The Fall of Manacube

[iFlame]

The following thread will be discussing the current state of ManaCube, and where the network is heading. It is not supposed to be a rant, but rather a wake-up call with feedback, personal thoughts and personal experience, as an Olympus player. I'd love to hear what the player base on the other servers of ManaCube experience, so feel free to join in on the discussion. Do please remember to all comments in a civil manner, and to obey the forum rules.

The current state of ManaCube

Network Lag
Having a stable server is a top priority for successful servers, as it is rather essential, in order to satisfy current and newer players.
As of recently, ManaCube has had some serious network issues, resulting in rubber-banding, high ping and general lag. It is understandable that a server with high
player-traffic experiences outages every once in a while, but with ManaCube it is persistent.
How do you think newer players will judge the server when they join? Will they stay, when they keep getting teleported around, and with re-appearing blocks even after breaking them five times?
They will definitely leave, and keep on searching for servers to play on.
Now, all of the network issues could be excused for, if it was temporarily. It is also understandable, that DDOS-attacks can have a huge effect on the network.

Bugs, Bugs and Bugs
Even if the networking issue got fixed, there are still plenty of bugs on the Olympus server. It is quite understandable that there are bugs with a new season being launched, but it gives the players a feeling that there has not been enough beta-testing, before eventually releasing the new season to the public.
Even though we, as players, know the bug-fixes are being worked on, it still leaves little to no hope with the lack of communication, which leads me to the next topic.

The Lack of Communication
From a player's perspective, there is a very limited amount of communication between the higher powers and the player base. As an example, there was, and still is, hardly any information about the return of Trench (Olympus pickaxe enchantment), even though it has been disabled for more than two weeks.
Communication is essential for any business that has a player- and user-base, and it is obvious that ManaCube is slacking on that part.
We literally had to ask the Devs themselves about Trench, rather than public announcements from the owner(s).
Another example of lack of communication, is the in-game changes that does not get mentioned in announcements or updates. For instance, back when the price of cactus was reduced, it went unnoticed anywhere. It literally changed after a daily reboot, with no discussing or feedback from the players. It did change to the better though, but the communication was bad.
Even the current network lag can be used an example. There has been literally no statements, announcements nor updates on the subject. Almost as if the higher powers have not identified themselves with the problem. It is a shame.

Who Takes the Blame?
Now, with all the lack of communication and ridiculous amount of bugs and network lag, who actually takes the blame? The mods.
What I have noticed, is that when it comes to criticism, the moderators of the server take the heat, and the real problem is that they can not defend themselves, as they are not getting information about anything either. It seems as if Mods are just as uninformed as the player base.

"But Dacon does what he can!"

- is what the mods tell us. That is completely wrong.
If this is doing what you can, you really need to consider hiring more people to take part of the team.
A co-owner, more admins, more devs. ANYTHING that could let some weight on the shoulders off, would be able to improve the server tremendously.
The fact that Trench was fixed last week, but still has not been enabled, is just an example of the slack, that the player base notices about the ownership of the server. It generally feels like the higher powers are running from their responsibilities.

This will result in ManaCube being dead, if nothing is done.

 

[Rosie3k9]

This honestly the best thing i have read all year flame i have never read so much truth in my life the whole staff and dacon communication shit needs to be sorted out as you said the mods take all the shit from players and they legit know nothing more then what the players do and its a joke you think someone who owns a server who obviously doesnt have a job because he would be loving all the cash that we donate would want to keep up the good name for his server but honestly the way he goes about it he doesnt care about players or his own staff to give them the respect they deserve and tell them what the go is with everything he thinks what coming on for 30 mins every few days makes a difference when even in that 30 mins he doesnt enable stuff that has been fixed (trench) doesnt look into things that need to be fixed (spawners) honestly in my conclusion to my rant Olympus has became a joke and tbh it shouldnt have reset cause they obviously wasnt prepared enough for it and didnt do nearly enough testing on all the new features.

Well i think thats enough for me great job on the post again flame really good work just hope someone aka dacon reads it

Peace out
-Rosie

 

[xEricL]

From a business standpoint:
The ManaCube network has a lot of potential to bring in some serious revenue. Dacon has done a great job at expanding and growing the server thus far, which is quite evident judging based on the amount of money that players donate every month. Not capitalizing on such an opportunity is, quite frankly, financially irresponsible.

To be clear, I am all for making money. I couldn't care less if that was Dacon's full motive behind running ManaCube. If the incentive is present, regardless of what it may be, Dacon should want to work as hard as he can to make sure the revenue keeps coming in. This includes improving stability, fixing bugs, preventing DDOS attacks, adding more and better packages to Buycraft, and everything else already mentioned by iFlame.

Dacon making money helps the players as much as it helps him, as long as he's able to recognize the business opportunity and capitalize on it.

I've spent over $350 on ManaCube in the past 4 months. Plenty of other players have spent even more. That money should be going to good use. We want improvements, Dakota. Make it happen.

From a recreational standpoint:
I fell in love with this network the minute I joined. When I joined the Olympus server, everything seemed beyond amazing; the players, the staff, the forum community, the activities, everything was wonderful.

For the past few months, I've grown frustrated with exactly the things iFlame has mentioned above. This includes, but is certainly not limited to:
- Lack of communication.
- Network lag/instability.
- Overpriced & seemingly unrewarding packages in Buycraft.
- A lack of simple permissions, including /rules, /tpacancel, /help, /etc.
- Not enough, if any, staff members online throughout the day.
- A seemingly careless attitude towards what the players & donators want.
- Donator rewards not working properly, such as /prefix on Olympus.

These things create an unprofessional atmosphere within the ManaCube network, which is something that doesn't go unnoticed by new players, as well as by the current ManaCube community.

Thank you, iFlame, for starting this discussion on the ManaCube forums. And thank you to everyone who speaks their thoughts in the comments below.

 

[Hallowqueen]

Hello, @iFlame.

While I cannot provide an answer for everything you have brought up in this post, I do wish to add some additional comments. For example, you stated that;

Even the current network lag can be used an example. There has been literally no statements, announcements nor updates on the subject.

when in fact, in the #updates channel of the community Discord, Dacon released this update, addressing the network lag issues (http://prntscr.com/n5vya2) - While, yes there is no solution yet, it at least shows that Dacon is fully aware of the current network wide issues, and is likely looking for a permanent solution.

I also would like to address this;

A co-owner, more admins, more devs

We currently have 3 admins who work very hard to respond to players and help out with any issues that they can, and a development team constantly working and doing the best they can to resolve or come up with possible solutions for any issues possible.

Not all of the information is ready to be disclosed publicly, and sometimes must be restricted to higher staff depending on the situation regarding it. Whilst sometimes we are unable to answer your questions, there will always be a good reason why it remains confidential. If a big change happens to the server, you will be informed of it.

Trust me, we completely understand the frustrations and we don’t like the current lag and issues any more than you do, however there is no instant fix to these things, and while you are likely sick of hearing it, we really appreciate the patience and currently while we await solutions, this is all we can really do. Because the server is experiencing some issues currently, does not mean it is the end of ManaCube entirely. The network lag has been around for ~7 days, it is in no way a “permanent” thing - I could understand if it were something that has lasted for a month or two, but currently it’s not that long-term and while I understand it’s not entirely ideal, the server is still playable for the most part.

We appreciate the concern your opinion(s), however some of your points are slightly over-dramatised and misinformed. There is no way for you to possibly know the communication that goes on between staff, and the information disclosed.

 

[Hallowqueen]

@450airsoft,

One thing you mentioned interested me;

- A seemingly careless attitude towards what the players & donators want.

If Dacon truly didn’t care what the players wanted, and the opinions of the community, why on earth would he spend time creating a website dedicated to specifically player suggestions, and a bi-monthly forum thread announcing all the suggestions being turned into additions for the server?

As I mentioned above to iFlame, there is no way for you to know what is communicated amongst staff, and some information isn’t ready to be disclosed to either mods, or to the community as a whole. Most if not all of the updates are added either in the #updates channel in the community discord, here on the forums, or by typing /updates in-game.

The recent lag spikes and network wide lag HAS been addressed, and IS being looked into. We don’t have any updates on it yet, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t being worked on. Some of the commands as you mentioned, are purposely disabled, and some of them are being worked on, but the levels of importance seem to change daily as players seem to expect solutions immediately.

 

[Hallowqueen]

@Rosie3k9,

As mentioned above to both Eric and iFlame, there is no way for anyone outside of the staff team to know what is being communicated. Because there is issues on the server, does not mean you have to take it out on mods. You also mention that Dacon “obviously doesn’t have a job” which frankly, whether or not he does has nothing to do with the server and is his personal, private business.

ManaCube isn’t Dacon’s only server, even if it were he still has a life and other matters to attend to. It is completely unfair to expect him to be on the server 24/7 working on issues, just because players aren’t willing to wait and expect constant updates when it’s just unreasonable. Dacon does respect his staff and the players on his server otherwise he wouldn’t have reset the server and added all the additions that he did, he wouldn’t have added Feature Upvote, he wouldn’t keep #updates in the community discord updated.

 

[Tas]

I'll be straightforward here. We try our absolute best to make sure the players know what's going on and when. There has been lag recently, but it's a pretty short-term problem and it's not like it's always been like this- the lag is recent, and a top priority. While a Parkour mod is not high on the info list, we (the staff team) know what we know, and if we're at liberty to talk about in in-game, we will and do. As the OP mentioned, we defend our boss (lol), and of course we do. Dacon is active and very helpful. What he does is hard, and I know you're not suggesting it's not, and are just looking out for the community, but as Hallow also said it's important not to overstate what's really going on here.

A new season of probably the most popular server was just released, along with new features, some of which have been acting up. There's been some basic network lag. That's really all there is to it. We have admin, devs, and the owner working hard to fix everything. They are, trust us. New features, updates, and cool things have been consistently added on a weekly basis. In the month of March we saw a change to the SOTM system; a new, much better suggestions page; a 2-week-long 75% off sale; and a whole new season to Olympus. And our numbers are growing.

Olympus is definitely the least stable server right now. It's basically brand-new, probably has the most commands/features, and is by far the most heavily populated at any given time. As an Olympus player, that is the context you have (no offense). Any of the other servers are doing fine, besides this little network lag. The server is not dying, one server is currently seeing changes which are bound to lead to issues and temporary dissatisfaction.

And to repeat what Hallow has said better than I have, you don't actually know what we're being told. I experience very little buggering about "what the heck's going on" (mostly because Parkour is fine tbh), but if there's any (which I know there is) it's from new, inexperienced players who hardly know the difference between a helpful player and an admin, let alone who manages what aspects of the server.

I hate to rant in the middle of my lunch, but as a pretty laid-back person I think it's really important not to overreact. To conclude, Olympus is the least stable because it's new. Therefore it has a few bugs that are highest priority. There is unrelated lag which is also being worked on. And it is being worked on.

 

[xEricL]

One thing you mentioned interested me; If Dacon truly didn’t care what the players wanted, and the opinions of the community, why on earth would he spend time creating a website dedicated to specifically player suggestions, and a bi-monthly forum thread announcing all the suggestions being turned into additions for the server?

I'm sorry, but the key word in my statement was the word "seemingly". For the most part, I do not believe Dacon is truly careless towards what the players want; that is evident judging based on what you said above, and judging based on some of the things I've heard him speak about in-game with other player.

The reason I specified "seemingly careless", rather than "entirely careless" was because, although this may not be the case in actuality, it appears as though Dacon doesn't care about what the players really want. To current players and OGs, yes, it is clear that Dacon wants to hear and work on as much as he possibly can to meet the players' desires; however, to new players, or to those who aren't very active on the server or on the forums, it might be harder for them to see that Dacon cares about implementing what the players want into the game as much as he cares about players putting more money into his pocket.

Yes, it's important to recognize the true nature of Dacon's attitude towards the ManaCube network. But at the same time, things don't always seem the way they really are; but with running a business, appearance and presentation are essential to being successful.

 

[Tas]

This is unrelated, but what gets me is the people who complain about Dacon trying to steal people's money at the same time that they complain about nothing ever being fixed or changed.

 

[iFlame]

@Hallowqueen

when in fact, in the #updates channel of the community Discord, Dacon released this update, addressing the network lag issues (http://prntscr.com/n5vya2)

I don't really think this is a fit example, as it states that the network errors should be fixed. We still have them, and that's when a follow-up would be nice. Some insights in what is happening, and why it is happening.
We don't really feel informed as players.

There is no way for you to possibly know the communication that goes on between staff, and the information disclosed.

Also, you're right when saying we don't know what's going on behind the curtains. BUT, as a player, it seems like nothing is going on, even though that may not be true. That is why it is important to keep your player base updated on things that are happening.

Another example is the current issue with spawner-limits not working correctly. Is this being addressed? Is it postponed? We don't know.
One way those questions could be answered is by making the Trello-board public, like many other companies do.

I hope I don't sound bratty and mean, it really is not my intention. I want the best for ManaCube.

 

[Hallowqueen]

Those updates don’t necessarily have to be made public, Trello is used for staff to report bugs/issues much like here on the forums. The information players need to know, is found in #updates, /updates and here on the forums. The progress/status of issues and bugs isn’t a player concern, we understand the frustration, but if something is postponed or a big update is happening regarding a plugin, you’ll know via one of the afore mentioned ways.

If there’s no updates on it, then it’s likely being worked on - The times something will be announced/updated is when there is a definite solution or when it is believed there is a solution.

 

[Mooohboy]

I agree with Iflame, I don't know how the server was before the reset and all these recent bugs and issues so i don't really have a right to talk but hopefully everything will be fixed shortly.

xxx

 

[JackyJohnny]

Not to mention players losing out on the 15 cubits for top voter due to a bug with the voting plugin incorrectly displaying vote counts...

 

[TheGearZZ]

The progress/status of issues and bugs isn’t a player concern,

Hallow I'd have to disagree. Current progress on bugs, etc. is most definitely a player concern. Anything that worsens our experience we should be kept in the loop about, even if it's just a weekly post saying "It's still being worked on" would be enough for us to know it's still being dealt with. We the playerbase need to know whats going on, we don't need specifics, we just want to be kept in the loop.

-Gear

 

[Blurpyfied]

First off this thread to me is useless.

Second off, How do you guys know what Dakota is doing??? The only people who really knows what he is doing is most of the staff team and his brother (Wardone) and think about it guys, Dakota has his own life ya know. While I don't think Dakota is stealing peoples money, He has to have the money, to keep the server up.

 

[KatDemonWolf]

This is just a thing to start off with: Please note what I say is not to be taken in a mean way.
Before going on I would like to say I know there is people more qualified to be saying this than me but I get to have a say.


Game Designer Point of view:
Look I am currently is school for game design and we get put into the action.
For those that do not know what a Game Designer is : They implement how a game should run and the help design GUI , and most of the features that get implemented and they come up the idea behind a game.

So now onto the actual post: From playing S1 to S2 you will obviously see the difference between them like that is a given. That is not the point of this i just felt the need to say that. So from a game designer point of view this server lags a lot like it understandable to a point. Server lag since S1 has gotten a lot worse like it seems like the server goes down more than once a day do to lag and or people attacking the server. Look being a game designer I have gotten to design more than one game and see how things are implemented and how they work. So like many other people on this server I do not think that the server is up to par really. There is a big disconnect from the Owner / Admin / Staff / and players and that is were other problems come in you need to have good communication in order to run a server. I know mods have said that they know as little as the players and that is bad because your staff should be in the loop so they know how to inform players of issues.

Most people have been complaining because of Trench being taken away and then added back after being fixed but it is not because it is not enabled and players should get to have at least some update about this. I know people will disagree with that but the people who play on this server are the player base and it is important to keep your player base happy. Something that a lot of players have said to mods and talked about with other players is that season 2 was released to early and in a rush. From myself and others who I will not name because I do not want them in trouble this season was released to early and it shows because many things were rushed to push the new season out. If the server had a full year to be up then I think that the devs could have enough time to make the server better and fix the bugs involved. A point that was brought to everyone attention is that devs barely had any time to beta test the new season and see things that could possibly go wrong. Something that is sad is that a lot of people in the server blame the staff for all the issues and the disconnect between Dacon and the staff also gets blamed on them. Last point to be made is that as a game designer this server really hurts to watch run because for one reason or another something does not work or something comes up and the server dies.

THANKS FOR READING

 

[KatDemonWolf]

First off this thread to me is useless.

Second off, How do you guys know what Dakota is doing??? The only people who really knows what he is doing is most of the staff team and his brother (Wardone) and think about it guys, Dakota has his own life ya know. While I don't think Dakota is stealing peoples money, He has to have the money, to keep the server up.

Even if Dakota does have his own life he should have his staff let into the loop on what is happening with the server. Players are getting mad at his staff for stuff they do not get let in on. The only thing I really see wrong is the lack of communication between Dacon and his staff and players

 

[Tas]

Even if Dakota does have his own life he should have his staff let into the loop on what is happening with the server. Players are getting mad at his staff for stuff they do not get let in on. The only thing I really see wrong is the lack of communication between Dacon and his staff and players

Once again, as staff, I am informed on lots of things. The staff team is always very aware of what's happening.

 

[KatDemonWolf]

Once again, as staff, I am informed on lots of things. The staff team is always very aware of what's happening.

Not to be mean but I do have to disagree with the mods being informed because many of the mods that players have talked to especially on Olympus are not fully informed on what is going on. Most of the points I made were about Olympus especially about the communication issues.

 

[DunnyTheThird]

I think a big thing is communication. I honestly never know what the rules are. There are a bunch of hidden rules I don't even know about. You look at the list of the Official rules are clearly stated. But then you start getting all these rules that you have to ask personally from mods. who sometimes don't even know the rules them self. Its quite annoying. One mod tells you one thing. Another mod tells you the other. Every rule needs to be clearly stated and explained in a post not just some of them!!! I never know if I am ever breaking the rules. I shouldn't have to ask a mod about the rules. I should be able to look it up on the forum post about the rules. Rules shouldn't just be added and no one knows about it. We should be notified when some rules have changed. When new things have been implemented.

The communication with this is really bad and needs to be worked on.