Character descriptions

[Phalynx]

Every Cantrian should be equaly attractive. Theoretically ii is impossible, cause not everyone likes e.g. blondes but it's not the point. There shuldn't be 'ugly' or 'pretty' adjective used ever in char's driscription. Why? People like prette people. Cantrians would become not equal from the begining. It will result in mass spawnig in order to get 15 x miss universe.

Whilst I agree that beauty/ugliness is so subjective that it should not be put in a description, your reasoining is flawed, cantrians are not equal. Examine the skills and strength of your character.

[Rusalka]

Ok, but first, skills, especially strength are not visible to others, and second, skills make characters different, but not better/worse. Someone is good in digging but bad in farming etc. Every char is balanced in this matter after all.

[Phalynx]

Ok, but first, skills, especially strength are not visible to others, and second, skills make characters different, but not better/worse. Someone is good in digging but bad in farming etc. Every char is balanced in this matter after all.

1693-7.23: You see XXXX novicely hurt a horse using a bare fist.

He is in his twenties and is expertly working on project 'Smoking meat'.

You are off your rocker. Fine the difference between novice and efficient when gathering potatoes is frankly less important, but the same difference in fighting or hunting can make the difference between life and death, and of course make a huge difference to prestige.

[Rusalka]

Come on, your missing the point here. Just because you so strongly want to show me that Cantrians aren't equal, it is ok for you to make them even less equal?

I admit that fighting skill may be the most important in game, so lucky who is the fighting expert. But that is just another reason why we should try to give everyone the same start.

[Sicofonte]

Ok, but first, skills, especially strength are not visible to others, and second, skills make characters different, but not better/worse. Someone is good in digging but bad in farming etc. Every char is balanced in this matter after all.

The ugliness or beauty could be balanced too, as it was another skill (beauty care projects could affect it).

Not everyone would want to have 15 Cantr misses and misters. There are some RPers in Cantr...


In another thread, we could discuss that issue about starting all the chars with the same or at least more balanced skills and attributes. But not here, I think.

[Phalynx]

I agree with you, but only for more pragmatic reasons. I think if there was a chance of people spawning ugly characters a number of our vainer female players would have a hissy fit.

My expereince of the game is that you get 'one-eyed' or 'balding', or fat, or ugly male characters, but on the other hand most female characters seem to have 'long flowing locks' or ' a grace and beauty evident to all'.

Actually most of the time looks just don't come into it with cantr and I kind of like that. Hiwever In romantic moments in can be rather tricky:

1614-0.15: XXXXXX XXXXX says: "(OOC: I have green eyes you asshole!)"

1614-0.13: You say: "*He ruffles here hair gazing deep into her beautuful blue eyes* I love you XXXXX XXXXX!"

I do think a generic brief, non valued description would be helpful, but if it was chosen for you I know lots of people would have a dicky fit!

[Rusalka]

Changes are painful sometimes. I am ok with gaining beauty during the game, cause it will create a new industry of beauty care. Of course there would be nice to loose that beauty in some ways.

I am just afraid of one thing. Are we trying to turn Cantr into Sims?

[Marian]

I've said this before but I'll say it again, if randomized descriptions are added I swear I'll never make a new character again. My characters appearence is something that grows in my mind as there personality develops, it's a personal thing and the game is not going to tell me that my Incan looking girl is a blond or that my short and slightly pudgy redhead is a tall brunette.

I would hate to have to quit over something like this, but it would eventually happen because there's no way I'd be able to get into the heads of new chars under this system, they wouldn't even be mine anymore.

[Phalynx]

I'm not sure if that is a hissy fir or a dicky fit

[Crosshair]

Which is why custom descriptions'd be better! But they'd have to be vetted. S'all i'm saying.

[SekoETC]

*sigh* Sure genes, once or if they get added will affect the appearance of characters. But you'll know the limits in advance and won't go imagining a certain coloured person on a region where that's impossible. Anyway, a custom description would allow nearly unlimited creativity. But apparently most people hate it.

It's probably going to take years before we get a genetic system that affects outlook. Something to be linked to the child thing. And things like weight you can affect by way of life.

If I were to design random descriptions, I would give the people a chance to affect the likeliness of specialities. You could choose that if this character is a midget, I'll have a hissy fit and let it die! So the code would weed out the possibility of extremes. But your character could still end up being 160 cm (5 foot 3) and you'd just have to accept that. You could choose that "I'd wish this character was strong and tall and dark and handsome." Then those features would gain a bit of more likeliness but they would not be taken for granted. Dark could be anything from middle brown to pitch black. Though if your parents were both blonde then you would have to adjust. But most likely you weren't assigned to them.

NATURALLY characters that already exist should be given a chance to be described as the player desires, within some reason.

[Marian]

I don't understand why we need to have descriptions at all. It has nothing at all to do with the game mechanics and doesn't even really effect roleplaying.

Or at least I seem to be able to interact and roleplay perfectly fine with chars every single day without knowing how there players picture them. What the hell does it matter? Give people the freedom to imagine them however they want.

I guess next someone's going to be suggesting recorded dialogue so that everyone is forced to sound a certain way too?

Oh yes, and of course loud people aren't alowed to whisper, just like really thin people can only hold ten kilos and pale people take damage when they work on projects outside too long and short people can't reach any trees to gather fruit and fat people can't fit through doors. We all love it when the game mechanics take over for us, right?!

[Chris Johnson]

I don't understand why we need to have descriptions at all. It has nothing at all to do with the game mechanics and doesn't even really effect roleplaying.

To quote phalynx from earlier , finally the voice of sanity . I like the fact that that I've built a mental picture of both the characters I play and the ones I interact with - it may not be what the other person thinks of my characters or their own but it's a reality which works for me , I don't want to have something taken away from my imagination . Thank you Marian

[SekoETC]

Why do we need....? So that we would know if they're from "around here" or not! So that if people from another language group arrive, they would look alien to you and you would be more inclined to think that they don't understand you than that they're people of your own language group who just don't want to speak to you.

[Marian]

So this all comes down to being able to tell language groups apart then?

Well I would think there would be some way to do that without making dramatic changes to screw over all characters everywhere, even ones who aren't likely to ever come across a person who speaks a different language or at the very least are capable of using IG methods to figure out that gee, maybe, just maybe this person is speaking gibberish and dropping strange maps containing gibberish has a boat with a strange name because they're from some place different then us? (And if they're not speaking maybe they're mute, maybe they're rude, maybe they're sleeping...what's wrong with having a little uncertainty there for your chars to deal with and letting them figure things out for themselves?

There's been lots of different language groups meeting already and they seem to have done just fine without the game telling their players that "hey, this other guy looks different then you. Oh and by the way this is how YOU look and you're stuck with it forever, so deal with it."