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empatheias_ooc2016-06-18 07:37 pm
simpathis) wrote in empatheias_ooc2016-06-18 07:37 pm
Entry tags:
Mid-Month Announcement: June
» CALENDAR
Here are the dates you should know for the rest of the month. The main calendar spreadsheet can be found here.
- 6/17: Test Drive.
- 6/22~6/23: Arehtei Q&A
- 6/24: Activity Check starts; Reservations open.
- 6/30: Activity Check ends.
- 7/01: Applications open.
No unusual weather, just typical sunny days with some seasonal rain.
» EMOTION TRACKER UPDATE
As always, it's kind of early to tell where the Emotion Tracker is going.
As a reminder, this is just a "mid-month" check to give everyone an idea of where the Emotion Tracker stands. If you haven't had a chance to submit your threads, don't worry! You can still submit and have it count for the final tally at the end of the month.
Here is a screenshot of the stats:
As usual, the crystal is currently in the red. Looking at things, although there's more general positive points, the apathy may be what's dipping it down. For now, Peromei is not looking so hot.
» PUZZLE SOLVED
As many know, there has been a dedicated group who have worked hard on that strange crystal device that appeared as a result of March's emotion shift. After a lot of trial and error, they have figured it out and reported their findings. There's a bit to it, so here's our official summary of what's happening here.
- Teleportation device. The entire device is essentially a complex mechanism that allows for mass transportation over long distances instantly. There are safeguards against unwanted "invasions," but—well if there are workarounds, those would have to be figured out. (Hint: anything can be hacked.)
- Locations. Since this device just appeared on the island, it had to originate somewhere else. But there are more of them around the world. Whether they are active or destroyed, however, is a different question altogether. Although, during their tests, the group may have a few received a few clues already... One known location is Shaarnath.
- Shaarnath. It so happens that there is a device near where Shaarnath was founded and after being told about what happened on the island due to Aiada, a few technicians had also gone out to work on it. After managing to get the communications working again, the two groups managed to figure out how to fix the connection between both devices and get it working. Shaarnath will send supplies to help aid the recovery and rebuilding effort, and then diplomats will follow.
- Ambassadors. A couple of ambassadors will arrive and the group who worked on the device as well as representatives will be able to speak with them. They will eventually make more of a public face, but that will come later.
- Security. The entire site is overlooked by Enforcers, and Elios is also going to station himself there to make sure nothing happens to it.
- Future. This device is definitely not there for a one time deal. It is basically our ticket to expand the game world and allow characters to become more proactive in terms of going down and exploring. There's still a few things to do before we can get that arc going, but that's the plan.
And that's basically it! Huzzah, the puzzle has been solved! The ambassador meeting will be a closed log for those involved, and it will occur sometime early next week, before the Arehtei Q&A detailed in the next section.
» AREHTEI Q&A
We apologize for the delay, but various real life situations have made it difficult for us to be able to set this up on a date where we're all available. However, as indicated in the timeline, we have it set for Wednesday or Thursday, the 22nd or 23rd. We're shooting for Wednesday, but just in case we are unable, then it will be Thursday.
Those who signed up on the lottery, are locked in and we are not accepting any new sign-ups. However, we do wish for those who commented to re-confirm here. In addition, we are going ahead and asking players to at least think about the kinds of questions their character will ask, as well as which Arehtei they may be interested in speaking to. Of course they can speak with more than one, but due to the number of sign-ups, we're going to put a few criteria and restrictions.
- All Arehtei. All of the current six available Arehtei will be there: Aiada, Elios, Daimonia, Peromei, Sosyne, and Thras. We are still debating if this will be a physical meet or telepathic meet, but if it's physical then Daimonia and Thras will have crystals set up instead.
- Open forum. The format of the Q&A is going to be an open discussion. This means the Arehtei will be able to hear and answer everything, and the characters will also do the same. Both parties can also threadjack and do piggybacks off anyone. Branching threads will be acceptable.
- Try not to repeat. Since this Q&A is going to be open discussion, if a question or topic has already been covered and is asked in a later thread, we will simply link to the original answer rather than cover the topic again. So players, pay attention to what's been asked! As mentioned, you can piggy back off already asked questions.
- Aiada. We know everyone wants to meet the new one! But to make things easier on us, we do request that any questions asked to Aiada be more about her. We also request to keep casual conversations limited. You can have casual conversations of course! Aiada would appreciate it. But if there is anything important you want to be covered, it would be best to get that out first so they can be addressed quickly, and then more relaxing conversation can happen after.
- General questions. Any questions about the world at large are going to be open to all Arehtei. For your edification, the older Arehtei will be better suited to ask those questions regardless as Aiada will not know the answers. If someone does ask Aiada a world related question, another Arehtei may jump in instead to answer.
And that should be all! We encourage players to take this as an opportunity to ask the big questions as we are at a point in the game's life where such questions can be answered. There may still be some vague answers, but not as much as before.
» SO LET'S TALK ABOUT DEATH
For quick reminder, Kylo Ren was taken by some strange black ooze, which he later reported to be a being related to death. We didn't say much in our first mod post as we wanted this to be ICly introduced first, and there will be more IC introductions made later. But we can now talk a little more about what this is and its purpose.
Basically, due to the uptick in death plots, we needed something in-game to dole out better suited punishments since the ones used by the locals don't really do anything for the characters. Its origins, backstory, and everything else about it will be revealed ICly, but the only things you guys need to know are that it's like Empatheias's version of the Grim Reaper, it exists, and if there are to be any death plots or killings in general—this is the thing that characters will have to deal with. More severe or at least more character focused punishments will be doled out, and they will all have the purpose of deterring characters (and potentially players) from repeating it or committing the act at all. This includes not making it very fun to play out.
Which leads us to the topic of death plots in general.
Overall, we don't mind them happening. However, we are growing concerned about the rapid amount of them and how this is affecting things in-game. Not only for characters, but for the local NPCs. We know it's easy to forget the NPCs aren't just game fodder. But dissension exists and while we haven't pulled the trigger yet due to the complications that would come from it, we can make it very uncomfortable for characters to live in Verens due to how locals feel about all of this.
Thus, we are going to be a little more restrictive and selective about death plots from here on out.
- Event based. If an in-game event provides opportunities for character deaths, that's A-OK. We do ask players to consider whether the character has to die or if it's just for the dramatic effect, but otherwise no extra step is needed.
- Out of necessity. We know we have cannibals here, and so they have a legitimate excuse to kill NPCs for food. That's allowed, but not without some IC consequences. As far as we know, the NPCs that are getting offed are those that no one would really care too much about so it's not a problem yet. But Mr. Death Reaper may try to offer alternatives later on regardless.
- Player plots. We're going to be a more selective about player plots that involve deaths of any kind, including one-time murders. They are allowed in general, but we are going to need to know the reason why it is happening. Those that have an actual purpose or can help push forward other events will be allowed, but those that are in it for just personal dramatic purposes may be rejected.
Like we said, we don't mind death plots in general, but there has been almost one death a month. We realize that the lack of permanence is a large part of the blame, and that exists mostly because trying to make sense of how a permanent death affects canon timeline as well as not have people trying death as an easy way out of the game is mind wracking. However, we're going to say it now—we can make deaths permanent if necessary, including making a character no longer able to be applied into the game, and we have the in-game mechanism to do it. (In fact, there is an actual in-game reason why characters don't have permanent deaths right now.)
But for now, we hope Mr. Death Reaper will be enough of an interesting deterrent—or at least make people think a few times before doing so.
-------------------------
And that's about it. If you have any questions, concerns, or want things clarified, please comment here.
no subject
Is this what you're saying, or am I misunderstanding the situation you're spelling out? If I am not misunderstanding, where is the line being drawn? There are a lot of IC actions that could run the risk of upsetting the natives and garnering NPC resentment; should we see an 'uptick' in those as well, are those also going to be restricted for the sake of preserving the narrative direction that you, as mods, want to pursue?
no subject
In addition, there is no rigid narrative that we are following or one that we are trying to dictate; it has and always will be dynamic and involves player input and action. Most recent example would actually be the birth of the Grim Reaper. Spoilers on origin story, but both ICly and OOCly, it came about due to Pride's Gate of Truth plot. By "narrative" we actually mean not only the story developed by the players, but also the environment that the players are working with. Think of it like a river. The water will run its course, winding this way and that, and we let it flow freely. But as mods we do need to make sure that it doesn't suddenly overflood into unwanted areas. Other players may try to put up obstacles of their own, but we can still come in with sandbags at the banks so that the water can continue flowing, just not in ways that would do unwanted harm. Keeping with the analogy, right now that water is threatening to spill over and players do not have anything adequate to deter it. So we're trying to take preemptive measures so that if there is a huge flood, it's one that everyone wants.
We do not mind negative consequences and yes, we would still encourage them. We want there to be conflicts. That includes plots involving death and murder. At the heart of it was how to deal with the consequences and what the current trend was leading to. In addition, there is no scripted narrative, otherwise we wouldn't have allowed any of this to happen to begin with. In fact in every event we have has a "well the island could crash" scenario, such as the last one. We like chaos, it adds to the narrative. We wouldn't have let Junko drive Peromei to despair otherwise and we get excited when the Emotion Tracker tanks because something could happen!
But in that instance, players and characters had an opportunity and adequate means to counter against the extreme negative outcome (which is Peromei outright attacking the island and leaving greater devastation). With the murder plots, there is no such means. A criminal can be caught, but what is the adequate punishment? What is the actual consequence of their actions? Currently, there is only increase in hostility because aside from making a character unplayable, there is no adequate consequence. Whatever happens, they're still going to live, walk, and in some people's minds, "get away" with the murder. It's like having repeat offenders getting sent to jail but then allowed back out on the streets after their sentence. That is the part of the narrative that needs to be addressed, in particular to how the natives would feel about what has been happening lately in regards to murder plots.
To put it in the perspective of the natives, they have criminals who can be on par or worse than what the PCs can do. But they have a system to deal adequate punishment, the highest being the death penalty. The problem is the PCs do not die permanently—instead they come back to life after death. Thus, what is to stop them from committing the crime again? This is also a sentiment that characters might also share, so it's not strictly based on NPC action. Now, OOCly this probably won't be a problem, but ICly they don't know that. The characters, both NPC and PC, do not know how to properly handle these kinds of criminals, and OOCly we don't want to chain players from ever doing these plots because we do think they can be very interesting! But this inadequacy was made clear with Pride's plot and we recognized that our very own premise was hindering proper consequences.
That is why we are deploying the "Grim Reaper." This is our in-game mechanism that should help appease any in-game tension and hostility because it is something that the characters can (or rather will) see and know of its existence. While local law enforcement can't do much, at least something born from the world itself will exact some kind of justice and punishment. But we also announced this OOCly and expressed our own concerns and requests ahead of time to help give a concrete assurance to the players who have also expressed wariness and concern about the recent trend in murder plots. They are not meant to be perceived as harsh as you are interpreting them, just us asking and reminding players that there will be consequences via the Reaper. The warning we were making is just a heads up of what could happen because we believe that players should be fully aware of what they're getting into. If after knowing all of that they still want to go for it—that's fine! But we don't want it to be some kind of unwanted surprise and we want to allow opportunity for those who may not want that kind of path.
Death is a big deal, and we just want to ensure that that is being made clear from here on out.
So, rather than threatening our own narrative, all those plots were affecting the narrative in a way that could threaten what players may feel comfortable playing out in terms of environment without a proper means to go against it if they so desire. We have no issue in having the NPCs take on a more hostile environment, but for those who may not want that, they currently do not have a way to change that attitude. There is only one path because there is currently nothing in game to help reassure the natives that criminals who come back to life are still adequately punished. That is the point we are trying to make and that is what we really mean by "preserving the game environment." The narrative and game environment can remain as dynamic as it has been, but as mods we still need to ensure that it's one that the majority feel not only comfortable with, but one they can work with. When something disruptive like a murder plot occurs, there is a reassurance that it was thought out and that adequate consequences will occur.
We also would like to point out that since the year started, we have had at least one or two murder or death plot proposals per month. These should not be constantly recurring events or on a schedule because not only should those plots hold some significance, there should have been something to try and deter future ones from happening. At the very least, there should be some pause before it's developed. That is the "uptick" we were addressing and why we felt the need to go ahead and give players the heads up before more proposals came in. It's quite possible that there might not have been anymore, but we also didn't think there would be this many already. So this was a preemptive measure before things hit a point that would make it more difficult to address.
Which leads us to what you perceived as a threat with our mention of permadeath. It was not our intention to have it come off as a threat and more of merely stating that this is a possibility and not really one we want to go to. We were giving everyone full disclosure so that no one is caught unawares. Additionally, it is just an action we would have to take if deaths were abused, and to clarify, that is to mean if players were killing their characters and others just for the fun of it and not considering the consequences. But that is why we have the Reaper instead, and we believe it should be all that we need to act as a stop gap for the future. However, looking it over we can see how it could be interpreted that way especially since the concept of being abused was not made clear and it is admittedly strongly worded. At the time of writing, we all knew what it meant, especially in context with the rest of the information, and therefore were completely "knowledge blind" to how it could be read to others. For that we apologize for the misunderstanding there. We would also like to note that we did not think any of the past murder and death plots that have already occurred fall under this category. They all had some kind of interesting purpose and that is why we approved them.
So once again, to be clear it was not a threat to try and quell murder plots completely. The real purpose of all of this is to have both the players and characters realize that there are consequences to these kinds of plots and actions. They are still very much allowed, everyone just needs to know what's going on and what they will be getting into. It is also to help assure those who have been a bit wary about the recent murder plots that more consideration and consequences are in place.
no subject
While I still don't agree with how certain things were handled, I would also like to apologize for my initial tone in responding to you; I believe I've explained my reasoning in this comment, but at the same time that doesn't excuse it and I acknowledge that I was entirely more abrasive than necessary and I'm sorry. Thank you for your continued willingness to listen and explain; again, it's greatly appreciated.