The Network: May, Arrivals from Distant Lands

[faileas]

The Network: May, Arrivals from Distant Lands

The Watches Everyone who arrives in an unorthodox way and eventually shows up at the Coven for 'orientation', will receive a strange, watch-like device compliments of the Coven and Parliament. Miss Nessie or one of the welcome wagon crew will give characters a run-down of how to use the various functions and they are encouraged to test them out for themselves. It would be good for them to get in touch with their fellow Mirrorbound, of course! Fourth wall characters will not be able to make their own posts in the communities, so they may use this post to make "network posts" of their own by top-leveling. The log post is right over here. Fourth Wall characters can comment on posts made by others in both aefenglom and middaeg until June 1st. Current players: Please specify in your posts if you do NOT want fourth wall characters replying!

Comments

[deadtective]

Spoken like someone who's gotten their ass kicked in every single one they've ever tried.

[ferrytale]

You assume much. Some refer to them as "games" but they have a purpose; those skills are viable in combat. I have always received high marks in simulations.

[deadtective]

I'm going to tell you right now, that is possibly the most pathetic achievement anyone has ever fucking bragged about to me in my life. Sim games are super fucking easy to exploit half the time anyway.

[ferrytale]

I do not understand. In what way are they exploitable? In your experience, that may be so, I have no idea. If you were to die or make a significant mistake in one of your games, what are the consequences? Are they very immersive?

[deadtective]

I mean, nobody's waiting behind the arcade cabinet with a chainsaw to fucking rip you in half if you fuck up shooting zombies, but the whole idea's for you to get real into them anyway.

Everything's got patterns though, you know? They can't break past their fucking limits, so once you figure out what they are you can just use them to run circles around things. That's half the fun.

[ferrytale]

[ there's a lot of unfamiliar words here, but he muddles through it well enough despite not knowing what an arcade cabinet is. he supposes that must be whatever sort of interface must be required. ]

These "zombies" are your enemy? What are they capable of?

If you have progressed beyond the need for patterns, why have you not moved on to something more challenging? Real enemies do not adhere to patterns in combat, so we do not train on those long for that reason. The majority of our simulations use learning algorithms intended to be unpredictable. It is difficult, but you will be successful if you know your enemy well and do not panic. Plus, there is a strong incentive to improve quickly if you feel every failure.

[deadtective]

I don't really 'feel' much of anything, inside or out of gaming. Except for fucking annoyance, I guess.

[ah, but that's dancing a little too close to a truth she doesn't want to express here. it doesn't matter that Hazel has been returned to life for some reason in this world - she's seen the way people have spoken of necromancy in the Coven. even a former existence as undead isn't something she wants to creep into people's perception of her.]

Point is that if I'm fighting people while I'm actually working then I'm doing my fucking job wrong. I just game as a way to kill time until there's something else to do...I'm not looking to be on the fucking grind even when I'm off.

[ferrytale]

[ that actually manages not to strike him as unusual at all. it's better to feel nothing at all and stick to cold, mechanical logic in his experience. ]

I see. In the Galactic Alliance, no time is wasted and all activities are utilised for self-improvement. I assumed the same was true everywhere.

What sort of work do you do where combat is the exception?

[ that's the real weirdness! ]

[deadtective]

[the Galactic Alliance...and this was the dude trying to tell her that non-educational video games were a waste of time? he was probably wearing Spock ears while typing all of this shit out.]

Nah, generally people are looking to be as self-destructive as possible. Getting better at shit takes effort and waaay too much investment time. Not worth the trouble.

I'm a private detective. Or...was, I guess. Dunno if there's really a market for that kind of garbage here.