[Discuss] Theoretical realistic messaging

[Timothy Collett]

On May 1, 2006, at 7:53 AM, Tom wrote:

> Tom schrieb:
>> Absolutely. The magic will be in making delays that are useful for  
>> gameplay, but small enough that it is too much of a burden to copy  
>> everything to some OOC system.
>>
>> If the delay were on the order of hours, instead of days, I think  
>> most people wouldn't take the trouble except in cases where  
>> they're already talking on IRC, etc. anyways.
> The more I think about it, the more I like the idea. Because it  
> also solves a few other gameplay issues.
>
> For example, if you get informed about distant events and receive  
> orders with a delay of a few hours, the turn times aren't the  
> single optimal times to log in anymore, and people would probably  
> feel more free to log in whenever it suits them.

If you're going to do this, it's a huge change in the way the game  
functions.  I would suggest giving it at least a 1-month trial in  
testing before you commit it to stable--not only can we see how well  
it works in practice, but it will also give people in testing a  
chance to figure out how to work with it, and they can give advice to  
the others so the transition in stable is smoother.

Personally, I worry that Gloria's right--it'll mean that people,  
especially Generals and other High Council members, are under much  
more pressure to log in more often, so that they can both find out  
what's happening *and* give out current orders.  However, as with  
most things, I think it's a good idea to try it out for a while and  
see how it goes before I pass judgement ;-)

Timothy Collett
Anaris Family

--

To be great is to be misunderstood.
  -- Ralph Waldo Emerson