Obi Wan did you get my e-mail?

Slow down, Master Yoda. Amidala has expressed intrest in staying; please don't chase her off.

aaah master obi wan the reports of your demise were incorrect i see. we will have STRONG words with the coucil over this.

Kyp, I recommend you check the GC Strategies forum. There are a lot of good threads there.

The one called "Maso Strategies" has it all, albeit not in a very user-friendly format.

There are a couple other walkthroughs, such as the one by Jeff Desilva.

Sorry, but I have some pent up annimosity to people who shake up a perfectly good strong, and close knit Empire like we had

OK, finally home from work. To try to keep this brief, here's some highlights:

1. Recent history: empire-hopping at GROSS's expense. This wasn't aimed at myself or the Jedi, but it set the tone - as in, "Here we go again..."

2. Tuesday evening. Return from a Germany trip, sans Internet, to find several new players; old-timers from other empires include Mayito7777 and Essex Ascendant, mainly because all's quiet on the Canadian and Midwestern fronts. If the Jedi come across as an appealing alternative for them, I think that's great. Start working on the website updates.

3. Saturday. Take a breather from working on the website (still going after several days, you'll note) to finish the last of the Germany games, and submit them in the wee hours of Sunday morning. Notice that a Death Star crashed through the roof of the Jedi Temple while I wasn't looking - Cotal's joined. I'm starting to wonder what's going on...three heavy hitters in a week...and start the "Cotal's At It Again" thread just to find out if she plans to stay.

4. Sunday morning - pandemonium is in force. And in the Force. Alex Ascendant is in. Matthew Downie joins up. I'm trying to figure out who's staying and who's not so that I can get some of this onto the website, but every time I come back something's changed. Starting to get REALLY annoyed. Too much - decide to take a Web vacation and wait for things to settle down.

5. Wombie comes up with a heartfelt plea for teamwork and comradeship in the POSSE thread, as well as a statement of being upset over empire-hopping; we swap a few emails. Most of which use language a LOT more direct than I would consider using here.

6. Get an email from Kyp where a little bit of my frustration comes through. He's dealing with similar issues.

7. Log on Sunday night to see that Kyp's thrown in the towel. He's exactly the sort of player that any community needs - new, friendly, enthusiastic, eager to learn - and gone...

8. Realize that this isn't an atmosphere I enjoy anymore. Go through a Keystone Kops routine trying to leave the empire (it's tough if you're a Senator - you actually need to demote yourself first!) which brings a little levity to the grisly affair.

9. Make a stab at replying to Yoda, give up, go to bed.

A brief quote from Theo:



I agree completely. But if you come in the door, PLEASE STAY FOR AWHILE. Two weeks, a month, whatever. But if you stay for 15 minutes or a day just for the sake of messing with the Metaverse point total, you're just having fun at somebody else's expense. Not pleasant. I've invested too much time, blood and sweat in this place to stand around with a grin on my face when somebody jumps in for 5 minutes just to screw around. Am I taking this too personally? Your opinion is up to you. But speaking for myself, you're damn right I take it personally when somebody uses me as a trampoline.

Matthew, as I said before, I apologize if that isn't what you had in mind; your later posts show a much different attitude, but that sure isn't what was coming through at the outset.

A few people on other Imperial threads have been taking "defections" as personal insults. That's not my line. I'd be sorry if any of my long-time comrades around here left to go somewhere else, but it's their decision and I wish them well. Likewise, anyone who's joined the Jedi recently planning to stay shouldn't be influenced by my actions - you have your own choices to make.

Just to be clear, this means YOU, Amidala, Alex and Essex. If you're serious, for God's sake don't quit over me - you're welcome to stay as far as I'm concerned. And Matthew, if you're serious about those Star Wars stories, I'd love to see them posted here wherever you land. The thought of Jek Porkins as an elf...

All: Anyway, please give me a day or so to cool off before I make any long-term plans. In the meantime, good luck, good gaming, and may the Force be with y'all.

time i believe ladies and gentlemen to decide where you wish to be! either with the jedi republic or gone. for those of you who want to stay with the jedi idea and dont like whats happened in the metaverse myself and Mayito7777 have recently come up with the jedi academy. this empire is supposed to be a stop gap for annoyed jedi gamers (not empire hoppers) to take a vacation from the Republic until it all setles down again. im not after a mass walk out from the republic, but if you need us we are here.(invitation only)
if you think this is only happening to us then check the rest of the forum. nearly ever empire is complaining of this problem, and are unsure as to how to stop it.

from the heart now.
Please decide where your loyalties lay. a certain amount of moving around the empires is to be expected, but dont jump in and out of empires every other hour, by doing this you ruin the fun of dedicated gamers who are in this (and the other empires)for the fun of posting a score and trying to help the empire gain one more position.

people like obi wan and yoda spend great amounts of their spare time and energy keeping everyone happy, and updating our marvelous website. they also do a fair amount of work with the other senators behind the scenes we never get to know about i would bet. when something like this happens it must feel like someone has come up and kicked them in the rear for no fault of their own.

sorry starting to ramble.

remember if your in - stay in, out - stay out. or if you want somewhere to go and wait for the outcome of this huge mess, give the jedi academy a call.

thanks once again for the dedication and bloody hard work of obi wan and the other senators


[Message Edited]

well said Kyp, I think you've captured my emotions quite well. Your training is almost complete...

thank you

Kyp:

I sent you an email earlier, expressing my reasons for not joining your new effort. While I wish you well, ripping the old Jedi order in half is not what I had in mind.



I have no issue with serious new recruits, Kyp. Closing the door defeats the purpose of an empire that welcomes all - as the front page of our website states, copied from Yoda's original, way back when.

This situation is clearly snowballing, instead of calming down. Please, everybody just take a deep breath here.

myself and mayito have no plans to rip the empire in half. all we want to do is sit back and wait for the dust to settle. when everything has im sure we will gladly return to the fold if you will have us.

- does not refer to new recruits. sorry if you thought it did. refers to the select few jumpers in the metaverse.

all the last post was saying is that if there are others like us, who want some space for a while, then we are here for them. we would rather not lose them from the jedi republic for good. so the logical idea was to come up with an empire that acted as a vacation retreat for those who needed it. this is why we made it invitation only so as not to get any hoppers in.

i agree with you that the whole metaverse needs to take one big breath and settle down, go for a pee etc
LOL .

your loyal padawan

kyp durron
[Message Edited]

#1019 by Citizen KEmperor - 10/27/2003 3:28:51 PM

I am personally annoyed as well by the empire hopping of high scoring players, and I'll tell you why. The whole point of empiring is to work hard and grind your way past the competition. That's why it's fun. This constant changing of empires by top 25 players has the effect of making the metaverse rankings pretty much useless. And if your rank doesn't mean anything, then where's the fun in joining an empire? What is there to shoot for if a few people are going to change the standings for their own amusement every week?


The above quote probably summarises succintly where I am coming from, and I would just like to support Obi and I know he has agonised over the last day or two. I dont want to give the impression of being all delicate and sensitive about the pranking, either. I just have a viewpoint on what makes the Metaverse fun and interesting for me, and like Obi have put a lot of months in so far. My post in the Posse thread should make it clear to you, and I was also really reflecting on the state of GROSS in addition to the empire hopping. It certainly wasn't necessarily about the pranks or about Cotal/Amidala shifting empires. Any player has the right to find a home that suits them. Any player who wants to hop around inadvertently, though, has to accept that may have consequences for the way they are regarded by their peers, because we're here to enjoy the Metaverse too.

I would absolutely support Amidala, Alex etc going where they want to go, but now you see the consequences of empire hopping that occurs during a time of pranking - everyone gets tarred with the same brush:

1. Veteran Jedi leaves
2. Invite only alternative Jedi order springs up

As an honourary Jedi, I think both of those things are BAD. Reflect, in the coolness of time, Jedi...if you have been lucky enough to pick up some great players who are long term stayers, good luck to you. I shall cheer your efforts, too.

The shroud of the Dark Side has fallen over all....

one of my personal favorites, of myself...

Take a leave for a while and look what happens? What the heck is happening? Anyway, good luck Obi-Wan; it was cool and fun while it lasted and thanks for the website. Remember to have fun my fellow Jedi; life is too short for too much non-sense.
May the force be with you.

-Count Dooku

~SDC~

Before things get too out of hand, I thought this might make it a bit clearer:

http://www.angelfire.com/theforce/jedi_republic/active3.htm

I realize that I don't have the authority to make arbitrary changes like this anymore. Oops.

I haven't always posted much on these forums, but after reading what's happened in the last few days, I've felt compelled to say something.

Obi-Wan: I'm very sorry that you were discouraged enough by people going in and out of our empire to push us up in the rankings or for other reasons. I hope given time, you will decide to come back and be a part of the group you helped a great deal to create.

Anyone who changes empires to mess with rankings hurts the hard work that has gone into making their empire successful. We have always welcomed everyone who has wanted to join, and we will continue to do so. But we can't let hoppers ruin your experience here and with GalCiv.

Hi Jedis,

My opinion, which you may of course feel free to ignore, is that the problem will go away on its own. No one on this forum is malicious. I'm certain that any hopping that's been done has been under the assumption that no one minded. You've made it clear that you do mind, so I'm sure that everyone will respect your wishes in this regard.
[Message Edited]

I think it is time to rebuild. I've been with this Empire back when it was just the Republic. I think we all need a rest from this stuff. I'm going to take a hiatus (if anyone cares) and hopefully in a month or so things will be settled down and the Jedi Republic will still be standing. I think that the reason that this empire did so well was all the camaraderie. That just seems to be gone. This saddens me... we really had something going here.

I'm not too excited over the events of the last week. As you may note, I have not written anything about our rise to "number 2" in the official newspaper, as I'm not sure we really deserve to claim that milestone. As we have always been in the Order, we are welcoming to new force adepts that wish to become a part of our community. But high-strung, meandering travelers are not. I have not said much on this issue until now and have sat back and watched as you all found your own ways to leave our collective home which we have shared because of some nonsence. It pains me that we have come to this point in such a short time from such a prosperous time, but now I think I have decided on my course of action.








My last resort:

I'm about to start handing out one way tickets to Hoth, so if you plan on staying and being an active member of our community which has been, as far as I can tell destroyed, say so now or your shuttle is waiting. As Head Council Member, I have exile authority over all Jedi in the Order. I will exercise it in the interest of preserving this establishment. However, if you, like so many before you wish to stay and contribute to a group of co-conspirtiors of fun, by all means say so. But any beating arround the bush and acting like this is some huge laugh and the little old master gets mean. Did I mention that the cargo shuttle you will ride on is cramped?

the end

Ouch. This is getting bad. Weeks ago I warned people about mercenaries who would play king maker and empire breaker (I do not remember which thread, honestly, but I did). Then recently in the ANZAC thread I admonished them about gaining #1 through any prank over hard work and/or an honest defection.

Now, it is one thing when a player has an honest change of heart and switches sides, even for the third plus time in a career, but it is another when it is done just on a whim. Does loyalty have no meaning? Are the highest ranking players hopping around so sporadically so important that they are above the game? Well, I am going to give you my straight answers: Loyalty is worth a LOT in my book. Empire changes or "going neutral" should be done with definite thought and reason. If you don't belong, then move. But don't move for the heck of it! As for question #2, I do not care how high on the score board one is, one is never bigger than the team (whatever team that may be) despite what their score says. A cavalier attitude by a top 25 or a bottom-ranked player will get the same net result from me: disappointment. When high ranking people have "fun" with the Meta, it is much like a cat playing with a mouse. The cat will get bored with the mouse, eventually abandoning it or torturing and eating it as the case may be, but us common players who do not change empires like socks ARE THE MICE right now. And the army of mice might be getting ready for a revolution against the cats... Think about that.

It also displayed the weakness of the meta - a few people are "significant" in the overall scheme of empires currently; any of the "top 25" (or more) shifting empires can seriously affect the balance of power in the metaverse.

The current situation with three empires within 70000 points or so (and possibly a fourth if the Euros succeed in their latest recruitment attempt) means that people with lower scores become more important to the meta again and is hopefully going to stimulate some life into something that was in danger of setting solid.

Alex


~SDC~

Alex - you're a 'glass half full' kind of guy, arent you? Seriously, it's not the meta - it's the conduct of the members. Ray dragged the Wizards to the top of the tree - did he take holidays? No. He was committed, and stood by his troops. Same with Pontius. There is no scoring structure I can imaging that would combat what we've seen over the past week. Gerakken is right - the MICE get angry about being played with; sufficient to say that hopefully, a number of people are now taking stock and hopefully will return in time.

Take it from someone who got totally brassed off, pulled the plug, thought it through and returned: these times can be GOOD for people - they make you consider WHY you are really here, and exactly WHAT you derive from the experience that is enjoyable. From that, you can find a reason to return on your own terms.

You will survive, Jedis - Yoda will see to that. I sense the Force is strong in him...and I'm only a bloody wombat...

Gerakken:
While I appreciate your sentiments in this awkward moment, I really wish you had come up with a different metaphor. At #58 in the Metaverse, I don't think I qualify as a mouse!; and "cat" is a pretty clear shot at Cotal, as she joined that wee little cat empire a ways back.

As I've said repeatedly here, Amidala IS NOT THE PROBLEM, AS SHE'S MADE IT CLEAR SHE WANTS TO STAY. Way back when she was joining the Fellowship, I chatted with her and she indicated that she has always liked the Star Wars bit and had considered joining. I started a thread over the weekend just to confirm it. Fine - I for one have always liked players who were active on the Forums.

Yoda:
Regarding evictions. Your empire, your rules. But this gets away from the whole personal choice issue that I discussed earlier. As well as the spirit that the Jedi have built up of being open to all, regardless of difficulty level, regardless of points. For everybody like myself, Kyp and Arcilte who just wanted to back off for awhile, there are probably others who were skipping with joy over the screenshot of the Jedi in first.

Arcilte:
It's been a great ride, and it may well be again. Personally, I need a break for a bit until this all shakes out. Do check back in a bit. If I've built up any credit in my travels around here, you're always welcome on this Forum thread.

Essex Ascendant:
Glad to see your move wasn't an arbitrary one. On a lighter note, what's with the ethereal bacon and eggs?

Master Joda we (Kyp and myself support you) we are here waiting for the outcome of this mess, I believe that the idea of a Republic by invitation only will protect the empire from the hoppers (those that come and go for the fun of mess other empires), so we support you and will wait behind the scenes to see the outcome of this mess.

EVERYONE STOP!!!

This is getting out of hand. As near as I can tell, everybody currently in the Republic intends to stay there. I don't know why people are leaving until things return to normal, because things are as normal as they are going to get; and things can't be completely normal until the lost Jedi return. Now there are threats to boot any nonactive member. This is insane!!