progressmods: (Default)
Progress City Mods ([personal profile] progressmods) wrote2018-02-25 10:18 pm

frequently asked questions

applyingarrivalgame mechanicsworld

Welcome to the Progress City FAQ. If you have any questions not covered here, feel free to ask them in the comments below.

applying

Do I have to know anything about Foolish Mortals to apply?
Not at all! While a number of our NPCs have a history and connection to Foolish Mortals, no ongoing plots from that game are being continued.

What about Disney Parks?
We generally encourage everyone to have a little bit of basic knowledge of the parks simply because they’re such a large part of our games setting. However, you don’t necessarily have to have extensive knowledge in order to play here.

How many characters can I apply for?
Two characters per application round, four characters total.

What characters can I apply for?
You can apply for nearly any character you want! As long as you feel confident in being able to write an application for a character, we will consider them.

What about FM characters?
Characters that are CRAU of Foolish Mortals are allowed to be apped by their respective players! However, you will still need to actually write a new application for them to be accepted into the game. This is mainly because of the new power mechanic and their jobs.

What about OCs?
Progress City allows original characters, but we are slightly more strict about their apps versus canon ones. For the most part, the application team looks for an internal consistency and realism in OC apps, as well as evidence of world building and balance. While we’re not going to say “no Mary Sues,” because some canon characters are basically Mary Sues, we would like to see that you’ve put some thought into creating your character and the world they come from.

What about fandom OCs?
Even if your Harry Potter teacher OC is amazing, Progress City doesn’t accept fandom OCs that don’t appear in canon. We do, however, accept silent protagonist characters that are essentially fandom OCs, such as the Prince from Fable 3 and Yu Narukami from Persona 4, as long as your application provides some canon justification for their personality and also clearly defines what major choices they’ve made in their history. For example, the Prince from Fable 3 can be played as good or evil and we’d need you to indicate which path he took in your application. At the moment we consider MMO Player characters to be fandom OCs, but are in the process of reviewing this, both in general and for exceptions.

What about AUs?
Progress City allows both canon AUs and CRAUs taken from other games. The later has a slightly longer app form, and the mods reserve the right to reject CRAU apps and reserves based on their fit to Progress City (i.e. characters from games that clash drastically, such as Amat).

Player-created AUs are not accepted.

What about characters that appear in multiple canons?
In the case of a character appearing in multiple series, as is the case with many characters, we consider versions that are significantly different to be discrete canon characters. For example, Applejack from My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic is vastly different than Applejack from the original My Little Pony cartoon and they would be considered different characters because they don’t share much besides a name.

There’s a limit of two of any given character with one exception: players from Foolish Mortal may app still their characters with Foolish Mortals CRAU if the limit has been reached. Afterward, the Foolish Mortal character will count toward the limit if one of the other two characters is dropped.

What about minor characters?
You can definitely apply for minor characters, as long as you feel like you’ll be able to write an app for them. From a mod perspective, we’d like minor characters to have enough canon for us to get a sense of their character and history.

Generally, this means that if a character appears in one episode/roughly five minutes of something, they’re acceptable. If you have any questions or concerns about applying for a minor character, however, we encourage you to get in touch the mod team.

What about new canons?
The general rule of thumb is a canon has to have six weeks of availability in most of the world. So if the show has just premiered or the game is currently only available in Japan, we’re probably going to ask you to wait for a while. Media (like anime) that is easily streamed and available runs by a slightly different timeline and requires at least a month from premiere. This rule doesn’t apply to ongoing shows like Doctor Who, but we do ask that you be considerate of other players in regards to spoilers. Just think of it like this: Has it been on for a while? Then most likely, yes you can app from it. Is it just coming out? No, you can’t app from it. Is it a sequel to something like a video game? Then no, you can’t app from it unless it’s been out six weeks.

Are there cast caps?
There is a cap of thirteen characters per canon. If you have questions about what is considered a "canon" for the purposes of this number, feel free to ask below.

What’s activity like?
16 comments per month from you, spread across a maximum of (3) threads with different characters. This can be 2 threads with 5 comments from your character and a thread with 6 from your char, 1 thread with 16 comments from your character, or however you want to divvy that up - just give us 16 comments overall. Alternatively, an entry to the community can count for ten comments. (i.e. two threads with ten comments from you on each, or one ten comment thread and an entry/toplevel on the community.)

Do I need a reserve?
Reserves are required for the first/opening app cycle, though this is subject to change in the future.

What about challenge reserves?
Not allowed, sorry.

When do apps open and close?
Apps will open on Friday, March 23rd, and the first round of acceptances will go out on either March 31st or April 1st. Afterward, apps will be continuously open but acceptances will only go out every week or two.

[back to top]
arrival

How did my character get here?
One day, no matter where your character is or what they’re doing, they’ll find a ticket to a place called EPCOT. If they touch this ticket at all, the next time they close their eyes, they’ll be in the middle of Progress City. Congratulations, you’re now in the happiest dimension in the multiverse!

How can my character get home?
Progress City is outfitted with dimensional transporters for tourists. However, for some reason, these don’t seem to want to work with those wearing MagicBands that can utilize cards to do magic. Using the dimensional transporters or trying to escape Progress City by any means will either have your character appearing once more in the middle of Progress City (normal function), transporting to a random flux dimension (for hiatuses), or successfully returning home (for canon update).

Getting into Progress City is easy enough. However, sometimes the city just doesn’t want you to leave.

What if my character is dead/dying/injured?
Bring them from a point just before their death! Injuries are of no consequence, as whatever mysterious force that powers the MagicBands will heall your character's injuries upon arrival.

Does my character keep their powers?
Every character is completely nerfed upon arrival. However, they will be given new magic powers thanks to the MagicBands permanently attached to their wrists. See the game mechanics section for more information about this mechanic.

What can my character have on them?
Your character can more or less have anything that they would have had on them anyway! This includes items up to the size of, say, a small bike. However, in the case of characters with hammerspaces, their hammerspace will spurt out all items upon arrival and turn into a normal purse, bag, pockets, whatever.

Yeah, we’re looking at all the video game characters with hundreds of items in their inventory. Enjoy picking up your potions.

Where will my character initially live?
The Mayor will provide free apartments in Vista Way for anyone who accidentally ends up in Progress City. Vista Way has your basic needs, including a full size kitchen and a moderately sized bathroom, along with a bedroom and living area. It is, however, pretty small and lacks a lot of the bigger amenities like washing machines. The walls are also pretty thin.

Characters are free to move out for greener pastures whenever they want, but they’ll have to pay for any housing. For more information on other places your character can live, you might want to check the Locations page.

[back to top]
game mechanics

What are MagicBands?
MagicBands are neat little trinkets that your character finds fit around their wrist (or closest applicable bodypart) with each arrival. Everyone has a custom style/decal befitting their personality, but if you're stuck you can shop some real life styles for inspiration.

These can be used for functions all around Progress City - unlocking the door to your character’s apartment, charging purchases, theme park admission. But most importantly: they’re where your powers come from.

Powers?
Nobody really knows why, but when combined with the mysterious cards that people have started trading, MagicBands sometimes allow users to cast magic spells. These can range from simple projectiles and weapon summoning to more complex abilities that can be customized per character. Canon abilities might be disabled, but they can also be regained through their MagicBand.

Your character only starts off with one ability at first. However, more and more will become available to them over time. For an idea of what abilities your characters might gain, check the current Cards List.

When will my character be required to use these?
As Progress City is a major tourist destination, occasionally, it might face opposition and require defending. The Mayor wants everyone to be ready to do so.

Is my character required to have a job?
As per the original concept for EPCOT, your character will be assigned a job around the city or resort upon acceptance to the game. Working at this assigned job will get your characters enough money to live comfortably, and the very low rent is taken out of each paycheck.

What if my character decides not to work?
While the Mayor doesn’t necessarily want to kick anyone out of the apartments, he also won’t be ICly providing for them outside of the housing situation at this point.

What if my character wants to seek out other jobs?
They can! They’re more than welcome to work at other jobs and continue to live at Vista Way, or seek alternative housing.

[back to top]
world

Where can my character go?
A lot of places! Besides the various Disney parks where your character might work, Progress City itself has many locations where your character might want to visit. You should probably check the Locations page for more information, because the world of Progress City is fluid and it sometimes changes.

How can my character travel through Progress City?
Progress City, despite its large size, has no traditional modes of transportation, eg cars or planes. However, this city prides itself with its outstanding public transportation, primarily its Monorails and People Movers.

The Monorail is a high speed transport that will take you from Progress City to any of the parks within five minutes. There is one station in each location.

Does the Progress City have special currency?
Instead of any real world currency, the normal form of currency comes in the form of Disney Dollars! They can either spend paper cash for goods and services or deposit money in a bank and use their magic band to make purchases.

While your apartment is free, the Mayor won’t be providing services like meals or laundry if your character is old enough to work. However, there is good news! He will be providing jobs to everyone so they can make enough Disney Dollars to make a comfortable living for yourself.

What if character knows about/has been to Disney World?
Progress City is a weird place. It’s pretty similar to Disney World in a lot of respects (Magic Kingdom is virtually unchanged), but there are a few things just slightly “off” enough to make it seem a little bit different.

Your character is welcome to recognize it and the landmarks, however, in this dimension there never was a “Walt Disney World.”

Can my character die?
While the people of this city try their best to keep Progress City a safe place for everyone, it is possible for your character to die during your stay here. In the event that happens, your character will find themselves stuck in another world for a few days completely free of injuries and no idea how they woke up there. After the few days, you will mysteriously wake up back back in Progress City.

Is there a network?
As of right now, there is not. The Mayor has been looking into getting a phone line in this city, but that plan has been hampered by this whole ordeal that’s going on.

There is, however, a bulletin board in the center of Progress City that you (and various npcs) can use to make advertisements or PSAs. The Mayor would like to remind you that the bulletin board is a privilege and not a right, and rude or obscene postings will not be tolerated.

Is there technology in-game?
Yes! If your character is the techie sort, they'll probably do best talking to either Bill or the Redhead to see if they can get you whatever you need.

Are there NPCs?
There are various unnamed park guests and robot cast members, in addition to several named NPCs such as The Mayor, Bill, and the Redhead.

[back to top]
voidengine: (Default)

[personal profile] voidengine 2018-03-04 03:53 am (UTC)(link)
If a character is nonhuman and has certain powers granted to them by their physiology: e.g. flying, underwater breathing etc, will that be nerfed too?
voidengine: (Default)

[personal profile] voidengine 2018-03-15 01:46 pm (UTC)(link)
Cool, thank you!
knight_of_treachery: (Default)

[personal profile] knight_of_treachery 2018-03-28 03:59 pm (UTC)(link)
So the character I want to reserve is a Servant from the Fate Apocrypha series and is already well and dead, and has been for a very very long time. The canon point I want to take them from is post their death/disappearance in the series which would just send them back to the throne of heroes. Would this be an acceptable canon point since technically she can be summoned over and over as long as there is a holy grail war?

Add on question, since my character also needs a supply of mana to exist, would that be provided for upon arrival?
Edited 2018-03-29 20:08 (UTC)
vash: (it's not something i should forget)

[personal profile] vash 2018-04-10 02:29 pm (UTC)(link)
Are jobs just something we come up with to fit the setting? Or is there a list of jobs to choose from? :)
cursedtosleep: (Not supposed to talk to strangers)

[personal profile] cursedtosleep 2018-05-01 02:23 pm (UTC)(link)
Question regarding unexplained (but not necessarily powers?) aspects of a character. Since the classic Disney princesses are just shown understanding and being understood by animals despite not being a power in canon, would that be a power in game?
cursedtosleep: (How strange it all is)

[personal profile] cursedtosleep 2018-05-02 06:37 am (UTC)(link)
Edit: Sorry! Was confused, but it was explained to me so thank you!
Edited 2018-05-04 04:40 (UTC)