OOC communication and start up?

[My 2 sids]

So, we've had a discussion about the possibility of OOC communication and issues with Off-peak opportunities.   And I'm not trying to rehash, but they did get me to thinking.  Would it be possible if players could request some guidance in creating characters from Staff?  Doesn't have to be specific, but something like:

Player:  Hey, I play 4am - 8am EST...  where's the PC population at this time?
Staff:  It looks like <d-elf clan> is very active during that time


Just seems to me Staff could share some of the OOC accumulated information (like all those stats and player-leader-updates) to those players who don't wish to come in with a PC that fits in Zanathas, but has no place in game because no other players are active.

[Marshmellow]

I believe the reasoning against this is something along the lines of:  so you want to join the one clan that's active so that nothing else will be?  All off-peakers should play in the same clan?  Meh.

[Lizzie]

What's even worse, is when you take the staff's time to help you place your PC in an active clan, but by the time you're ready to meet up with some of your clannies, they're already dead.

[Cutthroat]

Let's say you do what's usually suggested to off-peakers having trouble finding a clan, and create a city PC that then attempts to fit into whatever clan is hiring during the times the player is on.

If you have no luck in any of the major areas, then you could probably explain such in a Question request to staff for guidance. But I would actually try fitting into the game the traditional way before asking for staff assistance, because it is definitely possible to do this for most clans. Tribes are harder, but when you sign up to play in a tribe, you take on its relative isolation as well.

[Malifaxis]

While I do see the reason for this, and I feel the plight of the off-peakers in my little black heart, I do think this is a slippery slope. 

I've been an off peaker myself, and I know the feeling of great loneliness.  Try being an off peak only-halfling-in-the-clan for 5 months.  I think I saw maybe 6 people the whole while.

I hated it at the time, but after some time to reflect, I'm so glad Nessalin stored me and moved me on to something with at least the potential for interaction.

[Nyr]

We do get requests about guidance on character creation from time to time.  It can't hurt to ask if you have that concern.

[Malifaxis]

We do get requests about guidance on character creation from time to time.  It can't hurt to ask if you have that concern.

>.>

[Nao]

Let's say you do what's usually suggested to off-peakers having trouble finding a clan, and create a city PC that then attempts to fit into whatever clan is hiring during the times the player is on.

But I would actually try fitting into the game the traditional way before asking for staff assistance, because it is definitely possible to do this for most clans. Tribes are harder, but when you sign up to play in a tribe, you take on its relative isolation as well.

There are a few problems with that approach, sometimes it works out, other times it doesn't and you're stuck with the PC. Even if you find someone that seems to be online during your playtimes and join the clan, there's no guarantee that you'll actually find someone to play with. Reasons why this often fails:

- That guy who hired you is your boss and is around just long enough to give you orders. There's no other PCs.
- The guy is actually playing at some other time, you just got lucky and caught them on their free day or something. Waiting a few weeks to get to know everyone's habits and playtimes usually is not an option.
- There's a couple of other players who log on from time to time, but you're still on your own most of the time and even when they're around, they're pretty boring.

If I make another PC, I'll probably stay indie and miss out on all the cool clan-related plots and RPTs, but keep the ability to move around and stay where things are interesting.

[chrisdcoulombe]

We do get requests about guidance on character creation from time to time.  It can't hurt to ask if you have that concern.

>.>

LMAO