New Player - Could Use a Hand

[r2213]

Hey kids,
Obviously my first post on the forum, been playing SOI for about a year or so now, and just wanted to say hello and see what else was out there. I understand your world is coming to and end? Any ETA or anything on that? Should I make a character for this world?

My main question was, what are the differences between here and SOI for those of you who have played both? What is there in the way of crafting, how does combat work? You guys have roleplay points? What is the IG time-scale? Any useful tips or direction would be greeted with glee!

More specifically, are there any new player friendly clans that might be of assistance? Somewhere I could join up and learn the ropes of the codebase?

Also, I have a character in the world I made some 7IG years ago, not sure how to retire him and start anew. Any help from the IMMs on that front would be most grateful, believe it is under the account of 'Kaine.'

p.s. That character was created when I was first starting to Mud, and I believe from the short peek I took at him that he is... likely the worst character I've ever made.

[mansa]

Check my signature for some helpful walkthrough.

Also you can ask our "Helpers", listed here:  http://www.armageddon.org/intro/helpers.php

[Gimfalisette]

Hi! Welcome to Crackageddon (again).

I understand your world is coming to and end? Any ETA or anything on that? Should I make a character for this world?

The world is not ending any time soon. You have plenty of time to make a character, or ten, and play them to the full.

My main question was, what are the differences between here and SOI for those of you who have played both? What is there in the way of crafting, how does combat work? You guys have roleplay points? What is the IG time-scale? Any useful tips or direction would be greeted with glee!

I can't speak to the coded differences, as I have not played SOI. There are no roleplay points on ARM, though we do have what's called "karma," which is similar, but it doesn't get used up when you play karma roles.

The IC time scale is about 8 years to one RL year, with one IC year taking about 6 weeks real time.

More specifically, are there any new player friendly clans that might be of assistance? Somewhere I could join up and learn the ropes of the codebase?

The Tzai Byn is often suggested for new players, as it will introduce you to both general ARM culture, and the combat code. Seek them out in game, probably most likely in Allanak. Human warrior never fails for the Byn.

Also, I have a character in the world I made some 7IG years ago, not sure how to retire him and start anew. Any help from the IMMs on that front would be most grateful, believe it is under the account of 'Kaine.'

Use the request tool to ask for your PC to be stored if you still know your account login info. If not, then email to mud@armageddon.org with as much detail as you can remember.

[Cutthroat]

Crafting here is very different from SoI. In SoI there are, for example, many specific crafts to butcher various animals - in Arm, the skin command is used for every step of the process. You can't get a list of your crafts, but you can see what you can try to make with an item by typing craft <item>. There is no body-part-specific wound system in Arm with blood loss and treating, but players here are still expected to RP their wounds realistically as in SoI. A day in SoI takes about 6 RL hours if memory serves; here, a day is 90 minutes with 9 hours that last 10 minutes each. There's probably a huge amount of other differences I can't quite think of at the moment. 

[r2213]

Thanks Gim! Used the request tool to request for Storage, and can hopefully create a new character soon enough.

So, time is very, very different... but will likely have to get used to that IG.

And good to know that the world isn't ending too soon.

And Tzai Byn, alright. Human warrior. Combat? Ranged vs. Melee? Different weapon types? Skill progression?

And the wound thing is curious, but I guess I can deal with that. And no IC healers then?

[Cutthroat]

There are physicians IC, but they'll primarily be using bandages to restore your total HP and HP regeneration while roleplaying wound treatment, rather than treating specific wounds codedly. All the fighting guilds (warrior, ranger, assassin) have some amount of ranged and melee capabilities either to start or as you play (rather than branching crafts, you can branch skills off of skills you have gotten good at), so you don't really have to pick one or the other.

[Gimfalisette]

And Tzai Byn, alright. Human warrior. Combat? Ranged vs. Melee? Different weapon types? Skill progression?

A human warrior primarily does melee combat, but if you take an appropriate subguild or eventually acquire the right skills, you could also do ranged. However, you may not get a lot of ranged combat opportunities in a city-based role like the Byn. You'd have to choose.

Stuff about weapon types you will find out IC. Stuff about skill progression you will also find out IC. We don't talk about that kind of code stuff OOCly.

And the wound thing is curious, but I guess I can deal with that. And no IC healers then?

Characters who possess the bandage skill are those who are the mundane "healers" in Zalanthas. That's certainly a fun role to play out, but it's probably quite different from whatever is done on SOI.

[Synthesis]

Thanks Gim! Used the request tool to request for Storage, and can hopefully create a new character soon enough.

So, time is very, very different... but will likely have to get used to that IG.

And good to know that the world isn't ending too soon.

And Tzai Byn, alright. Human warrior. Combat? Ranged vs. Melee? Different weapon types? Skill progression?

And the wound thing is curious, but I guess I can deal with that. And no IC healers then?

If you want ranged combat, go ranger...anything else is pretty lame.

Weapon types don't really make a whole hell of a lot of difference.  Weapon quality is much more of a factor.

Skill progression on Arm seems much faster on Arm than on SoI, but learning skills that you don't begin with (with the exception of branching) is much more difficult, and goes through the request tool process.

There are IC healers: numerous guilds and a subguild gain access to the 'bandage' command, which takes care of that.  There are also magick means.

[r2213]

Branching, eh?

in SOI, when crafting, you have a chance to branch into a different craft of a related subset.

So, forge dagger-blade, on completion there is a small chance you might branch forge shortsword-blade.

You are saying that in Arm you can branch different combat skills? Interesting...

Could someone point me in a direction to explain the concept of guilds / subguilds? Somewhat confused on that point.

[Fathi]

Here is the helpfile that explains how guilds work, as well as what the various guilds are.

Here is the same helpfile, but for subguilds.

Keep in mind when reading those guild summaries that your character will not start with every ability described in those helpfiles. Many of the abilities described will take weeks, sometimes months, of playtime for most players to achieve. Many players never branch them at all.

Compared to SOI, Arm characters start out extremely low-skilled. Do not expect your character to be able to kill animals, skin them properly, fight other PCs, move stealthily, of successfully craft as a newbie. It's extremely frustrating, but your skills will go up relatively quick if you practice them often enough.

[Synthesis]

Branching, eh?

in SOI, when crafting, you have a chance to branch into a different craft of a related subset.

So, forge dagger-blade, on completion there is a small chance you might branch forge shortsword-blade.

You are saying that in Arm you can branch different combat skills? Interesting...

Could someone point me in a direction to explain the concept of guilds / subguilds? Somewhat confused on that point.

A guild comes with a set of skills.  A subguild comes with a set of skills. The idea is that your subguild represents a hobby or maybe something you once were skilled in but no longer use quite so much.  Your guild is supposed to represent the set of skills that you would be using heavily on an ordinary basis.

Typically, your guild skills have higher caps, and you can branch from them.  

Subguild skills have lower caps (unless your guild also has that skill), and you don't branch from them.

"Branching" is gaining a new skill once you've achieved near-mastery in the skill that it branches from.  Yes, these can be new combat skills.  They can also be new crafting skills, new stealth skills, or whatever.  Sometimes the skill-trees don't make much sense, but it's what we've learned to live with.

[janeshephard]

I've been playing for a month now. Look at the Helper list and email about 2-3 of them. Then start a conversation. They'll answer most questions

[Voular]

Since everyone seems to have helped you out - I am going to wish you WELCOME. And remember that YOU make the FUN here. It's like a fun machine, but you gots to bring the ingredients kid.

I call dibs on the left boot.

[Xeran Van Houten]

I call dibs on the left boot.

Yam has default dibs on all newb boots.

[Gunnerblaster]

Welcome to Armageddon.

[Gagula]

Welcome to Crackaggedon, please feel free to leave your boots by the door for our convenience! lol

[Erythil]

The main difference between ARM and SOI is that the different 'spheres' of play have a much heavier influence on each other, with people moving back and forth between the different locales frequently.  Also, certain parts of SOI, Gondor particularly, are very PG-rated; you are likely to live as long as you like and expect things to go reasonably well for your character.  On ARM you are struggling against both the environment and other players at all times, unless you stay huddled within your clan compound.

[Thistle]

Lets try to not stray too far from topic here please.

[r2213]

Good info Erythil!

How active are the particular spheres? Player numbers, prime-times, and primary differences between them that you won't find on the FAQ?

EDIT TO ADD:
Also, naming conventions?

[Gimfalisette]

How active are the particular spheres? Player numbers, prime-times, and primary differences between them that you won't find on the FAQ?

EDIT TO ADD:
Also, naming conventions?

You should probably begin your playing experience in either Allanak or Tuluk, as they are the busiest centers of play, and will offer you the widest variety of options for your character. Peak playing time on ARM is from around 4 pm Pacific / 7 pm Eastern to 9 pm Pacific / midnight Eastern. During peak time, we frequently reach 60ish characters online at once; over an entire week, the number of unique players logging in will be about 270.

Primary differences between Allanak and Tuluk are cultural, and can be explored by reading the general documentation for either city. In general, Allanak is more brutish and openly harsh, Tuluk is more sekretly backstabby. But that's a super over-generalization, and you're going to want to get to know the cities through the documention, and then by playing there.

You can name your PC whatever you like. Commoners usually go by only a first name. Often, players choose names that sound Arabic or otherwise Middle-Eastern, because those names seem to go with the "feel" of Zalanthas.

[r2213]

Alright! Hopefully I did everything right with the App, a little confusing in certain places, but read as much documentation as I could, and it's sent away!

Wish me luck

[nihilist]

Luck!

[r2213]

Hrm, the request for storage was approved, and the new application approved, however logged in and found myself in my old character.

[Gimfalisette]

Hrm, the request for storage was approved, and the new application approved, however logged in and found myself in my old character.

Perhaps you're mistaken. Try again? If it's the same account, what you describe is not really possible.

[Erythil]

Good info Erythil!

How active are the particular spheres? Player numbers, prime-times, and primary differences between them that you won't find on the FAQ?

EDIT TO ADD:
Also, naming conventions?

There are no real naming conventions to worry about.  Some people would advise against overly modern anglo-saxon sounding names, but you'll see those, too.

The most active locations are easily Tuluk and Allanak, where you're likely to find people on at all times of day.  The Rinth, Red Storm, and Luirs Outpost are less-populated, depending on the current crop of characters, and don't have so many people around off the 'peak' hours, which on ARM seem to tend towards EST afternoons and evenings -- prime/peak times are often more clan-related than location related. 

As for your other question, the documentation, I've found, pretty accurately reflects the tone of each location.