Points to Ponder Discussion ArchivesNOTE: All posts below are the intellectual property of their original authors.
Message: 16/1 Posted Author
Purpose of this Group Thu Feb 4 Centauri
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Hey all..This new bb group was created to allow players and staff to make idle observations about RIFTS or MUX living in general. Comments made here do not necessarily reflect the viewpoint of the staff or the playership as a whole, but all opinions are welcome, so long as they are tasteful and non-slanderous. Rampant flaming or abuse will not be tolerated, and such posts will be removed and the author will be subject to disciplinary action. Please use this bulletin board as a peaceful, constructive, and/or entertaining forum for airing your thoughts. :)
Cent (HF 18!!)
Message: 16/2 Posted Author
Incoherent babbling Thu Feb 4 Walter
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Hi all, I guess I sniffed too much ammonia today or something, but I just had the urge to say something about the Rifts universe. This has probably been discussed somewhere, and probably more than once. Population: The entire _human_ population of rifts earth is probably somewhere around 1.0 billion and falling, compared to our time's current estimate of somehwere around 5-6 billion, for those of you who get confused about whether a billion is atrillion or viseversa, thats 5x10^9 people nowadays. Anyway, the population of other intelligent species on earth is probably much lower than the humans, in other words, DB's would be rarer than humans on average. This is due to the simple fact of competition, the intelligent DB's compete for many of the same resources as humans. Secondly, the probability of a rift opening up in front of someone and sucking them to some other place is rather low (even in RIFTS earth), so at a rather liberal estimate, the total population of earth would be around 1.5x10^9 intelligent beings inhabiting Rifts Earth. Isolation: This leads me to a corralary (i think thats what its called)... Since the population is low, theres gonna be LOTS of open space, resulting in dense clusters of population zones, as compared to North America's rather sprawling poulation densities. In other words, There are going to be alot of densly packed towns and villages scattered near each other, seperated by VAST tracts of wilderness) Large cities will be rare, but surrounded by clusters of little villages of around 50-100 people or so. Industry & Technology: Thus, (I hate that word don't you?) the technology level will vary drastically. The farther one gets from one of the few metro areas, the lower on the scale you're gonna get. Inside the city there's gonna be a mix of 21st-22nd century technology gathered in one place, but go 5 miles out of town and your at 20th century, go 15 miles out and your at early 20th go 50 miles out and your below 19th century technology level, ie: sporadic or no electricity, no computers, animal drawn vehicles ect.) *continued in next post*
Message: 16/3 Posted Author
Incoherent Babblings part deux Thu Feb 4 Walter
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*continued from previous post* Interco: Trading between cities is gonna be low to zero, not only are many of the population centers at war with each other, strange monsters and terrain changes wreak havoc on trade routes. This means, "If ya want sumthin, make it yerself", everything the city needs is gotta be made in the city or done without. Cars, computers, video games, junkfood, beer, and all that crud we use/eat/play with everyday has got to be made in the city. OF course.. since the technology level of the city is at least a century ahead of ours, manufacturing will be easier, ie: automated machines, and the human (and I use that term loosly) can be minimized. Obviously, everyday items are gonna be normal priced, while luxury items, (weapons furs, diamonds) are going to see price inflation on the scale of mexico's peso/new-peso debacle. This also goes for communication between population centers, one of the reasons many of the cities are at war with each other, is probably because they CANT communicate. And somehow, this leads me to: The Coalition vs. Tolkeen. It seems ironic to me that the average Tolkeener feels that every Coalie (my term) is a murderous thieveing, inbred, barbarous, viscious, nasty being with an IQ lower than the common algae--while the Average Coalies think the same way about Tolkeeners. (Hell, I'm not advocating peace and love--I love the conflict) That the governments of the two societies perpetuate these beliefs shows the hypocrasy (I think thats how ya spell it) that exists in every government. This nationalist pride is great for RP, but I wonder.. for every CS deserter.. is there an equal number of Tolkeen deserters? Probably not..for while the CS blatantly destroys knowledge and beleives in the superiority of the Human race, Tolkeen covertly limits the access to knowledge and free-will through the use of it's legal system. All undesireables are either killed, imprisoned, or exiled.. (pick two). The exiled ones usually don't survive long... Oh hell.. I just lost my train of thought again. Well.. I think I wrote down what I wanted to say, sortof. Anyway, keep these thoughts in mind when roleplaying, and be aware that Tolkeen subtly reinforces these attitudes through it's commercial advertising, artwork, entertainment, and many other places subliminal emotions can be induced. Walter..that giggling stickfigure with xray specs.
Message: 16/4 Posted Author
Global Networking: The Internet Fri Feb 5 Walter
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Hi again, thought I'd babble some more.Ever wonder what happened to the internet? The U.S. governemtn originally intended the internet to be a communications entwork between military instalations cpapable of surving a full scale nuclear attack. The internet backbone, well in the united states anyway, is shielded and was literal designed to survive nuclear strikes, similarly the thousands of paths posible for a signal to travel helps reduce the possibility of losing connection with any specific place. If this network was biult to survive nuclear hell, where is it in the RIFTS universe? Obviously, when the rifts came, many of the computers were estroyed, many of the cities that housed the computers were gone, but the wirining is still there. Quite possibly, the CS would be piggybacking thier signals across much of the surviving network, rebiulding connections where ever needed, and never fully knowing the possible extents of the systems they would use.
Now, certainly.. a leyline storm, monster attack, power outages and things like that would prevent most new networks from succeding... But what about the nuclear and EMP proof underground network of todays internet? Yes, many of the major cities that connected the backbone are destroyed and inhabited by non-humans and monsters.. but the connections between the cities are still there, wouldn't it be interesting to find out that the CS uses a small fraction of the 300 year old internet for thier inter-city military communications? :) Any thoughts ideas or comments?Walter... circus geek extrordinaire.
Message: 16/5 Posted Author
FuelPetrol in Rifts Sat Feb 6 Walter
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Here I go again, honestly.. I don't know where I come up with this stuff...
Fuel: The drink of the gods. Fossil Fuels are non renewable, obviously one of these days it's gona dry up. The coming of the rifts would probably have destroyed a lot of the oil wells in production today, and so even if by the time of the rifts we havn't sucked all the coal/petroleum out of the ground, it would be rather difficult to keep a well or mine running when monsters rampage through your workers quarters on an daily basis. Apparently, the 21st and 22nd centuries saw the introduction of Fusion and nuclear batteries into general use, but even so.. what abot all the non nuclear or non-fusion driven vehicles around? One answer could be that gasoline and diesel aren't the only fuels an internal combstion engine can run on, what about all those back-country folk and thier moonshine factories? Alcohol can be used as a fuel. What about farm animals? Cows and pigs produce alot of waste, and biowaste can be used to create methane. Obviosly, the fuel engines in rifts should be able to run off of anything from 150 proof hooch to nail-polish. to pig-hooey. The only limiting factor is how far you want to gt on a tank of fuel and how much you want to pay for the fuel you want. Alcohol can be made anywhere, but to distill it, takes a little knowledge to biuld the equipment to get it to a high enough alcohol to water ratio that the liquid will readilly combust. What about a few new skills, "Alcohol, Distill" "Biowaste Technician" and "Pig Feeding" :)?Okay, so those skills are pretty stupid. I'll try to do better next time.
Walter, diesel drinker and alternative fuel distiller.
Message: 16/6 Posted Author
MegaDamage: Threat or Menace? Mon Feb 8 Malleus
------------------------------------------------------------------------------Might as well jump in and point out a personal ponderance regarding the Rifts RPG. Maybe you all feel the same way. Maybe not. But I gotta say my piece, and that is:
MegaDamage sucks.
Shocking? Obvious? I don't know about the rest of you, but speaking from my own (admittedly modest) experience in playing Rifts in tabletop, there's nothing that irks me more as a GM or player as MD. Lets run down the major reasons I feel this is an ill-considered and ill-used game mechanic... 1) The Any Idiot With A Laser Scenario - Any moron with a laser weapon and mega damage armor is a powerful man in Rifts; sure, most larger settlements will have law enforcement folks with the armor and weapons to take him on, but if he happens to show up in one of the many, many uncivilized towns or villages spread around the map that aren't supposed to have ready access to MD weapons, structures, or armor, he could level a few dozen buildings and kill a hundred men without much resistence. If MD stuff is more common than I tend to think it is, then I suppose this isn't as large a problem...but the very fact that it /could/ happen irks me.
2) Zap-Zap-Zap-Zap-*Yawn*-Zap - No matter how much you dice it, Megadamage tends to reduce dramatic action and combat scenes to two guys standing at close range and shooting each other many times over with weapons capable of demolishing entire cities. Who wins? The guy with the most armor, usually. How thrilling. I suppose this sort of logic works grand for giant robot genre stuff, but I find it to be pretty darn inappropiate for man-to-man fighting. Skill becomes irrelevent, gadgets take precedence, and it can end in a snap of your fingers if your PC is down to 5 MDC after several combats and ends up facing Any Idiot With A Laser Gun.
3) Will Work For Armor - Something I never even considered before running tabletop recently was the fact that when you're down to 5 MD, you're gonna have to either repair your armor or else buy a new set to even consider considering adventuring again. And it isn't cheap; 20,000 credits and on up. Wait, you say; what a great RP hook - the heroes will need to work to get money to cover the expenses of their thrilling adventures. Well, think about this for a while...20 thousand credits is a /lot/ of money. A fella could buy a house, settle down. Or hire some other idiot to go out and do his adventuring for him. You're just buying for the /privelege/ of going out and facing more Goons with Blasters. And if you're spending that much every three adventures or so (or more), then one has to wonder how any hero turns a buck, much lest justifies his or her earnings. "Well, I'm almost 5th level, so if I can sell that spaceship for 15 percent of the salvage rights, I can get another suit of armor and be able to take on that goblin."
Well, there's more ranting where that came from, but I think I've said what I needed to say. I gotta go pawn off my vital organs for a MD glove.
Message: 16/7 Posted Author
Firearms and Armor Sat Feb 20 Walter
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Well now, I thought I'd start vomiting forth more of my thoughts on Firearms and Armor.Basically, there are two types of armor, Hard and Soft armor. Hard armor is exactly what it's name implies, hard and unflexible like a shell. Soft armor on the other hand would be something like kevlar bulletproof vests or leather jackets, soft and flexible, but still hard to cut through. In rifts, there are basically two types of weapons.. well maybe three, Kenetic and Energy, and possibly Plasma.
Kenetic Weapons--Kenetic weapons cuase damage by accelerating a peice of material using chemical or other means. You can tell when your hit by a kenetic energy weapon (Handgun, rifle, railgun) becuase of the high transfer of KEnetic energy to a small area of your body. The amount and type of damage one would take is dependant on the armor that covers the bodypart struck. If one is wearing HARD armor, they wold recieve little or no collateral damage from the slug striking thier body, it would trasfer all it's energy to the hard shell and prevent the innards from turning to pulp. But, on the other hand, if one is wearing SOFT armor (bullet proof vests) all of the kenetic energy of the slug would not be transfered to the armor, some of it would continue through the armor and pulp your innards, resulting in broken bones and internal hemoraging. Obviously, HARD armor is the best against kenetic energy weapons.
Energy WEapons--Lasers, can transfer a large amount of energy onto a small area and are extremly accurate.. too accurate in fact to cause much damage. If you weren't wearing any armor and were struck with a alser, you wouldn't explode, there would just be a small hole going all the way through where the laser had struck. If the laserblast hadn't struck a vital area (liver, kidneys,heart,brain) the target probably would be able to keep moving and still attack. Obviously something needs to be done to make it a better weapon. A variable focus of the beam would do the trick, for close range set the weapon on wide, for long range simply focus the lase beam to the desired width, remebering that as the beam increases, the surface area covered by the beam increases as well, decreasing the amount of energy transfered at any one point. ie: P=W/(pi*r^2), another solution would be to have the weapon actually fire MANY times for every trigger pull, like lightning.. which can strik at 20 times per second in one blast, and to jiggle the weapon to provide enough dispersion to do damage. I frankly, like the variable focus myself, add an infared rangefinder to every laser so one can still pull off trick shots without previosly adjusting the beam width.
Continued in next post
Message: 16/8 Posted Author
Firarms and armor Part2 Sat Feb 20 Walter
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Continued from previous postNow, would you be able to hear the laser beam as so many scifi shows seem to say? No, but you would be able to hear the air expand as it is heated by the beam striking the target area, a loud POP would be heard as it quickly heats up, but the target wouldn't be knocked down or anything by the sound. It wouldn't matter what type of armor one was wearing, there would be no transfer of kenetic energy to the armor, just heat transfered. They'd probably see a dark spot appear on thier armor from the the crispified armor particles, but not much else.
And now, this leands me to ask about PLASMA Weapoms... what would plasma weapons do?
Walter.
Message: 16/9 Posted Author
Pseudo-science gibberish Mon Feb 22 Jessy
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A game called Aftermath brought up an interesting idea about laser weapons. Lasers burn a neat hole in things, and burn neat holes through people, right? Well, Aftermath had a adifferent idea. they figured that bodies are made of water stored in little sacks (cells), and when these are heated the water changes state into steam while the sack chemically ignites into flame. This, they resoned, would produce an exciting and very dramatic steam explosion, which would gorily re-arrange tissue all around the laser impact site. A side affect would be heat transfer via internal liquids, resulting in blood clots going through blood vessels causing heart attacks and strokes and what-not, along with tasty cooked areas around the tiny laser hit location. All in all, their explanations and rules made laser weapons super-duper-uper icky. Even if a target survived a hit by one, they might be suffering brain damage and the wounds would have to be amputated to remove the dead (cooked) tissue around them. Eww. Of course, until we get to see people zapped by laser beams RL, who knows what will really happen?
Message: 16/10 Posted Author
More Pseudo-science Mon Feb 22 Jessy
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Mega-damage to me always seemed like a cheap cop-out rules system. Tanks aren't hurt by bullets. Ergo, tanks are made of mega-damage substances that are immune to all but mega-damage attacks. Err.. I guess there's logic in that. Of course, RL tanks are hurt by big machine-gun bullets, but calculating armor values for every vehicle would prolly be a major pain. So we'll just give all vehicles a bunch of vehicle damage points, and only let them be hurt by vehicle weapons. Err.. ok. Simple enough, and fast. But now lets have people carrying vehicle weapons around, and wear vehicle armor. Err.. wait.. hasn't this train of pseudo-logic gotten way way off-base?
But - if it works, run with it. If it sucks, drop it and use something better. The current system seems to be working, and if staff decides that they can no longer maintain believabilty using the current rules, I'm sure they can choose any of a million-bijillion rules systems out there to find one they like better. I like playing D&D, and that's at least as hokey as MDC/SDC. But it works, and makes for a fun game. I've only played Aftermath three times, because it was a burgeoning rules monster that took too much time.
Personally, I'd like to see Rifts simplified. Why do we need all these skills at whatever percentages? The percantages are so low as to make rolling them pointless. Do I really need basic-radio to use my helmet radio or walky-talky? Are my skills in revolvers really a lot better than my skills at semi-automatic pistols? I say drop all the gibberish, and use a simpler, cleaner system of skills that are really broad and general. Or give the skills in Rifts meaningful percentages so we can roll them or whatever we're supposed to do with them.
Message: 16/11 Posted Author
About Skills... Tue Feb 23 Lake
------------------------------------------------------------------------------Never let it be said that I'm not prone to prattling on about nothing of particular interest to anyone. And as proof of that, here's a few thoughts I have on various subjects that have been brought up.
Skills and percentages could probably be debated till the cows come home (Wait, the cows left? Better remember to get my lasso...), but when you look at it it kinda makes sense. In my humble opinion, having a skill is basically like saying you know the subject to some degree. Some OCCs have training and natural advantages with some skills, as evidenced by their skill bonuses. However, sometimes with those bonuses, some percentages seem a bit low. But are they really?<con't next post>
Message: 16/12 Posted Author
About Skills...(2) Tue Feb 23 Lake
------------------------------------------------------------------------------Think about the RL equivalent. Say you go to school, do all your homework (Ha!), and manage to leave with a diploma/degree/writ of blah blah for a particular field of study. If you're anything like 95 percent of the population, you're then equipped with various skills in that area. But that doesn't mean you know /everything/ about it. Even an greatest botanist on earth couldn't identify every single plant in creation off the top of their head. Well okay, maybe the greatest could, but odds are a player character isn't that gifted just yet. So when you enconter something unknown, you make a skill roll. If you miss, you miss. Since most skills aren't combat related anyway, it's normally not some critical life or death issue. So you just roll again a little later. The way I see it, it's representative of possibly having to think about the subject in question, mull over something about the subject for a few minutes/hours/days, or possibly even go somewhere and crack open a reference.
Of course, there are always exceptions, and sometimes you really do need that info or job done right then and there. I mean, if I hadn't found that huckleberry tree the other day... well, I won't go into it. But the point is that no matter how great you might think your character is, the plain truth of the matter is they can't know everything. So grin and bear it, have fun, and sleep with your gun under your pillow. On the left side of the bed. Yes, the left side. Muahahahaha.... :)-Lake
Feel free, to discuss, dispute, or ignore. Especially that last one. :)
Message: 16/13 Posted Author
Malleus On: Skills Tue Feb 23 Malleus
------------------------------------------------------------------------------Hmm. Well, I'm of two minds on the Rifts skills subject. On the one hand, I'm okay with the number and starting level of most skills. On the other, I think the way skills are structured in Rifts is pretty absurd.
1) The Number Of Skills: Anybody here ever play 'Ninjas and Superspies'? The number of skills for a starting level character numbers in the realm of 30 to 40...thats a lot of skills. Being the only Palladium game that held my interest for very long, I made a lot of characters for that particular game, and got accustomed to mindnumbing lists of skills and the obscure way the skills are listed (Radio: Basic +10...why not just do the math for the player and give the starting percentage with the OCC bonus? So we can flip through skill lists, I suppose). In some way, also, I kinda like the detail. You know exactly what your PC is trained in, and can better consider his education experience from the sorts of skills he has (Okay, he has Wilderness Survival, so he musta done some hiking or something...maybe around such-and-such a place). While I do generally prefer game systems that are light on the mechanics and maze-like character stats, I find the number of most Rifts characters skills to be managable.
2) Starting Level Percentages: What Lake said - your character is a rookie at First Level (albeit sometimes a /really well trained/ one]. His practical experience is...well, I think anyways...supposed to be relatively limited. Even if he's supposed to have fought in three wars and fought his way up from a slum according to your background, all of that stuff was just preparation for his Real Adventures. He's not anywhere near as good as he -could- be, and I think thats the point; starting PCs have potential that can only be realized by going out and doing heroic/interesting things, ala any number of starting protagonists in adventure fiction. Of course, there are some starting percentages that bug me, and I do wish they'd summarize and do some of the math for you in the OCC description, but, as with the Number of Skills...I can deal.
<babbling continues in next bbpost>
Message: 16/14 Posted Author
Malleus On: Skills (Continued) Tue Feb 23 Malleus
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Now for the other hand...
3) The Radio-Operating-Ability-Killing-Mugwumps Equation: Well, this one is pretty easy to explain - sometimes, one really has to wonder how all of your experience points and Levels relate to your skills advancement. Lets say you're a First Level Headhunter, and you go forth and go have some adventures in which you hunt down and capture/kill a few bad persons for bounty. In said adventures, you spend the whole time in one city, using the following skills: WP Energy Pistol, Prowl, Surveillance Systems, and Streetwise. So, you get your experience, and, lo and behold, your ability to ride horses (Horsemanship: General) goes up a whopping 5 percentage points! Wow. Or, conversely, you're out in the wilds of the Rifts earth, out on your lonesome, miles from civilization. Its the fifth year of the campaign in which your Atlantean Vampire Mutant with the man-portable boom gun has been running around shooting 'kewl' monsters from various books...after that Rakasha, you're now 10th Level. Your Radio: Basic skill is now 98 percent...congrats. You're the best you ever be with a Basic Radio. Of course, you haven't ever used a radio save for maybe once or twice in the bloodthirsty campaign, but...
4) As Good As It Gets: Well, pretty easy to explain - 98 is as good as it gets for any PC, great or small, in any skill (save for Offensive Driving and Air-To-Air Combat, apparently). This is a fine qualifier for most characters whose skills are in the 50-60s tops, early on. But, there comes a time when you'd like to know how its possible that a 14th Level Glitterboy and a 10th Level Ley-Line Walker are both just as good at more than half of their skills, regardless of its relevance to either's interests or natural talent. Doubt this'll come up save for dealing with NPCs in my tabletop game, but it still something of a pesky fact.
5) Learning Disabilities 'R' Us: Is it just me, or are Palladium characters not very good at learning /new/ skills? Granted, many of them won't really -need- a new skill to add to the one's they start with, and, yes, they do get some skills with increasing experience...but...the need to rely on every few Levels of advancement to even become a beginner in skills such as new languages or the use of a weapon is another little flakey rule that occaisonally has popped up in tabletop sessions (and on here, actually).
Well, I've bored you all enough this time around, I think. Stay Tuned for my bbpost titled 'Basket-Weaver OCC: Why Not?'.
Message: 16/15 Posted Author
Biological Warfare Sat Feb 27 Walter
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*rides the nuke all the way in, ala Armageddon, ala some other movie I can't remember*
Ever wonder what happened to all the neato stores of little genetic slot machines developed by our dear countries? Viruses and Bacterium like Anthrax, Botulism, and others we have no idea about? Theres no mention of any of the Pre-Rifts nations nilaterally destroying all bio storehouses. In fact, limited-nonuclear war broke out just before the Nukes struck. I'm sure some fool with his finger on the trigger thought, 'Hey! Lets drop our bombs full of little green monsters on the unsuspecting enemy!' The war probably contained nano-warfare as well... think of self replicating robots turning fields of grain into seas of highly viscous polymer goo, ala Fairyland(which is a pretty good book, although it does get a little annoying at times). Obviosly malfunctions or genetic mutations could occur in these terror that would allow them to stay alive when thier environment changes, imagine those islands out in the ocean that are still infested with Anthrax after all these years...
Anyway, I'm just saying that new forms of bacterial, viral, or mechanical terros could appear from time to time, not just from the Rifts, but from Pre-Rifts activity. Think of getting a scratch out in the woods and getting infected with super-gangrene? or walk over a patch of nano-infested ground and have your ultra-expensive megadamge armor ROT a short while later? That, I think would be scarier than walking tanks carrying city-smashi9ng weapons... gives a good reason to avoid the sick even more.Walter, who doesn't suffer by stress...he's a carrier.
Message: 16/16 (timeout warning) Posted Author
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Alright, I just wanted to make a post about weapons with a multiple pulse feature. They way that this is described in the books is as "three simultaneous shots," or three shots in immediate succession. The purpose being to add more firepower to a weapon, but at the cost of depleting the E-Clip much more quickly. This is great, except that the way the rules currently handles this is to make it so that when you fire a weapon in multiple pulse mode, you use the burst bonus, instead of the aimed bonus. As a balance issue, this sorta makes sense, but it doesn't really logically follow when you think about it realistically. The loss in accuracy that is shown by the burst bonus is due to a combination of recoil, and the act of pressing the trigger several times, depending on the specific weapon. Laser weapons, which all pulse weapons fall under, would have absolutely no recoil. It would be just like turning on a flashlight (except more effective when trying to cause harm). In addition, the whole point of the multiple pulse system would seem to be avoiding the loss of accuracy entailed by having to press the trigger several times. Logically it would follow (to me) that weapons with a pulse system built into them would use the aimed bonus, when using that feature. Otherwise, why have a pulse system at all? Nearly every firearm is semi-automatic, meaning that you could just do your own short bursts. Well, that's just my take on the situation, anyone else have a good reason why I'm wrong?
Message: 16/17 Posted Author
Burst fire, etc. Thu Mar 18 Lake
------------------------------------------------------------------------------I kinda see your argument about pulse bursts, and then I kinda don't. The way I see it, the accuracy loss is due in part to recoil and pulling the trigger several times, but that isn't the entire loss. The main loss of accuracy comes from trying to fire multiple shots in the same stretch of time as you would an aimed shot (one melee action). See, in the course of 2-3 seconds, you can pick a target, move your weapon into position, and still have that second fraction to /aim/. Regardless of recoil or trigger squeezing, a 3+ shot burst takes more time to be fired, however inconsequential it may seem. The burst modifier also accounts for that, and the general inaccuracy of firing off more than one shot at a time. Now if you were Cool Hand Luke whose hand never swayed, or you took more than one action to target a burst (which kind of seems to defeat the purpose to me) that's an entirely different argument altogether... :)
-Lake
Whose still trying to figure out how a bboard message has no subject or author.
Message: 16/18 Posted Author
Burst Fire, Lasers Fri Mar 19 Walter
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Burst fire to me has always been a little strange. Yes, it's easy to see that firing a projectile weapon at someone will result in a recoil of the gun. This recoil will reduce accuracy, resulting in fewer bullets striking the target. Okay. Then comes along laser weapons...the recoil of the laser weapon would be zero, and so that woldn't be a factor of the burst rules for lasers. Pulling the trigger? Maybe... but what if the weapon's design only recuires one trigger pull to fire a 3 blast burst? Obviously the trigger pull isn't going to be effecting the burst rules either then.
But whatabout heating of the target/atmosphere/weapon? According to Pop.Sci (Yeah I know...) the new satalite weapons that are currently being developed are designed not to fire for prolonged periods on one target becuase the target heating reduces the effect of the laser. Also, air around the laser beam may become distorted resulting in problems aiming (ie: image refraction heat-wavie things(tm)). Also, the weapon may be overheating, cuasing a change in sighting accurace (the little laser-emitter-thingie(tm) become misaligned)... this may be a neat little extra to add to your games, the possibility of damaging a laser weapon not designed for multple bursts-- Decreased capacity for damage, number of shots, explosions ect.Walter. Total fruitcase, but everyone already knows that.
Message: 16/19 Posted Author
Food in Rifts Thu Mar 25 Walter
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Okay, we've all seen the commercials for social outreach programs that say 'For $.70 a day, this small child can go to school and have food to eat...' I found out that for 20 (in developing countries) a small family can buy enough protien/cereal mix to survive on for 3 months. That got me wondering what is the availability and cost of food in Rifts Earth? Looking at things from a farmer's perspective, they'res little or no farm equipment for cultivating vast fields of grain, so most of the farmfolk out in the boonies'd have to use animals like oxen, horses, pigs, ect. to do the heavy work. All the rifts have probably brought in plant as well as animal species that aren't native to Earth, reslting in some shifts in the eco-system (new bugs to eat the crops, new animals to eat the bugs, new animals to eat the old animals, ect.) Then there's also the fact that most of today's agricultural products come from genetically altered seed and special fertilizer. (most of the time, altered seed doesn't grow too well outside of the conditions it was altered for.) These would combine to make food pretty tough to grow...but, living things adapt. Some new forms of grains and vegetables probably thrived and weren't poisonous to humans, so they get cultivated and eaten. I see farmers tending thier fields of domesticated Altarian Frappe-plants. Anyway.. theres always Algae.. it can grow almost anywhere there is water, and usually not poisonous to humans.
Commercial grade Algae would probably be grown in large vats inside Tolkeen and other large cities, and would probably be gene-spliced to produce the various nutrients necesary for human/DB health . This would probably mean that most of the food products in commercial places would be based on Algae with a bit of real stuff mixed in for texture/taste. The cost of food would probably be (from most expensive to least expensive) Fresh vegetables, Grain products, Canned/processed vegetables, Fresh meat (people wold be hunting more instead of farming), Proccessed meat (Spam), Algae (Shakes, burgers, cereals, ect).Now, what would be the average cost of keeping a person alive (food wise) inside a city vs. Outside a city (the boonies)?
Walter, who thinks too much.
Message: 16/20 Posted Author
Trading and Commerce Tue Mar 30 Walter
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Okay.. here I go on one of my long-winded rants again.
It doesn't really seem to me that as much emphasis is made on trading and commerce inside Tolkeen as there should be. The statistics news file kind of actually helped this fact, by posting exactly what Tolkeen makes and exports. Rp possibilities abound for traveling merchants, both freelance and those funded by corporations. Surely, the city gate of Tolkeen isn't a tiney afair guarded by a lone soldier--as it seems to me when I read it, It should be large and armored... guarded by road-blocks and inspectors that search through the convoys of equipment, medicine, and food that are trucked in daily. While only slightly populated by today's standards, Tolkeen is still one of the largest cities in the area, and becase of this it is highly industrial--the majority of laypeople will be employed by one of the industrial plats on the west side of the city. IT should be rather commonplace to see a convoy of trucks moving through the city, filled with manufactured parts on its way to other cities. Out in the wilderness, every convoy is a target, whether it is a single horse-drawn cart, or a 50 truck convoy. Thieves and bandits would ambush cargoes outside the city, only within a few miles of the city proper would the trucks be safe. Becuase of this, there is probably a large number of hired guards taken out of Tolkeen every year. Offices would specialize in weeding out unsavory charechters for the guard duty, like temp agencies. These offices would charge a premium for the services of thier employees, and so single truck haulers probably wouldn't be a ble to afford the 'Gah-Rawn-Teed' protection by these first class professionals. Those not overly concerned about saftey, and looking to save a few bucks, could inquire about the streets for anyone with a gun willing to go along on the ride for a few thousand credits... Although... there is always the the chance that the hired gun is going to look the other way when the bandits catch them on the road.Anyway, I think it would be interesting to hear more about the convoys that rumble down the road everyday feeding Tolkeen.
Walter
Message: 16/21 Posted Author
Ha! Tue Mar 30 Lake
------------------------------------------------------------------------------This is just to break up the string of Walter's name on this bboard. Oh yeah, and because I can rant about nonsense as well as anybody can... :)
One thing I've noted from another RPG (namely Shadowrun) is the presence of what they refer to as professional ratings. I won't bore you with a word for word definition, but it's basically a measure of just how far a person will go in a crisis (i.e. how much damage they'll take before they run/surrender/etc.). Now I'm not suggesting that anyone go through all the trouble of building some new system to work with (heck, for all I know it's already there), I just needed to explain that before I made my point, which is this. While it's easy to look at an RP environment or situation and say 'I have X MDC/SDC points...' and so on, it's also important to think of how your character perceives the situation.
Simply put, when the bullets, lasers, and energy bolts start flying, the average joe heads for the other side of town. People with a vested interest in the conflict may or may not stick around for the duration. Even so, only the most hardlined of the hero and/or villain types will actually hold their ground for an honest to goodness 'fight to the death', and even then usually there would have to be a good reason for it.
Note also that this applies to non-combat situations as well. I'd imagine a psi or mage character near the end of their points for a given spell or ability might have to strain slightly, taxing the limits of their power. Or not. But they most certainly wouldn't go, 'No problem, I got plenty of juice left' when they haveonly 5 ISP (unless of course they're crazy, macho, etc.). And what about when you're running low on the mental juice? What's to say there isn't some gosh awful beastie waiting around the bend to pounce you? Can you really afford to burn the last of your reserves?
Anyway, just a few minor thoughts to rattle around in your heads. As always, I'm in no way claiming that I'm right about anything. Just some things to think about... :)-Lake
Message: 16/22 Posted Author
Television and Broadcasting in Rif Fri Apr 9 Walter
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I wonder how television and radio would be handled in rifts. Obviously, most cities wouldn't have telivision of thier own , other than a few public access slots for a couple hours of the day. Larger cities, such as Lazlo, Tolkeen, and Chi-town would have several professional telivision studios of thier very own, plus the public-access types found in the smaller (but still large by rifts standards) cities. Cities held under despotic rule, like chi-town would have the "public-access" telivision closely monitored and overseen by the government. The few studios would produce various shows and record them to sell to other studios/studio franchises in other cities, or to movie theaters for extra money. Tv shows would slowly mix back and forth by traders so what would eventually happen would be like seeing "Uncle Jimbo's kiddie hour" (filmed in New-Podunk Kansas) in North-Ass-End-of-Nowhere Alaska.
"But how can they simulate the large-sets used in today's telivision shows?" you ask. Remember.. rifts is 300 years in the future. omputer animation has got to be much more advanced than it is today. Where 20 people can make a full-length movie in a month using human extras and computerized sets.I think radio would be handled differently than it is today. Today one needs a license to operate a radio broadcasting device (well, not if you own a boat or a CB radio, but thats different). HAM (shortwave) radios would be the first thing to come back after the rifts. It's so easy to bounce a radio signal off the ionosphere that there must be hundreds of HAM (get it?) operators around the world forming a sort of communications network-giuld... hell I keep getting broadcasts in some Oriental/Indonesian toungue on my FM radio.. probably just those fish factories that pull into harbor. Anyway.. I just thought i'd blab away again.
Walter--Never play giutar in front of someone with a loaded weapon.
Message: 16/23 Posted Author
Even more stuff! Mon Apr 12 Lake
------------------------------------------------------------------------------More of a reminder than an actual obsevation of a deficiency, but hey! Isn't life just a bunch of small reminders leading us to death anyway? Uh, moving on... :)
People speak at times of a noted lack of RP around here. Heck, even I've done it at times. But the simple truth of the matter is that you're only limited by your own imagination. And here's why: You are not alone. You're never alone. Well, unless you lock yourself into a room and don't answer the phone, but that's a whole other kettle of fish.
There's always... or at least usually... someone around that's RPable, assuming of course you're inventive enough. Maybe you have a question that any Joe Blow on the street can answer. Or you just happen to spill your purse onto the pavement (of course, than you have to hope for a boy scout or something ;P). Or, maybe you just walk down the street. That's right. Walk down the street. Just because you're in the same room as someone doesn't mean you have to RP with them directly. Maybe you just trade several passing poses. It's more fun than you'd think.
Then there are of course the thousands upon thousands of NPCs wandering around. Last I checked (back in the Stone Age it was), it was still completely alowable to emit the occasional NPC for the sake of RP enhancement. So long as they aren't psycho borgs wielding whoopy cushions or anything else unnecessarily dangerous or disruptive.
Long story short: If you want RP, then by gum you can find RP. Or make RP. or something. It's a big city and beyond. Make your dreams happen. Grab that brass ring by the horns and say I'm mad as he... oh well, I better bail out before my cliches get even more scrambled... ;)
-Lake
Who shouldn't reread old bboards for inspiration. :)
Message: 16/24 Posted Author
Celebrities. Wed Apr 14 Walter
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Okay, I'm not sure if this falls under Points to ponder territory, but hey.. has that stopped me before?Celebrities, whether now or set in the future of Rifts, are popular people or well known people.. duh. However, some of the celebrities around here, I won't name names, seem to think (imho) that they can stroll off out of town for a few IC weeks and not have anyone notice. People like proinent shop owners or bar owners, city council-folk, presidents, vice presidents, CEO's and what not, almost always have a gaggle of groupies hanging around them. Sometimes, this is for the celebrities protection, or becuase the groupies are sucking up to the prominent individual or what ever. These groupies, who are used to thier celebrtities, should notice when those people take a jaunt around outside the city, even if they don't know where the people are, they should realize that thier idol is missing. Now that the rumor bin has been created, there should be more "groupies" whining about thier idols running off someplace without telling them. Fer instance, if one of THE crime lords were to run off for no reason at all, the local criminals would get a little upset and start spreading rumors of where they think he/she/it (pick any two) has gone to.
Anyway, I just had a bit of a beef.... mmm.. roast beef...Walter.
Message: 16/25 Posted Author
Appology Re: Celebritys Fri Apr 16 Walter
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Well, I sure came off as an arsehole that last time, didn't I? I just want to appologise to everyone that I really shouldn't have said that in my last post. To those offended, sorry, please don't send the furies after me. I was in a bit of a bad mood but didn't intend for it to come off as anything like that. Anyway, I'll stop rambling and just join the vikings over in that corner over there...Walter
Ps. 2 short posts by me in less than a week... whats the world coming to? :)
Message: 16/26 Posted Author
Bad Spelling Sun Apr 25 Steve
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Ok, bad spelling happens people. I'm not sure it's fair to penalize people for it online. From innocent typos, to massive spelling errors, to just plain bad grammer. Yes, I know I'm guilty of all 3. Frankly, I can't help it. I'm a bad speller rl, and it's not going to change any unless someone invents an instant spell checker that's useable online. At least with spelling and grammer, you can just go OOC: Oppps, sorry, I meant <insert word or words here>. Also, for those of you out that that are like grammer nazi's, people make mistakes, don't pull that, well you said that icly, so that's what I'm reacting to bs, it's annoying and unfair. People make mistakes, I do it all the time. I know everyone has, and if you say you haven't, your lying. Just ease up on people making spelling/grammer mistakes. Yes, it can be hard to do sometimes, but crist, it happens. Add in people who purposely spell words wrong cause that's just how the character is. I can think of several people who I trouble rping with sometimes cause of how they talk icly. It's a game, spelling badly is not a reason to be penalizes and ostrasized cause of it.
Steve - Bad speller extradionar
Message: 16/27 Posted Author
Re: Spelling Sun Apr 25 Walter
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Spelling and grammar(?) are important in conveying information, and in a text-based medium (such as this mux), conveying information is important. However, not all people have the ability to cleary write/type thier thoughts out so other can understand/respond to them--in short, every person writes differently, thats just the way it works. It is possible, however, for people to improve thier writing skills, through paitience, practice, and some friendly teaching. I know many people who's writing ability has increased drmatically over a very short time, (2 years or so) going from not being able to write.. and sometimes speak, a complete sentance to writing out complete paragraphs that flow nicely between one-another. I don 't think of myself as an excellent writer.. I ramble and ramble my way through paragraphs. My average sentance length is somewhere areound 25 words... and I talk like that as well. It's just the way I think... 20 zillion things all at once.Anyway, I think players should strive to write the best they can, even if it takes rechecking what thier typing and or fixing typos when they come to them. I do not believe players should be punished for poor typing skills, I am not a touch typist.. however, I do type at about 30 words a minute and sometimes upto 60 depending on the complexity of the words, and whether or notthe sentances flow in a logical manner. Sometimes, it's nigh on impossible to adequatly express something at the time you are posing it, it's difficult to pose out some actions without reading like a parrot, or repeating what everyone else has already said. Sometimes, for IC reasons, players poses contain intentional errors..alot of the experienced players here have EXCELLENT grammar when thier charechter is not IC'ly speaking. It's confusing at times even, seeing this PC who speaks like a two year old IC'ly, who then one expects thier poses to reflect the way they speak.. only to realize, what looked like someone elses writing turns out to have come from the same player!
Anywayz, I don't think players should be penalized for poor grammar or spelling..if a person thinks that another player's poses are making the scene difficult to roleplay, or whatnot.. tell them nicely that thier writing is dificult to read. Or if it's my writing thats bad, just kick me in the butt.
Walter, hE who h8tEs tHe WUrD KeW1!
Message: 16/28 Posted Author
Da'Words, Ma, Da'Words Sun Apr 25 Alejandra
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Steve is absolutely correct. All of us make mistakes when we're typing, whether it be in pose, @mail or +bbpost. There's no denying it... hell, it happens to me all the time and I've yet to hear complaints about my posing (Hellllo, Ego).
The problem lies with those who make no effort whatsoever to learn better. Basic English grammar was supposedly taught to all of us in elementary through high school. If you don't have a dictionary with you RL, go to dictionary.com on the 'web. Learn how to use a period. It ends a thought. Commas are for lists, or for a faint pause when you're reading a sentence. This kind of thing is basic, and can be learned, if the person doing the learning /wants/ to.
We the Grammar Nazi's aren't expecting perfection. What we want is for some faint acknowledgement that grammar exists at all. Certainly, one can put an <OOC> to fix a word. But doing so as a crutch for proper posing is annoying. Those OOC messages interrupt the flow of IC play. Nothing annoys me more than someone suddenly starting an OOC conversation in the middle of an IC room while there're others present trying to play.
As far as purposeful mistakes are concerned... that's a RP style. A personal choice, because my PC doesn't speak like everyone else. I thread th'words all t'gether jus'like I would'f I were sayin'm real fast. It helps show the differences between my character and someone elses.
If you need/want help with how to learn/use proper grammar, I'm all too likely to help if I'm asked. The more people to type legibly, the better off the over-all quality of RP is going to be. For the most part, I avoid playing with people who can't get their ideas across to me... it's a waste of both of our times, and no fun for either.Alejandra
Message: 16/29 Posted Author
Stuff and like More stuff.. Sun Apr 25 Estaban
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Just some quick (?) replies to several of the topics that have come up.Bad spelling, poor typing, and bad grammer.. Oh Jeeze! Of all topics for me to comment on. I'll gladly put myself into the guilty party, and one helluva party it is! *woowoo* But I honestly have 2 things to bring up.
1) Poetic Lie-sins! *GRIN* This is something that I personally use to its fullest extent. I mix and match syllables (sp) to create what I think is the closest sounding thing phonetically to what is being said. Example: Dunno = is slang for Don't know. Lesse = Lets see... Lemme = Let me... But the use of all these I try to keep to spoken things. Be it ICly or OOC.2)Spell Checker online: THERE IS ONE! Woowoo. I've seen it used before.. Its through a robot character normally known as Webster.. You page it..It gives you a reply of mispelled words. (I'll look for the code, FYI)
Short and long poses: Varying length of poses are a good thing. Details are nice and needed. But also the single dramatic: 'Player nods once.' type of lines have to be used. Point 1.5 (Because I already used my 2 points) .. Have you ever noticed who you speak generally different than the written word? 'Spoken grammer' has its differences in what is acceptable than writing grammer. My point here? Not sure.. But if you keep to proper written grammer in your 'actions', and slip into 'spoken' grammer in your speech.. Its realistic, so nobody can complain. If they can't understand it.. Hey... Rp asking stuff.
Point 2.3: Alternative sources of spelling help: A window of a work processor. A browser to one of the many online dictionaries!... *gasp* A dictionary by your computer! I've personally done ALL of these things before.
One last point.. If Walter truely does speak the way he writes.. Zounds.. What a confusing guy he'd be.. Or he'd simply just talk WAYWAY to much! :)
Estaban... Stuck at work.. So had to post out of boredom.
Message: 16/30 Posted Author
Words, S'truth. Sun Apr 25 Gareth
------------------------------------------------------------------------------People who ignore punctuation and grammar tend to put themselves across as uneducated/inconsiderate persons. Yes we all make mistakes and have typos now and then. My grammar isn't perfect but I've found that since I first came on, RPing with people who actually have a good grasp of grammar and spelling has helped me improve my own. But (and a big but here...) when one constantly spells words wrong, even when others spell it properly not even one or two poses before, it tends to look badly on them. Players that simply don't care about these things or don't have the time because they are in fifteen different windows at once might think about the people that are taking the time to RP with them in a scene; Hopefully neither is just another object in a virtual room, but a full-fleshed character who has something more to convey about themselves than just a 'no dand a girn'.
RFC is an RP environment and all we have to go on when reacting to each other, is what appears on each other's monitors. The way Gareth speaks is a chore to read at times (possibly ICly unintelligible to other characters) but his action poses are meant to come across quite clearly. To bring my ramblings to a close let me just say that spelling, punctuation and grammar are things that shouldn't be taken lightly. Nobody is perfect, but everyone should strive to be better and learn from their mistakes.Gareth.
Message: 16/31 Posted Author
Skill Suggestions Sun Apr 25 Walter
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Okay, well I've got some skill suggestions for everybody here in no particular order, they are:Criminalogy, The ability to gain leads, find bacground info on suspects, ect. This skill would be a combination of Intuition and Experience.. it would be rather dificult to pick up, involving a very good teacher and a bright student. A skill that would compliment this skill would be "Criminal Activities, Mental."
Criminal Activities, Mental: Allows players to spot, or recognize telltales of the criminal mind. A further understanding of Kidnappings, Murders, Blackmail, ect, and the motives behind them. This would require the Psychology skill, and would be an added bonus for anyone using the Criminology skill.
Education: The gift of a teachers mind. The ability to teach skills to others, especially children.
Jury-Rigging: The skill to recognize, or envision what could be done to repair a machine or object, and especially useful for Operators. A knowledge of mechanics and engineering would be a bonus to this skill.
Linguistics: Knowledge of the structure, origin, and evelution of languages. This would be useful for those archaeologists out there.
Methods of Disguise and Impersonation: The knowledge of disguising, what materials acomplish what. Increases the chances that the player can detect frauds and impersonators. It does not, however.. grant the ability to impersonate, but it does grant a working knowledge of various methods and materials. Skill with Cosmetics would be a bonus.
Cosmetics: The knowledge of how to use and apply, recognize, and even synthesize various cosmetics. This skill helps the disguise skill.
Okay, there were someof my skill Ideas. Do with them what you will.
Walter.
Message: 16/32 Posted Author
Screw Grammar! Sun Apr 25 Lake
------------------------------------------------------------------------------Call me crazy, but I could care less about a few grammar or spelling mistakes (a few). My main problem is with that other thing. You know, the quality of RP and whatnot. For the most part, things like zipping through large scale rooms with half-line/no poses, disconning in the middle of scenes/crowded rooms, or just displaying a general disinterest in RP in general. These types of things have become disturbingly common at times, and with new players popping up everyday I think it's time we all stepped up to nip this thing in the bud. We have a standard to uphold here for crying out loud! :) Veteran players in particular have a responsibility to set an example for the newer ones, if for no other reason than players tend to learn by example. I guess that's about it for my opinion on that subject. For now, anyway. :)
Oh, and while I'm on a tear, I kinda like the globals. it makes for a good way to keep time without having to constantly check. And, as people have pointed out already, it's pretty simple to gag or ignore them if you squint /really/, really hard...
-Lake
An /extremely/ veteran player, and (hopefully) a soon-to-be good example. :)
Message: 16/33 Posted Author
Ways to destroy. :) Mon Apr 26 Walter
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Okay, so I'm feeling a little destructive today, and instead of taking it out on defenseless animals, (except for chipmunks.. they're evil) I started thinking of ways the CS or LoneStar, or ARCHIE, or any of the other super-villian empires could destroy thier enemies.Genetics: LoneStar has a technical edge over most human labs in the rest of Rifts Earth. They have the knowhow and the funding to create human/animal crosses. Let's say the CS suddenly finds that Dogboys are a menace that must be destroyed. One way to do this would be to kill every single one of them in a process of elimination.. nah, that would cost too much. Another option is, give them a virus that will kill them all off.
It would be very easy for the scientists at lone-star to find a virus, say the flu.. that can only be transmitted between dog-boys. They could find get some samples from the dog-boy, say blood or spoor, and then culture the virus. Once they obtain enough of a sample, they could alter it to kill and there would be little chance of the virus jumping species. Unfortunatly, the problem with viruses is evolution. Everytime a virus replicates itself a few errors creep into it's RNA, these errors biuld up until a new virus is formed. Most errors result in a non-viable organism, but there are so many viruses that even if half were to die there would still be a large number left over. Viruses that kill thier hosts have a sort of catch-22 going for them. If their host dies before they reporoduce and spread to another host, the species dies. One way to solve this is to make the virus replicate faster, except with more replications more mutations develop and eventually you end up with a virus that either doesn't kill the host, or one that is completely different than the virus you started out with.
If they make the virus go dormant, like HIV, they can solve that problem, the viruses maintain a high enough population inside the host to transmit, but not high enough to kill the host until a while afterwards. The only safe way for this virus to be transmitted is through bodily fluids, there is always the chance that a virus can jump species, like influenza--which some scientists beleive came from pigs...Most normal people don't go around having sex with members of the porcine family, although I'm sure they call thier partners pigs.. but thats another story.Why wouldn't the CS use viruses on dogboys or other species? 1. Becuase the Dogboys are useful 2. Becuase the Coalition needs enemies that it can crush in order to survive. 3. Becuase, gosh darnit.. viruses aren't asmuch fun as shooting those damn DB's with weapons that make loud noises. :)
Walter, secret CS agent.
Message: 16/34 Posted Author
Jynn's Points to Ponder Tue Apr 27 Jynn
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Amid the flurry of posts about Rifts-era cold medicine, the nature of the typo, and treatises on how the fine art of dogsled mushing would be handled, I'm going out on the limb here and posting a few thoughts on stuff that actually pertains to our everyday lives here on the MUX. So, please bear with me as I go off on a tangent about 'practicality' and somesuch nonsense.
Foremost in my mind at the time of this writing is the distinct problem that sometimes arises when two different people in the same scene have two different mental pictures of the area their characters are in. While room descs that completely laid out the room, detailed every bit of furniture, and described the light fixtures with painstaking clarity would be a chore to write and a chore to read, it'd be nice to have some general guidelines. Phrases like 'on the wall opposite the door' or 'to the left of the pool table' or 'about twenty feet from the stairs' or 'on the west side of the street, north of the intersection' really need to be tossed in here and there around the grid. The reason why I'm pointing this out? Just recently I was in a scene, and one player walked in, expressly stating that they on the west side of the street. The others were gathered on the street due north of a poopular IC hangout (I won't name names, though). Suddenly we had a problem. If the hangout were on one side of the street, the approaching player would doubtless walk right past the rest of the group, but if it were on the other, this person would have been able to stroll right by, without ever even seeing the others. It was suddenly crucial to the scene to know which side of the street the establishment was situated, but nowhere in any of the descriptions is that stated. I've noticed that most people seem to share a common mental image despite sometimes vague descriptions. I always imagined the downed mobile fortress to be plowed into the buildings on the north side of Lazlo, and I suppose other people shared that vision, simply because it would make more sense, what with the fortress having come up from the south. But who knows? Maybe it was intended to have crashed in the block /south/ of Lazlo, with just the big neck thing arching out over the street. The point is, at some time or another, these little, seemingly insignificant details can suddenly become extremely important in a scene, and it would save a lot of OOC hassle if room descriptions included them, so that everyone would be working on similar mental images.
The second thing on my mind is that it seems like most everyone seems to be spending a lot of time idling away in their respective IC homes and holes in the ground. This kinda bugs me for two reasons: One, if you're not going to bother trying to roleplay, why bother logging on? and Two, if it's because you're waiting for those one or two people that you always roleplay with to log on, then you're really shafting yourself and everyone else on the MUX.
I really doubt that there are any boring characters on the grid. After all, (almost) no one enjoys playing a character that doesn't have a unique background, personality, or a dark, hidden secret or four. Get out there and make an effort to interact with someone new, because you never know what could come out of it. I've noticed that a lot of the more important/interesting events that happen on the MUX don't make it to the bboards, or do so only in the vague sweeps of the rumors board. And with the people of Tolkeen being the secretive lot we are, you'll never know what actually happened unless you were around to see it. Unfair? Hardly. You can't expect to get away with sitting in your apartment for weeks on end, then only coming out for the fireworks and expect to be welcome. Other players might have spent a lot of time building up very personal reasons for their characters to be involved with whatever is going on, and are likely to be a little unpleasant if you think you can just show up for the endgame, proverbial guns blazing. <cont.>
Message: 16/35 Posted Author
Jynn's Points, continued Tue Apr 27 Jynn
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My third issue is kinda related to the second one, and that's with people taking their RP back to their respective apartments or holes in the ground. Again, this usually just short changes everyone. The most interesting scenes I've ever played in have been that way because of the unexpected arrival of someone new. There /are/ a lot of things that need to be played out in the privacy of a home or other non-public place, and I'm not talking about TS here, but critical tinyplot confrontations or conversations, important breakthrough/breakdown points of a character's life, and stuff along those lines. Most of the time, however, there's no real need to be locked away in a private room. Take it to a street corner, a bar, or Freedom Plaza. Give others the choice of joining in, or just being nearby and able to watch. I've often times been roleplaying with one person or group, and even though I didn't interact with them, have enjoyed reading the poses and interactions of another group that just happened to be in the same room. I usually give out votes for that stuff too, and I know other people do too... or they should, anyway (especially now that we have 10 of the buggers).
And, related to that, comes the subject of table talk and mutter. I really feel that these two things should only be used along the same lines as roleplaying in a private room. Unless the area is spammily crowded, or something that absolutely must be kept to one or two people is being discussed, there's no real reason to use the tabletalk code. At least the tabletalk is 'silent' for the others present in the room. The mutter takes it one step further into the realm of 'bad form' because not only are you (intentionally or not) excluding anyone else in the room, but you're letting them know that they're being excluded. I say let it all out in the open. I can't speak for everyone here, but I know I myself usually play IC'ly enough, and respect that certain things can't be heard over certain distances, but it's still nice for me, the player, to be allowed to watch. Plus, if something really interesting and/or related to my character pops up, there is the option of overhearing and interjecting IC'ly as appropriate. Thus, another player is able to contribute to the scene, and the whole thing should be better for everyone because of it, OOC'ly at least. IC'ly it's always possible to get indignant about some guy just jumping in to your conversation, but even that could be interesting. And even when using mutter for what its intended to, that is, to communicate stuff that IC'ly would have been said very quietly and secretly, it's still more fun for everyone if a few choice words slip out now and then. For those that don't know about this, you can use the angled braces <> around any words you want to come out. I like using them around interesting things like <conspiracy>, <power armor>, <murder>, <Lake>, and so forth. Even if other people don't immediately respond, their interest usually will be piqued, and the seeds could be planted for future encounters.
And, finally, pertaining to those things you pose when in a room with other people, but not directly interacting with any of them:
Things that will get you approached:
Being engrossed in a book/magazine/datapad.
Tinkering with some small toy/puzzle/electrical device of unknown purpose.
Having a discussion of substance with a hastily invented NPC which conveniently wanders off camera as soon as a real character jumps in.
Buying a round of drinks for everyone in the bar.
Looking scared/nervous/sickly/wounded.
Playing a young, homeless waif child without any real parents. :)
Things that will get you AVOIDED:
Leaning up against a wall, hands in pockets, looking surly.
Sitting at the bar and staring into your drink.
Nodding/waving/saluting 'any familiar faces' in a room, without bothing to mention whose faces those are.
Leaning up against a wall, idly flipping a knife with one hand, other hand in a pocket, looking surly.
Staying in the OOC room for weeks on end and spewing insanity over the public channel. ;)And that should do it for now. Why is this post in the 'points to ponder'? Because you should ponder if you're guilty of any of this stuff, and if so, work to fix it. I know I'm guilty of a lot of it at times. Everyone is allowed those 'off nights', but it becomes a problem when it becomes the standard operating procedure.
"But Jynn," you say, "You're just a player, not even on the staff, so how can you claim to know what's going on around here?"
And to you I say, "I can't, and can only speak from what I observe first hand. So if you want to ignore this post, and think that I'm talking to everyone except you, so be it. Likewise, if you think this post is just a thinly veiled attempt at personally berating you, while trying to appear general in nature, I say to you, get over yourself. I also say, if you feel that way, perhaps what I have said here today has a shred of truth, and you should work to fix your own practices."
I know I'll be trying my best.
-Jynn
Message: 16/36 Posted Author
Stuff Tue Apr 27 Steve
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Okie, lemme see here. Jynn's got some valid points and all, but I think I'll counter some of them. I know that I'm one of those people that idles a lot in my house, it's no secret, nor am I ashamed of it. My character, Steve, has an ic life outside of the folks wandering around on the grid. He's got a kid, and a job. Frankly, he's not always going to be out on the grid to rp with people because in rl, how often can you get away from the trappings of your life? Yes, I know this is a game, but even in games there are reasons to stay off by yourself at times.
Now, I'm not sure why it's so evil to idle in your own, private rooms, where your not hurting anyone. Unlike some players I've seen in the past, who idle in public rooms, now, that is annoying, but if I'm alone, so be it, it's my choice. Maybe I have other things to handle at the moment, and are on here to do @mail, or read the bboards or something, there are ooc things people have to handle. Another factor is ic time. Frankly, I don't know about the rest of you, btut my charcter tends to sleep when it's dark out. Sure, on occasion he'll be up at 3am and in the Succ or something, but not on a regular basis.
As for the tabletalk thing, I rather like it. It's not like everyone are in these little tiny rooms, with all the table/bars/chairs/whatever squished up against each other,and everyone cn overhear everything that's said. It's stupid to think that. TT serves the purpose, as I see it, as people talking quietly with each other. It also serves as a buffer, if I don't want something known by otherpeople, well, quess what, I won't say it outloud, nor will I mutter it, that's what whispering is for, and for peole who don't like whispering, tough, you can 't hear everything in rl, so don't expect to be able to here either. If I want people to to hear soething, they'll hear it, if I don't, they won't.
I do what I do for my own reasons, as I'm sure everyone else does. But there are certain things that I won't change. I'm still going to idle in my house, I'm still going to use the tt, and whisper instead of mutter. Nothing is going to make me change because I don't see anythign wrong with it. If people have problems, then talk to me, and don't blast them over the bboards. I'm a reasonable person, as are most folks. If you wanted to rp with folks Jynn, pages work, but then again, there are some folks that I won't rp with becase 1) My character doesn't like them 2) Doesn't know them, or 3) Has other thigns to deal with. If your bored for awhile, sorry, but it happens to us all.
Message: 16/37 Posted Author
Bionics Sun May 2 Walter
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"Honey? Did you remember to change your batteries?" Yeah, thats right.. you heard me! How would folks with bionics/cybernetics power the energy needs of thier equipment?Full Conversion Borgs: I'm sure that those walking monstrosities, those mountains of metal and plastic and what-have-you, would probably contain thier very own fusion or nuclear battery. I doubt they'd run on gas, thats for sure. But, wouldn't the fact the borg could turn into a walking Chernobyl scare anyone? Get into a little scrap with some pink-fleshy-mutant punk and wind up dosing everyone in the area with a healthy rad-count? Makes me think of burritos :) I guess another option could always be rechargeable batteries, just plug yourself into the wall once a week or whatever, and you'd be fine.
Of course, I'm not getting into what would power the biological portion of the borg..that should be in another post. :)
Partial Conversion: Well..I think partial conversion borgs have a bit of a problem.. they can't carry around thier own power-plant, it would take too much space to provide a power-plant just for someones leg or arm. Perhaos they use E-clips like glorified batteries. Plug one into your arm and power it for a month.. plug one into your uhm, electric ear-wax cleaner and uhm..nevermind. And then there are those with only small implants..eyes, fingers.. ear-wax cleaners, ect. Eclips would be too big for those, so they probably just use Double-As or something and change them every other day. It could be a litle disconcerting to have to change your eyeballs battery ever day, let alone in front of other people.
Walter, who wants batteries for his next birthday.
Message: 16/38 Posted Author
Re: Bionics Sun May 2 Jynn
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With the invention of KS's 'nuclear pellet' system, even stuff like power armor (and full conversion borgs) can run continually for 5-10 years, which is longer than most borgs and power armor are going to last. I'm sure that changing out the pellet is relatively safe; whoever sold you the armor likely has replacement pellets in their own shielded, self-installing containers. Just slap the new 'battery' in, and you're good to go for another decade.
As for the biological functions of a full converstion borg, I'm pretty sure I read somewhere that they have a nutrient paste system built in that feeds their innards. Meanwhile, the brain functions like it always has, and keeps the guts running smooth.
This, of course, begs the question. With the nuclear pellet technology available, why isn't there a man-portable rifle that uses them as an energy source instead of E-clips? Wouldn't it be great to see 'Payload: 10,000 blasts per nuclear pellet, or 15 per long e-clip.' on some big honkin' rifle? Or, since most jet packs have the nuclear pellets, it would be possible to just jury rig a power feed from the clip port to the jet pack. This brings us into the wide world of game balance, but after seeing most of the OCCs in any world book past 11, I'd be hard pressed to believe that balance is a key concern in Rifts. :)
Message: 16/39 Posted Author
Canned Food Mon May 3 Malleus
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Boy, haven't you always wondered about Mega-Damage packaging for food? I have. Its fun to think about. Chef Boyardee cans that stop tank shells - I think I'm onto something here. And, really, what could our RP use more than more technologically advanced crap littering the background, right? If you want to read my treatise on this, please @mail me and I'll send you the twelve page outline.
Message: 16/40 Posted Author
Law an' Order Fri Jun 4 Walter
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Well.... It seems I haven't posted much on here lately, but I've come to fix this situation. Brace yourselves!Okay, How many magistrates are there in Tolkeen? In a city of over 100000, there has to be more than three. Maybe I'm confused in my definition of Magistrate. Are there lower courts? Does the police chief have the jurisdiction to judge mior matters on a case by case basis, or does everything go straight to the big cheeses? My best guess for the minimum number of judges would be around 9 to 10, around 10000 citizens per magistrate, as thats about what the ratio is around where I live.. (A county about the size of some states, and only 4 judges serving 40,000 people)
Also, do both the Police force and the Militia compete for jurisdiction, or are they completly seperate spheres of influence? Does the Militia take precedednce over the Police force, deciding which criminals to hand over to the Police force, and which to try under capital offenses? I ask these things becuase a number of rp scenes could come out of this fact, imagine how a police officer would feel, if he/she were making an arrest, only to have the FBI come in and release the individual on the scene becuase of some difference in the laws between teh two forces and the Militia having greater authority? Or worse yet, the Officers of the Police force feeling like a fifth wheel because all they can do is beg for scraps from the militia and not make any real difference in the protection of Tolkeen's law-abiding (mostly) citizens?
I guess I'm rambling, anyway...just some questions.Walter
Message: 16/41 Posted Author
Police Fri Jun 4 Steve
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I can answer some of it. First off, the FBI is not a good example to use. They are a federal police force, and do not get involved unless federal crimes are broken. Anyway.
Point 1) Police/Militia jurisdiction. The Militia is in charge of protecting the city, and enforces the major crimes, the Police handles the non-major crime stuff, as in +news laws.
Point 2) General stuff. The police iin Tolkeen are NOT the same as anything in the USA, since that's where I'm from, it's the only example I can use. There is no Mirana Law (might have spelled that wrong) in Tolkeen. The Tolkeen PD is not required to read you your rights, they are not required to be nice to you, they can beat/frame/entrap/whatever anyone they want to, since they are the law for the most part. While it's bad policy to do that cause they can, there are plenty of places on Rifts Earth that are worse off then Tolkeen. Yes, there's lots of room for abuses, and they will happen, I'm sure of it.
Point 3 and the rest. I really don't know much more then that. Nothing has really been told to us on how to run the force. Equipment I believe is a combination of hand me downs/new stuff, magistrates and cort people, I don't know. I know ho wmany people are on the police force, but besides that, I don't know. I can't answer most of it. I can help some, butthat's about it.Everyone should remember. This isn't equivalent to a rl police force. There are no laws against the police doing anything they want to when on duty or whatever. Just keep that in mind. If the cops don't want you to do something, then chances are, you won't be able to do it, and there won't be an appeal. The courts are different, but that's the staff's call for all that.
Message: 16/42 Posted Author
Huh? Fri Jun 4 Lake
------------------------------------------------------------------------------Okay, there are a few things I'm not understanding here.
1) My understanding (however warped or limited) was that the Militia was shifting focus to protecting the city from outside threats while the police force took care of the city-related things.
2) I had no idea that the force was working autonomous to all other bodies. I assumed they sent people through the normal Tolkeen legal system.
I also had no clue that they were able to do whatever they want to, whenever they want to and basically get away with it. What you're describing doesn't sound much like a 'police force' at all. And if that's the state of things and it's public knowledge, then ye olde police force is gonna have a bigger PR problem than it already does.
-Lake
Who among other things, doesn't claim to know much of anything, and really shouldn't. :)
Message: 16/43 Posted Author
Pondering Twinks/Sore Losers Fri Jun 11 Maxim
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Hello players,As a rule, I don't speak out of character much, but yesterday, I was unfortunately the witness to an awful display of bad form, and ungraciousness from a player. When things like this happen, they are remarkably and disturbingly similar in detail. Think back to a combat scene you were in where someone with a less than mature attitude was getting the sharp end of the stick. What happened?
A) They disconnected.
B) They argued the rules for a while, then said they had to go to bed, and disconnected.
C) They made some rude remarks, and then disconnected.
D) They quit the mux, nah-nah-nana-nah.
E) They called everyone /else/ twinks, then got removed from the mux.
F) Some combination of the above.Sound familiar? Today this particular player has departed the mux in a fit of childish anger, and I would like to offer my own explanation as to why. No small part of this comes from the fact that I was there when it happened, and that it was my hangout, The Fallen Angel, in which it happened. I feel it is my obligation to bring this matter to light, and demonstrate why Bad Things Happen To Bad People.
The last time I looked, this was not a consent-based mu*. In-character actions invite in-character reactions, and believe me, this was in character. First, check my +info. Failing that, read the room description. In no uncertain terms, The Fallen Angel was and is a dangerous bar. Ask the PCs who regularly hang out there if it is similar to The Succubus, and the answer will surely be 'no'. It is worse. Here is the atmospheric emit first presented to the player yesterday, long before any combat: 'The dark tavern is thick with a darkish crowd. More than one piece can be seen on the various scratched tables, and many of the tortured chairs are occupied by a certain attitude of people. More relaxed than their natures would usually give them to be, the patrons here retain a certain confidence in their /belonging/ here, and cast snide, dangerous glances at those who clearly /don't/.' Premise One: The player was duly warned.
The last I heard, assaulting someone justifiably provokes counter-assault. Walking into a bar that is frequented by gangs an
Message: 16/44 Posted Author
Counter points to Govt post Tue Oct 12 Estaban
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I'd just like to bring the following input into the light after Walter's post. The CS's govt is a facist state ran along the lines as described by actions followed by Adolph Hitler himself. Walter's points seem to rely on the modern world with modern lines and modes of communications. Which simply does not exist in RIFTS Earth. The CS controls all public modes of communciation as well as the news in a CS state. Plus the backing of its citizens.What am I driving at? As long as the CS has an enemy to point its finger at and blame for the ills of the world, the only thing that will change the direction it is on is the death of its Leader, and his Son. Frankly.. I don't see this happening for a very very very long time. No force that I know of could sneak into Chi-town or take it on with a frontal assualt. (Okay.. Exception being a Psi-Ghost out to assasinate them... But even then I wouldn't count on it)
Esta. :)
Message: 16/45 Posted Author
Lasers in Rifts Combat Tue Nov 16 Walter
------------------------------------------------------------------------------Sigh, back to writing during a spare time in homework and sleep. Lasers in Rifts Combat, some thoughts and tactics in thier use.
Well, to start off, what are the advantages of using Lasers in combat? Obviously, no recoil, nearly infinite range, infinite firing capacity (if connected to a regenerative power source). What are the disadvantages? Line of sight... with no clear line of sight to the target the laser can't reach it. This means that if the target is over the horizon (THE WORLD IS ROUND!) ie: more than 10-15 miles away. then the target essentially doesn't exist. You may ask, "Why are the ranges of laser weapons in Rifts so pitifully weak?" One guess would be that atmospheric turbulence (ie: heat shimmer) and the inverse square law combine to make the laser no more than powerful than a flash-light. Another disadvantage is that mist, fog, dust, haze and dense foliage can reduce the power of a laser beam.
Now that we have some of the main points about Lasers celared away, lets get on to tactics. Use lasers when you want a relativly silent, difficult to spot (have you ever tried to see a laser beam when there isn't any dust or anythign in the way?). form of attack, such as Sniper fire. Lasers work best in open, flat country... forested areas such as Alder-brush (Bear Country), willow, and saplings birch are some of the worst places to try and use a laser weapon in. Tell you the truth, it's one of the worst places to fire ANY weapon in because of visibility reasons.
Have you ever thought about using lasers to blind your opponents/players? Have you ever accidentally stared into someone's headlights at night? Know why even wimpy laser pointers liek the ones on key-chains come with a sign saying, "Don't look into laser?" It's because your eyes are essentially magnifying glasses, designed to focus light on the center of your retina. The incoming light from a keychain laser is only around a milliwat or so, but.. focus a milliwatt of energy on a tiny area and you run the risk of permantently burning a hole in your eye.
Now, scale the power up tenthousand fold... Get the point? Good. Now you're thinking, "But my megadamage visor can protect me!" Wrong. If you can see out, then it means light is getting in. What is a laser beam but a high powered light source? So, unless you feel like adding an auto polarizing (Try crossing the lenses of two pairs of polarized zunglasses) visor, to your combat armor, then you may have problems if you accidentally look into even a weak laser-beam.Well, should light blindness be added as one of the penalties of combat? It's your call...
Anyway, thats all for now. :) Walter.
Message: 16/46 Posted Author
Re: Bionics Sun May 2 Jynn
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With the invention of KS's 'nuclear pellet' system, even stuff like power armor (and full conversion borgs) can run continually for 5-10 years, which is longer than most borgs and power armor are going to last. I'm sure that changing out the pellet is relatively safe; whoever sold you the armor likely has replacement pellets in their own shielded, self-installing containers. Just slap the new 'battery' in, and you're good to go for another decade.
As for the biological functions of a full converstion borg, I'm pretty sure I read somewhere that they have a nutrient paste system built in that feeds their innards. Meanwhile, the brain functions like it always has, and keeps the guts running smooth.
This, of course, begs the question. With the nuclear pellet technology available, why isn't there a man-portable rifle that uses them as an energy source instead of E-clips? Wouldn't it be great to see 'Payload: 10,000 blasts per nuclear pellet, or 15 per long e-clip.' on some big honkin' rifle? Or, since most jet packs have the nuclear pellets, it would be possible to just jury rig a power feed from the clip port to the jet pack. This brings us into the wide world of game balance, but after seeing most of the OCCs in any world book past 11, I'd be hard pressed to believe that balance is a key concern in Rifts. :)
Message: 16/47 Posted Author
Post Rifts Movie Stars Sat Jun 19 Walter
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Well, I haven't posted in a while, so I just thought I'd rable on about various things--including, but not limited to the topic of Movie Stars in Rifts.Obviously, when the rifts came, the movie industry took a few hard knocks. Especially when 90 percent of your viewing audience dies a horrible death. Anyway, now that the general technological level of the world has risen above the level of the stone age, cities like Tolkeen, Lazlo, and Chi-town have the ability to create films for the general public.
Taking this as fact, it's easy to realize that a film needs actors (usually), to play the various parts and create an interesting (to most people) story. Obviously, actors didn't dissapear with the rifts either, they just changed jobs, starved to death, or entertained thier way throughout North America (ala "The Postman").Actors in Rifts as a general rule aren't as good as actors of pre-rifts times, as thier audience is smaller and the public's tastes much less refined. There are always exceptions: Morin Nalor and Gretta Babel of Lazlo, Chuck Frisbane of Chi-town, and a few others. The average actor has only a few films under their belt, and so are generally capable of showing only a few emotions, like lust or anger. They're also either hams (like me, specialising in slapstic), or are timid in front of the camera, (the more experienced the actors get, the less camera shy they become.. obviously).
The general trend in films is to market them to the city dwellers, mostly becuase they're the ones with the dough. While action movies are popular (in every culture that I can think of) Romance stories have thier place as well as dramatic "opera" type flicks. Obviously, the budget for the films--large for post-rifts standards, is tiny compared to todays films. The scripts are generally simple, and only emply a few writers. The special effects are either /REAL/ effects that are written into the script after the fact, or are added digitally afterwards while the actors dub in thier voices during post production.
Finally, The general trend in films is still 2d stuff, produced on either film or magnetic media, or other high tech stuff. Ocassionally, Holovids are produced (for a city like Tolkeen, usually 1 a year) these debuts tear through the city like wildfire, with everyone paying top dollar to entertain themselves for whatever length of time necessary.
Well, that should just about do it for this post. *checks thought bin for any dust-bunnies left over* Yeah, thats it for now, I'll leave you folks to digest this.
Walter, Amatuer Movie Mogul
Message: 16/48 Posted Author
Post-Rifts Actors Sun Jun 20 Jeremy
------------------------------------------------------------------------------Being, as I am, an actor (albiet, one in training) iRL... and, having some recent experiences with the damnable medium of film, I figured I might as well toss in my own two cents. Of course, mine will probably stray more towards the stage...but...eh. What can you do?
First, I'd hav