February State of the Game!

[powersthatbe]

Just a quick check-in, Fellow Travelers, and a poll about Things To Come! from the feedback we’ve seen, it looks like the Cosmic Horror jaunt went pretty well - there will be comment threads below for discussing the fallout from that plot, and offering concrit about what we did right/what we could have done better. Now we’re into Doki Doki no Gakuen, and it seems to have started off with a bang - but we have seen a little more confusion than usual as well, so there will also be a thread below for airing questions and concerns about the Jaunt. As always, players are also welcome to email, private message, or PP the mod team with questions or concerns, but we like to foster open discussion whenever possible.

Next up! After this plot wraps in late March, we’ll once again have a Liminal Event. Since the timing on this plot would make it awkward to open apps mid-Jaunt in early March, we’ll have apps open in time for the Liminal Event in late March. One of the suggestions that’s been made is that we have a combination Liminal Event & Testdrive - a 4th Wall event, where players can come in for a week or two and test the waters, see how things work out, and possibly have a tangible effect on the game before they decide to app in. The first question on the poll below is whether you’re for or against a Fourth Wall event! Let us know, & we’ll go with the majority’s preference.

The second question, very briefly, is what other sorts of Liminal Events players would like to see. The third question is if there are any Jaunts players would like to see, or to help run in conjunction with the mod team, and if so, when they’d be available to do that.

Fourth - last time we asked players about skills, there was an overwhelming demand for combo skills that let characters work together and empower one another. This is a fantastic idea and we’d like to do it - can you give us some examples of what you’ve got in mind? We’ll listen to other skill suggestions, too.

Fifth, last, and most importantly, we are, as usual, voting on the next Jaunt! Rank the three options in order, from most desired to least desired. Votes are weighted - your first-choice Jaunt receives two points, your second-choice Jaunt receives one, and your third-choice Jaunt receives zero.

The options this time are:

Compass Fell: a team amnesia plot. Dropped onto a hex-grid of wilderness terrain with no tools and no memories, the Travelers must find a way out and determine just who or what has hijacked their Jaunt - or what the Trumps really have in mind for them. A popular option in our last vote, which lots of people insisted they’d love to see later, we’re offering a chance right away - but don’t worry, if now’s not the time, we’ll offer it again later. Both infiltrators and investigators will have the option of total or partial amnesia, and some investigators will be able to avoid memory loss altogether if they wish, but this is a jaunt that will blur that investigator/infiltrator line - whether that sounds cool or terrible to you, please keep it in mind.

The Digital Frontier: A jaunt set in a strange and wonderful cyberspace, the Digital Frontier is a land of sentient, anthropomorphic computer programs, driven by purpose to recover a grid of corrupted data. On the edge of synthetic civilization, a labor force of programs is forced to sift and correct the data, uncovering weird and wonderful things, but living a dangerous life, little better than slaves, with their only other options being gladitorial combat in deadly video games, or open rebellion against the Operating System that holds their social order intact.

The Ark: a cyberpunk dystopia on a harsh alien world, all that keeps this fragment of humanity alive is a massive Arcology, or Ark - a self-contained, overcrowded urban environment, full of unimaginable technology that’s slowly running out of power under the strain of population pressure and a populace that’s not as well educated as its predecessors were, before an event they call The Fall. Rich in metaplot, dangerous crime, survivalist themes, social revolution, and subtle dangers, the Ark is by far the heaviest of the three suggested plots - not quite as dark as Harrogate, but close enough in places that we want to warn folks who’d rather not get quite so grim, so soon afterward.

The poll will be open through the end of February, & results will go up March 1st!

<b>1. Should we do a 4th Wall event in late March?</b> <b>2. Suggested Liminal Events?</b> <b>3. Jaunt suggestions/Jaunts you’d like to run:</b> <b>4. Combo Skills/New Skills you’d like to see:</b> <b>5. Vote on the April Jaunt:</b> (rank your choices from 1st to 3rd)


Harrogate Discussion & Questions | Doki Doki Discussion & Questions | Other Discussion & Questions | Poll

Comments

Poll

[powersthatbe]

[offshoreigner]

1. Should we do a 4th Wall event in late March? YES
2. Suggested Liminal Events? More direct screwing with physics that you can't avoid! Gravity switching on and off, hypergravity gluing you to the floor, suddenly finding that solid-looking things are not solid at all, falling through space-time, things keep repeating and only one character in the thread is aware, etc etc.
3. Jaunt suggestions/Jaunts you’d like to run: A Jaunt that distinctly puts the Infiltrators against the side of the Investigators!
4. Combo Skills/New Skills you’d like to see: Moves that are powered up significantly when used next to each other, or moves which need the gems/skills/whatever of a few characters to be pulled off effectively.
5. Vote on the April Jaunt: THE DIGITAL FRONTIER OH MY GOD i'm such a sucker for these things

Re: Poll

[thezerothlaw]

1. Should we do a 4th Wall event in late March? Sure, that'd be interesting!
2. Suggested Liminal Events? don't koooow. I'm pretty go-with-the-flow honestly.
3. Jaunt suggestions/Jaunts you’d like to run: look basically i just want sci-fi jaunts. Probably not all at once. But I do.
4. Combo Skills/New Skills you’d like to see: I have given this no thought.
5. Vote on the April Jaunt: DIGITAL FRONTIER PLEASE. I would also totally like to do the Ark at some point. Both of these. ahhhhhhhhhhh

[stophamatime]

I don't have strong feelings on most of these so I'll edit if I think of something, I just wanted to go ahead and put my jaunt votes in. :V

1. Should we do a 4th Wall event in late March? -
2. Suggested Liminal Events? -
3. Jaunt suggestions/Jaunts you’d like to run: PROD ME WHEN YOU NEED ME, MATT I don't have your eye for figuring out a whole good plot, but I can help with NPCs or some shit.
4. Combo Skills/New Skills you’d like to see: -
5. Vote on the April Jaunt: Compass Fell, The Ark, Digital Frontier!

tbh those first two are a really hard choice though

Re: Poll

[fridgeninja]

1. Should we do a 4th Wall event in late March? yes.
2. Suggested Liminal Events? I'm asking, not telling!
3. Jaunt suggestions/Jaunts you’d like to run: See #2!
4. Combo Skills/New Skills you’d like to see: See #3!
5. Vote on the April Jaunt: Digital Frontier, Compass Fell, The Ark. that was actually really hard to choose...

[inexecution]

1. Should we do a 4th Wall event in late March? No Preference
2. Suggested Liminal Events? I got nothing.
3. Jaunt suggestions/Jaunts you’d like to run: Nothing I want to be in charge of, but I'm always willing to help other people out with planning/etc.
4. Combo Skills/New Skills you’d like to see: I'm failing at contributing anything this poll...
5. Vote on the April Jaunt: Ark, Compass Fell, Digital Frontier

[thirdarrow]

1. Should we do a 4th Wall event in late March? Yes please!
2. Suggested Liminal Events? Seconding Timpeni's suggestion about weird physics. I like that.
3. Jaunt suggestions/Jaunts you’d like to run: SENGOKU ERA JAUNT or one similar to the Drakengard 3 universe.
4. Combo Skills/New Skills you’d like to see: Seconding the idea of skills that need two people to pull off successfully.
5. Vote on the April Jaunt: Digital Frontier, The Ark, and lastly Compass Fell

[shantiprayer]

1. Should we do a 4th Wall event in late March? I have mixed feelings on this. I like the idea of a fourth wall but I'm not sure I'd want to do one instead of a Test Drive? Because then if you're still voicetesting and you decide to app you're stuck with it if you messed up.
2. Suggested Liminal Events? Can't think of anything at the moment.
3. Jaunt suggestions/Jaunts you’d like to run: None at this time.
4. Combo Skills/New Skills you’d like to see: No idea I am the most unhelpful I am sorry.
5. Vote on the April Jaunt: 1. Compass Fell 2. The Digital Frontier 3. The Ark

Re: Poll

[doctor_connor_graham]

1. Should we do a 4th Wall event in late March? Yes! I think it'd be an AWESOME way to get people integrated/give them a chance to see what Synodiporia is like before apping in. And maybe let some current members of the community test drive a new character before apping in.
2. Suggested Liminal Events? ?????
3. Jaunt suggestions/Jaunts you’d like to run: You know I like Madcap Archaeology. And Lightning Age. Possibly zombie hunting universe or something of the like? Supernatural-esque hunting??? Hmmm. Haunted mansion (for something like October).
4. Combo Skills/New Skills you’d like to see: I like the suggestion from offshoreigner. Powers and moves that require TEAMWORK to pull off.
5. Vote on the April Jaunt: 1) Compass Fell 2) Digital Frontier 3) The Ark

[neverfeltthatway]

1. Should we do a 4th Wall event in late March? Yes
2. Suggested Liminal Events? genderswap or bodyswap event
3. Jaunt suggestions/Jaunts you’d like to run: none
4. Combo Skills/New Skills you’d like to see: I like the idea of skills that require people to work together, but at present have no idea what those would be.
5. Vote on the April Jaunt: 1. Compess Fell, 2. The Digital Frontier, 3. The Ark
I want to mention here that The Ark is the jaunt I'm most excited to do - I simply don't want to do it just yet, so soon after Harrogate.

Re: Poll

[closedcircuit]

1. Should we do a 4th Wall event in late March? Sure
2. Suggested Liminal Events? I'm still settling into things
3. Jaunt suggestions/Jaunts you’d like to run: See above
4. Combo Skills/New Skills you’d like to see: See above
5. Vote on the April Jaunt: Digital Frontier, Ark, Compass Fell

[upcard]

1. Should we do a 4th Wall event in late March? No preference either way!
2. Suggested Liminal Events? I would love to see similar to what Timpeni suggested, with the wonky gravity and like! Also as for events, something that would force characters to work together and get new cr that they wouldn't normally mingle with would be great in liminal space, since jaunts can get wonky with cr. So something like a maze that randomizes who you're stuck with, or something similar would be great fun, I think!
3. Jaunt suggestions/Jaunts you’d like to run: MAGICAL GIRLS.... I will forever put my vote forward for magical girls and also a secret agents/Men in Black sort of jaunt.
4. Combo Skills/New Skills you’d like to see: Basically gonna just reiterate what I said last time, I think. But as for how to make those combo skills work together, skills that are stronger when two people use them at the same time (like psychic protection used twice making something more like an invisible temporary shield, or something... something like that!) or two different skills used together making something completely new, though I'm not sure yet what those would be. I'll think on it!
5. Vote on the April Jaunt: 1. Digital Frontier, 2. Arc, 3. Compass Fell (honestly, i like all of them, though, so it doesn't matter to me)

[foreveralawn]

1. Should we do a 4th Wall event in late March? Y, I think it's worth trying at least once.
2. Suggested Liminal Events? seconding the suggestion about messing with gravity :3 Also, an underwater liminal space would be cool...
3. Jaunt suggestions/Jaunts you’d like to run: none atm
4. Combo Skills/New Skills you’d like to see: none atm
5. Vote on the April Jaunt: 1 - Digital Frontier, 2 - Compass Fell, 3 - Ark.

[willyousee]

1. Should we do a 4th Wall event in late March? I would be up for that!
2. Suggested Liminal Events? Dreamscapes? Chutes and Ladders? Enormous board games? Burnt out wreck of The Normandy a space ship? People become intangible, like holograms?
3. Jaunt suggestions/Jaunts you’d like to run: Atlantis/Sealab 2020, Nausiica and the Valley of the Wind? I'm not... really confident of my ability to run it, but I'd love to play them.
4. Combo Skills/New Skills you’d like to see: Language Acquisition, Arcana-related skills, Personal Treasure (bring back one item from home - subject to mods' approval), Costume Changes
5. Vote on the April Jaunt:
1. The Digital Frontier
2. Compass Fell
3. The Ark

[howexciting]

1. Should we do a 4th Wall event in late March? Yes.
2. Suggested Liminal Events? I'd like to see a few (occasional) repeats of things. For example, we haven't done mirror universes or dreamscapes in a really long time in-game (something like 4-6 months).
3. Jaunt suggestions/Jaunts you’d like to run: Hunger Games/Battle Royale-style Jaunt, possibly a Classic Tabletop Jaunt? I would be willing to run either of these.
4. Combo Skills/New Skills you’d like to see: Expansions upon already-available Liminal and Telepathic skills. I will discuss with modlies about this.
5. Vote on the April Jaunt: Digital Frontier, Compass Fell, The Ark. I would like to do all three of these at some point.

Also, I would like to add as a miscellaneous suggestion: I'd like to see a Jaunt or Liminal Space where we could get previous universe skills that we missed the first time, without necessarily going back to previous universes.

Re: Poll

[dangerouslyinlove]

1. Should we do a 4th Wall event in late March? Sounds like it would be interesting, so sure!
2. Suggested Liminal Events? Liminal Space that looks painted (think like the style of Okami); platformer style; super colorful and bright with talking flowers and suns and floors
3. Jaunt suggestions/Jaunts you’d like to run: I am a sucker for any kind of magic AU.
4. Combo Skills/New Skills you’d like to see: Iiii have no idea. 8D
5. Vote on the April Jaunt: The Ark, Compass Fell, Digital Frontier (the choice between the last two is hard because I like them all... the Ark won because of the Fall whoops)

[betrayedblade]

1. Should we do a 4th Wall event in late March? Eh, not sure either way.
2. Suggested Liminal Events? Got nothin'.
3. Jaunt suggestions/Jaunts you’d like to run: Got nothin'.
4. Combo Skills/New Skills you’d like to see: I was initially going to say that while I don't have any suggestions for anything of the sort I do like the idea of combo skills being implemented somehow... but then I actually thought of something, maybe kinda? Based off AC: Unity, there is a skill called "communal sense" or "communal eagle vision" which allows others with the Eagle Vision ability to see what one person sees/saw while using the ability even when not actively attempting to use it oneself. It works within a certain proximity of one another and the effects linger for a certain amount of time before fading although it has no limits on how many times it can be used. While this may be more along the lines of a canon skill being taught to other characters (is that a thing? I can't recall) there could be other combo skills/liminal skills/whatever created that have a similar affect or usage.
5. Vote on the April Jaunt:
1. Digital Frontier
2. The Ark
3. Compass Fell

Re: Poll

[rekkaning]

1. Should we do a 4th Wall event in late March? Y
2. Suggested Liminal Events? Laser tag. J/K
3. Jaunt suggestions/Jaunts you’d like to run: I got nothin
4. Combo Skills/New Skills you’d like to see: Shared Hammerspace, maybe? Like, two Travelers could merge their Hammerspaces to store something too big for either solo, or stuff like Traveler A opens Hammerspace to absorb the effects of a smoke bomb and Traveler B opens it at the same time at a different location to infuse that location with smoke.
5. Vote on the April Jaunt: Compass Fell, The Ark, Digital Frontier

[morrioghain]

1. Should we do a 4th Wall event in late March? Yes!
2. Suggested Liminal Events? idk, I'm easy.
3. Jaunt suggestions/Jaunts you’d like to run: Anything action/adventure or exploration oriented would be a lot of fun.
4. Combo Skills/New Skills you’d like to see: I'm new enough that I haven't thought about this yet :|a Will edit if anything comes to mind.
5. Vote on the April Jaunt: Compass Fell, The Ark, Digital Frontier

[canbebrave]

1. Should we do a 4th Wall event in late March? N
2. Suggested Liminal Events? item rain where everyone gets a wolf an object from canon
3. Jaunt suggestions/Jaunts you’d like to run: n/a
4. Combo Skills/New Skills you’d like to see: n/a
5. Vote on the April Jaunt: Compass Fell, Ark, Digital Frontier

[proteusmoon]

1. Should we do a 4th Wall event in late March? Suuure.
2. Suggested Liminal Events? None at the moment.
3. Jaunt suggestions/Jaunts you’d like to run: I did have some ideas, but I can't think of them right now, so I will hopefully come back to them. :<
4. Combo Skills/New Skills you’d like to see: Also none at the moment.
5. Vote on the April Jaunt: COMPASS FELL!! Then the Ark and, in third place, the Digital Frontier.

[shiroganeheir]

1. Should we do a 4th Wall event in late March? Sure, could be fun.
2. Suggested Liminal Events? Hm. No ideas.
3. Jaunt suggestions/Jaunts you’d like to run: Ancient Egypt, film noir, Agatha Christie-esque murder mystery, (I would totally run something like this, possibly something like Ten Little Indians or Murder on the Orient Express), Phantom Tollbooth (from the book, I'd help with this one too)
4. Combo Skills/New Skills you’d like to see: ... dunno.
5. Vote on the April Jaunt: Digital Frontier, Compass Fell, Ark

Re: Poll

[amadine]

1. Should we do a 4th Wall event in late March? No
2. Suggested Liminal Events? Seconding the suggestion for repeats of things like the alternate universe selves/dreamscapes/etc.

Puzzles or something that lends itself more to exploring, like the Liminal Space before the pirate Jaunt, would be neat, too.
3. Jaunt suggestions/Jaunts you’d like to run: Urban Fantasy/Magical Noir, fractured fairytales, lotus-eater machine. (I'd be up for running any of these.)
4. Combo Skills/New Skills you’d like to see: Something like instant location swapping for two characters with Teleportation or Remote Portal Creation would be cool - utility boosts for tandem power use.
5. Vote on the April Jaunt: Digital Frontier, The Ark, Compass Fell

[itsananimalthing]

1. Should we do a 4th Wall event in late March? Eh. I'm not hugely into 4th wall stuff, to be honest. So whatever everyone else says.
2. Suggested Liminal Events? Nothin' tonight.
3. Jaunt suggestions/Jaunts you’d like to run: Daemons! We need to visit the His Dark Materials world :D
4. Combo Skills/New Skills you’d like to see: Nothin' tonight.
5. Vote on the April Jaunt: First, Ark. Second, digital frontier. Last, compass fell.

[littleladyluck]

1. Should we do a 4th Wall event in late March? Yes! It seems fun!
2. Suggested Liminal Events? As long as everything isn't descriptively covered in viscera or anything, I'm cool with most things. Can't really think of anything special.
3. Jaunt suggestions/Jaunts you’d like to run: Also can't think of anything. Maybe something magitek-ish if it hasn't already been done?
4. Combo Skills/New Skills you’d like to see: Something with holograph projection or extreme voice-throwing maybe?
5. Vote on the April Jaunt: Digital Frontier, Compass Fell, Ark.