AskED The Admin: Answer Compilation (10/14: Reincarnation)

[Sextality]

Sweet I got name droped twice!

V_O_R v2

[Platonix]

August 13th
Today Lanzer was almost a full hour late ("Had a long meeting. crying " ) So not many questions were answered. He got back on the next morning and answered several more.

Lanzer

Lazyalex

what are you doing to stop the exploitation of glitches

EDIT: First page.

hell yah scream

It's hard to get organized to fix bugs, so we're taking Friday as the day we fix bugs now. Everyone's so caught up in working on current features so it's hard to do things on the side. THough we're definitely working on it.

-Lanzer

Lanzer

Zweizi Galon

Question

When will we be getting the new flowers? :O

Yes, but not immediately. surprised

Lanzer

Vicener Reborn

First: I just have to say thanks for this new lay-out! I love it. <3

Second: In what order will you update the rest of the site?

We're working on the rest of the site, though right before that, we're gonna work on some enhancements which should make Gaia more fun and easier to use.

Lanzer

Midnacht

Hi Lanzer! I have a question for you I would love to get an answer to. In the many shops of Gaia, there is an option where you can either click on an [NPC] or click a box that says "Talk To (insert name here)".

However, when the Banking and Housing Systems were updated, these features were removed from Josie and Meredith.

Are there any plans to give this feature back to these two [NPC]s? I feel it really helps develop their character and flesh out the world of Gaia.

Not at the moment, but the NPC's might show up in other features for you to talk to. Still working on the details.

Lanzer

VANiLLA P0PSiCLE

1: Are you guys planning to add more shops? The maps has shops that I'd love to seen around one day

2: Do you ever update your profile?


3: Do you like.... Barney? ninja

4: Umm about the hacking system do you plan on making any changes?

Yes there will be more stores, at least one before the end of the year.

I'll work on my profile after I finished working on my Gundam. ^^;

Barney? Purple's not my color. smile

Lanzer

TurtleJen

I have one pretty little question:

Do you have another account where no one knows you are Lanzer?

I have two test accounts, but I don't post with them.

Lanzer

Zeptan

Lanzer!!!! I think I have three great questions!!!!



1. What is your ultimate goal with Gaiaonline?

2. Where do you picture yourself, and gaiaonline five years down the road?

3. What is your personal income for the year? I mean, how much money do you take home to spend per year?

I wish Gaia to be the place you can meet anyone online.

Five years later? I'll probably still be working with many teams developing new features.

I don't think I should disclose my income... but many others make more than I do. I'm not the most experienced person in Gaia. :O

Lanzer

Baconperson

I've noticed you're able to download wallpapers of your gaia avatar on your cellphone, and this question came to mind:

Are you going to make a mobile interface for Gaia Online anytime soon?

Yeah, there might be a small version for cell phone in the future, though not anytime soon.

Lanzer

shinaryu2

Hey Lanzer when will this summer festival im hearing so much about begin?

Also when the battle system is finally released will there be monthly collectible rings?

Summer festival should start before the end of month. No details as for battle rings yet because the system is still sketchy.

Lanzer

Oochiyama

Li Lanzey! (can I call you that? o.0?)

I was wondering about something I saw in a previous ATA thread.

Have you decided if you're going to use the Gothic Lolita from the Profiles as an [NPC] yet? question

Not yet, we don't have a plot or store to fit her in yet, busy with summer event, battle and other new features, so we won't get to look into it for a while.

Lanzer

Prankstergeek

I will repost this once more just in case...

Hey Lanzer!

I have been waiting the whole week to catch you on here!

I don't know if these questions have been asked before but I really need to know.

Are you planning on re-releasing the old mouths? Like the toothed one?

Also I was wondering when you guys are going to fix the layering problem with wearing the Zorro Mask and Elven Ears together, I miss being able to do that.

I mean dont get me wrong I love the I can wear my Super Star shades under my Gemini Zodiac Mask, I just really want to be able to wear those two items together again.

Also what are some of your favorite bands? Do you guys jump on couches and rock out to air guitar solos?

Haha.

Have an awesome evening!
-Prank

We'll have new mouths for sure, and yes the tooth mouth will probably be back.

I'll look into the item problems.

Bands? I like J-pop and many alternative rock bands. I enjoy most of the mainstream stuff like Nickelback, Snow Patrol, etc.

Lanzer

Puke Queen

So so so sorry for reposting. First time offense! <3

1. Ever a robot plot? (pro robots or anti robots?)

2. More Mecha plz?

3. Favorite nerf gun?

4. Drink powders = your opinions?

Robot plot? Maybe after we make some cool looking mechs on Gaia. wink

I'm almost done building my 3rd Gundam, does that count?

My favorite gun is the Nite Finder, cheap and very easy to mod.

Drink powders? As in the stuff that makes water taste better?

Lanzer

The Lady of Moof

Hi Lanzer!

Would Gaia ever consider making another documentary based on the Gaian HQ? Such as showing us what happens in the day to day life of an admin or dev at Gaia?

Probably not a documentary, but we might start using Darknrgy's handycam to take videos. We just shortened our cubicle walls so that everyone can easily see and talk to each other. (and easier to shoot Nerf darts at each other)

Lanzer

Ninina

Hi Lanzer!

A couple of things-

1) I saw you once at the movies in Cupertino (PoTC 3 ) xd

2) I love Ian, please, please, please... is there some way we can have him back, if not at his store somewhere else?

3) Do you know Gaia has its own theater company in Towns? (They are good!)

4) I think we should have food and hand held items... what do you think?

eek

Ian will be back, don't worry. smile

Yes, I've heard great things about the Gaia Theater Company. I would love to watch a show sometime.

Food items are in the list 3nodding

Lanzer

meenie

Just two questions...

1. Is there a way to make the PM notifications more...noticeable? It's extremely easy to miss.

2. Why don't people get more tickets (in Gaia Cards) when Russel Ace and Jinx say they give them extra tickets (after he/she lost)?

We're working on it, expect to see improvements within the month.

That was more of a figure of speech I believe... though we'll re-visit the rewards once we worked on the botting issues.

Lanzer

Kadav

Any more secret spartan items?

They're all released, just a little hard to get right now.

Lanzer

Mansex in a Box

{-}Flowers/Pins from Rina/quests? -kitty eyes- <-- Original question. xd

{-}Can we have new NPCs that are there for no apparent reason, and are completely insane/politically incorrect? I wannnttt! -grabby hands-


{-}Did you admins see the Simpson's movie yet?


{-}If so, how was it?

{-}Do you get mad when people in the office eat other people's food and then get in an argument when they're SUPPOSED to be releasing MCs/updates?

{-} What is your WORST fear? domokun

New flowers yes, though quest wise, the next one will involve another NPC other than Rina

Random NPC's? We definitely should have more!

Get mad over food? I get mad for eating too much food when I shouldn't. smile

Worst fear... hamsters!

Lanzer

Need to look into the bugs related to the new layout. Hope to have all the major bugs fixed this week. I'll be back next Monday at around 6pm!

[Platonix]

Bumped in anticipation of tonight's session.

Here's something I've been thinking about. Maybe it would be more helpful if I re-organized this topic so that the Answers are listed by topic rather than by date. That way, people looking for info on the site's features won't have to wade through the juicy details of Crazy Spork's personal life. Given the way this topic started, though, I can't really do both by-date and by-topic without it looking really bad, though. Maybe I would post a day's answers, as I have been, at the end of the thread and then also add them to the by-topic posts at the start...what do people think?

[Prince Bastion]

This is cool of you. Thanks.

[MidnightArticuno]

This is a really cool idea. It also saves a lot of time for everyone. XD

STICKY!!

[The Honest Lie]

MapleStory name: SageMemorial/iPigBurger
[Both on Scania]

Lol, I just found out someone has actually paid attention to the nonsensical answers I got from the admins XD.

--- i V e n o m o u s

[Platonix]

August 20th
Did today go slower than these things normally do? A full hour passed before Lanzer closed the topic to non-admins, and only 14 pages accumulated...perhaps the novelty is wearing off, and/or more and more people are having their questions answered to their satisfaction. Crazy Spork returned to the field of honor, but didn't answer much. For the final answer of the night, Lanzer gave his fullest answer to the "selling out" question yet; it's worth a read.

Lanzer

Ozmo Azarath

Gooooooood.
So first off.
I'm glad that you didn't abandon this avatar for your manly one.

Seriously though.
How close is this marketplace update?
and is a guild update too far away?
i know this has been asked before.
but can i get some details please?
: D

The marketplace is open for beta testing this week! So hopefully we'll finish testing by next week.

Guild update is quite far away, we're working on it after Marketplace re-write. Stay tuned!

crazy spork i am

i V e n o m o u s

Ever yelled out a cuss word in the middle of a street when you were little? I did wink

i did that a lot when i was younger (and in elementary school) until i got older and then i stopped. i guess the novelty wore out.

crazy spork i am

Ozmo Azarath

crazy spork i am

Ozmo Azarath

crazy spork i am

'lo theres :3

*TACKLES

:3

I talked to you a while ago.
And I'm sorry if I am wrong.
But you are working on the Summer Festival right?

@tackles kirby;

yep, i'm looking forward the summer festival...i hope you guys enjoy it!

Lanzer

[The Bathroom Wall]

LANZER
Have you considered changing your avi?
I saw how it looks in the summer slam event thing
but really~
will you ever?

Yes I really should... sweatdrop

Maybe I'll start a new thread and ask for fashion advise from people. biggrin

Lanzer

Long username is looooong

Lanzer
Whats your favorite gundam series?

Gundam Wing FTW ninja

Gundam 0079. Old school!

Lanzer

Miss Mayena

Lanzer, if you do decide to hold another Olympics next summer, what are the events likely to be? Will it just be a marathon again, or will there be other competitions?

The olympics I want would involve a lot of competitions that everyone can participate. We still have to plan for it though. ^^; Right now we just started planning for the winter events.

Lanzer

Xehanort Von Helson

Lanzer, I have 3 questions:

1.Did L0cke get his name from Final Fantasy VI?
2.Do you guys like the Final Fantasy series?
3.If so, which one is your favorite?

No, it's from an old, old anime.

I love FF4 (US version) and played many of the sequels including part 12

My favorite is still part 4. Cheesy as the graphics were, I like the large cast and story.

Lanzer

Aeonis of Blood

Hello Lanzer and all of the other admins whose names aren't quite coming to me 3nodding . I just have one question:

Are admins/devs that are fixing glitches in the new layout aware that the site is now horribly laggy for some users, and gets worse as time on the site progresses? I'm positive that it's not because the files for Gaia need to be cached first, since if that were true, things wouldn't slow down the longer users spent on Gaia. Any clue why this may be?

The new site header involves a lot more code, stuff like AJAX and Javascript stuff that makes pages more interactive. As we debug and fix problems, the lag should go away.

Lanzer

waffle person

just a question,

how do they pick the beta testers for new features?

Yes, though we didn't have time to have much of a sign-up process, so we're going to choose last month's donators to help us test the new marketplace.

Lanzer

Mystic Onyx

Questions:

1. Do the ones in charge of the storyline ever take suggestions from basic users?
I've had a good idea for a future halloween story/event buzzing in my head for a while now and wanted some input.
Link to idea.

2. Will there ever be an 80's clothing set?
There are 70's and 90's sets, but no awesome 80's.

Yes, many events are shaped depending on user feedback. Especially the outcome for the last Halloween event. User's support and comments shape our ideas and decide who will win.

80's clothing set? Not in the wish-list, but I'll mention the idea to the team.

Lanzer

Midnacht

Hey Lanzer, I have a question for you that I would REALLY love a response to.

In the GCD, there's a Double Fanthread for Josie, and this upcoming [NPC]. In the thread, they've nicknamed her "Kim". Could you possibly release her name?

eek We haven't got a name for her yet... sweatdrop But we do have plans for her though.

Lanzer

Mitch Von Helson

Lanzer
>can you consider the idea in my sig to stop bots
>could you make vampire skins for the Halloween o7 event
>and does making my font larger increase the chances of it being answered

We want to stop bots, but we also don't want to ruin regular user from being able to post or play easily. Most of our work are done on catching botters, though we might add more meatures such as CAPTCHA later.

Lanzer

Lucca Ashtear

I has a question:

Are developers required to live on the West Coast? I know the interns are, but I didn't know about non-interns. I'd like to know if I, a Massachusetts resident, will likely ever have a shot at helping design new wearable items.

Currently internship positions are open to people in California only, though we might have contracting positions open in the future.

Lanzer

Bomb Pop

Hi Lanzer~ n wn <33

Lately, though it may just be in the GCD forum, I'm hearing more and more complaints of how Gaia is becoming a sellout due to the increasing advertisements and sponsorships and stuff we're seeing around the site.
I'm just kind of curious as to what you may think about that~
If I can be so bold to ask, do you think Gaia is struggling for the money? Or do you think these are just fun sponsorships, and that some users are just overreacting to change, as usual?

Sorry if it's a dumb question. :B heart

Thank you for asking this question. In a way Gaia has many different moving pieces, each have their own goals. For example, we have a team working on the site re-design, one team on battle system, another on new features, and so forth.

A team that's part of Gaia is a team that handles sponsorship events. Like Gaia features, items, and events, not everything from that team is a home-run for pleasing our members. All that we can gaurantee is that we tried our best.

Today Gaia as a company is not earning money, it actually takes more to develop new features than what we make. Though that has no dependency on whether or not we work with sponsors. We believe that sponsorships can be interesting and fun, that's why we're doing it. It's been a few months since we've worked with our first sponsor, and I hope that we can get a flavor of how to make events that are fun, or otherwise we'll need to re-think our approach towards sponsorships.

The strategy towards sponsorships are very simple - it's optional, non-intrusive, and entertaining for those who choose to participate. On the plus side, it allows us to hire more engineers to work on the site.

There is, however, a huge connotation that if we work with any other brands, that we're now a sell-out. There's nothing much we can do about that. We can choose to stay at the same size, and develop at the same rate as we were a year ago. However, we've decided to grow even bigger, and look towards getting more money so we can build more at the same time. This in many people's definition is selling out. And that I can't argue against.

Gaia now has more people building new featuers than before. Aside from everything that we do, somehow we're supporting a team of 18 working on the battle system, as well as a team of 6 working on the user interface. These teams are build within the past few months, and none of these would be possible if not for the extra money that we make.

Dunno if that answer your question clearly, but we're definitely doing everything that we can to grow. And I understand that some choices we make are not the choices that everyone would agree on, but I truly believe that in time, we'll have a lot of really great features to share when we look back.

Have a good night everyone!

-Lanzer

[Platonix]

August 27th
This was the first day of the Summer Festival. That fact slowed down the Ask The Admin topic in two ways; it kept a whole lot of people occupied, and the activity slowed the site's servers down. As a result, today's Ask The Admin topic only reached 7 pages; only half as many as the previous record low!

Lanzer

Artemis Rise

Lanzer

Everyone having fun at the event? My team isn't doing too well! :O

Oh wow, I don't have a question...

What team are you on!?

I'm with team Barton crying

Lanzer

Zweizi Galon

Ooh! Ooh! Lanzer, over here!! 4laugh

I have some questions I'd love ta ask ya. heart

1) In an earlier ATA thread you stated that the Personals were not going to be making a return, but that you had plans for the same building.

Could you hint on what those plans are?? :O

2) I see that recently for the event that Liam and Sasha's avatars were fixed. Any plans to start fixing the avatars for the other [NPC]s anytime soon??

The Personals building is going to be for another feature. Probably related to a marriage system.

The other NPC will be fixed soon, there are 13 more days to go! biggrin

Lanzer

Autumn

Why is it, that in all the other stores there is an add to wish list button for each item, but in prize and joy there isn't. it used to have the add to wish list button, but no longer does. will this be fixed?

Also, is there any specific reason why we can't use gaia cash in prize and joy?

The wish list button is a bug that we should be fixing soon

As for Gaia Cash in Prize and Joy, we decided that GCash can only be used in places that accept Gaia Gold. That way only people that spend time on games can get those items. We can make more money if we make Gaia Cash available for those items, but integrity of the site comes first. We are thinking of items specific for the Cash Shop to facilitate those who wish to spend GCash for something special. 3nodding

Cid High-Wind

Lanzer

Cid High-Wind

Hi Lanzer!

For once I am asking different questions, though I still want you to sing for us.

1. Are you proud of your Chinese heritage?
2. Do you still speak Chinese?
3. What was it like living in China until you were 11, moving to Canada until you were 22 and then moving to California?
4. Will you provide some fanservice for us by posting a pic of you shirtless? Afterall, we need to know if you and the [GAIA] Lanzer really do look alike. wink
5. What do you think of Gackt?
6. Are you single and looking, single and not looking, not single but looking, not single and not looking, or married? Or are you just a player? D:<

The pride question is really a mixed bag. We made so many inventions, but Chinese are terrible behind the wheels! :O

Yeah I speak Cantonese and Mandarin

HongKong was hot, Canada was cold, and California is just right!

I used to listen to Gackt often. Listen more alt. rock these days.

I'm certainly a player. (who loves MMO's)

Ooh, nice way to avoid that last one! xd

Lanzer

Sparkyperson

Was wondering, heard rumours of a Sea/Ocean housing item update being released during the event. Is this true?

Yes, we screwed up and things got delayed, but soon we'll release it!

Lanzer

[~+Color.Me.Insane+~]

How do you feel about the 97k+ users online at the event? whee

So close to 100k! crying

Lanzer

bsbartgurl

is it likely that we'll get a new layering system one day?

Yes! System wise, we're still working on the posting engine, after that we'll need to re-vamp the item system so we can have customized items and such, then we'll work on avatar layering system probably. Wish we can work on everything at once.

Lanzer

ZakuMent

Question: Lanzer are ants invading the HQ too? D: The ants are taking over.

No ants! Gaia office is very clean... (except my cube)

Lanzer

El King David

Hey Lanzer! This Event is awesome! Thank you so much to all for putting time on making the event run smoothly!

I got questions..
Will you guys keep the pools on Gaia towns!? gonk heart
Are we getting skins this halloween?
What happen to the alien furniture? ninja

Yeah a lot of users had been asking to keep the pools, so we're considering. Might create a poll to get some feedback.

Alien furniture will be released soon. Aqua set might come out first

Lanzer

Zweizi Galon

Ooh! I have ONE more question. :3

WHO IS THIS???

He's another mechanic!

A long, long time ago we thought of many different types of "classes" for Gaia, and Saka sketched out what the male and female mechanics would look like.

So you can expect where he will show up. wink

Lanzer

BlackRavenWyrd

Some questions for you from an oldbie and an AYGGS member wink

Hey Lanzer I know we are getting more mecha related items in the future, but what about Kamen Rider related items? I would love to have a Henshin belt, and Rider Armor!

Also will we be getting motorcycles for Gaia Rally and Cars?

Will the Pools be a Summer Fest only moment? Or will this open Gaia Towns: Gambino?

Finally, SUMMER FEST. You got that idea from the MST3K episode Soul Taker didn't you :ROFL: I hope we can have the Master's robes! Maybe even play ring toss with our souls!

Maybe a Shocker bodysuit? biggrin

Motorcycles? We're thinking of adding more cars, but yeah that's a great idea.

We're listening to feedback to decide where the pools will stay or not

I'm being dragged to dinner. So I'm signing off a little earlier. Have a great time at the event everyone!

-Lanzer

[[Q]]

Thanks for continuing with this.

After my thread was moved, I didn't bother updating it since I knew no one would read it in GCP. :/

I hope you have better luck with yours - you even had more people than Lanzer. ;P

[Platonix]

Just realized I never bumped this yesterday like I usually do half an hour to an hour before the session is supposed to start. redface But, on the bright side, it's now easy to find links to this topic. Not only have I been posting links to it on the first page of some Ask The Admin topics, but this topic is now listed in the [INFO] - Community Resources sticky! Many thanks go to Triskdeamon for listing AskED The Admin under the "Information and History Threads" section! biggrin

[Platonix]

[Q]

Thanks for continuing with this.

After my thread was moved, I didn't bother updating it since I knew no one would read it in GCP. :/

I hope you have better luck with yours - you even had more people than Lanzer. ;P

Thanks for the well wishes! biggrin

[Platonix]

...As it turns out, there wasn't an Ask The Admin session for September 3rd.

I am choosing to assume that it was either forgotten in the excitement, or intentionally skipped due to time demands, of the 100k benchmark and the close of the Great Forum Balloon War (Fleep posted the final results at what, for him, Lanzer and the others, was almost midnight the 3rd, so they were probably all very busy straight through that evening.)

For now, feel free to browse through the past sessions if you haven't seen them yet; please vote in the new poll; and I'll see you next Monday!