empatheias_ooc | Mid-Month Announcement: August

— MID-MONTH ANNOUNCEMENT: AUGUST —

The game has recently hit its two week mark, and from what we can tell it looks like everyone is having fun so far! And after the meeting with Ledwika, players should be able to figure out more diverse things to do as their characters are no longer left to wonder about as many things as before.

"Mid-Month" Mod Annucements
This is our first "mid-month" mod announcement. We will have two guaranteed mod announcements: mid-month and end of month. Any unscheduled announcements will likely tie into events, plots, or things we need to alert the gamebase.

Each scheduled mod announcement will at least have the following: Verens crystal status, Task Board updates, Emotional Flow Tracker reminders, Player Plots/Events list, previews for any upcoming events. They will likely not be as lengthy as this first one.

Dates
Just a quick reminder of a few dates that are coming up.

Test Drive. The one for September will be posted August 18. From here on out, test drives will be posted a week before reservations open.
Reservations. It will open August 25 and close September 7.
Activity Check. It runs every last 7 days of the month, so this month will be August 25 through August 31.
Applications. It will open September 1 and close September 7.

Verens Crystal Status
Information about this mechanic has been detailed further on the Game Information page (it was originally a smaller blurb) and this is basically a copy/paste of what is written there:

An observatory stands at the highest point of the city, and above it is a very large floating crystal that can be seen practically anywhere within the city and just outside the city. This crystal is like a giant version of the character's own amulets, only rather than absorb emotions it just monitors the emotional flow of the population. There are three states:

Prismatic Neutral. It's essentially a "clear" color, but due to the light it behaves like a crystal and can give off a more prism color-like appearance. When this "color," it means that the emotional flow is roughly balanced and isn't swaying one way or the other. For the most part, the crystal will remain in this "default" state so unless we specifically point it out in these updates, it's safe to assume that's the color character's see.

Gold Positive. When the emotional flow is more on the positive, it will start gradually changing to a golden color. The brighter it is, the more positive the emotions. Once it's shimmering in pure gold, the island will expand and other good things will happen.

Black Negative. On the flip side, if the emotional flow is more negative, the crystal will blacken. There will be times when the crystal might seem a little gray, but the people only become concern when it becomes more of a dark gray and more opaque. At that point efforts are made to try and reverse the flow by throwing parties or celebrations. If somehow the crystal turns completely black, then expect something really bad to happen, such as parts of the island falling off or natural disasters occurring.

Normally the changes are gradual, but it's not impossible for something to happen to "spike" the flow. We post its status at least twice a month and it will be up to the players to decide on whether to swing it one way or the other or just keep it as is. There will also be mod run events that are designed to shift the crystal's state, but with opportunities to change it again. The Tracker will also be used to determine what state the crystal will be and will likely be the key factor.

Currently, the crystal is mostly neutral, but there are some hints of gray creeping in there. This has been caused by the unsettled emotions from both the characters and the local populace.

Jobs & Task Board
As Ledwika implied, characters will now be able to find jobs if they haven't already. The Task Board is also now visible (in fact we didn't realize it was not visible before) so characters can start taking on odd jobs if they are so inclined. Details as to how the Task Board works and sign-up can be done here.

As a quick reminder, the board is divided into two groups: General and Special. General jobs are run of the mill "quest like" tasks that are always open, can be repeated, and can be taken by more than one person (unless specified). These can be "soloable" and easier to handwave. Special jobs, on the other hand, are considered harder, more dangerous, and are limited in slots. They are on a first come first serve basis and will almost always require at least one other character to perform it.

All jobs last at least two weeks, though some may stay on the board and can even turn into actual jobs. Just ask for information if you're curious.

Emotional Flow Tracker
We didn't put too much emphasis on this in the beginning since the game is still new, but a few players have already submitted to the Tracker. So we would like to remind everyone to submit to the Emotional Flow Tracker if you have any notable "emotional" threads or posts. The tracker is to help us determine what kind of event(s) the following month should experience.

We'd also like to remind players that while it's encouraged to submit to the tracker, it's also optional. Also, we only mention "significant" emotional events to lessen the burden for players, but that doesn't mean you can't submit something less so. What is considered "significant" is up to you.

You also don't have to do this immediately. From here on out, we will only do two reminders: mid-month and at the end of the month during AC.

Entry Tags
Don't forget to use the entry tags when posting or commenting to entries! It's not required, but it will help come Activity Check time.

Player Plots & Events
We'll close this announcement with a few plots and mingling opportunities created by players.

Would you like to learn magic? Sabriel can teach you! Sarah has an OOC post detailing how charter magic works so check it out!
Campfire fun. Mickey Mouse has a campfire going and has invited everyone to join in the fun. S'mores, scary stories, socializing—maybe even some booze.
Hunt for a plushie unicorn worth 20 grand. Kamille Bidan noticed a particular job on the task board and has requested a party to look for it. It looks like at the time of this particular party slots are full, but wonder how this story will play out.
Looking for ingredients. Metallia has requested a few items and in return she'll grant a wish to those who help. Seems like a simple task—what could go wrong?
It's aaaadventure time! And maybe a roommate. Roy Greenhilt is making a call out to form a group to help deal with all those brigands around. He is also looking for a roommate because his house hates him.
Let's prove ourselves! Jude Mathis has asked everyone how they can best prove ourselves to be trustworthy toward the people. As Ledwika told Elsa and Takakage, there's no clear cut solution.

We might have missed some and we didn't post any that were made prior to August 13, so be sure to take a look back yourself! We'll try to keep an eye out, but if you'd like to be listed let us know. If you'd like to throw your own event or plot, comment here.

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And that's about it. If you have any questions or concerns, let us know!