Your View: On Course—Off Course?

[Mannamannaa 1626]

Also, @Telanir

 

Whatever comes of all these words, please make sure there are actual actions to follow up on the declarations of "we will make it great again I promise". If staff bias is an issue, remove the problem children. Same for OOC toxicity. If you wanna support RP and not clicks the tech upgrades should reflect that. Hell, stricter rules on nation/tile decisions needing to be made IRPly instead of in private discords would help alleviate the rampant political metagaming.

 

Don't pander to the revolving door of leadership cliques, make the server better for the common player that doesn't have thousands of spare minas and evict pex. 

 

Oh and maybe set up some exclusivity between being staff with pex and being a realm PRO?

 

 

Just... Actually do, instead of talk.

 

[wolfdwg 1497]

I abhor CRP-Default. Not only is it rife with issues of elitism and clique based magics, but its unnecessarily long to the point it might take 3 irl hours to resolve a conflict if both parties want to 'win'. And who doesn't like winning?

 

Defender Default was perfect as it gave the victim of an "attack" the right to choose. Whether they wanted their conflict in paragraph form with convoluted, sometimes outdated, or straight up contradictory rules and lore. Or by Mechanical means. I don't want to have to know the whole knowledge of the deep lore of meta-wizards to know what my sword's material, who made it, or if the lore is still implemented. If someone attacks me let me click them. I attack someone and they want CRP so be it.

 

[Wizry 358]

3 hours ago, Jentos said:

Inciting the ST into making sudden and surface events, or even rapid event lines with some depth has the potential to imbibe a lot more "life" into the server. Young little me was so impressed by the fact that ST's back in Vailor used to roll up on you with monsters all of a sudden and with no prior mention. It felt like even travelling you weren't exactly safe from event monsters. Personally, I'd love to see ST go absolutely wild with Event Creatures.

 

 

To add onto this.

 

The world feels uniquely large - and uniquely empty at the same time. There is very little outside the cities that can be interacted with in a way that functionally helps create a storyline for the members involved.

 

I feel as if this map requires and needs event members to expand upon the map and provision interactions. Because it does feel like that my character is not inhabiting a living breathing world, but instead a painting of a cool setting.

Edited August 16, 2023 by Wizry
Grammar edits.

[Twodiks 483]

we dont need a play pit like wz or beta for pvpers to keep them occupied, its like you're trying to paint an bad picture when others have made better points about pvps place on the server

Edited August 16, 2023 by Twodiks

[Jentos 6882]

Who doesn't like winning?

 

Those who play for the sake of a story. 

 

If approached IRP I will unironically teach most counters to magics and creatures if only you have the patience for it and sweep out your concerns of elitism and clique-based magic by showing you how to absolutely nail them in the head.

 

The length of CRP is also often complained about. Unfortunately, that's up to patience, good coordination, good will, and even better willingness to communicate and engage healthily with an opponent. LOTC at its best is when players are capable of setting up interactions with each other that feel natural and engage each other, not in the unabashed, toxic, brain-seeping-through-the-ears violent quest to win in a virtual game, but in the sense of writing a history of depth. Unfortunately most players, especially some of the older ones (and the very new ones), clench their fists and blow steam through their ears at the thought of losing. It's not easy, and it requires a complete shift of emotions and perspectives, to the point of reconsidering why you are playing this game in the first place. 

 

People often lack the time to be able to engage with the server as much as they'd want. I certainly don't. But I make that time to treat this place as a hobby. I don't engage in conflict often, but when I do, I accept the fact it might take a while, and so plan accordingly. Don't get me wrong, I love PVP, but it has its time and its place within what is a largely RP oriented environment. See, LOTC isn't about rushing things or immediately trying to have fun, it's about patience, and figuring things out. There's also a lot of luck involved in finding the right people to figure things out. I say this as a once majorly stupid, young, and naive human player who then got swept into magic rp (I may still be stupid, young, and naive). 

 

Most human nations and hardcore players never really involve themselves in those aspects sadly, the last ones which did (mind you a few human factions are far more involved than before but this was not always the case) were the Lectors, and they were not only extremely successful but adored by most of the server. Why? Because they never lived secluded in a microcosm of rp, treating the rest of the server like an anomaly that didn't fit in their own conceptions of what it should be. The lectors readily involved themselves in many communities, magics, and events rather than treating them like oddities. Instead of only complaining about how terrible the magic players were they figured out how to deal with them and took care in delivering effort in their roleplay. Also they were funny. 

 

TLDR if a bunch of late 20's and 30 year old men can deal with the server's complexities, anyone else should at least take a shot at it 

[FlemishSupremacy 4930]

I do think that in general, the server has improved community, toxicity and safety wise since say, a few years ago, but we've still got a long road to go. It's very positive that for the most part, communities grooming their young members into subscribing to an abhorent, racist and hateful worldview has been purged. Similarly, I think safety is taken much, much more seriously than prior to the whole tango ban situation. This is all very good and I hope we can continue this trend.

However, in more recent times, we have also seen the administration team repeatedly unban very serious offenders AND repeat offenders of toxicity rules. Xray as often as you like for all I care, but if you've consistently shown to be unfriendly and hateful to people who don't align with your IRP goals or your IRL worldview, you really don't need to be given a 2nd, 3rd or 4th chance. Likewise, players that were toxic and got banned but have since mellowed out may not be so mellow if they're put back into potentially stressful conflict situations.

I've seen plenty of cases were people swore that someone was reformed or grew up, only for them to be just as toxic the second they got thrust back into mineman wars or mineman politics. It's easy to be chill to others when you don't have a stake in any of the conflicts going on.

I also think that in cases of toxicity, harrassement, etc, victims should be approached, in private, for their opinion. It shouldn't require them making a big forum post and getting a community riot in their favour for their comfort on the server to be protected from past offenders.

Bring back villainy blacklists. I feel like very often, people who constantly get infractions and bans for conflict related stuff come back from their ban, join back up with their previous group of bandits/mercenaries/etc and fall right back into the same behavior. A villainy blacklist did work, and allowed players the chance to explore other avenues of the server without the stress of player versus player scenarios, and it may teach them to appreciate these other aspects of the server. Clearly defined boundaries to this blacklist are essential, though. I really do not believe that villainy blacklists are as restrictive as some people think. You're still allowed to defend your hometown against outside threats. If all you are willing to do on the server is attacking others IRPly, that's fine, if you do it in a fun and amicable way towards your opponents, but if you are unable to do that, maybe consider doing some other RP during your blacklist (like learning a new skill on your character, or exploring a new place).

A big addition to the villainy blacklist should also be the return of rules against "poor villainy". If you're just going around robbing lone wanderers of everything of value constantly, while trying to press for pvp, being unkind to them, or putting in low effort emotes, that should be an offense for which you could get a villainy blacklist. When I joined, it was this way, and quite frankly, it worked decently enough back then. If you're to be a villain, you should atleast put effort into providing something worthwhile and not be uncaring about how the person on the receiving end might experience your RP. We're here to provide RP to eachother and that should be fun for both sides where applicable.

Also, CRP is still inherently unfun and still needs a lot of work and streamlining. 1v1 me on Baldurs gate, scrub

[_pr0fit 2945]

5 hours ago, Telanir said:

I've read a lot of posts in this thread and much of it is genuine, high-caliber feedback. Thank you for that.

I made the mistake not to to point this out but please focus on the state of the server and not individuals, for example "your idea made me ill" is not a valid reply lol

 

There is no need to defend your opinion, a well thought out reply will do that more than hitting reply on someone else's musings.

 

Thanks for reading through my obligatory janny insert, I hid a bunch of posts, if yours was hidden it will be discussed anyway, admins can still see them.

 

I'm glad that this post was made, this is a good and positive first step into what I think the server really needs, but I don't think I'm alone in feeling that this might be another post with good intentions and no follow through.

From what I want to see moving forwards, and what I think the server needs from this, is heavy community involvment with much of the process moving forwards, and heavy transparency with the steps that the staff is going to be taking from this point.

I would like to see another anouncment soon with what the staffs takeaway from this post is, what the list of concerns they are hearing from the community. It does not need to be what steps will be taken, but just that the staff understands there is a problem, and what those problems are. additionally it should include what you are going to do to address those concerns (IE: staff meetings to brainstorm solutions, community meetings, feedback posts, etc...)

 

Again, its good that this is happening, I am very glad that you made this post, and I hope that there is more to come soon.

Here is a picture of my dog:
 

Spoiler

https://gyazo.com/80e78a5526f60cd3d323c4a80d0d936e

 

[Sixbyte 275]

(2pm EST)

Edited August 16, 2023 by Sixbyte

[MisterBlitzkrieg 1357]

17 hours ago, ThumperJack said:

The server is on a downward slope toward becoming the premier of something else entirely and not something of a good connotation. Roleplay certainly being a very distant part of it. I would not honestly call us a "premier roleplay server" at this current moment. Why?

 

For several months now, the roleplay community of the server (Yes, I define it as a separate community) has asked for changes and stated their distrust and discomfort with many parts of the server with feedback that was dismissive, insulting, or not received at all. Simply look at the most recent moderation poll and feedback post regarding bad faith roleplay. The comments made by PVPers and by our own moderation in these instances and dozens of others clearly show the sort of hands we're expected to put our safety and comfort in when issues arise. How are we supposed to feel safe on the server when our own moderation admin dismisses our concerns on a poll that he made? Or when moderators insult or even ban players for simply asking questions?

 

Another example being the highly disputed raid tools that were pushed against during their testing period. They were pushed out without actual guidelines for their usage or any means for groups to defend against them. They were and are a free ticket to a PVP kick and disruption of roleplay. This was expressed by many during their testing and even afterward, only to be surprised with their implementation after our builds were completed. No warning, no means to defend ourselves. They need to be removed.

 

I've played on the server for years now and it has never quite gotten to be this terrible of an experience. People should not feel uncomfortable or unsafe to log onto the server. There is a lot that needs to change.

Yes I agree to you saying that  there should be guidelines to how the newly implemented siege ladders and siege engines should be created and I hope that the admins are already working hard on that. I cant really say how broken they are since I myself havent seen or witnessed them being used thus far but if they are as broken as you say then yeah, guidelines are 100% needed. 

I understand people not wanting to get bandited because they can lose abunch of items and whatnot, even getting in the way of their rp and story but if it goes to the point where people are so uncomfortable and don't feel safe to log on just because they do not want to be bandited then honestly this aint the server for you. Go play highschool roleplay servers where there is no pvp, wait sorry I meant MRP.

 

It's fair game in my opinion. You can bandit and get bandited. Everyone is equal in opportunities. Although that doesn't mean the people banditing have to be an ass to the person getting bandited you know? 

 

17 hours ago, Telanir said:

 

How do we balance this with red-tape? Giving notice…is that RP-friendly, or dynamic…or even interesting? And, suppose we do remove ladders, then the problem of perma-locked settlements returns—gates down, 24/7.

Raid notices/warnings SHOULD NOT be implemented UNLESS siege weaponry is involved or the raid is over a certain amount. If we add notices for every raid, no matter how small then it will just ruin raids since it's supposed to be quick and sudden, out of nowhere for those that are being raided.  If you add raid notices for the minimum amount of players for a raid then it will lead to either a massive rally of guards/magic users et cetera to counter the raid and make it impossible, close the gates or everyone just logs off. 

[Amayonnaise 1535]

10 hours ago, Xarkly said:

Where are our recruitment and marketing efforts after a non-Admin actually put us on the map for the first time in years with the TikTok? Where are efforts to build up the server with things like historic or lore video series?

 

These don't scratch the service of things a unified server direction should aim for instead of the undeniable fragmentation we see now. Even if you guys turn around and say "oh, well we have a clear direction in Admin chat", this impression does not survive outside of the ivory tower and continues to erode any faith left in the Administration (which, unless you're a kid or new, is likely 0).

 

 

 

I've already reached out to Xarkly over Discord regarding this, but I wanted to follow up on what @Ibn Khaldun said as well-

 

I'm very big on communication and engaging with the community. I have already had a small handful of players speak up about some issues that bugged them relating to the CT, and I encouraged them to discuss it with me further. Just this past day, I had a player compile a full google document of their concerns, and I was able to implement a few fixes around CT / the Tutorial Island for the time being, along with my most recent Guide.

 

Please reach out to me directly if you have any concerns regarding the CT, regardless of how big or small you perceive it to be. I work 5 days a week and have IRL obligations, so I can't always have my eyes glued to the screen to witness everything that occurs (I'm still behind on this 'MRP' thing), but I actively welcome criticism and feedback, and want to help improve the CT through it. I am also extremely responsive on Discord ( .amayonnaise. ), regardless of how busy my schedule may be, and I will respond to you within a few hours provided I am not at work or asleep.

In posting this, it is almost 4am and I will be climbing into bed very shortly.

[Unwillingly 11176]

36 minutes ago, Sixbyte said:

id like to point out that this SS is a lair that's explicitly described to be abandoned and no longer in use on the sign out front and for the first few months of map launch has consistently kept its gates open when in-use

other than that godspeed

[MadOne 3387]

yea let us paste our builds

 

also every time I hit up a mod i feel like staff involvement is a bureaucratic bottleneck - I'd need to wait 1-2 business weeks™ to get a reply on a query, let alone have mods sort out something that would realistically take like 5 minutes like a PRO change, only to see this bozo in vc playing jackbox with the bros

[Cobbler 618]

From my perspective the server is still pretty fun, it's a shame I'm going through a move atm else I'd be on more often. I think the majority of issues I see on LOTC spark up from the fact that LOTC constantly is trying to mix a Roleplay, Nations, PvP, PvE environment all at once. Players who favor one of the aspects over others will always complain about one of the others taking over another and vice versa so you'll never have a happy playerbase in that regard, you just have to try to balance it. You shouldn't remove certain aspects this environment because they're what make Lord of the Craft special. There is alot of servers that have spun off of LOTC that have taken one of the aspects of LOTC and run with it. Some are still up and running, though many crash and burn because they don't have the other aspects. The argument should never be to remove certain aspects of LOTC, but to balance it out.
 

Bandits/Raids:

It's already been said a ton in the thread though people always want to win. If the people who are being raided all the time won, then there wouldn't be as much outcry about the supposed issue. Easiest way to fix it is raid caps, ensure that only five players can conduct raids on cities during peacetime or wartime and you're fine, this gives ample ability for nations to win fights and would drastically decrease the amount of complaining about the recent systems, which I think are a good changes.

 

Wars:

Wars are so incredibly integral to LOTC. The majority of player boosts to the server are due to them, and they're the many of the reasons people get upset. This is due to the balancing issues I spoke to before but LOTC does a pretty decent job at balancing them. Players will never be alright with losing, but players have to take that OOC hatred they have for wars, and turn it into an IRP response.

 

Builds:
Give nations/settlements back paste. Resource world is a + as at anytime I can make slight changes to my build, though for building entire new builds it's unrealistic for many to expect to gather all the resources and make the build.

 

Events:

All in all, players need to realize that roleplay on the server should be 50-60% by nations/settlements, with the ST's filling the holes with larger scale events, and minor events for people. I've read alot of complaints about people complaining ST's aren't doing enough for nations for events but I think it's due to the fact that ST's aren't given the freedom they once had to do them, I think they should again.
 

Problems arise but the server is doing well. People who think LOTC is doing poorly truly haven't been around for the dark ages and it shows. Arcas for a period of 2-3 months only capital tiles would load, you wouldn't be able to travel anywhere. Far more blatant racism, homophobia existed. This isn't to say that we can't improve, though LOTC has taken giant strides since even two years ago, off of pure volunteer work.

[xMuted 2461]

17 hours ago, Asutto said:

As funny as some Moderators quippy one-liners are, there needs to be some level of public professionalism displayed by ALL staff-members. I believe that would unironically go a far way in improving both the quality of the server and the quality of roleplay.

Additionally, all staff teams need to stop with the vague rule/lore posting. Don't leave things up for interpretation. Write everything out. The average LoTCer's two braincells can't comprehend anything that isn't spoon-fed to them.

I think this is too much to ask of people who are staff on this server for free, just doing it out of the passion and like for the server that they are all on.

Cannot expect public professionalism on what is essentially a minecraft server run by players like the rest of us just doing it out of their hearts.

[Mannamannaa 1626]

6 minutes ago, xMuted said:

I think this is too much to ask of people who are staff on this server for free, just doing it out of the passion and like for the server that they are all on.

Cannot expect public professionalism on what is essentially a minecraft server run by players like the rest of us just doing it out of their hearts.

Is basic human decency and at least attempting to give consistent rulings a good start then? Surely we can work out where the line in the sand should be drawn from the server's standards for player conduct and extrapolate to cover the added priveleges they have as staff.