Smash OOC / News

Hello, Smashies!

A quick update on the state of Smash Academy, for your convenience. First and foremost: come end of July, we will be reinstating monthly activity checks! The requirements will be the same as always (six comments per month or one prose log/journal entry), so plan accordingly, and have fun. Personals for this month have been posted, and we have two new pogles among us with Rio the Oddish and Mesprit, so that's an excellent starting point if you'd like to plan something new.

As for the game itself, it's going to be a busy month! Big changes will be coming to Smash Academy by the end of the month, and already strange things have been happening:

- It started with a mild earthquake during prom. The disturbance was mild enough that there wasn't even any property damage, save for a few knocked over decorations, but its source still remains unknown; though Wave the Swallow did a thorough patrol, it didn't seem to have been caused by monster or machine.

- Some time later, Char happened to notice that the water level of the lake has risen noticeably. Jon Talbain verified that the same thing has been happening down at the docks -- despite perfectly ordinary levels of rain for the season, the water in Final Destination City is rising. At the time of posting, the cause remains unknown.

- Zero, having taken notice of these events, has decided to investigate the bunkers under the school. The bunkers are known to be a mysterious place, and a few shadow bugs are said to still linger down there. Could it have something to do with what's been happening? The expedition has yet to occur, so now's the time to speak up if you want to join him.

- Who knows what else is waiting to be discovered? There are still locations all around the school that might hold hints about what's going on -- the woods surrounding the school, the Mountains of Convenience and the volcano that once housed Pele, the legendary Groudon, the floating island, the clock tower... we encourage the players to investigate as best they can.

If you want your characters to look into a certain place but aren't sure how to plan it, feel free to ask the modlies any questions you might have. You can ask on this post right here, PM the mod account, or use any means of contact you prefer. If the community prefers a nudge in the right direction, keep an eye on the journal network -- who knows what else may pop up!

Smash Academy has, for about seven years, been known as a school-setting game. The mods have discussed extensively options for the game's future and what directions it can go in to reflect its current state. We would like to introduce that to you and get your feedback. The pathway Smash Academy can take, is ultimately up to the playerbase, so be honest about what you want and what you think would hold your interest.

As Smash Academy ages, it is evident that it is losing focus on the things that defined it a 'school setting' to begin with. Class logs have become less frequently utilized, we're missing social cliques (jocks versus band geeks, for example), and other 'school' elements like the student council and overall feel of an educational institute. Sometimes there is difficulty incorporating certain "character types" easily into a school setting. Consequently, we're proposing moving said focus away from a school atmosphere and onto something new.

Introducing Smash Manor / Chateau / Mansion / etc.
We propose the concept of an excessively large mansion on the floating island. As you might recall, the Isle of the Ancients was introduced late summer 2014 and has been present since. By doing this, we can continue to hold many of the very popular events like dances, festivals, dormitory logs, blind dates, and kissing / memory mistletoe just as they have been. We would be eliminating events such as graduation and prom, but can easily substitute other appropriate celebrations in their place.



This does not mean we would outright eliminate the academy on the ground. We could leave that present and people looking to satisfy the occasional urge for school antics would be able to do so in either an entirely new and additional dressing room, or in the one we are currently using (which might be better in the long run).

Getting to FDC and its various shops, the contest hall, the bars, and so on, could potentially be relocated to a nearby floating island and become convenient for characters to reach, whereas traveling to the academy itself on the ground would be more difficult (in an effort to more effectively shift our focus off of a school setting).

Topics of Discussion

• Questions: what it says on the tin.
• State of the Mansion: how the mansion and living arrangements could be.
• A Whole New World: how the surrounding area and game environment could be.
• Event & Plot Lotteries: player submitted events (ala the game plotting thread in personals, only better organized).
• Challenge Mode: introducing new ways to spice up your rp, and get rewards and perks for it.
• Game Names: the name of the game is important!

Take some time to think about where you want to see Smash Academy go in the future years. Let us know how you want the game to evolve and change.