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trans_pilgrims2011-12-20 07:49 pm
cityship) wrote in trans_pilgrims2011-12-20 07:49 pm
Entry tags:
Mod Post
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!
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!
Re: APPLICATIONS
I know people want to keep playing in this game for a long time, because it is a wonderful game, but I don't think it can be kept going for two or more years with very few new members coming in--not just characters, but people. Eventually people who have been here for a very long time won't be able to just rejuvenate interest with a new character because they've already done pretty much everything with the ones they've already played, and I would like to see the proper ending for this story. I don't think that'll be able to happen if the game goes on indefinitely with so little new blood.
Honestly, I kind of think that if we're going to have alternating current/outsider-allowed apps, we should have at least one app period in the year when anyone can join, but I don't know how open to change this is so I'll just throw it in as my two cents. We've lost a lot of people and over a dozen characters since the last big discussion about this, so I think getting more people in would be more beneficial than detrimental. (And for another penny I'd prefer three to two invites, but eh.)
Re: APPLICATIONS
Re: APPLICATIONS
Then again, that would depend on a vote to know what the majority wants out of T9.
Restricted app cycles when we're meandering along trying to extend story? Feels pointless, and not entirely like what this game was presented as being when I first joined. It's valid if that's what this game has become! And if that's the case, I'd like to know.
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Re: APPLICATIONS
I know a lot of people are off the opinion that the game would die if we didn't keep a certain number of players, but we had no problems when the game was half the size and not many new appers were coming in. If we only have a year or two left, we'll probably be fine with the mods choosing a compromise option like they have.
diff journal
"About two years" is the sort of projection I was meaning, though, so that's good to know. I still think this compromise is too restrictive and we could do with at least one fully-open app period before endgame kicks into gear.
Re: diff journal
It's essentially going to be a handful of a people GMing for 80 to 100. That's a LOT of people to GM for as is.
Though I'm actually a little wary about the mods not putting it up for vote, because I thought they were doing a vote and I think that'd be more fair, ultimately the option they've chosen isn't going to hurt us that badly and is a good compromise between total shut down and letting the game continually expand.
I do actually agree with having one more open app period too, though. Since it is getting that restrictive, everyone should get a chance to app in who they want and invite in who they want before it closes down.
Re: diff journal
But I'm bothered by the lack of vote too; I think it should still be up for discussion like the moving discussion and council number since I'm not the only one who disagrees with what they've laid out.
Re: diff journal
I think people treating whatever decision they make as potentially game-ruining is a little over-reactive. If it doesn't work, it can be changed. Just like if they'd opted to leave it entirely open and that turned out to not work out for the game, it could've been changed as well.
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Just my opinion for the discussion. :)
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