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Is my timezone problematic?

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Okay so basically I live in england and therefore am on a GMT timezone, now the problem is that since sindome seems to be primarily american timezones, during the time that i am comfortable to play (I really dislike the idea of having to stay up really really late each night just to see if people come online) there don't seem to be many players around. I want to be able to have my character make contacts so i can participate in roleplay and actually feel like i'm able to do things with my character.

I'm playing a doctor character so of course one of my problems is i have to get lucky to get any work related roleplay as it seems very rare (for the times i play) that people need help at the clinic and due to the fact that SIC signal seems to be horrendous on fuller i don't know if i'm missing stuff tbh.

So before i end up boring people by whining like a small child, my main point is that i feel like noone is ever around when i am and that it's impairing my fun as i start to feel like i'm playing on my own sometimes. I mean i do find some rather fun conversations over the SIC occasionally but i feel kinda closed off in regards to being able to do anything roleplay wise and i really want to be able to enjoy this game and put in time and effort knowing that it will pay off.

Am i just not coming on during the right days or is being in a GMT timezone really that problematic to my experience of the game?

Apologies if this seems like mindless whining or silly questions but as i said i want to be able to enjoy this game and understand that its a long term investment but i just feel like i'm really struggling to get the ball rolling roleplay wise

By Lightbox at Jun 22, 2015 7:23 PM
Well, don't know how long you've been around or anything, it might be a case of bad days. It could also be that you'll have to go out and be a bit more active to get some RP. You might get a bit just sitting in the hospital all day, but even in super active times you're not likely to see tons of people there.

Go to some bars, find out where all those interesting SIC conversations are happening and see if you can become a part of them. I think you're right, most of the player base is in the Americas (though I doubt all), so you might have some slight trouble with overlaps, but even when I'm on in the early afternoon (East coast, so likely early evening for you) I see plenty of people around, and have gotten into several great RPs around that time.

By TaikeiNoYuurei at Jun 22, 2015 7:29 PM
Though there usually are more players from about 4 pm on Withmore Standard Time (-8 GMT), there are still a fair share in the afternoons or in the mornings to play with I've noticed.

Maybe posting on the grid offering your services but also you can post on the grid for friendly meet ups. Those are just a couple ideas.

We're getting more and more players and I've noticed there are more earlier in the day now than before so start looking around but also do things to invite some players' characters to meet up?

And then there is the weekend and that opens up more people's schedules. :)

By thecraftydragon at Jun 22, 2015 7:30 PM
Sindome has four times as many players today as it did when I started playing.

Peak/prime time when I started playing had about as many players on as the lowest, quietest times do now.

There are lots of players from England in particular and in low-offset timezones in general.

I log in once in a while during what I consider the middle of the night, the deadest seeming hours, and I see more people on at once than I used to see all week long sometimes.

There are players. I'm sure you can find the RP. Here's hoping you can get into the RP you do find. Or get everyone else into yours.

By bean_dip at Jun 22, 2015 7:37 PM
Cheers for the replies guys. I have been visiting bars but not had a huge amount of luck recently. I might try asking about any parties or 'happenings' on the SIC and i didn't think about posting on the grid for meetups or services so much, so i'll try that out
By Lightbox at Jun 22, 2015 7:47 PM
I really think the biggest part is simply you going out and trying to get involved in RP. I've spent some nights 'out' where I could theoretically get RP, but not really trying for it, with tons of people around and gotten nothing.

Then I've had some times when there is almost no one around (relatively speaking) and I've been able to get RP simply by doing a bit of looking for it, or heck, just walking around to various hangouts.

Don't get discouraged, get active! Jobs can provide some RP (some easier than others) but don't rely on them to bring excitement to you.

By TaikeiNoYuurei at Jun 22, 2015 8:57 PM
Yuurei makes a really, really good point.

Jobs are not necessarily going to be the driver of your character interactions. For some players they are, but for many, the job is basically what the character "does" while you're logged out - it justifies the income the game pays your character, and "working" isn't supposed to be a grind where you farm money instead of RPing.

Still, a player can make RP out of any job, if they're inspired, and, there are definitely certain jobs which can't be played and can't be attained without RPing the job.

Most jobs are in the middle somewhere. It all depends what fires you up as a player. The job which inspires you to bring your RP to others is the one which will bring their RP to you.

Side note, since we're talking about time zones: I've seen over and over again characters who are driven by such inspired RP that players in every time zone try to get their own characters in touch with them. I used to run a character when I only had about an hour on weekdays to RP, what I did with that hour was to keep my communication threads alive and keep driving the things I was involved with, basically using the little time I had to "set up" the times when I did have some hours to spend. That character always had people trying to get in touch with him and get things and services from him.

Last side note: You familiar with Wikipedia's "be bold" saying? Works here too. The players who are never, ever hungry for RP are the ones who are willing to be bold, stir shit and dare to start conflict. Which, as fiction, is what is going to make the stories you're involved in, and the players you play with, interesting and not-boring. Doesn't mean you have to play kick-the-hornets-nest ALL the time. Not even most of it. But the willingness to "take the road less traveled" and embrace conflict, or start it for others, means your RP hours will be rich and full even when your character's just chilling out and taking it easy.

By bean_dip at Jun 22, 2015 9:21 PM
As someone who lives in a shitty timezone as far as Sindome goes (GMT +10) I can relate to sometimes struggling - but as outlined in previous posts you've really got to go out and grab it by the balls if you're in a non-prime time timezone. I remember when I first started playing there was nowhere near the number of active players as there are now.

As someone else has said, be bold. Go out there and find your roleplay. If you're not having alot of luck, I might recommend making liberal use of the SIC to get your RP fix that way.

By Gerik at Jun 22, 2015 11:54 PM
Well i guess my main point for now is for me to try and find where the likely hangout spots are and cycle round them for people. My problem is i can be bad at smalltalk and that makes it sometimes hard to just go out and find rp over the SIC or so but its all part of the learning process i guess. Thanks for all the replies guys!
By Lightbox at Jun 23, 2015 3:48 AM
I can sympathise with this. I'm also in a GMT timezone, and note that the lion's share of players seem to be in the US. I think, however, that there are a good pool of players from Europe; I've found a good few organically/by accident, just by wandering around or encouraging contacts with people based on the things they can offer my character. Freelance security guy? How much for protection? Medics? I think I have a cold. Bar guy/girl? Pour me a drink. I agree that being bold and starting conflict is a great way to gain RP, but finding ways of making connections with other people, based on personality, skillset, and common interests can also be useful for getting regular RP at all sorts of different times once you've tracked someone down!
By Adea at Jun 23, 2015 3:54 AM
Personally I don't go out hunting for RP anymore, I create circumstances (RP traps if you will) so that RP comes to me and I've been getting equal or even more RP because of it.

At one point I realized I was going out of my way and acting out of character to find players to interact with. Then I started to focus on RPing my character, achieving personal goals and doing my own thing which worked even better.

It is like in that lame Kevin Costner baseball movie "If you build it, they will come" or whatever.

By using indirect communication for RP, you take the timezone factor out of the equation. Some might argue that is not real RP, but if that communication affects more than one character and leads to real consequences then it is.

Most new players will be like "Where is everybody?! I want to RP, I want to RP now!" and I get it, because they are eager to experience the game. The one most useful trick to find players easily is go to a bar or restaurant and ask the person who works there "Where is the party?" and they will tell you the social hub that currently hosts most players at the moment.

If not you can always use SIC, that is what it is for.

However as you become more seasoned in the game you might start to consider things like: "Is my character so desperate to ask complete strangers on SIC to hangout with them?" "Couldn't that be extremely dangerous for them? or "Does it make any sense that my mixer character hangs out with corpies in corpie hangouts?" "Wouldn't this affect my character's street cred a lot?", etc, etc.

Conflict is another easy way to generate RP but is also an easy way to get your character killed, so I wouldn't recommend it as your standard go-to way to get RP (No matter how badass your PC is). I find out that conflict RP most of the time will be generated by itself, but if you are a 'stir the pot' kind of person then go for it...and sit tight for the fallout to come your way.

Just stay positive, be creative, keep at it and you will find ways to generate RP that best suit your character and your play style.

By ErgoProxy at Jun 23, 2015 4:32 AM
I'm with ya on the small talk; I'm not great at it either. I try to get on a bit throughout the day (I'm grateful to have a desk job where I can do this), even if it's just to 'work' at SHI for a bit. Admittedly though, my more focused play times are more in my evenings when you're most likely sleepin'n dreamin'.

As for some good hangout spots, as the previous folks've said, bars are good. I usually hit the Drome in the evenin's, and occasionally I'll make it up to Green for the pub there. You could always shout briefly on SIC that you're at a bar/pub/place if anyone wants to join for a drink'r two.

I will say though, that I second ErgoProxy's reply. Maybe if you focus on character development, you'll end up meeting other folks without even trying. I wish ya all the best :-)

By clrux at Jun 23, 2015 4:44 AM
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