Hi gang! I've seen plenty of players getting a little demotivated because they made one or more suggestions which didn't really click with others which sometimes left the original poster wondering why the heck they bothered. If you can recognize yourself in my intro then this post is for you. Don't feel discouraged, we all have our own ideas & opinions and its a good thing to share, even if people disagree with you. BUT... There is a difference between a (perhaps) useful suggestion and one which is somewhat certain not to be liked all that much. Of course: there are no certainties. Do not consider this guide some "way to make good suggestions" because it doesn't work that way. Some tips when sending in suggestions #1 - Don't be discouraged / disappointed with negative comments This isn't a competition, this isn't about who makes the best or most suggestions: the whole idea is to try to help EMC to improve. Trust me: even a denied suggestion still has the potential to do just that. Because it could help staff and players alike to get new ideas and maybe during the discussion other ideas popped up which could be implemented. One way or the other: that wouldn't have happened if you hadn't spoken up, simple as that. #2 - Focus on improvement (gameplay), not making things easier Look, truth be told: we all like an easy ride every once in a while. Why do you think farms, pots of gold promos (gets you a random amount of gold nuggets every day) and even an haunted head promo (one haunted candy every day) are so popular? Or why voter tools (both armor & tools) are so popular (and will usually get you a good price)? Now, this is a difficult subject and I can only base myself on some of my own past suggestions which I now look upon in a completely different way. But: Suggestion: Repairs should cost less XP I'd like that (seriously) but on the other hand you can also ask yourself: why? Now, lets skip the (IMO): cheap comments about XP farms. Yes, they exist, yes they make things easier but no: they're not always that easy to access. Sure: I know of the awesome work Khixan has been doing. Anyone can access that! Nope: anyone who knows of its existence can. There's the difference for you. My aim: if you go out into the wasteland and start mining, and without ignoring all the coal, then you can go from 7 to 43 levels in no time. Hint: repair is capped at 39. So basically any new comer who has no clue about SMP8 yet (lucky you! (very lame pun, but since its SMP8... I'm leaving it in )); anyone like that can still pull this off. So why should it cost less? The only motivation here is to make it easier on us. But... What good is a game when there's no challenge? Try to focus on gameplay and improving on that and not so much on making things easier. We all want easy (myself included, no joke) but easy doesn't make good gameplay and that can result in a suggestion which players don't like. #3 - Try to keep things balanced In other words: gain some, lose some. Always make sure that it won't be a walk in the park. There has to be some challenge... Suggestion: Stop the wither from teleporting! Yet it only does at higher difficultly levels (as far as I know). And higher difficulty levels mean higher drop rates. So why not lower your difficulty instead in order to get the fight you want? Yeah, it comes at a price #4 - Different players, different opinions Empire minecraft is all about Play your way. And if there's one thing I learned it's that this is not a hollow marketing phrase (which I honestly thought at some point). So also keep this in mind as well, especially if you suggest something more or less mandatory. Suggestion: I think everyone should repair a small part of the frontier Yeah, well, I only play in town and rarely visit the waste, say what? The intent with that suggestion is awesome but in reality you also need to keep the players in mind who simply don't care for the Frontier at all. The Frontier maybe your sole goal on the Empire, and I'm sure we can all deeply respect that (Survival FTW!!), but there are tons of other players out there who may be much more interested in events or farms and such. And there you have it... I was trying for a number 5 (is alive) but it didn't work that way. But here are some tips which I think you should definitely try to keep in mind. If your aim is to send in as many useful tips as possible (ey, each to their own!) then I honestly think that this can help you there. But still, one not officially included but still an important one: #5 Keep the greater goal in mind This is all about us trying to help improve EMC. And sometimes what's good for EMC doesn't always have to be good for us. I still recall the expansion of town for example. This is no different. And as said above: even a denied or disliked suggestion still has the potential to trigger bigger things. So yeah, I hope this is useful for some of you.
