GM Lounge - Bartenders Answer All Your Questions

Started by HockeyGod, January 02, 2012, 03:16:41 PM

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TheGlyphstone

#200
Yeah, that's what I meant. If I had GM privileges for this forum and I went and edited your post there, it would no longer say

« Last Edit: Today at 02:44:33 PM by Chrystal »

But would instead be replaced by

[<<Last Edit: Today at 2:56:34 PM by TheGlyphstone >>]

Unless there is some way to track all edits done to a post, you can only see the most-recent edit timestamp.

Chrystal

True enough. But the point is, if a player edits their post, then it will always show

Quote« Last Edit: Today at 19:44:33 by Chrystal »

(Incidentally, Glyph, that puts you five hours behind me, in US Eastern Standard Time.)

You don't need to know how many times they've edited it, only that they have. This is where having the char-sheet PMed to you rather than allowing them to post it themselves for approval is an advantage - unless you take a copy of everyone's sheet and save it in a document somewhere - if they are sent via PM you automatically have a record of the sheet as it was originally, so if it has been edited, you can compare it. And GM status gives you the ability to edit it back, I believe?

Please check out my latest A/A post.
I would rather watch a movie then have dinner than have dinner then watch a movie!

TheGlyphstone

Quote from: Chrystal on January 28, 2012, 02:37:24 PM
True enough. But the point is, if a player edits their post, then it will always show

(Incidentally, Glyph, that puts you five hours behind me, in US Eastern Standard Time.)

You don't need to know how many times they've edited it, only that they have. This is where having the char-sheet PMed to you rather than allowing them to post it themselves for approval is an advantage - unless you take a copy of everyone's sheet and save it in a document somewhere - if they are sent via PM you automatically have a record of the sheet as it was originally, so if it has been edited, you can compare it. And GM status gives you the ability to edit it back, I believe?

Yeah, but my point was more that if you look at the 'last timestamp' and it doesn't show the co-GM, that means that it has been edited by the player since said co-GM last looked at it. What edits were made aren't visible, but you know it was done. Which is all that's necessary, in the end.

LunarSage

I know I sure don't want to spend a lot of my free time checking people's sheets to see if they've been edited.  In my view at least, it's easier to just post them up myself after the player PMs the sheet to me.  That way I know the sheets aren't being altered behind my back.

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Chrystal

Quote from: TheGlyphstone on January 28, 2012, 03:03:09 PM
Yeah, but my point was more that if you look at the 'last timestamp' and it doesn't show the co-GM, that means that it has been edited by the player since said co-GM last looked at it. What edits were made aren't visible, but you know it was done. Which is all that's necessary, in the end.

Uh... I think we are actually in agreement then? Because that was my point too! ;)

Quote from: LunarSage on January 28, 2012, 03:05:52 PM
I know I sure don't want to spend a lot of my free time checking people's sheets to see if they've been edited.  In my view at least, it's easier to just post them up myself after the player PMs the sheet to me.  That way I know the sheets aren't being altered behind my back.

Same here!

Please check out my latest A/A post.
I would rather watch a movie then have dinner than have dinner then watch a movie!

TheGlyphstone

Ok, so we all agree then. Bacon for everybody!

Sasha


ummmm ...Bacon sounds good .  I 'll make the toast .....BLT's sound perfect .

Chrystal


Please check out my latest A/A post.
I would rather watch a movie then have dinner than have dinner then watch a movie!

Josietta


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Sasha

 We have several players at different posting speeds which can lead to bog down as I call it ...as the new players entering the game try and find a niche to fit in with the group . I try to put one of my characters or that of another GM with the incoming character ...to help establish a base of others to get involved with . Sometimes that works ...others well they seem to not want to stand on their own two feet . Kind of like leading a horse to water but you can't make them drink type thing .

Working backstory intermingles in at the character sheet entry stage is kind of fun as well ...gives some sort of history with another character prior to coming on the scene .

I try to keep the main rooms of the lodge on the current time setting ...and leave the outer areas , private rooms etc to be at whatever pace the two individuals playing wish to proceed at . Then as they re-enter into the main rooms they just do a time jump post to catch up . It works most of the time ...though I am always worried about losing people who get trapped waiting on another to post.

Moving time is always difficult ...least to me it seems the most challenging .  As I don't want to take away another's opportunity to continue their scene in progress but sometimes the group needs to move forward .

Currently we are at three ...Morning ...Afternoon and Evening time slots . So far it seems to be working okay enough .

Aiden

Quote from: TheGlyphstone on January 27, 2012, 08:35:52 AM
How do people handle players who want to import or re-use pre-existing characters, rather than creating a new character for the story? Sometimes, it's entirely appropriate - primarily for just ordinary human beings and RPs centered around the real world. In this case, though, I'm co-running a freeform superhero RP where the average power level of costumed heroes is somewhere between Watchmen and Classic X-Men. One prospective player, though, is trying to bring in what is apparently a superpowered character of his from a previous such RP where either there was no restrictions on power, or the typical power level was in the area of cosmic/Justice League. To complicate things a little bit, the character was negotiated and approved at a lower power level, but sometime between being approved and being moved to the Characters thread, his sheet sprouted about 4 new powers, some of which are significant gamechangers if not gamebreakers. What's the best way to handle this?

The GM nerf Bat.  XD

bubby


Chrystal

Yeah, just use a bat.



Um.. am I missing something here?

Please check out my latest A/A post.
I would rather watch a movie then have dinner than have dinner then watch a movie!

HockeyGod


Chrystal


Please check out my latest A/A post.
I would rather watch a movie then have dinner than have dinner then watch a movie!


Chrystal

So I take it everyone approves of using a flying rodent to control wayward character submissions?

I just want to be absolutely clear on this point, before I take this advice to heart...

Please check out my latest A/A post.
I would rather watch a movie then have dinner than have dinner then watch a movie!

HockeyGod

As a GM you need to utilize tools that you feel will work ;)

Chrystal

Okay, speaking of which, I would like to raise a topic for discussion that crept into the "world building thread".

E is an English only site, but some times a roleplay requires the use of foreign languages.

I've used a number of different ways of doing this.

1) Utilisez "Google Translate" pour traduire l'anglais dans la langue que vous voulez, puis ajouter une traduction après, en italique. Use "Google Translate" to translate the English into the language you want, then add a translation after, in italics. (Using Google Translate it is always best to translate the translation back into English, otherwise you could give someone who knows the language a really good giggle).

2) La même chose, mais utiliser une note de mettre la traduction à la fin du post.1

3) Use different colours to denote different languages. I've found this one works best in a one-on-one where a lot of different languages are being used, but I've only ever tried it once in a group game.

4) The universal translator. Great in any sci-fi or cyberpunk game, and can also be used in fantasy settings. Basically everyone in the known universe speaks English (Except Americans) (*kidding*) and they can all understand each other. Unfortunately, this one doesn't work in present day or historical settings.




[1] The same, but use a note to the translation at the end of post.

Please check out my latest A/A post.
I would rather watch a movie then have dinner than have dinner then watch a movie!

HockeyGod

These are all good ideas. I really like #3. Depending on the dialogue, it could get labor intensive to translate everything.

I have also seen:

5) Utilizing the "Help" forum to ask for a translation. This probably can't be used over and over again, but for a single translation it seems to work.

LunarSage

Alright, someone please tell me I'm not alone at being frustrated by this. 

(Note, I'm not talking about anyone in particular... just the general trend)

One Day Love Stories...

This happens a -lot- in group games.  You'll have two characters who have absolutely no history together, who just meet when game starts.  They hit it off and are interested in one another.  That's awesome.  They sleep together, look into one another's eyes and say "I love you"... which would be fine if in game, only a freaking day had passed since they met.  To me, this is ridiculously unrealistic.  Real people don't fall in love in one day.  It takes time to develop real feelings for someone. 

Now I realize that there is an artificial perception of far more time passing due to forum posts taking weeks to months to get past a single day, but I really wish players would look at things from an in character perspective.  Yes I know it's an adult RP site and yes I know people are eager to have their characters get into relationships, but I think giving it at least a month for characters to develop genuine feelings isn't too much to ask.

Am I alone in this thinking?

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HockeyGod

Yes, I hear you on that one. I think it's why many games start with relationships pre-planned and move forward in the RP. Sometimes jumps forward in time help, but they can be tricky.

Thufir Hawat

Quote from: Chrystal on January 31, 2012, 05:32:37 PM
Okay, speaking of which, I would like to raise a topic for discussion that crept into the "world building thread".

E is an English only site, but some times a roleplay requires the use of foreign languages.

I've used a number of different ways of doing this.

1) Utilisez "Google Translate" pour traduire l'anglais dans la langue que vous voulez, puis ajouter une traduction après, en italique. Use "Google Translate" to translate the English into the language you want, then add a translation after, in italics. (Using Google Translate it is always best to translate the translation back into English, otherwise you could give someone who knows the language a really good giggle).

2) La même chose, mais utiliser une note de mettre la traduction à la fin du post.1

3) Use different colours to denote different languages. I've found this one works best in a one-on-one where a lot of different languages are being used, but I've only ever tried it once in a group game.

4) The universal translator. Great in any sci-fi or cyberpunk game, and can also be used in fantasy settings. Basically everyone in the known universe speaks English (Except Americans) (*kidding*) and they can all understand each other. Unfortunately, this one doesn't work in present day or historical settings.




[1] The same, but use a note to the translation at the end of post.
I prefer either the text-based or tag-based method, which you haven't listed ;).
Text-based is "and he added in Italian (text in English/Russian/whatever the main language of the game)".

Tag-based is writing the original language, et ensuite on ajoute la traduction dans un "tag".
translation
And then you add the translation in a tag.

Quote from: LunarSage on January 31, 2012, 08:06:13 PM
Alright, someone please tell me I'm not alone at being frustrated by this. 

(Note, I'm not talking about anyone in particular... just the general trend)

One Day Love Stories...

This happens a -lot- in group games.  You'll have two characters who have absolutely no history together, who just meet when game starts.  They hit it off and are interested in one another.  That's awesome.  They sleep together, look into one another's eyes and say "I love you"... which would be fine if in game, only a freaking day had passed since they met.  To me, this is ridiculously unrealistic.  Real people don't fall in love in one day.  It takes time to develop real feelings for someone. 
Really, they don't? Are you claiming I'm not a real person or what ;D?
Mind you, I'm not claiming that it's smart to fall for someone you barely know. But if it hasn't happened to you, doesn't mean it doesn't happen to others. And my characters don't always do the smartest, most cautious thing out there.
I might even have the nagging feeling something is not going to end well for them. They'd do it all the same. And I'm going to enjoy it :P!

As an aside, your post reminds me of a story I was told on another forum. A GM asked his group to make "realistic" characters for their next game. They did, he looked at the skills and equipment, and sighed in desperation.
"Real people don't have practice in shooting and don't own so many guns!"
Then he realised he had just uttered the above line in front of a group consisting mostly of NRA members, IIRC, a police officer, a gun collector, and a couple hunters, each owning several shotguns >:)!
He really, really should have asked them to make less combat-ready characters instead of "realistic" ones ;).
Same thing here. I wouldn't have laughed so much at your post if you had asked why most characters aren't cautious. But "that's unrealistic" just had me LOLing for real.
"There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio,
Than are dreamt of in your philosophy"
(Hamlet, Act 1 Scene 5, by William Shakespeare).
8-)

And if you ask why the characters aren't more cautious, I have a simple answer to that one, too.
Because we play characters that would be fun to play. That doesn't mean we always have to play characters that fall for someone the day after they had sex, or after just a date with no sex. But playing them is an option.
Is this kind of people going to feature in stories here disproportionately more often than you meet them IRL? Sure. But then, pick any action-based game on E., and you're likely to notice the main characters are disproportionately more often to risk life and limb than a random selection of 100 people ;). And if you go for a superhero or fantasy story, you're certain to notice that people there exhibit magical or superpowers disproportionately more often than they do IRL.
TL;dr we don't make stories for the statistical averages, but specific people. And these might deviate quite significantly from the norm ;D!
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LunarSage

Meh.  I disagree quite a bit, Thufir... but I really don't want to start a huge debate that I am nowhere near eloquent enough to properly defend my stance on.  I guess we'll leave it at that.  *shrugs*

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Thufir Hawat

As long as you agree I'm a real person, I'm fine if we disagree on the rest ;D!
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