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retirement characters
I am not sure if this is the right spot for this, so admins please move it if need be...
I have been noticing that as characters retire through the retirement system that they are not being removed as members of City, Guild, Orders, and Clans.
Is there a way that the admins can set it up so that when a character does retire they are removed from everything? Also can you remove all the retired characters now as well? I tried to remove a few retired from the Guild but got a message saying that the character has not been active for a long time and they could not have done anything to be removed.
Anyone else feel the same?
I have been noticing that as characters retire through the retirement system that they are not being removed as members of City, Guild, Orders, and Clans.
Is there a way that the admins can set it up so that when a character does retire they are removed from everything? Also can you remove all the retired characters now as well? I tried to remove a few retired from the Guild but got a message saying that the character has not been active for a long time and they could not have done anything to be removed.
Anyone else feel the same?
Macavity
2
Re: What kind of community structure do you prefer?
So.... I'm of the opinion that we are in severe need of a destruction of a lot of orgs. At most, we have 60-70 people online.... and yet we somehow have 4 cities. At most, that's about 15 people per city (though we all know that this is actually in no accurate as some cities have more than others).I agree with Rhyot entirely. We have way too many orgs for the current population. ALL muds are experiencing a decline in population and IRE muds are just doing rather well compared to all the rest, but the decline is still there and can't be ignored. Most muds have between 0-15 people online. To stave off this decline we need to make sure we keep our newbies that are starting Aetolia fresh for the first time. To do that, they need to be welcomed by orgs that have plenty of people in them. Nothing could be worse than a newb joining the game and having zero people in their guild/house for a large portion of the time they play. In addition to that, we need to be able to keep the people we have. I think that goes back to what Haven said about org stagnation.. another issue yes, but it is undeniably linked to losing current players which contributes to the health of the mud.
I honestly feel we can merge into 2 cities and just maintain the guilds on the tether city that is made. Bloodloch can get blown up by the volcano, Spinesreach can be covered in an avalanche, Duiran can get crushed by the Great Oak tree falling, Enorian (not sure how they'd get blown up since they've been blown up 2 times now)... and then new cities are made and the guilds just merge into the 2 new cities (one light/one shadow). This consolidates everyone who want to be part of a city and the guilds have a single organization they belong to.
Additionally, you could destroy guilds in the merge that fail to meet some sort of activity requirement and then just call it a day. At most, 2-3 guilds will be destroyed. This will leave it to 2 cities and maybe 10 guilds (if not less). The more we consolidate, the easier it would be on an admin level.
But I'm all for trying something new.
The good news is that there are some awesome ways of doing this through a major event and scaling down in a way that makes the mud feel very new and exciting to ALL of us. I think the least interesting way of doing this would be to simply destroy two cities but admittedly, this is the easiest way of consolidation. Instead, I would propose creating an event that destroys all of the cities along with the guild halls, dominion/houses, temples, etc. From the ashes create two NEW cities that bring each tether together in building them, consolidate some of the gods/orders to a point where none of them are just dead and inactive, create a better solution than the current dominion/house structure, etc.
I think the current guilds based on classes are a relic from before multi-classing and should be done away with especially so since you don't even have to have that class to be in the guild. If guilds stay around, I'd rather have new guilds created that aren't based on classes at all and class-hubs created as was described in the original post which would preserve the lore of each class. I'm thinking of a guild system such as the Night Masks, Harpers, etc. from D&D where the lore has nothing to do with a specific class but instead includes members from several classes who are focused on common goals.
If done right, this could be very interesting and breathe some life into Aetolia, not to mention it would kill multiple birds that have been discussed lately with one stone. It would be a good time to bring in a new faction powerful enough to cause this massive destruction, create class-hubs and city quests structured around fighting this enemy, do something better than dominion/houses, new guild system etc. Just some ideas off the top of my head but I'm sure our mud staff can do better than what I've come up with.
Kalinaar
0
Re: Guild and city unification
While I understand that you primarily want an admin point of view. If you would humble me, Id like to cast my own as well.
Quite honestly, I think we need less organizations within the game. We no longer have the playerbase to maintain 4 cities, 11 guilds, 12 orders, 4 houses, 1 dominion, and whatever other orgs I might be forgetting. On a good day, we'll have a playerbase that reaches a peak of maybe 110 players. This in no means, shows a good capability of being able to maintain the plethora of orgs we have, especially the city separations. Now, I understand that every city has its own lore, but at the same time, I think we need to look at the longevity of the game and keeping a mass separation of the cities like this with as few players as have is not conducive to the health of the game.
That said, I think the linking of guilds to cities was an attempt at a solution to the above mentioned issue. However, I think something far more drastic is necessary. I think we need to combine the cities from 2 spirit/2 shadow into 1 spirit/1 shadow, bring the guilds into the one created city that way the players only have to worry about their guild.... instead of forcing them to choose between city or guild. Not only that, but it would also bring about far more player interaction than what we have now among the cities.
I know my drastic idea is probably vastly disagreed with by the mass populace, but I don't think it would be a bad idea either.
Rhyot
5
Re: What kind of community structure do you prefer?
We are definitely conscious about the void of a conflict system. While they interrelate, they are separate problems, however, and each need their own solutions -- and solutions that consider the void of the other until we have something in place. Player-Generated conflict is best left to its own thread, which I can begin a discussion on with some initial thoughts over the next day or so, so each conversation has the appropriate focus.
In regards to the Ministers being a lot of elections -- this would come with considerable consolidation. Instead of having 10 appointments, 5 elected CityRep spots, AND the 3 guild elected positions, it would simply be the 5; double duty as it were, but sustainable duty appropriate to the focus and with some freedom to create supporting positions within that sphere.
General question: What would you say are the top 3 things about being in a guild that you would like to see sustained?
In regards to the Ministers being a lot of elections -- this would come with considerable consolidation. Instead of having 10 appointments, 5 elected CityRep spots, AND the 3 guild elected positions, it would simply be the 5; double duty as it were, but sustainable duty appropriate to the focus and with some freedom to create supporting positions within that sphere.
General question: What would you say are the top 3 things about being in a guild that you would like to see sustained?
Imvra
0
Re: Dominion
There's an entrenched playerbase that's comfortable with the current status quo and can't be replaced, at least not easily or on any meaningful scale. Any player who rocks the boat or fights against the status quo puts themselves at risk of being shunned or, worse (until the ability to quit Dominion), exiled.
The Primus, the leader of the Dominion, can't be replaced without a 4/5ths vote of the House leaders, and a number of the Houses are dead and run by ghouls who only play enough to maintain vote weight and a retinue of cronies willing to keep them in power. With this sort of dynamic and structure, if the Primus isn't willing to budge on policies and RP, nothing will change. And the Houses are ultimately beholden to the Primus and what they want.
As is, anyone willing to try to change things has already left the Dominion, quit the game (or is playing an alt), or has faded into the background to blend in and avoid problems. It's an absolute cluster of problems that has led to stagnancy of the game's "flagship" class and RP.
There's probably more I can say and elucidate on, but I'll have to save it for later.
Edit: Also, vampires have the Dominion and can join both a House and a guild, making it even easier to ignore when the Dominion or their House is spiraling the drain. They can also be part of Spinesreach or Bloodloch, making them unique from the rest of the game, and further able to distance themselves from perceived problems if they want.
The Primus, the leader of the Dominion, can't be replaced without a 4/5ths vote of the House leaders, and a number of the Houses are dead and run by ghouls who only play enough to maintain vote weight and a retinue of cronies willing to keep them in power. With this sort of dynamic and structure, if the Primus isn't willing to budge on policies and RP, nothing will change. And the Houses are ultimately beholden to the Primus and what they want.
As is, anyone willing to try to change things has already left the Dominion, quit the game (or is playing an alt), or has faded into the background to blend in and avoid problems. It's an absolute cluster of problems that has led to stagnancy of the game's "flagship" class and RP.
There's probably more I can say and elucidate on, but I'll have to save it for later.
Edit: Also, vampires have the Dominion and can join both a House and a guild, making it even easier to ignore when the Dominion or their House is spiraling the drain. They can also be part of Spinesreach or Bloodloch, making them unique from the rest of the game, and further able to distance themselves from perceived problems if they want.
Iazamat
2
Re: Dominion
The Dominion acting as a guild-like structure with the Houses becoming transient factions within the Dominion is a neat idea, especially if the Primus is given the ability to create and dismantle said Houses. The problem ultimately becomes someone spite-deleting a House due to OOC motivation and the resulting fallout. We could end up losing more players - if that's a risk that everyone's willing to take, I'd be more than glad to see us given more player agency. Especially if the position of Primus becomes one that could be fought over and won through force.
Still, the problem of making the Primus won through PvP or the singular leader is that it will eventually lead to the same problems we're having now. Someone will win and become unmovable and lead to either stagnation or a groupie status that tries to stonewall anyone looking to change things. The reason people are clamouring for deletion, though, is that the RP for vampires has been the same for... honestly, for as long as I've been playing. And it's even been doubled down on with efforts like the Dominion and further consolidating vampires into a single super-structure. Even the Houses are functionally and RPly the exact same. Vampires currently don't add anything to BL or the game as a whole beyond being vampires. Their RP doesn't impact anyone but themselves, and no further lore or reason to venture beyond that RP has been given to vampires. If the Dominion and Houses were to be deleted, nothing would be missed except by those comfortable with the status quo.
Suffice it to say, I don't know what to do. Some want it deleted, some don't. Some want change, others don't. If things stay the same, some players will be upset. If things change, other players will be upset. At this point, I'd be content making vampires choose between Dominion or guild and letting them stick to their own corner of the game if they so choose.
Still, the problem of making the Primus won through PvP or the singular leader is that it will eventually lead to the same problems we're having now. Someone will win and become unmovable and lead to either stagnation or a groupie status that tries to stonewall anyone looking to change things. The reason people are clamouring for deletion, though, is that the RP for vampires has been the same for... honestly, for as long as I've been playing. And it's even been doubled down on with efforts like the Dominion and further consolidating vampires into a single super-structure. Even the Houses are functionally and RPly the exact same. Vampires currently don't add anything to BL or the game as a whole beyond being vampires. Their RP doesn't impact anyone but themselves, and no further lore or reason to venture beyond that RP has been given to vampires. If the Dominion and Houses were to be deleted, nothing would be missed except by those comfortable with the status quo.
Suffice it to say, I don't know what to do. Some want it deleted, some don't. Some want change, others don't. If things stay the same, some players will be upset. If things change, other players will be upset. At this point, I'd be content making vampires choose between Dominion or guild and letting them stick to their own corner of the game if they so choose.
Iazamat
2
Re: What kind of community structure do you prefer?
I also wasn't entirely sure how to put this in terms of the voting options, but I do generally like that there is a guild structure where each guild has unique RP opportunities. Even when the population is smaller and cliques can develop, I also tend to like the fact that guilds can set up their own mechanical hierarchies, especially now that we have guild positions to customize.
Something I could see helping out is letting everyone pick a "primary" guild. Similar to orders and congregations, people who are interested in learning more and participating can join the congregation more or less freely without major RP repercussions, but in theory, the order itself is a more select group, and is the only one where people can actually have status and so on. I think something like that for guilds could be good where the primary guild has a similar sense of being better (minus the fact that people have to be initiated into the order, of course.) That said, I could see each guild being given a lower group that ICly would be more rank and file members that other people can join (probably with restrictions based on city, tether, whatever.) Unlike congregations, people could get involved in one primary guild and one or more of the secondary groups to help increase overall population.
Something I could see helping out is letting everyone pick a "primary" guild. Similar to orders and congregations, people who are interested in learning more and participating can join the congregation more or less freely without major RP repercussions, but in theory, the order itself is a more select group, and is the only one where people can actually have status and so on. I think something like that for guilds could be good where the primary guild has a similar sense of being better (minus the fact that people have to be initiated into the order, of course.) That said, I could see each guild being given a lower group that ICly would be more rank and file members that other people can join (probably with restrictions based on city, tether, whatever.) Unlike congregations, people could get involved in one primary guild and one or more of the secondary groups to help increase overall population.
Sarita
0
Re: Should the Gem of Cloaking artifact be changed or removed?
I'm like the only person who doesn't want this to be deleted it seems so I'll explain why. No, it doesn't make the mud look smaller because when you type who it specifically tells you how many are visible and how many are concealed. We don't need a list of names to know the number of people online when it's plainly stated numerically so I don't think that's a good reason to get rid of it.
Not everyone wants to be so easily found by everyone all the time and artifacts like the gem and hood make that possible for those who care enough to spend the credits.
Not everyone wants to be so easily found by everyone all the time and artifacts like the gem and hood make that possible for those who care enough to spend the credits.
Kalinaar
2
Re: Class Viability
@emir and @zarni neither of you fight nor are any good what-so-ever and yet you argue with me on my opinions. Yes i may have gotten a .2 difference in what the affliction does wrong. But what makes you think either of you know more than i do? The point is, the ultimate goal of combat is to kill your opponent. If you take more time doing that than your opponent does to you, you lose and die. Anyone with a brainstem knows that, but i'm not sure either of you do. After reading your comments i expect to fight you, then you come back from the death sequence and say BUT I SLOWED YOU DOWN .4 SECONDS HOW ARE YOU SO OP!
