Devlog [11.30.23]

Sindonic - Nov 30th 2023 09:05

NEWS
Greetings Sprouts,

Wishing you an early happy holiday season! As we approach the end of the year, this marks the final update/devlog of 2023 from the mod team before our break starting on the 1st of December, ending on the 4th of January 2024. We hope you all enjoy a well-deserved rest during the year-end festivities. Reflecting on our incredible progress, we're thrilled and eager to continue the journey in the upcoming year! We'll be catching up on all approvals and submissions posted before we close the features for the break. So, if you've got anything pending, now's the time to get it in. We will be closing submissions when it is no longer the 30th of November anywhere in the world. 

The following approvals will be temporarily closed for the break:
Character Creation Approvals
Character Dye/Avatar Approvals
Trials, Tokens, and Class Approvals
Manual Item Approvals/Soulbond Connections/Porting

We will still be updating and checking the following but less often:
Transfers
Gallery Submissions
Q&A
Discord

Style Prompt, Progress game, and Crafty Corner.
During our break, Style Prompt, Progress Game, and Crafty Corner will remain open for your enjoyment. For the weekly games, only one entry per game is required, but rest assured, you'll receive the prizes for four weeks' worth of entries once we bank it next year.
As a heads up for the upcoming changes: All current manually approved activities/games mentioned above will close when 2023 concludes. They will be replaced with a single weekly activity featuring multiple tasks. In the event the tasks feature isn't ready at the beginning of the year, there will be a transitional period where this activity will necessitate the tasks be included until we can separate them and make them optional. We will keep you all updated on our progress when we return.

As a reminder, December will be the last opportunity to play these games and unlock any future associated achievements, so do not forget to participate!

Feedback
Our feedback page now features a convenient history section, allowing users to review all your previously submitted feedback quickly. Starting with this announcement, any new feedback posted will be marked as "read" after reviewing it. Although all existing feedback has been read, we've left them labeled as "unread." This presents a fantastic opportunity to revisit and reconsider these valuable suggestions, especially as we gear up to implement new systems. 
 
Contact Us Changes
The "Contact Us" page is now called the "Help Desk."
This change is designed to convey the purpose of this area better. The term "Help Desk" aligns more closely with the actual use of this space, making it easier for users to locate assistance or connect swiftly with a moderator.

In 2024, to improve efficiency and enhance your experience, we will consolidate all image/avatar/ML Art-related errors into their dedicated section. This new arrangement will closely mirror the current structure of the "Errors" section.
We are sure this adjustment will help users locate the appropriate moderator faster and remove confusion associated with that page.

Love Item Refunds in Errors
Users can have love items refunded in errors at the Help Desk. We have received much feedback requesting a refund system for players so they do not have to go to errors. It is planned for a future update. Thank you for your continued patience. 

Tab Name Changes
Adjusting to the new terminology might take some getting used to, particularly with games now referred to as activities and ARPG rebranded as characters. Let's delve into the rationale behind these changes.

Firstly, the shift from games to activities. The term "activities" better encompasses a variety of interactive experiences beyond traditional gaming, fostering inclusivity and reflecting the diverse range of content we offer and will offer.

While "ARPG" was changed to "Characters" because the entire site is the ARPG. The characters tab, however, is where users turn in Love Items, read about characters and species, and about the modifiers that only affect characters. We also felt it was more logical for new players whose first goal is to get a Character. 

Broken Links
Because of this change to the tabs, many links are broken across the area, especially in items. We appreciate your patience while we repair them. 

Domain Name
The site has changed from WorldofGriffia.com to KingdomsofGriffia.com, and all references to the site as WG have been changed to KoG or KG. 

Abstract Theme Clarification
We want to take a moment to provide some clarity regarding the use of titles for Abstract Bagbeans subtypes. Pure titles, such as Doctor and Queen, are perfectly suitable for abstract bagbeans.
If you wish to expand these titles with additional themes while maintaining an abstract Subtype, the order of the wording is crucial. The theme cannot not refer to a specific entity better suited for another subtype. For instance:

Acceptable Examples:
King of Animals
Principal of Dragons
Forest Fanatic
Stone Traveler
Dog Dreams
...and similar themes that avoid representing a specific entity and more of an idea.

Unacceptable Examples:
Animal King
Dragon Principal
Traveling Stone
Dream Dog
...and other titles that directly represent specific entities should be assigned to other subtypes.

Some themes can be acquired as Celestials, while others might be Hybrids or Tribals. This inconsistency has been clarified with all design approval sections, and these samples have been added under Abstract Bagbean's information. For any theme questions, do not hesitate to reach out at the Help Desk. 

Increase in Strictness of Approval Policies
Now that all approvals are conveniently accessible on the site, we will be increasing the strictness in adhering to proper modifiers, designs, and unlocked forms. Ensuring that the colors and markings closely align with the approved design; failure to do so may result in a decline. To assist you in better understanding these guidelines, we will be adding visual examples to the art rules page before the new year.

Harmony House Unique Collectible
The collectible to celebrate Harmony Houses's point victory is now live. Ready to snag it? Head over to this deviation: Link. Just a friendly reminder: be sure to read the rules before diving in for your trade.

DEV LOG
Addition
- All Pages and pages inside pages have received a new navigation title system to show which pages you are on and link back to connected pages.
- Item - Plant - Harmony Palm
- Feedback history has been added
- Feedback view history has been added
- Added "Per Page" filter to the trade history on the "Trade" page

Changes
- ARPG Tab has been renamed to Character
- Games Tab has been renamed to Activities
- Renamed Contact us into Helpdesk
- Moved Helpdesk and Getting Started under the General Title from the Help title.
- Separated species options by species class on the "Love Items" approval page.

Bugs
- Fixed bug where your search was lost when using the paginator on the "News" page
- Fixed bug when clicking the "Select All" button when managing items where it selected all the items when you filtered them

Misc
All feedback up to this date has been read and considered.


All Feedback has been read and considered!~