Roleplaying Focus

[Shaman]

I agree with what Raa said (though I voted "No", and I mean that I agree with what she said comparing noobs to people who don't want to roleplay). I've met someone who's apparently been playing for a year and still doesn't roleplay, despite constant attempts to teach said person. I'm new here, but I wanted to roleplay, so I did, and still do. It's fun, and perhaps if there's a way to actually state that this is a roleplaying game (since other games are technically roleplaying games too, but don't have roleplay in them) more people will be drawn to it. They consider this no different from runescape at first, sadly.

[NirAntae]

I agree with Raa 100%.  I also voted 'To hell with those who don't RP', but meant it as 'those who choose not to' rather than 'those who don't know how yet'.  I'm always up for helping to teach someone how to RP...  as long as they have a willingness to learn it.

[Xillix Queen of Fools]

The attitude is still way off the mark folks, roleplaying is encouraged, not enforced. I really do not think we can increase to reasonable player numbers by being hard line on rp.

This is not to say that we won't continue to support rp.

Remember from my initial post, the other option I presented is that the role players bring more roleplayers.

Try to soften the rhetoric.

As it stands there is no real reason to ever add another area to ps, they are sparse to the point of absurdity atm. How about reaching out to some of your real life friends, or if it is that bad, go get some and then bring them back here. 

[NirAntae]

I am!   

I have gotten one person in that plays daily, two that are going to try it soon (one has no reliable internet connection at the moment, and the other is in the middle of a move), and one that is going to start tonight (she was finishing up classes).  Plus, I have about 5 more that I have been trying to talk into trying, but they are resisting because they are hooked on other games.  Foolish peoples!  hehe

But there is a flipside to that coin...  existing RP-contacts are finite, and once those are used up, in order to try and recruit, you have to go spend time elsewhere to try and make friends, thus reducing your effective players-online potential.

It's a tricky question.

[Xillix Queen of Fools]

NirAntae ftw!

We could probably accomplish a lot by asking friends to ask friends.

[theirah]

I find this interesting .......

I think the community should try to be more welcoming. Number of voters ----> 35 (27.3%)

I really wonder if half the people if not all of them who voted for this option are as nice to new comers as they request from other players? From all the people who voted this option it is the second choice in the running and it seems silly to me to see this voted so high up in the options when I know from my own experiences that the people of PlaneShift are pertty friendly. Very rarely did I see rude players. I also wonder if some of these votes are just because the player had one bad run in with another. If that is the case, that doesn't mean the community should try to turn up the niceness  just because of one bad experience.

It would be nice to see a poll about "Is the PlaneShift community welcoming and polite" and leave options to choose if the player has had one bad experience or more. I think that poll would help alot of players see that it isn't as bad as some make it out to be. From all of the communities online that I am apart of I still find this to be one of the most friendly communities out there. Then again maybe I was just lucky and the friendly community I see is possibly an illusion?

I'd like to see a poll on this as well, though I'm on the other side of this. maybe there seems to be more unfriendly players than many think? though...the poll itself will be a little biased, simply because the people who wander this forum...are the ones who stayed.

[Mordraugion]

Wow we could offer recruitment prizes for each player recruited who plays for at least 100 hours,
for 5 players 10 levels on the stat of your choice
for 10 players a mention by one of the npc's
for 20 players a House of your own and
for 50 players a street permanently named after you

[Tuxide]

Wow we could offer recruitment prizes for each player recruited who plays for at least 100 hours,
for 5 players 10 levels on the stat of your choice
for 10 players a mention by one of the npc's
for 20 players a House of your own and
for 50 players a street permanently named after you

There already is recruitment prizes for bringing your buddies on board, it's more platinum.  That and a larger guild.

[potatoehead64]

I have a small issue on teh RP side of things. I have to say that I don't RP that often, but recognize and respect the need for it as a clear goal within the game as set by the developers.

Yesterday, I was invited to the tavern for a little RP and decided to engage as a break from other game tasks. I was dismayed to be told in no uncertain terms OOC that addressing other characters by name.. i.e. using their name in the text is not acceptable RP protocol and also the use of custom emoting

i./e. /me glances round the tavern and consider purchasing an ale

is also frowned upon.
Whilst I accept this may be something somebody has decided, it just does not make sense. If custom emoting is not acceptable, then I don't know what RP really is. Also, by not addressing another character directly by name, there is no way of knowing who is speaking to who. This causes confusion.
I was told that to speak to someone directly, I must "face" them. This, I did and got told "What you looking at?!" I done RP in other games and used similar style and it has not been frowned upon. If these rules are how it is on PlaneShift, then that is fine, however, it may be a reason why many folk choose not to RP. I for one have been put off it.

BTW. I do use the /introduce system before addressing other characters and have introduced myself with my name (which does seem pointless when character descriptions are available for those who wish to look.)

[Xillix Queen of Fools]

This would be a clear indication of RP Zealotry, not something I am remotely comfortable with.

Again, an indication not being nice enough.

How in the heck people come to these WEIRD "conventions" and try to force them on people is beyond me.

When people make the process absurdly complicated they also make it more daunting for people who don't normally RP.

[Velh Krome]

potatoehead64,
perhaps you didnt fully understand it, or the guy who told you wasnt precise enough. Not using names of people in general of course is nonsense. But I presume it was meant that using names of people your char cannot know, since he never met them before or whatever, to adress one with is frowned upon.
Just imagine you walk around the street and you would know everyone's name, as if they had it floating above their head.

Second thing, the emoting-one.. People may not like to see it because it causes them trouble to know oocly on one hand about your char's current intentions/feelings aso, on the other hand have to continue playing their own one not having a clue.
Just imagine you spot a guy outside who is looking about, and for some odd reason you clearly know that he is intenting to go to the bus-stop to go visiting his grandma.

How in the heck people come to these WEIRD "conventions" and try to force them on people is beyond me.

I think it's simply because people think Planeshift is indeed a roleplaying game. But in fact there are many factors that oppose this view. Meanwhile I consider Planeshift a game where everyone is invited to do what he wants, merely testing the mechanics, trying to establish deep and exciting stories, collect as many items as possible etc. "Roleplaying is encouraged" as stated on one of the official pages (if still there) may misguide people to falsly believe roleplaying is as well motivated by officials, GMs or Devs. But in the end officials just enjoy to see people roleplaying, while arent bothered at all as well to see players bringing mechanics to its limit or max out char after char silently.
"Planeshift provides a platform where you can feel free to do what ever you want to do!" - replace the Roleplaying part from the game's description with this one and perhaps less people will be scared off? I am in no way meaning to mock, but to suggest to adjust the current descriptions about the game to be fitting better and more adequately.

I really do not think we can increase to reasonable player numbers by being hard line on rp.

For the sake of merely increasing numbers I wonder if your (Anti-)Nooby Song is an appriopriate approach.
By the way, how about making a somewhat clearer statement on what sort of people you would like to see joining Planeshift, what's the type of player you worry to be driven off by too much roleplay, and what kind of player you happily see leaving? Or better, who will be left? The occasional player?

In my eyes though, if Planeshift tries to copy others, and even if its only for the sake of appearing to be more successful it will fail at some point. There are heaploads of commercial games doing doing a much better job.

[Xillix Queen of Fools]

I have already stated (if one actually reads the whole thread) we really don't have intent to move away from that rp niche. The issue is how the players actually manifest this could probably use some work.

If potatoehead64 is having trouble, I doubt he is alone. I understand what you said above velh and I agree with most of it, but it does seem clear from potatoehead64's post that people weren't incredibly patient as they explained themselves.

Here is what I advocate: If you find a player who wants to learn rp take them aside from the rping space and give them some pointers, allow them to practice with it with you in pms, THEN go back to the group RP.

Of course people will say, "I just want to play, not teach."

Well, I want to build for a game that has a tolerant instructive approach to rping where players go out of their way to use the bug tracker, help others learn the ropes, and go out of their way to bring new rpers to the game.

Even if someone had played DND or VAMPIRE for years, when they get to ps the conventions of roleplay are different and take some explaining.

We are doing all we can with a rewrite of the tutorial, but we hope that players will take some of this on as well.

[eldoth_terevan]

If references to roleplay were changed to say acting it might be clearer what was wanted in PS. What you are really looking for is improvisational character actors that can assimilate background information and type well. One could argue that since there is no formal system of rules or personal referee in PS to run scenarios (for every character all the time), it is not really a roleplaying game. Horrors!

Participants determine the actions of their characters based on their characterization, and the actions succeed or fail according to a formal system of rules and guidelines. Within the rules, they may improvise freely; their choices shape the direction and outcome of the games.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roleplaying

Unlike other forms of interactive narrative, they can, in theory, be played with no tools and virtually no financial outlay: all that is necessary is that there be interaction between a player and a referee.

http://www.rpg.net/oracle/essays/rpgoverview.html

[Dajoji]

The whole "that's not how you RP properly..." approach a few players have here and there is presumptuous, snobbish, rude, and unwanted. Don't do that. Don't police other people's RP. It doesn't help. It only alienates them. It puts them on the spot and they don't really have to hear that crap. If you want to be positive with your input and "teach" someone about RP, you have to be patient and respectful.

If you've ever been "told off" by someone trying to "teach" you how to RP, don't give it much importance. There are only a few of those players out there and while the damage they can do is big (so big that the whole community can be seen as unwelcoming), in reality, there are a lot more players who make up for that kind of attitude.

[potatoehead64]

potatoehead64,
perhaps you didnt fully understand it, or the guy who told you wasnt precise enough. Not using names of people in general of course is nonsense. But I presume it was meant that using names of people your char cannot know, since he never met them before or whatever, to adress one with is frowned upon.
Just imagine you walk around the street and you would know everyone's name, as if they had it floating above their head.

My suggestion here would be, if I'm not supposed to know somebody who has a name above their head, then why is it there? The fact is it IS there in much the same way as when you walk into a shop and somebody has their name badge on for the purposes of you being able to address them directly. Perhaps Devs could consider the ability for players to hide their name to other players... Maybe there could be a level where they are able to show it to friends only perhaps. That would also serve as a good way of stopping any sort of mobbing that goes on (bearing in mind that characters from the same race look very much the same).

As for emotes. The graphics cannot show that I approach the bar to buy a beer and drink it, so why not state it in an emote? After all, in a real world, that is what folk would see me do.

In any case, this is all tiny detail. As I said, if the way things are, are how Devs and the majority prefer it, then I respect it as so, but I'm less likely to engage in RP as it stands. The debate seems to be about whether people play the game for RP and the if's but's and maybe's as to why folk leave the game.

On the whole, I love this game and play it daily. 99% of it is how I like it. I've tried one or 2 others like Second Life and Regnum and they don't come close. Runescape has it's uses when PS has time out, but thats about it.