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Questions about making a new character (new player)

Discussion in 'General Discussion' started by Strus, Oct 15, 2016.

  1. Strus

    Strus New Member

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    Hey everyone,

    I am new to Antares, new to Starbound (started with 1.1, have over 100 hours single-player) , and new to Starbound RP. As excited as I am to get my feet wet with Starbound RP, I have a few questions that I am hoping the community can answer, most of which is regarding 1.1 content. I hope that this thread may also help serve those who are newer to Starbound looking to come to this server!

    It is my understanding that this server is supposed to take a more "realistic" interpretation of Starbound. However, for those of us who have not played before 1.1 may have some misconceptions which may need to be cleared up a bit. I am looking for a general consensus among Antares to help answer some of these questions:

    1. Mana manipulators - how common/uncommon are they? Are they racial specific or general tools of all races? Have certain races modified them in different ways than others? What is the community's general view on them?

    2. The Protectorate - I have scoured a decent amount of Antares lore and I am not 100% whether they exist/do not exist. I don't really care about whether they are in the lore or not, I just want to know. I don't see why they couldn't exist, but from what I have read thus far on Antares, Starbound 1.1 canon seems to conflict a bit with RP that has already happened here.

    3. The Arc - what is Antares' view of The Arc? Is it a place of which we do not speak or does it exist in Antares to some degree?

    4. "The Ruin" tentacle race - do they exist/not-exist?

    5. Should I assume all racial culture lore exists to some degree? - Big Ape/Minikog, Kluex, Glitch Hivemind, original Greenfinger (overall some Florans have varying degrees of Greenfinger's abilities), Floran vs. Hylotl history, etc.).

    6. "Virgin planets" - It has been stated that what you find on untouched/unclaimed planets (and even some player-run planets) that the items you find are not actually IC. However, do the cities and dungeons exist IC? Do they only exist if you allow these things to impact and develop your character in game?

    7. Crew members - IC & OOC? Are ship crew members acceptable npcs? Can they be secondary player characters? First, it is obvious that crew member have Protectorate uniforms which certainly throws a wrench into the overall universe. There are a couple mods out there that can customize crew members, but I don't know how reliable they are, or whether they would even be acceptable on the server. I suppose one could explain Protectorate regalia, but overall I see a slippery slope ahead on many fronts...this could be a whole thread topic in itself for sure (if it isn't already), but I'd at least like to get a general consensus or confirmation on how the community deals with this.

    8. Ships - common/uncommon? I assume you can either decide to make your ship an IC or OOC thing, and whether you have one or not. However, if it is IC, does ship size matter ( :p )? Meaning, if I have a level 8 ship, is that frowned upon for being too unrealistic?

    Those are the questions I could come up with for the moment. Any responses would be greatly appreciated and I am sure it would assist us newcomers!
     
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  2. TrashHound

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    1. The matter manipulator is not IC, actually. If something needs dig, we use a shovel. If something needs built, we use the old fashioned hammer and nails. Primitive, I know.

    2. Starbound used to have some half decent lore, once upon a time. That lore was improved upon by the server, up until 1.0 hit and chucklefish retconned it all for the garbage they call the protectorate. We, however, continued to used the lore we knew, and actually liked, simply tossing out any IDEAS of the protectorate.

    3. The arc is not IC, no.

    4. The tentacle monster has been used for several major events on the server, and is a part of Antares lore, yes, though I would advise speaking with the staff if you plan to use it for future events.

    5. The old starbound lore I spoke of does include such things, yes. I'll leave that to our more lore savvy players to fully answer though.

    6. If you were to explore or create something on an unoccupied planet, it's completely up to you if the dungeons or cities are there IC, or not. Some colonies use them as part of their design, or expand upon them, or slightly ruin them fix them up as if they've been abandoned. Other's just build over them.

    7. Crew members are kinda iffy. While I don't believe they're IC, I'll have to leave that to the staff to answer.

    8. Ships being the ONLY means of transportation, small one are rather common, and just about any character can have them. Alternatively, if you want to be a hobo without one IC, that's just fine! Larger ships are perfectly acceptable too, as long as you have a good IC reason for having them.

    Alrighty! If you have any more questions, feel free to ask! Alternatively, you can always join the server discord channel and ask there.

    Have a good one!
     
  3. Strus

    Strus New Member

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    Thank you for the responses! Very helpful! I would love to ask these questions on Discord but having them documented here I feel would help the community as a whole :)

    I also have two other important questions:

    1. What is the current "date" within the universe? I figure every race has their own record of "date," but what is the typical date we use IC and OOC?

    2. How does time pass on the server? For instance, say I have clearance to build something on Fernbrook Farms - is there a certain passage of time needed to build a large structure? Or when I build it, do I just state that it has been in the works for some time already? OOC building doesn't even come close to building IC obviously, so does the server/community have anything set in stone or at least have guidelines?
     
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  4. TrashHound

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    That's actually a very good point, and rather considerate!

    1. The IC date is the same as the current date + 400 years. So, 10/15/2416

    2. The server standard is 1 IC day = 1 actual day, though we tend to shorten things like construction, or, if you get into the situation, recovering from an injury. The time shortened tends to differ depending on the situation, maybe fully playing out something that would take a week, but shortening the recovery time from an injury from 2 months to 1. OR, you could be a coolster like me and roleplay the entire recovery time!
     
  5. CaptainBritton02

    CaptainBritton02 Man of War

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    1. Matter Manipulators are not IC. Mainly due to them being unbalanced and not really having a place in our lore.

    2. In my personal opinion (which I've observed is shared throughout much of the community) the Protectorate is a poorly written pile of garbage. It's more or less an interracial hugbox led by humanity, which makes zero sense and does not fit in with our current lore, thus the Lore Editors decided to exclude it from our server lore. Plus the whole fact that it'd void 2+ years of RP.

    3. The Ark is not IC.

    4. The Ruin does exist, yes. However, its only widespread use other than small cultist events has been mass sector calamities run by staff.

    5. Indeed it does! We have a brand new lore subforum soon to go public with all the lore about the various races, technology, and settings of the server.

    6. It's generally up to the owner of the planet whether the dungeons and various other pregens are IC. If you claim a planet, you're completely welcome to treat any dungeons, cities, etc on it as IC.

    7. They are not considered IC. Mainly due to the system of how these crew members work being very wonky and not working well in a serious RP setting.

    8. It depends on the type of ship. Small ships like shuttles, pods, and skips are fairly common. But the larger you go, the more costly and uncommon the ship, and the better the explanation you'll need to justify it.

    1. As Gruv said, current date plus 400 years.

    2. Gruv explained this one better than I ever could, so see above.
     
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  6. Haplap

    Haplap Happypaps

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    Gruv really needs a raise. Man puts in work.
     
  7. Strus

    Strus New Member

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    You all have been very helpful - again, thank you! I certainly look forward to reading the upcoming Antares lore! I definitely feel more comfortable in finishing my character creation now.