Newsletter

edited September 2012 in North of Thera
I've been avoiding the forum for a while (and have been busy more generally), so I apologise if this has already been discussed to death, but I think the recent IRE newsletter is pretty indicative of the oft-described feeling of stagnation in the game and I thought it might perhaps bear discussion.

Here it is for those who don't receive it:
http://www.ironrealms.com/newsletter/fifteen-years-of-iron-realms

Compare the entry for Achaea to the entries for the other games. And this isn't really a new trend in the newsletters - just, I think, a particularly good example of that trend continuing.

Comments

  • We've had a lot of changes in a short time. Major policy changes (snub and the PK rules), mechanical changes (off-continent visibility and communication, lots of suggestions being implemented), more admin communication, etc.

    I doubt the changes are over, there's most likely plenty of good stuff still coming.
  • Also, don't forget the classleads! They've just been backburnered in favor of the bigger ones, but as Tecton/Cardan/Sarapis has said, it should come along in a few days or weeks.
  • I love the new changes.  I'm hoping for some roleplay, though.
  • My favorite part of the newsletter is catching up to date on Aetolia. They have done a countless number of things that we've been flat out told would be impossible on Achaea because of how Rapture is/how IRE games are coded, or that they would just take too long/be too hard (multi-classing, their emoting system, their new mobs, and lots more things).

  • edited September 2012
    Cooper said:
    My favorite part of the newsletter is catching up to date on Aetolia... their new mobs...
    I love how their denizens can cure afflictions now. It's great pvp practice for novice Aetolians.
  • No disagreement that Sarapis's return likely heralds good things and certainly some of the "behind the scenes" kind of things going on lately are nice.

    But I think there's definitely a point to be made regarding the lack of big things happening in the actual world. My hope (as elaborated in a novella of a post back when Matt made that thread just before things started getting busy and I stopped visiting the fora), is that we can start to lose that conservatism that's dominated the game for a while now and prevented us from seeing the sort of big changes and events that would make the newsletter a bit more uniformly exciting.

    Also, what Cooper said.
  • edited September 2012
    Vasool said:

    To put it straight, no, there is definitely not a point to be made regarding the lack of big things happening in the actual world. In another time, there would have been, but just not right now. 
    I attribute the abrupt improvement of Achaea to Sarapis return; while being bitter that these improvements and changes seemed to be utterly lacking whilst said person was not actively contributing. That's pretty depressing, when you think about it.  
  • All of the recent changes were in the works or being discussed before I came back, btw. I just worked with Tecton to re-prioritize the various things he wanted to do.

    The only stuff you've seen so far that I'm leading/led are HTML5 client improvements and the work on the forum move and forum atmosphere in general. There are also other things I'm pushing in the background, but some of it is tracking and metrics work that will hopefully allow us to refine our advertising so that it is once again profitable for us to run ads. 

    There's stuff I'm working on from the ground-up, but you haven't seen it yet. It took me quite awhile to just get my feet under me again and start to re-understand the dynamics of what's going on in-game with the various factions, catch up on some of the history I've missed, and, to be honest, just re-learn all the god commands. ;)

    Oh, and I played some chess. Poorly. 
  • If I beat you at chess will you please make available the trait @Vasool proposed? Please?

    If I let -you- beat -me- at chess will you implement it?
    ________________________
    The soul of Ashmond says, "Always with the sniping."

    (Clan): Ictinus says, "Stop it Jiraishin, you're making me like you."
  • I don't know what trait you're talking about.
  • ________________________
    The soul of Ashmond says, "Always with the sniping."

    (Clan): Ictinus says, "Stop it Jiraishin, you're making me like you."
  • Ahh, well, it sounds cool, but I'm really focused on more pressing problems/larger issues right now to be frank.
  • JiraishinJiraishin skulking
    edited September 2012
    @Sarapis That's unfortunate. Thanks for at least responding.

    On topic, usually I find the newsletters boring no matter -what- is happening. The little article links with headings like 'Murder in Ashtan' that appear on the right side of my screen when I view the Bardics give at least a somewhat better look.

    Whatever one thinks of the changes (I've done enough crying on the rant thread), the game is far from static.  Every time someone comes back from dormancy I have what amounts to an ever-growing checklist of changes that they absolutely must know about. Occasionally I am tempted to change the House announce to include something like this:

    Naga returning from dormancy, please read HELP THEFT and accept my condolences for your loss.


    Edit: wth is with these emoticons.
    ________________________
    The soul of Ashmond says, "Always with the sniping."

    (Clan): Ictinus says, "Stop it Jiraishin, you're making me like you."
  • Vasool said:
    I had a post written but I just deleted it.

    Sorry, I just can't wrap my mind around something completely false.

    To put it straight, no, there is definitely not a point to be made regarding the lack of big things happening in the actual world. In another time, there would have been, but just not right now. 

    Hey, remember when you first fell in love with Achaea, Tael, before the relationship went stale? Well take a look, there she is standing there all pretty, smiling into your eyes. Give her a chance, bro, she just wants to make things right, and she's wearing that special dress you always liked.
    I had a post written but I deleted it.

    Sorry, I just can't wrap my head around something so completely false.

    Unless something huge has changed in literally the last week and a half, there has not been any of the sort of more daring largescale stuff being tried.

    I'm not really sure what to make of the awkward relationship metaphor (complete with condescending "bro"). The relationship never really staled - I still enjoy the game on a regular basis, I just miss the sense of adventure and the willingness to try big shifts, the ability to enact which was always my favourite part of playing a MUD as opposed to other kinds of games. I'm not suggesting that things aren't happening, merely that things remain far more conservative than they were in the past and the newsletter is indicative of that. She may be wearing a nice dress, but I'd rather we went with something more dramatic even if it risked ending up a bit tasteless.

    Again, this isn't to say that things can't change or that there hasn't been any positive change.

    On an unrelated note, in my completely sleep-deprived state two days ago, I'm pretty sure I remember seeing Matt in a bar in some dream I was having. Which is odd because this was before I had seen the newsletter or really thought about his return to the game much at all (too busy to think about much of anything right now). Perhaps this was some sort of omen?
  • The communication changes within the past week were pretty huge.
    ________________________
    The soul of Ashmond says, "Always with the sniping."

    (Clan): Ictinus says, "Stop it Jiraishin, you're making me like you."
  • edited September 2012
    A fairly deep change I suppose, but not the sort I mean - the kind that substantially change organisational dynamics or mark a large historical shift. It's been a while since we've had one of those. That big Ashtan thing probably comes closest, but that doesn't seem to have had a lot of lasting change functionally speaking (at least not evident from the outside).

    But I'll go back to being busy and avoiding the forums now. I was hoping for discussion beyond "stop being so jaded, everything is great" and I think perhaps that hope was a bit idealistic.

    Hopefully Matt can actually help inject some of the stuff I'm hoping for back into the game once he's more settled in. My (fairly uninformed) impression was always that he was a bit less risk-averse than others when he was running things before, so I'll continue waiting eagerly to see what happens.

    Edit: Before I go, the new forums seem to be working really nicely.
  • I understand where you're coming from, Tael.  I think, though, that most of us are hoping that these new changes are indicative of the path that things will be taking.  Like a child on Christmas Eve who has gotten to open one present, and is really excited to see what other presents there are, even if there is a chance that it will only turn out to be socks and underpants.  We're not ready to give up that Christmas Eve feeling yet, especially not when we just gave Santa Sarapis our Christmas list.
  • I feel like one of those orphans must've during the Logosmas promotion when they opened a Mhaldorian present and found a dead puppy.
    ________________________
    The soul of Ashmond says, "Always with the sniping."

    (Clan): Ictinus says, "Stop it Jiraishin, you're making me like you."
  • Sarapis said:
    There's stuff I'm working on from the ground-up, but you haven't seen it yet. It took me quite awhile to just get my feet under me again and start to re-understand the dynamics of what's going on in-game with the various factions, catch up on some of the history I've missed, and, to be honest, just re-learn all the god commands. ;)

    Oh, and I played some chess. Poorly. 
    How can anyone complain what with the Logos and myself coming back after a long dormancy? And I assure you, my chess game hasn't suffered! :P
  • Sarapis said:
    All of the recent changes were in the works or being discussed before I came back, btw. I just worked with Tecton to re-prioritize the various things he wanted to do.
     
    Honestly, most of us are aware of how hard Tecton and his team work on making Achaea better. But there is something incredibly morale-boosting about the Logos returning to work on the game, both for older players who remember what it was like and for newer players who have only ever heard of the Creator. I think that morale-boost is what is causing the "happy Christmas feeling" that everyone is talking about and really, you didn't have to do anything to cause it - it's just from you coming back.

    That said, you've got a lot of hopeful, puppy-dog eyes staring in your direction right now. No pressure or anything. :P

    "Gilgamesh, where are you hurrying to? You will never find that [everlasting] life for which you are looking. When the gods created man they allotted to him death, but life they retained in their own keeping. As for you, Gilgamesh, fill your belly with good things; day and night, night and day, dance and be merry, feast and rejoice. Let your clothes be fresh, bathe yourself in water, cherish the little child that holds your hand, and make your wife happy in your embrace; for this too is the lot of man." 

  • I sincerely love that the first words spoken by the Logos to the people of Achaea after he returned were:
    ----
    All reality shudders as the voice of Sarapis, the Logos thunders across the
    land, "What. The. F***."
    ----
    I still hold by my dead puppy comment, however.
    Also I can't figure out quoting on here. :(
    ________________________
    The soul of Ashmond says, "Always with the sniping."

    (Clan): Ictinus says, "Stop it Jiraishin, you're making me like you."
  • I don't know about puppies, but I bet that kangaroo is still hasn't blinked.
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