IC
IC stands for "In Character". It means you are speaking (typing) and behaving as if you were a specific character in the environment. Use the Utopia meter/titler to change the name floating above your head to help differentiate between characters if you play more than one. You can also use a chat repeater that will replace your name in chat with a character's name. If you only have one primary character, you might want to change your display name to match.All areas of the station are considered IC areas. If you want to speak out of character, follow the propoer guidelines (see the next section).
To emote something your character says, start your line of text with /me.
To mix emotes and dialogue, use quotation marks. Lines that have no emotes don't always need quotes, but it does make it easier to immediately identify something as dialogue, and not an emote.
Example:
/me wipes his forehead with the back of his hand. It was hot in the shuttle.will show up in chat with your character name replacing "/me". If your display name is Samuel, it would show up as:
Samuel wipes his forehead with the back of his hand. It was hot in the shuttle.Example:
/me wipes his forehead with the back of his hand. He looks over at the stranger sitting across the aisle from him and grins, "I had no idea it would be this hot in the shuttle."
Samuel wipes his forehead with the back of his hand. He looks over at the stranger sitting across the aisle from him and grins, "I had no idea it would be this hot in the shuttle."
OOC
OOC stands for "Out of Character". Use brackets around chat to signify it is OOC. Example:Sayer (syr.eiren): "Ah, good. What is he doing down there? You know.. I guess I never asked what he does ... is he a scientist?" Erich (illusive.secretspy) shakes his head with a slight chuckle. "Mark? Hell no, He does the same job as me. Security." Sayer (syr.eiren): ((brb relog))Common types of brackets are ((ooc comment)), [[ooc comment]], and {{ooc comment}}.
NPCs
NPC stands for "Non Player Character" meaning it is a role being played to help move the story along. They should have depth, but they aren't going to be as fleshed out as your main character. Information learned on your NPCs is not information your main character necessarily would know. Be careful about letting information cross between characters.Backstory
The Utopia Station is owned by Utopia Industries. See the About page for more information.Immersion
Stay in character as much as possible. OOC chat breaks the immersion and pulls people out of the story. If you want to just hang out take your chat to personal IM. A lot of time and energy went into building the environment - please try to respect that.Environment
The time frame is 25th century post apocalyptic Earth. The surface has been laid waste, and cities float at different altitudes in order to get clear of the clouds of pollution. The technology level is cyberpunk - energy weapons are young in their evolution. Spaceship drive systems are newtonian. There are no transporters, hyperdrives, or warp drives.There are othere regions in this "universe": Hangar Liquides, and Nu Mexico. The Utopia Station is a nexus between several regions - the stories aren't tied to one place.
Making a Character
Tips when making a character:- Have some flaws. Flaws are generally more interesting and allow you more opportunities for RP and character growth.
- No furries. If you look like you walked out of a cartoon, you may be asked to change.
- No aliens, telepaths, demons, or magic. If you’re a time lord, make sure we never know about it.
- Spend some time (and probably Lindens) making your character look like they fit into the environment. Clothing, skin, hair, and aos make a big difference in increasing the immersion.
- If you show up and claim to be Q, an AI of godlike power, etc., you may be contacted by a councilor and asked to revisit the scope of your character. Characters that are so powerful they disrupt the playing experience of others will not be permitted.
Types of Characters
HumansAI
There are three possible opportunities for AI in this 'verse:
1 - registered AI who are Miach employees
2 - registered AI who work for other factions
3 - free AI to oppose everyone, especially Miach
If you wish to RP as an AI character, please contact Phoenix inworld (dawn12.parx). She can help you adjust your existing character, or to create a new one.
RP Faux Pas
God Modding
1) A character has extraordinary abilities with few limits. If you RP a fight and you take no hits, you are probably god modding. It's less fun to play with someone who RPs like this, so be conscious of your actions. If you have a character who is always superior and is always "winning", you might find yourself without people who want to RP with you. Related: Power-play.2) Emoting other characters' actions. Let other characters respond. Even if it is obvious how they will react, don't put words in their text box for them. RP is give and take. Try to always leave several options open for those you are RPing with so that it can develop on its own. Be open to surprises.
Metagaming
Using information learned OOC or out of a particular character's interactions to influence RP. This is difficult because Metagaming is always there to some level (in an RP sim choosing between which public place to visit because there are "green dots" in one, and none in another, choosing to approach and RP with certain characters because you've read previous stories they've been in and find them interesting, or you appreciate their style of RP, etc.). However, "bad" metagaming can ruin the story or experience for others, or make others perceive you as "cheating".In a mature RP setting people shouldn't mind being asked if they are metagaming - ultimately you want the environment to be as successful as possible. Just ask in an IM if you are unsure ("Would it be metagaming if I mentioned...." or "I think I told you that OOC, would your character know that IC?"). There should always be RP to discover knowledge. Consider keeping logs of your rp sessions so you can review them if you are unsure whether or not your character learned something IC.
Staff
The staff are here to take care of the environment and to monitor the RP. Their decisions are final. See the councilor and staff sections on the about page.Retcon/Rollback
On rare occasions RP may be "rolled back" or "rewinded". If you have a small group RPing and everyone agrees, this can happen without councilor assistance. If the RP impacts the environment or other story lines, you should have a councilor mediate the rollback.Joining The Utopia Station RP
Popular areas in the station for casual RP
[Directory list coming soon]A HUD is also available in-world with popular locations.
Becoming part of the environment
Observe RP that is happening at the station, and read through some of the stories that have been written up on the blogs. If you are new at RP you can IM one of the staff members and ask for help.Don't be afraid to jump in. Emoting what your character is doing in the area is a good way to be part of the story even if you don't have anything in particular to say (as dialogue) yet.
Blogging RP
Blogging public RP is generally accepted. Please ask the other participants if you are blogging about RP that happened in IMs or was private or personal in nature. If you are blogging about RP that happened at Utopia or is related to Utopia, provide a feed to Sayer for inclusion in "The Story".Factions
Utopia Industries
CEO: Dr. Xiram L. RowanUtopia Industries is a privately owned corporation that does genetic and biological research and development. The Utopia Project is one of many space stations the corporation owns. They also have offices and laboratories in several cities.
Miach
Miach Solutions is a bit of an enigma. An obviously well funded organization, they nonetheless are very secretive and subtle. The leader of the company, a Doctor Cephalapod, has never been publicly seen. The company avoids visibility whenever possible. Based in Nu Mezico, there are nonetheless no corporate headquarters in that city, or at least none anyone knows about. Billed as a third party independent research firm, they are nonetheless difficult to engage and very selective as to which projects they agree to take.(http://thelifeofphoenix.blogspot.com/2011/12/hokonodas-guide-to-tier-3-earth.html)
