankly you need to go elsewhere, because that is not what LotC exists to offer. LotC's success lay in its recognition that it wasn't DnD-in-Minecraft, but also that it wasn't an MMO. Rather it is a server where you play Minecraft and enjoy only limited restrictions on vanilla Minecraft but where you also enjoy mechanics designed to enhance your ability to create, develop and play a character of your choosing.

 

I happen to agree with you with regards to staff needing to exercise more control over the playerbase - that's what they exist to do, to guide the server and roleplay in a way that's to the benefit of everyone. As such, I still believe that staff need to force the consolidation of the playerbase into a smaller set of nations so that roleplay can be centralised and not as widely dispersed as it is at present. They also need to start to actually control the way that players conduct themselves on our mediums to actually return LotC to a place where it has a decent reputation rather than being known for its trolls and idiotic meme'ing. The excessive meme'ing and inclusion of OOC jokes in roleplay need to be eradicated and the use of Skype as an extension of the in-character world needs eliminated. These are all actions that do need taken to enhance the roleplay experience of our members.

 

The one thing that absolutely does not need done and must not be done is to repeat the same playerbase-killing and experience-destroying mistake of turning our world into a look-don't-touch static world. There's a reason why LotC's playerbase is so minute now, why people have left and grown so dissatisfied. It's because of map-after-map of failing to provide what we promise to offer - that 'Minecraft-Roleplay' world people can interact with but also roleplay in. What 6.0 requires isn't a no-touch policy but instead a completely hands-on freebuild policy to be enacted, and that's exactly what I, and other's, am arguing for passionately to be brought to the server again - we need to realise where we've gone wrong and take corrective action, and by implementing a system of 'Controlled Freebuild' where we enable the playerbase to interact with the world but put measures into place which ensure they do so in a way that keeps with our roleplay ideals, that enhances their roleplay experience and that protects us from people's crappy building skills and griefing, we can actually make LotC a decent place to play on again. The implementation of this in a way that pushes and pulls people to the centre, which is what I've outlined elsewhere, is how we can centralise roleplay effectively and do so in a way that does not hamper people's experience like your proposed system does.

 

100% agree with you on the removal of fast-travels. These are the symptom of poorly designed maps that do not recognise the Minecraft-caused need for capital cities to be located close to one-another. If we have a map that recognises the faults of previous one's, capitals will be located within easy access of each other ensuring that these capital cities and the road that connects them grow to become roleplay hubs. The introduction of exclusive mechanics to these cities and the provision of services only available in them only furthers this and provides players with a guarantee of where they can find roleplay.

 

I also can't fathom your proposed system of in-game whitelisting which removes the entire point of the application process. The current system enables human-on-human contact in an effective way that tests both people's knowledge of the server and their ability to create a believable and workable character. It ensures that the players that we get on the server are those that can engage with our current community in a way that benefits everyone and protects us against people that do not understand that it's a 'Minecraft-Roleplay' server rather than an MMO. The whitelist system exists for a reason, it's always worked well and will continue to do so.

 

Whilst it is always good to see people passionately arguing what they wish to see from the server and how they feel it should be saved, the reason for dwindling player numbers isn't the application process but is the result of the constant repetition of mistakes for the past five years that have taken the server down the route that you are now advocating we return to. You suggest these things need to be done to make LotC not die, I suggest that what you're proposing effectively shoots a bullet into the server's head. LotC needs to re-engage a disillusioned playerbase and recreate the appeal which saw its peak. The only way it can do that is by re-finding it's 'Minecraft-Roleplay' roots and move away from both the MMO-driven approach it now finds itself following and ignoring the hard-roleplay DnD-esque ideas that turn it into a niche.

 

6.0 indeed offers a great opportunity for the server, but only if it learns from the past rather than repeats it.

[HedgeHug 2049]

37 minutes ago, Rob Boss said:

 

8 minutes ago, Danny said:

 

Your arguments are solid and acknowledged, the only counterarguments I present are as follows:

 

- right now, with the nexus region system, for the common player 80-90% of the world is see-don't touch. I don't see why we should just even the field and let building be completely done by designated staff and some appointed builders. With WE and Creative to their disposal in order to ensure quality of builds. Remove the week-long dirt pits that are under construction and keep an even level of build styles and build quality.

 

- "the whitelist system works" *pulls up statistics* - *shows an indication of decline* tadaaaaaaa. Making the application system faster and easier, and through the game might be less human to human, but it will bring more people on the server. More people = more potential players that will stay and rp on a regular basis. More players = more donations. More donations = the server lives.

 

 

[Danny 2232]

20 minutes ago, Hedgehug said:

Your arguments are solid and acknowledged, the only counterarguments I present are as follows:

 

- right now, with the nexus region system, for the common player 80-90% of the world is see-don't touch. I don't see why we should just even the field and let building be completely done by designated staff and some appointed builders. With WE and Creative to their disposal in order to ensure quality of builds. Remove the week-long dirt pits that are under construction and keep an even level of build styles and build quality.

 

- "the whitelist system works" *pulls up statistics* - *shows an indication of decline* tadaaaaaaa. Making the application system faster and easier, and through the game might be less human to human, but it will bring more people on the server. More people = more potential players that will stay and rp on a regular basis. More players = more donations. More donations = the server lives.

 

 

0

 

 

I shall keep funky communist gif in the above quote despite it not being part of your response to me, if only to jazz this drunken thread even more.

 

My views on the current systems are well known now. The server right now is in a horrific state but to completely restrict builds is to kill it more. If you head over to the Regions 2.0 Your View thread you'll see my argument for a 'Controlled Freebuild' that ensures high standards of build quality and also provides a solution to the currently terribly dispersed status of roleplay. Building is a central part of Minecraft and we must ensure people remain able to do it.

 

I understand the argument about whitelist = declining population but to put it simply, correlation =/= causation. The old application formats used to be ten times more inconvenient and the server still had ten times more applicants and active players. The issue isn't the whitelist which is an effective way to filter in only the players the server desires rather than just everyone, rather the issue the server has is its appeal to new players and the experience it offers to current ones.

 

From the outside the server looks absolutely crap. It's filled with constant complaining threads, it's filled with bickering and arguments, meme'ing and trolling and it's external presence to the wider Minecraft community is non-existent. 

 

Then, when we do somehow manage to attract someone, they're thrown into a world where they can't play Minecraft, they've got no idea where to find roleplay because it's so dispersed and even when they do they're then restricted and forced to grind thanks to Nexus. No wonder everybody leaves. 

 

The server needs to boost its external presence via communication with YouTubers, actively marketing itself in the wider Minecraft community and exploring 6.0 to reengage its lost and disillusioned playerbase via a marketing email campaign pre and post launch.

 

But before that, we need to refind ourselves and provide what made LOTC successful rather than the crap we offer now. The world needs to be dynamic and interactive, roleplay needs to improve in quality and nation leaders need to be forced to ensure new players are welcomed and embraced, Nexus needs to be taken off immediately and replaced by a benefits-based non-restriction skills system and 6.0 needs to be shrunk in size so that capitals (one of which for each race) are accessible in short distances.

 

Then we can begin to scale ourselves up, introducing and allowing more nations and enjoying that growing playerbase because we actually provide what LOTC grew known for and what people sought from it. Until then, we're still sailing down **** creek without a paddle.

 

Apologies for any errors, mobile site is not too friendly for writing big posts. 

[monkeypoacher 8055]

6 hours ago, Gob said:

I'd rather see Wolfkite in the administration.

0

 

 

jesus christ, this all sounds terrible. 

 

it's the precise opposite of what should be happening on the server.

 

What you're proposing is that we become Massivecraft.

 

Massivecraft is an awful server with a quarter of the number of roleplayers we have. the quality of roleplay on massivecraft is abysmal. Since there is no whitelist and severely lacking moderation, banned players on massivecraft alt almost invariably. There have been multiple scandals on massivecraft involving underaged players ERPing. The mean age of massivecraft players is significantly lower than ours. Massivecraft is a far more expensive server than ours.

 

I would rather stab my balls with an ice pick than see this server turn into a no-whitelist, 100% no-touchy dollhouse for 12-year-olds to dress up as "nobility" and roleplay sex. 

 

[argonian 14254]

oh god no last thing we need is more horrendous bureaucracy and dollhouse maps

[HedgeHug 2049]

18 minutes ago, Tavern_Roleplay said:

Massivecraft is an awful server with a quarter of the number of roleplayers we have. the quality of roleplay on massivecraft is abysmal. Since there is no whitelist and severely lacking moderation, banned players on massivecraft alt almost invariably. There have been multiple scandals on massivecraft involving underaged players ERPing. The mean age of massivecraft players is significantly lower than ours. Massivecraft is a far more expensive server than ours.

 

I would rather stab my balls with an ice pick than see this server turn into a no-whitelist, 100% no-touchy dollhouse for 12-year-olds to dress up as "nobility" and roleplay sex. 

You do understand that this is completely irrelevant right?

[monkeypoacher 8055]

Just now, Hedgehug said:

You do understand that this is completely irrelevant right?

0

 

 

It's completely relevant, because it's what you're proposing. Your original post is suggesting we convert to the Massivecraft model. I do not know how else to criticize it.

[HedgeHug 2049]

Just now, Tavern_Roleplay said:

It's completely relevant, because it's what you're proposing. Your original post is suggesting we convert to the Massivecraft model. I do not know how else to criticize it.

 

If the system suggests similarities to that of massivecraft, bringing up details on said server is irrelevant. We're talking about LotC. You talk of this as if a static map will bring minor erp'ers because "so has massivecraft"

 

we're talking about a concept, not other servers and whatever it is that is controversial about such.

[monkeypoacher 8055]

Just now, Hedgehug said:

 

If the system suggests similarities to that of massivecraft, bringing up details on said server is irrelevant. We're talking about LotC. You talk of this as if a static map will bring minor erp'ers because "so has massivecraft"

 

we're talking about a concept, not other servers and whatever it is that is controversial about such.

0

 

 

No, I'm suggesting that if we remove our whitelist, our server won't be equipped to stop people from ERPing (or any other rulebreaking), and that the mean age of the server will decrease.

 

If we create a static map, the playerbase will die. That's my argument.

[HedgeHug 2049]

Just now, Tavern_Roleplay said:

No, I'm suggesting that if we remove our whitelist, our server won't be equipped to stop people from ERPing (or any other rulebreaking), and that the mean age of the server will decrease.

 

If we create a static map, the playerbase will die. That's my argument.

You're horrible at both reading and bringing up valid points to support your arguments.

 

I'm not even going to bother.

[monkeypoacher 8055]

3 minutes ago, Hedgehug said:

You're horrible at both reading and bringing up valid points to support your arguments.

 

I'm not even going to bother.

0

 

 

If you'd like a well-written response to your post, I'd suggest re-reading Danny's two replies, where he argues why each of your individual suggestions would be harmful to our playerbase.

[Sander 3312]

I require a "Get yo *** back ovah here" option at the last question ;-;

Interesting points though, surely worth discussioning

[gandalfo 1452]

Moved to The Great Library. It shall be sorted into the appropriate category shortly.

 

If you feel this is a mistake, please contact myself or any FM and we'll restore it.