Basilisk Maintenance - October 19th 2018

[Vlada]

Why stick to the plan if the plan is not an option ?

If we launch Suncrusher in advance, we may get more people (all those who wait for it), and get more donations.

I play on Basilisk since 6 years, during that time lapse, I have seen many people from original server Infinity' Guilds (TRF, RED...) or other Guilds (-V-) comes in, play a bit and then comes out.

They all wait for that very new start to come back.

Those that wait will always have an excuse to wait a little longer. Besides, Suncrusher comes after 1.0 not before.

[lgarms3348]

Keep up the awesome work!!

Like many others, I'm waiting for 1.0, but I'll still give to the cause. If support is running thin on any given month, I would suggest putting it on your FB page (that's where I read the recent call to arms) for those of us who don't really play or check the forums regularly ...but eagerly await 1.0.

[Kurgol]

Spread the word:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kvApXUMKqX8

Can't help but think this is partially responsible for the giant green bar at the top of the page now xD

[Vlada]

Can't help but think this is partially responsible for the giant green bar at the top of the page now xD

It is. We reached out and Mobyus1 delivered big time.

[shilo]

It is. We reached out and Mobyus1 delivered big time.

You have harnessed the SWG ecosystem! Believe it or not, but the SWGEmu community has passed a critical mass that it now operates like a true ecosystem. While the developers operate much like the abiotic elements upon which an ecosystem can be built, (think temperature, precipitation, substrate in the real world). Community leaders like Mobyus, and Vlada and the proprietors of private servers operate much like a keystone species like beavers, and wolves. In that they manipulate the habitats, and allow niches to be created that in turn supports more species(people in this case). All of these factors are interacting with each other in non quantifiable ways that creates a feed back loop reinforcing the ecosystem.

Of course just like any ecosystem, it's a fragile system. If you remove any one of these factors the ecosystem starts to deteriorate.

[Tyrson]

Also discussed, in another thread any kind of reward for donations can be (if a semi decent lawyer wants to see it that way) seen as us selling in game stuff, which brings us back to that very thin legal line.

What about things that aren't items or "things"? I rambled off a slew of ideas in discord yesterday:

• If we make our monthly goal (IWMOMG), then the next month for one week there will be a super-silly TC Prime event. A topsy turvy server for one week. Some of my random ideas:
  • all meatlumps drop mando armor
  • exceptional/legendary drop rate is set to 50% and 10%
  • looted credits are 1,000,000 times higher
  • static mobs like acklay/dragons/elders respawn in a minute
  • SG82 rifles and vibro axes now have 100x the damage
  • buff schematics have 50x the stats to keep up with the freshly looted/crafted uber weapons and dots.
  • change the scale on creatures to make them 10x bigger
  • change some models around, like make shuttles into huge scaled up peko peko albatrosses
  I think they'd all be simple changes, no mechanics would be different. It'd just be some models/constants changed. It's probably more work than that, it's always more work than the naive laymen (me) knows.
  
  
• IWMOMG, next month we'll have a npc named Vlada that you can murder all you want in Coronet. No loot or xp, but it has a 5 second respawn timer and says custom salty things when it dies!
• IWMOMG, we'll have a huge battle and the winner (winning group) will have a unique statue placed in their town / GH until the next tournament
• IWMOMG, we'll have a nightsister dance party where everyone at the party will be turned into a random nightsister model for the duration
• IWMOMG, donors will get a special badge on their in-game profiles (We already do this on the forums with the donor gold bars)
• IWMOMG, donors will be entered to win a chance to have a npc named after them. The model/location of the NPC will be chosen by the donator. It won't do anything, it'll just be deco.
• IWMOMG, There could be a building (theater maybe?) or location somewhere called "Donor's Hall" where npcs are generated with the names of the previous month's donors. No npc customization like the last idea, just a script to change the names to match.

Of course I had other ideas for "things". Like an exclusive donor-only painting (non tradeable, i.e. no benefit other than deco). Donor "capes". We could probably use the vet reward mechanics to make a donors-only reward system. It could be based on dollar amount, but I like the idea of it tracking months donated instead. I think lots of smaller consistent donations is smarter than intermittent large donations. (unless the large donations are crazy large I guess.)

Anyway, just my two cents at the moment. The current outpouring of support is fantastic, but I think it's important to try and find ways to keep the enthusiasm going.

[Mobyus1]

Anyway, just my two cents at the moment. The current outpouring of support is fantastic, but I think it's important to try and find ways to keep the enthusiasm going.

I like some of these ideas, but personally, I think just having a monthly server-wide event would go a long way towards keeping people engaged.

You guys remember the Dark Cult of Massassi event?

->Open Spoiler<-

...or the Abandoned Rebel Base PvP event?

->Open Spoiler<-

...or the Sons of Jar Jar event?

->Open Spoiler<-

...or the Gorax Christmas event?

->Open Spoiler<-

...or Vlada's ADK Giveaway?

->Open Spoiler<-

...or the Ancient Artifact Event?

->Open Spoiler<-

...and more events that are simply hosted by guilds but maybe using some assistance from EC staff. You 'member? I 'member.

I understand the EC staff is currently very small and whoever remains has very little time, but perhaps adding some more volunteers there would help. I know I'm equally guilty on this topic as well, as I've done 3 ADK Giveaways in the past and planned on doing a couple more.

[Wolften]

Family and friends? Real life? What the hell is going on? LOL

Good stuff team. Every now and then you need a good clean up to keep the ship tidy on on course.

Ever forward!!

Wait, Family's still exist XD?

[Wolften]

TBH
some of those aren't bad,
Similar to your idea, There could also be a area called the Hall of Donors which maybe glorifies the top donors.

[Bladestonez]

I like some of these ideas, but personally, I think just having a monthly server-wide event would go a long way towards keeping people engaged.

THIS!
Building stronger ties with the community and being more transparent about problems those members can assist with (eg. Money, staffing) can't hurt anything.
No one wants donating thrown in their face, but I know from reading around a lot of us felt guilty for not donating enough or at all, we were ignorant to the problem.
There's no shame in doing what you did and asking for help, I suggest you do it more, for things other than money as well.

[Serrabell]

THIS!
Building stronger ties with the community and being more transparent about problems those members can assist with (eg. Money, staffing) can't hurt anything.
No one wants donating thrown in their face, but I know from reading around a lot of us felt guilty for not donating enough or at all, we were ignorant to the problem.
There's no shame in doing what you did and asking for help, I suggest you do it more, for things other than money as well.

I agree, I had no idea that the project was in trouble. As soon as I noticed I donated, I know I am not the only one that was ignorant to this problem either. I see no harm at all with a reminder here and there, it's not begging.

[nee2earth]

./pep-talk SWGEmu!

No matter how i feel about our past, i've always had present faith in our COMMUNITY... And our future looks brighter than ever!

Kudos to Mobyus1, Lordkator, et al, for heeding the call-to-EMU-arms and going above & beyond volunteer duty.

Now, here's where the fun begins...

Pub10, JTL, official beta, 1.0 , OH MY!

----

but personally, I think just having a monthly server-wide event would go a long way towards keeping people engaged

Maybe try coordinating with some of our fellow 'ecosystem' extended members to login Basilisk (or Nova) each month, since some of them continue to demonstrate not only a willingness (and free time) but also a real talent for continuous EVENTS

--

I understand the EC staff is currently non-existent , so perhaps adding some volunteers there would help. .

Qualified peeps should apply here---> https://www.swgemu.com/forums/conten...aining-program
(advice: DON'T say that Nee sent you )

And remember, at the very least, there's enough functionality in-game already with just the mere 'Event Coordinator' NPC (in Hotels) to setup some very cool events.

[Kreskel]

Is there a way to put something in the game itself as a point of reference for how the donation pool is doing for that month. I check the forum from time to time, but people that play are more likely to be in the game than on the forums. Maybe have a Bacta tank of sorts that starts out red and goes green once the total is met for the month. It could be put at the entrance to the "main hub" starports. If not a tangible item in the world, maybe an in game email when we log in once or twice a month just giving a progress to date on the monthly total. It ends up being out of sight out of mind for me most of the time, to be honest. RL is weird.

[Tyrson]

Is there a way to put something in the game itself as a point of reference for how the donation pool is doing for that month. I check the forum from time to time, but people that play are more likely to be in the game than on the forums. Maybe have a Bacta tank of sorts that starts out red and goes green once the total is met for the month. It could be put at the entrance to the "main hub" starports. If not a tangible item in the world, maybe an in game email when we log in once or twice a month just giving a progress to date on the monthly total. It ends up being out of sight out of mind for me most of the time, to be honest. RL is weird.

I love that bacta tank idea. I can see wanting to balance it between "in your face asking for money all the time" and "people were asleep and had no idea the house was on fire".

It could be one of those system messages you see when logging in. You know the "some guy fixed something 2 days ago" but it was really 8 months ago. "Monthly Donation Goal Met" vs "Monthly Donation Goal Not Met".

Haha, what if starport wait times doubled to 2 minutes until the monthly goal was met each month. lol Or the nicer version, make shuttleport wait 2 minutes, instead of 5, after the goal is met each month.

What if there was a command like /check or /getvet? Could we get /donationStatus or /FutureOfEmu or /canIPlayNextMonth or something?

[Omens]

Is there a way to put something in the game itself as a point of reference for how the donation pool is doing for that month. I check the forum from time to time, but people that play are more likely to be in the game than on the forums. Maybe have a Bacta tank of sorts that starts out red and goes green once the total is met for the month. It could be put at the entrance to the "main hub" starports. If not a tangible item in the world, maybe an in game email when we log in once or twice a month just giving a progress to date on the monthly total. It ends up being out of sight out of mind for me most of the time, to be honest. RL is weird.

Probably the best 1st post ever.

Thanks for sharing that great idea

Server economy do needs more visibility !