Game Forum!

[re_alignedmods]

It's here!

Please use the space below to make suggestions for how to improve your experience in Re-Aligned!

There are a few rules to read before posting, of course:

Game Forum Rules

• Anonymous is ON, and IP tracking should be OFF. (As this is the first post, it might take a second of fiddling before I get this right so hold off for a day if you aren't sure while I test.) You do not have to post anon, however, as nothing you say can be held against you in a court of law.
  
• All comments MUST be civil. This doesn't mean you can't leave complaints, but it does mean you can't leave attacks or flames. The mods will remove anything that is destructive.
  
• Discussions are welcome! If you see someone making a comment that you agree OR disagree with, please feel free to elaborate (so long as you abide by the rule above.)
  
• Namedropping is not allowed, and any name-drops will be removed. This is not the place to leave comments about particular players or characters (unless referencing them for a plot.) If you have something to say about a player/character, please use their HMD or contact the mods directly.
  
• ANY sort of suggestion (within the above) is allowed. If want to give some tips on making better settings pages or present ideas for future game plots or ask for clarification on a rule, go ahead!
  
• The mods will wait for a period of one week after the forum is posted before responding to suggestions in an official capacity. This is to allow time for everyone to see the post and have discussions, so we can see what directions a conversation might head. (This doesn't mean we might not be commenting as players, however!)
  
• While we can't enforce this rule, we ask that topics discussed in-game remain in-game. We want this forum to provide an official space to voice concerns so that we can act on them to make R/A a more awesome place.
  
• Repeat offenses within the Forum will be treated as broken game rules, and mod action will be taken.
  

That's all for now! We'll be monitoring things from here and taking every suggestion into account. While we can't guarantee that everything brought up will be immediately enacted, we CAN guarantee that everything will be looked at and discussed, so please don't hesitate to speak your mind.

If all goes well with this first Forum, we'll be doing it again every two months!

Comments

[(Anonymous)]

Okay looks like Anon is go!

[raceme]

First time I ever participate in a game forum like this so excuse me if I do it wrongly.

I was thinking that perhaps we could have some sort of future plot/even that helped to increase the interactions between the Cynbertronians and the other organic residents?

So far we had great plots but those that involve fighting agiants monsters and the like (I love those, don't get me wrong) aren't probably all that fun to the non combatants or those chars who aren't as resilient as giant robots aliens.

One of the S1 episodes in the Tf:Prime show involved scraplets and how the human factor was a key point to get rid of them, since the little metallic piranhas didn't try to eat them alive.

Anddd back to fighting monsters and the like, I would love to see anything involving creatures like the Cy-bugs from wreck-it Ralph. Or more lighter plots/events like the Hardware Store that showed up one day or the species swap. Or anything involving hatchling could be fun too. Just throwing ideas around.

I would also like to have a bit more information about the acolytes. I 'm not sure how they look like, if they can transform, if they go directly see their FirstForged when in doubt, if they can keep secrets or be used as NPCs for the Police Force or something like that, etc.

Thank you!

[(Anonymous)]

I know you are all a busy lot but it couldn't hurt if the First Forged interacted more with their glyphed or replied faster around the comm link and logs.

I know that rule number one about important npcs in jamjar games is that they barely itneract with others and keep a low profile, however there's more than a few chars that never talked to them or met them even once.

[(Anonymous)]

+1 to this. Our alignments don't really matter if we don't know what the difference between being one of Prima's or Liege's even is.

[(Anonymous)]

/begs for two characters from a not dead canon.

I think the argument before was it prevented fresh people from coming in and picking up guys but at this point I don't think there is going to be a flood of fresh people.

[(Anonymous)]

At this point, I totally agree with that.

I feel like as long as the characters don't have a significant interaction/the characters wouldn't interact much it shouldn't matter if the canon is dead or not.

Mods should also be available and willing to look into the app-ability of characters if people are unsure.

[(Anonymous)]

Currently apps move at a snail's pace. You can expect to wait 4+ days for a response even if you get your app in as soon as they're opened. Considering apps only open once a month, this is discouraging for new players and frustrating to current ones.

A reasonable wait for apps should be around 3 days max for first response in my opinion. Everyone has real life and stuff, but running a game is also a huge responsibility and a lot of work.

If that's not possible how things are currently, then maybe new app staff or reworking the app process would be something to consider.

[(Anonymous)]

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^THIS THIS THIS THIS THIS THIS THIS

It should be easier to keep track of, with previously dead canons coming back to life like movieverse. I would app more characters if allowed to.

+1

[(Anonymous)]

Agreed. Look at that Kaon app from last cycle as an example. They had to wait nearly 2 weeks just to get the revisions request, and another week to get accepted. Ir should be noted this put them at accepted three days prior to this cycle starting.

They need more help with the apps.

[(Anonymous)]

Some people get their apps and revisions and their plots gotten back to within days, some people have to wait weeks or longer. I know it's likely just busytimes vs not busytimes, but it's kind of tough to take when it keeps happening with the same people.

I'd also like to see a clarification on the no-drama policy. I'm not talking about wg or rpanons because anon is anon is anon. It's cool that the mods are okay with people regularly venting about them on plurk but it makes the game uncomfortable to have people think it's an okay thing to do.

[(Anonymous)]

The problem with this being that if the canon is not dead, there is the possibility that they will interact more in the future.

[(Anonymous)]

Well yeah, but most other games function fine without this rule. This is one of the only games out there with that rule. We're mature adults. Say that happened, do you really think that player would instantly canon update because of it?

The thing about fandoms is that previously dead canons get revived all the time. Like IDW could have finished at the end of Ongoing and Movieverse was 'dead' for years and then suddenly ~new movie announcement~. How is that fair?

IMO it's best to do away with that stipulation entirely, especially when there are already rules in place. IE only 2 from one canon, no significant interaction.

[sword_redemption]

I was remembering how fun the item drop (the hardware store) was a ways back? I'd really like to see something like that again, maybe, but, yeah, as usual I don't know what it could be. x-x

I just remember a lot of fun plotting what we'd get and then the random crazy.

Also someone had suggested a Test Drive meme like a lot of games have--that might help us attract new people, let them try out the setting or something?

[(Anonymous)]

Applying multiple characters from the same canon doesn't seem nearly as prominent in other games either. With the majority of the Cybertronians being divided into two warring factions, the chances of them being forced into situations together does seem to be significantly more likely. If they're both Autobots, even if they don't interact in canon, they are now in the same place with the same conditions, etc.

There are certainly plenty of characters that could work, but there are quite a few who don't. It's not fair to ask the moderators to pick and choose, as it leaves a lot more room for people to claim bias based on who they feel has significant interaction.

[(Anonymous)]

Another anon here, but I think it is fair to ask the mods to determine if there's enough separation. It seems like a perfectly normal apping duty to me.

[dirge]

Test Drive meme would rock. Helps you sorta start to figure out which of your muses would do well here.

[(Anonymous)]

Except who is to say what is or is not significant? It opens a lot of room for arguing and claims of bias.

[namesnotprowl]

Seconding (thirding? nthing?) an item drop similar to the hardware store as an idea. It gives people a lot of room to get wacky ideas and build CR and miniplots, and also lets them build up the world in a way, which is part of the game's goal.

Also, I've been thinking that with the Shadowplay plot coming up and being a bit on the heavy side, maybe something lighter to kind of balance it? Maybe along the lines of Flobsters or something equally silly?

[(Anonymous)]

Different anon #2.

The mods already have to do this duty with dead canons, it isn't that much weirder for them to have to do it with live ones.

[(Anonymous)]

What.

They're moderators. It's their job to decide what the standard would be. Moderators are supposed to talk to each other and come to a consensus.

It's not that hard. It's basic modding. It's not asking them too much to decide if certain have interacted too much to be apped by the same person. They already do that with dead canons. Why not ongoing ones?

[dirge]

SECONDING FLYING DINNER. They're LIKE CICADAS WHO HATCH EVERY 17 YEARS.

[(Anonymous)]

I'd honestly only agree with this if applied to characters extremely seperate. Idek like guy a from MTMTE and then maybe minor guy b from RID. But not two from RID or MTMTE or any two major characters.

[raceme]

....I'm really staring at a flying lobster? I need to watch rescue bots asap

[namesnotprowl]

Yep. Flying lobsters 8D You doooooo it's so cute

[(Anonymous)]

I would be the first to say 'Aye' to heavy dramatic plots with a lot of trauma for everyone involved happily, but I also will admit that sometimes even with the setting backdrop of forcing factions that don't see eye to eye together begs for such it would be nice to get breathers now and again between each huge upheaval with lighter aspects.

Especially in regards to the not faction aligned, like most of the non-robot population, who mostly seemed to get regulated to mostly spectators to everything at times. So just having small things that would have the Cybertronians and non Cybertronians gaining CR together would be excellent outside and let the game population actually get some downtime between each new horrifying event that pops up. Which might also help in gaining new players, because currently from an outsiders point of view the game doesn't seem as open to non transformers in regards to getting involved unless they have been here a while or are friends with others.

I'm not saying that is truth, but to someone who doesn't know people in game or stumble over the game through an ad or a D_M post, it is easy to mistakenly believe that is the way things are going and thus would keep away people who may think their non robotic character would have a hard time being involved in anything or can gain meaningful CR if it appears that every other player plot/event is scaled to favor the Cybertronians as the main movers and shakers in the plot and an organic is a token role or just reacting to everything going on.

Yes, the game is set and geared towards such just due to the fact it is on the planet that giant alien robots sprung from; but when you advertise as panfandom people have certain expectations in regards to what pan fandom means in regards to mod run events and opportunities for their own player run plots. So just encouraging or having the FF interact or cause something from time to time that gives non TFs something to do outside of 'survive' would likely help in boosting the appeal of the game to people not fans of Transformers.

[werethingsbetter]

I do know some players of TFs go out of their way to include non-tfs in plots, but I agree with this previous comment, because yeah, that's not the norm, and from an outside perspective, it's pretty hard to spot too.

Personally I'd would love to see an event that pairs off the non-aligned/non-robot cast with one of the TF characters. The event would be opt-in obviously, and it doesn't have to be a MAJOR event, but I tend to just like events that force pairs together in any capacity. Even if this mini/event was pairing off the tfs together, I just like that theme. It's fun to me, so maybe that's an idea!

Another thing on the topic of getting new meat:
I'm not saying if we have a problem with an excess or a lack of new players, but if it is... is the game being advertised anywhere by the mods? Or is that something that's expected of the players?

[raceme]

They look almost as awesome bad as space barnacles. I'm so going to when i find some free time 8D

[namesnotprowl]

They aren't that bad, really; the wiki is trying to make them seem worse than they ended up being X3 But it would be a good way to get humans and robots involved together AND it would give them a variation in the food supply

[toguidethem]

Someone said flobsters.

I'm behind this 10000%

[(Anonymous)]

The premise pages, taken pages, and player contact pages need to be updated and it wouldn't hurt to include a little more info about the actual terrain/ landscape of the environment. The inspiration images help, but only so far. I'd like to see more details here (if possible). A map might be nice, or a sense of scale like how big the actual haven is and/or the distance between the temples. I get the sense that a lot of characters are walking from one place to another when it should possibly be taking them days to reach their destination. Maybe I'm wrong, but I haven't seen this info up anywhere.

It would be nice if we had some more info on what to expect if our character ventured out in the wastelands too. A running list of what wildlife exists would be nice also, especially if it was official.

***

I wonder if the mods might benefit from hiring a new mod or a new helper? I get that they all lead busy lives, but it takes a really long time to see mod action sometimes. The game forum for example was supposed to be up on the 16th, right? It was put up on the 19th. That's not really a big deal, but when apps take so long to be processed, or the plotting / death / item requests take so long to be responded to, I wonder if the mods are over extending themselves or possibly bottlenecked somewhere?

Another problem is that aside from a very few exceptions, the mods and their characters (NPC or otherwise) don't seem very active. It's been a pretty long time since we've seen posts from certain characters and even longer since certain NPCS. Dropping threads also seems to be an outstanding problem.

The last few events suffered from a lack of mod involvement too. I'm not just talking about the players waiting on the ghost surprises that never happened, or about the return of the Lost, who by the way, were promised interaction with their FFs but I'm not sure if they all got it. I'm also talking about the bug infestation plot that idled out and left players scratching their heads.

When it comes to events, I'll accept fewer of those in place of more events that might just flop or die early. Maybe consider plots that require less NPC interaction if it's going to be a problem?

Which leads me to another concern. The premise of this game involves and implies that NPC CR is critical to the overarching plot. Right now it's tough to impossible to get that CR. I don't think I've seen one open thread with the NPCs (besides the bug event) that let characters meet any of the FFs. Honestly, this last portion is the part I'd say is the one I'd like to see addressed the most.

Mods did you a good job changing the Alignment system though. Kudos there.

[raceme]

Sounds like such a funny thing, I would love more bots/organic interactions. I will also try to watch rescue bots this weekend, he he. Food is definitelly a great thing.

[(Anonymous)]

Speaking of plot flops, it seems the Return plot in general happened with a whimper. Considering how great the Glyphless plot was in the sense of interaction, events, and plot... the Return we were all waiting for left a lot to be desired.

Only two Glyphless made it from app-to-into and there was hardly a batted eyelash over it. When people had to wait months to app back, that's a huge disappointment. I don't think I really saw much Firstforged involvement in the returning Lost or Glyphless. What happened there? There has to be a reason why this plot that so many were excited for for months flopped spectacularly.


Also noting the sticky post at the top of the OOC comm hasn't been updated since January as well.

+1000000

[(Anonymous)]

Seconding all of this.

Re: +1000000

[(Anonymous)]

Thirding.

[songofmypeople]

I know some people are going to roll their eyes at this suggestion maybe, but I'm personally a sucker for events that involve temporary effects and/or sentiments of fondness (on a varying scale of how seriously people will be affected.) It kind of fits in with my suggestion for an event that deals with pairing people off in some fashion, but yeah, just trying to help brainstorm.

Something I'd like to see:
More info on the acolytes would be super handy since they're present at everyone's arrival and kind of ... around? Stuff I'd like to know in particular:
- How big are they compared to humans?
- What KIND of clothes do they wear?
- How do they feel about being naked? (Okay so that's probably not super relevant, but the idea of an Acolyte trying to get it's robot clothes back from someone that took its robot vest is just... adorable to me, okay?)
- Is there any backlash to them being messed with / destroyed? (Since it's kind of a theme)
- What are they actually capable of?
- How sturdy are they?
- How proactive are they in starting conversation / saying "no, put that vase down" / coming in between the fighting of two fellows / etc (so just stuff that might commonly happen to give us a feel of what they are)
- How smart / dumb are they? Do they have hands? Are they glitchy? If one was kidnapped... would it just keep walking into a wall?
- Do they transform?

... So, stuff like that. Also I wanted to say good job mod team in speeding up the process of allocating the alignment points! This last round was much smoother than before!

[raceme]

Ohhhh I like that sort of events too >8D they're so much fun.

[my_own_trope]

I dunno if I'm still allowed to leave comments here since it's been a while, but a couple other things I'd love to see have bitty write-ups or to get some extra info on would be:

- HOW MUCH SNOW CAN ACTUALLY BE FOUND AT LIEGE LAND?

- and Libraries:
How big is the one that exists?
What kind of data can be found there? Anything we wouldn't see?
Is there only one library around the Haven?
Can altmodes hang out there?
What sort of media is the data available on? Downloadable? Can you borrow material? Datapads? Parchment? Floppy disks?

Okay, sorry for the late comment, I just remember those are two more things i really wanted to know. Thanks!

[(Anonymous)]

It's been almost 15 days since you posted this, no one is going to answer to us?

This is exactly the problem with the slow feedback/replies people mentioned. Sometimes it looks like no one of you cares until something gets critical.

Perhaps you should really ask for more mods.