State of the Game: Player Suggestions Response

[godsoffortune]

State of the Game: Player Suggestions Response



Preface: A blanket request from the mods to all players
As Suggestions, Plot Questions and other significant input need to be read and discussed by all mods before a response can be given, we ask that longer comments be organized with bullet points or split into single-idea comments to keep these thoughts easier to address. This will make it significantly easier for the team to read, consider and discuss each point and better serve the players by spending more time discussing useful suggestions and feedback and putting them into action where appropriate. Longer comments without a clear outline are much more difficult to parse and risk important points being overlooked, as well as dramatically increase the amount of time it takes for the team to read and discuss said suggestions and concerns and address them appropriately.

We appreciate those players who are taking care to use kind words to express their concerns to the mod team. At present, the mod team is doing its very best to dramatically revamp the game and share many of the concerns that have been raised by players. With the addition of new mods who are still getting their bearings - as well as learning and creating new rules to help the game run more smoothly for everyone - we appreciate your patience as we take steps to make the game more fun, accessible and hospitable to everyone involved.

Response to: Player Suggestions from the State of the Game post.

Prayers and Missions

1. Make Prayers & Missions separate pages and link them on the Navigation Page / Sidebar - meant to simplify the ease of searching for particular prayer chains or missions.
   
2. Both pages will not have tabs.
   
3. Brief "Info" section explaining how Prayer threads are initiated: They come from the Near Shore and a God's followers (which are NPCs the mods don't run). These are prompts for those who don't wish to write up prayers of their own; they will be left vague and open-ended on purpose for players to adjust them to their circumstances or group accordingly.
   
4. Clean out Prayers and Missions - streamline and remove entries that are no longer available or relevant
   
5. Reorganize the remaining prayers and missions into an organized flow.
   
6. Shift to a Claim system for Prayers - we will explain more about this on the Prayer page when we change over to it, but a few big ideas are as follows:
   • The Claim System will mean that non-custom Prayers are automatically approved, so players can begin threading immediately. See the next bullet for Custom Prayers explanation.
     
   • Mods will only need to reply when a completed Prayer link is provided to give rewards (or if there are concerns such as requirements not being fulfilled).
7. Include an option for Custom Prayers, the only kind which will still require Mod Approval before starting the thread/log. This could include:
   
   • a player submitting something entirely of their own creation
     
   • tweaking an existing prayer prompt slightly to better fit a situation/setting.
8. All prayers will have minimum follower counts removed to allow for a broader involvement from all our players.
   
9. New prayer page gets a top level comment for new prayer suggestions (on a permanent basis) and also a top level for general "Questions?"
   
10. Remove Prayer Suggestions page
    
11. Indicate on the new Prayer Page which prayers require the Rend spell in order to be completed (indicating the need for a god-shinki pair). Potentially through color-coding or a symbol or simply a requirement of "Use the Rend spell to destroy the ayakashi". This will help differentiate which prayers will require a bonded team and which can be completed by any combination of CR.
    
    • We have added a clarification to the Gods' Abilities section to explain the word "Rend" needing to appear in a comment's text for the spell to be activated.
      
    • We are already planning on combining God 101 and Shinki 101, also addressed in the Setting section below.
12. Missions Page will have two sections after "Info": Slice of Life Missions (ex: shinki spell training, god's holy day) and Plot Missions (NPCs, event follow-ups, etc.)
    
13. Brief "Info" section explaining how SOL Mission threads are initiated: No special IC trigger at the beginning or the end
    
14. SOL Missions are also on the Claim System:
    • The Claim System will mean that SOL Missions are automatically approved, so players can begin threading immediately.
      
    • Mods will only need to reply when a completed Mission link is provided to give rewards (or if there are concerns such as requirements not being fulfilled).
      
    • SOL Missions will continue to require minimum follower/exp counts due to the nature of these Missions and the rewards given out by them.
15. Brief "Info" section explaining how Plot Mission threads are initiated: Missions are prompted by an NPC reaching out, or the character(s) reaching out to an NPC / the plot mod(s).
    
16. Plot Missions require mod acknowledgment before starting the thread/log (often because these are of a custom nature).
    
17. Plot Missions and their minimum follower/exp requirements will get further review after we've finished retooling prayers/missions and proceeded to the next plot arc
    
18. For the remainder of the cultist arc, we will continue to use the existing follower/exp minimum requirements for plot-related missions. However:
    
    • Remember that only one character needs to qualify for minimum follower/exp counts in order for all participants to go on the mission.
      
    • Please see M27 (A mission for reputation), M30 (A mission of suspicion), M32 (A mission of curiosity), M35 (A mission for cartography), or M36 (A mission of whispers) for examples of plot-followup Missions where the follower/exp count minimums are not very high.

General Plot Concerns

1. After cultist plot is wrapped, update the Premise page
   
2. Monthly announcements will resume later this month, to include the Event Announcement for the following month and any prayer/mission additions
   
3. More accessible metaplot information distribution and involvement is being looked at and discussed by the mod team as we move into a new plot arc and ways to make sure metaplot remains open to anyone who wants to participate in it.
   
4. One such method will be a new Game Timeline, specifically focusing on cultist plot aspects and interactions with the major NPCs. When a new arc begins, a second matching page will be created. Each month, the Monthly Announcement will highlight any additions to the Game Timeline. The timeline will link to threads that are also tagged:
   
   • !cultist arc
     
   • !cultist arc: char discussions
     
   • !cultist arc: events
     
   • !cultist arc: npcs

Setting

1. Combine Shinki 101 and God 101 into Noragami 101
   
2. All FAQ information will be assessed. If it applies to The Far Shore as a DWRP game, it will remain on FAQ. If it applies to the Noragami Setting of the game, it will be moved to Noragami 101. This will give us a chance to assess and address the amount of information to make it more accessible and less overwhelming for all our players.
   
3. Combine God Info and Shinki Info to one page with links to both Spreadsheet breakdowns + the God/Shinki pairing list, explaining that all 3 spreadsheets are just slices of similar information depending on what you're looking for
   
4. Only require 1 comment for updates to god/shinki pairings on this new page
   
5. Move FAQ to new page, with link to old one
   
6. When answering FAQ questions going forward, if they are 1:1 answers from anywhere in the Game Info, we will screen the comment thread afterwards (to reduce comment clutter), leaving the only visible comment threads as those which are too specific to be included in the FAQ

God/Shinki Pairing

1. Add to the FAQ's Application section: "Why you may want to play a Shinki" and "Why you may want to play a God" with a few bullet points for each
   
2. On the Application page itself, in the App's explanation where we go over each section, the God/Shinki selection and Why? will get a link back to that new portion of the FAQ.
   
3. List God Characters who need Shinki the most, to supplement the IDEA in the next comment below.

Note: Anything to address benefits for Noras weighed against the Heavens' disdain for Nora in the first place will be tabled until the World Mod has a chance to get on her feet and will be revisited at a later point.

We will begin to assign all of these items to mods as needed to get these changes implemented. We will give a progress update at the Monthly Announcement, since some items could be resolved/changed faster than others.


Once again, thank you for helping us make the game more enjoyable for the players,
- The Far Shore Mods

Comments

[myblueskies]

For me personally the idea of a random assigned partner was one of the big draws of the game. I get that it can be a problem if your god is really inactive (it happened to Suzaku twice) but I still don't think removing it altogether solves anything.

Mostly because ICly making a pairing is going to take time to write (especially when the game is slower paced, as this one is designed to be). So unless you hash it out OOC (which automatically puts players who don't know lots of people or are less assertive at a disadvantage) you are going to be in that awful 'something is happening/could be happening with my character but I don't know the specifics and I don't know if they end up with this person, where they are living etc' which is likely to effect your ability to tag out and make other connections with characters. At least if you end up with a less active god you've can still assume your character is at that temple and can get on with things.

As well as less assertive players there are less assertive characters to take into consideration. There are gods who may not want a shinki for whatever reason (but whose players very much would like them to have that interaction and responsibility and for it to lead to character growth) or are just not the type of people to offer off the bat. There are also shinki who wouldn't seek out a god for whatever reason (again, who's players would like them to have that interaction)

I just think that it's likely to lead to a situation where characters (and players) wander about lost for the time (not all of them, sure) and end up getting randomly assigned anyways.

I'm not sure on an alternative though. I don't think the idea of encouraging more IC choice is fundamentally wrong, I just think it would slow down characters introduction to the game (as while you are still unsure on who they are with etc you are less likely to tag out in other things) Unless there was an option for you to be OOC randomised (so you opt in on your app) even if not ICly per se as that would at least be a starting point for someone new who knows no one to spring board off.

It's very early so apologies if I make no sense.