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Before we start: #1 yes this is a goodbye thread #2 no this isn't a M a n I f E s t O #3 please don't go deleting / moving this, or that'll just seem damn awful shifty Alrighty then, this is my goodbye from this server and as the thread title states this isn't due to the current hype wagon of BFA. In fact chances are I won't even be touching BFA and will be taking a hiatus (off to the long road many wander in between RP private servers) I just want to say that my initial time here has been a fun one. The RPG system and other custom components of this, whilst flawed in some ways, I find ultimately are quite a nice addition to the game and have a nice reflection to the pleasant grind that many of us game to love back in ye olden dayes of vanilla Wow (Rich Thorium veins in Burning Steppes will forever trigger me) It was good to see characters both new and old in a setting that was ultimately far more refreshing than a rehash of using traditional WoW settings from a geographical point of view, I only wish I could post the 'islands' meme with the Orc and seagull that Sitra posted those years ago when the idea first was uttered back on Legacy(?) and never came to fruition... yet here Unknown Shores stands as a testament to that. That having been said, I would not be leaving this server if I enjoyed it. The fun has been sapped out from this for one of many reasons and as a parting gift i'll provide my own two copper on how to fix the matter. I sincerely doubt i'll return even if these are adhered to simply because they run in direct conflict with many of those involved in major decision making processes here on US 1.) The lack of EU keepers / staff. This has been mentioned for quite a while and there have been nods coming left right and centre on the discord from the powers that be that this issue would be fixed and yet here we are, people are simply not logging in for anything else other than prod-chewing because there is simply nothing much going on during certain times. I have long since been a support of the 'make your own RP' camp however that no longer holds true when you have GM supported effects offering rewards (and I don't nessecarrily mean items here) to player participants whilst those that 'create their own RP' simply get that warm fuzzy feeling inside... that warm fuzzy feeling doesn't help all that much when the former start to gain significant strides in terms of progression through item acquisition, disproportionate friendship advancement with plot-central NPCs or even minor things such as asthetics. The simple solution to this is to actually hire the damn staff. I say this not as someone who was rejected as a keeper (I acknowledge the reasons why) but as someone who is actively observing guilds facing quite severe decline... and not just guilds as well: unguilded individuals face an even harder fate at the end of the day because of this. This is especially problematic when I log on and sit back (ho ho, you think i'm afk?) and watch as staff log onto their various characters or start meme spreading in discord when there are people either awaiting responses to their keeper applications or simply put aren't putting all that much effort into getting extra staff... I say this having spoken to a fair few people who have also put in applications and cross-referenced their responses with the GM activity. Stop messing around and hire more staff first of all -then- you have time to meme and post your 'off topic' emojis. 2.) Lore inconsistencies and back tracks. This isn't just referring to a handful of occassions i've witnessed, others have expressed similar concerns across other factions / individual cases. There are some rather severe and glaring lore inconsistencies and, quite frankly, these could be solved simply by either proper communication (which was absent), correct logging of events (either incomplete or not done at all) or by simply looking up stuff on wowpedia, none of those options are particularly difficult or arduous even with events that last well into the AM. This wouldn't be a problem if it was an isolated case but this is becoming a repeated series of occurances. 3.) Favouritism Because, looking at it, nepo really is the wrong word to use in these circumstances. It can be seen from a mile away, it can be seen from space. There are GMs on past servers who, credit where credit is due, have stopped and thought "Might this be misconstrued in anyway?" "Can stepping back here resolve a lot of problems later down the line?" and yet each of those past servers has usually resulted in the same problem leading to vast swathes of the player base leaving. Sadly it would appear that US is no exception to the rule and so for this I can only ask that you step back, look at what you are doing with objectiveness and clarity, and come to the realization that what you are doing may be considered by many to be quite skeptical. Don't forget as well because people cannot see whisper, guild, party, raid chats or even private discord discussions or back-and-forth forum PMs that according to the average player: F=S*2 With Favouritism always being equal to the amount of suspected favouritism times by two... and that is a generous two in some people's cases. It doesn't take long, in some cases it takes less than 10 seconds to ask yourself about an action if it is appropriate or not. 4.) Compelling, encompassing and interesting storylines. Once again, this is not directed at any one particular individual, however there seems to be some sort of 'rush' when it comes to RP. GM's will get bored with a current storyline and rush towards the end of it with little to no consideration of if the players are enjoying the ride or if they even wish to continue on with the storyline. A bit of public consultation on stuff like this really doesn't hurt. There have been numerous GMs in the past who have opened up feedback threads and whilst one or two of these have been swarmed with questionable uncritical 'feedback', the majority of them have been quite eye opening to the staff as to the wants and wishes of the playerbase. There is a whole series of islands here in US and I can't help but feel that their potential is being severely squandered for whatever reason... i'm no mind reader but it is perplexing to see a great many islands go either completely unloved or given a very brief token 'gesture' event and then nothing else following it. It is now getting to the point where individual players (IE: those unguilded) are really having to force through this desire for new and compelling storylines which make a greater use of the islands or, failing that, they are coralled into one of the few surviving guilds there are. Please start to make more use of the other islands. This is not a jab to open up NEW islands as that is totally out of your control and highly dependent on the activity of a willing world editor. I have offered a number of ideas and yet the reaction to which was seemingly 'meh' and passive with little to no consideration of other storylines. It isn't much to get together and brainstorm some ideas in a google document and get the ball rolling, as above this seemingly isn't the case or isn't particuarly visible. If in doubt once more open it up to public imput and maybe open a 'what would you like to see storyline-wise' thread? There's probably more to say but as I type this it is getting to midnight, i've spent most of my free evening thinking how to word this and how to type it and would greatly appreciate it if this isn't simply scrunched up like a failure on 'The Apprentice' and tossed into the nearest waste paper basket. If anyone of you wish to chat, meme or share nostalgic screenshots, you know where to find me. This is Gruk Timothy Hobo Grettik and Dascombe, signing out.

You know what I like? Names. I feel that it's only proper of me to respond to this thread simply because of the fact you made me an avatar back in 2015 for a measly 25 silver or whatever it was. And you know what? It stuck. Anyways, where was I? Oh yes. There is, beyond the shadow of a doubt, blatant favoritism on Shores. One specific island is getting at least twice the amount of attention than the other people, and this is the Isle of Menhirs, while we are forced to sit in Eggtown and gather resources (a ridiculous amount of resources) to build one boat that will probably get sunk in the first event because why not. The dodgy, uncertain responses when we questioned why a player suddenly gets to be a ghost only cemented my opinion on this. If Shores had a worthy competitor, it would probably not be as half popular as it is - because let's face it, there really isn't much to pay attention to except that one number - the statistic that goes from 0 to 100 and is tagged as 'Productivity'. So yeah, if the Eu Keeper situation is not resolved (also just call them staff for g*d's sakes), shores is probably sinking the same way all those ships we supposedly arrived on to the Doldrums did. Farewell until next time, ya dork. Oh, and not even Sitra has that one.

We're a good group already, looks like we'll be officially founding the order soon! Anyone who is a member before that becomes a Luminary automatically. 😊