Uh-Huh. I'm not a fan of writing very meaningful things but let's see where I end up with this...
First of all I'd like to say a few things about these characters who pop up every two years, claiming they have a big "plan" which solves everything - the only thing we need to do is to bend over and let them come in, then you'll see what happens.
I'll say this much, it's bs. There has been plenty of these guys around, always coming to address the biggest issues and talking about things what people want to hear - hoping that this time the popularity contest ends to them getting ultimate control over the zone. What makes them better than anybody in the past? You're trying to claim the "throne" for yourself to do what YOU think would save DSB, instead of trying with the current administration who you don't like or *insert excuse here*.
Why are you any more qualified to lead a zone than the current administration is if you're showing exactly same principles which some unnamed character showed for year? Not revealing plans to the public, making fancy posts which show you can talk - but can you put money where your mouth is? Also I want to point out that this community has different kind of characters and in order to be able to work in zone management you need to be able to work with everybody - another example of why you're really disgusting me, you claim you can do good - however only if the people you hate on personal level leave the zone or you get the chance to humiliate them.
Okay let's move forward.
The public has been our weak spot for a while now, the leagues kept our zone alive with the majority of veterans playing those leagues every year, enjoying that and sometimes blowing some steam on public. Now, we have a new generation of pubbers, believe it or not. This new generation is something what some of us oldies might not easily understand - they love those specials and getting their things easily on public. They've learned, mainly because we had to adjust our public to fit small population - which lead to us creating private freqs and a game which actually supports the 1vs1 - 3vs3 games. While I agree that we should focus on team oriented concept more on public - it isn't that simple, you will risk losing the regular pubbers if you push team game too much. Me and Eridu have had several discussions in public, with the current "new generation", about the status of public and while their voice is hardly heard here, I'll say it: they love the public the way it is atm.
For this new generation it's more important to play their solo game, boost their own ship with those tokens, blow off some steam and have fun. They, at least some of them, realize that the main concept of the game is to have teamwork and a team goal, however they realize this does not fit to public with the current situation being what it is. Our public does not have enough people most of the time to support team games, we're forced to think about the small population possibilities and focus on that more.
Putting a team oriented game to public which is forced at all times might kill the public for good, currently when I'm writing this, the public has 2vs1 game going on. Take a guess would it be happening if you could not get anything for playing basically by yourself - it wouldn't get far.
It is not simple, not at all. Basically what we might need is a system where team oriented game turns on when the public has higher numbers, let's say 5vs5+, that way the lower population wouldn't be hurt so much if the public does not have enough people for a team game. Tricky system this might be - in order for this kind of thing to work we'd need to somehow limit the usage of tokens you can earn during low population hours so the bigger game does not turn to big supership fest, instead it moves forward as a team game. Obviously there will be these solo players playing even if a team oriented game is implemented, there has always been and there will be - we cannot completely change that.
If we take a quick look at the oldies, the ones who supported and carried our leagues this far - well they are now on brink of extinction. Many reasons why they've abandoned us, plenty of them have a life, wife, kids, mortgage.. you know the drill, at least once you get there. There is no way we can get them back, even if we switched public completely to fit the one we had 2003ish. I know this sounds harsh to the remaining veterans, I know you'd love to play the public the way it was back in the good old days - I would too. But I've come to realize it is impossible, restoring the old public risks our current population - which is weak and would most likely leave if they were forced to play such a simple concept. Think of this as a movie, the old DSB was the first part and now we're doing sequels, the masses (ha ha) are waiting for more of everything - more fun.
The basic team play concept for public - if there's to be one, needs to be simple. That's what I agree with. It needs to allow solo players to play too - it must not interfere their own fun - the blowing of some steam typish stuff some do regularly, they couldn't care less about team games.
This brings me to another problem, I already mentioned this in my previous post. The leagues. Public and league has always worked in symbiosis with each other - both basically gaining something from each other. However, now the time has come that our leagues are not getting the steady flow of new players they once had. This is a major problem which is why I've spoken about this too with some of the pubbers - the answer was either that they don't care about having more competition, they just wish to have fun or then that they have no time for leagues.
Basically the situation with leagues is, we need more population to public, those young and hungry players who have time to play and wish to become good at this game. The only way this is going to work is to get our public gaining attention and players - or then to keep beating the nearly dead horse who'll die within few years. Somebody suggested fresh ideas for league, well please, tell us a new idea what you think might attract players - we're not stopping you from speaking what you've got in your mind. Changing the person in charge of leagues hardly helps, those ideas still need to come from somewhere, not to mention that the current resources prevent us from creating very fancy leagues. If you'd be staff, even on the lowest level, you'd see that none of us can just swing our magic wand and come up with bots linked to websites.
These discussions are useful, however these end up turning against themselves every time. Somebody walks in and starts his own show of "If I were the king.." which leads us away from the main issues which are to brainstorm what to do - find that golden middle way, get a consensus. Of course we can NEVER get everybody to agree on everything so we all must be ready to compromise.
Finally, if you have people, like you say you do, let's see what you've got. Make us a public theme which fits the parameters I've described above - or come to public and talk with the players to get ideas. Then go back to your corner, along with those mysterious devs and make map, bot, coordinate together with us. I can guarantee you that your theme will have a shot - perhaps you can actually gain some inches to your ePenis by doing more than just talking.
Don't answer with excuses, no fancy riddles or words. Lets drag that cat to the table and get down to business, the door is open for any of you to join the dev team and actually DO something - or to write about your plan to these forums. Try to have some self criticism while planning though, every time somebody comes up with a plan and there are rough edges, it tends to end to the original planner saying that it was fucked up by staff. It won't be fucked up on purpose, it might need modding based on our systems or the player base itself, it might have loopholes etc which we figured out and had to patch somehow.
Well, did I already mention I'm not a fan of writing these speeches? The main thing what everybody are talking about - unity and coming together - is not working here. Everybody are promoting their own plans because they think they are superior to other's. Lets start compromising and find the good sides of these plans, bring them together and.. perhaps we can still achieve something.
Just my few cents, don't mind listening, it's just another result of observing this discussion and the community.
