Belrathius
I want to preface this with the statement that this topic is being introduced with no official support (yet) by any duly authorized representative of OP. That said, let's get right to it.
OP Badges. Why are there so few?
Let's brainstorm for badges that seem reasonable to award people (not campaigns) based on measurable criteria. Frankly, I am only familiar with a select few, so let's start with that list.
* 1 year mark
* 3 year mark
* Ascendant
* GM of a campaign
* GM of a featured campaign (which I assume to mean CotM)
* Played in a featured campaign (see above)
Even looking at other player profiles, that's all that I can find. So what are some other ideas for badges? Here are some ones that I can come up with. The names are, of course, open to change as well...
* 5 year mark (confirmed not provided), maybe even more? Every two years seems reasonable.
* Reforge Heroes (promised in the "Kickstarter":https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/252020431/obsidian-portal-reforged/description at Adventurer level or higher)
* Vanguard Hero (this is the "only thread":http://forums.obsidianportal.com/comments.php?DiscussionID=3441&page=1#Item_9 that I could find that made references to the who they were, but I know it is incomplete)
* CotM Winner
* CotY Winner
* Fanmonger, level 1 - requires GM'ing a campaign with 2 fans
* Fanmonger, level 2 - requires GM'ing a campaign with 5 fans
* Fanmonger, level 3 - requires GM'ing a campaign with 10 fans
* Fanmonger, level 4 - requires GM'ing a campaign with 25 fans
* Fanmonger, level 5 - requires GM'ing a campaign with 50 fans
* Fanmonger, level 6 - requires GM'ing a campaign with 100 fans
* Fanmonger, level 7 - requires GM'ing a campaign with 150 fans
* Fanmonger, level 8 - requires GM'ing a campaign with 200 fans
* Fanmonger, level 9 - requires GM'ing a campaign with 250 fans
* Fanmonger, level 10 - requires GM'ing a campaign with 300 fans
* Fanmonger, level 11 - requires GM'ing a campaign with 350 fans
* Fanmonger, level 12 - requires GM'ing a campaign with 400 fans
* Fanmonger, level 13 - requires GM'ing a campaign with 450 fans
* Fanmonger, level 14 - requires GM'ing a campaign with 500 fans
* MegaCampaign, level 1 - requires GM'ing a campaign with 50 pages (wiki, adventure log, etc.)
* MegaCampaign, level 2 - requires GM'ing a campaign with 100 pages (wiki, adventure log, etc.)
* MegaCampaign, level 3 - requires GM'ing a campaign with 150 pages (wiki, adventure log, etc.)
* MegaCampaign, level 4 - requires GM'ing a campaign with 200 pages (wiki, adventure log, etc.)
* MegaCampaign, level 5 - requires GM'ing a campaign with 250 pages (wiki, adventure log, etc.)
* MegaCampaign, level 6 - requires GM'ing a campaign with 300 pages (wiki, adventure log, etc.)
* MegaCampaign, level 7 - requires GM'ing a campaign with 350 pages (wiki, adventure log, etc.)
* MegaCampaign, level 8 - requires GM'ing a campaign with 400 pages (wiki, adventure log, etc.)
* MegaCampaign, level 9 - requires GM'ing a campaign with 450 pages (wiki, adventure log, etc.)
* MegaCampaign, level 10 - requires GM'ing a campaign with 500 pages (wiki, adventure log, etc.)
* MegaCampaign, level 11 - requires GM'ing a campaign with 550 pages (wiki, adventure log, etc.)
* MegaCampaign, level 12 - requires GM'ing a campaign with 600 pages (wiki, adventure log, etc.)
* MegaCampaign, level 13 - requires GM'ing a campaign with 650 pages (wiki, adventure log, etc.)
* MegaCampaign, level 14 - requires GM'ing a campaign with 700 pages (wiki, adventure log, etc.)
_Note that the leveled badges would only show the highest achievement._
So what ideas can everyone else come up with? How can we revitalize the badge system in OP and make it actually meaningful?
Comments
The only thing that comes to mind right away is a badge for GMing/having GMed more than one game with more than one system.
Gaming System Adept Being the GM of 2 or more Campaigns using 2 different game systems
Gaming System Wizard Being the GM of 3 or more Campaigns using 3 different game systems
Gaming System Scion Being the GM of 4 or more Campaigns using 4 different game systems
The idea is you would earn the badge for each combination, so have 3 campaigns 2 using Pathfinder and 1 using Savage Worlds then you would be a Gaming System Adept.
Unconquered Kingdoms, July 2016 CotM
I agree that there are too many levels of mega and fanmonger.
We used to make a big deal when people hit 100 fans- of which there are not that many sites. BlackVulmea was the keeper of the "gold jackets"- it was a pretty big deal on the forums.
I know there are only 3 campaigns with currently over 300- the great resource "Gaming Music":https://gaming-music.obsidianportal.com/ which is the only over 1000. Arsheesh' standard for all campaigns to be measured to, before the Reforge, is the only other over 400. I stole more code from him than anyone pre-Reforge- he has since done my main map for my campaign. Everyone should check out "Age of Legends":https://age-of-legends.obsidianportal.com/
I would do levels for 50, 100, 250, and 500 for fans.
I would do 100, 250, 500, and 1000 for pages.
Just my 2 cents.
killervp
"A God...Rebuilt":https://a-god-rebuilt.obsidianportal.com
"OP's COTM April 2012":http://blog.obsidianportal.com/a-god-rebuilt-aprils-cotm/
Over 350 Fans, and Looking for More!
Just trying to help out.
Thanks for pointing out that page, Killervp. Seems I had them all except for the "represent at conventions and meetups" and singular event stuff. It seems my thought was correct that "featured campaign" does translate to CotM. Perhaps that should be clearer...
Anyone else other than Berdman come up with ideas?
twigs
"I met a traveller from an antique land....."
CotM May 2016: Mysteria: set in Wolfgang Baur’s MIDGARD.
Previous CotM Aug 2012: Shimring: High Level Multiplanar Campaign
Inner Council Member
Thanks,
Kettle
"Rise of the Dead: Campaign of the Month June 2013":https://rise-of-the-dead.obsidianportal.com/wikis/main-page
Currently Playing "The Book of Taliesin":https://the-book-of-taliesin.obsidianportal.com/wikis/main-page
Just trying to help out.
GM of Rise of the Durnskald: Wrath of the Fallen Goddess - February 2016 CotM
GM of Core: The Ashes of Alcarna - April 2020 CotM
GM of Stream of Kairos
Need CSS Help? It may be covered here: Abersade's CSS Hub
Belrathius' suggestions for Fanmonger and Megacampaign are great, but I agree on there being too many levels. I think Killervp's advice on this is sound, but I'd suggest starting them a little lower.
Fanmonger (10?), 25, 50, 100, 250, and 500
Megacampaign 50, 100, 250, 500, and 1000
Just to give new users an early boost/incentive with them.
I think Berdman's Game systems idea is interesting too, but maybe the numbers need playing with if something like that was implemented to stop people from just "badge farming".
My Suggestions:
To stop undue clutter with tons of badges on screen, Belrathius' mentioned the levelled badges would only show the highest earned on the fan and page badges. Maybe this could be implemented for things like our anniversary badge too, so if you've been a mamber for 5 years, you'd have a 5 year badge, not 1,3 and 5 years badges.
Community V.I.P. or Pillar of the Community? - A badge for members that go out of their way to be helpful/friendly on the forum and in the community as a whole. Maybe this could be tied to a button on users profiles. So if you got some useful help or had a great experience conversing/interacting with a member. you'd give their button a click. After a certain amount they would be awarded the badge, maybe levelled.
I know that many of us are still waiting for a reforge badge for backing the Kickstarter, but I'd like to see a badge for those of us that went for Demi-God/Immortal specifically. (Hey I'm allowed a little ego stroke once in a while ;p)
I actually just noticed that our forum profiles keep track of our visits, discussions, comments, etc. Perhaps there is a way to tie that into some of the "Pillar of the Community" talk. Not too sure about the upvoting, though (ratings systems tend to be easily falsifiable IMO).
As for the Reforge Heroes, "there is a full page for it already.":https://www.obsidianportal.com/reforge_backers Apart from all of the Demigods being lumped together (so there's no visible way of knowing who's Immortal), that list can be an easy means of giving out the "Reforge Backer" badge. Even the Immortals should be easy enough to determine with an Ascendant-status audit.
Finally, the Longevity/Tenure/Anniversary badge...why not just make it increment by one for every year? Since the site already tracks our signup date, we could really have a more diverse showing by including the even years as well.
~Mae
CotM Selection Committee
Mega campaign 100, 200, 300, 400, 500, 1000.
There are only 4 currently with 300 or more fans.
I agree on the anniversary badges and feel each Kickstarter level should have a badge.
Pillars should be picked by the council (who should also have their own badge )
Just trying to help out.
twigs
"I met a traveller from an antique land....."
CotM May 2016: Mysteria: set in Wolfgang Baur’s MIDGARD.
Previous CotM Aug 2012: Shimring: High Level Multiplanar Campaign
Inner Council Member
~Weasel0
A Parade of Black | ShadowRunHack |
Where I play with CSS code
We'll plan it into our badge planning.
I believe the situation with badges was that it was manually coded into each player's profile on a command-line level (unless we come across a OP user badge admin panel). Hence one of my to-dos is to have an interface that staff can use to award badges as well as upload badges. There's some planning involved to figure out the hierarchy in which badges ought to be displayed, plus a player admin panel to choose which badges you want to display/hide, especially if you might have 8-10 visible, but have collected 20.
Also, most of the badges look like they're green?
Would you like badge color to depict rarity?
eg: red/gold for godly/epic level ("there can be only ONE!!!"), purple for rare, blue, green (uncommon), white (common).
Or will a prismatic badge lineup blind you?
But not a bad idea either.
~Weasel0
A Parade of Black | ShadowRunHack |
Where I play with CSS code
A two-tier system might be interesting (regular and special badges). Regular for the standard things that many users will achieve (one year badge, GM badge, etc...) and special for the ones that really are sort of unique (featured campaign, Inner Council member, etc...). Although, the special badges could be full color, I suppose.
twigs
"I met a traveller from an antique land....."
CotM May 2016: Mysteria: set in Wolfgang Baur’s MIDGARD.
Previous CotM Aug 2012: Shimring: High Level Multiplanar Campaign
Inner Council Member
We'll do testing to see what works, this is in planning for now, as we figure out if there's a simpler way to load badges onto profiles.
I'm GM of 2 campaigns on OP. ("One ongoing":https://swtwc.obsidianportal.com, "one completed":https://rotrllegacy.obsidianportal.com/).
I'm a player (and co-GM) in 4. (Two ongoing, two deaded).
The remaining campaigns in my list aren't .. campaigns.
They're system-less, game-less community groups
* "The Fantastinomicon":https://the-fantastinomicon.obsidianportal.com
* "the one we don't talk about":https://the-new-plot-club.obsidianportal.com
* and another closed group.
So how would this affect my badges?
Do we even have a label for those system-less, game-less community groups?
--
Ketherian
"Signs & Portents":https://swtwc.obsidianportal.com My actual campaign.
Signs & Portends, Dwarves of Lost Koldukar, In a certain realm
Just trying to help out.
Rather than have OP staff come up with badges with input from the community.
I think it might be good to have a small group focused on brainstorming badges that make sense for the community, as well as maybe some funny ones like, most PC deaths in a campaign, most failed crit rolls?
That way the group can think through on the most relevant/meaningful badges that mean something to the OP community -
We can have time-based badges like 1 year, 3 years, 5 years, 10 years (wow!), and go with bronze, silver, gold, plat (needs to be distinctively different from silver, cos most RPGs tend to screw this up in their GUI, or maybe I'm color blind).
We can have popularity-based badges based on number of fans, most frequently updated (though some type of quality filter needs to come in, so drek being added isn't counted as an updated).
Once this stuff is in place, we can come up with systems-based rules so that badges can be auto-applied without manual intervention.
Then the heavy lifting starts to farm this out to the tech boys to automate the process.
If everyone is pretty ok with this, we can nominate someone to lead this?
Master of Badges, eh?
-
We can also have some type of hall of fame section on the site, so badge holders can be listed.
Again, some thinking, some planning needed to make this a meaningful exercise that OP members value and see value in,
Ultimately, the community should be given a voice to what you want and how you want it.
"So say we all?"
twigs
"I met a traveller from an antique land....."
CotM May 2016: Mysteria: set in Wolfgang Baur’s MIDGARD.
Previous CotM Aug 2012: Shimring: High Level Multiplanar Campaign
Inner Council Member
~Weasel0
A Parade of Black | ShadowRunHack |
Where I play with CSS code
Still a little partial to red-purple-blue-green-white because of the "WoW Factor"!
Anyhoo, maybe we can have you be "Master of Badges"?
I'll even throw in a Valyrian steel sword, one that has lopped off the head of a Hand of the King!
So... It cuts off royal thumbs??
;-)
Ptolus, City by the Spire - 2016 Campaign of the Year
"Please pay attention very carefully, because this is the truest thing a stranger will ever say to you: In the face of such hopelessness as our eventual, unavoidable death, there is little sense in not at least TRYING to accomplish all your wildest dreams in life." - - Kevin Smith
That guy dies ALL THE TIME. :)
Keelah Se'lai,
Keryth
"Shadows Over New York":http://www.obsidianportal.com/campaigns/shadows-over-new-york
"2013 Campaign of The Year":http://blog.obsidianportal.com/2013-coty-shadows-over-new-york/
"Campaign of the Month July 2013":http://blog.obsidianportal.com/shadows-over-new-york-julys-campaign-of-the-month/
Throw me a PM, Andrew, and let me have a look.
twigs
"I met a traveller from an antique land....."
CotM May 2016: Mysteria: set in Wolfgang Baur’s MIDGARD.
Previous CotM Aug 2012: Shimring: High Level Multiplanar Campaign
Inner Council Member