Revision of the Playerworld Rules

HoudiniMan · #1 12-12-2006, 10:01 AM

More like... remake.

I'm not even going to link to the old ones because they were last updated in 2003, and a lot of the rules need adjusting to even fit in today.

So, I would like everybody's opinion on what rules need to be officialized, revised, etc.

Also, and this is something very touchy and will need to be discussed with the directors, is what happens if a playerworld breaks the rules?

I am also establishing a more concrete requirement for the hosted tab inspections. So far my outline is revolving around two main things:

1) An area, however small (i.e. only 1 town is okay) that is 100% completed. This area should function as a preview/teaser for the world that is under construction, and should be representative of the final product in all it's larger glory. This way players get a taste for the style, and gameplay of a server.

2) It should draw the players interest. There should be enough activity to keep a players interest without the intervention of a tour guide or an events staff team. The server itself should have interesting enough aspects to hold interest for some time byitself, we recommend at least 1 hour.

Public input rocks.

Devil · #2 12-12-2006, 10:05 AM

I think the requirement for the Hosted area is a near complete server, if it's not complete or no where near finished, why should it be shown to players in a server list if It can't hold a players interest for (MORE) than 1 hour.

Definately needs to be larger than 1 hour there Houdini.

When talking about playerworlds breaking the rules, are you referring to hosted and private servers, or all servers including classic?

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My post from the other thread aswell,

So since Houdini suggested we should make a thread so Sam wouldn't stomp on us, the title pretty much speaks for itself.

I personally think we need some more PWA members.. I only really see Houdini copping alot of the flak when it comes to PWA problems.

Come on Graal, we need some more members.

HoudiniMan · #3 12-12-2006, 10:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Devil

I think the requirement for the Hosted area is a near complete server, if it's not complete or no where near finished, why should it be shown to players in a server list if It can't hold a players interest for (MORE) than 1 hour.

Definately needs to be larger than 1 hour there Houdini.

When talking about playerworlds breaking the rules, are you referring to hosted and private servers, or all servers including classic?

--------------------------------------

My post from the other thread aswell,

So since Houdini suggested we should make a thread so Sam wouldn't stomp on us, the title pretty much speaks for itself.

I personally think we need some more PWA members.. I only really see Houdini copping alot of the flak when it comes to PWA problems.

Come on Graal, we need some more members.

Well, do you think we should differentiate between classic/hosted/private rulebreakers? There are probably several cases this is appropriate, but which do you think are?

I think hosted should be a place to showcase what you have done, and your potential. That way you can draw staff to help you and players to test things.

As for the PWA team itself, let's keep that in your other thread.

Darlene159 · #4 12-14-2006, 05:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HoudiniMan

Well, do you think we should differentiate between classic/hosted/private rulebreakers? There are probably several cases this is appropriate, but which do you think are?

In my opinion, the rules should be the same for any PW that players have access to. Players do not deserve to be abused, or banned for no reason because of different rules.

HoudiniMan · #5 12-14-2006, 05:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Darlene159

In my opinion, the rules should be the same for any PW that players have access to. Players do not deserve to be abused, or banned for no reason because of different rules.

The differences are much smaller. Obviously a player shouldn't be abused anywhere. But take bans for instance: On a classic server it would be inappropriate to ban somebody because they were bothering you. However, if you paid for a server to develop on, and you don't want to deal with some kid being a nuisance then why not give em the boot?

Darlene159 · #6 12-14-2006, 05:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HoudiniMan

However, if you paid for a server to develop on, and you don't want to deal with some kid being a nuisance then why not give em the boot?

If a person is annoying to the point of harrassment, then I can see it, but I have seen PW's at times ban someone because they don't like them, or because they get mad at someone, or stupid reasons like that...that is what I am saying.

Devil · #7 12-12-2006, 10:13 AM

Lol I deleted the other thread. So there didn't have to be 2 different on-going discussions.

One problem I keep seeing pop up is the lack of intelligence some of the playerworld owners with their whole servers being deleted.

This can and most certainly will be a loss of money towards Graal for the simple fact, if no one informs playerworld owners that if they keep giving out stupid rights to people who don't need them, they will get sick of having their world hosted and stop buying a subscription to it every 6 months, or every year, whichever they have bought.

gx_staff5 · #8 12-12-2006, 10:13 AM

Personally I think if a 'Classic' server cant maintain a daily average of 10-20Unique players it should be removed from the list because obviously its doing something wrong and needs to be pushed back to near classic, development stages; Hosted Tab. Also it would bring in money because staff would need to re-upgrade to work at the server while it is at the hosted state or they will just hire new staff.

Devil · #9 12-12-2006, 10:16 AM

Sorry I'm posting alot, but what the guy said above me, is exactly right.

I'm sick of seeing servers that are dead, or have barely any players. It's a waste of space, and I would love to see other up and coming servers have a chance to make it to classic, it gives the playerworld owners more incentive to bring together good developers, and create a fantastic world for all people to enjoy.

konidias · #10 12-12-2006, 12:09 PM

I believe that in order for any rules to even be worth anything, you'll need a lot more PWA. I'm talking 20-30 of them... seriously. Loads. Then you need an admin for these PWA so that the admin can watch over them and instruct them and not let them run wild and do whatever they want.

PWA need to be the glue that holds playerworlds together and polishes them up. They need to keep a constant eye on all of the public playerworlds and the servers that are near release. They should be lending a hand to the promising servers (or trying to find people who might be willing to) so that the projects don't just fizzle out and die.

Honestly PWA should be like ninja... You work around the server owners/staff quietly and only disturb them when absolutely necessary. Also I don't like it when PWA just pop on my server unannounced and look through my sh*t without even talking to me. Kind of rude and disrespectful if you ask me.

Really though, I think the PWA could do a good job of encouraging promising playerworlds to keep going without getting too involved in their business... and also making sure to hear all sides of a "theft" case, where one playerworld is saying another is stealing from it somehow...

I just don't like the idea of some group of people having power over everything I've worked to create and all they do is randomly pop on my server and look through my stuff and leave, and don't ask how the server is doing or if I need assistance or anything like that.

Really I don't see the reason that PWA should even go on private servers unless requested by the staff there.

Anyway, I know I didn't post much about what I think of the rules and stuff... I have to go right now so I will make a better reply later. =P

petro1212 · #11 12-12-2006, 01:20 PM

Classic

Servers in this list should attract new players, thus they need to be entertaining and work properly. If servers can't seem to get enough players or their content is inapropriate, fails to meet a certain standart ect.. than these servers simply don't deserve to be on this list. These servers aren't paid for so they should bring in atleast some money for Graal online.

Most of the classic servers don't have owners resposible for their content, simply managers appointed by previous managers or other staff. The PWA could take a supervising role these servers.

Classic servers could have a quota set for the monthly/weekly development releases that they need to preform to keep their content updated and expand it (like most proffesional online games). The PW Team could simply have a small role in this such as checking that quota's are met and content is appropriate. *

The PW Team could also make sure that each server has certain bonus's for VIP/Gold accounts compared to expired gold & trial accounts.

Hosted

The Idea Houdiniman has is pretty good.. no comments on that

* The PW Team could make sure that Classic servers have a very profesional winter/christmas packadge (bug free) done in august already ect. (They don't need to play baby sitters but they could advise servers to think ahead)

Mykel · #12 12-12-2006, 01:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by konidias

stuff

While maybe I think 20-30 is overkill, I think that hiring 6-7 PWA's would be a good idea. When they had nothing to do they could randomly hop on servers and see if anything was needed. They could help solve PWA issues within the support center, etc.

Crono · #13 12-12-2006, 01:56 PM

One thing obviously lacking is quality. For example Zodiac was passed with the excuse of "It had good gameplay, and there was nothing else!". That's a horrible reason. You could have asked Zodiac to fix it's levels, make the graphics not look like a 9 year old drew them, and THEN passed them for the Classic List.

But obviously quality is looked down upon and everyone is after quantity. In my opinion when a server is being reviewed, you should look at more than just gameplay. I remember in 2002 Bravo was revived but PWA told them that they had to make the levels better, despite the fact that the server had a decent and stable playercount. That did more harm than good, but now you have servers that seriously need facelifts and nothing is being done.

Also what about player requirements? If the server is sitting there with 0 players...

Quote:

1) An area, however small (i.e. only 1 town is okay) that is 100% completed. This area should function as a preview/teaser for the world that is under construction, and should be representative of the final product in all it's larger glory. This way players get a taste for the style, and gameplay of a server.

I agree, but it shouldn't reveal too much as you need to keep some things hidden for the big BANG CHECK THIS OUT GUYS.

Quote:

2) It should draw the players interest. There should be enough activity to keep a players interest without the intervention of a tour guide or an events staff team.

I so agree. Events != content. (technically it is but whatever)

Rufus · #14 12-12-2006, 04:52 PM

I actually really like the current Playerworld Rules, they seem to be sensible and fair, but I don't know the last time they were actually really enforced.

We all know that Graal is short of Playerworld Administration right now, and that might not be such a bad thing in terms of the remaining lack of trust that people have, but in respects to Graal, it is. I know Ibonic was considdering hiring some new Playerworld Admins soon, I remember talking to him about it for a while, I can't remember what he was waiting for though, hmm..

Anyway, what I would personally really like to see more is PWA reviews. I used to always read through Malinko and Spark's reviews in the past, they are a good way of finding an unbiased view of a server (which isn't from a member of staff there), and they're a good introduction for the servers themselves.

One thing that confuses me is that we have the Playerworld rules, but I'm not actually sure what the rules are for Classic and Hosted servers, I've always wondered if they're under the same treatment. I totally agree with Crono, and I'd really like to see the playerlist cleaned up a bit more, if you're starting a new proposal, I think you should try out your new rules on every current Classic and Hosted server, to see if they actually do pass. There are too many servers these days, and like Crono said, quality is better then quantity.

Mykel · #15 12-12-2006, 05:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rufus

Anyway, what I would personally really like to see more is PWA reviews.

Agreed. Reading old reviews back in the day by Jinx or Torankusu would motivate me to want to make a server. In-depth details about the server were always entertaining to read.

There was a detailed system that showed if a playerworld passed or failed. There were ratings for different parts of the server. Here is an example. Everyone had a better idea of why the server was put up. It also was a great way to get people interested in the server. I would love to see some sort of rendition of this come back.