Shameless bump!

I use Third Person Follow most of the time, simply because it helps me keep myself oriented but still allows me to move my character/model/avatar/whatever-you-want-to-call-that-thing about fairly naturally. However, if my character/model/avatar/etc. is sitting about or has been/will be standing in one place for a while, I usually switch to using Free Rotation, which allows me to view things from nearly every angle I could want and grants me the power to zoom in and out almost to my heart's content.

I admit that I do occasionally use First Person, but that's typically a side effect of scrolling in too much or just an attempt to get a closer look at something or other.

Free Movement is frustrating for me because I can't scroll in or out, which I have a tendency to do in an attempt to get into that Goldilocks zone of the zoom range. Other than that minor detail, it seems fairly similar to Free Rotation to me. Maybe that's why I tried to convince everyone there's not one, but two camera modes by this name.

Dynamic Follow is the camera mode that I find somewhat trippy and a little too inconsistent and detached to want to make much/any use of it.

See how easy this is?

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All that being said, of course, it is better to have more functionality than less.  Taking screenshots, or making videos, is certainly a reason to keep some of these modes.
Contrary to the beliefs of some, I wouldn't consider any of these ‘bloat’ even if they were almost never used:  something is only bloated if it violates modularity to the extent of overlapping other such things.

I second that.

(Note: This is merely the version with the fixed polls... apparently there was a duplicate polling option on the previous one. Oh well.)

*Tidebringer strikes the forums with not a reply to a pre-existing thread, but a -- (wait for it) -- poll!

Yes. You read that right, folks. A poll! Perhaps even just a silly little poll.

Actually, it really is just a silly little poll, made mainly due to the urgings of some strange "Idle Curiosity". Disclaimer: a certain "Boredom" may have also had to do with the creation of this poll.

These are for your potential questions that I obviously can't even wait to answer:

• Yes, there's only one vote per user.

• No, this poll doesn't close.

• Yes, you can go back and change your vote for whatever reason you can think of.

I'm interested to see how it goes, and feel free to post a little reply, regardless of whether or not you selected Option 8, Option 9, or Option 11. Hope you folks out there have a little fun with this, or at least find it something worthy of a faint smirk as you browse the forums, whether or not you even still play regularly/at all.

Best wishes, and vote up!

Apparently -- as Can-ned Food observed and pointed out -- I made a mistake with the polling options (go figure ) so here's the fixed version: http://207.244.96.64/PlaneShift/smf/index.php?topic=43306.0

Of course this one can be deleted/ignored now.

For those of you who maybe don't know yet, the Hydlaa Market takes place every Sunday, starting at 1800 GMT (time converter link) and lasting until whenever people feel like leaving. The Hydlaa Market is an open place for players to gather to RP, try and make a little money, allow people to get the stuff they need, and really just to have fun. You don't have to come as a merchant, as we certainly do need people to buy as well! To those merchants out there, you don't need super rare, deadly expensive, perfectly crafted, or even just plain looted items to sell -- if you're using books to write out RP wares, you're using your creativity, and that's awesome!

Remember that the main limit with this is your creativity; don't be afraid to experiment with playing as shady merchants, peddlers of odds and ends, priests coming to spread the word of their god(dess), bards playing for a few tria to pay for that drink they're fond of, crafters of exotic works of art, treasure-hunters selling their treasures or looking for someone to come with them, con artists trying to make off with everyone's money, mercenaries offering their services, tailors hoping to get a job that will show off their talent, actors wandering about looking for some opportunity to practice their trade, writers selling their books to admiring readers, some unsettling character in the shadows grinning at people and stroking a snake... truly, the possibilities go on and on, and the more character and imagination that's put into them, the more the RP will be enriched -- though that's not to say all characters should be or are expected to be like that.

So remember that the market is open for RP. If you want to hold an event there someday, you can do that and it would be great! You can ask for help from GMs or fellow players if you want, or you can run it on your own -- that's all perfectly fine. Even if you don't want to do something "big" at the market, stopping by to walk about and chat with other market-goers is not only a great way to help the market continue to grow and be amazing, but it's a great way to get RP and find out who some of your fellow RPers are, or even to RP with players you don't get to RP with very often.

As I've said so many times before, the possibilities are endless. Explore that, maybe enjoy it. Who knows, it might even prove to be exceedingly fun!

Hey, look, it's Cairn! Alive and posting, no less! Now to the topic at hand.

I myself am a fairly active RPer, and I can say that I usually find that the weekends and U.S. evenings tend to be more popular for RP, but that's not to say it's impossible to find at other times. It just sometimes takes a little bit of poking gossip or /telling RPers (some will have it in their OOC description that they're absolutely open to RP, and you can check this on MyPlane with the ones that have their character's "basic" visibility setting turned on for everyone).

Of course there are some days that lull a bit in the RP more than others, but once you start to get know the names of the RPers, poking other players for RP or even purposefully/accidentally bumping into them IG would work. Naturally there's also the option of walking about and attempting RP with whomever you come across. Lots of times people just need a slight nudge. Or a slightly harder nudge, and maybe a little patience depending on how AFK they are.

As was already mentioned, the markets on Sundays are a nice place to get together and RP, and if you can, I'd recommend attempting to stop by there.

*Tidebringer coughs and adds, "Step on someone's toes. Trip over your own and stumble against somebody or something. Greet someone cheerfully and comment upon the weather. Invite them to get a drink. Try to get them to get you a drink. Ask them what's been going on. Hawk some random wares you might have. Chase after somebody like a madman while holding a fork... the possibilities go on and on. Truly, there's a lot that can get one's attention."

*Tidebringer 'ooo's and 'ahhhh's at the pretty!

Looks very nice, Venalan! I look forward to more pretty things like this.

*Tidebringer imagines the conversation...

"Greetings!"
"Greetings," and pulls out a thermos, opening it and sniffing the still-hot contents.
"What have you there?"
"Oh, this? Tea."
"No, no. But it's warm, and still, so far from any city?"
"Why, yes. It's the Red Way enchantment, you know? See these lovely diamonds?"
"Indeed..." then frowns.
"Why the frown?"
"Only, that I am a bit unsure of the wisdom of carrying such an item about, would the Red Way not be hazardous to yourself?"
"Oh, no, not at all! It was done by one of the most skilled..." [etc, etc, etc.]

Well, you get the point. How's it work? MAGIC!
Why does it exist? Because it was needed, clearly. Why were two people talking like that "so far from any city"? Well... because it's how I wrote it.

*Tidebringer, so off-topic, contemplates the quality of her imagined conversation...

From what I remember, the Death Realm is supposed to be vast, dark, and... strange. Part of the strangeness comes from weird shifts in gravity which happen from time to time or in certain areas. Personally, I think that would be really fun to have.

Perhaps having some tricky passages that take you in a loop if you go one way but not the other, though this would be trickier and potentially a bit too frustrating. Along the same strain, maybe having hallways that seem to extend on and on for one direction, but really don't? These wouldn't be lore, though, as I recall.

I'd like to see layers to the Death Realm, too. Deeper, darker levels that you can get to, perhaps by making use of the weird gravity shifts or of stairways or ladders or portals and such.

Now, this is a bit more off topic but going to connect back to a layered Death Realm. A character can't enter the Death Realm for the first 15 hours, but what if there's some enthusiastic Dark Way mage wanting to join the Dark Circle, or some devout Dakkruist who wishes to gaze upon the Dark Crystal and read the scriptures in the Citadel's library?

Not at all sure how doable this would be, and as such it is solely a concept. What if when a character went to the Death Realm was not based on hours in game, but rather it was a percentage chance that increased every time they died?

There would be multiple spawn points in the Death Realm, perhaps one or two in each layer, and the upper layer(s) would be for those who have died either for the first time or barely at all. The upper layer(s) would be much closer to the exit(s), so that the souls newer to the Death Realm had a better chance of getting out.

The lower levels would be reserved for those who die more often, making it so that if you die more, you risk ending up in darker, deeper, likely more dangerous and stranger layers of the Death Realm. Perhaps each layer would get slightly larger going down, and there could be shortcuts one might be able to find to help get them to the exit faster.

Naturally the layers would only go so deep, and the lowest would be the bottom of the Death Realm. This bottom could have a slight variety of terrain, perhaps including a large lake of some dark, mayhaps dangerous liquid; a shoreline of this lake; some barren plains; and who knows what else?

Like I said, just a concept, and I don't expect this anytime soon.