Halaster:
Ok, so that's it for the queue questions, we're gonna try to answer stuff brought up on the GDB
WarriorPoet writes "Whats up on a new era of Tor Scorpions?"
@Hestia you able to answer that?
Hestia:
Tor Scorpions are currently closed to play. This ties in to the "what would attract city players" in part (more)
I would love to re-open the Scorpions, and the Borsail Wyverns, but we need more city people.
So for the time being, they're closed.
Also! And importantly..
These clans need a noble to run them. So - if there's no interest in Borsail nobles, there can't be an active Wyvern crew.
That's it from me 🙂
Halaster:
From Pariah on the GDB, "Would it be possible to have jobs with actual production results expected? IE a job as a certain type of crafter who you trade say jewelry with an npc who then trades it and pays you per your production? Right now I can just get a job and do hardly anything and get paid weekly. It would be nice to have jobs that drove you to produce tangible items or labor (similar to the rock buy, poop buyers)"
That question started a discussion thread on the staff IDB.
Hestia thought it was a good idea, and staff are now talking about it. That's really about it so far
Shabago:
I will point out one added thing @Halaster
Halaster:
yep
Shabago:
To reassure the player base, if any action is taken there, it will NOT be done in such a way that "Time played = advantage." - Casuals should not be punished for the simple sake of 'Player A could make 40 things because they have 4 hours a day and player B has 1."
Halaster:
From Nao: "Have you considered switching to more of an 'report as things come up' model, with shorter reports? I remember there were some changes announced to the template for character reports that never made it to the request tool. "
I think that goes back to a similar question earlier from Bebop. Basically "it depends on the staffer". I know it kinda sucks not having a consistent way to do that, but character reports are such an open-ended thing that it really just works best when the staffer over their area handles them however it works best for them. So, what I would say to Nao is, ask your staff if they're ok with you doing that. They'd -probably- be OK with it
I'm not familiar with the 2nd part of the question about an announcement about templates. Anyone else know what they mean?
Shabago:
Our post regarding streamlining the request tool and taking out certain aspects or tackling requests in certain ways.
Nao (he/him):
this post:
https://gdb.armageddon.org/index.php/topic,58129.msg1077901.html#msg1077901Request tool changes.
Katima:
I think it's a difficult question to give an x y z metric about, because what your staff need to see from you doesn't just depend on personal preference. It also varies role to role, clan to clan.
A Guild boss doesn't need to give me the same information as a Kadian Trainee Merchant or a Salarri CrewLeader.
Shabago:
Day 1 - 3 bullet points.
day 2 - reply, 2 more bullet points
Day 3 - 1 bullet point.
Day 5 - 1 bullet point.
Day 7 - yell at your ST for no reply so i don't have to and they call me a jerk. 😢
Halaster:
ok, this was asked a couple of times..
"What from the 'what would make cities more enticing thread' do staff like so far"
I'll let staff answer for themselves, but personally I like a lot of it. I just hope I can do enough of it, heh. Some smaller ones I liked were the idea of the 'psi' command not taking as much focus in taverns, lowering the prices of alcohol in taverns (tghey're just a RP prop)
definitely some of the bigger ideas too, like 'scripted' npc's that do things. NPC apartments, etc.
I invite the rest of staff to answer too
Shalooonsh:
I think the idea of NPC apartments with having extra things for players to do is a big possible gain. After we look at perhaps polishing this idea a bit, if the rest of staff agree it's a go, I think there's a few people who'd be excited to chip in on that
Hestia:
I want to move the criminals closer to the jails (yeah right, like that'll ever happen) - but also, I like the idea of making the main congregation point for commoners a bit closer to where the clans are located.
Shabago:
I'm leaning towards, once present projects are done with, creating new content for each city - hidey holes, updated desc's, new npc life, talk scripts - fancy the place up, and allow more ease of plot bleed through it.
Hestia:
Right now I agree that the distance between the GMH estates/the Byn/the AOD barracks is just - SO far from the Gaj - that usually folks will pick their compound and not really leave much. I want to make it easier for them to do both.
Halaster:
One idea Oleupata and I were tossing around is having PC templars get the sorcerer treatment, which means we don't just have one "for the sake of having them", but rather we have PC templars with a purpose, a goal, a plotline. In Allanak for example, we could have one PC templar who's focus is mostly external, and another whose focus is mostly internal. What that does besides making it more fun for the pc templar, is it gives them more stuff "to do" than just shake down the average person and stay more out of peoples' bussiness.
Oleupata:
that goes back to the earlier question @DesertT asked about templars and why the answer is "we currently have enough"
Halaster:
Maybe when that plotline is over we decide 1) do we promote/store that templar since their plot is done? 2) allow them to continue on with no big plots now and it serves as a 'warmup' for the character? 3) come up with another plotline for them to engage in next. It's still a big work in progress
Sulaez:
(thatwasme)
Oleupata:
apologies!
Katima:
(I may be late) - As far as dynamic world goes, I'm all the hell over that kind of stuff. If you think a place receives enough traffic to warrant more dynamics (echoes, etc) or if you see an NPC get a lot of exposure and there aren't any dynamics, if you want to write up some of that content, emotes/says/thinks/etc you'd want to see an NPC throw around, I'm willing to take a player clan question request submission to throw the dynamics wrench on it.
I am not going to promise one day or even one week or one month delivery, because I do take on a lot of stuff as both Project ST who helps every team and an ST for a few of my own clans now.
But I love doing that sort of stuff, so if you're willing to meet me halfway by providing the content, we can work something out 🙂
Halaster:
Ok, we have enough time to circle back to the two folks who had a 2nd question
@ThingsWithWings is also wrong
ThingsWithWings is also wrong — Today at 4:55 PM
Oh sorry! Hello, it's me again about the psions, because I am willing to sacrifice my firstborn or a pinky finger for this.
You mentioned psions were cut up into subguilds for power reasons more similar to mages than sorcerers, but mages now have the possibility to become full guilds again given time and some method that isn't public. Would it be considered to do THAT to psions as well? Also, are psions low on the list of attention because of low play rate, or is this a matter of ' we need to wait and see how things turn out with them currently' since those changes were still somewhat recent.
Halaster:
2nd part first. They're low on the the list because of a wait and see, and it's just not a high priority for us.
We honestly haven't had any talks, at all, about bringing back full guild psionicists. There's just not an appetite for that, at the moment. Maybe some day
Shabago:
Rounding us out, go ahead for your second @najdorf
najdorf:
Do you consider that moments of truths which result in player churn may come from staff interaction? Especially an emotional response by a staff who is in 99.9% of their interactions cool and amazing. However, that 0.1% is the killer. If you act lazy, neutral and somewhat professional across the board: I think it's even better than being a super hero, then, snapping at once. I know amazing players who have quit the game because of these moments. Do you agree / acknowledge this factor?
Halaster:
Yes.
Shabago:
Entirely.
It only takes one bad interaction to sour a player (or staff member) to the point of leaving.
Halaster:
-hopefully- if you've interacted with a staffer who 99% of the time is awesome with you and you get along great, and they have that moment where they snap at you... hopefully you're undersatnding that they're just people too and that's not normal for them.
najdorf:
yes, I now do, but when younger, most is grumpy and reactions are extreme. thanks for the response 👍
Halaster:
I think there's some truth to it too that "back in the day" staff were ruder because we/they were younger and more obnxious too, heh
I've read some shit I said in 2004 and cringed
Shabago:
Not me. I was always a delight. emote dodges lightning
Shalooonsh:
I feel tagged
Halaster:
That said, it's also on staff to think the same. If a player you normally deal with is polite, a pleasure to work with, you get along great, and then they get mad at you about something, cut 'em some slack. They're people (except mansa) too and have emotional moments like us.
Oleupata:
There are a lot of players who were, to be polite, less than ideal to interact with when they were younger. I was one of them. (I'm sure we all have our favourite not-fondly-remembered staff, too.) I'm glad to see many old names I remember have obviously matured and become valuable, irreplaceable members of the community that it would be a very real loss not to have.
Halaster:
good point. We have a couple of people on staff who were absolute terrors as players 15 years ago, heh
Hestia:
<cough>
:EDITORS NOTE:
Mansa added the word "FLORIDA" in Emojis to Hestia's comment
Halaster:
I think that's a perfect spot to end this on. Mocking Florida.
Hestia:
You're welcome.
Shalooonsh:
We, just like everyone in the community, grow and learn from our failures. We've all come a long way from the edgelord days of --- well, whenever your particular edgelord cycle was 😉
Through it I think we've become a pretty solid community.
Oleupata:
And then there's Mansa. Never change, Mansa. Never change
Haldol:
Was I THAT bad?
Halaster:
Okily dokily. Thanks for attending everyone, so ends the staff/player meeting.
Hestia:
I thought he was talking about me.
Shabago:
As @Halaster says - thank you all for coming out! Very appreciated, folks.