My two cents about Genesis

[Cherek]

I think there are many good pints in Rayo's notes, however obviously we can't, and according to me, should not, change it ALL. Like Creed said, it would turn into a completely different game. But there's many things Rayo suggested that we _could_ improve too, without changing the core of the game.

As for graphics, the magic map and web client has added graphics to the game, and I have heard nothing but praise from all players, and I dont think it has in any way changed Genesis as a game, it has just made it easier to understand the information presented to you by the game. And thats great I think.

Having that said, Genesis is not and will never be a mainstream game, and trying to turn it into one is not the way to go I think. But we can still improve many things, and input from truly new players of a younger generation is definitely very valuable, since it's those we have to attract to keep the game going. And surely the world must be big enough to have a few hundred people who'd like this game we have today?

[Zhar]

What was and still is the best thing about Genesis, in my eyes, is the ability to immerse yourself in your character, making it more or less possible to do anything you want to as that character.

We need some viable non-violent solutions for that to truly work, so we could push some of the population (and hopefully increase it) towards activities that don't involve combat. Politics and social interaction should be big in Genesis. I believe we're a bit too much hack 'n slash Diablo style and not enough WoD style: everything being based off of social activities and power struggles with combat being only an option and kind of a last resort.

That requires a lot of work though.

On the topic of making the game smaller and then periodically adding content:
While this does sound great, since we would get fresh things, could rid ourselves of some of the bad things in the process and move on in general, the scheduled updates are simply not possible. It's not like Genesis has 500 programmers working full-time just (or mostly) on that, like is in the case of games with bi-weekly/monthly updates this days.
What I think could potentially be possible is increasing the frequency of events and creating events that make a lasting change in the world, so that the players would have the sense of being a part of something big and getting more involved.

[Bromen]

I would be a huge fan of getting some sort of reward for politics or social interaction. Maybe we could get something coded so it shows guild alliances and enemies. In order to be considered allies, members of each guild need to have a certain amount of xp gained via teaming. The list of these guilds can be found in the Sparkle library or something similar.

As for non-combat xp, that's a hard one. Perhaps some team quests would be helpful. Something or puzzle that requires 2-5 people and the more you have, the better the xp.

Bromen

[Windemere]

There are some good examples of team-based puzzle related quests in Genesis.

Not many of them, but those that do exist are well done and enjoyable to do as a team. I think that the Fireball quest is one of the most enjoyable and entertaining I've done in a long time. When I first did it with Windemere there was a Morgul Mage who was on my team (I wasn't SCOP then). It was my first interaction with a Mage and it was out of that mage's necessity because he needed a team and we were available.

Other activities like that one and the events we have had in the past with team based components have been excellent for building camaraderie and engaging in a good healthy competition.

Now guild vs guild events have always been rather exciting as well. There was the Tree growing one that was a great deal of fun and pitted guilds against one another. Some sort of "permanent" component like that wold be rather enjoyable and work on the political side as well. Allies could help one another grow their "tree" or whatever it might be and work together to sabotage their enemies/opponents. I could see that being rather fun as well.

My thoughts anyways.

[Creed]

I have been putting some thoughts into social events..

Am having an idea where each participant gives 3-4 words about him/herself, and as the event runs you need to talk to other players to learn their words..
The player who has learned the words of most others, win.

That means that you have to play your role, as a character, so others can guess if you are "brave, curious, stupid, angry, mad" or whatever, and at the same time try to guess what they are.

As a last thing in the event, after everyone has submitted their answers, there should be some days where people might be disallowed, if they haven't been playing their role. So participants can look at the words of others, and see if the person has acted anywhere in the lines of those.

This way everyone will have a reason to make a role for his character, and have a reason to play it, test it and have fun with it.
I would personally be quite active if this happened, as it would be a great way to meet with other people and get to know them.

Some words shouldn't be possible.. such as "lying".. which would be too easy, since you'd just lie about everything you say or do.

[Cherek]

There are some good examples of team-based puzzle related quests in Genesis.

Not many of them, but those that do exist are well done and enjoyable to do as a team. I think that the Fireball quest is one of the most enjoyable and entertaining I've done in a long time. When I first did it with Windemere there was a Morgul Mage who was on my team (I wasn't SCOP then). It was my first interaction with a Mage and it was out of that mage's necessity because he needed a team and we were available.

I always loved the Fireball quest. It's kinda forgotten but I think, as you said, its an excellent way of providing a social, and rewarding activity. If I remember correct you can keep doing it and gain general XP every time, even after you've finished the quest. I dont think the general XP reward is that bad either? More stuff like that would probably be interesting to have as an alternative to the grind. I had a few really fun social couple of hours with playing fireball. Rewarding in more than one way!

[Cherek]

I have been putting some thoughts into social events..

Am having an idea where each participant gives 3-4 words about him/herself, and as the event runs you need to talk to other players to learn their words..
The player who has learned the words of most others, win.

That means that you have to play your role, as a character, so others can guess if you are "brave, curious, stupid, angry, mad" or whatever, and at the same time try to guess what they are.

As a last thing in the event, after everyone has submitted their answers, there should be some days where people might be disallowed, if they haven't been playing their role. So participants can look at the words of others, and see if the person has acted anywhere in the lines of those.

This way everyone will have a reason to make a role for his character, and have a reason to play it, test it and have fun with it.
I would personally be quite active if this happened, as it would be a great way to meet with other people and get to know them.

Some words shouldn't be possible.. such as "lying".. which would be too easy, since you'd just lie about everything you say or do.

I love it!

You see it as a Genesis event, with top lists, general / quest XP rewards etc?

[Creed]

I see it as an event, yes.

There should be a winner and runners up, with qxp for those and so on.
Qxp for each correct answer, and bonuses for those with the most, all given at the end.
Nobody should know if they are close or correct before the event ends.
I see it as an option for everyone to do something else. Or just do something alongside their grinding.
I can talk with people when fighting, so others can too.

But to know many and most, you would need to team with many different of all sizes.

There should be a minimum time played for participants, though. Nobody with less than 5-10 days played - from when the event begins.