Wiki - help needed!

[KAOS]

Hi everybody,

I've recently had a discussion with other staff-members about the Cantr Wiki and about making sure that new players get the information they need to understand the game. Cantr is so unique and different from other games that it can be hard in the beginning and maybe the "Your First Day" article isn't enough to give everyone a good start.

In the German part of the Wiki there's a wonderful article about almost everything you need to know in the first weeks. Obviously, it would be nice to have an English version of that article, so we could provide the link to every newbie.

There are only few Cantr players who know German well enough to translate such an article, and unfortunately, this article is much too long to translate it quickly, and even the thought of translating it all on my own really creeps me out (that's why I haven't done anything about it so far ).

But I've come up with another idea, and that's the point where I want to ask YOU for help!
Let's do this as a community project - I'll post the headlines of the paragraphs, and then we'll work together:
Everyone who likes may write a paragraph (completely new, no translation) and post it in this thread. If you like to get at least an impression of the subject of the German text, try to look at it using Google Translate (of course this is a very crappy translation you get there - so don't rely too much on it).
Additionally, I'll translate some paragraphs and if there's anyone knowing some German, who likes to join me, you're very welcome! My English is not perfect, so I also could need some help with correcting the texts.

And here are the headlines from the article:

Intro paragraph - done by Chris
* 1 Was für ein Spiel ist Cantr? 1 What kind of game is Cantr? - done by Chris
* 2 Das Wiki 2 The Wiki
* 3 Die Anfänge 3 The beginning - done by The_Pagan
o 3.1 Ereignisse 3.1 Events
o 3.2 Inventar 3.2 Inventory
o 3.3 Standort 3.3 Location
o 3.4 Gebäude & Fahrzeuge 3.4 Buildings & Vehicles
o 3.5 Leute 3.5 People
o 3.6 Objekte 3.6 Objects
o 3.7 Projekte 3.7 Activity
* 4 Verständigung in Cantr 4. Communication within Cantr
o 4.1 Deine ersten Worte 4.1 Your first sentences - done by KAOS
o 4.2 Emotes 4.2 Emotes
o 4.3 Die Art zu sprechen 4.3 How they are talking in Cantr
o 4.4 OOC-Gespräche 4.4 OOC-talk
o 4.5 Flüstern 4.5 Whispering
o 4.6 Fremdsprachen 4.6 Foreign Languages
* 5 Die Hauptregel 5 The Capital Rule
* 6 Erstellen neuer Charaktere 6 Creating new characters
* 7 Die maximale Charakter-Anzahl 7 Maximum number of characters
* 8 Zeit in Cantr 8 Cantr-time
* 9 Namen 9 Names
* 10 Nahrung und Heilmittel 10 Nourishing food and Healing food
* 11 Die Personenbeschreibung 11 Character description
o 11.1 Kleidung 11.1 Clothes
o 11.2 Stärke 11.2 Strength
o 11.3 Krankheiten 11.3 Illness
o 11.4 Die Status-Balken 11.4 Status bars
o 11.5 Schaden 11.5 Damage
o 11.6 Müdigkeit 11.6 Tiredness
o 11.7 Hunger 11.7 Hunger
o 11.8 Fähigkeiten 11.8 Skills
o 11.9 Umbenennung des eigenen Charakters 11.9 Renaming of your own character
* 12 Die Schaltflächen (detailliertere Version) 12 Main buttons (more detailed version) (12.1 to 12.6 are the same as 3.1 to 3.6)
o 12.1 Ereignisse
o 12.2 Inventar
o 12.3 Standort
o 12.4
o 12.5 Leute
o 12.6 Objekte
o 12.7 Projekte 12.7 Activity
+ 12.7.1 Die Projekte-Liste 12.7.1 List of projects
+ 12.7.2 Welche Projekte gibt es? 12.7.2 Which projects are there?
+ 12.7.3 Abbrechen der eigenen Teilnahme an & Löschen von Projekten 12.7.3 Quitting work on a project and deleting projects
+ 12.7.4 Die Projekt-Informationen 12.7.4 Project information
* 13 Einleiten von Projekten 13 Creating projects
o 13.1 Sammeln von Rohstoffen 13.1 Collecting resources
o 13.2 Bauen von Werkzeugen/Waffen/Schilden/Gebäuden/Fahrzeugen etc. 13.2 Manufacturing tools/weapons/shields/buildings/vehicles
o 13.3 Reparaturen 13.3 Repairing
o 13.4 Herstellen von Kleidung 13.4 Manufacturing clothes
o 13.5 Benutzung von Maschinen 13.5 Using machines
* 14 Schreiben von Notizen 14 Writing notes
* 15 Ticks 15 Ticks
* 16 Reisen 16 Travelling
* 17 Das Spawnsystem 17 The spawnsystem
o 17.1 Was soll ich tun, wenn mein Charakter der einzige seiner Sprachgruppe an einem Ort ist? 17.1 What to do when my character seems to be the only one of his language group at his spwaning point?
* 18 Tod eines Charakters 18 Death of a character
* 19 Account-Deaktivierung wegen Inaktivität 19 Account deactivation caused by inactivity
* 20 Urlaubsmodus 20 Vacation mode
* 21 Turn Reports 21 Turn reports
* 22 Minutenbegrenzung 22 Time limit
* 23 Credits 23 Credits
* 24 Statistiken 24 Statistics
* 25 Bekannte Fehler 25 Known bugs
* 26 Abkürzungen 26 Abbreviations

[Chris]

Here is the intro paragraph, before the first headline.

First of all, welcome to Cantr! At first, everything will probably be very confusing, and you will have many questions. We hope to answer some of those questions here. If you have additional questions, or you can't understand some part of this guide, please post your questions in the Forum. The player community will gladly answer your questions there.

We would like feedback from newcomers on how useful this guide is so we can make any necessary changes. You may be surprised at the length of this guide. You don't have to read it all at once; you can come back later, as often as you like. Chapters 1-5 are very important for any newcomer so we recommend that you read them right away for a good start in Cantr.

[Chris]

What Kind of a Game is Cantr?

Most people say that Cantr is very different from other computer role-playing games. Cantr is text-based. It has few graphics. It is not about killing monsters, completeing quests, or leveling up. Instead, you play a role with each character (up to 15 at one time) in a simulation of society. You breathe life into your characters by what you write. You give them each a personality, with their own characteristics, beliefs, values, desires, and fears. Your characters can become friends, enemies, or lovers with other players' characters. You are free to choose your own path. Will you be a shy wallflower, a hateful cynic, a sullen loner, or an aggressive pirate? The main limit is your own imagination.

If you plan to play a violent character, you should be warned that a character's death is permanent and irrevocable. Thus, you should think carefully before killing another character. Also, it is very difficult for one character alone to kill another, and almost impossible without a weapon. It might be easier to play your first character as a peaceful one until you know the game better.

It is also likely that sooner or later, your character will meet other characters who are unfriendly to yours. Please don't be discouraged. Conflict is a part of the game. Unpleasant characters make the game more interesting. Also keep in mind that any conflict is between characters, not between players. Don't be afraid to have your character ask questions. It is better to ask a lot of questions than to break a rule out of ignorance.

Cantr is usually a very slow game. It requires patience. It is likely that you and the players of other characters in a location won't be online at the same time. Most projects take days to complete. Travel from one town to another also takes a few days, sometimes even several days, so think carefully before taking your character on the road.

Cantr is a persistent game. After you log out, your character remains in his or her location. The character can hear and see what others say and do. The character could be attacked by animals or other characters. When you log in later, you can read what happened to or near your character while you were offline.

Cantr is an international game. Not all players will speak your language. Cantr is played in 14 different languages, so you may have a chance to practice your foreign language skills. However, please remember that your character does not know everything you know, including other languages, unless his or her own experiences have exposed him or her to those languages in game.

[Joshuamonkey]

Nice job! I can fix spelling errors and such once it's actually on the wiki in English (just "completeing" so far), so no worries if you do mess up KAOS.

And that looks like a scarily long guide in German..

[EchoMan]

Good initiative. This page will be very helpful for beginning (and returning) players. Please also note that many sections already have full articles, so maybe have a short explanation in this page, and link to the other articles.

[The_Pagan]

Personally I never used the wiki so I'll skip on to the next paragraph.

3 The Beginning

When you enter the game, you 'spawn' as a twenty year old with no clothes, food or any items of any sort. Most players don't create a back story for their characters any more and spawning is considered a 'birth'.

Ideally you should introduce yourself ICly in your first post. This is as simple as 'Hello, I am [character's name]." If you don't introduce yourself, you can be setting yourself up to be ignored, imprisoned or attacked.

There are often notes on the ground of the local laws that you can read without picking up, though it often wise to make a copy.
(See 3.6 for details about objects)

All the people around you will not appear with names but a description of age and gender. It is a good idea to give them nicknames based on their appearance (Big Nose), what they are doing or carrying (Picking Apples) or what they do/say (Asking For Work) until you find out their names. That way you can tell one man in his twenties from another.
(See 3.5 for details about people)

You will need food and probably want some clothes, tools, weapons and protection. Some locations will handle this on their note. Others might not. If these aren't offered by the characters around you, ask as many towns are willing to supply these free or will direct you to how you can work for it.
(see 3.6 for details about objects)

If you're alone, this is unlucky, especially for your first character. I recommend taking some food and travelling to the next town. If there is no food lying about, you're choices are to gather or travel without. Chances are you will make it to the next town without starving. Whether they have food for you, is the risk there.
(See 10 for details about food)
(See 3.3 for details on travelling/gathering)

Pay attention to what the other characters are saying about you. If they are saying negative things, do not take it personally. They are characters talking about your characters. Also some players try to give you hints if you seem to be struggling with something in what they say. If someone say you're doing something that you didn't mean to RP, look over what they said, what you said and done to see if you can figure out the hint.
If you're complete baffled ask. "((OOC: What did you mean by [shouting/stealing/picking my nose/juggling dung]))" Though do try to keep OOC to a minimum. Many players frown upon it.
(see 4 for Details)

Hope that's okay. I don't mind if it's re-done or heavily edited.

[KAOS]

4.1 Your first sentences

A good starting point for your character would be to introduce himself to everyone around. Others will recognize your character as awake and active and will most likely react positively. To introduce yourself, go to "Events". Here you can write something into the white box and after hitting the "Talk to all" button, all other characters in this place will hear what yours is saying. On this occasion you could as well ask politely for some food, as this is something your character needs. If he won't get some immediately, it's no big deal - it will take 20 days without food to starve, so there's enough time left to gain some.
After your character's introduction it will be a good idea just to wait and to do nothing until someone answers. Otherwise it may happen that people get angry, just because you did something that is prohibited by local law or considered rude behaviour.
In most cases, someone will answer very soon and often this person is willing to familiarize your character with his spawning town.

Thanks to everybody who posted so far. I've edited the starting post, so you can see which paragraphs are already written.

[Ronja Rotschopf]

2. The wiki
The wiki is the most important reference work of Cantr II, where you can find informations regarding machines, tools, resources and so on. Especially for new players we recommend the article: "Your First Cantr Day"