ironwood: (TURTLE / hatchlings)
[personal profile] ironwood
Hey Chelonauts! We have some announcements regarding major changes for the future of Tu Shanshu, so please read on.

We feel that the community has reached a crossroads of sorts with regards to the game’s sustainability, particularly in the last six months, and we know you've seen it too: there has been a drastic decline in activity, in plotting, and in our ability to attract new players to the game.

This isn't the result of one single fault or failing-- not the mods, not the players, not the plotting opportunities or people's creativity. A lot of it has to do with the age of the game (we passed our 5-year mark back in August), and some of it has to do with the fact that we as a game might have been trying to do too much at once, and be too many things.

But we love the overall setting of Tu Shanshu, and we know that there is a lot left that can be done with the worldbuilding that's in place, which is why we're introducing what the modteam feels is the best way to preserve all the best bits of Tu Shanshu, and yet give players both existing and potential a revitalization that we think the game needs in order to survive.

In light of that, we would like to announce that over the next few months, we will be tying off the story of Keeliai and Tu Vishan, and introducing a successor/spin-off game, called Khu Ioduan.

Below the cut, we've included the premise for the new game, as well as some of the core mechanics that will be in use. There's a lot of information in this post, and we ask that you give it all a read. We know that a change of this scale can be intimidating, especially to players who've been with us for years. We want to assure everyone that the modteam is fully committed to both this evolution, and to making sure our existing players are as comfortable as possible with the transition.

Below the cut is a lot of information... )

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Associated Links:

11/07/17 - UPDATE - Talents and Affinity
ironwood: (Default)
[personal profile] ironwood
Hello chelonauts, it’s that time again!

It's been a few months since our last State of the Shell (Dec 2016) and we're happy to introduce some changes to the in-game structure to better facilitate plots going forward.

We've got some OOC structure changes to touch upon first - don't worry, nothing scary! First up, a mod-related change.

Mod Changes )

Process Changes )

In Game Changes - BRING ON THE GUILDS )
ironwood: (TURTLE / hatchlings)
[personal profile] ironwood
Hello chelonauts! It's the end of the year again, and time for a new State of the Shell.

As we wrap up 2016, there's been lots of development in the game and we as mods are thrilled that players have embraced the character consequence-driven style of play in TS. It's exciting for us to construct plots based on player's choices, and we hope it's enjoyable for you too!

GAME HMD

I'd like to invite players to also use this post for a GAME HMD: that is, to share your thoughts on how you feel this year has gone in regards to the running of the game, the plots and events (speed, content, etc) and to share any feedback that we as mods can use to improve running TuShanshu. We cannot overstate the benefit that player feedback plays in allowing us to run the best possible game for everyone, and any input (positive or negative) is valuable to us. As always, we allow anon/non-IP comments if you are more comfortable commenting that way.


PLOT SELECTION

As mentioned on the November itinerary, in the coming year we're looking to consolidate some of the ongoing plots that are presently running, as there are a lot of them! We're asking that players choose from the list below, their top three preferred plots to pursue starting in the new year, and to comment with those three choices (and any input you have on them!) to this post.

We want to assure everyone that the other plots are NOT being completely shelved, nor that the existing development on them will be lost! TuShanshu has always had a connected-web style of plots, particularly with the overarching metaplot, and we do enjoy the intricacy and hope you all do too! Instead, we're simply looking to not have quite so many plots on the go at the same time, which we feel will allow us to put more detail, more personalization, and the better involve more players, in the "active" plots. When one of these plots resolves itself, we'll simply roll into another one to take its place.



A WILD PLOT(S) APPEARS! )

That wraps up this State of the Shell! We didn't have any process changes this time around, but if you've noticed anything in the game that needs updating, please let us know.

Thank you for a fantastic year and we're looking forward to 2017!

- Your Mods
Li, Makari, Rivers, Seal
ironwood: (Default)
[personal profile] ironwood
Hello chelonauts, we have an important announcement for you today regarding changes to the mod staff in the game.

Due to real life time commitments, Am and Pur will be retiring as mods and players, and will be stepping down effective the end of this month. Please join me in thanking them for their dedication, inspiration and enthusiasm over the last two years, especially in helping to develop the IC world after the game's reboot! Tu Shanshu would not be nearly as special a place nor as strong as community without their input.

Throughout the month, their NPC's involvement will be scaled back and/or phased out, in preparation for new NPCs to take on various roles within the game.

In light of this, we will be opening mod applications, starting now and running through until the 18th of July, with our decisions made by July 22nd. In order to maintain the current level of IC world building, plot development, and core post upkeep, we are seeking 2-3 additional mods. Due to the small size of the game, we're not looking for people to do only certain aspects of modding (that is, we're not looking for list mods versus app mods, etc), and so applicants should be aware that they'll be expected to participate in all of the mods' tasks.

Throughout the transition, Am and Pur will be around, and all three of us will be helping the new mod recruits get up to speed through the end of the month tasks, so they'll be able to see how itineraries are put together, how apps are handled, and all the fun behind the scenes things that keep this turtle swimming!

If you are interested in volunteering, please copy and fill out the form below and email it to tushanshu@gmail.com

Mod Form )

If you have any questions, please let us know here!
ironwood: (TURTLE / hatchlings)
[personal profile] ironwood
Hello chelonauts! Here is our long overdue State of the Shell post. It's been a wild ride over the past year since the new story arc of the game came into effect, hasn't it? Malicant's defeat, waking up into a new Keeliai, new alliances and discoveries!

We'll be summarizing the current status of some major plot points, which will hopefully give people lots of goals to tackle in the new year. We're also making a number of small process changes that will help the game run more smoothly.

And so without further ado:

Plot Recaps )



Process Changes )



We hope this gives everyone a solid feeling for where Tu Shanshu currently stands as we head into 2016!

As always, we welcome any thoughts and questions about anything in this post, and we'd like to take this opportunity for players to share their opinions on the past year's run of the game for plots, events, and how we've been doing as your moderators. Anonymous is available, if you're prefer that approach, but all of your feedback is truly invaluable, so please consider sharing!

And that brings us to the end of the State of the Shell. Happy turtling!

-- Li, Am, and Pur
ironwood: (TURTLE / hatchlings)
[personal profile] ironwood
Hello chelonauts, it’s that time again! This post and the log which will be going up shortly mark the beginning of TuShanshu’s new plot angle as decided in the July State of the Shell. This era of the game will be slightly more slice-of-life in that there is no driving metaplot like there was with Malicant, but will focus on world-building, exploration, and politics. The war is over--now it’s a chance for the Foreigners to define the world which they, and many others, inhabit.

We apologize, as this post is very lengthy! There was a lot of material to cover, and we are still working on some of the back-end changes such as converting the core posts to reflect all the new information.

But first, some mod-related changes.

Mod Changes )

Game Changes )

Process Changes )
ironwood: (TURTLE / hatchlings)
[personal profile] ironwood
Hello Chelonauts! As you know there are a lot of big changes happening with the game, a lot of big reveals that are coming to light and lots of exciting things still to come. This SOTS is meant to address the game between now and the end of the Malicant arc, where the plot will shift over to the new phase of the game. There will be another SOTS post made in January to bring people up to speed with all the changes, so we're not covering any of those facets with this one. (They are still, however, tentatively outlined HERE.)

Please bear with us, as this post contains a lot of info! We hope we've covered everything but if not, please drop us a note on this post and we'll try to answer any remaining questions.

Mod Changes )

Game Updates & Changes )

Process Changes )
ironwood: (TURTLE / hatchlings)
[personal profile] ironwood
Hello Chelonauts, we've got some very big news to announce! We'd like to thank everyone who participated in our endgame discussion post. The mods have taken the feedback there and put together something which we hope will work for as many of our players as possible and take the game into new territory.

Before I get into the announcement, I wanted to say that we really appreciate the patience of those who've stuck with us as we've been finding our footing with running TuShanshu -- it means a lot for us! ♥

So without further ado... )
ironwood: (Default)
[personal profile] ironwood
Greetings, Chelonauts! May has arrived and with it come the winds of change. Some of those changes have already occurred, as with Malicant's occupation of the palace and some are yet to come. This post will hopefully address any questions that have come up regarding gameplay but if there are other things you would like to see clarified as to the new state of things, there's a comment header below for such.

Mod Changes )

Game Updates & Changes )

Process Changes )
ironwood: (Default)
[personal profile] ironwood
'Lo, Chelonauts!

Tu Shanshu has officially hit its year-and-a-half marker! For those of you just joining us, when we hit certain milestones we put up posts of this nature to announce changes to the game and invite feedback from our members.

Our biggest changes rolling in this time around are to our Activity Check and our App Format, as well as to the overall tone and pace of the game. We're also delighted to announce the incorporation of a new gameplay element, Missions, which will greatly expand players' ability to interact with many worldbuilding elements of the game. Finally, we are also pleased to introduce our newest members of the app team!

App Mods & App Changes )

Activity Check Changes )

Gameplay Update )

New Feature - Missions )

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As always, we value your thoughts and feedback and are here to answer any questions you might have!