A Question

[KenuDragonfire]

So uh, I've had this thought in my mind that I've been arguing back and forth a bit, but then I realized, hey, simple solution to my question; I'll just ask Loka a very simple question from the perspective of a new player.

What is Loka, and how does it provide a better experience than any other Minecraft server?

 

[Jedoi]

Loka, a place where you have fun,
But watch out, sometimes you’ll be on the run
You very well may die,
Some people tell the truth, but others lie.
You could have the riches and the fame,
Next thing you know you’re raided, lose the game,
Or hide yourself fine,
And draw the line,
Farm then dine,
Build or mine.
Just keep going, going, going,
Never ever slowing, slowing,
You can build your town,
Above or under ground
PvP arenas? Indeed!
We must have them; it’s a need.
Lore and Role Play: SWEET!
We will never admit to defeat.
We’re protected by the Artifact.
It happens to be a fact.
Preksak likes to attack us,
And yeah, we do make a fuss,
But he wants to kill us,
So stop him we must.

Loka has a close community that knows the people among them, and on some servers, I have seen admins and long term players don't even care what happened to the newer people, or the people that aren't "donators" or "vips". Each person on Loka gets a welcome, and people have the opportunity to forge their future.

 

[adderman500]

Jedoi pretty much got it. Loka gives you the chance to break into it's community and become someone in it without paying to be noticed, or having connections already in the community. Not only that, if you love politics and controversy in a server this is the server for you, for sure. PvP exists, as do towns, accomodating the 2 main playstyles - raiding/thievery, and peaceful survival building.

Oh, and the admins are excellent compared to most servers (they are, really. Controversial but true ). Most servers' admins either blast your brains out, ignore players deemed "below them" or don't get involved in any of the "going-ons" of the server.

 

[mopb3]

Oh, and the admins are excellent compared to most servers (they are, really. Controversial but true ). Most servers' admins either blast your brains out, ignore players deemed "below them" or don't get involved in any of the "going-ons" of the server.

ye dis

 

[Jedoi]

Oh, and the admins are excellent compared to most servers (they are, really. Controversial but true ). Most servers' admins either blast your brains out, ignore players deemed "below them" or don't get involved in any of the "going-ons" of the server.

ye dis

Uh yeah. "I'm an admin, I am just gonna enjoy the powers I get for sitting around ignoring people who need help."

Not long after

"Why did I get demoted?"

New admin: "Yay! I'll help two or three people on a bust server then sit around and enjoy my new powers!!"

Not long after

"Why did I get demoted?"

 

[Jedoi]

Oh, and the admins are excellent compared to most servers (they are, really. Controversial but true ). Most servers' admins either blast your brains out, ignore players deemed "below them" or don't get involved in any of the "going-ons" of the server.

ye dis

Uh yeah. "I'm an admin, I am just gonna enjoy the powers I get for sitting around ignoring people who need help."

Not long after

"Why did I get demoted?"

New admin: "Yay! I'll help two or three people on a bust server then sit around and enjoy my new powers!!"

Not long after

"Why did I get demoted?"

"Also, I'm going to talk to admins, sub-admins, and maybe donors sometimes. I'm too important for regular players."

Maybe I'm going a little overboard, but, uh, you get the point.

 

[adderman500]

I thought you were referring to lokan admins then jedoi Thought you'd turned all def for a second.

 

[Cryptite]

Also this server is unique in terms of what our plugin involves. If we used Factions, MobArena, or other major pvp plugins, then we'd be pretty generic, but since ours are unique in that no other server has them, you get an experience on Loka that you won't anywhere else.

 

[mopb3]

Also this server is unique in terms of what our plugin involves. If we used Factions, MobArena, or other major pvp plugins, then we'd be pretty generic, but since ours are unique in that no other server has them, you get an experience on Loka that you won't anywhere else.

You sound very much like you're trying to plug a restaurant or holiday resort to me, I can't decide which.

 

[Jedoi]

I thought you were referring to lokan admins then jedoi Thought you'd turned all def for a second.

Is "turning Def" supposed to be a bad thing? I would love to be like Def. He's a great person, he really is. Sadly I'm not exactly anything like him though. Also, I don't like how being "def" is means you talk badly about admins. Thats not all he did.

 

[Cryptite]

Is "turning Def" supposed to be a bad thing?

For almost the entirety of the server, yes it is.

Sadly I'm not exactly anything like him though.

It is for this reason that you're a very well-regarded member of our community. Ever notice how nobody has anything bad to say about you, but everybody has something bad to say about Def? I think I can speak for the whole server when I say please do everything in your power to stay just like you are, and don't try to be anybody but you.

 

[Jedoi]

Is "turning Def" supposed to be a bad thing?

For almost the entirety of the server, yes it is.

Sadly I'm not exactly anything like him though.

It is for this reason that you're a very well-regarded member of our community. Ever notice how nobody has anything bad to say about you, but everybody has something bad to say about Def? I think I can speak for the whole server when I say please do everything in your power to stay just like you are, and don't try to be anybody but you.

I don't want to be exactly like Def, but I wouldn't mind being as good a builder as him, or as good a pvp-er. I still feel sorry for those of you who didn't get to know Def like I did, because if you did you would understand why people like Lea and I, (His friends) miss him so much. I feel sorry you never got to see is true kindness.

*Laughs uneasily* Funny you don't know how many people were punished when you banned Def. How many rules did I break, or Lea, or Art, or Pard? I know I didn't, yet I was still punished.

 

[Artagan]

Is "turning Def" supposed to be a bad thing?

For almost the entirety of the server, yes it is.

Sadly I'm not exactly anything like him though.

It is for this reason that you're a very well-regarded member of our community. Ever notice how nobody has anything bad to say about you, but everybody has something bad to say about Def? I think I can speak for the whole server when I say please do everything in your power to stay just like you are, and don't try to be anybody but you.

Jedi, let me just say this. I have not participated in these debates because it is pointless. The server as it is right now casts some people into a positive light and others into a negative one depending on the judgement of a select few, and it is the interests of those few that govern these matters. People listen to some people more than others based on their respect or admiration for them, and this has been exploited so that everyone in authority pays heed to the same handful of individuals.

You are very lucky, as you come across as genuine and innocent. If you continue to speak out, however, you may well end up like Def.

 

[Cryptite]

The server as it is right now casts some people into a positive light and others into a negative one depending on the judgement of a select few, and it is the interests of those few that govern these matters. People listen to some people more than others based on their respect or admiration for them, and this has been exploited so that everyone in authority pays heed to the same handful of individuals.

Not sure if understands sounds like def...

 

[Artagan]

The server as it is right now casts some people into a positive light and others into a negative one depending on the judgement of a select few, and it is the interests of those few that govern these matters. People listen to some people more than others based on their respect or admiration for them, and this has been exploited so that everyone in authority pays heed to the same handful of individuals.

Not sure if understands sounds like def...

So ban me.

 

[mopb3]

The server as it is right now casts some people into a positive light and others into a negative one depending on the judgement of a select few, and it is the interests of those few that govern these matters. People listen to some people more than others based on their respect or admiration for them, and this has been exploited so that everyone in authority pays heed to the same handful of individuals.

Not sure if understands sounds like def...

So ban me.

Careful, they've got twitchy ban fingers.

 

[KenuDragonfire]

Jedoi pretty much got it. Loka gives you the chance to break into it's community and become someone in it without paying to be noticed, or having connections already in the community. Not only that, if you love politics and controversy in a server this is the server for you, for sure. PvP exists, as do towns, accomodating the 2 main playstyles - raiding/thievery, and peaceful survival building.

Oh, and the admins are excellent compared to most servers (they are, really. Controversial but true ). Most servers' admins either blast your brains out, ignore players deemed "below them" or don't get involved in any of the "going-ons" of the server.

Well, since you're the most on-topic answer at the moment, I'll give this a decent response. Most of the politics and controversy comes from us arguing about things on Loka (admins, trolling, bans, hatred, etc.) In general, it isn't fancy espionage or towns having spies or traitors in towns; it's closer to a high school shouting match between students, or a Congress filled with Michele Bachmann's.

You said "PvP exists," which is cool, but you didn't say that it is a major part of the server where a large percentage of the community takes part and it is a routine event for towns to be raided. Instead of that on Loka, we have a much smaller community where griefing, spawn killing, excessive cannoning, a lack of ability to take down protection, no war-zone specifically set up, and the only players who actively raid are Psy, Zor, and Thief. If I were the average PvP'er, why would I play on Loka, where there are limits on what I can and cannot do, a PvP community that isn't large enough, and I mean, part of the server frowns on PvP, something this server is advertised for. If when you think of PvP, all you can say is "well, it exists," I don't think we can really argue that we have a PvP system that is better than your average run-of-the-mill faction server.

When it comes to building, this is something I've heard Mtndome complain about quite a bit. "Oh no, I have to give up aesthetic looks in order to add in security from raiders." How do you provide a good building experience when you have to be concerned about the PvP aspect of the server? A good builder can build a pretty building on pretty much any server out there, and sure, it might get griefed, but if I'm a good builder (lul wut a lie) who doesn't want his things griefed and wants them to remain intact for everyone to look at, why would they play on a server with raiding?

Jedi mentioned RP, something that you know, occurs every week and is a major part of the server and everyone is aware of it and involved and there's no outside events that can detract from the experience. I get that it takes a lot of effort to coordinate RP events, but when we consider RP a large part of the server, and it only happens like, once every 2-4 months, we can't really consider a bunch of people talking in roleplay chat occasionally a "large part of the server".

If anybody disagrees with my observations, I'll be glad to argue that and not whether or not Def was a cancer or a bottle of rat poison to the server.

EDIT: Also, in terms of the community, please read the rest of the off-topic posts on this forum. They're off-topic, but uh, does say a bit about our community. Oh, and Adder, you said it was controversial on whether or not the admins were good, which also says a lot about the community.

EDIT 2: And Crypt, our server might not be generic, but still, I can go on a griefing and slaughtering rampage on any number of factions servers, and just have some wild fun, while on here, I'm limited by rules, plugins, and the general opinion of the server. I do however, totally agree that the generator plugin is hands-down better than 99% of the other towns plugins, but it still limits PvP which we consider an important part of the server.

 

[Cryptite]

I'm in agreement with everything you said, Nouv. I think the problem is that we (really, I) are trying to make Loka too many things. Trying to make a good building server, trying to have towns, trying to have thievery and raiding (which undo towns and good builds), pvp system (which is a foil for good builders who more often are peaceful). I'm trying to make Loka appeal to a broad audience, but if they want a system that's very good at certain things, well there's 30 servers each that are better at only-pvp or only-building or only-towns, etc.

Like I said in some other thread somewhere, our PvP arenas/bg's are cool and unique (sort of), but we have no world pvp problem and that's an area I'd like to improve.

I've spent a lot of time lately on Arenas and Battlegrounds as everyone has noticed and I think we'd all agree that aside from the stray bugs that are still being worked out, they're certainly the most polished bit of code our plugin offers. I'd like to take some time to now apply that polish to towns. After that, I'd really like to revisit the idea of towns AND pvp together in some way. However, what that doesn't answer is the problem for those who desire to be neutral/peaceful and build beautiful towns. It's that thought that makes me consider the plugin that others have suggested that slowly rolls back damage. Yet there were many cons to it, not the least of which was that it would encourage inaccurate cannoning, etc.

The greatest question is how do we proceed as a server. Do we:

-Focus on world pvp?
-Focus on builders?
-Focus on more RP integration?

or do we try all three? Some of you out there have very good ideas on each of these things, but many suggestions seem to come that don't consider the other variables in the equation. I suppose we should make a new thread that can open up discussion on some things that Loka should change (drastically, perhaps) in order to become fresh again.

I can say that asy and I have agreed that we'd like to add some unique gameplay elements to the server (be it RP or something else) that would add some more compelling reasons to play the server. What they are I cannot say, nor have I figured out yet.

The final thing I have no solution to is our politics. We have alliances and whatnot, but the sheer hatred there are towards some people really wards a lot of (could-be-great) players away from the server. It's at times fun and at other times incredibly unsettling. However, I have no idea how to solve a problem like that. My only possible idea is that it's due to a lack of new players. If we were to have a serious influx of new players, then perhaps the dynamic would shift from basically the Montagues and the Capulets to a multi-group state of conflict where the 'hate' can be spread out.

 

[Artagan]

I'm in agreement with everything you said, Nouv. I think the problem is that we (really, I) are trying to make Loka too many things. Trying to make a good building server, trying to have towns, trying to have thievery and raiding (which undo towns and good builds), pvp system (which is a foil for good builders who more often are peaceful). I'm trying to make Loka appeal to a broad audience, but if they want a system that's very good at certain things, well there's 30 servers each that are better at only-pvp or only-building or only-towns, etc.

Like I said in some other thread somewhere, our PvP arenas/bg's are cool and unique (sort of), but we have no world pvp problem and that's an area I'd like to improve.

I've spent a lot of time lately on Arenas and Battlegrounds as everyone has noticed and I think we'd all agree that aside from the stray bugs that are still being worked out, they're certainly the most polished bit of code our plugin offers. I'd like to take some time to now apply that polish to towns. After that, I'd really like to revisit the idea of towns AND pvp together in some way. However, what that doesn't answer is the problem for those who desire to be neutral/peaceful and build beautiful towns. It's that thought that makes me consider the plugin that others have suggested that slowly rolls back damage. Yet there were many cons to it, not the least of which was that it would encourage inaccurate cannoning, etc.

The greatest question is how do we proceed as a server. Do we:

-Focus on world pvp?
-Focus on builders?
-Focus on more RP integration?

or do we try all three? Some of you out there have very good ideas on each of these things, but many suggestions seem to come that don't consider the other variables in the equation. I suppose we should make a new thread that can open up discussion on some things that Loka should change (drastically, perhaps) in order to become fresh again.

I can say that asy and I have agreed that we'd like to add some unique gameplay elements to the server (be it RP or something else) that would add some more compelling reasons to play the server. What they are I cannot say, nor have I figured out yet.

The final thing I have no solution to is our politics. We have alliances and whatnot, but the sheer hatred there are towards some people really wards a lot of (could-be-great) players away from the server. It's at times fun and at other times incredibly unsettling. However, I have no idea how to solve a problem like that. My only possible idea is that it's due to a lack of new players. If we were to have a serious influx of new players, then perhaps the dynamic would shift from basically the Montagues and the Capulets to a multi-group state of conflict where the 'hate' can be spread out.

Our server is unique because it combines all these elements in a way in which they can coexist. People who try to make the server exclusively one thing are doing it a disservice, because there are plenty of servers that already do that. New players would help solve a lot of our problems, definitely.

 

[KenuDragonfire]

Loka can't be the best at everything, and at the moment everything isn't co-existing very well. I think if we as a community want to start making our gameplay-side more interesting, the only thing we as a community can work on and Crypt can put up his feet and relax a bit on is the RP part of Loka.

Here's a couple of my suggestions:

- Have player towns and events be more involved in the story of Loka. For a while, we had this huge conflict of essentially "half the server vs half the server", yet it's never really mentioned in RP. Art and I are fierce enemies, yet mention that Prek might be coming, and all of a sudden I'm supposed to put my trust in this guy. I think maybe a more "Albion are the good guys, and Iria are rebels who are trying to make a fortune" might fit into the lore better than having the RP and the actual gameplay side be separate.

- Have admin run events occur often. RP events, as far as I know, don't require programming to set up. Sure, you have to build a bit and set up command blocks and organize an event, but that is something an admin with op could set up in a build world and then transfer over. It'd allow for RP to become more prevalent and have more people take part, and it allows admins to do things other than strike down raiders in their towns and have insanely large god-complexes.

- Set the storyline a bit more straight. I know it's hard to set up a distinct story while being constricted by the laws of Minecraft and player reactions, but unless you hit every single event, you'll be kind of confused. If I, a player who has been playing on this server for 3 years, having missed 2 RP events, has trouble figuring out a direct story line (and yes I understand I'm an idiot), imagine the average newb who hasn't been to any RP event.

I understand that I don't have the talent that Crypt or many of the admins do, but from the perspective of the the average player, I think these are just a few things that could help flesh out and make the RP more interesting while not adding on a huge load for Crypt and the admins on the server.