+ |-------| o__ ###### _____ _ __























Drifting to consciousness, the event horizon of your mind spills past as the stark reality of your life rushes into view.
[-][SYS-MSG]: Hello! We are currently having our twice yearly Town Hall meeting. During this time all roleplay in the game is suspended. Please join us! 'help town hall' for more info. When you are ready to join just type @town-hall to join and then find a seat quietly. When you wish to discuss add your feedback to the current topic then you can join the Speaking Queue by typing join queue. When the queue reaches you, please please stand, say your piece and sit back down to indicate you are finished. Please do your best to have your statement prepared ahead of time so that we can move along at a good pace. We have a lot to cover! If you do not wish to participate. You may log out, or sit in your cube/coffin. There is no wandering around the world during this time. You can listen to the Spotify playlist for the event by streaming it on Spotify: http://sindo.me/Hk6MTEzzL & The Agenda for the meeting is here: http://sindo.me/ByGaV4nZD and we are currently discussing: Introduction / Opening Statement by Moderator (Slither - 5 min)
[++] No new bitch board posts
There are fresh news articles for you to read. Please type "news" to get a summary.

[-][Game-Help] Lena happily bounces upanddownandupanddownandupanddown! [2 karma]
Bianca edges into the third row, and picks a seat and lowers theirself into it.
The cacophony of voices here make it hard to pay attention to everyone.
Song stands from their seat in the sixth row, and edges their way out of it into the aisle.
[OOC: Owens says, "still getting 'the cacophony of voices' msg tho" ]
Doozy [to Owens]: Same.
[OOC: Marco says, "Me too." ]
[OOC: Charley says, "Same" ]
Song edges into the sixth row, and picks a seat and lowers theirself into it.
[OOC: Panda nods. ]
The cacophony of voices here make it hard to pay attention to everyone.
[-][Game-Help] ReeferMadness [76 karma]: Uh oh.
[OOC: Blaze says, "How do you get spotify to open in the app rather than on a webpage" ]
[OOC: Celestial says, "you can change where its playing on the bottom right" ]
The cacophony of voices here make it hard to pay attention to everyone.
[OOC: Celestial says, "to the desktop app" ]
[OOC: Delaune says, "Click on the dots then open in desktop app." ]
Creux shouts loudly, "OH SHIT YOU CAN LOOK AT STAFF!"
Song [to Bartine]: My sadness is immeasurable.
[OOC: Mench says, "Follow the playlist (The Heart) in the browser and then play it in the app" ]
Samantha [to Creux]: But you can never unsee.
The cacophony of voices here make it hard to pay attention to everyone.
Creux [to Samantha]: I know right!
Valerie says loudly, "*speaking english, in a soft and feminine, but dull voice* But not the Graffiti"
Samantha [to Creux]: So really, -should- you look at staff.
Owens [to Niko]: Socials are for dirty people.
Joshua says loudly, "TEST2 TEST is the new nakeds trend"
Owens smiles innocently.
Samantha [to Owens]: Indeed.
The cacophony of voices here make it hard to pay attention to everyone.
Owens smiles socialdly.
The cacophony of voices here make it hard to pay attention to everyone.
[OOC: Jonesy says, "600 inch shlong, lmao." ]
Panda [to Mench]: 600inch SHLONG?????
Del asks loudly, "When do we all get our complimentary peanuts?"
Song exclaims loudly, "AHA! I made it to row SEVEN!"
Creux [to Fengshui]: Only spectacular, you need to pump them stats mano?
[OOC: Fengshui says, "okay the cacophony thing should stop now" ]
Song says loudly, "AND I JUST GOT A PLAYTIP"
Valerie says loudly, "It has."
Jonesy stands from their seat in the sixth row, and edges their way out of it into the aisle.
Jonesy sits cross-legged on the floor.
Bartine stands from their seat in the sixth row, and edges their way out of it into the aisle.
Jonesy stands up from the floor.
Bartine edges into the sixth row, and picks a seat and lowers theirself into it.
Samantha says loudly, "Playtips for looking at staff shlong."
Jonesy edges into the sixth row, and picks a seat and lowers theirself into it.
Mench winks playfully.
Leerika says loudly, "*speaking english, in a honeyed Slavic-accented feminine voice* Hungry"
Bisset slowly sips zir Turkish coffee. Zir eyes widen a bit, from a caffeine jolt.
Liat takes a big bite of her grilled cheese sandwich, chewing quickly and swallowing.
Miyako says loudly, "*speaking english, in a slightly raspy, low, and street-accented voice* Murder."
Fengshui says loudly, "*speaking english, in a test voice* Find your seats, we'll be starting in about 10 minutes."
Creux absent mindedly pokes and fiddles with her heavy bolo machete.
Del disgustingly releases some methane.
Roth edges into the sixth row, and picks a seat and lowers theirself into it.
Greg sits cross-legged on the floor.
Dreamer appears out of nowhere.
Jonesy absent mindedly pokes and fiddles with his hatchet.
Hattori absent mindedly pokes and fiddles with his TH-2c.
Liat pulls the stand-up collar of her black-and-white striped trench coat up to reach her jawline, the stiff woolen fabric cutting a striking silhouette.
Del teasingly smirks at Trey while playing with the first fastened button of his leopard print shirt.
Greg absent-mindedly pokes and fiddles with his bright white ProTek Proline codpiece.
Arachne edges into the sixth row, and picks a seat and lowers theirself into it.
Eden walks around the front of the rows of seats and picks one out to sit in, and lowers theirself into it.
Leerika says loudly, "This is so inappropriate"
Sylvan brushes some dust and grime off of his flannel lumberjack shirt.
Mench says loudly, "If you need the toilet, go now. We won't be waiting for you once we start."
The LED display screen on Roth's glowing orange junk glove dims for a few moments before his taps on it to get it to work again.
Mark absent mindedly pokes and fiddles with his cricket bat.
Valerie edges into the second row, and picks a seat and lowers theirself into it.
Del [to Mench]: I'm allowed to use my booster seat toilet, right?
Panda smooths the material of his neo-traditional kimono robe around himself, adjusting the fall of the robe around his thighs.
Creux begins to shake her can of spraypaint vigorously.
[OOC: Blaze asks, "what song are we on now?" ]
Kard appears out of nowhere.
Kard walks across the stage and sits upon one of the large leather chairs.
Song takes a bite of her ambrosia salad and chews for a few moments before swallowing.
[OOC: Bisset says, "Just started Feel It" ]
Owens absent mindedly pokes and fiddles with her Spotify playlist.
[OOC: Panda says, "feel it, rn. The second." ]
The murder of crows around Phlox begins to circle faster, picking up speed with a cacophony of caws.
Creux says loudly, "Hmmm..."
Malcolm takes a big bite of his THE-BEST-DAMN STEAKBURGER sandwich, chewing quickly and swallowing.
The murder of crows whip around Phlox faster and faster in a frenzy of caws and beating wings until the birds seem to blend together into one big tornado of feathers.
Samantha flips the cap open on her ruby flarelighter and presses the button, the red flare sparkling for a second before she flips it off.
[OOC: Blaze says, "thnks" ]
The mass of feathers from the murder of crows changes direction suddenly, quickly unfolding into one single, massive bird with its wings wrapped protectively around Phlox.
Bisset flips the cap open on zir emerald flarelighter and presses the button, the green flare sparkling for a second before ze flips it off.
Del absentmindedly pokes and fiddles with his Owens.
Marco glances down at his gold rolex.
Leerika says loudly, "Oh no."
Eden flips up the collar on his cropped biker jacket.
Jane edges into the third row, and picks a seat and lowers theirself into it.
The head of the giant bird, hovering over Phlox's right shoulder, slowly turns to glare at its surroundings before it lets out a loud SCREEECH and explodes into a murder of crows again.
Leerika says loudly, "Stop."
You hear a low hum begin to sound from Del's direction and you see a massive bulge under his nothing.
You notice a hum go silent from the direction of Del and the bulge under his nothing disappears.
Sylvan lifts up his foot, inspecting the sole of his fur-trimmed boot.
Johnny walks across the stage and sits upon one of the large leather chairs.
Owens says, "He sit."
Owens points warily at Johnny upon his throne.
Zukhov edges into the fifth row, and picks a seat and lowers theirself into it.
Del says loudly, "Johnny is powerful."
Song says loudly, "WELCOME TO FLEX TOWN POPULATION ME"
Song takes a bite of her ambrosia salad and chews for a few moments before swallowing.
Owens kowtows.
Valerie recrosses the front of her robe, cinching the belt tight again.
Charley squeezes her cosmobear sidekick until it emits an adorable squeak!
Eden says loudly, "*speaking english, in a soft, girly, almost 'valley-girl' North Californian voice* My wife left me."
Del says loudly, "KILL WIFE."
Del says loudly, "Regret"
Charley [to Liat]: Dunno where it came from :3
Creux [to Eden]: Kill her until her new wife is your wife.
Fengshui says loudly, "If you are not sitting, sit down."
Del [to Charley]: never make that face again please
Dethrow edges into the fourth row, and picks a seat and lowers theirself into it.
Owens checks her buff bracelet like a watch. Aw yea, she thinks its about punch-o-clock!
Eden [to Creux]: Beat that mixer 'til his wife is your wife
Owens [to Roth]: Punch-o-clock.
Serret edges into the fourth row, and picks a seat and lowers theirself into it.
Song [to Dethrow]: ROW SEVEN!
Aurelie edges into the sixth row, and picks a seat and lowers theirself into it.
Fengshui says loudly, "You can sit on the ground if you want."
Bianca kicks the steel toe of her pair of chunky neo-punk combat boots to the floor with a heavy thunk.
Eden asks loudly, "What if I want to sit on the ceiling?"
Del [to Auri]: blockd
Valerie asks loudly, "In the next meeting can we sit on the ceiling?"
Creux [to Autumn]: Sit sit!
Creux stands up from the floor.
Owens [to Liat]: Disgusting.
Creux edges into the sixth row, and picks a seat and lowers theirself into it.
Creux stands from their seat in the sixth row, and edges their way out of it into the aisle.
Phlox says loudly, "I too would prefer a ceiling sit."
Phlox asks loudly, "seat?"
Valerie [to Autumn]: sit?
Creux edges into the sixth row, and picks a seat and lowers theirself into it.
Charley [to Del]: *speaking english, in a smooth, refined, albeit playful euro-accented voice, her tone rising at the end* Okie dokie, sure thing
Dreamer disappears.
Creux says loudly, "I can't sit in the seventh row it makes me sit on the 6th..."
Owens [to Arachne]: Wake up.
Del says loudly, "grab your brush and put a little makeup"
Valerie says loudly, "Seventh row is for cool kids."
Samantha doubles over and vomits uncontrollably on the floor.
Autumn edges into the second row, and picks a seat and lowers theirself into it.
Celestial says loudly, "LOL"
Creux leans over and discreetly smells Fengshui.
Eden asks loudly, "Then why are you sat in it, Val?"
Song says loudly, "Seventh row GANG."
Owens [to Samantha]: See what happens? Dumbo.
Fengshui disappears.
Fengshui appears out of nowhere.
Valerie [to Eden]: I'm not.
Del leans over and discreetly smells Owens.
Celestial disappears.
Celestial appears out of nowhere.
Jonesy stands from their seat in the sixth row, and edges their way out of it into the aisle.
Eden [to Valerie]: Shush, you.
Jonesy edges into the sixth row, and picks a seat and lowers theirself into it.
Creux discreetly sniffs herself.
Del leans over and discreetly smells Samantha.
Trey [to Del]: Bamaramadangarangashangalang-ding-dong-dammerang.
Dreamer appears out of nowhere.
Creux leans over and discreetly smells Del.
Fengshui OOCly shouts, "we are starting in five minutes, please join the town hall and find a seat"
Del [to Trey]: e. a. sports. it's in the game
Creux leans over and discreetly smells Chesa.
Sylvan shouts loudly, "*speaking english, in an Appalachian-accented, Southern-drawl-thickened voice* FIRST ROW GANG MOTHABAKAZ!"
Owens exclaims, "STOP SMELL!"
Doozy says loudly, "Six is for Hicks."
[OOC: Song says, "wait" ]
[OOC: Xzavier says, ">.>" ]
Valerie shouts loudly, "DANG A TANG."
[OOC: Song says, "this might cause ebolah" ]
Fengshui OOCly shouts, "we are 48 seconds into closer than this on the playlist"
Eden shouts loudly, "TOILET DOME 2105"
Doozy says loudly, "Oh wait no."
Mark stands from their seat in the sixth row, and edges their way out of it into the aisle.
Mark walks around the front of the rows of seats and picks one out to sit in, and lowers theirself into it.
Trey [to Del]: Soveranamana-dammerdung dalang mang.
Eden says loudly, "BORN TO VAT"
Eden says loudly, "DOME IS A FUCK"
Owens [to Doozy]: Dark Doozy -- sitting in the sixth row. Eat it.
Del says loudly, "DOME IS TOO HEADACHE"
Valerie asks loudly, "Did we get a headcount on people who came naked?"
Trey [to Del]: Shishkatoon sarong shanneramma bamma.
Joshua says loudly, "lol"
Eden says loudly, "M E ."
Bisset takes a big bite of zir banh mi combo baguette, chewing quickly and swallowing.
Liat takes a big bite of her grilled cheese sandwich, chewing quickly and swallowing.
Liat crumples up the plastic wrap and tosses it over her shoulder.
Charley shouts loudly, "PRACTICE CUBE KARATE EVERYDAY UNTIL YOU'RE STRONG!"
Miyako shouts loudly, "GROUND TURF."
Chesa [to Valerie]: Were we supposed to?!
Lorelai asks loudly, "*speaking english, in an earthy balkan accent voice* As opposed to ones who got naked after?"
Miyako shouts loudly, "FUCK THE SEATS."
Del says loudly, "die 7th row god sez"
Valerie [to Chesa]: IT was your ONE JOB!
Creux stands from their seat in the sixth row, and edges their way out of it into the aisle.
Creux sits cross-legged on the floor.
Chayna absent mindedly pokes and fiddles with her Humbolt bubbler.
Song says loudly, "change da world, my final message"
Charley slowly peel the remnants of Bitch'n Chik'n wrapper off her pair of WCS overalls and flicks it to the ground.
Owens [to Serret]: Ferret.
Chesa [to Valerie]: GAH! Don't fire me! I need this!!
Eden says loudly, "BORN TO VAT"
Eden says loudly, "DOME IS A FUCK"
Owens [to Dethrow]: Heathrow airport.
Eden says loudly, "Kill Em All 2089"
Charley says loudly, "Aw, I can't look at the graffiti."
Eden says loudly, "I am WCS man"
Valerie says loudly, "Still wanna know what that graffiti says."
Eden says loudly, "410,757,864,530 DEAD JAKES"
Grace says loudly, "*speaking english, in a soft, almost annoyingly high-pitched feminine Neo York-accented voice* WCS to Town Hall."
Trey absent mindedly pokes and fiddles with his explosive cigar.
Charley exclaims loudly, "I KNOW THE SOLUTION!"
Song [to Bartine]: Watch out for the BEES
Sylvan pulls out a wad of chyen and counts it.
Charley begins to shake her solvent aerosol can vigorously.
Boyd exclaims loudly, "*speaking english, in an a heavy, Lonestar drawl voice* Excuse me. AHEM!"
Valerie says loudly, "Nice."
Blaze [to Grace]: *speaking english, in an expressive, miami accented voice* Required because I am dead inside.
Panda says loudly, "BEES."
Owens [to Dethrow]: Too smart for me, idiot!! Better luck next time.
Blaze nods casually.
Boyd exclaims loudly, "ART TURF!"
Creux shouts loudly, "THE BEEEEEEEEE'S!"
Valerie [to Liat]: Nice.
Eden says loudly, "IM PISSING AND SHITTING"
Charley shouts loudly, "CAN I CLEAN THE GRAFFITI?!"
Del says loudly, "bees turf"
Joshua exclaims loudly, "bees turf!"
Creux shouts loudly, "THAT WAS ME, I THINK I GRAFFITI'D I LOVE IT HERE ON THE WALL LAST TOWNHALL OR SOMETHING?"
Eden asks loudly, "CAN I SPEAK TO JOE? LAST NAME NUTS?"
[OOC: Bartine says, "Oop. Sorry, contact social." ]
Doozy [to Charley]: Maybe. But will you?
Shift sits cross-legged on the floor.
[OOC: Leerika says, "Haha get ebolad" ]
Shift stands up from the floor.
[OOC: Leerika says, "Dumass" ]
[OOC: Song says, "ebola time" ]
Owens [to Bartine]: You now have HIV-II and EbolAIDS.
[OOC: Blaze says, "Psssh. Rona time" ]
Del eyes his surroundings warily.
Del leans over and discreetly smells Dethrow.
[OOC: Eden says, "corona plot when" ]
Creux leans over and discreetly smells Dethrow.
Charley [to Doozy]: Well, I don't want to piss them off.. hrm... it's a tough decision.
[OOC: Leerika says, "Ronachan" ]
[OOC: Liat says, "corona plot Never" ]
[OOC: Eden says, "itll be funee guys i swear" ]
[OOC: Song says, "bee plot" ]
[OOC: Eden says, "no it wont" ]
[OOC: Song says, "BEE PLOT BEE PLOT" ]
[OOC: Greg says, "In Withmore, Ebola aids You" ]
[OOC: Del says, "bees don't exist in 2105" ]
Mench says loudly, "Stop ooc'ing plz"
[OOC: Fengshui says, "stop." ]
Boyd sits cross-legged on the floor.
Boyd stands up from the floor.
[OOC: Fengshui says, "find your seats" ]
Boyd edges into the sixth row, and picks a seat and lowers theirself into it.
[-][Game-Help] floored [43 karma]: How do we sit in the stands again?
[-][Game-Help] svetlana [12 karma]: Stand in the sits-
[-][Game-Help] Beepboop [18 karma]: sit first, second, third, whatever.
[-][Game-Help] Staff Mench [2 karma]: sit first/second/third row

Shift walks around the front of the rows of seats and picks one out to sit in, and lowers theirself into it.
[-][Game-Help] aethertm [9 karma]: sit first/second/third
[-][Game-Help] floored [43 karma]: Dope thanks.
Mench quickly operates the complex machinery, drawing out a cup of cappuccino.
Mench picks up a cappuccino from the coffee counter.
Mench takes a sip of his steaming cappuchino.
Song takes a bite of her ambrosia salad and chews for a few moments before swallowing.
Song finishes her ambrosia salad and disposes of the remains.
Doozy takes a bite of her kung pao chik'n and chews for a few moments before swallowing.
Fengshui approachs the podium leaving a vapor trail of light as he moves. he places his hands on either side of the podium, smiling warmly out at the crowd as he says "Welcome to the Summer 2020 Town Hall Meeting! The second and final Town Hall meeting this year!"
Yunika sticks her arms through the sleeves of her woven lace kimono jacket and wears it.
Fengshui motions out over the crowd with his left hand, causing confetti to appear and begin falling, inches above the heads of each participant, "We've been doing these Town Hall meetings since 2003. My first Town Hall as a newbie player, way back in 2003. It was so cool. I already felt like Sindome was alive, but being together and discussing the game in a constructive and positive way really lit a fire under me to step up my contributions to the game."
Yunika slips on her pair of charcoal gray sneakers and laces them up.
Yunika edges into the sixth row, and picks a seat and lowers theirself into it.
Fengshui smiles out at the crowd for a moment before continuing, "These Town Hall meetings give the admin a chance to update you on what we've been working on, and we get a chance to hear from the most important part of the game."
Picot edges into the sixth row, and picks a seat and lowers theirself into it.
Fengshui flashs a white toothed smile as he says, "We iterate each time we hold a Town Hall. For example, I iterate on this speech. A little."
Amir sits cross-legged on the floor.
Amir stands up from the floor.
Storm appears out of nowhere.
Storm disappears.
Johnny appears out of nowhere.
Celestial disappears.
Celestial appears out of nowhere.
Ramrod appears out of nowhere.
Storm appears out of nowhere.
Fengshui chuckles and says, "This Town Hall is no different. After the meeting we will send out a feedback form. I hope each of you will take the time to fill it out so we can make the next Town Hall event better. We had some really good responses last time. Hearing feedback for what you liked and what we can improve is crucial."
Dizzy walks around the front of the rows of seats and picks one out to sit in, and lowers theirself into it.
Dreamer appears out of nowhere.
Fengshui motions to the speaking queue, "This is the speaking queue. We use this to help us stay on topic and keep track of who's turn it is to speak. When you are interested in joining the conversation on a specific topic you can 'join speaking' to join the queue."
Fengshui pats the speaking queue onna head, "If the queue is open, you will be able to join."
Fengshui lies a hand on the speaking queue, causing it to vibrate and purr like a kitten, "When it's your turn, the queue will ping you. You can then stand up, and say your piece. When you are done you can sit down to indicate you are finished. If you are asking a question, you can wait for an answer before sitting if you feel you'll want to add more after."
Fengshui flicks a glance over the crowd, "Please DO NOT remain standing if you are finished with your point. It's really the only indicator we have that you are done. I will then move the queue on to the next person. When we are drawing short on time for a topic, I will close the speaking queue and no new people will be allowed to join. When we finish with folx in the current queue, we'll switch topics."
Nefret sits cross-legged on the floor.
Fengshui jerks a thumb over at the queue again as he says, "The queue has some additional features that let us manage the Town Hall with a minimum of hassle. If you 'look queue' or 'look speaking' you'll see some nifty information such as the current topic and if the queue is open or closed. Hopefully this makes keeping track of things a bit easier for everyone. When we switch topics, the queue will announce the new topic."
Milana edges into the second row, and picks a seat and lowers theirself into it.
Fengshui continues speaking, "Please have your comments pre-prepared as much as possible. The agenda covers all the topics we'll be discussing-- so write your initial statements ahead of time. That way you can stand up, say your piece, and we can jump right into discussing it without awkward silence while you type."
Fengshui motions around the room again, "Admin have the ability to turn moderation on and off. When it's on, only admin and the person who's turn it is on the speaking queue can speak. This should reduce the crosstalk and let us get through more of our topics, more quickly. When moderation is turned on and off, it looks like this"
Fengshui grins and says, "It's important that you have your statement prepared--unless of course you're the first person in the queue. Even then, please keep an eye on the upcoming topics and try to have your statements prepared ahead of time."
Amir edges into the second row, and picks a seat and lowers theirself into it.
Fengshui ticks a few things off on his fingers as he speaks, "Please be respectful of others in your comments. Please do not reveal IC information in your comments. If you're not sure if what you're saying is IC info or not, err on the side of caution."
Fengshui smiles and says, "We're going to cover a lot of stuff today. Everything from new code you may or may not be aware of, membership and finances of the game, new in character policies, new initiatives, and new in game directions. We will start with speeches, like this one, from the admin that have important stuff to say, and then we will move on to open discussion. You can follow along via the agenda document."
Fengshui leans forward on the podium, looking excited, "Thank you all for coming. Every Town Hall is an incredible opportunity to connect with each other and it helps us nail down what we will be focusing on in the next six months."
Fengshui steps back from the podium, "Without further ado, our fearless leader, Johnny!"
Johnny rises from the plush leather seat that rests on the stage.
Mench starts applauding politely.
Creux applaudses waving happily.
Johnny steps up to the podium and adjusts the micropohone.
This room is currently being moderated. Please wait until moderation is turned off or join a speaking queue if one is present and open.
Not while moderated.
Mench takes a sip of his steaming cappuchino.
Song takes a big bite of her cuban roll, chewing quickly and swallowing.
[+][OOC-Chat] Rhea blinks like a hardcore motherfucker!.
[+][OOC-Chat] OOC-Chat has been disabled. [Reason: town hall]
Johnny says loudly, "*speaking english, in a scratchy, raspy voice* lets pause for a second, if you haven't heard anything I've said, can you please raise your hand."
Owens raises her hand.
Del raises his hand
[OOC: Johnny exclaims, "ok, lets start over!" ]
[OOC: Fengshui says, "wtf is that baout" ]
Johnny exclaims loudly, "I'd like to welcome you to our 2020 Summer Town Hall!"
Johnny asks loudly, "Isn't it nice when I'm hoisted by my own petard?"
Johnny says loudly, "This is our mid year check-in where we're going to share with you all the great new game features that the team has been releasing over the past 6 months. We'll look at the budget and our club membership numbers too."
Johnny says loudly, "The format is going to be a little different this year. Usually we lead with all our speeches, have the long discussion period and then finish with an informal Q & A."
Johnny says loudly, "We're gonna do those things, but I want you to stick around to the end for a final announcement of some important community stuff."
Johnny says loudly, "We'll be recording the log for anyone who misses the town hall, of course, so if you have to cut out, you'll still be able to catch up on the news later on."
Johnny says loudly, "Ok, first things first, let's go over the votes that have been held since last town hall in January."
Johnny says loudly, "In mid January, Glitch was re-elected as Head Builder. He's doing an excellent job of guiding the build ship."
Johnny says loudly, "In February, we voted to bring a former Support GM back on for a new term."
Johnny says loudly, "In February, we voted to suspend two players for 6 months for playing multiple characters."
Johnny says loudly, "On March 1st, we voted to change our policy on disguises such that GMs will no longer be the meta police on whether you should have or have not recognized a disguised individual. This was done so GMs can focus their time on much more constructive endeavours."
Johnny says loudly, "In March, we initially suspended a player for 6 months for repeated/continual meta-gaming since their previous suspension. The player continued to break suspension rules about connecting and posting and we voted to extend the suspension. In a final incident, the player was banned permanently for attacking staff with homophobic slurs."
Johnny says loudly, "In March, we voted in a new version of the community harm rule."
Fengshui OOCly shouts, "you should all be able to hear johnny if for some reason you can't, please xhelp"
Johnny says loudly, "4.G. Community Harm - Sometimes a player's behavior, despite not breaking other rules, negatively impacts the entire game. The severity of this impact is subjective and decided by the admins by vote. If a player cannot de-escalate misbehavior after repeated communications with admins, they may be removed from the game for an extended, or even indefinite, period of time."
Johnny says loudly, "The key difference between this new rule and the old rule is that no one admin has the power to declare someone's behavior is violating this rule. We have to vote on it."
Johnny says loudly, "In March, we voted to codify our staff perks that have long been understood:"
Johnny says loudly, "1. All staff are granted free rent for their alts in ONE place (up to 3 months into the future) while they are active on staff."
Johnny says loudly, "2. All staff are added to the @credits to be forever commemorated for their hard work."
Johnny says loudly, "3. At 2 years service you are given your own chat channel social (you probably need to remind someone to make it)."
Johnny says loudly, "4. At 3 years you get a large-style pad usable by your player alt, somewhere in the badlands or some other area that is not in the city (created by builders or the admin, subject to senior staff approval for location and features)."
Johnny says loudly, "5. At $justice you get nothing, because you already have the ability to do everything."
Johnny says loudly, "In March, a permanently banned player submitted a request to have their ban reduced to a suspension. The vote passed and their punishment was reduced to a 6 month suspension with credit for some months time served."
Johnny says loudly, "At the end of March, we voted to permanently ban a player for community harm for leading a campaign attacking the community through other Internet platforms and websites due to their unhappiness with our game design decisions and the pace of our development efforts."
Johnny says loudly, "In April, we voted to permanently ban a suspended player for repeatedly harassing staff and creating at least one new account in violation of their suspension."
Johnny says loudly, "In April, we voted to promote a Support GM to a full Watcher level GM."
Johnny says loudly, "In May, we voted to bring on two new Support GMs."
Johnny says loudly, "In May, we voted to reduce a players UE to that of a fresh immigrant for violating our UE Sponging rule (1.G.)"
Johnny says loudly, "In May, we voted against adding a process for non-blocking feedback from other admin. Instead, we're working to avoid blocking feedback (basically, when an admin wants to do something, they need to discuss it with people which can be challenging due to time zones and real life), but still requiring that admin wait to get a green light before proceeding. "
Johnny says loudly, "In May, we voted to permanently ban a suspended player for threatening violence against staff members."
Johnny says loudly, "In May, a permanently banned player submitted a request to have their ban lifted. The vote passed and the player has returned as a new character."
Johnny says loudly, "In June, we voted to promote Butako to an $Agent level Builder/GM."
Johnny says loudly, "In June, we voted to add a 6 month business location leasing option to allow for shorter term business ventures."
Johnny says loudly, "In June, we voted against allowing a permanently banned player to return."
Johnny says loudly, "In July, we voted to promote a Support GM to a full Watcher level GM."
Johnny says loudly, "In July, we voted to suspend a player for 1 week for repeated resource farming despite coaching."
Johnny says loudly, "In July, we voted to bring on a new Support GM."
Johnny says loudly, "In July, we voted to permanently ban a player that was potentially playing multiple characters and became very hostile when we were investigating."
Johnny says loudly, "In August, we voted to suspend a player (previously adjudicated recently) for a month for sharing IC information with a recruited player and OOCly coordinating a play session with them."
Johnny says loudly, "Now, let's talk about our membership numbers."
Fengshui disappears.
Johnny says loudly, "At present, there are 160 players with active club memberships"
Johnny says loudly, "That means that a good number of you are probably club members yourself"
Johnny says loudly, "Thank you for supporting the community as you do. Without our membership, none of this would be here."
Johnny says loudly, "With COVID-19 shutting down the economy all over the world, we know that you really need to be selective with where you're spending money and we appreciate the significance of you doing so."
Johnny exclaims loudly, "That's why I think it's rather amazing that I get to say that club memberships are up a solid 18% overall!"
Johnny says loudly, "https://i.imgur.com/MQRjuxb.png"
Johnny exclaims loudly, "Last year over the same timeframe since our last town hall meeting in January, we had 93 memberships come in, but we're up over 100 this year, 110 in fact!"
Johnny says loudly, "If we break it down by 6 and 12 month memberships, it's clear that most of our growth has been in 6 month memberships, with those up 36% from 49 last year to 67 this year."
Johnny says loudly, "12 month memberships are flat, with those mostly being folks choosing to extend their existing memberships. Zero growth. But I think this is pretty fair with covid-19 and all."
Johnny says loudly, "That said, it's important to note that our growth has stabilized in the past few years."
Johnny says loudly, "https://i.imgur.com/qDaEjx7.png"
Fengshui says, "test, ignore me"
Johnny says loudly, "Some would say this is a concern. I see stability as a healthy thing for the limited resources our technology platform affords us. If there are too many players at the same time, the CPU /does/ have a hard time keeping up. :)"
Johnny says loudly, "In the following chart, you can see the significant dip as covid-19 disrupted the shit out of March along with recent stability above 50 unique players."
Johnny says loudly, "https://i.imgur.com/NvxmiW5.png"
Johnny says loudly, "I see folks trying to enjoy summer in the following chart myself, I don't know about you."
Johnny says loudly, "https://i.imgur.com/Uk4Drl2.png"
Johnny says loudly, "And you can use this chart to figure out the right time to play (Dome Time applies.)"
Johnny says loudly, "https://i.imgur.com/TfgKrbx.png"
The Speaking Queue topic has switched to Chief Justice - State of the Corp (Johnny - 20 min).
Johnny says loudly, "But don't worry about Sindome. We're just as active as our peers."
Johnny says loudly, "https://i.imgur.com/ltJ0grs.png"
Johnny says loudly, "https://i.imgur.com/6p1vlc7.png"
Johnny says loudly, "I know these look like old charts, but I literally took them this week"
Johnny exclaims loudly, "Membership is up 18%; that's gotta have an effect on our budget right? Let's talk finances!"
Johnny says loudly, "Once again, I can say that this year is our healthiest year to date from a financial standpoint."
Johnny says loudly, "We have more money in our bank account this year, than we did last year."
Johnny says loudly, "Our bills are paid on time and at no point have we been charged interest for balances carried on our corporate line of credit."
Johnny says loudly, "So far this year, we've brought in $3700 in membership fees and paid out $1900 for the services that support our community."
Mench bobs his head to the rhythm.
Johnny says loudly, "This has resulted in us cresting the $10K mark in our bank account."
Johnny says loudly, "https://i.imgur.com/u3Mfpg7.png"
Johnny says loudly, "Say This is everyone's favorite chart, combining Expenses and Memberships in blue (up is a membership, down is an expense) along with our cash reserve balance in the bank in red over time."
Johnny pauses to let everyone head bop and take in the chart.
Johnny says loudly, "This leads to the obvious question of what the heck we do with this money."
Johnny says loudly, "A portion of it is reserved for our tax situation. This has been progressing slowly and we're making some moves we're not ready to announce yet to move this forward, so it's possible that next town hall, I'll be able to give an update on our taxes. Until then, we keep some money in the bank for this."
Fengshui OOCly shouts, "we are at 2:25 in Rhythm is a dancer on the playlist"
Johnny says loudly, "We are preparing for the end of our reserve instance terms with Amazon Web Services, where we will need to invest somewhere between $1-3K in reservations for the next 3-5 years."
Johnny says loudly, "This potentially leaves us with another $3-6K still in the bank though."
Johnny says loudly, "I think that we've now reached a point where our savings are significant enough to warrant us investing a portion of the money."
Johnny says loudly, "That said, we haven't felt that 2020 is playing out as a safe year to make investments yet. While there could be significant gains if we made specific investments (let's put it all on Chlorox!), the smell of an overall market collapse is pretty stinky right now."
Johnny says loudly, "Taking an expanded look at our expenses, we've increased our usage of Slack. "
Johnny says loudly, "While a portion of these expenses are covered directly by admin who can afford to cover some of the costs, we're now paying about $25-30/mo more from the club funds. We think this is more than fair for the value returned by allowing more staff to stay up to date on votes, game activity and emergency communications without being chained to their MOO client."
Johnny says loudly, "Our monthly amazon costs have increased marginally due to slightly increased consumption in resources. We were consistently seeing monthly costs of $65, but now it's generally more $70. "
Johnny says loudly, "We renewed multi-year SSL certificates in June, our annual contract renewal with our uptime monitoring service, Pingdom and started a new subscription to a business VPN service."
Johnny says loudly, "Additionally, we paid for some legal document preparation services as part of our work around our tax situation and other legal matters."
Johnny says loudly, "Updating our company runway based on the changes in costs, we have enough funds to run continuously for the next 5+ years without further income."
Johnny says loudly, "All our expenses are paid for with our corporate line of credit and we pay the balance due in full every month. "
Johnny says loudly, "It's not a big line of credit, but it allows us to pay our bills without directly doing so from our bank account, which means we can dispute charges before they get our money."
Johnny says loudly, "All in all, some increases in expenses, but not to an unhealthy degree."
Johnny says loudly, "Time to talk about what's been getting done."
Johnny says loudly, "I think we're all finding our schedules are seriously messed up by COVID-19. I know I have found my IRL job more demanding now that everyone in my company is working from home and Slacking me at all hours."
Johnny says loudly, "This means that people like myself, Slither, Kard, Glitch and everyone else, to various degrees, have been impacted by their in-ability to contribute to the community."
Johnny says loudly, "So while I think this might be the shortest review of feature changes in many town halls, I don't want you to think that we don't care. We are just busier, more essential or just exhausted from fighting our kids about zoom school."
Johnny exclaims loudly, "All that laid out, we did manage to make some major code changes!"
Johnny exclaims loudly, "The new 'Appear' command has dramatically changed disguise game play. It's one of the reasons GMs have more time to focus on plots than ever before!"
Johnny says loudly, "Bartenders are now paying attention to how you're dressed. You may find you are unable to order drinks in certain places while shabby, or naked, or filthy for instance. "
Johnny says loudly, "You'll now get a handy indicator in the room title if the place you're at is so crowded that you might have trouble being heard by or addressing everyone."
Johnny says loudly, "Up until now we have been showing the player's name in the employment terminals. This was meta, and with disguise changes allowing folks to adopt new personas and names on a semi perm basis, it was becoming game breaking. We now use the SIC name. This means you MUST have a SIC to be hired at an employment term. You also must be present (unless an admin is doing it)."
Johnny says loudly, "We are moving to a world where your 'real name' IE the name you gave when you walked into the city and got your SIC is more and more public knowledge. Folks should RP this as such, as we will be presenting this information in more and more places as we continue to move away from using the 'display name'."
Johnny says loudly, "Slither added a new scheduled ambiance feature for the dispatcher. It will dispatch an anti-corporate troublemaker to VS or NLM (if there are corpsec agents online), and have them start trouble. I won't get into what that trouble is. It can be found ICly. Then someone at the corp will report the troublemaker, and ask for corpsec to get rid of them."
Johnny says loudly, "In additional to those big changes, other projects got done too."
Johnny exclaims loudly, "Our MOO cleanup day in March pruned almost 850 objects and over a megabyte of trash from the database. You'll recall our ancient technology has all game objects living entirely in active computer memory, so the less RAM we occupy, the healthier the MOO. Thanks for helping reduce the amount of items you collect!"
Johnny says loudly, "We added a Politics channel and experimented with a filter we ultimately removed from the OOC-Chat channel because Politics /is/ Cyberpunk."
Johnny says loudly, "We created the IC guide Surviving Withmore to aid fresh immigrants."
Johnny says loudly, "We made SIC rips less common, more expensive, and harder to do. We also updated SIC triangulation to require you move around to use them."
Johnny says loudly, "We made it possible to mute spammy bgbb topic notifications."
Johnny says loudly, "We fixed a number of specific game issues including with gel cell nth, door timing, npcs being directed to attack, tac-comp images backing up to disk, delivery crates showing the store name properly, removing reaped characters from @trust, made synthetics labs more forgiving about explosions but kept messing up your batches the same, wig and lens crafting, preventing you from installing chrome in yourself, stopped allowing disarm while detained, cleaning security gear, the ascii art warning on Art, @gender tools to work better with the new appear code, appearance and corpses, shopkeepers and scavengers as related to disguises and blood analysis on objects."
Johnny says loudly, "A Number of minor game features were added including updated TERRA gear to be usable only by TERRA (along with a change in value), increasing how often NPCs will spawn in shrouds, adding auto closing books to reduce bloat, updating @review-cloth to include the tease messages and the material used, adding 256 color support in repainting garages, stop escorts command, added post install cyber scripts similar to post use drug scripts for flavor, updated the skinwatch to be more useful, NPCs using drugs more realistically, implementing a kill command spammer penalty, updated e-print values to scale with the amount of paper left, and new features on player rentable vending machines."
Johnny says loudly, "We added new admin tools including recurring reminders about our admin rules, a new command for fixer quotes, a new command for vehicle repair quotes, a taxi nanny to warn us if a taxi npc isn't in their taxi and an @npc-config command for builders."
Johnny says loudly, "We made the game more helpful by adding a tow truck xhelp confirmation reminder, updating our rough sizing on help stats and help skills, adding a reminder for treating immies gently, adding signage to red/gold/green express tubes which have directional arrows, adding your current @luck toggle to @stats and including senior staff as a new service request option."
Johnny says loudly, "Ok, maybe we DID get a lot of shit done when you look at it now."
Johnny says loudly, "I think I had something to do with like, 5 of these things, so we really owe our thanks to the rest of the team."
Johnny says loudly, "Slither, Kard, Mobius, Glitch, Blinder, Butako, Dreamer, Celestial, Storm, Mench and others I'm sure I'm forgetting all had a hand in these things."
Johnny says loudly, "I can't thank each of our team of Coders, Builders and GMs enough. None of us gets paid for what we do, so I am always incredibly grateful that people choose to contribute their time to the world that I merely shepherd these days."
[-][Game-Help] PoisonedBlade [0 karma] has joined the channel.
Johnny says loudly, "And that goes for the community that supports the admin team. There's a lot being said to put us down in places online, but we're not going anywhere, and that's thanks to your support."
Johnny exclaims loudly, "Thank you everyone!"
Johnny exclaims loudly, "Let's look 2020 in the eye and finish this mofo before it finishes us! Onward to 2021!"
Fengshui toggles the room moderation to OFF, allowing anyone to speak.
Johnny steps away from the podium.
Fengshui starts applauding politely.
Mark starts applauding politely.
Creux shouts loudly, "HELL YEAH!"
Celestial starts applauding politely.
Shift shouts loudly, "*speaking mixmash, in a confident and throaty voice* WOO!"
Bisset starts applauding politely.
Malcolm starts applauding enthusiastically.
Dethrow says, "*speaking english, in a firm but gentle feminine voice* Wheeeeew."
Yunika starts applauding politely.
Valerie shouts loudly, "*speaking english, in a soft and feminine, but dull voice* YAY!"
Trey starts applauding politely.
Joshua exclaims loudly, "*speaking english, in a mellow Californian voice* Woo!"
Simone starts applauding politely.
Auri claps.
Panda says loudly, "*speaking english, in an English accented, androgynous, smooth and honeyed voice* NICE."
Eden briefly exposes his right foot.
Phlox exclaims, "*speaking english, in a quiet, youthful voice* WOO!"
Del starts applauding politely.
Sylvan starts applauding politely.
Song takes a big bite of her cuban roll, chewing quickly and swallowing.
Miyako starts applauding politely.
Chayna starts applauding politely.
Milana starts applauding politely.
Picot starts applauding enthusiastically.
Vinous starts applauding sensibly.
Johnny bows respectfully.
Amir starts applauding politely.
Fengshui toggles the room moderation to ON, allowing only admin and the current speaker to speak
Kard starts applauding politely.
Glitch starts applauding politely.
Johnny walks across the stage and sits upon one of the large leather chairs.
Celestial rises from the plush leather seat that rests on the stage.
Fengshui steps up to the podium and says, "Next up is Celestial with an update from the GMs. We think we resolved the issue with speaking."
Mench takes a sip of his steaming cappuchino.
Fengshui says, "But if you can't hear me... well, you don't know."
Fengshui steps away from the podium.
Celestial steps up to the podium and adjusts the micropohone.
Celestial says loudly, "*speaking english* Good afternoon, folx! Im going to start with some reminders, followed by updates from the GM side of things. Most of you (if not all) already know me, and this time around Ive been tasked with giving this speech."
The Speaking Queue topic has switched to Statement from the GMs (5 min).
Celestial says loudly, "First up, Id like to acknowledge everyones hard work on the GM side- Tangerine, Ramrod, Dreamer, Storm, Mobius, and everyone else. And in the same vein, I want to thank everyone present here for making this game awesome. Players and Staff alike. I appreciate all of you."
Celestial says loudly, "Moving on to our actual topics..."
Celestial says loudly, "First thing, as always- A reminder about what to include in puppet requests. Remember to always include what you want to speak with the NPC about in the request itself, and contact information (SIC, phone, whatever it may be). "
Celestial says loudly, "Not every GM is suited to handle certain puppets (Be it due to plot, conflict of interest, etc). You dont need to tell the NPC ICly what you want to talk about, but please always put it in the request. It makes our job ten times easier."
Celestial says loudly, "And another reminder is about modern-day memes, or even memes from places like OOC-Chat or the BGBB. Please refrain from bringing memes into IC context. I know that it may sound funny (and well, sometimes it really is funny) to do so, but it can also be immersion breaking to other players."
Solmaz edges into the fifth row, and picks a seat and lowers theirself into it.
Celestial says loudly, "And now, to the Support GM front. Were always looking for new volunteers to aid our team with basic day-to-day tasks (Gridmails, Puppets, etc). Applications can be done in the online form found in the Anything Really section of the BGBB under New Support GM Position. Please feel free to apply, but also keep in mind that we require players to play for at least 6 months before they are considered. Not everyone who applies will be tapped to be an SGM."
Celestial says loudly, "Now, going back to puppet request briefly- I know some puppet requests have taken an exceedingly long time in some cases. Wed like to apologize for the inconvenience. Sometimes the information or thing the NPC is being asked about is so arcane that we need to hunt down the information from elsewhere, or its a system that is used so little that nobody outside of Senior staff knows."
Celestial says loudly, "Ahem, we'd. I can't words."
Celestial says loudly, "And on the same note, remember that NPCs can be, and sometimes are, wrong. Just because the GM puppeting the NPC might know it, doesnt mean the NPC does. And more importantly, NPCs have their own personality. Some are nice, some are complete, total shitheads. We try to keep NPCs personalities a constant even between puppets that are handled by different GMs. If an NPC is an asshole to you, please dont take it personally. That is just who the NPC is."
Dexter edges into the second row, and picks a seat and lowers theirself into it.
Celestial says loudly, "Lastly, dont act any differently towards NPCs as you would towards PCs. If your PC is an asshole? Be a fucking asshole to the NPC. If your PC would beat a PC down for talking them down? Do the same to a NPC if they talk you down. Do not play your character any differently just because theyre NPCs and not a PC."
Celestial exclaims loudly, "Keep on plotting and having fun!"
Celestial steps away from the podium.
Fengshui toggles the room moderation to OFF, allowing anyone to speak.
Fengshui starts applauding politely.
Ramrod starts applauding politely.
Joshua starts applauding politely.
Charley starts applauding politely.
Trey starts applauding politely.
Shift starts applauding politely.
Greg claps.
Yunika starts applauding politely.
Doozy starts applauding politely.
Chesa starts applauding politely.
Celestial walks across the stage and sits upon one of the large leather chairs.
Picot starts applauding enthusiastically.
Del starts applauding politely.
Mench starts applauding politely.
Panda starts applauding politely.
Aurelie starts applauding politely.
Song says loudly, "*speaking english, in a Korean-accented, even-toned voice* some npcs gonna catch these hands..."
Miyako starts applauding politely.
Loretta starts applauding politely.
Hattori nods casually.
Creux starts applauding ecstatically.
Del [to Storm]: *speaking english, in a lisp-heavy hybrid Japanese-Jamaican accent voice* sit
Jane screams for Celestial like the dirty fangirl she is.
Auri claps.
Phlox exclaims, "WOO!"
Del [to Daclan]: sit
Fengshui toggles the room moderation to ON, allowing only admin and the current speaker to speak
Fengshui steps up to the podium.
The Speaking Queue topic has switched to State of the State [Operations] (Slither - 15 min).
Fengshui says, "I'm going to provide a breakdown of the current staff as well as a brief overview of each type of admin. Currently, we have 4 full-time GMs, 2 support GMs (they operate on 3-month terms which can be extended at admin discretion), 2 builders, and 3 coders. These are folx primary roles, several of us are multifaceted and do GM and Building and Coding roles, or some combination there of. This is a good amount of staff but we still need more. We always need more."
Fengshui says, "The process to become a full-time GM is to start as a Support GM, be exceptional, be asked to stay on, run a large plot to prove your skills, become a full-time GM, and then continue to excel at a high level. There is a fair amount of training and game knowledge required to become a full-time gm, as well as a non-insignificant amount of self-starting. Celestial is the most recent example of someone going from SGM to Full GM. Congrats, by the way."
Celestial says loudly, "<3"
Fengshui says loudly, "The process to become a builder typically starts with becoming a Support GM and then branching out into the builder area. Folks do this when they realize the contribution they want to make to the game is less about NPC interactions and plots and more to do with creating cool places and writing lots of descriptions."
Fengshui says loudly, "The process to become a coder is a bit murkier. It typically requires some pre-existing coding knowledge though it isn't always required. Folks self select this path while they are GMing or Building by getting interested in fixing bugs and I spend time training them up in MOO and general programming best practices. Of all the roles, this is the one that takes the biggest commitment in terms of time. It's also one that you need to progress through SGM to get to, due to needing to get that game knowledge before starting to code on Sindome."
Fengshui says loudly, "We also have other roles which we fill as needed, such as becoming a Publisher, which is a specialized role that updates website content, wiki content, and pushes posts out to social media."
Fengshui says loudly, "The staff communicates on channels similar to OOC-Chat or Game-Help but that are admin only. Different classes of admin have access to different channels, as needed. We also communicate over in-game 'mail' and over Slack when we are not on the game."
Fengshui says loudly, "As the game grows, and the tasks that each admin has to do on a daily basis to keep it running become more complex, we look to tooling and automation. We have a number of these that have been created to automatically update us, or perform tasks for us that we used to do manually, thus allowing us to focus on the parts of the game that have not or cannot be automated-- such as puppet requests and answering xhelps."
Fengshui says loudly, "Over the next 6 months we will continue to iterate on our tooling, ever seeking to better automate processes that currently take a ton of time on a daily basis, so that the staff are freed up to spend more time on the things they love doing: puppeting, mentoring, coding, writing, and building. Some examples of updates we've made to make admin life easier include tools for getting a fixer or vehicle repair quote in an automated fashion without a bunch of number crunching."
Fengshui says loudly, "Thank you to all the staff past, present, and future, for the hard work you put into making Sindome such a deep and exciting experience to be involved with. You are truly appreciated."
Fengshui drops his hand back to the podium, "Now, for my favorite topic of conversation. Cooperative Competition."
Fengshui motions out to the crowd with his left hand, "Were all here to compete In Character, in one way or another. It could be physical confrontations, political backstabbing, power plays, power struggles, romance, renown, infamy or any number of other motivations."
Fengshui turns his palm upward and flicks an eyebrow up, "Does that mean we compete Out of Character? No. Does that mean that whatever bleed we feel about something that happened to us In Character should change how we feel about a member of the community Out of Character? No."
Fengshui makes eye contact with several members of the crowd and says, "Take a look around. Not at the stage but at the people sitting to your right and to your left. The ones in front of you and behind you. This is your community."
Fengshui chuckles and says, "Communities have issues, families fight. It happens. However, when you approach the situation from a perspective of Cooperative Competition, that being 'We cooperate Out of Character so we can better compete In Character', it can change your perspective on the interactions you want to provide and receive from your fellow community members."
Fengshui chuckles again and says, "Lets leave the hostility In Character. Treat your fellow community members with respect, lead by example, be above the fray if something does come up, and reach out to an Admin if you feel like an OOC situation is becoming unmanageable on OOC chat, the BGBB or in some other medium of communication."
Fengshui motions to the crowd again, "Harmony Out of Character, Discord In Character."
Fengshui drums his fingers against the podium, "Another thing we should address is the varying skill levels of all the players of the game. Some of you know the game quite well, and some of you are relatively new. For those of you that are oldbies, please help to nurture new players. For those of you that are new, read our help files, read the wiki, and ask any questions that remain unanswered about the mechanics of the game on our Game-Help channel."
Fengshui nods out to the crowd again, "Some are you are familiar with FOIG or Find Out In Game. Sometimes we say, 'Find out ICly' or 'that's IC' or 'that's IC info'. They all pretty much boil down to the same thing."
Fengshui smiles and says, We get a lot of questions about this. Basically, any information about the workings of the game that is not purely OOC (or Out of Character), must be attained ICly (aka In character).
Fengshui pauses for a moment before continuing, "This is to maintain the fairness of the game and keep everyone on the same footing. It can sometimes be hard to learn what is IC info and what is OOC info. Broad strokes, things like locations of NPCs or stores, where to pay your SIC bill, what a SIC deadzone is, where to access the Grid those are IC topics you must find out in character. Things like 'how to send a message on the sic' and 'how to I open a door' are OOC questions. Your character knows how to open a door, your character knows how to send a message on the SIC. You, the player, are having trouble figuring out the commands."
Fengshui motions around, "Telling someone to FOIG or find out ICly are common responses to questions that pertain to IC info. These questions are often asked on Game-Help. One of the learning curves on Sindome is figuring out what questions you can ask OOCly and what questions strictly have to be asked ICly. However, it's pretty obvious that to someone who is new to the game, being told 'FOIC' to a question is not helpful. It's up to each and every one of you to not just say FOIC but to explain what FOIC actually means, and to offer suggestions as to how someone might do that. You can't get specific, but if someone is asking where to find something, you can point them to the SIC or to the Grid. Try to include help files in your response, and remember that the person you're talking to could become a regular roleplayer here-- if they get the support they need during their initial foray into the game."
Fengshui chuckles and says, "If you're told to 'Find Out In Character' it means we can't answer your question without violating our rules about revealing in character information through out of character means. Basically, your next step should be to ask someone in character, either on the SIC, or on the Grid, or in person. You'll usually find folks willing to answer your questions that way."
Fengshui chuckles and says, "It's easy to forget how difficult it was when you first signed on. So much info to remember. It's also easy to get frustrated by having to deal with the same questions over and over. That's something I continually work on with my videos and with reminder code and with better help files. However, if there are specific things that seem to come up over and over, open a BGBB post about how we can better present this info to new players so that they get it early and understand it quickly. We want to always be improving."
Fengshui frowns slightly, "Many times in the past we've had problems with people sharing IC info OOCly. I think it is important to mention this. It's really bad for the game. If you're unsure of why this is, ask your fellow players. Search the BGBB for the numerous posts about it. And most of all, just don't do it. It can be tempting at times, but it's going to ruin the game for you and those around you."
Fengshui nods and says, "Thanks for listening to that. I hope this clarifies these topics for everyone!"
Fengshui toggles the room moderation to OFF, allowing anyone to speak.
Mench takes a sip of his steaming cappuchino.
Charley starts applauding politely.
Ramrod starts applauding politely.
Chayna starts applauding politely.
Amir starts applauding politely.
Loretta starts applauding politely.
Aurelie starts applauding politely.
Del starts applauding politely.
Creux shouts loudly, "WOOO!"
Panda starts applauding politely.
Shift thumbs up.
Doozy starts applauding politely.
Tangerine appears out of nowhere.
Chesa starts applauding politely.
Joshua starts applauding politely.
Auri nods casually.
The Speaking Queue topic has switched to Crime on Gold & Green (15 min - 4:00-4:15).
Del says loudly, "Well said."
Mench puts his cappuccino away.
Mench spills the contents of his cappuccino all over himself.


Navarre starts applauding politely.
Fengshui has opened the Speaking Queue for this topic. 'join queue' to get in line to speak.
Picot starts applauding enthusiastically.
Lorelai nods casually.
Phlox cheers.
Fengshui toggles the room moderation to ON, allowing only admin and the current speaker to speak
Mench puts his navy blue silk bow tie away.
Mench gets out his pear green latex bodysuit.

Song has joined the Speaking Queue.
The Speaking Queue buzzes and the current speaker flashes: Song.
Mench gets out his navy blue silk bow tie.
Mench carefully ties his navy blue silk bow tie around his neck, weaving the fabric into a classic butterfly knot before giving a final tug to tighten it.
Picot has joined the Speaking Queue.
Fengshui says loudly, "We'll jump to Crime on Gold and green now! "
Chayna has joined the Speaking Queue.
Mench gets out his pair of striped cherry red sneakers.
Mench slips his feet into his pair of striped cherry red sneakers and leans down to tie up the laces.
Song says loudly, "Wait, okay so, I actually had a question for the last one-"
Mench gets out his pair of glowing mustard gloves.
Mench pulls on his pair of glowing mustard gloves and laces his fingers together.
Fengshui [to Song]: Go ahead.
Fengshui exclaims loudly, "Everyone else get your thoughts together so we can move through this without the typing!"
Tangerine walks across the stage and sits upon one of the large leather chairs.
Mench fills a paper cup with spiced tea from an old looking teapot.
Mench picks up a spiced tea from the coffee counter.
Mench sips his spiced tea and swallows before lowering his cup.
Creux has joined the Speaking Queue.
The Speaking Queue buzzes and the current speaker flashes: Song.
Song says loudly, "So, as with FOIC, and things our characters SHOULD know. Is it okay to ask in xhelp or xgame for commands explanations and such, not so much where to get what, but how to operate the commands."
Fengshui says loudly, "Depending on the commands, you can ask on game-help, but you would be better off asking on xhelp for specialized things that not everyone uses."
Song exclaims loudly, "Sometimes, I have issues with something, but I try hard to find it IC before resorting to that, of course. But thank you!"
Fengshui says loudly, "But also keep in mind, if there is a skill gate, or something, you might have a different experience to someone else."
Chayna has left the Speaking Queue.
Song nods casually.
Song has left the Speaking Queue.
The Speaking Queue has switched to Creux.
Creux stands up from the floor.
Fengshui says loudly, "You do not need to elave the queue after speaking. I'll handle it."
[OOC: Fengshui says, "leave*" ]
Picot has joined the Speaking Queue.
Creux says loudly, "First off, I'd like to say, crime on gold is starting to get into a good state, I'm seeing it happen a lot more, and finding that that's a good thing."
Creux says loudly, "Green too kind of."
Creux says loudly, "God damn it cat."
Creux sits cross-legged on the floor.
Fengshui nods casually.
The Speaking Queue has switched to Picot.
Picot stands from their seat in the sixth row, and edges their way out of it into the aisle.
Dethrow has joined the Speaking Queue.
Picot exclaims loudly, "*speaking english, in a gentle texan voice* Gold is starting to feel dangerous. I don't know what caused this change, but my perception of safety on Gold has dropped significantly compared to how it was last year. Good job, all you crazy criminals!"
Picot sits cross-legged on the floor.
Picot stands up from the floor.
Picot edges into the sixth row, and picks a seat and lowers theirself into it.
Mia edges into the fifth row, and picks a seat and lowers theirself into it.
Creux has joined the Speaking Queue.
The Speaking Queue has switched to Dethrow.
Dethrow stands from their seat in the fourth row, and edges their way out of it into the aisle.
Dethrow asks, "I know a while ago, Fend said he'd planned on adding more resources to learn how to Topside Crime. I know you've been busy, but is that idea still floating around?"
Fengshui says loudly, "The idea was to provide examples of topside crime for people to see, and mimic. I think we've done that to a degree."
Dethrow nods sharply.
Dethrow edges into the fourth row, and picks a seat and lowers theirself into it.
The Speaking Queue has switched to Creux.
Creux stands up from the floor.
Creux says loudly, "I would like to state a softer point, on GM enforcement, I like how they are being more permissive with things. And I would like to ask, if there's a set standard for response on gold or green GM wise, and what warrants it? Because if there is not that already, it might be a good idea, and to keep that standard a secret, to prevent criminal meta out there. Psychologically a response from GM's is expected, because you are informing them, but that's not always the case."
Creux says loudly, "And I felt it a good idea to both ask that, and to point that out... Because a lot of people will meta themselves out of a crime on gold... Just because it's on gold."
Creux says loudly, "And they have to inform GM's about it."
Celestial says loudly, "I don't understand what you mean with a set standard."
Creux asks loudly, "Like, examples of what warrents a GM judge response instantly, and what warrents noting and things like that. And what doesn't?"
Celestial says loudly, "Any kind of crime."
Daclan sits cross-legged on the floor.
Celestial says loudly, "Which is why I was confused by what you meant."
Creux says loudly, "Because on GM level that would prevent the psychological, "trick" of just because this is happening I have to respond to it. And on a PC level, it would help to know there is something like that to inform for fairness."
Fengshui says loudly, "We have a standard."
Creux exclaims loudly, "That's good to know!"
Creux sits cross-legged on the floor.
Fengshui says loudly, "It will remain a secret."
Creux exclaims loudly, "Yay!"
Fengshui says loudly, "But it exists, and it is applied equally across the board."
Fengshui nods casually.
The Speaking Queue flashes to notify everyone that the queue is clear.
The Speaking Queue topic has switched to Followup from last Town Hall: Immy greeters, do you have a less rough job compared to 6 months ago? (10 min - 4:15-4:25).
Fengshui exclaims loudly, "immy greeters!"
Fengshui asks loudly, "Does this job suck less than it did 6 months ago?"
Fengshui motions to the open speaking queue, "Anyone?"
Song has joined the Speaking Queue.
The Speaking Queue buzzes and the current speaker flashes: Song.
Song stands from their seat in the sixth row, and edges their way out of it into the aisle.
Roth has joined the Speaking Queue.
Mark has joined the Speaking Queue.
Shift has joined the Speaking Queue.
Serret has joined the Speaking Queue.
Trey has joined the Speaking Queue.
Storm walks across the stage and sits upon one of the large leather chairs.
Song says loudly, "I think that the addition of guides has allowed greeters not to get burned out by the same-old stuff, and be able to tailor their aid to an immy after the guide gets them on their feet. I remember about 7-8 months ago, it wasn't nearly as great looking of a job it is now, so good stuff"
Fengshui nods casually.
Song says loudly, "The guides are a big plus to the immy experience, and give some real good help. I dig it. Keep up the good ideas, but as they stand, greeters are useful to all walks, imo"
Song edges into the sixth row, and picks a seat and lowers theirself into it.
Fengshui nods casually.
The Speaking Queue has switched to Roth.
Fengshui says loudly, "Agreed."
Mench nods casually.
Roth stands from their seat in the sixth row, and edges their way out of it into the aisle.
Mench sips his spiced tea and swallows before lowering his cup.
Roth exclaims loudly, "*speaking english, in a deep and expressive but calmly toned voice* I've been away from the game for a long time but the system currently looks like it has improved a lot with the guides, people being generally helpful, casual keys for immies, etc. So I think yes it has improved!"
Roth edges into the sixth row, and picks a seat and lowers theirself into it.
The Speaking Queue has switched to Mark.
Mark stands from their seat in the first row and easily moves away from it.
Mark says, "*speaking english, in a deep, slightly Hispanic accented voice* I had a brief stunt as an immy greeter, and I spent a lot of time in that area prior to my time as an immy greeter, and it is significantly better. Occasionally, there are still hard heads and it's always jarring to explain the concept of immigration papers in local ooc, but, it is better."
Kitzy edges into the sixth row, and picks a seat and lowers theirself into it.
Mark walks around the front of the rows of seats and picks one out to sit in, and lowers theirself into it.
Fengshui nods casually.
The Speaking Queue has switched to Shift.
Shift stands from their seat in the first row and easily moves away from it.
Shift says loudly, "*speaking english, in a rapid-fire mixmash-accented voice* I'd just like to thank the PC's who play this role. It's so critical for the game, and is make or break for new players. You guys/gals/zers are heroes."
Shift nods appreciatively.
Shift sits cross-legged on the floor.
Fengshui nods casually.
Fengshui starts applauding politely.
Fengshui toggles the room moderation to OFF, allowing anyone to speak.
Fengshui starts applauding politely.
Chayna starts applauding politely.
Charley starts applauding politely.
Greg applauds.
Navarre grins mischievously.
Shift thumbses up.
Liat smiles happily.
Aurelie starts applauding politely.
Yunika starts applauding politely.
Chesa starts applauding politely.
Loretta says, "*speaking english, in a husky and cut-glass Parisian accented voice* Rest in peace, Mench's cappuccino."
Loretta starts applauding politely.
Celestial starts applauding politely.
Navarre starts applauding politely.
Picot starts applauding enthusiastically.
Panda starts applauding politely.
Auri starts applauding politely.
Lily starts applauding politely.
Poet starts applauding politely.
Song takes a big bite of her cuban roll, chewing quickly and swallowing.
Song crumples up the plastic wrap and tosses it over her shoulder.
Mark starts applauding politely.
Fengshui toggles the room moderation to ON, allowing only admin and the current speaker to speak
Mench stares at Loretta.
The Speaking Queue has switched to Serret.
Mench sips his spiced tea and swallows before lowering his cup.
Serret stands from their seat in the fourth row, and edges their way out of it into the aisle.
Shift stands up from the floor.
Serret says, "*speaking english, in a smoky Freesky-spiced voice* New players want to jump in and play classic cyberpunk roles, and it's reasonable to expect them to have to work up to being a crimeboss or a great street samurai, but I know it was always difficult for me to so often be pointing new players towards being bartenders or food vendors. It's easy to see from a veteran perspective this gives them a reason to get out and socialize and learn how to play, but I do think it takes the cyberpunk shine off Sindome at the start from their perspective."
Shift sits cross-legged on the floor.
Serret says, "The gangs I think are kind of the ideal here, because they give new players a cyberpunky role where they can learn that's not something they might already be doing to make ends meet IRL. I would love to see more theme-oriented jobs like those, when development allows for it in the future, I think it could make a big impact on new player impressions of the game."
Chayna has joined the Speaking Queue.
Serret edges into the fourth row, and picks a seat and lowers theirself into it.
Fengshui says loudly, "Great idea, start a BGBB thread about it so we can continue the convo."
The Speaking Queue has switched to Trey.
Trey stands from their seat in the third row, and edges their way out of it into the aisle.
Shift stands up from the floor.
Shift edges into the third row, and picks a seat and lowers theirself into it.
Trey asks loudly, "*speaking english, in a rumbling basso voice* This is really more about the 'immy experience' than immy greeters specifically. Is that okay?"
Fengshui says loudly, "We have a topic for that later."
Trey exclaims loudly, "Then I will wait until then!"
Trey sits cross-legged on the floor.
Trey stands up from the floor.
The Speaking Queue has switched to Chayna.
Fengshui nods casually.
Trey edges into the third row, and picks a seat and lowers theirself into it.
Chayna stands from their seat in the second row, and edges their way out of it into the aisle.
Chayna says, "*speaking english, in an a gruff, youthful West Coast-accented feminine voice* This is a haard topic to speak to from the outside, but I just wanted to point out that it seems like immy turnover isn't nearly as steep as it used to be and that, to me, says that Greeters are working a lot more efficiently."
Fengshui has closed the Speaking Queue for this topic.
Chayna has left the Speaking Queue.
Fengshui nods casually.
Fengshui says loudly, "That is awesome."
Chayna edges into the second row, and picks a seat and lowers theirself into it.
Fengshui says loudly, "Also, you do not need to leave the queue. I will move it to the next person."
The Speaking Queue topic has switched to Engineering Skill Group (15 min - 4:25-4:40).
Fengshui has opened the Speaking Queue for this topic. 'join queue' to get in line to speak.
Phlox has joined the Speaking Queue.
The Speaking Queue buzzes and the current speaker flashes: Phlox.
Creux has joined the Speaking Queue.
Shift stands from their seat in the third row, and edges their way out of it into the aisle.
Phlox stands from their seat in the second row, and edges their way out of it into the aisle.
Fengshui says loudly, "Engineering Skills! Lots of people wanted to talk about this. KEEP the IC info OUT of your comments."
Song has joined the Speaking Queue.
Shift has joined the Speaking Queue.
Phlox says, "Okay y'all here we go, there are a lot of issues here but I am going to focus on three of them. And yes, this will probably be a BGBB post later."
Phlox says loudly, "One. The economy around these skills sucks, especially electro/secure tech. Top-tier electro/secure techs are the only ones that really matter and they charge abysmally low rates for their apex services because this is side income for them, leaving no room for competition. There is a single player I know of currently who has invested so much into electro/secure tech that nobody else can take down their equipment, creating an effective monopoly on this kind of work, and unlike in other areas like combat, there is very little chrome and no drugs that help with this, and no IC avenues other than 'invest in lots of skill' or 'perm this person' that would fix this issue. The only way to fix it would be for staff to insist the person in question raise their rates SIGNIFICANTLY to leave room for junior techs to charge less for an inferior service, much like how top-tier solos charge high to leave room for starting solos to take lower-level, less expensive jobs."
Navarre has joined the Speaking Queue.
Dreamer casually nods at Phlox.
Fengshui says loudly, "There is definitely chrome, and definitely drugs that help with this. To be clear."
Phlox says loudly, "Two. These skills are unnecessarily spread out. There simply is not enough work to divvy up between six technical skills. Fold auto/aero tech together, fold electro/secure together, and fold explosives/munitions together. For another combat comparison, someone could make a character that specializes in just brawling and they would have all kinds of options topside and Mix-side open to them, plus tons of side gigs and crime opportunities, from one skill. Meanwhile, already-sparse technical jobs are being further restricted by this need to specialize in multiple skills, and have that specialty be HIGH to accomplish the most basic things, like resetting a Progia-11 or fixing damage from most crashes."
Samantha has joined the Speaking Queue.
Bisset has joined the Speaking Queue.
Phlox says loudly, "Three. Combat characters have a host of chrome, drugs and nanogens to make them better at their jobs. Meanwhile, I as a technical character have tried taking drugs to boost my performance and it has never helped. Only cerebral enhancement seems to make a difference, and even that I'm unsure of."
Fengshui says loudly, "Drugs effect every stat except luck. And this is getting kind of close to IC info so please reel it back in."
Fengshui says loudly, "My suggestion on that front would be to experiment more. Drugs have been recently rebalanced and you also wont get addicted right away, giving you room to experiment."
Fengshui says loudly, "It sounds like, per Kard, we need a flashboost for techies, or something."
Trey has joined the Speaking Queue.
Phlox nods sagely.
Nefret has joined the Speaking Queue.
Phlox edges into the second row, and picks a seat and lowers theirself into it.
Fengshui exclaims loudly, "Thank you for the feedback!"
The Speaking Queue has switched to Creux.
Creux stands up from the floor.
Creux says loudly, "I want to tell you a story. Vague and most details obfuscated I played a technical character at one point. It was my first character and this is my horror story. It's rather typical of technical characters, but as a novice it's a hellscape. Technical characters are in a really bad spot right now. Requiring more skill and stat investment to be effective than almost any other variety of role. In the dawn of me playing, I tried to play a tecnhical character. I was informed ICly that there's next to no point to do so."
Creux says loudly, "At the time there was a master mechanic in the mix. And a single character who basically ran the technical trade. And topside there was a master aerotech. And I was also told that... Even then I wouldn't see much money for a LONG time. And that was in addition to the masses of flash in toolbelts I'd eventualy have to buy. Technical skills are a pit, and presently it's relatively close to impossible to break into them. The only one that has some variety of competition is explosives."
Creux says loudly, "I have three suggestions for this."
Creux says loudly, "Merge the skill, Mechanics/Aerotech and Secure/Electrotech, and maybe Munitions/Explosives but they are honestly in the best state. And I'm feeling an echo of phlox here, and I apologize, but it's coincidental."
Creux says loudly, "Enforce better pricing by top end technicions, via RP and theme enforcement."
Creux says loudly, "And for Auto/Aerotech, reverse the part repair difficulty. Making it to where it's easier to repair dings and scratches, but much harder to restore nearly broken parts to functionality."
Creux says loudly, "I believe that these would have a net positive effect on creating RP for these characters. And allow them to branch out further."
Lorelai has joined the Speaking Queue.
Creux sits cross-legged on the floor.
Fengshui nods casually.
The Speaking Queue has switched to Song.
Nefret has left the Speaking Queue.
Song asks loudly, "Few things. First! Dumb question, BUT! If people want to experiment with certain engineering skills, say electro-tech, do you have to have an admin present if it's being done in a private?"
Song stands from their seat in the sixth row, and edges their way out of it into the aisle.
Greg has joined the Speaking Queue.
Song asks loudly, "Like, in the home, maybe?"
Fengshui says loudly, "No, you can do whatever you want if you have the tools and such."
Song says loudly, "Further, Phlox is right with the issue of monopolies in that field, and I totally agree that combining the roles with their obvious partners would make sense with the points she'd laid out. I know non-combat roles are being worked on, from my discussions with certain staff members, but I really do want to stress that there needs to be something to help noncom's like there are equivalents for com's. Cyberware is an obvious thing, but I don't know how tough it is to implement that. "
Fengshui says loudly, "If it's installing a camera or something in your own pad and not a public or private area owned or controlled by someone else that is fine"
Fengshui says loudly, "There are a number of cyberwares that help non-comms. And nanos. Skill soft chipsets come to mind."
Phlox has joined the Speaking Queue.
Fengshui says loudly, "But yeah, it sounds like more would be good."
Fengshui says loudly, "When it comes to pricing, we enforce pricing with NPCs."
Fengshui says loudly, "NPCs charge specific rates for things."
Song asks loudly, "And finally, I -REALLY- want to see some kind of enforcement for the monopoly-holders. There's absolutely nothing a new techie can do in it until they surpass said monopoly holder, which is impossible until that person basically caps out their UE and can't increase it further. Please, can there be some way to allow more opportunity for entry-level and midlevel techs?"
Aurelie has joined the Speaking Queue.
Fengshui says loudly, "If you all, as players, want to undercut each other, there isn't a ton I would do about that other than have NPCs be annoyed."
Niko has joined the Speaking Queue.
Dreamer says loudly, "*speaking english* Broad generalities like 'absolutely nothing a new techie can do' are false, but I think you meant 'when it comes to dealing with something already installed."
Song says loudly, "But, why bother undercutting if you can't beat the guy charging chump change for a virtually unbeatable install? It's just not worth it, sometimes. And yeah, thanks for clarifying for me"
Bartine has joined the Speaking Queue.
Song sits cross-legged on the floor.
Song stands up from the floor.
Song edges into the sixth row, and picks a seat and lowers theirself into it.
Fengshui says loudly, "My point is that if someone with high skill chooses to charge nothing, then well, hire someone to kill them, and keep kiilling them until they charge more. Create a price fixing gang."
The Speaking Queue has switched to Shift.
Shift says loudly, "I'm not sure exactly what was done. But I feel like the explosives I've been subject to and subjected others to are in a much better place. Some felt kind of like a joke to be on the receiving end of before. I don't want to get into details, but they're a lot scarier now. Feels MUCH better. I'm pumped on these changes."
Shift sits cross-legged on the floor.
Lorelai has left the Speaking Queue.
Solmaz has joined the Speaking Queue.
Fengshui nods casually.
The Speaking Queue has switched to Navarre.
Navarre stands from their seat in the fifth row, and edges their way out of it into the aisle.
Navarre says, "*speaking english, in a lilting, euro accented and mix-inflected voice* I still dont know what the differences between all these skills are. They are in SD language and not any real engineering language. If we want to grow this segment of the IC world, it needs to be more evident to the layman. Consider harnessing the power of the fresh players wanting to come in with a cyberpunk theme mindset. Put some effort into naming things the way that makes sense to the layman. Theres opportunity here: if we anticipate additional interest in the future surrounding the release of a cyberpunk movie or gameor dig into the Deus Ex type things of the past to draw inspirationwe could get more engineers into the right skillsets fresh out the gate IF we re-name stats and skills to match the fresh eyes expectations."
Navarre sits cross-legged on the floor.
Navarre stands up from the floor.
Navarre edges into the fifth row, and picks a seat and lowers theirself into it.
Fengshui nods casually.
The Speaking Queue has switched to Samantha.
Samantha stands from their seat in the fourth row, and edges their way out of it into the aisle.
Samantha says, "*speaking english, in a female, smokey-warm, quintessentially American-sounding voice* Quick asides: If we can trust people to choose what of the slew of things they're capable of doing within Artistry, I think we can trust them to do the same with Aero/Auto Tech folded into one. Possibly echoing Secure/Electro in one as Phlox said. Secondly, explosives as definitely not a traditional combat skill and definitely one of - if not the - most 'crafty' skill in the game absolutely belongs into this skillgroup. Third, there is very little work, and there is very little even small side jobs. Why don't engraving machines need metalworking skills? Guns are one of the primary engravable objects. The tiniest bit of side-biz would help. Fourth, explosives should have more respectable, professional-grade uses for non-collateral things useable by corpsec and Justice Force, rather than essentially mixer bombs only. I strongly dislike 'crime only' skills. Fifth, Munitions. This is a big topic, but the thing I can most easily say without IC info is that it is outright the most unintuitive skill in what it does and doesn't do at this time, to the point even its Advantage is misleading, and it should get a liberal application of 'rolling the better of' two skills if things have to stay the way they are, because Munitions is hardly at risk of becoming 'too powerful' as a skill by not requiring the investment in other things it does now to do the jobs advertised for it that also don't truly care or require for it. All in all I would request we get more discussion about Tech/Engineering topics, not just as a BGBB post like Phlox said, but a day of office hours for Engineering skills."
Samantha edges into the fourth row, and picks a seat and lowers theirself into it.
Niko has left the Speaking Queue.
Bisset has left the Speaking Queue.
Angel edges into the fourth row, and picks a seat and lowers theirself into it.
The Speaking Queue has switched to Trey.
Fengshui casually nods at Samantha.
Trey stands from their seat in the third row, and edges their way out of it into the aisle.
Trey says loudly, "I think one of the reasons while people are so loathe to hire mid-skilled techies for security jobs is because the risk that someone goes around and takes down their entire security network overnight. I think if taking down security gear were covered by HELP FARMING in the same way as many other high value items -- limited to 1/week -- people would be more comfortable hiring mid-skill techs, because the risk that their entire network gets dismantled overnight would diminish. Fundamentally, taking down a camera while no one is around is interacting with a coded asset, albeit one linked to a character. But it seems to me more like 'taking the expensive gear off a PC's NPC ally' than it is 'beating that PC down and taking their stuff' -- it's a non-RP economic action, and HELP FARMING should cover it. That would reduce the risk of hiring a mid-skill techie that I think is currently a powerful depressant on such techies being hired."
Fengshui says loudly, "Sounds like Celestial is interested in hosting an office hours to take in more feedback on this subject."
Trey says loudly, "There is currently a vicious cycle with high-skill bottlenecks; those folks aren't always around, so people put up a lot of tech all at once, and if they get got, they get got all at once, too. A policy limitation on how much you could be targeted would reduce the pressure to have that one big job, and instead encourage people to hire the more plentiful and convenient mid tech types."
Trey edges into the third row, and picks a seat and lowers theirself into it.
Fengshui nods casually.
Samantha has joined the Speaking Queue.
Celestial says loudly, "I'll be setting a date and time after the Town Hall is over for an office hours focusing on this topic."
Fengshui [to Trey]: Could you post on the BGBB with that? I don't know that help farming would cover it completely, but we might be able to put some kind of actual code limitation in on how often you can do it. It would be interesting to discuss.
Celestial says loudly, "A day of, rather."
Fengshui has closed the Speaking Queue for this topic.
The Speaking Queue has switched to Greg.
Greg stands up from the floor.
Greg says loudly, "I like the way technical skills are. There is a big difference between electro and secure tech, please do not merge them. There are drugs and chrome to help like Feng said, look into them. The monopoly issue is a real one. Maybe there can be an upper 'ultimate' success level that can be achieved by someone who is, for discussions sake, 75% of the way to max UE in the skills? More UE beyond that just makes it easier / more consistent to hit 'ultimate'? I like that it is a hard slog to live long enough to get to the 'higher ranks' of the tech trade. Lastly I agree with @Navarre about clarification on the names, and associated Perks. It's tough to figure out what skill lines up with what task / piece of gear without a bunch of experimentation. Feature, Bug? You decide."
Greg sits cross-legged on the floor.
Samantha has left the Speaking Queue.
Echo edges into the sixth row, and picks a seat and lowers theirself into it.
Fengshui [to Greg]: This is something I am hoping can be resolved with Grid 3.0-- which will have the ability to have nodes that can be hacked but auto restored
Fengshui says loudly, "Allowing us to make a repository of IC knowledge that isn't on a flyer or in a book you have to find"
The Speaking Queue has switched to Phlox.
Phlox stands from their seat in the second row, and edges their way out of it into the aisle.
Phlox says loudly, "Touching on some points real quick."
Phlox says loudly, "Skillsofts benefit combat characters more than noncombat characters. A combat character can slot a soft and be an instant pro at tech work. A noncombat can slot in sword skill and have that shit knocked right out of them. Chip slots are not a solution at all, and in fact make it worse for techies."
Phlox says loudly, "Not to mention solos will be able to afford them far more often."
Phlox says loudly, "As for monopoly pricing and undercutting, let me be crystal clear here, IC info but it's important to highlight. The apex techie charges around a mere thousand chyen for an install nobody else can uninstall. With the high amount of chyen one needs to invest to be good at this job, that is really low. There is no way to fight that."
Fengshui says loudly, "I disagree compeltely."
Owindin sits cross-legged on the floor.
Fengshui says loudly, "You have to have the stats for a skill to be truly beneficial."
Fengshui says loudly, "The solo that slots a tech skill soft doesn't have the stats behind them, in the same way a techie slotting a long blade skillsoft doesn't have the stats."
Fengshui says loudly, "Depending on the skill there may be overlap but that overlap exists in both directions."
The Speaking Queue has switched to Aurelie.
Aurelie stands from their seat in the sixth row, and edges their way out of it into the aisle.
Aurelie says, "*speaking english, in a casual and relaxed, Parisian voice* It sounds like one of the main issues low-level techies face is being unable to uninstall cameras high-end PCs install. The lack of competitive high-end techie PCs creates the monopoly. A NPC who could be hired to do those uninstalls could help solve that issue until the playerbase is a bit more balanced. "
Fengshui [to Phlox]: Do not include IC info in future statements or I'll not be letting you back in the queue.
Aurelie says, "This solution would also allow for as much camera network fighting as people can afford, rather than putting more restrictions on it, which would only further limit opportunities to make money and conflict. It also allows players who invest all that time and UE into being good to actually be capable of doing something more than the average techie, while still being countered."
Aurelie edges into the third row, and picks a seat and lowers theirself into it.
Fengshui [to Phlox]: You fight it, by literally fighting it. Have them killed.
Fengshui says loudly, "This is an IC problem. It is not an OOC problem. People have been price fixing and price gouging and undercutting for years. It's supremely cyberpunk. Amazon does it ALL the time to crush their competition."
Fengshui says loudly, "They sell at a loss, to drive the competition out of business."
Fengshui [to Aurelie]: There are already NPCs that exist to fill this gap :) Just ask around.
The Speaking Queue has switched to Bartine.
Bartine stands from their seat in the sixth row, and edges their way out of it into the aisle.
Fengshui [to Bartine]: You are up.
Bartine exclaims loudly, "*speaking english, in a glib, slightly scratchy West Coast voice* A lot of these tech monopolies, I think, can be easily broken up if the top dogs in their field start biting the bullet and apprenticing their competition in their field instead of just crushing them under a boot, or worse- just writing them off and ignoring completely. However, if this is already happening behind the tech scenes then I'll gladly plead ignorance!!"
Lydia sits cross-legged on the floor.
Lydia stands up from the floor.
Bartine edges into the sixth row, and picks a seat and lowers theirself into it.
Lydia edges into the sixth row, and picks a seat and lowers theirself into it.
The Speaking Queue has switched to Solmaz.
Solmaz stands from their seat in the fifth row, and edges their way out of it into the aisle.
Solmaz says, "*speaking english, in a feminine, slightly nasal, generally monotone voice* I wanted to echo the criticisms raised so far RE: the technical archetypes as a whole and how things are generally monopolized -- I think some of the suggestions are fantastic ones. I also think some of the specific electro_tech skill checks are either bugged or atrociously tuned and badly need some scrutiny. And yes, there are some drugs and chrome for technical types, but compared to combat characters it's quite lacking, and it doesn't need to be as a rule. Phlox is right about skillsofts. I'm not getting into mechanics but there are more reasons for solos to have certain stats than there are for techies to have certain stats and the benefits definitely skew away from non-combat characters -- on average. And the monoply problem is an OOC problem if it gets so extreme and long-running that it runs afoul of the spirit of cooperative competition."
Solmaz edges into the fifth row, and picks a seat and lowers theirself into it.
The Speaking Queue flashes to notify everyone that the queue is clear.
Fengshui says loudly, "Okay, lots of good stuff there. I look forward to continuing the conversation in longer form at the office hours Celestial hosts. Also, if someone would create a BGBB post detailing the specific ideas here, so that we can look at them and start picking ones to implement, that would be great."
The Speaking Queue topic has switched to Class conflict in Withmore and how we can encourage themely conflicts between topside and Red Sector? (20 min - 4:40-5:00).
Fengshui has opened the Speaking Queue for this topic. 'join queue' to get in line to speak.
Dethrow has joined the Speaking Queue.
The Speaking Queue buzzes and the current speaker flashes: Dethrow.
Dethrow stands from their seat in the fourth row, and edges their way out of it into the aisle.
Del has joined the Speaking Queue.
Creux has joined the Speaking Queue.
Dethrow says, "*speaking english, in a firm but gentle feminine voice* In regards to CPI, first I want to thank you all not only for hearing us during the last TH and immediately putting plans into action, but also following through with it on a number of fronts these last six months. It's certainly a process, not an immediate solution, but the results have been amazing. In regards to how to continue this growth though, I'd like to see more resources for corpies lacking with the know-how to create or foster existing conflict. A lot of the time, IC, I hear passivity from corpies. People assuming keeping the status quo is the right way to go. Don't make waves. Keep your heads down. This makes sense, from a logical standpoint, but people genuinely think there's no incentive to cause trouble. People hear about the failures more than anything so they shy away from it, and go back to collecting their paycheck once a week. And I hear a lot of misconceptions about what corpies should and shouldn't be doing."
Picot has joined the Speaking Queue.
Phlox has joined the Speaking Queue.
Fengshui exclaims loudly, "Class Conflict!"
Dethrow says, "So I'd ask you dangle more carrots in front of people. Highlight and nudge players in groups lacking in these areas. I have noticed a bit, here and there, but from my own limited perception, though I think continuing on this path is helping. Superiors pointing PCs to people and going 'Fuck that guy.' It suggests a demand for more puppets however, as I think it's more a lack of leadership for some. This goes back into crime on Gold/Green. More aggressive NPCs demanding results? No NPC handholding, just shove them towards a goal? Maybe things are fine? Maybe they should just be pursued ICly? How do you shine light on the shadows, keep it themely, and not give everything away? Just my thoughts."
Dethrow holds her chest and coughs subtly.
Dethrow smiles brightly.
Fengshui says loudly, "CPI = COrporate Pride INitative"
Chayna has joined the Speaking Queue.
Liat has joined the Speaking Queue.
Lydia has joined the Speaking Queue.
Dreamer bows respectfully.
Fengshui nods casually.
Dethrow edges into the fourth row, and picks a seat and lowers theirself into it.
Fengshui [to Dethrow]: Are you finished?
Fengshui nods casually.
Dethrow nods sharply.
The Speaking Queue has switched to Del.
Del stands from their seat in the first row and easily moves away from it.
Del says loudly, "*speaking english, in a lisp-heavy hybrid Japanese-Jamaican accent voice* I apologize for not having this typed out before hand so it might take me a while to type. However, you need to remember something when you're roleplaying. If you're a corpie or mixer, the other person is trying to ruin your life. Corpies want to take away your power and food, they want to make you tools. Mixers are gross gremlins who don't work hard and might take your wallet. Remember that, please. That's all I have to say. It's gotten a LOT better since I started playing way back when- when it was mixers and corpies hanging out together at KMB, being roommates, sharing keys...I think the most themely thing you can do is to want to beat down the person above and below you in the food chain. Corpies are the reason that you have nothing, mixers are the reason you can't walk alone at night. I don't know how much more I can say than...c'mon bruh."
Del bows respectfully.
Del sits cross-legged on the floor.
Lydia has left the Speaking Queue.
Fengshui nods casually.
The Speaking Queue has switched to Creux.
Creux stands up from the floor.
Trey has joined the Speaking Queue.
Creux says loudly, "*speaking english, in a soft and melodic voice* First mildly long posts incoming... I feel... Personally that topside not having visible conflict is a detriment. Both to the feel of the game for corporate players and mixers who play on the edge of the divide in specific, and to the theme of the game in general. There is a couple reasons I see for this... The first is, there's no native non-contrived reasons for these corporations to go after each other."
Creux says loudly, "VS, NEO, and NLM, have no real reason to be in competition with each other because they are all in different fields. NEO feels like a secondclass corp without a real identity, and what little identity they have seems to be open to use to demean them. E.G. Why are what should be NEOSEC called Transit Station Guards? VS and NLM feel like they have no reason to compete, and have completely different purposes topside. One for creatives, the other for the smartypants technical characters."
Creux says loudly, "This runs counter to the examples elsewhere. Where do VS, NLM or NEO have a natural drive to compete? What resource do they have to fight over? What fields are they in competition over? I feel like establishing and pushing these competitions in plots. Along with directing topsiders at higher more senior levels into proxy conflicts with each other. Would be a much more interesting way to handle this. "
Creux says loudly, "I'd like to emphatically also offer that I believe that opening SK, either through a merger or acquisition of NEO in narrative and transfer of players to KSEC, or through wholesale closing NEO to players in withmore, and opening SK instead would be my preferable solution to this. It feels like the right choice. As it would allow a !LOT! of narratively non-contrived plots that you can't have now... With NLM snooping on SK and VS competition. This -would- be a lot of work. "
Creux says loudly, "The second reason I find for the lack of visible conflict, is the chummy nature between those active in corporate life... This is mildly themely, fuck the mixers after all, and you can bond over that. But I'm gonna drop a youtube link to how I feel politics might be best done in Sindome for corpies... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ct2AWh-nKSk It's 4 minutes long, it's a skit, comedy, but dark comedy. And I think a more serious take on it... Where topsiders are dodging high tier mixer assassin's hired by rivals. And are negotiating high caliber information trades under a snipers scope in case it goes bad. Would be a better take on intrigue than everyone going for drinks at the end of the week at Grunen's to watch the next episode of NLM's latest, and trading gossip on who's fucking who later that night."
Creux shrugs malicelessly.
Creux says loudly, "I find it to be an interesting topic because before the CPI people complained that there was too much conflict topside and you got tossed out instantly for toeing the line. After it, I find that people are complaining there's no real routes for conflict. And no real visible conflict."
Creux sits cross-legged on the floor.
Creux says loudly, "On a side and slightly more indicative IC note... Most data I hear traded to topsiders is about conflict and players, big or small, in the mix... In spite of having data on a fair few topsiders that could be schemed against. There's been no real takers. It just seems like a very conflictless place to be right now. "
Samantha has joined the Speaking Queue.
Bartine has joined the Speaking Queue.
Joshua has joined the Speaking Queue.
The Speaking Queue has switched to Picot.
Dreamer says loudly, "Good things to consider."
Picot stands from their seat in the sixth row, and edges their way out of it into the aisle.
Picot exclaims loudly, "*speaking english, in a gentle texan voice* I feel things have improved to a tolerable level. Instead of needing to pull daily 12-hour shifts of corporate counter-espionage, I can, y'know... focus on my IC job. And sleep, sometimes. Lol. The shadow war being relaxed is a -good- thing, for sanity. Also, regarding the topside / mix conflict, I do my best to provide as many opportunities as possible for people to engage in conflict, as well as -plenty- of opportunities to be taken advantage of. Do biz, get rich!"
Picot sits cross-legged on the floor.
Serret has joined the Speaking Queue.
The Speaking Queue has switched to Phlox.
Picot stands up from the floor.
Picot edges into the sixth row, and picks a seat and lowers theirself into it.
The Speaking Queue has switched to Chayna.
Chayna says, "*speaking english, in an a gruff, youthful West Coast-accented feminine voice* This is hard to speak on without knowing what's going on outside of my limited perspective, but I'd like to encourage more 'Johnsons.' That's seemed a little limited to me where I don't know that PCs are all reaching across The Divide to push action and plot on the other side. I've always thought there's meant to be kind of a murky middle-ground and some unspoken understanding that The Divide works both ways with tendrils spreading either direction to drive commerce and intrigue. I feel that could stand to be beefed up a little more- encourage more PCs to hire out, reach out, drive plot."
Dreamer nods casually.
Chayna says, "It feels just a touch lacking and I think it could stand just a nudge here and there to get people into the swing of it. That's all."
Phlox sits cross-legged on the floor.
Chayna flashes a peace sign.
Chayna stands from their seat in the second row, and edges their way out of it into the aisle.
Chayna holds her chest and coughs subtly.
Chayna asks, "I didn't stand, was that heard?"
Kard says loudly, "*speaking english* I heard it."
Dreamer says loudly, "Heard"
Kard nods casually.
Celestial says loudly, "We heard you."
The Speaking Queue has switched to Liat.
Liat stands from their seat in the first row and easily moves away from it.
Chayna edges into the second row, and picks a seat and lowers theirself into it.
Liat says, "*speaking english, in a lilting, Hebrew-accented voice* I'd like to bring up the topic of ideology. In a world where class conflict is such a major theme, I think that ideologies such as capitalism, communism, socialism, etc should be viewed as more themely than they already are. Generally when I've attempted to reference different ideologies in-game or have seen these ideologies mentioned, there's been a general feeling of annoyance or shrinking away from such understandings of topics. Class struggle and all its baggage (including communism) is CP as fuck, folks! "
Phlox has joined the Speaking Queue.
Liat sits cross-legged on the floor.
Liat stands up from the floor.
Liat walks around the front of the rows of seats and picks one out to sit in, and lowers theirself into it.
Liat smiles innocently.
The Speaking Queue has switched to Trey.
Trey stands from their seat in the third row, and edges their way out of it into the aisle.
Dreamer says loudly, "And a quick reply, I'm seeing divide from top to mix from mix to top as well as the shady dealings and two facedness. Unsure the level people want it at, but I see a lot of you doing this so keep it up and great job :D"
Trey says loudly, "I think a continuing issue with the Mixer/Corporate divide the is the relative paucity of a luxury gap between them. The 'Mixinette' thread from a few months back was a great example of this -- the Mix Steak problem is real, but it's not the only issue, I think. Mix tailors are routinely able to make clothes that are topside appropriate, et cetera. I think if there was more of a luxury gap it would produce a more natural divide; I think Mixers would both have more justified reasons to hate topside, but also more natural reasons to want topside things. Right now, the actual lives of many Mix PCs and topside PCs aren't that different, and so the divide often feels like 'play acting', or it feels ICly political about PC economics rather that driven by genuine differences."
Shift has joined the Speaking Queue.
Trey says loudly, "I also -- while I'm standing -- want to second Chayna's desire for more 'Mr. Johnsons'. They're such a CP feature and I don't think we see that as often here. Wealth right now in the Mix flows from the Mix, rather than being a tap controlled by the corporations. I think if topside was the source of more mixer wealth, there'd be a lot more room for complicated play."
Trey edges into the third row, and picks a seat and lowers theirself into it.
Lorelai has joined the Speaking Queue.
Celestial says loudly, "I think there's a balance to be struck here, but I'm not sure that a mechanical focus is what we need. And on Johnson's, they definitely exist, but perhaps not as plentiful as they should be."
Dreamer says loudly, "Repeating my above comments to this as well, and adding that I agree more Johnsons could be a good thing."
The Speaking Queue has switched to Samantha.
Samantha stands from their seat in the fourth row, and edges their way out of it into the aisle.
Celestial says loudly, "More is always good."
Samantha says, "I personally love playing the system. Not -gaming- the system but -being- the system. Altogether topside I feel though like the system is still out to screw -me- and that I'm altogether under so much more scrutiny inside a corp and by the WJF, where, instead of them being permissive toward me, I am at risk for acting out, and acquisition of most of the tools needed for conflict would require me to bypass and undermine the system rather than play as it. I think some positions also do not encourage conflict with mixers at all, for good reason, but that's all I say on that. I also wanted to bring up the lack of intermediaries - and respectable ones at that, such as Mister Johnson. I would love to see a player Mr. Johnson, but they'd have to take up a position where corpies can trust them with info and to do work while they end up being the ones dealing with all the dirty mixers, and right now the conflict is simply too binary for someone to get there I think. I also picture a Mister Johnson handing the mixers he hires gear they couldn't dream of to get the job done, but similar to my first point - it's the mixers with permissive access. I think more 'corpie only' channels would be welcomed. Maybe not just Mr. Johnson but Corporate dealers/fixers."
Samantha edges into the fourth row, and picks a seat and lowers theirself into it.
Lorelai has left the Speaking Queue.
Blaze has joined the Speaking Queue.
Kard says loudly, "The WJF hates you all equally, that's a true statement."
The Speaking Queue has switched to Bartine.
Dreamer nods casually.
Bartine stands from their seat in the sixth row, and edges their way out of it into the aisle.
Glitch says loudly, "*speaking english* Truth."
Bartine exclaims, "Short and sweet and already echoing what's been said, I think what was the drip-feed Topside Crime is really starting to -flow- with the recent influx of Dispatcher events, IC politics and player groups banding together to fight the Man. The Divide is getting to be nice and sharp, so good looks all you corporate prats and mixer IDIOTS for throwing their fuel on the fire!"
Bartine edges into the sixth row, and picks a seat and lowers theirself into it.
Fengshui has closed the Speaking Queue for this topic.
The Speaking Queue has switched to Joshua.
Dreamer says loudly, "You heard it PCs, if you're looking for inspiration on a path, middle man Johnsons are a thing."
Joshua stands from their seat in the sixth row, and edges their way out of it into the aisle.
Joshua says loudly, "*speaking english, in a mellow Californian voice* I'm relatively new to the game so take that into account when reading my OOC thoughts. I'm not the most codedly savvy guy here, nor have I been exposed to the game enough to feel with certainty what is right or what is wrong. That said, I feel an opinion is still good! I read on Creux's thoughts and thought that a good way to expand on the need between corporates to compete is to keep developing and engaging that awesome stock system into tangible benefits for the players. I'm not sure how exactly the system works, but it feels like the best way to generate competitivity, drama and all sorts of stuff between corporations without what I also hear was a crazy amount of topside conflict in the Past. I believe a balance between being able to enjoy your role and also scheming is good. As a related aside, I think that I've encountered a game where the difference between classes is nicely enforced. It can be better? Yes, but I'm loving the Divide so far."
Joshua edges into the sixth row, and picks a seat and lowers theirself into it.
Dreamer exclaims loudly, "New opinions still have value, thanks for throwing in!"
Kard exclaims loudly, "The stock system is not fully implemented as yet, the base of it is there but we don't have it all the way in yet. It's on the list of things we want to use to push Topsiders though, for sure!"
The Speaking Queue has switched to Serret.
Serret stands from their seat in the fourth row, and edges their way out of it into the aisle.
Serret says, "*speaking english, in a smoky Freesky-spiced voice* Playing topside during two different periods, the difference in roleplay is night-and-day improved over what it was previously. I have at times been critical of how the divide is implemented, but the daily RP situation was dire before and it's quite lively now -- so I am a big fan of the cultural changes made topside."
Serret edges into the fourth row, and picks a seat and lowers theirself into it.
Celestial casually nods at Serret.
Dreamer nods casually.
The Speaking Queue has switched to Phlox.
Phlox stands up from the floor.
Phlox says loudly, "Controversial opinion: stop enforcing the class divide so hard. This divide has made it so topside and the Mix often seem like two different games, with HUGE risks if you're caught interacting between the two. This creates a big rift in the playerbase. To have conflict, you first need intersection. I would stop being so focused on discouraging interaction via harsh consequences then being surprised when conflict isn't happening. I want to be able to play a corpie who openly goes slumming in the Mix and throws big bucks at mixer strippers, yet goes untouched because of the threat of repercussions from both the WJF and, even scarier, CorpSec. This would generate RP for mixers willing to take the risks to capitalize on this, for corpies who want good old fasioned mixer fun while touting their privilege, and for CorpSec dissuading hostile action and reacting to it when it happens. Meanwhile, I want it to be more acceptable for mixers to take jobs from corpies, because fundamentally all money is supposed to be trickling down from the corps. I want to feel like corporations OWN the Mix, because they do and are supposed to."
Dreamer says loudly, "This is the intent of the game :)"
Celestial says loudly, "That's how I personally feel it should be, yes."
Phlox nods sagely.
Dreamer says loudly, "There are still undivided relationships and connections beneath the surface, but to stop enforcing so hard would be to stop enforcing theme."
Zukhov stands from their seat in the fifth row, and edges their way out of it into the aisle.
Phlox sits cross-legged on the floor.
The Speaking Queue has switched to Shift.
Shift stands up from the floor.
Shift says loudly, "*speaking english, in a rapid-fire mixmash-accented voice* In support of what Trey said...Mixers, RP your environment. It's awful. Do drugs and rely on them to feel good. When you run out, go nuts and have mental breakdowns. Those that know theme, try to lead it for others. If you see someone playing dollhouse in what is objectively a warzone, do a pose with something nasty or dangerous in the room. Or challenge them directly. It's really bad out here. Encourage people to read room descriptions and stuff OOCly if they're ignoring it on purpose or on accident. It's one of the things that's really hard for newer players to get into, just like ambipop."
Shift peels a used condom off zir exposed foot and nods.
Shift sits cross-legged on the floor.
Celestial casually nods at Shift.
Dreamer says loudly, "You can always add more corpy to your corporate RP and more mix to your mixer. Consider your environment and daily life in your RP for sure. "
Celestial says loudly, "I agree with this. If you want to improve your RP, look around you, read the descriptions. Become more like a corpie or become more like a Mixer."
The Speaking Queue has switched to Blaze.
Blaze stands from their seat in the first row and easily moves away from it.
Blaze says loudly, "*speaking english, in an expressive, miami accented voice* Having played both in the mix and as a topsider I feel as though it was far easier as a PC to take control of making money as a mixer than it was as a corporate character. Base pay for corporate characters is higher this is true but once you start accounting for the ability of mixers to take advantage of other mechanical sources of income it is actually quite easier to make far more money as a mixer than it is as a corporate character who is further removed from those income sources and also has higher base expenses to deal with. Mixers often end up richer than their corporate counterparts. This is one of many reasons you don't see corporate players hiring mixers as much as they perhaps should be, although they do periodically. I feel there is perhaps a lack of conflict topside too at the minute, for many of the reasons Creux pointed out. The corps have no real reason to compete with one another and therefore no reason to hire deniable mixer assets to fight for them."
Blaze walks around the front of the rows of seats and picks one out to sit in, and lowers theirself into it.
Celestial says loudly, "There's definitely ways to make a lot of money as a corporate character, you're just not told outright because well, it's not something you're supposed to do if you're following the rules :)"
Celestial says loudly, "The IC rules, to be clear."
The Speaking Queue flashes to notify everyone that the queue is clear.
The Speaking Queue topic has switched to Followup from last Town Hall: New players in the past 6 months, what's been your biggest frustration(s)? Was there something you really needed to know before you were introduced to it? (10 min - 5:00-5:10).
Fengshui has opened the Speaking Queue for this topic. 'join queue' to get in line to speak.
Solaria stands from their seat in the sixth row, and edges their way out of it into the aisle.
Fengshui asks loudly, "New players in the past 6 months, what's been your biggest frustration(s)? Was there something you really needed to know before you were introduced to it?"
Malcolm has joined the Speaking Queue.
The Speaking Queue buzzes and the current speaker flashes: Malcolm.
Malcolm stands from their seat in the sixth row, and edges their way out of it into the aisle.
Bartine has joined the Speaking Queue.
Lydia has joined the Speaking Queue.
Malcolm says, "*speaking english, in a masculine, proper and rhythmic voice* As a new player, I've had a great time. I could find answers all the other questions quite easily thanks to the many helpful PCs I've encountered. My biggest frustration, however, was simple: finding a direction for my PC and learning how to roleplay. Luckily, a few people in the Game-Help channel pointed me to some forum posts that were extraordinarily helpful. I scoured it for hours to learn more about the theme and the game. I loved the recent inclusion of a forum post in the Tip-Line, and I've found that the BGBB is incredibly valuable in learning the ropes of this game. I wonder if a help-file could be created, or, maybe in @newbie, to direct people to the most helpful threads -- or perhaps we move those dead threads into a new, newbie resources forum. "
Fengshui says loudly, "You can speak to this even if you aren't a new player, to be clear, but we do want new player opinions as well."
Malcolm edges into the sixth row, and picks a seat and lowers theirself into it.
Trey has joined the Speaking Queue.
Creux has joined the Speaking Queue.
Joshua has joined the Speaking Queue.
Samantha has joined the Speaking Queue.
Fengshui casually nods at Malcolm.
Fengshui [to Malcolm]: Thanks for the feedback, go ahead and create an Idea for doing just that.
Fengshui says loudly, "We have a 'newbie' set of posts on the BGBB for people new to it, but maybe we need a 'new to roleplaying' post that we pin with good threads to check out."
The Speaking Queue has switched to Bartine.
Bartine stands from their seat in the sixth row, and edges their way out of it into the aisle.
Bartine says, "Lately I'm seeing maybe an uptick in frustration, impatience, etc. at the first week or two pre-employment. Which is totally fine and understandable! I just want to reiterate that idle hands are the devil's playthings and we have a lot of cool devils in this city."
Bartine edges into the sixth row, and picks a seat and lowers theirself into it.
Celestial casually nods at Bartine.
Shift has joined the Speaking Queue.
Fengshui nods casually.
The Speaking Queue has switched to Lydia.
Lydia stands from their seat in the sixth row, and edges their way out of it into the aisle.
Lydia asks loudly, "*speaking english, in a lazy, vaguely French voice* Heyo, good to be here. I think one of my biggest problems, for sure, has been the high entry point for some professions- for example, chemistry. If you're a new player looking to get into chemistry, you have an initial investment of over a hundred thousand chyen to begin, which, frankly, doesn't really make much sense, in an environment where drugs are meant to be common place. It would be appreciated if we faced some capability for budding chemists to make their shitty drugs in bathtubs and toilets, throw out some more street-grade drugs instead of never being able to touch a lab until they're guaranteed to already pump out high-quality product. It would make the high-quality drugs stand out more, and give people more access to poor-quality candy and get themselves addicted or stuck in a drug-addled spiral, which is rather thematic, eh?"
Lydia sits cross-legged on the floor.
Fengshui nods casually.
The Speaking Queue has switched to Trey.
Dreamer nods casually.
Trey says loudly, "This is what I was going to say in the greeter discussion. I have at various times focused a lot of using immies to do business. The tightening of some of the 'usual means' in the economy in the last few months has probably had a beneficial impact on mid-tier players; it's made it harder to make stupid flash quickly. However, I've noticed that it makes it harder to hire an immy for some of that routine business. Having more economic opportunities to connect immies to midbies might be a good idea, since those 'first few weeks running coded jobs for more senior players' connections often can be very important. Finding some sort of churn that allows that interaction for immies without having runaway economic benefits for mid-tier characters I think should be an important question for staff tweaking the economy -- I think it's good to have a lot of regular business for immies that midbies can send their way without having that turn the midbies into giant wealth piles. Lately, income for midbies has been tightened, which is good, but I worry that we are also drying up some of the reasons midbies make initial contact with immies. For me back in the day, the road often was 'hire an immy to handle some coded running, and if they don't cheat me, start hiring them for more complicated plots.' I (and I suspect others doing the same) may have been making frankly too much flash off having immies run for me, but I also think we need those opportunities for low-stakes trust building."
Creux has left the Speaking Queue.
Loretta has joined the Speaking Queue.
Trey says loudly, "Whoops! Never stood."
Trey says loudly, "But I'm now sitting intentionally."
Bomber edges into the sixth row, and picks a seat and lowers theirself into it.
Fengshui nods casually.
The Speaking Queue has switched to Joshua.
Joshua says loudly, "Sorry for the long texts..."
Joshua says loudly, "I tried the game once or twice for a little bit before, but I never 'stuck' to it as I am doing now nor did I ever connect with the game on an emotional basis before too much. It's on me - I didn't sit down to properly give it a try. I've played a few other RPi games and it's been a while since I've been excited about one, or found the coded features a MUD has exciting. Having staffed some of them and having read some books on game design, several features have been satisfying, and several systems have also been similarly satisfying. So it's great to see a staff team that is working so well on their game so far. I had heard a few bad things about the game on the most public websites, but I'm not one to immediately cross out a game for that kind of stuff having played in other games that face the same kind of problems - in games so emotionally invested, emotions run hot."
Joshua stands from their seat in the sixth row, and edges their way out of it into the aisle.
Joshua says loudly, "But basically I feel that something that made me stall my emotional connection with the game is switching my mentality on how difficult and slow things are to accomplish in the game. NOTE: Don't think that that's a critic. The opposite. In other games, in one day I'm in a job and stuff, Sindome is a much slower (but also for some reason more satisfying?) experience in this regard. This is POSITIVE in the long term in my own opinion because it leads to 'YEAH!' moments when you accomplish something. But when you're starting out it's also a challenge to engage new players through this period where they're asking themselves, 'Why are things taking so slow?' It's naturally a question many players will have. Literally every other game except 1 or 2 in ANY genre have immediate reward. Sindome is unrewarding. New players have to adapt to this, but also we can attempt to smooth this out. And many players rock at it. Ultimately, I understood that Sindome is much more difficult than other games, that accomplishing things actually feel good, and that the pacing is slower. I married with the idea of the difficult climb (help power-something) and found it positive rather than negative. However, even then, the best way to make a new player stay (and the way I personally have stayed) is through meaningful scenes through this period. A call out to players who take their time to invest in new players. I read somewhere that oldbies are wary of investing in new players cause some of them disappear. I'm sure. But it's like that in every game. In this regard, I think Trey's opinion on more ways to engage immies in business would also be great - but I'm not experienced enough to suggest a tangible way to do that."
Joshua sits cross-legged on the floor.
Fengshui nods casually.
Doozy has joined the Speaking Queue.
Fengshui says loudly, "*speaking english, in a test voice* Thank you for that feedback. I'd really like to see a BGBB post from someone starting a discussion on ways we can better engage with immies on jobs."
Celestial says loudly, "I appreciate the feedback. I understand that oldbies sometimes aren't as keen on investing on immies right out of the gate- And there's not much we can do about that. But we do our best to encourage them to, and make sure they have meaningful interactions even in the short term."
Celestial says loudly, "That helps people to stick. I know it did for me when I started playing."
Fengshui says loudly, "Not just the automated crate ones, but other stuff. I'm not sure exactly what that looks like but I'd be willing to put some code behind a system that connects new players to people with jobs."
Celestial says loudly, "A job board would be cool."
Celestial says loudly, "That -isn't- the grid."
Joshua says loudly, "That'd be neat"
The Speaking Queue has switched to Samantha.
Samantha stands from their seat in the fourth row, and edges their way out of it into the aisle.
Samantha says, "One of my biggest frustrations has to do with the skills we discussed earlier, but we had that bit. The other is contact. I am not in OOC chat. I tried it for half a day and turned it off. I absolutely do not want a stream of OOC over my game and I would rather play another game than have to do it. That said, a majority of discussion, suggestion and ideas, especially with staff and with staff -feedback- seem to occur there now, at least by my perception. Office hours have dropped, I've wanted to talk about the engineering stuff I talked about here for 3 or so months in them, or they have dropped at least in my experience or insofar as I've seen them announced - though I blame the pandemic for that as well - and the BGBB is very often frustrating, rarely has staff feedback and oftentimes has long-time players outright denying my lived experience of the game as correct, even if applying that metric to my personal experience and my laying out of the reasons of why my IC interactions do or don't happen is a bit silly. In general I feel it very difficult to be included by not being in OOC chat, or at least it's how I experience it right now. And I feel like that parts of the population that are already in the minority are reflected even less when a lot of suggestions are drawn from OOC chat discussion where they make up an even smaller minority."
Delaune stands from their seat in the fifth row, and edges their way out of it into the aisle.
Samantha edges into the fourth row, and picks a seat and lowers theirself into it.
Zukhov edges into the fifth row, and picks a seat and lowers theirself into it.
Fengshui exclaims loudly, "Office hours are really time consuming for whoever is doing it. I started them a while back, with no intention of others picking it up, but Dreamer has been doing them and so has Cel. I really do hope we continue to do them!"
Dreamer says loudly, "I'm never in OOC and don't draw inspiration or hear thoughts from it. If that helps at all :)"
Celestial says loudly, "I nudge people on OOC all the time to post in the BGBB."
Celestial says loudly, "Instead of discussing it on OOC."
Celestial says loudly, "But I'm not omniscient... Yet."
Fengshui says loudly, "Often times people discuss BGBB topics on OOC-Chat but I push people to go to the BGBB as well."
Fengshui says loudly, "I see no issue with people having a real time discussion as long as someone posts the resulting knoweldge on the BGBB"
Celestial says loudly, "Yeah, agreed."
Fengshui says loudly, "Because I do not pay attention to OOC-Chat 99% of the time, even when I'm online"
Fengshui says loudly, "So any ideas that exist only there are lost to me."
The Speaking Queue has switched to Shift.
Shift stands up from the floor.
Shift says loudly, "I just wanted to say that if you're in a bar with a new player you wouldn't normally interact with because you're above them socially or whatever...throw a pose their way to let them know how unimportant they are icly so that they know you're not just flat out ignoring them oocly. Give them a reason to interact with you. I think it can be hard for newer players to take that first step. Even if it's just sneering at them or laughing at their shoes Or whatever. Of course, saying hello and bringing them in if it makes IC sense is cool too. Reel 'em in! I'm not sure how staff feels about this, but throwing a one time local OOC to direct them to xgame with a little welcome if they're clearly struggling is cool too."
Shift sits cross-legged on the floor.
[++] New post to topic 'More cyberpunky jobs' in Ideas

Fengshui casually nods at Shift.
Fengshui says loudly, "Great advice."
Fengshui says loudly, "Treat immies gently."
The Speaking Queue has switched to Loretta.
Loretta stands from their seat in the second row, and edges their way out of it into the aisle.
Celestial says loudly, "Dangle them off a rooftop instead of killing them."
Loretta says, "*speaking english, in a husky and cut-glass Parisian accented voice* There seems to be have been a lot of recent discussion on the game-help chat and the BGBB about what are 'newbie friendly' roles. I know we are very touchy about what IC info we divulge, but it might be helpful to have a 'active census' and maybe 'IC expectations of the role' of sorts for archetypes in chargen or on the main website to give an idea of what sort of roles are saturated before they play. I'm not sure what would go into that code-wise, and I don't ever want to discourage people from playing what they want, but it might curb some of the disappointment that a newbie chemist feels, for example, when they pop up on grid and learn that they might need significant investment in certain gear to use their skills."
Loretta says, "Whenever I interact with someone ICly I try to let them know (to the best of my/my character's knowledge) about the expectations and outlook of certain roles, and sometimes they are disappointed and disappear after that. It always sucks when that happen."
Loretta edges into the second row, and picks a seat and lowers theirself into it.
Celestial casually nods at Loretta.
The Speaking Queue has switched to Doozy.
Lydia has joined the Speaking Queue.
Lorelai has joined the Speaking Queue.
Doozy says loudly, "*speaking english, in a kiwi voice* My biggest frustrations are turning my character's failures into my own. A lot of ideas and things don't work out the way I envision them, and certainly not how my character wants. I think there's a danger to having a character mirror yourself in some ways, that you don't put up the walls of separation that needs to exist."
Leerika stands up from the floor.
Doozy exclaims loudly, "There's the pose system too, which I still mess up. Then another frustrating aspect is having no idea what to do with one of my characther's skills and feeling like it won't be used at all, but it hasn't hindered me from pouring my heart into the game. I really laud the players and staff of the community for being inviting, helping me out as I stumble, and creating simply amazing characters that are addicting to play around! Thank you all!"
Doozy stands from their seat in the sixth row, and edges their way out of it into the aisle.
Doozy sits cross-legged on the floor.
Fengshui nods casually.
[++] New post to topic 'More cyberpunky jobs' in Ideas

Celestial nods casually.
Dreamer says loudly, "Good points."
The Speaking Queue has switched to Lydia.
Lorelai has left the Speaking Queue.
Lydia stands up from the floor.
Lydia says loudly, "I'd have to second the idea of a census- I like to make a character that will complement the rest of the group in whatever games I play, tabletop and otherwise, and with the lack of OOC communication, I can't necessarily do that in Sindome. Just having a little note saying "25% of our playerbase self-identifies as a Solo" would be swell."
Lydia sits cross-legged on the floor.
Joshua has joined the Speaking Queue.
Samantha has joined the Speaking Queue.
Lorelai has joined the Speaking Queue.
Fengshui asks loudly, "That's an interesting idea. Could you create a BGBB post about it?"
Lydia exclaims loudly, "Sure!"
Fengshui says loudly, "Having a census every 3-6 months and showing those results in chargen could be cool."
Song has joined the Speaking Queue.
Celestial says loudly, "One every town hall, maybe."
The Speaking Queue has switched to Joshua.
Fengshui has closed the Speaking Queue for this topic.
Joshua stands up from the floor.
Joshua says loudly, "I love the way the economy is semi-closed. Generally resources are immensely fun to play with. You can't spam your way through crates or what ever to get infinite cash. When you start out you're realistically poor and stuff. It's great. There's also a set of starting jobs that are minor but help you get started - namely bartending. These jobs can be fun - there's areas of them I feel could improve but ultimately I had fun personally. That said, my own IMPRESSION (I might be wrong, but it's my experience) is that ENTRY level jobs are limited in variety while the MID and HIGH level jobs are super varie. A peek at the jobs list obviously shows a huge amount of jobs and variety of roles. Even in the criminal world there's different gangs and what ever. But when I was considering where to start, it was a bit thin - in my mind bartending, and a few other small venues. It'd be fun to consider if there's a chance we can create more jobs in this regard, similar to bartending but that allow for more characters with different personalities to do stuff, present themselves to potential employers, but not be limited to a handful of actions that some PCs won't do (for instance an introverted PC would shy from a bartending or stripping job)."
Joshua edges into the sixth row, and picks a seat and lowers theirself into it.
Lorelai has left the Speaking Queue.
Song has left the Speaking Queue.
Fengshui nods casually.
The Speaking Queue has switched to Samantha.
Samantha stands from their seat in the fourth row, and edges their way out of it into the aisle.
Samantha says, "I also want to add another frustration, related and perhaps adressed by what Lydia said. Currently the overview over archetypes and skills when coming in is pretty much a mess, and Deckers get that whole 'not featured' blurb, despite being .. honestly pretty well-featured and most of all pretty necessary mechanically. Seeing that blurb and then understanding that there isn't a coded matrix to jack into and all is fine, but seeing the fact that those skills -have- that blurb then makes you assume that the other skills are more 'featured' right? So Auto-Tech probably lets you design cool car bodies and paintjobs. Except.. no. It's way -less- featured than Decking is. Just an example there. I think that whole 'newcomer' info just needs a real hard look, but I assume that Grid 3.0 will likely be a priority that also will facilitate much change to that."
Samantha edges into the fourth row, and picks a seat and lowers theirself into it.
Fengshui says loudly, "We don't have a ton of coded support behind deckers, which is why we state that. Mechanics, in game, have a lot more code behind their job."
Fengshui says loudly, "But yeah, we could definitely look at our newbie archetyeps and make sure they are up to date with the way things are currently."
Fengshui nods casually.
The Speaking Queue flashes to notify everyone that the queue is clear.
The Speaking Queue topic has switched to Dual Wielding (10 min - 5:10-5:20).
Fengshui has opened the Speaking Queue for this topic. 'join queue' to get in line to speak.
Panda has joined the Speaking Queue.
The Speaking Queue buzzes and the current speaker flashes: Panda.
Amir has joined the Speaking Queue.
Nefret has joined the Speaking Queue.
Creux has joined the Speaking Queue.
Panda stands from their seat in the first row and easily moves away from it.
Panda says loudly, "*speaking english, in an English accented, androgynous, smooth and honeyed voice* Im going to keep this short because I have longer points for later. As it is, some weapons shouldnt be allowed to dual wield. Weapons/classes that already have a major advantage having MORE of one is just slowly breaking combat at the seams in a ridiculous way that is starting to force combat metas. Seeing carbon copies of the same archetype that use the same weapons with the same use of dual wield has gotten major in the past months once people discovered how powerful dual wield is."
Panda says loudly, "My only thought is making some weapons / classes to have less or no ability to break combat like that, or even forcing them to be two-handed. There is a hand full of weapons that already seem like they SHOULD class as two-hand but still dont."
Panda nods firmly.
Panda walks around the front of the rows of seats and picks one out to sit in, and lowers theirself into it.
The Speaking Queue has switched to Amir.
Amir stands from their seat in the second row, and edges their way out of it into the aisle.
Celestial says loudly, "I'd like if some of the high-end weapons weren't dual wieldable. Some of them don't make sense to be, but its a careful balance."
Amir says loudly, "*speaking english, in a coarse voice* So! Dual wielding. Hot topic of the age among a certain class of combat characters. I admit, I'm probably not as zealous about this as some other players. Frankly speaking, whether this stays or goes, I'm not going to be terribly upset. What I do want to say is this... I think this should be one of those 'features' that is more style than substance. I absolutely do want players/characters to be able to choose to run around like living helicopters if they want, but I don't want them feeling like that *have* to, because they're putting themselves at a mechanical disadvantage."
Amir edges into the second row, and picks a seat and lowers theirself into it.
Trey has joined the Speaking Queue.
Fengshui nods casually.
The Speaking Queue has switched to Nefret.
Nefret stands up from the floor.
Nefret says loudly, "*speaking english, in a quiet, raspy voice* Dual wielding needs to be tuned down. Either make it so it's way, way more taxing physically to spam blocking, or don't allow the statistical benefits of dual-wielding and guarded stance to be stacked. Potentially look at applying a negative damage effect on ripostes. Those are my suggestions. In my experience, it's Guarded + dual wield that's the real problem here. There are so many different reasons that turtling is more of an effective strategy in both sparring and 'actual' combat. Be it just buying time for your ace cools to show up to save your butt. There needs to be more counterplay, because going into opposing stances can actually cause you to lose the fight, depending on how the stats of the two characters line up- and that doesn't seem like it's intended the intended outcome. So long as you're being the one agressed upon: the tactics have swung into a very boring, bland and predictable outcome now. There's clearly a large advantage to fighting defensively, even if you're using some cheap piece of trash in your offhand just to trigger the stat benefits."
Nefret sits cross-legged on the floor.
Fengshui nods casually.
The Speaking Queue has switched to Creux.
Creux stands up from the floor.
Creux says loudly, "*speaking english, in a soft and melodic voice* First a definition..."
Creux says loudly, "In the table top game I come from mainly there's a penalty called an onslaught penalty. This is a penalty that occurs from having two or more attackers on a single defender and is designed to prevent a powerful defender from simply outlasting the multiple attackers. And acts as a stacking reduction in defense for each attack taken in a set amount of time/per round. That defined. I would like to ask three things."
Creux says loudly, "I know Sindome has an equivelent to an onslaught penalty. Is there any equivelency in this penalty that could be found to the dual wielding bonus? From a design standpoint, I can see tracing a curve with these two and finding where they intersect might be helpful in understanding where the perception that dual wielding is for some a very good thing, while others dismiss it entirely... Along with that. I find that these kinds of issues where there is a percieved imbalance on the majority of players, it is typically because of it not being a problem at higher ends. And it might be possible to counteract that percieved imbalance by tweaking a curve like that. Or increasing the requirements to gain those bonus'."
[++] New post to topic 'Withmore Census' in Ideas

Creux sits cross-legged on the floor.
Creux asks loudly, "I know Sindome has a dual wielding bonus, that has led to in the mid end, and low end, people percieving that this bonus is adverse to good balance, or interesting engagements. And has led to a perception of, those who turtle win. I would ask if this is the intention? And if so, and final question here for this segment, how would you go about adding dynamism to the current combat on the low and mid end, where the defensive meta seems prominent, without making the high end feel trapped?"
[++] New post to topic 'More cyberpunky jobs' in Ideas

Fengshui says loudly, "Well, I think it makes sense that you can block better with two weapons, and there is an onslaught penalty. And going guarded + dual weilding is supposed to be a powerful defensive tactic. It doesn't stop a sonic or a fragmentation grenade, or someone sniping you from a roof top though."
Charley has joined the Speaking Queue.
Fengshui says loudly, "Which are all things I suggest people do. It doesn't stop two people attacking, and going kamikaze. And it doesn't stop you from losing two weapons if you get got."
[++] New post to topic 'Withmore Census' in Ideas

Flash edges into the second row, and picks a seat and lowers theirself into it.
Valerie has joined the Speaking Queue.
[++] New post to topic 'Withmore Census' in Ideas

[++] New post to topic 'Withmore Census' in Ideas

Fengshui says loudly, "But what I'm hearing is that dual wield is a bit too strong and needs some kind of nerf."
The Speaking Queue has switched to Trey.
Trey stands from their seat in the third row, and edges their way out of it into the aisle.
Trey says loudly, "I really think Amir hit the nail on the head. There are times when dual wielding is visually cool, but right now it is the mechanical end all and be all in many fights -- even for things that don't make sense at all. For example, I'm not sure how many folks use pistols in their daily life, but I work in law enforcement, and no one trained ever, ever, ever shoots a pistol with one hand if they can avoid it. Or a sledgehammer in one hand? I can't even. Having people do cool stuff for style? Awesome. But there's a clear winner right now in terms of weapon loadout, and it's a problem. If it were me, I might limit dual-wielding to only select 'not top tier' weapons, and then have the mechanical benefit move them to just below the top tier of weapons."
[++] New post to topic 'Withmore Census' in Ideas

Nefret has joined the Speaking Queue.
Trey says loudly, "I also want to point out that the dual wield benefit is one of the large problems with Martial Arts right now, as the only close combat style that can't dual wield."
Trey edges into the third row, and picks a seat and lowers theirself into it.
The Speaking Queue has switched to Charley.
Fengshui has closed the Speaking Queue for this topic.
Charley stands from their seat in the first row and easily moves away from it.
Charley says loudly, "*speaking english, in a smooth, refined, albeit playful euro-accented voice* Well, I have a suggestion regarding the issue involving dual wielding and to counter it, two-handed weapons should be a bit 'buffed', two-handed weapons should have a higher chance of tiring people quicker because they're extremely heavy, think a sledgehammer against two knives? You'll be tired very quickly trying to block a heavy hammer flying your way with two knives, maybe your wrists and fingers would start cramping, also a bit of boost in blocking with two-handed weapons. Also, work on weapons that should be two-handed like a pickax, or a sledgehammer. Chains as well."
Charley edges into the second row, and picks a seat and lowers theirself into it.
Fengshui nods casually.
The Speaking Queue has switched to Valerie.
Valerie stands from their seat in the second row, and edges their way out of it into the aisle.
Valerie says loudly, "*speaking english, in a soft and feminine, but dull voice* I understand that with two weapons and blocking, you should be able to black more, that makes sense. But if you're focused on blocking with both of thsoe weapons, I E guarded, it should be a lot harder to HIT, not get almost guaranteed hits with every turn of combat. That seems unbalanced and unrealistic to me."
[++] New post to topic 'Withmore Census' in Ideas

Valerie sits cross-legged on the floor.
Valerie stands up from the floor.
Fengshui nods casually.
Valerie edges into the second row, and picks a seat and lowers theirself into it.
The Speaking Queue has switched to Nefret.
Nefret stands up from the floor.
Nefret says loudly, "There's a heavy focus on melee combat now, especially after the gang overhauls, and healthy numbers of gangers all around. Maybe we can start ICly promoting the use of not-melee weapons? I've seen puppets outright say things like 'Don't use guns to gang' when that should be a perfectly valid strategy with it's own upsides and downsides."
Nefret sits cross-legged on the floor.
Fengshui nods casually.
The Speaking Queue flashes to notify everyone that the queue is clear.
Dreamer says loudly, "Remember that puppets are people with opinions, not GMs."
Fengshui says loudly, "All good feedback. I'll start thinking about what can be done to balance this out a bit in the next few weeks."
Celestial says loudly, "It's what I said in the GM speech. NPCs are their own people with their opinions and thoughts."
The Speaking Queue topic has switched to What customization can be added to cosmetic items / options? (15 min - 5:20-5:35).
Fengshui has opened the Speaking Queue for this topic. 'join queue' to get in line to speak.
Creux has joined the Speaking Queue.
The Speaking Queue buzzes and the current speaker flashes: Creux.
Panda has joined the Speaking Queue.
Echo has joined the Speaking Queue.
Creux stands up from the floor.
Dethrow has joined the Speaking Queue.
Liat has joined the Speaking Queue.
Mark has joined the Speaking Queue.
Creux says loudly, "I would like to see cyberware being a much more modular affair, I think the approach with eyes and ears need to be replicated with the other areas. I would say that you shouldn't have a pain editor, and a flash boost as separate modules, but as components in a bespoke cyber-spine. With the customizations being done on the spine as additional surgeries add modules to it. Possibly having a description being able to be added to each cyberware per part or upgrade installed. Cyber weapons could replace cyber limbs and vice versa."
Chayna has joined the Speaking Queue.
Creux says loudly, "Further I don't think there should be a such thing as invisible cyberware. I think it should all be obvious with physical affects that can be either crafted by a cyberdoc or chosen from a default template, and even possibly nano-gens should be obvious from incidental effects. It should be a lot more difficult to max out on Chrome and be a non-obvious cyborg."
Creux says loudly, "And with that I'm done."
Creux sits cross-legged on the floor.
Trey has joined the Speaking Queue.
Serret has joined the Speaking Queue.
Song has joined the Speaking Queue.
The Speaking Queue has switched to Panda.
Panda stands from their seat in the first row and easily moves away from it.
Panda says loudly, "Okay, so Im going to talk a long bit about cyberlimbs, this has like three more says so bear with me. As they are, cyberlimbs have little use other than RP and personally? I do not mind that, style over substance is sometimes needed. But, my personal problems arise on two topics, price and genericness. "
Aurelie has joined the Speaking Queue.
Panda says loudly, "The first is just the basic economy in the game doesnt allow someone to get a cyberlimb, it is far easier to kill your character off and clone out with a new limb. That is troublesome because it adds little to no RP movement than going to a cyberdoc,.moving chyen to the doc, getting the install, etc etc. I mean, look at cyber eyes, they have a far more appropriate price so people get more of them out of RP reasons when they lose an eye. So, if the price is changed to be reasonable or alternatives got added that would solve the no-sell with limb loss majorly."
Panda says loudly, "The second is more of an idea I have seen floating around and I personally love it, adding the ability to change cyberlimbs. Turn them into editable @nakeds that ONLY allow cyberdocs to tinker and edit them, make an arm or leg far less generic if their client just pays a little more to get fancy art on their limbs. Obviously, the forced addition of a SK barcode at the end to avoid MAJOR changes that can be written off as SK being okay with changes to the cyber shell, but if you tamper with identification or the core of their goods your doc is going to get a hit team hired on them."
Panda says loudly, "Overall, having more style in a game with tons of fantastic useful systems would just be plain great. We already have the meat, I wouldnt mind some steak sauce on the side."
Dreamer says loudly, "We have actually begun discussions on cyberlimbs. There are no specific changes being implemented, but they are on our radar for an update."
Panda nods firmly.
Panda exclaims loudly, "Aces!"
Panda walks around the front of the rows of seats and picks one out to sit in, and lowers theirself into it.
Lydia has joined the Speaking Queue.
Mark has left the Speaking Queue.
Shift has joined the Speaking Queue.
Samantha has joined the Speaking Queue.
Echo stands from their seat in the sixth row, and edges their way out of it into the aisle.
The Speaking Queue has switched to Echo.
Lydia has left the Speaking Queue.
Echo says, "*speaking english, in an alto, feminine voice* Thanks. First time speaking in Town Hall. A lot of this has been said before. I'd like to see it possible to apply stickers to more items. Possibly let the latest sticker add aliases to item (or append a shortdesc modifier) so it's easier to differentiate similar items. Give me my prog or term with a kitten sticker or whatever. 'take kitten prog'. Similarly, the system for applying chips or mods to items is a really cool coded system in Sindome. I'd like to see it for cyberlimbs, and I'd like to see more 'grading' of items. To me this is a low-effort, high impact/high return investment of development time. Mixers should have shittier cybernetics with higher PDS that are cheaper. It also provides incentives for development into cyberlimb modifications if it applies to more than just one or two niche objects. This grading and availability of items reinforces the theme that corpies get the nice toys. Let's enforce that with the systems, too. On the topic of addons themselves, I'd like to see things that make it harder to disarm from that hand. Or mitigate some fall damage. I think there are interesting additions that are more deveopment demanding, but ultimately are more interesting than stat or skill boosts. Though there may be a place for integrated toolkits, scanner, and the like. Cheers."
Echo edges into the third row, and picks a seat and lowers theirself into it.
Lydia has joined the Speaking Queue.
Fengshui nods casually.
The Speaking Queue has switched to Dethrow.
Dethrow stands from their seat in the fourth row, and edges their way out of it into the aisle.
Dethrow says, "*speaking english, in a firm but gentle feminine voice* I'd love to see weapon and armor customization, beyond what's available. There's always been gripes about these being samey or not CP enough, and while stickers and engraving are great, I'd like to see more options so people aren't forced to all appear relatively the same in armor, sans color variations. Especially in a game with style over substance."
Dethrow edges into the fourth row, and picks a seat and lowers theirself into it.
Panda has joined the Speaking Queue.
The Speaking Queue has switched to Liat.
Liat stands from their seat in the first row and easily moves away from it.
Liat says, "*speaking english, in a lilting, Hebrew-accented voice* Transhumanism, transhumanism, transhumanism!! At the forefront of cyberpunk chic, augmenting oneself with aesthetic chrome should be commonplace and encouraged! I really love the idea of getting custom-made cyberlimbs and more aesthetic additions. Also, custom biomods are extremely unexplored because they're limited to corporate chars and cost a LOT. Part of the reason some people feel fed up with the way biomods are realised, in terms of "animal splicers" and all that, is because Mixers are unable to experiment with it and altogether get very themely custom mods. Opening custom mods to the Mix would help this part of the theme along super well. There could even be different "levels" of quality in terms of mods, such as biomes that last only one sleeve or not all the nakeds options offered as topside. "
Liat walks around the front of the rows of seats and picks one out to sit in, and lowers theirself into it.
[OOC: Liat says, "biomods* autocorrect" ]
Fengshui nods casually.
The Speaking Queue has switched to Chayna.
Chayna stands from their seat in the second row, and edges their way out of it into the aisle.
[OOC: The game has been saved and backed up successfully to disk. 'help cp']
Chayna says, "*speaking english, in an a gruff, youthful West Coast-accented feminine voice* This is a little similar to Dethrow, but I -adore- customization and would love little buyable add-ons and some fleshing out to stickers and engravings to add similar means to add some color and personality to weapons, armor, cars and tech. Cyberpunk absolutely bleeds style and aesthetic and it's something I love to play around with. On the subject of stickers, I've seen it suggested a couple times that they be applicable to more items to serve as labels. You've got two e-notes, slapping a label on one would help differentiate which is which."
Chayna says, "I would also like to maybe see more vehicles. Just a few to add a little more style and differentiation between what we have now. Most of the cars, for example, all look pretty close to the same and don't really appeal to specific audiences and tastes."
Chayna bows respectfully.
Chayna edges into the second row, and picks a seat and lowers theirself into it.
Chayna has left the Speaking Queue.
Picot has joined the Speaking Queue.
Fengshui says loudly, "Someone make a post about using stickers to augment the name of an item like the kitty e-note."
The Speaking Queue has switched to Serret.
Fengshui has closed the Speaking Queue for this topic.
Serret stands from their seat in the fourth row, and edges their way out of it into the aisle.
Serret says, "*speaking english, in a smoky Freesky-spiced voice* I've beaten this drum ad infinitum on the boards, so I won't rehash it all -- but I do hope we can eventually move towards having every 'stock' message made customizable by the player through some means or other, which is to say players being able to write their own descriptive @worn. I think makeup, cyberware, biomods and equipment could all be made more personal and more cyberpunk with greater player input on how they present."
Serret edges into the fourth row, and picks a seat and lowers theirself into it.
Fengshui says loudly, "That adds a lot of bloat."
Conner edges into the sixth row, and picks a seat and lowers theirself into it.
Fengshui has opened the Speaking Queue for this topic. 'join queue' to get in line to speak.
Trey has joined the Speaking Queue.
The Speaking Queue buzzes and the current speaker flashes: Trey.
Fengshui has closed the Speaking Queue for this topic.
Trey stands from their seat in the third row, and edges their way out of it into the aisle.
Trey says loudly, "I think there should be plastic surgery in the Mix. I see it in the descriptions of NPCs, but when I went looking for it I was told that biomods had made cosmetic surgery obsolete. That doesn't make a lot of sense given the restrictions on biomods, doesn't seem to mesh with the NPC descriptions floating around, and also just seems strange. I feel like the Mix should be full of botched boob jobs and tummy tucks. Finally, it's a good reason to RP with a doctor PC that isn't just coded healing; some of my best 'work RP' with doctors on previous characters has been getting medical checkups that aren't related to code, and it seems like this would fit well."
Fengshui says loudly, "The reason we avoid everything being customaizable is that the generic messages take no space up."
Trey says loudly, "In a related topic, it's crazy that biomods create unchangeable, over-ridden nakeds. It's hard for me to understand why they aren't treated like tattoos -- though maybe they would come at the 'beginning' of the @naked rather than the 'end' like tattoos. That would allow PCs to put their scars and healing wounds and all that into their @naked after their biomod."
Trey says loudly, "Finally, I agree that we need more cyberlimbs and other 'cosmetic cyber'. Possibly it could be part of the cloning process -- if you agree to come back with an artificial (no mechanical benefit but PDS hit) arm, your clone is cheaper since we have to regrow no flesh. Of course, that opens the door to the crazy economics of 'a body costs 5 kay', so I understand the difficult theme implications there. Still -- no cyberlimbs just doesn't feel that CP."
Trey edges into the third row, and picks a seat and lowers theirself into it.
[++] New post to topic 'Named Stickers' in Ideas

[OOC: Fengshui says, "speaking queue got messed up and cleared, i'm reopening it, Serret, Song, Aurelie, Shift, Samantha, Lydia, Panda and Picot you may all join" ]
Fengshui has opened the Speaking Queue for this topic. 'join queue' to get in line to speak.
Lydia has joined the Speaking Queue.
The Speaking Queue buzzes and the current speaker flashes: Lydia.
Shift has joined the Speaking Queue.
Samantha has joined the Speaking Queue.
Panda has joined the Speaking Queue.
Song has joined the Speaking Queue.
The Speaking Queue has switched to Shift.
Picot has joined the Speaking Queue.
Shift stands up from the floor.
Shift says loudly, "*speaking english, in a rapid-fire mixmash-accented voice* I'd just love to see low-cost chrome that can be gotten into immies faster to build theme. Cosmetic stuff...fingers, toes. Lower-grade nanos that are visible on their bodies or something at half price. Create interaction between new doctors and new players. Create room for nasty Ripping scenes and resale. The PDS-gate is pretty real for new players, but developing a set of shit-tier chrome with minor advantages that can get people hooked would be awesome. Infections from them could create non-PDS consequences and more reliable income for doctors and cyberdocs of low levels. Things like that. Thanks."
Aurelie has joined the Speaking Queue.
Shift says loudly, "It would be cool to chrome them up and watch them twitch. But the cost now and PDS gate makes it pretty hard to loop an immy into that sort of thing."
Shift sits cross-legged on the floor.
The Speaking Queue has switched to Samantha.
Fengshui has closed the Speaking Queue for this topic.
Samantha stands from their seat in the fourth row, and edges their way out of it into the aisle.
Samantha says, "*speaking english, in a female, smokey-warm, quintessentially American-sounding voice* Slightly touched on this with Tech jobs already but, where's the metalworking, where's the custom cars, the custom guns? I'm not talking about engraving an intricate portrait onto a grip, I'm talking having a fancy car body or spoiler from an Auto Tech designed, or having a pearl-gripped, gold-plated revolver because you're out there to show up Juicy V. This would also add the crucial side-biz needed for some of the tech jobs and is ultimately not more difficult to implement than similar to how tailoring gets its materials and does its dye jobs right now. Engraving machines already exist, too. I'd like to see a lot more customization on what is essentially 'gear', to really give that cyberpunk solo the unique feel and look that we associate with them. Sorry for the slight repetition, as I pre-typed."
Samantha edges into the fourth row, and picks a seat and lowers theirself into it.
The Speaking Queue has switched to Panda.
Panda stands from their seat in the first row and easily moves away from it.
Panda says loudly, "Another and last note from me. On topic with stickers, please allow stickers to be removed from items if they are to be improved. Im dying here when I work for 6 months to get an expensive/rare item and it has a Mr. Shlong sticker on it."
Panda nods lightly.
Panda walks around the front of the rows of seats and picks one out to sit in, and lowers theirself into it.
Mench rises from the plush leather seat that rests on the stage.
Mench walks across the stage and sits upon one of the large leather chairs.
Fengshui nods casually.
Fengshui says loudly, "I'll make stickers removable with solvent or something."
Panda says loudly, "I love you, thank you."
Fengshui says loudly, "Though that means that someone can walk along and remove all the stickers on your car."
The Speaking Queue has switched to Song.
Song stands from their seat in the sixth row, and edges their way out of it into the aisle.
Song says loudly, "*speaking english, in a Korean-accented, even-toned voice* Studds in smaller sizes. Robohands. VOLUNTARY PROSTHETICS. If you can volunteer yourself to buy and install a cybereye, you should be able to volunteer to lop off your legs and have them CYBERIFIED, with tangible benefits! agility styles, sturdy styles, one with a cool HOLSTER! But give us that sick PDS for this crazy limb-lopping, bodymodding nuttiness! And dedicated chrome. And let's definitely do more with stickers, I love stickers... They're so underused from their limited applications. Stickerbomb a car with DICKS! Put cool corpsec stickers on gear! Be a SOCIAL MOVEMENT! But yeah, the dick stickers would be cool. Oh, and samantha mentioning engravers... I wanna engrave equipment. e-Notes, tools, cameras, etc. also...when can weapon mods be removed..... please....."
Song shouts loudly, "HELL YEAH COSMETICS!"
Song sits cross-legged on the floor.
Song stands up from the floor.
Song edges into the sixth row, and picks a seat and lowers theirself into it.
[++] New post to topic 'Cyberware: Town hall summary' in Ideas
[++] http://sindo.me/B1SQB62Ww ('@forums-kill last' to mute)
Dreamer says loudly, "You can get cyberlimbs at current if you want them. They simply do nothing at current. :)"
Fengshui says loudly, "Someone restart the 'remove weapon mods' topic. Someone should get ot that."
Song says loudly, "WOO! I wanted to bump it"
Fengshui says loudly, "As you can see there is a LOT that needs to be done. The more code we add the more possibilities we add, which means the more to do and the more to prioritize. "
The Speaking Queue has switched to Picot.
Picot stands from their seat in the sixth row, and edges their way out of it into the aisle.
Picot exclaims loudly, "*speaking english, in a gentle texan voice* Extrapolating on this, allow any sort of item to get a custom description by professionals in their field! Give professional hardware techs the ability to customize descriptions of e-notes, quickterms, and liteterms. Give professional munitions people the ability to customize descriptions of guns. Give professional auto/aero techs able to customize descriptions of cars and aeros. Give professional bio-techs the ability to make custom @nakeds / cosmetic cyber for everyone. Maybe it's an extra paragraph after the generic that gives it character; maybe the text space there is limited based on the customizer's skill. Basically @redec-request for items, with a relevant skill for each. Maybe requiring a specific item like the engraving kit. Side-biiiiiiiz galore!"
Picot sits cross-legged on the floor.
Del stands up from the floor.
[++] New post to topic 'Named Stickers' in Ideas

Fengshui says loudly, "The same reason we don't allow customization of generic clothing applies here. I'm not saying we won't do some of that eventually, but it adds a lot of bloat and a lot of need for oversight to make sure someone doesn't make a deck that is described as not a deck and confuses everyone."
The Speaking Queue has switched to Aurelie.
Aurelie stands from their seat in the third row, and edges their way out of it into the aisle.
Aurelie says, "*speaking english, in a casual and relaxed, Parisian voice* I know it's more of a slice of life thing.. but I really appreciate having that kind of RP props that cooking allows for. I think cooking could be expanded a lot by adding other ingredients and types of things that could be created, including adding drugs to food to enhance properties (or poison!)."
Aurelie says, "I also think that food should expire or spoil after some time. The main simple thing I'd like to see though would be the ability to forget recipes. It's incredibly spammy, even just being able to reset it and make recipes again would be fine."
Aurelie asks, "I'd also love to see more hairstyle types, more colors for makeup, and different resource types for RP-props and jewelery - the same way you can buy fabric, but adding plastic and precious metals. And the ability for items to be broken down for resources, e.g. old security cameras on the market, broken down to get plastic and metal. Maybe artists could also make removable prosthetics out of them?"
Aurelie edges into the third row, and picks a seat and lowers theirself into it.
Fengshui nods casually.
Fengshui exclaims loudly, "BGBB post it!"
The Speaking Queue flashes to notify everyone that the queue is clear.
The Speaking Queue topic has switched to Thank yous (10 min - 5:35-5:45).
Fengshui has opened the Speaking Queue for this topic. 'join queue' to get in line to speak.
Creux has joined the Speaking Queue.
The Speaking Queue buzzes and the current speaker flashes: Creux.
Loretta has joined the Speaking Queue.
Simone has joined the Speaking Queue.
Greg has joined the Speaking Queue.
Shift has joined the Speaking Queue.
Tangerine appears out of nowhere.
Creux stands up from the floor.
Picot has joined the Speaking Queue.
Creux says loudly, "I want to give a special thanks to Butako, Mobius, Dreamer, and other unnamed but specific PC's, you know who you are, for helping me to not perm my character. Butako in particular, is an amazing person and is basically the sole voice that stopped me from continuing to spam go light on that night. She's the best. Mobius that story about Ecks really helped me get into the mind set for recovery. Dreamer, I appreciated you taking the time, literally as I logged in... Like the MOMENT I logged in, to tell me that I drove a lot of story and plot... That meant the world to me. Thank you all."
Creux sits cross-legged on the floor.
Aurelie has joined the Speaking Queue.
Ramrod has joined the Speaking Queue.
Dreamer says loudly, "Oh thank yous."
Song has joined the Speaking Queue.
Fengshui nods casually.
Valerie has joined the Speaking Queue.
The Speaking Queue has switched to Loretta.
Loretta stands from their seat in the second row, and edges their way out of it into the aisle.
Panda has joined the Speaking Queue.
Glitch has joined the Speaking Queue.
Echo has joined the Speaking Queue.
Hattori has joined the Speaking Queue.
Celestial has joined the Speaking Queue.
Loretta says, "*speaking english, in a husky and cut-glass Parisian accented voice* I just wanted to say thanks for a few of the recent additions like post-install scripts, the implimentation of corpse harvesting, and the charges to SIC-ripping mechanics. I feel that the corpse harvesting especially has really created whole new avenues for amateur cyberdocs to flex their skills and earn some money, in a field that can be rather tough to break into. Thanks for all the amazing code (and all the other sorts too!) work you all do to make RPing here an amazing and immersive experience! For me personally, the metric of being a great roleplay environment is all of the setdressing (be it coded economics or just ambiance) we have outside of combat, and Sindome has really been knocking it out of the park on all fronts in that regard."
Navarre has joined the Speaking Queue.
Loretta bows respectfully.
Loretta edges into the second row, and picks a seat and lowers theirself into it.
Fengshui smiles innocently.
Fengshui nods casually.
Doozy has joined the Speaking Queue.
The Speaking Queue has switched to Simone.
Simone stands from their seat in the fourth row, and edges their way out of it into the aisle.
Dreamer has joined the Speaking Queue.
Simone says loudly, "*speaking english, in a hard-edged FSN mezzo voice* Hi. I'm a new player. Not a text RP newbie, not my first character, but I'd call this my first real attempt at playing Sindome. I wanted to say thank you to staff for putting an emphasis on OOC respect, goodwill, and transparency. It matters a lot."
Mench has joined the Speaking Queue.
Simone says loudly, "Hi. I'm a new player. Not a text RP newbie, not my first character, but I'd call this my first real attempt at playing Sindome. I wanted to say thank you to staff for putting an emphasis on OOC respect, goodwill, and transparency. It matters a lot."
Samantha has joined the Speaking Queue.
Simone says loudly, "Quick storytime: I first heard of Sindome on a MUD forum years ago, where people were trashing the game's reputation. I checked out Sindome's forum, looked at (some) posts by (some) staff members (who no longer seem to be around), and didn't think they were great examples of ambassadors for a game. I chose not to play at the time for this reason, because for me, no matter how fun a game is, unnecessary OOC rudeness and dismissiveness sours the experience quickly, whether it be between players or (especially) staff."
Bomber has joined the Speaking Queue.
Simone says loudly, "Fast forward some years. I saw a Reddit thread where disgruntled players were trashing Sindome. While these people were obviously unbalanced and disingenuous, I remembered my impression of the Sindome community from years earlier. But I also saw Slither responding to posts in the Reddit thread. And I found Slither's posts there to be thoughtful, reasonable and professional. So I checked out Sindome's forums again and found them to be a more welcoming, respectful and open place, with quality discussion going on. I appreciated threads like Sindome Snopes as an example of transparency."
Fengshui smiles innocently at Samantha.
Auri has joined the Speaking Queue.
Kaimana edges into the second row, and picks a seat and lowers theirself into it.
Fengshui nods casually.
Fengshui smiles innocently at Simone.
Simone exclaims loudly, "I decided to give Sindome a real chance! I've been enjoying myself a lot. So, thank you to everyone, staff and players, for trying to be kinder and more of a community. It's important. Games like Sindome are a big time investment, and people want to feel comfortable where they're investing that time. People who may never log into the game look at the BGBB, consider who they'd be investing that time with, and wonder if they should play. I have friends on other games who are still wary of Sindome's reputation, but I feel like it's shifting toward the positive. If you want Sindome to have a larger playerbase over time, being excellent to each other is one of the best ways you can encourage that. Thanks!"
Lydia has joined the Speaking Queue.
Simone bows respectfully.
Simone edges into the third row, and picks a seat and lowers theirself into it.
Bartine has joined the Speaking Queue.
[++] New post to topic 'Cyberware: Town hall summary' in Ideas

Niko has joined the Speaking Queue.
Fengshui nods casually.
Fengshui says loudly, "Thank you."
Chayna has joined the Speaking Queue.
Tangerine has joined the Speaking Queue.
Lorelai has joined the Speaking Queue.
Fengshui exclaims loudly, "I appreciate that feedback and I'm glad my responding to those posts had a postiive effect!"
The Speaking Queue has switched to Greg.
Greg stands up from the floor.
Greg says loudly, "*speaking english, in an OOCly obscured voice* Three paragraphs, queued up. Spam incoming. Thanks for giving us the opportunity to offer our thanks. <3 you all."
Greg says loudly, "I want to start by thanking the coders and builders who continue to iterate on a legacy code base and a single threaded architecture. The fact that this place runs as smoothly as it does, crashes as infrequently as it does, and continues to grow through new features and refinements of existing features is nothing short of amazing. If it wasn't for the coders and builders, Sindome would literally not exist."
Greg says loudly, "I want to thank staff for helping me come up the curve as a new player, smacking my wrist when I make mistakes, but never making it personal. I know it's hard to maintain a neutral demeanor when the majority of your interactions with people are centered around correcting, constructively criticizing and adjugating disputes between people involved in persistent conflict with each other."
Greg says loudly, "I also want to thank staff for their professionalism and impartialness. I played on one of the predecessors to Sindome in the 1990s and I understand the culture of admins having their pet organizations, and championing those pet organizations to the detriment of the community as a whole. I don't get that sense here. It truly feels like the staff are focused on the game itself, and the players are left to succeed or fail based on their own actions, not because of the guiding invisible hand of staff(ers) with an agenda. It is awesome to see that the community has grown beyond that and I think the success of Sindome is a testiment to that."
Greg sits cross-legged on the floor.
Fengshui nods casually.
Fengshui says loudly, "Thank you for that feedback."
The Speaking Queue has switched to Shift.
Shift stands up from the floor.
Shift grins broadly.
Shift says loudly, "I'd like to say that even though my play style isn't super typical due to some OOC restrictions, that staff (through office hours, etc.) provided tips on how to still have fun in this amazing game. Additionally, they brought to life some obscure corners of the dome in response to RP. It's really cool to see these areas come to life, and I really appreciate the time and attention they put in to making it happen. Also, the recent uptick (or what I think I'm seeing) in NPC characters being puppeted to bring in theme and such is SUPER dope. I love it. Keep it up."
Shift exclaims loudly, "I'm actually really happy that someone suggested this segment for the Townhall. I think a lot of people may be very grateful (and may even express that in xhelps occasionally), but it's really nice to take a formal opportunity to do it here too. THANK YOU ALL FOR VOLUNTEERING TO DO ALL THIS FOR US!"
Joshua has joined the Speaking Queue.
Amir has joined the Speaking Queue.
Shift shoots two thumbs up at all the staff enthusiastically.
Kaimana has joined the Speaking Queue.
Shift sits cross-legged on the floor.
The Speaking Queue has switched to Picot.
Picot stands up from the floor.
Liat has joined the Speaking Queue.
Trey has joined the Speaking Queue.
Picot exclaims loudly, "Thank you Johnny and Slither and Dreamer and Butako and Celestial and Glitch and Blinder and Kard and Mench and Mono and Ramrod and Tangerine!! You are all amazing for putting up with us! I have cherished every moment of butting heads with each of you. Sindome has helped me grow as a person suffering from crippling depression to learning to live a better life. Thank you all for every moment of every day in this effed up world!"
Picot edges into the sixth row, and picks a seat and lowers theirself into it.
Fengshui nods casually.
Fengshui says loudly, "I'm glad we could help."
Mench nods casually.
The Speaking Queue has switched to Aurelie.
Charley has joined the Speaking Queue.
Fengshui nods casually.
Aurelie stands from their seat in the third row, and edges their way out of it into the aisle.
Hecate edges into the sixth row, and picks a seat and lowers theirself into it.
Aurelie says, "I want to say thank you to the GMs for all your effort genuinely trying to help us and make this game a better place, either through the coaching, the building, or the awesome RP plots."
Aurelie says, "And I really want a chance to say thank you to everyone playing. If I've RPd with you or not, you help make this game a really live and interactive place. I know it can be hard and emotional, but I think you're a great community and love RPing with you, no matter our IC relationship."
Aurelie edges into the third row, and picks a seat and lowers theirself into it.
Dreamer exclaims loudly, "Please queue up your thanks, stand, stay them, and sit as best you can to keep things arollling along. Lot of thankful people in the queue!"
Fengshui smiles innocently.
The Speaking Queue has switched to Ramrod.
Dreamer starts applauding politely.
Ramrod rises from the plush leather seat that rests on the stage.
Ramrod says loudly, "*speaking english, in a Ramrod voice* I would just like to thank the players here for making this the best game around, and the staff here for all the time they dedicate to making things run smoothly. It is really amazing to be a part of this community. Also, Dreamer, you are my hero."
Ramrod walks across the stage and sits upon one of the large leather chairs.
Xzavier has joined the Speaking Queue.
The Speaking Queue has switched to Song.
Song stands from their seat in the sixth row, and edges their way out of it into the aisle.
Dreamer turns red as he blushes furiously.
Song says loudly, "Basically, I wanna thank Slither and Johnny, as well as the rest of the team you have here for undisclosable things. Thank you Dreamer for taking the time to work with me recently, it meant a lot, seriously. I haven't been happier. And just a general thanks to all my fellow players, everyone here. The game feels like it has so much more life than it did last year, at least to me, with a lot of healthy new blood. Butako and Blinder are still my faves, though. No hard feelings. But Dreamer is starting to get there... <3"
Song edges into the sixth row, and picks a seat and lowers theirself into it.
Chesa has joined the Speaking Queue.
The Speaking Queue has switched to Valerie.
Valerie says loudly, "I just wanted to thank you all so much, Especially the GMS for dealing with previous absolute failures of characters and to the GMS and PCS that helped me learn this time how to not only join in RP but actually CREATE RP for some. I'm still not really good at it and still think I'm playing a different game at times, but I love this place and I'll continue to love it forever, everyone is so helpful and cares about continuing the main theme of the game, and I love it."
Valerie says loudly, "This game has pulled me back from the dark a hundred times, maybe more. Still want some Sindome Merch."
Valerie stands from their seat in the second row, and edges their way out of it into the aisle.
Valerie edges into the second row, and picks a seat and lowers theirself into it.
Fengshui chuckles softly.
Fengshui says loudly, "I want some IRL Phlat Lyfe merch"
The Speaking Queue has switched to Panda.
Miyako has joined the Speaking Queue.
Mench laughs loudly.
Fengshui exclaims loudly, "Pretty fly for a cacti!"
Panda stands from their seat in the first row and easily moves away from it.
Panda blows kisses to all the GMs, coders, and builders who do everything from puppets, making major code, building rooms, and everything else under the holosun, "I love ya'll. Special mentions to adding code stuff like ripping and appear, the recent plot stuff, and non-request puppets popping up more being all AMAZING. You guys are great and 2020 is pretty shit but 2105 is making stuff a lot better."
Johnny says loudly, "*speaking english, in a scratchy, raspy voice* Snails Turf."
Fengshui has closed the Speaking Queue for this topic.
Panda waves happily.
Panda walks around the front of the rows of seats and picks one out to sit in, and lowers theirself into it.
The Speaking Queue has switched to Glitch.
Glitch rises from the plush leather seat that rests on the stage.
Glitch says loudly, "*speaking english* I just wanted to take the time to thank both the current admin as well as players. Specifically I wanted to thank Blinder, Butako and Mench in manning the builder ship in my unfortunate lack of time. They have kept everything going during my markedly reduced time being available here in the current environment. They deserve your thanks, accolades and I know I speak on behalf of the entire Senior Staff when I say this, thank you to all of the admin who contribute on the daily and also to all of you for coming here and enjoying yourselves - I don't get a chance to say it often enough. So make some noise and let's get some cheers for everyone."
Glitch toggles the room moderation to OFF, allowing anyone to speak.
Bartine glances down at zir digital watch.
Loretta starts applauding politely.
Greg cheers.
Mark starts applauding politely.
Chayna starts applauding politely.
Boyd blinks his eyes rapidly.
Angel starts applauding politely.
Panda starts applauding politely.
Valerie shouts loudly, "YAY!"
Simone starts applauding politely.
Fengshui starts applauding loudly.
Joshua starts applauding politely.
Creux shouts loudly, "WOOO!"
Amir starts applauding politely.
Trey starts applauding politely.
Miyako starts applauding politely.
Lydia starts applauding enthusiastically.
Chesa starts applauding politely.
Shift starts applauding politely.
Celestial starts applauding politely.
Doozy starts applauding vigorously.
Tangerine starts applauding politely.
Creux starts applauding ecstatically.
Milana starts applauding politely.
Dethrow says, "Wheeeeeewwww"
Aurelie starts applauding politely.
Lorelai starts applauding politely.
Liat starts applauding politely.
Aurelie dances around happily.
Auri says loudly, "*speaking english, in a feminine, lilting, Irish-accented voice* Woop woop."
Glitch toggles the room moderation to ON, allowing only admin and the current speaker to speak
Ramrod starts applauding politely.
The Speaking Queue has switched to Echo.
Echo stands from their seat in the third row, and edges their way out of it into the aisle.
Echo says loudly, "Thank you to the staff who breathe new life into aspects of the game I had become jaded about. I am elated to see the world change in significant ways from the places I push it. Additionally I want to let staff know the collaboration between us is real and noticed, I appreciate the time you take to work with me. Thank you to all the players who scare the ever loving shit out of me, and the players who made Sindome a living, breathing place to interact with. I greatly value being a part of this community."
Glitch says loudly, "One final thing - expect some cool stuff over the next month from the build team. I have some ideas and time to implement so brace yourselves."
Echo edges into the third row, and picks a seat and lowers theirself into it.
Glitch walks across the stage and sits upon one of the large leather chairs.
Dreamer applauds politely at Echo.
The Speaking Queue has switched to Hattori.
Hattori stands from their seat in the first row and easily moves away from it.
Hattori smiles innocently.
Hattori says, "*speaking english, in a Japanese-accented and carefully modulated voice* Thank you Storm for being such an inspiring player and GM. You're usually not very vocal! But I really dig your style and the amount of effort you put into GMing interesting plots. Thank you the rest of the GM staff for all the amazing interesting plot lines that keep one awake at night. And thank you Slither for taking time off your VACATION to work even more in Sindome, fully free of charge. You should be at the beach sipping martines peeling off bikinis but you're here churning out things for us... so I really appreciate it. Even though I've named three specifics I appreciate all the staff in general: Dreamer, Blinder, Butako, Johnny, etc. Also, the playerbase has grown more united, and I notice a trend towards OOC positivity and promotion of competitive cooperation, as I see less murderhobo kill addicts and more engaging characters with a focus towards fostering difficult conflict and long term rivalries."
Hattori waves casually.
Hattori walks around the front of the rows of seats and picks one out to sit in, and lowers theirself into it.
Fengshui chuckles softly.
The Speaking Queue has switched to Celestial.
Celestial rises from the plush leather seat that rests on the stage.
Celestial says loudly, "*speaking english* I wanted to thank everyone on Staff for giving me the chance to be here and to become a full time GM. And I also want to thank the players here that make this game thrive and be what it is. Sindome is a unique experience both on the player side and GM side, and I really appreciate the chance I've been given. I love all of you, bakas. Except Glitch. Just kidding. <3"
Celestial walks across the stage and sits upon one of the large leather chairs.
Mench nods casually.
The Speaking Queue has switched to Navarre.
Navarre stands from their seat in the fifth row, and edges their way out of it into the aisle.
Glitch laughs loudly.
Navarre exclaims, "*speaking english, in a lilting, euro accented and mix-inflected voice* Thank You for envisioning and building a space which specifically seeks out, listens to, anticipates the individual needs of, and grows around our community members voices. More specifically, thank you all for the effort that goes into coding certain features other games lack. Your decision to make it an option to no-reap characters when extended routine absences are part of the player lifestyle, was the first of such coded features to make me feel welcome & wanted here. Your dedicated work and specific tangible choices to prioritize inclusive features, such as character presentation / appearance, personal pronoun selection, and integration of screen readers stands out to me as a gold standard for What Could Be; it inspires me to help make specific and meaningful changes in my own workplaces diversity and inclusion initiatives. Thanks, SD Community!"
Navarre edges into the fifth row, and picks a seat and lowers theirself into it.
Fengshui smiles innocently.
Fengshui nods casually.
The Speaking Queue has switched to Doozy.
Doozy stands up from the floor.
Doozy shouts loudly, "*speaking english, in a kiwi voice* ENORMOUS THANKS TO EACH AND EVERY ONE OF YOU WHO HAVE BEEN A PART OF MY CHARACTER'S STORY, AND EXTRA TWO HUNDRED THANK YOUS TO THOSE (BOTH PLAYERS AND STAFF) WHO TOOK THEIR PRECIOUS TIME TO TEACH AND GUIDE ME. AND HUGE HUGE SHOUT OUT TO THE STAFF FOR THEIR TIME IN MAKING BOTH THIS TOWN HALL AND THE GAME WORLD POSSIBLE!"
Doozy shouts loudly, "I LOVE THIS PLACE! HUGS FOR ALL!"
Doozy sits cross-legged on the floor.
The Speaking Queue has switched to Dreamer.
Dreamer says loudly, "Thank you to the players who put others before themselves, who write story for the game as a whole and consider how things can be when bringing other characters in, even if that makes it more difficult or more risky, so that other players get to be a part of their story."
Glitch says loudly, "You should see the admin afterparty."
Glitch winks playfully.
Dreamer walks across the stage and sits upon one of the large leather chairs.
The Speaking Queue has switched to Mench.
Mench sips his spiced tea and swallows before lowering his cup.
Mench rises from the plush leather seat that rests on the stage.
Mench says loudly, "*speaking english, in a muffled mumbling voice* I just wonna take a moment to say thank you to the entire staff team, you guy's are freekin amazing. I've been here for 3 years, 5 months and 1 day and there's so much that goes on behind the scenes. So much work goes into GM'ing, Building, and coding and it really does take a toll but these guys just keep on going. You all do a fantastic job and it's great to log on every day to see what's new. A big thank you to you, the players, as well. For all the RP that you guys create, all the Typo's that you report for me to pull my hair out over, and for voting. Thank you for being here and making Sindome what it is. I love y'all <3 I've enjoyed every moment of it! UwU Rawr xD"
Mench nods casually.
Mench sits cross-legged on the floor.
[OOC: Fengshui says, "get your statements prepared, we only have 5 min left so we are going fast" ]
The Speaking Queue has switched to Samantha.
Samantha stands from their seat in the fourth row, and edges their way out of it into the aisle.
Samantha says, "The person I wanna thank, to my knowledge, isn't here, and potentially will never be here again, I don't know. But they made a decision recognizing that their schedule no longer allowed them a certain role and allowed me to have it instead, which put me in a position where both I and my character are a lot happier and my ability to play is a lot more dynamic and everything is a lot better for it, and I just feel its important to thank people when they can recognize that their personal limitations may not allow them to do something right now and have the grace to step aside for others."
Samantha edges into the fourth row, and picks a seat and lowers theirself into it.
The Speaking Queue has switched to Bomber.
Bomber says loudly, "*speaking english, in a hoarse, sometimes cracking, youthful voice* Simone pretty much said everything I wanted to say up there. I'm going through a whole lot IRL, my lifestyle has taken a complete and sudden 360, and Sindome's atmosphere and unique approach to cyberpunk has been rather cathartic. I still have my struggles with the game, but it's been a blast and has gotten my mind off reality, so thank you, both staff and players (I hope you know who you are, but even those who don't RP with me have been fun to watch, on and off SIC). This has been cut significantly due to similar praise from other players in the queue."
Bomber stands from their seat in the sixth row, and edges their way out of it into the aisle.
Lydia has left the Speaking Queue.
Bomber edges into the sixth row, and picks a seat and lowers theirself into it.
The Speaking Queue has switched to Auri.
Auri stands from their seat in the third row, and edges their way out of it into the aisle.
Auri exclaims loudly, "Thanks for every puppet request to whoever answers them for me, and the occasional xhelp. I appreciate you all taking the time for every small potato I bring up!"
Auri edges into the fourth row, and picks a seat and lowers theirself into it.
The Speaking Queue has switched to Bartine.
Bartine stands from their seat in the sixth row, and edges their way out of it into the aisle.
Fengshui chuckles softly.
Bartine says loudly, "*speaking english, in a glib, slightly scratchy West Coast voice* Fuck y'all-"
Bartine exclaims loudly, "Joking. But it doesn't seem that way at first, right? Simone already expressed the gist of what I had, but for echo's sake... Thanks to staff and players for helping police etiquette OOC so we keep the bad vibes niiiiice and ICly. I do think we need to be a little more careful with how we use these 'jokingly toxic' memes in an OOC setting, since yeah, it's been remarked as being offputting and sours the tone OOC to newcomers who take it as -just- toxic. It's a small thing but something to be conscious of!!"
Bartine edges into the sixth row, and picks a seat and lowers theirself into it.
The Speaking Queue has switched to Niko.
Niko stands from their seat in the sixth row, and edges their way out of it into the aisle.
Niko says loudly, "*speaking english, in a rich whisky smooth voice* I'd like to thank the players who put the effort and energy into RPing out the non-death, non-monetary consequences of their actions. Sometimes your efforts are unfortunately cut short or overlooked by many, but they're appreciated. I'm all for seeking out new + old methods that give fellow players something tangible their characters can RP with rather than just a twenty minute death funnel or financial hits. So thank you."
Niko edges into the sixth row, and picks a seat and lowers theirself into it.
The Speaking Queue has switched to Chayna.
Chayna stands from their seat in the second row, and edges their way out of it into the aisle.
Chayna says, "I was a little shy about joining the queue since it's already pretty full, but I just wanted to say thank you for all your patience, hard work and what you put into the game. Sometimes it's hard to remember when things go rough IC that plot's not out to get us and that at the end of the day, you're here to help push us along to cool cyberpunk shit. That's been something I've dwelled on a bit recently and it helped a lot to realize. I'm not dropping specific thank yous because it's warranted all around. You all get one and without you I wouldn't have the game I'm deeply passionate about."
Chayna edges into the second row, and picks a seat and lowers theirself into it.
The Speaking Queue has switched to Tangerine.
Fengshui nods casually.
Tangerine says loudly, "*speaking english* "I just want to thank all the players and all the friends for being such superawesomegreat, thoughtful writers. I enjoy your RP and I've learned so much about my own writing and about story telling.""
The Speaking Queue has switched to Lorelai.
Lorelai stands from their seat in the third row, and edges their way out of it into the aisle.
Lorelai says loudly, "*speaking english, in an earthy balkan accent voice* I'd like to thank staff in general (There have been several of you since Lorelai came to the city), same as Creux, for being patient with me and my sometimes angry notes, and for encouraging me to keep this character - sometimes against my better judgement. And for you willingness to have open discussion with me when I'm looking for clarification or working through frustration on the rule systems. I know you have a lot on your plates already, so it means a lot that you've taken the time out for it."
Lorelai sits cross-legged on the floor.
The Speaking Queue has switched to Joshua.
Joshua stands from their seat in the sixth row, and edges their way out of it into the aisle.
Joshua says loudly, "*speaking english, in a mellow Californian voice* Thank you for hosting this, it's been really nice to see. Thank you to players and staff for making the place it is and for the fun times. Here's to hoping we all are at the next town hall, with a few new fresh faces, in a less-pandemicky world and with an even cooler game. =)"
Joshua sits cross-legged on the floor.
Fengshui nods casually.
The Speaking Queue has switched to Amir.
Mench nods casually.
Amir stands from their seat in the second row, and edges their way out of it into the aisle.
Amir exclaims loudly, "*speaking english, in a coarse voice* Super short thank you, because I have a problem with rewriting things fifty times before I'm satisfied when they get too long. I just want to say, that I couldn't be happier with Sindome's present staff. Not a bad thing to say about any one of you, and you've always been extremely helpful. Just wanted to let you know that it is, in fact, appreciated. Thanks guys!"
Amir edges into the second row, and picks a seat and lowers theirself into it.
Mench smiles warmly.
The Speaking Queue has switched to Kaimana.
Kaimana stands from their seat in the second row, and edges their way out of it into the aisle.
Tangerine walks across the stage and sits upon one of the large leather chairs.
Kaimana says loudly, "*speaking english, in a Deep Tongan Basso voice* Phew had to type this out fast, so sorry for typos."
Kaimana says loudly, "I'd like to take some time to thank the staff for making it possible for people with blindness and other disabilities to have a fair chance to play this game, while making it as equal and as fair as possible. I've always had to work with staff so very much to make the game either accessible, or ask them how to go about something. I feel like they've been genuinely understanding while not unnecessarily partial to limitations, making it both inclusive while not coddling. Speaking as to what Picot said, this game has challenged my limits as a person with anxiety and depression, and you've guys have been hard enough on me as a player to really get a rough time of it while not pushing too hard and ruining the game. So thank you so much for attentiveness and awesomeness, and stuff. Also A shout out to the players who found me on my first few days and drawing me into plot. I've never in my four years here have had that and this year has been a blast for finding the beauty of cooperation with others and being in a crew or whatever the cyberpunk term for that is. You know who you guys are, but thank you for making me feel valued, and for showing me that there's so many goals I can, achieve. You know who you are. "
[++] New post to topic 'You put a scope on THAT?!' in Ideas

Fengshui casually nods at Kaimana.
Kaimana edges into the second row, and picks a seat and lowers theirself into it.
Fengshui says loudly, "Thank you for the feedback."
The Speaking Queue has switched to Liat.
Liat stands from their seat in the first row and easily moves away from it.
Mench nods casually.
Liat says, "*speaking english, in a lilting, Hebrew-accented voice* Thank you to ALL the staff, from the GMs to the support GMs to the builders to the coders, and thank you to the PCs who put in the time to make this world come real for us in as themely a way as possible. This is not my first char, but the few months that I've been playing as this char have been absolutely magical, gripping and exciting. I've had IRL dreams about Sindome, I look forward every day to any free time I get so I can log on and immerse myself into this fantastic cyberpunk world. Dreamer, you're amazing, just thinking about all the work you put in makes my head spin but you thrive while doing it - I admire you so much! I feel like the possibilities in SD are nearly endless, and I love all the amazing descriptions and easter eggs and lore spanning decades that you all have slipped into here. SD is one of the few things that bring me joy in this time of covid, and I really am grateful. Love you all and wishing Sindome many more decades of thriving in the future! May this game survive to reach the real 2105 and more ;) "
Liat makesses a heart with her hands before sitting down.
The Speaking Queue has switched to Trey.
Trey stands from their seat in the third row, and edges their way out of it into the aisle.
Liat walks around the front of the rows of seats and picks one out to sit in, and lowers theirself into it.
Trey says loudly, "Staff -- you all do a great and very difficult job. It's hard running a game; it's a job, and very often the stress of managing all the tasks in your queue is going to be higher than the joy you get from it. Even more, much of the time when you are XHELPing you are dealing with a player who is frustrated, tired, or upset -- never their best moments, and you all just keep at it. You get players at their low points, listen to their upset, and channel that into productive things for the game. It's really exceptional and I think your collective professionalism is the reason this game has lasted for so long. Handling people at their worst is really hard, and you guys do it every day."
Trey edges into the third row, and picks a seat and lowers theirself into it.
The Speaking Queue has switched to Charley.
Charley stands from their seat in the second row, and edges their way out of it into the aisle.
Charley says loudly, "*speaking english, in a smooth, refined, albeit playful euro-accented voice* *speaking english, in a smooth, refined, albeit playful euro-accented voice, her tone rising at the end* Okie dokie, I don't have much to say because I'm sleepy as hell and suffering from a bit of brain fog, but figured it'd be rude of me to just sit and not give thanks for all of the hard work and patience, thanks! <3"
Charley edges into the second row, and picks a seat and lowers theirself into it.
The Speaking Queue has switched to Xzavier.
Fengshui chuckles softly.
Xzavier stands from their seat in the fourth row, and edges their way out of it into the aisle.
Xzavier says loudly, "*speaking english, in an aggressive city style with slight Chinese accented voice* Just wanted to give a quick thanks to whoever has been puppeting Owl and King Sinn. It has been a lot of fun with the random interactions. Owl just walking into Carnals and hanging out for a bit was comical and King Sinn being active has been great! And some of the latest GM thoughts have outright had me laughing out loud."
[++] New post to topic 'You put a scope on THAT?!' in Ideas

Xzavier edges into the third row, and picks a seat and lowers theirself into it.
The Speaking Queue has switched to Chesa.
Chesa stands from their seat in the second row, and edges their way out of it into the aisle.
Chesa exclaims loudly, "*speaking english, in a melodic tone undercut by hints of a British accented voice* Hi, new player here. Wanted to say thank you to staff for all the time put into this game. In the short time I've been playing, it's clear how much you all care and I can't even imagine how much time goes into stuff behind the scenes. Also wanted to thank the other players too both for being ooc welcoming and for being ic-appropriately welcoming in your own ways. I'd been curious about checking out SD for awhile, and admittedly had some concerns due to reading things online. Having now spent actual time playing with you all though, I'm glad to have done so and look forward to learning, growing and having an awesome time RPing together more. Also, shoutout to whoever created this playlist!"
Chesa sits cross-legged on the floor.
The Speaking Queue has switched to Miyako.
Miyako stands up from the floor.
Mench says loudly, "I agree. Playlist is amazing."
Fengshui exclaims loudly, "It was me!"
Miyako exclaims loudly, "*speaking english, in a slightly raspy, low, and street-accented voice* I'd just like to thank the staff for the continuous improvements to the game. This is my third time playing the game, my two previous occasions being quite far apart in time, dating back to 2017. This is the first time playing that's really kept me reeled in and enjoying the game for what it is, and it's really due to the leaps and bounds of improvement to the culture and ease of access to the game that I've noticed since the state of Sindome in 2017 (it seemed very fun even back then, if less newbie-friendly). Especially with recent changes, the setting feels very alive with the constant staff involvement in plots, puppets, and even code changes to fit the theme. I'm having a blast!"
Fengshui exclaims loudly, "I created it!"
Fengshui chuckles softly.
Miyako sits cross-legged on the floor.
The Speaking Queue flashes to notify everyone that the queue is clear.
Mench casually nods at Miyako.
Fengshui steps back up to the podium for one final time, "Thats it folks. Thank you so much for attending, for your feedback, for everything. We will be posting a log of the event on the BGBB for everyone to review, and for those who missed it. If you dont see a BGBB topic for something we decided to continue discussing-- create one when youre ready and lets keep this conversation going! The next town hall will be Winter 2021."
Fengshui claps his hands together and says, "This Town Hall Meeting is officially ended HOWEVER, we have an announcement to make so you may also stick around. After that the admin are going to stick around if you want to continue chatting with us, but this room is so spammy that we're going to break off into a few different rooms. Feel free to stay here and jabber, head back to game, or follow us into one of these rooms to continue conversing."
[++] New post to topic 'You put a scope on THAT?!' in Ideas

Johnny rises from the plush leather seat that rests on the stage.
Dreamer looks around suspiciously..
Johnny steps up to the podium and adjusts the micropohone.
Ramrod suddenly gasps!
Mench eyes Johnny warily.
Lorelai stands up from the floor.
Bartine unlatches zir tactical sling and flips open the flap.
Creux gets out her heavy bolo machete.
Shift stands up from the floor.
Creux stands up from the floor.
Sylvan stands from their seat in the first row and easily moves away from it.
Bartine latches zir tactical sling securely closed.
Liat stands from their seat in the first row and easily moves away from it.
Greg stands up from the floor.
Creux puts her heavy bolo machete away.
Johnny looks down at his notes and then puts them down with a sad face.
Greg gets out his gyro roll.

Greg puts his gyro roll away.
Sayuri stands from their seat in the third row, and edges their way out of it into the aisle.
Doozy takes a bite of her kung pao chik'n and chews for a few moments before swallowing.
Mark discreetly sniffs himself.
Bartine gets out zir White Russian.
[++] New post to topic 'You put a scope on THAT?!' in Ideas

Bartine hands White Russian to Mench.
Sylvan discreetly sniffs himself.
Glitch toggles the room moderation to OFF, allowing anyone to speak.
Kard says loudly, "*speaking english* BIG time announcement."
[++] New post to topic 'You put a scope on THAT?!' in Ideas

Johnny says loudly, "It is with a heavy heart that I have to make a most important announcement."
Glitch toggles the room moderation to ON, allowing only admin and the current speaker to speak
Mench tosses his White Russian away.
Johnny says loudly, "It is time to say good bye to an old friend."
Dreamer nods solemnly.
Ramrod sniffles and starts crying woefully as tears roll off his cheeks.
Johnny looks to the staff.
Johnny says loudly, "A friend that has been with us for many years and helped us contribute a thousand different stories along the way."
Dreamer sighs quietly.
Kard sniffles and starts crying woefully as tears roll off his cheeks.
Johnny says loudly, "I'm hoping that you all will join me in being thankful. But it's time for fresh blood in this regard."
Dreamer pulls a violin out and starts to play.
Johnny exclaims loudly, "It is time we shut down Grid 2.0 and move everyone to Grid 3.0!"
Dreamer suddenly gasps!
Mench weaps into his cup of tea.
Johnny grins broadly
Fengshui quirks the corner of his mouth up.
Johnny exclaims loudly, "We have completed our last data migration and Grid 3.0 is going to be opened ICly!"
Johnny says loudly, "It's still almost just as rough as it was a few months ago, but we've fixed up the blocking issues preventing us from moving forward with the Minimum Viable Product release."
Glitch says loudly, "Hold onto your butts."
Johnny says loudly, "Join me in thanking Slither for helping push me over the hump on this most massive endeavour."
Ramrod starts applauding politely.
Dreamer holds onto his Butts.
Johnny says loudly, "Thanks Slither! The results are once again a testament to your talents in organizing and motivating development."
Glitch starts applauding politely.
Celestial starts applauding politely.
Dreamer shouts loudly, "SLITHERRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR"
Kard toggles the room moderation to OFF, allowing anyone to speak.
Song shouts loudly, "FUCKING FINALLY GOOD FUCKING RIDDANCE AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHAZHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH I KNEW IT WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESDHKLJFIUSABGKHJBJNFGBS FUCK 2.0 ALL MY HOMIES LIKE 3.0"
Navarre starts applauding politely.
Loretta starts applauding politely.
Mench nods casually.
Blaze applauds rambuciously.
Panda exclaims loudly, "WOOOOOO BOYYYY!"
Dethrow shouts loudly, "SHIIIIIIIIIIEEEEEEEEEEEET!"
Shift shouts loudly, "NEEEEEERRRDDDSSSSS! WOOOOOO!"
Lorelai's eyes go wide like saucers, mouth dropping open in speechless joy.
Joshua exclaims loudly, "aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah thanks!!!"
Greg cheers.
Poet starts applauding politely.
Hattori shouts loudly, "FINALLY!!"
Echo starts applauding politely.
Mench starts applauding politely.
Navarre loudly whistles a nice little tune.
Charley starts applauding politely.
Phlox exclaims loudly, "*speaking english, in a quiet, youthful voice* I FUCKING KNEW IT. I KNEW YOU WERE GOING TO ANNOUNCE THIS!"
Liat applauds loudly, a shit-eating grin on her face.
Echo dances around happily.
Auri exclaims, "Hurray for the nerds. Well done staff!"
Sylvan starts applauding politely.
Chesa starts applauding politely.
Poet says, "*speaking english, in a soft rhythmic South-African canted voice* WOOOOOO"
Simone says loudly, "Holy wow. Thank you Johnny, Slither and whoever else helped with Grid 3.0. "
Johnny starts applauding loudly.
Lydia starts applauding enthusiastically.
Angel shouts loudly, "*speaking english, in a smooth, sultry voice* WOOOOO"
Sylvan starts applauding politely.
Milana shouts loudly, "*speaking english, in a husky and melodic voice* GOOOO SLITHER!"
Creux shouts loudly, "FUCK YEAH!"
Aurelie dances around happily.
Panda starts applauding politely.
Flash starts applauding politely.
Bisset says, "*speaking english, in a London-sprawl accented voice* THANK YOU"
Picot starts applauding enthusiastically.
Ramrod exclaims loudly, "MARRY ME SLITHER!"
Valerie exclaims loudly, "THANK YOU SLITHER AND JOHNNY FOR DRIVING THE KNIFE IN GRID 2.0's BLAKC HEART!"
Trey starts applauding politely.
Phlox says loudly, "WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO"
Conner EXCLAIMS LOUDLY IN EXCITEMENT
Mark shouts loudly, "*speaking english, in a deep, slightly Hispanic accented voice* GRIMD THREE"
Song shouts loudly, "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHAHASHAHAHAHBHDADHDSFB"
Doozy starts applauding zealously.
Greg exclaims loudly, "all your nodes are belongs to us!"
Johnny grins compulsively.
Kaimana shouts loudly, "WAY TO GOOOOO!"
Navarre laughs loudly.
Kard toggles the room moderation to ON, allowing only admin and the current speaker to speak
Johnny says loudly, "You'll find out more ICly in the coming hours"
Fengshui shouts loudly, "AS A REMINDER, IT'S @TOWN-HALL TO LEAVE."
Fengshui bursts into a million holographic pieces and reappears in the center of the crowd, smiling.
Johnny says loudly, "But I wanted to save this until the end so you all would fucking pay attention. :-D"
Dreamer says loudly, "DunDUNNNNN."
Dethrow stands from their seat in the fourth row, and edges their way out of it into the aisle.
Fengshui bursts into a million holographic pieces and reappears in the center of the crowd, smiling.
Mia stands from their seat in the fifth row, and edges their way out of it into the aisle.
Mark stands from their seat in the first row and easily moves away from it.
Poet stands from their seat in the fourth row, and edges their way out of it into the aisle.
Aurelie stands from their seat in the third row, and edges their way out of it into the aisle.
Marco stands from their seat in the sixth row, and edges their way out of it into the aisle.
Serret stands from their seat in the fourth row, and edges their way out of it into the aisle.
Fengshui shouts loudly, "WILL BREAK OFF INTO DIFFERENT ROOMS TO CHAT NOW"
Loretta stands from their seat in the second row, and edges their way out of it into the aisle.
Auri stands from their seat in the fourth row, and edges their way out of it into the aisle.
Kaimana stands from their seat in the second row, and edges their way out of it into the aisle.
Fengshui toggles the room moderation to OFF, allowing anyone to speak.
Boyd stands from their seat in the sixth row, and edges their way out of it into the aisle.
Bisset stands from their seat in the first row and easily moves away from it.
Poet vanishes from the meeting.
Valerie says loudly, "You fucks I was actually crying thinking one of staff were stepping down."
Johnny says loudly, "The townhall has ended, you can go back to the game now"
Roth stands from their seat in the sixth row, and edges their way out of it into the aisle.
Ramrod rises from the plush leather seat that rests on the stage.
Panda stands from their seat in the first row and easily moves away from it.
Picot stands from their seat in the sixth row, and edges their way out of it into the aisle.
Bisset starts applauding politely.
Flash stands from their seat in the second row, and edges their way out of it into the aisle.
Samantha leans over and discreetly smells Johnny.
Navarre stands from their seat in the fifth row, and edges their way out of it into the aisle.
Eden stands from their seat in the first row and easily moves away from it.
Charley stands from their seat in the second row, and edges their way out of it into the aisle.
Echo stands from their seat in the third row, and edges their way out of it into the aisle.
Roth vanishes from the meeting.
Johnny steps away from the podium.
Niko stands from their seat in the sixth row, and edges their way out of it into the aisle.
Bartine eyes Dethrow warily.
Boyd shouts loudly, "*speaking english, in an a heavy, Lonestar drawl voice* 1337 H4X0R TIME"
Dethrow stares blankly at nothing at all.
Chesa stands up from the floor.
Lydia stands up from the floor.
Bartine eyes Graves warily.
Niko vanishes from the meeting.
Dethrow stares blankly at Bartine.
Bisset takes a big bite of zir banh mi combo baguette, chewing quickly and swallowing.
Owens stands from their seat in the sixth row, and edges their way out of it into the aisle.
Mark attempts to stuff his fist in his mouth, drooling on it disturbingly, eyes glossed over, "chomcolamte m-mimlk..."
Nefret stands up from the floor.
An ugly naked man with straight light brown hair (Ramrod) leaves for the Gamemaster.
Bartine unlatches zir tactical sling and flips open the flap.
Bartine slips zir finger into zir tactical sling and pulls out a hatchet.
Bartine unlatches zir tactical sling and flips open the flap.
Song stares blankly at Bartine.
Blaze stands from their seat in the first row and easily moves away from it.
Bartine slips zir finger into zir tactical sling and pulls out a hatchet.
Autumn stands from their seat in the second row, and edges their way out of it into the aisle.
Bianca stands from their seat in the third row, and edges their way out of it into the aisle.
Bianca vanishes from the meeting.
Bartine exclaims, "The nerds are coming!!!!"
Liat laughs loudly at Mark.
Bartine eyes zir surroundings warily.
Milana stands from their seat in the second row, and edges their way out of it into the aisle.
Chayna screams!
Boyd vanishes from the meeting.
Lydia says loudly, "*speaking english, in a lazy, vaguely French voice* Well, cool."
Blaze vanishes from the meeting.
Lorelai vanishes from the meeting.
Charley vanishes from the meeting.
Auri eyes Mark warily.
Dethrow vanishes from the meeting.
Kaimana says, "I thought that too. Good lord."
Mench stares at the sea of bodies standing up.
Owens says loudly, "*speaking english, in a Michigan-accented voice* Okay time to PERM see you on the GRID, script kitties."
Creux asks loudly, "Question, if I have balance concerns where should I take it up?"
An amazonian elder wearing a banishment robe (Shift) leaves for the Builder.
Valerie eyes her surroundings warily.
Song [to Bartine]: How dare you give that away.
Liat [to Mark]: Nermds.
Graves stands from their seat in the sixth row, and edges their way out of it into the aisle.
Flash vanishes from the meeting.
Serret vanishes from the meeting.
Greg vanishes from the meeting.
A chic petite senorita wearing an azure blue Du-Wear flak jacket who smells fragrant (Navarre Russo) leaves for the Senior.
Aurelie rubs her sleepy 3am haze-induced-eyes.
Fengshui chuckles softly.
Malcolm stands from their seat in the sixth row, and edges their way out of it into the aisle.
Panda laughs loudly at Owens.
Malcolm vanishes from the meeting.
Kard says loudly, "Staff are sticking around in our various rooms in case any of you want to hang out and talk to us, I believe."
Song [to Bartine]: How dare you give that away.
Eden vanishes from the meeting.
Tangerine rises from the plush leather seat that rests on the stage.
Song pouts sorrowfully, looking hurt.
Auri [to Aurelie]: Go to bed.
Doozy throws her kung pao chik'n at Owens.
Bartine slips zir hatchet into zir tactical sling in one swift motion.
Creux [to Aurelie]: Sleep well.
Auri grins mischievously.
Bartine slips zir hatchet into zir tactical sling in one swift motion.
Celestial rises from the plush leather seat that rests on the stage.
Bartine latches zir tactical sling securely closed.
Bartine latches zir tactical sling securely closed.
Mark respectfully bows to Aurelie.
Mench says loudly, "Time to restart this playlist and listen to it all over again."
Aurelie says, "No..."
Bartine [to Song]: Yeah. But it's Mench.
A naked girl with straight light brown hair (Tangerine) leaves for the Gamemaster.
Kaimana exclaims, "Panda!"
Owens reaches out and grabs a kung pao chik'n out of the air just as it nears her.
Angel [to Aurelie]: Night!
Song [to Bartine]: MENCH IS BAD
Owens trashs her kung pao chik'n, rendering it unusable.
A lithe chica wearing a singed labcoat (Lydia) leaves for the Gamemaster.
Glitch says loudly, "I will be in the builders room, however am available to discuss senior staff topics also if you wish to discuss anything with me."
Mark [to Aurelie]: Shleep
Panda [to Kaimana]: YOU!!!
Nefret vanishes from the meeting.
Aurelie smiles and waves happily.
Sven shouts loudly, "*speaking english, in an a soft, low voice* DAMN IT, I WAS PULLED AWAY FOR THE WHOLE THING, CAME BACK AS SOON AS IT WAS ENDING. I JUST WANTED TO SAY THAT I TOOK A LONG BREAK FROM THE GAME, AND I WAS TREPIDATIOUS ABOUT COMING BACK. I HAVE NOT REGRETTED IT AT ALL SINCE I HAVE THOUGH. THANK YOU PLAYERS FOR BEING HERE, AND THANK YOU STAFF FOR KEEPING THIS GAME RUNNING, AND CONTINUING TO IMPROVE IT. I THINK ANYTHING ELSE I COULD HAVE ADDED TO THAT HAS BEEN SAID ENOUGH. I LOVE YOU ALL. "
Miyako stands up from the floor.
Sayuri vanishes from the meeting.
Bartine brusquely slaps Song right in the face, hard.
An average star wearing a dark red silk pantsuit jacket (HardHat Johnny) leaves for the Senior.
Panda [to Kaimana]: <333
Valerie gets out her grilled cheese sandwich.

Song [to Bartine]: HE DESERVES SPLURT.
An amazonian elder wearing a banishment robe (Shift) walks in from the Builder.
Celestial says loudly, "I'll be in the GM's room."
Miyako vanishes from the meeting.
Bomber waves frantically.
Xzavier stands from their seat in the third row, and edges their way out of it into the aisle.
Bartine stands from their seat in the sixth row, and edges their way out of it into the aisle.
Owens [to Doozy]: Fuck you food.
Graves [to Kard]: *speaking english, in an unwavering, Boston-accented masculine voice* What room you in, bb?
Kaimana tenderly gives Panda a warm hug.
Kaimana tenderly gives Aurelie a warm hug.
An amazonian elder wearing a banishment robe (Shift) leaves for the Gamemaster.
A topless guy wearing a black neXus mirrorshades (Shinoblade Xzavier) leaves for the Senior.
Bartine [to Owens]: Mitochondria.
Creux tenderly gives Aurelie a warm hug.
An attractive star with short straight platinum blond hair wearing a pair of slim fit trousers (OOC Bisset) leaves for the Builder.
Bartine vanishes from the meeting.
Sylvan waves warmly.
A lithe lady wearing a caduceus tank (Doctor Echo) leaves for the Senior.
Doozy titters endlessly.
Conner shouts loudly, "*speaking english, in a Speaks in a southern, american accented voice* SORRY I JOINED A BIT LATE FOR THE QUEUE SO HERE. I'VE ONLY BEEN PLAYING FOR A FEW DAYS NOW, WHILE I AM NOT NEW TO RP I AM NEW TO PURELY TEXT BASED RP AND I WANT TO THANK ALL OF THE PLAYERS, MODS, AND ADMINS ON THE PATIENCE AND HELP THEY HAVE GIVEN ME. I KNOW IF THIS WERE LIKE OTHER RP GAME SERVERS I'VE JOINED WHERE I ASK FOR HELP AND I JUST GET A CACPOPHONY OF TOXIC GARBLE I WOULD USUALLY GET AS A NEWBIE I WOULDNT HAVE LIKELY BEEN HERE AFTER THE FIRST DAY."
Gotz appears out of nowhere.
A chic petite mona wearing a black-and-white striped trench coat who smells mechanical (Mechanized Liat) leaves for the Gamemaster.
Aurelie says, "Heeey social hugs and kisses are bad, spreads disease eeeek.. "
Doozy stands up from the floor.
Jonesy stands from their seat in the sixth row, and edges their way out of it into the aisle.
A naked petite bitch with long feathered pink hair (Creux) leaves for the Gamemaster.
Mark says loudly, "There wasn't a topic for game unappreciation so uh"
Samantha stands from their seat in the fourth row, and edges their way out of it into the aisle.
Mark says loudly, "Fuck y'all"
Valerie stands from their seat in the second row, and edges their way out of it into the aisle.
Aurelie hugs everyone in a safe way.
A well-dressed tomboy with blue eyes wearing a Neo-Victorian tailcoat (Samantha Bullock) leaves for the Gamemaster.
Kaimana [to Aurelie]: Ha.
Owens [to Mark]: Nice.
Chayna stands from their seat in the second row, and edges their way out of it into the aisle.
Grace stands from their seat in the first row and easily moves away from it.
Grace vanishes from the meeting.
Chayna rudely gives Mark an up-close-and-personal view of her middle finger.
[-][Game-Help] Lena throws C~O~N~F~E~T~T~I into the air. [2 karma]
Angel kicks Mark playfully in the butt.
Yunika stands from their seat in the sixth row, and edges their way out of it into the aisle.
[++] New post to topic 'Yell at Cel: Celestial's Office Hours' in Anything Really
[++] http://sindo.me/r1Ujh62-w ('@forums-kill last' to mute)
Auri says, "Rudeness."
Song [to Mark]: Me-ouch
Ashe [to Mark]: *speaking english, in a sing-song, lilting childish voice* FUCK YOU!
Yunika vanishes from the meeting.
Chesa laughs loudly at Mark.
A well-dressed amazonian gal wearing an airy poolside robe (Valerie) leaves for the Builder.
Gotz vanishes from the meeting.
Tamar stands from their seat in the sixth row, and edges their way out of it into the aisle.
Sylvan vanishes from the meeting.
Mark smiles innocently.
Aurelie says, "I LOVE YOU ALL."
[-][Free-Chat] Baguette: yo
Joshua stands up from the floor.
Mench respectfully bows to Aurelie.
Milana vanishes from the meeting.
[-][Free-Chat] Baguette: so uh
Tamar vanishes from the meeting.
Kaimana exclaims, "Alrgiht. Imma go do some Sindomin'!"
Panda fingers guns, "I love you, be killing ya'll IC in an hour. BYE"
Jonesy vanishes from the meeting.
A well-dressed engaging bimbo wearing a pair of slinky black compression pants (Lovely Loretta) leaves for the Builder.
A shabby petite girl wearing a pair of bright red jeans (Luise) leaves for the Senior.
Arachne stands from their seat in the sixth row, and edges their way out of it into the aisle.
Phlox stands up from the floor.
Panda vanishes from the meeting.
Chayna throws up double peace signs.
Phlox dances around happily.
Mark says loudly, "I'm going to perm all of you, enjoy your final moments"
A well-dressed enchanting girl with very long wavy dirty blond hair wearing a fluttering schoolgirl blouse (Arachne) leaves for the Gamemaster.
[-][Free-Chat] Baguette: so uyhhhhh
Mark gets out his cricket bat.
Song shouts loudly, "ITS THREE POINT FUCKING O TIME"
Sven stands from their seat in the third row, and edges their way out of it into the aisle.
Mark puts his cricket bat away.
Vinous stands from their seat in the first row and easily moves away from it.
Owens [to Solmaz]: Someone's gonna have fun.
Sven vanishes from the meeting.
Song shouts loudly, "IT IS GRID TIME GRID TIME"
From nearby you hear, "QUIET IN THERE!"
Bartine appears out of nowhere.
Angel presses a few buttons on her Progia-7 gridphone, causing the screen to light up briefly before falling back into darkness.
Song shouts loudly, "NO YOU"
Chayna vanishes from the meeting.
Graves eyes Bartine warily.
Bartine fumbles with leather straps on zir tactical sling before realizing it is already closed.
Jane stands from their seat in the third row, and edges their way out of it into the aisle.
Bartine fumbles with leather straps on zir tactical sling before realizing it is already closed.
Song eyes Graves warily.
A wealthy winsome woman wearing a sleek bodycon mini dress who smells fragrant (Aurelie Claudel) leaves for the Senior.
Graves eyes Song warily.
Bartine casually nods at Graves.
Mench stands up from the floor.
Bomber says loudly, "I missed so much, I'm gonna have to read the log."
Mark [to Bartine]: I saw you steal my joke
Ashe [to Bomber]: same
A naked petite bitch with long feathered pink hair (Creux) walks in from the Gamemaster.
Mench sips his spiced tea and swallows before lowering his cup.
Owens [to Solmaz]: 3.0 3.0 3.0 3.0 3.0 3.0 3.0 3.0
A naked petite lass with long wavy bright white hair (Jane Devaro) leaves for the Senior.
Bartine [to Mark]: I didn't see it!!!
Kaimana laughs loudly.