There are three levels a character can have and each level has specific advantages and disadvantages. Except for the first level, Newbie, the other levels are voluntary, that means you can choose on which level you want to play. You can switch from Casual Level to Full Level at any time later but you can not switch back to Casual. Once you made the step to Full this is a final decision.
Don't let other players talk you into switching to Full Level if you don't really understand what that means!
Read this section carefully, talk to players who remain on the Casual Level before you make the switch to Full Level. Full does not mean that it is the third degree that everybody has to achieve! You can as well play the whole lifetime of your character on Casual Level and have just as much fun. The decision between the two levels is not so much one of rising on an imaginary ladder but rather how you want to play, what kind of player you are and if you are prepared to take the risk of losing your character permanently in case it is killed! If you can't stand that, don't become a Full Level character!
In order to force you into having a chance to consider, Sociolotron will not allow you to give up your Newbie State unless you have accumulated 10 hours of online time in public rooms (not in player's houses where you are safe)after which you can choose to take on Casual state however, just standing in a room is not enough. You must be active, walk from room to room for example for your time to be counted. We know that this mechanism will not keep players from just working off their time in order to drop Newbie or Casual state as soon as possible, but at least we gave you a chance to think about what you're doing.
When you have a new player account, this account qualifies as a young account. This means that any new character you create will automatically have Newbie level. Once your account is older than a month, new characters will start on Casual Level instead. However, your first character will be a Newbie. You should stay newbie as long as possible and learn the ropes. Socio is a complex game and there are many pitfalls. As a Newbie you are mostly protected against danger. Don't let yourself being talked into dropping your Newbie state if you don't feel comfortable. There is no need to do that just so that another player can show you something that he claims he can not show you while you're Newbie! If somebody claims that, he is most likely a liar who wants to harm you once you drop your Newbie state. Ask yourself if you would turn around on the command of a stranger, close your eyes, bend over, lower your pants and spread your butt cheeks because he wants to "show you something he can't otherwise" - if you wouldn't feel comfortable with that, don't drop your Newbie state just because somebody tells you to.
You can't drop the Newbie level before you have spend 10 hours online in a public room. This restriction is in place to make sure that the player has some experience at least before he can give up Newbie Level. After 30 days, when your account loses the Young state, all your characters will automatically be moved to Casual Level. You can not give up your Newbie Level while you are carrying raw materials to prevent you from being stuck with raw materials in Stratford that you can't take out.
Now for the advantages and restrictions of Newbie Level:
Skill Maximum Level Production Skills 3 Cult 0 Prostitute 1 Observation 0 Oratory 0 Stealing 0 Dancing 1 Resistance 0 Dom/Sub 0 Fighting 2 Biochemistry/Medicine 0
The Casual Level provides the ability to play Socio relatively safely but also offers a lot of features. You should consider staying Casual unless you absolutely want to play the features that are only available for Full Levels. The most important advantage is, that you can not be killed permanently.
Skill Maximum Level Production Skills 4 Cult 0 Prostitute 2 Observation 2 Oratory 0 Stealing 0 Dancing 3 Resistance 3 Dom 0 Sub 0 Fighting 3 Biochemistry/Medicine 0
As mentioned before, Stratford and the Isle Of Dogs in East London are reserved for Newbies. While Stratford is more like a general purpose residential and hunting district, the Isle is a pure hunting district with hostile NPCs but no housing. There are number of restrictions on these districts to make them suitable for Newbies and protect them from malicious Full Level PCs but on the other hand give Full Level PCs the opportunity to interact with Newbies and help them.
One of the most important features is that food only grows in the Newbie district! there is also some small place somewhere in London where food grows but it is extremely well protected by NPCs. Food in Stratford is much easier to make. However only Newbies can harvest it. It is advisable for Full Level PCs to trade with Newbies and buy Uncooked Food from them and export it. This is a very important supply line for the rest of London and there might be good money to make.
The following list contains the features that distinguish the Newbie Area from other districts:
You can have 3 characters in total. However, when you create the 3rd character this character is automatically created in hell and can not be reanimated. This character slot is not available for Newbie Accounts. The third character is a bonus that is given to you to add to the hell population. You can have only two characters in London.
The Newbie Level is somewhat restrictive but also very protective. Take advantage of this protection to learn the game. It can save you a lot of frustration. Remember, Socio is a very complex game and it takes a while to learn getting around safely.
The Casual Level is a totally acceptable alternative to Full Level. It is very well suited for those players who can only spend a few hours a week in Socio or who's main interest is to hang out with friends and chat.
If you want more excitement, try an experimental Full Level character first without putting your established Casual character at risk. Making a new Full Level character may be a better way to getting used to the risk of permadeath.
(c) 2005, Sociolotronics LLC