We are not dead...

[RTGRuss]

Folks,

 

We are not dead so any rumors to that effect are incorrect (for now)

 

At the moment - we are just busy. We've got a lot of things going on and we are trying to put work into some projects. The forums tend to be a time sink - which is one thing if all you have to do is keep up with day-day operations but is another if you have projects to work on. Discussing these things and giving everybody a day to day of what we are doing might be nice but it soaks up time and we only have so much to work with as is. Dealing with the root of the issue/problem and getting any improvements, adjustments, corrections, etc. into the game is the best use of our time right now. When we get caught up a bit, we can spend more time on discussion. If you have specific issues with a turn result, etc. send them directly to Pete at his Pete@rollingthunder.com address.

 

Rumor Control - RTG is not dying, the GMs have not been abducted by aliens (we are aliens ), the game is not broken (has been running for 2+ years now on a regular schedule), the game is not dying (people join, leave and/or return on a regular basis - an older game does tend to see more departures as players tire of the game but SN still has a very healthy playerbase) and the combat system is not broken (it does have some problems and the battle reports need to be redone but with a few exceptions the results themselves are ok and we are working on the exceptions and new battle reports right now).

 

Boards are great sources of information and interaction but they also tend to have a negative nature. Folks tend to report, focus and discuss (at length) anomalies and problems (real and/or perceived) and the vast majority of things that go well tend to be taken for granted. All of you know the issues that have been faced by RTG over the last couple years and the fact that RTG is really just a couple of weird guys (Pete and Russ ) so I won't go into that again. Just keep in mind that for every bad thing you hear on the boards there are a lot of good things going on and that rumors are usually just rumors. SN is not perfect by any stretch of the imagination but (even if we are unusually quiet sometimes) we are working to improve things.

 

Remember that the two weirdos have finite time and that development is something we do on a time available basis - we have two operational games (Victory! has been running for 14+ years, SuperNova for 2+ years) to get turns out the door for, we have admin duties to handle and personal lives to shoehorn in there somewhere as well. We are aware of the issues and projects we need to work on and progress is being made. Often that progress is slow and in most cases it comes in sudden spurts (believe me that it pains us worse that it does you - it costs us $ and gives us nothing but heartache) but progress is being made.

 

Feel free to compare notes, speculate and/or to report problems, issues, etc. on the appropriate forums here as you wish (we do read all posts even if we don't dive into a discussion on the thread) but always make sure you've sent an email to Pete (Pete@rollingthunder.com) first and foremost if there is problem/issue. Give Pete some time to work on the problem/issue then follow up with Pete directly as that accomplishes more. Repeated posts here on the boards sometimes degenerate into a "Are we there yet? Are we there yet? Are we there yet?" situation with everyone kicking in their two bits on the same issue before the GMs can even evaluate something much less do anything. Legitimate problems/issues take time to evaluate and correct and giviing a running update on everything we are working on would soak up even more of our finite time.

 

We realize that silence from the GMs is disconcerting, particularly when there are real issues/problems on the table, but that silence means we have more time to work on that issue/problem so hang in there and if you want to check back on something, poke us with a stick or simply yell at us - please do so via email. It makes the boards a more positive place for everyone.

 

Thanks much,

 

Russ