Reintroductions and reflections.

[peterthepan3]

#lederail

Spoiler:

Ultimately, the Magus/Engi Range and 5 second Bolts of Change were fine-tuned (as is customary for changes that are being tested); they were never definitive, and were always subject to change.

Did it take a while for the changes to be fine-tuned? Perhaps...but again, how many competent Magi/Engineers were there on the server pushing the class to its limits, compared to - I dunno - bright wizards/sorcerers/slayers/tanks/healers? The potency of said changes was only realised after experimentation by (as you said) min-max players in ideal settings, and ultimately, aspects of it that were overperforming (in the hands of good players) were brought down a notch.

tldr; aspects that could've been considered overperforming were brought down a notch, and it's to be expected that it took a while given: a) the class is underrepresented; b) very few people ever bothered to play the class at all within a group setting - let alone one consisting of 6 90+ percentile players.

[wargrimnir]

Definitely good news. But I think that instead of manual ban removals there should be a server wide unban for everyone who ever got the hammer.

It might sound sick but some hand picked notorious ban removals look quite unfair to a lot of other people and resemble a PR move.

That's not going to happen. Many people worked very hard to earn their bans. We can't just take those away from them.

That being said, if people watching from the shadows that don't apply to the OP are looking to have a chat, I'm available on Discord, PM, email, etc...

[Rodek]

What I find disturbing is the bans that have been overridden. We're not talking 24 bans but permanent bans that were not only unjustified but vindictive. If the community is sanctioned unjustly there has to be an equal reckoning for the person/people that handed out the ban.

This seems like one of the clearest case of who watches the watchers. People had their accounts unjustly seized. What's to stop it from happening again?

[dur3al]

#lederail

Spoiler:

Ultimately, the Magus/Engi Range and 5 second Bolts of Change were fine-tuned (as is customary for changes that are being tested); they were never definitive, and were always subject to change.

Did it take a while for the changes to be fine-tuned? Perhaps...but again, how many competent Magi/Engineers were there on the server pushing the class to its limits, compared to - I dunno - bright wizards/sorcerers/slayers/tanks/healers? The potency of said changes was only realised after experimentation by (as you said) min-max players in ideal settings, and ultimately, aspects of it that were overperforming (in the hands of good players) were brought down a notch.

tldr; aspects that could've been considered overperforming were brought down a notch, and it's to be expected that it took a while given: a) the class is underrepresented; b) very few people ever bothered to play the class at all within a group setting - let alone one consisting of 6 90+ percentile players.

You're misunderstanding why I used the engineer/magus change as an example in what I was trying to say. What I meant is we must begin dwell into balance starting from a point of the game which we're most familiar with, where we have most data in a sense, and from there start adjustments if necessary.

Basically I used the example of engi/magus to solidify my point about time experimentation, and the time we've most experimented with is 1.4.8. I am NOT discussing whether the changes were good/bad etc, although I do believe all it takes is the damn pet to follow you around for the most part.

What I find disturbing is the bans that have been overridden. We're not talking 24 bans but permanent bans that were not only unjustified but vindictive. If the community is sanctioned unjustly there has to be an equal reckoning for the person/people that handed out the ban.

This seems like one of the clearest case of who watches the watchers. People had their accounts unjustly seized. What's to stop it from happening again?

Agreed, which is why I posted that some things just need to happen because if not, it is sort of pointless because it can just simply happen again.

[Sparrer]

My guess is that people who put some effort into getting themselves banned will do it again sooner than later. I doubt they represent a majority of those who got banned.

But giving away some out of jail cards as a second chance to community members is a good sign of trust.

[Sedok]

Welcome back Azarael.

While I was here for awhile in your prior time with the server, I was, and remain, on the fringe of the community, so I do not know much about the inner politics of the community and the staff, and am unaware of whatever drama surrounded you; but my main concern with this project was that, from the outside looking in, it appeared directionless. Having someone at the helm, with the transparency you displayed in this post, should help the project greatly. You also addressed two of my major game-play concerns (morale gain and disrupt calculation), and for that you have my appreciation. Whatever transpired before, players need to give you a second chance, put the drama behind them and move forward. If you're a player who has problems with Azarael's past actions, recognize that he has extended an olive branch and meet him halfway.

Management of an MMO is not easy. It is a difficult genre which requires a lot of macro- and micromanagement of the community, a significant amount of content generation, and quite some compromise. These difficulties having been noted, it is still very important to listen to the community, because without the community, there is no game.

Management of an MMO is becoming exponentially difficult with the mainstreaming of the internet and online gaming, as well as the emergence of a generation of young people raised purely on the internet, with no awareness of how one should conduct themselves socially in the digital world (and in many cases, no awareness or even ability of how to do so in the real world). I don't envy your guys' position of having to moderate a free, PvP-based MMO in the current era, as I've had enough experience in various games to see just how vile of a cesspit a community can become if left to fester.

And that is where MMOs face immense difficulty, because you are 100% correct that without a community there is no game, and that doubly true for a PvP-based title. Even if a World of Warcraft private server is low population, people can still progress their character through decent/compelling PvE; but for WAR, if the lakes are empty, there is effectively no content. So if the project needs players, but has to choose them for a pool of juvenile, crass, and, quite frankly, anti-social demographic, how in the world are you expected to manage them without a so-called "iron-fist"?

I am not stating for a minute that staff should be treated like dirt. But neither should we be treated like gods. [...] Respect needs to be shown by all of us on the staff for dissenting opinions – no matter how vehemently expressed – so long as adequate respect for us is shown in kind. No adminstration will ever tolerate being directly insulted, for example. Disagreement and dissent are fine, but harassment and abuse are not, and this applies to both sides, the community and us.

Do not confuse respect with politeness. I can not respect you man-to-man when I don't know you, but I can be polite and civil in our interactions. One should have respect for the position of a "game-master" or "moderator" in the same manner that they do a police officer, and understanding of the social powers granted to that authority and acceptance of them if you wish to be a part of that community. Respect for the individual with that authority is not required though, and that seems to be where a number of cases have gotten out of hand.

The main one that comes to mind is the Raptork blog post; while he was indeed being dead weight in the scenario, lying to the GMs and being obstinate in the exchange, Storm's handling of the situation was very poor, as he let his ego and "being respected" trump resolving the situation professionally. As a result, he gave ammunition to querulous blogger that resulted in bad press, an overall negative outcome for the project.

I as well have been on the receiving end of Storm's ego, as my account has a warning on it for "terrain exploiting", but from the interaction (and the fact that it would have to be a very ambiguous definition of "exploiting"), I got the feeling that I received the warning simply because I told him "drop the sarcasm, this why you guys aren't well liked" after he made some insipid remark about squirrels eating my internet line. And that was in a supposedly "official" interaction; if that is the average interaction with a GM, its no wonder that many people leave this server with poor impressions of the project. This is made even worse when my message to Wargrim to discuss it went unanswered, and gives off the further impression that its the staff versus the players, not staff working with the players.

On the flip side of that, and relating to my previous remarks, the players need to conduct themselves more politely to the staff and with much more general civility as well. I have no beef or problem with Torq, and maybe its because I'm grumpy and abrasive myself, but I don't understand the reputation he has gained amongst the playerbase. I read the forums quite a bit and I'm in game far too much, and I've not seen him abuse his power by any definition; in fact, every time I've seen him use his authority in game, its to clean out the boorishness of the server, something which is necessary for a free, PvP-based MMO. I still remember the time he forced a name change on a character named something like "Kumdmp", and the juvenile tantrum it sparked in the pug warband chat; the response of the players was embarrassing, and it showcased a rampant, reactionary anti-authoritarian sentiment that makes managing a community extremely difficult.

A lot of effort has been expended by the team on adjusting RvR in the present state, but unfortunately, it appears that without the endgame in place, this cannot satisfy some players who may play more seriously than others. Mistakes in direction are inevitable and were so under Mythic as well, but this does not mean that the team was slacking off.

While having an overarching goal for the campaign is crucial to its success, it was not the main reason why I and all my guild mates on live invested hundreds or thousands of hours into WAR, it was pulse-pounding, never-ending competition between strong guilds. Once one of those prominent guilds leaves, the larger culture it was a part of topples like a house of cards. Without those guilds bringing those exhilarating, competitive fights, there is little fun to be had in pug-surfing or pug-stomping. The same problem seems to be happening on RoR, except in the 6-man environment.

As previously stated, I intend to assume the role that I did before. For those of you who have never known me, I managed the community, especially PvP issues, was responsible for most of the direction and leadership of the team and was specifically interested in small-scale PvP and anything related to it.

If I may ask, why the focus on small-scale PvP?

[wargrimnir]

What I find disturbing is the bans that have been overridden. We're not talking 24 bans but permanent bans that were not only unjustified but vindictive. If the community is sanctioned unjustly there has to be an equal reckoning for the person/people that handed out the ban.

This seems like one of the clearest case of who watches the watchers. People had their accounts unjustly seized. What's to stop it from happening again?

That's painfully inaccurate. This is a case of admitting systemic issues with the overreach of certain kinds of bans. Not an abuse of staff members who use the extent of that overreach to it's limit. I HAVE overturned bans that went too far under the system that allowed the rest of these to occur. If you're here looking for blood, you're not going to get it. Take peace, and be at peace.

[Azarael]

If I may ask, why the focus on small-scale PvP?

The flow of the combat in small-scale PvP is something I find more personally appealing than large-scale PvP. I think a much wider range of abilities and compositions shine there, though that is my personal preference, and many disagree.

Good post, by the way.

[GodlessCrom]

For what it's worth, small-scale pvp is inherently easier to balance as there are simply less variables involved. And if needed, it can become the stepping-stone for larger-scale balance (as warbands are, after all, simply four six-mans rubberbanded together). Also, the playerbase caters to small-scale action far more, as we simply do not often have the people for multiple organized warbands, but many guilds could (in theory) muster a six-man.

[Gravord]

What I find disturbing is the bans that have been overridden. We're not talking 24 bans but permanent bans that were not only unjustified but vindictive. If the community is sanctioned unjustly there has to be an equal reckoning for the person/people that handed out the ban.

This seems like one of the clearest case of who watches the watchers. People had their accounts unjustly seized. What's to stop it from happening again?

This is a case of admitting systemic issues with the overreach of certain kinds of bans. Not an abuse of staff members who use the extent of that overreach to it's limit.

Could you please explain based on which rule breach i was perma banned?