A plan.

[Chairman_Tiel]

I'll start off by saying I'm not a persuasive person by any stretch of the imagination, but nor am I going to try to be. My goal here is only to present the facts in a blunt and easily understood fashion so a solution can be found. That said, objectivity is hard when I'm certain everyone has some sentimental attachment to this community. I know I've cultivated one since I joined this out-of-the-way board two years ago in February 2012. Things were pretty great back then, I have to say. Communication was open, the ship design subforum was active, and we all reveled in our own ignorance of just how feasible the project we all gravitated around was.

But times have changed. As a whole I think we've come to accept that these things we ask for, these things we stage endless debate over - they aren't as simple as some coder just walking along and waving a wand to make it all happen. In fact, many of us have reached the conclusion that this project may not even become a reality, or at the very least not how we envisioned it back when it was pitched by Mackeroth in 2011. And as a result, through the various conflicts, through the three forum switches, through at least ten different minecraft server 'invasions', this forum is dying. It's bleeding members, and there are none to replace their potential valuable input to the life of this community. Where there was once three people online at any given time, now there are only bots. If this path is not strayed from, pretty soon there will be nothing left but a handful of reluctant hermits squabbling on a biweekly basis.

Part of the reason this is the case is because of the site changes. I assign blame to myself for the first occasion, in which I promised a more functional site only to sweep the rug from under everyone later on, causing a ton of confusion and misdirection. However, when I reuploaded the site to the hosting provided by Tau, it was under the assumption that he would do his utmost to maintain it. This has not been the case. User registrations are fundamentally broken at the moment, so even if people wanted to join and contribute to discussions, they are unable to do so. And recently, Tau has spent money that would have gone toward hosting the site on a radio set. Can he really be blamed? Not at all, it was his cash. But I have to express a degree of irritation that his negligence on both counts has left the forum in a sorry state of affairs. New people have never been able to join (creating a stagnant forum), and hosting for it expires next month along with the domain name fc-mod.com. If nothing is done this board will just vanish, both in terms of online presence and userbase.

I don't want to see that happen. I don't think anyone does, really. So let's do something about it.

I'll start it off - this seems like an opportunity to me to transform into something that isn't reliant on continued development on the mod to survive. I've pitched the idea of a gaming community before, as has Iv, but on both occasions it was just kind of...ignored. I don't think we stand to lose anything from it, and with the domain name expiring it's cost effective to get a more fitting url as well.

[ACH0225]

Well, we have Proto's Flan Pack, which we could use as a new centre for the site. We could easily make this site devoted to that, with the actual mod taking the equally important but less vocal seat. We could also host a Flans server like Monorisu's, which would gain us a few members.

[CMA]

I'd have to agree with the gaming forum thing, I don't have much time to devote here anymore, and literally no time for the mod, sorry. However, it(the mod) was never that impossible, it just never got anything close to the support it needed. As for money, I have about 200$ in cash and another 200$ that's been promised to me, but I have no way of digitizing it.

Anyway, I'm open to suggestions. Worst case scenario we could make a board over at ∞chan. Also, I agree with ACH.

[҉]

Futurecraft isn't impossible, it's just impossible for us. It would be a big deal for an actual game studio.

Turning this into a gaming community is OK, but I suspect it will result in some serious changes here. We might get new members, but not members who're interested in the mod, and people who joined because of FC are likely to leave (not that they aren't already, of course, but still). A community might still be around, but if it doesn't use the name 'Futurecraft' and isn't composed of the same people who were part of Futurecraft, in what sense have the Futurecraft Forums survived?

[Error]

We can still be Futurecraft, there just won't be a mod called Futurecraft.

[Iv121]

Well now as the social gaming topic is back on let's get over the basics for the fourth time I believe:

First of all the most basic requirement for a social gaming community is an actual game to work with. We all play diff stuff like MC for example but the later didn’t seem to cut it. Perhaps the easiest games to start with are more competitive ones, shooters are a good example, they can also help us start gaining members. Also I would prefer a game that even a small number of people can play as with the current member count I won't expect more than 4v4 matches. For such gaming communities it is also a good idea to play F2P games as everyone can easily get them and so you won't get scenarios where people cant join because they don’t have the cash.

Now that you have a game you would like to play you will need to actually play it. Some service like Xfire or evolve that Tiel suggested can be useful to keep track of who is playing right now and join them. Just like ppl hang out in the skype group ppl can also hang out in games together, its great and it helps to unite the community, however the big thing comes (or came where I used to hang out) on Sundays, where most members were logging into the game to play together simple matches or participate in community events or tournaments. That is the real premise of social gaming communities and why people join them, I would go as far to say that in our current state having those Sunday (or any other day) events and participating in them is almost mandatory. OFC I cant force you but without those nothing will happen and you will have to do your best to attend them.



First of all choose a game, some valid suggestions that might suit you are TF2, WoT, Tribes: Ascend, War Thunder, Blacklight: Retribution, AVA, Hawken, Mech Warrior Online,
When we grow a bit we can then move on to games like planetside 2, Arma 2 Free,
Perhaps I might even get a look on older crap like Combat Arms (that game got completely destroyed by premium weapons , it was actually a decent F2P game back at a time )


As for the mod LJS I hate to admit it but the facts are speaking against it, either the community changes or it ceases to exist, either way current FC won't be there, perhaps later it is possible in another form, but not in the current one. Also I doubt the FC lore or RPs are going anywhere ...

[Archduke Daynel, PhD]

Futurecraft as a mod is pretty much in death cramps. Futurecraft as a forum is dying. I guess we do need something new to focus on to keep this community alive. New members wouldn't exactly hurt either, as long as we can stay clear of, you know, noobs and assholes and retards and the like.

[ACH0225]

Whatever changes, this is an owl forum. Perhaps we could form a Youtube channel and gain serfs that way?

[Iv121]

No content nor platform, again having a gaming community makes recording actually valid with the possibility of exploring social gaming tournament streaming, COUSE PRO GAMES ARE BOOORING ! STUFF NEEDS TO BE MORE CASUAL AND MORE FAILS ! , honestly Im amazed ppl didn’t think of it before me (perhaps did but nobody really saw it).

[Solar112]

We all agree that 'WE' are dying. I've given up trying to care about this forum, and it's community. I'm able to contact the people I care about contacting through external means, and beyond that I no longer care. The forum has become boring, with no life and activity, we need something, as suggested before, a gaming community may be 'our' last hope of staying together. This is likely my last post. I trust the people I'm still in contact with to alert me if the community pulls through.

TAU GET YO SHIT TOGETHER OR GIVE MY THE ADMIN AND SYS ADMIN INFO AND I'LL DO IT!

[CMA]

Guys, don't get so excited, it's just the intertubes. Inb4 Fr0st appears and fills us with false hope :----DDDD.


Anyway, I think we should focus more on the modpack(it's pretty awesome, really. Other than that keylogger :\) and general gaming, there's literally no reason not to. More opinions pending, I'm reading Iv's wall of text.

[Iv121]

To be honest I doubt the physical part of the forum is the prob, also lets be honest LS you lie about not caring, as ironically you are here. Also I don't get your quote marks around the "we", the "we" attitude wont get you or "us" anywhere useful.

[Solar112]

I'm solar... Last i checked ls is void...

[Saravanth]

That's not LS but Solar... Better edit that, Iv.

[CMA]

New rule; dramatic/passive aggressive posts should be politely ignored.

Anyone have a problem with that?