State of the Donut Addresses

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State of the Donut Addresses

Post by gorboth » 23 Jun 2018 00:13

This is a repository of my Keeper posts that have summary value for the years in which they were posted. Mostly these are the "State of the Donut" addresses that were given once per year. Also included, however, are a few mid-summer or other important updates.

Comprehensive history, of course, requires sifting of the Common Board thread. This exists for easier-access historical consultation.

The posts are in chronological order, beginning with the oldest.

G.

p.s. Keeping this locked - not meant for comments, etc, but rather only updates each year.
Mmmmmm ... pie ...

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Original Keeper Goal

Post by gorboth » 23 Jun 2018 00:28

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Renovation                          55 Gorboth     Keeper     Oct 25 2007
Fellow Genesis Enthusiasts!

So, now that I've got everyone good and liquored up ... time to get down to
business ...

The reason I have volunteered to serve as Keeper is that I have a firm
belief that this game has not yet met its potential. What potential am
I talking about? I think it all comes down to having a healthy playerbase.
So, I'll come right out with my main vision:

    -**- To double the playerbase in one year's time. -**-

To begin with, we need to recognize what we are working with. What started
as a fun project for a computer club in Sweden has, over 15 years of
continued development, blossomed into a vast arena for our recreational
enjoyment.

The game hasn't been very focused in its development, though. Widely varying
talents and philosophies of game design have lead to a structure that is,
at best, loosely knit together with parts that function individually,
rather than as a whole. Such a design is palpable for those of us
who are old warhorses around here. We're used to it, and can tough out
the rough edges of the game. But ... newcomers? No!

So, as many of you have pointed out over the years, there is a lot of
restructuring and renovation that needs tackling, design-wise, to improve
the game for the types of people we hope to attract.

A phrase made popular by a movie a few dacades ago states:

    "If you build it, they will come."

I do not believe that this applies to Genesis. We have built it, they
aren't coming anymore. We need to change our angle. I think, instead,
this is a more useful view:

    "If you build it properly, those who come will stay."

Yes! So, the wizards have some work to do. We need to restructure things
so that those people who find their way to the game will find it instantly
appealing, engrossing, addictive, and satisfying. But this is only half
of the battle. We still need to find ways to get them to come, and that
has almost nothing to do with coding the game. Instead, it has to do with
promotion. But more on that later.

So, to begin this process, your input is needed! Please mail me your
thoughts on what should be done to improve the game. Global thinking is
called for, here, so think outside the concerns of your day-to-day
existance as a member of this or that guild. What BIG ideas does this
game need to enact to bring it into this new era of online gaming as
a vital, growing gaming community?

Dream Big! Mail me! :-)
G.
Mmmmmm ... pie ...

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2008 Progress Report

Post by gorboth » 23 Jun 2018 00:29

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Progress Report ...                  85 Gorboth     Keeper     25 Apr 2008

Members of the Genesis Community,

Exactly six months have passed since I posted the following goal on the
Common Board:

    -**- To double the playerbase in one year's time. -**-

Typing those words today feels no less portentious than it did back in
October of 2007. Given that we are at the halfway-mark in terms of our time
frame for this goal, a bit of a progress report is in order.

To allow us to work with meaningful and accurate data, I spent the weeks
before becoming a Keeper creating a tool that I call the "Genesis Census."
This tool takes a snapshot of the active playerbase once per hour, and
has been doing so since October of 2007. The "active playerbase" is defined
as those people logged on who are not a wizard and not linkdead. Therefore,
if these numbers look pretty small, remember that a lot of people who are
logged on are either wizards or linkdead a lot of the time! Also, remember
that there are natural peaks and valleys to the daily player activity which
get leveled out in the average. For example, the active playerbase for
peak hours is often above 30.

As the data below indicate, the average number of active players logged
on at any given time during the week 6 months ago was 13.7. So, if we are
to be considered on track to make our goal, we would hope to have increased
the average by 6.85. Lets see how we've done ...

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mid October 2007
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
DATE      X = 1 active player           # of players
====================================================
20071014  XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX               (15)
20071015  XXXXXXXXXXXX                  (12)
20071016  XXXXXXXXXXXXXX                (14)
20071017  XXXXXXXXXXXXXX                (14)
20071018  XXXXXXXXXXXXX                 (13)
20071019  XXXXXXXXXXXXX                 (13)
20071020  XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX               (15)

13.7 weekly average per day
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mid April 2008
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
20080419  XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX           (19)
20080420  XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX         (21)
20080421  XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX          (20)
20080422  XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX           (19)
20080423  XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX           (19)
20080424  XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX           (19)
20080425  XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX           (19)

19.4 weekly average per day
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The increase since October has been an average of 5.7 people actively logged
in at any given time. If we assume that we continue on this course, then
by October of 2008 we will have an average of 25.1 players logged on at
any given time. To double our playerbase would mean that we reach 27.4
players logged on at any given time, which would mean that we had achieved
a 91% increase rather than a 100% increase.

So ... right now, I give us an A-. (91%, after all!)

However ... the visible changes that players can actually feel have only
recently begun to happen. Most of the last 6 months have been spent laying the
ground work and putting forces in place to achieve the changes that we need.
In this last month, the first of these changes have become reality, and
the response has been very positive. The above data for April 2008 represent
a week in which there is no event taking place, and there is no (known)
holiday or other oddity corrupting the picture.

My prediction is that as new features and improvements continue to be added,
including many important aspects of combat, balance, and guild improvement,
that we can expect the increase in player activity to exceed its current
rate of growth. Keep in mind, also, that we have not yet begun any sort of
focused, organized promotional capaign (at which point, I feel the REAL
numbers will start appearing.)

I, therefore, am happy to report to you that I feel we are very much on track
to making our goal a reality. The positive energy is flowing, and the Genesis
Community is buzzing with its influence. Way to go! Keep it up!

G.
Mmmmmm ... pie ...

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Report - Year 1

Post by gorboth » 23 Jun 2018 00:38

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Progress Report - One Year           170 Gorboth     Keeper      4 Nov 2008
Hear Ye! Hear Ye!

One year has passed since the goal of doubling the playerbase in one year's
time was made. Some people said we couldn't do it ... others thought we
could. Turns out both sides were right! We did it, but we didn't keep it.
So ... here are the stats. I will offer commentary, analysis, history, and
speculation below.

--------+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
Active  |                                                                    |
Players |        Genesis Player Statistics for Year 2007-2008                |
per Hour|                                                                    |
.-------+----+----+-----+----+----+-----+----+----+-----+----+-----+----+----+
|23.50  |    |    |     |    |    |     |    |    |     |    |     |    |    |
|23.00  |    |    |     |    |    |     |    |    |     |    |X    |    |    |
|22.50  |    |    |     |    |    |     |    |    |     |X   |X    |    |    |
|22.00  |    |    |     |    |    |     |    |    |   X |XX  |X    |    |    |
|21.50  |    |    |     |    |    |     |    |    |   XX|XX  |X    |    |    |
|21.00  |    |    |     |    |    |     |    |    |   XX|XX  |XXX  |    |    |
|20.50  |    |    |     |    |    |     |    |    |   XX|XX X|XXX  |    |    |
|20.00  |    |    |     |    |    |     |    |    |   XX|XX X|XXXX |    |    |
|19.50  |    |    |     |    |    |     |    |    |   XX|XX X|XXXX |    |    |
|19.00  |    |    |     |    |    |     |  X |    |   XX|XXXX|XXXX |    |    |
|18.50  |    |    |     |    |    |     |  X |    |   XX|XXXX|XXXX |    |    |
|18.00  |    |    |    X|    |    |     |  X |    |  XXX|XXXX|XXXXX|    |    |
|17.50  |    |    |    X|    |    |     |  X |    |  XXX|XXXX|XXXXX|    |    |
|17.00  |    |    |    X|X   | X  |     |  X |    |  XXX|XXXX|XXXXX|    |    |
|16.50  |   X|    |    X|X   | X  |     |XXX |    |  XXX|XXXX|XXXXX|    |    |
|16.00  |   X|XX  | XX X|X  X| XX |     |XXX |    |  XXX|XXXX|XXXXX|    |    |
|15.50  |   X|XXX | XX X|X  X| XX |    X|XXX |   X|  XXX|XXXX|XXXXX|    |    |
|15.00  |   X|XXX |XXXXX|X  X|XXX |    X|XXXX|   X|  XXX|XXXX|XXXXX|    |    |
|14.50  |   X|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXX |    X|XXXX|   X|  XXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XX  |    |
|14.00  |   X|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXX|X  XX|XXXX|XX X|  XXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XX  |    |
|13.50  | XXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXX|X  XX|XXXX|XXXX|X XXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXX | X  |
|13.00  | XXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXX|XX XX|XXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXX |
|12.50  | XXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXX |
|12.00  | XXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXX |
|11.50  | XXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXX |
|11.00  | XXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXX|
-- More -- 40 -- (<cr> t b r n a <num> q x !<cmd> h ?) -- 
+-------+----+----+-----+----+----+-----+----+----+-----+----+-----+----+----+
|Month  |Oct.|Nov.|Dec. |Jan.|Feb.|Mar. |Apr.|May.|Jun. |Jul.|Aug. |Sep.|Oct.|
+-------+----+----+-----+----+----+-----+----+----+-----+----+-----+----+----+

METHOD:

Each hour, the Genesis Census Module takes a snapshot of the playerbase, and
records the number of non-linkdead non-wizards who are present in the game.
The above statistics represent the average number of players online at any
given time for an entire week. A week is assumed to be Sunday thru Saturday.
For this reason, some months appear longer than others due to the fact that
there were more Sundays in certain months than others. A week that began
in one month and ended in another is figured into the stats of the month in
which it began. So, for example, you can see that the first week of March
2008 averaged 14.00 players online at any given time, while the average
for the third week of April 2008 was 19.00.

CONSIDERATIONS:

Because this is the first year that we have had the Genesis Census Module
active, we do not have a good idea of what an average year looks like. There
has been a sense of steady decline since the millenium, but there is no raw
data to analyze to know if there has been a plateau effect, or if indeed
the playerbase has been less year by year. Additionally, we do not know
if certain seasons of the average year naturally tend to increase the
playerbase due to vacations, weather, etc. Now that we have this year on the
books, we have a baseline with which to compare future years for more
helpful analysis.

The first week on record was the second week of October, which in 2007
averaged 13.50 players on average (POA.) The POA for the same week in 2008
was also 13.50. So ... we are quite similar to where we started when the
goal was announced. Does this mean that we utterly failed to meet the goal?
Failed, we did. The POA for the year peaked in the first week of August
2008 at 23.00. This is quite nearly double from the start of the year. Had
we maintained that POA, the goal would have been effectively met. But, we
did not. The fact that the goal was nearly reached, and then failed to be
sustained is extremely good material for analysis, conjecture, and
speculation. I will offer some of this below.

GORBOTH'S GUESSES ...

I think we did fairly well. Some strategies worked. Some strategies proved
disastrous. Things that I noticed which seemed to help the POA:

    1. Friendlier player/wizard relations. This, above almost anything
       else in the game, seems to make just about everything better.

    2. Events. There are certain players who show up for events, and then
       do not log in until the next one begins.

    3. Vacations. This is a double-edged sword. Some vacations hurt the
       POA, but some (Christmas especially) coincided with a significant
       boost. Summer also coincided with a boost, but this, I believe, was
       largely due to ...

    4. Opening of new guilds/content that players have deep feelings for.
       The single greatest effect occurred when the long-awaited Angmar's
       Army returned to Genesis. It was here that the playerbase took a
       very sudden jump from 14.00 POA at the beginning of June to 22.00
       POA by month's end. A similar but less pronounced effect was felt
       at the renovation of the Calian and Vampire guilds, both of whom
       enjoyed immediate boosts in member activity.

Things I noticed which seemed to hurt the POA:

    1. Hostile player/wizard relations. Toward the end of the Summer, some
       very negative things happened that strained the faith many players
       put in the wizard community, all the way up to myself as Keeper.
       This, more than any other single thing, I feel is why the boom
       that occurred mid-summer dwindled back to baseline. Simple fact -
       when players become disgusted with wizards and their ways, they
       quit playing.

    2. Competing interests. WoW has always remained an enticing option for
       those players who get bored here or have become disenfranchised.
       But as new offerings have sprung up, more have been siphoned off
       of the donut. Toward the end of Summer, just as things were going
       from bad to worse with wizard-player relations on the Eden Forum,
       Warhammer Online arrived. Just recently, Fallout 3 came to store
       shelves, perhaps accounting for the drop to 11.00 POA for the last
       week in October (the lowest on record.)

    3. Access problems. Somewhat recently, the officials at Chalmers
       University in Sweden made some choices that caused problems for
       the donut on numerous technical levels. These people are not
       Genesis players themselves, and my fellow Keepers Mrpr and Tintin
       are endeavoring to remedy the situation. However, the upshot has
       been that the "Play Now" flash-based browser client that Saya
       created for the game has not functioned for many weeks. This has
       caused our number of "true" new players to dwindle to nearly
       nothing in the last months. Similarly disastrous has been the
       fact that this has cost some of our regulars their ability to
       log in from their places of work. (the bosses are glad, though!)

So ... we started with great energy. We rose to impressive and satisfying
heights of playerbase growth. And, then, sadly, the three above factors
all happening simultaneously crushed our accomplishments and sent us back
to where we started. Or ... so it seems to me.

THOUGHTS FOR THE FUTURE

Though the year has been a rollercoaster, we've learned a lot along the way.
With regard to the three things that kept us from sustaining our gains, we
can remember and try to avoid the extremely preventable player-wizard
relations snafus. These things are both the most harmful and the most
preventable. The technical issues with Chalmers can and will be remedied.
And, as for cometing iterests ... well, (graphical) beauty fades, but text
is forever. WoW, Warhammer, Fallout3 ... all will seem a bit tiresome and
last-year's-game with a bit of time. Genesis is like home, and our wayward
community members know it. We will be waiting for them, ready to welcome
them ... put a robe around their shoulders and a ring on their finger ...
the fatted calf will be slaughtered and the feast will commence upon their
return.

But we can do better than to simply process and avoid the mistakes of the
past. Indeed, we can remember the things that have worked. The year to
come promises many exciting things. Balance and revision of all guilds
(finally!) The Hub project completed (we hope!) and ... we must remember,
we have not yet even BEGUN to advertise in earnest.

I feel that the future is very bright indeed, my fellow donut dwellers!
And so, it is with firm resolve that I set the following goal for October
2009:

  ** To double the playerbase, and sustain its growth in one year's time!

Not only can we do it ... we will! :-)

Your humble Keeper - one year in,
G.
Mmmmmm ... pie ...

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SOTD - 2009

Post by gorboth » 23 Jun 2018 00:41

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State of the Donut                216 Gorboth     Keeper     26 Oct 2009

Fellow Genesis Enthusiasts, 

It has become customary about this time of the year for me to offer an
analysis of progress in the game - a State of the Donut Address, as it
were. We'll begin by looking at graphs and tables that track the
playerbase, followed by an analysis of these data. Then, I'll wrap up
discussing goals and offer some perspective from my vantage point.

METHODS AND DATA:

Two years ago, the Genesis Census was created to keep a running tally of
the number of active players in the game. The census takes a snapshot of
the APH (average per hour) once per hour. The APH is comprised of only
non-wizard non-linkdead players. At first, we didn't have much data to
stare at, so all we could do was compare individual days, weeks, and
months against one another. Now, finally, we have two years worth of
data, and we can begin to make much larger and more meaningful comparisons.

I would like to start looking at comparisons of similar times in a
calendar year. For this reason, we will only examine the first ten months
of the year, since we have not yet reached the end of 2009. As you stare
at the following graphs, here are a few considerations.

    - One horizontal line on a the graph indicates a Sunday-Saturday week,
      averaged to determine the APH for all hours counted in that week.
    - Months that have 5 Sundays in them appear larger on the graph, as
      a week is tallied within the month in which its Sunday occured.
    - The graph is set at a resolution of 0.5 players per line, and the
      range extends from 12.5 APH to 22.5 APH. 
    - Examples: 1st week of March had APH of 14.0 in 2008.
                3rd week of April had APH of 19.0 in 2008.


                             2008 GRAPH
    +---------+----+----+-----+----+----+-----+----+-----+----+
    |    22.5 |    |    |     |    |    |     |X   |X    |    |
    |    22.0 |    |    |     |    |    |   X |XX  |X    |    |
    |    21.5 |    |    |     |    |    |   XX|XX  |X    |    |
    |    21.0 |    |    |     |    |    |   XX|XX X|XXX  |    |
    |    20.5 |    |    |     |    |    |   XX|XX X|XXX  |    |
    |    20.0 |    |    |     |    |    |   XX|XX X|XXXX |    |
    |    19.5 |    |    |     |    |    |   XX|XX X|XXXX |    |
    |    19.0 |    |    |     |  X |    |   XX|XXXX|XXXX |    |
    | A  18.5 |    |    |     |  X |    |   XX|XXXX|XXXX |    |
    | V  18.0 |    |    |     |  X |    |  XXX|XXXX|XXXXX|    |
    | G  17.5 |    |    |     |  X |    |  XXX|XXXX|XXXXX|    |
    |    17.0 |X   | X  |     |  X |    |  XXX|XXXX|XXXXX|    |
    | P  16.5 |X   | X  |     |XXX |    |  XXX|XXXX|XXXXX|    |
    | E  16.0 |X  X| XX |     |XXX |    |  XXX|XXXX|XXXXX|    |
    | R  15.5 |X  X| XX |    X|XXX |   X|  XXX|XXXX|XXXXX|    |
    |    15.0 |X  X|XXX |    X|XXXX|   X|  XXX|XXXX|XXXXX|    |
    | H  14.5 |XXXX|XXX |    X|XXXX|   X|  XXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XX  |
    | O  14.0 |XXXX|XXXX|X  XX|XXXX|XX X|  XXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XX  |
    | U  13.5 |XXXX|XXXX|X  XX|XXXX|XXXX|X XXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXX |
    | R  13.0 |XXXX|XXXX|XX XX|XXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|
    |    12.5 |XXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|
    +---------+----+----+-----+----+----+-----+----+-----+----+
    |  Month  |Jan |Feb |Mar  |Apr |May |Jun  |Jul |Aug  |Sep |
    +---------+----+----+-----+----+----+-----+----+-----+----+



                             2009 GRAPH
    +---------+----+----+-----+----+-----+----+----+-----+----+
    |    22.5 |    |    |     |    |     |    |    |     |    |
    |    22.0 |    |    |     |    |     |    |    |     |    |
    |    21.5 |    |    |     |    |     |    |    |     |    |
    |    21.0 |    |    |     |    |     |    |    |     |    |
    |    20.5 |    |    |     |    |     |    |    |     |    |
    |    20.0 |    |    |     |    |     |    |    |     |    |
    |    19.5 |    |   X|     |    |     |    |    |     |    |
    |    19.0 |    |   X|     |    |     |    |    |    X|    |
    | A  18.5 |    |  XX|     |    |  X  |    |    |    X|    |
    | V  18.0 |    |  XX|   X |    | XX  |    |X   |   XX|    |
    | G  17.5 |    | XXX|   X | X  | XX X|    |X   |   XX|    |
    |    17.0 |   X| XXX|X XX | X  | XXXX|X   |XX  |  XXX|  X |
    | P  16.5 |   X| XXX|X XX |XX  |XXXXX|XXXX|XXX |  XXX|  X |
    | E  16.0 | X X| XXX|X XXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXX |  XXX|X XX|
    | R  15.5 |XX X| XXX|X XXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXX|  XXX|X XX|
    |    15.0 |XXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXX|X XXX|X XX|
    | H  14.5 |XXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|X XX|
    | O  14.0 |XXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|X XX|
    | U  13.5 |XXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|
    | R  13.0 |XXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|
    |    12.5 |XXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|
    +---------+----+----+-----+----+-----+----+----+-----+----+
    |  Month  |Jan |Feb |Mar  |Apr |May  |Jun |Jul |Aug  |Sep |
    +---------+----+----+-----+----+-----+----+----+-----+----+


                        COMPARISON GRAPH:
                          ::::: = 2008
                          ooooo = 2009
                          @@@@@ = intersection
    -----------------------------------------------------------
         22.5                                 :    :             
         22.0                              :  ::   :             
         21.5                              ::  : : :             
         21.0                              :   : :  ::           
         20.5                              :   : :   :           
         20.0                              :   : :    :          
         19.5         o                    :   : :    :          
         19.0         o         :          :    :     :o         
      A  18.5        oo         :    o     :          :o         
      V  18.0        oo    o    :   oo    :   o       o:        
      G  17.5       o o    o   o:   oo o  :   o       oo        
         17.0    o  :   o oo   o:   ooo  o:   oo     o o   o    
      P  16.5    o  o   o oo  @::  o      ooo   o    o o   o   
      E  16.0  o :  o:  o o o : oo        :     o    o : o oo    
      R  15.5  o o  o:  o o :   :     :   :      o   o :         
         15.0   o  @ :   o  :    :    :   :        o o :         
      H  14.5  ::    :      :    :    :   :         o    ::      
      O  14.0         : :  :       :: :   :               :      
      U  13.5           :  :         : :  :                :    
      R  13.0            : :             :                  :   
         12.5             :                                      
    +---------+----+----+-----+----+-----+----+----+-----+----+
    |  Month  |Jan |Feb |Mar  |Apr |May  |Jun |Jul |Aug  |Sep |
    +---------+----+----+-----+----+-----+----+----+-----+----+


                RATE OF CHANGE FROM 2008 to 2009
                ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
                January:   no   change
                February:  up   11%
                March:     up   17%
                April:     down 3%
                May:       up   17%
                June:      down 2%
                July:      down 24%
                August:    down 28%
                September: up   8%
        
        Overall: no meaningful change (both years APH roughly 16.50)

ANALYSIS:

In broad strokes, the graph from 2008 a bit of a roller-coaster ride. From
January through mid-June, the graph spikes up and down wobbling around
the 15.00 APH mark. In mid-June, a monstrous spike that lasts until the
end of August, reaching the impressive highs of 22.50 on the graph. In
September, the spike effect dissolves entirely, ending with numbers that
are quite low.

By contrast, the graph from 2009 shows a much more even keel, with smaller
spikes dipping above and below the 16.50 mark. No dramatic spike upward
is seen in 2009. In fact, the biggest noticable dip in the graph occurs
in early August, picking back up to end the month of September right
around the mean point for the total Average. 

In that the large spike in Summer 2008 was in direct correlation to the
opening and subsequent nerfing of the Angmar Guild, we can perhaps safely
assume that this spike represents the effects of design intervention rather
than the norm. Thus, it may be more useful to examine the months before
Summer so that we are comparing apples to apples:

    Jan 01 2008 - May 30 2008:  15.38 APH
    Jan 01 2009 - May 30 2009:  16.86 APH

               Rate of Change: +8.7%

This may give us a truer sense of the numbers for the year, but we cannot
know without more years to establish a reliable baseline.

CONCLUSIONS / COMMENTS:

Okay!

So ... the goal has been, from the start, to double the playerbase in
the course of a year. The comparison of the two years shows zero change.
The comparison of non-summer months shows an improvement of almost 9%.
So ......... we've still got lots of work to do. :-)

The learning curve has been steep for those of us who are fresh in the
Admin scene. When I first became Keeper, I was filled with zeal, energy,
and drive. I recruited the best and brightest I could to work with me on
the changes I wanted to see in the game. And then ........

Well. I learned some lessons! Those lessons have resulted in some of the
action on the previously shown graph, both for good and for bad. 2008 was
a costly year for we developers. The "lessons learned" included some
very rough spots and growing pains as the wizard workforce came to grips
with new norms, new expectations, and restructuring. 

The restructuring included some high-visibility loss of a few prominent
wizards, some of whom were among the hardest workers and most talented
visionaries. These losses were due to miscommunication, breach of trust,
and other of the usual irreconcilable differences. As often transpires,
the ripple effects from these losses were not insubstantial, translating
into various forms of disgruntlement and bewilderment on the parts of
the playerbase who heard various sides of the issue.

As the smoke has cleared and the ripples smoothed over, we have continued
our work as wizards with fewer public announcements and much steadier
energy and cooperation. The 2009 graph reflects this less-intense,
more-stable effect. In general, the playerbase has grown and continues
to build.

Does this mean we are on the right track? Well, yes, I believe so! But,
it also means that we are not necessarily walking it properly yet. There
is a lot left to determine in terms of game design and what makes this
game the most fun for those who come here to enjoy it.

Thus, I have a revised goal for the coming year, which I will revisit
with a full year-graph when we reach the New Year of 2010. The goal, for
the end of 2010 is that we have finished the recoding of all guilds, and
begun to implement things beyond pure combat (crafting) that will make
the game more enjoyable for those of us who come here for purposes other
than grind and item-grab. The natural outcome of these goals being met
will, indeed, be:

   "TO DOUBLE THE PLAYERBASE IN ONE-YEAR'S TIME!!!"

I love to hear your thoughts and perspectives! Thanks for reading mine.
G.
Mmmmmm ... pie ...

User avatar
gorboth
Site Admin
Posts: 2352
Joined: 03 Mar 2010 20:51
Location: Some old coffin

SOTD - 2011

Post by gorboth » 23 Jun 2018 00:48

Code: Select all

Posted December 22, 2011

Merry Christmas, Donut Dwellers!

As we approach these holidays, I wanted to post something of a year-in-review
which will include an explanation of where I've been for the last 2 months
and the effects my absence (in conjunction with other things) appears to
have had on the game. I'll end with some direction for what I feel is needed
for the future, and an appeal for involvement.

To begin, let me first of all say - Wow! It has been strange to be away for
so long. I have not taken time off from Genesis like this in well over a
decade, and it has given me a much-needed opportunity to recover and
recharge my batteries. As Keeper, and a very hands-on one at that, I have
not felt the luxury to really take time off since attempting to launch a
new era in Administrative oversight for Genesis. I have been going at nearly
full-steam for over 6 years now, since I was first asked to be a member of
the Admin in September of 2006 (on my birthday, no less!) That first year
was one of the most intense I've ever spent here, and lead almost a year
(to the day) later to my Admin role being elevated to Keeper status. So,
for the last 5 years, I've been working hard as Keeper, trying to realize
my vision of a healthy, relevant game with a vibrant and growing playerbase. 

I feel the need to explain something of where I've been and why. I announced
my abrupt leave of absence back in mid-October, saying that I would not
return until sometime after November 6th. Well, here it is the end of
December, and I am just now actually announcing my return. So I ended up
taking just over two full months of personal leave from Genesis. Golly!
Me taking a personal leave like this in the midst of a promotional campaign,
and just following a very successful fundraising effort in which so many of
you contributed your own real-life monies seems fairly unconscionable, and
I would not be surprised if many of you have been confused if not downright
disheartened by such an action on my part. As such, I would like to offer
some context that will hopefully allow for some forgiveness, if not at least
understanding why I've left at such a time. At the end of October, the
largest project of my professional carreer had been looming - something that
required me months of preparation and practice, and something for which I
was quite worried about my ability to carry off successfully. Then, just
as I was in my final weeks of preparation, a buddy (and best friend from
childhood) of mine suddenly and unexpectedly died of a massive heart attack.
I found myself at a total loss, and was barely able to cope with normal RL
responsibilities, let alone continue with my professional project. I was
forced immediately to make the decision to drop everything that was giving
me added pressure, simply for the sake of continued sanity and well-being.
I had no idea how much time I needed for this, but I set a return date for
a few days after my project would be concluded, hoping this would suffice.
Following my project (which was a full success, thank the Gods!) I found
myself in no adequate mental state to return to Genesis yet - and I realized
that I was actually suffereing from considerable burnout. I felt that a 
premature return was likely to result in catastrophic administrative failure
on my part (i.e. stepping down as Keeper and leaving the game forever) and
so I took the advice of a very wise and compassionate fellow Admin and
chose to stay away until I genuinely felt the urge to return. Well, long
story still long ... here I am, feeling finally called back. :-)

Thanks for reading all of that. I tried very hard not to be overly-verbose,
and badly failed as per usual. I also appreciate very much the number of
mails of concern and support that I received from so many of you. What a
lucky guy I am to be involved with a great community like we have here in
Genesis. It was extremely encouraging, in the end, to know that I was returning
not just to a hobby, but to a group of people for whom I share a mutual and
lasting high regard. Good stuff!

Now that I've gotten that out of the way, lets get to a review of 2011 and
see how we did. A number of major events took place this year. Firstly, we
finally completed the imbuements project, including the newbie grinder
dungeon and quests, and the game-changing magical imbuement system. The
system has provided effect-variety for players, and a very considerable
money-sink that the game has badly needed for over a decade. A good success!
Secondly, we launched a very successful fundraising campaign that produced
over $3,000 USD to be used for website, game client, and promotional
development. A huge accomplishment on the part of the entire community!
Thirdly, we unveiled and put into play our revised website and proprietary
game-client, making it much easier and more appealing for newcomers to
interface with our game world. An important step on the ever-improving
path to the hugest-quality user experience we are able to provide. Finally,
as explained above, your all-too-human Keeper tripped at the finish line
and brought the year to a very stumbling and awkward conclusion. Bah!!

And how did all of this play out in terms of numbers? 

+--------------------------------------------------------------------------+
|                                                                          |
|  Average player activity by week for entire year, beginning Dec 22 2010  |
|                                                                          |
+---------+--+-----+----+----+----+-----+----+----+-----+----+-----+----+--+
|    22.5 |  |     |    |    |    |     |    |    |     |    |     |    |  |
|    22.0 |  |     |    |    |    |     |    |    |     |    |     |    |  |
|    21.5 |  |     |    |    |    |     |    |    |     |    |     |    |  |
|    21.0 |  |     |    |    |    |     |    |    |     |    |     |    |  |
|    20.5 |  |     |    |    |    |     |    |    |     |    |     |    |  |
|    20.0 |  |     |    |    |    |     |    |    |     |    |     |    |  |
|    19.5 |  |     |    |    |    |     |    |    |     |    |     |    |  |
|    19.0 |  |     |    |    |    |     |    |    |     |    |     |    |  |
| A  18.5 |  |     |    |    |    |     |    |    |     |  X |     |    |  |
| V  18.0 |  |     |    |    |    |     |    |    |    X|X X |     |    |  |
| G  17.5 |  |     |    |    |    |     |    |    |    X|XXX | XX  |    |  |
|    17.0 |  |     |    |    |    |     |    |    |    X|XXX | XX  |    |  |
| P  16.5 |  |     |    |    |    |     |    |    |X   X|XXX |XXX  |    |  |
| E  16.0 |  |     |    |    |    |     |   X|    |X   X|XXXX|XXXX |    |  |
| R  15.5 |  |     |    |    |    |  X  | X X|    |X   X|XXXX|XXXX |    |  |
|    15.0 |  |     |    |   X|    |  XX | X X|X  X|X   X|XXXX|XXXX |    |  |
| H  14.5 |  |     |    |   X|    |  XX |XXXX|XX X|X  XX|XXXX|XXXX |    |  |
| O  14.0 |  |     |    |   X|    | XXX |XXXX|XXXX|X  XX|XXXX|XXXXX|X   |  |
| U  13.5 |  |     |    |   X|    | XXXX|XXXX|XXXX|X  XX|XXXX|XXXXX|X   |  |
| R  13.0 |  |  X  | XXX|   X|X XX| XXXX|XXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|X   |  |
|    12.5 |  | XX  | XXX| XXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|X   |  |
| E  12.0 | X| XX  |XXXX| XXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XX  |  |
| A  11.5 | X| XX  |XXXX| XXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XX  |  |
| C  11.0 | X|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XX  |  |
| H  10.5 |XX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|  |
|    10.0 |XX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|X |
| W   9.5 |XX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|X |
| E   9.0 |XX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XX|
| E   8.5 |XX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XX|
| K   8.0 |XX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XX|
+---------+--+-----+----+----+----+-----+----+----+-----+----+-----+----+--+
|  Month  |  |Jan  |Feb |Mar |Apr |May  |Jun |Jul |Aug  |Sep |Oct  |Nov |  |
+---------+--+-----+----+----+----+-----+----+----+-----+----+-----+----+--+

Heh ... wow, that really does tell the story doesn't it? A fantastic trend
playing out a nearly flawless linear growth pattern from the beginning of
the year to our peak of interest in mid September when the new website went
live followed by the most precipitous falloff in recent history after I
announced my leave of absence. Of course, we always compete with the arrival
of the Christmas gaming titles (Skyrim, anyone?) at the end of the year, and
so I'd like to think that my own disappearance was not entirely to blame for
our current doldrums. 

Well, lets look at this in larger scale yet, and see how we compare to
previous years:

+---------+----+------------+------------+------------+------------+
|    21.5 |    |            |            |            |            |
|    21.0 |    |      XX    |            |            |            |
|    20.5 |    |      XX    |            |            |            |
|    20.0 |    |      XX    |            |            |            |
|    19.5 |    |      XX    |            |            |            |
| A  19.0 |    |      XX    |            |            |            |
| V  18.5 |    |      XX    |            |            |            |
| G  18.0 |    |      XX    |            |            |            |
|    17.5 |    |      XX    | X  X       |            |        X   |
| P  17.0 |    |     XXX    | X  X X     |            |        XX  |
| E  16.5 |    |     XXX    | XX XXXX    |            |        XX  |
| R  16.0 |    |   X XXX    | XXXXXXXXX  |            |        XX  |
|    15.5 |  XX|XX X XXX    |XXXXXXXXXX  |  X         |        XX  |
| H  15.0 |  XX|XX X XXX    |XXXXXXXXXX  | XX    X    |     XXXXX  |
| O  14.5 | XXX|XX XXXXXX   |XXXXXXXXXX  | XX    X    |     XXXXX  |
| U  14.0 | XXX|XX XXXXXX   |XXXXXXXXXX  | XX    X    |    XXXXXX  |
| R  13.5 | XXX|XXXXXXXXX   |XXXXXXXXXX  |XXX  X X    |    XXXXXX  |
|    13.0 | XXX|XXXXXXXXXX  |XXXXXXXXXXX |XXX  X XX   |  XXXXXXXX  |
| E  12.5 | XXX|XXXXXXXXXX X|XXXXXXXXXXXX|XXXX X XX   | XXXXXXXXX  |
| A  12.0 | XXX|XXXXXXXXXXXX|XXXXXXXXXXXX|XXXX XXXX  X|XXXXXXXXXXX |
| C  11.5 | XXX|XXXXXXXXXXXX|XXXXXXXXXXXX|XXXX XXXX  X|XXXXXXXXXXX |
| H  11.0 | XXX|XXXXXXXXXXXX|XXXXXXXXXXXX|XXXXXXXXX XX|XXXXXXXXXXX |
|    10.5 | XXX|XXXXXXXXXXXX|XXXXXXXXXXXX|XXXXXXXXXXXX|XXXXXXXXXXX |
| M  10.0 | XXX|XXXXXXXXXXXX|XXXXXXXXXXXX|XXXXXXXXXXXX|XXXXXXXXXXX |
| O   9.5 | XXX|XXXXXXXXXXXX|XXXXXXXXXXXX|XXXXXXXXXXXX|XXXXXXXXXXXX|
| N   9.0 | XXX|XXXXXXXXXXXX|XXXXXXXXXXXX|XXXXXXXXXXXX|XXXXXXXXXXXX|
| T   8.5 | XXX|XXXXXXXXXXXX|XXXXXXXXXXXX|XXXXXXXXXXXX|XXXXXXXXXXXX|
| H   8.0 | XXX|XXXXXXXXXXXX|XXXXXXXXXXXX|XXXXXXXXXXXX|XXXXXXXXXXXX|
+---------+----+------------+------------+------------+------------+
|  Month  | OND|JFMAMJJASOND|JFMAMJJASOND|JFMAMJJASOND|JFMAMJJASOND|
+---------+----+------------+------------+------------+------------+
|   Year  |2007|   2008     |    2009    |   2010     |   2011     |
+---------+----+------------+------------+------------+------------+
|Yr. Ave. |15.5|   15.8     |    16.1    |   13.0     |    14.0    |
+---------+----+------------+------------+------------+------------+

Interesting! So, there is definitely good news in that we've had a better
year than we had in 2010. Had we continued our trend, or even been able to
maintain our gains through the end of the year, though, we probably would
have ended with the best year overall on record. So, that is clearly a
disappointment. Where we sit right now is, in fact, the lowest point on
record! Bah! and double-Bah! But here is where I refuse to be brown down by
this - the lesson that we can take from 2011 is perfectly clear: Effort
counts. We worked harder than ever this year, and brought big changes and
energy to Genesis. While that effort was in action, the effect was increased
player numbers that built on themselves and grew rapidly in response. 

Lets do a direct comparison of 2011 to the prior year, too:

+----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
|             Comparing player activity over two time periods:               |
|                      A: Jan 01 2010 - Jan 01 2011                          |
|                      B: Jan 01 2011 - Dec 21 2011                          |
+-------+-------+-------+----------+--+-----------+-------+-------+----------+
| Hour  |   A   |   B   | %increase|  | Weekday   |   A   |   B   | %increase|
+-------+-------+-------+----------+  +-----------+-------+-------+----------+
| 00.00 | 15.35 | 15.93 |   +3.64 %|  | Sunday    | 12.92 | 14.56 |  +11.21 %|
| 01.00 | 12.46 | 13.57 |   +8.19 %|  | Monday    | 13.31 | 13.89 |   +4.18 %|
| 02.00 | 10.27 | 12.03 |  +14.68 %|  | Tuesday   | 13.39 | 14.02 |   +4.49 %|
| 03.00 |  9.61 | 11.53 |  +16.62 %|  | Wednesday | 13.95 | 14.37 |   +2.93 %|
| 04.00 |  9.07 | 10.73 |  +15.41 %|  | Thursday  | 13.08 | 14.10 |   +7.16 %|
| 05.00 |  8.49 | 10.14 |  +16.27 %|  | Friday    | 12.49 | 13.67 |   +8.66 %|
| 06.00 |  8.21 |  9.82 |  +16.39 %|  | Saturday  | 11.86 | 14.01 |  +15.35 %|
| 07.00 |  8.65 | 10.22 |  +15.36 %|  +-----------+-------+-------+----------+
| 08.00 |  9.21 | 11.16 |  +17.51 %|                                         |
| 09.00 | 10.40 | 12.36 |  +15.82 %|                                         |
| 10.00 | 11.87 | 12.71 |   +6.63 %|  +--------------------------------------+
| 11.00 | 12.17 | 12.84 |   +5.21 %|  |       - - - Field  Sizes - - -       |
| 12.00 | 12.31 | 13.26 |   +7.16 %|  | Number of days in Period A:     365  |
| 13.00 | 13.27 | 13.78 |   +3.70 %|  | Number of days in Period B:     354  |
| 14.00 | 13.86 | 14.18 |   +2.27 %|  +--------------------------------------+
| 15.00 | 14.43 | 14.74 |   +2.10 %|                                         |
| 16.00 | 15.07 | 15.37 |   +1.92 %|                                         |
| 17.00 | 15.34 | 16.03 |   +4.29 %|  +--------------------------------------+
| 18.00 | 15.87 | 17.11 |   +7.25 %|  |           Overall Summary            |
| 19.00 | 16.64 | 18.44 |   +9.71 %|  +--------------------------------------+
| 20.00 | 18.88 | 20.50 |   +7.87 %|  | Overall average for Period A:  13.00 |
| 21.00 | 20.57 | 21.39 |   +3.84 %|  | Overall average for Period B:  14.09 |
| 22.00 | 20.44 | 21.25 |   +3.85 %|  |                                      |
| 23.00 | 18.54 | 19.10 |   +2.94 %|  | Overall increase/decrease:  +7.725 % |
+-------+-------+-------+----------+--+--------------------------------------+

Lots to chew on there. Big increases in numerous indices, despite our
terrible end-of-year finish. In fact, an increase in EVERY category over the
prior year. That is good! :-)

There is one other reality I am forced to face as a lesson learned from the
player numbers from the year, and it is one that I have been really hoping
would not be true. That lesson is this - the success of Genesis as it currently
exists is undeniably linked to my own direct involvement. This, too, has a
lot of history behind it, I think. When I first entered the Admin, Genesis
had a very large and diverse staff of wizards. This was a very mixed bag in
terms of its effects on the game. I felt strongly that Genesis needed to
focus and unify its efforts in order to adapt successfully to the modern era
and ensure continued ability to thrive. As such, I ended up building a culture
in which a wizard basically needed to get on board with my way of doing
things, or get out of the way. My way of doing things involved breaking down
the divisions between domain structures and the Administration, centralizing
the responsibility for vision to a much more global kind of direction. It also
involved completely doing away with any form of cheating or self-indulgent
development that I felt was poisonous to the game on the part of wizards. The
change in direction resulted in many of the wizards in the game fading away,
for better and for worse. The good results of this have been unfettered global
initiatives like universal guild recodes, quest tracking and orbs, imbuements,
and top-down development from a CEO-style Keeper. The bad results have been
reduced workforce, and near-absolute reliance on direct Keeper involvement to
maintain development.

This leads me to the final topic of this year-in-review. Based on the above
discussions, I believe it is in the best interests of the game to diversify
the development structures beyond myself, and build a new generation of
wizards on the foundations of the new culture we have established for Genesis
in the last 5 years. Currently, I am holding two very heavy reins in my
Administrative hands. AoD (Arch of Domains) is traditionally the Admin
position which has been responsible for governing wizard assignments to
various positions within different domains, and looking after the needs of
domain Lieges. AoP (Arch of Players) is the Admin position which listens to
all the varied needs and concerns of the players, responding to mails,
moderating reports of abusive behavior, fixing bugged players, and dealing
with generally anything that goes wrong in the player experience. AoP is
both the most important and the most thankless of all Administrative positions
in the game. On top of the Keeper role, I've been acting in both of these
Administrative positions for the last number of years, which I now realize
has been an incorrect setup. As such, I will be in search of individuals with
the skills needed to take on these Arch positions, so that I can devote my
energies entirely to vision and general oversight of the game as a larger
whole. Now, talk is cheap, and it is very easy for me to say that I am going
to search for people to take on these positions. The reality is that these
positions are so important that they can ONLY be truly entrusted to people
who will be capable of doing the job right. So finding the right people is
likely to be quite tough and something I won't find a quick solution for.
But the important step, for now, is to recognize the need and share it with
you, the community. 

And here is the other big thing ... Genesis needs an active wizard community.
When I disappeared, it became VERY clear how quiet things can get when it
boils down to just a few people, and then the main cheerleader takes a nap.
Now, not everyone is cut out to be a good wizard. However, I suspect that
there are a number of you who would be absolutely excellent. Truth be told,
I know many of you have experienced a type of stagnation in the player
experience that is a direct result of there being very few new challenges
to face or rocks to turn over with our game content. Yep! One of the best
things about the MUD concept is the idea of ever-growing game worlds thanks
to the contributions of active community members. Well, we roll out some
big things a few times a year, but the constant percolation of small new
ideas game-wide has all but grinded to a complete halt. Therefore, if you
think you have what it takes to be a dedicated member of Team Genesis on
the wizard front, maybe now is a good time to consider getting involved. The
best thing is for there to be a community of developers, rather than just a
tiny few who are mostly burdened down by Admin tasks. So, I do think it
is time to start building the wizard world once again. Contact me if you
have interest, and we'll see what goes!

Alright! So there is my State-Of-The-Donut Address for the year. I am very
excited for a 2012 that exceeds our past year in development and progress.
There are so many great things on the horizon - continued expansion into the
modern era of social networking, rebuilding our creative energies, final
alignment of global guild balance, the big push in terms of our official
promotional efforts, and who knows what else!

Genesis is a great game. Thanks for being part of it!

Yours,
Gorboth

p.s. Okay ... Skyrim was fun. You can come back now! Look, I did! ;-)
Mmmmmm ... pie ...

User avatar
gorboth
Site Admin
Posts: 2352
Joined: 03 Mar 2010 20:51
Location: Some old coffin

Summer Update - 2012

Post by gorboth » 23 Jun 2018 00:56

Code: Select all

Summertime Summary-time            286 Gorboth     Keeper      9 Aug 2012

Esteemed fellow Genesis enthusiasts,

It has been too long since I last took the time to offer some some thoughts 
and personal perspective on our beloved game and its state of affairs. 
Typically, I try to do this sometime around the New Year, but I find myself 
pondering these things lately, so I'll strike while the iron is something 
other than hard and cold. ;-)

I love data, and so lets start with that, though I doubt much of it will cause
anyone to uncork their bottles of champagne at this particular time (heh):

+-----------------------------------------------+
|                                               |
|       Average Per Hour by week for 2012       |
|                                               |
+---------+-----+----+----+-----+----+----+-----+
|    14.0 |     |    |    |     |    |    |     |
| A  13.5 |     |    |    |     |    |    |     |
| P  13.0 |     |    |    |     |X   |    |     |
| H  12.5 |     |    |X   |   X |X   |    |     |
|    12.0 |     |    |X   |   X |X   |    |     |
|    11.5 |     |    |XX  |   X |X   |    |     |
| E  11.0 |     |   X|XX  |  XXX|X   |    |     |
| A  10.5 |     |  XX|XXX |  XXX|X   |    |X    |
| C  10.0 |    X|  XX|XXXX| XXXX|X   |    |X  X |
| H   9.5 |  X X|X XX|XXXX|XXXXX|X   |    |X  X |
|     9.0 |X X X|XXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XX  |    |XX XX|
| W   8.5 |X X X|XXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XX  |   X|XXXXX|
| E   8.0 |X XXX|XXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXX | XXX|XXXXX|
| E   7.5 |X XXX|XXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|
| K   7.0 |XXXXX|XXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|
+---------+-----+----+----+-----+----+----+-----+
|  Month  |Jan  |Feb |Mar |Apr  |May |Jun |     |
+---------+-----+----+----+-----+----+----+-----+
|                                               |
|  Mean yearly average players per hour = 9.78  |
|                                               |
+-----------------------------------------------+

Above we see the login data for the Year to Date 2012. March through early May 
enjoyed the healthiest period of player activity, by this metric. So how does 
this fit into the overall picture? I've condensed it and tacked it on to the 
full data since we began running the Census, and it shows the following:

+---------+----+------------+------------+------------+------------+-------
|    21.5 |    |            |            |            |            |
|    21.0 |    |      XX    |            |            |            |
|    20.5 |    |      XX    |            |            |            |
|    20.0 |    |      XX    |            |            |            |
|    19.5 |    |      XX    |            |            |            |
| A  19.0 |    |      XX    |            |            |            |
| V  18.5 |    |      XX    |            |            |            |
| G  18.0 |    |      XX    |            |            |            |
|    17.5 |    |      XX    | X  X       |            |        X   |
| P  17.0 |    |     XXX    | X  X X     |            |        XX  |
| E  16.5 |    |     XXX    | XX XXXX    |            |        XX  |
| R  16.0 |    |   X XXX    | XXXXXXXXX  |            |        XX  |
|    15.5 |  XX|XX X XXX    |XXXXXXXXXX  |  X         |        XX  |
| H  15.0 |  XX|XX X XXX    |XXXXXXXXXX  | XX    X    |     XXXXX  |
| O  14.5 | XXX|XX XXXXXX   |XXXXXXXXXX  | XX    X    |     XXXXX  |
| U  14.0 | XXX|XX XXXXXX   |XXXXXXXXXX  | XX    X    |    XXXXXX  |
| R  13.5 | XXX|XXXXXXXXX   |XXXXXXXXXX  |XXX  X X    |    XXXXXX  |
|    13.0 | XXX|XXXXXXXXXX  |XXXXXXXXXXX |XXX  X XX   |  XXXXXXXX  |
| E  12.5 | XXX|XXXXXXXXXX X|XXXXXXXXXXXX|XXXX X XX   | XXXXXXXXX  |
| A  12.0 | XXX|XXXXXXXXXXXX|XXXXXXXXXXXX|XXXX XXXX  X|XXXXXXXXXXX |
| C  11.5 | XXX|XXXXXXXXXXXX|XXXXXXXXXXXX|XXXX XXXX  X|XXXXXXXXXXX |
| H  11.0 | XXX|XXXXXXXXXXXX|XXXXXXXXXXXX|XXXXXXXXX XX|XXXXXXXXXXX |  X
|    10.5 | XXX|XXXXXXXXXXXX|XXXXXXXXXXXX|XXXXXXXXXXXX|XXXXXXXXXXX |  XX
| M  10.0 | XXX|XXXXXXXXXXXX|XXXXXXXXXXXX|XXXXXXXXXXXX|XXXXXXXXXXX | XXXX
| O   9.5 | XXX|XXXXXXXXXXXX|XXXXXXXXXXXX|XXXXXXXXXXXX|XXXXXXXXXXXX| XXXX 
| N   9.0 | XXX|XXXXXXXXXXXX|XXXXXXXXXXXX|XXXXXXXXXXXX|XXXXXXXXXXXX| XXXX X
| T   8.5 | XXX|XXXXXXXXXXXX|XXXXXXXXXXXX|XXXXXXXXXXXX|XXXXXXXXXXXX|XXXXX X
| H   8.0 | XXX|XXXXXXXXXXXX|XXXXXXXXXXXX|XXXXXXXXXXXX|XXXXXXXXXXXX|XXXXXXX
+---------+----+------------+------------+------------+------------+-------
|  Month  | OND|JFMAMJJASOND|JFMAMJJASOND|JFMAMJJASOND|JFMAMJJASOND|JFMAMJJ
+---------+----+------------+------------+------------+------------+-------
|   Year  |2007|   2008     |    2009    |   2010     |   2011     |   2012
+---------+----+------------+------------+------------+------------+-------
|Yr. Ave. |15.5|   15.8     |    16.1    |   13.0     |    14.0    |    9.8
+---------+----+------------+------------+------------+------------+-------


Yes, that is just disgusting! You can see that we've really taken a hit this
year in terms of player activity. Not surprisingly, the same has become true
for the wizard population as well. I spoke to Mercade about this the other
day, and his comment was that "Genesis has become pretty static" - an
assessment to which I could only add my agreement. 

In the wake of such data, I would like to take this opportunity to give you
my thoughts on what would be a good way forward from this point. To begin,
I believe an honest assessment of where things sit at this present time is
due. I'll then move into my reasons for not believing this should lead to
despair. And then I'll finish with actions that I intend to take, and
recommendations for the players.

My assessment will begin with my own personal testimony. Last October, being
a Keeper stopped being fun for me in a big way. I tried to convince myself
that I needed to take a break because of big things that were happening in
my RL, but this was a facade. In reality, I had bitten off more than I could
chew without choking, and for numerous reasons became completely overwhelmed,
crashlanding in a pile of smoking Genesis ruin. (dramatic, eh?) This, just
as we were peaking in our promotion efforts, and all sorts of things were in
motion - classic spectacular burnout. It sucks, but there it is. The resulting
effect on player activity can be seen if you look at the difference between
October 2011 and January 2012 in the graph above - a drop from 17 to 8.5
players per hour on average. The playerbase was litterally cut in half.

So, how did I follow this up? Foolishly.

Returning to the game without really giving myself a chance to recover or
find a new sense of energy, I tried to get back into business as usual,
writing my Yearly Address, recruiting a bunch of new wizards in an effort
to revitalize the development community, and (surprise surprise) setting
myself up in the position to do much of the work to mentor all the new
folks. So ... again, burnout and lots of failed new wizards due to no fault
of their own. I flirted with fun projects like the Necro guild and such to try
to get myself back in the spirit, but in the end I just took another break
and drown my sorrows in Diablo 3 (not very fun, by the way.)

So what is the point of telling you all this? Am I trying to depress you all
or earn some measly sympathy vote or fish for encouragement? No. Rather, I
am painting a picture of what happened to me, your Keeper, when I failed to
adjust my own behavior and expectations to the actual state of affairs. That
state of affairs, currently, looks something like this:

  - Genesis has a staff of Admin (Archwizards) who have time to:
      * Log in and be present on most days at least a little.
      * Check their mail.
      * Respond to critical bug or player issues.
      * Do almost nothing beyond this.
  - Genesis has no other non-retired wizards other than:
      * Two basically inactive Lieges (Ckrik [Earthsea] and Navarre [Krynn])
        who perform basic maintenance when it is needed.
      * Two or three miscellaneous wizards who are not known to be involved
        in any development at this time, yet do log in and seem slightly
        active.
      * Ten or so junior wizards who have not yet learned to function in
        the world of development and have not yet completed their training,
        most of whom should probably be deleted and considered a false-start.
  - Genesis, as a game, exhibits:
      * Numerous design issues that are difficult to address without a
        large staff of wizards to tackle the problem(s).
      * A core gameplay that becomes repetetive if grinding and gear are
        your only interests.
      * All the needed ingredients for rich roleplay and interplay between
        guilds with one glaring exception: the needed playerbase.
  - Genesis has a stable, modestly-numerous core of players who seem to:
      * Play pretty much no matter what happens.
      * Keep mostly to themselves, mainly grinding and collecting gear
        that helps them be more efficient.
      * Create new characters every so often to try something new out.
      * Switch guilds with semi-regularity.
      * Roleplay at a bare minimum, if at all.
      * Use a variety of scripts to accomplish their typical gameplay.
  - Genesis has a seemingly large cloud of non-players who:
      * Log in very occasionally but do not really engage in anything.
      * Seem to be waiting for something to happen that would make them
        want to play actively again.
      * Voice their opinions on the forum, often negatively.
  - Genesis has a small subset of players who:
      * Maintain a very high standard of roleplay.
      * Continue to believe in the value of guild identity.
      * Make me very happy whenever I see them doing the above things.

There are a few bullet points above that might verge on editorial in nature,
but most are mere fact. From this assessment, I'll build a list of what I feel
are important realities to face:

    1. Genesis does not have the staff right now to change much, if at
       all, from its current state. We do not have the ability to create
       new content, fix guilds that need updating, or change core gameplay
       in meaningful ways in the immediately forseeable future of 2012.

    2. Genesis does not have the staff right now to train new wizards who
       do not know how to code, and who are not remarkably good at figuring
       things out by themselves, being responsible for their own motivation,
       and engineering their own success despite numerous odds.

    3. Though Genesis boasts a lot of detailed content, most of it does not
       cater to myth-sized players who come to the game only to grind for
       higher stats and effective gear. Thus, such players find
       themselves competing for very limited resources in an ever dwindling
       downward spiral of diminishing returns.

    4. Genesis remains very playable, but much like a deck of cards, is
       fairly dull if your game is one of solitaire. Those who engage in
       roleplay and guild dynamics have the best chance of finding magic
       in these old halls. Like with most any game, it isn't so much about
       the board, or the pieces upon it, but the people sitting across the
       table that create the memories and the fun.

    5. A lot of people still care. I am one of them.

I'll talk about the implications of the above, moving progressively from
what seems bleak to what (to me) seems hopeful. Firstly, I've decided I must
be realistic about what is possible given the situation. I'm not going to
make promises about new features or fixes to the issues the game is facing.
On the contrary, it is going to be a good idea for us all to learn to love
the simple concept of stability. Improvements, redesign, new content and
features, these are wonderful but will have to be unexpected rather than
expected benefits for the rest of 2012. For now, lets just be glad that the
lights stay on and the lawnmower starts.

Likewise, I'm going to give up (for now) the idea of creating a bunch of
new wizards until such time as there is staff to support them. Should the
rare self-starter no-help-needed (Lavellan) type appear, I'll happily wiz
them, but we're just not able to train new wizards right now.

And, lastly of the downer points, people who have subscribed to the dubious
newspaper publication titled "Making a Mythbot and Feeling the Love" need
to realize that they've actually been reading the most disgusting rag of a
periodical ever written by an illiterate orc. Oh, and that illiterate orc
might just be named Gorboth, because I know I've fathered my share of policy
and design choices that have lead to it becoming such a popular read. In
other words: If botting and scripting yourself through the game has given
you a big character, and yet it all seems empty and mindlessly repetetive,
soulless, and without merit, that is because it probably is. I suggest
you try something else with your time. ;-)

Now, on to the good stuff. Games don't have to constantly change and throw
new content at you to remain fun. Genesis still IS the game you once loved
with the very important difference that few people remain in it and play it
in the way that used to make it fun. It can be argued that the design of the
game is the reason things have developed to the point they are at. Whether
some or even a lot of that is true does not change the fact that there still
remain those wonderful players and opportunities throughout the realm that
will always greet you with the ever-transcendent gaming experience called
"roleplay."

And that final point is the crux. A lot of people really do care. Many people
want this game to thrive very badly, but feel that they don't really have
the power to do anything. Many of these people are the sorts that really do
enjoy roleplay, and despair that their game has been co-opted by the casual
style of play that leads to people running past one another only ever talking
to complain when their scripts clash with one another's activities. An
alarming number seem to have thrown in the towel for the time being and just
sought out different diversions. I speak from experience on this, having
sunk a great deal of the last 8 months into computer games of the graphical
variety myself. Like so many of you have said at various times, I always come
back to Genesis, knowing that it actually offers what I find the most fun.
We know that this game actually IS great, not merely that it might become
great again someday ... it IS a great game and it has a lot to offer us
right now, every day. We just have to decide to play it and fill it with our
own heart and energy.

So, to finish up, I'm going to give you some specific actions that I myself
plan to take and then offer you, the players, some specific recommendations.

I have a good year ahead of me. I've got a lot of time to spend on Genesis
if I do it correctly and don't overestimate my tolerances and build impossible
goals into my approach. My primary goal is, in fact, moderation. I plan to
work on things as I have time and energy, without making big promises that I
will not be able to keep. I'm not going to bring on a bunch of new wizards
that I cannot hope to mentor properly, but instead will do what I can to work
with the wizards we already have to re-energize them and see if we can get
a few (by my estimation) important projects back in development. If I have
time, I'll also continue with a number of my own pet projects that I would
love to see in the game. In short, I will again start playing the game by
being an active and visible Keeper who pours energy, goodwill, and roleplay
into Genesis.

For all the players, I remind you that YOU are our most valuable resource.
The time and energy you spend here builds everything that makes Genesis a
fun place to be, and so I will reitorate a post I made on the forum. A slight
alteration of a famous quote goes:

    "Showing up is half the battle."

With this in mind, I offer the following recipe for what you can do to make
Genesis come to life for the second half of 2012:

    * Choose Genesis as your game of choice.
    * Log in and spend time playing.
    * Turn off your scripts, and actually live your character.
    * When you see people, interact with them.
    * When opportunity strikes - Roleplay!
    * Share your Genesis interest with your RL friends.

And with that simple formula, I conclude this dangerously bloated and
-- More -- 280 -- (<cr> t b r n a <num> q x !<cmd> h ?) -- 
meandering manifesto. I hope you are all having a wonderful Summer, and I
am looking forward to being with you for the next school year and beyond!

Yours truly,
G.
Mmmmmm ... pie ...

User avatar
gorboth
Site Admin
Posts: 2352
Joined: 03 Mar 2010 20:51
Location: Some old coffin

SOTD - 2012

Post by gorboth » 23 Jun 2018 00:57

Code: Select all

Posted Nov 9, 2012

Fellow Genesis Enthusiasts,

The time has come again for me to attempt a general assessment of things in
our happy MUD home. The "state of the donut" address has been something
I've traditionally tried to do either at the end of the year, or
concurrent with the anniversary of the beginning of the Genesis Census.
It has been just over 5 years now since we began tracking player data with
the census, and so I'm in the mood to take a nice hard look at our game
with that as my signal.

In this address, I'll begin with a look at some data and offer some
thoughts on what we can draw from them. Then, I'll talk about current
realities of the game, including our active development staff and the
projects that are underway. From there, I'll look forward and try to make
some predictions about what is possible and what is probable for our
future.

So ... lets start with data. Here is the graph for our Year To Date (YTD)
of player logins for 2012:

+---------------------------------------------------------------+
|                                                               |
|            Average Per Hour (APH) by week for 2012            |
|                  Average APH overall: 10.3                    |
|                                                               |
+---------+-----+----+----+-----+----+----+-----+----+-----+----+
|    14.0 |     |    |    |     |    |    |     |    |     |    |
| H  13.5 |     |    |    |     |    |    |     |    |     |    |
| O  13.0 |     |    |    |     |X   |    |     |    |     |    |
| U  12.5 |     |    |X   |   X |X   |    |     |    |     |    |
| R  12.0 |     |    |X   |   X |X   |    |     |    |     |    |
|    11.5 |     |    |XX  |   X |X   |    |     | XX |     |    |
| E  11.0 |     |   X|XX  |  XXX|X   |    |     | XX |X X  |  XX|
| A  10.5 |     |  XX|XXX |  XXX|X   |    |X    | XX |XXX  | XXX|
| C  10.0 |    X|  XX|XXXX| XXXX|X   |    |X  X | XXX|XXX  |XXXX|
| H   9.5 |  X X|X XX|XXXX|XXXXX|X   |    |X  X | XXX|XXXXX|XXXX|
|     9.0 |X X X|XXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XX  |    |XX XX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|
| W   8.5 |X X X|XXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XX  |   X|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|
| E   8.0 |X XXX|XXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXX | XXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|
| E   7.5 |X XXX|XXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|
| K   7.0 |XXXXX|XXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|
+---------+-----+----+----+-----+----+----+-----+----+-----+----+
|  Month  |Jan  |Feb |Mar |Apr  |May |Jun |Jul  |Aug |Sep  |Oct |
+---------+-----+----+----+-----+----+----+-----+----+-----+----+

In May through the middle of Summer, many of our wizards (myself included)
dropped off the map for a while. This seemed to also happen for many of
our players. It may or may not be coincidence that Diablo III debuted
around this time. I spent many weeks playing it, and was distracted
by travel and other concerns throughout the Summer. In September I found
renewed interest in the game, and began logging in again regularly and
doing what I could to reconnect wizards to coding projects and get
communication going again with various things. In recent months, much
has changed for the better, and many efforts and activity levels renewed.

Now, lets look at this last year in context with the last 5:

+-----+----+------------+------------+------------+------------+----------
|21.5 |    |            |            |            |            |
|21.0 |    |      XX    |            |            |            |
|20.5 |    |      XX    |            |            |            |
|20.0 |    |      XX    |            |            |            |
|19.5 |    |      XX    |            |            |            |
|19.0 |    |      XX    |            |            |            |
|18.5 |    |      XX    |            |            |            |
|18.0 |    |      XX    |            |            |            |
|17.5 |    |      XX    | X  X       |            |        X   |
|17.0 |    |     XXX    | X  X X     |            |        XX  |
|16.5 |    |     XXX    | XX XXXX    |            |        XX  |
|16.0 |    |   X XXX    | XXXXXXXXX  |            |        XX  |
|15.5 |  XX|XX X XXX    |XXXXXXXXXX  |  X         |        XX  |
|15.0 |  XX|XX X XXX    |XXXXXXXXXX  | XX    X    |     XXXXX  | Diablo 3!
|14.5 | XXX|XX XXXXXX   |XXXXXXXXXX  | XX    X    |     XXXXX  |     |
|14.0 | XXX|XX XXXXXX   |XXXXXXXXXX  | XX    X    |    XXXXXX  |     |
|13.5 | XXX|XXXXXXXXX   |XXXXXXXXXX  |XXX  X X    |    XXXXXX  |     |
|13.0 | XXX|XXXXXXXXXX  |XXXXXXXXXXX |XXX  X XX   |  XXXXXXXX  |     |
|12.5 | XXX|XXXXXXXXXX X|XXXXXXXXXXXX|XXXX X XX   | XXXXXXXXX  |     |
|12.0 | XXX|XXXXXXXXXXXX|XXXXXXXXXXXX|XXXX XXXX  X|XXXXXXXXXXX |     v
|11.5 | XXX|XXXXXXXXXXXX|XXXXXXXXXXXX|XXXX XXXX  X|XXXXXXXXXXX |
|11.0 | XXX|XXXXXXXXXXXX|XXXXXXXXXXXX|XXXXXXXXX XX|XXXXXXXXXXX |  X     X
|10.5 | XXX|XXXXXXXXXXXX|XXXXXXXXXXXX|XXXXXXXXXXXX|XXXXXXXXXXX |  XX   XXX
|10.0 | XXX|XXXXXXXXXXXX|XXXXXXXXXXXX|XXXXXXXXXXXX|XXXXXXXXXXX | XXXX XXXX
| 9.5 | XXX|XXXXXXXXXXXX|XXXXXXXXXXXX|XXXXXXXXXXXX|XXXXXXXXXXXX| XXXX XXXX
| 9.0 | XXX|XXXXXXXXXXXX|XXXXXXXXXXXX|XXXXXXXXXXXX|XXXXXXXXXXXX| XXXX XXXX
| 8.5 | XXX|XXXXXXXXXXXX|XXXXXXXXXXXX|XXXXXXXXXXXX|XXXXXXXXXXXX|XXXXX XXXX
| 8.0 | XXX|XXXXXXXXXXXX|XXXXXXXXXXXX|XXXXXXXXXXXX|XXXXXXXXXXXX|XXXXXXXXXX
+-----+----+------------+------------+------------+------------+----------
|Month| OND|JFMAMJJASOND|JFMAMJJASOND|JFMAMJJASOND|JFMAMJJASOND|JFMAMJJASO
+-----+----+------------+------------+------------+------------+----------
| Year|2007|   2008     |    2009    |   2010     |   2011     |   2012
+-----+----+------------+------------+------------+------------+----------
| Ave.|15.5|   15.8     |    16.1    |   13.0     |    14.0    |   10.3
+-----+----+------------+------------+------------+------------+----------

Excuse me while I wipe the vomit from my screen. Yeah. This isn't exactly
what we want to see is it? Clearly, 2012 has been a very real departure
from the activity levels Genesis has enjoyed in prior years. I feel that
the game has been boiled down to the "absolute players" who have made
Genesis their hobby through thick and thin, and who will play so long as
we keep the doors open and the lights on. Thank goodness for such players!
Whether or not you value the style of gameplay that these players employ
(grinding, primarily) we should be glad to see anyone who chooses to
come and have fun in our world. And, I am happy to say, that despite the
low numbers, much good roleplay continues in pockets of the playerbase. 

Speaking of that playerbase, let's look at some specific information as it
breaks down by guild. I've calculated two sets of rankings here. To
understand how these rankings are generated, I ran numbers for the month
of October 2012, and checked each guild by day. To be represented in the
count for that day, a given guild would have had to have members logged
in when the census took it's snapshot. It is therefore possible that
members were logged in but not counted. We can still view this as giving
a fairly good estimate of the correct rankings if we presume that those
guilds who have players logged in more often are more likely to have them
appear in the hourly snapshots taken by the census.

There are two lists, one that takes all the hours of a day and averages
them together to paint a picture of the overall activity of guilds for
the entire 24 hour cycle. Then, the second list shows us activity at the
peak hour of gameplay in Genesis, which happens to be 22:00.

     Representation Averaged Over Entire Day In October 2012:
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
    1. Mercs:      1.343
    2. Angmar:     0.812
    3. Dragonarmy: 0.593
    4. Monks:      0.562
    5. Niedar:     0.437
    6. Rangers:    0.343
    7. Calians:    0.125
       Cadets:     0.125
       Gladiator:  0.125
    8. Academics:  0.093
       Mages:      0.093

    No measurable representation:
       Ogres:      0.000
       Kender:     0.000
       Knights:    0.000
       PoT:        0.000
       ScoP:       0.000
       Union:      0.000

    Representation During Peak Hour (22:00 gametime) In October 2012:
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
    1. Mercs:      3.375
    2. Angmar:     2.718
    3. Monks:      1.937
    4. Rangers:    1.687
    5. Niedar:     1.437
    6. Gladiator:  1.125
    7. Mages:      0.968
    8. Dragonarmy: 0.937
    9. Cadets:     0.906
   10. Calian:     0.875
   11. Ogres:      0.656
   12. Knights:    0.593
   13. PoT:        0.500
   14. Union:      0.406
   15. Academic:   0.281
   16. ScoP:       0.218
   17. Kender:     0.187

What is nice to see here is that every single occupational guild in the
game retains active players. Not all guilds are active enough to be
counted in the daily average list, but during peak hours, you do have the
chance to find members of any occ guild logged on from time to time. In
the case of the least active guild, you would be likely to find a Kender
logged in roughly 1 in 5 days during 22:00. In case of the most active
guild, you would be likely to see nearly 4 Mercenaries logged in during
22:00 every day.

In terms of general trends, it would appear that our guilds that cater to
casual play are the most populated, while those that cater to much more
hardcore roleplay, overseen by strict council regulation, enjoy fewer
members. Even so, I am aware of high-quality roleplay even where numbers
are scarce, and can say that all of our guilds have some life in them.

In terms of how activity breaks down in the span of a given day, here are
the numbers, including which weekdays are the most popular:
       
       +---------------------------------------------------------+
       |              Jan 01 2012 - Nov 01 2012                  |
       +-------+-------+--+-----------+-------+------------------+
       | Hour  |  APH  |  | Weekday   |  APH  |                  |
       +-------+-------+  +-----------+-------+                  |
       | 00.00 | 13.62 |  | Sunday    | 11.11 |                  |
       | 01.00 | 10.53 |  | Monday    | 10.37 |                  |
       | 02.00 |  8.97 |  | Tuesday   |  9.91 |                  |
       | 03.00 |  8.15 |  | Wednesday | 10.42 |                  |
       | 04.00 |  7.15 |  | Thursday  | 10.22 |                  |
       | 05.00 |  6.57 |  | Friday    |  9.73 |                  |
 low-->| 06.00 |  6.01 |  | Saturday  | 10.17 |                  |
       | 07.00 |  6.10 |  +-----------+-------+                  |
       | 08.00 |  6.61 |                                         |
       | 09.00 |  7.44 |                                         |
       | 10.00 |  8.03 |  +--------------------------------------+
       | 11.00 |  8.50 |  |       - - - Field  Size - - -        |
       | 12.00 |  8.96 |  | Number of days in 2012 YTD:     305  |
       | 13.00 |  9.42 |  +--------------------------------------+
       | 14.00 | 10.00 |                                         |
       | 15.00 | 10.69 |                                         |
       | 16.00 | 11.40 |                                         |
       | 17.00 | 12.01 |  +--------------------------------------+
       | 18.00 | 12.82 |  |           Overall Summary            |
       | 19.00 | 13.89 |  +--------------------------------------+
       | 20.00 | 15.90 |  | Overall average for 2012 YTD:  10.28 |
       | 21.00 | 16.89 |  +--------------------------------------+
peak-->| 22.00 | 16.98 |                                         |
       | 23.00 | 16.34 |                                         |
       +-------+-------+-----------------------------------------+

From the above data, it seems our most popular times are those that
correspond to late night in Europe and afternoon for the United States.
Sunday has become our most populous day of the week with Wednesday
remaining our most popular weekday, perhaps due in part to the Market
Quest.

Now I'll move on to the state of the current game in terms of development.
It should be understood that at the beginning of 2012 there were fewer
wizards in active development than probably at any time in the 20 year
history of Genesis. In fact, the number was very nearly zero (our
steadfast Admin notwithstanding). But the lights stayed on, and much like
a myth who decides to pay 37 visits to the giants northwest of Sparkle to
rid themselves of all that pesky non-quest experience, when I reactivated
my own interest in the Spring, I felt there was only huge improvement to
be anticipated in the months to come! :-)

And, as it so often happens, a new season seems to have come once again
for our game. Many wizards have returned to visit Genesis in recent
days - some from the very ancient past! Styles, Elessar, and Olorin, all
of whom were instrumental in the creation of some of our oldest content,
have made appearances and reconnected with Genesis. While Mercade, Stern,
and Cotillion have remained steady presences, it is just recently that
myself, Petros, and Lavellan have found our way back to active duty among
the Admin. 

As hasn't been the case for quite some time, numerous wizards are at work
with various small-scale projects. Boreaulam recently completed a small
quest near Sparkle involving an update of the old goblin caves. Bendis is
creating a fun quest for Sparkle City itself. Cherek is working on some
updates for the website that would bring a lot of color to the maps we
offer. Kellon is hard at work on a fairly extensive project for a new
area with quests in Krynn. And, most recently, Zhar has come on board to
try his hand at some improvements to Khalakhor. This is a lot of activity
which stands in stark comparison to the doldrums of our year's opening!

In terms of large-scale projects, Lavellan is looking into building some
infrastructure for a module that will function with Twitter and possibly
Facebook that allows Genesis to broadcast to listeners various types of
information. This is a critical step in updating our game to give us the
kinds of functionality that are now standard in the industry for
connecting to our users and their friends. What is more, he is also
starting work on the long-discussed project of creating "Achievements"
in Genesis.

Sandalphon remains interested in further development of our client, and
is continuing to think about the project as he finds time with his busy
RL schedule.

Eowul has returned to Genesis and is back to work in full swing on the
recode of the Morgul Mages. This is extremely significant, as that effort
had suffered essentially a full stop of late. Petros continues his work
on the vision he has for a true neutral occupational caster guild for
Genesis, eventually slated to exist in place of the current ScoP guild
as a different offering following the themes of Calia. With Navarre's own
efforts with the PoT still in process, this truly means that we are
getting back on track with our guild recodes, tackling all of our occ
magic-user guilds!

And, as many of you know from posts on the official forum, my own work on
a new guild offering for Genesis has been proceeding nicely. I now believe
that I am halfway complete with the creation of the Cult of Chemosh, which
will be a guild for full-scale occupational Necromancers in Genesis. Work
on this guild, while not entirely defensible against the question, "Does
the game really need a NEW guild right now?" ... has done what I hoped
it would. It has gotten me completely excited about Genesis again,
reconnected me to my passion for development here, and helped me maintain
activity to the level that I've been able to facilitate many of the
developments listed above. 

So ... all this being said, where are things headed? My own skills as a
forcaster for Genesis playerbase populations have long-since been revealed
to be desperate guesswork. This being the case, I think what I can do here
instead is to look at examples from the past, since we now have five nice
years of census data to examine and call history. This is not the first
serious decline in the history of the Genesis Census. In 2010 player logins
dropped nearly 24% from the previous year. Then, in 2011, we did this:

+---------+------+----+----+----+-----+----+----+-----+---
| A  18.5 |      |    |    |    |     |    |    |     |  X
| V  18.0 |      |    |    |    |     |    |    |    X|X X
| G  17.5 |      |    |    |    |     |    |    |    X|XXX
|    17.0 |      |    |    |    |     |    |    |    X|XXX
| P  16.5 |      |    |    |    |     |    |    |X   X|XXX
| E  16.0 |      |    |    |    |     |   X|    |X   X|XXX
| R  15.5 |      |    |    |    |  X  | X X|    |X   X|XXX
|    15.0 |      |    |   X|    |  XX | X X|X  X|X   X|XXX
| H  14.5 |      |    |   X|    |  XX |XXXX|XX X|X  XX|XXX
| O  14.0 |      |    |   X|    | XXX |XXXX|XXXX|X  XX|XXX
| U  13.5 |      |    |   X|    | XXXX|XXXX|XXXX|X  XX|XXX
| R  13.0 |   X  | XXX|   X|X XX| XXXX|XXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXX
|    12.5 |  XX  | XXX| XXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXX
| E  12.0 |X XX  |XXXX| XXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXX
| A  11.5 |X XX  |XXXX| XXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXX
| C  11.0 |XXXXXX|XXXX|XXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXX
| H  10.5 |XXXXXX|XXXX|XXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXX
|    10.0 |XXXXXX|XXXX|XXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXX
| W   9.5 |XXXXXX|XXXX|XXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXX
| E   9.0 |XXXXXX|XXXX|XXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXX
| E   8.5 |XXXXXX|XXXX|XXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXX
| K   8.0 |XXXXXX|XXXX|XXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXX
+---------+------+----+----+----+-----+----+----+-----+---
|  Month  |Jan   |Feb |Mar |Apr |May  |Jun |Jul |Aug  |Sep
+---------+------+----+----+----+-----+----+----+-----+---

That 9 month stretch in 2011 proves exactly what can happen when sustained
efforts are made toward the development and promotion of the game. Right
now I feel that developent is gearing back up and in a very good position.
Were we to see promotion by both players and wizards similar to what we
had in those months, it could be reasonably expected that similar results
would be possible for our next 9 months beginning now.

So there you have it. There is much to be excited about in Genesis! New
projects are well underway, and old projects are renewed in their momentum.
Old players return and new players continue to welcome them. I can't wait
to see where we land in 2013.

Thanks for another great year together!
G.
Mmmmmm ... pie ...

User avatar
gorboth
Site Admin
Posts: 2352
Joined: 03 Mar 2010 20:51
Location: Some old coffin

SOTD - 2013

Post by gorboth » 23 Jun 2018 01:02

Code: Select all

Posted Jan. 7, 2014

Happy New Year, fellow Genesis enthusiasts!

As has been my annual tradition, I'd like to take this opportunity to reflect
on the year that was 2013 for our happy Mud, and offer some musings on what
we've seen happen, what it all might indicate in terms of trends, and venture
some guesses for the next year's worth of gaming goodness here in the donut.
In addition, I'll talk about the state of affairs as we continue to move
toward the date of our 25th Anniversary Celebration, and provide some long-
overdue updates on the guild recode process. And so, without further ado ...

                    =================================
                    STATE OF THE DONUT ADDRESS - 2013
                    =================================

A big part of what I like to do with the year in review is to sift the data
of the census of players Average Per Hour (APH) and see how we are doing in
comparison to other years. So, to begin with, lets look at 2013 versus 2012:

+----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
|             Comparing player activity over two time periods:               |
|                      A: Jan 01 2012 - Jan 01 2013                          |
|                      B: Jan 01 2013 - Jan 01 2014                          |
+-------+-------+-------+----------+--+-----------+-------+-------+----------+
| Hour  |   A   |   B   | % change |  | Weekday   |   A   |   B   | % change |
+-------+-------+-------+----------+  +-----------+-------+-------+----------+
| 00.00 | 14.32 | 13.65 |   -4.66 %|  | Sunday    | 11.52 | 12.80 |  +11.09 %|
| 01.00 | 11.21 | 11.01 |   -1.80 %|  | Monday    | 10.77 | 12.23 |  +13.51 %|
| 02.00 |  9.61 |  9.93 |   +3.29 %|  | Tuesday   | 10.41 | 12.09 |  +16.07 %|
| 03.00 |  8.72 |  9.43 |   +8.08 %|  | Wednesday | 10.84 | 12.75 |  +17.64 %|
| 04.00 |  7.72 |  9.03 |  +16.90 %|  | Thursday  | 10.68 | 12.51 |  +17.08 %|
| 05.00 |  7.05 |  8.46 |  +20.04 %|  | Friday    | 10.36 | 12.64 |  +21.95 %|
| 06.00 |  6.49 |  8.07 |  +24.22 %|  | Saturday  | 10.74 | 12.59 |  +17.22 %|
| 07.00 |  6.43 |  8.38 |  +30.33 %|  +-----------+-------+-------+----------+
| 08.00 |  6.90 |  9.51 |  +37.81 %|                                         |
| 09.00 |  7.77 | 11.04 |  +42.09 %|                                         |
| 10.00 |  8.35 | 11.66 |  +39.63 %|  +--------------------------------------+
| 11.00 |  8.84 | 12.18 |  +37.68 %|  |       - - - Field  Sizes - - -       |
| 12.00 |  9.32 | 12.52 |  +34.22 %|  | Number of days in Period A:     366  |
| 13.00 |  9.87 | 12.87 |  +30.43 %|  | Number of days in Period B:     365  |
| 14.00 | 10.46 | 13.34 |  +27.46 %|  +--------------------------------------+
| 15.00 | 11.25 | 14.31 |  +27.14 %|                                         |
| 16.00 | 12.02 | 14.82 |  +23.29 %|                                         |
| 17.00 | 12.62 | 14.89 |  +17.93 %|  +--------------------------------------+
| 18.00 | 13.53 | 15.44 |  +14.16 %|  |           Overall Summary            |
| 19.00 | 14.59 | 16.51 |  +13.16 %|  +--------------------------------------+
| 20.00 | 16.42 | 18.09 |  +10.12 %|  | Overall average for Period A:  10.76 |
| 21.00 | 17.36 | 18.81 |   +8.35 %|  | Overall average for Period B:  12.51 |
| 22.00 | 17.47 | 18.43 |   +5.44 %|  |                                      |
| 23.00 | 16.78 | 16.48 |   -1.78 %|  | Overall increase/decrease:  +16.24 % |
+-------+-------+-------+----------+--+--------------------------------------+

Ahhh ... it always feels good to improve on a past year. Seeing that we did 16%
better than 2012 lets us know that the game is experiencing resurgence rather
than decline. Before we get too congratulatory, though, it is important to
recall that 2012 was the *WORST!* year on record. Between Diablo III and a
malaize in Genesis, we sunk to our all time low. So, coming up from there,
while being good news, was actually very necessary for our survival! So, good
job - we got over that rough patch. 

So, lets look at what we see in this chart. We've seen a very clear rise in the
amount of people playing during the morning-time in Europe, starting about
9:00. Far be it from me to suggest that this is when people are arriving at
their desk-jobs with a shiney new browser-based official client ready to
break through those pesky corporate firewalls, but, ... er ... *cough*. Yes,
we are seeing lots more people during those morning hours. Peak hour of
overall play remains the late-evening in Europe around 21:00 - 22:00, and the
quietest time on the donut is still between 6:00 and 7:00. What is nice, is
that at any hour of the day, you are likely to arrive to find at least 9 or
10 other players enjoying the donut with you, compared with a low of 6 or
so the previous year. At peak hours, we have upped our game to 18 or 19 players
on average, but the who list will sometimes grow toward 35-40 people on a
very strong day.

Sunday remains our most popular day for people to play, with Wednesday being
our favorite weekday. Given that Wednesday is the Market Quest day, it is
perhaps not surprising that the biggest jump has taken place on Friday,
which this year became another "weekly" quest with the Chef's herb quest in
Sparkle, making Friday the second most popular weekday, and the biggest
single increase from the prior year.

Much of our success this year I attribute to the fact that we had clear goals
and the energy of the Anniversary to spur us on. Whatever the case, we're
back, and we've built a new trend of growth that is only getting better.
Let's look now at the trends over the year, starting at high resolution of
APH for every week of 2013.

+-------------------------------------------------------------------------+
|                                 2013                                    |
+---------+----+----+-----+----+----+-----+----+----+-----+----+----+-----+
| A  17.5 |    |    |     |    |    |     |    |    |     |    |    |     |
| V  17.0 |    |    |     |    |    |     |    |    |     |    |    |     |
| G  16.5 |X   |    |     |    |    |     |    |    |X    |    |    |    X|
|    16.0 |X   |    |     |    |    |     |    |    |X    |    |    |    X|
| P  15.5 |X   |    |     |    |    |     |    |    |XX   |    |    |    X|
| E  15.0 |XXX |    |     |    |    |     |    |    |XX  X|   X|X   |    X|
| P  14.5 |XXX |    |     |    |    |     |    |    |XX  X|   X|XX X|    X|
|    14.0 |XXX |X   |     |    |    |     |    |    |XX XX|  XX|XXXX|X   X|
| H  13.5 |XXXX|X   |     |    |    |     |    |    |XXXXX|  XX|XXXX|X   X|
| O  13.0 |XXXX|X   |     | X  |    |     |    |    |XXXXX|  XX|XXXX|X  XX|
| U  12.5 |XXXX|X   |     | X X|   X|X    |    |  XX|XXXXX|X XX|XXXX|XX XX|
| R  12.0 |XXXX|X   |     |XX X|  XX|X    |    |  XX|XXXXX|X XX|XXXX|XXXXX|
|    11.5 |XXXX|XXX |     |XXXX| XXX|X    |    |  XX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|
| E  11.0 |XXXX|XXXX|XXX  |XXXX|XXXX|X  X |    |  XX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|
| A  10.5 |XXXX|XXXX|XXX  |XXXX|XXXX|XXXX |    |  XX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|
| C  10.0 |XXXX|XXXX|XXXX |XXXX|XXXX|XXXX |    | XXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|
| H   9.5 |XXXX|XXXX|XXXX |XXXX|XXXX|XXXX |    |XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|
|     9.0 |XXXX|XXXX|XXXX |XXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|    |XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|
| W   8.5 |XXXX|XXXX|XXXX |XXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|    |XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|
| E   8.0 |XXXX|XXXX|XXXX |XXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|  XX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|
| E   7.5 |XXXX|XXXX|XXXX |XXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|  XX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|
| K   7.0 |XXXX|XXXX|XXXX |XXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|
|     6.5 |XXXX|XXXX|XXXX |XXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|
|     6.0 |XXXX|XXXX|XXXX |XXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|
|     5.5 |XXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|
+---------+----+----+-----+----+----+-----+----+----+-----+----+----+-----+
|  Month  |Jan |Feb |Mar  |Apr |May |Jun  |Jul |Aug |Sep  |Oct |Nov |Dec  |
+---------+----+----+-----+----+----+-----+----+----+-----+----+----+-----+
|               Mean yearly average players per hour = 12.51              |
+-------------------------------------------------------------------------+

So, we started the year strong, and we ended the year stronger. Our Summer
was weak, as if often the case (ah, that evil sunshine!) An anomaly took
place in March, which skewed our numbers artificially low for the final
week of that month. Instability of the gizmo and the need to reconfigure
took the game completely off line, and resulted in this horrible start to
April:

    20130329  XXXXXXXX              (8)
    20130330  XXXXXXXXXX            (10)
    20130331  XXXXXXXXXXXX          (12)
    20130401  X             (1)
    20130402  XXXXX         (5)
    20130403                (0)
    20130404                (0)
    20130405  XXXXXXXXXXX           (11)
    20130406  XXXXXXXXXXXX          (12)
    20130407  XXXXXXXXXX            (10)

Well, that sucked. We'd have had a much better APH average if that hadn't
happened, but we've gotten stronger for it thanks to quick work by Lunatari
and everyone who helped piece things back together.

Especially gratifying is the fact that we've ended this year amazingly strong,
and are jetting firmly into 2014 with the best numbers we've seen in years.
Take a look at just the last few days, compared to that awful end of March:

    20140101  XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX             (17)
    20140102  XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX             (17)
    20140103  XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX           (19)
    20140104  XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX          (20)
    20140105  XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX           (19)
    20140106  XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX            (18)

Now that's what I'm talking about! An APH of 20 for the entire day of Jan. 4th
is quite delicious, and seeing such a sustained effect means it isn't just
a fluke, but is rather a growing trend. My suspicion is that all of the
interesting experiments (Death) and events (Thanksgiving & Christmas) are
making a difference for people who otherwise haven't been as likely to show
up and spend time in the game. 

So lets decrease resolution now down to APH per month, and see how things have
looked for the entire history of the census, and how we figure into that 
picture right now:

+----+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------+
|APH |   15.8    |    16.1   |   13.0    |    14.0   |   10.7    |   12.5     |
+----+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------+
|21.5|                                                                        |
|21.0|      XX                                                                |
|20.5|      XX                                                                |
|20.0|      XX                                                                |
|19.5|      XX                                                                |
|19.0|      XX                                                                |
|18.5|      XX                                                                |
|18.0|      XX                                                                |
|17.5|      XX     X  X                           X                           |
|17.0|     XXX     X  X X                         XX                          |
|16.5|     XXX     XX XXXX                        XX                          |
|16.0|   X XXX     XXXXXXXXX                      XX                          |
|15.5|XX X XXX    XXXXXXXXXX    X                 XX                          |
|15.0|XX X XXX    XXXXXXXXXX   XX    X         XXXXX              X       X   |
|14.5|XX XXXXXX   XXXXXXXXXX   XX    X         XXXXX              X       X X |
|14.0|XX XXXXXX   XXXXXXXXXX   XX    X        XXXXXX              X       X X |
|13.5|XXXXXXXXX   XXXXXXXXXX  XXX  X X        XXXXXX             XX       XXXX|
|13.0|XXXXXXXXXX  XXXXXXXXXXX XXX  X XX     XXXXXXXX             XX       XXXX|
|12.5|XXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX X XX    XXXXXXXXX            XXX       XXXX|
|12.0|XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXX  XXXXXXXXXXXX           XXXX XX   XXXX|
|11.5|XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXX  XXXXXXXXXXXX           XXXX XX   XXXX|
|11.0|XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXXXX   X     X XXXX XXX  XXXX|
|10.5|XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX   XX   XX XXXXXXXX  XXXX|
|10.0|XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX  XXXX  XXXXXXXXXXX XXXXX|
| 9.5|XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXX  XXXXXXXXXXX XXXXX|
| 9.0|XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXX XXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXX|
| 8.5|XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXX|
| 8.0|XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXX|
| 7.5|XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX|
+----+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------+
|Mnth|JFMAMJJASONDJFMAMJJASONDJFMAMJJASONDJFMAMJJASONDJFMAMJJASONDJFMAMJJASOND|
+----+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------+
|Year|   2008    |    2009   |   2010    |   2011    |   2012    |   2013     |
+----+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------+

Its really fun to see all that data. The general "line" of the picture shows
a slowly evolving downward trend. However, if you decrease resolution even
a bit more, lets go simply to APH per quarter:

+---------+--------------------------------------------------------+
| A  19.0 |            X                                           |
| V  18.5 |            X                                           | X  
| G  18.0 |            X                                           | X
|    17.5 |            X     X                                     | X
| P  17.0 |            X   X X                                     | X
| E  16.5 |          X X   X X X                                   | X
| R  16.0 |          X X   X X X               X                   | X
|    15.5 |      X   X X   X X X               X                   | X
| H  15.0 |      X X X X   X X X               X                   | X
| O  14.5 |      X X X X   X X X   X           X                   | X
| U  14.0 |      X X X X   X X X X X         X X                 X | X
| R  13.5 |      X X X X   X X X X X   X     X X                 X | X
|    13.0 |      X X X X   X X X X X   X     X X X               X | X
| E  12.5 |      X X X X X X X X X X X X   X X X X         X     X | X
| A  12.0 |      X X X X X X X X X X X X   X X X X       X X     X | X
| C  11.5 |      X X X X X X X X X X X X   X X X X       X X X X X | X
| H  11.0 |      X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X       X X X X X | X
|    10.5 |      X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X     X X X X X X | X
| Q  10.0 |      X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X   X X X X X X | X
| R   9.5 |      X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X | X
| T   9.0 |      X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X | X
| R   8.5 |      X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X | X
|     8.0 |      X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X | X
|     7.5 |      X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X | X
+---------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+--------+ ^
|  Month  |1 2 3 4|1 2 3 4|1 2 3 4|1 2 3 4|1 2 3 4|1 2 3 4|1 2 3 4 | |
+---------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+--------+ First
|   Year  |  2007 |  2008 |  2009 |  2010 |  2011 |  2012 |  2013  | week of
+---------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+--------+ 2014
|Yr. Ave. |  15.5 |  15.8 |  16.1 |  13.0 |  14.0 |  10.7 |  12.5  |
+---------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+--------+

It now shows something that I believe can be viewed as two different
trends. The first trend is from 2008 to the end of 2011, and it
is gradually heading downward. The second trend is from the start
of 2012 through to the present, and it is a general trend heading
upward. I've added the first week of 2014 just beyond the borders of
the display to indicate how powerful that trend might become if we
sustain what we have going on right now. If sustained, we would
be returning to activity levels we haven't enjoyed since 2008 and
before! So ... lets keep that up. Be sure to share your enthusiasm
with your friends, and see if you can't contact players who you haven't
seen in a while and tell them how healthy and fun the game is.

Now lets shift to a recap of 2013 in terms of what was going on in the
game, new developments, and other things of various import. Perhaps the
most salient movement in this year has been the push for the goals
outlined for completion to mark our 25th Anniversary in April or 2014.
These goals were for us to complete all guild recodes, complete and
install a new pre-configured browser-based game client, create a pvp
battleground, create an event for the players to enjoy as part of the
Anniversary celebration, and to successfully renew contact with and
bring as many old players back to the game to celebrate the event with
us.

On all of these goals, there has been some progress made. The guild
recodes have not been able to happen as fast as the goals we set, but
this does not diminish the accomplishment of what we have been able to
do. In particular, Eowul's work to complete the recode of the Morgul
Mages is worthy of recognition. This is probably the most difficult
task any wizard has undertaken in years. Magic remains one of the
most controversial issues for pvp, and any attempt to create a
balanced system is liable to result in backlash which can be very
difficult to navigate. It is no surprise that we've had a healthy dose
of such controversy in response to Eowul's efforts. My hat is off to
the man, confident that as the game board continues to be fully
set in place, his work will stand the test of time and the scrutiny
of both AoB and playerbase alike.

Speaking of AoB, Petros' own work with the Elemental Guild has been
excellent, having moved them through alpha and beta phases, as the
process of recode for that other spellcaster challenge winds toward
its conclusion. Fantastic work on this! Navarre's efforts with the PoT
have been delayed time and again due to unfortunate curses slung at
him by the nefarious demons of RL. We must join our hands and chant
the spell of warding that these demons might flee in 2014! *ohhhm,
ohhhhm, ohhhhm* There. That should do it.

The goal of the new client is perhaps the most significant improvement
to the game of the new millenium. Seriously! In conjunction with the
magic map, the new character creation process, and the tutorial, our
game is now completely newbie-ready, and there is nothing standing in
the way of our first-time visitors from having an experience likely to
make them feel at home without "mud confusion" (TM). Again, Eowul is
the primary author of this improvement. But his excellent work was
coupled with the efforts of Mercade, who plugged many aspects of GMCP
(protocol) into the mudlib so the client could talk to the game, and
to Cotillion who installed websocket tech and html5 compatability
conversion efforts. All of this combined to create the awesome-sauce
that is our new client. 

The pvp battleground and Anniversary event have not yet gotten all
that far into development, but you will notice that I've been
experimenting with Death and Pvp issues as part of my preparation to
make these things happen. In the next few months I'll push onward in
that effort more and more. And, we will also be soon gearing up for
our world-wide invite and process of tracking down all of our old
mud-friends.

Looking at a completely different topic, 2013 could almost be called
the "YEAR OF EVENTS" for all of the many things players were called
to be part of. From the Easter Eggshell event, to the All Hallow's
Eve scavenger hunt, to the Necro-Thanksgiving, to the (currently
running) Christmas Ham Smokeoff - it has been an ongoing stream
of event-gaming-goodness. Hat's off to the AoE team and the various
people who have been part of making this happen (Eowul, Petros, and
your's truly. Stern gets all the snacks.)

Another great thing this year is the amount of mapping that has
taken place. Entire domains have been fully mapped, including Cirath,
Sparkle, and Emerald. Much work has been done in Earthsea, Shire,
and Gondor, all spurred on by the wonderful dynamic-map that is
part of the new official client. Fan-cartograph-stic! (hmm ...)

Some new efforts for promotion were made, with a convention-friendly
poster being commissioned and developed by artist Denis Loubet in
conjunction with a new-player survey that lets us know if people
found the game via various means (including such things as a poster,
and where it might have been spotted.) We'll hope to see our poster
put up at many conventions in the coming year, and discover if this
yields results.

There were myriad small-scale improvements made the the game, as
happens in any year. Noteworthy among these was the heaping of
herb objects which finally did away with the dreadful screen after
screen of spam people used to have to put up with upon login. We
also got some new fun steeds in Tyr (thanks Serpine!) and
notification for players when a room's light/darkness status
changes (thanks Mercade!) 

I'll shift now to a frank discussion of where we are with regard to
the timeline devised at the end of Winter last year for completion
of all the balance recodes for guilds. Here is where things sit:

  OCCUPATIONAL:

    Morgul Mages - Completed! *cheer* (Eowul)
    ScoP         - conceptually underway, with progress contingent
                   on things successfully begun and still in
                   development with the EW layman guild (Petros)
    PoT          - much has been done in converting their spells
                   to the new system, but much remains (Navarre)
    Monks        - no progress. Arandir's code is good, but makes
                   the writings of Emmanuel Kant seem like light
                   reading. Brave wizards needed here!
    Union        - conceptually underway, with some intermittent
                   attempts by myself to tackle various issues.
                   Not very far along, sadly, and much more work
                   is needed.
    Kender       - Nothing yet, but Cotillion has signed on to
                   be the lead on this recode, which is FANTASTIC
                   news! Conceptually underway with many very fun
                   concepts in the hopper.
    Rangers      - Nothing yet. Eowul will return and tackle this
                   once he shruggs off various RL impediments.
  LAYMAN:

    Heralds      - Same as Rangers. Eowul's on it eventually.
    Elementals   - Nearly complete. Petros has done fantastic
                   work getting the guild redone and processing
                   an alpha and beta period of testing. Final
                   assessment and tweaks pending, this will be
                   complete very soon, we believe.
    Archers      - No progress to report.
    Minstrel     - No progress to report.
    Necro        - No progress to report.

Well ... heh ... we tried. Clearly, though, it isn't going to be
possible to finish all that remains in time for the Anniversary.
Falling short of our very ambitious goals with the guild recodes
doesn't disappoint me overly much - I knew the goals were darn
near unattainable when I set them (seemingly a pattern with me!)
What I feel we can take away from this, regardless of how far
along we are once we get to that April date, is that we have made
important gains, and kept the fire lit in so many ways here in
the game. Moreover, a proper celebration of our Anniversary is in
no way contingent on guild recodes being finished. The goal there
will be celebration of the community with as many old faces as we
can round up.

A bit more on guilds, though. Let's look at the data with guild
membership and activity levels over 2013 in comparison with the
numbers from 2012:

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
          2012 Ranking (Entire Day)   2013 Ranking (Entire Day)
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
         1.  Angmar  (1.407)               1.  Angmar  (1.228)
         2.  Mercs   (1.144)               2.  Mercs   (1.152)
         3.  Glads   (0.658)               3.  Glads   (1.054)
         4.  Rangers (0.562)               4.+^Ogres   (0.673)
         5.  Monks   (0.459)               5.  Mages   (0.663)
         6.  DArmy   (0.415)               6.  Monks   (0.586)
         7.  Niedar  (0.385)                   Knights (0.586)
         8.  Mages   (0.213)               7.  Niedar  (0.565)
         9.  Knights (0.114)               8.  DArmy   (0.271)
        10.  Ogres   (0.114)               9. -Rangers (0.217)
        11.  Calians (0.043)              10.  Calians (0.163)
        12.  Union   (0.035)              11.  PoT     (0.054)
        13.  PoT     (0.027)              12.  Academ. (0.021)
        14.  Kender  (0.016)              13.  Union   (0.010)
             Cadets  (0.016)              14.  Cadets  (0.000)
        15.  Academ. (0.013)                   Kender  (0.000)
        16.  ScoP    (0.000)                   ScoP    (0.000)
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
                   + Biggest gain  (Ogres at +0.559)
                   - Biggest loss  (Rangers at -0.345)
                   ^ Biggest rise  (Ogres up 7 ranks)
                   ! Biggest fall  (Rangers down 7 ranks)
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
                  Representation During Peak Hour 
      (22:00 gametime in 2012)        (21:00 gametime in 2013)
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
        1.  Mercs   (3.375)              1.  Angmar  (3.177)
        2.  Angmar  (2.718)              2. -Mercs   (2.336)
        3.  Monks   (1.937)              3.  Rangers (1.655)
        4.  Rangers (1.687)              4.  Monks   (1.625)
        5.  Niedar  (1.437)              5.  Glads   (1.472)
        6.  Glads   (1.125)              6.  Niedar  (1.459)
        7.  Mages   (0.968)              7.  DArmy   (1.357)
        8.  DArmy   (0.937)              8.+^Knights (1.237)
        9.  Cadets  (0.906)              9.  Mages   (1.131)
       10.  Calian  (0.875)             10.  Ogres   (0.950)
       11.  Ogres   (0.656)             11.  Union   (0.579)
       12.  Knights (0.593)             12.  Calian  (0.576)
       13.  PoT     (0.500)             13.  PoT     (0.415)
       14.  Union   (0.406)             14.  Kender  (0.344)
       15.  Academ. (0.281)             15. !Cadets  (0.275)
       16.  ScoP    (0.218)             16.  ScoP    (0.193)
       17.  Kender  (0.187)             17.  Academ. (0.191)
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
                   + Biggest gain  (Knights at +0.644)
                   - Biggest loss  (Mercs at -1.039)
                   ^ Biggest rise  (Knights up 5 ranks)
                   ! Biggest fall  (Cadets down 7 ranks)
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The numbers in parenthesis represent the APH for a given guild. I've
marked below each chart the most salient changes between the two
years. It looks to have been a very good year for both Ogres and
Knights. Rangers should not dispair over their loss of rank in the
"entire day" chart, because based on their #3 ranking in the next
display, it seems clear that Rangers actually have just as many
active members as other guilds, they simply all tend to play during
peak hours. What I really love is the fact that we are seeing all
ships (nearly) rise with the tide. As the playerbase continues to
build with the upward trend, more and more guilds will come to life
and feel like an active "home" for the unique roleplay inherent to
the theme of each. 

So, looking forward, what might we expect for 2014? The fact that we
have the Anniversary celebration looming can only mean good things, I
predict. The "big push" that starts now will involve as a direct goal
in and of itself, the effort to rally as a community to contact as
many persons as we can who we remember from the game's past, and invite
them to come join in the celebration with us in April. In so doing,
it is quite likely than certain among them will find a visit to their
old home satisfying in ways they had forgotten existed, and bring
them back into the fold as more than just a visitor. We shall see!

More than this, all that we do every day in the development of this
game will continue. Guild recodes will be completed, more of the game
will be mapped, and new content will be added in ways both looked for
and unexpected. We might even see a new guild rear its worm-infested
head in 2014, fresh with Necrabellum lore to put to good use! What
I love about each new year in the game is the things that cannot be
predicted, but which bring so much richness to the game. More than
anything, this comes from all of the players who make Genesis their
hobby and their home. Onward and upward, we play on, and I remain
grateful to be your Keeper for another year of community together.

Cheers, and let's make it a great one!
G.
Mmmmmm ... pie ...

User avatar
gorboth
Site Admin
Posts: 2352
Joined: 03 Mar 2010 20:51
Location: Some old coffin

SOTD - 2014

Post by gorboth » 23 Jun 2018 01:04

Code: Select all

Posted Feb 21, 2015

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:
==================

    I.   Things are *REALLY* looking up.
    II.  Um ... just go ahead and take your lunch hour to read this. It's
         gonna be loooooooong.
    III. Now is the time! Make 2015 the year we will always look back on
         in gratitude!

==================

Esteemed Fellow Genesis Enthusiasts,

Belatedly, yet with no less enthusiasm, I finally have found the time to
take full stock of what was this last year of 2014 for our humble game and
devise for you this annual State of the Donut. Much as it pains me, I must
urge you who (like me) prefer things old-school, to set your screen width
using <options> to 100 to properly view this post, as some of the information
is just too big for our standard 80 characters! (a big year deserves a big
post, after all ...)

I will say, too, that this assessment cannot reasonably end with the final
days of 2014, for, our story has built to a point now where to ignore the
beginnings of the New Year would be misleading and fall short of what we all
should know and celebrate. Therefore, I take our assessment up to the present
day where we are into the later portion of our second month of 2015.

So, lets get right to the data, shall we? (WE SHALL!)

Oh, and for reference, the number at the left is APH (Average Players per Hour)

+-------------------------------------------------------------------------+
|                                                                         |
|  Average player activity by week for entire year, beginning Jan 01 2014 |
|                                                                         |
+---------+-----+----+-----+----+----+-----+----+-----+----+----+-----+---+
|    48.5 |     |    |     |    |    |     |    |     |    |    |    X|   |    |
|    48.0 |     |    |     |    |    |     |    |     |    |    |    X|   |    |
|    47.5 |     |    |     |    |    |     |    |     |    |    |    X|   |    |
|    47.0 |     |    |     |    |    |     |    |     |    |    |    X|   |    |
|    46.5 |     |    |     |    |    |     |    |     |    |    |    X|   |    |
|    46.0 |     |    |     |    |    |     |    |     |    |    |    X|   |    |
|    45.5 |     |    |     |    |    |     |    |     |    |    |    X|   |    |
|    45.0 |     |    |     |    |    |     |    |     |    |    |    X|   |    |
|    44.5 |     |    |     |    |    |     |    |     |    |    |    X|   |    |
|    44.0 |     |    |     |    |    |     |    |     |    |    |    X|   |    |
|    43.5 |     |    |     |    |    |     |    |     |    |    |    X|   |    |
|    43.0 |     |    |     |    |    |     |    |     |    |    |    X|   |    |
|    42.5 |     |    |     |    |    |     |    |     |    |    |    X|   |    |
|    42.0 |     |    |     |    |    |     |    |     |    |    |    X|   |    |
|    41.5 |     |    |     |    |    |     |    |     |    |    |    X|   |    |
|    41.0 |     |    |     |    |    |     |    |     |    |    |    X|   |    |
|    40.5 |     |    |     |    |    |     |    |     |    |    |    X|   |    |
|    40.0 |     |    |     |    |    |     |    |     |    |    |    X|   |    |
|    39.5 |     |    |     |    |    |     |    |     |    |    |    X|   |    |
|    39.0 |     |    |     |    |    |     |    |     |    |    |    X|   |    |
|    38.5 |     |    |     |    |    |     |    |     |    |    |    X|X  |    |
|    38.0 |     |    |     |    |    |     |    |     |    |    |    X|X  |    |
|    37.5 |     |    |     |    |    |     |    |     |    |    |    X|X  |    |
|    37.0 |     |    |     |    |    |     |    |     |    |    |    X|X  |    |
|    36.5 |     |    |     |    |    |     |    |     |    |    |    X|X  |    |
|    36.0 |     |    |     |    |    |     |    |     |    |    |    X|X  |    |
|    35.5 |     |    |     |    |    |     |    |     |    |    |    X|X  |    |
|    35.0 |     |    |     |    |    |     |    |     |    |    |    X|X  |    |
|    34.5 |     |    |     |    |    |     |    |     |    |    |    X|X  |    |
|    34.0 |     |    |     |    |    |     |    |     |    |    |    X|X  |    |
|    33.5 |     |    |     |    |    |     |    |     |    |    |    X|X  |    |
|    33.0 |     |    |     |    |    |     |    |     |    |    |    X|X  |    |
|    32.5 |     |    |     |    |    |     |    |     |    |    |    X|X  |    | X
|    32.0 |     |    |     |    |    |     |    |     |    |    |    X|X  |    |XXX
|    31.5 |     |    |     |    |    |     |    |     |    |    |    X|X  |    |XXX
|    31.0 |     |    |     |    |    |     |    |     |    |    |    X|X  |    |XXX
|    30.5 |     |    |     |    |    |     |    |     |    |    |    X|X  |    |XXX
|    30.0 |     |    |     |    |    |     |    |     |    |    |    X|X  |    |XXX
|    29.5 |     |    |     |    |    |     |    |     |    |    |    X|X  |    |XXX
|    29.0 |     |    |     |    |    |     |    |     |    |    |    X|X  |    |XXX
|    28.5 |     |    |     |    |    |     |    |     |    |    |    X|X  |    |XXX
|    28.0 |     |    |     |    |    |     |    |     |    |    |    X|X  |    |XXX
|    27.5 |     |    |     |    |    |     |    |     |    |    |    X|X  |    |XXX
|    27.0 |     |    |     |    |    |     |    |     |    |    |    X|X  |    |XXX
|    26.5 |     |    |     |    |    |     |    |     |    |    |    X|X  |    |XXX
|    26.0 |     |    |     |    |    |     |    |     |    |    |    X|X  |    |XXX
|    25.5 |     |    |     |    |    |     |    |     |    |    |    X|X  |    |XXX
|    25.0 |     |    |     |    |    |     |    |     |    |    |    X|X  |    |XXX
|    24.5 |     |    |     |    |    |     |    |     |    |    |    X|X  |    |XXX
|    24.0 |     |    |     |    |    |     |    |     |    |    |   XX|X  |    |XXX
|    23.5 |     |    |     |    |    |     |    |     |    |    |   XX|X  |   X|XXX
|    23.0 |     |    |     |    |    |     |    |     |    |    |   XX|X  |   X|XXX
|    22.5 |     |    |     |    |    |     |    |     |    |    |   XX|X  |   X|XXX
|    22.0 |     |    |     |    |    |     |    |     |    |    |   XX|X  |   X|XXX
|    21.5 |     |    |     |    |    |     |    |     |    |    |   XX|X  |   X|XXX
|    21.0 |     |    |     |    |    |     |    |     |    |    |   XX|X  |   X|XXX
|    20.5 |     |    |     |    |    |     |    |     |    |    |   XX|X  |   X|XXX
|    20.0 |     |    |     |    |    |     |    |     |    |    |   XX|X  |   X|XXX
|    19.5 |     |    |     |    |    |     |    |     |    |    |   XX|X  |   X|XXX
|    19.0 |     |    |     |    |    |     |    |     |    |    |   XX|XX |   X|XXX
|    18.5 |     |    |     |    |    |     |    |     |    |    |   XX|XX |   X|XXX
|    18.0 |     |    |     |    |    |     |    |     |    |    |   XX|XX |  XX|XXX
|    17.5 |     |    |     |    |    |     |    |     |    |    |   XX|XX |  XX|XXX
|    17.0 | X   |    |     |    |    |     |    |     |    |    |   XX|XX | XXX|XXX
| A  16.5 |XX   |    |     |    |    |     |    |     |    |    |   XX|XXX|XXXX|XXX
| V  16.0 |XX   |    |     |    |    |     |    |     |    |    |   XX|XXX|XXXX|XXX
| G  15.5 |XX   |    |     |    |    |     |    |     |    |    |   XX|XXX|XXXX|XXX
|    15.0 |XX   |    |     |    |    |     |    |     |    |    |   XX|XXX|XXXX|XXX
| P  14.5 |XX   |  X |     |    |    |     |    |     |    |X   |   XX|XXX|XXXX|XXX
| E  14.0 |XX   | XX |     |    |    |     |    |     |    |X   |XXXXX|XXX|XXXX|XXX
| R  13.5 |XX XX| XX |     |    |    |     |    |     |    |XX X|XXXXX|XXX|XXXX|XXX
|    13.0 |XXXXX|XXXX|     |    |    |     |    |     |   X|XXXX|XXXXX|XXX|XXXX|XXX
| H  12.5 |XXXXX|XXXX|     |    |    |     |    |     | X X|XXXX|XXXXX|XXX|XXXX|XXX
| O  12.0 |XXXXX|XXXX|     |    |    |     |    |     | XXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXX|XXXX|XXX
| U  11.5 |XXXXX|XXXX|     |    |    |     |    |  X  |XXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXX|XXXX|XXX
| R  11.0 |XXXXX|XXXX|     |    |    |     |    |  XX |XXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXX|XXXX|XXX
|    10.5 |XXXXX|XXXX|     |    |XXX |     |    |  XX |XXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXX|XXXX|XXX
| E  10.0 |XXXXX|XXXX|  X  |    |XXXX|XXXX |    |  XXX|XXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXX|XXXX|XXX
| A   9.5 |XXXXX|XXXX|XXX  |  X |XXXX|XXXX |    |  XXX|XXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXX|XXXX|XXX
| C   9.0 |XXXXX|XXXX|XXX X|  XX|XXXX|XXXXX|XX  | XXXX|XXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXX|XXXX|XXX
| H   8.5 |XXXXX|XXXX|XXX X|  XX|XXXX|XXXXX|XX  | XXXX|XXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXX|XXXX|XXX
|     8.0 |XXXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XX X| XXXX|XXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXX|XXXX|XXX
| W   7.5 |XXXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX| XXXX|XXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXX|XXXX|XXX
| E   7.0 |XXXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX| XXXX|XXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXX|XXXX|XXX
| E   6.5 |XXXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX| XXXX|XXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXX|XXXX|XXX
| K   6.0 |XXXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXX|XXXX|XXX
+---------+-----+----+-----+----+----+-----+----+-----+----+----+-----+---+----+--
|  Month  |Jan  |Feb |Mar  |Apr |May |Jun  |Jul |Aug  |Sep |Oct |Nov  |Dec| 2015
+---------+-----+----+-----+----+----+-----+----+-----+----+----+-----+---+

Whooooooooaaaah ... I mean ... really ... whoa!

Did you just have to hit the <enter> key about three times to get that whole
thing displayed? Yeah. That's what happened this year. And it's weird,
because prior to the end of November, this year was on its way to being
actually somewhat blase. The graph from January through the end of July
is, in fact, downright depressing. But ... but ... as a certain greenthumb
hobbit might say, "Glory and Trumpets!" if that isn't the most beautiful
spike I've ever seen right at the beginning of December! Holy Shizzle, my
Dizzle is Fizzle. Whizzle and Schmizzle! *slap self* 

So, those of you who were around in that two week period remember what was
going on. A strange experiment was tried where during a "turkey" event,
simply being logged in to provide care/love for your companion would
actually provide you with nominal amounts of quest experience. In the
American film "Field of Dreams" from the 1980's a famous quote was, "If
you build it, they will come." I guess here, we can say, "If you make qxp
easily available just for logging in, the playerbase will triple." This is
somewhat ironic given the fact that in the months leading up to this
experiment, discussion and project theory was in hot pursuit of the idea
of making quest experience far less meaningful to players. Seeing this spike,
any wizard (and perhaps players) must wonder, "Is that actually a smart
idea?" The jury remains out. But, the effect is undeniable. In this two
week period, we saw player activity at levels that have not been
experienced in Genesis in the new millennium.

And, so, the event ended, and player numbers dropped back to what they had
been bef... or ... hmm? They didn't? Oh shoop ... check out the first
two months of 2015. What the fuff? Okay ... uh ... whoah. Whooooooooooah.

Yeah, we have to do that twice.

So here's the thing. Some *AMAZINGLY AWESOME* teacher decided to have his
class log in to genesis every day. We don't know who it was, but this
person is officially a legend. By doing so, the teacher had the students
all create characters and download the google app that has been available
for the last few years. This suddenly surge of use of the app triggered
somthing in the ALMIGHTY google algorithm that said, "From Henceforth
The Genesis App Shall Be Visible Upon Top List For Various Categories
In Our Chrome App Store." (we suspect, anyway)

And the Google Gods looked upon their algorithm. And it was Good. And
the Donut began to have *hundreds* of newbies create characters every
single day. The vast majority of these newbies said, "What the frick?"
and instantly quit. However, this massive influx of new visitors 
naturally exposed people who *belong* here to our wonderful world for
the first time. "Conversion" of new visitors to actual lasting players
began to be a real thing. And, as the algorithm continues to bless our
app with its favor, the influx continues at a healthy and lovely
pace, with truly NEW newbies playing, and staying, and becoming members
of our community each and every day. 

Perspective is always important. How good have things become in the long
scheme of things? Lets take a look from the entire history of the census
since it was implemented at the end of 2007:


+----+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------+-----------+
|APH |   15.8    |    16.1   |   13.0    |    14.0   |   10.7    |   12.5     |   13.33   |
+----+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------+-----------+
|32.5|                                                                                     X
|32.0|                                                                                     X
|31.5|                                                                                     X
|31.0|                                                                                     X
|30.5|                                                                                     X
|30.0|                                                                                     X
|29.5|                                                                                     X
|29.0|                                                                                     X
|28.5|                                                                                     X
|28.0|                                                                                     X
|27.5|                                                                                   X X
|27.0|                                                                                   X X
|26.5|                                                                                   X X
|26.0|                                                                                   X X
|25.5|                                                                                   X X
|25.0|                                                                                   X X
|24.5|                                                                                   X X
|24.0|                                                                                   X X
|23.5|                                                                                   X X
|23.0|                                                                                   X X
|22.5|                                                                                   X X
|22.0|                                                                                   X X
|21.5|                                                                                   X X
|21.0|      XX                                                                           X X
|20.5|      XX                                                                           X X
|20.0|      XX                                                                           XXX
|19.5|      XX                                                                           XXX
|19.0|      XX                                                                           XXX
|18.5|      XX                                                                          XXXX
|18.0|      XX                                                                          XXXX
|17.5|      XX     X  X                           X                                     XXXX
|17.0|     XXX     X  X X                         XX                                    XXXX
|16.5|     XXX     XX XXXX                        XX                                    XXXX
|16.0|   X XXX     XXXXXXXXX                      XX                                    XXXX
|15.5|XX X XXX    XXXXXXXXXX    X                 XX                                    XXXX
|15.0|XX X XXX    XXXXXXXXXX   XX    X         XXXXX              X       X   X         XXXX
|14.5|XX XXXXXX   XXXXXXXXXX   XX    X         XXXXX              X       X X XX        XXXX
|14.0|XX XXXXXX   XXXXXXXXXX   XX    X        XXXXXX              X       X X XX       XXXXX
|13.5|XXXXXXXXX   XXXXXXXXXX  XXX  X X        XXXXXX             XX       XXXXXX       XXXXX
|13.0|XXXXXXXXXX  XXXXXXXXXXX XXX  X XX     XXXXXXXX             XX       XXXXXX       XXXXX
|12.5|XXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX X XX    XXXXXXXXX            XXX       XXXXXX       XXXXX
|12.0|XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXX  XXXXXXXXXXXX           XXXX XX   XXXXXX      XXXXXX
|11.5|XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXX  XXXXXXXXXXXX           XXXX XX   XXXXXX      XXXXXX
|11.0|XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXXXX   X     X XXXX XXX  XXXXXX      XXXXXX
|10.5|XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX   XX   XX XXXXXXXX  XXXXXX  XX  XXXXXX
|10.0|XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX  XXXX  XXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXX  XX  XXXXXX
| 9.5|XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXX  XXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXX XX XXXXXXX
| 9.0|XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXX XXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXX
| 8.5|XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
| 8.0|XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
| 7.5|XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
+----+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------+-----------+
|Mnth|JFMAMJJASONDJFMAMJJASONDJFMAMJJASONDJFMAMJJASONDJFMAMJJASONDJFMAMJJASONDJFMAMJJASONDJF
+----+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------+-----------+
|Year|   2008    |    2009   |   2010    |   2011    |   2012    |   2013     |   2014    |
+----+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------+-----------+

Okay. Yeah. *deep breath*

So, for the last seven years, there has been a gold standard to which all 
census numbers hoped to once again aspire, and it was that incredible bump
that the game got back in the Summer of 2008 when we finally re-opened the
long-forsaken Angmar's Army guild. That 21.0 APH (average players per hour)
was a high water mark that always seemed like, if we could just get back to
those numbers, we'd really have something. What is funny, is that right now,
I feel like if we go back to those numbers, something has gone wrong. Truly!
The "new normal" makes that bump back in 2008 feel like a big step backward.

My friends! Have we done it?! But, wait ... lets reduce resolution one tick
further, so we can examine things on a quarterly basis. You know, data is
fun and different lenses help boil things down:

+---------+----------------------------------------------------------------+
|    24.5 |                                                                X
|    24.0 |                                                                X
|    23.5 |                                                                X
|    23.0 |                                                                X
|    22.5 |                                                                X
|    22.0 |                                                                X
|    21.5 |                                                                X
|    21.0 |                                                                X
|    20.5 |                                                                X
|    20.0 |                                                              X X
|    19.5 |                                                              X X
| A  19.0 |            X                                                 X X
| V  18.5 |            X                                                 X X
| G  18.0 |            X                                                 X X
|    17.5 |            X     X                                           X X
| P  17.0 |            X   X X                                           X X
| E  16.5 |          X X   X X X                                         X X
| R  16.0 |          X X   X X X               X                         X X
|    15.5 |      X   X X   X X X               X                         X X
| H  15.0 |      X X X X   X X X               X                         X X
| O  14.5 |      X X X X   X X X   X           X                         X X
| U  14.0 |      X X X X   X X X X X         X X                 X       X X
| R  13.5 |      X X X X   X X X X X   X     X X                 X       X X
|    13.0 |      X X X X   X X X X X   X     X X X               X       X X
| E  12.5 |      X X X X X X X X X X X X   X X X X         X     X X     X X
| A  12.0 |      X X X X X X X X X X X X   X X X X       X X     X X     X X
| C  11.5 |      X X X X X X X X X X X X   X X X X       X X X X X X     X X
| H  11.0 |      X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X       X X X X X X     X X
|    10.5 |      X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X     X X X X X X X     X X
| Q  10.0 |      X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X   X X X X X X X X X X X
| R   9.5 |      X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X
| T   9.0 |      X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X
| R   8.5 |      X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X
|     8.0 |      X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X
|     7.5 |      X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X
+---------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+--------+
|  Month  |1 2 3 4|1 2 3 4|1 2 3 4|1 2 3 4|1 2 3 4|1 2 3 4|1 2 3 4|1 2 3 4 |
+---------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+--------+
|   Year  |  2007 |  2008 |  2009 |  2010 |  2011 |  2012 |  2013 |  2014  2015
+---------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+--------+
|Yr. Ave. |  15.5 |  15.8 |  16.1 |  13.0 |  14.0 |  10.7 |  12.5 |  13.33 |
+---------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+--------+

So here's the fascinating thing ... if we take all the data from 2007 forward
until just before the big spike, the APH for the entire time is around 13.41.
Going forward from there, the APH is around 25.61. This is an increase of
90.87%. I'd like to go back ... waaaaay way back to my first goal-setting
post as Keeper, back in 2007, in which I stated:

======================[Gorboth, Oct 25, 2007]===============================

The reason I have volunteered to serve as Keeper is that I have a firm
belief that this game has not yet met its potential. What potential am
I talking about? I think it all comes down to having a healthy playerbase.
So, I'll come right out with my main vision:

    -**- To double the playerbase in one year's time. -**-

To begin with, we need to recognize what we are working with. What started
as a fun project for a computer club in Sweden has, over 15 years of
continued development, blossomed into a vast arena for our recreational
enjoyment.

The game hasn't been very focused in its development, though. Widely varying
talents and philosophies of game design have lead to a structure that is,
at best, loosely knit together with parts that function individually,
rather than as a whole. Such a design is palpable for those of us
who are old warhorses around here. We're used to it, and can tough out
the rough edges of the game. But ... newcomers? No!

So, as many of you have pointed out over the years, there is a lot of
restructuring and renovation that needs tackling, design-wise, to improve
the game for the types of people we hope to attract.

A phrase made popular by a movie a few dacades ago states:

    "If you build it, they will come."

I do not believe that this applies to Genesis. We have built it, they
aren't coming anymore. We need to change our angle. I think, instead,
this is a more useful view:

    "If you build it properly, those who come will stay."

Yes! So, the wizards have some work to do. We need to restructure things
so that those people who find their way to the game will find it instantly
appealing, engrossing, addictive, and satisfying. But this is only half
of the battle. We still need to find ways to get them to come, and that
has almost nothing to do with coding the game. Instead, it has to do with
promotion. But more on that later.

===========================[end ancient post recap]==========================

So ... given that I wrote that 7 years ago, and with an increase lately over
the APH of those 7 years of around 90% ... we finally, FINALLY can begin to
imagine that we are reaching the goal of doubling the playerbase. And, the
phrase "if you build it properly, those who come will stay" is what I've hoped
for many years to be true. I'd like to take a look back at the things we've
done over the years to prepare for this, the long-awaited time when we have
newbies flocking to our doorstep, hopefully finding a place properly built,
so that they wish to stay. Our steps toward the build have been:

==============================================================================
1996 and before  - Genesis exists in an expanded but fundamentally
                   unchanged form from when it was first re-launched in
                   1992. Content and player options have evolved, but
                   the game remains drastically hardcore for the average
                   newbie, who is expected to know how to get along, because
                   to even find the game requires knowledge of telnet and
                   the pre-browser-based internet.
==============================================================================
1997             - Cadets of Gelan opened as a newbie guild meant to
                   make the game friendly for newcomers - perhaps the first
                   dedicated effort along these lines in the history of
                   the game.
==============================================================================
1998             - First Genesis website established, detailing the various
                   domains of Genesis and other useful content.
==============================================================================
2004             - Original character creation (Hall of Bodies in Waiting)
                   replaced with current menu-driven selection scheme.
                 - Tutori Isle (Tutorial) area opened.
                 - Newbie pin and <ntell> line established.
                 - Faerie created as a newbie-friendly zone near Sparkle.
                 - Disparate racial start-locations eliminated so that
                   all characters now begin in Sparkle.
==============================================================================
2005             - Player Rankings introduced on the webpage.
==============================================================================
2007             - Team commands improved, vastly.
==============================================================================
2008             - Who-list changed to show names of all players, whether
                   you have met them or not.
                 - Auction House created in Sparkle
                 - Orb system listing all quests in the game developed.
                 - Magic Map created as inventory item and implemented
                   in the Tutorial and Sparkle.
                 - First Genesis-specific client created. Very
                   simple, but allows people to play without telnet.
                 - Gem deposits added to banks for storing more valuable
                   currency.
                 - First repeatable (weekly) quest introduced via the
                   Wednesday Market.
                 - Global Guild Balance project begun.
                 - <help rules> revised, eliminating unpolicable and
                   outdated taboos such as quest runthroughs, outside
                   chatline use, etc.
                 - Shiplines altered to run through Sparkle, creating
                   Hub of activity so players naturally encounter eachother.
==============================================================================
2009             - Sparkle Recoded to represent modern levels of game
                   design and quality (previously, it was dreadfully
                   simple and unchanged since 1992.)
                 - Website redesigned completely, using Denis Loubet's
                   original artwork.
==============================================================================
2010             - Academy of Elemental Arts created as magic-style
                   companion to the Cadet's guild. Newbies now have two
                   excellent starter experiences, one melee, one magic.
                 - Official Genesis Forum created, offering a moderated
                   place to discuss game issues between players and
                   developers.
                 - FMud utilized as a web-based client to play Genesis.
                 - Hints implemented with quest orbs.
                 - Hired Denis Loubet to provide Genesis with original
                   artwork for the website and other uses.
==============================================================================
2011             - Created imbuements to bring modern notions of random
                   loot and rare spawns to global drops from mobs.
                 - Created the Sparkle Tours for new players to have
                   high-quality first experiences with questing.
                 - New website, using Denis Loubet's artwork, goes live.
                 - Second version of the Genesis client created,
                   incorporating many more modern features and some
                   graphic improvements.
==============================================================================
2012             - Guild racks given auto-recovery at Armageddon for
                   all glowing items.
                 - Instancing techology created for Genesis, and
                   implemented in the tutorial in case handling of vast
                   numbers of new people all at once is ever needed.
==============================================================================
2013             - Massive infrastructure improvements for the client
                   via mudlib protocols, allowing the official client to
                   incorporate the magic map in a peristent display which
                   shows your character moving around an ascii map. Finally,
                   there is a legitimate reason to use something other than
                   CMUD or ZMUD. Additionally, the client supports creation
                   of scripts, aliases, triggers, etc.
==============================================================================
2014             - Genesis client added to the Google App Store.
                 - Website re-designed with a much more modern appearance.
==============================================================================
2015             - Google decides Genesis deserves higher rank, resulting
                   in unprecedented new character visits. The work of the
                   past ten years is finally put to the test, and was not
                   in vain!
==============================================================================

So, you can see ... a great deal of work has gone into getting us to where
we are. Yes, it has been the Google Algorithm that finally brought us the
flood of new players, and we cannot be grateful enough for that excellent
turn of events. But had we not taken the last 15+ years to, step-by-step,
bring design of the game more into the modern era, with a specific goal of
making things friendly for new players and sustainably interesting and
balanced for continuing players, we would be poorly positioned to transfer
any of these new arrivals into community members.

So, my Genesis friends - this is indeed a celebration! More on that after
we examine some specific things about this year.

It is always fun to see what has happened with our various guilds in
the game. Let's examine the trends:

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
          2013 Ranking (Entire Day)  2014 Ranking (Entire Day)
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
         1.  Angmar  (1.228)              1.  Mercs   (1.430)
         2.  Mercs   (1.152)              2.^+Rangers (1.101)
         3.  Glads   (1.054)              3.  Monks   (1.038)
         4.  Ogres   (0.673)              4.  Angmar  (0.989)
         5.  Mages   (0.663)              5.  DArmy   (0.668)
         6.  Monks   (0.586)              6.  Knights (0.410)
             Knights (0.586)              7.  Calian  (0.301)
         7.  Neidar  (0.565)              8.  Ogres   (0.298)
         8.  DArmy   (0.271)              9.  Neidar  (0.293)
         9.  Rangers (0.217)             10.-!Glads   (0.268)
        10.  Calians (0.163)             11.  Mage    (0.126)
        11.  PoT     (0.054)             12.  ScoP    (0.109)
        12.  Academ. (0.021)             13.  Union   (0.104)
        13.  Union   (0.010)             14.  Cadet   (0.087)
        14.  Cadets  (0.000)             15.  Academ. (0.024)
             Kender  (0.000)             16.  Kender  (0.019)
             ScoP    (0.000)             17.  PoT     (0.019)
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
                   + Biggest gain  (Rangers at +0.884)
                   - Biggest loss  (Glads at -0.786)
                   ^ Biggest rise  (Rangers up 8 ranks)
                   ! Biggest fall  (Glads down 7 ranks)
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
                  Representation During Peak Hour 
      (21:00 gametime in 2013)        (21:00 gametime in 2014)
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
        1.  Angmar  (3.177)              1.  Mercs   (2.534)
        2.  Mercs   (2.336)              2. -Angmar  (2.271)
        3.  Rangers (1.655)              3.  Rangers (2.189)
        4.  Monks   (1.625)              4.  Monks   (2.043)
        5.  Glads   (1.472)              5.  DArmy   (1.454)
        6.  Neidar  (1.459)              6.^+Calian  (1.235)
        7.  DArmy   (1.357)              7.  Ogres   (1.183)
        8.  Knights (1.237)              8.  Glads   (0.813)
        9.  Mages   (1.131)              9.  Knights (0.805)
       10.  Ogres   (0.950)             10.  Mage    (0.739)
       11.  Union   (0.579)             11. !Neidar  (0.783)
       12.  Calian  (0.576)             12.  Union   (0.599)
       13.  PoT     (0.415)             13.  ScoP    (0.506)
       14.  Kender  (0.344)             14.  PoT     (0.416)
       15.  Cadets  (0.275)             15.  Cadet   (0.397)
       16.  ScoP    (0.193)             16.  Academ. (0.295)
       17.  Academ. (0.191)             17.  Kender  (0.109)
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
                   + Biggest gain  (Calians at +0.655)
                   - Biggest loss  (Angmar at -0.906)
                   ^ Biggest rise  (Calians up 6 ranks)
                   ! Biggest fall  (Neidar down 5 ranks)
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

What I love about this year is how, unlike 2013, there are no guilds who
didn't manage to register on the census for the APH for an entire day. The
lowest ranked guilds still manage to put some numbers on the board. Another
interesting factor is that numbers seem be more evenly distributed through
the various guilds, with no guilds dominating the landscape quite so much
as in 2013, especially during peak hours. 

Big winners for this year go to the Ranger and Calian guilds. Rangers made
a huge improvement from 2013, rising 8 ranks in the overall activity for
the year. Calians rose 3 ranks overall, and 6 ranks during peak play hours.
Gladiators and the Neidar Clan seem to have lost out, losing 7 ranks
in overall play, and 5 ranks in peak hour play, respectively. Amazingly,
the Angmar had the biggest single loss of all, dropping a staggering
0.906 APH in peak hour play, yet still managing to hang on to the #2 
position - a testimony to the strength of their guild and the dominance
they enjoyed in 2013.

Let's go ahead, now, and recap some of the highlights of 2014 (and beyond):

 - Death took a vacation, giving all players the chance to experiment
   for a few weeks in a relatively consequence-free environement. After
   a while, he returned, and most seemed to agree that he had been missed.

 - Elemental resistance was given attention, creating messages that would
   be displayed when such effects became active or removed, and a new
   apothecary in Emerald made such effects available to all players for
   a price.

 - Cherek was made Liege of Promotion, and began work in earnest on ways
   to increase the game's visibility and image.

 - The Traveller titles were renovated.

 - On a number of occasions the Balrog bragged about having elite imbuement
   items for players to hunt from him. He never kept them long.
  
 - Petros completed the recode of the Elemental Worshippers guild (huzzah!)

 - The wizard Skippern returned and resumed work on his old projects in
   Gondor, including Dol Amroth.

 - The Ravenloft Domain was formed under the leadership of its new Liege,
   Nerull, and much work was completed.

 - Lilith returned to Genesis, working on numerous fixes in Avenir, and
   joining the AoP team.

 - Cherek unveiled a complete redesign of the Genesis website, with a much
   upgraded look and feel, using many new images from our artist, Denis
   Loubet. 

 - An effort for global Quest Reform was undertaken, with a team of mortals
   joining together to helm the process of this monumental task.

 - The aforementioned Turkey Event for Thanksgiving was enjoyed by more
   players than the game has seen in the current millenium.

 - Cotillion made adjustments to the amount of exp awarded for npcs killed
   in relation to their difficulty, making some grind-zones more profitable.

 - Mercade introduced numerous new emotes and adverbs.

 - Since the New Year, Mercade has introduced numerous innovations, including
   larger mailboxes for council members, new level descriptions, failsafes
   against unintentional playerkilling, awareness of combat status, and
   numerous essential tool improvements for wizards. 

 - Mortis created an extensive new area in Palanthas for players to
   explore.

 - Newly active wizards have joined the force, working to improve the game,
   including Crux, Elmore, Leia, Lucius, Mirandus, Mortis, Skippern, Varian,
   and Zignur. (some of these, of course are old wizards returned to
   do their thing!)

 - Google Apps decided Genesis deserved some visibility, giving us an
   unanticipated, but long-prepared-for opportunity to greet hundreds of
   truly new players each week. Cotillion continues to monitor this app
   and tweak as is needed and advantageous.

 - Cherek became the new Archwizard of Players, and is doing a bang-up
   job!

Looking ahead, there are many exciting things on the horizon:

 - Petros has begun work on the recode for the Heralds of the Valar.

 - Boreaulam has nearly completed work on a new area in Sparkle.

 - Zhar coded a fun puzzle quest that is close to final version.

 - My own Necromancer occ guild has continued to progress, and awaits further
   development.

 - Cotillion has numerous tweaks and improvements to game design that he's
   hoping to implement.

 - Eowul and Varian are cooking up some truly nasty things in
   Middle Earth.

 - Streamlining the game for newbie-grind zones is underway.

 - Nerull has begun work on a Werewolf (Lycanthrope) guild for Ravenloft.


So, as you can see, it has been an amazing year, and looks to be even more
amazing as we move forward. In the last two months, I have seen the wizard
and player communties absolutely spring to life. With the players, it has
taken the form of countless people stepping up to the plate to meet, greet,
and help our newcomers, as well as engage in some more advanced guild-v-guild
warfare (long missed in Genesis!) In terms of wizards, we've had all sorts of
new activity trying to recognize, respond-to, and anticipate the future
experiences of our huge slew of new arrivals. In addition, we are beginning
to again see teams of wizards working together in individual domains to bring
dreams and visions to life for the next generation of our players.

I cannot thank enough my friends in the wizard community for their hard work
and dedication. Likewise, I admire and envy my friends in the player
community who continue to, day in and day out, make this world what it is -
a vibrant and living experience of roleplay and adventure. 

To both parties, I say - This is the time! Our hour has come! It is no longer
a matter of "when" or "if" we will see new faces at our doorstep. Now is the
day, my fellow Genesis Enthusiasts! Every single time you log in, you have
the opportunity to bring your goals to life. There are knocks at the doors
of long quiet guildhalls. Questioning voices ask of things that we have
all taken for granted, and yet these voices are in earnest! Seek out these new
voices and new faces, bring them into the fold, and breathe deeply as the
game swells its ranks, and your guilds rise with the tide.

Onward, my friends! Upward! 2015 is our time - your time - and we flourish!

Yours, beaming, lucky to be part of this game,
G.
Mmmmmm ... pie ...

Locked
http://tworzymyatmosfere.pl/przescieradla-jedwabne-z-gumka/