Storing and Being Considerate to a Clan

[MeTekillot]

-snip-

You're not being personally ignored or anything, Lotion. The simple fact of the matter is that staff can't proceed with killing your character via NPC animation without first consulting Staff Policy 16.D Subsection 4: Precedent Staff Complaint #144 vs. <REDACTED DUE TO STAFF POLICY 7: CONFIDENTIALITY OF ENFORCEMENT ACTION> and then consult their Producer or Administrator (as applies on a case by case basis) before they move forward with doing something like that.

Whereas with a simple storage, that's handled under Staff Policy 4A: Player Storage Full Fiat (Barring Cases of Exceptional Plot Relevance). Storage is much faster to handle and we can't go flaunting policy. Without policy, we're no better than the animals!!!

[perfecto]

Maybe they just like killing me more? 

At any rate, well worth communicating, that was my point

[WarriorPoet]

I hate hunting retired characters for a rl month before someone admits "Yeah. They stored."

This is an IC AND OOC pain in the balls that adds nothing to the game. It is time that could have been better spent.

[Hestia]

Sometimes a player will take a break from the game and not store their character. Sometimes they won't inform staff that they are planning on doing that. Sometimes a player will have a real life emergency that takes them away from the game and, being an emergency, they might not be /able/ to inform staff of their absence.

Sometimes the answer to the question "are they still playing?" is "we don't know."  We don't know if they have an emergency, or if they're taking a break, or if they've died, or if their newborn baby is taking up so much of their attention that they've just flat out forgotten to log in for a week.

Sometimes, a *character* will want to be difficult to find, and do things ICly to make it difficult to find them (even via the Way).  The "voice mail" thing will confirm to your character that this character is alive, not dead, not stored. That defeats the purpose of the system that allows for characters to make themselves difficult to find.  There have actually been times when someone wants their character to be incognito for awhile. Re-creating themselves, becoming forgotten, and re-emerging as someone else. While this isn't foolproof due to code limitations, the last thing anyone would want to do is give people a very easy OOC method of making sure that person is incapable of accomplishing this.  The "voice mail" is that OOC method.

If someone is missing for more than a week and this is unusual behavior for the player, pop staff a request.  If we can tell you the answer, we will. If OOC OR IC circumstances prevent us from telling you (whether we know the reason, or whether we don't know the reason), we'll tell you simply that we're unable to answer the question.

[The Gruffalo]

Sometimes, a *character* will want to be difficult to find, and do things ICly to make it difficult to find them (even via the Way).  The "voice mail" thing will confirm to your character that this character is alive, not dead, not stored. That defeats the purpose of the system that allows for characters to make themselves difficult to find.

The problem with that is the fine line of not abusing the meta of 'ooc unavailability vs ic unavailability'. People, iG, should have every right to know within a reasonable time frame that the character has been difficult to find, so they can be hunted. If the player is abusing low or infrequent login times (aka changing their usual playstyle deliberately and not due to OOC circumstances) as well as keeping their mind walled to create the appearance of being logged out (rather than simply missing/dead) that is crossing into meta play to accomplish an IC goal. That's crossing into abusive play as far as I'm concerned because it relies on OOC meta perceptions to fool the player rather than IC perceptions to fool the character (AND the player).

[Veselka]

Sometimes, a *character* will want to be difficult to find, and do things ICly to make it difficult to find them (even via the Way).  The "voice mail" thing will confirm to your character that this character is alive, not dead, not stored. That defeats the purpose of the system that allows for characters to make themselves difficult to find.

The problem with that is the fine line of not abusing the meta of 'ooc unavailability vs ic unavailability'. People, iG, should have every right to know within a reasonable time frame that the character has been difficult to find, so they can be hunted. If the player is abusing low or infrequent login times (aka changing their usual playstyle deliberately and not due to OOC circumstances) as well as keeping their mind walled to create the appearance of being logged out (rather than simply missing/dead) that is crossing into meta play to accomplish an IC goal. That's crossing into abusive play as far as I'm concerned because it relies on OOC meta perceptions to fool the player rather than IC perceptions to fool the character (AND the player).

Yeah, a Character wanting to be difficult to find is one thing, but people in Zalanthas are NOT terribly difficult to find (with some minor exceptions) due to the Unseen Way. Virtually, you would be able to find their mind, but they would be 'sluggish' because they were unconscious or sleeping. Other times, you might find their mind because they are krath-struck and not responsive (happens to the best of us). Other times, you might not find their mind because they're barriered, or you just couldn't manage it yourself and give up.

But if a very persistent person was trying to find someone, they would find them. That's the downside or upshot of the Unseen Way. It isn't like it is IRL, where if you are trying not to be found, someone can't PSIONICALLY try and find your MIND. That's some straight up magic.

So the 'Going to Ground' concept for most PCs involves:

-Taking long breaks from the game so people who knew about them die or stop looking for them because they can't find them (As Gruffalo points out, this is semi-meta).

-Getting a description change -- All the more effective now because of how the way contacts 'someone' and you can't sdesc/name sniff as much as you used to. (This sort of lessens the meta).

-Playing the game as much as you were playing it, and ignoring people finding you over the Way and taunting you, and breaking down your barrier every 10 seconds (happens to the best of us).

Like...It's all and well that a Player doesn't want their PC to be found...But I think even a PC that didn't want to be found would be like 'Yeah, so about that whole Unseen Way thing'.

--

In general, i'm not down with the Way Voicemail. I get that triste and other people can't play the game as much, but it isn't some Idling Website Game. ArmageddonMUD does requrie pretty consistent engagement in order to be fun for you, and fun for others around your PCs. It isn't a single player game you can pick up whenever you want and plug back into -- things move on and sometimes quickly, leaving the Casual Player a bit in the dust.

And I get it -- I've had periods of time where it's impossible for me to play a leadership role or anything more than a Red Shirt Bynner. But I don't that necessitates new code and new game-altering approaches to the Way in order to cater in that way. In my view, it's most fun when I have 1-2 hours a night I can toss the game's way at a consistent window of time. Not every night, but maybe 3-4 nights a week. It's my 'Instead of binge watching a TV show, i'll play Arm'.

And it isn't a judgement on how other people play or engage with the game -- That's just the medium i've found works best for me. But I can tell you WITH CERTAINTY, I would avoid Leadership roles like the plague if I logged in and had 40 voicemails waiting for me.

No thanks.

[The Gruffalo]

If a very persistent person was trying to find someone, they would find them. That's the downside or upshot of the Unseen Way. It isn't like it is IRL, where if you are trying not to be found, someone can't PSIONICALLY try and find your MIND. That's some straight up magic.

Which is why it's straight up abusive if you're not logging in specifically because you hope the people who are looking for you will stop looking for you, or you tell someone that a dead person has 'transferred' aka stored, because both situations take an OOC fact (this is a game we aren't always logged into) and uses it to influence an IC storyline. That's not ok.

Most people who do this probably haven't considered it from that angle, so hopefully they learn better once they have it pointed out to them. If they don't, they're being cheap and playing the meta to try and "win."

This isn't the same as saying "hey, I need to visit my virtual family a while" and then not logging in because that was your IC story to explain an OOC absence. The difference is in whether you're continuing a story or avoiding one.

[Hestia]

The thing is, it's no one else's business "why" they're not logging in.  Some players sometimes need a break due to in-game drama that they just have difficulty dealing with.  They absolutely do NOT owe their fellow clannies an explanation for their absence.  The staff will likely tell them "yeah they're just afk for awhile but still alive."  And that is only if the player tells the staff what's going on - which they're also not obligated to do.

There are people who have medical emergencies and again - they owe no one an explanation as to why their character has disappeared.

You, the player, won't know why the character has disappeared, and it's unfair to everyone if you make assumptions.  Yes - it might be true that they're avoiding logging in to not get caught doing something.  It also might be true that they, the player, just can't stand the plotline in general, and are waiting to see if the plot will cease, or if they'll just store instead.  It might be that just as things started getting hairy for their character, they had a medical emergency and had to jet.  It might be that just as the plot was getting uber dramatic, their spouse told them they were spending too much time on the game and not enough time with their kids.  You don't know why. And they don't owe you a reason.

The logging out intentionally to avoid IC consequences thing is something staff can look at - and it's possible that you will never find out that's what happened.  The way to address that is a "question" or "player complaint."

[Veselka]

I think you are conflating OOC reasons for needing to log off or not play the game with what was originally quoted Hestia. You were pointing out literally the *CHARACTER* might want to avoid being found. We were pointing out in a world like Zalanthas with the Way and psionicism, that mentality doesn't make as much analogous sense As it would IRL.

Of course we players are not owed explanations as to another players availability or reasons for not being around. However Staff can (and should) act as liaison particularly to leadership PCs who may rely on one or more of those PCs for their area of the game world to function well (Think, a Templar and their AoD sergeant).

I think it's perfectly reasonable for the Templar Player to ask staff if the Sergeant will be returning anytime soon if they've been MIA for a week or two. Given the Sergeant player likely communicated with Staff (or maybe ghosted) Staff may be able to say yes or no,  not necessarily "WHY".

The reason being -- A Templar PC isn't expected to run training for the AoD, or even be overly involved with the rank and file. The Sergeant PC is. So without a Sergeant PC, things break down in the game. A Corporal PC might be expected to step in for a bit -- But this is only with Staff direction and the understanding that the Corporal might become Sergeant soon, or another one is getting transferred in.

We of course have busy real lives. We don't need to know why someone isn't playing. Just if they are coming back or being replaced. Or if they stored. Staff have been more forthcoming on this front recently and I REALLY appreciated it so I was t left hanging.

It's TOTALLY reasonable and fine that people are pulled away from the game. Can't get in touch with Staff, can't let them know. RL emergencies (and even just a general drifting away from the game, even if you are involved in a position of power) happens all the time. This is a game, it's a hobby, it should be fun.

And on the flip side of that -- The PCs/People left hanging deserve to have a sense of continuity, and not stop and start motions when PCs are around and then suddenly not around. It creates a vast sense of inertia (sometimes to entire areas of the game) when leadership PCs in particular stop logging in or disappear.

At a certain point -- It is what It Is -- There is no panacea or cure-all solution to this. We all lead busy lives. Sometimes they get the better of us.

But as the OP says in this post (and the real point behind it) is that people should be considerate when storing in particular, and not store with ultra-rare or ultra-clan-sensitive items and equipment if at all possible. IMHO, when another leadership adjacent PC (So for example, an AoD Sergeant) stores, that the other leadership PCs involved with them (So in this example, a Templar) are informed that they stored (Not the reasons why), and that another one should be app'd in around (Date), or if they have suggestions for IC promotions.

That's all.

[The Gruffalo]

I think you are conflating OOC reasons for needing to log off or not play the game with what was originally quoted Hestia. You were pointing out literally the *CHARACTER* might want to avoid being found. We were pointing out in a world like Zalanthas with the Way and psionicism, that mentality doesn't make as much analogous sense As it would IRL.

Of course we players are not owed explanations as to another players availability or reasons for not being around.

Yeah. This.