After Running the poll on this thread for quite a bit it's obvious that people want a new gang system and we have got a great staff member currently working on it and listening to our ideas.

This is the gang community's chance to express their opinions and ideas if they ever want them implemented.

Discuss.

Any change is a good change, we need to at least try something new and original as Rogue and his followers have posted on the main forums.

I'm definitely interested in seeing that draft type gang system placed on era.
We already know the reasons why it would be superior, therefore Im not going to elaborate As one of the most active raiders on Era (regardless of whether Im good or not) I'd love to have it mixed up a little bit. As much as I love logging in and joining one of Coreys gangs, theres so many of my friends Id love to raid with, that I cant because theyre locked into gangs. The variety would give Era a much needed boost.

I won't be there to enjoy it, but the new system outlined on main forums looks good. I think that having gangs be the sole PVP aspect (more like battlegrounds on WoW where teams are semi-random) and then diverting parties to more gmap-pk and PVE is a good idea.

Okay so the new gang system is fun and really let's the leaders be creative, but lacks the stability and control of older gang systems. The problem with raids are the fact that the numbers are never even and the weapons are always unbalanced ie: people using flaks and bows.

So for this reason I voted for a new gang system, but there are many reasons to delay a new gang system.

1. The new system must be fully developed and balanced with plans and plans and plans. No reason to implement a new system if it will suck just as much as this one.
2. Let the players make the names. I don't like the idea of being stuck with BH, BB, LC, and whatever forth gang sometimes makes an appearance. Please don't go back to that.
3. If Rogue makes the new gang system, just keep the old one. Please! I've never heard one idea from him that could be executed and was actually worth while.

It's a debatable topic but in the end of it all we need to fix Era before we expect to maintain a suitable gang system.

The problem right now and will always be; player-count.

There is no easy, fool-proof solution that will raise the player-count indefinitely but a good solution is to bring back the old players. I know myself, If you can encourage one person to play, he/she usually has a line of people that will follow. I'm almost certain that if you were to unban everyone the player count will have a large influx within that week alone. (Just a super, simple solution that may or may not have long term effects)

I can't really touch on the subject of gangs myself because like 80% of this official forum we're left holding our dicks in our hands because a person vendetta got the best of us.

Hopefully someone who can make a change will make the change. Right now you need to work towards the playercount rather than work towards things that will only work with a playercount. If you hype up the "Staff Team" enough to fix the current playercount, put all personal vendetta's aside and actually start to develop the game into something great, we could indeed achieve greatness.

Got started on the draft system, all else fails, I believe the draft system could have other applications within the server if not for this gang system.

Tim_Rocks wrote:

Got started on the draft system, all else fails, I believe the draft system could have other applications within the server if not for this gang system.

Make up for your wrongs and do right, push for approval to influx the playercount with the ridden players. There is almost no down-side to this, other than a million hackers coming back online, which you can get rid of easily but for every cheater there is 5 legitimate players who have been banned due to someone in a higher power having a hate-filled problem against them and found any and all reasons to get rid of them. (Which you have done yourself in the past). I suggest you push the current team to start putting down their fists and opening their arms, work together as one with the community and actually make a difference. Right now all everyone can ever say is; "Remember Jenns Era?" "Remember Daz's Era?" "Remember *insert name*'s Era?" why is this? because they made a change and did something amazing, now it's your time, remove the terrible name you have for yourself and make a difference, It seems like you're the only person doing anything on the current team, although I could be wrong, I don't know, I've been excluded due to someone in a higher power having a hate-filled problem against myself (Fidel Castro).

Godzilla is for the most part right. yeah Tim wasn't the most liked manager and he might have made mistakes, but I think the amount of effort and professionalism he shows now is a vast improvement and he's the only staff member that is looking to make graal better because he likes to work on this stuff. Honestly he doesn't care about what people think, which is a valuable trait in staff because it shouldn't be about puffing your chest out, it should be about helping the server and doing work for no recognition.

That aside, personal vendettas will always be a part of graal. Hopefully someday Era will overcome it and unban everyone that didn't actively try to destroy the server (i'm globally permabanned so era staff can't really do anything) but people like godzilla who did help out in the end and were punished wrongly should be unbanned in my opinion.

Hopefully this gang system sparks some life into the game, but yeah it requires playercount and a shift of mentality. Koho thinks that people won't pk because they don't want to kill their friends but that's almost never a problem in bhpk or ulms. Some people forget that the point of the game is to kill people and get money. Sure you can hang out with your friends, but if you're in a gang then expect to be targeted by everyone.

I also think that an adjustment of the killstreaks is in order since they give an insane incentive to play like a fucking bitch. Who would want to lose juggernaut? Gives you a reason to lame, run, and be generally annoying. When I wasn't banned I got fed up with pking because of how lame it had become. In 2011 it wasn't nearly as bad and people cared about skill and notoriety. If we can bring that mentality back then I think the game will be more fun, but right now there are just too many incentives to being lame.

Godzilla wrote:

It's a debatable topic but in the end of it all we need to fix Era before we expect to maintain a suitable gang system.

The problem right now and will always be; player-count.

There is no easy, fool-proof solution that will raise the player-count indefinitely but a good solution is to bring back the old players. I know myself, If you can encourage one person to play, he/she usually has a line of people that will follow. I'm almost certain that if you were to unban everyone the player count will have a large influx within that week alone. (Just a super, simple solution that may or may not have long term effects)

I can't really touch on the subject of gangs myself because like 80% of this official forum we're left holding our dicks in our hands because a person vendetta got the best of us.

Hopefully someone who can make a change will make the change. Right now you need to work towards the playercount rather than work towards things that will only work with a playercount. If you hype up the "Staff Team" enough to fix the current playercount, put all personal vendetta's aside and actually start to develop the game into something great, we could indeed achieve greatness.

You bring back players by changing things that aren't working. The current gang system is boring and dry, because Mercenary will always win. I'm assuming your playercount rant is just another way of saying HEY GUYS IM BANNED STILL I'LL PLAY IF YOU UNBAN ME. You literally contradict yourself when you argue, it's kind of funny. The only way you encourage a better playercount is to make smart changes that'll improve the overall quality of the server.

Godzilla wrote:

Tim_Rocks wrote:

Got started on the draft system, all else fails, I believe the draft system could have other applications within the server if not for this gang system.

Make up for your wrongs and do right, push for approval to influx the playercount with the ridden players. There is almost no down-side to this, other than a million hackers coming back online, which you can get rid of easily but for every cheater there is 5 legitimate players who have been banned due to someone in a higher power having a hate-filled problem against them and found any and all reasons to get rid of them. (Which you have done yourself in the past). I suggest you push the current team to start putting down their fists and opening their arms, work together as one with the community and actually make a difference. Right now all everyone can ever say is; "Remember Jenns Era?" "Remember Daz's Era?" "Remember *insert name*'s Era?" why is this? because they made a change and did something amazing, now it's your time, remove the terrible name you have for yourself and make a difference, It seems like you're the only person doing anything on the current team, although I could be wrong, I don't know, I've been excluded due to someone in a higher power having a hate-filled problem against myself (Fidel Castro).

I don't want to get into oldbie talks, but you haven't been around long at all. Another flawed argument, people want to see something new, they don't want to see the same old shit that didn't work in the past. Era's advanced and become much more fun, but changes do need to be made. If you got banned that was your own fault, don't try to use the damaged state of the game to justify what you did. I'd rather play on an Era where there aren't malicious cheaters like you, sorry.

Godzilla wrote:

There is no easy, fool-proof solution that will raise the player-count indefinitely but a good solution is to bring back the old players. I know myself, If you can encourage one person to play, he/she usually has a line of people that will follow. I'm almost certain that if you were to unban everyone the player count will have a large influx within that week alone. (Just a super, simple solution that may or may not have long term effects)

I have to agree and disagree with this. Advertisement is not hard at all and it's required if you want to get the game out there. There is also many free alternatives also as to getting the game out there.

Problem is.. You can get 1000 new people but getting them to return on a regular basis is the problem. Also what the problem you face to is. You have 3-4 servers they could click on and take a like for and ignore era (even though the advertisement, advertised era).

What i do now is a lot of online marketing and i know a lot of ways to get stuff out there in the face of people but i shouldn't have to do that. That's Stefans job to raise the playercounts of his games.

Booger wrote:

Godzilla is for the most part right. yeah Tim wasn't the most liked manager and he might have made mistakes, but I think the amount of effort and professionalism he shows now is a vast improvement and he's the only staff member that is looking to make graal better because he likes to work on this stuff. Honestly he doesn't care about what people think, which is a valuable trait in staff because it shouldn't be about puffing your chest out, it should be about helping the server and doing work for no recognition.

Managers aren't liked and never were, this is the case in real life to. Everybody hates their boss, they have to make decisions that not everybody agree with. I didn't agree with a lot of Tims decisions and i'm sure he wouldn't agree with some of mine to. I like Tim because no matter how much you argue and debate, it's never personal. I also like him because he trys.. even though this game has shit on him many times he still trys... that convinces me that he cares about era. If the development team had the same motivation as Tim then we might actually get somewhere.

Booger wrote:

Hopefully this gang system sparks some life into the game, but yeah it requires playercount and a shift of mentality. Koho thinks that people won't pk because they don't want to kill their friends but that's almost never a problem in bhpk or ulms. Some people forget that the point of the game is to kill people and get money. Sure you can hang out with your friends, but if you're in a gang then expect to be targeted by everyone.

Every new change gives players hope and excites them no matter how good or bad it is. They love updates, who doesn't? I don't think people won't pk because they don't want to kill their friends. People will PK but certain individuals wont kill each-other because they're family. It is also the same in BHPK and any ULMS i have played in to.

I have seen and tested the GUI myself on era and i like the idea behind it. It gives leaders the chance to see who's got the better K/D to pick for their gang and i like that. Hopefully more work can be done soon.

There is also ALOT more to be talked about regarding how it's all going to work etc etc.

GF KoHo wrote:

I have seen and tested the GUI myself on era and i like the idea behind it. It gives leaders the chance to see who's got the better K/D to pick for their gang and i like that. Hopefully more work can be done soon.

Been working on it more, so far it's looking great. I made a sign up system for the draft as well, I'll need to convert it to SQL when it becomes a final product. The captains part has a bit of work to do since there aren't any databases to provide outfits (gang system doesn't count).

WEINERS

WillaDiaz wrote:

WEINERS

Why you holding your moms dildo in the picture? :O xD

Tim_Rocks wrote:

GF KoHo wrote:

I have seen and tested the GUI myself on era and i like the idea behind it. It gives leaders the chance to see who's got the better K/D to pick for their gang and i like that. Hopefully more work can be done soon.

Been working on it more, so far it's looking great. I made a sign up system for the draft as well, I'll need to convert it to SQL when it becomes a final product. The captains part has a bit of work to do since there aren't any databases to provide outfits (gang system doesn't count).

Looking good man, looking good.

What's the idea behind this all though? That's what i'm not understanding. How will this system work?

- How many gangs?
- How will leaders be decided?
etc etc

GF KoHo wrote:

WillaDiaz wrote:

WEINERS

Why you holding your moms dildo in the picture? :O xD

Canister Round, shoots 1000s of tungsten pellets when shot from the main gun of a tank... heaviest round ive loaded too!

Cyclone Soul wrote:

I don't want to get into oldbie talks, but you haven't been around long at all. Another flawed argument, people want to see something new, they don't want to see the same old shit that didn't work in the past. Era's advanced and become much more fun, but changes do need to be made. If you got banned that was your own fault, don't try to use the damaged state of the game to justify what you did. I'd rather play on an Era where there aren't malicious cheaters like you, sorry.

I feel like your post is just a personal dig to get recognition and to follow the lights of your "family".

My posts are never about me, something that ill-minded and big-headed players don't understand. I'm ALL for helping the game thrive again, that's it, regardless if I'm apart of it or not.

I would rather see the server become something great again in result of an idea I threw out than to watch it die and become a 20 player-count game until Stefan or Unixmad pulls the cord on the whole thing.

It's a short solution (unbanning players) but believe me, you've never been in the position I and MANY others are. OUR bans are purely based off of fictional evidence and executed with the help of personal hate towards the player due to their dominance and past play (Many other variables as to why people dislike someone) I know for a fact, during my rain as PR to PRA I was forced to do the dirty henchmen work for my superiors, banning players for the littlest slip ups (Something as small as bantering another player through PKing) let's not put it past the past management to have done the same. That being said, there is countless amounts of players who have been banned for absolutely no reason other than someone got a hard on that they could do it so they did.

I recently met up with the person who framed me into being banned Israfel. (Though through good intentions, it only was passed due to a personal vendetta against me that executed it) (I've seen my notes, I know the evidence of my ban and it is fictional) He is another Australian, a close friend of my brothers in real life, he simply put it this way; "I did what I had to do, Graal was ruining your life, we can both agree on that" I was considered obese, probably well over 200 pounds, I'm now 120 pounds, I'm GLAD that I was given the opportunity to put the game behind me and make the right steps towards a better life but that doesn't change the facts that I was banned wrongly.

If that happened to me, think of how many other players would of had a ban slapped across their account. I'm more than happy to play again, probably not as seriously or as intense as I once did but still willing to hop online and have the thrill for the small duration it is there before Graal becomes a chore to maintain. How many other players would be in my same position? nothing short of a double digit number at the least.

but on-topic; The new system seems cool, probably have a bit of a thrill for the first few weeks or so but I don't see how it could be progressed into the "last gang update ever" like a bunch of people are throwing out.

Godzilla wrote:

but on-topic; The new system seems cool, probably have a bit of a thrill for the first few weeks or so but I don't see how it could be progressed into the "last gang update ever" like a bunch of people are throwing out.

One system will never work forever. Things need to change with time. Things need to be updated and tweaked. There is no such thing as the perfect gang system.

We badly need a change now as the current one wasn't well thought out. They thought hey, who cares they got points for money that will keep them raiding and happy. Sadly that's not the case.

What was really annoying to deal with while I was manager is the fact that it seemed like PR's would just follow these "bad" players around and watch them make a mistake. Just bothered me a lot. But I'm with Godzilla, players shouldn't be banned over personal vendettas. In fact a player should only be banned over things like hacking. If there was a bug, it's our fault and it shouldn't be taken out on our player count.

Apart from all this OMG USDer Politics which who gives a fuck really ohwow, i spend my hard earned money on enigma runes on d2 which are incredibly hard to find, you spend it on protein and watches woohaaaa both are considered pointless to spend money on by the other who cares irl.


TIM LOOKS GOOD BRAJ! Interested in this a lot, maybe do regular updates to how goes it? Keeps us on our toes.

The system looks good, but it's not good enough to make me want to play or PK. Before I got globalled I didn't pk because the game was ruined. Guns like AA12 and Flak Cannon are just too stupid as there is no counterplay except by lame means like nukes and explosives. Killstreaks only make the problem worse by giving players a huge incentive to run so they can get their crate or the juggernaut. There is almost no incentive to be good anymore. This gang system won't really change that since it's just an overlay and structure to the pk culture we have now. You wan't more people to pk? Give them incentives. There is no incentive for a noob to play if they're going to die in 4 shots by a gun that fills the entire level (AA12) or can't even reach their opponent since they're just running and shooting over every wall in between (flak cannon). Sure Wil and Rogue will come back and say something like "get good" but honestly that skill floor is much too high to expect new players to rise to. More than just this new gang system is required to breathe life back into the server.

TIERED LOYALTY WEAPON SYSTEM PLEASE THINK OF THE NOOBS

Chorchizcool wrote:

TIERED LOYALTY WEAPON SYSTEM PLEASE THINK OF THE NOOBS

This will help, but I think killstreaks need a major overhaul or complete removal and guns that shoot over walls or fill the whole level should be severely rethought.

I'm kind of waiting for Tim to post an update on his progress before i make any comments about doing this and that. We can only work at one thing at a time, if you start trying to fix everything at once you will just give yourself a headache.

Step by step is the way to take this gang system forward.

This is the plan, discuss about this..

Right, I'm taking baby steps at the moment. I want to get a working draft system completed first that's capable of recruiting members. After that I will start working on a better system for displaying gang members. Other than that, this whole thing is up for discussion. It's not gonna be released half-assed. So any issues you guys can think of, post them and I or whoever can address them.

GF KoHo wrote:

Looking good man, looking good.

What's the idea behind this all though? That's what i'm not understanding. How will this system work?

- How many gangs?
- How will leaders be decided?
etc etc

I never got back to this until now, but there will be four gangs. Leaders are chosen at the end of the week and are decided based on the top 4 players (use '='). After the intial week the top captain/leader will remain captain for the following week, but the other three captains lose their spot and are replaced. They can't be a captain again until the next draft. Once a player is drafted they cannot leave their gang to join another. They must wait till the end of the week to be drafted again.

That's all I can remember at the moment.