I always love it when stuff like this happends..
"WTF, why arnt you posting on here anymore zPeti.. cmon post and tell us whats going on"
"we've been working on a passport system and it will be ready for next round"
"FU zPeti", "Your the worst owner ever zPeti", "we dont care about anything your doing", "i want things fixed that i dont like, even though other people and the PA Team like them", "random trolling".
Admins and Owners very rarely post on forums in alot of games, mainly due to it being pointless. You dont get constructive critisism or anything of real value from doing so, you just open yourself up to abuse; This thread is a prime example of that If you want more communication, then learn to communicate yourself without flaming.. If you feel something is wrong, then explain why its wrong not just random flaming about the subject.
Whenever a owner posts on a forum, it becomes an open invitation for everyone who has a problem with something in the game to flame them with little/no actual relevent information. Lets take gm's flame post in this thread, its worth to note that gm is HC of CT and not just a random person:
Quote:
Originally Posted by [DDK]gm
zPeti who gives a fck about passport!
there is a lot you can change to improve PA that doesnt require coding. problem is pa-team and you do not play the game so you are completely out of touch with the game.
appoco is being left to all the comunity facing part of pa and its obvious that he doesnt have time for it.
random at 25+, alliance limits, targeting, donations.... all bs settings that can be fixed quickly if someone cared.
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'who gives a fck about passport', alot of people its been requested for ages now.
'there is alot you can change to improve PA that doesnt require coding', then discuss these changes with the PA Team.
'random at 25+, alliance limits, targetting, donations'.. these are all things YOU dislike about the game and arnt what the community or game needs to change. Also, this is your chance to talk in a thread where you know the owner is reading and instead of making points with evidence or arguments for changing these things.. you just flame? I think all those points you listed have been discussed in length in threads on these forums, you could of just linked to those threads (but then, in those threads theres actually counter-arguments to your flame).
As for a passport system, its a thing the community has wanted for a while and if developed properly will allow for more features to be added to the game. They can add in a proper tutorial system for new signups which older accounts wont have or need, they can restrict or slowly introduce features to new accounts with proper explanations while allowing older signups to carry on as usual, they can add in incentives and other bonuses for long time players which would also add in an additional consequence to cheating as they'd lose these incentives/bonuses, they can add in a better history and stats page, It will make signups alot easier when a new round starts and will lower the risk of what happend this round, It will allow the PA team to send polls and questions to new accounts to get there feedback (as thats usually they hard to do). A passport system allows for alot of things and isnt just a 'easier signup'.
Yes, its not a major gameplay change but then again.. zPeti doesnt play nor does he have enough knowledge of the game to know which gameplay changes are good or bad; Thats the PA Team's job not zPetis.
If you want gameplay changes, then you have to make a thread or document explaining the gameplay change you want implemented and then you/the community has to convince the PA Team that this is a good change that the PA Team should take the time to implement. zPeti doesnt really come into much, as im fairly sure Appocomaster could say any gameplay change to zPeti and zPeti would agree, Appocomaster/PA Team have basically free reign on gameplay changes, its just a case of them having to manage there time to implement the changes they want (and as they arnt paid, they dont have that much free time).
All i'd say to zPeti is that you've bought a game which is near its last-legs, there is nothing you can really do to keep the community happy. Hell, you cant even have 1-2 rounds with single targetting stats without people threatening to quit. This game is surviving through its old community, which will slowly decline. This old community, which is constantly asking for more changes and drastic gameplay changes 'to keep the game fresh' is also the same community which is resistant to almost any gameplay change. One of the major blocks in PA's development is that it isnt attractive to casual players and everyone agree's on this but any change to make it more casual friendly is always greeted by harsh critisism from the community as its 'dumbing down' the game in there eyes. PA Team doesnt want to implement major gameplay changes as it risks making the old community leave the game quicker than they would of originally and the community which is constantly calling for gameplay changes actually resists any change (considering any gameplay change would and should be aimed at making the game more friendly to casuals, noobs, and new signups).
All i'd suggest you do in the future, is be the one who makes the announcements on this forum. Make an announcement at the end of each round, stating whats coming in the new round and then make an announcement mid-round about whats currently being worked on for the new round (even if its minor tweaks) or how the development of major things are going and what round we should expect them. Do not post anything other than that, as you'll just encourage more trolling, flaming and rage posts. Like this passport system, you shouldnt of announced it in a thread which was posted just to flame and try and force a responce from you as nomatter what you announced, it would of been greeted with flaming. As far as finances goes and the future of this game, you should be aiming to break-even on your investment and then consider selling the game on before it collapses, hopefully to Spinner or someone who actually knows the game and has the time to code changes themselves rather than relying on free-help from the community (which dont really have the time to do it).
I cant stress this enough, Dont respond to flame threads or flame posts directly petitioning or calling for your attention. Talk to the community through announcements and maybe the EORC ceremony, doing anything else will just be inviting trolling. Make your announcements in the 'announcement' section of the forum where people cannot directly respond in the thread to flame. You should also be telling moderators to delete posts like Kennys which are 100% flame and posts like Wishmasters below which are directly advertising another game.