Aia del Mana

Greetings to all. As quests for the anniversary oft do take time to prepare, I shall speak of this one presently, such that more may prepare for this contest ahead of time. The first quest is Of Heads. I believe there to be some circulating number presently, and some may yet lie within gifts of bounty. The contest were simple: Provide a screenshot of thyself (and post it within this thread) passing me a large number of heads. This should be posted in this thread as soon as the exchange doth occur. The largest number given to me in a single passing before the *beginning* of the anniversary in one passing will win a coloured (non-anniversary) creature which has yet been unreleased. The largest number given to me in a single passing between the *beginning and the end* of the anniversary will also win a coloured creature of this type. The largest number given to me in a single passing during the entire duration from the commencement of the quest to the end of the anniversary, for a character of the Fourth Mind-Power, will also win a coloured creature of this type. I am likely to be idle, and these heads may be taken by anyone else (including thyself). It matters not from where the heads may arise; nor whither they shall end; the important part is the record of it in question. In case of a tie, the one who provides the record within this thread earlier will be deemed victorious. One may pass heads to myself in a scene where I am present by speaking, and replacing 2 with the desired number: *gives 2 heads to Aia* Do remember to use the number, and not "all" - using "all" will invalidate the entry, @Ledah. The second quest - Of Tales - is as follows. One may refer to such submissions as found within the thread of the mind of artifice: Write a story or poem about thyself (the MagicDuel character); one may use whatever aids or tools required (including ChatGPT) provided thou hast the right to distribute the content. (Of note: Thou hast the right to distribute ChatGPT content that it creates when thou dost converse.) Such content should be created anew. I encourage the use of this in this quest, but it may be that one prefers to write by herself. The best half (rounded down) of such stories or poems as judged by myself will also win a coloured creature of the aforementioned kind. Entries for this contest of tales are open until the end of the Anniversary. Other stories or poems on a different player may be posted in this thread also and count towards the entries above. However, if such an entry Is deemed to win, the prize will go to the player who is the subject, not the player who is the author. (One would, of course, write about another player in an attempt to earn them a prize!) As is customary, if the winner of both the contest of heads (either category) and the contest of tales (the single best entry as judged by myself) is the same person, I will grant them a wishpoint. There is no limit to the number of entries to either quest, but players may only obtain one creature per contest (for a maximum of two.) Blessings, and fortune favour thee this Anniversary. Aia Edit: An additional rule, for which effects will arise in one week:

The beings of the other realm (that beyond the portal, so to speak) do appear to possess of their own form of magic; although its form were not quite the same as in our realm, it were wondrous to behold, and to watch in action. Its name were ChatGPT, for those curious. I had the opportunity the other day to ask it to speak of some other-beings of the realm; henceforth were its creation: Further words it spake: I am also told that Jakubhi did hear the following from this same being:

One could consider the Gateway Guardians alliance to be a method to obtain the citizenship in question. Azull, who doth lead this alliance, has been absent some time, however.

All prizes for this contest have been delivered. One wonders now whether she shall ever create a second half-wishpoint promissory note.

For those curious, this were my present interface:

I believe that all who would wish to enter this contest within its allotment-time have had ample opportunity to do so. Lessons learned thus far: 1. The ability to customise the interface doth require of some improvement, but the ability to change it is an improvement, and if this were further refined, I will consider to run this contest again. 2. It is far too difficult to customise this upon a mobile portal with the current tools. I notice that the resolution of the only small-portal entry is still very large in terms of resolution, and it is very similar to that which one may call the default layout. 3. Even with smaller elements being mobile, the interface is primarily dependent on the centre-element, which contains the scene and its clickables and the communication-interface beneath it. This stated, I do hope the frustrations of attempting to customise this were offset in part by the improvement in one's ability to perform within the realm. Henceforth, do find my opinions on the submissions - noting that I am very much aware of the limitations placed upon the contestants in this contest. This appears to be quite a wide layout. I wonder if this is merely the size of the portal in question (noting that large portals do vary in large-ness). I enjoy that the layout attempts to align the element-islands with each other in a logical manner, especially the Help, Credits, and News elements with the top bar. It would make sense then that the centre-element will take up the majority of the interface otherwise. Aesthetically, I believe this (the third submission with the help-button in place) is the nicest of all large-portal submissions, but I believe - by far - the most important element is missing; the chat-element. It is possible that this is merely a consequence of the dimensions of the portal in question, and so I am somewhat forgiving of this shortfall, and so, I will rate this 7/10 for usability (and mayhap, 9/10 for aesthetics, which, unfortunately, is not how the winner of each prize will be determined). This is, mayhap, most reminiscent of the old layout, where information had been displayed all within a column (albeit upon the right side, rather than the left), and perhaps that which those who favour the Flash-based layout would prefer most out of the submissions in question. Given the interface as it stands, I think this one makes best use of the centre-element, and perhaps is the most logical of all the submissions in question, as most large portals are proportionally breadthful. It is (through no fault of the submittor in question) somewhat similar to the previous, but perhaps makes better use of vertical space, and so, this receives 8/10 for usability. This is, by far, the most creative of the interfaces submitted. For the intended purpose (which, as it appears, the submittor has claimed, is to optimise the ability to undertake combat in rapid sequence); the vitality and winertia islands are in a surprisingly useful location, and the progress-symbol along with it (one believes this may be to retain the aesthetic of the two islands aside this element). Moving the Triggers box to close the gap also makes for a cleaner experience (of course, choosing to omit the central element background makes for quite the opposite). An odd consequence of this is that the scene in question will also have all the clickies stand out, which is a significant visual detractor in terms of aesthetic value. One however notes that this contest is not based on aesthetic and I would argue that this actually increases the usability of the scene artwork and clickies in question; this, however, is far outweighed by the loss of readability of text within the scene in question. Still, one appreciates the design flexibility which is created by the transparent centre element. Of the submissions in question, I like this the most, and if it were to exist in a functional way, I think this makes best use of the horizontal space in a way that none of the other submissions are able, so I will grant it 9/10. To elaborate on implications for this submission and how it may be applied to Mur's development ( @Muratus del Mur - read this bit if nothing else): I feel that the one overwhelmingly correct change between the old (Flash-based) interface and the new were a better use of horizontal space, which this submission, I believe, does best. I believe this is the only attempt at an amusing layout. A fleeting observation would be that if one were to merely decrease the width of this window in question, it could perhaps become somewhat of a useful small-portal entry. For the large-portal entry: Placing the vitality and winertia bars along with the other elements along the left side is, I believe, the highlight of this layout, and indeed where I would favour their placement also (noting, of course, the observation that they will not remain there once editing the interface were complete). Otherwise, the elements on the left side were as usable as either of the first two submissions owing to the similarity of this area, and so I will also grant 8/10. For the small-portal entry: This is the only small-portal entry, and as observed, not only had it been very difficult for most to make this happen (myself included), but the requirement to do so was that the portal was essentially a large one in terms of the size of elements displayed. However, I will accept that this is, indeed, upon a small portal, and thus, wins its category by default. Thus: @Ledah wins the large-portal prize, and also the most amusing prize, and @Else wins the small-portal prize. Ledah, please post in this thread, in a single post, which creature were desired for the large-portal prize, and whether a creature or half-wishpoint certificate were desired for the other. Else, please also post thy desired prize within this thread. I hope to run this contest again, but perhaps Mur may first add additional methods to alter the interface.

A note in regard to elements which move with the cursor (and are impossible to "put down"): One is able to release the element by clicking, if the cursor remains floating above the captured element. It is possible, however, for the element to move at a different pace to the cursor, and if moved far enough, one will find that the cursor no longer overlies the captured element (and thus one can no longer release it). A workaround, presently, is to move items a short distance at a time, releasing them after this short distance, and then capturing them again. Given the current implementation (awaiting further fixes by Mur,) for the purposes of this contest, I deem it reasonable to edit images to place elements that are otherwise problematic to move, provided they are already elements granted the ability to move.

I have noted of recent of the implementation of the newfound ability to customise one's interface; that which may alter how one shall perceive of the realm. For those for whom this is unfamiliar, the announcement were henceforth: https://magicduel.com/page/Announcement/view/5828 I have spent some time to ponder upon this, and although it may take some time to move the elements to one's liking, I am quite in favour of this newfound ability to do so (many thanks to @Muratus del Mur for this change). A simple quest, then, but one which I hope will encourage of further improvements: 1. Change the layout, using the aforementioned feature, to that which were most ideal for thee. 2. Post of this layout (one would assume the "print screen" key to be of use) within this thread. Each entrant may, as with all other contests of mine, create as many entries as possible, but where possible, I would that one should edit her own post in this contest, such that each post may have multiple entries within it. Ah, and of course, prizes must be due for one's efforts, although one could also consider that I am hoping also to use an interface which were optimal; as may most of the realm. I will rate each entry based on its usability - consider, mayhap, if one were creating MagicDuel as one who should work for a portal-maker named for fruit. The best entry on a desktop (large portal) entry will win their choice of any coloured creature released in the last two years (winderwild, moss, priest, elemental, 16th or 17th anniversary elucubratie) The best entry on a mobile (small portal) entry will also win their choice of the above. If the winner is the same for both, I will offer a wishpoint in addition to this. The most amusing entry (from either size of portal) will also win their choice of any coloured creature released in the last two years, or, if so inclined, an certificate-item redeemable with myself for half a wishpoint (noting that I will only grant wishpoints in positive integer values; one will, of course, require a second for a redemption of this sort.) Entrants shall have one week, starting from the date of this post. Although they may not contribute officially to the final score, I also encourage votes in support of or against entries that also bring enjoyment.

One anniversary custom pin badge, if it should please thee.

Steps to reproduce this were as follows: 1. Have a tag, or tag description, containing of an apostrophe or line formatting 2. Change the tag to another tag (e.g. by using a tag dispatcher) and then return to the former tag The result were some additions of the characters "\" and "n" adjacent to the aforementioned. This affects both Tags and their descriptions (e.g.: "Priestess of Moon\'s Light).

Although this may now no longer be replicated (it appears adding negative stats to a creature were a very bad idea), here is the result of a test battle with Ledah. Note that all changes have been reverted (but Ledah may require a reset of his Winertia): Oh, and, also, to fore-run of @Ledah and @Chewett:

At 19:55 of the realm's clock, I did chance upon Ledah at the Gazebo of Equilibrium. I chose to destroy him (as the realm should describe it) and had been rewarded with some number of heads. However, it seems that upon returning them to him, that they had disappeared. I have not yet been able to replicate of this anomaly, but will document it within this thread if it should arise again.

I believe I have met the requirements for the Third Research Depth (Fighter) and (Researcher) achievements. However, the following were displayed when I attempt to unlock the former: - noting the achievement requires 40% of level 1 clues and 40% of level 2 clues unlocked And the latter: - noting the achievement requires 80% of level 1 clues and 30% of level 2 clues unlocked. Although it is quite difficult to verify which clues were achieved at each level, it appears quite the paradox that one may unlock of 80% of the level 1 clues but not of 40% of them. For verification, this were my present research library. I wonder if there is an excess of unlisted "test" research entries which are falsely contributing to the requirements.

I declare that the window of opportunity to claim this creature were closed.

All who have requested a creature to this point have been sent a CTC.

All who have replied so far have been granted a CTC. The expiration for contacting myself (either within the realm or within the forum) to obtain this creature shall be seven days past the event, on July 23rd, at 00:04:55, by the realm's clock.

Ah - @Chewett - I will require thee to award thyself the anniversary creature, if I may. @jakubhi - I will find thee within the realm to grant thee the remaining reward.

Words cannot describe how happy I am for thee, and for thy beloved. May it be the most wonderful day, for a most wonderful couple.

Although I possess of strong doubts that these spells will be placed upon items, here do find some further suggestions: bringin: - vacuum cleaner - magnet - fishing rod bringinallonline: - big red button (for those who have played Among Us - this would be an "emergency meeting") - black hole (or bottled gravity) - charismatic personality chase: - flying carpet - teleportation beam

I have sent this to thee as requested. I believe Jakubhi doth await thy second choice of prize, @Chewett.

I have long stated that this should be so. I believe there were quite an imbalance of Kings and Queens, and so, if MaGoHi will accept the title, I wholeheartedly support MaGoHi's ascension to Queendom.

Ah, very well. Shall we sponsor a single use murder weapon for the winner of such a contest? One would assume that it would, of course, to be to claim the head of whomsoever the victor should choose.

I would also like a 30 gold note, if it should please thee.

One wonders whether the Death Guard doth notice, but mayhap, this were merely a well timed visit.

I am curious as to this right of conquest, although I believe Ledah will face quite the challenge should he attempt to usurp the Lorerootian throne. I would, mayhap, suggest that conquest of an empty throne would be a path of rather less resistance.