Changing of the guard

Pericles

From announce #2605:

Hi Aetolians,

You may or may not know me, but I'm Matt Mihaly, the CEO of Iron Realms.

You don't hear from me often, at all, so I'll get right to the point: I know there's a lot of discontent over Aetolia's direction this last year, with much of what was promised at the beginning of the year not materializing. I fully understand that discontent, and agree that this state of affairs is unacceptable.

Recently, Razmael/Mike and I had a talk, and we agreed that he would step down as producer of Aetolia. I'm not looking to cast blame at Razmael here though, and neither should you. He was thrust into the producer role after we fired Galleus/Eric Lamy, and was never really thrilled with it. It's my fault for leaving him in a position where he wasn't comfortable for so long. He was originally hired as a coder, and would vastly prefer to go back to being a straight-up coder, so that's what we're going to do. He'll continue on in Aetolia, but not as the producer going forward.

Now, what we don't have is a permanent producer to replace him with yet. That's something we're going to work on at the beginning of 2017, but in the meantime Oleis/Riley Pagett is going to come back and serve as acting producer. He's not available to be full-time producer going forward due to other things in his life, but he'll fill that role until we find the right person for the job.

Riley's going to be making a statement himself, but what we're going to be focusing on is identifying where we can make the most impact in Aetolia in the next, say, 6 months. Riley will be talking to the existing staff, volunteers, and you - the players - at some length, to gather sentiment on what's important to get done rightr now.

He's got some pre-existing commitments between now and the end of 2016 that'll limit his time in Aetolia more than he'd like for the next two weeks, but he's already back and he and I are talking about how to approach this and really give Aetolia back the energy it deserves.

In any case, the failure here is mine and I apologize for letting you down.

If you've got any comments, I'm opening a forum thread on this, or you can email me directly at matt@ironrealms.com, or Oleis at oleis@aetolia.com

Looking forward to righting this ship, and you'll hear from Oleis/Riley in a post soon.

--matt

Lin

I want to say a big thank you to @Razmael. I know being in what amounts to a management role wasn't your first preference,  but in my opinion Aetolia was never so good as it was when you took over.

Maybe we didn't get everything we wanted as fast as we wanted it,  but you were a fair producer,  you weren't afraid to make bold and much-needed  changes,  and you helped push Aetolia's  thematic direction into a great and unique place.

I'm so glad you're not leaving us!

Aishia

Yeah you definitely presided over the best eras of Aetolia. REFINING FREE RAZMAEL.

Sibatti

I've always had the utmost respect and adoration for @Razmael as a producer, a dear friend, and sometimes boss. I'm happy to hear that he's going to continue to put in work for Aetolia, because the level of commitment there is just insane.

Also very encouraged to hear that Riley will be around to set the stage for what's to come, since he's had a hand in running the game for a minute now. I think this is important for a number of reasons; the type of game Aetolia is - its theme, its playerbase, its selling points - are unique among the IRE games and many of us elect to play Aetolia over the other games FOR that direction. @Pericles can you speak to whether that direction (the theme/storyline/current path) is going to be preserved, or is that the direction that was supposedly dissatisfying?

Thanks for opening up this discussion! I'm anxious to see what comes next.

Oleis

Sibatti said:

@Pericles can you speak to whether that direction (the theme/storyline/current path) is going to be preserved, or is that the direction that was supposedly dissatisfying?

I think I'll field this instead, if that's okay First of all, thanks for your kind words. The theme and atmosphere of Aetolia are what set it apart among IRE games and top-tier MUDs in general. A large shift would disenfranchise our happy players without much predictable benefit in terms of new players. However, you can expect that we'll focus into a more specific identity, in order to set us apart from the glut of Gothic MUDs out there. There are few or none that do it with our attention to mechanics and detail, but not all players are necessarily looking for that polish. A more recognizable and compelling story, especially one better communicated to new players, can overcome many differences of taste.

Oleis

ANNOUNCE NEWS #2606
Date: 12/16/2016 at 3:37
From: Oleis, the Infused
To : Everyone
Subj: Well, Howdy.

Long time no see, Aetolia.

When I said goodbye a year ago, I did so with no shortage of nostalgia
and affection. This community overlooked my outsider status when I first
came to serve as volunteer and welcomed me warmly. As I got myself up to
speed on Aetolia's history and culture, I'd like to think we found a
pretty solid groove. As a team, from Razmael at the top down through
every mortal volunteer and enthusiastic player, we brought the game
through some of its most productive and profitable years.

When Matt got in touch about helping find Aetolia's next producer, I
knew I owed it to Razmael, the volunteers, and you all to give my best efforts
in revitalizing the game and continuing our progress. After all, we're
no strangers to this routine: Matt makes a post, a producer is released, and
a new mind comes in to spackle the holes. Frankly, that's not good
enough this time. Nor am I satisfied to be a placeholder, simply keeping
things flowing while we hunt for a suitable replacement. That's why our
core team - Razmael, Hadrak, Keroc, and I - are fully committed to
continuing and improving everything that makes Aetolia great. With those
elements will come new ones: well-planned strategies to correct the
game's shortcomings and enhance your player experience.

In the coming weeks, I will be holding Town Hall meetings to solicit
your feedback and hear your concerns, including one specifically
scheduled to accommodate the Australia/New Zealand crowd. I'll be using
targeted forum threads to dig down into popular themes and offer
responses for common thoughts. If you'd rather contact me privately,
feel free to do so with in-game messages or email (oleis@aetolia.com).
With this input, our volunteer desires, and my own assessments, we will
begin to make bold plans for the future. Nothing is guaranteed, and
nothing is off-limits.

Let's get to work.

- O

Tedrunai

I'm a little (maybe a lot) drunk and I've been ranting a bit in the Pools but I wanted to immortalize it on the forums before I sober up and macho man my emotions away.

Through all my years as a player and the past one in the Pools I really have nothing but good things to say about @Razmael. I vastly enjoyed my player experience under him and my Celani experience has been even better. He has been attentive, supportive, considerate, and immensely helpful in everything I have hoped to accomplish up here. So thank you Razmael and I hope you stay with us 5ever in whatever capacity suits you best.

While I've had less experience with @Oleis I also have nothing but positivity to add to those experiences and I was very sad when he stepped away as Assistant Producer. I trust that Aetolia is in good hands.

tl;dr whiskey #1 i'll fite u if u disagree

Lin

Tedrunai said:

tl;dr whiskey #1 i'll fite u if u disagree

Just keep it away from @Razmael, he's such a lightweight.

Runas

As someone who has lingered about in various positions from player to volunteer in IRE games over well....a long time, I have had the honor of being here from the beginning of Razmaels tenure as Producer of the game and truly I feel he was always a keen ear to listen and give constructive criticism, putting in the top tier a team of volunteers and coders who not only worked well as a team but also cared about the well being of Aetolia as a whole.

I am very pleased to see Oleis back as well, because I think during his time here before he did help field some of player-based interaction while Razmael could truly put into his passion of code and straining the noodles so to speak deep within. I am pleased to see that Raz isn't leaving us and I am excited albeit a bit nervous to see the direction things go from here on out, I know though with the current volunteers, coders and paid admin that we will do as we do and figure it all out.

It's late and I am rambling, but welcome back Oleis and enjoy the break from managerial responsibility Raz.

Valdus

I just wanted to chime in and say that I'm really happy with this outcome. Part of maturing as a professional/developer is finding your strengths, recognizing your weaknesses, and working out the niche that suits you best. @Razmael is an excellent coder, and with @Oleis managing the transition and @Keroc and @Hadrak on board, this game has a very bright future ahead of it.

This last year has been a little bit rough, but it's not for a lack of trying - there are some incredible things in the works, and with a little bit of reorganization I think you're all going to really enjoy what Aetolia will have to offer in 2017.

Seir

I wanted to chime in last night when @Emelle showed this to me on Skype. However, I was too tired.

I just wanted to also thank @Razmael for his work and transparency with the community. He has been a part of the Aetolia community since its early inception and took the game into a good direction. I'm glad that he is remaining a coder because it's hard to imagine Aetolia without him. I'm also incredibly glad to see @Oleis back even if it's temporary. As someone who used to have the immature mentality of criticizing administrations for content and lack thereof at times, the Pools as a whole really do a fantastic job at delivering quality events, content, and it's clear that they listen to feedback from the community. It's why of all the IRE games that I've played over the last decade and a half, Aetolia is the best that I've played. The Pools have managed to foster a roleplay environment that has not been successfully replicated anywhere else (and believe me, I've tried to find one). It has better roleplay than even roleplay dedicated MUDs like Armageddon.

So yeah. A rave for @Razmael, @Oleis, and the Pools on a whole.

Faerah

I'm going to echo the gratitude to @Razmael. Why not jump on the bandwagon of a good thing, yeah?

But I also want to personally thank @Oleis for agreeing to come back and guide us through this transition. He has an insane amount of patience (I know, I've tested it) and has shown so much love and affection for Aetolia, and its players, over the years.

Benedicto

I just swung by and spotted this and whilst I've no intention of returning to the game (due to IRL commitments and shortage of time) I felt compelled to say my piece. I also played during the transition from Galleus to @Razmael and there is absolutely nothing negative to be said about our man Razmataz (never called him that). He was fair, attentive and hard working. Any queries or issues were always dealt with in as timely manner as was possible dependant on work load. Above all, he had a corking sense of humour that he wasn't afraid to occasionally show or let filter down into the game.

As an admin of this game, you have to have the patience of a Saint.

I dub thee, Saint Razmael - Patron Saint of Lonely Sheep.

Thanks so much for your efforts, you sexy, beautiful thing you.

Aishia

Sheep out for Razmael.