Please please PLEASE pass on the news in game!

Started by Gimfalisette, June 30, 2006, 02:59:05 AM

Please, people, for the love of the Sun King and the Highlord or whoever, PASS ON THE NEWS from the battlefront. PLEASE, I am -begging- you. If you have friends in the city and you're allowed to contact them (I have no idea if you are or not), then please do and tell them to put the freaking news on the rumor boards. Names of people who are dead, details about battles, whatever it is, I don't care. But my character and I are -dying- to know, so please play nice and -share-.

And then cityfolk, POST THE RUMORS.

I don't mind being left out of things, but at least tell us ICly what's going on.

Again, I don't mean for anyone to post it here, do not do that. But please relay IC info when you can, through the appropriate IC channels.

Thanks.
Quote from: Vanth on February 13, 2008, 05:27:50 PM
I'm gonna go all Gimfalisette on you guys and lay down some numbers.

This seems like a better urge to make ICly to your friends/soldiers/spies/templars than OOCly on the discussion board.

I have made the urge ICly. Really I have. Spending 6 hours a night doing "contact person1" "contact person2" "contact person3" "contact person4"...and getting nothing. Also spending all night, every night, visiting every tavern in the town and talking to everyone present to find out if there's news. But there's not--There's just not enough news circulating, because people at the front are busy. And that's understandable, but when y'all have downtime, take pity on us.
Quote from: Vanth on February 13, 2008, 05:27:50 PM
I'm gonna go all Gimfalisette on you guys and lay down some numbers.

I agree wholeheartedly with Gim. For those who've got a city-bound PC who actually gives a flying kank, news is more addictive than spice at the moment. Especially when you can sit for hours upon hours, and not see 1/4 of the usual amount of city people because they're all gone, and you've nothing to do but bar-hop and wait. :shock:
Quote from: jhunterI'm gonna show up at your home and violate you with a weedeater.  :twisted:

I can definitely sympathise with not being in the middle of the war action and not knowing what's going on immediately, but there are IC solutions to that. Find ways to get/spread news (or even just make up news to spread, propaganda style), or maybe even come up with an excuse to get out to the camps yourself?

I just don't think that the GDB should be used as a vessel for effecting IC change in this way. Posting OOCly to ask people to do IC things when there are in game methods available for that doesn't seem very good. Besides, many people don't read the GDB anyway.

Makes you really appreciate CNN and embedded reporters, doesn't it?
quote="Hymwen"]A pair of free chalton leather boots is here, carrying the newbie.[/quote]

Hell yes. Any of you people out there who've already died for your city-state... switch sides and become news casters for us!
Quote from: jhunterI'm gonna show up at your home and violate you with a weedeater.  :twisted:

I have to agree with alesix (surprisingly  :twisted: ). If you want news and there are not any in the city, try to find someone who either came from the field or who probably would know what is going on. If any of these is impossible, pay someone to go there and bring you news. I think it could be very IC that people in the city are not informed well or often. IMHO.

EDITed to add: Also, I realize things are now a little bit slow in cities (at least in the one I am in). But there still -are- some PCs there, just maybe meeting in a different places than usual.

OH MAN...YOU NEED TO HEAR THIS...I WAS THERE AND I COULDN"T BELIEVE IT...oKAY HERE GOEs....oh wait wait sorry too IC so can't tell you on the boards.

I'll say this keep trying and think carefully of all those you've met that you know went. Other then that keep trying cus it was good or really bad depending on how you see it :D

I have posted on the HRPT thread, although admittedly that's just a tiny taste meant to be very vague.  I also posted an IC rumor on the Allanaki boards since I'm the Southlands Region Administrator.  I forgot about Tuluk's IC boards.  Maybe someone can do that....
"I agree with Halaster"  -- Riev

If you can't find out stuff IC, don't let that discourage you.  Keep trying.  That's just how it is in war, and news travels slowly in such societies.

News travels slowly...when we have the Way? In theory, news should travel at least as quickly as it does in modern society where -almost- every person has a cellphone and can call from the event as it happens.

I think news travels slowly because people are not considering the reality of how their characters would act in such circumstances. In war or other catastrophic events, what really happens is that soldiers call home to say, "Mom, I'm OK" or "Sweetie, I promise I'll be coming home soon" or "It looks like this is the big one, I just wanted you to know before I *gulp* go that I love you." Observers (news reporters and other) call home just because they want people in general to -know- what's happening, or maybe they want to make a name for themselves off the news. Military leaders, in time of war, traditionally will send lists home or through the media of those who've died because they know that the populace in general is desperate for information about their loved ones. Propagandists should be sending news back to whip the population up about kicking the ass of That Other City.

These are the true-to-character things that I don't see happening. Maybe every single character on the front lines is a selfish bastard with no relationships with anyone, and thus they don't care about sending news back. I don't think this is the case, though, from the characters that I know who are/were on the front. I think what's happening is that the -players- at the front are so excited and busy and having so much fun that they are forgetting to factor in this part of their characters--the part that is connected to the home city and the people who are still there. Maybe those characters are conducting this communication virtually while the player is offline--sure, but that doesn't mean the actual communication is getting through to the city.

Though I do have to admit that I haven't gone to every NPC and VNPC in the city yet to beg for information. Maybe that's where the news is ending up  :roll:

In RL, people are generally just plain old -bad- at communication in non-critical situations. I know this from many, many years working in corporations: People just will forget to tell you what -you- need to know, because it's not a need to them. However, in a real life-or-death situation, there is often a -need- inside a soldier to be remembered, to be thought of, for someone to know where his/her body lies in the desert. The players don't have this need, but the characters do. To the players, this is a non-critical situation and thus doesn't warrant much communication; but to the characters this situation is critical and the urge to communicate should be there.
Quote from: Vanth on February 13, 2008, 05:27:50 PM
I'm gonna go all Gimfalisette on you guys and lay down some numbers.

This is one of those things that complaining on the GDB will probably not do much good about.  The people you are trying to get a hold of IC can't always be logged in when you are, and they may well be too busy to respond to you when they are.  The best solution is to explore your other options IC to get this information.  With such situations, the best solution is to handle it ICly.  If you want people at your beck and call to give you all the dirt, find people to do it for you.

I'd love to see some more non-soldier PCs in the camp who are there to whip up morale among the troops and send good news to the home front.

Me, I'm too busy not dying to worry about sending lists of names home. My only real "family" is the military, and they're all here already. They know what's going on.

Quote from: "Gimfalisette"News travels slowly...when we have the Way? In theory, news should travel at least as quickly as it does in modern society where -almost- every person has a cellphone and can call from the event as it happens.

I think news travels slowly because people are not considering the reality of how their characters would act in such circumstances. In war or other catastrophic events, what really happens is that soldiers call home to say, "Mom, I'm OK" or "Sweetie, I promise I'll be coming home soon" or "It looks like this is the big one, I just wanted you to know before I *gulp* go that I love you." Observers (news reporters and other) call home just because they want people in general to -know- what's happening, or maybe they want to make a name for themselves off the news. Military leaders, in time of war, traditionally will send lists home or through the media of those who've died because they know that the populace in general is desperate for information about their loved ones. Propagandists should be sending news back to whip the population up about kicking the ass of That Other City.

These are the true-to-character things that I don't see happening. Maybe every single character on the front lines is a selfish bastard with no relationships with anyone, and thus they don't care about sending news back. I don't think this is the case, though, from the characters that I know who are/were on the front. I think what's happening is that the -players- at the front are so excited and busy and having so much fun that they are forgetting to factor in this part of their characters--the part that is connected to the home city and the people who are still there. Maybe those characters are conducting this communication virtually while the player is offline--sure, but that doesn't mean the actual communication is getting through to the city.

Though I do have to admit that I haven't gone to every NPC and VNPC in the city yet to beg for information. Maybe that's where the news is ending up  :roll:

In RL, people are generally just plain old -bad- at communication in non-critical situations. I know this from many, many years working in corporations: People just will forget to tell you what -you- need to know, because it's not a need to them. However, in a real life-or-death situation, there is often a -need- inside a soldier to be remembered, to be thought of, for someone to know where his/her body lies in the desert. The players don't have this need, but the characters do. To the players, this is a non-critical situation and thus doesn't warrant much communication; but to the characters this situation is critical and the urge to communicate should be there.

Your wrong...I don't want to explain to you why your wrong though because its really in danger of being IC or giving IC hints oocly and the fact of the matter is that despite that the event happened yesterday and there are OOC isssues with people and RL time and that you have no clue what happened  ICly , you still automaticly assuming bad RP on the part of others but... i'm sorry your assumtions are totally wrong...I know your very curious..give it time, the info you seek will eventually come..just be patient..

Its a fantasy world, there could easily be a million IC reasons for something being the way it is...give your fellow players the benifit of the doubt once in a while...