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Re: Help Files
Macavity said:I do realize that the majority of those within the Pools are volunteers, however, there are still a few that are actually paid. In any case, from a procedural standpoint, it should go without mentioning that if someone puts in an announce or changelog then it should be on them or designate someone to change the affected help files.Periluna said:@Macavity - you have to realise that the majority of our admins are -volunteers- Instead of constantly giving them a hard time, maybe just relax and realise that they have real lives with real jobs too.We have to continue to remember that these help files are what new and old players will refer to in the future when they have a question or wonder why something is going strange, if they are not updated then our next course of action is to send a message to the Admins, Gods, or anyone else we can contact to verify this information. Every time these messages are sent this takes away from that person in their continued work to make Aetolia a place for all to enjoy, if a simple step of updating a help file was done right after the post was made that caused a change, then this time to research or look into the issue would not be wasted and therefore the Pools can continue to focus on things like class updates or further events (as an example).
As someone that has openly, and rather aggressively, bashed previous administration, this is not the way to go. Look, it's one thing if nothing is being done for 6-8 months at a time, but this group of volunteers and paid staff is probably the best mix we've ever had in Aetolia, and actively telling them they're not doing enough, when they're massively better than any previous administration team, is not only a slap to the face but also a kick in the balls. The HELP files are -massively- outdated, and they're fixing them as fast as they can, along with all their -other- jobs (notice Omei just made maps better across the game by fixing a lot of buggy stuff?).
These people also have jobs, responsibilities, and such, that means that while they could be playing xbox, a mortal themselves, or whatever, they're instead here, trying to make this game great for you, me, and all the other players.
Step off.
Daskalos
9
Re: Guild v City
@Neithan I believe it is to prevent player-induced swings from significantly altering the mechanics of the game. The intros and Academies are specifically written for certain cities and they'd have to redo them completely because of player decisions.
Ezalor
5
Re: LOVE
I love the quick and patient help/support I got with some questions for the web client. Thank you so much for enduring my noobishness, Matt and Garryn, should you see this!
Areka
5
Re: Ankyrean Anguish - Aetolia-based RAGE
Lalalalala, Sentinel changes are right around the corner and they're gonna be aaaawesome, lallala!
Angwe
7
THE GUILDMASTER'S GUIDE
Originally posted on old forums by Hadoryu, I felt that it was something we could use on the new ones.
-=[ Hadoryu: ]=-
So I thought I'd post this and basically share some of my experience regarding successful leadership. The advice may not be universal, but I feel it may be helpful to people regardless.
Your goals (in priority):
o- Keeping it fun for other players
o- Maintaining a standard of behavior
o- Having fun yourself
That list should need no further elaboration. I think everyone can agree with this after they consider it for a while.
Common mistakes:
Q: I'll just restructure the administration, make new requirements, set new projects/clans/positions
A: - Sometimes you do need to make changes. Most of the time you don't. Most of the time you end up with a more elaborate, but ultimately more unwieldy system that requires constant upkeep from people. This runs counter to your first priority - updating projects, ghelps, clans and so on endlessly is not fun. Learning a whole new set of rules every time leadership changes is not fun. Your mileage may vary, I suppose, but in general it is just tedious. Avoid putting too much emphasis on administration, unless you're attempting to appeal to the hobbyist accountant demographic.
Q: I'll just ask everybody about their opinion before doing anything. Democracy is good!
A: - Sometimes it really isn't. A lot of the time really isn't. There are people with expertise you can and should be discussing things with, but running things through popular vote is a terrible idea. In the best case, you'll get nothing done. In the worst case, you'll dilute any message or purpose your guild might have had over the myriad interpretations of your members. In my experience, a heavily democratic rule ends in a GM that sits on their hands for the vast part of their reign, but manages to retain the position due to not making anyone too unhappy. This is in the general case a good way to kill activity in your organization and bore people to death.
Q: I'll make everything challenging, because that will mean my guild will be elite
A: - A lot of people somehow manage to succumb to this bad idea, despite the obvious issues with it. It goes without saying that it runs directly counter your very first priority. I suppose many think it's in service to priority number two, but that's another misconception. How do you make your guild actually elite? By having elite players in it. How do you make sure you have elite players in your guild? If your answer is 'by raising the bar to acceptance', you're wrong. You draw good players to your guild by creating a fun, accepting environment for them - by making them want to be in your guild. See, raising the bar can work in some real-life institutions and I suppose people are convinced that translates to here. But the truth is, the playerbase is horribly limited in comparison. You do not get a limited number of positions to fill, to justify screening people. Each and every guild in the game suffers from a lack of players. If you want to draw in good people, you have to lure them in, rather than 'keeping out the not so good.'
Q: This is not the same as having NO standards, of course. Disruptive people who degrade your guild's environment are fair game. But that has absolutely nothing to do with how many hoops they'll be willing to jump through. I'm taking care of handing out class and looking out for the newbs, that's all I'm supposed to be doing
A: - Wrong. That's what your HoN is supposed to be doing. What you're supposed to be doing is overseeing your HoN as just one of your activities. As a GM, you are the guild's most important representative, your guild's political voice and most importantly, your guild's attention focus. You run the parade. Handling newbies is a job, yes, but it's not at all the full extent of your responsibilities.
Pro-tips:
X - You're the big boss. Act like it.
- Invisible GMs are an acceptable compromise over terrible GMs. But a GM should first and foremost be aware of being the beating heart of their guild. You're the one person who can engage the people who are part of your organization. You're the one person who can tell them to get together and follow you while you lead them into something or other, the one person who can give a speech and the one person who can give orders. So many people have stated that the game is currently boring, unengaging etc. This will not change no matter how many class changes and historical events we see. Players have to interact with each other in order to be engaged in the game - and you as a GM are in a position to make that happen. I'd go so far as to say this is your biggest and most important job, because you're the only person with the authority to do it.
X - You might not have time. You might not have energy. But if you're a GM, you should at the very least be trying. Positive reinforcement beats negative reinforcement.
- Should you have punishments for unfavorable behavior? Yes. But if your role in the guild involves negative interaction more of then than it does positive, you are doing something terribly, terribly wrong. If you find yourself handing out punishments and berating as a major part of your function, you have a problem. Remember priority number one. If you want someone to do something, motivate them to do it via positive interaction and a promise of reward. Do not, absolutely do not, threaten guildmembers with punishment for failing to do a task that goes above their basic responsibilities. The idea here should be plainly obvious. Do you think you'll have more Novice Aides if all you do is punish NAs who don't live up to the job? Or do you figure you'll have more if you reward the ones who do well?
X - Treat your guildmates favorably.
- I've seen GMs forget that the people they're ordering around are their closest compatriots. I've seen GMs who are rougher on their own people than they are on enemies, for some misunderstood desire to appear 'respectable' to their foes. This is wrong. Treat your people with decency, defend them, support them. They're your people, your responsibility. You can think of them as family in a sense. You'll find them by far more willing to work with you if you display loyalty to them.
X - Be proactive.
- I really can't stress this enough. You're the guildmaster, what you say goes, if you can get the guildmembers to support you. A God saying something doesn't mean this is admin edict, it doesn't mean you have to drop the line of RP if it isn't in tune with their view. If the admin want you to not go in a direction, that will be made clear. Until you're being spoken to OOC, react IC, don't try to read hints into what Gods RP or what your history is. If you feel your guild needs to change to be more interesting, change it. It doesn't matter a whit that there is 'established RP' or that 'God X said it would be bad.'
X - Act decisively.
- A flip-flopping boss is the worst thing ever. If you're making a big change, have good reason for it and don't back out at the first sign of trouble. People will resent you if you're leading them in circles and you'll soon lose their trust and support. Additionally, nobody wants to readjust every month. When you do something, do it all the way and do it for good reason.
X - Have a sense for drama.
- The truth is, you need charisma to be a good leader. That's how it goes. You can follow every good bit of advice to its logical conclusion, but if you can't get people excited about it or if you make every change look bad for the sheer fact that you present it poorly, you'll still fail hard. Play to your audience and learn to sense the finer currents in your organization. Inspire, draw them in, make them feel like they're part of an important, exciting scene. If you can't break through the shell of apathy the general Aetolian has built up, you're not going to get anyone to do anything. Get people excited, even a little.
-=[ Hadoryu: ]=-
So I thought I'd post this and basically share some of my experience regarding successful leadership. The advice may not be universal, but I feel it may be helpful to people regardless.
Your goals (in priority):
o- Keeping it fun for other players
o- Maintaining a standard of behavior
o- Having fun yourself
That list should need no further elaboration. I think everyone can agree with this after they consider it for a while.
Common mistakes:
Q: I'll just restructure the administration, make new requirements, set new projects/clans/positions
A: - Sometimes you do need to make changes. Most of the time you don't. Most of the time you end up with a more elaborate, but ultimately more unwieldy system that requires constant upkeep from people. This runs counter to your first priority - updating projects, ghelps, clans and so on endlessly is not fun. Learning a whole new set of rules every time leadership changes is not fun. Your mileage may vary, I suppose, but in general it is just tedious. Avoid putting too much emphasis on administration, unless you're attempting to appeal to the hobbyist accountant demographic.
Q: I'll just ask everybody about their opinion before doing anything. Democracy is good!
A: - Sometimes it really isn't. A lot of the time really isn't. There are people with expertise you can and should be discussing things with, but running things through popular vote is a terrible idea. In the best case, you'll get nothing done. In the worst case, you'll dilute any message or purpose your guild might have had over the myriad interpretations of your members. In my experience, a heavily democratic rule ends in a GM that sits on their hands for the vast part of their reign, but manages to retain the position due to not making anyone too unhappy. This is in the general case a good way to kill activity in your organization and bore people to death.
Q: I'll make everything challenging, because that will mean my guild will be elite
A: - A lot of people somehow manage to succumb to this bad idea, despite the obvious issues with it. It goes without saying that it runs directly counter your very first priority. I suppose many think it's in service to priority number two, but that's another misconception. How do you make your guild actually elite? By having elite players in it. How do you make sure you have elite players in your guild? If your answer is 'by raising the bar to acceptance', you're wrong. You draw good players to your guild by creating a fun, accepting environment for them - by making them want to be in your guild. See, raising the bar can work in some real-life institutions and I suppose people are convinced that translates to here. But the truth is, the playerbase is horribly limited in comparison. You do not get a limited number of positions to fill, to justify screening people. Each and every guild in the game suffers from a lack of players. If you want to draw in good people, you have to lure them in, rather than 'keeping out the not so good.'
Q: This is not the same as having NO standards, of course. Disruptive people who degrade your guild's environment are fair game. But that has absolutely nothing to do with how many hoops they'll be willing to jump through. I'm taking care of handing out class and looking out for the newbs, that's all I'm supposed to be doing
A: - Wrong. That's what your HoN is supposed to be doing. What you're supposed to be doing is overseeing your HoN as just one of your activities. As a GM, you are the guild's most important representative, your guild's political voice and most importantly, your guild's attention focus. You run the parade. Handling newbies is a job, yes, but it's not at all the full extent of your responsibilities.
Pro-tips:
X - You're the big boss. Act like it.
- Invisible GMs are an acceptable compromise over terrible GMs. But a GM should first and foremost be aware of being the beating heart of their guild. You're the one person who can engage the people who are part of your organization. You're the one person who can tell them to get together and follow you while you lead them into something or other, the one person who can give a speech and the one person who can give orders. So many people have stated that the game is currently boring, unengaging etc. This will not change no matter how many class changes and historical events we see. Players have to interact with each other in order to be engaged in the game - and you as a GM are in a position to make that happen. I'd go so far as to say this is your biggest and most important job, because you're the only person with the authority to do it.
X - You might not have time. You might not have energy. But if you're a GM, you should at the very least be trying. Positive reinforcement beats negative reinforcement.
- Should you have punishments for unfavorable behavior? Yes. But if your role in the guild involves negative interaction more of then than it does positive, you are doing something terribly, terribly wrong. If you find yourself handing out punishments and berating as a major part of your function, you have a problem. Remember priority number one. If you want someone to do something, motivate them to do it via positive interaction and a promise of reward. Do not, absolutely do not, threaten guildmembers with punishment for failing to do a task that goes above their basic responsibilities. The idea here should be plainly obvious. Do you think you'll have more Novice Aides if all you do is punish NAs who don't live up to the job? Or do you figure you'll have more if you reward the ones who do well?
X - Treat your guildmates favorably.
- I've seen GMs forget that the people they're ordering around are their closest compatriots. I've seen GMs who are rougher on their own people than they are on enemies, for some misunderstood desire to appear 'respectable' to their foes. This is wrong. Treat your people with decency, defend them, support them. They're your people, your responsibility. You can think of them as family in a sense. You'll find them by far more willing to work with you if you display loyalty to them.
X - Be proactive.
- I really can't stress this enough. You're the guildmaster, what you say goes, if you can get the guildmembers to support you. A God saying something doesn't mean this is admin edict, it doesn't mean you have to drop the line of RP if it isn't in tune with their view. If the admin want you to not go in a direction, that will be made clear. Until you're being spoken to OOC, react IC, don't try to read hints into what Gods RP or what your history is. If you feel your guild needs to change to be more interesting, change it. It doesn't matter a whit that there is 'established RP' or that 'God X said it would be bad.'
X - Act decisively.
- A flip-flopping boss is the worst thing ever. If you're making a big change, have good reason for it and don't back out at the first sign of trouble. People will resent you if you're leading them in circles and you'll soon lose their trust and support. Additionally, nobody wants to readjust every month. When you do something, do it all the way and do it for good reason.
X - Have a sense for drama.
- The truth is, you need charisma to be a good leader. That's how it goes. You can follow every good bit of advice to its logical conclusion, but if you can't get people excited about it or if you make every change look bad for the sheer fact that you present it poorly, you'll still fail hard. Play to your audience and learn to sense the finer currents in your organization. Inspire, draw them in, make them feel like they're part of an important, exciting scene. If you can't break through the shell of apathy the general Aetolian has built up, you're not going to get anyone to do anything. Get people excited, even a little.
Kerryn
19
Re: Small Ideas - AIN'T NO COMBAT THREAD
This thread isn't the place for heavy PK suggestions.
Moirean
6
Mafia: Lifers vs Darkies
Enoduiran
-------------
Lifer - all players are this role by default, unless told otherwise
The Luminary - this player is the equivalent of the Doctor role and can angel aura one player each night round to save them from a kill
The Sentaari - this player is the equivalent of the Cop and can use telepathy to investigate one player each night round
The Zealot - this player is the equivalent of the Vigilante and can firebomb one person he/she suspects as mafia each night round. The Zealot has TWO firebombs left.
Bloodreach
-------------
The vampires (3) - this is the equivalent of the mafia. Your goal is to kill all the lifers and, collectively, you vote by majority on one person to kill each night round
The Bloodborn - the supervamp, this player is the equivalent of the godfather and his/her super OP rituals prevent him/her from being identified as a darkie when investigated
Rogue!
---------
The Syssin - do your own thang. This role is the equivalent of the Serial Killer and wins if everyone else dies. No phasing allowed. The Syssin has TWO arrows left.
-----------------------------------------------
A high-pitched, girlish scream shatters the early morning, heralding a bloody dawn in Enorian.
(Enorian): A zealous guardian says, "Citizens! I have engaged an enemy at Four Corners!"
The city converges on the square to find the guards milling about in a dense crowd. A large group elbows their way past the sentries to stare at a grisly sight - drained of his blood, skin ashen, lies the Vanguard. A brutal slaughter.
"Who could have done this!" one citizen cries.
"An atavian?" another suggests.
"A zepplin?" a third ponders.
"An imp on a rampage!" someone shouts.
"No!" insists another, levelling a shaking finger at the corpse's neck. "Look!"
As one, the crowd leans in and spies two distinctive bite marks on the body. In unison, they gasp and breathlessly exclaim, "VAMPIRES!"
Almost as soon as the realization strikes them, fingers begin to point and accusations fly. As the sun rises, it illuminates a dark scene: the city of light, embroiled in a battle to determine who amongst them were false. A struggle to determine who are evil and who untrue. A fight to decide which ones of these things are not like the others.
As things reached the point of near-blows, a call to order comes. "WE SHALL VOTE!"
"Voting, yes," the lifers agree. "Surely this is the most logical and precise method to find murderers!"
A cheer stirs the crowd and they launch into the arguments again, this time guided by the faith that they act in holy pursuit of the truth. The vampires shall fall. Or innocents will die. Something like that.
It is DAY 1.
-------------
There are 4 Vampires alive. One of them is the Bloodborn.
There are 11 Lifers alive, including the Luminary, Sentaari and Zealot.
The Syssin is lurking somewhere.
Players: Iosyne, Arbre,. Angwe,. Aldric, Ilyon,. Macavity, Alexina,. Setne,. Xenia,. Valenae, Periluna, Aryanne, Esper, Piper, Teani, Ezalor
Get to voting! It will take NINE (9) votes to lynch someone.
Some minor rule clarifications: You can communicate all you want with people, but don't badger. Don't bug people in game if they are busy. Also, NO POSTING ROLE PMs. This is a biggie. You will be disqualified if you post role PMs to "verify" which role you are playing.
Night rounds end when all actions have been PMd to me - in the case of the Vampires, this means a majority vote is reached. Votes don't have to be consensus. In case of conflicting actions, all actions will be evaluated at the END of the night round. This means if a snipe hits someone the doctor has protected, that person would be safe, regardless of the order I receive the PMs. Please use the existing conversations started by the initial role PMs for communicating your night actions - this will make things easier for me to track.
For expediency, I will assume that the Zealot and the Syssin are NOT acting at night, unless they send me a PM otherwise - so if you are either one of these roles, get your actions in early. Also, Syssin and Zealot can act during night AND day. Basically, whenever they send me a PM and I see it, their actions go through - note that discussion may continue after the vote is sent, and the kill-off won't happen until I see the PM, so don't rely on a snipe/firebomb to save you from a lynch if I am asleep!
Finally, lynches occur when a majority happens AND when I post saying vote has been reached. If I'm asleep and votes change before I post, then a lynch can be averted, but I will try to keep a very close eye on this thread (so don't rely on a last minute vote-swaying to save you).
Day round ends when it's been 24 hours without a new post, regardless of majority. If no majority was reached, we head to night without a lynching.
If you have any questions about the format of the game, PM me directly! Have fun! Don't die!
Moirean
15
Re: Owned Part II
@Moirean: There ya go to show you the different reiterations of spoiler tags and what they do.
For those that do not know or can't figure it out simply format it as followed:
[ spoiler ]
Stuff you want inside.
[ / spoiler ]
Result:
[spoiler]Have some soup.[/spoiler]
Or alternatively you can give the spoiler a name but this is kind of wonky for my tastes since it'll limit it to 1 line:
[ spoiler ] Stuff you want inside. Limited to 1 line.
Spoiler Name or what you want revealed.
[ / spoiler ]
Result:
[spoiler]Oh, damn. You either called my bluff or are one sinister person. No soup for you!
Don't click this spoiler! Or else Game of Thrones will be canceled.
[/spoiler]
Haven
10