Official Player Charter

General
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Greetings, programs. I’ve gone by a lot of names, but for the most part I go by Mizenkailash, or Miz for short.

I’ve taken it upon myself, with a nod from James (thanks, @james! ), to organize his proposed project of a player charter. @Havok40k immediately offered to help as well, so it looks like he and myself will be taking this project under our wings. In all honesty, in well over 20 years of online gaming, I cannot think of a game or group of Devs who have proposed a player organized and written mission statement for a game. This is a rare opportunity, and as a writer and gamer I felt compelled to take some of my free time and apply it to this project.

Here is what I’ve proposed to James… and I will be using this framework -

  • Start a thread (here it is) asking for community input on the substance and framework for the charter. (Points, phrasing, etc). Obviously, too much input will lead to nothing getting done, as design by community is a difficult, if not impossible, task.

  • Refine those points and begin creating a document that represents the charter itself. I’ll likely work on this with Havok via a Google Document. James and any of the Devs who want access to this document will have it granted.

  • Post a rough draft after a few weeks and get input to further refine the points and the style.
    Submit it to James and the Devs for approval.

Here are some further and very important things to note -

  • This charter needs to be brief, concise, and not heavy-handed. Let our guiding intent be - More is Less. We aren’t writing ‘War and Peace’. Broad statements that still focus on boundaries and goals are perfect. For example only, let’s not get bogged down in laser-specific statements like, ‘Every player needs to respect the playstyles, creations, territory, and feelings of every other player, both in-game and in the community’. Think about revising that statement to a couple ideas. ‘All players have the right to enjoy the game as they imagine it.’

  • Identify any other games that have a mission mission statement or charter. Is there anything to learn from that? I’ve played EVE Online since beta, and it has an economy that is almost entirely player run and driven. Looking at similar games that have tackled the idea of allowing the community to create and play by their own rules is a really unique privilege and challenge. This is no small task. Any help from looking elsewhere will be useful.

  • We will be setting up a timeline that allows us all enough time to hash this out and debate the issue. However, too much time picking nits will not help. We need a bit of a schedule, and an ultimate goal for when this will be done, that way we don’t go down way too many rabbit holes.

  • The goal here is Freedom, not Limitation. We want rules that protect different playstyles and fun. Think of the Greater Good, not ‘How I Want to Play the Game’. The most fun for the most people means that Boundless continues to draw people and grow. Limitations that lead to ‘Fun For the Few’ instead of ‘Fun For The Many’ are essential to avoid.

  • Respect the conversation and the people behind the text. We’re all people, and we all have opinions and feelings. Some of us do not speak English as a first language. Be patient, show restraint, think things over. Let’s make this, and this process, something to admire. This community has always been special. Let’s keep it that way.

Before we begin on the actual charter, let’s build a foundation and ask only two questions for the moment in order to keep this as streamlined as possible -

  • Is there another game that has a player written and created charter or set of guidelines? If so, has it helped or hurt. What could be avoided or embraced?

  • Give me a single, simple sentence that embodies the goal you’d like this charter to accomplish. What stands out as being the most important aspect of the game? (Examples - Make the game fun. Make the game friendly and accessible for all ages. Protect and respect creations/structures/art. Create competition. Consistent challenge and progress.)

Keep your answers as brief as possible. Again, more is less. We want Freedom, not Restrictions.

Thank you in advance to everyone for reading and participating! And again, a shout out to James for making this a possibility.

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I’m happy to see someone pick up this momentous task. I can help however is needed as well.

I agree LESS is more in this. Simplistic in nature of deep in the message it conveys. As for my 2 sentences:

“While playing Boundless and interacting with others a player should embody the fundamental characteristics of kindness, honesty, compassion, communication, understanding, respect, fairness, responsibility, and creativity. We all may stumble and lose our path from time to time but everyone in the community is here to help us stand up and try again to achieve our goals, dreams, and the basic values we want to promote in the game Boundless.”

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Good stuff :slight_smile:
Like what Xaldafax wrote, and I’ll just copy/paste your example:

Make the game friendly and accessible for all ages.

I wouldn’t like this to be a gamers’ game, but something all ranges of people could enjoy. I don’t mean in difficulty but in interacting with other players.

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Single most important thing: Solo adventure questing is fulfilling and fun on it’s own, while working with other people can simply augment that experience and/or make it easier.

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I like this because I think it’d be fun to play with my kids in a couple of years when they can start using computers.

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Clear definitions of what Trolling, Griefing and other such stuff means in Boundless as a game

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To identify extreme player actions and game mechanics that would compromise the game’s longevity.

(I just want to play this game for years when it launches…)

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Some good targets coming from this so far, thanks every one. So far, we have a lot of great material, especially pertaining to solo play. What sort of things do you guys feel may factor in when dealing with the potential of group play, be it guilds, gaming communities, or even just families? Are there any special conditions or terms that needs to be taken into account, or is it more or less the same as solo play?

Also, how about where privately hosted or rented worlds are concerned? Should the Player Charter cover rented online worlds? Do hosts of these worlds have their own set of guidelines to be followed in this charter?

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Define additional content expectations of the community.

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I think if the rented world has access to the public worlds then it should probably apply. I would think we would want players treated with respect on any world accessed from the public worlds. They might not have the same rights to mine, build, or whatever, but should still be treated fairly within the bounds of what they can do on the rented world. If the world is truly private and not accessible from the public worlds, and resources cannot be moved from this world to the public worlds then I would think the charter does not apply.

I do plan on renting a world or worlds. The reason is to be able to build as much as I want and to control resource gathering to protect the environment around my builds. My expectation is that I would want to allow others with similar visions to build and access resources on the world. I would think it is in the interest of the game to have the charter apply so players are treated the same where ever they are in the publicly accessed universe.

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My recommendation

Bigotry will not be tolerated. This applies to race, creed, color, nationality, gender, or sexual orientation. Use of any pejorative with regards to these is forbidden.

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All great replies so far. I’ve been prepping for classes this weekend, and am off to teach today and tomorrow. Today’s a short day, so I’ll make sure to respond in depth by the end of the weekend.

Quick question for those of you who’ve mentioned it - since griefing requires some level of intent from the human behind the character, how would anyone propose we considering the difference between things like one person being competitive and another not liking it, or someone building what you perceive as an eyesore next to your plot?

My issue here is that there are occasions when one person dislikes something, and it negatively impacts their experience, and therefore they perceive that behavior as ‘griefing’… when it may not be that at all. The old adage of, ‘You can’t make everyone happy all the time’ is going to apply here, and Boundless has an inherent spirit of competition and ‘conflict’ wired into it, since controlling resources is a huge part of the game, yet many people will interpret that as griefing.

Just think on that and give me some answers, as this is likely the crux of the charter.

See you later today or tomorrow, no later than Monday!

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@Kal-El This is an absolute given. I don’t think the devs and admins will have an inkling of an issue with it. I’d like to believe that everyone in this community holds this single issue to be paramount. Always be respectful, and strive to be compassionate. We can make some manifestation of that the first point of the charter.

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could you symplify what you saying dont understand the big words native languages is dutch lol

i ike to follow this post but really need it easyer to understand sometimes im dumb hahahahha

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Sorry! I sometimes use too many words. Let’s keep this simple.

How do we know the difference between someone who is playing the game the way the want to play it or someone who is trying to make other players unhappy? Players should not be able to report someone for ‘griefing’ just because they don’t like that they are building ugly things or hoarding a resource.

To elaborate, in the infamous Red Gleam thread we talked about people having a monopoly. Should monopolies be allowed? In my opinion, not in the current state of the game. Players should not be able to plant beacons at rare static spawns and then sit around and do nothing more other than monopolize the resource.

That being said, if someone wants to really corner the market on an item, they should have to work for it. They should have to run around and work to harvest a resource that spawns dynamically. If someone wants to roleplay a tree-hugging gleam savior then they can do so. They can beacon a dynamic spawn to prevent it from being cut down… and save those one or two or dozen spawns. Hoarding rare static spawns ruins the game… even if the player doesn’t admit to trying to grief.

The point is that defining ‘griefing’ is very difficult, as you have to know what someone is thinking. Bottom line - everyone should be able to play the game the way they want, even if it’s difficult or sometimes unpleasant. However, having someone ruin the gameplay for someone else, whether they want (intend) to or not, should not be allowed. It’s a difficult barrier to define, and an important question to answer for this charter.

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as far as other games that have a mission statement…etc

The “Serenity” server for “Rising Worlds” has a statement/rules listing that you have to read and agree too prior to even being allowed to join…they are as follows…

Part of what makes Serenity so great is that we’re all there to have fun in peace and ‘serenity’.

Together we’ve created a place where we can all express our creative immagination without having to worry about others spoiling it for us.

We’re all heavily invested in this community to uphold this vision of a fun server and that goes without saying. We have a standard (a set of rules) to hold it all together.

Nobody can join this community without going through the rules proceedure. Once ‘agreed’ we expect the agreement to be honored

Bans are usually permanent and we take these rules serious. Please ask questions if you are unsure about anything because mistakes in the eyes of “justice” are still offenses against an agreed upon agreement.(edited)
Serenity rules both in-game and here in discord

Please RESPECT all players, Merchants and admins

Please DONT FORGET TO HAVE FUN

Please FOLLOW ALL Admins instructions.

Please DO NOT request, suggest or advertise about wanting to be an admin.

Please DO NOT ask how to become an admin.

Please DO NOT ask admins to do tasks you can do yourself.

Please DO NOT advertise other servers or other discord channels ANYWHERE
(in game/ discord/ private messages/steam)

Please DO NOT interfere when an admin is helping a new player

Please UNDERSTAND that breaking any rule will not be tolerated

Please DO NOT upload porn/political pictures

Please DO NOT chat about politics or religion

Please DO NOT make political or religious signs

Please DO NOT use inappropriate language in chat

Please DO NOT enquire about a banned friend.

Please RESPOND when an admin is asking a question.

Please ASK admins if you have any questions about the rules

In-game rules

Please DO NOT teleport to players without asking or being invited

Please DO NOT destroy/trespass/alter property that isn’t yours

Please DO NOT trade away items or credits for free.

Please DO NOT build into/over claims that aren’t yours

Please DO NOT ask to claim land that is already claimed

Please DO NOT sell land to homeless new players.

Please DO NOT build outside of your given claimed area

Please DO NOT make blueprint copies of other players property.

Thank you for reading

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The question here could be: if a player claims resourceful area, is he using the resources or not?
it’s a part of the game to discover something and claim it, as long as it’s used to trade or craft or build; however, if a player claims resources/blocks and doesn’t harvest them or use them in game, it’s definitely fair to report him as a griefer (even if there are other sources of the same resources/blocks available to other players).

I assume the game in later stages will not repeat the mistake of not providing enough sources of resources/blocks and that one player (or even a guild) won’t be able to claim all strategic locations of a given resource/block on any planet. Thus I assume claiming such resources/blocks for in-game purposes such as own use or profit will be treated as normal behavior as it won’t prevent other players from getting the same resources/blocks somewhere else (although it might make it more difficult if the most obvious and reach areas are claimed).

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my friend andy build a church :slight_smile:with a cross in it is this then forbidden?

Please DO NOT trade away items or credits for free.

i do this all the time to help new players

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@boundmore This policy would be a slippery slope and problematic for Admins. How much enough is to spend of a resource you’ve hoarded? If someone has monopolized months worth of a single resource, and they hold all of them, and they use a single one to build a cube that they mount next to the front entrance to their building… that meets your criteria. They used the resource. So now players can say, ‘Well, they aren’t using enough.’

Policing that kind of behavior is an admin nightmare. That’s why we want this charter simple and broad, and to let game mechanics do the ‘policing’, so to speak.

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is it so wrong if a guild takes a resources and sells it for profit
and try to conquer the market the way i see it
here in belgium we specazlise in chocolat and french in croissants
so its logic people living in belgium have more chocolat than the french

if this make sence for ya lol

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