What is the point????

[Wooist]

What exactly is the point of this game? I build, trade, create only to have a life's work wiped out and to be murdered by pirates and criminals, over and over and over. Of 15 characters, five have been murdered, one is currently being attacked and having a raker stolen and another is in the process of being murdered AGAIN having only been respawned less than a month ago. I break no laws, I start no fights. What is the point of working for a decade (I have not yet managed to live past 30) only to have it all stolen?

[Mr. Black]

Oh, jeez, I know who you are, then. Please don't leave! My char needs you!

[lordcooper]

What exactly is the point of this life? I build, trade, create only to have a life's work wiped out and to be murdered by pirates and criminals

[Mr. Black]

Wow, right on the point, cooper. Not only does it apply to real life, but it also applies to Cantr, doesn't it? In Cantr, we live out the lives that we aren't able to, or are afraid to, in our real lives. Isn't that true?

[SekoETC]

I'm sorry you have to go that all but sometimes people get unlucky. That's why people should team up with other people, so that if someone attacks your raker, you'll have enough crew to fight back, or you know a town with a police force that can chase the pirates and get your stuff back. Except that sounds like you're going to die there. Have you tried surrendering and telling them your life is worth more than the raker and what's on it?

I've had shit happening to my characters, the first death I ever had in Cantr was due to helping a nice gentleman drag sleepers out of a car - which turned out to be stolen. Some chasers entered while I was offline, and the guy handed me a sword and told me to defend myself. I refused to fight because I had not intentionally done anything wrong, and I counted on them being fair. The next time I logged in, she was dead. They had not given her a trial, she had just been executed due to being in the wrong company.

Also I've had several characters locked up, most of them did nothing wrong at least in their own opinion. But I've been lucky enough not to have a character die in captivity, ever, maybe it's because I write a lot of notes and rp when ever I get the chance. One thing that helps you stay alive is never give up hope. It's a shock when they die but you need to keep thinking you have a right to exist. It's okay to feel angry or sad or frustrated.

The seas and seaside locations are a risky environment, they tend to get more bloodshed than towns without sea access, but also more action in general due to plenty of visitors. If you get tired of getting hit by pirates, you can move inland, build a bike or even a car. Life will be slower but there'll be less risks involved.

[Mr. Black]

I know which character Wooist was talking about and they're not going to die. In fact, they've escaped in a sloop, but the raker was stolen...

[notsure]

*coughsfourdayrulecoughs*

notsure

[chase02]

Well that sucks.

I've only been playing about half the time you have, but I've had one murdered and a couple locked up. I'm beginning to see that although you just want to pack it in when things go wrong, sticking it out with a consistent character and RPing to the best of your ability CAN save you.

Just when I really wanted to suicide a char a few weeks back (could never have done it, though.. wouldn't have made sense forthem), they are now one of my favourites, and things in general are looking up for most of my chars.

Stick it out, for every down there must be an equal up, on the rollercoaster, as it were..

[Idriveayugo]

Well that sucks.
Stick it out, for every down there must be an equal up, on the rollercoaster, as it were..

So true, both in life and cantr.

[Wooist]

I'm not leaving Mr. Black. You have been a true and courageous companion. I will have to stick it out with you and see what happens. *smiles* See you onboard.

As for my other characters, I think as they are murdered off I will leave them dead...

As for those who say this is life, it is not. Life has laws and governments and recourse. I am not consistently murdered and have everything I worked for wiped out every few months. That's just ridiculous. In life you have hardships which must be overcome, but you usually live and grow from those experiences. You do not consistently have to start over with nothing.

[15454]

Over time I think the Cantr lifestyle will just revert to wars everywhere. Governments are weakening and strong groups are emerging here and there. With the drop of players there will be less people in towns and groups will be able to just go around and kill off towns.

[SekoETC]

That's why people should move back into the few big towns that are still left and accept the fact that small (coastal) towns simply aren't safe anymore. Maybe later people can move back when they have a sufficient number of active people ready to defend their home town but if it's just a handful of people who want to lead peaceful lives, the risk is very big.

[Jos Elkink]

As for those who say this is life, it is not. Life has laws and governments and recourse. I am not consistently murdered and have everything I worked for wiped out every few months.

I think here you hit the absolute core of the design of Cantr. This is exactly why this is all happening.

Cantr life is meant to be hard. There will be thieves, killers, pirates, dangerous animals, illnesses, etc. all making it hard for you to survive. And the solution: government! In other words, exactly what Seko suggests: work with others, organize yourself, defend yourself! If there are thieves, set up a police, build a prison, and catch them. If there are pirates, try to build a better defensive system. Maybe move the main town inland and have the coastal location super heavy guarded. Or ... there are many solution.

But you ask

What exactly is the point of this game?

and the answer is exactly that: the point is how cooperation and organization can help you do things, or even survive in harsh environments, where pure individual behavior gets you stuck. There are a zillion different ways of organizing (certainly not all of them would routinely be classified as "government"), but organization you need.

[Gran]

Well, it isn't like life was fair. For those reasons, when a char dies I say "Oh well, he was a nice piece of roleplay" and press the newchar button. I've had chars dying before reaching 35 since my account was created. All fruit of endless warfare, pirating, murderous bastards and annoying bears everywhere.

Most people don't like when a char dies, because they get the feel that "There was something lacking". It's because when a char dies so violently, you don't have time to even make a roleplay of your death. "Wut? Who cares for ruleplay?!". Role-playing the death of your char makes the history of that char complete. It isn't like a interrupted story. You gave it an end, you made it into a complete tale. That's why Seko's aproach is what I think to be the most effective. This is however, the beauty of the game, not the point.

I fear I might have to disagree with Jos because of my personal opinions. Cooperation isn't the main aspect of the chars life. The first aspect, granted by our own selfish natures, is to survive. Cooperation is only a fruit of this survavilist will. No one is obligated to cooperate. But creating somesort of resistance just for the point of resisting is silly. As usual, living in a large group is so easier that you have to be mad to be a lonely char.

The point of the game is not what you reach. It doesn't really matter if you have a stock of crossbows you found and more soldiers than any city in the world. There is no challenge in trying to figure up how to create a crossbow, there isn't any aplication to those soldiers. It is how you make things that matters. How you set up trade agreements, how did you meet your wife, how you defeated the Empire's soldiers or just how you lived your anti-heroic, Babbit like beaurecrat life.

Afterall, this game has it roleplaying aspect. And not for the sake of the roleplay itself. Existance has its twists and stories, and that's what create nice tales. There is no emotion in the phrase "The Seventh Coalition defeated Napoleon in Waterloo", even considering that it changed much of the fate of that century.

Now if you start as "Sunday 18, June 1815. The French Empire has fallen. Its emperor, who once ruled most of Europe is defeated.[...]" and start telling the battle, that's something I would hear.

[viktor]

a lot of it is a matter of chance, you may find yourself inheriting a town, or finding the best trade ventures and becomming wealthy, or you may get dragged off a murdered by bloodusting pirates or bandits.
in terms of an organised safe protected town on the coast to live in..... the social development is thousands of years behind modern day earth, the vast majority of populated towns are independant city states or unregulated territory, there are few large 'countries' much like earth a few thousand years ago. you just gotta find one of those developping nations and stick with it not enough people flow to join or remain in developping countries long enugh to give them the boost they need and is why many of them collapse, some have stood for many years and survived but some curcumstances still cause thier collapse when thier in a period of weakness and underpopulation. organisation, loyalty and determination help nations grow and thrive, if you find one to your liking add yo self