Better Bio Format?

I don't believe this has been mentioned yet, and this has been in my head ever since I played the game.
I was wondering if it is possible to make a better bio formatting, for our character's bios? Many roleplayers, including me, would really benefit from this.

The space for the bio would be more large and spread-out, rather than mushed together in a tight space. There would be font types, colors, and sizes, and you could bold, italicize, and underline letters. There would be an unlimited amount of space to type, so you don't have to worry about running out of room to describe your character! And, this might be stretching it a bit, but maybe you could add small images to your bio as well?

Again, this is all just an idea! I'd really love this, and I believe it is quite possible to add to the game.

 

Hmm that sounds like a tall order... I mean not even feralheart had that! (the text color and size I mean)

I mean yeah it's probably doable but that seems like a pain to code, Myz is too busy/had too much of a hard time with the engine to even finish the mail system so I would not count on this ever changing.

 

As a roleplayer, I couldn't agree with you more. The current Bio format is too simplistic and very limiting. I tend to write very long bios for my characters, and to have to squish it down to just so many words is frustrating and really waters down the whole experience for me.

For me, it doesn't have to be super complex. Just the ability to bold, italicize, underline, and change font sizes would be good enough. Having unlimited space to type is, for me, the most essential part, and would give the most creative freedom. So obviously, I support this idea! I hope it wouldn't be too difficult to pull off coding-wise, because if this were implemented it would really up the immersion aspect for me.

Great idea, thanks for sharing! ^-^

 

Just wondering, how long do you need your bio to be? I managed to fit in quite a part of a wikipedia article via some back-door method (I'm not sure how long a bio can normally be though)
Screenshots here:
http://imgur.com/a/sHkxx

The amount I fit in (Without bold or italics):

Spoiler: Click

Princess Tutu is a The Ugly Duckling/Swan Lake-inspired magical girl ballet anime television series created by Ikuko Itoh in 2002 for animation studio Hal Film Maker. The first season of the anime series was broadcast in Japan in 2002 and the second season in 2004. The anime series was also adapted into a two-volume manga. Both the manga and anime series were licensed by ADV Films in 2004 for distribution in North America.

The series explores the concepts of fate and free will. Reviewers point out that although Princess Tutu is nominally a magical girl series, it is more of a "fairy tale set to ballet with a few magical girl elements mixed in," and its use of dance in lieu of violence to solve conflicts carries "surprisingly effective emotional appeal."[1]
Once there was a writer named Drosselmeyer, who had the power to make his stories come to life. But he died before he could finish his final tale, The Prince and The Raven, leaving the two titular characters locked in an eternal battle. After many years, the Raven managed to break free into the real world, and the Prince pursued him. To seal away the Raven's evil, Prince Mytho shattered his own heart with his sword, causing him to lose all his memories and emotions.

Drosselmeyer, now a ghost, decides the story must have an ending. He finds it in the form of a little duck, who has fallen in love with Mytho. He gives her a magic pendant that can transform her, first into an ordinary human girl, then into the graceful ballerina Princess Tutu, another character in the story. As Tutu, it's Duck's job to find all the scattered shards of Mytho's heart and return them to him.

Method:
1.Make sure your character already has a bio.
2. Go to (looking through files) Dawn Of Eternity > my_content > bio
3. Once in the bio folder, open up the file with the character's bio you want to change with notepad.
4. You can now edit your character's bio within notepad. Don't delete the euro sign you see at the end of the file though. I'm not sure what it does, but I think it has some sort of importance.
5. Save!

EDIT:
Afterwards, I managed to fit all this in as well [SPOILER WARNINGS FOR THE SHOW "PRINCESS TUTU"]

Spoiler: Click for more

]But not everyone wants Mytho to get his heart back. Rue, the Raven's daughter reborn as a human, has fallen in love with him too, and worries he might not return her feelings if he has a heart. Her desire to stop him regaining his emotions unleashes her ability to transform into Princess Kraehe, Tutu's evil counterpart. Fakir, the boy who found and took care of Mytho after he escaped the story, also tries to stop Tutu, fearing that the story progressing means the Raven will return and Mytho will have to risk his life fighting it again.

What's more, Duck learns that part of Princess Tutu's story is she can never confess her love to Mytho, or else she'll turn into a speck of light and vanish. However, it becomes clear that Mytho wants his heart restored, so despite Fakir and Kraehe's interference, she persists.

Eventually Fakir accepts Mytho's choice and decides to help Tutu, even discovering her true identity as Duck and becoming good friends with her. He also learns he's a descendant of Drosselmeyer, meaning he too has the power to make what he writes a reality. Rue finds out she's not the Raven's daughter, but a human child he stole to serve him.

After most of Mytho's heart is returned to him, the seal trapping the Raven begins to break. Finally able to feel love again, Mytho realizes he loves Rue - just as the Raven kidnaps her. Duck discovers her pendant is the final shard, meaning she must give up her life as a human to return it. She eventually finds the courage to do so, and becomes a mere duck again.

Mytho and the Raven battle once more. When the fight turns bleak, Mytho considers shattering his heart to seal the monster away again. Duck begins dancing to show him he must not give up. As she does, Fakir writes a story about how she never stops, no matter how many times the Raven's minions attack her. Together they create hope, which gives Mytho the strength he needs to rescue Rue and defeat the Raven. Mytho asks Rue to be his princess and they return to his kingdom inside the story. Duck and Fakir continue their friendship. With nothing left to do, Drosselmeyer departs in search of another story. [/SPOILER

 

Candleframe, I have done that method as well. The problem is that, while *I* can see the entire thing in my bio in-game, other users cannot. It cuts off at a certain point, so no matter how much I type via the Notepad method it's not all going to be visible to other players.

EDIT: Here's my main character's Bio for length reference. Be warned that it is a wall of text LOL

Spoiler

Name: Narifia
Species: Lion
Gender: Female
Sex: Female
Age: Young Adult
Description: Tawny-tan fur, chocolate-brown head/back stripe and tail-tuft, creamy underfur and paw-tips. Azure eyes, pinkish-brown nose. Wings the same tawny-tan as her fur with creamy accents, which can be retracted and completely hidden from view in pocket-like recesses on her back. Her sky-blue and emerald-green markings are magical in nature and so seem to vary in appearance, if they even show up at all.

Personality: Early on in her youth, Narifia was kind-hearted and somewhat naive, having been sheltered from the cruelties of the world by her mother. Now, as she roams aimlessly trying to find a reason to live, she is quiet, contemplative, and keeps to herself. Although she will always have a trace of that kind-heartedness instilled in her by her mother, tragedy and time have given her a bitter heart, and she takes care never to get close to anyone.

Backstory: Narifia was once the heir to a pride with a tumultuous history, the Accacia-Lea Pride. Narifia’s father Malwazi had once been close friends with King Ahura of the neighboring Fallen-Sky Kopje Pride. That all changed when Malwazi was blackmailed by Mak’chebo, a treacherous old baboon, to either kill Ahura and his three sons, or be forced to watch his own pride and loved ones die under a terrible curse. Malwazi had never wanted to hurt Ahura or his sons, but he was powerless against Mak’chebo’s dark shaman-magic. He carried out the dark deed and usurped the throne of Fallen-Sky Kopje, taking his pride with him to the new land. Mak’chebo used Malwazi as a puppet-king to control the largest army of lions in the savannah.

Eventually the tyranny was ended when Kijibwa, the exiled, illegitimate son of one of the Fallen-Sky lionesses, returned to save the enslaved prides. He killed Malwazi, thus weakening Mak’chebo’s hold over the pride. Kiva’la, a winged rogue lioness who had joined the pride and become Malwazi’s mate, led a group of lionesses to corner the old baboon, cutting him off from his dark shaman-artifacts and magic, and they killed him. Kijibwa was named the new king of the Fallen-Sky Pride, and Kiva’la led the remnants of Malwazi’s pride back home to Accacia-Lea Grove. Not long after, she gave birth to Malwazi’s youngest daughter, Narifia.

Although the lions of Fallen-Sky Kopje had been grateful to Kiva’la and her lionesses for their help in getting rid of Mak’chebo, there were still bitter feelings between the two prides over Malwazi’s actions. Further, they distrusted Kiva’la for having been Malwazi’s mate, and always wondered and feared that she might groom her daughter and pride to take revenge. They couldn’t have been farther from the truth.

Kiva’la raised Narifia to be kind-hearted and gentle. It was her hope that Narifia would grow into a great queen who would rekindle the lost friendship between the broken prides. Sadly, it was not meant to be. There were lions in the Accacia-Lea pride who despised Kijibwa for killing their king Malwazi. They caused trouble for the Fallen-Sky lions whenever they could, earning more of their distrust. Kiva’la died of illness when Narifia was still just a young cub. The pride, having had great respect for Kiva’la and Malwazi, took care to raise and protect young Narifia as their future queen.

At first, Narifia had all of their loyalty. She grew into a fine young lioness with a fiery spirit, but the kindness instilled in her by her mother would prove to be her downfall. Decimus, the unofficial leader of the troublesome Four who still hated the Fallen-Sky pride and wanted revenge, saw Narifia’s attempts at friendship to be weakness. His tolerance for her was ended when she took Kijibwa’s son Morobi as her mate and King. In his warped sense of loyalty to Kiva’la and Malwazi--conditioned by the war he grew up in that Narifia would never have any true concept of--he denounced Narifia as their queen, saying that she was not fit to be the heir of the once-great leaders of Accacia-Lea. He left the pride and started his own, calling them the Hellcats, and he planned a takeover of the savannah that he felt would make Kiva’la and Malwazi proud.

Many troubles and toils soon followed. Decimus and his Hellcats made life difficult for both prides, kidnapping cubs from Fallen-Sky to force and brainwash them to be Hellcats, and even kidnapping Kijibwa’s daughter Zurina to be his queen. Kijibwa and the lions of Fallen-Sky Kopje blamed Narifia for Decimus’ actions, driving a wedge further between the two prides. Sarai, a lioness from Fallen-Sky who was jealous and hated Narifia for having Morobi’s affections, killed Morobi in order to hurt Narifia. She then fled to join Decimus’ pride, being now the enemy of both Accacia-Lea and Fallen-Sky for having killed Kijibwa’s son and the King of Accacia-Lea.

Fallen-Sky blamed Narifia for letting Sarai get away. Narifia blamed herself for letting Morobi die and letting her pride and Kiva’la down. Sunk in a deep depression and knowing no other way to turn, she left the pride in the paws of her trusted sister, Shetani, and went into self-exile. Now she roams, broken-hearted, trying to find a place in a world that has no place for her.

 

Heh, that's long! I guess the DOE servers can only carry so much bio across to the other players (probably so spammers and trolls don't copy and paste Wikipedia into their bios! ) . Maybe only put the really essential info there (or write they key points in dot-point format) and while roleplaying, slowly reveal the backstory whenever it's relevant. It'll be a nice surpsise for them For things that people can already see (such as name, and some parts of appearance if you're not using a preset) you can leave out.

It's still long, but I tried shortening some points about Narfia. Written in first person since it was easier to shorten things. (I've left out the earlier parts since you know the appearance and such of your character best and it's better for you to choose to include that or not):

Spoiler: Under here

I was the heir to the Accacia-Lea Pride, but now I'm in self-exile. I roam aimlessly, trying to find a reason to live.

Personality: I was kind-hearted and naive when younger. I haven't forgotten my mother's ways in kindness, but now I'd rather be quiet, contemplative, to keep to myself. I take care not to get close to anyone.

Memories:

Prides: Accacia-Lea Pride was my pride. We used to be friends the the neighbouring pride, Fallen-Sky Kopje Pride.

Mak’chebo: An old treacherous baboon who uses shaman powers and dark magic.

Malwazi: My father. Our prides got along nicely, until a baboon with shaman power blackmailed him into either killing King Ahura and his three sons of the other pride, or else watch his pride and loved ones die under a curse. He unwillingly commited the regicide, and became the king of Fallen-Sky Kopje. After taking his pride to the new land, Mak’chebo used him as a puppet king and controlled the largest army of lions in the savannah.

Kijibwa: Exiled, illegitimate son of one of the Fallen-Sky lionesses. Returned to save his pride and killed Malwazi, weakening Mak’chebo’s hold on the pride. Was named the new king of the Fallen-Sky Pride. Despised by some of lions in our pride, for killing father.

Kiva’la: My mother. A winged rogue lioness who had joined the pride and become father's mate. After his death, she led a group of lionesses and killed Mak’chebo. She took remnants of our pride back to Accacia-Lea Grove then gave birth to me. Lions were grateful that she helped get rid of Mak’chebo, but distrustful since she was Malzawi's mate and they thought she would groom us into taking revenge. She raised me to be kind-hearted, hoping to regain the lost friendship between prides. But she died from an illness when I was a cub...

Growing up: I had everyone's loyalty when I was growing up. Well, nearly everyone.

Morobi: Kijibwa’s son, my mate, and our pride's new King.

Decimus: A lion who hated the other pride and grew up during the war. He thought my attempts at friendship were a weakness, and snapped when I wanted Morobi as a mate. He denounced me as an inferior heir to my parents, left the pride, and started his own called the "Hellcats". He wanted to take over the savannah and "make my parents proud".

Hellcats: Kidnapping and brainwashing cubs from both prides. Kidnapped Kijibwa’s daughter Zurina to be Decimu's queen. Fallen-Sky Kopje blamed me for their actions. Our prides grew further apart.

Sarai: Fallen-Sky lioness. She hated me because Morobi loved me. And then she...killed him! She became part of the Hellcats, and hated by both prides. The death of Morobi affected both of us.

My misery: I let Sarai get away. It was my fault Morobi died. I've let my pride and my mother down. I left my dear sister, Shetani, to take care of the pride. Because I'm going out. Into a world with no place for me.

Seriously though, what you wrote was an epic! Regicide, tragedy, all of it! I doubt it would all fit in a bio though, I wish there was some way the bio could link to a page on this site with the full story.

An even shorter (and vaguer) version! I still don't think it would fit XD

Spoiler: here

I am an adult female lioness. I was the heir to the Accacia-Lea Pride, but now I'm in self-exile. I roam aimlessly, trying to find a reason to live.

Personality: I was kind-hearted and naive when younger. I haven't forgotten my mother's ways in kindness, but now I'd rather be quiet, contemplative, to keep to myself. I take care not to get close to anyone.

Memories:
Accacia-Lea Pride was my pride. We used to be friends the the neighbouring pride, Fallen-Sky Kopje Pride. Then my father was forced to kill the king and heirs of the other pride by a baboon with shaman powers. My father took the whole pride to the new land. The baboon then used my father as a puppet king. The baboon had the largest army of lions in the savannah.

My father was killed by a returning exiled lion, and my brave mother who was a winged lioness, led a group of lionesses to kill the baboon. She took the remnants of our pride back to our old land and gave birth to me. She died from an illness while I was a cub, but she raised me with the ideas of kindess the whole time.

Nearly everyone supported me growing up. Except for one lion who hated my attempts at friendship with the other pride. When I took a someone from the Fallen-Sky pride as my mate, he denounced me as an inferior heir to my parents and fled. He began his own pride called the Hellcats. The Hellcats were troublesome to both prides, kidnapping cubs and brainwashing them. I was blamed for Hellcats' actions since that lion was from my pride.

A lionness from the Fallen-Sky Kopje pride was jealous of my mate who loved me, who was an heir to king in her pride. She killed him and became part of the Hellcats. My failure to stop my mate's death affected both our prides.

I had made too many mistakes. I couldn't live among them anymore. I left the pride to my sister, and exiled myself.

Edit:
Nope, doesn't fit. The bio space is quite short. I guess you will have to go with really vague bio like:

Spoiler: MAXIMUM VAGUE

Narfia
[Age, species, gender and stuff]

Narfia is a self-exiled lion from the Accacia-Lea Pride and wanders about aimlessly, hoping to find a reason to live. Her father is dead as a result of a conflict between two formerly friendly prides. Her winged mother, who raised Narfia with kindness, hoping to rekindle the friendship between the prides, died shortly after from an illness. Narfia, who became ruler of the pride, took the blame for a defected lion in her pride causing trouble. No longer believing herself, she left the pride to her sister and went away.

[Personality here]

I'm not even sure if that fits either, and there is sooo much missing.

 

Thank you so much! That actually helps a ton I've always had a hard time being brief with my writing--I guess I'm just too attached to the story to know what to snip and what to focus on. So I really appreciate your suggestions, they'll come in handy when I revise my bio in-game ^^

Thanks! I'm glad to see that you guys have roleplaying in mind. If you ever do decide to tweak the Bio format, good luck on it! Please keep us updated on its progress