FiresideChat

Fireside Chat Ideas

I am looking to improve some of the aspects of communicating things to the players. Several people have suggested the idea of a weekly fireside chat around when I run test passings. I have created a new Microphone Channel called Fireside for the this purpose. I will accept suggestions here for topics for each week. I would like to keep the discussion on topic as much as possible with as many questions submitted here before the event.

Q: Why do you want the questions up front and not during the event?
A: Because historically the ENN chats have started well but got worse the longer they go on. If I get the questions up front, I can think about the answers and not do quick off the cuff answers that tend to upset someone or another.

Q: Can I have a unicorn?
A: No, stop asking. It was funny the first 200 times, but now you are more likely to get a snarky answer that causes someone to point out that Pluribus is a meany and he shouldn't talk to the players that way.

Q: How do I submit idea for topics and or Questions that I would like answered.
A: Add them to the sections below. (+1 any question that you are interested in that was previously posted)

Q: How long will these chats last and is there any chance of taking questions during the event?
A: I am shooting to make them about 30 minutes long. Questions submitted during the event may be answered at my discretion. Posts that are off topic or meant to just be inflammatory will just be deleted rather than posted. (Yes it is censorship, deal with it)

Q: How do I see the discussion as it is happening?
A: During the event, just /join Fireside and the microphone channel will be added. If you can't be in game, it will be logged with the other microphone channels.

Questions Per Topic

State of the Game

• Would you consider adding vanity titles for passing >7 tests in a discipline ("Pharaoh's Idiot")? It would encourage some of us to keep playing. -Istwan

Gameplay

• Why can't fertilizer be used to fertilize soil? - Lisanna

Ideas for New Techs

The main issue here here is that we propose techs that do NOT require any new graphic resources. - Balthazarr

• Pollution Abatement and Fertilizer. If we could research techniques that would tie into Ecology. For example, after testing for Soil Acidity, if you had learned this tech, you would know how much Lime would need to be spread to mitigate the Soil Acidity. Thank you Lisanna for the suggestion above. - Balthazarr
• Forge & Casting Box Timers. A tech that would allow us to upgrade Forge & Casting Boxes with a timer showing how much time is left on a project, they would update like a chariot, when you clicked on the building. Maybe a new glaziers bench option Fine Glass Hourglass which along with a handful of other materials would enable the upgrade, once the tech was learned. - Balthazarr
• Greenhouse Technology - Allowing the growing of vegetables, instead of grass. Maybe at 25% of the output of grass. An alternative to offlining or macroing them. - Balthazarr
• Real McCoy Oil-Drip Cup - Allowing the installation of automatic oil dispensers to machines that can be lubricated. Could be Steam Mechanics Level 4. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elijah_McCoy - Balthazarr

Events

There seem to a number of question showing up about events, I will try and get with nikara (The events team lead) and be better prepared for those questions.

• For Events, instead of one 12-hour marathon, how about 3 or 4 copies of an event, each shorter, and spaced around the clock? This allows people from all different time zones as good of a chance to participate, without people feeling obligated to play for a full 12 hour stretch. Yes, one person could win multiple events. I think most of us are willing to take that chance, though. - Somebob +1 Asnath, +1 Kastou, +1 Balthazarr +1 Spicy
• Would it be possible to create an auto-exclude list that would allow a player to participate in 1 round but not in others? (if event = herbs with 3 rounds and they collect 1+ herb in round 1, they cannot get credit for round 2 or 3) Or to have the player select in which rounds they want to participate(ala Demi-Pharaoh) - Zhukuram
• Many players are frustrated with long events, be them 12 or 24 hours long. Similarly they are frustrated with a shorter event that is held at a time inconvenient to them. In some past tales, the same event was run 3 times, with the start time of the second event 8 hours after the first and the third being 16 hours after the first. Is there any chance that this could become the norm? (yes this is a rephrasing of the initial question, just with more details) - Balthazarr
• There has been lots of confusion during events as to what the rules and guildlines are. Would it be possible to have that information available before the events? Example, if warps are possible, time travel use, etc. - Brucette +1 Spicy
• We have megalopolis for player event announcements (eg digs and acro) but how do you feel about player run events with player provided rewards? Do you think these are in conflict with official ATITD events (herbing, smoking etc)? Do you think there might be a way to help players run partially competitive events like T6 Bonfires for SETESH or Great Herb Dump? Running player invented events manually takes at least 3 players who dedicate weeks in preparation and then SETESH shows up and chaos happens. -Zhukuram
• There have been serial on-going events where the story line seems to just die out. Are there ways to help mitigate collapsed story lines or burned out event teams? -Zhukuram