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OOC announcements

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Koi-Cricket
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OOC announcements

Post by Koi-Cricket »

I know it has been -a long long time coming. We have not had a patch in a very long time.

Back in 2022, I knew that I wanted to try and expand upon our dev team. Diligent stepped up and was made our dev lead and we brought on three players from the community that had coding experience. Since they have come to the team, they have breathed new life in that department, and have been working really really hard.

I want to thank Koi-Chaos, Koi-Diligent, Koi-Light, Koi-Nyx.and Kio-Cryptic. Also Koi Eudicot who has helped tremendously.

Thank you to the players that are putting in a lot of time to roleplay improvements to the game, collection of strength and just helping to build the community.

I wanted to say again how thankful we are for freememory/Tary for the work that he’s done in the personal vaults and advising us.


For years, I and other team members, and even players have asked for the return of the personal vaults and now it’s going to happen.

The patch does not stop there. There is a list of things, interesting things, things players have requested over the years, new configuration of rooms… the list goes on.

We have no date set for it yet, but there will be spoilers soon. We will post a date and patch notes when the time comes.

So stay tuned!
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Re: A patch in our future!

Post by Koi-Cricket »

I wanted to give an update on things.

We are getting close to the patch that was promised to you several months ago. We are now in the testing phase and working out all the glitches that are being found. Thank you to all of the testers that have been able to help with testing.

It is no secret that we will be getting our vaults, thanks to Tary/freememory and the dev team. A new room has been created by Cryptic that isn't seen in testing so that part can be left for you to see when it goes live.

There are a few upgrades to existing rooms throughout the city and the teaching guild has some expansions. The forge guild and archive of the planes will be accessed from new areas. Some changes to the houses and some of the major planes. The forge guild has been expanded. There are some new elder rooms for students to visit. Changes to threshold.

Bug fixes, some changes and updates to arts, quality of life changes, and the list goes on.

We have a mass email ready to go out to dozens and dozens of players that have played at some point during this version that will be sent out once we have a date for our patch, and we will post that date to you all as soon as we possible can.

Stay tuned in discord screenshots for teasers.

It is our hope that this won't be our last patch, that there will be many more to come.
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Re: OOC announcements

Post by Koi-Cricket »

I know it has been a while and I apologize for that. We have gotten your hopes up about a patch and it has taken much longer than we anticipated. I wanted to give you a small update as things have progressed. Roleplay lead is meeting this week or next week with Eudicot and Jorkyn to discuss everything with them. Cryptic is hurrying to go back over a few things found in the level edits and make those changes. Stay tuned to more updates in the near future from Koi-Diligent.

Once the big patch comes, we have some options.. As you know, a couple of years ago we did a 100 year reboot. We wiped the houses and their beliefs and fast tracked them way into the future. Made belief and roleplay changes that would enhance the work that was done on a patch. We have been brainstorming and we are wondering how the community would feel about something similar. Something could start before the patch and end after the patch, or it could begin after the patch.

The reason we did the 100 year reboot a couple of years ago was to bring new life back into the game. The houses were very stagnant, and we needed to breath some new life into things. And it did, we had some amazing times ahead. But, it seems that we are back in to the rutt of the houses again, and people are just not as active in them as once before. We will be putting up polls soon to collaborate with the ideas that we are tossing around and pull from those majority votes. I know that there are some players that have been struggling to fit their characters in to the open houses, because of character beliefs and roleplay, Cryptic shared some ideas that may help with that if we made some changes.

Koi-Serenity roleplay lead has been discussing house roleplays as well. Giving each house a roleplay prompt, something to use as a tool for roleplaying specific to that house.

Changes are going to be coming to the market soon as well. I am planning to remove the missions from the market, and place them in another location.. the freespirit sanctuary on edgeward. There you will be able to go check the missions to determine which you would like to do. There will be a generic character named "mission collector" that will collect missions, and Grandma will only tend to her market. Missions are still going to be the same all around, other than Grandma will not take your mission. Grandma will then be able to resume her role as a GMMT and will spend her time in the market selling items. Doing all three things at one time would make things too hectic in the market, and there is a need currently for certain focus teachers and I want to help with that. (Grandma will teach focuses that have issues finding teachers only).

If anyone has any suggestions, feel free to reach out to roleplaying@underlight
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Re: OOC announcements

Post by Koi-Cricket »

There is going to be a meeting this Sunday with dev lead and Admin to move forward with next steps on the patch. Koi-Diligent is currently working on patch notes. Those will be shared before the patch, with all details of what is coming.

We've decided to move forward with another reboot to the city. This one may end up being even bigger than the one we had a few years ago. Between the awesomeness of the patch, and the ideas that we've been brain storming and began working on, I think you all will be very pleased with what we are going to bring for you.
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Re: OOC announcements

Post by Koi-Cricket »

Just a quick update and spoiler. A while back an old dev gave us access to some files. Found something pretty in those files. So it is being worked on right now and will be done soon and ready for the patch. This is something different than the long awaited personal vaults that are already complete.

Patch is coming soon. I know it has been a long time coming. But the amount of things and work that has gone in to this one was fairly large. A testing server is going up and we will ask for volunteers, tho some of the surprises will be left out of it so that there are not a lot of spoilers.

You probably have noticed that Grandmas missions have been taken up. With the amount of hours a week Grandma has been dedicating for missions and letting people turn them in, along with all the things we are working on behind the scenes to get the patch ready, those were taken up to free up some time to work on that without being overwhelmed. Players can continue to do theirs for the players and we will still be in to collect those and have market time for those. There is a rework of those happening that will put more into the Master Teachers hands.

We are definitely doing a reboot as we did a few years back. This one will be a bit different than before, but- New story, new theme, houses, places for each mark/guild/group. Rework of missions. And more to go along with the things that Koi Diligent and dev, Cryptic and Tarys personal vaults, has for us to go ig.

Perfect timing that we’ve had returning old players in recently. They will be here for the start of something that I feel like is going to be amazing, even more so than the 100 year reboot.

Thank you for continuing to keep the dream alive, and your patience.
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Re: OOC announcements

Post by Koi-Cricket »

Good morning

It has been a pleasant surprise to see many older players returning. The roleplays that have sparked, relationships formed, and stories pushed has been incredible.

I did want to remind/tell you all that there are going to be many changes coming after the reboot/eclipse. And I also wanted you to be aware that this is going to be a clean slate and fresh start. Which means some of the following will occur and I did not want you to be blind sided. - All crests will be removed from every player. (House, dreamsmith, wordsmith and MT). These marks have been very very simple and easy to gain in the past, and starting them over after the patch, may or may not be different, but not hard.

Houses- All houses will be closing before/after the patch. Depending on how the roleplay rolls out.

In the new version, we will have what you call "Traditional" and "Non-Traditional" houses. The traditional houses are what players will be joining in the traditional sense and such as we have now. Where you have rulers/guards/initiates- the traditional way. As it stands now, there will be 3 tradtional houses. Keep in mind as the team continues to brain storm and work things out- anything can change. These three tradtional houses are going to be what you can choose to join.

The tradtional houses will be rolling out after the patch through a series of roleplays that the team will have prepared for you to engage in. Example: Friday night- there will be a roleplay that will revolve around the opening of house 1. Saturday night there will be a roleplay that revolves around house 2. so forth. Your character can choose to join the house that they see they would enjoy more, be engaged with more or close to their fit. These houses you will not be required to go out and get all the regular requirements for. You will basically roleplay getting in to these, not by way of going out and collecting enough strength etc.

Then we will have non- traditional houses. These houses will not be player lead, but not necissarily GM lead either. It will be played out much like a guild, but each will be distinctively different and serve a unique purpose. Keep in mind.. the dual crest penalty is going away. Some of these traditional houses will not be granted crests, though one or two may. But the penalty for joining will not exist. If you choose to remain freespirit, but choose to join one of these non traditional houses, it will not act as a house. No beliefs, no roles or jobs, etc.

We did this for many reasons. One being nostalgia for some and their connection to that area or house in the game. You won't have to lose that. Another being, the houses have sat dormate and not been used in a long time. It has been wasted areas that can be used for roleplay purposes. And lastly, these non- traditional houses are going to give you things to do in game.

You may also see different GM or DM characters. There may be an entirely new belief type system. Etc

I know that a lot of you have started new roleplays, opened new houses, joined this or that. But I promise that this reboot to the game is going to be such an improvement, and a fresh start, that you are going to be happy. There's going to be something for everyone and you will either be able to pick up where you left off, or you may choose to go a completely different route. The story arc that we have is going to revolve around something that will allow you to do whatever it is you choose to do moving forward.

If you do have any concerns about where you're going to be fitting in, what direction to go with your character, questions, or just want to talk about the "where do you go from there". Feel free to reach out to the RP lead Koi-Serenity, myself, Cryptic.
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Playin the game 2024

Post by Koi-Cricket »

At times, the ebb and flow of the game can lead to moments of boredom, discouragement, and even departures. Yet, there are instances when players find their way back, drawn by the right circumstances and their love for the game.

Over the past couple of years, I've witnessed fluctuations in our community. In those challenging times, voices have called for the game's closure, urging us to throw in the towel. Team members and players alike have expressed doubts about its worth and simply walked away. I've personally experienced moments of discouragement and humiliation, stirred by out-of-character drama.

I must acknowledge that this past year has been a turnaround. Because of ALL of you. Players who departed during difficult circumstances, whom I never expected to return, have rejoined the Underlight community. Bridges were rebuilt, and friendships were rediscovered. Last night, seeing the growing population in-game brought me sooo much joy.

I want to extend my appreciation to the players who've reengaged with the game in recent months. Your adeptness at roleplay is remarkable. Your ability to craft narratives from small ideas, lead roleplays, and invigorate the community is truly commendable. You have even given me reason to be better, to do better.

Similarly, I want to recognize the steadfast players who've been here through thick and thin. Your unwavering support has motivated the team to keep pushing forward. You have kept the game alive.

Yesterday, a situation arose that made me question my problem-solving abilities, a familiar feeling from past missteps. Yet, I hope that others can understand my perspective. Over the past few days, I engaged in conversations with a disheartened player, one of many. We discussed their struggles with the game, fitting in, and combating boredom. Together, we sparked ideas to reignite their enthusiasm, ultimately bringing them back into the game, hopefully on a more regular basis.

At times, players may question other players motivations and timing for playing. Events preceding yesterdays roleplay led some to believe that players entering the game, was out of character, though conversations had been planned well in advance as I state as a personal witness.

Players return to the game for myriad reasons, often influenced by out-of-character interactions. Sharing updates with friends, posting screenshots on Discord or Facebook—these actions can reignite interest and draw players back, and as such it has and will continue to do so.

Consider this perspective and theory: you're in-game, active, immersed in roleplay and storytelling. Others observe this engagement and feel drawn to be a part of it, to engage with it. This influx is a positive occurrence. The game thrives on player participation.

Each player's reasons for playing or returning may differ, but their presence enriches our community. Welcoming players back, even if their approach differs, revitalizes the game in invaluable ways.

While groups and cliques may form naturally, we should remember that the game thrives on diversity. We need players of all kinds to ensure its survival.

We truely have the best gaming community out there. Let's try and take a look through other peoples eyes. Realize people have differing reasons and motives, unique ideas, their own approaches.

As the patch steadily approaches, and I mean.....It is coming soon guys. Let us try to be open minded and open ended to new possibilities. Underlight is what we make of it, and what we want it to be.

I pose a question for everyone to think on: What makes Underlight enjoyable for you? While some may find pleasure in active player engagement, battles, and political conflicts, others may have enjoyment from storytelling, missions, or scrying. It may require stepping out of our comfort zones and engaging with players we wouldn't typically interact with, but therein lies the adventure.

Each and every player holds significance. Your opinions, voices, and unique styles contribute to the tapestry of our community.

And as a final thought. The changes coming are the bomb.com. I hope that ya'll will appreciate the beauty in what we can create together and recognize the extensive effort that has gone into it. The Roleplay, Dev, and GM teams have gone above and beyond to enhance the game. However, this doesn't solely rest on their shoulders. Consider what you can do to attract and retain players and make the game enjoyable, which a considerable amount of y’all already do. We are all in this together and I am so thankful.

In the upcoming days/weeks, I will announce another Fireside chat to be scheduled. We may do it a little differently this time so that we are able to get all questions answered and concerns/opinions heard. But I will keep you all posted!

See you in game my friends <3
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Re: Playin the game 2024

Post by Koi-Cricket »

In light of a recent conversation, and gaining knowledge I previously did not have of certain situations that transpired last evening, I have decided to link this post here as a reminder to all.

viewtopic.php?f=6&t=10562&hilit=crossover

Many times we are met with RP support requests that have players wanting scripted things. We do not follow them. The reason Is due to Underlights history of the best IC interactions happening organtically.

It is fine to ask friends to play the game with you, or coordinate times and dates for scheduling.

Conflict is fine and encouraged, wanting specific goals, plotting and schemes, are absolutely acceptable as well. Let us let them happen organtically, and inside the game setting.

Things that are discouraged; joining players in game of knowledge you gained in discord, plotting attacks in discord, planning every single thing in discord and then not executing it in game because its already been said and done. This has the ability to suck the thrill of it all, not only for you, but the players we are here to roleplay with.

Roleplaying is almost like viewing a movie, or a play that you sit and watch unfold and become part of. Our goal is to create a sandbox we can all play together and it is possible to cheat ourselves out of something that could unfold in the game setting.

Please do not give another player an unfair advantage, and make them feel slighted due to discord roleplaying. Let us give Underlight everything we have to offer it. It is then we will reap the benefits from it.
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