1
General Discussion / Re: You Might Be An Oldbie If...
« on: May 03, 2018, 08:58:11 pm »
You don't want to know.
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2
The Hydlaa Plaza / Re: Somewhat late tenth anniversary *BOOP!*
« on: June 16, 2013, 06:42:31 pm »
Of all the days I decided to check the forum...
Hey, Sweety, how ya been?
Hey, Sweety, how ya been?
3
General Discussion / Re: You Might Be An Oldbie If...
« on: May 05, 2013, 12:24:45 am »
*rolls out of bed and looks out the window*
Durn kids, get off my lawn!
*goes back to sleep*
Durn kids, get off my lawn!
*goes back to sleep*
4
General Discussion / Re: How to attract new players... ideas, opinions, actions!
« on: April 20, 2012, 10:52:15 am »
I am really confused as to why my previous post was deleted, but the deletion itself is part of the problem I was trying to illustrate. People having bad experiences in the game or on the forum will not tell their friends to try the game out, and will, in fact, warn them away from it. As it stands, bringing more people to the game with expectations of the fun had in a typical MMO will only send more people away with less than stellar opinions.
The title of this thread is "How to attract new players... ideas, opinions, actions!" I gave a valid opinion and a suggestion on how to present the game to friends in a way that highlights the main reason people stay (the community theater aspect).
My main suggestion here? Be completely honest to people you are presenting the game to. Don't sugar-coat anything. If you do, and they don't find the promised sugar without digging through piles of lemons, they will only leave with a sour taste in their mouths.
The title of this thread is "How to attract new players... ideas, opinions, actions!" I gave a valid opinion and a suggestion on how to present the game to friends in a way that highlights the main reason people stay (the community theater aspect).
My main suggestion here? Be completely honest to people you are presenting the game to. Don't sugar-coat anything. If you do, and they don't find the promised sugar without digging through piles of lemons, they will only leave with a sour taste in their mouths.
5
General Discussion / Re: The dwarven clans explained
« on: August 18, 2011, 09:09:58 pm »
This is something I wrote a few years back. Might help in your roleplaying.
http://www.hydlaaplaza.com/smf/index.php?topic=37306.0
http://www.hydlaaplaza.com/smf/index.php?topic=37306.0
6
General Discussion / Re: Black Flame knowledge
« on: March 17, 2011, 01:23:37 pm »
BlackFlame should not be a choice in character creation. It should only be a choice in character development. It confuses new players to much.
The 'whispers' crowd are not BF followers. Once you do the quests, you will understand.
BF followers do not try to hide away from 'normal' people, as LigH implied. They blend in with normal people. They appear to, and may even follow the other gods.
BF followers are not "up to evil" all the time, nor do they spread chaos. They just follow orders they are given. Some of these orders may be very bad, like burning down and orphanage. Some of these orders may be very good, like helping build an orphanage. Every order to a BF follower is like setting up a domino in a vast cascade. It does not matter what color each domino is, as long as the end go is achieved.
My advice to play a BF follower is this: Don't. Play a follower of another religion, but in the back of your character's mind, they know it is all an act. You are a sleeper with a normal life, playing a normal character, waiting for orders. You don't know what the end goal of you masters are, just that their orders MUST be obeyed without question.
Who am I? I am the person who wrote half of the BF quests and most of the books (if they are still there) in the BF library. The real quests for BF (not the whispers ones) do not present an obvious answer. There is always a choice to be made, even if you don't see it.
The 'whispers' crowd are not BF followers. Once you do the quests, you will understand.
BF followers do not try to hide away from 'normal' people, as LigH implied. They blend in with normal people. They appear to, and may even follow the other gods.
BF followers are not "up to evil" all the time, nor do they spread chaos. They just follow orders they are given. Some of these orders may be very bad, like burning down and orphanage. Some of these orders may be very good, like helping build an orphanage. Every order to a BF follower is like setting up a domino in a vast cascade. It does not matter what color each domino is, as long as the end go is achieved.
My advice to play a BF follower is this: Don't. Play a follower of another religion, but in the back of your character's mind, they know it is all an act. You are a sleeper with a normal life, playing a normal character, waiting for orders. You don't know what the end goal of you masters are, just that their orders MUST be obeyed without question.
Who am I? I am the person who wrote half of the BF quests and most of the books (if they are still there) in the BF library. The real quests for BF (not the whispers ones) do not present an obvious answer. There is always a choice to be made, even if you don't see it.
7
The Hydlaa Plaza / For my PS friends, a Happy Birthday!
« on: December 04, 2010, 01:47:29 pm »
Nope, not my birthday. I don't bother with that anymore. I am talking about my little guy's birthday! It was a year ago today that Azileq and I had our son. Behold the cuteness (and mischievousness) and despair!
Some people say we were made by god(s) for some unknown and unknowable reason.
I will tell him he is made from the stars, and has to find his own reason.
Some people say we were made by god(s) for some unknown and unknowable reason.
I will tell him he is made from the stars, and has to find his own reason.
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General Discussion / I'm still here.
« on: November 16, 2010, 02:31:49 pm »
Yes, I am still here.
You don't know who I am.
You don't know what I am doing.
I could be anywhere.
I could be anybody.
I could be that newbie you just 'found' who shows promise.
I could be the Enki who sold you a sword last week.
I could be working my way secretly through the ranks.
I could be editing a quest.... right now.
The shadows are a good place to be.
----This moment of paranoia brought to you by Under the Moon.
You don't know who I am.
You don't know what I am doing.
I could be anywhere.
I could be anybody.
I could be that newbie you just 'found' who shows promise.
I could be the Enki who sold you a sword last week.
I could be working my way secretly through the ranks.
I could be editing a quest.... right now.
The shadows are a good place to be.
----This moment of paranoia brought to you by Under the Moon.
9
General Discussion / Re: What's with the anti-atheist sentiment in the character creation screen?
« on: September 24, 2010, 11:50:42 am »
Pretty much what the others said.
In the PS Universe, there are gods who are real and do show themselves and have real powers.
In the real Universe, there are no gods that are real, and as such, will never show themselves or have any sort of power. Images on toast do not count.
Fiction is fun. Don't take offense at it.
In the PS Universe, there are gods who are real and do show themselves and have real powers.
In the real Universe, there are no gods that are real, and as such, will never show themselves or have any sort of power. Images on toast do not count.
Fiction is fun. Don't take offense at it.
10
General Discussion / Re: Kadaikos as a starting area?
« on: September 09, 2010, 10:16:02 pm »
Heh. Why would blackflame people start in their own area when they are supposed to be hidden among the rest of the population, assuming the roles of normal citizens and faking the worship of the other gods? Not to mention that spawn points are not religion based, as well as Kadaikos being several weeks' (or even months) journey away from the Bronze doors if you know the way.
Also, Kadaikos is not some hellish place infested by evil blackflame followers. It is a 'normal' place filled with good people who are likely still being lead to believe that the black flame is a true god and savior. Remember, blackflame is not about evil and converting everything in its path to evil. It is a means to an end, even if those means are sometimes good and just things that make people's lives better.
Then again, everything about it could have been rewritten since I passed through. Which reminds me, are my books still in the BF library? I have not been in the game to check.
Also, Kadaikos is not some hellish place infested by evil blackflame followers. It is a 'normal' place filled with good people who are likely still being lead to believe that the black flame is a true god and savior. Remember, blackflame is not about evil and converting everything in its path to evil. It is a means to an end, even if those means are sometimes good and just things that make people's lives better.
Then again, everything about it could have been rewritten since I passed through. Which reminds me, are my books still in the BF library? I have not been in the game to check.
11
General Discussion / Re: The Fourth Annual Planeshift Community Awards
« on: August 26, 2010, 09:44:36 am »
*chuckles*
12
The Hydlaa Plaza / Re: Suicide Game
« on: July 05, 2010, 09:26:49 pm »* Under the moon sees the vial of sulphur and goes to pick it up, but trips on a massive pile of dead Zon bodies and falls off the world.
The vial of sulphur is still there.
13
The Hydlaa Plaza / Re: Happy Birthday!! Have some cake and such.
« on: July 05, 2010, 11:01:24 am »
Hoooraa Cherppow (old man)!
14
General Discussion / Re: Player count back over 70 and over 50 on average now
« on: July 05, 2010, 10:39:57 am »
There are many reasons for the player loss. The obvious ones have been mentioned already, such as hardware issues with the upgrades and things like the tutorial that turn off new players, as well as a lot of the mechanics just not being fun or deadlocked in 'grind' territory.
Other issues are as follows:
Problem: Game expansion. It is counter intuitive to think that making a game larger with more area to 'explore' will actually reduce the number of players, but it is a fact under certain circumstances. Expanding the area people can/have to(in the case of quests and hunting) play in reduces the population density to the point where the game seems abandoned. An MMO needs a certain perceived level of use for most people to think it is worth playing. This also affected established players as their RP base became too diluted to gather the crowds, or even small groups that they felt they need to RP.
Solution: Get rid of some of the road maps, put the towns closer together, and even close down some towns if the population is too low.
Problem: Loss of 'Alpha' players. These are the players that don't just go ingame and play or look for things to do. They go in and make things happen. Every time you saw them or one of their characters, you just knew something was going to happen. A few that come to mind are Proglin, Xillix, and myself. Once we started an event, it was hard not to get involved in it in some fashion. However, it is exhausting trying to put on the large, complicated events that really bring in a lot of players. Small RPs are fine and great, and I love them as well, but they don't really bring in the numbers, and generally the large events give fuel to the small RPs (if the large events are designed right).
Solution: More tools that make it easier for players (and GMs) to put on events.
Problem: Changing feel to the game. Everyone who has been around for a few years knows what I am talking about. Part of it comes from the game itself, with each little change you feel like you are losing a part of 'your' game. Part of it comes from the player, losing that feeling of newness and seeing people you played with leave the game. It is a complicated equation.
Solution: There is no easy solution to this one. You have to keep adding to the game while keeping a familiar feel to it.
Problem: "Just another grind game." Let's face it, anything that does not involve roleplaying in PS is generally a complete grind. There are a lot of 'free to play' games out there right now that offer the same grind, more players, more polish, and more things to do besides grind. Even though you are severely limited in what you can do in those games unless you start paying, you still have more things to do than PS offers.
Solution: PS needs to offer something unique and fun that comes from the game (roleplaying comes from the players, and often ignores the mechanics, so does not count towards this). What that should be, I don't know.
Problem: Time-in-making. People are impatient. If something is in development, they like to see progress. PS has sometimes gone for almost a year with no visible progress at all. This does not mean progress is not being made, just that it is not being publicized. People simply don't know what is going on, or if anything is going on. For a lot of people, it is not worth playing if you don't know what is being worked on, or what changes are planned. The 'surprise' factor of new features/art/quests/whatever does not mean much if you are no longer around to see them.
Solution: PS has a lot of hard work in front of it if it is to overcome the 'verge of vaporware' feel it gives off. It needs to get people excited about things that are being worked on as they are being worked on, not try to surprise the few players that are left after long periods of apparent stagnation.
Other issues are as follows:
Problem: Game expansion. It is counter intuitive to think that making a game larger with more area to 'explore' will actually reduce the number of players, but it is a fact under certain circumstances. Expanding the area people can/have to(in the case of quests and hunting) play in reduces the population density to the point where the game seems abandoned. An MMO needs a certain perceived level of use for most people to think it is worth playing. This also affected established players as their RP base became too diluted to gather the crowds, or even small groups that they felt they need to RP.
Solution: Get rid of some of the road maps, put the towns closer together, and even close down some towns if the population is too low.
Problem: Loss of 'Alpha' players. These are the players that don't just go ingame and play or look for things to do. They go in and make things happen. Every time you saw them or one of their characters, you just knew something was going to happen. A few that come to mind are Proglin, Xillix, and myself. Once we started an event, it was hard not to get involved in it in some fashion. However, it is exhausting trying to put on the large, complicated events that really bring in a lot of players. Small RPs are fine and great, and I love them as well, but they don't really bring in the numbers, and generally the large events give fuel to the small RPs (if the large events are designed right).
Solution: More tools that make it easier for players (and GMs) to put on events.
Problem: Changing feel to the game. Everyone who has been around for a few years knows what I am talking about. Part of it comes from the game itself, with each little change you feel like you are losing a part of 'your' game. Part of it comes from the player, losing that feeling of newness and seeing people you played with leave the game. It is a complicated equation.
Solution: There is no easy solution to this one. You have to keep adding to the game while keeping a familiar feel to it.
Problem: "Just another grind game." Let's face it, anything that does not involve roleplaying in PS is generally a complete grind. There are a lot of 'free to play' games out there right now that offer the same grind, more players, more polish, and more things to do besides grind. Even though you are severely limited in what you can do in those games unless you start paying, you still have more things to do than PS offers.
Solution: PS needs to offer something unique and fun that comes from the game (roleplaying comes from the players, and often ignores the mechanics, so does not count towards this). What that should be, I don't know.
Problem: Time-in-making. People are impatient. If something is in development, they like to see progress. PS has sometimes gone for almost a year with no visible progress at all. This does not mean progress is not being made, just that it is not being publicized. People simply don't know what is going on, or if anything is going on. For a lot of people, it is not worth playing if you don't know what is being worked on, or what changes are planned. The 'surprise' factor of new features/art/quests/whatever does not mean much if you are no longer around to see them.
Solution: PS has a lot of hard work in front of it if it is to overcome the 'verge of vaporware' feel it gives off. It needs to get people excited about things that are being worked on as they are being worked on, not try to surprise the few players that are left after long periods of apparent stagnation.
15
Single Author Stories / Xacha Homeworld and its Last Days
« on: June 26, 2010, 07:27:42 pm »
Note from the Author: This is the last installment of the original histories I wrote. The other races are based on other people's writing, so I will not be posting them. As with the other stories I wrote, these are not official histories, nor ever will be, so should not be referenced in any official GM events or game quests. I give these to the players of PS to read and enjoy. What you do with them unofficially in your roleplays is up to you.
Xacha Homeworld and its Last Days
Original Scribed in 422 AY by Eduxa Xant-Areth
Copied for public use in 750AY
As the time of the Forgetting draws ever closer, I write my last history. It is the most familiar and close to my heart, for it is that of the Xacha, my people.
Though I was born a generation after the passing, the history of our race is strong, and the stories of our once great civilization filled my childhood. My people never saw the things the other races called 'stars', as our world drifted in a cloud of violet-hued gas held in a ring about our suns. This plunged our world into an eternal twilight. I regret with all my being that I never saw the twin dim suns of red and blue that drifted across the violet sky in the day, merging and parting as they circled each other, or the violet streaks that danced in the whole of the sky at night. I have seen artists' renditions of the sight, but it will never replace the feeling of actually being there. For many of the other races, Xachan may have seemed like a dim world of perpetual gloom, but to my people, it was paradise.
The foliage of the land was glossy black and gave some small amount of fruit, but the main source of food was the plentiful fish of the deep and calm waters of our many seas. The abundant food and consistently mild weather let the Xacha population expand beyond that of any other race that I know of, reaching into the billions. In truth, no other race besides the Lemur had a concept for such a large number. No part of the Xacha homeworld was untouched or uninhabited by some small part of the massive population. Procreating laws were strictly enforced to prevent overcrowding. Ease of life and few children per family brought about a culture devoted to the study of science and knowledge. Vast libraries and Academias dominated the landscape of every city.
The story of my people's downfall is neither long, nor complex. A terrible plague struck, marching through the lands. The sickness was insidious, spreading before any symptoms began to show. Even when the signs became apparent, the people did not yet know they were marked for death. The first thing noticed was bones becoming very fragile over the course of several weeks. The hospitals soon filled to capacity with the victims of fractured bones. The next stage of the disease is almost too cruel to speak of. Digestion ceased to function, and the infected slowly starved to death. Though food was never in shortage, famine and death spread like a dark wind across the lands. My ancestors could not trace where the mysterious ailment originated, nor how to stop it. Even the knowledge and science of the best minds could find no cure. Desperation took hold of the people. Fighting broke out as they tried to wall themselves off from each other, only to find the plague had infected them already. Cities became mass tombs.
Only one small city is known to have escaped the horror, located on a remote peninsula in one of the far seas. The only way to reach the town by land was a long, rocky trail though rough hills. When word of the plague came to them by carrier bird, they collapsed bridges and caused rocks to fall on the path. A year passed, and no word came from the outside world, though many carrier birds should have been left in the aviaries. They dared not send anyone to investigate. After countless centuries of grasping for knowledge in all forms and attempting to discover the very secrets of existence, the last of my once great people huddled behind the walls of their own city, trapped by this one unknown. There they would have perished, had another mystery not suddenly revealed itself. A magical force opened in the center of the city. The portal did not seem to hold any danger, and curiosity quickly overcame fear. The people had never experienced magic before, so did not know what it could be. They eventually came to the conclusion that it was a hole to another world, and perhaps safe haven. The last 3,643 survivors of the Xacha race gathered up all the food and every book they could carry, and went through. Unknown to them, one person had become infected, and the plague came with them. The sorrowful and miraculous events taking place after the crossing shall be covered in another volume.
Given what I have learned from the history of the other races, I have come to a new understanding of my own people's past and perhaps a greater meaning for all of us. Every race I have written of has suffered catastrophe beyond endurance. This is the one thread, the one commonality shared by all our people. Our worlds died. By fire, ice, rot and madness, plague and invasion, death walking, arcane wrath; we have witnessed all of these as the very land that gave us life was forced to cast us out. There is something fearful in that knowledge. Was it mere coincidence that our worlds all ended near the same time, or was a greater force at work? Did something change in the vastness of existence? Did other worlds suffer as ours have? How many other peoples were not blessed with the gift of the Portals? These are questions that may never find an answer. By the will of the gods, I hope I am wrong.
Xacha Homeworld and its Last Days
Original Scribed in 422 AY by Eduxa Xant-Areth
Copied for public use in 750AY
As the time of the Forgetting draws ever closer, I write my last history. It is the most familiar and close to my heart, for it is that of the Xacha, my people.
Though I was born a generation after the passing, the history of our race is strong, and the stories of our once great civilization filled my childhood. My people never saw the things the other races called 'stars', as our world drifted in a cloud of violet-hued gas held in a ring about our suns. This plunged our world into an eternal twilight. I regret with all my being that I never saw the twin dim suns of red and blue that drifted across the violet sky in the day, merging and parting as they circled each other, or the violet streaks that danced in the whole of the sky at night. I have seen artists' renditions of the sight, but it will never replace the feeling of actually being there. For many of the other races, Xachan may have seemed like a dim world of perpetual gloom, but to my people, it was paradise.
The foliage of the land was glossy black and gave some small amount of fruit, but the main source of food was the plentiful fish of the deep and calm waters of our many seas. The abundant food and consistently mild weather let the Xacha population expand beyond that of any other race that I know of, reaching into the billions. In truth, no other race besides the Lemur had a concept for such a large number. No part of the Xacha homeworld was untouched or uninhabited by some small part of the massive population. Procreating laws were strictly enforced to prevent overcrowding. Ease of life and few children per family brought about a culture devoted to the study of science and knowledge. Vast libraries and Academias dominated the landscape of every city.
The story of my people's downfall is neither long, nor complex. A terrible plague struck, marching through the lands. The sickness was insidious, spreading before any symptoms began to show. Even when the signs became apparent, the people did not yet know they were marked for death. The first thing noticed was bones becoming very fragile over the course of several weeks. The hospitals soon filled to capacity with the victims of fractured bones. The next stage of the disease is almost too cruel to speak of. Digestion ceased to function, and the infected slowly starved to death. Though food was never in shortage, famine and death spread like a dark wind across the lands. My ancestors could not trace where the mysterious ailment originated, nor how to stop it. Even the knowledge and science of the best minds could find no cure. Desperation took hold of the people. Fighting broke out as they tried to wall themselves off from each other, only to find the plague had infected them already. Cities became mass tombs.
Only one small city is known to have escaped the horror, located on a remote peninsula in one of the far seas. The only way to reach the town by land was a long, rocky trail though rough hills. When word of the plague came to them by carrier bird, they collapsed bridges and caused rocks to fall on the path. A year passed, and no word came from the outside world, though many carrier birds should have been left in the aviaries. They dared not send anyone to investigate. After countless centuries of grasping for knowledge in all forms and attempting to discover the very secrets of existence, the last of my once great people huddled behind the walls of their own city, trapped by this one unknown. There they would have perished, had another mystery not suddenly revealed itself. A magical force opened in the center of the city. The portal did not seem to hold any danger, and curiosity quickly overcame fear. The people had never experienced magic before, so did not know what it could be. They eventually came to the conclusion that it was a hole to another world, and perhaps safe haven. The last 3,643 survivors of the Xacha race gathered up all the food and every book they could carry, and went through. Unknown to them, one person had become infected, and the plague came with them. The sorrowful and miraculous events taking place after the crossing shall be covered in another volume.
Given what I have learned from the history of the other races, I have come to a new understanding of my own people's past and perhaps a greater meaning for all of us. Every race I have written of has suffered catastrophe beyond endurance. This is the one thread, the one commonality shared by all our people. Our worlds died. By fire, ice, rot and madness, plague and invasion, death walking, arcane wrath; we have witnessed all of these as the very land that gave us life was forced to cast us out. There is something fearful in that knowledge. Was it mere coincidence that our worlds all ended near the same time, or was a greater force at work? Did something change in the vastness of existence? Did other worlds suffer as ours have? How many other peoples were not blessed with the gift of the Portals? These are questions that may never find an answer. By the will of the gods, I hope I am wrong.