Post by Super Gmagical on Feb 1, 2018 18:23:32 GMT -8
LOVE IS IN THE AIR... as are what now?
As Valentine's approaches, remember there are many kinds of love in the world. Whether you spend it with partners, friends, or family, indulging an RP ship or out doing things offline, remember that Horizons loves you too!
Rapid-Fire Notes
- The Delibird and present events have now come to an end. We hope everyone had fun! As a final point of clarification for this and future similar events, because the Delibird were Bonus Spawns, they did not count against normal thread limits.
While it was clear this meant you could get 6 spawns + a Delibird in a thread, it feels worth clarifying for those who may still be able to cash in on some that they don't count against your evo point spawn category either. That is, if you had a single spawn + a Delibird, you only need 350+ to get the bonus evo point, and if you had a double spawn + Delibird, 500+ gets you bonus as if there were still two spawns rather than removing the bonus like a normal 3+ spawn. (You might need this info for other reasons.) - A new Activity Check has started! Be sure to go look at that.
- Speaking of activity, one updated rule in the recent character update that we forgot to mention was a change to how character limit works. Previously, we had a very soft loosely-enforced cap of up to 4 characters immediately and more "if" you were somewhat active with those (but rarely told anyone no regardless).
Now, rather than this arbitrary pseudo-cap, we simply ask players make no more than two to start (to help prevent new players from getting in over their heads) and wait at least roughly one month between characters. We still ask you probably not make new characters if your current ones aren't active, but given we understand how the right new idea might reinvigorate a muse at times this is still more a strong request than a strictly enforced rule. - The January-February Showcase is still going on in Caravella, so be sure to get those entries in!
- A slight change to how Swarms work! From now on, Swarms will end at 11:59pm on the day the replacements go up (usually the 1st). That means for the first few hours to day-ish that the new swarms are up, there will be 8 active at a time. This way, if you forgot to get last month's until you saw the new one's go up, you have one Super Ultra Last Chance to grab them!
- Water-type Pokemon with limited mobility-- such as fish and jellyfish, now have the ability to hover on land (or rather, swim through the air). They cannot go very high, and gain no immunity to Ground moves. This is also an active, conscious effort, akin to running or flying, and is tiring to maintain over long stretches. As such, a freshly fished up Pokemon is still likely to flop and flail around, and some Pokemon may find it easier to move via slithering, flopping, or bouncing than air-swimming. Larger Pokemon require more effort to air-swim and cannot maintain it as long as smaller ones, although this takes both height and weight into account. A long but thin Pokemon such as Huntail can air-swim more easily than a tall and heavy Pokemon.
Pokemon that naturally sit on the ocean floor, such as Shellder and Pyukumuku; Pokemon that can already walk, such as Krabby and Corsola; and aquatic mammals who can move fine but are just slower on land, such as Spheal and Popplio, cannot air-swim. - The Feedback Thread is always open, too, so feel free to let us know any thoughts!
- (Also, wow we hadn't used the Change Log thread in a long while, had we? Since we're doing announcements more often, now, it's become less useful, so that section won't be included at the end of announcement posts anymore. Apologies for not noticing that sooner.)
STAFF SHIFTING
Not quite "changes", because the majority of this section will reflect the way things have been for quite a while.
Since Hori's creation, there have been "Mods" and "Admins", but the distinction between them has long been rather unclear. In staff discussions, they have gotten equal votes for longer than I've been here, and in terms of duties performed there hasn't been a clear distinction for at least the past year. You all know I do many things one might typically associate with admins, such as coding and writing announcements, despite "Mod" rank; Jay and Yumi both also do a lot of "mod" and "admin" type work. Josh as a "Mod" has historically done the least mod work among the full staff ranks, but is very active in discussions and helping iron out new systems: also typically considered more "admin-y" work. Izumi has kept up with summons when she could, but very rarely had time for staff discussion for quite some time. Tagger does lots of mod work, and typically votes without much input on discussion but occasionally has a bit, making him the closest to what one might expect with this system.
As such, we have sort of two announcements and a notice in this regard.
The first is that Izumi / Airin is stepping down to the rank of Summon Mod. With luck, this lightened work load will be easier on her busy schedule!
But for anyone asking, "Wait, does that mean Yumi's in charge now?", no: no one person is "in charge". Our second announcement is something we've actually wanted to do since August, but there's always been some reason or other to put it off. With Izumi stepping down, though, it seems a good time:
From today onward, there are no longer "Admins", [Full] "Mods", and "Summon Mods"; there are only "Staff" and "Summon Mods". This is neither a downgrade for Yumi nor a promotion for any mods; rather, as stated, this reflects the way things have been for a long time behind the scenes. We work as a team, and we hope this name change will more accurately reflect that!
As far as the notice, we also thought, with this shift in how staff is presented, it would also be a great opportunity to post some official rules for applying for positions! Staff positions are not given out often and must be well-earned, but Summon Mod positions are always open to those who meet the criteria, found here!
WORMHOLES! DANGER! FALLING WHAT!?
BREAKING NEWS! All over Veria, we are starting to hear increasing reports of holes in the sky opening up, dropping a Pokemon, and vanishing. There seems to be no rhyme or reason to their spawning, making it impossible for researchers to predict their placement or get close enough to examine.
What's far stranger, however, is what's being reported to fall out of these mini-wormholes: Slakoth! In the forests, over plains, in rivers and mountains, even swimming in the seas! Forget cats and dogs, it's raining sloths!
In terms of how likely a single person is to see one, they are somewhat 'rare', though even two Slakoth falling from the sky is two too many not to make the news. So while you're not going to see them falling quite like actual rain, you just might run into one while out hunting.
... Although... While unconfirmed, there are reports of another, unidentified Pokemon coming out of one wormhole, but who knows if it's true! Perhaps someone will find it...?
It's hard to imagine what might be causing such outbreaks. I sure hope no one is harboring a Cosmog, and that no scientists are experimenting with wormhole technology...
That's right! For those of you who haven't seen in the cbox, an explanation: Apparently, Slakoth is not on our spawn lists. Slakoth has never been on the spawn lists. It has taken over two years for anyone to notice it is not on the list. So, to make it up to this poor unloved creature,
Operating under the same Bonus Spawning rules as the Delibird, you'll have a chance to encounter one Slakoth per thread. They don't carry anything special, though as with event Delibird and Minior in the past you might find a wild Shiny. Vigoroth and Slaking will be rarer, but may also spawn! Like Delibird explained above, these don't hurt your evo point counter or count against your normal spawn limits, they're almost purely bonus. The only things they do count against are your monthly catch limits and requiring a ball as any spawn does.
Slakoth's permanent spawn home will be decided after this event; we have yet to set an exact end date.
But wait, what was that other Pokemon mentioned?
Well, its precise identity is for you to discover, but we will tell you it's an Ultra Beast, and you encounter it exactly the same way as the Slakoth! (If you figure out what it is before it spawns, don't tell others; that spoils part of the fun!)
For the early part of this event, the UB spawn chance is Very Low, but it will gradually increase until someone finds it-- and either keeps it or turns it over to the League
This will be the first of many catchable UBs over the coming months, and they will be limited to one UB per character. If you run into it, but would prefer to wait for a different UB, you can run away or otherwise decline the chance. While the UB is spawned, it will be NPC'd, and its spawn chance removed from the generator. If whoever finds it either declines or doesn't succeed in getting it to come with them, its spawn chance will be returned to the generator higher than before.
Important Notes:
-- If you obtain a Beast Ball from the League, you are capturing it with the IC understanding that you are effectively giving it sanctuary until it can be sent home. This will be many months away, minimum, and may change via RP events, but OOC you should understand this is not necessarily permanent, and IC your character should fully expect that it's not. UBs will not be allowed in Gym Battles, Contests, or other Official things.
-- Fallers roll every chance to spawn a Slakoth or the UB twice, as the Ultra Radiation they produce will attract the UB's attention if close by! (Be careful out there!)
-- But wait! Now that the "easier to find UBs" aspect has a more concrete application, more people might want a Faller, and there was only one slot left, wasn't there? Fear not, there's no need to rush or fight over it. The Faller cap has been raised to 20, the same site limit as Aura Users and Psychics! (Still limit one per member.)
FEBRUARY SWARMS
Ow, ow, ow! Seems the swarm theme this month-- ow! --is prickly Pokemon with a particular penchant for pecking! OW! Don't let the sharp beaks and horns fool you, though. Once you get them all calmed down, they'll make wonderful companions, promise.
PHARAOH LEAP.