Uptime on Discord

This page aims to provide an overview of the way Emporium specifically will make use of the Discord format during uptime. For introductory information on how to use Discord, please see Discord Basics. You can read more about our accessibility considerations in using the Discord format here.

Emporium will be making use of several Discord bots during uptime, including some that have been constructed specifically for this game. Detailed information on how to use these bots, including a list of commands with explanations, will be available on the Discord server for players to consult at any time. This section of the wiki is merely intended to give a brief overview of the way in which we intend to use bots for this game.

A command is a phrase you can type into Discord text channels to elicit an automated response from a bot that has been programmed to 'listen' to that specific command. All commands written for use in Emporium must be written at the start of a message and are preceded by an exclamation mark to distinguish them as commands rather than normal messages. These bots are written to interpret commands as generously as possible: for example, typing “!warp grocery”, “!warp to the groceries” or !warp [groceries]“ will all be interpreted in the same way as ”!warp groceries“. If you type a command incorrectly, for example by including a space between the exclamation mark and the command, it will not be recognised, and you will receive no response, but if you try to use a command incorrectly, for example by typing ”!warp kitchens and groceries“ the bot will tell you why it is unable to execute your command. Commands can be used at any time in any text channel, although you will receive an error from the Albert Interface if you try to use the !warp command while outside of the warp zone.

The three commands Emporium makes use of are !map, !warp, and !toggle. Full information on how to use these, including a list of valid locations, and a number of accessibility options, will be provided on the Discord server for all players to view at any time.

• !map generates a map, either in text or image format, of the shop floor, indicating how many player characters are currently within each location
• !warp [location] takes you to whatever location channel you specified (e.g. !warp kitchens), provided that it is within the Warp Zone, and you are currently within the Warp Zone
• !toggle toggles your channel history permissions, so that you can easily switch between being able to read a channel's history when you enter it, or having it be a mystery

More bots may be added over the course of the game, but this is the list of bots that will be in use at game start. Full details on how to use each of the features listed here will be provided on the Discord server for all players to consult at any time.

• Accessibility Assistant: An OC bot written by the GM team to increase the accessibility of the game.
  • This bot responds to the !toggle command to toggle various accessibility features.
  • This bot also has a feature to produce plaintext transcripts of any messages with unicode characters in them that may make them difficult to read. You can access this feature by reacting to the relevant message with a question mark.
• Albert Interface: OC, this bot carries out the task of moving players between physical location channels using the !warp command.
  • IC, this bot represents the Albert Interface, and some error messages are formatted as IC comments. This is for flavour only, as Pluralkit will be used to represent communication with the Albert Interface
• Emporium Security: OC, this bot handles commands relating to the map.
  • IC, this bot represents the security systems governed by the Albert Interface.
  • Use of the !map command in the server represents connecting to the Albert Interface to access a map which shows the density of Entities in each area
  • While there are other customers and employees present IC who would be noted on the map, this is not represented in-game as the primary function of the bot is to give you an indication of how full channels are
• Pluralkit: An OC bot used by the GM team to allow them to use multiple aliases for different NPCs. You can read more about PluralKit on their website, as this is not a bot written by the GM team.
  • Since GMs will be using Pluralkit to post messages as NPCs, replying to a message posted by Pluralkit will not notify the relevant GM. Instead, you can react to the message with a bell emoji, which will automatically notify the relevant GM

Our Discord bots are intended to be easy to use, and full information on their commands will be provided on the Discord server, alongside a tech support channel where you can direct and tech-related questions to GMs. If, for whatever reason, you are having trouble or would prefer not to use a particular bot, please let your GM know, and they will be able to take over the bot's actions for you.

Our Accessibility Assistant bot has been created specifically for Emporium to aid in the accessibility of the game. Players will be able to use it to hide and unhide channel histories, access plaintext versions of the store map, and request autogenerated plaintext transcripts of messages with zalgo characters or unicode fonts. Additional functionality may be able to be added on request, depending on whether or not we know how to implement it - players are welcome to direct any bot-related queries to our head GM, who has written most of the code for Emporium's custom bots.

All player-facing Discord bots have been written and tested primarily by our head GM, and are dependent on her internet connection. If a bot goes offline temporarily, you will not be able to use its associated commands until it is back online. This is most likely due to Sophia's internet cutting out, and should be resolved as soon as it has been re-established. You should not assume that the Albert Interface or the Emporium Security have gone down IC if their associated OC bots are offline. If you notice any other issues with any of the Emporium bots, please tag Sophia in a message in #oc-tech-support to let her know, and she'll get back to you about it as soon as possible!

In the event that a bot is offline, or if a player is unable to use it for whatever reason, GMs will be able to move players between locations and toggle their channel history permissions in such an event. Of course, you can always ask a GM to provide a transcript for any zalgo text or unicode fonts, whether the accessibility assistant is currently offline, or has failed to transcribe a message accurately. Unfortunately, GMs will not be able to mimic the Emporium Security Bot's map functions, but they can tell you how many players are currently within a specified location channel. Finally, please be mindful that GMs are juggling many different things behind the scenes and may take a while to respond - we are here to help, but may need a moment!

Through the use of Discord roles, GMs are able to determine whether or not a player is able to read old messages in a channel they have just joined. As players will be moving between physical location channels during uptime, this will be relevant whenever moving to a new location, even if it is a location that you have been in at a previous point in time.

As mystery is a core theme of Emporium, players are expected not to read back channel histories (except in the case of OC channels and IC info channels) since this could result in them reading past interactions that they were not a part of and may lead to metagaming. However, we recognise that players may have difficulty recalling information from past interactions that they were a part of, and as it is possible to obtain this information in a digital format, we are keen not to create an access barrier around it. For ease of access, channel histories are by default available to read for any player who has access to a given channel, but we strongly suggest that players turn this permission off using the !toggle command for the most immersive experience of the game. To use the !toggle command, simply type ”!toggle“ (without quotation marks) in any channel, and press send as you would for a normal message. If you do need to check something within a channel's history, you can view it at any time by using the !toggle command again. OC channels and non-physical location channel histories will be unaffected by this command.

The Emporium Discord server will feature a list of clearly marked OC channels for out of character information and communication. This will include full instructions on the use of bots, a tech support channel, a general OC chat, and a place to post bot commands so as to avoid spamming other channels (we recommend muting this by right-clicking the channel and selecting 'Mute Channel > Until I turn it back on'!) OC channels will remain visible to players at all times, and will be the topmost channels in the channel sidebar so as to be the most easily accessible.

During uptime, player movement is represented by switching between physical location channels. This may be done by a GM changing your location role (and hence which channels you have the permission to see) or by a player using the !warp command to move between locations at will. Generally, you will only be able to view one location channel at a time, since you can only be in one place at once. The !warp command can only be used within the warp zone, as this is intended for easy movement between locations Emporium might expect its customers and employees to access frequently. To explore an area of the store outside of the warp zone, or to re-enter it once you are outside it, please tag a GM to request to move!

Some channels represent psychic communication. This includes Collective Consciousness - a psychic network accessible to all customers and employees within Emporium, which is represented during Uptime by three Discord text channels with different speeds of slowmode enabled for different 'frequencies of thought' - and any psychic networks established between characters using the Psychic Anchor Quirk.

The Albert Interface is a combined security system, catalogue, information point, and customer service AI that operates throughout the supermarket, and can be accessed either psychically or with the help of computer screens in most areas of the store. In addition to the Albert Interface bot and the NPC profile GMs will be using to play the AI, the Albert Interface is represented over Discord by a group of text channels. This includes an IC rules channel, an IC announcement channel to represent PA announcements, a channel in which to ask Albert questions, and the employee taskboard channels.

Finally, every player will have access to a private channel accessible only by them and the GM team. This channel will be presided over primarily by the GM assigned to you, who may ask that you tag them in your messages so that they will be notified (GMs have an extremely large number of channels to moderate!). This is a good place to…

• Ask GM questions that may otherwise get lost in an OC channel, or that you don't want other players to see.
• Roleplay private interactions between PCs and NPCs to eliminate the need for excess text channels.
• Use bot commands such as !warp and !map without spamming public channels or revealing where you are warping

If you attempt to use an Emporium bot and it encounters an error, it will notify the head GM in this channel.

Emporium will be making use of Discord roles for a variety of uses, including moving players around physical location channels, accessing accessibility features, and distinguishing customers from employees. For the most part, this is strictly OC information, and should not be used to gain IC information about other characters' whereabouts, alliances or abilities.

We will be making use of an 'employee uniform' role to change the colour of employee characters' usernames. This represents the fact that they are wearing a uniform, and may hence be interpreted as IC information. If you would like to take off your uniform, or have a uniform to put on, let a GM know so that they can edit this role for you.

Players and GMs may also use @employees and @customers to draw the attention of employees and customers. IC, these words have the metaphysical ability to draw a character's particular attention if Emporium has employed them or invited them as a customer respectively, and hence have an effect regardless of whether or not an individual is wearing an employee uniform.