Cinder

I have no intention of coming here and changing anything, and I see what everyones trying to do, so in all honesty, to keep what you guys are trying to accomplish, and balance it out for new players is nearly impossible without giving the new players a major exp boost to rocket them to the top, but then it again, kind of defeats the purpose of having the leveling system in the first place if lowbies are just going to get dinged to the top anyway.

I'm new here, so don't think I expect to take charge or anything, these are just opinions of mine since the topic was raised, and another site failed because members were in the 50's, and weren't allowing new players teh ability to fairly catch up, so members stopped joining, and the site eventually fell apart.

I can agree with this, but they would then hinder RP's as it had been said, because every post would need to be approved, turning a three day thread to a week long thread. Perhaps any post in the RP areas give normal EXP while non-RP related threads only give 25% or 50% of the typical experience. Therefore rp'ing gives standard exp and non rp still gets rewarded but substantially less, making spam much less valuable.

I completely aggree with increasing the experience gains of roleplay posts over spam posts.

Hahaha, I noticed this as well, and I agree that it is an unfair way to level, but at the same time, I'd like to bring a point across from a new player's stand point.

One thing I would like to say, is that, (not to bash the more veteran players on the site), having a leveling system in general makes new players heavily discouraged. I mean, I understand that everyone has to earn a place, and none of the guys that have been around forever want to have someone who literally just arrived at the same level, but at the same time, is after awhile the starter community is going to segregate themselves from the rest of the site, and then the younger guys are going to eventually segregate themselves from the even newer guys. Now, that probably doesn't seem that bad to a lot of you, but sometimes people want to play as one of the higher end characters, fighting the epic bosses for the first time with the rest of them. They don't want to just follow suit because they can't out experience them due to the amount of previous experience they've already gained.

I understand, all the veteran players earned it and it helps encourage posting, but it's really discouraging knowing that just because you didn't find the site sooner, now you're perpetually stuck at a lower level then everyone else, because by the time they reach the level cap, they'd have already cleared the game before you can catch up.

EDIT: And I know, the newer players could just post more then the veteren players to catch up, but isn't that asking for a bit much? Too play with the vets, you need to do what they did in a fifth of the time, or sixth, or seventh, or even tenth. Don't you think?

Cinder awoke in a startle, his hand immediately going inside his cloak to his <> as he yanked it out quickly to defend himself. As he took in his surroundings, he realized he was alone, his breathing heavy as his eyes bounced around. Letting out a relaxing sigh, he let his head fall back gently onto the stone that lay beneath him. There was a moment of silence before he eventually sat up, alone in the square, not even the flute player to keep him company.

Cinder looked down at the global Sword Art Online clock, it read just past 7PM. So I wasn't out for long, ten minutes it seems, he thought to himself as he returned his dagger to its sheath in his cloak. Still, ten minutes is more than enough to catch me in a sleep-PK if that was a player based stun, he thought before stretching his arms out. "Let's find this damn owner," he said as he turned back towards where he had come from.

It was fairly easy, the tune was very simple and uncomplicated. Cinder actually laughed at the simplicity of it, and began paying more attention to the booming crowd in front of him. It wasn't like the modern concerts he had back before he got trapped in <>, it local gathering of people surrounding him with nothing but lanterns for light in the darkness, the various colors of smoke being the most obscure thing in this tutorial. Enjoying himself a little bit, he watched as the last circle came across the line. After successfully playing the last note, the panel flashed gently before flickering away. The people continued to cheer, and he gave a low bow, but as he lowered his head, he felt the world grow hazy again.

The sounds of the crowd grew distant, and the deafening cheering felt as if it was being smothered by a pillow. Cinder lifted his eyes up as he watched the world fade to black, losing consciousness again it seemed like.

With a flash the panel collapsed, then instantly opened up again as a different panel, this time with just a white box outlined in black. This panel was more transparent than the others, making it so he could still look through it, without losing track of where it was. Time around him began to slow as the crowd faded into silence, the only thing changing was the panel in front of him, offset to the bottom right. In the panel were eight lines running horizontally, representing the eight strings on the lute. He stared at it for a moment as black dots slowly began to appear, scrolling to the left from the right side until it reached a solid vertical black line centimeters from the left border. At that point, the black dot froze, and a glowing beam protruded from the lute on the same string as the line represented. Cinder looked at it for a second before using some common sense and putting a finger on the line. From there, that same string glowed, but on the right side where his finger was meant to strum it. Reaching down, he plucked the string, and a sound echoed from the instrument, and the dot continued on and faded off the left border. Soon another dot approached the line, this time, it didn't stop, and before Cinder could play the corresponding note, the instrument made a soft dinking sound, meaning that he missed the correct attempt at the note. So this is how it works... he thought to himself, watching the notes pass the line as he attempted to press them in the correct sequence at the correct times.

Cinder was growing a little more paranoid that something was about to happen, but before he could do anything, the music began getting louder, and soon he couldn't even hear his own voice when he tried to shout to the man. The world around him grew hazy, and his eyes began to grow heavy as his vision blurred. He instinctively reached for his dagger, his fingers gingerly fiddling with the grip, but it was of no use. He was growing more and more unaware as he lost consciousness it seemed like.

Did I... Did I lose? Has the game beaten me? Several thoughts crossed his mind in the seconds of fading darkness, that seemed like years, began to overtake his vision. With a moment of utter silence, there was an explosion of bass as music filled his ears, his whole body vibrating as suddenly he was surrounded by people holding various colored lanterns, streams of fireworks blasting off into the sky as he stood higher than everyone else, the lute in his hand. As he watched the scene, a system panel opened in front of him with the words 'Begin <>>?'. Unlike before, there was only one option. "Yes." He hovered his hand over the button as the cheering crowd around him watch patiently, cheering him on to press it. This game is insane. he thought to himself as he tapped the button.

The man continued to play, either unaware or uncaring of Cinder's appearance to the scene. A smile was lying across the mans face as he hummed away in unison to the tune he was playing on the lute. Cinder looked around at the empty audience the performer had, I hope his audience doesn't mind if I borrow some of his time... he thought to himself as he approached him, tossing him a friendly wave with his right hand to try and get his attention. The man failed to budge, and only continued to play. Cinder's friendly expression disappeared as he waved his hand a little faster, using his voice this time, "Hey sir, I was wondering if you were the owner for that dog to the south of town?" The man continued to ignore him.

Cinder inhaled again on the <>, blowing the smoke outward towards him, the last bit of the roll coming to an end as he flicked the butt at the coin hat, sparks exploding from the lit end as it impacted with the coins. He hoped to catch the man's attention that way, but despite the fact, the man just continued to play.

"Humph." Cinder scuffed, as he crossed his arms, pondering what the reason behind the lack of interaction from this character was. His thoughts didn't last long as the hat caught on fire and a purple smoke began to fill the air from underneath the coins.

As Cinder walked the town, he took a good look at the empty houses. There was literally not a soul around, he thought silently as he inhaled on the <> that was between his lips right now, smoke flowing from his mouth and nose as he exhaled, the white plume disappearing once again in thin air.

The whole time he'd been walking, the only sound he could hear was the wind rustling the leaves on the surrounding forest around him, at least, until now. What seemed like music began to travel down the street, it wasn't a song he's ever heard before, but it was graceful. Cinder figured his best bet was the music anyway, he began to follow it, eventually being guided into the main square of the town. A lowly man sat in a chair next to a large water fountain, a lute in his hand as he plucked the strings with excellent rhythm and tone. Resting in front of him was a black top hat with coins surrounding it, the inside of the hat filled over the brim as they overflowed onto the outlying brick.

The old man let out a smile as he walked over to the dog, picking it up, he tossed the unconscious creature over his shoulder and then placed it on the ground next to a building, then sat down next to it. Cinder watched as he moved off the road as well. "How will I find the owner?" he asked, taking out a thin white item from the pouch on his hip. The item was labelled <>, and looked just like a modern day cigarette. He hadn't expected this death game to accommodate for smokers, but it seems if you look hard enough, even this game gives a little mercy. Taking out a match box, a small holographic counter displayed next to the box, informing him that he only had an additional twenty seven matches left within his box before it would shatter into a bunch of flashy pixels from within his hands. Tapping the end of the box with one hand, he caught a falling matchstick that appeared out of thin air from the other side. Taking the match, he lit it, then carefully moved the end of the <>, inhaling as the tip flared up in a small flame, smoke flowing from his mouth and the item at once, floating into the air before thinning out and disappearing.

The old man watched as he did so, responding to his question quickly, "All you have to do is ask." With that, he began mumbling sweet innocents to the dog, petting its fur as it laid there ever so still.

Cinder smirked, letting out a small chuckle as he turned to face the town. Finding an information broker would be the best case scenario, but at this point, finding anyone would be spectacular. This town was a ghost town.

Cinder looked down at the sleeping dog that was lying in the middle of the empty street. It's fur was short, and heavy dark brown color; almost seeming black from a distance. He had tried to move it earlier, but the thing just wouldn't budge. He nudged it with his foot, the fur ruffling as he shoved it gently, but merely rolled slightly then fell exactly back into place. Maybe its a glitch, he thought to himself as he took a step back. Just as he was about to turn away and continue with his day, an crusty voice spoke in front of him, nearly startling him as he jumped back slightly. "Are you the owner of this dog?" a bald old man asked as he peered at him through eyes that appeared to be closed, just five meters from the dog.

"Who are you?" Cinder asked, his hand instinctively reaching to the hilt of his dagger that was strapped to the front of his chest, underneath the dark brown cloak he wore.

The old man merely repeated the same question.

Cinder looked at him for a moment, and then let out a sigh, succumbing to what he assumed was a quest giver, seeing as how this would have to have been the oldest gamer he'd ever have met otherwise. "No, he was lying here when I arrived in town." Cinder had literally just arrived, the dog being his first interaction with anything in this small village.

"Then you wouldn't mind helping search for the owner then would you? He lives somewhere in this town?" The old man continued, lifting a shaking arm as he pointed towards the village behind Cinder.

A prompt appeared in front of Cinder, the words labeled 'Do you accept the quest <>?' with two interactable options listed below: a blue circular button with a white ring in it, and a red circular button of equal size, with a white 'x' inside. The words "Yes" and "No" were labeled next to each one. Moving his finger to the blue circle, he tapped it, the panel flashing slightly before collapsing horizontally in front him, disappearing in thin air.

Hey, I'm Cinder, I recently arrived a couple days ago, and am looking for a good place to get started on this site. I don't know anyone, seeing as how I found this place in a Google search hahahaha, so I really don't want to just jump in somewhere. If anyone's interested, let me know!

Hell. Yes. To Armored Core and Dead Space, both are on the top favorite list of games I've played. Halo is what really started me into the online multiplayer scene though, so I have to put in an honorable mention for that series. I love Halo.

Based mine off of Izaya Orihara.

Sweden -by- Two Fingers

Eh, it was close enough. I knew what you were saying. Take care my friend, and I look forward to seeing you out in game.

Hahahaha, yeah, thats my plan, or see where it stands tomorrow or the next day, and then decide to toss one a message. Until then, I better start getting social and ranking up these levels. I've managed to pull into Level 2 with just your help sir! Thank you.

Ahhh, ok. So I see how all this is coming together. I didn't read anywhere about informing a GM that it was completed. The only place that was stated was for any "updates", because they didn't have the time to go through everything, but do you think its that way for starting profiles as well?

Ohh, well then. I swore it said somewhere to leave it blank, maybe I missed an update somewhere saying to go forth and create it. I'll go add those skills in now, thanks for the tip! I'd have been waiting forever!

Or, you could just say you gain two hit points per level. Hahaha. Thats understandable. I noticed on the character profile I'm to leave skills and inventory blank. I've completed the character profile, so I'm going to assume they're going to assign me skills, or ask what type of sword arts I'd like to have?? Possibly?

Wow, I wish I had found this place a lot sooner, then maybe I'd have been caught up to everyone else! Does the various levels matter signifigantly when it comes to roleplaying? So by you being level 8, and per se, me being level 6, or even 5, would there be a huge gap?

Perfect, then I'll be sure to stay as active as possible. So how long has this site been open for?

Any idea on when that benchmark will be broken? How soon at least?

Hahaha, well, thats what happens when you use a post count leveling system, there are ways tooo... essentially speed post, but I'm looking forward to the adventuring myself. :) I do hope to make it through the benchmark with everyone else.

Hahaha, I assumed you were posting, since you were "veiwing the thread", so I almost said to hell with it, but none-the-less, I figured I'd let you know I found the thread. Thank you for the excellent supoort though! I'm gonna need a good leveling partner to catch up to everyone, it seems the average is around 7 or 8.

Arigato, can I ask you one more question? The profile avatars, is that something users should be able to do, because its only giving me a list of options to select from, and then I tried searching for an "avatar" thread to help me get one requested, but I'm at a loss sadly.

EDIT: Nevermind. I located it, it always happens right when I make a post about it. ^_^;