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Old 11-11-2017, 09:27 AM   #5
shevegen
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Join Date: Nov 2009
Posts: 63
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Re: Armageddon: A well-coded game with a toxic and stagnant community and setting

> Up until this point, I had a rather naive view that because
> I was roleplaying, and the characters around me were
> roleplaying, that everyone was roleplaying.

You will always have some players who are more interested in
roleplay than others. I also fail to see why this should be
the primary problem, unless you think of yourself as the roleplay
police.

Admittedly it CAN be a problem when nobody roleplayers, but
this is why I wrote I am for a RPI game, where the other
elements come secondary.

> While I was on staff, I saw code-abusers and people skilling
> up when they thought no staff were online.

Well, here is the problem again - the code is obviously a problem
since it makes erroneous assumptions. Such as the skill grinding
part. This is admittedly happening on GEAS to some extent too,
but the skill system is more complex and not fully linear. It
also takes time investment into consideration (and admittedly,
the skill system also distracts from roleplay to some extent;
see the example given above, how characters behave in certain
ways to achieve tangible improves; the XP system has a similar
problem... the whole game would have to be rebooted internally
which, after 20 years, is very, very, very difficult).

> I infiltrated player cliques, often to find that big and
> small players alike were plotting against characters
> outside of the game, so that the staff body could be aware
> of them in case those plots came to fruition.

Yeah. Players get clever and creative, but I found it trivial
to see where cheating happens. Though, I assume that on a
permadeath MUD, cheating like this is even worse, since the
character may die as a result from this OOC setup, right?

> I saw storylines created by staff and players alike speculated
> on and spoiled.

Just because staff creates some random storyline, does not mean
that everyone has to like it. Same with non-admin wizards.

Some examples.

On Xyllomer, some wizard had this demon thingy take over the
Satai castle. Since the LQ was never ... finished, that demon
thingy stayed literally for many years.

I am all up for a dynamic story, mind you, but it also is sort
of bad if nothing changes even years lateron. And it's just
text, so trivial to change even by players. Build a replacement
castle and what not - that's just some text. Write an explanation,
that's also only some text.

And what does "spoil" mean, anyway? If I have a storyline and
e. g. different religions, guilds, and guild goals, then it
is natural that they will have a different opinion and act
accordingly.

I think there is still too much roleplay police in you ...

> I even witnessed, and sought to do something about, staff
> misbehavior, investigating things from unfair use of
> staff avatars to sexual harassment.

Abuse can happen all the time really.

> But I think what hurt the most is when I woke up one morning
> to a new e-mail in my personal, not staff, account, addressed
> to my staff handle. It listed my full name, my home and
> workplace address, and my cell phone number, and it stated
> that if I were to ban anyone else, that the information
> would be posted publicly.

That's pretty unfortunate. But ... how did someone else get all
that information in the first place?!?!

Do you people REQUIRE that transmission of information?

Because if so, then this is pretty outrageous.

I mean, I assume that perhaps you were stalked, which is
unfortunate - you have my sympathy cringes for that.

I can't think of many people who'd do so though. Perhaps you
over at Armageddon attracted the wrong people in the first
place.

> I did end up banning a player after that

Was it the one who stalked you? Or was it someone you took
a personal dislike?

> and the information was not posted, but the experience soured
> me like no other.

Welcome to being staff then, I guess!

> I think that is when I truly started to burn out. Concerned about the
> possibility that another staff member was involved, I elected not to
> tell anyone about it until I sought a legal course of action.

What. The. ****.

Dude, I can't really relate to any of that because that never happened
to me. Is it actually a real story or just made up? I mean, the latter
can also be the case.

> Eventually I realized that Armageddon's toxic community had made me
> into an angry person, one that I did not want to be, and I stepped
> away, never to return.

Eh ... I am having some slight doubts after reading what you wrote
above.

> Even after leaving, I continued to be harassed with messages and
> e-mails. Additionally, my personal e-mail was signed up for porn
> newsletters and other nonsense. Early this month, I resolved to
> cut Armageddon out of my thoughts. But my story continued to nag
> at me. So, I post this review in its entirety in an effort to
> provide myself some relief, so that I'm not held back by it
> anymore.

Provided that it were true.

I did not have anywhere any problem whatsoever near as much as you
did on Xyllomer or GEAS. Well, except the "staff does not communicate
with you" on the latter. And the former having made tactical erroneous
decisions in regards to code changes a long time ago (GEAS made a lot
more mistakes past 2011, largely because PO Turian is unable and/or
unwilling to listen to players. And I mean ALL players, not just the
few select who give ideas, when the others already threw in the towel
before).

> Armageddon players and staff will likely be tempted to reply to this
> review with one of their own. I welcome anyone who can prove me
> wrong to do so with their own actions. Don't focus on me. Focus
> on fixing your game and your community. I'm not the one who
> broke it, but I tried to fix it anyway. The least you can do
> is do the same.

I have no idea if you broke anything; or if Armageddon broke anything.

But the fact that you potty-mouth players on Armageddon actually
makes me think that you have some kind of problem in general.

For example, despite any problems I have had with any admin or
non-admin wizards, I always found that the overwhelming majority of
players on, e. g. both Xyllomer and GEAS, were really great. But
they also were never the reason why I retired - it always was by
people who hold the monopoly over the game code and take out the
fun of a game by ruining the game. Ironically enough, PO Jezz
pointed this out in his post-retirement addendum in 2010 in
GEAS already. Years later, same problem keeps on happening. It's
like deja-vu style repeating itself here.
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