KABLOOIE.

[Haelstrom]

Well, I stopped playing a while ago actually. So this isn't a hard hitting, dramatic discovery. Fact, I didn't know until SleepyPanda went on Vent going "wah amistr closing" and I went "Whuhr?"

All the same, I distinctly recall the staff here repeatedly admitting privately ~ semi-privately they disliked this server as it had became. Which is their right. I could write 300 pages worth of advice reflecting on the horrendous mistakes made here (not an exaggeration), but don't feel I need to. I just hope for future players' sakes that you guys don't open a new server for a while, or that if you do, you give it some heavy thought pre-opening. I'll be blunt in that the administration here chased off a good chunk of their member base, often times needlessly. So if this closure has anything to do with a lack of players, that was a self-inflicted wound. While that is unfortunate, the true disappointment here is for those who still actively played, and I actually feel sorry for them. I hope all of you find servers to play that will remain active, and wish you good luck.

Now for more important things.



LOO' AT DA KITTY. HE SO ANGRY.

Anywho, what few people're left here that knew me, it was cool playing with you whenever. I'll be around whooping ass.



Huge, huge amounts of ass.

[Koma]

There will not be another server. I'm not quite sure where you got that impression from.

Please do create that list though so we can add it to http://www.crescendo-ro.com/lessons.txt. Actions speak louder than words.

By the way, if banning someone from Vent for asking for it and from crashing people out of the Vent server (yet not banned from the game server) and moving vendors (yet not kicking or banning them) due to legitimate reports from players were missteps, it seems I have my lists wrong.

As far as disliking what the server had become -- I believe I can quote myself from that same linked file:

3) Maintain -- There are some things that require you to go against your will. Be steadfast and do what's truly right. Not what *you* think is right.

As much as I thought additional code to prevent people from intentionally disrupting events (since I'd like to believe people had the common sense not to cause trouble) and even additional messages to warn players that things were "statless" even though it was common knowledge, they were still developed and done.

Ultimately, I'd say this was the lesson learned from Crescendo that we tried to go against:

9) Longevity -- Your server isn't to be short-lived. That isn't the life of an MMORPG server. Even though this part is true, your players may never understand this perspective when they see so many options around them -- what makes your server the "one"? This cannot be attained from an initial launch (our mistake) without proper footing beforehand -- hence why Crescendo's possibility was impossible -- no one could believe in its truth blindly. This, of course, wasn't their mistake, but rather, natural.

[Nell]

I dunno, I really feel that over time, players have forgotten what RO was really about.

When Nuka and I first started playing RO back in, like, 2004 or so, it was a social game...very social. I would look forward to getting on with my friends every day and going off to party at some high end dungeon just to see how fast we'd get our asses kicked. Now, it seems like it is a bleak shadow of its former self, oriented purely around stats, gear and PVP/WoE related issues. It doesn't seem like anyone has fun anymore, and treats it as some kind of chore or some God-given right to become the absolute best player in existence. "Oh! Gotta get this gear to +8! Gotta get this MVP card! Gotta kill this guy! Gotta win this event to get this hat that will help me kill this guy! Gotta boast on about how many times I've killed this guy! Gotta be a despicable douchebag on the forums because I wasted my time making myself the best there is instead of socializing!" Not to mention that over time, players seem to have developed this deep-rooted lack of respect for authority (GMs), seeming to treat it as some of life and death fight for survival against "the man" or some retarded shit. Tripled with the fact that Gravity's warped sense of balance is to unbalance further in the most ass-backwards way ever, but I could write a manifesto about that issue some other time.

I wish...I really wish things could be like they used to be, where people can play games to enjoy themselves instead of being fueled by this hard-wired mentality to beat everyone else, and to let everyone know just how good they are.

[Dowe]

Dont worry. Us socializers are still around. I spend 90% of my time bumming around town chatting and the other 10% doing even less.