Draft

[Breezy]

Do you support a Draft of any sort? Please comment below.


The War Council has been discussing this poll for a while now and have come to an agreement. The poll will stay as it is, however there is more information regarding the three options.

If the 'Squad Draft' option earns a significant majority of votes, during the next peacetime, Field Marshals will take turns picking active squads, the order of which to be decided by a coin toss.

If the 'Player Draft' option earns a significant majority of votes from both armies, the following will take place:

A full list of active members from both armies will be taken during the next peacetime.
Of that list, a second list of all members willing to lead squads will be taken.
The Field Marshals will take turns selecting members from the pool of potential leaders first. The order of selection will be decided by coin toss.
The Field Marshals will then take turns selecting members from the remainder of the community.
The composition of the squads for each army is to be decided by that army's High Command.
New recruits to the community will still be able to select their army upon enlistment.


If the 'No Draft' option receives a significant majority of votes, no further action will be taken.

If no poll option receives a majority vote, the decision on actions to take place will go to the War Council.

If upon receiving this information you would like to change your vote, we can comply and adjust the voting accordingly.

[W3z4b1]

Yas

[Solus Exsequor]

yes

[Breezy]

Hey if we do this, we can start peace time and get everything together in order to start a new war.

[VerbotenDonkey]

I hope green army picks me.

[silversleek]

Speaking for resistance, A player draft would kill the squad, and i'm sure that many other tightly knit squads here will agree. Expect to lose ~80% of our population with a player draft.

Squad draft i'm not against, come peacetime, Though keep in mind that changes will be complicated due to members of highcom being attached to squads. IE Resistance wouldn't survive going redd without me and silko

[Anarchy]

Speaking for resistance, A player draft would kill the squad, and i'm sure that many other tightly knit squads here will agree. Expect to lose ~80% of our population with a player draft.


Currently 80% of people are voting for it right now.

Community should be able to make this decision together, votes talk.

[VerbotenDonkey]

Speaking for resistance, A player draft would kill the squad, and i'm sure that many other tightly knit squads here will agree. Expect to lose ~80% of our population with a player draft.

Squad draft i'm not against, come peacetime, Though keep in mind that changes will be complicated due to members of highcom being attached to squads. IE Resistance wouldn't survive going redd without me and silko

To be fair, there aren't many Squads left. I think a complete reboot of Squads would be more healthy for the community and be interesting for people to be apart of. New Squad identities, etc. And this is coming from someone who has a very lore intensive Squad already made lol.

Then again, I'm for Squad emblems and colors and those won't happen either, but a boy can dream.

[Ominous Solace]

Speaking for resistance, A player draft would kill the squad, and i'm sure that many other tightly knit squads here will agree. Expect to lose ~80% of our population with a player draft.

Squad draft i'm not against, come peacetime, Though keep in mind that changes will be complicated due to members of highcom being attached to squads. IE Resistance wouldn't survive going redd without me and silko


There unfortunately aren't any set squads anymore in REDD due to the large amount of people that have gone inactive/left. So I'm sure that is why a Player draft has the most votes at the moment. If people can't get over the idea of not being with a certain set of people to play with then, what's the point? FC was made to focus on bringing all types of people together to play Halo. But we shall let the votes do the talking.

[Legendary Nova]

Hey if we do this, we can start peace time and get everything together in order to start a new war.

If going into a peacetime is such a good solution to problems in this community why didn't they work the other ten times it's been tried?


Speaking for resistance, A player draft would kill the squad, and i'm sure that many other tightly knit squads here will agree. Expect to lose ~80% of our population with a player draft.

Squad draft i'm not against, come peacetime, Though keep in mind that changes will be complicated due to members of highcom being attached to squads. IE Resistance wouldn't survive going redd without me and silko

^ Also this for me too. Player draft would kill Renegade. As for the squad draft, I don't know. It might mean me being separated from Renegade, which wouldn't be nice for anyone.

[silversleek]

Currently 80% of people are voting for it right now.

Community should be able to make this decision together, votes talk.

TIL there are only like 3 blue people in 80% of FC.


There unfortunately aren't any set squads anymore in REDD due to the large amount of people that have gone inactive/left. So I'm sure that is why a Player draft has the most votes at the moment.

Between This and the attempt to do the thing That you found out while rejoining that i'm not sure I should bring up, and squads with 50% winrates rapidly losing members, I'm thinking the biggest fault lies in the Leadership.


That being said, I'd support if if there was a true majority that were for it, But as of right now I don't see it happening. I see it being passed as crippling BLUE and not changing all that much for redd.

[Breezy]

TIL there are only like 3 blue people in 80% of FC.



Between This and the attempt to do the thing That you found out while rejoining that i'm not sure I should bring up, and squads with 50% winrates rapidly losing members, I'm thinking the biggest fault lies in the Leadership.


That being said, I'd support if if there was a true majority that were for it, But as of right now I don't see it happening. I see it being passed as crippling BLUE and not changing all that much for redd.

Won't know until you try.

[VerbotenDonkey]

[
Between This and the attempt to do the thing That you found out while rejoining that i'm not sure I should bring up

:popcorn:

[riphelix]

I hope green army picks me.

[CAW0139]

I'm perfectly fine with this, only if the overwhelming majority of members are in support of it

[Dark Remalf]

TIL there are only like 3 blue people in 80% of FC.



Between This and the attempt to do the thing That you found out while rejoining that i'm not sure I should bring up, and squads with 50% winrates rapidly losing members, I'm thinking the biggest fault lies in the Leadership.


That being said, I'd support if if there was a true majority that were for it, But as of right now I don't see it happening. I see it being passed as crippling BLUE and not changing all that much for redd.

Why must we always start a conflict? Let votes do the talking mang, we did voting for that team fm thing and it never got passed from what i can tell.

But let this one happen, if you dont want it, tell your respective squads to vote against it. All votes matter, i think.

[Seven]

I played for the first time in years, and I have to say every match I played was completely lopsided. I don't see how either side has fun like this, just my 2 cents.

[Silko]

Hey if we do this, we can start peace time and get everything together in order to start a new war.

Now hold up. We are not going to just enter peace time to introduce something when the war is not yet over. There will be a peace time regardless so no need to rush.

[Legendary Nova]

The War Council has been discussing this poll for a while now and have come to an agreement. The poll will stay as it is, however there is more information regarding the three options.

If the 'Squad Draft' option earns a significant majority of votes, REDD will forfeit the war and Field Marshals will take turns picking active squads, the order of which to be decided by a coin toss.

If the 'Player Draft' option earns a significant majority of votes from both armies, the following will take place:

REDD will forfeit the war and a full list of active members from both armies will be taken.
Of that list, a second list of all members willing to lead squads will be taken.
The Field Marshals will take turns selecting members from the pool of potential leaders first. The order of selection will be decided by coin toss.
The Field Marshals will then take turns selecting members from the remainder of the community.
The composition of the squads for each army is to be decided by that army's High Command.
New recruits to the community will still be able to select their army upon enlistment.


If the 'No Draft' option receives a significant majority of votes, no further action will be taken.

If no poll option receives a majority vote, the decision on actions to take place will go to the War Council.

If upon receiving this information you would like to change your vote, we can comply and adjust the voting accordingly.

[NervyDestroyer]

If going into a peacetime is such a good solution to problems in this community why didn't they work the other ten times it's been tried?



^ Also this for me too. Player draft would kill Renegade. As for the squad draft, I don't know. It might mean me being separated from Renegade, which wouldn't be nice for anyone.

Renegade won't die from a player draft. As the person who created and led it for about a year, Renegade and its members will likely be fine and still close for the most part.

That said, a player draft has positives and negatives. I for one think it has the potential to get people to recruit. On the other hand people here already don't recruit so a change of scenery won't fix blatant laziness...

[silversleek]

Why must we always start a conflict? Let votes do the talking mang, we did voting for that team fm thing and it never got passed from what i can tell.

But let this one happen, if you dont want it, tell your respective squads to vote against it. All votes matter, i think.

My personal opinion and professional opinion are two separate entities. On a personal level, I'm very against This and have just as much of a right to argue against it as you do for it. I will exercise that right as much as i see fit.


That being said, I haven't actually voted in this poll and my WC vote will go to whichever side get's the clear majority. I passed along the link to this to all my squads, but i'm not telling them to vote one way or another.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not fighting for the sake of fighting. I'm arguing because I have genuine worries about the results of something like this fracturing the community. Those worries would mostly be laid to rest if the majority of my army didn't mind the draft, But I have as much of a right to having an opinion as anyone else here.

[GAMEHEEL]

OH MY GOD NOOOOO CHANGE I CANT STAND CHANGE!!! NOOOO ITS GOING TO TEAR THE COMMUNITY APART NOOOOO

*sarcasm*

[Dark Remalf]

This community obviously needs the change mang, just hang on to my leg ;) the third one that is

[fearfulpenguin]

I totes wouldn't be against either one of these options. My only concern is that my new squadmates wouldn't understand or get my certain 'hobby' I have before, during, after school, during the holidays, and the summertime. I might be shunnnned and kicked out of said squad :(

[Nicholas Sapien]

I totes wouldn't be against either one of these options. My only concern is that my new squadmates wouldn't understand or get my certain 'hobby' I have before, during, after school, during the holidays, and the summertime. I might be shunnnned and kicked out of said squad :(

:penguinslide:

[Barry Soap]

The way I see it, FC has absolutely nothing to lose. I doubt the problems will even be solved with a player draft. If you want people from REDD and BLUE to like each other, make them play together. We could potentially solve skill imbalance too, that would be pretty great.

[Ominous Solace]

I would like to clarify for those that may not be aware. If a draft passes through a community vote and the War Council agrees; this proposed draft will take place during the next peace time. That stated, the current war will continue normally, however if the High Command of R.E.D.D wish for it to happen sooner than later then they may issue a forfeit of this current war.

[Houdini]

Is this for real?

[SGT259]

I like this idea

[Silko]

I would like to clarify for those that may not be aware. If a draft passes through a community vote and the War Council agrees; this proposed draft will take place during the next peace time. That stated, the current war will continue normally, however if the High Command of R.E.D.D wish for it to happen sooner than later then they may issue a forfeit of this current war.

As I posted with raptor's post, this is not a sure thing for next peace time nor is it a sure thing to happen even if the vote goes pro draft

[riphelix]

No matter what happens, I'm not leaving my current squad.
Not trying to be rude or anything, I'm just saying.

[Icextentialist]

I don't see why people can't hit up their buddies in XBL or Skype outside their draft-picked squads. For example, keep the Renegade Skype chat open for those who currently play in that squad and invite each other to play on XBL outside of official squad practice time. Don't be afraid to make new friends AND keep the old!

Projections of losing about 80% of the FC population with a draft are a little exaggerated, don't ya think? Maybe flip the statistic, it only seems like 2 out of 10 FC members are likely to get full-on butt-hurt about things like that and maybe only one of those two enough to actually leave. ;)

[Mays Demise]

I personally do not mind the squad draft my squad still has fun, I'd rather not have my group dis-assembled. :)

- - - Updated - - -

Put us where you need us,but keep us together. XD :) note,we may not quite be the MOST skilled, we just have fun. And enjoy doing so. Some of my team is new to Xbox one so skill will come with time,same as new recruits. I haven't given up. :)

- - - Updated - - -

This could be interesting Idea,but then again I just got my squad and I wanna keep it. :)

[Platinum]

The community is dying. Honestly, there is hardly anything left to lose. A player draft is the last actual shot at saving whatever may be left of FC. Start anew, under the same name that is Forerunner Conflict.

This community was developed and built around a number of things, one being meeting new Halo players. As someone who has switched sides and joined numerous teams in the past, I can safely say that I didn't lose any interest in FC. I understand that team chemistry is a good point to make, and a hella good one at that, but there's nothing stopping you from building that chemistry with new players. No downside to having more Halo friends, right?

We should stop catering to the individuals here, and start catering to the community as a whole. The whole stubborn/selfish individualism is what began ruining FC (I'm not innocent either, I was selfish too. Sorry Sovereign <3) and it's time that we stopped looking to make ourselves happy at the expense of killing one of the oldest Halo communities left.

[Anarchy]

The community is dying. Honestly, there is hardly anything left to lose. A player draft is the last actual shot at saving whatever may be left of FC. Start anew, under the same name that is Forerunner Conflict.

This community was developed and built around a number of things, one being meeting new Halo players. As someone who has switched sides and joined numerous teams in the past, I can safely say that I didn't lose any interest in FC. I understand that team chemistry is a good point to make, and a hella good one at that, but there's nothing stopping you from building that chemistry with new players. No downside to having more Halo friends, right?

We should stop catering to the individuals here, and start catering to the community as a whole. The whole stubborn/selfish individualism is what began ruining FC (I'm not innocent either, I was selfish too. Sorry Sovereign <3) and it's time that we stopped looking to make ourselves happy at the expense of killing one of the oldest Halo communities left.

This is pretty perfect and hits the nail on the head. When we all first joined FC we were happy to play with anyone, make friends, grow with a team, and contribute to a vast army in a war that felt real.

Overtime establishing very, very static squads that more often than not become way more skilled than the groups that are just taking any old recruit works against what we all joined for. Even if it doesn't hinder our fun, it hinders the fun of those incoming, and it speaks volumes to our overall ability to change as a community and survive with values we originally grew upon.

There's almost twice the number of people wanting a draft as those who don't, and over 50% more who want a player draft than want no draft. At some point we have to start making changes, and the majority of people have shown they feel that way. FC has stagnated way too long and this kind of stuff is way overdue. It wasn't a good option back in Reach & 4 when we had large numbers and were growing already. It's one of the only options now that FC is shrinking and people aren't having the fun they used to.

[WolfPack23]

---^

[Mythonian]

Posted this in WC earlier. Think it might as well be posted here also:


Okay, some people everyone seem to be misunderstanding the point of the poll and how this entire discussion is supposed to work.

When a generalized/vague poll (such as the one done) is used, it is inherently not a "here is a well-thought-out plan and we want opinions" but instead a "how much of the community wants us to look into something like this?"

The poll asked, in quite vague terms, whether people were interested in the concept of a draft. We've had dozens of polls on this exact same topic over the years, though in the past the majority always went toward keeping things the same. Now, the result was different.

So, how should this result be taken? It is not "oh, it's a majority, therefore we HAVE to do a draft!!" but it's also not "oh, it's not enough of a majority, so we should disregard it!" Thinking of it in either of these ways is wrong, so please stop. The correct response is "the community has shown interest, so we should legitimately take a look at whether a draft is a good idea or a bad idea."

Disregarding the community opinions because "it's not a supermajority" is borderline negligence as a leader. The entire reason this War Council exists is to improve the community, to be the facilitators that help as many people as possible have fun and enjoy the community. Conversely, believing that a majority vote means the entire community must be turned upside down to conform to it is borderline naivety. Some suggestions given are good, others are bad, but none of them should just be disregarded. It's our job to actually figure out which type of suggestion we're looking at here.

My point is that you're all being stupid just to get your own agendas done. Fuzzy made a good post in the Skype chat, "You have a result in mind that you want to be true so you are tunnel visioning in... Never tunnel vision, look at it more broadly." Every single one of you, both from REDD and BLUE, have been tunnel visioning on this topic, trying to distort the results of the poll to push for your own opinion. Please stop and let's just be constructive for a bit, okay?


I have perpetually been in WC for the last 6 years, never once taking a break from the community. I've been here during some very dark times in the community, and also some golden ages as well. Not using this to say "do what I think is best because I know best" because chances are I'm just super jaded and need a break from FC, but my point is just that "I have seen things! (http://img.memecdn.com/ive-seen-things_o_1165849.jpg)"

It's been quite awhile since we had anything that could be termed as a golden age, unfortunately, and for the last 3 years it's been pretty much a steady decline. I've shown this chart before, but now it's been updated to include this war so far:


http://puu.sh/oLes3/778448dde8.png

And here's how attendance has varied from each BN this war:


http://puu.sh/oLesU/eace33eed3.png

We peaked in February/March and have been downhill since. Since the start of MCC we've been constantly staying around an average attendance of 30-35 players. However, for MCC we had an excuse: the game was extremely unreliable. For H5, we don't have any legitimate excuse. We've been stuck in this rut for quite awhile and there are no signs of us being able to get out of it. If this war continues as-is, we may drop below an average of 30 attendees for the first time in more than 7 years. That's how bad this is.

We don't have a new game releasing in a few months, as far as we know. We've got H5 for another year and a half. Our attendance is worse, and consistently worse then it was after Firestorm happened. We've put ourselves in a position where continuing to stagnate like this for the next year and a half will be rather unrecoverable.

I've never seen the community this ragged and tired looking. A draft might not help, but as things are looking we need something to revitalize this community from the ground up, and I don't see anyone else doing anything useful at the moment.

You guys remember my rant from six months ago (link (http://fcwars.net/forums/showthread.php?15609-FC-Update-10-0))? I talked about this shit. I analyzed why we're facing the issues we're facing, and how we got to where we are now. Would recommend re-reading that if you want more walls o' text to keep you occupied for a bit, it might give you a bit more perspective. It's been six months since that rant and we've just continued stagnating.

A few times I've contemplated just leaving FC, because it's looking more and more like a sinking ship each passing month. Or maybe I'm just getting jaded as fuck and need to pass the torch along. Either way, I won't be here forever.

Assuming you won't go re-read it, here's the conclusion:

Comparing you all to my squadmates in Halo 3, to the armies I led in Reach, to Cyberdyne and Net of the Sky in Halo 4... what the fuck happened? FC hasn't changed all that much, it's been you guys. You've gotten lives and responsibilities now, have a new outlook on things and have grown more mature. And that's changed how you interact with FC. That's not a bad thing; it's not even an issue of good or bad. It's just the natural flow of life on the Internet.

FC hasn't changed much, but it needs to. The members of FC have changed, but FC hasn't been keeping up. We're too stuck in things that have been here since Halo 2. We see the problems but are blind to the solutions, because they "aren't worth it" or "would change too much." I used to be like that too. Just like everyone else, I'm a lot different than how I used to be. Now, I say fuck those excuses. Excuses like those are why we've been stagnating.

Things like the entire concept of a "squad." Like the organization of the armies. Like group logistics instead of individual logistics. You're probably looking at these sentences like they don't mean anything, just groups of fancy words that sound nice. However, these are the true roots of most problems we have: imbalance and activity. You probably don't understand them and almost certainly don't agree with them right now, but I'm optimistic that one day they will be more than fancy words.

Want to know the reason things look bad right now? Our problem has been with us since FC was founded, it's at the very basis of how FC currently is. It's fundamental to how FC works. That's why it's never going to change without tearing down the house, fixing the foundation, and rebuilding it from the ground up. Yes, it'd be a huge change. Yes, it would be painful and drive numerous people away. If that's unbearable for you, so be it, but don't expect me to be here forever watching us stagnate further and further.

I stick by these words. I'm here and willing to put together a fully fleshed out and detailed system for a complete community overhaul, for how it would change things and work in both the short term and long term. I'm willing to discuss things and try to figure out a way to make everything work smoothly and effectively. A draft would likely be the single most-effective way to ensure long-term stability and make a path for FC to stay alive for another 10 years, but if someone has another suggestion that may work I'm open to listening.

But are you guys willing to seriously look into ways to get a effective implementation of an overhaul? Take a few moments and seriously consider what the community would look like in 5 years, or 10 years. What will we actually need to change to ensure we don't die off like so many other internet communities have? Don't just focus on the contrasts between now and then, but also on how things would be on an average day in FC. If it looks like something worth looking into seriously, let me know.

[WolfPack23]

"Myth speech here" Yo man, I'm picking up what your layin' down Jack. I've got a lot of memories here in this ol' community, And while I've made lots of friends, some of em ain't here no more. As sad as that is, I will go down with this ship, if it were to go down. Hopefully, this ship doesn't sink cause of a few icebergs and can stay afloat. But it needs repair, and it needs some serious work done. More then just some coat of paint to just cover up the problems. FC needs to have an Overhaul, People need to be on Overwatch, And I'm tired so this is WolfPack saying, Over and Out.


P.S. I Would like to be more active in finding a solution so I will be talking more through the forums and skype. If anyone has an idea or thought they want to run by someone discreetly and without judgement, ya'll find Ol' WolfPack here. I'll make time for anyone.

[Anarchy]

The community has to be honest with itself in an open discussion. All of us, individually, about things we did wrong. Things others think we did wrong as individuals. Things the community did wrong, and what it takes to make people happy to be here and grow. And from there come up with something comprehensive before we just stagnate into death like every other Halo group. We have to be constructive and that includes being critical of what got us here and what's still happening now.

FC worries way too little about protecting our members, way too little about making progressive change when the majority clearly clamors for it, way too little about stamping out disrespect that is allowed if it's passive aggressive enough, way too little about asking the hard questions, and way too little about asking ourselves why people are actually leaving and unhappy. Instead people have worried way more about themselves. Blatant disrespect gets ignored everytime there's 1-2 HC members willing to fight for their friend who dun fucked up. Political maneuvering behind people's backs. The biggest hurdle this community has is overcoming itself and its gluttonous desire to fuck itself by not asking the hard questions, not making the hard decisions, and refusing to sacrifice when need be.

People feel very disenfranchised. Its been a long time since FC has had leaders who can stand up, take the heat, and roll up their sleeves. We've been in the same cycle of 1/2 of WC being new people too inexperienced to do anything and the other 1/2 the people telling those who want change "no". That stamps out effective leaders who can both bring people together and implement change. You know that feeling, Myth. It's part of why you're so reserved, and others follow suit after getting a stint in WC. But that reservation has killed us. We've had 2 years of a lot of people very quickly becoming reserved and giving up. For members, they leave. For leaders, they fail. Then people get hurt as everyone has.

It's time for FC to start being proactive with just about everything. Ignoring everything that's not easy to answer/solve has gotten us here. It's time for FC to fit people's schedules and lives, Halo's new populace, and people's desires for when they play Halo. Whether that include drafts, changes in BN schedules/format, or even stuff in other games, the classic Halo community model doesn't survive anymore without major modification.

[Mays Demise]

I'm willing to do what ever it takes to keep this boat floating and I will try my bet not to rock it. Now It's my turn to rant. I've been here for a couple of months and I have to say it's been a little rough at first. You guys are some of the most unique and amazing people I've ever met and you guy's even( the ones who don't know me in the community) give me a purpose. My purpose being that you guys have fun and enjoy having somewhere to *ACTUALLY* fit in and laugh and in general have a good time. From what I've heard FC has been here for a while. 10 years or so to be precise,that's pretty impressive to be honest it's a miracle this didn't fall back in halo 3 or 4, You guy's have a good thing going and I know I ain't got much room to talk but it's failing. I know some people think that the *higher ups* will handle it all by themselves but you have to realize that THEY, are people too...They can't do this on their own but even so they are trying their best..We as a community need to get our crap together and fast, What is more important? The needs of many*the community* or the needs of one *You* Your compliance is vital guys, I understand that the draft does not sound fun, I don't like it either I voted the squad draft, So I may lose my squad after getting it and just getting it up and running, But you know what? That's okay because in all honesty the most it would be for is battle night and they aren't going to put you in a group with anybody you guys won't like.It's not like they are forbidding you guys from hangin out with your friends guys, I'm Redd and I hang out with the leader of my old squad pretty often and the mans in Blue. I promise you guys it won't end you,and I understand that too much change can be hurtful true, but you can either run from whats killing us and let it stab us in the back or at least turn around and either win or go down fighting. Anyway I want this community to still be around for you guy's kids to enjoy too. Now wouldn't that be some family pride? XD Point is FC has a long good future ahead of it,BUT only and only if you guys lend a slight helping hand to the community from time to time weather it's from recruiting or particpating in battle night then the customs later or even by responding to a post in the forum. And on recruiting guys get your friends intrested the more the better. And if you can't walk em through the sign up send to me and I will handle it myself if need be. Come on guys help me help you. This is Dusk Signing off,contact me if needed.

[Mays Demise]

This guy talks a lot of sense,I'd try lending him your ears guys. :)

[VerbotenDonkey]

Alright since we're all throwing our two cents in, I guess I'll chuck my 2 AM sleep-induced speech into the mix.

I've been in FC since April of 2007 and in that time, this community has definitely changed face a lot. Again, I'll just be throwing my opinion into the mix here and what I enjoy, so that's probably not what the majority is thinking.

1. Keep unique things running to keep people interested.
- At the moment, I feel like people are just lumped into a Squad and told to show up on Sunday. This community has such a vast history to it that I feel is not being taken advantage of. I remember back in the day Eri and Loco started the AIs. One day, there were these cryptic messages just floating on the forums and mysterious AIs. Nobody knew if we were being hacked or what (The High Commands played it as they couldnt remove their mod powers). I don't know about anyone else, but every day I'd run home from school to see what was new with these AIs. Then we had Jonathan Craig reporting on news throughout the galaxy. His news reports had people coming to the forums to see what new atrocities either side was committing or an interview with a member of a certain Faction. Even on a Squad-based level I had created the figure of Lt. Colonel Dragner to post sitreps in REDWATCH.

The point I'm making here is throughout our life as a community, we've always had something to draw people in wide-eyed with wonder and it makes the community feel like a vast entity. Since I'm seeing a lot of new faces in the War Council, my advice is this. Keep something unique with the community running. Give members something to wonder about or something to come read. Anything to keep them involved in the community.

2. Second point I'll touch on is structure itself. My favorite time period was definitely the first war of Halo 3. The community was restructured, renamed to Forerunner Conflict from RvBR, and given new life. Similarly, new Squads were there. But one of the coolest things about this time period was each Squad had an identity. It seemed like most Squads crowned themselves with a unique emblem and when Sunday rolled around and you got your invite from the FM to join up to create a Battle Night party, you'd know upon entrance what Squad you were facing. I've never been an advocate for Squad Emblems, because I do think that Squads should be given that freedom to choose what they want, but recently I've just been feeling that certain Squads just lack identity and I need to check the statbook to see what Squad it is we're playing.

My suggestion here is this. If you do go through with player drafts (and personally I think you should), pick out a handful of people who agree to lead Squads. Have them come up with an emblem to identify their Squad with. Then give their Squad a little lore-based back story. Another memory I had was when Ghosthammer had taken charge of REDD post-Firestorm I believe. At this point, everyone was reverted to regular members and we had just stepped foot back into the Army forums and we were greeted with such a gracious overhaul. Each Platoon we would be receiving was given a little history tied to the Empire and some engagements they were known for. Again, just a moment of wonder. Something like this I think would be a positive step in reengaging that feeling of wonder from before.

I'm going to stop here because my eyes are drooping but this is just my outsider view and what I believe, as an experience Squad Leader, has really kept members sticking around. I could go on into the dwindling of the War-Sim feeling, but I'm going to stop here. If you've made it this far, thanks for reading. c:

[Mays Demise]

Thank you for your input,it was also very much helpful. :) I agree.

[silversleek]

Thank you donkey, that was very helpful. One thing to note especially is


1. Keep unique things running to keep people interested.
- At the moment, I feel like people are just lumped into a Squad and told to show up on Sunday. This community has such a vast history to it that I feel is not being taken advantage of. I remember back in the day Eri and Loco started the AIs. One day, there were these cryptic messages just floating on the forums and mysterious AIs. Nobody knew if we were being hacked or what (The High Commands played it as they couldnt remove their mod powers). I don't know about anyone else, but every day I'd run home from school to see what was new with these AIs. Then we had Jonathan Craig reporting on news throughout the galaxy. His news reports had people coming to the forums to see what new atrocities either side was committing or an interview with a member of a certain Faction. Even on a Squad-based level I had created the figure of Lt. Colonel Dragner to post sitreps in REDWATCH.

I used to love these NPC interactions! Nothing says they can't be brought back :D

I have seen some "Imperia" person floating around.. not sure what's up with that but i like the mystery.

[NervyDestroyer]

First step to solving a problem is recognizing there is one. I think we've nailed that on the head for the last year. That second step is coming up with a solution, that's been less than successful.

I've seen one half bitch because things change too much and we need to return to the roots. I've seen the other half bitch because the old way sucks. It's like 2 political parties that are stubborn.

To quote something I said a bit ago: "Only fools argue over how to cook spoiled meat." This draft idea isn't a bad idea, it's actually pretty good when you think about it. However both sides disagree with how it's handled. One side says it's bad change (all change is arguably bad change) and the other wants to go back to the way things were. The very way which isn't fucking working right now for us. Not saying it never did, but at the current moment from a realistic point of view, it's not working right now.

This draft idea needs to be supplemented with something else to really get that hook, line, and sinker. Perhaps an overhaul of the Battlenight system and how it works could be cool if done right.

There is the issue of changing too much and that is relevant, the whole army vs army theme works really well and is quite ingenious. Keeping that theme and, as Myth said, fixing the foundation to rebuild on it would work wonders.

Also recruitment is arguable the most important step, it's not enough to fix the concept, the concept has gotta be sold to others because they sure as hell won't waltz in...

In conclusion, FC is in really bad shape. Before I retired and had the insiders view, I can easily see why a draft and a change to the normal formula is dumb. I was one of the biggest opponents to a draft. Being on the outside gave a new perspective. FC needs some kind of overhaul. If it doesn't go quite the way you want it to, deal with it and make it work. Do something different.

[silversleek]

Also recruitment is arguable the most important step, it's not enough to fix the concept, the concept has gotta be sold to others because they sure as hell won't waltz in...



I'd argue this is our weakest point right now, we have people retiring due to life faster than we have an influx of new people, because we don't have many people dedicated to recruiting. I'm guilty of it as much as anyone, hell, i'm literally paying people with FC swag to recruit because I have trouble getting over my own insecurities with it. Other than Dusk, I can't think of who the last person to bring a recruit in was. (ominous brought in two friends when he came back, but I think they're both also returning members?)

[NervyDestroyer]

I'd argue this is our weakest point right now, we have people retiring due to life faster than we have an influx of new people, because we don't have many people dedicated to recruiting. I'm guilty of it as much as anyone, hell, i'm literally paying people with FC swag to recruit because I have trouble getting over my own insecurities with it. Other than Dusk, I can't think of who the last person to bring a recruit in was. (ominous brought in two friends when he came back, but I think they're both also returning members?)

Recruitment is actually difficult without some kind of direction. It gets easier when you have a direction and a particular set of skills that's really just selling a concept.

Like I said FC has arguably one of the coolest fucking concepts out of any community period.

I've always been willing to help with recruitment and the offer still stands if you or anyone else finds trouble recruiting because it is a difficult thing to get down...

[Barry Soap]

I'd argue this is our weakest point right now, we have people retiring due to life faster than we have an influx of new people

They SAY they're leaving due to life progressing, but I highly doubt that's the cause of people leaving.

Cause of people leaving (in the last year or so, judged by resignation threads):


Life: 3
Unknown: 1
FC: 12


Look at the resignations and notice the line, "FC just isn't for me".

[Houdini]

I'd argue this is our weakest point right now, we have people retiring due to life faster than we have an influx of new people, because we don't have many people dedicated to recruiting. I'm guilty of it as much as anyone, hell, i'm literally paying people with FC swag to recruit because I have trouble getting over my own insecurities with it. Other than Dusk, I can't think of who the last person to bring a recruit in was. (ominous brought in two friends when he came back, but I think they're both also returning members?)

Dedicated recruiting is nice, but not nearly as important as retaining the people you recruit.

Maybe it is worse now and we actually don't have people signing up, but in the recent past, getting people to signup was rather easy. The problem was after their first battle night they would just leave because they had a crappy experience.

- - - Updated - - -


They SAY they're leaving due to life progressing, but I highly doubt that's the cause of people leaving.

Cause of people leaving (in the last year or so, judged by resignation threads):


Life: 3
Unknown: 1
FC: 12


Look at the resignations and notice the line, "FC just isn't for me".

I'll just add to this that in the past I would actually schedule time on Sunday's for FC. This past war I stopped and let other real-life events take that space. It isn't because real life is getting in the way, it's because I stopped caring enough about FC to make an effort to find the time for FC.

[NervyDestroyer]

Dedicated recruiting is nice, but not nearly as important as retaining the people you recruit.

Maybe it is worse now and we actually don't have people signing up, but in the recent past, getting people to signup was rather easy. The problem was after their first battle night they would just leave because they had a crappy experience.


Retainment is a step to successful recruitment. When I say "recruit successfully," I mean keeping the recruit as well otherwise it's not recruiting successfully.

In my previous post, I said recruitment AFTER fixing FC. Essentially as it stands, what we got going on right now, simply isn't working. So after the problem is directly fixed, recruitment is the next step which would also help with the retainment issue,

[WolfPack23]

I agree with Nervy that FC needs to have an Overhaul. I feel this discussion we are having is good. Gets the ball rolling and works the Ol' Noodle, of which I mean brain.

[Mays Demise]

On the highlight,summer is like 2 weeks away for me. So I've got a span of a Summer to help in anyway I can. :)

[CAW0139]

I'm kinda tired of people voting for change when they don't show up for battle nights..........

[Houdini]

I'm kinda tired of people voting for change when they don't show up for battle nights..........

I love you CAW.

[WolfPack23]

I'm kinda tired of people voting for change when they don't show up for battle nights..........

While that's true some people just don't want to come back until there is change.

[Platinum]

Step one of the overhaul of FC is the toughest. The biggest problem in FC is us. Our broken system that caused problems, our inability to ever agree on a change, our council.

I'm not shitting on anyone, I understand it must be tough going against personal agendas or those of friends. But holy shit, democracy is absolute trash when trying to decide or compromise. There shouldn't be a system where both sides are represented in decision making, should be one person who makes decisions. Decisions solely based on the good of the community, not of individuals or peoples feelings. Someone doesn't like a decision? Then they can leave and come back when they understand that in life, you don't always get what you want.

Our decision making system is so flawed, it resembles the US Congress on lawmaking. Nobody will agree to a solution that goes against their own agenda, even if it better the community as a whole. Again, not shitting on anyone because I've done it too. However, I realized that the shit I use to pull is related to the death of FC. I know we are all guilty of it, and it's our responsibility to fix the shit we made.

I obviously care about FC. If I didn't, I wouldn't waste my time trying to push the only true solution through to you all. It's like beating a dead horse at this point, yet here we are.

We need to swallow our pride, admit we fucked up, and fix this before the name Forerunner Conflict is in a column next to HaloUnity, HaloCustoms, THC.

[Houdini]

Step one of the overhaul of FC is the toughest. The biggest problem in FC is us. Our broken system that caused problems, our inability to ever agree on a change, our council.

I'm not shitting on anyone, I understand it must be tough going against personal agendas or those of friends. But holy shit, democracy is absolute trash when trying to decide or compromise. There shouldn't be a system where both sides are represented in decision making, should be one person who makes decisions. Decisions solely based on the good of the community, not of individuals or peoples feelings. Someone doesn't like a decision? Then they can leave and come back when they understand that in life, you don't always get what you want.

Our decision making system is so flawed, it resembles the US Congress on lawmaking. Nobody will agree to a solution that goes against their own agenda, even if it better the community as a whole. Again, not shitting on anyone because I've done it too. However, I realized that the shit I use to pull is related to the death of FC. I know we are all guilty of it, and it's our responsibility to fix the shit we made.

I obviously care about FC. If I didn't, I wouldn't waste my time trying to push the only true solution through to you all. It's like beating a dead horse at this point, yet here we are.

We need to swallow our pride, admit we fucked up, and fix this before the name Forerunner Conflict is in a column next to HaloUnity, HaloCustoms, THC.

Completely agree.

[Mythonian]

So for those interested in being involved in fixing shit: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1-6IuyWmblqQ4UYSHzWzHOEfkQ1 UTElAnK53e0siLhVk

It is setup so that anyone can add comments directly to the document. It's obviously a work-in-progress and only the beginning is written out, but I want this to be a cooperative endeavor to find a solution that gets the job done and also works for as many people as possible.

I'm starting by diagnosing the current issues in the community, trying to break them down as far as I can into WHY things are as they are. How did <insert issue here> start? What is the underlying cause of the problems? Basically, I want to be sure that when things get fixed, they get fully fixed, not some half-assed change that in six months looks exactly the same as things currently are.

If you think I'm misdiagnosing something, or that some bit of logic is flawed, or if there's something else fundamental that I've overlooked, add comments about it, or message me directly. I'd much rather find out I messed something up now than after I write another 10 pages.


I've got some brainstormed solutions that will be added in full detail over the next few days, aimed at correcting the problems and issues that I'm finding. It's a lot of writing, so I haven't gotten to them yet, and don't message me asking "how will you fix <x>" because I'll just say "I'll be writing that portion in a few days" probably. However, you can message me saying other things, like "don't forget about issue <x>," or "your statement about <x> doesn't make sense," or "I disagree with <x>," etc.

[Seven]

I read through that google doc and I have to say, if literally everything is going to happen on skype then it should be mandatory. I was under the impression it was optional when I signed up but there's nothing happening on these forums.

[VerbotenDonkey]

So for those interested in being involved in fixing shit: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1-6IuyWmblqQ4UYSHzWzHOEfkQ1 UTElAnK53e0siLhVk

It is setup so that anyone can add comments directly to the document. It's obviously a work-in-progress and only the beginning is written out, but I want this to be a cooperative endeavor to find a solution that gets the job done and also works for as many people as possible.

I'm starting by diagnosing the current issues in the community, trying to break them down as far as I can into WHY things are as they are. How did <insert issue here> start? What is the underlying cause of the problems? Basically, I want to be sure that when things get fixed, they get fully fixed, not some half-assed change that in six months looks exactly the same as things currently are.

If you think I'm misdiagnosing something, or that some bit of logic is flawed, or if there's something else fundamental that I've overlooked, add comments about it, or message me directly. I'd much rather find out I messed something up now than after I write another 10 pages.


I've got some brainstormed solutions that will be added in full detail over the next few days, aimed at correcting the problems and issues that I'm finding. It's a lot of writing, so I haven't gotten to them yet, and don't message me asking "how will you fix <x>" because I'll just say "I'll be writing that portion in a few days" probably. However, you can message me saying other things, like "don't forget about issue <x>," or "your statement about <x> doesn't make sense," or "I disagree with <x>," etc.

Very good write up so far Myth. I wanted to say thank you for all your input into the community, you've definitely been the rock that this community has been placed on for quite some time.

As far as Recruits go, my only opinion so far is to add sort of a "welcome wagon" for new recruits. Basically, a group of people who volunteer and their responsibility is to make sure they send a recruit a welcome message over Xbox and maybe add them and play a few games with them so the recruit is not missed and ignored if they join us from a forum post or something.

Also, is your idea of one big island basically the removal of Squads and just having the Army which makes teams the night of battle night? I would caution against that as I feel Squads give people a creative necessity in this community, and serve as a way to organize an Army once it becomes larger.

[Mays Demise]

Myth,You have done well. I personally don't like Skype. Messaging sites seem to dampen what we mean in a convo. for example. If you have an army chat..and two or three people don't particulary *like* one another then they start arguing in the chats. Then instant drama that has chance at damaging the community further apears and if it is not resolved in the *right* way we could lose people.

And like you said the WC did seem to have a unknown air about it I noted the same thing when I first heard about it.. I enjoyed not knowing much about it. It made things for me intriguing.

Verboten's welcome wagon Idea is one that I like. It would give everyone a sense of being fully accepted,and it would give them an idea of numbers and it would also show them how many new people will be introduced into their gaming life.
Starting over seems army team wise, it seems a little iffy but like you mentioned Myth about the forest thing. It may work in the community's favor.However instead of cleaning the slate fully maybe I have a few suggestions to obeserve and comtemplate over.

--- I'm suprised there is no event where Squads fight other squads XD Blue on Blue Red On Red. it would be intresting and could qualify as practice. Maybe have an event where 3 members of a Squad visit another Squad. Like for example *note I'm not sure about the squads so I'm going to use old and past squads as an example.* #3 guys from Renegade visit Ghost While some from Ghost may visit Renegade. or better yet have the squad go into matchmaking together. And fight side by side . Another Idea that I personally like is to have a bio on each squad. One explaining its'self. On a enlistmean page maybe? And the recruits who find their own way here or want to join but to not be in the same teams as their friends (I know a few people who would do that) and get to pick a squad based on their play style. :) All of these ideas are simply ideas so don't be offened if one of my ideas bother you. XD
Suprised nobody was tryna suggest something like a Green Army, That activelly fights I mean. XD I wouldnt reccomend it but it is an intresting thought. XD

Also the Squads who wanna stick to the old ways where I hear it was strict at one point. Could operate their squad strict or how they see fit. Let the squads pick their practices and what they do for practices XD

[Barry Soap]

How easy would it be to make group chats on the FC site?

[Mythonian]

As far as Recruits go, my only opinion so far is to add sort of a "welcome wagon" for new recruits. Basically, a group of people who volunteer and their responsibility is to make sure they send a recruit a welcome message over Xbox and maybe add them and play a few games with them so the recruit is not missed and ignored if they join us from a forum post or something.

Definitely. I had a similar idea and merged it a bit with some other ideas. It'll be in Phase 3 or 4.


Also, is your idea of one big island basically the removal of Squads and just having the Army which makes teams the night of battle night? I would caution against that as I feel Squads give people a creative necessity in this community, and serve as a way to organize an Army once it becomes larger.

Not quite. I probably need to go back and re-word it a bit. The reasons squads were "islands" is because they're very isolated right now. I want to remove the isolation aspect, hence making it "one giant island" instead of many, but the existence of squads will still be a thing.


--- I'm suprised there is no event where Squads fight other squads XD Blue on Blue Red On Red. it would be intresting and could qualify as practice. Maybe have an event where 3 members of a Squad visit another Squad. Like for example *note I'm not sure about the squads so I'm going to use old and past squads as an example.* #3 guys from Renegade visit Ghost While some from Ghost may visit Renegade. or better yet have the squad go into matchmaking together. And fight side by side .

Well, usually each army holds weekly Squad Scrimmages and use it for practicing and preparing a day or so before Battles. Also, if one army outnumbers another during Battles, we can have intra-army matches (i.e., B v B and/or R v R) so that those squads aren't just sitting in a lobby wasting time.

In terms of playing matchmaking, people from varying squads get on semi-frequently and just play games. It usually isn't some official event, but every now and then I hear people talking about trying to get big Warzone groups together and such. We can definitely push for it more often, though.


Another Idea that I personally like is to have a bio on each squad. One explaining its'self. On a enlistmean page maybe? And the recruits who find their own way here or want to join but to not be in the same teams as their friends (I know a few people who would do that) and get to pick a squad based on their play style. I also think that recruits need a way to preview how each squad is different, and it's something I'm going to be writing more about in Phase 3/4.


How easy would it be to make group chats on the FC site?
Not entirely sure what you mean? You mean for the Chatbox or something? If we switch to Discord and embed it into the site, it can function in that way.

[silversleek]

Not entirely sure what you mean? You mean for the Chatbox or something? If we switch to Discord and embed it into the site, it can function in that way.


I think a concept similar to that was what he meant.

PS i'm 10000000% in favour of a discord embed.

[Legendary Nova]

PS i'm 10000000% in favour of a discord embed.

[L0rd Kanti]

In terms of playing matchmaking, people from varying squads get on semi-frequently and just play games. It usually isn't some official event, but every now and then I hear people talking about trying to get big Warzone groups together and such. We can definitely push for it more often, though.

I like doing those big warzone groups, but people need to remember we all have different views on what we consider the META playstyle for Warzone is.