So much background, so little to skim over!

[Durruti]

I've been trying to get some people to join SARP lately, but the biggest hindrance to that so far seems to be that all the information ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY for understanding the setting and creating a relevant character is spread out through a plethora of articles, making it difficult to create a character without either digging through several dozen articles (and the forums, when occasionally the articles are outdated) or leaving the character largely plain without much of a history.

Has anyone else had problems with this or heard similar complaints? I know all it really takes is some research and talking to people to get together the basic knowledge, but I get the feeling that new folks might immediately see the massive ocean of information in front of them and get scared off by the depth of it.

Which is what happened to me the first time I came here, admittedly. >_>

 

[Gamerofthegame]

Eh.. It's a two way street.

The more human you try to become, the more you have to read. And vice versa. So, Nepleslians/Yammies/'Spacers/Geshrin tend to have to read quite a bit, while Neko/everythingelse barely have to read anything at all.

 

[Rabbit Eclair]

I agree that a series of 'everything you need to know to roll a character in X culture' articles could be really useful for new players... and the ones who've been around for a while. I still spend a good day or two just skimming articles to back up my information any time I make a new character. Hell, I'll even volunteer to help write one of 'em if people decide to go along with it.

 

[Abwehran Commander]

All Biological and Cultural Information for the Abwehrans is in two main locations anyway.

First is the actual guide to creation: here.

Second is the actual species description, which is three pages but still complete.

I don't see how you can condense it any more.

 

[Durruti]

All Biological and Cultural Information for the Abwehrans is in two main locations anyway.

First is the actual guide to creation: here.

Second is the actual species description, which is three pages but still complete.

I don't see how you can condense it any more.

Some things are more organized than others, I'll give you that. I made an Iromakuanhe character pretty easily since everything is laid out simply and in order (although nowhere did it particularly mention that they hadn't made contact with other species!), but when I was attempting to make a Jiyuuian I had to dig through a ton of history and backstory to try and figure out how I would have ended up in the Yugumo Cluster in the first place.

I just think summaries would be helpful, perhaps highlighting important features of the race and its history and pointing people at articles that are an absolute must-read. Maybe expand the ccg:species page so that, rather than only offering a brief description of the race's physical and cultural characteristics, also gives the race's need-to-know info?

 

[Wes]

What extra pages would you like to see consolidated into the character creation process?

 

[Durruti]

What extra pages would you like to see consolidated into the character creation process?

Honestly, I'm not sure. It just seems like the amount of information available is overwhelming and it takes some digging to find all the necessary information to make a decent character, unless you want it to be an utterly plain one.

Then again, I suppose it's a point that new players should probably just stick to the basics and learn about the setting as they go along, but some folks might want to have a good idea of the background yet are hindered by some relevant details being hidden among scores of articles.

I might just be imagining these things though. The Wiki seems to work well, it's just that there's so much information spread throughout so much occasionally disconnected space.