Quote from: dumbstruck on April 27, 2024, 06:36:09 PMI am just not a fan of the wall of heavy oppression for people who don't play sponsored roles in Allanak. I get enough oppression in my RL without seeking it out. Survival, fine, wilderness, cool, post apocalyptic, awesome. Oppression? Hard pass.

There are already half of the pbase having to worry about whether or not someone else's choice might be the thing that kills them without them having any say in it. There's no reason to add to that. But I am usually on the fringe of things so, I imagine many people don't feel that same constant literal daily worry and fear in real life. I do. I live in Alabama, biologically female, and am dying of heart failure. I'm already upset by daily having to worry about oppression in real life. That is the thing I seek to escape in RPGs.

Isn't this theme though? All of Armageddon is... armageddon. The fierce battle for good and evil when shit has hit the fan. The world has been sucked of life and things are really harsh. Are you saying you want the whole theme of the game changed or you want an area where you can escape this theme? Social oppression seems pretty hard baked into the game world.

This intro by nature seems pretty oppressive socially:

QuoteArmageddon MUD is an online fantasy game in which players jointly inhabit a harsh, post-apocalyptic desert world. The game requires roleplay; while conflict abounds, the game is not about killing things. Rather, it is about living out a character's sometimes short and always difficult life in the harsh world, Zalanthas. It is a world where sorcerer-kings and their ruthless servants, the Templarate, govern the two main cities, Allanak and Tuluk. Any magick not granted by the Kings is feared and hated, and where the punishment of such a curse might be death. In this harsh realm, life is a constant struggle, and death may occur over a drink of precious water.

QuoteAgility-based (meaning, agility score affects gain timers):
...
- the following Manipulation skills:
...
    - trap

If the trap skill is back does this mean blasting powder is also returning?! 



Or is Help Skill Trap correct when it still reads "The trap skill is no longer implemented."? 

I am just not a fan of the wall of heavy oppression for people who don't play sponsored roles in Allanak. I get enough oppression in my RL without seeking it out. Survival, fine, wilderness, cool, post apocalyptic, awesome. Oppression? Hard pass.

There are already half of the pbase having to worry about whether or not someone else's choice might be the thing that kills them without them having any say in it. There's no reason to add to that. But I am usually on the fringe of things so, I imagine many people don't feel that same constant literal daily worry and fear in real life. I do. I live in Alabama, biologically female, and am dying of heart failure. I'm already upset by daily having to worry about oppression in real life. That is the thing I seek to escape in RPGs.

I would maintain that the attraction of an unsupported Luirs/Tuluk is that you can do things that these areas wouldn't normally allow, and 'get away with it'. Unsupported typically lends to world reactions not being present.

I do hope these areas are open in some way, but I think @Dresan's second paragraph will ring true. Despite this being a "Season" focused on Allanak, eventually people are going to want to affect Luirs or Tuluk or something outside the scope and be disappointed that their efforts fall flat.

I also agree that despite being able to start in Luirs/Tuluk, hopefully the starter options for inkings and tribal backgrounds exist. 75 years later, a Tuluki in the city wanting to ... I don't know ... join up with the cult of anti-mages might be hella-fun?

It makes sense that staff is doing this and we certainly dont want new or inexperienced players starting in those area. My understanding though is that luirs and tuluk are going to remain open, just not supported with sponsored roles or clans,etc. I think these areas may attract more people then staff realize.

There will be player and staff that will love the idea of making small improvements to luirs until its the size of citystates in popularity again. That is not their intent mind you just people can't help themselves. Meanwhile unsupported areas like tuluk are a  enticing feature for some of us who for various reasons perfer to limit the amount of potential staff involvement.

If we cannot start in tuluk, I would like the ability to start in allanak/redstorm as a tattoed tulukian.

Wasn't the point of Season 1 to be "Allanak focused"? And that while other places in the Known may exist, they weren't going to see support similar to when Tuluk had closed previously?

That said, for the people who DO want to play tribals, I hope there is a point Tribal or something. I remember in the before-times, tribal players being punished for living in the cities despite having few other options.

My main concern is that Luir's was the go-to for human tribals, as it had a lot of generic, tribal-themed gear in it's starter shop, like the war skirt. I hope they maybe add some sort of tribal themed shop to allanak or the remaining options.

Does this mean it's no longer possible to "Point Luir's Outpost" in the ancient hall of kings? Luir's was by far the best starter shop. Will the few remaining starter shops be improved to include some of the things which were exclusively at Luir's? Notably: dice, kruth deck.

April 27, 2024 (Saturday)

Halaster
- Skill gain timers now have a secondary stat (for many skills) that influences how often you can gain a skill.  See this thread for details: https://gdb.armageddon.org/index.php/topic,60327.0.html
- Removed Tuluk and Luir's from starting options
- Continued work on sekrit magick project
- Tweaked stats so that they don't just truncate when converting from a float to an int, they use ceil().  This will mean that new characters will see a couple of stats at 1 point higher than they used to, most of the time.  It also means penalties from aging won't be quite as bad as before.  Technically, you could argue they were being robbed before, and this is fixing it.  For example, before due to the math the final number might be 13.87, but because it is a float being used by an int, it would just truncate the decimals, so 13.87 would be 13.  It now uses a ceiling, so that 13.87 will be 14 (also, a 13.05 would become a 14, it's ceiling, not round).

Ursun
- New craft features for [REDACTED]

Greetings,

It's not just Allanak that has been getting an update, our team has been hard at work sprucing up the outposts and villages too. The most notable of those being, of course, Luir's and Red Storm Village.

Luir's Outpost
The 50 Year History:
Luir's Outpost, once a bustling trading hub at a pivotal junction on the North Road, has experienced a marked decline. The introversion of Tuluk, coupled with the cursed shadow that hunt upon the Grey Forest, disrupting the supply of crucial materials, severely impacted the Outpost's economy. Goods that once filled the market yard have become scarce. This, and later, sweeping problems have caused diminished trade with the Tablelands and tribal groups.

Today, Luir's Outpost still attracts those seeking spice, gambling and other vices, yet its economic vitality has significantly waned. The merchant stronghold, once a powerhouse of commerce, now grapples with an economic recession. Kurac, Salarr and Kadius have all seen a notable exodus of employees, especially soldiers and hunters.

Now, only the most dedicated lifesworn remain, albeit reluctantly. A pervasive sense of despair hangs over Luir's. Taxes on common goods have skyrocketed, beggars have become a common sight, and slavers and raiders watch eagerly for vulnerable targets leaving the gates. While unlawful groups have not taken complete control, the Outpost's outskirts are widely regarded as unsafe.

Game updates:
Issues preventing the availability of certain tavern shop items have been resolved, and a new food item has been added. The old bartender has been retired, and a new one has been hired. Significant changes have been made to the marketplace to align with IC history, including the addition of walls around a specific area and guards stationed on both sides for increased security. Additionally, the main GMH shop NPCs have been refreshed, and the NPC population has been adjusted to reflect recent ICevents, ensuring a seamless and engaging gameplay experience.

Red Storm Village
The 50 Year History:
Beginning around the 33rd year, an enterprising group of silt sea traders, known as the Silt Traders, gradually accumulated wealth through sifting spice, importing scarce items, and harvesting styrax wood. To ensure their operations went uninterrupted, they paid off the Crimson Wind to ward off raids and bribed local soldiers for peace. Their influence in the village grew steadily, positioning them as major players, second only to the Great Merchant Houses. The group was publicly led by a man named Vorin, whose rising power and wealth eventually convinced him that he could challenge the Sandlord and seize control of the village.

In the 53rd year, Vorin and his followers launched an attack against the village, targeting the Sandlord's soldiers, storming key buildings, and attempting to usurp authority. For a brief period, it seemed the Silt Traders might prevail. However, the Sandlord had anticipated their moves. Kuraci mercenaries and Crimson Wind raiders, disguised as villagers or concealed within buildings, were strategically positioned throughout the village. This prepared force repelled the Silt Traders' assault, decisively crushing them. The conflict, now referred to as The Uprising in Red Storm's recent history, reaffirmed the Sandlord's dominance with the neighboring powers and spurred rumors of his immortality.

Today, merely mentioning the names 'Vorin' or 'Silt Traders' prompts an immediate spit on the ground, a customary gesture of disdain for their legacy. Veterans of The Uprising frequently recount their strategic maneuvers in local taverns, often persuading both newcomers and locals to honor their tales with rounds of drinks....

Game Updates
Kadius and Salarr have both had some improvements to their shops, warehouses and compounds. Armor and tailor NPCs have been relocated into these warehouses and proper NPC guards have been created so that keys are no longer necessary. The new SAVE flag has been used to expand save rooms within the compounds too.

Rank insignias have been added to all members of the Red Storm Militia. And small adjustments have been made to the local economy. Discuss scripts for various NPCs have been updated to include narratives of events from the past 50 years.

Better provisions have been made for PC clans within Red Storm with some automation added similarly to Allanak.



Shade an' water,

The Armageddon Team

P.S. We are still looking for a front-end developer to join our team, if you are interested please drop in a request so we can chat!