Space is at a Premium

I have seen this inability to conceptualize what real crowds look like pop up in discussions here on BgBB from time to time, and even ICly in the game. (This bar is empty. Nobody is around. SIC is quiet. etc.)

This is what I picture Red sector being like (minus the umbrellas, because Trash Golems can't afford umbrellas).

Crowd densities like this are why people with swords and sticks can take out people with firearms. There simply isn't much room to create distance. That's not because the street isn't wide enough. There are just too many people in too little space.

As far as PCs and NPCs we see and interact with on the street, is it safe to presume of your character is looking for them and could spot them in the crowd? I've always struggled with this in my attempt to not small-world.

I like this thought process and has been similar to what I've been doing. If my character is looking for someone specific, PC or NPC, I think it's reasonable that they would look through the ambi-pop to find them. It's in situations where they are not looking for someone specific.

For example, maybe my character is waiting for the lev. Another PC they know arrives in the station. I don't imagine these stations are empty and I think of them similar to NYC subway stations, where there are hugely long platforms, with tons of people milling about. If that PC finds my character at the station, of course, I'll interact, but otherwise, I've been assuming that my character may not see them in the crowd.

Am I doing this right?

Given these visual graphics, it still makes me laugh, but what is everyone's take on top speed driving through the mix? Ever since someone requested an ambient message years ago about bodies flying over the hood I have always had trouble not thinking it was kind of immersion breaking but also a game function that you handwave because sit would be a nightmare to actually drive in the mix without murdering everyone

I'm right there with you on this one. I seem to remember that one room @desc even explicitly calls out pedestrian traffic being so dense that vehicles can't pass, but some are trying to anyway.

It would be kind of cool to have certain areas of the Mix that are vehicle no-go zones. Or at least areas where vehicles are slowed down to the equivalent of 'crawl'.

I understand why it isn't like that, but it seems like a missed opportunity. It would add a certain element of danger and themeliness to have to 'dismount' and go forward on foot.

"Careful. We're entering Trash Golem" territory.

I also want to know the stance on this.

How do we act around the "masses of people".

A player walks into your location on Fuller street. Do you notice them immediately?

Even if someone had amazing perception, how fast can they notice a person in a crowd, especially if the "masses" are blocking line of sight.(perception can't trump a wall) The person looking at the crowd would do best to be in a elevated location above the crowd.

And if its raining and people are using umbrellas or wearing raincoats, even harder to identify an individual.

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Are we just going by trust in others to RP as best they can?

Honestly? I think people overthink this a little bit. Just don't roleplay like you're the only person in the room. Having to stress ambience came up as an issue because a) players have a habit of doing things that are extremely dumb to do in a crowd and b) players don't always recognize the squalor, overpopulation and urban chaos that is hard to convey with only so many PCs and NPCs to fill the space.