Graal Forums - Graal2001

Hi, I'm Lance. I've played and worked with Graal for a number of years now. I manage Graal2001.

Let me tell you all a story, one which you should be familiar with. Perhaps it was never explained in full, or perhaps people would rather believe what they want to believe, but ahead lies my tale. The chronology may be a bit off in some points, I fear. That, however, is only because this story spans a long timeframe.

Graal2001 has been fighting death since the moment Stefan ceased being its manager. The decaying process started slowly and sped up mightily with the release of Graal2002. At the same time, the server also had to fight a number of problems, included but not limited to staff issues, management problems, and poor direction. When Kamuii was manager, I found it hard as a prospective staff member to contact him. It was Rabid the co-manager who ended up hiring me after I'd spoken with him about the situation. From there, my scripting talents grew, and over time I rose in the server's ranks. Kamuii was removed, Jeff was instated. I thought it was a good idea at the time - unfortunately, I could not have been more incorrect. Jeff had done every single possible thing wrong as a manager. In fact, he himself became guilty of every mistake and behavior he accused Kamuii of - inactivity, failure to hire staff, and on top of all of that he made poor management decisions.

In fact, Jeff completely ignored the input of every other staff member, choosing instead to go forward without thinking. Releases of certain things, timings, it all went against our input. I had spoken with him on several occasions that we needed to restore the kingdoms. He said no every single time, citing "Managerial veto" as the reason against it (instead of justifying it). Immediately after promising to speak with me before hiring anyone, he hired someone who I had (at the time) had a problem with. This person, I perceived, was unfit to be a Graal2001 staff member. However, Jeff hired him without speaking with me. At that point, I came to the conclusion that this problem with Jeff was irreconcilable, and I quit. It was a very painful day, for I always loved Graal2001 dearly.

Time passed. Jeff continued to be manager, nothing was going on, and he was working against (rather than for) the progress of the server. I grew dissatisfied, and spoke with Stefan on several occasions to try to achieve some change on the server. Jeff hastily hired James and appointed him his Co-manager, that his legacy would continue.

Jeff resigned. James and Stefan and I discussed the server's future. What came out of it was that James and I would work on managing the server together while somehow avoiding stepping on each others' toes.

Well, that didn't work out. James hired a few people who didn't work, and James himself did not sign on that terribly often. At the time I was spending every minute of my free time with Graal2001. The team and I worked towards fixing the problems and crafting the new material.

Time passed yet again. The staff slowly stopped showing up, citing school or other activities as reason for this. Weeks would pass where I was the only staff member on, with perhaps one other person signing on for a minute or two. These people had become my friends as well as my coworkers, and I wanted to believe in them and their abilities. They made great stuff, which (I'm sorry to say) can't be said for most developers around Graal. I'd hired a few new people, and stayed on waiting for them to show up so I could give them direction.

Time passed. The staff kept promising me how they'd be more active soon, only to leave without me ever hearing a word from them. I fired a few people, and removed a few more. I hired some more people, to try to keep it going.

Eventually, circumstances beyond my control in my life did not allow me to stay on RC so consistently. We still went forward, though by this time it was horribly slow. It was known that Graal2001 was looking for staff, and many applications were received and reviewed. Unfortunately, they just did not reach the quality mark that we wanted for the server.

At some point around here, Mmmmkay returned from the void he had disappeared to. He suggested I hire someone named Shadowless, who he stated was good with levels. I did, and it was one of the best decisions I'd ever made. Around this time, too, Scott sent me some messages asking if he could help out. Things never looked better - we had a skilled graphics artist, a skilled levels and graphics artist, and a scripter as our active staff. The thought in my mind, "What couldn't we accomplish?" Unfortunately, the answer was "Everything," but I will get to that soon enough.

[Insert release of the server without kingdoms (and subsequent failure) because "That's what the players wanted - the server. It doesn't need to have kingdoms, they say!" Yeah, right. That didn't work.]

Kingdoms. Ugh. The Kingdoms were the cause of this last huge delay.

We wanted new kingdoms. More specifically, I wanted them and the other staff agreed that it was the best choice. At this time, we had perhaps 10 staff members, four of which could be depended upon..

Roleplaying conferences were held. The new kingdoms were decided upon, and the results posted. The next step? Building them, of course.

How did the awesome new kingdoms end up, after several months?

Kaitou: Geno was working on it. Where'd he go? Lamer was working on it. What happened? You can answer these questions as well as I can, which is not at all.

Bellasera: Shadowless and Thak worked on this kingdom. They did an excellent job, and it only required a few scripted items. CheeToS crafted a glorious NPC which you will hopefully get to meet someday who wanders the Bellasera gardens watering plants. A sundial was to be crafted, and the job was assigned to a scripter. That scripter could not do it, so it was then given as a 'suggested task' for a scripter who wished to work for Graal2001. Did I ever hear back from them? Nope.. Still, I had no idea that they would take so long, so I patiently waited. This kingdom was almost finished - it just requires a few final things.

Malenth: The new, dark medieval kingdom which I had personally planned on joining. Ahh, Malenth. Signas was behind its concept and design. Pir promised to help with it, and had indeed done some work on it with Signas' guidance. However, Pir encountered some problems and could no longer help out. Not only that, but the finalized levels were not sent to me. There goes a few months of waiting. This kingdom, as a result, has not made much progress at all..

"Zorbi": The new fish kingdom that lacked a definite new name. Progress was made, the kingdom looks beautiful. Shadowless outdid himself on this. I am uncertain as to the final result - I was never given a final summary of the status of everything before...

The days eventually came when both Scott and Shadowless resigned. Real life matters and deciding to invest their time and skill in something more professional than Graal were the reasons they left.

Since then? Not much has happened, as you know. I've talked to quite a few people about joining the ranks of the Graal2001 staff. They've either given me vague answers or said they weren't interested in working here.

"So, what happened to all your staff?"

They disappeared. Most who disappeared without a trace were removed. Some were kind enough to tell me that they did not have the time anymore before disappearing.

If Zurkiba's efforts have raised enough interest that more folks are interested to help out (and, as a result, I am indeed hiring two people who have offered assistance), then I must thank him for that. I must say, however, that it would certainly seem that Zurkiba has returned to Graal with the intention to take over Graal2001. I don't appreciate that, and I sincerely hope I am mistaken in perceiving that.

Here is my proposition to you folks: We move forward, not backward. Excalibur will be working with Gryffon and myself to finish up the works-in-progress, and we will be acquiring new staff as we go. I've wiped the staff list, and will entertain applications and requests to help out. You folks know my email address to send your applications/samples to.

If any old staff are interested in coming back, you are encouraged to contact me as well.

I understand that you folks are tired of waiting...So am I.

Let's get this done.