Hey all,

Moving away from the ongoing Fortress debate, I'd instead like to shine some light onto what I think is a larger problem in CF right now. I think the dynamics of cabal wars are possibly the worst they've ever been right now (I don't mean pendulum swings or anything, I mean the actual factions itself).

Here are my thoughts:

-Scarab and Entropy are super niche and don't function as full on cabals in CF. For all intents and purposes they are a non-factor in cabal wars. It took a role contest winner 230 hours to get inducted!!! Yeeeesh.

-Battle has no *real* enemies or factions to stand against. I understand Battle fights mages but the way carrionfields cabalwars are set up, there needs to be a foil. Entropy and/or Scarab could be that foil...but they're non-existent. So Battle feels a little bit aimless.


I also understand that solutions may require coding or man hours that the top brass in Immland simply don't have right now. And that's fine, so I was thinking some. Proposed solutions that may help:

-Bring the Arcane Sect back. I heard this was almost accomplished IC before. I think this would be great, it would give Battle and Empire a reason to actually be at war, thereby giving Empire an actual enemy. It would add tension within the Empire which is always good IMO (Shadow cuts deal with Battle to get gold in exchange for arcane sects location etc.) Plus Empire does a good job of filling the 'big bad' role well, since they have no real allies and every cabal item should be kept in the Throne.

-Consider reviving Nexus in some format. First of all, I think the cabal location of Nexus was awesome in the sea of despair. It made water shifters viable, it stretched the map of CF out at hero a few areas farther west than we're used to seeing etc. I also think that Nexus is actually a really good fit for CF with today's somewhat smaller playerbase, as it can be a check and balance against the pendulum if it gets stifling. Also! Another enemy for Battle! Yay!

In this environment, entropy and scarab could stay as they are (since scarab has about 1 character in it every 2-3 months right now, and Entropy is in a similar (although less severe) boat) or be scrapped. Dealer's choice.

Just my two centers, curious if the Imms or other players feel similarly.

-Shamanman

It's just funny seeing so many people showing so much love to Nexus when I remember people ####ting on the cabal every chance they could get on the forums. I remember a lot more hate for the cabal that seems to have been forgotten. lol

I always loved Nexus and would love to see its return.

But yeah, something needs to happen. It's been so long since the arcane sect, I'd be truly curious to see how bringing that back would turn out.

Nexus only got love from the people who played them. I hated Nexus until I played one and then Nexus was my favorite cabal and Nexus v battle was always a fun dynamic.

Battle does seem sort of pointless now, since really what cabal has an incentive to actually raid battle?
Fort, Scarab, Empire, Outlander, Entropy, none of them really care about Battle directly.

Entropy maybe, but the cabal is sparse, and the cabal does not mandate that it's members even really care about raiding or defending to begin with.

Nexus and Scion were great foils to Battle, and they meshed well in how they related to the other cabals as well. I just don't think the PB is large enough to support adding back in another two cabals. Scion was ridiculously good for powers and a scion in a smaller base would just steamroll.

yay nexus, yay scion

boo scarab, boo entropy. boo tribunal while we're at it

Nexus on the other hand was a great cabal for the game. Full of dynamics and situations that contributed to _many_ players having a lot of fun. I hope it comes back. Maybe I will start playing again.

Tribunal can be fun with 30+ players online, but with the mud looking like a graveyard not so much. The prime issue is player numbers and players not having fun. A lot of people stopped playing because they no longer had fun. If changes are made they should focus on the _players need to have fun_ part of the equation rather than providing a veneer of freshness that is quickly outgrown.

gr

I quit playing for a few years and started again recently. When I came back I was glad Nexus was gone. A lot of us thought we were bringing back Masters of Magic the last time they brought back Nexus. It was very disappointing. I'd rather see Masters come back than Nexus.

Scion was always my favorite cabal to play. Evil mages running amok was fun. I thought it made more sense than the Nexans always switching allies. Scarab is okay, but seems like a poor substitute for Scion.

I agree with the second part about Tribunals and trying to have fun.

I had actually been thinking about posting something similar to this, but with more emphasis on Nexus.

Nexus adds such a cool dynamic not only to good vs evil, but also chaotic vs orderly, which actually makes sense more now than ever with Entropy back in the picture.

I know it takes a coder to bring back, but the cabal itself is already coded, so I can't imagine it taking THAT much effort to re-introduce and I'm sure others would love to see it. As it is right now, there's no true neutral cabal, so it would be cool to open that door back up and see more clouds/svirfs/gnomes/neut-dwarves running around again.

I dare say ANYTHING but Nexus. 8]

i hated it for many years until i played it...and then i played it almost exclusively

such a great cabal!

In immland we’ve had this discussion a number of times. We’ve had plans about this (general cabal changes) for a pretty long time, and it definitely comes up. So we’re not blind to it or unaware of it. But as of right now we have what we have, and we’re working with what we’ve got. Bringing back sects, cabals, etc. are not easy lil’ things most can do sadly. As to how exactly it would be done, we'll eventually see.

So as to if we’ve felt similarly: in various ways, yeah. If our plans eventually come to pass, I look forward to pointing at certain posts players have made suggesting X or Y and going “YOU got it right! Your intuition was spot on”.

Until then, we make do with what we’ve got :)

-Ish