Questions about proposed changes

[Sigfried Hunin]

I think the idea is to base physical strength off of PL, but make sure that Techniques still have an impact on overall formidability (I don't think that's a word). At least, that's how I'd like it to be.

That is not what I am trying to say at all. What's trying to say is that the problems with CA as it stands now is that there are gaps between new and old members and bridging the gap is really hard etc etc blah blah. All the problems that are evident of CA right now would be the EXACT SAME if we just said that CL determined fights because CL is determined by how much presige you've spent and how much prestige you have to spend is based off of how much writing you do.

CA is determined by how much writing you do. We're just adding a step that eventually leads to the exact same result.

[Juno]

Yeah they aren't, but it's those mechanics that are going to make it impossible for someone with shit for PL to beat someone with a high PL. Not only that but we can't exactly tweak techniques to give that advantage because then they will become broken in the hands of people with high PL.

A person with a high PL and absorption would utterly destroy a technique user because they would just siphon the guys PL in a short period of time.

Spirit Bomb barely hurt Furiza, even after fighting the entire group and taking Goku's most powerful attack Furiza was still able to fight SSJ Goku and hurt him.

A person with a high power level and absorption would have to have written a lot, and written well. A tech user might be able to inventively beat a stronger person. It might not be an all-out no holds barred win, but it could be possible. I'd argue that Piccolo was stronger than Dabura, but Dabura still defeated him in a fight through use of his stone-spit technique. It's a system of balance.

That is not what I am trying to say at all. What's trying to say is that the problems with CA as it stands now is that there are gaps between new and old members and bridging the gap is really hard etc etc blah blah. All the problems that are evident of CA right now would be the EXACT SAME if we just said that CL determined fights because CL is determined by how much presige you've spent and how much prestige you have to spend is based off of how much writing you do.

CA is determined by how much writing you do. We're just adding a step that eventually leads to the exact same result.

As I understand it, how much Prestige you have to spend is based off the quality of your writing through the community grading system.

Sure, go and spam and make a twenty-post story that's crappy. A quality, ten-post story is still going to get more Prestige than you will.

[Vad]

I'd argue that Piccolo was stronger than Dabura, but Dabura still defeated him in a fight through use of his stone-spit technique. It's a system of balance.

But what Josh is explicitly trying to say (in my eyes) is that we can't do that. We can't incorporate underdog techniques because they were merely plot devices. We need to make that technique, that scene in DBZ into a system that works on a Play by Post system.

[Juno]

But what Josh is explicitly trying to say (in my eyes) is that we can't do that. We can't incorporate underdog techniques because they were merely plot devices. We need to make that technique, that scene in DBZ into a system that works on a Play by Post system.

And what I'm trying to say is that I think this system works for that.

[Josh]

A person with a high power level and absorption would have to have written a lot, and written well. A tech user might be able to inventively beat a stronger person. It might not be an all-out no holds barred win, but it could be possible. I'd argue that Piccolo was stronger than Dabura, but Dabura still defeated him in a fight through use of his stone-spit technique. It's a system of balance.

It's going to be a murder. It doesn't matter if you have an awesome cool technique if you can't pull it off. It's nice that you have Ki daggers, but if you have shit ki you're not even going to scratch someone else.

And Pikkoro was not stronger than Dabura, and the stone spit technique is not something that would be allowed on chubbs.

[Juno]

It's going to be a murder. It doesn't matter if you have an awesome cool technique if you can't pull it off. It's nice that you have Ki daggers, but if you have shit ki you're not even going to scratch someone else.

And Pikkoro was not stronger than Dabura, and the stone spit technique is not something that would be allowed on chubbs.

The strength of the technique, in my mind, would be determined by the cost of custom techs. If you spent a crapload of Prestige on a Custom Tech, then it should be assumed you've worked hard to perfecting that (instead of general overall strength, which I think should be what PL represents) so I think that because a person has put effort into perfecting that, it should be noted as a technique which could potentially give a stronger player trouble. Ki Daggers are much weaker than what I'm speaking of, and therefore not an example I consider valid.

There's no concrete evidence to say that Piccolo wasn't stronger than Dabura, and once again, I'm pointing out that the technicalities of the example technique are not what's being debated (pointing out that it's not allowed just adds to the argument that most, if not all DBZ examples should just be omitted because the characters on here are exponentially weaker).

[Sigfried Hunin]

Sure, go and spam and make a twenty-post story that's crappy. A quality, ten-post story is still going to get more Prestige than you will.

But that's not the poiiiintttt HRRRNNGHHH

The entire thing we're trying to avoid by removing CA is so that there won't be HUGE gaps in power because you've been here longer.

You get more prestige so that you can decide "oh hey I'mma buy some stuff hurr" because you've been writing here longer. Sweet. Fantastic. Way to go, onward shall you forge. You deserve to be able to buy more shit with the prestige you've earned for quality writing. Not my point at all.

Your ability to WIN FIGHTS. IN CHARACTER. Should NOT be determined by how much prestige you've earned. This is the problem that is present in the current system and we are trying to resolve it. If you write more and kick more ass comparatively, NO MATTER HOW THE FUCK YA DO IT, be it pl or techniques or whatever the fuck, that is the problem. Right there. It is not relative, it allows for HUGE power gaps and it pisses people off for a number of reasons.

I am saying that fighting strength and the amount of words you have written/amount of time you have spend here and PREVIOUS writing quality should have little to do with each other.

By allowing people to purchase PL with prestige and make PL the determining factor to fights you give people the opportunity to be all burl as fuck in battle but also the opportunity to buy a whole bunch of other shit that helps in other arenas. This gives newbies the opportunity to catch up easier, it gives players the ability to balance their character how they want and it gives people something to juggle. It also makes it so it's all DBZ canon and shit.

[Josh]

The strength of the technique, in my mind, would be determined by the cost of custom techs. If you spent a crapload of Prestige on a Custom Tech, then it should be assumed you've worked hard to perfecting that (instead of general overall strength, which I think should be what PL represents) so I think that because a person has put effort into perfecting that, it should be noted as a technique which could potentially give a stronger player trouble. Ki Daggers are much weaker than what I'm speaking of, and therefore not an example I consider valid.

The strength of a technique can't be based on that, as then PL would become unnecessary and no one would buy it. It's seems that you have a disconnect here. PL is the root of a character, it is divided into the stat system, and from there the strength of your attacks and abilities and determined.

You could have the most complex and cool shield in the world, but it's not going to matter much because it can only absorb a little bit of damage, and reflect a little bit of damage, because you the battery are weak.

There's no concrete evidence to say that Piccolo wasn't stronger than Dabura, and once again, I'm pointing out that the technicalities of the example technique are not what's being debated (pointing out that it's not allowed just adds to the argument that most, if not all DBZ examples should just be omitted because the characters on here are exponentially weaker).

Except that Pikkoro is weaker then SSJ2 Gohan and it took SSJ2 Gohan to fight Dabura.

[Juno]

But that's not the poiiiintttt HRRRNNGHHH

The entire thing we're trying to avoid by removing CA is so that there won't be HUGE gaps in power because you've been here longer.

You get more prestige so that you can decide "oh hey I'mma buy some stuff hurr" because you've been writing here longer. Sweet. Fantastic. Way to go, onward shall you forge. You deserve to be able to buy more shit with the prestige you've earned for quality writing. Not my point at all.

Your ability to WIN FIGHTS. IN CHARACTER. Should NOT be determined by how much prestige you've earned. This is the problem that is present in the current system and we are trying to resolve it. If you write more and kick more ass comparatively, NO MATTER HOW THE FUCK YA DO IT, be it pl or techniques or whatever the fuck, that is the problem. Right there. It is not relative, it allows for HUGE power gaps and it pisses people off for a number of reasons.

I am saying that fighting strength and the amount of words you have written/amount of time you have spend here and PREVIOUS writing quality should have little to do with each other.

By allowing people to purchase PL with prestige and make PL the determining factor to fights you give people the opportunity to be all burl as fuck in battle but also the opportunity to buy a whole bunch of other shit that helps in other arenas. This gives newbies the opportunity to catch up easier, it gives players the ability to balance their character how they want and it gives people something to juggle. It also makes it so it's all DBZ canon and shit.

...but you don't get prestige based on the amount of words you have written. You get it on quality, through the community grading system. I still don't see what you're saying.

@Josh: Perhaps, then, we should call Character Level "Power Level." The way you describe Power Level is almost exactly how I envision Character Level. The way I envision Power Level in the system Kaden posted is a measure of your physical / general ki strength. You could still have a kickass technique without having a high Power Level.

[Sigfried Hunin]

...but you don't get prestige based on the amount of words you have written. You get it on quality, through the community grading system. I still don't see what you're saying.

@Josh: Perhaps, then, we should call Character Level "Power Level." The way you describe Power Level is almost exactly how I envision Character Level. The way I envision Power Level in the system Kaden posted is a measure of your physical / general ki strength. You could still have a kickass technique without having a high Power Level.

Ok, say that you're here for like, three years. Say that, for example, you've written pretty well. You now have a high CL. Your CL will not go down if you write poorly. Your CL doesn't fluctuate any direction but UP.

Ok, now to hammer the point home further. Say you've been here for SIX YEARS and you write like SHIT. You are STILL A BADASS.

This is the same as the current system, where your CA has nowhere to go but UP. Yeah, ok, the amount of prestige you get varies depending on how well you write but that doesn't at all change the fact that if you write a lot you get more prestige. When somebody new shows up and everybody is like, 400 CL they're fucked. They're just FUCKED.

ALSO: Now there's no way around having a huge one up on everybody below you. You have no say in your ability to fight, you have no great influence on your character.

If you base the fights of of a purchasable Power Level you've sudden;yt created a system where you have checks and balances and the people that HAVE been here for a long time now have the OPTION of having a high PL or having a lot of cool shit. Cool shit like HQs and fuckin ships and custom techniques that let you... turn porridge into gold or something I dunno, instead of just being a powerhouse in one on one fights.

It allows a little something I like to call strategy into the mix instead of just arbitrarily getting stronger as you go. Now you have to make a choice: Do I want to have metallic based breakfast foods or do I want to punch Character X in the teeth so hard his face becomes an asshole? IT IS NOW UP TO YOU, THE WRITER.

[Kaden]

Closed the thread while I write a reply as it has turned into people just butting heads. Saying variations of the same thing to people who just disagree doesn't get you anywhere.

[Kaden]

I'll mostly be addressing points Sigfried has brought.

Firstly, and most importantly, the current system has absolutely no method of diminishing XP returns while the new system does. Yes, that means that a power gap would eventually resurface between brand new members and "veteran" members. To that, though, I can only say that we have differing design philosophies. An advantage should be given to those who have spent more of their time and thought and energy on developing their own character.

If someone who's been here for two or three years, and accomplished countless things throughout participation in sagas and tournaments and personal storylines, suddenly gets smacked down by someone who's been here a week... that would be bullshit. You disagree. That's fine.

CL is not an attempt to prevent a power gap from ever occurring, it's to delay that from happening and make it more manageable when it does. An ideal power-curve allows for players to quickly make defining changes/additions/whatever to their character without being prohibitively expensive in the initial stages. Once that developmental period slows progress should still be very much attainable, but more difficult to simply sky-rocket out of. Given a community of writers of comparable activity, the vast majority of them would be within a few levels of each other with outliers at either end of the spectrum.

Your suggestion of using PL (in context of the proposed system, of course, we should all know what the varying terms refer to at this point) does nothing to actually alleviate the probably you're trying to correct. For the purposes of the discussion, we've been equating more time on the RPG with more posts/power as a given character. More posts, ostensibly, means more Prestige. Given that people will need to buy PL to remain competitive, more Prestige will mean more PL in the long-run. In order to compete a new player would have to do nothing but buy PL through the developmental period of the power curve and then they'd go into a fight with no Techs or items or anything interesting. How does that make things better for new people who want to have a "fighting chance?"

With CL as it's proposed, the new player can use the developmental cycle to create interesting character concepts and gimmicks without sacrificing the gain in power. Yes, it's the same thing that older members have already gone through, but, generally speaking, it's never been direct competition that drives people to RP. It's been creating interesting and unique stories for their characters. More defined characters lead themselves to more diverse and intricate storylines which means more RPing which means more chances to make purchases with the Prestige they earn.

Another point that's not being taken into consideration is the Community Grading system to be implemented. As I said in the opening post, the majority of a character's earned Prestige should come from community graded posts, which means the community decides if someone just shoots up through character levels or not. If a new player shows up and just starts hammering out posts of absolutely amazing quality, it will be rewarded. They'll progress faster than other players of either lesser quality or less frequent posting.

I think if you just let people BUY THEIR OWN N PL you can have a system that says, "HEY. PL IS LAW. (Also writing)," without totally fucking new people over OR fucking the vets who have earned it over.

That's not what's being proposed, though. Your "PL is law" system fucks over anyone who doesn't just rush PL gain. It fucks over the people interested in making diverse characters who are about more than just being powerhouses without any sort of tangible balance.

This will sound arrogant, but I say it with no ego. I have absolutely no doubt in my mind that I could create an interesting, compelling character with regular, sizeable posts of high quality and do nothing but drop every single point of Prestige in PL gain. I'm sure the first thing a handful of people will think is "well that's Kaden, he's an extreme," but I'm not. Trafford, Belle, Victoria, Sage, Ander, Sophia, Vad, Piper, and so on could all do the exact same thing if they wanted to. Then what would happen? How is that scenario (one that seems relatively likely, given past experience with RPGs) any better for new players? I could walk around, stomping them all day long and they'd never stand a chance. Even if their writing quality was twice as good as mine.

The next thought that will probably occur to most is "yeah, but that's an extreme example," but so is everything else in this thread. Sigfried's examples are no less extreme than anything I've said here and that's simply because, in discussions of this nature, you have to deal in extremes. You have to look past the specific example to the point that it represents.

I think creativity -- in this case, creativity in how a character is built/designed/whatever you want to call it -- should be rewarded, and CL does that. While you're suggestion doesn't actually penalize people for doing anything other than pouring points into PL, it does actively make them less competitive and I don't see any way that it would actually be as beneficial to new players as you think it would be. I don't think that's the best direction for us to take.

This post ended up being longer than I thought it would be and I know I kind of rambled. Not everything I said will be completely relevant, but the overarching ideas, I know, are there.

I'd also like to say something about design as a whole. I have no intention of trying to create a system that everyone likes. That would be a blatant waste of my time and energy. At the end of the day we're going to end up saying "this is how it is" and some people will just not be happy about it. Hopefully we'll be able to keep that number of people as low as possible.

What I do want to do is make a system where everyone understands why we made the decisions that we made. They may love it. They may hate it. What's important to me, though, is that they see how it's all supposed to fit together.

[Jonathan Meer]

@Josh: CL doesn't have to make IC sense. We've had major upsets in the past for various reasons, and we always made it work IC.

As for what Kaden has written above, *like*

[Juno]

As for what Kaden has written above, *like*

[Josh]

@Josh: CL doesn't have to make IC sense. We've had major upsets in the past for various reasons, and we always made it work IC.

It's fine to have CL, my main problem is that you have to buy PL. PL should rise with the gain of Prestige, CL should be used primarily as a tool to monitor diminishing returns and the gap between characters.

[Sigfried Hunin]

I'll mostly be addressing points Sigfried has brought.

Firstly, and most importantly, the current system has absolutely no method of diminishing XP returns while the new system does. Yes, that means that a power gap would eventually resurface between brand new members and "veteran" members. To that, though, I can only say that we have differing design philosophies. An advantage should be given to those who have spent more of their time and thought and energy on developing their own character.

If someone who's been here for two or three years, and accomplished countless things throughout participation in sagas and tournaments and personal storylines, suddenly gets smacked down by someone who's been here a week... that would be bullshit. You disagree. That's fine.

CL is not an attempt to prevent a power gap from ever occurring, it's to delay that from happening and make it more manageable when it does. An ideal power-curve allows for players to quickly make defining changes/additions/whatever to their character without being prohibitively expensive in the initial stages. Once that developmental period slows progress should still be very much attainable, but more difficult to simply sky-rocket out of. Given a community of writers of comparable activity, the vast majority of them would be within a few levels of each other with outliers at either end of the spectrum.

Your suggestion of using PL (in context of the proposed system, of course, we should all know what the varying terms refer to at this point) does nothing to actually alleviate the probably you're trying to correct. For the purposes of the discussion, we've been equating more time on the RPG with more posts/power as a given character. More posts, ostensibly, means more Prestige. Given that people will need to buy PL to remain competitive, more Prestige will mean more PL in the long-run. In order to compete a new player would have to do nothing but buy PL through the developmental period of the power curve and then they'd go into a fight with no Techs or items or anything interesting. How does that make things better for new people who want to have a "fighting chance?"

With CL as it's proposed, the new player can use the developmental cycle to create interesting character concepts and gimmicks without sacrificing the gain in power. Yes, it's the same thing that older members have already gone through, but, generally speaking, it's never been direct competition that drives people to RP. It's been creating interesting and unique stories for their characters. More defined characters lead themselves to more diverse and intricate storylines which means more RPing which means more chances to make purchases with the Prestige they earn.

Another point that's not being taken into consideration is the Community Grading system to be implemented. As I said in the opening post, the majority of a character's earned Prestige should come from community graded posts, which means the community decides if someone just shoots up through character levels or not. If a new player shows up and just starts hammering out posts of absolutely amazing quality, it will be rewarded. They'll progress faster than other players of either lesser quality or less frequent posting.



That's not what's being proposed, though. Your "PL is law" system fucks over anyone who doesn't just rush PL gain. It fucks over the people interested in making diverse characters who are about more than just being powerhouses without any sort of tangible balance.

This will sound arrogant, but I say it with no ego. I have absolutely no doubt in my mind that I could create an interesting, compelling character with regular, sizeable posts of high quality and do nothing but drop every single point of Prestige in PL gain. I'm sure the first thing a handful of people will think is "well that's Kaden, he's an extreme," but I'm not. Trafford, Belle, Victoria, Sage, Ander, Sophia, Vad, Piper, and so on could all do the exact same thing if they wanted to. Then what would happen? How is that scenario (one that seems relatively likely, given past experience with RPGs) any better for new players? I could walk around, stomping them all day long and they'd never stand a chance. Even if their writing quality was twice as good as mine.

The next thought that will probably occur to most is "yeah, but that's an extreme example," but so is everything else in this thread. Sigfried's examples are no less extreme than anything I've said here and that's simply because, in discussions of this nature, you have to deal in extremes. You have to look past the specific example to the point that it represents.

I think creativity -- in this case, creativity in how a character is built/designed/whatever you want to call it -- should be rewarded, and CL does that. While you're suggestion doesn't actually penalize people for doing anything other than pouring points into PL, it does actively make them less competitive and I don't see any way that it would actually be as beneficial to new players as you think it would be. I don't think that's the best direction for us to take.

This post ended up being longer than I thought it would be and I know I kind of rambled. Not everything I said will be completely relevant, but the overarching ideas, I know, are there.

I'd also like to say something about design as a whole. I have no intention of trying to create a system that everyone likes. That would be a blatant waste of my time and energy. At the end of the day we're going to end up saying "this is how it is" and some people will just not be happy about it. Hopefully we'll be able to keep that number of people as low as possible.

What I do want to do is make a system where everyone understands why we made the decisions that we made. They may love it. They may hate it. What's important to me, though, is that they see how it's all supposed to fit together.

I think I am having a hard time expressing my thoughts in a coherent manner. It may seem as though I am emphasizing certain points that I am not trying to. I'm sorry if that causes me to make post after post of what seems to be the same thing, but I'm just trying REALLY HARD to make my point because I think it's a good one.

Yes, diminishing returns are fantastic. I think everything ABOUT the system that you have proposed is excellent except for one thing: I do not think that CL should determine fights.

I know that the vast majority of people here can make interesting characters without purchasing a single PL package or whatever you want to call it. I know that our motivations aren't all entirely competitive also. I know that because I'm a new writer and for the longest fucking time I was at the bare bottom, and I am still a fucking whelp compared to the other members and yet I continue to write.

I actually think this makes sense FOR PL being the primary fight decider. I don't think that people would pour points into PL, and those that did would have less complex, but still interesting characters. This isn't a penalty.

We all agree that writing should be the primary factor in deciding these things. So, if you have a lower PL and you write creatively with your kick ass interesting character then you still win!

Not only that, but you can also do all kinds of crazy shit with your now more diversified, tech oriented character than a PL hungry one simply can't.

None of those are my main point though. I honestly believe that along with diminishing returns if you spread you wealth between things that make you physically stronger and things that give you diversity and utility there will be a much more curved population of PL. When you introduce a good curve, it helps everybody. People at the bottom, people at the top, everybody benefits if the difference between PLs is smaller.

And then of course, the community can focus even MORE on writing ability. when it comes to those kinds of encounters because everyone will have closer PLs and more diversified, interesting characters. Because it becomes ever more expensive to pour your points into PL you spread your stuff around more. That's fair. That's balanced. It doesn't screw ANYONE over. You will give people the opportunity to have higher PLs but it becomes always harder to go higher so everybody has a nice galls ceiling.

Sorry, and I know you prolly don't care and that's the way it's gonna be. I just don't think anybody understands wtf I'm trying to say at all.

[Kaden]

Sorry, and I know you prolly don't care and that's the way it's gonna be. I just don't think anybody understands wtf I'm trying to say at all.

If I ever gave the impression that I don't care, I sincerely apologize. If I didn't care what the members thought about Chubbs, I would have wasted a massive amount of my life here.

All I wanted to express is that I know not everyone's going to be happy with whatever we decide to do and I know that, at some point, we're simply going to have to say "well... sorry."

We're not at that point yet, though, so I'm not actually saying it.

[Victoria]

This is way too complicated for my stressed mind to decipher. All I want is to be able to have most, if not all of my techs still, and compensation. What I did read, sounded good, except that the community would be doing the grading...is there any thoughts on if members don't grade? Favoritism? If it's anything like c&c it could end up being people throwing random numbers out, or only skimming, or whatever else.

I'm just not sure how much of a fan I am of that. I know several people didn't read a lot of my threads (understandable) due to how long they were.

I hope I make sense...at work.

[Josh]

There is going to be a gap, but what me, Kaden, and the staff are going to try and do is make it so that the majority of players are in the center of that gap while their are a few stragglers on the low end, and some ridiculously dedicated players on the other.

[Jarka]

Read it, hated it, re-read it, liked it for the most part.

Here are my main thoughts of dissent (warning: I have been existing on a diet of Nyquil and Dayquil, so this might not be as coherent as I would like):

1) CL should have a weighted balance of PL and Purchases if we're doing a unified currency. If somebody wants to spend their prestige on, like, a spaceship, it doesn't make sense that they would be more powerful in a fight. I like that CL gives the underdog a chance, but I think as it has been proposed it gives the underdog a little too much of a chance. If CL was weighted, like, 67% PL and 33% purchases, I think it would keep a little more DBZ flavor while still not discouraging them from buying techs and items.

2) Community grading - could work, but here's the issues I've thought of.

[INDENT]
ISSUE 1: I'm sure this will be fleshed out, but I'm going to bring this up now so it's not forgotten: It will need to be clarified to the community what prestige should be expected from a good post. I'll assume it'll be out of 10. How much will length vs. quality determine the prestige awarded? Assuming a point cap, what happens when somebody makes a fucking awesome 30 post thread and they get the same 10 bonus prestige that an awesome 5 page post gets. If there is not a cap, what's to stop members from giving their friends/allies spam awesome prestige? Will staff examine when a person receives grossly differing scores (I know the averaging is supposed to stop that, but what if a person gets, say, three 9s and a 1? That will knock down their score to a 7 all because of one person's grudge)? You mentioned a time period, will there be a minimum of grades before the prestige is awarded as well? It seems strange that some schmuck might have to rely on one score when a more popular writer might get an averaged score from 10 graders.

SOLUTION: Clarify the standards of a good post (duh) out of, say, 10. Have the graders focus on the overall quality of the thread. Once a thread has hit at least x grades over a period of n days, average the grades times the number of posts. This seems fair, since it rewards for the effort of length (since 30000 crappy words are still 30000 words of effort) while still allowing people who write well and long to be rewarded. Staff are able and encouraged to weigh in on a seemingly unfair grading (if they think somebody is being spammed up or down, they can read and grade themselves to be considered with the other grades in the average).

ISSUE 2: The whole "you can't ask until you've graded somebody else" won't last long or will create more work for the staff. Otherwise, how long will grading somebody else cover your ass? What quality of C&C/grading counts before you can ask? Will the staff be in charge of notifying people when they haven't graded in a while? If there's no C&C given, how will you know the person actually read the thread?

SOLUTION: Reward the graders (similar to the points Sig and I brought up in some other thread). Good critique (one pro, one con, and suggested prestige) gives the grader 2 prestige. Okay critique (one pro or con and suggested prestige) gives the grader 1 prestige. Just the suggested prestige or an unhelpful comment ("Good job. 8 pts") gives the grader no bonus prestige. Eliminate the "You can't ask until you've graded rule". This encourages people to grade without adding yet another burden to staff.
[/INDENT]

Since the community grading seems to be the main way that people will gain prestige, it's important that these issues get addressed and the rules clarified before an unfair dynamic can occur and currencies get solidified.

3) Static-World events won't work well if the worlds are not embellished in between these events. I know there's that paragraph on each forum, but I feel like sagas and static-world events are just staples that occasionally catch totally unrelated stories, not that we're all part of the same world. Again, this might be one of those that just hasn't been elaborated yet.

4) Man, professions are getting cut? That sucks considering that was the driving force behind Jarka. I know I can just RP it, but now it will feel like I'm writing about Goku's unknown hobby of stamp collecting. It makes more sense when it can hinge it on a mechanic, even if it's not commonly used. But, that's just my design philosophy. Not really asking for them to be kept, just wanted to complain while I had a soapbox.

Okay, again, sorry for rambling.