More Oja Role-play

[Parallo]

Unless your character can pull shakespeare from the aforementioned area you shouldn't have to and those who disagree are simply foolish. On the other hand you should be in character. Bad rp is not being in character and staying away from places with high concentrations of rpers untill you have a fair grip of the concepts is a good idea.

[Timmothy Perriwinkle]

Bad rp is not being in character and staying away from places with high concentrations of rpers untill you have a fair grip of the concepts is a good idea.

Exactly. I didn't not have aforementioned grip of the concepts nor did I stay in character, or really have a character. So I avoided Hydlaa. If being the Lions den means that it keeps RPers like I was away, then IMO nothing should change there.

[Prolix]

All the maps are for everyone and nobody should feel they cannot go someplace because someone else might make fun of them. End of story.

[Parallo]

Thats true. But discomfort is not encouraged

[Prolix]

well the guild houses would be an exception.....

[Mythryndel]

This is where I feel that I may not be making my point... I DO stay in character. I also play the game... mechanics and all. Maybe my experience is just odd, but I don't think so from the reputation of Hydlaa... and Kada El's specifically... that those that like to nitpick others hang out there.

I also do not for the life of me understand why a "tavern" is the center of all RP in PS. I understand this thread basically asking why the RPers don't leave Hydlaa. If they are not nitpicking others... I do not see why they shouldn't be adventuring or exploring other areas. In my years of gaming (table top) the adventures may have started at the Tavern (read: plot hook), but certainly didn't stay there for any length of time...

Also, for the record... unless i was AFK I have never ignored anyone who came up to me and tried to start a conversation. Though I have been equally ignored and rebuffed for my attempts to start a conversation...

[Gavvie Strand]

Give the noobies their Oja. They'll come to Hydlaa when they're ready.

Oh no. Is exactly what I want Oja NOT to become. I agree that Oja is a great place for noobies to level up and such, but I don't want people to think it a place just for noobs. Also role-play can be intimidating at first. When I first went to Hydlaa, RP nazi were all over me. But I think I learned more about RPing from them then any one. Some of them should be a little less harsh, but it's good to have someone to help you recognize your mistakes.

Fighting is probably one of the most IC things that someone can do, but I think it's just a little weird when thats the only thing that everyone in town is doing. Fighting things like Rouges makes good sense for the characters own protection. Dueling is great too, but there should be more reason behind it then "hey, wanna fight?".  

[Arerano]

Ojaveda for noobs? Will it be like "The Dome is for RPers, the noobs have to start in the level below it" in the future?
[sarcasm start]Maybe those levels could represent the "RP standards", noobs start in the lowest levels and the more "interested/skilled" they are in RPing, the further they can walk up and The Dome will only serve for the RP elite. [sarcasm end]

If you have to grind for hours/days in weeks it's usually OOC-driven.

It's a "single player aspect", you don't need any interaction with other players at all to fight a rouge a zillion of times.
This is why a city can "feel" dead even if there are quite some people. Or the mines, people even walk into each another, stand INSIDE others and mine.

The "being OOC" is another thing, why did "they" start playing PS in the first place? To have RP? To stay IC?

[Lhaa]

I also do not for the life of me understand why a "tavern" is the center of all RP in PS.

The tavern is (so you say) the center because there must be a center. For this exact reason:

This is going to be a bigger and bigger problem as the game world increases.  The bigger the world is, the more spread out people are.  The more spread out people are, the less they interact.  The less people interact, the less roleplaying there is.

Now, Harnquist used to be the center of all RP at some point. Long ago devs stated over and over that hanging out at the smithie was bad roleplay. We listened I guess (and the world grew). The smithy is usually empty now, or hosts only the crafters and the newbies who just came out of the tutorial or are still stuck in the sewers. Shall we also move away from the tavern? Where to, the dungeons?

On topic: There are a few reasons why I don't go to Ojaveda. The main one simply because I need to run for 15 mins to get there and usually find people dueling at the gates, and that's being lucky. Either way, all I can find is a -small- bunch of people around Trasok with the swords drawn and a couple or three crafters. Nothing for my character to do there, and the same happens to many others. So I walk another 15 minutes back to Hydlaa hoping to find somebody to talk to. In the end, I just don't bother taking the trip.
Now, I'm cooking something along with some other people to run a day-long event there. Perhaps this is a partial solution to the problem but I seriously doubt the day after the situation will be any better.

[khoridor]

I spend a lot of time in Oja for a simple reason: I like the place, its looks and atmosphere.
I don't spend time in taverns because I have nothing to do there. I RP mostly around smiths (and I don't craft much). I find Trasok's better than ever since a forge was added outside. It's just easier to meet people, crafters, passers-by, anybody to start a chat with. Second, most of my RP would be in the wild, including of course in the mines.

One more thing: it is true that I RP less since spring (or summer, or whenever the major engine change happened; I don't recall exactly). The reason is simply the very high frequency of client crashes. If the statement that there is less RP than before is true, that may be a reason (it's the only one for me). And, of course, it's just temporary.

There is one other thing which, I believe, would add life to Oja: to put some of the tavern's kitchens outside (like Trasok's forge). It would suit the weather and local lifestyle, and make people more accessible. Even tavern tables should be set outside. The carpet shop is the example to be followed.

[Mythryndel]

There is a kitchen outside just across from Brintec's carpet stand... just outside of Orchibaly's. Just FYI.

[zanzibar]

I don't know it that would help.  Cooking seems like just another thing to grind.

There are things that can be done to encourage more roleplaying in Ojaveda, but I don't think they'll be done since they've been suggested before.

[Mythryndel]

I think the real issue is that people don't interact when playing the game (using mechanics). I sometimes find it difficult to chat using the different tabs and continue with whatever task I am doing at the time... but I usually just take twice as long doing whatever task it was... others go the other way...

I think that a LONG term aid could be to improve the chat interface. Another LONG term fix could be to encourage more multi-character activities. Groups aren't really used for much right now except exclusive chat, and helping lower level characters gain PPs for training... imho.

RP could happen anywhere, but the pickier you are about your RP, the less likely you are to find it in any random place you look.

[zanzibar]

I think the real issue is that people don't interact when playing the game (using mechanics). I sometimes find it difficult to chat using the different tabs and continue with whatever task I am doing at the time... but I usually just take twice as long doing whatever task it was... others go the other way...

I think that a LONG term aid could be to improve the chat interface. Another LONG term fix could be to encourage more multi-character activities. Groups aren't really used for much right now except exclusive chat, and helping lower level characters gain PPs for training... imho.

RP could happen anywhere, but the pickier you are about your RP, the less likely you are to find it in any random place you look.

You make it sound like the solution is to take grinding out of the game.

[Mythryndel]

Depends on what you call grinding to be honest. I see having to work to make my character better an investment in his abilities. I appreciate them because I had to work for them. But I do believe that some tasks are far more tedious than they need to be. I think that the game must exist for the game's sake first, and then encourage interaction as much as possible. Like it or not, there are times when finding another living soul is difficult because of time zones or where I am in Y'liakum... so if there wasn't something to do in the game, I wouldn't bother... but making interaction easier and even required for some tasks would be a welcome change.