Transparency, or, what we are working on currently.
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So, one of the things that used to drive me crazy as a player was when there was a time when the server seemed quiet and directionless, and it appeared like the DM's were not doing anything to change it. It was never actually true, but perception is a hell of a thing when you don't have access to our forums and can't see us furiously debating new ideas. The truth of it is that if these things are rushed, they come out half-assed, and while they might garner a lot of interest from the launch the flaws become apparent rather swiftly and the boost is fleeting. I think that has been proven time and again over the last few years of coa history, and we are trying to break the cycle and make things that are not only fresh and exciting but also equipped with the stamina to play the long game.
Heres' a list of things you can expect to see over the next week:
The Dales plot will be shifting to a off setting storyline. Events will still happen, and major battles will likely include players, but it has become apparent to me that the distance between our setting and the dales has made it impossible to keep player's interest beyond the event they are on.
Players that apped early for house Paertrover will start popping up in game, after their preludes are done. Family member pc apps will still be accepted for some time after the faction kicks off, but if you want to get in on the ground floor talking to me over the next few days is a good idea. We will also be adding stuff to the mod little by little over the next two or three weeks that anyone can get involved with but will be centered around the house story line.
House Beorhtre will be open to apply for soon. We got the house down, I just need to do the player resource forum write up, likely some time today. This will be a bit different then house Paetrover in that it will be more traditional, meaning the majority of pcs in it will be retainers/house guards rather then the family, but we will be looking at apps for family if people are interested in doing that. There will also be a few new things in the mod for this story line.
Hardcastle's retainers, the militia, and the PD's will all be getting slight tweaks varying from faction to faction on amounts to give them more purpose. Most of this will happen within the faction and by ic means, so it the changes might not be all that apparent to outsiders right away, but they will be there.
We will be constantly evaluating and reevaluating how the Chaos Brigade fits in our setting. We all really like the faction, and think that it does have its place on a server that has PvP as a feature. But we are also very much sympathetic to the fact that it being a feature does not mean it should be forced on players and we will be furiously arguing over the best way to balance those two points.
New plots, threats, storylines, and so forth. These are the things that are the lifeblood of a server, and we realize that they are lacking at the moment.
We will also be working to tie in some of the ongoing player factions/story lines into the new things, but this works much better if the players involved in these things aren't quitting every other day.
So, there are other things we are working on, but this is a good overview of what we are doing to fix the now. Feel free to comment below on any of these things, that's why I put this in general discussion instead of announcements, but…
The Minute it turns in to a rant thread I will say thanks for the comments, and lock it!
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Basically, we're wrapping up old plots, introducing new plots, fixing things that have forever frustrated players (see Orc Springs door!) and introducing a bunch of new features.
You will be seeing a lot of quality of life improvements soon.
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Looks exciting! Can't wait
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The DM team takes on this initiative to improve quality of life solely to balance the fact I'm coming back to game.
Thanks CF and Spiffy that you care to share these thoughts. Not like I had anything to complain about, but it reminds me I return to a community.
After reading about players leaving this fine place out of frustration again, it helps a lot to read that you all really care for the community, not just the game, stories, ect. -
Newly introduced features, coming from the playerbase feedback: viewtopic.php?p=1045783