Announcement: Game Status Update -- February 2011

Date: 1299040960|%e %b %Y, %H:%M %Z|agohover
Posted By: ElectricMayhemElectricMayhem
Latest Update: 1301687196|%e %b %Y, %H:%M %Z|agohover


Another month gone. My, how time flies.

This month, I've concentrated mainly on building the backend of the website — so, there are quite a few theme articles still left unfinished. (Read: Most of them.) But, since I've been answering lots of questions about them over the past month, I've got quite a file with answers being developed. Now, it's just a case of putting all that info into some sort of coherent order for the theme articles.

Meanwhile, Chaos and Confusion have been working on building the IC grid. They've got the main city all mapped out and a few of the more colourful attractions installed. By all accounts, they're starting on the main descriptions, now, which is cool.

There are still two more levels of IC city to be built — the London Underground (i.e. the Tube), and UnderCity, where the things that go bump in the night hide during the day. The Free Roleplay Complex is up and running, however, and you can see by the rp logs and character blogs that we're already starting to see some play among the staff and a few alpha testers.

The debate still rages, however, around what to do with character generation. Should we throw it open to the masses, or should we cultivate a more exclusive player-base? And if we choose the latter over the former, how will those players be selected? How can potential players, who just happen to stumble across the site (and don't know anyone to ask for an invite), but that really want to play, get a shot?

We haven't worked out definitive answers to those questions, yet. But, as we work towards finishing the site and the grid, all that will get worked out, too. We'll keep you posted as things develop.

Meantime, it is possible for Guests to connect to the game. (In fact, we actually saw one, the other day! Seemed like a nice chap.) So, if you happen to stumble across these pages, unfinished as they are, feel free to pop on to the server and chat with one of us. No, there's not a lot to see, right now, but we're friendly and willing to answer questions as best we can.

If you're one of the folks out there that has gotten a "hey, you need to come check this out!" tip from one of the staff or alpha testers already on the game, let me (Mayhem) know. There may be room for more alpha testers over the course of the next month or so, if you can handle playing without a lot of softcode or on-game news files to back things up… and the fact the website is still being written, too1.

There are already something like 20-some-odd (some very odd!) characters registered with the site here, though not all of them have seen the light of play. And there's nearly that many again in terms of NPCs and adoptables. For just a handful of testers, that's pretty exciting. Play isn't constant; there's a lot of work being done, too. But, it's regular enough to keep us engaged and enthusiastic about what we're building.

Just a quick heads-up, however:

I'm in the process of packing up my apartment and moving to other digs. So, progress may remain on the slower side of steady for the next couple of months. Too, sometime near the end of April, when the move actually happens, there'll be a day or two of downtime while I transfer the server to its new home and get it up and running there. (Not to mention the requisite de-bugging period after the move to make sure the connection works properly.)

Don't worry, though. The downtime won't last long. More than that, I'll make sure to post an announcement here well ahead of time so that everyone's aware of what's happening when.

Okay. So, that's the summary of this month.

Spring is just around the corner!

Cheers!
Mayhem


Footnotes

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