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[Sir Pseudonymous]

You're looking at corps the wrong way. I don't particularly care for working with formal groups in games either, but in hellMOO it basically just works out to a secondary chat channel full of people who (probably) don't want to kill you, who can help you do shit you need to do, but otherwise wouldn't be able to, who (potentially) could strike back at someone who's fucking with you, who will (sometimes) save your ass if you get into a bad situation, like being stranded on a ledge with no medical supplies and a broken arm (or you get cancer because an abom ran past you in the street and need a high-level crafter to make the cure), and being in a corp makes contracts available, which is almost always more lucrative than just doing your own thing, not least of which because they often pay you for doing what you would be doing anyways.

Actually, I suppose all that depends on the corp you join. Every one I've ever been in has been like that. To simplify the selection process: just join KREW. It's run by helpful veterans and its rules boil down to "help your corpmates and don't start shit with other corps".

Even if you're not in a corp you're still not very likely to be randomly killed, unless you cross the wrong person, but it does increase the number of people who wouldn't be afraid of killing you for shiggles/stealing your stuff, since you have essentially no recourse against them if they do. Basically, it replaces hard coded safety with social mechanisms: sure, you can pick up a gun and try to kill someone, but their friends can come and fuck you up for it. The most important thing is to not piss people off, and (in ascending order of importance) to endear yourself to them by being hilarious, good tempered, and not a moron.



If you look at the setting, shit that happens is roleplaying: everyone is damned to a twisted form of immortality, stuck forever in a hellish post-post-apocalyptic wasteland, and they've all been stuck there for over a hundred years at this point (I think, I'm not sure when the Fall happened), leaving them all sociopaths. Essentially nothing they do can have a sweeping impact on the world as a whole, so they all just kill people/hideous mutants for cash, get drunk, and throw molotovs at each other. Would you do any different in their shoes?

[Kagus]

While you were writing that, I ended up editing my last post to include a lot of generally pointless things.  Ignore it at your own whim.

And I think one of the issues I have with clans/corps is that they don't mean anything.  I know it's a hell of a lot to ask for, but there should be at least some small sense of communal spirit towards other players just for the sake of being another player.  If you're a dick to people, people are dicks to you.  Simple as that, don't need a defined group for it.

But because a number of groups operate as "only an upside", with various boosts for no real drawback, they become less like a community you are dedicated to and more like a hat you happen to be wearing for the moment.

If I join something, I want to feel that I'm really a part of it.  I want to sacrifice my personal achievements for the good of the whole, and I want the whole to be damned well worth it.  I don't like the feel of joining up with something and being labeled as a member just so I can get access to something that enhances me as an individual.  I like community spirit, not a pack of lone wolves.


Gah...  I still can't properly describe my feelings towards clans...  I can quite clearly feel a strong urge to avoid most predefined groups, but I can't quite illustrate all the reasons why I feel that way.  I do indeed love teamwork, and I happen to like teamwork for teamwork's sake.  I don't really care if anything is accomplished or if I get a cookie for doing it, I just like it when people are helping each other out and generally being awesome.

Maybe that's what it is.  Maybe I'm trying to set a precedent for individual aid or something, proving that people can be nice to other people for no artificial reason, and purely for the sake of helping the poor sap out.  I really just don't know.

[Nolor]

In a decision that will most likely later prove to be a huge mistake, I joined OLW a few days ago. The founder basically recruited me when I was hunting orphans and it was sort of a "Hey, I can't really say no right now to this" sort of deal. It's not a bad corp, I don't think, though it's kind of small. We don't really seem to be on anyone's bad side except hbarn who is content to murder us repeatedly (and us, them). Plus the contracts pay way better than ENEMA and anyone can sign them, which is pretty nice.

Beyond that: I've recently hit 12,000XP with some 7,000 of it unspent. I'm at 6.00 raw in blades and at a point where I can handle everything in the Projects/Crackhouse/upper level of the sewers but anything else tears me apart, especially Hepcats. Should I learn up to 7/8 raw or spend my XP on something else? I'm thinking about dumping it into dodge, since grinding that is proving to be a huge pain.

[MagmaDeath]

Hbarn is a nice corp.

OLW, is not all that smart, I jumped into their corp, opened all the doors, let my buddies in, and tada, instant robbery.

They probably still haven't recovered from that.

[Nolor]

Hbarn is a nice corp.

OLW, is not all that smart, I jumped into their corp, opened all the doors, let my buddies in, and tada, instant robbery.

They probably still haven't recovered from that.

Yeah, I just read through all the corp announcements (dating from March) and they've been robbed/rebuilt from the ground up so many times it's hilarious. They don't really have anything decent in their HQ though, nothing good enough to rob that isn't bolted down. Some crafting supplies, but little else. The weapons/armor are all low-tier.

[MagmaDeath]

Hbarn is a nice corp.

OLW, is not all that smart, I jumped into their corp, opened all the doors, let my buddies in, and tada, instant robbery.

They probably still haven't recovered from that.

Yeah, I just read through all the corp announcements (dating from March) and they've been robbed/rebuilt from the ground up so many times it's hilarious. They don't really have anything decent in their HQ though, nothing good enough to rob that isn't bolted down. Some crafting supplies, but little else. The weapons/armor are all low-tier.

The vault had some GREAT stuff in it, and for some reason, was open to employees...
They probably fixed that by now.
And you can unbolt things, as they are not all that competent.

[beorn080]

Corps are also great for being involved in crazy random hijinks.

For instance, there is a spot in HellMOO from which you can't escape. Period. It's a hole, it closes above you, you can't make a portal with a portalgun in it, and there is no way out. Oh, and the admins are alerted whenever anyone goes in, so they can watch the struggles and get humor out of it.

An idea was sparked. I forget who, but eventually a group formed, consisting of a decent group of players scattered about 3-4 corps. The plan was simple.

Build a plane in this location, and use the interior of the plane to portal out.

Thus began the great theft, which left many, if not all, of the admins speechless. I logged in afterwards, and the discussions on Zotnet were rather humorous. Mostly relating to WTF happened, and Watch what happens next time someone tries.

Explore the world. Find something funny to do. 99% of it you don't need to be THAT strong to do. Zombie Apocolypses are always fun, and they're easy to start. Dump some explosives in the orphanage. Organize a group and randomly follow people cocking your gun at them and pointing.

[Astral]

I joined TMI after being 'sent' there by Saoy (a helpful player in ENEMA, the newb corp). She said someone was looking forward to recruting me, for whatever reason. I pretty much do my own thing, sometimes getting in trouble while exploring and having someone else come and save my ass (which is nice, and not something a freelancer would have).

Around 30k XP after a week of playing, and virtually no interference from TMI tbh. We have an apartment that I keep stocked (because we either don't have or they won't tell me about our corp HQ) and almost use like its my own, which is nice considering its pretty high security (for as much as that means). I just keep extra medical supplies, interesting/useful items and anything I craft in there.

How does one unbolt things? And someone mentioned earlier a better way than cam hacking for grinding hack; what could that be?

[Josephus]

You have to type unbolt, then the thing you want to unbolt.

[Astral]

Maybe that's what it is.  Maybe I'm trying to set a precedent for individual aid or something, proving that people can be nice to other people for no artificial reason, and purely for the sake of helping the poor sap out.  I really just don't know.

I do help people out whenever I can. If someone wants to give me money for healing their injuries/helping them kill something/crafting something for them/installing a weapon mod, thats their perogative. I do it for the experience, and just because its nice to do. Sure, maybe I'm being taken advantage of, and maybe drawing attention to myself. But that doesn't make me bad for doing it. Corps help either way, even if it is a semi-false sense of security.

[Sir Pseudonymous]

Can you cook human flesh?

Yes, though I don't know much about cooking to be honest.

While you were writing that, I ended up editing my last post to include a lot of generally pointless things.  Ignore it at your own whim.

Didn't notice that.

And I think one of the issues I have with clans/corps is that they don't mean anything.  I know it's a hell of a lot to ask for, but there should be at least some small sense of communal spirit towards other players just for the sake of being another player.  If you're a dick to people, people are dicks to you.  Simple as that, don't need a defined group for it.

Most people don't start shit for exactly that reason: they can, often without consequence, but they become known for it and so anyone who can take them down generally feels no qualms about it.

But because a number of groups operate as "only an upside", with various boosts for no real drawback, they become less like a community you are dedicated to and more like a hat you happen to be wearing for the moment.

The biggest reason that it's "only an upside" is because you get a lot of help from other players in your corp, especially when you're just starting out and can't always get where you need to, or buy something you desperately need, and then you're expected to help out once you get to a point where you can.

I don't really care if anything is accomplished or if I get a cookie for doing it, I just like it when people are helping each other out and generally being awesome.

Maybe that's what it is.  Maybe I'm trying to set a precedent for individual aid or something, proving that people can be nice to other people for no artificial reason, and purely for the sake of helping the poor sap out.  I really just don't know.

Yeah, that all happens. HellMOO isn't absurdly brutal, it's just not artificially made friendly. People don't have to help you, hell, they don't even have to not kill you, but generally people are helpful, and generally they don't hunt you down for shiggles (although the cost is generally so low to you if they do, at least early on, that that's not something you should take personally or too seriously).

There's just not much roleplaying to all that (although, depending on you look at it, that can very well fall into roleplaying in hellMOO's setting).

Corps are also great for being involved in crazy random hijinks.

For instance, there is a spot in HellMOO from which you can't escape. Period. It's a hole, it closes above you, you can't make a portal with a portalgun in it, and there is no way out. Oh, and the admins are alerted whenever anyone goes in, so they can watch the struggles and get humor out of it.

An idea was sparked. I forget who, but eventually a group formed, consisting of a decent group of players scattered about 3-4 corps. The plan was simple.

Build a plane in this location, and use the interior of the plane to portal out.

Thus began the great theft, which left many, if not all, of the admins speechless. I logged in afterwards, and the discussions on Zotnet were rather humorous. Mostly relating to WTF happened, and Watch what happens next time someone tries.

Explore the world. Find something funny to do. 99% of it you don't need to be THAT strong to do. Zombie Apocolypses are always fun, and they're easy to start. Dump some explosives in the orphanage. Organize a group and randomly follow people cocking your gun at them and pointing.

Yeah, I remember reading the pastebin log of it that was posted here right after it happened. That was awesome.

And someone mentioned earlier a better way than cam hacking for grinding hack; what could that be?

The assemblypro in Dope Jack's. You just type "hack assemblypro" and sit staring as your screen gets spammed with "You continue trying to find flaws in the antique security" or whatnot, as your hack slowly gets better. You don't even have to retype it, because you'll continue until you either succeed or type "stop".

[Astral]

I think I've found that place. Far western area of Gangland, the custom skateboard place?

Also, human flesh can be cooked with various recipes. Carrie, a mutation, allows you to cook it with your mind (making it edible for normal people) along with being able to set people on fire. If you have a stove or something similar, you can cook 'steak au-pomething' with a relatively cheap recipe from the book store. There's also a decent cocktail weiner recipe; I'll leave it to you to figure out what those are made from (though I made a ton after someone was dropping the ingredients throughout FC in rather large piles).

And like Sir Pseudonymous said: Don't take anything seriously in the game. On my first character as an orphan, I was forced into a face based position, as someone else tackled my aggressor. He got shoved down the stairs, while I got his, uh, part, and choked to death. Someone else randomly shoved me down the sewers where I was promptly devoured by alligators. Its part of the learning experience, I think. It didn't happen often; just be sure to get that 5k XP quickly so you get rid of your newb tag as soon as possible. Have fun with it. Don't complain (because then they do things more; Aiko is a prime example). Try to find something that you enjoy in it, whether its crafting or combat or just screwing around.

[inaluct]

The COPS clique is full of really nice people with a sense of community, so not all the corps are just dicks. I'm sure some other corps are just like that, too. Maybe THUGS, or FLEX, or hbarn. In my experience, at least, corps totally do mean something.

[Dakk]

They even added factions now it seems, though they have no real use at the moment apart from letting you into certain places if you're on their good side, AFAIK at least.

[beorn080]

Personally, I wouldn't rush to get rid of your N. It lets you sleep in the Cube, which means your completely safe, and its free. Granted, I'd want to hit 5k before the week is up, but not be in a hurry to it.