Mod Post

[cityship]

Hello meatlings! As the plot continues to advance forward, we have a few modly things we'd like to discuss with you regarding the future of the game as a whole and where we'd like to take it for the next few years.

ACTIVITY CHECKS
As you may have already noticed last month, we've decided to make activity checks every two months instead of three, as well as send out an e-mail notification during the check to make sure players are aware it's going on.

We will still be using the one log for one of your characters system, as we don't this game to become stressful for anyone. We can understand losing a character's voice for a few months while remaining active with others, and we have always enjoyed the semi-relaxing pace when it comes to activity checks in the game. We also trust you, the players, to know when you have to drop a character when a voice becomes either a burden or simply too hard for you to play.

APPLICATIONS
Due to the discussions we have had, both between ourselves and with the players all making excellent points, we have decided that we will be using a slightly different system for apps. Starting next application round (March, with April Poddrop), we will be alternating between open podpops where people can join with an invitation (as before), and closed, player-only podpops where only the game's players can submit new characters.

January/July - open to everyone
April/October - open to old players only

We will also be limiting the number of invitations each player can give out to two.

We think this system will allow us to both allow new players who wish to join the game to continue to do so while better controlling our numbers so we don't have to shut down applications completely.

We are also considering adding one or two new, non-mandatory questions to the app, something along the lines of, "What role do you see your character playing on the ship," and "What are your goals for this character?" Again, players will not be required to answer it, and it won't damage your chances at being accepted in any way, but we feel it may be beneficial for some players for helping them figure out if their character will fit.

[Poll #1804578]

PLOT STUFF
We are aware of some of the complaints about the plot, and we are working to fix them. We will have more plots in the future that tie into the over-arching plot, and please don't forget that if you would like to include the Ohm, Daligig, Rom, etc. into your plots, all you have to do is email us. We will be happy to work with you and give you some tidbits.

During pop month, we won't run big plots to help characters and newbies get better acclimated to the setting. Smaller plots are still fine, for CR and just for fun.

We've also been tossing around the idea of Newbie Runs during pop months, where a newbie/new character and an older player/character get paired up to do simple missions like retrieve something to help Stacy run or pick up supplies of some sort for the crew. If anybody would like to volunteer to be a Big Sibling of a sort, you can do so in the comments here!

We are also considering allowing a few trusty helper mods in on some of the over-arching plot, to help us run things more smoothly when things get busy. If you are interested, send us an email.

SETTING STUFF
We would like to encourage players to explore more of Stacy. She's the size of a small moon, and there's a lot that the characters still don't know about her and what's in parts of her. Just like with adding in over-arching plot to your plots, shoot us an email and we'll work something out with you.

Once System Shock is done, there will be a City Expansion post in which you can come up with places that could be found in the City, either created from scratch, and/or coming from a series. It could be anything from 'Leftovers of Black Hole Headquarters' to theme parks, houses, anything! Start thinking about what you'd like to see, and remember to make up descriptions and the general decay of the building in question. Then we can really start fleshing out the city with this!

Also, we'd like to include a reminder of what the characters can do regarding keeping supplies like food and clothing more steady between shore leaves. All characters are given currency during shore leaves, the exact amount and the economy in that locale is usually given in some detail. If there are animals like cows, chicken or sheep (or alien equivalents), characters can purchase them and raise them for meat, milk, wool, eggs, etc. in either Hydroponics or in the City. Seeds can also be purchased and grown; in the City, it would be best to grow crops near the river as there is no real irrigation system yet. All of this would be great stuff to get some CR going, too, with players both new and old.

Third, the Constitution can be difficult to understand, so we will be writing it in non-legalese. If anyone would like to help OOCly, or has a character that would suggest/work on it ICly, let us know.

You can also use this post to discuss possible changes to the Department system.

Lastly, this is something that we are leaving up to all of you, in the form of a vote. With there being nine Councilors, it can take a while for decisions to be made, and some have suggested lowering the number to seven, or even five, to help with that. Please note that should you vote to reduce the council's size, the decision of who will be removed will be done OOC between the current council, and this is purely offered to make the council run smoother.

[Poll #1804579]

MOVING?
No, don't worry! This isn't an announcement that we're moving somewhere else, but rather how we want to hear your opinions on Livejournal, the site hosting us. Would you be okay with 1) moving or 2) staying here despite the changes? If we did move, what hosting site would you like best?

Please reply below in the section for it. We'd like to hear all your thoughts on the subject! It can give us some things to think about as well, and remember that if we did ever come to a decision, you'd all be involved in it. Thank you!

Comments

SETTING

[cityship]

Re: SETTING

[iselldrugstothecommunity]

Color me interested in helping with the Constitution OOCly, and with Eva helping out with it ICly. LET ME GET MY LAW GEEK ON YEAH YEAH.

Re: SETTING

[fireforger]

Will the explorations just be limited to the city? I remember in the previous game discussion post there was a lot of discussion on possibly exploring beyond the already known area entirely, to other sections of Stacy, other levels, etc etc.

Also, in that same post there was also a lot of talk about whether or not characters could build a network of teleportation pads, to allow characters to be able to move around the ship more easily. Is that still something that might happen, or has it been decided that it's not feasible?

[governorkang]

Nope, the rest of the ship too!

I dug through the emails, and I can't find the one we'd gotten months before regarding teleportation pads. I'll try to dig more in case I just missed it. It is a possibility, though.

[shadhahvar.livejournal.com]

As a general for my own information note, Shae, post any plotting post, is it best to presume anything there, regardless of stated mod-reading or the like, is off general mod radar unless it is collected and sent in to the mod email? I don't know if it was ever emailed. It was discussed extensively in plot discussion posts, and at that time we'd heard (possibly from Saphie, possibly from Karl) that it was being discussed. However, if it wasn't sent in (and I don't know if anyone did), should we make sure to write everything into an email to make absolutely certain it's on all mod radar?

[fireforger]

The game discussion post wasn't months ago, was it? It was only in november. Did that not get discussed?

Either way though, I would like to request that something like teleportation pads be implemented alongside any further explorations. With everything so spread out and some locations in rather remote and difficult areas, I know I can sometimes have a lot of difficulty trying to find a reason why my character is in a particular area in order to tag an open post. As the area that characters are using gets bigger, we need to have a better transport system for characters to actually use to get around.

Re: SETTING

[sparklemagpie.livejournal.com]

Ohmygods can I please please please add Dr. McNinja's office to the city expansion when that goes down? I would LOVE to let him have it back if that's not too much?

[governorkang]

The only real restrictions for places in the City is nothing outrageous, and no actual character homes, unless it is an iconic place (like Cassie's house/barn, a leader's mansion/palace, etc.). An office would be fine.

Re: SETTING

[aboutthatevac]

Just noting for the poll that while I voted for seven I would also approve of five. I remember how hard that could get while I played a Council member but of course it's up to the Council players.

I can take a look at the Constitution. I'm not sure if my legalese is up to it but we shall see.

Re: SETTING

[carrieswar.livejournal.com]

I know at least one person liked the idea when I brought it up, but re: the council, I had mentioned that maybe if the limit bar be lowered to say, 7, that we keep the ones we already had, but through drops or IC happenings, simply not replace any future drops until it eventually reaches that optimal number of whatever everyone voted for and add when it finally dips under it?

Re: SETTING

[shadhahvar.livejournal.com]

Yet is there any point where someone being inactive with a character in game might be reason for an IC statement of "so and so has been GLaDOS'd" thus is off council in the interim? 'Cause I do like there being IC motivations behind the downsize, and at 8 members right now, with Bight's councilship up for debate soon, it's a good cutting time.

(Otherwise I look and see that we have members not active for a month -- or two months. But that's in game, versus having no idea how reachable they are outside of the game, in an OOC context for decisions. It does cut back on them as a potential IC contact for Council reasons, but we definitely do have more present councilmembers for characters to default to.)

[badassfreakingoverlord]

I'd like to request a list of things, places, etc., that we CAN'T do. I know there are some things or abilities on the ship that are OOCly not allowable because they could potentially accelerate the plot or so forth. I'm not asking for reasons, but could we know what, OOC, we shouldn't be doing, so we don't get frustrated trying to do it and fail?

Re: SETTING

[waylostandfound.livejournal.com]

I can help with the Constitution again, and Nathan helped with the original. He could fine tune it?

Re: SETTING

[shadhahvar.livejournal.com]

Looking at Medical in particular. We have lives, we're all busy, yet I feel we need some system set up or otherwise in place to explain what's going on while department heads aren't here to be active as their department heads. If that means ICly shifting things around, and it may, or sitting down together to work out what CR any of our characters could have, I'm seriously up for it.

It's a good feature of this game that there isn't a lot of pressure to play characters when you don't have the time, or don't feel the voice. It's conversely frustrating to realize that I don't know what is expected or what kind of give and take is in medical, because the majority of the senior officers aren't around. Sam Henderson is head of medical, and Lance is busy, and I've had one... thread with him that ever amounted to any not-handwaved interaction. Of those in medical, Faiza is around often enough to get great interaction with, and Lisa is an amazing overachiever fantastic with Howard, and I'm pretty sure Tetra's got Soren around being his surly self.

God, I don't want or care about activity outside of where I don't know what to do within a department when there is no head to be around to arrange things, or ask things of, and I admit freely I find that frustrating! I don't know about the other departments, but hell, within Medical I'd love to see some projects set up, and --

Oh can we also... make faces at people explaining how awesome their characters are at avoiding getting a medical check-up on a ship... with a listed population of who's currently active? I'd love the antagonistic CR of medical bay workers trying to chase down folks who are actively avoiding medical check-ups, for one, and for another, perpetuating that fear that those who are avoiding are doing so for a reason that could also lead to plot opportunities.

... I've rambled, this isn't focused, so hit me up for the problematic parts, and for clarifications!

Re: SETTING

[facepunching.livejournal.com]

Please rest assured that Soren will always be surly and I'm up for plotting with him anytime, although most of his interactions tend to be GTFO I HATE EVERYONE.

Re: SETTING

[iselldrugstothecommunity]

D'aw.

I agree that it shouldn't be so easy to handwave that characters are avoiding medical check-ups. If you want to make sure your character doesn't get a physical, that can be arranged OOCly, but the generic 'they're avoiding it' fails to take into account that the ship is smaller than my high school and that Medical is actually a competent unit (or should be). Everybody knows each other. If your character is dodging checkups, odds are one of the medical staff will run into them sooner rather than later and notice.

And I know this will be unpopular, but...I think if you're going to be a department head, as with being a Councilmember, you might need to reevaluate how much time you can devote to the game. This is for several departments, not just Medical. Departments will function better if there's an active, accessible character flagshipping it and running events or projects, and while the players as our department heads are often fantastic writers and wonderful OOCly, in some cases it seems almost like position-squatting. It's hard to get anything done if your character is an underling in the department if you have to handwave all of your characters' tasks. I'm not saying inactive people playing department heads need to step down, but possibly splitting the department head responsibilities with more active players would be a good middle ground, or delegating the department decision-making to another player OOCly.

MAGICAL

[badassfreakingoverlord]

Abby will be promulgating an official proposal to reorganize Magical almost entirely, once things calm down.

Basic problem: Magical doesn't DO anything, it just IS. It doesn't have a defined purpose except to be where you work if you have magical powers.

Proposal: Three different duties for magical. 1: Magical assistance to other departments. 2: Combat training to best deploy magical offenses. 3: Teaching and instructing.

There will be a much bigger, much more in-depth IC post, but I figured I'd toss this out now.

Re: MAGICAL

[fireforger]

I think I suggested this in one of the previous posts, but I think it would also help if Magical had something...well, magical to actually manage on a day to day basis. Medical has all of the first aid and med bay stuff, engineering has looking after the systems, etc etc, but Magical doesn't have anything like like that.

One suggestion I gave before was that perhaps they need to do some kind of magical maintenance on the Tapestry. Also, possibly during the expansions there could be some kind of magical area that Magical needs to tame/look after/keep contained to stop the magic from GOING EVERYWHERE or something.

Re: MAGICAL

[aboutthatevac]

What if we had a plot where something magical was brought onto the ship or some portal was opened and it required regularly dealing with it as opposed to being able to chuck it out into space because they can't for whatever reason.

Re: SETTING

[bequiet_hescreamed]

Would it be okay to add settings from headcanon? I know it said 'from scratch' but headcanon is like scratch + my character cares, so.

Can we have geographical features, like forests? Maybe specific, canon ones like the Forest of Silence? And, if so, would the magic-dampening features work? Would there be monsters

Hi. ♥

[governorkang]

Sure, headcanon is included! So are geographical features. It is possible for there to be critters/monsters, depending on what exactly they are, and magic-dampening depending on what exactly the magic is.

Re: SETTING

[battorch]

For the Constitution, I'd be willing to work on it OOCly? I understand it (or feel I do?) so. And ICly-- Tim pooossibly might be able to work on it? but dsgfg he has a bunch of jobs already so WHO KNOWS

Department-wise, I think it might be nice to have some more structure to how things work; but not to limit things, but to make them clearer? A lot of the departments don't seem to do a lot (aside from handwaved stuff?) outside of specific plots. I know as a player sometimes it's hard to know what is or isn't okay to do with your character in the department? So maybe some clearer guidelines, or suggestions or something? or-- if specific players (heads or otherwise) are willing to take the responsibility-- maybe periodic department related open logs?

Abstaining (for now?) on the council vote because I'm undecided.

[zouichi.livejournal.com]

About the Council poll:

I didn't vote because there wasn't an option for other, but... I basically have no problem with the Council being 11 or 12 people or more. Number is less important than making decisions in a timely manner. Reducing the Council to 5 may help bring this about, or it may not, but I think the most important thing is to be sure that however many people are on the Council, the players of those characters should be OOCly available to make decisions and vote on things.

[makeherblue]

What about maybe having the TARDIS vomiting up some random rooms/areas onto Stacy from a malfunction? Normally the TARDIS is only accessible to Doctors/their CR (it seems like to me) and that might be more open if it had random rooms or random locations scattered about Stacy's tiers. It could allow access to new/weird tech, not necessarily anything game-breaky and it wouldn't be as pressuring as having it only open in an event-type thing and being like "this is the only chance", which would exclude anyone who wasn't there for that event.

Also if it was possible, would it be possible to important borderline animate animate objects (AKA I've been playing the TARDIS as having a man-eating randomly attacking library and a friendly dumbwaiter, for example. Stuff like that).

[greeedycat]

I think this is the setting comment...gdi why did I wait till after the update to check this stuff-

I've been fluffing a location as existing from OOOs world, and since we're (hopefully) getting another character from the same universe this cycle, I'm probably going to go about the means of adding it to the map and all that stuff. That's kosher, right? If I recall, the info for that's on the T9 wiki thingy, but it ain't loading for me for some reason....probably 'cos its storming hardcore here.

How LJ is being more reliable during a storm, idek, but hey, beggars can't be choosers