Idea: Waiting and RL matchups hindering plots

[Delirium]

But if you don't use the clan boards to post gossip, how are they going to hear about it?

Maybe a hybrid approach works best, where you post the absolute bare bones on the clan GDB so people know what's going on, then post the rumors ICly. I actually like that idea a lot more because that way people a) know there's something to log in for, b) have to log in to get the gossip, as I honestly feel like they should. Yes, you're around virtually, but that's what in game clan boards are for. To catch you up on the latest.

Obviously these rules are a little more flexible depending on how small/tight-knit the clan is.

[Desertman]

But if you don't use the clan boards to post gossip, how are they going to hear about it?

Maybe a hybrid approach works best, where you post the absolute bare bones on the clan GDB so people know what's going on, then post the rumors ICly. I actually like that idea a lot more because that way people a) know there's something to log in for, b) have to log in to get the gossip, as I honestly feel like they should. Yes, you're around virtually, but that's what in game clan boards are for. To catch you up on the latest.

Obviously these rules are a little more flexible depending on how small/tight-knit the clan is.

I like this.

[Lizzie]

Dman - in some cases, what goes in which chest IS important, because of time constrictions. It SHOULD be obvious that only flowers go in the dark carved box that has a lot of flowers in it. Sadly, it doesn't happen that way and you end up trying to find the three purple flowers for an order your boss needs, and there are 5 boxes, 4 trunks, 6 bins, 2 sets of shelves, an a set of cabinets - and you only see one purple flower. You have no way of knowing if the other two exist but are in the wrong box, unless you check every single box (keyword still has to be done on each individual box and if there are purple-hued flowers and purple-striped pants and purple tablets and so on and so forth it gets stupid). If you only have 10 hours a week to play, do you seriously think it should be on your character, who simply likes to have boxes for specific things, to spend the entirety of the 10 hours sorting boxes?

It's a playability issue. Otherwise - don't whine if everything from your locker is missing and someone else's stuff is in it. Cause you know, ain't nobody got time to pay attention to whose locker is whose.

[Desertman]

Dman - in some cases, what goes in which chest IS important, because of time constrictions. It SHOULD be obvious that only flowers go in the dark carved box that has a lot of flowers in it. Sadly, it doesn't happen that way and you end up trying to find the three purple flowers for an order your boss needs, and there are 5 boxes, 4 trunks, 6 bins, 2 sets of shelves, an a set of cabinets - and you only see one purple flower. You have no way of knowing if the other two exist but are in the wrong box, unless you check every single box (keyword still has to be done on each individual box and if there are purple-hued flowers and purple-striped pants and purple tablets and so on and so forth it gets stupid). If you only have 10 hours a week to play, do you seriously think it should be on your character, who simply likes to have boxes for specific things, to spend the entirety of the 10 hours sorting boxes?

It's a playability issue. Otherwise - don't whine if everything from your locker is missing and someone else's stuff is in it. Cause you know, ain't nobody got time to pay attention to whose locker is whose.

No argument. Everything you have said is absolutely true.

But that does not make it news that should be posted as though it's actually news.....because it isn't.

If you are having organizational problems as a leader, then you need to better train your people and you need to handle it IC. You don't need to post up as though your thoughts on organization and item sorting are somehow on par with major clan events....they aren't or actual company-wide gossip....they aren't in any way.


I understand it is annoying and it's just so much easier to make a GDB post about it than handle it IC'ly....but what it's not is "company/House-wide rumor worthy".

I see it as taking the easy road instead of choosing to simply be a better leader in the game as it relates to training, controlling, motivating, and punishing (when needed) your people to make your IC system you want to create and run actually run.

(Also, I'm not picking specifically on this sorting thing. This was just my example I came up with and used because I've seen it before. Anything that fits into this same "level of importance" also applies.)

If you have a specific way you want your people in the game to, for example, wear their belts. Say you want them all to wear their belts with the buckles off-center to the left because you like it that way and you want that to be a thing. That does not mean you should make a GDB post about it in your clan boards as though the entire House would know about, care about, or even hear about your desired system. You should handle it in the game. You shouldn't just make a GDB post about how you want things done to "make sure everyone hears about it" because that's easier than actually training your people to do what you want them to do in the game world and fit the system you have designed.

While a much simpler process than creating and utilizing a storage system/organizational system for your people in the game world the criteria is the same. If you have a specific system you want to train your people to be a part of, then actually train them in the game to do it. Don't take the no-effort easy road because, "Doing it in the game is hard.".

[Dunetrade55]

Having seen large, disorganized store-rooms, I'm pretty sure there WOULD be a well-known policy in place to keep things moving.

[Raptor_Dan]

This is a good discussion. I'm glad it's happening, and I've changed my mind, I don't want an NPC gate guard that holds messages. Every two Houses should snatch up one of these youths that run around from tavern to tavern in the streets, and use them as messengers when needed. House Borsail and House Salarr should have one, just for going back and forth between them, and it could reasonably be sometimes on of said House's members, but not necessarily. If it's not, and it's just an unaffiliated urchin, their mind should be your rumor board. Forbid them from speaking about your business, but way them messages to courier back and forth.  

What Dman said about large-scale, House-wide worthy gossip versus what goes where, and who can use what locker, etc, I really wish that was in game. I played a thief once who got clanned, and I knew from the board posts who was dead, and which over-filled locker was ripe for the picking. I realize now, that was completely ooc information, I should NOT have known that, at all, without coming across the information IC. There was a lot of wasted potential for RP interaction, failure, and more overall fun. Granted, this isn't the poster's fault, it's not, really, but there is a lot of wasted rp potential that comes across the clan fora as 'So and so came in bleeding from a gith hunt', or 'So and so didn't return at all'. Might be news worthy as a leader, but when it's about recruits... would the whole house really give that much of a shit, when half the PC's in it haven't even ICly met the person? I don't know. It's just given me a lot to think about. Regarding storerooms, and what goes where though, if you can oocly go to a page and find out the information, then know ICly, why can't the leader keep a small list for themselves, and actually tell their trainees? My leadership skill is slowly making it's way to journeyman, methinks.

[Synthesis]

I've been advocating for a long time that resource-management and communication tasks should be supported by a mobile-device app that integrates with the game itself.

Let people take care of the logistics bullcrap without having to worry that if they're attacked, they won't be able to flee or communicate effectively because they're logged in on their phone.

[Molten Heart]

.

[Reiloth]

I've been advocating for a long time that resource-management and communication tasks should be supported by a mobile-device app that integrates with the game itself.

Let people take care of the logistics bullcrap without having to worry that if they're attacked, they won't be able to flee or communicate effectively because they're logged in on their phone.

Intriguing. Can you explain a bit of what this might look like?

[Synthesis]

I've been advocating for a long time that resource-management and communication tasks should be supported by a mobile-device app that integrates with the game itself.

Let people take care of the logistics bullcrap without having to worry that if they're attacked, they won't be able to flee or communicate effectively because they're logged in on their phone.

Intriguing. Can you explain a bit of what this might look like?

Start it small with only psionics.

When you open the Textageddon app, it logs your PC into some OOC space where only basic psionics work.

You don't get hungry or thirsty.  The only commands you can use are contact and psi.  Your PC doesn't gain "hours played."  They're just sort of sitting there so people can contact you.  When you get a psi message, your phone dings or vibrates or whatever, and you can choose to reply or not.  Mindbenders would be able to intercept the messages in any way they would ordinarily be able to do it, assuming they even can.  Anyone who contacted you would get some sort of notification that you're in text-space, not game-space.  It could be something vague and artsy-fartsy like "their mind seems distant" or some shit, if you really want to keep the stylistic elements.

It would be an entirely OOC construct with no IC explanation, just like logging out is in the first place.  If your PC is already logged in the regular way, you wouldn't be able to log into Textageddon.  If you're logged into Textageddon then you log in the regular way, you get kicked out of Textageddon.

[Large Hero]

I like this idea, a lot.

contact person
psi Hey we gotta blah blah
Their mind is distant.

think Guess they're asleep.

It'd be on the player to handle it appropriately. For instance, you should only use Textageddon if it makes sense for your PC's IC situation. No being a hunted raider, for instance, taunting pursuers from the safety of quasi-OOC land. I have no problem with trusting players with that sort of responsibility. It's like OOC Quit. If someone abuses it, just smack them.

Synthesis, you should make a thread about this idea.

[bardlyone]

I like this idea, a lot.

contact person
psi Hey we gotta blah blah
Their mind is distant.

think Guess they're asleep.

It'd be on the player to handle it appropriately. For instance, you should only use Textageddon if it makes sense for your PC's IC situation. No being a hunted raider, for instance, taunting pursuers from the safety of quasi-OOC land. I have no problem with trusting players with that sort of responsibility. It's like OOC Quit. If someone abuses it, just smack them.

Synthesis, you should make a thread about this idea.

You could also make it a clan job. So that, say, only sponsored leaders, and perhaps anyone they manually assigned it to, had the ability to use it. Or even just whichever sponsored leaders have use of who -c currently, though I daresay that having their aide/right hand/beotch reachable would make a lot of sense for the noble version as opposed to the gmh version of this, if it were divided up that way, maybe corporals and above in the arm, first troopers and above in the byn, etc etc.

[flurry]

If you have a clan with a storage room with over a dozen different categories of items divided into different containers, then to me it seems silly to say that information should be passed along by word of mouth. Same with clans with numerous clan lockers. To me, it's not a matter of whether something is difficult or not, but rather a matter of what a leader should spend their time doing. As a leader I wouldn't want to go over that (let's face it, multiple times) with each underling. Nor would I want to delegate that to someone else, because I don't think it's a reasonable use of anyone's time to focus on something so tedious. This is a game, after all. Maybe I'm biased because in leadership roles I considered time especially precious, as I try to fit in Armageddon time with an already busy life. Which I have no doubt is also the case for many others who take on leadership roles.

(By the way, I agree that organization posts shouldn't go on rumor threads. Because they aren't rumors. It's ironic that an everything-has-its-place post would end up in the wrong place like that, but organization posts should go in their own thread. I've never seen it otherwise, but there are clans I haven't played in.)

However, I'd like to issue a challenge. If you're playing a leader and feel like organization posts, clan locker posts, and check-in posts on clan gdb forums are cramping your style, ask your clan staff to delete them. Lead by example. Do what you think a better leader should be doing. And then come back and tell us how it went, and how long it took before you went back to the way everyone does it now.

[Desertman]

Lead by example.

Already did. Works out great.

[flurry]

I'm glad clan staff were willing to delete those kinds of threads for you. Good to know.

[Is Friday]

I think that works out fine for some clans, but a clan like the Byn which has ridiculous turnover... that would never work.

[nauta]

Tribes are also an area where an organization thread is useful, since everyone would know where the feathers are.

I'm of the view that the gdb should carry:

o Rumours Thread.

o Organizational Thread.

o RPT Scheduling Thread(s).

o Roll Call Thread.

o Absences Thread.

I'd like to see the Rumours Thread replicated on the boards inside the game so sneaks can overhear them, but I understand that's a technical challenge.

Things like organizational threads, roll call threads, rpt scheduling threads, absences threads move the tedium out of the RP, so you can get on with RP.  Just ask anyone who has played an aide: 40% of the RP is: psi ooc: Does 8pm work for your lord?  No?  How about Saturday?

[Reiloth]

I've been advocating for a long time that resource-management and communication tasks should be supported by a mobile-device app that integrates with the game itself.

Let people take care of the logistics bullcrap without having to worry that if they're attacked, they won't be able to flee or communicate effectively because they're logged in on their phone.

Intriguing. Can you explain a bit of what this might look like?

Start it small with only psionics.

When you open the Textageddon app, it logs your PC into some OOC space where only basic psionics work.

You don't get hungry or thirsty.  The only commands you can use are contact and psi.  Your PC doesn't gain "hours played."  They're just sort of sitting there so people can contact you.  When you get a psi message, your phone dings or vibrates or whatever, and you can choose to reply or not.  Mindbenders would be able to intercept the messages in any way they would ordinarily be able to do it, assuming they even can.  Anyone who contacted you would get some sort of notification that you're in text-space, not game-space.  It could be something vague and artsy-fartsy like "their mind seems distant" or some shit, if you really want to keep the stylistic elements.

It would be an entirely OOC construct with no IC explanation, just like logging out is in the first place.  If your PC is already logged in the regular way, you wouldn't be able to log into Textageddon.  If you're logged into Textageddon then you log in the regular way, you get kicked out of Textageddon.

The reason I personally like this is that -- It further represents people in their 'virtual space'. So when people are 'Never Reachable' or encounter that sort of bad mouthing in game, (Salarr? Good luck finding a Salarri!), having some sort of stop-gap where you can get in touch with people while they are offline or leave messages would be great. Having barrier up when you log off would negate it? Or make it so you don't get the messages.

It's something that i'd like to change about contact -- That you 'Find the Mind'. It'd be nice if the wording were changed, or the messages were changed, so that it's like you are sending messages up to a Satellite. You don't get the 'delivered' response when you send a way. You just send it out into the ether. If someone responds, they got your message. But it's part of that age-old idea that the Way shouldn't work 100% across long distances. I've seen people RP dropping words or letters when they are very far away, and I really like that.

In essence it'd be nice if the way wasn't 100% accurate, allowing for people to go off the grid, but also allowing a service like this (Textageddon as you call it) where people can pick up offline messages, but it isn't jarring to someone IG. The 'Mind is Distant' could apply to people very far away from you, as well.

[Is Friday]

Just chiming in to say that Synth's idea is really great.

[Hauwke]

Synths idea sounds pretty good I admit, and I suppose it does make plenty of sense ICly and is conveniant as shit OOCly.
However it has room for abuse I think, in that people could just spend all day talking to their ic friends, I mean sure Bynner #828373734929297 is on gate and is talking to fme pc #928283747383937 and that does make sense ICly. Your character is logged off. If you want to talk to fme pc #928283747383937 then log in when you get the chance.

There is also the raiders thing mentioned earlier, but overall good solid idea with some room for improvement.

[gotdamnmiracle]

So I had this same issue, primarily with merchants and such and came up with a possible solution.

So we make an NPC that sits in a small hut outside of the GMH compounds. They act somewhat like the tailor in that they write tickets and hold equipment. The merchant of a house can drop off equipment with the NPC and set the amount that is due to be paid, the NPC will rite the merchant a writ. The writ can then be picked up or delivered at any time. Thus now all the purchaser needs to do is bring the writ and the money at any time of day and can pick up their equipment.

I think this is good because it's not giving Joe McGrebsalot any amount of money or precious armor piece, but simply a writ of holding. It seems much more appropriate and I'm much more willing to give a grey and brown grebber PC the job of delivering that to me than my precious kryl-plated thong, which they could run off with.

Possibly even this PC could act like a purchasing rumor board "Reciting"  possible purchases from PC's that are not on along the same times as the merchants.

Thoughts? Is this adding another middleman to the mix? Solution? Problem?

[Lizzie]

So I had this same issue, primarily with merchants and such and came up with a possible solution.

So we make an NPC that sits in a small hut outside of the GMH compounds. They act somewhat like the tailor in that they write tickets and hold equipment. The merchant of a house can drop off equipment with the NPC and set the amount that is due to be paid, the NPC will rite the merchant a writ. The writ can then be picked up or delivered at any time. Thus now all the purchaser needs to do is bring the writ and the money at any time of day and can pick up their equipment.

I think this is good because it's not giving Joe McGrebsalot any amount of money or precious armor piece, but simply a writ of holding. It seems much more appropriate and I'm much more willing to give a grey and brown grebber PC the job of delivering that to me than my precious kryl-plated thong, which they could run off with.

Possibly even this PC could act like a purchasing rumor board "Reciting"  possible purchases for PC's that are not on along the same times as the merchants.

Thoughts? Is this adding another middleman to the mix? Solution? Problem?

Existing situation:
Sometimes it takes a long time to FIND a PC GMH merchant to buy from.
Sometimes, when you find one, it takes a long time for the GMH to provide what you ordered.
Sometimes, when you find one, and the item is now available, it takes a long time for it to actually be delivered.

A "tailor-script" NPC in a hut right outside the gate at the GMH compound sounds like it'd be a great solution to the last issue. That's always the most frustrating part, to me - I know I put the order in, I know the PC has the item, and between their clan and mine there are just way too many "things" going on for us to actually meet and get the item delivered.

I wouldn't care all that much about the first two issues, because the delays COULD be totally IC: the merchant PC doesn't -want- your business, for whatever reason.

But once it's been ordered and the PC tells you he has it, it's pretty much a done deal. All that's left to do is arrange the pickup.

[gotdamnmiracle]

So I had this same issue, primarily with merchants and such and came up with a possible solution.

So we make an NPC that sits in a small hut outside of the GMH compounds. They act somewhat like the tailor in that they write tickets and hold equipment. The merchant of a house can drop off equipment with the NPC and set the amount that is due to be paid, the NPC will rite the merchant a writ. The writ can then be picked up or delivered at any time. Thus now all the purchaser needs to do is bring the writ and the money at any time of day and can pick up their equipment.

I think this is good because it's not giving Joe McGrebsalot any amount of money or precious armor piece, but simply a writ of holding. It seems much more appropriate and I'm much more willing to give a grey and brown grebber PC the job of delivering that to me than my precious kryl-plated thong, which they could run off with.

Possibly even this PC could act like a purchasing rumor board "Reciting"  possible purchases for PC's that are not on along the same times as the merchants.

Thoughts? Is this adding another middleman to the mix? Solution? Problem?

Existing situation:
Sometimes it takes a long time to FIND a PC GMH merchant to buy from.
Sometimes, when you find one, it takes a long time for the GMH to provide what you ordered.
Sometimes, when you find one, and the item is now available, it takes a long time for it to actually be delivered.

A "tailor-script" NPC in a hut right outside the gate at the GMH compound sounds like it'd be a great solution to the last issue. That's always the most frustrating part, to me - I know I put the order in, I know the PC has the item, and between their clan and mine there are just way too many "things" going on for us to actually meet and get the item delivered.

I wouldn't care all that much about the first two issues, because the delays COULD be totally IC: the merchant PC doesn't -want- your business, for whatever reason.

But once it's been ordered and the PC tells you he has it, it's pretty much a done deal. All that's left to do is arrange the pickup.

It WOULD require someone to deliver the writ of purchase, but that can be done fairly easily, either by the GMH hunters, or random PCs. Additionally this would put more bearing on buying GMH rather than Indie.

[Dunetrade55]

Also the writs would be a major buff to those with steal/stealth skills. Yoink, jewel encrusted blade, spiked tower shield, and obsidian platemail here I come! Pickpockets would be ever more dangerous... I like the suggestion because it's not foolproof and encourages caution and interaction with groups and potential plots, you could ransom someone's order, or just fence it, or have it delivered to someone you like. I see a lot of potential there.

I've never used the Nenyuk jewelry bank or whatever it is, but perhaps that could provide a useful template.

[whitt]

you could ransom someone's order, or just fence it, or have it delivered to someone you like. I see a lot of potential there.

Thereby demolishing weeks of RL effort to arrange of the order, get the things necessary to complete the order, and then successfully fill the order for a chance to use a busted skillset.

Yeah, I'll just back away... My disgust for the "potential" of pickpockets to add enjoyment to the game for anyone other than pickpocket doesn't really allow me to post objectively.