( 22 ) FEEDBACK

[fairyfoes]

∞ . . . GAMEPLAY SUGGESTIONS How To Leave Feedback: Interested in making ED better for one and all? All for one? Here's where you can help your Awkward Tree-house! The Locations & Bestiary suggestion post is for what it says on the tin, and the FAQ deals with any general fly-by questions, with any long-term suggestions popped here for consideration by at least four-to-six of the main gameplay-orientated mods. ↓ HERE ↓ <b>NAME:</b> Your name, for easy future reference. <b>CHARACTER(S) PLAYED:</b> In case this is relevant!</b> <b><u>GAMEPLAY SUGGESTION(S):</u></b> Pop your thoughts here. Add any links you think will help round-out our understanding of a problem or clarify on an idea. You're all our fairybros and we love to help! Post as many suggestions as you like, but please do number them clearly so we can respond in kind and keep from muddling up replies once everything has been processed. Have at thee, EDwardians!

. . . NAVIGATION - ★PREMISE - ★RULES - ★FAQ - ★BESTIARY - ★LOCKETS & TECH - ★NPCS - ★LOCATIONS & TERRITORIES - ★TRAVEL & TRANSPORT - ★COURT INFO - ★COURT SWITCHING - ★ITEM REQUESTS - ★NPC REQUESTS - ★TAKEN - ★RESERVATIONS - ★APPLICATIONS - ★NATIVE OC APPLICATIONS - ★TITLE ROSTER - ★QUEST BOARDS - ★HIATUS - ★DROPS - ★LORE - ★FEEDBACK - ★PLAYER CONTACT - ★eachdraidh - ★eachdraidhlogs - ★fairywoes - ★fairynuff DREAMWIDTH HOME

Comments

[bullhorned]

NAME: Masa.
GAMEPLAY SUGGESTION(S):

Just a suggestion to make things a little more easily navigated. I have to go through a lot of steps when I do a few certain things like post a log or do event things, which could be fixed for the playerbase relatively easily:

The Log Templates should be stickied on the log comm. It's kind of a pain to set it up, but it's worth it. Otherwise putting it on the sidebar or profile would be just as good.

Because we only get the calendar of events for plotting at the start of each month, it makes it kind of hard in the middle of the month to navigate back to find it. But because you guys already have a tag for it, simply linking to Calendar of Events on the comm profiles would make it so people always know what's current and going on. A general link to Mod Posts wouldn't be a bad idea either.

That's all I have for now. Thanks!

[fairyfoes]

All these changes have now been implemented. Thanks for the head's up on how to improve the game!

[bullhorned]

NAME: Masa
GAMEPLAY SUGGESTION(S): One thing I think is missing from the game premise is that in spite of this being a game with fairies and witches running amok, there doesn't feel to be a lot of freedom on allowing for certain sillier outcomes. Like, common folklore will have things where disturbing a group of fairies can have you be cursed in some way small or great. Or like what happened with Arya and Renly's pets, witches transforming innocent people for no real reason.

Essentially I'm just saying it would be cool to open this up to player characters. If it's already open, it should be a little more obvious that it's something to be played with. Personally I love that we don't do ridiculous personality/body altering events in the game, but some of those effects would be fun to be opened up as results of NPC magic and shenanigans on the side for personal player plots. In fact, it would make them even better than in other games, because characters would be empowered to try and find a way to undo it!

[orcsurfing]

NAME: Blanche
GAMEPLAY SUGGESTION(S):
Currently the restrictions on the characters who lose their shards are very strict and, in a way, can make it difficult to play in the game at all if a person decides to go through with it.

I realise the consequences of killing off a character should be severe, that it should not be an easy thing to do at all, but as things are they seem might be putting people off and likely not many might be willing to go through with it (which is a shame, considering this is a war game and... well, deaths should happen! Since May when the game opened we've had only one PC death) since they cut off 2 out of 3 avenues of upholding or gaining new CR.

First: the character will not be able to attend the feast when new arrivals show up, second: the character is entirely cut off from the "network" except for people they already know (because how could they figure out who else they could contact if they don't know they're even there). The third is, of course, meeting face to face, except with the size of the map and the travel times for the shardless (since fairy rings don't work for them) that further makes any CR and any activity difficult unless the character stays at the Station all the time or travels in a large group.

Additionally, lack of the "network" access cuts off one avenue of submitting activity check, since characters can't post to it. And character inbox threads don't count towards AC... and making only filtered posts to the network comm (if it'd be allowed at all?) kind of are at odds with the idea of panfandom games.

My only suggestion is to perhaps rethink this approach? Maybe posts that are "open," as in not filtered to either court, could still be visible for them? Maybe the posts made by the shardless would always show up as open as well, unless they "select" every single person from the court they want to filter to? I don't mean to get rid of the mechanic entirely, since I wholly understand why it's implemented ICly, but perhaps just to loosen it a bit?

[fairyfoes]

Thank you for this review! We're under the process of a reviewing a system by which ALL drops will become IC deaths, which would help to mitigate the death count.

Secondly, we are in the process of also reviewing an announcement for release within the next month which will:

1) Revoke boons for characters who fraternize between courts
2) Revoke locket access for characters who fraternize between courts
3) Make lockets court-specific communication devices only!

This is a war game, and we did not expect droves of individuals to be signing up to kill their characters: it's more meaningful if each death becomes a blow.

Instead, we'd rather design these mechanics to encourage groups of characters to collaborate together to overcome common problems! For example, we would fully expect characters to reach out to others given any change in locket status, and develop new, non-court-specific methods of communication!

The war aspect of the game is something which will only heat up, presenting new and complex challenges to characters and their players!

[orcsurfing]

Then I have a question with regards to the alternate methods of communication if I can ask! Just to make sure, I understand things right: it'd be allowed to use the main comm for posting from such methods, correct? With the posts marked appropriately to any in possession of such alternate device.

AND ALSO SINCE I FORGOT TO ADD: thank you for the response!

[fairyfoes]

Oh, the main comm is always open for posting through such means! Just note them in the header post! IC contacts should just be used primarily for single-person-contacts. c:

Please, don't worry about timelines about any of the announcements mentioned above! The changes themselves will be forward-dated well from the announcement, allowing us to answer a bevvy of questions, thoughts, crit, etc., before the changes themselves go down!

[notavirtue]

NAME: Fastback
GAMEPLAY SUGGESTION(S):

Is it possible to change how/when you post the feast log? I'm assuming what you're doing is screening it and getting it ready in advance, which I understand, but once it's unscreened, it doesn't show up on reading lists as a new post. Since this one was dated for the 26th, it got buried pretty quickly. Maybe when the time comes, copy/paste the original screened post and make a new one?

Thanks, and stay wonderful!

edit: ALSO could you add the Feedback link to the main navigation page? Also also the Events link goes to a locked post on the main navigation page and travel & transportation page. I should write these things down before hitting post whoops, thank you!

+1

[orcsurfing]

I was just coming in to suggest that. Alternatively the link to the feast log could be included in the monthly calendar write up?

[fairyfoes]

We were going to do exactly that (c&p it into a new post for everyone to get on their pages) but unfortunately we were swamped with processing apps and completely forgot to do so when it slipped our minds in the hubbub. Our bad! We'll do our best to keep on top of it in the future.

All the links on the Nav page are now fixed, we clearly missed updating that a few months back when we overhauled the links on the comm pages. The old events post was actually our super-secret modly page where we keep all the delicious events for the future stored/organized ;) so that's edited out of sight and the Feedback link has been popped in place for easy access.

Thanks for your sharp eyes!

[curser]

NAME: Harley
GAMEPLAY SUGGESTION(S): Re: this discussion on rpanons. Possibly having a scheduled 'state of the chars/game' post every month/second month which allows players to put in a singular location what their characters have been up to that month/two months. It can feel sometimes like so much is going on in the game that it's almost impossible to keep up with it, even tangentially, so I think having a place to at least put out the basics of what's been happening might help out with characters feeling less swamped by everything and more in tune with how they can possibly interact.

I'd suggest two categories of "What the general populace/everyone can know about what (C) has been up to" and "What close cr/only (C) knows" so that there's a strict border of what IC knowledge characters can have about the goings on.

I know we have the cr/friending meme, but not everyone chooses to tag into those and we really only give short blurps on what we're doing. Having a place to note things that have altered certain settings or that will affect people that come into contact with so and so when they haven't necessarily had pre-existing cr to base changes on or know about, say, a horn on someone's face or scars or whatever might crop up can also lessen retcons and oopsies.

Maybe have it be in tandem with the state of the game post, so it's one big update that both the mods can put in NPC and game info into (like the post linked in there) as well as char updates.

And I'll shut up now.

[fairyfoes]

Please don't shut up, and thank you so much for bringing this to the game's attention! The whole modteam will confer for a few days on this idea (we're a rather thin bunch spread across dramatically different time zones, else it might be swifter), and in the meantime encourage other players with ideas along this line to pitch them in this thread!

An anon player recently gifted the modteam a paid account (and a huge, grateful shout out to them!) so we may implement its polling feature about a few options for a mechanic like the one you've made mention of.

[curser]

Polling is a great idea to get game feedback and I'd love to see it put forward so that not only do you as mods know what the majority of the game want, but the players feel like they have a way to contribute or have a voice in some of the potential changes or how things are gone about. I've seen it make for a healthier and happier game in the long run and I think it's a great idea =)

(also glad you guys got gifted a paid, that is so nice of whomever did that)

[fairyfoes]

Hello there! Just wanted to let you know that we're presently in preliminary talks regarding the originally posted idea. Would you be able to potentially link us to existing examples of a mechanic like this in existing games? We're gathering references and ideas to compare options and take notes.

[teenyoda]

Haha, it seems I can't. I could have sworn I'd seen something similar, but what I had in mind seems to be not easy to find anywhere. What I can do is outline my idea more. I was thinking along the lines of a monthly post that has the mods putting up what the NPCs have been doing and what effects its had on the game with side mentions of interactions with other characters. Though, I do need to stress there should be a clear divide in place on what is IC knowledge and what is OOC knowledge and how characters can know what to share. This extends to what the players would put up so that there's as little confusion over what their char would know about and how their char could find out this info if they wanted. A basic format for the player's form could be something along the lines of:

Character:
Series:
Court:
General overview of what your character has been up to recently:
Who have they been involved with in this time period?:
What can characters ICly know about your character?:
What information is limited to specific CR?:
What information is OOC and has to be worked at to be found out?:

Obviously you guys can change that to whatever you want or take/add to it, but it would be something that gave a broader view and could hopefully give people a quick update on "oh, so (C) has been doing this with (D) and (S). I wondered where they'd been this month" and it lets them know what they can and can't logically find out through their character. (I hope)

[fairyfoes]

So essentially, a more detailed and formal CR meme which is mod-posted seems like what you're after!

The only issue this may cause is described with one line, 'lets them know what they can and can't logically find out through their character.' A great deal of plotting from the modteam has been designed with a relatively organic dissemination of information by characters in mind (friends tell friends who tell other friends, until common concepts percolate throughout the game). This prevents characters from collaborating to solve puzzles too quickly, and helps to give the metaplot mods a bit of breathing space!

[curser]

Well, the CR/friending meme is both friending and to find new cr, whereas this would be an info post to let people know what's happened 'up to this point'. It also doesn't have to be monthly, since we're a bimonthly app game.

I think a possible solution for having things be figured too quickly is being able to redact certain parts that are plot specific. example:

"Reynard went and did this and this and this with this char and the result was [REDACTED]."

That would, hopefully, let the players know that there are just certain things that the mods aren't spilling past the players that do know via pms and playing for the good of the overall plot. As I said, it's up to you how much you guys want to put on the information of the mod's part and please conform it to fit with what is more comfortable for you guys and causes less work in the long run.

[fairyfoes]

All excellent thoughts! There's absolutely some mechanic we can use to think through the issue. Would you be opposed to us sending you a PM to look over what we build and make any last suggestions? We don't have a solid ETA for completion yet, but you've been a world of help.

[teenyoda]

Of course. =) I'm happy to help in any way, but at the end of the day, it's going to be your guys' thing. It should work best for you, but I don't mind giving it a peek.

[knightscode]

NAME: Jack
CHARACTER(S) PLAYED: Lancelot, Red
GAMEPLAY SUGGESTION(S):

Strike list/AC fails lists!

By this I mean: At the moment AC sort of happens mysteriously. People get kicked, and we don't find out! Likewise, sometimes when you are swamped we don't get a reply confirming if we passed or not. Thus: a lot of games I am in post a list of people who are going to be swept before they do it. The benefit of this is twofold: first, their CR / castmates find out if someone is being officially swept. Second, if someone is away on hiatus and is being accidentally kicked we can correct before they get kicked and confusion breaks out! Edit to note that it doesn't have to be fancy! Just a List! I guess in our case first warning would be replaced by 'Doubling up'. But you don't even have to include that if it makes it too much extra work.

[fairyfoes]

This last month the manner of conducting AC changed slightly in the background; we used to send all players who had failed a PM as a kindly notification to post to AC if they had not when it terminated, with a leeway time. The game is simply getting too large to do that with, however, and we experimented with simply... not providing that heads up. An experiment which... could have gone better. As a result, we'd actually determined after the end of this AC to begin instating a list, just to make sure all players are covered!

[knightscode]

Cool! I mostly noticed because I stalk AC a bit in case people I know don't appear to be posting in time. THIS WILL MAKE MY STALKING EASIER.

[fairyfoes]

c: Stalking AC? You've got our stamp of approval!

[knightscode]

Continues to stalk then...

[dragonring]

I'm just... gonna use this thread instead of starting a new one since it's all related. ;) I wanted to suggest a line for the meme if that's ok with you? "Recent open threads/posts:" where people can put links. We used it back in Asgard and I've always found it very helpful, specially for big events where it's hard to find a top level comment or a specific network post in a sea of them. Also there's the thing when sometimes players don't want to tag old things in fear to get ignored, so saying "I have my character over here doing this and I'm still taking tags for that" would help!