State of the Donut - 2013

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gorboth
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State of the Donut - 2013

Post by gorboth » 07 Jan 2014 19:09

Code: Select all

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
Recoba
Great Adventurer
Posts: 193
Joined: 11 Mar 2010 12:52

Re: State of the Donut - 2013

Post by Recoba » 07 Jan 2014 22:29

Thanks for an excellent update as always, G!

Chanele
Champion
Posts: 566
Joined: 04 Mar 2010 12:39

Re: State of the Donut - 2013

Post by Chanele » 07 Jan 2014 23:11

Very good update Gorboth!

About guild activity,
Many guilds in the bottom awaits the new recode. I think we can count on an increase in played hours in those guilds after each finished recode. Very promising!

Cheers!

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

Re: State of the Donut - 2013

Post by gorboth » 08 Jan 2014 00:25

gorboth wrote:

Code: Select all

        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)
Good observation, Chanele, and spot-on true. The lowest ranks for activity for both years are, indeed, exactly the guilds that have not yet been recoded. The exception to the pattern is the Ranger guild, which still manages to stay active despite not being recoded.

G.
Mmmmmm ... pie ...

Shesara
Beginner
Posts: 21
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Contact:

Re: State of the Donut - 2013

Post by Shesara » 08 Jan 2014 21:43

Very nice update! Also very nice to see a lot of active players online! :D

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Amorana
Rising Hero
Posts: 304
Joined: 04 Nov 2013 20:26

Re: State of the Donut - 2013

Post by Amorana » 21 Jan 2014 16:53

I hate to be "that person", but...

Can we get some sort of a real update on guild recodes? I know wizards are busy and have lives, I totally get that things sometimes get slowed down by this. That isn't the issue for me - I am fine with things taking awhile as long as there is some sort of communication about it. For example, it would be great if the guilds who are actively being recoded (some of us for 2+ years now) were to have even an in-guild board update to where things stand, a realistic time frame expected, etc.

It's just a bit frustrating for those guilds who are continuing to await a recode to continually hear (for years) "recode coming soon."

Also: In before Laurel:
Amorana wrote:For example, it would be great if the guilds who are actively being recoded (some of us for 2+ years now)
:lol: :lol: :lol:
Zhar wrote: "Man, this guild I'm in is so god damn powerful! Please nerf or I'll have to leave it because it's no fun any more..."

Chanele
Champion
Posts: 566
Joined: 04 Mar 2010 12:39

Re: State of the Donut - 2013

Post by Chanele » 13 Feb 2014 18:56

I would also appreciate regular updates, you don't have to write a novel each time just a short update. Bad news or good news....at least we know how things goes.

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Zhar
Wizard
Posts: 1079
Joined: 17 Apr 2012 12:09

Re: State of the Donut - 2013

Post by Zhar » 13 Feb 2014 19:15

Amorana wrote:I hate to be "that person", but...

Can we get some sort of a real update on guild recodes? I know wizards are busy and have lives, I totally get that things sometimes get slowed down by this. That isn't the issue for me - I am fine with things taking awhile as long as there is some sort of communication about it. For example, it would be great if the guilds who are actively being recoded (some of us for 2+ years now) were to have even an in-guild board update to where things stand, a realistic time frame expected, etc.

It's just a bit frustrating for those guilds who are continuing to await a recode to continually hear (for years) "recode coming soon."

Also: In before Laurel:
Amorana wrote:For example, it would be great if the guilds who are actively being recoded (some of us for 2+ years now)
:lol: :lol: :lol:
On my part: Archers update - currently on hold (you can read more about it in the Land of the Immortals). Not that it matters much since the guild isn't really at the top of the activity charts anyway (they're not even included in the charts).
Time is precious. Waste it wisely.

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Snowrose
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Re: State of the Donut - 2013

Post by Snowrose » 12 Mar 2014 11:26

gorboth wrote: The exception to the pattern is the Ranger guild, which still manages to stay active despite not being recoded.
G.

This is because rangers are adaptive, independent and just generally rock! Plus we can just hide from things bigger than us.

Latly when I've been on I've seen anywhere from 2-5 other rangers on and we have had several new pupils. so not only are we not declining we have been growing a lot.

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