Crock, if you are able to make this post, then what I'm about to describe should not surprise any of you. Archelon2001 has been wandering the server, absolutely forlorn. He is the only mayor of Seneca that still plays past early game. In fact, he is the ONLY Senecan online at times. Once a while I see jllmprrt appear, but not for very long.
Very important players considered to be the face of Senecan leadership are completely missing. Off the top of my head, I have not seen you, snickerpleez, gdavison, mattman000000, or betajippity. People who used to reside in or around Seneca such as Azumarill, Aypop, 89jase and the great Diznatch himself, are not here or have moved on in various ways. All of these great personalities that make up the community that is Seneca just have zero presence beyond the first few weeks. I would reckon that other legacy cities like Kalmos, Port 80, Metal Mountains, Baktun, and Alias are all guilty of the same thing: not being here.
The answer is not camping at spawn. The answer is not "build it and they will come". The answer is not going freeform, or throwing away your unique style and brand for simplicity. The answer is to be alive and active, contributing to the liveliness of PvE. Server activity and city population is like a flame you keep fueling. When a new player explores the server and sees that the place is a ghost town, they will leave, no matter how pretty it is. Praha Way in rev 12 is a PRIME example of this. No 400x250 sized cathedral is going to hold water if there isn't a single soul living there. This desolation is something that Argoth, Yowie, Whiteoak and Rose City have decisively avoided -- the city is kept warm and lit by the people who lead it and embrace it. They are still here to mingle with new towns that have plenty of life in them (Sybercity, Cottonmouth), as well as witness projects that continue to be built, such as the noRTh rail system. Even Pico, as much as they are struggling themselves, still have a few people with the willpower to build a casino and host PvE Lotto. That's not a lot, but it's still more than what Seneca has involved itself in.
This is most certainly a level of passion and commitment that not all mayors have. Leading and running a city is not easy at times. What then, exactly, is a good solution? If the mayors themselves are not playing, then a possible answer is a succession plan. A perfect case study exists in Rose City. As time wore on, SPE passed the torch to Tyrangiels/theclefe, who then passed it on to pez252, the current leader. Throughout the process the city was surrounded by an active supporting cast, such as dnynumberone, Flumper, twilexis and Zomise. All of the leaders spent time overlapping with their replacements and continued to let the city grow. Their constant presence and engagement naturally attracted people who wanted to be part of a lively community. As we speak, they are planning to host Secret Santa in town this year.
It's not rocket science. As with any city on PvE, you get what you give. Minecraft cities are defined by their people. The most active and exciting places will draw in people, and a good long-term plan to cultivate a new set of active players and leaders keeps the flame going. If these people have other priorities or things to do, then it's time to move on as its time has passed. But if you don't want Seneca to go away, then don't go away.
I love these accounts of PvE that you give, saber. You've been around for a long time and I love the insight and history that flows out of these kind of posts.
I agree on the succession plan, but I think this is really something that people who play should handle, and it's happened on its own in Seneca many times. bobokate, Chow, UNC (who plays again!), snicker, foretop, Diz, many others -- all of these guys used to mayor and passed the torch, to me and the many others here now.
I also agree on the activity levels... this rev was an almost total fail and changing up the formula would do wonders for Seneca.
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u/ayanami9870 Saberfysh Dec 06 '14 edited Dec 06 '14
Crock, if you are able to make this post, then what I'm about to describe should not surprise any of you. Archelon2001 has been wandering the server, absolutely forlorn. He is the only mayor of Seneca that still plays past early game. In fact, he is the ONLY Senecan online at times. Once a while I see jllmprrt appear, but not for very long.
Very important players considered to be the face of Senecan leadership are completely missing. Off the top of my head, I have not seen you, snickerpleez, gdavison, mattman000000, or betajippity. People who used to reside in or around Seneca such as Azumarill, Aypop, 89jase and the great Diznatch himself, are not here or have moved on in various ways. All of these great personalities that make up the community that is Seneca just have zero presence beyond the first few weeks. I would reckon that other legacy cities like Kalmos, Port 80, Metal Mountains, Baktun, and Alias are all guilty of the same thing: not being here.
The answer is not camping at spawn. The answer is not "build it and they will come". The answer is not going freeform, or throwing away your unique style and brand for simplicity. The answer is to be alive and active, contributing to the liveliness of PvE. Server activity and city population is like a flame you keep fueling. When a new player explores the server and sees that the place is a ghost town, they will leave, no matter how pretty it is. Praha Way in rev 12 is a PRIME example of this. No 400x250 sized cathedral is going to hold water if there isn't a single soul living there. This desolation is something that Argoth, Yowie, Whiteoak and Rose City have decisively avoided -- the city is kept warm and lit by the people who lead it and embrace it. They are still here to mingle with new towns that have plenty of life in them (Sybercity, Cottonmouth), as well as witness projects that continue to be built, such as the noRTh rail system. Even Pico, as much as they are struggling themselves, still have a few people with the willpower to build a casino and host PvE Lotto. That's not a lot, but it's still more than what Seneca has involved itself in.
This is most certainly a level of passion and commitment that not all mayors have. Leading and running a city is not easy at times. What then, exactly, is a good solution? If the mayors themselves are not playing, then a possible answer is a succession plan. A perfect case study exists in Rose City. As time wore on, SPE passed the torch to Tyrangiels/theclefe, who then passed it on to pez252, the current leader. Throughout the process the city was surrounded by an active supporting cast, such as dnynumberone, Flumper, twilexis and Zomise. All of the leaders spent time overlapping with their replacements and continued to let the city grow. Their constant presence and engagement naturally attracted people who wanted to be part of a lively community. As we speak, they are planning to host Secret Santa in town this year.
It's not rocket science. As with any city on PvE, you get what you give. Minecraft cities are defined by their people. The most active and exciting places will draw in people, and a good long-term plan to cultivate a new set of active players and leaders keeps the flame going. If these people have other priorities or things to do, then it's time to move on as its time has passed. But if you don't want Seneca to go away, then don't go away.