Kurtle

I thought it was necessary to discuss the change in a public forum accessible to more people, since arguing in DM's or Staff Discord doesn't really get that much done. Discord chats aren't good places to make genuine solutions. The thing is, these players likely would never join the server anyway, and the only reason they would is to use their reserves. This is a very valid point, however its on the staff team to remember the reason people got their reserves removed, not on the players themselves. A failure to record and log reserves changes should be no reason to punish players who did nothing wrong. Furthermore, what is the worst possible thing someone can do with reserve powers? Perhaps I am out of touch, but I simply don't remember any examples of this happening when I participated in the vote. I will agree on the fact that a Faction Leader has plead their case for it to be ignored, but I don't think this is the staff's fault, because as far as I'm concerned, the staff don't have any way to easily access this case. Perhaps a dedicated plead channel in the staff discord? An enlisted having officer permissions from their reserves gives them an opportunity to participate in scenarios that require O-1 perms(EX: Kidnapping, Spawning Vehicles, Raiding to name a few) If enlisted have no officers online, I don't believe they should ignore their reserves and go AFK due to lack of activities. Since I have joined MRP, there is a tier progression that is generally recommended for new players. You join base faction, mess around with enlisted and once you are ready, maybe move on to a SOC faction and, by the time that you do, hopefully your game knowledge and combat skill is up to par with the rest of that SOC. There is an indelible fact we must face here; Switching factions can be hard. To go from base faction to SOC is a change that, in some cases, have completely turned people off from the server. While I do think reserves can and have been used as "a backup plan," I really don't see the harm in that, as if they weren't going to commit to the faction they joined anyway, they would not have stayed. Don't punish them for trying something new and not liking it. Adding on to this further, some people main one country, they only stick to US or Tali for one reason or another, I don't think these players should be punished for wanting to stay on one side. I am aware that it is the same, but current staff can remember the time I spent on Tali, plus for the reasons listed above, I don't see why the entire faction being removed discounts that work. While giving me reserves back would not be fair to the old players, I believe that the entire reserves change itself is in a similar predicament. I honestly don't see the point in trying to ruin people's fun. If a faction leader sees their enlisted playing on their reserves half of the time, it is in their rights alone to punish that player for not dedicating their time to the faction they are in. Furthermore, it is an ironic situation, as currently you have been on 2LTR on 11A for the past couple of weeks(from what I have been told) and have decided not to join any faction. I don't know what your reasoning for this is, but I'd assume it's manager stuff.. Handpicks are nothing new on MRP, but you really don't want to be going around saying handpicks are the important thing. Why should someone who just joined have to contend with a random PVT instantly getting SGM and then officer? It makes much more sense to have someone go from 2LTR to 2LT to help their faction rather than going all the way up. As of right now, I am a SFC in Tali. I have been given opportunities to instantly go to SGM or even officer, but I have denied them. Keep in mind, I have done many things as an enlisted, some of which being warleading. This sentence probably defeats the purpose of my entire argument, as your opinion as the manager outweighs mine and others as simple players of the game. However, I implore you to take a minute to read through these responses and stew upon it with the staff team, and rethink it. There are always two sides to an argument, and I believe this is no exception. Enlisted having reserves is not a bad thing by any means, and enlisted abusing extra whitelists should be punished by faction leaders, not staff. I appreciate the long response and I think you addressed all of my points well. While we may not agree on the discussion, I still think the dialogue is important to constantly check ourselves and decisions. Cheers.

Introduction: As many of you know, recently a change was made with the reserves system. I would like to today highlight the flaws of which, and point out prior examples and community testimony that can support my claim. While I wanted to wait for someone else who holds a position in MRP to voice their opinion on it, I felt as if it was finally time to have my voice be heard after the system had set in. While I have been renewing my activity on MRP on Tali as an enlisted, I feel my opinion is important as someone who the reserves change affects. I would like to encourage civil discussion about the system, as well as everyone to remain unbiased in their discourse Reserves System Change: For those uninformed, here was the message received by Staff Members and Faction Leaders when the system was changed: New Reserves System Faction Leaders can only authorise reserves for Officers that served under them during their current term. The only exception is authorising the reserves of their predecessor. Staff no longer vote on Reserves. Reserves are automatically revoked if the player is in, or joins, another Faction on the same side. (e.g. lose GB Reserves if you join Rangers) Faction Leaders must notify Executives of new Reserves, and no Reserves are considered to be granted if Executives have not been notified by the Faction Leader As Staff don't vote, Executives will take action regarding the behaviour of players who hold reserves, regardless of what whitelists they are using Also Reserves are a one-time deal. If they get removed for any reason, they are gone unless re-earned again The current Reserves will be reviewed, and Reserves will be removed if players are main-life on the side of their Reserves. I would like to point out some issues with this announcement, and the specifics of it. Nature of the announcement: Before cracking on with the beef of the argument, I want to discuss the way in which this change was introduced to the community. While it was told to staff and faction leaders, the wider community in general was not informed. I see one issue with this, as it isn’t passed to people it actually affects. Theos used the rationale here: "It was told to the people who are responsible for enforcing it" This does make sense, as the people responsible for its enforcement can pass the knowledge to the people with reserves. However, this misses the mark in terms of transparency, as removing someone’s reserves without having a publicly accessible area to discuss it, is strange. Almost every single past reserves change has been supported by a forum post, and I see no reason to break this precedent(Forums Posts of this nature will be presented below). I was not made aware of any significant circumstance that warranted this change. I believe that the reason for the change should be transparent as well, so that the decision can be critically reviewed and deliberated on. This relates to my previous point about the nature of the decision in staff chat. Historical Context: The purpose of this context is not to equate Theos’ decision with past decisions, it is only to provide support and evidence for a good discussion. This was the post that wiped reserves in 2020. https://garnetgaming.net/forums/index.php?/topic/9457-mrp-reserves-removal/&tab=comments#comment-89451 This post was immediately met with criticism from the community, some of these discussions and suggestions following will be listed below. https://garnetgaming.net/forums/index.php?/topic/10925-reserves-post-to-end-all-reserves-posts/&tab=comments#comment-101317 https://garnetgaming.net/forums/index.php?/topic/10546-the-return-of-reserves-for-real/&tab=comments#comment-98425 https://garnetgaming.net/forums/index.php?/topic/10417-i-humbly-ask-that-you-reconsider-the-reserves-stance/&tab=comments#comment-97411 Discussion: “Faction Leaders can only authorise reserves for Officers that served under them during their current term. The only exception is authorising the reserves of their predecessor.” This to me is troubling when you consider the people who dedicated their time to another faction many years ago. If they did the work, they should get the reserves. “Staff no longer vote on Reserves.” I believe this may invite bias, as leaving a decision like this to an individual is worse than a group. Having a balanced group of staff from each side voting on the person’s impact is a great way to do things, and I believe this sentiment is shared by other people who have participated in a reserves vote. “Reserves are automatically revoked if the player is in, or joins, another Faction on the same side. (e.g. lose GB Reserves if you join Rangers)” This to me is probably the most contentious part of the reserves. Imagine a new player joining the server. He puts in many long hours to a base faction before deciding that he wants to go to a SOC. Should the hard work that he put in on that faction be erased? That is for you to decide. One of the big factors of discussion when the reserves was changed last time was the status and history that reserves hold. While it might seem like silly bragging rights, it is still actually an important thing to strive for, and is a consistent target of achievement for many people. My Personal Grievance: I saw the first version of VVS/AAF, and eventually became COL. After my leadership, I received reserves in AAF. Today, AAF reserves are useless, and I would naturally want to return to my 2GA(Tali) reserves. With these rules, I would not be able to. Does my time in AAF(that was completely erased) replace the time during the summer when I would consistently play the server for 14 hours a day with minimal breaks? I believe that the negatives of me(and others in the same situation) receiving our reserves is virtually nonexistent, and I will believe that until proven otherwise. Wrapping up: I have listed my grievances for the change, and I believe that they were clearly laid out. I encourage all of you to discuss in a civil manner. I had received several testimonies from community members but decided to leave them out( I wanted these members to speak on their own behalves). (Also not sure if this was the correct place to post this sorry)

This is something I tried to implement in a way in 2GA and as Gamemaster, with a decent amount of success. I'm glad to see official server support for it.

Well today marks one year since I (re)joined Garnet, since 2018. Since then, we've only seen 2 (technically 3) map rotations. It's been a full year of desert map. I am wholeheartedly in favor of changing the map to a forested map, or something that isn't sand. Because I hate sand. There are a lot of factors though. It's important to have access to a good cycle of maps, so when the community eventually gets bored and starts bitching, we can ignore the problems and just change the map. It's also important to analyze the game state. I have really genuinely enjoyed playing war on the current map. While I don't get on the server often, the combat I engage in on this map when I am online is by far the most enjoyable to me, and I think that sentiment can be shared between a lot of other community members. Another thing to analyze is how much work it will take. I think if the MRP community is able to show that it is worthy of all the work that a map update requires, then Garnet should oblige them. But as we all know: The MRP community.

Would there perhaps be a way for the victims of the mission be able to gather intel about enemy missions to counter them? I think this could add a really cool dynamic, as intel could carry more weight. Also I hopped on the server and I am really in love with this update, the day and night cycle is really smooth and doesn't disrupt lighting or gameplay, and the missions did a good job at keeping people engaged. Awesome stuff!

Excellent job to the current gamemasters you guys are doing great from what I've seen in game.

Neutral This was an issue during my Marshalship, as the idea of dual factioning was very popular at the time. I believe that dual factioning shouldn't be normal. It takes away from the idea of dedicating yourself to one faction, and takes away from the idea of learning and playing with your fellow brothers in a faction. I only put neutral because this is something that only works if the right people do it. Allowing people of low intelligence, or ability, to dual faction will overflow the server with self-important, power hungry 9 year olds. If the suggestion were to be accepted, I would recommend a few measures: 1. Dual Factionees must get permission from Staff. I'm not sure exactly what level of staff you would prefer. I recommend Manager+, as they are in the position to be making faction altering decisions like this. 2. For base faction leaders, create a very concrete quota for those who are dual factioning. Nobody likes to fulfil quotas to be an officer, but if you can't reach at least 1 activity every two days on base faction(or whatever the quota will be), you shouldn't be dual factioning. 3. Make sure that they remember where their main role is. If they end up spending too much time on base, while neglecting SOC responsibilites, they should leave the SOC. 4. Most importantly to remember: You are not supposed to be an end-all be-all solution to low officer numbers. Dual factionees should only be used as a way to supplement and support the existing roster, to relieve stress from the few officers there may or may not be. The moment that SOC members overflow the base roster, it can get shitty. TLDR: Only let trusted people dual faction. They should be approved by execs and must fulfil a quota to keep their position.

These GM tools look really sweet. Can't wait to see what the GM's will do with them.

This is my previous post on Military Police(which was accepted), and I'm sure there have been others then this one. I think that MP can be good if it is ran well and kept maintained by smart players. This post and mine both use existing models, in order to reduce the need to add more unnecessary add-ons to the server. +1

I wholeheartedly believe that the members of AAF and AFSOC are able-minded, skilled individuals who are able to make smart decisions. With this in mind, we can confidently assume that the members of these factions will not choose to utilize helicopters in a foul manner (Example: 5 Taliban V 20 US and US decides to take an attack helicopter out). They will RP correctly if damaged, and if shot by hundreds of infantry rounds, they will fly back to base for repairs. While I certainly think that helicopters can be oppressive to play against, the fact stands for anyone who has ever actually flown a WAC helicopter and tried to use the guns, is that it is hard to use and basically useless in most combat situations. As former AAF COL, I would say that one of the most enjoyable experiences was trying to improve as a gunner in the Attack Heli, I believe that giving AAF and AFSOC the opportunity to utilize these would give more appeal to the factions, as well as increasing the responsibilities and importance of it. Wrapping up, if it is found that AAF and AFSOC are unable to fulfill these roles properly, just punish them 4Head. Confirming and adding to my +1.

Other than going completely inactive towards the end of his last tenure (GF mode :D) he has always wanted the best for the server and was a major help to me as an advisor during my Marshalship and even came off reserves to help my 2GA. I think his abilities as a level headed leader and decision maker are indispensable and I believe he will be a very positive force on the staff team. I can't comment on his current activity but from what I've heard from people I trust is that he is doing well with 055. Best of luck sir o7 +1

Spencer is extremely dedicated to the Garnet community proven by his time in MRP with different factions and from personal interactions, I can tell he has a level head and can deal with situations that require such a quality. It seems like he has been active in SWRP helping grow the server, and I think he would be a perfect fit for staff. +1

+1 for python's reason. Adding on to that, it's really fucking cool to be in the midst of a battle and have aircraft fire from the skies. It adds a new challenge and layer of depth to wars that is sometimes difficult to create on MRP. This also gives AAF and AFSOC a new area to improve their skills in.

Can't speak on activity (although he on when I get on rarely). The most important factor is that he is very dedicated and has that new player energy that is desperately needed to make MRP a great server, I don't see any issues with maturity in the time I knew him and he was always dedicated to TSFU. Has a bright future as a community member and staff member. GL +1

imo, you should be terrified of killing teammates when using RPG's and Grenades, it would add a lot of skill and depth to the classes so you don't have RPG andies running around blowing the OBJ up with no regard for their teammates or anything else.

While I semi agree with what you're saying here, I want to know exactly what perms you would give GM's to improve their events/jobs.

I believe personally that a majority of the player-base consist of people like me, who joined the server looking to play Call of Duty campaigns in GMod. This might sound dumb, but I believe that people want to have wars and events with genuine RP involved that is enjoyable for each private. I believe that RP events can be massive successes for GM's who are smart and with the correct players leading the event. Most of the time, people don't RP because they don't know how. To me, Military RP captures that thing that no other game really can. You have the aspect of shooting which many other games have, but then you have the community and the feeling of doing real military drills, operations, promotions, politics, and most of all, minging. As we all know, combat is NOT the best part of GMOD, as the game is quite old. I think it's worth trying to train people in the ways of RP to capture the magic that is very possible with some effort.

+1 I can't comment on your activity or demeanor in game, but I think your ideas and general mindset would only be helpful to the current GMs. While the GM team has moved more towards the direction of PvP events. You go on to list these events. These are very simple PvP events that I believe are in like with what the GM team is looking for (obviously I can't speak for them). If you can apply your RP "learning experience" idea to these events, adding a little bit of RP and keeping it PvP, then you will be extremely successful. If you can keep in line with the PvP nature of events while incorporating a small amount of RP for new players to learn, I will be impressed. My tip to you: Don't forget this idea while you GM, make sure to always listen to player feedback, and do your best to make fun events for the people :).

I know :P. it turned into something really cool and i'm amazed by the result

Yo nutman hope everything is going well with the servers, omega looked beautiful (even for a placeholder :P)

gj lux ttt strong as always

Glad to see the server is still in good hands! Godspeed boys

We move on, but we never forget the good times . good luck in life buddy and talk to you soon