PlaneShift SkunkWorks Department

The PlaneShift project has always prided itself on being free and open source, open for anyone to contribute to. The reality is, however, that many players don’t really believe that it is. For a portion of the playerbase, the project seems closed to a large extent and not very open to community contributions.

The forum wishlist is full of excellent ideas, ideas which, unfortunately, often get lost in between all the not-so-good ideas. This makes players feel extremely discouraged because it appears as though their voices are not being heard.

The fact of the matter is that although we have very good ideas, the development team simply does not have the time to develop as well as sort through the masses of ideas to arrive at a workable plan.

It’s time to take action! In an attempt to remedy this age old problem, a new department has been launched and is now looking for team members. The PlaneShift Skunkworks department, based on the well known skunkworks project, initial brainchild of Lockhead (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skunkworks_project), will be responsible for bridging the gap between players and developers.

This team will run independently from the rest of the team, allowing them to think completely out of the box, away from coding restrictions, away from the cans and cannots unintentionally imposed by the dev team.

Skunkworks are a group of free thinkers, their job is to hear what the players want and to put it into a workable solution that the dev team can run with.

We are now looking for creative thinkers to help in this endeavour. In order to qualify for this team, you need to be at least 18 years of age (exceptions can be made if appropriate maturity is displayed by the applicant) and you must have an adequate amount of in-game experience.

To apply for a position please send me a PM with the following attached:

PlaneShift SkunkWorks Application Letter

Thank for attempting to join the SkunkWorks, please fill in the following questions truthfully.

Please provide the following details:
  - Full name:
  - Age:
  - Main character name:

How long have you been playing PlaneShift?

What makes you a fit candidate for this team?

If you could be any fruit, what fruit would you be and why?

Open comment section:


Thank you for taking the time to fill in these questions, your application will be considered carefully and we will contact you as soon as we possibly can.

If your heart is telling you to go for this, I urge you to apply. I look forward to a bright new future for PlaneShift.

Regards
Eliseth

   
   Her arm was in searing pain, dripping with blood. As she rushed along the old forgotten forest path she glanced back, hoping that her attackers were no longer following.
   A noise!
   She dove into a thick fern and lay dead still, her eyes wide with fright, her heart pumping with anxiety. She could feel every single muscle in her body tense up as she strained to hear anything outside the usual forest ambience.
   Every sound that reached her ears was amplified and twisted into potential death. Her arm went numb and she realised that she might die anyway without the help of her attackers.
   Her energy was draining fast, her muscles started relaxing and she could no longer muster the energy to keep her eyes open. As her vision blurred, her hearing dimmed, and she was filled with a sickly but nonetheless welcome warmth that took her pain away.
   In her mind she could hear her mother's voice, singing a soft lullaby to help her sleep. The wind picked up pace, the clouds rolled overhead, but Fhasha knew nothing of it. Death was calling her now, she could hear him... just a little further... almost there... I'm dying... dying...
   
   "Gotcha!" her eyes shot open to see a man kneeling over her. She tried to scream but could only manage a soft, pitiful, almost unnoticeable cough. With expressionless eyes she glanced down at her stomach, seeing a dagger embedded into her gut, the man twisting at the handle and smiling a beautiful smile.
   She smiled back.

to be coninued...

What this is: This is a general guide for everyone on how we should play the game in order to get the most out of it.
What this isn't: This is not a guide to explain the working of the game mechanics.

1) Starting Notes
2) For New Players
3) For All Players
4) For Developers
5) Ending Points

Starting Notes

Hello PlaneShifters! I am writing this guide in response to almost everything I have encountered up to now. Our current community has a good side and unfortunately a bad side, my hope is that this guide will help everyone, new and old, to appreciate each other more, and to encourage the growth of both the community and the game itself. Before I begin, there are certain crucial facts that have to be borne in mind if you want to enjoy this game at the maximum level.

 - First, PlaneShift is in it's ALPHA stage of development, this has certain dramatic implications that most new players don't get. The game is going to improve, it's always being developed.
 
 - Second, the Planeshift Community consists of real PEOPLE, with real feelings and most importantly, real lives.
 
 - Third, PlaneShift is an RP oriented game, this means that a player is meant to roleplay a character as though he or she actually lived in the world within the game (Namely Yliakum).
 
 - Forth, and most importantly, negativity of any kind does nothing good, and has no place in your forum posts.
 
I'll be elaborating on these points throughout the guide, and I encourage you to read everything. If you do not have time to read it right now, please download the PDF version here.

In the following sections of this guide I will attempt to convey my person opinion on how one can improve their in game experience right from the start. So without further a due.

A Guide for New Players

First let me welcome you to our community. You are about to embark on a journey that will take you deep into your own imagination, where you will meet someone you more than likely never knew existed. If you are still wondering whether or not to start the said journey, let me try and explain why you should.

What makes PlaneShift different, and indeed special, from any other online game out there? Why should you take the time to play THIS game as opposed to the more popular games? Quite simply, PlaneShift has a uniqueness in almost all aspects that makes it both enjoyable and worthwhile to play.

As I mentioned earlier, PlaneShift is an RP orientated game, and although it is not actively enforced in game, the community as a whole strongly encourages it. The quality of your in game experience will be improved greatly if you interact positively with the other players. Our community will be friendly to you if you are friendly to us.

* This brings me to a point that I feel I must bring up before you start your journey. Complaining about first impressions will not get you anywhere, it will simply make other players annoyed, make you annoyed and generally make everyone unhappy. Be prepared to experience the game for a while before you decide to voice you opinions.
 
With that said, let us begin at the beginning.

Starting a new character

This is with out a doubt the most important step you will go through. You character is what other people will see, and therefore it will be the first thing they judge you on. I have already written a guide to creating a new character in the guides and tutorials section, please take the time to read it, I'm certain it will make character creation a lot less painful.

The Tutorial

If this is your first character, you will be faced with the tutorial world. Before I start let me point out that the NPC's speak out of character in the tutorial. This is mainly to benefit the new players who are not yet familiar with roleplaying. The tutorial is the only OOC aspect of the game, when you complete it and you enter Yliakum, you will be in character.

This tutorial has long been the object of complaint since it was first introduced. Let me try and explain the purpose of this tutorial before you climb on your warhorse about it being useless. The purpose of the tutorial is to try and introduce characters to the BASIC workings of PlaneShift as a whole, including aspects like Crafting, Magick, Combat and RP. This tutorial is NOT meant to be a complete guide to everything. You will still be required to actively explore the world and discover all it has to offer.

The most important thing to remember if you want to get through the tutorial, and indeed if you want to do ANY of the in game quests, is to read NPC speech carefully. If you're kicked off the server or somehow miss what an NPC said and you can't get further in a specific quest, read your log files, everything anyone else says to you is recorded in there.

Now I know there is a lot in the tutorial that can be improved, so once again I refer you to my first point in the starting notes; PlaneShift is in it's ALPHA stage of development, things will improve and change with time.

Entering Yliakum

Once you successfully complete the tutorial you will be teleported to Yliakum, and you in character journey will begin. When your character first spawns you may feel a bit lost and disorientated. Do not panic. Your first two hours (at the very least) in game will be used for exploring your surroundings and getting to know how to navigate and interact with the world.

There will be times of course when you'll need help, you'll have questions. For this there are two options, depending on the type of question.

If your question in settings related (Example: if you wanted to know where a town is, or where you buy something, or train something) your best bet is to ask fellow players. If you are polite and roleplay correctly, they will generally respond in kind. Do not get upset if a player does not respond, they could be afk or busy with a private chat.

 * A lot of new comers complain that they are ignored in game, and the players aren't friendly. This is true sometimes but the big problem is that they complain about it too quickly, sometimes its just a misunderstanding. Bare in mind some people roleplay their characters as being unfriendly. If you are faced with this situation, simply ask someone else. Patience is key. Do not expect to learn everything in one day. I've been playing for two years and still don't know everything about the game.

If your question is related to game mechanics (like is you need to know how to use the furnace or something), you can use the help tab in your communications window. Do not be upset if you don't get an answer right away, the people who answer your questions there are players who volunteered to be advisors. It is possible that there aren't any online. If you really can't find your answer in game, make a post in the newbie help section of the forum.

I think what confuses new players most is the fact that there is no clear place to start when you enter Yliakum. In all the other mmos I've played, there's a starting NPC to get you going, your leveling experience is guided seamlessly from one NPC to the next. PlaneShift is NOT like that. Your character development depends entirely on your own initiative, there is no one to hold your hand here. No one except the players, who, as I mentioned earlier, are usually more than happy to help you on your way.

Here are a few things that you should know about the game when you first play the game.

 - The NPC dialog system is NOT perfect. Everyone knows that. New players also like to complain about it, but please believe me when I say that it will improve. (See point number 1 in starting notes again)
 
 - There are times when we have trouble with the NPC server, which makes monsters impervious to attack. This is annoying I know but there is nothing to be done about it at the moment, and once again complaining will not help.
 
 - The NPCs move sometimes. If you find that an NPC is not in its place, don't panic and scream bloody murder. The current system allows for NPCs to have lives too, which means they don't always stay in one place.
 
 - The magic and combat systems are still being developed, as is stands, warriors are usually more powerful than any mage. Eventually these two aspects will balance out.
 
 - The in game graphics can be a bit... weird, sometimes. A common complaint about it is that everything is too dark and it's hard to see anything in game. This is a known issue with mainly CRT moniters. Adjust your monitors gamma settings and you should be ok. As for anything else about the graphics... see point number 1 in the starting notes.

 - Lastly, the server crashes relatively frequently. If you're kicked off the server it may be a good idea to check the IRC channel, the people there are generally helpful.

I think that's about all you need to know if you want to survive your first in game experience. Don't be afraid to explore and discover new things.

Living in Yliakum

Once you are comfortable with the way things are done in this game, you can then really start to have fun. As the game is at the moment, the game mechanics aren't always a pleasure to use, and as is the trend, new players will start moaning here on the forums about it. I say again, do not. Complaining has never done any good.

It is true however that new players do have certain suggestions which could potentially improve the game. For this we have a wish list here on the forums. It is important though that you do a bit of searching and browsing to make sure it wasn't suggested before. If it has, and you still feel you have something to add, go ahead and make a wish. Contrary to popular belief, the developers do take your suggestions into account.

 * This brings up another point I feel should be raised. Players in general have an attitude like "There's no point in suggesting anything to the developers, they don't listen anyway." and indeed this is how it appears. But you must realise that the developers are in a difficult position. Although what you're suggesting may be a good idea, half the players in the community probably don't like it. So who are they supposed to listen to? And very often your ideas do not fit in with the general plan that they have for the game. Do not be hard on our developers, complaining about them only discourages them. What would happen if they all decided to just leave it? There would be no PlaneShift. All the developers have as reward for the countless hours they put in is the game itself, and the players responses. Bare that in mind before you decide to complain.

If a developer or anyone replies or makes a comment about your wish and doesn't take to your suggestion, it's generally not a good idea to pursue the point too aggressively. If you feel they don't fully understand your point, by all mean elaborate, but if your idea is rejected, don't take it personally.

Dealing with other players

Remember, if you speak to another character in game, or if you're posting in the forums about anything, be it a suggestion or a simple comment, you're dealing with other people. Do not be negative towards anyone else, even if they're negative towards you. Do not fight fire with fire. If you have opinions about someone or something and feel you need to air them publicly, remember to be respectful. It may just be the Internet, but even comments on the Internet affect people personally, whether you want to believe it or not. (After all, your comment may be the final straw before someone commits suicide. Be careful what you say to others.)

As you long you stay pleasant and respectful, your life in Yliakum will be an entertaining and fulfilling one. You will find that people are more welcoming if you behave.

Dealing with GMs

Game Masters are there to make sure Yliakum life runs smoothly, and to help if you're having trouble. If you need help from a GM all you need to do is fill out a petition in game. If your request is reasonable, they will act, and if they don't, they'll tell you why. It is also possible to /tell a GM if they are online at the time, and if they help you, remember to say thank you, it's only right.

Game Masters also host RP events from time to time. Let me start by telling you that it really isn't an easy task for them. Although they have a general outline for how the RP is going to run, they have no way of predicting how the players will react in a given situation, so very often they have to improvise and make up as they go a long. Yet players still find it necessary to complain if something isn't to their liking. If you do not like a certain RP event, then just don't take part. There is no need to shout "THIS EVENT SUCKS I'M LEAVING" and there is certainly no need to send GMs negative /tells. They are doing this for YOUR benefit, and they deserve your gratitude.

If however you truly believe a GM is being unfair towards you, you may raise it with the GM team leader, Kerol, and if you're complaining about Kerol go to Talad. But remember to stay polite, aggression in a complaint only makes it worse.

You're a player at last

Ok, once you have learned how the game works and you're interacting with players and NPCs alike, you become part of the community. Now the challenge is to maintain the same quality of in game experiences as the game develops, and as you gain and lose in game friends.

A Guide for All Players

Because PlaneShift is constantly developing, it is sometimes difficult for a player to maintain a certain RP. What I mean is that as new features and maps are added, players need to adapt their characters story to fit in with the changing environment.

 * For example my character Sarine. I started Sarine before any sort of cooking was implemented. She is supposed to be the best baker in Hydlaa, and until recently, it was easy to roleplay her as such, and people accepted it. Now, however, cooking has been implemented and there are other characters who are taking the time to learn the skill and to physically use it. Can Sarine still be considered the best baker? No. I will have to now take the time to learn how the cooking system works and to train that skill.

I'm now going to try and explain the way in which I've been adapting to changes in the last two years.

Adapting to Change

The most important thing to keep in mind whenever something is added to the game, is that your character is not static, you do not HAVE to stick to your original story exactly as you first thought it. Making changes to your characters history and personality is completely acceptable.

Lets say for example that when you started, your character grew up in the slummy area of Hydlaa. Later on information about the settings is expanded and you discover Hydlaa doesn't HAVE a slummy area, what do you do now? Simple, adapt and move on. Change your history slightly, for example you could say you grew up in a run down house in Hydlaa, or something.

Also do not be afraid to ADD to your characters story as new things are added to the game. Lets say a new part of Ojaveda is added, you see something there that you like. There is nothing stopping you from adding it to your characters story.

Although I do have to warn you. If your changes are TOO big, you run the risk of damaging your characters image. As I said in my character creation guide, inconsistencies only weaken your character.

The basic principal behind life in Yliakum can be summed up in two words: make do. Be prepared for things to change, expect your character to transform over time. Adapt and move on, make do with what you have in game.

Dealing with new players

It has been suggested lately that our current style of RP and the way we react to new players is causing our player base to stay small. I therefore feel it is appropriate for me to try and explain how we as a community can attract and deal with new players.

When a player enters Yliakum, they will be lost and confused, and they very seldom have a positive first experience in game. It is therefore up to us as a community to guide new players into the game, by being supportive and positive. Points 2 and 4 in my starting notes apply here.

I agree it can be frustrating when a new player talks to you and he or she does not yet fully grasp how RP works. But now instead of ignoring them and dismissing them as "noobs", we should politely /tell them where they are going wrong. If they do not respond or simply ignore your efforts to help them, just walk away and leave them to their own suffering, complaining about it will not help.

If they start making a nuisance of themselves, you can ask a GM to step in. Being aggressive towards a new player will only encourage them to be aggressive back.

Interacting with other players

This is by far the best part of the game, playing with other people. I find that I have the best fun when I actively go up to people and start a conversation. As long as you stay in character, it is interesting to see how your own character reacts to other characters. Remember this is like living a whole different life, anything can happen. I find the whole concept very exciting.

When you start talking to another character, try to react in a way that you would react if you were the character physically meeting and talking to that person. It's also important to read people's character descriptions, because it sometimes gives valuable clues as to how you should react.

And remember, have fun! That's what it's all about. Personally I have no idea why people have the need to complain about anything in PlaneShift, they should instead use that energy to make use of what they have and to have as much fun as possible. If you don't get on with another player, don't stress! Your world will not end (unless the server crashes ).

 * It is interesting to note that your emotions are never caused by anything outside your own body. You are in complete control of yourself. If more people in the world realised this, the need for violence and negativity would simply vanish. You play PlaneShift in order to have fun, so why let anything spoil that for you? If you're not having fun, stop playing or try something else.

Increasing our numbers

Invite other people to play! Tell your friends about the game! Believe me PlaneShift is heaps more fun when you have friends playing with you. Character plots become more in-depth, intricate, complex and generally more entertaining when more people are involved with it.

PlaneShift has the potential to be so much more, and yet we have so few active players. Stop worrying about what other think and enjoy the game for what it is. It can only benefit you if you get friends to play the game with you.

We are a community, this means we are here to support and encourage one another. A community is supposed to build itself, not destroy itself. It all comes down to basic human decency and respect. There is no need for us to judge or insult one another. Instead we should respect and appreciate each other and continue to do what a gaming community is meant to do; have fun.

A Guide for Developers (I am no developer so please, if there is something the devs don't agree with here, let me know )

Being a PlaneShift developer is a hard job. You're not paid, and you only do what you do for the love of that which you do. And yet still you are required to follow strict deadlines and to produce work of only the best quality. It is often hard to imagine why the developers haven't given up yet.

I'll tell you why though, because they see something in PlaneShift, something worth working towards, something worth fighting for. There is no doubt that PlaneShift is one of a kind, no where else will you find a game with such a unique history and setting, while being completely free to play and enjoy. Not to mention our undying love for quality roleplaying.

In the end being a developer is an extremely rewarding task, because you get to see your own creations develop and turn into something that will be enjoyed by so many people. Also they have muffins. Muffins are always good.

But, the road to becoming a developer is hard. If you're heading that way now, you may feel the need to give it up, which many people do. Let me try and explain what you need to do in order to become a developer.

Applying

This is where your journey starts... you've played the game for quite a while and now you feel you're able to contribute positively towards the game development. You fill out the application form and you wait. And you wait.

...

And you wait.

Yes, it does sometimes take a long time before the developers accept you as a prospect. Do not get discouraged. Trust me when I say being impatient will not help you. If there is one virtue that is absolutely required in a developer, it's patience. This means you mustn't PM or email the developers asking them whether or not they have seen your application. If it has been a couple of weeks to a month or more, and nothing has happened, I would say it would be safe to give them a gentle *poke* in the IRC channel or something. The big thing is you mustn't make a nuisance of yourself.

Eventually you will be accepted or rejected as a prospect. If you're rejected you will be told the reason why, and maybe you could work on the reason and try again later. If you're accepted your life as a prospect beings.

Being a Prospect

Prospects are low on the developer's food chain, and generally do not have a lot of say as to what is being developed, they are only there to create content. Two things are important when being a prospect.

First, your deadlines. It is extremely important to complete your assignments within the time given. Being late will only do you harm. If you want to become a full developer you're going to have to show extreme dedication. Give each assignment your best effort and do your utmost to complete it as quickly as you can.

If for some reason you cannot complete a task on time, let your task giver know well before the time so that they can extend the due date.

The second most important thing is keeping making sure you don't discuss your prospect work with non developers. The PlaneShift dev team likes to keep all new developments a secret until they are released. So when you start as a prospect you will be sworn to secrecy.

Follow those two simple guidelines and you should be fine. Keep your nose down and work as best you can. If the developers like what they see, they may promote you to Associate Developer.

Post-Prospect

As an Associate Developer you will be given even more responsibilities that will require even more of your time and effort. Needless to say when you get to this stage you'll look back on how easy you had it as a prospect

The next step after and Associate is of course full developer, but let me warn you that getting there is no easy task, and it's possible that it won't happen. Don't let that put you off though, just do your best, no one expects more (or less!).

There is not much I can say about the developers, but there are one or two points I would like to raise, and that has to do with the way in which developers react to the players.

Once again I ask you to keep points 2 and 4 of my starting notes in mind. The only reason a player will ever suggest anything for the game is if they truly believe it will contribute positively towards the game. I believe even a small word of gratitude to them will go a long way to making them feel as though the developers care about them. As I mentioned earlier I believe that players in general believe that the developers don't REALLY listen to their ideas and as I said I know it can be difficult to try and please everyone. The key to dealing with players is also respect. If you respect them, they will respect you.

And lastly, just do your best. I can't speak for everyone but I'm sure the majority of the player base respects the dev team greatly. We appreciate all that you do for us with regards to the game and we are truly thankful to have a such a wonderful group of people who are willing to give up their free time for our benefit.

Ending Points

I thank you for reading my humble guide and hope that you have learned something. Hopefully we will all be able to live in harmony here in the PlaneShift community, and hopefully we will be able to support and encourage each other so that our community can grow.

Let me try and sum up the basic points that were raised in this guide.

 - Respect other people, no matter who you are, or who they are. We are all people and we all deserve to be treated with decency by everyone else. Sure we may disagree on things, but being negative about it will only damage the community.
 
 - Stay positive. I know the game can be frustrating at times, and people will piss you off, but in the end it IS just a game. The sole purpose of playing this game is to have fun. So don't let anyone or anything spoil that for you.
 
 - Don't complain. Our developers do their best to improve game qualities. PlaneShift is in it's ALPHA stage of development, which means everything is going to change a lot before the final product is released. And in fact because the game is free we really do not have any right to complain about it
 
 - Roleplay ^^
 
That's it from me. I must point out that this guide is not complete, and I would like to hear what others have to say so that I can add to the guide as needed. It's quite possible that I've overlooked certain things and if you feel there is something to be added, please post it here.

Thanks for listening everyone. Have fun!

  Eliseth

On one particularly cold and rainy day, Valiki Arquet sits in his room idly playing with his wooden Yulbar, wishing he could go outside and play. He's about to throw the toy back into the toy box when his brother rushes into the room.

"Valiki! Lets start a club!" says Jhona enthusiastically.
"What?"
"Lets start a club I said!"

Liking the idea, Valiki shows interest

"What sort of club?" he says.
"The bestest best club ever! We get all our friends to join, we'll make it top secret!"
"Yeah! Ok, lets do that!"

Jhona and Valiki rush out the room and downstairs but stop dead in their tracks.

"It's raining..." says Jhona.
"Oh yeah... almost forgot. Ok, when the sun comes out, so do we!"

A pause.

Jhona looks at his brother, "So what will we call it?"
Valiki thinks for a while and spots the wooden Yulbar still in his hand.


Goal:

This club is for all your child characters, and if you don't have one, this might get you to make one! I'll tell you why, because everyone in this club is going to have loads more fun than other silly people who DON'T join. Even though this club is meant for child characters, the players will have tons of fun themselves, it's all in the game planning, which I'll get to later. But for now... here's a little something Valiki wrote as the planning, edited of course by his mother to make it possible for people to actually read it.

Ranks!

9: The Boss - I'm the boss!! ("Why do YOU get to be the boss Valiki!?" "I'm older!" "Only by 10 minutes!" "Shh, I'm thinking")
8: Watering Can - You make the club grow, by inviting new kids.
7: Games Maker Upper - You make games and stuff, and make sure they don't go wrong.
6: Joker - You're funny.
5: Waddling Yulbar - You become one of us ofishly officially!
4: New Kid - If you're a new kid and no one really nose knows you.
3: Booger - You're a booger if you cheat in a game, or tattle tale on us! [only temporary, if more than half of the people playing a game call someone a booger, they become a booger until the next game session]
2: Grown Up - If grown ups want to join us to play games they can, only if we say so thow though, and you can't tell us what to do!
1: Parent - *sigh* You CAN tell us what to do 

Games!

HAGS - You all know it! You all love it!
Play Fighting - Fighting turnimints tournaments to see who's the best warrior!
Fantasy Advencher Adventure - We go on big and dangerous quests! [Basically hunting creatures in a group, and although you actually DO hunt in game, it's actually all in their minds ]
And anything the Game Maker Uppers think of!

NO GIRLS ALLOWED!! Any kid may join ("But mommyyyy!")

And remember "Shhhhh" It's a secret

Eliseth enters the now deserted halls of the sacred place of the guardians. Her heart fills with sadness as her mind is filled with the good memories of the times gone by. Ever since Peacer had left Yliakum, the guild fell apart. She starts thinking about her old friends... what happened to them? Are they well? Are they happy?

With a heavy heart she enters the council chambers, where many discussions were once held. "This should never have been allowed to happen" she says to herself, "the Guardians will be back, I will make sure of it."

With that she sets out to restore the Guardians of Power to their former state, making a few changes as she goes along.

[All righty, so I've got GoP going again, new members are welcome, but RP is an absolute requirement. Make sure you read about our history and ranking system. With that said, please visit our new website for more information.

http://guardiansop.googlepages.com/]

I can fight Ulbers and jump from dizzying heights... but god help me if I accidently run into a wall.

Here's the problem. Right I know in the previous versions of planeshift getting stuck was an annoying occurance that happened every so often. But with the new version its become a way of life. Before, if a slope was too steep to climb, I would hop harmless up and down at its base... now... I get stuck. I fall off a flight of stairs and smack into a wall before I hit the ground... I get stuck. I a slightly nick a slanted wall while running in the dungeons... I get stuck.

But my main problem is that /unstick doesn't always work. Once I was on the way to the bronze door region when I hit a hill that was slightly too steep, I get hooked and travel along the slope untill I can't move anymore, I type /unstick and I get transported another spot in the same wall and I'm still stuck. /unstick becomes useless, I /die and have to start from Oja again.

My question... is this a big issue or can it be solved in the next version or maybe update?

It's a silent misty evening and Eliseth is sitting in her mother hut watching her mother paint. She always enjoyed watching, ever since she was a little girl. It's always fascinated her how the colours come together to form a picture. She hadn't seen her mother in so long, and it was comforting to see her confidently stroke the canvas with colour.

"I love your paintings mother... they're so beautiful." she says with sincerity.
"Thank you love... it's all I have left in life is my art. It's all I need."
"How's the market?"
Her mother stops for a second and sighs "Not very good I'm afraid. People these days don't appreciate the arts as they used to, now its all just fancy armour and weapons. Nobody cares for the finer arts anymore."
"But how do you survive?"
"I just do, Eliseth"

With that Eliseth notices a sadness in her mothers eyes, a longing, painful longing. It suddenly occurs to her that her mother ISN'T surviving. All at once her mother looks old and worn out. Not wanting to upset her further, Eliseth decides not to continue the conversation. "I'm going to Brado's for while mother, I'll be back in a bit."

Her mother nods and starts humming pleasantly to herself. Eliseth steps out into the cool night air and makes her way to the famous broken door tavern. There she sits, deep in thought. Her heart pains for her mother... so underappreciated... such talent going to waste. It can't go on, something must be done. She takes out a piece of parchment and a quill and starts scribbling down words that had come to her head since she left her mother.

"I sit alone
Among my art things
The candle flame dances
The evening breeze sings

Oh how I yearn for others
People of passion like me
How delightful it will be
To keep them company

But there is nothing
No one I call friend
I am doomed to solitude
Until my lifes end

So here I shall stay
My thoughts gaining fluidity
The candle flame will dance
For all eternity"

With a slight tear in her eye, Eliseth folds and pockets her parchment. Yes... something must be done. With determination, Eliseth exits the tavern and goes back home. There is much work to be done, but by Laanx I won't allow this to carry on.

Expressive Arts

Goal:

The goal of Expressive Arts is to gather the wasted talent that roams the lands of Yliakum. We want to create a place where artists of all types can gather to express themselves, and where they will receive the support they deserve. Mid-term goals for Expressive Arts include hosting events such as art exhibitions, story telling sessions and maybe art lessons as well, depending on the amount of interest. But the number one goal of Expressive Arts is to promote freedom of expression and positivity through art forms such as painting, writing and music, as well as uniting artists across Yliakum to create a stable, creative, and fun environment for all.

Ranking System:

Expressive Arts have 5 ranks, and 3 artist categories, and two extra positions. They are as follows.

Ranks:

- Lead Artist - The leader of the guild, ensures order withing the different ranks and makes sure members stay happy.
- Master Artist - Master Artists are responsible for approving artwork before it's used in public events.
- Artist (see artist categories) - artwork producers
- Student - All new members begin as students until they have mastered the very basics of their prefered artform.

Artist Categories:

- Musicians   (audio artist)
- Writers   (any writer type)
- Painters   (visual artist)
- Performers   (acting, dancing etc.)

Other Guild Positions:

- Teacher - Help students master the basics.
- Public Relations - Public Relators are responsible for the promotion of the guild as well as the organisation of public events.

OOC Comments:

[Please be aware that this guild has not yet been created, it's an idea of mine and I'm hoping it'll attract attention. My goal is to bring together the artists within planeshift. But please even if you become a member, I don't want you to feel obligated to produce art material, this is meant to be a fun endeavour which can potentially lead to a great many entertaining RP events. That is one requirement of this guild, and that is you must be able to RP, and you must be willing to teach others to RP. If you have any questions, please ask, and I am open to suggestions as well

If anyone is interested in joining me to get this guild up and going, post here or PM me please. I can't wait!]

EDIT: Shortened intro story and took out alignment. Slightly modified the goals.

EDIT2: Removed "Guest" rank and added another art categorie (performer)

EDIT3: Name change!