Quote:
Originally Posted by fowlplay4
Never said you were wrong about anything you said.
I guess we're just going to have to accept that Graal will be sitting in the backseat while they attempt to make some quick change at the Appstore, or revolt and watch it all crumble.
It sucks but we've *****ed about this same crap for many years now, and typically the updates we see from the men upstairs are just quick money making attempts.
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that was directed at ZH, but i do agree with you. what ever happened to the graal e-news letter? they hardly even use it anymore. what happened to graal3D? complete crash and burn, with galdor being the only real force behind it. graal has been in the backseat for awhile now, and yes we have discussed this before, but not into any type of specific direction
a revolt? it would not mean graal's demise - they still make some bank off the graal#### accounts. graal is being continued onto the iphone, so it can't be a total shut down. boycott? most people wouldn't participate, or wouldn't know
how to participate. start our own graal? yea right, THAT'S a great idea
these are not the answers we're looking for
we're going to have to work inside the system, and force the owners to see that we are still here, still wanting to play, still wanting to make some sort of difference. no we don't care if we make them money - this about a community ten years in the running, a game a lot of us started playing as a child. i've had more fun on this game than any other, and it's crazy to sit there and let it die. but i can't develop. i cannot ****ing develop. i've tried multiple times to try and work my way through my mediocre LAT, script, and GFX skills, and it doesn't work. but i know others are out there with the abilities to make something worth while
so, i'm going to write down what i think the direction should be:
the hardest part about this plan is the first step. we must assemble a team of competent developers, ones who will follow the ideas and guidance of the manager. who these people will be is completely up to the community
second is the discussion of what the project will be. personally i'd love to see the ultimate classic-type server, perhaps with improved sword-play and a greater arrangement of (useful) NPCs. i know a lot of people love RPG and modern-type servers - it is impossible to think that this could please everyone, and it shouldn't be expected, nor is it the goal. the goal is to get new people to play and take interest
third is the discussion and community input part of the plan. the community
must have stable input and constructive criticism into the project, or it isn't going to work out. a lot of us have been playing graal for five years or more - we know how graal works, and what is fun to do on graal. using that collective knowledge combined with the abilities of the developers, we can definitely come up with some awesome ideas and concepts
forth is the actual work. graal is a hobby, there won't be a deadline set for the project. what has to be included, however, is a solid stream of updates to let the community know whats up. a lot of current projects try to keep everything all secretive and surprising - this isn't what is needed nor wanted. i want to know the progress of the project, not every single step of the way, but with every major advancement, it would be nice to see that things are moving along. if we have no updates, we have no motivation, and with no motivation, we might as well all quit
fifth is testing things out, and actually buying a server. i've always felt it stupid to buy a server before anything was actually concretely made for it. you do not need a server to create GFX, or levels. testbed can be used for testing out scripts. the server should be bought once most of these aspects are created for the purpose of testing. i know that this also puts a lot of strain onto people, because they "can't save their work" or "see if it works online straight away" and "i can't see the progress other people are making" but there are ways to work around it. there is a plethora of internet chats that could substitute RC, windows meeting place has all the advantages a meeting and brain storming process could ask for, and there are so many sites to upload material to show to others that it is almost criminal. why waste the money quickly before it's really needed?
sixth would be to run test with actual players. we have to see if what was discussed is actually fun to play. i remember one incident where me, ajira, and xero were creating a crono trigger-type server, and we had this weird combat-gani that made the player look ready to fight. it looked awesome as a gani, but looked silly and stupid once implemented onto other players with customizable GFX. we had to redo it, even though it was awesome in concept. another was a boss-NPC we had created that was supposed to be hard to beat. we actually made it impossible given the structure of the combat system, which made it no fun. we had to redo the entire thing, and that's about when the server shut down from lack of funds, and we forgot to make a backup of all the data (in addition the server owner never got back onto graal, aim, and probably the internet)
last but not least is letting other players (ones who do not read the forums and had no knowledge of the project) actually play the server. we can hand select a stereotypical group of players from many server to see their reactions to it. let them run wild upon the work to really get the full server experience, and let them whine about every single insignificant problem with it. these types of players will become the core of the server, and we must adjust the server to their beck and whims - otherwise they won't play
if don't correctly, we can have a server full of hundreds of players, and that's what really makes any online video game fun - lots of players. only in this way will other people want to introduce their friends to graal to play this new awesome server that came out. only then will players try to defend graal; that it's not a child's game, that it's not a development platform, that it's not an old dead game that wads fun back in the day and is not for only those people who can't get over it and move on: it's a fun MMO with a large, tight community
of course this sounds way easier than it is, and i don't expect it to get done or even followed any time soon. but at least it's some sort of game plan
man it would be cool if CJ staff read this thread...
07-26-2009, 05:46 PM
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