The time thing isn't the only area where I hear a lot of mixed messages, either, or game canon that doesn't make a lot of internal sense. Like if no one can tell what time it is, why are there specific times listed out on the wiki for when each specific food will go bad? And shoes. Why does Stacy provide full-body clothing in the form of plantsuits, but not shoes, which are an incredibly valuable form of protective clothing that prevents you from getting feet full of glass or rusty nails? Doesn't she want to prevent the crew from getting nasty infections? And if shoes aren't provided, wouldn't that be the very first item of clothing the crew would try to make/acquire? Why are shoes specifically pointed out as something very rare when they're so very necessary? Don't the crew care if they get tetanus?
While we're all getting this out into the open, though, I'd also like to touch on something Camille mentioned: how hard it is to get information related to The Plot. Back during the Lirath battle, I volunteered to do some NPCing to help move the plot along (in the space battle, since everyone had forgotten to get someone to NPC that log), and was promised that I would be provided details about who I would be RPing, the settings I'd be required to establish, the type of Ohm I'd be NPCing, the size of various Ohm attack waves, and so on. But when plot time rolled around, no one had given me any of the details I needed. I had to actively pester people to get this information. And this was information I needed, for a plot I was NPCing for, not a player plot that had no real impact on The Plot.
I know we've been encouraged to explore the setting as well as get involved in the plot, but I’ve found that in practice, I’ve been discouraged from doing so. The thing is, I hear conflicting answers to the same questions from different mods, and back when I asked far more questions than I do now, I often felt like I was being brushed off or treated as a nuisance. I kept hearing “I don’t know” or "ask [other mod]", which gives me the impression that there are only one or two mods that know the details about any particular aspect of the setting or plot. Why can't more than one mod answer questions about the Daligig? Why can't more than one mod answer questions about the comms? How come when they can answer questions, the answers are all different? Do the mods talk to each other? Do the mods know the setting? Why don’t the mods ask other mods these questions so that all the mods can answer the same questions and players don’t have to hunt for one specific person to be online?
I keep feeling like we’re encouraged to explore the City or The Plot, but not provided the kind of information we need to actually do it. And when there’s something my character would do that might actually affect what’s going on and matter – fighting back against the Daligig on the ship, for instance – I hear "that wouldn’t work" or "it would fail". Or sometimes "that won't work and also we can't tell you why." Are we supposed to engage with the plot, or sit back and let it run along its rail? I mean, if there are some kind of magical words I need to say to get Ye Flask (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/YouCantGetYeFlask?from=Main.ptitlei9fyz80ocg6y), I don't know what they are. And I can either continue along with my CR and not affect the plot, or sit there trying to figure out why on Earth I can’t get Ye Flask, and out of the two of those, #1 has been more appealing.
no subject
While we're all getting this out into the open, though, I'd also like to touch on something Camille mentioned: how hard it is to get information related to The Plot. Back during the Lirath battle, I volunteered to do some NPCing to help move the plot along (in the space battle, since everyone had forgotten to get someone to NPC that log), and was promised that I would be provided details about who I would be RPing, the settings I'd be required to establish, the type of Ohm I'd be NPCing, the size of various Ohm attack waves, and so on. But when plot time rolled around, no one had given me any of the details I needed. I had to actively pester people to get this information. And this was information I needed, for a plot I was NPCing for, not a player plot that had no real impact on The Plot.
I know we've been encouraged to explore the setting as well as get involved in the plot, but I’ve found that in practice, I’ve been discouraged from doing so. The thing is, I hear conflicting answers to the same questions from different mods, and back when I asked far more questions than I do now, I often felt like I was being brushed off or treated as a nuisance. I kept hearing “I don’t know” or "ask [other mod]", which gives me the impression that there are only one or two mods that know the details about any particular aspect of the setting or plot. Why can't more than one mod answer questions about the Daligig? Why can't more than one mod answer questions about the comms? How come when they can answer questions, the answers are all different? Do the mods talk to each other? Do the mods know the setting? Why don’t the mods ask other mods these questions so that all the mods can answer the same questions and players don’t have to hunt for one specific person to be online?
I keep feeling like we’re encouraged to explore the City or The Plot, but not provided the kind of information we need to actually do it. And when there’s something my character would do that might actually affect what’s going on and matter – fighting back against the Daligig on the ship, for instance – I hear "that wouldn’t work" or "it would fail". Or sometimes "that won't work and also we can't tell you why." Are we supposed to engage with the plot, or sit back and let it run along its rail? I mean, if there are some kind of magical words I need to say to get Ye Flask (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/YouCantGetYeFlask?from=Main.ptitlei9fyz80ocg6y), I don't know what they are. And I can either continue along with my CR and not affect the plot, or sit there trying to figure out why on Earth I can’t get Ye Flask, and out of the two of those, #1 has been more appealing.