Wedding on Oct. 18th 2008

[abraxys]

On Saturday October 18th 2008 at 8pm EST Abraxys and Artiene are going to be married in Sylvan Dreams.  We invite everyone to come and share this moment with us. 

[Caelan]

Woot! Congrats! I am so gonna pie and pumpkin you both! MUHAHAHHAHA!

*glares at Artiene! I will make you speak when I pie you!*

[Aesa]

Aww, that's the day I'll be in Texas for my brother's wedding.  Sorry I can't make it.  I'm sure Caelan will toss a pie for me though.

[abraxys]

Okay its unfortunate but Cancel the Wedding..  I regret to inform everyone I am no longer going to play Sylvan.  It has become a haven for GREED and I shall not take part of a corrupted system.   Sylvan is no longer for EVERYONE.   I have dealt and put up with some pretty crappy stuff, but enough is enough.    Three years is a long time to put in a shard that eventually squeezes you out, but Its happened before and I won't be the last I am sure.   Its not just this new decision to basically remove 90% of the items on npc vendors so Crafters can terribly inflate the price, its not just the socket driven players and STAFF, its many things that slowly edged me out. 

[Admin Acacia]

This is a bit extreme, don't you think Abraxys??  This was NOT a decision made by Staff and staff alone. We have a Shard Council who talk to players.  They, the players through the council, told us they wanted these items off vendors to give crafters more of a reason to actually be in game.  This was to be a trial thing, and nothing that could not be undone.  I find it interesting you take off without even giving it a chance.

[Serenity]

We have a pretty close knit family here on SH and i do nt see crafters inflating the prices just because the yare no longer on NPC's. I think the idea was a good one and I know as a Shard council member, I have spoken to several who love the idea.  Some were not as sure but were willing to give it a shot.

Now I do not know the full story, but I have been here well over 2 years and EVERYONE has been nice and extremely helpful. Some people collect things and they have the means to make money to buy those things why should be make decisions on there way of playing. If you have concerns, why not voice them to Staff or Shard council members. I will listen to anything you have to say and if it needs to be addressed to staff I have no problem going to them. Staff do a lot for us and go out there way to make this shard the best out there. You will find no better place out there.

Sorry, this was just my two cents.

[Skynar]

I would have to agree with Acacia on this one that it is sudden without even giving it a chance.  Now i will give you that I have experienced crazy prices on things  from some players  but this is not the shards fault. And i dont see prices going up on basic npc items  If anything they will be driven down because the supply with exceed the demand. this is just basic like in Real life (unless your Microsoft).   For me this is awesome because i do not have the strong alts that most people have in this game. I have NO socketed characters because  1 val is so limited and  some gems are hard to find or afford when you can't go  farm by the millions.  I sit at auctions wanting those Gm items also but cant bid with the  druid/tamers because they have all the cash.   It is just the way it is and you will find that on any shard.   I for one find this as an opportunity to finally be able to compete with all the tanks and tamers out there.  You should look at it more and evening the playing field for everyone.   Thats the way i do.

Khayman

[Morwen Aldarion]

We'll miss ya Abraxys - safe travels.  And here I was looking forward to a wedding 

[Caelan]

Okay, let me see if I have this right.

You're going to cancel a wedding to your partner and quit playing Sylvan Heart because items are going to be removed from npc vendors, other players have socketed players, staff, and many other things.

The decision to remove items from npc vendors was a request from players. It is in the test phase at the moment to see how it works and will be adjusted I am sure based on player feedback, as is always done when changes are implemented. This hasn't even been put in place yet, so I see no need for all the fuss when you haven't even seen what is going to be removed yet.

Players have the opportunity to create 5 characters on Sylvan Heart. On my player account, I am self-sufficient. I have created characters that are capable of crafting or gathering anything I need so that I do not have to rely on others to acquire anything unless I choose to. If you have issues with what others are charging for goods, you can easily do it yourself, if you choose to, by creating a character to fill those needs. It's not the greed of others that is limiting you on obtaining items, but the choices you have made when you created your own characters.

We have many players that refuse to use sockets and they do well. The majority of the socketed players are also more then happy to assist others. Group hunts are encouraged, but by no means are they the only way to get resources or gold.

My characters hunt alone far more then they do in groups. I do fine. Some might say "Oh but you're a seer! you have perks!" The only perks I have are on my Seer account. My player account is just that, a player account. The things I have on my players, I got on my own, long before I ever became staff.

If you have issues with staff, there are things you can do to resolve that as well. If you are upset over being pied or pumpkined by me, for example, that is easily resolved. I do this to everyone. But if someone says, "Caelan, please stop tossing pies at me. I would prefer you not do that to me." do you think I am going to stop playing? No, I'm not. I am going to say "Okay, I apologize if I have offended you." and take it from there. (Imzade of course is the exception, because she threatens to marry me everytime I pie her!)

As for any other reasons you might choose to leave Sylvan Heart, I cannot address what has not been stated. However I can tell you, there are hundreds of free shards out there to play on. I have played on over 200 myself over the years, trying to find one that I felt was right for me. I stopped looking when I came here, and this is my home and the shard I choose to play. If it's not right for you, you have other choices.

Not every shard is right for everyone. But I think Sylvan Heart does a hell of a lot more for players and the players have much more input in what is done here then on any other shard I have played on. I hated things about Sylvan Dreams when I first came here (Oaks ran things then), but I wasn't gonna just quit. There was far more that I loved and that made up for any minor stuff that bugged me about it. Over the years, things have changed, and Sylvan Heart is still the only shard I personally want to play, despite it all.

I think what it all boils down to is what you are willing to do that makes the difference. You are the only person that can decide what is right for you. If you do not want to hunt things to get leather or mine to get valorite, then pay someone else for those items. If you think people are charging too much for those items and you are not willing to make characters to do it yourself, then look for other players to buy things from.

This is a game, filled with a community of a lot of really good people. If you choose to limit yourself by how you create your characters or choose to play, that is not the result of a corrupt system. That is a personal choice you made for yourself. If the system is not working for you, adapt. If that is not an option, then I wish you well in your search for another shard.

[Lamalas Telemnar]

All i can say is Caelan said it all.

[arcfly]

when a shard becomes more like a real life of politics and when the richer people control all aspect of the decision of how a shard be run and the new plays be left behind with a real disadvantage, then a game isn't worth playing anymore. Its funny how administration  proud of themselves about fairness when it far from it.
So, as long as the over socket and over powering creatures for those players still running the show, I too will stop playing. I defended ya'll enough against Abraxys, but seeing how things are and changed the ways over a month ago, enough is enough.

[Thane ir'Wyndan]

I personally don't think the richer people in game control all aspects.  My player is probably the richest in game and my personally choices are often not implemented in game.  The overpowered socket players.. I am one of them too and once again, I personally think you shouldn't need sockets to enjoy the game so many of the spawns and monsters I make do not require sockets to handle.  They probably do require either a small group or some sockets but a great many require neither so I don't see that happening either.

If either of you see some politics or something affecting the game, pm me some details and I will be happy to look into them.  I want the game enjoyable for everyone if possible but the always vague innuendos and then people quitting really doesn't do anything to help bring about change or balance.

[Cpt_Starfox]

BTW, I made a post in another area before I read this one.... so... nothing in that that one was directly aimed at anything in this one... just to let everyone know.  I had no idea this whole thing her was posted... 

Caelan

"I think what it all boils down to is what you are willing to do that makes the difference. You are the only person that can decide what is right for you. If you do not want to hunt things to get leather or mine to get valorite, then pay someone else for those items. If you think people are charging too much for those items and you are not willing to make characters to do it yourself, then look for other players to buy things from."

I agree hence why I seek out various ppl and buy from them.

"If you choose to limit yourself by how you create your characters or choose to play, that is not the result of a corrupt system. That is a personal choice you made for yourself. If the system is not working for you, adapt."

I partly agree.... we come here to enjoy ourselves... why else would we play the game? The way we "limit ourselves" is this: we do what we enjoy and don't do what we don't enjoy.... we should not have to be practically forced by the system to "adapt" and become crafters if we do not want to.  There are those of us who just don't want multiple chars and/or crafters because those things are not enjoyable to us.

Thane... you said it (and I liked your post in general but her is this part): "quitting really doesn't do anything to help bring about change or balance."

I have seen this tooooo much in RL, and it hurts.... people don't agree with something they think is badly done, so they quit.  They give up and roll over and "play dead" leaving those of us who care to stand for what we think to unfortunately stand alone.... If you disagree with something here, you can voice it! I personally believe the staff do listen... maybe you think I'm delusional, but from some personal experience, I know they do... and I think they care.  We just need to have more voices stand together and speak. Unfortunately I believe a lot of players are not active on the forums... and I don't blame them.. I personally am not a forum sorta person, but I do hope more will read and speak out rather than just quit. I'm not really trying to down you, Abraxys or Arcfly, but I am trying to encourage you to stay and help those of us who feel at least partly the same way... please don't leave us standing alone.

I am very frustrated about all this too (though I'm not sure about players ripping ppl off.. I just don't like the terrible inconvenience and annoyance)... but I am willing to stand and say so and hopefully bring about positive change.... people... if you want change stay and say so!  Don't leave please... If this change can be made by some people discussing then maybe it can be "unmade" the same way.

BTW, Khayman... I kinda doubt it will really help in "evening the playing field for everyone." seeing as how the items removed from vendors are so basic and weak and just used for decor or for show it shouldn't matter that much with the exception of things such as bandaids, cloth, and maybe some food incredients.  If things so small actualyl help "level" the field then it is likely there is price gouging going on.... Taking the view of Skynar that prices should lower.... it would definatly seem that it will not help "even the field" .... I kinda disagree with Skynar on them lowering... not sure they will be gouged, but gouging them would be the way I'd see it actually help level the field.... and just so you know, I am not in favor of making all ppl even in possessions and and gold... if you work hard to get what you get then it would be kinda crazy for some lazy person to have as much as you... HOWEVER, we should all be equal in having our voices heard... and I hope and believe for the most part we are.

[Admin Acacia]

This area has gone far afield from the joyous event that had been announced here, the wedding of Abraxys and Artiene.   I am locking this topic.