Sun Oct 22 21:18:32 2006

At 6 o'clock AM, Day of the Sun, 20th of the Month of Winter
on the Theran calendar Vovchanchyn perished, never to return.

Race:	human
Class:	assassin
Level:	42
Alignment:	Evil
Ethos:	Neutral
Cabal:	SCION, the Scions of Eternal Night
Age:	30
Hours:	99

Not to come off as an Ass or anything...

but why the MMA fighters name...
Vovchanchyn (Igor Vovchanchy)

I saw Fedor running around some time ago aswell..
just wondering..

(And yes I didnt meet you ingame.. I only browse this forum
from time to time since I have little of it..)

From the first time I met you I wanted to kill you, and I planned on it, but it didn't work out. Then you go an delete right after me. Damned. Scion is taking hits, the but dedicated characters are still there so it's cool I guess. So what made you delete? You finally lose the set and get pissed or just got tired of the odds?

why?

The biggest reason being that I was not having fun, at all. You play games to have fun and this wasn't.

First character in over 4 years of not even thinking about CF, so I was basically a newbie all over again and had to relearn everything. Apparently I had an extremely low luck (stat) char. Even with max int I never gained in skills. Hell I hit level 11 with 76% sword and 75% wheel kick (I think that's the first kick, can't remember). Skills would never go up even when I was solo ranking on razor and hooded mobs. I constantly missed assassinates with 8-10-12+ stalks while wielding vuln weapons that the target's class didn't even know, not even partial hits, at night and sometimes while the target was even resting, with me never coming unhidden the entire stalking period.

I was shocked at how small the game's playerbase is now. CF is a game designed for 120+ players at the minimum, not for 50-60 players at peak. Rager numbers seem to have spun out of control, due to there being a derth of of invokers and hero mages in general. So my range would be either mostly dwarf berserkers, or Fortress, which is lead by the *snip* permagroup (it's blatant, I guess the imms don't particularly care though). 99 hours and not one of them was really fun. Just a lot of prep gathering, pointless extremely slow practicing and retrieving.

Moderator note: We did look into it, and regardless of what you think you saw, the logs don't agree with your accusation. I'm sorry they killed you, but it doesn't make them a rules problem.

Eshval - Scion could have used an imm like you years ago when I played, back when they got no sort of interaction whatsoever besides 1 or 2 Chancellors that Valguarnera decided were worth interacting with. The cabal needs to be shook up. Right now it's just a pair of hero bards, a shifter who's never around and a certain Russian gear hoarder, who lost his set I believe. I just don't think with the decreased playerbase that the game can support so many cabals, especially not 2 seperate evil cabals (Empire, Scion).

Dimoni - You didn't really have a chance in hell of killing me. Your best opportunity was when you jumped me in the battlefields when I was ranking and had about 100 HPs. I was disappointed when you deleted because I was going to kill you. I'd already decided how I was going to do it too.

Batamon - Keep plugging away.

I don't see myself playing this game again.

Apparently I had an extremely low luck (stat) char. Even with max int I never gained in skills.

Please see the conspiracy forum, and stop trying to spread this myth. The only luck impacting skill improvement is the roll of the dice. Ditto assassinate or whatever else you're imagining it does.

valguarnera@carrionfields.com

Yeah ok. Luck affects RNG which affects improves and everything else. So yes, luck impacts improves and assassinates. That's why you'll have my guy who has sword at about 80% at level 20 and another guy can roll up the same race class combo and have it mastered by then, or close to it. Yes, luck affects assassinate. That's why you have more success (proven success) when wearing gear like the mantle of the stars.

As soon as you can spit out some reason as to why one character will have absolutely ####ty luck with RNG and how another of the same race/class combo has everything going for it, you let me know what that reason is. If it's not luck then it is something else that can majorly affect a character.

Part of the reason why the playerbase is less than half of what it used to be is the disconnect between IMMs and players. #### like being vague concerning luck/RNG/mysterymodifierthataffectscharacters is one aspect of that disconnect.

Those two *snip* characters, *snip*, most recently played a *gasp* Scion AP/Transmuter perma combo also. You know, kind of like what they're doing now, only they went good align this time.

It was nice how you edited out their names and tried to take a potshot at me at the same time, though. Props.

You sound really pissed off. If you have actual issues, I suggest resting for a bit, coming back when you've calmed down, and then posting.

You think that you can just take cheap shots and make accusations, and when they are responded to, you get upset, and and act like you are a saint who is above it? Honestly, it is people like you that can't see both sides of the issue that cause more problems than anything.

"It was nice how you edited out their names and tried to take a potshot at me at the same time, though. Props."

You'll find that we don't like it when people publically accuse active characters of cheating. It kind of impacts the ability of other players to have fun.

Two Implementors (Nep and I) checked into your accusation, despite how you brought it forward. Regardless of who they did or didn't play previously, there isn't a pattern that would lead us to bust them as a permagroup, therefore nothing will be done at this time.

If you don't believe Nep or me, feel free to convince another Implementor of your choice to triple-check it. If you don't believe any of the Implementors, maybe it's for the best that you're retiring.

valguarnera@carrionfields.com

Part of the reason why the playerbase is less than half of what it used to be is the disconnect between IMMs and players. #### like being vague concerning luck/RNG/mysterymodifierthataffectscharacters is one aspect of that disconnect.

Which is why we've explained, in no uncertain terms, that the factors which alter skill improvement rates are listed in 'help skill improvement'. I'm telling you that as I've read (and in many cases written) every line of the skill improvement code, that your hypothesis is incorrect. I don't know what else you want to hear.

valguarnera@carrionfields.com

so how about explain what exactly the luck stat does?

the point is still that we are always half in the dark about how to even go about playing our characters optimally - and with so many unknowns, we can't even figure it out.

the issue is less the luck stat, and more the fact that you all are so shifty about everything, and even more about the fact that you all think that being evasive and half truthful is for our own good.

again, for how many years did you deny that the luck stat existed? you don't get people to trust you by just saying, "oh yeah guys, sorry - we lied before but now we're totally telling the truth. trust us."

and that since this is critical of you, you will probably delete it, rather than trying to justify or even explain or rationalize your decisions.

awesome! power without responsibility or accountibility!

what's the average playercount at now? are we still blaming graphic-based games for that?

when do we get to have any sort of real, critical discussion with the imms? you are not the only one who has logged a significant amount of his or her life into this mud, and genuinely wishes it well.

>so how about explain what exactly the luck stat does?

I've done that a ####ton of times. Do a search if you care.

so how about explain what exactly the luck stat does?

We've already done so here. The answer remains "damn near nothing".

again, for how many years did you deny that the luck stat existed? you don't get people to trust you by just saying, "oh yeah guys, sorry - we lied before but now we're totally telling the truth. trust us."

Please cite an example of me claiming it doesn't exist. I can find examples where I state it isn't relevant to a topic, or that it does damn near nothing, or I don't know what it does. Maybe I thought it didn't exist at one point, but I can't find that. Please cite.

and that since this is critical of you, you will probably delete it, rather than trying to justify or even explain or rationalize your decisions. awesome! power without responsibility or accountibility!

Actually, I have plenty of accountability and responsibility. I'm formally accountable to all the other IMPs, and informally accountable to the staff and playerbase, because my actions are quite public.

Unlike you, I sign one name on all my posts. Unlike you, I have to fix things when they break. Unlike you, I have to make decisions about CF on a more or less daily basis.

Who doesn't have accountability? Who doesn't have responsibility?

what's the average playercount at now? are we still blaming graphic-based games for that?

Text MUDs in general have definitely experienced a downward decline in recent years. Feel free to educate yourself on that topic. It's the knee-jerk reaction of some players that every time we make a change they don't agree with, it's the cause, but that doesn't explain why most similar games have experienced similar or sharper declines.

when do we get to have any sort of real, critical discussion with the imms? you are not the only one who has logged a significant amount of his or her life into this mud, and genuinely wishes it well.

You get real, critical discussion on these forums. It's why we have them, and I can cite countless examples where we've implemented feedback from ideas that started here.

What you don't get is equality with the staff, because the staff has committed to accountability and responsibility, and you have not. The staff has also undergone scrutiny, demonstrated an ability to contribute projects and interaction, and logged collectively 100,000+ hours of effort developing the game. Yes, I place more weight in the "vote" of a staff member than I do in yours. The world works like that, and I'd be lying if I claimed otherwise.

valguarnera@carrionfields.com

And don't let people bother you or frustrate you, you're appreciated by the majority of players for your hard work and effort. Thanks for the patience to usually repeat things over and over, rehash after rehash.

Bleh.

Reminds me of the justifications for the Iraq war. I actually am for the war (just not the execution of it), but they kept changing their argument each time the previous one was found to be false.

You went on about the luck stat wrecking your character, citing skill improvements as an example, but, in fact, skill improvements are not affected by the luck stat.

Can you explain to me why graphic-based games would stop having an effect of capturing potential new blood? Seems to me that the reverse would be the case, and that those getting into games will be presented with more and more graphically superior alternatives.

>I was shocked at how small the game's playerbase is now. CF
>is a game designed for 120+ players at the minimum, not for
>50-60 players at peak.

Out of curiousity, what are you basing that on? It's a fair bet I've played CF longer than you, and I've certainly never seen 120+ counts.

Seems like a lot of exaggeration to me.

It is not an exaggeration in the least. I played semi-regularly for about 2-3 years before the 4 year break. Player numbers were routinely above 100 and peaking at close to 130 quite often, during the busiest times of day and on weekends.

I wouldn't say it if I didn't know what I was talking about.

>I wouldn't say it if I didn't know what I was talking about.

I'm pretty sure you don't. Sorry.

I do know what i'm talking about, so you can shove your smart assed reply up your undoubtedly fat ass, you ####stick. #### like that is one of the many reasons why DIKU, the Australians and many others quit playing, which subsequently led to days now where the peak player count is in the 50s sometimes.

Prove me wrong. Or just delete this post because your feelings are hurt. You'll do the latter, because you do not have the ability to do the former.

It's a lot easier to post a who list with 130 people than to post every who list ever that clearly doesn't have 130 people. Put up or shut up.

I'd have to give a #### what you think to be offended, but I'm not going to waste any more time on this.

Actually, I've seen 120+ people logged in CF.
The very old CF had the limit of 75 players which often prevented myself from loggin in.
A bit later ( I think several months after the Second Age started ) CF moved to a new site ( mapple.can.net? ) and the test CF server at that new site certainly had 120+ people at times.

I remember it being a very big deal when I was a heroimm five years ago that we were occasionally breaking 110 during peak hours of major events. I don't think I've seen 120+ during my time (1998-) here (our records don't go back very far, FWIW), but the claim that CF was "designed for" 130+ at a time doesn't seem to have any evidence.

Heck, Nep's probably done as much design work here as anyone. I'm sure someone would have told him. :P

valguarnera@carrionfields.com

I remember times when we approached or even topped 120, but those occurences were few and far between. To say we're designed for that is foolish.

What could the server actually handle though without straining?

Without really doing any major analysis, I'd guess a few hundred wouldn't be an issue.

I've never seen a reliable estimate. I know that with 80-90 people on, the current hardware doesn't seem the least bit strained. No one even notices when I boot a duplicate MUD on the same machine in order to test something. (About 3 years ago, you would notice a little.) You have to remember that if CF could handle 100 people in 1994 or 1995, just by virtue of advances in networks and computers we should be able to handle quite a bit more. Text MUDs aren't terribly resource-intensive.

The caveat to that is that the code is considerably more complex, and functions that are 100 lines in stock ROM are sometimes 1000 or 5000 lines. Running a round of combat involves a lot more computation than it used to. Also, when we code we don't worry too much about resource consumption outside of certain very intensive routines. Generally speaking, we try to optimize reliability/clarity over speed.

Nonetheless, I haven't seen evidence that we're anywhere near butting up against hardware performance. Computers improve too quickly for us to catch up.

valguarnera@carrionfields.com

valguarnera@carrionfields.com

*snip* Keeping TRL's reply.

That's why you keep taking cheap pot shots and insulting people, players and imms.
...
Right?

I had a huge big wordy essay written up here, but the post it was in reply to got deleted. I'll summarize it: Relax. You do not come across as someone with CF's best interests at heart. You come across as someone who just wants to curse at the imms.

I've never once seen Zambirro travel with Rhaika, by the way. And I've seen him around a lot.

It sounds like he's a part of an OOC circle himself, or knows people that are, but he can't say anything as it may incriminate him. It's kinda like this one time where Vlad said he's never perma. I chuckled to myself.

There is no mystery to why the diku guys has left the building... Most of us are well into the thirties, have kids, jobs, wife's, and have been around for 11-12 years or so... No mystery here really....

.

Like how we accepted a DIKU guy's application to join the staff. That was our latest tactic in our war on DIKU, deepening the rift!

There is no mystery to why the diku guys has left the building... Most of us are well into the thirties, have kids, jobs, wife's, and have been around for 11-12 years or so... No mystery here really....

Yup. We do appreciate the well-behaved old-timers, even when they're part-timers. :)

valguarnera@carrionfields.com

Oooh, a hit! :P

Thanks for the kind comments, and fwiw, I wish it had been a better experience for you. I am not a number cruncher, and stats, RNGs and anything similar I let breeze by. I have had similar experience as a mortal, so I just figure I am cursed, and I blame the Goblin Shaman...(he really has it out for me).

If you try again, good luck.