This winter, I have returned for two reasons: to recall how fun CF is and to recollect some experience for the game analysis and writing an article about oldschool games nowdays. Something like "Oldschool hardcore games is alive!". Unfortunately, instead I am finishing a different article, "15 evil ways to kill your MMO". Maybe I'll get it translated to English later.

Obviously, my RP level is not good enough for CF, so instead of trying to achieve something that I won't ever achieve, I'll move somewhere where all the players are equal and are not being judged by the biased humans. Currently, CF is designed for 4-5 players, and everyone else are just a decoration, mob for them. All the recent changes were also made for those "core" - cool story, but that caused other players to leave (me including). Perhaps I'll be back when staff will change and direction of the development will shift from those few players to the mass, but I think CF will not last that long.

Abradabra was fun, though scarabs were more interesting before. I played him just to recall how to play necromancers and undeads.

Luxenferre was rerolled Helel, who got his role (unrated) suddenly vanished after applying to the role contest. I thought nobody seen it and rerolled, because I liked the role and it's concept. If not that bug, I wouldn't delete. But 6 chapters and 200 hours later he still had 0 role exp. Okay.

Anyways, thanks to everyone who still plays CF, you made the game fun and interesting. Only because of the players I've been still about, but realization of the fact above killed that interest in playing CF.

Good luck and cheers to the players,
and enjoy your CF to the imms.

You emailed me at the start of Luxenferre and I explained to you the risk of reusing a role. You still decided to do it, so its odd you are acting like you were mistreated or wronged in that sense.

I imagine the "I won't ever achieve" commentary is based on the fact you wanted to have a mummy. Again, I am not sure why you are acting as if you were wronged some how or prevented from getting it. You had the exact same opportunities and chances for it that other people did. Your last attempt failed strictly because of something you did, not anyone else.

I also don't understand your comment about your RP being lacking. Fwiw I would consider your chars to be a few notches better than the average chars on CF. All the same, good luck.

Not because I want to argue with you or prove something. I am doing this in (almost stupid) hope that you'll realize something from it and change the way you (and other stuff) are acting and leading the game.

My decision to leave have nothing to do with becoming a mummy. I've been a mummy before, and I can easily do it again - thankfully, this mechanic is one of the few non-imm-related things (or supposed to be, though of course it's easy to set roll to 99-100 manually - isn't it what incubation period for? Joke, though there is a small bit of truth in every joke).

Every game have conditions to be a game. First condition is a start. Second - end (though it can be nearly infinite). Third - pleasure reward that stimulates the production of dophamine in our brains. Start and end, without the dophamine rewards is called work (though even work have it's rewards - money, for instance, that usually replaces dophamine reward). In CF, the most valued rewards are cultivated to be imm-rewards: immexp, role exp, lastname, special title, cabal leader positions, special skills, spells, special legacies and etc. Players who receive them are top-rated players. PK rewards were continuously decreased in value, and currently are almost worthless, as well as exploring and anything else.

As you are saying, I am average or top notch average RP player. During 6 months of playing, I received zero imm exp. It means that CF is a game *without* rewards (that are threatened as "valuable") for average players like myself. At the same time, there are about 4-5 players who will constantly receive rewards. So, for players like myself, CF is the process that is NOT a game anymore, but some weird activity disguised as a game. The main question - why would I play CF now, what will cause my brain to produce dophaimne?

There were two other things that were giving rewards: exploraitons and PK. I've explored 99% of CF already and not interested in it anymore, so it's not rewarding now and won't keep me in the game. Successful PK were rewarding, but I've got used to it. It's not enough without additional perks which were removed. In modern CF, PK is almost worthless, so this activity is not something that will keep me in the game as well, because it is not rewarding.

At the same time, there are players who will continuously receive immexp. By some weird coincendance, they are mostly players who agrees with the stuff on officials, and are happy when something is being changed (i.e. removed from the game). You say there are no favoritism, and I say there is, though you sincerely may fail to notice it. But even if not, current situations shows that only the best of the best will earn said above rewards, and average players (and below) will not. No matter if you agree with is or not, it's enough to examine PBF's and proportion of unrewarded players to rewarded. You have a point that "only supercool RP will be rewarded" and "rewards must be valuable and not given left and right" - yes, this is what you do, and this is how you kill your own game and making 99% of the "average and below" players to leave. It's a miracle that someone is still playing CF, but it have nothing to do with your activity, it's just result of amazing addictivity of CF (and MUDS in general) system.

Summary, we have a process that is called a game, where only 0,1% of the players can actually enjoy. Other players, in blind (and most likely subconscious) hope to become successful, are still "playing", but they have zero chances to success. They can say "I'm playing CF for the sake of playing", but it's not true - they are playing ONLY because something gives them dophamine... yet. But when they'll get used to that activity, they'll need something else - and that something else is unavailable for them due to the CF current mechanics. When they realize it (subconscious or not), they'll leave. This is why playerbase is decreasing and will keep decrease, until there will be imms and their favorite 0,1% of the playerbase.

I'll being the more detailed analysis and explanation later, when I'll finish the article and translate it professionally. I've tried to explain only two or three negaitve factors that destroys CF, but as I wrote earlier, there are 13-20 of them (I've described briefly 14 in the article, and I think I'll dig something else during process). You may shrug this away as usual, though, it doesn't matter for me anymore.

>Not because I want to argue with you or prove something. I am
>doing this in (almost stupid) hope that you'll realize
>something from it and change the way you (and other stuff) are
>acting and leading the game.
>
>My decision to leave have nothing to do with becoming a mummy.
>I've been a mummy before, and I can easily do it again -
>thankfully, this mechanic is one of the few non-imm-related
>things (or supposed to be, though of course it's easy to set
>roll to 99-100 manually - isn't it what incubation period for?
>Joke, though there is a small bit of truth in every joke).

There's no truth in this "joke". You can either trust Scarabaeus (the ONLY person who can modify a character's Mummy chance) or don't. If you don't, then why play his game.

>Every game have conditions to be a game. First condition is a
>start. Second - end (though it can be nearly infinite). Third
>- pleasure reward that stimulates the production of dophamine
>in our brains. Start and end, without the dophamine rewards is
>called work (though even work have it's rewards - money, for
>instance, that usually replaces dophamine reward). In CF, the
>most valued rewards are cultivated to be imm-rewards: immexp,
>role exp, lastname, special title, cabal leader positions,
>special skills, spells, special legacies and etc. Players who
>receive them are top-rated players. PK rewards were
>continuously decreased in value, and currently are almost
>worthless, as well as exploring and anything else.

You forget, or choose not to acknowledge, that playing the game and interacting with other characters is fun for many people. We have a good many players who are able to get their dopamine fix, as you imply, without needing to be showered with mechanical rewards so they can be a "top-rated" player. Maybe it's just you who chose the wrong game or set the wrong expectations.

>As you are saying, I am average or top notch average RP
>player. During 6 months of playing, I received zero imm exp.
>It means that CF is a game *without* rewards (that are
>threatened as "valuable") for average players like myself. At
>the same time, there are about 4-5 players who will constantly
>receive rewards. So, for players like myself, CF is the
>process that is NOT a game anymore, but some weird activity
>disguised as a game. The main question - why would I play CF
>now, what will cause my brain to produce dophaimne?

You overestimate yourself.

>There were two other things that were giving rewards:
>exploraitons and PK. I've explored 99% of CF already and not
>interested in it anymore, so it's not rewarding now and won't
>keep me in the game. Successful PK were rewarding, but I've
>got used to it. It's not enough without additional perks which
>were removed. In modern CF, PK is almost worthless, so this
>activity is not something that will keep me in the game as
>well, because it is not rewarding.

I'm sorry we can't produce content for you to explore as fast as you can explore it, I really am. As for PK, there are plenty of inherent rewards for being successful in PK, and if enough edge points for two "good" edges AT MOST if you earned EVERY point you previously could've for PK, is what makes or breaks CF for you then I'm sorry.

>At the same time, there are players who will continuously
>receive immexp. By some weird coincendance, they are mostly
>players who agrees with the stuff on officials, and are happy
>when something is being changed (i.e. removed from the game).
>You say there are no favoritism, and I say there is, though
>you sincerely may fail to notice it. But even if not, current
>situations shows that only the best of the best will earn said
>above rewards, and average players (and below) will not. No
>matter if you agree with is or not, it's enough to examine
>PBF's and proportion of unrewarded players to rewarded. You
>have a point that "only supercool RP will be rewarded" and
>"rewards must be valuable and not given left and right" - yes,
>this is what you do, and this is how you kill your own game
>and making 99% of the "average and below" players to leave.
>It's a miracle that someone is still playing CF, but it have
>nothing to do with your activity, it's just result of amazing
>addictivity of CF (and MUDS in general) system.

This is a whole lot of incorrect conspiracy garbage.

>Summary, we have a process that is called a game, where only
>0,1% of the players can actually enjoy. Other players, in
>blind (and most likely subconscious) hope to become
>successful, are still "playing", but they have zero chances to
>success. They can say "I'm playing CF for the sake of
>playing", but it's not true - they are playing ONLY because
>something gives them dophamine... yet. But when they'll get
>used to that activity, they'll need something else - and that
>something else is unavailable for them due to the CF current
>mechanics. When they realize it (subconscious or not), they'll
>leave. This is why playerbase is decreasing and will keep
>decrease, until there will be imms and their favorite 0,1% of
>the playerbase.

Only 0.1% of our players enjoy CF? Only 1/10th of one single player currently playing CF enjoys it? Yeah screw this whole paragraph too.

>
>I'll being the more detailed analysis and explanation later,
>when I'll finish the article and translate it professionally.
>I've tried to explain only two or three negaitve factors that
>destroys CF, but as I wrote earlier, there are 13-20 of them
> I've described briefly 14 in the article, and I think I'll
>dig something else during process). You may shrug this away as
>usual, though, it doesn't matter for me anymore.

I highly suggest you submit this paper to the Modern Journal of Moron for peer review.

/me shrugs

Even if I don't like some of your moves but I like your police in CF.

Even if I don't like the person in questions.

I think you said so many wrong things in your topic.

Just for your information. Not that you need it or will care.

Try to be a good Imm or ignore , unless you play a role of an asshole cop. Both of you and Dest show some punk show last days.

I didn't except anything else, but I tried.

You think you know your players better than they are, and when they are telling you otherwise, you still claims that you know better. Or wait, nobody is telling you this anymore because you prefer to ban them instead of hear something that can shatter your illusions. Even after detailed explanation you chose to stay in your comfortable dreams. But results aren't lying, and results shows that players are leaving. I tried to explain you why, but you are free to believe that they are just ungrateful assholes and you do fine with the CF gamedesign.

I'll completely stop arguing with you here because it's pointless.
Enjoy your CF.

I've deleted the rest of the replies because as far as I could tell, it amounted to each of you calling each other liars and cheats. Beyond that, I didn't really care to sort out any more. You two want to continue a conversation, do it privately somewhere. It adds nothing to the Battlefield. Honestly, I couldn't really determine at what point it descended to that level, so I decided it was your death thread, and decided to leave your response to Umiron.

Also, to wln - If you'd have bothered to wait 5 minutes, you would have seen my post as to why this entire thread vanished. Once I figured out how to fix my mistake, I deleted both my thread and yours.

When I've seen the thread back I figured that much. Looks like I've got right between the heartbeats while you've been cleaning that thread.

About Beront - I don't know him, nor do I have any idea what he want from me or why did he hijack the thread. I've asked a couple of questions about his accusations and slantering, he failed to response and that's it. So thank you for deleting that garbage.

FWIW, I see that some imms are trying their best, you included. So I tip my hat off to you, Aarn and few others, who still fights for the CF's good.