July 2018 Announcements

July 2018 Announcements


News in Brief​

Server Issues
As I'm sure most people noticed, we had some major server issues near the end of July. We think we've resolved this, but if you have any issues, please don't hesitate to report them to the staff!

Power Contest Wrap-up
The new power system is now firmly in place. All vouchers should be distributed, so if you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask a staff member. If you missed the contest, you can find a sticky here that will allow you to convert any outstanding apps over.

ICC Logs
We had some issues with the way we were logging the official ICC. Effectively, the thread got too big and too long too fast, and was preventing people from accessing the thread. We now have a new thread, found here, which links to a separate google drive if you need to check logs.

AU Contest
The next AU contest is set on a colony ship in space, but has a slightly different format. We're running it for only two days, and the signup period is much shorter. This will be a mystery focused game.

You can find all the details here.

Founders Day and Fireworks
Founders' Day is one of the important holidays on Manta Carlos, celebrating the beginning of civilization on the uncharted island that so many would one day call home. Culturally unaffiliated, there is no right or wrong way to celebrate Founders' Day. However a few traditions have popped up over the years. The first is a banquet held in City Hall on the 10th of July, which all are welcome to come to. The second is a weekend where the Pier is open to everyone as street food and other vendors take to the street before the nightly Firework Shows that occur each night of the weekend long festivities.

Newspaper
The newest edition of the Manta Carlos Print is now available!

Spotlight Winners
Player: Ephemral
Give a round of applause for this month’s winner: Ephemral! This “unsleeping beauty” joined the Starlight Academy community a little over 3 months ago but it almost feels as if they have been around longer than that given how active of a player they are. Ephemral nevertheless is deserving of recognition for creating many memorable characters in the short time they have been with us such as the gregarious Malka ready to take your stuff, the childish Seven wielding his mighty hammer, and the master of pennies (1942 Australian half pennies to be exact) Richard “Dick” Max. While a few of their character can be considered “jerks”, Ephemral is an overall great person to have to both chat with and RP with. Here’s looking at you kid! We here at Starlight Academy are happy to have someone like you on board!

Character: Dionte
This month’s winner is great demon lord: Dionte! While denizens of hell may know him by the nearly unpronounceable Arghumghaulus, many on the island would know this “bad boi” as Dionte Flores! This goetic “wrath” demon loves nothing more than being… well… a jerk. However that's just secretly part of his scruffy charm! He may be loud and bit arrogant but who wouldn’t be when you can always match your opponents in terms of speed and strength? While currently working as a bodyguard, and occasionally an arena fighter, he is seeking “followers” for the little cult affectionately known as “The Ghummy Squad”. What shenanigans Dionte and his squad are up to has yet to been seen though we can all say that this fist-toting demon livens up island with his presence.

You can find next months nominations over here.​

July 2018 Mid-Month Announcements


News in Brief​

Yearly Survey
As mentioned in the anniversary post, we're running our yearly survey now! This survey aims to get an idea of how players feel about different subjects. In particular, this survey is focusing on the Starter Guide, In-Character Announcements (Newspaper), the new Abilities system, contests in general, and events in general. To participate, fill out the survey here.

Lore Update
For a while now, Starlight Academy has had a bit of issue with our lore. Specifically, the dates didn't quite line up. Originally the pirates of Manta Carlos retired from piracy before piracy was really a thing. We've adjusted the dates and clarified things a bit, but we don't expect anyone should have any major clashes with the new lore. You can find the updated version here.

AU Contest & Virtual Reality
Our first space colony event was a huge success, and we want to thank everyone who participated! We're working on refining things a bit in response to player feedback. The next AU will run from the 22nd-26th, and then the VR event will run that weekend on the 28th-29th. The next event will have a new cast of characters (no repeats from the last one), and a new story based on your feedback! We'll release a bit more information about the adjustments when the AU contest begins later this month.

Spotlight Voting
Thanks for your nominations! A new round of spotlight voting is now up, so get your votes in now.​

July 2018 End-of-Month Announcements


News in Brief​

Rule Change
This rule change is extremely minor, and shouldn't seriously effect anyone on the site currently. However, we've seen an increasing number of old members returning under new names and identities, trying for a fresh start. To put it simply, this never works out. There's always some kind of slip up, and then there are hurt feelings all around. This sort of thing also puts considerable strain on site resources, as both members and rangers seek to answer questions that the asker already knows the answer to, and is asking just to make themselves 'seem new'.

Moving forward, we require people wishing to swap to a new account to contact the staff directly to discuss things, and this has been updated in our rules.

School Schedule Update
The daily schedule for elementary and high school students at Starlight Academy has been updated on our wiki. High school students now have more time to travel between classes, and the day / night student schedules have been more clearly split for the sake of clarity.

Staff Update
Sarrain has stepped down from moderator as they enter a hiatus. We hope to see them back soon, and wish them the best.

Please Be Gentle
Right now Starlight Academy has only four non-ranger staff members. While Kyros is currently on hiatus, we're all buckling down to keep things like applications and power upgrades moving smoothly. As we're currently understaffed, we ask that established players please moderate the number of new characters coming in at once. Consider sitting on a new idea to see how you like it before tossing it up, and perhaps most importantly, please respond to the staff in a timely manner. If you don't think you'll be able to get back to an app after a week, please let the staff know so they can focus on other things.

Survey
As mentioned in the anniversary post, we're running our yearly survey now! This survey aims to get an idea of how players feel about different subjects. In particular, this survey is focusing on the Starter Guide, In-Character Announcements (Newspaper), the new Abilities system, contests in general, and events in general. To participate, fill out the survey here.​