There has been a lot of talk recently about the state of Bootleggers, the updates that Sky has brought us and the direction the game should follow in the future. This alone provides me with reassurance that this game can bounce back from the lull it has seen in the past couple of months. The amount of discussion, dedication and diversity in the ideas offered has really surprised me because it may well be that Bootleggers has one of the most loyal and committed communities that a text based internet game could ask for.
There have been many players who have been considering quitting and many who have indeed quit in the last couple of months. There has been great losses with players who have been playing since the start, finally having enough of Bootleggers in the state it was, leave. I was nearly one of them admittedly. The game was not in a playable state. It seemed we had been forgotten about and there was such an imbalance in players in a crew and those not in a crew that many players were becoming despondent. Whilst this crew imbalance has not been addressed yet, the upgrading of Sky's position to have code access has restored faith in many. The rate of the updates he has provided has been simply outstanding. This past month has been very exciting. Indeed, one memorable comment from the forum was "Now I get excited when is see this! Sky(online) -- Busy " a sentiment shared by many players. Bootleggers has come on leaps and bounds in the last couple of weeks but the most exciting and fortifying step of them all, in my opinion, has been that ideas many players have submitted either through the "Feature Suggestion" section of the help desk or on the forum have been, not just listened to, but implemented into the game! Whilst initially the suggestions are met with a unforthcoming veil of "Thank you for your suggestion" they have been looked at and really considered if they are viable to put into the game. This provides the player with some ability to suggest ideas which may never have been thought of by the staff but will improve the game a great deal. This must be viewed as a big positive as many were suggesting in the forum that BSF2000 just didn't care about the game anymore which he has also told us is completely untrue. Indeed, the latest word from the man in red is that he has many commitments in real life which have made coding for Bootleggers very difficult and certainly not at the top of the list. Completely understandable of course as many players will be familiar with the saying "RL before BL". He has, therefore, made in my opinion the best move he could have done and provided an already trusted member of the community the ability and chance to help Bootleggers progress.
December has not just been a month of updates however, we have also seen the arrival of "December Doubles" which has provided us with many exciting rewards for playing. We have seen halved timers, rewards for in game actions and even one of the Mod's most prized cars! These sort of rewards and contests have seen many who had decided to give up return to the game and start playing again. I'm sure I am not alone when I say we'd love to see more of these special events to keep Bootleggers fresh. Another past event which deserves a mention was the exciting "Hunger Games" which, for those of you who were not playing to see this event, was a contest which centred around the concept of the Hunger Games following the release of the film. This contest, with players searching for other players and a prize for the last player standing, drew many back to Bootleggers and those who were just logged in for an organised crime, prick up their ears and see what else was about. Lets be honest, with a text based game there are often limitations as once you've done the missions, you've reached a comfortable rank and amassed a chunk of cash you can feel like you've done it all but these contests and seasonal promotions really help to bring a fresh and exciting new aspect to the game.
With all this talk of Sky's updates and BSF2000's willingness for others to assist him however, we must not forget the contribution of the other Moderators and Help Desk Operatives. They are still answering all of your questions day by day and fixing your problems to the best of their ability, maintaining fair play and ensuring that the game runs smoothly all day, every day. This is, as I am sure you can imagine, not an easy task and for doing it day in, day out I salute them all.
So it seems that Bootleggers is heading in a positive direction but we must not let this change, we must keep suggesting ideas, we must keep assisting where the player can and most of all we must encourage not just Sky but ever single other Administrator, Moderator and Help Desk Operator to keep doing the job that we appreciate and value them doing. With such a dedicated community, as Bootleggers undoubtedly has, it would be a great shame to see this game fall apart when it can be so much more than it already is.
