Where is EfU going?
Another one of those threads concerned about the fate of EfU. Where are / are we even going? Just a thread that is intended to be a place where people could be brutally honest about their thoughts and feelings and what EfU's priorities should be recalibrated to.
Now, I'm not sure about you, but what makes me think favorably on EfU are those plots that you can really sink your teeth into and get hooked on and you feel like you have a stake in the game, for your faction, for your allies, against your enemies, some goal, whatever. That's what makes this Neverwinter Nights server have actual meaning for me and is why I choose to spend my free time to continue playing on it.
so what are the problems?
My thoughts are that, during roughly the past year (12 months) or so, we had about 3-4 months of total DMing activity and plots that actually mattered in terms of having an end result and shaping or changing the server in some way. To me, that's not really acceptable.
-Howland is a great man for everything that he's done for the server and continues to do through maintaining it, though it seems that his priorities are not in developing EFU story or plot-wise nor has there been much indication that he will return to lead the charge. In fact, when he has returned to eager players and DMs, in my eyes he's left a lot of what could be great and interesting server-changing plots open-ended and unfinished with almost no results, which has been a big letdown to myself personally.
I think one of the biggest issues that EFU faces is the narcissistic tendencies that the EFU DM social club tends to exhibit. The ugly side of things. Some of these include:
-Contributing to DM burnout of other DMs via: plotblocking / personal vendettas / random drama / whatever
-maintaining the old guard phenomenon when it comes to appointing new DMs, voting on applications / SoIs while simultaneously not appearing to hold any priorities in contributing to the growth and development of the server.
-Some other toxic DM trait or environment that has led to the disappearance of new or great DMs who suddenly started playing other games (or servers), some of whom I've had personal conversations with and have attested to these kinds of behaviors.
Wrapping up soon:
EFU is an alright pasttime when there's not much going on (at times great, when you need those plot breaks). There's fun scripted quests to do, there's conflict and PvP, there's the smallish (and growing smaller!) memey player community, and there's still the small personal player-made plots you can involve yourself in or create that can be fun and interesting (but meaningless in the big picture or direction of the server, more often than not), but it's fantastic when it's living and breathing. To me, no other game compares and is why I and many others have stuck around.
A lot of this post has been aimed at the DMs, but it's not done in the spirit of hate or toxicity or to damage the server but hopefully the opposite. DMing isn't easy, can be a lot of work, and take a lot of creativity when it doesn't always seem there is much return on investment.
There are people who spend a lot of time on the server who really improve the place by bringing what life to it there is and who should be appreciated. The real message is against the unfairness in how a small group of people who spend a lot of time not playing or adding much to the game still try to maintain a powerful say or vote in our community, especially when it comes to passionate players wanting to improve server life in meaningful ways and create that dynamic atmosphere that had me hooked in earlier versions.
Server still has the potential to be fantastic, despite the thought behind those who may have given up on adding to the life of the server. If this thread gets deleted or locked, hope DM team at least takes it back for internal discussion and rehabilitation.
TL;DR
EFU isn't perfect, but the ones who care about it and actually put the time into the server don't have much control generic complaint
Another one of those threads concerned about the fate of EfU. Where are / are we even going? Just a thread that is intended to be a place where people could be brutally honest about their thoughts and feelings and what EfU's priorities should be recalibrated to.
Now, I'm not sure about you, but what makes me think favorably on EfU are those plots that you can really sink your teeth into and get hooked on and you feel like you have a stake in the game, for your faction, for your allies, against your enemies, some goal, whatever. That's what makes this Neverwinter Nights server have actual meaning for me and is why I choose to spend my free time to continue playing on it.
so what are the problems?
My thoughts are that, during roughly the past year (12 months) or so, we had about 3-4 months of total DMing activity and plots that actually mattered in terms of having an end result and shaping or changing the server in some way. To me, that's not really acceptable.
-Howland is a great man for everything that he's done for the server and continues to do through maintaining it, though it seems that his priorities are not in developing EFU story or plot-wise nor has there been much indication that he will return to lead the charge. In fact, when he has returned to eager players and DMs, in my eyes he's left a lot of what could be great and interesting server-changing plots open-ended and unfinished with almost no results, which has been a big letdown to myself personally.
I think one of the biggest issues that EFU faces is the narcissistic tendencies that the EFU DM social club tends to exhibit. The ugly side of things. Some of these include:
-Contributing to DM burnout of other DMs via: plotblocking / personal vendettas / random drama / whatever
-maintaining the old guard phenomenon when it comes to appointing new DMs, voting on applications / SoIs while simultaneously not appearing to hold any priorities in contributing to the growth and development of the server.
-Some other toxic DM trait or environment that has led to the disappearance of new or great DMs who suddenly started playing other games (or servers), some of whom I've had personal conversations with and have attested to these kinds of behaviors.
Wrapping up soon:
EFU is an alright pasttime when there's not much going on (at times great, when you need those plot breaks). There's fun scripted quests to do, there's conflict and PvP, there's the smallish (and growing smaller!) memey player community, and there's still the small personal player-made plots you can involve yourself in or create that can be fun and interesting (but meaningless in the big picture or direction of the server, more often than not), but it's fantastic when it's living and breathing. To me, no other game compares and is why I and many others have stuck around.
A lot of this post has been aimed at the DMs, but it's not done in the spirit of hate or toxicity or to damage the server but hopefully the opposite. DMing isn't easy, can be a lot of work, and take a lot of creativity when it doesn't always seem there is much return on investment.
There are people who spend a lot of time on the server who really improve the place by bringing what life to it there is and who should be appreciated. The real message is against the unfairness in how a small group of people who spend a lot of time not playing or adding much to the game still try to maintain a powerful say or vote in our community, especially when it comes to passionate players wanting to improve server life in meaningful ways and create that dynamic atmosphere that had me hooked in earlier versions.
Server still has the potential to be fantastic, despite the thought behind those who may have given up on adding to the life of the server. If this thread gets deleted or locked, hope DM team at least takes it back for internal discussion and rehabilitation.
TL;DR
EFU isn't perfect, but the ones who care about it and actually put the time into the server don't have much control generic complaint