PlaneShift

Gameplay => In-Game Roleplay Events => Topic started by: Illysia on November 12, 2011, 03:02:35 am

Title: Becoming the Masque[Comments]
Post by: Illysia on November 12, 2011, 03:02:35 am
Here is the thread for leaving comments on the Becoming the Masque event (http://www.hydlaaplaza.com/smf/index.php?topic=40434.msg453125#msg453125). Feel free to leave suggestions, praise, or concerns.  ;D
Title: Re: Becoming the Masque[Comments]
Post by: Knightspark9 on November 12, 2011, 04:26:50 am
Looks promising!
Title: Re: Becoming the Masque[Comments]
Post by: Zalya on November 12, 2011, 06:35:56 pm
Ex-cited!Ex-cited!Ex-cited!Ex-cited!Ex-cited!Ex-cited!Ex-cited!
Thanks LigH!

I can't wait!  \\o//
Title: Re: Becoming the Masque[Comments]
Post by: potare on November 14, 2011, 08:02:11 am
neat
Title: Re: Becoming the Masque[Comments]
Post by: Rigwyn on November 14, 2011, 12:12:02 pm
Looks like fun!
Title: Re: Becoming the Masque[Comments]
Post by: Illysia on November 14, 2011, 03:23:52 pm
I'm glad everyone is looking forward to this. Thank you to everyone that has volunteered to help so far.

And why is it always LigH that corrects everybody's grammar and spelling?  :P
Title: Re: Becoming the Masque[Comments]
Post by: MishkaL1138 on November 19, 2011, 03:46:57 pm
And why is it always LigH that corrects everybody's grammar and spelling?  :P

It was LigH because I didn't see it first ;P
Title: Re: Becoming the Masque[Comments]
Post by: Aiwendil on November 30, 2011, 11:27:34 pm
A few OOC comments about the suggestions we got so far. First off, a big thanks to all the people submitting suggestions. They are really appreciated..keep them coming.

There should be food and plenty of it. Quantity AND quality, from all over Yliakum.
Yeah...I must manage to get out of Kada El's with my char one time and try to find some cooks in game for this. ;) We will of course try to do this.

Music would be nice.
Same as above...need to get in contact with more musicians in game. And I personally would really like to have some musicians describing their music in chat with /me. The new instrument system is maybe nice...but a lot people like me play without sound and it's very hard to fill a longer time with that music without repeating it over and over again. But that is up to on which musicians we can get our hands on.

Dancing would be nice.
Not much we can do there. Of course we will have an area for dancing..but other than providing a place for dancing and the necessary music we can't do much. Up to the players if they want to take that chance. The one thing I learned from the Den events is that no matter what you offer...people will always do something completely different than you expected.

Singing would be nice.
Haven't thought of that. But sure...if we find someone up for singing in game I see no reason why not. Depends again on if we find some player doing it.

A contest for which male and which female wore the best, most creative mask.
Good idea...will look into that one. Just don't expect any big prizes. I'm not up for rewarding RP in a RP game. This is no GM event where only the reward matters. Some small, more symbolic prizes are a lot better in my view.

A theatrical performance would be most satisfactory.
Here I have to say no. Not because I wouldn't like it but because I know from the theater event in the Den how much work this is. Sorry, simply no way we can do that additional work ourselves. So...if a group of players is up for preparing something there we would love to have them perform at the ball. But we can't prepare it ourselves.

For precaution's sake and the safety of the guests: Guards
Of course! Though I have to deal out the details with my "boss" first. Seems we have slightly different opinions on that topic.
Title: Re: Becoming the Masque[Comments] - How People Can Help
Post by: Illysia on December 01, 2011, 02:21:19 am
Ok, a few people have asked what they can do to help at the ball ICly, so here is a list of things I could use from the player base to help support the ball


* Books can be used to both name and write a description of your unique item. Never underestimate how much other players can imagine and how much good you can do by putting a little creativity into making a unique item. ;)

** You can describe the tempo of the music or song, the behavior of your character while performing or telling the story and can also emote how you are singing. If the song or story is long, use shortcuts to help you keep everything going at a reasonable pace.

*** Merchants of various kinds are welcome at this event. Eventually we will have an area set up specifically for vendors. Merchants selling stuff somehow related to the event are preferred. Again, books are good for creating your own unique items for sale.

**** I am not inclined to have player guards off hand, but we'll see. My biggest concern is that I don't want people killed at this event. Death RPs get sticky, can provide a lot of head hurt and would interfere with players be around for and participating in the actual ball.

***** Gambling games have been the most popular in the past but games using dice are by no means the only kinda of games you can run. You can also assign numbers to cards and play that way or you can just play the game without betting. You can use books or even maps to create board games or game boards for various games. For an example of an alternate type of game board, look for the Tavern Toss game in the Stonehead Tavern.


If you want to participate but still need a push in the right direction, just PM me on the forum or query me in IRC and I'll try find something that your character can do to help. :)
Title: Re: Becoming the Masque[Event]
Post by: LigH on December 01, 2011, 10:36:30 am
To be true ... placing it in 'hydlaa_plaza' will keep several people away from it. The new map is so hardware demanding, it will hardly allow people to turn around without lagging due to harddisk activities.

Please consider a place on a different, smaller map with less details ... like, maybe, the backyard of the House Purrty, would this be too small? Or the East gate place?
Title: Re: Becoming the Masque[Comments] - Need to move the location?
Post by: Illysia on December 01, 2011, 04:00:19 pm
Ok, LigH has brought up a very valid point. The new plaza is much laggier than it used to be and my original plans were made for the pre update map. Do most people have too much trouble as it is walking through the plaza? There will be decorations for the ball which could make it a no go if the plaza is already lagging you right out of the game.

Please leave a response here or send a PM. If I get enough responses that the plaza is too laggy, I will consider other areas.
Title: Re: Becoming the Masque[Comments] - Need to move the location?
Post by: novacadian on December 01, 2011, 06:22:59 pm
Do most people have too much trouble as it is walking through the plaza?

After just having completed a tour of Hydlaa with the new 5.8.1 version; as well as having a very low tech machine; my observations were that it is very laggy at full graphics yet after going to low settings with Textures, Shader and Background loading turned off things were pretty smooth. The graphics was still rather nice as well.

You may want to give an OOC warning in your Ball adverts suggesting lowering of graphics settings if attending with old hardware.

- Nova
Title: Re: Becoming the Masque[Comments]
Post by: Rigwyn on December 02, 2011, 01:54:46 pm
I find the new hydla map to be seriously problematic - most likey because of low system requirements on my side.... Honestly I'm not really sure what the issue is. Anyhow, I'll most likely find a way to interact without being in hydlaa.... Perhaps interacting indirectly?

It might be useful to make a poll to get a feel for how many people find the new map to be playable. Regardless of who's fault it is, my machine will get 30-40 fps in hydlaa at times and at other times, siezes up so badly that I need to reboot(thrashing/swapping).


Title: Re: Becoming the Masque[Comments]
Post by: weltall on December 02, 2011, 04:11:12 pm
it means your pc lacks ram. reduce the texture quality
Title: Re: Becoming the Masque[Comments]
Post by: Rigwyn on December 02, 2011, 04:40:17 pm
( Despite lowering it in pslaunch, it keeps getting forced to high )
Title: Re: Becoming the Masque[Comments]
Post by: Illysia on December 02, 2011, 05:27:41 pm
I got 8 gb of ram and Hydlaa still lags me with the textures and everything turned down. :/
Title: Re: Becoming the Masque[Comments]
Post by: Eonwind on December 03, 2011, 03:33:26 pm
It would be great if some dev could add a new item: a "blank bottle"  :D
It should be an item like the books that any player could fill (aka "name it as you wish") with anything they want ;)
Title: Re: Becoming the Masque[Comments]
Post by: LigH on December 03, 2011, 03:45:45 pm
An item "empty bottle" exists. But I believe it is a quest item (to be filled with pure water?). And it is not able to have a custom title ...

Customizable bottles/flasks/packages/meals would indeed be an interesting addition. A GM could "engrave" single items; but I doubt a specific item class for user customizable items would belong to seriously planned content, the risk of abuse is known from years of misnamed pets and books.
Title: Re: Becoming the Masque[Comments]
Post by: Aiwendil on December 03, 2011, 03:49:08 pm
http://www.hydlaaplaza.com/smf/index.php?topic=34524.msg396626#msg396626

Make a wish...with your name on it there is a better chance to not get it ignored.
Title: Re: Becoming the Masque[Comments]
Post by: Eonwind on December 03, 2011, 05:00:21 pm
An item "empty bottle" exists. But I believe it is a quest item (to be filled with pure water?). And it is not able to have a custom title ...

Customizable bottles/flasks/packages/meals would indeed be an interesting addition. A GM could "engrave" single items; but I doubt a specific item class for user customizable items would belong to seriously planned content, the risk of abuse is known from years of misnamed pets and books.

yes I believe that some items like that could be nice addition to RP... do you believe I could ask a GM to engrave some items to stage at the event?
Title: Re: Becoming the Masque[Comments]
Post by: weltall on December 03, 2011, 05:31:58 pm
vram needs to be high too. and you need to make sure custom is set as the global "quality" setting
Title: Re: Becoming the Masque[Comments]
Post by: Illysia on December 04, 2011, 03:04:21 am
Hey everybody, in talking with people I've noticed both a shortage of players RPing tailors and that we don't have kran food aside from raw ores and crystals. I'd like to ask if anyone that can RP a tailor could start offering tailoring services and maybe even advertise themselves. Also, can someone could come up with some kran dishes and serve them at the ball? Perhaps some blacksmiths might double as kran chefs and make diamond sprinkled iron loves. or make little lumium and coal quiches with little bits of copper shaped into something cute as a garnish? ;)

We are still working on the location of the ball as we want as many people as possible to be able to attend and once we finalize our decision, we will let everyone know for sure.
Title: Re: Becoming the Masque[Comments]
Post by: Knightspark9 on December 04, 2011, 03:27:55 am
Hey everybody, in talking with people I've noticed both a shortage of players RPing tailors and that we don't have kran food aside from raw ores and crystals. I'd like to ask if anyone that can RP a tailor could start offering tailoring services and maybe even advertise themselves. Also, can someone could come up with some kran dishes and serve them at the ball? Perhaps some blacksmiths might double as kran chefs and make diamond sprinkled iron loves. or make little lumium and coal quiches with little bits of copper shaped into something cute as a garnish? ;)

We are still working on the location of the ball as we want as many people as possible to be able to attend and once we finalize our decision, we will let everyone know for sure.

Lumium, to my knowledge, is actually kran waste product.
Title: Re: Becoming the Masque[Comments]
Post by: Illysia on December 04, 2011, 03:30:59 am
eww... ok fine then. Replace it with tin or something. :P
Title: Re: Becoming the Masque[Comments]
Post by: Vakachehk on December 05, 2011, 10:29:57 am
I'm not a computer freak but I think it makes sense that you can't just have a bunch of ram, you need a decent CPU to keep that info flowing, or else your ram won't work to it's full capabilities.  :-\

About the ball, I have some questions that I'm not entirely sure about.
We have to dress up? yeah?
It takes the whole Hydlaa map? yeah?

So what happens if we like to play a character that is a bit trashy and kinda slumps around Hydlaa, are they able to go to the ball?
Title: Re: Becoming the Masque[Comments]
Post by: Eonwind on December 05, 2011, 12:01:30 pm
Quote
yes I believe that some items like that could be nice addition to RP... do you believe I could ask a GM to engrave some items to stage at the event?

At the DEV meeting Sarva said that the GMs team will try to run a couple of "engraving sessions" in preparation for the event
Title: Re: Becoming the Masque[Comments]
Post by: Aiwendil on December 05, 2011, 12:15:11 pm
About the ball, I have some questions that I'm not entirely sure about.
We have to dress up? yeah?
Yes, we would like to see people comming disguised.

It takes the whole Hydlaa map? yeah?
Nah of course not the whole map. The initial plan was to use a small part of the plaza for it. But this plan was dropped now with the new map as it causes too many problems for too many people. Currently it looks like we will do it in east Hydlaa on the plaza right at the gate. But we will post something once the location is finally fixed.

So what happens if we like to play a character that is a bit trashy and kinda slumps around Hydlaa, are they able to go to the ball?
Why not?

At the DEV meeting Sarva said that the GMs team will try to run a couple of "engraving sessions" in preparation for the event
Ugh..should have stayed longer than 5 minutes at the dev meeting I guess. *looks to Illysia* "Anything I should know?"
Title: Re: Becoming the Masque[Comments]
Post by: Eonwind on December 05, 2011, 02:57:37 pm
At the DEV meeting Sarva said that the GMs team will try to run a couple of "engraving sessions" in preparation for the event
Ugh..should have stayed longer than 5 minutes at the dev meeting I guess. *looks to Illysia* "Anything I should know?"

I'm pretty sure Illysia has nothing to do with that, since it was my request :P
Title: Re: Becoming the Masque[Comments]
Post by: Illysia on December 05, 2011, 03:29:16 pm
Yeah, that's going on aside from what we are doing. ;)

However, yes characters that aren't dressed up can be there, but I imagine that Lillia will pitch a fit if this is the case. And if the princess ain't happy, nobody's happy. ;D
Title: Re: Becoming the Masque[Comments]
Post by: novacadian on December 05, 2011, 06:28:25 pm
A Ball would imply, to me, an evening of dancing with musicians playing. My guess is that it is derived from Ballroom Dancing (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ballroom_dance).

Due to the fact that the event is to stretch over a couple of days is it meant more like a Mardi Gras (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mardi_Gras) type of event? A Ball would imply, to me, an evening of dancing with musicians playing.

Perhaps it is not only me who is confused as to what to expect?

- Nova
Title: Re: Becoming the Masque[Comments]
Post by: Rigwyn on December 05, 2011, 06:55:29 pm
Quote
Please consider a place on a different, smaller map with less details ... like, maybe, the backyard of the House Purrty, would this be too small? Or the East gate place?

As someone who was not around for the RHOP but heard of it, it would be an interesting experience to see this backyard and perhaps learn a bit about its sub-setting ICly. It might even add some color to the event and help to rekindle some of what you guys had. I have heard/read about how you RP'd having a palace and such with its servants, rules, required etiquette and so on and think that perhaps spreading that sort of creative RP might a good idea...  Again, just my two cents.
Title: Re: Becoming the Masque[Comments]
Post by: Illysia on December 05, 2011, 09:26:01 pm
A Ball would imply, to me, an evening of dancing with musicians playing. My guess is that it is derived from Ballroom Dancing (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ballroom_dance).

Due to the fact that the event is to stretch over a couple of days is it meant more like a Mardi Gras (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mardi_Gras) type of event? A Ball would imply, to me, an evening of dancing with musicians playing.

Perhaps it is not only me who is confused as to what to expect?

- Nova

More than likely ball room dancing came from balls, but point taken. ;) The plan is for dancing, music, and selling. It will be something like a little festival. There will be places for vendors near the ball area and people will be able to use it before the ball starts. The ball itself will be held over 3 days but it will only officially last for a portion of  each of those days. The idea is to provide an event but to also leave room for others to do stuff as well. As far as wiki articles go, Masquerade Ball (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Masquerade_ball) would be more fitting although not an exact fit due to Yliakum's settings.

Since this is an RP promotion event rather than just an event for an event's sake, the main focus is actually giving the player base something new to talk about and interact with. In my experience, one of the great ways to kill an RP is to run out of things to talk about or do... So hopefully, this will spawn RPs and people will have fun later when the actual ball happens.

As someone who was not around for the RHOP but heard of it, it would be an interesting experience to see this backyard and perhaps learn a bit about its sub-setting ICly. It might even add some color to the event and help to rekindle some of what you guys had. I have heard/read about how you RP'd having a palace and such with its servants, rules, required etiquette and so on and think that perhaps spreading that sort of creative RP might a good idea...  Again, just my two cents.


Someone can organize a side event to take place there if they want. Maybe a poetry reading in Lolitra's honor or something.
Title: Re: Becoming the Masque[Comments]
Post by: LigH on December 06, 2011, 09:54:46 am
@ Rigwyn:

The house is located at the Guildhouse Square in the East quarter, just down the ramp, below Xiosia's garden, where Murago Puntjal and Terea Lohdren have intellectual conversations.
__

I believe the whole lower part of East Hydlaa would make a great alternative location. With a little luck we could even have Roya Vuntarr sing with us if we support her with musicians. Only Uri Djho-Maat may be annoyed by the "noise".
Title: Re: Suggestion Box for the Masquerade Ball
Post by: novacadian on December 09, 2011, 06:59:53 pm
For precaution's sake and the safety of the guests: Guards

It's likely that the ball mask may become the latest fad; leading to removal of the hoods on many of the more fashionable rogues.  :D

- Nova
Title: Re: Becoming the Masque[Comments]
Post by: Candy on December 10, 2011, 12:51:16 am
For precaution's sake and the safety of the guests: Guards

It's likely that the ball mask may become the latest fad; leading to removal of the hoods on many of the more fashionable rogues.  :D

- Nova

I've got a character that already disguises herself better than a hooded cloak. Keep saying I need to play her more...xD
Title: Re: Becoming the Masque[Comments]
Post by: Tessra on December 10, 2011, 01:05:35 am
Just a note, The Adani have been asked by someone, I have no idea who XD, to act as guards, and we would be happy to provide RP assistance to try and keep the peace at the ball. 
Title: Re: Becoming the Masque[Comments]
Post by: IkonRevisions on December 15, 2011, 12:18:23 pm
Who would make better guards than the SPC, headed by an adorable Menki General?   :innocent:

Anyways, hope to make it to the event a bit. Should be possible as I will be all moved by then... I know I am always moving to new countries but the UK is lucky to have me for several years this time around!

Hope to see the good rp environment, maybe if good it will spur on more larger rp events to be organized.

-Ikon
Title: Re: Becoming the Masque[Comments]
Post by: Illysia on December 17, 2011, 03:02:04 am
Hello Everybody, thanks for the great support and sorry for the slowness on my end... Unfortunately, I have had several school projects tie up my time more than anticipated and one major project meltdown. Hopefully I will be able to get these matters resolved and then I can devote more time to the event and developing it. ;)
Title: Re: Becoming the Masque[Comments]
Post by: Aiwendil on December 17, 2011, 02:05:13 pm
Hello Everybody, thanks for the great support and sorry for the slowness on my end... Unfortunately, I have had several school projects tie up my time more than anticipated and one major project meltdown. Hopefully I will be able to get these matters resolved and then I can devote more time to the event and developing it. ;)
Seriously, deal with the important things first. (and no, no smacking of me now because said your event is unimportant..I just said your school is far more important)


So, if anyone has troubles reaching Illysia but needs something for the ball feel free to send me a PM instead (or a /tell in game or a /query in IRC). A few things I might be even able to handle without her. And if not I will try to get in contact with Illysia and forward your message. I know I don't posses the grace, eloquence, manners and female charm of her but I promise I won't bite (Wouldn't work anyway...you know, we bitter oldbies lost all our teeth already years ago. Lets see how bitter you get if for years the only you get to eat is soup... ;) ) *rolls his eyes then mutters* Okay, I promise I won't bite and restrain myself from using any sarcasm if replying to you.



Who would make better guards than the SPC, headed by an adorable Menki General?   :innocent:
Aww...but in this case the order clearly won...mainly because our chars already met some of them. ;) (And Caraick working as guard in the Den made the OOC dealing a lot easier. He knows already what I expect from guards like only RP fights and when to start acting so can easily explain this to his guild mates. I know relying on such OOC things is not very nice for planning events but less than two months for organizing such a ball are just not enough to spend weeks of hammering the rules into the guards)

Title: Re: Becoming the Masque[Comments]
Post by: Candy on December 27, 2011, 03:16:37 am
I'm definitely looking forward to the ball, but it seems I've been having some trouble with my client. I'm waiting to update at present - hopefully this will help it run smooth, but just as a heads up you might need a backup bartender. I'll keep you guys posted.

EDIT: After some updating it seems to be working okay, here's hoping my computer(s) can handle the ball!
Title: Re: Becoming the Masque[Comments]
Post by: Aiwendil on December 27, 2011, 10:41:39 pm
Just a few short reminders for merchants at the Ball:

Don't forget to bring some change. Worrem Dhoshi next to the library exchanges money free of charge. Just give him one circle then switch to the NPC-chat tab and type "tria" to get 250 tria in return. Works with Octas and Hexas too. For small amounts of money that is for sure a better deal than paying at the bank for exchanging money.

As the merchant market takes place also during the ball make sure you read their "rules" (http://www.hydlaaplaza.com/smf/index.php?topic=39299.0) and comply with them. We might be not as strict as them...but the area has a lot of items already so in case of players complains about bad performance the first thing that must go are too many items on display. ;)

The stalls are for everyone (except the one with the barrels. That one we need for the event). You can't reserve a stall. The player who comes first gets the stall..even if it was used by another player the day before. In the unlikely case of all stalls being used feel free to just setup your own in the merchant area. But please be reasonable with the place of your own stall...not in the middle of the pillow area and even less on the dance floor.


For all players:

Please dismount. And best also dismiss your mount to not have too many 3d objects at the ball area.

Please restrain yourself from spellcasting. No need to kill performance for everyone around that area.

No clue how many people will come...but if we are lucky and get a few people to gather it might be best to include the name of the person you talk to in your chat-lines (like /me looks at xxxx and says "..."). That way it's easier to keep track of which lines are meant for you.

No shouting. Seems the community sees this "rule" much more relaxed nowadays...but I do not. ;) Exceptions are of course merchants and artists on stage. But I would like to ask merchants also to keep their advertising in /shouts to a minimum. For artists on stage I think every single line they do should be in a /shout to deal with the limited saying-range in PS. So even stuff like "/shout /me bends forward and whispers to the audience. "..."" should use /shout so that everyone is able to follow the performance.


And the most important...have fun.
Title: Re: Becoming the Masque[Comments]
Post by: Illysia on December 27, 2011, 11:47:34 pm
I'd like to add to what Aiwe has posted and remind Merchants that there is also the auction tab for this very reason. You can advertise there. ;) Please leave the auction tab for advertising though and converse in other tabs.
Title: Re: Becoming the Masque[Comments]
Post by: Illysia on December 31, 2011, 03:17:53 am
If everyone that attended the event but forgot to sign up could sign in the guestbook thread (http://www.hydlaaplaza.com/smf/index.php?topic=40550.0), I'd be appreciative. If you don't have a forum account or you have a friend that came but doesn't have an account, could you also please work together and find people with accounts to sign in for that character? :D We had a great turn out for the ball and I'd like to keep record of that.

Even now, people go forum diving and read about events long passed. Wouldn't it be cool if 5 years from now people saw your character's name? ;)
Title: Re: Becoming the Masque[Comments]
Post by: derula on December 31, 2011, 04:03:42 am
Please refrain from inviting me to participate in any possible future event of yours. The great efforts I put in my RP might be nice for others to have some fun hours, but to me it means part of my life wasted and, in the end, nothing left but tears. Thanks in advance for compliance.
Title: Re: Becoming the Masque[Comments]
Post by: Illysia on December 31, 2011, 04:07:26 am
Ok, sorry to hear that derula.
Title: Re: Becoming the Masque[Comments]
Post by: Nightflyer0ne on December 31, 2011, 04:35:41 am
Well, I had a great time, personally. Good job!
Title: Re: Becoming the Masque[Comments]
Post by: Aramara Meibi on December 31, 2011, 04:58:38 am
I agree. It was a great social event. I didn't think it was Icerra's scene, but she overheard some people talking about their masks a couple of days before and this peaked her interest. So she asked the spirits of the dead to conjure her up a mask and off she went, looking for intrigue. She especially enjoyed the storytelling, and was happy to see an old 'friend' (as if she's ever had a friend) and maybe made a new one. She's sad she missed the people getting killed part though :(

At least she saw Travosh hurt, that kinda made up for it.
Title: Re: Becoming the Masque[Comments]
Post by: bilbous on December 31, 2011, 08:08:01 am
It was just like real life. I stood around and looked at people and left without saying a word to anyone.
Title: Re: Becoming the Masque[Comments]
Post by: potare on December 31, 2011, 08:12:46 am
It was just like real life. I stood around and looked at people and left without saying a word to anyone.

Haha to unpopular lol
Title: Re: Becoming the Masque[Comments]
Post by: Candy on December 31, 2011, 09:04:13 am
Well, I missed what was supposed to be the highlight of the evening for one character, but there will be other opportunities for Momo to get her dances...

Hearing 'the people getting killed part' makes me roll my eyes and wish a murder didn't have to happen at every frickin' event. There's nothing wrong with RPing a good fight but are you people really so bloodthirsty that you get bored if nobody dies or sustains an injury? Honestly.

That aside, it was an excellent time for the short time I had to stay there (family kept me rather busier IRL than I like to be for the holidays though. Dragging their unwilling, sports-hating youngest to hockey games and the like). For the time I was there people were well-behaved and seemed to be having fun, though I always do find large concentrations of characters hard to follow at times. M got to tell a story I'd written, and her costume seemed to go over well.
Title: Re: Becoming the Masque[Comments]
Post by: Jilata on December 31, 2011, 10:49:00 pm
A huge thanks from me to all who made this event possible. I mean especially Edaru (Aiwendil) and Lillia (Illysia) and those I didn't notice in the back. (The GM who let Oele play with the smoke coming from the vase made my day somehow.) But I also mean all the players that attended, performers, merchants and every other participant. Thanks a lot. I had a great time!
Title: Re: Becoming the Masque[Comments]
Post by: Phantomboy86 on December 31, 2011, 10:58:43 pm
Well, I missed what was supposed to be the highlight of the evening for one character, but there will be other opportunities for Momo to get her dances...

Hearing 'the people getting killed part' makes me roll my eyes and wish a murder didn't have to happen at every frickin' event. There's nothing wrong with RPing a good fight but are you people really so bloodthirsty that you get bored if nobody dies or sustains an injury? Honestly.

That aside, it was an excellent time for the short time I had to stay there (family kept me rather busier IRL than I like to be for the holidays though. Dragging their unwilling, sports-hating youngest to hockey games and the like). For the time I was there people were well-behaved and seemed to be having fun, though I always do find large concentrations of characters hard to follow at times. M got to tell a story I'd written, and her costume seemed to go over well.

Technically the murder(s) happened outside the event entirely, it was just adjacent to it that it started.
Title: Re: Becoming the Masque[Comments]
Post by: Dalmurr on January 01, 2012, 01:39:51 am
It was a great three days. I don't think I ever got to know so many different characters in so little time. I think the smoke from day three broke the fourth wall though and made some people forget they wouldn't be able to connect me to Falc, or hallucinate I were only dressed in a loincloth.

;D
Title: Re: Becoming the Masque[Comments]
Post by: Zalya on January 01, 2012, 02:51:09 am
I vote we hold a ball on a monthly bases!



....
Please?
Title: Re: Becoming the Masque[Comments]
Post by: Talad on January 01, 2012, 03:23:53 am
Anyone has pictures of the event or the fireworks?
Title: Re: Becoming the Masque[Comments]
Post by: Candy on January 01, 2012, 04:39:14 am
If you want to organize that, Zalya, go ahead. xD
Title: Re: Becoming the Masque[Comments]
Post by: Venalan on January 01, 2012, 09:49:36 am
Well, to Illysia and Aiwendil I was more than happy to help set up the event /and/ clean up after you. But I am also rather disappointed that I was unable to attend as a player or GM (you've no idea), I would have loved to have been able to add to the event in either/both aspects.

I heard only good things about the whole thing, congratulations to both of you and to everyone who came and took part.
Title: Re: Becoming the Masque[Comments]
Post by: Sen on January 01, 2012, 10:06:56 am
Anyone has pictures of the event or the fireworks?
To be honest, Im not much into making event screenshots since Im using the provided client that comes without movierecorder. (However, I'll add one of my two screenies http://www.hydlaaplaza.com/smf/index.php?topic=40557.0)

Anyway, a big thank you from me too for the event! I had a very good time and enjoyed playing a lot.
Title: Re: Becoming the Masque[Comments]
Post by: Rigwyn on January 01, 2012, 10:13:53 am
"It was a great three days. I don't think I ever got to know so many different characters in so little time. I think the smoke from day three broke the fourth wall though and made some people forget they wouldn't be able to connect me to Falc, or hallucinate I were only dressed in a loincloth."



*Grumbles*   :P
Title: Re: Becoming the Masque[Comments]
Post by: Aiwendil on January 01, 2012, 08:47:38 pm
Please refrain from inviting me to participate in any possible future event of yours. The great efforts I put in my RP might be nice for others to have some fun hours, but to me it means part of my life wasted and, in the end, nothing left but tears. Thanks in advance for compliance.
Yeah...I'm kind of sorry about this. I knew from the start that most of the effort that went in this event will be wasted...still tried to get as many "old friends" to show up as possible...just for my own, selfish amusement. You have a valid point and of course I will comply with the request...won't be even hard as I doubt I will do any event in PS ever again. ;)

It was just like real life. I stood around and looked at people and left without saying a word to anyone.
Yeah..another valid point that is true for almost any event. I just don't see how we could prevent that from happening. During an event the organizers are usually very busy so have to rely on the guests to make sure everyone is included...what seldom works out as wanted. :/ There were some people I would have liked to see more included.

Hearing 'the people getting killed part' makes me roll my eyes and wish a murder didn't have to happen at every frickin' event. There's nothing wrong with RPing a good fight but are you people really so bloodthirsty that you get bored if nobody dies or sustains an injury? Honestly.
Looks like it. What should I say...it was probably good that I wasn't around at that time. Probably it's just a game among the PS players I wasn't introduced to yet: "I bet 10K I can make a stupid murder story out of everything."

Technically the murder(s) happened outside the event entirely, it was just adjacent to it that it started.
Technically I don't care what excuse people make up for their crappy in-game behavior.

I vote we hold a ball on a monthly bases!



....
Please?
Looks like we have a volunteer for doing the next ball. ;)

If you want to organize that, Zalya, go ahead. xD
Oh..and a helper for Zalya. *runs*

Well, I had a great time, personally. Good job!
That aside, it was an excellent time for the short time I had to stay there (family kept me rather busier IRL than I like to be for the holidays though. Dragging their unwilling, sports-hating youngest to hockey games and the like). For the time I was there people were well-behaved and seemed to be having fun, though I always do find large concentrations of characters hard to follow at times. M got to tell a story I'd written, and her costume seemed to go over well.
A huge thanks from me to all who made this event possible. I mean especially Edaru (Aiwendil) and Lillia (Illysia) and those I didn't notice in the back. (The GM who let Oele play with the smoke coming from the vase made my day somehow.) But I also mean all the players that attended, performers, merchants and every other participant. Thanks a lot. I had a great time!
It was a great three days. I don't think I ever got to know so many different characters in so little time. I think the smoke from day three broke the fourth wall though and made some people forget they wouldn't be able to connect me to Falc, or hallucinate I were only dressed in a loincloth.

;D
Anyway, a big thank you from me too for the event! I had a very good time and enjoyed playing a lot.

Glad to hear some people had fun. Despite the stress I had a good time at the ball too...mostly. And there is always the tiny chance that some people enjoyed it enough to help out Zalya to do the next Ball/Singles Night/Poetry Contest/Bingo evening/Theater play/Whatever. ;)


Now a few comments from me. Three days is too long...the story kind of required that length but it's more or less impossible to entertain people all the time during such a long event. And I also learned something new during this event...make sure to give out an OOC note in advance that all people should disable "auto-accept" for duels. Not wanting to blame anyone there...if people like auto-accept that's fine. Just at an event it can be easily misused by others to mess with the event. And as it's impossible to get rid of people wanting to mess up it's easier to make sure there are no victims for them. Also the place for the ball had a huge advantage to all other places of events I helped with. The two NPC guards right at the ball made it possible to just ignore everyone starting a fight as OOC. Then of course the intended "storyline" didn't work as "intended"...but that's fine and was to be expected. Not being able to tell how something works out is what makes RPing so much fun...and I had a lot fun with the "romantic" ending too. (Though...it was kind of strange having reversed roles with Illysia this time...me playing the shy and inexperienced char..and her the more bold lady ;)) Then of course we didn't spend enough time in game before the event. Far too many things for my taste were dealt with only OOCly. But again something that couldn't be helped with the limited time we had for the event. And last but not least...if not Illyisa but I had been the boss something like this (http://www.hydlaaplaza.com/smf/index.php?topic=40434.msg454490#msg454490) would have never happened. Ugggh..moving text. You forgot to make it pink and add some flowers and hearts Illysia. *laughs and runs very fast*

Nah, it was really fun to work with you (again) Illysia.


Edit: I just started another thread to post your costume descriptions in: http://www.hydlaaplaza.com/smf/index.php?topic=40563. So...go there and let all people see the great costumes you all had.
Title: Re: Becoming the Masque[Comments]
Post by: Aramara Meibi on January 01, 2012, 10:34:42 pm
Hearing 'the people getting killed part' makes me roll my eyes and wish a murder didn't have to happen at every frickin' event. There's nothing wrong with RPing a good fight but are you people really so bloodthirsty that you get bored if nobody dies or sustains an injury? Honestly.
Looks like it. What should I say...it was probably good that I wasn't around at that time. Probably it's just a game among the PS players I wasn't introduced to yet: "I bet 10K I can make a stupid murder story out of everything."

Technically the murder(s) happened outside the event entirely, it was just adjacent to it that it started.
Technically I don't care what excuse people make up for their crappy in-game behavior.

I would like to make an appeal here for you not to lump the words 'stupid' and 'murder' and treat such RP dismissively. I was not there to witness the devious deeds, and so I can't speak for those who were involved, but I arrived in time for the aftermath, and with a character such as mine, the conversation that followed was one of the highlights of the ball event. But I guess RP is like Dim Sum, most will stick with the tofu potstickers, because they're safe, while others will venture out and try the ox tails and chicken feet.

We're all here to play a role, some roles, like say, a practicing Dakkruist, are not that easy to play, but a kidnapping gone wrong and the deaths that resulted create an opportunity for that role to be explored. You may be surprised to find that such a character feels she found an ally in the hero of that scene, the dwarf who died valiantly in the rescue of the distressed damsel, for his death carried meaning and honor, and was respectable, while she feels disdain towards the perpetrators, for their senseless and meaningless killing. She feels absolutely nothing for the victim, a wasted life, a wasted death.

So you see, such actions gave me an opportunity to explore and play the role of my character, while others got to play the roles of villain, victim, and hero. So, if it wasn't for this, Icerra would have just been standing in the corner, not talking to anyone, but paying attention to who fell in love with who so that she may later teach them a little lesson about loss... well, she did that too anyways :P

I think you guys did a great job in planning and running the event, I know it's not easy, I've done some weddings, funerals, and ceremonies as Ara, and those were difficult and stressful, and only a fraction of what you accomplished. But, I think you should take into account that you put together a three day public spectacle, and in your aim to be inclusive know that other players and their characters took it as an opportunity to act out their roles.
Title: Re: Becoming the Masque[Comments]
Post by: Mask on January 01, 2012, 11:01:50 pm
Murders/Kidnappings and such things do lose a lot of their drama potential if they are used often enough. And for me, PS has fallen long over that event horizon.
Title: Re: Becoming the Masque[Comments]
Post by: Illysia on January 02, 2012, 04:03:44 am
OK Aiwe. here's your flowers and hearts. :P
<# <3...~~~:::^The first day of the Ball will be starting shortly.^:::~~~... <3 #>

I'm glad you had fun because I started having fun RPing in PS again because of RPing with you.



Warning: Wall o' text ahead - But it explains why people get their panties in a knot about the killing stuff. ;)


Now about this death and murder RP thing... I'm not going to lie. I was not happy to hear about this little plot getting started so close to the event area and for the story to keep being to told in the area. The event was specifically supposed to be free of killing. However, I think the actual killing started away from the event and it didn't spawn any more incidents, so all's well that end's well. However...

The killing and death thing is a big issue since it actually involves far more effort to pull it off without coming off as poorly done(that meaning facepalm worthy). Also, keep in mind that playing a role means little without a story to go with it. When role playing, you aren't just playing a role, you are playing a role in a story. This story not only involves your character but also the other characters in the RP and the settings of the place you are RPing in.

The first issue is that the kidnapping happened too close to the east gate. If a citizen in the city could hear the shouting and move to act, so would the guards. There is no magical border at the gate that prevents the guards from going outside of the city to protect a citizen. The only thing that hinders the guards from acting in this case is the fact that they are static NPCs which is an OOC problem that shouldn't be RPed. The settings not only makes it clear that the guards are active, but that they aren't stupid. Pulling something like a killing or kidnapping at the east gate now makes no sense in the context of the story you are creating with your RP.

Second, killing is bad conflict resolution in Planeshift just like in real life. There are a lot of better ways to end an RP, provide a lead for follow up RPs, or prove that your character is a baddie. Also, like Mask pointed out, such things have lost their drama value due to being overdone. If something happens constantly, then it is either trivial or people get desensitized to it. Story-wise, once it happens too much there really isn't a justifiable reason for people to keep caring.

Third, if you die and then come right back, always come back, and/or die constantly you cheapen the story behind the death. The reason people react to death and that death has a sting is because of how permanent the loss is. The DR prevents you from having to completely start over if you die, but once again, the story is defined by the setting of the location. The DR is actually a vast place, as vast as yliakum, traumatic, and it is difficult to get out. It's not suppose to be like a wrong turn at Albuquerque. The fact that you can get off the DR map in 10 mins is also an OOC issue that will eventually be fixed. It's like the NPC guard thing... for now the mechanics can't match the settings but the settings shouldn't be ignored.

For those that kill a lot of people... it presents a story issue of another sort. If you kill one person then maybe no one will ever know since the DR isn't actually a day trip in settings, people shouldn't be able to come right back and then complain to you about having killed them. However, the more people you kill the more it is likely to become noticeable. More importantly, anyone that is a known, or suspected, killer would be hawked by the guards. The fact that they have no proof would mean nothing. Death is a serious offense, they would be constantly on your case to make sure you didn't kill anyone... not come to clean up the mess later. It is not likely you would be free to keep killing people and hanging around town. This would make it hard to play the character and keep the story believable so it's another RP track I would not suggest for a newer RPer.

So the real issue is less the killing and more how it kills the story. To be honest, being a villian is not so hard because you need people willing to be a victim but because of how hard it is to pull of off the story believably. Viliians that are known for good believable stories can always find someone willing to play along, even goodie characters. But no one wants to put their character at risk for something that makes them roll their eyes the second they hear it, yes I know how subjective this is but it is the underlying issue.

My advice for those that intend to do killing RPs or something that would break the law is to keep in mind that certain RP isn't actually valid in all places. Well, not without a great deal of fancy work with covering up stuff which is not the kind of thing I would suggest for a newer RPer to try. There are, however, places where you can do those same RPs with no problem. Just don't forget the settings. The settings is what allows RPers to tell a story together with some kind of continuity.
Title: Re: Becoming the Masque[Comments]
Post by: Aramara Meibi on January 03, 2012, 03:08:20 am

Second, killing is bad conflict resolution in Planeshift just like in real life. There are a lot of better ways to end an RP, provide a lead for follow up RPs, or prove that your character is a baddie. Also, like Mask pointed out, such things have lost their drama value due to being overdone. If something happens constantly, then it is either trivial or people get desensitized to it. Story-wise, once it happens too much there really isn't a justifiable reason for people to keep caring.

Third, if you die and then come right back, always come back, and/or die constantly you cheapen the story behind the death. The reason people react to death and that death has a sting is because of how permanent the loss is. The DR prevents you from having to completely start over if you die, but once again, the story is defined by the setting of the location. The DR is actually a vast place, as vast as yliakum, traumatic, and it is difficult to get out. It's not suppose to be like a wrong turn at Albuquerque. The fact that you can get off the DR map in 10 mins is also an OOC issue that will eventually be fixed. It's like the NPC guard thing... for now the mechanics can't match the settings but the settings shouldn't be ignored.

For those that kill a lot of people... it presents a story issue of another sort. If you kill one person then maybe no one will ever know since the DR isn't actually a day trip in settings, people shouldn't be able to come right back and then complain to you about having killed them. However, the more people you kill the more it is likely to become noticeable. More importantly, anyone that is a known, or suspected, killer would be hawked by the guards. The fact that they have no proof would mean nothing. Death is a serious offense, they would be constantly on your case to make sure you didn't kill anyone... not come to clean up the mess later. It is not likely you would be free to keep killing people and hanging around town. This would make it hard to play the character and keep the story believable so it's another RP track I would not suggest for a newer RPer.

So the real issue is less the killing and more how it kills the story. To be honest, being a villian is not so hard because you need people willing to be a victim but because of how hard it is to pull of off the story believably. Viliians that are known for good believable stories can always find someone willing to play along, even goodie characters. But no one wants to put their character at risk for something that makes them roll their eyes the second they hear it, yes I know how subjective this is but it is the underlying issue.

My advice for those that intend to do killing RPs or something that would break the law is to keep in mind that certain RP isn't actually valid in all places. Well, not without a great deal of fancy work with covering up stuff which is not the kind of thing I would suggest for a newer RPer to try. There are, however, places where you can do those same RPs with no problem. Just don't forget the settings. The settings is what allows RPers to tell a story together with some kind of continuity.

so you can see why a Dakkruist would take such an offense and interest in these perpetrators, their rampant killings have cheapened death, and death is a sacred rite of passage. This, in effect, helps no one, and something must be done.
Title: Re: Becoming the Masque[Comments]
Post by: Illysia on January 03, 2012, 10:03:36 pm
Actually, that misses the point a bit, although it would be true. People shouldn't roleplay along with those actions due to the settings conflict. It should be treated as it didn't happen. In a way, settings is like an informal agreement between players to play on the same page, as it were, and ignoring the settings on death is basically a breach of that agreement.

Think of the disruption it would cause if a group of players came in RPing a cyberworld where people could jump dimensions and they jumped into Yliakum to come and modernize it... That would be a serious settings breach and would cause trouble RP wise if you tried to go along with it. You would be forced to break from settings constantly. When you RP along with settings-conflicting death RPs, it's the exact same problem.

Dakkru is a goddess and she would likely put the whammy on anyone disrespecting death... they would probably find themselves permadead on first death. But like I said earlier, OOC issue prevent these kinds of things but the lack of sufficient mechanics shouldn't be RPed due to being OOC in nature.

Going along with the settings breaking RP is the same as promoting it, because it has the exact same effect regardless of intent, and it leads to people going farther and farther away from settings due to the next person bending the story a bit more.