Episode 93: A People's Guild Roundtable

Episode 93: A People's Guild Roundtable

Welcome back to the People's Guild for another episode. We sit down with two prominent community members in this one to get their take on all that's going on throughout Praetoria at the moment.

We welcome back to TPG both @azircon and @davemccoy as we make our way through the full gamut of pressing topics - the pursuit of a CEX listing, the development of SPS Chain validator nodes, the ranked updates and much more.

Enjoy the show!

And, for those of you interested, here is the Google form referenced in the episode. I will continue to collect data there for another 5-6 days before shutting it down. Feel free to submit your own feedback as well as share with others to provide their own.

Hive's Status, Future Plans, and Unique Mission

Azircon, a Hive stakeholder, discussed the company's current status and future plans, highlighting that Hive is listed on the Hive blockchain, which is more funded than the Splinterlands DAO, with about $45 million in hyped out. He revealed that Hive is currently engaged in various social projects and has an upcoming $100,000 promotional program. Azircon also mentioned a plan to leverage Splinter Land, an app on top of Hive, for a Launch Pad listing as part of an independent ad campaign. The discussion concluded with Bjangles questioning Azircon's belief in Hive's significance, to which Azircon responded that while opinions differ, Splinter Land would suffer without Hive. Azircon and Dave further discussed the infeasibility and lack of interest in moving Hive to another blockchain due to financial and foundational issues. Hepthorn suggested the possibility of Hive forking to become a layer 2 on another main blockchain, but Azircon stated that no top stakeholders or witnesses of Hive showed interest in that. Bjangles then discussed the unique mission of Hive in addressing real-world problems in developing nations and its potential impact on local economies.

Digital Trading Card Game Project Vision and Improvements

Bjangles and Dave discussed their long-term vision for the digital trading card game project, emphasizing the importance of slow, steady growth and attracting the right type of players. They highlighted the need for patience, good tokenomics, and a stable team in the cryptocurrency market. They also addressed issues with the current design of the game, specifically the unbalanced situation of bronze-level players facing off against max-level decks, and suggested solutions such as not resetting accounts until they reached their appropriate level, and allowing the use of max-level cards. Bjangles provided context, suggesting that recent layoffs and resulting understaffing might have caused some of the system's speed issues.

DAO's Financial Situation and Proposal Evaluations

The team discussed various proposals related to the DAO's financial situation and potential expenditures. Bjangles brought up the idea of using Launchpad as a tool for finance, but Dave expressed concerns about the cost and feasibility of the proposal. Another proposal to hire third-party developers for validator licenses was also met with skepticism about the cost and impact on the DAO's financial stability. The team decided not to fund this proposal, opting to keep their stable stash for more impactful spending. Lastly, the team discussed the process of proposing solutions and the need for a more organized approach to addressing issues.

Proposal Process, Maturity, and Hive DHF

Azircon led a discussion about the complexities of the proposal process within the team, emphasizing the importance of maturity and compromise. Dave agreed, citing examples of productive conversations that resulted in compromise. The team also experienced some technical difficulties. Lastly, Azircon explained the funding structure of Hive DHF, the proposal process for funding, and the benefits of the system for the Hive ecosystem. He also clarified the differences between Splinter and Hive DHF, noting that Splinter Lands has never had a direct proposal written to Hive DHF.

Validator Node Promotion and Proposal Process Improvements

Azircon and Bjangles discussed the potential of promoting Validata node, a second-layer blockchain technology, over individual products. Bjangles proposed changes to the current proposal process due to its messy and political nature, suggesting the automatic consideration of any proposal containing the 100K DEC for the official proposal stage. The team also agreed on the need for a clearer and better process for naming things and a discovery phase for information gathering before the proposal phase. The discussion concluded with the suggestion of reaching out to Clay and removing certain expectations, proposing instead to call the phase 'discovery' with the goal of cyclical feedback and implementation of edits and amendments.

Discussing New Rank System Concerns

Azircon sought Hepthorn's perspective on the current state of the game and the sentiment among players. Hepthorn expressed his concerns about the new rank system, stating that it was not an improvement on the previous one and had led him to pause his previous strategy due to uncertainty and the high cost of cards in the new meta. He also mentioned his struggles in gold matches and his preference for playing at a level that matched his skill. The conversation ended with discussions on the issue of resetting player rankings at the end of each season and the need for a more effective system.

Video Game Ranking Impact and Solutions

Dave and Azircon discussed the concept of ranking in video games and its impact on players, with Dave agreeing to write a post on his thoughts. Bjangles shared concerns about the current system's impact on new and casual players, suggesting the need for improvements to maintain the game's integrity and encourage new players. The team agreed to explore solutions to the issues raised, including removing league thresholds and allowing players to choose their league level. Bjangles committed to collecting and analyzing data through a Google survey and sharing the results with the team. The team also discussed the progress made in their project and acknowledged contributions from team members.

Enhancing Playing Experience and Mode

Bjangles presented a proposal to enhance the playing experience by providing all players with a maximum modern ghost card deck for rank play upon purchasing a spell book, while also introducing a reward system based on the cards owned by the players. The team discussed the potential of a new mode, proposed by Dave, which would allow players to use different league's decks, but agreed that match liquidity is a critical component to implement it. Concerns were raised about introducing bots into the current game system, which could disrupt the balance of the game, and the team concluded that a new mode should be introduced separately from the existing game to maintain its depth and balance.

Sales Discussion and Market Trends

The team discussed the current state of their sales, which had experienced a decrease in players and losses in tokens over the past ten days. Despite this, the team was encouraged to continue efforts and communicate with developers to drive the game forward. Dave shared his long-term bullishness but short-term concerns, comparing the situation to previous market trends, and emphasized the importance of maintaining liquidity in their community company. The team also discussed market trends, the impact on their funding for development, and the need for capital discipline. They agreed on the importance of considering what makes people comfortable, particularly regarding financial decisions.

DAO Project Funding and Asset Management

The team discussed the funding and asset management of the DAO project, focusing on the usage of Splinterland assets and the potential sale of non-Splinterland assets. They debated the balance between increasing supply and demand, with a particular emphasis on the DEC product, and the impact of selling DEC on the market and community salaries. The team also discussed the need to increase the stable stash, with a long-term goal of reaching the peg and realizing a small profit. The conversation ended with acknowledgments of the team's contributions and an open anticipation for future meetings.

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