Luceti Mods (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
lucetimods) wrote2013-11-29 11:03 pm
lucetimods) wrote2013-11-29 11:03 pm
Entry tags:
Announcement!
Hey everyone, Akai here with some word-vomit for y’all to have a look at. There are several very important announcements and modly business to sort out, so please, eyes here for a few minutes.
First, the boring normal stuff:
A) Friend Add/Remove for this cycle! Copy-paste here.
B) Applications will be opening on December 1st, so now is a good time to start recruiting/kidnapping your friends! As always Reserves are already open. The Test Flight Meme from last month seems to still be active, but if people would prefer, we can certainly post a new one. Just let us know! It might be helpful to run them bi-monthly, anyway.
C) I’m sure most of you have noticed, but in the last week, Masa and Bayley have unfortunately left Luceti, which means that on top of losing two wonderful long-term players, the mod team has lost some heavy hitters in the plot department. Masa especially has been a huge driving force to Luceti’s plot and development over the last couple of years, so while his departure was not entirely a surprise, it has left the rest of us somewhat flummoxed over how to fill the void his presence has left. A lot of the plot developments, NPC interactions, and mission systems were organized by him. So now that it’s up to us, where does that leave the game?
Well… it’ll be interesting.
Okay, here’s the thing- those of us remaining have talked, and we wanted to open up the floor to general discussion regarding the format/function/nature of Luceti itself, get some feedback, maybe rework a few things to help us get organized. If we’re going to rework things, might as well start from the bottom up, no? First of all, though, let’s just clear the air with a few things:
no, the game isn’t ending.
no, we’re not hiring new plot mods to replace them. yet.
yes, you should think about whether or not you’d be interested in such a position in the future should the need arise.
no, really, the game isn’t ending.
With that out of the way, what is happening?
1) We’re pondering another tech/app mod. Maybe two. We’ve got a lovely bunch of App Helpers (that only we can see, ohoho) that have kindly volunteered to be available for aid, but that only works when players have volunteered the canons they know. We’d like some steady folk to help update all the fun things that need to be updated. It’s a bit of a dry job but I imagine Kyo could tell you that it’s not a very taxing one most of the time. So think about that, too. We’ve taken applications for both plot and tech mods before, so
2) The meat and potatoes of this announcement: when Masa told us he was stepping down, the first thing that popped into my head was, "what in the world did he have planned?" The truth is that due to a lack of proper organization that we all take responsibility, Masa had the majority of the plot on the go himself, and that’s no way for a team to work. We’re hoping to fix this. Delegation and fair division are going to be key, and we’ll be taking turns with the plot/events and supporting one another. Hopefully that will prevent any one mod from becoming overloaded.
However, before we can do any of that and carry on with the plot, we’d like to reorganize a few things within the game, sort out what was going to happen and what will happen from here on out. Instead of trying to do both at once, we’d like to let the plot take a backseat and open up some space for players to run their own goings-on, at least temporarily. What does that mean?
Player plots! That’s right, the calendar is 100% open to your plots right now. Let’s say you had an idea for getting something big going, but weren’t sure about when to do it- YOUR TIME HAS COME! Want to create a big ruckus with an evil character or two? Want to run a holiday event, like a big party to celebrate the season? Want to do something wacky with the school or organize a festival? Let us know, sign up, and go nuts. We’d love to get some cool stuff from you creative bunch penned into our calendar.
Alternatively, if no one has any player plots planned or on the go and enough time has passed, we’ll poke at the Event Suggestions post for something to fill the void, so feel free to make suggestions there, as well! We’ve been busy-busy with everything else that the poor thing’s a bit old and dusty. Let’s change that!
3) Another thing we’ve been discussing as a team is that Luceti has gotten really complicated over the years. We have such a rich and lengthy history developed, and so many features and functions and plotlines going on, that the whole experience must look awfully intimidating to newcomers, right? Heck, even I look at the game sometimes and go “wow remember when it was just some evil scientists kidnapping people?”
Obviously, change is good, and natural development is great. But when it becomes a detriment to the game’s growth, when it intimidates those who are a part of it, it’s too much. Trying to decide how much is too much is, however, much too big of a job for just us. Thus we are turning to you, the player base. Is there a part of Luceti that confuses you? That seems too complicated? That doesn’t interest you at all? That seems unnecessary? Please, please let us know. We want to make your lives easier, and our lives easier in the process, as well as remove or alter features that could be turning off new players or even older veterans who’ve had enough of this or that. We know that not everyone is going to agree on what should stay or go, but if enough people have something to say about a certain aspect of the game, we’ll know that it needs some work.
Now, here’s stuff that we’ll keep because it requires little to zero maintenance:
established voluntary missions (they’re there, they’re written, let them be used)
involuntary abductions (a Luceti standard, come on)
the recently-introduced random in-village Shifts (because why introduce it just to remove it immediately?)
And here’s stuff we are considering revamping:
the FAQ/guides need updating. god do they ever.
mission sign-ups, points, organization - the requirements OOCly are a bit over-complicated for what it actually accomplishes ICly. It would be helpful to simplify it somewhat so people make better use of the system already in place.
NPCs. We kind of have a lot, and we’ve lost a few of the players who played them! So we’re going to decide their fates and murder them all reorganize a bit.
the main plot - how often should it develop? where do we go from here? do we like the direction? what are we working towards accomplishing?
Lots of fun stuff we can’t talk about in detail yet, naturally, and there are still some plans that have not changed despite everything that’s happened and despite what is potentially going to change. But your feedback for the game, its plot, and various game features is absolutely vital in this transition-y stage. Let Luceti be your clay; mold it, change it. ...Or at least tell us what you’d like to see it become c:
We’d prefer that this discussion happens here so that you all can discuss amongst yourselves as well as with us, but if you feel that you have something you can’t say publicly, feel free to PM the mod journal or private-plurk myself, Aly, or Kyo. (Don’t PP the mod-plurk, we don’t track it.)
That’s it! Thanks for reading all of this, guys; your attention and feedback will be muchly appreciated and can only be used to make the game better for all of us! Go forth and discuss. Thread for mod questions can be found below.
...And seriously, the game isn’t ending. Over my dead body, my lovelies.
First, the boring normal stuff:
A) Friend Add/Remove for this cycle! Copy-paste here.
B) Applications will be opening on December 1st, so now is a good time to start recruiting/kidnapping your friends! As always Reserves are already open. The Test Flight Meme from last month seems to still be active, but if people would prefer, we can certainly post a new one. Just let us know! It might be helpful to run them bi-monthly, anyway.
C) I’m sure most of you have noticed, but in the last week, Masa and Bayley have unfortunately left Luceti, which means that on top of losing two wonderful long-term players, the mod team has lost some heavy hitters in the plot department. Masa especially has been a huge driving force to Luceti’s plot and development over the last couple of years, so while his departure was not entirely a surprise, it has left the rest of us somewhat flummoxed over how to fill the void his presence has left. A lot of the plot developments, NPC interactions, and mission systems were organized by him. So now that it’s up to us, where does that leave the game?
Well… it’ll be interesting.
Okay, here’s the thing- those of us remaining have talked, and we wanted to open up the floor to general discussion regarding the format/function/nature of Luceti itself, get some feedback, maybe rework a few things to help us get organized. If we’re going to rework things, might as well start from the bottom up, no? First of all, though, let’s just clear the air with a few things:
With that out of the way, what is happening?
1) We’re pondering another tech/app mod. Maybe two. We’ve got a lovely bunch of App Helpers (that only we can see, ohoho) that have kindly volunteered to be available for aid, but that only works when players have volunteered the canons they know. We’d like some steady folk to help update all the fun things that need to be updated. It’s a bit of a dry job but I imagine Kyo could tell you that it’s not a very taxing one most of the time. So think about that, too. We’ve taken applications for both plot and tech mods before, so
2) The meat and potatoes of this announcement: when Masa told us he was stepping down, the first thing that popped into my head was, "what in the world did he have planned?" The truth is that due to a lack of proper organization that we all take responsibility, Masa had the majority of the plot on the go himself, and that’s no way for a team to work. We’re hoping to fix this. Delegation and fair division are going to be key, and we’ll be taking turns with the plot/events and supporting one another. Hopefully that will prevent any one mod from becoming overloaded.
However, before we can do any of that and carry on with the plot, we’d like to reorganize a few things within the game, sort out what was going to happen and what will happen from here on out. Instead of trying to do both at once, we’d like to let the plot take a backseat and open up some space for players to run their own goings-on, at least temporarily. What does that mean?
Player plots! That’s right, the calendar is 100% open to your plots right now. Let’s say you had an idea for getting something big going, but weren’t sure about when to do it- YOUR TIME HAS COME! Want to create a big ruckus with an evil character or two? Want to run a holiday event, like a big party to celebrate the season? Want to do something wacky with the school or organize a festival? Let us know, sign up, and go nuts. We’d love to get some cool stuff from you creative bunch penned into our calendar.
Alternatively, if no one has any player plots planned or on the go and enough time has passed, we’ll poke at the Event Suggestions post for something to fill the void, so feel free to make suggestions there, as well! We’ve been busy-busy with everything else that the poor thing’s a bit old and dusty. Let’s change that!
3) Another thing we’ve been discussing as a team is that Luceti has gotten really complicated over the years. We have such a rich and lengthy history developed, and so many features and functions and plotlines going on, that the whole experience must look awfully intimidating to newcomers, right? Heck, even I look at the game sometimes and go “wow remember when it was just some evil scientists kidnapping people?”
Obviously, change is good, and natural development is great. But when it becomes a detriment to the game’s growth, when it intimidates those who are a part of it, it’s too much. Trying to decide how much is too much is, however, much too big of a job for just us. Thus we are turning to you, the player base. Is there a part of Luceti that confuses you? That seems too complicated? That doesn’t interest you at all? That seems unnecessary? Please, please let us know. We want to make your lives easier, and our lives easier in the process, as well as remove or alter features that could be turning off new players or even older veterans who’ve had enough of this or that. We know that not everyone is going to agree on what should stay or go, but if enough people have something to say about a certain aspect of the game, we’ll know that it needs some work.
Now, here’s stuff that we’ll keep because it requires little to zero maintenance:
And here’s stuff we are considering revamping:
Lots of fun stuff we can’t talk about in detail yet, naturally, and there are still some plans that have not changed despite everything that’s happened and despite what is potentially going to change. But your feedback for the game, its plot, and various game features is absolutely vital in this transition-y stage. Let Luceti be your clay; mold it, change it. ...Or at least tell us what you’d like to see it become c:
We’d prefer that this discussion happens here so that you all can discuss amongst yourselves as well as with us, but if you feel that you have something you can’t say publicly, feel free to PM the mod journal or private-plurk myself, Aly, or Kyo. (Don’t PP the mod-plurk, we don’t track it.)
That’s it! Thanks for reading all of this, guys; your attention and feedback will be muchly appreciated and can only be used to make the game better for all of us! Go forth and discuss. Thread for mod questions can be found below.
...And seriously, the game isn’t ending. Over my dead body, my lovelies.
no subject
One potential idea, if it makes sense as a potential thing that could happen, would be to introduce some kind of malfunctioning shifts during events. Something that can be handwaved through a pseudo-sciencey explanation like certain shifts messing up badly on certain physiologies or something. Basically, this can give muns a darker option to play with during events if they so choose. Otherwise, there's also the possibility that more drafts and missions could involve the option of characters getting caught up in those "natural shift" things, which can also be used to set off characters experiencing horror shifts.
Those are just some shift-based options that come to mind. And I do agree with the more village-wide threats. Building up this sense of community among the Lucetians through the type of unity it can inspire is potentially a good way to help solidify the remaining playerbase in light of all the drops. I've loved being here in Luceti largely because it allows for a variety of tones for CR to develop through: through everyday things, through zaniness, through fluff, through action, through drama, through deliberation over moral decisions. It does seem fair that more avenues for darkness are opened, but only if it doesn't come at the cost of the rest of the variety.
no subject
I'll go ahead and plus one that, Gore. Half of the reservations I think people like me have at the idea is that we like the variety, grim included, but don't want any one element to be overdone. Angst without hope or adventure especially because unlike other elements, even if you opt out, your character's CR could and probably will be affected and you get dragged into it anyways.
BUT it is a thing I think a lot of us love, so there should definitely be more opportunity. Meowzy's idea for exploring dangerous areas is a great one, actually. It presents the rare opportunity for danger and disaster characters would actually LEAP to sign up for! Heck, you could do a whole plot where there's no limitations about how many people go on this exploring journey, but then say their way back to the village is cut off and-- I'll cut myself off before I get carried away, but there's all kinds of ways you can go with that. XD
Village-wide threats would be excellent too for all the things Meowzy had to say. The village really does perform at its best when under immediate threat. I actually like the idea of a long-running one myself (like two months?), just because of how quickly Luceti tends to go back to status quo of not caring after it's over. Really all it comes down to is a matter of intensity: darkness just for the sake of darkness vs. risk and harshness to spice things up.
no subject
Going back to the Vaskoth draft (I really liked that draft don't judge me) here I think part of what made that draft was the fact that it was like super hopeless and grim and awful but there was also the potential to create a cure and make things alright in the long run.
The idea of leaping into disaster sounds great too and I mean I know I'd eat that up immediately- plot relevant, kinda gritty and harsh, but still serves a purpose.
Help I'm not good at these talks I just think everything's pretty cool if it stirs people up or moves things forward (but especially both) (development!!)