The DM appreciation thread

[The Old Hack]

Let's face it. It's not always fun and games being a DM.

As a DM, you almost certainly have to deal with one or more of the following: cranky scripts, player arguments, forum flame wars, browsing endless log files, technical issues, complaints about everything possible and last but not least cries for help.

DMs are the people we call on when we want to PvP. When we die in some stupid way and need spawns cleared. When a quest has gone buggy or when we have gotten shunted to some spot we can't escape. On top of all that we expect them to entertain us, to spice up the world for us and to create sweet loot for us we can brag about or just generally cause havoc with. Often, a DM will be sitting doing something entirely different when we players start clamoring for their attention to resolve some problem large or small that we can't handle ourselves. And the only reward they ever get for their efforts is being part of maintaining the world of EfU which keeps so many of us coming back for more again and again.

So, this is my thumbs up post for the DMs. You have a complex and often annoying job; there's no need for it to be thankless as well. So thank you. You are doing a great job and ultimately it is you who are all responsible for that coming back for more again and again thing I mentioned just above. Thank you all for what you do, be it scripting or diplomacy or just taking the time to supervise PvP or move spawns away from my corpse when I have once again demonstrated what a klutz I am.

Keep up the good work, guys. Believe me, it's appreciated.

~tOH.

[tropic]

To DMs derfo and faqir, both of you have been super helpful and responsive to me since I started playing again a few weeks ago. Thanks!

[Kinslayer988]

I want to thank the EFU:M DM team for providing the elaborate lore of the server. EFU to me is like a book that has enthralled and kept me coming back for more.

[mucka1916]

I want to thank the DM team for pulling together a fantastic server with a wide variety of players and making a setting to suit most.

It is a credit to the managerial and creativity of each individual DM and the team as a whole.

[The Beggar]

Concur. Excellent story tellers, and all around good gents.

[Mort]

I'll take some time to relay some thoughts I have had since I came back, and now that I'm beginning to fade away back into real life responsabilities -- what I observed in the short three to four weeks that I was back and what seem to be an atmosphere that was strangely hostile and oppositional both amongst player to player, and DM to player. The sense of cohesiveness seemed lost, and there was only a few die-hard, driven by nostalgia that kept on smiling and kept on being positive.

We need more of this.

But not toward DMs, toward players -- screenshot threads, we EASILY used to reach 40+ posts in appreciation, people participated, congratulated, took interest in other players. My reluctance in participating in these threads is that I feel that if I/DM backup/show support then I back all the actions that this character take and incitate his playstyle to be modeled upon... and this sends the wrong message, which is why DMs will rarely post their support openly. (For the same reason that I generally dislike when people flaunt their DM loot as they are generally gotten by being in the right place at the right time and not a measure of success at all!). I'm also guilty of not sharing my thoughts when I should have. A lot of roleplay I find awesome, but remain silent as to not break the immersion. And apparently according to our feedback threads, the most memorable moments were not the events that I took 10 hours of preparation preparing and running, but merely the 10 second equivalent of a pat in the back after witnessing something I liked.

I've also been guilty of pointing out faults in public, when I shouldn't have, and I think it sends the wrong picture as a community. There's a lot of miscommunication around, and it take guts to open up the dialogue and be mature about it. Much easier to drop a quick passive jab that nobody gets but you and the person involved or people in the know. I know that when I look back, I definitely wish I could remove any instances of doing this as I feel it provides the wrong example both in #efu, the forums and IG. And I'd really wish we would skip this bullshit. It's not because we deal with a gameworld with huge consequences, stories that are dramatic both because they involve character loss and serverwide change, that we should be hostile oocly.


On the opposite, we should be super friendly and mature as the server isn't a competition, it's a project that all of us are working on building - A story, each character playing a role, some prefering to be the protagonists, antagonists or the support roles that fill in each of our various organizations that are pitted together or against eachothers in EFU. I`m aware that it takes some time to reach that perspective (What we mean when we say "he gets it"), to yourself and your characters, and I'm definitely supportive toward letting players have the time to reach that level of reflexion in what we would wish to have (Some call me an hopeless dreamer, but I`m not the only one).

I'll take some step back and use one of my character as an example for my perspective, http://www.escapefromundeath.com/forums/showthread.php?t=61005&highlight=Valencia , with this character, I wanted to reflect on everything that happened on EFU, give an interesting/tense spin on every story, put some intrigue in the relationships between characters while playing unto some funny clichés. I -really- wanted to put every character into the spotlight, and help build their relationship/fame/infamy. I`ve got an abyssmal low level of participation from the moments I logged in-game and not a whole lot of participation in the forum after two weeks into the character, that it wasn`t worth it to put any more effort into this, and I let it go. I thought my time was more productive for the server running a few serverwide events.

Maybe it wasn`t the most active time in the server`s life, and yeah as it seems that people generally have no motivation to login except to play with a few select other players or be on a DM event, I feel the whole post to be more appreciative of your fellow players and encourage/support them in their play may be a bit too late... and maybe it is, either way I felt like I had to share my thoughts on the subject and used this positive topic to launch my thoughts. And in the end, hope that you are all more supportive of your fellow players ESPECIALLY IF THEY PLAY ROLES THAT GO BEYOND QUESTING -- The Politicians, the Merchants, the Waitresses, the tournament organizers, the singers, the guildmasters, the ones that take the reign of their faction (DM or player) and make them pivotal in every server event. These are roles that hold more responsabilities, may be boring if you dont put interesting spins in them, but can REALLY help in creating immersion and fun in the long run. Ultimately, these players will be holding the fort while you are gone, and make it fun for you to login and get into the roleplay.

And no, I haven`t been inactive because of THAT, I haven`t been active because I`m busy trying to be a doctor who doesn`t kill people -- at some point.

Long post, but yeah, it`s important to be supportive, share your support/enthusiasm toward other players, especially if they struggle more, if they are new, if you genuinely love them, and so on. Keep your less supportive comments for yourself. Keep from being too involved in an argument either for or against something in #efu (it`s really useless and the worst thing you can do is antagonize people).

Either way, I hope that when I do have time to play, there will be more vigor in everyone`s play.

Peace!

[SIZE="1"]TL DR? READ IT, Damn it.[/SIZE]

[Spiffy Has]

A good read Mort.

Someday, I will play another Waitress. Someday.

[tropic]

Maybe people aren't making four pages of posts on screenshot threads for major PCs, but I think that, in some ways, this is a good thing with respect to another idea here - the server not being a competition among players.

I know I'm not the only one who has sat in IRC and watched longtime players go on and on about how awesome so-and-so was while feeling totally downhearted about my own PCs and their relative lack of success. I can definitely remember posting a screenshot thread in the original EFU that only got a couple responses. And I just wanted to reiterate that character success is, like you said, mostly about being in the right place at the right time. Maybe if we spent less time praising the awesome PCs of the past, we could appreciate current PCs, whether they be proactive or reactive, epic or mundane.

[derfo]

I would like to echo what Mort said. We are all here for fun. If you want to thank a DM, do so by playing a PC with an agenda, one that transcends being preoccupied with questing and/or loot.

No matter how small, I truly believe even with minimal effort, that anyone can produce something enjoyable for other players and DMs, and more importantly yourself. The PCs that are focused on being immersive are well noticed and received by many players and DMs alike, even if it is not readily apparent. Forget the haters.

[Valo56]

Things have been very quiet recently, from both PC's and DM's. Earlier today I got some exciting quest spice for the Hobgoblins quest. It was very difficult, so difficult I died three times, actually (which is saddening, as I lost Zen Archery YET AGAIN! Should I ever be able to keep level six, it will be a miracle, while me hitting 7 is a sign of the apocalypse). Thank you, whoever did it, as before that, things had been so quiet for so long, Retaking the Pass aside, that I was considering quitting over how boring and redundant things had become. It's better for things to be too chaotic and difficult than for them to be predictable, redundant and easy.

I think it would be nice if we had more NPC possessions, personally. If they went out and made a few speeches, perhaps, or did some heckling when one of their rivals (PC or otherwise) gave a speech. Nothing is more frustrating, be it lag death or some random person full looting me, than spending an hour writing up a speech or sermon (as I often do), then to go and make the sending and no one shows up, then to try again and again for days sometimes and no one ever shows up (as usually happens).

More attention from DM's and PC's toward people who are trying to push forward an ideal or religion would be nice. I got four people in a minute when I made a sending for the Granary quest, it took two days to get three people to hear a sermon about the Three and One. One of them was an Ordersman.

[VanillaPudding]

I would like to echo what Mort said. We are all here for fun. If you want to thank a DM, do so by playing a PC with an agenda, one that transcends being preoccupied with questing and/or loot.

No matter how small, I truly believe even with minimal effort, that anyone can produce something enjoyable for other players and DMs, and more importantly yourself. The PCs that are focused on being immersive are well noticed and received by many players and DMs alike, even if it is not readily apparent. Forget the haters.

I don't think the two things are mutually exclusive in any way. In fact, that general opinion and it's recent growth is part of the reason things are probably "boring" in game as of late. You can log in at almost any point in the day and find at least half of the server sitting around semi-afk just hoping for something to happen, and you can further tell them (or the others who are not sitting there) to "make things happen", but I think at this point that idea itself needs to be reevaluated.

People questing, exploring, wandering, and generally being active is far superior to people loitering the village in one way or the other, at least in my opinion. Immersion has nothing to do with a characters chosen activities in the least, and if you take a look at the server's history and it's "prominent" characters / players you might notice that a large majority of them were very active in terms of character advancement (loot / levels) while also providing immersion.

[Relinquish]

It's also nice to log in and actually find people in town. Logging in and finding absolutely no one around, even after a sending, just makes me log out again.

[derfo]

Questing and receiving loot are fine, but basing everything around advancing in this manner is not. Agendas, which can vary to many a thing, are more entertaining, and can involve exploring/wandering/whatever in plenty of ways. Areas are out there to be found. In no way is loitering encouraged, and people generally should be trying to find things to do in town.

[The Old Hack]

Since the topic is meandering anyway, I am going to step in and mention that I appreciate my fellow players as well and their different playstyles. I like to hang out in town. Not to loiter but so I can start discussions with people and depending on what character I am playing quietly pursue goals. I have had some great experiences meeting new people this way, some of them newcomers to EfU I could show around and tell what is going on, others of them oldtimers with agendas of their own I can pick up on.

I am grateful to the DMs for what they do. I am certainly also grateful to my fellow players for what they do. Whether we clash ICly, cooperate, make friends or become enemies, it is player interaction that is at the heart of EfU. But as Mort says, sometimes the conflicts grow maybe a bit too intense and just like Mort I have had resentments spill over into OOC -- something I am not proud of and which I am trying to avoid.

Be that as it may, I look back at my IC enemies with gratitude now. The conflicts we had helped make the experience I've had memorable and even my defeats contribute, for they provide the contrast that makes the triumphs all the sweeter. And some of these defeats were in themselves grand events that I remember fondly, even.

So, as I've thanked the DMs, I now also thank my fellow players. And if any anger lingers, let it cool and let us focus on the fact that it is together we create the EfU we all love.

[Vlaid]

I guess I'll post a few thoughts and try not to voice them in -too- negative a light. Since returning (maybe before that, it may just be time making me forget how things were) I've felt like some players, especially the PVP die-hards, have become rather OOCly hostile and a little full of themselves in IRC. It just feels like too many players are trying to "win" EFU.

It's really started to turn me off. I try to be a very positive, supportive individual when dealing with other players. Now, in character....it feels like there are more players who seem rather lethargic about supporting a fellow players goals/ambitions, especially if it doesn't involve running quest trains. I've only recently once tried to create a quasi-faction, and let me tell you....it was something of a bitter-sweet experience.

I wish more people would just try and support the little things like funerals, fight nights, speeches, whatever it happens to be (if not support, be involved in them in some way. Heckle the speech, say the fights are rigged, yell your happiness at the deceased's parting. Just have -some- kind of reaction!). The stuff that adds ambiance, atmosphere and gives people something worth talking about and interacting/conflicting over.

 It's ok to sometimes bend your concept a little so you can be there to support your fellow player's stuff (in my opinion). It's not written in stone. Send your 8 charisma barbarian to the bard's night of singing. Maybe he's going to crudely try and pick up women and get thrown out. At least you -contributed- something interesting to the event before you got thrown out.

I'm probably just a little too jaded after five or so years of doing poorly at most of the goals I've tried to achieve on the server (I'm guilty of being too passive myself, hence my desire to support other players ambitions, and my latest drive to push myself out of my comfort zone of characters).

So, to end on a positive after all that negative, I can't express enough my gratitude for the DM's out there that support the little guys. The guys who don't have the masterful art of EFU down to a science, the guys who fail in PVP, the guys who get crushed on Orcs 1, the guys who have only briefly ever succeeded in EFU (I'm a sucker for the underdogs). To those guys, the DM's and the the amazing events, plots and storylines you have unraveled for your peasant players, I salute you.

No matter how many times I quit EFU, I will always come back to fail some more. That's the kind of awesome atmosphere the DM's, players and builders have made for us here. My only wish is that someday I can do some small thing to contribute to the story in a meaningful way. I should hope that is every player's dream, in it's purest.

Keep chasing the dream.