What are the standards for community here?

Is there a place where we can read how the community feels about certain topics? Is there a place where we can research community standards? I am asking in all respect in order to not violate any community policy. I do have issues that I would like addressed but I want them to be in the most upmost community stand forth way possible. If there is a way of such a thing.

 

Common human decency when it comes to decorum, but around certain topics/members you have to walk on eggshells.

 

Community Rules & Guidelines

 

I’m not sure I understand exactly what you are looking for, but it seems an odd question from someone who has been an active critic of the game since 2013.

 

a definition of community standards that is not vague would be good. As a kickstarer backer one see's how things change. This game resembles nothing like what was kickstarted in any manor or form. But back to the topic. Is there a part of the community that is better than the rest? When community standards is mentioned I think of a miss match of people coming to an agreement . I did not see a whole environment that punishes critical thinking.

 

Do you think these guidlines are inviting to new players?

 

I don't think they're a problem. Having been moderated myself many times, I totally deserved it. There are people that don't even really play the game anymore that just enjoy arguing on the forums.

 

Which of these guidelines would you consider not to be inviting to new players?

 

For example. Under the community guidelines that Lained posted. Rule #10 which one person already violated in this thread by a tongue in cheek comment.
"Try to stop someone posting disparaging remarks by attacking them. It will only inflame the situation. Respond constructively, or let us handle the issue by telling us about it."
This is done repeatedly on these forums.

 

Describing someone as a critic doesn't seem to be a form of attack in my opinion. This thread's question seems to be answered with the above link.

 

Problematic topic, this one...

As a place to find out a lot of what is going on in the game, how systems work, and especially to keep in touch with and be part of the player community, the forums are extremely useful. But I also have come to the conclusion that challenging the methods or decisions of Portalarium, no matter how politely, is absolutely not welcome at all, and thus there are many subjects where I simply feel I am not able to comment as certain things are simply not open for conversation - and those include a great many things I think absolutely should be talked about politely in the community, and certainly not all handled as private conversations that (from my unfortunate experience) usually are misinterpreted or simply ignored.

I doubt it began as a deliberate 'we don't want this type of comment' policy, and of course there are lines of behaviour and language about people that should not be crossed - but I have reached the conclusion that for all the good intentions, the company is honestly afraid of talking to us openly on many topics and overly nervous about anything critical - and that's not a healthy state at all for a game that was originally crowd-funded. I've seen friends leave the game because of bad company decisions and poor handling of the communications over them - but there seems such utter unwillingness to really engage (not just make one unclear comment and then lock threads, or simply refuse to listen when we try explain how what we said is being wildly misunderstood) with us on so many things, I can't see it ever improving. The way those terms and conditions are worded looks fine - the implementation of them is the problematic area.

 

Well drafted.

 

Didn't they just fix the jump tho ? Seems like listening to me....

I'm pretty sure at this point they get criticized from all angles no matter what they do, so I mean, I would probably not want to engage people directly either after all that.

I mean I have read and seen some absolutely nutso things on these forums over the years.

Everything from people getting dox'd and personal attacks and all kinds of total nonsense that has nothing to do with having fun in a computer game.

It's worth noting that at it's peak (at persistence) the game had 600 simultaneous players on steam, yesterday it had 500. It's had ~200 the entire time no matter what.

No Mans Sky, a game that also gets a lot of undue criticism because people want it to be something other than what it is, has around 1000, so that's not bad for an indie, niche, game.

 

I think the problem is as always that Portalarium does things the way they do for many reasons.
Like every company doing complicated stuff.
So giving reasons for why things are done a certain way can touch sensitive topics (knowledge to chest for example)

That they do not want to discuss certain topics is natural, the way communicating why could be improved, i think.

At the start of sota development it was less complex so communicating about it was easier, now things becom ackward (complex) and communication will be prone to be complex too.

That does not mean it has to be done by banhammer or locking threads, I think an:
"Sorry we can not discuss this topic and we did the best technical possible to solve the problem, but be asurred we are still working on it"
could serve better.

Impossible though the "good old days" because things are complex now.

 

1. A budget of 20mio is far above any indie-game.
2. RPGs are no niche games.

Probably. Lets more think of the dev-team gets tired after this long path of development. Maybe it's time for some changes in their ranks and fresh blood with new ideas.

Maybe it would be a good idea to stop working at all problems a bit and start finishing complete blocks, seal them and don't touch it again. The latest AOE-troubles are a pain and have been solved a long time ago. This would lighten the anger of the players - most of all because they have spent a big bunch of money and after many years they want the game which was promised and not an ever-patched afterwork-trouble.

 

According to https://www.shroudoftheavatar.com/?page_id=35155
The game raised just shy of 13 million before launch.
Indie Game means independent studio / publisher. In other words, not a big company like EA.
It's niche because it's a game for fans of a 30 year old software series from the mid 80s, and a particular style of MMO, a mixed single player / multiplayer game with deck based combat and player housing.
Not many games like that.

 

There was always something like that, EQ2 hat many of the features if you think about it.
The whack a mole solution is nothing i like at all, it is working with others to archieve something in some style that attracts more (and i hope wenever get so shiny like WoW)

I do not think it is really niche, there are more games out there who are a certain style because it is cheaper to make (doom/counterstrike like)

with the right advertisement they could probably draw more people (expensive advertisement like big companies do)

Dumbing down games worked to an degree but i think that has limits, people might like some challenge...

 

What? We have standards now?
...
Oh nooooo.

*looks down at his outfit, splattered with swamp mud, old blood stains, soot and singes from fire spells, bite marks, claw marks, dented and buckled armor, but all with a slightly crooked albeit happy smile*

Uhm?
OK, I should go clean up and come back slightly more presentable.

 

I posted a screenshot in the wrong thread. removed now

 

Following this definition _every_ game is a niche-game because every game has something special. Let me paraphrase that: it should have.
SOTA is a RPG full of grinding and not a RPG of questing like WoW. That puts it in line with several others (e.g. DAoC, SWG) and never ever into a niche. IMHO.

The sum till some weeks at the main-page of this URL was approx. 20 mio. I don't make a difference between pre-sale and sale.