Forgotten Tales

By now there are multiple threads regarding changes to the FT staff. Many great GMs (some of whom I have the honor of calling my friends) have publicly announced their resignations from the FT staff. The list of team members also includes names of staff members who have not been active in quite some time, and it is reasonable to wonder if some of those individuals have moved on privately as well. On a personal level I thank them for their dedication and assistance, both to myself and the FT community at large, and I wish them the best wherever their paths go from here.

At various times over the past several months there have been comments along the lines of "understaffed" or "fewest active GMs," and with this mass exodus it raises grave concerns regarding the capability of any remaining staff members to provide meaningful assistance. Is the team UNstaffed? Perhaps just critically understaffed? We do not know, and I personally wonder if or when we will.

Over the past several weeks there has been an unsettling air about the game, and certainly within the forum. I've considered myself an active member on the forum for some time now, so the uneasiness was noticeably building. Things have not felt well after the trade abuse issues several months ago, but of late it has been amplified, and more is hinted at in recent announcements.

Now it seems there is a crossroads, fork in the road, or whatever other term one wishes to use to project a murky future for the game. Will others step up? Will issues be worked on still to better the game and resolve issues? Will FT sort of limp along before it begins to take the path of an unsupported game and slowly fade away after a last gasp for money in the form of premium skins? Yes, there have been low times before.

Right now I have mixed emotions about the game. I don't feel protected with trade scams being reported on a regular basis. Reported issues have been addressed at all, even with some half-hearted acknowledgement of a need to look into them. Future expansions have been seemingly sitting in limbo where they seem to stick out more than if we didn't know something was (maybe) in the works. I had some real-money purchases in mind, but where things are at now it seems to me like it would be "throwing good money after bad," as one saying goes.

If compbatant has a plan it would be nice to hear. If new staff members are coming on board the community needs to hear. This is a time where assurances of some kind need to be provided, and whether someone steps up to do so could have an enormous impact on where things go from here.

Perhaps this is all one person being overly dramatic. That could very well be. I hope that is the case as I enjoy the game and the FT community. This game is certainly not my whole life, but it has been an enjoyable part of my life. Still, if issues are being blown out of proportion I believe it is because there are issues to begin with.

For now though, Forgotten Tales still holds some interest to me, so I will continue playing. Playing and watching would perhaps be more accurate.

.In an early post I once said how we need to concentrate on the positive parts of the game to be an encouragement to new players especially. Of course that has been severely challenged due to some of the foundational positives being eroded. Would I invite a friend to join me in playing FT knowing the struggles of late? I tend to wear my emotions on my sleeve and this all is very disturbing and depressing to me.... I fear though not without foundation. I spend many many hours playing this every day and feel I have as much at stake as anyone else including lots of real life money spent to get the maximum enjoyment out of it. I think I can say with pretty much unanimous acclaim a big thank you to our GMs past and present and the steadfast hope that amending is done to the issues involved. Otherwise if things linger and worsen Forgotten Tales may be known as Forgotten Fails. I sincerely hope not... but as has been said I too will continue both playing and watching.