I think it was GM Armifer who said something recently about how shifting will always be IC and the concept of it being an OOC process that is done to make the character look "right" will never fly.
It would make sense to me if all of those options were available in the character manager, but they are not.
What do the Empaths think about it? Should the appearance options be added to the character manager and let shifting simply be something that is done if a character wants to change their look?
(Try not to let profit bias interfere with your response.)
SORTIK
ASREA
Re: IC vs OOC
06/03/2010 02:28 PM CDT
It's a mostly useless ability that was tied in with a reasonably cool IC-event. Empaths didn't have a whole lot to do back in those days besides being heal-bots so it's an ok very occasional lore-related money maker. Most marketable abilities like shift have been undercut so heavily that my character doesn't even bother to do it anymore unless someone makes it worth the time wasted. When your sitting at 2000 overall lore and the only ability you have that requires that amount of lore (besides circling) is undercut to the point where someone gawks at you charging over 15 plat and that will barely get you a single gweth these days.... seriously why bother. That's how I classify useless.. sure throw it in the character manager, whatever.
SARKRANIS
Re: IC vs OOC
06/03/2010 02:30 PM CDT
I'd strike a balance that preserves some of the demand by making all of the hair and eye colors available at character generation but leaving the more advanced options (eye shapes, facial features, builds, etc.) for the Empaths to shift.
>>SORTIK: I think it was GM Armifer who said something recently about how shifting will always be IC and the concept of it being an OOC process that is done to make the character look "right" will never fly.
To be fair, ARMIFER was talking specifically about age shifting: "SHIFT is not some OOC thing you do to get 'the date you wanted to be born on.'" I'm not sure that this reasoning should be applied to all shifts.
Teilan: PHA = Healer Union. They charge for healing based on your injuries. We will now pause while everyone gives their opinion on this.
>>SORTIK: I think it was GM Armifer who said something recently about how shifting will always be IC and the concept of it being an OOC process that is done to make the character look "right" will never fly.
To be fair, ARMIFER was talking specifically about age shifting: "SHIFT is not some OOC thing you do to get 'the date you wanted to be born on.'" I'm not sure that this reasoning should be applied to all shifts.
Teilan: PHA = Healer Union. They charge for healing based on your injuries. We will now pause while everyone gives their opinion on this.
ROBERTDH
Re: IC vs OOC
06/03/2010 02:36 PM CDT
>To be fair, ARMIFER was talking specifically about age shifting: "SHIFT is not some OOC thing you do to get 'the date you wanted to be born on.'"
"It is an IC, hideously forbidden act that Empaths can do to torment your character's body into some form it originally did not have"
That was a pretty general statement.
"Magic has rules and so does posting on these forums." -Annwyl
"It is an IC, hideously forbidden act that Empaths can do to torment your character's body into some form it originally did not have"
That was a pretty general statement.
"Magic has rules and so does posting on these forums." -Annwyl
ASREA
Re: IC vs OOC
06/03/2010 02:40 PM CDT
>That was a pretty general statement.
It describes the IC lore that has completely evaporated other than obvious "dont shift in the guild" mechanics. There hasn't been an IC event related to shift since Jomay so it's become a nonsensical RP device that's not paid attention to whatsoever.
It describes the IC lore that has completely evaporated other than obvious "dont shift in the guild" mechanics. There hasn't been an IC event related to shift since Jomay so it's become a nonsensical RP device that's not paid attention to whatsoever.
PUREHAND
Re: IC vs OOC
06/03/2010 02:43 PM CDT
I didn't get my custom kilt or lucky broom of doom out of the character generator. Sometime you have to work for the nicer things.
~ Purehand
>collect coin
You manage to collect a pile of coin.
Roundtime: 30 sec.
... Jackpot.
~ Purehand
>collect coin
You manage to collect a pile of coin.
Roundtime: 30 sec.
... Jackpot.
SARKRANIS
Re: IC vs OOC
06/03/2010 02:49 PM CDT
>>ROBERTDH: That was a pretty general statement.
I'm not saying that it does or does not apply to all shifting, only that the topic of the thread and the immediately preceding statement seem to limit the context to age shifting.
>>DR-ARMIFER (Re: Age Messaging - The Quickening): SHIFT is not some OOC thing you do to get "the date you wanted to be born on." It is an IC, hideously forbidden act that Empaths can do to torment your character's body into some form it originally did not have.
Perhaps Armifer can weigh in and clarify whether a character can ever truthfully claim that his athletic build is the result of training.
Teilan: PHA = Healer Union. They charge for healing based on your injuries. We will now pause while everyone gives their opinion on this.
I'm not saying that it does or does not apply to all shifting, only that the topic of the thread and the immediately preceding statement seem to limit the context to age shifting.
>>DR-ARMIFER (Re: Age Messaging - The Quickening): SHIFT is not some OOC thing you do to get "the date you wanted to be born on." It is an IC, hideously forbidden act that Empaths can do to torment your character's body into some form it originally did not have.
Perhaps Armifer can weigh in and clarify whether a character can ever truthfully claim that his athletic build is the result of training.
Teilan: PHA = Healer Union. They charge for healing based on your injuries. We will now pause while everyone gives their opinion on this.
DR-ARMIFER
Re: IC vs OOC
06/03/2010 03:50 PM CDT
The problem with not being able to have "an athletic build" naturally is in the character generator, not Shift. If you wish to handwave Shift into providing this function, that's... actually pretty understandable. But I do not, strictly, care when I put on the development hat and move toward providing rational functionality to other systems which you by mutual agreement pretend Shift has.
Whenever your roleplay is predicated on ignoring or flat out contradicting what occurs in the game, you need to be prepared that one day you may be proven wrong.
-Armifer
"In our days truth is taken to result from the effacing of the living man behind the mathematical structures that think themselves out in him, rather than he be thinking them." - Emmanuel Levinas
Whenever your roleplay is predicated on ignoring or flat out contradicting what occurs in the game, you need to be prepared that one day you may be proven wrong.
-Armifer
"In our days truth is taken to result from the effacing of the living man behind the mathematical structures that think themselves out in him, rather than he be thinking them." - Emmanuel Levinas
MILTO
Re: IC vs OOC
06/04/2010 03:14 AM CDT
Whether its a good current money maker or not.. it takes quite a bit of skill to open up some of the shifts. It takes me several CJs just to see shift age month. People may be shifting their friends and whatnot cheap or free, but I still pat myself on the back each time I open up a new shift. At the time it was implemented there was also little other reason for training charisma IIRC. I'd like to see builds, eye shapes, etc.. remain empath only. If by chance they were put into the character generator I'd hope they'd at least lower the lore reqs for some of the harder shifts in return.
Grixlek says, "Courage is dangerous, it leads to attempts at heroics..."
Vegas asks, "What like dating?"
Grixlek says, "Nothing that dangerous I believe, but still crazy stuff."
Grixlek says, "Courage is dangerous, it leads to attempts at heroics..."
Vegas asks, "What like dating?"
Grixlek says, "Nothing that dangerous I believe, but still crazy stuff."
CALBURNIS
Re: IC vs OOC
06/04/2010 12:55 PM CDT
Another option would be to put all shift options into the character generator and open up more interesting options for life manipulation for Empaths in general. Especially in the wake of Lyras, it's become more apparent that Empaths willing to accept certain IC consequences might be able to achieve something a bit more interesting than a change in hair length or apparent age, at least from a lore perspective. Clearly the mechanics are not available at this time.
This is not to say Empaths wouldn't retain the ability to alter appearance via shift after chargen, but rather that it would be an ability somewhat tangential from the bulk of life-pattern manipulation.
~ Trem
I'm sharpening my halo into forest thorns // I'm sanctifying pages in the protocols of war.
This is not to say Empaths wouldn't retain the ability to alter appearance via shift after chargen, but rather that it would be an ability somewhat tangential from the bulk of life-pattern manipulation.
~ Trem
I'm sharpening my halo into forest thorns // I'm sanctifying pages in the protocols of war.
