Yes, forum is for player base and feedback of the game, including bug reports and all other content regarding the game. But forum is also owned by Systemic Reaction (devs) and they are the ones who created CoC. They are also the only ones who can change it, if they so desire.
But the fact that forums are privately owned website, means that players can’t pressure for a change, as it would be with e.g public laws, where people can ask (or demand) for a change in the laws and legislator then changes the law according to the people needs (at least in Democratic form of government).
I’m not going into the politics any more and discuss what kind of form of government is in use on privately owned websites, and/or how Systemic Reaction chooses to manage their asset, since that is against CoC. But this much i can say that Freedom of speech rights doesn’t apply in here.
Freedom of speech rights do not extend to privately owned websites, such as this one. This Code of Conduct detail the types of behavior and activities that are allowed here.
Hence the word “counterproductive”. Privately held companies usually pay attention to that . If I, as a newcomer, had my first thread locked being pointed to an 18 month old thread where half of the posters probably ain’t active on the forum anymore, I would feel … well … less that welcome. But that is just me
Interpretation of our Code of Conduct is at the discretion of the staff.
Resulting in a different form of moderation between different moderators. E.g one mod can merge the duplicate topic with another one; while other mod can remove (delete) the duplicate topic entirely (as stated in CoC). It all comes down the interpretation.
Of course, every new member in the forums should read the CoC and decide if they are willing or not to accept it.
“Ignorantia juris non excusat” ← from Latin.
Hello everyone, I have cleaned up this thread. I am happy to see forum members conversing, let’s be sure to keep things civil and productive though. Thanks!
Removed all unnecessary comments not pertaining to the topic //Mod
Here, we could discuss what is the thing(s) that bring more people to the forums and keeps people posting their ideas and discussing game content.
Is it the Forum CoC? I don’t think so. It has been in place since the forums went live more than 2 years ago.
But what then?
Gysbert said one of the most likely causes:
And i agree. It’s the game itself. When new content comes, there is always an influx in the forums, with people coming back, discussing new content and also reporting new bugs found in the game. New content also gives players more ideas to ask from the game, e.g like this topic was made after the base building came: Feedback Request - Cosmetic structures for base building
So, what do we need in the forums?
More, new topics?
Well, for that, we’d need more new game content to discuss.
More, new people?
For that - marketing. Devs would need to market the game to more people and also share their platforms where people can discuss the game. Forum is already getting quite a bit of marketing since it’s the only place where proper bug reporting can take place and people are guided from other platforms (e.g Discord, Steam discussions) to the forums.
And I agree with you and @Gysbert (lovely, isn’t it ). But shouldn’t there also be some influx of new players? Obviously, I don’t know how many new users that sign up to the forum these days, but perhaps they should be allowed to have the same fun discussions as we veterans had “back then”. Therefore, go easy on duplicated threads from New posters
What you’re agreeing with me? My heart just skipped a beat. Well I am agreeing with your input so far. Not pulling your leg or other limb, you actually took the words out of my mouth.
Maybe the mods could give it a trial period, see how this is working out with modding. It is obvious to see when the right topic is started it sparks great interest to participate. Especially if no specific knowledge is needed to pitch in. People love to talk.
But in reality you were most welcome by the members, me, because you are pleasant to talk too. Don’t go doubting yourself. Forum policies are always a bit impersonal, but sometimes strict rules keep things from getting out of hand. So that, we musn’t forget.
How strict or loose the forum is, is actually individual. For some, the forums may be too strict and they prefer more loose attitude, while for others, the attitude is too loose and stricter management is needed.
For that, we have Off-Topic subforum. And Regulars also have their very own corner where to “loosen up”.
Well, “back then”, i take it during GZ launch? If so, there wasn’t many topics within the forums and everyone could’ve started a new topic, discussing new stuff. Nowadays, there are loads of topics in the forums, covering almost all what there is in the game. Though, General Discussion topics usually remain as they are posted. It’s the feature request and bug report topics that get merged to the same one.
Not necessarily related to the topic as it is, but I’ve always felt the devs should chime in more. To be honest, I have no clue how many people play the game, how many of those that do are in this forum, or how many devs are around, but I feel this is a community that cares. Whenever someone asked for support or advice, someone was ready to assist and chatter.
As far as I am concerned: Back when I was active reporting bugs, I’d have loved to receive some feedback. I get that staff have other things to do, but: a word of advice, an affirmation that issues have been seen, acknowledged and put on a to-do-list would do wonders. And seeing that most of the reported issues from back then remain unsolved, even when terrain issues happen where active work takes place, is discouraging to say the least.
I think the forum got quieter because of the shift in the game. I presume the engagement came from the game being obscure and cryptic, and now that it got more mainstream appeal, players inevitably lost the need to seek out others. There’s nothing wrong with that, but it thins out the forums for sure.
You got a point here. When people dislike the changes in the evolution of the game these players obviously won’t be enthusiastic about the game anymore. I always like to compare the game evolution to real life, and say to myself that we never know what will happen, and that we have little control over the future. Same with the game, the directions it takes might not be the one we expect or like, but we can still make the most of it. For me none of the changes deterred me from the game, the opposite in fact. And I guess the forum loses activity from people for whom the changes are unacceptable.
Also, the need for asking questions is less, because most answers are easy to find everywhere. Via Fandom, guides, and searching the forums.
That’s why I posted this, in the offtopic forum. And although the Regular corner is nice, not everybody can see what you have to say. It’s kind of the same as having a private discussion, not everybody can join in. Snipergirl expressed exactly what I mean.
Although private discussions can help in some disagreement, or be used as a base to work together on a common goal (e.g. Complete Apparel List), or act just as place where like minded people have a bit of fun, I believe that for a forum to thrive, topics need to be public so everybody can share their thoughts.
For me, the game has brought me to the forum, and the forum made me more involved in the game. Without the forum, I might not have had the same experience. … No, not might, I know my experience was greatly improved, by all the knowledge and interaction with other members of the resistance.
Yes, you are right, you probably get more accurate, detailed and clearer answers from live reactions, than from a concise piece of explanation people found via google. It’s always nicer to be able to dig a bit deeper if somethings are still unclear.
I merely meant that, after years of accumulating questions and answers, a lot of information can be found without having to ask personally on a forum. A forum where you have to register if you want to ask something. Registering might hold people back.
Feels like this thread might do better in #feedback-feature-requests, if you feel that there are certain areas where the forum can be improved to make the experience better for new and old users. If you want it moved there, let me know
From a moderator’s standpoint it doesn’t feel like the forums have changed much. GZ is not that big of a title so it’s fanbase is smaller and more condensed. And people come and go at regular intervals.
As a moderator I got access to the forum statistics page, that lets me see all sorts of data relevant to activity, most searched for words, active members etc. Activity has in fact lessened over the summer, I suspect that the delayed Xbox update is partly responsible for this, but also vacation times.
On the other hand we’ve gained a crapton of new users since summer began.
Would moving lead to the requirement to stay exactly on topic being more strictly enforced? I assumed that having it here in off topic category, the moderators allow it more flow.
What? You must be pulling my leg. I just searched on the forum, and I get one hit, in this topic. It most be some google fluke.
The Offtopic section abides by the same rules as the rest of the forum. If you create a topic here, you’re still expected to remain on that topic. Topic. Topic. Feels like I’m repeating myself
Anyway, it can remain here, no problem.
Nah, I’m serious. I’ve idea why. Just thought it was some funny forum trivia.
There are plenty of devs around. It’s just, that only few of them post in the public forums.
Here’s the link to all devs, ordered by the date they joined: Generation Zero Forum
By my count, they all are in the forums.
On individual standpoint (original poster), the acknowledgement from the dev or mod is yes, assuring. On the dev standpoint, there are so many bug reports made that they can’t respond to individual reports one-by-one.
Though, mods (myself included, back in the day), have poked devs and brought the most severe, game-breaking issues to the devs immediate attention. So, that the worst issues get fixed in timely manner.
And even when some questions are asked, there are several people who jump in to answer it quite fast. E.g one of the latest: How I can open it?
That was actually the reason why i didn’t join GZ forums when i started to play GZ.
I don’t like to make a new account with every new game i start playing. (Looking at you, Apex Connect ) Due to that, Steam discussions are much better since you can bring the overlay up, while in-game and registration free. For discussion alone, Steam discussions is a neat place. Only when i encountered a severe bug, i joined GZ forums to report it.
But i do understand why games have dedicated forums provided by publisher/developer. Oversight in the Steam forums is difficult to do and it isn’t designed for ease of moderating, e.g compared to the Discourse platform.
No its more than that. I’m also talking physics here. (Maybe I didn’t mention it but it was in my mind) For instance exploding cars and barrels. Its not very realistic that you can stand zero range to a dog and take no damage, but it blows up a car behind you, and three more cars around you from which you do take damage and die from. Realistic damage models on machines, and much more. Physics on riding the bike. So I want to call it FPS experience.
Its also including for instance parkour, which have a topic of its own now. But the parkour and jumping physics are so bad imo. Here there is also room for adding stuff like timing a dodge or something similar, to parkour over something instead of just jumping over it. Like old CS 1.6 where Jump dodge was a thing.
. If I, as a newcomer, had my first thread locked being pointed to an 18 month old thread where half of the posters probably ain’t active on the forum anymore, I would feel … well … less that welcome. But that is just me 
Lovely, you got me there 
Well I am agreeing with your input so far. Not pulling your leg or other limb, you actually took the words out of my mouth.
Maybe the mods could give it a trial period, see how this is working out with modding. It is obvious to see when the right topic is started it sparks great interest to participate. Especially if no specific knowledge is needed to pitch in. People love to talk.
You must be pulling my leg. I just searched on the forum, and I get one hit, in this topic. It most be some google fluke. 
E.g one of the latest: 
) Due to that, Steam discussions are much better since you can bring the overlay up, while in-game and registration free. For discussion alone, Steam discussions is a neat place. Only when i encountered a severe bug, i joined GZ forums to report it.