Whats happened to this forum?

[tibilicus]

Oh no, 3 Australian moderators...two of which are Backroom.

How many american moderators?

You know I love you ostralians really. Other than when you cheat in the cricket, which you do often seeming there is no other explanation as to why we would lose..

[CountArach]

Oh another thing, all the good mods like barocca, BKS, and Beirut left.

Now we have a bunch of ostralians running the show! Lame!

*Shakes fist, but can't think of anything witty to say*

Oh no, 3 Australian moderators...two of which are Backroom.

I'm the only Backroom moderator from 'straya

[TosaInu]

Oh another thing, all the good mods like barocca, BKS, and Beirut left.

Now we have a bunch of ostralians running the show! Lame!

You know I love you ostralians really. Other than when you cheat in the cricket, which you do often seeming there is no other explanation as to why we would lose..

The performance of a countries cricket team should be a criterion for a person to be moderator at this site?

[pevergreen]

The performance of a countries cricket team should be a criterion for a person to be moderator at this site?

Looks like you gotta get some more Aussies then Tosa.

@ CA: My bad, has Pape gone?

[tibilicus]

The performance of a countries cricket team should be a criterion for a person to be moderator at this site?

Always Tosa, ALWAYS.

[TosaInu]

[CountArach]

The performance of a countries cricket team should be a criterion for a person to be moderator at this site?

Oh that has to be a new rule.

@ CA: My bad, has Pape gone?

Gone from the BR, yes.

Always Tosa, ALWAYS.

Look like you won't be a mod any time soon

[Centurion1]

i just joined the twc for mafia and i want to say the gameroom is far superior here. it is a ghost town there. i cant believe how empty i found one game to join.

[gollum]

The org is being slowly but surely detached from its relation to tw, especially past Empire. I think that as far as the org was concerned Empire was make or brake; and it seems that its brake after all. The other reason is that the (strong) org demographic revolving around MTW/STW will fade to nothingness as the games are less and less compatible with newer systems and ca won't fix them by all accounts.

Part of the reason is the original .org demographic itself; the org started out as the tw forum that had the most strong presence from the mp community during the stw/mtw days; and back then the mp community and the mp game were by all accounts very enjoyable and attracted many dedicated gamers that knew lots about gaming and games and pcs and played really well. In terms of SP tw was also addressed to less mainstream and more dedicated gamers - the devs were puting an effort in terms of historical plausibility, strategic and tactical depth and challenge, aesthetics and atmosphere.

With RTW the demographic of tw changed and the org attracted too quite a following both from the SP and the new mp communities, as well as a significant part of the modding community (EB one of the most significant that makes up for a very substantial of org daily traffic today). Many people that joined the org from that era are still around to this day. M2TW continued the same trend, although by that time it eventually became abundantly clear that the TWC had become the hub for modding and for SPers.

Possible reasons for this shift may be the more SP newby friendly atmosphere of the twc, that lacked strong criticism from people from the STW/MTW era with whom the new games did not sit well, the reputation and personalised avatars and the general more diy and more loose tone of conversation. Clearly those matched the most generally younger audience of RTW/M2TW too.

All in all, the org is changing - the most frequented places are the tavern, the arena and of course the gameroom (no idea about the backroom, as i'm not interested), and the RTW/M2 modding sections probably due to EB and EB2. The main tw forums lack tw related leadership (moderators or leading members) that would attract others' attention or are simply suffering because ca left the tw games to their fate or both. For empire and ntw the stats of threads/topics in the main forums speak for themselves, although March last year (at ETW launch) there were hundreds of viewings. The really poor state of the game at release and the unfortunate lack of ETW mods in the org hit those parts of the forum hard. Not that anyone is to blame for this - had Empire been as good as it was promised many old hands would have spread the word and then more and more, but unfortunately it was the exact opposite: old hands spread rightly the word that the game wasn't really worth it. On top of this all, the ETW section lacked leadership; Martok rarely was seen posting about the game past two first months, Mr Beane is absent since last year March and Nelson is also not appearing in the forum as a participant. Only Fisherking keeps teh forum slowly going.

A side effect of this situation is that many of the org awards need simplifying - voting shows that there is simply not enough interest for so many award categories and so many nominees. Also moderators often take awards for years because people vote for them for their general contribution and even "status" instead of their contribution in the year that voting is being carried for.

Although of course the org is not responsible for the overly commercial direction tw took - it seems at this stage to be coming off from present tw. However from M2 and especially for RTW/MTW/STW, the org has some of the most knowledgeable members about the game with no equals to other online communities.

All in all i think that the newer sections lack a bit care and foresight; the ETW/NTW section needs people to moderate that play/mod the game and dont just moderate invisibly. I also reckon as i wrote in a number of posts last year that puting Andres to moderate the reboudt as if it was the gameroom was a questionable move that hurt the mp traffic for the org at the very launch of a new tw game (which is a crucial time, since many return, make new accounts etc). Tomisama was an excellent choice but even a good leader needs members to lead somewhere, unfortunately there were none left there. Even people like Swoosh So that were always posting harmlessly were given out infractions over misunderstandings. The results are clear to see - at least in the M2 forums there were some well informed - no matter how heated - debates. Yet not even this happens now - really sad.

The org is meybe having right now a decision to make - if forum leaders and admin think that its ok to become a homely forum related a bit more loosely to tw is fine, then the current status quo can remain. However if not, action need to be taken for the newer parts of the tw forums.

In any case this site has been instrumental for me, in a very difficult period of my life. I met people here that i became close friends - a thing that i had never imagined was possible. They taught me a lot regarding the tw games and also honored me with their company and friendship.

[Togakure]

...
In any case this site has been instrumental for me, in a very difficult period of my life. I met people here that i became close friends - a thing that i had never imagined was possible. They taught me a lot regarding the tw games and also honored me with their company and friendship.

This is what it's all about, imo. Ditto here. Congrats. Many believe that true friendships can't be made on the 'net. They're wrong.

[gollum]

I think that you are right - but then again its very wierd knowing people by chatting online or by playing games in mp. You sort of feel the personality of the other person in the way he plays, and this is an indescribable experience - you haven't even seen the person but you know it.

However the lack of the physical presence of the other is indeed daunting at times. Also daunting is the fact that the friendship revolves around a certain way of life ie of gaming/socialising online. Outside of that framework and assumption, online friendships have difficulty existing, and this for me became somewhat troublesome, i mean having to maintain the lifestyle in order to maintain the friendships.

I now wish that i could meet those that we came close online, and i somewhat feel that otherwise the friendship is like a bird with one wing. However i heard about an episode of people that had become very close online and decided to meet. In the meeting they said almost nothing for two hours, and then went home and... logged in and passionately said everything chatting :)

I find this cute and the essence of online friendship, yet i decided to make friends differently after a certain point - not because i was dissapointed from anyone, but because the gaming/socialising online lifestyle was something that i gradually moved on from.

[Beefy187]

gollum. When are you going to join us in the game room :p

[gollum]

Never, i hope :)


PS just a humorous way to state my own thesis on this, and by no means judgement to the many people that have lots of fun in the gameroom. All parts of the org are good, and all type of org members are good.

[Ibn-Khaldun]

Gameroom is evil...

It's like giving the finger to the devil but he takes your entire arm.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

[CountArach]

Gameroom is evil...

It's like giving finger to the devil but he takes your entire arm.

I'd hate to hear your description of the Backroom then

[miotas]

He takes a very broad interpretation of the word "finger".

[gollum]

that is not "finger" but "the finger"

[Centurion1]

its true for me the gameroom started with capo.............

i remember when having a hundred posts was like WHOAH!

[pevergreen]

On top of this all, the ETW section lacked leadership; Martok rarely was seen posting about the game past two first months, Mr Beane is absent since last year March and Nelson is also not appearing in the forum as a participant. Only Fisherking keeps teh forum slowly going.

A side effect of this situation is that many of the org awards need simplifying - voting shows that there is simply not enough interest for so many award categories and so many nominees. Also moderators often take awards for years because people vote for them for their general contribution and even "status" instead of their contribution in the year that voting is being carried for.

All in all i think that the newer sections lack a bit care and foresight; the ETW/NTW section needs people to moderate that play/mod the game and dont just moderate invisibly. I also reckon as i wrote in a number of posts last year that puting Andres to moderate the reboudt as if it was the gameroom was a questionable move that hurt the mp traffic for the org at the very launch of a new tw game (which is a crucial time, since many return, make new accounts etc). Tomisama was an excellent choice but even a good leader needs members to lead somewhere, unfortunately there were none left there.

On your first line.

I must concur. Martok seems to joining us less and less. It was only a matter of time I fear. Fisherking is doing a wonderful job, but there is only so much one man can do. I respect him for this and a few other reasons. The choice of moderators is an old and secretive ritual. Clouded in dark deeds and baby's blood. Quite a few people expected me to reign as SUPREME OVERLORD OF EMPIRE TOTAL WAR (imagine that said by Lurr, Ruler of planet Omicron Persei 8!) but Tosa/whoever else made the right choice. Martok and Nelson have done their job very well.

Hall of Fame: Yes. needs a massive reboot. Many, many less categories.

The MP mods have been explained by Tosa, and I agree. Singleplayer moderator, multiplayer assistant moderator. Avoids possible MP clan fueds.

[edyzmedieval]

Quite frankly that is insulting to the members of the twc of which I am one. I have seen just as much immaturity and idiocy in the backroom as in the pit. It is easy to avoid the fools in twc just ignore threads about eastern europe and you are good.

I find that insulting honestly. You're basically implying "Stay away from the threads, they're just a pile of junk" when we are actually discussing something.

But then again, ignorance is bliss.

[gollum]

Originally posted by Pevergreen
Singleplayer moderator, multiplayer assistant moderator. Avoids possible MP clan fueds.

...by having almost no traffic at all. Is there any mp forum that has no mp clan feuds? This is irrelevant argumentation and it is so because you are not a tw mper.

The result is just sad, whichever way you look at it, and as i told you then, repeating that line, was beside the point. Its all the more beside the point now that the redoubt is a true ghostown and the strategy/approach didn't work, just as i warned a year ago it wouldn't.

[pevergreen]

It may not have, but you can't blame Tosa's decision solely.

The entire MP community is down. Look at the MP awards this year...I had to nominate Megas...

[gollum]

pevergreen, please try to make it a habit when you talk about sensitive matters to choose your words carefully. I haven't even mentioned Tosa anywhere, let alone distribute responsibilities to him or anyone else. Also make it a habit to talk about things that you are directly responsible for and knowledgeable about. This is a matter for the staff to think - not for you and me to discuss in the open. If the staff wanted to discuss it in the open they would have certainly already done so, i doubt they need you to defend them and their choices.

[caravel]

The entire MP community is down. Look at the MP awards this year...I had to nominate Megas...

I think TW multiplayer participation at this site is down, but not elsewhere. MP participation may simply be "down" at this site or overall participation at this site may be down. Looking at the figures, I would go for the latter. It's a real pity because this is by far the best TW fansite.

gollum is right, there is no trouble because there is virtually no traffic. Is this the solution?

Yohei

[pevergreen]

I haven't even mentioned Tosa anywhere, let alone distribute responsibilities to him or anyone else.

I'm sorry, I got confused when you said:

and as i told you then, repeating that line, was beside the point. Its all the more beside the point now that the redoubt is a true ghostown and the strategy/approach didn't work, just as i warned a year ago it wouldn't.

I presumed you were referring to the quote in your post, which is what TosaInu gave. I did then, and I do now, agree with that.

I also agree that if the staff wanted it out in the open they would have done so. They did not, yet you in this post: https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/showt...=1#post2447247 do bring it up.

Andres to moderate the reboudt as if it was the gameroom was a questionable move that hurt the mp traffic for the org at the very launch of a new tw game

You brought up the subject. You also gave your view on the moderators of the N:TW and E:TW sections.

Nothing wrong with that, but in my opinion (just stressing this is how I read it) you point out how they are lackluster. One could easily, again in my opinion, see that as an accusation. I don't believe anyone will, since you are not that type of member.

On defending them: I've been against them as much as I've agreed with them. *remembers the Elmo thread*

edit:

I think TW multiplayer participation at this site is down, but not elsewhere.

I wouldn't have any idea. I don't visit any other TW sites but this. I believe its down because I can go into the E:TW multiplayer option and see less games up than if I go into the R:TW lobby and only count vanilla games, no mods...

[gollum]

pevergreen, i drop the subject here, with you. You take the wrong turn and the wrong tone, probably due to lack of tact and lack of foresight, which are understandable in your age. All of your last post is argument for the sake of arguing. Next time you decide to argue with someone over something, make sure you are responsible for it, and knowledgeable about it. Otherwise your points have little if any relevance, i'm afraid.

[caravel]

On defending them: I've been against them as much as I've agreed with them.

On that occasion your opinions/conclusions were based solely on hearsay and on the thread content - that is to say that you were not in possession of the "full facts" as it were.

Yohei

[pevergreen]

On that occasion your opinions/conclusions were based solely on hearsay and on the thread content - that is to say that you were not in possession of the "full facts" as it were.

Yohei

What occasion. Its not like theres one on each side of the tallyboard.

gollum: I'm happy to drop it.

[gollum]

[Graphic]

I greatly enjoyed this forum back in the day. I used to only ever go to TWC to download Rome Total Realism. This was the only place I went to from the very beginning. I remember reading Frogbeastegg's (sp) Shogun and MTW guides (I still use some of the tactics to this very day) and downloading all the best MTW mods here. After I got burnt out on M2TW: Kingdoms I didn't visit any TW forums until the pre-release hype for ETW started to kick into overdive, and then I came back to the Org only to discover tumble weeds.

I make most of my TW posts at TWC these but I wish I didn't have to. For a forum about video games, it's remarkable how few people actually want to talk about the gameplay in the game discussion sections. Honestly, 90% of the people there are complete morons.

The main camps are:

• Deluded, irrational nationalists. They somehow manage to twist any thread, no matter how harmless the topic may seem, into a nationalistic pissing match. The political section of TWC is completely unbearable but it'd be fine if it just stayed there, but this crap seeps into every section of the board.
  
• Flag Nazis a.k.a. Button Nazis. These are the guys who's only measuring stick for how good or poor the games are is how accurate the uniforms and flags are. Every missing or extra button on a jacket, every surplus strand of hair on a bearskin hat, every misplaced pixel on a flag are all unforgivable sacrileges that completely destroy their enjoyment of the game. A related camp are the armchair generals who nitpick the games looking for anything that isn't exactly like history (OMG, you mean regiments didn't actually include 160 people?), using quick skims of wikipedia in order to come off as highly knowledgeable military historians.
  
• Pre-teens and teenagers. Everyone knows what these people do to forums, so I won't elaborate except to say I found it hilarious that so many 13-year-olds claimed to be ripped off, cheated, and insulted as a consumer (in the height of the outrage over ETW) when they all got their mommy to buy the game for them or pirated it.

Sorry if that's way off topic but I had to get that rant off my chest (that would obviously get deleted on TWC itself). It's just not that good, but its the fastest way to get my TW discussion fix today.

I really miss this place. Everyone knows what the Org is, so there's got to be a way to pump some life back into this place. Maybe all the old Org ex-pats at TWC can start a boycott?