Beep Beep, Beep Beep, Yeah~!

[robot-mod.livejournal.com]

Hello, POLYites~!

We've had some things come up over the last few weeks that we think we need to clarify as the game continues to grow, so expect some announcements to come.

First up:

City Traffic Laws
(or: Your Car, Your Character, and You!)

The mods' opinion for quite some time now has been that cars are rare in the City. Sure, there are some odd car parts knocking around in the Underground. There are characters who can, after a bit of work and luck and hunting down parts from NPCs, ICly make a working automobile. Once in a blue moon, a character will drive himself or herself into the City. And characters can all but sell their souls to the deities to get their signature cars back with them.

But there are no dealerships, factories, or real source for cars in the City. There are no eighteen wheelers bringing in truckloads of Hondas and Mercedes to the City (alas).

We'd like to keep Poly relatively pedestrian-friendly. It's a city, densely developed, and it makes for good interaction to have everyone walking around together. Characters can get around it using Subway Panic (the exhaustively extensive subway system in the City), or on foot. Everything's relatively close.

But, yes, technically anything is obtainable in the City--if you're willing to exert some effort and pay the price.

If you and your character really, really, really want a car, and if it's IC for your character to want and have a car, we request that you think of buying or building a car as something like an IC building project.

That means it takes a fair amount of time and effort.

A mechanically-inclined character might buy a complete POS wreck of a car from an NPC and spend some months repairing it. A not-quite-so-mechanically-inclined character might commission a mechanically-inclined character to repair a car for them, or build a car out of random parts. But we'd ask that you keep the timeframe realistic. It can't happen overnight. And you might have to drive a wreck around for a long time. And that's only after your character has saved up enough money to buy the wreck or commission the repairs.

Characters can find parts. If they've ICly got the know-how to put them together, they can put them together. It takes in-game time, effort, and money. But there are no dealerships, factories, or other sources for shiny-brand-new cars in the City--well, aside from the deities and their deals. Unfortunately.

So while we don't want to force mechanically-inclined gearheads to get OOC just because there are no cars for them to work on, we do want to stress that cars are an unusual sight in the City. Robots might be more common than cars (maybe). Anything can be had in the City, but to get it, you have to pay the price.

Any questions, comments, clarifications, &c, please leave us a comment, send us an email, or nab us by messenger.

Thanks for your time and keep on truckin'!
POLYchromatic moderators

Comments

[oodzuchi.livejournal.com]

Heyyy good timing, I've been kicking around an app for a character that'd want to trade for his POS car and this saves me from bothering anyone in the future. ♥ Thank you kindly, benevolent mods. o/

[robot-mod.livejournal.com]

Ta-daaaah~! Contrary to popular belief...we're only a little psychic. Glad to be of help (especially where plots are concerned)!

[oodzuchi.livejournal.com]

........WHAT REALLY?!

My whole life... a lie... /sob

[tenmorehours.livejournal.com]

...Chrono wants to know what he needs to pay to the deities to make sure Rosette WON'T get her hands on a car.

Just...you know...curious and stuff.

(Just in case it's not obvious, I'm joking. Mostly. XD)

[laszlo-jamf.livejournal.com]

O rly?

[tenmorehours.livejournal.com]

Ya rly! As a public service to the entire City.

[mr_phale]

I got no car and it's breaking my heart. ♥

[itsjustafruit.livejournal.com]

You can ride in my car, bb. I just traded away a service a month for as long as it takes, after all.

[mr_phale]

But I've got a driver and that's a start~

[laszlo-jamf.livejournal.com]

Baby, you can drive my car. ♥

[steeldame.livejournal.com]

Integra has a black Rolls Royce with her since, IDK, early 2006? I asked mod permission to the first Poly mods for this. Is this OK now? She has only used the car three times that I remember. One for a Christmas Shopping, one for a Opera Abandoned date and one to Drive monsters on with George from Dead Like Me. She usually walks (how pedestrian of her, I know).

[theotokos.livejournal.com]

Screw the walking, a motorcycle is better :P

[againstgod.livejournal.com]

Seras Airlines > motorcycle.

(Seras carried her off to the sunsetrise last chapter).

[robot-mod.livejournal.com]

Yes, it's fine. Anyone who has a car, motorcycle, boat, plane, whatever already can keep it. We're not taking them away, especially if the character has had the car that long and you got mod permission (even if the mod you asked isn't here anymore).

We're just making note that cars are rare and new cars are tricky to get.

[mottoaiokomete.livejournal.com]

Baby, you can drive my car~ ♫

Just wanted to say that. Beatles reference ftw. ♥

[judgement.livejournal.com]

So... if the City isn't set up to really support cars, what about gas and mechanics and all that? Haha. ; Not that I am planning to have a car for my character or anything, just curious.

[robot-mod.livejournal.com]

We were talking about how characters would get gasoline when we were discussing the whole issue of cars in the City. We may have to be more vague than we'd like to be on this one, but...

Basically, anything can be had, somehow for some price in the City. Gasoline works like the groceries in the City: nobody really knows where they come from, but they're there, and we're all glad that they are.

Now, gasoline would be a good deal rarer than tomatoes, but a character with a car could get some from an NPC operating some Above Ground mechanical shop or some NPC doing shady business in the Underground. There are probably other things in the City that use gasoline, things other than cars. There aren't gas stations on every corner, or even every other corner, but gas can be had.

As for mechanics, those would be other characters with the mechanical know-how. If you've got a car and you need it fixed, they might be willing to fix it for you, but there are no service stations in the City.

Does that satisfy your curiosity more or less?

[robot-mod.livejournal.com]

Well, let me throw an addendum on there: there are no NPC service stations, but a character could start a repair shop if they thought they'd get some business for it. I know there are character-run mechanical shops in the "Warehouse district" of the City. And there are probably NPCs who could do the repair work if a player was really hard up for finding a character willing (or able) to repair a car.

[judgement.livejournal.com]

Yep! Thanks!

[not-alaska.livejournal.com]

Somehow, I feel like this post is my fault, but that's okay, clarification is good. ;;;; I just assumed that the "you can find anything if you look hard enough" statement held true and made some assuming that George has been spending odd hours hunting around the city doing detective work for some sort of drivable vehicle. With the gas-is-more-rare-than-groceries premise, would it be okay to ask someone ICly to develop a gas substitute and mod the engine or something like that?

[robot-mod.livejournal.com]

No, no, it's not your fault at all, so please don't think that. It's something we've been talking about and have had other players asking about for a little while now. Either way, it sounds like you made some IC allowances and explanations for your character's car, so it's fine.

And I think it would be fine to see if another character can develop a gas substitute and modify the engine (ethanol? hydrogen? solar? electric? Quick, call Al Gore!). Sounds like a good germ for a plot or project.

[not-alaska.livejournal.com]

Just modly psychic skillz striking again, eh?

Of course were it to go through it would lead to more non-pedestrian modes of travel. But I suppose we'll cross that bridge when/if we come to it.

[dubia-lux.livejournal.com]

The only car L's ever been in in the City was Bumblebee. With this car thing I now truly feel Transformers could be hilarious.

Bumblebee was a taxi.

[el-kabang.livejournal.com]

Ahaha, I'm glad I noticed this before getting too crazy with Haruko's driving.

So, on that note, a few questions:

First, since Haruko is... Quite "accident"-prone with her Vespa, and the anime seems to give the Vespa that usual anime-indestructibility, that still more-or-less applies in the City as long as it applies to just regular accidents and so forth, right? As in, when she runs into a lamp post or a wall or something like that? (Or was that all left to my discretion in the first place anyway?)

Also, was it alright that Haruko showed up already on her Vespa in the first place? I mean, it's a little late to be asking but just in case it's a mistake I have the chance to NOT repeat in the future, y'know?

[robot-mod.livejournal.com]

Regarding the first, knocking into walls and lamp posts is all right, though don't go totally nuts with it. I mean, the deities don't like people busting up their City (and any damage done to the City will heal itself). But, otherwise, it's pretty much left up to your discretion. I know Haruko is...quite the driver. And, of course, if you hit other characters, please check with the player.

We're grandfathering in all characters who have already arrived in or on transportation. So don't worry: it's perfectly fine that she showed up on her Vespa.

For future reference, we would appreciate a note or a question in an application if you or another applicant wants a character to have a car, bike, Vespa, hovercraft, flying car, &c. with them when they arrive. We'll be glad to work it out with you or any other players.