contact cease

[triste]

I contact cease because I get nervous to roleplay with people. I reach out with the full intent of talking, but then I psych myself out and cease and quit the game.

That happens to me time to time.

If it's in character and you have the stun points to spare, you can mention or do a way emote reflecting that you tapped their mind, and maybe even feel "nervous" as you describe.

This is more of a fun sidenote for new players, but here are some notes from the docs about conveying feelings over the way.

Some players choose to portray images or their own feelings over a psionic link and this is allowed. However, forcing emotions, sensations, or thoughts onto the receiver is not acceptable.
- http://armageddon.org/help/view/Contact

Therefore when I tap someone's mind and get nervous, I might send a conventional way like "Oh my mind was just wandering," or I might send an emote conveying the exact feeling you describe here of being "nervous" and leaving their mind. Other players seem to appreciate this [if in character] versus just a roleplay devoid contact and cease.

[th3kaiser]

I'm on the other side of this sometimes. I've done that to PCs I had reason to kill specifically to be annoying. You going to hide inside that compound? Cool, enjoy me being an irritating dick by contact checking and ceasing repeatedly. Have a problem with my perfectly IC psi powers? Come fight me.

[Majikal]

I've always hoped to see the psionic system shifted so that whenever you contact someone they always see your short description.

The tressy-tressed aide contacts your mind.

Pros:
Decreases the practice of sdesc fishing
Decreases the practice of online-checking, I suspect is used to sway your ic judgement
The meta-practice becomes just as telling of the one checking as it does the one who got checked.
Increases reply speed, you can pick up the phone to talk back early!
Forces people to react accordingly. IE: I don't want to go into the rinth if this person is online etc.

Cons:
None that I can tell.

[triste]

I've always hoped to see the psionic system shifted so that whenever you contact someone they always see your short description.

The tressy-tressed aide contacts your mind.

Pros:
Decreases the practice of sdesc fishing
Decreases the practice of online-checking, I suspect is used to sway your ic judgement
The meta-practice becomes just as telling of the one checking as it does the one who got checked.
Increases reply speed, you can pick up the phone to talk back early!
Forces people to react accordingly. IE: I don't want to go into the rinth if this person is online etc.

Cons:
None that I can tell.

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[triste]

I thought long and hard about a potential downside, and all I can think of is the drama around contacting someone when you're almost dead. Now it's common to contact someone but die before getting a way out, and that delay between contact and first psi is wisdom influenced I believe. Higher wisdom characters are more likely to get a dying way out than lower wisdom ones. You lose that drama if you modify it per the previous post, and high wisdom characters lose this [very small] advantage.

But losing "drama" in this case isn't the biggest loss, it's still a great idea and I am totally in favor.

[NinjaFruitSalad]

I've always hoped to see the psionic system shifted so that whenever you contact someone they always see your short description.

The tressy-tressed aide contacts your mind.

Pros:
Decreases the practice of sdesc fishing
Decreases the practice of online-checking, I suspect is used to sway your ic judgement
The meta-practice becomes just as telling of the one checking as it does the one who got checked.
Increases reply speed, you can pick up the phone to talk back early!
Forces people to react accordingly. IE: I don't want to go into the rinth if this person is online etc.

Cons:
None that I can tell.

I agree 99%.

The only "cons" might be, it's detrimental to the people who feel shy or way the wrong person!

But, my answer to that is:  If you Way the wrong person, try to take steps to ensure that you no longer Way the wrong person.  And you should really have an idea of what you want to say and an intent to say it before you just Way someone on a whim.

[Lizzie]

A possible con to Majikal's idea (similar has happened, details have been changed to protect no one at all):

You're mindtalking with a couple of people about something serious that's happening right this moment, going back and forth between ways.

You contact the leggy atrementous person.

think "That's not Sergeant Leggy!"

contact 2.leggy [stun: now down to 42] - and no answer, but you know she's alive, you can see her 2 rooms away and for whatever reason you're not able/allowed to leave your current spot.

The leggy atrementous person contacts you.

contact 3.leggy (you finally find her mind, at 36 stun points)

The leggy atrementous person psis you, in imperial templarish, "Who are you that you would dare find the mind of I, Lady Templar Zippidiedoodah Fale? I demand that you respond immediately or I shall put a 5000 bounty out on your head!"

think So - I can save my entire crew by telling the Sarge that there are 16 critters just past her that her scan skill isn't detecting, OR I can tell the templar I had the wrong mind. I can't do both.

That's the only con I can think of and as I said - something similar happened, at some point in the past, in this game.

[Hauwke]

Its the same thing as noble players forcing every single person they see walking past them to bow and if they don't, forcing them to come back. Apparently totally fine IC but I am adamant that it is OOC flexing and rude to the player.

If your event for the evening, is forcing some dude to return to bow, or getting all pissy because they found your mind and left it without saying anything and then putting a bounty on them, you should consider trying to make other plots or store. Its OOC douchebaggery.

I imagine there are plenty of NPCs that would be accidentally finding the mind of that same Templar and not getting in trouble because it doesn't codedly happen so they wouldn't get mad.

[Majikal]

Accidentally finding the wrong mind sounds like just another touchpoint for roleplay and bringing the game together with interaction. I don't see a downside in that at all personally.

[NinjaFruitSalad]

A possible con to Majikal's idea (similar has happened, details have been changed to protect no one at all):

You're mindtalking with a couple of people about something serious that's happening right this moment, going back and forth between ways.

You contact the leggy atrementous person.

think "That's not Sergeant Leggy!"

contact 2.leggy [stun: now down to 42] - and no answer, but you know she's alive, you can see her 2 rooms away and for whatever reason you're not able/allowed to leave your current spot.

The leggy atrementous person contacts you.

contact 3.leggy (you finally find her mind, at 36 stun points)

The leggy atrementous person psis you, in imperial templarish, "Who are you that you would dare find the mind of I, Lady Templar Zippidiedoodah Fale? I demand that you respond immediately or I shall put a 5000 bounty out on your head!"

think So - I can save my entire crew by telling the Sarge that there are 16 critters just past her that her scan skill isn't detecting, OR I can tell the templar I had the wrong mind. I can't do both.

That's the only con I can think of and as I said - something similar happened, at some point in the past, in this game.

It's just more plot and drama! Yay!

And maybe you should use more than "leggy" to contact someone. Try using their full sdesc.

[rinthrat]

A possible con to Majikal's idea (similar has happened, details have been changed to protect no one at all):

You're mindtalking with a couple of people about something serious that's happening right this moment, going back and forth between ways.

You contact the leggy atrementous person.

think "That's not Sergeant Leggy!"

contact 2.leggy [stun: now down to 42] - and no answer, but you know she's alive, you can see her 2 rooms away and for whatever reason you're not able/allowed to leave your current spot.

The leggy atrementous person contacts you.

contact 3.leggy (you finally find her mind, at 36 stun points)

The leggy atrementous person psis you, in imperial templarish, "Who are you that you would dare find the mind of I, Lady Templar Zippidiedoodah Fale? I demand that you respond immediately or I shall put a 5000 bounty out on your head!"

think So - I can save my entire crew by telling the Sarge that there are 16 critters just past her that her scan skill isn't detecting, OR I can tell the templar I had the wrong mind. I can't do both.

That's the only con I can think of and as I said - something similar happened, at some point in the past, in this game.

I have miswayed a templar, and had fun. Shit happens.

[Lizzie]

A possible con to Majikal's idea (similar has happened, details have been changed to protect no one at all):

You're mindtalking with a couple of people about something serious that's happening right this moment, going back and forth between ways.

You contact the leggy atrementous person.

think "That's not Sergeant Leggy!"

contact 2.leggy [stun: now down to 42] - and no answer, but you know she's alive, you can see her 2 rooms away and for whatever reason you're not able/allowed to leave your current spot.

The leggy atrementous person contacts you.

contact 3.leggy (you finally find her mind, at 36 stun points)

The leggy atrementous person psis you, in imperial templarish, "Who are you that you would dare find the mind of I, Lady Templar Zippidiedoodah Fale? I demand that you respond immediately or I shall put a 5000 bounty out on your head!"

think So - I can save my entire crew by telling the Sarge that there are 16 critters just past her that her scan skill isn't detecting, OR I can tell the templar I had the wrong mind. I can't do both.

That's the only con I can think of and as I said - something similar happened, at some point in the past, in this game.

I have miswayed a templar, and had fun. Shit happens.

Yes I have too. But that's not germain to the situation. Summary:

You are almost at half-stun because you've been using the way for the past RL 20 minutes to deal with "important shit."
You have a limited amount of time to be in the game.
You need to add another person to your list of people you're waying, right now.
You mis-way, and now you are under half-stun, and STILL dealing with everything else. Basically, juggling minds.

You have enough stun left to actually get the person you need to way, and deliver the necessary message, before you either pass out, or have to stop responding til your stun level goes back up.

The person you mis-way is demanding a response (since they can see your sdesc and know it was you), and they are influential, but they have NOTHING to do with the mess you're dealing with.

Again - you have only enough stun left to way the person you actually need and deliver the message, before you either pass out or have to stop responding til your stun level goes back up.

[Narf]

A possible con to Majikal's idea (similar has happened, details have been changed to protect no one at all):

You're mindtalking with a couple of people about something serious that's happening right this moment, going back and forth between ways.

You contact the leggy atrementous person.

think "That's not Sergeant Leggy!"

contact 2.leggy [stun: now down to 42] - and no answer, but you know she's alive, you can see her 2 rooms away and for whatever reason you're not able/allowed to leave your current spot.

The leggy atrementous person contacts you.

contact 3.leggy (you finally find her mind, at 36 stun points)

The leggy atrementous person psis you, in imperial templarish, "Who are you that you would dare find the mind of I, Lady Templar Zippidiedoodah Fale? I demand that you respond immediately or I shall put a 5000 bounty out on your head!"

think So - I can save my entire crew by telling the Sarge that there are 16 critters just past her that her scan skill isn't detecting, OR I can tell the templar I had the wrong mind. I can't do both.

That's the only con I can think of and as I said - something similar happened, at some point in the past, in this game.

I have miswayed a templar, and had fun. Shit happens.

Yes I have too. But that's not germain to the situation. Summary:

You are almost at half-stun because you've been using the way for the past RL 20 minutes to deal with "important shit."
You have a limited amount of time to be in the game.
You need to add another person to your list of people you're waying, right now.
You mis-way, and now you are under half-stun, and STILL dealing with everything else. Basically, juggling minds.

You have enough stun left to actually get the person you need to way, and deliver the necessary message, before you either pass out, or have to stop responding til your stun level goes back up.

The person you mis-way is demanding a response (since they can see your sdesc and know it was you), and they are influential, but they have NOTHING to do with the mess you're dealing with.

Again - you have only enough stun left to way the person you actually need and deliver the message, before you either pass out or have to stop responding til your stun level goes back up.

Yeah, but... So what?

A lot of people would find this problem to be interesting. For those that don't, they can be more careful typing in the sdesc of the person they're waying. Plus it's such a niche scenario that designing an entire system around this particular problem seems like a baffling design choice.

It'd be like if you designed the rules of a card game entirely around the possible chance that a card might accidentally flip up as you're dealing it. Yeah, it's a problem that comes up once in a while. No, you do not need to design the game around that particularly rare thing accidentally happening.

I strongly concur with the people above that the person receiving a contact should get the same amount of information (or more) as the person initiating it. I would be happy if everyone got sdescs, I would be happy if no one did until the first message was sent. I'm not happy that one person gets the info and the other doesn't (unless one of the  individuals is a mindworm of course)

[Lizzie]

Yeah, but... So what?

A lot of people would find this problem to be interesting. For those that don't, they can be more careful typing in the sdesc of the person they're waying. Plus it's such a niche scenario that designing an entire system around this particular problem seems like a baffling design choice.

It'd be like if you designed the rules of a card game entirely around the possible chance that a card might accidentally flip up as you're dealing it. Yeah, it's a problem that comes up once in a while. No, you do not need to design the game around that particularly rare thing accidentally happening.

I strongly concur with the people above that the person receiving a contact should get the same amount of information (or more) as the person initiating it. I would be happy if everyone got sdescs, I would be happy if no one did until the first message was sent. I'm not happy that one person gets the info and the other doesn't (unless one of the  individuals is a mindworm of course)

The game is already designed to accommodate that situation, no changes necessary. Generally speaking, the person you way, even by mistake, is NOT able to see your sdesc until/unless you "psi" them a message. It works great at preventing OOC handling of IC situations, and IC handling of code issues and OOC time constraints (meaning - I don't have TIME to be passed out for the next 20 minutes, I have to log out in 10).

[Inks]

I hate anyone walking in and contacting. You are bad and you should feel bad.

[SodaDogARM]

Contact/cease to see if someone you're hunting is online is whatever to me. Sdesc fishing by someone in the room because you have a hood or mask on is annoying though. Happened recently to me very blatantly, for no apparent reason other than to add my sdesc to some notepad list I'm guessing, and I just won't interact with that PC again if I don't have to. Gamey as shit, and shame on that dude IMO.

[Lizzie]

Contact/cease to see if someone you're hunting is online is whatever to me. Sdesc fishing by someone in the room because you have a hood or mask on is annoying though. Happened recently to me very blatantly, for no apparent reason other than to add my sdesc to some notepad list I'm guessing, and I just won't interact with that PC again if I don't have to. Gamey as shit, and shame on that dude IMO.

Or, maybe they thought you were someone else, and wanted to send a message to that someone else, not realizing that you were a different someone else.

Or, maybe it was just coincidental, and someone ELSE wayed you while you were in that same room as the person you think wayed you.

Or, maybe they suspected you were you, and wanted to make sure of it before calling for their boss to come and kill you/scold you/question you/recruit you/promote you.

The code is the way it is, and it's not broken. Roleplay the situation instead of assuming OOC stuff.

[Narf]

The code is the way it is, and it's not broken. Roleplay the situation instead of assuming OOC stuff.

The code is broken, as defined by being used not as intended, and it could be fixed very easily by adding a single extra line of output to the "A foreign presence contacts your mind" message.

To say that "sometimes it's not being abused, you don't know if this particular time was abuse" isn't really relevant to the macro-discussion.

[lostinspace]

Sdesc fishing in the same room can be done just as easily with the keyword command and there's no echo to anyone.

I don't have a problem with contact and cease, I don't much mind if it's changed to give your sdesc on contact.

[SodaDogARM]

Roleplay the situation instead of assuming OOC stuff.

I said "blatantly obvious" for a reason. Less than 10 people on, brand new character who hadn't talked to anyone, and the individual simultaneously making introductions in person... I'm gonna go out on a limb here and say no it probably wasn't one of those other things you mentioned. Funny you accused me of assuming the OOC context. 

The only roleplay I'm imagining in that scenario is the immediate semi-hostile trial of "did you just enter my mind to see my face" which isn't really building itself up to bring award winning story building, and is somewhat awkward to address what may have been a more OOC act IC.

Also your response to another blatant example of sdesc fishing by Matisse was "well I don't wear a hood" which was funny if not a little confusing, should I assume some bias on the issue? If you're playing a PC trying to keep it low-key and someone else walks in and gets your sdesc, and can do so at any point in time if they're in the same room again, that's annoying and defeats the purpose of attempting disguise. At least with an mdesc you can roleplay hidden features if you're not a gamey dork, but with sdesc fishing you are given an IC excuse of knowing who everyone is. Many considerate people would conclude that's an unfortunate mechanic I'm guessing, and making the plea to players to not just blatantly sdesc fish people in the room is fine.