Throwing in my towel

[Coat of Arms]

I'll be back when Armageddon Reborn is ready. Good luck, and I hope you all get to experience a worthy ending. Thumbs up to the staff working hard on the project, I hope you keep motivated. Few of you know me, but I'll miss the Armageddon that I loved but can no longer find. Hopefully the magic will be back with the next incarnation of the game.

[Yokunama]

I'd wish you'd stay and help create memories with the rest of us here, and theres no telling when we are going to have Arm 2 ready.

[Marauder Moe]

Assuming your reasons for leaving relate to your other posts... I totally agree that there need to be more nobles in Allanak.  If Oash and Borsail require too much supervision to re-open, just bring back some of the other houses and tell the nobles that all they'll really have to do is socialize.  That might be enough for some players.

Valika and Sath could do their house businesses virtually.  A Rennik noble would have plenty to do that wouldn't require staff supervision, like hire rangers to collect plants and such.

[Malken]

In Tuluk, we keep seeing Chosen Lords and Ladies pop in then retire shortly after because they don't seem to have much to do but hand out 'quests' and such.. The only one I can remember sticking to the role is because that House is played much differently than how I would picture other 'nobles'.

People start to depend on them too much after a while and once they start logging a bit less often, everything comes to an halt.

Perhaps they fear it would be the same in Allanak?

In my mind, there's just not enough 'minions' right now to make such a role entertaining, but that's me.. Everyone wants to be that 'special' person right now because the end is coming.

[Gimfalisette]

The only one I can remember sticking to the role is because that House is played much differently than how I would picture other 'nobles'.

Noble roles in Tuluk have exactly as much potential and interest and staying power as the player behind the role, regardless of which House it is. These are leadership roles, and not every player is ready/able to handle it, it's just that simple.

My assumption about the relative lack of nobles in both north AND south (because both areas have many fewer nobles currently than they have supported in the past) is that this is related to the smaller playerbase we have versus a year ago, and also to the fact that we're in the middle of end-times plots which are significantly different from the kind of political play which was previously the center of attention in both city-states. Thus, the imms have pulled back on filling the noble leadership roles somewhat. (But I could be totally wrong about why these roles are not filled.)

[Marauder Moe]

What smaller playerbase?  The numbers are fine.  Though, they could potentially dip a little as the school year starts up again.

The reason there are fewer nobles in the south are that two noble clans shut down.  The reason two noble clans shut down is because the immortals running them left and with so much staff time devoted to the new game they couldn't be replaced.

I'm not blaming, I'm just saying.  Such things happen, and the new game should definitely be of some priority.

House Oash and House Borsail also both need a fair amount of staff assistance to do their respective businesses.  If immortal time can't be spared to run them, I'd say some of the other houses, who as I've said wouldn't require as much immortal attention, should be opened up as replacements.  Just tell any applicants that the most they should expect is a stipend every now and then and that they're expected to make their own plots and entertainment (or get tangled up in existing ones).

[Gimfalisette]

What smaller playerbase?  The numbers are fine.  Though, they could potentially dip a little as the school year starts up again.

Our playerbase is 100 players per week less than a year ago, on average. This is fact: Last year we were running ~ 340 unique players per week, this year we are running ~ 240 unique players per week.

[manonfire]

kbai

[Shalooonsh]

We're sorry to see you go, and look forward to your return for Arm 2.0.  I think it's going to absolutely blow away any expectations, and you'll be glad you returned.

If, by sheer chance, you return before that time (after coming to full realization that you're a CRACKAGEDDONhead), then I look forward to how you can help change the face of the next game with your actions.

May the road you travel be long and full of adventure.

[Belenos]

What smaller playerbase?  The numbers are fine.  Though, they could potentially dip a little as the school year starts up again.

Our playerbase is 100 players per week less than a year ago, on average. This is fact: Last year we were running ~ 340 unique players per week, this year we are running ~ 240 unique players per week.

Overall numbers are not as meaningful as hour by hour numbers.  It's not how many people log on, it's how many people are there to play with you.  Don't get seduced or discouraged by one set of statistics.

That being said, our numbers this week have jumped significantly.  Also with the new staff members that are coming on shortly we should be better positioned to keep multiple plot lines hoping and possibly reopen some closed stuff.    The staff members are taking long looks at the mundane verses magickal balance and are working to make this a fun place regardless of what class you play.  I am quite encouraged about the future directions.

[Tarx]

Sorry to see you go, Coatie.  I've enjoyed (I think?) talking with you on the GDB.  Who knows, maybe you'll get roped back in one day, but cheers anyways!

I've seen a spike of players in all areas that I experience IC lately.  We just need more prostitutes and I think we'll have met our quota.

Be an Armer:  app a prostitute character.

Code Select Expand

The spiced-out whore is here, 'bout ta be steelin' ur sidz.

[Sanvean]

FWIW, as Belenos notes, we're about to take on a slew of new staff, and there should be a significant spike in the amount of clan-running activity. You might want to delay your departure a couple of weeks and see what happens when all that new energy gets unleashed.

[ale six]

Sorry that you're leaving. I think Armageddon has become a much different game than it was a year or two years ago, and if you like aspects of the "old" version that revolved more around social (versus actual/coded power), NPC enforcement of game norms, and political relationships, it's totally understandable to see why you'd leave.

I used to be one of the absolute biggest cheerleaders for nobility and the niche of the game that comes with them, silks and aides and politics and all that. I played a noble for quite a while. Towards the end of her tenure, I saw ways the game was changing, ways that I think made nobility more and more isolated. After she was retired I looked at the game from a different angle. From the widened perspective I gained, I think there really is no room for nobles the way they were in the staff's current portrayal of the Armageddon game world.

A great deal of a noble house's power is virtual and beyond the direct reach of the noble's player. That means often you end up relying on the staff to "get your back" and flex the resources of your family when you need them. Conversely, the staff should also be coming down on you hard when your noble does or tries to do things that are unrealistic given their station. I can recall this happening in the past - in my experience it does not happen nearly as much lately. This means that nobles, for better or worse, are left out on their own, with virtual power and resources they "should" have, but don't. It seems like the focus of the game these days is in terms of how much "real" power you have -- how many PC minions, how many skills/spells, how easily you personally can bring the axe down on somebody. Nobles, in general, have less in this department than your average templar, often less than your average criminal organisation or desert sorcerer. They belong back in a more civilised age of the game, when politics and social power actually meant something, and being a noble was more than just somebody people were supposed to bow to.

I want to point out I'm not necessarily critiscizing this change, just noting it exists. There are good things about putting power more directly into the hands of players and taking it away from more vaguely defined virtual power. I bet it will also free up a lot of staff resources. Plus, in the interest of a more cohesive playerbase, I think it's fine that our best leader characters with the focus of resources and plots behind them are more often templars and merchants now than nobles. Characters with less social restrictions tend to be able to relate to more people.

Anyway, sorry to ramble and hijack your thread. I mainly just wanted to point out how the game has changed/evolved, and how I can definitely understand frustration that you can't find what you used to love.

[Greymalkin]

Wow, that's an amazingly accurate depiction of current day arma, ale six. As a fairly fresh noble, I can see everything you're saying come true for me. Though to contradict some of the other posters, it's not impossible to play one right now, nor is it even un-enjoyable. I'd bet that playing high profile roles has always been something where you've got to expect lots of downtime and sitting around. The question is when is it too much? So far I don't have any complaints in that regard. I'm not logging in, getting bored and instantly logging back out. Sometimes I do hop on for a few minutes to see what's happening and then I quit out again but my departure isn't out of boredom. I could be doing this no matter what role I'm in.

But there is a shift in focus.

I think it's fine that our best leader characters with the focus of resources and plots behind them are more often templars and merchants now than nobles. Characters with less social restrictions tend to be able to relate to more people.

Even I won't disagree with that. I don't mind seeing merchants have more of a focus since they're more worldly and less confined than nobles – as long as it's not magick at the forefront! However, I also hope there will be some room, however diminished, for the whole silk/noble/aide RP (in this version and in the version to come) because I know that's why a lot of players are here in the first place. I like being in my role now because I know I can be a nasty vile Rinther in the next, and I'd like being a nasty vile Rinther or desert grebber now because I'd know I could be a noble or something similar in the next.

[Coat of Arms]

CRACKAGEDDON  :?

[Greymalkin]

Welcome back

[Coat of Arms]

Bye for now. Let's see if it lasts.

[The7DeadlyVenomz]

Knock it off. Trust me ... we're around. There's plenty happening.

[Pale Horse]

CRACKAGEDDON  :?

[jstorrie]

Just consume in moderation, man.

[Maybe42or54]

I comsume life in moderation. With the rest of my time, I arm.

[jstorrie]

You may want to switch that up a little, friend.

[Ashes]

I comsume life in moderation. With the rest of my time, I arm.

Lies.