Uhhh... I think my brainstorm was named and tracked by the NWS. :P Sorry, the ideas just kept coming!
Thanks to Justg and the team for this thread.
To me, the biggest hurdle for AL is that guilds take a helluva lot of work to build and maintain - with little reward. Guild events shouldn't be such a burden, either. I think the game would be massively improved if leading a guild wasn't so taxing. I'm also including some suggestions that I think would improve the overall social infrastructure of AL. I put "(HIGH priority)" after the items I think are the most important for STS to consider.
NEW Sponsored Event System (HIGH Priority)
A new system to handle competitions, contests and events between various groups of players.
Intraguild (Between Guild Members)* Examples: PvE kills, AP contests, CTF Flags, Trivia, Prize Giveaways, Fashion, Pitching In To Help Out A Guildmate, etc.
Interguild (Between Guilds)* Examples: PvP tournaments, Timed Runs, Fashion, Boss Kill Contest, Fashion, Home Tours, etc.
Global (Open To Everyone)* Examples: See most above examples plus... Farming Bounties (such as asking players to find an E4, or the Child's Play Contender, or just to form an elite map party)
The ability for an individual player or a guild to sponsor and set up an event/competition/contest/bounty in game would be simply fantastic. And, yes, STS itself could sponsor events alongside players and guilds.
How I imagine the sponsored event system working:
* A sponsor approaches an event board in game, similar to the leaderboard or consignment shop.
* The sponsor sets up an event and it is advertised on an event board.
* Sponsor pays a fee to use the system and puts up prizes/awards.
* Event boards are placed in towns and in guild halls.
* Town event boards list game-wide events and guild event boards list guild-wide events.
* Players who meet the criteria set by the sponsor may join the event.
* Each event has a beginning and and end, triggered by a time schedule or another parameter such as meeting a specific goal.
Communication Enhancements
Messaging Inbox - Ability to send messages that will persist until deleted. (HIGH priority)
* Having to communicate out of game via a 3rd party app is a hindrance to gameplay and also excludes players who cannot or will not use one.
* Players will spend more time communicating in game
Option to change the guild name
* Major guilds have been completely abandoned solely because members wanted a different name.
* Charge platinum to change the name
Two additional multipurpose guild chat channels
* Gives PvP players, recruiters, etc separate chat channels to carry out activities that would be otherwise disruptive in normal guild chat
* Please also give every guild member ability to opt out of each channel (in Options/Social Options)
Persistent guild chat
* Gives players the option of reviewing up to 24 hours of guild chat activity after they've been offline
Informational Enhancements
Publicly list Achievement Points for all characters
* On the Inspect/Avatar tab
Allow players to select a nickname in addition to their primary name.
* Viewable only to friends and guild members
* Reduces confusion when a player changes their name
Guild Information Board
* Publicly viewable general information board
* Accessible as a tab whenever a guild member is inspected, e.g. (Avatar | Give | Trade | Guild)
* Board message is editable by Guild Master and Knight
* Editable Content on Board:
* Guild Logo - include a variety of logos with the ability to select logo color and background color
* Guild Slogan - short slogan
* Guild Message - Long message.
Guild application system
* Place an "Apply" button on the Guild Information Board
* Submits an application to guild leadership
Social Page Improvements
* Guild Tab - List last login time of each member (HIGH priority)
* Guild Tab - List achievement points of each member (HIGH priority)
* Add new tab - [Guild Info]
NEW Guild Info tab
* Contains private information board for Guild Members, editable by leadership
* Displays guild statistics similar to Top 50 Guilds thread, especially total guild achievement points! (HIGH priority)
* Displays each member's statistics that are available on a member's Avatar Screen
* Move buttons: [Browse Guild Halls], [Set MOTD] and [Disband Guild] to Guild Info tab
* Create Edit buttons for Logo, Slogan, Message (available only to proper rank)
* Message field could allow for up to 5000 characters
Guild Structure Enhancements
Limit Guild membership to a finite number (100 members, for example)* Raises the value of each member
* Would create greater competition for guild leaderboard
* Reduces stagnancy
* Prevents any single guild from being overly dominant
Create two additional guild ranks
* Ranks could be: Master, "Knight", Officer, Recruiter, Member, "Initiate" (HIGH priority)
* Members need something more to aspire to
* Greater variety of ranks means more room to grow
* Upon joining new members are set to Initiate rank.
* Initiate rank is considered probationary but has same permissions as Member
* As guild development continues, future Initiate rank permissions could be limited
* Member rank becomes an acknowledgement of full membership
Officer rank changes
* Limit ability to kick Recruiter, Member, and Initiate to 5 per day (HIGH priority)
* Grant ability to promote to Recruiter and Member.
"Knight" rank permissions
* Can promote/demote through Officer
* Can kick Officer, Recruiter, Member and Initiate
* Limit kick ability to 10 per day
* Ability to promote through Officer rank
* Ability to demote Recruiter to Member
* Can edit public and private guild message
Thanks again STS for the opportunity to make these suggestions!
Brainstorm of Guild Enhancements
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