DarkMoonEnigma
Virtualsense Official
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Community & Media Manager
Virtualsense Media Team
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BUILDING ON FOUNDATIONS
It seemed only appropriate that my theme for this progress update be Building on Foundations since Ant talked about Laying the Foundations in his current progress update. In my previous progress update, I built on a theme that said The Best Way To Predict The Future Is To Create It, and we have been progressively moving in the right direction to assess current conditions so that we can improve upon them. There is development work being done that you may not always visually see in a VU, but it's there, and it allows us to continue building upon systems and foundations that will help us to improve Monria to fit our vision.
As Ant shared, he is quite busy with our MindArk development team laying foundations, and this is more true now than ever before; specifically because there are new inspirations that make the evolution of Monria even more exciting. We've said from the beginning that this won't happen overnight, but we persevere because we want to do it right and for the community at large. Change is evident, and your patience is appreciated.
Ant's vision is more development-driven, while my vision is more community-driven, so the following content will update you on what's happening with the community; specifically, our programs and where we go from here.
Summary | Community Initiatives Program (CIP)
- under the management of @Eric Shade Avenged and @Leodolfr Leon Stronghorse this program continues to surpass our expectations with regard to organization and effectiveness
- our pilot staff is exceptional, and the TKoE crew and others who join us give efficient support
- we added 2 new Yamato Pilots -- @Anthony Gray Stark and @Gunner
- Anthony has done a great job after his training, and Gunner is getting close to sitting in the Pilot's seat
- @Pillzy has also rejoined our Pilot Staff after a break to attend to other things
- we added Rocktropia to our Friday and Sunday travel schedule
- in the future, we will assess the need for adding additional days of service
- repair skilling runs generally take place at the end of our Friday and/or Sunday travel schedules
- it depends on the number of people available for the run and the availability of the pilot
- these runs can be up to 3 or more hours long, so plan accordingly and bring RK-5's and welding wire
- @Lamilla Lami Masterson also hosts a repair skilling run periodically on a Saturday
- you can learn of these repair skilling runs by checking this section of the forum
- this program is working very efficiently thanks to Leon and Lami, as well as the crew
- there have been a few changes with this program beginning with the management team
- Rosa and Raine are on an extended break from virtual life with no date when they'll return
- the Monria Management Team will take over to continue supporting our Monrian Born
- the Monrian Born starter kits will be passed out by Kendra and/or DME
- we will also continue to provide field trips for our Monrian Born and special guests
- the Monria Volunteer Support Team (MVST) has stepped up to be of tremendous help with field trips
- currently, there are 5 tutorials available to assist our Monrian Born and other new players
- these tutorials provide quite a bit of information about the Moon, but also game basics that are helpful
- the goal is to add to these tutorials in 2017 with more comprehensive information for guidance
- a few community members in the past have contributed this information to the tutorials
- we will continue to look to our community members to help expand this program
MONRIA | 2017 EVENTS
As Ant mentioned in his progress update ... Laying the Foundations ... there will be a temporary delay in planning some of our events. This is due to development in progress that may have a direct effect on some of the elements of the events, and we would rather not risk that. As soon as more details are available and we can assess the effectiveness of our event dynamics, I will be publishing more specifics.
In the meantime, here is a proposed list of events that will be taking place in 2017:
- Monria Round Robin Tournament
- this is an annual 5-week event that includes a Winners Circle Competition in the 5th week
- you can look at last year's Round Robin Tournament to get an idea of what this is all about
- we have shortened it by one week based on last year's experiences
- this event will most likely begin sometime in June
- Independence Day
- this holiday event would fall in the middle of the Round Robin Tournament
- therefore, we will not be producing this event this year, but it will return next year
- Monria Boxing Championship
- this is an annual event that will take place over many weeks
- Anhithe is organizing the structure and details of this event, and will be managing it
- the premiere of this annual event will most likely begin in August sometime
- once details have been finalized, an announcement will be made in plenty of time to prepare
- Halloween
- this is another annual event and it will take place this year on Saturday, October 28th
- as we get closer to the date, details will be published in an event thread in plenty of time to prepare
- Thanksgiving | Monria Management Team's 2nd Anniversay
- the current Monria Management Team took over the Moon on Nov 26, 2015 (Thanksgiving)
- it has become apparent that Anhithe did not buy a Turkey, but a Turducken with multiple layers
- this is an event to not only celebrate our anniversary, but to give thanks to those who support us
- this event will take place on Saturday, Nov 25th
- we are not only known as the Expect the Unexpected development team, but quite generous as well
- we give back during every event to make it more enjoyable
- Christmas Festivities
- this event will take place on Saturday, Dec 23rd
- however, don't be surprised if the last couple of weeks of Dec have some unexpected activities
- this would of course include our end of year New Years Eve party
We have had tremendous positive feedback on our events, and we are always working toward making them more exciting, entertaining and engaging. Don't expect a blow your mind experience with every event like this year's St Patrick's Day event, but we will do our best to add elements to catch you off guard.
MONRIA MEDIA TEAM
After I reached out to @Pinthas Schmenke Dorian to let him know that we wanted to honor his work on the Monria storyline that he did as a member of the first Monria Management Team, it progressed into a full-on writing partnership that to me has been an incredible experience. His Historical Data Journal Entries which have been shared at the forum here (all numbered, with 10 left to go), and the 16 chapters of Monria's beginning history (not yet published but getting close) is a body of work that was never presented to the public in its entirety. It was timely and easy to weave into the new storyline to create fluid and evolving content that told Monria's story.
Then I had a chance encounter with @Anny after viewing one of her Arkadia videos that I was immediately impressed with. I made a comment on a FB post by Arkadia that highlighted her video, and she eventually contacted me in the game. As they say, one thing led to another, and the rest is history.
Both of these individuals are immensely talented, and it didn't take long for me to realize that I had the foundation to create our Monria Media Team. We work incredibly well together, and have embarked upon a major project that over time will be something quite special (see next section).
You can gain a bit of insight about the Monria Media Team members here.
PDF BOOK PROJECT | MONRIA OFFICIAL STORYLINE
We have been working on this project for a while now, and I didn't realize at the time just what a huge undertaking this would be, but that's because I wanted our storyline to be transitional and move from one timeline to another in the way that they affected our overall history and how things unfolded with the new management team. We wanted to really create our own story by taking the Cthulhu theme and incorporating it into storyline that would feed an escalation of danger and engagement from the dark elements of the Moon.
It was during this process that I realized that how I wrote The Kipling Chronicles was as story leading up to events, but I want these 11 chapters to read like a book with content that leads to the discovery of the journal in the ancient file cabinet recovered from the West Crater. Therefore, I have been rewriting and expanding The Kipling Chronicles to include more content, character development and dialogue that makes it more engaging.
I posted a sample of what the PDF book will look like here with the first two chapters.
As we progress with this project, we will have our own library of books that tell Monria's story. This is an ongoing process that we will continually add to as Monria and our community evolve. I like to include members of our community in the storyline to make it more real and relevant, so you never know when you might show up in an episode or chapter, or become a revived member of Cthulhu's family tree.
We have a dedicated media team involved as much as possible to bring Monria to life. Ant and Kendra are also members of the team because of what they add from a development and marketing perspective, but Kendra also has a secret weapon with her graphics ability, so we have nice options.
We are very calculated in the way we write our storyline because it has influence on development ideas. If I could spill all the beans, you would know exactly what the hell I'm talking about, but the boss would have my head and cut me off at the knees, and that wouldn't be pretty, so I think I won't risk that.
What I can tell you, is that time is actually our friend, and it will all unfold when you least expect it.
IN CLOSING
One thing I know for sure ... we will continue to put forth every dedicated effort toward making Monria the best experience possible, and we will also continue to support our Monrian Born the best we can.
Thank you for your contributions because it all helps to keep our community engaged and growing.
HAVE FUN & EXPECT THE UNEXPECTED