How does this work?

[Effrit]

Foosballx got me thinking, on how or what actually happens on Rubi-Ka.

First of all the Grid.
Can someone explain to me how the Grid actually works as it's somehow three things in once. A communication network, the internet and digital transport.
What do the grid terminals actually do? scan and save the exact position of your bodies atoms and ions or something and then remake them at the other end drawing atoms out of the air into the proper positions to remake you? if so how do you move in the grid, as a data file? since your somehow concious...yet if you have just been "saved" surely you cant change..in any way...
And what happens if it bugs and your listed as spam or a virus? or your accidentally sent to a mail terminal? I wouldnt be too happy to recieve a body like RuR.

Then theres As FoosballX said, what do the clans do with notum? I think i remeber it being written somewhere that they sell it back to Omni-Tek at the market value given by ICC, who constantly monitor Notum market values.
But then do they also still sell it to Sol Banking? or just to a black market? or all three?

Theres surely more that could do with being discussed.

[trousers]

This is how I always explained it as the Omni-Trans Affiliate

To understand the Grid you need to understand the Whom-Pahs since the grid is simply a more advanced Whom-Pah system.

When you enter a node you are broken down and the current composition of your body is then transmitted to the exit node. The Exit Node reassembled you and you are at your destination. The process occurs so fast you don't actually die from the act of being ripped apart and put back together.

The Grid works on a similar system except that your conscience is attached to a grid avatar which you can navigate inside of the grid system. While time passes normally in the grid your body is frozen in time in its decompiled state. Hit an exit node and your body data is downloaded and reassembled. To your body a nanosecond has passed, but to your mind as much time as you spent in the grid passed.

The whole transportation system is very much like the reclaim system when you get down to it

[Effrit]

Thats what i thought, but your concious and memory relies on synaptic exchanges within your brain, but whilst in the grid you dont have a brain as such, just the data of your brain attached to you.

[trousers]

Thats what i thought, but your concious and memory relies on synaptic exchanges within your brain, but whilst in the grid you dont have a brain as such, just the data of your brain attached to you.

That's very true. However, that assumes that you're controlling yourself with your brain. When your body is destroyed in the transport process your soul might get attached to the grid avatar and when you hit the exit node, your body is rebuilt and the avatar destroyed your soul snaps back into your body. Again, similar to Reclaim. Or something

[Pheats]

Ok after a quick discussion with the team, we agreed that for the time being these answers will do (though I reserve the right to alter and change this should the need arise at future dates because we left something out or opened something up to abuse)

The grid:

The users body is converted to digital data (in such a way as converting mass into a stream of coherent energy) while their consciousness is uploaded to a cyberspace avatar that they control in the grid, once they exit the digital data is turned back into mass, the grid itself is a massive planetary spanning network similar to that of the internet and as such is used to pass digital information in the same method as well as grid transportation.

The reason it does not go wrong is due to skilled programming and constant vigilance and maintenance by Omni-Coms. Of course sometimes things do go wrong, for instance if a fixer encodes himself too fast it takes time for both the digital form and his material form to fully form, crippling him while its sorted out.

Also wizards did it with nanobots.

Clans notum:

Clan can sell their notum via Omni-tek to profit from them, though many clans refuse to do so and instead seek to either hoard it away just to prevent omni-tek gaining from it, use it for their own technology, developments and research or attempt to smuggle it off world for more profit. Granted smuggling is dangerous and can have dire consequences for the Clans as a total.

Unlike Omni-tek profit is not the key focus of the clans (ok some it is)

[Pheats]

I like to think of it as the same way we talk in AO, but instead of manually inputting data via a keyboard/microphone you have a direct digital link

so instead of saying hello, it being converted into the digital data of saying hello via a microphone and being sent to someone else via the grid then being converted into sound via a speaker

it cuts out the first step and sends the pure data straight away which is then converted at the other end.

[Effrit]

Thanks, sorry i deleted my post since you pretty much answered it fully in your first post. will repost the question which Pheats answered above.

The question was, how do we send and recieve messages whilst in the grid.

[Pheats]

Darnit stop deleting your posts, your making me look like a crazy(er) person!

[Ninanna]

you mean your not?.. erm..... never mind.

[Keldros]

The question was, how do we send and recieve messages whilst in the grid.

I like to think of it as the same way we talk in AO, but instead of manually inputting data via a keyboard/microphone you have a direct digital link .

Related to this, how does regular communications work? (i.e. private tells/org chat/group chat)

1) Is it assumed we have some sort of handheld communications device, or is it integrated into our NCU and implants?

2) Voice, text, or subvocalized speech read directly from the brain, or some combination of the three?

3) Verbal communications only or (as with real-life cellphones) can we transmit audio recordings, still pictures, and video?

[Pheats]

Hmm never really thought about that (events rarely use non public chat groups IC)

Its generally accepted that its the use of some sort of com-device, but at the same time there must be some way of non vocal communication with it to make up the private chat that isn't audible by standing next to them.

I guess the two main options would be a direct link to the brain or a system that blanks out any vocal messages going to a chat group (so you could see them talking but their implants/helmets/com-device would silence it)

Personally I don't mind people working out ways their communicator works themselves, as its unlikely to be just one version, each person could have a different make and model that does it slightly differently. I think my favourite one is one you just attach to say your wrist like a watch and it connects with your implants either directly or short range wirelessly but can easily be taken off and discarded.

The only big issue I have is with sub-dermal ones as they tend to severely limit actions, for example if you get kidnapped and say you have a sub-dermal com-device how are they going to stop you from calling for help and getting a rescue easily? Or if your being tracked by your com signal your going to have to undergo surgery to be able to throw it away to stop them.

Im sure there will be times when it is used (some spies for example) but even with the ease of surgery on Rubi-Ka I'd be against it.

As for the last question, again this is something I'm fine with leaving up to people, just like modern mobile phones I'm sure some people will have just the basic multi-channel audio streaming while others will have live video stream, image capture/recording capabilities and the ability to play Pong on them

[Effrit]

For the sake of being able to send and recieve messages silently whilst sitting next to people, I reckon I've done this with you Pheats when you have been on an LTC, in Neuters.
I would say everyone has a basic sub dermal comm system put in with the ear implant, which uses sub vocals to work, but is easily jammed for the sake of being kidnapped. And then have a secondary booster, with more functions comm device which is handheld tied into the same frequency as the ear implant/sub dermal one.
Or thats at least what i think.

[Ninanna]

How it most often is RPed both by players and our LTCs, is that people tend to have hand held comm devices. A few may or may not have implanted devices.

But in most cases say with a private conversation, you might see someone glancing down at a comm device, and maybe reacting to it.. without seeing/hearing what they are saying. Sometimes you do hear what they are saying (if they are commenting as such in vicinity).

It is one of those things that most people tend to roll with, and go with the flow as to exactly how it is interacted and represented.

Edit: Lasliana's post appeared while I was responding to Keldros..

Yeah, that actually makes sense to me Lasliana. The most noted thing I have seen relayed is emotes from players and LTCs reacting to hand held/ or on their wrists types of devices when they are receiving messages

[Leileena]

Judging from lots of NPC conversations, a lot of regular coms are integrated in a helmet, or worn as earpiece. Talking in these, especially the helmet integrated versions, would result in a bit of mumbling in vicinity, while still being perfectly clear to the person on the other side of the private channel.

[Kintaii]

As a player, I always preferred the sub-dermal version of things; it's what makes the most sense when taking things like tells or private chat channels into consideration. That said, though, there's nothing saying that both variants can't exist - We're in a future where technology has advanced to sufficent enough levels to make it indistinguishable from magic (save tons of glorious technobabble), so any one reasoning is as good as another when it comes to this sort of thing.

That's one of the major challenges and difficulties when it comes to something that really is as "freeform" as roleplaying in an MMORPG - To make up for technical limitations in the game client/engine/world, the players themselves have to fill in the gaps with whatever they think makes sense. Which is great, and something that I encourage... but at the same time, it means that when there's no pre-definied, established, official 'resource' that details out whatever it is that you've filled in with your own ideas, there's also nothing stating that one methodology or way of thinking is better or more 'real' than another. It's also something where neither I nor the rest of the Events/Storyline guys can step in and say "no, it's this way", because in doing that we've just ruined x-amount of people's idealization of the game world.

It gets tricky when it comes to non-mechanics-based storyline interpretations, because really there's not much ability or reasoning for anyone to say that anyone else's interpretation is 'wrong'. And that's not really something that I wanna dictate to people at the end of the day - Folks should be allowed to decide for themselves what makes sense and how it works, because I don't think anyone really wants to sit and say that someone else's imagination in terms of the technology of AO is incorrect.

tl;dr: It's all really up to personal interpretation between the people roleplaying at any given time.

[Edta]

About communication: as we have this NCU chip implanted in our neck and this NCU chip seems connected to some network (we don't need to be in direct contact and often not the neighboorhood to receive missions on it) I would guess direct communication from the brain is possible. At the other hand, you indeed see enough NPC's "mumbling in their comm". Direct communication from the brain might be rather complex or people might still not be used to it or might not accept it. So I guess most people prefer to use their voice in some way . I personally like to talk directly from my brain .

About what Kintaii said: the problem with not having "a solid version you decided on" is that there will be different mechanics in the running and not all will be compatible with each other. If this different opinion is between players it can be a little irritating, but it's nothing really bad. however, if this difference between thoughts is between "NPC conversation designers", you get inconsistent storyline. Usually this is not a problem as you know a lot of conversations and can talk to other designers etc. But you can't remember every detail of every conversation ever made. To avoid that you kinda need a a pre-defined, established official "resource". I think not having that is why NPC conversations need to stay so vague usually.
You don't need to tell us that 'official' version directly, but as several NPC's use that version as background for a conversation we might be able to figure it out.
Because, I don't think what the playerbase really wants is "inventing" the mechanics. Rather they want to discover them. In order to try to discover them with limited clues, we need to invent a bit, yes. But this inventing is actually an attempt to uncover the truth. Knowing that there is no truth is actually a bit sad... :'(
Though well, I'm a scientist, I guess the rest of the playerbase could have another opinion :P.

I have a few questions myself, somewhat related to that Grid question. What happens if you go to the shadowlands? Isn't it a metaphysical realm or something? Would that mean it's really only your mind that travels the shadowlands, but that you kinda imagine your body with you? Or how does it work? And shouldn't your mind be able to travel much faster (immediately solves the pain of traveling in SL :P)? Well, maybe it's not pure mind up there, but what is it? SL seems to be called a mirror of RK, an opposite as in live and death, but actually, it seems to be very similar.
Oh and talking about live and death, what happens to our soul when we get perma-killed (as you guys wanted to go with this "we have a soul" crap, you also need to answer this imo :P)? Don't think you get send to the shadowlands :P. I guess you go to The Source then?


Bah, lots of chaotic babbling, hope I made at least some sense somewhere...

[Leileena]

I have a few questions myself, somewhat related to that Grid question. What happens if you go to the shadowlands? Isn't it a metaphysical realm or something? Would that mean it's really only your mind that travels the shadowlands, but that you kinda imagine your body with you? Or how does it work? And shouldn't your mind be able to travel much faster (immediately solves the pain of traveling in SL :P)? Well, maybe it's not pure mind up there, but what is it? SL seems to be called a mirror of RK, an opposite as in live and death, but actually, it seems to be very similar.

Oh and talking about live and death, what happens to our soul when we get perma-killed (as you guys wanted to go with this "we have a soul" crap, you also need to answer this imo :P)? Don't think you get send to the shadowlands :P. I guess you go to The Source then?

The shadowlands is an alternate dimention, not a "spirit world". When going trough the portals in jobe (Jobe is actually located on Rubi-Ka) you enter this world with your physical body.

When your perma-killed, your soul does not have a new body to transfer in to, so you actually leaves this world. Where it goes after that, if anywhere at all, is something nobody in modern day seems to have found proof of. But pick any religion you like to find the answer.