8.4 In-game years in one real year...Bummer.

[Tlaloc]

Alright, I see all that, and all of the arguments are perfectly valid, but why not just decrease the amount of days in a Zalanthan month? I really can't imagine anybody would care...

I would care. I would care because this is not the way the world is. Simply because something is documentation, and in a .txt file, does not make it something that is simple, easy, and more to the point, should be changed. "Just changing the months" would be like deciding that our RL months no longer have an average of 30 days in them.

In effect, you're asking for us to up and change when the seasons change, and how many days there are in the Zalanthan year. While its all very possible, the documentation is written for a reason - because thats the way it is. You can't just up and change the days in a year, just because you don't like how long it takes to get older.

It wouldn't screw up clan pay cycles because of the way things are synched up, and it would bring back that fantasy feel, that larger than life, tale of epic proportions thing that myself and others loved so much. All we would be doing is finding how many days to decrease a month to in order to fit 12(Seems to be what most people who like the idea want to see) years into one real life year. If that is at all possible, why the heck not? Unless its insanely difficult to code. Once again just offering an idea...

I really don't understand this notion of "epic" ness, and "larger than life" in terms of time. In my opinion, the new time-frame makes characters more epic. Now it will take work to become "Old". Now 13 year-old PCs actually have some time to play out thier teen-angst, rather than seeing it all slip away in under three months. Now a year is a half-decent amount of time, and people have to actually think about commiting to something for a while.

I, personally, see this change as wholely good, and not needing any sort of adjustments at all.

[ShaLeah]

It's my understanding that we went from 3 approximate weeks equalling a year to 6 weeks equalling a year... is that right?
I think it's too long and too drastic a change from our old system.

No doubt I'll adjust, we all will I'm sure, but I would still prefer a RL Month = an IC year.


ShaLeah
-who doesn't like abrupt change...

[Delirium]

Somehow I'm failing to see what the big deal is..

Maybe because this is something that happens every time Immortals change a game from the way it has been for a set amount of time - even if the change is ultimately very beneficial. People flip out about all the hard work just because IT'S DIFFERENT, OH GOD SAVE ME NOW! I CAN'T DEAL WITH CHANGE!

.... Sheesh.

[ShaLeah]

People flip out about all the hard work just because IT'S DIFFERENT, OH GOD SAVE ME NOW! I CAN'T DEAL WITH CHANGE!

.... Sheesh.

Sheesh indeed.
Aside from the not so subtle simmer of a flame I fail to see where any of the responses to this thread even hint at that kind of "flipping out", especially about the "hard work" the immortals have put into this coded change.

The great thing about Armageddon Mud is that the staff does care about the opinion of it's players.  Player feedback  actively changes this place on a weekly basis, this is what these discussions are for.  There is a large likelyhood that this discussion won't change anything but there is the slightest chance that it will so.... discuss away... or flip... depends on who reads it I guess.


ShaLeah
-who flips off her soap box...

[Akaramu]

For those who can only play a few hours a day (if that much), it means that their characters are less ancient by the time they finally get good with some skills. *shrug*

[Delirium]

Nowhere in the post I made did I target you, nor did I intend to.. I've been following the thread since it started. Perhaps it was a badly timed post.

I just really think people could stand to take a chill pill or two whenever there are changes made, and wait to see how well they adjust before jumping the gun and proclaiming that they just detest how things work now, blah blah. Remember the uproar about d-elf stamina? Yet people adjusted just fine.

If you feel offended, it certainly wasn't my intent. I was simply making a point.

[Angela Christine]

I just really think people could stand to take a chill pill or two whenever there are changes made, and wait to see how well they adjust before jumping the gun and proclaiming that they just detest how things work now, blah blah.

We did wait.  The change/correction was announced, there was some discussion, and then everyone settled down to live with it for a while.  After a while, the player that started this thread apparently decided to note that after living with it for a while he still wasn't entirely happy with the "new" way.

I don't see the problem.


AC

[Marauder Moe]

no one is saying it has to take 60 years for you to achieve your lifelong goal.

What if my goal is to play my character until he -is- 60 years old?  And please, don't tell me that if I want to play an old character I should make a character with a high starting age.  I could NEVER come up with as rich and interesting a history as an actual life played out IC.  Having to wait two years for that seemed difficult enough, but within the realm of possibility.  But four years?  That really is a big difference.

I think its safe to say that if someone has been playing the same character with some regularity for a RL year then he is considered a "long-lived character".  I think its also safe to say that long-lived characters are fairly rare and impressive.  However, if this character gets a job early on and sticks with it for the whole RL year, he would only be able to say that he's had this job for 8 years.  In a world where slaves and other occupations involving lifelong commitments is very common 8 years doing the same thing doesn't seem that impressive to me.  The value of playing for an entire real-life YEAR is greatly diminished with this change.

Now, I understand that the original rate of aging for people was technically a bug/design flaw in the game code.  However, that doesn't make it neccesarily a bad thing.  I think the time ratio and accepted RL time to Zalanthas time conversions worked out pretty well then.  It seemed like a good balance of having enough time to play out parts of your character's life but also being able to last long enough to see him grow older.

Another part of playing Armageddon that I enjoy is having a dynamic character.  When people age they DO change.  The idea of guiding a character through different stages in life and having a chance of ending in old age is very appealing to me.  You can't go from a hot-headed young cadet to a seasoned older captain to a sad tale-spouting codger in 20 Zalanthas years (~2.5 RL years).  If you started at 20 years old and wanted to reach 60 years old it would take -five- RL years.

We play this game to be entertained.  Each character's life is a story.  Must every story in Zalanthas end in an untimely death?

Those of you who believe this time change is a good thing (for reasons other than the increased stability and predictability of the Zalnathas calendar) please share your opinion.  I understand that this may be a play style difference.  Is it that your character contecpts are focused around your starting age and getting older messes it up?  Are lots of people being forced to 'retire' characters because their characters are too old to be alive and healthy?  I honestly am not seeing the appeal of playing a smaller slice of a character's life than a larger one.

Thank you anyone who actually read all of my sleep-deprived ramblings.

[Peabody]

I love the fact that game time is now predictable.  I've played characters before that had to interact with individuals on a monthly/yearly basis, having to break the rp to inform them of the RL date that the next meeting would have to be was a bit cumbersome.

So what changed now?  Now I get paid every 2 weeks... In effect the amount of sid my char has for food, water and clothing is half.  Tho.. the amount I would have to pay in rent is the same.  Is that so bad?  Maybe I kinda like struggling for money.

[spawnloser]

You know, I'm not sure why people keep bringing up the stability of time now.  I don't think ANYONE thinks that is a bad thing, or even a mediocre thing.  I'm pretty sure that everyone thinks it is a good thing.

The issue is simply that not as much time will pass, preventing characters from attaining the age they used to.

[Dracul]

You know, I'm not sure why people keep bringing up the stability of time now.  I don't think ANYONE thinks that is a bad thing, or even a mediocre thing.  I'm pretty sure that everyone thinks it is a good thing.

The issue is simply that not as much time will pass, preventing characters from attaining the age they used to.

That should just make it more of a challenge....
Kinda like that game with the five settings...easy being where you get your ass kicked. Only now...you have to play it twice as hard as the hardest. Oh yea....

(I'm starting to get that goal in mind...the oldbie character.)
Wish me luck, all of your bad luck.

[Galdun]

Marauder Moe put my own thoughts better than I did myself.  Thanks.  And for those who are still interested in the thread, and not necessarily the outcome, keep sharing your opinions.

PS: It was never my goal to whine or complain, simply to offer my opinion and my reasons for it.

My personal preference is for the months to be cut in half. Time synch is good. Current length of day is good. But the years should move faster.