Best posts made by SparklesTheClown

I'm not completely new to coding as a concept, but I've also never coded anything particularly complicated. Like, if I look at code I can kind of figure out what's going on with it.

That said, I mostly just want a grid, boards, and at best a simple dice type deal just in case people need it. My general MU building philosophy is to build for the kind of players I want, so while I do enjoy a nice combat system, I think a combat system is only something I would add if I genuinely believed it would contribute to the kind of game I'm building. Like, if I was making a Dragon Ball Z game, I would 100% want a combat system.

While what I'm working on is something many would go "That DEFINITELY needs a combat system", I just have a particular mindset for this. I kind of have in mind who all will want to play it, so beyond that it's kind of icing on the cake. I don't even mind if it ends up being a game with like ten players to be honest. The process of making this game is something I'm doing because creatively I just have the burning desire to do it. My vision for it isn't super ambitious or revolutionary, I just think it'll be a fun game to play.

I'm vague on purpose because I don't want to get people hyped up like in my old thread. I'll say something substantial once I'm closer.

@Chime I'm learning C++. If I ever decide to make a game instead of making money, I'll make all of my games in C++, but there will be no particular difference from a MUSH. Mostly to prove a point.

Obviously I should call it MUSH MUD: Honey Jack and Coke by Night.

Also, you really know how to deliver on code!

@krmbm Oh yeah, no doubt about that, I was just saying that I want it to be easier. Like, one or two trips to the help files rather than having it open on a constant basis because the code is so complicated.

What's the best approach to learn Ruby for Ares, preferably while actively constructing the game itself?

I actually went and looked at their forum. I had no idea it was a 20+ year old community (I must have looked over that on the first post), I thought it was a new thing. Poking around the forum, it seems interesting.

It's like some kind of strange anti-WORA, where people have productive discussion and are nice to each other. How in the world weren't we aware that it exists?

That said, it now makes perfect sense why people devolved into arguing.

I'm going to go drink this iced coffee now. It's the one time of year where I drink a coffee and slow my brain down a bit, to see what it feels like to be a regular person that can focus on one activity and thought at a time!

That quiet moment where you just sit there and don't think anything at all.

So weird.

@surreality said in Health and Wealth and GrownUp Stuff:

@HelloProject Two points of awesome: not only are you there, you're right next to another dear friend of mine. Congrats!

Bizarrely all the people I'm next to are the people I'm closest with as far as friends on that project. I think it was on purpose.

@Kanye-Qwest said in Diversity Representation in MU*ing:

uh i have no idea what mechanic this is but it SOUNDS racist af, just from those terms. Never thought I'd be an elf apologist but EVERYONE SUCKS BUT HUMANS is yikes.

Lmao this was my reaction, though I at least get the sentiment of making races noticeably different.

Ironically much of the tabletop industry I've been involved with lately is trying to fix all the weirdly unfortunate racial implications from older books (or just outright racist things, which I'll discuss more when one of the books is out and I'm allowed to talk about it).

@insomniac7809 said in Diversity Representation in MU*ing:

Not gonna lie, if I need to read an ethnography to roll up a PC I probably won't.

I don't know what's different between a few pages explaining a culture and literally an entire WoD book that does the same thing, except it's a whole ass book.

@Jaunt I noticed how you mentioned MUSHes and customer service. I can't speak for everyone else, because my RPing background is insanely broad and looks like complete nonsense. But in MUSHes I don't think it's generally seen as super professional staff leading the players like customers and such.

Don't get me wrong, there is -some- level of professionalism expected. There are certain lines that staff are expected not to cross, or else they lose the trust of the players. But I think that when it comes to MUSHing (Which I'm kind of using as a general term because when I say MU* this forum's dumb code hates me), people are probably more inclined to trust people who see themselves as just players with extra responsibility.

In MUSHing, it's less customer service, and more, "Can I trust this person to solve a problem/not be a dick/not post shit on MUSB". Ultimately, we're a community, and if not friends then at least mutual friend-like people who just want to enjoy a hobby.

If you think of it like politics, you come out better by being Jimmy Carter or Bill Clinton rather than Lyndon B. Johnson or Bush Sr.

I know fuck-all about Lyndon B. Johnson outside the context of Kennedy, but I know he seems stiff as fuck and I don't wanna hang out with him.

Overall, my point is to just be loose, chill, relax. People want to see you as a person before an administrator.

Take a hint from the greatest Japanese idol producer of all time, Tsunku.

I disappeared a little bit for about a week, mostly because I was trying to rest, but then my grandmother got sick and ended up in the hospital. Turns out her blood sugar was nearly 3000, and she couldn't really talk or anything. But she's doing better, they're about to take her out of the ICU and stuff.

Either way, I'm calming down now, so I'll be more present.

@Goblin said in Diversity Representation in MU*ing:

My character is not black, but a PoC anyway (also I do feel a bit unsure about terminology, I am not American and I don't mean any offense if I chose the wrong words, feel free to educate me if I'm being dumb.)

A POC (person of color) is any non-white person. It's generally best to use it when referring to the overall concept of POCs, or something that involves people of multiple non-white races (I.E: A Topic that affects Asians, black people, Native Americans, etc). When referring to a single race it's generally best to just straight up refer to that race rather than say POC.

Obviously on Arx that's complicated due to them being from fantasy ethnic backgrounds inspired by real ones, so in this case, in my specific opinion at least, I think POC is good for fantasy Arx races based on real backgrounds. Though if anyone disagrees feel free to explain why, which isn't me being defensive or anything, I just genuinely want to know if someone thinks there's a good alternative in this Arx situation.

I don't mind WoD, but a lot of the times I've played WoD games, I've felt as if the theme was significantly less cohesive than the games I typically spend most of my time on. This isn't really a product of WoD in of itself, but there's just a jarring amount of inconsistency and zero quality control that makes it difficult for me to care beyond casual RP. (Disclaimer: I haven't played Eldritch or Fallcoast yet.)

There's a thin line between unnecessary theme policing and quality control. Mega Man MUSH for example, which probably has the most defined MUSH theme at the moment (By virtue of having existed for like ten years and still being insanely active), keeps a level of continuity. If something gets destroyed, it's destroyed, if something gets built, it gets built. But it needs to make sense (The game has moved away from the old days of blowing up a city every other week).

Generally it's a good idea to ask staff before wanting to build a skyscraper (Which is not something you're going to be able to just magically do over night, or with questionable resources), trying to introduce some sort of new science, and other things like that. Of course just dicking around with minor inventions is allowed, because it ultimately doesn't affect much and isn't all that theme breaking if you have a grasp of the already existing technology.

But either way, my point is, I have trouble investing in a game that doesn't even invest in itself. Is there a hard, easily quantifiable line between theme policing and quality control? I'm not really sure. But I do know it when I see it. I don't mind having patience and not being able to do certain things right away, since being able to do certain things -immediately- (build a skyscraper), make no goddamned sense. Especially when you're building a skyscraper in a small town.

I will say that this might largely be my own personal preference, I don't know if anyone agrees with me on this. But when I join a game, I want to care about the theme. I want to feel like what I'm doing matters, that certain things have to be worked for. Not like I can just spend the XP and then bam, I have what I want. It's so completely and utterly dull for me. It's like role-play junk food. Instant gratification.

I know that a lot of people have a poor opinion of the game due to its past, but quality control, consistency, and having to actually work for things and having a sense of fulfillment when my characters work for their goals, is why I spend so much time in Mega Man MUSH. I could get into pretty much -any- theme if it worked like that.

That's just my two cents, on what I prefer when it comes to running and making a theme feel alive. Some people might think "But I don't want people deciding what I can and can't do", which I guess is a valid preference (This is why my BFF has never played in a MU).

But I honestly think that anyone would feel more fulfilled if they didn't just have instant gratification, had to really sit down and learn the theme, and felt like, "Alright, this will be my goal, I can't wait to see what happens when I try to pursue this", rather than being entirely in control of the outcome and all of the variables surrounding it.

Who wouldn't want to feel like they can impact the world and have their character actually gain legitimate fame or infamy beyond a small group that happens to be involved with a PRP?

@il-volpe Well see, the problem here is that you have to factor in the cost of cigarettes and transportation (Assuming that you don't live near this family, it's rude to charge neighbors for advice). Depending on the state, I would suggest 5 bucks for the act of giving advice, and another 15 if the advice is actually helpful.

You shouldn't smoke, it's bad for you. If you vape I would suggest flavorless vaping, as the flavors can often be harmful to your health.

By the way, I learned from a Truth campaign commercial that hookah is also tobacco, I dodged a bullet there. Though I was in close proximity to a hookah pipe, I'm doing fine now and did not actually touch it.

I'd play this game. Hell I've played a Time Lord before, I called him The Professor! Lmao original character do not steal.

But yeah I'd app into this game in a heartbeat. I love the idea of doing time travel shit in a MUSH and just going against the grain of what a place normally allows in terms of something like this. I think that it's okay to trust your players and do something cool and unique!

@Jaunt When people start saying "BUT THIS RACE WOULD NOT BE INVOLVED WITH THIS THING IN THIS PERIOD", I get some serious red flags about a game and the intelligence of the people running it. I guarantee that they don't know anywhere near as much about history as they think they do, and when you call them on it with proof, they freak the fuck out.

To be honest, in a MUSH you don't really -need- these coded things that an RPI has. Don't get me wrong, I love RPIs and all, but in a -good- MUSH what races you can and can't be should be pretty apparent. Exceptions to the rule largely spawn from either plot, canon, or someone bothering to look into the in-depth theme of the game, as a good MUSH isn't entirely inflexible. But just making shit up without any in-universe logic behind it is pretty much just breaking common sense. It happens, and it's not something that should even remotely trip up good staff members to say no to.

Yeah, in an RPI it's cool to be able to collect stuff and then say "I'm gonna build this", but I think that it's significantly more fulfilling to have to actually work toward what you want within a narrative (Granted, I haven't played a -lot- of RPIs, so maybe you have different experiences). If you just collect some sticks and build a skyscraper in a day, it breaks my suspension of disbelief super hard. And I say this as someone who plays a game with a man made completely out of tofu, because there is no limit to the blasphemies of Umbrella Corporation.

I think a good MUSH should generally run on some level of common sense based on that universe's logic. Good staffers won't have much trouble enforcing this, and good players will generally adapt to that or leave. I say this as someone who has played in lots of places that functioned this way plenty of times.

If something isn't clear from the documentation, all a player has to do is ask, "Here is my logic, can I do this thing?", and all a staffer has to do is say yes or no, and if no, explain why so that the player understands the game a bit more. A MUSH, to me, should be somewhat fluid, which is much easier to do when your theme is very detailed and defined. Once you set your boundaries and limitations, then you know how flexible you can be, and how your theme can grow beyond those limitations in future plots and such.

I think that on some level, this is the problem with WoD games. They shove in like 50 books, while boundaries and limitations are seen as weaknesses because having as many players as possible matters more than having a coherent theme. Actually being able to manage the theme, make all of the big stuff happening feel as if it should matter to the entire MUSH, it seems nearly impossible in a theme like that. If people are blowing shit up, assassinating vampire kings and shit, and half the game has no idea that any of this is going on? There's something wrong.

Comic MU*s are similar. These days it's all about sticking Marvel and DC together. Rather than having a single established universe, an entirely new and not anywhere near as defined universe is created. Players come in unfamiliar and disconnected, and you have a bunch of groups with similar narratives that somehow have to play together in the same universe now. This isn't to say that Marvel or DC don't have groups with similar narratives within their own universes, it's at least more defined how they play together in the same universe.

Focusing on fitting as much stuff into a single game as possible, to get as many players as possible, is a mistake. Trying to define your focus and your world, and actually give people something to care about, should always be the priority.

This is why I don't play many games for a long period of time anymore, and focus on just a few. I don't care about having a fancy sandbox, I want to play in a world. The trend lately seems to be fancy sandboxes where everyone can do anything but almost nothing matters.

@Ganymede said in Health and Wealth and GrownUp Stuff:

@HelloProject said in Health and Wealth and GrownUp Stuff:

I've lost about 30 pounds in the last two months, due to suddenly shifting to a permanently better way of eating, and also working out a lot and lifting weights. But I'm also stressed out for reasons I can't quite put my finger on.

Good! The stress may be from all of the different things you are trying to accomplish.

That's true. There's kind of this air of, I feel a lot of high tension and just kind of want to relax.

I actually ordered some CBT from reputable company that my friends recommended, though it's not here yet.

All I want in this world is TITS.

@surreality You seem like you have a mindset that could actually get me to give a shit about and invest in WoD.

@Cobaltasaurus said:

One of my Midnight Pancakes did not cook all the way through. There is nothing sadder than the taste of pancake batter at midnight.

Midnight Pancakes sound like something one eats while using Kavinsky as mood music, in a dark room overlooking the neon lights of the city.

@GreenFlashlight I definitely see players of hetero characters do it. Ultimately I find that the "uwu snuggles u" type stuff is highly common among anime fans and furries in particular, and teenagers period, or I guess just straight up emotionally immature people. But, that said, even though it makes my face invert in on itself, as long as they aren't having 30 minute makeout/snuggle sessions in the lounge, I'll just let people do their own thing.

@Thenomain I'm not saying you're wrong in that these things don't work to attract a ton of players. But a lot of people also eat Pringles, and Pringles are complete garbage that literally cannot say that it's potato chips without having a lawsuit on its hands.

The fact that these games attract a ton of players doesn't make them good, it makes them games capable of attracting a ton of players. They're non-threatening MU* junk food with a wide open bag of candy for people to reach into.

Don't get me wrong, I have nothing against By Night games that limit their scope to just a few compatible spheres, because then you have a real game that can at least have a chance of functioning as something other than a fancy sandbox. But I can't in good faith say that the current status quo is anything resembling actual quality.

Maybe that's pretentious, maybe it's personal preference, but I'd rather people dump all their bad ideas out there until a good one falls out, because it's still better than the cookie cutter climate of mediocrity that keeps being perpetuated due to the misconception that a large player-base is the same as having a good game.

By that logic, Friedberg & Seltzer movies are good because a lot of people saw them. Inception is good because it made millions of people feel smart by spoon feeding them hamfisted symbolism. American Idol is somehow meaningful even though no one can remember more than maybe three or four winners, but millions of people watch it. And many more similar examples.

It's one thing when the old way works and facilitates growth and creativity, it's another thing when the old way is a stagnant testament to mediocrity and appeals to a need for instant gratification and having the highest numbers possible.

The old way isn't going anywhere, because it works for what it is. A five star restaurant isn't going to put Burger King out of business, because there's a demand for cheap food that doesn't really challenge you at all. But people have visions of fancy restaurants. People don't always know what they want, because the option hasn't been presented to them yet.

It's up to people to try those ideas, and if they fail, they fail. Sure, a restaurant is a huge investment, but a MU really isn't to anywhere near that degree. A creator doesn't need to go through an entire focus group to try their idea. They should simply try it, and those big non-threatening, easily digestible chains aren't going anywhere, nor will they be hurt by the attempt. Hell, I'll probably end up playing one again if I get bored enough.

Also, my comment about encouraging stagnation wasn't saying that this is a heavily prevalent mindset, I was directly responding to your comment specifically.