Posts made by Coin

@faraday said in Attachment to old-school MU* clients:

@coin That just comes down to what ports your work firewall has blocked. The fact that they're draconian enough to block the web portal ports but somehow missed the client ports says more about your work IT than the superiority of MU clients

(But seriously - if you can look at the browser console (View -> Developer -> Javascript Console in Chrome; other browsers vary) it will show the exact error. Maybe there's something weird going on. Feel free to PM me with details and maybe there's something to be done, but I doubt it.)

I was less lauding the superiority of clients and more just thanking the variety of connectivity options. XD

It's weird af because I used to be able to get onto the portal. Ares Central works fine, too, as does the Discord webapp. So it's really weird.

But I'll take a look when I go in on Monday and see what it says. Thanks.

Man, I just went back to the office yesterday and for some reason NONE of the Ares games I play will load on my Chrome (or other browsers) at work. None of them. They load the tab icon and the background image for the site, and nothing else.

No idea why.

But I can log in to the games via client.

So, you know, thank you for keeping the client compatibility around.

Some people made a game!

Dove Cove is a sandboxy bit of slice of life drama with a little bit of a twist. There is no deep far-reaching metaplot. Instead, we will be running a series of encapsulated stories within the setting that we've established. These may run the gamut from the sorts of stories you might see on daytime and prime-time dramas, cop shows, forensic shows, hospital shows, procedurals of various types, murder mysteries, crime dramas, and various other town-related nonsense. There is also the added twist that those who come to the area find that they are able to slip in and out of one another's dreams, sometimes sharing dreams with individuals or entire groups. Why this happens is a mystery, and perhaps in time that story will evolve, but for now it's merely an excuse to explore dreams and traveling through dreams with others that one encounters in Dove Cove.

We have lots of game info for people to read through if they stop by! We look forward to you visiting!

https://cove.mugames.org

cove.mugames.org port 4201

@insomniac7809 said in Random funny:

@ominous said in Random funny:

@greenflashlight
They're being too clever for their own good. Humans love right angles. We surround ourselves with them even though they're unnatural.
Behold the bane of Dracula!

Response to an older post, but:

This is the vampire conceit behind Peter Watts' Blindsight and Echopraxia. His vampires are a subspicies of humans that evolved a protein deficiency that required predation on other human beings. They developed significant strength, sociopathy, hypersavantism, and the ability to hibernate when prey was scarce to make themselves able to survive as predators of human beings. They also developed, do to a quirk of their optical processing, a glitch where filling the majority of their visual field with intersecting lines triggers a fatal grand mal seizure.

Yes, this makes it impossible for vampires to survive around human settlements, which is why they went extinct.

I was going to comment this. XD

@lilli said in Birmingham: The Entangled City (BhamMu*):

Somebody is going to be making the spells. Just a matter of whom.

I guess the easiest way is to just say that here are the prereqs for being able to cast that spell with a modicum of normal success, and let the player determine if they want to give it a go or not. As their 'power' or 'skill' is the actual determinant, not the spell itself.
i.e. Anyone can look up the spell in the library, database, ask-a-wiz-network, etc.

For Example. Create Volcano. Fire/Earth. TN: 6 successes. Let's say you need 4,5,6 on a six sided die to create a success.
Anyone with Fire/Earth can try. But it's still going to be a weak volcano if a Fire 1 wizard manages to accomplish it... You'd need popcorn dice of some sort for a Fire 1 to have a chance.

Or you can set a TN with a total to beat, and a create a system that has both skill and power. ie <skill>D<power>. This tends to make skill the more prominent for getting it done, but power the possibility for doing greater things.

Anyways, off the original post. No two people, well, even the same person, will run the same adventure with the same TN levels every time. It's why pre-made characters and modules are used in tournaments? So it is with spell approvals, as well.

My concern would be more with the non-mages. What do they get? Or maybe worded how much more is a mage spending to get this ability to do or research anything? Especially if there is any kind of PvP allowed.

In closing, it won't matter. Your game, your concept. It's your baby. You'll attract the people who like it, and etc.

I feel like you didn't take a real look at the website. The type of dice roll and system is pretty clear (and does not at all conform to anything you exemplified) and it seems pretty clear that there aren't non-Mage PCs.

@de-villefort said in Birmingham: The Entangled City (BhamMu*):

@cobalt

Honest opinion? Scrap it and start over.

To prevent magic from spiraling into a mess of chaos and power gaming you have to start really basic. Also, if you have to define every magical effect as your players make them up, you're going to end up needing a full time staffer just for that. Simpler is better.

Earth, Air, Fire, Water, Mind, Spirit, Life, Time, and finally Transmutation.

Approach it like old school Mage from WoD does. If you have rank 1 in <element> you can do this kind of stuff. If you have rank 2 you can do that kind of stuff and so forth and so on. Not spells but guidelines. Say, at Water 2 you can shape or control X amount of mass of the water and conjure half that much into being.

Magic should be like building with lego blocks and each block should be clearly defined.
Don't just say your magic system is part science, part magic, make it work like that. Define elements, rules and set up guidelines then let the players build things with those elements.

Want to turn a person into a statue? Life 3 to seize control of the person's body, Transmutation 3 to transform one level 3 worth of mass into another element and Earth 3 to shape that amount of mass into a statue.

You could use Life3, Transmute 3, earth 1 to turn them into earth but they would be a lose pile of dirt instead of a statue because you need earth 3 to maintain the stability of the mass of stone in the statue shape until the transmutation process is complete.

If you have a system where everything is defined by properties and values you don't need to write out every spell and every ritual because the requirements can be self-evident.

I kind of feel like if Cobalt wanted to run a Mage game, or even an Ars Magica game, she would make a Mage game or an Ars Magica game.

It kind of feels like you want to play something completely different from what she's clearly aiming for and instead of, you know, finding that okay, you want something entirely different because ... it's... your preference? Lol. Come on, now.

Also, LOL at Mage-style magic systems "preventing magic from spiraling into a mess of chaos and power gaming".

@lotherio said in Player Omsbudsman?:

@derp said in Player Omsbudsman?:

There's an assumption being made here that the only people who would need such a position are somehow "bad staffers."

Not quite, some folks are saying the perception of having one by some players will be 'there must be something wrong if they need a player representative' - not that only bad staff need one. I'm in that boat, and agree, if staff just work to be trusted they'll be trusted versus requiring an additional staff just to build trust. (not that any or all need this or this advice either)

Pretty much. If that assumption is being made, I don't see it.

What is happening is that there is a distinction being made between a person who advocates for players to staff and a person who clarifies and facilitates communication between players and staff.

The former is indicative of a larger problem; the latter just takes into account differences in human behavior and the nuances of human interaction and communication.

But they are very distinct.

@ganymede said in Player Omsbudsman?:

@coin

So? If staff recognizes that problem, why is an ombudsman not a solution?

Not everyone communicates effectively online.

If communication is an issue, then you get someone that can communicate effectively, not an advocate for players. If your game needs someone to advocate for players to staff, then the problem is much bigger than communication.

If you're running a game and you need an intermediary between staff and the players, then there's a problem somewhere, probably in the way that staff relates to the players in general.

@greenflashlight said in Good TV:

I get the "I don't like the art style" argument. Like, I want to watch the new He-Man cartoon just to piss off the chuds who are complaining that the show is RUINED FOREVER because He-Man (more like "She's The Man," amirite?) sold out to Hollywoke, but ugh, it's so hard for me to look at those promo clips and not see that commercial of the two dudes in the muscle suits dancing together in a bar.

@coin said in Good TV:

Young Justice Season 4 is coming out October 21.

I'll be damned.

Yuuuuuuuuuuuuuuup.

Titans Season 3 is coming out August 12.
Doom Patrol Season 3 is coming out September 23.
Young Justice Season 4 is coming out October 21.

Excite.

@runescryer said in MUs That We Would Love To Make (But Won't):

Hmmmmm.......what have we here?

For folks looking for a system for TLA/LoK...

https://magpiegames.com/avatarrpg/

And the Kickstarter begins August 3rd.

But, I mean, it's not like there's any real interest in an Avatar MU, right?

You can do Avatar pretty easy with FS3 the same way @GirlCalledBlu and @Seraphim73 made elemental powers and integrated them into their The Savage Skies set-up. It would even turn into having actual fights with dice. That would be nice.

@arkandel said in Good TV:

@coin I haven't watched it yet, but it's legitimate to be peeved if the protagonist of a show you really like becomes (or seems like it) part of the support cast in a reboot.

I don't think that's necessarily a gender thing.

I mean, a couple of technicalities in that it's not the same show and not a reboot; it's more of a sequel, or continuation.

And I mean, people can be peeved, but like, I didn't say a single thing about gender; in fact, I think you're the first one to bring it up.

If people are complaining because the main characters are the women of the show, then it definitely is about gender in at least some way or another.

Like I said: it's very telling that they named it Masters of the Universe: Revelations instead of He-Man and the Masters of the Universe: Revelations. I think it was on purpose, and a lot of the people who are gonna rage and feel bamboozled are also the kind of people who will sit and nitpick tiny little details and rant about them on YouTube.

So. >.> Whatevs. They can die mad. XD

@testament said in Good TV:

@coin I think a lot of people's gripes was the fact that the trailers gave the expectation that there'd be a lot more He-Man when the first half the season is based more around Teela. Which is fine. Besides the fact that they only released half the first season, I think people should calm down a bit before getting out the pitchforks.

I mean, I guess?

I thought it was VERY telling that they called it Master of the Universe rather than the original title...

Dude, I really liked it. I don't know what people are complaining about. I think people went in with some serious expectations that they had no reason to actually have.

@de-villefort said in MUs That We Would Love To Make (But Won't):

@coin said in MUs That We Would Love To Make (But Won't):

lol. Why am I surprised. You have a very, very limited concept of what is worth roleplaying so everything makes sense now.

I don't have the time or energy to waste on a scene that is going to go nowhere an accomplish nothing. I don't understand why you think it's a good use of your time. Sitting around a table talking about how good the donuts are or how spicy the chili fries are at the bowling alley is a waste of everyone's time both IC and OOC.

Think about it, have you ever seen anyone actually have coffee shop chatter in the real world?
Have you ever seen total strangers just sit down at a table and start talking about benign, mundane, stuff for no reason?

Ever see anyone organize a group of strangers for a one-off bowling game then leave without having any other form of contact outside of bowling?

No, you haven't because it's crazy and a massive waste of everyone's time.
Most people don't do it IRL. Some people might do it.
Those people are freaks and weirdos in the eyes of the public because it's abnormal.
So why is it expected in RPGs?

Just eat your donut or drink your beer alone like a normal person who doesn't bother strangers. If you want to bring chatter to the place the invite someone you know and maybe they can invite someone they know and you can all get to know each other but this whole idea that it's cool and expected to just start talking to people you don't know needs to stop.

yikes

@de-villefort said in MUs That We Would Love To Make (But Won't):

I realize Clark Kent could go to some random gala as a reporter and Bruce Wayne could show up at a random bowling alley in Gotham to hang out with the plebeians... but why...? Why would you want to role play that?

The person you are presenting yourself as is a lie. The person the other players characters are presenting themselves as is also a lie.

You both ends up talking about meaningless stuff with people you know you're never going to have any real connection too because you're lying to their face and all you can hope to get out of it is a chance to arrange to meet them again to talk about more meaningless stuff while you continue to lie to each other.

Why bother?

... why both--

lol. Why am I surprised. You have a very, very limited concept of what is worth roleplaying so everything makes sense now.

@de-villefort said in MUs That We Would Love To Make (But Won't):

@lotherio

I didn't think I needed to explain this but here we go...

There is no idea, no cause, no statement or even fact backed by thousands of years of research that everyone agrees on 100%.

We can't even get 100% of humans to agree that the earth is round.
There will always be some chucklefuck that will find something to argue about even the most obvious truths.

When I write, "Everyone thinks X" It means "A great many people" think X is true.
When I write "Games who do X result in Y" it means "Quite often games who do X result in Y"

There are no absolutes. I would have assumed that as adults, everyone here would understand this but that is my fault for assuming the intelligence and maturity of the posters here. I shouldn't have assumed. You have my sincerest apologies.

lol, the level of pedantry you're shoveling here is amazing. maybe take it to the Hog Pit; this is the mildly constructive area.

if you want to be a chucklefuck, this is not the appropriate place in the forum.

@lotherio said in MUs That We Would Love To Make (But Won't):

@de-villefort said in MUs That We Would Love To Make (But Won't):

The problem with most RPG settings and coffee shop chatter is that in most games you are keeping secrets.

Not to be rude but I think this is the issue I keep seeing in your responses. You keep speaking in absolutes. Modern moral/tech just can't be done, its boring. Most RPG settings are about keeping secrets. Literally, there are plenty that are PvE with open info (no OOC masques).

There are plenty of other games out there. Sure plenty of games where its kept a secret, but plenty of other games too. Its coming off argumentative. Most games are not WoD where you can't talk about whether or not your some supernatural being.

lmao, for reals.

@reversed said in MUs That We Would Love To Make (But Won't):

Lately for me it's a matter of time, energy, and all the other things that are in frustratingly short supply between work, health, and other RL factors.

If Other Player X invites me to come along on the Island of Mysteriously Uncomfortable Chairs PRP, I'm likely to go. If Other Player X is holding an open-to-all Arbor Day Party, I might go if I feel up to it, but that's far less likely. In the former, there's an objective I can focus toward, and in the latter, if I don't have the energy or the focus coming from my own self, it's easy to just watch paragraph after paragraph whiz by on the screen and go 'okay.'

But that's just me and the situation I'm in lately. I can't speak for anyone else or their thoughts on why they're not going to Arbor Day parties.

"Bar RP" or "Social RP" doesn't have to be "big scene RP" either. It can be one-on-one, or just a small group.

But it can't just all be big plot events. I mean, it can, but its lacking a large chunk of the meat, IMO.