[chilledsanity]

Bridget: Wow, that's rather damning. If that's really what's been going on, then I guess elitism really IS the primary blame for FF's current state. Even with TF2, if there was a strong community focus, FF could still be thriving as more of a niche mod instead of gasping like it currently is. If this is what has been happening all along, then I guess I feel like an idiot for caring as much about the mod as I have if it's on an irreversible crash course

One thing I've wondered about for a while is the current policy on development. The current devs had made it clear that they're the ones that make the decisions about FF and they are the ones determining its direction. It's underworkings are secret and are a top-down, not bottom-up operation. Being on the beta does not influence this. Contributing as a new dev is still easily overruled, and from what you're saying, it sounds like they're careful who they chose. I can actually understand this viewpoint if they were the original creators of the mod. Speaking from experience, being a creator of something original can make you protective of it, especially if you have a clear vision of what exactly is you want to accomplish. However as I understand it, the dev team is no longer composed of its original creators, they abandoned the project a while back. The logical conclusion in that situation (to me) is to open the game up to the community and focus on what everyone wants, as the game no longer belongs to anyone, and thus the people who still care about it should determine its direction. Instead, the NEW devs are dictating terms of the game and making the decisions for us. So my question is, what "right" do the devs have for this stance, other than currently being in control? Why are their decisions more important over someone who wants to contribute and alter the game, but didn't know the right people at the right time? It feels like a textbook definition of an oligarchy. If the game had only improved over the years, I honestly wouldn't care. Instead the gameplay's gotten worse than I ever would have predicted, so I kind of view the current dev team as usurpers who came in and ruined the game, versus the original dev team, who made something I sincerely liked.

You can argue that the dev team is the one putting in the work, so they've earned the right to shut others out, but that doesn't really hold up. The majority of the work was done by other people. If the mod belonged to anybody, it was them, and they're mostly gone now. I would bet money if FF completely opened up the code, some people would swoop in and mod the hell out of it to make a game that they considered better. Unless you're talking cosmetic changes, it's understandable people don't want to slave away at the mod if they feel like they're going in against an established groupthink pattern and the mod is mostly mutated into a game they don't want. By having access to it first when the dev team dissolved and shutting others out, it's a self-fulfilling prophecy of having done more work.

You can also argue that the devs' status as dictating the direction of the mod is necessary because the community doesn't know it wants. My memory may be failing me, but I've NEVER known the devs to make a news post or anything to that extent, reaching out to the community, asking them what they want. In general they browse forums silently and reply haphazardly to some threads. Maybe later some of these are discussed in private like it's some clandestine agenda, who knows, we certainly don't. But seriously, when have the DEVS made a news post saying something like:

"hey guys, numbers are dwindling on the mod, we need to figure out how to get players back and bring in new people. We want your feedback and from anyone who might be interested, what do YOU want to see in this game?"

Of course not, we know that's a joke. Every once in a while, a forum user makes a post like this and if a dev comments at all, it's to the tune of "what makes you think you know what the direction of FF is?"

Again, remember this is mostly coming from people who became developers of FF AFTER the fact.

Here's a question for the devs: Under what circumstances would you consider opening up the original code to FF (under the assumption that all the original coders were credited?)


Dexter: Nice one-line rebuttal to multiple specific accusations with no details, no clarification, no defense, or any indication that you even know what he might be referring to. Helps restore confidence.