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Hello everyone,

Thank you for attending this week's ATA. Last week there had been a lot of passionate commentary about zOMG. Me along with other staff members will try our best to answer your concerns and criticisms today, and I hope that we can share with you answers or directions moving forward.

Dapper Dabbler

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Hi everyone,

Thanks for joining us at today’s ATA! It’s been an interesting week to say the least (that’s what I get for going on vacation).

I know there are going to be a lot of questions about zOMG today, so I wanted to address a few of them right up front, for better or for worse.

What’s up with zOMG?
zOMG is a fun game, and we want to keep it available for Gaians to play. However, we can’t commit to doing major new development on it for now. We’ll do bug fixes and maintenance as we can, and we may still be able to do things like reopening old events, providing new rings/quests, etc. when we have time. Unfortunately, it’s just not financially viable for us to dedicate resources to it at the moment. But I do want to stress that it is not going away at all.

What’s going on with Buccaneer Boardwalk?
We are working on a few ways we can come to a solution for Buccaneer Boardwalk that is good for everyone, and will let you know more when we have a better idea of what that means. Basically, we want to make sure no one feels like they wasted their money.

Should I keep playing zOMG?
Like anything, you should play and/or support zOMG to the extent that it’s fun for you to do so. Even if we never do anything with it again, it’s still a fun game, and if you’re enjoying it, then we’re happy. And if you’re not and never play it again, we totally understand.

You really botched your communication on this one.
Gaia has never been accused of being a great communicator, and this is a prime example. We completely acknowledge there are a bunch of things we could’ve done better, both in this case and in others over the years. This is something we’re trying to address this year – by being more open and communicative than we have in the past. We won’t always get it right, but hopefully you can see some positive results (such as more presence in the forums, more Dev notices, etc.).

Why are you taking staff off of Gaia to build Facebook stuff? Does this mean you don’t care about Gaia anymore?
Actually, this couldn’t be further from the truth. At the end of last year we made a structural change at the company to address this. Before, everyone pretty much worked on both Gaia and our social games, which made it hard to get anything done. It’s tough to prioritize projects for two totally separate platforms, and people constantly had to switch back and forth, which isn’t efficient. In December we split the company into two groups: the Gaia Online team, and the social games team. This was expressly designed to make sure that everyone knew exactly what they were working on and would be dedicated to that team (i.e. no “stealing” resources from one side or the other). Plus there are other benefits to Gaia, such as giving us the ability to migrate games back into Gaia (such as MoGa) and sharing a common infrastructure, so that any improvements made by one side will be enjoyed by the other too. You can read a little more in my journal post from a month or so ago.

<Now we’re out of FAQ format and back to me talking>

To avoid this type of communication problem, I want to be clear about a few other features that we get asked about a lot.

Alchemy– If you’ve followed the Alchemy threads, you’ve seen that we’re making tweaks to it to do a better job of balancing it out. I know this isn’t going fast enough for some of you, but Alchemy is very complex, and making big changes can have a ton of unintended consequences. We think the feature has far too much potential to risk that, so we’ll keep making tweaks and measuring the effect.

Housing /Towns – This is something else we’ve long promised would be updated, and we’re finally doing it. Most of you have seen the improvements to Houses already, and we’re working actively on Towns as well. Because we plan to leverage our Flash spaces for future efforts (sponsorships, events, etc), we need the framework we have in place to also be as flexible and maintainable as possible. We need to therefore do some refactoring and we get a new Towns as a benefit.

Guilds – Guilds is definitely on our list of features we could look at (largely thanks to the passionate community around them), but right now we don’t have any plans to make any major changes. We’ll let you guys know if that changes.

Flash Games – Same here. We’ve spent a good amount of time fixing bugs and exploits in several of our games, but while we are talking about their future, we don’t have any changes planned for them in the immediate future.

Spring Cleaning - We love all the suggestions, although we of course can't do all of them. We've done a handful, and are going to wrap that up soon. We'll post a message in there explaining all of this soon as well.

Ok, I’m sure I’ve forgotten some stuff here, but this is a good start for the ATA. Now, please ask away.

Biglanky14

Dapper Dabbler

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Oh - btw, this will just be locked for a few minutes until ATA starts. I wanted to give everyone a few minutes to digest my tl;dr post before we get going.

Hassli's Spouse

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Happy AtA Monday, everybody! Here's to this one being just as busy as last week's AtA. And I appreciate the message from Mr. Biglanky.

Here's a question for everybody: What's your favorite cartoon series? Mine is currently a toss up between Adventure Time and Regular Show.


I represent E-Corp. My other questions focus on the upcoming easter event--so I suppose that means they are mostly for Narumi--but I'd love answers from any of the devs.

Will E-Corp have to get millitant again this year, or will the great and powerful Easter Bunny get some easter spotlight?

With the beginning of Lent last week, we only have a little more than a month until the big day. How does EB prepare himself?

Easter is April 8th this year. Will it be related to the April Fool's Day event since they are so close?

Has he moved out of that crummy apartment?

What does he have his hench hares do when they aren't making explosives errrr... painting easter eggs?

We're curious if we will be searching the map for our Mechanical Rabbit during the event--like we had to for Santa and Jack.

Will Ian be pulling out his Easter Threads for us this year? I must say the man looks quite fabulous in bunny ears.

Will the tree house hold an easter alchemy item for the event--or a non alchemy item? Or both?

Also...taking bets on when diedrich will have his inevitable heart attack. Can I expect to see Diedrich involved in the easter event? Or is he suffering from last year's loss. (here's hoping he won't participate).


And as non e-Corp message--thanks for admitting to botching your communication. Now, will you be fixing it any time soon? And how?

Thanks!

Fluff Powerhouse

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1. Does the Gaia staff hold any "Job Shadow" opportunities for would-be sprite-artists, graphic designers, and web developers in training? If so, how would one go about entering that program?


2. Easter is coming up on April 8th and I was wondering... will we be getting to see the Easter Bunny and his deliciously giant mecha-self again this year? Also... do you have any Easter event hints you'd be willing to give us? My fellow E-Corp'ers are getting ancy.


3. The Easter 2K10 Gambino Zombie skin is still incapable of having glasses or any other sort of facial accessory equip with it, I was wondering if this was an issue that would be fixed anytime soon since it kind of doesn't make sense for a skin to unequip glasses/masks/contacts/makeup.

Time-traveling Marshmallow

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*steals a post*

sorry i wanted to get in early for the heck of it. i don't really have any questions but i'll be watching like last time. so, who wants a rice krispie treat? ninja

Bloodthirsty Demon

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Evening, Gaia Staff. Tonight I wish to address more zOMG issues.

1. Could we see a fix to some more glitches that exist in game? Examples are the Silent NPC glitch that plague many areas, and the Disappearing Charge Orb and Shadow Orb glitch.

2. More minor content updates, like new rings every week and powerups. Is there a possibility for adding more of this?

3. To address an Alchemy issue, could we possibly add a way to buy/make formulas in bulk? It’d save a lot of time for people who like to buy Orb Aggregates and craft them.

Celebrating Gaian

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To Any Admin Lurking!

I was recently on a website and saw that if i purchased the ZOMG soundtrack that i would get a headphone item for my avatar. Does this offer still stand? I haven't seen any listed in MarketPlace.
CLICK FOR PROOF!


What happened to the plan to bring back Memphis Mermaids?

Pan and Lanzer still haven't looked at my PMs concerning Ghost Fish. Should i resend them?

Elocutionist

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Hey Lanzer! Happy Monday!

Anyway, I've got some questions for you:

1) I'm glad to see that we got the Ruby's Rack logo shirt, if you'll remember I had asked for items like this. Will we see shirts like this for more shops, like Gambino Outfitters tank tops or H&R Wesley polo's?

2) Last week we were told about some changes to towns and homes, is it likely that we'll get a little farmville-esque game on our homes? Truth be told I dislike Farmville, but I think it might be fun incorporated into towns somehow.

3) Is the summer event going to be towns V towns olympics again? Please?

4) Will there be any more alchemy stuff in Bidblast in the future?

5) Also, could we have a profile like system for our shops, where we can change backgrounds and stuff? I have a gif in my shop to imitate the Gaia stores, and I think it would be cool to have more control over it.

Hype Master

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Personal Questions:

Will Gaia be refunding zOMG Buccaneer Boardwalk ticket holders? How will they compensate those who purchased one through the marketplace and not through the cash shop? (I personally spent 200k on my ticket, only to be disappointed at my loss.)

Would Gaia consider hiring interns to help upkeep zOMG? It would be free or very cheap labor, and would provide an opportunity to at least have bugs fixed on a regular basis.

zOMG user-collected questions:

zOMG Users

Will the game still have updates to glitches, quests and non functioning areas?
Are there any plansfor furthur integration of zOMG into the main site or for new releases of zOMG related Cash Shop items?

Questions:
Glitches:

  • to what degree will they be fixed?


Integration into the main site:

  • will there be a storyline?
  • items that are used in and out of game?
  • events schedueled on the site that relate to zOMG?
  • updates to the NPCs currently in game?
  • integrating parts of the "Towns" into zOMG?


Higher CL summons:

  • a proposition to summon higher CL monsters in specific areas
  • scheduled dates and time when these spawns take place


Update to quests:

  • will there be new badges?
  • are new quests going to be created?
  • will old quests be updated?


zOMG buddies:

  • will there be any in game changes to the pets?
  • are these buddies becoming available outside of the game?
  • will new pets be available?

Server cycles:

  • will there continue to be server cycles?
  • how frequently will the servers be cycled, if at all?


DMS:

  • will there be a difficulty change for DMS?
  • are more recepies eventually going to be avalable?


Buying zOMG items with GC:

  • will the money gained from people buying these items be directed towards zOMG?
  • has zOMG had made an overall profit or loss during it's entire lifespan so far, including development costs?
  • in the last two financial years for zOMG, has the revenue exceeded the maintances and update costs?

BB:

  • will it ever be fully functioning?
  • are the tickets going to be refunded, even for people who bought them through the market place?


Events:

  • are past Events going to be recycled?



Thank you to Berryfarmer for his list of glitches!


Berryfarmer
Let's see some of the glitches to put on a list:
  • Charge Orb and Shadow Orb counters glitching on numbers- Makes upgrading a pain in the arse and a waiting game. Discourages new players if they can't upgrade or have an accurate orb count.
  • Alastor quest in DMS glitched- This is in payed for content, where a specific quest will not activate.
  • General Mayhem on normal-This boss battle is glitched on normal difficulty preventing successful completion of the battle without selecting easy or hard.
  • Broken quests- Seems to plague the twins in Otami and the Vox Stellarium. PLEASE ADD MORE IF KNOW OF THEM
  • Silent NPCs- Plagues Leon and Elizabeth in the beginning area the most, also discourages new players.
  • EB reward recipes- They don't grant for some people no matter how many times they beat EB.
  • Glitched train station- Did they ever fix the new "tutorial"/starting area? I remember there being a glitch where Leon would glitch after you kill the OMGs, or did that get fixed? It discourages new players again, if they cannot even get started properly.
  • Loot not showing up in inventory ingame.
  • Broken mini-events- Primarily ones with spawns such as Fly By in Zen and P3s in Gold Beach.
  • Broken badge grant- The Lawnshark badge in Village Greens for 1200 points in a single event.
  • Quest flags not clearing from map once completed.
  • DMS maps resetting- the infamous instance reset
  • Cure Powerup- Release it again? More possible revenue.
  • Clan chat doesn't work either.
  • Unable to unsuppress in null - Sometimes when you die with suppressed CL you are unable to unsuppress to your maximum CL in null chamber. This is only fixed when you do a hard refresh and completely log out of the game. (You can further suppress your CL in null, and unsuppress to the CL you died at, but no further.)

Questionable Genius

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Dear Admins:

I apologize for the ensuing, as it is going to sound very much like a rant. This is not a rant at anyone in general, but to Gaia's policies towards the zomg community.

You saw last week our anger at our game getting shelved. As we soon learned, there was much, much more to that. An online riot ensued. This riot was because of many factors, one important factor is the issue of communication between admin and users.

Some things were are irritated about on this issue are:

1. There was no annoucement when zomg was going into maitenence mode. This gave off the appearance that the admins were trying to hide this fact (even if this wasn't true) in order to keep milking us for cash to save the game, when (as we learned from DARKNRGY's post) that was never the intenton

2. Why we were told that only our Gaia cash could save the game, and would go DIRECTLY to saving zomg when (as we learned from DARKNRGY's post) that was never the intention from the start.

3. Why DARKNRGY himself told us in the last ATA that zomg had an "extensive ad campaign" until it was backpedaled that it was not an extensive campaign and more like a "test campaign". Any way you look at it, that is at the very least, a misleading statement. The fact that the misleading statement was mentioned in Ask the Admin, where we should expect true statements (Or, at least, acknowledge when one doesn't know the answer) makes me feel we should have an apology for this, and other statements at last ATA that were misleading.

4. Why the rest of Gaia never had any clue about the state of zomg; people are just now learning about our greivences. The game we tried so hard to save COULDN'T be saved if Gaia didn't care enough to let its own users know of the situation.

5. Why we were told by Lanzer himself that our BB tickets would be refunded if development stopped on BB, if this was never the intention to begin with.


It is clear to me, from these things, that the issue of communication needs a MASSIVE overhaul, and admins should try harder from now own to make sure that correct statements get through.

Also, another few points, but they need stating: We of the zomg community love our game. We have opened our hearts and wallets and shown this time and time and again. We gave you several ideas on how to revive interest in the game. But you did not listen. The "failure" of zomg was not our fault, though we were led to believe it, but YOURS.

I hear there is an inquiry now into the possibilities for zomg. I am glad of it. But I do wonder why a site-wide SHITSTORM had to break out before you were willing to look into this. That alone, tells me all that I need to know about how Gaia treats zomg.

We were told last week that "we all want something new and tiny", but I think Gaia needs to realize something. We DONT want something new and shiny (facebook games). I know you can't please everyone, but when the MAJORITY of your site doesn't want something, I think you should start rethinking it.

Angelic Nitemare

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To Gaia's Staff:

I don't really expect a reply from this, to be honest. At the most, I expect the usual spin your team seems to have developed a knack for.

Something has been screwed up. It's been in the pipeline for a couple years now, but we've really seen it go full swing in the past 6 months.

You've become too distanced from the people that helped you keep this site running through the lean times, and help make this place great for 9 years now. No longer do folks feel as if they can trust the words coming out in the forums, and dissatisfied folks have become with the service you are providing for Gaia Online.

We appreciate that the past couple days, many of your staff have taken upon themselves to answer some questions about issues concerning Gaia, and specifically zOMG's fate, which I am sure is addressed in the opening statement of the thread today. (And if it isn't, it darn well should be.)

But many of us feel it's become too little, and too late.

I am a big fan of Gaia, on the whole. I love the people I come across, I love the little job I managed to make for myself, I love cheering on others in things here, and them doing the same in return.

Gaia's staff used to give off that sense of comraderie. There could be a time, when one of you folks would be on at 2 am, chatting it up in a thread, knowing full well you had work in the morning, because the site was fun! You enjoyed the people that made Gaia so special! This was to become the 'second home' for so many of us!

Why did you forget that?

I get that Gaia is a business, one that you are trying to help grow and expand, and hopefully survive the 'social media bubble burst" That's likely to come in the next couple years.

But you can't do it, running things how you are doing it now. You've lost touch with so many of your members, you forgot what it is to be GAIANS.

This site started out as a group of friends, sharing anime links, and grew out of that into an amazing place for many of us, but in the process, something changed for you folks. I'm probably sounding like a broken record, but I'm trying to drive home that point.

Gaia is broken.

Your PR is, without a doubt, one of the most questionable, and disorganized, services you attempt to provide. From just a casual glance, there seems to be very little interdepartment communication. I have watch people leave this site, because they think those in charge or clueless. I'm pretty sure you aren't, but you folks certainly aren't checked in with your people in the forums.

I know you want to make money and be profitable. Who doesn't? But it's begining to feel like you are letting your ethics slip in the name of that pursuit. And the worst is, people have begin to EXPECT you to.

I have seen primarily two types of attitudes during this latest issue. Those who are genuinly mad, and frankly, they have a pretty good reason to be.

And people who've essentially given up. And for some reason, THAT'S the largest group! Folks that don't believe you guys will do anything to really make it right! A few posts here, some special words there, and POP, everyone will forget!

Why should people expect that?! Should we? Should YOU?! Do you guys want to be known as a company that takes advantage of it's userbase, so long as the money comes in?

That is how you are seen now! People are no longer willing to believe the staff, because they have been caught in so much miscommunication and percieved lies.

People have been offering solutions for multiple problems your site has issues with, not just for the most recent fiasco, but for multiple things in the past few years, and it's fallen on deaf ears to most of us.

So many features have been released, either broken, incomplete, mismanaged, or forgotten after a couple years. zOMG, Alchemy, Aquariums, EIs, lack of story, developing for FB, all issues your users have asked over an over again for you to fix! Only to be ignored!

And no one there is giving any real indication that they want to fix it at all.

Good luck with riding Facebook's coattails. I'll likely be here, watching the place go down when that doesn't pay the bills either. And I'll be asking the same one question that I am asking you now:

Are you willing to do what it will take to be seen as a decent company once more, like you used to be? And when you think you are, you need to tell folks what you plan to do.

Then actually DO IT. I'll be waiting, willing to spend GC again when that day comes.

PS- I did read the above posts by lanky. it's still just words at this point. LET'S SEE SOME ACTION!

Conservative Wrangler

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Thanks for the reassurance that zOMG! will remain available, and perhaps even have events.

Bitchboots's Prince

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- Has zOMG ever been in the black without the extra support of a monetary "push" (BB tickets, Buddies, Amulets) from the community?
- Are we going to see a tangible change in the accessibility of Alchemy components any time in the next two months?
- Corollary to the last question: do the lite fish have their drops in place yet? Will they only drop Alchemy items, or will we just have the chance of another Alchemy RIG box from the lite fish?

Salty Punching Bag

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Hello Gaia staff!~ I just have a few questions.~
1. The Lite Fish drops are currently glitched. They don’t grant anything and disappear when used. Any insight on this?

2. Enki’s have been living past their advertised rate of 4 months. Many with analyzers say they’ll live 8 months. Is it a glitch for them to live 8 months, or an accident that they were marked with a lifespan of 4?
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