Present
Kellinar Trevellion
Koni Lanzius
Harumi Oanomochi
Zryonotralionxus
Zenon Mistwalker
Shawn Daysleeper
Fifi Wickentower
AelKennyr Rhiano
Summary
Roleplay meters, such as Spellfire, enhance the roleplay by forcing people to eat, rest, be healed of their injuries, and similar realistic activities. Their use extends far beyond deciding the winner in combat.
Do you wear your Spellfire meter all the time, or only during an active RP? That depends on local sim custom. In some sims people wear their meter all the time, in some only during scheduled roleplay sessions, in some only for combat. Some RP sims do not use meters at all. Some sims conduct combat by text, without meters.
Generally, you buy Spellfire (or whatever system) scripted food, weapons, healing potions, and other toys OOC. You should describe in the roleplay things like drawing your weapon, or taking the food out of your pouch. (These should, of course, be items it makes sense for your character to have at the time.)
Animations, such “curtsy”, “wave”, or kneeling to treat an injured comrade, can add interesting visuals to the roleplay. But remember, it is always good roleplay that is important, not the special effects. There is nothing wrong with just describing an item or action.
Pictures included in the RP notecard are nice.
All meters -- in fact all HUDs -- cause sim lag, though some are worse than others. Each user's lag is also strongly influenced by their own computer. (So even if you aren't noticing lag, still be considerate of not adding to the load on the sim.)
Chat repeaters also cause lag. Scripts of any kind increase the sim lag.
You can check your own ARC (Avatar Rendering Cost) at Advanced/Rendering/Info Displays/Avatar Rendering Costs on your menu. On Phoenix viewer, you can right-click yourself and select S.Cost to see how many scripts you are wearing. (It works more reliably if you are not sitting on something.) Resize and Recolor scripts in hair, clothes, and accessories add up quickly. In most cases, you can make a backup copy, then set your clothes (or whatever) the way you want them, and delete the resize scripts. Scripts that are turned off do not cause lag, but with many HUDs the only way to completely turn them off is to remove them.
Taking off your meter may (depending on the system) reset the meter. Resetting your meter in the middle of a RP is, of course, cheating.
> Next
Harumi Oanomochi: Thank you all for coming. Ael can't be with us toniht, as he's working on a sim issue., The lag monsters have struck
Zryonotralionxus is glad it was not his tail this time. . . .
Koni Lanzius: ~**smiles**~
Zryonotralionxus: As we know from last week, none of you know I just thought that =P
Harumi Oanomochi: So, tonight: RP tools. Do you use them? What are they?
Zryonotralionxus: I am curious to as what they are myself, being new to this realm.
Harumi Oanomochi: The obvious one is a combat meter...in our case, SpellFire. Do you have and use it?
Kellinar Trevellion: Mine is in the closet....at the bottom...somewhere.
Koni Lanzius: ~**smiles**~
Harumi Oanomochi: There are pros and cons...many people prefer to RP combat situations.
Harumi Oanomochi: Kell,, hehe
Zryonotralionxus: I do not have, thought I did but I must have eaten it
Zenon Mistwalker smiles
Fifi Wickentower looks up zyron's nostril. Fifi Wickentower tries blowing a small chilly breeze up one
Kellinar Trevellion: blaze might work better
Fifi Wickentower: just a tickle
Harumi Oanomochi: But then there are all those lovely SpellFire toys...swords, staves, food
Kellinar Trevellion: Did you mention food Rumi? How does that work?
Zryonotralionxus blinks
Harumi Oanomochi: SF food when wearing the meter keeps you from starving to death. :-) You also must sit/rest or keel over from time to time
Fifi Wickentower: like a virtual pet? if you don't do things . .they'die'
Zryonotralionxus: Really? How interesting. . .
Kellinar Trevellion: Would that not require wearing the meter at all times? Also...where does one get this food?
Koni Lanzius: stone keep has it
Fifi Wickentower: i have a halloween spellfire cake
Koni Lanzius: ~**smiles**~
Harumi Oanomochi: Yes. :-) You will only have to use SF if we go to Sylvhara or Great Alliance events, but it's available here and listed as part of the RP here in Alqualode.
Kellinar Trevellion: Does that mean a trade to acquire such goods and/or be part of a monetary system?
Harumi Oanomochi: Other rp tools include scripted effects like magical fire in the hands, staffs that emit particles, and medical supplies like bandges and elixirs. Most places don't rp getting tools ...you buy or acquire them OOC, but you should rp having them with you when you use them.
Zenon Mistwalker: these tools would definitely add so much flavor, magic, and interest to spice up the rp :)
Harumi Oanomochi: You can't suddenly have a sword if you were not wearing it, but you can RP pulling out a small item from a bag. Yes...Zenon...the visual is important in 3D RP. Animations that let you kneel at a wounded comrade's side can be very effective. You can put on "wounds" that are worn as clothing. But it's not all combat. All RP can be enhanced with these tools.
Zenon Mistwalker: so the magical items for instance could come out of nowhere...but something like axe, would have to be near or on oneself then ?
Harumi Oanomochi: Yes, Zenon. Do any of you recall an instance where animation, objects, or scripts were used?
Fifi Wickentower: I do notecard rp. The items are in it but it isn't acted out
Zenon Mistwalker: would pose balls be tools,or would rp'ers use animations ?
Fifi Wickentower: there are alot of animations . . bowing, curtsey, kneeling waving . .etc
Harumi Oanomochi: nods at Fifi...still, if you imagine using something, it does not need to be seen...just noted. Pulling an elixir out of a bag and giving it to a character, or using it yourself, even in a nc, can be effective elements in the tale.
Fifi Wickentower: ppl use those . .some use musical instruments, horses
Zenon Mistwalker nods
Harumi Oanomochi: exactly
Fifi Wickentower: oh yes . . . . it can't just apporte
Harumi Oanomochi: smiles. I once handed out cookies that were scripted to inform the eater that they were poisoned. That changed the dynamics. ;-) I had to scrub up a mess once, and had my trusty bucket with animations. In that rp it got IC laughs
Zenon Mistwalker: :)
Harumi Oanomochi: My point is that while used constantly it can be a distraction, using a RP tool can help bring about evolution in the rp very effectively.
{Ael arrives. Greetings}
AelKennyr Rhiano: Sooo. sorry about the incorrect post...tonight was supposed to be rp tools, toys, and other things. Have you guys discussed a common misperceptiong about meters like Spellfire?
Fifi Wickentower: not yet
Harumi Oanomochi: We e talked about SF, but do tell us please
AelKennyr Rhiano: Well, it is common to refer to spellfire as a combat hud, it is not. So is Azora. It is a rp hud. The difference is very fundamental. A combat hud has only one purpose....to be used during a conflict involving weapons or battle of some sort. A rp hud is also used as an aid in everyday rp. That is why spellfire keep tabs on your "health." If it were only a combat hud, it would keep tabs of the hits you take in battle.
Harumi Oanomochi: we did mention that if you don't eat you die. But yes,it can be used to do all sorts of things from healing to introducing drama.
AelKennyr Rhiano: Some rps rely heavily on meters for their everyday rp...others barely use them...so do not at all. Some will conduct battle with text rp.
Fifi Wickentower: how do they affect lag or do they?
Harumi Oanomochi: I'm finding that here meters are not often used, but anything that adds to the overall ambiance of the tale should be considered.
Fifi Wickentower: i like when a picture is included with the nc
AelKennyr Rhiano: They vary very much on how much lag they cause. Spellfire is notorious for causing lag, and is not a good choice, overall, for a homestead.
Fifi Wickentower nods. Is it something that should be worn 24/7 or can it be worn only when doing the actual rp
Harumi Oanomochi: Fifi, not SpellFire and Azora. Others like CCS and DCS2 have their own servers and are lag producers.
AelKennyr Rhiano: There are others that purport to be less laggy and better for a homestead, but they are not well known, and so it is hard to get people who are already familiar with a popular "standard" to chance.
AelKennyr Rhiano: "Should", Fifi, depends upon the custom of the rp you are in.
Fifi Wickentower: but any meter . . . my question is if one uses a hud that registers health etc . . does one wear it 24/7, or does one lose the settings if it is removed
Harumi Oanomochi: settings are saved, Fifi, and you need only wear it when rping calls for it.
Fifi Wickentower: thank you :)
Zenon Mistwalker: are they improving as time goes on, or are they getting more complex and laggy ?
AelKennyr Rhiano: Wait, please. Spellfire DOES produce lag. So does Azora.
Harumi Oanomochi: but not as much as others...any hud will produce some lag, but not nearly as much as those that communicate with their own central server and handshake with the SL servers.
AelKennyr Rhiano: Pardon me for contradicing you, Harumi. DCS is notorious for lag, yes I agree. I have never used CCS
Fifi Wickentower: i have been on sims where everyone is wearing spellfire or something else and notice a distinct slowing
AelKennyr Rhiano: Let me ask a question....why do you never take off your hud if the rp calls for a hud to be worn in the middle of the rp?
Fifi Wickentower: waits
AelKennyr Rhiano: Someone....anyone?
AelKennyr Rhiano: anyone?
Fifi Wickentower: idk
AelKennyr Rhiano smiles. The hud resets
Fifi Wickentower: ahha!!!! that was my question!!!!
AelKennyr Rhiano: If you put it back on...the hud resets.
Fifi Wickentower: I knew it!!!!
AelKennyr Rhiano: nod nod nod So, in the middle of rp, that would be "cheating"
Zenon Mistwalker: i understand :)
Fifi Wickentower: :P
AelKennyr Rhiano: So....if you are in a rp that uses the hud as part of the rp structure or environment....you don't want to take it off during the rp.
Fifi Wickentower: i have another question then :)
Harumi Oanomochi: Believe me, I've been in battle in Syvhara and Ithildor with high prims like dragons and elaborate weapns and 30 combatants, and you can actually move around whereas that situation in CCS & DCS wuld be imposible to carry on. Parts of the meter do reset if you remove them...some don't but damage and heath do..
AelKennyr Rhiano: I have been in battle in Sylvahara, too, with meter....I am a sitting duck. So I do not do the combats anymore. Huds lag me...
Harumi Oanomochi: <--- lag typing here...sorry.
AelKennyr Rhiano: The question is more than the hud itself...it is also the person's hardware limitations on the other side of the computer screen.
{a lot of complaining about slow computers, and SL “upgrades” that don't work on old computers.}
AelKennyr Rhiano: Thus Harumi has a devil of a time typing atm...I do not. Another may have no problem...ever.
Fifi Wickentower: but also . . . many many have older or slower connections and they have trouble when 'extras' occur for their viewer to display
AelKennyr Rhiano: yes! If you put 10 of us wearing our Tolkien titlers in a small room...older computers would go crazy cause and lag.
Fifi Wickentower: or crash
AelKennyr Rhiano: Yep.But tools and toys do not make up for rp skill. They can add "spice" but they should never be used instead of good rp skills.
Harumi Oanomochi: Good point Ael...they can enhance but not direct the RP...that's where the player's skills come in.
AelKennyr Rhiano: Not too long ago, I had a rper who, all he could talk about was using particles and special effects for his rp character...but never once did he talk about the "basics." And he honestly thought that if he did not have all the "spiffies" the rp would suffer. About halfway into the rp...he was imming me like crazy...he had no clue what to do next.
AelKennyr Rhiano: Huds lag a sim....all huds. Get enough of them in one place, and you can be miserable.
Fifi Wickentower: counts her 18 huds. jk a god rp will make you
AelKennyr Rhiano: But.. sometime....count your scripts that you are wearing on you just on the average.
Fifi Wickentower: *good rp will make you 'see' the weapons/food/magical happenings
AelKennyr Rhiano: Everyone in here tonight is scripted to the gills.
Fifi Wickentower: yes!!!!!! Fifi Wickentower: preens!! i made sure to wear extra!!
AelKennyr Rhiano: You would!
Zenon Mistwalker shrinks in his chair
Harumi Oanomochi: yes...scripts are not our friends. Fifi, hahaha
Fifi Wickentower: XD !LOL! ★ puts to shame my meager 8 ram and 1.5 nvidia. Speaketh for thyself
AelKennyr Rhiano: And all that armour, gents....9/10ths of it is heavily scripted...go out on a battlefield with it and a hud.... Quack! Quack! You, too, can be a sitting duck
Harumi Oanomochi: Guilty of being in the red zone in ARC tonite...
Fifi Wickentower: hahahahaha
AelKennyr Rhiano: And that is not even counting your weapons.
Fifi Wickentower notices how, close up, Zyrons scales look like baby corn on the cob
Harumi Oanomochi: Advanced/Rendering/Info Displays/Avatar Rendering Costs..... you will see how high the scripted items like jewelry and huds can shift you.
AelKennyr Rhiano: Actuallly...right click yourself, if you use Phoenix viewer and do S. count
Harumi Oanomochi: If I know I'm going into a sim that is highly scripted, I try to dress in the green zone of ARC. Or a sim with 60 people in it, go green. ;-)
Fifi Wickentower: an ainu never looks and an ainu never tells
AelKennyr Rhiano: hahahaha
Harumi Oanomochi: Fifi,hahaha
Fifi Wickentower: yeah sure . . i go around under 100 often, sometimes under 20, 10 .especially for a hunt
Kellinar Trevellion: I got zero for counted objects on this chair...is that right?
AelKennyr Rhiano: huh?
Kellinar Trevellion: S.count
Counting scripts. Please wait.
Counted scripts on object Alqualonde meeting chair: 0
Harumi Oanomochi: weird...it's supposed to show you scripts you are wearing.
AelKennyr Rhiano: You have a script time of .391....you are packing some scripts, my friend.
Counting scripts. Please wait.
Kellinar Trevellion: Hmm...I did it on myself, not the chair and that's what I got.
Counted scripts on object A&A Rapunzel Hair 11: 0
Harumi Oanomochi: me too Kell...why I stood.
AelKennyr Rhiano: Harumi has the lowest script time here
Koni Lanzius: what am I, praytell?
Harumi Oanomochi: my Avatar Rendering Cost is 2423...red zone. Ael's is 1031...yellow zone. I've seen as high a 11,000, which really lags everyone.
AelKennyr Rhiano: oh....no....ummmm....sorry...you are higher than Kell....401
Koni Lanzius: :D
Kellinar Trevellion: geesh
Fifi Wickentower: i have had arc of 18,000
Harumi Oanomochi: Fifi, ouch.,
Fifi Wickentower: XD !LOL! ★ well . . i did change
AelKennyr Rhiano: Koni, your script time is .228
Koni Lanzius: how do you check these things? Is that bad, Lord Ael?
AelKennyr Rhiano: Me.....Since I am estate manager, I can see the top scripts and their time here....the best thing to do is to check your ARC and your script count. I will ask Belenos to come teach a class about scripts.
Zenon Mistwalker: yes, i would like to learn that :)
AelKennyr Rhiano: But, to give you an idea of how your personal scripts affect a sim....while someone was playing with resizing their hair....the script of Alqualonde jumped from its usual 3.0 to 16.5
Koni Lanzius: whoa
Fifi Wickentower blushes. just checking :)) see . .a learning tool :))
AelKennyr Rhiano: So, the take home message is..... when someone tells you that a hud is low lag....that is far from the whole story when you are looking at how what you wear and do affects a sim.
Koni Lanzius: does it lag even when it is turned off?
AelKennyr Rhiano: no, most do not when they are turned off...but for most the only way to turn them off, effectively, is to detach them completely
Koni Lanzius: ahh
Harumi Oanomochi agrees with Ael.
Fifi Wickentower: yeah . . .we all need to get over it and go back to our original noobish jeans and shirt . . no prims. . .no scripts
Koni Lanzius: Ahahaha! XD good one!
Fifi Wickentower: if we all look like dorks . . then we can all revel in our noobish dorkiness
Fifi Wickentower: lets just try to convince the residents of sl :)
Harumi Oanomochi: hahaha
Fifi Wickentower: A&A hair is a major offender
AelKennyr Rhiano: Scripted hair period is a major offender...whenever possible, delete scripts once the hair is fitted to your liking.
Koni Lanzius: ahh
Fifi Wickentower: yes :)
AelKennyr Rhiano: keep a backup of the original
Fifi Wickentower: but . ..as bel and i dscovered . . .i did that with a bunch of things and it had minimal effect
Harumi Oanomochi: Most resizing scripts can be removed, which helps.
AelKennyr Rhiano: yes. Things with particles that go continually...most of those scripts can be deleted and the object still work.
Fifi Wickentower: and everything come with those blasted scripts because the blasted copybots have ruined it for regular mod prims. I went from 4400 to 1275 . . mainly the hair
Koni Lanzius: ahh
AelKennyr Rhiano: I have to tell you...most rp sims that you will be involved with....they use huds.
AelKennyr Rhiano: A lot of people use huds and scripted weapons as crutches in the rp instead of good rp techniques.
Harumi Oanomochi: and that leads into next week's topic...requested by Ael, RP etiquette.
AelKennyr Rhiano: yes, please. I have been asked to request rp etiquette as our topic for next week.
Zenon Mistwalker smiles...a good topic !
Harumi Oanomochi: good one...be thinking about issues this next week. Examples and suggestions.
AelKennyr Rhiano: And please, notice...what makes one person easy to rp with and not another....what characteristics...behaviors? Thank you all for being here tonight...thank you, too, Harumi
Zenon Mistwalker: again i have learned so much...quite interesting !
Koni Lanzius: ~**smiles**~
AelKennyr Rhiano: :)
Zryonotralionxus: Yes, much new stuff to ponder over
{Lots of “Thank You”s and Farewells.}
Zryonotralionxus: Thank you all as well for the info, sadly nothing I was able to add since all new to me
Harumi Oanomochi: You'll catch up Zryon...we were al new once. :-)
AelKennyr Rhiano: Very true :)
Zryonotralionxus: I been trying to catch up for hundreds of years, doubt I will ever get there before twilight
AelKennyr Rhiano:
•._.·´¯`·._.•._.·´¯`·._.•._.·´¯`·._.•._.·´¯`·._.•
Lissenen ar’ maska’lalaith tenna( Sweet water and light laughter )lye omentuva mellonamin( till next we meet my friend )