Conference of Monarchs:Midnight (October 2006)

Participants

Hypnos - Chairperson.

Attendees:

• Leif from Notorious Fandango
• Misery from Crimson Tide
• Untouchable from Impending Insanity
• Ramrod from Avalon
• Stuyvesant from Black Sheep Brigade
• Blackfletch from Seraph's Nightmare
• Jainasolo from Broadsiders
• Mordrid from Moonlighting
• Deirdremac from Silver Dawn
• Limpalong from Don't Panic
• Bridalgirl (and briefly Deanyu) from Avast Party People

Issues Discussed

• Elitest issues/game balance -
  • Trinkets are going to be available to be bought to be used as prizes for events. May be placed in stalls related to trinkets rather than the palace shop.

• Consistency of OMs -
  • To be addressed at an OM conference.
  • OM intervention - issue of unwanted or needed Oceanmaster intervention. Examples include the Eyesinkjoo banning and Notorious Fandango being told they had to contend for at least two rounds at their blockade. This can work the opposite way, if there are times when there should have been OM interventions but there weren't.
  • High level political authority - complain is becoming the first resort and is overused. Hypnos would like PMs or emails of more specific examples so he can bring them up at the OM conference as a case by case basis. Ramrod brought up the fact of everyone threatening hitting the OM buttons.
  • Have to complain or petition to speak to an OM - the huge number of players is the main issue.

• Stuyvesant raised issues about growing pains:
  • Many recent additions to the game have essentially been frippery such as pets and trophies. The core game activities hadn't been improved since Rumble, or recieved a positive player reaction. This is partially related to the fact that there are a ton more people playing.
  • Need more OMs - Three Rings just gave approval for hiring a few more.
  • Greeter changes could be a step in the right direction
  • Possibility of having certain OMs focus on events, and/or focusing on specific oceans
  • The rules need to be more clear and that the engine of the game is the players, not the OMs.

• Event blockades -Positive reaction. Gives experience to people that never get to nav in blockades.
  • Only real addition to actual game content since Barbarians which still require refining.
  • The soon coming Duty Navigation changes will allow you to be able to choose if you want to spawn brigands or barbarians when pillaging.
  • Along with blockades: Titans and Brigand Kings are hoped to bring player cohesion back.

Blockades:

• There needs to be more of a reward for them. Make the islands worth owning. Ideas included :
  • Give the governor more control.
  • Make taxes on Ringer owned islands higher to encourage players to go to player islands.
  • Hypnos - What if less of the tax is a poe sink and more goes to the palace? Possibly create income from the bazaars for the palace, leaving more flag funds for events. Requires more clarification on numbers.
  • Chunk of housing costs should go to the owning flag. Would motivate people to buy houses on home islands.
  • Perhaps there are too many PoE sinks?
  • Blockades are too expensive which makes them become a drag for the majority and only fun for the small number of navvers. Lots of anxiety once you get the island about having the PoE and resources for a defense.
  • Variations in puzzles during blockades coming.

• Much of the game is flag based - call for game mechanics for crew cohesion or something for crews to strive for.
  • Do we really need a game mechanic in place to force more of a social aspect?
  • Perhaps it should be harder to start a crew, or maybe keep those requirements the same but make a higher requirement to recruit other people. This would prevent inexperienced captains from dock pressing new players.

Greenies:

• Need improved tutorials other than missions - especially for the younger player base. However, you can't force new players to read tutorials.
• Three Rings are not trying to alter their demographic, the influx of newer players seems to be the result of the wider knowledge of Y!PP on the internet.
• Payout ramps are being worked on. Greenies have returned to not affecting the power of boats in order to prevent people from filling a ship full of greenie alts for influence in blockades.

Other issues:

• Discussion of /fo and the ability to shut off particular chat channels. Possible introduction of a wider /flag chat, leaving /fo for more important issues. Enhances communication with Cabin People and Pirates.
• Perhaps implement an audio alert to flag broadcasts.
• Tournaments for specific levels such as Able-Master. Could be ruined by alts.

OM stuff, possibly repeats
[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

[Game Balance]

• 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! ++

[Support issues]

• 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

[Miscellaneous]

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