State of the Donut - 2017

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gorboth
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State of the Donut - 2017

Post by gorboth » 06 Jan 2018 11:52

Code: Select all

 +----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
 |                   State of the Donut Address - 2017                        |
 +----------------------------------------------------------------------------+

Esteemed Fellow Genesis Enthusiasts,

At the dawning of each New Year my inclination is to look back over the past
twelve months to assess the well-being of the torroid that we all call home
here in the lands of Genesis. As it so happens, this year marks the 10th
Anniversary of my annual State-of-the-Donut Address tradition which was
begun in 2008, just a few months after I became Keeper. After ten years of
writing such posts as this, it has been interesting to look back and think
about how the journey has felt from that time up until now. Each year is
fascinating to analyze, but it would be far from the truth if I were to say
that each year was fun to look back on. Some of our years have been very
painful and disheartening, as the health of the playerbase took a downswing
or seemed likely to fade away. Others have been stable but shown little
real indication of growth. What we hope for in any journey or story is a
happy destination or ending. Far be it from me to say anything about an
ending (!) but where we have arrived at the end of these ten years is not
only encouraging, it is downright delightful and something to be much
celebrated. I can say without hestitation that I cannot remember ever feeling
as confident and satisfied with the State of the Donut as I do at the end
of the year that was 2017.

So ... with such a guarantee of good news, let's get things rolling!

DISCLAIMER: I am a geek for graphs and charts. Shamelessly indulgent
            analytics to follow, ad nauseum!!

To begin, it is always good to recall how I measure the health of the game
so that we can view trends and know what sort of growth or decline we have
experienced. My first act as Keeper over ten years ago was to build a tool
to count the players in the game by taking a snapshot once per hour of
everyone logged in who is not a wizard or a wizard junior, and who is not
linkdead. The snapshot that this tool (the census) creates is what I call
the APH (Average Per Hour.) As an example, here is the APH displayed in
a graph for the very first day that I turned the Census on back in October
of 2007:

------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                     Hourly player activity for Oct 14 2007
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
   26|                                                                   .    
   24|                                                                   O  . 
   22|             .                                               O  O  O  O 
   20|    O  .     O                                               O  O  O  O 
   18| .  O  O     O  O                                            O  O  O  O 
   16| O  O  O  .  O  O     .                    O                 O  O  O  O 
P  14| O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O     .              O              .  O  O  O  O 
L  12| O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O           .  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O 
A  10| O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O        .  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O 
Y   8| O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O 
E   6| O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O 
R   4| O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O 
S   2| O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O 
-----+------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hour | 00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23
-----+------------------------------------------------------------------------

        Mean daily average players per hour = 15.37
------------------------------------------------------------------------------

For those of you who are relatively new to Genesis, I imagine that seeing
numbers so small for each hourly snapshot might come as a surprise. This is
where the game was, just over ten years ago. Our best hour of the day was
22:00pm, with an APH of 25, and our worst hours were 10-11am with an APH of
eight. Yes, if you had been playing Genesis on that day in 2007 during those
hours, you would have seen only 8 other players awake on the <who> list with
you. Can you imagine what that would feel like? It did not feel good! We
wizards felt very strongly that things needed to change in Genesis, and we
had a great deal of energy and drive to do what we felt needed to happen to
take us in new directions to build the playerbase back up and get it where
we want it to be. So - how did we do? Well, let's now take a look at that
same day in October but overlay what we see ten years later in 2017:

------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                     Comparisons between two time periods:
                                Oct 14 2007 = O
                                Oct 14 2017 = :
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
   62|                                                                       .
   60|                                                        :              :
   58|                                                        :           .  :
   56|                                                        :        :  :  :
   54|              .                                         :        :  :  :
   52|              :                                      .  :  .  :  :  :  :
   50|              :                                      :  :  :  :  :  :  :
   48|           .  :                                      :  :  :  :  :  :  :
   46|     .     :  :                                      :  :  :  :  :  :  :
   44|  .  :  .  :  :        .  :                          :  :  :  :  :  :  :
   42|  :  :  :  :  :  .     :  :                          :  :  :  :  :  :  :
   40|  :  :  :  :  :  :  :  :  :                          :  :  :  :  :  :  :
   38|  :  :  :  :  :  :  :  :  :                       .  :  :  :  :  :  :  :
   36|  :  :  :  :  :  :  :  :  :  :                    :  :  :  :  :  :  :  :
   34|  :  :  :  :  :  :  :  :  :  :              .     :  :  :  :  :  :  :  :
   32|  :  :  :  :  :  :  :  :  :  :              :  .  :  :  :  :  :  :  :  :
   30|  :  :  :  :  :  :  :  :  :  :  :     .     :  :  :  :  :  :  :  :  :  :
   28|  :  :  :  :  :  :  :  :  :  :  :  .  :  .  :  :  :  :  :  :  :  :  :  :
   26|  :  :  :  :  :  :  :  :  :  :  :  :  :  :  :  :  :  :  :  :  :  : .:  :
   24|  :  :  :  :  :  :  :  :  :  :  :  :  :  :  :  :  :  :  :  :  :  : O: .:
   22|  :  :  :  : .:  :  :  :  :  :  :  :  :  :  :  :  :  :  :  : O: O: O: O:
   20|  : O: .:  : O:  :  :  :  :  :  :  :  :  :  :  :  :  :  :  : O: O: O: O:
   18| .: O: O:  : O: O:  :  :  :  :  :  :  :  :  :  :  :  :  :  : O: O: O: O:
   16| O: O: O: .: O: O:  : .:  :  :  :  :  :  : O:  :  :  :  :  : O: O: O: O:
P  14| O: O: O: O: O: O: O: O:  : .:  :  :  :  : O:  :  :  :  : .: O: O: O: O:
L  12| O: O: O: O: O: O: O: O: O: O:  :  :  : .: O: O: O: O: O: O: O: O: O: O:
A  10| O: O: O: O: O: O: O: O: O: O:  :  : .: O: O: O: O: O: O: O: O: O: O: O:
Y   8| O: O: O: O: O: O: O: O: O: O: O: O: O: O: O: O: O: O: O: O: O: O: O: O:
E   6| O: O: O: O: O: O: O: O: O: O: O: O: O: O: O: O: O: O: O: O: O: O: O: O:
R   4| O: O: O: O: O: O: O: O: O: O: O: O: O: O: O: O: O: O: O: O: O: O: O: O:
S   2| O: O: O: O: O: O: O: O: O: O: O: O: O: O: O: O: O: O: O: O: O: O: O: O:
-----+------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hour | 00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23
-----+------------------------------------------------------------------------

        Mean daily average players per hour = 15.37
        Comparison average players per hour = 43.20
------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Aha! What a good difference ten years have made, it would seem! Here we see
that the best hour of this day, 23:00pm, had an APH of 61 players who were
awake and playing the game together. The lowest ebb of 11am & 13pm went as
low as an APH of 26. That low ebb in 2017 is one person higher than the BEST
HOUR for the same day one decade ago. Tremendous! Let's do one more fun thing
now and look at the VERY BEST day of 2017:

------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                     Hourly player activity for Sep 24 2017
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
   58| .  .                                                  O        O       
   56| O  O                                               O  O     .  O  O    
   54| O  O  O              .                             O  O  .  O  O  O  . 
   52| O  O  O  O  .        O                             O  O  O  O  O  O  O 
   50| O  O  O  O  O        O                             O  O  O  O  O  O  O 
   48| O  O  O  O  O  O     O                             O  O  O  O  O  O  O 
   46| O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O                             O  O  O  O  O  O  O 
   44| O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O                    .  .  .  O  O  O  O  O  O  O 
   42| O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O                    O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O 
   40| O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O     O           .  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O 
   38| O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  .  O        .  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O 
   36| O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O     O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O 
   34| O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  .  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O 
   32| O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O 
   30| O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O 
   28| O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O 
   26| O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O 
   24| O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O 
   22| O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O 
   20| O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O 
   18| O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O 
   16| O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O 
P  14| O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O 
L  12| O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O 
A  10| O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O 
Y   8| O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O 
E   6| O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O 
R   4| O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O 
S   2| O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O  O 
-----+------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hour | 00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23
-----+------------------------------------------------------------------------

        Mean daily average players per hour = 48.25
------------------------------------------------------------------------------

*sniff* ... it's just so ... beautiful ...

But one day is a very small sample, offering questionable validity. To get
a better picture, lets rewind and look at the entire first year we had on
the Census, that of 2008:

+-------------------------------------------------------------------------+
|                                                                         |
|  Average player activity by week for entire year, beginning Jan 01 2008 |
|                                                                         |
+---------+-----+----+-----+----+----+-----+----+-----+----+----+-----+---+
|    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    |    |     |  X |    |   XX|XXXX|XXXX |    |    |     |   |
| V  18.0 |X    |    |     |  X |    |  XXX|XXXX|XXXXX|    |    |     |   |
| G  17.5 |X    |    |     |  X |    |  XXX|XXXX|XXXXX|    |    |     |   |
|    17.0 |XX   | X  |     |  X |    |  XXX|XXXX|XXXXX|    |    |     |   |
| P  16.5 |XX   | X  |     |XXX |    |  XXX|XXXX|XXXXX|    |    |     |   |
| E  16.0 |XX  X| XX |     |XXX |    |  XXX|XXXX|XXXXX|    |    |     |   |
| R  15.5 |XX  X| XX |    X|XXX |   X|  XXX|XXXX|XXXXX|    |    |     |   |
|    15.0 |XX  X|XXX |    X|XXXX|   X|  XXX|XXXX|XXXXX|    |    |     |   |
| H  14.5 |XXXXX|XXX |    X|XXXX|   X|  XXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XX  |    |     |   |
| O  14.0 |XXXXX|XXXX|X  XX|XXXX|XX X|  XXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XX  |    |     |   |
| U  13.5 |XXXXX|XXXX|X  XX|XXXX|XXXX|X XXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXX | X  |X    |   |
| R  13.0 |XXXXX|XXXX|XX XX|XXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXX |X    |  X|
|    12.5 |XXXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXX |X    |X X|
| E  12.0 |XXXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXX |XX   |XXX|
| A  11.5 |XXXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXX|XXX X|XXX|
| C  11.0 |XXXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXX|XXX X|XXX|
| H  10.5 |XXXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXX|XXX X|XXX|
|    10.0 |XXXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXX|
| W   9.5 |XXXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXX|
| E   9.0 |XXXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXX|
| E   8.5 |XXXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXX|
| K   8.0 |XXXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXX|
+---------+-----+----+-----+----+----+-----+----+-----+----+----+-----+---+
|  Month  |Jan  |Feb |Mar  |Apr |May |Jun  |Jul |Aug  |Sep |Oct |Nov  |   |
+---------+-----+----+-----+----+----+-----+----+-----+----+----+-----+---+
|                                                                         |
|               Mean yearly average players per hour = 15.44              |
|                                                                         |
+-------------------------------------------------------------------------+

This was a very interesting year in Genesis. The Magic Map was created and
implemented in Sparkle and the (still relatively new) Tutorial. That big
bump in June corresponded to the re-opening of the Angmar Army, which was
the single-most popular guild reactivation in the history of Genesis. It
instantly brought back to the game many eager players who had left when their
beloved Army had closed nearly ten years prior. Unfortunately, most of them
again left following a sharp nerf to their abilities (doh!) What is amazing
is that those peaks up around 22 APH were AMAZINGLY EXCITING for us at the
time - they were the sort of numbers we had hoped and dreamed to see again.
So let's go ahead now and look at our year for 2017, ten years later:

+-------------------------------------------------------------------------+
|                                                                         |
|  Average player activity by week for entire year, beginning Jan 01 2017 |
|                                                                         |
+---------+-----+----+----+-----+----+----+-----+----+----+-----+----+----+
|    42.5 |     |    |    |     |    |    |     |    |  X |    X| X  |    |
|    42.0 |     |    |    |     |    |X   |     |    |  X |  X X|XX  |    |
|    41.5 |     |    |    |     |    |X   |     |    |  X |  X X|XX  |    |
|    41.0 |     |    |    |     |X   |X   |     |    |  X |  XXX|XX X|    |
|    40.5 |     |    |    |    X|X   |X   |     |    |  XX|X XXX|XX X|X   |
|    40.0 |     |    |    |    X|X X |XXX |     |    |  XX|X XXX|XX X|X   |
|    39.5 |     |    |    |    X|XXXX|XXX |     |    |  XX|XXXXX|XX X|X   |
|    39.0 |     |    |    |    X|XXXX|XXX |     |    |XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|X   |
|    38.5 |     |    |    |    X|XXXX|XXX |     |    |XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|X   |
|    38.0 |     |    |    |    X|XXXX|XXX |X X  |    |XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|X   |
|    37.5 |     |    |    |    X|XXXX|XXXX|X X  |    |XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|X XX|
|    37.0 |     |    |    |    X|XXXX|XXXX|X X  |    |XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXX|
|    36.5 |     |    |    |    X|XXXX|XXXX|X X  |   X|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXX|
|    36.0 |     |    |    |    X|XXXX|XXXX|XXX  |X XX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXX|
|    35.5 |   X |    |    |    X|XXXX|XXXX|XXXX |X XX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXX|
|    35.0 |   X |    |    |    X|XXXX|XXXX|XXXX |XXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXX|
|    34.5 |   X |X   |    |    X|XXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXX|
|    34.0 |   X |X   |    |    X|XXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXX|
|    33.5 |   X |X   |    |    X|XXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXX|
|    33.0 |X XXX|X   |    |    X|XXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXX|
|    32.5 |X XXX|X   |    |    X|XXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXX|
|    32.0 |X XXX|X   |    |   XX|XXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXX|
|    31.5 |X XXX|X   |    |   XX|XXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXX|
|    31.0 |XXXXX|X   | X  |   XX|XXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXX|
|    30.5 |XXXXX|X   | X  |   XX|XXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXX|
|    30.0 |XXXXX|X  X| X  |   XX|XXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXX|
|    29.5 |XXXXX|X XX|XXX | X XX|XXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXX|
|    29.0 |XXXXX|X XX|XXX | X XX|XXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXX|
|    28.5 |XXXXX|XXXX|XXX | XXXX|XXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXX|
|    28.0 |XXXXX|XXXX|XXX | XXXX|XXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXX|
|    27.5 |XXXXX|XXXX|XXX |XXXXX|XXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXX|
|    27.0 |XXXXX|XXXX|XXX |XXXXX|XXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXX|
|    26.5 |XXXXX|XXXX|XXX |XXXXX|XXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXX|
|    26.0 |XXXXX|XXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXX|
|    25.5 |XXXXX|XXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXX|
|    25.0 |XXXXX|XXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXX|
|    24.5 |XXXXX|XXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXX|
|    24.0 |XXXXX|XXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXX|
|    23.5 |XXXXX|XXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXX|
|    23.0 |XXXXX|XXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXX|
|    22.5 |XXXXX|XXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXX|
|    22.0 |XXXXX|XXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXX|
+---------+-----+----+----+-----+----+----+-----+----+----+-----+----+----+
|  Month  |Jan  |Feb |Mar |Apr  |May |Jun |Jul  |Aug |Sep |Oct  |Nov |    |
+---------+-----+----+----+-----+----+----+-----+----+----+-----+----+----+
|                                                                         |
|               Mean yearly average players per hour = 36.17              |
|                                                                         |
+-------------------------------------------------------------------------+

Heh ... indeed, indeed! One thing to note right away is that I have chopped
the bottom half of this graph off. 22 APH is the BOTTOM LINE of this graph,
which we just finished discussing as the amazing peaks of our graph 10 years
ago. In fact, the worst week of 2017 was an APH of 26, four players higher
than our very best peaks in 2008. And you can see that we have had three
separate weeks with an APH this last year up above 42. Graphs are fun to see,
and give you a good visual sense of things, but to really dig in, let's go
ahead and look at some comprehensive data in a chart to compare where we are
now to where we were back then:

+----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
|             Comparing player activity over two time periods:               |
|                      A: Jan 01 2008 - Jan 01 2009                          |
|                      B: Jan 01 2017 - Jan 01 2018                          |
+-------+-------+-------+----------+--+-----------+-------+-------+----------+
| Hour  |   A   |   B   | % change |  | Weekday   |   A   |   B   | % change |
+-------+-------+-------+----------+  +-----------+-------+-------+----------+
| 00.00 | 19.59 | 40.83 | +108.36 %|  | Sunday    | 16.49 | 36.86 | +123.45 %|
| 01.00 | 17.22 | 38.12 | +121.40 %|  | Monday    | 15.43 | 35.59 | +130.66 %|
| 02.00 | 15.97 | 37.83 | +136.84 %|  | Tuesday   | 15.81 | 35.70 | +125.80 %|
| 03.00 | 15.40 | 38.20 | +147.97 %|  | Wednesday | 15.98 | 35.66 | +123.10 %|
| 04.00 | 14.59 | 38.48 | +163.70 %|  | Thursday  | 15.15 | 35.55 | +134.59 %|
| 05.00 | 13.08 | 36.36 | +178.01 %|  | Friday    | 15.54 | 35.00 | +125.27 %|
| 06.00 | 11.77 | 33.56 | +185.00 %|  | Saturday  | 16.12 | 36.12 | +124.02 %|
| 07.00 | 10.53 | 31.47 | +198.71 %|  +-----------+-------+-------+----------+
| 08.00 | 10.06 | 29.84 | +196.57 %|                                         |
| 09.00 | 10.17 | 29.50 | +190.10 %|                                         |
| 10.00 | 10.93 | 28.79 | +163.24 %|  +--------------------------------------+
| 11.00 | 11.57 | 28.04 | +142.33 %|  |       - - - Field  Sizes - - -       |
| 12.00 | 12.16 | 28.46 | +133.91 %|  | Number of days in Period A:     366  |
| 13.00 | 13.55 | 29.57 | +118.16 %|  | Number of days in Period B:     365  |
| 14.00 | 15.19 | 31.86 | +109.70 %|  +--------------------------------------+
| 15.00 | 16.68 | 34.90 | +109.20 %|                                         |
| 16.00 | 18.18 | 37.91 | +108.50 %|                                         |
| 17.00 | 18.94 | 40.41 | +113.33 %|  +--------------------------------------+
| 18.00 | 20.13 | 43.00 | +113.61 %|  |           Overall Summary            |
| 19.00 | 21.56 | 45.52 | +111.13 %|  +--------------------------------------+
| 20.00 | 23.12 | 47.34 | +104.76 %|  | Overall average for Period A:  15.79 |
| 21.00 | 23.91 | 48.21 | +101.61 %|  | Overall average for Period B:  35.79 |
| 22.00 | 24.06 | 47.47 |  +97.31 %|  |                                      |
| 23.00 | 22.40 | 45.06 | +101.12 %|  | Overall increase/decrease:  +126.6 % |
+-------+-------+-------+----------+--+--------------------------------------+

What a nifty thing to see! In just about every index, there has been more
than 100% of growth from where we started ten years ago. In some hours, the
APH has nearly tripled! That final number shows that we have improved 125%
from that initial census year, when the stated goal was to double the
playerbase. We have done that and now gone further. 

Considering 2008 to 2017, one might imagine the journey between them as being
a straight line. Oh, not so! Let's look at a nice display of each year moving
from then to now:

+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
|                Population Levels in APH over the last 10 Years              |
|                            ( quarterly histogram )                          |
+-------+---------------------------------------------------------------------+
|  40.0 |                                                                   X |
|  39.0 |                                                                   X |
|  38.0 |                                                                  XX |
|  37.0 |                                                                 XXX |
|  36.0 |                                                                 XXX |
|  35.0 |                                                                 XXX |
|  34.0 |                                                                 XXX |
|  33.0 |                                                                 XXX |
|  32.0 |                                                                 XXX |
|  31.0 |                                                            X   XXXX |
|  30.0 |                                                            X   XXXX |
|  29.0 |                                                           XX   XXXX |
|  28.0 |                                                     X     XX   XXXX |
|  27.0 |                                                  X  X   X XX   XXXX |
|  26.0 |                                                  X  X   X XX   XXXX |
|  25.0 |                                                  X  X   XXXX   XXXX |
|  24.0 |                                                  X  X   XXXX   XXXX |
|  23.0 |                                                  X  X   XXXX   XXXX |
|  22.0 |                                                  X  X   XXXX   XXXX |
|  21.0 |                                                  XX X   XXXX   XXXX |
|  20.0 |                                              X   XXXX   XXXX   XXXX |
|  19.0 |   X                                          X   XXXX   XXXX   XXXX |
|  18.0 |   X                                          X   XXXX   XXXX   XXXX |
|  17.0 |   X    XX                                    X   XXXX   XXXX   XXXX |
|  16.0 |  XX    XXX             X                     X   XXXX   XXXX   XXXX |
|  15.0 | XXX    XXX             X                     X   XXXX   XXXX   XXXX |
|  14.0 | XXX    XXXX   X       XX              X      X   XXXX   XXXX   XXXX |
|  13.0 | XXX    XXXX   X X     XXX             X      X   XXXX   XXXX   XXXX |
|  12.0 | XXXX   XXXX   XXX    XXXX      X   X  X   X  X   XXXX   XXXX   XXXX |
|  11.0 | XXXX   XXXX   XXXX   XXXX      X   XXXX   X  X   XXXX   XXXX   XXXX |
|  10.0 | XXXX   XXXX   XXXX   XXXX   X XX   XXXX   XXXX   XXXX   XXXX   XXXX |
|   9.0 | XXXX   XXXX   XXXX   XXXX   XXXX   XXXX   XXXX   XXXX   XXXX   XXXX |
|   8.0 | XXXX   XXXX   XXXX   XXXX   XXXX   XXXX   XXXX   XXXX   XXXX   XXXX |
+-------+------+------+------+------+------+------+------+------+------+------+
| Qtr.  | 1234 | 1234 | 1234 | 1234 | 1234 | 1234 | 1234 | 1234 | 1234 | 1234 |
+-------+------+------+------+------+------+------+------+------+------+------+
| Year  | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 |
+-------+------+------+------+------+------+------+------+------+------+------+
|Yr. Ave| 15.8 | 16.1 | 13.0 | 14.0 | 10.7 | 12.5 | 13.3 | 24.2 | 29.1 | 36.6 |
+-------+------+------+------+------+------+------+------+------+------+------+

Let's do that same thing, but now with single-point resolution:

+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
|             Population Levels in APH over the last 10 Years                 |
|                          ( annual line-plot )                               |
+-------+--------------------------------------------------------------+------+
|  37.0 |                                                                     |
|  36.0 |                                                                  O  |
|  35.0 |                                                                 /   |
|  34.0 |                                                                /    |
|  33.0 |                                                               /     |
|  32.0 |                                                              /      |
|  31.0 |                                                             /       |
|  30.0 |                                                            /        |
|  29.0 |                                                           O         |
|  28.0 |                                                          '          |
|  27.0 |                                                        ,'           |
|  26.0 |                                                       .             |
|  25.0 |                                                      '              |
|  24.0 |                                                    O'               |
|  23.0 |                                                   ;                 |
|  22.0 |                                                  |                  |
|  21.0 |                                                  ;                  |
|  20.0 |                                                 |                   |
|  19.0 |                                                 ;                   |
|  18.0 |                                                |                    |
|  17.0 |                                                ;                    |
|  16.0 |       _,-O.                                   |                     |
|  15.0 |   O-''     `.                                 ;                     |
|  14.0 |              `.     _,-O.                    |                      |
|  13.0 |                `O-''     \             __,--O`                      |
|  12.0 |                           `.       _.O`                             |
|  11.0 |                             \   .-'                                 |
|  10.0 |                              `O'                                    |
|   9.0 |                                                                     |
|   8.0 |                                                                     |
+-------+------+------+------+------+------+------+------+------+------+------+
| Year  | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 |
+-------+------+------+------+------+------+------+------+------+------+------+
|Yr Ave.| 15.8 | 16.1 | 13.0 | 14.0 | 10.7 | 12.5 | 13.3 | 24.2 | 29.1 | 36.6 |
+-------+------+------+------+------+------+------+------+------+------+------+
|%change|  --  | +2%  | -19% | +8%  | -24% | +17% | +7%  | +82% | +20% | +25% |
+-------+------+------+------+------+------+------+------+------+------+------+

My friends, the trends of the last three years are absolutely undeniable. The
health of the playerbase has returned to nearly what it was in the heyday of
the game, pre-millenium. The census did not exist then, but our very oldest
players will still tell you stories of 100+ players on the who list and
needing to wait in a queue to log in and play in the 1994-1997 era. On three
separate occasions in 2017, I was logged into the game and saw 100 players
on the who list. One occasion actually displayed 101! Keep in mind that
unlike the census, the <who> list includes both wizards and linkdead players
in its count. So when you look at the graphs above and see the highest peaks
at around 60 APH, you should remember to factor in the missing data which
would likely put it up closer to 80 or 90 on a <who> command.

What we see in the last three years is a trend. This trend is not slowing
down, and it is not something I can easily predict. Even if we were to hit
a plateau, and stay up around the 30+ mark for our daily APH, the game would
feel like a place where you can log in and expect to find dozens of your
fellow Denizens of the Donut awake and active. These are good times, and there
is every reason to expect they can continue to improve. Let's make it so!

Some people enjoy knowing specifics from year to year, and so for my last
graph before we move on, I will look at how we did in comparison to the
prior year:

+----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
|             Comparing player activity over two time periods:               |
|                      A: Jan 01 2016 - Jan 01 2017                          |
|                      B: Jan 01 2017 - Jan 01 2018                          |
+-------+-------+-------+----------+--+-----------+-------+-------+----------+
| Hour  |   A   |   B   | % change |  | Weekday   |   A   |   B   | % change |
+-------+-------+-------+----------+  +-----------+-------+-------+----------+
| 00.00 | 32.80 | 40.83 |  +24.49 %|  | Sunday    | 27.93 | 36.86 |  +31.94 %|
| 01.00 | 30.02 | 38.12 |  +27.00 %|  | Monday    | 28.63 | 35.59 |  +24.33 %|
| 02.00 | 28.64 | 37.83 |  +32.05 %|  | Tuesday   | 28.92 | 35.70 |  +23.45 %|
| 03.00 | 28.51 | 38.20 |  +33.96 %|  | Wednesday | 28.53 | 35.66 |  +25.01 %|
| 04.00 | 27.77 | 38.48 |  +38.57 %|  | Thursday  | 28.58 | 35.55 |  +24.40 %|
| 05.00 | 25.31 | 36.36 |  +43.65 %|  | Friday    | 29.64 | 35.00 |  +18.08 %|
| 06.00 | 22.70 | 33.56 |  +47.79 %|  | Saturday  | 27.91 | 36.12 |  +29.38 %|
| 07.00 | 20.67 | 31.47 |  +52.21 %|  +-----------+-------+-------+----------+
| 08.00 | 20.28 | 29.84 |  +47.14 %|                                         |
| 09.00 | 21.18 | 29.50 |  +39.28 %|                                         |
| 10.00 | 22.27 | 28.79 |  +29.25 %|  +--------------------------------------+
| 11.00 | 22.92 | 28.04 |  +22.32 %|  |       - - - Field  Sizes - - -       |
| 12.00 | 23.59 | 28.46 |  +20.65 %|  | Number of days in Period A:     366  |
| 13.00 | 25.55 | 29.57 |  +15.73 %|  | Number of days in Period B:     365  |
| 14.00 | 29.09 | 31.86 |   +9.53 %|  +--------------------------------------+
| 15.00 | 31.93 | 34.90 |   +9.27 %|                                         |
| 16.00 | 33.16 | 37.91 |  +14.31 %|                                         |
| 17.00 | 34.12 | 40.41 |  +18.40 %|  +--------------------------------------+
| 18.00 | 36.45 | 43.00 |  +17.96 %|  |           Overall Summary            |
| 19.00 | 38.47 | 45.52 |  +18.31 %|  +--------------------------------------+
| 20.00 | 40.28 | 47.34 |  +17.52 %|  | Overall average for Period A:  28.59 |
| 21.00 | 39.85 | 48.21 |  +20.95 %|  | Overall average for Period B:  35.79 |
| 22.00 | 38.79 | 47.47 |  +22.37 %|  |                                      |
| 23.00 | 36.45 | 45.06 |  +23.60 %|  | Overall increase/decrease:  +25.16 % |
+-------+-------+-------+----------+--+--------------------------------------+

Quite good! As you can see, the game grew by 25% in 2017 from where it had
been in the year before that. One thing I have noticed in the most recent
graphs is an evening out of our "valley" effect when in the past most of
our game population went to bed. We seem to have a more diverse field in
these modern times, with people filling in the gaps due to their different
sleep cycles around the globe. 

So ... what leads to such improvement over a decade of time? Rather than
recounting all of that, I will point interested readers to a breakdown of
the major developments that I drew up in my SotD Address two years ago:

https://www.genesismud.org/forums/viewtopic.php?f=27&t=3011

Reading that middle section with the year-to-year summary is a good way to
get a sense of the major developments that have moved the game into the
modern era, paving the way for our current success and giving players a place
that supports their enjoyment more than at any time in our history.

What I would like to do is to recount the major developments in the game
in 2017. I have done my best to look back and detail each of the things
that took place, but it is more than likely that a few things I may have
failed to mention. My apologies are extended to anyone responsible for any
such omissions, and you are invited to post addendums on the forum thread.

Here follows a (hopefully mostly) complete list of developer accomplishments
in Genesis in 2017:

---------------------------------------------------------------------------
January:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
 - Magic Map addition: Farmer Maggot's farm in Shire (Perrigrine)
 - Magic Map addition: Docks, north&south flats in Raumdor (Perrigrine)
 - Magic Map addition: Path from docks to Drakmere in Raumdor (Perrigrine)
 - Magic Map addition: City of Drakmere in Raumdor (Perrigrine)
 - Magic Map addition: Port Macdunn in Khalakhor (Perrigrine)
 - Magic Map addition: Baile Ashlagh in Khalakhor (Perrigrine)
 - Magic Map addition: SaMorgan in Khalakhor (Perrigrine)
 - Magic Map addition: plains, forest and Tabor Sogn in Khalakhor (Per.)
 - Magic Map addition: The Golden Isle (Perrigrine)
 - Magic Map addition: Bazaar in Sybarus (Perrigrine)
 - Magic Map addition: Eil-Galaith in Khakalhor (Perrigrine)
 - A new Halflings Guild created in Faerun (Finwe)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
February:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
 - Magic Map addition: Barrow Downs, Old Forest, Bombadil's,
                       Road to Moria in Shire (Perrigrine)
 - PoT recode completed (Arman/Carnak)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
March:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
 - Gizmo upgrade/replacement (Cotillion and Lunatari?)
 - Magic Map addition: Eldoral Isle and Firedome in Calia (Perrigrine)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
April:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
 - Newbie pin upgraded: possible now to ignore abusive spammers (Gorboth)
 - Tutorial reworked, signs upgraded, improvements throughout (Gorboth)
 - Simple occupational guild added to tutorial (Gorboth)
 - Ghastly Keep opened in Terel (Znagsnuf)
    * Goes on to become the most popular myth area of the year!
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
May:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
 - "Quest-progress" info added to the <stats> command (Gorboth/Mercade)
 - Magic Map addition: Heralds of the Valar Guildhalls (Perrigrine)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
June:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
 - Recode of the Kender guild (Carnak)
 - Cherek retires from his position as AoD.
 - Gorboth resumes AoD duties and reforms Liege Council as AoD staff.
 - Magic Map changed: only displays if player can see in room (Cotillion)
 - Crackdown and rule-clarification on alt-revealing (Mirandus/Gorboth)
    * resulted in unfortunate deletions of both wizard and mortal chars.
 - Game uptime extended from 12 to 14 days (Mercade)
 - Wizard manuals reviewed, revised and supplemented (Gorboth)
 - Comprehensive wizard-training document created (Gorboth)
 - Magic Map addition: Dephonian Temple in Calia (Perrigrine)
 - Magic Map addition: Helm's Deep in Gondor (Perrigrine)
 - Magic Map addition: Holm and baths in Avenir (Perrigrine)
 - Magic Map addition: Isengard plains and road in Gondor (Perrigrine)
 - Magic Map addition: Green Dragonarmy Camp in Ansalon (Perrigrine)
 - Magic Map addition: Walls of Isengard in Gondor (Perrigrine)
 - Magic Map addition: Emyn Arnen and Goblin Caves in Gondor (Perrigrine)
 - Magic Map addition: Fangorn Forest in Gondor (Perrigrine)
 - Magic Map addition: Moria in Shire (Perrigrine)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
July:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
 - Quiet ... everyone is out enjoying the sun?
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
August:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
 - Gorboth steps down as AoD (now he's just Keeper again)
 - Lucius joins the Admin as AoD.
    * This position oversees global management wizard and code development.
 - Cotillion steps down as AoB after much good work in recent years.
 - Arman joins the Admin as AoB.
    * This job assesses balance considerations for Genesis' content.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
September:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
 - Magic Element skills now trainable in Adventurer Guilds (Arman)
 - Shields are retooled to impact spellcasting when equipped (Arman)
 - Rules for applying magic-resistance retooled (Arman)
 - Stern steps down as AoE after more than a decade of legendary service.
 - Petros rejoins the Admin as AoE
    * This job is responsible for creating and running events for the game.
 - Event-Donation machine turned on, requesting pearls (Petros)
 - Magic Map addition: Icewall in Krynn (Perrigrine)
 - Magic Map addition: Council halls, Fire Brigade, Barracks,
                       Citadel, and sewer in Kabal (Perrigrine)
 - Magic Map addition: Prestigious Knights Club and Xak Tsaroth
                       in Krynn (Perrigrine)
 - Magic Map addition: Kalad Wastes (Perrigrine)
 - Magic Map addition: Pelennor Fields and hills of southern Anorien
                       in Gondor (Perrigrine)
 - Magic Map addition: Minas Morgul in Gondor (Perrigrine)
 - Magic Map addition: Solamnian Knights Guildhalls in Krynn (Perrigrine)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
October:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
 - Magic Map addition: Dwarven mines, moors, and gate near Palanthas
                       in Krynn (Arman - what??! Not Perrigrine?!?)
 - Magic Map addition: Kalaman palace/poor district in Ansalon (Perrigrine)
 - Magic Map addition: Solace Cemetery & Tantallon sewers in Krynn (Perr.)
 - Magic Map addition: Gnomish area & Inventors in Krynn (Arman)
 - Magic Map addition: Rivendell & Trollshaws (Finwe)
 - Cherek rejoins the Admin as AoW.
    * This job updates and maintains webpage content and moderates the
      official forum and Facebook pages.
 - Graduation from "newbie" status raised from Wanderer to Gt. Adventurer.
 - Backstabbing functionality retooled and updated (Carnak/Arman)
 - Support for multi-domain Lieges implemented (Lucius)
 - Finwe assumes Liege duties for Middle Earth (in addition to Faerun)
 - Lucius assumes Liege duties for Avenir (in addition to AoD duties)
 - Arman assumes Liege duties of Krynn/Ansalon (in addition to AoB)
 - Most npcs in Kalad recoded for stats and gear to meet modern needs
   for player interest and enjoyment. New areas added and modern steeds
   implemented in Red Fang guild. (Zignur)
 - Login retooled to facilitate mudstats tracking (Cotillion)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
November:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
 - Trollshaws in Shire recoded for improved player interest (Finwe/Arman)
 - Silence imposed in the Sparkle Church (Arman)
    * This decision proved controversial and is still under review.
 - Turkey-Gobbling event held, many players compete for top spots. (Petros)
 - Guild-exp changed to no longer benefit from brutality (Cotillion)
 - Malus becomes Liege of Raumdor.
 - Mirandus becomes Liege of Cirath and Kalad (in addition to being AoP)
 - Ckrik becomes Liege of Khalakhor in addition to Earthsea.
 - Gorboth becomes Liege of Emerald (in addition to being Keeper)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
December:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
 - Irk completes his final (250th) Market Quest - the first to do so!
 - Botting rules updated (Mirandus)
 - Wheel-of-Fun returns for the Winter Holidays (Cherek)
 - Event stats and winners announced (Petros)
 - Mobile-friendly revision of website completed (Cherek)
 - Elemental Clerics Guild opens (Jaacar)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

As you can see, your friendly neighborhood wizards have been busy beavers
this year! Much thanks to them for all their hard work, and for the many
things still in development that could not be listed as completed yet.

There remains one vitally important aspect of the game that we must take
stock of now, dear reader, and that would be the contributions of you, the
players, to the stories told in Genesis! I speak, of course, of the rise
and fall of the Guilds through which we define our roles and live out our
daily lives in the realms. The census tracks individual guild performances
in the overall picture, and so let us look at how things have changed from
2016 to 2017. The second column is the most recent year:

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
        2016 Ranking (Entire Day)       2017 Ranking (Entire Day)
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
         1.  Mercs     (5.994)           1.  Mercs     (5.553)  
         2.  Angmar    (2.717)           2.  SoHM      (5.120)
         3.  DArmy     (1.838)           3.  DArmy     (2.430)
         4.  Glads     (1.569)           4. -Angmar    (2.043)
         5.  Rangers   (1.205)           5.  Knights   (1.336)
         6.  Knights   (1.065)           6.  Cadets    (1.282)
         7.  Monks     (0.909)           7.  Glads     (1.279)
         8.  Cadets    (0.835)           8.^+Mages     (1.131)
         9.  Neidar    (0.824)           9.  Rangers   (1.117)
        10.  Union     (0.630)          10.  Calian    (1.038)
        11.  Ogres     (0.490)          11.  Neidar    (0.832)
        12.  Calian    (0.479)          12.  Ogres     (0.583)
        13.  Academ    (0.432)          13.  Monks     (0.460)
        14.  Mages     (0.205)          14.  PoT       (0.378)
        15.  ScoP      (0.178)          15.  Academ    (0.350)
        16.  PoT       (0.128)          16. *Kender    (0.246)
        17.  Kender    (0.000)          17. !Union     (0.221)
                                        18. @ScoP      (0.024)
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
                + Biggest APH gain (Mages at +0.926)
                - Biggest APH loss (Angmar at -0.674)
                * Biggest growth   (Kender at infinite growth)
                @ Biggest decline  (ScoP at 86% decline)
                ^ Biggest rise     (Mages up 6 ranks)
                ! Biggest fall     (Union down 7 ranks)
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Fascinating! As you can see, we have numbers in 2017 for our newest guild,
the School of High Magic, which was the second-most populous guild in Genesis
this year. It is not surprising that a new guild is popular, but few have
seen as much success as this! The Mercenaries remain on top, offering their
utilitarian if roleplay-lite options for gameplay. Success stories this
year include the Kender guild who literally rose from oblivion. When you
start at zero, you automatically win the percentage game! Much more impressive
was the rise of the Morgul Mages both in ranks and APH gain. Troubles this
year fell on the Union and ScoP guilds, both whom fell dramatically in
representation.

To get a better sense of growth and decline, let's look at those metrics:

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
                      Growth from Former Year
    =================================================================
        Ranked by APH increase           Ranked by relative change
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

         1.  Mages     + 0.926       1.  Kender    infinite growth
         2.  DArmy     + 0.592       2.  Mages     451 % growth
         3.  Calian    + 0.559       3.  PoT       195 % growth
         4.  Cadets    + 0.447       4.  Calian    116 % growth
         5.  Knights   + 0.271       5.  Cadets     55 % growth
         6.  PoT       + 0.250       6.  DArmy      32 % growth
         7.  Kender    + 0.246       7.  Knights    25 % growth
         8.  Ogres     + 0.093       8.  Ogres      19 % growth
_________9.__Neidar____+ 0.008_______9.__Neidar______1 % growth_________
        10.  Academ    - 0.082      10.  Mercs       7 % decline
        11.  Rangers   - 0.088           Rangers     7 % decline
        12.  ScoP      - 0.154      11.  Academ     18 % decline
        13.  Glads     - 0.290           Glads      18 % decline
        14.  Union     - 0.409      12.  Angmar     24 % decline
        15.  Mercs     - 0.441      13.  Monks      49 % decline
        16.  Monks     - 0.449      14.  Union      65 % decline
        17.  Angmar    - 0.674      15.  ScoP       86 % decline

         *   SoHM      (new)         *   SoHM      (new)   
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

We cannot factor the SoHM here, since they do not have numbers from last
year with which to compare. One thing I feel is worth mentioning is that
two different guilds, the Calians and Mages, are guilds that I am aware
experimented with new admission policies, essentially throwing open their
doors to new members with the idea that all are welcome, but that they will
then have to prove themselves to move up in rank. It seems to have worked
out well, as both guilds had extremely good success in terms of growth. The
PoT, who enjoyed recoded abilities, naturally saw a boost to their numbers.
It was a good year for many guilds!

Finally, it is fun to see how populous each guild was during the peak
hour of play. You can compare last year to this year below:

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
                  APH Representation During Peak Hour 
         (20:00 gametime in 2016)         (21:00 gametime in 2017)
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
        1.  Mercs     8.695  (21%)     1.  Mercs     7.991  (16%)
        2.  Angmar    4.526  (11%)     2.  SoHM      6.358  (13%)
        3.  DArmy     3.271  ( 8%)     3.  DArmy     3.731  ( 7%)
        4.  Glads     2.953  ( 7%)     4.  Angmar    3.616  ( 7%)
        5.  Rangers   2.432  ( 6%)     5.  Knights   2.416  ( 5%)
        6.  Knights   2.238  ( 5%)     6.  Cadets    2.372  ( 5%)
        7.  Monks     1.934  ( 5%)     7.  Mages     2.336  ( 5%)
        8.  Union     1.616  ( 4%)     8.  Glads     2.232  ( 4%)
        9.  Neidar    1.613  ( 4%)     9.  Calian    2.063  ( 4%)
       10.  Cadets    1.564  ( 4%)    10.  Rangers   1.701  ( 3%)
       11.  Ogres     1.561  ( 4%)    11.  Ogres     1.457  ( 3%)
       12.  Calian    1.030  ( 2%)    12.  Neidar    1.435  ( 3%)
       13.  Academ    0.997  ( 2%)    13.  Monks     1.210  ( 2%)
       14.  ScoP      0.934  ( 2%)    14.  Academ    1.123  ( 2%)
       15.  PoT       0.742  ( 2%)    15.  PoT       0.931  ( 2%)
       16.  Mages     0.632  ( 2%)    16.  Union     0.882  ( 1%)
       17.  Kender    0.106  (<1%)    17.  Kender    0.599  ( 1%)
                                      18.  ScoP      0.372  (<1%)
     ----------------------------------------------------------------
            Gamewide  40.26  (%pop)          Gamewide  48.21  (%pop)
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I've included in the above readout the % of the total pie that each guild
represents. In 2016, Mercs were over 1/5th of the population during peak
hours. That dominance was eroded somewhat this year, and numerous guilds
were looking for a bite of the action.

Phew ... what a lot of analysis!

If you are still with me, dear reader, then in addition to deserving some
sort of medal (and possible some headache medication) I hope you have enjoyed
a thorough mulling-over of the many ways to look at not just the most recent
era, but the journey we have been on together in the past decade. I continue
to feel very lucky indeed to help guide Genesis on its course toward greater
things and more exciting times. The trust you place in we wizards is not
something that we take lightly - and we thank you for your patience as we
have all gotten older and our lives have filled with responsibilities that
include very busy jobs, spouses, children, and in some cases (my own!)
even grandchildren. For all of us, Genesis remains a blessed place where we
come to have fun, dream big, and do what we can to create something that
we have only been able to find and do together here. 

As the donut spins forward, it nears upon a true milestone in the year 2019,
when the game will be 30 years old. Three decades of magic, mayhem, and
mudding! I look forward to finding ways to ring in that birthday with new
kinds of fun, and perhaps even an opportunity to come together and celebrate.
In the meanwhile, I look with great fondness and satisfaction on the year
to come, knowing that 2018 will be a year of many good new things in Genesis.
I trust that each of you will set your own goals, make new friends and
enemies, and do what you can to push the goodness forward. Ours is not just
a game of moments and passing interest - ours is a game of years. Ours is
a game of decades. I suspect as time bears such things out, ours will be
seen and remembered as a game of our lives. I am so glad to be living mine
with all of you.

Onward and upward, my friends! 
G.

Mmmmmm ... pie ...

User avatar
Arman
Wizard
Posts: 764
Joined: 22 Sep 2014 13:15

Re: State of the Donut - 2017

Post by Arman » 07 Jan 2018 23:48

Love the detailed write-up Gorboth! Thanks for that.

Manglor
Rising Hero
Posts: 322
Joined: 16 Sep 2013 17:30
Location: Dieppe, NB, Canada

Re: State of the Donut - 2017

Post by Manglor » 08 Jan 2018 00:14

Kudos to our wizard team for their hard work this year! And to Mr. Arman Kharas, your activity and dedication to the AoB post are quite commendable. I've spoken to wizards working on various projects and all have raved at your commitment to the betterment of Genesis. A long-overdue upgrade to the team.

A big thank you to the entire wizard community! :)

sylphan
Veteran
Posts: 234
Joined: 12 Nov 2017 19:56

Re: State of the Donut - 2017

Post by sylphan » 08 Jan 2018 15:25

Manglor wrote:A big thank you to the entire wizard community! :)
Indeed. Such good news is of course no accident, but the result of countless hours of work, unpaid except for the rewards of working on something one loves. Thank you, wizards!

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

Re: State of the Donut - 2017

Post by gorboth » 08 Jan 2018 21:08

I knew I would forget things! Sadly, I forgot one of the best additions to the game of the entire year. As you can see above, I've corrected it now, but please let it me acknowledged that one of the better contributions to the game in 2017 was Znagsnuf's wonderful Ghastly Keep in Terel!

Apologies to Znagsnuf for this grievous omission. :P

G.
Mmmmmm ... pie ...

mallor
Rising Hero
Posts: 371
Joined: 27 Jun 2011 13:20

Re: State of the Donut - 2017

Post by mallor » 08 Jan 2018 22:10

There is only one bad thing about GK... is that there's only one of it! *hint* *hint*

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Shanoga
Wizard
Posts: 193
Joined: 03 Mar 2014 13:03
Location: US West

Re: State of the Donut - 2017

Post by Shanoga » 08 Jan 2018 22:13

mallor wrote:There is only one bad thing about GK... is that there's only one of it! *hint* *hint*
Hmm. And here I was thinking that a Keep should be better guarded against invaders. Too many invaders. Hmm...

Manglor
Rising Hero
Posts: 322
Joined: 16 Sep 2013 17:30
Location: Dieppe, NB, Canada

Re: State of the Donut - 2017

Post by Manglor » 08 Jan 2018 22:18

Shanoga wrote:
mallor wrote:There is only one bad thing about GK... is that there's only one of it! *hint* *hint*
Hmm. And here I was thinking that a Keep should be better guarded against invaders. Too many invaders. Hmm...
We need more defenders! Twice as many rooms worth. That should ... umm ... keep those pesky invaders at bay!

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Luma
Adept
Posts: 101
Joined: 12 Feb 2017 06:07
Location: Studying spell scrolls

Re: State of the Donut - 2017

Post by Luma » 09 Jan 2018 08:23

THANK YOU, EVERYONE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :)
It never ceases to amaze me the wonderful things that this community has built. That you all so much, and onwards and upwards to 2018 :)


p.s. Maybe we will see some roadmaps in the near future for 2018?

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