Character Shenanigans!

[voidtreckermods]

Sometimes things happen that may have consequences further down the line. Sometimes characters decide to do things that might have immidiate reprecussion. As mods we want to have our fingers on the pulse of the game as it were, but we are also aware that we won't be able to read every single thing!

So that's where this post comes in. If your character has done something 'noticable' that you think we might need to know about, throw us a link here. Some might require a response, some will just be noted.

Example: "Over *here* my character is trying to smash the windows of the engine!"

Sometimes you might have an idea in mind that you believe will have consequences and be in the midst of writing the thread, however you want to know what those consequences will be for threads going forward. Or you might still be in the planning stages and would like to know how things might pan out. That's also what this post is for!

Example: "At the end of this event my character is planning to not rejoin the train and instead ride off into the sunset! What happens?"

Ask away!

Comments

Asking preemptively because knowing Webmind, he'll be at this within a week of Intro.

[iamnotgod]

So Webmind's going to go about coding in a textchat program on the ICPs. Since his case is similar to SXT-2's in the sense that he can naturally interface with digital networks (per-canon, he can see the web as 'points and lines'; the ICP network, while much smaller than the world wide web, shouldn't be too different in this respect - though if I am wrong, please let me know!), would he be able to find any software space to hook such a program in?

... More to the point, would the train itself automatically know if such a thing pops up, if the Network allows for it in the first place? Or:

0. What does the ICP Network 'look' like, at least in terms of Webmind's web-sight?
1. Is there enough physical/memory space on the ICP Network for a textchat program to be started?
2. If Webmind cooks something up, would it last the day, or be purged/removed once the nightly reset hits?
3. If the answer to 1 is yes, would anyone else be able to use the chat program?

(A fun hypothetical-endgame would be a textchat program whose first users are Webmind, SXT-2, Spot, Bobo, and the train itself, but I know this to be a longshot and thus am not expecting it. |D)

[voidtreckermods]

He will find the ICP very strange as he is used to the internet and the ICPs are very much not. For all intents and purposes it is more like a fancy tannoy system with some simple text capabilities. In an imperfect comparison it is like instead of a novel he has a picture book to play with. There seems to be potential for more, but like SXT-2 he won't be able to go deeper than what can be seen.

There would be space but at least to start with anyone who can't also interface with digital networks will be able to post on it (though they will be able to see it). It wouldn't be reset or purged.

With roleplay and time there might be openings for more here.

[iamnotgod]

/quietly fistbumps the air/ Aw, yes! This is good to hear/know, and I'll definitely keep you posted on Webmind's shenanigans.

ICP, meet IM... eventually.

Would this also apply to characters with laptops and such as well (not to mention droids like BD-1, whose case is similar to Spot's), or would secondhand measures not be able to tap into it?

[voidtreckermods]

They wouldn't be able to at first. But with some teamwork they might be able to get to that point.

Just to keep the bookkeeping up to date:

[iamnotgod]

As of this post, Webmind is going to start trying to gauge the best programming language in terms of compatibility with the tannoy system - going from the most simplistic of binary codes to more and more complex ones if necessary. Would Lisp or Perl work well in this case? Something more modern, or less?

He'll be paying especial attention to if there is a language the ICP programming is written in - not the words the program displays but how they are composed. Clearly he is dealing with a human-level intelligence in terms of complexity, right?

Assume he will complete all of the courses on the ICPs in short order, as well.

[voidtreckermods]

The language is indeed human-level intelligence in terms of complexity but not any coding language that he knows and he won't be able to dive that deep into it. It is from a different world after all.

He can try a few languages and the more modern ones will work with a few tweaks that I am sure are within his capability to figure out. It will take him a while though- it's not an intelligence thing just a he is trying to put a square shaped earth-programming-language into a triangular shaped other-world-computer-system.

If he is indeed working consistently (and he will have to physically be at a terminal to do so) then by day 20 (of the month- he arrived on day 16) he will be able to have figured out a language that will be usable and can begin basis of a simple chat program that can be used by those who can interface with technology.

Next Step/Station!

[iamnotgod]

Now that a textchat function has been achieved, the next natural step would be creating one non-computers can access.

I expect that Dairine will chime in to help at some point, since she's had the Full Cyborg Experience (without being roboticized) but Webmind does have some human assistance already in the form of Kaiba and Trowa, in addition to SXT-2's computer-troubleshooting. Approximately how long would it be fair for it to take them to figure out the problem?

(I'm anticipating this'll be after the train event, at the earliest.)

[voidtreckermods]

As I said initially- a chat program others can use will take a while. I'll keep an eye on threads and you can assume slow but steady progress over the next few months if there is a team effort.