Server Direction (! or ?)

[Miasmata]

Yea 100% what Steve said. I think part of it is we are used to the constant communication from Endelyon and Maecius. To suddenly go from that to silence felt quite disturbing. I still don't even know who Miasmata is, he seems to not post to us or in the Discord, is he only active in staff channels?

We've actually already had this discussion on Discord if you'll remember Ewe.

Generally if Zannej brings my name into a post it is because we have both discussed it as a proper response to the server population in general as a united front and just one of us posts as to not overlap.

Yes. I am very much active behind the scenes these days in an admin and lead DEV capacity both as I tend to focus my efforts on server development and do not login for character development any longer. Consider this my hello to the community though!

Zannej and I both actively monitor this thread and "why the lull" thread to take into account player wishes and perspectives and we want to feel your voice is heard so please continue to add your thoughts and comments to them both. Let us know if you have any questions. You are welcome to PM me here or message me on Discord.

[Lockonnow]

well next year we will have the Iron Throne on teh server 1356 i'll have waiting long for this to come but Server Direction have anothing to do with tha tlore and we sould have more lore a round the areas by the way i found it destub that only the field of the dead we have something call the vault of the dead it is to Modern and it look exactly like Castle Bone in Fugue why have any one do something like that change the look call it mausoleum not vault of the dead well there many thing that need to change t get more lore but back to the Server Direction we cant do much only til we know the BG 3 game that will or sould come in 2020

[Maecius]

Endelyon and I have a lot of confidence in Miasmata and Zanniej. In fact, we'll probably be transferring legal ownership of the server and server funds over to them this weekend.

I also know that they are both currently developing a unified vision and mission. Miasmata is still wearing two hats -- with his development role and his admin role -- but I can confirm that he is very active in trying to get things done. Both of them are, of course, still learning the ropes admin-side, too, and that's likely taking the lion's share of their attention right now.

We're also transitioning leadership at the moment, and they probably don't want to step on our toes while Endelyon and I are still wear the "Global Admin" name badge.

At the end of the day, though, everyone has different leadership styles. It is my belief that both Miasmata and Zanniej are devoted to transparency and communication, but they may not be as "chatty" as Endelyon and myself on an interpersonal level. Most admins aren't, truth be told. And when we're being chatty, it also means we're not really doing work on the server, so there's that.

I am sure, though, that they will both lead the server on to even bigger and better things. We got things on the right path (I hope), but we really only got the ball rolling. As a community, we are all just getting started on what this server can be eventually. They'll help take us closer to the goal. As will you all.

[Snarfy]

Yea 100% what Steve said. I think part of it is we are used to the constant communication from Endelyon and Maecius. To suddenly go from that to silence felt quite disturbing. I still don't even know who Miasmata is, he seems to not post to us or in the Discord, is he only active in staff channels?

Miasmata is a legend, and Zanniej is my personal punching bag also really swell! If you had ever RP'd with them, you'd know, and that's all you need to know.

Besides, I'm pretty sure Miasmata and Zanniej have better things to do than read that slow motion train-wreck. IMHO, 1 minute of them working on server stuff is more valuable to us than 100 hours of responding to discord gobbledygook. Just... leave them alone and let them get their groove on, for everyone's sake.

[Steve]

Let's not forget about the role of Head DMs, in this idea of Server direction.

There, I said it.

[Ewe]

It just seems weird because I've been playing for a year and very active in chat and read the forums a lot. And in that year I've never once heard anyone talk about Miasmata, like never heard of him. And the only reason I heard of Zanniej was because how fubar'd the forums were when they were transferred over earlier in the year.

When I applied for admin I was told some such that the admin would have to be a pillar of the community that had gained the trust of the players and so forth. It just strikes me as odd that if you've joined the community in the last year you probably never heard of these people. It worries me, because these communication levels are unlikely to change.


As for DMs, and HDMs, like Steve mentions, that's a whole different can of worms. I feel like you have to get a bag over your head and dragged to a secret spot out in the woods in order to talk to that secretive cult.

[Zanniej]

I'd like to point out that if the forums weren't as fubar'd as they were back then... they'd be gone
I had to rebuild the entire forum in my spare time (with which I luckily got some help, otherwise it would've been even worse), as the old version was running on outdated versions or everything, which would lose support. It would've made the forum unusable.
Not everything we do is visible in plain sight. As a matter of fact, most of it isn't.

We don't need to communicate with the community constantly to ensure that this server stays alive. We could completely disappear from view and still make sure you all will always be able to find refuge in Baldur's Gate!

And just because you haven't heard of us, doesn't mean we haven't heard of you
Perhaps more important than being known to the entire community, is knowing the entire community. Now, I probably don't know everybody, but I know a lot of people, and so does Miasmata.

And I realise we're no Maecius or Endelyon, but we gotta keep our goals realistic. We can't all be that awesome...

Having said that, I hear you and will work to engage with the community a bit more, even if only to ease your mind.

[K'yon Oblodra]

I admittedly haven't heard of miasmata but I for one know Zanniej and he's been around for quite some time, but sure if since 2009 when I first popped into this server or later but he certainly is a name.

I gotta say I am a bit confused as to why people want to hear a direction really, maybe it is just because they are used to getting told, cause I really don't even feel there is a need for us to know.

Discussing these things openly usually leads to nothing because you will get so many different opinions there will never be consensus.

As Zanniej said it's way more important if they, listen and make themselves some notes on what people want than discussing these things openly.
Cheers

[Druchii]

Seconding K'yon's thoughts here.

The only sort of direction discussion is usually when the rammifications are OOC as well as IC. If its just IC, there's evidently something happening at the moment before virtue of the campaign.

The campaign going-on topside must conclude before anything else happens (presumably) and a server planned document from what I saw that gets followed as and when.

I imagine we'll follow the rough, pre-established canon timeline with some variances depending on the RP that is generated by players/guilds along the way (if any).

Druchii

[Tanlaus]

To echo the posts above, frankly I'd rather not know where the server is going next, not OOC anyway. I'd rather discover it through my character as events unfold. That's half the fun of the game to me.

[Steve]

To echo the posts above, frankly I'd rather not know where the server is going next, not OOC anyway. I'd rather discover it through my character as events unfold. That's half the fun of the game to me.

That's the point mate: the Server has to actually be going somewhere, for it to be discovered. And at the moment, it's arguable (unless it's going somewhere IC for only a select group to experience, which would at least explain my query).

And preferably, there would be multiple directions, parallel lines, both those running top down AND bottom up...if you know what I mean.

[Tanlaus]

To echo the posts above, frankly I'd rather not know where the server is going next, not OOC anyway. I'd rather discover it through my character as events unfold. That's half the fun of the game to me.

That's the point mate: the Server has to actually be going somewhere, for it to be discovered. And at the moment, it's arguable (unless it's going somewhere IC for only a select group to experience, which would at least explain my query).

And preferably, there would be multiple directions, parallel lines, both those running top down AND bottom up...if you know what I mean.

I do know what you mean. So far I’ve really enjoyed the DM interactions I’ve had lately both with small personal events and the bigger devil invasion storyline.

For the moment, especially during a transition, I’m inclined to trust them they work something out before brining it to the community at large.

[electric mayhem]

I think there is a difference between elements of the whole here.
-Server roleplay and story at large (DM controlled).
-Server design, character system creation, game elements (Development team).
-Server hardware, systems, ancillary and supplementary communications (discord, forums), administration and general overseer etc (Admin controlled).

Channel your energies down the correct path of which you are concerned.

And as D Adams pointed out. Don't Panic.

[DM Theophanies]

Both Miasmata and Zanniej have my trust and full support during the transition and afterward. I've had the opportunity to interact and work beside them for some time. Both have been extremely supportive of myself, the DMs, and any new ideas I've come to them with to explore. I am excited to see how they will execute their vision once they get their feet underneath them. I was on the DM team during Luna's tenure and started HDMing around when Maecius and Endelyon were transitioning. If it goes even half as smooth as that, I'll be happy.

DM-side, it is business as usual. We've got some internal priorities to manage, such as DM burn out, recruitment, and responsiveness. We'll be having more discussions going into the winter months to continue to try to improve things. That aside, I think we currently have a great team with a lot of combined knowledge and experience. Our CC's (Soulcatcher and Ink) work hard continually on the campaign, which, believe me, can be challenging. So I am thankful that neither of them or our other active DMs, haven't burnt out on us yet.