Conference of Monarchs:Hypnos' Midnight notes (October 2006)

Game Design

flags feel that latest updates have been frippery or trappings on existing things rather than actual changes to gameplay or deeper content
payout ramping currently goes up oddly fast, then hits a wall and drops severely for consecutive wins
link the Y!PPedia into the game for missions and tutorials for new users
sound effect (whistle?) for flag broadcasts
more crew based rewards or goals
crew hangout or mid-range goals for crews
crews are losing their individuality as a result of standardized payouts, since jobber pay is even by default, why join a crew and work your way up the ranks?
give crews more personality on crew pages
make it more difficult to recruit people, to stop dockpressers and barnaclety crews
make it more difficult to start a crew; up the requirements
tutorial for beginning pirates explaining not to beg, to stay on a station, etiquette
ability to toggle over /fofficer in a tab
separate tabs for chat channels
separate tab for /tells to keep them separated from chat

island owning is a huge money sink. players do not ask it to necessarily be lucrative, but for it to have some draws and to not require vast reserves of one's own money to put into it.
- allow embargoes without having both flags mutually declare war on one another; what flag would want to embargo itself from an island?
- allow governors to raise taxes on individual commodities or on certain industries
- give flag a cut from housing, from the palace shoppe sales, from bazaars
- possibly drop taxes overall on shop upkeep
- blockade costs in supplies, ships, etc. is a real drag if everybody in the flag is not into it
taxes on Ringer-owned islands should be raised, as Alpha and Epsilon never deal with blockades, have higher player populations, and apparently cannot be attacked by the Titan or by Brigand Kings. There needs to be some incentive for shopowners and pirates to get off the Ringer owned islands
blockade pay: Yay! ++

OM intervention is too high
- Remora of last year
- Fandango told to contend seriously for at least 2 rounds before getting to goof off
- people threaten with "bans" or "reporting to an OM" instead of working it out themselves or using the social network
could OMs be hired that focus on events or have a mention of live events and how we'd like mates interested in doing them in the application process?
OMs might focus on a particular ocean
request for smaller tournies that don't set off the announcements that casual and non-elites could participate in

flag requests that we do not announce changes that are far off, and prefers to code features first then announce them, rather than tease