Has Gaia's integrity improved now with Lanzer's return?

[Griffith didnothin wrong]

UnderworldTorrent

I think the lack of integrity certainly didn't help in the beginning, and although I don't think the mere presence of Lanzer is enough to draw those that left back, I think it is a modest step in the right direction.

I have been on this site for 20 years at this point. I return for memories of friends I no longer speak to regularly. I have financially supported this site when I have been able to more times than I care to admit, but I feel now that my money would do nothing. There are little to no quality of life updates, and the ones that do roll out are usually too little, too late. We are constantly told that projects are put on hold because of staffing issues.

Gaia, I think, is still trying to run itself like it did when everything was "golden"--in that, there were more users and likely more income coming in because of their hectic schedule of releasing new items. Hell, ever since the announcement system was implemented it has only really been used to constantly spam users that something has gone on sale, or something was leaving the cash shop etc etc. They continue to push the narrative that they this is their only way forward, in order to keep the site running but damn, at what point do you realize that it's just not working any more?

Yeah, definitely the first step. I returned because I wanted to check the market and then it turned out that my beloved wanted to play, so we do so together. Unfortunately most of my friends here have disappeared. I miss them dearly, but they are not here. Perhaps when Gaia gets more stable, the money will go back into QOL, and according to Lanzer's work diary, there is stuff that has been done. (Redo in avatar builder. Small but something, at least). Flash support etc.

The announcements never used to be for spam, but now staff notices have taken their place. I'd like to see the announcements turned back into announcements and an advert page for the ads. Bring back MCs and EIs again, get some story back into things. If we have a billion recolours and new items, surely we'll be able to do this. I think that a lot of old users miss these features and the flood of adverts can seem quite daunting for those who don't have massive wallets, but a monthly collectable for 2.50 might seem a reasonable investment, if they are back to the point of not being sold again.

[Griffith didnothin wrong]

Umbrane Purpura

i'm not sure this is my first time getting properly back online in over a year i think. I mostly only come back to poke this place with a stick to see if its dead yet. Looks like they brought animated items back thats cool doubt they'll go back and re do the astras because gaia has a never ending conga of abandoned ideas that are repeats of other ideas. Like first we had that monster galaxy game (which I remember bullying the staff a bit about at an anime con by saying "so its pokemon" over and over) now we have lake kindred which is even more like pokemon and last i checked was hanging on to its existance by the power of cute kin releases every now and then.

I really just want them to update the site layout shuffle through their old projects and find a way to put all their concept repeats together.(we've had three maybe four different item crafting systems just find a way to smash that all together damn it) maybe do something about their mini game situation. like I'm pretty sure theres pages floating around that havent been touched since 2009. Just really do some serious spring cleaning.

Almost guarantee that if they do bring back the astra designs, they'll be sold again as prisma and not given to the original astra owners. Which is sad. MOGA and Kindred seem like pokemon, yeah, but kindred are uhm... a good way of making money in game, so it has a few players.

Would like to see crafting stuff updated for sure. Alchemy is AWFUL to deal with due to how long it takes to actually complete a "very low" success item. Like 50 page refreshes is an obnoxious waste of time and the monetary costs involved are pointless, especially considering most of the prizes get crapped out by a rig from the daily chance from time to time.

[Griffith didnothin wrong]

Amulet_Ruby

I cant say the integrity has improved, no...
Now, I dont mind the rigs, and I quite like being able to get recolorations of other items.
But I feel that the heart of Gaia hasnt returned. And that was the events.
I know, I know, Gaia never stopped holding events, but they have been lazy and boring. The christmas events have just been the same repeated tree building event and the rewards have been uninspired and it make it all feel more like a chore than a game.

The holiday events were always the thing that pulled me back to gaia when I was drifting off, and if you ask me which events were the best, it was halloween 2010, and the Sandman & Jack Frost christmas events.

You could really see that the employees put in so much work to make stories for the events, and items and rigs...and the way the plots of rigs got carried into an event plot! The place was brimming with creativity!

I miss that creativity! I miss the interactions with the npcs, I miss seeing the wierd s**t Timmie turned into, I miss waiting for the update of evolving items on friday nights, I miss going into towns to carol and see the houses get exchanged for their christmas versions, I miss going into special hangouts to get sponsor items, I miss seeing what new games and items the staff were going to do for events!
Give me that back, and Ill happily deal with old technologies, bugs, and whatnot. Heck, I would be willing to work for free, if I could help bring back even a slither of the creativity.

To be honest, a lot of the events were repetitive in general, given that they were "go deal with jack and do trick or treaating on the map"

But then they'd be coupled with a G-Corp ball or something that inevitably gets people turned into eldritch horrors.

It'd progress the story and give a chance to earn collectables, even with simple game mechanics. That'd be pretty neat to be honest.

[Griffith didnothin wrong]

Nemariel

I think these days, my biggest complaint is both the lack of functionality and the aggressive monetization. Ever since the cash shop's inception, it has been so heavily pushed that it is nearly impossible to avoid. I could maybe put up with this if RIGs weren't so prevalent. I hated them when they started out, and I hate them still. I want to know that I'm getting what I want when I spend my money. I don't want a chance that I might get what I want. Also, the release rate of new items is such that it is nigh impossible to keep up without spending literally hundreds of dollars on pixels.

I'm also sort of annoyed that they released new animated items without first fixing the functionality of the old ones. It feels very disingenuous. Like users are being asked to repurchase items they already have, just so they can function. I know that the models are slightly different, but it's still irritating.

I don't mind supporting the site. I used to buy the MCs/Donation Items every month. But there are other, better maintained games and sites that I could spend my money on. Ones that don't have predatory monetization.

The rigs were Goldamort's baby, and yeah, the dependency on them really isn't a great thing IMO, since it is still V. reminiscent of those years, perhaps even more so. At least in Goldemort's days there'd be a singular rig out at one time... :/

(at least when I played)

I'd LOVE simplification and return to the roots of Gaia.

[amulet_ruby]

Griffith did nothin wrong

Amulet_Ruby

I cant say the integrity has improved, no...
Now, I dont mind the rigs, and I quite like being able to get recolorations of other items.
But I feel that the heart of Gaia hasnt returned. And that was the events.
I know, I know, Gaia never stopped holding events, but they have been lazy and boring. The christmas events have just been the same repeated tree building event and the rewards have been uninspired and it make it all feel more like a chore than a game.

The holiday events were always the thing that pulled me back to gaia when I was drifting off, and if you ask me which events were the best, it was halloween 2010, and the Sandman & Jack Frost christmas events.

You could really see that the employees put in so much work to make stories for the events, and items and rigs...and the way the plots of rigs got carried into an event plot! The place was brimming with creativity!

I miss that creativity! I miss the interactions with the npcs, I miss seeing the wierd s**t Timmie turned into, I miss waiting for the update of evolving items on friday nights, I miss going into towns to carol and see the houses get exchanged for their christmas versions, I miss going into special hangouts to get sponsor items, I miss seeing what new games and items the staff were going to do for events!
Give me that back, and Ill happily deal with old technologies, bugs, and whatnot. Heck, I would be willing to work for free, if I could help bring back even a slither of the creativity.

To be honest, a lot of the events were repetitive in general, given that they were "go deal with jack and do trick or treaating on the map"

But then they'd be coupled with a G-Corp ball or something that inevitably gets people turned into eldritch horrors.

It'd progress the story and give a chance to earn collectables, even with simple game mechanics. That'd be pretty neat to be honest.

Sure, the events might have been a bit repetitive in some ways, there is only so much you can do on an online forum, but they would try to come up with new stories. I do like that the trick or treating and caroling was a repeated thing, but it always came with that little plot. There was something new to be found. It made it fun.

But the past few years have lacked that in the events. I do get that they lacked the funds to do anything but it was disappointing non the less.
The holidays are probably the most important times for companies, its when people will have more free time and will to spend some money. Its the most opportune time to pull in new users and customers, you cant go skimping on it.

[ozmo azarath]

Yes.
Lanzer is bae.

[ozmo azarath]

Eri-Panda_Chan

Personally I think an interface update would work much better towards getting people back. We’ve all gotten accustomed to more streamlined websites in the past decade, and the lack of progress in years towards getting the games back up is what really sours my personal experience the most.

New users aren’t gonna want to spend money on a site that works the same way it has for over a decade, and the only thing that’s really worth doing anymore is showing off your avatar. But we aren’t all gonna spend real money to trick out our avi just for the small community competition.

Um.
I am paying for Angel and the cat thing.

I love the UI....
Look at Neopets. Huge undertaking.

As long as it meets accessibility standards, it's fine.

Just stay with the themes that worked well.
Angelic/Demonic
The one year they did the Gods

if they do everything thoughtfully, it will rise back up

[fukiifukii]

When did he leave again for him to have to return for a third time?

I've missed so much of what's been going on around here.

[Chaos]

Griffith did nothin wrong

Do you think that Gaia's integrity has contributed to the great exodus? Do you think Gaia can regain their good reputation? Would you make any changes to the way things are done?

I'd also hope that the announcement channel returned to being announcements and a separate advertising channel used for adverts and perhaps a return to MCs, but I guess we can all dream.

What are your thoughts?

It’s hard to take this website serious, when the holistic choices they’ve committed over the years dampen the perceived quality of the overall brand — thus tarnishing its image. I’ve always believed this website could surpass any platform on the internet, it’s all a state of mind. But it’s all based on respect. How can you respect something for disgracing its origin, whose very existence back then depended on? And worse, doing so time and time again, all things considered.

Imo, the integrity issue plays a contributing factor, based on the original paradigm/blueprint (which as you put it) was Donation Items, aka “MC’s”. Go Gaia was originally established on the principles of passion and not mainly for monetization. The passion is a hidden parameter for success, things you enjoy lead to that domain (in our current age, the term is virality). Without passion, people smell bullshit a mile away. Real fun is that feeling derived from great joy in the exploration of the experience. Success is a relative term, and it’s difficult to weigh much less define (everyone has opinions on how to measure it) — general factors: space, time period, proportion to sector and speed are some factors to gauge this companies level of success. Back then it was a monster. 33 million registered users was a ton, it’s analogous to hundreds of millions in 2023. Through the holistic damage, I’d still rate it as a priceless company — with a priceless quality of being able to grow with rapid exponential change given its arsenal — but this all varies on so many factors like the Staff and current conditions of the world, much less what they want to do with it. You can have all the resources in the world, but if you lack the skill to use them, it will never be enough. People can move mountains and accomplish anything, it’s all based on will.

Now as for the bad. By breaching the trust of the users who were there from the start, it’s a hard task to repair trust. Who were the original users? They were pioneer gamers and internet users from the early 2000’s. At the time, $2.50 was enough to obtain a semblance of prestige, where no other social space offered such a system at the time. And like stocks, MCs were like fresh shares at IPO for a new emerging growth company. The Staff and management were limited in not understanding the right critical steps to take, much less at the right juncture given this websites niche. So, to breach integrity because of a need of cash, it’s like a tower of Janga falling. You can’t violate integrity and expect people to forget. Here we are 20 years later at the 20th anniversary, and people still reminisce of the past glory. The reputation for that glory has been diminished. Set back after set back did not help. Steady slow pace is better, and incremental. The Japanese have a saying: death before dishonor. The only way to wash the blemishes of dishonor is with success.

Having worked with bleeding edge specialists from our nations leading universities, I can firmly say that the best course of action is to take action against dishonest business practices. Success will always be a lagging indicator. IMO, Gaia as a brand needs an entire new rebuild. The original gamers have assimilated into their new games of life, their legacy is being able to log in this space and relive their childhoods. Whether they include their children, is a topic for a different thread.

—

I am playing Gaia’s Monster Galaxy P2E, and it’s a travesty to see them be so wasteful and underutilize resources. The developers do not understand our modern internet age, this requires fluid thinking and being open to different mental models. Adamant and unyielding thinking is not effective in this environment. Darwinism rewards not the strongest, but those most adaptable to change amidst adversity.

I came back in 2020 to relive my childhood, I got a Lanzer tag along the way. Then a pandemic and a bankruptcy happened. The final loose ends are these ticket orders, and I can retire.😂

[dreamsk]

The integrity is better.....but Lanzer doesn't/can't cut off some of the stuff that goldymort introduced and has flat out refused to change things that people actively hate (announcement spam, LQI's, ext ) . He also has had some crazy idea that a bunch of resources were put into rather than updating the website.

He has updated things here and there like the MP got some boss updates. They might be releasing a new fishing game. But overall Gaia needs a lot more funding and focus. Better the website and MAKE A GOOD APP before introducing new things. People will survive without a few events if avi creation in the app wasn't terrible.

[Chaos]

Coco

Someone else mentioned project custom, so I'll use this example as well. Gaia just released how many prisma items? But they can't/won't fulfill orders that are several years old now? That's bullshit. I say this all the time about CS but how many new items do they put out daily? How many poses are those items? But they can't do 2 doll poses and a special item pose for one user? It's a slap in the face to those people who spent their money and are still waiting on a product, YEARS later. The progress they do make is embarrassing and next to nothing. It's not good business to collect money and not deliver the service or product. sweatdrop

Project Customs is a mess.

Further, the moderation interferes with the business model, and is partly to blame for Gaia’s failures of integrity. In the history of the world, bureaucracies have long lead to inefficient companies and markets, enormous favoritism and corruption. The moderation here has an ability to interfere with both the economy and individual lives – which they frequently do to maintain privileges. There is clear flaws with moderation and that it should be combined with a strong social safety net for investors. Those who cannot learn from history are doomed to repeat it. Those who do not remember their past are condemned to repeat their mistakes. Moderation has already once caused a great scandal with Project Custom in the not too distant past.

I am not an advocate for unregulated, unvarnished, free-for-all user activity. (Few people I know are.) But we shouldn't forget that true freedom and free enterprise (internet) is, at some point, inexorably linked to wellfare for all — both on a management level and user level. Waiting for orders and having volunteers interfere while business transactions are pending is erroneous.

There is a difference between a customer waiting services to be delivered for years and a free to play user. I wouldn’t classify the moderation as a jury of my peers, the bankruptcy proved how uninformed they were throughout. The moderation has illustrated why it’s not sound to invest here, they are a liability to monetization. These various integrity issues need to be addressed and resolved moving forward, so that the userbase can grow and eventually thrive. If no improvements are made on this front, stagnation leads to decline.

11/4/2023 — Who is Online? - 3371 users. (1577 visible, 559 hidden, 1235 guests).

[Apollos Liar]

In my opinion, the site peaked around 2007. They were doing well and within their means, engagement was the highest it had ever been, new features that were practical were continuing to roll out. The site was still great for a few years after, but it was only coasting along.

Following that, there were too many side ventures that cost too much to produce and never panned out like Gaia China or zOMG! (as much as I like the latter); site features like Guilds and the MP or even Profiles were either abandoned or seldom updated; too much stock was put into unreliable artists like reapersun who kept the plot stagnant for far too long or the item staff that were pushing out too many items that only favored one portion of the userbase; elements that used to be highly interactive like events became centered around gold sinks that prevented most users from engaging. It was a disaster.

By the time Gary showed up, the site was still active and there was still engagement, sure. But things weren't good. The site wasn't in any better shape than it was nearly 7 years prior. As much of an asswipe as he was, all that he did was use Gaia's faults to squeeze out any remaining profit. Gaia wouldn't have been so vulnerable or even in a position like that to begin with had it been treated well from the beginning.

So to get to the point, Lanzer coming back was a great boost of morale for the community. A familiar face we all love come to save the day. But as much as I do like Lanzer, I don't think he's a good leader. The site feels better than it did in 2013, but is it really any better? In its current state, I don't think Gaia will ever flourish or regain its former glory.

[blinddivine]

I think they're taking some baby steps, but they're on the right path.

They've kept their word on updating the runways, prismas(in a timely manner no less,) and actually listened to us when we told them we didn't want an AI created event. I'd rather have no summer event than have them try to get lazy and cheap with AI. Despite all that, they have a real long way to go.

[Chaos]

BlindDivine

Despite all that, they have a real long way to go.

Monster Galaxy P2E is another project, and it is related to Gaia.

They sell exclusive Genesis units there for direct buy, with broken skills from a kit upon purchase. They’ve been out for over 2-3 months and the units remain broken. They’re apparently aware now. I’m curious how long it’ll take, considering Project Customs wait. I’ve about had it.

As a brand, they either have poor quality control or they just don’t care about the consumer. Bad image either way. This website once gave me great joy, I’ve leaned on minimal usage as of late to avoid the hassle they give. Anhedonia: is the inability to experience joy or numb or less interested in things that you once enjoyed.