Author Topic: October Update Part 2  (Read 15494 times)

Offline razmirz

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October Update Part 2
« on: October 04, 2018, 10:01:11 am »
This one isn't so much of an update really but more of a reflection on the past 2 years ish.

Going back even further. 2 years ago my family acquired a new home.
But lets say it wasn't really a ready to move in home....

The first 6 months were spent acquiring building permits, gutting the place and arranging for builders to come in.
(When I say gutting I'm talking everything a couple of the interior walls remain and the exterior wall all plumbing, wiring, ceilings, even the roof came off.)

While this was keeping me busy it wasn't causing me to be so busy that I was losing much time with Feral Heart stuff.

Next, the builders came in. This is where I ceased to be able to work to my own time scale. Certain things had to be done at certain times.
So other work could be completed and I had to find time to do this outside of my job and my other volunteering commitments which consume a few nights of my week.
Basically if it had wires there's a pretty good chance I put it in from the electrics, lighting, network data points, the alarm system, for some reason I ended up wiring in the boiler too?
(Thought that was the plumbers job.. Where's Mario when you need him?)
I'm also a bit of a pyromaniac. I have both a fire pit and a log burning stove so took it upon myself to split and chop all the old timber that came out rather than letting it be ditched.
At one point there has a huge pile of scrap wood in the probably about 4m wide 4m deep and 3m high.

During this 12 month period, I was struggling to keep up with whatever was going on with Feral Heart and the staff.
I dumped Skype off my phone, which was the main method for communication.
Why? Because I was getting home incredibly tired, and the late night calls (all the staff at the time were American) kept waking me up while I was trying to sleep.
I didn't cut all communication ties though. My phone number has resided in the staff room for-pretty-much-ever, even if only on very, very rare occasion the staff have used it.
I also use Telegram (Russian free speech version of whatsapp). Sura had me added on there and was dropping me messages as and when I was needed.

The last 6 months on the back of that was/has been spent moving and settling in. We didn't use a removals service which in hindsight was a massive mistake.
I don't think I have ever moved so much stuff in my life. This continued the tired and need to sleep issue.
On top of that, during the build, we foil insulated the entire house. The upshot of this was upon moving in I discovered that mobile reception was patchy at best.
Basically, if you wanted to call me I need to go outside. You might say "What about the internet?"
I now have probably one of the most unique connections going. I'm bonding (legally I might add) a number of connections from around the neighbourhood.
I actually have a mast of antennas picking up signals from all over the place. While this is great and technically free in the long term (I did have to buy a shed load of equipment to do it).
The upshot of it is that it isn't very good for calls. The call jumps between connections of different latencies, which it seems no calling software is prepared for and you end up with a really choppy call(something else I need to work on).
I very recently installed a mobile booster on the roof so the issues I was having until now have been pretty much solved.

So if you have sat and read though all of this, you're probably thinking this is some huge ass excuse. Honestly this is kinda how life works.
In my position there's really no excuse I can make for disappearing for the best part of 2 years... But at the same time I don't have anyone else I can pass the job to.
Other staff would probably have left. But if I leave who else has the understanding of the server?

So that's the initial issue. Though it doesn't explain what actually went wrong.
Before my activity took a tumble I started a the next patch with the staff. As you all should know we called out for map makers among other things.
LaughingWolf and Lady_Alizarin were selected to produce maps.
They were provided a framework to work within but generally what you will see from these maps is there own work with little bits of staff input here and there.
I certainly saw almost all of Laughing's map go up and was able to make sure Lady's was on the right track before my activity dropped.

So X months down the line, after Christmas really, this patch was pretty much ready.
Sura contacted me so, now this is where I'm a little hazy.. I know from the conversation that I have been back and read in telegram.
Sura did tell me that the patch was ready! I did also mention in the same conversation that I had the flu. So I probably forgot.....
Again I'm not trying to make excuses this is just how it panned out. Following this was a number of contacts about a call.
I was either moving in or moved in roughly when these occurred, so it was either sheer tiredness, or because I wasn't going to stand outside at night in February/March time for calls.
I did, in that period though, answer questions about users and rebooting the server a couple of times on request over messages. Oh, and some broken Boards stuff here.
Months ticked by, other less frequent messages for calls arrived. Again, I didn't arrange anything. Website had an issue.
Other text based discussions about random stuff. But still I hadn't actually got into a chat with all the staff. Or really discussed what was going on with the patch.
Rolling round to start of august august I got a message about object groups here's me thinking "Blimey, they are still working on them maps".
It was a long message so I left it till later to answer properly. Again it was clearly forgotten as at the end of august I must have picked up on it and threw back an apologetic response.

This was also where my first concern about the patch was raised.
"There are a few meshes that need to be "private" and not accessible in Object Maker." I'm immediately thinking; this is what happened with the old markings that went in game.
People wanted to use them as in presets but the creators disapproved.
Since replacing those its been the general consensus that anything that goes into Feral Heart can be used by all of you. Realising there's an issue this is about when I rolled back into Skype.

In a Skype call I had with the staff, by staying back at work late, I discovered the work the staff had been doing went well beyond the original intended patch.
I was now looking at effectively 3 new maps and other changes throughout the Feral Heart world, including complete removal of the grounds.
On top of this the world logic (positioning of maps by maps in 3D space) introduced in the last patch looked like it was going, by the way.
I know a lot of people weren't and aren't happy with the last patch. But I don't see that the good things it brings to Feral Heart should be lost.
To me there's two issues with these maps. They need some additional fun elements and as role players you need more environments than are currently available.
In my mind this this had gone ahead without my consultation, and while I really don't like to see good work go to waste, I would really have to have a deep look at how I could fit these maps into the existing structure that the world provides.
The response I got back from the staff was that of huge disappointment, that they had worked for so long on these maps for them to potentially not end up in game.
Also a distinct sense that I was ignoring the benefits of what they had done, and how they had done it, almost by community request.
Please note at this point, even though I still hadn't been in the maps myself, I knew in the back of my mind that there's been so much work gone in to this that people are going to leave if I can't find a way to make it work in game.
I wasn't and I'm still not really prepared to sacrifice the world logic we have obtained for the old maps.
Its my belief that in doing so is no better than to revert that last patch. And that's going backwards not forwards.

So following this call I made it my mission to at the very least take a quick look around the maps at the weekend.
I was expecting an awkward integration from the call. But seeing the maps it was looking impossible. I couldn't in my head find a way to make them fit with the existing world.
The upshot of this is a 3 week argument with the staff.
I'm saying 100% these maps are not going in game unless we can find a logical place for them (I also made it clear that I was willing to let the staff leave over the issue).
I have the staff claiming that the logic was through out and while it loosely worked it didn't quite fit.
I also took issue with modifying existing maps which were not part of the plan to build these new maps inside them.
Maps which effectively became backdrops for the new maps; increased complication already complex maps, or were simply what I felt to be an improper representation of the original maps they were connected too.

So three weeks of battles roll by staff tensions are at an all time high. By this point I'm convinced that the staff are blind to what they have created just as a parent can be blind to an ugly child.
I'm dropping into late night calls that I was far to tired to really be in. The staff have setup another group chat and are having calls without me.
I have a solution to logical map placement and I've provide it in chat. It's simply been over looked or ignored.
(It's not until after the staff leave that I discover that they didn't understand what I was trying to layout.)
If i wasn't sure before that the staff were going to leave, I've become pretty certain now.

During this time, Shallow was trying to mediate the situation. I fail to answer a message on telegram. I get one back which seemed snappy to me.
At this point I snapped back. In return I get a message stating that she's done mediating and that I'm on my own.
I'm thinking well that's it then. I needed something in place for the staff leaving. So up pops "no moderator October".
On the back of that Nynx releases all the WIP patch stating that I have no intention of allowing it in game.
From my point of view this is simply a political release to side the community with the staff.
I ban Nynx on the basis of lying about my intentions and I kill the maps server side to stop the leak.
I remove Nynx's comment under my no mod October post on the basis that I'm assuming she's gone rogue.

The Staffs response to this was to walk out collectively. Which changes my priorities, even if i make no moderator October work, I still have no forum staff.
Time I was spending on coding is swapped for seeking staff. Hmm was created. And that brings us up to date I believe.

Obviously I made mistakes here. There was clear misinterpretation from both sides. But perhaps now there is an understanding as to why things happened the way they have.
« Last Edit: October 04, 2018, 10:17:03 pm by razmirz »
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Offline LordSuragaha

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Re: October Update Part 2
« Reply #1 on: October 08, 2018, 03:14:31 pm »

Hey guys <3

As most of you have noticed there's been a lot going on these past weeks, things that have affected the whole community. We'd like to explain some things, and also offer a sincere apology.

     All that has occurred has been due to miscommunications and conflicts between the staff and the server master, conflicts that ultimately should have never been dragged into the community as they only caused unnecessary stress and worry to you all... For this we are truly sorry. These issues could have been handled more professionally from both sides. We want to apologize for the way these decisions have affected your enjoyment of the game and for any kind of confusion that has risen because of them. Hopefully, our explanation will clarify any lingering questions that you may have.

     The root of the conflict between the staff and Razmirz stemmed from a lack and lapse of communication which began and has continued since many months ago. Having staff and server master comprehend one another and understand each other’s perspective is a crucial element in establishing the foundation for mutual respect and the coherent progression of a team-- without that, a slew of miscommunications can and did result. In the past, Raz had consistently suggested that he did not involve or authorize himself in patchwork. When production of this patch began, however, Raz showed more of an interest in oversight of the maps. We had no objections to his interest, and for a while, there did not appear to be any kind of concern with the way things were progressing. As time went on, Raz became increasingly busier with his personal life and did not involve himself with patch matters. Most all communication was limited to myself contacting him through Telegram, with him very rarely logging into Skype to look at the discussion that was going on. His participation in nearly all involvement in the patch business chats ceased. Apparently he had removed the Skype application from his phone, due to the fact that staff had commenced business calls during times which were proving inconvenient in his timezone. All of this occurred without him informing us of when he might be back around, and any attempts to reach out and suggest to him a call to discuss thoughts were either rejected entirely or ignored. Problems that arose from the server such as broken maps or a server freeze were dealt with in a timely manner, but whenever we brought up the mention of the patch, our messages would be neglected.

    With little to no input regarding our direction of the patch and Raz’s absence, we decided to continue the progression of the patch. In the past Raz had informed the staff that he trusted us to make the right choices and collective decisions, thus there was no hesitation to continue working. Along with this, we wanted to make Raz happy and were willing to handle the responsibility of the patch to allow him peace of mind and to concentrate on matters in his own life. We were determined to make Raz proud but also to bring happiness to the community. We had observed an increasing number of disheartened “FH is dying” threads and general discontent in the community, and so with the stagnation of the patchwork due to Raz’s absence, we were further inclined to bring long-awaited requests to fruition. Throughout this time, we had been speaking openly in the Skype business chats about our future plans and progress.

     Over a year from his absence we were finally able to conduct a call with Raz. He brought up many criticisms about the work we had produced-- many of them holding very little weight in our eyes, some outright rude/inconsiderate insults, while others were founded from a seemingly good place but appeared to be overlooking the interests of the community. It was our intention to introduce ideas that the community has been advocating for the past few years-- ideas that ultimately were overlooked in many forms in the past. Despite our trying to exhibit this perspective, Raz was still not satisfied with the version of the maps we had produced and blatantly told us that there was no way he would permit this version of the patch to be released. Amongst our offering to explore and discuss the maps together in a call (with him never resolving to do so with us), and even our bringing in old staff members to review the maps (which they approved of), there were many attempts to establish some kind of compromise or common ground with no results. It got to a point where we would discuss an idea with him or seem to get somewhere in terms of seeing eye-to-eye, and the following day, he would behave as if our discussion had not taken place and revert to his prior opinions.
     
     Following this, it was made very clear to us that Raz had no intention of allowing these maps to pass unless our existing concepts were scrapped or redesigned in the way he wanted them. Most of the work that staff had put into the patch since 2017 was at risk of going out the door. We were incredibly hurt by Raz’s sudden decision to take control over what we had been working on, as in no way had there been an implication that Raz was the one to finalize or determine what the patch consisted of. We strongly felt that we, as staff who have been involved with and communicating daily with the community, had a far better understanding of the community’s desires than did Raz, who worked in the background with the server. The changes that we aimed to add were those we firmly believed would be beneficial additions to Feral Heart’s community, changes that were significant enough so as to not be tossed aside. These changes were a collective gathering of the suggestions made on mass by the community. (Reintroduction of the old maps being one in particular-- of which Raz had said himself he didn’t really want back in the game.)

     With no possibility of a mutually agreeable compromise in sight, tensions increased. Staff were told by Raz multiple times that they were replaceable. Raz brought up the fact that he had shut down IT’s server, even though nobody wanted it to happen, which staff perceived as a threat. He made it apparent that he would be willing not only to lose the team who had worked alongside him for years but that he would do whatever he wanted in order for things to be done his way. A mutual bond of trust and respect was damaged even further with the sudden and unprecedented post of Raz’s “No-Mod October” concept. Raz did not discuss his idea with us before posting the thread (which should have been something everyone was on the same page with when it comes to making a big change in the community). We became extremely concerned with this idea as there wasn’t a thorough explanation of how it would work provided in his post. We then decided to post a notice that “No-Mod October” was not something that we were informed about or agreed upon and later that post was deleted by Raz. At this point, we felt like Raz was pushing us out of our positions and trying to spitefully instigate a reaction due to the fact that staff had not agreed to comply with everything he disliked about the patch. Based on Raz’s sudden hostility and impulsiveness in his actions regarding the community on a larger scale, we were concerned that the community would not be provided the chance to see the patch or experience what we had set out to make for them and that Raz would take complete control over the patch. We did not release the maps to provoke, but rather so that Raz would see the community’s feedback towards our work, as it was intended to be a patch for the community after all. We felt the community deserved the final say. Thus staff collectively compiled the patch and released it as a WIP, after which Raz removed the thread, banned Nynx, and cut off the maps from the server, which led to people losing their characters if they had entered the maps. He banned Nynx even though the decision was all of ours to post the patch to the public, and we felt that placing a ban on her was an extreme way to respond to what we had done. We felt it was an unfair action of him to do given Nynx’s hard work and dedicated service towards FeralHeart for several years.

Despite wanting to stay on the staff team, we felt that:

 a). Years of long established respect, friendship, and understanding had gone completely out the door.

b). There would be a continued inconsiderate approach to the needs and desires of individuals on the staff team and the community.

c). There would be no chance of a compromise with Raz on the patch.

d.) Raz would continue to make impulsive decisions regardless of community and or staff opinions or concerns
Therefore a collective departure was taken by the remaining members of the staff team.

We know that there’s two sides of this and that Raz might not have seen this the way we did. And that this could’ve been solved if there had just been some kind of communication from the start. It takes two to argue, and we too did wrong in this, letting feelings take over. It’s also why it’s so important for us to have both you-- the community-- and Raz to understand how we viewed all this. It was never our intention to cause a disturbance to those playing the game.

Offline razmirz

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Re: October Update Part 2
« Reply #2 on: October 08, 2018, 07:00:39 pm »
Well guys there you have the opinions from both sides.

I'm not expecting a huge number of responses to this thread its simply here to provide you all more of an understanding.

With history now embedded in stone. I hope we can move forward without finger pointing or hard feelings.

I hope to get back to you shorty with Part 3 yep there's still more to come.

Raz

PS:
There's been a important argument going on for a long time over this chocolate hobnob (biscuit on Wikipedia BTW)
https://feral-heart.com/smf/index.php?topic=60226.0
« Last Edit: October 08, 2018, 07:03:30 pm by razmirz »
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Offline Azurain

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Re: October Update Part 2
« Reply #3 on: October 08, 2018, 07:27:30 pm »
Glad to finally see feelings from both sides, not just one. It's made me rethink some things as well. And like both have said, I hope the community can move on from this and that the game in itself will patch itself together (no pun intended) and become stronger.

Also...it's a biscuit. A good biscuit at that.

Offline Morqque

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Re: October Update Part 2
« Reply #4 on: October 08, 2018, 07:31:14 pm »
This is a breath of fresh air. I too am glad we are given inputs from two sides and I completely respect both sides. I'm greateful there is no longer any ill feelings within the Community, and I am glad there is no resentment on the staff and ex staff side. Thank you both for this post. FeralHeart is certainly stronger than it ever was.
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Re: October Update Part 2
« Reply #5 on: October 08, 2018, 07:32:17 pm »
Been watching for this post and I'm glad to finally have a understanding of how things went down. Yes, as Azura said, I personally hope we as a community and old staff and such can all move on from this together and try and let go with a fresh start, new beginning!
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Re: October Update Part 2
« Reply #6 on: October 08, 2018, 07:32:33 pm »
It's very nice to see an explanation after everything that has went on over these few months and get some sort of answer. Because as we know, a lot of members of the community; including myself have been left in the dark and confused about a lot of the things that happened recently. Including myself. I believe this was the right thing to do, Raz. And Sura thank you for commenting as well because there's always two sides to a story and I feel it is right that the community should have both of them. I'm sure this will bring a lot of ease and maybe some frustration to the table here? There is a lot to the situation and I am sure everyone is taking time to read over everything and create an opinion that will be said soon, i'm presuming. Though, I do completely respect both sides here. I am not siding with one or the other.

As for myself, I am just relieved everything is out and the community and myself knows. Thank you, Raz and Sura for doing this, again. It was a good decision. I hope now we, as a community can begin to move forward and look towards the future, becoming stronger as more information is being released about the matter. <3 And cookie...
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Re: October Update Part 2
« Reply #7 on: October 08, 2018, 07:32:53 pm »
Oof, that was a read. But a good one. It is sad to see what all happened during that time, but I am very glad to see both of you explaining what exactly happened with all this. It really does provide a clear image of how everything went down and I think the community will understand the situation a bit better. I will miss the old staff but the new staff holds promise. <3

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Re: October Update Part 2
« Reply #8 on: October 08, 2018, 07:34:47 pm »
I'd like to add that I hope you guys can understand both sides of the story and not point any fingers in either direction, regardless of what has been said.
Thank you both Raz and Sura for this input.

Also it's a biscuit.

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Re: October Update Part 2
« Reply #9 on: October 08, 2018, 07:37:18 pm »
I am glad FeralHeart did not turn out bad in the end. I do now have a understanding of how things all went very downhill. I respect both sides! There was a lot of anger and sadness in the situation, but we are here now. The community is getting stronger by the minute. Its a very big relief to hear this. FH will be alright, and we hope it will always be. <3 Thank you Sura and Raz for brighting up the path a bit.