The staff have finally opened up the discussion boards to allow open criticism, venting and group collaboration to lure players back into the fold who have had problems or otherwise wanted to complain.
While many players were happy to get things off of their chests, a minority of players were bummed out by the seemingly negative tone of that thread, by the standards of people who are unhappy around criticism.
This thread is for them.
Here you may post nonstructured compliments to anything the staff is doing, anything other players or doing or anything else cheerful to lift the mood of people who want to focus on positive thinking, subject to the normal rules of the discussion board.
I'll go ahead and go first.
I'm glad that the staff are revamping the Al'Siek and Arabet. They always deserved to be awesome and now soon will be awesome.
I'm glad that the staff are accepting player submissions for things that should be in game.
I'm glad that the staff are promoting more "player friendly" staff into positions that directly interact with players.
Post your own, or stay tuned! Hopefully more to come!
I pity tha foo that makes a staff complaint, then goes home cryin' to his momma.
Thanks staff, truly. Can't say for what, but, yeah.
Please note the forum rules have not changed. Discussing current IC events and plots will still get you moderated.
I'm glad the staff is taking chances on changes.
I'm glad the players aren't complaining about it too much without giving it a try.
Quote from: KankWhisperer on November 18, 2015, 05:43:32 PM
I'm glad the staff is taking chances on changes.
I'm glad the players aren't complaining about it too much without giving it a try.
I like this one.
I'm gonna post my compliment to Rath from the RAT thread since it got buried in negativity and nobody saw it.
QuoteRath is the real MVP. He once RPed my character's drunken vnpc mother (who until that moment existed entirely within my own imagination and biography entries) with echos, and shouts from another room.
He's just tops and I'll fight anyone who says otherwise.
Staff has definitely tickled my interest in the game again, and I've always said it and I'll say it again:
You might complain about the staff from time to time, or not see eye to eye with them, but from working on and playing other games, you will never find another gang of people that work like these guys.
Quote from: LauraMars on November 18, 2015, 09:46:03 PM
I'm gonna post my compliment to Rath from the RAT thread since it got buried in negativity and nobody saw it.
QuoteRath is the real MVP. He once RPed my character's drunken vnpc mother (who until that moment existed entirely within my own imagination and biography entries) with echos, and shouts from another room.
He's just tops and I'll fight anyone who says otherwise.
I saw this and I thought that was pretty awesome.
Staff have gone above and beyond for me -- a few months ago I reported a fairly substantial problem with a large number of the [game's room] flags, and Welda worked with me to resolve the issue over the course of a few days.
Other more recent interactions with staff have been prompt and understanding, especially some really generous comments from seidhr as I derp my way through the game.
And Nergal. :)
[edits: dyslexia and adding Nergal]
Quote from: ibusoe on November 18, 2015, 04:36:52 PM
The staff have finally opened up the discussion boards to allow open criticism, venting and group collaboration to lure players back into the fold who have had problems or otherwise wanted to complain.
??? ??? ???
I'm going to be just a little bit of a debby downer here:
Threads about which staff are good and which are bad are very lop sided. I'm going to share some super secret information with you all and explain why.
... we play good cop bad cop. It's not intentional, it's just the way our administration is set up. Storytellers do the bulk of the on the ground interaction with you all and help make your RPT's come to life and push narratives forward.
Admins do all of that stuff too, but they also have a lot of back end administrative work that is largely thankless but required to keep the game running smoothly.
Producers do all of that stuff too, but they also have additional back end work like coding, web page maintenance, and other thankless tasks not to mention paying for the game to continue running with their hard earned dollars/pounds/euros/whatevers.
So the players tend to see less direct storytelling interaction from admins, and very sparing amounts from producers. This skews the popularity contests in favor of storytellers.
Add to that the fact that anytime a player does something derpy and they need to be punished for it, storytellers don't handle that request. We give feedback naturally, but the actual correspondence is handled by the admins, or if it's really, really bad/escalates -- the producers.
So the end result from the perspective of the player base tends to be that they have positive interactions with storytellers, and negative interactions with admins and producers.
Just, keep that in mind.
Every staff member specifically called out in this thread for doing awesome has been an administrator or higher.
Otherwise it's just general praise.
Not sure where that post came from, Jave. I don't really see any negativity here?
Quote from: LauraMars on November 20, 2015, 01:10:24 AM
Not sure where that post came from, Jave. I don't really see any negativity here?
No negativity yet, but the thread is only 13 posts in ;)
As I said, just keep that in mind.
While we haven't "opened up" the boards any more than we have in the past, since the GDB was always open to constructive criticism, I can say that I appreciate players who have been able to provide constructive, understandable criticism on the GDB that ultimately leads to improvements to the game. I think it's more of a player change than a staff change in that regard.
Quote from: Nergal on November 20, 2015, 08:48:34 AM
While we haven't "opened up" the boards any more than we have in the past, since the GDB was always open to constructive criticism, I can say that I appreciate players who have been able to provide constructive, understandable criticism on the GDB that ultimately leads to improvements to the game. I think it's more of a player change than a staff change in that regard.
I think specifically requesting criticism (such as the subguilds thread and the player retention thread) is what's being referred to as more open boards.
Soliciting criticism is an entirely different beast than passively allowing it.
We were asking for feedback, that's something we've done in the past. I've asked for feedback on subguilds previously, for instance. I think that we've always got some good feedback (and criticism) when we've done this, and it's generally been helpful. What I feel I'm noticing is that we're getting feedback and criticism that is relevant and (mostly) on topic, where previously things have veered off in other directions. I appreciate people being focused and offering solutions.
I was going to write up a "Fan Compliment", but this person (http://www.amazon.com/review/R3PIQXDUIDHOPY/ref=cm_cr_dp_title/179-6882823-3076032?ie=UTF8&ASIN=B000RL1WNQ&channel=detail-glance&nodeID=1055398&store=home-garden) said it better than I could.
Thanks for the apartments in Luir's, I haven't gotten to see them yet but I've always wanted an apartment in Luir's.
Everyone who plays a Half Giant
You the real mvp.
The Allanak rooftops and climb-rooms are sublime. Thanks to everyone who worked on them.
Thanks for apping in and showing interest in the Tablelands RPT(s). We're hoping that the more people we get the more exciting things will be. If you find yourself without a PC anytime soon - consider looking at the Tablelands.
Even though I argue with you a lot:
(http://i511.photobucket.com/albums/s354/tsweber/PreciateIt_zpsmxstwjwn.png)
<3 <3 <3
Tablelands are next for me.
Awhile back, randomly dicking off in the Gaj, Vennant suddenly just starting chatting us up. The surly fuck. But yeah, it was a pleasant suprise and really added some flavor or a boring stretch of tavern sitting. I appreciate this.
i'd mudsex nauta's characters
rgs's unhinged characters scare me
valeria's characters make me laugh
bleakone is a good half-giant roleplayer
I'd mudsex with Met
I only go in for threesomes+
I'd mudsex Jihelu. (wait, I think I DID)
I'd have virtual sex with all of you
I would sit silently in a corner, preferably with invis or hide, and judge you for not talking at the bar or idling in the barracks. I'm aware of the hypocrisy, but if I SAY I'm doing it ironically, then its suddenly cool.
Quote from: TheWanderer on December 03, 2015, 09:45:04 PM
I'd have virtual sex with all of you
At the same time? We'll make an HRPT out of it.
I never get kudos or mudsexes anymore, so I figure they're linked
also I totally turned down a mudsex with the nauta once :'(
Last mudsex I had I got bored mid-scene then I linkdead'ed in the girl's apartment for like 3 weeks, then I popped back in and she was there, so I made a cheap excuse like, "my computer died!" and I logged back out and never logged back in since.
Quote from: Malken on December 03, 2015, 10:35:07 PM
Last mudsex I had I got bored mid-scene then I linkdead'ed in the girl's apartment for like 3 weeks, then I popped back in and she was there, so I made a cheap excuse like, "my computer died!" and I logged back out and never logged back in since.
WASN'T ME. WHOOP.
Quote from: 555 on December 03, 2015, 09:54:21 PM
Quote from: TheWanderer on December 03, 2015, 09:45:04 PM
I'd have virtual sex with all of you
At the same time? We'll make an HRPT out of it.
i'd vote you in as a producer
Whoever switched that tragic rukkian's waterskin with cleaning fluid... kudos, kudos that I cannot actually give based on that information alone.
Quote from: boog on December 03, 2015, 10:36:01 PM
Quote from: Malken on December 03, 2015, 10:35:07 PM
Last mudsex I had I got bored mid-scene then I linkdead'ed in the girl's apartment for like 3 weeks, then I popped back in and she was there, so I made a cheap excuse like, "my computer died!" and I logged back out and never logged back in since.
WASN'T ME. WHOOP.
Onomnomnomnomnomnomnom!
>I think I did
Oh god the pain
Time to go take a cold shower.
Thanks to Ath. Ath put in some good advice at the end of one of my player reports, and I forgot to thank him in my last report.
Y'all better be submitting these officially, too! Who doesn't like a good, virtual pat on the back?
Thanks me, you're awesome!
I know! You're welcome! You're not so bad yourself! You busy tonight?
Quote from: 555 on December 05, 2015, 09:58:28 AM
Thanks me, you're awesome!
I know! You're welcome! You're not so bad yourself! You busy tonight?
http://youtu.be/f5vG4p3dgCI
Thank you for fixing forage food!
And thank you, Jave, for coming up with a nice alternative to my dried grey siltfruit mastercraft. There are definite rp possibilities for that recipe.
I like how now you won't become overburdened by water when foraging food, but someone who makes their living solely on the land can still spend water hunting.
I love how active Jave has been on the boards. Answering questions, looking into stuff for players, explaining things from staff perspective. It's just really awesome to see that level of transparency and communication. Thanks, Jave.
I don't know who's doing it, but I've seen NPCs coming to life that have -never- been animated in my experience. The bar-sitting guards, payroll NPCs... It's awesome. Thank you!
Respect for clan leaders who make a solid effort to keep subordinates busy, who keep them plugged into plot and things.
Quote from: Refugee on December 07, 2015, 09:54:10 AM
I don't know who's doing it, but I've seen NPCs coming to life that have -never- been animated in my experience. The bar-sitting guards, payroll NPCs... It's awesome. Thank you!
OMG this. Animating an NPC doesn't have to be for anything earth shattering. Hop into a guy and bitch about something or just strike up a 2 minute conversation with people. I don't need to hear rumors about a flaming steel broadsword in a gith fortress for it to be fun. Complain about elves or gossip about stuff on the bar boards. Check plus to any staff that does this!
Quote from: not_really_mean on December 07, 2015, 11:52:51 AM
Quote from: Refugee on December 07, 2015, 09:54:10 AM
I don't know who's doing it, but I've seen NPCs coming to life that have -never- been animated in my experience. The bar-sitting guards, payroll NPCs... It's awesome. Thank you!
OMG this. Animating an NPC doesn't have to be for anything earth shattering. Hop into a guy and bitch about something or just strike up a 2 minute conversation with people. I don't need to hear rumors about a flaming steel broadsword in a gith fortress for it to be fun. Complain about elves or gossip about stuff on the bar boards. Check plus to any staff that does this!
I've had some really interesting interactions with NPCs... one time, one passed me a tube of spice... dosed with skellebain, and said, "Welcome to Tuluk!"
Quote from: ibusoe on December 07, 2015, 10:42:57 AM
Respect for clan leaders who make a solid effort to keep subordinates busy, who keep them plugged into plot and things.
This can seriously make or break the experience. We have some absolutely amazing leaders in-game right now doing this exact thing.
Quote from: RogueGunslinger on December 07, 2015, 01:36:59 PM
Quote from: ibusoe on December 07, 2015, 10:42:57 AM
Respect for clan leaders who make a solid effort to keep subordinates busy, who keep them plugged into plot and things.
This can seriously make or break the experience. We have some absolutely amazing leaders in-game right now doing this exact thing.
Agreed!
People should put their gripes into their requests if they are bored or not enjoying their character. I would personally like to help any of them make the game more fun for them and other players. I can't speak for all staff, but I know quite a few staff members that will at least try and/or listen and give advice.
Can I gripe about shit on dead pcs/stored?
Because I can gripe all day!
Though I feel like I'll just get a paragraph that says something like "I'm sorry Jihelu but the game hates you but we don't"
I'm now an official member of the 'Jave Fan Club'. All praise Jave.
Last night's Dino Adventure (tm) was awesome
Quote from: RogueGunslinger on December 10, 2015, 08:13:47 PM
I'm now an official member of the 'Jave Fan Club'. All praise Jave.
Quote from: Case on December 10, 2015, 08:24:23 PM
Last night's Dino Adventure (tm) was awesome
I super duper appreciate both of these but like I said on page one, storytellers are easy to praise. We get to focus on where the rubber meets the road. A lot of the time the stuff we do for you guys was the brain child of a producer who laid out the whole synopsis, and the cast of NPCs and objects involved were made by a builder and quality checked and balanced by an admin, then after creating all the toys and doing the hard part ... They turn them over to us to entertain you guys with and we get to just be like: WHEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!! :D :D :D
So I'm gonna go ahead and kick that praise up the next step of the supply chain. :)
I appreciate everything Eurynomos did for me.... thought it was in vain :-[
I've picked up a fair bit of coding knowledge over the past year, and because of that I'm left wondering if Nessalin ever sleeps with the all the updates day after day lately. I salute you, sir!
Nessalin is a great coder and a beautiful asset to this game on that front. We are lucky to have him and the things he contributes in this regard are truly impressive.
As a coder who has worked with diku before, I really appreciate what Nessalin is doing. These little tweaks have dozens of places they can go wrong, and where I was working on it a mistake led to the mud crashing. Whatever he's doing for quality control, keep it up, because it's fantastic.
Jave has given so much to this game already, in terms of animations, plot support and fixes.
I am a fanboy now, to be sure.