GM Program Concerns

[Carvis]

Name of the staff member you're asking: @Joe @Lighig

Question: Why have events been in the decline so heavily? We went from constant events to literally 3 events a day. I know school is a large reason for this, but events are barely happening even during prime time. 

Further attachments: https://synergyroleplay.com/forums/forum/90-after-action-report/

Concerns: Events are the heart of the server, its one of the only things that keep a hook for Synergy and the lack of events is quite distressing.

Edited October 10, 2019 by Carvis
adding words

[Joe]

@Carvis
I'll answer your question to the best of my ability and please bear with me as I may go a bit off from the main question, but I feel like it is necessary to do so in order to show you the bigger picture. Also three events per day is decent in my opinion considering the position the server is in, however I am trying to improve the number of events going out. But to the Question you asked....

The reason why event's have been in decline, and this has been said by you already, along with Marvel in another post, and now it will be said by me as much as i don't like saying myself either, but it is literally a fact and not an excuse, but school is the real reason why they have been in decline including on the weekends. 

People need to understand that being staff and being in any of the branches (it be TR or GM) is all voluntary and that they are willing to sacrifice some of their free time to contribute to the server without compensation of any kind, These are people who are between the age of 14-18 (Some even in their  20's who have a full-time job) who come back home with a shit ton of homework for all we know and new friends they want to socialize with, so of course they are going to take time off the server to take care of that, and I myself advise them to do so, especially their school work, as IRL is a serious and as important then some  Garry's Mod server. I will never force some one to do something that would jeopardize their future, cause in the end, it's just a game. It's not worth losing a good education or dealing with drama from parents. 
These GM's are human beings that have lives a side from GMod, please keep that in mind.

Also another thing that affects the flow of Events is the morale that the community gives to the GM's, I'm not saying it's the community's fault however what I will say is that when a GM post an AAR after an Event, That's the Community's time and oppurtunity to rate it and ACTUALLY GIVE INPUT to HELP the Game Master improve so that you don't get another potato event, but instead, like 3/4 to no one at all doesn't rate the AAR and therefore nothing can be done for that GM and he begins to fell unappreciated for the effort he put into said event, it be a shoot'em up or RP (Even though HARDLY ANYONE RP's and would rather shoot on sight), and they will lack the drive to create event for for the server or just do bare minimum half-assed events. I'm not saying to type up a full critique or to kiss up to them, but a simple thank you could go a long way to let them know that you are grateful, also they shouldn't be having to plead for you to get a rating during their game master PTS, If anyone truly cares about the GM Program and future event then please do it a favor and just take 10 seconds out of your time to rate how they did.

As for things like your suggestions, Such as creating a story line for battalions or regiments, Doing that will take a lot of work and dedication as well as the right person to do the job and forcing that upon them could lead to them leaving the GM Program and thus adding to the decline, not to mention the planning part will still take more time or probably the game master won't find any enjoyment in it. which leads me to my next suggestion that Black made which was already shot down in the past.

We don't allow Commanders to pick who gets to be deployed as it will take away from the Game Master freedom on how he wants his event to play out, as he came up with the creative idea for a specific battalion(s) , and could be ruin if said commander chooses all the wrong battalions for the deployment and all that hard work that the Game Master  put in will be jeopardize, as his event would not unfold the way it should, which could cause the event to be a disaster in terms of quality.  No Game master would want to go with that sort of style, they want the freedom to choose the battalion they want to make an event for, and just to put it out there. I Inform all GM's that anyone caught doing an event for their battalion multiple times (Favoritism) will be punished greatly, as it would not be fair for the other battalions, and I advise anyone to report any suspicion of any GM of doing so.

Encounters are there just to give you something to shoot at or interact with, they aren't particularly made to have any quality in them (However they shouldn't be complete garbage and unreal or FailRP-ish), It's called encounter for a reason. just something to pass the time rather than staring at a wall all day.

Which brings me to my next point, 
Yes, Events are the heart of the Server, but we shouldn't be sorely relied on for the community to do something, as Marvel said, you got Commanders for a reason, have them do something for your battalion, get them to host a sim or training or a patrol, get you certified in Tech or Med. They should be proactive with the battalion to occupy some if not a lot of your time doing something engaging as such. 

Aside from that I hope I answered your question and shed some light on the question a lot more. (if you wish to talk more about it, please don't be afraid to poke me or PM on TS or Discord, I'll be happy to respond to any or all questions.)

Also I will like to announce that Lighig and I are making a few changes to the Game Master Program that will help with the consistency and quality of events.