2.1. Morale Troubles
Alliance forums:
This doomsaying is nonsense. This is not the time for threads of
"We suck!" and moans of "How far we've fallen!" There is a time for
soul searching; this isn't it. Renegades, STS, EV are all completely
competant, good alliances. It is no shame to lose planets to them. It's
no shame to take some pods from them. It's how TDZK works. We're going
to take pods; we're going to dish out pods. We're going to lose and
take planets. None of this means that we're plummeting to an untimely
demise, or that we lack the means to be successful, or any of this
nonsense that people seem to be so worried about.
The time to
genuinely question our future as a good alliance will be if, when faced
with a genuine threat (such as now), we crumble and back down. This has
not happened yet. The fact that we've been hit hard is not a problem in
itself. If we degrade into a chorus of self pity and
"woulda-coulda-shoulda's" -- THAT would be a problem. It's simply a
matter of hitting them back harder. Problems face every new alliance;
not a single successful alliance has made their name in the TDZK
without growth pains. These are the sort of situations that will sort
the core of the alliance from the leechers, the players from the
talkers. And this is a GOOD thing; a neccessary step in the evolution
of a succesful alliance.
Are there things to be worked on?
Certainly, without a doubt. But we need to shake off the injuries and
move forward, rather than getting worked up into a rut of self analysis
and criticism. Talk is fine, to an extent. But "we need to do
THIS and THIS and THIS" is very different from the actual dedication,
time committment, and sacrifice that makes a good alliance what it is.
It all comes down to you, the players. Why are EV/Rens doing so well?
Because they've got the dedicated people who will be up at 3:00 AM for
a planet raid. They've got the people who will make the ends meet so
they DO show up to escort. They have people who decide to use their
turns today, rather than tomorrow. It's easy to say "Too late. I can't
make it" but this is a fine way to achieve mediocrity or at best,
competance.
In the end, it's time to stop talking about what
"we" need to do and start thinking about what "you" need to do. I have
complete faith that we have what it takes to be a great alliance; it's
a matter of proving it, individually, instead of hoping someone else
will take up the slack.