By now almost everyone must be aware of the change to server management. I've been meaning to post a 'State of the Nation' style announcement, but wanted to give it a couple of days for things to settle.
Brief Version.
With Mithreas stepping back that left me as the sole 'leader' of Arelith. Not a good situation to be in, frankly. Therefore I am appointing Scholar Midnight & Dunshine from the team as temporary admins of Arelith. This brings us back to the old system of 3 active leaders, as in the time of Jjjerm, Artos & Mithreas. They'll have the same level of authority as myself, and none of us will be able to make major changes without the approval of the remaining two.
No changes to the DM Team, or the DM Team leader.
No immediate or major adjustment to the mechanics of Arelith. (For a more detailed overview of changes, and my own personal philosophy for Arelith read the long version below).
Major area work project getting quite advanced, and on a similar scale to the introduction of Andunor, and as with that city DMS may soon begin the quests and events to lead into it.
Long Version (Sorry, this one is more rambling - there is really no need to read it if you a) want to avoid spoilers or b) are easily irritated by my longwinded posts.
- Change at the Top/New Admins.
There's no way me running Arelith alone would be healthy. I can make poor decisions, could easily be hugely overworked, and the server would quickly become stale with a single individual directing all content.
We have a great team of Devs, DMs, Contributors, and now Creature Builders. Though I found deciding who to ask to take on this role really quite easy.
Scholar Midnight is, frankly, quite excellent at the technical side of NwN, and not afraid to speak out about content that they don't like. Overall we do share similar concerns, though I'm sure she'll provide innovative and interesting ideas I'd never even thought of.
Dunshine worked closely with me during the development of Andunor, and with contributions like the Slave Pits and slave system of Andunor, in addition to the just wonderful cage fight, make an excellent show of their very first projects for Arelith. Dunshine is also a real workhorse, when in the 'zone' for creation, and their Minogon Plant is about my favourite dungeon in Arelith. I believe their maturity and considered approach will be a huge benefit. There is an obvious risk they'll flood the server with goblin themed content, but that's a risk we'll just have to take!
I will remain the nominal 'head' of Arelith, and take ultimate responsiblity for for server events (and failed content). In short, if there are complaints, try to limit them to being about myself.
- Changes and Issues.
Anyone expecting me to usher in an overnight change to how Arelith works will be disappointed/relieved to hear that's not going to happen. That being said as the admin team we have a responsibilty to improve Arelith, and I hope do that with meaningful input from those that play here. Specific things I want to look at in the upcoming weeks/months are as follows:
1. Investigating a less intrusive and heavy-handed alternative to both the kill scripts and exiles.
2. Reviewing custom content introduced over the last couple of years which I feel are overpowered to the point of harming enjoyable and varied gameplay.
3. Considerable work on the loot matrix and crafting.
There are other things, but for me at least these are the 3 most important.
- My Personal 'Arelith Philosophy'
I'm actually quite a fan of vanilla NWN, and AD&D, and I don't want to stray to far from the original game. There is a balance between making a great looking world, and straightforward gameplay. Sure pretty stuff is nice, but simply the challenge of gameplay (and the fun!) is also very important.
The server is therefore at its best when different playing styles are accommodated, rather than pushing people into playing 'the way we think they should'. That means considering not only what I would wish to see as a player, but what others do too (more difficult than in sounds).
- The Forums
I hesitated before writing this part, as it concerns issues surrounding discipline, which I'm not fond of dealing with.
Mithreas showed extraordinary tolerance for unpleasant posts and borderline insults on the forums, and so many times put himself right in the crosshairs of those that thought this an appropriate place to be rude to him.
As an old player I recall when things were very different on the forums, when people were really expected to be civil above all else. We used to have a 'soap box' for people to air their grievances, and it was removed. In recent years I've seen posts far worse than what I saw there, commonplace throughout the Arelith forums.
I really do welcome criticism, and if someone is angry with me, and wants have a good vent there is a perfectly good private PM system in place, and I'd urge our players, in those moments to use it, and contact me directly when their blood is running hot.
With the above point in mind, I will be far less willing to let similar posts slide in future. If anyone can't take a respectful tone with their fellow players and members of the Arelith Team here on the forums, they'll find their access to the forums quickly revoked.
The same goes for any form of cyber bullying, be it here or in game. If someone is playing Arelith and actively dislikes those running it, in addition to many of their fellow players they should strongly consider ceasing to play here, and finding some more enjoyable pursuit than actively trying to undermine their fellow player's efforts, or exploiting in-game content.
Playing in a spirit of cooperation and mutual enjoyment is key, and if people are working only alongside their OOC group of friends, switching guildhouses between their various new characters, or by use of stuff like the exile system attempting to restrict content for other players, I'll take an especially dim view.
In almost all cases game bans should be an abosolute last resort for the team, and once again I'd urge people that play, but also (for reasons that frankly escape me) dislike it, to contact me directly. I may not always respond to angry PMs, but I do read them, and will take no action against anyone doing this unless they're personally abusive.
- The vast bulk of the Arelith playerbase.
You've been great throughout this change, you really have. The words of support, not only for Mithreas, but for the server as a whole has been wonderful to see. Whatever DMs or Devs do, it is the players that make Arelith what it is, and what you have made is truly special, with a long history already behind it, and (I hope!) a great future ahead. Thanks for that, it means a lot.
Happy New Year everyone, never a dull moment.