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tushanshu_ooc2013-02-12 11:02 am
ironwood) wrote in tushanshu_ooc2013-02-12 11:02 am
Six Month Anniversary | Discussion Time!
OKAY SO. Hello Chelonauts!
Guess what? Tu Shanshu has passed the six month mark! That means that there are some changes we're thinking about making, as mods and in relation to players, that we wanted to run by you guys.
These changes are mainly about streamlining the game and, frankly, making modding such a wonderful and well-sized playerbase easier on the two mods. Due to a number of factors, including the nature of the metaplot and the background administration, adding a third mod is not under consideration. We're basically considering some changes and wanted to get feedback on them and some other topics before we implemented anything.
Just to be clear, any and all changes that we decide on will be made on a henceforth basis! For example, if we up the app standards, that will not be retroactively applied to currently accepted characters.
First of all...
APPS
Application Cutoff & Cap
Currently, Tu Shanshu runs on a weekly application cutoff of Friday night, with verdicts going up by Sunday night at the latest (with one forewarned exception). This means that every weekend, there is an influx of new characters and new posts to respond to. This also means that the mods have to get together once a week and make their final verdicts on the applications, which can be somewhat taxing when there are a lot of applications or when one/both of us is on the road for work.
We're looking to put a cap on the number of applications considered in each period, as well as extending the cutoff period to being twice a month (the first and the fifteenth). The application cap that we are looking at is ten applications per cutoff period.
Why are we looking to do this? This is to control the size of the game for the sake of being able to plot with our casts without being overwhelmed with the number of inductees and/or risking a downturn into slice of life. Tu Shanshu is first and foremost a plot-driven game and we aim to be inclusive with the events -- having an overall cap on the applications would assist us in keeping up with new and old cast alike and facilitate optimal inclusion of all in events.
The second thing we're looking at is...
Application Quality
Every game has differing standards for application quality and Tu Shanshu has operated primarily on the technical level (completeness of application, demonstration of character knowledge). There's been some feedback that we could tighten up quality control in general and therefore we're bringing it to you, the members, to help us decide whether to notch up the quality bar.
What does this mean? Applications would be judged a little more thoroughly than they've been in the past. This means a higher chance of rejection would naturally follow, even for players that have characters presently in the game. We would be looking at apps not only with an increased scrutiny on technical aspects but possibly also a creative one as well – ie: is the app engaging overall, do the samples present options or incentive for people looking to tag them, etc.
Applications are the big one, but we've also got a few discussion points below that we'd love to hear feedback on:
Activity Requirements & Reclaims
Activity Requirements
We implemented a less stringent activity requirement commencing the November 2012 activity period and are curious about how it's going! Do you agree with the one post OR twenty comments requirement? How about the fact that the thread must be started during the AC period? Do you think we should increase the AC requirements? Any and all thoughts are welcome!
Reclaims
Tu Shanshu's activity requirements state that you can reclaim a character once and only once if they fail AC. This could, in all technicalities, mean that a character that has been in the game for ten months and failed their first AC, but passed all subsequent ones, would still be subject to the reclaim disqualification. We're looking at instituting a shelf-life on the reclaims of six months, meaning that any character that has been reclaimed, but subsequently passed six months of activity checks, would have that reclaim stricken from their record. This time period could be shortened or lengthened, depending on if you'd like to see this implemented and your thoughts about how it could best be done.
General Feedback
CR With Me
We currently offer a monthly CR With Me meme on the OOC community to facilitate the plotting and gathering of additional CR for any and all characters in the game. The idea to put it up every six weeks instead has been floated past us and we're looking for thoughts. Do you like it monthly? Would you prefer a longer time period? Also, do you have any feedback on the form that we use? Are there any other memes you would like to see?
Event Suggestions
We're always looking for event suggestions, be it player-run plots or ideas for gamewide mod events. If you have anything that you've been dying to see happen, feel free to make a suggestion here!
Mingle Log
Rather than have a burst of intro posts every time verdicts get posted, we're considering a ground mingle log to be posted. Thoughts?
General Feedback
Here is your forum for anything else that you would like to see changed, added, or removed from the game. We're at six months and want to make sure that you, the members, are still receiving the gaming experience that you joined to have!
And here's a handy-dandy code for organising feedback, if you'd like to use it!
As with all feedback opportunities, 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 drop by the Mod HMD if you'd prefer!
Guess what? Tu Shanshu has passed the six month mark! That means that there are some changes we're thinking about making, as mods and in relation to players, that we wanted to run by you guys.
These changes are mainly about streamlining the game and, frankly, making modding such a wonderful and well-sized playerbase easier on the two mods. Due to a number of factors, including the nature of the metaplot and the background administration, adding a third mod is not under consideration. We're basically considering some changes and wanted to get feedback on them and some other topics before we implemented anything.
Just to be clear, any and all changes that we decide on will be made on a henceforth basis! For example, if we up the app standards, that will not be retroactively applied to currently accepted characters.
First of all...
APPS
Application Cutoff & Cap
Currently, Tu Shanshu runs on a weekly application cutoff of Friday night, with verdicts going up by Sunday night at the latest (with one forewarned exception). This means that every weekend, there is an influx of new characters and new posts to respond to. This also means that the mods have to get together once a week and make their final verdicts on the applications, which can be somewhat taxing when there are a lot of applications or when one/both of us is on the road for work.
We're looking to put a cap on the number of applications considered in each period, as well as extending the cutoff period to being twice a month (the first and the fifteenth). The application cap that we are looking at is ten applications per cutoff period.
Why are we looking to do this? This is to control the size of the game for the sake of being able to plot with our casts without being overwhelmed with the number of inductees and/or risking a downturn into slice of life. Tu Shanshu is first and foremost a plot-driven game and we aim to be inclusive with the events -- having an overall cap on the applications would assist us in keeping up with new and old cast alike and facilitate optimal inclusion of all in events.
The second thing we're looking at is...
Application Quality
Every game has differing standards for application quality and Tu Shanshu has operated primarily on the technical level (completeness of application, demonstration of character knowledge). There's been some feedback that we could tighten up quality control in general and therefore we're bringing it to you, the members, to help us decide whether to notch up the quality bar.
What does this mean? Applications would be judged a little more thoroughly than they've been in the past. This means a higher chance of rejection would naturally follow, even for players that have characters presently in the game. We would be looking at apps not only with an increased scrutiny on technical aspects but possibly also a creative one as well – ie: is the app engaging overall, do the samples present options or incentive for people looking to tag them, etc.
Applications are the big one, but we've also got a few discussion points below that we'd love to hear feedback on:
Activity Requirements & Reclaims
Activity Requirements
We implemented a less stringent activity requirement commencing the November 2012 activity period and are curious about how it's going! Do you agree with the one post OR twenty comments requirement? How about the fact that the thread must be started during the AC period? Do you think we should increase the AC requirements? Any and all thoughts are welcome!
Reclaims
Tu Shanshu's activity requirements state that you can reclaim a character once and only once if they fail AC. This could, in all technicalities, mean that a character that has been in the game for ten months and failed their first AC, but passed all subsequent ones, would still be subject to the reclaim disqualification. We're looking at instituting a shelf-life on the reclaims of six months, meaning that any character that has been reclaimed, but subsequently passed six months of activity checks, would have that reclaim stricken from their record. This time period could be shortened or lengthened, depending on if you'd like to see this implemented and your thoughts about how it could best be done.
General Feedback
CR With Me
We currently offer a monthly CR With Me meme on the OOC community to facilitate the plotting and gathering of additional CR for any and all characters in the game. The idea to put it up every six weeks instead has been floated past us and we're looking for thoughts. Do you like it monthly? Would you prefer a longer time period? Also, do you have any feedback on the form that we use? Are there any other memes you would like to see?
Event Suggestions
We're always looking for event suggestions, be it player-run plots or ideas for gamewide mod events. If you have anything that you've been dying to see happen, feel free to make a suggestion here!
Mingle Log
Rather than have a burst of intro posts every time verdicts get posted, we're considering a ground mingle log to be posted. Thoughts?
General Feedback
Here is your forum for anything else that you would like to see changed, added, or removed from the game. We're at six months and want to make sure that you, the members, are still receiving the gaming experience that you joined to have!
And here's a handy-dandy code for organising feedback, if you'd like to use it!
As with all feedback opportunities, 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 drop by the Mod HMD if you'd prefer!
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Running too short on time to comment on anything else at the moment though, but I'll be back!
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Cap & Cutoff: I'm fine on whatever you choose to do with this - I know from experience modding/admin stuff can be a huge timesink, and with only two of you running things as the game continues to grow, you should organize app rounds and caps as necessary to keep things running smoothly! I agree that the growing influx of new players every weekend could start to get out of hand, so definitely these are some good ideas.
Quality: I'm in several games right now and I won't lie: this game has by far the highest percentage of revisions/rejections of any of them already! Personally, I feel like the quality standards here are already quite high, and I haven't seen any issues with the quality of RP from any of the players in the game - which, as far as I'm concerned, is the only reason to consider setting a higher bar. Also, doing so would possibly create even more work for you guys in assessing applications, so right now my suggestion would be to leave the quality standards as they are.
Activity
Requirements: I love the activity requirement as it is - especially as the game continues to grow, there's more stuff for people to tag, I don't see any reason to bring them back to the way they were i.e. forcing everyone to make a network post every month. Not to mention, some characters just wouldn't do that. On top of that, making the AC requirements stricter might force some people to drop the game who wouldn't have time for it.
Reclaim: I like this idea! Six months sounds like a good cutoff to me.
General
CR With Me/Memes: I'm okay with it either way - I like having CR memes regularly. Another game I'm in does them every two months and sometimes I feel like that's too long to wait. Six weeks might be okay, though I'm also fine with them continuing every month. I like the ability to work out more short-term CR plans each month like that.
EDIT: sorry for all these edits, but there is another meme I would like to see happen: a test drive meme! Maybe once every six weeks or two months, something like that. Test drive memes are a great way to get new people in and help everyone see if different characters might work in the setting. Toss a few setting-specific prompts up and see what happens!
On the topic of memes more generally - I personally like memes and think they can be both fun and silly, and also occasionally give players insight into each other's characters. If you want to encourage player-run memes, you could always create an (optional) meme community as some other games do. In terms of mod-run memes, though, I'm fine with what's being done now.
Mingle log: SORRY AGAIN UGH someday I'll stop editing this. I like mingle logs in general, the tricky part with this game would be finding a setting for it, I guess? Unless it was just a general "all over the turtle, come talk to new characters wandering around" thing. Or if you were to alter how arrivals work so that there was one specific place where new characters show up/get sent to for a meet 'n greet.
Event Suggestions: Nothing right now! But if I do have any ideas I'll pass them along.
General: Can't think of anything else, but you've got a great game going here and I think you're doing a great job! The growth of the playerbase I think speaks to that, so yeah! I like it here. :)
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Cap & Cutoff:
While I understand about not wanting the game to suddenly explode, I think that at this time, putting a cap on applications might not be for the best. If you guys are feeling overwhelmed by processing apps, I think having a cutoff might work for you or you could ask for mod helpers when reading apps. I've been in a number of games that had a set of application mods just for reading.
Quality:
How would you judge creativity? Or characters who wouldn't have a lot to say over the networks, which would reflect in their samples? I think that going that route would be a bad idea. It's always a good thing to tighten up how you judge your apps and handle quality control, but this seems subjective and difficult to judge. It would be unfair on the players to write what you would think is a creative app.
Other than that, I like everything else. I agree with the shelf-life of reclaims being six months.
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That said, we are flexible with the number of an app-limit - right now we're thinking ten, do you think there's a number that's a little better suited?
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Ten seems like a good number to me. I haven't really seen more than ten in an app round yet? I know there was a bigger-ish one recently, but I'm not sure if it was more than ten. So if you guys go the cutoff route, I think that's a pretty good number.
I am so sorry for rambling, lmfao.
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I think the most we've had so far in an app round is thirteen, but we've definitely been seeing a significant increase in interest (and a consistent amount of apps at about 7/8 per round) in the last couple months, which is why we're starting to think about these things sooner rather than later.
You did mention that a cut-off might not be for the best - might I ask why? Is it a variety of factors or does it just seem too stand-offish/exclusive to people looking at a new game?
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I don't think that it sounds too exclusive for people looking at a new game, but it might make them a little wary. I say it might not be best because it's almost like cutting off a problem that isn't a problem. If the worry is an influx of new characters + intros, then having app rounds (cutoffs) with a mingle log could definitely help to take care of that.
Although, if your worry is to take control of population size in order to work with your plot (which I totally understand), then that makes sense.
In general, though, I'm happy to go along with whatever you guys decide. From what I've seen in my short time here, you two seem like really capable and involved mods who have the best intentions for both the game and your players. c:
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(Anonymous) 2013-02-12 08:04 pm (UTC)(link)That said, given the heavy burden this continues to place on the both of you, and how involved you are in the game (as mods and players), I would strongly suggest considering the notion of hiring one or two helper mods, people whose sole responsibility would be to take care of maintenance:
-putting up memes and HMDs and CR WITH ME! and feedback posts that obviously follow a pre-established formate.
-updating game information lists.
-designating a cutoff time for an app period.
-Maybe even somebody who could personalize the comm pages, which could potentially draw in more players (even though I know that's not a concern of yours right now.)
-etc.
Things that wouldn't require any actual decision making on your part, but would free up a significant chunk of your time to focus on things that do.
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(Anonymous) 2013-02-12 09:08 pm (UTC)(link)no subject
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(Anonymous) 2013-02-12 08:39 pm (UTC)(link)i understand that you are both busy mods, but having someone help with the smaller maintenance needs may be something you could look into instead of having to cap things off. it gives the game a feel of a closed garden in a way, with the mentality of "don't want to app if I'm going to take up a slot that a current player wants"
as for app quality, I feel that's a little worrying? some characters don't lend themselves to being very good at network posts, and often I've found samples are never the best judge of how a character reacts in game. while applications have a set sort of circumstance, posts in game develop as events go on, letting even the most anti social of characters have something to talk about. thinking of these things and making them repondable in an app is not as easy.
all in all, i think the mods are doing a good job of maintain the game as it is, and I'm glad to say I play here.
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Another thing: if you limit the number of apps having a mingle log might not be necessary, since it's a fairly small number. Extending the cut-off might make a mingle intro log a good idea since it might be a larger number of apps.
I also think the standard of app quality here is pretty amazing, and I think there's a fine line between "wanting quality" and "being a little nuts", for lack of a better term. There was one game I was at for a while that almost always asked for revisions and every revision was pretty much the applicant repeating themselves in different ways to fluff it up, and some of these would still be rejected. Obviously you guys wouldn't get that bad (part of their problem was a lack of communication on what, exactly they wanted revisions on), but having seen an application process that is that bad I felt the need to comment on it.
The easy AC was honestly the main reason I app'd, after castmates and interesting premise. Some people, like me, are in a lot of games and having an easy AC is a huge draw.
...also I kind of enjoy generic plague type events--massive epidemic or something--because of the drama that tends to come with them buuuuuuuuuuut that's just me XD
also wow this was a lot of stuff for a newbie I'm sorry >.
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(Anonymous) 2013-02-12 09:22 pm (UTC)(link)AN ADDITIONAL NOTE
Thus far, Alex and I have generally refrained from putting our characters in active plot-important roles at all (though both Bruce and Tony have occupied passive ones - such as their respective Keeliai-specific companies, and we've had our rosters out and about during fight logs and such). This is primarily to make things fair in a potential infomoddy sense of the term, since we have understandably more access to in-game knowledge than everyone else. It's also to ensure that we aren't taking up a 'volunteer spot' that a non-mod character could use.
FIRST QUESTION: That said, would anyone object to us having our characters involved in the plots but not central or significant to them, with the expectation that we wouldn't be using our characters in an infomodding capacity? (IE: such as having characters tag along on 'clue finding' missions or something but with another character as the primary focus of said clue-finding)
SECOND QUESTION: Alternately, would anyone have a problem with us volunteering our characters for in-game missions with the understanding that our characters wouldn't be granted anything special or particular in the course of said missions? In an exclusive event where we need 3-5 or so volunteers I think we'd probably both abstain altogether but in an event like the one we're asking volunteers for presently, where there's a large variety of roles to fill across several different volunteer pools, would that be acceptable?
This is something she and I have talked about at length and I'm curious to hear our playerbase's thoughts on the matter. Feel free to comment anonymously here as well.
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Just. Yes. /o/
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Re: AN ADDITIONAL NOTE
Re: AN ADDITIONAL NOTE
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Re: AN ADDITIONAL NOTE
But with Bruce, Tony, and Reid, yesh, it would make sense if your characters are involved in the forwarding of the story. It would be weird otherwise.
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Cap & Cutoff: Spreading acceptance out to every other week would be fair. It's still a pretty quick processing time. Cutoffs might be a little daunting to people who are considering apping. Maybe like a 'deferred accept' category if integrating people is a concern? That way you have a round of people coming in the week apps are processed and another coming in for the off week. It'd average out the same, but it might help some with distribution.
Quality: I definitely got the feeling apping here that you guys already had a pretty high standard for app acceptance. As far as judging people on their posts' hooks, if you're gonna do that a meme comm/permanent test drive that could be used for a first person sample might be good. It could give a better feel for how a character would interact than just a monologue.
Activity
Requirements: Just chiming in here to say that yeah the easy AC is a big draw for the game.
Reclaim: I am strongly in favor of a cooldown. Six months for a reset sounds fine.
General
CR With Me/Memes: Personally I think spacing the CR memes out a little more is helpful. It gives people more time to actually act on plans that got made and all
Event Suggestions:Mingle Log: Makes sense.
General: I'd like to say that as a new player, the mods and the playerbase have both made me feel really welcome and I think that's awesome.
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Cap & Cutoff:
My concerns about the cap are that it might dissuade people from apping, but it also might end up being stressful for you in the long run. The backlog could end up getting too big and therefore overwhelming. Y'all know yourselves better than I do, but it's just a general concern. Though I can't think of a good middle ground alternative right now.
Quality:
Quality levels are perfectly fine for me. Everyone in the game is a quality RPer and I think the way you evaluate apps is a part of it.
Activity
Requirements:
The requirements are right at that perfect spot. It's enough to make sure people stay active but not so much that it begins to stress out the playerbase. And most of us exceed it without any trouble. It also makes the game more welcoming to characters who couldn't necessarily play in games with higher requirements (like a post per month).
Reclaim:
I think having it expire after six months is a good idea. It's long enough that it wouldn't encourage character squatting but it's lenient enough to give people a failsafe. Stuff happens and sometimes RP ends up on the backburner. (And some people just out and out forget to fill out their AC so it's not even about not being active sometimes!)
General
Mingle Log:
A mingle log is definitely interesting. It would keep intro posts from feeling too repetitive. I mean, people could still do intro posts but it would allow characters who wouldn't normally be inclined to do that to ease into the game.
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Cap & Cutoff: I can definitely understand the need for an app cap since some weeks/periods are pretty rough. Having done extended app periods I can say that you'll probably want to think carefully before hitting that point since what you'll end up having is just MORE apps to do every other week instead of bleeding them off every week. Of course that's why you have the cap but yeah it will...control the flow into the game but at the same time it might add panic to people trying to app and they may shy away from it as a result idk.
Quality: Don't see any issue with upping the bar on quality standards :|b
Activity
Requirements: Love the AC requirements as they are. They're low enough that you can put a character on the backburner for a month which means everyone feels awesome about surpassing it (as many of us inevitably do) so...keeping it as is = awesome.
Reclaim: You cooould probably bump the probationary period down to 3-4 months but that's just my two-cents.
General
CR With Me/Memes: CR Meme once a month has been fine but doing it longer could also work since people do a lot of plotting on plurk...not that all of our players have/use plurk of course.
What might be nice is every once in a while putting up an open enable me/prospective players meme. I have talked to a few people who would app if they could figure some things out in advance, and having a space to get in touch with the existing player base can be super welcoming/helpful. Not to mention the enabling aspects would give people a chance to throw ideas/characters around outside a CR meme, especially if it doesn't go up as often. Could double/triple as a test-drive meme. Maybe set up a thread for various intents/purpose idk. /throws ideas around
Event Suggestions: No suggestions here :|a Everything's been pretty gravy imho and you know me and events h-hah. Big planner without much follow-through.
Mingle Log: A mingle log could be pretty awesome. I was in a game that had a monthly mingle-log basically and it was kinda nice to have a place for everyone...
The only draw back I found was that with a mingle log, I'd get caught up in tagging a lot of things and then I'd end up waiting to see how things fell out before tagging into new things throughout the month...and by then a new mingle-log would go up so. IDK could go either way on that one :\ It's hard to tag into all the new posts at once but at the same time I don't have a good idea for a solution.
General: ILU both and uhm uhm crap idk. This game continues to be my fabulous home-game that I love forever. Thank you for an amazing six months and here's to six more <333
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Cap & Cutoff: I have a few reservations? Ten applications every two weeks isn't even necessarily twenty characters a month with the matter of rejections and all that, and it seems to significantly increase the stakes in apping and may make a person second guess the decision, for better or worse. But I understand your reasons, particularly with plot integration. So, reservations, but of course if changing it works best, then so it must be!
Quality: I think the quality of apps is fine! Myself, I was already somewhat nervous about apping here because the standard seemed very high, just from reading through your apps page and the revisions/rejections you decided on (hello I am overstudious in my apping, that is me).
If what you do want to look for RPing quality/how they'll work in the game, then that may not be available in the standard form of an app, but the suggestion above about letting people use other threads for samples would show that. Which would combine easily with the above open test drive + the enable me/prospective players meme suggestions. Prospective players could get some interaction to get a better feel of the place, in-game players could get a sense of what to do with the new characters before they come in officially (especially helpful I've learned if a canonmate from an unknown player is coming in), and you would have an example of RPing/interactivity to work off of in application judgement.
Activity
Requirements: I like the requirements as they are. It gives nice flexibility in how I'm going to get my character out. And you didn't mention it, but I thought I'd mention that also really like what you do with not using the same person one month as the one after.
Reclaim: Six months before a strike seems fair to me!
General
CR With Me/Memes: Four or six weeks both seem like good time spans. I think one thing is that CR memes are great to have prior to a plot, and the timing you currently have seems to do a great job setting the CR memes with a good amount of space before a plot before planning. Of course, the CR meme isn't specifically for event-plotting posts, but I think putting event plotting with general CR plotting makes it easier to do both. So while six weeks is better, perhaps, for executing the CR planned, I really like that (at least as long as I've been here) we've done these memes right before a plot.
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(Anonymous) 2013-02-12 11:31 pm (UTC)(link)Cap & Cutoff: Like others have said, a cap could be off-putting to players interested in apping. It’s not exactly fun to hear about a game that would be really interesting, only to find out that you have to be put on a waiting list just to be considered.
Quality: I think the quality standards are already high enough with a hefty amount of revision requests and outright rejections over the past few rounds. Setting them even higher would seem, to be frank, pretty ridiculous and potentially off-putting for people looking into apping. And like someone else mentioned, judging an app based on something like “creativity” would be unfair considering what the mods think is creative versus what someone else thinks is creative could be completely different.
Beyond that, I think the setting section is something you two put too much focus on when judging apps. So many of the revisions you’ve requested have been because people missed some minor (and often rather tedious) details about the setting of the character’s universe. While it’s important to understand a character’s universe and their role in it, it’s not an accurate reflection of a player’s understanding of the character they intend to play. I realize that you want it so canon-blind players can understand it, but really, if canon-blind players want to learn more, a simple google search would solve that problem a lot better that making players write extremely detailed descriptions of the setting and only putting minor focus on other, more important parts of the application.
Putting more emphasis on personality, and perhaps even adding a section where the players can write in-depth details about a character’s strengths and weaknesses (not just physical, of course) would be wiser, I think. And putting a bigger emphasis on needing a paragraph on a character’s reaction to being brought to Tu Vishan would be important, too, since many appers seem to forget that part.
On another note, I think a permanent test drive meme could be a good idea as an alternative for writing up a first person sample. Depending on the character, a sample network post could either be really easy or really difficult to write, and an actual thread would be a better example of someone’s skill with playing their character and how they react in certain situations.
Activity
Requirements: The current requirements for activity are easy to keep track of and manage, and it’s very flexible. No problems there.
Reclaim:Seems like a fair idea to me!
General
CR With Me/Memes: Every six weeks or so seems like a good place to go. It provides plenty of time to figure out what the plans are and for players to try and put those plans in action before the next meme goes up.
Event Suggestions: Don’t have any at the moment, unfortunately. :|a But the ones you’ve been coming up with so far have all been enjoyable!
Mingle Log: This actually seems like a really good idea! It’d be a good way for new characters to form CR and get involved in the game without a constant flood of intro posts.
General: Aside from what I said in the quality section, I really do love this game and think it’s a great place to be. The setting is fun, the characters and casts are great, and everybody is wonderful ooc. I love it here. <3
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Cap & Cutoff: Going with a few other people in saying that I'm fine with either option, but doing both might seem like overkill
Quality: haha I'll be honest, I think the apps are kind of tough as it is :P I don't think having an awesome app equals being an awesome RPer, either, and it just makes it harder and less appealing. I think if maybe you're looking for more voice/creativity, maybe require an IC questionnaire instead of a first person sample? I've seen that option work really well in other games, especially since samples are kind of soulless things to write in the first place
Activity
Requirements: I love the AC requirements here, please don't change them!
Reclaim: I don't really have an opinion on this either way, to be honest. Six months definitely seems fair though
General
CR With Me/Memes: I think every month would be too much, but six weeks sounds like a pretty good amount of time. I also think more game-wide memes that are just for fun would be a good- possibly in a crack comm or once a month or something- just because it's a stress free way to try out some potential CR / plotting
Mingle Log: Generally I kind of hate them sadly. Mainly for the fact that it's hard to get established players to thread / tag into these sort of things in the long run which can be discouraging to new players, and if it's a small app week there's not going to be a lot of mingling to be had in the first place. Plus, there's a lot of different entrance points to the game, which would make it hard to justify why there's a central meeting place.
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Cap & Cutoff: I definitely think what you guys are proposing is fair. Recently it feels like the game's made a leap in the amount of new characters coming in. Personally, I love the feel of a smaller, more relaxed game and the app process as it is is allowing us to step away from that.
Quality: I believe that you guys are scrutinizing enough when it comes to the rejection or acceptance of applications. Tightening those guidelines may make the process almost too strict, in my opinion.
Activity
Requirements: I think it would be a good idea to consider keeping the AC requirements as they are with one tweak: accepting any tags made within the month, no matter when the thread itself was started. This will encourage backtagging and make it easier to finish threads even after the AC for that month has passed.
Reclaim: The six month "shelf life" idea sounds like a great plan to me!
General
CR With Me/Memes: Are fine the way they are.
Mingle Log: Sounds like a great idea!
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Cap & Cutoff: I'm down with this, though I do think folks have raised some good points, so whatever you guys decide is fine with me.
Quality: I'm fine with uping the quality required, though I do think people have good points on both making threads an option to add (sometimes people can write great technical apps but can't play the character, and sometimes people aren't as good at apps but can play really well), and paying less focus on the setting section. It never really seemed relevent to me, since I just google a canon if I need to know about it.
Activity
Requirements: Fine with me!
Reclaim: This sounds like a good idea, too.
General
CR With Me/Memes: I think six weeks would work well for the CR with me meme, since it gives people a little more time to actually go through with plans they make. I'm happy with the test drive meme once a month, and I think it's worth putting it up around the same time as ATP every month, so when people are discussing there we can point them in the direction of the test drive.
As for general/cracky memes, tbh I dislike having too many of them because they get really distracting. They're easy and people (myself included) end up spending hours messing around instead of... doing actual tags. I lik them if they can provide something useful? Like this CR tldr is good because it helps get an idea of how our characters feel about each other, but idk like, IC anon or whatever memes are a waste of time in my opinion.
Event Suggestions: nothing right now :|a but I will think on it
Mingle Log: Same as other people have said, a mingle log would be pointless imo unless there was some sort of designated point, which I guess would be easy to work in. If like, all the carts arrive at a welcome centre or something at the same time.
General: I know some comms change character's DW tags when they're dropped, putting a symbol in front of them, and I think it's a pretty good idea? It saves scrolling through a bunch of characters that aren't even in game anymore when we want to add tags to a post.
Also seconding thoughts about getting some helper mods to do things like memes/activity/maintaining lists, to free up your time for plot/app/srs mod business.
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Application!
QUality: I think the quality's fine, but I do agree that maybe put less emphasis on the setting? AND I'M NOT JUST SAYING THAT BECAUSE I WAS ASKED FOR A REVISION ON THAT PART LMFAO i do admit I rushed that section a bit. But yeah, when I want to know about the character I just google because it's easier? And I think applications should focus more on whether a person could voice and internalize the character well since that's mostly what can be seen/read in threads and logs and the setting is almost more of a backgrounder or something like that. Wow I hope that made some semblance of sense because what are words.
Activity
Requirements: please don't ever change the requirements i love them lol ;u;
Reclaim: That's a good point, actually! The striking off after 6 months of passing activity would be great
And yes that is all I have to say
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Cap & Cutoff: I don't mind the idea of extending the cutoff period (once a week is actually getting pretty rare among games, so I think twice a month is perfectly fine) but I'm not a huge fan of putting a firm cap on the apps when the incoming number still fluctuates enough. It was stated that the most in one round was 13 and I think the off-putting effect especially towards new incoming players would outweigh the occasional time it runs over 10. If it starts becoming and issue where you're getting FAR above the current level (like double) then maybe the cap can be revisited?
Quality: I'm actually pretty comfortable with the quality of the incoming apps and I think there's a fair amount of revisions being asked for not to be too worried about quality control at this time. If anything, I might echo what other people are saying about maybe less emphasis placed on the setting section, a separate partition for the "handling TuShan" since that has to be a headache for you guys to keep asking for (I'm totally guilty, I missed it with BOTH my boys, ugh). Samples... that's a tough one because yeah, "creativity" is subjective. I think other people have volunteered better suggestions than what I have for this one right now.
Activity
Requirements: I really like the current level and it's flexible enough to allow for those months where character voices fluctuate.
Reclaim: Yes please! I was wondering about that when I was reading up on the AC rules and I remember thinking, "but is that... forever...?" 6 months is perfectly reasonable for a reset on it.
General
CR With Me/Memes: I don't mind it every month but 6 weeks is fine too. Wouldn't go any longer than 6 weeks though, I've seen it every other month and it doesn't seem to work as well.
Event Suggestions: Can't think of any at the moment, but should chime in that I like how the metaplot events have been handled since I've been in the game.
Mingle Log: I think this would be FANTASTIC.
General: can't think of anything else at the moment.
Sorry this was late and rambly.
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Cap & Cutoff: Oof. This is a hard thing any way you cut it. I'm not sure what to say, honestly, except that bleeding off a bit at a time seems like a good idea, and if the 'wait period' is short it might make the cutoff-number idea seem less constricting. And honestly, while remembering that optimally you want what's best for the players, that can't happen unless it's also best for you guys. Just remember that when thinking about the hard numbers.
Quality: I have been known to be a bit snobbish about these things and so am given to going, 'You want to be stringent, that's your call, if people want to make the effort they will.'
I will note that some people are terrible at apps and brilliant at RP--and some are great at apps but not as good in the follow-up. They're not always the same skill, though one frequently indicates the other. The possibility of using a thread somewhere as a sample is intriguing, though I know it's not a course I would take myself.
The whole thing about 'setting' emphasis is getting a lot of attention. Me, I didn't mind it at all, because the world shapes the character and understanding that it important. Also, a lot of those 'revisions' have been about 'how your pup fits into such-and-such,' which is a totally reasonable question, especially as it contributes to personality. That said, I've seen enough of the revisions and had a comment from a potential player that tells me something: people assume 'setting' means 'history.' Try splitting them up on the app. It might get people to work through that 'and now I give you a history lesson' out there, and leave the idea of explaining the world easier to come by.
Activity
Requirements: I'm fine with this. It's taken a lot of stress off me personally, the game is active and healthy, and people feel welcome. Next up...
Reclaim: Hah. I was going to bring this up within the next couple months, with precisely that six-month expiration date on reclaims. I second Mari's note that if you wanted to bring it down to three or four it wouldn't be bad, but (speaking from experience as the offender) it's easier to squat that way.
General
CR With Me/Memes: Love the CR with me ones, and this CR tldr one. Test Drive memes, especially around ATP time, are also a wonderful thing and ought to be regular. Other than that, as a rule I dislike memes, frankly, and I think I'd definitely like to avoid having it be a Mod Implemented thing. I suppose if someone really wants to see a meme, asking you guys and you guys deciding might make the occasional one okay. But as a Regular Thing, I hate them, so please no. For the CR-With-Me ones, two months seems too long, going to six weeks might be fine, leaving it at once-a-month isn't bad.
Event Suggestions: Your zombies took my brain (this is good!) so I'll get back to you when I've grown a new one.
Mingle Log: Eh. I think everyone's already said what I have to say on the 'meh' opinion.
General: The helper-mods might really be a good idea, especially for those compulsive. purely administrative details some of us enjoy but which eat up plot-mods' time.
Late, but I wasn't up for much constructive discussion the last few days.
Cap & Cutoff: I would also be going with one or the other, at least initially, but it is very important for you to feel joy in the game, too, so, I'm behind you if you decide on both!
Quality: I have been enjoying the people who come in! That said, knowing that people will be filtered a little more can make people more relaxed to tag around with those who have been admitted.
Maybe, after the cup/cutoff combo is implemented, keep an eye out on how many of the apps would have been rejected for quality reasons, and then decide?
Activity
Requirements: I love the way they are. A lot of my threads are backtagging, and the current requirements encourage me to branch out and make new interactions without making me stress out about older threads that I enjoy and don't want to just drop or rush.
Reclaim: That sounds a good idea, especially with consistent improvement in activity!
General
CR With Me/Memes: As is or at six weeks sounds better to me than more frequently? Especially since events encourage additional plotting logs.
Mingle Log: I am going to be among the few who aren't very hot on the idea. I'm not against it, but it presents the same difficulty to me as partly logs - too much happening crammed into a very small space. Now and again, those are fine and not intimidating. Every two weeks makes me slowly back off. That doesn't mean you shouldn't, just that it's not a thing I'll be poking at as much as I do separate intro posts, where things happen in a more limited manner.
(This is from experience in two games with new characters mingle logs.)
General: I love you. Both of you, and the entire game.
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About the cap: I honestly think if you guys want this to be a plot-driven game in the long run (which I'd love) you might want to consider a maximum of characters for the game in general? And higher requirements to app more people maybe, but that's just on the long run and not everyone would like that, I'm just saying.
We have a mingle log in one of my other games and it loosens up the 'WHO AM I WHAT IS THIS' influx of entries at the start of the month a lot. It's really no biggie in here since it's weekly instead of monthly and the influx of entries isn't all that bad but I think it'd be helpful /o/
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Mingle Log: (I presume) new characters arrive at different times and are taken to different places around the city. A mingle log could be forced? Though I suppose it depends on the how/where/when of the log itself.
General: I mentioned this on plurk, but I thought I'd stick it here as well just so I could get my thoughts ordered.
I would really appreciate a post which had a summary of past events, maybe with links to the mod posts for those events) just to give a sense of history and so new people can know what turtle-wide issues are common knowledge and what they might expect to hear from residents if they ask what's been going on lately.
If there's a summary of what has been learned about the turlte/keelai/emperor/anything else (and how likely it would be for new people to find out this knowledge) that could also he helpful.
My main reason for asking for something like this is because, as playing a pretty inquisitve character, he's likely to hunt out a lot of information, and it's impractical for him to learn all of it through threading with other people (though from having only been here a short while, I can say that I've already pick up a lot, due to awesome people).
Thank you for being awesome! /o/
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