Atebus Revolution Masquerade

For discussion of the Subeta pet site, including new colours and other features.
AngharadTy
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Re: Atebus Revolution Masquerade

Post by AngharadTy »

How do you even get the higher rank(s)? Was it time-based? First X players to guess correctly...?

edit--oh, it's on the previous page. It was added in an edit, I didn't see it at first! Hehe.

So... I'm FOURTH PLACE?

After all the hours I put into it?

Oh. That's. Uhhh. Great.
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Joey
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Re: Atebus Revolution Masquerade

Post by Joey »

I got Sleuth, but I also didn't try that hard. And I'm loving the Thorpe plushie, I was annoyed that there wasn't one in the shop. His lovely mustache now resides in my beard gallery :D I also really like the pets so far, it's a good colour for my last pet. Not quite sure how it works though? You get the ore and the mold and forge a key, then get the schematics which take a few days, then bring both to Issac and he makes you the new pet in another few days? How does one name this pet?
Farseek
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Re: Atebus Revolution Masquerade

Post by Farseek »

Well a lot of this event fell over my vacation so I missed it. I basically dressed up danced but sort of missed the whole mystery. I got the participant medal and a plushie :P
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Re: Atebus Revolution Masquerade

Post by Officer 1BDI »

I just came home from work...

First, regarding the final page: Anthony is now my most favorite NPC ever. XD

Second, I earned the rank of "Chief Detective" (yay!) Opening the box of evidence gives me, unsurprisingly, all of my evidence back as well as the case file. So I can FINALLY read all that stuff to Albia.

Finally, the new pet color: I'm stoked. Admittingly none of the available pets strike me enough to make one yet (except the Sheeta, but it wouldn't fit my preexisting Sheeta's personality :c ), but that the color even exists is wonderful... and it's making me reconsider exactly what I'm going to use my pending 12th pet slot for.
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Rakumel
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Re: Atebus Revolution Masquerade

Post by Rakumel »

I'm sorry I didn't get to return the last few dances. Most of the inside of my house is being painted and I haven't had as much internet access since Friday. (Literally squished in the middle of the room between my computer desk and drawing desk right now.) Also my thoughts on the plot are probably going to sound rambly, disjointed, and cranky because due to the aforementioned painting, I haven't been sleeping well.

Anyway, for what it's worth, I got the Sleuth rank, for (I assume) guessing correctly and handing in three pieces of evidence: the note, the fifth journal page, and probably the mining permit. Can't remember for sure, but basically I let him look at only what I thought was relevant to "prove" my case. Although as it turns out, I didn't have to :P I still haven't decided if I want to open the box and get any evidence back that the NPCs took or if I just want to stick the whole box in my vault and sell it later.

Overall I thought the Masquerade plot was okay, especially in the early stages. For me the main source of frustration came during the battling part, but I'll set that aside for the moment. The art was hands down my favorite aspect; everything - the different sections of the ballroom, the NPCs, the battle challengers, the items in the plot and the items you could get from the shops - were lovely and nicely detailed. I expanded my Wardrobe and gallery of favorite items with many nice things just by dancing with y'all. Speaking of which, thanks! It was nice getting to know some of you a teeny bit better. :D I liked some of Anthony and Boudewijn's chatter (even though Boudewijn kept showing up at some of my other dances, the lil' creeper). And even though this was just the first run with the dialogue engine, I have to say that I actually liked using it to talk with the NPCs. I'm crazy about character-driven stuff, so it was nice to see the main characters fleshed out a bit more. Even though it was a pain in the rear getting them to talk about certain things - my version of Victoria never did seem to work correctly. And I could have sworn I came across someone on the forums who said they had gotten Isaac to talk about human emotions, and kind of sadly play with the Wrenchett while he did so. But I never could get him to do it, and I never did find that post on the forums again, so I'm wondering if I just dreamed that up or if I accidentally stumbled onto the Writing board and didn't notice. Damn it, that would have been adorable if it were true.

Even though the mystery-solving part had its problems, for the most part those didn't bother me too much. What really disappointed me - and even though this was a common complaint and it's probably been said a frillion times already, I have to get it off my chest - the battling part. There was literally nothing for my 300's in all stats battling pet to do that was a decent, well-thought out challenge. (There still isn't, actually.) The dramatic change from the spiders to Wyrmgear was staggering, and all I could think was, "Huh? Why?" I was really looking forward to a middle ground battler, maybe somewhere in the 1000-2000 HP range, that maybe with a little strategy and the semi-decent weapons I have on hand I could take down at least once or twice. When that didn't happen, well, like I said, I was disappointed enough that it almost ruined the rest of the plot for me. I think I took a few potshots at Marcel out of spite and danced a few more times, and that was it for the plot as far as I cared. Kind of a sour note to end an otherwise decent plot on. :\

Oh, I do like the steampunk pets - the detail on the ones released so far is OUTSTANDING - but they're not anything I just have to have. I will be keeping an eye on it though; I have tenative plans for a time-mage type pet and if the right species with the right look comes along, I may just have to pay Jules and Isaac a visit.
bonecrivain
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Re: Atebus Revolution Masquerade

Post by bonecrivain »

Yeah, now I'm just annoyed. Which I suppose I expected to be. I guessed correctly, danced a ton, battled a lot, found all of the items, and talked to all of the characters multiple times. I spent far more time on this event than I should have. But I didn't get a key that's selling for 30 million sp and that can be used to create a new pet color solely because I didn't turn in my items.

That's EXACTLY what I was talking about days ago in this thread. The prize tiers are basically dependent on whether you turned in your evidence at the end, which would have been really nice to know. I don't understand why it had to be a secret. It's not like I didn't BOTHER to find all of the items and turn them in; I actively agonized about it and finally decided that I really did want to keep my items, because it wasn't clear that the prize at the end would be "better."
Teera wrote:There is no right way. I just honestly do not want to influence you either way! I don't want to say "Yes, yes, do it that way!" and then you guys do, and are ultimately disappointed because it's not what you were hoping for.
Teera wrote:I said you could keep what you had, or turn it in for the possibility of something better. Possibility here meaning it was better to you. Because, like I said, it's subjective what is or isn't better.
I don't see how this was subjective in any sense. If you turned in the evidence, you got all of it back, plus the key, plus other items if you guessed the murderer correctly. If you didn't turn in the evidence, you got a plushie and a box filled with the evidence you already have (which is almost like a slap in the face). I do think it was a good choice to give the box of evidence back at the end--I'm pleased that I finally got my stolen page back. That's one bright point in this mess of a plot. But if I'd known how the prize tiers worked, OF COURSE I would have turned in my evidence. How would it have been ultimately disappointing to turn in items, then get them back PLUS extra things?
Teera wrote:We're looking to make it so that a correct answer will get you your clues back.
This obviously turned out to not be true, anyway, but by the time this was posted here, it was too late to turn in my evidence. I tried.

This is particularly frustrating, because in the end, turning in evidence was the most important part of the plot. It didn't matter if you battled or talked to the characters, and guessing the correct murderer (in a murder mystery?) was more of a bonus. Everything hinged on turning in the evidence. It would have been nice if we'd been told at least that much.
AngharadTy
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Re: Atebus Revolution Masquerade

Post by AngharadTy »

I tried, too. Very irritating.

And I agree. "Have items" is in no way subjectively better than "have items PLUS other items PLUS better title PLUS better trophy."

I would be more pissed, except that I was already pretty solidly resigned to being pissed about the end of the plot before it ended. So I'm not surprised and it's hard to feel up in arms. I just feel tired and irritated. Woooooo.
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Kamil
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Re: Atebus Revolution Masquerade

Post by Kamil »

Thanks for looking that up, Bon, I totally didn't have the energy to do so. But I wanted to. Because that's what I thought I remembered it saying. And I'm sorry, but I too have to ask: IN WHAT SENSE IS A PRIZE WORTH THIRTY MILLION SUBJECTIVE?

Oh well, fool me once. It'll be a cold day before I lift finger to do anything else connected with one of their god-forsaken plots or site events.

Oh, and Rakumel? Don't feel too badly. There wasn't anything for my pet, who has even stats in the mid-1100s, to do after the first two either.
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Keith
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Re: Atebus Revolution Masquerade

Post by Keith »

No, I completely agree. I think that the battle part was ridiculous. We had three opponents and I figured we'd be able to make that stretch and have high-end pets still interested, but obviously that didn't work like I'd intended at all.

My major goals for the next time around, and things that I think we learned from this time around:
  • Don't give people something and expect them to give it back.
[*] From the very start have a total count of your plot points. That way you can monitor when you're doing something right, and when you aren't. If you battle, your points will go up. If you talk to a specific NPC that furthers your ability to complete the plot, your points go up, etc. Something that you can view.
[*] The ending ughhhh. Don't draw it out so much. Start with a specific date for an ending in mind, instead of allowing ourselves to try to pile things in during the plot that we didn't intend on, or push ourselves further back.
[/list]

The next plot we intend to have a few more puzzles that actually involve getting... involved, more than talking to a specific NPC or following a set of instructions you found on the forums. Allinall I think that we learned a lot this time around, and a lot of things that we'll be able to apply to future plots. I know that this one frustrated a lot of people, but we're really proud of it as a whole.
bonecrivain
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Re: Atebus Revolution Masquerade

Post by bonecrivain »

Those are all good ideas, but with the huge gaps before the plot actually ended, wasn't there time to change some of that this time around? Obviously you couldn't really add extra puzzles or (I suppose) a checklist, but it doesn't seem like the prize tiers had to be locked in that way. Or you could have just posted something official about how we were required to turn in our evidence for full plot points, once you realized that this was becoming an issue.
Keith wrote:instead of allowing ourselves to try to pile things in during the plot that we didn't intend on
This comes up with every Subeta plot, and the key, really, is to have it all planned out in its entirety BEFORE releasing it. That way you're not changing or adding things in the middle, or losing track of how long it's been going on.
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Re: Atebus Revolution Masquerade

Post by Huggles »

If Keith or anyone's still around, might I suggest a single page with links to various pages important to the plot? The links at the top of the news page were helpful, but I don't think there were enough. Or, in the case of the ballroom link, didn't actually take you to where it should i.e. the ballroom and not the forums. There was also a lot of back scrolling through the news to find links too. Maybe add a Plot Widget or some such for the dashboard?
Teera
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Re: Atebus Revolution Masquerade

Post by Teera »

...At the time I posted in here, we did not have the plot prizes planned out. That was the reason for my ambiguity. I couldn't tell you all what you were shooting for, because there wasn't anything, and I wasn't sure how much we were going to have. I assumed we would, but again, I was not sure, which is why I didn't want to encourage anyone one way or the other. But I still didn't feel right leaving you all completely in the dark.

Obviously that backfired, and I'm sorry.
bonecrivain
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Re: Atebus Revolution Masquerade

Post by bonecrivain »

If you didn't have the plot prizes planned out, and you could tell that this was becoming a huge issue, then WHY ON EARTH did you plan it the way you did? That doesn't make any sense at all.

It's been said over and over, but seriously, guys. Next time you write a plot, figure out everything in advance. This last-minute decision-making doesn't do anyone any good. Why would you give us a bunch of items that we were required to turn in when you didn't have any idea what, if anything, we'd get in return? That just baffles me more.

I know you worked hard on this plot, and it shows in the art. I've always been a huge fan of your art. It was nice to have an actual plot, with character interaction and interesting elements. But some of the details behind this were very poorly handled.
Teera
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Re: Atebus Revolution Masquerade

Post by Teera »

Plot prizes weren't becoming a huge issue. We just didn't have them at that time. I figured we would, but how many or what kind was the question. I don't really want to go into it more than that, because I think it's unfair to rest of the department. I should not have come here and said what I did, and it is my fault for being misleading, though I didn't intend to be.

This event was planned out, though, and quite specifically. I don't know why Keith is suggesting otherwise. It went off the rails, to be sure, and again, that is my fault. My intention was never to draw it out, though.

I can't really do much else but apologize. Certainly I've learned a lot from this. I just hope the next one goes better.
Usul_Princess
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Re: Atebus Revolution Masquerade

Post by Usul_Princess »

I feel like the Subeta staff is only human, and they probably attempted to see any missteps. I agree that time/planning is vital to avoid pissed off reactions. This is coming from a person who got her HA all dolled-up and sat like a wallflower through the entire event while I read the plot. So obviously I don't share the same frustrations. Last year, you couldn't drag me away from the dance floor.
Spoiler: open/close
(slightly OT: But after 2.0 pet lookup changed to that horrible treasure no-text, all crammed together, minion to the left style, refusing to use FF even though IE8 crashes every day in Windows 7, and I completed all my pet goals, I haven't been able to get plugged back in, aside from the occasional name stalking.)
I thought I'd go against the complaining masses, and say I loved that you added the murder mystery and talking NPCs to my favorite site event. Jules is so incredibly sexy. I also like the element of surprise and idea flow, as opposed to Neopets' annual same-ol'-shit events they've been doing for who knows how long?

Maybe I'll request/buy some retro 1.0 code so I can stand to look at my pets some day.

ETA: Kamil, I enjoy your thoughts on everything so much! I stalk your posts to see what you have to say because when you rant/complain, its brutally honest and you have the type of confidence I wish I had without worrying did I hurt someone's feelings. You remind me why its good not to be so nice spineless all the time. (This is a failed attempt at a compliment, and a bit of an ironic post. :P )
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