Review Submitted By: Koz
Author Status: Player
Started on Sindome: 2001
Submission Date: Jan 4, 2011
TMC Listing: Sindome
The following review is the opinion of the review's author [Koz]
and in no way represents the opinions of this website or its staff.
Hoowhee.
As a very longtime player (with several years hiatus in the middle
due to RL) I figured I should post a review. I've read all the
positive and negative reviews before mine and I have to say, they're
all wrong. All of them, both the good and the bad.
First, the basics: Sindome is MOO based on cyberpunk fiction. It
takes place in a corporation-owned domed city in the middle of a
wasteland, essentially a giant tax shelter with a (somewhat) captive
workforce/customer base which is class-segregated on different
vertical levels. Red level is the ghetto, the slums. Gold level above
it is the commercial and business center and above that you have Green
level, a residential pseudo-suburb for the middle class. Above *that*
you have Blue level, where the few extremely rich live.
All the while you have maglev trains running between the levels, cars
as well and aerodynes ('flying cars', in essence) zipping all over.
You have drug dealers, gun runners, Street Judges, gangs, hackers,
reporters, programmers, doctors, mechanics, tattoo artists and
musicians and anything else under the (artificial) sun.
I could speak about my newbie experience, but the game has changed so
much over the years that it'd be irrelevant.
Does the game need more active players? Yes.
Is there anything wrong with the GMs and admin? Sensitive question.
I'll say yes - some of them are complete jerks. The more active ones,
however, are okay dudes so long as you're polite and you don't stomp
around like a spoiled child. Keep in mind - the game is free, they do
it for fun. That doesn't give them license to act like jerks, but it
does give them license to tell you to GTFO if you're being an idiot.
So, staff experience may vary, but on the whole they're alright. And
I'm going to name names! Because I'm just that tough. These are the
nice guy staff members (that I know of and that are still active or
semi active): Rastus, Firestorm, Bixby and Grizzly (though I barely
know 'im). I won't name which are 'ok' and which are idiots, I
want to leave them wondering.
Can you expect help as a newbie? Yes and no.
You will likely not get handouts. Players may or may not be helpful
in-character, but don't expect them to be obvious or *polite* about
it. They are after all, in character and they don't know your
character from Adam. You'll get in character responses depending on
your in character actions and words. There's an out of character chat
channel (you can speak on it by using the command 'xm'), and
that'll be a sight friendlier, so long as you're friendly yourself.
You can get answers on most things, so long as the information isn't
in character. For example, guns are illegal which means you need to
know people to buy them. Asking who you can buy guns from on the OOC
channel will be met with a 'Find out ICly'. If you ask, however,
'What's the command for (whatever)' most anyone will be glad to
help.
Staff will answer some questions but won't tell you everything.
There's also a wiki at universe.sindome.org that contains a lot of
in-character information that your character would reasonably know.
Sindome can be a very rewarding experience. It can also be a short
and brutal one. A lot of it depends on YOU and your persistence. Not
all of it, though. Sometimes you'll catch a bad break. You'll get
bitten by a dog and fall off a roof, then run over by a garbage truck
and shot. A GM may be on her period (or his man-period) and be a bit
of a dick - there are other GMs though.
However, to be as fun as it can be, it needs more players. Try it,
stick it out. Bring your friends. When you have 10-20 active players
(or more) on at once the game really starts to shine.
Here's a tip, though - don't play a brute criminal type from the
get go. It'll get you killed. Try playing a corporate type or at
least a law abiding citizen - there's plenty of time for debauchery
once you get used to the game, plus it'll allow you to call the
police if you get in the shit without getting arrested yourself.
In essence, it isn't perfect, but it can give you some of the best
roleplaying experiences you are *ever* likely to have. It's up to YOU
to decide if it's worth the effort, but Sindome is one of those games
where you very much get back as much as you put in.
