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so Neo Jr, are you asking for help or offering it?

'i want to help lvl 2-24 lvl up'

Eh?

Definately a good thing that LESIG isn't targetted by the LET - however i'm curious as to whether that also extends to their faction or friends? I would hate to think that people involved in the LESIG were using it to their advantage in trying to angle events so that people from their group/clique of friends got the most action.

Well I suppose it comes down to whether or not these LESIG members will keep quiet about it - that said, i'm certain that Walrus did his homework extensively on the people he invited, and as such the people involved in this will be mature and sensible enough not to use their place in LESIG for bragging rights.

Welcome back matey

Okay, for the benefit of those who maybe have not been tracking this thread since it began, I thought i'd pick out all of the answered questions, and summarise them here, so as to avoid people having to trawl through all those pages. Remember, all further questioning goes into that thread, not this one :smileytongue:

xboxlive: Hey there Rarebit, when could we see the Zen master tree in full use?

rarebit: That is a scheduling secret that cannot be revealed!

bonopi: Will LET ever come back?

rarebit: Hm, that's *kind* of a scheduling question... In any case, I will say that we devs would love to have a dedicated Live Events Team of some sort or other, but time, money, and probably administrative/legal wrangling will tell if this ends up happening--and these things are not in our sweaty little hands.

Abigor666: Will us cypherites get our org soon?

rarebit: Scheduling/story spoiler question! Can't really answer that. Until you do, please feel free to act like you have an org. Bandanas forever!

TetraCleric: Why is Ghost Bald?

rarebit: If I remember correctly, it's because we didn't get the rights to use the likeness of that movie actor in the game. This wasn't discovered until right near the end of Beta, so up until that point, he had hair, just like in the movie!

Fugitiv3: How bout that sound-loop while hyperjumping bug?

rarebit: That's a QA question, and they aren't available for questions! It's also a future release question!
I will say, though, that we hate bugs, and that it always helps us out if you can report them using the in-game slash command and provide as many details as possible. What's best is when you can provide the exact steps needed to reproduce a bug (and try them yourself first to make sure they work).

Fugitiv3: What does Walrus keep on the wall of his cubicle?

rarebit: HAH! Walrus will have to answer this, so that means I'm probably off the hook for the rest of the night. If he hasn't answered by tomorrow morning, I'll go investigate.

{SoG}Esky: Since we already have information about CR2.0, and it's a very near future release...is there any chance we can get a screenshot of something the CR2.0 will bring us?

HCfrog: NO! Thanks for playing.
Okay seriously, the people working on CR2.0 are working their butts off on that right now, getting it into presentable shape, and I wouldn't want to show any pictures of unfinished stuff... I'd rather let it speak for itself... I... I...
I'll see if I can get a screenie of anything interesting tomorrow at work. But for now, let's open this up for another question

Abigor666: Will you please change Veils look from when she went under the Alias Toorima aka. Tasha Spencer?

HCfrog: Okay this begs the question... why don't you have a crush on the joker? WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU?!?!?!

I believe Veil's RSI actually has been updated, and is much different than Toorima's. Another screenshot to dig out tomorrow I guess...

Abigor666: Will the sub orgs be hostile to their original counterprts when implemented ?

HCfrog: Unfortunately, that falls under the category of questions I can't answer at this time.

Viscidos: Will there be more cowbell?

HCfrog: As much cowbell as we have now times TEN

1nfern0: Was there ever thoughts for players to purcase our own lot [i.e. house, base, and such]?

HCfrog: In the past, there were thoughts about this. What thoughts? Who can say, grasshopper. I can't really say much about future content, except that our schedules are pretty tight with other updates, fixes and content for the near future.

Inthebackground: We heard an awful lot about the combat revision for months now. I'm curious as to whats on the developer agenda for after CU 2.0, will it just be 2.1 or are ya gonna get back to advancing the storyline?

HCfrog: As far as updates to the game, I can't say.
As far as storyline goes... it's marching on even now. Of course critical missions and cinematics have never gone away, and we're hoping to start leveraging the new LESIG group to improve what we can do for Live Events, and increase everyone's exposure to the storyline.

bonopi: Can we expect to see faction panel enhancments, team duels, and a more meaningful CQ system after the Combat Revamp?

HCfrog: Faction Panel: I really couldn't say, both because I don't know if this is in the works, and if it is, I don't know (and probably couldn't tell you) when it would be planned for. I know exactly why you're asking this though, that thing... uh, yeah

Team Duels: Similar answer, except I feel this one would be less likely to be put in. Not because it's a bad idea or anything, it's a great idea, and if I remember correctly it was even in the manual that this worked... *sigh*... but I just have my hunches

CQ: Okay, I don't know of any current plans to revamp the CQ system. BUT... there is something I am going to push really hard to get put in after the dust settles from the CR. It's something that I think would add a lot to the game, and I've seen some people propose similar concepts on these forums. Basically, something that would add an actual reason to PvP... maybe fighting for control over places or things... perhaps granting Org benefits... maybe even adding some sort of balancing for Org populations... Now please keep in mind this idea is not even on the schedule yet, it hasn't been approved in any way, shape or form, and I haven't even figured out how much time it would take to implement, or exactly how we would do it. But I think it would be pretty cool!

[continued]

Cognoscente: How long have you been with the MxO team HCFrog, and what did you do before this?

HCfrog: I joined the team pretty late - about 4 months before the game shipped. I started out just writing missions but my role has expanded to include a lot more game design type things; gotta say Archon is a pretty cool boss when it comes to that
This is by far the coolest job I've ever had - in fact it's my first game job. Previous jobs included writing tax software and helping dissect dead octopi.

ShadowSK: In Dev Journal 01, Archon mentions much needed updates to the in-game Marketplace:

Marketplace

We are also working on some significant improvements to the Marketplace. The Marketplace should be a great tool for players trying to buy and sell items and the current system needs to be re-tooled. Improvements are focused around expanding the design and fixing broken or user-unfriendly issues. Our goal is to implement an overhauled Marketplace before the end of the year.
As you can see, he says the goal is to have it implemented by the end of this year.
So my question is: How are you progressing with the marketplace and what new features can we expect to see?

rarebit: This is a future release question! Abort! Abort!

bonopi: Whats up with the white hallway with doors...did devs use them during beta or is this something that was planned but never used...

rarebit: Whoa, two questions! To answer the first: they are from the movies! =)

Abigor666: Who is your favorite character from the matrix universe and why?
Btw whoever modeled the new veil rsi owns

rarebit: I'm split on that one. For having fun, the Merovingian: the ultimate bon vivant. For getting deep down into the messy guts of the Matrix, the Oracle.
To answer your non-question (see how sneaky he is?), I pieced Veil together from existing parts--if you look close, you'll probably recognize most of them, but maybe in different colors. Tinting skin in our NPC RSI system is a bit of a pain, which is why only her head is exposed. I took some glory shots of her a month or so ago, but then realized my AA had shut off (darn task-switching on my vid card!) so they were all jaggy. Maybe I'll see if Walrus will let me post them anyway.

bonopi: what are the doors used for?

rarebit: There are proposals on the table for doing something with them, but it is unknown if they will work smoothly. Maybe the QA server will help us with that somewhere down the road. No promises, though.

Abigor666: When choosing the name Enmascarado for one of the masked men. Was there any hidden refference to the zorro series or are my theories wrong?

rarebit: No idea, but if that name occurs there, then probably yes. The old LET team came up with the name, as far as I know.

Cognoscente: is anything being done about changing the color of the characters who are talking in a crowd to a different color so that everyone can see what they say in the sea of stupid people saying dumb things in area chat like "I love you Niobe marry me!"?

rarebit: Future release question! Nyahahaaaa!

Abigor666: Are there any plans to implement more dev tools to help run events more smoothly on the hostile server?

rarebit: Future release question! Nyuk nyuk nyuk! *hits gong*

Peer 2.0:What is your redpill name?

rarebit: Same as my forum handle. I'm old school. I also haven't logged in with that character in ages, but months and months ago when I was freezing in my old Monolith office, rubbing my hands together to stay warm in the broken air conditioning, I used to log in with Rarebit, dance near newbie hardlines, and give cryptic answers to people who stopped to ask me questions while trying to come up with crit mission ideas. That was back when /dance prevented you from getting kicked for idling. Ah, those were the days

Abigor666: What do you think Veil will do when Seraph finds out she stole his glasses?

rarebit: If you look closely, you'll notice at least one important difference between their glasses.

Chuui: Are there any plans to fix Team Member Recall?

rarebit: Future release question! No answer for you!

Abigor666: Who checks agent paces email?

rarebit: Agent Gray. The old perv

Abigor666: Then who checks Agent Grays email?

rarebit: Deus ex Machina.

kingcaw: Do you guys listen to any in-game radio stations?

rarebit: Answering for myself: not on a regular basis. Once I blundered into a club with my alt though (I was looking for cake, to tell you the truth) and found some French Merovingian players having a party and advertising their radio station, so I came back with the Merovingian, and he brought the cake, and I practiced my French and only screwed up bad once!

kingcaw: If you could click your fingers and implement one new feature to the game without the endless coding and testing etc - what would it be?

rarebit: A full-fledged quest system, integrated with our super-complex interior mission system. But now that I've said it, you can be sure that it's never going to happen! Muhahaha! Man, that's a weight off.

Viscidos: What can players do to help with development of new content?

rarebit: Pound on the QA server when it goes up, and keep posting on the forums!

jeffers: In the releases about the combat upgrade it mentions that stats can no long be increased by using stats.
Are the existing items just going to be replaced in our inventorys or grandfathered like has previously occured?

rarebit: That *is* a future release question. However, I will say this: in the future we will not be "grandfathering" items by having them decay rapidly except in the case of extreme exploit-type emergencies. The whole thing with the old Richland/Westview dungeon loot decaying was an implementation of an old team practice that was not re-examined sufficiently by yours truly. *sigh*

Viscidos: Would you like to join the Vector faction for QA?

rarebit: I don't think you realize what you're asking. The only way I win fights is by meatwadding people--and they probably wouldn't let me do that too much in QA.

kingcaw: Ah - heres one - why was the ability to add LET members to your buddy list removed?

rarebit: I don't know about it being removed. But if it's anything like the reason why you can't send them tells, it's because the name you see on your screen is usually not their real name, but just a database hack--because even we can't have two characters with the same name between servers.

[continued]

jeffers: After the storyline which was written by Paul Chadwick for the first year (about 5/6 months left?) has been completed, is he going to carry on writing the story line or is SOE going to be moving away from that? (Might be a hidden agenda type question though)

HCfrog: Paul is still working with us -- I haven't seen all of his ideas, but from talking with him it sounds like he has at least a rough storyline for a LOT more than the first year

Symmetric: Wiill we ever get to meet Anome in-game? He's my hero.

HCfrog: Yeesh, you should be careful what you ask for, Symmetric. And... uh... possibly.

PBlade: Previously it was mentioned about factors stopping the hiring of a new LET. Can you elaborate?

HCfrog: Basically cost. The LET that we had at launch cost an awful lot of money to support. Everybody make 10 of your friends subscribe to MXO!

Megaritz: Are the devs ever going to fix ignore so it works in area chat again? How am I supposed to properly ignore that guy who says stupid stuff, and that other guy who says stupid stuff without ignore working properly?

HCfrog: Good question! I honestly don't know... and I am staying home sick from work today spamming the forums so I can't check Your concern about that one guy has been noted though.

FAOrien: Will we get new clothing and weapons?

HCfrog: Okay: The CR is going to change a LOT of things in the game. For one thing, all of the numbers that affect things are changing... so all of the old enhanced items don't make sense any more. One of our technical designers is going to be changing the buffs on every single enhanced item in the game... which adds up to something like 14,000 items I believe. It might be more, I can't rememeber off the top of my froggy head. But basically, all of the existing stuff is going to act differently.

Another thing that is changing is what contributes to your overall combat roll. I'm not too clear on it, but I believe that clothing and items will become a bit less important, and attributes, fighting styles, and abilities will become more important.

Finally, the whole slums reflow brought to light a big issue with our buffed items. Is there any other game out there where a level 50 character is using an item from a level 5 special quest? Despite the insane number of items we have, there are obviously some gaps in mid-high level items. I personally would like to see the drops stay the way they are, to discourage high level players from camping low level bosses, but then add some better high level loot so those level 50s don't have to be pining away for their noob gear.

bonopi: how is the future of MxO's lag problem?

HCfrog: Future question plus I don't know!!! *gong*

stuporfluous: how feasible are the ideas posted in this thread about system and nonsystem mission trigger item emails?

a few of the specific ideas:
* the system set up to automatically email ppl certain mission trigger items (a la pandora's box items)
* the system set up to track which triggered missions u have already completed
* the system set up to automatically email ppl certain mission trigger items when particular flags have been tripped and to similarly exclude the possibility of other emailing of other mission trigger items (with a mind towards making exquisitely complex neighborhood contact mission subplots)
* er, this doesn't really condense well. other posters on the thread suggested really great ideas too.

HCfrog: The feasibility goes down as you get further down the list.
The first point seems pretty feasible.
The second point is doable but would take more work.
The third point, while a cool idea, looks like it might become a prohibitive amount of work as it became more "exquisitely complex".
The fourth point is INSANE

Overall I think it would be a cool use of the email system to further immerse players into the MXO universe.

Stack:: Will gamecards be reissued/reactivated?

HCfrog: Stuff with game cards and whatnot is totally not in our hands. All of the billing issues are always corporate -- so if there are game cards that work for other SOE games, they'll work with ours, and beyond that, I haven't a clue.

DeBarlo: Prior to release there was an article or interview that mentioned crew constructs and hovercrafts. I recall a comment about hovercrafts being upgradable to provide some sort of buff for the entire crew. Has this idea been shelved or is it still a possible future implementation?

HCfrog: This pretty much falls under the future content clause, however I have to stress that even if something has been shelved, it's still always a possible future implementation.

PhanthomZtryker: What's with the glitchy ads?

HCfrog: Do you mean how they have some Z-fighting issues on some video cards? That's a bug. I believe it's being fixed very soon.

[continued]

cloudwol: Are you devs aware of the easily feasible and great outfit shell idea?

HCfrog: Yes, at least I'm aware of it. I think it probably isn't quite as easily feasible as you might hope, though.

Oh and since it's related -- it's true that clothing isn't being completely nerfed. I am not totally in on exactly what the CR is doing, since I'm busy on other things, but my impression is this:

Say you have a fight between two people, they're both Aikido Grandmasters. One of them is really good at the game, loves to PvP all the time, has all their points in perception, but is naked. The other one has all the uber clothes on, but just got all of their Aikido stuff, and in fact leveled to 50 using Data Miner, and all their points are in Reason.

With the existing combat system, I suspect it would be more of an even fight, because clothing can really add a lot to your rolls, plus add a ton of health regen, IS regen, etc. Actually if the second person was that much of a noob, they'd probably lose no matter what. But you see where I'm going - the clothes really matter a lot.

In the new system, I think it's going to be a lot different. Primarily the attributes are going to affect a lot more. It won't be any more "put all your points into perception if you're MA", but the person with a good MA attribute build will have a big advantage over a person with a good, say, hacker build. So probably no matter what the second person wears, the first person will now have a bigger advantage.

Of course when it comes down to two people who both have a good MA build and both really know how to fight, the clothing might still be the deciding factor.

And keep in mind, all of this is coming from someone who's not entirely in the loop, just my impression from hearing about it

DeBarlo: Funny you should bring up data miner. I was just thinking data mining needs a revamp. It's a feature that not many players use. What about adding occassional code bit drops from mining or even acquiring storyline documents (while mining the floating feast you pick up on an important email)?

HCfrog: I would love to revamp data miner. That's all I have to say about that.

PhanthomZtryker: Can we get confirmaton if we are going to have a holiday event?

HCfrog: Please see leading, hint-laden post by Walrus.

CooliceT: how would i get a job like yours?

HCfrog: Have you sent out any applications?
I was helped a lot by some message boards where I could read stuff from people who were already in the industry. I met some local game people through that, so I had some contacts, although they didn't end up getting me my job. I spent several years practice, practice, practicing my 3d modeling skills until I had a good enough portfolio to get looked at. A good portfolio is a must, at least for any sort of artist/level design/graphic design position.
And don't take rejection - or even downright ignoring of your applications - personally. Just keep plodding along!

cloudwol: i presume you've seen all the great suggestions in the official email thread, what are your thoughts on em?

HCfrog: Are you referring to this thread?

If so... I think there are a lot of cool ideas.

Some of them, like the thing about having rep with certain contacts or factions of contacts, would be kind of tricky. In addition to that, it would be against the original design of the neighborhood contacts. The design was always from the beginning, that your work with the Orgs would affect rep, while the neighborhood contacts were bonus material and anyone could play through all of it, regardless of what the story implications are. And quite frankly, I like that... the more neighborhood contact missions you play, the less assassination missions you grind

I really like the idea of breadcrumbing people around the city to the different contacts. When I get a chance, I'm going to see if I can make an item that adds a waypoint on your map.

Also, I don't know that anybody mentioned this, but if each of the neighborhood contacts gave out a unique buffed item at the end, maybe we could fill in the item gaps, as well as provide an extra incentive to play the neighborhood missions.

To make a long story short (too late!) I think using email in ways to promote the story, and to spread content more, is a very good thing.

And tell me if I read the wrong thread

Several months ago, when Cypherites first started appearing in missions, we gained and lost 'Masked Men' reputation in the same way we did for the three standard orgs - however that was suddenly either disabled or hidden.

I'm curious as to whether our actions on missions since then have continued to contribute towards hidden reputation guages of the upcoming new orgs.

I sort of agree that player-made orgs are a tad unnecessary at the minute. The orgs we do have, and the ones coming up, are specific to the ongoing Matrix storyline - the individuality comes in with the faction option.

In addition, the current faction and crew management features are pretty scant, and could definatly do with some bolstering before looking at something as large as player-made orgs.

However, I do think a 'coalition' option would be a good addition - allowing for, but limiting, cross-org coalitions (ie a Machinist faction may have up to 2/3 allies from outside their org and 5/6 official allies from inside their org). The implications of that could be anything from an additional shared chat channel to the possibility of appearing non-hostile to your allied factions.

I'll try and keep in track with the questions as the thread grows - see if we can stop people having to read through 500+posts :smileyvery-happy:

Nope, the radio is still vey much in-game

Chuui wrote:
i wonder if he used the *CENSORED* one... and wonder what it does...

As mean as it sounds, I bet you KingKaw knows exactly what the *CENSORED* macro does.

:smileysad: :smileysad: yes... yes I do :smileysad:

Anyhow, I was there for a while and have to say that the LESIG members in my eyes did a fantastic job with the roles they played, so a big pat on the back for them - even going so far as to send private messages welcoming certain people to the party. Kudos for their first test.

Also a big thank you to all of them for actually staying so long. This wasn't your normal 15-minute fleeting appearance, this went on for at least two hours if I remember rightly - possibly longer. If this is a sign of things to come then we have a lot to look forward to.

Fantastic party and a huge huge thanks to the CodeMasons and everyone who came down to Sanguine to party with us!!

Here's one of the pics I managed to take:

Remember we have a party coming up on Vector tonight, as well as the Glitch Society party on Wednesday, followed by the huge cross-server party on Friday!

I think I mentioned this is another thread - I presume Walrus went through applications with a fine toothcomb, and checked up on all applicants and their behaviour, both in-game and on the forums - so i'm confident they have chosen people who wouldn't do the sort of things people seem to be worried about.

I'm sure we have a responsible, mature and sensible LESIG - otherwise they wouldn't have been chosen.

Never came across Cryptos sims while doing the Mero crits - and i'm almost certain I did all of them

I'm playing - but you have to consider that not everyone who plays also visits the forums on a regular basis - so this thread really won't achieve anything

Seraph was my fav from the films, but as far as the game goes, Flood's routine as the opposite of Mr.Smithers is by far my favourite

Arome - Hands Up

Walrus wrote:

As representatives of other stations can inform you, I've sent their contact information on to our PR team for scheduling interviews, giveaways, or other events. Let's not bring the whole argument up here again, folks.

Yep, i'll vouch for that. While I would have loved for Split Infinity to have been the first to get our hands on the almighty Walrus - the fact remains that ANY interviews benefits the community - regardless of which station delivers it. Just so happens that all of the controversy with AWR/MMORadio appears to have taken place between their request being submitted and it being granted.

Using those definitions of 'support' only cloud this whole arguement further...

If you support a specific football team, do you neglect other football teams? If not, then do you provide them with the same level of support right across the board?

Therefore if SOE make some official show of support for AWR, does that in-turn sign the death-warrant for any potential support offered to other radio stations? If not, then where are the boundaries?

Why does an individual support one specific football team? Personal preferance. Why do corporations support football teams? For financial reasons.

Support for an idea, group or individual. Yes, we would benefit from further support for the general idea of community radio stations - such as a links section on the main site, perhaps press releases for said stations and also fansites - however providing group/organisation specific support is a different matter because, once again, at what cost to other stations is this done?

Arguing against that point by lambasting the listener counts of stations such as RMC, as you did 2 posts up, is - quite frankly - ridiculous. The only reason AWR enjoys the _marginally_ higher listener counts than other stations (and yes, I am fully aware of how each player-controlled station performs on a regular basis - and AWR is not as far ahead as people may assume) is due to the listener base they built BECAUSE of the support they received from Monolith during the RFZ and early-AWR days, and also BECAUSE of support they have received from SOE, in terms of interviews they have been granted with key SOE/MxO personnel. No other station has received this level of support - what more do AWR want? During the Walrus interview - AWRs listener counts will spike, the counts of other stations will drop until the interview is over. Already, something as apparently small as an interview hits the efforts of so many other people behind the scenes of other stations.

Just because YOU support AWR, does not means that SOE should support them for the same reasons. That why we all have the capacity for individual opinions. The listener base of AWR does not make up the bulk of the MxO community nor do the posts in this thread - which is not 37 pages of support, rather 37 pages of repeated posts by mostly the same people, with some arguements against thrown in for good measure.

You cannot compare individual support to corporate support.

I have said previously within this thread that I am not anti-AWR (as most ppl may assume an owner of a 'rival' station would be) and am very much grateful for the trail they blazed and the contribution they made - however that contribution was no greater, in my view, than that of websites such as Rumbaar - or of other stations, it just so happened that AWR were thrown a few more bones and opportunities.

At least try to consider some of the reasons why SOE might not want to provide a single station with official support before claiming conspiracy.

While I completely agree with everything Prestwick has said - I don't beleive i've missed the point. Perhaps i've completely misunderstood the entire arguement - but are you now saying that if SOE were to give some level of LET support to ALL mxo stations - in exactly the same manner across the board, without discrimination or favoritism, with no single station receiving anything more than the other - MMO Radio would then be able to justify the decision to offer SOE a service for free that other customers are having to pay for?

If thats the case, then are you saying the only reason AWR is no more is as a matter of principle for SOE's failure to deliver vast content to its gamers (thereby failing to provide any stations with solid news to report on) - and not because of the potential financial implications keeping AWR running for free within MxO would have on existing clientelle?

Yes - SOE needs to support all stations. Not just stations, but fansites, player run events, player-run newsletters and all the fantastic things our community does for ourselves completely voluntarily - butthats not whats being argued here.

And Death - I just want to clear up that I am not tryout to argue with you, merely stating my opinion. All stations thrive on the passion of their listeners - and the fact that so many people are so enthusiastic and vocal about their preferred community mediums is fantastic - regardless of whether you support Split Infinity, AWR, Machine Radio or RMC... however... you were the one who brought up football teams etc in the first place as a way to categorise 'support' in the context its being discussed within this topic SMILEY

Any yknow what... f*ck it... i've never been a big fan of listening to RFZ/AWR/MMO... but i'd be lying if I said I don't miss both Cirga and Prestwicks set (still extremely rare to find anyone who plays Oasis on-air SMILEY

)

No worries... although i'm still waiting to hear Champagne Supernova SMILEY

Message Edited by kingcaw on 01-06-200602:16 PM

What else can be said on this topic.... its a struggle not to just blow a fuse and cuss out the whole lack of logic and process behind this. Theres a LOT that could be mentioned about recent activities involving a certain member of the CSR team, however i'm going to have to bite my tongue once more in order to avoid this thread being locked.

I've lost count how many times i've just been knocked off my feet by the sheer level of hard work and dedication to the community that Tastee demonstrated - not just in the mind-blowingly intricate community tools he put together, but also in his work towards identifying serious exploits and bringing them to the attention of the dev team.

And for the minority of people who, quite obviously have no comprehension of how hard TW worked to provide us with tools the MxO team were incapable of providing themselves - who are saying "he exploited, he should be banned" - consider that exploiting in itself is _taking advantage_ of a system flaw... TW busted his balls to give back to community, to give back to the game, not to exploit it and not to take advantage of it.

Sure, we don't know what this latest "offense" was, and knowing Tastee's character, he won't go running his mouth and bragging about what it was that led to his banning - but its sickening that people can spam constantly in area chat, can exploit to the extent of bringing a server to its knees (the agents at mara) - can impersonate SOE staff so flagrantly, and then come on these boards and BOAST about it... yet they always seem to just get a slap on the wrists...

This is a complete injustice commited by someone who is fast building a reputation for being prejudiced and extremely unprofessional - a jobsworthy who is quite obviously making up for shortcomings in other areas by exercising some bizarre little power-trip on some of the only community members left that try to improve this game past the mediocrity it has fallen into.

Someone seriously needs to review the CSR situation... not all CSRs... as some are good at their jobs... but everybody and their dog knows which one deserves a pink-slip in his in-tray.

The sad thing is... as Tastee has just joined the SI Radio djing ranks, I know he'll CONTINUE to work his *CENSORED* off for this community, that he won't throw his dummy out of the pram, and thats just a measure of the type of person he is.

Message Edited by kingcaw on 01-14-200601:05 PM

While no-one can put it better than the man himself, I just want to throw in my 2 cents on a couple of the questions ArtherEld posed:

2. Would there be a thread like this if TasteeWheat was just JohnDoeRSI? People preach against favoritism. But giving TW "leeway" just because of his significant contributions to the community, while perma-banning JohnDoeRSI is fair?

I think the thing that is sticking in most peoples throats is that there are tons of 'JohnDoeRSI's who receive simple slaps on the wrist, or who's negative actions go overlooked. Those area chat spammers, emote spammers, abusive players, deceptive players, racist and foul-mouthed players... the ones who flagrantly exploit to its full meaning (as in using a game flaw for their OWN gain, not as a way to contribute to the community and the overall wellbeing of the game), people who impersonate SOE staff (I mean seriously... how long did it take them to ban oblivion-knight? And how many warnings did he have before this happened?...

While I do agree that there should be repurcussions for breaking the EULA - its very clear that the 'top' CSR's have no control whatsoever over the process of administering these repercussions...

If you flip the arguement around... why should JohnDoeRSI, who's actions have never been anything other than negative and destructive, be treat more lightly than someone who has contributed as much as TasteeWheat and others mentioned in this thread.

3. Is, if ever was, permanent banning fair?

I think it should be an option, but how hard is it for them to stick to a widely-accepted '3-strikes' rule? Or some published variance in punishment? It should NEVER be a first option, period.

The problem lies with an obvious lack of fluency and structure within SOE. One hand doesn't know what the other is doing, and its a **bleep** shame because right now, certain CSR's are driving players away and it doesnt seem anything is being done about it.

Worst thing is, and I know this statement is far too over-utilized within MMO communities, but we really do pay their wages. We are subsidising the pay-packet of some wayward CSR who can't keep his finger off the admin-control panel (and no, i'm not being a conspiracy theorist here - although i'm sure enough people have had run-ins with this guy to know what i'm talking about)

Just an update for anyone who may be using the station list MorVidEye so kindly produced - Radio Athena is now a part of Split Infinity Radio, so any past RA listeners can catch the incomparable DJ Turbo by pointing your media players to our stream.

Personally the most digusting thing in this thread is the people baying for blood and calling for the CSR in question to be fired. You're talking about a mans job here for fcks sake.. reprimanded, yeah, disciplined, maybe - but fired on the spot for slipping up?

For those of you calling for public execution who are actually old enough to work - would you think its fair to be fired after making a mistake? Or would you expect a warning, perhaps re-training on the area in which you slipped up. Have some sense.

I'm also amazed at the turnaround in opinions about CSR's from some people. Suddenly Brewko is Mr.Popular and Telaro is the root of all evil? "Fickle" doesn't even begin to describe it.

Even more disturbing is the fact that this community continues to house the sort of immature gimps who would spread these screenshots for the sole purpose of stirring up trouble. Have they done it to bring to light an issue in the CSR process? Are they doing it for the benefit of the community? Somehow I doubt it.

For the record, i'm 110% in support of Telaro. Should there be some sort of repurcussions on his end? Yeah, although I do like the guy, I can't be shortsighted to the extent of saying what he did is all fine and dandy - however the repurcussion should be _constructive_ - god knows you guys would complain if the CSR team was depleted further.

All I know is that i'd rather have a CSR who is too lenient and tries (although inappropriately) to have a little fun that someone who is too quick to deprive the community of its most valued assets and has serious issues in knowing where his authority extends to. I guess you're d*mned if you do, d*mned if you don't.

(Note: points made in this thread are referring to a small number of people - not everybody - so don't all assume i'm flaming the community in large)

RainKingX wrote:

A few examples, if people believe the head of the csr's made a mistake, shouldn't we be able to contact that person's supervisor / boss.
Um...No.
If a person feels the forum moderators are not living up their respective responsabilities,(relax mods, just an example =) ,) and so on, shouldnt we know who to contact in these situations when customer support just will not do.
I guess you never heard of the concept of overworked and underpaid? Like before, Um..No.

I'm actually in agreement of us being given some form of structure or at the very least a procedure for escalating complaints/issues.

Where I work, if a member of staff makes a mistake or a customer is dissatisfied with their service, its escalated to their line manager, and then to their manager, and then to me - and if I can't handle it, we have a corpoate complaints department - so there is a very clear ladder of escalation for any issues - as there should be in any self-respecting company who wants to provide at least bog-standard customer service.

I'm fairly against the fact that if you want to complain about a CSR, you have to send in a ticket... to a CSR. Similarly, if you wish to complain about how a thread has been moderated, you send a notice... to a moderator.

There has to be some point where somebody picks up the ball - otherwise the impression being given is that greivances - whether other people think they are unfounded or not - are not taken seriously by those in the position to do something about them.

(Not a rant or flame, and RK - only quoted you as your point tied in to mine)

Personally I don't think server population comes into it, and as there aren't exactly any server stats anywhere, the claim of Recursion to be the biggest server is nothing more than assumption. I've always found it quite empty - and have frequently seen it with a low server-load, however I play on Syntax mainly so my experience of Recursion is limited... which is probably the same for those who claim Syntax and Vector are empty... they're just more vocal that those 2 servers SMILEY

Even if Recursion is the biggest of the 3, I would say its only marginal by comparison - and definately not enough to cripple the server

More likely just a fault in the server following recent problems thats been left unchecked

Even though I can understand the concerns, the comment regarding the fact that the servers should be stable enough to hold large amounts of people is pretty much my opinion of things too.

I mean... when planning the event, was it the intentions of the devs to only have a small proportion of people show up, or did they want to attempt to enrich the gaming experience of as many of its subscribers as possible? I would -hope- its the latter.

Don't get me wrong, lag during an event is a **bleep**, but I don't think its fair to point blame at the radio stations.

On this note, i'd like to give huge HUGE props to the guys at Exile Radio, Radio Megacity and my team at Split Infinity Radio - between us we have shared roughly a total of 400+ listeners over this weekend - thats a lot of people being kept informed and entertained, and I salute anyone working to make this happen - this is a positive sign for this community and this game and i'm proud to be a part of it...

...and no i'm not drunk.... well... not much :/

Lady_Return has said it best. It all comes down to good RP and bad RP, and what your own personal preference is in terms of your own character and the characters of those you interact with.

I can understand the frustration of "fad" RP, as in absolutely everybody suddenly deciding they are Vampires - the same happened with Cypherites (at least on Syntax) - however if thats the case, a good RPer will approach it from two angles. If these Vampires are acted out well and have feasible backstories, then you can make an in-character decision with how to handle it - ie if theres a major flood of biters in the Matrix, then address the situation by hunting them, commissioning hunters or some other sensible in-character action.

If the Vampires are played by "flavor-of-the-week" RPers who not only do nothing to enhance your gaming experience but also detract from it, then make the OOC decision to ignore these individuals.

It really is simple. People can play this game however they choose to, and so can you. Nobody can force people to fit in with specific character-types in their RP, just the same as nobody is forcing you to be a part of RP which doesn't meet your tastes, standards and personal preferences.

Also, just to note, the W/Bros stated repeatedly that what took place in the Matrix movies was just a drop in the ocean of what is the Matrix world. We've already seen this fact in motion with additions such as the Animatrix, and of course MxO itself - so bear in mind that this is a very flexible canvas we're painting on - and if it can be imagined, it can be feasible.