tushanshu_ooc | Event HMD | Powerdown & Malicant Plot

As before, and for anyone who may have missed it, at the end of every mod-run event in Tu Shanshu, we ~~try to~~ toss up an open dialogue post so that the events can be discussed. This is mostly to see if everybody's as happy as possible with the direction the game is going, whether or not the events could be considered a hit or a miss, that sort of thing.

This particular HMD covers the Meta Power Reduction & Malicant joint event.

What are we looking for?
Feedback of all sorts! Did you like what happened? Did the event run too fast, or too slow? Were you able to feel like your character contributed or made a impact on the event? Would you like to make more of a difference? Has there been too much 'downtime' for the characters, do you have any suggestions to make about future events, etc etc? Did the event run long enough for you? Would you like to see more NPC-driven events, or less? Did you feel that there was enough for combatants and non-combatants alike to participate in?

OBVIOUSLY if you have more comments, questions or concerns than those listed above you can add those as well! This is pretty much just a general list.

Do we already have a focus?
In part, yes. We've identified the following issues with the event and would love to foster discussion on these points:

> Team Structure
There were some players that had multiple characters assigned to a team and others that volunteered and did not make the final teams. This was an oversight on Alex's part and she apologises! That said, do you have any suggestions on how we could avoid such an oversight in the future? Should we limit sign-ups to one character per player?

> Multiple Options
Each team was asked to pick only one option per clue set regardless of their characters' proclivities towards exploring multiple options. This was to reduce administrative workload and tie-in with the reduction of powers. Do you have any suggestions as to how we could make taking multiple options feasible for any future event structured in this way?

Note: Alex here! One option considered and taken off the table would be preparing all of the possible branches off the options and clues before the event starts. This is because I found creating the sets during the event really allowed me to adapt the scenarios to suit the actions of each team in a really organic fashion. In summary, it let the characters further influence the event rather than being stuck on rails (see: swizard). I'd really prefer to find a solution that allowed mid-event creation of the clues without sacrificing the multiple options, tbqh.

> Outcomes
The pre-event survey concluded that players were okay with getting dead-ends for their characters actions and so this was included. Two teams had a major impact on the health of the turtle and a variety had other impacts that lessened Malicant's grip on Keeliai. Do you think we should have included more largescale impacts? Less? More impacts in general? More complete dead ends?

We'd like to emphasize that any and all feedback is welcomed and encouraged! These are merely some areas that we've identified as concerns from our standpoint and would like to hear your thoughts on.

Do we have a form?
Yes, in fact! This time, we're offering a quick text form to help provide some structure to the feedback received. This form addresses some of the concerns we noted on a mod level and tries to give as much freedom as possible to anyone that chooses to use it. Please note that you do NOT have to use this form! It's provided as an option only. :3

Please remember, ANON IS ON for this and IP LOGGING IS OFF so if you have anything you'd like to say but maybe you're more comfortable putting it forth anon that is a-okay! You can also feel free to PM us at this journal, or to toss a private plurk at either of the mod accounts (those being

vonnerdyce or

reignsdown) if that suits your fancy. Any and all comments are welcome, and though participation in this meme isn't required it's definitely encouraged if you're up for it.

Thanks again, guys, and happy turtling!

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Did you have characters involved? Via teams or the independent investigations? Sort of. Sadie was in an independent group, but it got bogged down.

What did you like about this event? The fact that the players wrote the plot, essentially, was a nice change. I've been in a game where players affected the world before and it can really be one of the coolest things. Most games either have everything laid out before the plot or try to get the players to direct it and either don't or railroad them.

What didn't work out so hot? Honestly, I don't think the independent teams were the best idea. With little mod input, it was confusing and things were unclear as to what, exactly, was going on, at least to me. Perhaps next time limit independent things to duos or trios, not a full team.

What would you like to see in the future? I am all for the one character involved in a team per person. I won't lie, I was a bit upset that my one character who'd be interested in helping wasn't on a team while other people had two people on teams. Maybe if someone has two interested characters they could have the other involved in an side thing, but two in the main portion of the plot was just not fair. I understand this was an oversight, though.

Do you have feedback specific to the team portion of the event? Not really, except perhaps if there is an event like this again and one team, in this case team seven, has some seriously bad stuff happen to them, the team and the mods figure out what happened to them on event end, even if the threads aren't done. It can prevent not only them but their close CR from doing anything until things are sorted.

Do you have feedback specific to the independent investigations portion of the event? See above. The idea was a good one, but it really didn't work out too well.

Would you like to share any other thoughts, suggestions, or opinions about the event or game? I am agreeing with the anon up there that the game took a major downturn in mood and, honestly, had the power loss gone on indefinitely I very likely would have dropped. I know the game is plot based and I am okay with that, but to advertise as a power-loss free game and then have that and tease us with the idea that it might be a permanent thing isn't very fun. I also agree with less negative events and less events that are harder to ignore. I felt the rationing went on for far too long, though I know why now. Still, if there is an event that is a pre-event to something this big, perhaps having them closer together or having the prelude less hard hitting next time will prevent burn out. (That, obviously, is only if it's possible for you two as mods. I know it's just the two of you running this and if something simply isn't feasible I don't think most of us are going to complain.)

All that being said, the idea of the event--the players having a huge impact on the game--was brilliant. You guys handled it very well aside from a few rough spots.

Could you elaborate on your thoughts regarding independent investigations? How did it confuse you? Could I have done something more with my write-ups to provide a better structure?

We'll be looking to better coordinate the outcome of an event like team 07 faced, for certian. Do you have any suggestions on how we could do this? Just coordinate more OOCly? Forward-dating?

Regarding the power reduction, I understand the frustration. The intent was always to have the powers restored, but it was left open to facilitate the player-impact of the event. We didn't want to railroad it, in a sense. The impacts on the characters (even my own) not having powers, however, went deeper than anticipated and we'll be keeping that in mind in the future.

Also, we'd love to hear any suggestions for player plots that you may have! <3 These are great opportunities to have lighter events occur while the mods focus on the metaplot (see: the calming effect of the tribbles and the light-hearted frustration of tribbles being errywhar). We seriously adore such submissions and it's currently one of the ways we try to balance out the heavier end of the metaplot.

It seemed like the independents were just too open ended in some cases, with too much being left up to the players coordinating it. That worked fine for Bruce and the power things, but like Sadie's group was investigating the Water sector and I'm still not sure what all went down because it was just too vague and I'm not sure who to ask about that, Kiki or the mods. Kiki's character started it, but it was plot related and it wasn't clear who was in charge. Maybe it was because that group had I think six people poking around. It just got too unweidly, which obviously isn't anyone's fault but is why I think side things should be limited to groups of two or three, tops. The write-ups were fine! I understood what they were looking into and what they might find. I just dunno how it all ended.

As for things like team seven, I think if something like that happens again it might be best to do some OOC planning towards the end. Like, "okay, you guys get the big one, this is what's going to happen in general, do you have anything in specific you want done to your muse" and have that specific thing be sort of an end goal so even if the threads aren't done by plot end the players at least have that one thing to react to when all is said and done. That way it still allows for whatever to happen, but it doesn't hold up reactions post-plot. I'd suggest this only for Really Big Things, like team seven, though. Everything else seemed to work perfectly fine!

Really, those two things were all I really had anything to say about, aside from what you guys already caught and the rationing/reduction frustration. This plot was seriously awesome and you guys really handled it a lot better than others might have.

Thanks so much for the additional clarifications! We'll keep this all in mind for future events. <3

Event HMD | Powerdown & Malicant Plot | June 16th - July 13th

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