First and foremost, I appreciate your concerns for this game and community, as this place is very dear to me along with everyone else who plays. Now, to dive into some things. Before I start, I would like to apologize in advance if I seem to come off a bit harsh, blunt, or rude when saying anything as it is not my intention.
Apologies for the following wall lol
The current state of Feral Heart has been a state that, I believe, is beyond saving by now.
Anything can be saved if you want to save it. The fact that this game is still running, with new players still registering and old players still returning, and that the community is still, in a sense, fighting for this game, with this thread being proof of it, that says something. This game has been running for 10 whole years, and if people just sit by and say "it's dying", or to leave because you're "beating a dead horse", then yes. It will die. But there are still amazing people out there who still fight for this game and play it because they don't want to see something they hold so dear to them die.
While yes the Staff work for the community and have tried many handfuls of times to make things work, their work is also a factor of Feral Heart's downfall.
Don't lump everyone into one to two person's doings. When it comes to things update-wise, I agree that the 1.16 update was handled poorly, but that's not the way that ALL the staff members wanted it to go. Do you think everyone wanted to just pull the carpet out from underneath everyone? To one day log on and realize that all those maps that have so many memories and sentimental value were just gone without the chance to say goodbye? No. Not everyone wanted it to be a 'surprise' that the old maps were removed and replaced with new maps. In the grand scheme of things, the update had to be done due to issues the old maps caused on the server and other factors that play into the decision, but it didn't need to happen the way it did. I was one of those players who was deeply hurt to see the old maps gone, and to tell you the truth I was very upset with the staff as well- but after taking a step back and looking at the situation at hand, I can understand and appreciate the care that was put into the update despite it being handled poorly. This unfortunately is something that a large amount of people can't get over, so they just sit in one place and rant and rave about how the new maps ruined the game, placing the blame on all the staff members when not all of them wanted it to go that way in the process. That leads me into my next point. The staff are just so few people, while the community as a whole, considering what FeralHeart is, IS the game. If the community collectively stops playing the game, then guess what, there is no FeralHeart. Just an empty chat room. To my knowledge, a lot of those players did stop playing. Some out of spite, some out of disinterest, and some for their own reasons. So it's not just one side's fault. As you've said, we all play a part.
The Feral Heart Staff Team were a very close-knit team and their behaviour very much displayed this. They were, maybe still are, family to one another.
However, they had and will continue to have a bad side to their reputation. There have been claims of wrongful bans being handed out, as well as in-game kicks, etc. and there was even plenty of pages of evidence to prove this, Tumblr/deviantArt being the most popular. Of course, these situations were denied & ignored.
Again, don't lump everyone into other people's doings. It is highly unfair that all of the staff members get blamed and held accountable for things that had happened years ago, to which they may not have even done themselves. Many staff members have come and gone through the years, and a handful of wrongfully placed bans may have been placed by a staff member that has been gone for years, yet the current staff are still being blamed for it. In fact, I have been blamed for wrongfully banning players, when the truth of the matter was, I hadn't even gained my powers yet. Being a very new staff member, I have received the extremely blunt end of this, when I had absolutely nothing to do with those situations that are long gone with time. I am new, but apparently I have a bad reputation now because of everyone who has come before me? No. That's not how it works.
I would like to point out that most of those claims are most likely from people who have been warned plenty of times beforehand. With my time of handling situations both here and in real life, I have learned that you will warn someone not to do something because there are consequence to follow those actions, however after warning them three times and they still do it, those consequences catch up to them and they get punished. 9/10, that same individual will come back to you and complain that they were doing nothing wrong, and you had never warned them in the first place. After this, they go around saying to their friends that they were wrongfully punished. Who will believe them? Their friends, because they weren't there to see the situation unfold, and they trust them to tell the truth. After all, we're just scummy staff members who have a bad reputation, right?
Now, I am not denying that fact that wrongfully placed bans have most likely happened here, no. I'm positive this game has had it's fair share of them, but when it gets to the point that every single new staff member that comes and goes is automatically bad due to those claims, I think you need to start looking at the ones who are making a fuss about the matter in the first place. Now, I am not saying that the situation shouldn't be looked into when these claims arise. Everyone has a right to trial, but bare in mind that you are innocent until proven guilty. For those who have been proven guilty, then they are guilty. For those who's guilt lies in claims, they remain innocent until it is proven otherwise. Until it is proven, you can consider any harsh treatments about the matter as harassment and slander.
-there have been occasions where overall attitude radiating off of Staff's attitude or the Team as a whole have been disheartening, causing more to leave. After all, how can someone feel welcome when they're spoken down to?
This is an issue that was not generally mentioned because of lingering fear of being shut down. If people tried to express such concern and publically posted, they were locked and moved out of the sight of the community, being told to Private Message the Staff instead. Yet if a member was feeling so intimidated, taking it to a PM was the last thing on their mind.
Like I've said, there has been so many different staff members throughout the years. Just because a couple bad eggs are in a bunch doesn't mean they are all spoiled rotten. Don't throw out the good with the bad simply because they were in the same carton. I am not in any way excusing the wrong doings of those from the past, however if they are no longer here, then why should all the other staff members suffer from their mistakes when they have done nothing to deserve it?
There are countless examples of times when members of the Staff Team give very emotionally driven responses that are actually unprofessional. Lack of professionalism will not help the game survive, in fact bury it even deeper.
This has come from Razmirz's lack of activity and drive/workload for them to finish whilst he's busy running errands with his job.
While I agree that members of staff of any place should have a sense of professionalism held to their chest, you cannot deny them their right to feel emotion either. I truly feel like the staff of this game are held to an insanely high standard of professionalism, in fact I honestly feel that it's used against them in most situations. The second they feel they can be more loose and open with the community, they are put down and shunned because they are not being professional. Then all of a sudden, they are all the same and they never change. I agree that people shouldn't let their emotions carry a response to anything but rather take a step back and breathe first, but I don't agree that they should be slandered and put down for showing those emotions either. Granted maybe those emotions shouldn't rear their heads in responses, however what you can do is try to be understanding of why those emotions are rearing their heads in the first place.
It has also come from them being irritated by the community begging the same questions, over and over... which is what happens when the question(s) go unanswered. Simply because those that ask it has FH's survival in their best interest.
From the point where I had joined the forums and started getting involved more with the community, I could see most questions being answered, actually. However those answers were simply deemed an excuse, or ignored all together. Some that I have answered myself, but to no surprise, had been ignored or waved as an excuse.
We may need leadership, but is it really need new Administrators we need, or a new Server Master?
That's why Feral Heart Unleashed exists and a lot of people have migrated. xSpirit has made promises that he can actually keep, while also proving that he's much more capable of handling FH in comparison to Razmirz nowadays.
In all honesty when it comes to Raz handling FH, he has one job, a job that he has set himself, and that is to be the janitor. Show up and fix things when things are a mess and do maintenance on FH's servers when need be. Yes he still has the final say on what goes into the game, but over time I can come to agree with him on most things.
xSpirit on the other hand has nothing to do with this situation as it is FeralHeart's, and not FU's. His focus on on FU, not FeralHeart. I'm sure he doesn't want to be involved in anything Original FeralHeart, so don't drag him into this.
Now I know I'll receive the "but they're two different games" but the community will always be the same. The same users. The same game. Different features & updates, staff, standards. No matter how much people will avoid it, it's a matter of fact that FHU will continue FH's legacy upon release and FH will still have the occasional activity on the forum and briefly in-game, but overall perish.
lol Now that's just pushing a biased narrative. FU is not FeralHeart, and FeralHeart is not FU. FU is a game that uses FeralHeart's code. It is a game made off of the original just as all the other IT servers out there use Impressive Title's code and builds off of it. Some built to emulate IT proper, some built the same but with their own takes on the game, and some built into different games entirely, but with the same core principles. It won't ever be the same. Every new game, even if made in the spirit of the original, it has it's own air to it. Things unique to that one game that make it different, even by just slight differences. Same thing with League of Legends and Heros of the Storm. Same game concept, same mechanics, two different games and two different communities. If FU says that they do not want to be associated with us, Original FeralHeart, then do not lump the two games together. All I ask is that you respect the wishes of that game's staff, as well as this game's staff. I'm sure they would appreciate it.
When it comes to the handful of staffers leaving, I won't say my take on the matter as I'm sure they would appreciate that I don't try to speak for them. However I can say without a doubt that it is not easy being a staff member for FeralHeart. I have received endless amounts of hate, accusations, and attacks, all for the simple fact that I have a staff title over my head. I thought joining the team would be fun, and while it is, it came coupled with a very tough and coarse side. While I've taken all of that in stride, in all honesty, it gets tiring, especially when all you hear is "staff is bad" - "it's the staff's fault" - "you need to quit/resign" - "the staff here are so scummy" - "the staff don't care for the game" - "the game is dying" - "let it go" - "move on". Not really the most peachy things to hear. Receiving critiques and building upon those is one thing, however receiving endless criticism is another.
As for everything else... Thank you all very much for your kind words and comments. We have tried so hard for the community, fighting tooth and nail for everything that we can manage, especially Sura, Ressy, Moggy, and all those other amazing staffers.
Things content-wise, I can't say much but I have been grinding away at...something. It's a hefty feat but it's a challenge I have happily taken on. All that's needed is time, in all honesty.
As for Raz, he's still around. He's a very busy bee.
For our admin situation, things are being sorted. Again, we just need some time and patience, that's all I can ask of you all.
