GM Meeting - October 1st, 2021
Siddhe says, "I wanted to thank you all for taking time out of your lives and playtime to join us tonight. Some of you all make us side-eye now and then, but truly, we do appreciate each and every one of you for bringing a little spark to your corner of the gameworld."
Siddhe says, "Also."
Siddhe says, "We really do appreciate the grace you've given us all over the last year. There's been a learning curve for all of us with taking over, and I know we haven't gotten everything right, every time (and some of you probably think we haven't gotten much right at all :P) but we have learned a bunch and plan to continue to put it into practice with bigger and better things in the next year."
Siddhe says, "This year also had some bumps in the planning & development road because of Covid. It was a hit to availability, and caused a lot of unplanned time away."
Siddhe says, "So hopefully, the next few months will run more smoothly. For one thing, specifically - a large story arc that we've been working on - the light at the end of the tunnel has now been lit, and you will start to see some events on the calendar that lead up to it."
Siddhe says, "My hope is that you all find it as fun as we've built it to be in our minds ;) I will tell you that it comes with new skill sets that will eventually be available to learn, plus many other new and interesting things."
Siddhe says, "So, we're pretty pumped about that."
Siddhe says, "And we're not even going to burn anything down. Well. Maybe. We'll see."
Ebonheart with a swagger says to Siddhe, "Have you thought of Monlon?"
Siddhe says, "For those of you who have been hoping for a fun chop - some of those events could lead to your death. So if that's your jam, be ready."
Siddhe says, "Other things on our radar - and I will give you some of these in generalities and if you ask me for dates, I will smite you - include:"
Siddhe says, "More "consumables" that will give temporary buffs, allow for faster fatigue/healing regen, etc."
Siddhe says, "We're talking about armor as a whole - an opportunity to potentially add new pieces, new material types, etc."
Siddhe says, "There are new weapons coming."
Ebonheart with a swagger says to Siddhe, "New entirely or new versions of ones we have?"
Senses says to Ebonheart, "Both."
Siddhe says to Ebonheart, "What he said."
Siddhe says, "New item types in general. There are some requests that I've seen in the past that I was never quite sure why we didn't at least consider them, so we're talking about some of those things."
Siddhe says, "What's been stuck in my mind a lot lately -"
Siddhe asks, "Is ways we can build on what already exists to make it better and more fun, without wiping out the history of the game. There's a lot of lore that was never documented, which is honestly a shame. We don't want to pretend none of it ever happened, but in some instances, we might need to make changes or add things to make stuff more fun/playable, instead of just ignoring it out of fear of it not being "right" to 3 people that remember what happened in 1999, ya know?"
Siddhe says, "So if I trample on some of your fond memories, I apologize. I have a lot of those same memories, but sometimes for progress, we gotta do what we gotta do."
Siddhe says, "Okay, we're already about 30 mins in, and I'm sure some of you are sitting on your hands just waiting for a chance to ask a question, so I'll take a few of those now, and then maybe have a little more wrap up for you at the end. I do want to say, if I can't get to all your questions and/or some of them are things I might need to research a little, I will follow up in the forums with the answers I have available. So if you don't get to speak tonight, you didn't miss out entirely."
Siddhe says to Sigsauer, "I think you had a hand up earlier."
Sigsauer says to Siddhe, "The last 3 new vocal players have been blind, and there is a whole forum for blind players out there. Are we going to look into screen reader accessibility for this game? So we can move them on to the next if not."
Siddhe says to Sigsauer, "That is something I will really have to investigate. So my answer is yes, I can look into it, but I cannot promise that it will come to fruition, or when, without knowing a lot more about the subject."
DerekSolace says, "I'll start with what you just said about moving forward, and time to remove some things from the past, that being said, I lead the most active group and the biggest group."
Therisifus1 repeats himselfs to Analog, "Kered needs more random fish flying from the river hitting him."
DerekSolace says, "Can we start with removing the outdated legion law."
Siddhe says to DerekSolace, "If you are going to ask to be removed from Legio control please don't."
DerekSolace asks Siddhe, "So we are only going to move forward with certain things?"
DerekSolace says, "Orgs should be in control of there own orgs."
Siddhe says to DerekSolace, "We have had this conversation about 3,000 times. It is not outdated to have the actual military keep an eye on the militias. No legit body - like Iridine and it's Legio - is going to let a bunch of armed people run around unchecked."
DerekSolace says to Siddhe, "But rome did."
Malenko says, "The TM has been cultivated into the most consistently active group of recent memory. It also possesses, by far, the largest list of active players when compared to any other org. Musters, as well as other sponsored events, are a very common occurrence. Attendance at these gatherings has never been lacking, either."
Malenko says, "For those attributes alone, I feel we deserve some autonomy. And that's just the OOC side of the case."
Siddhe says, "So."
Siddhe says, "Let me clear some things up."
Siddhe says, "So that everyone has accurate information."
DerekSolace says to Malenko, "By the org standards an event a week means any other org would be disbanded."
DerekSolace says to Malenko, "But it doesnt apply "
Siddhe says, "All of the militias - including the TM - are autonomous. To the best of my knowledge (and if it happened before my time, I've never heard of it) - the Legio has not stepped in to tell any of these militias what to do. At all. Ever."
DerekSolace says, "All orgs not "milita's" cannot have the heads removed by another org."
DerekSolace says, "Also."
DerekSolace says, "Since there was no police force, there was no one to stop them. It was not safe to walk the streets without a guard. Wealthy Romans hired guards and even built their own small armies to protect their homes and families."
Siddhe says, "The Legio is "attached" to the org structure so that *in the event of an actual emergency* they could help those groups restructure their leadership. Or provide instructions in the event of a war."
Siddhe says, "But they literally have never done any of those things. Because as GMs, we would step in and have those conversations. The Legio being "attached" to militias is literally on paper."
Olde rolls a d20 statings to DerekSolace, "They also didn't have "magic" to over enforce, either."
Siddhe says, "Nothing has ever happened, nothing will ever happen. But because they are armed citizens, the Legio, theoretically, wants to keep an eye on that."
DerekSolace says to Olde, "If 33 people scary a city with 20k constable npc and legion this game is broken."
DerekSolace says, "But we will continue to stay in the past and not move forward."
Siddhe says, "So I'm honestly not sure why we keep having this conversation repeatedly, because it's theoretical."
DerekSolace says, "I'm good i wont bother with the rest of my questions it answered me."
Siddhe says to DerekSolace, "Okies. Totally up to you."
Siddhe says to Cabrillo, "You had a question next, I think."
Cabrillo flips a coin and remarks to Siddhe, "With the new RP expenditures on the forums that was released last year, one of the items that I had been considering was dropped, and the recent release of new tailor edgings reminded me. Originally I understand a custom edging fell under the custom move RP expenditure that was removed as an option."
Cabrillo flips a coin and remarks to Siddhe, "With these new released edgings, is it possible to look at re-introducing the ability to request custom edgings/stitches, at perhaps a lesser RP cost, as a 2000RP cost for an edging you may put on only a couple of items doesn't seem very appealing, where as if it was more obtainable, would add some variation to t."
Cabrillo flips a coin and remarks, "Would add some variation to the game, without relying on alterations."
Kenderaela innocently smiles to Cabrillo, "It used to be like 500"
Ebonheart with a swagger says to Cabrillo, "Yeah that was way too high for a edging or design costwise."
Cabrillo flips a coin and remarks to Kenderaela, "Did it? I was only going off the Wiki where it was listed as 2000 on premium only."
Siddhe says to Cabrillo, "Custom edgings are still available. They're a custom item, not a custom move. But, honestly, they are a nightmare to create. The tailoring system was built by drunk people."
Cabrillo flips a coin and remarks, "I do have a second question if possible, otherwise I'll go to the back of the queue for it."
Siddhe says to Cabrillo, "It's totally fine, to report bugs. In fact, it's necessary ;) And let's do one per person, and then we'll come back around again."
Dilionn says to Siddhe, "So, the new…stuff…all sounds really cool. Armor, weapons, consumables, etc. As I mentioned, I'm an old player who was gone a long time and felt no connection to those characters. What is REALLY clear to me is that the gap between haves and have nots is already really huge and disheartening for the have nots."
Dilionn says, "Re these new systems, particularly armor, going to be something you must have to survive? I'm excited about the idea of new things, but the amount of time new characters need to invest to be relevant does NOT need to go up.re these new systems, particularly armor, going to be something you must have to survive? I."
Siddhe says, "I 100% get that gap. In a game that has had the openness and longevity of something like TEC, it's going to be impossible for there to not be gaps. If I've been playing for 25 years, and you've been playing for 6 months, I'm likely to have more skills, more money, more "stuff", etc. There's really no way around that. However -"
Dilionn says to Siddhe, "If I could clarify - I'm not advocating that everything be sped up for newbies. More that…if new equipment is a requirement for areas, please raise that bar at the top, not the bottom or middle."
Dilionn says to Siddhe, "I know I'll never catch up with a lot of people, and I don't care at all about that. More like…I don't want to get to the current bar for an area and find out that the bar has moved."
Siddhe says, "We do talk about that a lot and try to keep it in mind when we're adding or modifying things. If I've invested 10 years of my life into something, I should be better than you. But that doesn't mean that you have to be SO far behind that it's just not even fun to play. So we ARE discussing ways for newer characters to still have fun alongside older characters, without completely unbalancing hunting areas, etc. (That's part of why we introduced the newbie office.) Additionally -"
Siddhe says, "No, none of this new stuff will be "necessary" to play the game. It's more of a way for those long-term, top-tier characters to have something new to work towards and play with, while newer characters can continue to wear the armor that's appropriate for the areas they frequent. Along with that -"
Siddhe says, "I am a big proponent of making "new" things for higher level peeps, versus just jacking up the level of all the lower level stuff."
Siddhe says, "I'd rather create a new hunting area that's hard for top-tier (and deadly for lower-tier) so that newer characters don't get edged out of training and earning money."
Siddhe says, "And there ARE new hunting areas coming, btw. Plus some of the highly unused areas will get a workover to make them more desirable to play in."
Tonpo asks Siddhe, "Player conflict has always been one of my favorite parts of this game. Are there any future plans to encourage more of this? As a part 2, sort of, do you have any plans for the constables? A recruitment?"
Siddhe says, "I understand that player conflict is really fun for some people. The biggest issue comes when trying to balance the joy of that for some people, with the fact that some people absolutely LOATHE player conflict. So our goal is to encourage with guard rails. Honestly, we've already lost some players this year who started, got ganked repeatedly in a short period of time, threw up their hands, and walked away. Obviously, this is not good for the game. So we are discussing ways to let "bad boys be bad" without really ruining the day of people who want nothing to do with that. So, as an example (and this may not be real at all, just an example) - maybe all of our resident thugs discover a new area where there is no law, and the ones that would theoretically patrol the area are paid to look the other way. So if you were in that area, it would be with the understanding and expectation that you're gonna get ganked."
Siddhe says, "We want everyone to be able to enjoy the game, and so that will mean making sure there is space for that kind of behavior."
Siddhe says, "As for the constables, the Legate actually recently spoke to them about the need to consider recruiting, so that may take place within the next little while."
Siddhe says, "Recruiting for the gangs is all on them. We've encouraged each group to recruit, but I can't force people to do things."
Siddhe says, "In order to clarify, we've encouraged *every* group - not just gangs - to recruit."
Ebonheart with a swagger says to Siddhe, "Yeah the Org revamp was mentioned a couple times at the outset of this year, but as you had delays with pretty much everything..due to the covid aspects, when is that likely to happen?"
Ebonheart with a swagger says to Siddhe, "In a general scope, not I deadline?"
Ebonheart with a swagger says to Siddhe, "And what direction is that looking to be as you probably have talked about it some?"
Siddhe says to Ebonheart, "As I said earlier, I'm not going to give timelines for things. That tends to bite us in the ass, because as we've seen in the last year, weird things happen that were literally inconceivable (global pandemic was not on my horizon). But yes, revamping the orgs is still something we plan to do. We've got more staff now, which makes it easier to have someone with a hand in each group, to provide a little support, and we'd like to build out a reason for perks and credits and things like that."
Dragonus databases to Siddhe, "Then I'll start with this one. Given, as you mentioned, certain goals were not achieved at all or some goals are achieved with what may be viewed by players as "hiccups" (i.e. new trait release) what learnings are being applied to make things smoother in future? What is being done differently?"
Siddhe says to Dragonus, "Honestly, that's kind of a hard question to answer. It's not like saying "I learned this new skill that I can now apply to XYZ" - it's really more, not saying we're going to do something in X time frame, because A, B, and C happen to throw off that plan. And then players, understandably, are like, why is this not done/ready/implemented yet. We may have every intention of releasing a new skill set next week, and then the staff members that were polishing it up go to jail. Or are kidnapped by aliens. And then it takes someone else some time to come up to speed with helping out with those tasks, etc."
Siddhe says to Dragonus, "Anything that we learn from trial & error or making mistakes, rolls into the next version of what we do. It's not really possible to give examples of that."
Holypaladin says to ArchMagi, "And Tale was kidnapped by aliens."
ArchMagi says to Holypaladin, "That's why Seld is incomplete."
Siddhe says to ArchMagi, "Not really sure what part of Seld you find incomplete, but if you'd like to put in a ticket with areas you think are, I'm happy to look."
ArchMagi says to Siddhe, "I think I did… no locksmithing jobs."
Siddhe says to ArchMagi, "Sometimes the lack of things are intentional, not "unfinished.""
Dragonus databases to Siddhe, "I mean, I don't think players, at least myself, mind if updates are given that "hey I know we promised A, B and C but there have been some delays." I think the main perhaps 'disappointment' is for say things like combat revamp where there's just silence for months/years? So personally from an example like that, I "
Dragonus databases to Siddhe, "So personally from an example like that, I would take away more communication? I am heavily into process enhancements and a response of just "well we just never know when things will get done and no changing it" is kinda unheard of, just being honest."
Kenderaela innocently smiles to Siddhe, "No, I think you covered it. It was about some defunk hunting grounds, Namely in the steps."
Siddhe says to Kenderaela, "Yep. Ancient and unloved hunting grounds are definitely going to get spruced up/made desirable."
Cabrillo flips a coin and remarks to Siddhe, "Related to new items/armor etc, is it possible to have a helpfile added that could list the current available items/armor/weapons we can request, because there are items IG that are no longer currently available, as it can be somewhat disheartening to request something to find out it is not possible."
Cabrillo flips a coin and remarks to Siddhe, "Or a deeper custom item request menu, that would allow us to select the item we want created from what is possible, and supply the short & long description, which may help speed up the process on your end. Not sure if item creation could be automated via such a process, and then altered if updates to desc needed."
Analog says to Cabrillo, "There are so many items in our catalog that it is really impossible, alas."
Analog says, "The amount of time it would take to do that is far more than you ringing the bell to ask if you can get something, and, getting a quick yes/no on the spot before you design it."
Cabrillo flips a coin and remarks to Analog, "That just sounds like a place that could be improved by automating and organising the list to make things easier for everyone."
Siddhe says to Cabrillo, "Analog is correct; with thousands of items, that would be laborious. And really, there are very few items that "are" IG that can't be requested. Just a couple of one-offs that were hacked together and, in a lot of cases, aren't nearly as cool as you think they are."
Holypaladin says to Siddhe, "What are the plans for expanding the crafting systems? Making the weapons and all is pretty cool, but it'd be nice if players could make the top end weapons. Boison tips for spears, clubs, whatever for example."
Siddhe says to Holypaladin, "Great question."
Siddhe says, "Not going to lie, when I joined the GM staff, I had grand dreams of encouraging the return of herbalism, and the release of leatherworking, etc. However, much like tailoring, some of those systems are really so archaic and hacked together, that trying to build off them or use them as a basis for anything at all, would waste more time than starting from scratch. So yes - we DO want to release more crafting and non-com sets, and expand on the ones that already exist, but in some cases, that's going to mean moving an existing crafting set over to mechanics that make more sense, and in some cases, you know, actually function. We had other things that took priority in the last few months, and those will be big time sinks. So they're being discussed, and in some cases already tinkered with, but it won't be this month or anything."
Malenko says, "This was sort of touched upon earlier but, in regards to new players, are there any plans in place to make things a bit less harsh for them? As it stands, a truly new character has a very uphill battle. Some basic starting equipment and more starting coin could go a very long way in retaining newcomers."
Siddhe says to Malenko, "Good follow up. Because I had some other things to add earlier and I forgot, so thank you."
Siddhe says, "Yep, we're talking about some of those things. The newbie office has helped - if you know of actual new players, please do send them there because there's a lot of gear they can get for cheap, and it helps them level up in the process - but there are more places we can improve. And someone mentioned the VCs - we are even looking at ways to improve them. Like possibly shifting values around, so you get a few less XYZ but you get more GSP so you can come out with higher ranks and get into the fun faster."
Jkidd says to Siddhe, "What's the deal with luck points? You teased it a while ago..anymore you can tease about it? or is it a dead idea? Also, i think someone earlier asked about combat revamp updates.."
Siddhe asks Jkidd, "It's not a dead idea, and actually, it's something we've been starting to work on some. Just as one example of where we might boost luck points - how fun would it be to get to the end of a boos encounter, and luck! before reaching into the chest, and pulling out a rare/unique item? or reaching into an amphora and coming up with three tears, instead of one?"
Dilionn says to Siddhe, "So, I'm wondering for crime orgs - is there some way for them to get a time stamp or a notification when a prospect slips a note under their door? It would help them with making contact, things are very frustrating for young pickpockets, and it seems like it's even harder for the org leaders to identify new pro."
Dilionn says to Siddhe, "New prospects, that is, and find them IC."
Siddhe says to Dilionn, "I can chat with the org heads and see if there's a better way for them to get that info."
Siddhe asks, "My eyes are starting to cross, so I'm going to have to bounce here shortly. Any last questions before I wrap up?"
ArchMagi asks Siddhe, "How are you?"
Siddhe smiles to ArchMagi, "That's super kind of you to ask. Right now, tired. :P But in general, I'm good."
Flash3222 whimpers and snarls to Siddhe, "Yes. If I promise not to ask questions, can you rehash the topics (minus the details) discussed? Or will there be a post about it somewhere other than discord?"
Siddhe says to Flash3222, "It's a lot to rehash, but I will see if I can post some highlights if no one posts the log."
ArchMagi asks Analog, "Same question, how are you?"
Analog says to ArchMagi, "Better, now. I had a crazy work deadline for September I was trying to meet, so some tickets were backed up."
Ebonheart with a swagger says to Siddhe, "Why does a corset cost nearly as much coin as a Squamata?"
Siddhe winks to Ebonheart, "Because they protect something nearly as precious as your life."
Ebonheart with a swagger says to Siddhe, "I don't think protect is the right word."
Siddhe says to Ebonheart, "Enhance? Similar."
You sweetly sing to Siddhe, "It's about the corsets. Would it be possible to have them made so we can wear them ontop of clothes, like tunics and stolas?"
Siddhe grins to you, "They're technically an undergarment, so they'll probably stay that way. Just skip the tunic, that's basically the norm for them."
Flash3222 whimpers and snarls, "Do "No-Save-Days" ever happen?"
Siddhe says to Flash3222, "No. That was an old-school thing and quite honestly, I think they're not a good idea. It's very hard for people to separate what happened during those."
Tterrell1 asks Siddhe, "Sorry to keep you up a bit longer, but with the new skill sets are they going to be extensions of current ones or something we should be banking GSP for if we like to be among the first to test out the new sets?"
Siddhe says to Tterrell1, "Sense hinted earlier, but there are both new and riffs on existing sets. They won't be ready for player use right out of the gate, but you can expect to see demonstrations soon."
Siddhe says, "And, probably, you'll see a half-off GSP promo or something similar come out at the same time."
Siddhe says, "Okay, so to wrap up a bit -"
Siddhe says, "Again, truly want to thank you for riding out the last year with us. We have big plans for the next year. Will we get to everything on your wishlist? Likely no. Will we try to get to big chunks of it? Yep. Things I'm taking away with me tonight to push towards the top of our conversation, is ways to make the newbie experience more fun/easy, and I agree with you, that area needs some love. Things I want you all to take away - new storyarc is ready to go, keep an eye on @events in the next few weeks to see some leadups towards the kickoff. New skill sets are ready and you'll see them soon. We intend to release new consumables to give you some buffs and better regen rates. Hunting ground makeovers/releases. Some places where we can fudge realism in terms of convenience and fun (like adding perma-lighting to all inn rooms like we did this week.) Things like that."
ArchMagi asks Siddhe, "You mentioned that you encouraged all guilds to recruit… does that include the cult?"
Siddhe says to ArchMagi, "So, we are actually discussing that, yes. It may not look exactly like previous Cult classes, but giving the pious something to do is on our radar."
ArchMagi asks Siddhe, "Can I run the cult?"
Siddhe says to ArchMagi, "No. You may not. But thank you for offering."
ArchMagi says to Siddhe, "I think I've got support for it."
ArchMagi says to Siddhe, "Not the priest side, just the player side."
Siddhe says to ArchMagi, "The support is likely to be done from the staff side vs. players running classes."
ArchMagi says to Siddhe, "Nah, not classes, just…. you know… giving the acolytes a goal thing… since most of them need one."
Jkidd says to Siddhe, "Is a combat revamp more likely to happen in 2021 or 2022?"
Siddhe asks Jkidd, "I don't have a timeline for you, but yeah, we are still working on combat revamp. Have I already given the example of archery?"
Jkidd says to Siddhe, "I don't think so?"
Siddhe says to Jkidd, "So, my archery example -"
Siddhe says to Jkidd, "Is that archery is kind of boring AF. I've rolled like 3 of them, and played them for like 6 minutes. So my personal feeling is that giving them a little more utility could make them more interesting/more useful. So, like, it'd be fun if there was a hunting ground/dungeon kind of area, where archers were needed to hit targets in side rooms that would open extra chests or doors for special encounters that couldn't be reached otherwise."
Siddhe says to Jkidd, "Is that archery is kind of boring AF. I've rolled like 3 of them, and played them for like 6 minutes. So my personal feeling is that giving them a little more utility could make them more interesting/more useful. So, like, it'd be fun if there was a hunting ground/dungeon kind of area, where archers were needed to hit targets in side rooms that would open extra chests or doors for special encounters that couldn't be reached otherwise."
Siddhe says to Jkidd, "So in addition to balance, we're having convos like that - what can we do to make each set more fun."
Siddhe says to Dragonus, "It was really just a random idea to give an example. And to be honest, there's always going to be people who learn X ranks of Y set for that one moment in time. If we didn't do YXZ just because one person might use it weirdly or abuse it, we'd never do anything. Instead we'll just address those things as they come up."
Dragonus databases to Siddhe, "I mean I get that and understand it's just a random example. I just mean I don't know if making skillsets fun it just trying to make different hunting grounds need them for specific things. Like "oh here's the inevitable archery part." "
Dragonus databases to Siddhe, "I see it as part of combat as a whole to balance. Have pros and cons. Utility. Make the moves themselves versatile and fun. But that's just me."
Siddhe says to Dragonus, "I think those were the words I just used, yep."
Siddhe says, "I'm going to post this soon, too, but just a reminder that it's October - which means half-off cover promo. Hoods, masks, and non-caged faceplates."
ArchMagi asks Siddhe, "Is toning down the round times in tailoring easy or complex because of how tailoring was made?"
Siddhe says to ArchMagi, "Every skill set needs balance. As tailors, roundtimes are part of the balance to the large sums of non-dangerous money you can theoretically make."
Fairiefly1 hits the floors, "I'm going to be that jerk that says that 'i paid my school loans off so do i get a refund?' if archery becomes super easy to leran."
Siddhe says to Fairiefly1, "Definitely not planning to nerf it into being super easy to rank up."
Analog says, "I should be around more this month. Feel free to ring the bell when you see me on duty."