A Message To The Community~

[Nipah]

Lately, I’ve been reading the forums a lot because I don’t go on fiesta a lot anymore, but I’m starting to get turned away from the forums too. Every thread I look at is a complaint thread. Sure, I’ve complained before, but you guys are complaining about stuff that shouldn’t even be complained about. Like that little saying, “if you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all” I think that goes for here too. I’m not trying to make a flame thread, but I think it needs to be said. The recent event that mainly made me angry was the silkypico birthday event. No, it wasn’t the criteria of the event, it’s all of you guys’ complaining! It doesn’t say you have to participate, yet you still complain. It’s for the people that want to participate. It’s an exp boost for the whole server, not just for the people that donate spark cash. Silky is being nice and giving us an exp boost for his birthday, I would've given him a gift anyways if it wasn't for an event, because he's a GM and it's his birthday.

Also, about anything else, if you're just gunna complain, then stop playing. Nobody is forcing you to stay. It's annoying me so much to see everyone blame outspark for every single thing. They're trying their hardest to give us a game with fun..

[julio661]

haha kudos kudos xD
i had the same problem but you kinda get used to it after a while.
theres some nice ones out there you just need to look for them ;D

[PenguinEvan]

haha kudos kudos xD
i had the same problem but you kinda get used to it after a while.
theres some nice ones out there you just need to look for them ;D

Most of the time necro them ;D

[Nipah]

haha kudos kudos xD
i had the same problem but you kinda get used to it after a while.
theres some nice ones out there you just need to look for them ;D

Lmao, yeah. I've noticed the nice ones, but lately there's a huge influx of the complainers and downers on the mood, and it's just bringing down the joy of forums for me.

[Celtic_Princess]

Thanks for the great post Oyo ^^

I think a lot of people don't realize how hard it is to run a business sometimes. The staff does a lot more behind the scenes than many of us know about, and so I know I personally get a little agitated when I see accusations of lazy or inept staff.

So, no matter what language you speak:

http://i43.tinypic.com/i3c283.jpg

Thanks Outspark, for all that you do!

[DF001]

*cough* actually it's more like doh not toe *cough*

<3

Wait...

There is a community!?

[kevinyou40]

yes, i have noticed alot of coplaining in the past couple weeks. and i'm sure that alot of people don't understand what it takes to run a buisness. I run one as well and it is tough sometimes to make everyone happy. there where a couple threads bashing the GM's that really anoyed me. I didn't post on them, as it would just fuel the fire i'm sure. But i must say that i think they are doing a good job and hope the new content comes out soon. I'm sure there will be a glitch or 2 in the begining but that is expected.

[DemonBlitzKragor]

*cough* actually it's more like doh not toe *cough*

<3

Wait...

There is a community!?

The community was kidnapped and now its just little demons posting ._.

[nishant-rocks]

TRUE THAT SISTA !!!! lol

[palmfruits]

Yup we all complain XD As you said, it's not required. If you want something so bad, you'll work hard for it. Even if it seems "greedy" of OS to make the seeds so rare, at least it's not a requirement to continue with the game. Quite frankly I'm glad it's rare just because it would be unfair for a lot of people to have cake...AND multiple cakes D: think of all of the complaints that would come from that.

[Adidas666]

lol agreed hun. business comes with ups n downs D: just gotta keep trying n that is was OS is trying to do lol.

[tsukibanii]

Very true!!! I always lurkk in the forums, reading whats new with outspark blah blah blah...and always...guaranteed, there's a complaint thread!...

Realizing that complaint threads will always be there (>.>) I trained myself to be immune to them (and besides... some of the complaints are actually valid and helpful ~).

... I thought I was immune to them. Wrong! ...This past weeks is just crazy! there's like what? how many complaint threads are there focusing on this event? 3? 5? ... Its just too much and too unfair for the GMs and the whole OS alltogether.

[yourmojo]

There's a difference between a complaint and constructive criticism. Most of the "complaint" threads I see are like "I wish something was like this..." or "Why can't this be fixed". Those threads should be welcomed because it gives GMs community opinion and they can then relay it higher up to whoever is in charge of making changes.

While I do complain, I only actually make a new thread if it's something really aggravating, like not having confirmation boxes on player shops. The thing is, from development perspective that wouldn't be terribly hard to implement...But it's all the procedure and red tape that holds the game back.

In a way, almost all of the complaint threads aren't directed towards other players unless they're pvp oriented. While they, and I, may not word things to sound "happy and prosperous" like you all want...They are still valid points that probably would make the game better if they were implemented.

And besides, whenever someone complains about PvP, it's always "don't go there then, nobody is forcing you"...I have no sympathy, and I give the same answer back at OP.

[laady]

Here's another saying -- "The squeaky wheel gets the oil." ;)

Another part of running a business is recognizing that you can't please everyone nor can you silence them. Nothing is ever perfect. Are you suggesting that no one should complain about what they feel are flaws and ask for them to be fixed and/or for improvements? Or are you trying to silence only a portion of the community? :\

You seem to be underestimating just how important such opinions are. If people care to listen, someone could actually bring up a good point and if you listen to the community as a whole, you can get a feel for where it generally is and what most of it feels and wants and dislikes. That's a good resource and if you start telling people to be quiet and be happy with what they've got, what is there left to motivate OS or OnsOn to work harder? People complaining prevents OS and OnsOn from resting on their laurels and all opinions should be welcomed. This is like the first thing you learn if you're any sort of designer or creator -- listen to your buyers/users/etc.. Their feedback is crucial.

If you dislike reading such opinions, don't. It's very simple. Don't click on what is obviously a thread detailing a complaint someone has and if you accidentally do enter such a thread, hit the back button. One of the very first things you said is that you don't play Fiesta a lot anymore so naturally you wouldn't have as much of an interest in it as someone who plays every day so why you feel the need to complain about the complaining is truly a mystery to me and is kinda ironic. I'm also confused about why you're here...you don't play much anymore, you don't really like the boards, you basically want everyone (but you) to stop complaining...so you don't really seem to like much of anything connected to Fiesta anymore. If so much bothers you and you don't play hardly at all anymore, that would explain why you also don't want to hear anyone criticizing anything, you have very little interest in it and it affects you only very minimally. But other people are much more connected and care. If you're here just for friends or something to do, there are many other ways to keep in touch with people and many other hobbies one can pick up to keep one busy.

Again, I'm not being mean, I'm just a little confused as to why someone would hang around a site they dislike and read threads that upset them on said site about a game they don't play much anymore... >.>

[Nipah]

Another part of running a business is recognizing that you can't please everyone nor can you silence them. Nothing is ever perfect. Are you suggesting that no one should complain about what they feel are flaws and ask for them to be fixed and/or for improvements? Or are you trying to silence only a portion of the community? :\

You seem to be underestimating just how important such opinions are. If people care to listen, someone could actually bring up a good point and if you listen to the community as a whole, you can get a feel for where it generally is and what most of it feels and wants and dislikes. That's a good resource and if you start telling people to be quiet and be happy with what they've got, what is there left to motivate OS or OnsOn to work harder? People complaining prevents OS and OnsOn from resting on their laurels and all opinions should be welcomed. This is like the first thing you learn if you're any sort of designer or creator -- listen to your buyers/users/etc.. Their feedback is crucial.

If you dislike reading such opinions, don't. It's very simple. Don't click on what is obviously a thread detailing a complaint someone has and if you accidentally do enter such a thread, hit the back button. One of the very first things you said is that you don't play Fiesta a lot anymore so naturally you wouldn't have as much of an interest in it as someone who plays every day so why you feel the need to complain about the complaining is truly a mystery to me and is kinda ironic. I'm also confused about why you're here...you don't play much anymore, you don't really like the boards, you basically want everyone (but you) to stop complaining...so you don't really seem to like much of anything connected to Fiesta anymore. If so much bothers you and you don't play hardly at all anymore, that would explain why you also don't want to hear anyone criticizing anything, you have very little interest in it and it affects you only very minimally. But other people are much more connected and care. If you're here just for friends or something to do, there are many other ways to keep in touch with people and many other hobbies one can pick up to keep one busy.

Again, I'm not being mean, I'm just a little confused as to why someone would hang around a site they dislike and read threads that upset them on said site about a game they don't play much anymore... >.>

No, I'm stating that everyone is complaining over small little things such as sparkcash or the little simple events. I know about constructive critisism and such, but have you seen the complaint threads lately? They're getting out of control. Sure, some complaining is good, but not about every little thing. I'm not saying that I don't like the opinions of others, I'm just saying there's such negativity lately. I wasn't saying I don't play at all anymore, in fact I was on all day today. I got a few bin errors, but you don't see me whining all over the threads about it :p and lastly, I hang around the site because sometimes there's good threads, and I like reading other people's opinions. But seriously, say you were to make a fun activity for others to do, and all they did was bash on you and call you the "worst game maker" or something. Isn't that a bit out of hand? I'm very connected to this game because a lot of people in my family or IRL play it, so I hear about it daily, so don't think I'm not. ^^ In fact, I'm in the middle of partying while I'm writing this aha.

[laady]

Meh, I don't think the bashing upsets them as much as you think it does, honestly. And if it does, they're in the wrong business. XD You can't please everyone and when you do stuff like this, you put yourself out there for criticism so you have to know how to handle it and use it to your advantage. It's also important to keep in mind that this isn't just a game and that it's not all about heart, it's also about making money and you can't always trust people when they're being motivated by money. It's like that whole permanent mount thing...you'd think it'd be cheaper to have the permanent mount rather than paying for one every month but then you realize, oh poo, now I gotta pay for food and if I stop and the thing runs out, I'm stuck with it. People get mad over that sort of thing and voice their opinion, it keeps people in check. If you know someone is watching you, how you're making money, you're more likely to watch your step you know? XD

I haven't really been reading the boards much lately but I don't imagine it being a whole lot different from the usual. It's always been filled with complaint threads, I can't say they bother me too much. If I don't feel like reading them, I just don't because something is always going to bug someone, I've just learned to accept it. They're not the worst thing in my life, they're definitely not any worse than the fat girls on the floor above me thumping around like beached whales and screaming and laughing. >.> *is very irritated*

[Nipah]

Meh, I don't think the bashing upsets them as much as you think it does, honestly. And if it does, they're in the wrong business. XD You can't please everyone and when you do stuff like this, you put yourself out there for criticism so you have to know how to handle it and use it to your advantage. It's also important to keep in mind that this isn't just a game and that it's not all about heart, it's also about making money and you can't always trust people when they're being motivated by money. It's like that whole permanent mount thing...you'd think it'd be cheaper to have the permanent mount rather than paying for one every month but then you realize, oh poo, now I gotta pay for food and if I stop and the thing runs out, I'm stuck with it. People get mad over that sort of thing and voice their opinion, it keeps people in check. If you know someone is watching you, how you're making money, you're more likely to watch your step you know? XD

I haven't really been reading the boards much lately but I don't imagine it being a whole lot different from the usual. It's always been filled with complaint threads, I can't say they bother me too much. If I don't feel like reading them, I just don't because something is always going to bug someone, I've just learned to accept it. They're not the worst thing in my life, they're definitely not any worse than the fat girls on the floor above me thumping around like beached whales and screaming and laughing. >.> *is very irritated*

Haha yeah, I got you. Just like, they try to please people but it seems they will never be pleased but eh. and LMAO @ the last thing.

[Miazma]

Prior to last cap raise I spent a lot of time on these forums and it was great fun. There were a core group of people who would have big debates over different aspects of the game. Yeah... :P some of them got a bit on the heavy side and occassionally we walked on the borderline of a warning......but.......

One of the common things we all asked for at that time was MORE interaction on the forums from GM's and CSR's. Silky spends a lot of time wandering the forums and posting on different threads. He is verbally abused because people put their own interpretation on what he says and the majority of threads turn into *Bash Silky* events. Yes I am sure Silky is more than capable of reading some of these comments and thinking to himself, *if that was my kid it wouldnt sit for a week*.

But.... sooner or later Silky will say *Im so over dealing with these snot nosed brats* and stop putting in so much effort. The man has a limited amount of time, he posts on a thread in a short concise way, how each person interprets his response is different. Which would you prefer, NO response or a brief response that lets you know you have been heard?

[A_geezy]

umm... it's a community forum for a community full of spoiled teenagers. Did you like expect to see constructive criticism or peer reviews? (LOL)

Did you expect to see people talking about recent MMO events and standards as they relate to Fiesta or Outspark? (LOL)

No... at least I hope you didn't. Here you have a bunch of social retards (http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/retard) with poor etiquette.

<3 always, Laz :p

[akarih]

Thanks for the great post Oyo ^^

I think a lot of people don't realize how hard it is to run a business sometimes. The staff does a lot more behind the scenes than many of us know about, and so I know I personally get a little agitated when I see accusations of lazy or inept staff.

So, no matter what language you speak:

http://i43.tinypic.com/i3c283.jpg

Thanks Outspark, for all that you do!

OTing a bit, but man, the pronunciations on the jpg. O.o
They are pretty wrong. (At least for the languages I know how to speak.)

[Celtic_Princess]

OTing a bit, but man, the pronunciations on the jpg. O.o
They are pretty wrong. (At least for the languages I know how to speak.)


Haha, ironically they're correct for the ones that I know. Go figure.

Anyways, to the responses before this I think the main point isn't the constructive criticism. We welcome that, I take part in it, heck I have a few pieces of constructive criticism of my own. I'm sure everyone does :)

But there comes a point when it is no longer constructive criticism, there is a point where it becomes nothing more than bashing/harassing/accusing the staff. Where a user finds any old excuse, real or not, to take a hit at a staff member. Thats when it becomes a problem, thats when it starts to reflect poorly on the community as a whole.

[artboi]

Haha, ironically they're correct for the ones that I know. Go figure.

Anyways, to the responses before this I think the main point isn't the constructive criticism. We welcome that, I take part in it, heck I have a few pieces of constructive criticism of my own. I'm sure everyone does :)

But there comes a point when it is no longer constructive criticism, there is a point where it becomes nothing more than bashing/harassing/accusing the staff. Where a user finds any old excuse, real or not, to take a hit at a staff member. Thats when it becomes a problem, thats when it starts to reflect poorly on the community as a whole.

Well, I dont see the problem going in general to all the staff. If you have noticed most of the "bashing" goes towards GM Silky, why? Because he is in a position, where no one with a good knowledge of Business & Management, should say things bluntly. Although it is straight to the point, and the quickest solution that comes to his mind, he should be able to erase blunt comments such as the one with krazyboi's thread where he just right off the bat said "its just you."

These are the little things that not everyone will see as a joking manner.

I understand they have lots in mind but that shouldnt be justification to comment in such manner. Just like you said Oyoshiro, if you dont have anything nice to say, dont say anything at all. Besides the thread that krazyboi made was not directed to the staff, I believe he wanted to hear the opinion of the community of fiesta.

And Silky has given enough reasons to get that sort of critizism from the players. Just skim through the major issue threads that were created. For example the one with the Spawning monsters in uruga where alot of people lost exp because of that. The one discussing about the Major increase in dexerity for lvl80 abyss.

[cercia]

Here's the situation as I see it (wall of text):

1) Fiesta has bugs.
This is expected. Any large program will have bugs, we should know that as people who use computers. No matter what you do, something will eventually glitch.

2) The current bugs are drastically affecting gameplay.
"Show-stoppers," "critical," "severe," whatever you may call them, the reality is that the bugs from the last patch are hitting players hard. Few people have reported that they have no problems, and some have reported unplayability.

3) United States citizens are disillusioned with businesses.
One of the dominating things in news recently has been businesses trying to stay afloat. The consumers in the States trusted that these businesses were performing their tasks properly, and, as has been recently thrown into light, they haven't been. This already puts us into a skeptical, if not outright suspicious, stance in regards to Outspark. I am unaware of the effect that other countries' citizens are experiencing, but I cannot help but imagine they too are wary of American businesses.

4) Outspark has decided to push the business part of their company to the forefront.
There are several possible reasons for this: perhaps they are simply trying to stay afloat where others are falling. Perhaps the CEO/head of company has told the company that the Outspark business model requires greater advertising. Perhaps OnsOnSoft has upped the "rent" of the program. We don't know. What we do see, though, is the effect. And, with the recent disillusionment, this raises the distrust in Outspark even further.

5) The PR with the players of Fiesta is lacking.
As (2) mentioned, there are undeniable bugs in the current version of the game. Combining this with (4) doesn't intrinsically create anything, but once you add (3) into the equation, the levels of distrust are beyond uncomfortable, and we, as players, feel we must speak out against what appears to be our treatment. Then, we get responses from people who are not well-versed in PR, and our distrust and discontentment rises. Since we are already looking for flaws, we fail to see the PR neutral and positive responses we have received; we are, consciously or not, actively trying to find the flaws and throw them at Outspark with demands that our complaints be met with unquestioning obedience and swiftness.


That, to me, is what has gone on. The tolerance for the flaws in the game and company are low, and the only recourse we feel we can take is to make it very public, and very loud.

This is, by no means, to say that all hope is lost. I am very pleased with a response from [GM]Rayse in regards to a Dakkon comment. CSR_Joker has made a short, concise, and sufficient response in regards to the .bin errors just today (regrettably, it was not a solution). Even [GM]Silkypico has made a decent PR response to a verbal rebuttal I made against one of his statements last week. The positive is there. It is simply that right now, we, as a community of players, are too distrustful of what we see, partially based on things outside of Outspark, and partially how Outspark has handled the various situations.

[Sharlyne]

We spend money on this game we got the right to complain o.0 cuz we love this game so we want it to be better and not quit like that and leve the friends we made. hope you get the point ._.

[Chewy]

We spend money on this game we got the right to complain o.0 cuz we love this game so we want it to be better and not quit like that and leve the friends we made. hope you get the point ._.

Complaining and actually saying something worth saying are two different things. How the game "could be better" is also a personal point of view lol. The point is that lately everyone has been complaining, but few actually give ideas on it could possibly be fixed or changed, you know? They just go like "THIS SUCKS! fix it, i hate it! stop sitting around doing nothing".

I don't think people realize how hard it really is to run an MMO, even with a decent size staff, I don't even know, but I know enough to say that it is by no means a simple matter. Trying to find ways to keep balance, doing the programming, managing the community, trying to keep the majority of the players happy (as keeping everyone happy is virtually impossible) all while trying to keep themselves afloat as a company. Not exactly a walk in the park lmao.

Sure yeah, Outspark has made decisions that have been questioned and bashed, I know I've felt that way, but it doesn't do anything making a thread irrationally ranting about whatever issue. You would get more positive feedback from the community and maybe even the staff if you planned out what you were going to say, give some detailed info about it, and give some reasonable solutions.

Not everything bad or wrong thing in this game is a result of the staff either, players aren't innocent. We don't help anything when we freak out over every little thing as Nipah said. People take things such as pvp and wars too seriously in my opinion. Who cares if someone is better than you, that has to mean that they are just all hopped up on CS or cheat? Not really. People complain about how long it takes to level, man if only they knew what it was like before repeat quests lmao. It's just a game, either learn to have some fun in it or just simply leave.

One thing I've noticed is that despite how we feel about CS, class balancing, and all that other stuff that's "wrong", a lot of people I know have a hard time completely quitting this game (myself included). We say we might quit due to something, buuuuut hey, we stick around, why is that? They must be doing something right if we keep coming back right?

wow lol didn't realize I wrote so much
/end novel

[artboi]

Complaining and actually saying something worth saying are two different things. How the game "could be better" is also a personal point of view lol. The point is that lately everyone has been complaining, but few actually give ideas on it could possibly be fixed or changed, you know? They just go like "THIS SUCKS! fix it, i hate it! stop sitting around doing nothing".

I don't think people realize how hard it really is to run an MMO, even with a decent size staff, I don't even know, but I know enough to say that it is by no means a simple matter. Trying to find ways to keep balance, doing the programming, managing the community, trying to keep the majority of the players happy (as keeping everyone happy is virtually impossible) all while trying to keep themselves afloat as a company. Not exactly a walk in the park lmao.

Sure yeah, Outspark has made decisions that have been questioned and bashed, I know I've felt that way, but it doesn't do anything making a thread irrationally ranting about whatever issue. You would get more positive feedback from the community and maybe even the staff if you planned out what you were going to say, give some detailed info about it, and give some reasonable solutions.

Not everything bad or wrong thing in this game is a result of the staff either, players aren't innocent. We don't help anything when we freak out over every little thing as Nipah said. People take things such as pvp and wars too seriously in my opinion. Who cares if someone is better than you, that has to mean that they are just all hopped up on CS or cheat? Not really. People complain about how long it takes to level, man if only they knew what it was like before repeat quests lmao. It's just a game, either learn to have some fun in it or just simply leave.

One thing I've noticed is that despite how we feel about CS, class balancing, and all that other stuff that's "wrong", a lot of people I know have a hard time completely quitting this game (myself included). We say we might quit due to something, buuuuut hey, we stick around, why is that? They must be doing something right if we keep coming back right?

wow lol didn't realize I wrote so much
/end novel


its mostly friends that we meet and we enjoy having a game that we can play together/.