nysaooc | ❪ mod address ❫ Second-Week Check-In

Hello, El Nysa. It's been nearly two weeks since the game opened, and we know, it feels much longer than that. We wanted to check in with you all and cue you in what's been happening on our end. In exchange, we'd like to hear feedback about how the game event was handled so we can consider better ways to improve events in the future. Please remember that you are always welcome to voice your thoughts anonymously via our Modbox.

There are also multiple other topics we would like review and discuss, some concerns both on our and the playerbase's end:

Game Pacing
Application Cycles (part deux)
Activity Checks
Reputation Submission
Power Nerfs, specifically Hammerspace-y powers

First and foremost, we are having Check-in AC for this month, due by August 6 at 12:01am EST. Please head here to submit your check-in. Upon completion, your character will automatically receive two (2) Natha REP.

Failure to submit to this check-in will result in immediate removal from the game and communities. Please spread the word, as we will NOT be providing warning lists for Activity Checks. Please consider tracking the AC tag to make sure you won't miss a post. Activity checks in the future will always be on the 27th of a given month, lasting four (4) days. The next AC will held on August 27th with regular AC requirements; the AC Points max will be raised to 150 points due to our mid-month opening.

Now, on to the topics we wish to discuss:

Concerns About Game Pacing

For weeks, we have kept the opening a secret and sought ways to "plot" the Descent without revealing too much. Among that, we also had to consider the 1:1 real-life day to game-day ratio, the potential for CAPTCHA, and the ever-present excitement that comes with game opening. There were sacrifices, as you can see now, because it resulted in what seems to be too-fast pacing, the logs being too close together, and the lack of any significant plotting before the PC's series of unfortunate events.

We hope that, with the third log and general quiet settling-in period of late-July into August, our intentions are now clearer. It will be rare that multiple-part events like this will happen again unless we feel it is absolutely necessary for the plot, and even then we will be thinking twice about how far (or close) we space the logs.

We hadn't planned for the game to be as big as it is, and we continue to be floored by your excitement, which is why it was imperative for us to think of ways to open the game that best suits your overall pacing. We, the mod team, are not only your moderators of this game; we are also players among you, so pacing is as important to us as it is for you. In the future, it will be more obvious that certain acceleration of events is not to overwhelm the playerbase or account for the faster taggers only, but it will play a small part on the overall outcome of the pacing. That is to say, there will always be a "cool down" period for you to catch up on plots, events and threads. Additionally, if the event or plot is not a "surprise," there will always be a more official plotting period before the the event log goes up.

That said, please feel free voice any further concerns not covered above. We are open to all feedback, good or bad. We would especially like to hear how we could have handled this opening better for you so we can take that into consideration for future application cycles. Thank you in advance!

Future Application Cycles (Part Two)

The next application cycle will begin on September 1st, lasting for one week. For more details, consider looking at the game calendar. We will be hosting an EMP/ATP meme every other month, a few days before the Test Drive meme. Our first EMP/ATP will be on Wednesday, August 23rd. It should also be noted that Test Drive memes are not simply "memes" in this game; they will always tie in to the game's plot, and given that involved players agree and apped, may be game-canon. Participation will always grant you Natha REP.

Before we move on, we would like to thank everyone who provided much-needed feedback and advice on our previous address in regards to application cycles. After discussion, we have decided unanimously that future application cycles will be held every other month. After September's cycle, the next application round will be November 1st. Please plan accordingly. That brings us to our next point —

Activity Checks, AC Points, and Reputation

Despite application cycles being every other month, Activity Checks will still be held monthly on the 27th. As mentioned earlier, this month's will only be a check-in. We strongly suggest you to click on the "tracking" icon of this post (the bell) and make sure you track entries tagged as "activity check" like so:

If you fail to respond to Activity Checks, you will be removed from the game, no questions asked, no excuses. AC will always be held on the same day, so if you know you can't respond during the AC period, contact us. Activity requirements are still the same, as outlined on the Rules page.

With the Network operational, we would like to remind you to take a look at the ACP guidelines to give yourself a refresher on what will qualify for points. In particular: threads on the network will always amount to 1 point, even if it's transitioned to action.

Additionally, they will also have to be at least AC-length to qualify. That means that action threads should have at least five (5) comments from you, and network threads should have ten (10) comments from you minimum for it qualify for ACP. We will be checking the counts thoroughly, so keeping this in mind with save both you and the mod team the headache.

This is also true for REP threads. Please do NOT submit REP threads before it's AC-length. Players will be asked to resubmit if threads are underqualified.

Power Nerfs and "Hammerspace" Powers

This has been brought up very early in the game, and with starter houses now occupied, we would like to formally issue hammerspace-related nerfs so that every player is on the same page. We noticed that this ability affects more casts than we initially anticipated, so we would like to clarify:

Most hammerspace abilities are something that must be regained with 10 Natha REP. This is very specific to characters with the abilities to create more space out of "nothing" or conjure weapons/items out of thin air. Weapons and items can be conjured still for very limited time. Expanded space may only be as large as a small closet. Expansion of said spaces will be something that must be earned back. Characters that can make items larger or smaller may only be able to expand it to the size of a horse, or as small as a wallet, held for a limited time as well. If your character's one weapon is "summoned," then this rule does not apply to your character.

Please PM us if you have any questions; we realize there are special cases, but because we decided early on that hammerspace are to be significantly depowered and should be something regained, we want this to be fair for all parties involved. In general, if your powers somehow conflicts our REP/ACP system, it will have to be nerfed and/or regained.

That concludes our first official address. If you have any questions, please use the thread below, or use our modbox. We look forward to hearing from you.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

So just to make sure: for the first real AC check at the end of August, I assume threads for the opening cannot be used? If that's the case, could those threads still be used for ACP?

That's one thing we forgot to mention: you may use threads from the game opening for AC as well ACP. Threads from the TDM cannot be used for AC, but may be used for ACP.

Oh cool, thanks for clarification!

my question is about ACP rewards: I'm assuming that since REP is an IC meter of faction trust, the ACP items that correspond to a REP level can't be purchased for other characters, but what about general ACP rewards? like, can I buy someone else's character a totally normal, non-magic pet using my ACP if I want?

you know, eventually, lmao

Yep, general ACP doesn't require faction trust, so yes, you may!

hooray, thank you mods!!

Regarding the current AC check in, my original check in comment was screened but the rest of the comments on the post were not, as far as I can tell. I resubmitted the comment but I wanted to check whether there was something wrong with my original one.

Likewise. I know I did the check-in but it was suddenly screened..?

If it was screened, then it's been processed.

Hey mods -

I had a quick concern about the AC time. Was there a specific reason the AC period will be only 4 days long? I worry that, especially if we need to tally ACP at the time time as we submit AC, 4 days is a pretty short period. If it happens to fall during a weekday 4 day period I could see myself struggling to find the time to sit down and tally out ACP.

Would it be possible to either extend the time to a week or let us submit ACP separately so submitting AC will be pretty quick?

ACP and AC are done separately; gathering your two threads for AC should be fairly quick.

ACP will be done right on the REP/ACP page wherein you'll have your own permanent thread so it will be easy for you to track your total and spending. We haven't thought about timing yet, but we would be more lax with ACP as long as it's during the eligible period.

Cool, thanks! That's no problem, then.

In regards to the Activity Cut time length, I honestly feel that a week would be better for everyone rather than just a few short days. I've noticed that the pacing in this game is a little too fast and already, only after two weeks of the game being open, we have an AC Check-In.

I highly urge the moderators to take things a bit more slower lest you mean go alienate members of your game. Many of the players I've been threading with sometimes only can tag once very three days or so. While they're actively threading and finishing up logs, it almost feels as if they'll never be able to catch up. The only reason I can barely manage is because of the free time I have currently and even so, El Nysa is a little fast.

I do suggest that the AC be a week long just be a tad fairer. While it only requires players to show two proofs, a lot of players aren't online as much as others for various reasons.

Just popping in here to say that since AC is regularly scheduled at the end of the month, extending it to be a week long won't actually give anyone any more time to turn in their proofs! It actually just reduces the time for the mods to have to get the posts up and condenses things. If they extended it to a week, some people would just be able to turn theirs in early, which probably won't help.

Check in is pretty regular once a game opens, and doesn't require any proof, but your comments on the pacing worry are totally fair! But since the mods already addressed it up there that this is going to change moving forward, I don't think we have to worry about things being as speedy as they were this first intro log.

Basically, it's regularly scheduled at the very end of the month (from the 27th to the end, it looks like) and I don't think that will actually affect the pacing at all, let alone negatively! I don't see any problem with the AC not actually starting until later VS it starting sooner and giving a whole week.

Unfortunately, this is not something we can negotiate on due to how busy the end of the month is for the game, with EMP/ATP, Reserves, and Test Drives. On off-months, there will be major plots. We would rather get the AC done quickly so we can move on to other things.

You will have the whole month to collect the needed amount of comments to make AC. The four-day period should be plenty of time to submit said threads for Activity Check. If players are aware they would be away or busy during the period, then they can always PM a mod and submit early.

That said, the pacing of the game will indeed change in the future. This was just the best way we could have executed an opening event. With more than 170 characters on game opening, there was no possible way it wouldn't be overwhelming and fast. We don't expect future app cycles to be quite as busy, however.

Thank you for your feedback!

❪ mod address ❫ Second-Week Check-In

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