Action Items for 2011

[Bactrian]

We'll be sending out a letter to former players this week, and I wanted to take a moment to let you all know how we intend to move beyond promises and into action this coming year.

Transparency isn't just a buzzword. It's a strategy of sharing information with the customer that engages the customer in the product and keeps the provider accountable by measuring actual progress against stated milestones. I'm asking the players of TEC to take quite a bit on faith--that we're going to follow-through on our promises, that we're going to provide a sustained level of staff activity that hasn't been seen in more than six years, that we're going to provide you with a gaming experience that's worth hundreds of dollars a year. It's only fair that I tell you why.

The staff has three overriding, omnipresent objectives:

1. Execute storylines, with at least one announced general-attendance event per week.
2. Respond to 100% of requests, with all RP requests filled within one month after being finalized.
3. Respond to 100% of bug reports, with all bug reports either fixed or dismissed within one month of the initial report.

These sound like fairly simple items, but the manpower requirements are fairly high. Our targeted manpower for simple maintenance--achieving these three items without working on any other projects--is 3.0 GMs per month and 120.0 GM hours per month.

Starting on 3/1/11, we will be releasing a monthly progress report that will state the number of active GMs (defined as meeting 10 hours of active duty in a given week), aggregate number of GM hours and completion rates for our three major priorities, as well as listing other projects, changes, and activities that the GM staff finished.

We will be providing updates about other projects on a quarterly basis only. There will be a sticky thread in the Administrivia forum where our players can request updates on projects. At the end of the quarter, we will provide an update on the projects that we had set as milestones for the previous quarter, as well as answer every other status update that was requested.

Our objectives for the quarter ending 4/1/11 are as follows:

• Release patrician character packages.
• Make necessary adjustments to the social system to support patricians and other socially-inclined characters.
• Implement long-overdue combat balance adjustments, including the suggestions of the Blue Ribbon Panel on Combat.
• Create comprehensive proposals for adjustments to be made to pickpocketing, locksmithing, and healing.
• Plan a rough timetable for the beta testing and release of herbalism and other possible crafting skillsets.

I'm looking forward to showing you what we can do.

[Lexi]

This sounds great. Do you know what Shannon's plans are to keep TEC's free account status?

[Bactrian]

Originally Posted by Lexi

This sounds great. Do you know what Shannon's plans are to keep TEC's free account status?

We're happy with the way that the free account program has expanded the playerbase and we expect it to continue having a good impact on the game for a long while yet.

[ToothlessRebel]

Glad to hear that!

[Lexi]

Originally Posted by Bactrian

We're happy with the way that the free account program has expanded the playerbase and we expect it to continue having a good impact on the game for a long while yet.

Fantastic!

[Jonci]

Oh. These future changes are tempting me to resurrect my thief and/or my doctor.

[Tweninger]

Bactrain. My brother called me today after receiving an email... Problem is, the account hasn't been activated in like 8 years. He doesn't know the password, doesn't know the email it was set up with, doesn't know the phone number he originally put down. I told him to call and see if past mailing addresses would work?
Any ideas? Do you even control any of that or is it all skotos?

[Armataan]

Originally Posted by Tweninger

Bactrain. My brother called me today after receiving an email... Problem is, the account hasn't been activated in like 8 years. He doesn't know the password, doesn't know the email it was set up with, doesn't know the phone number he originally put down. I told him to call and see if past mailing addresses would work?
Any ideas? Do you even control any of that or is it all skotos?

they have lookup abilities, but it's CE@skotos that handles that.

(I've had to deal with it before.)

[Max Powers]

Even just a character name has worked in the past.

[Tweninger]

He got the account back but his characters were deleted.

[Max Powers]

Originally Posted by Bactrian

Things and stuff

So did all this stuff fall through?

[Bactrian]

The February progress report will be released on Sunday.

[Max Powers]

I more meant the replies to requests and bugs within 30 days.

[Anaya]

Originally Posted by Bactrian

The February progress report will be released on Sunday.

Also wondering what the status on this is. :3

[Dragonus]

MS Project.

Get it. Use it. Love it.

(or something similar)