What makes you stay with Sindome?
Moved to Complaints as per Slither's request

Let me explain why, taking your negatives into how I see them:

The world is hostile and not very friendly by theme

It is by theme, but most of the players are actually superb friendly and helpful. Even a ganger who may be robbing you tends to be OOCly considerate, and not just strip you down, nakes in a sewer. Usually drop you somewhere safe instead and give serious hint of WHY this has happened, so you can adjust icly.

And genrally if you want safe friendly play here, it's very doable, just don't stick your neck out and most people will leave you alone. Mind that some may be unfriendly, may bark at you for saying hello, but that's just people in general, they can be generally a bitch, or just have a bad day, or just got vatted.

timegated progress

This ties to the above, while playing within the confines, making no waves, not pushing any boundaries will keep you pretty much safe, even in the mix, what you learn quickly that where there are risks - there are rewards too. And those rewards can help to achieve goals, and much quicker than you would think in some situations.

To put up example, I don't think "become an end-game-job" should really be a goal, that's just getting a job. What do you need that job for, to do what - now that's a goal, to which that job is a key. And with enough chy, connections, work, grit you can usually get to that goal, without needing to get past the UE gate. It may take 2 years to by UE become a feared solo no one fucks with, but you can become someone not to be fucked with within weeks here through alternative ways, if that's your goal.

Hope that helps to see why it's a fun place to play, at least for some? I see those goals as challenges and puzzles to get to, and UE gatekeeps as problem to overcome.

I'm not being sarcastic here, if for example you want more flash out of coded systems you can literally take a pipe and mug someone, in most brute way about it. Or become their friend, learn their secrets and betray them for a lot of flash. And many many many other ways, all generally putting you at odds with someone, and also making you friends on the opposing side.

It does require some creativity and out of the box thinking, especially for non direct fighter characters, but the pay can be adequately big. Or fall and consequences, it happens too. That's not a loss, just different sort of RP.

Another way is to make friends who will protect you, once you got some flash in your bank account that can simplify the process.

Not sure what else to say, I play non-combative out of the gate, there are ways to not be worried about squishing. You have to respect that power imbalance and play accordingly, but that shouldn't be stopping you from playing.

There are some ideas in @plot-idea, reading back on grid feed and forums is another way to see what people are doing. The key is to pick something, and ideally start with something small like "Yo, going to Red's to those bakas how to do CPR" and build up from there. Do that, you are not driving RP for others, and people love that, and will also involve you more directly when they drive something.

SINDOME TAKES EFFORT

Just like we mentioned above, Sindome takes effort. If you want to get something done, you're going to have to work for

it. That means plotting and planning and politicking your butt off until you get what you want. THAT is the point of

Sindome. Not getting what you want, but the journey toward your goals. You may never ever attain your goals, but you'll

have a blast along the way.

Information is a powerful currency and the way the game allows one to monetize it feels good. When you have someone you trust that keeps you updated, it either means they love you more than any romance RP could mete out, or they're going to betray you and are feeding you something that they want you to believe. Either way, the constant puzzle of information, flow, real tangible capital, questionable information, in a city of clones and machines and lights and repairs and the worst imaginable poverty set as a backdrop for some of the most insane and unbelievable wealth, spliced with esoteric ideas of what it means to be human, what it means to be alive, what it means to be happy and successful…

I dunno, game's kinna fun I guess.

It has been my experience that as long as I am willing to roleplay, this is a good community to be a part of. I don't mean passively sit in a bar, sipping on a drink and waiting for something to drop in my lap. I mean infusing my personal experience with the game into my character.

In your case, and for other new players, that should / could manifest of the angst and disappointment of what you / your character expected to be doing, and what you really are doing.

"This sucks. I came to Withmore thinking that I'd be mowing down gangers to help a megacorporation make even more chy."

Make use of @notes. Especially the first two. What your character has done (IC-ACTIONS) and what they want to do (IC-GOALS).

After I permed my last character, I was not sure if I was going to come back. I took 3+ months off. I was pretty burnt out on the disconnect between what I thought should be possible to do in the game, and what actually was possible. Or at least, was achievable with my last character.

I came back because I like the theme. I like the permanence of the game. I like the potential to discover and get involved with long term, ongoing stories and things that are going on behind the scenes.

My first character was heavily focused on the coded technical systems in the game. I tried to avoid combat as much as possible.

My current character is all about combat. From a coded / character capabilities perspective. They aren't particularly good at it though. And they end up dying most of the time.

For me though, that dying and failing to overcome his opponents is part of his story. It is part of the struggle. It is a mountain that he has to climb to reach the next plateau.

As a new player, if you are going to be successful in the long run, you need to get good with the fact that your experience here is going to be primarily a roleplaying experience. It is going to be about the struggle to find your place in an environment that does not give two shits about you. An environment filled with other people in the same situation. Trying to find their way in an environment that doesn't give a shit about them either.

The way that you work your way through that is the new player experience.

Some people go through a few different character types right away. Maybe you thought you were going to be a fixer. But your perception is that being a cyberdoc seems to be working for someone else. So you go try that. Or maybe you wanted to be a street samurai, but you see that medics are getting a lot of roleplay and seem to "have it easier" than you do. And so you go do that.

Also. Try to engage with whatever stories you become aware of. Even conversationally. "Hey, I just read this newspaper and it mentioned X. What the heck is X all about?" Or, "I was sitting in this bar, bored with my drink, and I heard these other two people talking about X. What the was that about?"

Lastly, I want to reiterate Villa's point about you only getting the new player experience once.

The most enjoyable part of the game for me initially, and still somewhat even now, is discovering that, "You can do, THAT?!" in this game? Either because my character figures it out. Or, most often, other characters use THAT coded system to their advantage / my disadvantage.

These days, I am having similar experiences, but with long running plots and themes.

I feel like I've paid my dues to a certain extent. I've shown that I can roleplay. I've shown that I'm not here to just mix-max a set of Stats and Skills. I've shown that I have a basic grasp on how the game itself works (commands, coded systems, etc.) I make heavy use of @notes. I talk about what my character wants to do long term.

All of those things combine to give long term players some comfort that they can risk their time and energy on me. And be comfortable that it won't be time wasted. Because I am here to tell stories. And to make things happen, both for my character, and for others. Because realistically, nothing gets done around here by people working in a vacuum.

Step 1. Piss of EVERYONE, go absolutely apeshit

Step 2. Realize possessions don't really mattet

Step 3. ???

Step 4. Fun

This being said, I recommend you 'watch all' and 'address /all' when you're in a crowded room. Or make sure you're 'watching' the people you want to hear most. That way you can see people's RP and hear them, and they can hear you.

And in the meantime it's not that interesting.

I think there's probably a huge world of difference between immies who come from players who have experience and are familiar with the way that Sindome works and new players who are struggling to figure out how to even interact with syntax.

My main concern as a new player is running NPC fetch quests so that my character doesn't get killed at the end of two weeks. The new player guide pointed me in that direction and the gang atmosphere reinforced it. That's what I'm spending my energy on, struggling to meet some weekly cash quota while also paying for cloning and the rest of the "necessities". Going out and making things happen is a big ask when I feel like I'm struggling to cover the basics.

I'm not trying to avoid finding interesting avenues to find RP, it's just that finding those avenues can be extremely challenging while also navigating the very tangible coded challenges that are constantly threatening my PC's existence. Asking for public assistance in a world where theme suggests that my character is much more likely to get screwed over than helped doesn't sound like a super compelling option. As a means to fabricate RP for my dude? Sure, but accepting charity of sorts on the condition of newness isn't interesting or fun.

I'll keep doing what I'm doing and determine for myself whether or not I'm doing things correctly.. and ultimately whether or not Sindome is a place for me. Maybe it's not, and that's okay.

Character churn (whether it is high or otherwise) in my experience is overwhelmingly existing players and isn't all that reflective of the new player experience. My impression is new players either bounce off the game within hours because they're not prepared for such an all-consuming roleplaying experience, or stick it out for some weeks, but I think these both represent a small number of the new characters every month.

This is a share intended to be something some folks can relate to. It's not a knock on staff, who I respect deeply. I present a player view in the hopes it will be heard. It doesn't mean I am upset. If telling this helps one person stay, then that's worth it.

Without ascribing judgment...because I'm sure the staff and players probably are just trying to achieve a positive outcome from their perspective...I will point out that many of these comments, regardless of good intent, sent me into IC/OOC bleedspace and the only thing that really brought me out of it was remembering that I have control over what happens here. With my character, with their reaction.

I've been told the below things IC by staff alts, powerful characters that may have been staff alts, and seen these comments normalized in the playbase (because if the staff alt says it, then it must be okay). Each of them hit me in the OOC feels.

If you encounter these, please know, you are not alone. You are possibly not actually being targeted. But it is/was hurtful to someone else to hear these things too. This may validate your feelings and hopefully give you some reassurance. Breathe and focus on your goals in playing the game. Play on. Speak up respectfully if it's important to you to do so. It's your choice. If you say these things, please note there is potential for unintended impact. Be wise in how and when you say these things.

Why We stay #1: because we can treat an IC guilt trip as just that…IC.

"Your lack of availability is making work less enjoyable for other employees" –> fired from job due to OOC availability. Am I doing something wrong? Ouch.

"You didn't see that" when I definitely did, and the character just didn't know ICly. They figured I was cheating or smallworlding. Dealt with a good amount of grief ICly from this. Let it roll over me.

"It doesn't matter who did that, you shouldn't focus on that" when the who in question is a staff alt. Sure this may be IC protection behavior, but I smell OOC protection of staff and a PC who has been indoctrinated to fear smallworlding. When you hear smallworld is a problem at town hall, you try to do good and protect against it. Even if you don't know for sure that is happening. If a staff member is trying to drive RP and then manipulates others to hide that it came from them, well, that's completely fair game for me to handle ICly.

"You're just going to leave anyway" is a really hard one to hear IC. Yes, I will leave. No, I will not put this fictional game first over real life stuff. You're effectively trying to OOCly guilt me or egg me into being at a disadvantage, either for network or reputation or chyen, because I am leaving. I'm already going to have to deal with that because of absence. Why are you being so rude and making it worse? Not everybody is going to say they look forward to when you get back…but they don't have to add to the guilt.

"You're stagnating" or "why don't you do something" or "you're not looking at this as a challenge" these are all basically just IC phrases to egg people into action. If you don't play a combat character, and combat characters are saying these things to you, guess what you will probably die and lose a lot of stuff. Don't want to go that route? Prepare for people ICly to harass you about not taking the bait. Prepare to be told ICly that you're not respected. Prepare OOCly to hear about it every town hall, how people need to take more risks and not be afraid to lose. My take? The power players in this game are usually combat oriented. There is usually a plan for combat in plots. There is usually a primary path of conflict resolution that requires combat. Conflict is healthy. Conflict is not necessarily combat, but combat is exciting for many. There are limited means to create conflict outside of killing and stealing, but they do exist. You don't have to take the bait and get pulled into combat. Require the people who run these plots to come up with alternative ways of engaging with non-combat oriented PCs. Hold the line. And breathe. It's probably not going to kill you to listen to them rant about your choices not to fight them. And there's probably somebody else new and listening. Survive this instead of getting drawn in, discouraged, and flaming out. You might show them some good survival skills. And you will be the change you want to see.

Why We stay #2: because players can exercise a reasonable amount of control over the outcomes of plots and the future of the City

I get frustrated when I think staff alts get a pass for screwing up the plot or setting up scenarios that make no sense. I'll usually play along to a point, but you can't on the one hand come to town hall and say you want us to find creative ways out of a situation, but then be ICly only accepting solutions that make no sense. Everything said at the 2025 townhall about empowering players to do their own mini plots, or to contribute to the community, falls under this bucket. But gm plots and RP need to be genuinely flexible.

I've had entire allied factions killed off without being ICly allowed to do anything to stop it. Saw the train coming, stepped in to derail it, and found out that the plot points did not allow for me to make the key repairs or deliver warnings. The outcome was pre-set. This one was really hard to stomach and I am still reconciling like years later. I've had to just remind myself that at the faction level, the staff shapes the game and the balance, and what they OOCly have the bandwidth or appetite to focus on. The fact that staff leadership was taking out my faction means no matter what I was going to do, it was going to go away. And that's just kind of how it is. Not worth getting OOCly upset over.

I've also fallen into the perception trap of feeling terrible about getting staff recognition for doing some good RP, when I feel like all I did was go along with their plan and basically not do any real RP or make any decisions except not to fight the flow. When I RP my butt off every day, I get no recognition for it. Have to remind myself it's not a detractor from my other RP…I just can't those kinds of rewards from the PCs I spend all my effort RPing with.

If you are reading this and think hey, I think it's totally fine to say and do these things IC to try and generate RP...then you need to consider it fair game when others use them back at you. I ask myself, is that tit-for-tat really the kind of game I want to be playing? You stabbed me in the feels, so I will go for your feels? Doesn't seem like constructive conflict, or really playing to the theme of the game. But if this is the example others set, then maybe I'm the one playing wrong, if I refrain from doing that?