SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT: A BIG CHANGE
Dec 22, 2014 9:02:11 GMT -6
Post by ♕BEFERA on Dec 22, 2014 9:02:11 GMT -6
Dear RLTWians, both old and new,
For some of us, Run Like The Wind has been our home for years. Some have been here since v1, and some joined in later versions, but to most of us, RLTW holds a very special place in our hearts, and we all want the best for it. RLTW has had its ups and downs, but through it all, we've persevered and have made it all the way to a 6th version, a milestone not many RPGs are able to say they've crossed. I for one am very proud of all that RLTW has been through and accomplished, and I'm excited to see us grow the site together for years to come.
Over the last several months, the staff have been working hard to make RLTW even better, using suggestions we've gotten from you, the members. After dozens of long discussions and hours of planning, the staff are ready to reveal some changes that we're going to be implementing with the start of the new year. The first and biggest change is one that might shock many of you: we are changing RLTW's name, and with that new name, we will be moving to a new URL. Above and below this novel-esque announcement are some teaser images to advertise the new site!
RLTW holds with it a preconceived notion in many RPers. Over the years, RLTW has had hundreds of members. Some joined for a week and left, and some stayed for years. RLTW has gone through some dramatic changes within the last 2 years, including an entire base plot change from Light vs. Dark to our current plot which is looser as far as what is good and what is evil. Today vs. 2-3 years ago, we've become more professional, modernized, inviting and exciting. Those who know of RLTW from days where it was riddled with cannibals and immaturity was kind of rampant (no offense to anyone in particular) might see us today and not bother looking in to joining us again due to the stigma that is placed on our name. We are not the same RLTW anymore. We are something new, something better.
So the staff have chosen a new name: Belligerence. With this, we do away with the stigma, the versions, and start with a clean slate. This name was not a spur-of-the-moment decision, and the staff discussed their opinions fully before we came to a consensus. We decided that Belligerence sums up everything that RLTW is: headstrong, fiery, aggressive, real. Our characters have fought tooth and nail for what they have, they've clawed to where they've wanted to be. We are not a site of a bunch of mamby-pamby wimps and our characters are not pushovers by any means. We are strong, resilient, and raw. Our characters are battle-worn, hardened to the world we have created around them.
Belligerence will be the new start that RLTW needs. Many sites over the years have changed their name and have become wildly successful in doing so. That, and a site that markets itself as "new" gathers a lot more traction than a site that's been around for almost 10 years. A site that's been open for a long time is not a selling point anymore. Many people are much more interested in joining a brand new site, as they have more of an opportunity to get high-ranking positions and claimable lands, and new sites are seen as being much less clique-y.
Most things about Belligerence will carry with it the same stuff we have now on RLTW. We'll still have our same setup with Kingdoms, 2 Factions, and the Entities. We'll still have the same store prizes, the same ways of organizing things for the most part. Our full history will be coming with us to the new site, as well as the infamous Historical Equine list, which we will continue to add to. The lists of former staff and things like that will be staying here on V6, as they will not be relevant on Belligerence. As with every time we move, all posts stay where they are, so old members can always come back and read any thread they want without having to dig through the archives.
Next, we are adding a third Kingdom! Once we arrive at Belligerence, we'll have Altus, Imperium, and now, Tenebris. Tenebris will be led by the one-and-only Selven, played by Fallen. Tenebris is essentially a breaking-off of Imperium. Where Imperium is pompous, entitled, and vengeful, Tenebris will be the chaotic, compassionless, and violent equines. There's no question that RLTW loves its crazy and evil characters, and in Tenebris, they will find their true home. Since mid-v5, we have seen a steady decline in the desire for members to claim sub-lands. Due to this, we're simply going to add more regular claimable lands with the addition of Tenebris. Cocytus and Sanguis have chosen to leave Imperium and join with Tenebris, but that is the only real change in Kingdom lands. Obascus will still be the Royal land of Imperium, and Armegeddon will be the Royal land of Tenebris.
The only other large land change is regarding our ancient prison land of The Pitt. A legendary Dark land, The Pitt has traveled with RLTW through most if not all of its versions. It has been led by several powerful and influential creatures, and with our move to Belligerence, it will become our universal prison. The Outlands, lacking in activity and any real interest on the site for the last 2 versions or so, will not be moved with us to Belligerence.
We all agreed a while back in a series of polls that in-character chat boxes should be removed, and this will be the case once we move. Rather than ICCboxes, we will simply be a bit more lenient with dialogue threads and shortened threads in order to move conversations along for those who do not have much muse at a particular time. As always, as long as you don't abuse shortened threads, you will be able to use them periodically. Another thing that was decided in the polls was the removal of one more social land. It was decided that Broken Stones be removed, and thus it will not be created on Belligerence.
The last big change is our currency. RLTW Monies, with all due respect to its longevity, is a lame and off-putting name, or so the staff has agreed. We threw out dozens of potential currency names and decided that "Amber" would be the new name. Amber is a sort of gemstone, but it is a wild and unruly one, produced by trees, which seems fitting for us. The exact ratio from the amount of Monies everyone currently has to the amount of Amber they will have is still undecided, but instead of doing transactions in hundreds and thousands of Monies, we will be doing transactions in tens and hundreds of Amber. It will be much easier for members and staff to keep track of how much Amber they have. And don't worry, all of the Monies you currently have will be translated into Amber and will be moved with you to Belligerence.
At this point, some things are still undecided, but we should have everything ready to move over to the new url by January 3rd. Depending on how much time the staff have to finish the site's preparations (and we still have a LOT of work to do over the next two weeks believe me hahaha), we may push that back one more week, so if worse comes to worst, Belligerence's official opening date will be January 10th.
We decided to send this message out 2-3 weeks before we would actually move so you guys would have time to prepare! Over the next week, we will notify all members of exactly what they need to do when the new site opens as far as transferring over all of their character information, land information, and other things. As of right now, the only thing you guys have to do is make sure that you've responded to the Activity Check, and that all of your character info is up to date!
Thank you guys so much for reading, and don't hesitate to reply to this thread with any questions or concerns you have. <3
- Bef
? congratulations to the Aether council ladies! You're all amazing. Congratulations staff for awesome site that's two years old or more. Sorry if I missed anyone or if anything I said was unclear. Okay back to packing.
