Poll Results and Various

[felldenmods]

Hello everyone!

We're hoping everyone's having a good day and a good middle of the week! We've brought some updates on some various pieces of the game we would like to start changing and tweaking over the next month or so. This post is to just put everything in one place so everyone is aware of what we'll be discussing in the coming weeks regarding the game and its mechanics.

1. The poll results are in and it looks like the majority vote went for a character cap of 100 characters and with a cast cap of 7. As of the time of writing this post, we currently have 78 characters in this game, so this will allow for about 22 slots to be opened for the app round coming up. At this time, we'd like to continue with the test drive meme and the application around, though we are changing it to allow only new player apps. This means that for this round, we would like for anyone currently in the game to not apply for a second character to allow for people outside of the game who have been wanting to apply to have that chance. We'd like to test this cap for the time being and we are open to changing it in a few months dependent on how it is received.

2. However, this then means that we will likely have an application rush and apps will be foreseeably closed for some time to new applications, which could mean a problem. We have been discussing the potential to allow for rolling apps with the application page reflecting how many characters are currently in game. People can put their applications in and when a spot opens up, their app will be viewed and deliberated upon and the character can be brought into play. We haven't completely decided on this, though. We'd like to open this post to feedback on this!

3. The next piece is pacing. While we'll be having another post about this after December and after the newer application round in the hopes of getting feedback and opinions when things are calmer, we are hoping to use December to slow down the pace but also to test out how we want to balance the flow of the game. What we are considering is having one plot-heavy month and then one plot-light month. Examples of this would include (with no spoilers):

Month 1 is a plot-heavy month which will include a more intense event that would have a large reveal, potentially the inclusion of a new NPC, combat, and/or high stakes. These will run as we have been running them (but we'd like to, again, tweak the pacing so things do not feel so rushed). There will still be opt-outs that allow players and characters to be a part of the event/plot without needing to force their character into something they would not do. An example would be that characters that have non-combat strengths will still have plenty to do during these times.

Month 2 is a plot-light month which will include downtime for exploration, espionage, information gathering, preparation, and opportunities to seek out plot-necessary allies, items, locations, or magic! This time will also provide players with the opportunity to spotlight their own efforts (like businesses and player plots).

We are using December to "test" this system, though we want to assure everyone that December will be especially slow from a mod and NPC standpoint due to the holidays. We say this because we do not want anyone who may feel December is too light or lacking in plot knows that our plot-light months will still have more involvement and more things to engage with.

4. We are working on retooling the quest mechanic but currently, we have no finite details on this and we are taking December to consider various options. Stay tuned!

5. We will shortly be opening up applications for helper mods so that we can ensure better availability for you all in various ways (like quests and NPCs) so keep an eye out if you'd be interested! ;)

6. Lastly, we are going to be opening up the communities again in the new year. We want to thank you all for your patience and your understanding during this time. We take targeted anonymous harassment of our players very seriously. If you have concerns, please reach out to us. We want to do right by our players but we can only do that if we're given information on what's happening.


Right now, the rolling apps and tweaks to pacing are things we are currently considering and these have not been set in stone! We'd encourage you to provide your feedback, ideas, and any other options you'd like for us to consider on this post. In December, we will have another post once new players have been accepted where we will bring this up for discussion again. It will give us time to make a decision and bring our thoughts back to you!

As always, we appreciate you all. This game runs on your efforts, your ideas, and your feedback. We wouldn't be able to make it happen without you!

Thank you!
Wand & Pentacle

Comments

[lallipop]

I personally think rolling apps are a really good idea, I was in a capped game that used them (Station 72) and it worked well. Not having a cohort of newbies can actually be helpful in getting integrated into a plot-heavy game too, since you won't be asking a million of the same questions at the same time as other people and your character's arrival is more of a novelty. The downside is the wait time between apping and acceptance, but that could be helpful in finding people with sustained interest in the game too.

[agonise]

From my experience in another game that did it, rolling apps are best when you only open them when space is available, because the wait list really kills desire to play; people who apped months ago are no longer interested in playing here for whatever reason. Otherwise, I think rolling apps would be a really good idea here.

[comburst]

Re: the next app round, will reserves be taken into account for the cap, then? Just want to know how that'll work so I can pass the info on!

Thanks for the post, mods!

[felldenmods]

Reserves will be open without a limit. We will, however, only be accepting the number of applications it will take to reach the character cap in the game. We know sometimes people will reserve but may not follow through with applying, we don't want to limit reserves and create a situation where others might not be able to apply!

[chivalread]

Piggybacking off this a little, does that mean apps from people with active reserves will be given precedent? Or will the slots just go to the first [x] people to app, regardless?

ETA: I will say I have been in games that have implemented caps by accepting reserves up to the cap, and then opening apps for everyone after the reserves have had a day or two to get their apps in. This is just a suggestion of course, but not capping reserves just seems like it would be inviting an extra layer of competition to what is already going to be a competitive app round.

[unabatedly]

Oh, that's a good point! I'm going to +1 that. I've been in a game before where the first 24 hours go to reserves and then afterwards it's open for anyone who didn't reserve.

+1

[comburst]

I've been in several games like that, too, although obviously the mods should go with whatever is easiest for them personally - but like Ramey said, it gets a little confusing if it's just "we're doing a ton of reserves but then even people who didn't reserve can app and get first-come first-serve" in which case reserves wouldn't serve much purpose?

[catsy]

imo the reserves would be for reserving the character in this case, not reserving a slot. So they would serve a purpose!

+1

[assholic]

Unless the app changes to state that a reserve is necessary and not just required as a link to prove you're that version that reserved, then the reserve process serves the same purpose it always has: to make sure that you get first shot at that particular character for that particular round.

I'm not against requiring a reserve link to app (even for OCs), but the idea of capping reserve slots isn't necessarily going to be the best way since not everyone who reserves always apps, so those spots might get wasted, and not all apps get accepted. 100 people could reserve or 10 could, and it should still go by the game cap numbers for who gets in. Reserves are its own process.

[chivalread]

I get what you're saying, but I think that's why I've seen it done where apps are open to everyone after a set amount of time. If reserves are capped, and it's in the rules that you must have your app in within the first 24-48 hours (or whatever) or forfeit your slot, that would give people incentive to follow through, but that also means that reserves that do fall through are not stopping other people from apping.

To use my own cast as an example, we have six people already. With this system it would be plausible for three different people to reserve three different characters from Three Houses even though there is only room for one per the cast cap. And then what? Each of those three people would write their app and race to submit it before the other two? If something in this process has to be the Hunger Games, I'd rather it be the reserves because then at least you know where you stand.

[assholic]

Unless I'm mistaken, reserves already expire during the app round if people don't get them in within a certain amount of time. (eg; Someone reserves Dean Winchester and they don't app them in before their reserve expires and someone else can app in Dean Winchester.)

I hear what you're saying, but the problem is that there's always going to be a 'Hunger Games' when there's supply and demand. Either it's going to be a rush to be "The One" who gets that spot on the reserve cap or it's going to be a rush to get their app in first on the app cap. A cap in any place is going to institute a rush. I'd personally prefer if there was more leeway with reserves, since there's no judgement or limitations on those. If there's one spot left in the Marvel group, then five people can still reserve a Marvel character. It's still going to be first come first served on who gets in. With your example, there's still 3 people that want to reserve/app. That doesn't go away just because there's a cap in a different place. That would still be in play on reserves (who gets their reserve slammed in first), but there'd be less of a guarantee that a) that person would actually put their app in or b) get that character in.

I guess I'm just a fan of more options for people being better than less.

[chivalread]

I would actually argue that allowing as many reserves as possible only gives the illusion of options, because at the end of the day, the game and the casts are still capped, like you said. If you reserve Dean Winchester before everyone else, but 30 people from other franchises get their apps in before you, then you’ve written an app for nothing, save for maybe the chance of a spot opening later for rolling apps.

Ultimately, this choice is going to be up to the mods, and I will trust that however they choose to handle it will be the best for them and for the game. I just wanted to put my two cents in that I think capping reserves is the least stressful option for the potential new players. It means you are guaranteed an app spot (for a certain amount of time), it incentivizes you to write your app on time, and it means you’re not racing against a bunch of unknowns because reserves aren’t screened like apps are.

[assholic]

Which is fair and we're all just putting in our two cents.

[felldenmods]

We've agreed upon this for reserves! Reserves are intended to hold a character rather than an application slot. We've mentioned it on the November test drive and will also make note of it on the reserve page. :)

[epidioko]

I realize I'm going to be That Jerk for bringing this up, but have you considered franchise caps at all? With the game capped at 100 characters now, I feel like cast caps of 7 are a little ineffective in some cases when Final Fantasies and Fire Emblems have been allowed to app in out of individual installments instead of under a collective title, whereas say the Dragon Ages and live action Marvels have all been lumped into one despite the clear divide between TV and movie Marvel. Potential 7 characters in each of the FF's alone takes up a pretty significant chunk of that allotted 100 characters, and I wanted to raise the question before the next app around.

Edited to add that I also think the proposed changes to the pacing sound very good and will likely allow for more people to get better involved and develop more/deepen pre-existing CR with a little less frenetic pacing, event-wise!

[cresture]

personally I would be definitely fine if the mods want to open up a franchise cap poll, but hopefully we can have that discussion/poll after the upcoming app round? I'm obviously biased here, but I figure that with the cast and character caps already in place and affecting the next app round that having a franchise cap on top of that is a lot to handle for any potential players preparing their apps or looking into the game now.

+1

[potential]

[felldenmods]

We'll be implementing a franchise cap following December's app round!

[pridecroweth]

Hey guys, thanks for this!

There's really only one thing I want to bring up relative to this, and it's the fact that you're only allowing new people to app in the coming round. I think that given a lot of the concerns people are running into wrt plot, pacing, inclusiveness, the mad rush for plot spaces and things like quest slots, I'm a little uncertain about the idea of adding 22 prospective new players into the fray before those issues are ironed out and new systems have been put in place to allow for a more harmonious balance of experiences. My concern is that it might just set us up for more of the same on a larger scale.

I'm also not saying, hey, let standing players app their seconds right now! Because I don't think that's the solution here, either. I'm just saying it might benefit the game collective to take some time without an influx of new blood to tinker with the more finicky aspects of moderation.

Basically just my thoughts on the matter, but you guys know what's going on behind the scenes better than I do so I'm not partial about whatever you decide to go with. Either way I hope everything goes smoothly and we can all have a great December!

+1

[potential]

[felldenmods]

While we definitely understand where you're coming from, we would rather avoid skipping an application round on such short notice (10 days from the time of this post to the application round starting.) Hopefully some of the changes we're planning to implement/get feedback on will help with pacing, quests, etc.!

[redload]

i'm pretty much on board with everything. rolling apps seems like a great idea! i was briefly in another game that used this method. there was a "waiting list" of received apps and the mods would make sure to ask the player to see if they were still interested. i guess you would have to consider when these rollings apps would be otherwise accepted and the characters able to integrate themselves in the game. for instance, would it be done as soon as a spot is open? or keeping to the twice a month schedule? or after the monthly ac? regardless, i'm just bringing it up as a point of consideration for you if rolling apps are to be implemented.

as for the pacing of one heavy month and one light month, i'm all for that! if only to give characters (and us players) a moment of buffer between what's been happening and cementing any other aspects we would like to explore in the in-game universe. i know that signing up for quests have also been a very intense experience, so i'm looking forward to seeing what you guys come up with in terms of adjusting it.

either way, thanks for reaching out to us for feedback and for keeping us posted and for all your hard work! ♥