What's to Come, A slight sneak peek!

I'm making a news post about this, but this topic is where all the meat is. Here are some of the new features/improvements that I have in mind/already am implementing.

We'll start with the relatively for-sures.

For starters, we'll be going back to a site-and-forum-based RPG. The site will house most of the information, as well as event news, RPG rules, and important links. I have made a demo for it, which you can view here. (NOTE: I might move the site to a different location. Still potentially Geocities due to cost constraints, but on a different account. This is mostly because Boltage uses his site for other miscellaneous storage as well, so I figured I wouldn't use his space.)

You'll notice one thing on the demo that you've probably never seen before: The BoltDex. This is a project just getting started by Staff members (as well as a few others) which is compiling all of the information on all 493 (yes, 493) Pokémon, including those from Diamond/Pearl. The project is just getting started, and you can't view it yet. It'll probably debut once Diamond and Pearl see a US release and the RPG resets, as we have some D/P info already implemented (mostly in the form of TM's and other new moves).

Finally, a new forum skin, though likely not the one I said I'd design months ago. This one will likely go with the demo layout above and have a similar color theme. It's not that I don't like this skin (Kazuki did a good job on it), but I want the look of the board to match the general look of the RPG. That is, a dark, occasionally green feel which the RPG had back in the old days.

A reversion back to old member titles. This doesn't affect normal ones, just higher-ups. While Ref/Judge/Staff is simple, I think we're going back to the classic Ref/Advanced Ref/Updater. The Updaters, however, will have a different role than before, which I'll get to...

...Right now. Unlike the current version, members probably won't be allowed to edit their own profiles. While I thought this would work when we revived the RPG last year, I found one major problem. Not everyone knows how to update, and the whole method itself is insecure. However, even a Ref will be allowed to edit a profile. The advantage of this method is that once a ref has finished a WPT, he/she can go right to the profile and update it, as opposed to the old method which required the To Be Updated board to become clogged with trainings.

Why use the term "Updater" then? An Updater would be able to update the actual site with events and other useful information. Less of a role than it was, but with as much seniority.

Profiles will still be stored on the boards, and linked as you can see in the demo above.

Secret bases change, again. Trainings will now be done in the profile topic. This condenses space, and makes it easier to update, because everything's in one place. I'm not sure where plots are going to go yet. They might get their own forum, or simply a topic. I'm taking this one step at a time.

Secret bases will, however, remain. They'll probably be exactly what they are: bases of operation for yourselves, your alliances, or just your party. Decorations will be readily available (a new addition), and everything should be customizable.

New Trainer Specializations, as well as changes to existing ones. I already have these done.

The way gyms are done is changing. Instead of having a set team, each gym leader will have a team of 6. They'll follow similar rules to what they already do (in terms of how many Pokémon are used, whether it's a single or double battle, and whether or not items are allowed), but teams will be more variable and unpredictable. Adds an interesting challenge! Shinou gyms aren't done yet, but they will be once D/P comes out.

Ilanten will be playable from the start! I already have gyms set up for Ilanten, which also have ties to the story I'm coming up with. Speaking of which, I already have a few plans for events once the RPG restarts!

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Now for some feature changes/additions that I've thought up. I want your opinions on these. Your opinion matters: If you don't like something, I won't do it. However, I think everything I say here will help out the RPG.

NEW FEATURE: Pokémon Habitats. Instead of a generic Wild Pokémon Area, you'll be able to search right in a specific area (such as a Volcano, Forest, or Factory) for a Pokémon. This is an idea that I had in an RPG I was considering developing. The idea never took off, but I like the way the hunting system works. This'll also make it easier for refs to list what Pokémon can be found where; habitat information will be stored in the BoltDex. It'd also be possible to make encounter tables (viewable by refs only) to help them even more.

POTENTIAL CHANGE: The current CYOP system is, I'll admit, slow. The way it works now is as follows.

1. Trainer posts in his/her own CYOP.
2. Trainer waits for a ref.
3. Ref comes and claims CYOP after potentially days (or begging).
4. Trainer posts, and waits for ref.
5. Repeat steps 2-4 indefinitely, because as things go currently one ref must ref a CYOP.

I have two solutions to this problem. I want you to tell me which one sounds better.

The first involves more use of the chatroom. Anyone can already go into the Chatroom (see the link at the top of every forum page), though hardly anyone does. Now, once someone's in, they could ask a ref there (if one exists in the channel at any given time) if they would like to do a "CYOP Event." This will then turn into a mini-event, as the CYOP is, which will be finished in mere hours as opposed to weeks. Definitely more efficient, provided a ref is online with time. (AIM, MSN, or any other messenger would work for this task as well.) Mini-events don't have to be planned; they can be improvized as needed.

The second stays on the forums, but involves more trainer interaction. (It could go into the chatroom as well.) Multiple trainers can post in the same topic for a geographic area (for example, Pewter City) and can interact with each other there. From there, they can go their separate ways or team up, moving onto routes where they can catch Pokémon. This makes it easier on the refs, as the trainers themselves choose what they want to do. All the ref has to do is perhaps come up with mini-events (like above) or state what Pokémon/NPC's are found. Geographic areas will be separated by region and trainers may only post in one topic at a time.

Please let me know which of these you find better.

NEW FEATURE: BPRPG Simple Version.
Some people, I'm sure, find parts of the RPG very difficult to understand or grasp. Not everyone knows how to distribute Effort or Move Mastery. I'd like to propose a simple one. Effort and MM will still be involved, but refs will do it for the trainer in order to keep the battle system the same. Anyone opting to use the simple method will only have to say how many trainings they're giving a Pokémon in a day. The ref will then randomize the effort. Move mastery will be treated as a flat 6/10 for each move, which is equivalent to power levels found in the Game Boy games. The advantage to this is that the trainer doesn't have to worry about distributing MM and he/she has a slight advantage in the beginning. However, MM can never be maxxed, and you can't have the maximum of 40 total MM.

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That's all I have at the moment. I invite comments, as they'll help me shape BPRPG into what it's supposed to be: a fun little game for everyone to enjoy.

Wow, a whole lot cooler.

Will people be able to switch? If they are, that could be exploited.

I didn't think about that, but I was planning on it being permanent anyways. Kinda like region in a sense, though you can't switch it once you've gotten all the badges of the region.

Another thing I'm going to add to the list that I forgot last night. Apparently I can't think at 2am.

NEW FEATURES: More Contest Ribbons
Anime stuff I've loosely gotten from serebii, though I'm putting my own twist. Contest ribbons will now be more aplenty, and could count for Badge Levels! This'll probably only apply for the Contestant specialization. However, this could make it more desirable!

Serebii lists 5 ribbons per region. Whether or not we'll adjust to 8 (or some other close number) is up in the air at the moment.

I'm not sure if it has ever been suggested before, but what if members were allowed to become gym leaders themselves? They would have to be tested and approved by a mod of coarse, and meet certain requirements. Here is some of my ideas.

- A least 3 (Debatable number) badges from the same league that the trainer is trying to become a gym leader of.

- A test by a higher up of the league (Elite Four, Campion, or maybe just a top gym leader, played by a mod). The test would measure the trainers leadership ability and fighting skill. Commitment to job should be tested as well...

- Once gym leader, the trainer must respond to challenges within a set time (I'm not sure what would be good...) unless said trainer has taking leave and notified the site.

- The trainer would be payed weekely by pokemon league

- The trainer may resign. That trainer is expected to find another trainer who meets the requirements to take over. Otherwise, an npc steps in.

I do realize that the pc gymleaders would be alot tougher, but it could be pretty interesting. There could be a level limit or something if it gets to bad. Also, I realize that pc do not usually stick to one type of pokemon like regular gym leaders do. That also makes things much more interesting.

It might also make things easier for the admins and mods...

As to my understanding, that was the orginal purpose to the Created Region of Ilanten. Whether or not He'll use NPCs to start Ilanten off or not, I wouldn't know.

I like the ideas. I myself prefer the first CYOP idea.
And I agree with reignheart on the Gym Leader ideas,
but I gotta ask, are those of us who were aproved ages ago on the old board to be Gym Leaders gonna still be aproved/allowed to become leaders for Ilatan or will we have to go through the sign-up phase again?

Yep, almost every older version of the RPG I've been in has had it such that players could start gyms in the Ilanten region. (Spell it right, Zeo! *2x4*) The way it worked before was as follows:

1. Trainer signs up for gym. The trainer must pick a theme. (This was usually type and/or egg group, though I'd probably accept any well-thought-out theme as well. For example, a sleep-themed gym.)

2. Trainer goes on a mini-event to find and settle their town in Ilanten. (I'll touch on this later in the post.)

3. Once the gym is actually built (after said mini-event), a League Representative comes to battle the new gym leader, and the leader is then graded by Boltage. This is to determine Badge Level.

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I was probably going to keep the players' having gyms in the Ilanten region, but with a slightly new format. Firstly, Ilanten will (finally) be a settled region, and there will be 8 NPC gym leaders in there. (Who they are you won't know yet. I have them more or less set, though.) Then there will be a method for players to "take over" the gyms, which'll more or less be a plot thing.

The way I'm thinking is that, at the very least, the trainer must be in Ilanten with at least a number of badges equal to that gym's badge level. (1 badge for first gym, 2 for 2nd, etc. -- However, I might raise the standard for low-level gyms.) Then you must rechallenge the gym, using your intended gym team, and beat the leader (I'm thinking 2-out-of-3 here). If you come out on top, then you've taken over that gym's position as Gym Leader, and you can reconstruct the gym to your liking. Gym level limits will be similar to the standard level limit, in the gym's case Gym Level - 1, maybe dropping four or five levels to keep them in tune with other gyms of similar levels.

Help at all?

That was back in an older version of the RPG, so you'll have to go through the phases I just mentioned above.

That sounds alright. So gyms outside of Ilanten are not going to be subject to this at all?

Not likely. After all, they're the classic leaders. (This is still subject to change, but it's always been Ilanten that had the custom gyms.)

I like your second Idea for CYOP better

I would still like to be able to customize the move mastery for my pokemon, though.

I like the Idea that a trainer can become a gym leader, but I have always like the original pokemon better, it would nice if you could make it so a trainer in any region could become a gym leader; but thats just me

No problem. The simplified version will be optional; not everyone will have to do it. Just once you've made the decision, you (very likely) can't turn back.

The Ilanten requirement will likely be lifted, now that I think about it. After all; you're able to warp to events at special times; operating a gym could be done in the same way. (Though you can't warp to a different region to get an easier badge.)

Hmm. The changes to come please me... It is good to see that work is still being done on this old RPG. Odd that you've kept the name after all this time, but... Well, it's entirely up to you.

As for this line...

"3. Once the gym is actually built (after said mini-event), a League Representative comes to battle the new gym leader, and the leader is then graded by Boltage. This is to determine Badge Level."...

I'm fairly certain you or any other Staff / Updater members would be capable of the task. I'm just a silent observer these days, you know; waiting for my moment to come once again... But that time is not now.

As for the multiple gym things... Why make Ilanten so special? It could eventually come to be that there are multiple levels of Gym leaders. Ilanten was originally intended to have 24 gym leaders, or two in each town; three for every badge level. Perhaps two additional leaders per badge level could be added to Kanto, Johto, Hoenn, and (once it is added) Shinou. This, however, adds more to the workload and may or may not be implemented as you see fit.

Good luck, Hedge; It looks like things have been going well. Keep it up!

And with that, Boltage fades back into the shadows...

I like the second idea for the CYOP better. I must say, through, that with five different regions with all the cities and routes in them, it would be alot of forum space. May I suggest cutting some of the regions with this idea? The least popular ones, of coarse.

I think the important part is that multiple refs check the CYOP and not just having one ref with one person. It would also make it easier for people in the rpg to meet each other.

I know I'm new here but I've checked out alot of your site and I've taken notice of dates and progess.

Another thing I notice is a bunch of the WPT havent been touched recently. That includes mine ((Hint-Hint)).

... I'm patient. Sometimes.

I'm not to into the whole custom gym has to have a theme deal. I could rant on that for a bit, but I'll spare everyone.

Silly Bolt, I was saying the way things were. You know, back in the old days. >_>

Interesting idea, putting some user leaders into the original regions. I might think about that.

Unfortunately, progress is definitely going to be slow in the next couple weeks. Crunch time with college and all. And with work bogging me down as well... yeah, I'm hardly going to be online this week. (I apologize to anyone I'm reffing in CYOP at the moment; things are slow, and I understand that, but my schoolwork and job are, at the moment, unchangeable. (And in the case of the job, apparently unpredictable.)

And good to see you again Bolt. I see that the grip of WoW hasn't completely taken you out yet. (And I can't change the name. It just won't feel the same, y'know?)

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As for the theme deal: A theme allows the leader to have a focus, and thus be able to adequately name his/her badge. It could really be anything, not just type or egg group. (I believe Q once considered having a "blue" gym.) A theme could be anything you want, really.

Again, I'm just throwing out ideas. Feel free to add/object to them.

I apologize to Hedge, I should have worded what I said better. I didn't mean the hint towards you, I know you are busy. I bet alot of staff on this site is busy, I understand. I'm going through college right now myself.

I was trying to refer to the WPT which I believe pretty much any sort of staff can respond to, right? It just seems to be ignored lately. Is this something I should be bothering the staff over, like I am now, or something the staff should be checking on their own whenever they get a moment to?

I also apologize if I sound harsh and for going off topic a bit. It is just that if the second CYOP idea was used, this would be a problem as well.

On the note of the themes, I did not realize it was meant to be so open. It sounds great now.

>>; I'll get on your WPT soon enough, reignheart.

And Boltage! Ye dost live! Good to see thee once again.

Sorry, I was a bit annoyed at other things at the time. But I am trying to help, and this sort of stuff is what is going to keep people interesting in this rpg and not get frustrated, which I'm sure is why most newbies quit the site. Plus I'm not just talking about mine.

For the first CYOP idea, could I suggest taking a look at this site ? I'm not trying to advertise it or anything, it is just an online rpg set up with IRC (I believe) and it is very well done. It is a vampire site, but there isn't anything mature rated on the main part of the site (Or the rest of the site as far as I know).

It uses multiple channels as different parts of the city. You could take the idea and have multiple channels be different cities in a region. Staff could wander through the rooms and set up random events or whatever needs to be done. If a staff member is needed right away for a battle or something of the sort that requires a ref, one could use IM to get a hold of a ref fast. That's what these guys do and it works well.

It is almost sort of a combination of both your CYOP ideas, Hedge.

Hm, indeed. I'm not sure if I'd go with multiple channels or not (I'd kinda like to limit the number of tabs I have open in Chatzilla), but that's more or less what I was looking at (though in this case, to a slightly greater degree). Heck, the RPG chatroom is already an IRC channel (#BPRPG on irc.accessirc.net, or the chatroom link above for the lazy), so we're halfway there already.

Ideally, I'd like more people to be using the #BPRPG channel anyways. Unfortunately (for now), it's usually just myself and Donnie. And more often than not just myself.

And IM's usually the best way to get someone's attention here, too. It's just a matter of whether or not we have the time to. (I usually do, unless it's really late or I'm doing homework or something.)

Since I don't seem to have posted thoughts on the CYOP part yet...

I say the second, or, if I got the order wrong, the one NOT using chats. I know there are some that like using chat channels and such to get that kinda thing done, but... As may've been said, most don't have the time. And I dislike the BPRPG channel, since it doesn't do anything to let me know there are messages, and I don't pay attention.

Apart from that, I for one mostly Improv, or rather, Ref CYOPs off the top of my head, at least I until I can make something up to use as a small temp story bit. Once that's over though, I still have to do it again. I doubt I could do anything if I was pressured by needing to give a somewhat immediate answer. While play-by-post is slower, it gives the ref plenty of time to think about what they're gonna do at their own lesiure. That and unless you really, REALLY enjoy rping, it'll eventually become a burden on the ref if needed to be done by them daily.

There, my two cents at 11 at night, and coming from a person who greatly dislikes IRC after having used mIRC before. Now, I'm off to slaughter more cows...

Let's see...

I say keep the CYOPs on the boards. I don't really see any major reason to use the chatroom, other than the fact that it's a bit faster. The ref still needs time to come up with ideas to progress along each individual trainer's journeys. That and I'm also not exactly a bit fan of IRC chats, though I do use em quite a bit now. >_>;

I believe that Ilanten gyms were originally created as Member-made gyms, and I say they should stay that way. I understand where you're coming from in that each gym needs some sort of theme or such in order to come up with a decent badge.

We could have a system where a person proposes a gym idea to the staff members, and we can rate it and continue on from there. Badges don't have to be THAT creative, just...a bit witty. Such as how Roxanne gives the stone badge because she specializes in Rock types. Though, you don't really have to stick to single-type gyms. You could always toss in frontier strategies, like ability, tactics, knowledge, etc...

But yeah, that's just my two-cents.

Oh and, Kudos to BB for getting all of this organized and working! I really don't think anyone else could've/would've done it. Probably would've ended up half-way from where you are.

Oh and, the Boltdex is coming along nicely. I only wish I wasn't so darn lazy so I could finish my college applications and actually help out here >_>

On a side note: We need more refs. Like...seriously. I think we need to get together and come up with ideas to get more refs that actually know what they're doing, not saying that our current ones don't, but we need to do something about that ref test >_>

Well, fix the ref test, or once again try to educate Those who wanna try. I don't remember the test being that hard... And I doubt we should make it easier for more to get in...

I need to get back to work on said dex.. Meh, I've got stuff to do at home though. Which is highly trobulesome. *sigh* Ah well, maybe tommorrow...

And, Themes shouldn't be that hard to come up with. Though Colors are a bit silly.... I suppose they are still doable.

I might be able to help with the ref shortage...
I think that the forum way is better. It does give time to think without pressure, and you can still go on a wild posting frenzy if both people are online. If the reffer and the reffee wish to do something over an instant messaging system, then I think it should be between them. My two cents at 11:30. That makes... Six cents! We are almost rich!

*emerges from the shadows and steals the six cents*

Instead of writing my paper that I should have started umm 6 hours ago, I've decided to stop lurking and post my opinions here.

First of all, I apologize for not being more active. College is a lot of work. Especially the part where I try to beat my roommate at video games. Marth vs. Jigglypuff is always an intense match up.

Anyway, the CYOPs:
I, like many, enjoy doing them on the boards. BUT. The option should always be open to doing CYOPs in a chat. Refs can schedule them as mini events or something (did someone already say this?). Personally, I'm kind of lame in that I think of really awesome storylines for people and then promptly forget about them when I forget to post for weeks at a time. Doing them when they're fresh in my head makes my CYOPs a lot better until I hit a mental block.

The problem with separating things by route/region is the fact that one ref would most likely be in charge of each division thingy. So, if that ref becomes lazy/unable to post, the people in that route are pretty much screwed. Unless refs are open to other refs posting for them. Personally, I like having my storylines for certain people go exactly as I plan. I do encourage the multiple-people-per-CYOP, though. Or I would except for the fact that it would probably take longer to ref. But, at least those two would have opportunities to interact while the ref is away.

As for Ilanten
Yeah we need to straighten it out. If we can get it started out right, then it would run smoothly but gym finding events take forever...

Also *stabs Rage with Blue team.*

On the idea of 3 gyms per city per region...
It doesn't sound too bad since Kanto has the actual badges, the contest ribbons, and the BF badges all at once. Contest leaders would be neat since we don't really ever do much with them. Even 2 gyms per city per region with the exception of Ilanten I'm fine with. But meh, whatever. Or if people have problems with having 2 gyms per city we can just use some of the towns mentioned in the show (that one with the Scyther anyone?).

Am I making any sense? It's 2 AM and i'm running on little sleep. I'm also probably rambling by now...

On the topic of Refs
WE NEED REFS BAD. But at the same time, the tests are hard for a reason. When I first started reffing there were a ton of experienced players that would correct me if I reffed incorrectly. Especially when I first started doing Gym Battles. There're tons of tiny little details in BRPG that people need to be aware of and that's why some of the questions on the ref tests can be difficult to the point of being slightly unfair. Refs need to be quite familiar with the rules. They don't have to be memorized, but many quirks should be known such as full-turn moves (Thunderwave) or Special Abilities (Espeon). If you want to be a ref READ THE RULES CAREFULLY.

On the Boltdex:
I'll get to more of the Johto people when I have time. Talon is going way fast, though. I always take forever when it comes to listing TMs. And we're just gonna have to redo it when DP comes out in English ugh.

Other thoughts:
Maybe we should train people to be Gym Leaders who aren't refs that way we can get Gyms done faster. Also, it's good training for reffing. I remember countless hours spent being the Gym Leader for Abe and Ivan 2 resets ago (I also remember how much Ivan hated Falkner because of Whirlwins >=D)

I'm tired.

Back to writing my paper.

Boo History.





PS:
O_o. That's more than I've written in my paper.

Both chat and forum CYOPing could be a possibility. I did think about the problem with location-specific CYOP's though, and definitely think chat would be better than that; that said, the ability to juggle refs would be appreciated.

Gym training is a good idea, though. Not only does it get people more involved, but it also familiarizes people with the battle system and helps them develop a strategy base to help themselves in the future.

I do have an easier-ish version of the ref test in the works, too. It'll still be decent in terms of difficulty, but the number of questions will likely be toned down in favor of a "training period" (similar to what Q mentioned) to get the new ref accustomed to reffing. This is only in an early alpha stage, though, so it won't be tested for a while.

Boltdex won't be that hard to change to english. Edit some move names to whatever they are in english, we win. The only difficult part is Getting the DP pokes in the dex. Which will be highly complicated.

Being able to use the chat system if Both Ref and Person perfer.. that's not bad. And it leaves boards open to those of us doing other things while we ref.

Hmm. I think there should be.. a System for Switching between refs in an area. It needs some thought though on how to make it work.

Hmm. A Special Test to admit Refs for a training period... Then when ready they can take more difficult tests.