PlaneShift
Gameplay => Newbie Help (Start Here) => Topic started by: Cairn on August 31, 2015, 09:45:55 pm
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Do you remember the first time you sat back in your chair and went, "Wow." When playing PlaneShift?
That first moment you became a part of a roleplay.
The first moment your character interacted with someone on a level deeper than a simple hello.
The first time you saw the potential this game holds.
I want you to share it, please?
I'll start with mine.
On one of my original characters, (before there was a tutorial area) I had just stepped out. I had no description, but I knew that I wanted to be a fighter. I hadn't even read the forums, didn't knew they existed. All I knew was this game was free and in 3D, and we were out of the collecting crystals phase!
So I went around proclaiming in main (there was no gossip lol!) "Here I am! I am a fighter, I'm gonna beat all your *sses!"
And of course, no one particularly liked me because I had no etiquette, and I was just 'trolling' or not participating or ruining the game.
I almost gave up, because I had no idea what was going on.
But there was an Enki who talked to me in main, a very well respected guild leader.
He taught me that I was more than just a group of pixels. I could be a character, something deep and fleshed out entirely.
For my first RP, my character was inducted into a guild. ICly, with all of the trappings of the ceremony. I have rarely ever felt like more of a part of anything than that.
That's my "Bought In" moment
P.S.
I encourage you to consider yours and seek out the 'nodescr.' characters, or those who have just started. We all win when we give others this moment.
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I remember hearing a lot of people complaining about RP on the forums, but never actually seeing any of this RP stuff in the game. They were the usual complains about bad RP and people not joining in. I always wondered what they were jabbering on about and how to get involved. One day while digging through the guild's thread in search of one to join, I came across a few that looked interesting. Both claimed to be RP guilds. I had no idea how the hell to RP.
I tried sending out a few /tells, but none of the names that I found in the forum seemed to be around. One slipped in main by mistake. I was pretty sure I had just made myself look like a complete noob and just decided to give up at that point.
Next thing you know, there was one of them furries behind me. I continued to move along and it followed me. I turned around and it asked me something in main. I think I said something dumb or awkward. I don't recall the details, probably due to repression or something, but this player gave me the benefit of the doubt and overlooked my mistakes - focusing more on the IC conversation than anything else.
Before long, this character invited me to Kada El's to play a game of cards with a stack of books ( each one marked with the number of the card in question.) I thought that was a pretty creative idea. Over a game of cards ( Crystal Facets ), a few hints were dropped and my character voiced an interest in becoming a "pick pocket". It was amusing being that I was playing a Kran, but the player just rolled with it and asked my character to snatch something from another character over by the forge.
I ran over to that character about as stealthily as any kran could - edging up against the sides of buildings, ducking, and looking around, then ran back seconds later. I asked my new acquaintance, "When I right click on him, there's no option to steal. How do I do this?"
I'm not sure if the moment of silence that followed was due to forehead smacking or eye rolling, but I got a quick lesson in RP ( which still confused me ) and another chance to give it a go. I failed! The target character woke up from his slumber and started to follow mine. I was sure I would never get accepted into this guild having screwed up so badly, but to my surprise, both the character who gave me the chance and the one who was the target ( and in on it ) both invited me into the guild. I got a good laugh out of it and a "rush" and couldn't wait to try something like that again.
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PlaneShift was my first multi-player RPG. Before I played only few single-player RPG, namely Gothic. So I had at least an impression that I was probably expected to play a role.
When I started many years ago, the "IC in main" policy was not yet strict, so there was a lot more fun and nonsense. But I discovered quickly that serious roleplays were the kernel, and I was lucky to find many where I could join at least as a kind of visitor, slowly adding my contributions. Among Zorbels and Lolitra I found quickly to the center of attention.
Trying to get slowly and carefully into the game, listening before yelling, the first guild I joined was a kind of "non-guild" of individuals with freedom, "Janner's Way". Getting deeper into roleplays, it was not hard for me to become a member of a RP focused guild after Janner disappeared and Ruby Reign shattered; today I am the last member of the House of Purrty, I believe...
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Sure, I remember it clearly, even though it was many years ago.
I had just came back from a long pause, after ragequitting and deleting my first two characters after just a few hours of play. There was no tutorial at that time (0.3.something).
#1 Got lost in Hydlaa, fell off the sidewalk and died, fell to the bottom of the death realm. And that was it. I had never heard of gamemasters or petitions, it was my first online game, so I gave up.
#2 Got lost in the wild. I forgot what happened, probably got eaten.
A few months later I got bored and actually read the player guide. Huh. Roleplay you say?
So I made Minks. She got lost in the sewers, ran out, whimpered pitifully behind Harnquist's, which was still a tiny hut at that time. And got rescued by Irri who gave her a job. Carrying gold from the mine at the magic shop (yes, gold) to Harnquist. She was an odd character and told Minks many stories, was patient when I had to look into the english dictionary all the time and gave me a first idea, what roleplay is about. It was Irri who hooked me in just these few hours we spent together. :love:
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I learned my BFF had no genitals. :sorcerer:
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I had a handle on RP, but didn't really know it existed on 3D MMOs until I found PlaneShift. My first Ynnwn met Roled, who flirted with her. I'd already had her backstory in mind - she had left home and was on her own for the first time after one of her bodyguards disappeared. That was when I decided she'd be obsessed with him. Loneliness and desperation remained a theme pretty much throughout my time playing her. I gave her a happy ending when I retired her from PS, though - she now lives on the Shore with a husband and two kids.
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i have three such occasions.
first off, i came to PS looking for a place that took RP seriously. I read as much of the lore as was available at the time and had at least a semi-formed idea for a character to play. I wanted a shaman-like character, someone close to nature, who was secretly on the run because of her gift for pyromancy, thus Aramara was born. (it was later that i learned of the mary sue phenomenon, and have worked to tone down the mary sue qualities of ara's backstory). So I started PS more or less equipped, but I had never experienced RP online, my experience came from tabletop gaming, so i had no idea how it would work or look. Luckily, my very first character/character interaction was with Roled. I'm looking at my logs now. He was animated and descriptive in his posts, my replies were short and stilted. The most I ever said was "I need to see a man about some mushrooms." No /me /my commands, those would come much later i'm afraid. But, he was nice and friendly and helpful and stayed in character the entire time. This was my first taste, but it was only a taste.
My first real bite, chew, and swallow came from Leonodm. I was at harn's trying my damnedest to figure out how to use a repair kit when he approached. He was helpful and offered to show me the way to oja. We ended up having a long and deep conversation IC, which forced me to come up with many details about Ara's past. Really helped to put me in touch with my character, her mannerisms, motives, ideals, etc. Leon really showed me the ropes of RP in PS and the first name to be added to my buddy list. Eventually, Ara got roped up in a long term RP that he had cooked up, it was the first time Ara got to be the hero, and it put her into some tricky situations where she had to make some tough moral choices. It was great, and I am indebted to him.
That experience ignited a fire in me. Leon disappeared but by then I had joined DoX and there was plenty of RP to be found. Ixi showed up and Dannae and I got roped up in another long term RP which I fondly refer to as the Grey Crystal Saga. But the real next breakthrough for me came from Miomai and Mariana. The three of us, I feel, really pushed each other creatively to fine tune and explore our story telling capabilities, and also to better ourselves as RPers. I can't find it now, but Miomo sent me an email once of an RP between Miomai and Mariana that was so epic and immersive and read more like a novel than a chatroom log, and I remember my response was, "YOU CAN DO THAT?!?!?!?". It was seriously a game changing moment, like they had rewritten the rules of the game, for me, at least.
but seriously, great :love: for all those mentioned herein, and all of you who I'vehad the great pleasure to RP with in this silly game.
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I started on EZPC (the non-rp server) with Ellis and feel in love with Yliakum. I had no idea what I was doing and there were very few players on that server when I was on. Most of the time, I was the only one. Ezpc was down for more than a week and I created Waesed on the main server.
I sat and watched others rp for quite some time before I jumped in. I got caught-up in a chat with a few people by the fire in Kada-El's and made up Waesed's background as I went along. That was how I started having never rp'ed before.
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:flowers: Monala
:flowers: Ara
:flowers: Dragonis
:flowers: Thidin
:flowers: Amaymon
:flowers: Tessra
:flowers: Barike
:flowers: KJs
:flowers: Elady
:flowers: Jaycol
:flowers: Siteya
:flowers: Evirea
:flowers: Gova
:flowers: Herihi
:flowers: Rigwyn
:flowers: Resildren
and the dozens and dozens of other players from my early days
What we did was create stories among these growing, changing, fascinating character creatures. What we learned was human motivation, complexity and flexibility. We only crafted and mined when we needed tria. We only trained when we tired of dying so quickly on the way to Oja.
Instead, we explored interior landscapes played out within this minimalist graphical suggested world. They key was story and reaction/interaction. I certainly have enjoyed the increased 'stuff' that can be done in the crafting and mechanics, those still interest me way way less than the stories... I venture to suggest that one of the reasons many players are loving Mariana's The Tailor creations and Aramara's amazing portraits is that these are the PEOPLE who we recognize in the world of Yliakum. No one lists the monsters or the potions as a reason to role play, or at least not often. Mechanics are the means to the character stories intertwining.
My not very humble suggestion is to stop working on all this crafting stuff, all these variations on coding, and instead suggest the developers create the things that make the individuals- variable clothing for in-town, for parties, for formal events, weddings, funerals, births, variable hair, tattoos, facial characteristics. Rivnaks with markings, yulbars with floppy ears, individuality in the avatars. For me that is much much much more interesting than how many ingots one can stack.
I am grateful to the players of the past... and the few hardy souls who continue to play, in the hopes that the turning point is right at hand...
Peace,
RR
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yulbars with floppy ears
(http://i1194.photobucket.com/albums/aa363/MColleler/6b03a17c-5052-49ca-b46b-60bd3e98de2f.jpg)
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it was when i sensed the greater story behind what was there... not that there is much more story around. didn't help i was still coming off of a .hack kick.
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I have only just started playing in the past few days, and this will be my first post to the forums, but I feel like I have been caught already.
I have never played a game like this before, never role-played, nor even really played any online games in years.
Plane shift came as an experience. Sometimes a hard one (installation nightmare, but worth it), but something kept me here. I don't know if it was me, the game or something entirely different.
I joined because I finally had the tech and the time to play a game, and planeshift was free, mac compatible and highly recommended online. So I tried it. There was barely anyone around and I spent my time trying to understand how things worked, whether to commit or just leave now. I was intimidated by the idea of interaction (I'm not like that so an unusual and unsettling feeling for me) with people who would be more experienced and with a community they already knew and that I did not.
Some people tried being polite, but I didn't notice until too late, or was caught up trying to do something or just didn't realise because I have never, ever played with a chat like this and therefore had no clue as to what was going on at first. Then it became a habit to be aloof, my character didn't like nor trust people anyway.
Then, earlier today in-fact, just after I had read and read and read up on the forums about tips for new players and roleplaying, a guy at Harnquist's forge said hello. I took a very deep breath, thought on what many of you here on the forums had said and had a go trying out Calantha's (my characters) voice.
We didn't say much to each other, it wasn't deep or epic or long, but I got help that I needed, I didn't feel like I was an idiot, and he (I can't remember his whole name it started with A and had a last name like Elendir?) took a moment to talk to someone who wasn't being very forth coming at first and was just nice. no insane theatrics or anything, just nice. I came away from that event smiling behind my screen and a warmth in my heart - that was when I knew I had to stay and really try to explore this game and meet other players.
This will be hard, as I go on during Australian hours and have a character who dislikes people - but I will try, because there something here that I like and would like to experience more of.
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I have only just started playing in the past few days, and this will be my first post to the forums, but I feel like I have been caught already.
I have never played a game like this before, never role-played, nor even really played any online games in years.
Plane shift came as an experience. Sometimes a hard one (installation nightmare, but worth it), but something kept me here. I don't know if it was me, the game or something entirely different.
I joined because I finally had the tech and the time to play a game, and planeshift was free, mac compatible and highly recommended online. So I tried it. There was barely anyone around and I spent my time trying to understand how things worked, whether to commit or just leave now. I was intimidated by the idea of interaction (I'm not like that so an unusual and unsettling feeling for me) with people who would be more experienced and with a community they already knew and that I did not.
Some people tried being polite, but I didn't notice until too late, or was caught up trying to do something or just didn't realise because I have never, ever played with a chat like this and therefore had no clue as to what was going on at first. Then it became a habit to be aloof, my character didn't like nor trust people anyway.
Then, earlier today in-fact, just after I had read and read and read up on the forums about tips for new players and roleplaying, a guy at Harnquist's forge said hello. I took a very deep breath, thought on what many of you here on the forums had said and had a go trying out Calantha's (my characters) voice.
We didn't say much to each other, it wasn't deep or epic or long, but I got help that I needed, I didn't feel like I was an idiot, and he (I can't remember his whole name it started with A and had a last name like Elendir?) took a moment to talk to someone who wasn't being very forth coming at first and was just nice. no insane theatrics or anything, just nice. I came away from that event smiling behind my screen and a warmth in my heart - that was when I knew I had to stay and really try to explore this game and meet other players.
This will be hard, as I go on during Australian hours and have a character who dislikes people - but I will try, because there something here that I like and would like to experience more of.
I am glad that you received some needed help and have decided to keep giving it a try. I am not much further along than you but have made some progress with the much needed hand holding period especially needed with the crafting aspect of the game. The mechanic of it still make me beat my head. I have bought a few books from the guy in the library to make in game notes for myself. They are easier to use for me than the scrolls and you have the ability to same them and work out of game with them and import them back in the game to carry with you. I am handicapped and unable to work so I can be found online at all sorts of weird hours so look for me and I will be happy to assist you with what I can. Ingame you can add me to your buddy list (the rings on the left) my ingame name is feas. It will show you when i am online.
Stick around it can be maddening at times but it has alot to offer that other games do not. Well thats what I keep telling myself. Send me a whisper ooc till you get a hang of the rp. Good Luck.
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I will keep an eye out for you, feas and I completely understand your issues with crafting, I could not work out the system for a very long time, it nearly drove me away, but then I clicked on a table the right way and everything fell into place.
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Glad to have helped, fell free to ask questions any time or to just shoot the breeze.
Aearthas
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I started this game in October 2012, there was a tutorial.
I did play many MMORPG's, a bit some RP in those, but really marginal compared to PS.
When entering Yliakum in October 2012, i actually almost never met other people.
I was solo-ing in a mmorpg, which was a bit strange to me. So i gave up after a few weeks.
October 2015, I was staring at my desktop, just finished playing a other game, and that PS icon was staring at me.
So i started it again. The game wasn't changed much, since it left. Not many people in the game, and the ones who were there, didn't stop for me. Ran past me. And talked to each-other and i was unable to get along.
Until i met Gonger, Gonger Xaraha took some time for me, and it was my first real interaction with another player. It was great. Gonger learned me the RP-side of PS and i had and still have many good hours with him.
Gonger, you'll read this, i'm sure. Thank you for that.
To other people, i hope you'll all meet your Gonger.
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I love this post! :love:
"We must learn to live together as brothers, or perish together as fools" - MLK, Jr.