State of the Server

[Effect]

Not sure why you're all still discussing P2W when it's not actually a problem.

KEEP TOPIC RELATED TO HACKING!
It's pretty simple, dont just read the title and expect that this thread has anything to do with your rants to call this server P2W in comparison to Trion's version.
This thread was dedicated to hacking BECAUSE that is the main issue that we are facing as a playerbase and it is the only thing that should be a major priority to do something about.

 

[cccorp]

Not sure why you're all still discussing P2W when it's not actually a problem.

KEEP TOPIC RELATED TO HACKING!
It's pretty simple, dont just read the title and expect that this thread has anything to do with your rants to call this server P2W in comparison to Trion's version.
This thread was dedicated to hacking BECAUSE that is the main issue that we are facing as a playerbase and it is the only thing that should be a major priority to do something about.

I beg to differ, the main issue we are facing as a player-base is people telling us what our main issue should be and our priority. The admins have already stated 1,000 times they are working on banning hacker but they are a small team sadly they must stay small to make sure their is no admin abuse claims!

 

[Effect]

I beg to differ, the main issue we are facing as a player-base is people telling us what our main issue should be and our priority. The admins have already stated 1,000 times they are working on banning hacker but they are a small team sadly they must stay small to make sure their is no admin abuse claims!

Congratulations on not contributing to the thread. It's like you people dont even read the thread before you comment, or did you forget about the posts that explain in detail how player GM's work and how many logs and layers of protection from abuse is usually setup?

 

[Kashi]

Brb, swaying power towards the formidable Uganda People's Defence Force.

We were hired to be GMs. Should we be given normal GM powers - aka the power to act on what is going on ingame - there'll be full logs of our actions to any of our superiors. I'm sure they will ask us to provide reasoning for every ban and action taken too.

The lack of oversight isn't an issue. Knowing this Administration, I'm sure there'll be plenty of oversight and knowing this community, I'm sure that if Krowley and I step out of line, people will be more than glad to report it.

The issue, right now, is widespread hacking. You need GMs ingame to combat that effectively and you need said GMs to know the game in and out.

I, for one, fully adhere to Shawnzy's analysis. This server's issues compound each other but the main one, at the moment, is definitely the hacking that has gotten out of control. There needs to be something drastic done to reduce it.

Edit: I'm fairly certain that any GM account would be completlely separate from player accounts anyway and there'd be one east GM and one west GM so it's always easy to reach one, no matter your faction (lol sorry pirates).

People already suspect <Wanted> of cheating for even attempting to activate the bench even though they were literally processing stone in Cinder 30 minutes after the bench came up. If they really knew it was going to happen the guild would have been in DS with packs on their back ready to go. They would have been halfway to the first node before any other guilds had even grouped up. But just having Krowley as a member had people calling shenanigans.

If the two of you were giving GM powers, anything <Wanted> did would become suspect. Every boss kill. Every divine weapon. While the AA team did casually play on retail. That's different than being members of a guild competing for content.

And now that you've mentioned it, if two random GMs did show up, people would assume it's the two of you and that would be disastrous for the server.

 

[Raistlin]

People already suspect <Wanted> of cheating for even attempting to activate the bench even though they were literally processing stone in Cinder 30 minutes after the bench came up. If they really knew it was going to happen the guild would have been in DS with packs on their back ready to go. They would have been halfway to the first node before any other guilds had even grouped up. But just having Krowley as a member had people calling shenanigans.

If the two of you were giving GM powers, anything <Wanted> did would become suspect. Every boss kill. Every divine weapon. While the AA team did casually play on retail. That's different than being members of a guild competing for content.

And now that you've mentioned it, if two random GMs did show up, people would assume it's the two of you and that would be disastrous for the server.

GM on forum and ingame are two very different things, and i am pretty sure they themselves didnt know that castles would unlock xD
Since it was a client implemented thing, and you simply can not change it without maintenance.

Also, only ones prepared for the castle rush were east players, if anything i have seen their scouting parties all over auroria, clippers, 2 raids of harihari camping at npc zones ready to rush and what not. Pretty scary how fast they organised, i wonder if west will have a chance for the castles.

 

[Kashi]

GM on forum and ingame are two very different things, and i am pretty sure they themselves didnt know that castles would unlock xD
Since it was a client implemented thing, and you simply can not change it without maintenance.

Also, only ones prepared for the castle rush were east players, if anything i have seen their scouting parties all over auroria, clippers, 2 raids of harihari camping at npc zones ready to rush and what not. Pretty scary how fast they organised, i wonder if west will have a chance for the castles.

It was obvious they didn't know from their actions. But just from their limited powers of being able to make an announcement like that and being believed, the rumors have gone beyond the private server community that they are influencing the game to the benefit of their guild, even in a situation where it's obvious they hadn't.

So if something like forum mod powers could cause that level of distrust, what do you think would happen if they were given the power to create gold from thin air among other things? Do you think people would just trust they wouldn't abuse that?

 

[hypershatter]

GM on forum and ingame are two very different things, and i am pretty sure they themselves didnt know that castles would unlock xD
Since it was a client implemented thing, and you simply can not change it without maintenance.

Also, only ones prepared for the castle rush were east players, if anything i have seen their scouting parties all over auroria, clippers, 2 raids of harihari camping at npc zones ready to rush and what not. Pretty scary how fast they organised, i wonder if west will have a chance for the castles.

Actually west is much scarier if anything...

 

[Kain]

It was obvious they didn't know from their actions. But just from their limited powers of being able to make an announcement like that and being believed, the rumors have gone beyond the private server community that they are influencing the game to the benefit of their guild, even in a situation where it's obvious they hadn't.

So if something like forum mod powers could cause that level of distrust, what do you think would happen if they were given the power to create gold from thin air among other things? Do you think people would just trust they wouldn't abuse that?

Not up to the community to decide, slander against staff members isn't allowed either.
If people decide to not trust Krowley then who gives a shit, as long as he hasn't done anything wrong public opinion doesn't matter.
Not even if IronLady or Sparkle came out saying Krowley has done nothing wrong would change their views, people are like that.
And hey, if your point is that players would start distrusting the staff and leaving the server then why would we care? If those that leave are the ignorant ones, the ones that stay are better off.

 

[cccorp]

Congratulations on not contributing to the thread. It's like you people dont even read the thread before you comment, or did you forget about the posts that explain in detail how player GM's work and how many logs and layers of protection from abuse is usually setup?

I contributed just as much to this thread as you did, don't worry i read every post here might have helped things with the thread name wasn't "state of the server" by rights that name a lone warrants any issue that effects the state of the server, should have called it something like the other 2-3 other threads on hackers, i'm sure we will have 3 or 4 more threads about it pop-up along with 5-6 more p2w threads by the end of the week!

They can explain in detail everything they want too but people will only see or read what they want.

 

[jwark04]

If they can catch hackers then I could care less if they also play.

 

[October]

I contributed just as much to this thread as you did, don't worry i read every post here might have helped things with the thread name wasn't "state of the server" by rights that name a lone warrants any issue that effects the state of the server, should have called it something like the other 2-3 other threads on hackers, i'm sure we will have 3 or 4 more threads about it pop-up along with 5-6 more p2w threads by the end of the week!

They can explain in detail everything they want too but people will only see or read what they want.

How is it p2w IF I CANT BUY CREDITS! -Desk flip-

 

[Krowley]

If they can catch hackers then I could care less if they also play.

I believe the long term goal is just this. Neither ulf nor myself would be comfortable having our accounts have access to any GM commands, as that's just rife for cries of foul play. But if we get GM powers, at first I imagine it will be to check up on some of our backlogged appeals and bans, and apply bans or appeals as necessary, and then move from there.

Would people cry everytime <Wanted> did content? Of course. It's easier to cry than to improve yourself. They'll do the same for anything. If I kill someone in a couple of hits, they'll cry about that. If I get an epic weapon, they'll cry about that. If I pay 20k gold for a piece of gear, they'll cry about that. I'm not going to justify being a good player to them, rather I'm going to leave them in tears as I keep working on my personal goals and character.

"We want cheaters banned, but we don't want in game players doing it, and we don't want our forum admins to become GMs because they play the game" so then what exactly do you want, Utopia given to you on a silver platter? I won't mince words with it or beat around the bush. People want perfection but they want it to come from somewhere else and fit their model of perfection so their "fee-fee's" don't get hurt when they are outplayed.

If I ever had even an inch of GM powers, most people would only know it through the bans and appeals being handed out. World bosses would still hit me like a freight train when I attack them, and DRs would still run over me in 3s. And when I get my divine+ ayanad weapon, it will be through hard work (which I started a week ago) and not through any other means or methods. Just as I've done in every other video game before this. Just as the quote in my siggy says. If you can't love the process of excellence you don't deserve excellence and you'll never achieve it.

 

[Akasha]

I love when people bring up legitimate arguments in favor of a topic (see Ulfnaor's post) and then people completely ignore that argument and just say "Yeah but it's bad so don't do it".

Hiring GMs that don't play the game is a terrible idea. People need to know what's actually going on in order to moderate effectively.

You are incredibly stupid.

90%+ of GMs for every production game don't play the game they work on. Those days are long gone, not coincidentally, due to the very predictable corruption that happened. As far back as UO and GM Darwin.

 

[Akasha]

I believe the long term goal is just this. Neither ulf nor myself would be comfortable having our accounts have access to any GM commands, as that's just rife for cries of foul play. But if we get GM powers, at first I imagine it will be to check up on some of our backlogged appeals and bans, and apply bans or appeals as necessary, and then move from there.

Would people cry everytime <Wanted> did content? Of course. It's easier to cry than to improve yourself. They'll do the same for anything. If I kill someone in a couple of hits, they'll cry about that. If I get an epic weapon, they'll cry about that. If I pay 20k gold for a piece of gear, they'll cry about that. I'm not going to justify being a good player to them, rather I'm going to leave them in tears as I keep working on my personal goals and character.

"We want cheaters banned, but we don't want in game players doing it, and we don't want our forum admins to become GMs because they play the game" so then what exactly do you want, Utopia given to you on a silver platter? I won't mince words with it or beat around the bush. People want perfection but they want it to come from somewhere else and fit their model of perfection so their "fee-fee's" don't get hurt when they are outplayed.

If I ever had even an inch of GM powers, most people would only know it through the bans and appeals being handed out. World bosses would still hit me like a freight train when I attack them, and DRs would still run over me in 3s. And when I get my divine+ ayanad weapon, it will be through hard work (which I started a week ago) and not through any other means or methods. Just as I've done in every other video game before this. Just as the quote in my siggy says. If you can't love the process of excellence you don't deserve excellence and you'll never achieve it.

Yall pushin real hard to get gm powers eh both of you now.

Your first two paragraphs illustrate completely why you should not have them. First off, when WANTED has done the amount of content other nameless guilds have you can maybe try that route. When you pay 20k for a piece of gear that you earned in game maybe you can go that route, but I was guilded with you for the first two weeks and personally watched you talk about swiping your way to the top. That doesn't make you a "good" player vs everyone else. Your anatagonistic outlook on your non guildmates alone is enough to raise a red flag on giving you any powers in game over a player.

I never had a problem with you personally in Solzreed, you weren't a jerk or anything. This isn't personal, its plain common sense. You don't let players become GMs. Countless private servers have been destroyed by this. More than I could list here. Yes we want hackers banned, yes we want in game GMs. The sheer amount of donations received so far, you could take literally 1% of that and pay a staff of 4 for a year at min wage. Virtual assistants are a thing. As far as "knowing" the game, on the job training is a thing in every job on the market.

Some really ridiculous points being made.

 

[Krowley]

Some really ridiculous points being made.

By pretty much only yourself, tbh. You want a better game? Start reporting people, and stop pushing for people who have no idea how this game is played to assume power roles involving this game. I'm telling you this as a player, not admin.

 

[ZZavage]

GM's who play the game ALWAYS give their own guild an advantage. It happened with AA live servers, it happened on Albion Online and many other games. Those people were paid GM's and they still used the information they had access to regarding certain things being bugged or glitched and exploiting them to give their guilds an advantage.

This would especially be an issue at the moment since both Krowley and Ulf are West, so there's nobody to represent the East. W/e, say all you want you wouldn't "abuse your power" or "leak" any extra information, too many previous circumstances regarding GM's in games proves it will always happen. So if the only GM's are West players and they "leak" anyyyy sort of info, thats an immediate advantage for a faction/guild over an entire other faction.

Can literally be little things like "hey theyre putting these items in the next RNG box, stock up credits now before the price spikes". That sort of stuff 100% happens in games.

 

[Akasha]

By pretty much only yourself, tbh. You want a better game? Start reporting people, and stop pushing for people who have no idea how this game is played to assume power roles involving this game. I'm telling you this as a player, not admin.

Start reporting people? Im pretty sure Ive posted videos of hackers on this forum. How much more reporting you want? Again , ridiculous comments. Stop pushing for gm powers as a player, shits see through.

I am doing more than my share of work to report players. Paid employees assuming power roles in a game they dont play is common sense, you talk like its a bad thing. It ensures there is no ulterior motive or interests. Its not even a debate, this industry has been around for over 20 years now , this shit is completely solidified at this point.

 

[Choof]

I did community management for another emulator. Giving any kind of dev abilities to players with political motivations is a bad idea. Even if they are saints, its low-hanging fruit for angry people looking for anything to complain about. The amount of oversight and safeguards you'd have to work on are almost as much work as just bringing in a new staff member.

 

[Akasha]

Its crazy how Im the only one making ridiculous points but it seems like 4 out of every 5 replies supports what I am saying.

 

[Kain]

By pretty much only yourself, tbh. You want a better game? Start reporting people, and stop pushing for people who have no idea how this game is played to assume power roles involving this game. I'm telling you this as a player, not admin.

Pretty sure this has been said already but I'm pretty sure their point isn't to hire a random ass GM, but hire someone that does not play the game simply for the fact that they are GMs. If they played the game then their time would be split between their original account and doing what they were actually hired for. (Upgrading your character takes loads of gold and that doesn't come that quickly.)
That's not something I would personally want, I'd want a GM that would be doing his/her job by banning people, checking appeals, etc.
I wouldn't care if you were a player, I'd care if you spent your time playing instead of doing your job. (And no, the game isn't that intricate where you'd actually need to hire an actual player.)