Topic

No. More. Rules. PLEASE.

I'm sure I'm not the only one who is getting tired of people making lists and 'unofficial' guidelines to how we have to play. Could we just, PLEASE, drop this once and for all? People are going to play how they want to play, regardless of a forum thread.

I'm also sure I'm going to be flamed for being a hypocrite (as I am a tree advocate). Truth is, I don't, and don't plan on, setting rules for other players. Sure, sometimes I'll complain, when it gets out of hand and the other players are being rude - but I don't lay down rules. 

That said, I repeat: the point of this game is that we shape the world. If people want to plant bean trees, if they don't participate in projects and therefore plant trees nearby, if they (yes) poison them (please don't think I like the poisoning. I feel the need to put that in there since if I didn't, I would be a hypocrite. I myself don't like it, but I'm not going to try to control it), then so be it. 

Posted 19 months ago by Cupcake Subscriber! | Permalink

Replies

  • There are, and never will be any rules. Anything set forth by players is simply a non-binding suggestion. If people want to sit here and come up with "rules" to play by, so be it. They will have no effect on the overall game unless people decide to actually abide by them.

    I think instead of being self-righteous in the forums and global chat, people should just act courteously everywhere and this wouldn't be an issue. Making threads about rules or against them isn't going to solve anything and will just ignite another flame war.

    Especially in the beta test, we need to work on how to improve the community instead of complaining about it...
    Posted 19 months ago by geoffreak Subscriber! | Permalink
  • geoffreak: "Especially in the beta test, we need to work on how to improve the community instead of complaining about it.."


    What he said!


    It's about building community!
    Posted 19 months ago by MeherMan Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Finding fault with  is NOT the way to build community, nor is trying to "make rules on others." FInd a way to bring others to your ideas that is encouraging, inspiring and offers inclusion - and they will come. Find fault, be infuriating and they will not. 

    --MeherMan

    Felt like this belonged here ;)
    Posted 19 months ago by geoffreak Subscriber! | Permalink
  • I don't think there are any rules in glitch. Just different opinions. Which we all have, no-one can enforce an un-written rule on you. TS will issue the rules if and when.Unless we are told by them otherwise, play your OWN game have fun.
    Posted 19 months ago by tweetypie Subscriber! | Permalink
  • I know there aren't any rules - that's my point. No tester has any authority over any other tester, which is why it gets tiring when people act like the do.

    And actually, I'm trying to remove something that annoys a lot of people. I don't know about you, but that does seem  like an attempt to improve the community. If no one can voice an opinion, it's not really a community after all.
    Posted 19 months ago by Cupcake Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Cupcake, let's not get into the debate of tree killing/planting in this thread please. Thanks.

    An idea is all well and good, but you can't push an idea that a majority is okay with and a minority isn't. It's up to each player to decide how they want to play the game. The only party that can have any effect on players directly is Tiny Speck.
    Posted 19 months ago by geoffreak Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Um, what? Sorry, I honestly don't understand where I brought that up :) If you're talking about the original post, well, it's a thread I posted, with my opinion. I don't think there's anything wrong with that. If you're offended, ignore the thread.
    Posted 19 months ago by Cupcake Subscriber! | Permalink
  • No, it's cool. My last post was more just as a reminder to anyone reading rather than directly at you.

    I realized I needed more to my last post, so I added to it right as you posted.
    Posted 19 months ago by geoffreak Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Oh, okay :)
    Posted 19 months ago by Cupcake Subscriber! | Permalink
  • I hear what you are saying. As long as people put their views across as constructive and non-attacking, things will move along a lot more easier. I have a problem with aggressive confrontation. Some will want to be community orientated and some won't. So I group with the one's that enjoy community interaction.   
    Posted 19 months ago by tweetypie Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Rule #1 There are no rules that everyone will follow all of the time, so just get over it.

    Cupcake, you know I love you :D
    Posted 19 months ago by Essie Kitten Subscriber! | Permalink
  • I make a small mental edit every time someone says 'rule', my mind automatically translates that to 'strategy'. Everyone has their own method to their own madness. My own mind has enough twists and turns... I'm not ready for the scary places in everyone else's.
    Posted 19 months ago by Travinara Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Have to agree with the OP - rules rules rules!  What is this real life?
    Posted 19 months ago by Accy Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Lets drop the word "Rule" altogether and say "Suggestion" or even better, maybe just say "I think" or "I wish".  The word "Rule" gets most of us riled before we even read what the "Rule" is.  Only the Devs can make Rules that stick and I have not read any list of "Rules" from them.  If we do anything against policy, I am sure that a Dev will let us know.  So, let's forget about trying to make others play the way we want and just do our best to adapt or avoid.
    Posted 19 months ago by Brib Annie Subscriber! | Permalink
  • @ Brib Annie,i agree,thats what i have written in another thread,guide,discuss and explain for whatever your actions may be not 'rules'.Surely we can all communicate can't we??
    Posted 19 months ago by Joos Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Unfortunately some people think that just because they express their opinion as an idea or suggestion then if people do not agree with or follow that course of action then they are the ones that cannot communicate.    Remember I said "some" in the above sentence.  That said suggestions for newbies (and I consider myself a perpetual newbie) are always welcome by those looking for advice - but not by those whole like to find their own way.

    I do not know if guilds, alliances or families are coming to Glitch but in other MMOs these are used as ways of controlling how players behave - you offer rewards and advantages to join your guild and in return they are expected to behave in a certain way.  They can be taught etiquette - or your version of it.

    At the end of the day most people do not like being told what to do so even though the word may be changed to suggestion the tone of the posts still says "Rules" and it is this more than the word that has some people riled.

    Anyhow - looking forward to the next test and wondering if the skill queue I spotted and now lost is working :)
    Posted 19 months ago by Accy Subscriber! | Permalink
  • "I do not know if guilds, alliances or families are coming to Glitch but in other MMOs these are used as ways of controlling how players behave - you offer rewards and advantages to join your guild and in return they are expected to behave in a certain way.  They can be taught etiquette - or your version of it"


    I have never played a game where this was an option. I was wondering if it was harmful to the longevity or cohesiveness of the games any of you have played. Obviously not the longevity of WoW, but I have heard nothing but bad stories about the way it is now.


    Anyway, thanks in advance for answering my off topic question. :)  
    Posted 19 months ago by Piece of Serenity Subscriber! | Permalink
  • In complete agreement with the sentiment.

    There are many players, many ways to play and there are many reasons to play in those ways. Laying down rules, etiquette, ways of playing so that they benefit *you* is hugely discouraging and, in my mind, against the spirit of the game. 

    My problems with Glitch have nearly always been related to the way some players try to force others to act. In fact, I didn't join a playtest for three or four months because I was so fed up with being told what to do. Of course, if you want to create your own system of rewards to try and encourage certain behaviour, then feel free. But making rules is not the same as having authority.
    Posted 19 months ago by wurzel Subscriber! | Permalink
  • A winning strategy for dealing with players who try to make rules for other players is to laugh at them.

    As far as I can tell, players who try to force other players to act in certain ways feel like they have the authority to do so because (a) they have been around in the game for a while and (b) they are working on virtual "projects" which are perceived by them as being important.  Both of these reasons are of course bogus in any real sense.  Does a player who is working on a "project" really think they are more important than a player who fills project areas with bean trees and chickens while reciting song lyrics?  If so, some self-examination is likely in order.

    Watching this behavior on Glitch makes for interesting social observation.  We also get to see how people deal with limited resources (patches).  Glitch has created an economic/social situation where goal-oriented industrious control freaks (tree-poisoning project-builders) are at odds with hedonistic self-expressive environmentalists (tree-planters), and we're seeing the beginnings of that conflict.  Hopefully these groups will begin to better organize and launch squads of tree-planters and tree-poisoners in order to fight for precious patches!
    Posted 19 months ago by mirth Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Love what @mirth was getting at in terms of how the world itself is developing because these different opinions. Personally, I've been testing the game since June last year and it's been so much fun. People in the help chat were friendly and fast with replies to sometimes repetitive questions, but now a days, people are constantly arguing and getting aggressive over the way new players interact with the world. I don't believe there should be rules. I find it interesting that earlier in the game, you couldn't mine a rock that someone else was mining, but now you can and users still get angry if someone is mining that same rock. The features in the game are changing, it seems in me, for us to collaborate and understand that the world is tiny for all the Glitches and we need to work together.
    Posted 19 months ago by Ballerina Subscriber! | Permalink
  • '...rules are made to be broken...'

    ^ Opinions on above statement? ^

    ---

    But seriously IMHO, it's all well and good having these unofficial rules, but there isn't any force (authority) for people who don't agree with them, to stop them break them. I'm just playing how I think a game should be played (and I always have done, regardless of how many new forum topics have 'RULES' in the title): with community in mind. That's it. 
    Posted 19 months ago by Hburger Subscriber! | Permalink
  • To add to mirth and Ballerina... 
    The whole conflict has actually bubbled up out of 2 very vocal minorities, who make it appear as if there is a majority. This isn't the first time we've seen it, but it *is* the first time the two groups have stubbornly and emotionally refused to compromise. There's actually several sides to the whole tree argument, just as there are several sides to the previous age vs maturity argument, just as there are several sides to the fully mining a rock argument.

    I actually *have* offered to coordinate between the various camps.... but one side firmly believes there is no reason to kill a tree ever, while the other side believes every tree in the world should die. It had already become a situation of Group A stalking Group B in an effort to bring things to a full stop; both sides moved into super-secret mode and neither is willing to communicate. So, the 80-90% of us who sit somewhere in the middle of those extremes are left to deal with the drama (arguments, forum posts, tears, or avoiding the entire scenarios all together). Funny how often and in how many situations that statement applies.

    It is worth noting, these problems will not go away. We ran into sparks of it in alpha, but there were so few of us we were always able to work a happy compromise. Many of the testers joined for that purpose - to test - and that meant coming to a compromise to allow us to continue doing what we came here to do. The move to beta signaled a really big shift in dynamics and purpose, from break/fix mechanics and bug testing to world expansion. I would venture to say, most of the people who have joined in the last several weeks have joined with the intent of play testing (which is good). Play means the emotional enjoyment/fun factor, which means opposing views, which means conflict.

    Tiny Speck has done well not to weigh in on all this and I hope they continue to take the high road by not getting involved in all the player drama (save for to put a stop to any truly aggressive or demeaning behavior). I trust in their vision for what makes an interesting game, and their business sense not to waste valuable time, energy and resources pandering to a vocal minority.

    I said it before, and I'll say it again... things that worked in alpha won't work with beta, and neither of those will work with Live. Strategies, tactics, and behaviors will change... such is the nature of expansion and diversity. If you can find a 'rule' to *make* everyone get along and cooperate, congratulations! You should apply for the Nobel - you've discovered the secret to World Peace :D
    Posted 19 months ago by Travinara Subscriber! | Permalink
  • @Piecemaker13 - Guilds in WoW work really well when they work - but there are lots of guilds where they only benefit the leaders.  I play eve online and the Corporations (Guilds) there have always been essential for help and advice and training newbies as eve is a far more complex game.  The main 2 corps i have been in have both been fantastic and i keep in touch now with players that either left the corp or no longer play eve.

    The advice to me as a new player not only on the How to Play type answers but also on the best practice type answers has been fantastic.

    The first corp even had a newbie strategy guide that really helped with which skills to train and what to focus on first.  Eve has lots of similarities with Glitch - skill training and sandbox environment for a start.
    Posted 19 months ago by Accy Subscriber! | Permalink
  • "...I said it before, and I'll say it again... things that worked in alpha won't work with beta, and neither of those will work with Live...If you can find a 'rule' to *make* everyone get along and cooperate, congratulations! You should apply for the Nobel - you've discovered the secret to World Peace :D "     Travinara

    Excellent!  
    Posted 19 months ago by MeherMan Subscriber! | Permalink
  • I agree Cupcake. I think I remember saying the same thing a few weeks ago.
    Posted 19 months ago by ganjaprincess Subscriber! | Permalink