And here it is. \o/

Going forward, grid_lined is upgrading to full game status. We're not going for a continuity reboot, but enacting various changes to make it a better playing environment. Conditions on the Free Grid may change more -- maybe even drastically -- over the next few months as we find our footing and tool it to its present and potential player base.

Here are some of the things we will be instituting:


( Bimonthly player/character check-in. )
( Dropped characters are returned to their original universes. )
( Death no longer works on the Grid. )( A character's-day-job post, for reference and plotting. )
( A G_L timeline. )
( Limits on high-powered characters and experimental AUs. )
( More events. )
( Further changes )

Starting a new tradition of bimonthly* character check-in posts!There will also be monthly plot-with-me posts; the first one will go up shortly, after the announcement of the upcoming event. Please keep plotting in there; this is for checking in with your character.

Grid_lined does not have an activity requirement, but does ask that you're honest with yourself about how many characters you have active. In future, characters who have not been played for the months prior to the next check-in will be considered idled out, though they can return any time the player wants to bring them back. If idled out or dropped without a specified fate, characters will ICly be transported back to their own universes by the Portal (this change will be announced in-game on around Thursday, when the Portal programs’ report of the new conditions reaches Tron City).

Reply to this post with the characters you intend to have active in g_l over the coming two months, as well as hiatus/drop updates as needed.** (You only need one comment for all your characters.)


*Every two months.
**Edit: Characters who haven't been introduced ICly in the game are not on hiatus (even if they've been under development for a long time), they're just not here yet. If they need a category, they can be called prospective characters.

HAPPY FEBRUARY, EVERYONE. The player check-in has already gone up, and the plot-with-me post will be going up momentarily, but first of all, welcome to this week's event!

WHO: everyone who wants something to do. There will be safe places for those who just want to wait out the weather.
WHAT: Huge storm. Things happen.
WHEN: current.
WHERE: All over the Grid.
HOW LONG: This plot will last three days in game-time (approximately nine millicycles), and ideally one week in realtime. Any damage the storm causes will be considered to have been cleared away two game-days later.

WHAT WILL HAPPEN:

On the first day, a storm will gather from the Outlands. Rain, lightning, you know the drill. However, it will quickly become worse. There will be several lightning strikes around the city. The rain will reduce visibility and impede traffic. Deliveries will be delayed. Outside of Tron City, other cities and colonies will also be subjected to unusually bad weather.

On the second day, the weather will get worse. You thought rain and lightning was bad? Try high winds and thick sleet. Not quite cold enough to freeze, but hello slush everywhere. You might be trapped in your home or workplace, or in a stalled vehicle, or outside. You probably won’t die unless something falls on you, but you might lock up and have a miserable old time.

On the third day….. well. That’d be telling. Once the first two days have developed a little, there’ll be a new post here for the events of the third day.

It’s going to be quite a ride.

Weather conditions like these are frustrating, and often scary, but believe it or not, the Grid's not out to kill your character. It's just having some growing pains. So: what will you do? Are you with friends, or with strangers, or alone until someone finds you? Are you rescuing trapped programs, or do you need help yourself? Are you working frantically to keep the local utilities operating? Who's working with you? Are you huddling for safety? Are you worried about the architecture? Do you know someone who needs some extra energy?

Note: in the interests of developing and redeveloping CR, try to tag in when open posts start appearing, especially with characters you don't often tag. This week will be about restoring CR among our PCs -- as well as surviving some of the worst weather conditions Tron City has seen in many cycles. Have at!

Now that we know who’s around, what the event is, and what the game looks like for now, everybody get in here and plot!

Grid_lined plot-with-me posts will happen monthly from now on, and will replace the monthly plotplurk memes that folks have been using (since it’s difficult to find them again or keep track of so many different plurks). You can plot specifically for the storm event in that post or here, but this post is for February plots in general.