Sign in to follow this  
MordosKull

Reaction to Staff Statements on Game Status

Recommended Posts

When I got into wurm I knew the dev team back then was mostly volunteer, as time went on some paid staff came aboard to help with the work/push direction of updates but I think still most was volunteer, so i don't know why it's a suprise that sometimes things go quiet, personally think all the updates/scope of them have been pretty big, would love to get a few things fixed, hate the new taming system, but the doom and gloom? Seems really miss placed atm.

  • Like 1

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
9 minutes ago, Mclavin said:

When I got into wurm I knew the dev team back then was mostly volunteer, as time went on some paid staff came aboard to help with the work/push direction of updates but I think still most was volunteer, so i don't know why it's a suprise that sometimes things go quiet, personally think all the updates/scope of them have been pretty big, would love to get a few things fixed, hate the new taming system, but the doom and gloom? Seems really miss placed atm.

 

Very misplaced. There was a point where the game didn't hear from devs for nearly a year and everyone still played. If you expect it like "now now now" I feel bad for the people backing the OP... 

  • Like 2

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Just now, Holar said:

 

Very misplaced. There was a point where the game didn't hear from devs for nearly a year and everyone still played. If you expect it like "now now now" I feel bad for the people backing the OP... 

 

server would crash but rofl just left for holiday. Or he would update the game Friday, go home weekend and leave everything broken XD

  • Like 2

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
17 minutes ago, Holar said:

 

Very misplaced. There was a point where the game didn't hear from devs for nearly a year and everyone still played. If you expect it like "now now now" I feel bad for the people backing the OP... 

What a person is going through in real life also effects how they will treat a virtual life.  Think of how tense things have got in the world right now and how people just want an escape from all of the rubbish that is going on. 

As people say "Wurm is meant to be an escape"  people pay alot of money to escape the drama and problems of the world.  If you already feel overloaded in real life then if your place of escape is also making you feel overloaded because of all of broken features....etc then something is going to snap.  The problems in the world seem too big to fix so their mode of escape "Wurm" is something smaller that they can help fix instead.

That's why there is so much investment, passion and anger as of late.  Then again also think about how these things relate to the real world.  Wurm online staff not communicating enough or not telling the full story is like the mess in real life to do with covid and health...etc.   Even more of an connection can be made because the staff are meant to be "Authority" so if the "Authority" is not giving full info or leaving things broken then that also can remind people of the "Authority" in real life. 

It is all connected. 

 

That is what is different now from back then. 

Edited by Zexos
  • Like 4

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
12 minutes ago, Mclavin said:

 

server would crash but rofl just left for holiday. Or he would update the game Friday, go home weekend and leave everything broken XD

The week everyone spent playing on the test server because of the ddosing

  • Like 3

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
29 minutes ago, Mclavin said:

When I got into wurm I knew the dev team back then was mostly volunteer, as time went on some paid staff came aboard to help with the work/push direction of updates but I think still most was volunteer, so i don't know why it's a suprise that sometimes things go quiet, personally think all the updates/scope of them have been pretty big, would love to get a few things fixed, hate the new taming system, but the doom and gloom? Seems really miss placed atm.

 

Comparing the games industry today to 5-10 years ago, it's radically different. Everyone is far more connected through the prevalence of Twitter, Discord, and Facebook. These platforms were far less popular - or did not exist - when Wurm first started. Communication is an expectation in today's gaming industry. This was not the case back then.

  • Like 16

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
52 minutes ago, Mclavin said:

 

server would crash but rofl just left for holiday. Or he would update the game Friday, go home weekend and leave everything broken XD

 

Ahhhhh the good ole days 😜

  • Like 1

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
1 hour ago, Mclavin said:

 

server would crash but rofl just left for holiday. Or he would update the game Friday, go home weekend and leave everything broken XD

 

Or the one time he was on a ferry somewhere in sweden and servers crashed :D

 

Good old days indeed

Edited by Sklo:D
  • Like 1

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
11 minutes ago, Sklo:D said:

 

Or the one time he was on a ferry somewhere in sweden and servers crashed :D

 

Good old days indeed

How did you know he was on a ferry, he wrote after? Or there was emergency post on twitter?

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I'm adding my voice to say that I definitely misunderstood what Enki said as being applicable to me.  I wouldn't have said anything about it, but this thread popped up so I felt like adding my two cents.  I actually had to go back after reading how it was pointed out that he was specifically referring to only certain kinds of things and reread Enki's post, and I now do understand that it doesn't apply to me.  I certainly didn't at first.

 

However, I don't think I would have ever thought it could possibly apply to me if I hadn't already had the feeling that the staff can be somewhat capricious.  For those who don't pay attention to the Indy board, I had an issue with another player a little while ago where I deeded over a mine and he fenced me out of the deed.  We both submitted tickets against each other.  In the end, while I was not given a directive to take down the deed, it was implied that if I didn't disband voluntarily it could become a directive and possibly there could be other sanctions as well.  I don't know if the other player was sanctioned at all beyond possibly being told to stop fencing me out.  I felt like that was exactly the opposite of the way the rules for the game are written, so as a result I lost a lot of faith in the staff to enforce the game rules.  And even that interaction probably wouldn't have left me feeling that way if I hadn't recently noticed the Steam reviews saying that the staff routinely plays favorites with some customers over others.  It really felt like a confirmation of those negative reviews.  My mind was fertile ground for misreading Enki's post.

 

In the end though, I'm glad that this post was made because it got me to thinking that if my attitude is so sour that I can misinterpret his post so badly, it's probably time for me to take a break.  I've been an off and on customer for about 10 years, but the off periods were never driven before by game dissatisfaction.  Its too bad updates and support for Unlimited is dead.  I'd even gladly pay a recurring fee to play that instead if it had the same updates Online has.

  • Like 3

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

All should consider that Enki as head GM is also a role the person behind is playing, a sometimes bizarre, sometimes humorous one. The reaction when finding a mess (cheating in PvP, inappropriate conduct - mainly in discord) was just what was to expect. Enki as head GM is not the one to woo the community, and it would be sad if he were forced to do so, or to apologize. We would lose a part of Wurm by that.

 

In the recent tense atmosphere this was, to my impression, just misread as an "official" reaction on player protests. I think that was and is a misinterpretation.

 

Anyway the blame is with the company, no an understaffed and overworked development and communication team, no matter whether paid, full or part time, or volunteers. And there should have been a statement from the management earlier on.

 

--

Conversation between a player and a team member:

[22:47:18] <######> Just for fun, I inspected Enki at the impalong. He is also a wild creature. :)
[22:48:06] <########> I can say that this is true!

Edited by Ekcin
  • Like 7

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
10 hours ago, PandyLynn said:

I do agree that we need some better communication - on both sides. It's one thing to express disappoint in something, quite another to harass and harangue a fellow player who happens to be in some kind of staff capacity. Most of the them are volunteers who are not compensated by the silver/money we put into the game. I can see them being just as upset as we the player base are on a lot of topics. We need to figure out a better system than this.

This.

10 hours ago, PandyLynn said:

I am disgusted at the lack of empathy for some of the players who have been dealing with rather serious RL issues. Staff or not, they are people first. If they reported to the higher up a need for time away and was approved, that's all that matters. The higher up should have stepped in and alerted us on the change.

and this.

 

I think a lot of the vitriol and heat could have been avoided if we had received something like this...

8 hours ago, Pandalet said:

... please know that you are being heard, and we're doing what we can to improve the situation.

about a month ago.   This is not the fault of the individual staff members that inhabit Wurm space, so broadsides aimed at them are not only callous, they are cruel and they are misdirected anyway.  As those who normally interact with us have been indisposed due to real life being, well real life, it was up to those in the parent company, who don't normally interact with us to inform us, even in vague terms, that things weren't normal but they would return to normal.

 

Something that needs to be appreciated is that most of us (I think, I can only really speak for me, but I can read what people are saying) are not just in a mood, or flaming or trolling.  We have been very concerned that this world that we love had already been abandoned.  For me, that is not an exaggeration in the slightest.  I don't know why I hadn't found Wurm years earlier, but it is currently about the only game I play - I am invested so much in this home from home.  I only started about 18 months ago so I can only imagine the feeling of investment from those who have been here for a decade.  I am moderate in most things, but truly started to feel a creeping conviction that Wurm had been left to die on the vine.  The complete silence that continued well into complaints about the complete silence certainly reinforced the impression.

 

What I have wanted has been some indication from the owners or their representatives that this impression was not reality.  Pandalet has now provided that, a couple of times, so thank you very much.

 

 

  • Like 5

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
11 hours ago, Pandalet said:

Once again, we are aware within staff that communications are not ideal right now.  As has been said already, most staff are volunteers, and that means that things sometimes take longer to resolve than one might like.  I can't give anything more concrete than this, as I'm simply not in a position to do so, but please know that you are being heard, and we're doing what we can to improve the situation.

 

To repeat what has been said elsewhere, if you aren't doing the sort of things Enki called out, then his post doesn't apply to you.  I hope the fact that we're trying to clean up some of the worst vitriol and toxicity comes as some comfort to the majority of our player-base.

This is what I wanted to read, thats it, we are being heard. Sincerely thank you.

  • Like 2

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
12 hours ago, Archaed said:

No, I just have the ability to read a post and understand what it means 

so we others don't have ability to read a post and understand what it means? Dude, to most of players in current situation post is very offensive, and Enki's crypting roleplaying style like he usually have doesn't help here either. I love the guy, but his posts can be quite unclear and ambigous because of his style of phrazing and weird sense of humor which is not always great for situation serious as this. Not all of as knows Enki that well, not all of as worked in stuff to read beetween lines.

The post may be about griefers but to regular Joe out there, it sounds, you complained, now i'm pissed and you'll pay for it, with very threatening tone with no means to distinguish to who is directed. It's simple as that. Now you can convice yourself that all of us have your outstanding ability of understanding, but it doesn't make it true. It's not importan what you meant, it's important what others meant that you meant.

  • Like 4

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
11 hours ago, Mclavin said:

When I got into wurm I knew the dev team back then was mostly volunteer,

Only thing is, we are not volunteer players :)  Wurm is just lucky there aren't any other sandboxes out there that can come even close with complexity and online world persistance, otherwise people wouldn't keep up with this volunteer excuse and would stop paying.

  • Like 6

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

On the part of seeing red, let the ban hammer fall as it may on whomever it may.  All those responsible should be punished, without doubt.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
8 hours ago, kochinac said:

Only thing is, we are not volunteer players :) 

 

So you get paid to play Wurm? How do I sign up?

  • Like 1

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
18 hours ago, Finnn said:

How did you know he was on a ferry, he wrote after? Or there was emergency post on twitter?

 

He text messaged some of the GMs I guess. This was way before WhatsApp, Twitter and Facebook were a common thing  :D

Must have been around 2008 or 2009.

  • Like 1

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I often chat with Demona.  She is a wonderful person and super helpful is my personal experience.

 

She was very upset by the nasty posts, forum mails and PM chats sent her way after the AH "improvement" that caused a major uproar a few months ago.

 

There are constructive ways to say "hey this needs to be undone, everyone is upset and wants what we have enjoyed for the past 14 years".

 

Being nasty and rude to someone who is only announcing what she has been told to announce, is NOT very constructive, kind or considerate.

 

There used to be an unofficial place where folks could make suggestions and people voted on them, Up or Down, which allowed us paying customers to give input to the Dev's on things we wanted improved.

 

Perhaps it is time for that feature to be reinstated.

 

I suggested speed controls for boats back in 2013.  It took 7 years but it finally got implemented and we now enjoy Set Sails, Furl Sails.

 

As my Dad used to say "you catch more fly's with honey then you do with vinegar".

 

I, BTW, concurr with Enki dropping the hammer on Trolls who have run wild in the past six months.

 

To those trolls who like being rude and obnoxious, try this.. Log Off and go visit a Pub or Bar full of Bikers or Red Necks (real working class folks) and see how long you last being rude directly face to face with those RL tough folks.

 

I'll be waiting outside in my Ambulance with a shovel and a Glad Bag.....

 

Food for  thought,

Cheers, Hughmongus

Industrial Paramedic in RL

Cartography in the gaming world

(former, retired CA Help Staff)

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Recommending self-harm and telling people you'll gladly body-bag and bury them... wow...

We get a grain of what you're trying to say and why you're doing it.. but you're being EXTREME…

 

 

  • Like 3

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
1 hour ago, HughMongus said:

Being nasty and rude to someone who is only announcing what she has been told to announce, is NOT very constructive, kind or considerate.

"you catch more fly's with honey then you do with vinegar".

 

To those trolls who like being rude and obnoxious, try this.. Log Off and go visit a Pub or Bar full of Bikers or Red Necks (real working class folks) and see how long you last being rude directly face to face with those RL tough folks.

I'll be waiting outside in my Ambulance with a shovel and a Glad Bag.....

Why even type all of that when you immediately be toxic yourself lol

  • Like 8

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
4 hours ago, Kellen said:

 

So you get paid to play Wurm? How do I sign up?

no, i pay to play it smartass

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
2 hours ago, HughMongus said:

To those trolls who like being rude and obnoxious, try this.. Log Off and go visit a Pub or Bar full of Bikers or Red Necks (real working class folks) and see how long you last being rude directly face to face with those RL tough folks.

 

I'll be waiting outside in my Ambulance with a shovel and a Glad Bag.....

 

Not really keeping it civil there, everything else you said was fine, but you are the first in this thread to take it to another level. We all know the point your trying to make, but it was not needed here, it does nothing but put fuel on the fire when the focus should be calm and looking at the way forward.

 

As a side note, it works both ways...take those same Bikers and Red Necks in that same Pub or Bar, and have them pay for their drinks and food, then wait for 2 months and not see a staff member again...see what you end up with after that.

 

It goes both ways, and there should be compassion and empathy going both directions, towards the staff that are struggling with real life issues and also for the players that are struggling with real life issues. As was stated in other places, many people use Wurm as an escape from those struggles, especially during these trying days...and to not know what is happening to the future of your escape, after you have paid for it can be pretty stressful itself. These issues have been addressed now, so the focus is to hope we all learn, we all move forward and grow and become a better person, especially towards each other. 

 

We are all on this same blue ball called earth together, and unless your Bezos or Musk, none of us are leaving it anytime soon, so lets all try a little more thought, love and compassion all around. 

 

Thanks for this post and the update, it is appreciated.

  • Like 8

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Guest
This topic is now closed to further replies.
Sign in to follow this