Discussion of 'CP' as an Abbreviation

[David Johnston2]

Originally Posted by Anaraxes

A joke; I meant RP meaning "roleplaying". That's already a well-established acronym.

RPG is a well-established acronym but RP not so much.

[evileeyore]

Originally Posted by David Johnston2

RPG is a well-established acronym but RP not so much.

'RPG' is 'roleplaying game', 'RP' is 'roleplay'... as in "that was good rp today!"

I've been hearing it and using it for ages. I want to say it goes back to old White Wolf games (1990, and our LARPs at that time), but it definitely goes back the RP Servers on MMOs.

Of which I know there were fierce 'debates' in the Everquest forums (1996ish) about whether there should be RP Only and PVP Only servers before there ever were any dedicated RP or PVP servers... so I suspect the term is even older than MMOs (like MUDs and RPGs in the late 80's). Though, it could very well have sprung fully formed into those forums, it wouldn't surprise me.

[whswhs]

Originally Posted by evileeyore

'RPG' is 'roleplaying game', 'RP' is 'roleplay'... as in "that was good rp today!"

I've been hearing it and using it for ages.

I don't think I've ever heard it. At any rate it didn't occur to me as a possible meaning.

[coronatiger]

Whether it means Control Points or Character Points can usually be understood from the context. I think it's a rare GM who hands out Character Points mid-combat or Control Points between sessions.

[vicky_molokh]

Originally Posted by Anaraxes

So combat gets harder for players with poor RP?

Only in AtE and only when enemies have radiation attacks.

[evileeyore]

Originally Posted by Agemegos

I'm pretty sure I have been using it at least since 1987.

I should have said "... but it definitely goes back to at least the RP Servers..." since that was the oldest clear memories I have of using the term.

Originally Posted by vicky_molokh

Only in AtE and only when enemies have radiation attacks.

Nioce! Have a CP...

[Harald387]

For what it's worth, Basic Set never abbreviates 'character points' as 'CP'; I'm not going to do a text search on the entire library to verify, but I suspect that's true across the board. If you see 'CP' in published work it's almost certainly going to be Control Points.

[Kromm]

Originally Posted by Harald387

For what it's worth, Basic Set never abbreviates 'character points' as 'CP'; I'm not going to do a text search on the entire library to verify, but I suspect that's true across the board. If you see 'CP' in published work it's almost certainly going to be Control Points.

That's 100% right. It's editorial policy always to use the capitalization "character points" and never to abbreviate that "CP"; whereas "Control Points" (always capitalized that way) has the standard abbreviation "CP." GURPS fans are free to write "Character Points" and shorten it to "CP," but that has nothing to do with what's in the books.

In reality, GURPS doesn't spell out "character points" very often, either. It just about always uses "points" except where there would be room for confusion.

Oh, and it has never used "experience points." Some people claim otherwise, but they won't find anything in print to support their view. The game has always used "bonus points," "bonus character points," "earned points," and "unspent points" for this concept.

[Hide]

Originally Posted by Kromm

That's 100% right. It's editorial policy always to use the capitalization "character points" and never to abbreviate that "CP" (...)

When I started playing GURPS, I began with the basic set and fantasy books, then I got powers, magic and martial arts books. GURPS Magic (2005) employed CP as an abbreviation before MATG did; so I always considered CP as the official abbreviation for character points. It made sense to me; also, I believe that when starting GURPS, most people abbreviate character points as CP by themselves as they familiarize with the system.

CP (as character points) was most probably regularly employed in the forums before MATG was released (2013). MATG is rather new (compared to the basic set or the magic book).

I learned about control points while surfing in this forum, prior to knowing Technical grappling (MATG) existed and prior to knowing what control points actually were. I remember I read the rules and the abbreviation threads before making my account. So, when I checked the “GURPS Forum Abbreviations” thread, I simply thought control points was another way to talk about character points; something like, “point budget your player character controls” (LOL), where “unofficial” was just another way of saying “informal”.

The books you usually buy when giving GURPS its chance are older than MATG (e.g. basic book); they do not talk about control points. "Control Points" are part of the optional grappling rules, and while the book is very good most probably you won't buy it right away when trying GURPS for the first time. And I believe this is a fairly common situation.

And maybe, this is how CP causes confusion when you check the threads within the forum and don’t know about MATG.

Personally, I don’t consider CP as character points is the unofficial abbreviation; it’s been in GURPS magic book since 2005 or so. Then again, I deem the GURPS magic book as a supplementary material to the basic set, rather than an alternative/optional set of rules (as MATG). Anyways, I am OK with both (or the three) uses of CP described within the forum.

I have this suggestion:

I think the abbreviation thread should be updated.

It should say that CP is the official abbreviation for both "character points" and "control points" and “cyberpunk”. And it should state that "control points" is a mechanic of the optional MATG book. Because "control points" alone is not self-explanatory, it is a very technical term in comparison to the well-established Cyberpunk concept, or the straightforward meaning of "character points". What do you think? (Vicky/Kromm, members of the forum).

[finn]

Originally Posted by Hide

GURPS Magic (2005) employed CP as an abbreviation before MATG did

Hide, which page of GURPS Magic are you referring to here?