State of the Donut - 2019

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Cherek
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Joined: 04 Mar 2010 04:36

State of the Donut - 2019

Post by Cherek » 06 Feb 2020 01:13

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                    +=====================================+
                    |    THE STATE OF THE DONUT - 2019    |
                    +=====================================+
+----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
|                                                                            |
|  Greetings fellow Genesisians,                                             |
|                                                                            |
|  As many of you know, Gorboth started a tradition to, at the end of        |
|  every year, write a "State of the Donut" common board post. This post     |
|  often included interesting facts and statistics about the last year in    |
|  Genesis, as well as a look ahead. Now, who am I to break such a great     |
|  tradition?                                                                |
|                                                                            |
|  Of course there will be a "SotD" post this year too. It's a little later  |
|  than usual, and of course written by me instead of Gorboth, but here it   |
|  is - The State of the Donut 2019.                                         |
|                                                                            |
|============================================================================|
|                              THE PLAYER NUMBERS                            |
|============================================================================|
|                                                                            |
|  Now, I am not the same statistical mastermind (*cough*, nerd!) as         |
|  Gorboth, but I will do my best to shake up some numbers and compare       |
|  them to previous years. Thankfully one of Gorboth's resignation gifts     |
|  was to compute some nice graphs for me to use in this post. So, I have    |
|  a whole year to figure out how to do them myself for 2020...              |
|                                                                            |
|  Please note that in the below charts only online mortal players (not      |
|  wizards) that are NOT linkdead are counted.                               |
|                                                                            |
|  Let's start by taking a look at the average player numbers during 2019.   |
|                                                                            |
|----------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|                                                                            |
|   Average player activity by week for entire year, beginning Jan 01 2019   |
|                                                                            |
|------------+-----+----+-----+----+----+-----+----+----+-----+----+----+----|
|    36.5    |X X  |    |     |    |    |     |    |    |     |    |    |    |
|    36.0    |X X  |    |     |    |    |     |    |    |     |    |    |    |
|    35.5    |X XX |    |     |    |    |     |    |    |     |    |    |    |
|    35.0    |X XX |    |     |    |    |     |    |    |     |    |    |    |
|    34.5    |X XX |    |     |    |    |     |    |    |     |    |    |    |
|    34.0    |XXXX |    |     |    |    | X   |  X |  X |     |    |    |    |
|    33.5    |XXXX |    |     |    |    | X   |  X |  X |     |    |    |    |
|    33.0    |XXXX |  X |     |    |    |XXX  |  XX|  X |     |    | X  |    |
|    32.5    |XXXXX|  X |     |    |    |XXX  | XXX|  X |     |    | X  |    |
|    32.0    |XXXXX| XX |   X |    |   X|XXX  | XXX|  X |  X  |    |XX  |    |
|    31.5    |XXXXX| XX |  XX |    |  XX|XXX  |XXXX|X X |  X  |    |XX  |    |
|    31.0    |XXXXX|XXXX|  XX |X X |X XX|XXXX |XXXX|XXX | XX  |    |XX  |  X |
|    30.5    |XXXXX|XXXX|  XX |X XX|X XX|XXXX |XXXX|XXX | XX  |    |XX  |  X |
|    30.0    |XXXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|X XX|X XX|XXXX |XXXX|XXX |XXXX |    |XX  |  X |
|    29.5    |XXXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|X XX|X XX|XXXX |XXXX|XXXX|XXXX |    |XX  |  X |
|    29.0    |XXXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|X XX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXX|XXXX |   X|XX  |XXX |
|    28.5    |XXXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|X XX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXX|XXXX |   X|XXX |XXX |
|    28.0    |XXXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXX|XXXX |  XX|XXX |XXXX|
|    27.5    |XXXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXX|XXXX |  XX|XXX |XXXX|
|    27.0    |XXXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|  XX|XXX |XXXX|
|    26.5    |XXXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|X XX|XXX |XXXX|
|    26.0    |XXXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXX |XXXX|
|    25.5    |XXXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXX |XXXX|
|    25.0    |XXXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXX |XXXX|
|    24.5    |XXXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXX |XXXX|
|    24.0    |XXXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXX|XXXX|
|    23.5    |XXXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXX|XXXX|
|    23.0    |XXXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXX|XXXX|
|    22.5    |XXXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXX|XXXX|
|    22.0    |XXXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXX|XXXX|
|    21.5    |XXXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXX|XXXX|
|    21.0    |XXXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXX|XXXX|
|    20.5    |XXXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXX|XXXX|
|    20.0    |XXXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXX|XXXX|
|    19.5    |XXXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXX|XXXX|
|    19.0    |XXXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXX|XXXX|
| A  18.5    |XXXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXX|XXXX|
| V  18.0    |XXXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXX|XXXX|
| G  17.5    |XXXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXX|XXXX|
|    17.0    |XXXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXX|XXXX|
| P  16.5    |XXXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXX|XXXX|
| E  16.0    |XXXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXX|XXXX|
| R  15.5    |XXXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXX|XXXX|
|    15.0    |XXXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXX|XXXX|
| H  14.5    |XXXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXX|XXXX|
| O  14.0    |XXXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXX|XXXX|
| U  13.5    |XXXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXX|XXXX|
| R  13.0    |XXXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXX|XXXX|
|    12.5    |XXXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXX|XXXX|
| E  12.0    |XXXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXX|XXXX|
| A  11.5    |XXXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXX|XXXX|
| C  11.0    |XXXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXX|XXXX|
| H  10.5    |XXXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXX|XXXX|
|    10.0    |XXXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXX|XXXX|
| W   9.5    |XXXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXX|XXXX|
| E   9.0    |XXXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXX|XXXX|
| E   8.5    |XXXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXX|XXXX|
| K   8.0    |XXXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXX|XXXXX|XXXX|XXXX|XXXX|
|------------+-----+----+-----+----+----+-----+----+----+-----+----+----+----|
|  Month     |Jan  |Feb |Mar  |Apr |May |Jun  |Jul |Aug |Sep  |Oct |Nov |Dec |
|------------+-----+----+-----+----+----+-----+----+----+-----+----+----+----|
|                                                                            |
|                Mean yearly average players per hour = 30.86                |
|                                                                            |
|----------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|                                                                            |
|  What do we make from this? Well, January was great, and the summer months |
|  were also surprisingly strong compared to how it usually is during the    |
|  summer. Looking at the year as a whole we can, however, see a small but   |
|  clear decline.                                                            |
|                                                                            |
|  So, how does an APH (average players per hour) of 30.86 stand up compared |
|  to previous years? The answer can be found in this nice chart that shows  |
|  the APH for the last 11 years.                                            |
|                                                                            |
|----------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|              Population Levels in APH over the last 11 Years               |
|                         ( quarterly histogram )                            |
|--------------+-------------------------------------------------------------|
|       40.0   |                                                 X           |
|       39.0   |                                                 X           |
|       38.0   |                                                XX    X      |
|       37.0   |                                               XXX    X      |
|       36.0   |                                               XXX   XX      |
|       35.0   |                                               XXX X XX      |
|       34.0   |                                               XXX X XX      |
|       33.0   |                                               XXX X XX      |
|       32.0   |                                               XXX XXXX X    |
|       31.0   |                                            X XXXX XXXX XXX  |
|       30.0   |                                            X XXXX XXXX XXX  |
|       29.0   |                                           XX XXXX XXXX XXX  |
|       28.0   |                                       X   XX XXXX XXXX XXXX |
|       27.0   |                                    X  X X XX XXXX XXXX XXXX |
|       26.0   |                                    X  X X XX XXXX XXXX XXXX |
|       25.0   |                                    X  X XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX |
|       24.0   |                                    X  X XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX |
|       23.0   |                                    X  X XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX |
|       22.0   |                                    X  X XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX |
|       21.0   |                                    XX X XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX |
|       20.0   |                                  X XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX |
|       19.0   |   X                              X XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX |
|       18.0   |   X                              X XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX |
|       17.0   |   X  XX                          X XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX |
|       16.0   |  XX  XXX         X               X XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX |
|       15.0   | XXX  XXX         X               X XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX |
|       14.0   | XXX  XXXX X     XX          X    X XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX |
|       13.0   | XXX  XXXX X X   XXX         X    X XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX |
|       12.0   | XXXX XXXX XXX  XXXX    X X  X X  X XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX |
|       11.0   | XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX    X XXXX X  X XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX |
|       10.0   | XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX X XX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX |
|        9.0   | XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX |
|        8.0   | XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX |
|--------------+-----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+-----|
|      Qtr.    | 1234|1234|1234|1234|1234|1234|1234|1234|1234|1234|1234|1234 |
|--------------+-----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+-----|
|      Year    | 2008|2009|2010|2011|2012|2013|2014|2015|2016|2017|2018|2019 |
|--------------+-----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+-----|
|      Yr. Ave | 15.8|16.1|13.0|14.0|10.7|12.5|13.3|24.2|29.1|36.6|35.2|30.5 |
|--------------+-----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+-----|
|                                                                            |
|  This proves what we already suspected from looking at the other graph,    |
|  the player numbers HAVE declined a little in 2019. However, if we look    |
|  at the big picture, 2019 was still the third best year since Gorboth      |
|  started measuring APH back in 2008. Not too bad after all!                |
|                                                                            |
|  Here's a more detailed look at our player numbers compared to 2018 only.  |
|                                                                            |
|----------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|             Comparing player activity over two time periods:               |
|                      A: Jan 01 2018 - Dec 31 2018                          |
|                      B: Jan 01 2019 - Dec 31 2019                          |
|-------+-------+-------+----------+--+-----------+-------+-------+----------|
| Hour  |   A   |   B   | % change |  | Weekday   |   A   |   B   | % change |
|-------+-------+-------+----------+  +-----------+-------+-------+----------|
| 00.00 | 39.41 | 35.45 |  -10.03 %|  | Sunday    | 35.05 | 30.60 |  -12.70 %|
| 01.00 | 36.00 | 33.04 |   -8.23 %|  | Monday    | 33.86 | 30.37 |  -10.30 %|
| 02.00 | 34.75 | 31.95 |   -8.06 %|  | Tuesday   | 34.80 | 31.23 |  -10.24 %|
| 03.00 | 35.26 | 32.51 |   -7.79 %|  | Wednesday | 34.52 | 30.81 |  -10.75 %|
| 04.00 | 34.95 | 31.54 |   -9.74 %|  | Thursday  | 34.11 | 30.11 |  -11.71 %|
| 05.00 | 33.11 | 29.51 |  -10.86 %|  | Friday    | 33.72 | 29.91 |  -11.31 %|
| 06.00 | 31.19 | 26.00 |  -16.63 %|  | Saturday  | 34.75 | 30.66 |  -11.77 %|
| 07.00 | 28.46 | 23.54 |  -17.26 %|  +-----------+-------+-------+----------|
| 08.00 | 27.79 | 23.14 |  -16.76 %|                                         |
| 09.00 | 28.30 | 24.07 |  -14.95 %|                                         |
| 10.00 | 28.70 | 24.5  |  -14.64 %|  +--------------------------------------|
| 11.00 | 29.14 | 25.34 |  -13.03 %|  |       - - - Field  Sizes - - -       |
| 12.00 | 29.83 | 26.77 |  -10.25 %|  | Number of days in Period A:     364  |
| 13.00 | 30.28 | 27.40 |   -9.48 %|  | Number of days in Period B:     364  |
| 14.00 | 32.16 | 28.87 |  -10.24 %|  +--------------------------------------|
| 15.00 | 34.60 | 31.12 |  -10.04 %|                                         |
| 16.00 | 36.45 | 33.44 |   -8.25 %|                                         |
| 17.00 | 39.11 | 35.28 |   -9.78 %|  +--------------------------------------|
| 18.00 | 41.44 | 36.91 |  -10.93 %|  |           Overall Summary            |
| 19.00 | 44.62 | 39.00 |  -12.59 %|  +--------------------------------------|
| 20.00 | 46.12 | 40.51 |  -12.17 %|  | Overall average for Period A:  34.40 |
| 21.00 | 46.45 | 41.04 |  -11.65 %|  | Overall average for Period B:  30.53 |
| 22.00 | 44.89 | 39.43 |  -12.16 %|  |                                      |
| 23.00 | 43.00 | 38.88 |   -9.58 %|  | Overall increase/decrease:  -11.2 %  |
|-------+-------+-------+----------+--+--------------------------------------|
|                                                                            |
|  So, in short, we're down 11.2% compared to last year. Now, we should      |
|  remember that 2018 had quite the spike thanks to the PC Gamer article,    |
|  and especially the links from their social media accounts. We obviously   |
|  won't receive that kind of exposure every year, so, statistically 2018's  |
|  numbers are somewhat inflated due to that, but still, -11.2% is -11.2%.   |
|  That's of course something we need to work to turn around in 2020.        |
|                                                                            |
|  Now we know how the playerbase has changed overall, but has there been    |
|  any interesting changes within the playerbase during 2019? This chart     |
|  that shows which occupational guilds our active players belong to is      |
|  always fun to look at (unless you are a kender).                          |
|                                                                            |
|----------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|                                                                            |
|             Average number of active players per guild per day             |
|                                                                            |
|----------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|       2018 Ranking                    2019 Ranking                         |
|----------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|        1.  Mercs     (6.561)           1.   Mercs     (6.164)              |
|        2.  SoHM      (4.320)           2.  -SoHM      (2.552)              |
|        3.  DArmy     (2.572)           3.   DArmy     (2.464)              |
|        4.  WoHS      (1.625)           4.   WoHS      (1.370)              |
|        5.  Calians   (1.435)           5.   Knives    (1.338) new!         |
|        6.  Knights   (1.150)           6.   Rangers   (1.115)              |
|        7.  Rangers   (1.098)           7. ^+Angmar    (0.906)              |
|        8.  Glads     (1.065)           8.   Clerics   (0.708)              |
|        9.  Cadets    (1.030)           9.   Neidar    (0.706)              |
|       10.  Mages     (0.884)           10.  Monks     (0.703)              |
|       11.  Neidar    (0.863)           11.  Cadets    (0.700)              |
|       12.  Clerics   (0.855)           12.  Ogres     (0.585)              |
|       13.  Monks     (0.704)           13.  Glads     (0.472)              |
|       14.  Angmar    (0.608)           14. !Calians   (0.401)              |
|       15.  Ogres     (0.569)           15. !Knights   (0.351)              |
|       16.  Academy   (0.350)           16.  Academy   (0.214)              |
|       17.  PoT       (0.084)           17. @Mages     (0.170)              |
|       18.  Kender    (0.046)           18. *Union     (0.109)              |
|       19.  Union     (0.002)           19.  PoT       (0.085)              |
|                                        20.  Kender    (0.021)              |
|----------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|               + Biggest APH gain (Angmar at +0.298)                        |
|               - Biggest APH loss (SoHM at -1.768)                          |
|               * Biggest growth   (Union at 5,350% growth)                  |
|               @ Biggest decline  (Mages at 81% decline)                    |
|               ^ Biggest rise     (Angmar up 7 ranks)                       |
|               ! Biggest fall     (Calians & Knights down 9 ranks)          |
|----------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|                                                                            |
|  Note that guilds with two distinct factions (Rangers and Dragonarmy)      |
|  count as one guild in the statistics above, and that the Fire Knives      |
|  numbers are based on the time they have been open, and not the entire     |
|  year. Also, the Elvish Archers are not part of this chart as they were    |
|  recoded near the end of the year, and using data from only a few months   |
|  would not give us very reliable numbers I think. Before the recode they   |
|  were considered a layman guild with an occupational option of layman      |
|  power. So, that's why they have not been included in these charts in      |
|  the past. But from next year, they will be!                               |
|                                                                            |
|  This clearly shows which guilds are the most popular, right? Or? Well,    |
|  statistics are fun, and sometimes they definitely tell the truth.         |
|  However, sometimes it's good to be a little sceptical too. For example,   |
|  the Shadow Union have a crazy growth of 5,350%, which sounds awesome,     |
|  but they are still ranked near the very bottom of the list. The huge      |
|  increase in growth percentage-wise is mainly due to the fact that they    |
|  were more or less extinct in 2018, not that they suddenly have become     |
|  very popular.                                                             |
|                                                                            |
|  Also, this chart does not take into account all factors, for example      |
|  some guilds are much more restrictive about taking on new members than    |
|  others, and some guilds only allow players of certain race(s) or align.   |
|  For example the Mercenaries allow all players of all sizes, races, and    |
|  aligns to join, while on the other end of the spectrum we find the        |
|  Secret Society who only allow ONE specific align-restricted sub-race.     |
|  It's of course an unfair comparison, but it does make sense to compare    |
|  similar guilds, and we can for example clearly see that the Mercenaries   |
|  are much more popular than the other  free for all melee guild - the      |
|  Gladiators.                                                               |
|                                                                            |
|  Another thing that skews the statistics is the fact that different        |
|  guilds also have different policies regarding idling players. Some        |
|  guilds work to promote active players, while in other guilds it's         |
|  perfectly okay to stay logged in and idle for days or even weeks. One     |
|  player idling in their guild for weeks or months obviously bumps up       |
|  that guild's popularity in the statistics, but in reality it may not      |
|  reflect that guild's actual activity.                                     |
|                                                                            |
|  So, while the guild statistics above give an indication about which       |
|  guilds are the most popular, it's far from the whole truth. But what      |
|  if we compare the guilds to themselves, perhaps that would give a         |
|  better idea about how a guild is doing? Below you can see the average     |
|  players per hour for each occupational guild compared to their own        |
|  numbers the previous year.                                                |
|                                                                            |
|----------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|                                                                            |
|                       Guild growth from former year                        |
|                                                                            |
|----------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|        Ranked by APH increase         Ranked by relative change            |
|----------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|        1. Angmar     + 0.298          1.  Union   +5,350% growth           |
|        2. Union      + 0.107          2.  Angmar  +49.0 % growth           |
|        3. Rangers    + 0.017          3.  Ogres   +2.8  % growth           |
|        4. Ogres      + 0.016          4.  Rangers +1.6  % growth           |
|        5. PoT        + 0.001          5.  PoT     +1.2  % growth           |
|----------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|        6. Monks      - 0.001          6.  Monks   -0.1  % decline          |
|        7. Kender     - 0.025          7.  DArmy   -4.2  % decline          |
|        8. DArmy      - 0.108          8.  Mercs   -6.0  % decline          |
|        9. Academy    - 0.136          9.  WoHS    -15.7 % decline          |
|       10. Clerics    - 0.147         10.  Clerics -17.2 % decline          |
|       11. Neidar     - 0.157         11.  Neidar  -18.2 % decline          |
|       12. WoHS       - 0.255         12.  Cadets  -32.0 % decline          |
|       13. Cadets     - 0.330         13.  Academy -38.9 % decline          |
|       14. Mercs      - 0.397         14.  SoHM    -40.9 % decline          |
|       15. Glads      - 0.593         15.  Kender  -54.4 % decline          |
|       16. Mages      - 0.714         16.  Glads   -55.7 % decline          |
|       17. Knights    - 0.799         17.  Knights -69.5 % decline          |
|       18. Calians    - 1.034         18.  Calians -72.1 % decline          |
|       19. SoHM       - 1.768         19.  Mages   -80.8 % decline          |
|                                                                            |
|        * knives      (new)                                                 |
|----------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|                                                                            |
|  Interesting. What do we make of this? We already mentioned the Shadow     |
|  Union with their whopping 5,350 percent growth, but the Army of Angmar    |
|  has also done well this year. A number of guilds have remained steady,    |
|  while the biggest losers are clearly the Knights, Calians, and Mages who  |
|  have lost a large number of their active players compared to 2018. Ouch!  |
|                                                                            |
|  Overall, it's easy to see that most guilds have lost players compared to  |
|  2018, which of course is not surprising. We saw earlier that the player   |
|  numbers are down overall, and we have also added a new guild to the mix.  |
|  And I am not even counting the Elvish Archers now, who we can probably    |
|  count as a new guild as well, since they are now a relevant occupational  |
|  option. More guilds and fewer players can only lead to one thing - less   |
|  players per guild.                                                        |
|                                                                            |
|  On average, only six guilds enjoy an APH over 1.0, meaning that at any    |
|  given time only six guilds have one or more players awake. We now have    |
|  21 occupational guilds (23 if you count BDA/RDA and the ranger companies  |
|  as separate guilds), and with around 30 players awake on average, this    |
|  means we are getting quite close to a situation where there is one        |
|  occupational guild per player. This is not a good development, and it's   |
|  no wonder many complain on inactive guild leaders and long joining        |
|  processes. It's clear we do not really have the number of players to      |
|  support this many guilds.                                                 |
|                                                                            |
|  The solution? If we don't think outside the box, the only solutions are   |
|  to get more players and/or close and/or merge guilds. Close guilds?!?     |
|  What?? Wait, wait, I said "If we DON'T think outside the box there are    |
|  two solutions". If we do think outside the box perhaps we can think of    |
|  something better. I've been thinking a lot about an alliance system       |
|  lately.                                                                   |
|                                                                            |
|  I also want to mention that I am not complaining on the wizards who put   |
|  in a lot of work in creating guilds in the last few years. I think all    |
|  new guilds (and the recode of the Archers) were very good additions that  |
|  filled needs in Genesis. But, we have to perhaps calm down with more      |
|  occupational guilds unless they add something very unique or fill a       |
|  clear void. Occupational guilds that is, layman, craft, and racials I     |
|  definitely think we could have more of. We have two very unique           |
|  occupational guilds in development, and these two may very well be the    |
|  last new occupational guilds for some time. But, more about the future    |
|  below, let's focus on last year's statistics for now.                     |
|                                                                            |
|  One thing that I am curious to know is the good/neutral/evil balance      |
|  when it comes to guilds. Let's check it out, and also see how things      |
|  changed from 2018. It should be noted that some of the neutral guilds     |
|  tend to lean towards one side or the other, but since they do allow       |
|  their members to be both good or evil they are listed as neutral.         |
|                                                                            |
|----------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|                                                                            |
|                      Guild activity by align - 2019                        |
|                                                                            |
|----------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|        Good-aligned         Neutral-aligned       Evil-aligned             |
|----------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|        Rangers  1.115       Mercs    6.164        DArmy    2.464           |
|        Clerics  0.708       SoHM     2.552        Knives   1.338           |
|        Neidar   0.706       WoHS     1.370        Angmar   0.906           |
|        Calians  0.401       Monks    0.703        Mages    0.170           |
|        Knights  0.351       Cadets   0.700        PoT      0.085           |
|        Kender   0.021       Ogres    0.585                                 |
|                             Glads    0.472                                 |
|                             Academy  0.214                                 |
|                             Union    0.109                                 |
|----------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|  Total:   3.302                12.869                4.963                 |
|  Total %: 15.6%                60.9%                 23.5%                 |
|----------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|                                                                            |
|  As expected the neutral guilds rule Genesis, mainly because there are     |
|  more of them (and mercs are neutral). More interesting is that it's a     |
|  pretty big gap between the good and evil guilds, with a clear edge for    |
|  the evils. But how was it in 2018?                                        |
|                                                                            |
|----------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|                                                                            |
|                       Guild activity by align - 2018                       |
|                                                                            |
|----------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|        Good-aligned         Neutral-aligned       Evil-aligned             |
|----------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|        Calians  1.435       Mercs    6.561        DArmy    2.572           |
|        Knights  1.150       SoHM     4.320        Mages    0.884           |
|        Rangers  1.098       WoHS     1.625        Angmar   0.608           |
|        Neidar   0.863       Glads    1.065        PoT      0.084           |
|        Clerics  0.855       Cadets   1.030                                 |
|        Kender   0.046       Monks    0.704                                 |
|                             Ogres    0.569                                 |
|                             Academy  0.350                                 |
|                             Union    0.002                                 |
|----------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|  Total:    5.447                16.226                4.148                |
|  Total %:  21.1%                62.8%                 16.1%                |
|----------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|                                                                            |
|  The neutral guilds remain quite stable, but we can see a clear shift      |
|  of balance between the good and evil guilds, where things are the         |
|  opposite now compared to how it was in 2018. The opening of the Fire      |
|  Knives is of course one part of the reason, but even without that, the    |
|  goodie guilds definitely took a hit in 2019.                              |
|                                                                            |
|  Again, this doesn't tell the whole story of course, as many of the        |
|  neutral guilds members tend to align with either the good or the evil     |
|  side, especially the Wizards of High Sorcery with their different         |
|  orders. Still, it does give an indication of the good vs evil balance     |
|  in terms of guilds and their active members.                              |
|                                                                            |
|  Okay, enough statistics, I know I promised to share some of my thoughts   |
|  for the future. However, before we do that, let's stay in 2019 for a      |
|  little longer and look at what our fantastic volunteer workforce          |
|  achieved during the year.                                                 |
|                                                                            |
|============================================================================|
|                            WIZARD ACCOMPLISHMENTS                          |
|============================================================================|
|                                                                            |
|  Trying to create a list of EVERYTHING that changed or was added to the    |
|  game is of course an impossible mission, but hopefully I have managed     |
|  to cover most of the major stuff.                                         |
|                                                                            |
|----------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|  January:                                                                  |
|----------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|  - With equipment now always surviving Armageddon, the ironstone           |
|    imbuements become unstable and are temporarily removed. (Gorboth)       |
|----------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|  February & March:                                                         |
|----------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|  - Not much happened here, most likely the wizards were busy working on    |
|    the rather big changes and additions that were introduced in April,     |
|    May, and June.                                                          |
|----------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|  April:                                                                    |
|----------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|  - EVENT: The first brand new event in several years, the Golden Egg       |
|    Event, takes place during Easter. Zail is the first to turn his egg     |
|    into a golden egg and wins the event. (Cherek, assisted by Varian)      |
|----------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|  May:                                                                      |
|----------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|  - The <home> command used by newbies to teleport back to their start      |
|    location is changed so it can no longer be used in combat. (Shanoga)    |
|  - The global rules regarding guilds skill allocation is changed in        |
|    order to allow for more interesting, and better balanced, guild types.  |
|    Especially rogue class guilds benefit from this change. (Arman and      |
|    the AoB team)                                                           |
|  - NEW GUILD: The Fire Knives of Faerun opens its doors to the world.      |
|    Watch your backs! (Nerull)                                              |
|  - An expansion option called "The Doomseekers" is added to the Neidar     |
|    Clan guild. (Arman)                                                     |
|----------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|  June:                                                                     |
|----------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|  - The Secret Society of Uncle Trapspringer has their skills reviewed      |
|    and updated. (Arman and the AoB team)                                   |
|----------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|  July:                                                                     |
|----------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|  - Quietstone imbuements become less effective. (Arman and the AoB team)   |
|----------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|  August:                                                                   |
|----------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|  - The powers of layman guilds (and one occupational) are adjusted to      |
|    provide a more balanced game experience. Significant changes were       |
|    made to the Elemental Worshippers, Warlocks, Holy Order of the Stars,   |
|    and Heralds. Minor adjustments were made to the Army of Angmar (both    |
|    occupational and layman), Templars of Neraka, and Thornlin Militia.     |
|    (Arman and the AoB team)                                                |
|  - NEW AREA: A new pub opens at the docks in Sparkle, replacing the old    |
|    one. It comes with several new quests, a room for arm wrestling         |
|    competitions, and the pub's bartender, Ellingnor, becomes the first     |
|    non-binary NPC in Genesis. (Gorboth)                                    |
|----------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|  September:                                                                |
|----------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|  - A quiet month leading up to an eventful end of the year.                |
|----------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|  October:                                                                  |
|--------------------------------------------------------------------------  |
|  - GUILD RECODE: The Elvish Archers guild (both occupational and layman    |
|    branches) is completely recoded and now provides a much better and      |
|    more balanced experience. (Carnak)                                      |
|  - Due to the suddenly popular archer guild, arrows are changed so         |
|    that they eventually decay, and the huge piles of arrows are no more.   |
|    (Cotillion)                                                             |
|----------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|  November:                                                                 |
|----------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|  - EVENT: The 14th Scavenger Hunt Event is held with 100 completely new    |
|    and harder riddles. After an exhausting week Diri & Creed are           |
|    victorious in the most prestigious, and probably toughest, event in     |
|    Genesis. (Cherek and Varian)                                            |
|----------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|  December:                                                                 |
|----------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|  - EVENT: The annual Wheel-of-Fun Event is updated with some new features, |
|    and Montagu wins the "Luckiest Player in Genesis"-award for a second    |
|    straight year. The odds of the same person winning a purely luck-based  |
|    event two years in a row are astronomical, but it somehow happened      |
|    anyway. (Cherek)                                                        |
|  - GUILD RECODE: The Minstrel guild receives a much-needed recode, and     |
|    the world is filled with music. Who will be number one on the charts    |
|    in 2020? (Arman)                                                        |
|----------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|                                                                            |
|============================================================================|
|                THE YEAR OF THE AZURE RUNE-ETCHED LONGSWORD                 |
|============================================================================|
|                                                                            |
|  One thing that you may feel is missing from the above list is a mention   |
|  of the ever-saving equipment system and the change to a decay system.     |
|  That's because the ever-saving system was implemented in the fall of      |
|  2018, and the decay system arrived in early January 2020. While the       |
|  actual changes do not belong on a 2019 list, I think it's still worth     |
|  mentioning, as the year of 2019 was truly special in Genesis history.     |
|  Players inventories and racks have never been so full of awesome EQ, and  |
|  one story from the Discord chat pretty much sums it up. I don't           |
|  remember who said it, but he or she had tried to give away some really    |
|  good EQ to newbies in Sparkle, but they had all declined saying they      |
|  already had better EQ...                                                  |
|                                                                            |
|  2019 was truly a unique gear, err, year for the players of Genesis, and   |
|  those of us who got to experience it can tell fond stories of piles of    |
|  intense-imbued azure swords and more great helms of the hawk than you     |
|  could carry. Those who were not here to see it probably won't believe     |
|  you, but then you can at least refer to this common board post as proof!  |
|                                                                            |
|============================================================================|
|                        WHAT DOES THE FUTURE HOLD?                          |
|============================================================================|
|                                                                            |
|  That was that. 2019 is over. 2020 has been here for over a month, and     |
|  a few notable things have happened already. We have a new and much-       |
|  needed system for equipment decay (thanks Arman and Carnak), we have a    |
|  whole bunch of new wizards, and shockingly we have a new Keeper! As I     |
|  promised in my "Hello" post, I would share some of my plans for the       |
|  future in this post, so, here we go...                                    |
|                                                                            |
|  Let me start by saying that I love Genesis, and I am sure many of you do  |
|  as well. It's a fantastic game created by hundreds of different people    |
|  during the course of more than 30 years. You are part of a community      |
|  that has existed online for more than 10,950 days. Very few online games, |
|  if any, can rival those numbers. Genesis might actually be THE oldest     |
|  Massively Multiplayer Online game that is still alive and kicking, and    |
|  we are still doing quite well!                                            |
|                                                                            |
|  However, to continue for another 30 years and beyond, we can't just sit   |
|  back and relax. Genesis may be wondrous in many ways, but there are       |
|  still ways for us to improve. Obviously, we want to keep attracting new   |
|  players, and have as many as possible stay around for a long time. So,    |
|  what can we do to continue growing as a game?                             |
|                                                                            |
|  Well, to attract more players we need to let people know that we exist.   |
|  It's as simple as that. At some point, I would like to try to form a      |
|  dedicated team of wizards (with mortal assistance) who will ONLY focus    |
|  on promoting the game. If you're interested in being a "seller" of        |
|  Genesis, feel free to contact me.                                         |
|                                                                            |
|  The other way to increase the number of players is of course to make the  |
|  game more fun. But how do we make the game more fun? Well, the game is    |
|  fun already for many players, but in my opinion, the best way to make it  |
|  more fun for MORE players is to offer more ways to enjoy the game. I      |
|  think there is definitely room for improvement when it comes to keeping   |
|  players around after they've done all the things that are fun when you    |
|  experience them the first time.                                           |
|                                                                            |
|  Sure, grinding, questing, and advancing within your guild can be fun,     |
|  and should definitely always be a part of the Genesis experience, but     |
|  all those things aren't eternal. Eventually you have finished all or      |
|  most quests, you've hit myth (or at least been grinding enough so it      |
|  stops being fun), and you've tried all the guilds you are interested in.  |
|  But what is eternal? What can't you run out of? Well, as long as the      |
|  game has players in it, you can't run out of players to interact with.    |
|  Players interacting with players is in my opinion what makes Genesis,     |
|  and most other similar games, the most interesting.                       |
|                                                                            |
|  I think it's time to shift our focus from individual growth and solo      |
|  play to finding ways to improve player interaction and conflict. I think  |
|  more than anything Genesis needs more conflicts, more politics, more      |
|  roleplay, more socializing, more competition, and simply more ways to     |
|  keep players engaged that aren't necessarily related to grinding.         |
|                                                                            |
|  Some of the things I would like to see are:                               |
|                                                                            |
|  * Player versus player combat that is actually FUN for both sides.        |
|  * More guildwide conflicts that are FUN for everyone involved.            |
|  * Now, as you noticed above, we have way too many guilds compared to      |
|    the number of players for any serious guild wars to even be possible,   |
|    so, I would like to introduce a way for guilds to becomes allies,       |
|    declare war, etc, with benefits, drawbacks and rewards for the          |
|    involved guilds.                                                        |
|  * New players being able to take part and being successful in these       |
|    conflicts and fights without having to spend 3+ years grinding          |
|    to myth++ first.                                                        |
|  * More opportunities to just socialize and roleplay with other players    |
|    without feeling the need to always grind to "keep up".                  |
|  * Make the Genesis world and NPC's challenging again. Soloing huge        |
|    bosses and large groups of powerful enemies is just silly, and          |
|    doesn't exactly encourage teaming and socializing either.               |
|  * Make grinding more interesting for high-level players. Counting         |
|    fantastics and not watching your stats grow is fun for some, but        |
|    surely we can come up with something that's more fun.                   |
|  * Make all Genesis races equally good. Different, sure, but no race       |
|    should be clearly superior or inferior to another race overall.         |
|                                                                            |
|  Wow, those are some serious goals. Well, I didn't accept the offer to     |
|  become Keeper just because it's a fun title. I am supposed to barge in    |
|  with new energy and ideas and dust off some old lazy wizards, get         |
|  everyone working towards a common goal, and all those things all Keepers  |
|  do when they are new. After all, Gorboth claimed he would double the      |
|  playerbase, which nobody really thought was likely at the time. But,      |
|  as you can see in the graphs above, he did! Compared to that, my tiny     |
|  goals should be a piece of donut-cake.                                    |
|                                                                            |
|  All of the above will of course require some serious work, and as most    |
|  of you know it's impossible to promise anything in the ever-changing      |
|  wizard world where the workforce is 100% volunteers. However, I will do   |
|  my best to make these things happen at some point. If we could just make  |
|  half of them a reality, I think Genesis would become an even better       |
|  experience, and it isn't bad today. Not at all!                           |
|                                                                            |
|  Gorboth always ended these posts with his famous words "Onward and        |
|  Upward". I am not entirely sure if it's a tradition for all Keepers to    |
|  have their own slogan, but if anyone has a good suggestion, let me know.  |
|                                                                            |
|  <insert cool slogan here>                                                 |
|  Cherek, Fresh Keeper of Genesis                                           |
|                                                                            |
+----------------------------------------------------------------------------+

User avatar
gold bezie
Expert
Posts: 299
Joined: 16 Mar 2015 19:29

Re: State of the Donut - 2019

Post by gold bezie » 06 Feb 2020 09:08

Thanks for the update and great idea's.

I totally agree with you that we have too many guilds compared with players.
But your idea for making guilds allies etc. is not really working for monks.
And i really dont want to change the whole idea of the monks just because we
have not enough players.

Isnt it time to close some guilds (glads), change occ guilds in layman or racial guilds (kender) or make bda/rda and ron/roi both one guild with one council? (personally if you would go for the last thing i would say keep the guildrooms open)

And stick with the <insert cool slogan here> , Love it :D

Just my humble opinion
Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that.

User avatar
Cherek
Site Admin
Posts: 3612
Joined: 04 Mar 2010 04:36

Re: State of the Donut - 2019

Post by Cherek » 06 Feb 2020 14:16

Thanks for the kind words.

Well, technically there's nothing stopping the monks from being part of an alliance, but, I understand that in reality they probably wouldn't be. So, yes monks is probably one guild that wouldn't be helped by such a system, most of the others would, though. I think alliances with some shared "who"-lists, maybe a messaging system, and some shared goal could help create a community within the alliance. You may be the only player in your guild awake, but hopefully there's always a few people in your alliance swake. That's the thought anyway.

As for closing guilds and merging, that is of course a possiblity. A ranger guild with one council, and a Dragonarmy with one general (or simply closing one wing) are possible solutions. Closing guilds will always be controversial, though, and sad to just remove a big part of Genesis history. I do like the idea of transforming guilds into laymans, though. Having too many occupationl guilds is one problem, but another thing player always complain about is the lack of layman options.

You mention kenders as a guild that could be turned into a layman, and I agree. What other options would there be? Gladiators actually sound like a good candidate too. But who else...

Ogres? Maybe possible, but a lot of hurdles and work probably. Archers? Possible, but they were just recoded so that would feel a bit odd. Monks? Well, I suppose in theory we could close occupational monks and upgrade the layman branch a bit? Shadow Union? Maybe, but that would also pretty much shut down one of few true RP guilds. However, since they have been very low on members for a long time, making them a layman guild might actually be a good thing? But very controversial, and I have a feeling neither the original creator or it's curent members would like it at all.

I don't think any of the other guilds are likely candidates for a layman makeover?

And just to be clear, this is just me thinking out loud, there are no official plans to do any of these things. Just random thoughts at this point.

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

Re: State of the Donut - 2019

Post by sylphan » 06 Feb 2020 16:32

Making monks a sidecar-only guild would be a loss for the realms, and so sad. Please don't do it. And with respect to alliances (an idea that has some promise for many guilds), it's not just that monks "wouldn't" join an alliance; doing so would be going against a central tenet of their philosophy. It would be nonsensical.

User avatar
gold bezie
Expert
Posts: 299
Joined: 16 Mar 2015 19:29

Re: State of the Donut - 2019

Post by gold bezie » 06 Feb 2020 18:27

Sylphan just said exactly my thoughts, could not agree more, thank you Sylphan.
If you would transform occupational guilds into layman ones i would personally choose the ones
that would cause not much pain.
SU is not one of them. I know they have not many players, but that is because they are
hardcore rp. It would be a huge lost if they would be tranformated to layman.

All i can think of are gladiators and the kenders. And to be honoust Fire Knives should have been
made a layman guild from the start. I know they have active players now, but that is because its
new and people are curious. But it would fit in a rp story much more as a layman guild.
Again just my opinion.
Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that.

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

Re: State of the Donut - 2019

Post by gorboth » 06 Feb 2020 18:33

Excellent post, Cherek! I love the new ideas, energy, and up-front analysis. Good times lie ahead. :-)

G.
Mmmmmm ... pie ...

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

Re: State of the Donut - 2019

Post by Arman » 07 Feb 2020 09:19

gold bezie wrote:
06 Feb 2020 09:08
Thanks for the update and great idea's.

I totally agree with you that we have too many guilds compared with players.
But your idea for making guilds allies etc. is not really working for monks.
And i really dont want to change the whole idea of the monks just because we
have not enough players.

Isnt it time to close some guilds (glads), change occ guilds in layman or racial guilds (kender) or make bda/rda and ron/roi both one guild with one council? (personally if you would go for the last thing i would say keep the guildrooms open)

And stick with the <insert cool slogan here> , Love it :D

Just my humble opinion
You've kicked off quite a bit of conversation between myself and Cherek on this.

We currently have 18 guilds with an occupational option. This doesn't include the Cadets or Academics, who technically use the layman guild slot... or the tutorial Patrol Guild, or the Warlocks and Militia that offer an occupational option with layman skills, or Gorboth's Necromancers.

Of those 18 occupational guilds, 10 are classed as a 'fighter' style - Army of Angmar, Army of Darkness, Calians, Neidar Clan, Dragonarmy (RDA and BDA counted as one), Gladiators, Knights of Solamnia, Mercenaries, Shadow Union, and Monks.

Three are classed as magic styles - Morgul Mages, School of High Sorcery, and Wizards of High Sorcery. Two are classed as clerical styles - Elementals and Priests of Takhisis.

Two are ranger styles - Elven Archers and Rangers of the Westlands (North and Ithilien counted as one).

And two are thief styles - Kender and Fire Knives.

So from a balance point of view, we are heavily weighted towards fighter guilds... which makes sense seeing that's all Genesis really offered for a long part of its existence.

If we were to rationalise (and at this stage it is an 'if'... we are in the talking about it stage :) ), it would predominantly be with a focus on the fighter guilds.

We'd consider rationalising the Dragonarmies down to one Army. While personally I don't like it as their creator, and that it messes with Krynn's thematics around competition between the five armies and 'evil turning upon itself', from a practical point of view based on our current population two armies is probably unrealistic to maintain.

As part of the eventual recode of the Rangers of the Westland we'd look at rationalising that too so that it has one guild leadership. Conceptually I think we can still keep a lot of the thematics to allow rangers to build a background persona to still be a Ranger of the North.

We'd consider a soft close of occupational Gladiators. Existing occupational members could remain occupational, however it would be closed for new members. We'd expand the existing code to be layman... charge and berserk would work quite nicely in a layman guild and would cater to a broad range of occupational fighter guilds.

We'd consider converting the Secret Society to a racial-layman guild. While their skills may be reduced, they could end up being the layman option with the most combat aid... there are some interesting possibilities with that transition.

Monks are one of two guilds still not using the standardised combat system, existing in old code... their recode having stalled. They are a prime candidate for closing or sunsetting to a layman guild in the same way the Gladiators could be.

And we've discussed the Shadow Union. A beautiful RP guild with incredible depth in lore, but verging on being an inactive guild. If we want to rationalise occupational fighters guilds to concentrate player numbers, is there a place for this guild in its current form? If we are looking at sunsetting more active guilds like Gladiators and Monks, the Shadow Union also needs to be considered.

Anyway, like I said, Gold bezie you have stimulated interesting discussions with Cherek :).

Tarlok
Apprentice
Posts: 48
Joined: 27 Aug 2018 12:33

Re: State of the Donut - 2019

Post by Tarlok » 07 Feb 2020 13:36

It would be great to see more active players awake in each guild. Though I am not confident merging or closing unpopular guilds is going to provide a significant boost in that regard. I think some would be dissatisfied to find their occupation of choice removed and leave the game - likely I among them. I enjoy the diversity of occupation. If there are mechanics issues that prevent low membership guilds from functioning properly (is this the main reason?) I would recommend revising those mechanics to make those guilds less reliant on active councils. I dont think everyone wants to be a mercenary, more choices caters to more people. I enjoy taking a path uncommonly traveled.

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

Re: State of the Donut - 2019

Post by sylphan » 07 Feb 2020 14:02

Knowing wizards seem to be leaning toward ending the AOD as an occupational choice casts a long, cold shadow over my Friday. The numbers would increase if the guild were updated. There are many good suggestions, dating back years, among monks and former monks, on the guild board. I get that we need a wizard to care enough to do it (Ckrik, where are you!? Shanoga?), but unarmed combat and a philosophical approach to violence and rich, dragon-sparkling lore - all of this adds a unique choice for players. Without monks as an OCC guild, unarmed combat as a serious discipline (i.e., not merely as a pursuit on the side that helps spellcasters) would disappear from the realms. An entire class of fighting, gone. (Please don't come back with something about mercenaries ... for very good reason, literally no one does that). If no one is interested in taking advantage of the opportunity that recoded monks represent, at least let them continue quietly as they are. Who are they bothering by being few in number? If they are happy enough to stay ... It sounds to me like monks are likely to go, though, and that is so damn sad. What a bummer. Happy weekend I guess.

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

Re: State of the Donut - 2019

Post by Arman » 07 Feb 2020 14:52

So we circle back to the point of speculation that we have too many guilds for players.

As a community, what is more important? Diversity in occupation options at the cost of dilution of guild activity? Or a concentration of guild occupations with diversification moved in to layman guilds? Or do we explore new options such as an Alliance of guilds system that provides benefits to those participating in it?

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