I really, really want to like Sindome. For almost four months I've spent 8+ hours a day on it, spending my downtime at work in the MOO. There's a lot to like here. It's been around so long, it has about a million features, many of which are well implemented. While character creation is poorly done, it doesn't ruin the game. There are lot of fun people to RP with, and a good stream of new players just about constantly. I like it enough that I've donated money to keep the servers going. I stay in-character, I help out new players and do my best to fuel fun and interesting RP.
The biggest problem with Sindome, unfortunately, is the admins. While a few are good, and even great, many are extremely lazy. It is often almost entirely impossible to get an admin to puppet. I spent two weeks trying to get a puppet in-character for one specific NPC, talking to him every thirty minutes. For eight hours a day. For two weeks. Often, admins were visibly online. No response. They just don't support players in a way that makes the game fun to play, and several times I've been outright punished for RPing in-theme, which is ridiculous.
For weeks, one player seemingly completely eschewed RP - the cornerstone of Sindome, to hear it told - and went hack and slash on anyone he decided his character didn't like. There was virtually no support from admins, no little nudges, nothing weaker characters - which was basically all but one character - could do, except lie down and take it. Players that complained were told that just because no RP is -visible- doesn't mean it's there, which is a poor excuse. If the outcome looks and feels exactly like 10 or so players being trolled for no reason, that is what is happening. Any RP happening there is not sufficient.
Even worse, though, than lazy admins, though, is the one that metagames constantly. Part of this problem is that admins have dedicated in-game alt characters, of which they're extremely protective. The admin in question repeatedly abused GM knowledge to protect her character, and to puppet more powerful NPCs for revenge. The admin's actions were so ludicrously transparent that there literally cannot be any other explanation for what transpired in-game.
This might sound like a bitter, vindictive review, done out of spite, but this isn't the case. I really love Sindome. I want to keep playing. I've put hundreds of hours into it in the few months I've been playing, and I've had a lot of fun. But a few lazy admins, and one extremely detrimental one, have caused several committed, great players to quit out of frustration already, and I'm worried I'll be close behind them. I can't in good conscience vote Sindome up when this admin retains GM privileges that she abuses so badly that multiple players quit.
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