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Thread: IC/OOC information (Armor, Side, Name, History)

  1. #1

    IC/OOC information (Armor, Side, Name, History)

    So what information is available to us, and what can you use?

    Now what do -YOU- think?
    How do you(r character) react when you see someone new?

    Here is Kintatii's take on it:
    Quote Originally Posted by Kintaii View Post
    Last I checked Omn's pop up as blue dots on the minimap. With the advanced nature of the technology level in the AO universe, saying that a character can detect faction via their built-in HUD overlay and NCU isn't exactly a stretch.

    Being able to detect an Omni or a Clanner from a glance isn't metagaming any more than a piece of weaponry being able to detect what faction is holding it is metagaming.
    Quote Originally Posted by Kintaii View Post
    Rubi-Ka is a world where technical equipment, nanos, suits of armour, weaponry, even dumb non-mechanical objects like sticks know your side. It is *not* metagaming to be able to tell someone is Omni or Clan or Neutral from a glance; it is the world you live in. Now, that said, someone being able to look at you and tell you your pet's name and your dad's favourite colour? Yes, that is metagaming. But in the world of Rubi-Ka, in the year 29484, in a place where nanobots make the impossible possible every single waking moment... being able to detect someone's faction through a built-in internal HUD "friend-or-foe" overlay? Not that far-fetched, and something supported both in terms of gameplay and official story.
    Quote Originally Posted by Kintaii View Post
    There's some stuff you have to ignore in terms of gameplay and setting, that I agree with - You can't rationalize *everything* in an MMORPG. Try to do that and you'll go insane (trust me, as a dude who likes rationalizing stuff, i know ;P).

    There's some stuff, though, that's definitely far-fetched in AO and a lot harder to ignore. Suppression gas as a great example; according to canonical information (ie: the animated series), Suppression Gas automatically forms a shield around anyone in the area if they're attacked. I... don't find it that difficult to assume that a weapon might have some form of internal mechanism that recognizes DNA in the wielder and either puts up a repulsive field or otherwise just refuses to work if the DNA isn't coded with the proper sequences. Heck, even in today's world we have RFID chips which the military utilize in friend-or-foe systems; just don't see it being far-fetched that the same would be available in the AO universe.

    Like I said, simple stuff like telling side is one thing. Do I support, say, being able to tell someone how many times they've died to the Kyr`ozch just because you're able to press T and get that information? No. But there's a vast difference, to me at least, between the two. Like PereatMundus said, a lot of it really just comes down to decency and courtesy; knowing where the line is drawn yourself. I mean I can't tell everyone how to act and react, of course, but in terms of "official storyline interaction"? Yeah, one of my LTCs would be able to tell an Omni-Tek employee from a Clanner at a glance. That doesn't mean they'd know your name (though even that's fairly feasible, really, considering consolidated name databases and such; kinda like looking someone up in the phone registry), doesn't mean I'd know your home planet, doesn't mean I'd know that you have a penchant for Tuluvian Opera. Just the basics.

    But again, that's just me; You guys handle it however you want in your own personal interactions. Just know what to expect when dealing with an official storyline situation/character. =)
    Other opinions:
    Quote Originally Posted by Redesine View Post
    Surely the only information you have when meeting a character is their appearance. Anything else - like assuming that they're wearing a disguise - is metagaming.
    Quote Originally Posted by Trousers View Post
    A few years back we had a very long and drawn out discussion inside of the Rimorian RP Community regarding Metagaming. The conclusion which most of the community agreed upon is that outside of Breed and Gender you shouldn't know anything about a character unless they or someone else tells you that information.

    The idea of "I pushed a button, now I know all I need to know about you." is lame, and it degrades the quality of Roleplaying as a whole.
    Humankind can not gain anything, without first giving something in return.
    To obtain; something of equal value must be lost.
    That is the 1st law of equivalent exchange


    Rubi-Ka needs: a nickel statue of an astronaut pointing at the sky
    With the description / plate saying:
    When the stars burn out and I find I lack the strength to continue...one of YOU wil pick up the flag and carry it forward.
    This really isn't a corporate product anymore...it belongs to all of us. Where it goes it up to us.

  2. #2
    Looks most important/all the time
    Personally I rely A LOT on looks; with an OT logo I assume Omlet, and Skull or Clam tier armor colors, then it is given.
    If someone wear a suit I usually think of them as more bureaucratic than the average Joe, and likely to be Omni-Tek.
    also if someone disappear for 2 min. and changes clothes/face, I do not see them as the same person.

    Name ok/usually
    Apart from that I use people's name, I excuse it with my drone (Wen-wen) scanning them.

    Side ok/some times
    Side I use too, when I am bored, as a conversation starter, but when I just run into people I do not check.

    !History no/never
    I can see the use of !history, in the sense that "he was clan, he can not be trusted", and surely the information must be somewhere in an Omni-Tek database, but I would rather that it is a secret database, like that containing your RL tax forms. Some have access, but most do not.


    I would not mind a ban on knowing what side people are, as that would add to RP (more to do). Name is convenient, but I could live without.
    Also current technology allows for Employees to be tracked via bluetooth, so you can see where people are. I know 1 current company using that.

    Finally:
    Agents..
    Being Agent I hate being called Agent, it is like in the Conan movie where a guy presents himself as Thief..
    Who would do that?

    If an Agent is in False Profession or mimic, and is not 1 foot high (or has a blue toothpick), I treat the person as the mimic that Agent is in.

    I find that fun too
    having to go mimic doc whenever I RP.
    I have faces and costumes depending on who I hang out with..
    But the AO system is that I always have the same name.

    The AO system changes my profession and even title Level title though, I see that as an indication of "people can not see you are an Agent".
    The Agent Undercover Kit also hints that it is undercover.
    If everyone can just do !history and spot you, then what good is it?

    I would say that when people use the kit, they get a fixer to help change name and ID number, so they can not be recognised.
    Agents on top of that can change their face, free of charge

    Kind Regards
    -Ariensky
    Humankind can not gain anything, without first giving something in return.
    To obtain; something of equal value must be lost.
    That is the 1st law of equivalent exchange


    Rubi-Ka needs: a nickel statue of an astronaut pointing at the sky
    With the description / plate saying:
    When the stars burn out and I find I lack the strength to continue...one of YOU wil pick up the flag and carry it forward.
    This really isn't a corporate product anymore...it belongs to all of us. Where it goes it up to us.

  3. #3
    If the use of "dots on a map" are to be considered ok, then surely a first assumption on spotting any new RP character, wearing armour that is not of their side, is that they are either a liar, traitor, or a spy?
    ZeePhonz :: 220/30/70 Adventurer
    ZeeMedic :: 220/30/70 Doctor
    ZeeDaKeep :: 220/30/70 Keeper
    Cratscan :: 220/30/70 Bureaucrat
    ZeeStabbie :: 220/30/65 Shade
    ZeeInstein :: 220/21/60 Engineer


    President of A.R.S. (Athens Recovery Service)

    Whenever I fill out an application, in the part that says "If an emergency, notify:" I put "DOCTOR".

  4. #4
    Quote Originally Posted by Zeephonz View Post
    If the use of "dots on a map" are to be considered ok, then surely a first assumption on spotting any new RP character, wearing armour that is not of their side, is that they are either a liar, traitor, or a spy?
    Sadly yes.

    As I see it disabling roleplay, rather than creating it.
    it leads to no deception being possible.

    If someone with RP tags on walked up to me, with a goat hat, and talked about being clan, sure I would take that, rather than the blue or white map icon.
    If it then later turns out that the person was deceiving me, sure we could get some roleplaying out of that too

    Just assuming people are traitors gives very little.
    Again, you could ask him why he is wearing a symbol that is the opposite of his faction. Any proud employee would never wear a goatee.
    For the same reason I would always assume someone with a goatee as being clan.

    Sure I might be able to look it up in a database, but I would never look up something I am sure of.

    Like meeting someone in a dress makes me assume it is a female, I do not check under the skirt or squeeze the boobs to see if they are real.
    And that carelessness leads to deception roleplay

    Kind Regards
    -Ariensky
    Humankind can not gain anything, without first giving something in return.
    To obtain; something of equal value must be lost.
    That is the 1st law of equivalent exchange


    Rubi-Ka needs: a nickel statue of an astronaut pointing at the sky
    With the description / plate saying:
    When the stars burn out and I find I lack the strength to continue...one of YOU wil pick up the flag and carry it forward.
    This really isn't a corporate product anymore...it belongs to all of us. Where it goes it up to us.

  5. #5
    This is a nicely debateable issue so I'll expand a little on what I said before.

    Meeting a person IC for the first time is a delicate situation that should be treated carefully. What I personally do is take all cues from the person I'm meeting, let them lead, give them a chance to tell their story.

    As far as I am aware there is one item (possibly one or two others?) in game lore which can subvert the first appearances of a player. That's the Map Reader Upgrade - Side.

    It takes a fair amount of map navig to use this bit of kit so it's fair to assume that not everyone has it. So for me personally, while I'll talk about the red/white/blue dots on my HUD in some situations, whether I choose to use the side reader depends entirely on the situation and how people are presenting themselves.

    You can't pick-and-choose what is and isn't within game lore. If there is a default side-detector that everyone gets from birth, then that device also has to tell you the target's name, org, tower sites, city, PvP kills as well.

    My personal rule-of-thumb is to let people play out whatever character they'd like to portray when I first meet them. So if an Omni turns up in Newland saying they're an off-duty militia guard, there's no reason for me to doubt them at first. I'll let them take their story where they'd like to and see where it goes.

    You never know when you'll meet an interesting character with a story. I say let them tell it.

    On the other hand, there's no point being over-strict. 99% of the time I'm not going to put up a fuss if someone magically knows my character's name. But I do know how frustrating it can be if you're trying to present a character/story only to have it disrupted by people acting on meta-information.
    Advisor of Lumen Orien

  6. #6
    We're all wired to the grid, our ncu is constantly scanning surroundings and comparing them to our database of whatever we can download off the grid. Additionally all creatures have a recorded history, that's why you get money by killing them because everyone have a bounty attached by one org or another (info taken from the classic ao leaflet that I still have).

    It is expected a high level character to know his way around. He may recognize an omni of a clanner without aid and had the skills to activate further tools.

    Everything your character haven't seen (not even on an alt), heard of, or is publicly displayed (in that case you read it on the grid) is unknown. It is important to let people know when writing on the forum if the info is public or not to prevent metagaming. However this info is limited to RK (no inter planet grid), and gathering them on the spot idn't automatic you should give some time before acting like you know all of someone.

    It's better to assume that you're in a crowd. A blue dot appearing shouldn't be your first concern right away. And if someone walk to you, imagine that you're in a crowd and you don't know this guy until you had the attention and time to download that info.
    Server first !!! Neutral Solitus Male Soldier named Boltgun to wear a short with pink spots on RK1 !!!
    N E U T R A L I Z E R S

  7. #7
    That is basically how I try to handle it. I might know the faction of someone walking up to me based on my gear (my guy is almost always in armor having just come from or going to a job or what ever). That said, he wont really react to that faction, unless someone makes an ass of themself. Or until he has some IC reason for actually asking. Beyond that, unless there has been some discussion, or an actually IC reason for my character to have asked, or been told something about someone, for the most part he doesnt know them or their background.

    And people who send me tells .. that my character has not met IC.. well I have no clue who you are.. even if you are standing in front of me, unless you SAY so, if we are in a IC situation.
    Stanimir Borgeski (203/30/48) - General in Clan Stronghold

  8. #8
    personally... I'm big on including as much of the game play elements into Role play as possible. Reason being is that it's easy to bridge the gaps that come up with newbies trying their hand at RP. It also blurs the 'line' a bit which make every day missions, and quests immersive and fun.

    Granted some things just can't be done.

    As far as scanning names, and the like: The way I see it is yes, people could easily scan people in passing, collecting info on the person. Name, Nick (especially), and profession. However In character I've never accepted this info as 100% accurate. Agents for example can change their appearance, and profession. What's to stop any NCU savvy person to have a fake name, or ID with the proper tools.

    On top of that It's rude to just walk up to someone and belt out "Hi Tom" when you've never met. Whether you got this info from second hand conversation, their name tag on their from the job, ect. It's just the same, in my opinion, if someone could scan your info from afar to get that information.

    It's far less invasive and rude to walk up to someone, and introduce yourself. Just because we live on a planet ripe with cold war, terrorist, aliens, and a tyrannical corporate rule doesn't mean we can't be civilized... much
    Point Blank

  9. #9
    IMO, the blue dots could be explained as IFF equipment on combat armor. (Identify Friend/Foe) This would make sense, with the presumed advances in electronics.
    Gunfytr 220/30/70 Soldier Lawdog80 220/30/70 Advy
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