TMC Player Reviews: Dark Risings

(The following review comment is the opinion of the comment's author [Adam] and in no way represents the opinions of this website or its staff).

In actuality, the ignorance of Andy is astounding. I don't mean to
insult, but you should not comment on what you do not know. No, I
actually NEVER had a bad run in with the staff at Darkrisings. I was
actually complimented on being one of the better sports about things
by the staff. Although, if you were actually around when the events
happened, you would have more insight. Therefore, lets not feign
knowledge here and stick with what we know. Truth be told, you are in
to driving players away when they refuse to bow to what the staff
wants.

(The following review comment is the opinion of the comment's author [Andy] and in no way represents the opinions of this website or its staff).

And here the generic response is: as an IMP of this genre of game, I
can say with conviction that given the competition from not only
other MUDs but from the influx of MMORPGs, we are not in the business
of driving people away from the game. That the poster of this review
has had run-ins with the staff to the extent that someone has been
banned, speaks volumes for his motivation.

The bulk of our pbase is comprised of long-playing, seasoned veterans
of Dark Risings.

(The following review comment is the opinion of the comment's author [The Fourth Horseman] and in no way represents the opinions of this website or its staff).

Having myself been on both sides of the Player/Staff fence, I can 
attest to the truthfulness of Adams gripe. 

The staff does often get a bug in their bonnet
about any rp that runs contradictory to their 
own. I've seen character denies handed out, 
as well as sitebans for the flimsiest of contrived
reasons. But to be fair, I've watched both good 
players and bad ones become victims of personal whims.

It's a shame. This mud would be, imho, perfect, except for staff
members of all levels throwing tantrums when something doesn't go
exactly as they want it. This also includes the whole 'You cant 
leave slept creatures around to portal to or we're going to make
mobs no-charm' philosophy that semi-recently became the new 
cause-celebre of the mud. 

(The following review comment is the opinion of the comment's author [Sidonie] and in no way represents the opinions of this website or its staff).

It's pretty typical to get slandered by a former imm since clearly 
there is a reason behind that person no longer being part of the 
staff, just like it's typical to get slandered by a banned player
(or a player whose gf has been banned).  I usually don't respond to
reviews written by banned players or former imms because it seems
obvious that they're being written while the writer is still feeling
sour about whatever game loss has occurred.  Still, maybe it's better 
not just to stay silent when things like what have been said, first 
by Adam (who at least had the courage to stand by what he said) and 
then by the anonymous fourth horseman.  I am an implementor at Dark 
Risings, and this is my response.
 
With respect to what RP we object to:
This is a roleplaying game.  If you want to play Dark Risings, then 
pick a role based in Dark Risings lores, legends, histories, areas, 
and possibilities.  Create a character for Dark Risings.  If you 
want to play Forgotten Realms (or D&D or WoW or any other game or 
character) in the setting of Dark Risings, you can, but Dark Risings
RP will always trump RP borrowed from other games.  Many, many, many 
players over the years have contributed to the fabric of Dark Risings 
roleplay, creating a very rich tapestry of intrigue and mystery and 
stories.  We feel it's wrong to ignore this unique and original 
storyline in favour of RP some other game has created.
 
We get a bug in our bonnet not about RP which runs contradictory to 
our own, but to RP which overwrites that which other players (mortals
and immortals alike) have worked to create.  Some people who play 
muds think that they are the only important person there.  They tend 
to treat everyone else like mobs, because they refuse to acknowledge 
that other players' roles and actions are just as valid and important
as their own.  They think they can base their own RP off of things 
that didn't happen or aren't true, regardless of how damaging that 
is to other people's RP.  The mud is an ensemble piece.  It's not 
just a background for any one person.  People who see themselves as 
the only star of the show sometimes have a difficult time accepting 
this.  Players are more than welcome to create new RP about events 
which have occured, but RP which directly overwrites what actually 
did happen in the past is not going to fly.  This is what Adam's 
girlfriend was banned for.  We were sorry to do it but we spoke with 
her many, many times about this and she simply refused or was 
incapable of taking other players' RP into consideration.  

As for staff throwing tantrums when something doesn't go as planned...  
Sorry, but that's just untrue.  I am very proud of our staff's ability 
to think on its feet when glitches arise, especially during very 
chaotic situations like running quests.  Our staff inevitably rises 
to the challenge and deals with things very capably and efficiently.

As for portal mobs...
As implementors, we want people to explore and know the world their 
characters are living in, to see it and notice details, and to think 
about it and get ideas for RP.  One example of how charmed portal mobs 
were being used to a pretty frustrating degree is this: within two 
days of a new area going in, someone had already set up a portal 
mob to an eq mob, and had no problem telling anyone on IC about it.  
Thus people going to that mob for the first time skipped the whole 
area. We also want to balance risk versus reward, and one way to do 
this is to regulate how easy or dangerous it is to get to get places.  
An example of this is mobs which have a larger than normal amount of 
exceptionally good eq.  Balance wise, we can allow this because it's 
difficult to get to these mobs.  However, if people leave portal mobs 
sitting one room away for literally weeks at a time for anyone to use, 
then clearly the mob is underpowered for the eq it gives.  It also 
leads to cheating since players often put the portal mob in place with 
one char and then use it with another.  We explained this and asked 
players to limit their use of mobs to something reasonable.  We also 
explained that if players refused to use portal mobs more reasonably, 
then we would be forced to do something to restore the balance which 
had been tipped by people using mobs in this way.  We determined that 
it would be more fair to limit the use of portal mobs than to change 
the areas themselves (such as making the mobs more lethal or the eq 
less good or making it impossible to place marker mobs at all).  I 
have heard not one compelling argument as to why we should allow 
behaviour that encourages cheating and allows players to skip part of
what they are supposed to have to do to get the eq they're after.  
Areas are built the way they are for a reason (and just to clarify, 
the reason is not to irritate players).

As to who we ban:
This game is approaching its 10-year watermark.  The staff has changed 
significantly over the years.  I can't speak as to what happened 
before I became IMP years ago, but the current implementors of Dark 
Risings are not in the business of banning players on a whim.  
Implementors and sometimes admin talk over bannings and denials for 
days if not weeks before making a decision to make sure we all agree 
and that all other options have been explored and proven fruitless.  
We would prefer players to stay and play the game we have created, 
but if they finally prove to us that they cannot abide by the rules 
of our game, then they are banned.  Immortals are not always included 
in these discussions since they have other jobs (like running quests 
and working with all the players who are not breaking rules), so it's 
not surprising that the Horseman is ignorant of what really goes on.
When it comes to banning, the bottom line is always what will be best
for the game as a whole.
 
I am not saying that the staff never makes mistakes or that we are 
perfect.  We try to apply the rules fairly and reasonably, and our 
goal is to  make the game as fun and interesting as possible for all 
of our players.  This sometimes means coming down on one person or 
technique who, in our estimation, is damaging gameplay for others.  
It also means sometimes reversing decisions as new information comes 
to light.  Our view of the game is that it is fluid and dynamic, that 
it should always be changing and evolving and growing.  We guide its 
growth but don't control it; we most value strong players willing to 
play a good game by our rules.  It is hard for me to understand how 
this approach makes it possible for people to vilify staff as somehow 
corrupt or tyrranical.  Players of any regulated game have to play by 
the rules or not play a regulated game.  This is true from sports to 
table-top games to card games.  

Finally as to Adam's comment about having the cake and eating it too:
We made this cake for everyone to enjoy together.  This is a game that 
staff and players have worked on together for anyone who wants to play 
it. That includes people who put the hours in behind the scenes.  We 
don't cut ourselves the biggest and best pieces.  Personally I hope our 
staff and players alike always enjoy playing our game.