Being a newspawn, if you only knew what it's like...

[rconley]

I (OOCly) am glad that Ceddric is dead. Too much of a game mechanic person (to the point where it makes you look like a douchebag as a player) and not very pleasant to roleplay with in my honest opinion.

Ugh.....again. I've said this before.... If your opinion is to specifically insult another player / character keep it to yourself. It doesn't belong here. This could very easily be reworded, so that it isn't seen as an attack on someone specifically and still get your point across

[Dudel]

I miss Ceddric both IC and OOC and there is NOTHING WRONG with playing by mechanics. JEBUS!

Wiro... QUIT SAYING "YOU CAN'T" ALREADY! Take that behavior AWAY from Cantr and bring it to a place where they enjoy it. I call "that place" FTO.

Let people play how they want to. Please don't make me start attacking what you "claim" as RP. Cause I could have a FREAKING FIELD DAY with your "stuff".

(This goes for ANYONE with a similar thought and I am NOT "agreeing with" or "saying the same thing as".)

But yeah... it kinda does suck to be a newspawn.

It sucks being a newspawn even after playing for X amount of time. It might suck more because you "pray for a good spawn" so that "character X" will have a better chance of survival.

Sometimes I wish I could skip the first 10 Cantr years of a characters life BUT at the same time that is kinda when the character is built. I mean... after about age Cantr 35 the personality is set unless something drastic happens.

[Slowness_Incarnate]

I don't see what is so bad about having a newspawn in some towns, because I know that most of the one's I'm in there are ample opportunities to gain the only two things that newspawns want these days : iron and steel.

Edit: In addition...do we not treat most newspawns just like inexperienced people looking for jobs? Do we not treat newspawns the same way a bank looks at someone who has no credit and wants a loan? Its the same stigma.

[*Wiro]

Wow. Dudel, seriously, calm down. You really need to sit back and relax instead of going OMGG WTF YOU NEED TO "THIS" on every single thing you don't like.

If you would read before spazzing, you'd see I said I was talking about the player doing so to the point where it makes you plain annoying and mean. Such as ignoring anything that wasn't supported by the game mechanics and forcing this on others, creating very awkward situations.

Ugh.....again. I've said this before.... If your opinion is to specifically insult another player / character keep it to yourself. It doesn't belong here. This could very easily be reworded, so that it isn't seen as an attack on someone specifically and still get your point across

Alright, the douchebag insult was unnecessary, but it wasn't an attack at all.

Edit: In addition...do we not treat most newspawns just like inexperienced people looking for jobs? Do we not treat newspawns the same way a bank looks at someone who has no credit and wants a loan? Its the same stigma.

Hah, yes, totally. But there's also those places that - even when they are hostile - embrace newspawns with open arms.

[SekoETC]

Edit: In addition...do we not treat most newspawns just like inexperienced people looking for jobs? Do we not treat newspawns the same way a bank looks at someone who has no credit and wants a loan? Its the same stigma.

There are good reasons not to trust newspawns. You never know which ones are going to die. The player hasn't invested that much to them so they're less likely to feel like "I can't delete my account/let my account time out/go inactive and let my characters sleep until they starve because there are so many people who would be disappointed, so many things that would fall apart without me, so much chaos."

Actually it's pretty weird that players can manage to have time to post here on the forums repeatedly about how they have to quit playing due to rl reasons, yet they won't bother to rp their characters falling into a coma/falling ill/dropping dead. Even if the players knew, characters won't know how to react because it just seems like people simply continue to sleep when they were active in the past or then they just suffer a heart attack out of the blue. A simple "I don't feel so good..." would be sufficient, there's no need to write huge blocks of rp with each character, especially if you didn't previously play them with elaborate detail. If someone barely even spoke, it would be okay to just let them drop dead without a move or a word, but if your character has had time to make friends, you should think about how the CHARACTER feels about letting them down, not just how their players will be disappointed when you quit.

Certain rather long term player who recently quit had very promising newspawns, (my characters knew two of them, both were very busily working towards their personal goals and convincing people that they're not planning to die any time soon), but the player had to quit due to real life reasons. One of these characters had purchased a building from my character and I think she told him, or at least was supposed to tell him not to die inside because she doesn't have a copy of the key - yet, there would have been a project for copying the key inside the house, but even though he seemed like a sane person, she was smart enough not to go into a lockable building with a stranger because the truth is if he had tried to do something bad to her, no matter how unlikely given the character's personality, there would've been a big risk of not getting out alive or having to give away all keys to avoid getting killed, which would practically ruin the town. So I see on the forums that the player is quitting. I'm not all sure if the character was in town at the time but he surely didn't come to my character to inform he was feeling unwell, which means he either died in his house and we'll eventually have to bust the lock or he died some place else and dropped the key, meaning anyone could pick it up. And there were potentially dangerous items on repair inside, that's why it needed to be locked while they were worked on. So if even a newspawn played by an oldbie dies without bothering to inform someone who trusted them, what hope do we have for newspawns played by new players who have never had a commitment to the game in the first place? And there's no sure way of telling oldbies and newbies apart. Some people are talented roleplayers while newbies to Cantr, and I've seen some people in their sixties or eighties whose talking is written so awfully that it would make any language teacher shake one's head. I just generally tend to make the assumption that characters whose speaking is well written are also played by more dedicated players, because they're putting visible effort into it.

[Genevieve]

Started a charrie, and followed my mom's suggestion on personality lol.

We shall see how it goes.

[Aesuna]

I am an actual newbie, so I guess I'll post my experiences so far. None of my characters have reached their 21st birthday yet.

Character #1:
Spawned in a populous, semi-active (lots of people, most of them sleepers), and friendly location just after a large cultural event. A pretty unexceptional personality: Kind, non-combative, eager to please, etc. She was greeted almost immediately, welcomed, and given food. I spent some time making a few items but never really got into the game, and she sort of drifted to the background. Probably my fault. Found some of the town's more limiting laws and the strict control over all of the machines irritating, broke them mildly because of it, but was never unjustly punished. Not a terrible character, good to learn on, but not one I get excited about when new events pop up.

Character #2:
Spawned in a much smaller area, with mostly silent people, but a few interesting faces. He was greeted by one of the bitchiest characters I have ever met. My character argued a lot, ruffled some feathers, but was never killed, just yelled back at. Would probably have made for more interest if the people were more talkative, but not a terrible place for a newspawn.

Character #3:
Spawned in another pretty populated town. She was greeted and welcomed into the community, quickly given food and introductions. This one had a goal and a profession in mind, and was eventually set up with a mentor and was always offered work when she needed it. Still, her personality was a bit blah (my fault, of course) but it's not at all because of the other people.

Character #4:
By this time I was really wanderlusting, having never had a character who left their spawn point. So, for this character, as she was never acknowledged in the slightest, I simply grabbed some food and started walking. So far a bit boring, even in the towns I've stopped and interacted with. By far the most fun I've had is giving them silly names. I've still got hope for this one once she settles down.

Character #5:
My first character with a few interesting quirks and the first character I've had where it actually excited me to see the name light up. An extremely shy character, and a bit of an (unintentional) lawbreaker, she was spawned in a relatively quiet and boring town but was eventually tracked down hiding in a cottage by a very friendly native, who gave her food and support. Still no clear place to go with this one, and the going is slow, but she's the first one who got me really interested.

Character #6
By far my favorite character as it stands. He spawned in a nearly deserted town with little resources or food production, immediately after a bloody coup, to find the murderer eagerly trying to lock up every item in the location in the only building. He was then was offered food if he helped make the lock that could very well mean his death and eventual starvation... but hell, it's not like he had much choice. So he helped, got food, and eventually joined up with the murderer (with another young person). I -still- get excited when I see this name light up. An only slightly developed town means there's lots of stuff that he can do to directly help out and contribute. The constant threat of danger from the overzealous good guys keeps it exciting, though I know I won't like it as much when a bored guy waltzes in and kills us all. The two others are very wakeful as well, and fun to play with, and I'm always wondering if I'll be the next one to be stabbed in the back. I really hope I get more characters that end up like this guy.

Character #7:
Another of my favorites, though she didn't start out that way. The town seemed pretty dead, not a single greeting, and I was bored out of my mind. Then someone died, someone with really nice shit. Well, my character took that shit, which happened to include a key, then cheerfully waltzed into a building and began her new and glamorous life of 'taking another guy's spot'. This was exciting too, as I had no idea if I'd have to fight my way out of this when someone else would undoubtedly have another key or pick the lock. When it finally happened, instead of rushing in with a mob of steel battle-axe wielding friends, the person calmly walked in and questioned her, then eventually allowed her to keep the stuff and continue her work as long as she wasn't wasteful and she benefited the town. THANK YOU! Seriously, thank you! This turned what I was expecting to be a fast and stupid death into a sudden purposeful role, as well as the privilege to have her own private place. This is what I'm looking for as a newbie.

Character #8:
Was spawned in a small, undeveloped area with a group of 4 other relatively young people who also happen to be sorta active. Currently working to help develop the town alongside one of the more talkative ones. Again, feeling like they can contribute helps a lot with my enjoyment and helps me feel needed. Good character with a lot of potential.

Character #9:
But of course, all good things must come to an end. This character spawned in a place with two very active people. They're good roleplayers, eager to involve newspawns, and friendly as well. It just sucks that they're two of the most absolutely irritating, stereotypical, and offensive personalities to me, OOCly. My character enjoys them and their company, but I as a player inwardly shudder when the name lights up. This isn't their fault, of course, as they worked hard to integrate my character into the community and I really appreciate that.

Character #10:
Another character with a lot of potential that I'm enjoying. Spawned in a town just after it was pillaged and completely wiped out, but her spawning coincided with a time when a group from a nearby town was stopping by to see what happened. Was greeted by one of them, and quickly got recruited to come back with them. Very friendly and awesome to a newbie.

Character #11:
Spawned, was never greeted, ended up working alone in a building... boring, but she's brand new so I still have hope for her yet.


In conclusion...

Things that I really appreciated as a newbie:
- Being offered work, especially important things! I like to be involved and the more I feel I can do, the more likely I'll check in and be wakeful. You can pay me in food, come on!
- Not being killed! Give me the benefit of the doubt first and try to give me a reason to change my law-forgetful ways. Few people want to bother with following rules in a place they don't care about.
- Being noticed and included by active players. It really gives me a reason to constantly check and see what new stuff is going on.
- Being involved in conflicts that aren't "let's kill the newspawn!" Happy Bunny Fun-Land can get old fast, but so can BLOODTHIRSTY MURDERERS YARRRR. Don't be afraid to be my character's rival or something!
- In a sandboxish game like Cantr, some people have a hard time setting goals for themselves, so it helps if a more established member of the community sort of nudges them in that direction and gives them a little help every now and then.

[*Wiro]

I am curious what was OOCly annoying about the personalities for character 9, mind sharing? Oh and I don't think I've ever met any of your characters. Yet.

[Aesuna]

You probably haven't, though I tried to be vague.

The OOCly annoying thing is sort of a caricaturization that you usually only see in things like sit-coms and bad comedy movies. It's more of a pet peeve that I really can't fault them too much on, as they've been great other than that, but it grates on me as a player.

But it's their character's personality, and my character has nothing against it. I'm slowly getting used to it, though, so it's not all that bad!

[Arenti]

I have one char that helps lead a large town... He is only 25.... So if you play good enough and your char is trustworthy and active... There are chances for a new spawn.

[Marian]

I have one char that helps lead a large town... He is only 25.... So if you play good enough and your char is trustworthy and active... There are chances for a new spawn.

Oh, absolutely. One of the ones I was complaining about a little earlier in the thread has now talked themselves into the ownership of a business, at less than a year old.

[Arenti]

It might be mostly because I'm really active, but all my chars have an interesting life... Even my younger ones... As long as you get involved in the town and not just wait for someone to talk with you, your char will most likely get an interesting life.... Yes I also had a char in a town that didn't really have a interesting life but that changed... You should not just give up just because some years of his or her life might be boring.

The most important is to get involved in the town. Do not wait for others to say something, as they might be waiting for you to say something.

[*Wiro]

Don't be afraid of death. Sometimes you mess up and die, but other times that risky possibility can turn out great! I've lost a lot of characters like this. Some at the start, some further down the road (30+ year olds), and if you put the effort into it even failure can be fun.

[Chasing Dingoes]

I'm a fairly new player. My oldest charater recently turned 24. I'll tell you what I remember about my interaction side of things.

1st character
it was mainly quite for a while. my only main contact was someone who was only once a day at the cusp of me going offline. The place got busier but I was able to interact with other people though not enough to feel part of the place. Evenually I made a few local friends but the place has quieted down to almost a standstill. I tried to push there to little avail so now I trying a bigger more extreme push to get something happening.

2nd character
I was instantly welcomed and giving the basics of what I need. Interaction was a bit slower. As I as struggling to get interaction with 1 I pushed earlier from character 2 and got in to the community quicker. After all character 1 was meant to be my learning basis

3rd character
This was really some luck. Moment I spawned I was whisked away to settle in a small settlement.

4th character
Interaction in my spawn place wasn't instant so I moved almost dying. By the time I got to the second place my character wasn't right in the head and was one of those characters that maramite-y. Interaction in the second place was better, problem was that character really was doing my head in so I had her - in her own special and in character way - end her life. It was not due to the interaction but the character herself and I kept her ic all the way.

5th character
Another lucky character to spawn where people were needed though i believe how active and interactive I was done me/my character favours in the town leader's eyes.

6th character
This one is 3ish ingame years younger than my others but not an instant replacement to the 4th. Spawned in a quiet place. I believe to already be 'part of the community'. There are quiet times and they are less quiet times.

That's it.

However I like to add that one of my characters have came across someone who has spent years on his/her own alone in a place. I as a player think this shows the decation to the character and role playing and hope in simillar situation I would be as true to my character.

As for older players pretending to be new to the game, if you're going to do it, do it well. My biggest newbie problem was not knowing how to do someone else's project. No one went out of the way to explain it to me ooc though I'm pretty sure it was blindingly obvious and I had to work out out on my own but the characters invovled that could have helped me ooc remained in character and interacting with me as if my character was just stupid/self righteously interpendant whatever. I, personally, found that better. It was fursatrating but i got that 'YAY!' feeling when I worked it out on my own, i felt it was truer to the character that she didn't just instantly changed how she did things and I see the characters as the characters and not the paternal 'now this is how things are done' guide figures of an older player.

I want to thank everyone who made my time on Cantr so far so wonderful but you don't know who you are (with 1 exception) so I'll try to give you wonderful time back instead.

[SekoETC]

I think if a newspawn asks in character "how can I help you?" or something similar, it's also good to try to explain it IC, even though going straight to OOC would be easier and faster. When I was a newbie, I did figure out how to join someone else's project but what I didn't know is that the outcome isn't automatically shared between the workers, so I was just lucky that my character got compensation for her work. Some characters would be likely to say "You didn't ask if I wanted your help and now you expect to get paid? No way." But especially if it's a newspawn who's played by a newbie, they haven't yet learned the value of things OOC so they could be happy over getting a bone knife. I think a lot of people use OOC knowledge to define it's a rip-off to be required to work for bone tools when bones are found lying around. So a newbie-ish mentality where you're happy for anything you can get could be better for the economy.