OOC: Post-mortem - Chapter 6

As we conclude this chapter of our play-by-post RPG, I’d like to gather your thoughts and feedback to help improve our future sessions. This is our first time conducting a post-mortem, and your feedback will help me find the right balance between game mechanics, exploration, combat, and roleplaying.

Throughout this chapter, I focused more on the exploration and discovery aspects and less on the rules, which was a shift from our very first chapters, where I struggled and was frustrated with the mechanics. This is because I finally feel like I finished our migration to Stars without Numbers, so in this chapter I had enough prep time to do things properly. You can expect more StellarNet jobs and opportunities as part of our sandbox-style experience. =)

One thing that I think we can improve is in roleplaying opportunities. I still feel like many PCs are underdeveloped and would like some suggestions in how can we do that better.

Anyway, here are some prompts. Feel free to answer them, one by one, or ignore them and talk about your experience in general:

1. How did you feel about this chapter compared to previous ones? What were the most enjoyable aspects for you? The least enjoyable?

2. How engaging was the storyline? Were there any particular moments or plot points that stood out to you? How did you find the balance between story progression and exploration? Did you feel you had enough freedom to explore the world and discover something new?

3. How would you rate the combat encounters in terms of difficulty and enjoyment? Was there a good balance between combat and other aspects of the game? Did you feel your character had opportunities to shine in combat and/or in skill checks?

4. How satisfied were you with the opportunities for roleplaying? Were there enough moments for character development and interaction? Did the setting and NPCs provide enough depth for you to immerse yourself in the roleplaying aspect?

5. Was the pace of the game comfortable for you? Were there moments when it felt too slow or rushed?

6. What are your expectations for future chapters in terms of exploration, combat, and roleplaying balance? Are there any new elements or changes you would like to see implemented? Do you have any other feedback or suggestions that haven’t been covered by the previous questions?

7. Would you be interested in participating and continuing with this game? =)

Thanks for the feedback!

I do agree some RP time would be good, nice to flesh out some characters and get some connections made real. But that would probably just be something for you to set up an players to do.
An option is to set up a separate thread and have it happening between CP6 & 7 officially . Just a simple RP scene?

I liked the tension of exploring this new place and the fear of nanobots. And the different scenes that highlighted that we still are a crew without a real shared background. It's right for where we're at, something to progress from. I liked the combat, I think we got lucky so it wasnt as hard as it could be, but this early that's the rught way to lean. I wouldn't mind something more challenging later. Like 5/10 difficulty but 7-8/10 fun.
I don't think this was the chapter for Mercer to shine, that's fine, he did plenty before and did well here. Loved the NPCs, they were very immersive, and real feeling. Would love some more RP moments, but I touched on that above. I love RP moments, and skill challenges and combat all. I was good with the pace, but I know my pace can be a bit much.
I can Rap like some people text(and I have).
Would love to just have more opportunities to exist in this universe, especially looking into answers for the questions we already have, and getting opportunities to advance our trading company.
Would like to look at adjusting crafting rules eventually. I have a whole speak of my thoughts on that and a couple thoughts about the combat system being different than all the other rolls.
But I do RPG design... So I'm just kinda like that. I really want to continue.

I will give a more full answer to the questionnaire, probably tomorrow, but I want to answer question #7 right now ...

Yes, I really, really want to continue. I love what we're finding and you have so much going on. I very much want to see what is next.

As a general comment, this whole thing has been great. Even the transition of game systems was handled well. This has been a great experience for me.
Lessee ... getting shot wasn't great. :-)

This was only our second foray into personal combat that I can remember (the other one was with the evil not-a-doctor). So that was exciting. Also, we found some very cool stuff, even if we don't know exactly what we're gonna do with it now. Including the stuff inside Mercer and Hank.
Yes, I think you are handling the mixture well. I mean we can only explore so much without derailing the whole adventure, and we definitely have a destination in mind, so we need to keep on toward it. But each step has been interesting and different each time. You have been doing very well with this whole setup.
Yes, I thought you handled it well, and everyone has had a chance to shine. Even Hank got to get some good kill shots in, which was cool, considering he is likely the least combat-oriented of any of the PCs. You also did a good job of keeping the tension going and making sure there was time pressure involved.
This has been going great from my point of view! I have had lots of opportunities for Hank to set up and deal with things, both well and poorly. Hopefully, I have not been trying to do too much. But it has been going great for me!
The pace has been great for me. In fact, PhoenixScientist and I have to slow things down occasionally, which is fine. Everyone needs to have fun, and I am happy with the pace we have been going at.
I don't have any other suggestions or feedback. If there is anything in particular I'd like for Hank, I'll ask in a PM so as not to bother others with it, but I can't think of anything now. For the group as a whole, I think you are taking us in a fun direction and we have a destination to work toward. I'm enjoying that a lot! And overall, I think the balance has been good right now.

My only request is that the Celestial Voyager gets a bigger gun and Hank gets his next level before that ship is thrown into combat. Hank needs that Program-2 and the Voyager needs the ability to actually damage something. (Unless, of course, it ends up being the Sentinel that has to fight, and we have to "hide".) But I would like Hank to get Level 4 before we have a big ship fight.
As mentioned already, very much yes! I am looking forward to seeing where this goes and who and what else we can meet along the way. This has been such fun, and I hope to keep enjoying it going forward!

Before answering all the questions i would like to say congratulations, both for @htec and for all others in the group for this amazing last chapter, i finished reading it all and really loved all resolutions. And also i would like to say that i'm sorry for not being able to keep up with all that was happening at some points, i really hope that this hasn't made the chapter worse for anyone. That being said, i'm back at it and really eager to participate more, and really improve my role playing abilities, i'm still relatively new to the pbp universe, and that may have made me a bit afraid to dive into role playing, and may have made my character seem mechanical, hope in the chapters to come i can improve that.
I really liked it, it seemed very well written and completely driven by our own decisions (did not feel any railroading), although my character is built as combat heavy character, and having a chance to do what he was born to do was great, i really enjoyed all the planning and organization that went into the mission, having the mental challenges for us as players really was fun, i did not participate in the most fun of them (the loading of the core into the different ships) but the "logistics" gameplay seem really fun.
I felt like the story was very well laid out for us, and also left some questions unanswered which is always great in my opinion. On the balancing aspect I think it was just right, we had complete freedom to explore as we wished, but also had our limitations explained to us, so it did not seem like just randomly strolling through the park.
The combat was very well balanced in terms of difficulty, i thought we had a good selection of good encounters, and i think that is what we should aim for more in the future, different variations in the default combat where everyone is in cover and health pools drain for each other, i think two good examples of great combat opportunities that were done very well this chapter were the one we had to be stealthy and arrange a surprise attack, and also the one where we found the other crew, where the combat seem to move away from us, and we really had to follow it around.
I think there were plenty of opportunities for role playing and @htec even made sure to push us to do it, as I said before I think I did not utilize these opportunities enough but I hope they keep presenting themselves in the next chapter so that I can improve.
In some moments it was difficult for me to keep up with the posts, but i do not think that the story seemed rushed at any point, and i completely understand that sometimes we just get inspired and want to keep the game going, the only times i disliked it was when because i could not keep up i would just be a "yes man" to keep the game going, but i think that is more a reflection of my errors and not much a reflection in other, will try to find the sweet spot of not trying to block anyone but also not transforming my character into a robot
I would really like to see those liberties we got, of choosing our own path and missions being kept to the next chapters, also really like the whole logistics side of things, where we had to think of what missions to take and what we should prepare for such missions. One point i think could be improved goes together with the logistics side of things, i know it was done to try to move the game along, but at some point in preparing for the mission we decided that we could just say we prepared and when we got there could say we would have a certain item, i think that takes a bit out of the planning and improvising with what you have, i know it takes a bit more time, but i think it is fun to think of all the possible outcomes and what we are taking for these situations, and also is part of the planning to have to deal with things such as lack of space and lack of availability, i think we all saw how fun it turned out to have to think of a way to fit the spike drive with the limited capacity, and i think it could also be fun to have this worry before a mission ( and yes while reading i was dreaming of buying a recovery space truck with a crane and winch to aid us with these type of recovery missions LOL)
As mentioned, YES!! This game has been a great opportunity to get better at RPGs in general for me, so I hope that you all are able to handle it while I try to improve, but it has been so much fun and I really want to keep going.

Sorry that it has taken me so long to respond to this; I've been composing my answers as time permits over the past couple of days.
SS19: It is a strange tension between the goals of the characters: some are looking to explore and arrive at the distant system to examine the Elder ruins, and others are looking to make a profit. I'm feeling the dichotomy very strongly, and it has made for a lot of fun character bits. Douklan is very confused by the ship's dawdling pace, which he attributes to being a fish out of water and not really understanding how civilians do things. He thinks "It's more different than I thought it would be."
SS19: It's an interesting dynamic. I like that you encouraged us early on to create NPCs and add details to them. But in practice it feels like each player has a cast of supporting characters that only they control. It would feel awkward, to me, to start narrating interactions between Douklan and an NPC created by someone else who has only appeared in that player's posts. I suspect I may not be alone in this, given how little crossover there's been with others' NPCs.

Here's a few ideas for getting around this, that occur to me:

1) Just grit your teeth and do it on an ad hoc basis. Step out in confidence and start writing canonical posts involving the NPCs created by others when the opportunity naturally presents itself.

2) Set aside space for PCs to interact with specific NPCs. Create interludes involving situations where a given NPC is interacting with a particular PC, so that the PC's player is explicitly encouraged to create and roleplay that conversation.

3) Have everyone contribute details to the creation of each NPC. When an NPC is created, each player is prompted to add one detail of that character's personality/background/presentation. Having all of our hands on a character from the start might encourage us to think of the NPCs as "our" characters rather than "theirs."

Now, all that's an indirect response, on the assumption that most of a character's role-playing happens with NPCs. As to inter-PC role-playing, I like the idea of having a side thread for conversations that happen between characters in the idle times: meals, the long flights between locations in a shuttle, etc. Ideally, this would happen in the game as part of the ongoing narrative, as we would do if we were playing in-person. But there are two advantages to doing this in a side-thread in play-by-post: first, it gives the players the opportunity to "opt in" rather than requiring a post. Second, it happens asynchronously to the "action" of the game: nothing in the narrative of the campaign/current mission is held up by someone not able to post for a while.
SS19: As I experienced them, Chapters 6 and 5 were very similar, from a story and character perspective. Both involved going to a location with an interesting set-up. During the course of the chapter, we got tantalizing glimpses of larger events, raising fascinating (and alarming) questions...and then we left. Each Chapter has felt very self-contained and episodic, like a TV show, but without the "wrapping up loose ends" that you'd expect in an episode of Star Trek or Blake's 7. The difference with Chapter 6 is that we're bringing some of the alarming developments with us: alien macrotech (things that have been in the Forbidden Zone for a long time like the drive core) and alien nanotech (which in itself is science fantasy even to the PCs); I like that development, as it is a bigger opening for continuity between Chapters.

I feel like Chapter 6 gave us all more opportunities to engage with the system mechanics and do things. In large part, I think that's because the narrative was very similar for the two groups when the party split: we each had to deal with dangerous situations in which we had to employ combat mechanics, interspersed with other skill checks, to proceed. In previous chapters, it wasn't nearly as balanced: one group would be haggling over prices while another was investigating corruption, or one group did nothing but fight, while the other group did only skill checks. I liked the balance better.

Pretty much everything that I liked less or even mildly disliked has to do with the pace (more on that below).
SS19: I was astonished and (pleasantly) surprised at the sudden exposure to nanotech in the ancient alien environment. That's a fascinating role-playing opportunity, to portray how normal people would react to something that is effectively mythological in this setting.

I liked how the mission progressed and developed over time: we were sent to rescue these people, and found a situation that kept changing. I think the amount of exploration was fine: very little beyond what was the minimum required for our changing mission parameters. As a player, I would love to explore more of these environments, but it wouldn't have made sense to start wandering or experimenting in the middle of this scenario.
SS19: Chapter 6 had a good balance, yes. We don't really interact with the mechanics of Stars Without Number much - by far, most of the posts are role-playing - but when we do, it has been a pretty good split between combat mechanics and other kinds of tests. Douklan has done well in both combat and piloting. He may be the only PC trained in leadership, but that opportunity hasn't really presented itself (in part due to pace, below).
SS19: I think that the majority of the posts in the game are role-playing, so there is a lot of opportunity. At the same time, the pace sometimes makes it difficult, for me.
SS19: This is the one aspect of the game that comes close to frustration, for me. Our stated pace for the game is 3 posts a week.

In practice, though, it has been closer to 3 posts a day. That often means that there's a lot of fun and exciting stuff happening in the game - conversations and decision-making, mostly, though there have been rules interactions, too - that I can't participate in, because I can't maintain that pace. The fastest pace I can maintain is 1 post a day, and that's reserved for games that I'm running as GM - I don't ever expect my players to post that fast (though I'm pleased when they are - rarely - able to). Very often, I'll check this forum and find that there are four or five separate threads that have each received a handful of posts, including a game thread in which there's something to the effect of "We're just waiting on spaceseeker19 now." Don't get me wrong: it's great that everyone is so engaged in the game! I'm enjoying it! It's also admirable that some people can post multiple times a day! But it often feels like, when I log in, I find that all the decisions have been made, my character has been assigned some task or another, and all the remains for me to do is to describe what I'm doing with my roll. When there's an expectation of a certain pace, and the game continues at a much faster pace, it can leave some behind.
SS19: No, nothing more than what I've mentioned earlier. I both expect there to be some repercussions from the Damoclean sword of bringing nanotech aboard the ship, and desperately dread what will happen with it.
SS19: Yes, I'm having fun.

Thank you all for the feedbacks so far. =) I am thinking about that and will wait for Esidrix feedbacks as well before delving into the game's pace.

In the meantime:

1. I created a Side-threads subforum. I will put some stuff there in the future as well but all players are also free to create new threads for roleplaying from now on. Those threads are optional and should not be directly relevant to the main plot / storyline but can help you develop your PCs, their backgrounds and personalities. I may also put trading and other side stuff there. Of course, everything is related but I expect that if someone doesn't read those threads, they can still follow the game (albeit with less information) and participate fully in the main storyline.

2. I made it more explicit that I expect NPCs to be used, if relevant, in a new post at the Game details subforum. I will try to help all of us there with a clean, read-only "Cast of characters" post, with summarized information about their personalities and preferences, just to make you more comfortable in using them and to help us avoid incoherent behavior.

3. New NPCs will be created in a more collaborative way, unless I explicitly wanna keep them as GM-only. I liked SS19 suggestion, so each player will be prompted to add one detail of that new character's personality/background/presentation as I introduce them.

As the player who has created many of the NPCs, I want to publicly state that I have no control over them, and make no claim of any kind of ownership over them. While I have posted for Erin, I have not done so for any of the others. And even in Erin's case, htech has posted more for her than I have. Heck, the other character I made, Ryan, became a villain and that was not what I intended or expected at all! And that's fine. What I made was just a starting point. That he developed in a direction I couldn't see is just part of the fun.

So, all of them are NPCs for a reason. I own none of them, even if I have had input into them along the way.

1. How did you feel about this chapter compared to previous ones? What were the most enjoyable aspects for you? The least enjoyable?

I enjoyed the chapter. Pacing and action were fine.

2. How engaging was the storyline? Were there any particular moments or plot points that stood out to you? How did you find the balance between story progression and exploration? Did you feel you had enough freedom to explore the world and discover something new?

The storyline was fine. We're weren't 'exploring' as I define it, we were on a mission and discovered things along the way.

3. How would you rate the combat encounters in terms of difficulty and enjoyment? Was there a good balance between combat and other aspects of the game? Did you feel your character had opportunities to shine in combat and/or in skill checks?

Combat was fine, still getting used to this systems expectations mechanically.

4. How satisfied were you with the opportunities for roleplaying? Were there enough moments for character development and interaction? Did the setting and NPCs provide enough depth for you to immerse yourself in the roleplaying aspect?

The roleplaying time was good.

5. Was the pace of the game comfortable for you? Were there moments when it felt too slow or rushed?

The pacing was fine, the post rate is a little higher than the originally stated. That means I sometimes check-in to find a dozen long posts to catch up with.

6. What are your expectations for future chapters in terms of exploration, combat, and roleplaying balance? Are there any new elements or changes you would like to see implemented? Do you have any other feedback or suggestions that haven’t been covered by the previous questions?

This chapter was an acceptable way to do things. I expect more of the same.

Other comments: Corbin is a member of a crew on a ship that took a mission. I'm confused as to why we've shifted from following that mission to 'crew led sandbox adventure time'.

Personal note: I don't carve out a lot of time for GamersPlane, it's a quick moment of distraction for me. The original post rate for this game was 3/week. I typically check in once a day M-F to GP and post as necessary. The current post rate and typical length of post means this game requires 2-3x the commitment of my other 4 games combined. I enjoy this game and I'm happy to continue, but please let me know if the rest of the group would like to move on to a faster game.

I think Daryen and I can tone down the post schedule.

I suggest everyone (myself included) should aim to post at least 3/week and at most 1/day in the main thread. Side-threads will be optional, with higher or lower posting rates, but that shouldn't be an issue.

I see several advantages in doing so:
- More participants and more collaboration in the decision making and roleplaying for the "core" game
- Better content as we can make that 1 post/day "count"
- Clearer expectations by having an upper and lower bound. I didn't want to advertise that this game had an average posting rate of 3/week. In fact, we actually never had that average. Our current average is closer to 6-7/week, but that can and should fluctuate. Sorry if an average 3/week was the impression that you got from my messages and advertisement. In practice, that never happened and I know that all of us have realized that by now. I don't think it will ever get an average of 3/week in this game.
- I am happy with everyone posting rates so far, just wanted to clarify those expectations here. Arthur12320, SS19 and Esidrix rates are within the expectations. This should mainly impact me, Daryen and PhoenixScientist.
- For those players with more time and/or engagement with the game, we will have side-threads as well, so they loose nothing by waiting a little in the main thread.

What do you think?

I can live with 1/day in the main thread. I still wanna see where things are going, but I am fine with that.

That just means, however, that we can't have very detailed back-n-forths as easily. We should put in contingencies and alternatives, even if privately to htech, so that we don't bog down on detailed two-sentence posts.

I do agree with Daryen's above post, a back-and-forth could take a week if we're posting 1/day. I would like to have a general set of procedures going forward.

Most of our detailed back-and-forth are usually about interesting minutiae. =) I will move all that to unlimited rate side-threads.

For major plot decisions, when they happen, we should avoid frontloading them with contingencies and alternatives. This way, more players will be able to discuss them without everything seemly decided. Those major decisions will take longer and can take up to a week, I know, but that's the purpose. Let's see how that goes and inspect and adapt on a case-by-case basis.

When in doubt, feel free to post as much as you feel comfortable. The GM can easily hold the pace, like I already did with Daryen once before. I think it worked out well in that situation. =)

This post mortem is now closed, but feel free to say anything in our OOC thread.

Thank you very much for all the feedback, your time and for continuing with this game. Let's have fun!