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So, there is something we have been doing for a while on the Wiki, and this is giving characters from virtual or otherwise fictional worlds a key for their virtual selves that assumes them to be "real". Meaning that instead of being 10-C or 11-A, they'd be assumed to be 3-D beings and thus be given our usual 3-D tiers.
Despite this being a common and accepted practice, we have never put out anything remotely resembling rules or any regulations regarding that. Now while this hasn't caused any major problems like a wank attempt or an abuse of it in matches/profiles, I'd rather we get rules up before this happens, as well as potentially a page for it. Let's call it "Reality Equalization". It doesn't help that some people have been having doubts/questions regarding the whole thing so here we go.
Why do that?
Let's get this one out of the way first. Some people wonder why we even allow that, given that we're blatantly upgrading a character to be infinitely stronger than they are normally just for the sake of making VS Matches. Although it's important to note that keys of these characters inside the virtual worlds are only keys that are considered in the perspective of the virtual world. Kirito's Tier 8 and such keys aren't us upgrading Kirito outside of the game world as much as this key implying that the opponent exists within the virtual world for the sake of this match.
And while yes it is rather unusual, I do think we should keep allowing it for a few reasons. The most important of which is that refusing to do it would remove tons of character from any relevant matches due to the unfortunate status of their verse. Stuff like the Matrix, SAO or Code Lyoko would be reduced to 10-B or 11-A matches forever, despite the fact that the focus of their series is actual, 3-D combat, just set in a virtual world.
Secondly, there is the fact that oftentimes in fiction, "reality" is subjective. Plenty of fictions have the real world as fiction to a greater being. This is even more blatant in fictions like SCP (be ready to see this verse pop up a lot here), which has basically endless layers of fiction, with no definitive "baseline". In those cases, we just decided to choose the most prominent "level" of reality as the baseline. While the comparison with virtual worlds isn't exactly proper, it at least proves that we're willing to somewhat arbitrarily define a baseline if it's prominent enough within a given work of fiction.
So in my opinion, this feature should be kept. While it is...admittedly weird to have it, it's better than to ignore entire fictions worth of characters due to them living in virtual worlds and generally allows for a lot more matches, similarly to Speed Equalization.
How should it be applied?
I think we collectively got most of it figured out but let's tighten it a bit more. Basically, when we give a virtual character a 3-D key, it is assumed by default that fights involving this key take place inside the virtual world. Now it doesn't force a location on the OP, as the fight can still theoretically take place anywhere, but the location will be assumed to have the same properties as the virtual world the character is from. Neo would effectively still be in the Matrix with all the abilities that this grants him.
This is to make sure that, as by SBA, the character fights at their peak. But it's also because these kinds of characters generally cannot exist period outside of their virtual worlds. A video game character is defined by the rules of their virtual world and can't exactly do anything at all if just plopped outside it. Now, of course, this won't apply if a character is stronger in one specific area and is generally depicted outside of it, but that's another topic entirely.
There is also the issue of "real beings". Using our previously used logic at its fullest, a real world being would be Low 2-C (or more generally, one dimensional level above the cosmology of the virtual world) compared to the key of the virtual being. And yes, that much is logically true. However, we get the obvious problem of having regular humans be Low 2-C just due to a virtual world existing in their world. And yes I do agree that it's dumb, but I also think that this is not something to ignore entirely, as some verses rely heavily on their "real world" beings in their plot, and on this real world being's tiering as transcendent. Examples include the Player in Imscared, as their superiority over White Face is extremely important to the plot and the ending, and simply ignoring this wouldn't work. But I'll get to the rules regarding when to apply this in my next paragraph.
In what circumstances should this be applied?
So as I've stated before, using this logic at its fullest and without restraints and we end up with Low 2-C humans for existing new fictional world, but also any dream sequence or anything similar be applicable for a ridiculously high key. Obviously it's not something we want, so we need to set up rules to decide when a character should have any key relating to this. To be more precise, we have to decide if it's relevant for a virtual/fictional characters to have a key from their perspective and, when dealing with lower perspectives, if it's relevant for a "real" character to have a key for their power compared to the lower world. And for this, we have two important factors/keywords: Perspective and Prominence.
Firstly, perspective. The main reason why we allow this whole equalization to happen, as I've said, is due to those lower characters being portrayed in a similar way to 3-D characters, meaning they engage in 3-D-like interactions and generally act like normal characters outside of their virtuality. And so, characters most likely need to be treated in a similar fashion in order to gain a key for their own level of reality. Meanwhile, characters who are mostly defined with their interaction with the "main world" and with little to no story content taking place in their perspective will probably not need tiers on their level. For example, a lot of the conflicts in Imscared take place inside the game world itself, where White Face is portrayed as a big fat reality warping entity, making its Low 2-C key acceptable. On the other hand, most SCP 11-As like Murphy Law are defined by their interaction with lower fictions from the Foundation's perspective. While yes they do have conflicts and interactions in this lower world, they are relatively minor compared to their 11-A shenanigans.
Secondly, prominence. Basically, how important this depiction of the character is. Certain characters have over half of their fiction take place in the virtual world, with their most iconic everything taking place there. Like I said before, these kinds of characters existing is one of the primary reasons why we allow this kind of equalization in the first place. And thus obviously, they'd be allowed as long as the perspective rule is followed. However, characters who are only briefly shown in their virtual worlds or who are only featured in quick dream sequences have little to no reason to have a key for this version of themselves. Similarly, when we deal with lower worlds, we should only give keys for "real world" things if said things are relevant enough to this lower world. For example, a real world human compared to the Matrix or SAO has no real business being any tier compared to these worlds, as they never meaningfully interact with those outside of providing avatars. Meanwhile, the Player in Imscared interacts often with the lower world and their status compared to it is an important plot point, meaning they do have reasons for their tiering.
Addendum: 11-A Virtual Characters?
So, somewhat related to this, as we're covered fictional/virtual characters. A while back I did a thread upgrading most 11-As who were at this tier due to being virtual characters to 10-C. The logic being that virtual characters are essentially just the electric current within the machine, which isn't 11-A, as it's still 3-D and affects our own world. While this logic is still sound on paper, I feel like I might have applied this to too many people, as not all virtual characters are just electric current.
Basically, treating all virtual characters are electric current is like treating every fictional characters as being literally pictures/words. Which isn't accurate. As I stated above, most virtual world characters are treated as existing in an "actual" world that is simply virtual. Their worlds aren't limited by what real world beings see. You can do things the players can't or see things the players can't. If a character sees things this way, then this proves that the character themselves are fictional contructs rather than sentient electric currents. Thus, they should be 11-A, and thus eligible for Reality Equalization.
However, if a character is instead limited to what the simulation/game is capable of and doesn't seen any "world" beyond the one that the viewer has access to, then there is no virtual world and the character is simply 10-C. The same logic would apply to other fictional characters, but less often. A sentient drawing isn't the same as a sentient fictional character depicted within the drawing, for example. It's all a matter of Medium vs Content of the Medium.
As examples:
-Giffany and Rumble McSkirmish would most likely fall into the 10-C category. While I haven't watched the show, it does sound like both of those do not really inhabit a virtual world and are simply code and data. Their ways of interacting with the world are limited to what a really advanced AI would do.
-While I'm less sure on this one, SCP-085 and SCP-021 should be put as 10-C. Even if they're described as "2-D", it doesn't change the fact that their true form is that of a drawing/tattoo. They have not shown to exist in a lower realm and are limited to what is portrayed. For example, 085 cannot go beyond the picture she's in and explore an entire world, only with what has been drawn. Thus, she is considered separated from the whole concept of higher and lower narratives in the SCP verse.
-For similar reasons as above, the Soul Sucking Death Worm has probably no business being 11-A.
-Meanwhile, beings like White Face should probably be 11-A. While they are virtual characters, they have shown to exist in their own virtual worlds with "3-D space" and all that kind expands beyond what simple game worlds would be. The same would technically apply to Monika, SAO, Matrix, etc., but those wouldn't get 11-A keys anyway due to the reasons I explained above.
-I have no idea for Animator vs Animation, but I'd take a wild guess and say 10-C, as they are limited by the computer and don't show anything resembling a whole world.
Now there is still the issue that virtual characters affect the real world through data anyway. White Face's nonsense can still affect the screen and show stuff, making it 10-C. However, none of those actions are directly combat applicable. White Face making electricity move in the computer can't be used to attack a fellow 11-A. So virtual characters who fit the criteria for 11-A would have tier similar to this: "11-A, 10-C through Environmental Destruction" or something. Now while technically this would mean that Reality Equalized 11-As would have Low 2-C via environmental destruction, it's dumb so let's not
Conclusion
So big tl;dr:
-We need to make a page about Reality Equalization to sort this nonsense out
-In my opinion, yes we should keep this practice, since doing otherwise would nuke too many characters
-When it is applied, the opponent of the virtual character is assumed to exist in a world with the same properties as the virtual world. However, the match can take place in any physical location regardless.
-A character should only have a Reality Equalized key if the virtual key is a prominent enough part of the character and if the story takes place in this character's perspective enough.
-Certain characters who are 10-C for being virtual characters should be downgraded back to 11-A, if the character is treated as existing inside a true fictional world instead of just existing within the program that makes up this virtual world.
Despite this being a common and accepted practice, we have never put out anything remotely resembling rules or any regulations regarding that. Now while this hasn't caused any major problems like a wank attempt or an abuse of it in matches/profiles, I'd rather we get rules up before this happens, as well as potentially a page for it. Let's call it "Reality Equalization". It doesn't help that some people have been having doubts/questions regarding the whole thing so here we go.
Why do that?
Let's get this one out of the way first. Some people wonder why we even allow that, given that we're blatantly upgrading a character to be infinitely stronger than they are normally just for the sake of making VS Matches. Although it's important to note that keys of these characters inside the virtual worlds are only keys that are considered in the perspective of the virtual world. Kirito's Tier 8 and such keys aren't us upgrading Kirito outside of the game world as much as this key implying that the opponent exists within the virtual world for the sake of this match.
And while yes it is rather unusual, I do think we should keep allowing it for a few reasons. The most important of which is that refusing to do it would remove tons of character from any relevant matches due to the unfortunate status of their verse. Stuff like the Matrix, SAO or Code Lyoko would be reduced to 10-B or 11-A matches forever, despite the fact that the focus of their series is actual, 3-D combat, just set in a virtual world.
Secondly, there is the fact that oftentimes in fiction, "reality" is subjective. Plenty of fictions have the real world as fiction to a greater being. This is even more blatant in fictions like SCP (be ready to see this verse pop up a lot here), which has basically endless layers of fiction, with no definitive "baseline". In those cases, we just decided to choose the most prominent "level" of reality as the baseline. While the comparison with virtual worlds isn't exactly proper, it at least proves that we're willing to somewhat arbitrarily define a baseline if it's prominent enough within a given work of fiction.
So in my opinion, this feature should be kept. While it is...admittedly weird to have it, it's better than to ignore entire fictions worth of characters due to them living in virtual worlds and generally allows for a lot more matches, similarly to Speed Equalization.
How should it be applied?
I think we collectively got most of it figured out but let's tighten it a bit more. Basically, when we give a virtual character a 3-D key, it is assumed by default that fights involving this key take place inside the virtual world. Now it doesn't force a location on the OP, as the fight can still theoretically take place anywhere, but the location will be assumed to have the same properties as the virtual world the character is from. Neo would effectively still be in the Matrix with all the abilities that this grants him.
This is to make sure that, as by SBA, the character fights at their peak. But it's also because these kinds of characters generally cannot exist period outside of their virtual worlds. A video game character is defined by the rules of their virtual world and can't exactly do anything at all if just plopped outside it. Now, of course, this won't apply if a character is stronger in one specific area and is generally depicted outside of it, but that's another topic entirely.
There is also the issue of "real beings". Using our previously used logic at its fullest, a real world being would be Low 2-C (or more generally, one dimensional level above the cosmology of the virtual world) compared to the key of the virtual being. And yes, that much is logically true. However, we get the obvious problem of having regular humans be Low 2-C just due to a virtual world existing in their world. And yes I do agree that it's dumb, but I also think that this is not something to ignore entirely, as some verses rely heavily on their "real world" beings in their plot, and on this real world being's tiering as transcendent. Examples include the Player in Imscared, as their superiority over White Face is extremely important to the plot and the ending, and simply ignoring this wouldn't work. But I'll get to the rules regarding when to apply this in my next paragraph.
In what circumstances should this be applied?
So as I've stated before, using this logic at its fullest and without restraints and we end up with Low 2-C humans for existing new fictional world, but also any dream sequence or anything similar be applicable for a ridiculously high key. Obviously it's not something we want, so we need to set up rules to decide when a character should have any key relating to this. To be more precise, we have to decide if it's relevant for a virtual/fictional characters to have a key from their perspective and, when dealing with lower perspectives, if it's relevant for a "real" character to have a key for their power compared to the lower world. And for this, we have two important factors/keywords: Perspective and Prominence.
Firstly, perspective. The main reason why we allow this whole equalization to happen, as I've said, is due to those lower characters being portrayed in a similar way to 3-D characters, meaning they engage in 3-D-like interactions and generally act like normal characters outside of their virtuality. And so, characters most likely need to be treated in a similar fashion in order to gain a key for their own level of reality. Meanwhile, characters who are mostly defined with their interaction with the "main world" and with little to no story content taking place in their perspective will probably not need tiers on their level. For example, a lot of the conflicts in Imscared take place inside the game world itself, where White Face is portrayed as a big fat reality warping entity, making its Low 2-C key acceptable. On the other hand, most SCP 11-As like Murphy Law are defined by their interaction with lower fictions from the Foundation's perspective. While yes they do have conflicts and interactions in this lower world, they are relatively minor compared to their 11-A shenanigans.
Secondly, prominence. Basically, how important this depiction of the character is. Certain characters have over half of their fiction take place in the virtual world, with their most iconic everything taking place there. Like I said before, these kinds of characters existing is one of the primary reasons why we allow this kind of equalization in the first place. And thus obviously, they'd be allowed as long as the perspective rule is followed. However, characters who are only briefly shown in their virtual worlds or who are only featured in quick dream sequences have little to no reason to have a key for this version of themselves. Similarly, when we deal with lower worlds, we should only give keys for "real world" things if said things are relevant enough to this lower world. For example, a real world human compared to the Matrix or SAO has no real business being any tier compared to these worlds, as they never meaningfully interact with those outside of providing avatars. Meanwhile, the Player in Imscared interacts often with the lower world and their status compared to it is an important plot point, meaning they do have reasons for their tiering.
Addendum: 11-A Virtual Characters?
So, somewhat related to this, as we're covered fictional/virtual characters. A while back I did a thread upgrading most 11-As who were at this tier due to being virtual characters to 10-C. The logic being that virtual characters are essentially just the electric current within the machine, which isn't 11-A, as it's still 3-D and affects our own world. While this logic is still sound on paper, I feel like I might have applied this to too many people, as not all virtual characters are just electric current.
Basically, treating all virtual characters are electric current is like treating every fictional characters as being literally pictures/words. Which isn't accurate. As I stated above, most virtual world characters are treated as existing in an "actual" world that is simply virtual. Their worlds aren't limited by what real world beings see. You can do things the players can't or see things the players can't. If a character sees things this way, then this proves that the character themselves are fictional contructs rather than sentient electric currents. Thus, they should be 11-A, and thus eligible for Reality Equalization.
However, if a character is instead limited to what the simulation/game is capable of and doesn't seen any "world" beyond the one that the viewer has access to, then there is no virtual world and the character is simply 10-C. The same logic would apply to other fictional characters, but less often. A sentient drawing isn't the same as a sentient fictional character depicted within the drawing, for example. It's all a matter of Medium vs Content of the Medium.
As examples:
-Giffany and Rumble McSkirmish would most likely fall into the 10-C category. While I haven't watched the show, it does sound like both of those do not really inhabit a virtual world and are simply code and data. Their ways of interacting with the world are limited to what a really advanced AI would do.
-While I'm less sure on this one, SCP-085 and SCP-021 should be put as 10-C. Even if they're described as "2-D", it doesn't change the fact that their true form is that of a drawing/tattoo. They have not shown to exist in a lower realm and are limited to what is portrayed. For example, 085 cannot go beyond the picture she's in and explore an entire world, only with what has been drawn. Thus, she is considered separated from the whole concept of higher and lower narratives in the SCP verse.
-For similar reasons as above, the Soul Sucking Death Worm has probably no business being 11-A.
-Meanwhile, beings like White Face should probably be 11-A. While they are virtual characters, they have shown to exist in their own virtual worlds with "3-D space" and all that kind expands beyond what simple game worlds would be. The same would technically apply to Monika, SAO, Matrix, etc., but those wouldn't get 11-A keys anyway due to the reasons I explained above.
-I have no idea for Animator vs Animation, but I'd take a wild guess and say 10-C, as they are limited by the computer and don't show anything resembling a whole world.
Now there is still the issue that virtual characters affect the real world through data anyway. White Face's nonsense can still affect the screen and show stuff, making it 10-C. However, none of those actions are directly combat applicable. White Face making electricity move in the computer can't be used to attack a fellow 11-A. So virtual characters who fit the criteria for 11-A would have tier similar to this: "11-A, 10-C through Environmental Destruction" or something.
Conclusion
So big tl;dr:
-We need to make a page about Reality Equalization to sort this nonsense out
-In my opinion, yes we should keep this practice, since doing otherwise would nuke too many characters
-When it is applied, the opponent of the virtual character is assumed to exist in a world with the same properties as the virtual world. However, the match can take place in any physical location regardless.
-A character should only have a Reality Equalized key if the virtual key is a prominent enough part of the character and if the story takes place in this character's perspective enough.
-Certain characters who are 10-C for being virtual characters should be downgraded back to 11-A, if the character is treated as existing inside a true fictional world instead of just existing within the program that makes up this virtual world.
