Posts made by Arkandel

@Duntada said in What locations do you want to RP in?:

Does that sound like a kind of place that would be acceptable, or would the "high stress" you think be too much for most characters?

It really depends on what you want to do thematically, there's no real one definite answer to this question.

For starters it's really easy to say "if $thing happens then there will be consequences" but what does that really mean? For instance back on HM there used to be attacks in Elysium all the time because yes, theoretically someone would do something about it but in practice who was that? Staff were either never informed (so note: need a systemic way to transmit that information to staff), too overworked to do something about it (so note: *need more human resources) or didn't care to go into the drama that often came of Elysium brawls (so note: need better staff).

What I'm trying to say is that as we introduce systems into games they need to make thematic sense - do we want spheres/factions to cooperate, to have tension between them, to be in open war except for these pockets of peace? - and then to ensure there are adequate resources for these systems to function. And since everything in the game needs to tap into those same resources prioritisation becomes the issue; so it gives rise to other questions, such as how important as these rooms? What are they providing you? Do they work for most characters or would they be actually avoided by some? Will the Lost go hang out with Guardians of the Veil, both of them being super paranoid folks in general? Maybe, but you still need to ask the question ahead of time.

You get my drift. I like the approach you propose, and it could fit the right MU* very well, but you need to know the MU* before you can determine if it does fit.

@Meg All I expect/want from the set description is a consistent environment. That's it.

Are there booths or just tables? Just seats at the bar? Is there a jukebox?

But no one reads those damn things. I remember when it was revealed to me there was no fountain in Xanadu on Shang, even though people have been posing it being there for years.

@Coin Yeah, Eldritch had a lot more 'character' as a city, albeit a fictional one, than real ones used as models for typical WoD games.

But then again you spent a lot more time developing and maintaining theme. Most game runners just slap this stuff on a wiki and they call it a day.

@Pondscum But what a justice boner at the end!

@ThatOneDude I agree that location on a MU* means very little to me most of the time. Unless significant effort is taken on a regular basis not even the city is that important - most of the time it's just flavor text for a game set in Boston but really it could have been New York or Chicago and no one would have noticed - let alone if there are three bars or two on the grid.

The only time grid is important is when a game is already very well populated as then the chances of running into people randomly are vastly increased; in those cases yes, you want to encourage your players to be out and about instead of stuck into inaccessible RP rooms.

In fact I would even claim in smaller games it's often an undesired trait to be findable. When there are 8 people online stalking +where looking for RP and you start a small meeting at a bar then very often you end up with a gargantuan scene as everyone flocks there; in a larger game things scale up more smoothly (unless they don't, such as for public PrPs, but that's a different story).

@Jennkryst Settings based/depended on canon 'secrets' of any kind would either not work too well for a MU* if set at the time of the original work, or they are set so that the advantage of instant familiarity with the material is negated.

For instance place a Lord of the Rings game around the time of the books and every other character will 'know' about the Ringbearer's mission. You can place it fifty years after Sauron's fall and then you miss out on a lot of elements that make that Middle Earth recognisable and popular.

@tragedyjones Sphere-only hangouts (Turs, Elysium, etc), mixed-sphere supernatural hangouts if applicable, and general public hangouts (bars, restaurants, etc).

Everything else is circumstantial for me, and usually/often spoofed as needed.

@Blood_Magic Well, not quite. I mean it is energy too, absolutely... conditioning matters in everything, but in this case it's got more to do with how one activity translates into another.

There are long studies about how to best preprae for sports, or how much getting stronger in one motion affects another; as it turns out there seems to be a correlation but it's by no means an absolute as long as you're comparing apples to apples. In other words the guy who's very active and works out will be far better than a second guy who's a couch potato, but if the second guy is also involved in their activity of choice then generally speaking it won't be that close.

The body is a very specific machine to train; it becomes more efficient and better at exactly the things you make it do. It's a common advice in weightlifting that if you want to improve your bench you need to bench more; basketball professional athletes mostly train by playing more basketball. Swimmers swim a lot... and so on. You can get benefits from cross-training but your focus always defines what you're the best at. In fact even range of motion matters; do a partial squat (oh-so common) and your quads and glutes will get stronger for that range; your muscles don't have a crap to give that you want them to get stronger overall, they only improve to match the very specific challenge you're forcing them to compensate for.

So pilates just works different angles and tests muscles for things compound barbell movements don't. That's basically where I'm getting at. Sure, energy is a bit thing too, but that's not why you're sore as fuck the day after - you're not tired, that's all DOMS.

I like multi-tiered approaches to this problem. Then again that's just my preference.

So for example there's an overall "soft cap"; oldbies can go over it but at a rate of diminishing returns. Then having different ways of advancing toward that cap for those below it - a small but steady trickle of automatic XP, running/participating in PrPs, activity-based incentives like +votes or what have you, etc.

There's just a room somewhere in between newbies catching up too fast that invalidates investment yet not quite where dinosaurs dominate everything from their silver thrones so that it takes many months if not years to get anywhere close, and it's what I'd target.

Oh, and a sidekick system would be nice. Maybe that's similar to what your 'flashback' feature is? Some MMORPGs have tried it with varying success.

Damn. I was hopeful after he was doing better. My condolences to his family.

@Autumn said in POLL: Super Hero MU Gut Check:

@Lithium I think it would be interesting to have a level-based game where everyone stayed more or less in the same level band as time went on.

I've thought a lot over time about level progressions and I'd be interested in seeing how that sort of approach actually worked on an existing game. My take is that without the carrot of progression a game would feel stale and the players less motivated to stay active or do things; if you've been playing for six months and by just logging on I am either at the same point in the power curve or will catch up in the next two weeks it just feels... sandbox-y to me. At that point isn't it better to go with a level-less approach in favor of something more generic, removing a layer of abstracted complexity for a more freeform approach?

But just because I don't like it on paper it doesn't mean it wouldn't work, so... curious.

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

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

@Misadventure I'm not a huge fan of the genre ( @surreality being excited about it enough to make a game was enough to get me want to give it a try, but that's because it's @surreality), I just think it can be done if it's just right.

If my heart was in it at the moment I would still be working on it. It's just really not at the moment. Will update if that changes, though.

Your heart being in it is the reason I liked the idea.

There are a number of people here who are pretty good and if they're peripherally involved in a game ("I'll handle some +jobs for you guys") it's a good sign but nothing I'd get excited about if I don't care for the overall concept.

But again if the same people handle a project as their opus and they start pouring their hearts and souls into it then that is something to take note of, and worth giving a shot regardless. It doesn't happen often, as we're all a bunch of jaded burnouts in our little dark hearts, yet when it does...

@Misadventure I'm not a huge fan of the genre ( @surreality being excited about it enough to make a game was enough to get me want to give it a try, but that's because it's @surreality), I just think it can be done if it's just right.

A "ship mission" doesn't need to be different than a "dungeon crawl" in D&D; it'd be silly of people to geographically isolate themselves long-termly by making it necessary to be on a ship for X days/weeks at a time, separate than the game. Likewise there be a single central port where they all gather between missions - since that's where most of the RP will take place - even if, due to having ships at their disposal they can have scenes in different locations if they want to.

It's doable. Like much else it depends on the setup. The other problems you mention are basically universal across almost every game ever.

@Misadventure Yes.

@ThatGuyThere said in RL things I love:

I so hate the 'social team building activities' that a former employer would have. Since you cannot really relax and enjoy them because you still have to be on work behavior. and I would much rather be working than having to fake enjoying myself at some activity I just want to end.

It's a movie, man. You just sit there in the dark and watch the funny pictures. It also depends on the team - for example I play basketball with my coworkers and the way we talk and act on the court (including f-bombs) is way different than how it is in the workplace.

But yes, it does depend on what the person 'in charge' of the social outings expects. They can totally blow it.

@Warma-Sheen said in Star Wars: Dawn of Defiance:

I used to be a player there. Whoever is headstaff there now (not sure if that's you or not - I forget names) have their own characters rolling roughshod over every sphere. If you buddy up to them, things are great. If you go against them staff requests hit brick wall after brick wall. Its just not fun to have to deal with that. You can't win. You won't win.

Oh, that's a game-killer right there.

To add to @Ghost's comments, what's your goal, OP? What do you actually want to accomplish? If you know that then you can figure out if it's worth offering advice.

Are you trying to fix how a character is played to fit your interpretation? Is it to let the other play have a piece of your mind? Is it to escalate ("I told him it was wrong, but he didn't change it, so that's why I'm bringing it to you now Mr/Ms Staff") if needed?

What's your goal here?