DeletedUser
Way back in them mists of time, the guilds were formed. In many other games I have had bad experiences with guilds or alliances. "Join us or DIE!", "Join us or we'll ALL attack you SO OFTEN you'll not want to PLAY the game anymore."
Then when you (under duress) DO join these 'gangs' you are FORCED to do what THEY want you to do or they KICK you OUT and then attack you ANYWAY!!!
When the guilds were forming, I - MasterGaijin - noticed the same thing happening. "You MUST have xxx points to join us." or "You MUST be ranked xxx or ABOVE to join us."
Tired of these 'bully-boy' gangs, I set out to form a safe-haven; A guild where new and old players alike could join; A guild where we were FRIENDLY to those who were stumbling their way through the game, not criticising them; A guild where each player would have the back of his friend and neighbour but there would be NO rules, NO restrictions.
What would be a suitable name for such a guild? Well we would be offering a hand to those below us. We would all be EQUALS with NO leaders - per se - making people jump through hoops. We would be a guild with HONOUR. And so the name was born.
The guild was formed and invitations were fired out. Our first recruit was a chap on a different CONTINENT. He had read our guild-description and decided that THAT was EXACTLY the type of guild he was looking for. An invite was requested and granted. Now, the guild had it's first member after its founder.
It is said that word-of-mouth is the best advertising there is. Being a fledgling, newly-formed guild, we needed to get our numbers up - and FAST. What was the best way to DO this? Well since we had a policy of no leaders, how about EVERYONE gets to invite? So our first member invited his friends and they invite THEIR friends.
I myself fired off letters to the people on MY continent with some moderate success...our numbers were GROWING.
Truth be told, when the guild was formed, I expected maybe 10 people to join us - MAXIMUM. VERY quickly though we surpassed that target. We VERY quickly hit 20 members.
I had underestimated just how much people appreciate a friendly and helpful person running the guild. When I first started in FoE, I was so green I was asking where my fruit that I had produced had GONE to.
I didn't want other new players to have to stumble blind through the game like I did. I held out a hand in the darkness in the form of guides. Basic beginner guides to begin with, explaining the basic concepts of the game - often overlooked - like roads, placement of buildings, how the game WORKS etc.
Next came more advanced guides. Military guides, happiness guides and many more.
As new players quickly found their feet, they told THEIR friends about the game and about the guild. A FLOOD of new players joined FoE just to see what all the FUSS was about. They asked to join and they were warmly welcomed with a virtual cup of hot cocoa and a friendly smile.
Before we knew it, our 'little guild' had reached 50 members. A TRUE milestone. Celebrations all-round. Those of us who remembered our small-days looked back with fond memories at the fledgling guild, now growing into a POWERHOUSE.
50 members quickly became 60, then 70. Then we realised that there was a limit. Only 80 people allowed. This posed a problem. We were still getting brand-new players yearning to enter our great halls, looking for that helping-hand in the darkness to guide the way.
That was when we came to the realisation - the 'no-one gets kicked' rule had to be examined.
Upon visiting guild-members' cities, a flag was raised. Every day, certain members had NO buildings that could be MOTIVATED. The ONLY reason for this was that they were inactive, possibly even dropped-OUT and were not collecting their buildings to free up further motivation.
These members were placed on a watch-list. Day after day, no change. The limit was fast approaching. So I had no choice, letters were sent asking them if they WERE still there or not.
1 reply was received from an old friend. He told me that he was tired of waiting for a new Age to begin and that the game just wasn't FUN anymore and so he had decided to drop out.
Maybe if he returns, he might discover the new Colonial Age has begun and find new challenges and fun once again.
So now, we are balancing on that limit. The inactive players have a deadline and then they will be kicked to make room for fresh blood. What makes me PROUD of my guild-members though is their LOYALTY. Every single one of them (well, the active ones anyway) is ALWAYS willing to help by answering any questions that the newbies have. Every single one is willing to accept trades from newbies that others might consider 'unfair' (resources from different ages traded on equal footing). And when other guilds have approached, trying to 'poach' our members away from us, every single one stood by myself and their fellows and said, "We are PROUD to be a member of The Guild Of Honour."
I my friends, am PROUD to stand by all of you. And friends we have become. Many a time a jape is shared amongst us, sitting around the virtual camp-fire telling stories and jokes or just humourous anecdotes.
Every one of them considers me their leader. I consider myself to be their FRIEND. Sometimes mentor, sometimes decision-maker but always listening, listening to advice, concerns, ideas and worries.
Never, looking back at the fledgling days, could I have ever imagined that we would be the family that we have become.
I say long live The Guild Of Honour and long live its proud members. For I AM proud of them - one and all.
Then when you (under duress) DO join these 'gangs' you are FORCED to do what THEY want you to do or they KICK you OUT and then attack you ANYWAY!!!
When the guilds were forming, I - MasterGaijin - noticed the same thing happening. "You MUST have xxx points to join us." or "You MUST be ranked xxx or ABOVE to join us."
Tired of these 'bully-boy' gangs, I set out to form a safe-haven; A guild where new and old players alike could join; A guild where we were FRIENDLY to those who were stumbling their way through the game, not criticising them; A guild where each player would have the back of his friend and neighbour but there would be NO rules, NO restrictions.
What would be a suitable name for such a guild? Well we would be offering a hand to those below us. We would all be EQUALS with NO leaders - per se - making people jump through hoops. We would be a guild with HONOUR. And so the name was born.
The guild was formed and invitations were fired out. Our first recruit was a chap on a different CONTINENT. He had read our guild-description and decided that THAT was EXACTLY the type of guild he was looking for. An invite was requested and granted. Now, the guild had it's first member after its founder.
It is said that word-of-mouth is the best advertising there is. Being a fledgling, newly-formed guild, we needed to get our numbers up - and FAST. What was the best way to DO this? Well since we had a policy of no leaders, how about EVERYONE gets to invite? So our first member invited his friends and they invite THEIR friends.
I myself fired off letters to the people on MY continent with some moderate success...our numbers were GROWING.
Truth be told, when the guild was formed, I expected maybe 10 people to join us - MAXIMUM. VERY quickly though we surpassed that target. We VERY quickly hit 20 members.
I had underestimated just how much people appreciate a friendly and helpful person running the guild. When I first started in FoE, I was so green I was asking where my fruit that I had produced had GONE to.
I didn't want other new players to have to stumble blind through the game like I did. I held out a hand in the darkness in the form of guides. Basic beginner guides to begin with, explaining the basic concepts of the game - often overlooked - like roads, placement of buildings, how the game WORKS etc.
Next came more advanced guides. Military guides, happiness guides and many more.
As new players quickly found their feet, they told THEIR friends about the game and about the guild. A FLOOD of new players joined FoE just to see what all the FUSS was about. They asked to join and they were warmly welcomed with a virtual cup of hot cocoa and a friendly smile.
Before we knew it, our 'little guild' had reached 50 members. A TRUE milestone. Celebrations all-round. Those of us who remembered our small-days looked back with fond memories at the fledgling guild, now growing into a POWERHOUSE.
50 members quickly became 60, then 70. Then we realised that there was a limit. Only 80 people allowed. This posed a problem. We were still getting brand-new players yearning to enter our great halls, looking for that helping-hand in the darkness to guide the way.
That was when we came to the realisation - the 'no-one gets kicked' rule had to be examined.
Upon visiting guild-members' cities, a flag was raised. Every day, certain members had NO buildings that could be MOTIVATED. The ONLY reason for this was that they were inactive, possibly even dropped-OUT and were not collecting their buildings to free up further motivation.
These members were placed on a watch-list. Day after day, no change. The limit was fast approaching. So I had no choice, letters were sent asking them if they WERE still there or not.
1 reply was received from an old friend. He told me that he was tired of waiting for a new Age to begin and that the game just wasn't FUN anymore and so he had decided to drop out.
Maybe if he returns, he might discover the new Colonial Age has begun and find new challenges and fun once again.
So now, we are balancing on that limit. The inactive players have a deadline and then they will be kicked to make room for fresh blood. What makes me PROUD of my guild-members though is their LOYALTY. Every single one of them (well, the active ones anyway) is ALWAYS willing to help by answering any questions that the newbies have. Every single one is willing to accept trades from newbies that others might consider 'unfair' (resources from different ages traded on equal footing). And when other guilds have approached, trying to 'poach' our members away from us, every single one stood by myself and their fellows and said, "We are PROUD to be a member of The Guild Of Honour."
I my friends, am PROUD to stand by all of you. And friends we have become. Many a time a jape is shared amongst us, sitting around the virtual camp-fire telling stories and jokes or just humourous anecdotes.
Every one of them considers me their leader. I consider myself to be their FRIEND. Sometimes mentor, sometimes decision-maker but always listening, listening to advice, concerns, ideas and worries.
Never, looking back at the fledgling days, could I have ever imagined that we would be the family that we have become.
I say long live The Guild Of Honour and long live its proud members. For I AM proud of them - one and all.
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