Solaria RetCon?

The title was misleading.  I made a lot of small changes with the Solaria blog...rearranging the layout and adding new labels to browse by.

Plus I added a ton of pics all over the postings.  I felt the images break up the posts much better...so most even post (which isn't a contest related one) has a little image to visually separate it from the other topic.

How to Contribute to the blog!

 

Solaria is a COMMUNITY blog with a wide scope.

I am looking for anything related to player cities in general, and a focus of scope on Starsider especially (though any stuff interesting enough can be shown here).

If you take shots of Solaria, I'll be glad to add it as a post with credit given to the taker.  I'm also looking for any mayors who would like their place to become a sister-city or ally to Solaria.  Short stories or character profiles are also welcome.

If you wish to mail anything please use jivaro(at)gamebox(dot) [altered to reduce bulk mail] and I'll respond in game or via email.

Know your Bartle score?

This is a reference to the Bartle Test of Gamer Psychology, which was developed by Richard Bartle in 1996.  Want to see mine?



It's a great way to know yourself as a gamer or even boast about the results. You can take the test without registering, but you need to be a member (which is free) if you want a sweet graphic.

Post your results in the comments, and if you are a GamerDNA member, I'll link up with you as a friend. =)

http://www.gamerdna.com/quizzes/bartle-test-of-gamer-psychology

Vote Mr/Ms Galaxy now (ends May 7th)

It's time to cast your votes for Mr. & Ms. Galaxy 2010!
Head over to the Station Fun & Games forum to vote for your favorites from all of SOE's participating games.
Some polls close on May 7th and others close on May 8th, so don't delay!

[This is for Star Wars Galaxies as well as other SOE games - so take a look.]

Expanding the community

The recently-ended polls have taught me a couple things.  Citizens want more activities (roleplay/events).  They also want city meetings.

Citizen opinion:
1.)  85%  want Solaria to actively encourage roleplaying.
2.)  84%  want options for a city meeting.
3.)  Most citizens don't want imperial sister cities.

 Here is my proposal (feedback encouraged):

Combining the first two, I'm planning for a day (still thinking Mondays) each week to hold a city gathering.  It can be for citizens AND 'outlanders' to get together and have fun; and doubling as a city meeting via the channel for citizens only.

In addition, I can advertise it in the city message as well as spread the word to other mayors also.  This can also open the opportunity for a different host each gathering and keep up the atmosphere.

Solaria also has an opportunity to carve in a niche all its own.  So many want to roleplay or learn the art, but are shy or afraid to try.  It's what gave me the revelation to make Solaria a 'helper rp' city.  What would that mean?  People can test their rp chops, get constructive advice on styles (even bios), or roleplay without ridicule...which brings me to another item I want to bring up...



Solaria, Rori should be a 'clean' rp city.
I don't know if this has been brought up anywhere, but every roleplay city I have seen pop up has been based in something secretive, illegal, imperial, or illicit.  Ever since Eisley's "scum and villainy" diatribe, I have seen overbearing policing or smuggling/slaving dens.  If you want something more stepped up; smuggly; sithy; slavie... my advice is to travel to the city of Darkside Realms, Rori.

Why am I bringing this city up?  Because not only is it just southwest of Solaria, it's also a great city doing it right in the 'dark' way.  If it's imperial or illegal, you can find it in Darkside Realm.  It was formerly Dying Slowly (a take on an iconic SW city) which has been a more prominent haven since former militia member Zeranna has become its current mayor.

In fact, I have been working with Zeranna to make Solaria's citizens welcome in their metropolis despite their imperial flagging.  Since I want people to 'keep it clean' in Solaria, Darkside Realm is the place to soil up those hands.  Just don't cause any trouble there since their security is some of the toughest out there.

This doesn't mean I decided on it being an official sister city, but it is a definite affiliation so long as Zeranna deems Solaria as being in worthy status.  None of this is in stone yet, so all input will be taken into consideration.  There is always an angle I haven't thought of, so this is why I turn to the community for input.

New decor and design help!

Good news and bad news.

The good?  New stuff to decorate your house with.
The bad?  Most new loot drops are from Heroics.
(read on for updates though...some good info.)

Player City
    * CityChat chat channel is now available for citizens of the player city.
    * /city and /citysay will send to the CityChat chat channel.
    * If you have city text chat issue, you can use the command /cityTextChatRoomRejoin to leave and rejoin the city text chat room to attempt to resolve the issue.


    * Matilda Carson (Painting Allocation Engineer)...rival to Navari Trik (Painting Distribution Specialist)...is in Mos Eisley with some new paintings for you.
    * Bestine Election will now properly give out the rare painting again.
    * Sandcrawler house now grants correct storage (350 items)


Now for the items now dropping inside of Heroics (images after the jump).  To see the full Friday Feature article, click here.

Running segments returning soon

The subject should be rather explanatory.  It's basically a reminder I haven't abandoned what was established. 

Solaria's holonet community {this blog I mean} was a long-aspired way to have interaction with citizens and cities across this galaxy and others.  It was also meant to encourage participation and overtly show my efforts in Solaria and how I do it for the active citizens rather than myself.  If I wasn't making an effort, I doubt I would have remained in office.

I hope to return to weekly segment (or at least bi-monthly); all depending on my feedback and what demand I have.  I will also be opening my scope to include other cities and galaxies to profile [though I still want to be as Starsider-centric as I can].

Citizen of the month will move to a month with a month-long 'cooldown' so to speak: just as there's a morotorum before the next Bestine Election.  That reminds me: I need to post what's new for housing/decorating soon, thanks to the latest update and bug squash.

Use the comment section to provide feedback; good or bad.  I do my best to stay as inclusive as permitted.

Back in orbit...

 

That's right: Solaria's blog is back and hopefully to be more inclusive.

With more tools at my disposal, hopefully Solaria can take another step towards being the galactic community I strive for.

Lately I have been in more social circles than before.  With all the pulling together I had been doing, some changes in communication helped me get closer to other cities on Rori as well as other planets in the galaxy.

City and Mayor chat channels are two of the greatest things out there.  Some of you know I had been working on my own mayor channel, but it's much better with the new channel for mayors only.  This will bring together participatory people and their citizens to make events more fun and encourage more community throughout the galaxy.

Many of the cities I have been in contact with are imperial, but all are welcome to Solaria so long as they aren't looking for trouble.  I did flag our city rebel but abstained declaring a GCW region due to our more harmonious nature.

Stay tuned:

Solaria Update(s)

 

It's been a long while, but Solaria was doing a lot of reorganization.  Speaking with fellow mayors and setting some things into play.  The swampy waters may look still, but a current flows (and a lot of decent fishing in those puddles too).

The blog is here for the citizens to come together in a proactive way and have an actual community, just as a guild would.  Solaria is more than one guild, and some have no guild at all.  This is the place to propose ideas or give direct feedback...as why the posts have a comment section.

Next step is what Solaria should do to keep things moving forward.  A forerunner is to have a designated night for all sorts of gathering, as my earlier post.  Since so many cities have 'nefarious' types of rp fare.  Think of it as a teaching city kind of setup, where people can play out stories and have fun but nobody disparaging one another for their styles.  Most every rp city or community assumes you already have your style down...and many forget there's a learning curve in being someone of unique stature. 

Sound off with your feelings, and interest level.

Blog news/updates

The Solaria blog is on hiatus.  I promise this is temporary.

The latest change to the blog itself is the SWG and TCG feed I added to the side column. This way you can come here for SOE quick news rather than wade through the official SWG site. Please let me know what you think of it.

Here are posts to come...

-Citizen of the Month
-Top Solaria donations
-City statistics
-"Goodbye to Romance" recap
-JMara memorial writeup
-Weekly winner (I will announce two)
-Monthly participation winner
-GU16 city hints/tips

Sorry for the delay, but I promise to make it worthwhile.

JMara (1977-2010)

2010.04.01 Showcase

Making good on my promise, here are some videos to amaze you.

First is footage of capitol ships in action. Ever wanted to dock your ship and step into another? Here's your chance. It is Imperial skewed but we all know Star Destroyers are one of the most impressive ships out there; if not merely the largest in SWG.


Now it's time to lower our altitude. Let's head to the Yarith sector and examine a game expansion called City of the Skies...


And now the bad news. It's April 1st. These are not in game, nor have they been alluded to in future development. It would be fantastic if so, but alas.

Please don't look at this as a negative commentary towards SWG. If you got excited even just a little bit, this means you also feel how much potential SWG still has.

Let's all focus on the positive and lobby towards improving on what is already in game. Rollbacks are impossible...and the state of things now are way better than they were a few years back.

To leave you, this is a strange video which was purported to have been true for a short amount of time. Truth or fiction? You make the call.



Happy April Guerfel Day!