How's The Game

[wearethecrystalmods]

HOW'S THE GAME?

Welcome to Cosmographia's first "How's the Game"! This is essentially an open forum for discussion about where to take the game from here and anything that might need changing. A lot has happened in the past week and going forward we feel it's more important than ever to have a discussion like this.

This is not a place for criticism of specific players or characters. This is purely about the game itself. Please save player specific criticisms for the upcoming How's My Driving. Any disregard for this or out of hand conduct will be frozen or deleted.

We are inviting not just all current players (old and new) to participate in this discussion but also past players that have left and new potential players considering the game; we encourage everyone to pitch in their two cents. That being said, since this is the game's first HTG we are currently going to do it without anon or sock journals (for future HTG this may change).

Like said this is a completely open forum. We have a list of topics we want to discuss (listed below), but after all those have gone up players are completely free to start their own threads with anything not covered by the other sections.

Current sections (please wait until all these are up and linked to post your own they're all up now!):

The Staff
Applications
Setting Suggestions
The World Outside Waverly Bay/Potential World Plot
Event Schedule/Power Distribution
Player Plot Approval
Power Limitations/Guidelines
Fate of Cosmonet
Network Comm?
Day Cycle Comments
The Temp. Drop System
Future Event/Plot Suggestions

Comments

Network Comm?

[wearethecrystalmods]

Speaking of cosmonet, in the beginning it was mistaken for an actual network. Cosmographia does have internet and currently network posts are made on the main comm. The question is would anyone like to see a proper, separate comm for network posts? Or is that unnecessary?

[stopdestroyingmythings]

Eh... I'm not usually one to give my thoughts on things this big as I might mess things up, but... Seeing as the IC game world is tightly packed together as it is makes the need for network posts minimal. At this point, it seems like an IC luxury and not a necessity. Most people would just go up and talk to people face to face, so I suggest no network comm.

EDIT: Just read the exploration thingy toplevel and... actually, that might require the use of network as people might be too far away for many others to interact with them. If you go through with exploration plots, then there might be a need for more network and thus a network comm.

[foolreversed]

Just to clarify, we wouldn't want it to replace the face to face interactions (in fact my one concern about it is the possibility of a proper network comm is that it would take over the face to face stuff) especially since the face to face interactions are, imo, the best part of the game (I have been in games that were majority network stuff and oooooh my god I am glad that era of roleplay seems to have mostly passed). You're right, it is a luxury! But that's why we wanted to ask if anyone was interested in that kind of organizational luxury.

[stopdestroyingmythings]

Yeah, I agree it would be bad to replace face-to-face with network as the majority of the posts. I don't really have much to contribute other than flip flopping and changing my mind (Sorry about that), but it seems as things will be better if-

Wait, hold on, I got an idea. Maybe network posts can turn into a sort of "mingle log"? Or at least the network posts that are outside of Waverly Bay? Or maybe make a single "log post" for exploration and have different toplevels for things, such as exploring one place could be a toplevel, resting and conversing about what they found could be another, and a network post can be a third?

[foolreversed]

That's basically how they are right now actually. Network posts are posted as mingle logs in the main comm. Here's an example of a recent one.

(Also sorry I might have misunderstood your suggestion.)

[stopdestroyingmythings]

Basically, what I was thinking of is something like this. Apologies if I seemed confusing and this is only a suggestion. Feel free to not change anything if you don't like it.

Also alternative section: Just have the mingle/exploration log and then the network as a different post entirely where everyone can respond in case it gets too confusing.

[foolreversed]

OH ok I see now, I was confused because I actually missed the edit to your first comment, whoops.

I don't know if we'll use the network for that because honestly, once warp pads are up and running it'll be easy to just come home and relay that information face to face (this game has an AMAZING gossip grape vine) but that will likely be the format of possible exploration plot posts.

[nailed_it]

Just my two-cents but I honestly like that this game doesn't have a true game-wide network comm and actively encourages face-to-face interaction? It's refreshing and honestly a lot less stress for me OOC-ly because I don't have to keep close track of what's being posted "online" nor do I have to come up with too many excuses for why my character may not see or react to the "network" posts that are there (she doesn't Internet much if at all so she doesn't see them lol).

If a long-distance mode of communication is going to be needed in the future because of missions or characters going beyond Waverly Bay perhaps, instead of trying to finagle internet and the like sort of devices into the setting, could Gem-to-Gem communication become a power everyone can gain upon entry? Sorta like how Fusion was unlocked for everyone?

That way any Gem can communicate with any other Gem(s) if need be on a personal basis.

[foolreversed]

Internet and mobile devices are already in the setting though, is the thing. Like they've been there since the beginning.

From the FAQ:

☆ Does Cosmographia have a network?

Yes it does! It is a little non-traditional however compared to some other games though, since there isn't a dedicated community for it ([personal profile] cosmonet is an OOC organizational tool, not a network comm). Instead network posts just go in the main IC community, with the WHERE of the post being "On the network" or something to that effect. A network post is any type of post where characters are not communicating in person, such as through text messaging, a phone call, a video call, or over the internet in general (for example: posting on a forum).


The question is not whether to implement a network because there is already one technically (we will not be changing this into a different type of network, just to be clear... other than maybe giving it a dumb name or something) and it is already used every now and then. The question is whether we want to separate it from the main comm for organizational purposes.

Also I'm actually not sure how comfortable I am with a gem-to-gem communication powers, or at least with it being a thing for everyone (there are characters in their canon who can use a power like this like Rise and Fuuka in Persona). It would bother my character a lot and can still end up replacing face-to-face interaction.

[nailed_it]

Oh no, I knew there were Internet/mobile devices in-game already. But a lot of characters come from worlds where they either aren't familiar with technology like that or they don't actively use it for one reason or another. Since characters aren't given things like communicators/phones upon their arrival like in some games, the only internet access is via computers at places like the library or a personal device that could connect to an Internet connection if they happened to come in with one?

My train of thought was basically that, in giving the network its own separate comm, the IC/OOC assumption then becomes that every character accesses it in some way, which doesn't make sense for the current verse set-up. I could be totally off base though and/or that might not end up being the case at all. I may also not be making any sense and my apologies in that case. ^^;

I definitely understand hesitation on the gem-to-gem communication powers, my character wouldn't want random people projecting their thoughts at them either. I was thinking of it working only between two gems or a small group at most, not game-wide since that would require a lot of experience and power on the part of the "speaking" Gem. And perhaps in addition to the default Gem Communing power there would be an accompanying "Block" power, so that characters who don't wish to communicate like that are essentially sealed off from it.

Basically, for this idea I was taking inspiration from how characters already commune with the Heart Gem and things that have been seen in the SU canon since I'd personally prefer a "power" as opposed to an additional device I have to worry about my character carrying around/having constant access to/potentially losing.

[foolreversed]

Ahhh okay I see, sorry I misunderstood.

Yeah nah, I wouldn't want that to happen. My thoughts were only for having it separate for ooc purposes (and maybe giving the supposed "gem forum" a name or something).

Don't worry there definitely wouldn't be any additional devices added or anything like that. We don't intend to change how that stuff works in game as it is now, just give it some place to go. But you bring up a good point of that causing some incorrect assumptions so probably best not to bother.

[kelp_for_brains]

Just throwing in here that I have no idea what to do to get this guy into network post or otherwise quick long-distance communication. I'm still fuzzy on the powers-for-communication thing you have going on, and Percy does his best to not use anything that sends radio signals the way computers or phones do.

[foolreversed]

There is no powers-for-communication thing right now, it's just a consideration that was suggested (though people are free to come up with it on their own as a power for their character it's not a thing everyone has).

The "network" is just the internet so all a character needs is a computer or phone, which can be purchased or created in the characters room (but can't be removed in that case). If Percy actively avoids those things then there's unfortunately no way for him to see internet posts.

[torya]

As a player who's been in games that were heavily network based and also games that were exclusively face-to-face, I have to say that I hugely prefer the latter. Something I noticed in hindsight once I left the network heavy game was that the presence of the network allowed me to half-ass my presence in the game, sort of. I didn't have to do much of a hook for my network posts but in a non-network game, I find myself encouraged to think more for better hooks and more interesting starters.

so tl;dr based purely on my own personal experience: I think Cosmo is doing fine without a network comm and I really love that face-to-face logs are the main interaction around here! I do agree that another long-distance communication substitute is needed, though -- Gem-to-Gem telepathy as was suggested could be a good idea!

[chatwithdeath]

I'll admit, for this game, the only reason I would like a Network Comm for the network here already would just be because I like the organization of having face-to-face interactions in one comm as opposed to having both together and just replacing one part with 'Network'.

Also, I see we're talking about gem-to-gem communication and gossip networks, but I had a small, uncomfortable moment of being approached last minute during a major plot and being asked for details something my character knew for about... a few months and should've been asked about before then. As long as that is avoided after making several plurks about these details which could've opened up for potential CR, and said character going on these investigations that anyone could have piped up that they would've liked to join in...

Now, if gem-to-gem was handled like personal private journal messaging, that's fine. Still, that seems like a power to learn, but I could see gems maybe being able to send distress signals or something with their location able to be detected by those who learned detection abilities. But, back on topic, it's more of an organizational thing having another comm for the network and I would be in favor as that as long as using the network didn't become a requirement.

[foolreversed]

As a compromise if we don't go the route of a separate comm, would a specific tag for network/internet posts help with the organization?

(did this idea just pop into my head? yes)

[hasmovedon]

YES HELLO I like this idea as a compromise/organizational tool.

[chatwithdeath]

I think it could yes.

(haha isn't it fun how these things work sometimes?)

[hasmovedon]

So, I'm in a pretty big game with separate network and face to face comms, and the network comm sees action about once every two weeks, if that -- in a game where characters are given little fancy wristwatch communicators on entry. I think most people will still use face to face primarily considering the close quarters of the setting, so I don't foresee the network 'taking over' being an issue.

However, I do agree that it might cause a lot of incorrect assumptions for new players if they think their character got some magical comm device and they never got the memo (I had a small moment of panic about that very thing the first time someone posted to the network that I had no idea we had). I would expand the FAQ pertaining to this and make it explicitly clear that your character is going to need to do the legwork on getting a device that can connect to the network (like I suggested above you could even add a place to purchase such a device). If all else fails, make a stickied entry at the top of the network comm detailing what it is, how it works, and what the gem-specific forum looks like.

HOWEVER! In Mayfield (Yep I'm Ink and I'm yelling about Mayfield again) people often posted posts that were both action and network, as our network was all phone-based. Like, actual mounted landline phones. God Mayfield was great. Anyway! It is doable if enough people want to keep the game to just one comm. So long as everyone is abundantly clear about what kind of post they're making it shouldn't be much trouble.