Untitled @kestreloftheforest - Tumblr Blog

I’ve been getting a lot of feedback on some posts from a few days ago. There’s one point I think I could have been a little clearer on.

Magic design will always follow the will of the players, as a collective whole. If the majority of players want the game to go in a certain direction, that’s what R&D will do, albeit making the choices that lead to the best gameplay in that direction.

The players, again as a collective whole, can change their mind and Magic will adapt. Just because we do something one way doesn’t mean we will always do it that way. If opinion shifts, we will shift with it. It is the best interest of Magic that we follow the desires of what that players want.

But you all have to understand two things:

1) What you personally believe the direction of the game should go might not be the current desire of the collective whole. And recognizing your perspective is not lined up with that of the larger collective can be hard to do.

2) The loudest voices on the Internet are not necessarily representative of the collective whole. It’s why we have so many metrics and an entire team to break down what the data is telling us.

So yes, we very much listen to what you all are saying, and I never want people to feel that they shouldn’t be empowered to share their opinion. This blog, in specific, is a place for you all to voice what direction you would like to see the game go.

In exchange, I’m using this blog to be as open as I can about what all the data we collect is telling us about what the collective whole wants. I’m speaking for a lot of players whose voices aren’t heard as much online, so it might often feel as if it isn’t what you all might believe is the desires of the collective whole.

I can’t share all the data, as much of it is proprietary, but I’m always happy walking through our understanding of it and explaining how it’s guiding our focus.

I do enjoy the back and forth on this blog. Again, I just ask that you all state your opinions politely. Everyone here is a real person with real feelings, myself included.

Thanks.

bace-jeleren

If all Liliana does in Reality Fracture is duke it out with echoverse Liliana, and not explore her complex relationship with Jace in some way, WotC will be hearing from my lawyers.

Like, address the messy on-again-off-again situationship you had with the guy threatening to rewrite the multiverse. Free us.

what-even-is-thiss

I like that other ducks don’t sound like that in the Disney toon universe. Donald Duck is just weird.

what-even-is-thiss

In most versions of Disney ducks I’ve seen they just talk like normal people, including Daisy and Scrooge and the triplets.

Not Donald though. He’s the only duck out there regularly quacking.

what-even-is-thiss

And I mean if it is a speech impediment or something good on him for straight up raging at people anyways

yay855

It's canonically a speech impediment in most of the series Donald is in, such as Ducktales.

what-even-is-thiss

I’ve never watched more than a few episodes of ducktales original or reboot series so good to know

fishandshesmygills

love the word lackluster. well it sucks because it’s not shiny

zzoupz

i-fuck-audis

MY FUCKING CAR

todays-xkcd

Most coffee shops have a descendant of Sophia of Hanover on staff for this, but just as I was about to ask for help, a previously unknown heir of Uther Pendragon who was ordering a muffin tripped on my laptop cord.

Arthurian Connector [Explained]

Trancript Under the Cut

byjove

CNN has done this whole investigative scoop on how elderly retirees have been priced out of retiring to Florida and all I can say is good. That is better for the environment. That is better for maintaining a support system. Stay where your loved ones are. I hate the idea that the cost of living is so high that you cannot even afford to move to a shitty fucking red state but old people need to stop moving to Florida. I’m more concerned about the people living in Florida than the retiree/snowbird population, stay in fucking Ohio instead of moving into a condo shoddily built over endangered wetlands. There are constant natural disasters and ongoing environmental concerns, I don’t care if you wanted to retire to the beach. This is something I am so passionate about as a southeasterner even if I am not from an ‘ideal’ retirement area, moving across the country at age 65 is a terrible idea logistically speaking, moving towards family is one thing but moving to a ‘scenic vacation’ area and pricing out all the locals and then needing a caretaker while your loved ones are states away is so baddddd.

the-big-mood

During a high speed car chase pursuit, the FOX 11 Los Angeles helicopter had an unexpected moment when they spotted a rooster and a chicken casually walking down the sidewalk right in the middle of the pursuit.

reblogmonstah

The fact that they were walking 1-3mph

His joy and whimsy at seeing this

His acknowledgement of it not being as interesting as the chase

His little "huh" cuz you know they told him to focus

homunculus-argument

a vampire, wrapped tightly with indestructible enchanted threads: No weapon forged against me shall prosper. a blacksmith using the vampire as an anvil while making a sword: Shut the fuck up.

alagaisia

Hey. Why isn’t the moon landing a national holiday in the US. Isn’t that fucked up? Does anyone else think that’s absurd?

alagaisia

It was a huge milestone of scientific and technological advancement. (Plus, at the time, politically significant). Humanity went to space! We set foot on a celestial body that was not earth for the first time in human history! That’s a big deal! I’ve never thought about it before but now that I have, it’s ridiculous to me that that’s not part of our everyday lives and the public consciousness anymore. Why don’t we have a public holiday and a family barbecue about it. Why have I never seen the original broadcast of the moon landing? It should be all over the news every year!

alagaisia

It’s July 20th. That’s the day of the moon landing. Next year is going to be the 54th anniversary. I’m ordering astronaut shaped cookie cutters on Etsy and I’m going to have a goddamn potluck. You’re all invited.

watermelon-converse

Hey. Hey. Tumblr. Ides of March ppl. We can do this

emi--rose

Hell yeah moon holiday

hello-delicious-tea

Ooh coming up we should celebrate

mckitterick

thoodleoo

reading about the participation of children in rituals as a form of play in ancient greece and came across an incredibly charming story from julius pollux's onomasticon where a flood prevented the adults from reaching a sanctuary to sacrifice a ram to heracles, and the children solved the problem by....sticking a bunch of sticks in an apple to give it "legs" and "horns" and offering it as a sacrifice instead. it's such a charming thought and i can perfectly picture kids these days also pretending at sacrificing an apple "goat" at recess

thoodleoo

catch me on the playground playing sacrifices

byjove

if you adopt two dogs who are littermates, they will team up on you to undermine your authority. if you adopt two cats that are littermates, they will constantly try to narc on each other to you

lazer-exe

I'm gonna say it, I do think that even the laziest person imaginable should have a roof over their head, food in their stomach, and access to healthcare

hbbisenieks

normal people in SF are fucking sick of every billboard being for AI slop

error-404-fuck-not-found

takes a real artist to go "i have to deface this billboard promoting an evil corporation's evil product. but crucially☝️the typeface and kerning must match or else it's cringe"

ignescent

If you make it look official, people will leave it up. I knew someone who replaced all the motivational posters at work with 'demotivation' versions and corp didnt notice for like 2 years.

toast1862

like it just doesnt make any economic sense. replacing human labor with ai only makes sense if the output is as good or better and cheap as free. but just the fact that you have to build the massive data centers at all-- especially that gpus go bad in just a few years, but even if they didn't, the facility itself is going to be a big expense-- means it cant be cheap as free. they were banking on an uber type situation where they could crank up the prices once people switched to their business model, but the trade is literally "this will be cheaper than using human labor" so if it's not cheaper than human labor then people will just hire people again. and it's not even as good or reliable as a person. so while ai is "here to stay" in the sense that the technology exists and will find its niches, probably people are going to be sexting with them forever just maybe on local models, the current business model cannot survive and never possibly could.

it's all desperation. i do really believe ed zitron's rot economy idea, that the tech sector has been searching for a new internet or iphone or whatever that blows up and changes the world and they get to keep the profits so they'll uplift any garbage (hence nfts and the metaverse) to try and astroturf that. and relatedly, i think nvidia and the cloud compute companies and the ai companies are just passing the same dollar back and forth to create big numbers that paper over how bad the economy really is. it's all an attempt to keep the infinite growth hack going.

like i actually think all of the problems with ai are problems that already existed that are just getting a huge spotlight on them because of the massive reckless expansion and apocalyptic marketing. like people are cheating on essay assignments? no shit, they used to use fiver and other cheating services. higher ups are devaluing and trying to get rid of creatives? yeah, we've been talking about how vfx artists need to unionize for over a decade, especially people working on marvel movies. people with mental health problems are turning to the internet instead of getting support or medical assistance and end up hurting themselves as a result? yup, especially when it comes to like eating disorders, there are some really awful places that will validate you into the grave. data centers use a lot of energy and water? yeah, they also did that before they were used for ai, they do that for youtube and twitch, and tech in general is a massive source of pollution. politicians arent listening to their constituents' needs and demands, instead handing money and special privileges to corporations that wont keep up their end of the bargain? yeah, i remember the public transit proposals cancelled to hand money instead to elon and his terrible tunnels. like it all already existed, they're just doing it so much so quickly that people can actually see it in front of them