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NOTICE: Icebound is currently in its Beta Playtest phase. Features, systems, and content are subject to change without notice. Please report bugs and issues in Bug Reporting.
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Beta Information & Guidelines158 views
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Staff
Posts: 27
2026-08-17 14:18:21 UTC#1
[[Archived Post from Discord Announcements]]



Please keep the following in mind during our Beta Phase:

  • It's really a beta: Systems, mechanics, and balance may be unfinished, unbalanced, or just not very fun yet. Some features may be bare-bones as proof-of-concepts so you guys can thumbs up/down them for us to continue with them, etc. Graphics and mapping may be WIP. Bugs, etc. We ask that you report issues and share feedback through the appropriate channels so we can improve the experience.
  • We don't intend on having this phase go on forever, and the goal is to figure out what works and what doesn't, based on consensus and any bugs we find, then work with you on a closing narrative to best wrap things up.
  • While we recommend you play a little fast n' loose to test the systems fully, your character can carry over into launch, but with a full mechanical/item wipe (skills, adaptation points, inventory, etc). As consolation, you will have gotten a chance to shape development through your feedback, some added backstory, and the ability to fine-tune your start.
  • Narrative won't be wiped. What happens in beta is canonical. If your character's actions are remembered by other players and carried over into the main game, that's between you to sort out in game. NPCs won't know or care about beta events unless something is especially notable and/or you want it referenced.
  • The play area region is permanent. The coastline you'll be exploring will remain part of the world after launch as a named train destination. Significant player actions may leave lasting marks through environmental changes, new landmarks, props, or NPC dialogue.

Lastly, as we all explore this world together, the staff will likely be more hands-on and flexible than we would be after launch. There will be times when we'll need to make judgment calls, tweak mechanics, or temporarily bend procedures in the interest of testing. We'll communicate as best we can if that happens, but we do ask that everyone extend grace to each other as we learn this new world together. 

Our plan is to start on Wednesday, August 5, 2026 at 12:00 PM Eastern Standard Time, with Character Creation opening the day prior.

Staff
Posts: 27
2026-08-17 15:16:31 UTC#2

The Provisional Committee: Voting Process & Guidelines

The camp, at an impasse, has chosen to pick from their ranks a Provisional Committee, a body of authority tasked with managing camp stockpiles and allocating resources the community has worked to collect em masse.

We'll gather for those put forward or who have volunteered to explain their vision, and a ballot box will be set up afterward for voting. The ballot box will remain open for 72 hours after the first event before the polls close.

  •  For the story thus far, please catch up with your fellow castaways for read the documented public knowledge Here.
  • Please fill out this new availability poll Here so we can best schedule this event.


Next Event - All Hands Meeting, Cont.

We'll hold an All Hands Meeting where nominees can state their case and pitch their direction. Afterward, the ballot box will be set out for voting.
  • One vote per person
  • Eloquence at GM Eloquence get +1 for at total of two votes as part of their soft influence over offscreen NPCs in society.
 

NPC Roles

The Quartermaster and Sergeant are present to provide narrative justification for what gets approved. There are more player seats, so they should never have to break a tie, but to lay out their "rules":
  • The Quartermaster will always side with the proposal offered by those of the highest Mercantilism Skill. 
  • The Sergeant will always side with the proposal offered those of the highest Eloquence Skill.
  • Will never advocate for violence, or decisions staff can foresee as putting the player in lethal danger. We can't however anticipate or control how other players will receive choices made.
  • Exceptions: Anything antithetical to those governing skillsets, or would outright compromise themselves or the wellbeing of their factions.
  • These NPCs are able to be assassinated if such time a narrative reason is established, but expect their replacements to agree to equal retaliation should the killers be tried and found guilty by the playerbase in some form of public trial, and Forensic Skill to be put into play. Message if you want to do this and we'll work with you to facilitate. 
  • Please see the Wiki to learn more about how Societal Skills are intended to be leveraged in narratives.


Bi-Weekly Committee Meetings

Council will meet bi-weekly (or more, if the players require), open to the public to observe.

We'll try to have a set standing time based on elected availability.


Players should talk to their fellow players throughout the week leading up to the meeting to petition for what they want, or any other concerns to address as a community, so the meeting itself can bring those petitions forward. The NPCs will advise based on their own limitations on how best to address the problems, and then we'll vote on the resulting short list of available projects.


Vacancies

If a council seat becomes vacant due to unavailability, the order of replacement is as follows:

  • The outgoing council member may name their own replacement for that week.
  • If no replacement is named, the runner-up nominees from the original election get first dibs, in order of votes received.
  • If none of the runners-up are available or willing, the seat goes to whichever available player has the highest Eloquence skill.


Other things to Consider

  • Ownership is temporary. Whatever you build, regardless of the time or energy you put toward it, you relinquish any authority or ownership over the area once your character begins in the main game. The only exception is if you choose to retire your character as a permanent NPC through the dialogue tree menu. If/When that time comes and you decide you want to do that, I'll work with you directly to set it up.
  • No execution votes. You cannot vote to execute another player, unless that player consents to it and its coordinated with staff narrative (for example, as part of an attack on the camp's NPCs or vital infrastructure).
  • Main game upgrades are off the table. Industrial processing machinery and Tier 2 cooking, chemistry, or botany upgrades are reserved for the main game.
  • Exceptions to this rule: cold-crop growing in growbeds is something we're willing to support as a beta project as it is within reason to be possible.

PLEASES NOTE: This is something we can do in this small beta environment specifically because it's a smaller, more contained setting that allows for this level of tailor made content. It does not necessarily reflect how civic management will work in the main game. That said, it may help us build macro level tools for an eventual automated player government system down the line between factions and city resources if there's enough interest.



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