Firefly Universe

Firefly MUSH to play in...

POSTED BY: Greenleaf
UPDATED: Friday, December 2, 2011 01:31
VIEWED: 42084
PAGE 1 of 1

GREENLEAF

Wednesday, June 30, 2004 4:13 PM

I considered posting this down in the Firefly Universe section, but I wanted to make sure a lot of folks see this so we can get some feedback.

For those not familiar with it, a MUSH is an online, real time, text based game where folks take on the role of a character to play in a universe designed by the staff. The administrators and their helpers create supporting characters and plotlines to entertain the players who weave their own storylines into the world as well.

In this case, we're in the midst of building a Firefly MUSH for folks to come and play in. From Persephone to Three Hills and from Boros to the Sky Plex, we're trying to re-create the universe Joss Whedon has gifted us with so Firefly fans can play to their heart's content. It's also a great opportunity to introduce science fiction fans and roleplayers to this incredibly rich and three dimensional 'verse we all have come to know and love.

Players will be able to take the roles of ranchers, pilots, Alliance military, merchants, browncoats, smugglers and just about anything else you can think of that would fit into 'verse.

So my question is...

Are you interested? :)

STILLSHINY

Wednesday, June 30, 2004 4:20 PM

Count me in. Let me know more. Tried to jump in on some of the earlier on-line rpg's & fan-fic games. Consider me in. Please provide any necessary links.

"Two roads diverged in a wood, and I took the road less traveled by and they CANCELLED MY FRIKKIN' SHOW. I totally shoulda took the road that had all those people on it. Damn." --Joss

GREENLEAF

Wednesday, June 30, 2004 4:25 PM

I should add that we're still a few months away from opening, but we'll continue to post updates here as we draw closer.

There's a tremendous amount of coding to be done in order to have working starships, an economy system that will allow folks to make money buying, selling, creating and transporting goods, etc. We want to make this mush /very/ user friendly, which means a lot of 'help' and 'data' files as well as an easy to understand, balanced character generation system.

We'll have a website as well as a mailing group as we hope to create more than just a mush but a community of fans and roleplayers :)

STILLSHINY

Wednesday, June 30, 2004 5:17 PM

Sounds great. I've no programming ability but I'm creative & will gladly provide word of mouth for more players.

"Two roads diverged in a wood, and I took the road less traveled by and they CANCELLED MY FRIKKIN' SHOW. I totally shoulda took the road that had all those people on it. Damn." --Joss

KOIPOND

Wednesday, June 30, 2004 6:14 PM

i would be very interested also

EVILMIKE

Wednesday, June 30, 2004 6:41 PM

I'm certainly interested.

Which MUSH type is it built in?

NRKANGEL

Wednesday, June 30, 2004 6:50 PM

I'm interested. Lemme know when it's soup and I'll bring a spoon. (Not a coder, but a creative writer/role-player of old who wants to brush off old skills.)

DOUBLESHINY

Wednesday, June 30, 2004 8:32 PM

Aha, I've never played an RPG before, but I guess there's no time like the present, i'll read up, and count me in.

Curse your sudden yet inevitable betrayal!

KASUO

Wednesday, June 30, 2004 8:54 PM

What will this be created in? I have some basic understanding of PHP and MySQL.

________
"Let's moon 'em!"

SERGEANTX

Wednesday, June 30, 2004 9:36 PM

This sounds really cool. How can we find out more? I'm a fair hand at C/C# & SQL and I'd be happy to help with the coding. I'm also into RPGs, the table top variey.

SergeantX

"Dream a little dream or you can live a little dream. I'd rather live it, cause dreamers always chase but never get it." Aesop Rock

SIGMANUNKI

Wednesday, June 30, 2004 10:24 PM

Lately I've been programming in C, PHP, Python and Perl. But, I also know others. I have a 3 Mbps connection (static ip) and will be setting up a server (OpenBSD) in the next week or so.

On my workstation I plan on installing WinXP (or some such, got win98 sr2 now), BeOS R5, Gentoo Linux, and OpenBSD.

If I can help, let me know.

EDIT: Oh yah, I've also worked with DB's before as well (MySQL , mSQL and access *shiver*).

----
"Canada being mad at you is like Mr. Rogers throwing a brick through your window." -Jon Stewart, The Daily Show

RAYSTON

Wednesday, June 30, 2004 11:08 PM

I am quite interested, I have played a few MUSH'es and a firefly one sounds quite interesting (still waiting on a Song of Fire and Ice one to finally open up)

Any idea what codebase your going to be using?

Staff Structure? How character creation is going to work?(is it going to be approved chargen? ) Game system?

(gawd cant you tell IM a gamer geek)

Thanx

Rayston

STARPILOTGRAINGER

Wednesday, June 30, 2004 11:48 PM

I'm a big MUSHer, mostly sticking to the superhero genre, but I've been waiting for a Firefly MU* to check out.

My main question would be whether you could play canon characters.

My preference in this area would be for a no. It's a big 'verse, more than enough stories for everyone.

Star Pilot Grainger
"Remember, the enemy's gate is down."
LJ: http://www.livejournal.com/users/newnumber6

BEYLIX

Thursday, July 1, 2004 2:01 AM

I thought I'd step in and back up Greenleaf on the plans for the Mush. While I'm not the coding guru, I've got a few answers on some other things.

At this point in time we have no intentions of having canon characters played. Let's face it, it would leave the door open to too many problems.

We are also going to keep tight limit on connections. In other words, Mal's little sister who he taught everything he knows and whom Jayne fell in love with last week will NOT be showing up on the mush.

Now, the goal is to have fun. Not to be character police. However, as it was mentioned, its a very big universe. And we want to be respectful of it, while at the same time doing everything we can to have good quality rp and adventures!

Sooo....

Life is neither the candle nor the wick - It is the burning.

TADIERA

Thursday, July 1, 2004 2:46 AM

I am DEFINITELY interested! I've been MU*ing for a long time (MOO, MUSH, MUCK, etc under my belt) and I'm a decent coder, a good builder/descer, and I don't mind writing helpfiles (they can be written long-hand while offline and all ;)).

If you need any help, or want/wouldn't mind an extra hand, I'm so for it. :)

Email is: leigh-at-twilightdreams.net

I'm like a superhero with no powers or motivation.
http://www.livejournal.com/~tadiera

OSIRUS

Thursday, July 1, 2004 3:18 AM

I thought I would jump in here to share a bit more information in backing up Greenleaf and Beylix.

I'm Osirus and with the above mentioned individuals, we comprise the current core of the the FireFly MUSH administration at this time. I thought I would drop by and share a few tidbits of information to questions I've already seen asked.

First, together with the other two admin, we bring with us an ungodly investment in years across all sorts of RPG tabletop genres, online gaming, and other sorts of roleplay that don't fit into any specific category. This is our first time, however, at attempting to build a MUSH from scratch. All of us have, at one time or another, been administrators on quite successful MU**'s and have the knowledge required to see this particular project through.

Second, the systems currently running are the most stable releases of both PennMUSH and HSpace Trueline available. The MUSH /is/ running. It /is/ up and construction is taking place at an impressive rate.

Chargen (Character Generation) will most likely be a very familiar system (I'm not naming it purposely while we iron out minor yet crucial specifics) to a majority of RPers.

Are we hiring staff at the moment? The answer is no but don't be disheartened. It is only no at present so we can get things ready for opening. This is a Roleplay-intensive environment and in order to be considered for a staff position, be it coding or whatnot, we have to get to know you as a player and as a person before giving you the keys to the car in the game. There is no slight intended here. We've just witnessed too many games in the past die prematurely due to "staff incompatability" and "creative differences". It's sad but it is also a true fact.

With that said, stay tuned for information regarding how you can still potentially help build the worlds and areas of this MUSH before it opens to the public.

The date of opening is not set in stone but we're looking at a late-summer/early-fall grand opening. For that to happen we have several goals needed to be met first. As each of those goals are met and more system specific information becomes available, we will be sure to post that information here as well as on our website.

Expect a webpage address and associate information to be forthcoming in the next several days.

-O

SIGMANUNKI

Thursday, July 1, 2004 4:48 AM

I definitly understand about the capatability thing. But, one question, are you considering having this span multiple systems?

I mean if you can have certain "planet clusters" on different systems (across the net), you would be able to have more people play at the same time, less lag, etc. I'd be willing to host a chunk of the 'verse if you indeed do it this way.

Question, you said that you'd be building this from scratch. Are you referring to just the server or the client as well. If both, I'd be willing to attempt a port of the client to a different OS (I assume it'll be opensource?). See my list of OS's above and add MacOS X as the wife will be getting a PowerBook within the next month or so. Also, if this is so, I'd be able to work independantly from the core team, thus negating any incapatability issues that may arise (ie my failure would in no way affect the project, but, any success would enhance it.).

Anyway, food for thought.

----
"Canada being mad at you is like Mr. Rogers throwing a brick through your window." -Jon Stewart, The Daily Show

AERRIN

Thursday, July 1, 2004 5:24 AM

Ooooh! I, too, am a long-time M*er who's been waiting to see if anyone will tackle this. I think Firefly has some built-in difficulties (the spread of the world, and thus the possibility of the spread of RP being one), but if the staff can come up with a good system, I'll definitely be one to play! At the very least, I'll come by to check it out.

(For the record, I'm happy to hear you're not planning on FCs, and I'd prefer a smaller area with fewer options but more players to a spread-out area with tons of planets but no community)

Please keep us posted as stuff goes up! I'd be very interested to know what areas are going to be open, what sorts of things will form the core of the game, what your vision is, etc.

And in an interesting sidenote, as I pimp this to friends currently on a MOO, I get this comment: If they make a MUSH, I'll buy the series.

So see? Spreading the Firefly love!

GREENLEAF

Thursday, July 1, 2004 1:47 PM

There are a number of questions that have been raised as the three of us build the mush, but you've hit upon one of the two big ones in regards to how spread out the universe is.

So...how about I ask you guys :)

The first question is - how long should it take to get from point A to point B?

Now the show makes it clear - it takes days to cover the distance between most planets, so to stick with the theme, interplanetary travel should be lengthy.

However...

On a mush or any other online RP you run into a few problems with that. First is that your RP options are limited during that time - you have your crew and any passengers and that's it.

So you're thinking 'that's all I need!' and you could be right, but what if they aren't logging on? Suddenly you find yourself logging on to an empty ship and you're days away from other folks.

The other drawback is attending events. If you're sitting on Persephone and we announce that this coming weekend we're going to have a big event on Osirus, you might not be able to get there in time.

So we have to juggle the 'realism' of the Firefly 'verse with the realities of online RP and keeping folks involved. One option we're considering is to let the crew choose how long it will take them to cover the distance - i.e. if a ship wants to RP out the journey, they opt to take the days it will take to get there. If you're more intersted in the RP at the other side of the trip, you can cut the travel time to a matter of hours or less.

How do you folks think we should do this?

The other question that we're left with is - What kind of roles are you all going to want to play?

A full universe like this probably won't work if we get fifty players all wanting to be Firefly captains and crew.

Are folks interested in playing the fences, Alliance soldiers, ranchers, merchants and other people who would populate the 'verse?

What would you want to play?

STARPILOTGRAINGER

Thursday, July 1, 2004 2:05 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by Greenleaf:

The first question is - how long should it take to get from point A to point B?

Now the show makes it clear - it takes days to cover the distance between most planets, so to stick with the theme, interplanetary travel should be lengthy.

However...

On a mush or any other online RP you run into a few problems with that. First is that your RP options are limited during that time - you have your crew and any passengers and that's it.

So you're thinking 'that's all I need!' and you could be right, but what if they aren't logging on? Suddenly you find yourself logging on to an empty ship and you're days away from other folks.

I'm all for flexibility. One of the other points of Firefly is that different routes take different times. Mal and company avoid routes with Alliance patrols and so take a long time (in Out of Gas Wash set a course that took 2 weeks for a trip that normally only took a couple days), others might not care so much.

Perhaps have a range of minimum travel times, but beyond that, leave it up to the individual ships, like you said. They can take longer if they want. And, be willing to fudge time in the event of an event that a lot of people might want to make.

There is one other thing to consider; you're not just limited to passengers and crew for RP if you're on a ship - there's also the Cortex. Sure, in deep space you apparently can't use it, but you could probably handwave that along the regular travel routes there are regular signal boosters and such that allow people to remain connected. Though yeah, it's a bit silly to RP being on the Space-Net while on the real Net. ;)

Quote:

The other question that we're left with is - What kind of roles are you all going to want to play?

A full universe like this probably won't work if we get fifty players all wanting to be Firefly captains and crew.

Are folks interested in playing the fences, Alliance soldiers, ranchers, merchants and other people who would populate the 'verse?

What would you want to play?

I don't think you're going to avoid getting most people wanting to play captains and crew, especially with a wide area to play with (anyone planet-bound is going to be left out of a lot of stuff if something happens elsewhere in the verse). One option is to allow multiple characters, but only one for each player can be ship-based... everyone else has to live on a planet or space station or somewhere stable (but, as the plot demands, they may be able to ship out for short trips for whatever reason).

There are enough types of roles that I think a wider range should be encouraged, but not necessarily forced.

As to me, well, I'm looking to play a pilot, personally. ;)

Star Pilot Grainger
"Remember, the enemy's gate is down."
LJ: http://www.livejournal.com/users/newnumber6

ANTHONYT

Thursday, July 1, 2004 2:21 PM

I myself could find great fun in being a merc/gun-for-hire like Jayne.

I don't know how you're setting things up, but I think that most adventures should be planet based, and that planets should be rich environments where one might spend a whole RP career if one wanted.

Ships could be multi-room taxis/cars (a variation of transportation in other mushes) that spend a minute or two in each area before moving to the next. This would allow interception/boarding if desired.

But for the most part, (barring Out of Gas and Objects in Space) adventures are what happen when you get OUT of the ship. Ship travel should be boring, by and large. Make those planets exciting, and you'll get real interaction and role-play. Otherwise, you'll get a dozen people on a dozen ships, uninterested in leaving their little worlds.

--Anthony

P.S. Don't forget that leaving a ship while it is in space, and without a space-suit, should be lethal.

"Liberty must not be purchased at the cost of Humanity." --Captain Robert Henner

TADIERA

Thursday, July 1, 2004 2:53 PM

I've played on a Star Trek game in the past that had their gametime be 6 IC days per 1 RL day. This meant that travel time was almost nothing, but since often you can go RL days without events, needing to be places, etc, you could still RP out long trips. But you didn't need to fudge, fake, or miss events due to timing. It may be a bit much time, but it's something to think about.

Me? I've got a captain forming herself in my mind... Usually on these sorts of games, I play a mercenary or pilot type, but I want to be a captain this time and "Rade" is already writing out her background in my head...

Man, I wish I didn't have a long drive to make shortly...

I'm like a superhero with no powers or motivation.
http://www.livejournal.com/~tadiera

CAPNRAHN

Thursday, July 1, 2004 5:09 PM

Hello! We have a group here on FFFn that has been playing the original crew since January 1st, but within threads here.

It was actually started by ZachsMind, who played Wash. Myself was 'steering' Simon and just a 'coupla months ago I was given Mal and the direKtorship. It has been VERY fun and rewarding, I can tell you.

It is a 'freeform' RP that mutated into a slightly structured and directed RP. It has been very fun and instructive on a 'posting type' RP. To the casual reader it can be a tad confusing, but it has been IMMENSELY fun and gratifying to play.

Note to the curious: I have archived all the ACT threads and the OOC threads {Out Of Character commentary}

If your are interested in taking a peek at our ongoing experiment - here are some links:

CURRENT ACT {18} http://fireflyfans.net/thread.asp?b=17&t=5931

PREVIOUSLY ON FIREFLY:
ACT 17: http://www.fireflyfans.net/thread.asp?b=17&t=5306&m=74524#74524

CREDITS & BIOS:
http://fireflyfans.net/thread.asp?b=17&t=3498

RPing TOOLS:
Tools and tricks for the hip RPer.
http://fireflyfans.net/thread.asp?b=17&t=4266

GREEN ROOM:
Storyline work and a place for the acKtors to hang out.
OOC 16 http://fireflyfans.net/thread.asp?b=17&t=5279

ARCHIVE:
Includes episode synopses and links to all the threads for prior acts
http://www.fireflyfans.net/thread.asp?b=17&t=3681

DIRECTORIAL STAFF:
Guest DireKtor - DragonflyDireKtor { CapnRahn@aol.com AIM, MSN }
Guest Asst. DireKtor - MercedesTroy { tampa.cyberose@verizon.net AIM}
GameMaster - Geezer { fireflygeezer@cox.net }
Co-Director - FrauDirektor { htempe@hotmail.com, MSN, AIM: MissAstriana, Yahoo!: MissAstriana, ICQ: 9592266}
Co-Director - Channain { channain@yahoo.com; AIM}
Minion - DirektorsSmeagol { DirektorsSmeagol@aol.com } , MSN, AIM)

If any of ya get to read the current stuff and become interested in seeing it from the beginning, shoot me a request email. Caveat: each .mht file (web page archive file, I think it is called) is just a tad over 1M each ... and there are 18 Acts+ Teaser and 18 OOC threads! So dialup users BEWARE! **evil direKtor grin**

We have the Characters - players FFFn ID:
the most current player is last}
Mal - 1)Humble 2)Geezer 3)CapnRahn
Inara - Ciara
Zoe - Astriana
Wash - 1)ZachsMind 2)Astriana 3)RavenWhyteWing 4)Decoy
Jayne - 1)SerenitysSon 2)SaintJayne
River - TeelaBrown
Simon - CapnRahn
Book - ManiacNumberOne

Guest Stars:
Jubal Early - Succatash
Adlelia Niska - 1)Kelso 2)CapnRahn

Player made Guest Stars
Rowan - Channain
Roosevelt "Rosie" Thorne - Geezer
Damon Boster - Squee
Brink Slight Helsing - RavenWhyteWing
Merzedes Troy - MercedesTroy
Bolo - Kalenvor

direKtor ran Characters in the GunRunners RP
{Some of them are for a spin-off series called DragonFly} Dysseus Hlastoni
Corzaire Andrew Jax ESQ.
Thilda Leon
NicoAllez
Corvair Troy
Shelby Troy
Or'Sha Troy

WheW!!! I lot of info to read - but I put it here to pique interest in our little RP ...

This 'episode arc' will be ending soon and we are starting a 'one-shot' Serenity Vacation before we started a MiniSeries called "Shadows of the Pale Moonlight" that features a huge story that has Rowan, Damon, Simon & Niska at the core of the story.

So, what ya think? Personally I feel I may have put WAY to much info here!

"Remember, there is only ONE absolute - There ARE NO absolutes!!!"

STARPILOTGRAINGER

Thursday, July 1, 2004 5:28 PM

Probably. I'm not too into Message Board RP myself, but good luck to you all with it. MUSHes seem to me a completely different style, and one I prefer.

Star Pilot Grainger
"Remember, the enemy's gate is down."
LJ: http://www.livejournal.com/users/newnumber6

CAPNRAHN

Thursday, July 1, 2004 5:33 PM

Yeah, I am not too familar wirh MUSHes meself. Except for the classic BattleStar Galatica name for ... candy, wasn't it?

This whole Message Board RP is very experimental. That is why I thought folks may want to take a peek and see what we have accomplished since January 1st 2004.

I know Haken was going to make a MUSH-like section here on FFFn, but i suppose he has been caught up on other projects.

Heh, Means I need to contact him about that and a few other matters!

"Remember, there is only ONE absolute - There ARE NO absolutes!!!"

BEYLIX

Thursday, July 1, 2004 11:34 PM

Well, its exciting to see that we have people interested! As Osiris said, we'll try and get up a web page to be linked to, and we'll make sure to list our mile stones here. And I'll see about lurking on the chat here a bit in case anyone has any questions.
August or bust!

Life is neither the candle nor the wick - It is the burning.

AERRIN

Friday, July 2, 2004 12:01 AM

My suggestions:

I'd definitely go with an accelerated time-rate, but I would be careful about making it /too/ high. I've had both the frustration of playing 1:1 time and feelinng like things take forever and the frustration of playing 4:1 time and feeling like things are rushed or that events we RP out would not have logically taken that lot to occur.

The benefit of something like 4:1 time is that I think people tend to be a little more flexible with it - that is to say, I just finished up an arc that took me... oh, goodness. Wow. 6 months to finish. In IC time, that's nearly two years - but that didn't make sense logically. It made more sense to fudge it a bit to about a year and a quarter, so we did. We're also more willing to backdate, forwarddate, and generally work to the schedule of others than what I find on the 1:1 game. The one thing I /wouldn't/ like is letting it be 'open'. While it's one thing to retime a personal plot, I'd like to know that the major things are all on the same 'timeline.'

As far as the areas - I would resist the temptation to try to cover anywhere and everywhere we've seen on the show. That, to me, is a good way to spread your playerbase out and make RP difficult to find. Ideally, what I'd like to see would be a limited number of core, middle, and outer planets - maybe 8 total, with 3 of them being fully built and the others being sort of 'stopover' or 'event' places. Or perhaps keep it even smaller than that and have an area that can be redesced and reuses as needed (that big Companion meeting on Sihnon needs a room for that event, but doesn't need to be permanently on camera). I'd also like to see several 'paths' to each planet, station, moon, Alliance cruiser, whatever, laid out, with varying time (IE, do you take the public route, or the 'go around the backdoor so no one sees me' route?)

For ships: I'd limit them. Severely. Not to say that I wouldn't have them - no. But I'd have in mind how many you want to have running around, and then force people to play out getting hired, buying passage, getting jobs, etc. Whoever suggested using the cortex for additional RP while shipboard had an excellent idea! It'd be a great way to tie people together.

I'd almost suggest having several key 'areas'that aren't 'areas'. That is to say, communities built in. Pick maybe 4 or 5 that you like a lot and really develop them. Say you want to have a thriving blackmarket (Mal and his lot), a busy Alliance center, a legal traders' guild, a Companion guild, and maybe a collition of local goverments. Give people as many ways as possible to hook into each other and form 'community' bonds.

I'm starting to ramble on and on now - when you get me brainstorming, I don't shut up. ;) I'm sure there are some holes in these ideas, since I've just written off the top of my head, but there you have it. I hope it ends up well - and asking for suggestions on the forum is a fabulous way to start, and a great sign of the sort of place you guys are building!

STARPILOTGRAINGER

Friday, July 2, 2004 12:28 AM

I'm always a little wary of compressed time, though perhaps it's just because I've never played on a game that had it...

It's just that, to me, it takes enough mental fudging to justify a four hour scene taking only a couple minutes of real time... if you have a scene, and then RP the next RL day, it's 4 days later or whatever, even if it would make more sense for it to be the next day. Oh, sure, you can fudge, but then you can just get more and more into time-debt. (Plus, with a realtime schedule everyone's on the same page for things like Unification Day or whatever). So, I'd say if you do a time compression, I'd hope it's not too large. 2 IC days for every RL one I think maybe. But then, what do I know, it could work better with a higher rate.

As for people missing out on stuff because they're too far away from something... well, them's the breaks. I mean, sure, if it's a big event, you might want to post about it with enough time to spare for travel to occur from any planet to the location before it happens, so anyone who wants to get there has enough time to play it. But, sometimes, you may just be too far from something, and have to hear about it on the cortex.

Star Pilot Grainger
"Remember, the enemy's gate is down."
LJ: http://www.livejournal.com/users/newnumber6

AERRIN

Friday, July 2, 2004 3:00 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by StarPilotGrainger:
I'm always a little wary of compressed time, though perhaps it's just because I've never played on a game that had it...

It's just that, to me, it takes enough mental fudging to justify a four hour scene taking only a couple minutes of real time... if you have a scene, and then RP the next RL day, it's 4 days later or whatever, even if it would make more sense for it to be the next day. Oh, sure, you can fudge, but then you can just get more and more into time-debt. (Plus, with a realtime schedule everyone's on the same page for things like Unification Day or whatever).

I started playing on a game that does 4:1 time, and I have to say I prefere it - though I also think a bit of preferences come from what you were 'raised' with. I just wanted to address a few things.

The first is that I actually think the bit about 4 hour scenes taking only a few minutes in 'real time' is actually somehow easier to fudge in a game where time is already fudged. I'm not sure why, but it seems to loosen up that mindset that we must maintain time absolutely, which I find to be beneficial.

As far as time-debt, I've never even considered such a thing. It's more that we simply shove all the high-drama on camera and consider that all that time we 'took up' with that four hour scene was filled with more mundane off camera stuff.

And as far as 'big events' - those are pretty easily solved by a simple post. It's the little things that tend to get fudged in my experience (like those 4 hour/30 minute scenes) rather than the big things, like holidays or events or basic overall time schedules.

And I kind of like having a character age faster than I do. It gives me a broader experience than I'd otherwise have. There's something very interesting about getting to play a character from 13 to 35 and experiencing all the life changes that come along with it.

STATIC

Thursday, July 15, 2004 10:36 PM

I'd be interested.

==================================================
"Wash. . .we got some local color happening. A grand entrance would not go amiss."

LEST

Wednesday, August 4, 2004 4:17 AM

As a longtime MUSHer, I'm very interested. Any further news?

GREENLEAF

Friday, August 6, 2004 2:09 PM

We've been hard at work getting the mush ready, with an opening scheduled at some point in September.

The chargen framework is in place - a combination of the d20 system, the hero system, and our own ideas.

Planets are being fleshed out, skills written up, and a fully functional space travel system is in the works. The basic system will allow for compressed time, but for those who would prefer a more 'realistic/true to the show' time frame, there's nothing to stop you from roleplaying out a long voyage. This way it gives people a choice so they don't miss out on events if they don't want to (picture the old 'map with a red dotted line' bit in a show - the travel scenes aren't relevant) or to get into a full week or two of rp limited to your shipmates without outside influence.

A website is also in the works which will give a full explanation of the character generation (chargen) system as well as a summary of the planets that exist on the mush and help with character ideas from the various planets.

All character sheets and character sheet upgrades will have to be approved by a staff member and explained by the player. We're looking to create a good roleplaying setting, not a power gaming mud, and if you went from being a rancher who'd never touched a gun in their life to suddenly being a crack shot during the game, we'd like a roleplaying reason as to why ;)

One solid rule has pretty much been decided on, and I figured it's worth mentioning here so folks don't go getting their hopes up - players will not be playing anyone from the television show, nor will we allow backgrounds for characters that tie them to the characters (i.e. Mal's little brother, Jayne's old mercenary buddy, etc.) Simply put, too many people would want to do this and it just wouldn't make any sense if everyone and his second cousin was friends with or was related to someone on Serenity.

There are also no rules for psionics/mental abilities as River is (virtually) one of a kind. Again, this is to avoid a glut of teenaged genius runaways turned psionic by the Alliance, etc.

We might also close character types (this is still in discussion) - for example if the first dozen players on the mush end up to be five mercenaries, five shepherds and two engineers, we might say 'no more shepherds or mercs at this time'. There might also be recommendations at chargen as to what we are short of or looking for in new characters.

We're hoping for a variety of characters and intend to stress this on the website - not only ship crew but Alliance soldiers, merchants, ranchers, etc. We're looking to populate the whole 'verse, not just a ship or two ;)

There are a lot of things in the works, and we'll keep you all updated as we go along!

Greenleaf

RHYMEPHILE

Friday, August 6, 2004 2:32 PM

As a longtime fanfic writer, I'd be interested. I've played traditional table-top RP games, but I'm sure there are those of us online RP newbies that would like more information on RPing in general. Any good websites newbies can read up on to see what type of game you have in mind? I'd like to research this and be prepared so I don't look dumb.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Revenge!"

Vince in Rex the Runt

STARPILOTGRAINGER

Friday, August 6, 2004 2:41 PM

Hrm... most of it sounds good. I'm a bit disappointed, as I prefer statless 'traits-based' MUSHes to statted games, but for Firefly I can probably make an exception. Although, I hope the rules for making characters are pretty easy, seeing as how it's a mishmash of systems.

One minor question. At the risk of opening up the 'how is it on the show' debate again, is the MU* going with a 'single solar system' model, or a 'multiple nearby solar system and slow FTL' model?

Star Pilot Grainger
"Remember, the enemy's gate is down."
LJ: http://www.livejournal.com/users/newnumber6
http://www.unreachablestar.net - Comics & SF News/Reviews/Opinion

FIREFLEW

Friday, August 6, 2004 2:49 PM

This all sounds very cool I must say.

Jayne: "Know what the chain of command is? It's the chain I beat you with till you understand who's in command."

GEOLOGIST13

Friday, August 6, 2004 5:42 PM

This most certainly sounds like fun. I will eagerly be anticipating more information and the start.

Duck

GREENLEAF

Friday, August 6, 2004 7:06 PM

The basic system is pretty simple overall, and the website will walk you through chargen if you need the help.

Basically you'll have six stats to describe your person (strength, intelligence, etc.) and then skills that are based on those stats.

You pick what skills you want based on what your job is (website will make recommendations for you, such as pointing out pilots will need both pilot and navigation skills to get anywhere ;)) and then you 'buy' ranks in that skill (1-15 with it skills becoming more expensive the higher up you go)

Take the bonus from the appropriate stat + skill rank = skill level.

The end :)

When you're finished, you have a character sheet with numbers for your six stats (ranging from 3 to 18) and a list of skills with your skill level.

But more important, you'll be asked to write a biography for your character - it's the RP that's more important than the hard numbers. The numbers should reflect your background.

We're very excited about how things are coming along, and even more excited to see how many people are interested!

Greenleaf

SIGMANUNKI

Saturday, August 7, 2004 3:26 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by StarPilotGrainger:

One minor question. At the risk of opening up the 'how is it on the show' debate again, is the MU* going with a 'single solar system' model, or a 'multiple nearby solar system and slow FTL' model?

At the risk of over stepping my bounds, I'd recommend not addressing this at all. Just say it'll take you x amount of time to get from a to b and leave it at that. That way, whatever people want to think, they can. Basically, leave it as the show left it... mysterious.

----
"Canada being mad at you is like Mr. Rogers throwing a brick through your window." -Jon Stewart, The Daily Show

GREENLEAF

Saturday, August 7, 2004 4:06 AM

I think we plan on leaving it undefined until such time as there's an official decision on whether or not it's one system or not.

Greenleaf

TENTHCREWMEMBER

Saturday, August 7, 2004 8:58 AM

Sounds like good solid fun. I look forward to seeing the fruits of your labors!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
BROWNCOATS! Rise again and promote Firefly/Serenity!
visit: http://the11thhour.home.att.net

TENTHCREWMEMBER

Saturday, August 7, 2004 8:59 AM

TENTHCREWMEMBER

Monday, August 9, 2004 6:00 AM

Are you any closer to setting a date?

The more I think about this project, the more I want to be a part.

Just jonesin' for good RP opportunities...

OH! and when is alot of background too much background? *grabs a pen and starts making notes*

TCM

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
BROWNCOATS! Rise again and promote Firefly/Serenity!
visit: http://the11thhour.home.att.net

SIGMANUNKI

Wednesday, August 11, 2004 3:14 AM

Greenleaf:
Out of curiousity, will it be open-source (client and/or server)? Language?

----
"Canada being mad at you is like Mr. Rogers throwing a brick through your window." -Jon Stewart, The Daily Show

TEMPEST

Tuesday, August 17, 2004 9:24 AM

Any new developments? I'm a long-time MUSHer, who has taken part in the building of several mushes in the past, have been admin to countless mushes over the years and am itching for a Firefly Mush. I'd love ot help out in any way possible. I started the foundations of a Firefly MU* a while back, but found that not many people expressed interest to aid in coding and descing, but you have had the interest for a while, which is awesome. Do you have the website up, or a temp server?

I'll be in my bunk.

SIGMANUNKI

Friday, September 3, 2004 1:48 AM

It's September and I'm hoping for an update

----
"Canada being mad at you is like Mr. Rogers throwing a brick through your window." -Jon Stewart, The Daily Show

AERRIN

Friday, September 3, 2004 3:05 AM

Toss me in there with those eager to hear progress! I know it takes a lot of time, so I'm hoping things are going well on your end.

If you need any help whatsoever, even with the mundane details of descing or writing basic files, give a shout-out our way. I'm sure there are many of us who'd chip in!

DRAACH

Friday, September 3, 2004 4:10 AM

To answer the questions a few people have had about what this is being written in, whether it's Open Source, whether there's a client or server that's being worked on...

MUSHes are old; they're part of an established line of applications that go back to the old text-based MUDs (Multi User Dungeons). Unlike MUDs, though, you can code MUSHes from the inside. From within the game, you create the world and all of the code that supports it.

As such, there's no traditional programming involved; the internal code is very much a LISP-like syntax, relying strongly on list manipulation to get things done. You don't tend to do much to the server itself from outside of the game in order to build the game; for those that want to, though, it's just C so if you want to do anything fancy that can't be done easily within the game, that's the place to do it.

There's no client needed; rather, there are clients that make a lot of things nicer or easier or whatnot...but it's just a straight telnet session under the hood. Any client just adds things like text buffers, maybe some mapping tools, macros, triggers, things like that.

If it's PennMUSH, I'm not sure of the state of that code; if it's TinyMUSH, there's a SourceForge project in the works so I believe it's being released to the community at large for development.

Here's a MUSH code tutorial: http://moosh.net/mush/guide/

From the same site: "What is a MUSH?" http://moosh.net/mush/what.shtml

And to see what a MUSH looks like, try one of the older and more recognizable ones: Star Wars (telnet www.starwars.com port 4402)

(Note: I'm not affiliated with those who are setting up the Firefly MUSH, though I wouldn't mind adding my 12+ years of MU* admin experience if needed. Likewise, I'm not affiliated with Star Wars MUSH; it's not an advertisement, just a good example of what MUSHes are)

BEYLIX

Sunday, September 5, 2004 4:46 PM

Hey there...
I know Greenleaf has been answering most of the questions. We've all been busy trying to get it all together! I think I've worn out my DVD's trying to get descriptions matchin!
Osiris is heading up most of the coding systems, so I'll let him address that in particular.
We said September (after one slight pushing out) and we are sure as hades going to make it september! *grins* Don't worry on that matter. Just might be last week of September...
We intend to have all the details on the website. So, any questions about Chargen, what the skills mean and how they are used, will be seen right up front.
The website we intend to have up at least a few days before the site so that you'll have a chance to read on what we've got.

Soon! Soon!

Beylix

Life is neither the candle nor the wick - It is the burning.

OSIRUS

Monday, September 6, 2004 5:22 AM

Okay. A few things. :)

I've been up to my ying-yang in code and have a few things to put out briefly.

The skill system is 90% complete with the only thing missing being the admin interface commands. Odd, isn't it? But rest assured, those commands will be done or else ... well ... /we/ wont have an easy time with it. :)

As Greenie mentioned, the system is a meshing of a couple RP tabletop systems. We have done our best in making it as minimally distracting from the RP experience as possible. As with all our systems, a majority of them are not needed to immerse yourself into the gameplay and storylines that will be occuring throughout. However, they will be in place for those instances where folk who need a structured skill system can utilize it.

Our space system is HSpace ( www.hspace.org) and is actually what I've got my fingers in at the time of this post. We've put thought into how to make all facets of travel fun while at the same time giving a nod of the head to the show. Our HSpace setup will be explained in better graphical detail on our webpage when it comes online. Our main codebase is PennMUSH ( www.pennmush.org) and is the latest stable edition of it.

Our webpage will detail the best ways to connect to the MUSH but I suggest to all those interested to visit ( www.mudconnector.com) and ( www.topmudsites.com) as the main hubs of the MU** communities. I also suggest MUSHClient ( www.mushclient.com) by Nick Gammon as an alternative to telnet for WinXP, TinyFugue for Macs and Linux boxes unless you have SUSE 9.1 which comes with it's own MUD client that's actually very, very good.

After I am done with the space system, I will be moving onto the economy system. This will not be a supply-demand driven market but instead more akin to the trucker-dispatcher relationship which will allow for admin driven events to also revolve around cargo runs.

That's it for now. More to come as we grow nearer to our opening this month. :)

-O

BEYLIX

Monday, September 6, 2004 5:55 AM

By the way -
For everyone who has offered their help and their time? Thank you! I don't want those offers to go by without ya'll knowing that they've been heard and we are very excited to hear about the excitement and potential commitment offered. :)

The only reason that we are not accepting such generous offers at this time has mainly to do with the communication issue. We already know how hard it is to hash out a system or idea with just three opinions, much less an idea of a desc or look for chargen. Once we have our grounding it will be much easier to invite people in and say 'Look, here is the grounding in how we do things. Let's see if we share the same philosophies and go from there!'

*grins*
Making progress every day folks...

Life is neither the candle nor the wick - It is the burning.

PBI

Monday, September 6, 2004 6:05 AM

Sounds very promising. Please, just don't make the common mistake that too many MUSHes make and try and represent all of the Firefly universe? You'll end up with too few players in too large aspace and the thing will die. Keep it small at first; there'll be plenty of time to expand as the playerbase gets larger.

If you can survive death, you can probably survive almost anything.

SIGMANUNKI

Tuesday, September 7, 2004 12:26 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by Beylix:

We said September (after one slight pushing out) and we are sure as hades going to make it september! *grins* Don't worry on that matter.

I think (hope) that I speak for the community at large in saying that although we are wanting this out as soon as you guys can get it out, please don't rush. If it takes a little while longer to get the best possible game, then so be it. It'll just make it that much sweeter. I for one am looking forward to my first MUSH experience

----
"Canada being mad at you is like Mr. Rogers throwing a brick through your window." -Jon Stewart, The Daily Show

GREENLEAF

Monday, September 27, 2004 4:34 PM

So we decided to take your advice ;)

Seriously, real life has slowed us down a touch, so we'll be opening the MUSH in October.

Meanwhile, you can go to www.objectsinspace.com to see what we're all about!

AMNESIACK

Monday, September 27, 2004 5:46 PM

Will zMud be an acceptable client for use in this MUSH?

BEYLIX

Tuesday, September 28, 2004 12:32 AM

That should be just fine. There are so many clients out there, we couldn't list them all. :) But any client that allows you to access MUDs (including telnet) should work.
Ahem. And I do apologize for stating a date that rl kept us from keeping. Osiris and Greenleaf have beaten me upside the head for it already.
Repeatedly.
Feel free, anyone, to tell them they can stop.

Life is neither the candle nor the wick - It is the burning.

JOEMO

Wednesday, September 29, 2004 4:35 PM

I can't wait for October to roll arround so we can all start rping in the this sure to be awsome 'Verse'

AMNESIACK

Thursday, September 30, 2004 1:28 AM

Another question: Will the Alliance government be entirely admin run or will PCs have the option of playing Alliance soldiers, pilots, beaurocrats, etc. (as opposed to normal civilians who may be loyal to the Alliance) with chances to rise in rank and power within the Alliance government?

BEYLIX

Thursday, September 30, 2004 6:18 PM

Questions are good!
Amnesiack, to be honest, a lot is going to depend on what the players want.
At this point in time there are only two unacceptable concepts - Reavers and Canon characters.
If you want to be an Alliance soldier (politician, etc) /please/ go for it! Personally, I think that is going to be one of the more interesting areas. Advancement chances are going to be there - its no fun if you can't grow.

Life is neither the candle nor the wick - It is the burning.

JEST

Saturday, October 2, 2004 11:59 PM

OSIRUS

Sunday, October 3, 2004 12:08 AM

Osiris (Yes, my name is wrong here 'cause someone else has it ), head coder at Into the Black with another public service announcement.

We're hard at work putting the finishing touches on the MUSH. I'd like to announce the completion of player owned stores, letting characters who choose to be shop owners buy and sell goods to other players! Character Generation is complete and the administration will be creating characters within the next day to test it out and give the game a good run through! :)

The only thing left will be populating our space system (Everything's charted and plotted, it's just not put in the system yet. That's saved for last). Then we'll turn our eyes towards how economy interacts with space, make tweaks as needed, and then...Hopefully that'll be it.

Also, I've added another project that'll be completed after the game opens. Essentially, I'll be trying to recreate the Cortex. You'll be able to use this to send "Video Messages", text messages (think email), and read "webpages" designed by both admin and the players. It'll also enable you to "hack" certain things for your own gain. That's a pretty hefty project and will have to wait until the MUSH is online and running or else we may never open!

So excuse me while I light one up and dive back in. As always, questions will be answered and things explained.

-O

www.objectsinspace.com

AMNESIACK

Sunday, October 3, 2004 6:03 AM

Are the parts of the website that are still under construction going to be completed before the MUSH goes live?

OSIRUS

Sunday, October 3, 2004 10:05 PM

Yes. The parts of the website that're currently marked as being 'under' construction will be available shortly. Frankly, I forgot to email myself some of the files from work so was unable to put them up this weekend. My bad.

Expect files to be online no later than Tuesday night. Also, we should have access to our own chat forums to help alleviate the good folk of this site from having to listen to our blabbering.

Stay shiny.

-O

ELLIE

Sunday, October 3, 2004 11:07 PM

As per the website:

Quote:
Following on the heels of that – Companion RP. There will be NPC companions running around that are played by admin. They will be ‘fade to black’ in policy.

I could be dense, but can you explain what NPC and "'Fade to black' in policy" mean? Does this mean that a Companion character is not available to regular players?

Because the character of a companion would be very interesting to play, and wouldn't necessarily involve areas that might be considered too risky for the RP. As we've seen with Inara, she is a very well developed character, with a good storyline behind her, and an integral part of the show, despite the fact that her activities are very private and do not usually involve any key characters.

Just a thought anyhow, as for me, a companion would be the ideal character to play. Their culture and tradition are deeply interesting!

Sherie @-)---
http://nfa.apocalypse-monthly.com

AERRIN

Sunday, October 3, 2004 11:25 PM

'NPC' generally means 'non-played character'. That is, a character who's generally brought out for a specific purpose but isn't played all the time. Often they aren't even character-objects, but are just emited or spoofed by someone else.

'Fade to black' generally means that the RP will stop before it gets too sexually explicit, keeping things at a PG13ish level. With a character like a Companion, any scene that has to do with that aspect would 'fade out' before the real down and dirty happened. ;)

Just my take on things, but from my years of M*ing, those are my definitions.

OSIRUS

Monday, October 4, 2004 2:15 AM

Quote:
'NPC' generally means 'non-played character'. That is, a character who's generally brought out for a specific purpose but isn't played all the time. Often they aren't even character-objects, but are just emited or spoofed by someone else.

That basically hit it right on the nose as for what "NPC" stands for. Thanks Aerrin.

As for what the file on our website says about companions, the fade to black policy only applies to Admin owned/played Companions. It in no way restricts players from having characters that are Companions. In fact, it really is a great platform for some really indepth characters. The fade to black policy applies to Admin Companions only for several reasons, not least of which is legal obligations on our parts. :) Players, on the other hand, can do as they please, when they please, how they please.

Stay shiny.

-O

BEYLIX

Monday, October 4, 2004 2:24 AM

Not a dense question at all!
The terminology we are using kind of goes like Aerrin said.

PC = Player Characters - These are the character objects you create. You will only have one of these to play. They are the character run by you, the player :)

NPC = Non-Player Characters - These can break down into two categories.

1. Admin Played Characters - These are characters that we, the admin, will be running to either advance the plot, provide entertainment, or provide atmosphere. In the example that was mentioned, it was being stated that while we may provide a Companion NPC, we will be fading to black on intimacy (more on fade to black in a bit :))
2. Player created/emitted characters. This is a bit easier to explain by example. We know that you are creative imaginative people who are capable of providing entertainment and atmosphere all on your own. If you are in a bar, you can have the bartender doing something you can react to. We would say it needs to be in theme with the bar (IE: Having the bartender stand up to do a strip tease is NOT going to fly on most worlds) and it needs to be done respectfully and correctly. But you will be able to create those little enviromental enhancements. Just keep in mind that player created 'NPC's are for enviroment only. You can't have an NPC crew.
Again, this may be easier to see rather than explain. Let me know if an example would be more helpful.

Now, Fade to Black? Its just a term to coin how most PG-13 shows will do a fade to black and not actually show anything too explicit. Just like Aerrin noted, yup.

And, please feel free to play a Companion! We all know that there is more to them, to the culture and the guild than ...ahem... the down and dirty of the job.
After all.... we already have some temple locations set up for them to inhabit.

Life is neither the candle nor the wick - It is the burning.

OSIRUS

Tuesday, October 5, 2004 7:19 PM

This is a call for help!!

We require some assistance from our fellow fans and gamers. Basically put, we have very little graphically artistic skills. Furthermore, we have absolutely zero skills when it comes to ASCII/ANSI art.

What is ASCII/ANSI art, you ask? Basically, it's using numbers and letters for several lines in depth to make the shape of a picture, object, whatever.. :)

An ASCII picture is primarily used in the opening connect screen of a MUSH. Kinda eye candy and not really needed, but cool none-the-less. :) If anyone out there has mad skillz, krazy, killa talent, or just wants to lend a helping hand, feel free to send me an email at Osiris@objectsinspace.com with your ASCII art. Full credit and perhaps some award down the lane on the game will be in order.

If we can't seem to find a picture we like, we'll make one or we wont. Again, this isn't going to stop the game from opening. Just think of it as making the best brownie in the world but you just can't seem to put those little crests in the frosting the way your mother did.

Stay shiny.

-O

OSIRUS

Tuesday, October 5, 2004 7:23 PM

One more thing for potential artists. :)

Please keep your pictures below 80 characters in width and no more than say ... 40 in depth. :) Thanks. :)

Stay shiny.

-O

TEMPEST

Wednesday, October 6, 2004 6:28 AM

I'll send something quick I made up off to you.

Oh, and I'm getting people from other mushes I'm in interested, and have already got a 5 man (well.. 3 men 2 women) crew. Everyone's getting excited. :)

OSIRUS

Thursday, October 7, 2004 3:28 AM

Starting to notice that our post frequency is starting to become more regulard? Must mean we're nearing our opening day (Still unannounced), eh?

Just a quick blurb today to letchyall know that we've updated the website with a few minor additions. Those additions are the ECONOMY page and the BEGINNER'S GUIDE. These pages will be continual works in progress due to the nature that code and the like is constantly changing so expect to see several versions arrive concerning those. Those pages can be found under the RP SYSTEMS link to the left of your explorer window.

Also, expect to see another planet added to the database in coming days. This will be the last planet before we open and will roundout that page nicely. Hint: Alliance-minded folk, this'll be your primary base of operations.

A starship page will be available real shortly that'll outline the types of ships available to the playerbase and their purposes. This'll also coincide with the debut of the SPACE webpage under RP SYSTEMS to further explain our somewhat unique take on space and the 'verse in general.

That's about it from the folk at Into the Black for now. If you want to contact us, you can use shadow@objectsinspace.com, greenleaf@objectsinspace.com, osiris@objectsinspace.com, or you can contact all of us at admin@objectsinspace.com .

Stay shiny.

-O

www.objectsinspace.com

AMNESIACK

Thursday, October 7, 2004 8:31 AM

I've played primarily in MUDs rather than MUSHes in the past (though they've all been rp-enforced MUDs) so I'm rather hazy as to what the @rp command is for. Does it mean that there will be avatars running around acting out of character that will be diferentiated from those currently acting in character based on some use of this command? All my previous MU*s have required you to stay IC at all times, except through private tells/pages and on ooc channels. Can someone with more experience in this particular area enlighten me?

STARPILOTGRAINGER

Thursday, October 7, 2004 12:18 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by amnesiack:
I've played primarily in MUDs rather than MUSHes in the past (though they've all been rp-enforced MUDs) so I'm rather hazy as to what the @rp command is for. Does it mean that there will be avatars running around acting out of character that will be diferentiated from those currently acting in character based on some use of this command? All my previous MU*s have required you to stay IC at all times, except through private tells/pages and on ooc channels. Can someone with more experience in this particular area enlighten me?

I don't know specifically how they're doing it here, but all the MUSHes I've been on, while you're certainly encouraged to be IC as much as possible, sometimes you're just not in the mood to RP and just want to hang out and chat with people in an OOC room. I find it builds more of a sense of community, although it can get out of hand if everyone's just there to chat and not RP.

As to this particular MUSH... well, I'm appreciative of all the effort here, and I wish you the best of luck, but there's too much in the policies and setup that I find I don't like. I may still app at some point, but I'm probably not going to app the character I originally wanted to, and it may take me a while to come up with someone I want to play there. (Just for clarity, I'm not saying that you've done anything _wrong_, just there are certain things I look for in a MU*, for my own enjoyment, and this one isn't working for me). Hopefully someone else will start another Firefly game at some point under a different model... the more, the merrier.

Star Pilot Grainger
"Remember, the enemy's gate is down."
LJ: http://www.livejournal.com/users/newnumber6
http://www.unreachablestar.net - Comics & SF News/Reviews/Opinions

GREENLEAF

Thursday, October 7, 2004 1:22 PM

Star Pilot,

I know I and the other staff would be very grateful if you would write to us at one of the above listed e-mails to discuss what it is about the policies that isn't to your liking.

We'd very much like for everyone to feel welcome, and it could be that our policies need adjusting or perhaps that you're reading more into it than intended.

Any feedback at all would be appreciated!

Greenleaf

OSIRUS

Thursday, October 7, 2004 4:25 PM

This is just a small backup to what Greenleaf has already stated.

Basically, if any questions, concerns, or complaints are being had regarding the contents of our website, we would very much like to hear them. Preferably, we would like them to be posted here in the open so that the masses who might be thinking the same thing but unable or unwilling to post them have the opportunity to be informed as well.

While Greenleaf is right in saying that we may be attempting to develop a game where all folk can feel welcomed, we hold no fantasy that it will indeed appeal to everyone. That's just the nature of the beast and we accept that. What we can do, however, is our best to attempt to clarify and expand on policies, systems, etc. and perhaps even make some concessions to appeal to a spectrum of players that we have somehow overlooked because we, ourselves, are but a very, very, very small segment of the roleplaying demographic.

In essence, we're asking you to help us make this a better game before and after it opens. By telling us that something is 'wrong', even in your opinion, is like going to the mechanic to have him tell you that your car's broke and then leaving it at that. The problem will most likely still be there when you leave.

In closing, we're a very feedback friendly MUSH. We like it in a sick way. You will never get 'flamed' by the administration 'cause, honestly, we're too busy trying to create a good game for that.

Give us the facts of your opinions and we'll give you ours. If not here, then you can definitely email us at the above listed address. Preferably at admin@objectsinspace.com

Stay shiny.

-O

AMNESIACK

Thursday, October 7, 2004 6:14 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by StarPilotGrainger:
I don't know specifically how they're doing it here, but all the MUSHes I've been on, while you're certainly encouraged to be IC as much as possible, sometimes you're just not in the mood to RP and just want to hang out and chat with people in an OOC room. I find it builds more of a sense of community, although it can get out of hand if everyone's just there to chat and not RP.

That is slightly odd, considering that I've always been told that MUSHes are more rp-focused than MUDs. It seems like that would be rather detrimental to keeping an authentic roleplaying environment, if you can walk into a room and some people are acting IC and others OOC. I've always found that OOC channels build that same sense of community just fine, but since you can turn it off at will, you don't have to be distracted by it if you don't want to. I guess I'll just have to wait and see how it actually works out in this game. Thanks for the info.

BEYLIX

Thursday, October 7, 2004 7:59 PM

Quick clarification here -

There is a specific room for OOC interaction. At this point, I believe we're only intending on having one OOC room and everyone in that room is Out of Character. It can provide a good place to get to know the other players, true, but I tend to think of it in other terms for myself.
There are times when I am on the MUSH and unable to be actively involved in RP, but I don't want to disconnect. I want to remain on, but I'm just not able to be rping.
The OOC room gives a place go for situations like that and also when you know you'll be away from the keyboard for a long time. Rather than hide your character in an ic room (thus running the risk that someone might come in the room and be thinking you are 'there' and be left waiting for some sort of response, or having people travel to see you and be left waiting outside the door) you would jump to the OOC room. People could still page you and talk to you - plan for characters meeting up ICLY and the like... but you aren't considered to be role playing just yet.
I've heard it called the "Green Room" of a MUSH.
And of course, no one has to go to the OOC room. :) Its merely a jumping off point and an occasional refuge.

I hope that helps!

Life is neither the candle nor the wick - It is the burning.

GREENLEAF

Thursday, October 7, 2004 8:47 PM

Think of the ooc room as a place to go when you're not gaming but want to chat with folks.

The OOC room is just that - OOC. IC and OOC don't mix here. You hop out to the room if you're going to be afk awhile or if you're at work and can't steadily RP but want to talk to folks on OOC channels.

This way you don't keep folks sitting around an IC room waiting for you but meanwhile you want folks to know you're around, when you'll be available, etc.

It's exactly to keep the IC flavor going that there's a separate space to go for OOC interaction :)

AMNESIACK

Thursday, October 7, 2004 9:11 PM

So the @rp command actually transports your character into a different room? That makes much more sense. The command explanation I saw made it appear as though it just raised some sort of flag that differentiated between people currently acting IC and OOC. Thanks!

Edit: Out of curiosity, when you leave the OOC room, do you automatically return to the IC location you left from?

OSIRUS

Thursday, October 7, 2004 10:18 PM

I'm going to have to clarify the newbie help page. Reading it, I realize we took for granted that all MU**s have some sort of command like @rp.

My apologies.

Greenie and Beylix already went over what the @rp command does so I'll just respond to what Amnesiack wrote:

Quote:
Edit: Out of curiosity, when you leave the OOC room, do you automatically return to the IC location you left from?

Yes. The @rp command will remove you from the IC 'Grid' and place you in the OOC room where you can stay online but be hidden from those in character (IC). Typing the command again will return you to the exact location you departed from so you can continue on your way when able/willing to RP. :)

Stay shiny.

-O

Edit - I don't know why my words are struck like that. :P

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OSIRUS
Saturday, October 16, 2004 10:34 PM

Effective Immediately:

Into the Black MUSH will only be posting critical updates to this message board system and occassional notices to bump the message up for new visitors of the site.

Please take note of the following website:

www.objectsinspace.com/forum

Now players and curious guests can view or login to reply and chat with the administration or fellow players.

Of note, please check out the Announcements section concerning a big website update tomorrow (Which will link the forums among other things) evening as well as a special offer for the first weekend! :)

We hope to see you there if for the very least to keep up to date to the latest shindigs of our online roleplaying game. :)

Stay shiny.

-O
www.objectsinspace.com

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OSIRUS
Monday, November 1, 2004 4:36 PM

Greetings,

For those not following the discussion threads at http://www.objectsinspace.com/forum, I'd just like to post what was repeated there concerning our firm date of opening.

Quote:
Alright, cowpokes, heeeee-eeeeeeere we go!

Effective immediately, not withstanding, to never be changed, altered, transferred, mutilated, dictated, mutated, emulsified, branched, boiled, chopped, sliced, diced, glued, nailed, pickled, or jellied:

Into the Black: A Firefly MUSH will be opening its doors on November 4th, 2004 at 6:30pm EST.

That's next Thursday, just so you don't have to look it up. Next Thursday, November 4th we will be opening for Chargen with an official RP kickoff at 6:30 EST on November 5th

This will enable us to approve characters and have folk on the move, get ship orders accomplished, etc. With that said, spread the word, get your crews and get ready. The deadline for the special offer is now Saturday, the 6th at 6:30pm EST. For those of you who sent in bio submissions or ideas, we haven't been ignoring, just extremely busy and I, myself, have been away for the week.

So....Limited, one-time offer, bargains gallore!

-O
Head Coder
Alliance Director

That's right, we're opening this Thursday at 6:30pm EST. That's -5GMT for you international folk.

Feel free to stop by, ask questions, create a character, enjoy the 'verse, or anything else you'd like to do.

You can also throw your settings into a client or telnet using the following information:

Client: objectsinspace.com port 2517
Telnet: telnet://objectsinspace.com:2517

Our website is at www.objectsinspace.com and our forums are located at www.objectsinspace.com/forum

Stay Shiny.

-Osiris
Head Coder
Alliance Director
---
Into the Black: A Firefly MUSH

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OSIRUS
Wednesday, November 3, 2004 4:25 PM

Howdie!

Just giving everyone a head's up that Into the Black: A Firefly MUSH is now officially on the Top Mud Site webpage.

For those of you not familiar with that site, it's basically a free website where you can advertise for new players and show support for your favorite MUSH.

You can vote once a day using the following link:

http://www.topmudsites.com/cgi-bin/topmuds/rankem.cgi?id=Kodiak

Basically, you click the link, then click on VOTE FOR THIS SITE and that's it. It'll take you to the homepage and voila, you see a listing.

Currently we are #96 out of 972 games. Each day your vote counts new again and the numbers keep ticking away.

So take a second a day if you want, show support for a game that represents your favorite television show (Even if you don't want to play on it) and exit the windows after clicking on VOTE FOR THIS SITE and the homepage appears. That's all. :)

Thanks in advance to those who decide to help and thanks greatly to those who make this a somewhat habit and thanks for being fans of one of the most original shows on television.

http://www.topmudsites.com/cgi-bin/topmuds/rankem.cgi?id=Kodiak

Remember, we open tomorrow (Thursday) at 6:30pm EST. :)

-Osiris
Head Coder
Alliance Director
Soapbox Misfit

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NELLIEE
Wednesday, November 30, 2011 10:30 PM

yes
!

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DREAMTROVE
Friday, December 2, 2011 1:31 AM

Was this a necropost?

That's what a ship is, you know - it's not just a keel and a hull and a deck and sails, that's what a ship needs.

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