Topic

BREAKING: EAST/WEST SPICE MASS TREE POISONING!!!!!

Info on the 10/14 East/West Spice mass tree poisoning....-WEST SPICE, 13th Primuary, 11:15 PM-

Fellow Glitchen,

I am sorry to report that the spice trees of East Spice,West Spice,and Flipside have been systematically poisoned and destroyed not by the Rook, but rather a group posing as some of us.Thanks to the efforts of many Glitchen both old and new, West Spice and Flipside have been almost completely re-stored. The spice trees of East Spice, however have been replaced with Gas Plants and Bubble Trees. The battle of Spice vs. Gas has existed almost as long as Ur itself, but this battle is quite different.

There is good reason to believe that we have been Raided.

Having witnessed this destruction myself, I can tell you it was like nothing I have seen. I had heard rumors of a planned mass tree poisoning and convinced myself that that was all they were. Rumors.
I saw a group of ,well, let's call them "trolls" acting as one to accomplish their selfish goals. I say "trolls" because they seemed to take delight in being unnecessarily rude and harassing nearly every Glitch that crossed their path.

One "troll" in particular boasted of the distant lands from which he hailed, though I am doubtful that he was telling the truth as I have traveled to one of these lands quite frequently and have many wonderful tales to tell. Other "trolls" chose to follow Glitchen at a close distance as if they wished they could somehow steal from them. Still others chose to toss verbal bait to incite insults.

At first glance, their goal appears quite simple: Create a shortage of allspice so that auction prices rise, then be sure that they are the only ones selling allspice. As allspice is a much-needed commodity, they stand to make money and gain control of the market. New Glitchen who do not have the resources to grow and maintain a Spice Tree would be forced to buy allspice at an inflated price. The only alternatives would be for experienced Glitches to donate or sell Spice Beans to new Glitchen, or to let them into their homes to harvest from trees in their backyard. The first option is inefficient, as allspice is required for certain quests, and the second is quite risky unless one doesn't mind having things stolen.

There is another possible reason: Some "trolls" find it pleasing to ruin a community by any means they see fit. Of course, should they be revealed as outsiders or spies, their fun is ruined, and so they make every attempt to blend in for the time period required  to complete their objectives. Once the time is right, they set their plan in motion and and vanish. In this case the plan might be to drive new Glitchen out of Ur and set the rest of Ur's children against one another by toying with a rather important yet common commodity.

Or still, the plan may be to promote a cause by disrupting our daily lives in a manner that is inconvienient to us. I have heard tales of a faraway land in which something quite similar is rumored to be happening as I write this.

Whatever the reason for this action, I will stand to protect East and West Spices from those who seek to destroy our community. I ask that my fellow Glitchen both new and experienced remain peacefully united against "trolls"  who seek to destroy what we have built together.

Reported by Glitch DJTch7

Posted 14 months ago by DJTch7 Subscriber! | Permalink

Replies

  • I live in Chakra Phool. There used to be two spice trees and a gas tree on my street. It was great being able to pop out and harvest both. I noticed today that they've all been changed to gas, and people are camping out by the trees. It would be more pleasant if we could have a balance, instead of this effort to dominate areas. Then again, maybe people are going for those tree-killing achievements, and some people enjoy the aggression and drama and lengthy discussions.

    What I would love is to be able to plant them in my garden, instead of just egg plants. Why can someone who lives in a green area can grow spice and many other trees, while we swamp dwellers are limited to eggs?
    Posted 14 months ago by Sulien Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Ok, while your butts are frying here, we will do something about it.
    Posted 14 months ago by Rook Subscriber! | Permalink
  • It's fascinating to watch so much social conflict play out here.  Replace "Spice Trees" with "Slavery" and "Ix" with "Deep South" and the arguments being presented sound a lot like those heard in the 1850s and 60s.  With staunch supporters willing to take up arms on both sides! 

    Don't get me wrong, I don't think saving spice trees is morally equivalent to preserving slavery.  It's just that both of these topics have rather ardent supporters on both sides.

    Personally, I like easy access to spice and having a convenient place to get it.  I'm currently looking at buying up into a 50c home where I'll have plenty of access to patches.
    Posted 14 months ago by Mister Master Mixer Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Ix actually seems to be in great shape from the info, it's the other regions that have suffered the loss of variety.
    Posted 14 months ago by Demetra Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Cheers Sethy! Dont listen to the misleading statements of whiners. As street projects ramp up, demand for gas and bubbles skyrockets. Ix is the most convenient location -- in the world -- because of the tree density and proximity to various places. Although I can see how East and West spice have inviting names, the more logical conclusion is that if the devs had intended for gameplay other than what exists now, they would a) have made Ix only spice and/or b) given us another similarly dense place to planta gas. I honestly can't see any good reason we can't cone to terms on this - perhaps West Ix would be gas and East Ix spice. Now, i will not ever give this another thought, probably, because I can't fathom waiting out a bunch of crybabies (on either side) when I could be out harvesting either resource slightly more slowly.
    Posted 14 months ago by FlirtyvonSexenhaven Subscriber! | Permalink
  • @Sulien i believe it's because our yards are all underground, and so far only egg plants can grow underground. some of us are hoping for roof garden add-ons eventually, so we can grow normal crops and trees.
    Posted 14 months ago by Rev. Desdemona Subscriber! | Permalink
  • I am hoping the next region to open up has streets named North Gas and South Gas. Spreading the conflict through the power of names!
    Posted 14 months ago by Axe-a-lot-l Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Flirtyvon,

    You can't support a project off 13 gas plants. The convenience doesn't matter if you're doing projects anyways. End game players have Teleports. You're going to need to go outside of Ix (thus be 'inconvenienced' either way) to get the gas for a project.
    Posted 14 months ago by Mr. Dawgg Subscriber! | Permalink
  • I am pro-spice. I use it more than gas (so far). But even I am finding Ix a bit creepy when it's ALL spice. (as it is right now)
    Posted 14 months ago by onelittlebird Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Can't everyone just read the signs!!!!
    Posted 14 months ago by Eye Wonder Subscriber! | Permalink
  • OK Now I have shaken my head, pissed my self laughing (changed mandatory) - cough up a lung or two...I am ready to reply to this absolute madness....It's only a game..a great game but a game non the less .. I have already posted comments to the original spice war declaration.  I know would like to know why nobody is asking for antidotes to be stackable thereby not taking up too much room in our already tightly packed bags?  And  .... I will sell spice at a greatly reduced price to those who are planting to ensure the equilibrium of spice.  PLEASE NOTE...I will need your applications in writing and stamped by one of the beaurucrats or maybe all of them...and I will need a copy of your DNA as I will not be selling to those unscrupables  who would happily sell on at a profit or indeed - keep to themselves thereby ensuring that spice will be forever endangered.
    Posted 14 months ago by Really Pissed Off Subscriber! | Permalink
  • First, I'd like to say that I would consider myself a "Gasser" and that I don't approve when gas outnumbers spice drastically. I also could care less if Ix is all spice or half and half. However, the other day when I was spoken down to by a couple of people for adding a couple of gas trees to Kalvanna when at the time Ix was all spice, and spice outnumbered gas according to Zog's tool, I failed to see how I was being a tyrant. I want some convenience for harvesting my resource like the "Spicers" do theirs. It seems to me that there is a double standard if you are in the gas collecting minority (not to be confused with the trolls who apparently had a field day with you guys recently). I'm sorry that you feel your resource is more important than mine, but don't try to force your idea of "proper" gameplay on me.
    Posted 14 months ago by Gunnr Subscriber! | Permalink
  • "It's fascinating to watch so much social conflict play out here.  Replace "Spice Trees" with "Slavery" and "Ix" with "Deep South" and the arguments being presented sound a lot like those heard in the 1850s and 60s.  With staunch supporters willing to take up arms on both sides! "

    Uh...  Did you seriously say this, dude?
    Posted 14 months ago by Cindy Electronium Subscriber! | Permalink
  • I honestly just find the whole thing really fun to watch. I hope this 'tree war' keeps up for a good long time - makes things very interesting.
    Posted 14 months ago by Alex The Gingerlion Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Sometimes I wonder if Glitch is a social experiment in disguise.
    Posted 14 months ago by gamecharacter Subscriber! | Permalink
  • looks like all the trees are back anyway...
    Posted 14 months ago by Geeki Yogini Subscriber! | Permalink
  • If spice disappears from Ix entirely, won't that just create an incentive for everyone to harvest spice wherever they find it and put it up for auction? I don't understand how the population of trees on Ix is crucial to new users, or any other users for that matter, getting spice. What am I missing?
    Posted 14 months ago by Plurp Subscriber! | Permalink
  • @Desdemona - I know our egg plants are underground. But, if there's any logical comparison to the real world, fireflies don't live underground (nor in bogs; in fact, hardly anything can live in bogs because the peat snatches all the oxygen and is very acidic). Barnacles don't, either. So I'm not sure that putting a spice tree underground violates my suspension of disbelief any more than having a plant that grows bird eggs in my cellar. :P

    Somewhat ironically, I need gas in order to make spice tree beans.

    And for those who think a discussion about a game is irrelevant, you just wasted several minutes of your life reading this forum - gasp! Best not to read novels, either, since they have NOTHING to do with real life and the way people relate to each other *rolls eyes*

    Might I add (though others have pointed this out), one needs to poison/chop/antidote lots of trees for various Achievements. So this whole controversy could simply be a mass badge-earning jamboree.
    Posted 14 months ago by Sulien Subscriber! | Permalink
  •  Some say that Ix should be for gas,
    Some say for spice.
    And every single time I pass,
    I sympathise with those who favor gas
    But if it had to perish twice,
    I think I know enough of Ur
    To say that for all Glitchen, spice
    Is also great
    And would suffice.
     

    With apologies to Robert Frost.
    Posted 14 months ago by stargirl Subscriber! | Permalink
  • +1 Stargirl!
    Posted 14 months ago by RobMagus Subscriber! | Permalink
  • I say that lovely poem be added to the spice tree history of awesomeness.
    Posted 14 months ago by Boe Subscriber! | Permalink
  • @Sulien but it doesn't grow bird eggs, it grows morphing alien plant eggs ;) you do have a point about fireflies and barnacles though. my yard has neither, and i'm fairly sure jellisacs grow nowhere at all :P
    Posted 14 months ago by Rev. Desdemona Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Taking a leaf out of @stargirl's Robert Frost reverie:

    What lands these are I scarcely know
    while wand'ring, wand'ring, to and fro
    without a garden, hearth or home
    along the lonely Ix plateaux

    These places I must tell my gnome
    these Baby Steppes, this starry dome
    for who can dream of such delight
    that does not down the Ladder roam?

    Oh, rumours carry fast and light
    "In Ix there burns a gas/spice fight,"
    "Treeherd, to your poison heark!"
    But my eyes see a glorious sight:

    The lands are lovely, deep and dark
    though gas and spice may change their bark
    Oh! How I love this landscape stark!
    It brightly heeds not harsh remark.
    Posted 14 months ago by Lara Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Those who read Making Light are familiar with the idea that, when a thread gets contentious, it's time for some poetry and or a good string of puns. I think this is a sign of a healthy online community. Thank you Lara, thank you Stargirl, thank you everyone.

    Blood pressure rises
    Poetry, pastiche and puns
    we all love the trees
    Posted 14 months ago by Scarlett Bearsdale Subscriber! | Permalink
  • @Desdemona: you know, I think I've eaten too many of those eggs! :P

    I've been waiting for the Lorax to show up and speak for the trees, but I think a rook got him.
    Posted 14 months ago by Sulien Subscriber! | Permalink
  • I found one of the culprits that was going around poisoning the spice trees by the name of Ebil. Caught him right in the act and had antidote to stop him... but he was running through the entire zones poisoning all the spice plants.
    Posted 14 months ago by Casombra Amberrose Subscriber! | Permalink
  • @Casombra, I was not 'running through the entire zones poisoning all the spice plants" 
    I accidentally poisoned one, as I clicked wrong thing on menu, so I don't see how that was "poisoning all the spice plants"  it was poisoning one. I was actually going back with antidote when I was running through the zones, but someone (you probably) had already got there.  So... get your facts straight before trying to create forum drama please and if you call me out again on the forums, I'll report you. 
    Have a lovely day :)
    Posted 14 months ago by Ebil Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Then my apologies Ebil. I had just put antidote on several of the spice plants on several streets and when I then ran into you I saw you just added poison. If it was in error then I am very sorry for accusing you... if it was not you then I wonder who it was. By the way I was not trying to cause forum drama I am trying to get to the bottom of this as many are. I am sick of those that think it is cute or funny to go around killing the spice trees and replace them with gas.
    Posted 14 months ago by Casombra Amberrose Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Mass neighbor sharing is what we need. I have 3 spice plants in my home. If you're by my hood and I'm in my home, I will let you in to harvest. Let's kill those spice killers with kindness. :P
    Posted 14 months ago by Eye Wonder Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Maybe they just need gas?
    Posted 14 months ago by moggins Subscriber! | Permalink
  • @ moggins. If you look at the entire thread here there is plenty of gas trees around in other areas. In fact gas outnumbers spice. Spice is needed for many quests and for many cooking recipes.. it is pretty essential and the quests start pretty much right away for a newbie. To destroy the spice trees in favor of gas trees is frustrating at the least. Some are saying make Ix half and half. I rather disagree with that in a way. There are many other places that are filled with gas trees vs very few places you can find spice trees. I am the pro-spice crowd and feel that all of Ix should remain spice only, let the other places like Kalarana, Jethimdh, Chakra Pool, and IImenskie Caverns keep the gas plants. I think it more than balances it out.
    Posted 14 months ago by Casombra Amberrose Subscriber! | Permalink
  • This kind of thing is what makes social games absolutely fascinating! I am too new to the game to be either pro spice or gas but I'm definitely pro emergent game play and communities engaging with the game world so fervently.

    I also +1 the poetry :)

    Reminds me of my past as a blockading pirate in another life....
    Posted 14 months ago by Jezzle Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Whenever I go to Ix it's predominantly spice with a few gas plants

    That seems about right.  It's nice to be able to top up my gas supplies.  I need both as I like making piggies, chickens and butterflies to fill the world with
    Posted 14 months ago by moggins Subscriber! | Permalink
  • I think it's worth repeating what Windborn pointed out early in this thread - namely that Ix as created by TS had a fairly even mix of spice and gas.  I believe even East and West Spice were not 100% spice.  Of course, the community is free to change what TS put there in the first place, but we should realize that those who want some gas in Ix are not proposing a drastic change but rather a return to something closer to the original mix.  As long as the spice faction attempts to make Ix 100% spice (which is what it appears to be at the moment) there will always be an answer from the gas faction.  If the spicers insist on 100% spice, which is not the original ecology, then it is natural that others will retaliate in kind, and it seems rather hypocritical to call the gassers "culprits" and report them for killing spice.  Earlier I proposed  that E & W Spice and Flipside be all spice and the GW Way, Baby Steppes and G Ladder be all gas.  It should be noted that this would result in 22 spice plants and 13 gas.  This is plenty of spice to stock up for cooking, and if, as I usually do, you plan your foray near the end of the game day you can make two passes.  I am definitely pro spice, but I find it ridiculous that some are convinced that in Ix it is "good" to kill all gas plants and "bad" to kill spice.  There is probably no way to end the war by rational means, but, if you are not in favour tree wars for the the fun of it, you then should be in favour of a reasonable mix of spice and gas in Ix.
    Posted 14 months ago by Hawkwell Subscriber! | Permalink
  • I'm in the "this whole thing is just embarrassing" camp, but I have to say that it distresses me to hear that flame wars and protracted conflicts like this are considered "emergent gameplay." Bitter struggles like this shorten game lifespans, period.
    Posted 14 months ago by Hero of the Beach Subscriber! | Permalink
  • @Hero: +1 googleplex to the max.
    Posted 14 months ago by TK-855 Subscriber! | Permalink
  • @Casombra

    Ix is the only area that is convenient in terms of access from Groddle and access for those of us who cannot jump and climb very well.  "There are plenty of gas trees in other areas" means that anyone who wants gas is required to travel to a more distant area and climb up and down.

    My character got stuck in Jedthmadi the other day, and I had to have a friend come get me and let me follow them out because I could not jump well enough myself.  That totally ruins the game for me.  At least with Ix, there is a path through the streets that requires absolutely no jumping at all. 

    Spice grows in just as many places as gas does.  It is no less convenient to make Ix all gas and say "There are plenty of spice trees in other areas".  Does that make sense to you?  If not, then you can understand the desire to have Ix remain approximately half and half. 
    Posted 14 months ago by WindBorn Subscriber! | Permalink
  • The whole thing's leaving me feeling disgusted at the moment.

    I personally don't care what people want to plant where, that's up to the individual, but when it gets to the point where people aren't allowed to play the game without being harassed it's really getting silly.  

    I know I was apologized to, and that's all fine now, but it really shouldn't have happened in the first place!  People are taking this war thing way too seriously and this really disappoints me. 
    Having to deal with crap like this in a game I love just spoils the whole experience for me.
      
    It's a game. Enjoy it!  More importantly, let me Enjoy it!  If you want to be all stressy about how you play, fine! If that's how you "enjoy" a game, good for you.  Just leave others to play how they want stress free.  
     
    Nobody is a "culprit". Nobody is 'right' about what should be where. 
    People should be free to play this game without being harassed by other players about what trees go where. 
    If a seasoned bean can be planted in an area, then whatever gets planted in that area is whatever is 'right' for that area. If it wasn't then it wouldn't be possible in the game play. It's really as simple as that.  

    Whatever reasons you personally have for wanting certain things in certain areas are completely fine!  Have your groups pro spice and anti spice, whatever. 
    Just don't expect or demand that others follow your lead. You are not in charge. You are a player, as are other players.  You do not get to make the rules and then harass others about following your made up rules.  

    I do not propose anything for any area other than the freedom of individuals to play the game without being harassed, stalked and pestered.   
    While some may think behavior like this is funny, it is not funny to others. 

    I couldn't care less if Ix is spice or gas. I use both, so either's good with me.  
    But I do care when people start telling me what I can and can't do in game.

    I know most of you understand this, but there are certain people, who know exactly who they are, who seem to think that everyone should play the game their way...
    Well that's simply never going to happen.  
    It is not your own personal little world, it's our world. 
    If you are not a Dev who can change the way things work, then you simply can not dictate what can and cant go where, and the sooner all sides accept this, the better.  
    Posted 14 months ago by Ebil Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Why so serious?

    The game is fun and fantastic. When you start deciding things Ought To Be one way or another and picking sides, bad things happen. Didn't the community guidelines just go up with a wonderful suggestion of Not Assuming the Worst of Others? It seems to me, after skimming through all the sad and angry posts that a lot of the negativity is born of assumption of ill intentions and belief that things ought to be one way or another. If there is to be rivalry, let it be fun. If someone else's actions are killing your enjoyment, find something else to do. If you really think someone's being a troll, the last thing you should do is, ya know, feeeeed it.

    If it isn't fun, you're doing it wrong. It's really that simple.

    Yay for the poetry. Wonderful stuff, @stargirl and @Lara!
    Posted 14 months ago by Lelly Subscriber! | Permalink
  • +1 @Ebil, +1.
    Posted 14 months ago by Toksyuryel Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Ebil if you are suggesting I think everyone should play the same way I play then your wrong. There has been a few times I have gone to Ix to get spice and found gas plant after gas plant and walked away with a little spice but alot of gas. Frustrating when you need to complete a quest or want to make some things to just give away and maybe a little more to sell to cover my costs in grocery and produce since I can't seem to grow enough at my house to cover what I need.

    And yes I do gift foods and drinks to noobies along with acts of random kindness. However if spice trees become less and less I will have to stop gifting sadly as I remember being a noob myself, which was not too long ago, and struggling to learn and not run out of energy and mood at the same time. If it had not been for kind souls that gifted me food and drink randomly I think the struggle would have been worse and I would have possibly quit the game. I would hate to see that actually happen and this world only becomes a me me me attitude.  I think this world is a dynamic changing universe and that is pretty cool and I love it! Do I want to see the game only my way? No, but I do have my preferences like anyone else and expressing those preferences does not make me selfish in any way. There are pro-spice and pro-gas players and I just happen to fit in with the pro-spice crowd. Do I belong to any groups? Nope have not found one yet that has interested me yet.  I am one of the many players that have found this game fun and trek alone trying to do good and keep learning and stay productive. If that makes me a selfish or a bad player to try to protect a needed a commodity then I don't know what to say anymore.
    Posted 14 months ago by Casombra Amberrose Subscriber! | Permalink
  • @Hero I believe that emergent game play is defined as action by the community of the game that extends the idea of the game world in a new way beyond the base game, whether considered positive or negative by an individual or group. I'll respectfully disagree, based on personal experience, that conflict shortens game life spans. I'd also add that conflict, by its nature, is the opposite of entropy. No system wants entropy as it leads to stagnation. The challenge is for the participants, in whatever the emergent activity is, to engage respectfully with one another even when in conflict.
    Posted 14 months ago by Jezzle Subscriber! | Permalink
  • +1272873283 for @Ebil.
    Posted 14 months ago by Rev. Desdemona Subscriber! | Permalink
  • @ Jezzle. Thank you! You said it perfectly!
    Posted 14 months ago by Casombra Amberrose Subscriber! | Permalink
  • There has been a few times I have gone to Ix to get spice and found gas plant after gas plant and walked away with a little spice but alot of gas."

    I don't think that's been the case for East/West Spice, or even for Flipside, since the original Tree Wars, where I was one of those delivering antidote and replanting spice trees (and the odd gas plant, since E/W Spice had one or two for diversity). And Ix is small enough that you can get from Baby Steppes to Flipside in minutes.

    Protectiveness towards the ecosystem in quirky little Ix is one thing; possessiveness is another.
    Posted 14 months ago by Holgate Subscriber! | Permalink
  • The spice must flow. We are the somethingerother percent.
    Posted 14 months ago by Jennyanydots Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Is this the reason someone stopped me from completing a quest? I had to plant three beans in three areas, so I made a spice tree bean and saw lots of spice plants in flipside so I decided I would poison one and replant a spice tree, no problem as there are lots of them. As soon as I poisoned it someone came along and put antidote on (I was standing at the tree), then I said I was doing a quest, they said they thought they poisoned it by mistake, so I tried again and someone else came along and put antidote on having seen the conversation. I was still standing right there in front of the tree talking about the quest. Really frustrating as that was my last poison and I would have finished my quest with that.
    Posted 14 months ago by bobzarkoff Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Stepping out of character briefly-

    The original post was written entirely "in-character".

    Post edited because I did a little Group research and now feel like I herped when I should have derped. Sorry everyone. Nothing more to see here, please carry on.

    Sincerely,

    DJTch7
    Posted 14 months ago by DJTch7 Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Note: The poetry in this thread makes me smile, as does the fact that this community can voice opinions and disagree with each other in a civil and respectful manner. :D

    -DJTch7
    Posted 14 months ago by DJTch7 Subscriber! | Permalink
  • @bobzarkoff - yep -- it's horribly frustrating. I think I went through about 10 tries to get that quest done. My suggestion is to go to dead end streets to do this. There is less traffic and less interruption.

    Or -- if you need help, ping me. I'm happy to help and know others willing to assist with things like this.
    Posted 14 months ago by g33kgurrl Subscriber! | Permalink