Families, birth, pregnancies - generations

[The Industriallist]

There's something to be said for playing a child, maybe. I can't see why anyone would want to play a baby, though some people have demonstrated such a desire...(the schizophrenic in LV who seems to have transformed into a toddler, for instance).

The idea has a lot of potential, but I can't imagine it ever actually working. We'll see, I guess.

[Lumin]

As long as there's at least five character slots open for regular newspawns at all times I'll be pretty happy, but still I'm not so sure about this. It's not the concept of babies itself that worries me, just the flood of truly awful RP I'm picturing here.

What will babies be capable of doing, exactly? All I know is if my chars have kids who act like your typically disruptive or suicidal newspawns I just may wind up "grounding" them to their rooms...permanently, if you get my drift.

Though in an odd way I am sort of looking forward to seeing communities that drive off and generally discriminate against the little freaks and any couple that has them. Real people grow for twenty years and then come out of the ground, anything else is obviously evil and unnatural and must be destroyed.

[Dee]

I don't think I like this idea... I'm afraid it would mess up the game!

[Floyd]

Ditto

[Snake_byte]

I don't think I like this idea... I'm afraid it would mess up the game!

How?

[DylPickle]

I don't think I like it much either... I'm not entirely sure why, but it's a gut feeling of mine

One thing I can think of though is when making a new character, I don't want to have to wait around for so long, playing a baby that can hardly do anything, or keep getting ditched by my "parents" until I die.

[The Industriallist]

I don't think I like this idea... I'm afraid it would mess up the game!

How?

How not?

Heavily restrict available spawns, since only a few slots will be available for traditional spawns...and babies probably won't be nearly as available.

Stick parents with randomly allocated, unpredictable strangers for children.

Make people who can get more than the 5 characters play from...what age? I don't know, but I hope it isn't newborn.

Make people try to simulate children...who mature in about a single year. Which if anything is shorter for them than for humans, rather than longer.

Just some of the ways that it can mess up the game.

[Just A Bill]

Jos Said

And after a char dies, for a few weeks at least that slot would be locked, and for a week or so, you cannot spawn any char at all. This to make a dying char more annoying for a player, because players think too lightly of dying chars, unless they've grown attached to them.

Yes, an idea of mine is going to be implemented. Might cut down on suicidal newspawns.

I would rather see the baby be an Object for a number of years requiring whatever sort of care is appropriate, then becoming a character of one of the spawning parents players (decided randomly). In exchange for the care of the infant, the player would get a little leeway with the capitol rule with respect to the parent/child relationship. Two of their characters would have an established relationship. If this stretches the capitol rule too much, Perhaps the player of the parent would be able to select another player to play the child.

The idea of a noob playing a child that I have worked hard to get thru early childhood could really get on my nerves...

[SekoETC]

Yeah, it would be totally annoying if you raised a kid for a few years and then it was some annoying n00b. Or how about you waiting for a long time to get to play a baby, only to notice your parents are some jerks who can't even spell!! X( Some sort of moderation please.

Another thing you must keep in mind, people have short attention spans. Taking care of an "object" baby is like taking care of a tamagochi. How long were you interested in your tamagotchi? Two weeks? That's right. After that people get bored. For people suggesting ten or twenty years of automation - hello!! MOST CHARACTERS won't even live that long!!! And if the character was controlled by one of the parents, it would probably get boring after a while as well (though a longer while than if the baby was automated).

[The Industriallist]

I would rather see the baby be an Object for a number of years requiring whatever sort of care is appropriate, then becoming a character of one of the spawning parents players (decided randomly). In exchange for the care of the infant, the player would get a little leeway with the capitol rule with respect to the parent/child relationship. Two of their characters would have an established relationship. If this stretches the capitol rule too much, Perhaps the player of the parent would be able to select another player to play the child.

I see the reasons for it, but anything of the sort would seem to me to be completely scuttling the capital rule. Choosing what player plays a new character, for whom (most places) you will have responsibility? Totally out of bounds.

Another thing you must keep in mind, people have short attention spans. Taking care of an "object" baby is like taking care of a tamagochi. How long were you interested in your tamagotchi? Two weeks? That's right. After that people get bored. For people suggesting ten or twenty years of automation - hello!! MOST CHARACTERS won't even live that long!!! And if the character was controlled by one of the parents, it would probably get boring after a while as well (though a longer while than if the baby was automated).

By the same point, and even stronger perhaps, how can you not have at least 10 years of automation? Most characters, as you say, don't live 10 years. With 10 years automation, that means that most 'child-spawns' would never even make it to normal spawning age. Unless you only expect the more comitted players to bother with the children. If that theory holds, then we should see a population crash as the over-limit spawns die off.

[KVZ]

Accepted Are you people crazy? Don't try to make tamagotchi or the sims from Cantr It is very stupid idea! How can someone RP kid for 20 years? This is society simulator, but not family simulator! If you want children get it in real, but not in game! It would realy mess up the game! Sorry... but I NOT like this idea! Jos... please change your decision. For the God's sake!

[Nick]

Family is an INTEGRAL part of society. Don't fear change.

[KVZ]

So, make virtual families in game by adopting 20 years old newspawns if your characters want so. It would be better, but I think it is still stupid. And where would be equality with childrens? Someone will start in 20 years old, and other will born in 0 age.

[Pie]

well, how about this. you can have a baby for like...3 years. then it is age 15.

[SekoETC]

well, how about this. you can have a baby for like...3 years. then it is age 15.

That's a great idea, no, really, it's just as logical as Cantrians being spawned at 20 and having no pre-spawn history. Ok I wouldn't want there to be an age jump like that but the level of productivity and independance should go something like that.