theearth: (Default)
Save the Earth Mods ([personal profile] theearth) wrote2013-02-22 11:50 pm

FAQ

WHAT SORTS OF CHARACTERS ARE ALLOWED IN GAME?

Canon Characters:
Goes without saying, but published characters.

Canon Alternate Universe (AU) Characters:
The game allows characters that deviate from the mainstream canon, but only those that are also published. For example, the Marvel Comics canon has a large number of alternate universes. Any and all of them are appable, but player created AUs are not permitted.

AU Duplicates:
The game does not allow duplicate characters in the most direct sense- i.e. the exact same character twice. However if they are notably different to a version already in game, they may be allowed to be applied alongside their alternates. The difference must be sufficient to justify this. The general rule of thumb is that if material aspects (appearance, history, powers etc.) are left out of the equation their personalities are different enough they might not be recognised to be the same person. A character that is no different between two universes even if the worlds are altered could be applied, but not alongside another version they are identical to. If in doubt, ask before starting on an app.

Original Characters:
Original characters can be applied for, but in general will require more detail in their applications.

Game Setting Originals:
Characters from the game world and therefore a completely ordinary human can be applied. This may not seem appealing in early gameplay, but will become more relevant in later seasons. There will also be chances in the future for players to apply for members of the enemy's army.

HOW MANY CHARACTERS CAN I PLAY?

Each player is presently allowed five character slots. This may actually be more than five characters, due to Combo Apps.

WHAT ARE COMBO APPS?

The simple answer is that they are apps for multiple characters that will count as one towards your character count. More information is on this page.

CAN I USE POSTS OR THREADS FROM OTHER GAMES AS SAMPLES FOR MY APP?

Yes, but we may ask for an original sample if it is felt it is needed. It shouldn't be a big deal, as long as you pick an example you are confident in. Note too that at least one of the samples must feature the reincarnated character rather than their canon counterpart.

CAN I CANON UPDATE?

Considering the nature of the game, that'd be unnecessary.

CAN MY CHARACTER LEAVE THE CITY?

Technically, yes. There is nothing physically preventing any character from hopping the next bus out of town. However, in gameplay terms a couple things are likely to keep them there. First and foremost, their ordinary life is still there. They'd be abandoning their home, job and family. Secondly, during the first few seasons travelling too far from the city will cause the traveller to temporarily lose all their Echoes and any Echo related memories, meaning if the decision to leave was related to the game's plot they will promptly forget why they are so distant from the city and probably just come back home anyway.

YOU KEEP MENTIONING SEASONS, WHAT'S THAT ABOUT?

A season is the term here for a period in which the game setting remains relatively stable. Once the player characters achieve (or fail) certain goals or certain plot points are completed, the setting will be changed.

THE SETTING WILL CHANGE?

Yes, in reaction to player character actions and the plot's advancement. Currently there are no plans to reveal future seasons, but please be aware that the game will change a lot as time goes on. This is not an exaggeration.

BUT I LIKE THE CURRENT/PAST SETTING MORE!

Whenever a season ends a dressing room will open indefinitely with the same setting as that season. Not quite the same thing but likely this is the best we can do, we're afraid. All players past, present and future will be able to play in the DRs even if they drop from the main game.

DOES THE GAME HAVE A PLANNED ENDING?

Short answer: yes. Long answer: sort of? The game will end whenever the conflict that is the crux of the game is over, either with the enemy or the player characters succeeding in their goal. No previously confirmed ending exists; whether it's a good ending or a bad ending is up to the players. It may take a year or it may take five or more. What happens then will be decided by the players.

WHAT HAPPENS WHEN A CHARACTER DIES?

They're dead, barring player character interference; there is no game mechanic to return the dead to life, and if the same character is re-applied, they will be a completely new 'version.'

WHAT HAPPENS TO A CHARACTER WHEN I GO ON HIATUS?

They temporarily lose all their memories, abilities and items from Echo related occurrences and once again become a completely normal person. Attempts to remind them fail and they then even forget those attempts. By default they are completely out of the loop regarding gameplay, although players can make other arrangements if they wish.

WHAT HAPPENS TO A CHARACTER WHEN I DROP?

Assuming you don't kill them? The same as above, but permanently. If applied for by another player, it will be new version. If a former player reapplies, they can choose to regain all memories and Echoes or start from scratch.

CAN I APP A CHARACTER SOMEONE ELSE PLAYED BEFORE?

Yes. In this case, the character is assumed to be from a parallel universe with an extremely minor difference that doesn't otherwise affect any major events. The reincarnated character must also be different from the previously-played character, with a different name, history, etc.

MY CHARACTER HAS AN INHUMAN APPEARANCE, WHAT HAPPENS?

You have two choices. Have them start as a human who will transform into their inhuman form through Echoes or start as the closest terrestrial creature to their inhuman form and have their first Echo give them sentience (but speech is optional).

ANY LIMITS TO WHAT WE CAN GIVE OUR CHARACTERS IN THEIR REINCARNATED LIVES?

Not really, so long as you're reasonable. It's fine to make them extremely rich, so long as you don't make them the richest man in the world, for example. Some characters will have IC advantages over others, but that's all they are. IC advantages.

ANY POWER LIMITS?

Not in the traditional sense. It just happens that powers are recovered bit by bit.

WHAT ABOUT THE 4TH WALL?

Intact at present. For now please just don't bring it up that characters are from fiction which should rightfully exist in the game setting. It'll be subject to a player vote at a later date.

IS THIS EXTRA-DIMENSIONAL HORROR INSPIRED BY LOVECRAFT?

Nope. If anything it's more inspired by Earthbound.

MY CHARACTER RECEIVED THEIR FIRST ECHO A LONG TIME AGO, WHAT DOES THAT MEAN FOR GAMEPLAY?

The network the characters use went live on April 1st, 2013. Any attempts to the number to connect to it before then simply didn't work and therefore its importance would likely be overlooked. At game start, a mysterious pink light in the sky reminded the characters of their number and a similar process, sans pink light, will awaken the number in the minds of characters when they join the game. This means that they can receive their Echo at any time, but be disconnected from the rest of players until the moment they join.

WHEN ARE EVENTS RUN?

Often, but chaotically. They will not occur at regular intervals to fit a routine. They will be no self resolving events. They will all require player involvement to end and may overlap with each other. Whenever an event is occurring a plotting post will go up to help OOC communication.


SEASON ONE SPECIFIC FAQ
WHAT'S DIFFERENT BETWEEN THIS EARTH AND NORMAL EARTH?

Only one noticeable difference so far, the existence of Locke City. The North American continent is a tiny bit bigger to fit it in.

CAN MY CHARACTER REVEAL THEIR SUPER NATURE TO THE PUBLIC?

Preferably not. The Season One dynamic is based around secrecy in the normal world, but there's no game mechanic to cause it. Characters will be pressured to remain in secret for their own safety by a number of in-character reasons brought about by plot circumstances. For that reason, please don't apply for characters that could not reasonably be persuaded to keep the secret. With permission, you'll be allowed to reveal the secret to a few ordinary citizens depending on circumstances. Additionally, they don't have to be particularly good at keeping the secret nor a willing participant.

WHAT NPCs CAN I USE?

Players have automatic right to use their character's direct relatives (siblings, parents, spouse etc) for any reasonable purpose. Similarly ordinary citizens can be used for anything reasonable, but people in positions of authority (politicians, military, police) require permission. If in doubt, ask.

WHAT ABOUT PLAYER PLOTS?

Outside of the guideline of keeping the secret and remaining IC, you basically have free rein to do as you wish. Particularly big stuff I'd appreciate being run by me first but otherwise I'm very open. Just be aware there may be consequences you didn't expect. I did say the setting will react based on player character actions, after all.

WHAT SORT OF EVENTS WILL RUN THIS SEASON?

The plots of season one will revolve around giving hints to the overarching plot that the players are already privy to by the characters are not. This will involve the enemy's forces trying to establish a foothold on Earth and the conflict beginning to escalate. Primarily they will be action and intrigue based, and relatively low profile in respect to how they effect the public. There will also be plots in relation to character actions.


We are currently approaching the END OF SEASON ONE.

If you are a potential new or considering player, please read up on what can be expected in the change in seasons here before you make plans on when and how to enter the game!

Reservations will remain OPEN until February 16th.
Applications for Season One will remain OPEN until February 23rd.
amberhearted: (Default)

[personal profile] amberhearted 2013-07-04 08:13 pm (UTC)(link)
Oops! I had Alex hypnotize two Vermedi in the Sage log. Should I downplay that, call it dumb luck, or something else?

[personal profile] crymoore 2013-07-05 12:12 pm (UTC)(link)
Hello there. I come asking questions for a couple of applicants other than myself, but what sort of government/politics are in play in the game? Is it possible for reincarnations to be involved in the military or to come in as politicians? I tried reading around for this sort of information, but found myself coming up short on it.

Sorry for the trouble. I just wanted to ensure this may be a possibility for these characters or if we should consider something else for them. Thanks for your answer and if you need to talk to me in private, pms or hit me up on plurk at [plurk.com profile] aozaki.
espigeonage: (πŸ‘”And a better daughter or son)

[personal profile] espigeonage 2013-07-06 06:32 pm (UTC)(link)
Can I get permission for Julien to tell his big sister about the goings-on? She's the single person he's closest to (more than Aaron!), he can't really lie to her, and she's discreet. And busy and cautious enough that I don't feel like I need to make a journal/involve her too much.
gobybessie: (β†’03)

[personal profile] gobybessie 2013-07-07 07:21 am (UTC)(link)
Yesssss, awesome! Would I have to do anything special if I want to do that? Like writing a new personality section or something? New personality and all, plus the regenerated personality is often a direct reaction to the last one and how it handled its life and. Such.
aviatorofscience: (Default)

[personal profile] aviatorofscience 2013-07-08 12:01 am (UTC)(link)
Cool, I better get started on writing then! I'll leave the owner just an NPC for now to keep things easy.
amberhearted: (Default)

[personal profile] amberhearted 2013-07-08 01:32 am (UTC)(link)
Aye aye o7
iaijutsu: (Estrogen.)

[personal profile] iaijutsu 2013-07-08 05:27 am (UTC)(link)
Question for apping purposes, since a couple of us wanted to do something with this -

Is it okay to have a character's parent (i.e. an NPC) working for Thunder Corp/as a cop/etc, whether involved in the conspiracy or not? Would you guys rather we had them explicitly be in the dark to make your life easier, or would it be possible to have them in on it to leave openings for possible horrible things to happen later? Horrible things obviously entirely dependent on mod input and permission; knowing as little as we do OOCly about what's going on I envision this more as leaving room for you the mods to spring something evil if you want/it fits into things happening later, and I actually think it would be kind of amazing if you guys decided and just...didn't tell us OOCly at all. ICly, we're aiming to keep the characters in question in the dark and just let them stew in paranoia about whether their parent is in league with evil alien gardeners.
flung: (that is not ur natural hair color)

[personal profile] flung 2013-07-10 07:08 pm (UTC)(link)
so, 4th wall is intact, right! if i were to app someone who would be interested in fandom, would bland name product-ing it/parodying a name and assuming that the tv show/comic/whatever is similar but not exact be okay?
iaijutsu: (Default)

[personal profile] iaijutsu 2013-07-11 02:05 am (UTC)(link)
Awesome, that works beautifully. Thank you!
readingtoponds: (Default)

[personal profile] readingtoponds 2013-07-12 04:10 am (UTC)(link)
What if someone tattooed the number on their arm? Probably nothing since it's not reflective nor electronic, but I figured I would ask.

Are the numbers supposed to be ridiculously long or can we just pretend it's the ID number for their ic journal, which for this journal would be 1366032. Not that I plan to use this one.

Also, for characters who were reincarnated within canon, if I wanted to pull physical things into their Echoes, could I mix from the two (or three depending on how you look at it) lives, or would I have to stick to one or the other? My character goes through very dramatic physical changes within their last life (going from mostly-human to kind of a.... bio magic robot??? hard to explain unless you know D.Gray-Man) and kind of the same question about that--were I to pull powers or such from one area of that life, would I have to stick to that or can I mix and match with others both earlier and later.

I'm just making sure I'm understanding how things work well enough before I write my app.
beautifulmemory: (Fascinating)

[personal profile] beautifulmemory 2013-07-12 04:19 am (UTC)(link)
I know most of the means of accessing The Network involve writing or typing the number, but would speaking the number aloud be a possible means of accessing? Or perhaps there might be some other option that's most realistic for a pair of cat paws? I'm not 100% on how exactly a character might access but the idea is to allow the character to do Voice Posts.
dododo: (β†’09)

[personal profile] dododo 2013-07-12 07:55 am (UTC)(link)
When we get to that point, then~
munaks: (fragile sky seemed so strong)

[personal profile] munaks 2013-07-18 09:31 pm (UTC)(link)
Hi guys. Quick question: what's your policy on canons (particularly video games) with updated rereleases, animes-of-the-game and such? The canon I'm thinking of is Persona 4, which has a kind of sequel, the Vita rerelease, a manga, an anime, a bunch of light novels and a musical. Only two of them-- the PS2 game and Arena-- are directly connected though.

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