Route 29: ｍｏｄｓ (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
these_balls) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
route_292013-06-15 09:49 pm
these_balls) wrote in route_292013-06-15 09:49 pm
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BRING US YOUR FEEDBACK!
Hey, Routers! Things have been pretty eventful for the game over the past few months, and we've seen a fair number of changes along the way — the introduction of EV News, the extra-detailed badge acceptances, the experiment with making the Gym Leaders more interactive for the playerbase, and a handful of big plots, including our recent Glitch Plot, Fourth Wall, and of course, the game's big three-year anniversary! But with all of that excitement finally reaching something of a lull for the moment, we on the modteam would really like to check in with you, the players, and get your feedback on how the game experience has been for you so far, and what you'd like to see out of us in the future.
Beneath the cut, we've got a fairly detailed survey we'd like to ask you to fill out, to let us know how we've been doing on a handful of topics, and to get your input on what new things we might attempt, modify, or outright change in the future! When filling it out, please feel free to be as specific or general as you like; we'd prefer specifics, as those tend to be more helpful to us as a team, but please don't feel bound to strictly answer every question if a more general answer will do. Likewise, if there's something you'd like to tell us that isn't covered with the survey, please feel free! This post is here for your thoughts and feedback on Route, and to open up channels of communication with us to answer questions and discuss what might be in store for the game from here on out.
Once you've filled out the survey, please also feel free to make subsequent comments to this post with other topics you might like to discuss with us or with your fellow members of the playerbase! However, please keep in mind that this is NOT an HMD post, nor will we be tolerating any bickering in the comments. It's fine to disagree, but please keep any disagreements civil and discussion-focused; we reserve the right to step in and halt discussion if we feel the conversation is no longer productive, or dissolving into an argument as opposed to a healthy debate.
Also, please keep in mind that while we value your opinions and want to take them into consideration as we move the game forward, we must also as moderators exercise our own personal judgment in determining what will be best for the game. Some suggestions, however popular among the playerbase, simply may not be feasible from a moderator standpoint — and if we do feel that way, we'll try to explain why, but ultimately this discussion comes with the caveat that not everyone is going to get what they want. So please be patient and understanding with us as we try to do our best for the game and for you!
Note: ANONYMOUS COMMENTING IS ENABLED! (For real this time!) We want to encourage honesty here, so please feel free to go anon if it makes you more comfortable. Just please don't abuse the privilege!
PLOTS:• How many plots have you been in Route for (approximately)? None? One? Several?
• How have you generally felt about our plots so far?
• Of the two listed, which type of plot do you tend to prefer?
-- An effect/condition plot, where participants are given a setting change, scenario, or other character condition and generally left to their own devices with what to do about it
For previous Route examples, our Spring Cleaning plot from last year was an "objective-based" plot, while this year's Prom and Glitch events were "effect/condition" ones.
• What would your ideal plot do? For example, "bring all the characters together in one place" the way that Prom did; "give my character Pokemon powers" the way that Outbreak did; "let me move my character freely around the map" the way that the Glitch plot did, etc.
GENERAL UPKEEP:• Do our infopages generally do their job of providing you with all the information you need on a daily basis? Is anything confusing? Is anything missing?
• Is there anything you think we're in need of updating?
• Is there anything you think we need to change?
MODS:• How have your experiences been with us as mods? Are you generally happy with us as a modteam? What do we do well? What can we improve upon?
• Please also feel free to address feedback to any of us individually!
FUTURE:• If you could change any one aspect of Route, what would it be and why?
• Is there anything within the setting of the game itself you would like to see implemented, changed or removed? (I.E. open up a new region, GIVE US THE ELITE FOUR ALREADY, etc.)
• Is there any plot in particular you would like to see us do in the future? Be as general or specific as you like!
ANYTHING ELSE:• Please use this section to let us know anything else you feel is important!
We'll be doing our best to keep up with the discussion as it unfolds, but if you have a question or the need to get hold of us (or one of us specifically), feel free to use the PING-A-MOD thread included in the comments to flag us down!
Thanks again for all your input and cooperation, Route, and we're really looking forward to hearing from you!
sorry for the tl;dr
Fourth wall. I've been a part of Route long enough to experience several fourth walls and I must admit, the fourth wall plots were getting very stale prior to the change that allowed characters to retain some of their memories of fourth wall. With this in place, fourth wall is much more interesting and I feel like participating is worthwhile. I would like to see more to do with the machine - perhaps it would be possible for a future plot? Plottier fourth wall posts would be ideal, but the way things are set up now works fine if that's impossible. I like how frequent fourth wall posts are and I wouldn't want that to change.
General. I've seen several plots run by both mods and players alike in Route and I must say I've always had a lot of fun with them. I would prefer to see more mod-run plots, however. I understand that this is a slice-of-life game and having mods run plots every month or something like that would be draining if not downright impossible. However, I do believe adding an additional "plot mod" would be beneficial to the game. It seems as though there isn't much to do in Route if you don't have a lot of strong CR to bounce off of. This makes getting into the game very difficult, in my opinion. Having more plots that focus on bringing people together (such as the prom plot) would be beneficial for newcomers who otherwise are stuck in the beginning towns for weeks on end while other characters congregate around Goldenrod and other larger cities. Bringing the characters together provides opportunities for CR that might not otherwise exist. I would like to see more objective-based plots as well; the Spring Cleaning plot was one of my favorites and I've been disappointed at the lack of objective-based plots since then. I also believe that Team Rocket isn't being used to its full potential. I don't believe that the characters in Team Rocket should be used as plot devices or should constantly be busy doing dastardly things, but I do think that the Executives could pull off more raids and do a bit more with the team than they already do. I enjoy reading about the Gym Leaders and how they interact with people, but what about the Executives? Out of all the characters, I imagine they would have more of a reason to interact with the foreigners than anyone else.
GENERAL UPKEEP:
General. I think you all do a great job of keeping lists and things up to date. There was a time when the reserves weren't being updated frequently, but that seems to have passed. I can't think of anything that I would add or change here.
MODS:
Plot mod. I seriously believe Route could be improved with the addition of a plot mod, someone who is in charge of coming up with plot ideas and running said plots. As it stands, Route doesn't have very many game-wide plots that aren't run by players. This has recently been changed with the glitch event and the prom, but prior to that there really weren't very many mod-run plots that players could participate in. Personally, this left my characters with very little to do and I found the game to be a bit boring. I believe having someone to assist with running plots would make it easier to run plots and would bring some fresh blood into Route. I do enjoy the slice-of-life aspect of Route, but I believe there's a great deal of potential being wasted with the Team Rocket members. A plot mod could easily help create plots for both the Rocket members and the general public and could initiate more of a confrontation between Team Rocket and the PGC.
General. The mods have all been incredibly helpful and kind. I rarely have to wait on a response to a question and the majority of the questions I have are already answered in the FAQ or other places. I think you all are doing a great job, but I do believe hiring on an extra mod or two to help with the workload could be beneficial.
FUTURE:
Plots. As I stated above, I'd really like to see more plots in Route. The ones we've had have all been incredibly fun and well thought-out, but the frequency is a little lacking in my opinion. I imagine this is draining on the mods, so I can understand why there aren't very many plots, but hiring additional help to specifically help with plots would combat that pretty well, I think. In particular, I would like to see more Team Rocket plots - whether they're attacks like the Spring Cleaning plot or sneakier things like the train raid. As it stands, Team Rocket seems to be forgotten about and very rarely used when there are plenty of people running player plots from within the organization. Getting the Executives more involved as NPCs may help some, but I believe more mod-run plots would be very helpful.
Pokemon. The EV news is a cute idea and it's well done, but I would like to see more rare Pokemon being revealed in the swarm locations. There isn't any way to get some of the fossil Pokemon at all outside of starting with them, which I think is a terrible shame. Several of the characters already in the game can't get those Pokemon and outside of rare egg drops, it's nearly impossible for them to be obtainable. In the case of fossil Pokemon it does make sense that they wouldn't be found commonly in the wild, but perhaps there could be some kind of mini-event where players can find a fossil of their choice if they go excavating in a specific mountain or something? Alternatively, more egg drops would be nice since there are quite a few rare Pokemon that can't be obtained through normal means.
NPCs. I would love to see more of the NPCs! The Gym Leaders are all cute and quirky and you all do a great job with them. Seeing them interact with player characters is always incredibly fun and I think having them become a more permanent part of Route would be excellent. If it's too much work for the mods to maintain all of the NPCs, perhaps additional helper mods could be added on to assist? Personally, I would love to play some of the NPCs to help Route out and I'm sure there are others who would be willing to help as well! I'm particularly interested in seeing more of the Rocket NPCs, specifically the Executives. They're very important to the Team Rocket members but we only see them during plots. Perhaps there can be other reasons for them to show up and check on the foreigners.
Other regions. This is a big one that probably won't be filled any time soon, but I would love to see the addition of other regions, like Hoenn, Sinnoh, and Unova! There have been mentions of these places here and there in Route, but having them as places people can visit (even temporarily, in say an event or fourth wall or something) would be a lot of fun. I understand if this isn't doable due to the sheer size of the game as it is already, but it is something that might be interesting to think about.
Coordinators. Like the above, this might not be doable, but I would love to see the coordinating class get some love. As a starting class, they could arrive in Goldenrod (or wherever contests would be held) and could earn badges like Team Rocket members or Breeders, but ultimately their goal is to win ribbons through competitions. Perhaps there can be a rumor that earning all the ribbons will send people home? I would just love to see coordinators as a class in general and I'm really not sure why this isn't a thing in Route.
Rangers. As Lucy mentioned, rangers would be a very interesting class to have available as well. Rangers could be a mixture of the ranger class in Pokemon Rangers and the Pokemon explorers from the Mystery Dungeon line of games (even though those are Pokemon, you know what I mean). They could spend their time exploring areas and finding new Pokemon as well as rescuing those that are in danger. This class would be more physical than most of the others and would involve more trainer interaction than just typical battling, but I think it would be an excellent opportunity and would be incredibly fun! As it stands, most trainers don't do much outside of command their Pokemon, which seems pretty boring. This brings me to my next point:
Pokeathlon. I'm not sure if this has been brought up before or if there was ever an event concerning this, but the Pokeathlon is a big deal in HeartGold/SoulSilver and yet I haven't seen any mention of it in Route. Perhaps it would be too difficult to pull off, but I would really like to see the Pokeathlon become a permanent stay in Route, like the Bug Catching Contest. It could be held bi-monthly or something like that, where the winner in each category is randomized and then people can choose whether to thread it out or not. The prize could be a Pokemon or a reusable TM or something along those lines. I think having competitions that get the training involved with the Pokemon would be ideal, and the Pokeathlon seems like it would fit the bill perfectly.
Tournament. The fighting tournament that was held was a lot of fun! Making this a permanent fixture (whether that's every six months or every year or something like that) would be great! The way it was set up was perfect and it was a lot of fun to participate in. I would really like to see it run again!
ANYTHING ELSE:
Uh, I'll probably edit this about a billion more times before I'm happy with it, but it's a start! I love Route dearly and I think with a few changes it would easily become more accessible to people who have been hesitant to join. Personally, I would like to see more to do in Route, so adding trainer classes or having more plots would be ideal! Thank you for reading all this and considering it, and boy am I sorry this is so long.