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STATE OF THE GAME, July 2018
Happy Anniversary, El Nysa! July 15th marked one year since our opening, and it's shocking how quickly time has passed. We would like to thank every player, old and new, that has stuck with and supported us through our one-year anniversary! We appreciate all the energy and excitement you bring to the game, as that excitement brings our game to life. Our players are important to us, and as such, we feel we owe all a state of the game address, as we realize they have grown more infrequent in the last few months.
When we started this game, we had doubts that it would ever make it past the test drive, but the player response and enthusiasm revved our motivation to keep it going through thick and thin. We admit that it hasn’t always been smooth sailing. Even now, we continue to struggle with pacing and plot that suits both the volume of players and characters, as well as our mod workload. It has been a consistent issue and even now we aren't entirely sure we've ever been able to get close to solving these problems without compromising mod availability. We realize how much it has inconvenienced you as a playerbase, and we apologize.
We do try our best to provide engaging plots and events. Admittedly, it doesn't always work out, but we genuinely try to improve with each event. We are always open to listen to concerns and hope that players will continue to come forward with ideas of their own, as well as present their own player-run event opportunities during downtime. In the future, we hope to better communicate that we love and encourage player-run events and would like to offer assistance in any way we can!
Moving forward, with the upcoming conclusion of the Dragon's Revival plot, El Nysa will become less plot-heavy and more open world, which has been our intention for a while. In the past, we tried to push a narrative that didn't take with characters in-game for very valid reasons, and we want to be able to step back from that and reevaluate how to better approach events. Mod event logs will still occur regularly, but players will have more freedom to move and do whatever they wish as opposed to following a rigid storyline.
Additionally, CR memes will no longer just be limited to app cycles, and will instead be a monthly occurrence.
Lastly, we would like to issue a formal apology in regards to the delays with quests and quest rewards. Unfortunately, the mods that were previously in charge of this aspect of the game have stepped down, so quests will remain closed indefinitely as we reevaluate how to better sustain them. However, we will still be issuing any outstanding rewards! In the future, we expect quests to be more focused on the ongoings of event logs, more related to rep, and less NPC dependent.
Overall, there's still a lot we need to work on, but we appreciate the feedback we've received and will continue to do our best. Lastly, we would like to open up this post to your feedback and discussion about the game as a whole. Without your input, we cannot move forward and improve, so please offer any suggestions you feel would benefit the game! It can be in the comments or anonymously through our mod contact page.
Thank you all again for supporting us. We could not have done it without you! Please enjoy the rest of your week, and Happy One-Year Anniversary!
When we started this game, we had doubts that it would ever make it past the test drive, but the player response and enthusiasm revved our motivation to keep it going through thick and thin. We admit that it hasn’t always been smooth sailing. Even now, we continue to struggle with pacing and plot that suits both the volume of players and characters, as well as our mod workload. It has been a consistent issue and even now we aren't entirely sure we've ever been able to get close to solving these problems without compromising mod availability. We realize how much it has inconvenienced you as a playerbase, and we apologize.
We do try our best to provide engaging plots and events. Admittedly, it doesn't always work out, but we genuinely try to improve with each event. We are always open to listen to concerns and hope that players will continue to come forward with ideas of their own, as well as present their own player-run event opportunities during downtime. In the future, we hope to better communicate that we love and encourage player-run events and would like to offer assistance in any way we can!
Moving forward, with the upcoming conclusion of the Dragon's Revival plot, El Nysa will become less plot-heavy and more open world, which has been our intention for a while. In the past, we tried to push a narrative that didn't take with characters in-game for very valid reasons, and we want to be able to step back from that and reevaluate how to better approach events. Mod event logs will still occur regularly, but players will have more freedom to move and do whatever they wish as opposed to following a rigid storyline.
Additionally, CR memes will no longer just be limited to app cycles, and will instead be a monthly occurrence.
Lastly, we would like to issue a formal apology in regards to the delays with quests and quest rewards. Unfortunately, the mods that were previously in charge of this aspect of the game have stepped down, so quests will remain closed indefinitely as we reevaluate how to better sustain them. However, we will still be issuing any outstanding rewards! In the future, we expect quests to be more focused on the ongoings of event logs, more related to rep, and less NPC dependent.
Overall, there's still a lot we need to work on, but we appreciate the feedback we've received and will continue to do our best. Lastly, we would like to open up this post to your feedback and discussion about the game as a whole. Without your input, we cannot move forward and improve, so please offer any suggestions you feel would benefit the game! It can be in the comments or anonymously through our mod contact page.
Thank you all again for supporting us. We could not have done it without you! Please enjoy the rest of your week, and Happy One-Year Anniversary!
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Everything I'm about to say is meant not as critisism but as encouragement. No apologies necessary! You guys have done so much for us, from answering super specific questions to trying everything you can to reach a balance that satisfies everyone. Ultimately, that's never entirely possible, and I won't make broad assumptions about the game's future. Maybe all of this stuff has occurred to you, maybe you've already got contingencies planned! I apologize if any of it is redundant. I trust you guys to make the game the best it can be, and I know every decision leading up to this point has been in the playerbase's best interest.
To start, I want to highlight one of the coolest things about the game. It's something that has only improved as time has gone on, and that is the faction conflict. This game was billed as one that included IC conflict between characters - and it's been a bit of a bumpy road. Olympia and Wyver are amazing settings, and the clash between them is an interesting narrative, one that sucked characters in whether they liked it or not. In the end, most are, of course, interested in peace and cooperation, which makes creating more conflict based around the two nations difficult. However, a different conflict has grown incredibly organically over time: the clash between characters sympathetic to the Natha and characters who distrust/dislike them. The addition of Nadril to the setting really highlighted this, and the dragon calamity has emphasized the Natha's lack of true omnipotence.
I'm not sure what direction you guys are going to take this, but I wanted to bring it up because it would be incredibly rewarding to continue to foster this tension among player characters. I believe you guys have created an excellent opportunity to deepen the investment of characters on both sides of the issue.
There are still so many mysteries surrounding the Storm, the Natha's abilities and influence, and the potential of Olympia and Wyver to participate in the overall plot - it could go many ways, and while I absolutely respect your inclination to draw back and allow players to influence these outcomes on their own, I think that doing so also requires a fairly regular plot. It doesn't have to include set outcomes - the system of reporting what characters responded in what way did wonders to feel as if we were influencing thing. Understandably, this system is difficult to maintain, but the game is smaller now, and the top levels like what we had during the virus event might make it manageable.
You mentioned the issue of pacing in the state of the game, and I think that's a valid concern. Mid-month events are difficult when it comes to maintaining momentum across AC periods, though I don't think having them at that time is a particularly major issue. However, perhaps people feeling as if there aren't enough CR memes, or as if there aren't enough exploration/SOL events speckled in with the plot, is an issue of simply not enough prompt-based content. The environments you've all created are rich and amazing when it comes to putting together creative and varied threads, but not everyone has the time or drive to parse all of the information and cobble something together. At the same time, not everyone is interested in a casual party, or a spectacle of nature. Balancing the light hearted with the severe when it comes to game events is important, and I have a suggestion regarding that.
Two events a month would be a lot, especially given the scope of what you guys have to work with. You already have a lot on your plates, so coming up with an entire additional write up would be... too much, I think. However, with your specification that you'd be looking for player plots, maybe you could incentivize it a little bit. Maybe submitting a written-up prompt for an event gives the character some REP points, or some bonus ACP? For example, an open version of this, or Aranea's Quests, or a version of this with prompts that are more setting based than character specific. Something a the posting character could feasibly put a top level on themselves. In that way, you guys could keep multiple options open for people every month without having to shoulder too much extra work - it would keep the plot moving, and allow down time for those who would prefer to take things easy.
Lastly, quests! I absolutely loved the quests, the level of customization and personalization within them is one of the highlights of the game. Admittedly, hearing that the quest board is on hold indefinitely, and that NPCs like Cree and Voss will be scaled back is a bit disappointing for me, personally. I don't know what your workload is, and I totally understand needing to give yourselves a bit more breathing room - the quests were intensive. However, I'd hate to see them go. I can only speak for myself, but the little blurbs you put in for the NPCs responding to completed quests were the perfect amount of involvement - threading things out isn't necessary. Handwaving interactions through a bit of back and forth in a PM or a top-level comment for that purpose on the quest post would work perfectly well for me.
This is a huge wall of text, but I would absolutely love any input from other players! Agree, disagree, bring other ideas - none of what I've said is by any means a total solution, and if it jogs ideas for anyone else, I think brainstorming would be a great way for the players to come together for a game we all love!
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I'm especially relieved at the promise of a monthly CR meme which, should go a long way with players coming up with ideas for their own logs/player plots in between mod events.
As for quests, I'm with Elise that I would hate to see them go, but I do understand needing to scale back the NPCs a little- as someone who modded an NPC intensive game that was MUCH smaller than this years ago, it can be an extremely daunting task. The only thing I can suggest to possibly help take the load off is something simpler, maybe? Like instead of several major Guild Quests, much less complicated quests that range from fetch quests from townsfolk to being bouncers for hire, etc, like a combination of Highwind Hires and the original Guild Quest.
I've been in a game once where each month, the mods put a series of different quests, most of which are minor (can literally be explained by a sentence or two and then a monetary or small gift reward), repeatable, and require no mod involvement. This would give a suitable jumping off point and if you guys have ideas for bigger, meatier events run by NPCs, they can be slid in there with sign-ups, but there doesn't have to be a lot of them... If that makes sense?
I feel like jumping off points and small, localized events each month would give people something to do between events and would take some pressure off of you guys, as well. Things like holidays for more SOL stuff or creature attacks in the forest for more action or fetch quests for a mixture of both. I'm not sure if I'm making a whole lot of sense here, but what I'd love and what I think would help you guys out are just tiny little bite-sized offerings at the start of the month, such as a list of small quests, holidays, complications, political disputes, etc. that require very little detail and can be used as a jumping off points for plotting for those who feel a little lost between events. You guys have such a rich, vibrant world and I know how difficult it has to be to keep a lot of plates spinning with it, but, speaking for myself, I would be just as happy with smaller scale events/quests.
+1
As for quests, I'd love to have the chance to do them, but considering the amount of modwork quest systems tend to require, the need to scale back is definitely understandable. Allowing players to suggest quests/characters to ICly request things that can turn into quests is one possibility, but doesn't really help the ultimate problem of sustainability, which again I can't speak on with confidence due to the short time I've been here.
Still, it's an amazing game world with a lot of potential as a more open-world styled game, so I'm glad it seems like player feedback is being taken on board and implemented! I'm looking forward to seeing what comes of all this.
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one of the things i love most about the game is the conflict, and i agree that while the olympia vs wyver narrative has encountered its bumps along the way, i really enjoy the current state of the natha/refugees/natives and feel like this came about in a really cool, organic way that offered players a little more meat to sink their teeth into with regards to ic motivation and choice. you guys have really gone the extra mile to be as immersive and flexible as possible with the opportunities that pop up during plots and events, but i understand how much more of a workload that must be to maintain.
if the game is moving towards a more open world setting, i really like the suggestion above me to streamline the world building, events, and opportunities into a more overarching outline every month? for example, i really liked the format of the top portion of this post as a kind of barometer for the state of the cities. it kept things simple while also giving a lot of vantage points to use in personal plotting. instead of specific quest posts like we've had in the past, if things like simplified quests with fixed rewards or benefits, weather/natural disasters, holidays, roving bands of assassins, wildlife migrations, solar eclipses, etc. were all gathered in one outline to reference or use as a plotting post, it'd give a lot of direction and freedom for players to branch out and do their own thing without too much mod intervention. (inclusion of player suggestions here could also help balance out some of the workload.) incentivized player plots, mingles, or quests would be neat to see - whether by offering extra rep or acp or something to that effect.
since i don't know what form the plot will take from here on out or how event posts will go, i understand if an additional write up of this nature would still be a lot to manage at the beginning of every month. players have asked for plotting posts in the past, so maybe an outline like the above could also serve as a place to oocly get together and hash things out? i don't want to suggest not doing the CR meme monthly, but i do think something like this would be more specifically helpful to getting out there and engaging with the playerbase and game at large than a stock CR meme comment.
in the past i know i've had to kind of roam all over the comms to find the relevant world info i've needed, so all of this definitely comes from a place of personal observation on what could be helpful for old and new players alike! the pace has admittedly been a little hard to navigate with the mid/end-month events cutting awkwardly across the ac period, but dynamic, overarching world opportunities would help pick up some of the slack, i think.
to end this text wall, thank you for all your hard work over this last year! nysa has been a great home game to me since it opened and i'm grateful you guys have poured so much time and energy into it. it's a beautiful, creative game with tons to offer, and i appreciate getting to take part in it!
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Like I said, not a mod answer but an idea I’ve been kicking around in a few places this past month and if other people are interested in something along those lines as well I would be happy to get started on what I can!
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also agreeing with the idea that events happening in the middle of the month make it hard to keep up momentum. a lot of threads seem to just get dropped closer to the end of the month if people already have enough for activity, which is disappointing, and it's also not always easy to get enough tags in by the end of the month when you've only got two weeks to do it. schedules don't line up, or work punches you in the face, and before you know it, you have plenty of threads but none of them have enough tags to count, and then they all just get abandoned when the month rolls over half the time anyway. i think having events earlier in the month so people can use the same threads all month for AC would definitely make things way less stressful.
that being said, i'm super enjoying the game as a whole, and i appreciate that you guys do listen and take player concerns into account. you guys do good work, and it's refreshing to see that you actively want to keep improving and keep the game running smoothly.