Death

[Volki]

If there is anyone whom I've ever played with and you see this, please post.

There's no legitimate roleplay occurring anymore.

Where has everyone gone? Why has everyone gone?

[Jessamine]

I'm not sure who you are or what zone you are in. But I find or manage to create some RP all the time..you just have to get out there and do it I guess. Sure the player base has shrunk. But there are still lots of Rpers out there.

[Dilihin]

Got busy with IRL. If i ever log in it's just to see 100% red friendlist and ridiculously small amount of players online.  And while it's like that i don't feel like playing at all.

[Rigwyn]

[Illysia]

In the past, I warned people it could get this hard and here we are. However, legitimate RP is still around. It's just that you have to work harder to get it like you do in non RP games. Since the community is so small and spread out it is much harder to build the ties that lead to more meaningful RP.

Nevertheless, it will get better once there is a tighter knit, slightly bigger community.

[netforce10]

Like others have said, there is still rp, it's however occasional and often you need to go out of your way to find/create it. Most players will gladly take part if you strike up some rp.

I would point to the boring gameplay (most things are just the same few actions you repeat.) and there not being much rp which you would just stumble on as reasons for the current lack of active player. Jonobe's parties were very nice because you could meet quite a few people and have some light interaction with them. She hasn't held any for some days now so I might consider holding one occasionally.

[Migg]

Being one of the players who never witnessed the 300+ online players I hear talked of, I can say that I can still have RP; I do need to actively track the players I know are interested in it though.

Here are a few pointers to places and times where such RP is more likely to be had:

• The Weekly Market in Hydlaa. Though often underpopulated, you will be sure to find there people similarly minded and ready to engage in some RP. Occassionally you will also get some GM selling some very interesting items or services.
• GM events tend to gather some crowd, and apart from the RP fun to be had also offer a chance to engage others in conversation and renew your buddy list. Some of the players present are open to RP and will engage in it if you meet them online.
• Someone already mentioned Jonobe's parties, spontaneously created with nothing more than a few carpets and pillows and some teas and juice. If you can't find one, just host your own and call people in in the gossip channel. If you are bored of offering any setup, there are taverns out there you could visit before calling people over for a beer or two.
• As also stated, your timing may be unfortunate; most players focus around specific time windows depending on location, and there are mainly two window frames mostly populated by European and American players respectively. Weekends offer a wider time spread, so you could have more luck finding people online. Userbase is low enough to make this a significant factor. The server's stats page may give you some hint on player attendance times.
• Hosting your own event remains an option that can ensure player participation. Planning will be required well in advance, and posting in forums and in-game announcement boards. The optimal time for such an event must be carefully considered, weekends offer more timeslots than weekdays, but people will be probably unable to attend an event scheduled for after midnight in their own local time regardless of the day of week. So ask other players to get an idea on what works best for most.

Bottom line is: if you can't find RP then just create your own. Talk to everyone you meet and introduce yourself, of the players still logging in there are some who will gladly join in. Ask in gossip if anyone is interested to RP with you. And if you find me online just ping me, I am always open to some RP 

[Emaline]

I'm just going to also slip in here that you can host any type of performance event at the YANCA.

[Rigwyn]

Regarding the legendary head counts of the past, there's an old saying that comes to mind. "Anything more than a handful is a waste."     

[Ebonwumon]

Hi friend, I bring to you knowledge that the Starcraft II community learned ages ago.

ded gaem.

RIP in pepperonis

[Dilihin]

Expect SC2 community is not dead.

[Can-ned Food]

“RP” is not having a compelling tale to act–out.  RP is behaving as someone else would in situations of varying virtuallity. 
That difference in conception is a big part of the problem, methinks.

It helps to have such situations occur whether there are other player characters around or not.  They make the events better, but they shouldn't be necessary — especially if there is a danger of dissipation with the player base.

There are quite a few preplanned events that the GMs have been hosting in the recent months.  Gedundk has been unable to attend any of them — kra has been busy, I suppose, — but they are occuring. 
I've seen other people attempt to do similar things.  It could be a simple notice like thus:

Huarta Regilis Puffenstuph expects to be challenging his arch nemesis, the Mistress Viccipoue, to a deadly battle of wits sometime soon in Ojaveda.  If any of your avatars just so happen to be in the same place at the same time, make sure they act surprised!  This could be anything from a battle royale to a shameful fall in the siliceous earth!  B.Y.O.B.

If things fall through, then maybe you do a write up on the Collaborative Storytelling board instead.

[Rigwyn]

Good times..

[Can-ned Food]

… and now I'm wondering why I didn't complete the joke by naming the nemesis Mistress Viccipoue or something.  I'm a maroon.

Anyway, I see that almost nobody actually answered Volki's question:  what happened to all the players?

I've read some old threads, and so I have some ideas, but I wonder if it really was because a few people disagreed with this and that about the settings, or because people didn't get along.
That happens everywhere.  I don't think it explains why new people aren't coming in to replenish the losses.

There are occasionally new people, but the few I've met seem to be those who are looking for an alternative to either NPC-driven play — i.e. scripted encounters and non-interactive stories — or hack–and–slash, harvest–and–trade.
Nothing wrong with HSHT, of course.  It just gets monotonous if there is nothing else justifying it — that's why we make these simulated worlds, right?

Some could say that advertisement is lacking — but what would be advertised?

You all know the idea.
For what type of play should PlaneShift be designed to support?  How should the Unreal version be crafted to meet that vision?

If we build it, will the new players come?

[Illysia]

Most people left because they couldn't stand each other or the game. There's a lot of different issues that all boil down to one of the two. Also, MMOs aren't novel anymore, so when people left and found MMOs they liked better they moved on permanently.

However, the current problem is the lack of community. If players feel alone in a vast world they will often be irked by it. I would venture that most players play MMOs for shared activities; be it RP, raids, PvP or whatever. Right now there aren't enough people to come together and feel like a solid community.

Nevertheless, the amount of effort and number of people it takes to rally a community is hard to come by here. For the most part, efforts to band together will feel like swinging at wind. The game simply needs more community builders playing at the same time before it will start to recover. I mean players who specifically work to build communities not just be apart of them. Those are harder to come by.