☆STATE OF THE GAME: HALFTIME EDITION

[interdimanagers]

☆STATE OF THE GAME

As you all (hopefully) know, Interstellar has always been intended to be a limited run game. My original estimate of how long it would take to get through it was 8-10 months, and currently we are sitting in the beginning of the 5th month of play. Based on my plans, we are also completely on schedule, meaning that endgame could easily be finished 4-6 months from now. With that in mind, as we proceed towards the final act of the game, the status quo of the game is going to begin to shift.

This is Interstellar’s State of the Game post, intended to discuss these changes and the general forecast of things are going to proceed from this point. In this post I’ll be talking about ways in which gameplay can be changed by the players, new possibilities for powers and regains, ambient plot elements that will begin to take effect, and the state of the Rescuers’ efforts. Beyond that, it will give you the opportunity to leave feedback.

One piece of feedback I’ve already received and would like to touch on preemptively is some player’s desires for the game to go on for longer than the original 8-10 month period. It makes me really happy and grateful to know that people are enjoying themselves enough to want to extend the experience, but unfortunately that is not an option that is on the table, for a few different reasons.

The most important is that, for the plot to be artificially lengthened, I would have to start artificially halting people’s progress more than I am comfortable with. I would really rather play things by ear and let people have their victories rather than have to enforce a slower pacing than makes sense in setting. With everything going on, keeping the structure of the game together has already been challenging at times, and so I would really like to take the opportunity of the approaching end game to give people the freedom that they’ve been waiting for to effect change.

Secondly, as a mod, Interstellar is very labour intensive. I’m able to put as much as I do into it because the limited timeframe makes me able to ensure that I will have the time and energy necessary to see it through to the end. Extending it would ultimately be more stress than I’m comfortable putting myself through for an extended period. And so, while I’m flattered by the request, Interstellar will be slated to end sometime this summer.

☆SHAKING IT UP

Now on to the fun stuff. Because of the move towards endgame, players and characters are going to be able to start doing things that alter the setting and situation without running the risk of destabilizing the entire metaplot. This opens a whole new realm of possibilities for plots between the labels, as well as ways for the rescuers to gradually gain a footing and have some real victories again label tyranny. Here are just a few examples of the kinds of things I mean:

• Starting in late February, it will start becoming a possibility for musicians to escape the clutches of their labels. Of course, this will have to be a slow trickle, because having everyone run off in the next month or two would make for a pretty weak finale. However, it will be a potential option to discuss, provided the IC requirements can be met. I wouldn’t want to see more than a handful of these in the next couple months, but it’s a possibility.
• Also, starting now, there is an option for captured rescuers that isn’t just plain old death or imprisonment! If a player desires, it is a possibility to have their rescuer character captured and brainwashed into a musician, much like a musician can escape and join the rescuers. This is context sensitive, of course, but it is another thing that can be requested if appropriate.
• Swapping labels is also a possibility, whether intentionally or by force. As things grow more competitive and vicious between the labels, it’s possible that they will accept turncoats, or even straight up attempt to capture members of the other label if it suits their purposes. This is not necessarily appropriate for every character, but again, it is something that can be discussed.
• NPCs have the potential to die! Of course, if you kill them, it will affect the rest of the game accordingly - so don’t try to get Gold and Silver killed if you wanna keep getting regains. The exceptions to this are the CEOs of course, because if you wanna kill them you’ll have to wait for endgame. NPC deaths that will affect the whole plot will be subject to some level of game-wide approval. (That is, unless it’s one NPC killing another and the players fail to stop it.)

This isn’t an exhaustive list, but it’s a fair example of the kind of things that are possible. If you come up with your own ideas, feel free to run the past the Mod Contact, though, of course, they will always require IC justification.

☆POWERS AND REGAINS

These are not yet finalized, but I have seen talk of people racking up MP with no idea what to do with it. Never fear! In the near future, new possibilities for spending MP will open up to musicians, and potentially rescuers as well. So, don’t ever feel like you need to spent it just to get rid of it. There will be more opportunities down the road, and having a stash tucked away could be handy, if none of the present possibilities entice you.

Also, since this is in the works, I would like to hear any ideas you might have for possible MP expenditures! I make no promises for what will be implemented, but it never hurts to see if your cool idea is the right fit.

☆SLOW BURN MUSICAL

I’ve already seen a fair number of spontaneous musical numbers, which thrills me to no end. As we move towards endgame, there are going to be ambient magical effects starting to take hole that will make these even more justifiable in character. After the ghosts are released, an atmosphere of magical energy will start forming across the city, focusing on rescuers and musicians alike. What does it do?

It inspires you to sing and dance, mostly. In the style of a good old musical event, as the months creep on, this sort of thing will become more and more common. At first characters might not understand why, and it will be fairly spontaneous and infrequent. However, this is the perfect justification to have characters sing at each other in a theatrical manner if you wish to do so. This is in no way mandatory, but it may be a thing your characters will notice happening around them. Two months from now, they may even notice it infecting regular citizens of Vista City.

☆RESCUER/MEMORY STATUS

This has frequently been a point of uncertainty, and so from now on I am going to make it vastly more simple: from now there is no limit on the number of musician memory regains taken per month. You can take as many or as little as you choose. Of course, you won’t be well served by having your character immediately remember everything - where is the fun in that? But things may start returning to them in whatever sized chunks will be fun for you. Characters should ideally not have regained everything by endgame, but you are allowed to take bigger steps than people have been in the first half the game. Or you can keep going slow and steady! Either is fine.

Rescuers are imminently going to be receiving a briefing from Shep, Silver, and Gold to relay a bunch of deets they’ve compiled about the labels and the city. This will include some secrets about the CEOs, as well as the specifics of what are needed to get musicians out of the label’s hands. Of course, they are still advising caution - they are not yet aware, but clues to the rescuer’s presence have already been leaked to the execs. The labels are not yet sure how people from the musician’s memories have gotten here, but it’s only a matter of time before they find out...



And that’s it! Now it’s your turn. Please reply to this post with any questions you have, or general feedback about the game and its progression. I ask that you try your best to be constructive, and have any complaints tie to potential solutions. Besides that, I will do my very best to hear you all out.

Oh right, also: apps will probably be opening again at the end of February.