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December 2021 Newsletter

PLEASE KEEP IN MIND THE FOLLOWING:

Many changes that are happening are happening in order to make way for future gifts and events within the group. We understand the member base’s frustrations at slow changes and wait times, but setting up events does take time so we urge all members to hold this in mind when expressing their thoughts. Complaints are not suggestions; please make sure any future suggestions offer solutions that will ultimately benefit the group as a whole and that do not bring down any individual members.

Updates & Announcements

Opening/ Closure of Systems

  • The following systems/activities are OPEN on DeviantART:
    • General Submissions (ie, Foal Prompts, Art not affiliated with any Activity like Hunting)
    • Quests (Art)
    • References
    • Monthly Quests
  • The following systems/activities are OPEN on the Forums:
    • Quests Scavenger Hunts and Quest Confirmations
    • Bank and Bank Related Items
    • Owner Transfers and Deceasing
    • Design Plaque Updates*
      *Only plaques missing a design (EXAMPLE) or updating already approved designs not including skinchangers and hornchangers
    • Highlord Hub*
      *Only for applying Highlord gifts
  • Unless otherwise stated, (ie. Announced in the Discord), the rest of the systems/activities are CLOSED.
    • Our Team is hard at work at trying to detach ourselves from DeviantART which means that with our current resources, some systems have to be put on the back burner while we try to prepare for our future as an ARPG. We hope in the months to come that we can share some of the exciting things we have in store! We thank everyone for their patience and understanding as we iron out the kinks and try to make sure that once we open a system, everything will run smoothly without any more need for adjustments.

General Announcements

  • Concerning the recent BDA uploads. We still are not open for making new imports for members. These imports were ones ordered before the hiatus but had not yet been designed. While we for sure can say imports won’t be open for ordering this month, we hope to open imports soon! There’s just a few more things the team needs to finalize before we can completely open any kind of designs. We’re as anxious as you to get new Ballators!
  • Regarding Winter Warm Up (WWU) entries. The current submission limit is still set at 10(and does not go higher). This limit is within a 24 hour time range. It does not reset the next day. Please be mindful of how you plan out entries and what you submit to the group when.
    • This year, WWU! does not feature it’s typical slot donation prompt due to the system being closed. This system is being reworked for our new members and an announcement will be made when it re-opens.
  • Member Feedback. We are looking at specific member feedback for various systems. If you are in the discord, you may have noticed we made a thread about the Hunting system. We have updated this with new questions to get the ball rolling. 
    We also have added more threads for different feedback that you can find HERE. All of these threads will be closed for feedback on 1/1/22 so please be sure to get in any thoughts before then.
    We would like to hear everyone’s thoughts and opinions even if it’s just, “I’m happy with how things are,”or “This system isn’t really my thing so I’m happy with whatever the team does.” Remember to keep feedback discussions civil and to explain any of your thoughts so that others can thoroughly understand your thinking.
    • For example, “I hate how much work hunting is,” is a good start but it doesn’t explain why you think that way and what could be changed. While, “I think the hunting ranks ask a lot of me and I don’t feel like it is easy to get there with one Ballator let alone more than one. I think it would be nice lessening the requirements to maybe 20 hunts for Venator,” expresses the same thing but explains why they think that and how to fix it.
  • Regarding Admin Import Exchange. For those who have been with us for awhile will know normally the admins get imports during this time. The admin team has opted to not do this this year as we felt with the hiatus and lack of new imports this year that it was not fair. Admins will still not be able to enter any of the raffles.
  • Anything involving Designs will require a reply or update within 2 months for it to be considered an active review. If someone does not reply to the admin working on their review in 2 months, they will close the review and they will be asked to start over again. 
  • If you would like to see all the changes that are occuring this month, please checkout the Changelog. This page updates every Friday with all the changes that were made that week, we are in the process of fixing, or the issues we are aware of. Please checkout it out in case any issues you may have had has already been addressed. This also will let you know when a certain system has been updated.  If you would like to preview previous month’s changelogs, you can find it under Archives with the category of Fade’s Changelog. LINK
  • The Suggestion Box is open for all members to drop their ideas, comments, and suggestions in. The Suggestion Box will remain Anonymous to other users, but it is a requirement and courtesy to list your DeviantART screen name for the admin team. The Suggestion Box will be checked once weekly for the admin team to discuss.
  • There are lots of new changes around the website and maybe some hints at what might be next. We strongly suggest getting reacquainted with the new website and poking around to see what might be hiding! Who knows you might find something quite interesting……..

The Monthly Quest

Ballator of the Month

Your Equus Ballator Admin Team

Interested in joining the admin team? Please click HERE.