POLL: Current state of Marathon and the community

[Wrkncacnter]

Hey guys, it's been a while since we've had a heart-to-heart about the current state of our community, and I'd love to hear your thoughts on what everyone thinks is going well and what can be improved. I'm using this poll to gain a sense of whether or not the general feeling is positive or negative.

Thanks!

[Windbreaker]

There are too many people here.

[RyokoTK]

I think I can safely call it ruined.

[irons]

showoff

[Pfhorrest]

Hey it's not like he did it single-handedly.

The rest of you lot helped a lot too.

[patrick]

you lot

{it takes a village}

[HelviusRufus]

I think the community is healthy and a good one. It has a wide age range, one commenter stated he was 14 and I’m 70 so that’s a pretty wide range. It’s not a large community but neither is the community of Porsche owners. Perhaps that is because the game is based, for the players, on the fun in playing it rather than on greed or fashionable attire (hey, does this cape make me look fat?) and, for the artistes, it’s an art gallery coffee house where the elite meet to eat, as it were.

The Pfhorums have some interesting discussions and much can be gained there. Thanks to Hopper and Irons, I have a kill counter lua for solo play. There are also some bizarre threads, which are fun to read. There are many links to other sites, so it’s a good starting point, sort of a grand central station of Marathon.

Evidently there is multiplayer gaming available though I’m not able to participate in that and, even if I did, I probably wouldn’t be any good at it. It would be nice to watch it though. I’ve watched some Destiny youtubes that weren’t commentaries or critiques, but just a bunch o players having fun.

I’ve watched some o the ‘films’ that’ve been posted on the site – the Marathon Infinity Speed Run, for example – some of which work, some don’t, but making and posting those doesn’t seem to be a popular idea though at one time it seems it was.

There’s interesting stuff on the story forum too.

One thing that puzzles me is that there are hundreds of people who drop by, create a profile, then evidently never return. I lurked for a long time before I created one so it isn’t a necessity; I just wonder why they do that if they aren’t going to participate.

[3371-Alpha]

The community's in a stagnant if not dead state. Not too much goes on here.

[PerseusSpartacus]

That's why we need to get Tour of Duty going, which would be a lot easier if patrick & co. weren't trying to sabotage the voting process.

[3371-Alpha]

As I mentioned in Rokyo's thread, I think the only way we could truly resurrect this community is if we did something revolutionary with Aleph One, such as making it into a full fledged indie game engine to attract more development.
There are also several improvements that could be added (i.e. 60fps suppport, support for script languages other than lua such as ruby, the ability to reload your weapon, the ability to bind a function to more than one key, support for larger levels, a true pause menu with saves/loads options, ect.).

[irons]

As I mentioned in Rokyo's thread, I think the only way we could truly resurrect this community is if we did something revolutionary with Aleph One, such as making it into a full fledged indie game engine to attract more development.
There are also several improvements that could be added (i.e. 60fps suppport, support for script languages other than lua such as ruby, the ability to reload your weapon, the ability to bind a function to more than one key, support for larger levels, a true pause menu with saves/loads options, ect.).

I'm honestly not very impressed with modern games, there just rehashes of what already exists. Most games these days are either CoD clones or just don't live up to their potential.

[treellama]

That's why we need to get Tour of Duty going, which would be a lot easier if patrick & co. weren't trying to sabotage the voting process.

Keep hoping for that brokered convention!

[treellama]

As I mentioned in Rokyo's thread, I think the only way we could truly resurrect this community is if we did something revolutionary with Aleph One

Like dropping PowerPC support.

[PerseusSpartacus]

Keep hoping for that brokered convention!

Look, if it comes out 'Rubicon X', we'll do Rubicon X. But what we're not going to do is waste time on 26 repeats of Aye Mak Sicur (again, we already covered that level once), colorful though the 26th version might be. I know some people like it, but neither, I, nor Martin, nor VikingBoyBilly, really care to even try it out. It's not that we're trying to be undemocratic - it's that we have to draw the line somewhere, and this feels like a reasonable place to draw it.

[Wrkncacnter]

Let's try to keep things on topic, PerseusSpartacus. I'm learning a lot about the community right now.

[HelviusRufus]

I'm honestly not very impressed with modern games,

Consider a California redwood forest. According to crabgrass standards, it is dead, comatose, or at least not alive by crabgrass standards. The California redwoods do not need to be resurrected, they are happy the way they are. Fortunately, the crabgrass does not expend a lot of energy trying to transform the redwoods into crabgrass.
(What is a polar bear? It is a rectangular bear after a coordinate transformation.)

Those in this community have some characteristics in common which is why they are here. Many, as Irons well puts it, are
not very impressed with modern games and so are here: a little bubble of elegance in a tumultuous world. Others like the modern games but occasionally wish to retreat from that to a more stylish carnage. And then there are those who are here for the 'old masters' style art.

Sometimes, though, along comes a Mary Worth who just can't stand to let things be. You deadheads, they cry (too young, or course, to have been deadheads themselves), this place is dying! You need to do this! You need to do that! If you want this place to live again you need to …! And misses the gentle hints that the people here like it the way it is, which is why they're here.

But what about the calls for action from within the community? Those calls are to clean and oil the weapon, not buy a new one.

[philtron]

I just noticed that in this poll with two options you can select up to two options. Well played.

[3371-Alpha]

Those in this community have some characteristics in common which is why they are here. Many, as Irons well puts it, are
not very impressed with modern games and so are here: a little bubble of elegance in a tumultuous world. Others like the modern games but occasionally wish to retreat from that to a more stylish carnage. And then there are those who are here for the 'old masters' style art.

Actually, irons was just mocking a quote I previously stated in the past. I said it once and I'll say it again, modern games disappoint me.

Like dropping PowerPC support.

When I think of revolutionizing or innovating, usually adding something (not removing it) comes to mind. I gave you a list of possible improvements. You're not even going to discuss adding them?
If anything, abandoning PPC support will only break up this community further. I'm not sure how many people still use PowerPCs, but me & Philtron sure do. I'll be honest, If I can't eventually build the next Aleph One engine, I'm probably just going to do what Rokyo did & abandoned my account.

Those calls are to clean and oil the weapon, not buy a new one.

That's exactly what I want to do friend, clean & oil. Not sure why I'm being ignored.

[PerseusSpartacus]

Well spoken, HelviusRufus. Makes sense to me.

[irons]

aplla1337 wants to clean the outside of the weapon, cover it in oil, and then try to fire it while it's jammed sounds good to me

[3371-Alpha]

This community is shrinking little by little. I recall herecomethej2000s once mentioned to me that this community was more active in the early 2000s. I haven't been here very long and even I've noticed this community isn't active. I post all these arguments/attacks towards irons/wrk not because I hate him (Sure he's a dick, but I've got better things to do than hunt him down & kill him in his sleep) but to try & stir some activity in this community. One of our moderators/admins has just announced he's leaving! What does that tell you?! I recall Hopper saying "The presentation needs to be 'modern enough' for new users to give the game a chance". We need to give this community a little boost in population. I've given you ideas. Please, lets discuss this.

[Wrkncacnter]

One of our moderators/admins has just announced he's leaving!

Really? Who?

[3371-Alpha]

I know you're joking, but seriously!? Please stop being an ass.

[Wrkncacnter]

I didn't realize asking a simple question was being an asshole. Are you sure you're not the asshole here?

[Hathomirr]

I know you're joking, but seriously!? Please stop being an ass.

I think you need to go back to the topic and check the initial timestamps.