ChaosRed

My favorite memory of Virtue involves Pop Tarts, twins and an impish alien from Mars.

I have some images over 100 but under 300 myself (wiki user: Tyranno). I'm moving much of the content to a private Wiki to avoid possible problems for the larger stuff. So if - and when - you need to machete the content, feel free to do so.

I totally understand the need for the image purge and will happily comply with whatever is asked in terms of content moving forward. It's a great site and a great source of entertainment to me. I want to thank all who have helped keep this site such an amazing resource.

However, it doesn't hold a candle to the old Gemini Park RP of yester-year IMHO.

I think this statement demonstrates beautifully the diversity of RP. Streaming radio and dancing toons just isn't for me, but so what? For those who enjoy it, it makes a great asset to the game. So the D is great.

I think if there is any lament at all, it is that the D is the only definitive hot spot these days. RP flares up here and there, and we all have our private circles we RP in as well, but the game could use another cross-faction spot. I mean when you have to use the entrance to the Rikti War Zone to get something other than a discotheque, well the situation makes me a little sad.

I think this might also add to the D's stigma. It is the only real convenient cross-faction "drop-in" zone, designed exclusively for social interaction - and it is this big, blaring warehouse of disco lights with rumors of cat girls lingering in dark corners.

It's unfortunate...I think if there was another cross-faction hot-spot that had a contrasting style, I'd wager the "stigma" over the D would probably diminish.

Not a fan of the D - at all. I use it mostly now to coalesce a small group to PvP in cross-faction.

I have been propositioned in bizarre ways, told to "shut up" because my character dared to RP with some friends openly - or my favorite, a tell of "I think you are the biggest jerk on the Virtue forum". Really? Not even a "hello" first?

That said, I respect the fact the D provides social-RP, party-RP and other kinds of RP for a lot of players out there. I also know it has cliques, but I think all role players eventually gravitate to people they are comfortable with and share similar styles and tastes. Cliques are human nature.

So let the D, be the D. Cyber exists in all MMOs, I think the most positive thing I can say about the D is some of those who use the D for this purpose are not ashamed of it, and I don't think they should be. I admire that. We're all entitled to enjoy the game in our own way. And has already been stated, most RPers in the D are not there for this reason, there's all kinds of other RP at the D.

The "stigma" exists for the same reason that people gossiped about Boo Radley, the same reason why Tom Waits wondered "What's he building in there?" People gossip and spread rumor and create stigmas because they lack anything in their interesting lives/characters to talk about. People gossip, let them, sadly its what some people do.

Yeah, I don't like the D. But I'll defend it any chance I get, because I expect those who frequent the D, would defend my RP style and methods just as fervently. The more we role players watch out for one another and support one another, the better the server is.

And what's great about Virtue is that mutual respect for one another is pretty much the norm. I feel welcome here (and I am not an easy person to tolerate), and I think any server that tolerates all types and kinds of players is stronger for it.

My TV habits have changed radically in the last decade. I hardly ever watch network TV anymore, and the 30-minute "show" is practically a dodo for me now. I find, if I am careful I can avoid ever seeing a commercial for weeks at a time. The only thing that breaks this rule is the occasional live sporting event.

So I'm gonna offer my own list, but its an "all-time" list, not a 2009 list:

10. Charlie Rose - with the right topic and the right guests, it might just be the best show on television.

9. Monday Night Football - Not so much now, but when I was single it was nice to take Monday night "off" from the singles scene, and just have a brew with a few buddies and watch a football game. It wasn't so much the game, it was the Monday night - something to do on what is usually a dreary night.

8. Columbo - This has no business being on anyone's "top 10" list, but I am a sucker for Falk's character and I love the general theme of a slobby, working-class guy outwitting the arrogant "high-class" guy. A much better detective show than any CSI-thing, mostly because it was campier and funnier.

7. The Daily Show - I hate the show's political bias, but I love the show's send-up of mass-media and cable networks. John Oliver's skits almost never fail to make me laugh.

6. Adam West's Batman - No leather nipples and foam core biceps - just pure West.

5. Simpsons - Sure it jumped the shark after the fifth season, but during its pinnacle this was delicious satire.

4. Star Trek - Forget the stoic, dry, hum-drum iterations of the 80's. Get me a Star Trek episode with Captain Kirk and Abraham Lincoln duking it out with Klingons!

3. Arrested Development - Just one episode (perhaps the one where "hot cops" try to teach Micahel Cera a lesson) has more laughs in that 30 minutes than all of the seasons of MASH, Cheers and Facts of Life put together.

2. HBO - Rome, John Adams, From the Earth to the Moon, Bill Maher, any comedy special with Chris Rock - there's too many great shows not to list this entire network all on its own. Easily my most watched network of all of them on my dial.

1. Gilligan's Island - A sublime statement on the nature of sin, rich with Freudian subtext and coupled with a superb allegory to Dante's purgatory. Easily, and without any chance of argument, the most subtle, brilliant and intellectually challenging television show ever created. Plus Mary-Ann had bewbs.


*Quick shout out to the HDNet Movie network, that shows great movies all the time, in HD, commercial free. Also honorable mentions to Sesame Street and "Schoolhouse Rock". I also like Powerpuff Girls. Yes. Powerpuff Girls. My favorite is Buttercup.


WORST OF ALL TIME

10 Facts of Life - Never funny. Ever.

9 Diff'rent Strokes - See "Facts of Life"

8 MASH - There's camp, and then there's schmaltz. Camp=good. Schmaltz=suxxor.

7 FOX News / MSNBC - These two cable networks suck. I hate them. So I put them on my list. Keith Olbermann and Sean Hannity in particular can suck it.

6 The Antique Road Show - Proof that even PBS can peddle crap.

5 Every reality show ever invented

4 Every game show ever invented.

3 Lost - Endless threads that are never resolved or explained, doesn't make the writing "cerebral" it makes the writing suxx.

2 Veggie Tales - Morale preaching from asparagus? No thanks.

1 Jack Van Impe - I am an old man. I have seen this shyster peddle the apocalyspe for three decades. The general theme is: God is about to smite you, so buy my latest book and be saved. In the late 70's it was fluoride in the water and text books that dared to mention Darwin that proved we were all going to die soon. In the early 80's it was barcodes that meant "666". Then it was credit cards and the Visa company. Then it was the collapse of the Berlin Wall and the invention of the Euro. Then it was particle colliders and computer modems. Gorbachev was the devil. Then it was Francois Mitterand. Then, Bill Gates was the devil. Now its Barack Obama. I watch this guy to laugh at him, but then every once in a while my wife reminds me this crook weasels people out of their money for fear that God will smite them any day now and send them all to a fiery hell. I also am obsessed his hair cut, which by the way is totally LOL.

When I want to play an evil villain in RP, and really think about what "evil" truly is, I think of Jack Van Impe.

My sincere best wishes to you.

One small piece of advice:

"Permadeath" guilds have been around in gaming since forever. They are loads of fun. I like them.

However, they usually flare up and then sputter for one reason: people want exceptions to the death rule. What happens is, those who take permadeath seriously, start to get envious of those who seem to be able to whine/weasel their way out of it by crying "lag", "no fair" or "waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah". Or worse, have members die and then try to hide the fact.

So my advice is: stick to your guns. Keep the rule as simple as possible. If you die - you die. Make another character and move on with your life. If you stick to that basic rule without exceptions - your guild will last. If you break that rule from time to time for "special cases" people will lean on that crutch all day, and your real hard core participants will grow resentful and leave.

I saw this exact thing happen in permadeath guilds I was part of.

I'd join your guild if it had more of an RP angle, and if I was extremely active in this game (which I am not right now).

I hope it works. Permadeath guilds are a blast, if the people who join them can "man up" and actually abide by the rules, rather than whine their way out of it.

For RP purposes, I look at an MMO as a canvas (sorry forgive the snooty metaphor). I can paint whatever I like on it, the texture of the canvas only adds to what I decide to paint.

To break it down to more concrete terms, I look at the mechanics of the game as the dice and rule constructs found in the DM's guide - but I look at much of the actual content of the game as modules. I can borrow some or all of the modules to adventure in, or I can customize my own.

I think, us paper gamers have always understood that RP worlds are frame works only, how and what you place into them is your own choice - and the frame work is only a guideline, and nothing in that frame work is a sacred cow.

People argue this creates dissonance as you attempt to RP with others. What if their frame work is structured differently than yours? My counter to this, is this actually makes RP realistic. No two people view the world and the events of that world exactly the same. Take global warming for example, and sit back and view all the difference of opinion on it. Our character's view and perceptions of what is "truth" *should* be slightly different. If people can debate Babe Ruth vs. Muhammad Ali, debating Eiko vs. Recluse seems a reasonable thing the average person at a tavern might haggle over.

Eiko perceives herself as powerful as Recluse and probably smarter. Agonus has doubts.

I don't think that's incompatible, in fact I'd say that not only adds realism, it creates a wonderful dichotomy for some excellent RP. From my perspective, Recluse doesn't scare me at all, Eiko on the other hand, I'd recommend nothing but bowing politely and complimenting her hair. Anything beyond that could turn you into vapor if she's displeased.

I don't think there is a right answer to this question, it's all a matter of how you want to use what the MMO gives you to create a compelling story that you and your friends enjoy. I think we nerds get too hung up on what is "definitive and real" in schlocky stuff like COH, Star Trek and Swords of Shannara. It's just pulp, have fun with it, the people who created the pulp in the first place, don't take it half-as-seriously as some of the fans do.

But that's my narrow perspective, and I tend to fly fast and loose with these things. Even in the old paper days, we broke the Lawful Good Paladin rule within a few weeks of getting the Player's Handbook.

Agonus, I think you've hit upon some of the weaknesses of the COH narrative, and also the weakness of MMOs in general. Our "environments" stay far too static. Unlike real comic books "large events" are rare in MMOs. Things never really seem to progress at all. It can feel antiseptic sometimes.

I am inclined to agree with Eiko. If your character defeated Positron in some mission, then fold that into part of your "canon" for your group. What's great these days is, if you wish to storyline his "revenge" on your group, the Mission Architect can now facilitate that.

However, because signature types and hard core lore is usually really static, (but can then be radically altered at the whim of an expansion or revision), I personally try to avoid a lot of what the "lore" offers you.

Statesman vs. Lord Recluse is a frightful bore. A conflict between Doctor North and Count Logan on the other hand, is uniquely interesting, because both parties have control of the narrative and it can go in any damn direction we choose.

I treat the lore and environment of MMOs as a total "a la carte" arrangement. I borrow I what I found useful, I ignore what I find intrusive or incompatible.

I have no problem putting Eiko-chan on the same level as Recluse. I don't care what the lore says, Eiko is a far more interesting character to RP with than some stagnant NPC. Story for me triumphs all, and I'll pretty much sacrifice anything to produce a more interesting narrative than what the rigid constructs of the MMO can provide.

My ten cents only of course.

I am not particularly active right now, but this thread was too good to pass up. I provided links to all three toons that have time travel as part of their premise.

I have several time distorted characters, they include an Galactic Guardian from the 24th century, now trapped in the 21st century due to a time paradox perpetuated by an ancient demon:



The famous, "I was hidden in the past, then came back to the present to confront my own parents" schtick:



And the, "I'm really just an NPC, but my whole purpose is to ignite story lines dedicated to time distortions, time paradoxes and to clean up the 'pollution' time travel causes" character:



I like time travel as a story/plot device, we also use alternate dimensions (alternate forms of Earth) a lot - and combine the two to justify ourselves as "Galactic Guardians" - saving alternate dimensions from peril - and preserving the integrity of the time continuum in each of them. Basically ripping off large chunks of Wolfman's "Crisis on Infinite Earths", to create simple, basic urgency and peril in our missions.

Standard, boiler-plate comic book stuff really. Which is why I love it so.

I don't have many friends in-game, so this will not affect many of you...

I deactivated my account this weekend, and will be taking a short hiatus from the game. The primary reason is the holidays are here and new games are aplenty and I find myself with both limited time and increased choices in gaming options.

I'll be back later I'm sure. I will be active on VV a little, archiving my stuff there and possibly moving it to my own wiki for safe keeping.

Anyway, for the few out there that care, you won't see me over the next little while. I always lurk on this forum, (even when I am not active) so I'll stay in touch with Virtue that way.

In the meantime I'll be changing into a mouse to escape "the Fade", and trying to win the "Pacifica Cup" with the Seattle Sounders.

Pay-for-content works, it is now virtually mainstream in gaming. No experiment demonstrates this more, than the ridiculous secondary-market value of WOW Trading Cards.

So not only will this continue, but if COH is smart, they'll enable even more micro-payments.

If I could ask for anything, it would be a base editor pack, with all kinds of new gadgetry to add to bases; probably not the smartest decision financially though, as it wouldn't be as universal. In other words, not everyone edits a super base, so not everyone would want it.

Mutants will get next dibs I wager.

I applaud this stuff though, I believe it sustains games with smaller subscription numbers (that would be us) and it can help justify the enormous investment an MMO involves, which might entice additional product development. And I think Magic the Gathering proved decades ago that gamers will chase a competitive edge with $$$.

The next step of course is to monetize it across user-content as well. In other words, give tools to users to develop content, designs and other nifty stuff and let them openly barter it, (with the game retaining a service fee for the transaction of course). This, of course, is where some games have already ventured, but its time will come for mainstream MMOs too.

This is...quite possibly...the greatest time to be a gamer. It may well be considered the "renaissance" of video games, especially role play games.

It is light years from Zork and the Caves of Chaos, lets put it that way!

but not Sci Fi

Sorry, even Sci-Fi, even if it was indirectly. Alien, Blade Runner and others do not get made if it was not for Lucas reviving space-themed movies. Heck even Star Trek gets revived on the big screen due to Star Wars.

Sometimes the history and details are important. You've got to know your audience.

I disagree, in fact, Star Trek has suffered more because it tried too hard to appease a narrow-audience that is divisive even amongst its small number (so you can't even please the entire narrow hardcore base). It is when Star Trek relaxed, and let loose, that it always found better box office returns and ratings.

Also Enterprise was awful - for reasons far beyond "canon violation". It was also poorly timed. The reboot was the way to go, in other words, trash all canon and go again. The fact, it was this tactic that finally worked for the dead franchise, demonstrates clearly that history is *not* important - entertainment is.

The mainstream "audience" for Star Trek, is not the compulsive nerd who knows minute details of the Ferengi (or how to spell it even, as I clearly don't). The "audience" for Star Trek from a bottom line perspective, is the same person who loved Iron Man. Nerds (like me) forget how you sell stuff on Wal-Mart, which in the end, is all that matters for the success of a franchise.

Canon is crap. It and always will be just BS. We pretend it is important because we love it, but really it as trivial as how many coconuts the gorilla threw at Gilligan in season 2.

And because the subject matter usually begins with BS premises, and then goes into episode form - it can't possibly stay congruent. All "canon" is, is a platform for nerds to argue and obsess over. It's been this way since Superman learned to "fly" - a direct violation of his original power set.

My favorite line in this thread though is this:

I thought a wizard did all that?

This is genius, and wins the thread. It also manages to say more succinctly in one clever sentence than I can explain in miles of purple prose and bad grammar.

It also spoofs this superb (and fairly recent) cartoon:

http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2009/11/2/

This, in a nutshell, is what I am ranting about.

I believe the tag was just an indication that the player didn't want to engage in text-fighting, or as I call it the, "bang you're dead", "no you missed me" - school of RP.

Heaven forbid someone dare criticize the game in any way shape or form.

Nerds are an intolerant lot, and so the chorus of "boo", "stop whining" and "play your own damn game" pile on like pull tabs on the floor of a country bar. Sad really, because if we let it, a thread like this can open up discussion about MMO culture in general, and can yield interesting ideas and thoughts.

To the original post I say this: You are right, gold farmers suck. And to answer your question, no, nothing can be done about them. More people buy from farming than they care to admit. It's like prostitution, everyone condemns it - and yet the business seems to be thriving.

My advice is, just make it legal. In other words, let those who create the games, simply offer their own "legal" means to acquire stuff in-game. Micro-payments for DLC is already here anyway, we all claimed "we'd never pay for any of that" 4 years ago (I remember the thread), and then suddenly all of us leaped on the Magic pack, like the ravenous nerds we are.

If some putz wants to pay 50 dollars for a whole a lot of digital crap, let him. You want to earn it the hard way...fine, do so, your life, your squandered weekend. But what I'd like to see is the 50 dollars go back to the developing companies, because it can help fund and sustain the very game we all enjoy. Nerds won't tolerate that though (or at least vocally claim they won't) and then they sneak off and buy it through illicit means - or when actual content is made available for sale that lap it up like dogs.

These games are expensive to develop, expensive to maintain and a marvel of technology. If buying your avatar some new hats and some +5 endurance bracers, helps fund additional expansions, better servers and the like, then I'm all for it.

What's interesting is P-A covered this very topic, regarding the DLC in Dragon Age...and really buying influence is just a form of buying DLC. So it's a hot topic, one I think deserves a deeper discussion than "just play your own damn game".

One of my mutant abilities is to inhale pizza, at a rate so alarming it practically defies physics.

This is really useful, back in the days I had room mates. It meant you'd always get that extra third slice, when three people shared a pizza and there were only eight slices. It's a skill most college students have had to master at one point or another.

Nice thing about 12 packs, the factors of 1, 2, 3, and 4 are all covered. 3 people ordering a pizza however, is inevitably a race...and I will...*always* win that race.

We all Know Lucas Dosn't have a clue.

Really? I thought he redefined sci-fi/fantasy movies, on a scale that still has ripple effects today.

I thought he created a brand so large, he was able to acquire a large percentage of the world's biggest toy companies by merely negotiating merchandising rights.

I thought he helped create revolutionary leaps in technology and special effects.

I thought he was one of the most influential directors of the 20th century.

Who knew, that in all that time, he just didn't have a clue.

This thread demonstrates why, from time to time, I like to extend the following rant:

Don't get hung up on what is, and what is not "canon" when it comes to sci-fi, fantasy and other episode-based fiction.

It almost always will, (and I mean just about always), let you down. You have to understand these are business vehicles - and staying 100% true to canon is both expensive and time-consuming, and some would say a creative restraint which can actually hurt the "art" as time goes by.

I know Star Trek fans in particular, believe the history and the details are just as important, but when it comes to mass consumption, mass production and artistic freedom, it simply isn't. This miffs the fan who is obsessive, but is reality.

I bring this up, only, because I believe it has relevance to RP. Don't wag your finger at those who you believe are not staying true to the canon of the game. They are, in fact, probably more synchronized with the process of developing content within the IP than you realize.

Having worked with Lucasfilm a little, let me tell you, "canon" is far, far less important to them than getting the logo the right color.

In fact, abusing canon, is not only profitable, it is necessary. Even when you try to "clean up" canon like Crisis on Infinite Earths did, you only do it to make more money - and you pretty quickly stray from the new "cleaned up" version anyway.

Which means, in 15 years, someone will be ranting about how some new Star Trek cartoon violates the "canon" of the very movie you just downloaded from BitTorrent.

The graffiti you refer to, was scribbled by a disgruntled villain in a top-hat.

And as we all know, all villains in top-hats ultimately fail. We ought to set up a charity for them. Poor guys.

Easy in the classic sense of the word: yes.

Easy in the "plunk down some cash and I'll dress up like a nurse" sense of the word: no.

Sounds like we need a parallel beta-site with the new software installed. This way we can migrate our content over on our own progressively.

Just a thought.

Not that its urgent in my view, the site works wonderfully, as is. My only worry, is that if the admins ever decided to pull the plug that we get some notification so I can archive my stuff and push it to a server of my own. I'd hate to lose all my stuff without backing it up somewhere.

What do you call the role player who snobs all RP in MMOs, but holds up Oblivion and Dragon Age as pinnacles of the hobby?

People who only like pizza, only when they are alone by themselves? People too afraid to eat pizza in public because they always get sauce on their chin?

Alpha Squad is just a simple cheese pizza: cheap, fast and with extra cheese. Some of us sprinkle a little chili pepper onto it, and serve it with an icy coke.

My suggestion is build a character in preparation for Going Rogue next year.

I suggest an Arachnos-themed character (or something similar), that starts out loyal and hardworking, but as time goes by seems to question the motives and methods of the organization.

A Fortunata perhaps, who begins to develop distracting maternal instinct, when she adopts a young protege...or better yet play the protege...or better yet, build both characters...and then decide which one betrays the other when GR releases.

Good to see the idea getting traction!

I am going back to "scattered attendance" again with this game; as FIFA 10, Dragon Age and the winter dice-gaming sessions beckon...but I will be online from time to time, I've decided to keep COH active despite the fact the Christmas season of "new games" is about to begin in earnest.

Of course I am. That's why I haven't saddled myself with too many responsibilities like he has!

That explains why you're rich and powerful, and he just claims there's this whole other country he owns, that none of us have other seen.

I bet he says his girlfriend lives in Canada too.

...

I'll join the channel tonight, I am happy to be lackey, pawn, innocent bystander, or just crowd-filler, for any RP needs. My only thing is, I prefer PG-13 over R. So keep that in mind when you call for assistance. I am not a prude, I just like the campier side of the super-hero thing.

French fries, dudes, I told you; it's the coolest vegetable evah. Even the metro with the funny purple hat would agree. He's always talking about how lousy pheasants are, as in...

"Lousy pheasants, how dare you!"

...and stuff like that...so phesants must be lousy vegetables.

How come his bombs never worked? And yet he thinks he's such a genius?

Is it true Eiko is smarter than him?