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tushanshu_ooc2013-02-24 06:12 pm
ironwood) wrote in tushanshu_ooc2013-02-24 06:12 pm
Entry tags:
Six Month Anniversary | Discussion Results
Here we are to announce the changes that are coming to Tu Shanshu as a result of this discussion post!
First off, thanks for all of the feedback! We really appreciate hearing from you, the players, because that helps us with putting the turtle on a heading that works for both players and mods. This game has always been about the awesome playerbase we have and that's never going to change. Y'all are amazing. <3
Based on the feedback received and subsequent discussions, we've decided to make a series of changes to the way the game is run. These changes will take effect March 1, 2013 and are as follows:
APPS
Cutoff vs. Cap
There was a lot of feedback about having a longer application cutoff and/or a cap on the number of applications reviewed per round and we haven't made a decision yet. We have a few alternatives we'd like to raise for discussion.
> Would a cap on the number of players or characters overall be preferred?
> Were a cap to be in place in any form, should we exempt any current players from it?
We're trying to find a good middleground here that works for most, if not all, of us.
Quality
Everyone seems happy with our app standards and so we will continue along the same vein, with the exception of two changes in our reviews. We will lessen the standards some on setting (for example, if the vampires of a world run standard to Dracula, we don't need a lowdown on how Fangy McSuckerson works), but will be tightening them a degree on personality. Basically, this means that the focus of our application review will narrow in on the nature of the character more than a balance between that and their world.
Requirements
While this point was not raised in the discussion, both Roy and myself have brought it up in mod discussions a few times. We've decided to change the requirements of a re-app to need a new first person (aka console) sample. It gives re-applications a chance to demonstrate the character as influenced by their previous interactions on the turtle. Please note that this only applies to reapplications where the canon point is the same and therefore memories are retained.
ACTIVITY CHECK
Requirements
There will be no changes to the AC requirements and structure as they currently stand. Overall, everyone sounds happy with the way things are on that front. We heard some feedback about changing the timing of the threads and will keep it in mind, but we won't be implementing a change in that regard at this time.
Reclaim Period
Commencing March 1st, any characters that have been reclaimed in an AC period older than six months will have the slate cleared. This means that any character that fails AC and is reclaimed must pass the next six ACs before their reclaim expires. We will move ahead with this six month timeline and revisit it periodically to see how it is working.
GENERAL
CR With Me
We have this meme scheduled for the fifteenth of every month until the end of March, at which point we will switch to a six-week interval for it. Tu Shanshu does offer plotting posts for every event, therefore events that happen in the interim will still have OOC plotting opportunities. The CR With Me meme will then take on the focus of outside-event CR.
Test Drive Meme
There has been an interest in having the test drive meme more frequently. As such, we will start running one in conjunction with the ATP posting of each month. There was discussion of a permanent test drive meme but we will try the monthly interval first and revisit the timing in a few months.
Other Memes
While there was a suggestion for a meme community, there were also many voices not comfortable with an abundance of memes distracting from tagging commitments. Meeting in the middle ground, we will offer the occasional mod-posted meme in the OOC comm. If you have ideas for a particular meme, ping Roy or myself and we'll happily discuss it!
The CRTLDR meme may return in the 'other meme' category as there was an abundance of positive feedback about it. We're very glad that this meme turned out so enjoyable for the players! Other memes you might see include 'enable me' or the occasional scenario-based meme.
Mingle Log
With the recent discovery of the cloning operation beneath the turtle, we may be implementing a more centralised means of new characters being introduced to the environment that may result in a mingle log. Details will be posted once we know more!
Mod Plot Involvement
The results are in and overwhelmingly in favour of the mods being allowed to include their characters more directly in metaplot events, in particular where our involvement wouldn't oust player characters. We especially would like to thank everyone who weighed in on this as it's been a matter of detailed and frequent discussion between the mods since we first opened.
Plot Summary
We've been looking at putting together a page summarising and linking the major events of the game, given that it is so plot-based in nature. Feedback that came in agreed that this would be great and so we'll be working at implementing that in the near future. This won't go live until after the current event as it has some far-reaching plot consequences that we want to ensure is included immediately.
Helper
We have taken on one administrative helper with regards to updating the taken and reserves page, as well as posting the application cutoff, verifying that all posts have the right tags, and a variety of other duties around the game. At this person's request, we are not announcing who they are, but do want to state our appreciation for their assistance!
Please note that the biggest time consumer of mod duties is ensuring posts have the correct character tags on them. The more vigilant you are in ensuring to tag all posts and threads that your character is in, the less work we on the mod side have to undertake to keep it updated.
In Closing...
These changes will be reflected in the OOC information pages once they come into effect on March 1, 2013. The affected pages will be updated over the next little while to reflect this.
First off, thanks for all of the feedback! We really appreciate hearing from you, the players, because that helps us with putting the turtle on a heading that works for both players and mods. This game has always been about the awesome playerbase we have and that's never going to change. Y'all are amazing. <3
Based on the feedback received and subsequent discussions, we've decided to make a series of changes to the way the game is run. These changes will take effect March 1, 2013 and are as follows:
APPS
Cutoff vs. Cap
There was a lot of feedback about having a longer application cutoff and/or a cap on the number of applications reviewed per round and we haven't made a decision yet. We have a few alternatives we'd like to raise for discussion.
> Would a cap on the number of players or characters overall be preferred?
> Were a cap to be in place in any form, should we exempt any current players from it?
We're trying to find a good middleground here that works for most, if not all, of us.
Quality
Everyone seems happy with our app standards and so we will continue along the same vein, with the exception of two changes in our reviews. We will lessen the standards some on setting (for example, if the vampires of a world run standard to Dracula, we don't need a lowdown on how Fangy McSuckerson works), but will be tightening them a degree on personality. Basically, this means that the focus of our application review will narrow in on the nature of the character more than a balance between that and their world.
Requirements
While this point was not raised in the discussion, both Roy and myself have brought it up in mod discussions a few times. We've decided to change the requirements of a re-app to need a new first person (aka console) sample. It gives re-applications a chance to demonstrate the character as influenced by their previous interactions on the turtle. Please note that this only applies to reapplications where the canon point is the same and therefore memories are retained.
ACTIVITY CHECK
Requirements
There will be no changes to the AC requirements and structure as they currently stand. Overall, everyone sounds happy with the way things are on that front. We heard some feedback about changing the timing of the threads and will keep it in mind, but we won't be implementing a change in that regard at this time.
Reclaim Period
Commencing March 1st, any characters that have been reclaimed in an AC period older than six months will have the slate cleared. This means that any character that fails AC and is reclaimed must pass the next six ACs before their reclaim expires. We will move ahead with this six month timeline and revisit it periodically to see how it is working.
GENERAL
CR With Me
We have this meme scheduled for the fifteenth of every month until the end of March, at which point we will switch to a six-week interval for it. Tu Shanshu does offer plotting posts for every event, therefore events that happen in the interim will still have OOC plotting opportunities. The CR With Me meme will then take on the focus of outside-event CR.
Test Drive Meme
There has been an interest in having the test drive meme more frequently. As such, we will start running one in conjunction with the ATP posting of each month. There was discussion of a permanent test drive meme but we will try the monthly interval first and revisit the timing in a few months.
Other Memes
While there was a suggestion for a meme community, there were also many voices not comfortable with an abundance of memes distracting from tagging commitments. Meeting in the middle ground, we will offer the occasional mod-posted meme in the OOC comm. If you have ideas for a particular meme, ping Roy or myself and we'll happily discuss it!
The CRTLDR meme may return in the 'other meme' category as there was an abundance of positive feedback about it. We're very glad that this meme turned out so enjoyable for the players! Other memes you might see include 'enable me' or the occasional scenario-based meme.
Mingle Log
With the recent discovery of the cloning operation beneath the turtle, we may be implementing a more centralised means of new characters being introduced to the environment that may result in a mingle log. Details will be posted once we know more!
Mod Plot Involvement
The results are in and overwhelmingly in favour of the mods being allowed to include their characters more directly in metaplot events, in particular where our involvement wouldn't oust player characters. We especially would like to thank everyone who weighed in on this as it's been a matter of detailed and frequent discussion between the mods since we first opened.
Plot Summary
We've been looking at putting together a page summarising and linking the major events of the game, given that it is so plot-based in nature. Feedback that came in agreed that this would be great and so we'll be working at implementing that in the near future. This won't go live until after the current event as it has some far-reaching plot consequences that we want to ensure is included immediately.
Helper
We have taken on one administrative helper with regards to updating the taken and reserves page, as well as posting the application cutoff, verifying that all posts have the right tags, and a variety of other duties around the game. At this person's request, we are not announcing who they are, but do want to state our appreciation for their assistance!
Please note that the biggest time consumer of mod duties is ensuring posts have the correct character tags on them. The more vigilant you are in ensuring to tag all posts and threads that your character is in, the less work we on the mod side have to undertake to keep it updated.
In Closing...
These changes will be reflected in the OOC information pages once they come into effect on March 1, 2013. The affected pages will be updated over the next little while to reflect this.
no subject
"It gives re-applications a chance to demonstrate the character as influenced by their previous interactions on the turtle. Please note that this only applies to reapplications where the canon point is the same and therefore memories are retained."
I might have been misunderstanding the situation the entire time, but I thought memories couldn't be retained at all? Or can they be, if the character is used from the exact same point?
Like, if I re-app'd Wally West from the exact same point I brought him from before, would he still have his memories of having been on the turtle?
no subject
If you picked Wally up from the same point as before, he'd be allowed to keep his memories of Turtletime, unless you'd rather start fresh in which case go for it.
no subject
no subject
Putting a limit on, say, the number of apps per round, to help control the influx of new characters every week, that would make sense to me if that's a way you want to go, though of course it has its pros and cons - I don't really have an opinion on that, one way or the other.
Otherwise, the changes look good, and yay for admin helpers!
no subject
Also, just looking for general opinions as to whether we should grandfather current players from changes -- for example, if we end up capping the number of character applications per week, should that be applied only to new players and not current ones?
no subject
And I'm not sure how such a cap might be implemented? Um, I sort of like what Costigan-mun suggested - that if you were to cap the number of characters per app round, have a certain number of slots for existing players, and a certain number for new players. Personally, I like having regular infusions of fresh blood, so to speak. Keeps things from getting stagnant, allows new perspectives in.
no subject
While additional resources can be gained from the mainland, little of that is fresh food, which further impacts the growth potential on Tu Vishan as nothing can be ported in to make it more sustainable.
This all assuming, of course, a thriving turtle. Were Tu Vishan's state to decay, then everything already covered off would be reduced. Additionally, the kedan have been pushing the limit of what they can provide to help the Foreigners feel at home, since so many of them like creature comforts. Therefore, prior "safety" limits have been stretched to accommodate them.
In general, we've not been concerned that we might hit that 240 ceiling. While the game has recently exceeded 100, which is grand, it's still not even halfway. If that changes, Roy and I would definitely discuss whether the turtle could handle more Foreigners and what impacts that could have in-game.
We appreciate the feedback on cap-implementation! Fresh blood is definitely important and we want to find that balance between keeping it as welcoming as possible while as manageable as possible.
no subject
no subject
I hate the idea of having a total cap on players, because you want peoples' friends to be able to join and to have fresh blood, but I also think a lot of people joined this game because it was smaller and more close-knit. The more people that join, the faster it gets and the more CR begins to separate. I worry that too many people will make the game too fast-paced and difficult to stay involved with as a whole, which, while not inherently a bad thing, makes the game a completely different feel from when many of us joined.
Also, I didn't get to the discussion post, but I, personally, would really like to see a cap on characters from the same canon. Even if it's a high one. I've noticed, in my own experiences, it can be hard coming in with a character no one knows trying to get established among large casts.
no subject
no subject
It's hard because a lot of the concern for me comes with nuances; for example, you could app 10 characters in Heroes who have never spoken and don't know each other at all, but you could also app 5 who are intimately connected in everything they do, which applies in the same way on a larger scale to, for example, the DC Universe.
The best solution I can think of would be to set a hard cap (ie max 10 from shows/films and max 20 from comics/games or something idk), but I welcome if anyone has any better ideas.
I just think it helps to encourage game diversity in general, which helps things stay panfandom and reduces the chance of a few canons overrunning everything (not that that's inherently bad, but can then be super intimidating to try to play outside of those).
no subject
no subject