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synodiporia_ooc2018-12-11 10:07 pm
powersthatbe) wrote in synodiporia_ooc2018-12-11 10:07 pm
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Novcember SOTG Follow-Up
I. Jaunt Vote Results/Walkabout Vote
The January-February jaunt will be Vanity Fair, by a nose. To offset that, here are three walkabout proposals to choose from.
Brockengard: The abundance of fishing near the coast affords the mountain stronghold of Brockengard the rare opportunity of being a mixed community of animals: one where carnivores and herbivores live closeby to each other. But when a vessel full of strangers is shipwrecked upon the beach, the newcomers need to learn the unusual ways of the mountain before someone does something they might regret. (A talking animal fantasy in the vein of Redwall, this walkabout is set in the same world as bii’s Gransalis Abbey Jaunt, but does not involve any characters or locations in the Jaunt.)
Ivory Tower: Field Trip: Postapocalyptic scholars attending a conference near an irradiated city find there's more to worry about than academic politics when local warlords make trouble. It may be time to test how much mightier than the sword the pen can be…
No Walkabout: A very small handful of players were interested in a walkabout to accompany Vanity Fair at all; while they can be run with minimal players involved, it’s exponentially harder to keep momentum going with only a small pool of people to interact with. As such, we felt it fair to include ‘let’s not do a walkabout’ as a voting option, along with the following stipulation: If the players who requested a walkabout opposite Vanity Fair vote ‘no walkabout,’ there will be no walkabout.
The walkabout poll will close Tuesday, December 18th. As with jaunt votes, first-place votes count for two points each, and second-place votes are one point each. Please only vote if you’re seriously considering sending a character on the walkabout, so we have a clear picture of what likely walkabout-goers want.
II. Remote Portals and Portal Archive
The skill rollout brought to our attention the fact that very, very long ago (well before three-quarters of the current mod team joined the game, in fact), the wording on Remote Portal Creation was crucially declarified in a way that renders the new hybrid skill Portal Archive moot. Remote portals were originally intended to allow Travelers to open a portal to any jaunt location another Traveler had previously been to; with that stipulation long gone, players have generally taken it as ‘open a portal to another location as long as you know what it looks like.’
There are a few things we can do to mitigate this, and we’d like to see what you all think we should do. We could:
*Rewrite remote portals to reflect the original wording. This is not an option we’d want to take if it contradicts how players have previously used remote portals, so please let us know, if you can remember: Have any characters used remote portals to get to an unoccupied location?
*Rewrite remote portals AND grandfather access to Portal Archive to anyone who currently has remote portals. There’s precedent here, set when Liminal Manip was first divided into two levels.
*Add functionality to Portal Archive to distinguish it from remote portals, and leave remote portals as-is. We are open to suggestions in the comments as to what other functionality Portal Archive could have.
*Remove Portal Archive as a skill, replace it with another portal-related Hybrid skill, and leave remote portals as-is. Again, we are open to suggestions in the comments as to what other Hybrid skill would fit in well.
This poll will also close Tuesday, December 18, so we can give you the answer before the holidays and start working on any changes ASAP.
III. Magic-Nerfing Jaunts
We are still taking note of player concerns about the nature and functionality of low- or no-magic jaunts, and will be transparent about our plans for any such jaunts that come up in the future. At the present time, we do not want to commit to any blanket statements about how they may or may not work. Thank you for your input on this issue, so we can make sure we bring enjoyable jaunts to as many players as possible.
The January-February jaunt will be Vanity Fair, by a nose. To offset that, here are three walkabout proposals to choose from.
Brockengard: The abundance of fishing near the coast affords the mountain stronghold of Brockengard the rare opportunity of being a mixed community of animals: one where carnivores and herbivores live closeby to each other. But when a vessel full of strangers is shipwrecked upon the beach, the newcomers need to learn the unusual ways of the mountain before someone does something they might regret. (A talking animal fantasy in the vein of Redwall, this walkabout is set in the same world as bii’s Gransalis Abbey Jaunt, but does not involve any characters or locations in the Jaunt.)
Ivory Tower: Field Trip: Postapocalyptic scholars attending a conference near an irradiated city find there's more to worry about than academic politics when local warlords make trouble. It may be time to test how much mightier than the sword the pen can be…
No Walkabout: A very small handful of players were interested in a walkabout to accompany Vanity Fair at all; while they can be run with minimal players involved, it’s exponentially harder to keep momentum going with only a small pool of people to interact with. As such, we felt it fair to include ‘let’s not do a walkabout’ as a voting option, along with the following stipulation: If the players who requested a walkabout opposite Vanity Fair vote ‘no walkabout,’ there will be no walkabout.
Poll #20898 January/February Walkabout Vote
Open to: Registered Users, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 11
What is your FIRST choice for the January-February walkabout?
What is your SECOND choice for the January-February walkabout?
The walkabout poll will close Tuesday, December 18th. As with jaunt votes, first-place votes count for two points each, and second-place votes are one point each. Please only vote if you’re seriously considering sending a character on the walkabout, so we have a clear picture of what likely walkabout-goers want.
II. Remote Portals and Portal Archive
The skill rollout brought to our attention the fact that very, very long ago (well before three-quarters of the current mod team joined the game, in fact), the wording on Remote Portal Creation was crucially declarified in a way that renders the new hybrid skill Portal Archive moot. Remote portals were originally intended to allow Travelers to open a portal to any jaunt location another Traveler had previously been to; with that stipulation long gone, players have generally taken it as ‘open a portal to another location as long as you know what it looks like.’
There are a few things we can do to mitigate this, and we’d like to see what you all think we should do. We could:
*Rewrite remote portals to reflect the original wording. This is not an option we’d want to take if it contradicts how players have previously used remote portals, so please let us know, if you can remember: Have any characters used remote portals to get to an unoccupied location?
*Rewrite remote portals AND grandfather access to Portal Archive to anyone who currently has remote portals. There’s precedent here, set when Liminal Manip was first divided into two levels.
*Add functionality to Portal Archive to distinguish it from remote portals, and leave remote portals as-is. We are open to suggestions in the comments as to what other functionality Portal Archive could have.
*Remove Portal Archive as a skill, replace it with another portal-related Hybrid skill, and leave remote portals as-is. Again, we are open to suggestions in the comments as to what other Hybrid skill would fit in well.
Poll #20899 Remote Portals/Portal Archive Conundrum
Open to: Registered Users, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 15
How do you think we should resolve the wording error between remote portals and Portal Archive?
View Answers
Rewrite remote portals to reflect the original wording.
1 (6.7%)
Rewrite remote portals AND grandfather Portal Archive to people who have remote portals.
3 (20.0%)
Add functionality to Portal Archive; leave remote portals as-is.
7 (46.7%)
Replace Portal Archive with another skill; leave remote portals as-is.
4 (26.7%)
This poll will also close Tuesday, December 18, so we can give you the answer before the holidays and start working on any changes ASAP.
III. Magic-Nerfing Jaunts
We are still taking note of player concerns about the nature and functionality of low- or no-magic jaunts, and will be transparent about our plans for any such jaunts that come up in the future. At the present time, we do not want to commit to any blanket statements about how they may or may not work. Thank you for your input on this issue, so we can make sure we bring enjoyable jaunts to as many players as possible.
I. Jaunt Vote Results/Walkabout Vote
II. Remote Portals and Portal Archive
no subject
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I really like the idea of using Livestreaming instead. Especially since aren't Livestreaming and Stationary Portals the most common "entry level" Skills for their trees?
Only idea I have for a replacement Skill using those two prerequisites would be a limited form of one-way remote viewing? See the destination without being seen? How long it stays open and how much can be seen or heard through it would need to be pretty limited (otherwise it'd be too powerful as a spying tool), but it could be a way to "look before you leap" when using other Portal Skills. And then the character could choose not to portal in at all if opening one would cause a scene or put them directly in front of a bear or something.
no subject
no subject
no subject
Maybe something that functions more like how Remote Portal Creation was originally meant to? Something along the lines of "Open a portal to the current location of another Traveler, even if you have never seen the location and it is not the last location you portaled from."
no subject
Re: II. Remote Portals and Portal Archive
Any of the other options, but especially the last two, look like they should work.
Re: II. Remote Portals and Portal Archive
The wording change predates me joining the game (spring 2015), and Thomas dug up evidence of the current wording as early as November 2014. Intended or not, we're all well used to how the skill functions now, and have adapted it to be usable without needing to rewrite it.
ETA, for lack of a better place to put it: I just double-checked the thread where Sabetha taught Naoki remote portals, and while she cited 'another Traveler' as a means to anchor the other side of your portal, it was not the only means (she also said landmarks or having been to the area you want to remote-portal to would work). This is the closest thing I have to evidence of remote portals being used as currently written.
Re: II. Remote Portals and Portal Archive
Also, Portal Archive actually still sounds rather interesting--and it sounds like a different skill than Remote Portal. Maybe add in the ability to detect who opened the portal and when? Or at least which Arcana marked the person. Sorta like network archive, but portals. Alternatively, maybe sense what went through the portal?
Thank you for making a poll for this. I really appreciate it!
Re: II. Remote Portals and Portal Archive
III. Magic-Nerfing Jaunts