Best posts made by Ortallus

Last thing I'll say, in regards to this whole VG thing:

She did a couple things right, aside from coding. A big one, to me, was the dynamic events and story seasons. Too many MU*s just leave the players to create the story, without any guidance. This can work, sometimes, but usually, for me at least, it leads to disinterest, after watching eons and eons of "Bar RP", and cliques forming.

The events definitely encouraged people to get out and RP. Particularly because they had repercussions, positive and negative, enticing the playerbase to actually be involved. I think that's something that anyone should consider, but especially anyone trying to launch a new MU*, and particularly one involving Fallout.

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@lisse24 said in Encouraging Proactive Players:

@auspice said in Encouraging Proactive Players:

I would not mind running such a scene, but if no one ever tells me they want a research scene, I'm probably not going to just run one off the cuff... because most people don't want scenes like that. In my experience, most people don't show up to scenes like that. They show up to the big flashy action! events.

So you need to at the very least alert your plot runner to the fact that you want to do research via RP. If you never say a thing, they can only assume you don't want that thing.

I generally add OOC notes to my stuff, wrap up scenes with OOC notes, etc. for people to let me know if they want to do more. If they want to follow up on something. If they want to see more scenes. I try to make myself as available as possible (as a Staffer, a player, an ST). I know I am an available person because when I Staff, people are generally perfectly comfortable coming to me with questions (about CG, wiki help, concerns, etc...)...

...but I almost never get followup on plot. This is why I think that the vast majority of people just want to be spoon fed their plot.

Please don't take this the wrong way, but have you ever scheduled a follow-up/research/discussion/planning event for a plot? Because it seems PRPs are usually just these quick action events. More often then not, I walk away from PRPs confused and thinking "Well, what am I supposed to do now?" I can't quite process the action with what I was supposed to have learned with how my character should follow-up. It's not even clear to me whether I should be following up or whether the event was just meant to be a one-off kill-a-thing.

Something isn't real to me and doesn't really penetrate into who the character is until I've had plenty of opportunity to RP about it. I love doing RP about what my character is achieving/accomplishing/involved in, even if no one else picks up quite what's going on. To that end, I, personally, love a library/research/planning scene. I don't think they take away from the story. I think they make the story. I mean, there's a reason those scenes are in every Buffy episode.

Although, I'm probably not the best person to critique PRPs, I largely don't participate in them for all the reasons listed above. If I thought that a PRP would be a meaty thing that really gave me something to sink my teeth in and RP about, though? If I knew there would be follow-up and the plot wouldn't just disappear after a random scene or two? I'd be all over that in a sec.

One thing I really really like is when PrPs have lasting repercussions. I've been on places where admins will read a log, and it'll inspire them to do something. Whether that something is a rumor that hits the streets, or the cops knocking down their door, it gives it that sense of immersion.

@packrat Ugh, I hate when places do that.

I'm ICly from this city. The background that you approved says so. I need to know where there's a water fountain, because my character is dying of thirst. You say "Ask around ICly". I ask, "Where do people hang out to RP?" You say, "Find out ICly". I say, "Are you being serious right now?" and you say, "Ask around ICly".

-.-`

Not saying Armageddon does that, I haven't played there. Just saying I've seen this in general, and it's infuriating.

@karmageddon said in Real World Peeves, Disgruntlement, and Irks.:

I've been on the National Do Not Call Registry since 2004. As of 8/01/2016, the maximum fine is $40,000 USD per call.

Three days ago, someone called me claiming to be from a certain bank where I don't have an account. I informed him I was on the registry. I told him to remove me from his list. I informed him of the fine. I warned him that if he called me again, I would report him to the FCC.

He called again about 25 minutes ago. I told him, "I told you the other day that I was on the Do Not Call Registry. I told you to remove me from your list. I am now reporting you to the FCC."

He immediately hung up.

I immediately reported both calls to the FCC. I'm certain he's made more than two such calls. I'm also certain he will be unable to pay the fines for all those calls.

So even though I'm kinda peeved, I feel good for reporting him.

A while back I got some spam that was -very- well created trying to get my information for my Apple Store account.

I uh.. don't have an Apple Store account.

So I did all the things, reported to the FBI cybercrime website, reported to Apple, got a thank you email from the latter. Pretty gratifying.

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

Presented without comment.

Just FYI, going to personally ignore this thread. I think it's run it's course, and don't need to keep seeing it pop up.

Thanks to everyone for keeping it largely civil. I wish Armageddon the best, and hope that the people who go there and enjoy the setting enjoy it wholeheartedly. It's just not what I personally am looking for just now.

@ganymede Anxiety and depression have little to nothing to do with how successful you are, or how good your job, kids, parents and in-laws are. Anxiety and depression are medical conditions caused by an imbalance in your brain's chemistry. There's nothing to feel stupid about. Your feelings are valid. Don't suppress them, evaluate them. Converse with them. Question why they are acting up.

But above all, breathe.

After you breathe, and after you've evaluated your feelings, then ask yourself what you can do to slow those feelings down. Not just in the short term, but in the long term. Try to figure out if those feelings are, legitimately or not, trying to protect you from something, and then work to convince yourself that you don't need protection from whatever that is.

I see there were a couple guest logins this morning and someone spoke to Uta. I'm on now so if you guys need any help or have any questions hop on in. It really is a great place and I'd love to see more people join (even though they do have a good healthy pbase).

@solstice Oh I generally enjoy anime and animation, but Horimiya on the surface looked like a CW show aimed at highschoolers. Something about it though just resonated and I found it to be absolutely friggen adorable and fun and I was cheering for a Hori/Miya relationship from minute one. It's super kawaii.

@greenflashlight said in Good TV:

@groth said in Good TV:

I don't feel being white is particularly key to Tony Stark or Spider-Man in part because their iconic look is fully suited up.

I think being white is pretty key to Tony Stark, only because I'd very much want to know the backstory of how a black American got to be the richest man in the world after inheriting a position as the government's primary if not sole weapons supplier from his father during World War II. In a fictional world we're meant to understand closely parallels our own, him having those advantages in America while not being white opens a lot of question about how his planet's history unfolded differently from ours.

And it's good that Marvel is finally addressing these sorts of issues, a la Falcon as the new Cap and inclusion of Isiah Bradley.

@crawfish said in Random funny:

I see this nonsense and want to poke @saosmash .

@macha said in Real World Peeves, Disgruntlement, and Irks.:

@ortallus Oh hey, let's pick a bunch of conventionally gorgeous people what could fit in on any CW show, and let them talk and talk and get attached to people in a bubble, and then cause drama in RL?

FUCK THIS SHIT.

While also managing to fuck over one of the most struggling professions because pandemics don't create a lot of opportunities to take pictures of groups of people.

Kind'a glad I'd already put a pause on my Netflix account, because this would have made me cancel my sub, for sure. This is f'n degrading and dehumanizing on so many levels.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PEe-ZeVbTLo

Morning. Nice day for fishin, innit?

This resonates with me so damn hard.

@lotherio said in Good TV:

Re: Jupiter's Legacy

I liked it, fight scenes didn't bother me so much. The story was more interesting. I think the origin story for the Union is good played out but much longer than presented in the comics.

At times the origin dragged a little and maybe part of why the 2nd gen felt a little flat. There's lots of relations they've built as kids growing up in a super society that are all off screen and assumed it seems.

This said, I enjoyed it too, has me wanting to do another OC supers MU* but the last one didn't get any tractions alas (but coral springs is still being played by a few people).

As far as I know, Champions MUSH is still around.

Personally, I REALLY prefer OC super hero stuff, as I never feel like I can do justice to pre-existing heroes. And also, it seems like SuperHero MUSHes tend to degrade into like, who's dating who, and not a lot of 'action' going on aside from that, and they also tend to lack any sort of statted system. So I'd just as soon play something OC, make my own char within a system (like Champions) and go from there.

Personal pref. =P

@macha said in Health and Wealth and GrownUp Stuff:

I am so very tired, and emotionally about to overload. I'm tired of having to work two jobs to be able to afford a used car, half the rent for a halfway decent 2 bedroom apt, utilities, and a couple credit cards.

I'm working 2 jobs, trying to help a game, trying to find a new apartment to live in, and it's just too much. The chronic pain has been better, but there are still days when I feel like I've been hit by a truck.

And I'm mad at myself right now, because the brain weasels just told me 'people will laugh at you, because you're not really doing that much'. Now I want to go cry again.

Sorry. Needed to get it out somewhere.

Something people don't realize: 2 part time jobs = more than one full time job -regardless of the hours involved-. I don't know your particular case, but a lot more goes into working 2 jobs than just being there. There's travel, there's shifting mental gears, there's sometimes changing outfits which means more laundry. It can be an awful lot!