16
General Discussion / Re: Should a full defensive stance count as attacking a mob?
« on: November 12, 2006, 03:54:40 pm »* Hadfael burns incens to Talad
* Hadfael hugs Karyuu
* Hadfael adds amused: Another quoting contest ended ;-)
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17
General Discussion / Re: Magic and Kill Stealing
« on: November 11, 2006, 08:18:45 am »
First /who game
if as you said there is no online GM then write a petition
each GM seeing it will keep an eye on the KSer so don't worry of the petition remains opened for a few days. We usualualy don't claim those until it's outdated so each of us can see it.
If you can, run an IRC client, rush into #planeshift-gmtalk on freenode
many GMs are here when they don't have a running client and or the GM char online.
contact one of the + voiced GMs so he can come and have a look
KSing is cheating, so we will do whatever is possible to confirm the abuse and take the needed actions.
if as you said there is no online GM then write a petition
each GM seeing it will keep an eye on the KSer so don't worry of the petition remains opened for a few days. We usualualy don't claim those until it's outdated so each of us can see it.
If you can, run an IRC client, rush into #planeshift-gmtalk on freenode
many GMs are here when they don't have a running client and or the GM char online.
contact one of the + voiced GMs so he can come and have a look
KSing is cheating, so we will do whatever is possible to confirm the abuse and take the needed actions.
18
General Discussion / Re: Should a full defensive stance count as attacking a mob?
« on: November 11, 2006, 07:15:51 am »
*reads the subject, the starting post...ignores the fuss*
You see a rogue attacking someone. This person doesn't attack but is defending itself.
You ask if he needs help, he doesn't answer...fine you go your own way.
The question is not
"was this dude fighting the rogue?"
it is
"was this rogue fighting the guy?"
He was, MOBs don't have stances
What really annoys people when they see this situation, making they wonder if they have the right to get the rogues attention has nothing to do with the will to help someone who doesn't answer nor offer to group...
It's when you start thinking the rogue is yours and that this guy doesn't let you have what you came for: XP
You can't even think he is training to parry, you look for an excuse to get back *your* mob to you without having to fear an accusation of KSing. Digging into the various interpretations of "roleplaying" until you find one that will allow you to KS legally in the name or RP.
I said it before, RPing is doing things in a characters'POV, IC. It is not preparing your char to play the role you defined. Chars are not empty bodies in need to be filled with gears and powers until the distant day where they will fit the role you want to play. As soon as you create them they start their living. And if you are unable to build a background consistant with what they are, it's not the CC system who is to blame, nor the leveling speed. Blame your lack of imagination regarding the stats, physical traits, family and motivations you give him.
Using spawns as tools to raise stats until they fit your liking is not RPing.
So, is it IC not to be able to attack an engaged MOB? yes it is. Your character can not attack an engaged mob unless you (the player) use an OOC bug to change the way the world exists for all chars.
It can look unrealistic in our world to be unable to backstab anyone because we feel like it, but for the character, the only "reality" his PS. And in PS you can not attack an engaged monster nor someone without his consent.
When your character can not do something, he can look for other ways (IC ones) or simply fail. Then he has to move on and look for something he *can* do.
When you KS in the game world, you cheat.
You see a rogue attacking someone. This person doesn't attack but is defending itself.
You ask if he needs help, he doesn't answer...fine you go your own way.
The question is not
"was this dude fighting the rogue?"
it is
"was this rogue fighting the guy?"
He was, MOBs don't have stances
What really annoys people when they see this situation, making they wonder if they have the right to get the rogues attention has nothing to do with the will to help someone who doesn't answer nor offer to group...
It's when you start thinking the rogue is yours and that this guy doesn't let you have what you came for: XP
You can't even think he is training to parry, you look for an excuse to get back *your* mob to you without having to fear an accusation of KSing. Digging into the various interpretations of "roleplaying" until you find one that will allow you to KS legally in the name or RP.
I said it before, RPing is doing things in a characters'POV, IC. It is not preparing your char to play the role you defined. Chars are not empty bodies in need to be filled with gears and powers until the distant day where they will fit the role you want to play. As soon as you create them they start their living. And if you are unable to build a background consistant with what they are, it's not the CC system who is to blame, nor the leveling speed. Blame your lack of imagination regarding the stats, physical traits, family and motivations you give him.
Using spawns as tools to raise stats until they fit your liking is not RPing.
So, is it IC not to be able to attack an engaged MOB? yes it is. Your character can not attack an engaged mob unless you (the player) use an OOC bug to change the way the world exists for all chars.
It can look unrealistic in our world to be unable to backstab anyone because we feel like it, but for the character, the only "reality" his PS. And in PS you can not attack an engaged monster nor someone without his consent.
When your character can not do something, he can look for other ways (IC ones) or simply fail. Then he has to move on and look for something he *can* do.
When you KS in the game world, you cheat.
19
Newbie Help (Start Here) / Re: Chatting "in character"
« on: November 09, 2006, 02:20:55 pm »
Maybe is the title a bit confusing or at list showing a confusion about the "In Character" IC acronym.
/tell is used to talk between characters. IC is something else. It is about talking in the role of your character instead of chatting like ta player (this being OOC=Out Of Character)
In fact, it is often considered that the /tell communications are most of the time OOC. Because there is no explanation for your character to this possibility to talk and hear people talking to him from any great distance and even from the death realm.
Are characters capable of magic or telepathic communications? This is not specified in the settings.
Now, about private conversations (IC or OOC) in /tell, tuning the options can make it very easy.
Personaly I use [Tab] key to auto-reply tells, and [enter] to exit the chatbox.
[tab] is also very useful when typing the firstname of your correspondent when already in the chatbox. Just type the first letters and [tab] will try to auto-complete it. It will look for firstnames in your buddylist and the ones you heard talking in any chanel.
/tell is used to talk between characters. IC is something else. It is about talking in the role of your character instead of chatting like ta player (this being OOC=Out Of Character)
In fact, it is often considered that the /tell communications are most of the time OOC. Because there is no explanation for your character to this possibility to talk and hear people talking to him from any great distance and even from the death realm.
Are characters capable of magic or telepathic communications? This is not specified in the settings.
Now, about private conversations (IC or OOC) in /tell, tuning the options can make it very easy.
Personaly I use [Tab] key to auto-reply tells, and [enter] to exit the chatbox.
[tab] is also very useful when typing the firstname of your correspondent when already in the chatbox. Just type the first letters and [tab] will try to auto-complete it. It will look for firstnames in your buddylist and the ones you heard talking in any chanel.
20
General Discussion / Re: Please, just stop this bullcrap.
« on: November 09, 2006, 02:02:04 pm »
Everyone is free to play Good, Neutral, Evil his own way. But like any freedom, it comes with boudaries that are defined with the needs for sharing the same ressources.
There are more threads about Evil than about Good. Mainly because of the ways it is affecting others life when badly played.
Stupidity, agressivity, power abuses are often called evil. Made this way, evil is a nuisance to the enjoyment of others instead of being a challenge for "Good" chars.
Selfishness can be considered Evil from a Good chars' perspective. But if you work for yourself without forcing others, it's fine and might serve you well.
If you plan to overcome all "Good" guilds and corrupt "good people" it's a challenge opened for you and for your oponents. Once again if you invite them to oppose you before forcing everyone to chose side, it's adding complexity to the society.
I met a lot of players who called themselves "evildoers" who where only annoying. And for all the possible ways they used to annoy the greatest number of players, they only had a few excuses:
-It's just a game
True, and a game where everyone deserve a chance to enjoy the world before taking an active part of it. Abuse of newbies is not the way to play evil.
-I was roleplaying (a liar, a thief, a jerk, a mass murderer, ...)
To do that, the player should not abuse of the game mechanics and the lack of punishment. An Evil char must be ready to face the consequences of his actions instead of hiding behind OOC features that are implemented to preserve the enjoyement of the majority of players.
-There is evil IRL, so it's realistic to have it in PS.
And IRL there are police forces, jails, ... and honest citizens ready to call the authorities. Not all of this is yet implemented and PS is not limited to realism...otherwise magic, resurrection, and other features should not be here. Doing evil things without any risk is not realist.
Because the game is designed to encourage the enjoyment of the greatest number, opening possibilities for IC actions, using those features to be annoying is abusing, not using PS.
It is easy to see the difference between an Evil char well (role)played and an evil player thinking he can call being a pain "RPing Evil".
-A char can be/do Evil to other chars.
-A player shall not annoy other players.
in short: You need the be a good role player to play the role of an Evil character.
There are more threads about Evil than about Good. Mainly because of the ways it is affecting others life when badly played.
Stupidity, agressivity, power abuses are often called evil. Made this way, evil is a nuisance to the enjoyment of others instead of being a challenge for "Good" chars.
Selfishness can be considered Evil from a Good chars' perspective. But if you work for yourself without forcing others, it's fine and might serve you well.
If you plan to overcome all "Good" guilds and corrupt "good people" it's a challenge opened for you and for your oponents. Once again if you invite them to oppose you before forcing everyone to chose side, it's adding complexity to the society.
I met a lot of players who called themselves "evildoers" who where only annoying. And for all the possible ways they used to annoy the greatest number of players, they only had a few excuses:
-It's just a game
True, and a game where everyone deserve a chance to enjoy the world before taking an active part of it. Abuse of newbies is not the way to play evil.
-I was roleplaying (a liar, a thief, a jerk, a mass murderer, ...)
To do that, the player should not abuse of the game mechanics and the lack of punishment. An Evil char must be ready to face the consequences of his actions instead of hiding behind OOC features that are implemented to preserve the enjoyement of the majority of players.
-There is evil IRL, so it's realistic to have it in PS.
And IRL there are police forces, jails, ... and honest citizens ready to call the authorities. Not all of this is yet implemented and PS is not limited to realism...otherwise magic, resurrection, and other features should not be here. Doing evil things without any risk is not realist.
Because the game is designed to encourage the enjoyment of the greatest number, opening possibilities for IC actions, using those features to be annoying is abusing, not using PS.
It is easy to see the difference between an Evil char well (role)played and an evil player thinking he can call being a pain "RPing Evil".
-A char can be/do Evil to other chars.
-A player shall not annoy other players.
in short: You need the be a good role player to play the role of an Evil character.
21
General Discussion / Re: Unwritten Rules
« on: November 09, 2006, 01:25:53 pm »
Is it necessary to write a rule saying again that using server ressources without actualy playing the game is wrong?
I think it is in the FAQ for years that PS will have limited bandwidth that is to be used in priority by roleplayers.
About those annoying RL stuffs that keep you AFK (it happened to me to be forced to change keyboard batteries while playing with friends ;P). There is no way to really prevent them without being annoying in a regular RP.
Any way to put your char in a visible /away state is a good idea. The MOBs could not attack /sit-ing or idle chars. But I would really appreciate not wasting my time greeting and talking to AFK players.
I think it is in the FAQ for years that PS will have limited bandwidth that is to be used in priority by roleplayers.
About those annoying RL stuffs that keep you AFK (it happened to me to be forced to change keyboard batteries while playing with friends ;P). There is no way to really prevent them without being annoying in a regular RP.
Any way to put your char in a visible /away state is a good idea. The MOBs could not attack /sit-ing or idle chars. But I would really appreciate not wasting my time greeting and talking to AFK players.
22
General Discussion / Re: When posting on the forums, are we IC or OOC?
« on: November 08, 2006, 02:32:54 pm »
In Character < In Game < In Settings
Most of the time I would say that forums, guild websites are not ingame, therefore not IC.
But they are useful to provide a post office, common board, guild house, ...
When used this way, you can consider those forums/sites as external places that your character can access. But you can't assume that every other char visited the same places than you. I mean that it is not because something is posted here that every char has to know it.
This forums (Hydlaa.com) can be called "Townhall public board" from ingame, as a place your character can access to read others IC messages or post his own ones.
If you have a guild forums, call it a Guild-House, headquarter, ... and they have an IC meaning. Your char can decide to visit them or not.
It works well when considered as a writing boards or external places, but less if you consider them as places where you can roleplay other interactions with areas that are ingame. A discussion in the townhall (a thread) takes place in the townhall only and not at the plaza.
Most of the time I would say that forums, guild websites are not ingame, therefore not IC.
But they are useful to provide a post office, common board, guild house, ...
When used this way, you can consider those forums/sites as external places that your character can access. But you can't assume that every other char visited the same places than you. I mean that it is not because something is posted here that every char has to know it.
This forums (Hydlaa.com) can be called "Townhall public board" from ingame, as a place your character can access to read others IC messages or post his own ones.
If you have a guild forums, call it a Guild-House, headquarter, ... and they have an IC meaning. Your char can decide to visit them or not.
It works well when considered as a writing boards or external places, but less if you consider them as places where you can roleplay other interactions with areas that are ingame. A discussion in the townhall (a thread) takes place in the townhall only and not at the plaza.
23
Development Deliberation / Re: Groffeltoe - the first minigame
« on: November 06, 2006, 06:28:18 pm »
Here is another variant played by many farm kids and inspired by an tale:
2 farmers only have 1 field and 1 groffel each.
One is covered with coal (black) the other one with floor (white) and each time they move, all the groffels around are covered the same (converted into the moved piece color). Groffels can lay eggs that are of their color and that hatch and change the color of groffels around. Or they can make short jumps changing the color of groffels around the place they land.
Starting positions
X..
.....
.......
.......
.......
.....
..O
Each turn the groffel can lay an egg next to him or make a short jump.
.....
.ooo.
.oOo.
.ooo.
.....
in this diagram O represent the groffel, o a possible place for an egg and . a place to jump to.
-If the groffel jumps the O position is freed (the piece moved)
-If it lays an egg, a new piece is added
Converting oponent pieces:
All the oponent groffels (pieces) around an egg (adjacent in 8 directions) are changed to your color.
Or, for a jump, it's the oponent groffels (pieces) around the landing square.
Pass: If there is no free place to jump to or lay an egg you must pass your turn. Groffels can't jump farther that 2 quares in each direction.
The winner is the one with most pieces of his color when there is no more empty quare.
If all the pieces of a player are converted at once, he lose and is forced to offer free drinks at everyone
Tactics:
For defense, add eggs to cover the field, the ones surrounded by your own color can't be converted in 1 turn. 2 lines of your color are impossible to jump over. So use the field border to
Attack ; Don't let the other create such strong positions and jump out of them before being surrounded. You will leave an empty space he might need to fill, leaving you the advantage of attack on your next turn. Don't attack too soon or you can lose all your groffels at once.
I only tested once, it give good reversals of positions and scores. Each party is not too long.
2 farmers only have 1 field and 1 groffel each.
One is covered with coal (black) the other one with floor (white) and each time they move, all the groffels around are covered the same (converted into the moved piece color). Groffels can lay eggs that are of their color and that hatch and change the color of groffels around. Or they can make short jumps changing the color of groffels around the place they land.
Starting positions
X..
.....
.......
.......
.......
.....
..O
Each turn the groffel can lay an egg next to him or make a short jump.
.....
.ooo.
.oOo.
.ooo.
.....
in this diagram O represent the groffel, o a possible place for an egg and . a place to jump to.
-If the groffel jumps the O position is freed (the piece moved)
-If it lays an egg, a new piece is added
Converting oponent pieces:
All the oponent groffels (pieces) around an egg (adjacent in 8 directions) are changed to your color.
Or, for a jump, it's the oponent groffels (pieces) around the landing square.
Pass: If there is no free place to jump to or lay an egg you must pass your turn. Groffels can't jump farther that 2 quares in each direction.
The winner is the one with most pieces of his color when there is no more empty quare.
If all the pieces of a player are converted at once, he lose and is forced to offer free drinks at everyone
Tactics:
For defense, add eggs to cover the field, the ones surrounded by your own color can't be converted in 1 turn. 2 lines of your color are impossible to jump over. So use the field border to
Attack ; Don't let the other create such strong positions and jump out of them before being surrounded. You will leave an empty space he might need to fill, leaving you the advantage of attack on your next turn. Don't attack too soon or you can lose all your groffels at once.
I only tested once, it give good reversals of positions and scores. Each party is not too long.
24
General Discussion / Re: In game languages
« on: November 03, 2006, 04:01:52 am »
It is always possible to develop sub-cultures, dialects, slangs, tongues, customs and such. It helps to feel part of community to know them.
Why not encouraging them?
To develop some kind of 1337|\|355 is not really the best thing to do in order to have a friendly welcoming community.
If the community becomes too communal or clannish there is little need to share a common server.
It is already enough to call people n00bs when they are only newcomers.
See the potential and evaluate the risks.
Don't forget that the main purpose of language to transport information from the one talking to the one listening. Trying to catch the listeners attention by hidding you message one thing. So unless you want to use cryptography in your dialogs you better use the common language.
Why not encouraging them?
To develop some kind of 1337|\|355 is not really the best thing to do in order to have a friendly welcoming community.
If the community becomes too communal or clannish there is little need to share a common server.
It is already enough to call people n00bs when they are only newcomers.
See the potential and evaluate the risks.
Don't forget that the main purpose of language to transport information from the one talking to the one listening. Trying to catch the listeners attention by hidding you message one thing. So unless you want to use cryptography in your dialogs you better use the common language.
25
Newbie Help (Start Here) / Re: Whoops
« on: October 31, 2006, 07:07:09 am »
What proof do we have he cheated?
He was caught.
What proof do you have someone was actualy banned and that it's not a conspiracy from GMs to discourage the ones tempted to cheat?
I'll answer that for you: You have NONE.
Rules are as easy to find, to read and to agree with. Easier than it is to download the client. It's even faster to read them than to download, install, and update.
I don't assume the worst of people, I assume the best.
I assume people are reading about what they download and run on their computer. I assume that werever he downloaded the client, he had to create an account on the website where all the needed infos are linked.
Something you probably missed: He agreed to be dealt with like everyone else. His only request was for help in his project. If you could stop being his advocate when he is able to defend himself, you would read his last post and give constructive ideas and comments.
He was caught.
What proof do you have someone was actualy banned and that it's not a conspiracy from GMs to discourage the ones tempted to cheat?
I'll answer that for you: You have NONE.
Rules are as easy to find, to read and to agree with. Easier than it is to download the client. It's even faster to read them than to download, install, and update.
I don't assume the worst of people, I assume the best.
I assume people are reading about what they download and run on their computer. I assume that werever he downloaded the client, he had to create an account on the website where all the needed infos are linked.
Something you probably missed: He agreed to be dealt with like everyone else. His only request was for help in his project. If you could stop being his advocate when he is able to defend himself, you would read his last post and give constructive ideas and comments.
26
The Hydlaa Plaza / Re: Growing old together
« on: October 31, 2006, 06:33:28 am »
@Seperot: Not only do you feel old. But you *are* old...in PS timeline at least. 
Aside the 1337-ness and respect you earn with grey hairs (if not on your head, at least in the eyes of others), there is also a time when you realise that a new generation has grown up. A generation that you saw running between you legs, that you fed when they were ba-/new-bies. It's when they start talking with wisdom that you realise how old you are.
Not only do we spend time IC together, from annoying newbies to rambling oldbies. But if we shared some OOC personal friendship, it's weird to see how our lives have changed over time. Zanzibar was right (he should stop doing that, I'll get used to it) to remind us that we seldom see/know the real person behind the internet prism. There are only a few I was close enough to say I really knew them. All of them changed and too many departed.
It's a luck the oldest posts are not always made on the first day or on the same account. Moderators would be asked to remove them just in case they could be bumped.
Aside the 1337-ness and respect you earn with grey hairs (if not on your head, at least in the eyes of others), there is also a time when you realise that a new generation has grown up. A generation that you saw running between you legs, that you fed when they were ba-/new-bies. It's when they start talking with wisdom that you realise how old you are.
Not only do we spend time IC together, from annoying newbies to rambling oldbies. But if we shared some OOC personal friendship, it's weird to see how our lives have changed over time. Zanzibar was right (he should stop doing that, I'll get used to it) to remind us that we seldom see/know the real person behind the internet prism. There are only a few I was close enough to say I really knew them. All of them changed and too many departed.
It's a luck the oldest posts are not always made on the first day or on the same account. Moderators would be asked to remove them just in case they could be bumped.
27
Newbie Help (Start Here) / Re: Whoops
« on: October 31, 2006, 05:52:18 am »1) He didn't do this intentionally1) He accidentaly scripted the whole mining sequence? You underestimate him. As you underestimate the ability of anyone to find excuses when caught with the fingers in jam.
2) He is new
3) He regrets what he's done and will never do it again.
4) He has a research project and can't afford to be banned for 30 days.
5) A 30 day ban is way too severe for this kind of accidental infracture.
2) How long is someone supposed to cheat before you would consider him old enough?
3) He regrets even more every single day he can't join.
4) I don't see how hard you tried to help him with this post. And if you know his teachers to confirm he has actualy a project due soon, contact them and speak for him. You should have met him ingame and mentioned that being AFK while bot mining is not the best way to study the MMO infrastructure.
5) A 30 day ban was used against other bot miners, it would be unfair to them to punish them and not him.
As a conclusion, I must say that I sleep much better when I know that people playing the game don't have to compete with bots.
28
General Discussion / Re: Governement
« on: October 31, 2006, 05:37:45 am »
First the amusing part of this thread...
Isn't it amusing to have the one suggesting ingame regulation unable to respect forums regulations when posting?
http://hydlaa.com/smf/index.php?topic=22698.msg273552#msg273552
Now, about votes...
Democracy is not the only political system that existed in RL history. In fact, I did not see many guilds with democratic decisions in their Constitution.
But let's suppose Yliakum allows polls. Who will be allowed to vote?
date of char creation? Create a char today, vote later. When creating a char you want to promote faster, you only have to create ghost accounts with ghost chars and ask your allies to do the same. Phatom electors are realistic (it happens IRL) but not really meaningful. and talking about real life, why do you think there is usualy a minimum age to vote? no only because vote bulletins are hard to read, but because it is better to rely on age to ensure a reasonable maturity of electors. Not everyone is able to RP the maturity of a 120yo man. At least not the majority of the ones who tried. No matter how hard they tried.
online time? the server does not kick idle characters. It is easy to score hours without doing enything.
If you give some (elected?) people the power to make regulations, is it safe to have the same people carry out the executive power? There are few political systems were you can be judge, jury and executor at the same time.
And in this release there are little ways to actualy execute a sentence since even a sentence of death is a small punishment that declining challenges can easely prevent. It's actualy a great source of unresolved-unresovable conflicts.
It does not mean that there is nothing that can be done. Even now the community can accept some behaviours and reject others. Being an outcast is fine when you only think about leveling and collecting money...but to join the community you have to agree on some social regulations. Anyway, there will always be rebelion, not only because some are dreaming of being IC the bad guy they can't be IRL, but also because the age/maturity of the average computer games player.
Everyone with a possible technical implementation making it possible to establish a medieval hierarchy inside PS. With a way to allow some punishing without allowing power abuses. Everyone with such ideas is welcome to post them in the whislist.
For my part, as I did in another thread, I strongly encourage Yliakum citizens to take their fate in their hands instead on relying too much on ethereal beings watching from the skies. Those creatures, if ever they exist, won't interfere unless someone/something is a real nuisance to your everyday life. To those you can send your prayers [petitions].
Isn't it amusing to have the one suggesting ingame regulation unable to respect forums regulations when posting?
http://hydlaa.com/smf/index.php?topic=22698.msg273552#msg273552
Now, about votes...
Democracy is not the only political system that existed in RL history. In fact, I did not see many guilds with democratic decisions in their Constitution.
But let's suppose Yliakum allows polls. Who will be allowed to vote?
date of char creation? Create a char today, vote later. When creating a char you want to promote faster, you only have to create ghost accounts with ghost chars and ask your allies to do the same. Phatom electors are realistic (it happens IRL) but not really meaningful. and talking about real life, why do you think there is usualy a minimum age to vote? no only because vote bulletins are hard to read, but because it is better to rely on age to ensure a reasonable maturity of electors. Not everyone is able to RP the maturity of a 120yo man. At least not the majority of the ones who tried. No matter how hard they tried.
online time? the server does not kick idle characters. It is easy to score hours without doing enything.
If you give some (elected?) people the power to make regulations, is it safe to have the same people carry out the executive power? There are few political systems were you can be judge, jury and executor at the same time.
And in this release there are little ways to actualy execute a sentence since even a sentence of death is a small punishment that declining challenges can easely prevent. It's actualy a great source of unresolved-unresovable conflicts.
It does not mean that there is nothing that can be done. Even now the community can accept some behaviours and reject others. Being an outcast is fine when you only think about leveling and collecting money...but to join the community you have to agree on some social regulations. Anyway, there will always be rebelion, not only because some are dreaming of being IC the bad guy they can't be IRL, but also because the age/maturity of the average computer games player.
Everyone with a possible technical implementation making it possible to establish a medieval hierarchy inside PS. With a way to allow some punishing without allowing power abuses. Everyone with such ideas is welcome to post them in the whislist.
For my part, as I did in another thread, I strongly encourage Yliakum citizens to take their fate in their hands instead on relying too much on ethereal beings watching from the skies. Those creatures, if ever they exist, won't interfere unless someone/something is a real nuisance to your everyday life. To those you can send your prayers [petitions].
29
Guides and Tutorials / Planeshift is a free MMORPG under open source developement.
« on: October 30, 2006, 04:32:32 pm »
Planeshift is a free MMORPG under open source developement.
No doubt you have seen this writen somewhere around. At least you might have seen a part of this sentence when searching the web for "free MMORPG". The sentence does not cover all the aspects of Planeshift (PS) but to a minimum, it is has many implications that deserve some attention when you play it. Forgeting one of the words will make it harder to fully enjoy it. Let me then explain all the parts of this sentence one by one before juming into the whole game. Understanding each part of the sentence will help you to guess what you can and what you can't do.
Planeshift: This describe the computer program but also its settings and the world you will enter. Planeshift is a server, a client, art, maps, texts, ... When you run PS, your client connects you to a server that will display the PS world according to its settings and the art. When you are in the client, you are in PS. If PS (client) can't connect to PS (server) look for a solution here. If the problem happens after that or is specific to you operating system, an answer might exist in the other Support sub-sections.
Free: Free means that you will not be asked for money in order to use the application. Do not confuse free of charge and freedom of doing anything you like. Like anywhere else, your freedom to do what you want will be limited to what you can do. There are things that are not allowed. It is a good idea to look at Planeshift rules and notifications.
MMORPG: Due to this acronym to be overused in various ways, I will describe the do/dont implications of each part.
MMO: Massively Multiplayer=You will not play alone. You will have to share the use of the server with a great number of people from all over the world. Do do so, you willl have to accept their differences, you won't be welcomed to claim any aspect of the game is more yours than theirs. In order to interact with them, you are asked to use a common language (it is english in PS). Once again some of the rules and guidelines are here to guide you. Online=you might know the general etiquette of the internet, also known as netiquette.
RP: Role playing. If you are not used to the concepts of roleplaying, you can start by reading how to roleplay in the mainsite. The terms of role playing are used in acting. They are also used in many scripted games with a fixed scenario. You have to extend those definitions to improvisation to fully catch the role playing in a game like PS. There is no fixed scenario. Only the physical aspect of the role is managed by the system. You are in command of the thoughts and decisions of the character you play. The consequences of your decisions in this role are determined by the world. In a pen and paper role playing game, the world is composed by a game master and the characters played by players. In a computer game, the program is the game master, other online people are in charge of other characters. When you are not used to it, it can look schyzophrenic. You have to separate the knowledge of your character and your own.
Consider this scheme:
Reality > Player // {game world > character}. When in you role, only the parts enclosed with {} are considered as "In Character" (IC) the rest, you in the real world, is "Out Of Character" (OOC) and does not make sense in the lower parts.
As you have to conform to reality, your character has to conform to the game world. That's why it is called a virtual reality.
G: Game; tha last part of the MMORPG acronym is as important as others. It is a game. It can mean that you play it for enjoyment or training. The training part is to confront you to different challenges. You can win or lose by playing. However frustrating it might be to lose, you have the oportunity to play again to start a different solution. Losing and having difficulties is part of the process. Therefore giving away easy solutions will be considered as spoiling the game. You shall not give away spoilers nor expect to recieve them. Doing so it a renouncement to the game. Like every game, it is easier to start after reading the game guide.
open source: PS is made by volonteers on their free time. It means that if you have the needed skills and time, you can join them. It also means that you have to be patient when it comes to delays or bugs. The positive aspect is that the project might never stop evolving in the future, along with new technologies and future ideas, there will always be a possible next step. But unlike some other open source projects, Planeshift uses its own licence that you might read.
under developement: This can be the most frustrating aspect of PS. Indeed it means that unexpexted changes can occur due to new features added, changed or removed. Bugs can affect the gameplay, the server can go down, your client might crash, ... But you can also see that as an enthousiastic part of it. Your bug reports, suggestions and whishes can become part of the next releases. Making you not only a tester but a contributor. Look for the wishes of others in the Wish list, give your opinion or maybe make your own suggestion.
Planeshift is all of these; a roleplaying game where you interact with many people and contribute to create a virtual experience. If you keep all that in mind, then you will be able to discover something else. Something that is not said in the title of this post: Planeshift is an online community that you will be part of.
No doubt you have seen this writen somewhere around. At least you might have seen a part of this sentence when searching the web for "free MMORPG". The sentence does not cover all the aspects of Planeshift (PS) but to a minimum, it is has many implications that deserve some attention when you play it. Forgeting one of the words will make it harder to fully enjoy it. Let me then explain all the parts of this sentence one by one before juming into the whole game. Understanding each part of the sentence will help you to guess what you can and what you can't do.
Planeshift: This describe the computer program but also its settings and the world you will enter. Planeshift is a server, a client, art, maps, texts, ... When you run PS, your client connects you to a server that will display the PS world according to its settings and the art. When you are in the client, you are in PS. If PS (client) can't connect to PS (server) look for a solution here. If the problem happens after that or is specific to you operating system, an answer might exist in the other Support sub-sections.
Free: Free means that you will not be asked for money in order to use the application. Do not confuse free of charge and freedom of doing anything you like. Like anywhere else, your freedom to do what you want will be limited to what you can do. There are things that are not allowed. It is a good idea to look at Planeshift rules and notifications.
MMORPG: Due to this acronym to be overused in various ways, I will describe the do/dont implications of each part.
MMO: Massively Multiplayer=You will not play alone. You will have to share the use of the server with a great number of people from all over the world. Do do so, you willl have to accept their differences, you won't be welcomed to claim any aspect of the game is more yours than theirs. In order to interact with them, you are asked to use a common language (it is english in PS). Once again some of the rules and guidelines are here to guide you. Online=you might know the general etiquette of the internet, also known as netiquette.
RP: Role playing. If you are not used to the concepts of roleplaying, you can start by reading how to roleplay in the mainsite. The terms of role playing are used in acting. They are also used in many scripted games with a fixed scenario. You have to extend those definitions to improvisation to fully catch the role playing in a game like PS. There is no fixed scenario. Only the physical aspect of the role is managed by the system. You are in command of the thoughts and decisions of the character you play. The consequences of your decisions in this role are determined by the world. In a pen and paper role playing game, the world is composed by a game master and the characters played by players. In a computer game, the program is the game master, other online people are in charge of other characters. When you are not used to it, it can look schyzophrenic. You have to separate the knowledge of your character and your own.
Consider this scheme:
Reality > Player // {game world > character}. When in you role, only the parts enclosed with {} are considered as "In Character" (IC) the rest, you in the real world, is "Out Of Character" (OOC) and does not make sense in the lower parts.
As you have to conform to reality, your character has to conform to the game world. That's why it is called a virtual reality.
G: Game; tha last part of the MMORPG acronym is as important as others. It is a game. It can mean that you play it for enjoyment or training. The training part is to confront you to different challenges. You can win or lose by playing. However frustrating it might be to lose, you have the oportunity to play again to start a different solution. Losing and having difficulties is part of the process. Therefore giving away easy solutions will be considered as spoiling the game. You shall not give away spoilers nor expect to recieve them. Doing so it a renouncement to the game. Like every game, it is easier to start after reading the game guide.
open source: PS is made by volonteers on their free time. It means that if you have the needed skills and time, you can join them. It also means that you have to be patient when it comes to delays or bugs. The positive aspect is that the project might never stop evolving in the future, along with new technologies and future ideas, there will always be a possible next step. But unlike some other open source projects, Planeshift uses its own licence that you might read.
under developement: This can be the most frustrating aspect of PS. Indeed it means that unexpexted changes can occur due to new features added, changed or removed. Bugs can affect the gameplay, the server can go down, your client might crash, ... But you can also see that as an enthousiastic part of it. Your bug reports, suggestions and whishes can become part of the next releases. Making you not only a tester but a contributor. Look for the wishes of others in the Wish list, give your opinion or maybe make your own suggestion.
Planeshift is all of these; a roleplaying game where you interact with many people and contribute to create a virtual experience. If you keep all that in mind, then you will be able to discover something else. Something that is not said in the title of this post: Planeshift is an online community that you will be part of.
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Poetry, Comedy, and other. / Re: My journey to Ojavada.
« on: October 30, 2006, 02:45:22 pm »
If you experience a bug after entering the world, you should use the appropriate section of the forum, make a search there and discover that you added nothing to the general knowledge.
There was no need for you to use this spoiler thread before making sure you had searched for the solution to your visibility problem.
There was no need for you to use this spoiler thread before making sure you had searched for the solution to your visibility problem.