Newbie Questions: Mentors, "safety", and "liking" forum posts

Kalici

1.  Is there an appropriate time to wait between requesting a mentor, and looking for a new one if you haven't received a response from the first?  I requested a mentor three days ago, and haven't heard anything, and I thought I'd wait a week before looking for another one, but I don't want to hit the "50 hours in game" limit without one.

2. Am I correct in my understanding that if you "quit" the game properly, you're safe?  In other words, can I "quit" anywhere in the Achaean world and remain safe while I'm off the game?

3. I see references to reactions for posts in the forum, like, agree, etc.  But I'm a screen reader user, and I don't see these options.  All I see are "flag" and "quote."  I've read the forum rules, but there's no mention of how to "like" a post.  Can anyone tell me how to do this?  I've seen so many posts I love already!

4.  Any tips on how to move faster than room by room?  I had ten imp guard corpses, and I was trying my best to go back to the pixie queen, but by the time I got back, I only had four!  And I was literally flying!  (Or is this just something I'll have to discover in the game?)

Any assistance is greatly appreciated.

OMG!  I have so many things to learn in this game!  I'm taking notes by hand (in Braille), reading thoroughly through the Achaea help guide, and the wiki pages.  (I thought I had read all the help there was after I finished the "newbie guide."  BOY was I surprised!)  Then once I finish this, I'm going to study everything I can about the VIPMUD client, because I'll feel a lot "safer" knowing how to create triggers so maybe I'll have at least a reasonable chance if I get attacked.  After that, it's house and city help files.  And FINALLY, I'll be ready to let you all know who Kalici really is (character development).

Kyriella

Hi @Kalici! I'm sure others can give you better answers, but here's my two cents:

1. Regarding mentors: I recommend asking someone about being your mentor when they're online, rather than through a message, for just that reason: You have no idea if they're dormant, distracted with the real world, etc, and you might end up having to wait longer than you want. I'd say it's appropriate to ask someone else after a few days-- potential mentors want you to get the help you need, and anyone reasonable will understand why you moved on and asked someone else.

2. Regarding quitting: Yes, once you have quit and you're sure you've disconnected (It starts with a message about praying silently for your soul to be preserved, and then actually disconnects you a bit after that), you no longer physically exist in the realms and are safe. Just closing the webpage won't do that-- you need to officially quit.

3. Regarding liking posts: I don't use a screenreader, but an observation I had that might answer something-- when I look at a post, I only see "flag" and "quote", but when I hover over a post with my cursor, more options appear (disagree, like, WTF, and LOL).

4. Regarding moving: Nope, you should be fine just walking from one place to another. Things do decay, as you've discovered-- maybe go back to the pixie queen after killing five, instead of 10, and see if that helps (since you won't be spending as long out hunting before going back)?

Hope any of that helped!

Vayne

1. That would depend on how your house works exactly, I would look for someone that is around the same times you are else they will not do you much good. Your best bet would be talking to one of your house leaders and figuring it out in game. You do not want to wait too long and hit the 50 hour mark like you said.

2. After you "qq" you character is safely stowed away and you are perfectly safe.

3. Seems like the other options are hidden until you move your mouse cursor over them, not sure if there is anyway to prevent them from hiding like that. Anyone?

4. Learning to navigate can be a bit tricky, especially if you are using a screen reader, eventually you will learn the lay of the land and as your skills grow most glasses have skills that allow them to get around quicker.

Delphinus

A note about QQ-ing: While you're safe for the most part, some things (like item decay) will continue to tick down.

Kalici

Thanks so much everyone!  Those answers are of great help.  Sometimes if you click links with a screen reader, that mimics the action of "hovering" with a mouse.  So I'll experiment, because I'd love to give positive feedback to so many people in these forums!

Nim

For moving around faster, you could divide that topic up into several areas.

• Information parsing, eg figuring out where you are based on the input Achaea gives you. I honestly don't know how to help you out there, given I rely on purely visual structures for that (aka MAP >_> ), so if you don't have a good method for this, I'd suggest asking other screenreader players how they do it.
• Geographical knowledge. This, you'll just have to pick up as you play the game, although some people (unfortunately) skip that step and get autowalkers (kind of like the IG command WALK TO, except usually without delay). As a side note, outside the wilderness (which is massive in proportion to the non-wilderness part of the game), Achaean rooms are non-euclidean for all practical gameplay purposes (the IC reasoning is that not all rooms are equally sized, but that isn't implemented in any way).
• Input speed. If you're typing WALK NORTH instead of N, that'll be a huge difference. Some players (myself included!) take it a step further, and use client-side macros to use their keypad (for instance) handle walking from room to room. Actually, macros are pretty common in general, especially amongst combatants, given that it can be faster than manually typing things in (even shorthand aliases!)

Kalici

I'm at least typing the "one-letter" directional movements, so that part is quicker.  But I'm just going to have to learn Macros and triggers and things like that to be able to truly compete.  It will be a challenge, but I always think, the greater the challenge, the bigger the reward upon completion.

Akali

I found that asking a potential mentor "in person" is a good way to go. Players live in different time-zones. So being able to ask their character directly is a good clue that both of you will be online at the same times. Having a mentor who is never online when you are is a lot like not having a mentor.

Welcome to Achaea.. Happy hunting!

Katzchen

Akali said:

I found that asking a potential mentor "in person" is a good way to go. Players live in different time-zones. So being able to ask their character directly is a good clue that both of you will be online at the same times. Having a mentor who is never online when you are is a lot like not having a mentor.

Welcome to Achaea.. Happy hunting!

Actually, it's worse. If a house expects you to gain approval from a mentor before you can request a trial, it can be a real hold up if you're not around at the same time.

Sylvance

Katzchen said:

Akali said:

I found that asking a potential mentor "in person" is a good way to go. Players live in different time-zones. So being able to ask their character directly is a good clue that both of you will be online at the same times. Having a mentor who is never online when you are is a lot like not having a mentor.

Welcome to Achaea.. Happy hunting!

Actually, it's worse. If a house expects you to gain approval from a mentor before you can request a trial, it can be a real hold up if you're not around at the same time.

The most frustrating requirement, indeed, and for this very reason. It's the only thing that ever makes me want to scream "I'M AN ALT!"

Akali

Hmm, not sure how that is worse? If a House expects you to gain a mentor's approval, not having a mentor prevents you from progressing in requirements, which is what I said having a mentor who is never online is exactly like! So, we agree? Heh.

Katzchen

Akali said:

Hmm, not sure how that is worse? If a House expects you to gain a mentor's approval, not having a mentor prevents you from progressing in requirements, which is what I said having a mentor who is never online is exactly like! So, we agree? Heh.

Yes, but if you didn't have a mentor, you could select a more active one.

Akali

Ohhh. Is mentor selection permanent then?

Eld

For the hardcoded mentor system, yes. Or well, not permanent, as you can renounce your mentor, but you can't choose a new one. That shouldn't have any effect on house requirements, though. If you have an official mentor who goes dormant, or who you otherwise don't see, ask someone else who is around to act as your mentor for the purposes of House reqs.

Trilliana

Using the in game Mentor system, it's semi-permanent (you can reject your mentor, if I remember right...) HELP MENTORS (or here: http://www.achaea.com/game/helpview/achaea/mentors) should help

Kalici

WOW, this thread took off while I was sleeping!

Thanks so much to everyone for all the advice.

My concern for mentors is picking one whose personality/gaming style matches with mine.  I read through the mentor profiles, and the one I had requested had a very relaxed approach.  I thought this would be especially good for me, since I'm completely new to MUDS, and a screen reader user to boot.  There are screen reader users who are wizards with computers, but I'm only "pretty good."  Whether or not that will affect my game as I level up remains to be seen.  I just didn't want to choose someone for a mentor, and then have them grow impatient with my slower-than-average game play or response time (if it turns out to be the case that I am slower than sighted gamers).  That may not even be an issue, but since I have no way of knowing, and since it's someone I imagine I'll be working with for a while, I imagine I better choose carefully.

Nim

One consideration regarding mentors is that their IC and OOC personas may be very different. They could be the most relaxed person ever OOCly, but be the most impatient jerk imaginable ICly, so if your concerns are OOC in nature (for example, can they help with scripting, how much will they be willing to teach you mechanics-wise, etc.), it might be favorable to get to know them on an OOC level as well as an IC level.

This is especially true in Mhaldor, for example, but it's also pretty common elsewhere as well. The opposite can happen too!

Of course, don't focus too much on the OOC aspect. Mentors can be an amazing roleplaying element, even if you never talk OOC stuff with them. I still think houses and/or cities should make sure every novice is outfitted with at least three mentor-type people (even if they're not necessarily part of the same class/house/city/world).

Kalici

Under normal circumstances, I wouldn't even have mentioned that I was a screen reader user at all, but MUDS are so new to me, that I felt it was necessary.  But I think once I've mastered the real life "how to" of Achaea, I won't ever have to bring up the OOC screen reader user issue again in any future MUDS I might play.  The more I read thouh, the more I think I may not need mentor help with the scripting/screen reader aspects of the game.  It may just be something I can figure out on my own, given enough time and effort.

I agree with you about the three mentors for each newbie.  One person shouldn't be solely responsible for introducing someone to something as potentially complicated as a MUD.

Antonius

You really don't need three mentors; you have an entire playerbase of people to introduce you to the game in various ways. Your mentor will be your go to person for questions, especially ones about your House tasks and progression, but that doesn't mean they're the only place you can go to get help.

Akali

Three mentors? No. Just one. One good one. This should be a single person who #1. is actually available to help you, and #2. you get along with. Spend some time getting to know people before you make your decision. Let the choice happen organically instead of over-thinking it.

Vayne

Also, while selecting a mentor has some hard coded benefits, increased xp when hunting together, batches of 20 lessons instead of 15, etc., that by no means bars you from interacting and learning from other house/city/ordermates. Your mentor should however, be your go to person responsible for making sure you stay on track and are learning the ropes.

Azor

One note on QQ-ing, you don't want to QQ where an aggressive NPC might attack you on log-in, especially if it's an NPC that you would normally have to def up to face effectively.

Nim

Akali said:

Three mentors? No. Just one. One good one. This should be a single person who #1. is actually available to help you, and #2. you get along with. Spend some time getting to know people before you make your decision. Let the choice happen organically instead of over-thinking it.

While having someone to emphasize your training and take on an official mentor role is cool, I still think three reliable sources of knowledge is a good minimum to try and set people up with, with the ideal being "everyone in your city and house, and also some of your enemies and a few other people too." That is how many people I think you should learn from, even if it's just a little teeny tiny bit here or there, like... keep insomnia and kola up at all times forever (thanks @Kresslack i don't hate you at all for that, and totally don't still keep a grudge ♥♥♥).

then again, my character was in a house that emphasized being students, so I might be biased. >_>

Akali

@Nim

I definitely agree that a person should learn from everyone they can. A good mentor should point his or her protege to the other members of the House who excel in the areas the protege is interested in developing. In fact, a good protege should already know who those people are, having first discovered who in the House focuses on the same aspects of the game the Novice wants to focus on, and then having spent some time interviewing/getting to know those people.

For example, say I am interested in combat. When the person giving me my House orientation asks at the end, "Do you have any questions?" I might reply with something like, "Who in the House seems to focus on combat?" Then you narrow that list down. HONOURS them. Are they able to mentor? Are they listed in HOUSE MENTORS or HHELP MENTORS. Come up with a list and see if any of them are online when you are. Start interacting with them. When you ask questions, do they answer? Are they friendly and helpful? Do they seem too busy to help you? Do this for a little while and you should be able to find someone who just seems like a "good fit."

The same would apply if you were interested in politics, or history, or espionage, or theft, or rituals, or sailing, or drinking, etc.

I have probably rambled for way to long. The only left to say is.. good luck!

ETA: spelling corrections

Kresslack

Nim said:

Akali said:

Three mentors? No. Just one. One good one. This should be a single person who #1. is actually available to help you, and #2. you get along with. Spend some time getting to know people before you make your decision. Let the choice happen organically instead of over-thinking it.

While having someone to emphasize your training and take on an official mentor role is cool, I still think three reliable sources of knowledge is a good minimum to try and set people up with, with the ideal being "everyone in your city and house, and also some of your enemies and a few other people too." That is how many people I think you should learn from, even if it's just a little teeny tiny bit here or there, like... keep insomnia and kola up at all times forever (thanks @Kresslack i don't hate you at all for that, and totally don't still keep a grudge ♥♥♥).

then again, my character was in a house that emphasized being students, so I might be biased. >_>

Wait...what did I do?

Korben

Regarding safety, your mount (if you bought one) will be left behind when you logoff. It can be killed by other players and does not respawn. You will be safe after logoff anywhere, but you need to leave your mount somewhere safe (your House and city will most likely have help files covering this).

Kalici

Thanks so much everyone, for the great advice, and for making me feel so welcome.  The community in Achaea is amazing!

Antonius

Nim said:

I still think three reliable sources of knowledge is a good minimum to try and set people up with, with the ideal being "everyone in your city and house, and also some of your enemies and a few other people too."

You shouldn't need to be "set up" with everyone in your city and House, just go and ask them. More absurd is the concept of being "set up" with your sworn enemies to learn things. If you want to know about your enemies ideals, go out, find them and ask them as part of your roleplay; expecting some semi (or entirely) OOC arrangement where you're introduced to learn from them is ridiculous.

Learning that it's a good idea to keep insomnia and kola up because an enemy killed you is fine, but if it comes about because somebody higher up in your House or city asked them to do it then it's just forced and a bit lame.

Mishgul

Getting out and there is the best way to get out there.