Your Expectations of MapleRoyals

Whether you are a player that started just started this year, back in 2013-14, somewhere between 2015-2018 or just lurks on the forums;

I was wondering:

1. What were your expectations going into playing MapleRoyals?
2. What made you continue playing?
3. Do you have any goals that keep you going?
4. Do you like how the server is shaping itself compared to when you first joined?
5. What would you like to see in future updates?

Spoiler: My Answers

1. I was looking for a MMORPG game with my irl friends and stumbled across MapleRoyals since the current official server didn't interest us. I didn't expect to stay long/invest time into it since when I played private servers back in the day, they would shutdown after a few months or weeks of operation.
2. The community, the friendly tight knit competition and the friends I met over the years i've been playing.
3. No goals anymore. My main goal before when I was actively playing was to get to level 200 on a archer/mage/warrior/thief/pirate.
4. To be honest, I don't know anymore. Compared to when I first joined the community's mindset feels really different. I didn't like certain changes such as the removal of the fm button and limiting APQ. I also feel like the player retention is very lacking despite the developer asking for what the community wanted to be done first.
5. Aside from the internal things like rankings, forum search, and control panel, maybe harder bosses to compete with the power creep created from the new content added over the months.

I'm curious what others think, whether you are veteran or a new player. Hope this thread will serve itself helpful to newer players.

 

1. Relive the old days when I played global with my cousins and some internet friends.

2. Friends I made along my noob way. Eventually I had found a permanent guild I really liked called Wisdom and it was like a second home as stupid as that may sound to some.

3. Nah I just login. Have every class but archmage, paladin, beginner and crossbows at lvl 155+ oh and no corsair... makes you actually have to play the game

4. I miss the warp to FM button like every sane person and no Pink Bean so yea but they doing good. Maybe some things were added too late or limited but honestly its better now than what it was 2 years ago

5. More NX and pink bean

Thank u holy4ice for ur thread and I hope this helps people not dm admins about them acc sharing

 

1. Nostalgia. Needless to say didn't feel so nostalgic with altered exp and spawn rate back then, but grinding felt kinda nice on a new cleric so that part was sorta nostalgic in its way.

2. Addiction.

3. Not really, no. It's all based on mood now. Sometimes I play long hours, sometimes I do Krex and logoff.

4. Gameplay wise, yes. I like how new source removed a lot of things that were abused such as ~bosshp that makes things a little too easy. Newer bosses are always welcomed. However I am still quite upset that we still need to do some ritual called "gfx" at bosses like Zakum, and the necessity to download VMware to actually complete a HT run without running into graphical issue. 2 years, soon to be 3 years since new source and this shit is still here and I am actually quite baffled why is that our server is the only server that actually needs to do this gfx shit.

5. Autoban. More active GMs. This is a bit personal but I actually would love to see a Big Bang update.

 

1. A stable server, safe from Nexon's radar as I moved from a KMS server which got shut down only a month after I joined.

2. My guild and extreme goals.

3. Establish a strong Korean community in royals. Join Fryslan (Still waiting for that invite Tim ).

4. Content, stability (from Nexon) and direction wise, it's doing great, better than any other server out there. Concerning maintenance, it's running into shit with rampant hackers and RWTers, missing control panel and auto-ban. The majority of power creep issues can be solved if cheaters are eliminated from this game.

5. AutoBan, AutoBan, AutoBan

 

1. Was looking for a nostalgic maplestory server to pass the time with during the last 3 months of my army service, ended up staying a bit more than that.
2. Competitiveness with friends or other players in the community, my main goal was always to get better gear. And of course the great friends I made along the way.
3. As a player I no longer have any goals, I achieved most of them with my last nightlord. As a GM my main goal is to gain motivation again, become more active to be able to help the community and keep the game as clean as possible so the community can enjoy the game like I did.
4. Personally I liked old-source more but new source isn't that far. The new source removed some mechanics that made the game way too easy and eventually became really stable and fun to play with majority of the features working, aside from the powercreep..
5. Better anti-cheating systems/tools to deal with cheaters, but that's more complicated than it sounds .

 

1) Being able to achieve what I couldn't back in pre-bb gms. I almost made it to 4th job mage and always wanted to spam genesis, which I was able to achieve here.

2) The active community, and mainly the Ironman challenge. That was one of the biggest turning points for me on this server and I wouldn't have made it much farther without it.

3) I've got myself a perfect weapon to scroll and I'll be focusing on leveling my caveman cleric. (haha caveman meme challenge)

4) Compared to how unstable old source was, I love how far the server has come. Sure there are some things missing currently, but there is more content here than there has ever been in gms way back in the day. The server doesn't crash every 30 mins and I can go places that I never knew existed in maple. I don't think I could go anywhere else.

5) As many are already saying, better anti-cheating systems and some more ways to counter the HP-washing meta (possibly more hp quests like the water of life one we have currently).

 

What were your expectations going into playing MapleRoyals?

That I was able relive the sense of wonder, exploration and community that I felt when I first started playing MapleStory with my college buddy.

What made you continue you playing?

To have the chance to defeat all bosses and explored all maps that I missed before Big Bang.

Do you have any goals that keep you going?

Create a washed Buccaneer/Corsair!

Other those goals, I think I to would like leave a legacy here I guess.

Whether their busy, completed their Maple bucket list or left the server for their own personal reasons. Players both new or old would remember the deeds of whose help to build the server up. Like Plenty, Sila, GoodDooDoo, Bella etc

Of all the private servers I tried, somehow I always be drawn back to this server. Where I feel I mattered here, the community that welcomes me and I felt me being here I was able to make a positive impact and brighten someone else's day.

Do you like how the server is shaping itself compared to when you first joined?

Yes, the player community has done a tremendous amount of work to trying get the staffs to make the game more inclusive like HP and class balance for everyone. The staffs deserve a pat on the back for trying their hardest to try implemented these ideals and taking care of us with their limited time.

What would you like to see in future updates?

Since there is tons of potential updates and content yet to be implemented. I wish this thread to be revived, I think it was great when both the community and the staffs can both share and discuss on their vision for the server.

I am mostly excited for the possible implementation of Neo Tokyo, Golden Temple and adjusted Ellin Forest.

For server-wise maybe an automatic DC rewarp system, removed or nerf fast pass × making Dojo more accessible and adjusted PQs tier.

On a final note, there might be people who disagree with me, I hope the staff might entertaining the idea of implementing some post Big Bang content that can fit into the narrative of the server. Like Lionheart Castle, Destroyed Henesys.

Maybe even share a bit of burden in taking care of the server with the community.

 

1. What were your expectations going into playing MapleRoyals?
   Making a 30k HP NL with 8k range+ as soon as possible. Why would I waste my time playing any of those other lame classes? Spending like 6hours a day at ulu? Get a real life honestly; just HT and merch like I do and you'll get 60atk gear in like 6months.
2. What made you continue you playing?
   Well I mean I'm so good at this game, it's so easy, I might as well keep playing to help some of these noobs. Honestly these players who have been playing since 2016 but are struggling to get decent gear and are just jealous of mine. They keep asking me where I got my money or for any scrolling records; why the hell would I give them to you lol? I just did a lot of APQ when I started, enough to CS my first cape. Got it to 22 attack; downgraded and got some more CS and just self made all my gear. It also helped that my friend from Mayalsia quit around when I started and he gave me all his stuff cause we grew up together.
3. Do you have any goals that keep you going?
   To show all these tryhard wannabe GM's that this game is actually so dumb easy. It doesn't take 3 years to get good gear lol.
4. Do you like how the server is shaping itself compared to when you first joined?
   This community is a bunch of snowflake babies. If you have anything to say to me; just say it to my face. I can bench 500 lbs and yes I do watch rick & morty.
5. What would you like to see in future updates?
   Pink Bean and droppable CS/WS.

 

1. Was looking for a nice/stable private server that would satisfy my maple cravings.

2. This server was pretty stable compared to others and just enjoyed the game like I always did.

3. Came back from a trip and I feel like I have nothing to do now so I might start playing a Paladin new starts always feel the good.

4. Yes I do very much I love the fact that the server is perfecting itself with balances, changing the economy and new content even though they don't belong to the true nostalgic maple.

5. I see MapleRoyals as the perfect MapleStory I always wanted and care less for the nostalgic feeling. It fixes all the bugs/bad decisions from the original game and adds new content. I hope this server will keep on evolving by getting new maps, bosses and even jobs (with the right balance since some were a bit over the top to say the least). I'd also like to see the server getting rid of things that in my opinion kill the game for example HP wash, leech and mostly uwu.

 

1. I did a cursory search for pre-BB servers and decided that Royals looked functional. Private servers are a mess regardless of game, so that was the extent of my expectations.
2. It scratches the itch. I'm more of the "kill hours solo adventuring" type of player, and you can still play Royals without ever running into anyone if that's what floats your boat.
3. Absolutely none. It turns out that the adventuring lifestyle doesn't pay off after a certain level, especially as an attacker. Also, my character name mistakes would cost like US$100 to fix at this point.
4. I enjoy the quirks and idiosyncracies of the Royals community - y'all are dorks, but mostly perceptive, thoughtful, and well spoken. Compared to many past experiences, I find the Royals staff to be very level headed and reliable. I have faith in that combination of factors. I joined right before the big new source meltdown and saw a more human side to the community in the aftermath and cleanup.
5. tarantula mount

 

1. Was bored of having no gaming PC at college and wanted a casual game to play.

2. When I first started, I met some super dedicated and friendly players, one who was top 10 NL in server, but they got perma-banned for account sharing with their cousin over 12 months before. I think that inspired me to hate the staff for a long time and also try hard in game.

Later I found some really great friends in the guilds Tempest, Villains, and Impurity but most have quit or gotten banned (rip @JakeFromStateFarm).

3. Not much which is why I barely play anymore. I think my only goal is to change my mentality and find new good friends.

4. I miss a lot of the old players/staff who left. Right now the game just seems like a RNG grind for all these end game accessories.

5. It seems to me maybe the server could add some social content (Fm button, unlimited apq, custom pq, creative options?).

 

1. What were your expectations going into playing MapleRoyals?
   A server that was actually like gMS was in this same version (it isn't, at all, and so many of the essential components of gMS are completely nonexistent)
   
2. What made you continue you playing?
   Incredibly active free market (love 2 merch)
   
3. Do you have any goals that keep you going?
   No. I just play for fun (aka when I genuinely want to) which is me buying cheap shit and selling it for more while gradually upgrading my equipment at a turtle's pace and occasionally scrolling things.
   
4. Do you like how the server is shaping itself compared to when you first joined?
   No. When I joined there was none of the dumb shit like "class balancing" or "HP quests" and the staff were far more active.
   
5. What would you like to see in future updates?
   -Inactive staff removed and replaced with active interns who prioritize their duties ahead of personal fun/enjoyment (aka if you have time to like those meme posts, you have time to reply to that ban appeal--the latter should be prioritized first)
   -Staff members with specific roles instead of just scattering to perform random duties at their own discretion ( such as: those who can be active in-game dealing with hackers/hacker reports, those who can use the forums often but not go in-game dealing with the ban appeals, and those who can perform administrative duties such as PIC/PW resets dealing with those PMs)
   -A community manager/leader with one sole responsibility - player relations (answering questions, replying to help threads, providing updates, relaying information, etc.)
   -An active forum moderator (aka one who logs in daily and reads the reports + notifies you when action was/was not taken, and why/why not)
   -Scheduled server restarts (aka don't tell us on the day of that we're getting a restart 3 hours from now, have it scheduled ahead of time so we can actually plan for it)
   -Scheduled GM Events (aka don't just log in and host that stupid oh lala jump quest while sitting there half-afk, actually post an announcement and give us some fuckin' variety)
   -Real Cash Shop updates and holiday sales similar to how it was on gMS (adding only like 10 items and a handful of hair/faces each patch is laughable with the amount of options we have available)
   -WITCH'S DEEP PURPLE BELT BEING MADE FUCKING 1 SLOT AND PERMANENT HOLY SHIT TEMPORARY ITEMS DO NOT INCENTIVIZE US TO PARTICIPATE IN THE SAME HOLIDAY EVENT YEAR AFTER YEAR
   -Ban appeals posted by people who were caught hacking by a GM/with video evidence = given a response and locked immediately alongside the user's privileges to post a ban appeal revoked. All these appeals do is waste the time of our staff going back and forth/explaining it to them/dealing with the liars who are like "CAN U SHOW ME DA EVIDENCEZ" "IT WUZ MY BRO CN U STILL LET MI PLAY??" -- give them a simple/polite answer (You were permanently banned for hacking on the character ____ at ____ map on ___ day and you are no longer allowed to play MapleRoyals.), lock the thread, and prevent them from posting another appeal which will further waste time/resources)

 

Hey, to just clear the air a little.

The reports you're talking about include all aspects of the forum, only some of which I can/do handle (aka I don't look into rwt). Till a few days ago there were many for RWT (for a total of >60 reports) and it can be easy to miss a non-rwt report. It has never been the case to PM the reporter that the issue was handled or not, and why or why not. That would frankly make an already bloated system even slower to clear.... which onto speed.

The non-rwt ones are handled relatively quickly. I work full time and I'm in school- the report you're upset about took, in total 36 hours to fully clear (I missed the delete box, the guy was banned though)- would have been fixed the next time I sat down at my computer tho (so in the future a 2nd or 3rd report on the same post is unnecessary.) Just because it took some time doesn't mean we don't care or you guys should just stop reporting.

I do log daily- often hidden however, I get a lot of PM's and I prioritize those over reports- sort of a help a customer in the store vs answering the phone and it's easier to sit down for an hour or two and answer PM's and discord messages without new ones coming in. I'm sorry if you (or anyone) don't think some people (or me since this seems directed right at me) this isn't a job for any of us (besides maybe Matt lol). I am however one person- so like you said "specific roles" and such.

 

I'm talking about those customized notifications that pop up in your alerts and say things like "Post was removed, thanks! Sorry for the delay". I have received them many times before, only incredibly inconsistently and following maybe 1/50 reports. They should be routine, especially when the post isn't removed or when an excessive amount of time was taken to address the report. I said nothing about PMing the individual, you made that up.

Wrong. I've had this issue occur on a repeat basis for months on end. I report people for bumping sale threads more than once in less than 24 hours almost daily (often multiple times) and half of the time I return days later and the post(s) are still there. It doesn't matter if you work full time and go to school, you chose to volunteer for this position despite having those things on your plate. Can't handle it? Step down and let somebody who can replace you. Nobody forced you into becoming a moderator or remaining a moderator with your plate full. You made the decision to take on these additional responsibilities. Sorry if that's blunt but it's the harsh reality--this isn't a large nor highly active board and the responsibilities for a moderator really aren't challenging.

So let me get this straight... when I report a rule breaking post, and the user is banned for it, but the post remains up (such as one using a racial slur that was left up from Sunday until Tuesday), I SHOULDN'T re-report it? That doesn't make any sense. When you ban somebody for a rule breaking post, you also need to delete the post itself, and if you don't delete it I will be under the impression that you forgot to do so. I am doing you a favor by re-reporting it because otherwise it will be left to remain just like all of those other rule breaking posts you leave up half of the time. If you didn't have track record of not returning to delete the post after you forgot/'missed the delete box' I wouldn't feel the need to continue reporting them, but you do have that record, so until you fix the issue you have with not clicking the delete button every time you address a rule breaking post, it's entirely reasonable for me to report the post again. I can't read your mind, and when you often leave rule breaking posts up without coming back to delete them, I'm going to assume that is the case every time rather than assuming it is the rare exception where you come back a day after reading the report to delete the post.

The issue isn't it taking a reasonable amount of time (granted a forum post report shouldn't be taking over a day to address), it's no action being taken the first time reports are made. I am constantly re-reporting things day(s) later because the post wasn't removed despite breaking a rule and I was never notified as to why it wasn't. Don't skim reports, don't rush through reports, and handle them all individually each day. Too many? Can't perform your duties daily? Find another moderator who can handle that work load, or at least one who can split it with you until you can perform your duties thoroughly and in a timely manner. Speak up, let the other staff know you need some help and have them actively recruit an additional mod/a replacement mod.

It shows us when you were last online when we click on your name . I check this before re-reporting things.

Moderating the forum should come first as a forum moderator. Putting Discord messages and PMs over moderating the board is entirely backwards. Unless I'm mistaken, your position is *forum* moderator, and the primary job of a forum moderator is to monitor and address inappropriate or offensive content posted on the forums. While people may mistakenly PM you on here and on Discord, those things shouldn't be put before the duties of your actual position. The fact that you are trying to juggle your forum moderator role with additional duties that should be covered by other staff members is further showing the need for specified/designated roles among the staff. It's almost like y'all aren't given any direction or told your specific duties and are instead just all over the place dealing with what you want, whenever you want.

Sorry if this comes off as like some form of personal attack, but you wanted to address your specific issues by responding to my post and I'm not going to sugar coat things. Hope no feelings were hurt.

 

No worries, and thank you for your input, but I think you may have missed this portion of my post (I agree with you!):

"Find another moderator who can handle that work load, or at least one who can split it with you until you can perform your duties thoroughly and in a timely manner. Speak up, let the other staff know you need some help and have them actively recruit an additional mod/a replacement mod."

Having the applications open =/= actively recruiting them. If we need another forum moderator it would benefit us to make some form of announcement letting players know that position is actively being sought out currently (even having the top bar in-game with a "Maplers! Have you ever wanted to moderate a forum, or help the MapleRoyals community? If so, we are actively seeking an additional member of our staff team to fill the rule of a forum moderator. Visit MapleRoyals.com/forum and check the announcements section for directions on how to to apply today!"). It's similar to having a rental property without any advertisements or signage up. Sure, people *can* technically seek to rent it, but you'll attract the attention of a lot more people if you have signage/advertisements up as well.

Same would apply for the GM position(s) too though. If we made an announcement where it was explicitly clear that we're removing, say, 3 inactive GMs and we need 3 interns to replace them, we'll likely see a greater amount of applications than we do without any form of announcement or explanation. Currently there is really no urgency behind it and no expressed desire for more staff members. Think of it like a store that accepts applications even when they aren't actively hiring versus a store that is actively hiring with a sign on the door (alongside ads on Indeed, CL, whatever) that says "HIRING IMMEDIATELY! DESPERATE NEED FOR MANAGERS, SERVERS, ETC." - the former is our current approach, but the latter is what I propose and would be the far more effective option.

 

I already explained your first part, we have the ability to delete posts or warn someone. When we warn someone we have to go to a separate tab and click a box to delete the post <-- this was missed, it happens. Additionally, till we manually close the report, it stays open- so yes, reporting it multiple times does nothing.

As for the second part, I also explained this- I have the ability to hide my activity (just like you guys, theres 10 people viewing this thread right now but itll only show 4 because 6 are hiding what they are viewing), and im also able to as a whole, hide myself from being viewed online, so I can be on the forum but it looks like I was last seen however long its been since I turned it on.

Edit:
To anyone curious this is what the reports look like- nothing special so I dont see any reason why it has to be a secret.

Spoiler: Pics

 

Or discord. I don't mind talking to you or anyone about these things.

 

Yes, and you don't delete the rule breaking post(s) on a routine basis. It isn't a one time thing. This happens a lot. I don't get told when you "close the report" and there are countless posts that broke the rules, were reported, and still remain up weeks or even months after the fact. What's the excuse for that? I'll always re-report if a rule breaking post isn't removed, and if that bothers you the simple solution is to refrain from leaving rule breaking posts up. Again, this is a common occurrence, not a rare one.

I don't think you are understanding what I am saying. If I click your profile and it says you were online 30 minutes ago, but I made a report 2 days ago and the post remains up, I'm going to use that as my basis for reporting it again because you clearly didn't deal with it like you were supposed to despite being on the forums after my report was made. Whether you are currently displayed as online/offline does not influence this.

He can make a thread about it if he'd like and I'll gladly respond! I merely answered the OP's questions and Evan quoted me wanting to address specific points inside of this thread.


edit:
(I think) This is the feature I was talking about earlier! I absolutely loved the times where it was utilized to let me know when a report was/was not handled, or why not, and even apologize for any delays. It's a terrific function that is underutilized big time. It also helps to mitigate the issue where players may or may not know if/when a report was/was not dealt with.