From
http://www.planeshift.it/policies.html:
The game is about roleplay, so part of the rules are to encourage or "enforce" it as smoothly as possible.
Looking at the rules,
as smoothly as possible doesn't seem very smooth or possible:
While playing PlaneShift, you must respect the rights of others and their rights to play and enjoy the game. To this end, you may not defraud, harass, threaten, or cause distress and/or unwanted attention to other players.
You may not enter into gameplay practices that cause disruption of gameplay for other players, or adversely affect game performance.
You may not use any harmful, hateful, abusive, vulgar, defamatory, obscene, racial, ethnically offensive, nor sexually explicit language to any other players nor members of the PlaneShift team.
You may not impersonate any Game Masters nor members of the PlaneShift team.
You may not violate any Local, State, National, or International law or regulation.
You may not organize nor be part of any guilds or groups that are based on, or espouse, any racist, sexist, anti-religious, anti-ethnic, anti-gay or other hate-mongering philosophy.
When communicating in Planeshift using the Chat, you may not spam, flood, or make duplicate messages.
You may not post or communicate personal information of any player in the game or the website/forum of Planeshift.
You will not attempt to interfere with, hack into, or decipher any transmissions to or from the servers running Planeshift.
You may not create "bots" or automation programs with the purpose of profiteering or advancing unattended.
You will not exploit any bug in Planeshift.
You may not market, promote, advertise, or solicit within the PlaneShift game or on the official PlaneShift website.
You may not advertise the intent to or commit the act of buying or selling game items for real money.
Aside of the naming policy (which I'm fine with) these are by no means the rules of an RP server, or game for the matter.
Now let's assume (which may be assuming too much) that PS does
really strive to be an RP game, which would mean (correct me if I'm wrong) that RP is above anything else and every change/implementation is done with improving it in mind.
These could be the rules for an RP game/server (taken and translated from a Lineage 2 RP server):
General
Account Validation
- <Naming policy similar to PS's>
- About the character's background:
Backgrounds must fit to the server's setting, taking the happened events, the history and the current situation into account.
Backgrounds must be original. Not borrowed or adapted or translated nor modified. Unique for any single character and written by your own.
Backgrounds that mod the server's setting won't be allowed.
The presented text must be readable and easy to understand, it is advised to make good use of spelling and grammar.
Game Rules
Behavior
Respect and good manners towards every other user. Lack of respect out of RP will be punished, including private tabs.
Chat tabs
Main: Only RP within the game setting.
Shout: Only RP, used to raise your voice. Conversations shall not be held in shouts.
Auction: Used to trade, announce RP events, or ask for help. Conversations here may be punished.
Group: For OOC conversations within the members of the same party.
Guild: OOC chat amongst guild members.
Alliance: OOC chat amongst alliance members.
Whisper: IC when chracters are close to each other, can be used OOC when both characters are far away from each other.
<Peace Areas - useless in PS since most of it is not a PvP area>
Harshly punishable actions (added only the ones not regarding strictly L2 mechanics)
- Infiltrating a guild with the objective of getting information or equipment for third parties is strictly prohibited and punished with the only exception of both parties being aware of the player's situation and accept it due to RP matters.
- Any action that, provided mechanics, has no other objective than become annyoing or harmful for other players in any way.
<Bug Exploiting - useless since we have other bugs in PS>
Items
Stealing gear, materials or any other kind of items is strictly forbidden and punished with the only exception of both parties agreeing due to RP matters.
The staff doesn't transfer items from one player to another even under petition of the owner. Lent items are under his/her responsability and risk must be assumed by the owner.
Roleplay Coherence
The game's main objective is fun thus, under any circumstamce, the player must stick to his/her character's role leaving OOC problems or arguments behind. It's important to hold the role and alignment considering every character and not doing so may be punished.
Roleplaying Rules
Roleplaying
- In order to keep the roleplay atmosphere it is strictly forbidden to use modern language (such as dood, lol, cool, etc) and abusive insults or those that are out of the roleplay context.
- Nothing of the spoken in the OOC tabs may have an influence in the IC ones.
- Name labels aren't visible thus your character can't see them.
Behavior in Main tab
- Thoughts: They are thoughts of your (or other) character that can't be taken into account for RP. Player will know but the character won't.
- Whispers: Only the receptor can hear it. It shall not be taken into account into RP by other players.
- Actions: Any physical action described by an emote.
- OOC: Exclusive to clearing up IC matters with more than 2 players involved. Avoid as much as possible.
<Stealth - Set of rules on how to use cloaks and other disguises, not that we have such a system yet>
Guild badges
- If the player has specified bearing the guild's crest it will be understood it is visible. Otherwise it will be understood that it is hidden and it will not be possible for your character to tell which order does the individual belong to.
Godmodding
Godmodding happens when a character is forced into a situation without his/her consent.
<set of examples very similar to any you can find in a decent RPing guide>
Guilds and Alliances
Guilds
Creation of guilds is free for the user, even though only the lvl 3 or higher, which have at least 5 members and a posted guild thread will be considered Official. Official guilds will have a political and social weight (voice and vote in Leaders Management).
The thread must be approved by the staff and must include:
- Guild history
- Reason for the union and defined objectives.
- Politics and ideology
Alliances
Creation of alliances is free amongst guilds as long as they stick to their role and alignment carried to the day.
It's also advised to post in the forums and explain the causes and consequences of the alliance.
Guilds Autocontrol
- Guilds shall work as autocontroled cores thus if a guild keeps a well known offender, the punishement after teh second high offense will affect both player and guild.
- The punishment system is as follows:
1st offense: Punishment to the player and warning to the guild leader so that he/she fixes it.
2nd offense: Punishment to the player and chance for the guild leader to either remove him/her for the guild or to assume the player's same punishment.
3rd offense: Punishment to the player, leader and guild as a whole.
- Punishment to the guild may differ depending on the fault:
Economical punishment
Guild level decrease
Loss of Reputation points
Loss of part of the guild's items
Loss of the guildhouse
Guild's disbanding
Fights
PvP
It is demanded to stay coherent in regard to the character's role/alignment in all cases. It makes no sense to attack somebody else for no reason.
- Looser shall sit for 5 minures. In this state, the looser won't be able to oppose to any of the winner's actions.
- Winner can arrest the looser if desired.
The arrested must stay in place and do as the winner says, so he can't move. Once resurrected he/she won't be able to escape the chains in any way or escape. He/she shall stay where commanded without unsheathing weapons until liberation.
If an arrest doesn't happen, the looser shall wait at least 15 minutes before going back to the battlefield for revenge.
PK
It is demanded to stay coherent in regard to the character's role/alignment in all cases. It makes no sense to attack somebody else for no reason.
- Killing the same character more than once a day is forbidden unless such is provoking the PK.
- It isn't possible to identify a PK due to his label or accuse or suspect him/her of murder. PK will be affected the same way when interacting to NPCs.
Guild wars
War happens only when the struggle has been accepted by both parties. If one of the parties doesn't accept the war, the usual procedure for PvP and PK shall be used.
- Guildhouses: Attacking inside guildhouses is allowed as long as the doors are open or the aggressor is inside such guildhouse. Once the PvP is over the agressor must exit the guildhouse. Rules about robbery stand.
- Roleplay: Even in war state you must roleplay at least a minimum amount before or after the PvP considering the scene's background. PvP happening without any roleplay will be punished.
- Peace areas: Churches and respawn poitns are considered safe areas even during war.
Before you say this wouldn't work: I can tell it does, I play there eventually and the player counts are usually around 150-200 even if it's a non-english server. These are the rules, no suggestions, no encouragement. Simply the
rules to be allowed to play.
...
At this point, GMs will usually do nothing to prevent blatantly low quality "RP" such as bazookas and pokemon fights (trust me, I've seen these on Laanx).
New players see this kind of RP and assume it's fine to do it.
New players join the ultimate mass-recruiting guild whose leaders also think it's fine.
New players don't get the chance to learn how to RP
properly (as in following the setting and keeping IC/OOC separated, etc).
New players get involved and used to doubtful "RP" thus tend to take it as something normal and valid.
If we want to have an RP game RP must be enforced. Most new players will still take the easiest path and "encouraging" won't really work, even less if it's "encouraged" by material rewards;
players will do
anything to get the rewards and
forget about RP once the event is done. From
http://www.planeshift.it/index.html:
Events are a good way to develop your character and to earn yourself rare and valuable rewards.GMs should RP often, should be good RPers, should be able to interfere in RP that goes out of the setting, should be able to give new players advice as to what direction should they progress into to become a better RPer.
Give the GMs the tools they need to do this, namely a set of rules for
Roleplay.
We do have an RP server? I don't see it yet. Recruit GMs who can and want to RP and rid of the ones who can't or want not.
Have GMs intervene when off-setting RP happens and put it back in the right path.
Give players who can RP and want to help with this the right tools to also 1) teach new players and 2) conduct RPs to the right path.
Elady's suggestion is good in my point of view, but as it is now, there'll always be somebody sending a tell who can be much faster getting a new player's attention than any RPer will be in Main.
The amount of OOC driven gameplay and RP must decrease.
Stop the stupid guilds creation via rulesets (most of those guild leaders won't bother reading them, that stops a few already).
Stop the complains about favoritism via rulesets, make decisions objective.
Wipes won't fix anything and there is no point in discussing them. There'll be one whenever it has to be and soon after the same players who have them now will have the higher levels.
The hippy sort of reply such as "it's all fine, be tolerant" isn't going anywhere either. Anybody who actually
plays can see the situation in-game isn't specially good. Acting like nothing happens will only make it worse.
