Zyrxae

As previously mentioned, I'm setting up an avatar shop. Current stock: NEW: COMMISSIONS! If you have avatars cobwebbing away in your vault, I can find them a good home for a small commission. Details can be worked out individually. Species: So far I have seen more high-quality humanoid avatars than strictly human forms, but this should be no vast impediment to their sale. Pedigree: Most of these are from Generation 13 or before, and all have "MagicDuel" listed as their creator. This is not a slight on current artists but rather a recognition that most 'serious' artists profit more from commissions or direct sales than from selling to the shop. Edit 1: Generations and/or IDs (all available information is shown) are listed below each avatar. Edit 2: I don't know the names of the artists but would include this information under the images if others are knowledgeable and forthcoming. Rationale: Several free credits - fighter + distaste for continued avatarlessness of others + inspiration => avatar shop. Price: Bid here or in PMs; I will update prices in comments under each image. I reserve the right not to sell if the offers are too low. Timing: Auctions will end four days after the last bid has been placed; this and other aspects of the shop are subject to change within reason. Exceptions: While I am open to giving avatars away if they seem particularly suited to a given individual, I do seek to sustain the shop itself. The more people who agree that a certain person deserves a certain avatar, the more likely I am to sell at a reduced price or give it to them outright. Images: Even posting images of avatars can devalue them (or so Asterdai [url="http://magicduel.invisionzone.com/topic/8308-avatar-shop/#entry71587"]seems to have believed[/url]); as such, I'm conflicted as to whether I should display these publicly at all. EDIT 1: It seems my hesitancy was unfounded; the images are above. EDIT 2: Images of sold avatars will be removed from the shop after an as-yet undecided period. EDIT 3: Sold artwork is to be removed from the gallery and placed it into a private 'Sold' album whose privacy setting I may temporarily change to 'anyone with the link' in order to show to prospective clients seeking a better idea of prices. Regulatory Nonesuch: In the interest of preemptive clarity: - I won't be using alts to store avatars that I (Zyrxae) have owned - I may revive and make use of some storymode alts if business is sufficiently brisk, in which case I would keep payments on those accounts only - Although I'm not quite sure how to prove as much, the purpose of this is not "just to move credits around"; I really do want to see more avatars put to good homes. - [Other concerns (there are always some) to be addressed here.] $$: Depending how profitable this is, I may use the money to sponsor upcoming quests, to buy credit packs to buy more avatars, or for some similar purpose if I think of one. Be yourself; if this service can help display that, all the better. Edits: Shop opened; a bid & a sale and commissions; sold artwork policy changed to allay legal concerns, see below; sell-by dates.

Is the deadline the beginning or the end of Monday? Also, will you make the entries public when the judging is complete?

People’s posts on this topic show their own “DNA” of a different but related sort—that of value judgments. —— I would be quite surprised if nobody here has yet made alts and observed how their DNA structures changed throughout the selection process. Someone must have had the necessary combination of - interest in the process - not viewing that process as deserving to be kept quiet, and -[i]patience[/i]. I don’t place much trust in personality tests, but yesterday a friend mentioned having taken one in the past that (she said) described her then-future to a T. She then was very reluctant to share what she had gotten on the test for fear that it could be used against her later. —— The point about veterans in particular was me wondering whether the reasons that this group has been more hesitant about publicizing this information could also apply to their actions in other parts of MD. So far these reasons have boiled down to: “I’m interested but don’t want others to see my results” and “I don’t see the point”. These are soundly reasoned excuses.

Very few vets have contributed here. Perhaps they feel that posting their DNA in public violates its intended purpose, that this information should be more private. Perhaps they fear future repercussions. Perhaps they're not quite sure why they don't want to post their playerdna, but their guts tell them that to do so would be wrong. Maybe it's too much effort for no reward. Maybe they just don't care.

Fang, you’re very emotionally attached to the resources of your land, and you want to give “all the people, and all the lands” the tools to prevent such resources from coming to harm. From the response of those people who have spoken up on this topic, it seems that many people here are not interested in your suggestion. [quote]I see it, and i have a goal. In all honesty, thats all that matters.[/quote] If you’re serious about implementation, Fang, you could do worse than enlist others’ support. [size=2][[Discussion of syntropy removed, probably to MD Archives]][/size]

Zyrxae

[size=3]Apologies for the double post, but this is somewhat separate from the above-[/size] For those interested in inventing recipes: [url="https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AhfiqLPs3vohdGxwNURkN2dqVzIxZjNUOEZaVUJyWXc#gid=1"]Go wild[/url]. Whip up poisonous serums, strength enhancers, decorative amusements, medicinal poultices, cement, fruitcake, potting soil, leather, glass bottles (which were actually planned), polish, or something I wouldn't dream of. No, recipes are not the silver bullet of healing that will revive MD. Yes, too many recipes would make this realm a much less enjoyable place to be. Please, don't class this as a spoiler and hide it away where nobody finds it. Sure, maybe it should take some effort for people to make recipes, but it appears that the barrier is currently too high. Certainly, there's a vast amount going on behind the scenes that I don't know about. Yes, I want to see people be creative with this.

Rhaegar, I’m sorry I was unclear. Your “constant that will influence, inspire people to be involved from day to day” is [i]exactly[/i] what I meant by “one point of focus for the whole realm, that we seek some overall goal to the many (nonetheless enjoyable) quests currently running”. You suggest two fighting competitions and gesture to the ‘grow a plant IRL’ quest. I’d argue that even more of a unified purpose would be preferable..but raisons d’être don’t grow on trees. With any luck the community will find an overall goal or series of smaller goals; without those, little happens that anyone cares to remember. Having just said that we need something big to keep ahold of, I’ll do a 180 and write up a list of resources and their descriptions (like [url="http://magicduel.invisionzone.com/topic/10129-got-items/"]this topic[/url] but updated and more complete) to facilitate the creation of recipes by anyone interested. If you have information that could help with this, please do share. The item list’s purpose is to inspire others to create recipes which may then inspire others to put the products of those recipes to a creative use/to solve problems we didn’t know we had/to get people imagining again. [I may respond to the other posts in PM as usual, but Rhaegar and Udgard hit on the point I was using resources to segue into.]

[quote]There is a lack of usage of resources and tools[...]because there is not a goal for them to be used.[/quote] [quote]There is no need for resources, they just pile up.[/quote] [quote]Shared tools are only "useless" as you put it, because there's little to do with the resources after you've got them.[/quote] Possible uses for resources:[list] [*]Community Garden buildings, structures [*]Fix the Ivory Lighthouse and the ship at Wraith’s Wreck: free the [url="http://magicduel.invisionzone.com/topic/11802-meeting-about-abra-and-the-empty-aramors"]Empty Aramors[/url] and Tiny Men [*]Repair the bridge to Oak Fort [*][quote name='Rhaegar Targaryen' timestamp='1359588665' post='131727'] An important contest that would stimulate 'average Joe' to fight for and work would change that, but for now, you do not have any reason for mass-production of tea, for example, to pursue.[/quote] [*][quote name='Dragual' timestamp='1358980881' post='131302'] Maybe something like "building a wall" around a scene[/quote] [/list] Many people seem uninterested in the above. If you think these projects are silly or haven't heard about them or have a better idea for how to use resources, do say so. -- Better yet: People are resources, too. [quote] Not much a player can do nowdays other than interact with others, do random quests and research, enjoy some RP. There is no major event to enter its flow.[/quote] Tell Mya there are no major events...but you're right, we all want more. If this 'more' is made for us, then great, wonderful. If not, [url="http://magicduel.invisionzone.com/topic/13559-365-ideas/"]this topic[/url] is a good starting point...or is it? Is it that we want a more unified approach: one point of focus for the whole realm, that we seek some overall goal to the many (nonetheless enjoyable) quests currently running? I ask because I don't know, but the past hints toward hunches.

10 points—Pipstickz—ability to give a spelldoc, preferably Group Scattering 9 points—Chewett—Summon to Shrine (this could also come in the form of a ‘trace’ item as per Fyrd’s suggestion) 8p—Sephirah Caelum—Staff: animate the dead 7p—Udgard—Create usable items, items that spawn other items 6—Tipu—Prison key 5—Rumi—Mild rain 4—Fire Starter—Tea-warming chawan 3—AmberRune—acousticremains 2—Hedge Munos—guitar: voice spell capability 1—Chengmingz—peas

Are we or are we not allowed to vote multiple times for one request/can we allocate our 55 vote-points however we choose?

The Voices of the Council are actually the Council.

[quote name='Chewett' timestamp='1356974508' post='129373'] And i dont think thats a fair assement. Its all rubbish. The entire idea of a poll is skewed. All you guys are doing is offering random opinions with nothing really to back it up, its useless commenting really, as useless as the data itself. Espically when the aim of the poll is for some specific outcome.[/quote] If either Maebius' or Awiiya's hypothesis ("In any "community" the most vocal tend to be the ones who are dissatisfied with something"; "In a forum, the strong opinions, both positive and negative, are more likely to manifest, masking the less opinionated in the group", respectively) is correct, a poll would more accurately reflect the opinion of the community as a whole than would any group of individual posts. What better way, then, is there to gauge public opinion? - [quote name='Menhir' timestamp='1356933496' post='129332'] 1. IF we will have a council who will be anonymous in the future why they don´t have trust points like the kings and special players always had? This would be the easiest and fastest change possible.[/quote] Interesting idea, but how to factor in that they rotate? [quote name='Menhir' timestamp='1356933496' post='129332'] 3. So I suggest everyone with a proper Age ingame needs to do some kind of job matching his/her time limit he/she has. That means we all need to grow together and all those ego games we play need adjustments too. Without feeling closer to each other and without the awareness of a "we are all sitting in the same boat" idea, we will only change something for a short period of time. We should think of long term solution.[/quote] Like an expansion of [url="http://magicduel.invisionzone.com/topic/13232-get-involved-and-help-magicduel/"]this[/url]? - [quote name='Mallos' timestamp='1356976012' post='129376'] About the voting, the only thing I dislike is the agree and strongly agree options. You should only be able to agree or disagree, no strongly. [/quote] Why? As for your oligarchy, I wonder at the differences and similarities between OGame's playerbase and our own. After a brief wiki glance, it seems more structured than MD.. - [quote name='Ivorak' timestamp='1356975030' post='129374'] That said, I loved the updates from the council posts. I'd also like to see more members of the council with specialized roles. If you need this, go to this person. Some things should require consensus of the council, but other things can probably be delegated to individual council members. [/quote] Has anyone emailed the Council about this? I've been meaning to but RL... - [quote name='DARK DEMON' timestamp='1356937968' post='129336'] But things such as deciding TK leader (just an example) should have no say from the Council. The one chosen by the majority of the Community should be selected without doubt. [/quote] Kingship (and other votes?) were weighted; the MD awards were not. Every weight, including weighting all votes equally, has its pros and its cons. Perhaps a discussion of these is called for, though it may only come about at the time of the next election. - [quote name='Udgard' timestamp='1356937034' post='129335'] Discussions, decision makings should be totally transparent. Even better if each council has a forum account (with their council name). Alternatively, posting a chatlog of each discussions for the community to comment and feedback before they continue on with the decision making steps. [/quote] To use an old post that (I think) applies in this context, [quote name='The Council Speaks' timestamp='1340030328' post='115260'] Part of how the council is built is with anonymity as part of its structure, because of this sadly we cannot attend this meeting in person [b]nor in cloaks[/b] despite some of us really wanting to. [i]This is something[/i] [i]Mur was very specific about[/i] and we will honour his wish with regards to this. As some of you have raised on the topic, we all discuss the things asked of us, [u]any questions posed at such a meeting would lead to the[/u] [u]perspective of individual members, rather than us as a whole. Every[/u] [u]decision we make is made between us, so any individual view would not[/u] [u]represent the council as a whole, and multiple representatives would[/u] [u]just mean multiple individual views.[/u] [b]In addition, our identities may be[/b] [b]easily determined by our speaking, like suggested, in game.[/b] [i]If we were[/i] [i]to be publicly known then those of us in game would not be able to[/i] [i]effectively assess what is happening in the realm, as players would[/i] [i]modify their behaviour when we are around - much like players do when[/i] [i]Mur is. There is also a benefit to being anonymous when dealing with[/i] [i]players that are known to those of us in game, as we can be a lot more[/i] [i]impartial due to a lack of repercussion on familial relationships,[/i] [i]should we decide unfavourably towards them.[/i][/quote]* Going off the concept that the meeting proposed in [url="http://magicduel.invisionzone.com/topic/12479-the-council-meeting/"]this topic[/url] would be much like Seigheart's proposition, [i]this[/i] supports their anonymity, [b]this [/b]their reason for not discussing important issues in a public setting, and [u]this[/u] their distaste for appearing as anything but a coherent entity. [b]While it might be a bit more work on the part of the spokesperson to cloak individual opinions in Councilspeak, vocal members of the community believe this effort would be repaid in greater respect for the Council as an institution.[/b] [i]If the above is taken care of, anonymity should not be a problem.[/i] [u]Obviously Councillors have individual views. Why hide them?[/u] I would like to hear more reasons against the possible discussion forum before forming an opinion. My current views on the Council are based more on what it avoids than what it does. To that end, another one of [url="http://magicduel.invisionzone.com/topic/11086-question-time-post/page__st__20#entry98919"]these[/url] would be a nice wrap-up present, especially if [url="http://magicduel.invisionzone.com/topic/11086-question-time-post/#entry97086"]questions[/url] [url="http://magicduel.invisionzone.com/topic/11086-question-time-post/#entry97076"]such as[/url] [url="http://magicduel.invisionzone.com/topic/11086-question-time-post/#entry97071"]these[/url] were answered. Idle wondering: were these posts +repped after the fact, or were they just too juicy to leak? [sub]*Over-emphatic as this appears, it was the clearest way I could think of to show what is a reply to what without dissecting the Council's post.[/sub]

[url="http://magicduel.invisionzone.com/topic/12273-a-breakdown-of-the-interface/"]Section [1], third from the right.[/url]

Another option is the search feature at the top of the MD page. Not only does it look more like MD, it lacks the character limit for search terms, and it indexes the Archives and player pages as well as the forum. Features particular to the forum search (posts by a certain member, within a range of dates, in a given subforum..) can be compensated for easily enough (to find posts by someone rather than just about them, include part of their signature in your search; include the date/name of subforum/etc.)

What do you see as a use for this skill? A small % chance to create an extra item for each execution of the recipe? Some benefit to using the item itself (you've brewed oodles of tea so you know how to drink it such that its effect lasts a couple minutes longer..)? An 'improved' version of the product (sturdy and/or very clear glass rather than plain raw glass)? Maybe some of those are excessive, but any purpose helps toward implementation.

4_1x2_19 The third candle 4_1x2_19 No mirrors 4_1x2_4 North and East [size=2]Out of sight ≠ out of mind.[/size]

Trust issues with who talking to whom about the quest? While a list of able veterans willing to help with various sorts of quests would be a nice resource for quest makers, an automatic PMing function doesn't seem right for MD. The buddy list/saved PMs/mood panel already straddle the borderline between convenience and realism; this would only worsen the divide. And this functionality has been [url="http://magicduel.invisionzone.com/topic/7137-new-rules-regarding-md-script-and-item-customizations/"]brought up before[/url].. Too much consultation could degrade quests' originality, but that's up to the discretion of the adviser.

More people would help, but there's a lot more that matters: [quote name='Liberty4life' timestamp='1350322371' post='124037'] back then things were happenin, nowdays majority of players are passive [/quote] The RPC era had its flaws, but at least people were actively seeking something. Spelldocs, role-related objects, new lands, the defeat of a powerful enemy, the aid of a friend...all these and more were goals "back in the day". Now...: [b]Festivals:[/b] Summer, War & Remembrance, Halloween [b]Quests:[/b] [b]Ongoing: [/b]Newbie intros, Maebius' mini-quests, Lost Path, Z's transposition, Lashtal's mirror quest.. [b]Seasonal:[/b] Halloween (Day of Fear, colorful skulls), community garden (writing, scarecrows, pumpkins).. [b]Temporary:[/b] Fang's trivia, Androme's hide-and-seek, assorted expeditions through viscous areas [b]Efforts[/b][b]: [/b]VISION group, community garden, newspaper...and some others rarely [url="http://magicduel.invisionzone.com/topic/12720-buying-materials/"]mentioned[/url] on the forum or even publicly ingame. This may look like a lot, but it's not unified. In the time of the AL many people worked toward a few large but mostly achievable goals. [size=1]*This is not a complete list by any means; no offense meant if your quest is not mentioned here.[/size] [quote name='Seigheart' timestamp='1350339779' post='124048'] Okay, then stop idling all day long and do something. [/quote] People [u]are[/u] doing some things. They could do more, sure, but the main issue is that they're mostly focused on their own spheres [size=1]cubes[/size] rather than any uniting factor. I assume that in Wodin's day everyone wasn't constantly talking about Wodin and his quests. Plenty went on on the side..but there was an air of 'something important is going on in MD right now' about. Maybe it was nothing like that, but from conversations, readings, and personal experiences (the Dominion Journey and some projects in the realm beyond) I get the feeling that most people were interested in the Big Thing going on at the time. Things will come together to a smaller extent during Halloween, but lacking a strong unifier the collective spirit may very well dissipate as quickly as it gathered.

I would have promoted this in-game but for time/connectivity issues with MD proper. From the +reps I assumed some people agreed, but had nothing further to share on the matter. Why want to view loyalties? It's a way to independently verify who's in what alliance; the wiki relies on the generosity of players for its updates, which is at best a credulous approach. The same goes for making the rounds and asking ally members.. It's an interesting inequality: all four main lands are "open" with information not available for the others..which seems to clash somewhat with other details of the lands. Do the Archives really have more to hide than Necrovion? Possibly..but that's more for a different topic. Aside from adding clickables, a possible quick-fix could be to enable the direct link to the page that displays an alliance's loyalty for players at the chosen capital location, though a real-interface link would be far preferable.

[quote name='Chewett' timestamp='1349346356' post='123060'] Im not actually raising a point or an opinion here. What im merely stating is what has and is happening. Mur has previously said, repeatedly, that he dislikes unoriginal stuff, however i made the new point of view that MD has been shaped by its players more and more recently, where mur has stepped back more and is not guiding the realm directly like he was in the AL and such. [/quote] What are some examples of unoriginal things he has disliked?

[quote name='Chewett' timestamp='1349249608' post='122950'] Mur has always discouraged outside and RL stuff, he likes unique stuff. However that doesnt mean that we must obey, this isnt Mur's world anymore. [/quote] is in reply to the suggestion of the name Yggdrasil. Original words for MD-specific concepts (fenths, erolin, aramor, Marind, winderwild, etc) are generally preferred, though this is no rule by any means (liquid dust, Hollow Soul, heat..) [quote name='Kiley' timestamp='1349316812' post='123037'] Well I don't often disagree with you Chew, but in this case I DO. A world like no other, this dimension was born of a man's ideas. I think this should be respected. I am not a very abstract person, but will try (coloring and staying in the lines throws me off:P). The expectation was set long ago and is what makes MD special. It's about thinking outside of the "box". [/quote] The best ideas—those most applicable and true across many swathes of reality (and MD is a reality, of sorts)—don't come from vacuums but from a broad base of true examples. Maybe most obviously, the Calendar includes examples of important events occurring on a given date for many cultures at once. (Or at least it did; maybe this ‘revival’ effort could include finishing the out the last few months of the year..?) The lack of multiple perspectives is my main objection to Yggdrasil, whose name comes from a single culture. While Tree of Life resolves this, it's a bit campy/Terrence Mallick/borderline euphemistic for the cause (personal opinion). Whatever it’s called, better to make it happen in the realm than quibble over minorities. The ideas listed above are a promising start. [sup]..Now was that about a box?[/sup]

Beyond security letters, something's up (down) with [url="http://magicduel.com/players/crash%20test%20dummy"]player pages[/url]: "error 28 from storage engine", nonfunctional AL snippets, no-show creature artwork; internal links on the home page are broken, too.

There is currently no way to view membership/loyalty for alliances located outside the four main lands. Consistency would suggest 'housing'-tagged locations in designated scenes in these lands; the exact spots would be designated upon implementation (though the Underground and No Man's Land had capitols during the torch competitions which could be repurposed to show housing details for these guilds.) Equal openness for all alliances seems fair, no?