When New Seattle: Shadows Evolved opens, and throughout the beta story arc, we will be experimenting with the new system, new power levels, and new theories. To do this, we've instituted a series of basic policies that may or may not continue after the beta period. The items detailed here have already been decided on as beta policies. Other items will be posted as decisions are made.

Prepare to Die

Melkir and I have said on various threads that players should be prepared for their PC's death. We weren't kidding. New Seattle will be a deadlier game, especially throughout the beta period. The reasoning is thus: since many players haven't had the opportunity to play the SR4 system elsewhere (table top or online), many will be designing PC concepts that have flaws they may not realize. The rules and the power levels are considerably different from the SR3 system. Instead of attempting to fix seriously flawed PCs, players have an opportunity to experiment with a variety of character concepts and designs, so that when the beta period is over, they hopefully will have the best possible character design they can come up with.

PCs who die during the beta period will receive full karma rollover. Note that full karma rollover is only for the beta game. A decision on karma rollover percentage (if any) for post-beta re-gens will be determined during the course of beta. More on karma below.

Bear in mind, we're not going to mindlessly kill off legions of PCs. On the other hand, building a powerhouse isn't necessarily going to save you either. Seattle has always been roleplay based, and it will continue to be so. Even if you have a weaker character sheet-wise, if you play cleverly and with ingenuity, you have a better chance of surviving beta.

Players whose characters survive the beta game may keep those characters to continue on into the next story arc.

The Story of Your Life

The story design of the NS game will be one overarching plot that determines the course of the city in general. From this plot will come subplots, runs, and various other events. Other individual plots will also occur, but they may not interfere or change the main plot as determined by the RPC. The main plot will move in arcs. Each story arc has its own point and purpose, and will come to an end. Arcs are expected to take approximately six months to conclude. This includes the beta period. At the end of each arc, staff will determine where problems in gameplay are occuring, and review to streamline the gaming experience.

In other words, beta will last six months.

The beta game will be a "rejoining" plot. It will follow the five year jump from the SRS game to the NS:SE game, and explain why there's a whole new crew in Seattle in 2070.

Raiders of the Lost Karma

During beta, the only way to get karma is through admin-awarded +awards. A +award represents a karma amount dependant on the amount of karma your PC has already received. For example, a PC early in his/her career may recieve a +award, and its value would be 1.3 karma. A PC who has played for a few months and receives a +award may only receive 0.75 karma. Each story arc has a karma cap. As you approach the cap, the karma award becomes less and less. Players will not hit a block, and simply not recieve more karma. The amounts will simply decline, less and less, the closer the PC comes to the cap. More details on the cap and the formulae regarding +awards will be posted by Melkir when we're fully comfortable with the figures.

+awards will be handed out for roleplay, prps, performance during runs: all the things admins traditionally hand out karma for. They will not be handed out based on friendship, online time, TSing, or whining. To receive a +award, the PC must be actively roleplaying.

There will be no auto-karma. There will be no karma awarded based on +noms.

The reasons for this plan are extensive and well-known to veteran MUSHers who have experienced karma bloat in SRS and elsewhere. Essentially, the plan is meant to make sure that newer PCs can catch up with older ones more quickly, allowing them greater access to high level runs and more interaction with older PCs.

The plan for the beta game is suspended during the Wild West event.