tushanshu_ooc | Anniversary Discussions!

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Anniversary Discussions!

Happy anniversary, chelonauts!

Tu Shanshu is officially one year old this month, wow! We cannot express enough the love and gratitude we have for you, the playerbase, for helping to make this game such a success. We love you all; free Asti hugs for everyone!

With the one year notch in our belts, it's time to consider possible changes to the game. As with the six-month discussions, these are changes we're thinking about making, as mods and in relation to players, and we wanted to run them by you guys.

Just to be clear, any and all changes that we decide on will be made on a henceforth basis! For example, if modify the AC standards, they would apply to the August 2013 AC period and beyond, NOT the July one.

Without further fanfare, let us begin!

Applications
Application Cutoff
We're thinking about changing up our application cycle! Given that both Alex and myself are currently on a weird rotation for work that involves 8+ hours of travel over the weekend, we've been talking about shifting the cut-off to mid-week (probably Wednesday). Does anyone have any thoughts on input on this?

We've also discussed moving to a once-monthly app cutoff, but are open to the idea of a bi-weekly cutoff as well. Do you have any suggestions on an ideal duration?

Application Quality
Application quality is always one of the hardest things to judge in a game, and we're wondering where we currently stand! As per our previous discussion post, we eased back the standards on our setting section and tightened up the quality control in other sections; is everyone sitting comfortably in that regard?

Application Cap
Presently, Tu Shanshu has a hard character cap built into the game. There is only room for 240 PCs at any given time based on suite and resource availabilities. Any existing players in the game have the option of the swap-out application, so they can drop a character and simultaneously app another without consequence or penalty. Presently (as of the time of writing) we have 177 characters. For the sake of the metaplot and the consideration of what Alex and I can handle as mods, we aren’t currently looking at increasing the overall character cap, but we are interested in knowing if anyone has any suggestions as how to make the cap as painless as possible. Should we consider closing applications when our limit is met, or should we leave it open on a 'reserving your spot' basis?

Activity Check
Activity Requirements
How is everyone doing with the activity requirement? Presently, Tu Shanshu operates with either twenty comments across a maximum of four threads, or one post in the month. We also require double activity (a post+20 comments or 40 comments) in order to apply for a forth character. Is that still viable and manageable for the majority? While we acknowledge that there is no one standard that will work for everyone, we aim to ensure the maximum amount of people are satisfied with the activity check standards.

Reclaims
Is our reclaim policy still viable? Presently we allow one reclaim per character in a six month period if activity was not met in the course of the month and hiatus was not declared. Has this worked for everyone so far?

Character Cap
Three Per Player
Currently Tu Shanshu allows each player to play three characters, with additional characters considered permissible if double AC has been made in the previous month. Is this too difficult, or do you find it discourages people from apping more characters? Should we consider a revise of this, or allow it to stand as-is? Should we consider reducing it?

Canon Cap
It's been suggested by numerous individuals in the player base that we should lift the 'one character per canon' rule we currently have implemented. There are numerous pros and cons to this – one of the pros being player freedom, and one of the cons potentially overwhelming the game with one cast or another. We've carefully studied each side of this argument and we're interested to hear what our players have to say on the matter. Should we allow a player to play multiple characters within the same canon? If so, how many? What stipulations should there be regarding character "distance" in the source canon?

Game Information
Resource Pages
We've had some commentary on the nature of our resource pages, and that they're too long or extraneous to properly digest. Does anyone have any suggestions on how to streamline them for user consumption? We'd like to avoid adding resource pages as we feel that may contribute to a "too much information" mentality in a game meant to be sandboxy, but certainly welcome suggests on relocating or refining the pages we have to maximise the information presented and minimise reader fatigue.

Metaplot Direction
Event Frequency
In regards to our overall metaplot, have you found it too fast? Too slow? Are we being overwhelming with the frequency of events or do you find yourself being bored in between them?

Event Duration
The length of time our events last tends to be somewhat flexible, depending on player participation and feedback during either the initial planning phase of the event or during the event itself. One example is that we extended the January zombie plot by several days to accommodate those that were enjoying it. Have you found our events have run too short or too long, generally? Again, this is an area where schedules and availability make it difficult to find the perfect solution, but we like to find a good middle ground where possible.

Note: We'll also be taking into account the feedback received during our recent Malicant plot for this bit when we make the final decision on this.

Event Content
How have you generally found the event content? Too light-hearted, too dark, has it been veering into uncomfortable territory?

OTHER
OOC Comm Memes
Every once in a while we put up a meme, such as a love meme, or a CR tl;dr meme. While we don't have any plans to inundate the game with an excess of memes, would you like to see them with a bit more frequency, or less? What kinds of memes would you like to see?

Test Drive
We've been considering moving our test drive to a bi-monthly schedule, especially as we near our character cap. What are the thoughts on that?

Other
Do you have additional thoughts or suggestions that you would like to see implemented in the game? Also, if we forgot to raise a topic that we previously mentioned bringing up here, feel free to remind us! We want to cover off as much as possible here before we sit down to make any decisions.

NOTE: Replies from the mods may be delayed due to work! That said, feel free to second or third any comments you particularly agree with or foster further discussion in the comments. And, as always, ANON is an option and IP LOGGING is off!

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Edited 2013-08-03 16:17 (UTC)

Applications
Application Cutoff - I think if moving the cut-off to the middle of the week is what works for the mods, then it's probably what's best. The only suggestion I can think of with that, is with the transition from end-of-week to middle-of-week, perhaps putting a break where no apps will be accepted (like a week), so that way there's room to adjust.

Application Quality - I haven't noticed any problems with the app quality so far, so I'd say keep up the good work.

Application Cap - In regards to this, I'm not sure about the "reserve your spot system." On one hand, it'd be good for once the cap is met - that way there's a system for deciding who gets in when a character is dropped and a spot opens up, but I also feel that it could cause tension, with some people maybe wondering, "When is someone going to drop, so my character can get in..."

So I guess it's a matter of deciding what's more manageable - having a system in place for allowing people in when possible, but also having a waiting list that can generate bad feelings VS having a hard cut-off, but also having a scramble of people for a single spot, and having to decide who gets it.

But I guess if I ultimately had to decide between the two, it might be better to have the orderly system where at least people can know where they stand.

Applications
Application Cutoff
I'm indifferent to when it happens during the week, but I strongly dislike monthly application cycles. I have a whole host of reasons for this, but tl;dr I love that we have it weekly, but would also be happy with biweekly as a compromise.

Application Quality
I think you've been doing really good with this! At least, I've overall been happy with the decisions. I'm always relieved to have an app team that's not afraid to decline applications when they have reason to.

Application Cap
I like that we have an overall character cap but am unfortunately clueless as to how to go about implementing it. It's basically a huge mess, imo. xD One idea is potentially having a player cap and not a character cap, ergo, which would allow some more comfortable flux while also maintaining a max limit on characters.

Applications
Application Cutoff - Mid-week sounds good! Maybe a break week in between to help things settle.

Application Quality - No problems with app quality here!

Application Cap I'm not sure I'd like a wait list type system, since it might cause a scramble for spots or lead to paranoia that people already in the game would get multi-characters in before new players get one. Like, it would raise the scrutiny on who gets in and who doesn't and make it more of a pressure thing. Maybe a player limit and not a character limit? Otherwise, I'm not sure.

Applications
Application Cutoff - Whatever works best for you guys! If you're thinking of processing apps more infrequently, I'd say maybe go for bi-weekly processing first, try that for a while, then decide if you want to stick with that or bump it to monthly.

Application Quality - I'm going to say "no comment" since I haven't apped a character since the standards were changed last time lol.

Application Cap - Okay, I've got a few thoughts on this. Once we hit the cap, I think a periodic "reserve a slot" thing might be a good idea - maybe allow a certain number at any given time? So like open it up for reserves once a month or bi-monthly and allow 10-15 (or whatever number works for you guys) "slots" (possibly giving priority to new players over old ones).

Or maybe just close it completely until a certain number of character slots are actually open (again, 10 or 15 or whatever works), then have a short reserve/application cycle. But this is a little less organized, given that we don't know when people will drop - 10 slots might open up in a month, or it might take several months, etc.

Applications
Application Cutoff I don't think midweek would really be a problem. It's a little odd in the scope of things, but it's still the same span of time to get an app in. I'm not a big fan of monthly cycles—I'd prefer biweekly if it had to be lengthened—but I'd understand if that's easier for you guys to handle.

Application Cap With caps for apps (that's fun to say) instead of having the applications open—because people might withdraw interest—maybe a kind of reserve page would work? Like, comment here and we'll notify you when it's open? That way you won't have apps sitting there that people forget about and then don't have an interest in putting here. It's probably still be a bit messy; I'm not sure you could set it up on a first come, first serve basis, since people who want to be notified may also lose their interest, so you may also have to notify them of, as suggested above, an app week when a certain number of slots are open?

+1 cap

everylittlegirl - 2013-08-05 15:47 (UTC) - Expand

Applications
Application Cutoff If mid-week works best, then mid-week works best. Really, I don't think anyone will mind at all if you have to adjust to better accommodate your work schedules.

Application Quality Quality seems fine to me, though I'm slightly worried by how many revision requests are about that "how will your character react to being told they're between life death and reaming" paragraph. I'm not saying it's not vital to the app, because it is, but there's gotta be a way to make that part stand out on the app page.

Application Cap I think the "reserve your spot" thing is tricky and problematic. It might push some less than awesome people to target someone to force them to drop, people will be reluctant to even think about applying since what if they don't get in, and it just sounds messy. If we reach the cap, I think it best to just close applications for a while and re-open them when we're back down to say 200 or something.

Applications
Application Cutoff I think if you guys need to switch it to accommodate your schedules, then that's probably what needs to happen. I appreciate that you have such strong responsibility to it, but being realistic with your own schedules is necessary to prevent insanity.

In terms of timing, I kind of like the idea of a bi-monthly schedule.

Application Quality I'm pretty comfortable with the quality thing.

Application Cap I'm not sure I understand the "reserving your spot" idea . . . What does this look like? At the moment, I would probably say just closing down apps would be best. Maybe then re-opening whenever you have ten (arbitrary number) slots to fill? I don't know; I'm with Chel . . . it all feels messy. I kind of like the idea of a player cap, though.

Edited 2013-08-03 20:36 (UTC)

Applications
Application Cutoff
I don't have a particular problem with moving it to the middle of the week, and I'd like to second the idea of moving it to a transition period. That said, if we've heading towards the character app, moving to bi-weekly may be a good idea to ease into hitting the cap?

Application Quality
I haven't had any problems with the quality system, so I don't have any comments.

Application Cap
I don't know about the reserve your spot, but perhaps more of a waiting list? Where apps are closed but people can reserve to be let known when there are slots open.

Edited (How did that header get there.) 2013-08-03 22:08 (UTC)

Applications
Application Cutoff - the cutoff needs to work for you, the mods. Given that players can post the app at any point, it really only affects procrastinators, who can just send in the app on Friday as usual and wait for the mods to get to it.

Application Quality - I don't read other people's apps, but everyone that I've tagged seems to hold their characters' voices, and the characters I know the canon of seem well done. I think this is working.

Application Cap - I have no idea about what is and what isn't the right call here. I can tell you about my experiences with a hard character cap at the Games though. There, there are slots for 96 tributes. We have hit that cap, and that is the sort of character everyone wants. It is maddening, and the mods are doing their best to make it work (but with all the rolling and ranking that goes on there, they really can't handle more).

When tribute spots open back up (when we hit 10 open spots), we get reserve floods. Last time, there were a lot of bad vibes because the reserves opened unexpectedly at a weird time when a significant number of DW RPers would be at work (IE, everyone in North & South America), and more than half of the tribute spots wound up going to the same hate-it-or-love-it canon. I think a 'reserve your spot' system might be a good idea, if you specifically make it so that people are reserving the spot and not the character. Because once things get full, there is nothing more frustrating than seeing a good RPer who wants to app a close canonmate have to go somewhere else while another canon ninja reserves almost every open slot.

Applications
Application Cutoff - I think the cut off should be moved to whatever day suits the mods best! Also I don't mind if the apps need to be done bi-weekly, though I'm not a huge fan of monthly.

Application Quality - I definitely think that more easing on the setting section could be a thing. Honestly I would be terrified to app from anything with an involved or detailed canon. I've considered a book character here before and ngl, the thought of having to write out the world's mechanics made me decide against it.

Application Cap - I'm glad that there's a hard cap but I feel it should just be met when it's met, not with a reserved spot system which I think would lead to people holding up the spots for "maybe" characters without putting full thought into whether they're actually going to use them, which then might accidentally exclude players (existing or new) who would have actually done the app.

Applications
Application Cutoff - Echoing what's been said above. If you guys need to move it based on mod availability and accessibility, go for it! I think frequency is fine as is, though if we're going to lengthen it I'd prefer every two weeks over monthly.

Application Quality - No comments or complaints!

Application Cap - Agreeing with several people above that having a reserve list sounds messy. I think the 'ping' list notifying people when spots are available again (and maybe waiting until we do have some 10+ spots open) sounds reasonable in theory, but I've no idea how all of this will actually work in practice. orz

Applications
Application Cutoff: I like the weekly thing, but bi-weekly with mid week cut off to stem the flow is a fine alternative.

Application Quality: If there's a lot of backlash, I guess ease up on the setting section? I don't know, I don't really plan to app another character any time soon.

Application Cap: I think it's fine the way it is~

Applications
Application Cutoff- Whatever works for the mods! I don't see how changing the cut-off day will matter much to those applying once there's the proper announcement made over any possible changes. Personally, I'd be more for bi-weekly app cutoff than a monthly one, but I'm not the one in charge of running the game. Seriously, whatever works would be fine with me.

Application Quality- The standards may be a little intimidating to all newbies (I know it spooked me to see some rejections), but I guess that's a good thing! Honestly, I don't see any problem with how things are handled right now.

Application Cap- Echoing most or some of what's above! A reserve-your-spot approach would seem a little messy to me and maybe even a little unfair. Since I don't have many suggestions here, I'd think closing apps once the limit is reached until the number dwindles down to ~200 would be the way to go.

Applications
Application Cutoff: I'd like to see bi-monthly. Would you still be accepting applications at any time during then, but only processing twice a month? Or would you have a specific time to app before processing?

Application Quality: Good so far as I have seen.

Application Cap: Maybe save the last 10-15 slots for players already in the game to pick up additional characters? Soft cap of 225 (stop accepting new players), hard cap of 240 (stop accepting new characters)? Might be a little less painful. While you could cap applications every cycle, I've found they tend to fill quickly within 24-72hrs and then people are sad; I would not like to see that implemented.

edit:
Once the cap has been reached, echoing my above +1, I think a page where people can comment to be reminded could be could?

BUT HERE'S MY BRILLIANT IDEA. That page could work as a pseudo reserve (of general slot, not specific character), in the sense of apps being judged in order according to the comments there as long as submitted within the alotted time. It's not a direct reserve, because people still have to submit the apps, etc, and others can still submit apps without them. Does that make sense?

Basically someone comments to the "RESERVE" page asking to be reminded when slots open, but also reserving their place in a queue. They receive a comment that apps open in 2 days or whatever. Apps open with a cap of 10 accepted applications (this is important). Commenters 1, 9, 5, 7, 2, 12, and 6 app before the cap closes, as well as non-commenters x4.

Apps are judged in the order of: Commenters 1, 2, 5, 6, 7, 9, 12; non-commenters 1, 2, 3 (order received). Non-commenter 4's application is default declined because it was above cap and they were the last non-commenter to app.

So basically it means you don't have to comment to apply, but that those who comment will get priority during the app cycle. Those who are uninterested now, etc, will be able to simply not app without disrupting the cycle.

If everyone comments, then it still goes in order. So if commenters 1, 9, 2, 4, 8, 13, 3, 12, 10, 21, 18, 6 app. You process 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 8, 9, 10, 12, 13. Commenters 18 and 21 are default declined.

Edited 2013-08-05 15:59 (UTC)

Applications
Application Cutoff: I would be absolutely fine with any option selected, here. I've applied to a variety of games with very different cycles (or no cycles); usually, I find, I'm more than all right with whatever the mods have designated, so long as they're consistent and clear with their wait times! Or, in extenuating circumstances, forward with the delay. Whatever enables you to read through comfortably and confidently? It is absolutely okay by me.

Application Quality: No issues, thus far! You've done well, from what I've noticed. Banking on my last point, whatever enables you to keep up the application quality and provides you realistic breathing time? I'm supportive of it.

Application Cap: I'm with several others in that I think the character cap and waiting list could get extremely messy. A player cap, therefore, seems much more feasible to put into practice as, like Vivi said, it could allow you to keep your cap within a certain range (or a predicted range, based on the 3 character cap, or the 4 character cap, should double activity be provided).

Edited 2013-08-05 18:03 (UTC)

Applications
Application Cutoff I'd be fine with moving it. You're the ones who have to read them, after all, and repeated delays could reflect badly on us at some point.

Application Quality Can't really comment.

Application Cap I actually have a different idea for this. You mentioned there's only so much room and resources on the turtle, so, why not deal with things IC-ly once that limit's hit? You know, treat it like an overpopulated city. Slightly less food at first, crowding problems as new arrivals are put into suites with old ones (starting with multi-level suites, under the premise that they're the ones with room to spare), etc.

It could then become an event-type thing as everyone tries to cope with it, both by trying to build new places to house them (or putting them in shantytowns- enjoy!), trying to cart back more soil to grow more food to feed everyone, etc. I mean, a player / character limit and a wait and/or reserve list just sounds really messy, and at least this way we'd get something else to do out of the whole thing, and no one would have to be turned away.

Edited 2013-08-03 16:17 (UTC)

Activity Check
Activity Requirements - I like the requirements as they stand.

Reclaims - The same goes for the reclaim policy; it seems pretty fair.

Activity Check
Activity Requirements
I'm pretty happy with these.

Reclaims
I would like to suggest making double AC in the following month a requirement for keeping a reclaim, or something else to that effect, in order to prevent people just holding onto characters that continually struggle with AC.

APPLICATIONS

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Re: APPLICATIONS

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APPLICATIONS

ACTIVITY CHECK

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CHARACTER CAP

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GAME INFORMATION

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METAPLOT DIRECTION

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OTHER

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