I’m no avid MUD player, in fact Sindome is the first and only one I’ve played, and even then I’ve only been here a couple of years. Yet over my time here, I’ve come to understand a few things about Sindome, and would like to respond to some of your comments Ephemeralis.
Sindome is a game of experience; you explore the world around you, learning new mechanics and information as you go. This lack of information going in (and throughout the game) contributes strongly to the sense of uncertainty that accompanies the theme. This effect may die off over time for you the player, but you should roleplay it in every character that steps through the Immy gates. It doesn’t matter how badly you butcher your stats and skills at char-gen, because the amount of UE spent there is miniscule compared to a characters lifespan, and even if your character does reach its UE cap there is always the option to refund your points to make up for these errors when you have a better understanding of how the game works. Even if your character is permed, what you learned in that character’s life will be sure to help you in the creation and operation of the next.
Suiciding a character for ‘poor char-gen stats’ is, quite frankly, a waste of roleplay potential.
Character history and approval can take some time, yes, but it’s up to you how you spend this time. Some, like me, kept their characters outside the gates until approval so they knew exactly who they were playing when they started the game. Others use this time to explore the game world and establish contacts that can lead on to becoming allies, friends, enemies and more as their character progresses.
Some players join during quieter times, while others such as yourself may join in moments when things are a little hectic around the city. Whether your character pursues the action (accepting the risks and benefits involved) or actively tries to avoid drawing attention is up to your character’s personality and ultimately you. I can assure you, most Immy characters that try not to draw attention to themselves will generally not be fucked up too hard. Players and GMs alike tend to recognize a new player and ease up when necessary to make sure that player’s experience isn’t brought to a halt too quickly (which may turn them off the game).
As previously stated, if a new character doesn’t want to end up in the shit, they shouldn’t be sticking around it. If they accept the risk and stick around it anyway, then you should be trying to make friends with the kind of people who can/will help you out in a jam. If your character winds up wounded or dead, you just have to hope that you’ve made friends with the right people. I believe this all to be part of the theme that Sindome upholds so firmly.
Finally, the ‘hooks’ that you mentioned. Honestly, I feel like I shouldn’t need to talk about this, but seeing as we’re here then I might as well. The game shouldn’t need to give you a hook because you should be creating your own. Assuming you’ve at least started work on a history, you should know why your character is in the city. What you’re looking for or running from, what you’re lacking or trying to fix. Your character has just entered a strange new city, now they’re poor, naked and need to get their bearings. Common sense should be enough cause to start looking around. Sure there are some OOC issues here stemming from players who may not realize just how lacking they start out, but I’m fairly sure measures are being taken to make new players more aware of this (refer to ‘OOC Reminders from SYS-MSG’ in the New Game Features and Bug Fixes section).
That is everything I wanted to say. Do keep in mind all this is just my opinions and perspectives on the matters you brought up.
Thanks.
