>>Okay, so ive been gone a long time, I get it. There is a ton of new stuff to learn, I get that as well.
>>So, basically, im a noob again and im alright with that.
>>Do you know how hard it is to find Syntax answers on how to do things in DR for someone who hasn't played in like 7 years?
Welcome back to the game! Reorienting after a long absence can absolutely be challenging at times, especially so when there have been significant changes during it. There are, however, a lot of different resources in and out of the game that can make things a lot less frustrating as you get into the swing of everything again! I'll be listing many of them a little later in this post, so feel free to scroll down to get to the useful bits if you'd like.
>>Maybe its me, and my memory is addled but I am sure I remember being able to toggle autodrag on or off.
I personally don't remember this ever being a feature in DR, though I do know it is in Gemstone.
>>Honestly. And with everyone all uptight about RP and whatnot, one cannot even ask for help on the gweth without getting it smashed, thumped or shot because I apparently broke the most sacred taboo of going OOC.
Gweths are IC forms of communication, and while players often will respond to try to get someone to stop being OOC on them (and most will not know that you are a returning player, so may act a bit brash about it thinking you are someone who understands the usual player reactions to these things and is instead trying to be disruptive), you are also likely to get some GM-nudges about it if you are blatantly OOC via open gweth. This isn't staff trying to stop you from getting information at all, but we do have information about the expectation for not being blatantly OOC in public areas that is part of the game policy, so a friendly poke might come when a player is being OOC in any of the public formats, including the gweths.
>>make a (redacted) channel FOR OOC talk and questions.
This has been something in consideration for a bit, actually! Though right now I'm not aware of anyone actively working to put this in for the Prime instance, it isn't something I'm aware of having been entirely ruled out either, and I think several of us have had it on our 'we'd like to do this' lists.
I know I mentioned earlier that I'd give some ways you can gain OOC information without pulling out your own hair, breaking policy by accident, or inviting a bunch of player reactions you don't seem to have enjoyed, and here we go! :D
- Someone already mentioned the OOC verb for talking to other players who are in the room with you, but I absolutely wholeheartedly add my endorsement here. It can make a world of difference in the reaction of another player if they know you're returning or new and in need of help, instead of them mistakenly thinking you might be someone who just doesn't care or is trying to be disruptive on purpose. Even players of characters who are mean or crazy tend to not actually be mean or crazy themselves, and will often be super helpful if approached with OOC whispers like this.
- Elanthipedia.org was mentioned earlier as well, and I know you mentioned feeling frustrated by feeling like you have to do a bunch of research to find the answers to things, but the site is really well maintained, and GM staff frequently help them out to ensure they have accurate information, so it is an absolutely great resource for a lot of things.
- And back to in game stuff! You can go to Jadewater Mansion in the Crossing and ring the bell for the Mentors, who can help answer questions themselves as well as point you to places you can find your own answers. The Mentors also put on teaching nights targeted at particular guilds pretty frequently, and those can be a good spot to ask questions, too. You can find these listed on the Events Calendar which can be accessed from the DR home page.
- Type HELP in game. No really, give it a go. I know that a lot of returning players might be a little hesitant to bother with the HELP verb since previous versions had gotten really out of date and weren't always so incredibly helpful. HELP was massively updated with the 3.0 changes, though, and while some of its information will likely need some tweaks when some of the 3.1 updates go live, it is extremely awesome, searchable, expanded, and really full of actual, honest-to-Kertigen help. I think it is currently one of the most useful things a new or returning player has at their fingertips and can't suggest it enough.
- Use albredine crystal rings! ( http://elanthipedia.org/w/index.php/Item:Albredine_crystal_ring ) These will help you contact another player/character directly, instead of broadcasting to everyone in gweth range, or to everyone in a colored ring network, and are a nice, practical thing to have at all times for a lot of reasons, really. The way that most people use these for asking OOC questions without knowing a particular person who might be able to answer is to send a more general, but still not blatantly ooc, question out on the gweth. In your dragging example, you could gweth something like, "Is there anyone who could help me out with some questions I have regarding dragging this corpse I found?" Sometimes people will immediately try to respond by crystal ring, in which case, yay, you can just ask if they're okay answering some OOC questions because you're returning and need help, and away you go. If someone responds on the open gweth, you can ask if they have a crystal ring, or you can just try to THINK TO (person). If they have a crystal ring on, they'll get your message and you go from there. If not, then you could ask to meet them in person, and try the OOC verb.
- Use colored albredine rings! This is a bit more involved and might seem less than totally intuitive for a returning player, but I just wanted to throw this out here since you mentioned wanting a channel you could ask these sorts of questions on. There is a way that you can make yourself a sort of help channel and reach out to others who want in on it. You are absolutely not the only one who might want something like this, and there's no reason you couldn't be the one to start it! Get yourself some colorless albredine rings ( http://elanthipedia.org/w/index.php/Item:Colorless_albredine_ring ), attune them to the same color and hand them out. You now have a bunch of people who can chat together and help each other out without resorting to IMs, IRC, Skype or the like, but still have a bit more privacy than the open gweth.
I hope some of these things can help you out as you learn the ropes again. Welcome back once more, and we're happy to have you!
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