quote:
Originally posted by Gaulgath:
<STRONG>Gah! I registered for cantr, logged on, and then logged off while I travelled. Then I realized I had deleted the e-mail with the log-in ID number.</STRONG>
You might try going to the General Support forum and telling somebody in the PD about it, they should be able to help.
And I've got to say I'm thrilled to see some of you giving it a try - it's definitely a very niche game and I can see why some just can't get into...but then again I guess you could say the same about DF. It may be that people here are just more open-minded about games with learning curves.
And Sappho - a lot depends on where your character spawns. There are a few towns that are very strict, but the vast majority just have basic 'don't attack people/don't steal/don't hunt the animals into extinction' rules. I actually enjoy the places with 'unique' cultures just because they're not more of the same, though I know they can seem pretty intimidating to a new player.
(though if you absolutely hate wherever you wound up, keep in mind you can always 1.) Stick it out and tell the heavily armed people exactly what you think of their government, for hilarious results, 2.) walk to the next town, 3.) start a new character and let that one starve. (you're limited to the number you can play at first, but keep in mind you'll eventually have 15 slots to toy around with)
And starting a brand new civilization actually isn't as fun as you'd think...I've had characters on primitive islands before. Having to punch a rabbit to death to make a bone knife and trying desperately to gather healing food yourself faster than lions and boars can maul you, while having no idea where to get the hematite and limestone and coal needed to make iron because travelers never survive long enough to draw a map gets old after awhile.
As for the 'too slow' part, well, nothing I can say about that, it is a slow game. It might be a little while before you get some decent equipment for your character, and whether that's bearable or not depends a lot on luck - I've landed a couple in towns filled with mostly inactive characters ('sleepers')...I take that as a challenge to see if I can shake things up, but I know it must be a huge turn off for newbies who may not realize that better experiences are available just one town away.
If you ever give it another try, some general advice for your first day:
1.) introduce yourself: "Hi, my name is [whatever]. I'm new here, can anyone give me some advice?" (later on you might try to mix it up with emotes, but that's all you really need)
2.) Click 'Objects' and find the laws. This is usually a note titled 'Laws of [townname]. Everyone must read!' As I said before, practically every town has a no killing/stealing/poaching law, and going into buildings that don't belong to you is usually a no-no too. (hint: picking up random items off the ground is almost universally considered stealing...discarded bone tools and animal products are usually the exception, but it's still best to get permission first if there isn't a note explicitly stating they're free.
2.) There should be a map (most likely several) on the ground along with the laws and other miscellaneous junk. Make yourself a copy, if you ever plan to travel or trade you'll need it.
3.) Start gathering potatoes or carrots or whatever. Most towns are cool with this. If there's no food readily available, just ask for some. You might also take this opportunity to ask for a job, so you can start earning sweet sweet iron for making weapons and tools and everything else you need to elevate you from the primitive loincloth and bone knife stage.
And that's all you need to know to start out, though there are some other handy things you'll eventually learn, like the benefits of sucking up to wealthy old people with lots of extra equipment, how to get a sense for which towns will let you bend the rules and which ones will sabre you for stealing 10 grams of small bones, etc. but that all comes in time.
I know it may seem frustrating at first when you realize it might take a few hours for someone to answer your questions (some towns are just sleepy, and even in relatively active ones there's no way to tell right off what timezone the other players are in), or that it could take over a week for your new character to get established, but keep in mind that this isn't a game meant to be played by hitting F5 over and over impatiently waiting for results. It's more like something you'd check between classes or during a coffee break - though if you have an excess of free time, just make 10 or 15 characters to guarantee there's always something going on, you'll have your hands full in no time, especially if some of them manage to weasel into leadership positions.
[ September 24, 2007: Message edited by: Solara ]