Posts made by Arkandel

Izzie finally took a dramatic turn for the worse over the weekend so we had to put her down. Thirteen years with that jerk, and now she's gone. One injection and she just... ended.

I went to her bowl yesterday and noticed it wasn't empty yet.

@Lithium said in Sin City Chronicles:

I have played on many a multi-sphere game an enjoyed it, but there are times when I want to play just Werewolf. Or Just Vampire. Or Just <insert splat here> and sometimes when trying to play that sphere on a multi-sphere game doesn't give the same feel because things are spread to thin.

Not every game can or should be all things to all people.

I like multisphere games. For starters it gives people more room since not every niche is super filled because the number of reasonable concepts is limited by definition, and for another it's fun to explore boundaries raised by miscommunication, manipulation or of course good ol' fashioned tribalism.

The danger with these games is having the spheres end up isolated from each other because then yes, it's an issue. If Changelings are discouraged from hanging out with Werewolves because reasons then the game with 20 players becomes a game with 10+10 players... which is a problem. But that can be solved, and I doubt the folks running this game will let it get to that.

@Thenomain Sub-sheets?

But I dunno what kinds of well-mannered coders you are surrounded by, as for me there are F-bomb-filled obscenities grumbled, grunted and snorted every few minutes on a regular basis.

@Paris Yes, that's the problem. Our body is the product of evolution and it doesn't care about what we want, it really doesn't give a shit we want a sixpack or whatever... it wants to survive. That's all it aims to do.

And since evolution hasn't caught up with the realities of the modern western world yet where food will, for most people, be available tomorrow as it was today, our bodies are trying to ensure we are not going to starve to death because hunting got scarse in the area or the antelopes moved away.

So carbs? Mmm, processed sugar, easy to break down, a ton of energy ready to convert to fat reserves... perfect for the harsh months of winter ahead! Gimme.

@Gingerlily said in Health and Wealth and GrownUp Stuff:

(I'm jesting and not, I've been working on cutting out sugar all summer and have added wheat too and it's just -torture-. But I have failed utterly and done the thing where I behave all day and then 'crack' at 8pm or so, going downstairs and scrounging for whatever contains the most sugar in our kitchen. It's /hard/)

An article I read a while ago said we can treat willpower as a muscle. So you know how you can grab a light weight (say, a cookie jar ) and hold it up at shoulder height, then at first it's easy to keep there but over time it gets harder and harder as our muscles get tired? Willpower is the same way.

So the takeaway from that is to not need to exercise it so much. If every time I walk by the kitchen table I need to resist picking up something delicious but covered in processed sugar then the first time I'll ignore it, the second time it'll be a little bit harder... then it'll find me at a weak point at 11:30pm when I just grab one... or two, on the way to the TV. It's far easier if the delicious stuff isn't there at all to begin with.

I mean that's what worked for me. Other people's takes may vary.

@Gingerlily Pizza is the best food in the world. Delicious, easy to make, easier to eat - you don't even have to look at it while you're munching, let alone use plates or utensils. It can literally come to your door and once you're done, go out in that same box as well. I love it.

I eat pizza twice a year.

I mean, life's not fair.

@Nightshade I never responded to the OP. I responded to @Admiral.

@Paris Oh no, it wasn't free, you spent a lot of time in it that you could have spent doing other more fun or productive things.

... That doesn't help, does it?

@Auspice I feel ya. On an abstract basis I want to RP; in more practical terms I'm finding it increasingly harder to justify sitting in front of a PC for 3 (or apparently more?) hours at a time posing, or at least until a MU* grabs my attention hard. I'm still doing some small scale personal scenes but it's not the same.

Conversely - reading. Ever since I stopped commuting via train where I've been going through my backlog of novels I've essentially stopped reading too. Which I dislike, but I haven't convinced myself so far to take it up during my 'free' time either.

Money is a poor motivator for coders, not because programmers don't appreciate it, but because generally speaking if that's what they're after they can get paid way better for the amount of time they'd need to spend on a MUSH than that.

If you want a programmer they need to be enticed the old-fashioned way; befriend one, make them excited in your vision, get them involved in making something they agree would be really cool to be part of.

@surreality said in Which canon property/setting would be good for a MU* ?:

If I had a nickel for every time somebody told me to 'just use WoD or don't do it' -- which is a system I think is actually crap-awful for MU -- I could have paid all of my hosting bills for the entire time I was doing dev.

I dunno. I mean my project now (I'll ask for input on MSB soon) is pretty much different in just about every way it could be, but I'm going into it realizing the risks; both in that it might never happen, that I could easily attract no help staffing it, or that it could draw no players.

But I'd still take it over rehashing the same dish.

On the other hand it is important to walk into these projects aware of the 'risks'. If your goal is to get the maximum number of players you can, or even to have some players - it's quite an awkward realization but the reason some people make MU* is so they can be staff and be in charge - then the tried-and-true way is the one to go. If not... well, then there's no safety net but maybe the ceiling can be higher, too.

@surreality said in Which canon property/setting would be good for a MU* ?:

And Arx precisely proves the point that people should not be told to NOT create these games because of this potential problem.

Who's telling people to not create these games?

@surreality said in Which canon property/setting would be good for a MU* ?:

Then that's on them if their time is wasted. Seriously. I'm not kidding. We are not children. "I can't be bothered to see if I like something or what it's about before diving in!" is the antithesis of logical behavior.

That's an old problem though, and once again it's not limited to MU* but to most 'cooperative' MMOs in general. When MMORPGs were coming out more often it was a common disclaimer for reviewers that they were basing their impressions on a somewhat limited amount of time spent playing because compared to other types of games that's a necessary evil; you can look at a game on paper, or just from a few glimpses and rush to a conclusion but it's only after you invest considerable hours that you can see the devil in its details.

It should never be a reason people are given to not create original themes, settings, or systems, and yet it often is.

I don't see why people wouldn't create original themes. But they need (and do, I think) knowing the risks; it's easier to make a nWoD game today, right now, than to make a brand new kind with its own mechanics and lore. The number of reasons range from how easy it is to find code made for it, to recruiting staff, to attracting and keeping players... but I doubt any of us will dispute it's a fact.

That doesn't mean such games are doomed. Arx is one of the largest games right now, and it did its own thing. But for each of those there are probably lots of original MU* which are either non-starters or prove to be dead on arrival.

"My friends invited me," is common, sure, but it doesn't turn off one's critical faculties. Those friends should be helping you acclimate if they're going to extend the invite, and they should be pointing out things you need to know, or telling you important things re: what the place is about.

And they do (or did in my case) but it's still a fact learning a new system is harder than not having to learn a new system. And I think it's also an acceptable assertion that not all players enjoy learning new mechanics. We can argue this is right or wrong, but if it's a fact - which I think it is - then we have to figure out ways to deal with it, not chalk it off as their problem.

Else of course more players will gravitate to what's already known and familiar!

@Ominous Remember though that there's only so much you can do on a wiki if you're using printed, copyrighted material for your game. At some point the players will need to consult their rulebook.

@surreality said in Which canon property/setting would be good for a MU* ?:

Do people typically dive into a game and begin CG before skimming the information available on it? That's not a snarky question; it's a serious one. The very idea is completely alien to me, as I always valued my time enough to glance through these materials before ever coming within a mile of a login screen.

Obviously I can't speak on other people's behalf, but just from my own experiences and conversations... yes, absolutely.

For example a very common scenario is being invited to a game by friends. A while ago I was asked to go play a comic book MU* and I did so - I had to familiarise myself with a (pretty interesting, as it turned out) system but that was after the fact... my real interest was rolling Dr. Strange, figuring out what the theme was, etc. There was a lot to absorb.

There are also folks who simply go and play where most people are - you know, that whole 'numbers beget numbers' thing. This happens with Mage all the time but its mechanics are just tricky enough that I know players who've been playing for years and don't really know how it works.

This is by no means unique to MU*, either. There are players on WoW who barely know their own characters' abilities despite raiding with them, they just learn the minimum required to get by and... well, that's it, really. They're there for the companionship, not the game itself.

@surreality said in Which canon property/setting would be good for a MU* ?:

It's the 'OH MY GOD THE WORLD WILL END IF I HAVE TO LEARN A NEW THING!' hand-wringing that's common (and super overwrought) on this generally accepted and normal practice that boggles the mind.

See, this isn't necessarily the way it looks. From a game runner's perspective I can see it; they picked a system which might be a little unfamiliar but not that hard to figure out, why won't players take the time to familiarise themselves? From the players' perspective though, they just logged into a game they're not sure if they'll like yet, so they're sceptical about learning a new system just so they can even get out of CGen.

This doesn't explain everything of course - I know people who've been playing nWoD MU* for years and they still have gaping gaps in their understanding of its mechanics - but it's still very much a thing. Add to it the fact not every roleplayer cares for or even about systems at all; to many they are unnecessary abstractions. Yes, folks still need to respect a game's right to choose and have such things apply to every character, but it does explain why they do so half-heartedly.

@SG I already watched it (crappy quality but I couldn't resist... plus that way I was immune to spoilers).

Holy shit.

I wonder if there's ever been a fictional relationship as shipped in advance - before the characters even met - as Daenerys Targaryen and Jon Snow.

I don't know if it's the nature of the hobby, the tropes behind it (in many books and movies the hero basically does all the things themselves) or players themselves being somewhat placed on the socially awkward spectrum but it's undeniable to me that a lot of people playing just don't like to share the stage. They want their toys all to themselves, and they try - subconsciously or even deliberately - to delegate everyone else into being their audience.

On table-top the guy who splits off from the group and tries to do their thing is usually marginalized fast because everyone else is glaring at him, but on a MU* they do occasionally get away with it; how many times have you been in an 'important' scene, even ones ran by staff, where one or two PCs hog the spotlight and everyone else just has to watch them? As a ST I had the honor of running plot where the one person with Fate and Space 5 wanted to solve the mystery in a couple of rolls at the start before it was clear yet what kind of mystery it was, or having to deal with the other person who when other PCs started also doing things paged me to say it 'got crowded in the PrP' (four people...) and stepped out.

But characters are also often made that way. I'm not talking about twinks but... trying to be able to fit all roles. Talk to spirits, punch the bad guys, investigate the things, do the politics. Sometimes the system sort of allows it but usually they just fake it well enough, or for long enough, that they expect no less and it suffocates plot around them since they go in with the demand that it's about them.

The reactive safeguards are, in order of preference, other players and staff. The latter will often not see it, or they'll actually misread the situation completely and consider those players to be good for their game because hey, they're active! The former often say nothing about it (direct confrontation is another thing our hobby isn't very well known for seeking out) and become inactive or at least disillusioned.

The correct approach is to keep in mind that OOC trumps IC. Getting everyone to play the game and have a share in the fun is orders of magnitude more critical than what the game is or who wins it.

An anonymous, encrypted auto-expiring file-sending service ran by Mozilla to send all your disgusting TS logs to each other.

https://send.firefox.com/