ATA: Ask Them Anything

From the next Serenade (around 5 hours from when this was posted), we'll be hosting a twist on an AMA for the Gods of Achaea to answer your questions! This ATA (Ask Them Anything) will run until Serenade on Sunday (for a total of 48 hours) and is your opportunity to ask the volunteers (almost) anything you like!

I would ask that you refrain from - 

- Questions about self identification / their previous persona(e)
- Questions broadly related to IRE and Achaea as a whole from an administrative perspective
- Questions that are designed to be insulting
- Questions regarding Achaea's mechanics/designs/systems*

Apart from that, it's open season.

Edit: By request I'm also accepting DMs for anonymous questions.

* The volunteer Gods are without exception in character, player-facing roles and are unlikely to be able to offer specific answers on how things work mechanically or how stuff is designed, etc. 
"If you build it, they will come."
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Comments

  • The thread is now open again! Feel free to post your questions and remember this is Gods only, not admin or producers! 

    If possible, try and tag the God you're addressing to make it easier for them to find your question.

    Have fun!
    "If you build it, they will come."
  • What's your favourite type of bread? 
    Any of you, really.

    Jumpy said:
    The membership is already such a good deal that there is no way we can reduce the cost. 

  • For any god that wishes to participate..

    What singular event in Achaean history would you want to change? How would you change it?

    For some other questions,

    If you hadn't chosen your current god, and all roles were open, who would you have picked?
  • edited June 2020
    Nevermind
  • - How many sea monster nests exist? I think I've found ten so far, and one that just sort of fucked off into space after it was fixed, but I saw a thread from long ago that said there were 12.

    - Are the higher Yggdrasil talismans obtainable via questing or super-mob hunting? Stuff like the crier's bell and the petrified branch of Yggdrasil? 

    - Can we have male Sirens and can they be ugly fishmen?

    - I can account for 8 voyages at the moment, but what about the other 3? Has anyone ever done them? Are they even doable, or in bug hell?
  • edited June 2020
    My questions are what is the most stressful thing about being a god in Achaea? What has been one of your most stressful times? Also what in your opinion is the best way that the player base can help you out?

    BTW Thank you all for your work and allowing us to ask these questions.
  • Is there an update on the design queue? Last I heard, there would be delays. I would just like to know a reasonable amount of time to be looking for returned submissions. Thank you! :)
  • Here's my questions to anyone who wishes to answer...

    How many pinned announcement posts do you think is too many?
    Also...what is the most tiring or infuriating part of your role? Thanks!
  • I'll throw this one at @Pandora since it's probably most relevant. 

    On the Forums in the recent past people (in Ashtan specific to this example) have complained about the difficulty of "getting things past" a Patron/Matron of either a House or a City, depending on the complainer. Having spoken with some of them, there seems to be a bit of disparity between what the leadership of certain organizations expect to be the proper way and what the Patrons/Matrons are expecting. Be it the specifics of the requests or the manner in which they pursue them, I'm not really sure, and this is just my interpretation of the general issue. Could be way off.

    So my question is, as one such God in that sort of situation, what are some things you would prefer to see from people who are attempting to use the Patron/Matron system for avenues of RP? What are some common mistakes you see in requests, or the manner in which people go about them? What is your ideal scenario for an A to Z request, a sort of catch-all guideline people might be able to casually glance at so as to not waste their time and yours with things that have a 0% chance of going anywhere.

    Appreciate everyone taking the time to answer people's questions!
  • edited June 2020
    Thaisen said:
    Here's my questions to anyone who wishes to answer...

    How many pinned announcement posts do you think is too many?

    Not nearly enough pinned post yet.

    Also...what is the most tiring or infuriating part of your role? Thanks!

    The amount of restraint I have to show with various situations so as not to remove player choice.  Also, due to the role I do not have the freedom that other roles have.  Not complaining, but there are times when I just want to twist the heads off of players because of it.

  • edited June 2020
    Ooh, we can ask anything?!

    1) Which divine is most likely to win a wet t-shirt contest?
    2) If you could replace all of the grass in the world with something else, what would it be and why?
    3) Why do round pizzas come in square boxes?
    4) Dinosaurs or dragons?
    5) Would you rather fight 100 goose-sized Bataoacs, or 1 Bataoac-sized goose?

    Disappearing from Achaea for now. See you, space cowboy.


    smileyface#8048 if you wanna chat.

  • Sartan said:
    Thaisen said:
    Here's my questions to anyone who wishes to answer...

    How many pinned announcement posts do you think is too many?

    Not nearly enough pinned post yet.

    True malevolence!?!?
  • If you could remix Cyrene into any flavor, which direction would you take it?

    If you could remix a godrole in some direction, what's your ideal god?

    Describe your ideal player.

    What's your favorite room in the game?

    Can you beat our 15 minute duo Fortress clear time without Divine Fire/admin powers?
  • Iaxus said:
    What's your favourite type of bread? 
    Any of you, really.
    Sourdough is the only correct answer.
    Adrik said:
    For any god that wishes to participate..

    What singular event in Achaean history would you want to change? How would you change it?

    Anything to do with time travel has to go. Problems, logical inconsistencies, and the constant meta consideration of "why would we not just do this any time we feel like".

    For some other questions,

    If you hadn't chosen your current god, and all roles were open, who would you have picked?

    Don't really have a strong second, most godroles are pretty appealing, depending on how they're built up. Most hold an interesting place in the game world, and can tell all sorts of intriguing and unique stories.
    Armali said:
    - How many sea monster nests exist? I think I've found ten so far, and one that just sort of fucked off into space after it was fixed, but I saw a thread from long ago that said there were 12.

    - Are the higher Yggdrasil talismans obtainable via questing or super-mob hunting? Stuff like the crier's bell and the petrified branch of Yggdrasil? 

    - Can we have male Sirens and can they be ugly fishmen?

    - I can account for 8 voyages at the moment, but what about the other 3? Has anyone ever done them? Are they even doable, or in bug hell?
    None of these are questions for godroles or volunteers. I would suggest that you try to find out in game!
    Austere said:
    Can we have an updated listing for active divine so we know who we're able to direct our questions towards? 
    lorielan_no.jpg
    Torrent said:
    My questions are what is the most stressful thing about being a god in Achaea? What has been one of your most stressful times? Also what in your opinion is the best way that the player base can help you out?

    BTW Thank you all for your work and allowing us to ask these questions.
    Each of us has a different experience I'm sure, but personally the most stressful interactions are those where people either refuse to or are incapable of looking beyond their personal enjoyment and considering the wider scope of the world and how certain interactions/events/changes/decisions/whatever could affect other players, orgs, or future lore paths.

    The best way the playerbase can help out is by remembering that Achaea is a living story, and sometimes personal choices that seem difficult in the short term are some of the most interesting and character-defining story acts in the end.
    Thaisen said:
    Here's my questions to anyone who wishes to answer...

    How many pinned announcement posts do you think is too many?
    Also...what is the most tiring or infuriating part of your role? Thanks!
    Did you know you can dismiss an announce post with that little cog, and it won't be pinned anymore? Magic!
  • JonathinJonathin Retired in a hole.
    @Phaestus uh... real quick. How would one go about undoing the little cog trick? Someone may have accidentally dismissed a thread they like.

    Asking for a friend.
    I am retired and log into the forums maybe once every 2 months. It was a good 20 years, live your best lives, friends.
  • Thaisen said:
    Sartan said:
    Thaisen said:
    Here's my questions to anyone who wishes to answer...

    How many pinned announcement posts do you think is too many?

    Not nearly enough pinned post yet.

    True malevolence!?!?

    Not even close.
  • To address the opposite end of @Thaisen's question: What is the best part of your role as a Divine? Have any moments in particular stuck out to you as special, in a positive way?
  • @Phaestus is my hero...best "Today I Learned" since I started playing!  =)
  • How many Gattan'bahars could Aegis take on at once?
  • Saonji said:
    Ooh, we can ask anything?!

    1) Which divine is most likely to win a wet t-shirt contest?
    No comment. No contest.
    2) If you could replace all of the grass in the world with something else, what would it be and why?
    Ice. Let the suffering commence.
    3) Why do round pizzas come in square boxes?
    See previous answer. Suffering.
    4) Dinosaurs or dragons?
    Dragons, obviously.
    5) Would you rather fight 100 goose-sized Bataoacs, or 1 Bataoac-sized goose?
    The former. Bataoac is a softie, but a mountain-sized goose? Would sooner face Bal'met again.
    Kog said:
    If you could remix Cyrene into any flavor, which direction would you take it?

    I've always thought a city similar to most fantasy renditions of high elves would be an interesting RP perspective, a heavy focus on magic and the world around them, while simultaneously dismissing non-members as inherently lesser, hardly worth interacting. That's a very narrow road to walk though, toeing the line between RP distaste while still remaining a relevant part of the world, and would take a group of top-notch RPers for it to work well, so it's not something that I think would ever actually work in game, nor is it something I'd push Cyrene to be.

    If you could remix a godrole in some direction, what's your ideal god?

    Thoth as a wrathful trickster, doing everything he could to lure mortals into His embrace.

    Describe your ideal player.

    There's so many different kinds of good players that it's hard to really describe one. I'd say the trait most of my favourites share is the drive to achieve and experiment and experience new things for its own sake, rather than for reward or physical gain.

    What's your favorite room in the game?

    There's a spot on one of the Yggdrasil paths where the tree fades away into a foggy void.

    Can you beat our 15 minute duo Fortress clear time without Divine Fire/admin powers?

    I believe the test character record was just under two minutes (granted this was testing a rather egregious oversight).

  • Jonathin said:
    @Phaestus uh... real quick. How would one go about undoing the little cog trick? Someone may have accidentally dismissed a thread they like.

    Asking for a friend.
    Not a clue!
  • Phaestus said:

    Can you beat our 15 minute duo Fortress clear time without Divine Fire/admin powers?

    I believe the test character record was just under two minutes (granted this was testing a rather egregious oversight).


    I'm pretty sure I bugged that one so I'll be taking full credit, thanks!
    • What was the most challenging part of getting through your Celani/Demi requirements?
    • (Potentially unpopular plug incoming...) In Aetolia it's mechanically easy to get into a God's congregation and start getting some character build up around Divine RP and faith. Do you (as in all God roles) enjoy how difficult it presently is to participate in Order RP, or would you like to see it become easier to participate in at least pre-order things? (It never used to feel this hard, back in the day in Achaea and adds a huge bump to RP.)
    • How long have you been part of the IRE community (since first character/admin role inception), and what do you find more enjoyable about IRE than other games that keeps you here - especially in a volunteer role?
    Pain sears your shoulder as a weighty claw presses down with the acknowledgement of Evil's Lord.
  • What is the best approach to setting up rituals that can eventually be hardcoded into something universal that a faction can use? 

    I know that we have to start small, and to innovate and get people to buy in, but at what point can we push for a hardcoded sequence? Or do you see ritual rooms that enable colour use and stuff as the mechanism for this kind of thing? 
  • At what stage in the Celani to God process do you settle into a decision about what Divine role you may take and how long do you typically spend building up that role (revised/added mythos, environs like a shiny new Temple or rooms therein, etc., items, your description, etc.) before you're actually revealed to the rest of Achaea? I've always wondered this - particularly as a few of the Gods released in my character's lifetime have had some incredibly awesome/elaborate and interesting symbology and philosophy! And I sit here in awe thinking, how the hell did they pull all that together so nicely?!
  • edited June 2020
    Ashai said:
    • What was the most challenging part of getting through your Celani/Demi requirements?

    I think everyone would agree that this is different for everyone. For example, for me it is the writing.  I am an amazing professional writer, but I am nothing less than a very bad creative writer.  For other garden members, writing may be easier, but the interacting with players may be a challenge. Overall, everyone that comes up has a different type of struggle, with that rare person that breezes through the process with no struggles at all.
    (Potentially unpopular plug incoming...) In Aetolia it's mechanically easy to get into a God's congregation and start getting some character build up around Divine RP and faith. Do you (as in all God roles) enjoy how difficult it presently is to participate in Order RP, or would you like to see it become easier to participate in at least pre-order things? (It never used to feel this hard, back in the day in Achaea and adds a huge bump to RP.)

    There is no perfect answer to this. Orders are the "playground" for us, so everyone is different in how they handle it depending on their role.  I could very easily just accept anyone that is interested, but that does not fit the role I play. Instead, I look for people who are consistent with their RP, while at the same time standing out from the other players. 

    I wish things could be easier on my end, and I have spent many hours trying to streamline the process, but overall it really comes down to how each individual roleplays their character.
    How long have you been part of the IRE community (since first character/admin role inception), and what do you find more enjoyable about IRE than other games that keeps you here - especially in a volunteer role?

    Not going to answer the first part, as it bangs against rule #1 for this.  As for the rest, the ability to be creative and tell stories is what keeps me coming back.
This discussion has been closed.