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GMs and AoC, your thoughts?

The title is a bit wierd, but I just didnt know how else to do it :/ The thing is I've been wondering about this for a while, <strong>how do you see GMs in general and GMs in AoC?</strong>

Tbh I can't remember ever seeing a GM in all my time in MMOs (maybe once shortly in a smaller Korean one), so I'm not the most experienced person in these kinda things.<strong> That is why I ask you what do you want from a GM in general, and in what way do you think their function might differ in AoC compared to other MMOs?</strong> And do you want "community" GMs or "payroll" GMs (by payroll I mean people that are payed to both be the GM, do tickets, check forum etc., where as a community one would only do the game parts).

Although I have no real experience with GM in MMOs, I've still heard what they're supposed to do, and from various survival games I've learned alot about mods, admins etc. (which would probably be considered GM in other games).
For me GM's are there to moderate chat, get rid anything not within the PG etc. that sorta thing. But they're also there to host events, give out special items (cosmetic or the like), spawn special mobs. Basicly do the "random" events that can never truly feel random if you let a machine do it :)

As regard to who should be it: I'd say a mix? Some people need to have the time/knowledge to be GM all the time almost like a job "lead gms"? But some people that apply or the like, could be the lower-community GMs, I've done that in survival games before, its no problem if you're active in the game anyway (maybe you should be provided an alternative GM account ;) ).

<strong>So what do you think?</strong>

Comments

  • I really like the way EVE Online handles GMs. They have the super powerful developers who have dev-only ships and have a dev-only system that they live in, and then they have volunteers that handle the Help channels and such. You have to meet certain qualifications to be one those. They basically just moderate the newbies and make sure their safe where they should be safe.

    Since AoC is supposed to be a sandbox game, I think the same sort of system should be implemented. I don't think GMs or devs should have the ability to spawn mobs and do special items (reminds me of Maplestory). That sounds like it could be abused and lead to favoritism of certain areas, certain groups, etc.

    GMs should be chat moderators and community rule enforcers, chosen from outstanding players. IMO :)
  • GM is GM, even sometimes i hate when they come to group of ppl and spawning them world bosses :/ GM should give warnings/bans for abusing chat, going from party to party invisible and just see is there any suspicious player abusing game with any kind of cheat. And ofc players who cheat need to get perma ban, not return after X days/weeks.
  • Vote Proxy 4 GM, I will build a wall around Ashes and prevent all illegal bots from entering.
  • [quote quote=3890]Vote Proxy 4 GM, I will build a wall around Ashes and prevent all illegal bots from entering.

    [/quote]
    But @Steven is already making it great again?

    To you other two, those concerns you voice is basicly my only problem with having GM, and probably the reason I haven't seen them often. But I still feel it would be awesome if they had access to some premade events/mobgroups, but you're right its gonna be extremely hard finding someone that won't favor or straight up abuse it.
  • "Who watches the watchers?"

    As long as the GM-line isn't selfcontained and selfruled there shouldn't be a problem. A GM's action should be recorded and reviewed. I have never played it but I thought the idea in Star Wars Galaxy(I think it was that?) with GM players that have a story to tell, Quests to give and such is pretty faszinating.
    I heard some fun stories in wow about GM's appearing in the game spawning as murderchicken while they had to wait for a solution to something.
    So yeah, done right everything can add to a game, done poorly it can bite you back.

    I don't <strong>need</strong> GM's more than as a support line for tickets and fast responders for "a boss just despawned and doesn't come back so we are stuck and can't move on". I do think it can be fun to see them more involved too.
  • [quote quote=3915]“Who watches the watchers?”

    As long as the GM-line isn’t selfcontained and selfruled there shouldn’t be a problem. A GM’s action should be recorded and reviewed. I have never played it but I thought the idea in Star Wars Galaxy(I think it was that?) with GM players that have a story to tell, Quests to give and such is pretty faszinating.
    I heard some fun stories in wow about GM’s appearing in the game spawning as murderchicken while they had to wait for a solution to something.
    So yeah, done right everything can add to a game, done poorly it can bite you back.

    I don’t <strong>need</strong> GM’s more than as a support line for tickets and fast responders for “a boss just despawned and doesn’t come back so we are stuck and can’t move on”. I do think it can be fun to see them more involved too.

    [/quote]
    Well put :) Just make GM semi-deties in the lore and have a bit about them in the <a href="https://www.ashesofcreation.com/forums/topic/townnode-building-library/">library</a> lorewise, that way both players and devs can keep an eye on them.
  • I remember the days of early World of Warcraft where GMs would appear in the world and going even further back to Ultima Online where they would actually do ingame events.

    But most companies abandoned those ideas because of the cost to effort ratio. The amount of effort/time/resources that went into it became too much for the CS staff and they wouldnt spare more experienced Developers to run such events so they ended up going away or being pre-scripted events (aka ingame holidays) that could be programmed ahead of time and let to go free.

    TL;DR - I love GM events but I doubt anyone will spare the resources to do them again.
  • [quote quote=3915]“Who watches the watchers?”

    As long as the GM-line isn’t selfcontained and selfruled there shouldn’t be a problem. A GM’s action should be recorded and reviewed. I have never played it but I thought the idea in Star Wars Galaxy(I think it was that?) with GM players that have a story to tell, Quests to give and such is pretty faszinating.
    I heard some fun stories in wow about GM’s appearing in the game spawning as murderchicken while they had to wait for a solution to something.
    So yeah, done right everything can add to a game, done poorly it can bite you back.

    I don’t <strong>need</strong> GM’s more than as a support line for tickets and fast responders for “a boss just despawned and doesn’t come back so we are stuck and can’t move on”. I do think it can be fun to see them more involved too.

    [/quote]

    Live Streaming GM's. Let the player base decide. Next level reality TV.
  • [quote quote=3952]
    Live Streaming GM’s. Let the player base decide. Next level reality TV.

    [/quote]
    THIS, this is the solution. So if Intrepid could just send me to 1080's I'd happily stream and GM at the same time ;)
  • Ohh! Good topic.

    I was playing Mabinogi one time just leveling and enjoying the game. Then one day, I got out of a town to grind or something and all of a sudden, I see a griffin flew past me and I could barely see it, but one thing was for sure, it was a GM.

    It would be great to see GM be on the game from time to time honestly, especially one that looks different, kinda like a God per se.
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