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Announce post #3350: Major Seconds Abuses
4/11/2022 at 19:09
Ictinus, the Architect
Everyone
Major Seconds Abuses
Hi everyone,
I wouldn't normally do this as I prefer to keep player punishments between the admin and the players involved, but on this occasion I felt that the gravity and the far-reaching nature of the situation merited it being shared in public.
Today I have permanently shrubbed Caitria, Blodwyn, Anahera, and in total around eighteen characters that are all associated with or played by the same player. These characters span numerous accounts and various identities across the whole game. One of them was an active Celani from the most recent batch played at the same time as Caitria and others. This Celani had not been fully promoted, and did not yet hold a God role, but had been involved in major projects.
This player has a long history of similar behaviour on Achaea that has spanned multiple years and countless characters. I had hoped it would not be the case here, but I was mistaken.
The amount of effort required to craft false identities, to obfuscate and conceal, and to utilise numerous proxies in order to play these multiple concurrent roles has, frankly, left me astonished. This is an incredibly serious breach of our seconds policies and an enormous betrayal of trust.
This type of behaviour is not and never will be welcome in Aetolia or any other IRE game.
Penned by my hand on Quensday, the 5th of Haernos, in the year 501 MA.
Ictinus, the Architect
Everyone
Major Seconds Abuses
Hi everyone,
I wouldn't normally do this as I prefer to keep player punishments between the admin and the players involved, but on this occasion I felt that the gravity and the far-reaching nature of the situation merited it being shared in public.
Today I have permanently shrubbed Caitria, Blodwyn, Anahera, and in total around eighteen characters that are all associated with or played by the same player. These characters span numerous accounts and various identities across the whole game. One of them was an active Celani from the most recent batch played at the same time as Caitria and others. This Celani had not been fully promoted, and did not yet hold a God role, but had been involved in major projects.
This player has a long history of similar behaviour on Achaea that has spanned multiple years and countless characters. I had hoped it would not be the case here, but I was mistaken.
The amount of effort required to craft false identities, to obfuscate and conceal, and to utilise numerous proxies in order to play these multiple concurrent roles has, frankly, left me astonished. This is an incredibly serious breach of our seconds policies and an enormous betrayal of trust.
This type of behaviour is not and never will be welcome in Aetolia or any other IRE game.
Penned by my hand on Quensday, the 5th of Haernos, in the year 501 MA.
Autoposter
18
Re: Bard Class Preview
Continuing our Bard previews series, I've asked the team to pick one of their favourite flavour/non combat abilities from the three skill trees to show off next!
We won't be showcasing any combat abilities as these are more likely to change before release, so without further ado, my pick of choice: MIMICRY from Performance!
We won't be showcasing any combat abilities as these are more likely to change before release, so without further ado, my pick of choice: MIMICRY from Performance!
---
Syntax: MIMIC (speaker|NOONE)
Every talented performer knows how to imitate another and you are no exception. With this ability, you can speak as though you are another by attempting to mimic another person within your location.
Once you have begun to mimic them, your ability to SAY and TELL will appear as though they are the ones speaking instead.
You can cease to mimic others by using MIMIC NOONE and return to your regular voice.
Ictinus
15
Re: Mildly Irritating: Aetolia's Pet Peeves
Going to vaguepost a bit here, but this alarming trend of newer (and some not so new) players who are getting upset and expressing frustration that they're not being bashed to level 100 by other people. Or given supplies, chocolates, chalices, gold, etc to help them along their way.
I don't have any problem helping new people feel welcome and I'll take people bashing or give them omnipotence pills, etc when I feel like it, but nobody should be made to feel like they're obligated to bash anyone up to level 99/100 or shower them with free stuff.
I don't have any problem helping new people feel welcome and I'll take people bashing or give them omnipotence pills, etc when I feel like it, but nobody should be made to feel like they're obligated to bash anyone up to level 99/100 or shower them with free stuff.
Sryaen
20
RPWHO Improvements
RPWHO is a great system, in spirit, but as implemented, is barebones and has a number of issues that prevent it from being the killer roleplay-finding feature it really could be. I'm going to try to list these out in approximate order of most to least important.
Adding a type of visible AFK status would go incredibly far in Aetolia (seriously, just make players on the WHO list dark grey, that's all you have to do), but for RPWHO it's essential. Using RPWHO and seeing two AFK vampires, probably in their havens or coffins, is a total downer and keeps people from bothering with the system.
Whether AFK players are kicked off, or partitioned off to another listing in RPWHO, I think being able to tell who's there and active, and who isn't actually available, would go a long way to improving this feature.
Just as a fun extra tidbit: people can tell stories through these things. In another MUD I played, there was a guy who wasn't necessarily looking for RP, but told, entirely through changing his publicly-visible poses, a story of building his house - sometimes you'd see he was "digging out a watering hole," sometimes he was "hauling stacks of lumber to a half-finished homestead." It was cool to see and weirdly immersive!
And there's almost always an answer! Players have organically set up hotspots over time where you can usually find people hanging out. They're not the absolute best place to find RP, but they're also by no means the worst.
I propose that certain predefined locations automatically list, in RPWHO, how many people are standing there - say, the Inner Gate of Spinesreach, the stone bridge in Duiran, so on and so forth.
Furthermore, allow owners of buildings, shops, etc. toggle the rooms in their property as hotspots. Show up to the Burly Chest Tavern, and you'll see how many people are there. Aetolia isn't a MUSH, so of course it's going to need to respect hidden players, people in Phase/Blackwind/etc., but even then, just having this as a resource so that newer players know where people are hanging out would be a game changer.
I really don't think this works in Aetolia. It is trivial to check someone's location on RPWHO and see who it is. I would understand if there's no interest in changing this, so I propose yet another flag, something like RP ADD VISIBLE. All this would do is change your listing from an anonymous entry to your name. You still have the option to appear anonymous, but those of us who don't mind being seen, visibly soliciting attention, have the opportunity to do so!
Here's an example of what the readout could look like with the suggestions in mind:
Thanks for your consideration! If anyone else has any ideas for how to improve this system, let us know here!
1. The AFK Issue
This one's huge. Most games that feature an RP finder like this one differentiate between active and inactive players - and in fact the great majority of those will kick you off the list if you go AFK.Adding a type of visible AFK status would go incredibly far in Aetolia (seriously, just make players on the WHO list dark grey, that's all you have to do), but for RPWHO it's essential. Using RPWHO and seeing two AFK vampires, probably in their havens or coffins, is a total downer and keeps people from bothering with the system.
Whether AFK players are kicked off, or partitioned off to another listing in RPWHO, I think being able to tell who's there and active, and who isn't actually available, would go a long way to improving this feature.
2. Context
One killer feature you'll find in similar RP finder systems is the ability to optionally add your current pose. In Aetolia, the system could work like this:- RP ADD: adds you to the RP list as normal.
- RP ADD POSE: adds you to the RP list, but also includes your current pose on the RPWHO listing. People who checked RPWHO would see something like: Someone stands in front of the oven, trying to mitigate disaster at a Warm, well-equipped kitchen.
Just as a fun extra tidbit: people can tell stories through these things. In another MUD I played, there was a guy who wasn't necessarily looking for RP, but told, entirely through changing his publicly-visible poses, a story of building his house - sometimes you'd see he was "digging out a watering hole," sometimes he was "hauling stacks of lumber to a half-finished homestead." It was cool to see and weirdly immersive!
3. Hotspots
Time and time again, newcomers to Aetolia have asked us the same question: where do you go to find RP?And there's almost always an answer! Players have organically set up hotspots over time where you can usually find people hanging out. They're not the absolute best place to find RP, but they're also by no means the worst.
I propose that certain predefined locations automatically list, in RPWHO, how many people are standing there - say, the Inner Gate of Spinesreach, the stone bridge in Duiran, so on and so forth.
Furthermore, allow owners of buildings, shops, etc. toggle the rooms in their property as hotspots. Show up to the Burly Chest Tavern, and you'll see how many people are there. Aetolia isn't a MUSH, so of course it's going to need to respect hidden players, people in Phase/Blackwind/etc., but even then, just having this as a resource so that newer players know where people are hanging out would be a game changer.
4. Anonymity
I appreciate the thinking behind forced anonymity in RPWHO - you don't want people picking and choosing who they strike up for roleplaying.I really don't think this works in Aetolia. It is trivial to check someone's location on RPWHO and see who it is. I would understand if there's no interest in changing this, so I propose yet another flag, something like RP ADD VISIBLE. All this would do is change your listing from an anonymous entry to your name. You still have the option to appear anonymous, but those of us who don't mind being seen, visibly soliciting attention, have the opportunity to do so!
Here's an example of what the readout could look like with the suggestions in mind:
Thanks for your consideration! If anyone else has any ideas for how to improve this system, let us know here!
Lin
19
Re: Bard Class Preview
In today's preview, I bring you... HELP PERFORMANCE!
Performance is the physical-oriented skill of the Bard professional, an art through which one's own body becomes a conduit for dramatic effect and elaborate histrionics. Seamlessly blending guile and deceit with dexterous swordplay, expert performers are as much charming rogue as they are talented
actor.
Equally comfortable talking or brawling their way out of trouble, the Bard's agility and charisma both on and off the battlefield are unmatched. Too does the skill invite spectacle - ever is the Bard's work accompanied by a riveting flourish or dramatic fanfare, for there is no greater prize than a captive audience and their applause.
But after causing a spectacle, and invoking attro ca pa'sa, a Bard is often in need of a quick escape. Whether it be deflecting attackers onto someone else, or stealing a mount, there exist options both flashy and subtle. An expert performer can even blend seamlessly into an urban crowd, becoming indistinguishable from a common citizen at a cursory glance.
Performance is the physical-oriented skill of the Bard professional, an art through which one's own body becomes a conduit for dramatic effect and elaborate histrionics. Seamlessly blending guile and deceit with dexterous swordplay, expert performers are as much charming rogue as they are talented
actor.
Equally comfortable talking or brawling their way out of trouble, the Bard's agility and charisma both on and off the battlefield are unmatched. Too does the skill invite spectacle - ever is the Bard's work accompanied by a riveting flourish or dramatic fanfare, for there is no greater prize than a captive audience and their applause.
But after causing a spectacle, and invoking attro ca pa'sa, a Bard is often in need of a quick escape. Whether it be deflecting attackers onto someone else, or stealing a mount, there exist options both flashy and subtle. An expert performer can even blend seamlessly into an urban crowd, becoming indistinguishable from a common citizen at a cursory glance.
Ictinus
12
Re: Mildly Irritating: Aetolia's Pet Peeves
Will someone just tell me if PK rules are being broken or not so I can figure out where to send my disappointed dad energy?
Tetchta
6
Re: Mildly Irritating: Aetolia's Pet Peeves
Not being allowed to participate in the PK I ringled.
Iesid
8
Re: Announce post #3343: Oblivion's Portent & Lexadhra, the Indelible
There's a lot of legwork to be done, but the bulk of that legwork isn't just on the administration. This is a good time to remind everyone that your characters are not immutable - they are as capable of change as you are, especially when new input is giving them that opportunity.
Iazamat
9
Re: Mildly Irritating: Aetolia's Pet Peeves
Don't hunt in the Vortex if you're just going for 200 also that's a silly idea in the current state of things.
Ehtias
5