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

[Platonix]

November 12th
Today Lanzer made the announcement about the Golden Compass sponsor quest next week, suggested another Friday Ask The Admin, and also dropped the dreaded N-Word (No) on retaining old forms of evolving items...at least for now. Oddly enough, no other admins showed up today; Lanzer went at it alone.

Lanzer

Kid Jak

dear Lanzer, or anyone who can answer my question please

Recently Gaia implimented a new system for reporting Items that were stolen. I was hacked some time ago and I found that I no longer had all the information I did have when I filed my first report. Will the people in charge of the hacking reports be able to go back and see my first report?

Yes old reports are always available and we have trading records too so that item recovery shouldn't be much of a problem.

Lanzer

Tenshi heavens

Hey,Lanzer ^^

Why have so many users been banned lately?

Botting activities increased, other than that, we weren't particularly changing our modding.

Lanzer

Molotov21

Lanzer,

Does the donation item picture have anything to do with the actual items? xD

I think they're just here to make the items look good, or another excuse for Saka to draw pretty art. xd

Lanzer

Darling Chibi Tenshi

Thank godness I got a hold of you!
I'm just wondering, when will purple eyes be avalible again?
SO many people ask about my eyes and they wish to have them too.
Um...So is it possible to make purple eyes an option when people make their avis?

We'll soon have more types of eyes and mouths, hope we'll throw in more colors while we're at it.

Lanzer

Platonix

It's currently impossible to get an upgraded fishing rod with Gaia Cash. Any chance of convincing Old Man Logan to accept Gaia Cash for his upgrading service? Or is this another way of preventing rich users from having too much of an advantage over poor ones in a Gaia game?

We're still discussing whether or not we should make upgrades available in Gaia Cash since it's gameplay related. Some think that it's okay since users still would need to put time in obtaining the fishing items and rares. We're spending more time on tackling the recent botting issues on Gaia Fishing instead.

Lanzer

Yen Quest

Are you going to make an announcement in the announcement forum if we get new info on the Battlesystem? Or do we have to check the website if there are new info?

Are all faqs on new features going to be in the SF forum only? I think it'll be very helpful if they were to be in Q&A too.

Qixter's journal also contains news and updates on Battle. I'm hoping that the only Battle related announcement we make would be the actual release of the game.

Soon there will be a forum for all Gaia staff to post updates and talk about things in and out of the office. Hope that'll be the new hub for new features.

Lanzer

squkyshoes

How do you decide who goes to the conventions?

We have a battle royale where the last ones standing get to meet the users!

That's why DJ Helsing always get to go on all the Ki KI tours. He's vicious on stage!

Actually, we just pick from volunteers in the office. Those who spend more time with users would always get to go, and DJ Helsing is our dedicated event co-ordinator.

Lanzer

Rika-san -pear blossom-

Hope you all are having a Fun filled Monday! I did want to bring up a question that was asked a few weeks ago, that you did, answer, but never did...

Can you move the Ask the Admin to another day, like Friday? Since so many Gaians are teens, we do need our sleep, or have bed time that Ask the Admin interferes with. I know that I'm stick in class Monday nights. If you all moved it to a different night, you might get more users from not only the USA but other countries as well.

Also, with the new areas added to the map, or you going to update the World page to also so the new areas too?

I did spent time on a Friday right after people asked... I can show up this Friday also. :O

As for maps, we'll be updating soon.

Lanzer

Yamichan2

OMG I made it!
Anyway. I was wondering, will the 1st gen evolving items ever be able to equip the original poses?

Thank you!

The answer is no, the evolving items were designed to keep changing. Though we've heard of many requests for previous poses and we're thinking if there's a way for them to be accessed again... maybe through a potion or something. :O

Lanzer

The Kitsune Hanyou

Hey, Lanzer!

1. Are you ever going to be hiring writers in the future? (*cough cough*)
2. Do you have an estimate at ALL in when the Battle System is coming out? Like, for example "two to three months" etc?
3. Besides what was stated, are there any "secret specifics" of what one person has to have to be a Gaia Beta Tester?
4. Will the beta testers get to test the Battle System? biggrin
5. And one more thing: WHY DON'T WE EVER GET A SHIELD MC? D:
6. Will any of you guys be at Anime USA this weekend?

We actually have a writer here in Gaia, and an admin in the office is also a good writer who help us out on the side.

Battle's schedule is still very shaky, so I'm still not sure about the release date. ToT

Beta tester must be active on Gaia. That's pretty much it.

We will choose more people when it comes time to beta test Battle.

We couldn't think of a cool enough shield for an MC item. We'll have a weapons update pretty soon.

We plan to be at Comic Con in NY this year, but that's pretty much it I think.

lanzer

The Shadow Hawk

Lanzer

Hello everyone!

Hope everyone had a great time at the Halloween event. Any fans of Golden Compass? There's going to be a sponsored event for the Golden Compass next Monday.

A Golden Compass quest? OMG, you people rock. I've been in love with those books for years!

Anyway, how do you feel about the development of the relationship between Moira and Louie? I mean, I adore them as a couple...but it just sorta happened. Louie spontaneously jumped her in the forest then all of a sudden they're nearly kissing on the Farris Wheel and then Moira sacrificed her humanity for him.

They never even actually introduced themselves to each other...

We did planned for a lot more story to be told, but because of time we couldn't fit everything in... I hope that one day we can have a manga version which detail everything.

Lanzer

Riftwar_Slave

Lanzer, I posted a couple of weeks back asking if we would be able to donate to gaia via paypal e-checks again, has there been any new developments with that?

Not yet, sorry. We acted upon concerns with a lot of fraud payments and haven't gotten a good way to resolve the problem.

Lanzer

Angels Vermilion

Lanzer, how do you tell someone'
you love them and convoy your
feelings without redundantly
repeating "I love you" over and over?
I really suck at poetry..

Make them laugh. smile

Lanzer

Zweizi Galon

Good evening Lanzer! biggrin

I had a wonderful time at the event. Thanks to all the devs! You did such an amazing job. heart

I have a couple of questions I've had rolling around in my head, I'd hoped I could get answers to tonight. They aren't directed toawrds any dev/admin in particular, so feel free to answer any staff members. wink

1) My first question:
Many users speculated that during the Halloween event that Ian would've been cured of his vampirism and return to work in the Barton Boutique.

However, as you can see, this did not happen.

Any clues as to when Ian WILL return to his shop? surprised

2) How is the Weapons Shop coming along?

In past A.T.A. threads, it was said that there would be a shop released before Christmas. Since the Gaia Cash Shop was released, does this mean we'll have ot wait until 2008 before the Weapons Shop opens? surprised

3) A nice addition I've seen to recent events is "Event Wallpaper".

Do you think in the future Gaia might have a section for downloadable Wallpapers, featuring non-event related Gaia Wallpapers, and past event wallpapers? surprised

Those are all my questions for this week. Any responses would be greatly appreciated. heart biggrin heart

I think we have more plots that involves Ian... Liam's pic is updated though. smile

I do wanted the weapon shop to be released, but everyone got busy with the event, and the next release is actually a pretty big one with a host of random items. Hope we can slip something in by Christmas but please don't hold your breath!

Yeah there used to be a general wallpaper download section. We really need to update it with more art...

Lanzer

Byter

Lanzer, I was wondering about the concept of the Evolving Eggs. Where did the idea come from?

For many years we've been planning for a pet system. Since we still haven't got time to release a proper pet system, we use the Cash Shop to help leverage the time to release similar items.

Lanzer

Sir Ima Guna Raip Hue IV

Lanzer! I've always wanted to ask this question but I'm always late/forget to be here one monday! D:

Anyways, do you know everyone at the Gaia HQ? As in do you talk to them about things that don't relate to Gaia. Or do you sometimes wonder who you're working with? O.o

Yes, I know all 95 people at Gaia HQ. Though I hang out with some and not all of them. At lunch we all eat at the same place, and we would talk about everything from games, TV shows, jokes, to anything that we come up with. We would also play games and sports together.

Lanzer

Kaguya the Silent

Hi Lanzer! Wow, this place is hopping! biggrin

I had just one question. At conventions over the years, we've seen a lot of previews over the years for upcoming NPCs. While a few have made their way to release on Gaia (Natasha, Devin, Sam & Edy) many others have yet to see a release. Do you know when some of those NPCs might arrive?

For example:

Oh! gonk Due to changes in features and also changes in the plot lines for Battle, some of the NPC might not appear at all. On the other hand, we might have some new NPC that we haven't announced.

Have a great week everyone!

[M370-D]

Most of them were probably on vacation, as it was Veteran's Day and all. Not that any of the staff were actually veterans, as far as I know.

[Keiji Arashi]

oddguy

Most of them were probably on vacation, as it was Veteran's Day and all. Not that any of the staff were actually veterans, as far as I know.

When I get hired, I'll be like, probably the first Veteran in the Gaia Staff. ^.^... US ARMY BABY!

[Usagi Hasano]

I was about 20 minutes too late to ask a question in the November 12th Ask the Admin. stressed

I need to catch the next one, because I definitely need to ask about if the Bear/Monkey PJ's will ever be fixed. sweatdrop

[Platonix]

Lanzer

I did spent time on a Friday right after people asked... I can show up this Friday also. :O

I'm holding you to that, Lanzer! smile Let's look for an Ask The Admin session soon!

/added three hours later/ Or not... sad oh well.

[Platonix]

Yipe, running a bit late here! Today's Ask The Admin session shouldn't be far off!

/added three hours later/ gonk

That's twice in a row, and this time it was a Monday! Somebody better not have divided by zero...¿Dónde está nos Lanzer? emo

[Platonix]

November —20th!?
That's right, after being unable to host an Ask The Admin session on Monday the 19th, Lanzer hosted one on Tuesday to try to make up for it. Nobody was prepared for this, and so the topic didn't get many posts. On the plus side, as with the Friday session, this meant a much higher fraction of the questions got answered.

Lanzer

Yen Quest

Lanzer

Hello everyone, sorry yesterday was quite hectic. Felt like the whole evening disappeared. Hope that those of you who were here yesterday are around right now.

So how is everyone? Any fans of Golden Compass or Pirates here?

I'm a fan of both. ^_^

Will you be taking a break to spend your time with your family this Thanksgiving?

Which do you prefer, GCD or SF?

Are the final stages of the 2 Faustos going to be different?

Hi!

No my family is up in Canada and Thanksgiving is in October up there. ^^;

I spend more time on SF but I post mostly on GCD now days.

Oh yeah, the next stage of the Faustos is going to be pretty cool. Can't wait for Monday!

Lanzer

Tidus Guado

Lanzer and co. , THANK YOU FOR PIRATES AND THE GOLDEN COMPASS QUESTS!!! <3
And its ok that you had to postpone your Q&A session a night.

Question Time.
1. Will we get more quests that are SIMILAR to the Nancy Drew/the first Tsubasa quest in regards to having to find something or collect "X" amount of a certain item(s)?

Yes definitely, we get to do that with more sponsorships to come. We just spent a lot of time with Gaia events recently.

Lanzer

LokiLB

you mentioned in a past thread that Liam's artwork had been updated (someone had asked you about Ian returning to his shop). i'm curious as to what you were talking about, since i can't see any difference in his shop art.

@_@ yesterday was hectic...i wrote a term paper.

do you prefer fresh cranberry sauce or the kind from a can that is still shaped like a can when it is served?

Whoops, sorry we're still working on it. It's going to update Liam's store image.

I love cranberry sauce, and I don't care where it's from! biggrin

Lanzer

Nmb Maximuz

hey Lanzer,I got a question whens the new manga plot?

Christmas probably.

Lanzer

Maril

Sooo....are no other evolving items evolving until the Fausto bottle is done? Or will there be something else evolve before the next stage of the Fausto bottle?

there will actually be new evolving items coming out next week! Some ideas are really cool. :O

Lanzer

Ichijin Oroshi

Heeey Lanzer~

When is Ian supposed to return to the barton boutique, if at all? I miss him. D:

Also, what's your absoulute favorite item on Gaia? XD

(I HAD TO)

He should be! XD We're definitely on it.

My favorite item? Hmmm... The G-pin! biggrin

Lanzer

waffle person

For some reason, the 2% listing fee hasn't been working well in terms of slowing inflation. In fact, it's been speeding it up.

Is anything going to be done?


~Waffle

Sagger's actually helping in looking into the situation right now, and I've just been busy with the recent events and what not, but I'll be circling back with the group and let everyone know what we should do.

Lanzer

Weird in a good way

Hiya Lanzer! ^^

I heard you were dead in the GCD. Are you typing from a great computer in the sky?

If I'm in the heaven, then this is probably an automated script generating random responses. biggrin

"I agree!"

Lanzer

Losaru Taiyo

Another Question.

What made you decide on the owl of the tome pose?

I missed out in getting Mochi the dog, so I grabbed the tome's owl as my pet. biggrin

Lanzer

greenferret

I am happy that you guys have decided to give us Jack's Beard because there hasn't been an update with facial hair for a long time. By the way is there any plans on releasing anymore facial hair on Gaia?

Yes, and we are thinking of making some facial hair as the base avatar selection also. More to come!

Lanzer

Nmb Maximuz

Hi Lanzer again ummm can you give us a month when is the battle system will be release but if you dont want to,its ok. biggrin

Similar to facial hair, more mouth options will be available before the end of year.

(...WTF? More proof that Lanzer only skims questions...either that or he's gotten sick of answering this Battle System question. Seriously, everybody ought to know the answer to this one by now; the Staff would rather leave us hanging without a release date than invoke our unending fury by setting a date and then missing it.)

Lanzer

Angels Vermillion

Lanzer, my girlfriend and I may get married. eek heart biggrin

ANYWAYS, DOODE.
You guys in Towns?

For real, now.

What is your views on AI? (Artificial Inflation)

Congrats!

Sorry no I'm not in Towns today.

And AI is definitely real, the data showing it is kind of scary to look at. Unfortunately since this is a virtual economy, these things can happen.

Since I would normally be updating this topic at about this time, I'm posting this now instead of waiting a day, and if Lanzer or another dev tacks on another answer tomorrow morning, I'll just edit this post with it. Edit: LOL @ fulltimefailure, who joined the topic to say hi after Lanzer had already locked it.

[Usagi Hasano]

Yeah, I know I wasn't prepared for it, and it mildly pissed me off that I couldn't catch it as well. After missing the dang thing last Monday, I waited until yesterday for it, and, of course because I wanted to post in it, it didn't appear.

Hell, I even checked several times earlier today.

sweatdrop I guess I'll just have to wait and hope for next week.

[KielSharry]

Hey Can i know when an i get my missing stuffs because im hacked and i reported already

[M370-D]

Whoa, wrong place, kid.

I'm kinda excited. This jar's gonna turn into something crazy and I'll probably figure out some way to get happiness from it.

[Wraith_92]

When the world ends...

I really appreciate this thread.

... I will still be singing my song.

[Motea]

Oh good god, thank you for this.
I've always been interested in the whole ask the admin thing, but I'm not willing to go through a thousand pages to pick through "OMFG LANZUR WUTS UR UNDERWEAR COLOR"

<3
THANK YOU. THANK YOU. THANK YOU.

[Platonix]

You're welcome you're welcome you're welcome! smile

And look what time it is; hopefully we'll be seeing another Ask The Admin session start soon!