Roleplaying decreased?

[Earl_Listbard]

Velh I wish there was a way to bring the 'good old days' back. Oh well, such is life as they say, right?

Yep,

Its just like willy wonka's chocolate factory, you can't go back, only forward. 

[neko kyouran]

The people that play right now wish it were like it was when they started 6 months ago.  The people who played 6 months ago wish it was like the times they played a year and a half ago.  The people who played a year and a half ago.........................

 

[Noriin]

Here is my two cents, for whatever that is worth: Yes I agree that role play has diminished greatly. It could be the new introduction system, but I find it sad that when I go into game, of which is rare these days, and find most of my buddy list is not highlighted. I wonder where all the people have gone and why?

To what Leama says: Same experience here, my BL is red much more often than it once was. The reason for that I see in what I said earlier, that within the first weeks of 0.4, having to face the same char over and over and over again without a nametag may have annoyed or tired people for they may have left.

I have to disagree.
Players come and go and that was never either way, not a month ago, neither a year ago.
The reason why your (our) buddy lists are all red is because there have been not many additions to in the last times. This is an assumption in Leamas's case but considering the background I pretty much doubt is unfounded.
If you are not in-game then you don't meet new people.. and the ones you already knew will eventually get busy in RL or find another game and quit.

Now.. even being in-game the introductions system makes the fact of meeting people quite a burden. At the end I took the intro-spam way myself.. I'm tired of having people asking me to introduce and doing so myself as well, when I still don't see a reason for a system that makes my char partially blind and deaf. But certainly it stops me from talking to random people since I can't make a difference between one and another as it is now: an Autism Generator.

As to why there are less bypassers.. I can see are less but not that less. But then yes I agree that the new city is probably the cause and the fact that there isn't really much of interest to do in Hydlaa now. There are a whole bunch of players who like to RP but do as well like to train/save money/collect weapons/craft/kill mobs.. and that requires money. Where is the money? At the platinum mine.. there they go. It's not only the pure PLers to be there, even though surely the pure RPers aren't there either. It's that whole mid range of players (which are probably the largest of the 3 groups) who are caught there as well.

[Earl_Listbard]

Holy snarks noriin is alive!


>Player Listbard hugs Noriin!

[Noriin]

 


Awwww ^_^'

She is, and after she survived marrying the Develh I doubt nothing else can kill her now!
Ph34r t3h b4nsh33!

[Velh Krome]

Considering this threads reason, and what you say, Neko, I would have to presume 3 years ago one could find breathtaking plots and tales (to avoid the term "RP") all over and everywhere?
In that case, yep, I would wish it was like years ago 

Okay, serious now..=P
Noriin, I think you got a good point about the "empty" BL. If I am not mistaking most of the time there were around 180-200 players online at a time. So as you say, it indeed could be all about refreshing it, adding new friends to it that is. Nevertheless it appears to be odd that after more than one client changes people remained, and soon after 0.4 so many "disappeared".
However, which brings up my next point.
If most of the (newer) players are around Gugrontid, where apparently not much roleplaying is going on, how would they start feeling appetite?
It may be only me, but when I started I was intruiged by plots like the Dermorian Lords' one, to name one,rather soon, because it simply was present where I (almost) unavoidably had to roam too: At Harns. I sold my mined gold, and I tried out crafting - and while doing so I had to gather that fascinating roleplay of others.

Would that mean I will have to locate my roleplay into that questionably fancy and picturuous platinum mine?

I say, seeing the current situation, there should be taken efforts/changes to drag the new(er) players to the towns as well (not only, of course, its about balance after all). A muddy, dusty or just dirty mine cant be the place for people to hang around, can it?

[Duraza]

Meh they say this all the time,

Rp like the stock market, has its ups and its downs.

I'm with you on this one
At first I was going to agree and say the rp is lacking till I thought about it. People bring up these kinds of discussions every now and then and it seems to me the only real truth is that rp will always have ups and downs. For you things might be down, for someone else there may be a lot more rp going on with them. The cure to this is simply starting rp. Don't wait for someone to start rping or sit around while someone who is trying to rp is ignored. Just try and encourge it, start some rp. I'm sure there are plenty of people as bored as you.

Velh I wish there was a way to bring the 'good old days' back. Oh well, such is life as they say, right?

I think when it comes down to it the 'good old days' is just the time when you first start rping in ps. It's when your first introduced to it and some other rper is pretty much bringing you around the town, your meeting people for the first time, etc. Once that time has passed you get bored because you expect things to just happen like when you first started. Hence you lose you 'good old days.' Try harder to be the one starting things and getting people involved in whatever rp you would enjoy. I've no doubt someone will respond if you try hard enough and you'll no doubt have fun. When everyone waits for stuff to happen then you shouldn't have a doubt that nothing will ever happen  

Edit:

As for the hype about the new mine just forget about it, eventually it will pass. When you think about it one would assume that once something new and big is added to the game you'd expect people to rush over to it and for a while remained fixed and focused on that one thing. The new players will definately get drawn in. If you want to have a bit of fun though I'd say go there and start rp anyways. Few people will pay attention but it will at least let those new players know there is something else to the game besides mining 

[Velh Krome]

I doubt though that even those market stocks wont go up again by remaining seated with folded hands, and a warm and optmistic smile on your lips xD

[Prolix]

There is always the possibility that people took the opportunity to make new characters instead of continuing to play the old ones and have to introduce themselves to everyone. And having made new characters they may wish to remain unidentified with the old ones except for possibly a few close buddies. Any new guilds been springing up lately that may have attracted them? New guilds would definitely want to gather wealth to get a house and so be rather busy persuing that course.

[neko kyouran]

Considering this threads reason, and what you say, Neko, I would have to presume 3 years ago one could find breathtaking plots and tales (to avoid the term "RP") all over and everywhere?
In that case, yep, I would wish it was like years ago 

actually it's more along the lines of that they say it because they thought there was more RP around when they were first starting out, because they were new, so they went around chatting with a large range of folks, and over time they continued to RP with the same people as the list slowly thinned due to many leaving/going inactive, and since they never made new acquaintances, they now see the RP as much less than it was before, when in reality, it probably is right around the same over all.



*Edit*

actually, 3 years ago, there was nothing to do but stand around hunting crystals and chatting in the tavern, so maybe there was more back then.  But on the same sense, there is so much more to do now in game to keep peoples interest levels, so I'd rather take now or then.  after all, if you want to stand around and just chat all day long, why don't you open up a text messenger program? 

[Under the moon]

I miss how it will be in the good new days six months from now. Ah, now that was will be a good time. Just thinking about the people I have not yet met makes me miss them.

[Waylander]

Meh they say this all the time,

Rp like the stock market, has its ups and its downs.

Exactly.  There are up and downs and have been for the four or so years I've been around.  It's always like this around now.  Spring and crunch time are upon us.

And I love you, Neko

Offtopic: The only thing that makes me miss the old times is the people who have left since then.  Kada especially, lately.  And Cad

[Socius Rockus]

Now.. even being in-game the introductions system makes the fact of meeting people quite a burden. At the end I took the intro-spam way myself.. I'm tired of having people asking me to introduce and doing so myself as well, when I still don't see a reason for a system that makes my char partially blind and deaf. But certainly it stops me from talking to random people since I can't make a difference between one and another as it is now: an Autism Generator.

IMO The introduce system helps "small RP's" a lot. With not seeing the name (and if you don't cheat) and only reading the description you don't really know who that is. So if you're somehow interested you should have a talk or something to break the ice. This in contrast with the 'I-see-all-names-and-I-heard-that-that-person-is-a-nub/sucks' or the 'I-see-all-names-and-that-girl/guy-has-a-stupid/nubish-name-I-bet-she/he-suck-in-RP-let's-not-engage'.

If those scenario's are useless-thought flows of mine, then still the introduction system motivates people a lot more to have small conversations to get to know each other.

It may be a pest to /introduce yourself to all your old buddies, but I think a character wipe would kill ya if you take re-introducing that hard.
Given your intro-spam adventures you for one would have much less 'random' encounters as people see you and think "I know her already" and greet you quickly. While people who don't know you (read you have not introduced yourself to) might read your description and think "Hey, what a nice girl, let's get it on" or "What is she doing? melting ore" ect. (random example, I don't really know if you melt or not )
So basically, intro-spam killed the small-RP...
(above situations with encounters of numerous small-RP's are as far as I know only my experience, experience may differ from eprson to person)
 
EDIT: just a nice link

[Noriin]

Right, I'm pretty much sleepy right now so forgive me if all I post is just garbage :p

First of all I think that the custom tags, which have been strongly asked for, may sort quite a few of the current issues if they get implemented. Also, I wouldn't want to help turning this thread be another rush against the intro system because it wasn't meant to be, but as I'm quoted I feel like the need to reply o/

But my post is about the current situation as the thread is.
I like to assume that a high percentage of the players are mature enough to neither cheat, nor to make use of OOC info in their RP. Therefore, I don't see the need of a system that mechanizes something we've already been doing for that long without other problem that one or another new player using the name labels in a wrong way (oh my, if somebody else does that i'll pull all my hairs off!! ...wasn't the case...). Now my character is unable to recognize the guy who walks the groffel every day at the same spot.. or that merchant she bought from (wait, she never asked his name? how unpolite..) because I assume her eyes have gone dumb and only recognizes the ppl whose name she knows of. For some reason, she neither can recognize any voice as everybody sounds the same. Must be either magic or the wish of the Gods ;)

Now, those small RP's. They are brought from an OOC fact, and they are unrealistic. It's obvious that most of those people are just talking to do that.. (hey-hello-im this-im that-you nice?-yes-bye-bye). Instead.. in my daily life I talk to many people I don't know the name of. I may have met this same woman in at the bus stop perhaps a hundred times, I may have spoken to her another 10 or 15.. but I never asked her name.. Nobody runs around a huge city introducing him/herself to everybody (that is more likely to happen in a village with 30 inhabitants though...) because everybody would point at them and classify them as freaks, before pulling their cellphones to take pictures of the weirdo.
Another situation: I stand at the tavern for 2-3 hours.. nobody of the ones who were there when i stepped in are here now, instead another whole crowd surrounds me. So do I really need to, every 10-15 mins, get an ooc tell or worse.. ooc disruption in main because somebody can't read my name? No thanks, I still prefer smooth RPing and that I take..
Introductions in their current state are annoying and disruptive, and if they force you into RP then that's driven by OOC reasons and in my opinion shouldn't be praised.

Just my POV ;)
But please sombody bring this thread back to its topic ^_^'

[Mordaan]

Don't underestimate quests as being a factor as well.  Maybe not as much as mining but lots of goodies are only available through quests, especially if you are a glyph collector or you really want to see the winch.  Many of these quests result in a lot (and I mean a LOT) of running around, which keeps people quite busy going here and there and not stopping for RP.  There have been plenty of times I passed by an apparent RP and was all like "oh, I really want to participate but I've got a long journey ahead of me and don't want to be distracted and forget what I was doing."

Don't get me wrong, this is not a complaint.  Having a lot of quests available is great and sure, during many trips to the eagle bronze doors I can't help but wish for alternative modes of transportation, but at this stage of development it's just not a priority.  It's just more of a cause and effect.  More things to do = less time to RP.  Once people get their fill of questing, mining, training, etc., they'll get back to a little RP now and again.      So all things are cyclical.

There was one stretch where my buddy list was all red for like 3 weeks straight.  So I settled down, started hanging around the tavern, made some new friends and lots of RP followed.  So if all your friends have left PS, make new ones.