Information Post!

[rubycitymods]

Hello, dear city-dwellers! This is your friendly neighbourhood mod team here with a few important messages, so please read this post thoroughly!

We have some structural and coding changes for the city and game basics that will be implemented over the next six to eight weeks (hopefully!), involving revamping some of the HTML coding and also expanding the number of locations available for you! This will mean that a new map will be forthcoming in the future, and we hope that you will enjoy the additions that it brings. No rules will be changing and this will not affect how the game runs!

Of course, this isn't going to just happen overnight. The NPCs have a plan in mind, but they can't have their guests running all over their work while it's still half done. What does this mean for you? Well... we'll let you speculate for now while we continue to work out the kinks in this hefty undertaking.

However, there are a few ways in which you can help us! We will be going through the FAQ and Rules to clarify and tighten up any loose ends, and we'd like you to let us know if there's ever been anything you've been unsure of in regards to how the city or the game itself operates, or anything that you think a new player might need to know that we don't cover on those pages.

Importantly, the Taken Characters page coding rewrite will include Canon Points for every character in the city. This isn't something we've done before and we are going to need your input to make it work. It would really help us a great deal if you could reply to the relevant comment below with your characters' canon point(s), preferably in only a few words, and we would be very grateful to you for doing so. This will be an ongoing process and we will be dropping reminders every now and then!

Finally, we are pleased to inform you that the Activity Check for December (running January 5th to January 9th) will be check in only, so all you need to do is let us know you're still here!

We love having each and every one of you here in Ruby City and are completely dedicated to making the game as welcoming and inclusive as possible. Thank you all for being such amazing players! <3

Much love,

The RC Mod Team.

Chestnuts roasting on an open fire... if you can find any.

[rubycitymods]

You didn't think we'd let you have an easy winter, did you? The erection of the tree in the centre of the city might have heralded the start of the festive season but it also begins the noticeable descent into the colder weather that this time of year brings.

From Saturday, December 7th, the grocery store will cease to restock its produce. It will likely not be obvious at first, but with the population numbering around one hundred and seventy the decline in supplies will no doubt make itself evident soon enough. Water will continue to run and anything to be found outside of the city is still as edible (or not, as the case may be) as it ever was. By the end of the week, the store will be bare and the city's residents will have to either hunt for their own food, or rely upon those who can...

The following week, beginning Saturday, December 14th, the water pipes will begin to freeze. If you've already taken the precautions of insulating your pipes, you won't have a problem..! At least, not right away. The more run-down houses will be hit first, followed inevitably by the others. The water will first run slowly and ice cold, then stop entirely. If quick action is taken and the pipes are thawed and properly insulated, the freezing will be held off until the end of the week, at which point all running water will be cut off. This also means no heating! Stock up on firewood or risk becoming very, very cold.

From the 14th to the 21st, the weather will also change, and it will start to snow. There's nothing ominous about this snow - it's white, clean, and really quite pretty - aside from the fact that it's coming at a time when people need to be able to move freely to hunt, scavenge and make sure they have running water for as long as possible.

On the 21st, the snow will stop, but the Winter Solstice will bring its own particular difficulties in the form of restless roaming spirits drifting through the city and attaching themselves to the residents. Even those not particularly sensitive to such things may find themselves affected and although many may be harmless - confused, frightened or searching for something lost - some of the hauntings are not too friendly...

If you have any questions, please use the relevant comment below! There will be mod posts periodically to keep everyone aware of what's happening, since this will spread over several app rounds. Have fun plotting :)