Aether Online - A VMMORPG RP inspired by Log Horizon, SAO, and Overlord

[Ookawa]

Either way... you are dying. Don't forget there also is an atrophication angle. A human being can only lie in a bed for approximately five weeks before they start to experience organ failure.

In order to avoid this a registered nurse has to feed you intravenously, to massage your muscles regularly and roll you over every few hours.

Once you finally succeed at logging out you have months of rehabilitation ahead of you and that's assuming you even have insurance and can afford such treatments.

@Assallya

Or they are physically transported into the world and their body is, somehow, don't ask me how, stored as data and restored when they log out, ala Star Trek transporter device.

[ClocktowerEchos]

<Snipped quote by Gowi>

I was not talking about RP players here. More about the general playerbase. Cities become wastelands because nobody lives in them anymore and the more players die the harder the "endgame content" becomes, no?

@PyroDash888

NPCs are a thing you know? We could have them also be lively and as real as the players so they act human.

Also... I have no idea why even somebody would do such a thing as to kill players IRL when they are killed in game. Makes no sense to me. Maybe the standard answer to that question. "Because he is evil". I dunno, I'd find it tricky to find a proper reason, but this is of course a weak argument against this.

@PyroDash888

I have an idea, two actually:

1) When people die they don't acutally "die" they simply wake up but no one on the inside knows since we've all been told that if we die in game we die irl.
2) We go the Log Horizon/Dark Souls route that means with every death, we begin to loose our mind more, unable to comprehend the fact we're supposed to be death but yet we're alive and slowly realizing that no matter what we do, we're trapped in an eternal cycle.

I hate to spoil childhood dreams, but being trapped in a game is not a good fate, its not paradise, its quite the opposite.

And what do you mean, there can't be any depth without consequences? Of course there can! Even with consequences SAO was as deep as a dried up lake in the desert, whereas Log Horizon had that depth. A meaning.
You'd just have to search the meaning for everybody's existence in the world somewhere else than it just being "a fight for survival", which in itself is pretty shallow, too...

@PyroDash888

Your comparison of LH vs SAO is flawed since its not the concept of death each series uses, its how the writers portray and actually write them, pretty sure everyone here can say that SAO has abysmal writing.

In other news, this is going really fucking fast for me, like Free-level fast; I hope that it doesn't speed along like this once there's an OOC (15 pages of OOC in 3 days like holy fuck that's insane)

[Ookawa]

<Snipped quote by PyroDash888>

NPCs are a thing you know? We could have them also be lively and as real as the players so they act human.

<Snipped quote by PyroDash888>

I have an idea, two actually:

1) When people die they don't acutally "die" they simply wake up but no one on the inside knows since we've all been told that if we die in game we die irl.
2) We go the Log Horizon/Dark Souls route that means with every death, we begin to loose our mind more, unable to comprehend the fact we're supposed to be death but yet we're alive and slowly realizing that no matter what we do, we're trapped in an eternal cycle.

I hate to spoil childhood dreams, but being trapped in a game is not a good fate, its not paradise, its quite the opposite.

<Snipped quote by PyroDash888>

Your comparison of LH vs SAO is flawed since its not the concept of death each series uses, its how the writers portray and actually write them, pretty sure everyone here can say that SAO has abysmal writing.

@ClocktowerEchos

<.<
You are not wrong xD

I have another idea for "death" that is not actually dying, but might as well be.
When you die, you start all over. Level 1, starter town, starting gear, no money.
The higher you become in the level, the less you want to actually die. That way the huge "half of the players die withing the first week" thing is solved, too xD...

To make that work, we would have to make levelling up a very rewarding process, so that you feel the loss of those rewards even more when you die. And you will die, eventually. We can't all be Kirito :D

Somebody who lost everything they had will also be driven into this despair and the more it is known around the playerbase what a shitty thing it is to start all over, maybe even with some more penalties to slow your initial progress, especially with the huge bulk of players not around the starting area to help you anymore, people will try to avoid dying as best as possible.

How is this for an idea?

[Assallya]

@PyroDash888 Nigh impossible for twenty first technology but I wouldn't rule your theory out. Magic is as magic does after all.

My point was more that the virtual world has a time limit. A player doesn't know when this will end but it must at some point. One good power outage caused by a simple icestorm and you all die. If the government decides that the way to wake everyone up is to turn off or smash the server and possibly everyone dies. What if your family decides to pull the plug, that nobody deserves to live like a vegetable?

Heaven help you if the server is running Windows 98 or Vista.

You may be living in another world but the real world carries the virtual world like Atlas and if Atlas stumbles the world falls.

[ClocktowerEchos]

I have another idea for "death" that is not actually dying, but might as well be.
When you die, you start all over. Level 1, starter town, starting gear, no money.
The higher you become in the level, the less you want to actually die. That way the huge "half of the players die withing the first week" thing is solved, too xD...

To make that work, we would have to make levelling up a very rewarding process, so that you feel the loss of those rewards even more when you die. And you will die, eventually. We can't all be Kirito :D

Somebody who lost everything they had will also be driven into this despair and the more it is known around the playerbase what a shitty thing it is to start all over, maybe even with some more penalties to slow your initial progress, especially with the huge bulk of players not around the starting area to help you anymore, people will try to avoid dying as best as possible.

@PyroDash888

That seems like a cop-out. You loose your shit, "oh well, time to get grinding again". Or you just go and ask your buddy to give you a whole lot of stuff and then just go wild on some low level monsters with your higher level buddies so you get the XP. There's absolutely not weight to death in this case beyond "oh just take a day to get back up where you were." I doubt this is going to discourage players doing decisions that could kill them beyond the infinite respawn system with not consequence. Your entire system can be undone and cheesed by people stockpiling lower end gear and going hunting even with a debuff to starting, what reward would there be?

On the contrary, with death being a permeant or actually threatening thing, you really feel the weight of possible death and panic like hell when you're on 1% HP or you're hit with a poison debuff that doesn't go away. However, that would also make leveling up more rewarding since then it is like you are finally just a bit stronger and able to get that much better against the world that wants to kill you.

And if you think loosing shit is going to make players "be driven into this despair", that is really fucking materialistic and also not at all how the human mind works. I am willing to bet on my life that no matter how awesome a sword you loose, the lose of a friend or your own life, knowing you/they can never come back, is always going to be much greater. Unless you're a self centered asshole.

[Ookawa]

Whatever, it's not like I can win this discussion. I'm out :P

[Gowi]

I was not talking about RP players here. More about the general playerbase. Cities become wastelands because nobody lives in them anymore and the more players die the harder the "endgame content" becomes, no?

PyroDash888

As Clocktower stated, NPC’s exist. The game world is likely not entirely populated by players or GMs.

Also... I have no idea why even somebody would do such a thing as to kill players IRL when they are killed in game. Makes no sense to me. Maybe the standard answer to that question. "Because he is evil". I dunno, I'd find it tricky to find a proper reason, but this is of course a weak argument against this.

PyroDash888

I think SAO is the only time it was done on “purpose” or stated to be as such— even in the godfather of the genre, .HACK, it was a result that ended with the player falling/remaining in a comatose state in the real world. The reasoning can be done several different ways beyond “chaotic evil”— I could probably conjure a dozen of them if I tried.

And what do you mean, there can't be any depth without consequences?

PyroDash888

Without consequences, tone and conflict take a backseat to idealistic slice of life where there is no greater meaning and as a byproduct no depth to be taken out of. The characters in the story could be well-rounded, three dimensional, and dynamic but they would be in a situation much like the first two seasons of Star Trek: The Next Generation— no conflict, no tension, no anxiety; everything is idealized as it is and there is little framing to write something interesting or with great depth. You need consequence, conflict, and these other elements to keep things interesting and meaningful.

Even with consequences SAO was as deep as a dried up lake in the desert, whereas Log Horizon had that depth. A meaning.

PyroDash888

The fault is in the execution, not the concept.

I have another idea for "death" that is not actually dying, but might as well be.
When you die, you start all over. Level 1, starter town, starting gear, no money. The higher you become in the level, the less you want to actually die. That way the huge "half of the players die withing the first week" thing is solved, too xD...

To make that work, we would have to make levelling up a very rewarding process, so that you feel the loss of those rewards even more when you die. And you will die, eventually. We can't all be Kirito :D

Somebody who lost everything they had will also be driven into this despair and the more it is known around the playerbase what a shitty thing it is to start all over, maybe even with some more penalties to slow your initial progress, especially with the huge bulk of players not around the starting area to help you anymore, people will try to avoid dying as best as possible.

How is this for an idea?

PyroDash888

Once again, I agree completely with Clocktower.

[Asura]

Gonna put my chip in this.

[Assallya]

I would add to this debate that the reason why current non-permanent death systems are in place simply are too avoid players leaving their games for another.

Simply put players do not have this option when they cannot log out.

Perhaps here one simply becomes paralyzed upon death, staring out their own blank empty eye until they are raised from the dead.

Imagine spending weeks in that state waiting for someone to come help you because your entire party was wiped out. One could go ma waiting for another group to save yours.

[Ookawa]

@Gowi@ClocktowerEchos

Like I said. Not that I have even a remote chance of success since apparently my opinion is objectively worse.

I just know what I would do in a permadeath universe. First, cower somewhere, then learn crafting and thidly never go out alone out of fear of being murdered by a giggling teenager who thinks killing is fun and then lock my door at night at all times.

[cloudystar]

Go to sleep for a while and I see this...geez what happened lol

[ClocktowerEchos]

I would add to this debate that the reason why current non-permanent death systems are in place simply are too avoid players leaving their games for another.

Simply put players do not have this option when they cannot log out.

Perhaps here one simply becomes paralyzed upon death, staring out their own blank empty eye until they are raised from the dead.

Imagine spending weeks in that state waiting for someone to come help you because your entire party was wiped out. One could go ma waiting for another group to save yours.

@Assallya

That is a possibly better idea but it would only work if you're stupid enough to go some where yourself or fail to have someone in the back act as an anchor/runner. Even then, death would have a far more impactful result as with this idea there's always a chance that your "dead" friend can be back. And yeah there's arguments of whats worse yadayadayada but I doubt most people could properly RP that sort of insanity as you're frozen in place.

@Gowi@ClocktowerEchos

Like I said. Not that I have even a remote chance of success since apparently my opinion is objectively worse.

I just know what I would do in a permadeath universe. First, cower somewhere, then learn crafting and thidly never go out alone out of fear of being murdered by a giggling teenager who thinks killing is fun and then lock my door at night at all times.

@PyroDash888

Its safe to assume that cities would have safe zones. Plus, how the hell are you supposed to get food or money to get food? You're just going to starve in your own little closet, too paranoid to actually try and do anything. Both LH and SAO have city safe zones so it wouldn't be a stretch the think that this RP would also have some form of it.

[Assallya]

I just know what I would do in a permadeath universe. First, cower somewhere, then learn crafting and thidly never go out alone out of fear of being murdered by a giggling teenager who thinks killing is fun and then lock my door at night at all times.

@PyroDash888

That is an option but the protagonists in most fiction are type A personalities. Why would this be any different?

Personally, I would go crazy knowing my life, my choices were being made for me and without me. I would feel the urge to be involved. The very idea someone could yank my life support or that everyone would fail because I wasn't strong enough to be out there helping would make do it.

[Gowi]

Go to sleep for a while and I see this...geez what happened lol

@cloudystar

[NarcissisticPotato]

Debate is good guys but aggro isn't. If you are talking through points, just keep it civil please!

[Gowi]

Debate is good guys but aggro isn't. If you are talking through points, just keep it civil please!

@NarcissisticPotato

I haven't once personally attacked someone though! I have been civil. Unless you mean the jokish meme I posted, then that was me going "sorry about the debate but whatevs".

[Ookawa]

Debate is good guys but aggro isn't. If you are talking through points, just keep it civil please!

@NarcissisticPotato

I AM NOT AGGRESSIVE!!! *screams like a mad girl*
NOOOO! I AM NOT!

I would add to this debate that the reason why current non-permanent death systems are in place simply are too avoid players leaving their games for another.

Simply put players do not have this option when they cannot log out.

Perhaps here one simply becomes paralyzed upon death, staring out their own blank empty eye until they are raised from the dead.

Imagine spending weeks in that state waiting for someone to come help you because your entire party was wiped out. One could go ma waiting for another group to save yours.

@Assallya

I can get behind that. Not sure why I can, but I can. It'd certainly mean there'd be a job out there for people rescuing others from paralysis. Like hospital dungeoneers.
The more dangerous place you die in the more expensive is your "recovery".
But... I guess I am already destroying your concept, which like I said, I liked, with my boring and consequence-less concepts...

[Apokalipse]

@Apokalipse Everything checks out, so let’s go to Mouette’s Skills.
For [Flaking Strikes], do you want bonus damage be based on percentage or a fixed amount? Just depends on when you want the in-game spike to occur. With [Poisining], sorry but this woul require a reagent to perform. Poisoning is OP in my book. If you don’t to require a reagent, you can make this into an active spell that grants Mouette a self-buff that allows him to poison targets with his attacks for a certain duration or set number of attacks. I suppose [Pickpocketing] is fine.

@Jabber

Percentage for [Flaking Strikes] and self-buff for [Poisoning] will workkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkk outtttttt jussssssssst fiiiiiiiineeeeeeeeeeeee _{look how cool that looks}

[vietmyke]

In other news, this is going really fucking fast for me, like Free-level fast; I hope that it doesn't speed along like this once there's an OOC (15 pages of OOC in 3 days like holy fuck that's insane)

@ClocktowerEchos

Seconded. This is pretty worrying actually. Especially given my general posting speed, I'm afraid several of us (aka myself) will get left behind in the dust once the IC starts- never been a huge fan of groups of 10+

[Gowi]

I also am worried about the sentiment about being outpaced that Vietmyke and Echoes stated.