AC Results / HMD

[lucetimods]

The results for the Activity Check are in. Please note that the following characters were either inactive, didn't post to the activity check, or failed to speak to a moderator about their activity. Also added were characters who have dropped recently, for your convenience.

Copy-paste the following here:

manage_circle del_read inozpicious manage_circle del_read selfdoubt manage_circle del_read soracles manage_circle del_read stopbuggingme manage_circle del_read toujoursfluer manage_circle del_read upontheplains manage_circle del_read vanityunbecoming manage_circle del_read wishedmiracle manage_circle del_read jacqli manage_circle del_read fairly manage_circle del_read bemyused manage_circle del_read cutefiancee manage_circle del_read lastoftheredwings manage_circle del_read little_amber_angel manage_circle del_read sardines4power manage_circle del_read great_summoner_eiko manage_circle del_read flaring manage_circle del_read slaythemoon manage_circle del_read wario manage_circle del_read albioreiii manage_circle del_read monstrosities manage_circle del_read limits manage_circle del_read pyrotechnics manage_circle del_read coldsnaps manage_circle del_read blackmagicelady manage_circle del_read fujoshiqueen manage_circle del_read kicks_eggplant manage_circle del_read transitioned manage_circle del_read aintnoconvict manage_circle del_read loyalotter manage_circle del_read metalbends manage_circle del_read vervainsheriff manage_circle del_read soulboundhunter manage_circle del_read awakenedchaos manage_circle del_read mush_monarch manage_circle del_read loves_a_samurai manage_circle del_read gentleidealist manage_circle del_read dragmire manage_circle del_read rideslink manage_circle del_read andatoilet manage_circle del_read phantasmgap manage_circle del_read heronpecked manage_circle del_read keepsthelight manage_circle del_read aynnnn manage_circle del_read shinydeadaliens manage_circle del_read cry_camellia manage_circle del_read no_ice_please manage_circle del_read untrustworthy manage_circle del_read ozwell manage_circle del_read alexandrite manage_circle del_read pinned_ya manage_circle del_read pridefulfists manage_circle del_read fateofafencer manage_circle del_read ahardwiredheart manage_circle del_read evokings manage_circle del_read couragefighter manage_circle del_read patchworkallegiance manage_circle del_read straightatem manage_circle del_read reactions manage_circle del_read deadlydebutante manage_circle del_read consult_my_books manage_circle del_read lookinforlight manage_circle add_read bubblywishes manage_circle add_read liberatedliberator

A number of you passed the activity check, but barely. (You know who you are.) Try to pick things up, as it's no fun to character-squat.

If there are any mistakes here, please let us know! Additionally, if your character was removed and you're still active, feel free to appeal to one of us about keeping your character. However, please remember next time to stay active and post to the Activity Check. Thank you!

And as always:

HMD

How's My Driving?

This is a crit post for both the community and game and for your characters. If you have something you'd like to see us improve upon with the game, PLEASE TELL US HERE! Anon commenting is on, but if anything gets really nasty there will be warnings and thread-freezing. This isn't required but everyone is encouraged to take advantage of the advice of your fellow players!

Just some pointers: no taking cheap shots, no dragging personal issues into things and for the love of all that is wise and great, please double check your replies and comments before posting them. Sometimes a change in phrasing can make all the difference between a helpful tone and a condescending one.

ALSO ALSO: We'd like to clarify that HMD means HMD- which means it's okay to have both good and bad crit. Some people have expressed concerns about posting good/bad crit when a character already has bad/good crit posted. We'd like to encourage you guys to do it anyway! You can drive well or badly, and even good drivers make mistakes. So give it a try \o

Comments

[simplestgift]

I feel like you guys did an absolutely wonderful and admirable job transferring the game over to Dreamwidth. Honestly, I don't even feel like we have moved. It went so smoothly, and during such a sensitive point in our IC routine (new feather cycle!), that you should be held up as examples of how to just...be mods. How to make all the behind-the-scenes machinery run smoothly and stay oiled and working and stuff. Seriously. Well done.

Now, Luceti has been continuing for a while, and it has evolved from what it was, from what I understand. We see a slowly evolving plot happening with the Malnosso, and that's good. I think the trouble is that when plot really seems to happen, when things change in the game, we and our characters are only observers. All of these major events, few and far between as they are, are facilitated by mod PCs. Player characters don't really have any opening or opportunity to affect what goes down, and that could be a really cool way to evolve the game. Instead of the player characters being spectators to an unfolding game of intrigue happening in the higher levels of the Malnosso, muns with enough creativity could think of ways to progress both the knowledge and power of Luceti's residents.

Take, just as an example, any sailor-types at all with navigational know-how. At the very least, they could stand on the beach and plot Luceti's latitude and longitude with a homemade tool used to measure the angle of the sun and/or moon against the horizon or each other. They could also do this with any draft location where they can see a horizon (for example, the farmlands, which are flat plains). This doesn't necessarily help facilitate an escape, but it gives them the ability to devise some rough imagery of where everything is in this world, how close to home the fighting is, things like that. Now, that's just an example—I know there are IC reasons this in particular isn't able to work.

I think what worries me is that if a player comes up with something like that which could, possibly, be kind of a big deal in changing the residents' perception of the world, or even maybe cause mod PC intervention, the plan would automatically get shot down because “the Malnosso are too smart to let that happen.” This isn't necessarily what happens all the time! But it's a worry I have nonetheless. I know there are multiple organized rebellions going on, and none of them have to succeed, but they're being done very intelligently and if even one of them was able to make the Malnosso, say, punish the ringleaders as an example to others? That would be pretty awesome. My worry is that such a thing would get crushed so early on that it wouldn't even make ripple in the water when it sank, when I feel like creativity and planning should be rewarded.

I know the Malnosso are not monsters. This is being made clearer and clearer. But, considering how hard it is for a villain to really be threatening in this setting, could the “good guy” stance of the Malnosso (or at least these ones in particular) be going a little too far? Stories can't exist without conflict, and initially, it seemed like the conflict was going to be provided by the Malnosso. The more clear it becomes that they're on the side of the angels (rogue faction aside), though, the less conflict there is with them, until Luceti's citizens come across as being bratty or petulant and ungrateful—not very good-guyish traits—for protesting the Malnosso at all. The Malnosso fight most of the war with the Third Party for the residents and even devote themselves to getting everyone home. How selfish are the residents for calling them monsters?

Maybe they're lying to the residents and they actually started the war with the Third Party. That would be pretty awesome! But for all we know, part of the “slow unveiling” of this plot is that the Malnosso really are the good guys and we have nothing to complain about. That actually worries me, since like I said, it feels like we must be watching a movie about the story of Luceti instead of taking part in it ourselves.

So basically, I'm wondering how things can be shaken up a little. So many of our characters are action-oriented. Heroes. Good guys who need a cause to fight for. It's really hard to do that right now in Luceti when there's hardly any problems to fight against (the worst thing the Malnosso did last year was give lame Christmas presents) and even creative attempts to shake things up aren't often met with a receptive mindset. I don't want Luceti to turn into a dark game or anything. I love Luceti's premise and I wouldn't want to change what it is. It's just...maybe it's time to twist the plot a little. You guys are have always managed a balance and given an “out” for people who weren't crazed about an event. I certainly trust you to handle something like this.

[saltprince]

I'd like to second the idea of people within the barrier figuring out things (droids, navigational locations, something about the tunnels, looking up things on missions, etc) as being a very... uh. Well it would just be a nice thing to see happen because it would be neat and it would give the game a sense of accomplishment. I understand these things are harder to run with, but maybe if there was some sort of forum about it or something. I understand that these things have been done in the past by various people, but I think the general consensus of the players is "the Organization is too witty/well planned for that" and thus go in with a defeatist attitude and some sort of administrative shift to push that out would be cool.

[spiritbruising]

"I think the trouble is that when plot really seems to happen, when things change in the game, we and our characters are only observers. All of these major events, few and far between as they are, are facilitated by mod PCs."

This is basically my view as well. I really enjoyed, for instance, the plot a while back where a group of characters infiltrated the Malnosso base. That was also instigated by mod NPCs, but the player characters were able to accomplish and do a lot on their own and learn interesting new things.

I'd like it if players could feel more able about doing things that would change the nature of the game itself - plots to prevent kidnappings, to disable droids, to commandeer them, to take over the barrier itself - all of these things are things that probably could be plotted - we have characters with the genius intellect needed. All that is needed is players feeling like they actually can approach these ideas without breaking the game world.

I don't really want to have the Malnosso become "evil" again, or have the game become an all-out war. Those kinds of plots don't work for all our characters. But something that would give players the upper hand, shake up the hierarchy, and take away some of the absolute power the Malnosso's Shifting has now? Something that would make them negotiate and cooperate? That would be really interesting to play with.

[semper_cogitans]

Seconding this too. I'd love more... interactivity in this regard, and a feeling that we can truly influence the game - that our characters can get in there, tossing the proverbial spanner into the works - would be great.

And it's not like characters haven't thought of ways to do this, before... it just needs to be carried out.