Board Thread:Guides/@comment-24108228-20140601094833

I'm not quite sure where to put this, but it is a guide, so I'll put it here for now. If it should have gone in another board, move it for me (and please don't block me for babysitting). Anyhow, I decided I would make a guide for suggesting stuff, as the suggestions lately are going downhill.

Presentation
Now, this may seem like me making you do unnecessary work, but its really quite important. A well presented suggestion will be much more well perceived than a badly presented one. Plus, it allows you to further question the suggestion, and improve it. If you find the suggestion is flawed when your writing it up in detail, you can fix it, but if you just scribble a paragraph and walk away, you'll most likely miss it.

Here is how I present my suggestions, you may decide to use your own format, but this is something good to fall back on if you cant think of anything.

Insert Pun or Comment Here Level 1 Headline of The Idea Summary of the idea. Level 2 Headline of First Component Detailed explanation of the item your trying to get added, what does it do, what is it used for, how do you get it. If it is crafted, present the crafting recipe like this: Ingredient + Ingredient + Ingredient > Type of Crafting (e.g process item) = Item Skill levels Level 2 Headline of Second Component See first headline, but with the next item your trying to get added. Repeat this until you have covered all the things your adding to the game. Level 2 Headline - "Why This Should Be Added" Insert a long explanation on what this adds to the game, what it allows you to do, and most importantly, cover the "Cheif Standard for Game Additions", which is basically, can the item fill in the following phrase effectively? ''It is used to do _______ and _______, meaning you can _______, adding a significant amount of gameplay. What they mean by this is you have to be able to do something with this new item. It cant just be something that does something cool, like a guardian of mithril or lightning for storms. Level 2 Headline - Feedback Add a encouraging message to encourage feedback so the thread doesn't die. After that, add a poll. Suggestion, yay or nay? Yay Nay

Information
I see many suggestions nowadays that consist of something like this: ANoobAtSuggesting wrote: Hey guys! I had the best idea ever! They should like, totally add guns to the game! They could be crafted with a stick, gunpowder and some metal, and since I don't know much about this, you guys can choose what metal it needs! Then you could make a bullet, but I cant think of a crafting recipe for that so you can think of one, and it does 12728783682887 damage! Other than the damage output and timeframe fail, the main problem with this suggestion is that they didn't give much information. They just left it up to the reader's imagination. That's not a good thing for suggestions, especially ones on contradictory subjects, which seems to be all the rage with the kids these days.

Always give lots of exact informations, as critics (such as myself and Michael) will find instances where you have not been exact, and insert something you didn't intend in the gap. I've been criticised for not creating a map of the island with the locations of the item added on with image editing software, so not including key crafting components is just asking to be ranted on.

Timeframe
The timeframe is a very contradictory subject. Most of us plant a timeframe around the medieval era, scar says if you plopped an average person on an island with the resources, could they make it, and most H4RDC0RE critics use both depending on the subject so they can flag the suggestion as out of the timeframe. You'll want to satisfy both requirements.

Addition
The suggestion must add something to the game. It cant just be a tweak for the fun of it or an excuse to say "DAT WAS MY IDEAH" to everyone you see. If it fails the Cheif test, it is very unlikely to get added, and something that doesn't allow you to do something you couldn't do before is also a bad idea. That doesn't mean you have to do radical new suggestions that revolutionise the game however. Take the chocolate suggestion thread, it just added a new food and farming material. But the way it was added meant it allowed a whole new way of cooking.

Furthermore, if you complete the Cheif test, that doesn't mean your in the clear. It's very easy to pretend you passed for example: It is used to make the game harder and add difficulty to living on desert, meaning you can have more of a challenge when settling there, adding a significant amount of gameplay. This clearly hasn't added anything to the game but make desert island more of a pain, but the creator is lulled into a false sense of security.

Realism
This is something often called upon, even on a really realistic suggestion. Quite often the claim is actually false, so doing your research on an item before you suggest it can seriously help when defending it from the critics.

But for the same reason, you don't want it too realistic at the cost of gameplay. Cows may be large enough to feed a tribe for a few months, but that doesn't mean it would make a good game. Its a hard balance to achieve, and one that takes practice.

Overpowered
Overpowered, or OP, is a term for an item that is too effective for its cost/difficulty to get, and spoils the game by making it too easy. You may find your suggestion perfectly balanced, but if your poll is 1-7 and they're all saying "MAKE IT RESTORE LESS!", then you should adapt. Because the number one most annoying thing on a suggestion forum is someone who refuses to adapt, and is adamant they have a godly intellect that prevents them from being wrong. Would following these tips make a suggestion better? Yes No  