Post by Super Gmagical on Jan 19, 2018 14:22:15 GMT -8
SUPER SPECIAL AWESOME ULTIMATE ULTRA MEGA
CHARACTER UPDATE EXTRAVAGANZA!
CHARACTER UPDATE EXTRAVAGANZA!
We have a lot of cool things to roll out today for you guys! Most of it pertains to your characters and improving general quality of life on the board, but there is a bit more, so stick with me as we go over everything. It's a lot to take in, but we hope you'll like everything!
A BRAND NEW GUIDEBOOK
The old rule threads served us well for a long time, but information was kind of scattered about. Several things were inconsistent or out of date as something mentioned in multiple places wasn't always updated in all of them, and it could be frustrating to dig around to try to find what you need. There were also "rules" or bits of "site canon" that many users knew and adhered to, but that were not written anywhere, leaving newer members out of the loop.
As such, we're excited to bring you OUR NEW GUIDEBOOK!
Due to Proboards info limitations, some of the info is stored off-site and written in by javascript, so it may take just a moment to properly load for slower computers, or in very rare cases may require a refresh (in all SG's refreshes while writing and updating, this only happened once). If you have any display issues, let SG know and they can probably be fixed.
That said, it is far more streamlined to navigate. A lot of fluff and redundancies have been cut out, a lot of info that was inadequate or missing has been expanded or added, related info is more often found close together (ex: Z-Move and Mega Evo info had been two separate threads, and is now together in one section), and of course it is all properly up to date!
You're certainly not required to read the whole thing, but it wouldn't hurt to look over, especially for new members. (Wait until you're done reading the announcements, though!) It should be much easier to find what you need in the future, though~
Aside from all the updates that will be detailed further below, the most notable additions are things in the Setting tab, which detail a lot of site canons or unspoken rules that had not been properly written prior; and one nifty new plugin we got for the board, the "PM Staff" plugin. Now when you write a PM, you can set the recipient to "Staff" and message all staff members at once. There is also a "Send Staff Message" button on all Staff profiles that does the same thing.
There are also two rules that come to mind that I'm not sure where ever written down that have been in effect for a while, so to quickly note those:
1. Basic Pokemon that have a Baby form but also spawn as basics and can be claimed as basic starters-- namely Pikachu, Clefairy, Jigglypuff, Roselia, and Marill-- can be caught in a PokeBall ratherthan a great ball.
2. Players can do up to 2 Training Threads at a time so long as one is solo and the other is interaction. (You cannot do two solo or two interaction.)
Skill Training Caps / Updates
Potentially "bad news" for a very few characters but good for those who were afraid of getting left behind, we've decided to implement a cap on Skills after all. From now on, Skills run on a Point system. A few other things (such as being a Faller, or Niso's unique healing power) also detract from Skill Points for balance.
Mastery - 3 Points
Major - 2 Points
Minor - 1 Point
Versatility - 1 Point
Being a Faller - 1 Point
Special traits - Varies case by case (1-3 points)
"Versatility" refers to training in both physical and mental skills. It is a one-time payment for training in two categories. (That is, if you started as an Aura user and start training physical skills too, it's only 1 point paid whether you wind up with just one physical skill or several, you don't have to pay again.)
Characters can train up to a maximum of 11 Points. This is the maximum number possible by a non-Psychic/Aura character with no Faller status or other special skills, when accounting for Athleticism being redundant at that point. As such, it seemed like the best place to set a cap for all characters. Of course, your character does not have to train if you don't want them to; this is just to keep the upper end balanced, and avoid someone winding up with 12 majors where another character could only have 5.
SG will be going through and updating bios over the next day or two to tally current skill point allotment, so no need to worry about editing!
As a somewhat cool side effect, we decided it made most sense to let new players start with 3 Skill points, which means they can have one major and one minor in the same category or one minor in each of two categories like before, but they also have the new option of three minors in the same category if they prefer a more jack of all trades character~! (Of course, that means a Faller can have two minors instead of one major as well, etc.)
We hope everyone will appreciate the balance aspect and that at least a few will get to enjoy the slightly expanded options for new characters.
STARTERS AND IMPORTS
On to bigger stuff, it may first be good to explain our thought process behind this decision. We've gotten a few questions about how big the Gym Leader starting bonus is in comparison to other classes, among a few other questions about starters lately. Upon closer examination, we had to agree it didn't really seem fair...
So we figured, you know? Instead of reducing the GL bonus, why not improve starter options for everyone else! :D
Starting today, all new Trainers, Civilians, Coordinators, and Breeders get 4 Starter Pokemon! One of these may be fully evolved (ex: Pidgeot, Sandslash) and one may have evolved once (ex: Pidgeotto, Sandslash, but not Pidgeot); or they can choose to give up 1 of the evolved slots for 1 basic Uncommon (Ralts, Eevee, etc); or they can give up both evolved slots to take 3 unevolved commons and 1 unevolved Rare! (This does mean Breeders no longer get more starters than most classes.)
Pokemon League characters-- GLs and Professors both-- get those same 4 starter options minus the option to trade their evo slots (though if they just don't want evos they don't have to take them). Instead, they get 2 bonus starters unlocked after 10 posts (Professors now have the same activity check as GLs); one of the bonus starters can be Rare (or Uncommon), and one can have its HA, with the option to stack these things and/or one or both evo credits. GL starters must be or evolve into their type of choice, and Prof's must relate to their studies. That is, Gym Leader starter options did not change aside from getting 4 instead of 2 available to use before 10 posts; Professors have been bumped up to the level of GLs (with the exception that GLs still get 1 EM per Pokemon while Profs don't).
(As a small note, SG is working on a Professor, but is opting not to take the free Rare or HA so as to avoid any questions of personal bias. This was merely about making League ranks more equal.)
In this way, we hope to make it easier for players who wish to play more experienced characters or other things they couldn't before! An older trainer with a few evos under their belt, a kid fresh from Kanto who picked Charmander as his lab starter, or a girl from a long line of dragon trainers who was gifted her grandmother's Dratini, for instance.
Don't want that much? Not a problem! Characters will also have the option to not take all their available starters right away, and can claim them later if/when they decide on something they want. So if you want to play a brand new trainer with only one Pokemon, you can do so for a while and then have a few credits stored away to pick up something you want later, after you've gotten a feel for your character. This way, no one gets left out.
Speaking of left out! "Aw man, I just made a new character! I should have waited!" a few of you cry. But fear not! Foreseeing exactly this, our wise and benevolent staff have opted to offer you compensation! By posting in this thread, recently made characters can pick up "starters" they would have gotten had they been made under the new rules! Characters made between January 1 and Jan 19 can get two extra Pokemon under the full terms listed above, while characters made in November or December can get two Pokemon with slightly tighter restrictions, detailed in the thread.
Breeders are eligible for this, same as everyone else; when common Pokemon are valued at 5-10 muns, it didn't feel fair to exclude them from the rare/evo chance.
We hope everyone will enjoy!
... But wait? Did that say Imports?
Why yes, we have good news for them, too! Under the old rules, Imports were only allowed to bring 10 Pokemon, up to 5 Rares, and that was it forever. While the current staff very much understands and agrees that storming in with 200 Pokemon would be terrifying to other members, we also hate the idea of losing so much you've worked for. As such, a compromise!
Imports can now start the same as before, but also get 10 more of their old Pokemon each month! Imports older than 1 month can claim this immediately, although the rule is not retroactive, so whether an Import has been here for a month or two years, they can only pick up 10 right now, 10 next month, and so-on. In this way, the influx should be gradual enough to not drastically shift the balance of power, but all it takes to get back the things you once worked for is patience.
Special Rule: A rule with very limited application, but still worth noting. When the site was founded, imports from Epoch had special rules; they could bring 15 Pokemon as-is, or 30 if they were devolved. Current staff unanimously agreed the latter seemed unfair, and as such, any Pokemon on-site (whether owned by currently active characters or archived characters that are later revived) can be re-evolved for free at a rate of 5 per month in the same starter/import thread linked above. This is in the same line of thinking as the general import rules, that things once worked for should be able to be reclaimed, just gradually so as not to shift power too much. Of course, proof that these Pokemon were evolved before and were imported is required; Yumi and Airin/Izumi can both get Epoch screenshots if needed.
CHARACTer Classes and Training Regimens!
Last but most certainly not least, we have the long-promised updates to character classes ready to roll out! Too long have classes been basically the same with slightly different starting bonuses. Too long have Breeders and Gym Leaders had the obvious advantage. From now on, every class should feel more unique.
And speaking of starting bonuses! One of the biggest complaints for a while has been how hard it can be for new members to get started, often with claims that items are too expensive. We feel the economy overall is pretty balanced, but agree that it can be rougher at first. As such, we realized the obvious choice was not to change the economy, but to give new characters a bigger boost to help them get started! As such, all starting bonuses (ignoring the bonus starters League gets and the EMs that GLs get) are worth 155 muns! A far cry from the days Civilians got a measly 2 PokeBalls! ("SG those days were this morning." "Sssshhh.")
The new class starting bonuses and ongoing perks are as follows:
Trainer
- Starting Bonus: 4 PokeBalls, 2 Great Balls, 1 Ultra Ball, 4 Move Techs
- Class Bonus: Can unlock tier 3 training Regimens, the only tier at which a jump straight to final evolution may be possible. (More info below.)
Coordinator
- Starting Bonus: 4 PokeBalls, 1 Great Ball, 1 Shiny Spritz, 1 Paint Spritz, 4 Move Techs
- Class Bonus: Can unlock tier 2 training Regimens(*), and gets double most rewards from Contests and Showcases, effectively a jackpot if you win.
Breeder
- Starting Bonus: 5 PokeBalls, 3 Romantic Mush, 1 Fancy Mush, 1 Big Mush, 1 Floral Honey, 1 Rare Voucher
- Class Bonus: Starts with 2 Breeding slots per week instead of 1, and can unlock up to 4. (Same as before.)
Civilian
- Starting Bonus: 5 PokeBalls, 2 Move Techs, 1 Big Nugget (100 muns)
- Class Bonus: Earns a monthly salary of 100 muns, which can be picked up here.
Gym Leaders
- Starting Bonus:
• 4 PokeBalls, 2 Great Balls, 1 Ultra Ball, 4 Move Techs
• 2 bonus Starter Pokémon, detailed in the starter section.
• 1 EM for each starter. (1 starter can take multiple EMs only in place of another that can't learn EMs, such as Tynamo or Tauros.) - Class Bonus: IC prestige, a salary of 50 muns(*), and 35 more muns every time a Gym Challenge is started or completed (paid both before and after).
Professors
- Starting Bonus:
• 4 PokeBalls, 2 Great Balls, 1 Ultra Ball, 4 Move Techs
• 2 bonus Starter Pokémon, detailed above. - Class Bonus: IC prestige, a salary of 50 muns(*), and a monthly "Research Allowance", points exchangeable for a number of things.
Salaries, Gym Leader payments for starting or finishing a challenge, gym challenger winnings for beating a Gym Leader, and Professors' Research Allowance can all be picked up in this thread! Explanations of just what Research Allowance entails can be found there, as well.
So what are these (*)s? In order to have a bit of balance for players with numerous characters, each bonus "type" can only be claimed once. In the same way that having multiple breeders won't give you more breeding slots, you can only claim one Salary per month. If you have both a GL and a Professor, you only get 1 50 mun salary. If you have a Civilian along with either, the Civilian Salary overrides the League ones, and you get one payment of 100 muns. Similarly, you can only benefit from one Regimen bonus if you have both a Trainer and Coordinator.
Wait, what is a "Regimen"?
Training Regimens are the exciting new system we're rolling out today! By posting a thread in the new Training Grounds board, similar to the ranches maintained in the Breeder's Square, you can put your Pokemon through some "off-screen" "training" once a week! They can be done to either earn evo points or learn new moves for free (but not both in the same week). Members should state in their post which Pokemon are training and if it's for moves or evo points.
Regimens are perfect for raising Pokemon that don't battle well (Magikarp, Caterpie, etc), when you're busy, when you don't feel like writing a Training thread (although Regimens are much slower), or when you want to raise up a Pokemon to "retcon" into your team more seamlessly. ("I totally had this Charizard all along!" vs "I totally had this Charizard all along, please ignore the recent threads raising it up from a Charmander!" :P) Coordinators preparing for a showcase may find the free moves particularly appealing.
In the same way Breeders can unlock more breeding slots as they complete more breedings, but everyone can breed, Regimens can be done by everyone, but Coordinators and Trainers can unlock an extra tier or two to make them more effective.
Tier 1: Members can raise 1 Pokemon per week, and earn 1-4 points.
Tier 2: Members can raise 2 Pokemon per week, and earn 2-5 points. Only usable by a member with a Coordinator or Trainer after 10+ Regimens are completed.
Tier 3: Members can raise 3 Pokemon per week, and earn 3-7 points. Only usable by a member with a Trainer after 20+ Regimens are completed.
Points are rolled similarly to eggs (there are already buttons in the spawn generator!) and are granted in a pool. 1 point = 1 evo point or 1 new move. If you roll more points than you can use, though, you lose the excess, so choose who to train carefully.
In tiers 2 and 3, each Pokemon must receive at least one point, meaning a jump straight to Final Evolution is only possible if you roll a 7 in tier 3, although a jump straight to a middle stage evo is possible in all. Pokemon cannot be trained the week after completing a Regimen, but can train again the week after that. Weeks are just tracked Sunday to Saturday, not by the specific day.
And I think that's pretty much everything! (If you see anything in the new guidebook I forgot, please let me know!)
PHARAOH LEAP.