Graal Kingdoms and it's eventual downfall.
 

Graal kingdoms is basically a low-level pk server now. It's probably going to become one of the worst servers and it's getting worse rather than getting better. Childish people steal, hack, scam and are preventing me from enjoying the game. It's become so rediculous with so many people wanting power that I can't even walk into main trading without getting PKed or sit on my computer to chat without someone telling me they got scammed or someone is stealing something. All of the good players are quitting and it's just become a game where I don't even really want to play anymore, but bring myself to it in hopes that maybe I could help to make it a bit better again. Roleplaying is all about dead and all anyone cares about is items. Something needs to be done and done soon.

Where to start... the Downfall of Kingdoms became relevent, quite awhile ago.. I agree, that you cannot play the game, without being PK'd, betrayed, scammed, or involved in some type of a scam... its become a Classic server with better graphics and unbalanced gameplay...

RP is dead, has been dead, and wont come back to GK until the items are fixed and PKing becomes limited.. I dont want to suggest RP admins, maybe RP event type people... but it seems like Unix nor Stefen care about their failing server, more intrested in Graal 3D...

Its fine actually, I know that I grew tired of this game, tired of my friends betraying me, tired of being scammed of items worthy of $$$... I'm simply stressed out about this game, and that should never happen...

The End of all sane RP actions ended awhile back, GP being banned started it... Nayoko (a non RPr) gainning control of a kingdom, Lances own friends betraying him and taking his kingdom for selfish reasons, and of course, how could we forget the "RPrs" super leveling off of illegally made maps and NOTHING being done about it...

The beginning of the downfall started, as Justin said, "The second Kingdoms came up..."... So, I just hope something is either done, or a nice big reset happens... Good Luck...

Yeah....the leadership of kingdoms changing hands by members forcing it or abusing of a flawed system...that's how the last 2 changes of leadership on GK (Dustari then CP...) were made. I didn't have any problem with it when I was a kingdom leader since I was able to create an RPing environment...anyone who wanted to RP was able to join me. Now I just take it easy on GK since there's no hope for even that. RPing is supposed to be alternative to all the problems such as lack of balance (items...etc)...if you don't have that and have leaders who instead think they're good/nice for handing out items, blessing for free, and begging admins to create event items under the name of their kingdom by sending in the graphics....well, we're screwed.

Ah... so much to say.. So much to complain about, and ask about. Well, to start with I will agree with Valder. Graal kingdoms is going to be nothing but a scammer server. Because it has no police and no laws.

Stefan has publicly stated that scamming is allowed because it is part of the game, as it is part of our real lives. But in all reality, its not a part of our real lives that we normally live. Thieves are jailed, they hide, they lie. They are caught, and punished serverely. But here, they are not. And so you have rampant item theft, deception, and this all has to do with - greed (although, greed is a human flaw that we cannot eliminate, we can surpress it and lessen it). There needs to be a system of punishment for these people of no morals.. I am really tired of hearing cheap excuses for not caring about it.

I have wasted 8 months of my life trying to help Graal Kingdoms. I say wasted because in the end, I cannot really help it, only the administration can. And I dont see any progress being done. They seem too distracted with other things, and kingdoms is suffering. We dont even have an active staff member anymore really, lance is basically fired for voicing his opinion from what I've heard. That is wrong, constructive criticiscm should be allowed, its allowed in the workplace, thats how management informs employees on how to improve..

Graal 3d will not be sufficient competition in the current market. I feel money is being thrown away. I have played 3d mmorpg's and they are simply too complex to actually work flexibly with, unlike 2d Graal Kingdoms. You can have the best 2d MMORPG in the world. Even the best MMORPG in the world. But you cannot sit around and just wait for something to happen, you need to do something now. The old saying goes 'There is no free lunch', such is true here. Hard work, and leadership with a driving ambition, are what is needed.

Well, solutions to these problems..

-First, you need administrators who play the game, are active, and are mature enough to handle their job. People who can inform your development team on what people want, dont want, etc.

-You also then need to find PRODUCTIVE graphics artists, scripters, and LAT's. Right now kingdoms development has slown to a crawl. Pirate's gear took only one or two days to complete, because I sent it to different people who I knew were dedicated to their work. To management: Use that as an example, assign tasks to people, such as making this monster, that item, designing that new forest for the new monsters and items. You could probably finish the whole small project in a week.

-Maps arent necissary. Make whole new areas and remove the maps. Then people can party and go into these areas to try to level. Maps are just easy ways to release new monsters. And it allowed everyone to power level like mad, because there wasnt anyone in there that was also killing things. Unlimited experience.

-Event items ruined your market. Those items are only 1.. 2.. 8 of a kind. Demand is way higher than the supply. Prices inflate. Economics 101-supply and demand curve. Dont have event items, have very hard to find items, that can still be made if you hunt enough for the rare components. People wont be so tempted to steal things if they all have a plat value, instead of a USD value.

-Reset Graal Kingdoms. Even if you lose some players, or alot of players, it doesnt matter, because more will come. There will be more opportunity for playing an equal game. People would like that more than being dominated by a few super godly players. It would bring back rp perhaps. Kingdom wars would be fun then. Everyone could have the chance to do well in battle.

-Advertise your product. The more people who see this website, the more possible customers. The more people hear about Graal, the more they will be interested in trying it. If Graal Kingdoms is turned around, and there is sufficient advertising, you could have 1000 users on kingdoms daily, easily. This is a global market, its possible.

Some people are probably thinking im just really mad because I was scammed recently. This is not quite the case. I am mad at two people for that, myself and the scammer. I would not post anything, or suggest anything, that would only benifit me. And especially not now. I will probably lose alot of friends from this post. So be it. I am getting my point out, it needs to be out.

If Stefan or Unixmad or any graalonline administration would like to speak with me regarding anything I have stated in this post, feel free to forum pm me, I would be more than willing to discuss things with you. Graal Kingdoms has so much unlocked potential. I believe I have shown you a key. How you use it, is up to you...

Yes, A reset would do this server some justice for once, It has come to my attention that two of the largest powers on kingdoms are gone pretty much for good. (Tec quit for good i hear, Zoe has found a real life and should stick with it).

I know the easy easy steps needed to get all of it back, I did it once and can do it again. :D

I don't think a reset would help if the system isn't changed, and if the system is changed properly, then it would work without a reset - maybe have a second server set up. After all, some people worked for their items, and will not agree on them being deleted, but that has been discussed in other threads.

We need more active admins, with the rights to help and change things, which actually play. Every right given opens a door for possible abuse, yes, but if someone turns corrups, he can be dealt with, and I'd accept the possible damage in comparison to the possible positive effects.

I hope Stefan and/or Unixmad come across this thread and do something about it - I don't know whether or not they are interested in Kingdoms, but after all, it's the producs they're selling, and I believe they should give those a chance who want to help making it a better place and don't ask for any kind of reward as such. Personally, I'd love to help, and I try to, as best as I can.

I hate it all, but it's all legal apart from the trainer users :\, yes you know who you are. (Sliq!)

Re: Graal Kingdoms and it's eventual downfall.
 

Well Duhhhhhh.

I still enjoy RPing... Though I haven't done much...

Though it wasn't really an "RP", just the other day, Thak and I ran some rum (booze) from Samurai Island to CP... Next time we will have to get more people involved and get some people to try and stop us, etc etc :O

And I don't like the idea of a reset... because I just learned wizardry and praying... and they're fun to use ;(

If Stefan accepted my ideas, actually being in a nation and having something to do related to it would be encouraged. If he also accecpts my second idea then trading will be possible..no I dont mean some **** running from samurai to CP going "lolo her tk dis plzX?"

Yes, i have to say Bosh's points are very good.

For one, i'd like to work for GK making those forest area levels Bosh suggested. Also one of my most supported points is to get levels like all those you have on Graal the Adventure, pointless, but fun levels.

If Stefan/Unixmad would promote people to make their own stuff for kingdoms, and put it on, people will also start doing this - especially if you were rewarded.

Also, maps were the biggest mistakes ever. Things like the dungeons should be added, but in a less Powerplayer-way. There should be empty rooms or rooms with an RP story too,

Quests are important too. I mean real quests, like the Adventure one. Heck, Graal the Adventure actually is a lot better then this.

Also, with Lance/Tseng quiting and Kingdoms becoming very repetetive, and playing more warcraft, i'm seriously thinking about quitting. And i'm absolutely not the only one who thinks this.

Oh yeah, I'm so sure nothing will _ever_ be fixed *sarcasm*

I think a good idea would be to create a gigantic ocean surrounding the current islands, scattered far apart throughout the ocean could be uncharted islands. I love exploring stuff. :)

Krakkens, and other sea monsters could also make the long voyages less boring, and more adventorous.


New lands would encourage rping too - I believe. Nothing too much to gain from going to them, besides the enjoyment of exploration, which usually ends up being played out by you roleplaying with your character. Plus, the Kingdoms could attempt to claim and exploit new lands, opening doors to lots of new situations.


Uh, I may have got off-topic there. But I do hope new things that add to the adventure and kingdom/roleplay aspect of the game are focused upon, not stat increasers, or special weapons.

I agree with you Thak, but I still think special weapons are important... But not the way they are currently implemented... Events Items are evil incarnate and should be no more... But having lots of different, special weapons lets you customize your character more to fit how you want to play the game... I'm not saying these special weapons should only be of certian quantity, just rare...

edit: BTW, Thak... My gold account still hasnt kicked in... (after 5 days -_-;) So I won't be on until it works... Please check on Myydraal every once in a while!

It only will work with a reset. and this reset is needed anyways.
you only use the rp stuff as a false pretence. Rping would be much cooler if the stuff would be changed, more craftable items and and and and.

I don't agree on the reset... atleast not an item/skill/spell reset... You could fix those by changing the way you obtain them...

The people who want a reset are usually the ones who want to be equal with the "strong" people. However some of them just want it so they can get a fair start and work their way up to being one of the "strong" people and still have people below him/her.

You
don't
need
items
to
RP.
Stop saying a reset will help just because everyone will be equal in levels and items. You can use your imagination to RP. ROLEPLAY as a knight with armor. Also you don't need to be in battle mode to RP so that's a flawed excuse for a reset to occur.

Some people like rping with visual aid. It's nice to do because you get the point and two people dont assume different things when one says something. :O

Then they can RP with gold plate mails or chainmails and flaming swords or naginatas. They don't need war axes, hammers and event items to RP.

But many people still believe there's problems with items and RPing though they don't necessarily have to be related. The relation is that people are encouraged to gather "leet" items and go "mapping" instead of roleplaying.

As for their individual problems, the problem of items is an unbalance for one. This unbalance is the unbalance between older players and newer players. I've said this before and it's hard to argue with it. The fact is this....in any RPG, ALL older players have the advantage of time over newer ones. This time advantage means they had more time to level up and build up their character. If I start playing an RPG and a year later you start playing....and we both put equal effort/time into the game, theoretically, I should ALWAYS be ahead of you (unless there's caps on stuff like a level cap...but then there's still item/wealth-collecting and it's not common to put a cap on that). This is a thing that's hard to fight against and create solutions for. It's just accepted...the older player started first so he had more time to do the stuff the newer one will do later. The problem on GK is that older players were able to get for free/cheap items that became rare/expensive over time as their production was disabled yet the items themself were NOT. Items such as this include random-alchemy armour/weapons...And remember, this is just one of the item/economic problems.

And then the other problem is RPing. Well...people are encouraged to work hard in the screwed up economy (explained above) to become "leet" instead of RPing. I guess I'm being repetitive x.x Kingdoms think they're good/strong because they have many high-leveled people who possess many great items. Yet most of these "good" people are idiots, anti-RPers, or retired RPers (or RPers who just don't put in any effort...), etc...

This is exactly why these things such as alchemy should be fixed! Anything that you could get in the past should be atainable(sp) some way now... Not always the same way, some way... I also think that maps should be replaced with more dungeons, interesting ones, not just endless corridors with preset-spawn monsters roaming around... I shouldn't be able to stand next to the same two runes on a dungeon floor, and kill a Trex every 5 minutes. I should have to hunt for it!

I'm pretty sure if stefan could make monsters visible with line-of-sight only and having them wander all over the dungeon would be interesting enough, Maybe ranbom encounters in the second levels of the dungeon?....With the monsters not yet added?...So alchamy could be reactivated?

Im not sure why it was removed in the first place... Does anybody know?

Because it was RANDOM alchemy...not a very stable system....I think there were other reasons as well

Alchemy should be decently random when not dealing with specific ingredents and conditions...

Dragon, you need to have a reset, because in order to RP properly, you need to have a certian level to use your characters abilities and powers. Also have your characters weapons, staffs, items. So you can't RP efficiently with this system unless you redo the entire system.

There will never be good role-playing on GK because of the setup.

And because of how everything works in favor of the anti-RPers... x.x

Exactly. Not really for non-rpers, but the currenty layout really discourages people to RP and rather press s-d a hundred times mining, baking, combat, etc.

That's all fine except it lacks balance with alchemy items and the economy and such....it's in need of a reset.

However, kingdoms need more regulation. People should have to RP in kingdoms....kingdoms are RP groups, you shouldn't join one and NOT RP...otherwise,you're just joining to cause problems

How can you not RP efficiently? Just level up if you want access to certain spells/prayers. It's not that hard.
Stop blaming the items on people's RPing abilities. Instead blame the PLAYERS. You can't blame alcohol for the cause of drunk driving accidents, you blame the person taking the alcohol. Alcohol doesn't just go into your mouth unwillingly.
SaridHorn is a perfect example of a player. She is level 49 and (I believe) she has no alchemy items. If you can dedicate your time to playing, you can get far. Sitting and whining just because you are lazy is totally absurd!
Also like I said before, you can use rods and stuff as your RPing staff's. You don't need the event item "Sceptre of Lightning Arrow" to RP your character. Just pretend your rod is one or whatever, that is what RPing is all about.


Sidenote: Why am I in your signature? Yes I have an afro in real life, lol. :cool:

Don't blame the person for drinking. Alcholism is a disease, and people are addicted to drinking it.

Anyway, as I said, the current lay-out, or system, GK uses is not for Role-playing. They just stuck kingdoms on the server to attract players. I'm just saying that if you want to make the server more RP-based, it will never happen because of imbalances between the RPer and non-Rper, the current setup or the server, etc.

You don't have to be addicted to get yourself drunk once and drive your car against a tree...

Besides, you can "abuse" any system which offers a weapon. No system can force you to rp, and no system can prohibit you from rping. I completely agree with DragonX, and the only thing a reset will do is to drive players away - while the remaining will still be a mix of those who try to rp and those who powergame to do their best to pk and annoy.

Spark put a good word in about me helping Graal Kingdoms and forest like 4 months ago, I fronted Chris and it turned out Tseng was helping....
How are the levels btw?:p

to the level 49: thats no wonder of you can obtain some stacked brutals. :o

What is a 'stacked brutal?'

And who said we need to reset the buggy server that was supposed to be reset anyway? Stefan said he would just make another server for people that want a contuniously updated and semi-bug-free environment, while the old server would not be updated as much.

A sack full of brutals, I think?

ok im not going to read it all, but i seen teh first post about you saying RP is almost dead....well Valder i would like to point out the new CP members who cannot RP or do not RP and have been given "permission" not to RP and these aren't just lower members i'm talking higher up members

Well, you click on the sake with all the burtals in it and you get sent to all the burtals at once? lol

I dunno exactly what it is but in some events stacked brutals where given out, the main reason for some people being lvl 100.
Plus: there was a alchemy exp bug.