Cantr's interface - First Steps

General out-of-character discussion among players of Cantr II.

Moderators: Public Relations Department, Players Department

User avatar
NancyLee
Posts: 903
Joined: Wed Dec 07, 2011 8:51 am
Location: City of Dis

Cantr's interface - First Steps

Postby NancyLee » Sun Oct 05, 2014 2:03 pm

A conversation the other day in the welcome thread made me think that maybe it would be nice to have some basic information about the game's interface here in the forum also. I was unsure about where to post it, thus I made this thread where we can post more material of this sort if it is useful for new players, to have it all in the same place and avoid clutter. If it should be merged or even deleted, please do so. I mean to do the same for the tabs "Location", "Objects" and "Activities" and also about land and sea travels as soon as I have some more free time.
(I also apologize for the future grammar and typing mistakes, my English is not as good as I wish it was).





For some players, the game interface can seem a bit intimidating at first, since there's a lot of new things at once, but very soon you'll feel comfortable with it. Please don't hesitate about asking any doubt in the forum or contacting the staff. There's also a very useful wiki and an IRC Channel. We all were newbies once and there's a friendly community willing to help you with any issue.


ABOUT THE CHARACTER AND THE PLAYER MENU:

In the bottom of the events page (that is the page you see when you click on any of your characters), you will see both the character's menu and the player's menu:

Image

Those first four buttons in the character's menu are:
1. For writing notes.
Image
2. For creating envelopes (you can store or classify notes inside of them).
Image
3. For manufacturing items.
Image
4. For setting your preferences and/or apply filters
Image

1. Writing notes:

Image

You have the title box to define the name of the note, that will be displayed in your inventory in the notes' folder and another box for the body of the document. You can write some HTML tags to make it look nicer, underline some words, etc.
When writing a note or uploading an image, always keep in mind the general rules and guidelines (and also common sense).

2. Envelopes:

Image

When you have a lot of notes, envelopes can be very useful to classify them and keep your inventory neat. If you have a seal and sealing wax, you can also ensure confidentiality or add a personal touch if you so desire.

3. Building and manufacturing items:

This button leads you to the build menu, where you can start projects to build tools, machines, vehicles, etc.
This is what the build menu looks like:

Image

If you want to start a project that requires a fixed machine, let's say grill meat, for instance: you need to go to the "Objects" page and there you will search for the machine you need, a small fire pit in this case. You will see that there's several buttons before the name of the machine:

Image

The first one is to "point" at the machine, it generates a visible event so the other characters in the same location will get something like "You see a man in his twenties point at a small fire pit".

The second one, the X, is to disassemble the machine.

And the third one is the one you need to click to get to the "machine's menu", so to say, to select the project you want to start (and the quantity in some cases, some projects have a fixed output):

Image

After selecting the project and clicking the arrow, you will get this if the project has a fixed output:

Image

And something like this if it's a project where you can select the size of the batch or how many days of work you want to invest:

Image

In those projects where you can select the size of the batch or how many days of work you want to invest, you will see a number between parenthesis, this number is the amount of grams of the required resource that your character currently has in its inventory.

Image

4. Settings:

Image

Here you can activate or deactivate a wide range of settings for your characters. The settings only apply to that current character. It can be really useful if you don't want your character slot to get lit up by other characters' whispering, or radio messages. In the second folder, you can create your own filters and in the third one you have the option of killing your character from old age (+70 years), which means the character will die from a heart attack and you won't have to do any further action to end its life.

ABOUT THE CHARACTER SETTINGS:

These advanced options might not be primal at first. They are exclusively for event filters.








ABOUT THE CHARACTER'S INVENTORY:

There are several folders in your inventory to keep things organized, thus making easier to find what you're searching. There's also a "show all" button if you rather see all what your character carries at once.

I. Notes and envelopes.

In the first folder you will find your character's notes and envelopes:

Image

There are some buttons before each note and envelope:

1. Point. Image It will generate a visible event for the rest of players. Something of the sort of: "You see a man in his twenties (or whatever name they used to tag your character) pointing at note 'Not editable note example' held by a man in his twenties (again, or the name the other characters know your character by)".

2. Drop. Image With this button you can drop your note and/or envelope so it will be on the Objects page instead of in your inventory. It also generates an event visible for the rest of chars in the same location. Something like "You see a man in his twenties drop a note".

3. Give. Image This button will display a list where you can pick the receiver.

4. Store. Image With this button you can store the note inside a storage item if there's any on the ground or in your inventory.

5. Copy. Image With this button you will obtain an exact copy of the note. Especially useful if you want to have a copy of any note laying on the ground without depriving the other players from being able to see that note.

6. Put the note in an envelope. Image You can select among your envelopes in case you have more than one. You can also store an envelope inside other envelope.

7. Edit. Image This button will not appear if the note is not editable.

8. Read the note. Image

9. Empty the envelope. Image This will show you the content of your envelope, where you can read the notes stored there or take what you need out of it. You can also remove duplicates with a single click.

10. Delete. Image You can delete an envelope if it is empty.

With the "Operations on multiple notes" button, you can store several notes at once, for instance.



II. Raws and items:

Image

1. Point. Image It will generate a visible event for the rest of characters in the same location.

2. Drop. Image This will also generate a visible event for the other chars in the same location. In the case of materials, you will be asked how many grams you wish to drop.
Image

3. Give. Image Gives the item to another character. In the case of materials, you will be asked how many grams you want to hand over. Then there will be a drop down box where you can choose the character to give the item to.
Image

(Note: Each character has a limit to how much they can carry (15000 grams) - if you try to give something to a character and it is too heavy for them, an error message will say so)

Image

4. Store. Image You can put the material into a storage item either in your inventory or on the ground. You will be asked how many grams you wish to store if it applies and also where do you want to store it. You will be informed if the amount you wish to store exceeds how much more space there is left.
Image

5. Eating. Image. When it comes to nourishing food, your character will autoeat if there is food available in its inventory (and not stored inside of a container). But you can also eat at your will if you so desire. When it comes to healing foods, you will need to click the eat button. You will get information on how much of that restorative item you need to consume to heal your character fully.

Image

6. Use the material on a project. / Use the machine in your inventory. Image Some machines are portable, thus your character will be holding them in its inventory. This button will lead you to the machine's menu, so to say, where you can select the project you want to start. We'll be using a mixing bowl in this case:

Image

You can automatically add the resources you need for the project if you have them all either in your inventory or on the ground, but you can also do it manually with that "use the material" button. For instance, we don't have enough meat in this situation, so we'll be adding what we have and then we'll go grab more:

Image

7. Repair. Image Some items can rot over time and you will need to repair them if you want to keep them in perfect shape. When they lose all their points of structure, the item will break and you won't be able to use it anymore, nor repair it.
The interface will display by default the total amount of hours you need to fully repair the item, but you can select the number of hours you want to actually spend repairing the item. You can also cancel the repairing project whenever you want (in the Activities page)

Image

8. Add or change the object's description. Image You can customize a lot of items if you have the required tool.

Image

9. Empty storage. Image You can retrieve things you have inside a storage and select how much you want to take out.

There are also several buttons that only appear in certain categories of tools or items, such as clothes and jewelry, that you can wear Image ; musical instruments, that you can play Image; or cleavers, that you can use to butcher domesticated animals Image. You can also toss a coin or roll a die Image. Doing so will generate an event visible to characters in the same location. Coins have an obverse and reverse side, while dice have six sides.


III. Coins:

"Money" is not necessarily a concept in the Cantr world; some societies rely exclusively on bartering or trading items for items (or work for items), but some other communities also have a monetary system. So don't panic if you have no coins, that doesn't mean you're broke or that you won't be able to buy things.

Image

IV. Keys:

Image

When you create a lock or manufacture a vehicle, a key will appear in your inventory matching the unique number of that lock. You can tag the key and also make a copy of it if you have a file and ten grams of iron. If the key is obsolete, you can reclaim the iron using a workbench or a stone table.








ABOUT THE BUILDINGS AND VEHICLES PAGE

When you go to your character's page and click the "Buildings & Vehicles" tab you can see every existing vehicle or building in the town you are in. They appear listed separatedly in three categories (when the three of them apply): land vehicles, ships and buildings.

Image*

(*Note: All names have been edited. Any resemblance to existing buildings or vehicles, is purely coincidental).

You can enter Image a vehicle or building if the door is unlocked, you have the key, or there is no lock at all (It can be good to check first the local laws about trespassing or find out which buildings are for public use. You can, of course, roleplay a lawbreaker if you desire so -as long as you, the player, abide by the game rules, there are no rules stating you must follow the laws of your society- but your character will have to face the possible consequences, that will vary depending on the community your character is in). If you try to enter a locked building or vehicle and you don't have the right key, you will have different options depending on if you have a crowbar or not:

Image

Image


It can happen sometimes that a room/building/ship cabin/vehicle is so full of things that you can't get inside. In those situations, you can pull some of the things out Image. As with entering any building or vehicle, you will need the right key to do so, unless the door is unlocked.


You can disassemble Image certain types of vehicles if they are empty and you have the required tool.


Image By clicking this button, your character will knock on the door. This will be visible on the events page for all characters outside and can be heard by those inside the building/room.

Changing names and signs of Buildings and Vehicles:

Clicking on the name of a building or a vehicle leads to a page where you can rename it and it also shows all the signs attached to it. It will say if you are carrying any tools that can be used for altering signs.
You can change how you see a building or vehicle's name without actually altering the sign. This won't create any event nor will be known by any other character unless your character shares that information. It's immediate, no project is required. This is the dynamic name.

Image

For altering signs, you will need to have any writing utensil in your character's inventory. Some are more efficient than others, that will affect how long it takes you to complete the project.

Image

This will change how the name of the building/room/vehicle is displayed for everyone. Signs in position 1 will be used as the default name for the building or vehicle. Signs in other positions are visible on the buildings page under it.

Image
Last edited by Snickie on Tue Oct 07, 2014 11:41 pm, edited 2 times in total.
Reason: Compiled info from Nancy's new post
“Nothing is absolute. Everything changes, everything moves, everything revolves, everything flies and goes away.”
― Frida Kahlo
User avatar
Cdls
Posts: 4204
Joined: Sat May 14, 2005 7:09 pm

Re: Cantr's interface - First Steps

Postby Cdls » Sun Oct 05, 2014 3:27 pm

Wow, all the views and no comments on this? :roll:

Great job NancyLee, I am sure it will be helpful to those starting out.
User avatar
Snickie
RD/HR Member/Translator-English (LD)
Posts: 4946
Joined: Tue Jul 06, 2010 5:28 pm
Location: FL

Re: Cantr's interface - First Steps

Postby Snickie » Sun Oct 05, 2014 4:22 pm

A few things are missing, like that dice icon, and there are a few mispellings but otherwise very informative. :)
Majix
Posts: 202
Joined: Thu Jul 14, 2011 7:42 pm

Re: Cantr's interface - First Steps

Postby Majix » Sun Oct 05, 2014 5:33 pm

Really well done, Nancy Lee!
User avatar
*Wiro
Posts: 5855
Joined: Mon Sep 29, 2008 1:24 pm

Re: Cantr's interface - First Steps

Postby *Wiro » Sun Oct 05, 2014 6:10 pm

This should replace the various outdated stickied posts.
Read about my characters by following this link.
User avatar
Auryn
Posts: 298
Joined: Fri Jul 08, 2011 1:10 am

Re: Cantr's interface - First Steps

Postby Auryn » Mon Oct 06, 2014 12:48 am

Wow, where was all of this when I first started out? This looks really great!
User avatar
NancyLee
Posts: 903
Joined: Wed Dec 07, 2011 8:51 am
Location: City of Dis

Re: Cantr's interface - First Steps

Postby NancyLee » Mon Oct 06, 2014 1:36 pm

Many, many thanks all!

I left me a memo to edit and add the info on the dice icon as soon as I make the screenshots (need to find out where my characters stashed their coins/dices) and to correct the misspellings I can find, since I did a horrible job at proofreading :oops: If someone with the power to edit other people's post finds them and feels like correcting them: thanks in advance!



ABOUT THE LOCATION PAGE:

This page will give you information about the place your character is in, be it outside or inside of a building or a vehicle.

I. When you are outdoors:

Image

On the left part there is a map graphic that shows your character's immediate surroundings and the cardinal points (yes, in Cantr north is on the right, remember this when travelling or mapping or you could get lost!)



At the top center you can see how many resource slots are available. This is the capacity of an area to support resource gatherers; when all the resource slots are used, your character won't be able to gather resources until one of the slots gets freed (unless you use machines such as harvesters, quarries, drills, wells... since those don't require a resource slot). Projects with no characters working on them do not take up a resource slot, and multiple characters working on the same gathering project still take up multiple resource slots.

Domesticated animals in packs use gathering slots, while pet animals (stored as individuals, not in packs) don't use any slot. Each pack takes one gathering slot and most of "sheep-like" animals have pack size of 4 while most of "cattle-like" animals have pack size of 2.



Still in the center, you will find the list of raw resources available in that location. Clicking on the icon next to the material will take you to a page where you can start a project to gather it (your project will advance a percentage per cantr hour; this percentage will vary depending on several factors such as your character skill level, tiredness...). Those icons vary depending on the skill required to perform that task.



On the right part, you will find information about the current weather.


Image This button in the center in the center is a link to a list of animals in that location. You can interact with them hunting or trying to domesticate some species.

Image

Image

When hunting, you can select which animal(s) you want to attack, the weapon you will use and the strength applied. If you use your bare fist and 0% of your strength you will just "poke" the animal, but still you will find out your skill level at hunting. It could be good to check the local laws about hunting before hurting any animal.



At the bottom of the page there is a list of the roads exiting the location. Next to each path there are three icons:

Image Point at this exit route. It will generate an event visible for all the other characters in the same location.

Image Follow this exit route. This will take you to the road out of the town. You won't see this icon if your character is currently working.

Image Improve this exit route. There are several types of roads and they can be improved.

By default, every location is labelled "unnamed location", since your character still doesn't know the name of the places. By clicking on the destination name, you can change the displayed name. You will be the one able to see that name and it won't generate any event.


II. When you are in a land vehicle:

Image

Exit. Image To get out of the vehicle.
Pull. Image To pull resources from the adjacent location.

Next you will see the description:

The weight capacity will tell you how much you can fit in the vehicle. In this case, it is fully loaded.

The person capacity tells you how many passengers can fit in that vehicle. If the vehicle is meant to harbor only one passenger, there is no way you can fit more people inside even if the weight capacity tells you that there's still room.
You can find the weight and person capacity of each land vehicle in their wiki description.

The fuel level tells you how full is the engine.

Under those levels there is a map graphic that shows your character's immediate surroundings and the cardinal points (yes, in Cantr north is on the right, remember this when travelling or mapping or you could get lost!).

On the right part, you will find information about the current weather.

At the bottom of the page there is a list of the roads exiting the location.
Image Point at this exit route. It will generate an event visible for all the other characters in the same location.

Image Follow this exit route. This will take you to the road out of the town

By default, every location is labelled "unnamed location", since your character still doesn't know the name of the places. By clicking on the destination name, you can change the displayed name. You will be the one able to see that name and it won't generate any event.

III. When you are in a ship:

Image

Exit. Image To get out of the vessel.
Pull. Image To pull resources from the adjacent location.

The weight capacity will tell you how much you can fit still on board.

The person capacity tells you how many characters can fit in that ship. If the vessel is meant to harbor only four passengers, there is no way you can fit more people inside even if the weight capacity tells you that there's still room.

You can find out the weight and person capacity of each ship in their wiki description.

Image To undock the ship from the harbor (or from the town in smaller vessels that can dock to the shore). It will lead you to a page where you can select in which direction you want to undock to start your journey.

Image


IV. When you are inside a building: (Note: Cabins and cargo holds on ships work as buildings)

Image

Under the name and the type of the building you will find three icons and also information about the current weather if the building has a window and it is open.

Exit. Image To leave the building or the room. If you are in a back room, you will get to the main room, thus you will need to go again to the location page and use the door again.

Knock. Image This generates an event visible outside if you're in the main room or in the main room if you're in a back room.

Pull out something from this location. Image

Next there's the building's current load of goods and characters.


Underneath there is an optional description of the room, or the button to add one (in this case, the building has no description). If you have the key for the room it will be an instant change, if not, you will start a project to change the room description.
“Nothing is absolute. Everything changes, everything moves, everything revolves, everything flies and goes away.”
― Frida Kahlo
User avatar
Alladinsane
Posts: 3351
Joined: Thu Mar 11, 2010 9:09 pm
Location: Fla

Re: Cantr's interface - First Steps

Postby Alladinsane » Mon Oct 06, 2014 3:23 pm

This is awesome and I think its worthy of a sticky too.


Thank you for your hard work Nancy Lee.
A famous wise man once said absolutely nothing!
User avatar
Snickie
RD/HR Member/Translator-English (LD)
Posts: 4946
Joined: Tue Jul 06, 2010 5:28 pm
Location: FL

Re: Cantr's interface - First Steps

Postby Snickie » Mon Oct 06, 2014 4:09 pm

A sticky and a lock?
User avatar
Alladinsane
Posts: 3351
Joined: Thu Mar 11, 2010 9:09 pm
Location: Fla

Re: Cantr's interface - First Steps

Postby Alladinsane » Tue Oct 07, 2014 2:53 am

This thread has been locked; not to discourage comments, but to keep the main thread itself free of clutter.


Anyone who has praise or comments and suggestions is encouraged to input elsewhere in the general discussion forum.
A famous wise man once said absolutely nothing!
User avatar
NancyLee
Posts: 903
Joined: Wed Dec 07, 2011 8:51 am
Location: City of Dis

Re: Cantr's interface - First Steps

Postby NancyLee » Tue Oct 07, 2014 10:33 pm

I've just found out I can edit the first message, so I'm adding here a couple of things (thank you Snickie and Greek) although I don't know if it will really make sense separated from the rest.

*ADDENDA:

ABOUT THE CHARACTER SETTINGS:

These advanced options might not be primal at first. They are exclusively for event filters.




ABOUT COINS AND ITEMS WITH SPECIAL FUNCTIONS

Image

Image If you toss a coin, it will generate an event visible for the characters in the same location, something like "You see a man in his twenties toss nickel coin. The obverse side points up". This icon will only appear in the case of coins, that you can toss, or dices, that you can roll.




ABOUT STARTING PROJECTS

In those projects where you can select the size of the batch or how many days of work you want to invest, you will see a number between parenthesis, this number is the amount of grams of the required resource that your character currently has in its inventory.

Image
“Nothing is absolute. Everything changes, everything moves, everything revolves, everything flies and goes away.”
― Frida Kahlo
User avatar
Snickie
RD/HR Member/Translator-English (LD)
Posts: 4946
Joined: Tue Jul 06, 2010 5:28 pm
Location: FL

Re: Cantr's interface - First Steps

Postby Snickie » Tue Oct 07, 2014 11:44 pm

^ Added to original post. :)
User avatar
NancyLee
Posts: 903
Joined: Wed Dec 07, 2011 8:51 am
Location: City of Dis

Re: Cantr's interface - First Steps

Postby NancyLee » Fri Oct 17, 2014 3:16 pm

ABOUT THE ACTIVITY PAGE



Here you will find a list of all activities in the area your character is in, be it outside or inside any building or vehicle.

Image

At the top center you can see how many resource slots are available. This is the capacity of an area to support resource gatherers; when all the resource slots are used, your character won't be able to gather resources until one of the slots gets freed (unless you use machines such as harvesters, quarries, drills, wells... since those don't require a resource slot). Projects with no characters working on them do not take up a resource slot, and multiple characters working on the same gathering project still take up multiple resource slots.


As in some cases there is a lot of projects going on, it can be useful the search field, so you can search for specific types of projects. Leaving the field blank will load all activities going on in the location your character is in. You can also choose to sort the search result by name, initiator or date.

Image With this icon, your character will point at the selected project. It will generate an event visible for all the characters in that location.

Image By clicking this icon, you will find more detailed information about the selected project such as the initiator, the total length, the repeats left if it applies, the tools needed (when required), etc. It will lead you to a page that looks similar to this:

Image

Image By clicking this button, your character will start participating in the selected project. When your character is already working, you won't be able to see that icon.

Image By clicking this icon you will cancel the project when it is possible (when you're the initiator or enough time has passed since its creation) or start a tear down project if progress had already been made and it's something that would result in an object. What you get depends on the type of project. If it was resources gathering, you get the percentage that was gathered by that point; if it was a cooking project, for instance, you get what was cooked by then and the raw resources that weren't used yet.


Image

The character in brackets is the character who originally started the project if they are still in the same place (not necessarily the character working on the project) and is a link to the character details as usual. After that is a Cantr time stamp of when the project was started.

There's a tick mark () if it's possible to work on the project and you have the required tools (if any tool is required), an X if you don't have the required tools and a - if resources or components are still missing and it isn't possible to start working before they're added.


Projects are listed in three colours:
Dark grey - When no one is working on the project.
Light grey - When other character(s) are working on the project.
White - Is the project your character is working on.
“Nothing is absolute. Everything changes, everything moves, everything revolves, everything flies and goes away.”
― Frida Kahlo

Return to “General Discussion”

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 1 guest