Seasons Q&A

[roughneck]

This change seemed like an emotional response, and after Usiku's post it really feels that way. I can empathize with it, but I don't see how it will change anything.

From a Staff perspective, how will Seasons result in people behaving differently?

The invite-only, or a player-application makes more sense if the behaviour is really this bad. I actually love the idea. You will never successfully manage the behaviour of internet strangers.

[mansa]

This thread has been reported multiple times, and I'll need time to moderate it to return it to the question/answer intent.

I've removed a lot of sniping, a lot of insults, and a lot of posts that were not in a question/answer format of this thread.  There are other threads that can be used to speak about your feelings of this change, or what you want to see happen in the new future.

[The7DeadlyVenomz]

Hmmm.

Well, a lot of us play DnD or other TRPG systems, and those happen in sessions that cover the course of a campaign. In a way, this change feels a lot like that. It doesn't feel bad, just ... strange.

Of course, I currently don't play, so it's fair to presume I'm not thinking about this in the shoes of a current player. But I'll say that the person who told me about this change brought me here to investigate the concept behind the change. And ... man, I kinda like it at face value.

I don't feel like its about changing the world, persay. It's about focusing play in a particular section of the world, and bringing stories to life that are focused upon those regions. It's like a Campaign that's focused on Baldur's Gate, or Neverwinter, in Faerun. I kind of like the idea.

In fact, at the moment, I guess I'm sort of planning to be there for it, too.

[frankjacoby]

It is not the only option that was considered.  We considered an invite-only model, but ultimately felt while there might be a golden period of consistently good RP, eventually it would kill the game due to player replenishment problems.

Out of curiosity, what would this invite-only model have entailed?

Don't know.  Obviously it wasn't a good idea. That is how decisions get made, you bandy around a few ideas (this is just one I remember, the ideate started while ago), discuss, reformulate, refine, discard, etc.  Every alternate idea I could recount from the process would be something we discarded.

As for Staffing, it is kind of important if you want to maintain a certain bar for RP and facilitating that. It may not be important if you just want an unmonitored sandbox MUD where folks can do whatever, but none of us at this point seem interested in that.

Based on this alone, the question is, "Whose game is it?" Is the game up for the amusement and enjoyment of the staff or the players? Making a drastic decision like this seems to favor the former such as having plots authorized by staff and not taking into account what the players want.

After seeing that most of the players jumped ship should have been an obvious clue that the changes are not welcomed.  But it is still full steam ahead, DESPITE the wishes of the players. IMO, staff interference and unwanted interactions are why we got here in the first place, let's use that as a learning experience not as a call to double down.

[Pariah]

Based on this alone, the question is, "Whose game is it?" ...

Just like anything in this world.  It's owned by the people that pay the bills, the ones who do the work.

So in essence, the person who's paying Amazon for their cloud storage, who's paying for the DNS, the webhosting and all that miscellaneous shit that comes with running this game.

That's who "owns" it.

I sorta see where you're going with the sentiment of, and pardon my oversimplification here, "If the players aren't happy, you should try and make them happy!" And unfortunately as in work and life in general, that's not a good business model to keep things running, someone needs to make the decisions and be the final say, having a debate would just be pages and pages of I feel this, I feel that which would see the game remaining as it did for the past two decades, running, broken and slowly dying.

While I have my own criticisms about staff, I do applaud that they finally put their big boy/girl pants on and made a fucking call.

Now back to questions:

In light of this period of flux and acceptance people need to get over before they will inevitably come back to Arm, would it be unreasonable to ask for things like apartment rentals to be paused?

I know this will eventually pass and folks will come around, but right now I'm just draining massive amounts of sids to keep apartments afloat on a character I can't really play due to the fact there is no other players actively playing.

[Dar]

While I might be unaware of reality on how the gameplay currently is, I have a question.

If the gameplay grows to a standstill due to players not willing to continue until the season one begins. Would you entertain just beginning the season early?


I can understand not wanting to get involved into the in depth rebuilding of the game during holidays, if this is an issue though

[650Booger]

hi all!  not playing arm currently, but I will be returning for Seasons.  Just wanted to say that I'm hoping for the best!  The game will only die if we want it to.  I personally don't want it to.  I know there are strong feelings on both sides, but I think its best to support staff right now and help them to make this work.

[Halaster]

While I might be unaware of reality on how the gameplay currently is, I have a question.

If the gameplay grows to a standstill due to players not willing to continue until the season one begins. Would you entertain just beginning the season early?


I can understand not wanting to get involved into the in depth rebuilding of the game during holidays, if this is an issue though

While there's no current plan to end it early, we could if the situation calls for it.  If everyone's stories are wrapped up early and we have no one playing, why not.  But as of now we still intend to go to February 10.

[Evilone]

After having plenty of time to process, and coming to terms with the loss of my recent character that I loved due to forced retirement (2nd time I've had a beloved character force stored when Tuluk closed the first time), I feel like I have calmed down, and I am eager to get back to playing Armageddon once seasons opens. I will say the thought of never playing Armageddon did effect me quite a bit believe it or not. Not just never playing Armageddon, but also the fact I would probably never play another RPI again. I haven't been able to focus on any games, and just sit at the computer lost quite often. Lately, after helping out with the recent submission for Bazaar NPC's, and working on several PC concepts I might like to try, I am feeling very renewed, and eager to help out.

If there is any work staff needs help with, documentation wise, or building requests? I'm available. DM, or put up the submissions and I'll get to it.

[perfecto]

You're not alone Evilone, I too have felt the sadness of not having our old friend Ginka to play with.. I'm sure there are many others feeling the same way, eager to offer our new sacrifices for it's pleasure and to gain its favor.

The email updates have kept my spirits up so Thank You to all the staff for keeping us in the know and part of this game, even when we cannot be.  The news you've shared so far sounds epic and I for one can't wait to witness the changes first hand when the curtain comes up and the Mantis Head is ready for us once more.

My question is simply to ask if there's any rough idea or fixed date yet for the curtain raising?

[Halaster]

My question is simply to ask if there's any rough idea or fixed date yet for the curtain raising?

When we closed we said 2 - 3 months, which would put us somewhere between April 10 and May 10.  It's a bit difficult to pin down an exact date right now but I think we're making great progress, I'd say we're more than halfway there.  Our current plan is to look where we are in the middle of April and then make a determination for when we think we'll be ready.  It's certainly going to be towards the late end of the range.  Possibly a little longer, but we're just not ready to pin down a date, yet.

We are starting to talk amongst ourselves about schedules, such as "I'm going on vacation these dates, and would love to be there when we open".  We want as many staff around as possible when we do open, so that's going to play a part.  We hope to have a more definitive answer within the next week or two.

[The Lonely Hunter]

It was my understanding that there was plans to give a narrative regarding some of the prominent  characters that were around during the last days.

Is this still the plan?

And, if so, in what format (one long story, a short story about X PCs and what happened to them, etc)?

[Halaster]

It was my understanding that there was plans to give a narrative regarding some of the prominent  characters that were around during the last days.

Is this still the plan?

And, if so, in what format (one long story, a short story about X PCs and what happened to them, etc)?

Totally depends on the character and what happened.  Some of them (i.e. the one mentioned in today's newsletter about elemental temples in Allanak) will be part of the history docs, others will have a different sort of legacy.

[Pariah]

As we grow closer to "estimated" opening, is there any idea of what roles are going to be required of the playerbase to make sure the world is alive and well when we all point Allanak?

The one thing that sucks about this game is when you can't find anyone in certain positions like GMH members, Sergeants in the Arm, Templars etc.

So it might be a good idea to get those roles fleshed out and good to go well in advance.

[Riev]

Yes, they plan on having a full week prior to the launch date to ensure the sponsored roles are ready.

What that looks like, they haven't said (whether its them in game and set up a week ahead of time, or CHOSEN a week ahead of time... or just applied for a week ahead of time....)

[eska]

Yes, they plan on having a full week prior to the launch date to ensure the sponsored roles are ready.

What that looks like, they haven't said (whether its them in game and set up a week ahead of time, or CHOSEN a week ahead of time... or just applied for a week ahead of time....)

I guess what Pariah meant to ask was if we can get a glimpse of the sponsored roles and rolecalls mentioned in this thread beforehand, so that people can prepare for those rolls.

So it might be a good idea to get those roles fleshed out and good to go well in advance.

IMO two weeks is enough to flesh out a concept for a sponsored role. I already have a couple concepts in my mind, which I can use for different roles.
We will all have some time to improve our concepts for the sponsored roles and rolecalls. I believe once we get the announcements, people will apply to them with some strong character concepts.

[Fredd]

I was just wondering when we'de see the sponsored roles posted. I got me a couple concepts I'de like to pitch.

[Pariah]

I was just wondering when we'de see the sponsored roles posted. I got me a couple concepts I'de like to pitch.

That was sorta what I was hinting at too.  I'd rather have someone have extra time to come up with something they like and will play then someone to just slap some shit together and toss it in the hopper with little to no thought.

[AKawaiiBear]

Will there be a change to the ranking glass ceiling with the seasonal model? Are we likely to see red robed templar PCs? Byn commanders? House heads?
If not, how will risky (and potentially ruinous) clan decisions be made? Will it just be up to the staffer assigned to that particular clan's discretion?

[Halaster]

We're working on the exact list of sponsored roles right now so that we can get them out to give folks time to think about it.  Don't hold me to this, it's just our goal, but we're looking on or about June 1 to post those lists.

[frankjacoby]

At the risk of being controversial, will we resort to handing out roles to the same old people as before? I am speaking of the same people who, because they didn't like the fact that seasons was going to be a thing, decided to take their ball and go home?

There were a few die hards trying to keep it going until the bitter end.

[Riev]

I can only hope the sponsored roles go to the people with a proven history of being able to play them, with the best ideas and the most coverage from their intended staffers.

We all took our balls and went home, because the game closed. It doesn't matter when.

[Tuannon]

As much as I like seeing newbles, I think a core of dependable nobles is also required. Maybe a couple at least, people the staff know will play a noble properly. With (certain) staff levels being unable to play this pool will diminish but hopefully some new people will come about.

I also think there should be similar slots all the way down the social pecking order.

[Eurynomos]

 

As much as I like seeing newbles, I think a core of dependable nobles is also required. Maybe a couple at least, people the staff know will play a noble properly. With (certain) staff levels being unable to play this pool will diminish but hopefully some new people will come about.

I also think there should be similar slots all the way down the social pecking order.

To be clear, 99% of Staff will not be able to play the game as players or make PCs. The only Staff who will be able to play the game are Web Dev / Coders who do not have access to any story related material/discord channels/information. No Producers, Senior Storytellers, or Storytellers will be allowed to have PCs while they are actively staffing, full stop.

[Tuannon]

Great, but there will still be a gap in the noble population and it will need to be filled with fresh clay in order fo the noble ecosystem and options to be ideal.

I did have a question though.. Is a karma review mandatory for playing in Season 1? I'm pretty sure I'd be on somewhere between 4 and 6.