Pirate-Fans.wikia.com

[Davy Darkrage]

(Freedom for Speech, kidding lol)

Anyways, they block it due to the belief that it will decrease this site's traffic; as "I" understand.

When POTCO closed they often would not even allow these type of threads/messages for advertising. I think they are more lenient on it now because this site is fading. (I would say dying, but I feel the backlash would be abundant at this moment in time.) I think personally they should allow these messages; I don't agree with that wiki existing, as it pointless, no offense.

With all due respect, our traffic really hasn't changed much for the past months (the big dip on the chart is when the forums were down all day). Not to say this site isn't in desperate need of a refresh, the forums certainly don't serve the purpose they once did.

Anyways, we weren't allowing them initially because we were (I was) worried about it leeching traffic when there was nothing fruitful to show for the project, just a vanilla XenForo install. It seemed odd to me at the time and we were being spammed with links to the site (which at the time was just a basic forum), so we began to censor links.

As it became more clear the projects had some form of organization and might be going somewhere, I didn't make as big a deal over threads for it but did not disable the censor. I haven't really followed up since then, so I am reviewing it now.

Donations are through Paypal, which makes me nervous that people might not fully understand where their money is going, and with no guarantee the project will be successful and no promise of a refund if it's not.

If you want me to be brutally honest, it appears to me that the people pushing the project could be amateurs. Now, I don't have a problem with that. You might say I'm an amateur when it comes to these forums, as I don't make a guarantee to run them in any official capacity. I support indie developers.

What bothers me is that they seem to try to present themselves as professionals. Why can't they just say, "hey we're a group of people with a dream and your donation could help it come true?" Instead they conceal even the most basic personal information about themselves (as best I could find anyways) behind the name "Apez" or "Apez Games."

If they were more upfront about their backgrounds it would make me more comfortable that people understand where their donations are going. I would like to see a mission statement for the project and a notice about whether they would refund donations by request.

If I am wrong and/or they state this clearly somewhere, I will gladly shove my foot into my mouth and disable the censorship.

I do appreciate everyone voicing their thoughts and concerns.

 

[Sires]

With all due respect, our traffic really hasn't changed much for the past months (the big dip on the chart is when the forums were down all day). Not to say this site isn't in desperate need of a refresh, the forums certainly don't serve the purpose they once did.

I spoke too soon. My apologies.

Is there a chart for post activity? ex. posts per day/week?

Also, good point on the Apex Games naming subject.

And... The Zachary (developer) of POTHS is an ametuer, as he is only 16.

 

[Davy Darkrage]

Posts and post likes over the same period:

We really lost the wind in our sails way back during early 2012:

..but since then we've actually been reasonably consistent overall in terms of activity.

Is Zachary the sole developer? Who else is behind the project? Who is behind APEX? Those are the questions I have aside from an official written policy on donations.

 

[Shamus The Brute]

Donations are through Paypal, which makes me nervous that people might not fully understand where their money is going, and with no guarantee the project will be successful and no promise of a refund if it's not.

For what it is worth, I have been actively pursuing the legitimacy of POTHS' reliance for PayPal as - I too - have a deep concern towards the gain of PayPal donations from the POTCO community for exactly the same reasons you had stated. Unless I am mistaken, it has never "officially" been discussed by a main POTHS developer but the initial purpose for the PayPal option was to cater to the project's younger demographic whom did not own or have access to an actual credit card to donate to the kickstarter.

Since the cancellation of POTHS' initial kickstarter, I understand they will begin another one at a some point to where the PayPal option will again be used reflect the change in scope towards a more realistic Kickstarter goal. I am not sure about lately but I do know that it was claimed by Zachary that the current PayPal option available through the POTHS forums website is there to solely fund the actual forums website, to help with the expense it takes to keep support ongoing until the next Kickstarter initiative begins.

I do notice now that on the cancelled Kickstarter home page for POTHS that the original PayPal option was finally taken down which is good news for POTHS for several reasons (most importantly the loss of future funding towards the next Kickstarter as anything donated through 'PayPal' is not regenerated back into any Kickstarter funding goal). *However, I too feel that there needs to be a greater level of transparency towards not only who is behind POTHS development but also Pirates Online Rewritten development, as well.

 

[tom da ninja boy]

@Samuel Cannonskull Reyes De Luz - If I am not mistaken that is what this forums is for... All I am saying is wouldn't it be better to just talk, post and discuss everything about it on our POTCO forums? Rather then moving it to a wiki to talk about it there?

If I am not mistaken this forums is for discussions, talk, post and making friend for everything to do with POTCO (Online gaming) and our amazing pirate (gaming) community.

If I am wrong please correct me Davy Darkrage John Foulroberts

Our wiki is not a page for POTCO.

 

[Irene]

Posts and post likes over the same period:
View attachment 59344

We really lost the wind in our sails way back during early 2012:
View attachment 59346

..but since then we've actually been reasonably consistent overall in terms of activity.

Is Zachary the sole developer? Who else is behind the project? Who is behind APEX? Those are the questions I have aside from an official written policy on donations.

Just to reply to those questions (the best I can) and considering the last time I was there before I quit a month ago, Zachary does seem to be the 'sole Developer'. I wouldn't call him a Developer though since there are no degrees, no contracts and no education. Like Sires and you Davy Darkrage said, an amateur. Last time after I announced I quit he seemed to rush things, making updates and trying to bring friends of his to help him develop the game. I don't know where they have gone from there, but seeing some pictures of their work, it doesnt look like anything 'Professional', considering also they have kept my work and modified it without my permission.

Now about the PayPal thing... Its not supported by the KickStarter, we all know that. There are many 17- people there though who don't have Visa or Mastercard so they can donate that way. That's why PayPal was set up but of course with no assurance or proof where the money would go to, if there was going to be refunds and how they would be spent. Personally and from my own experience, I did donate 50€ prior to KickStarter as well as many other people (who donated over $100) never got their money back with a simple statement by Zachary ''We can't refund right now''.

I'm sorry if I sound negative, and I know I was supporting POTHS since day 1, but seeing all that lack of organization, management and professionalism I honestly don't think it will get anywhere. No, I'm not saying its a scam, because they do seem to make some 'effort', but just not the right way.

And lastly, by all means, I do agree you should keep the censoring up Davy Darkrage

 

[Shamus The Brute]

*However, I too feel that there needs to be a greater level of transparency towards not only who is behind POTHS development but also Pirates Online Rewritten development, as well.

I would like to correct myself within the statement I make above, if that is OK (I know this thread has 'somewhat' gone off-topic from the original post but this is important for me to correct).

*To be clear, another remake (Pirates Online Rewritten) has in fact publicly disclosed whom they are on the Wiki so, I would like to recant what I state above ^. I apologize for the confusion.

Just to reply to those questions (the best I can) and considering the last time I was there before I quit a month ago, Zachary does seem to be the 'sole Developer'. I wouldn't call him a Developer though since there are no degrees, no contracts and no education. Like Sires and you Davy Darkrage said, an amateur. Last time after I announced I quit he seemed to rush things, making updates and trying to bring friends of his to help him develop the game.

I completely understand what you (and others) are saying but I think that also we must all be very careful here to not judge each project too harshly as they are only trying to come up with a way to provide a home for many of us players whom are looking specifically for a "Caribbean" home. In fact, I - myself - have been most guilty of this but I also understand that while I look forward to the future and things to come, I must also realize that each emulator game (and any others out there which exist) will probably fail within our eyes if we compare them directly to the POTCO experience.

With that said, I do realize that each project could do a bit more to put our minds at ease within certain "areas" (as we are all in fact the 'investors'/backers of their future success) but as long as they remain a legitimate work in progress which solely keep the POTCO community in mind, then perhaps the virtue of patience needs to be exercised to give each project the time they need to prove their overall vision. ~ Needless to say, this is not particularly easy for us players as it seems that we ALL have been waiting FOREVER for any update to come along which has some substance for us to "enjoy." Case in point, Pirates of the Caribbean Online (POTCO).

Our wiki is not a page for POTCO.

Could you kindly state again - Tom - the intention you have for this Wiki and why you feel such content cannot be included for us players here to this forums. I would think that for matters of ease for everyone here on this forums to visit another site in order to participate would not necessary give you the amount of activity you ultimately seek. I could be wrong though. Thank you.

 

[tom da ninja boy]

I would like to correct myself within the statement I make above, if that is OK (I know this thread has 'somewhat' gone off-topic from the original post but this is important for me to correct).

*To be clear, another remake (Pirates Online Rewritten) has in fact publicly disclosed whom they are on the Wiki so, I would like to recant what I state above ^. I apologize for the confusion.


I completely understand what you (and others) are saying but I think that also we must all be very careful here to not judge each project too harshly as they are only trying to come up with a way to provide a home for many of us players whom are looking specifically for a "Caribbean" home. In fact, I - myself - have been most guilty of this but I also understand that while I look forward to the future and things to come, I must also realize that each emulator game (and any others out there which exist) will probably fail within our eyes if we compare them directly to the POTCO experience.

With that said, I do realize that each project could do a bit more to put our minds at ease within certain "areas" (as we are all in fact the 'investors'/backers of their future success) but as long as they remain a legitimate work in progress which solely keep the POTCO community in mind, then perhaps the virtue of patience needs to be exercised to give each project the time they need to prove their overall vision. ~ Needless to say, this is not particularly easy for us players as it seems that we ALL have been waiting FOREVER for any update to come along which has some substance for us to "enjoy." Case in point, Pirates of the Caribbean Online (POTCO).


Could you kindly state again - Tom - the intention you have for this Wiki and why you feel such content cannot be included for us players here to this forums. I would think that for matters of ease for everyone here on this forums to visit another site in order to participate would not necessary give you the amount of activity you ultimately seek. I could be wrong though. Thank you.

My wiki is to make your own stories on about pirates put articles were also supporting new pirate games in the making of.

 

[Sparky Wonderwolf]

Anyways, we weren't allowing them initially because we were (I was) worried about it leeching traffic when there was nothing fruitful to show for the project, just a vanilla XenForo install. It seemed odd to me at the time and we were being spammed with links to the site (which at the time was just a basic forum), so we began to censor links.

As it became more clear the projects had some form of organization and might be going somewhere, I didn't make as big a deal over threads for it but did not disable the censor. I haven't really followed up since then, so I am reviewing it now.

Donations are through Paypal, which makes me nervous that people might not fully understand where their money is going, and with no guarantee the project will be successful and no promise of a refund if it's not.

If you want me to be brutally honest, it appears to me that the people pushing the project could be amateurs. Now, I don't have a problem with that. You might say I'm an amateur when it comes to these forums, as I don't make a guarantee to run them in any official capacity. I support indie developers.

What bothers me is that they seem to try to present themselves as professionals. Why can't they just say, "hey we're a group of people with a dream and your donation could help it come true?" Instead they conceal even the most basic personal information about themselves (as best I could find anyways) behind the name "Apex" or "Apex Games."

If they were more upfront about their backgrounds it would make me more comfortable that people understand where their donations are going. I would like to see a mission statement for the project and a notice about whether they would refund donations by request.

If I am wrong and/or they state this clearly somewhere, I will gladly shove my foot into my mouth and disable the censorship.

I do appreciate everyone voicing their thoughts and concerns.

It is true they are amateurs. I was on their Graphic Team for a while and just resigned because I could not take it to see what was said not that it was insulting but who we have working it. I don't want to sound like a pessimist (And frankly I don't believe I am) but this is just being realistic which sometimes hurts but is truth to some degree. It is often said by the (excuse for lack of better terms) "Blind Followers" that age does not matter so long as they can put it together. While that has some truth to it, if you are starting out with nothing and are going to make something original like POTHS and not another remake it is very hard to do this almost to the point of impossible without knowing someone with big bucks/power or being someone with big bucks. POTHS Graphics is being developed by people as young if not younger than the lead developer. Some are not necessarily that young but their ability and background is very questionable. While I do believe the Lead Developer has good intentions I myself question the money and everything else associated with PayPal and the label Apex Games and all that. I find it hard to believe they will get anywhere ANYTIME SOON.

Frankly Davy, I can see where a lot of people like Charles Warmonk are coming from "This is a community to communicate about Pirates and Gaming" but I believe your concerns are ones that should be taken into account by these people and are very legitimate reasons for censoring the link out.

There is another concern I have though. Let us just say this money and the project is all legitimate for a second ( which I don't believe it is 100%). What about some of the people, maybe not the ones handling the cash, but the ones they have doing this all for nothing. One of their (former?) staffers completely hacked the site and blamed it on someone that no one loves and is even more despised by people than some of the hackers that were on POTCO. Are we possibly leading people on to a site filled with people that have malicious intent? Should we lead them on to this site? Should we be supporting them? These are questions to take into deep consideration especially with them not being as upfront as another remake.

 

[Irene]

It is true they are amateurs. I was on their Graphic Team for a while and just resigned because I could not take it to see what was said not that it was insulting but who we have working it. I don't want to sound like a pessimist (And frankly I don't believe I am) but this is just being realistic which sometimes hurts but is truth to some degree. It is often said by the (excuse for lack of better terms) "Blind Followers" that age does not matter so long as they can put it together. While that has some truth to it, if you are starting out with nothing and are going to make something original like POTHS and not another remake it is very hard to do this almost to the point of impossible without knowing someone with big bucks/power or being someone with big bucks. POTHS Graphics is being developed by people as young if not younger than the lead developer. Some are not necessarily that young but their ability and background is very questionable. While I do believe the Lead Developer has good intentions I myself question the money and everything else associated with PayPal and the label Apex Games and all that. I find it hard to believe they will get anywhere ANYTIME SOON.

Frankly Davy, I can see where a lot of people like Charles Warmonk are coming from "This is a community to communicate about Pirates and Gaming" but I believe your concerns are ones that should be taken into account by these people and are very legitimate reasons for censoring the link out.

There is another concern I have though. Let us just say this money and the project is all legitimate for a second ( which I don't believe it is 100%). What about some of the people, maybe not the ones handling the cash, but the ones they have doing this all for nothing. One of their (former?) staffers completely hacked the site and blamed it on someone that no one loves and is even more despised by people than some of the hackers that were on POTCO. Are we possibly leading people on to a site filled with people that have malicious intent? Should we lead them on to this site? Should we be supporting them? These are questions to take into deep consideration especially with them not being as upfront as another remake.

Agreeing 100% with this and I'm sad to say It took me a long while to realize what kind of ''work'' they were doing, I guess I was just too optimistic and giving many chances.
And just to clear this out, its APEZ not APEX

 

[Remy]

Age is just a number. It doesn't matter what age you are. I think Anybody can do graphics or design a game if they try hard enough & practice. I applaud Apez & another remake for what they are doing, they are trying to make homes for us homeless pirates. Time is the only thing that will tell whether or not both will make it & will be a success. By the way isn't this a thread for toms wiki & not this other stuff? just wondering...

 

[Irene]

Age is just a number. It doesn't matter what age you are. I think Anybody can do graphics or design a game if they try hard enough & practice. I applaud Apez & another remake for what they are doing, they are trying to make homes for us homeless pirates. Time is the only thing that will tell whether or not both will make it & will be a success. By the way isn't this a thread for toms wiki & not this other stuff? just wondering...

Of course age its just a number and it doesn't matter as long as the person has the knowledge and experience to do things he/she promises. But in this case, there is only little knowledge and even less experience, not to mention managing and professionalism skills (not to sound mean, talking about POTHS only since another remake seems to do a lot of work in such a little time). Thats why age does matter.

And yep, this thread is/was about Tom's wiki, this is up to the Mods to decide though.

 

[Zachary]

Maybe I can be some assistance. Davy Darkrage Reyes De Luz Shamus The Brute

I am very upfront on who I am and who my developers are. My picture and some of my addresses are on the internet with no issue to find. Heck, I get Facebook friend requests on my personal Facebook. While I do not have a degree in anything, I do have certification for many languages and have taken many classes, my current class I'm taking is Visual Basic, which is a horrible language, way too easy(just a warning not to learn it). I have been coding for years and know a good amount of languages(CSS, HTML, PHP, C++, C#, Java and Visual Basic). As for the filter, I apologize for all the spam and have talked to the people who spammed, anyway for that filter to be removed?

 

[jzfredskins]

Maybe I can be some assistance. Davy Darkrage Reyes De Luz Shamus The Brute

I am very upfront on who I am and who my developers are. My picture and some of my addresses are on the internet with no issue to find. Heck, I get Facebook friend requests on my personal Facebook. While I do not have a degree in anything, I do have certification for many languages and have taken many classes, my current class I'm taking is Visual Basic, which is a horrible language, way too easy(just a warning not to learn it). I have been coding for years and know a good amount of languages(CSS, HTML, PHP, C++, C#, Java and Visual Basic). As for the filter, I apologize for all the spam and have talked to the people who spammed, anyway for that filter to be removed?

I hope you get feeling better! You sounded really sick! :O

 

[Zachary]

I hope you get feeling better! You sounded really sick! :O

Thank you, I'm hoping for a speedy recovery as well.

 

[Sparky Wonderwolf]

Maybe I can be some assistance. Davy Darkrage Reyes De Luz Shamus The Brute

I am very upfront on who I am and who my developers are. My picture and some of my addresses are on the internet with no issue to find. Heck, I get Facebook friend requests on my personal Facebook. While I do not have a degree in anything, I do have certification for many languages and have taken many classes, my current class I'm taking is Visual Basic, which is a horrible language, way too easy(just a warning not to learn it). I have been coding for years and know a good amount of languages(CSS, HTML, PHP, C++, C#, Java and Visual Basic). As for the filter, I apologize for all the spam and have talked to the people who spammed, anyway for that filter to be removed?

Frankly, being upfront is not the only concern we have along with concerns we should have. We are taking into account that there are people who most likely have malicious intent there, and I do know there is and that it was not just some staffer you had (formerly?). How do we know it is safe to go there? How would you know? Should we even trust anyone there? These are serious concerns especially the fact that it concerns hacking. I don;t know and nor ever will if that site is truly safe or could collapse at some point because of a user with malicious intent. Furthermore, not only that but can we trust that if such a thing does happen that it is not blamed on others? I don't think this site should be an organization that supports sites that blame others for wrongdoings. Will we be leading users to a site where they may be blamed for not doing anything at all? For just being there and supportive? We can't just let this go unanswered, Edward. Being upfront is not everything there is to this subject there are many more concerns to take into account.

 

[Zachary]

Frankly, being upfront is not the only concern we have along with concerns we should have. We are taking into account that there are people who most likely have malicious intent there, and I do know there is and that it was not just some staffer you had (formerly?). How do we know it is safe to go there? How would you know? Should we even trust anyone there? These are serious concerns especially the fact that it concerns hacking. I don;t know and nor ever will if that site is truly safe or could collapse at some point because of a user with malicious intent. Furthermore, not only that but can we trust that if such a thing does happen that it is not blamed on others? I don't think this site should be an organization that supports sites that blame others for wrongdoings. Will we be leading users to a site where they may be blamed for not doing anything at all? For just being there and supportive? We can't just let this go unanswered, Edward. Being upfront is not everything there is to this subject there are many more concerns to take into account.

Pirates Of The High Sea is a very safe site, security has been a focus since day one. I pay $100 a month for protected servers, and are protected by many layers of security on the software side, for everything to be hosted on right now. If you ever have an thought that our site isn't safe please let me know.

 

[Sparky Wonderwolf]

Pirates Of The High Sea is a very safe site, security has been a focus since day one. I pay $100 a month for protected servers, and are protected by many layers of security on the software side, for everything to be hosted on right now. If you ever have an thought that our site isn't safe please let me know.

I honestly find it hard to believe though, this was what was said prior and after the fact of the hacking by one of your own staff members a while back, not just any user but one that was a trusted figure within the community. This is not just something we can toss out to the side and is something we can not just forget about. The $100 does not cut it when someone hacked the site. Information can be stolen even.

 

[Davy Darkrage]

Maybe I can be some assistance. Davy Darkrage Reyes De Luz Shamus The Brute

I am very upfront on who I am and who my developers are. My picture and some of my addresses are on the internet with no issue to find. Heck, I get Facebook friend requests on my personal Facebook. While I do not have a degree in anything, I do have certification for many languages and have taken many classes, my current class I'm taking is Visual Basic, which is a horrible language, way too easy(just a warning not to learn it). I have been coding for years and know a good amount of languages(CSS, HTML, PHP, C++, C#, Java and Visual Basic). As for the filter, I apologize for all the spam and have talked to the people who spammed, anyway for that filter to be removed?

On an official page for the game? I can't find much information, only the city you live in. Nor a place to view more details on the team. You're the only developer with more than one post on the official forums as far as I can see.

Furthermore I'd like to see more transparency regarding organizational structure, development, and donations. At the very least, I would like to see an official donation policy that is clearly available to users before they donate. If you don't refund, fine, just put it in writing, but be specific. You don't refund ever? What if the project comes under unfortunate circumstances and is no longer able to continue? What promise, if any, are you making (or not making) to supporters of your project?

Typically people searching for investors also release some sort of financial outline on where the money is going. Do you also manage the finances for now or who does? I hope you're paying for managed servers for that price.

I am willing to reconsider the censor when it appears the entire project is more organized and transparent.

 

[Zachary]

I honestly find it hard to believe though, this was what was said prior and after the fact of the hacking by one of your own staff members a while back, not just any user but one that was a trusted figure within the community. This is not just something we can toss out to the side and is something we can not just forget about. The $100 does not cut it when someone hacked the site. Information can be stolen even.

I'd like to show today as an example. another remake and POTHS both underwent attacks. POTHS was able to safety defend our information from the attackers. They didn't even get pass the first layer of protection. I was alerted immediately about the attacks and was able to stay on top of it. Sorry to bring another remake into this, and I'm sorry to hear about the hacking, I heard some people got hit bad from supporters of both POTHS and another remake, I'll post some links for those affected to try and save their PCs. The software below will help clean up any viruses or malware on your PC. I've also sent some emails to Gleamings with all the information I have about the attacks which I believe would be from the same source.

http://free.avg.com/us-en/homepage
http://www.safer-networking.org/
http://www.malwarebytes.org/

On an official page for the game? I can't find much information, only the city you live in. Nor a place to view more details on the team. You're the only developer with more than one post on the official forums as far as I can see.

Furthermore I'd like to see more transparency regarding organizational structure, development, and donations. At the very least, I would like to see an official donation policy that is clearly available to users before they donate. If you don't refund, fine, just put it in writing, but be specific. You don't refund ever? What if the project comes under unfortunate circumstances and is no longer able to continue? What promise, if any, are you making (or not making) to supporters of your project?

Typically people searching for investors also release some sort of financial outline on where the money is going. Do you also manage the finances for now or who does? I hope you're paying for managed servers for that price.

I am willing to reconsider the censor when it appears the entire project is more organized and transparent.

Yes, I do most of the posting, Sam and Austin mostly check in on PMs, as they are still undergoing the training in Maya.

Most donations now go into the website to keep it running, before we paid out of pocket for it but since we have to start paying for protection we do need some help there.

Yes we have a very strong financial side. We have a account for APEZ, her name is Susan, a great friend of mine, I use to play hockey with her son. Todd is also very good with financial side of things. He's own a couple of businesses and sold them for good profit.

As for my business training, I am learning from Todd and my grandfather. My grandfather is a big business man and I'll leave some links down below to some of his businesses, my great grandfather as well was a businessman, same as my great grandma, who sadly passed away last week.