As has been pointed out, the advent of the new #Play-to-Earn #Crossfire-RPG server for the #Galactic-Milieu could lead to it becoming potentially a lot more complicated to get a character to the Galactic Diplomacy Planet.
Since it is possible the Annapolis Royal Crypto group or club or whatever it is going to crystalise into might yet want to launch a #FreeCiv Civilisation within the #Galactic-Milieu, or at the very least hobnob with (inter-)galactic diplomats to get in on special opportunities and such, it seems prudent to get ourselves a foothold on the Galactic Diplomacy Planet before it gets potentially a whole lot less simple and easy to do.
Accordingly, lets fire up a #Crossfire-RPG client - I happen to favour the GTK one, and as I run Ubuntu Linux it is easy to install, just "sudo apt-get install crossfire-client".
As often happens, I do not see either of the #Galactic-Milieu's #Crossfire-RPG servers listed on the metaserver, but that is fine, I can simply enter one manually. For the new PTE - #Play-to-Earn - server I'd enter Server1.knotwork.net; but right now I am interested in the Galactic Diplomacy Planet's server, known as the CrossCiv - #Crossfire-RPG representation of a #FreeCiv world - server, which is at CrossCiv.knotwork.com.
The GTK client uses client-side character-creation, so I do not get to choose my way over to the Galactic Diplonacy Planet by the race and profession choices that I make; instead I have to first set up my character, being careful to make sure it is not a "fantasy milieu" character but, rather, something suitable for a more "science-fiction" Milieu; then in choosing starting map I can head for the #Galactic-Milieu.
To make sure I am not construed as a "fantasy character", I choose human as my race.
For profession, I expect I should be able to get away with warrior, thief, swashbuckler or ninja; other choices seem likely to be a little too "fantasy milieu" to me.
Traditionally, apparently, ninjas are who you want to talk to on the Galactic Diplomacy Planet to have secrets delved into for you. At a price of course. As I am not really intending to be a purveyor of secrets there, I won't choose ninja.
Thieves get a set of lockpicks to start, providing an avenue (picking locks) for gaining experience that won't be open to other professions until they manage to afford a set of lockpicks, which apparently are not cheap. But being labelled outright as a thief doesn't seem like something I want right now.
Warriors get oratory skill, good for talking non-player-characters and maybe even monsters into becoming followers. Typically leaders from #FreeCiv Civilisations like to pick warrior.
Swashbucklers traditionally are assumed to be crew off of random starships that choose to stay on the planet when their starship leaves. They get singing, which apparently can calm angry monsters and such. Maybe not as great as turning entities into followers but convincing them not to attack can probably be a useful skill.
So basically I am going to choose either warrior - a leader; or swashbuckler - some random worker who jumped ship or quit or retired. Hmm.
I suppose if I really do hope someday to create a #FreeCiv civilisation for the #Crypto folks of the #Annapolis-Royal area I should be a leader, eh? So warrior it is, then.
Oh I almost forgot to mention barbarian! A slighly souped-up warrior, but, illiterate. Becoming literate can be challenging and I expect most of my early experience points to be earned by successfully reading, initially in the schoolhouse, later in the library and various information-providing sites found in various quarters of the Capitol city of the Galactic Diplomacy Planet. So, not a barbarian for me this time around.
In line with my intention to gain a lot of experience reading (gaining literacy skill), I max my intelligence as well as the warrior basics of strength, constitution and dexterity.
That leaves me only four points to boost wisdom, power and/or charisma up from the basic value of three. Charisma can be enhanced by fancy clothing, but it apparently affects shopkeepers so leaving it low could make everything I buy more expensive and maybe also get me less money for any loot I sell to storekeepers. Hmm. Offhand I do not recall what wisdom is used for, power I know is for mana, for magic(k), which is a fantasy thing so none of that for me thanks.
I end up choosing charisma.
Then I choose my starting map: the Galactic Milieu / Galactic Diplomacy Planet.
Yay, I appear in the quarantine version of the schoolhouse, where new characters are quarantined to prevent fantasy characters from contaminating the science-fictional Milieu.
And now a glitch!
Humans get an extra, random, skill in the form of a skill scroll.
I left-mouseclick the scroll to "identify" it but despite my high intelligence I fail to identify it! Oh dear, suppose it turns out to give some "fantasy" skill?
If I hang onto the scroll without reading it maybe when an admin (gamemaster) checks out my character to make sure it is not a "fantasy" character before moving it to the real schoolhouse in the Capitol city of the Galactic Diplomacy Planet they will simply confiscate the scroll if it does turn out to be a "fantasy" skill.
But what the hey, I wouldn't mind having a character in the "fantasy" milieu part of this server so I will take the chance!
If it does turn out to be a "fantasy" skill I can simply create another character (using my same player-account, the GKT clients support the "player account with multiple characters under it" account structure) and try again.
So I middle-mouseclick the scroll to read it...
...Oops! I gained Evocation skill! Definitely fantasy, I am pretty sure of that, since Evocation is a branch of Magic(k).
Well, sure, maybe in "real sci-fi life" it is really a skill of communicating things like "Hey, Scotty, beam me down a whatever..." so your starship in orbit with transporters and replicators can beam stuff down to you, but... It seems likely that this character, having now that probably "fantasy" skill, will be rejected from the #Galactic-Milieu and moved to some kind of schoolhouse or newbies-house on the planet D'ydii, the famous (?) fantasy planet that was one of the first three worlds created by the first three (known) Dungeons and Dragons gamemasters in Halifax Nova Scotia Canada when the first edition of Dungeons and Dragons was first published.
So, lets get this character some experience so that it will be saved - characters with no experience points do not get saved...
...A short distance southward (downwards on screen as the client displays the map with north to the top and south to the bottom) are eight books; standing over each I leftclick to identify it (extra experience over and above what I will get for actually reading it) then middleclick to read it...
...
You identify thin book.
The item has a story:
Oh good, someone who reads!
Congratulations!
Reading is Good!
Keep at it!
You open the thin book and start reading.
Oh good, someone who reads!
Congratulations!
Reading is Good!
Keep at it!
The item has a story:
You can gain experience by
reading books. That happens
if the book hasn't already
been read.
You open the thin book and start reading.
You can gain experience by
reading books. That happens
if the book hasn't already
been read.
You are now level 2.
You are now level 2 in the literacy skill.
You identify thin book.
The item has a story:
Remember, DEATH is PERMANENT
for most people most of the
time. In theory some major
clerics might be able to
bring some people back from
the dead some of the time,
but don't depend on it! Be
careful, don't take chances
with your life!
You open the thin book and start reading.
Remember, DEATH is PERMANENT
for most people most of the
time. In theory some major
clerics might be able to
bring some people back from
the dead some of the time,
but don't depend on it! Be
careful, don't take chances
with your life!
You fail to understand that fully; it is: thin book
Something is written in it.
It weighs 1.000 kg.
You open the thin book and start reading.
This school is located in the Planetary Governor's Quarter.
The Primate's Quarter is to the east; to the west is West End, which has a free reference library, a large general store, and a recruiting office.
Beware of the next quarter west of West End though; it is dangerous and accepts no responsibility for the safety of 'trespassers'...
You identify thin book.
The item has a story:
Did you get experience for
reading this? I hope so...
You open the thin book and start reading.
Did you get experience for
reading this? I hope so...
You are now level 3.
You are now level 3 in the literacy skill.
The item has a story:
Did you get experience for
reading this? I hope so...
You open the thin book and start reading.
Did you get experience for
reading this? I hope so...
2 times You identify thin book.
The item has a story:
You can also get experience just for identifying a book.
(Such as by standing over it and clicking on it in the display of what is on the same tile as you.)
You open the thin book and start reading.
You can also get experience just for identifying a book.
(Such as by standing over it and clicking on it in the display of what is on the same tile as you.)
The item has a story:
This training facility should be sufficient to develop yourself up to at least level 5 or 6 or so.
Once it is open to the city beyond, you will still be able to return to this facility provided you know the passphrase.
Students are encouraged to return and re-read our book collection regularly. :)
You open the thin book and start reading.
This training facility should be sufficient to develop yourself up to at least level 5 or 6 or so.
Once it is open to the city beyond, you will still be able to return to this facility provided you know the passphrase.
Students are encouraged to return and re-read our book collection regularly. :)
...
Well there you go, that easily I am already level three! Now to save, using a "savebed" located toward the north end of the schoolhouse:
Oho, lookee there, food!
In the current version of Crossfire-RPG food is only required for healing. Once upon a time characters automatically took damage (hunger pangs presumably) over time, but not right now. Still, might as well grab some free food while I am here.
There are a bunch of other experience-earning activities available in the schoolhouse, but maps only "refresh" from time to time, and usually not when occupied by any played characters. As I do not know how long I would have to wait for the books I identified and read to "refresh" so that someone will again be able to harvest experience by identifying and reading them I am leaving the other experience sources untouched in case I immediately proceed with a second attempt at making a "non-fantasy" character...
I hope this has been informative for you, do please "follow" and upvote and so on if you feel so inclined. :)
I shall make my second attempt a separate post as this post is already longer than I had expected it would be.