The Agreed Perspective and its role in the Economy.

[Gutsy]

Topic/subject: The Agreed Perspective and it's role in the Economy.
Whom it may concern: Server Directors
Summary: Server shut down for 2 days a week not seeming to help with Burnout so much, and causes more stress "Milestones" to make before AP happens in order for sustainability.
In depth analysis of the issue: The Server is shut down for 2 days a week, in theory fantastic it gives people a break. But we're still seeing staff members burn out anyway. Furthermore, those of us that wait to grind until low-pop because they're busy Roleplaying all day have even less time between weekends to prepare yourself and you feel pressured to choose between Roleplay and the Grind. This issue is further exasperated by the server going down for 2 weeks for the Short Story event so people can focus on it, and with the GOI update coming up as well time is clicking on the clock of the economy.
Suggestion for improvement:
Reduce AP to 1 day, or remove it entirely but warn players that Events will not be held on these days. If staff don't want to play the server to recover, they don't need to. But you don't need to shut down the server for everyone because of that. It puts pressure on individuals like myself who have to work to upkeep a rebel cell between events and expeditions.

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[Zebra]

AP claims to save burnout yet CP activity is rare in the weeks (up to a month) until the checkcrime change, and the underground is a ghost town.
God bless the expo runners in the last month because that is all we have to look forward to in terms of sporatic, ADHD intensifying fun. There is no BMD jobs, there is no outlands events. AP is strangling the two warring factions. something needs to be DONE!!!!!!
and dont say shotcopping is fun. It's not. Cope and seethe MP5 / usp droolers

 

[Tuki]

In general, yes, AP needs to be dealt with. No matter how many times AP happens the same amount of staff and cps get on. There is no change in it and doesnt seem like AP does anything other than just not allow players to do things. Giving them less time to play and grind before the GOI happens.

Regarding what Gutsy said about the 2 weeks the server will closed for. For me its good, the Short stories appears to be something big and interesting that will bring a few more people around and i truly look forward to it, it may force or allow more people to enjoy the event without worrying about what happens on the main server.


So, making it brief, AP SHOULD get reduced or removed as it doesnt really do anything IMO other than slow everything down and not allow people to play. The 2 weeks off the main server seem fair to me to allow people to enjoy the SS a lot more.

 

[Gutsy]

In general, yes, AP needs to be dealt with. No matter how many times AP happens the same amount of staff and cps get on. There is no change in it and doesnt seem like AP does anything other than just not allow players to do things. Giving them less time to play and grind before the GOI happens.

Regarding what Gutsy said about the 2 weeks the server will closed for. For me its good, the Short stories appears to be something big and interesting that will bring a few more people around and i truly look forward to it, it may force or allow more people to enjoy the event without worrying about what happens on the main server.


So, making it brief, AP SHOULD get reduced or removed as it doesnt really do anything IMO other than slow everything down and not allow people to play. The 2 weeks off the main server seem fair to me to allow people to enjoy the SS a lot more.

Yeah I don't mind the server being down for 2 weeks while the short story happens, personally i'd say limit it to a week because from what i've heard Alaska really died after a week but uhh.... Yeah. Everythings rushed just before AP as well including the RP. Today was a good example of this.

 

[George]

Agreed perspective in theory is a great idea, gives plenty of time for people to go around and prepare for things during the week and give staff members a break.

That's in theory. In reality while it is used sometimes on occasion for those things, the vast majority of the time it's simply unused time where people can't join the server. Agreed perspective doesn't make me personally get excited to RP when it comes back on, it just makes me pissed that I can't. This also ignores the fact that a lot of our coolest server activities have come from players. Giving the playerbase less time to prepare their own RP interactions can and will make them feel rushed.

If staff and creative team want a break from the server, they can take one. There'll always be someone else doing tickets and GMing, nobody has a gun to their head telling them to log on. LOA threads exist, other games exist.

What I propose:

1. Open the server on Wednesdays and Thursdays, though make it clear that these days are mainly made to focus on passive RP and set up for players.
2. Prop and set up whilst people are online, it doesn't make much of a difference.
3. If you need a break, take one. Nobody is forcing you to play.

Spoiler: TLDR

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[Zebra]

Btw im not euro, but AP ends at 7pm for me on est


Server is winding down at 6est normally. Your audience is 75%+ euro, why would you lock it until after peak?

 

[JustWats]

We spoke about whether or not the server was designed to be a 24/7 running server, something seasonal based or something that only ever appeared on a weekend. We did come up with a solution about how we want to maturely run this server, and that is simply called:

The server will not be open on Wednesdays and Thursdays. Those are always our days of the lowest population as confirmed by our analytics feedback through gametracker and other resources. We want players to have a smaller break when they come to play, so you along with ourselves can rest easy without having to always dedicate to the server.

Where AP came from, if anyone cares.

 

[Gutsy]

Where AP came from, if anyone cares.

I mean most of those people arnt on most days when its not their day off so I mean... Doesnt that mean that everyones day off is individually different?

 

[JustWats]

I mean most of those people arnt on most days when its not their day off so I mean... Doesnt that mean that everyones day off is individually different?

i dont think the people relatively matter. it's moreso about why those two days are chosen, tue/wed low pop, etc. As well as the staff want the players to take breaks, as well as talk between if the server fit better as weekend, seasonal, etc..

 

[Gutsy]

i dont think the people relatively matter. it's moreso about why those two days are chosen, tue/wed low pop, etc. As well as the staff want the players to take breaks, as well as talk between if the server fit better as weekend, seasonal, etc..

I'd say it still works as a weekend focused server as thats when all the events are planned, as for staff wanting the players to take breaks once again thats individual. Imagine if you had a shit work week where your week is Thursday to Tuesday. Either way it does make everything rushed just before AP.

 

[Imperator RAD-X]

Did you really make a thread about the Wednesday / Thursday shutdowns but then dare to put SERVER ECONOMY as the main linked problem? wtf?????

No, but seriously on the note of this topic - we'll have a look at the AP. It's ten months old though I don't hold any promises to anything.

 

[Gutsy]

Did you really make a thread about the Wednesday / Thursday shutdowns but then dare to put SERVER ECONOMY as the main linked problem? wtf?????

No, but seriously on the note of this topic - we'll have a look at the AP. It's ten months old though I don't hold any promises to anything.

I do see them as linked as it can exhasperate the grind by reducing available playtime for week. At least I know that's one of the ways it's hurting. It's a touchy subject and honestly I wouldn't be feeli g it as much if I didn't have so much shit to do before the weekend on server. 1

 

[AgathaL]

I think forcing players to touch grass twice a week is a good idea and helps with player psyche )))))))))

That aside, I think players won't mind the thing being reviewed or removed entirely

 

[nora]

got some spare willard man...? c'mon man i need my willard...

will work 4 willard...

i do agree with the idea travis has, it looks like the best of both worlds.

 

[verTix]

a staggered opening schedule doesn't solve the issues of burnout altogether; it only prolongs the inevitable. in the olden days of hl2rp it used to be that staff teams and server populations would cycle through as new players migrated from server to server to try new things, and so the pressure to remain active to maintain server health wasn't as high as it is now.

you could make the server downtime even longer, but it's just another band-aid on a gunshot wound. removing the days of downtime will make the problem worse. even if staff don't play during those days of downtime (someone has to or else the rules go unenforced), the players who do will find themselves burning out quicker than their peers.

i think what heavily contributes to burnout is what i like to call the "burden of activity." staff and some factions constantly (intentional or not) place pressure on their members to remain active and engaged on the server even when nothing of note is happening.

whether or not this is justified isn't my point. my point is that as soon as someone takes up a position like that and treats their role in the server/community as more of a job than a hobby or passion, the hypothetical burnout timer speeds up dramatically.

on a somewhat hypocritical note, i think staff should have plans for some sort of event every week and preparation for said event should be finalized during the days of downtime. ideally something small would be happening every day, with something medium/large happening once a week. i haven't played the server actively in over a year, but event prep and planning is one of the biggest reasons for a staggered schedule on most other servers. if this is already a thing then consider this entire last paragraph moot.

tl;dr: hl2rp's constant drain and demand on staff and some faction members cause extremely fast burnout that cannot be solved by the band-aid solution of the "agreed perspective." there are not enough new players to cycle through roles/factions/staff positions which contributes to the burnout even further

 

[BrennenW05]

Why don't we just, experiment with it, take it down to one day for a bit, then get rid of it for a bit, see what the effect is, then make a decision

 

[Rebel RP Philosopher]

The 9-5 roleplayer burnout, my favorite

 

[Zebra]

Why don't we just, experiment with it, take it down to one day for a bit, then get rid of it for a bit, see what the effect is, then make a decision

Sometimes AP doesnt go through because rabit or someone forgets to PW the server. Guess what happens?
About 30 people got on, no shotcopping, no crazy action. There was some outlands event run by GM's but everyone mainly chilled and passive rp'd. It works, staff dont HAVE to be on for wednesdays and thursdays. Just keep yourself from burning out instead of relying on the PW function to do it. (if you allow yourself to be burned out from no self-control. Im sorry you are weak.)

 

[Zebra]

Also, this map is absolutely atrocious for plaza rp enjoyers. This map was awful from the start. Only reason it's popular is because of it's convoluted nexus, and the fact no one wanted to play c45, c18, and c17, all overused. I cant believe i missed the c24 map rotation, i still kick myself for that. AP only makes this all worse.

 

[verTix]

Just keep yourself from burning out instead of relying on the PW function to do it. (if you allow yourself to be burned out from no self-control. Im sorry you are weak.)

might be easy to do if you don't have a bigger role to play on the server but some positions FORCE you to be active or else you get booted. i got "removed" from OTA once or twice on here because i didn't play as much as they wanted me to. that doesn't include activity checks or (if you're staff) mandatory meetings or anything like that.

it's even worse with high demand factions/roles with limited slots because you know if you get kicked out there's a high chance you won't be allowed back in for a while

and you can only fill out so many LOAs before you get the inevitable "hey you've been on LOA 7 times in the past 4 months maybe you should step down" DM from whomever your "superior" might be

it may not be as strict as i remember it but i remember going through OTA applications back in late 2021/early 2022 and anyone who didn't have like 25-30+ hours a WEEK was seen as inactive