Volunteer AMA!

2

Comments

  • Qelres said:

    1. Why are all of you so cool?

    2. What's your favorite area in the game, thematically?

    3. What are some books, games, movies, etc. that have really inspired you?

    1. Years of contemplation while in the Shame Tube.

    2. I love the Alcazar. This place of just ridiculous, over-the-top decadence, all built/fueled through pure exploitation. Vampire RP has moved very far away from the original Abhorash vision (which is fine! It isn't really sustainable in modern day Aetolia without heavy, heavy mechanical backing and nobody wants Abhorash walking around throatripping anyone who dares to speak back), but at the time it really hammered home that yeah these snobbish elitist vampires really enslaved hundreds just to add a bit of totally unnecessary opulence to their lives. It was so extra and I loved how hard it drove home that vampires didn't view the living as people.

    3. I don't read as much as I should these days so it's been a while since I picked up a new series (still waiting on A Song of Ice and Fire...).

    I designed the Nocturn and Ankyrean Adherent skillsets and "borrowed" from fantasy series for them. There are traces of influence from the Dresden Files in the Nocturn set and the Adherent one is heavily influenced by the Wheel of Time.
    SibattiSaidennKatie
  • Supposing a player could logically describe the function and process of building a new item, weapon, etc in detail with knowledge that would technically fall in the time line of production for Aetolia, what is the likelihood of someone taking interest in the construction of said item?
  • CeraenCeraen Funky TownImmortal
    Sarita said:

    1. If all the Aetolian classes suddenly magically existed in the real world, which would you want to be?

    2. If you (as a real person) could take a one day vacation to Aetolia, where would you go?

    3. What's your personal favorite thing you've done/made/whatever as a volunteer?

    1. Shaman for life.
    2. Realistically, I'd be hiding in a basement somewhere. Exploring old abandoned buildings in Spinesreach sounds like a good time too.
    3. Favorite thing made would be uh...either gridship or ylemnics. Favorite thing done is possessing random 'normal' folks as part of other Celani's events.
    Sibatti said:

    What do you find most engaging/inviting when it comes to spontaneous RP moments?

    What is your equivalent of "SCORE, STAT, NSTAT, QW, SCENT"? (in that order, obv)

    1. I don't RP nearly as much as my fellow Celani, so that's hard to say.
    2. Spam SC every 10 seconds to see if I'm still in my shell.
    Lin said:

    1. What's your favorite secret god emote?

    2. Has anyone been twerked out of the Pools during something really important? 

    1. caw. I don't think I can show it here, sadly.
    2. Not that I've seen. Lots of getting ditched mid-convers-
    Qelres said:

    1. Why are all of you so cool?

    2. What's your favorite area in the game, thematically?

    3. What are some books, games, movies, etc. that have really inspired you?

    1. Being surrounded with cooler people makes it seem like I am.
    2. The Dun Valley, although it might not be frequented that often these days.
    3. There's probably bits of inspiration from a handful of media sprinkled here and there. But most of my inspiration once I have a basic idea is the game's lore. I like expanding on less explored aspects of the game and bringing attention to it subtly.
    Saidenn

  • How dedicated are you guys? Do you nerds stay up late or wake up to help out in events if they're run on opposite TIMEZONES?! Do you take your laptops with you on holidays or staycations?

    What is your favourite for-fun prog that exists in the game?

    What's your secret fantasy area you'll like to build, even if it will never happen in the game?

    I need more than just a pet whale. Someone give me more. No this is not a question
    Sekeres
  • edited November 2020
    When you joined the Pools, was there something unexpected or an interaction that took you off guard?

    If you could trigger the Aetolian Apocalypse, in what form would it take and would you allow survivors?

    When doing work in the Pools, be it as Celani or not, did you ever misinterpret a duty with hilarious results?

    What are the most effective ways to bribe @Keroc, @Razmael, and @Tiur?


    Edit: In a simple numerical answer, how many ways can you imagine to murder @Elene's character, and how many of them do you think she would enjoy?
    Ardent
  • "Aeotolian apocalypse"

    Easy. Kerrithrim is still locked in the pools.
    Saidenn
  • Elene said:


    How dedicated are you guys? Do you nerds stay up late or wake up to help out in events if they're run on opposite TIMEZONES?! Do you take your laptops with you on holidays or staycations?


    I'm super busy most of the time, so I don't tend to switch up my timezone much for events. Sometimes I might be convinced to wake up early though.

    My laptop 100% comes with me to every holiday, and it was picked specifically to have a numpad for walking around.
    Saidenn said:

    When you joined the Pools, was there something unexpected or an interaction that took you off guard?

    If you could trigger the Aetolian Apocalypse, in what form would it take and would you allow survivors?

    When I joined, I told everyone I would break any code. It was laughed off. Then I broke something within a minute of being in the Pools. I can break anything without even trying.

    I'd probably do a plague. There would be survivors but a lot of the essentials would be knocked back to nothing and all those gold and comms would have to be built up for new settlements again. I'm a huge fan of post-apocalyptic media.

    Saidenn
  • RhyotRhyot Bloodloch
    Do any of you ever miss being an actual player in the game? 

    Why and/or why not?


  • BraxBrax Immortal
    edited November 2020
    Elene said:


    How dedicated are you guys? Do you nerds stay up late or wake up to help out in events if they're run on opposite TIMEZONES?! Do you take your laptops with you on holidays or staycations?

    What is your favourite for-fun prog that exists in the game?

    What's your secret fantasy area you'll like to build, even if it will never happen in the game?

    I need more than just a pet whale. Someone give me more. No this is not a question
    1. If I had a dollar for every time I've stayed up later than intended on a work night to do something in Aetolia, I could probably work part-time and play more Aetolia. Vacations are super super rare for me personally, so if I have one of those I'll probably be disconnected, but a chunk of Aetolia time is always a goal of a staycation when it happens/is planned. Having Discord on the phone means you're pretty much always connected though if needed!

    2. I don't know if it counts as a for-fun prog, but probably definitely Farkle. Tedrunai is a wizard. I had soooo much fun with Farkle. Bug Rush was also an absolute masterpiece that doesn't get the hype it deserves.

    3. Fantasy area is tough. I can't think of any that wouldn't happen in the game, but I can think of a bunch that are doable but would take so much work that it's intimidating.

    4. There's a new pet in Bloodloch at the West Gate that LOVES being touched, poked, and petted. You can claim that one as long as you shower it with affection.
    Saidenn said:

    When you joined the Pools, was there something unexpected or an interaction that took you off guard?

    So maybe a darker turn than expected, but the Bad Side(TM) of Aetolia. Disclaimer: This is my opinion and not speaking for anyone else. It's not something people talk about a whole lot, and it gets brushed off fairly often, but maybe a good chance to highlight earnestly and honestly.

    As a player, you can hear secondhand about some other players being a little hurtful or rough, but volunteering definitely kinda puts a magnifying glass on it. I've seen some downright vile emails, messages, and issues that seem to entirely forget that there's a person on the other side of the screen, which is always hard.

    The Aetolia Official Discord can get a little rough sometimes too. It sometimes feels like there are some people that get some sort of enjoyment out of complaining about the game. I get it, we're a small community that's heavily invested in our text characters (often literally and figuratively), but sometimes it's.. a bit demoralizing, to say the least.

    Imagine you spend a few weeks logging in to read over and over again that nothing is happening in Aetolia and that it's a dead game, etc. You feel bad, so you work to try and amend that. You start up an event or interaction, which... promptly gets blasted on Discord as being awful, or garners a bunch of complaints about it in real time. It kind of takes the wind out of your sails, and makes you feel like nothing you do is right.

    There've been more than a handful of times where I'm pumped up and ready to do some work, catch up on the Discord convos as part of my logging in/getting acclimated routine, and see just a bunch of messages about how bad we're doing. Suddenly the motivation and excitement is dampened a bit.

    I love the people I get to volunteer with, and I'd consider all of them good friends. Even if it's not harshness directed at you specifically, it can be rough (sometimes even worse) to watch vitriol be directed at a friend too.

    Being such a small community comparatively, we do see pretty much all of it. It's not quite like a forum/subreddit/discord for a huge game where most devs won't see 90% of the bad because it's lost in a sea of posts or messages.

    So question-turned-PSA.. be cool to each other. Remember that there are people on the other side of the screen. If you're angry, maybe consider logging off for a minute, collecting your thoughts, and then writing that angry discord message/issue/email/message after you've cooled off.

    We've all got pretty thick skin by now (there's a reason that's mentioned in the Celani application announcement posts), but even the thickest skin can get a chip in it every now and then after a while.
    Saidenn said:

    If you could trigger the Aetolian Apocalypse, in what form would it take and would you allow survivors?

    I don't know how it would happen, but there absolutely would be survivors. Raze the cities and guilds, leave the players to form new ones, see what happens and which orgs rise in post-apocalypse Aetolia. Do the cities still exist as they did before? Do we end up with the same guilds?
    Saidenn said:

    When doing work in the Pools, be it as Celani or not, did you ever misinterpret a duty with hilarious results?

    I can't think of any off the top of my head, but there definitely have been plenty of times where we misinterpret where players might go with a certain event or interaction that ends up entirely flipping the whole thing on its head. We then improvise like mad and wing everything, which is genuinely almost always fun. The chaotic energy of all of us teamworking a solution out on the spot is hard to compare to anything else.
    Saidenn said:

    What are the most effective ways to bribe @Keroc, @Razmael, and @Tiur?

    I haven't figured out a way yet. If you find one, lemme know.
    Saidenn said:

    Edit: In a simple numerical answer, how many ways can you imagine to murder @Elene's character, and how many of them do you think she would enjoy?

    5,000, 4,999
    Saidenn
  • CeraenCeraen Funky TownImmortal
    Elene said:


    How dedicated are you guys? Do you nerds stay up late or wake up to help out in events if they're run on opposite TIMEZONES?! Do you take your laptops with you on holidays or staycations?

    What is your favourite for-fun prog that exists in the game?

    What's your secret fantasy area you'll like to build, even if it will never happen in the game?

    I need more than just a pet whale. Someone give me more. No this is not a question
    1. I've never had to, but we're fairly evenly split between US and AU timezones, so there's usually at least someone there willing to help out. Some other Celani/Admins have definitively woken up early or stayed up late, though.
    2. There's a single doll of Haern that someone has which will attempt to use a minipet in the room as a mount. There's also a little secret easter egg with that which I'm not sure has been discovered yet.
    3. I want all of Dendara, and it's gonna be bigger than Albedos, and it'll take real life days to explore, and yeah I don't think that's going to happen ever.
    Saidenn said:

    When you joined the Pools, was there something unexpected or an interaction that took you off guard?

    If you could trigger the Aetolian Apocalypse, in what form would it take and would you allow survivors?

    When doing work in the Pools, be it as Celani or not, did you ever misinterpret a duty with hilarious results?

    What are the most effective ways to bribe @Keroc, @Razmael, and @Tiur?


    Edit: In a simple numerical answer, how many ways can you imagine to murder @Elene's character, and how many of them do you think she would enjoy?

    1. The interview :s
    2. "Hey guys what happens if I put all the affs in there?"
    3. We don't really have duties. But as @Brax said, events never quite go smoothly according to plan. So it ends up with someone in charge of enabling/disabling/fixing progs, another person possessing 2-3 mobs at once on 2 clients, and two more people who weren't part of the event at the beginning helping out.
    4. Find a way to integrate catgirls into your idea and you won't even need to bribe @Razmael.
    5. Rapture can't handle unsigned integers so, lucky for you, the maximum would be 2,147,483,647.
    Rhyot said:

    Do any of you ever miss being an actual player in the game? 

    Why and/or why not?

    Not a lot. Part of what drew me to MUDs was the ability to script things to help you with game. Which isn't something a lot of other games let you do. Now I get to code all sorts of things, both player-visible and not. Sometimes there's a small urge to play again, but I would miss all the neat things I get to do as a Celani.
    Saidenn
  • If you could get away with a cross over event from any fandom from books to anime to movies, which universe would you pick?
  • HaelraHaelra Immortal
    edited November 2020
    Elene said:


    How dedicated are you guys? Do you nerds stay up late or wake up to help out in events if they're run on opposite TIMEZONES?! Do you take your laptops with you on holidays or staycations?

    What is your favourite for-fun prog that exists in the game?

    What's your secret fantasy area you'll like to build, even if it will never happen in the game?

    I need more than just a pet whale. Someone give me more. No this is not a question
    1) I try to be as dedicated as my team needs me to be! When we ran the Iron Epicurus a lot of people were busy with work and I had work in the morning, but I stayed up late to help run things and had a blast. It felt even better when everyone thanked me for staying up. I'm sure a few people will remember my character for a good while!

    2) Always bring my laptop with me, I'm too addicted to text-based games. RIP.

    3) We have a pen that contains llamas. :)

    4) The Tower of Babel

    5) Alright, one apple-green puppy coming up!
    Saidenn said:

    When you joined the Pools, was there something unexpected or interaction that took you off guard?

    If you could trigger the Aetolian Apocalypse, in what form would it take and would you allow survivors?

    When doing work in the Pools, be it as Celani or not, did you ever misinterpret a duty with hilarious results?

    What are the most effective ways to bribe @Keroc, @Razmael, and @Tiur?


    Edit: In a simple numerical answer, how many ways can you imagine to murder @Elene's character, and how many of them do you think she would enjoy?

    1) Oh yes. Being a first-timer Celani you get tricked into doing something your first 2 minutes into the Pools. It caught me off guard and I got very scared since my nerves were through the roof on my day 1!

    2) Old Kratos comes out of a portal. There are no survivors.

    3) Not really, no. I really try to do the job right the first time so I pester everyone with questions constantly.

    4) I wouldn't know. HONOURS HAELRA :(

    edit 5) At least 100

    Rhyot said:

    Do any of you ever miss being an actual player in the game? 

    Why and/or why not?

    It was really hard at first, like, unbelievably hard. You think you're tough enough to do it then you find yourself compulsively checking on people that you were attached to. You watch people who promised you things break those promises. You watch your family talk about missing you. It's really tough! But after at least the first month I'd say, you just... Stop caring? Or at least, you realize the position you are in will make the experience in the game for everyone (hopefully) better! You made the choice to be above all the mortal going ons, after all, and after the interview people up here now believe in you to carry through those promises made!

    So now, instead of obsessively watching family and friends as I used to, I watch for people that are continuing a storyline I laid out, watching election results, spending time with my new family up in the Pools!

    So in a way, yes, I think we all miss being a player in a sense. But we're all up here for a reason and love what we do, and wouldn't trade it away! The first bump I think is dropping your player ties, it's all a lot easier and less heartache after that!
    Ardent said:

    If you could get away with a cross over event from any fandom from books to anime to movies, which universe would you pick?

    Kingkiller Chronicles for sure. I love those books way too much, it's unhealthy.
    Then I'd cross over God of War just because I think it'd be fun to watch Kratos carve through everyone and come for the Gods.
    SaidennElene
  • SibattiSibatti Mamba dur Naya Amidst vibrant flora and trees
    No question right now just want to say that I really love this thread, as it's been thought-provoking and folded in some humanity/connection moments very aptly.
    LinHaelraBraxKarizynaSaidennRaahZeheiaValeria
  • Elene said:

    How dedicated are you guys? Do you nerds stay up late or wake up to help out in events if they're run on opposite TIMEZONES?! Do you take your laptops with you on holidays or staycations?

    Right now, real life is a higher priority for me than Aetolia - but in the past, I've pulled all-nighters for events and for building areas, and I've stayed up to help Australian and NZ volunteers do things during their own peak hours.
    Elene said:

    What is your favourite for-fun prog that exists in the game?

    ...does Aemekka in Huanazedha count...? 👀
    Elene said:

    What's your secret fantasy area you'll like to build, even if it will never happen in the game?

    An Aetolia-sized Dreamworld.
    Elene said:

    I need more than just a pet whale. Someone give me more.

    denied
    Saidenn said:

    When you joined the Pools, was there something unexpected or an interaction that took you off guard?

    A couple of months after I first stepped up, there was an event that didn't go so well. I was expressing frustrating at the outcome and the then-producer said to me, "Why are you so upset, Raah? No one [unicorn]sed your mother." Left my jaw completely agape.
    Saidenn said:

    If you could trigger the Aetolian Apocalypse, in what form would it take and would you allow survivors?

    A continent-shattering catastrophe that leaves behind archipelagos and constantly-changing terrain. The old cities would be gone, and the survivors would have to build settlements and agrarian communities up from nothing.
    Saidenn said:

    What are the most effective ways to bribe @Keroc, @Razmael, and @Tiur?

    I can't answer this question honestly without getting fired.
    Saidenn said:

    Edit: In a simple numerical answer, how many ways can you imagine to murder @Elene's character, and how many of them do you think she would enjoy?

    ∞, and a large subset of ∞, respectively. I'm pretty imaginative.
    Rhyot said:

    Do any of you ever miss being an actual player in the game? 

    Why and/or why not?

    Uuuuuughhhh I miss being a player all the time.

    When I say this, don't confuse this for me wanting to step down! I miss being a player, but I love what I'm able to do for the game - as well as all the resources at my disposal - as a Celani. I do miss my old characters, though, and RPing as a mortal. Sometimes I think about what they'd do if I stepped back down, or the people I miss interacting with.
    Ardent said:

    If you could get away with a cross over event from any fandom from books to anime to movies, which universe would you pick?

    Garth Nix's Old Kingdom series, almost solely because of the amazing ways in which his undead creatures work. The bells are a neat touch, too, and sometimes I imagine a class designed to work a little like an Abhorsen...
    EleneSaidenn
  • BraxBrax Immortal
    Rhyot said:

    Do any of you ever miss being an actual player in the game? 

    Why and/or why not?

    I honestly can't say I do. There are some fun events that happen every now and then where I get a sorta "Oh man, this would be so cool to experience/be surprised with as a player" feeling, but overall I feel like as far as volunteering goes, it's hard to put the genie back in the bottle once it's out.

    I feel like for me personally, I'm ultimately able to create more fun for more people in this capacity than I could as a player. I like taking part in stories and events, but I love setting them up and seeing people enjoy the ones I created/played a role in way, way more. That's where the fun is at to me.

    There's really nothing quite like revealing something you've put a lot of work or thought into and seeing esteem or discord lighting up about it afterward because people are happy and enjoying it. To me, that's way more satisfying than any level gained, PK conflict won, or most other things I've done as a player.
    Saidenn
  • Saidenn said:
    Edit: In a simple numerical answer, how many ways can you imagine to murder @Elene's character, and how many of them do you think she would enjoy?
    I hate you for encouraging them to even consider it. Now I am in need of @Haelra's apple-green puppies.

    Also whoever loves the Kingkiller chronicles, I love you too. Those are one of my favourite series.


    I HAVE ANOTHER QUESTION.

    I've been pretty fixated of late in the game about the different Elemental Planes and how they interact or exist apart from each other. Do either of you have a favourite Plane?
    Saidenn
  • Whoooooosh, this got long while I was doing other things.
    Nisavi said:

    Would you rather fight 100 duck-sized Omeis or 100 Omei-sized ducks.

    Why would I fight them, when I can do creatively evil things with all of them together? Raah and I are scarily alike sometimes.
    Sibatti said:

    What do you find most engaging/inviting when it comes to spontaneous RP moments?

    What is your equivalent of "SCORE, STAT, NSTAT, QW, SCENT"? (in that order, obv)

    THINK is your friend, it's my friend, it's everyone's friend. Use it liberally. Use it for words, use it for images, use it for feelings, use it for all of the things. I also enjoy when someone reacts completely unexpectedly. I'm the sort of person that will pop up in front of you and wait for your reaction, whether I have something I wanted to talk to you about or not.

    If I'm in my shell, I will check SCORE to see how my essence is. The rest of the time, GODWHO, QW (I have my Order and Cong members highlighted so I can notice them quicker), LN and LT (aliases to check new ideas and new typos), RN, RM. I deny your request for that particular order. I'll do them in whatever order I please!
    Lin said:

    1. What's your favorite secret god emote?

    2. Has anyone been twerked out of the Pools during something really important? 

    NEWSPAPER. Go ahead and guess.

    Important things don't really... happen at the Pools for the most part. That's where we hang and chat, and also where we actually get twerked out of randomly. Can't say we've had a super important conversation there that's involved that.
    Ehtias said:

    1) if you had to design a cup what would it do?

    Liquid on the outside.
    Qelres said:

    1. Why are all of you so cool?

    2. What's your favorite area in the game, thematically?

    3. What are some books, games, movies, etc. that have really inspired you?

    1. I wear my sunglasses at night, so I can...
    2. I actually really enjoy the Morgun Forest. I'm a big fan of the bits we changed from Achaea (maybe biased since I did make one of them) so that's definitely one of them.
    3. Mostly I love reading fantasy as it really gets me in the mood to be in a fantasy world. I love all of Brandon Sanderson's books, as well as the Wheel of Time (both Jordan and Sanderson's parts). The Green Rider series by Kristen Britain is one that I enjoy because it does take many darker turns, managing to capture the complete unexpected without destroying the story. Even when one of the books (no spoilers) took a COMPLETELY INSANE turn, she managed to tie it back in and really continue to drive the overarching plot. I long for that kind of mastermind skill.
    Ardent said:

    Supposing a player could logically describe the function and process of building a new item, weapon, etc in detail with knowledge that would technically fall in the time line of production for Aetolia, what is the likelihood of someone taking interest in the construction of said item?

    Completely depends on the purpose, item and a bunch of other reasons I can't even imagine unless the thing in question was actually specified.
    Elene said:


    How dedicated are you guys? Do you nerds stay up late or wake up to help out in events if they're run on opposite TIMEZONES?! Do you take your laptops with you on holidays or staycations?

    What is your favourite for-fun prog that exists in the game?

    What's your secret fantasy area you'll like to build, even if it will never happen in the game?

    I need more than just a pet whale. Someone give me more. No this is not a question
    I routinely stay up late for absolutely no better reason than "I wanted to do things on here and I haven't done them yet but now I'm going to check typos and unsorted bugs before bed." My work, unfortunately, thoroughly blocks out typical US peak times routinely, so I am generally around at very odd hours, despite living in the US.

    My laptop goes everywhere with me. I am nerd.

    For-fun prog... Bug Rush. Y'all should really play it some more. I'm pretty sure I have the best score in the game.

    Fantasy area: a real fantasy maze, one that is the whole area, and has extraordinarily random surprises throughout, with enough surprises to keep things fresh for more than the first two or three visits. Definitely not happening soon.

    You're lucky you got a pet whale, you monster. I've seen what you do to that thing.
    Saidenn said:

    When you joined the Pools, was there something unexpected or an interaction that took you off guard?

    If you could trigger the Aetolian Apocalypse, in what form would it take and would you allow survivors?

    When doing work in the Pools, be it as Celani or not, did you ever misinterpret a duty with hilarious results?

    What are the most effective ways to bribe @Keroc, @Razmael, and @Tiur?

    Edit: In a simple numerical answer, how many ways can you imagine to murder @Elene's character, and how many of them do you think she would enjoy?

    Chatting with Jeremy about stuff, way back in the day. He was the one in charge at the time, and it was definitely not routine at all for me to be doing that.

    Apocalypse: slow and steady destruction that everyone could see clearly, slowly enough that everyone would assume something could be done to stop it. And when it finally reaches a peak, annihilation, to a degree that safety must be sought somewhere else immediately- an elemental plane, an entirely new continent/planet. MAYBE BY AIRSHIPS.

    I'm sure I've misinterpreted stuff before, but honestly, nothing stands out as being truly funny. Funny is when you're on your celani and you forget that you're not actually on your shell and go vis and accidentally pop up in front of one of your Order members...

    There is no simple numerical answer. The number is infinite. Elene actively seeks destruction even when she's just idly standing around unthreateningly. It's practically a duty to find a new way to encourage this when you catch her doing so.
    Rhyot said:

    Do any of you ever miss being an actual player in the game? 

    Why and/or why not?

    No. It was hard when I left the Pools the first time, and I honestly didn't make it back more than briefly for six years. I made a new mortal then, and got burned by a god interaction six months in and gave up again. I'm much happier on Aetolia as a volunteer. People can still disappoint, but it's a lot easier to separate it from myself this way.
    Elene said:

    I HAVE ANOTHER QUESTION.

    I've been pretty fixated of late in the game about the different Elemental Planes and how they interact or exist apart from each other. Do either of you have a favourite Plane?

    Either of who? My favourite is redacted, because spoilers. :):D:D:D:)
    She/her but also responds to they/them thanks to chilling as Somebody or other.

    If in doubt, please refer to the Forum Rules! If in more doubt, please reach out to a moderator.

    Act as you would wish to be treated.

    "It costs you nothing to assume that we are acting in good faith."
    Saidenn
  • edited November 2020
    ANY OF YOU, GOSH. Anyway these are all insightful answers! Thank you <3
  • Elene said:

    I've been pretty fixated of late in the game about the different Elemental Planes and how they interact or exist apart from each other. Do either of you any of our beautiful Celani have a favourite Plane?

    First of all, thank you for the compliment! 🤭

    Second of all, my favorite plane is the Chaos Plane, because of the sheer number of possibilities that can come up with it. Literally anything can happen there, and the fact that the lifeforms are so alien causes it - for me! - to verge on including some sci-fi themes. I'm excited, now that the old Achaean-era Chaos Plane is out of the way, to see what we can end up doing with it going forward.

    (If it has to be an Elemental Plane, then Azvosh is my favorite by a mile.)
    Elene
  • RijettaRijetta Nowhere Important
    Do you have a favorite person to stalk via COMMANDS and other methods?

    How often do you find yourself following people around and just seeing what they get up to?

    If you could create one prog or mob or what have you with absolutely no oversight, automatically approved, what would it be?
    A low, sultry voice resounds within the depths of your mind, "I look forward to seeing your descent."
  • Rijetta said:

    Do you have a favorite person to stalk via COMMANDS and other methods?

    How often do you find yourself following people around and just seeing what they get up to?

    If you could create one prog or mob or what have you with absolutely no oversight, automatically approved, what would it be?

    Elene, obviously.

    Just kidding. Though I do glance at her once in a great while. Mostly I just stalk the people in my Order, because I know they're open to interactions from me, so it's easier to find a reason to poke them. And even then, some of my congregation are surprisingly difficult to pin down.

    Usually, if someone mentions my god. Occasionally if interesting stuff pops up on one of the channels I'm always watching. When I'm looking for something to do and my cong/Order looks like they might be available, sometimes I'll follow them while I type so I don't throw something at them while they've moved on to something I don't want to be involved in. No, I don't just mean private times, I'm not going to try and lure someone away from pvp/org meetings/etc - it's a great way to get my efforts ignored and feel down about being my god.

    As for the last, it would be a unicorn with no affiliation, and it wouldn't talk. It would just run around and randomly touch people, and sometimes they'd die. There'd be all kinds of guesses about why popping up and I'd just sit back and laugh because it would be for no reason other than chaos. And unicorns.



    She/her but also responds to they/them thanks to chilling as Somebody or other.

    If in doubt, please refer to the Forum Rules! If in more doubt, please reach out to a moderator.

    Act as you would wish to be treated.

    "It costs you nothing to assume that we are acting in good faith."
    Rijetta
  • TetchtaTetchta The Innocent
    edited November 2020
    This is kind of a serious one, and it's something I've struggled with since coming back, but it's something I think about a lot: what is the best way for people who pay for a product to criticize the product without crapping on the unpaid labor that is used to make that product?

    The context for this is that sometimes there are things to criticize about Aetolia, from major to minor, or maybe just feedback about things and how they could be done better, and it feels like the lowest wrung of people responsible (celani) are often at the receiving end of the hurt feelings (because you guys likely did the work!) and it's really...sucky to be honest, for a lot of reasons.

    'cause on the one hand, it should be possible for people (in good faith!) to give feedback to the game without worrying about demoralizing the people who are invested in building it who probably didn't even think about the consequences or are even responsible for them. On the other, yeah, I get being attached to stuff and taking things personally, even if people don't call you out.

    The only solution I've heard is a variation of "don't talk about these things publicly, just email/message Tiur" which I don't think is healthiest for the playerbase for everything, since often the players networking together while talking about an issue is vital to understanding the complexity of certain things going on in game.

    So I guess to rephrase the question: what is the best way we, as players, can make it clear that when we give feedback that it's not personal, and what's the best way to reduce hurt feelings all around? Maybe I'm just talking for myself, but I don't think I've ever been angry at a Celani for stuff they've implimented in game, even a little.

    Lin
  • Ardent said:

    Supposing a player could logically describe the function and process of building a new item, weapon, etc in detail with knowledge that would technically fall in the time line of production for Aetolia, what is the likelihood of someone taking interest in the construction of said item?

    This is something better suited for the ideas thread/function. Unless there's an event or something calling for it though it's unlikely someone would just make a new thing.
    Elene said:


    How dedicated are you guys? Do you nerds stay up late or wake up to help out in events if they're run on opposite TIMEZONES?!
    I spend a lot of my free time (more than I should) puttering around on Aetolia. However, with a full-time job in a field that demands a ton of overtime, I'm not really able to stay up late/wake up early just for Aetolia.

    Do you take your laptops with you on holidays or staycations?


    Yes to laptop, I spent one staycation coding Bug Rush (was not worth it).

    What is your favourite for-fun prog that exists in the game?


    Favourite prog will be sudoku if @Silena ever finishes it. I had a really good time making the flesh mask @Mjoll carries around. The reactions when she went around showing it off were awesome.

    What's your secret fantasy area you'll like to build, even if it will never happen in the game?


    I hate building areas more than anything else in the world, so my fantasy area is nonexistent.

    I need more than just a pet whale. Someone give me more. No this is not a question


    Be careful what you wish for...
    Saidenn said:

    When you joined the Pools, was there something unexpected or an interaction that took you off guard?

    How resourceful players get to bypass your best efforts. When I hung those posters in Bloodloch, I tried to make it seem at least somewhat plausible that they could have been made by another player. That meant using flame sigils instead of just setting the item to be not takeable, stuff like that.

    So players start brainstorming ways to see who created the posters and I learn about skills I never knew existed (Psionics Psychometry what??). I figure I've covered all my bases, I've wiped all traces off the posters, even if they manage to check one it'll be fine.

    ...what I didn't account for is them mushrooming the posters and then checking the flame sigils. Cue panicked damage control.

    If you could trigger the Aetolian Apocalypse, in what form would it take and would you allow survivors?


    Honestly no idea on what form it'd take, but 100% @Didi and all her various pets would survive.

    When doing work in the Pools, be it as Celani or not, did you ever misinterpret a duty with hilarious results?


    Nothing really comes top of mind. I did shirk completing my Celanidom area because I hated area building so much. So I just up and progged Farkle instead. That's why there isn't much in the area it was released in.

    What are the most effective ways to bribe @Keroc, @Razmael, and @Tiur?


    Salt, catgirls, and statistics respectively.

    Edit: In a simple numerical answer, how many ways can you imagine to murder @Elene's character, and how many of them do you think she would enjoy?


    Yes.
    Rhyot said:

    Do any of you ever miss being an actual player in the game? 

    Why and/or why not?

    Honestly, no not at all. All the things I liked to do as a player I can do much better from the Pools.

    I can't even navigate without the godly GO command anymore so guess I'm stuck as a Celani.
    SaidennTetchtaGavramel
  • BraxBrax Immortal
    edited November 2020
    Tetchta said:


    So I guess to rephrase the question: what is the best way we, as players, can make it clear that when we give feedback that it's not personal, and what's the best way to reduce hurt feelings all around? Maybe I'm just talking for myself, but I don't think I've ever been angry at a Celani for stuff they've implimented in game, even a little.

    This is a huge question @Tetchta, so forgive me in advance if this ends up being a huge answer.

    I think step one is always taking a step back and re-reading whatever it is you're about to say before you say it, just like in real life. Like I mentioned in one of my answers above, we're all heavily invested (figuratively, and sometimes literally) in our text characters, so very veeeery often emotions can run a little high with these sorts of things. If you want something to change, going into it emotionally charged is starting off on the wrong foot more times than not.

    Step two is just being conscientious of your phrasing. If you wouldn't say it to somebody in person the way you have your feedback typed, you probably shouldn't post it that way.

    There's a huge difference between:

    "I'm not the biggest fan of this feature, in the future maybe it could be handled this way, here's why and how."

    and

    "This is the worst feature in the history of Aetolia. You're actively trying to chase players away from the game with this and you must clearly hate the players or else you wouldn't have done this in the first place."

    While the second seems super exaggerated, this kind of feedback (and, truthfully, much worse) happens on a regular basis, and can be one of the biggest contributors to burnout. When you get responses like this, it feels like it doesn't matter what you do, it's still not going to be good enough, and there's no actual solution. It's hard to reasonably respond to things like that.

    In this same line of thought, if you're dissatisfied with something, having numbers, figures, or factual information to back you up goes a long way. It's hard for us to work with "I just don't like it," but if we have something tangible to work with, it's easier to come up with a solution and/or change the way it's done in the future. "Lol Aetolia's lore is so sloppy" vs "Maybe we can ask for elaboration on X facet of the lore that doesn't seem to make sense."

    Finally, some give and take/tempering of expectations needs to be taken into consideration. What might seem like an easy ask/criticism/request to handle something differently might actually be a huge undertaking, and sometimes the resources simply just aren't there to make it happen at that exact time that the issue is raised. That's just an unfortunate reality. We're not a triple-A game studio with tons of paid developers cranking out content and features, but it'd be cool if we were.

    Here's an example: My town's got this super awesome independent game shop in it with 5 employees. If I go in and make a request that they start carrying X product and I'm respectful about it, they'll probably hear me out and try to make it happen since I'm a regular customer and it's doable.

    If I get mad at them for not having a hyped-up game in stock for me to pick up on release day, they're going to say, "Sorry, we don't have the resources that Gamestop or Walmart does and only got so many copies."

    If I start repeatedly complaining about their store to them, or to my friends within earshot of the owner every time I go into it, they're going to end up asking why I keep shopping there if it's as bad as I say it is.


    tl;dr

    1. Be respectful, and frame your criticisms/requests accordingly
    2. Come with specifics and/or facts to back your criticisms up for better chances at better solutions
    3. Try to be cognizant of acknowledging the good as much as the bad
    4. Understand that because this is a predominantly-volunteer setup, the solutions might be limited in scale to predominantly-volunteer sized solutions and timeframes
    5. Keep in mind that you hear what the voices around you say the most. If you're in a circle that hates X feature and constantly berates it, you might think it's a huge thing that must be addressed. What you may not see is another group outside of your circle that absolutely loves it.
    ValorieSaidennSaltzArdentSarita
  • If there was a viable way of doing it, retconning and bull aside, just straight up you could do it and have it done, are there any of the Divine from the past you'd like to bring back and why?
  • Tedrunai said:

    What is your favourite for-fun prog that exists in the game?



    Favourite prog will be sudoku if @Silena ever finishes it.
    What a coincidence, my favorite prog is the one that traps @Tedrunai in a room where he can't escape or communicate with anyone until he solves 10 sudoku puzzles. Alas, none of them will be solvable, because while the sudoku prog DOES work, it doesn't generate solvable puzzles...

    It all depends on your definition of "finished".

    Ardent said:

    If there was a viable way of doing it, retconning and bull aside, just straight up you could do it and have it done, are there any of the Divine from the past you'd like to bring back and why?

    Rahn or Arion. I wasn't around for Rahn, but I liked his story of becoming a God, and the general feel of his tenets. I also liked the idea of Arion, though I never had a character that fit with his order back when it existed. If either was still around, I'd want to play or build stuff for them, or stalk whatever celani did.
    Rijetta said:

    Do you have a favorite person to stalk via COMMANDS and other methods?

    How often do you find yourself following people around and just seeing what they get up to?

    If you could create one prog or mob or what have you with absolutely no oversight, automatically approved, what would it be?

    1. Mwa ha ha... *cough*. Yes, but I wouldn't want to say who openly.

    2. I enjoy player drama a lot.

    3. An omni prog, specifically to track anyone who does any of my quests. Their commands, number of attempts, etc. Which wouldn't actually be that hard, but I'd probably get annoyed with it pretty quick. Either because it'd ping me too often, or not often enough...
    Rhyot said:

    Do any of you ever miss being an actual player in the game? 

    Why and/or why not?

    Sometimes. Maybe not widely known, but I've technically been in the Pools longer than anyone except Razmael. I did go back to being a mortal a couple times, but it didn't last long. I'm frequently surprised by the changes in the game since I actually played it, and I feel like I miss a lot by only working on quests these days. Makes me sad. I'd want to relearn combat, too.
  • As a serious answer to the "favorite prog" question - the corpse mound in Mandre's tower. It's a relatively simple design that I don't remember being that difficult to create and worked out surprisingly well. It was the first time I'd tried to make a 'lights out' kind of puzzle, and I love puzzles like that in other games. Plus the messages are very gross and the concept behind it is strangely hilarious to me.
    ValorieArchelausLin
  • Rijetta said:

    Do you have a favorite person to stalk via COMMANDS and other methods?

    Yes.

    Yes I do.
    Rijetta said:

    How often do you find yourself following people around and just seeing what they get up to?

    Pretty often! Players are fascinating creatures and I like to study them and how they behave.
    Rijetta said:

    If you could create one prog or mob or what have you with absolutely no oversight, automatically approved, what would it be?

    flatulence-based pseudoskillset with exactly six kill progressions.
    Tetchta said:

    This is kind of a serious one, and it's something I've struggled with since coming back, but it's something I think about a lot: what is the best way for people who pay for a product to criticize the product without crapping on the unpaid labor that is used to make that product?

    Hey! So a lot of people are frustrated right now, and it seems like a timely occasion to address this question. This may be the bulk of my post.

    So... before I even begin to approach this, I want to talk about some of the factors shaping peoples' experience that, in my view, often get overlooked when we're discussing Aetolia - or, really, IRE games more generally.
    • Context: Players, volunteers, and administrators have very different takes on the game, and are motivated by different incentives. The oversight and general knowledge of the game we obtain as volunteers, as well as our admin/mod duties, lead us to examine the game in a fundamentally different way. It becomes very easy for volunteers - to say nothing of the paid staff - to lose touch with what it's like to be a player, especially as the game changes and the player experience shifts with it. Our frames become increasingly outdated the longer we're upstairs, and we begin to see a different side of the playerbase, not least of all the ugly things that some players will say about us because we're considered customer service. Every group of people in this game has their own context, their own set of takes, and their own set of shared norms and language, which can diverge a lot.
    • Empathy: Following from the above point, I think that these fundamental differences of context - which I observe as occurring between different player in-groups - make empathizing across these divisions more difficult. Our NDAs isolate us from other players with whom we used to discuss the game in-depth, and cause us to form an in-group in which our assumptions, and our discussions, create a cohesive model of the game which makes sense to us. What I think we can sometimes forget, upstairs, is that all groups of players have these models. Sometimes they're based on outdated lore, sometimes they're based on lore we've forgotten about, and a lot of the time, when good-faith interpretations of the game conflict or some seemingly nonsense point arises, we're quick to assume that there's no merit to it. We can also assume the worst of someone's tone, particularly if it seems blunt and sharp, which leads me into issues that impact how we read people...
    • ESL (or ETL, or EFL...) people: Not everyone is a native English speaker, and this can cause quite a bit of confusion all by itself! They might not parse a sentence the same way, or phrase themself the same way, as a native speaker might. This isn't just a language issue, either. It can easily be a dialectal one, between speakers of the same language.
    • Mental Illness: I don't have statistics on mental illness vis a vis IRE, but I think most of us can agree that a disproportionate amount of us are, in some way, faced with mental obstacles that make our worlds more difficult to navigate on a day-by-day basis. My impression is that 2020 and COVID-19 have heightened this issue beyond its usual background levels, and that it is an issue that people upstairs and downstairs both struggle with. Two garden-variety mental issues I deal with are depression and anxiety, and the impact that these can have on my day is sometimes debilitating. A lot of our players have clear manifestations of these symptoms OOC, for all that it gets joked about.
    • Neurodivergence: Some people's brains are just different. There may be nuances and aspects of conversation that they are not only misunderstanding, but missing - completely. This is only worsened by the fact that text, a medium in which styles of writing can range quite subjectively, is often limited in its ability to communicate tone and ideas unambiguously, a realm in which many neurodivergent people already suffer. This might, for example, produce what seems like a non sequitur in response to what you might think is a reasonable point.
    • Values: We all play (or volunteer for, or work for) this game for different reasons, and these different reasons lead us to emphasize different values in our playing experience. One person might prioritize fairness, another consistent lore and narrative, and yet another might prioritize player agency. Some people might regard rules with greater or lesser value...
    ...and the list goes on and on. There's a lot to unpack when it comes to Aetolia's community, and I honestly don't have the time or spoons to do it here in a way that does it justice. This is just a sampler plate of some of the things that make this a super difficult issue that I don't think we're equipped to really solve in full.

    If I had to boil it down to something? Show care, even if you think someone is being ridiculous or obnoxious; even if there's some fact you feel they're missing or ignoring; even if their tone seems blunt and careless. They've arrived at where they're at for reasons (or feelings) which seem valid to them, and that's a fact that needs to be appreciated, if not necessarily respected, in approaching them.

    As for criticizing volunteers, I really can't put it better than Brax has. This piece is a companion to his, with regard to criticism - and I hope it inspires an interest in clear, constructive, focused criticism and Aetolia's overall improvement.

    Further questions to be answered, but this post has gotten long enough for my standards.
    SaidennValorieLinTetchtaIesid
  • aaaah awesome thread! I read through so I will try not to repeat questions.

    1. Do you have a favourite bit of lore?

    2. Aside from expressed esteem, what feels like a nice treat for you?

    3. Would you worship any of the Divine irl and if so whom?

    4. In the least meta way possible... if you give me a reason to rp with you I probably will. That's not a questions, just putting it out there <3
  • BraxBrax Immortal
    Yay, I'm glad to see a bump in this thread. Please keep questions coming.
    Ardent said:

    If there was a viable way of doing it, retconning and bull aside, just straight up you could do it and have it done, are there any of the Divine from the past you'd like to bring back and why?

    I would have a very hard time deciding between Lleis and Niuri. Both were super interesting Goddesses that fulfilled different niches that I'm a huge fan of.
    Teotl said:

    aaaah awesome thread! I read through so I will try not to repeat questions.

    1. Do you have a favourite bit of lore?

    There are so many to choose from. It may be a copout answer, but I think some of my favorites are some that haven't been fully revealed yet. There were a few times reading Secret Things or having them explained that just absolutely blew my mind.
    Teotl said:


    2. Aside from expressed esteem, what feels like a nice treat for you?

    So while a bunch of answers boil down to seeing people enjoy things we've made/played/took part in, I realized that'd also be a copout answer. I've used that card already, so a more specific one to me personally, but results may vary:

    I love it when things spiral bigger than they were intended to be.

    Don't get me wrong, it can also be anxiety-inducing and hectic and crazy, but there's something just absolutely fun about a small mob possession event you were doing because you were bored turning into a bigger event than planned, and/or becoming a memorable experience for people.

    I think it's moments like those, where the shared experience of Aetolia does its thing and just totally brings a life of its own to something wholly unintended, that are some of the best experiences. It's something totally unique to this kind of medium, and getting to play a role in something like that and/or accidentally start it is almost always a treat.
    Teotl said:


    3. Would you worship any of the Divine irl and if so whom?

    If the pantheon existed in real life, and Lleis was a part of it, I'd probably be a big fan of hers. If it's boiled down to current pantheon only, I'd probably have to go with Slyphe.

    Give me those relaxing good feels gods, life's too crazy as it is to be worrying about getting eaten by Iosyne or stepped on by Tani or turned undead by Ivoln.
    Teotl said:


    4. In the least meta way possible... if you give me a reason to rp with you I probably will. That's not a questions, just putting it out there <3 </p>

    :)
    AramaeusTeotl
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