Well, just to add a reply to your suggestions (which are fair enough).
1) We are actually working on porting the game to a new engine (which is part of why there has not been any change to the current game engine wise since we changed a few things related to crafting months ago). That being said, we are indeed understaffed, but recruiting devs is not as easy as it sounds, especially on games with player base that is not that large in numbers.
point 3 is indeed already covered, we have great players, but we can indeed use more of them, which leads to point 4. This is a bit of a trick, since most players would be looking for a game that has a larger team behind it, meaning more frequent content changes. So this seems like a bit of a catch-22 with point 1, still, all the devs we have are actively working on bringing you more content, be it through quests, items or new engine developments.
TLDR: Your points (I've skipped #2 as you may have noticed) are certainly valid and being worked on, but fixing them is unfortunately not as easy or fast as identifying them.
Has Talad tried contacting local universities and asking their computer science departments would like to collaborate on the game development? It is experience and this is a live game. Talad has had other people donate to the game, maybe he could charm a local school into helping.
It should be much easier if you put them on the Unreal transition instead of the crystal space version.
Another proposal, although similar ideas have been shot down already, would be to have workshops/ateliers for characters. That way it would be easier to find specific persons to interact with and selling things to other player characters would be easier aswell. I for one would love to run a shop and I'm sure there are others aswell.Shot down? There is the Hydlaa Market. Or do you mean automated shopkeepers controlled by users?
Shot down? There is the Hydlaa Market. Or do you mean automated shopkeepers controlled by users?
Some official occupations could perhaps be filled by players but they should have no way or authority to enforce anything beyond what any other player could enforce and is authorised to enforce. That should be the case both IC and OOC to prevent a player being forced to rp something because he is ICly required to have his character comply. In short: Government vocations should only be a task the characters do and they should not have any power because of it.
As for a rebellion leader, you could occupy any of the pvp places?
My suggestion is for players to find an RP groups somewhere else for a while then come back to PS.
As for guards, I don't think they should be able to have the power of GMs, but they should be able to have some means of keeping order. For example being able to duel any player that enters the city. If a player guard abuses this, it should be dealt with in-character. Presumably a GM would be the leader of the guards and decide which players to hire in the first place. Nothing should be out-of-character.
You could pretend to be a rebellion leader right now, but what are you going to accomplish if you can't take government officials hostage, riot in the cities and fight their guards, or seize the means of production? :whistling:
For instance you can RP being a neighborhood leader or some minor official and organize RPs around it. You don't have to be a vigesimi to create and run a plot or organize players.
Yes, IC should stay IC and not affect OOC, the problem is, it often does and especially so when players act in a way they think is appropriate and allowed for them to do but then are punished for it.
Regarding hostages, You could also approach the GMs/settings?, either have it approved for your group to do it on your own or plan for them to play it out with you. They might still deny it, or don't have the time for it.
One suggestion I would have to improve the gameplay to faccilite rp more is to make the races different beyond the npcs saying nolthrir instead of lemur.
All you have to do is ask and we will be happy to assist in any way we can.
Also about becoming a guard...Uhh become a GM ;D You get a free Guard Char then.
Their character is punished, not the player. That's why I said IC stays IC. If a player has an issue with this, he or she should never have been given the position of guard. This is a roleplaying game, and the players should be expected to understand that. If one player gets vindictive over being dealt with ICly for IC mistakes... What's he going to do? Complain about his own decisions in regards to his character?
That's the problem, though. You shouldn't need to involve GMs. GMs should only be there for official events and keeping OOC order. Also, I don't want to play with GMs. They're not the best of roleplayers and attract a host of issues, like players who leech off OOC event rewards, decided outcomes, and occasional ego-trips. They have no checks on them. I'd rather roleplay with people who do have checks on them, which would be other players.
From what I recall, if my memory is correct, racial differences will be implemented in the (far) future.
I've seen the GMs be incredibly helpful and keep this game's heart beating for the past year or so. But this is missing the point.
The issue is that, as a roleplayer, I don't want to have to ask for assistance. The game, as a roleplaying game, should provide the assistance on its own.
The process is too long, I'd probably be rejected, and I don't believe moderators of the game should have permission to be guards unless they earned it through roleplay. I'm hardline on in-character versus out-of-character. And, if you have a guard character, I'd like to see that character have a life outside of being a guard. I'd like to see that character having to go through rigorous training to become a guard.
If this game was really about players roleplaying with one another, I think it would be far better served not limiting players' freedom in what they can roleplay. Right now, it feels like playing pretend. You can't suspend my disbelief if there's this many limitations. I'll never reach my characters' goals, so what's the point?
If we had more players, what I'm saying would be viable. If a player couldn't fill a particular role, that player shouldn't take it and shouldn't be given it. Another player should be. Maybe even no one should if the right player isn't around. I'm not saying players should be organizers, but that they should fill roles. The organization should be performed by the interconnecting structures of the roles and arise without player planning.
To be honest, I am not sure a player should be a vigesimi or octarch, but they should be allowed to become government officials. I wish I could see players within the bureaucracy of the government, within the town guard, possibly posing a threat to guards, sparking a rebellion against a town's officials and potentially deposing them, hunting down criminals with the blessing of the local government, and even being able to defend themselves from guards with enough men. Allow for IC drama and fair conflict that relies on gameplay. I want to have no idea what's coming next. I want to think my character could die if I make the wrong move. I want the intricacies of how roleplay used to be in this game, with all the subtle plots and unraveling schemes from opposing characters. I want to feel like I'm really experiencing Yliakum again.
And he's not going to complain about his decisions but the interpretation of the GM, he will complain how it was unfair because he only did what the guards should have done but now he suddenly can't play his character as a guards anymore.
It's idealistic to ask the game for assistance outside of a scope of actions. I understand most of the things you are asking for from a human perspective but I would have no clue how it would be implemented into the game.
Personally I am a fan of GM guards because it means they have a good way to handle certain things ICly aswel as the ability to provide a character for events thats somewhat more consistent while having authority.
I agree they should play their guard character more often but I don't mind them not having that training period aslong as they rp they had it. I don't see anyone roleplaying them being a baby to them being child to them being a adult and I wouldn't be interested in that. We all, they too have some place they come from and as long as they roleplay according to that then that's enough for me.
A note, there will never(well, not in a relevant timespan) be a game where you can do whatever you want. If you want to achieve that that would require an almost completely laisez faire world where you can do whatever and aren't bound by lore and have the ability to create buildings, with no real skill systems, etc...
I agree it would be good if characters would fill roles(And I still think shops are a good start possible with a tax collecter aswel), I don't think they should have to ability to enforce them however, I think that should be left outside of the hands of players and their characters.
We really shouldn't start with government positions or rebellions(especially not rebellions), beyond perhaps something like tax collecting (if a tax is instituted), something like verification certain laws are adhered to (but do not enforce them) or a census. That last one is something which can already be done and has some benefit to people, for example make a list of professions and who performs them or something like that.
If the GM made an OOC mistake, then that player has every right to be angry. What you're saying sounds like a mistake on the GM's part.
By assistance I just mean allowing players to be assisted by the game itself to perform roles. Instead of having a GM assist with a roleplay by playing a guard, the game would assist by providing a guard position for a player.
They could still retain that role. But I honestly think roleplaying GMs should be separate from moderating GMs. A roleplaying GM could fill the role of a higher ranking guard.
I'm not suggesting they roleplay something as absurd as growing up. Just be part of the world. The guards roleplayed by GMs are just that and only that. They barely have humanity. They're extremely powerful. You couldn't catch one off-duty and have an ordinary conversation. You couldn't kidnap a guard's family member for a plot. You probably couldn't even bribe a GM guard, despite that being a notable problem within Hydlaa's guard. The game as it is severely limits the potential that this would have if players were guards, or even just GMs who specifically roleplayed.
I think you're misunderstanding me. I don't want that, and I doubt anyone reasonable or who understands game design does.
I'm asking for what PlaneShift promised. http://www.planeshift.it/About It's a roleplaying game, but in its current state you're severely limited in what you can roleplay within the mechanics and rules. And I'm getting the feeling it's going to continue to be this way forever.
It's like the development team is too afraid to give players the freedom to play roles they should be able to have in the roleplaying game which was described by the developers themselves.
I'm not sure what you mean when you say "enforced", though. Unless you're talking about the taxes. Honestly, if taxes exist, they should be equal for all players participating. Either they're enforced or not at all. That should probably be done by a GM or the game mechanics.
You make good points here that I agree with. For the record, there is a property tax. If a shopkeeper owns a permanent space, there's supposed to be tax on it. According to the laws, anyway.
I would urge players to just go ahead and try to fill these roles that I'm suggesting. It's been tried in the past, but players were always struck down with "It's not part of the mechanics!" or "It's against the rules to impersonate a GM!" (when all you're doing is roleplaying a guard or official). I used to be against players filling these roles, but now that I've had time to think about it and have learned quite a bit about game design I can see that it's not a good opinion. If you have that opinion because "It's the rules" or "It's the mechanics", you're relying on an appeal to authority. Right now, the authority isn't doing the best thing for this game. It's pretty much killing the game.
Make everything craftable, remove all NPC's (Yes and quests), cease all GM events and have them moderate as guards IC, remove gossip channel and make everywhere pvp. XD
Make everything craftable, remove all NPC's (Yes and quests), cease all GM events and have them moderate as guards IC, remove gossip channel and make everywhere pvp. XD
You laught but it might just work.
i had a dream last night that i created a new character and played. it was volki who found me out.
adios mi amigos