Roleplay Dismay No Way!!!

[zanzibar]

The "pure roleplayers" I've known in game don't use the mechanics, but I think that's silly as well.  You should use the mechanics so long as the mechanics are within the settings.

Frankly, most roleplayers in PlaneShift ignore the settings.  The settings say that we start off as nothings, then we work our way to being somebodies.  Meanwhile, roleplayers enter the game and immediately start acting like they're the most powerful wizard in the world.  Or they act like they have positions because they say they have them (bartender, city guard, etcetera).  Or at least people were doing that two years ago.

Maybe PlaneShift shouldn't be thought of as a pure roleplaying game, but I think the developers should weigh in on the discussion....

[Lolitra, Celorrim Purrty Twins]

I consider myself on of those 'pure roleplayers...' but I use mechanics, also all those I play with do too to an extent.. and we all try to remain in settings... best we can.   Yes there are things we 'make up' to add to our fun, but nothing so drastic that it is so OOC that it is unacceptable.

as to RPing you are a city guard, or a bartender -  I don't see any problem with that - so long as you are not 'godmodding' on others, and if you are RPing something like that - you adhere to the settings strictly.

[zanzibar]

I consider myself on of those 'pure roleplayers...' but I use mechanics, also all those I play with do too to an extent.. and we all try to remain in settings... best we can.   Yes there are things we 'make up' to add to our fun, but nothing so drastic that it is so OOC that it is unacceptable.

as to RPing you are a city guard, or a bartender -  I don't see any problem with that - so long as you are not 'godmodding' on others, and if you are RPing something like that - you adhere to the settings strictly.

In other words, why so serious?

[Mythryndel]

I have said more times than I can count, that MOST people who play the game use both the mechanics, and stay in character. However, there are those that ONLY RP and do not have stats/skills to back up their RP (even where they are implemented). I would argue they have the potential to be just as disruptive as the pure PLer, if you truly believe that either is a problem.

I do not believe that just because someone is here for RP that they cannot or will not be rude and disruptive... just look at the recent guild house raid as the most recent evidence of that. I also have personally seen PLers that really don't want to do the "RP thing right now, but might try it later", that are still nice and courteous and not using "sup d00d" in main. So, what do the two extremes that are disruptive have in common? Anyone? Disregard for others in-game. But I don't know of any kind of personality filter you can put in at account creation to keep those people from having a chance to be disruptive, so there will always be some player that comes in and isn't in-character until chastised or they leave. I don't see where this needs any more dev time devoted to it at this point in the PS life cyle. However, this is simply my opinion. Do with it what you will.

[Kedhran]

Rude people are bad.  Shocking, but true, I know.  But that's not what the discussion nor poll is about.

No, people who don't roleplay are a problem if you're trying to create a roleplay game.  Because if there are people who aren't roleplaying, they encourage other people to not roleplay.

Zanzibar said it best.  No one will disagree with you that rude and disruptive people are -a- problem, Mythryndel, but they aren't -the- problem at hand.  This is about Planeshift in itself, and what kind of game it should try and be.

[khoridor]

I'm also a 'pure roleplayer'; well, I'd call it a purist. If, just through the mechanics, I could understand what characters are currently doing, without reading the chat box, I'd find it brilliant. Imagine dozens of animated emotes; to realise that this guy, standing still with a weapon in hand, is actually repairing it; etc. All right, I'm a bit off topic.

Back on enforcing things: I read on the forum of another game, also very RP oriented, that they go as far as to forbid the use of slang words like 'hi', or 'ok'. That is, for me, enough reason not to even try that game. PlaneShift offers a great level of freedom; the rules are mostly there to protect the immersive aspect. It doesn't matter to me if one plays more using the chat box or the mechanics; at the end of the day, we play the same game. What matters is that we use them without disrupting our common denominator: the setting.

[EDIT:]

Frankly, most roleplayers in PlaneShift ignore the settings.  The settings say that we start off as nothings, then we work our way to being somebodies.  Meanwhile, roleplayers enter the game and immediately start acting like they're the most powerful wizard in the world.  Or they act like they have positions because they say they have them (bartender, city guard, etcetera).  Or at least people were doing that two years ago.

Yes, but...
I will agree with you when the game is complete, or advanced enough. Currently, some liberty has to be taken to portray many characters that are in setting, but not yet playable. Example: the thieves PCs. Example: Khoridor may well be one of the most powerful glassblowers in the world (with a skill score to backup such a claim). I find someone playing a bartender perfectly in setting (it cannot possibly be disruptive; as long as it's not, say, a vampire bartender).

[Dajoji]

So it's either you RP or you are against PS?

What I don't understand is how someone who is not interrupting your RP is damaging the game. They may be perfectly respectful yet quietly swinging a pick and you seem to find that offensive. By wanting to exclude these players you are the ones hurting the project as we need more testers who can not only explore all the features of the game (and that includes the leveling system) and recommend the project to their peers so the community can grow but also who in time might become good RPers as well.

The way I see it, the game is not for RPers only. It is a Roleplaying game but there's a difference there. While the first excludes all non-rpers, the latter encourages all kinds of players to try to RP, even those who do not have the skills yet (be that because they are new to RP or because they don't speak English very well). The important thing is that all players respect RP and the community.

[Garris Shrike]

I demand roleplayers WORK to roleplay!

[Eliseth]

First, I'll answer the question directly. No. Using force of any kind to get people to conform is not productive in an environment such as this. Also, I am of the opinion that there is little more that can be done to encourage RP, other than what is being done currently (tutorial, player guideline, this forum). Anymore encouragement and we start bordering on enforcement.

The solution to this problem is not an easy one. PlaneShift is put out there for anyone to download and use. Now let's look at the term "anyone" for a second. Do you realise how many different types of people there are in the world. Of all the millions of people who are able access the game, no two people are the same. So this begs the question, how on earth do you create a game that will be enjoyable to everyone. The answer, you can't. It is literally impossible to cater to everyone's needs.

This then leaves us with a few options. We could open our doors completely and let every j03 s04p in, and stop promoting ourselves as an "RP" game. In my opinion, this would mean that PlaneShift will lose it's uniqueness and the community I've come to know and love would more than likely disappear completely. Our other option is to close our doors a little more, filter new players more and smite those who deliberately obstruct the flow of RP in game. This would certainly improve things for the so called "heavy RPers", but we would introducing so much unnecessary negativity towards other people, not to mention increasing the workload of our already overworked GM and Dev team. I believe the game will become a frustrating experience, with people constantly on the lookout for the RP police.

Our last option is to keep things as they are, at least until the game develops into a state where RP and leveling run a bit more parallel. As a whole, our community is pretty tolerant of new players who do not yet understand RP. Let the heavy RPers RP heavily, Let the levelers level, Let casual RPers RP casually and let GM's smite those who cause trouble. The current system has worked for us so far, why change it?

It all comes down to personal attitude, if you allow your in game experience to be hindered by others, then the fault is your own. The trick, in any community, is to find your place, the place that makes you most comfortable and happy. If you are not happy with where you are at the moment, instead of trying to change the environment to suit yourself. Change yourself (attitude) to suit to the environment.

[Mythryndel]

Rude people are bad.  Shocking, but true, I know.  But that's not what the discussion nor poll is about.

I beg to differ. The vague opinion (I am summarizing, not saying people are being vague) in support of stricter enforcement of RP stated in this poll is that people that don't RP are disruptive. I don't see how people mining for hours is a problem, but it causes others to get upset. I have to wonder if these same people cannot possibly immerse themselves in their dinner, because there are people working in restaurants cooking food. There are going to be people working if Y'liakum is to be a "real" place and have a sustainable economy. If this is disruptive to your RP, or you feel that it is the wrong direction for PS... you are entitled to your opinion. However, I believe that the Devs disagree with you on this point.

What I have seen, is that certain players are disruptive. These players come from every range of players from only RPers to only PLers... and everywhere in-between. NOT just from people who do not RP.

Dajoji brought up a good point that I hadn't though of also. I don't frequently think about the players not being native English speakers. I can't imagine trying to make things even more unfriendly to those who don't speak (type) English very well, have to converse in perfectly spelled flowery dark ages type language. That is setting very unrealistic expectations on new and old players alike.

BTW... Eliseth... EXACTLY!!!!! That is my point almost exactly.

[h34th]

Devs are making a game. RP is a chat interaction. If you can chat while playing the game, then great. If you can chat based upon what your character is in the game, then great. If you can chat in a manner that takes the world settings, other characters chat, and everything that is going on around you... then you might succeed at roleplaying in PlaneShift. Attempting to somehow enforce this behavior is going to go wrong. Focus on creating a finished game.

[zanzibar]

So it's either you RP or you are against PS?

What I don't understand is how someone who is not interrupting your RP is damaging the game. They may be perfectly respectful yet quietly swinging a pick and you seem to find that offensive. By wanting to exclude these players you are the ones hurting the project as we need more testers who can not only explore all the features of the game (and that includes the leveling system) and recommend the project to their peers so the community can grow but also who in time might become good RPers as well.

But one can also argue that people who don't roleplay will scare other players away.

The way I see it, the game is not for RPers only. It is a Roleplaying game but there's a difference there. While the first excludes all non-rpers, the latter encourages all kinds of players to try to RP, even those who do not have the skills yet (be that because they are new to RP or because they don't speak English very well). The important thing is that all players respect RP and the community.

I think this is a ballanced way to look at it, and it's how I play.

[Dajoji]

So it's either you RP or you are against PS?

What I don't understand is how someone who is not interrupting your RP is damaging the game. They may be perfectly respectful yet quietly swinging a pick and you seem to find that offensive. By wanting to exclude these players you are the ones hurting the project as we need more testers who can not only explore all the features of the game (and that includes the leveling system) and recommend the project to their peers so the community can grow but also who in time might become good RPers as well.

But one can also argue that people who don't roleplay will scare other players away.

Definitely not more than RPers who stop roleplaying to rudely "correct" other players and tell them how to do it "properly". An unwelcoming community can be the biggest barrier for a game to reach more users.

[zanzibar]

So it's either you RP or you are against PS?

What I don't understand is how someone who is not interrupting your RP is damaging the game. They may be perfectly respectful yet quietly swinging a pick and you seem to find that offensive. By wanting to exclude these players you are the ones hurting the project as we need more testers who can not only explore all the features of the game (and that includes the leveling system) and recommend the project to their peers so the community can grow but also who in time might become good RPers as well.

But one can also argue that people who don't roleplay will scare other players away.

Definitely not more than RPers who stop roleplaying to rudely "correct" other players and tell them how to do it "properly". An unwelcoming community can be the biggest barrier for a game to reach more users.

I agree with that as well.  I remember the first day I played, I died (like most players).  I walked onto the bridge, and I got yelled at by Platnya for interupting her RP experience when I asked how to get out.  I kept playing the game obviously, but I didn't feel welcomed.  Admitedly the fault was on me, but I didn't know better because I was new.

Still, correcting bad behaviours is important to do.  It's just difficult to do it right.

[Under the moon]

That is one thing I do not like about many roleplayers. They have this illusion that their 'RP's can not -nay!- should not be interrupted by anyone or anything, including other people's roleplaying. To them, I say "Fie!" and "Ne!".