Builder Ranks -Creative

[Drac_]

  I would like to finally get up and discuss a topic that has been on the minds of creative players for much time. I understand your point of view on keeping it like classic, but it cant always depend. Creative needs a renovation. The first problem that appears is that since there are only 3 achievable ranks its a struggle to get to one, taking along from my friend. LangBuildsMc, He had a struggle getting to recruit, since the ranks are so spread out. Eventually he left the server since it was not possible for him to get it. I understand it takes effort to get to recruit. But effort is something different for every single person. Personally for me it was just another rank, but that isnt going to be the same for everyone else.
  Also, we are losing many players to this problem. Half the server is recruit. Because Builder rank is too hard to achieve for some people. Look at the rejections for builder apps. When people get recruit and they build for Builder and they dont get it multiple times. I can somewhat say they most likely are not going to stay. Because they know its not going to be a possibility of getting builder. So there really is no point on being the server. But an addition to the ranks will allow to build for more ways. This will greatly boost the server. I want to pull a personal example from me. I am toning down on the server and moving on. Because I know there's little possibility of me getting crafter, what is the point. This has caused a major loss of players on the server because like I said, since there is only 3 ranks. They are challenging for most people to get them. That shouldn't be right. Being across creative servers for 4 years. I can say the suggestions I apply are constructive, and should be put into consideration. This problem has been building up for a long time and it is just getting to a point where I see 2-5 players leave a day because of this problem. I am even thinking about it. Thats a major problem. I have alot of experience with creative servers. And I know what allows them to pull through. And fail. And sorry to say this. But Creative, Opticraft in general. Is holding on to the things they did years ago. Majorly outdated. Which is making Opti fail, drastically. Thank You -Drac_
 
   

[TheWholeLoaf]

Adding more ranks in between wouldn't help. They would need to be just as hard to get, but I feel that you are suggesting they should be easier to get. If the are easier, players will fly through them at the same speed it would take to get from guest to crafter. Example, it would take someone 4 months to get crafter, with or without more ranks in between.

Also, everyone has different building levels when they join. Not everyone is going go be able to achieve crafter. If they could, then everyone would be crafter instead of recruit, which you say is a problem.

My question is, what would you do after you achieved crafter? You wouldn't have anything to work towards, and you would probably still leave.

The opticraft server isn't about ranking up and never has been, which is what makes it different from so many other servers. Our creative server is about building and being part of the community, ranks are just a perk, a side note.

Becoming like every other server would defeat the whole point of opticraft, and that should never happen.

[DeeKay]

The opticraft server isn't about ranking up and never has been, which is what makes it different from so many other servers. Our creative server is about building and being part of the community, ranks are just a perk, a side note.

This, so much this.

I can look at it from yours and others point of view and understand what you're saying. But like Loaf has put it, every server Opticraft has run whether it be past or present has never been about ranks and how fast you can climb them, it's been about the community as a collective. If anyone ever sees Opticraft as a "rank first, get to know people later" community, then they're probably in the wrong place I'm afraid.

[TheWholeLoaf]

If you take a second to think about it and/or experience it, you'll find that a community based server is more fun than a ranks based server. Ranks servers are over and done with once you reach the top of the ladder. Community based servers are more fun simply because of that family feeling.

[velo]

Personally, I both agree and disagree with some of what you've said. For one, I don't completely understand what you're suggesting. You address a problem but give no specific way to achieve a solution. I'm inferring that you probably are suggesting extra ranks, but it could also be, as Loaf thought, to make Ranks more easily achievable.

A lot of what you've said is true, though. Do people leave because they don't get their ranks? Yes. Although, I don't see it happen as often as you've said, it still happens occasionally. But. let's face it. That happens in every creative server. Is it hard to get recruit? It depends on your exposure to building, and your determination. For more-experienced builders, like myself or you, Recruit probably wasn't that hard to achieve. But, for others, it may take a little work. With the right determination and a positive mentality, it shouldn't take most players too long to get their first rank. I personally have taken the process of getting recruit as a "show us how invested you are in this server," not a "show us how good you are" rank.
Builder and Crafter, on the other hand, are much harder to get than Recruit for a reason. There should be a distinction in the number of Recruits to the number of Builders/Crafters, as the ladder has to work very hard to get their title. Not everybody is going to be able to achieve Crafter, but that is the point of the ranks system. Each progressive rank is supposed to be harder to achieve because each successive rank should have a different level of skills.

Adding an extra rank, on the other hand, is somewhat debatable. The only thing I can really think of is something along the lines of how the Trusted rank works on smp. I am purely speculating when I say this, but: Recruits that show dedication to the server, or spend a lot of time on-line, or for whatever reason could get a Novice, or Veteran rank, or whatever name you want to call it. I still don't see how adding another rank would be beneficial, but this would solve the problem of there split the amount of recruits on the server there are a little bit.

I would also like to point out, that the focus of the server shouldn't be on ranks. The friends I've made on this server are going to be a lot more important in a few years than the title [Crafter]:veloticy... That's just not what this server is about.
The reason I, as well as the majority of the players on this server have continued to return to it is because of the people, not a Green/Purple word in front of our names.

Update:
http://gyazo.com/8514e2d8636e56adfec1ee50d4903406
This just happened in game and it only really strengthens my view of opticraft as a community server. If you personally feel no point of playing on the server because you don't think you'll be able to get Crafter, that's your decision, no matter how far off it is from the point of the server. If you do wish to stay, I hope we all can help show you how great this community can be.

[zwaan111]

I agree with loaf here, but i dont think that the only thing that makes players leave here is the inability to gain ranks quickly. Sure, making it easier to achieve a rank here binds those players more to us, however i think it's also the fact that they cant tpa, and the fact that they cant place water, and the fact that they cant place redstone. It's just too much on some point. Of cause i am not suggesting that we should just give those things to guests, however we can bind the voting mechanism to tpa access which removes that problem and also gives us votes (which opti isn't really getting quickly either).

[tribalturtle]

As a player of Opticraft since 2011, I have a lot of experience with ranks on all 3 Opticraft servers (Classic, SMP, and Creative.) I've lost ranks, I've gained ranks, and I've stayed the same rank for months, years. This server is definitely not about ranks. If anything, as Loaf said, it should be about feeling like you've been a part of a family. Although ranks are there, people should be building to have fun, not to gain something.

Players usually stay for the community, building is always just a plus side. If someone stays for the community, they're obviously going to find something else to pass the time, for example: building, being an operator, the list goes on and on. Yes, some people like to stay for the building factor, but their world should not revolve around that. Rejection is an inevitable force in life, it's always going to be a thing. Yes, a lot of people get rejected for recruit and builder - but every operator has different standards. My standards aren't going to be the same as someone as good as building like Loaf. It just doesn't work like that.

however i think it's also the fact that they cant tpa, and the fact that they cant place water, and the fact that they cant place redstone.

As for redstone - our server is not as advanced as others. Some people are very, very good at redstone, and some contraptions may cause players on our server or our entire server to lag. If a server is lagging, that is also going to push players to leave.
As for water - we have guests who come on our server purely to grief. If water is given to guests, griefers would use that to grief also. In my opinion, saying "Players cannot place water until recruit rank" and placing water for players is much easier than having to clean up a world that is full with a mix of grief and water.
If anything, we should add TPA for any rank to use, instead of having them donate for it.

The point of this post is to say, our server isn't supposed to be based on ranks only. Make friends, friends that you can be yourself with and not have to care about being judged. Make them your family. That's where all the fun really is.

[gavin1928374655]

I don't see this "problem" that people keep discussing.  Play and enjoy yourself.  You are making an issue out of nothing