Fellowship Tools

[DeletedUser3707]

Football is just a game too, one with rules and structure that a lot of people love to play anyway. While I know the world is full of poor managers, it's also full of even more people who understand balance. As an Archmage it's not my intention to tell my pups how to run their city, but it's my responsibility to do my best to create an environment where everyone can get together and enjoy the game. And yes, I start by choosing a few good rules to lay a foundation for a healthy, thriving fellowship. After that I do my best to get involved with everyone. I'm a terrible conversationalist, but I have still managed to create some camaraderie with everyone. I also research things and bring them this information, again, not to tell them how to run their city, but to give them more tools to help enhance their gaming experience. And then yet another responsibility as an archmage comes up; when someone disappears for awhile without saying anything. Because I care, I usually send a letter to see if anything is wrong. If they don't answer after some time, yes, I'm going to let them go. If it was something like a loss of computer or any such thing they can always re-apply when they get back in business, but I'm not going to hold out for the next month and find out they've just quit the game. That's not fair to everyone else.

Communication is the key. I have several pups who have things going on that makes it hard for them to be as involved in the game, but I know this because they've told me, so they're not under the red list for removal. That's all I want, if something's going on just. let. me. know! You don't have to give me all the details, just enough to know you didn't quit or lose interest.

We're not here to micromanage, we're here to play the game like everyone else. But we also want to enjoy the game and give everyone else the opportunity to do that too. We do that by creating structure and encouraging our team to grow in the environment we strive to keep healthy and enjoyable.

I just have a short comment here. I like the idea of all this information too so please don't get me wrong. Sometimes I lose my internet and can't get it back up for weeks. I am in two worlds, and one is as an Archmage so what I've done is trusted one of my Mage and befriended him on Facebook, which is where I found this game anyway. Then I have a cell phone that is for friends and Social Networks only and have it receive all my messages from FB. This way no one has my personal phone number but I still am able to message my Archmage in Felyndral and my Mage in Arendyll. Some players are not able to do this and even I can't let anyone know that my internet is down.

Another reason is I get hospitalized a lot without notice. I am not able to contact anyone and don't know myself ahead of time. Yes as an Archmage I would love to know ahead of time when my players are going to miss but we all can't do that.

For these reasons and even more I wait longer and have at least informed my two people ahead of time that these things happen to me that way I don't have to go through a time without a Fellowship and have to try to reapply and wait til my FS would have an opening.

Just my opinion and pls don't take it wrong. I am a nice person. lol

 

[DeletedUser2274]

This could equally go under "New Game Feature" or "Communication" or "UI"...

I feel we need some tools for the ArchMages and Mages to help us identify how active FS members are. The glowing hands are great to help people know when someone has visited them in the last day but the hands go away if we visit them back so I can't tell who has done visits and who hasn't once I do my own. The Notifications get overwritten by trade and non member activity so I can't go there either to be sure if someone is doing visits.

Those of us who try to manage Fellowships need a quick check method to see who has done visits and put up trades in the last X number of days. An ArchMage/Mage dashboard on our members would be a major help.

I'd like a quick glance showing at a minimum for each member:
-Last signed in
-Last did Visits
-Last put up / accepted Trades

Even nicer would be:
- Score increase over last 7 days vs last 21 days
- Number of Visits done in last 7 days
- Number of Trades taken in last 7 days
- Number of Trades placed in last 7 days

It's hard to keep track and it detracts from our own fun trying to do so. But if we don't keep track a FS doesn't work well to support it's active members and we either lose good members or start getting complaints, so we could really use some simple tools to help us focus more on playing and less on managing.

I really like this idea! Right now, I've appointed a task to each of my 3 mages. First mage keeps track of who's turn it is for our KP/Wonder donations. Second mage keeps track of who donates KP's and how many (those who don't participate in so many days gets skipped when it's their turn). Third mage watches trades and tracks who put up trades (that's sort of hard thing to keep up with, though, since a trade can be posted and accepted right away). I keep track of visits-- I've been tracking them using an information chart in MSWord, but I'm a full-time student plus all of the other things I have going on outside of the game and, as you pointed out, it's hard for me to catch all of the visits to my city with all of the other notifications (trades/non-fellowship visits) pushing those out. I think it would be an absolute wonderful thing to have some sort of tracking system to help us with these things.

 

[DeletedUser4818]

I almost always agree with the group and I have mad respect for all that some of you do for us in the game. I must say I do not agree with the extent that some of the commentators.


I do like the FS tools listed in the original, but I am also concern that we may take it too far. We are not keeping enough new players (in some instances) to manage. In one world I can get anyone to accept a (1:1) 25 steel trade. I think anything that seems like it can alienate a player, eventually will. I think it is a challenge for Archmages and mages to learn to communicate better with each other. That only gives another dimension to the game. Those players have a chance to practice / hone their leadership skills. This is one environment in which we can interact with one another, hide our true self, and yet test out ideas and methods.


In real life we want so many things to make it easier on us and yet we lose tract of the resources around us. By giving people task, we give them an active part and a sense of belonging. Thus less likely to leave / fail the fellowship. It is up to that individual to live up to it. If we have a ready made tool with all the “fixings”, then the players become more like lemmings; which by the way goes against some people’s nature. I believe in a middle of the road concept.


I know some players are not as experienced in the real world and others (like myself) are retired. We have a broad group reflected in Elvenar. The fact that we can pool our resources, experience, and youthful vigor says we as a sub-community will find ways to excel. We should not let the tools dictate all our responses, but find the human solution to these little inconveniences. Cause in the end that is all they are and in a game.

 

[mucksterme]

Exactly why something like this isn't needed! Why should the devs cater to those who cannot play, when there are players like azrose who can do so just fine?
Just trying to understand your comment.

I thought my comment was pretty straight forward. Everybody runs their FS differently. If azrose feels he is fine without this tool, that's cool. If someone is a member of an FS they think is too intrusive, that is cool too. They just find a different place. Nobody wants to force AM's to all use the same rules and methods. And no one is going to force anybody to be in an FS they don't like.
It is very simple.

I think the AM should also be able to see everyone's boosted goods so it can be made public so FS's can recruit based on those needs... or not, idk. My opinion.

And as someone else explained, anybody can see any player's boosts. If you don't know that basic fact, maybe you shouldn't make comments about the devs catering to bad players.

 

[DeletedUser5869]

I think you may not have enough archmage experience to understand the challenges.
Some players are Archmages in several different servers, and some of those FS want to play competitively, or at least very actively.
It can be a huge pain to try and track 120 players that should be doing FS visits 5x a week as per the FS rules.
It's not that these AM "cannot play" it's that they might be playing on a different level.

I was just responding to what I thought was a jerky comment. My words were just to show that the comment I responded to did not logically work.
I am not an AM. I'm a complete noob here. But I fully understand what's being said here.
You responded really well, though!

Actually, you can check anyone's boosts by looking at the providences around their city. The two on the bottom; right and left, and the one right above their city.

I actually did not know this! Thanks =)

 

[DeletedUser2870]

A great idea for the mages and archmages.
In all games I keep stats like that myself in an excelsheet. In the fs where Im a mage I keep track and send stats that go into the red to the other mage and archmage so we can discuss it.
On the dutch server we use an online sheet that everyone can see by just clicking on the link and its updated weekly, where we also keep track of the most active visitor, the player with the greatest growth in points and the player with the greatest growth in %.
As mages and archmages we dump a certain amount of KP in a wonder of choice of those players as a way of saying thanks for their efforts. Works well for us and it does keep players involved.

 

[DeletedUser5869]

I thought my comment was pretty straight forward. Everybody runs their FS differently. If azrose feels he is fine without this tool, that's cool. If someone is a member of an FS they think is too intrusive, that is cool too. They just find a different place. Nobody wants to force AM's to all use the same rules and methods. And no one is going to force anybody to be in an FS they don't like.
It is very simple.

Maybe I misunderstood your original comment, but this comment confirms that I did not misunderstand. It sounds like you're discrediting the opinions and ability of another in order to have things made easier for yourself. The way you expressed it seemed quite unfriendly, just as this post does.

And as someone else explained, anybody can see any player's boosts. If you don't know that basic fact, maybe you shouldn't make comments about the devs catering to bad players.

My being new and not knowing certain details does not relate to your inability to perform an action that another can, nor does it take away my right or ability to make suggestions or have opinions on what I've experienced both through my own gameplay and through interaction with others here. Nice try though!

 

[DeletedUser1901]

... If you don't know that basic fact, maybe you shouldn't make comments about the devs catering to bad players.

Pull the claws in dear, this is a learning platform for all to use and Nico stated his appreciation on learning a new aspect of the game. We all started in the same place and have to learn all the same stuff.

I did not see anywhere on the OP that this was only to be commented on by seasoned, Archmages or Mages... anyone can contribute to forum posts...

 

[SoggyShorts]

We have a broad group reflected in Elvenar. The fact that we can pool our resources, experience, and youthful vigor says we as a sub-community will find ways to excel.

In all games I keep stats like that myself in an excelsheet.

Yep. There are many fellowships that use an excel sheet to help them excel. Having one built into the game would be faster, easier, accurate, and convenient.

There is a bit of a fear here that the FS tools might make players feel pressured. Well, since all fellowships have rules(even if the rule is "we don't care if you do visits" players should feel pressured to follow the rules.
As for missed visits due to real life, unless your AM is a monster, you won't get kicked for going to the hospital.

The tool that I would like to see most is produced goods. Sure, a FS can aim to recruit 8 boosted players of each goods type, but unless you record exactly how many buildings every player has, and what level they are, finding a balance can be difficult.

And like @Dhurrin said, some FS give prizes or promotions for visits, and growth.

Like any tool, you don't have to use it, but if it makes doing something much easier, it's nice to have the right one for the job.

 

[DeletedUser4778]

The tool that I would like to see most is produced goods. Sure, a FS can aim to recruit 8 boosted players of each goods type, but unless you record exactly how many buildings every player has, and what level they are, finding a balance can be difficult.

I finally worked out kinks in the conditional formatting formulas in my FS sheet which has morphed from its humbler beginnings to include columns on factory numbers, sizes, and levels. However, those alone won't do. We also need to take into account boost percentages and production activity, i.e. doing how many of each prod-run type a day. For example, Marble should be our biggest concern right now since it has the lowest space and size out of all tiers but, since 3 Marble producers are very active, we're not feeling a shortage. Our Magic Dust on the other hand, used to have better numbers than Gems but the Gems producers (who are also the 3 Marble producers and I'm one of them) are also very active to the point that we have an excess of Gems even though Elixirs outnumbered us a lot before.

I wouldn't have had to add those extra columns if everyone entered their daily average output numbers because those are the most accurate figures but people were busy with the holidays and Flurry and are still recovering. I do find the extra columns useful though because they can help predict certain situations when output data is missing or not updated. Right now, I can see that cross-tier trading is inevitable because there's more space dedicated to Tier 3 factories than Tier 2 with Tier 1 close behind. It might be because some of our fellows are in the Orcs chapter which needs Tier 3 goods but, since I'm not yet in that chapter, I can't say for sure what the variables are and how to adjust ideal ratio calculations to account for guest race demands

 

[mucksterme]

Pull the claws in dear, this is a learning platform for all to use and Nico stated his appreciation on learning a new aspect of the game. We all started in the same place and have to learn all the same stuff.

I did not see anywhere on the OP that this was only to be commented on by seasoned, Archmages or Mages... anyone can contribute to forum posts...

I never said he shouldn't contribute.
I merely said that if he was so "unseasoned" maybe he shouldn't denigrate others.

literacy is fun

My being new and not knowing certain details does not relate to your inability to perform an action that another can, nor does it take away my right or ability to make suggestions or have opinions on what I've experienced both through my own gameplay and through interaction with others here. Nice try though!

again literacy

I never actually said I want to use everything the OP proposed. Actually I think it is more than I would want to deal with it. But if it was put in place I would pick and choose what is important to me.
Again, my basic premise is, every AM and every FS is different.

 

[SimplyNoble]

Just got promoted to mage in my FS and I agree it would be helpful to at a glance know which members have been active participants. I don't really need details as far as how much of what they are doing.

 

[DeletedUser61]

anybody can see any player's boosts. If you don't know that basic fact

Even most of the purported experts think the World Map Boosts pattern is North, SW, SE, but that misses how elegant the pattern REALLY is.

It's inherent in the tesselation that North is always the same as double SE. The real pattern is the three boosts that are immediately below your city,
Gems, Silk, Planks, then Magic Dust, Scrolls, Steel, then Elixir, Crystal, Marble, then Gems again and the pattern repeats
The boosts are taken three at a time, slide along, so there are only nine unique patterns.

When isolated cities are moved, they are moved into a city slot that has the same relative position, and their boosts are thereby conserved.

To address the actual topic, collecting data is neither fun nor interesting. I'd much rather that the Archmages and Mages had management tools that were readily available, so that they could focus their talents on support issues that are impossible to automate.

 

[DeletedUser2824]

The real pattern is the three boosts that are immediately below your city

For the longest time I would explain that, but after everyone would get confused and just point out that the north of their city was the same as the double southeast, I gave up and started going with that as it's seems the easiest for most people to understand.

 

[DeletedUser4818]

... to help them excel.

Oops! (auto correct) replace with {or a synonym for} thrive

 

[DeletedUser2963]

It's inherent in the tesselation that North is always the same as double SE. The real pattern is the three boosts that are immediately below your city

I am so confused! I read it looked at it, read it again, went to the world map... and the boost directly below my city, not my boost... So i says "Katwijk's a sharp tack...find it" ....3 under, no, 3 under, no, stop counting down the hex, moron...got it!!! now me head hurts!

For the longest time I would explain that, but after everyone would get confused and just point out that the north of their city was the same as the double southeast, I gave up and started going with that as it's seems the easiest for most people to understand.

Thank you.

 

[Ashrem]

I am so confused! I read it looked at it, read it again, went to the world map... and the boost directly below my city, not my boost...

Really, above, Sw and SE tells you everyting you need to know.

If it matters to understand how the devs selected it (and if it helps): the row next down from your city has a line of three that starts in the Southwest (7:30 on the clock) position. That line of three is your boosts. NOT directly below your city, but on the next row below your city.

And to look at it yet another way (from the developers' PoV), hover exactly half way between the bottom of your name and the bottom of the name of the neighbor on your right. What you see is the center of the row of three that are your boosts.

And to bring it back, it really doesn't matter how the devs see it. An isosceles triangle that covers your city (with one point straight up) has angles in your boost provinces.

 

[Sir Squirrel]

Yeah I always explain it as the provinces at the 12 o"clock, 5 o"clock, and 7 o'clock. I do realize that starting at the 7 o'clock, then to the 5 o'clock, then the province two more to the right of that on the same row is the same as the one at 12 o'clock. Which is what Katwijk means by double SE.

 

[DeletedUser5747]

That feels kind of invasive. I'm not against the idea, but I'm not sure I wan't everyone knowing all of my stats & policing me when I'm supposed to be playing a game. I think the idea could be improved by giving the Fellows the option of keeping those stats private/public, and then from there either make those stats page viewable to the FS or just the AM or to specific individuals...

Making all of this public might make some players angry when others don't contribute as much for whatever reason. We don't know what people are experiencing in real life, but that won't stop Player Z from raging on Player Q when Player Q is busy taking care of his dying mother.

So this should definitely be a feature, but it needs some safeties and precautions on it, in my opinion.

I believe that even the most dedicated and serious player realizes this is a game and people have lives. I am not suggesting it be all knowing info for the entire FS, but as an Archmage I sift through tons of material to help our members, so game and grow beyond our FS because of our FS concept. It is intended to be that way. I know as well as most players how much of an investment goes into the game, monetarily, time, helping others, catering to new members. One thing I have learned quickly is as you progress in you own game we have a tendency to forget the struggles of being new and trying to understand the complexity of all parts in the game. I think it isn't on purpose because we all play differently and for different reasons. It is very time consuming to be an active Archmage, I am not suggesting policing anyone, but it takes a sufficient amount of time just to recruit what your FS needs in the way of boosted production. Like someone else mentioned, I visit them, find their production triangle and then check to see if I can tell of recent activity, then invite them. That is just recruiting. This is also the Job of our Ambassadors in our FS, but I am untimely the one looking for balance for our members to grow with the least amount of downtime, most of our members surpass me as I am not just playing the game I am supporting and recruiting, looking to see who is maintaining and fair visit average, if a member isn’t visiting me then chances are they aren’t visiting anyone in the guild. We are a different FS, we are a teaching FS, we are soling a stepping off point for new players. I am not asking for private information; I just want an interface that doesn’t fully consume my game play time. I love helping others and would like tools that provide instant access to what my members are boosted in, what is the visit average for the week and a hover of what people produce with a guild tab that shows our combined strength and weaknesses of tier level production. I keep our FS Pages all hand written to I can access it all while in game, I would simply like to just button this info in game, the ideal place would be here: next to the FS shield and could only be visible if you are a Archmage.

 

[Ashrem]

Perhaps it could be opt-in? With one of the game options being "report stats to Arch-mage?" then Fellowships could choose to make that reporting a condition of membership if they wanted to.