Intro to Questing!

Entropy Judge said:
Nah, the way to get better is to practice. Which means, yeah, probably just take the leap and make a go at it. Most people are pretty forgiving of honest mistakes, anyway, and 'writing to improve your writing' is a known concept around here. Just take it easy and just remember that it can't be as bad as losing at Jeopardy.
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I was hoping that you linked that song!
 
Evil Plan said:
Every XenForo-style quest I've ever read has used the "vote on a general plan" model.
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Could someone explain the Plan Voting to me? (Edit: Please ;) )I've seen it lots since joining and understand it dictates a general course of action, but I usually see they're named with no apparent prompt from the QM, like "The Gentleman Jack Plan" or "Droid Foundry Plan". What is the etiquette on that, do voters name these as they propose them?
 
Mister Kent said:
Could someone explain the Plan Voting to me? (Edit: Please ;) )I've seen it lots since joining and understand it dictates a general course of action, but I usually see they're named with no apparent prompt from the QM, like "The Gentleman Jack Plan" or "Droid Foundry Plan". What is the etiquette on that, do voters name these as they propose them?
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Pretty much. Seems to me that the plans name is usually just a description of its essence, or sometimes it's provocative or funny in order to draw attention.
 
Mister Kent said:
Thanks! That's what I was thinking but wasn't sure!
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There's typically also a component of condensing possible options. A potential problem if you have open-ended votes or votes with a lot of sub-decisions is for there to be a wide range of possible votes, many of which are very similar to one another. The player incentive for plan voting is that it helps people ensure that their vote "counts" by voting for an option close to their own preference rather than voting for their exact preference and having the vote turn out in favor of something radically different. The QM incentive is that it makes things far easier to keep track of, since players will tend to self-segregate into a small handful of voting options instead of approximately one per player.
 
Great thread!
I'm having enough difficulty grasping why I can't roll as a new member that I'm going to mention that the initial posts that mention rolling underscore that the feature in question needs activating via...as far as I know, making public posts, or else contacting staff through the ticket system. Came over with a group of questers and we've been scratching our heads about some hang-ups all night, so I figured I'd post this here and point out anything we couldn't easily find answers for, or where the answers were less than apparent due to not being presented front and center - things get easy to miss when you're adjusting to new circumstances.
Happy writing.
 
Saltlord said:
Came over with a group of questers and we've been scratching our heads about some hang-ups all night, so I figured I'd post this here and point out anything we couldn't easily find answers for, or where the answers were less than apparent due to not being presented front and center - things get easy to miss when you're adjusting to new circumstances.
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Worth noting that the forum software has been updated since the OP was last edited. The user interface has definitely changed, so the dice roller option may not be in the same place as the guide you're looking at refers to.

(On that note, do you have a little dropdown-looking thing on your posts in the thread you want to use dice in, and have you checked in there?)
 
Considering writing an interactive story in the near future. I'd like to present some viewpoint options from a select few characters in the first post, as well as some potential other choices. Once we figure-out which character we're developing, is it possible to edit the title of the thread to reflect that? Specifically, the title of the story would change depending on the character chosen, so it'd be nice if that kind of forum feature was available.

Also, I'd assume simultaneous cross-posting to Royal Road isn't frowned upon.
 
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Dala said:
Also, I'd assume simultaneous cross-posting to Royal Road isn't frowned upon.
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I have no idea what Royal Road is, but probably not? The only issue I can think of coming up is if there are votes/plans happening on both places simultaneously, and there's no good way to coordinate between the two.
 
Scify said:
I have no idea what Royal Road is, but probably not? The only issue I can think of coming up is if there are votes/plans happening on both places simultaneously, and there's no good way to coordinate between the two.
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Royal Road is another site where people post stories, though I THINK that site only accepts original stories, not fanfiction. I haven't seen quests posted on Royal Road before, but I'm not too familiar with the site.
 
This is probably an actively stupid question, but I haven't made a thread in years so I figure the question's fair:

The top box in the thread maker, the one opened with the tab for Discussion-- that's the blurb you see at the top of the page, and the box lower down is the actual text editor, right?

EDIT: Hi, yes, I answered my own question. The smaller box is for the description, not the post itself. Talk about an embarrassing mix-up.
 
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I've just started a quest, and I'm finding that it's getting a lot less votes than other new quests posted. Is there a point at which there's so few votes that a quest shouldn't continue, and how can I try and get more attention for the quest? I posted it in the Quest Advertisement thread, to little avail.

I'm mostly just confused as to what's going on, please help?
 
RiverDelta said:
. Is there a point at which there's so few votes that a quest shouldn't continue, and how can I try and get more attention for the quest?

I'm mostly just confused as to what's going on, please help?
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For the first, it's up to you, especially whether or not you distinguish between votes and readers - I think most quests consistently get a great deal more Ratings than Votes for a given update, even when voting is still open, and some Voters don't necessarily give ratings. (I will point out that despite having six votes, you have seventeen Watchers, so you seem to have at least some audience who aren't participating, and that obviously can't count people who aren't members but may still follow the story as it goes on.)

As for why your quest might have fewer voters than other quests - there are a lot of potential answers. They might not like the writing style, one or both of the fandoms, they might not know enough about the scenario to vote, or they might just be waiting to see if the Quest actually gets off the ground. Lots of Quests start, and quite a few die young for various reasons.
 
Entropy Judge said:
For the first, it's up to you, especially whether or not you distinguish between votes and readers - I think most quests consistently get a great deal more Ratings than Votes for a given update, even when voting is still open, and some Voters don't necessarily give ratings. (I will point out that despite having six votes, you have seventeen Watchers, so you seem to have at least some audience who aren't participating, and that obviously can't count people who aren't members but may still follow the story as it goes on.)

As for why your quest might have fewer voters than other quests - there are a lot of potential answers. They might not like the writing style, one or both of the fandoms, they might not know enough about the scenario to vote, or they might just be waiting to see if the Quest actually gets off the ground. Lots of Quests start, and quite a few die young for various reasons.
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Thank you very much, that's incredibly helpful, I definitely appreciate this deep and helpful summary. I'll make a note of this and I appreciate hearing it. I guess the best thing I can do is just continue the quest and see how it goes, and if it gets a smaller voting share it gets a smaller voting share because it's a niche topic and that's fine?
 
RiverDelta said:
I've just started a quest, and I'm finding that it's getting a lot less votes than other new quests posted. Is there a point at which there's so few votes that a quest shouldn't continue, and how can I try and get more attention for the quest? I posted it in the Quest Advertisement thread, to little avail.

I'm mostly just confused as to what's going on, please help?
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Try not to measure yourself against other quests. If an author has done a bunch of them before, even a new quest by them is probably going to inherit some readers and posters. I've had people who have been with me through the last three that I've run. Without knowing the history an author has, you'll only really succeed in making yourself feel bad or outclassed if you look to others.

In regards to your question, a lot depends on what you're writing. You basically inherit readers and voters from three pools. Those who like the fandom you're writing for, those who like your basic concept/opening and those who like other quests you have done and are following you from there,.

If you don't have any from the third pool, and you're writing for a fandom that is pretty small or even an original fiction, then this also harshly limits the first pool. My advice to you would be to keep going if you enjoy the quest and hope that it builds momentum over time. The longer the quest stays visible, the more likely it is to attract new voters. Also try to encourage conversation where you can. If your readers start taklking more regularly, they're more likely to start voting as well.
 
Talos said:
Try not to measure yourself against other quests. If an author has done a bunch of them before, even a new quest by them is probably going to inherit some readers and posters. I've had people who have been with me through the last three that I've run. Without knowing the history an author has, you'll only really succeed in making yourself feel bad or outclassed if you look to others.

In regards to your question, a lot depends on what you're writing. You basically inherit readers and voters from three pools. Those who like the fandom you're writing for, those who like your basic concept/opening and those who like other quests you have done and are following you from there,.

If you don't have any from the third pool, and you're writing for a fandom that is pretty small or even an original fiction, then this also harshly limits the first pool. My advice to you would be to keep going if you enjoy the quest and hope that it builds momentum over time. The longer the quest stays visible, the more likely it is to attract new voters. Also try to encourage conversation where you can. If your readers start taklking more regularly, they're more likely to start voting as well.
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Thank you kindly, I appreciate the help a lot. IASIP and My Little Pony are pretty big fandoms, though MLP is smaller than it used to be, so I assumed I'd have a decent chunk of people interested, but it might just be that SV in particular isn't really interested in those fandoms? I'm assuming that means I could still have a successful quest with a smaller voting pool made of people who are interested in those fandoms?
 
RiverDelta said:
Thank you kindly, I appreciate the help a lot. IASIP and My Little Pony are pretty big fandoms, though MLP is smaller than it used to be, so I assumed I'd have a decent chunk of people interested, but it might just be that SV in particular isn't really interested in those fandoms? I'm assuming that means I could still have a successful quest with a smaller voting pool made of people who are interested in those fandoms?
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A crossover sometimes doesn't always inherit the full interest of both fandoms if the two sides clash too much. It may be that the two series you are trying to resolve together have themes that each of the two sides do not like in the other. In that case, you would get a reduced amount of interest because each fandom would be putting members of the other one off.

But yeah, don't worry too much about it. You can still run a successful quest with a lower voter base. In fact, some people would consider it preferable. With a larger voter base it can be hard for anything to feel personal or sincere. So many people are voting so quickly that it can get pretty machine like. With a smaller base, you get to know each of your voters and it enables a level of communication that a bigger quest may not be able to possess.
 
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It's also worth noting that format can make a big difference in response. SV's base really likes the CK2 "system" in my experience, and it can be harder making headway as a purely narrative CYOA quest. But on the other hand I think CYOA type quests offer a lot of structural advantages, especially in making the final product feel more like a novel for people reading backissues of it later.

Consistency is a big deal too. People get more interested when you can make relatively frequent updates, especially at the beginning before you've got anyone hooked. Most people reading online fiction of any sort are word gluttons, that tends to be the way serial fiction works.
 
DeAnno said:
It's also worth noting that format can make a big difference in response. SV's base really likes the CK2 "system" in my experience, and it can be harder making headway as a purely narrative CYOA quest. But on the other hand I think CYOA type quests offer a lot of structural advantages, especially in making the final product feel more like a novel for people reading backissues of it later.

Consistency is a big deal too. People get more interested when you can make relatively frequent updates, especially at the beginning before you've got anyone hooked. Most people reading online fiction of any sort are word gluttons, that tends to be the way serial fiction works.
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Yes, that is a good point. A good update schedule will help almost any quest. Both because it keeps you on the front page for longer and thus gives you a better chance to attract views and also because it gives your readers more to enjoy and keeps them focused on what you are doing. But this is also a good way to burn out if you're not careful, so it's a bit of a double edged sword if you do not know your limits.
 
Hey, the Tally is having a lot of trouble reading people's plan submissions, and I'm not sure why, it's treating some parts of the plan like separate votes, it's not recognizing when two people vote for one plan, etc. Anyone have any ideas on why that might be?
 
RiverDelta said:
I've just started a quest, and I'm finding that it's getting a lot less votes than other new quests posted. Is there a point at which there's so few votes that a quest shouldn't continue, and how can I try and get more attention for the quest? I posted it in the Quest Advertisement thread, to little avail.

I'm mostly just confused as to what's going on, please help?
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Fandom attraction can be a funny thing. Sometimes crossovers can attract people from both fandoms. Sometimes it can have the opposite effect - people like one but are not interested in the other, and so just scroll past.

Anecdotally, one person in my own quest mentioned that they only gave my quest a chance (and came to like it) because the IP it was based on, was not mentioned in the title. Because in their own words, they don't read about settings they're not already invested in.

If you really want to chase viewers, you can always sell out and write for Fate or something. :V As for your current quest...I dunno, maybe taking IASIP out of the title and just advertising MLP in the title might help?
 
Mechasaurian said:
If you really want to chase viewers, you can always sell out and write for Fate or something. :V As for your current quest...I dunno, maybe taking IASIP out of the title and just advertising MLP in the title might help?
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I've never really seen/played/whatever Fate, so I'd have no idea (same with Worm), and thanks for the tip, I'll give it some thought. I sort of assumed most people had seen/were familiar with IASIP, I thought it was a pretty big show (especially since MLP:FIM kinda ended), but I could be wrong?
 
RiverDelta said:
I sort of assumed most people had seen/were familiar with IASIP, I thought it was a pretty big show (especially since MLP:FIM kinda ended), but I could be wrong?
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It is, I think, but keep in mind that a show generally having a large fanbase doesn't always translate to it having a large fanbase here--and even people who like it might not want to read a quest about it.
 
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