Mr. Floppy I need to say since you're wondering what stef has "done"..
IMO it's more about what stef doesn't do, just like you mentioned. He is an iron fist, but not in a velvet glove. It's important to not undervalue the things you mentioned about his gruff demeanor and lack of diplomacy. It's his attitude towards the community, a (I can only assume) self-importance that lends him to think that his ideas are the best ideas. No matter what the input is from others "beneath" him he seems to believe he has the final say. Honestly, maybe he does. But that doesn't mean that the entire direction of development should be steered primarily by one person. It takes a team and an open-minded leader to keep anything at all moving in a positive direction. I surely am biased by my interpersonal relations with him, but I am also not lashing out. I simply asked for him to let someone else take the lead on AC. He is good at development, but not at being the head of development. I don't want him to disappear, but at the least have someone to delegate between him and the AC community that is more reasonable when it comes to a balance between pleasing him, and pleasing everyone else. It seems like more of a one-man show right now, and has for a while. And if it's not, if I'm wrong then I apologize for bringing it up. But if it is as it seems, I want to see a change in the leadership around here.
And also, When I mentioned starting over at 1.04, that was more of a reference to the time period, not the version of the game. I should have been more specific. Though I do believe that many of the changes made in the more recent versions that are overly concerned with fair-play have really taken some of the coals out of the fire. I have said before, and I'll say it again, AC should NEVER be about fair play in respect to skill. Yes, we need even teams. Yes, banning hackers and abusers is important. But absolutely NO to the constant concerns as to the weapon balance and hit-boxes. They were good around that era. And everything done to them since then is a reflection of a newer "everyone gets a trophy" generation, and it's a huge step in the wrong direction. Some people are more skilled than others, and tipping the balances towards the rest of the players causes an overall loss of respect for the game. It's not the same for "pros" and it's more easily a joke for others, because there is less of a competitive edge needed to get better. It used to be an elitist's game, and a lot of people had a problem with that. At first they simply didn't understand that they just needed to play more and eventually they would be on a higher tier if they stuck around (which they often do). I saw it time and time again. Being dominated makes them try harder and harder, even if it pisses them off most of the time and they cry "hacker!" It did for me, and every other player that's been around here for years and years. Instead, they insisted on bringing the game down closer to their level, like the last sulking kid to be picked in a sports game. We are pandering to the wrong part of the community.
I feel like a broken record saying these things, because they are so obvious to me, and I just don't see why so few people seem to get it.
IMO it's more about what stef doesn't do, just like you mentioned. He is an iron fist, but not in a velvet glove. It's important to not undervalue the things you mentioned about his gruff demeanor and lack of diplomacy. It's his attitude towards the community, a (I can only assume) self-importance that lends him to think that his ideas are the best ideas. No matter what the input is from others "beneath" him he seems to believe he has the final say. Honestly, maybe he does. But that doesn't mean that the entire direction of development should be steered primarily by one person. It takes a team and an open-minded leader to keep anything at all moving in a positive direction. I surely am biased by my interpersonal relations with him, but I am also not lashing out. I simply asked for him to let someone else take the lead on AC. He is good at development, but not at being the head of development. I don't want him to disappear, but at the least have someone to delegate between him and the AC community that is more reasonable when it comes to a balance between pleasing him, and pleasing everyone else. It seems like more of a one-man show right now, and has for a while. And if it's not, if I'm wrong then I apologize for bringing it up. But if it is as it seems, I want to see a change in the leadership around here.
And also, When I mentioned starting over at 1.04, that was more of a reference to the time period, not the version of the game. I should have been more specific. Though I do believe that many of the changes made in the more recent versions that are overly concerned with fair-play have really taken some of the coals out of the fire. I have said before, and I'll say it again, AC should NEVER be about fair play in respect to skill. Yes, we need even teams. Yes, banning hackers and abusers is important. But absolutely NO to the constant concerns as to the weapon balance and hit-boxes. They were good around that era. And everything done to them since then is a reflection of a newer "everyone gets a trophy" generation, and it's a huge step in the wrong direction. Some people are more skilled than others, and tipping the balances towards the rest of the players causes an overall loss of respect for the game. It's not the same for "pros" and it's more easily a joke for others, because there is less of a competitive edge needed to get better. It used to be an elitist's game, and a lot of people had a problem with that. At first they simply didn't understand that they just needed to play more and eventually they would be on a higher tier if they stuck around (which they often do). I saw it time and time again. Being dominated makes them try harder and harder, even if it pisses them off most of the time and they cry "hacker!" It did for me, and every other player that's been around here for years and years. Instead, they insisted on bringing the game down closer to their level, like the last sulking kid to be picked in a sports game. We are pandering to the wrong part of the community.
I feel like a broken record saying these things, because they are so obvious to me, and I just don't see why so few people seem to get it.