soul_mods: (Default)
Soul Campaign Moderation Journal ([personal profile] soul_mods) wrote in [community profile] soul_ooc2011-10-22 08:12 pm
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MODPOST 1/2

Attention, Soul Campaign!

We’re opening reservations in a little over a week, and the mods would like to make some announcements regarding changes being made to the application and reservation process. These changes have been in planning for a long time, and is one of the reasons why we went for the break.

Reserves Page and Application Cut Off
The reserves page will open on November 1, 2011 as planned. The application cycle will be from December 16 - 23, 2011. Cut-off for next cycle will be December 15, 2011, 11:59pm EST.

Changes to the application form
We made some changes to the application form, which you can see here. The sections remain the same, but the text explaining these changes have been revised to make them clearer and more streamlined. We’ve included a secondary reference page linked in the application, which includes guidelines that will hopefully make the application easier for players to fill and the application cycle/process much faster than what we’ve been doing before.

We changed the weapon section so that weapons will only have one general ability. There will be a separate post to detail how this will affect current weapons (but don’t panic, we’re not going to make you change yours if you don’t want to).

Last, a summary of the events in the game since its beginning up til the Europe event has been posted in this page.

New revision process for the applications
Starting the next cycle, we will no longer entertain revisions for the Character Information section of the application. This section includes the character’s history, personality, abilities, and weaknesses. We feel that players who know their characters well should be able to write their applications in a manner that makes this section understandable to the application team. Any application whose character information section the application team finds lacking will immediately be rejected.

The other sections (SC-only section, meister, weapon, soul description, samples) will go through the usual revision process if necessary, since they are all sections unique to Soul Campaign.

Beta-reading system
However, since we will no longer be allowing revisions for the character information during the application cycle, we will be offsetting this with a beta-reading system to help players make sure that their applications pass the standards of the game.

How will this work? In the reserves page, the applicants commenting on it will have the option of asking for a beta-reader from SC’s pool of current players. You can volunteer to beta-read theirs and help them with their applications by replying to their reserve comment.

We’d also like to minimize the risk of applicants asking for a beta-reader and not getting any -- to do this, the mods will be collecting names of people willing to be included in a pool of beta-readers every cycle, and we will assign them to a lonely applicant.

If you’d like to volunteer, please reply here, and indicate any preferences (or non-preferences, for that matter!) on series or canon that you have. We appreciate it! App team members may also volunteer, but this doesn’t guarantee that the app will pass.

Test drive meme
We will also test something for next cycle. We will put up a Test Drive Meme in Soul Skirmish, to be linked to the reserves page. This will give the prospective applicants and the current players space to tag each other before the application cycle, to give the applicants a taste of the game before they come in.

The meme will include several scenarios that the characters can play out, depending on their choice. Some will be serious, while some will be more light-hearted. Soul Campaign is a plot-heavy game that depends on consistent relations and interactions between characters, as well as emphasis on world news and events; we’d like the applicants to be more aware of this as they app into the game.

Please note that threads in this meme will not be accepted for Activity Check. Sorry. :c

Whew!
So that’s it for changes! Please note that the new revision process, beta-reading system, and test drive meme are all still under testing for now, and we may adjust them depending on how December pans out. We appreciate your patience!

The second mod post will be up soon after this, so make sure to check it out, especially if you have weapon characters.

For questions about this post (and its links), you can ask here or email us at soulcampaign@gmail.com. (Don't worry if some questions take a while to answer, a couple of the mods are going on a short vacation for a couple of days. Thank you for your patience!)
socialbutterfly: (Default)

flee it's me

[personal profile] socialbutterfly 2011-10-26 03:14 pm (UTC)(link)
Hi,

+ Shared guidelines were planned from the beginning and are forthcoming.
+ You are not limited to a single beta. You can request for others or ask for volunteer beta readers. Betas are also optional, so applicants are not required to ask for one; it is entirely possible to do the app on your own.
+ If you decide to apply at the last minute then that is your decision. Your application will be judged the same as any other.

Responsibility should not fall to the beta reader. The application for CFUD is based on how well an applicant appears to fit into the gaming culture there. The CFUD application is more intuitive, and there are many nuances to that process not at all present in the SC application. This alone guarantees a different beta experience and process. Beta-readers are meant as helpers for new players who are without contacts or friends in the game, but if you view having someone else discussing your application with you to be an obstacle or know the process well enough to do the app on your own, you are free to do without one.

+ No. Partial transformations are still on a case-by-case basis, but most weapons likely will have access to one. If you aren’t sure about a specific weapon, ask.
+ Justin and Giriko are Deathscythe-level Weapons, so are in possession of a fair amount of power. They had to work very hard (or murder many people) to reach that stage. It is still possible, but you may have to work together with a team (not necessarily a meister), at least initially, to achieve it.
+ For one of the best examples, look at Ryoki’s Weapon Ability. I really would like the player's permission to use it.
+ Meisters don’t require a guide; they choose from a list or create their own power on a case-by-case basis (which then gets added to the evolving list).
+ Examples were planned from the beginning and are forthcoming. They will go on a separate page, but be linked to on the application.

I hope these help.

Re: flee it's me

[identity profile] calledloony.livejournal.com 2011-10-26 04:28 pm (UTC)(link)
Meisters don’t require a guide; they choose from a list or create their own power on a case-by-case basis (which then gets added to the evolving list).

I think a short guide on how to come up with or choose a meister ability would still be helpful! I know when I've apped Meisters my main reason for choosing abilities was because they sounded cool, not because they fit into the SE universe. I've never had my Meisters use their abilities either, and part of the reason for that is definitely because SC doesn't have very in-depth info about how they work (unless there's something buried somewhere?). I realize that Weapons are a more unusual concept and require more explanation, but right now it kind of seems like Weapon appers have tons of info and Meister appers still have to make stuff up as they go along.
socialbutterfly: (ARES)

[personal profile] socialbutterfly 2011-10-26 04:34 pm (UTC)(link)
Can do. Actually, after this application snaffu gets dealt with, next on my plate is a primer dealing with Soul Eater concepts like 'Resonance.' That should help also.

[identity profile] calledloony.livejournal.com 2011-10-26 04:38 pm (UTC)(link)
Thank you, that would also be a huge help!

but you taste so good~

[identity profile] lionborn.livejournal.com 2011-10-27 03:48 am (UTC)(link)
Gotcha! I think we managed to sort out all questions and misunderstandings over Plurk, sorry if I came off as too rude. This was not my day at all. Please feel free to contact me about it if there's still any issue left, I'd hate to end this with hurt feelings on any side!

I'd also like to second what Adeline said above, adding in my two cents a day by saying that having an essay on Weapons and only one line on Meisters would look a bit one-sided. :) Maybe adding info about resonantion and all the flavors it comes with next to the info about the Meister abilities and how to come up with new ones for their section might be a nice idea?