Armageddon General Discussion Board

Here are the proposed changes for a new scale for the karma system.  We all know change is sometimes difficult especially for things for which we are all passionate.  I think it's clear that the playerbase (staff and players alike) are nothing if not passionate about this game!  Staff have spent a good deal of time discussing and coming up with this proposal but we want to know if you see something glaring and wrong with the system. So we are looking forward to some constructive feedback!

The objectives for changing the system are:

• Provide a smaller scale to allow more players to attain higher level karma classes.
• Ability to move all players through the karma tree within a 3 year timeframe.
• Make removing karma a more acceptable occurrence while also giving opportunity to regain lost karma in a reasonable timeframe.
• Use regenerating karma system to add balance.
• Add new guilds to the karma tree.
• Cease the practice of skill and stat bumps as part of the application process. Skill increases are done via the structure of the guild/subguilds (The next phase of the guild revamp will see higher skill level options placed in the karma tree).
• Provide greater oversight to the most sensitive roles by making them special application only and limiting the amount that may be in game at any one time.
• Provide structure and criteria to karma requests to lessen the impact on staff and give clearer objectives to players.

The end goal of this project is that all players that play by the rules and act as good players should be able to achieve the full 3 points of karma.  This would make 3 karma the norm, rather than the exception.  The ability to spend and regenerate karma is what will make this system work in terms of keeping balance within the game. 

The proposed karma system change will switch from the 0 - 8 scale to a 0 - 3 scale.  The scale will include race, guild and subguild options.

Karma Scale:

0 karma = existing 0 karma options
1 karma =  Desert elf, Water, Stone Touched, Fire and Wind Touched. Master Tailor, Slipknife, Minstrel, Master Jeweler, Weaponsmith, Master Crafter, Master Armorsmith, Master Potter, Cutpurse, Master Chef, Grebber, Apothecary, Master Trader, Majordomo, Rogue
2 karma = Half Giant, Water and Stone Elementalist options.  Wind Tempest and Fire Guile options, Berserker, Outdoorsman, Protector, Lancer, Bruiser, Aggressor
3 karma = Wind Travel and Illusion, Fire Agony and Devastation options, Mul.

Special App only:  Psionicist and Sorcerer
Special apps will be limited to one per player, per year. If the special application character dies within one week of creation the special application slot will be refunded.  Requesting a special application does not 'spend' karma points but please note that you will have to have 3 max karma in order to special application a psionicist or sorcerer.  This is because you can only special app one karma above your max karma level and psi/sorc is above the 3 maximum.

At any given time there will be a limited number of playable Psionicists and Sorcerers in game based on the current population of the player base.

Special applications will be allowed two points above your current maximum karma level by submitting a special application request as one does now.

Karma Regeneration:

The ability to spend and regenerate karma is a significant change to our existing system. Players will 'spend' points each time they select a series of options with a karma cost. As part of this spend of points players will be able to choose any options at or below their current karma level.

Karma regeneration is done based on the difference you currently have from your maximum karma.  One point of spent kama will regenerate every 30 days.

All of this regeneration of current karma will be automatically calculated upon login to the game.  To be perfectly clear, this karma regeneration happens for RL time passing not in game played time.

This system is designed to limit the number of higher karma classes in the game organically and is necessary if the karma scale is cut from 0-8 to 0-3.  There are no changes being made to what is allowed from a guild/subguild combination. For instance, Mul magickers are still not going t be selectable in character generation nor would a non-human psionicist etc.

Examples:

• Player has 3/3 karma, uses 3 for a mul now they have 0/3.  30d they move to 1/3 karma. 45 days later 2/3 and then 45 days more 3/3 for a Total of 4 months.
• Player has 2/2 karma, uses 1 and now has 1/2.  30 days later they get that one back.
• Player has 3/3 karma, uses 2 and now has 1/3.  Normally they would recoup 1 and 30d and one at 45 d.  But let's say this player has a character die after a couple weeks.  Now they are at 1/3.  If they spend that one, now they are 0/3 so the first point will take 30 days to regen and another 45d on the next point.

Karma Reviews:

Players will be limited to one karma review request per year.  They will also be required to specify what criteria points they are requesting karma for and detailing how they feel they have achieved this. They may request points in more than one area.
We will modify the karma review request to reflect that this information is needed.
Staff may grant karma category areas outside of the review schedule, however any movement up the karma tree must come with the appropriate amount of points per level.

0 karma, review can be requested after regular play for 6 months to move to point 1.
At 1 karma, requests to move to point 2: at least 1.5 year of regular play.
At 2 karma, request to move to point 3: at least 3 years of regular play.


Again to clarify, we aren't suggesting that you have to login every day we are just indicating that not logging in at all or maybe one or two time over months won't qualify for a karma review.  This is mostly due to the fact that we wouldn't have any roleplay to review to determine karma!

Granting Karma:
Karma will be granted using existing criteria.  Each karma category can only be granted once. (i.e. Only 1 point for Roleplay, 1 point for Leadership etc.).  A level 3 player should still have achieved in 6+ areas.  On review multiple karma categories may be awarded. If not enough categories are awarded to move to the next level the category will be noted and used when next reviewing the account.

• Level 0 - No criteria required
• Level 1 - 1 or 2 points
• Level 2 - 3 to 5 points
• Level 3 - 6 or all 7 points

Karma criteria remains the same:
Longevity
Good communication
Ability to roleplay
Proven understanding of magick and its place in the game world
Proven understanding of cultural and racial structures
Contributes to the game
Leadership

The changes outlined above have been live since July.

Currently there is an issue with karma regeneration, such that it will appear to most players that there is no spending of karma.  We are working to remedy this.

Karma Reviews are still on hold, until further notice.

Special Applications

Special Applications -- a request to play a role that is beyond what the normal application process would provide for.  This generally is taken to mean roles outside of one's karma level, though there are exceptions.  You may apply for a role that is no greater than 1 karma point higher than your karma level.  This is subject to approval of staff and is not a guarantee.  Special applications generally take about one full month to resolve.  Players receive 2 special application per year.

Skill Bump Application

Skill bump -- a request to have certain starting skills boosted.  Limited to 3 skill bumps.  Skill bump requests are usually resolved within a week's time.

Karma timer system and the 'spending' of karma has been removed.  See https://gdb.armageddon.org/index.php/topic,58528.msg1081914.html#msg1081914

Effective immediately, the amount of time required between each karma review has been updated to be 6 months, regardless of points.  This effectively changes:

Quote0 karma, review can be requested after regular play for 6 months to move to point 1.
At 1 karma, requests to move to point 2: at least 1.5 year of regular play.
At 2 karma, request to move to point 3: at least 3 years of regular play.

to

Quote0 karma, review can be requested after regular play for 6 months to move to point 1.
At 1 karma, requests to move to point 2: at least another 6 months of regular play (total of 1 year).
At 2 karma, request to move to point 3: at least another 6 months of regular play (total of 1.5 years).

or to put it more simply:

QuoteYou need at least 6 months of regular play to move to the next karma point.

We feel having to wait 18 months for 2 karma, or 3 years for 3 karma, is too long.  I'll be updating the tools, help files, etc. shortly.

Below is the final draft of our internal karma revamp proposal, developed after input and comprehensive feedback from both players and the full staff team. This proposal aims to meet the specific requirements that have emerged from broader feedback over the last few years, as detailed in the initial feedback thread.

We recognize that significant changes are often controversial, and while there's a possibility for minor modifications, we plan to implement this system soon. We'll conduct a review every six months for the next year and a half to evaluate the impact and make any necessary adjustments.

Regarding the conversion rates, the initial transition will be straightforward: 1 will change to 2, 2 to 4, and 3 to 6. You can request an immediate review, even if your last karma review was recent, by using a question request if you're unable to submit a regular karma review request. We'll assess your current criteria against the new system and consider appropriate adjustments.

The help files will be updated to reflect this information and will include clear and transparent examples for each criterion.

Given that this plan is the result of extensive discussions with players, while we are always open to feedback, we are not planning on making more than minor modifications to the planned implementation at this time. However, we conduct a review at six months that will be open for feedback on more substantive changes after the system has been in effect for six months.

Proposed Karma System

0 Karma
All mundane classes and human

1 karma
Half-elf, city elf, dwarf
Can put in Specapps

2 karma
Desert elf, Thryzn
All Touched Mages
May apply for GMH and noble roles

3 karma
Full Guild Vivaduan
May apply for Templar roles

4 karma
Vivadu Healer (spec-app only),
Full Guild Rukkian (spec-app only, gemmed)

5 karma
Ruk Empowering, Ruk Creation, Ruk Protection, Vivadu Corruption (spec-app only),
Vivadu Creation (spec-app only), Full Guild Krathi (spec-app only, gemmed)

6 karma
Half-giant
Suk-Krath Guile, Suk-Krath Agony
Full Guild Whiran (spec-app only, gemmed)

7 karma
Suk-Krath Devastation, Whira Travel, Whira Tempest, Whira Illusion
Full Guild Drovian, Full Guild Elkrosian  (spec-app only, gemmed)

8 karma
Mul
Shadow Stalker (spec-app only), Elkros Vigor

9 karma
Nilaz Anathema, Shadow Dancer (spec-app only), Elkros Havoc

10 karma
Nilaz Void
May specapp Psionicist, May apply for Sorc rolecalls

Overview

• Players may request karma reviews every three months.
• Staff should frequently observe their players and grant karma liberally upon meeting criteria outside of reviews.
• Staff must document which criteria were met when assigning karma.
• Special applications can be made for up to four karma points above a player's current level.
• Feedback during karma reviews should be provided only if a player asks for it and must be constructive, offering clear guidance on next steps.
• During the initial phase of these changes, staff will not play PCs that require more karma than the highest level a non-staff player has achieved.

0-1 points

• New players start at 0 karma and can attain their first point by demonstrating Longevity & RP Novice, achievable after one month of play.
• A player's karma should not drop below 1 after they have progressed beyond this initial point. 1 becomes the new floor.

1 - 10

• 'Fair play' is a mandatory criteria for the next karma point and must be assessed at every review.
• Karma will not increase unless Fair Play criteria are met at the time of review. If a player has lost the Fair Play point or has recent serious rule violations, they cannot receive additional karma.
• Players may earn only one karma point at a time, through either a staff award or a review request, and should specify their focus during a review.
• RP Journeyman and Advanced levels require the previous RP criteria to be met.
• A staff-awarded karma point does not affect the timing of the next review request, potentially allowing for rapid karma gains within a short period.

Edit Note:
Small edit to make it clear that karma increases are not limited to the 3 monthly reviews.  - Usiku
Vivadu Creation shifted slightly per player feedback - Usiku 10/11/23

Karma Criteria

In order for a karma point to be gained, a player should be demonstrating most of the examples listed.

Longevity
(required to go from 0 to 1 karma)
Examples:

• "Has an accumulated playtime on characters of over 48 hours."

RP Novice
(required to go from 0 to 1 karma)
Examples:

• Demonstrates a basic understanding and appreciation of the underlying game theme
• Adheres to and represents those themes within their roleplay
• Demonstrates an ability to create a basic character suited to the world, adhering to the documentation (e.g. very basic understanding: this is a low tech desert world, there are sorcerer kings and city-states, our races aren't the same as fantasy races and so on)
• Be able to play and stay in character whilst in game
• Uses emotes and communicates with other PCs

Fair Play*
(required to go from 1 to 2 karma)
Examples:

• Follows the rules of the game and community. Such as consent, PK reports, wishing up before PKs where possible, no cheating, no multi-playing, no inappropriate OOC communication etc.
• No negative account notes for the last 3 months.

*Is required for any further advancement of Karma, e.g. if they have lost their trust point due to rule breakages, they will need to go another 3 months without any further issues or account notes before they can apply for a review.

The following criteria are required to go above 2 karma, but can be awarded in any order at any level, one point per karma level:

Communication
Examples:

• Wishes up to notify staff of significant events (pk incoming, attacking groups of npcs, going in to restricted areas)
• Works with staff on character concepts, families etc that might need oversight
• Keeps clan/game communications IC.  Does not resort to OOC methods to relay IC or restricted information
• Communicates both IC and OOC motivations to staff via request tool reports
• Asks questions of staff regarding any ambiguous actions/ideas and actively seeks staff input, through appropriate channels (request tool, not PM etc).
• Remains respectful in communications with staff, even when the topics are difficult.

Magick
Examples:

• Has over 96 hours played time as at least one manifested magick class or subclass (touched included).
• Has shown an understanding of the concepts of elementalism
• Has shown an understanding of the prejudices that accompany magick (inter-elemental as well as magicker vs non-magicker)
• Roleplays appropriately around magickers as a mundane.  (i.e. magick objects are not viewed as everyday objects, magick exhibitions are not seen as commonplace, shows proper caution, evidence of understanding the stigma of magick and magickers.).
• Exhibits responsibility when playing a magicker, showing restraint and good judgment with power
• Roleplays learning and exploring magick
• Has no negative account notes re. magick from the last 3 months
• Uses emotes along with magick coded commands to portray their magick in the world (including use of cantrips).

This does not extend to limiting creativity and freedom within storytelling. Players may still *occasionally* play PCs that go against social norms, so long as it is abundantly clear that they, as a player, understand what they are doing and are ready to roll with the punches of realistic world response.


RP Journeyman
Examples:

• Demonstrating an ability to develop a believable character with strengths and weaknesses and a well rounded background
• Makes use of the bio tool to flesh out their character and record their character development
• Player creates nuanced and varied characters with differing goals, personalities, IG routines, and roles within the world.
• Makes use of think/feel commands
• Solo RP's, imagining and describing their characters actions and interactions with the world even when no other characters are around
• Considers and includes the world around them in a general way
• Does not conflate IC and OOC issues and can keep a separation between themselves as players and their characters, showing a solid understanding of the difference between in-character and out of character motivations.

Culture & Racial
Examples:

• Has at least 72 hours played on at least 1 non-human race
• Has demonstrated a correct understanding of racial documentation and roleplayed non-human race per the documentation
• Has at least 96 hours played (per region) in at least 1 of: Tuluk, Allanak, Tribal, GMH, Red Storm Village, or Luir's Outpost
• Has demonstrated a correct understanding of local culture in at least one game locations and the ability to research and then correctly apply lore, including class structure, social norms and behaviour
• Has no negative account notes re. specific culture or racial play from the last 3 months

This does not extend to limiting creativity and freedom within storytelling. Players may still *occasionally* play PCs that go against social norms, so long as it is abundantly clear that they, as a player, understand what they are doing and are ready to roll with the punches of realistic world response.


Leadership
Examples:

• Demonstrates in-depth understanding of the documentation and lore for the clan they are leading
• Uses coded clan power responsibly (doesn't use NPCs to PK, doesn't abuse crim code etc)
• Responsibly undertakes the necessary administrative tasks that are essential for every clan such as handling enrollments and managing recruitment.
• Puts in regular leadership reports covering the topics and areas requested by their Storytellers.
• Uses their leadership position to create interest and activities for their clan members and drive plots forwards.

Supporting the game
Examples:

• Identifies newer players and helps them to learn the ropes of the game
• Plays inclusively, figuring out ways to include other players (and their PCs) in interesting plots whilst maintaining their own PCs personality and motivations
• Remains a good influence on less experienced players by not flouting rules in front of them and nudging them in the right direction if necessary
• Communicates important issues with staff as they arise, especially by submitting player or staff complaints when necessary
• Creates and drives plots and/or runs successful RPTs that encourage activity, outside of a leadership role
• Contributes to clan documentation

RP Advanced
Examples:

• Demonstrates an ability to create consistent, multifaceted characters who are designed to live out a story and remain true to their personality even in the face of difficult situations
• Is able to roll with the punches and take the highs and lows of a character, understanding that Armageddon is not about 'winning' but rather telling a story. Does not store in the face of adversity.
• Plays well with others, leaving space in scenes for other characters
• Considers the virtual and NPC world especially when it is challenging and potentially detrimental to their PC.
• Does not metaplay generally and demonstrates this through their actions when faced with tough situations (e.g. mindbender attacks)*
• Has played a complex character role, such as a mul, and displayed a good level of documentation understanding and application

Community
Examples:

• Demonstrates an ability to be a positive influence on the Armageddon GDB, if the player participates.  This means not having been moderated a lot on the GDB, and generally abides by the rules of the forums.
• Demonstrates an ability to be a positive influence on the Armageddon Discord server, if the player participates.  This means not having been moderated a lot in Discord, and generally abides by the rules of Discord.
• Has contributed in some meaningful way to better the Armageddon community.  This could be participating in any of the following: the Player Committee, Player Moderator Team, Player Helper, or Publicity/Advertising Team.

Hi guys! Just to be clear - this is not implemented yet. We wanted to let you know it was happening but it's not yet live. So please hang on to your karma reviews until after the implementation has happened. <3

Before I sign off for the night, I'd like to clarify concerns about karma conversion and potential changes in role access rather than leave people speculating for the rest of the night, since I guess we were not explicit enough here:

QuoteRegarding the conversion rates, the initial transition will be straightforward: 1 will change to 2, 2 to 4, and 3 to 6. You can request an immediate review, even if your last karma review was recent, by using a question request if you're unable to submit a regular karma review request. We'll assess your current criteria against the new system and consider appropriate adjustments.

The initial review is designed to allow us to review your account on a more personal level and to adjust based on already established criteria and your account history. Unlike the karma reviews moving forward, this transitional review will not be limited to adjustments of a single point. Instead, it's meant to finesse after the automated conversion, which could immediately place you at a karma level of 7, 8, 9 or 10. Since this initial effort will require time and energy per player, we will do it in response to requests to cater for active players, since trying to manually review every account would be impossible.

Given a lot of the discussion and feedback, I guess this really wasn't clear enough. I hope that clears some issues up for a few people at least.

Some tweaks made per player feedback. Changed a bit of language across the examples that wasn't being interpreted as intended. Moved GMH/Nobles down to 2 karma and Templars to 3, just to demonstrate a bit more experience with the game but recognising these roles can pivotal in gaining later karma. Still highly experimental and we may just remove that bit entirely.

Some other clarifications based on discussion I have observed:

- Each criteria has examples alongside it. These examples are there to help and guide both staff and players, but it is not a requirement checklist. It is meant to help demonstrate and define the 'spirit' of the criteria. That is a bit of deliberate allowance for subjectivity that should make it easier, not harder, for players to gain karma. You do not have to 'tick off' every single point.

- The transition to the new system is not meant to be a moment where everyone suddenly loses all their earned karma. As above, there will be a move across, and then there will be a jiggle around to try and get things right.. and then we will all move forward on the new system together.

- Off-peak Euro Peak players, I got you. I see you. Besides the fact that we are steadily growing in our Euro numbers, we also have euro and off-peak staff coverage. We might not always be able to jump in response to wishes, but you are not unseen.

- I'm currently not sure what will do with psis and sorcs initially. We will probably have to play it by ear, but we obviously want them to exist in game!

Adding a couple of the posts I have made within the discussions so they are surfaced, since they answer questions people may have who are not following the threads:

Quote from: Usiku on November 08, 2023, 05:21:35 PMIt isn't Brokkr's fever dream. We are a team. The initial push to look at the karma system came from me. We brainstormed the essential requirements then opened it up for player insights followed by a staffside discussion. Somewhere along the way Haldol came up with a pretty solid list of criteria. I took that into a Google Doc and played about with it for a couple of weeks, fleshed it out, changed stuff up, ideated over how the process could work then dumped a document in front of Hal and Brokkr. Hal went through it, tweaked it, suggested changes. Then Brokkr. Then I did again. Then we argued for days (healthy debate) over all the details and niggles then finally it was OK. Then it went in front of the Admins and they went through and fed back and then it was tweaked again. Then we got sidelined for a bit, circled back for more rounds of debate and tweaks. And now, here we are.

So that's how that happened. And we are still tweaking as we get more feedback from you guys.

Yes, it should absolutely save staff time, though not necessarily only in direct ways. The big win is not having to hash out every point. STs are empowered with more autonomy. This means less time on bureaucratic back-and-forths and more time on port, actively engaging with players. Admin+ involvement for 6-8 is now just a quick check-in rather than a drawn-out discussion. The three-month reviews should be streamlined too, just an ST, maybe with an Admin, doing a check-up (or anyone else). They're current, focused on what's happening now, rather than sifting through a player's history. It's about immediate recognition: "I am playing an awesome mage right now, watch me be great, I'm totally nailing this shit." It shifts our energy from administration to engagement, which is where we all prefer to be and where we need to be for most of our other activities anyway.

In the current system, a player might request a review from 2 to 3 based on three different criteria tied to actions taken on their PCs over the past couple of years. :-X This poses a challenge! It's difficult to verify, discuss and, at times, we simply lack the necessary information. Sometimes we can get locked up with these kinds of requests for a very long time.

And then there's this: we're hoping that this, along with other gradual changes and shifts in the culture, will help realign focus on the roleplay, improve communication within the community, and improve staff-player relations. If we can cut down on just a fraction of the time spent on internal staff debates, player complaints, staff complaints and all the energy they drain, then this change will have paid for itself. We're also discussing smaller changes to staff culture to encourage more 'staff-on-port' activity and less 'play-by-request', a subtle yet tough shift because it's so ingrained in both our workflow and player expectations, but it goes hand in hand with the changes to this system.

Thank you for everyone who is engaging with the process and providing feedback and debating things in a respectful way, it's awesome to see.

Quote from: Usiku on November 09, 2023, 05:09:09 AMThe current system has a list of 7 criteria, each with its own list of requirements, so it's not actually that far off the 10, but the examples/requirements just haven't been made public (I don't think?). Then those of you familiar with the system will know, you need one of the criteria for 1 karma, 3 for 2 karma and 6 for 3 karma. We can and do have reviews where players will tick off criteria without moving up a karma level. It means the journey from 2 to 3, can be very very long. It can take multiple reviews. 18 months? 24? More? Without getting to open up new options? Personally I think this sucks.

Now, a big theme prior to this announcement and a big theme of the feedback here has been around staff docking karma. If you hadn't gathered, we hate this, especially with the current system, you can be reversing something a player has worked towards for two years or more? It's a BIG deal. People who have had karma removed over the last few years (maybe.. 2 or 3 people?) will know the kind of things it has been removed for. However, we frequently have players complaining about the behaviour of some 3k players, not necessarily major things, but things which perhaps represent a failure to meet the expectations of our game and community. But their actions often do not warrant the loss of 3 separate criteria points. If you dock karma, then it's heavy handed and does not align with the system. If you were to remove the criteria point they failed to deserve due to their actions, they may not even lose the karma point if they have all seven criteria, they almost certainly wouldn't lose a point if they were lingering at the top end of 2.

Also, something our current system was lacking was really any expectation for any standard of RP beyond the very very basic. The RP point is awarded very early usually, for staying in character, for using emotes and so on. This player understands the basic concept of role playing. That is it. So if we get repeated complaints or observe, for example, that a very experienced player is failing to account for the virtual population around them? We absolutely expect our top karma players to do that. Why? We didn't give karma for that. So we can't take away karma for that. We can talk to them, but if nothing changes we still can't really do anything.

The current system does not really allow for us to remove karma at all, not in a way that is fair or in a way that could be fairly applied to all players. The current system has absolutely no guidelines or mechanic that we can follow in order to do this. We were fairly hamstrung. Now, we don't particularly want to take away karma, in fact we rather dislike it, but we had reached a point where a *lot* of players have 3 karma, not all of them were behaving well or representing the game the way players expected, and we were facing an awful lot of backlash from the player base about 'allowing' these things to happen.

Allowing karma to be removed in a way that is fair, easier and less impactful/dramatic was one of the requirements that needed to be met by the new system. It should be a fairly minor and easily reversible thing to go from 7 to 6 or 8 to 7 and so on.

Quote from: UsikuI'm not sure how clear it is from the player side, but players are constantly coming and going from the game. This is not a static player base of exactly 150 people and if we make this change 20 of them will walk out and never come back and we will be at 130. That just isn't how it goes.

We also have a bigger picture vision for the game. You may not think we are listening because we not behaving reactively to what you are saying right now, but we have been actively listening to what you have been saying for the last three years and now we are beginning to implement plans to try and shift the game in the direction of what the majority player base has been asking for over that time. In the past 4 days 3 veteran players have returned who haven't played for months to years.

Ultimately, we lose players year on year. If we make no changes at all we will lose players. If we continue at the same rate that has been shown over the last decade then the game will only have a small handful of years left before it's unplayable. The only option we have now is to make changes and try to make the right ones. Our focus has to be on attracting and retaining new players. It has to be on attracting and retaining the right kind of new players from the right communities. If we want this game to continue to be an RPI, then we have to make sure that when roleplay loving new players show up, they find an environment they want to role play in, that they find a community they want to be part of, that they find a game that works for them.

We need to make changes with confidence and we need to keep moving forward. Everything we are doing is to try and make sure this game and this community survives. I am all over those player numbers and I know it's scary. But the people clicking the, "If you don't do what I want (nothing) I will quit and never play again" button are doing us the most harm. They are trying to force us into a corner where will never be able to do anything except slowly wither away until there is nothing left. The game cannot be held hostage by people who threaten to quit over every change they don't like. The overall game design and direction cannot be led by who shouts the loudest. That would not be a cohesive plan of action to lead us to a place we need to be. Any big change we make is going to be hard to swallow for some players (probably different players each time). But if we want this game to survive, and even thrive, then we need big changes.

I hear you when you say some insight into our long term vision would help, we will knock heads and try to finalise the mission statement that somewhat stalled.