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✘ FAQ
ıllıllı FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ıllıllı ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small} databurst is a panfandom jamjar game set in the computer simulation of a futuristic neon city called Svelte, with themes broadly drawn from sources like The Matrix, Star Ocean, and various cyberpunk series. The setting aesthetic could be summed up as "what if M.C. Escher was obsessed with neon and wrote programming code". Svelte is a city in constant physical flux. Events happen in the form of "code updates", resulting in everything from Escher-like architectural shifts to manifesting or changing abilities to memory shenanigans. The exact nature of the characters' presence in the program is an ongoing mystery, as are the intentions of the programmers introducing each update. Check out the full Game Premise page for more information. If you have any questions about the overall setting, the gameplay mechanics, or other general inquiries that aren't covered by the information below, please address them to this post. ıllıllı OOC: APPLICATIONS & ROSTER ıllıllı Character Limits Players are limited to playing any two characters at a time and which cannot be from the same fandom. There is a total game character limit of 80 characters, of which no more than six can be from the same franchise in play concurrently. A franchise is considered an umbrella for all media types of that fandom. For example, a Marvel cast cap means you can have up to 6 characters between the MCU, the TV series, and the comics. Similarly, all iterations of Final Fantasy would fall under the same franchise cap. This also includes adaptions of media if there are only contextual differences between the two, for example as with Mo Dao Zu Shi and The Untamed. The current character count, and any canons at or nearing cap, can be found on the Taken Characters page. ACCEPTABLE CHARACTER TYPES • (click to expand)The following types of characters are accepted at this game:
Silent or malleable protagonists such as Commander Shepard (Mass Effect), Dragonborn (Skyrim), the WoL (FFXIV), etc are allowed, one per fandom. Any application for such a character should outline as much of their 'path' as possible (such as whether they went the paragon or renegade route, any major outcome-altering decisions made, etc). Characters who are non-humanoid (inorganic/incorporeal/animal/alien/robot/etc) are allowed to retain their original forms as long as they can reasonably interact with other characters and the setting. Incorporeal characters (spirits/ghosts/etc) will be given a corporeal body upon arrival. Sentient animal characters are allowed as long as they have the ability to communicate with others. Large scale characters may keep their original size as long as it is not setting disruptive. (For example: Transformer ~25ft, yes. Godzilla ~300ft, no.) Minor characters (characters with limited roles in their canon) are appable as long as they demonstrate a discernible personality. As a general rule, an application for a minor character should not consist of more than 50% headcanon. INELIGIBLE CHARACTER TYPES • (click to expand)The following character types are not allowed:
CHARACTER COMPANIONS/PETS & LARGE CHARACTER POSSESSIONS Characters with companion pets/partners/etc who do not meet the standard for being individually appable may have them brought along. Alternatively, there are some game mechanics which may allow your character to acquire them later on. For with multiple companions/pets that also possess their own abilities (for example, Pokémon, Personas, etc) they may be limited in number, and will face the same power nerfing regarding tech manipulation and reality warping as characters. Exceptionally large companions may need to be reduced in size if they would be setting-disruptive. If you are unsure, please leave a comment on this post or contact the mod. For characters with large possessions such a vehicles/etc, they generally cannot be brought into the game with the character and will need to be reclaimed using boolean redemptions. As general rule, anything larger than what can be held should be regained after the character is in game. The exemption for this are items which are critical for the character's wellbeing/functionality (for example, a wheelchair). New Canons Players may app from a canon so long as it has been in (wide) release for at least one month. For recent canons, please be considerate of your fellow players and include spoiler warnings on your application and in your posts/threads where applicable. ıllıllı OOC: GAME MECHANICS ıllıllı The SVELTE Simulation & The Developers The city is a complex program built on an unknown platform. There are hallmarks of it being a "work in progress" rather than a finished product all over the place: sometimes things just plain stop working, or loop indefinitely, as if the code is still full of bugs that are being worked out. Additionally, new code is constantly being introduced, and we've all seen what happens when content is released untested... The developers are a mysterious group of programmers who are apparently working on the SVELTE simulation in real time, even as the characters are trapped inside the simulation. Whether these developers are aware that there are real people, or at least their consciousnesses, now integrated into the code... no one knows for sure. In any case, it doesn't seem to affect the work they're doing. Efforts made by characters to contact this outside world go unanswered... for now. POWER NERFINGCharacter abilities are only minimally restricted in game, and those limits are mostly focused on two areas: technology manipulation and reality bending/non-linear travel. For technological characters, they will find that their skills cannot affect the base framework of the Svelte simulation. Some characters may be able to pick apart pieces of the program and use it to manipulate their surroundings, so long as it isn't game disruptive. For example, Tony Stark may decide he wants to rewrite his apartment to the top floor of the building he's in because it's got a nicer view: yes! But recreating the entire Avengers Tower, no. Please note that these type of setting manipulations are NOT restricted to only characters who are technologically proficient in their canon — there will be events which give non-tech-aligned characters the same kinds of opportunities. For reality bending characters — that is, characters who can literally manipulate the fabric of the world, or those who can teleport etc, will find that their sphere of influence only works within the confines of the Svelte simulation. So a character who can travel through shadows will retain that ability, but it will only work within the city limits, it will not allow them to "exit" the city setting. The same applies to characters who are able to communicate with others using metaphysical means like telepathy — this will work, but only with other characters in game, not anyone back in their own worlds. For the most part, we leave power nerfing to player discretion. See the section below on Building and Property Damage regarding destructive ability limits. GLITCHES & CODE MODIFICATION EFFECTSGlitches are the effects on the city and the characters that happen due to the outside world programming team uploading new code to the Svelte simulation program. For those familiar with the RP term, many effects are "curse-style" as have been done in other games. Sometimes these effects are benign, and sometimes they are actively challenging for the characters. These effects often impart temporary changes on a character: they might find themselves in possession of new skills or abilities, they might find their physical forms have changed, their memories or emotions might be affected... each code revision brings the unexpected. The city itself is often affected just as much as the characters. That favourite coffee shop of yours is now a tattoo parlour! You go to sleep in your apartment on the East Side and wake up now living on the waterfront... yay upgrade? The game is designed to give players fair leeway in controlling the glitches, especially the environmental ones, that their characters encounter. There's no need to confirm with the mod for most changes of this type. Code Modifications are intentional (and sometimes unintentional) character-generated changes. While the code framework of the simulation is completely unfamiliar to all characters, it is possible to tweak small bits of it to produce tangible effect. Most have simple "cantrip" style effects, such as modifying physical properties like temperature, colour, and measurements of objects, creating small illusions or manifesting short-term changes onto their own appearance (hair colour, clothing, etc). Larger effects (anything larger than a truck, for example) can be coordinated when characters work together to increase the range or scope of the changes. These effects last for 72 hours or less before reverting back to "default". Longer or permanent effects can be "purchased" with Booleans. These kind of code-wrangles are not limited to characters who are technologically savvy in their canons. Even those without a tech background will find that something about the code that just makes sense to them. Perhaps it resembles a musical scale that they're familiar with, or is structured just like a spell they're used to casting. MAGICAL AND METAPHYSICAL SENSESCharacters who possess extrasensory abilities, specifically those with the ability to sense something about other people, will find these senses constantly confused. With no apparent rhyme nor reason other characters may register normally, or may have their perceptions heavily distorted — sometimes they will feel "real" in the sense that they are not part of the simulation, but other times they will be indistinguishable from their digital surroundings. This abnormality affects all characters with such abilities, with a frequency that is determined by their player. BUILDING & PROPERTY DAMAGESince most character abilities aren't heavily restricted, and with the opportunity for characters to pick up new powers from time to time, building and property damage is almost inevitable. The good news is that since the Svelte simulation is a constant work-in-progress on the programmers' side, there's always a backup somewhere in the cache! Players are free to let their characters damage or destroy city property if they wish, with two caveats: it cannot affect other characters or their possessions (including their housing) without the other player's permission, and if the destruction is going to encompass an area larger than a city block, please give the mod a heads up first. CITY NPCSThe general information on the city NPCs can be found on the Setting page. Players may affect up to 20 NPC avatars at any given time, for anything from mind-controlling them to killing them. If they try to extend their influence beyond this number, they will find the first group "waking up" and going back to their pre-programmed routines. NPC avatars who are killed respawn within 24 hours, evidently unharmed and with no memory of what occurred, which means they can't hold a grudge... probably. If you would like to organize a plot or event where a large number of NPCs are affected, please bring it over to the Plot Suggestions page. DEATHS & RESPAWNSCharacters who are killed by other characters, or by the effects (directly or indirectly) of the glitches will respawn in 24 hours. Players may decide whether they respawn fully healed, or still bearing injuries corresponding injuries from the incident. While they won't sense time passing while they're dead, they will remember strange sensations, like they were being dismantled piece by piece. For characters who are killed three or more times, be sure to inform the mod... there are IC consequences! NETWORK, COMMUNICATIONS & LANGUAGEThe basic network information is located on the Setting page, but below are some specific points of interest. NETWORK DEVICES Network devices support text, audio, photos, video, web browsing (for all that is useful in Svelte) and come pre-loaded with a host of generic apps one would find on any smartphone (calculator, calendar, notepad, etc etc). USER IDS Characters can create and change their own usernames (or create secondary ones) for their network ID, however sometimes the network interferes with adding or editing, so some characters may get unwanted ones (and often humorous) ones. Basically, if you want your character to be able to pick their own, that's fine, if you'd rather assign them something they'd dislike or be embarrassed by, go for it! LANGUAGE TRANSLATION Characters are in luck: the Svelte program comes with universal translator protocols! Which means that all characters will be able to read and write in a common language (or rather, will see a common language translated to their dialect of choice). There are exceptions: much of the signage in Svelte resembles known languages, but is actually nonsense. For example, a particular sign might look like Cyrillic, but someone who can read Cyrillic alphabets will be like "wait, those aren't real letters..." More information about this effect and how it affects the city can be found on the Setting page, under the "LANGUAGE & SIGNAGE" section. ıllıllı IC: CHARACTER KNOWLEDGE ıllıllı Do characters know they're in a computer simulation? They do! In addition to many visual cues that can be found all over the city (for example, sometimes buildings just... don't render, leaving them as wireframe models, etc), their new network devices contains a "starter file" introducing a theoretical user to the "SVELTE City Simulation". What's happening back home? That's the more mysterious part, because no one seems to be able to answer exactly what part of characters has become trapped inside the program. Have their minds been uploaded, making them simply digital copies of the real person? If so, what's happening to their bodies? Alternately, did they somehow physically get transported inside the simulation? Characters will discover compelling evidence for both cases, but neither is a particularly reassuring option... Who are the developers running this place? Can my character contact them? At this time, nothing is known about the developers other than: they are actively working on the SVELTE program as it's live, and there's more than one of them. All attempts to contact them using the in-simulation network has failed to date! But that could definitely change in the future. Does my character still require food/drink/medicine/basic care? What about canon-specific resources? One of the pieces of evidence that characters may have a physical aspect trapped in Svelte is that they still require physical upkeep on themselves! They will still feel hungry and thirsty, they will still get tired and need rest, they will feel pain and bleed if injured (unless they don't naturally do these things, in which case, lucky them!) If a character requires a specific resource from their world (food/medicine/etc), please leave a request on the FAQ page and a solution will be worked out. In some cases, the substance may simply appear randomly within the city, and other times it may be a side effect of a glitch. My character wants to leave the city and explore! Characters are free to explore every corner of the city, from the towering skyscraper heights to the sewers that run below the streets, but if they try to pass the borders, they are stopped by an invisible barrier called the Firewall — exactly like in a video game where you can't progress past a collision object. No amount of force or tampering will change this barrier (which may inadvertently make a helpful target if a character really needs to vent). As the game progresses, there may be special mod events which expand Svelte's borders, so stay tuned... My character is a computer genius/hacker/technopath/etc, can they escape? Unfortunately not! See the above section on Power Nerfing. Technological characters are unable to affect the basic framework of the simulation, regardless of their skill level. My character has the ability to alter reality, can they escape? Nope! See the above section on Power Nerfing. Reality warping characters will find their abilities limited to within the simulation's constraints. My character wouldn't stay in the housing/rooming situation they were given — can they relocate? Yes! Characters are automatically given paired rooming assignments when they arrive, but they are in no way restricted to them. While they would not be able to occupy other rooms in the Proxy Hotel or the Qubit House (OOCly this is for housekeeping, but ICly the NPCs will evict them if they try to change rooms), they are free to move wherever they'd like within the city's limits, whether alone or with others. That being said, both the Proxy and the Qubit have a measure of safety from random glitches as they are mostly "completed" locations in the simulation programming, so characters who choose to stay at these lodgings will notice that they're affected less often than those living elsewhere in Svelte. Additionally, there is a higher likelihood of stumbling across Booleans at both location than at random housing throughout the city. What about character's existing technology? Does it still work? Yes! All items that are brought along with the character continue to function as normal. HOWEVER, they cannot communicate with the world outside of the simulation. So a character's cellphone could still be used to call another in-game character, but could not call across universes. A laptop will still connect to the internet, but it will be the in-game internet that's full of gibberish — can't email home and explain that you're stuck in a computer program. What are Booleans and what are they used for? How do I get them? Booleans are a special type of game currency that have both IC and OOC uses. Specifically, they're for giving characters access to extra items from their own worlds, permanently affecting their in-game avatar appearances, unlocking customized city locations to explore, or gaining new skills, powers and other abilities. There are two ways to achieve this: characters can either choose to visit The Candy Store, where the proprietor will exchange the Booleans for the requested item/change/etc. Alternatively if player wants their character to be surprised/unaware of the change, it can be done strictly OOCly; the redemption costs are the same either way. Booleans are only acquirable through in-game events where certain prompts will result in characters finding some. Other times, the mod will use an RNG to distribute them as randomized discoveries via IC Inboxes. A full list of Boolean redemptions can be found on the Updates/Regains page. Why do I have to pick a prized possession? Can it be anything? FOR REASONS (also because the mod is maybe slightly evil). The character's prized possession can be any inanimate object that they feel a strong emotional attachment to. It does not need to be "valuable" or "rare" in a conventional sense, as long as it holds some special meaning (good or bad) to the character. This could be an item that the character no longer possesses themselves — for example, something they gave their partner a long time ago — or perhaps a childhood keepsake long lost to time. As long as it's a tangible object that can be held, it would count (so no tattoos, etc.) A living being (companion, pet, etc) cannot be designated as a character's prized possession. If the item in question was damaged or destroyed previously, characters can find that it's been inexplicably restored when it appeared in their possession (though it may still bear some evidence, if you prefer — a photograph that was destroyed in a fire may be restored, but still have some singed edges, etc.) As a player, how much freedom do I have over my character's interactions with NPCs/glitches/daily life? A lot! The intention of this setting is to allow players to generate their own setting interactions without extensive mod oversight. Feel like having your character suffer the effects of a random glitch? Go for it! Need to NPC a shopkeeper for a thread? No problem! Want your character to discover the code string that makes the perfect soufflé? It's all yours. This isn't to say you can't ask the mod for guidance if a situation comes up, of course! But a good rule of thumb is that as long as you're not impacting other characters without their players' permission, and it's not going to impact the IC setting in a major way, it most likely does not need mod "approval". I have a question that hasn't been answered yet... Go ahead and ask it here! PREVIOUSLY ASKED QUESTIONS • (click to expand)
Latest Revision: Added sub section for Previously Asked Questions, still updating from this post NAVIGATION ➤ |
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