AFTER ACTION REPORT FOR THE /AICG/ SPACER'S GUILD!

Another year, another Guild! I'm happy it wasn't a fluke, and this year seemed an even bigger success than last. Part of me was worried turnout would be much lower, but compared to 27 entrants last Guild, we had 32 this year! Lots of returning names too, which is a good sign! My intent this time around was to take the blueprint of the first Guild and improve upon it with some changes. Those changes were:

Asking for timezones!
Asking how talky of a team you'd like!
Upping teams to four botmakies!
Using Proton plus so I didn't get rate limited when sending emails!
Voting being done via email!

For anything else, I followed the blueprint. Ceres to shill for the event and for when announcements needing making in the thread, the timeline of a week to sign up and select themes, three weeks to makie, etc. Sticking so closely to the blueprint did cause one or two minor issues...but we'll get to that! Behind the scenes as hostie, there was very little work to do this time. One makie had to pull out due to unforeseen circumstances, but aside from an extension for a single member of Empire in Decline, there wasn't much for me to manage as hostie, which I prefer. Now, the first point:

1. Group Events Worked (again)!

We're on Guild 2 and neither one exploded, thankfully. For anyone interested in running a similar event, I think it's both possible and fun! So long as you manage it well and make no gaffes as the host, our botmakies are well behaved. Beyond that, I'd love to see people of their own initiative do collabs! It doesn't need to be too high effort or require much commitment, but even punting greetings and definitions between each other or making a pair of bots to be shilled together is fun!

2. Timezones, Voting, and Teams!

In Guild 1, teams were entirely random aside from a simple rule of only one newmakie per team. Guild 2 placement was far less random. Grouping by timezones took priority, but a little less than half of those who joined offered up their timezone. Next was placement based on voting, seeing as how I had a document of how everyone had voted. Even that didn't entirely work out, seeing as despite everyone having ten votes to distribute there was surprisingly little overlap once the first few teams were slotted in. If you ended up on a team you didn't vote for, apologies, you ended up one of the eggs I needed for this omelette. Guild 3 isn't likely to have a rule saying you need to share your timezone, but if you had any headaches with your teams regarding who was awake and when, that may have helped solve it this time around. Another thing I'll have to decide on for Guild 3 (if I do it or anyone is around to join!) is how points are allocated for voting. Borda count was used this time around, and points were allocated from a starting value of 10 points for a most favored theme down to 1 point for a least favored theme. This meant potentially a few voters who really loved one theme could swing results versus a theme that's more universally liked. That wouldn't have happened for the highest voted themes, as they had both a few 1st place spots and lots of support outside that, but for Vintage Space, The Middle Generation of a Long-haul Generational Ship, or Marine that was a possibility. Maybe in need of change, or maybe I leave it as is? I'll think about it.

3. How talky of a team you'd like!

Implemented! And also not really necessary? Every seemed to opt for chatty or said something along the lines of "Put me wherever"! Might axe this for Guild 3 (again, if it happens!).

4. Theme Events!

I gave my reasons for why I used themes for Guild, which you can read here. However! Unlike Guild 1, I chose to only allow voting for those who joined the event. And I think it was a success! Moving forward, that's how Guild's selection of themes will be done.

5. Newmakies!

There's always a little doomposting regarding these three groups, some more justified than others. But our newmakies did good this time! I can understand the trepidation of joining a group event and being thrown onto a team with no one they recognize, but in my case (and what I'd suggest to any potential future hosties doing the same kind of event!) I always try to limit anyone who shows up with few bots to show to one a team. And there's a good reason beyond ensuring people don't end up on a team of total strangers! They have no track record. Or, in the case of a former grinch I allowed to join Guild 2, a poor one.

6. Grinches!

Some of you noticed that kirakishou, a former grinch, was allowed into Guild 2. Another new thing I tried was TOTAL GRINCH FORGIVENESS. I treated them as I would a newmakie and only put them one to a team, as I do still believe Valentine's hostie is right regarding grinches. Ottobrakeman is an example of another grinch I would allow a second but monitored chance, sticking him with other newmakies or grinches.
HOWEVER
I will add an addendum; for these events, we are here to make cards and participate sincerely, whether that is as a team or for another botmakie in an exchange. I allowed kirakishou in because of sillgoy's good performance in Aishiji because, in my opinion, sillygoy fully engaged with the event and his inclusion made that event better. So that has me asking now; if I were Halloween hostie (who is hopefully alive and well and we'll be seeing soon!), would I look at kirakishou's performance during Guild 2 and allow a grinch into my Halloween event? No. Or if I did, I would make sure they were matched both ways with either other grinches or newmakies. If Maria was an exchange bot, I would feel sorry for whoever received her considering the amount of time given to make a bot for events and the effort it seemed kirakishou put into doing so, and that is doubly the case with how his inclusion to Guild 2 was a leniency extended to him despite his previous behavior. I think it's fair a host be allowed to exclude or include whoever they like for whatever reason they like, and other hosts should keep that in mind.

7. Little things that didn't work so well!

Team roles! Fitting for Guild 1. Not so much for Guild 2. For those saying it felt tacked on or didn't make much sense thematically, you are correct. There's reasons I had them included in Guild 1, but I don't think they add much if the event isn't specifically about adventuring parties, so I'll not included them in Guild 3. Or I'll slot something else in since titles on a team are cool. Another thing...I'm horrible at explaining rules!!! It was a complaint during Guild 1, and I didn't get any better about it. It's my fault for assuming people know how these events are typically run. I will endeavor (and likely fail) to be better about this next time!

8. Random Little Thoughts and Blurbs

aicgguildmaster@proton.me if you'd like to email me for advice, questions, suggestions or lewdz, though I likely won't be checking it as often now
I loved all the Ceres gens, thanks for those who shared them! Seeing her pop up in the thread whether outside abortion clinics or as a snail or pregnant or whatever else you degenerates decided was a highlight this year for me.
I ended up not using very many naked dogeza Ceres gens because I wasn't that dumb of a hostie this time! I think, anyway.
If you're a potential hostie or just want to see how Guild 1 looked, be sure to check out Guild 1's AAR and the Guild 1 rentry

9. And most importantly...thank you!

To everyone who joined, big mwahs all around. You all did great, and speaking in regards to the cards delivered and their quality, this was an amazing event. I still haven't gotten around to plapping everyone of these cards just yet, but I'm working on it!!! This wouldn't have been possible without you, and I'm grateful for that. See you all next year...hopefully!

FAQ (no longer relevant, but I'll keep it up!)

STUFF THAT'S CHANGED!

Spacer's Guild?

It's only flavor! I wanted to do scifi Ceres this time around, Guild 2 will be almost the same as Guild 1.

Almost the same?

A few changes I've made, from descending order of impact:

1. Voting is limited to those who join the event.
2. There's slightly more optional information I've asked for from those who join.
3. For those who don't want to enter the event, public submissions will be open for those themes that do not win!

Public submissions?

Yes! For whatever themes aren't selected are open to the public for anyone to make a card for, and I'll put them on the rentry in their own section once the event is finished.

NO PUBLIC VOTING? NO STRAWPOLL? SIC SEMPER TYRANNIS!

The most voted option in Guild 1 seemed to be the least favorite of the themes chosen amongst botmakies involved, so rather than a potential repeat of that I would like to see how allowing those who are a part of the event choose themes that anyone can suggest. It's how I intended to run Guild 1, but I was concerned there would be very few makies willing to take a chance on an event like it. I'm a little more confident now!

Also there will be a (non-binding, only for whimsy) strawpoll, just because polls are fun and seeing how the public strawpoll and email voting differed might be interesting!

Any other changes?

Nope! If you were there for Guild 1, this one will be ran exactly the same!

Current list of themes and the strawpoll for them?

Non-binding, only for whimsy strawpoll ran during Guild 2!
Space Pirates
Spies, Secret Agents, and Espionage
Scary, Sexy Alien Robots
Marine theme (sailors, researchers, divers, marines, people on boats/ships etc., the entire world could be like 99% ocean)
Psychological Horror
Time Travelers
The Middle Generation of a Long-haul Generational Ship. Never seen where they're from, will never see where they're going.
Social Deduction (Ex: Among Us)
Bloodborne-esque. Or forbidden knowledge and outer worldy horror
Slavic mythology
Special Weapons and Tactics
Uncontrollable/Hard to control powers
An entire team made up members who are all different flavors of chuunibyou
The team is an MMO raid party and the holy trinity roles are literal
The adventurers delve into the bodies of giants/giantesses to help them fight off parasites and magical infections and other bodily invaders, like a more literal Osmosis Jones
Space Whaling
Human Torso, Anthro/Animal Legs
Holy Slut Martyrs
Mobsters
Space Operas and Epics
Private Military Company
Cascadia
Artificially-created. Can range from homunculi to AI to golems, etc.
(Evil) Corpos
Rebels Fighting Something like an Evil AI or Empire
World with a Quirk that Shapes its Societies in a Novel Way
Tiny Adventures
Final Journeys
Practical Adventurers (Bondrewd, Ozen, Lyza, and Srajo from Made in Abyss as examples)
Big Eaters
New Perspective
Nuclear Holocaust
Uncontacted Civilization
Videogame Worlds (the team chooses a videogame universe that their bots are all a part of)
Star Wars (or Star Wars knockoff)
Space Idols and Musicians (Ex: Macross, Interstella 5555, Alien Stage, Etc.)
Cyberpunk
Lone Wolves and Edge Lords
Transportation
Folklores Turned Modern
Mecha
Space Cowboys
SPACE DISCO
Retired Soldiers/Warriors
Bounty Hunters Hunting the Other Event Cards
Entities with nonlinear, nontraditional ways of thinking (like Hiveminds)
Fantatical Purifiers, Determined Exterminators and Devouring Swarms (like in Stellaris)
An Empire in Decline
"I Used to be a 2020 Hyperbrat but Now I'm Stuck Inside a Vending Machine!?" (ex., a mesugaki could end up as a Roomba, or printed out twice and meeting each self)
Weird Space Tentacle-Thing Rulers (ex., humans kidnapped and reshaped by some weird sort of alien hive/overmind and now ruling over an alien society)
Commies in Space™
Space Gangs of New York
Vintage Space/Retro Futurism
Living Lab Experiments
Shrine Maidens
Derelicts
A group where one adventurer has a legally distinct behelit and is looking for friends to sacrifice on some day with an eclipse, and they make it increasingly and hilariously obvious, but the others are either completely unaware or they think it's a funny bit and ignore all the red flags.
Adventurers stupidly going on quests to unseal dangerous, world ending gods thinking they'll be their wives for their trouble
Hags
Corrupt/Crooked Adventurers
Space Cops
Star Fox (ripoff or similar world, space anthros basically)
Symbiotes and Parasites
Steampunk
Mining guild! Miners!
Space exploration! Gunships! Space mechanics! Giant spaceship that acts as a mobile port and small city for spacers!
Toxic Yuri Lesbian Agenda
ALL YOU NEED IS KILL (not the light novel, I mean ULTRAVIOLENCE)

Can I join anonymously?

Yes and no. For the event you can go under whatever alias you'd like, but I will need to see a neocities/rentry/chub with your email somewhere on it, just to verify you are you. But we can work it out so where the only person that knows your identity is me, and I will not share it.

When do I find out what my theme/team/role is?

At the end of sign ups on 30th of August, the host will send out emails to everyone who joined with all three.

What do these symbols (⚔️,🛡️,♥️,🃏) beside my name mean?

The role your bot has been assigned within the party, being DPS, Tank, Healer, and Wildcard respectively. Roles are not rules, and if you have an idea for your card you prefer, you can freely disregard it! Consider it an extra prompt on top of your team's theme that you can ignore if you like.

What's this about roles like tank/dps/healer/wildcard?

Like themes, it is another way to encourage variety in what botmakies create and give some direction. The same way teams are randomly assigned, party roles will be randomly assigned. Keep in mind that just because a character is made to fill a role within the party doesn't mean they have to be happy about it or good at it, and that even the role itself is more a suggestion than a rule. The purpose is to encourage creativity and give some direction, not restrain it.

Ok but wtf is a wildcard?

Wildcard means wildcard! A small talking animal! A shadowy familiar the party can't dismiss! The old, bold mercenary that raised the party! I leave it to each member of the Guild to determine if that means the party face, or their shadowy patron, or an orphan that follows them around. For examples, think Meowth from Team Rocket, Splinter from TMNT, Mr. Satan from Dragon Ball, Dante from Limbus Company, the Merchant from RE4, etc.

How and where should we collaborate on our bots?

Anyhow and anywhere you'd like! A shared catbox album and rentry would be a good start to share WiPs and ideas, alongside a mailing list for your team. Beyond that, it's up to your team. And remember to back up everything locally, in case of mishaps!

Do we have to make fantasy bots? Are sci-fi/post-apocalyptic/historic bots ok to make?

Yes! The /aicg/ Spacer's Guild is floating within an extraplanar rift, so anything and everything goes!

What if you end up with a number of entrants that does not permit everyone being in groups of four?

That depends on how short the host is of a full four member party.

As an example;
16 Entrants: Four parties of four.
17 Entrants: Two parties of four, three parties of three.
18 Entrants: Three parties of four, two parties of three.
19 Entrants: Four parties of four, one party of three.
20 Entrants: Five parties of four.

I think four members is the upper limit of what a team with no prior experience working together can manage while still having wiggle room to make cards that are unique, so no splitting into groups of five. And while I'd like to see a Duos event one day, it's not really a party if it's just two people, so no teams of two.

Do we have to keep the members of our team secret until the day of deliveries?

The surprise is part of the fun! But no, there's no rules against it. But you should check with your team before coming out with that information.

Okay but when do we know who got which theme?

They'll be assigned when teams are made. Whether someone joins early or late, they'll draw from the same pool of potential themes that way.

Why do themes at all?

Three reasons.

1. Without a theme or request, the deliveries would likely have too much overlap. Themes should both give some direction to those joining and also give the threads some input on what type of parties will be made.
2. Requests seem unfair. One person would be deciding what three would make, and the host would either need to pick and choose requests or let chance decide...which would appear from the outside as the host picking and choosing requests.
3. The host likes themes and is the one hosting.

I WANTED HALLOWEEN EXCHANGE NOT THIS SHIT

Don't worry about it. Last year the exchange started on the 12th of October. This event will be over on the 22nd of September at the latest. That's three weeks between both, which shouldn't cause any scheduling issues.

How much should I be communicating with my team?

That's up to you! Maybe a single email informing everyone of what you're planning to make. Maybe a hundred back and forths of world building and cooperative botmaking! The "gimmick" of this event is to build a guild full of adventurer parties created by /aicg/, and they can be as stand alone or interweaved as much as each team likes. Though the host would encourage at least ONE email of what kind of character you plan on creating, including things like appearance, mannerisms, what they bring to the party, etc., so you and your team do not end up delivering bots that are too similar.

How interconnected should our bots be?

This is entirely up to you and your team. Three strangers forming a party is as fine as three characters with shared backstories forming a party. If you would like to have lots of lore linking your bots, go at it!

Can I communicate to my team through you?

Please do not. The host plans to inform each everyone who their partners are when teams are assembled, then hand over emails and step back. Aside from that, if you have any pressing concerns you can reach me at aicgguildmaster@proton.me.

My teammate hasn't responded!

They could be sleeping! However, if they don't reply over a period of a few days, please inform me!

If someone doesn't deliver, are they still a grinch since this isn't an exchange?

The host says yes, since they're not delivering for their team.

STUFF THAT'S DUMB!

What other names did you have for teams?

Social Deduction (Ex: Among Us)
Sus (I really didn't have anything clever for this one)

Lone Wolves and Edge Lords
Pariahs

SPACE DISCO
Galaxy Groovin'

ALL YOU NEED IS KILL (not the light novel, I mean ULTRAVIOLENCE)
Hurt Me Plenty

Psychological Horror
Psychophobia

Holy Slut Martyrs
Thots and Prayers

Time Travelers
Paradox

Symbiotes and Parasites
Symbiosis

Bounty Hunters Hunting the Other Event Cards
Manhunters

Artificially-created. Can range from homunculi to AI to golems, etc.
Pygmalion

I was keeping track of the winners for names but only started genning their posters last day of voting, I'd share gens I had for these otherwise.