STATE OF THE GAME: APRIL

[aionmods]

State of the Game

APRIL TDM

On April 16th, the Aion Teleos's second TDM will go up. The in character explanation is this: the shrines have become active again. A series of familiar dreams will alert all Aions to imminent arrival of newly formed members of their kind, and the NPCs of both sides will call upon them to retrieve these vulnerable souls before the other sect can. This will result in a second PVP clash, as concerned Aions compete to bring the freshly hatched arrivals to their side. The TDM will double as an in-game event, and both current and new players will be allowed to post toplevels to it.

❖ EXPECTED TDM PROMPTS

◆ SHARED DREAMS: In the few days leading up to the TDM, all Aions will be experiencing a familiar dream. It's the same one they experienced prior to hatching: the psychedelic rendering of the cosmos, stretched between what they will now recognize as the Pleroma and the Kenoma. Much like before, others will be wandering there, but this time it will be those they've never met before. What they will soon realize is that more Aions are in the process of hatching, and that those they meet in the dreamscape may soon be arriving in Horos's shrines.

◆ TELEPORTATION TALISMANS: In order to facilitate participation in the TDM (and, in the future, other missions) characters who volunteer to go collect the new Aions for their sect will be given a teleportation talisman. This is a rechargeable artifact that will allow them one free teleport back to a fixed location. Generally speaking, there will be enough power accumulated for one use of this object per month, though during the period the shrines are active, the fluctuations of spiritual energy may allow them to be used more than once, if you're lucky.

◆ RECOVERY POINT: Using the talismans, Kenoma will be able to bring new arrivals back to Achamoth, while the Pleroma bring them to a new location in Godsblood. At this location, there will be room to more casually mingle with new characters.

GAME UPDATES

Along with our other mod tasks, we have a few different projects we're working on, in the form of new game mechanics extended setting information. We don't have an exact date of release for these features, but currently we are shooting for sometime next month.

❖ CURRENT MOD PROJECTS

◆ EXTENDED SETTING PAGES: We'll be adapting the details presented in each location's intro logs (Achamoth, Greentruth, and Godsblood) to create extended information pages for each settlement. Along with that, we will also be taking question asked on the FAQ and other places and consolidating that information onto the relevant info pages (IE. moving all the Shard questions to the Aion 101 page.)

◆ HOROSIAN BESTIARY: This will contain examples of notable/supernatural creatures by location, as well as rules for taming and/or partnering with them. There will be a difficulty system by which all creatures are categorized, indicating how plausible they are to be made into a personal ally. This process will involve providing activity proofs of your character working towards the goal of attaining the cooperation of a creature type.

◆ ALCHEMY RULES: This will provide guidelines towards IC potion making. All characters will have the capacity to learn basic potions, if they are inclined towards such tasks, but moderate and advance potion making will require buying a minor or major power respectively. As an ability primarily limited by ingredient scarcity, it will be our intent to give a process for obtaining particularly rare potion materials.

Additionally, we will be using state of the game posts to lists changes and tweaks we've made to game rules. The current changes are listed below.

❖ CHANGE LOG

◆ FLIGHT RULES: Base level flight is now limited to 40kph (25mph) with a max flight time of 12 hours per day. Whether the flight is wing-based or magical, the rest of that day will have to spent resting. Faster travel speeds can be purchased as a major power with Tokens, but all canon flight abilities will follow this limitation if not upgraded. Flight bought as a minor powers will fall within this same range. This flight speed can be exceeded in short bursts.

◆ ACTIVITY CHECK THREADS: This has been clarified elsewhere, but as a reminder, activity for both basic and bonus AC must be completed with exactly 2 threads equaling a combined total of at least 10 comments. Please remember to link the top of threads rather than full top levels.

FEEDBACK

Now that we've talked about what we're up to, we'd like to hear your thoughts! How have you enjoyed the first two events? Was there anything in particular you liked that you want more of? Was there anything that could be done better? Do you have any questions about the concepts listed above? Feel free to +1 other comments if you feel so inclined. Naturally, we'll way ideas more heavily if there are multiple voices behind them.

One thing we'd also like to hear about is event wish lists. What sort of events are you hoping to see in the future of Aion Teleos? These don't have to be super specific, more just generally vibes and event types you're hoping to see. We have our own plans for things coming up, but it helps to know what the player base is hungry for, too. We can't guarantee we'll use these ideas, but they will provide us with inspiration at very least.

Thank you for playing, everyone!

Comments

[lockedon]

Hello mods! I don't have too much by the way of concrete feedback but I figure getting positive feedback is better than complete radio silence.

First of all, thank you guys so much for all the hard work you've put into this game; it's clear that you guys are really devoted to this game, between the organized game pages as well as the promptness of event posts and mod replies. Modding any game, but especially a more plot-heavy game, is a ton of work, and I really appreciate how willing you guys are to work with players and give them different avenues to explore.

In terms of events/things to see, I don't have too much to suggest off the top of my head. I'm pretty basic and enjoy tropes such as memshare/truth share to help kickstart CR between characters. (I know we had a bit of the former with the first event but it might nice to revisit that later down the line when we get more players/current players are more settled in.) I also enjoy flora/fauna with unique properties, but it sounds like you guys are working on a bestiary so I won't belabor that point too much.

I do have one general roadmap-ish question: once more cities/areas on the map have been uncovered and explored, will there be more opportunities for the two factions to mingle in a non-PVP setting? I know you guys have mentioned PVP being one of the alternating event types in the game (which makes sense given the nature of Aion Teleos as a faction game) next to worldbuilding/other adventuring, but I wasn't sure if the latter would still be more restricted between sects.

Otherwise, it's only been a month but I've had an excellent time thus far, and I look forward to seeing where the game goes in the future! Thanks again!

[aionmods]

Hey there! Thanks for the feedback. We are definitely happy to get people's thoughts even if they aren't super detailed or concrete. It helps us know what's on people's minds, both good and bad. To respond to some of the things you mentioned:

1) There will definitely be opportunities for memshare/truth share situations in the future. Communion and a sense of interconnectedness is a major part of the setting, and so things of that nature are easy to justify as part of events. We do agree that it can be more effective to have those opportunities when characters have gotten a chance to get to know each other, so we'll be keeping that in mind.

2) To respond to the matter of non-PVP mingles fully, we want to make sure we're both using the same definitions. We get the impression you mean PVP as in combat specifically? If so, we will definitely be endeavoring to have the sects interact in ways that aren't just beat-em-ups, even if combat will probably be common.

When we have used 'PVP' as mods, we have generally meant it in terms of 'situations in which the sects are directly pitted against each other' rather than just being combat. Of course, combat is going to be likely to come up a lot, because most of the time there won't be anything stopping characters from coming to blows if they want to. While we are definitely going to be trying to create variety that way, it takes a lot more careful planning to craft situations in which combat isn't viable at all, so we'll need to be realistic about how often we can make that happen despite our efforts.

One thing we do want to be transparent about is that there will be few if any situations in which there is no element of PVP in terms of the sects being at odds (even if not in the form of combat specifically). One thing that is important to us as a mod team is to not allow the stakes of the faction element to be undermined. After all, the Kenoma are a serious danger to the Pleroma, and the Kenoma themselves are going to be under a lot of pressure to defeat and/or make the Pleroma miserable. That will almost always be a factor, and providing too many situations where the sects can mingle casually would defang the weightiness of the sect conflict. There's a lot on the line, story wise, and we want characters to be able to acknowledge that.

We hope that by giving you all an idea of what our priorities are it will help to find compromises that will provide opportunities for inter-sect CR without taking away from the faction element. When it comes to downtime outside of events, characters will always be free to interact with members of the other sect via Communion, by arranging clandestine meetings, or by stumbling across each other in less-faction specific territory (essentially anywhere that isn't Achamoth or Greentruth). The main thing we are examining is how best to provide opportunities like this on an event-level scale.

[lockedon]

Yes, sorry, I also should have been more clear in terms of defining PvP!

In this case I am more specifically referring to PvP as in combat and not overall tension, which I agree should be an underlying element to most interactions between the two sects. I'm definitely not bothered by the latter and wouldn't have apped into Aion if I weren't interested in playing that angle, but as someone who struggles with fight threads I do get burnt out easily if there's a nonstop rotation of more combat-oriented events.

But it sounds like once we've got more access to places after these first few months we'll have a bit more freedom to intermingle (within reason), which is mostly what I was curious about. I really appreciate you guys taking the time to clarify and also to emphasize what you guys envision the tone and setting of this game to be, it definitely helps make sure we're all on the same page.

Thanks again!

[expiera]

I don't trust myself to be coherent to be completely honest but I do want to echo Val in noise being (probably) better than silence, so here goes--:

I've been having a blast personally, AT is the most fun I've had in a game for the past year or two after coming back from a very long RP hiatus. The setting pages have been very detailed (and it's going to become even more so!!), you guys are absolute Kings and Queens for making VERY engaging and engrossing NPCs pop off, and I really can't put into words how awed I am of speedy and thorough mod responses to player questions in giving us things to dig into also. Thank you all so much for all the time and effort you've poured into establishing and maintaining AT, I can only hope that the mod team has been having fun too. I'm also sorry for asking a question once I belatedly realized was already mentioned in the event post, I can read most of the time I swear...

As for wishlists and suggestions, it's not necessarily event related, but I semi-echo Val once again over hoping for chances of Kenoma and Pleroma mingling outside of PVP scenarios, maybe for undercover missions and/or things that require subterfuge? Other methods instead of combat/brute force. On a more technical side, I would pitch the suggestion to maybe rework the calendar schedule and have apps be processed after AC ends, to maximize prospect players' chances of getting in right after sweeps as there's a 50 players cap.

That's all I've got, and once again, thank you for everything, mod team! I've loved everything so far, and am very much looking forward to seeing how everything and everyone develop! o7

[aionmods]

Hey! We responded to some of this in our reply to Val up here, so check that out to get a better idea of what we're thinking at the moment.

As for the AC/app round bit we did actually think of this after the fact, and we've since moved dates around so that the intro to the first of next month. This means we'll be filling the spots left by any drops/sweeps with new players! We currently have 11 slots but if there are any more after AC we'll be giving them to be people. We'll change timing for the next app round to accommodate this more easily. This current app round was mostly set to be as soon as was plausible with the narrative.

Thanks for giving us your thoughts, and we're glad you're having a good time! The mods are definitely having fun too, so no worries about that!

[inutilis]

hello mods!!

firstly, just wanted to piggyback off of val and ruki above and say I don't have anything super important to contribute, but wanted to voice my sentiments since I have been so deeply enjoying AT since opening! this is probably one of the most engaging kick-offs I've taken part in and I've been having a great time... I know a lot of love and labor has gone into worldbuilding and NPCing, which I really adore - so wanted to give my props to that. love the detail and thought that has gone into fleshing out all the mechanics and lore, it's a joy to uncover new bits as they come and I enjoy that the world itself is so fun to learn more about?? it's exciting...

I also feel it's super important to point out how much I (and others) appreciate you all taking the time to be so transparent and communicative - it makes a world of difference versus a more closed-off experience and I can feel the TLC coming from your ends. I look forward to seeing how the game progresses and openly encourage you all to let us know whatever you might need from us as players to make things a more smooth endeavor as well! this is a collaborative hobby and if there's anything you need from us, I know I'm not alone in saying we would be happy to be as thoughtful a playerbase as you have been game moderators.

tl;dr thank you for AT as a whole, deeply looking forward to the future!!

[aionmods]

Thank you very much for this feedback! It is definitely very heartening to hear and we're glad you're having a good time. We will keep that offer in mind. We definitely do want to keep communication going in both directions, which should include us saying if we need something.

[salvageable]

i'm also someone with only praise to hand out.....

You guys have curated a really amazing game and I'm so glad to be a part of it!! To think it's only been a month... Time sure does fly when you're having fun. Also I'm someone who loves when games incorporate their TDMs into the plot of the game, so I honestly can't wait for the upcoming TDM. counts down the days

As for ideas for future events, some of my personal favorites are horror-themed events, (more) memshares (echoes val), large-scale events that change the politics/restructure the way the world works, and then more light-hearted things like forced closeness and...... gestures to all the Godsblood prompts?? Really nailed it on that one. In fact, all the events have been super easy to get in on so that's been a huge plus.

But yes, thank you so much for all your wonderful work! Your dedication to this game shines in all your amazingly detailed event posts, the way you guys are so quick and prompt to answer player questions, and your willingness to work with players and their characters. Like everyone else, I'm very excited to see what the future has in store!

[aionmods]

Hey there! Thank you for giving us your thoughts! Horror themed stuff will definitely be present, as will events that change the political scape and world. That is something we encourage players to take the lead on, as well. If characters start working on creating change in the world, such as shifting the allegiances of cities, that's something we will reflected in events. Changing the status of Godsblood, for instance, is definitely something that's on the table.

Thanks again for your thoughts, and we're glad you're having fun!

[epiprocta]

Hey mods!

First of all, like everyone else, I wanted to thank you guys for the amazing work you've done. I'm personally coming back to game RP after a sizable break, and I couldn't have asked for a better game to get myself back into gear. It's really obvious how much care you guys are putting into the worldbuilding and NPC interactions, and I really appreciate how communicative the mod team's been so far about clarifications on event posts, questions in general, and matters of scheduling. So thank you so, so much for your diligent work!

---

I'm finally going to be that one snob who has criticism to offer, and it's that your future projects of bestiaries and alchemy rules do make me squint just the tiniest bit. They seem like very neat systems, but coming on top of the pre-existing regains/tokens system (which is excellent! the normie discount is a very thoughtful touch!) I worry that going too detailed into those systems might make them either scary to newcomers, and/or require too much micromanaging tedium for people to keep up with. I guess the concern would be especially for any players/characters introduced after all three systems have been implemented, in which case they'd be trying to keep track of three different variable systems (activity tokens, alchemy skill level/ingredients(?), monster taming levels(?)) from the ground up, which might be a little intimidating if the systems are complex.

That said, I know I tend to be on the cautious side when it comes to matters like that, and I speak from previous experience with games that have gotten bogged down by multiple complex systems. Given how much thought you've put into everything else thus far, I'm sure you'll be putting a lot of effort into balancing those systems out to make them accessible and fair. If this is a concern you've already considered and addressed, please disregard this whole section, as it's more just cautious fretting on my end than any real condemnation of the ideas.

The only other criticism I might have to offer is that I hope y'all aren't getting burnt out on NPC interaction! It's a tremendous amount of NPC interactivity you guys have offered thus far, which has been absolutely lovely and excellent in solidifying the worldbuilding, but I hope the mod team will be able to spread out that sort of heavy NPC activity to preserve your own sanities.

---

In terms of events, I'm going to +1 to the above suggestions of:
- non-PVP focused situations
- memshare/forced truth
- something more horror-focused
- forced closeness

I'm afraid I don't have that much else to suggest myself ... maybe an event where characters of the same legacy are forced to cooperate regardless of their Pleroma/Kenoma alignment? Mindscape events where characters are (mentally) transported into slices of each other's worlds? Characters forced to cooperate even briefly against a hostile third party/PvE type scenarios? Of course, these are all just wild shots in the dark, but I do second the suggestions above that roughly alternating PvP-type events with non-PvP events would be nice.

---

Okay, I think that's enough tl;dr from me, please forgive me for being the sour apple of the bunch. And once more, thank you so very, very much for your hard work mods! I know moderating can be quite the thankless struggle at times, but you've made the game an absolutely wonderful place and like the others, I'm also really excited to see what the future holds! ♥

[aionmods]

Hey there! We're not sure how much details we should go into, but we understand the concern regarding including too many different game systems. We think we may have made the bestiary and alchemy pages sound more complicated than they are intended to be. The bestiary isn't going to include any kind of "animal kin" skill you level up or anything like that, to be clear. Right now we are trying to keep the acquisition of power and resources to two systems:

1) Tokens, which are earned OOCly, being spent on abilities that can be gained somewhat spontaneously.

2) Mod approval with IC proofs. This is what the bestiary and alchemy page will be, and what the sect attunement page already is. Mod approval, in all these cases, just means that we are requesting you to justify the acquisition of something with IC actions, in the form of you linking us threads or plotting threads you've done that work towards a goal. For attunement, getting to the next level currently requires 3 proofs showing your character's commitment to their sect. Similarly, the bestiary and alchemy pages will be putting into words what the mods expect in terms of IC justification to warrant being given something.

For the bestiary, this will just be setting expectations for which creatures require the most IC justification to ally with and which ones can be handwaved. We don't want people to be too afraid to ask, which they might be if they don't know what is expected. The point is to just make what we want from players in terms of proofs.

For alchemy, this is partially bought with Tokens, but getting "rare ingredients" to enable the best potions will be something along the lines of "link a thread with your character working to acquire rare materials and receive approval to have them make a particularly game-changing potion." Since alchemy is a part of the setting and has to stay consistent it will also just generally be explaining what's reasonable for your character to do with it.

In the end, we're shooting for "mod approval with proofs" to be basically the same across the board, we're just trying to guide players through the process so they aren't guessing at what will and won't be adequate justification.

[semicharmed]

Look, I'm boring, I have nothing but praise also. I think for me, what I appreciate most of all at this moment is how much you're willing to roll with characters doing weird things and offering some really interesting IC consequences for IC actions.

For future events, I'm a +2 on non-combat PVP/situations where there's cross-faction CR but for whatever reason people can't or are discouraged from fighting, changing the world's politics, and also HORROR. Horror elements! I know you've already replied in the affirmative on all of these, so I guess I'm just gonna wriggle around happily and await what's next.

[lifespanned]

I hope some late input is okay!! I've been totally enjoying the game so far, and I echo all the praise that's been said on this post. I especially love how welcoming this game is to more evil/dubious types, especially re: npcs on the kenoma side encouraging drastic action, and I doubly appreciate how much thought the mod team put into having a wide range of motivations for characters to join the "bad" faction, as I feel this often gets overlooked in other faction games I've been in. in terms of the events, one thing I've really liked so far is the Q&A section that you've put at the end of each event post! it's been really helpful for me. c:

re: the separation of kenoma and the pleroma, personally, I kind of appreciate the prominent separation of the factions, because it does make the stakes feel higher. the needing to have a secret meeting or communicate with them only via communion is so chef's kiss imo. so I appreciate your commitment to that, too! I know you've mentioned above that there will be some chances to interact, which is also awesome, but I did want to say I do enjoy the feeling that the two will almost always be at odds.

as for an event wishlist, one thing I've always enjoyed in other games is capture and rescue missions, with some characters getting kidnapped and others having to rally to rescue them/get them back. I'm not sure how (or if) this could shake out in the setting with one faction getting their paws on the other side's aions, but I thought I'd mention it!!

all in all, thank you for all your hard work and the detailed thoughts you've put into the game and the game's world! I'm excitedly looking forward to more :o) 💞

[lachtara]

Hi mods! Also swinging by late. I honestly wanted some time to reread the info and see what kind of feedback everyone else provided.

First of all, echoing the sentiment that I appreciate the mods. The game has been running smoothly thus far and everyone has been great. I appreciate your willingness to answer questions (I have a lot...all the time... I'm sorry.) and keeping the game updated as to events, changes, and announcements. It is especially nice that those who don't use Discord are not out of the loop; I feel like that is important since we can often forget once we get tied to a method of communication.

I think there is something to be said about a game that doesn't want to post an ATP because they look forward to any character applying regardless of canon, and would delight in having Lone Canon Warriors. It's very welcoming. 😌 (I know I don't exactly circumvent that... but you know.)

I also am grateful that there is a game that welcomes such villainy!! I have also never been so terrified for my character to absolutely throw a fit in a game!! l-lmao.

Ahem. Guess I should stop gushing about the game and give out suggestions.

The NPCing here has been wonderful. It looks like there is an opportunity for characters to interact with NPCs on the "PLOT & INVESTIGATIONS" page, which is definitely needed for requests and such. However, it seems a liiiittle strange to have it there as opposed to its own page? It feels like that would be the same as encouraging people to do RP threads in the FAQ. But maybe it's just me. I look forward to bugging Regent-Senpai regardless. 🌸

Second, I've seen some say that there is no Legacy that accounts for their character traits. While it's definitely impossible to account for everyone, would it benefit the game if there was an option sort characters "randomly" into a Legacy for those who don't fit? If they explain why it doesn't work, anyway. And maybe they could, over time, begin to adopt the traits of that Legacy to fit in better. Might not be possible if they have to exemplify the traits to begin with but just a random idea that might help with lighter Legacies.

As far as events, I enjoy exploration events myself. Something that allows for world trekking and maybe uncovering information or learning something new about the world with magical twists. It could be helpful if we had exploration with temporary or unique awards dependant on participation.

FFFFffff okay I have blabbed enough. I hope these are of some help. If they don't work out then the gushing still stands.✨