I was just going to ask a few things... I'm familiar with this STYLE of gameplay, but a few things came up that I believe are important before I decide to get into this any further!

1: I heard from a friend about this RP style game a while back... Is it still an Econ based game, or is it combat based? I've read a lot of information on this game from your own forums, but opinions seem to be varied... What exactly is this game, and where would I fit into the big picture?

2: My friend, who told me about this game said it was a VERY complicated, political and economic based game, that could erupt into devastating conflict whenever combat was implemented... I guess from the size of the game, a new players survivability would be fairly low if combat WAS implemented... So I guess that's my question... Has it been applied yet, and is there any time-frame for it yet?

3: My friend played a long time ago, and she moved and lost track of the game in all the commotion, but she said that it was worth taking a look at, as a long term interest, if I found the game interesting enough to commit to. My question is, what about this game makes it so worth sticking with? Is it the community, the "politics", or the tantalizing temptation of the promise of conflict at some point in the future? What keeps you all playing?

4: What's the deal with all the families... Your wiki page describes them as Dynasties, but they seem to mostly be character re-rolls, from previous characters being killed? How do you play something for so long, and restart again after your character suddenly dies after achieving so much, and having to start over? Is that common? (( I guess that's another question, so just count that as my fifth and final query =] ))

PS: I haven't made a character yet, so I hope this post makes it on the board... I'll be sure to check for answers here as much as possible, and I hope that, sometime in the near future, I may be able to message you in game =]

Hello!

1. Both. Economy plays a larger role overall, as there are more economic features complete than combat features, but combat operations do occur as well within the limitations of gameplay. Combat tends to occur primarily via infiltration/spying and backstabbing via the use of Arrest/Execute currently.

2. Full combat isn't available. Combat against NPCs and creatures was implemented a few years ago, with ground-based PVP in testing within one system that's available to everyone. No specific timeline as it won't be implemented all at once; repair is being finished up currently along with some final ground combat balancing. Survivability isn't intended to be as low as many people seem to suspect, however; part of the reason why this is taking so long (aside from needing to complete core features like repair first, and having only a small number of volunteer coders) is so that a proper balance can be worked out to ensure that death doesn't occur too quickly or easily. Death is permanent here so it's a big concern.

3. You'll hear different answers from everyone, because everyone has different interests when they join. We have some who just like to make friends and get to know people, some who enjoy written roleplaying, some who like the economics like building and resource gathering, some who like trading and amassing wealth, some who like infiltration and treachery, some who like their faction and want to work up to a leadership position within it, etc. Or some combination of factors.

4. Families most often get started when multiple players get together and decide they want to roleplay being related, then eventually more and more players join those families, on future characters or by recruiting offline or other internet friends.

In terms of creating new characters, most of those rerolls are deliberate, when a player decides he's bored of what he's been doing and wants to try something else, or feels he made some mistake that will ruin his character's reputation forever. Or, yes, sometimes they are killed. That does drive some people to quit forever or for a long period of time (see: important of combat balance), but some are killed at a point where they were prepared for it, or brush it off and use the opportunity to try something else. Some just haven't achieved much yet anyway.

You have two options, ultimately: realize and accept that eventually your character is going to die and enjoy planning out what you might like to do for a future character from time to time, or spend your time here living in paranoia and blockading yourself on board your personal assets or at locations where no one will be able to kill you. Both are common; the second may require you to hide out in deep space once your ships can be attacked.

In any case, SWC is free so there's no harm in giving it a try and deciding whether or not it's something you'd like to stick with. :)

Well thanks! That was a fast reply! =]

I think I'd mostly enjoy being a familiar face, and getting to know people, and maybe join a family... But I guess the hard part about that is, I don't know anyone yet! Lol

Is there a way I can meet people before I commit, and get all involved with the process of making my character?

Yes, you can connect to our IRC server and chat in the general room, although there may not be many people active at the time you check in (weekends can be a bit quiet).

Our IRC guide can be found here.

Server is irc.swcombine.com port 6667 (although we support ports 1080, 5000, 5555, 6660-6670, 8080), channel #SWC-Members

We also have a Test Character Creation process you can run through (it just won't let you complete the character creation) located here, but I'm not sure how much of that can be accessed while logged out.

Thanks Syn =]

That's so helpful! I really hope all this works out! It seems like a really fun game, with a really neat concept behind it =]

PS: You're much nicer than my friend suggested! =p

Everything you've heard about me is a lie.


especially the good things

Syn? Nice? That was your first mistake!

Lol! I'll remember that :)

I read over the news articles on him / her... (There was a little gender confusion at first, but I'm guessing a him, RP'ing as a her? Poke me if I'm wrong... =o ) There seemed to be a lot of shady business going on! I wouldn't want to get on Syn's bad side... Even being ON his side seems dangerous XD

Regardless, I guess that's the way he chooses to play, and it seems to be working for him! Not many people have the mental acuity to pull something like this off for... 12 years? Or was it more??? At the very least, he's a fine word smith, twisting and shaping, and using words against their speakers... A very interesting character indeed :)

Not everything is as it seems here.

Ohh I imagine xD It seems like subterfuge and trickery are as big a part of this game as anything else... Ohh the news articles I've read... That Holocron thingy is SUCH a fantastic resource!