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Danny

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Posts posted by Danny

    A Druid Gains A Chevron

    in News & Announcements Archive

    Posted

    I love the fact that you're promoting more Admins and I know Rittsy will do a fantastic job, though I can't help but cock an eyebrow when I see things like this...

     

     

    The Admin Team of old was capable of being active both in game and running the server perfectly well. What exactly has changed so much in Admin duties over the past year that it's considered unimportant to be present on the server itself?

     

    The old admin team can't even remotely be described as being active in-game (although, they were more active than the current one, aye) -- only one or two of them were in-game daily, and even then honestly they didn't do much either. That was back when there was a single chap with the big-job (Native) and the others had individual duties - now it's spread, and it's undeniable that our activity as individuals has also lessened, but is coming back to what it once was. Like I said in the OP - we're trying our very best to get back to our old activity, and to also become more active in-game -- and I'm quite sure we will manage that.

    1

    A Druid Gains A Chevron

    in News & Announcements Archive

    Posted

    Greetings minions

     

    wLIeftJ.png

     

    ^^^^

     

    We've made this guy an Administrator

     

     

    Yup, Rittsy's now an administrator. He's the Lore Admin (just as he was the Lore GM) so anything Lore Related should be dropped on his desk. 

     

    Alan's been one of our longest serving GMs, and he's absolutely wonderful at what he does. We felt that he was the most suitable chap for the role of Administrator: so, here he is. I'm sure he'll do a great job, and I also hope y'all enjoy the picture I drew of him half a year ago.

     

    Just to note: we haven't promoted Rittsy to deal with any teams (except the Lore Team), or to increase admin activity in-game. Unforunately, being in-game is not extremely high on the list of an admin's actual priorites, so please do remember that. Most of our work involves being out of game and in Skype, PMs and the forums -- don't expect to see admins in-game all the time - although, there will be an increase in our activity in-game, dinnae worry. He'll be around for all the major decision-making which has been happening much more quickly recently (and which is also the most important aspect of our job).

     

    Essentially, Ritty's picking up the reigns of the lore-side of the server (which he already mostly had) and he's going to be involved in every big decision and every other admin-related task -- this means that the admin team is going to hopefully become much more efficient than it is currently. The GMs do almost all of the in-game work, it's always been that way, and it wont change, nor does it need to - with a new admin, we're even more contactable than previously, so you'll be able to get a hold of us much easier - so, with that done, give Mittsy a tap on the back and head off and roleplay!

     

    That's all for tonight, cya'later.

     

    TL;DR: Ritty's now an admin, and we're committed to more activity in-game from the admin team -- however, you wont see us all the time because most of our work is out-of-game!

     

    P.S. We are thinking of perhaps having some form of way for you guys to actually get to know the admin team better as people - any ideas, other than "Be in OOC", "Be in TS"?

    6

    Your View: The Most Pressing Issues

    in Thales and the Fringe Roleplay Archive

    Posted

    Hello ladies, folks and others,

     

    Just a quick 'Your View' today. I simply want to know what you guys feel we - the entire staff team - should be focusing mainly on currently. It's good for us to have a gauge of what y'all think are the 'big' issues right now, so please do ensure you pop up a post below.

     

    Try and keep your posts to the point and not overly-long please, I ain't asking for essays - quick posts outlining your opinion.

     

    As usual, do remember however, what's said in this thread doesn't necessarily mean it's exactly what we'll be doing -- we're only asking opinions!

     

    Merci beaucoup,

    L'Dan.

    0

    The Second Step To The Future

    in News & Announcements Archive

    Posted

    Greetings communityers and communityesses,
     
    So, in accordance with our Returning to Our Roots plan - we’ve taken the second step towards our goals. We’ve also got a few cute things as well. If you don’t want to read in-depth, there is a TL;DR at the end, but then you wont get to see Susan Boyle.
     
    Firstly, is something I briefly mentioned with the forum update: we’ve removed Application Team applications and Beta Tester applications. The way both processes will now work is: when we need new people, we’ll make a thread containing the application in the news forum and you apply in it. This is the method we used to have and it means you don’t have an application sitting for months, but also that we’re more likely to get active people on the team.
     
    Secondly, we’ve removed the Guide Team. When I first introduced the Guide Team it was a fantastic concept - however, it has never really done what it was intended to. They became a bit of a spare limb as time went on - and whilst they are very good at helping people, writing guides, etc - the team itself isn’t necessary. Those people who were Guides I hope will continue to be beneficial and help the server, but no longer as a Guide. The Mentors remain - however, as always - they’re not a staff group, but instead are solely player run. We’d like to thank the Guides for the massive amount of time and effort they put into their roles, and wish them the very best. Ever’s left them all a wee message:

    I'd like to personally thank all of you for the work you put in: 
     
    For the guides that made up the original team with me: 
    Cyndikate, Hiebe, Panda, Acaele, Soresan, Booger, Vekrus, Telanir, and Enyahs
     
    Thanks a ton. We had a sort of rocky start trying to figure out what we're honestly doing but I think we did a pretty good job!
     
    For those that came after: 
    Jistuma, Skyy, Cleaningcrew, Darkjames, Aislin, Sparrow
     
    You guys have done an amazing job. I was quite excited to lead a team and, while I didn't do the best job ever, I'm still happy having had worked with you guys.
     
    So really, IDK. Thanks a ton guys. Really. I think we all knew from the start that the Guide team wasn't really going to work out in the end yet you all gave it your best.

     

     
    Thirdly, we’ve returned ‘Blogs’ to the website. Whilst not in their original form, it’s quite similar. If we were to return to the old version which was an actual piece of software for Blogs specifically, we’d have to fork out more money into it - however, I managed to find a feature in our current ‘content’ software that I played around with and made into a Blog system. It works as a blog system, so there you have it. Check it out here: http://www.lordofthecraft.net/index.php?/blogs. As with other areas of the site, the FMs will be the guys keeping an eye on it, so don’t go posting anything bad.
     
    Fourthly, I’m sure we all saw Native’s thread about ‘4.0 Livestream’. We are indeed working on a 4.0 now - however, it ain’t gonna be released for a long time yet so please don’t panic or get any hopes up for release dates. We will not release a release date until it is just about 100% finished - we don’t want multi-month-long delays like we had with Anthos - so, we’ll not be saying any dates until we are almost finished. In terms of what 4.0 will be like, I guess it’s worth a few notes: we won't be having much prebuild - any prebuild is limited to things like tents and small wooden structures most likely (we don’t want the tiny amount of RP we had at the start of Asulon because instantly people built - with tents, etc there’s homes so people can roleplay and building can also occur), we’ll be loosening building restrictions massively (not news to most of you - but the only regioned areas will be the roads and cities - we’re not gonna say this for 4.0 and do what we did with Asulon, and not do it - we will be doing it 100%) and the map will hopefully be designed solely to encourage more roleplay (it’s roads, cities, locations of places will all be so roleplay is centralised but so there is much more to explore and see further out). That’s all I’m willing to talk about for now, but when we actually get further into development expect a lot more - and hopefully some YouTube videos on the matter too.
     
    Fifthly: a hint...
     
     
    Why Susan Boyle, and not the Rolling Stones? SuBo's Scottish.
     
    We’ve come to a verdict on horses literally about half an hour ago at the GM meeting. We’re going to be introducing wild horses into the map as rare findings. Breeding rates will be reduced so you can’t get a horse every single five minutes (or whatever) - so, instead, breeding will take longer. Nation leaders will also be spoken to so that we can have stables set up, where you’ll also be able to purchase some horses. This shouldn’t take too long to introduce - so expect that either this week, or next!
     
    Sixthly, as part of magic loosening - domestic magic no longer needs you to have a MA! That means, anything like: clicking your fingers to close a door, waving your hands to light a stove or closing the curtains by winking at them doesn’t need you to have an accepted Magic Application. Of course, you still need to have learnt the magic in roleplay! You can’t just go from guard to magic-light-putter-outer guard. Remember: anything that can be used in combat or in a fight doesn’t count as domestic magic! 
     
    Seventhly, the staff poll on Villain Applications has ended. The decision is that whilst Villain Applications won’t be removed, they will see a overhaul to remove their restrictiveness over roleplay - whether in future this will lead to removing VAs isn’t clear - however, the changes are due to be put into effect by at least two weeks from now. Some people did want complete removal, but the poll resulted in most going for the option to simplify them - please don’t fret, worry and complain that this is what was chosen - let us ride it through and see how things go! That means, no longer will you need a VA for every villainous activity, and you won’t need to go through some l33t-player-process to be able to be villainous - that’s always a plus.
     
    Eightly, even more GMs and Admins now have access to the back-end in-case the server goes down. If the server collapses, it should be back up extremely quickly now - if it isn’t, you can tear our eyes out. With regards to the stability itself, Telanir is hard at work being his ‘coder-monkey’ self and finding ways to improve the server’s stability. We’ll see how that goes soon - probably well.
     
    And the minor changes that’ve occurred (and :
    • New rule (was previously unwritten): “You can't build farms underground! It doesn't make any sense for farms to be underground, so make sure you don't make them - even if you do include glowstone or torches.”
    • We’ve updated our Minestatus page a bit following your recommendations - remember and vote daily on it!
     
    The TL;DR:
    • Application Team and Beta Tester applications have been removed and will now be appliable via threads when we need more people on ‘em
    • The Guide Team has been removed
    • Blogs are back: http://www.lordofthecraft.net/index.php?/blogs
    • 4.0 is under-way
    • The rule forbidding underground farms has been re-added
    • Our Minestatus page has been updated
    • Horses will be introduced this week or next, and can be rarely found in the world. Nations will see stables added where you can buy horses
    • Susan Boyle is Scottish.
    • Domestic magic doesn’t need a MA
    • Villain Applications will be largely changed, but won’t be removed
    • Even more people have access to the back-end than they did at my last thread! More stability!
     
    Still in the discussion books:
    • Magic Applications
    • New Administrator(s)
    • War! - much was discussed at the meeting about this, but the decision will be made via us on the forums. That shouldn’t be long either - a week, maybe two at max.
     
    So, the second step in the long-line to returning to the Lord of the Craft we [all] loved. Sure, some of you may not agree with the decisions that’ve been made again - but ride them out, see how they go. As always - things go sour? We can change it, and we will change it. Until next time, farewell.
    22

    The Future (And Forum Changes)

    in News & Announcements Archive

    Posted

    Lets hope this time there's more than just emptiness behind these words. Also, there's no mention of booting inactive and ineffective GMs from the team on a more regular basis, as this was one of the most pressing issues in Ever's thread.

     

    We've just dealt with one moments ago - we're now going to turn our attention to those that may appear active, but they actually aren't.

    0

    The Future (And Forum Changes)

    in News & Announcements Archive

    Posted

    Hello there folks,

     

    Firstly, I'm sure many of you saw the recent feedback thread made by one of our GMs - Ever. Personally, this really was an eye-opener to the sheer extent of the issues of the server. Sure, we were aware of them previously, but not quite as much as we are now. The thread highlights numerous issues:- from issues with the map, to issues deep in the staff teams themselves. I'd like to say just a few lines:

    • We know that Anthos isn't the map we need.
    • We know that the server's 'entertainment value' for many has decreased.
    • We know that the ability to roleplay freely has reduced.
    • We know that your freedom as a player has reduced.
    • We know that we've become overly-strict and over-regulated.
    • However, we also know that we can change these things - and that's exactly what we're doing.

    We most definitely have failed to a certain degree so far with solving them - however, it's time that changed.

     

    We've got things being worked on as I type this that will solve these things. I - just as much as you - want to return to what LotC once was - and I think we can do that.

     

    Of course, as a staff-team we can't do it alone. We do need to know what you think, and we do need to listen to what you think - but, please - don't expect us to follow your every demand. The server's never worked like that, and it never will. Sometime's we're wrong, sometime's your wrong. We need to find the middle ground.

     

    Before I go any further, I'd like to just make note for you all of the changes to the forums that've just been made - I'll spoiler 'em:

     

    • Game Updates 
    • Website Updates
    • Game Status / Maintenance
    • Events --> The North 
    • Character Creation Guides 
    • Economy Guides, Profession Guides, Orc Guides, Dwarf Guides, Human Guides, Elf Guides, Other Races Guides 
    • Outdated Guides
    • Looking for Guild! 
    • Kharajyr --> Out of Character
    • Event Proposals --> Finished Events 
    • Skin Library Submissions.
    • Hand-Drawn Artwork, Digital Artwork
    • Competitions 
    • Debates
    • Magic Applications --> In-Progress
    • FM Applications --> Contemplating
    • Application Team Applications, Accepted, Denied
    • Beta Tester Applications, Accepted Applications, Denied
    • Old Hat Bar
    • Support Archive, Feedback Archive
    • Normandor Roleplay Archive

     

    We've removed these forums for various reasons - but they're going to stay gone. If you disagree with any of the changes, feel free to pop me a PM, but we'll almost 100% be sticking by this one decision. There's a few other changes I've said, but none need special mention.

     

    It's worth noting however: yes, this does mean that any Beta Tester or Application Team applications are now denied until we post up a thread whenever we need more of you!

     

    Onto the things you can expect over the next week:

    • The second 'LotC Broadcast' to inform you about changes in the near future that we'll be introducing, and it's own sub-forum where it's releases will be posted.
    • I do believe we'll also be seeing a new patch - don't quote me on that though! Just the word on the street currently.

    And what to expect over the next while - these are things that are currently actually being worked on - not just the simple early stages of discussion - they're in progress, so they will happen this time:

    • A solution to our regioning problems.
    • A solution to our mining problem.
    • The implementation of horsies.
    • The revitalisation of donor perks - we've left them barren and unattended to for too long.
    • The final decision on what we're going to do with VAs.

     

    And what you should expect to see consistently from this point on:

    • More activity from the admin team - communicating with you guys, and the staff much more and being contactable as often as possible.
    • More activity from the GM team in answering ModReqs quickly and efficiently.
    • Further stability! More people now have back-end access, so if the server dies, we'll just bring her back to life!

    We want to return the old vibe of the Lord of the Craft - and we can if we put our best efforts into finding out what it was that made LotC so amazing, and return it - and that's what we're on our way to do, bit-by-bit. In my opinion, we've taken the baby steps already with the loosening of server applications and lore - hey, maybe we've got more major steps around the corner. We'll see relatively shortly.

     

    There's other issues I haven't mentioned that many of you want to know about: the human kingdoms, villain applications, lore, those rumours about 4.0 - why haven't I gone into detail? I don't want to say anything whilst we don't even know what's happening. When we know what's gonna be going down, we'll tell you - until then, you'll have to sit tight and wait!

     

    In the mean-time, keep playing the Lord of the Craft as it is, and keep looking forward to what's in the future. Until then, enjoy your day, afternoon, evening, sleep. Cheers for reading!

     

    PS. There might be a newsletter this month, there might not. 

    PS2. Head over to Your View and reply to 'Your View: Website' - there's cookies in it for you!

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