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aftr_ooc2018-10-03 08:57 pm
lifeaftr_mods) wrote in aftr_ooc2018-10-03 08:57 pm
Entry tags:
State of the Game: September to October
STATE OF THE GAME
State of the Game
Long time no talk, adventurers! It's been a busy three months for many of us, and with LifeAftr's first anniversary come and gone, we have several updates and announcements well overdue to be seen by you all.
It does make for a rather long read, so do bear with us as we go over what's been happening, including several important updates.
In this edition of the State of the Game, you'll find the following topics:
[ ♆ ] Network Update: Caller ID
[ ♆ ] Clarity on Network Functions
[ ♆ ] FAQ Updates
[ ♆ ] Response Times: Apps, Mod Contact, & More
[ ♆ ] Death Penalty Removals & Hiatus Responses
[ ♆ ] AC, Personal Emergencies, & You
[ ♆ ] IC Island Voting
[ ♆ ] Hiatus Responses
[ ♆ ] Discord Etiquette
[ ♆ ] Patch Notes
As of August 1st, all Stones of Farspeech now come with a small, square screen on their surface. Any stones already in game have also updated themselves. Characters will now be able to see the name of anyone speaking to them, or the names of anyone they currently have an open line with. To go into further detail:
[ ♆ ] The new screens are about the same size as what you’d find on an iPod Nano. Very basic at this point in time, these screens function as caller ID only- currently, no other functions have been added, such as text or apps.This new information has been added to the FAQ. Big thanks to r (player of Connor Murphy and Damianos) and Star (player of Laurent) for both the initial idea and item request!
[ ♆ ] For the clumsy or curious, the screens are rather resilient - they will not break, nor can the Stones be cracked open in an attempt to tinker.
[ ♆ ] For those who require larger text, Braille, autistic or dyslexic friendly font, or have difficulty seeing certain colors, their Stone will automatically adjust to meet your character’s needs. Otherwise, screens will simply default to neutral, easy to read colors and fonts.
Due to some feedback in regards to the Stones of Farspeech, we've made an attempt to simplify the information on the FAQ in regards to how the network currently functions. For those keen to read over this info, here's the rundown:
[ ♆ ] Our network comm currently has two options for posting information; the community message board, or the Stones of Farspeech.This updated information has been reflected on the FAQ; of course, we're more than interested in gaining your feedback and ensuring this answers all the questions you may have on the network currently! As further upgrades are made, it is likely the network will become more simplified - we'll keep you in the loop as these updates come.
[ ♆ ] As the Stones have no text functions currently, public messages are written in chalk on a large stone by the Storyteller’s temple. This stone has six sides - with one side designated to permanent messages, the other five are used for each new message, with the oldest wiped away. Information wiped from the stones is currently not retained, so if you’ve already seen five posts on the noticeboard, your character won’t be capable of reading back further.
[ ♆ ] The Stones of Farspeech are home-brewed D&D items that some may recognize from their use in The Adventure Zone. Essentially just enchanted rocks, they don’t function exactly like phones; instead, their messages are more like walkie-talkies.
[ ♆ ] Because the Stones act less like phones and more like walkie-talkies, they do not have the capability of group discussions. The capability to make a public broadcast was requested upon bringing them into the game, however, that is the only two options currently available. Respond to one person, or respond to everyone.
Questions and concerns posted to the FAQ may take up to 24 to 48 hours to receive a response, dependent on the complexity of the query submitted. Complaints will always have priority; where we require extra time to get back to you, complaints will receive a message to let you know we are aware and investigating the matter further.
In addition, we have also added a few new questions (and their answers) to the FAQ:
[ ♆ ] Can my character learn/obtain magic from others?As always, we are more than happy to take questions or suggestions for either of these additions - or any entries within the FAQ!In instances where a character wishes to gain powers in-game, they may be able learn them from other characters apt at it -- if they come from a canon where such powers exist, and/or they have displayed a leaning or ability for it themself. This includes magic, which average humans would not be able to learn. They would, however, still be able to utilize any magical items or weapons that may come into their possession, provided said object doesn't rely on channeling the character's own magical power.
[ ♆ ] My character shares a body with another person/entity. Can I app both of them?No. Characters who share a body not only come into conflict with our one character per canon rule, but also create conflict with our process for characters played by the same mun; as characters played by the same person can’t see each other, sharing a body would be difficult, if not impossible.
[ ♆ ] Why can’t my character request a canon item or companion, such as a Pokemon?If an item or creature being requested is from another character’s canon, and wouldn’t be known to your own, they will be incapable of requesting it for themself. Link from the Ocarina of Time, for example, could not request a Pikachu - in a similar fashion, Ash Ketchum wouldn’t be capable of requesting the Ocarina of Time.
[ ♆ ] What Pokemon can't be brought into LifeAftr?We have added a response to this question, as it has come up frequently, underneath the general question about in-game companions: At this time, legendary, mythical and ultra beast pokemon may only be brought into LifeAftr if proven that the character canonly owns them. Due to the excessive powers of these Pokemon, extensive nerfs will apply. Also, please keep in mind that currently, there are no intentions to conduct events where characters can obtain more Pokemon in the future.
Since LifeAftr's opening, the mod team has striven to have responses to every question, search and item request, and application done in the fastest time frame possible - generally within 24 hours (and usually far less than that). Oftentimes these targets have been (somehow) met, with delays or suspensions in processing announced as they were occurring.
We've been incredibly lucky to have such a wonderfully patient community, one that has been more than forgiving in those instances where we have been unable to respond in under 24 hours, however, due to our current work and study schedules, in addition to the additional workload brought about by Umui, please excuse us as we extend our expected response timeframes for the following:
[ ♆ ] For applications received within 24 hours of applications closing, our initial response may take up to 24 hours, dependent on mod availability.The affected pages have been updated to advise of these time frames, which are a safeguard for the odd occasions where we can’t get back to you as quickly as we’d like! In any instance, please don't hesitate to follow up with us if you feel we're taking longer than usual, or if you're concerned a notification hasn't been received.
[ ♆ ] Again, questions and concerns posted to the FAQ may take up to 24 to 48 hours to receive a response, dependent on the complexity of the query submitted. Complaints will always have priority; where we require extra time to get back to you, complaints will receive a message to let you know we are aware and investigating the matter further.
[ ♆ ] Item Requests may take up to 48 hours, depending on mod availability. Certain item requests that will issue drastic changes to in-game mechanics will often take longer for us to respond to; we will always advise that an extended timeframe may apply in these circumstances.
[ ♆ ] Search requests continue to hold priority and we will always endeavor to respond to them within 24 hours, unless otherwise advised.
[ ♆ ] Player Plots will receive an initial response within 48 hours to confirm your plot has been received, and if it has been accepted. Another confirmation will let you know ahead of time when the event is about to take place. In some circumstances, we may also share drafts of your event with you to ensure that the event is similar in fashion to what you had in mind.
[ ♆ ] Bestiary suggestions do not receive responses. All of them are added to our RNG list, and should eventually come up in play! In some cases, the terrain or layout of the islands available will not allow for fresh bestiary entries. While it may take some time for them to pop up, they are all added to our RNG for future explorations! Exceptions to this would only be if a creature had to be rejected for any reason.
A quick reminder that we do require a response to our Deaths page in order to approve removal of any death penalties that may be in play. If you've forgotten up to this point, don't worry - but please keep in mind that it's especially important on occasions where death penalties last the full month. It's also come to our attention that the process of death penalty removal during an event can be a shade confusing. In the instance that an event has a high possibility of death, we will always note this in the event information. In those cases, participation in non-compulsory AC is not required to lift the death penalty.
In addition, hiatus responses have now been restructured due to difficulties experienced in keeping track of the notices for this page. Despite attempting to use various notification systems, one area where responses and notifications have been lost consistently is for hiatus responses. If requesting a hiatus response, please comment upon your return in order to receive the hiatus response. This will ensure we are alerted with a more recent notification that is far less likely to become lost, forgotten, or any other variety of scenarios we've encountered with this particular page that has begun to border on comical.
Also note that hiatus responses are only eligible for characters who will be disappearing during that time period - for characters who elect to hiatus by autopilot/handwaving, we will forgo disappearances and subsequent hiatus responses to avoid conflict of plotting, or retconning.
Our sincerest apologies to anyone that this has affected previously!
Natural disasters, medical emergencies, and other RL circumstances can have a significant impact on your time and enthusiasm - something with which our mod team is also intimately familiar. As it has been some time since this was last mentioned, please keep in mind that we will always prioritize our players' wellbeings over AC.
If you or a friend is experiencing difficulty, don't hesitate to contact us so that we can sort any complications with AC that might concern you. In some cases, we may even beat you to it! We are always willing to discuss OOC circumstances with you if needed.
The past few months have seen a halt to IC voting as we've focused on exploring the last two islands from the original poll. Voting will be resuming on October 20th for four new islands, so keep your eyes open for more information this Storytelling!
On the whole, we're very impressed with the conduct of our players in the game's discord server - we've received no reports of discomfort or harassment, and generally seldom need to moderate chatter. If at any point this changes, and you find that a player or rule has made you uncomfortable, we encourage you to approach us over it!
However, we would like to request that mod-related questions and concerns are not directed to us in the discord channel; due to the speed of the chat, we can and have missed queries in the past, requiring the player to pose them multiple times. Additionally, these questions may be common enough that other, future players may be curious as to the answers, and they certainly won't be scrolling back in the discord to see.
If you have questions about gameplay, we ask that you pose them on the FAQ or on the OOC event posts, if applicable, for the benefit of other players.
Of course, there is plenty going on in the background as well!
[ ♆ ] Umui: With the addition of Umui to the usual modwork, our workload decided to multiply quite significantly, with well over 100 hours clocked in by the team in the first five days of Umui's release. Whoops!
[ ♆ ] Mapping: A few of our oldest maps may see an update in future, to tidy them up and format them to our current map style. These changes likely won't be announced further, as no change is occuring past #aesthetics, as well as any minor updates and changes that have taken place since initial exploration.
[ ♆ ] Nuidan Rewards and Islet Upgrades: Characters have been hard at work on Nuidan - an effort that has not gone unnoticed. A large update to the islets will occur within the first part of October. More details will arrive when it happens!
[ ♆ ] Newbie Guide: We are in the process of drafting a guide for those new to LifeAftr, and aren't too sure where to start! While we currently have no hard deadline for this new page, we're hopeful to have it in the process of being beta'd by the end of September, at the latest.
Of course, we'd like to extend a thank you to our lovely playerbase for their consistent engagement and feedback in regards the game! We're always looking for ways to streamline the game's function, and are exceptionally grateful when anyone steps forward with suggestions.
As always, there’s a top-level below for any questions, concerns, or feedback! If you feel something could be done better, or you’d like to comment on something that's working well for you, please feel free to utilize this. You can also contact the mods directly!
( CODED BY BOOTYCALL )