Is armageddon safe and cozy?

[zeia]

Apart from being pissed on by gith, kryl, spiders, anakores, bahamets, sharps, assholes, whores and gickers?
Yeah.. arms safe..

[Tuannon]

I'm still waiting for Cyber Patrol to chime in.

[RogueGunslinger]

I'm still waiting for Cyber Patrol to chime in.

Ahh, the "when in doubt, whip it out" guy. Or maybe I got that backwards...

[BleakOne]

Apart from being pissed on by gith, kryl, spiders, anakores, bahamets, sharps, assholes, whores and gickers?
Yeah.. arms safe..

Don't forget Mekillots, black beetles, storms, the shield wall, 'rinthers, ankegs...

[Kismetic]

Rantarri, silt flyers, delves, dujat, silt horrors, salt worms, and a goodly amount of "find out IC" monsters and variations ...

Yeah, sure, it's all safe and cozy.  Like a pair of spiky underwear.   

I think people are bitching because people don't PK as much.   No worries, we'll happily oblige you. 

[Maso]

I don't wanna get PK'd. I just wanna get beat up more.

[Kismetic]

I was just kidding around.  I'm certainly not going to be specific, but I know it's happening out there, even if not by me.  Arm is as cutthroat as ever, IMO.

[Dar]

Threads like this make me want to app up Richard, the cutesy warlock.

[Akaramu]

I don't wanna get PK'd. I just wanna get beat up more.

+10, because 1 isn't enough.

[marko]

This is my experience and take it with a grain of salt mixed with some sand:

Safety and coziness in Armageddon is entirely within the perception and domain of the individual player.

Most players that I've seen will reach a point where they will have a string of long lived characters.  They have, essentially, reached a point of knowledge of how the game works and how the player community works to be able to live for a long while.  When players reach this point, the game changes its dynamic feeling and can start becoming stale.  Some players, at this point, will shift focus and start trying to "change the world" and then start "hating" the immortals for being a variety of "bad things."  These players tend to complain that the game is rigid and that the immortals don't do anything.

Other players just say that the game gets too safe.  That the game is easy and don't look at their own character progression.  The game can be as safe or as dangerous as you wish it to be based on how you play your character.

Any role can be full of risk and danger or safe and easy.  I've seen people in all roles live forever and a day simply because they didn't do anything risky at all.  There is nothing -wrong- with that since it is their choice to play like that.  What is wrong is if they ever complain about the game being risk free.

Armageddon gives you what you put into it.   

Once a player reaches that state of enlightenment they shift their focus and start playing for their own enjoyment.  They create stories and fun for themselves and others.  Some players stumble upon this by creating "throw away" characters that seem to survive the craziest thing and these are the characters that they remember with fondness later on.

If the game ever feels stale or static to you take a break and start a risk taker. 

As an aside, I won Armageddon years ago. 

So, winning isn't an achievable goal anymore since it was done.  But, there are plenty of consolation prizes out there to compete for.

[Kismetic]

I would say if this wasn't a troll thread for "player vs. imm" plots, then marko's got it spot on.  Risk nothing, lose nothing.  Safe and cozy is relative to what you put into it.

[Intrepid]

Coming into this thread late, I'd have to say that I have had a very different experience on Arm.  I'm still planning my next pc and haven't played one in a few months, but I've been repeatedly frustrated in the last few years because my pcs have been getting ganked more often than they used to.

[A Large Bag]

My answer to the thread title: Fuck no.

[hatchets]

When I was introduced to Arm, was a friend in another mud I was playing and was tired of. He told me "do not get attached to your character, cause you will die fast" Not sure if that was cause arm was dangerous, or if he knew I have a habit of playing conflict roles, in either case, as I learn more of the game, I enjoy developing more conflictual actions, beliefs, and such. Though so far, I have to say, its a pretty friendly world, just has a harsh learning curve, ya start out knowing nothing, and it feels like everyone expects ya to know everything (atleast on an IC level, folks are real helpful OOCly)

In my opinion I have to say yes, Arm is safe and cozy.

[Is Friday]

Currently the game is saturated with a lot of new players. That always makes the environment seem "nicer".

[BadSkeelz]

Because my first character was not jumped in the tavern and buttfucked to death (without even first being asked for consent!) within my first 30 minutes of play, I have concluded that Armageddon is irredeemably carebear.

On a serious note, I do rein myself in from murdering newbies. I prefer to rough them up while also giving any syntax help since I know from experience that's the biggest learning curve. May be I'm too nice. Or may be I'm just setting myself up to be zerg-rushed a few months down the road by accomplished warriors and assassins holding a grudge.

[Suhuy]

I've played on and off for a great many years. And I actually do think death was a greater occurrence "Back in the Day" than it is now. Really, people were dying right and left. Bodies stacked all over the place. It really was a different time.

But there was also a lesser focus on role-play than there is today (depending how far back we're talking). Players and imms alike put less focus on depth than they do now. Compare the fossil that is present day Allanak to New Tuluk today. Compare Allanak's room descriptions, clearly written nearly two decades ago, to the ones in New Tuluk. Where the average item in Allanak has an sdesc as descriptive as: a bone breastplate, its counterpart in Tuluk tends to read more like this: a thick and vibrant kryl shell armlet. I'm not talking about being wordy just for the sake of it. I truly do mean added depth. New Tuluk has a wealth of documentation far surpassing present day Allanak's. The rooms, the NPCs, the objects. All of it, to me, reflect the difference between old school ArmageddonMUD where the primary focus was death, and its present day form where the primary focus is depth.

And it stands to reason if we put a greater effort into breathing life into the game and our characters, we're going to value those characters more. I don't think that makes the game CarebearMUD. I think it makes the game more mature. Having said that, you can still find death aplenty in present day Arm. Exploration and even general hunting has always had its share of hazards. And death via PC to PC conflict still exists, perhaps on a lesser scale only because players aren't desperately LOOKING for a reason to PKill you and are instead only doing it when it's realistic for their character to do so.

Up until recently I'd been offline for roughly two years. And on and off before that during the span of Arm's history. Since my return I'm amazed to see updates to the wilds, the North Road, the clans, the code, etc. And I don't think any of it has implied added coziness to the game. Just depth.

[Harmless]

Interesting thread. I think that I fit marko's story to some degree. I had a period of self-perceived boredom and staleness, which I later learned was me not "fitting the mold" of clans and characters I played, not having enough risk, and so on. This was followed by period of "enlightenment" where I play "throw aways" but I wouldn't put that label on it per se, just the general concept of increasing my risk and enjoying it does fit with my experience of learning how to play Arm.

I have yet to "win at arm," whatever that means. However, I have found new ways to have fun with a game I've been playing a long time, and for me, having fun is winning. So you're not the only one.

[Is Friday]

The peeps that are complaining that the game isn't dangerous just aren't going out looking for danger. If you look: Believe me, you'll find it. That's personally how I play for a lot of my roles and it's exciting.

[spacewars]

Interesting thread. I think that I fit marko's story to some degree. I had a period of self-perceived boredom and staleness, which I later learned was me not "fitting the mold" of clans and characters I played, not having enough risk, and so on. This was followed by period of "enlightenment" where I play "throw aways" but I wouldn't put that label on it per se, just the general concept of increasing my risk and enjoying it does fit with my experience of learning how to play Arm.

I have yet to "win at arm," whatever that means. However, I have found new ways to have fun with a game I've been playing a long time, and for me, having fun is winning. So you're not the only one.

IMO winning arm is only achieved when you have FUN. That is winning in arm as arm is a game that has no end other than death. So if you at any point in arm had fun you where winning.

[X-D]

My thoughts.

First, NPC wise, yes, it is pretty fluffy, but that I think is mostly because some respawns are broken...and other things...but I think staff likely knows about such things and is working on them. So who knows, maybe the desert will become more populated again with eat your face things.

PC wise...well, over the years I've noticed that the people who do cause conflict or do PK don't do it all the time. I am one of them. If I have a successful conflict PC, When he is no more I usually will make something else, and I tend to have VERY long lived PCs. Many other people are the same way. SO, you end up with spikes..as it would be, when people tend to be playing conflict PCs and then non-conflict PCs. And it does not take many people to make these noticed, simply because it only takes 3 or 4 experienced players doing about the same thing to be noticed. While twenty inexperienced players can be doing it as well but they are unlikely to make noticeable waves.

Don't worry, though I have been on a low conflict PC for the last year...it will not last much longer and the conflict, chaos, killing bug will bite again and I will make something to make you all miserable...enjoy the coziness while it lasts.

[Lizzie]

XD's version of "not safe" is infinitely more fun than randomly spawned tembo's version of "not safe." I completely endorse XD's version.

And miss it

[The Lonely Hunter]

Having stepped away from the game for awhile and recently returned I would say that, in my perception at least, it is much safer in many ways. I think that if you never step away, you can't really see a slow-occuring change. From my limited experiences of being back people also seem much more accepting of all sorts of trash like elves, half-elves, 'rinthers, gems, and Byn. There are many more people that want to be 'friends' with everyone and are just generally polite. Sure, they could be being manipulative but...eh.

People seem much faster to use the OOC command as well, which does bother me a bit. When I have seen it used it wasn't for the limited brief comment that I think it was intended for but they seem to carry on a little bit and say things that isn't really needed.

Armageddon seems to have gone a bit soft. I'm hoping to help to bring back a bit more grit. In the few chances I had to attempt to do that, people didn't seem to know what to think. I've been having a lot of fun since returning and I am glad to be playing again so I am in no way complaining, just stating my observations.