Tuluk Closing to PC play -- discussion thread

[Delirium]

Not really. Cap it at advanced. Non-master direction sense still fails in bad storms, but it would help you at least get back to the gates.

edit: oh, huh, I'm in the Tuluk thread. How'd that happen? Something tells me we got a little off topic...

[Nyr]

Staff did encourage current Tuluki PCs to send in requests so arrangements can be made, regarding what will happen to your PC when Tuluk closes for play. So I imagine that various PCs will be given various IC reasons to leave the city, or store.

It's a mix of all of the above.  There will be stuff IC.  There will also be you (as a Tuluki player) talking to staff; some players may want to work with staff to find something that works best for their PC and that may not necessarily be what works for others.

[Norcal]

I posted some questions yesterday?  No answers from staff.  So here they are again.

I am still not clear as to why -none- of Tuluk can be left open, in the same  way as the Blackwing Post  or the Mul outpost or Cenyrs ? It would be very helpful to folks playing up there, not to mention the GMH who will need places to store stuff, and having the nearest location Luirs..just seems unrealistic to me. 

I think keeping some parts of Tuluk open, even in the same way as Cenyrs is open would enhance the game and would not take much staff time if any.

This effectively isolates the Akei who have only just re opened.  Allwoing a small bit of Tuluk to remain open would increase interaction up in that corner of the known.

Just asking.



Also posted about this really increasing the stature of Kurac, yet through OOC means. Are staff going to take that into consideration and attempt to equalize things? Or does Luirs just become the new Tuluk?

I imagine staff have thought these things through. Perhaps it is just too soon to share any details.

[wizturbo]

There will be a northern outpost or something, staff have said it many times, but this thread is super long so I could see how it might get buried.

[Norcal]

There will be a northern outpost or something, staff have said it many times, but this thread is super long so I could see how it might get buried.

Thanks I have seen it from Adhira. But I don't see that it is Tuluk.

Cheers

[Hicksville Hoochie]

For those with worry about Allanak not having an intriguing subtlety scene, I can promise that it's alive, and exceptional. The in-your-face thing seems more suited to the way punishments and the like are carried out. Instead of carrying you off to a room in the middle of nowhere to die, you'll be tossed in the Arena, or any of the other fun devices around the city. Everything leading up to that though; very good chance of some out-of-sight plotting going on. Please do come give it a try, we usual Allanak players will be glad to have you there!

(Okay Talia, you promised me five bucks for victims, gimme.)

[Talia]

Yes, there will be a small outpost near Tuluk. No, it will not be a full replacement for Tuluk, not for anyone, including the GMHs, because that is not what is intended.

You can ask further questions of your clan staff.

Many things we can't tell you exactly what will happen, because we don't necessarily know yet. You will need to be patient and accept that things will happen in time.

Luirs - I don't see any reason to think that OOCly, somehow, Kurac will suddenly be more important. Maybe time to engage in some GMH politics within Allanak?

(Okay Talia, you promised me five bucks for victims, gimme.)

You know, when you TELL people about our sekret deals, it takes all the subtlety out of it 

[Harmless]

I think I would prefer a full closure myself to add to the mystery of what is happening behind the walls. It will still exist after all.

[whitt]

I posted some questions yesterday?  No answers from staff.  So here they are again.

I am still not clear as to why -none- of Tuluk can be left open, in the same  way as the Blackwing Post  or the Mul outpost or Cenyrs ? It would be very helpful to folks playing up there, not to mention the GMH who will need places to store stuff, and having the nearest location Luirs..just seems unrealistic to me. 

Keeping Tuluk "Open" http://gdb.armageddon.org/index.php/topic,49200.msg878434.html#msg878434

I think keeping some parts of Tuluk open, even in the same way as Cenyrs is open would enhance the game and would not take much staff time if any.

Tiny Tuluk http://gdb.armageddon.org/index.php/topic,49200.msg878441.html#msg878441

This effectively isolates the Akei who have only just re opened.  Allwoing a small bit of Tuluk to remain open would increase interaction up in that corner of the known.

ATV: http://gdb.armageddon.org/index.php/topic,49200.msg878330.html#msg878330

Also posted about this really increasing the stature of Kurac, yet through OOC means. Are staff going to take that into consideration and attempt to equalize things? Or does Luirs just become the new Tuluk?

Luirs http://gdb.armageddon.org/index.php/topic,49200.msg878240.html#msg878240

I imagine staff have thought these things through. Perhaps it is just too soon to share any details.

Other similar question asked/answered en-masse previously http://gdb.armageddon.org/index.php/topic,49200.msg878540.html#msg878540

[HavokBlue]

Yes, there will be a small outpost near Tuluk. No, it will not be a full replacement for Tuluk, not for anyone, including the GMHs, because that is not what is intended.

You can ask further questions of your clan staff.

Many things we can't tell you exactly what will happen, because we don't necessarily know yet. You will need to be patient and accept that things will happen in time.

Luirs - I don't see any reason to think that OOCly, somehow, Kurac will suddenly be more important. Maybe time to engage in some GMH politics within Allanak?

(Okay Talia, you promised me five bucks for victims, gimme.)

You know, when you TELL people about our sekret deals, it takes all the subtlety out of it  

aint got no time for that subtlety crap down here in nak

now get in the ruff circle

[Nyr]

I posted some questions yesterday?  No answers from staff.  So here they are again.

I am still not clear as to why -none- of Tuluk can be left open, in the same  way as the Blackwing Post  or the Mul outpost or Cenyrs ? It would be very helpful to folks playing up there, not to mention the GMH who will need places to store stuff, and having the nearest location Luirs..just seems unrealistic to me.

I think keeping some parts of Tuluk open, even in the same way as Cenyrs is open would enhance the game and would not take much staff time if any.

This is something on which we would disagree.  The Blackwing Outpost doesn't have to be staff supported, nor does the Mul outpost, nor does Cenyr.  Tuluk does.  Transforming a staff-intensive area into a non-staff-intensive area is a staff-intensive process in and of itself.  I'm afraid we are not going to leave it open.

This effectively isolates the Akei who have only just re opened.

The Akei are not quite as isolated as you might think, as much has changed with them.  This would be something that can be discovered IC and I really encourage everyone interested to do so--it is pretty cool.  Enthemu did some amazing work on that with the Indies team.

Also posted about this really increasing the stature of Kurac, yet through OOC means. Are staff going to take that into consideration and attempt to equalize things? Or does Luirs just become the new Tuluk?

This is a lot of stuff packed into a few sentences.  I'll start at the back end here:  I'm not sure what you mean by Luir's becoming the new Tuluk.  We don't want a place to become the new Tuluk.  We do expect that Luir's will become a more important location.  The reason for this is that it will be an outpost that is at the fringes of playable, human-centric influence, rather than a waypoint between two PC-played city-state powers.  We will take the time to flesh out Luir's some more as well as Red Storm and other "outpost" type locations that exist elsewhere in the Known World.  We've also said that there will be a northern outpost that we're looking to set up.  This location will not be Tuluk, but it will be near it.

I imagine staff have thought these things through. Perhaps it is just too soon to share any details.

I think we've posted about these things a bit elsewhere in the thread, maybe worded differently, but happy to explain.

[Adhira]

To add to what Nyr said, one of the things mentioned is that with this consolidation we are stating that its primary purpose is to consolidate our staffing effort. This means we have more time to look at things like GMH, this includes Kurac. Luirs won't become a sudden stronghold and major power point. Kurac isn't going to become the New Tuluk, there is no IC reason for that. Tuluk is still there. Luirs is still Luirs, Kurac is still Kurac. Now staff have time to put into those areas of the game that need some attention, the wilderness areas, the GMH etc. This doesn't mean radical changes (don't panic playerbase, we're not going to decimate what you love), but hopefully long awaited enhancements and updates to things that deserve it.

[Norcal]

Thanks everyone and a special thanks to Whitt for the links!  That was super helpful.

I still think that improving Luirs and Storm for OOC reasons has a direct positive IC impact on Kurac as a clan. I think there are a number of other downstream issues that could come from this IC.  As I see it now, and this could just be my perception and risk matrix brain cells popping into drive, I think the other GMH will have to rely more heavily on Luirs and Kurac for a number of reasons. But Adhiras post came while I was writing this, and it has satisfied my overactive imagination. Thanks Adhira.

So now I will shut up and get on a plane.

Cheers

[solera]

It is a golden opportunity to start a new tribe. 

Yes, but I think it would be nice if it was a c-elf tribe (allanak or rinth) but I think that would be frowned upon by the staff.

I'm thinking more of the homeless levies and other rogues and vagabonds. The new gypsies.

Except they're not homeless. Tuluk is virtual, so technically it would still be operating the

I knows that! I mean our snowflake PCs ,who for reasons only known by themselves, are leaving Home.

[Gaare]

As long as, we see very powerful PCs in 'nak (Red robes, senior nobles, senior merchants, etc.), I kinda feel there would be much improvement for the game. Good luck!

[Nyr]

As long as, we see very powerful PCs in 'nak (Red robes, senior nobles, senior merchants, etc.), I kinda feel there would be much improvement for the game. Good luck!

I wouldn't count on Red Robes, but more vertical progression has already been occurring in many areas for quite some time before this announcement.

[Jihelu]

As long as, we see very powerful PCs in 'nak (Red robes, senior nobles, senior merchants, etc.), I kinda feel there would be much improvement for the game. Good luck!

I wouldn't count on Red Robes, but more vertical progression has already been occurring in many areas for quite some time before this announcement.

But it wouldn't be out of the question, righttt? (About red robes, because they make me happy)

[Zoan]

I WILL EXPLODE A MOUNTAIN WITH MIGHTY TEKTOLNES' POWER

...Unless I'm a PC red robe, then I am laaaaaaaaaaame

[Jihelu]

I WILL EXPLODE A MOUNTAIN WITH MIGHTY TEKTOLNES' POWER

...Unless I'm a PC red robe, then I am laaaaaaaaaaame

"TIME TO THROW A VOLCANO"
Wish all "So do I have the 'blow up everything spell' or how do I branch it"

[Talia]

But it wouldn't be out of the question, righttt? (About red robes, because they make me happy)

There are no plans to make Red Robe or senior noble an achievable-without-storage rank again. That's not the direction we are moving.

[Zoan]

Which struck me as weird - haven't our player numbers been growing lately?

[Talia]

Which struck me as weird - haven't our player numbers been growing lately?

Player numbers have nothing to do with why Red Robes and senior nobility are not playable roles. Or did you mean something else?

[valeria]

Which struck me as weird - haven't our player numbers been growing lately?

I wasn't aware ARM's playerbase was declining so rapidly to warrant something like this, but... I guess it explains why all the d-elves and gypsies are coming back.

It's not declining. It dropped significantly after the ARM 2.0 announcement in 2006, and recovered somewhat by 2008-2009. We've been at a very steady number since then, it's just not as high as it was in 2006. Since Allanak generally remains at a certain number of players, the effect of having fewer players overall is that Tuluk has big swings up and down. However, it requires just as much staff (perhaps more staff) as Allanak does.

[MeTekillot]

Inquiring minds want to know what direction the game is going

Low fantasy is one i can confirm, to which i can confirm at least 13 people who are in favour of that

[Talia]

Inquiring minds want to know what direction the game is going

I can't give you an official answer from the Producer standpoint, but some stuff I know we are doing (all of which is already visible to the playerbase):

-- Improvements to code and technology
-- Increased OOC responsibility for important game functions granted to trusted players (Helpers, GDB moderators, Builders)
-- Better documentation of game administration systems and processes (e.g. karma granting)
-- Improved clan documentation, both player-side and staff-side
-- Improved clan systems
-- Flattening of IC power structures to facilitate PC-to-PC conflict (no Red Robes, no senior nobles)
-- Staff-initiated large plots which involve multiple clan groups
-- Facilitation of player-driven/initiated plots and plot twists
-- Action in plots happening at the PC level rather than V/NPC
-- Emphasis on low fantasy elements of the game (though high fantasy continues to exist, it's in the back seat rather than driving)
-- Adding code which offers more fun stuff to players (extended subguilds, new skills)

There's probably more, all of which you could guess from stuff we've actually done the last few years.