So...the Future of OWF

[FrustratedAssassin]

Yes, OWF's staff is open-minded.

I don't understand some of you about wanting to build The New Fan (instead of "the new man") who doesn't even exist. Oddworld's real fans are what they are, you can't change them. Outside of OWF, people who like Oddworld don't really care about the universe and all. They just enjoy playing "That Abe guy" but not enough to the point of talking seriously about it.

Oh yeah, we're totally fascist for having opinions that clash with yours. But we're also the ones who don't like other people having opposing opinions because ??? and strawmen and shit.

Let's not forget you're the one responsible for literally making that OWI employee leave the forums because you were being a piece of shit. You're a horrible human being and the reason nobody likes this place. You're the embodiment of everything wrong with OWF and fuck you.

[Varrok]

Don't fight

[Vlam]

Oh yeah, we're totally fascist for having opinions that clash with yours. But we're also the ones who don't like other people having opposing opinions because ??? and strawmen and shit.

Let's not forget you're the one responsible for literally making that OWI employee leave the forums because you were being a piece of shit. You're a horrible human being and the reason nobody likes this place. You're the embodiment of everything wrong with OWF and fuck you.

See, that's my point : Xavier and Nate are kind enough to let you post this message.

[FrustratedAssassin]

Yeah, they were also kind enough to not ban you after you literally drove away OWI employees by being a dumbass.

[Havoc]

Get a room, you two.

[Nate]

See, that's my point : Xavier and Nate are kind enough to let you post this message.

Not actually. I'm giving it an infraction.

[STM]

Christ it's all heating up here today eh Nate. Maybe the forums feed on hate and once we all hate each other again we'll get more members...

[Phylum]

That forum dynamic only works when you're all Australians. Trust me, I'm an admin there.

[Varrok]

How to become Australian?

[FrustratedAssassin]

Not actually. I'm giving it an infraction.

Well at least the mod team is doing something right here.

How to become Australian?

Go to prison in the UK, get sent on an island for dangerous criminals.

[Vlam]

2 questions :

1 - do they - Oddworld fans - really exist ? I'm not talking about the people who are enjoying playing the games (as you can see on Facebook pages) based on nostalgia. Unlike Dragon Ball, Sonic or Star Wars, isn't Oddworld something of a "niche" ? OWF is the proof of that : only one real forum for Oddworld Fans Worldwide.

2 - What would gain OWF being OWI's property ? I see nothing, except the loss of liberty (you will not be able to criticize). Maybe some of you are hoping to find some new information about Oddworld (for example, if you are being nice with the moderator Alex, then he will throw you a new picture of Twice the Flavor).

[FrustratedAssassin]

I'm trying so hard not to snap at you again but I don't want a ban so just have this picture of Bjork being skeptical

[Vlam]

Look, I'm not even talking to you. Feel free (even if you don't seem to understand or like the word "liberty") to ignore me.

[Dynamithix]

Aye what's up, someone wanna give me a TL;DR on this?

[Varrok]

We've made a seven-page-long discussion about how forums are dead because nobody's posting.

[FrustratedAssassin]

Look, I'm not even talking to you. Feel free (even if you don't seem to understand or like the word "liberty") to ignore me.

I completely understand the word "liberty", it's just that you're for some reason convinced I want to censor any dissenting opinion when it's very obviously you who wants that.

You also seem to believe there is no need for this forum at all, since "Oddworld fans don't exist", which puzzles me because you keep posting here.

Or is your plan to drive us all away like you drove Alex? Cause it might just work.

[Vlam]

I'm obviously saying : we have few Oddworld fans (all over the world). Where do we find them ? Here, on OWF. That's why I'm saying that Oddworld's fandom is a niche.

[Havoc]

2 questions :

1 - do they - Oddworld fans - really exist ? I'm not talking about the people who are enjoying playing the games (as you can see on Facebook pages) based on nostalgia. Unlike Dragon Ball, Sonic or Star Wars, isn't Oddworld something of a "niche" ? OWF is the proof of that : only one real forum for Oddworld Fans Worldwide.

2 - What would gain OWF being OWI's property ? I see nothing, except the loss of liberty (you will not be able to criticize). Maybe some of you are hoping to find some new information about Oddworld (for example, if you are being nice with the moderator Alex, then he will throw you a new picture of Twice the Flavor).

It's not about being their property. It's about having a positive relationship with OWI and JAW so that we can work together in serving the fan community. Right now, thanks in part to you, all the active developers that did post here decided to leave due to the negativity and I can't blame them. So how about you drop the constant negativity and cynicism?

[Manco]

Likes on Oddworld-related Facebook pages:

• Oddworld Inhabitants page: 41,268
• Abe’s Oddysee: 22,705
• Abe’s Exodus: 10,546
• Munch’s Oddysee: 7,238
• Stranger’s Wrath: 6,604
• New n Tasty: 1,540

Oddworld Inhabitants also has 14.2k Twitter followers.

Each of the games has estimated sales on Steam of:

• AO: 940,652 ± 20,880
• AE: 338,537 ± 12,540
• MO: 191,060 ± 9,423
• SW: 212,059 ± 9,927
• NnT: 83,383 ± 6,226

Trust me, there are Oddworld fans. Now can we drop this derail and get back on topic?

[Vlam]

Havoc, thank you for your answer. But what do you mean exactly by "working together" ?

Manco, are you serious ? To click the button "like" doesn't mean you're a fan. They are video game players who are enjoying oddworld games. And it doesn't explain why there is only one real forum. Also, sorry but we are on topic.

[Havoc]

Havoc, thank you for your answer. But what do you mean exactly by "working together" ?

Oddworld currently has no dedicated discussion platform aside from this forum. Social media are a nice way of delivering news and having limited interaction with a fan community, but it is not suited for in depth discussions. For example, the idea thread for New 'n' Tasty that we had running here during its development, social media is not suitable for that kind of stuff.

Putting the forum back in a decent shape means that we could provide that platform again like we did in the past, a place to bounce ideas around and chat directly with the developers about subjects that go deeper than what can be discussed on social media. In return it could mean OWI, once again, actively endorsing and promoting the forum on their website. Both those things were the case in the past but have been lost as this forum went down hill.

[Vlam]

I understand, Havoc. But don't you think that you are idealizing the past ? I remember some members of this forum (especially Connell) were angry because JAW didn't care about the advices who were given to improve Nn't.

[Varrok]

I don't. I honestly think NnT is inferior to AO in many aspects, nostalgia aside.

[OANST]

I almost want to start posting regularly again just to watch the new people take things seriously.

Those of you who think the people here are mean to each other, and that's why the place is dying: You have short memories. When this place was at its most active it was one of the cruelest, nastiest sites I've ever been on. People were legitimately awful to each other. Not in a funny way.

[Havoc]

I almost want to start posting regularly again just to watch the new people take things seriously.

Those of you who think the people here are mean to each other, and that's why the place is dying: You have short memories. When this place was at its most active it was one of the cruelest, nastiest sites I've ever been on. People were legitimately awful to each other. Not in a funny way.

In a way this place has been a weird social experiment on what happens if a bunch of teenagers are let loose on the internet without any sort of serious moderation. The moderators we did have, including the owners, were all teenagers as well at the time and it just turned into a clusterfuck. Over time we established this really weird, hostile culture. There were good discussions to be had but if shit went on, shit really went on. Some of the most heated discussions here must have really left a permanent mark on people, myself included.

[Nate]

I'm trying so hard not to snap at you again but I don't want a ban so just have this picture of Bjork being skeptical

How about you just answer his questions in a polite manner instead of snarking? They're completely acceptable things to ask.

...Right now, thanks in part to you, all the active developers that did post here decided to leave due to the negativity and I can't blame them...

One guy left because of negativity. The rest left because JAW are not (as far as we know) actively working on anything Oddworld, and OWI have nothing at all to announce.

You guys seem to think like there was a golden time when we had a wonderful, active relationship with OWI. The sum total of Inhabitant posting in OWF pre-2005 was an occasional post from Alf when there was some news or if someone was posting a blatantly incorrect rumour and he wanted to set the record straight.

The fact is, OWI is not doing fan relations at all at the moment. When's the last time they posted a Dear Alf or any other fan news? When's the last time they posted anything that wasn't about a release? Even back when they were doing fan stuff every month, they never really released any information about upcoming games until it was time to do a full PR blitz. Lorne et al. have always held their cards very close to their collective chest.

[Jordan]

Slightly unrelated to the current topic, but I find it amusing how a thread dedicated to discussing inactivity has caused a surge of activity and a somewhat interesting discussion. Arguments aside, I think this is a good thing. We need some healthy discussion about the state of things and I'm hoping this will make some sort of difference. Or y'know it could be buried in the dust and forgotten about in the next month...

[Shade667]

What defines an 'oddworld fan'?

Am I an oddworld fan? I like strangers wrath and New n Tasty, and Ill probably buy any further games they release. Ive put legitmately about 1k hours into New n Tasty. Or am I just a person who likes oddworld sometimes?

[RoryF]

Slightly unrelated to the current topic, but I find it amusing how a thread dedicated to discussing inactivity has caused a surge of activity and a somewhat interesting discussion. Arguments aside, I think this is a good thing. We need some healthy discussion about the state of things and I'm hoping this will make some sort of difference. Or y'know it could be buried in the dust and forgotten about in the next month...

It's kinda typical though, it's sorta similar (at least imo) to the way mentioning how awkward a situation is in small talk can alleviate the awkwardness.


On other topics of oddworld, the modding section would probably be a little more active once there's more work done on the open source alive engine; it got pretty stale having to work within the limitations of the old AO/AE engines because stuff just didn't work (electric fences prime example).

That, and I personally got bored of AO/AE because the levels feel like such a drag after having to play through them over and over to test stuff (the level select cheat never seems to work on mine).

[Phylum]

For level select, holding left shift press: down, right, left, right, left, right, left, up. That has always worked for me.

Was it on a laptop by any chance? Have you tried another keyboard?