Post by PHARAOH LEAP on Jan 28, 2018 3:38:52 GMT -6
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>> NEWBIE GUIDE
>> NEWBIE GUIDE
SITE HOW-TO GUIDE
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Welcome, new member! If you're reading this, you've either stumbled here by chance or have found yourself lost on the site. Never fear, though – if you're lost, this is the one place to be! We'll try to cover every aspect of getting started as thoroughly as we can so as to prevent any confusion. If you still find yourself at a loss or have any remaining question, the staff is available at our technical support desk... which is really just a fancy name for our questions board. Start up a thread there with any questions, and we'll get back to you as soon as we can!
Welcome, new member! If you're reading this, you've either stumbled here by chance or have found yourself lost on the site. Never fear, though – if you're lost, this is the one place to be! We'll try to cover every aspect of getting started as thoroughly as we can so as to prevent any confusion. If you still find yourself at a loss or have any remaining question, the staff is available at our technical support desk... which is really just a fancy name for our questions board. Start up a thread there with any questions, and we'll get back to you as soon as we can!
BEFORE YOU REGISTER
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The first thing that should be noted prior to reading or clicking on anything is that we are a manga-based, story-driven Pokemon forum set in the fictional region of Lyeant. If you are unfamiliar with the Pokemon manga... you should actually be more-or-less fine on the site, especially considering we're set in a region that exists neither in game, nor in manga, nor in anime, so long as you make sure to stay away from canons that played roles in the manga or vow to read up on the necessary info before doing so. This means that characterization and general rules and tone of the world abide by manga rules, not game or anime. Gym leaders, for example, are exceptionally more difficult to beat than they are in the games; collecting all eight badges was unheard of until ten years ago. If the manga setting is likely to catch you off guard, you may want to either set your sights elsewhere or, better yet, catch up on what you're missing. The volumes are gems right from the get-go, so if you're a fan of the series as a whole, it'd be definitely worth it to check out! The second most important thing to draw attention to is that we're story-driven, rather than stat-driven. While you are welcome to catch more Pokemon and see them grow, you're free to do so at your own pace without any method of leveling or staff involvement (just shy of evolution or generating the odd wild Pokemon). In fact, you can start with a fully evolved team of six Pokemon if you so choose. Our centerpiece is the story we wish to tell through this forum. If you're seeking to start from the bottom and rise to the top through leveling and other such systems – again, this might not be the forum for you.[break][break]
Our must-read threads are most certainly our rules and our premise. The setting (the second post in the premise thread, more accurately) serves as optional reading for a better understanding of what Lyeant is now and was prior to war that drives the bulk of our plot. The factions thread should give you a better understanding of who is fighting for what in the remains of the region (as well as some extra groups that can be joined prior to or after character completion), and the occasionally updated extra information thread contains various optional reads about all sorts of lore, including information about gijinkas, the League, and more! If you've kept up with everything so far, you should be armed with all the knowledge you'll need to plot out a character that's good to go in Lyeant.
The first thing that should be noted prior to reading or clicking on anything is that we are a manga-based, story-driven Pokemon forum set in the fictional region of Lyeant. If you are unfamiliar with the Pokemon manga... you should actually be more-or-less fine on the site, especially considering we're set in a region that exists neither in game, nor in manga, nor in anime, so long as you make sure to stay away from canons that played roles in the manga or vow to read up on the necessary info before doing so. This means that characterization and general rules and tone of the world abide by manga rules, not game or anime. Gym leaders, for example, are exceptionally more difficult to beat than they are in the games; collecting all eight badges was unheard of until ten years ago. If the manga setting is likely to catch you off guard, you may want to either set your sights elsewhere or, better yet, catch up on what you're missing. The volumes are gems right from the get-go, so if you're a fan of the series as a whole, it'd be definitely worth it to check out! The second most important thing to draw attention to is that we're story-driven, rather than stat-driven. While you are welcome to catch more Pokemon and see them grow, you're free to do so at your own pace without any method of leveling or staff involvement (just shy of evolution or generating the odd wild Pokemon). In fact, you can start with a fully evolved team of six Pokemon if you so choose. Our centerpiece is the story we wish to tell through this forum. If you're seeking to start from the bottom and rise to the top through leveling and other such systems – again, this might not be the forum for you.[break][break]
Our must-read threads are most certainly our rules and our premise. The setting (the second post in the premise thread, more accurately) serves as optional reading for a better understanding of what Lyeant is now and was prior to war that drives the bulk of our plot. The factions thread should give you a better understanding of who is fighting for what in the remains of the region (as well as some extra groups that can be joined prior to or after character completion), and the occasionally updated extra information thread contains various optional reads about all sorts of lore, including information about gijinkas, the League, and more! If you've kept up with everything so far, you should be armed with all the knowledge you'll need to plot out a character that's good to go in Lyeant.
CHARACTER & ACCOUNT CREATION
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When registering, click the link circled here and follow the easy-to-follow instructions from there. We have no real regulation on what username you must choose, although we'd prefer you keep it as something close to your character's name (whether it be their first name, a nickname, or their full name), or your concise OOC Name rather than something like “DarkShadow101”. This is to keep future tagging relatively simple. Because we require face claims on site, you'll want to stop by the thread of the same name to reserve your desired face claim; alternatively, if you're got your heart set on making a canon, either instead or as well, you'll want to hop over here and make your reservations as well. With that out of the way, you can find our site applications in the same board. Applications must be completed and accepted by staff before roleplaying can occur – though it should be noted that the plotter section of the application can be filled out at any time you so choose, whether that be before or after it is accepted by staff. If you'd prefer to write out a full personality, we suggest grabbing the code for the long-hand personality application. If you're more a fan of listing out traits alongside likes and dislikes, definitely go for the short-hand personality application. If your character is a gijinka or a legendary, be sure to grab the gijinka version of whichever -handed application you've chosen! Once your application – again, regardless of the status of the plotter section – is completed, be sure to drop a link to it in the notification thread so that we, the staff, know to review it! Your application probably won't be seen at all without this link, so make sure to help us help you.[break][break]
At any time – before your app, after your app, earlier than that still, or whenever – you can introduce yourself in a formal thread here. Don't be shy! We'd love to meet you!
When registering, click the link circled here and follow the easy-to-follow instructions from there. We have no real regulation on what username you must choose, although we'd prefer you keep it as something close to your character's name (whether it be their first name, a nickname, or their full name), or your concise OOC Name rather than something like “DarkShadow101”. This is to keep future tagging relatively simple. Because we require face claims on site, you'll want to stop by the thread of the same name to reserve your desired face claim; alternatively, if you're got your heart set on making a canon, either instead or as well, you'll want to hop over here and make your reservations as well. With that out of the way, you can find our site applications in the same board. Applications must be completed and accepted by staff before roleplaying can occur – though it should be noted that the plotter section of the application can be filled out at any time you so choose, whether that be before or after it is accepted by staff. If you'd prefer to write out a full personality, we suggest grabbing the code for the long-hand personality application. If you're more a fan of listing out traits alongside likes and dislikes, definitely go for the short-hand personality application. If your character is a gijinka or a legendary, be sure to grab the gijinka version of whichever -handed application you've chosen! Once your application – again, regardless of the status of the plotter section – is completed, be sure to drop a link to it in the notification thread so that we, the staff, know to review it! Your application probably won't be seen at all without this link, so make sure to help us help you.[break][break]
At any time – before your app, after your app, earlier than that still, or whenever – you can introduce yourself in a formal thread here. Don't be shy! We'd love to meet you!
THE PROFILE FIELDS
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Once you have registered on site – perhaps, even, before you bother setting up your application or reserving your claims – one of your very first objectives should be straightening out your character's account. By going to your profile and clicking “edit profile” at the bottom of the right-side panel, you'll have access to the area you can make all your changes in. The profile alone asks for three images – the application asks for another additional two, although overlap is allowed – so if you're not the sort who's very skilled at making graphics of your own, please stop by this board, and one of our helpful members will get you situated with the graphics you need. Otherwise, you're on your way to filling out your profile: here's a more in-depth explanation of what each field is and what we're asking you to fill them with. Your icon can be filled out in the avatar tab, although all other fields are located in the personal tab.[break][break]
Your ICON, or “avatar” can be just about any square image, although 100x100 pixels is the ideal. Please be sure to use images that are equal in height and length so as to prevent stretching and general warping of your image.[break][break]
Your DISPLAY NAME should be your character's first name and lastname in all capital letters. If your character, for whatever reason, lacks a surname, you're welcome to keep it as only their firstname, although we'd generally prefer that you refrain from using a pet name or nickname in place of their full name. Exceptions can be made if your character goes exclusively by this pet-or-nickname, in which case, it's probably better to go with that.[break][break]
ALIAS refers to nicknames or titles that your character may have. Due to size restraints, we ask that you keep this brief and include only one or two of their most commonly used aliases. If the line of text goes off the line and/or disappears, consider cutting down on how many titles are included.[break][break]
AGE should be self explanatory, although we do prefer that you write the age out in letters rather than using numbers. If your character is a legendary, “timeless” can be used in place of a specific number.[break][break]
PRONOUNS are your character's preferred pronouns, meaning that, even if they're fine with being called “they” or “them”, if they predominantly go by “he” or “him”, it should be listed only as such.[break][break]
ORIENTATION, or your character's sexuality. Please refrain from using words like “straight”, “lesbian”, or “ace”; nothing against the terms, but everything for uniformity! Use heterosexual, homosexual, or asexual, instead. If your character is, for example, asexual but heteroromantic, feel free to list the latter rather than the former; the unspoken “asexual” will be implied, and you won't have to worry about exceeding the spacial limit.[break][break]
OCCUPATION is another pretty self-explanatory one. Whatever your character's job is, list it here. If your character has more than one job, we ask that you only include the more important of the two (or three, or four, or fifty), and you're welcome to shorten the name for the sake of, again, keeping things on one line.[break][break]
That APPLICATION, TRACKER, RELATIONSHIPS, AND PERSONAL COMPUTER fields are all reserved for links that direct to your character's corresponding threads. We ask that you don't put any empty links in any of these fields, and instead only fill them once you've made the appropriate thread to link here.[break][break]
INFAMY refers to how well-known your character would be, specifically in the Lyeant region. Movie stars would sit with pretty high numbers, then, whereas a janitor would likely sit at numbers pretty close to zero. Dex Holders, for their world-wide fame, should be just about the only ones to hit full infamy; characters who are region-famous but mostly unknown outside of their home should be judged from the perspective of a Lyeant citizen rather than one from their home region. Infamy should be written as a number value from 1 to 100. Your “infamy bar” will grow to the appropriate percentage size.[break][break]
You can upload MUSIC to your account by generating a direct MP3 link using sites like Kiwi6 or modified Dropbox links. You should be able to tell if your link is working properly if you click the play button in either your mini-profile or user profile; if no music comes out, double check that you've copied the correct URL.[break][break]
Your OOC NAME should be your preferred alias on site, listed in your mini-profile so people have an easy way to see who plays certain characters. Shortest is really the best here; again, avoid stuff like “DarkShadow101” for spots like these![break][break]
Like the icon, your OOC Avatar should be a square image, this time with a minimum size of about 60x60 pixels. Only you'll be able to see your own OOC Avatar, so if you've got nothing set aside, don't worry about forgoing this field entirely.[break][break]
The 250X350 AVATAR is the tall image that shows up on the right-hand side of your user profile. The size of this image is right there in the name: 250x350 pixels, or something of that exact ratio.[break][break]
There is a 600X300 IMAGE in the application, as well as one located at the bottom of your user profile. If you'd like, you're more than welcome to use the same image for both – they were sized accordingly so members could do just that – or if you're feeling adventurous, you can use another 600x300 pixel image here.[break][break]
Your PERSONAL TEXT shouldn't get mixed up with the “most recent status” located above; despite sharing a name (sometimes), only this larger field will show up in either profile. This is set aside for a couple lines of lyrics or a character quote. Make sure to keep it short to avoid overflow, but don't keep it too short that it doesn't take up any space![break][break]
And lastly, the POKEMON SPRITES! This is where you can show off your character's active Pokemon party in their user profile. Rather than using full sprites or Pokemon models, however, we ask that you use the smaller menu icons, which the little circles were made to accomidate.
Once you have registered on site – perhaps, even, before you bother setting up your application or reserving your claims – one of your very first objectives should be straightening out your character's account. By going to your profile and clicking “edit profile” at the bottom of the right-side panel, you'll have access to the area you can make all your changes in. The profile alone asks for three images – the application asks for another additional two, although overlap is allowed – so if you're not the sort who's very skilled at making graphics of your own, please stop by this board, and one of our helpful members will get you situated with the graphics you need. Otherwise, you're on your way to filling out your profile: here's a more in-depth explanation of what each field is and what we're asking you to fill them with. Your icon can be filled out in the avatar tab, although all other fields are located in the personal tab.[break][break]
Your ICON, or “avatar” can be just about any square image, although 100x100 pixels is the ideal. Please be sure to use images that are equal in height and length so as to prevent stretching and general warping of your image.[break][break]
Your DISPLAY NAME should be your character's first name and lastname in all capital letters. If your character, for whatever reason, lacks a surname, you're welcome to keep it as only their firstname, although we'd generally prefer that you refrain from using a pet name or nickname in place of their full name. Exceptions can be made if your character goes exclusively by this pet-or-nickname, in which case, it's probably better to go with that.[break][break]
ALIAS refers to nicknames or titles that your character may have. Due to size restraints, we ask that you keep this brief and include only one or two of their most commonly used aliases. If the line of text goes off the line and/or disappears, consider cutting down on how many titles are included.[break][break]
AGE should be self explanatory, although we do prefer that you write the age out in letters rather than using numbers. If your character is a legendary, “timeless” can be used in place of a specific number.[break][break]
PRONOUNS are your character's preferred pronouns, meaning that, even if they're fine with being called “they” or “them”, if they predominantly go by “he” or “him”, it should be listed only as such.[break][break]
ORIENTATION, or your character's sexuality. Please refrain from using words like “straight”, “lesbian”, or “ace”; nothing against the terms, but everything for uniformity! Use heterosexual, homosexual, or asexual, instead. If your character is, for example, asexual but heteroromantic, feel free to list the latter rather than the former; the unspoken “asexual” will be implied, and you won't have to worry about exceeding the spacial limit.[break][break]
OCCUPATION is another pretty self-explanatory one. Whatever your character's job is, list it here. If your character has more than one job, we ask that you only include the more important of the two (or three, or four, or fifty), and you're welcome to shorten the name for the sake of, again, keeping things on one line.[break][break]
That APPLICATION, TRACKER, RELATIONSHIPS, AND PERSONAL COMPUTER fields are all reserved for links that direct to your character's corresponding threads. We ask that you don't put any empty links in any of these fields, and instead only fill them once you've made the appropriate thread to link here.[break][break]
INFAMY refers to how well-known your character would be, specifically in the Lyeant region. Movie stars would sit with pretty high numbers, then, whereas a janitor would likely sit at numbers pretty close to zero. Dex Holders, for their world-wide fame, should be just about the only ones to hit full infamy; characters who are region-famous but mostly unknown outside of their home should be judged from the perspective of a Lyeant citizen rather than one from their home region. Infamy should be written as a number value from 1 to 100. Your “infamy bar” will grow to the appropriate percentage size.[break][break]
You can upload MUSIC to your account by generating a direct MP3 link using sites like Kiwi6 or modified Dropbox links. You should be able to tell if your link is working properly if you click the play button in either your mini-profile or user profile; if no music comes out, double check that you've copied the correct URL.[break][break]
Your OOC NAME should be your preferred alias on site, listed in your mini-profile so people have an easy way to see who plays certain characters. Shortest is really the best here; again, avoid stuff like “DarkShadow101” for spots like these![break][break]
Like the icon, your OOC Avatar should be a square image, this time with a minimum size of about 60x60 pixels. Only you'll be able to see your own OOC Avatar, so if you've got nothing set aside, don't worry about forgoing this field entirely.[break][break]
The 250X350 AVATAR is the tall image that shows up on the right-hand side of your user profile. The size of this image is right there in the name: 250x350 pixels, or something of that exact ratio.[break][break]
There is a 600X300 IMAGE in the application, as well as one located at the bottom of your user profile. If you'd like, you're more than welcome to use the same image for both – they were sized accordingly so members could do just that – or if you're feeling adventurous, you can use another 600x300 pixel image here.[break][break]
Your PERSONAL TEXT shouldn't get mixed up with the “most recent status” located above; despite sharing a name (sometimes), only this larger field will show up in either profile. This is set aside for a couple lines of lyrics or a character quote. Make sure to keep it short to avoid overflow, but don't keep it too short that it doesn't take up any space![break][break]
And lastly, the POKEMON SPRITES! This is where you can show off your character's active Pokemon party in their user profile. Rather than using full sprites or Pokemon models, however, we ask that you use the smaller menu icons, which the little circles were made to accomidate.
GETTING INVOLVED ON SITE
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Once your character has been accepted onto the site, your first stop should be back to the face and canon claims listings in order to turn your reservations into official dibs claiming that character/face as your own! Next on the immediate list, however, should be the creation of your post in the Member Directory, which should be updated manually by you, not staff each time a new character of yours is accepted. If you haven't already finished your plotter, too, now might be a good time to do that.[break][break]
If you're too timid to jump straight into the RP experience, the Development board is likely the place you want to be. You can get an early start on tracking threads for your... well, threads (RP ones, that is!), relationships, and Pokemon, check out the existing custom groups, make your own custom group, put up a development thread, or hope to get lucky by texting some poor, random stranger via your PokeGear. Better yet, consider filling any of the open threads that have yet to get any well-deserved attention – or submit your own if you were the one to draw first blood! Dropping by other people's applications to share any plot ideas you may have would be a good idea, too, if you care for some more concrete ideas before rushing into a thread.[break][break]
If you're looking for a more lax experience after all the trying work it takes to get situated on a site, consider poking your head into the member longue. You can chat up some other members, share off your pretty artwork, play some OOC or IC games, and test out those pretty templates before they have to get put to proper use. Once you're a little more settled in and have some money and points beneath your belt, take a peek at the site shop or help out your characters' factions through donations to their team.[break][break]
If you've gotten through all that – well, you're practically a master navigator of the site already! We hope this guide helped, but more than that, we hope you have fun here at TBE. Thanks for stopping by!
Once your character has been accepted onto the site, your first stop should be back to the face and canon claims listings in order to turn your reservations into official dibs claiming that character/face as your own! Next on the immediate list, however, should be the creation of your post in the Member Directory, which should be updated manually by you, not staff each time a new character of yours is accepted. If you haven't already finished your plotter, too, now might be a good time to do that.[break][break]
If you're too timid to jump straight into the RP experience, the Development board is likely the place you want to be. You can get an early start on tracking threads for your... well, threads (RP ones, that is!), relationships, and Pokemon, check out the existing custom groups, make your own custom group, put up a development thread, or hope to get lucky by texting some poor, random stranger via your PokeGear. Better yet, consider filling any of the open threads that have yet to get any well-deserved attention – or submit your own if you were the one to draw first blood! Dropping by other people's applications to share any plot ideas you may have would be a good idea, too, if you care for some more concrete ideas before rushing into a thread.[break][break]
If you're looking for a more lax experience after all the trying work it takes to get situated on a site, consider poking your head into the member longue. You can chat up some other members, share off your pretty artwork, play some OOC or IC games, and test out those pretty templates before they have to get put to proper use. Once you're a little more settled in and have some money and points beneath your belt, take a peek at the site shop or help out your characters' factions through donations to their team.[break][break]
If you've gotten through all that – well, you're practically a master navigator of the site already! We hope this guide helped, but more than that, we hope you have fun here at TBE. Thanks for stopping by!
