Players showing as off line has killed Stronghold activity.

zacoria1405

As above. The advent of introducing the policy of players showing as not on line in the guild roster if their settings on xbox live are "appear off line" has completely killed guild activity. It's very difficult to now organise anything when you no longer know who is available for various guild activities. Not sure why this was introduced but it's completely destroying the game as far as Stronghold's is concerned and I'm watching many players now leave the game because of it. I don't imagine it's something that will change so I guess it's time to call it a day.

bagoat

Isn't the WHOLE POINT of marking yourself as "offline" through xbox to make you appear as truly being offline? If so, then wouldn't a game marking you as being online be counterintuitive to what xbox wants offline to mean?
I don't think a game will EVER have the power to override an xbox function.

thefiresidecat

I am pretty sure some people don't even know it is affecting them. I think I had it on for awhile. I didn't know I was appearing offline.

armadeonx

Update your MOTD telling people to check this and say that people who appear offline all the time may be regarded as inactive and kicked.

stercesderised

Xbone needs a "busy" or "away" feature to find some middle ground on this whole online vs offline issue....

zebular

As others have said: Most probably do not realize the feature is making them appear inactive in the in-game guild roster. I highly suggest one makes a Message of the Day (MOTD) in your guild reminding them of such: "Attention! Being marked 'Offline' in XBOX Live makes you appear Inactive in the Guild Roster and may inadvertently lead to you being removed for Inactivity."

zman81420

Yes, this is getting quite annoying to be honest.

yourenext2die

defiantone99 said:

Just write a guild mail telling guildies to not use the feature. If they refuse, kick them. Simple.

So if someone uses the XBOX Offline feature they will be kicked from the guild? Personal privacy comes before any guild or game. Even if they're status was showing as "online" in the game what makes you think they would queue for Siege anyway. If someone is grinding and donating to the coffer so be it. Maybe people want to be left alone late at night or whatever so showing a "status" means nothing. In our guild we report every week in the comment box next to our GT for activity with a date. They also keep an eye on donations and if you're donating you're never going to be "inactive". If you're going to be gone for some time just give a heads up.

randomhateforums

This is a non-issue.. If someone wants to be offline, they should be displayed as offline. Simple as that, this isn't causing anyone to leave the game. (Though a dead guild may be leading to people exiting for more active area's)

Try getting people to talk in guild chat or otherwise work on encouraging guild activity. Simply saying Hi and having an active chat helps greatly.

lifesongxbox

Personally, if you want to appear offline, you should be able to appear offline. I do it all the time to avoid invites when I don't have time to play with others. However, the feature I would like to see a game implement is something that tells you that you are offline. Maybe every time you choose a character it tells you that are you appearing offline and your friends won't be able to see you. This is a friendly way to remind them that they are offline. I would find this helpful for when I think I am online but really am not. Then if they truly want to be hidden offline they can still be hidden, but at least some may come back online as they now realize they were appearing offline.

zman81420

Privacy I get, but if you are hiding from the guild and its activities that should not go unnoticed. If you have to appear offline make an effort to announce your presence in chat so it is a known fact that you are alive and playing. If the player is appearing offline to avoid people in the guild I say go kick rocks. When organizing guild group runs and looking through rosters it can appear to upper officers and leaders that this player is not dedicated when they see them running around solo and not responding to any chat messages. When you have to hide from someone online you should block that person(s) or just tell them I simply do not have the time right now. How would it look like for the guild leader or officers to appear offline while in game, it would show a lack of dedication to me.

onlymat

better would be if the game detects a player as offline and also ask if the player want to be offline for the guild.
I will not change the offline Feature - some people should not know all the time what I'm doing - but in strongholds I would like to be "online"

I also don't know this feature....... I I watch the guild screen it shows me as "online" but people are offline but they donate in the guild coffer

yourenext2die

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kreatyve

While there are times when I would like to be able to appear offline on PC, I can see how annoying this would be if people are having it happen on accident or without knowing.

armadeonx

As Zeb says, people may be inadvertently kicked if they leave it on as leadership will think they are inactive. The player would need to counter this by donating, talking in chat or joining in with dungeon runs etc (anything that shows activity).

This doesn't mean they'd get kicked deliberately for having an offline status, just people thinking they are no longer playing.

l1yev

I appear offline not to avoid guild duties or invites but because I get sexually harassed or random invites from complete strangers just cuz I'm female.

Hyelll no I aint turning off offline mode, it's a huge privacy issue, I mean I'd want my friends to know and i'd like to play with friendly randoms but those kids or people out there thinking it's ok to hit on any female gamer is not cool. It's not always that either, I get accused of being a bad gamer or that I must be an ugly bich if I play video games.... Not cool, very not cool.

You can still PM or guild chat, and that's what those offline people will do if they want to interact with the guild if in offline mode and are actually playing neverwinter.

zman81420

l1yev said:

I appear offline not to avoid guild duties or invites but because I get sexually harassed or random invites from complete strangers just cuz I'm female.



Hyelll no I aint turning off offline mode, it's a huge privacy issue, I mean I'd want my friends to know and i'd like to play with friendly randoms but those kids or people out there thinking it's ok to hit on any female gamer is not cool. It's not always that either, I get accused of being a bad gamer or that I must be an ugly bich if I play video games.... Not cool, very not cool.



You can still PM or guild chat, and that's what those offline people will do if they want to interact with the guild if in offline mode and are actually playing neverwinter.

I see it all the time, no gamer should be harassed by their sex. Male or female we should all act civil at the controller. It is the De-sensitivity of todays society that allows a coward to hide behind a monitor or a device and act like an A__ without consequences. We have females in the upper ranks in our guild and without a doubt are great gamers. You will find immature little s___s out there in the gaming community anywhere you go it is just too bad it is something you have to suffer through. If you are looking for a friendly place to play Neverwinter send me a message. With what you said I can understand appearing offline to avoid harassment, its just a shame such behavior is in existence.

xalorus

No place in the gaming realm will ever be a haven for civility, you just have to find your place among it. It's adults mixed with kids and even still half the time it's hard to tell which is which, and as @zman81420 (Well written btw) stated there are several groups out there that welcome anyone regardless of who you are. It's a game first and we all come to it to have a little get away from our every day lives. I also welcome a pm from anyone who feels discriminated against. People in general used to conduct themselves with a moral code, respect, and again civility. It's a weak minded generation today.

On topic I like the freedom of being able to choose when people see me or what not but if it is 24/7 it can limit group activities I personally show as online simply because I want to provide an outlet for people to come to if they have a question or need help. I understand not wanting to be bothered sometimes but I figure I help you get better I get better in the process.

Tc and as always have fun.

l1yev

I had a guildmate in party chat with me n some other guildies and friends n he starts talking directly to me he says he muted everyone else and started talking some really strange smexxy talk to me...


It was sooo awkward, he didn't know that muting everyone else didn't mean they couldn't hear him xD I kept telling him that, n everyone else was just sitting there giggling, which he couldn't hear cuz he muted them all.

bagoat

That's funny.

destrowod

Privacy I get, but if you are hiding from the guild and its activities that should not go unnoticed. If you have to appear offline make an effort to announce your presence in chat so it is a known fact that you are alive and playing. If the player is appearing offline to avoid people in the guild I say go kick rocks. When organizing guild group runs and looking through rosters it can appear to upper officers and leaders that this player is not dedicated when they see them running around solo and not responding to any chat messages.

Well that made me laugh hard. I dunno about people that ALWAYS appear offline, this i never done it. If they choose to do so for any reasons, its there business. But if i put myself offline, no matter why, its my business. Yes i do it sometimes to not be bothered either from live friends that want to just chat when im not in the mood or sometimes i just want to run my things solo and i don't wanna be bothered to do anything with the guild or other people. For exemple what if the guild plan an event im just not interested in? I could still be online and just say im not interest but by putting myself offline i avoid drama and "oh he didn't want to do it" kinda like stuff. Its a win/win

Guild in this game is a double edge sword. On one side its great to have people to run with and do stuff. Sometimes i feel like party chating in the guild chat and having fun with people. Other times im tired and just want to enjoy my game in solo, have no interest in grouping for ANYTHING, and so i should be allow to be left alone. Kicking somebody for that would be rude. To get back on what i was saying, playing with a guild is fun especially when you bond with these people, but especially since Stronghold some guilds have go hardcore and would basically kick people for 3 days off if they don't notice them or whatever... Wow... i find that "try hard" to say the least. Here is how i see being in a guild on NW, its to have people to play with, have fun, enjoy the game, develop friendship. If i feel like taking a weekend off for some holliday or whatever, its my business and i don't have to report it to anybody. I do agree if you plan on not playing the game for 2-3 weeks then ok, but a matter of days? Nah... The whole "Officer" titles in this game sometimes are taken way too seriously, some people do think they have authority on you... lol ITS A GAME , your not my boss. I don't own you anything.

Stronghold gringing is one of the worst thing that happened on this game, before that the guilds where not "try hard" in general as they are now. Of course nobody want a guild that is inactive and with 2-3 max online, but at the same time a video game is... A VIDEO GAME. Calmos... lol. Im not even that try hard when i play competitive games with my team... I know its a race to who can build it the fastest and trust me i want the marketplace rank 4 just as anybody, but we need to remember what is the most important thing first. Playing a game and enjoying ourselves.

Anyway that may be a lot of text to say my point, but in resume when you appear offline, there is a reason for it and you should be allow to do so as you please. I may forget sometimes that i put myself offline, it happened a few time, but in general if im "appear offline" its because i want to play solo and enjoy a moment of tranquility.

Important Note : Nothing that i said above have any link to my current guilds (2 toons in 2 different guilds) as everybody has been great and i have only good things to do about them. This is general talk on some guilds i heard of, or have experienced, and for post like the guy i quoted above

crimsonlightning

The older 360 build used to have a status feature that included Offline, Away, and Busy. At some point they did away with that and added the invasive "...was last online X minutes ago" nonsense and completely eliminated any form of privacy due to the fact that if you were appearing offline it would always display as "...was last online 1 minute ago" whenever someone checked your name in their friends list. They've corrected that now with XBO and finally brought a degree of privacy back to XBL that has been absent since... I dunno, 2010 or so.

If guild leaders are having a problem with this returned level of privacy then I'd have to say... tuff. If someone is unavailable then they are unavailable. You shouldn't have the ability to pull their leash and be privy to knowing of their activity if they don't wish for you to. Inversely it wouldn't be unreasonable for a guild to stipulate policy that you must appear online when playing Neverwinter and will be obligated to participate in activities when doing so, otherwise your presence in the guild as a non-participant would be undesireable and your membership terminated. Right? If you want to be in a guild then you should participate, otherwise you're no use to the guild and somone more willing to participate can take your place.

So no, I don't think people need less privacy, I think guild leaders now need better communication and stricter rules.

amafia313

@destrowod I dont agree with appearing offline, but if I could come up with a reason why I would it, its because of the reasons you named. Lol

worldoffred

I don't have a problem with people appearing offline but I am concerned that some people might mistakenly think a guild is dead due to the low numbers appearing online. I play with a couple of offline folks so I know that they never show up online on my friends list. I sought some guildmates through guild chat to run shores and one offline guy responded. I had to invite him through guild chat. If a guild is having an event, I do think everyone should appear online to make invites easier.

zman81420

Did you see how long winded that was @amafia313 . I was hoping he told me about his holidays as well

amafia313

Lol @zman81420

zman81420

A hypothetical scenario. Dragon Flight, Guild shows 29/150 members online. Event starts in an hour, run dailies. Ten minutes prior to guild Dragon Flight the stronghold is loaded but to find your guild chat and roster showing 29/150 members in the stronghold sitting at the fountain. Hmmm, the instance is full? So eleven people are offline participating in guild events, perhaps this is not a problem to some but when scheduled nightly events take place it is nice to know who is online to prepare composition groups per dragon. If I see I have 40 people standing in a pile at the fountain and roster shows 6 paladins on stretching thin our tanks and weeding through the mass of people to find four more paladins not showing as online active. I see no reason to show offline and my stance is firm. PC players cannot show offline in game for being the master race at least they do that right. For the people whom take the time to organize guild event activities it can be frustrating to. I appear online to give guidance, help others and organize activities. As an officer I strive to be a leader for our members with questions and direct them to those who can give the best advice. I see no reason to play a MMO as a ghost.

yourenext2die

armadeonx said:

The player would need to counter this by donating

This doesn't mean they'd get kicked deliberately for having an offline status, just people thinking they are no longer playing.

I touched base on this earlier, everyone is required to donate their daily influence and AD anyway. 4 Days max for no activity without a heads up. If a guild doesn't require daily donations then the leaders have no business running a guild because they've automatically setup everyone for failure progression wise.