Re: Using the ol' noggin...
Ghost Spider and Midnight have left the game. Part of it was scheduling conflicts and free time. But too much of it (as I am given to understand) is MY erratic schedule and a very confusing amount of character threads. Fair enough. I can see that.
I am grateful for what they were able to give, wish them well and let them know that they are always welcome back. :-)
And I imagine other players might leave as well before I get this game more efficiently run. I understand that as well. Paradoxically, every player that leaves makes the game simpler to run for me (although I would rather have the extra players). In fact, I would suggest to any exiting player that they check back i a month or two (as I have said to Ghost Spider and Midnight as well), they might find the streamlined game they were looking for. The choice is theirs.
I see now how the concurrent threads were confusing to many players if not all of them. Here is what I plan to do.
The first IC thread, the Open Campus Day a year before the actual start of the game is done and dusted.
The second IC thread, where the two junior students, Bluebird and Copycat have been introduced, is still ongoing. But I will integrate the thread into the new fourth IC thread (more on that below) so I am taking this thread slowly until I can introduce the fourth thread and fuse them together.
The third IC thread, the one with the new gadgets, Jocasta and the Infinite Mansion isn't too far from being done.
The fourth (and new) IC thread should be up in a couple of days. It is very simple. ALL of the PCs are together in the Student Lounge, having just finished their classes and now free for the weekend. This is a chance for all of the PCs to just interact (all teams are together) and role-play for a bit in this seemingly mundane circumstance. There is something a little more going on but it will manifest after y'all get some time to just hang out.
This fourth thread will soon be the only thread going on as the other threads end. The fourth thread will be linear for a long time, no flashbacks or future shocks. This will make a much more conventional game and be more familiar to most players.
With two players having left, and perhaps more to follow, the Team rosters and such will probably change. But having gone through so much to set them up the first time, I am just going to have all of the PCs together and not worry about Team membership so much for the near future.
I imagine player membership will be more fluid now than later and Team requirements will be constantly fluctuating for a bit. Besides, with every leaving player, Team structure will be much more easier to determine later with less players. Time is on our side.