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Fellow Genesis Enthusiasts,
We've come to the end of another month, so it is time for another update
on our lead up to the 25th Anniversary of Genesis. There have been some
fascinating developments in May, which was already slated to be an important
month according to the goals we had set.
So ... how did we do? Let's examine what those goals were:
February--2013-----------------------------------------------------------
- Organization, planning, coordination, commitment established
- Work Goal: Finish magic occ guild recodes by end of May 2013.
- Work Goal: New robust version of client ready by end of December 2013.
March-----2013-----------------------------------------------------------
April-----2013-----------------------------------------------------------
May-------2013-----------------------------------------------------------
- Work Complete: Magic occ guild recodes
- Work Goal: Finish remaining occ guild recodes by end of August
Unlike the last few months, we had some big ideas as goals for this month,
specifically. As many suspected when these goals were first set, they might
have been impossible to reach with the small workforce we have. Nonetheless,
there have been some major successes! So lets get to looking at what we've
seen happen this month, both in-line with our stated goals and otherwise.
In May:
Game client/software design work:
- Eowul's client design took a quantum leap forward this month,
incorporating the functionality of the Magic Map as it exists
in Genesis and displaying the output in a persistent window
where, as the player moves, a red X moves along the magic map
display. It may be hard to picture based on what I've described,
but this is something I've been dreaming of since the original
designs for the magic map were brought to the game. Watching
it on my screen with the test client made me feel like a new
chapter in the history of Muds was about to open. I've literally
never seen anything like it in this genre!
- Cotillion and Eowul combined their efforts, with Cotillion now
also working specifically on the client development in a way that
puts to use his own direct specifications for design and
implementation based on the html5 and GCMP architecture he feels
will be ideal.
Game Improvements:
- Spurred on by these map potentials, and inspired by the impressive
example set by Sandalphon in April, I took it upon myself to
tick another domain off the list for magic map compatibility. As
a result (and as previously posted) the Emerald domain is now
fully supported by the magic map, making it a friendly location
for new and old players alike. Now, I just need to create a few
more reasons to visit Emerald and we'll have something. (heh)
- Mercade created a revised system for handling bug (and other)
reports that brings the Mud much closer to the way the rest of
the world handles project feedback management in the modern era.
- As if to do battle with this new system, Mercade has taken his
mighty dwarven axe to the sysbug log, and has been chopping
away like only he can. The results have been many, varied, and
much appreciated:
* Continued work on the functionality of herb heaps and
ingest commands.
* Notification of darkness/light changes in rooms.
* Standard shops throughout the realms now rejecting attempts
by players to sell containers that are full of other items.
* Mortal levels now include gender-specific classifications
of [rising] hero/heroine.
Wizard News:
- Both Lavellan and Tapakah felt that it would be appropriate
to retire from their Admin positions, given that RL and other
aspects had made it too difficult for them to be as active and
invested as what is required to be a Genesis Admin. We salute
them both for their excellent service to the game, and look
forward to such time as when they will be available to return
and contribute their excellent skills once again.
Progress on Guild Recode Work:
- The Morgul Mages entered the beta testing phase of their newly
recoded abilities mid-month, and have proven to be not only more
balanced, but (by most accounts) more interesting and enjoyable
than before. A few final touches are all that remain to be
added, which means that pending final balance approval, this
guild has all but made it's May deadline for recode! Way to go
Eowul! (Excellent playtesting, cooperation, and feedback by
the Mages themselves have been no small part of the process!)
- The Elemental Worshippers saw the close to their alpha testing
process so that Petros could take what feedback he had been given
and begin to encorporate it into changes as the process moves
toward beta.
- PoT remain on the front burner for Navarre, who has been
sentenced to extra rounds of RL. We'll know more about where
they sit soon, as current updated info is forthcoming.
- In line with the goals set in May, I began the process of setting
things in motion to begin development for alpha code and testing
of the Union guild in Avenir. Rigorous collaboration between
members of that guild with the Balance Team have been underway
in the past week, and look to be leading toward exciting new
possibilities for this guild to bring them into the new global
balance scheme and update their abilities with the centralized
formulas we've devised. Petros and the members of the guild have
been flexing their creative muscles and the future looks very
promising.
Promotion and Such:
- In the early weeks of May I completed the implementation of a
survey that had been long in development, and proceeded to see
data streaming in to give us information about how people find
our game, and where they heard about us.
- An experimental test run by myself to a local college campus
proved that the paper campaign can have results in that 4
new players were created, stating the posters I had put up
in a single morning alerted them to the game, and compelled
them to log in and try us out.
- An unexpectedly powerful reddit post gave us our most
significant boost of traffic to the website in our history.
Typically, our website gets between 100-130 visitors a day. For
two days, this traffic increased to over 500 per day, generating
over a dozen new characters created thanks to the reddit post.
This proves the power of promoting the game on such sites!
- I've begun work with a Genesis community member who is an
organizer with access to multiple gaming conventions each year
in the southern regions of the US. With his expertise and knowledge
of what the typical attendee to such conventions is interested in,
design of a new brochure for the game is underway, and talks have
begun anew with Denis Loubet to do the artwork. The goal is to
have the new brochures done by the end of Summer for distribution
at the Fall conventions.
So ... in summary, we've had another excellent month of new progress,
good energy, and many developments. Did we make our goals of having all
of the occupational magic guilds recoded by months end? Well, no. Did I truly
believe it was possible? Actually, I gave it about a 2% chance. But ...
I *did* believe that setting such a goal would get us going on things. As
previously stated, Eowul shocked me to my core by actually pretty much
making the goal a reality with the most difficult recode project in the
entire game - the Morgul Mages. The fact that they are likely to be a
fantastic success and example of what is possible in rebalancing a
tricky concept gives me much more than hope - it gives me fire! We're going
to get this project cooked up, yet!
Onward and upward!
G.
