Forum Activity for @mansur-marawi

Mansur Marawi
@mansur-marawi
30 Sep 2018 05:52:28AM
62 posts

End of Summer Vacation in Bath


Communty News & Events

The weekend in Bath was a rousing success. My hearty congratulations to HRH Jacon Cortes and the staff of the Francis Hotel, Pump Room, and Stables for a most delightful holiday. Lady Song and I expanded our acquaintance most pleasurably whilst relaxing in a charming foreign locale. We intend to continue improving and perfecting that growing intimacy with foreign friends by way of frequent visits.

While in Bath, I enjoyed several scenic carriage rides. I received a spa treatment from a princess. I partook in an excellent assortment of tobacco. I even learned a new card game! It was almost drudgery to return home to my palace and private baths. 

Mansur Marawi
@mansur-marawi
30 Sep 2018 05:36:54AM
62 posts

Seismic Shift Warning


Communty News & Events

Looks great, Tatiana!

Mansur Marawi
@mansur-marawi
23 Mar 2018 01:23:21PM
62 posts

18th Century Fashion Show Rescheduled: New Date TBD


Communty News & Events


The 18th century fashion show formerly slated for 3/24/18 will have to be rescheduled.

If anyone would like to help out in any capacity -- modeling an outfit, donating a prize, helping me choose a date or decorate a venue... do notecard SirCharlesMormont Resident.

My apologies. My RL has been hectic lately.

Mansur Marawi
@mansur-marawi
26 Feb 2018 07:20:31AM
62 posts

Unity Empire System: review for those interested in crafting


G&S Roleplay


I know Unity isn't a G&S crafting system, but I thought this topic best suited to this area of the forum.

I am most impressed with the crafting systems at Antiquity and Pirate's Destiny. Not being a scripter, I was looking for a system that would allow for customization. G&S is just too specific to Gor and not well suited to my theme of 18th century Egypt. I wanted a system that I could use to craft Egyptian dishes with Egyptian ingredients. Well... I am happy to say that I found one - and that I love it!

I highly recommend Unity for other non-scripters who want to bring customizable crafting to their sims.

The Pros:

Once you get the hang of it, customizing the system really is as easy as editing a description line or a config card. You can easily create items, drop in scripts, and give your creations an immediate effect on the meter (Unity meter). The meter, however, is optional. That means that you can still craft and receive items even if you aren't wearing a meter. It is the best of both worlds in that regard. You can create whatever you can imagine. You can even drop scripts into any modifiable items that you own. If you want to use olives as a harvest-able item, for instance, then you can do so without having to build an olive tree from scratch. You can just drop the script into an existing olive tree! The creator, Warwick Falconer, is really nice and approachable. He's very hands-on. The rest of the Unity community is always reachable via chat, and they're usually very helpful and kind if I make a boo boo and need to ask them for help. Some of my scripter friends have even been able to innovate significantly. They've created 'camper'-like jobs that pay sim coins and scripted NPCs, like interactive animals and guards, that react to meter inputs!

The Cons:

As much as I do love the system, this wouldn't be much of a review if I didn't include a few cons. Firstly, I find the money system a little clumsy. It is handled through big pay chests that act as a bank. That's... not terribly convenient, as it requires the sim owner to physically place the chest. What about folks like me, who can't commit to regular pay days? What about folks from different time zones, who will never be on during 'pay day?' It's all too manual, with each player's name being put into a config notecard. That's why my friend made the paying jobs! Second, I don't like the fact that sim owners can hand out up-to-date meters, but that we cannot hand out up-to-date pouches. I understand that there was some issue of cheating. Unfortunately, I'd rather have cheating than leaving! I have to provide a landmark to the Unity sim if people want to get an updated meter. If you have to send a player off-sim to get something, it becomes very likely that the player will find it too complicated to bother or, worse, may leave entirely. Thirdly, the animals are static. Fortunately, my friend is working on a way around that!

I hope this review has shed some light. I'd like to encourage trade between realms. As soon as I figure out -what- you guys might like from Egypt and create some of those things, I'll be happy to get that going. In the meantime, I really encourage other historical sims to take a look at Unity as a crafting system option. I am loving it so far!

Mansur Marawi
@mansur-marawi
26 Feb 2018 06:55:36AM
62 posts

'Victoria' Is About To Become Your Biggest Non-Guilty Pleasure


History

I've begun to watch this (late, being an American) and I am all in! It is a fun and fascinating show. I agree that the 'downstairs' characters are as intriguing as the 'upstairs' ones. For me, given that I am writing a novel that takes place during the end of the Napoleonic wars, it is a weird and wonderful treat to see the show's take on characters from 'my era' later in their own lives: Lord M goes from Caro Lamb's famously cuckolded husband to PM; Wellington from his famous victory at Waterloo to... PM. Was everyone at Lady Richmond's ball a future PM? lol. I kid. 

Mansur Marawi
@mansur-marawi
06 Feb 2018 02:45:59AM
62 posts

Downton Abbey themed role-play


General Discussion

Best of luck with your new RP! That sounds like an excellent idea!

Unfortunately, I am too busy in the 1700s to take part, but please do post regularly. I'd love to see what fun you get up to!

Mansur Marawi
@mansur-marawi
30 Dec 2017 06:36:45AM
62 posts

Antiquity Christmas Tree


Communty News & Events

Lovely gifts! Thank you, everyone!

Mansur Marawi
@mansur-marawi
28 Dec 2017 09:49:48AM
62 posts

Court Roleplay in SL


General Discussion

Una Lunaqat:

A friend pointed out this post to me and I was quite glad to see it, and the ideas in it.  I am responding to add the humble opinion of someone who is new to...

1. With regard to working with new-player centers and hunts:

I love Caledon's new player center. It was, many years ago and on my first, now defunct avatar, my own entry into SL. That said, running a new player center is a huge undertaking unto itself. It must be staffed constantly and events must be always running. Even volunteering at one is a time commitment. Every hour spent at a new player center is an hour NOT spent on other sim stuff, like hosting events and classes and actually RPing. I do think that the 18th century-related sims in SL -could- manage something like that eventually, but only if we pooled our resources and were much better organized and more coordinated and interdependent than we are now. As for hunts... well... if anyone wants to build and donate, I am all for a hunt! I suppose we could have an 18th century-themed hunt, just like the steamlands have the annual steamhunt. That's a great idea! 

2. HOW to RP/get involved:

Almost every RP sim has a landing area. Almost every landing area includes ALL of that information and more. All you have to do is... um... read the info. It's different in every sim. Most sims will also have some starter outfits and maybe some in-theme stuff for sale. I find that the biggest problem is that newbies tend to be overwhelmed by the initial info dump. They don't want to read page after page or notecard after notecard. If you throw too much at them, they leave. Where do you think the line is between overwhelming a new player and not giving enough info? I'm not sure I've found it, yet, and I could really use a newbie's advice on that.

Joining the group is another good way to get and stay up-to-date. Group notices are the most effective way of sending and receiving information in SL. Make sure group notices are turned on in your settings. Most groups also welcome out of character chatter, so feel free to connect with established players (and to ask questions of them) via group chat. That said, I find that 3 notices per day is a pretty hard limit. If you send more than that, people leave your group or get annoyed and turn notices off.

I actually cover some of this, a little, in my characterization and plotting classes. In characterization, I discuss how to make your character stand out and be more appealing to other players. That definitely helps with involvement. In plotting, I discuss ways to invite, inspire, join, or further plots. Honestly, the best way to get involved is just to jump in. Go to events. Say hi. Participate. No one really expects you to be perfect. None of us are perfect. We all make mistakes and we are all constantly learning about our chosen cultures and times. That's part of the fun! As long as you don't look like an alien or a dragon or something totally out-of-theme, then it's all good.

3. Fleeing

The experience that you mentioned: feeling nervous and fleeing, is a common one in RP sims. It is just as frustrating on both ends! Honestly, you would not believe how far a simple IM and a little patience can go. Most established characters are more than happy to help newbies out but, in the middle of RP, they might not see the newbie sort of nervously hiding in the corner. Also, newbies are notorious for saying, "Hi. How are you? I'm (insert name here)," in a flurry of about three posts. Then, they wait five seconds, and poof. Like, dude. I seriously am still typing my response when ya'll flee. The only advice I can offer there is... uh... stop that, yo! Lol. I simply cannot reach people when they run away like skittish hens before I can even say hi. I address that in my RP basics class, under common newbie mistakes. I pretty much give that exact example and I say: "Don't do that!" No one is going to be able to help folks who are actively running away. I am totally open for suggestions on that one. I really have no idea how to make newbies comfortable other than simply IMing them when I see them and welcoming them. Most of the time, I get no response.

You make very good points about the ways in which the newbie experience is daunting and you are right; we are not very good at knowing how to get people over that learning curve. A lot of things that are SL and RP standards can feel daunting to new players. But aside from having someone present 24/7 to take a newbie by the hand, I've not found an effective method -- and neither, it is worth noting, has SL. SL has always had that same problem of retaining new people after that initial log-in.

For me, it all boils down to time. Every player has a limited amount of time to invest in SL. As a sim owner, I am -constantly- trying my best to do about half the things on my ever-expanding to-do list: advertising, classes, theme-appropriate content creation, networking with other sims, landscaping, decorating, shopping, etc. Sometimes, I actually manage to RP!

I actually really like the idea of a hub. I just think that will take quite a bit of time and money and organization to achieve. In my dreamworld, the 18th century sims are able to glom together to form a continent of inter-related estates. Maybe then we could set aside a parcel for a newbie or RP hub. I think gentle, engaging, round-the-clock volunteers are really the only way to effectively get over the wall of newbie terror, but it's really hard to find people who are willing to sit around doing nothing just in case a newbie decides to drop out of the sky. For years, when I was at BC, I gave Mansur a semi-discreet drinking problem just so he could sit at the tavern all the time. The tavern was in view of the landing point, you see, so I could greet newbies as they arrived! And there, my friends, is the reason behind Mansur's pickled liver. lol

So I like your ideas of hunts and hubs and I think the personal touch is the way to go when it comes to helping newbies gain confidence and familiarity. My questions to you, in turn, would be:

1. How can sim owners entice newbies to, like, stay in one stop for long enough to get that information you mentioned without becoming overwhelmed? What gets, and keeps, your attention?

2. What would make you feel more confident about speaking up and asking for help?

Mansur Marawi
@mansur-marawi
28 Dec 2017 08:44:00AM
62 posts

Court Roleplay in SL


General Discussion


Una Lunaqat:

When and where are your classes?

Madam, you may find my RP classes in my sim, slurl in my signature. My current schedule is as follows:

  • Monday, noon: RP Basics
  • Wednesday, 5pm: Building your RP Character
  • Thursday, noon: Plots for Beginners

I've also been asked if I might give one of these courses at Antiquity, although we have yet to set up a date and time.

Advertising is a hard thing to get right. There's a fine line between informing and overwhelming, and an even finer one between making an announcement and spamming. For instance, I just tried to make a recurring event here on this group, but then I saw it on the front page and deleted it because it looked like it was taking up too much room on the calendar. I haven't managed to find the right balance between getting the word out to strangers and annoying people who know me. lol.

Well met! I'll tackle the rest of your post in a separate post. :-)


updated by @mansur-marawi: 28 Dec 2017 08:51:55AM
Mansur Marawi
@mansur-marawi
25 Dec 2017 07:56:29PM
62 posts

Court Roleplay in SL


General Discussion

Thank you very much for your thought-provoking reply! You've definitely given me a good deal to chew with my breakfast. I'll think on this for a few days and reply when rl allows. You make some excellent points and suggestions and I very much appreciate the perspective of a newbie RPer.

I will say, right off the bat, that I have some RP classes that are geared toward newbies. They discuss how to get started a bit more confidently, but they're not quite as in-depth as what you've described.

Thanks for giving me some food for thought!

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