Limelight Forums

While I think it is important to have insight into what is being done internally, I think it is also important to acknowledge that you, I and everybody else here has a role to play and that role shouldn't be debating over the course of the next weeks, if not months, as to how this situation can be turned around.

I don't think it's outlandish to say that you've all (as a community) invested thousands of hours into a game-mode that never had any form of character progression outside of a REP-system, which in my opinion is not comparable since it is not an autonomous system. 

What has caused everybody to now decide to abandon the game-mode? If it is about the player-count, then do something about it. Our first priority is not adding content to bring back old players, as some veteran players continue to suggest, but rather simply fixing an issue we face with regaining a steady population that would inevitably support a stream of donations that the development team relies on to both run this server and incentivize their use of time being put towards a game that might or might not attract an aging demographic of players that once populated these servers.

If you want to participate in its' recovery, go and hop in the server. Go build, go fish, go there hoping that others see this and also join. I've spent tens of hours sitting on a dead server hoping that some of the community members might sacrifice an hour or two of their time to try and gain some traction. 

You've all spent thousands of hours floating around in a game-mode that is certainly not as intuitive as others. Everybody was fine with our first idea of a skill being hitting the same tree with an axe, a fishing system that went unchanged for years, contraband being the same as it was 10 years ago and absolutely no longevity to the game. If you think accessories, new vehicles, clothes and increasing the number of ways to make in-game money were an actual answer to that, I would love to point to how that has come to turn out. 

Now correct me if I am wrong, but the development team including ‍ has spent a lot of time cleaning up the code and further optimizing the game. Is it fair to them to invest their time solely to improve FPS- to then have a lot of members lose faith and decide to not play because after 5 years and hundreds/thousands of hours you've made the realization that the game isn't as in-depth as you'd hoped it would be? Anybody could have come to that realization after their first hundred hours, but I think most of you maintained interest because of the experience difference present when a larger population of players are active.

Here's a wake-up call to some of you. It will never be FiveM or anything like that. That being said, I hope that there is still something in a lot of you that can recall all the fun times we've had together. I personally can't say that I have much time left to put towards this game and I'd hate to see it wasted away with a community that has lost all hope and can't even put in such a small amount of their own time towards trying to improve that. Maybe I am wrong, but this is a community centered solely around CityRP. 

Now how about we do something about it? It's going to take activity from players and clans. It's going to take the development of suggestions that aim to improve our visibility to new players, because at the end of the day- new content does not drive new players to join the server.

Modified AFK System: Incentivizes players to occupy AFK-slots when unavailable to play to increase server visibility in the server browser (AKA: the only way players see our server)
(https://limelightgaming.net/forums/thread-27971.html)

Removing Unnecessary/Heavy Content: New players shouldn't be downloading gigabytes upon gigabytes of content and especially for rarely used prop-packs.
https://limelightgaming.net/forums/thread-27973.html

To choose to continue to push aside suggestions that offer a viable solution, and one that seems like the only effective ones for our current problem, would be a decision to continue to bleed this community dry of the players it once had, the players it could have and the donation stream needed to run this operation.

(Jun 28, 2020, 07:38 PM)Nev Wrote: [ -> ]

(Jun 28, 2020, 06:42 PM)Cole_ Wrote: [ -> ]‍ ‍ ‍, with all due respect, are you guys doing any behind-the-scenes to try and regain player interest? On the outside it doesn't seem like much is going on, but as a community it'd be nice to be reassured that you guys have at least something in the works to try and bring back players.

While I think it is important to have insight into what is being done internally, I think it is also important to acknowledge that you, I and everybody else here has a role to play and that role shouldn't be debating over the course of the next weeks, if not months, as to how this situation can be turned around.

I don't think it's outlandish to say that you've all invested thousands of hours into a game-mode that never had any form of character progression outside of a REP-system, which in my opinion is not comparable since is not an autonomous system. 

What has caused everybody to now decide to abandon the game-mode? If it is about the player-count, then do something about it. Our first priority is not adding content to bring back old players, but rather simply fixing an issue we face with regaining a steady population that would inevitably support a stream of donations that the development team relies on to both run this server and incentivize their use of time being put towards a game that might or might not attract old friends.

If you want to participate in its' recovery, go and hop in the server. Go build, go fish, go there hoping that others see this and also join. I've spent tens of hours sitting on a dead server hoping that some of the community members might sacrifice an hour or two of their time to try and gain some traction. 

You've all spent thousands of hours floating around in a game-mode that is certainly not as intuitive as others. Everybody was fine with our first idea of a skill being hitting the same tree with an axe, a fishing system that went unchanged for years, contraband being the same as it was 10 years ago and absolutely no longevity to the game. If you think accessories, new vehicles, clothes and increasing the number of ways to make in-game money were an actual answer to that, I would love to point to how that has come to turn out. 

Now correct me if I am wrong, but the development team including ‍ has spent a lot of time cleaning up the code and further optimizing the game. Is it fair to them to invest their time solely to improve your FPS for a lot of members to then lose faith and decide to not play because after 5 years and hundreds/thousands of hours you've made the realization that the game isn't as in-depth as you'd hoped it would be?

Here's a wake-up call. It never will be FiveM or any RP simulation like that. That being said, I hope that there is still something in a lot of you that can recall all the fun times we've had together. I personally can't say that I have much time left to put towards this game and I'd hate to see it wasted away with a community that has lost all hope and can't even put in such a small amount of their own time towards trying to improve that.

I have no clue what you're on about.. all I am asking is if they're reacting to the feedback from the community, it's not that deep.

I'm not even talking to you directly ‍ sorry for the confusion, was just bunnyhopping off your comment

Oh.. makes more sense now

Thinking out loud here.


Other mainstream games have evolved whilst Limelight has not. I know I left because of a mixture of boredom and other games seeming more interesting.

Slow development works on servers which have a great playerbase. People rely on each other for fun. With no people, there's no fun. Therefore slow development has no impact.

The only way to get a lot of people to join at once is to create explosive hype. In my opinion, close the server for a year or so and work on it, if you really want to revive this. Set a release date for City RP 3. Develop slowly over the year or whatever works, then release it all. You might have a decent chance at getting 20 people to join, but at least they'll have something fresh and new to experience. If they stay, great, it'll grow. If it grows, even better, slow development can begin again.

Nobody is going to join a dead server. If 1 new player joins the server when it's empty, they're not coming back.

At this point, I know more Dark RP servers more fun than Limelight.

(Jun 28, 2020, 08:38 PM)Kvatch Wrote: [ -> ]The only way to get a lot of people to join at once is to create explosive hype. In my opinion, close the server for a year or so and work on it, if you really want to revive this. Set a release date for City RP 3. Develop slowly over the year or whatever works, then release it all. You might have a decent chance at getting 20 people to join, but at least they'll have something fresh and new to experience. If they stay, great, it'll grow. If it grows, even better, slow development can begin again.

Honestly, I know it might be an unfavorable idea, but I'd imagine one thing that could really save LL would be spending time to develop this into a blank canvas of sorts. 

Look at how Cloud Sixteen monetized HL2RP- I'd imagine this could be possible and LL could become the provider of a game-mode that is licensed to communities/individuals. It's an alternative to open-sourcing the code while bringing in steady cash flows and expanding the number of servers/players within the umbrella gamemode.

Instead of seeing 'CityRP 2' in the server-browser, you'd see something more generic. LimeBase, LLRP, etcetera. The servers that have licensed the base-gamemode would not be able to modify this element and thus all the servers utilizing it will populate this, whether it is our CityRP 2 or somebody using the base gamemode to create a Medieval-RP.

Competition isn't always a bad thing, and maybe there is some middle-ground in making them sign a contractual obligation to not replicate our CityRP design. I'd imagine that from a business perspective, this idea would have some merit.

You get other communities to be formed using your licensed base gamemode and that brings in additional resources for development outsourcing if needed? Just food for thought.

(Jun 28, 2020, 09:15 PM)Nev Wrote: [ -> ]

(Jun 28, 2020, 08:38 PM)Kvatch Wrote: [ -> ]The only way to get a lot of people to join at once is to create explosive hype. In my opinion, close the server for a year or so and work on it, if you really want to revive this. Set a release date for City RP 3. Develop slowly over the year or whatever works, then release it all. You might have a decent chance at getting 20 people to join, but at least they'll have something fresh and new to experience. If they stay, great, it'll grow. If it grows, even better, slow development can begin again.

Honestly, I know it might be an unfavorable idea, but I'd imagine one thing that could really save LL would be spending time to develop this into a blank canvas of sorts. 

Look at how Cloud Sixteen monetized HL2RP- I'd imagine this could be possible and LL could become the provider of a game-mode that is licensed to communities/individuals. It's an alternative to open-sourcing the code while bringing in steady cash flows and expanding the number of servers/players within the umbrella gamemode.

Instead of seeing 'CityRP 2' in the server-browser, you'd see something more generic. LimeBase, LLRP, etcetera. The servers that have licensed the base-gamemode would not be able to modify this element and thus all the servers utilizing it will populate this, whether it is our CityRP 2 or somebody using the base gamemode to create a Medieval-RP.

Competition isn't always a bad thing, and maybe there is some middle-ground in making them sign a contractual obligation to not replicate our CityRP design. I'd imagine that from a business perspective, this idea would have some merit.

You get other communities to be formed using your licensed base gamemode and that brings in additional resources for development outsourcing if needed? Just food for thought.

Cloud Sixteen brought something new to the table though, HL2RP was unheard of before they made it. Even then, Lemonpunch was the equivalent of Fearless, they pretty much dominated the gamemode. City RP exists in so many forms - FiveM, Dark RP dare I say it, Fearless, and more. Why should people play this anything Limelight makes when it's already tarnished its name with a dead gamemode.

(Jun 28, 2020, 10:02 PM)Kvatch Wrote: [ -> ]

(Jun 28, 2020, 09:15 PM)Nev Wrote: [ -> ]

(Jun 28, 2020, 08:38 PM)Kvatch Wrote: [ -> ]The only way to get a lot of people to join at once is to create explosive hype. In my opinion, close the server for a year or so and work on it, if you really want to revive this. Set a release date for City RP 3. Develop slowly over the year or whatever works, then release it all. You might have a decent chance at getting 20 people to join, but at least they'll have something fresh and new to experience. If they stay, great, it'll grow. If it grows, even better, slow development can begin again.

Honestly, I know it might be an unfavorable idea, but I'd imagine one thing that could really save LL would be spending time to develop this into a blank canvas of sorts. 

Look at how Cloud Sixteen monetized HL2RP- I'd imagine this could be possible and LL could become the provider of a game-mode that is licensed to communities/individuals. It's an alternative to open-sourcing the code while bringing in steady cash flows and expanding the number of servers/players within the umbrella gamemode.

Instead of seeing 'CityRP 2' in the server-browser, you'd see something more generic. LimeBase, LLRP, etcetera. The servers that have licensed the base-gamemode would not be able to modify this element and thus all the servers utilizing it will populate this, whether it is our CityRP 2 or somebody using the base gamemode to create a Medieval-RP.

Competition isn't always a bad thing, and maybe there is some middle-ground in making them sign a contractual obligation to not replicate our CityRP design. I'd imagine that from a business perspective, this idea would have some merit.

You get other communities to be formed using your licensed base gamemode and that brings in additional resources for development outsourcing if needed? Just food for thought.

Cloud Sixteen brought something new to the table though, HL2RP was unheard of before they made it. Even then, Lemonpunch was the equivalent of Fearless, they pretty much dominated the gamemode. City RP exists in so many forms - FiveM, Dark RP dare I say it, Fearless, and more. Why should people play this anything Limelight makes when it's already tarnished its name with a dead gamemode.

I've spent hundreds of hours on HL2RP communities before joining FearlessRP and one thing I remember from my time on 6-7 different communities is that all of them hated Lemonpunch. They were known as this evil mega-conglomerate that allegedly DDoS'd smaller communities and used shady tactics to get rid of the competition.

(Jun 29, 2020, 11:09 AM)Markus Wrote: [ -> ]

(Jun 28, 2020, 10:02 PM)Kvatch Wrote: [ -> ]

(Jun 28, 2020, 09:15 PM)Nev Wrote: [ -> ]Honestly, I know it might be an unfavorable idea, but I'd imagine one thing that could really save LL would be spending time to develop this into a blank canvas of sorts. 

Look at how Cloud Sixteen monetized HL2RP- I'd imagine this could be possible and LL could become the provider of a game-mode that is licensed to communities/individuals. It's an alternative to open-sourcing the code while bringing in steady cash flows and expanding the number of servers/players within the umbrella gamemode.

Instead of seeing 'CityRP 2' in the server-browser, you'd see something more generic. LimeBase, LLRP, etcetera. The servers that have licensed the base-gamemode would not be able to modify this element and thus all the servers utilizing it will populate this, whether it is our CityRP 2 or somebody using the base gamemode to create a Medieval-RP.

Competition isn't always a bad thing, and maybe there is some middle-ground in making them sign a contractual obligation to not replicate our CityRP design. I'd imagine that from a business perspective, this idea would have some merit.

You get other communities to be formed using your licensed base gamemode and that brings in additional resources for development outsourcing if needed? Just food for thought.

Cloud Sixteen brought something new to the table though, HL2RP was unheard of before they made it. Even then, Lemonpunch was the equivalent of Fearless, they pretty much dominated the gamemode. City RP exists in so many forms - FiveM, Dark RP dare I say it, Fearless, and more. Why should people play this anything Limelight makes when it's already tarnished its name with a dead gamemode.

I've spent hundreds of hours on HL2RP communities before joining FearlessRP and one thing I remember from my time on 6-7 different communities is that all of them hated Lemonpunch. They were known as this evil mega-conglomerate that allegedly DDoS'd smaller communities and used shady tactics to get rid of the competition.

Yeah, LemonPunch tried to get us to merge with them and then a few months later their community collapsed. Close shave that was.

Then Gurrazor tried getting some of us to join his new community as staff members. I was even offered Super-admin lmao

What is actually going on with development? Surely there's not much money left to pay for anything?

Using public info, net cash reserves as of the end of 2019 were at £3863, and the year prior were at £4307, meaning a yearly loss of £444 (which is fine, was cash was always supposed to be reinvested.) But where has the money actually gone towards? Turnover for 2019 was £8199, or an average of £683 a month.

Server costs accounted for less than half of the monthly income, so presumably more than £340 a mont was spent on development per month on average? Okay fine, but let's look at content released throughout 2019:

(Note following is only gameplay related development, so keep in mind when reading further that figures aren't fully accurate and may be dramatically different.)

Jan: Nothing
Feb: Truenorth map change, adding weight tool, improved /map
March: Injuries update, /note update, reworked panic button.
April: nothing
May: Weather addon, Meska
June: 
July: Prop revamp, Accessories
August /map update (Again), a referral system
September: Suit update, prices changes to accessories and suits
October: animations update, haloween update
november: photon update
december: christmas update, christmas presents, life alert rework.

Out of the above updates, i will underline those I personally think provide a level of content.  That's 5 updates out the year that provide some level of content.. At least for a non-active player on limelight to consider returning.


Total development costs for 12 month period aproximately £4080
Average cost per update: £204 



Okay so we're 7 months in the year now, and we currently have: 
Jan: nothing
Feb: Valentines event
March: Nothing
April: nothing
May: HUD revamp
June: Rules overhaul

Of the above updates, the only piece of actual content is the valentines event. So one piece of content in 07 months. 

--- 
Presuming development costs are unchanged, that would suggest £612 has been spent on development

Okay great. Let's look at playercount and how this might affect the above:


Fearless players over past 30 days: average of 10 - peak time playercount anywhere from 47- lowest of 24

Comparatively, Limelight players over past 30 days: Average of 5- peak time playercount from 3> to a maximum of 37, with 80%+ of days being below 20, and atleast 50% of days being below 12. 



So bringing this back to aforementioned financials, limelight is obviously doing bad in playercount (relative to fearless.) And if the playercount is this bad, then I can't see donations being high. I can only presume actual income is likely to be under 200 a month, and likely under 100 (but cannot confirm this for obvious reasons.) 

if this IS the case, then limelight would have a current cash reserve of around 3800 (last year) + [£150 per month donations*7] - [600 development cost] -[(presume server costs are half) 341*07] = 1863. That leaves 5.4 months of server expenditure remaining, presuming no further income or development costs.

Yes, nearly all the above is based on unconfirmed, and likely vastly incorrect numbers, but this proves a single point. That limelight is close to dying, and seriously needs to increase it's income to survive. The only way it can do this is by providing a level of actual content to entice new players back, thus raising memberships and money packs bought. But by spending money on creating new content, it is reducing it's buffer and so may struggle to actually pay server fees - meaning cheaper options would be needed (more prone to security issues as we've seen in past, lower capcity / reduced performance) or alternatively Limelight Gaming LTD goes bankrupt.


So, with all the money spent on development in the last year, what affect has it actually made to the server? It begs the question that now more than ever, management has to be transparent with the remaining playerbase and work to actually achieve growth. This lassaiz-faire attitude that's clearly been had this year in terms of gameplay development, and has frankly been suffering for a number of years now, is literally going to kill the server. 

This needs to be acted upon immediately if limelight is to survive , unless my numbers are wildly off. 


Something needs to be done ‍

I mean no disrespect to work of developers, am not discrediting what you have done, just discrediting the management that suggested it's a valid use of money when it clearly is needed elsewhere. 

I mean for christ sake it's friday night, should be peak time for the week, and there's 3 players on.

(Jul 10, 2020, 10:49 PM)Jono Wrote: [ -> ]I mean for christ sake it's friday night, should be peak time for the week, and there's 3 players on.

I don't see your name on that list?

I've read this post, and there's a few misconceptions here, so let's take some time and clear it up, along with my views and some more information. Transparency.

(Jul 10, 2020, 10:42 PM)Jono Wrote: [ -> ]Using public info, net cash reserves as of the end of 2019 were at £3863, and the year prior were at £4307, meaning a yearly loss of £444 (which is fine, was cash was always supposed to be reinvested.) But where has the money actually gone towards? Turnover for 2019 was £8199, or an average of £683 a month.

Financial Year 2019, yes (up until April), assuming you've taken the figures from the filed accounts.

(Jul 10, 2020, 10:42 PM)Jono Wrote: [ -> ]Server costs accounted for less than half of the monthly income, so presumably more than £340 a mont was spent on development per month on average? Okay fine, but let's look at content released throughout 2019:

Development, Security, Media, External Contractors for skills we don't have, etc.
This also doesn't account for other misc expenditures such as Paypal / Bank fees, outlay for Business (signings, filings).
This was also in the 2018-2019 financial year, not the 2019-2020 year (which only ended a few months ago, so consider you're on a year old set of data), and that the income during that period was much higher in comparison, with no month in the red.

(Jul 10, 2020, 10:42 PM)Jono Wrote: [ -> ]Jan: Nothing
Feb: Truenorth map change, adding weight tool, improved /map
March: Injuries update, /note update, reworked panic button.
April: nothing
May: Weather addon, Meska
June: 
July: Prop revamp, Accessories
August /map update (Again), a referral system
September: Suit update, prices changes to accessories and suits
October: animations update, haloween update
november: photon update
december: christmas update, christmas presents, life alert rework.

Out of the above updates, i will underline those I personally think provide a level of content.  That's 5 updates out the year that provide some level of content.. At least for a non-active player on limelight to consider returning.

Total development costs for 12 month period aproximately £4080
Average cost per update: £204 

Okay so we're 7 months in the year now, and we currently have: 
Jan: nothing
Feb: Valentines event
March: Nothing
April: nothing
May: HUD revamp
June: Rules overhaul

Of the above updates, the only piece of actual content is the valentines event. So one piece of content in 07 months. 

And as you know, as a former member of the Business Team, we can't only just pay for "content", because other things need doing. Bugfixes, infrastructure repairs, optimisation (a huge issue for the community for two years, brought up as one of the largest issues by the community in the past), all of these things have been raised as critical issues, which needed fixing.

I'm not disagreeing with content being an issue, but for the majority of the time, other things have taken priority, and we've lacked the resources to effectively get more done (see below).

(Jul 10, 2020, 10:42 PM)Jono Wrote: [ -> ]So bringing this back to aforementioned financials, limelight is obviously doing bad in playercount (relative to fearless.) And if the playercount is this bad, then I can't see donations being high. I can only presume actual income is likely to be under 200 a month, and likely under 100 (but cannot confirm this for obvious reasons.) 

You can always look on the membership page.

(Jul 10, 2020, 10:42 PM)Jono Wrote: [ -> ]So, with all the money spent on development in the last year, what affect has it actually made to the server? It begs the question that now more than ever, management has to be transparent with the remaining playerbase and work to actually achieve growth. This lassaiz-faire attitude that's clearly been had this year in terms of gameplay development, and has frankly been suffering for a number of years now, is literally going to kill the server. 

Having the chase the whims of a community which change repeatedly. When optimisation was the issue, we worked on that, when rules were the issue, we fixed that. Now content is the issue, and it's pretty late, and we're suffering from a lack of development resources. Note, not money, though that can mitigate it, but resources for development. You can look at the team page and go "oh, they've got 6 devs, they'll be grand", but when one is web front-end only, 4 have extremely limited time, and the last is on the cusp of burning out, we just have a lack of people able to do things, though this really has been an issue since BlackShadow left.

And I'll be frank with you, it scares me. I don't know what to do.
We've put out calls for contributors, with nobody popping their head up.
There are major projects in the works, which provide content, and content with staying power, but they're taking time.
And as can be seen, when I come to look here for some good news, all I see is bickering, infighting, bitching, all mired in an atmosphere of populism and extremism.
Sure, there's good stuff too, like the events, and the huge amount of work is putting in with his suggestions and events, but at the next turn of the page the staff in their Ivory Towers, laughing as LL dies, then next the new players on the forums, then the next the latest drama about some ban or whatever.

We'll keep working, keep trying to get stuff out, get stuff done, but we lack resources, we have done since 2018, and despite repeated calls, nobody else seems willing to jump in the trench with us.

(Jul 11, 2020, 12:06 AM)Doctor Internet Wrote: [ -> ]I've read this post, and there's a few misconceptions here, so let's take some time and clear it up, along with my views and some more information. Transparency.

(Jul 10, 2020, 10:42 PM)Jono Wrote: [ -> ]Using public info, net cash reserves as of the end of 2019 were at £3863, and the year prior were at £4307, meaning a yearly loss of £444 (which is fine, was cash was always supposed to be reinvested.) But where has the money actually gone towards? Turnover for 2019 was £8199, or an average of £683 a month.

Financial Year 2019, yes (up until April), assuming you've taken the figures from the filed accounts.

(Jul 10, 2020, 10:42 PM)Jono Wrote: [ -> ]Server costs accounted for less than half of the monthly income, so presumably more than £340 a mont was spent on development per month on average? Okay fine, but let's look at content released throughout 2019:

Development, Security, Media, External Contractors for skills we don't have, etc.
This also doesn't account for other misc expenditures such as Paypal / Bank fees, outlay for Business (signings, filings).
This was also in the 2018-2019 financial year, not the 2019-2020 year (which only ended a few months ago, so consider you're on a year old set of data), and that the income during that period was much higher in comparison, with no month in the red.

(Jul 10, 2020, 10:42 PM)Jono Wrote: [ -> ]Jan: Nothing
Feb: Truenorth map change, adding weight tool, improved /map
March: Injuries update, /note update, reworked panic button.
April: nothing
May: Weather addon, Meska
June: 
July: Prop revamp, Accessories
August /map update (Again), a referral system
September: Suit update, prices changes to accessories and suits
October: animations update, haloween update
november: photon update
december: christmas update, christmas presents, life alert rework.

Out of the above updates, i will underline those I personally think provide a level of content.  That's 5 updates out the year that provide some level of content.. At least for a non-active player on limelight to consider returning.

Total development costs for 12 month period aproximately £4080
Average cost per update: £204 

Okay so we're 7 months in the year now, and we currently have: 
Jan: nothing
Feb: Valentines event
March: Nothing
April: nothing
May: HUD revamp
June: Rules overhaul

Of the above updates, the only piece of actual content is the valentines event. So one piece of content in 07 months. 

And as you know, as a former member of the Business Team, we can't only just pay for "content", because other things need doing. Bugfixes, infrastructure repairs, optimisation (a huge issue for the community for two years, brought up as one of the largest issues by the community in the past), all of these things have been raised as critical issues, which needed fixing.

I'm not disagreeing with content being an issue, but for the majority of the time, other things have taken priority, and we've lacked the resources to effectively get more done (see below).

(Jul 10, 2020, 10:42 PM)Jono Wrote: [ -> ]So bringing this back to aforementioned financials, limelight is obviously doing bad in playercount (relative to fearless.) And if the playercount is this bad, then I can't see donations being high. I can only presume actual income is likely to be under 200 a month, and likely under 100 (but cannot confirm this for obvious reasons.) 

You can always look on the membership page.

(Jul 10, 2020, 10:42 PM)Jono Wrote: [ -> ]So, with all the money spent on development in the last year, what affect has it actually made to the server? It begs the question that now more than ever, management has to be transparent with the remaining playerbase and work to actually achieve growth. This lassaiz-faire attitude that's clearly been had this year in terms of gameplay development, and has frankly been suffering for a number of years now, is literally going to kill the server. 

Having the chase the whims of a community which change repeatedly. When optimisation was the issue, we worked on that, when rules were the issue, we fixed that. Now content is the issue, and it's pretty late, and we're suffering from a lack of development resources. Note, not money, though that can mitigate it, but resources for development. You can look at the team page and go "oh, they've got 6 devs, they'll be grand", but when one is web front-end only, 4 have extremely limited time, and the last is on the cusp of burning out, we just have a lack of people able to do things, though this really has been an issue since BlackShadow left.

And I'll be frank with you, it scares me. I don't know what to do.
We've put out calls for contributors, with nobody popping their head up.
There are major projects in the works, which provide content, and content with staying power, but they're taking time.
And as can be seen, when I come to look here for some good news, all I see is bickering, infighting, bitching, all mired in an atmosphere of populism and extremism.
Sure, there's good stuff too, like the events, and the huge amount of work is putting in with his suggestions and events, but at the next turn of the page the staff in their Ivory Towers, laughing as LL dies, then next the new players on the forums, then the next the latest drama about some ban or whatever.

We'll keep working, keep trying to get stuff out, get stuff done, but we lack resources, we have done since 2018, and despite repeated calls, nobody else seems willing to jump in the trench with us.

Misread end of year - wasn't using companies house and the report suggested it was yearly, mb

Still doesn't change a great deal, if anything slightly worsens number mentioned towards start of the post.

Also as mentioned numbers are heavily aproximated - i presume the costs you mentioned would fit into the 50% included within server costs, and only wanted to focus on the other 50% of content costs primarily as that's the primary thing players will see. I'm aware this isn't fully accurate as I can recall the figures from when I was on the team, but i'm aproximating based on public info to avoid an issues with NDA. 


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The main concern I have (being inactive member of community) is every time I relog into limelight, the onlything that has changed is a reduced playercount. It's got to the point where I've fancied popping on for whatever reason, and simply won't as see there's >10 players on. It's kind of a self-destructive cycle. 

I think the core point which you've raised is lack of resources - This was an issue back when I joined the team and was still and issue when I left. The reason I focused on financials is primarily to outline that we, as a community, have a matter of months to fix this. Last months income actually is worse than my estimations, so I can only presume previous months were at a similar level.

If there's any takeaway from anything i've said, or any point you've responded to, it is that something has to happen ASAP. That's not your fault by any means, but 'management' need to be active and not delay making an actual move here.

Not even being dramatic, but it should be peak earning season - when I was in B.team the revenue of summer often saw us trough lulls of income during winter. If this is peak summer, then clearly by christmas all the cash will be dried up.

It's not an opinion anymore that limelight is dying, it's diagnosis is terminal unless it can get the love and manhours it needs.


I won't hold my breath.